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WASHINGTON — A QAnon believer who chased U.S. Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman on Jan. 6, 2021, and apparently believed he was storming the White House will be sentenced Friday after he was convicted in September. He was one of the first 10 rioters to enter the Capitol during the insurrection. On Jan. 6, Jensen recorded videos from the base of the Capitol, where he proclaimed, inaccurately, that he was at the White House. “Storm the White House! If not for the "quick thinking" of Goodman, rioters would have been carried out of the building, he continued.

☆ Washington man charged with leaving more than 400 threatening voicemails for members of Congress
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | 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 Washington state man has been charged with seven counts of making interstate threats after he allegedly left more than 400 voicemails over two years for members of Congress. In 2021, Leonetti left more than 400 voicemails at the office phone numbers for numerous senators and representatives of both political parties, according to the criminal complaint. The voicemails were "not always coherent," an FBI agent investigating the case said, but made references to murder or killing. We’re going to peel your ass inside out," Leonetti said in one of seven voicemails he left for one lawmaker in September, prosecutors said. In one of 32 voicemails Leonetti left for a senator over a three-day period in September, he allegedly said, "Well, so I’m gonna murder you.

☆ Biden touts U.S. relations with African nations, announces efforts to bolster trade
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | 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 touted relations between the U.S. and African nations Wednesday, addressing a gathering of nearly 50 leaders from the continent and announcing new initiatives to bolster trade. Speaking at the three-day U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, Biden emphasized that Africa is critical to the success of the U.S. and global communities. "Each of these crises has only heightened the vital role African nations and people play to address the global challenges that drive our global progress," Biden said. "We can’t solve any of these challenges without African Leadership at the table." The U.S., for example, worked with African nations to distribute millions of doses of vaccines to combat Covid, Biden continued, and invested in the continent's capacity to manufacture its own vaccines, testing and treatment options.

☆ 10 years after Sandy Hook, Biden says Americans should have 'societal guilt' for gun violence
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | 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 — Marking a decade since the Sandy Hook school shooting, President Joe Biden said Wednesday the U.S. must do more to tackle the nation's gun violence epidemic and that people should have "societal guilt" for taking too long to address it. "I am determined to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines like those used at Sandy Hook and countless other mass shootings in America." He reiterated his call on Congress to pass a ban after the mass shooting last month at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs. Biden was vice president when the Sandy Hook shooting occurred, and then-President Barack Obama tasked Biden with leading the effort to reduce gun violence. Before this year, the closest Congress had come to passing significant legislation to address gun violence was in the months after the Sandy Hook massacre.

☆ House GOP’s inclusion of 'salacious' Commanders cheerleaders photos in official memo draws blowback
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | 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

WASHINGTON — Lawyers for more than 40 former Washington Commanders employees are demanding that House Republicans remove "sexualized and salacious photographs" of the NFL team's cheerleaders featured in a GOP-written memo about the football team. (The GOP report put black boxes over the women's faces and some body parts.) In a statement, a Republican Oversight Committee aide criticized the Democrats' report and defended the GOP memo. "Prior to circulating the internal memo, Committee staff took steps to ensure all sensitive images involving cheerleaders were redacted and their identities kept confidential. As we have said from the beginning, the Oversight Committee is not the proper venue for this investigation.

The bill would "protect Americans by blocking and prohibiting all transactions from any social media company in, or under the influence of, China, Russia, and several other foreign countries of concern," the lawmakers said in a news release. The lawmakers said the bill aims to protect Americans from foreign adversaries who might use certain social media to surveil Americans, learn sensitive data about them, and spread influence campaigns or propaganda. In June, BuzzFeed News reported that China-based employees of ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, had accessed nonpublic data about U.S. users. TikTok denied turning over any U.S. data to Chinese officials and said it never would, though it acknowledged that Chinese employees have some access to it. In a statement responding to Maryland's ban, a TikTok spokesperson said, “We believe the concerns driving these bans are largely fueled by misinformation about our company.

