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☆ Democrats try to pre-empt the GOP's 'soft on crime' attacks. It may not work.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-09 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Jonathan-Allen-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Jonathan Allen | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

The rush to flash pro-cop credentials shows that Democrats anticipated a fresh wave of Republican attacks on crime and policing that are landing in House, Senate and state-level races. During the 2020 election, then-President Donald Trump warned voters that Democrats would be soft on crime and endanger communities. His aides said that the line of attack motivated base Republican voters and helped swing voters — particularly Latino voters in Florida and Texas — in the GOP’s direction. But some Democrats have decided the best answer this year is silence: Polls show crime just isn't a good issue for their party. Many Democratic candidates continue to focus on policy areas where more voters trust Democrats than Republicans to do a better job, including abortion, education and protecting democracy.

☆ Stewart Rhodes claimed Secret Service contact months before Jan. 6 attack, former Oath Keeper testifies
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-07 | by ( Ryan J. Reilly | Daniel Barnes | Ryan J. Reilly Is A Justice Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Former Oath Keepers member John Zimmerman testified that Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes told him he had a contact in the Secret Service and that he heard Rhodes talking with someone he believed to be a member of the Secret Service in September 2020, a bit over three months before the attack on Jan. 6, 2021. Rhodes got on the phone with the unknown person to ask about “parameters” the Oath Keepers could operate under during the rally, Zimmerman said. He said Oath Keepers attended the rally to escort attendees from the rally location to their vehicles. “From the questions Stewart — Mr. Rhodes — was asking, it sounded like it could’ve been” a Secret Service agent, Zimmerman said. Prosecutors have said Rhodes' references to the Insurrection Act in connection with Jan. 6 were nothing more than "cover" for the Oath Keepers plot.

A senior member of the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, pleaded guilty Thursday to seditious conspiracy, the most serious charge that has been leveled against individuals tied to the Jan. 6 riot. Five other members of the Proud Boys, including the group's former national chairman, Enrique Tarrio, were indicted in June on seditious conspiracy and other charges. Donohoe, of Kernesville, North Carolina, pleaded guilty in April to conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and assaulting, resisting or impeding officers. Few defendants have pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. More than 850 people have been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection, and over 350 have pleaded guilty.

WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump filed an emergency request Tuesday asking the Supreme Court to intervene in the case involving classified records he kept at Mar-a-Lago after he left office. In their request, Trump's attorneys asked the court to vacate part of a ruling issued Sept. 21 by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which said the Justice Department could resume using classified documents taken from Mar-a-Lago in its criminal investigation and barred the special master from reviewing them. The latter part of the appeals court decision "impairs substantially the ongoing, time-sensitive work of the special master,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in the filing Tuesday. Justice Clarence Thomas, who handles emergency applications from the 11th Circuit, asked the Justice Department on Tuesday to file a response to Trump's request by Oct. 11 at 5 p.m.

☆ College costs keep snowballing despite Biden’s efforts to ease student debt burden
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-01 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Shannon-Pettypiece-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Shannon Pettypiece | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Loans from private banks have gone up even faster, with some charging more than 13% for student loans this fall, people familiar with the industry said. Borrowers with existing loans that have variable rates have started seeing their monthly payments go up from the higher rates, they said. Increased costs mean many students have to borrow more money at higher rates, further exacerbating the student debt problem the Biden administration set out to address. The problem is the cost of higher education,” said Betsy Mayotte, president of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors. “We commend this administration for responding to the call of addressing of the student loan debt crisis,” said Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP.

The House Jan. 6 committee is interviewing Ginni Thomas, a conservative activist and the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, on Thursday, two sources familiar with the plans told NBC News. The interview was scheduled to begin around 9:30 a.m. NBC News cameras outside the O’Neill House building captured Thomas as she arrived at the Capitol. A source close to the panel told NBC News last week that the committee had reached an agreement with Thomas to be interviewed. Thomas first came under scrutiny for messages she sent to Mark Meadows, who was White House chief of staff on Jan. 6, telling him to encourage then-President Donald Trump not to concede the election to Joe Biden. The Jan. 6 committee delayed a public hearing that had been scheduled for Wednesday of this week because of Hurricane Ian.

