WASHINGTON — The House committee investigating the Capitol insurrection issued a new batch of subpoenas Tuesday to some of Donald Trump’s closest advisers, including Rudy Giuliani, as the committee inches closer to the former president.
The committee is continuing to widen its scope into Trump’s orbit, this time demanding information and testimony from Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, Sidney Powell, and Boris Epshteyn. All four publicly defended the president and his baseless voter fraud claims in the months after the 2020 election.
“The four individuals we’ve subpoenaed today advanced unsupported theories about election fraud, pushed efforts to overturn the election results, or were in direct contact with the former President about attempts to stop the counting of electoral votes,” Mississippi Representative Bennie Thompson, Democratic chairman of the panel, said in a statement.
The committee said it is seeking records and deposition testimony from Giuliani in connection to his promotion of election fraud claims on behalf of Trump. The panel is also seeking information about Giuliani’s reported efforts to persuade state legislators to take steps to overturn the election results.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Debate opens on voting rights legislation
WASHINGTON — Voting legislation that Democrats and civil rights leaders say is vital for protecting democracy appeared headed for defeat as the Senate opened debate Tuesday, a devastating setback enabled by President Biden’s own party as two holdout senators refuse to support rule changes to overcome a Republican filibuster.
The Democratic senators, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, faced strong criticism from Black leaders and civil rights organizations for failing to take on what critics call the “Jim Crow filibuster.”
The debate carries echoes of an earlier era when the Senate filibuster was deployed in lengthy speeches by opponents of civil rights legislation. It comes as Democrats and other voting advocates nationwide warn that Republican-led states are passing laws making it more difficult for Black Americans and others to vote by consolidating polling locations, requiring certain types of identification, and ordering other changes.
Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer acknowledged the current bill’s likely defeat this week. But he said the fight is not over as he heeds advocates’ call to force all senators to go on record with their positions.
“The eyes of the nation will be watching what happens this week,” Schumer said as he opened the session Tuesday.
This is the fifth time the Senate will try to pass voting legislation this Congress.
The Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act combines earlier bills into one package that would make Election Day a national holiday, ensure access to early voting and mail-in ballots — which have become especially popular during the COVID-19 pandemic— and enable the Justice Department to intervene in states with a history of voter interference, among other changes.
Both Manchin and Sinema say they support the package, which has passed the House, but they are unwilling to change the Senate rules to muscle it through that chamber over Republican objections. With a 50-50 split, Democrats have a narrow Senate majority — Vice President Kamala Harris can break a tie — but they lack the 60 votes needed to overcome the GOP filibuster.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Puerto Rico bankruptcy plan gets OK
MIAMI — Puerto Rico received approval from a federal judge Tuesday to leave bankruptcy under the largest public sector debt restructuring deal in the history of the United States, nearly five years after the financially strapped territory declared that it could not repay its creditors.
Since Puerto Rico entered bankruptcy, its economic crisis has only been further deepened by hurricanes Irma and Maria, a series of earthquakes, and the coronavirus pandemic.
The restructuring plan will reduce the largest portion of the Puerto Rico government’s debt — some $33 billion — by about 80 percent. The deal will also save the government more than $50 billion in debt payments.
“Today begins a new chapter in PR’s history,” the oversight board that has overseen Puerto Rico’s finances since 2016 wrote on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon.
The unelected board, which was created by Congress, is not well loved in Puerto Rico, where many of the island’s more than 3 million people refer to it as “la junta.” Critics worry that Puerto Rico will not have enough money in its general fund to make even the reduced debt payments over the long run, eventually forcing more painful economic austerity measures.
When the territory entered bankruptcy in May 2017, it had more than $70 billion in bond debt and more than $50 billion in unfunded pension obligations to public workers. The bankruptcies of other public entities, including the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, remain unresolved.
NEW YORK TIMES
Obergefell will run for Ohio Legislature
TOLEDO, Ohio — Gay rights advocate Jim Obergefell, whose name was atop the US Supreme Court case legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide, announced Tuesday that he’s running for a seat in the Ohio Legislature.
Obergefell, a Democrat, said he wants Ohio to be a place where people feel they have equal opportunity.
He was the lead plaintiff in the landmark 2015 ruling that put an end to same-sex marriage bans, turning him into one of the most visible figures in the marriage-equality movement.
Obergefell will run for the Ohio House in a district that includes his hometown of Sandusky and has been dominated by Republicans the past eight years. Obergefell moved back to his hometown in 2021 to be closer to family.
“I think I’ve proven with my fight for marriage equality that I don’t mind being an underdog,” he said.
Obergefell said the area of northern Ohio he wants to represent has struggled to attract good paying jobs and that too many people have been forced to leave. He said two of his biggest priorities are improving the region’s job outlook and protecting Lake Erie, a major driver of the area’s economy.
His path to becoming an “accidental” activist began when he and his partner, John Arthur, were unable to wed in Ohio because of their home state’s ban on same-sex marriage. Obergefell and Arthur, who was dying of Lou Gehrig’s disease, decided to get married in Maryland after the Supreme Court struck down part of the Defense of Marriage Act in 2013. But Ohio’s ban meant Obergefell would not be listed as Arthur’s surviving spouse on his death certificate.
They won a temporary injunction and when Arthur died a little over three months after they were married, Obergefell was listed as his spouse on his death certificate.
But the legal victory was overturned, setting the stage for the Supreme Court’s historic decision. By a 5-4 vote, the court ruled on June 26, 2015, that same-sex couples can exercise the fundamental right to marry.
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