WASHINGTON — Doug Emhoff is set to convene a roundtable with Jewish leaders and other experts Wednesday to discuss the rise of antisemitism and efforts to counter hate nationwide. The White House announced Monday that the roundtable hosted by the second gentleman will include White House Domestic Policy Adviser Susan Rice; Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism; and Keisha Lance Bottoms, senior adviser to the president for public engagement. Antisemitism in the U.S. hit record highs last year, according to the Anti-Defamation League, which has been tracking antisemitic incidents since 1979. During an unrelated event Friday, Emhoff spoke briefly about the effects of widespread antisemitism. Former President Donald Trump hosted several people who have espoused antisemitic beliefs for dinner last month, including Ye, white nationalist Nick Fuentes and Milo Yiannopoulos.

Prosecutors in the Trump Organization tax fraud trial said in their closing arguments Friday that the former president sanctioned what became a sweeping 15-year scheme to compensate top company executives off the books. “Donald Trump is explicitly sanctioning tax fraud. “This whole narrative that Donald Trump is blissfully ignorant is just not real.”Attorneys for the defense objected to the late-trial move by the prosecution, which also mentioned Trump at the beginning of closing arguments on Thursday. The 15-count indictment in the case charges the company and longtime CFO Allen Weisselberg with scheming to defraud, tax fraud and falsifying records. Donald Trump stands next to Allen Weisselberg at a news conference in the lobby of Trump Tower on Jan. 11, 2017.

WASHINGTON — The Senate reached an agreement Thursday to hold votes aimed at avoiding an economically catastrophic rail strike, one day after the House approved such a measure. The Senate typically takes days of procedural votes to pass a bill, but lawmakers reached unanimous agreement in this case to vote within minutes. In the Senate, the first two votes are expected to fail, and the House deal is expected to pass. The president said he’ll continue to fight for paid leave after the agreement is approved by Congress and a rail strike is averted. “We’re going to avoid the rail strike, keep the rails running, keep things moving, and we’re gonna go back and we’re gonna get paid leave not just for rail workers, but for all workers.”

☆ Trump's tax returns now in the hands of House Democrats after lengthy court battle
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Ali-Vitali-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Ali Vitali | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON — A Democratic-led House committee is now in possession of six years of former President Donald Trump’s tax returns after a multiyear court fight. CNN first reported that the committee had received the tax returns. Republicans have made clear they're not interested or concerned about Trump's tax records. Unlike other recent presidents, Trump has refused to make his tax returns public amid scrutiny of his business affairs, repeatedly claiming that he's being audited by the IRS. But the legal battle began in April 2019, shortly after Democrats took control of the House, when Neal asked for Trump’s returns and those of related business entities.

☆ Jan. 6 committee to release transcripts of interviews along with report, expected before Christmas, Thompson says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | 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 — The House Jan. 6 committee will release transcripts of interviews investigators conducted in the course of their investigation into the attack on the Capitol, the panel's chairman, Bennie Thompson, said Wednesday. "We plan to make available transcripts and other materials," Thompson, D-Miss., told reporters on Capitol Hill. The chairman did not say whose interviews would be provided or specify the number of transcripts that would be released. A House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the Capitol hearing in Washington, D.C. on June 13. Since it formed in 2021, the committee has conducted more than 1,000 interviews and depositions and has received hundreds of thousands of documents.

☆ McConnell after Trump-Fuentes dinner: Anyone meeting with antisemites 'unlikely to ever be elected president'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | 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

And anyone meeting with people advocating that point of view, in my judgment, are highly unlikely to ever be elected president of the United States." The comments were McConnell's first about the dinner since Trump hosted Ye (the rapper formerly known as Kanye West), Fuentes and others last week. He has no place in this Republican Party. I think President Trump came out four times and condemned him and didn't know who he was." While Trump claimed he didn't know who Fuentes was, he has not condemned him since the dinner.