☆ Facebook says it took down Chinese network using fake social media accounts to interfere in U.S. midterms
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Dilanianmug.Jpg | Ken Dilanian | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Facebook parent company Meta said Tuesday it took down a network of fake accounts from China that attempted to interfere in American politics ahead of this November’s midterm elections. Meta said the Chinese operation set up fake accounts posing as Americans, attacking politicians from both parties and posting inflammatory material about divisive issues such as abortion and gun rights. The network was small — just 84 Facebook accounts — and did not have a chance to develop much of an audience, Meta said in a report released Tuesday. “And it’s the first time we’ve seen that from a Chinese operation in this way. The New York Times reported in June that the company's core election team was disbanded, and the company has remained relatively quiet about its election efforts.

The Justice Department on Monday filed a revised inventory of items seized from former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort last month, in addition to a declaration supporting the accuracy of the new list. A federal appeals court recently ordered that the classified documents should not be included in the special master’s review. In some instances, the Justice Department's revised inventory adds documents, while in other places it subtracts. While the original inventory list noted two empty folders with “CLASSIFIED” banners in the box, a revised entry removes those folders; similar empty folders are still listed for other boxes. His lawyers can also note any items they say were seized but not itemized in the inventory.

☆ Brett Favre told Mississippi governor he would not ‘take No for answer’ over volleyball stadium, court filing shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Dilanianmug.Jpg | Ken Dilanian | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Phil Bryant on Sept. 4, 2019 about funding the volleyball center at the University of Southern Mississippi’s main campus in Hattiesburg. “Use of these funds (is) tightly controlled,” Bryant texted Favre on July 28, 2019, according to the filing. Favre also secured $3.2 million for a drug company in which he had invested, according to court records. Favre has also denied wrongdoing through his lawyer, who acknowledged that the ex-Packer has been interviewed by the FBI. He added that Favre behaved honorably and never knew the state grants he was seeking were from the federal welfare program.

☆ Biden’s student loan cancellation plan to cost $400B, Congressional Budget Office estimates
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden's plan to forgive $10,000 in federal student debt for most borrowers will cost the government about $400 billion over 10 years, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said in an estimate released Monday. The report also noted that the administration plan to extend a pause on federal student loans will also cost about $20 billion. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a group that advocates for lower deficits, said the CBO's predictions confirm "the outrageous cost" of Biden's student loan plan. "The Biden Administration’s student debt bailout is even more expensive than we initially thought," tweeted Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz. "The current bailout will cost Americans $420 BILLION, according to the CBO. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, tweeted, "President Biden isn’t forgiving student loans—he’s charging hardworking Americans $400 billion."

AUSTIN — Republican Rep. Liz Cheney said Saturday that she would be willing to campaign for Democrats as she criticized her party's acceptance of candidates who deny the results of the 2020 election. “Yes,” Cheney said simply when asked if she’d be willing to stump for Democrats — the first time she’s said so explicitly. Cheney made the remark in a discussion at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin while talking about Arizona gubernatorial candidate and election denier Kari Lake. We cannot see an accommodation like that, and I think it’s very important that we be clear about that,” Cheney said. Cheney did say that she does not think that the committee's hearings will conclude this week.

WASHINGTON — A federal jury on Friday convicted a QAnon believer who chased down U.S. Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman on Jan. 6, 2021, finding the defendant guilty on all charges against him. On Jan. 6, Jensen filmed videos from the base of the Capitol building, where he proclaimed — inaccurately, but with tremendous confidence — that he was at the White House. “Storm the White House! Goodman, the USCP officer who testified at Jensen's trial, had “no back-up” when he faced off with rioters, Mirell said. More than 850 people have been arrested and more than 350 convicted in connection with the Capitol attack.

