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☆ U.S. should've spied on Chinese health officials who were hiding what they knew about Covid, Congress says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Dilanianmug.Jpg | Ken Dilanian | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

U.S. intelligence agencies began warning that Covid-19 could become a pandemic just weeks after the coronavirus was first reported in China, but they missed an opportunity to better understand its spread because they didn’t quickly begin spying on Chinese health officials who were hiding what they knew, says a newly declassified report by the House Intelligence Committee. The report partly vindicates the CIA and other U.S. spy agencies, noting that they raised the specter of a pandemic well before the World Health Organization declared one on March 11, 2020. And it adds to the body of evidence showing that then-President Donald Trump misled the public about what he was hearing from advisers about the seriousness of the virus. Investigators said they were “unable to corroborate” reports by NBC News and ABC News that U.S. spies collected raw intelligence in November indicating a health crisis in Wuhan, China. The report says the first intelligence report mentioning the virus that would become known as coronavirus or Covid-19 came on the day of the first media report about it.

Trump’s post came after Twitter CEO Elon Musk promoted a series of tweets Friday revealing internal documents about how the company handled a New York Post article about Hunter Biden in 2020. While he said he “vehemently disagrees” with the former president’s statement, Turner did not directly answer the question, even after host Margaret Brennan pressed repeatedly. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., a vocal opponent of Trump who serves on the House Jan. 6 committee, called Trump's statement “insane." Meanwhile, Democrats swiftly rebuked Trump’s statement shortly after it was posted. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he “vociferously” condemns Trump’s remarks and urged his colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do the same.

☆ New poll suggests Americans' support for Ukraine is softening as GOP vows to slow the massive aid effort
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A new Morning Consult poll shows Ukraine is not a top foreign policy priority for US voters. The Ukraine war ranks sixth among Democrats and 10th among Republicans in foreign priorities. This comes as House Republicans signal they'll move to slow US aid to Kyiv. Earlier on in the war, polling showed strong support among US voters for US aid to Ukraine. The incoming Republican majority in the House has signaled that it won't support massive aid packages to Kyiv.

☆ Schiff says McCarthy will 'misrepresent his record' and oust him from his committee position thanks to the 'QAnon caucus'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Rep. Adam Schiff accused House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of following the "QAnon caucus." McCarthy, nominated for Speaker, pledged to remove Schiff from the House Intelligence Committee. However, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has said she would vote for McCarthy after he promised to reinstate her committee assignments. McCarthy has also pledged to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar and Rep. Eric Swalwell from their committees and investigate DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on his approach to border security. He will misrepresent Eric Swalwell or Ilhan Omar, whatever he needs to do to get the votes of the QAnon caucus within his conference."

☆ Schiff responds to McCarthy's threat to remove him from committee
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) responds to Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) threatening to remove him from the House Intelligence Committee if he's elected House Speaker.

☆ House election results put McCarthy on track for speaker, and Democrats on track for retribution
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( W. James Antle Iii | W. James Antle Iii Is The Washington Examiner'S Politics Editor | Author Of | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, likely the chamber’s next speaker, is holding firm to his pledge to strip three liberal Democrats of their committee assignments when the new Congress is seated next year. That’s not sitting well with Democrats, as they are about to enter the House minority for the first time in four years. By breaking tradition and meddling with committee assignments across the aisle, they had to know they were triggering years of partisan tit for tat. Republicans considered punishing her by taking her committee assignments, but Greene apologized for some of her worst statements, and her colleagues relented. Many lawmakers are discovering social media and cable news are a better path to influence than committee assignments.

House Democrats swiftly pushed back at Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy in response to his threat to strip them of their committee assignments if he is elected as speaker. After Republicans narrowly won back control of the House in the midterm elections, McCarthy this weekend doubled down on his pledge to remove several prominent House Democrats from their committee assignments if he becomes speaker. McCarthy said he would not allow Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., to serve on their committees. “He will adhere to the wishes of the lowest common denominator,” Schiff said when asked about McCarthy’s vow to remove him from the House Intelligence Committee. Removing Democrats from their committee assignments would require a vote of a majority of the House.

☆ Adam Schiff slams Kevin McCarthy after he promises to remove 3 prominent Dems from their committees: 'He will do whatever Marjorie Taylor Greene wants him to do'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Taiyler Simone Mitchell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is seeking to become House Speaker next year. He's promised to remove Rep. Adam Schiff and two other Democrats from their committees if elected. Some Republicans have criticized McCarthy — including Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who said that McCarthy has been "siding with the insurrectionists," and Rep. Liz Cheney, who called McCarthy the "leader of the pro-Putin wing." Under his leadership, he has said he will reinstate her on committee assignments despite her far-right ideologies. Representatives for McCarthy and Schiff did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

☆ Russia keeps mum on CIA director's warning over nuclear weapons
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Guy Faulconbridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] CIA Director William Burns speaks during a House Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats, in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 15, 2021. Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns warned Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia's SVR foreign intelligence service, about the consequences of any use of nuclear weapons, a White House official said. It was the first known high-level, face-to-face U.S.-Russian contact since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Zelenskiy said the CIA director had spent time in a bomb shelter before the two men met amid Russian missile strikes. Putin has said Russia will defend its territory with all available means, including nuclear weapons, if attacked.

Trump’s mendacity is arguably the Second Big Lie. Four years earlier, the Hillary Clinton campaign and leading Democrats refused to acknowledge the outcome of the 2016 election, by claiming Donald Trump was not a legitimate president. “He knows he’s an illegitimate president,” said Clinton, also three years later. She repeated this sentiment in 2020, telling The Atlantic the election “was not on the level,” and again when she called Trump’s win illegitimate. These two phenomena are inextricably linked: The 2016 election denial paved the way for Trump’s lies four years later.

☆ Former US ambassador says Putin using a nuke would spell 'the end of the Russian military'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A former US ambassador said Russian use of nukes in Ukraine would "end" Putin's military. Putin recently said he wouldn't use nuclear weapons, following earlier hints that he would. US intelligence learned that senior Russian military leaders recently held discussions over using a tactical nuclear weapons, as The New York Times reported. Russia is estimated to have around 2,000 tactical nuclear weapons amid an even larger stockpile of bigger, strategic nukes. "They also know that there would be a devastating military response against Russian forces if they did it," he said.

House Democrats have unified as they fight to retain their fragile majority in next month’s midterms. But given Biden’s unpopularity and the GOP lead on the generic congressional ballot (which asks only which party people would support), the more likely scenario is a bad election night for House Democrats. If Pelosi, Hoyer and Clyburn head for the exits, the leadership matchups become pretty clear. Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., conducts a news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center on Sept. 20. The Massachusetts Democrat has significant support from fellow female members and has stayed close to the Black, Hispanic and Asian caucuses — big voting blocs in the diverse 220-member Democratic Caucus.

☆ Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler clashed over Trump's first impeachment with Nadler saying Democrats' plans were 'unfair' and 'unconstitutional'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Rep. Jerry Nadler also reportedly pushed Democrats to have Trump's lawyers more involved. "It's unfair, and it's unprecedented, and it's unconstitutional," Nadler reportedly told Schiff, according to an excerpt from "Unchecked: The Untold Story Behind Congress's Botched Impeachments of Donald Trump." In the end, Schiff's House Intelligence Committee took the lead role in handling Trump's impeachment, a break from the historic tradition of the Judiciary Committee handling such proceedings. "I write the rules of my committee, not you," Nadler reportedly told his colleague once. Schiff, according to the book, retorted, "I don't really care about your resentment.

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