☆ Former Trump deputy chief of staff Ornato, a key witness on Jan. 6, to appear before House committee
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Ryan Nobles | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON — Tony Ornato, who served as deputy White House chief of staff under Donald Trump, is expected to appear Tuesday for an interview before the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, a person familiar with the panel's plans said. Ornato is considered a key witness on the events surrounding the Capitol riot and will likely be questioned about testimony from star witness Cassidy Hutchinson, who was an aide to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. She said Ornato told her Trump lunged at the steering wheel of the SUV he was in, demanding to be taken down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol. Officials from the Secret Service have questioned Hutchinson’s testimony, prompting the committee to bring some of them back for questioning under oath. After serving in the Trump White House, Ornato was an assistant director at the Secret Service until he left the agency in August for a job in the private sector.

WASHINGTON — The White House on Monday stepped up its criticism of former President Donald Trump's decision to host Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, and white supremacist Nick Fuentes for dinner at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. “This is something that’s important that we speak very clear about and we speak very, very forcefully about. “Bigotry, hate, and antisemitism have absolutely no place in America — including at Mar-A-Lago,” deputy White House press secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement Saturday. After news of the dinner became public, Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign went into damage control mode. Asked Saturday about Trump's dinner, President Joe Biden told reporters, "You don't want to hear what I think."

WASHINGTON — Former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway appeared Monday before investigators of the House select committee probing the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol. Conway spoke to the committee on the record, two sources familiar with her appearance said. Conway was seen entering a conference room in the O’Neill House Office Building with attorney Emmet Flood, who was a lawyer in former President Donald Trump's White House. When she left the meeting room for a break, Conway told reporters “I’m here voluntarily.” Asked when she last spoke with Trump by a reporter, Conway said he called her last week. Conway worked as a senior counselor to Trump from the beginning of his term through Aug. 2020.

☆ White House says 'everyone has the right to peacefully protest' after China Covid demonstrations intensify
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | 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 — The White House on Monday issued a statement in support of peaceful protesters in China after demonstrations against the country's zero-Covid policy intensified this weekend. “We’ve long said everyone has the right to peacefully protest, in the United States and around the world,” a White House National Security Council spokesperson said in a statement. “Zero COVID is not a policy we are pursuing here," the spokesperson said. The Chinese government argues its pandemic strategy has saved lives and is necessary to protect the fragile health care system from being overwhelmed. The latest deaths bring China’s official toll to more than 5,000, compared with more than 1 million in the United States.

☆ Trump encourages GOP to 'fight' special counsel decision as Republicans attack DOJ
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

In an interview with Fox News, Trump said he has been "going through this for six years," referring to various investigations into his actions, including both impeachments and special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe. A Trump campaign spokesman added that, "This is a totally expected political stunt by a feckless, politicized, weaponized Biden Department of Justice." Trump noted that the announcement of a special counsel comes just days after he announced a 2024 White House bid, which Garland said was a factor in his decision to seek an independent prosecutor. Asa Hutchinson, who has sometimes rebuked Trump, said in a statement that Garland's decision was "not good news for our country." Garland named John L. Smith, known as Jack Smith, a prosecutor at The Hague and a former federal prosecutor, to begin serving as special counsel “immediately."

☆ Jan. 6 committee interviews former Trump secret service agent Bobby Engel
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | 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 — The Jan. 6 committee on Thursday interviewed Bobby Engel, who was the lead Secret Service agent for then-President Donald Trump when the insurrection took place, three sources familiar told NBC News. Engel could provide key testimony related to information shared by Cassidy Hutchinson, who was a top aide to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. Ornato and Engel both testified before the committee prior to Hutchinson’s testimony. The Secret Service provided congressional investigators with more than 1 million electronic communications sent by agents in the lead-up to and during the insurrection at the Capitol, according to two sources familiar with the matter, NBC News reported in October. At the beginning of November, committee investigators were scheduled to meet with a Secret Service agent who was in the lead car of Trump’s motorcade on the day of the riot at the Capitol.

☆ Child on bus of migrants from Texas hospitalized for dehydration, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Philadelphia officials lashed out at Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday after a 10-year-old girl who arrived in Philadelphia on a bus of migrants from Texas was hospitalized with dehydration and a fever. The busload included 28 people in total, including 23 adults and five children, Philadelphia officials said at a press conference Wednesday. "This information was confirmed late yesterday without coordination or warning by Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s office through a press release," Kenney said at the press conference held by city officials. In recent months, Abbott has repeatedly sent migrants on buses from Texas to other major cities, including New York and Washington, D.C. Florida Gov.