☆ Judge says Jan. 6 committee can get Arizona GOP Chair Kelli Ward's phone records
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Arizona ruled Thursday that the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol can see the phone records of Arizona Republican Party Chairwoman Kelli Ward and her husband. U.S. District Court Judge Diane J. Humetewa rejected the Wards' arguments in a February lawsuit that the congressional panel should be prevented from getting the phone records of the couple, who are doctors, because it would violate medical privacy laws. "That three-month period is plainly relevant to its investigation into the causes of the January 6th attack," she wrote. "The court therefore has little doubt concluding these records may aid the select committee’s valid legislative purpose." Humetewa also dismissed the Wards' arguments that the subpoena seeking their phone records violate their First and 14th Amendment rights and that releasing the records would risk that those the couple had contacted during the period could be "implicated in the largest criminal investigation in U.S.

WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump promoted several posts on his social media platform early Friday about the QAnon conspiracy theory. Many of those arrested in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol were QAnon followers. Two other posts he promoted on Truth Social included explicit religious connotations — including one that stated: "I believe God can do it through him." Trump has posted and reposted QAnon-related material before, but it's now becoming a consistent embrace for him. The QAnon conspiracy theory was built around Q, an anonymous account that posts periodically on 8kun, often with vague or symbolic language that is then interpreted by followers.

☆ Democrats are focus-grouping Fetterman’s health. Swing voters think he’s getting sharper.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Jonathan-Allen-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Jonathan Allen | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

The consensus, according to two people familiar with the responses given to Democratic operatives, was that persuadable voters believe Fetterman is fit to serve and getting sharper. Four months after the stroke, Fetterman has not released his medical records. But Oz has made sure that Fetterman’s health problems remain a top topic of political conversation. Michelle Gustafson / Bloomberg via Getty ImagesEarlier this summer, Pennsylvania Democrats privately expressed concerns about Fetterman’s health and lack of transparency, but Fetterman seems to have eased their fears. That helps explain why Republicans have been split on how much to focus on Fetterman’s health.

WASHINGTON — A new poll commissioned by a super PAC aligned with President Joe Biden shows the president's overall approval has improved in three battleground states, but voters say he isn't handling certain issues like the economy and jobs well. The favorability rating in those states for former President Donald Trump declined from 44% in May to 39% in September. At least 60% of people in the three battleground states said they disliked how Biden has handled immigration, inflation and the national debt. It said the PAC will "continue to educate voters in swing states about the successes of the Biden administration." The poll surveyed 500 likely voters in each battleground state between Sept. 14 to 19 with a margin of error of 2.5% at the 95% confidence interval.

A former Donald Trump supporter, who participated in the attack on the U.S. Capitol and testified before the Jan. 6 Committee, was sentenced Thursday to 24 months probation and 100 hours of community service. Stephen Ayres of Ohio pleaded guilty to one count of disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building in June. He said he lost his job and had to sell his house because of his participation in Jan. 6. But his thinking changed after Trump’s speech, which included disparaging comments about then-Vice President Mike Pence, Ayres testified. Ayres said he and other Trump supporters at the rally went to the Capitol because the president had told them to go there.

A key figure in Mississippi’s welfare spending scandal has pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges under an arrangement that signals he may be cooperating, according to court records. John Davis directed Mississippi’s welfare agency while it doled out millions of dollars in federal welfare money to projects investigators now say were improper, including a new volleyball facility requested by former NFL quarterback Brett Favre that benefited his daughter. Phil Bryant, who has consistently denied that he was aware that federal welfare money was being used for the projects, in violation of state and federal laws. Favre has also denied wrongdoing through his lawyer, who acknowledged that Favre has been interviewed by the FBI. There is no indication Favre is a target of the investigation, and he says he did not know the state grants came from federal welfare funds.

☆ Appeals court lifts hold that prevented Justice Department from using classified documents in Mar-a-Lago probe
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Zoë Richards | Daniel Barnes | Zoë Richards Is The Evening Politics Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

A federal appeals court on Wednesday said the Justice Department can resume using classified documents seized from former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate in its criminal investigation. The appeals court panel, comprised of two Trump appointees and one Obama appointee, thoroughly rejected Trump’s position on the classified documents and parts of Cannon’s reasoning for issuing her original order. The appeals court said that among the factors under consideration were whether or not Trump had individual interest or need for the classified documents, which the district court had not mentioned in its analysis. The Justice Department previously said that its criminal investigation would look into identifying anyone who accessed the classified materials, whether they had been compromised and whether additional classified materials were missing. The ruling by the appeals court was the second legal blow to Trump on Wednesday.