☆ Ivanka skips Trump's 2024 announcement: 'I do not plan to be involved in politics'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | 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 — Ivanka Trump, who was a senior White House adviser during the Trump administration, says she’s taking a break from politics. Former President Donald Trump's eldest daughter did not attend his speech Tuesday night at his Mar-a-Lago in Florida, where he announced his 2024 bid for the White House. It was not immediately clear whether her husband, Jared Kushner, who was also a senior White House adviser, would play a role in the campaign. Ivanka Trump, 41, was the director of the Office of Economic Initiatives and Entrepreneurship. Since they left government last year, both Kushner and Ivanka Trump have remained in the political spotlight to some extent.

☆ Judge blocks Trump-era border rule known as Title 42 that expelled migrants at U.S. border
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Julia-Ainsley-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Julia Ainsley | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

“Title 42 was a misuse of the public health laws from the beginning and has cause grace harm to tens of thousands of desperate asylum seekers. The practical significance of the ruling cannot be overstated,” Lee Gelernt of the ACLU, one of the lead attorneys on the case to end Title 42, told NBC News on Tuesday. He added that Sullivan's ruling essentially overrides the Louisiana court’s decision to stop the Biden administration from ending Title 42. But before the Biden administration lifted the rule, U.S. District Judge Robert Summerhays of the Western District of Louisiana issued a preliminary injunction, blocking officials from ending it. Single adults and families encountered will continue to be expelled, where appropriate, under Title 42.”The Biden administration has faced criticism on both sides of the aisle for its handling of Title 42.

WASHINGTON — Races for more than a dozen House seats remained uncalled as of Monday afternoon, leaving political control of the chamber unknown nearly a week after voting in the 2022 midterms general election cycle concluded. Most of the 18 House seats that NBC News has not called are in California. That includes the competitive race between GOP Rep. David Valadao and his Democratic challenger Rudy Salas to represent the state's 22nd Congressional District. NBC News estimates Republicans will hold 219 seats, while Democrats will control 216 seats, with a plus-or-minus 4-seat margin of error. Members of the House Republican Conference are set to hold their closed-door election to pick their leaders for the new Congress on Tuesday.

☆ Reporter says she was knocked off balance when she shouted question about human rights ahead of Biden-Xi meeting
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | 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 White House pool reporter says she was knocked off balance Monday when she tried to shout a question about human rights ahead of a meeting between President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Ahead of their first in-person bilateral meeting since Biden took office, ABC News producer Molly Nagle said she tried to shout a question to Biden about whether he planned to raise human rights in his meeting with Xi in Bali, Indonesia. Another member of the White House staff also approached and told the man not to touch her either, she wrote in the pool report. The Chinese government has been accused of human rights violations and genocide against Uyghurs and other ethnic groups. On a video call in May, Xi defended his country’s record to the top human rights official at the United Nations.

☆ Customs and Border Protection chief refusing request to step down, DHS official says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | 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 — The commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the federal agency in charge of border security, is refusing to step down from his job after a request by the Biden administration, an official from the Department of Homeland Security told NBC News. As the head of CBP, Chris Magnus, 62, oversees more than 60,000 employees whose missions focus on counterterrorism, border security and trade enforcement. The Los Angeles Times was first to report the news that Magnus was asked to resign. Magnus has served in the role since Dec. 2021 after being narrowly confirmed by the Senate in a 50-47 mostly party-line vote. He had previously served as chief of police in Tucson, Ariz., from 2016 to 2020, resigning after a civilian died while in police custody.

WASHINGTON — Americans were still waiting Friday to learn which party will control the House and Senate next year. Three days after final ballots were cast in the 2022 midterm elections, more than two dozen House races have not yet been called, with a number of them in California and other areas in the western half of the country. Republicans have a better chance of winning a majority in the House, though the Democrats still have a chance to retain control. As of Friday morning, Republicans have won 211 seats, Democrats have won 197 and 27 races remain uncalled. The Senate also hangs in the balance, as results in key races in Arizona and Nevada have not been decided.

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