The Jan. 6 committee has reached an agreement with Ginni Thomas to be interviewed in the coming weeks, a source close to the House panel told NBC News on Wednesday. CNN first reported the planned meeting with Thomas. Thomas first came under scrutiny for messages to former President Donald Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows and state lawmakers that questioned 2020 election results. The agreement comes after weeks of back and forth and a letter asking Thomas to speak with the panel. Please check back for updates.

☆ Scientists at America’s top nuclear lab were recruited by China to design missiles and drones, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Dilanianmug.Jpg | Ken Dilanian | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

The report, by Strider Technologies, describes what it calls a systemic effort by the government of China to place Chinese scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where nuclear weapons were first developed. Scientists were paid as much as $1 million through participation in Chinese government “talent programs,” which are designed to recruit Chinese scientists to return to China. Moreover, U.S. officials and experts say most Chinese scientists who immigrate to the U.S. remain here — and many have made significant contributions to U.S. defense technology. Workers at Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, N.M. Los Alamos National Laboratory via AP fileLos Alamos officials referred questions to the Energy Department, which declined to address the report’s specific findings. “No one can say this is not a national security issue,” Evanina said.

☆ New York’s lawsuit against Trump is different from his other legal troubles: It’s personal
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Peter Nicholas | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Jonathan-Allen-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump is no stranger to legal scrutiny, but there's something different about the $250 million civil lawsuit New York Attorney General Letitia James filed against him Wednesday: This time, it's as personal for him as it is political. It’s a personal blow for him that this even happened.”Upping the stakes, James named Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump as co-defendants in accusing the former president's companies of manipulating business records to secure favorable loans, fool insurers and win tax benefits. "As executive vice presidents, the three children were intimately involved in the operation of the Trump Organization's business," James' lawsuit alleges. Allies say that, if anything, James' lawsuit will rally Republicans around him. Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump took to Twitter, accusing James of using their family to advance her own political interests and those of the Democratic Party.

Goodman told jurors that he’d been with the Capitol Police for 15 years and he previously was deployed to Iraq for the U.S. Army. Footage released during Trump's second impeachment trial showed Goodman directing Romney to turn around just after the mob had breached the building. The Senate chamber itself went through sweeps by K-9s and bomb squads so that Congress could resume its work, Goodman said. He told jurors to expect to see video of Jensen telling officers to do their job throughout the trial. The FBI has arrested more than 850 defendants in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

☆ Stacey Abrams calls Georgia 'essential' to Democrats keeping control of Congress in midterms
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

More of Alexander’s interview with Abrams will air tonight on “NBC Nightly News” at 6:30 ET. During the interview, Abrams described Georgia as having "one of the strictest abortion bans in the nation," but didn't specify what she could do to change that if elected. Part of her campaign strategy, Abrams said, involves visiting voters in more rural areas that are typically known for supporting conservative candidates. Abrams said that 53 percent of the 1.6 million people she has helped register to vote in her state are Democratic-leaning. Much of that community, she said, is "often the most overlooked" and that's why she's reaching out to them directly.

☆ 'Punked': DeSantis keeps White House, Delaware and media guessing on migrant flight plans
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Marc Caputo | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Lauren-Egan-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre accused DeSantis of not wanting a workable, bipartisan solution on immigration. “Obviously,” DeSantis said, “it’s sad that Martha’s Vineyard people deported them the next day. Ray Ewing / Vineyard Gazette via APThe migrants who were flown to Martha’s Vineyard weren’t deported; they were moved to a military base near Cape Cod. “If you say you’re a sanctuary state, then don’t complain. Share in the pain — whether you’re president, God or anyone else.”Marc Caputo reported from Florida and Lauren Egan reported from Delaware.

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