Tipsheet: DOJ raises stakes with rarely used sedition charges for Oath Keepers

View in your browser     DOJ raises stakes with rarely used sedition charges for Oath Keepers By Rebecca Beitsch and Harper Neidig   The seditious conspiracy charges brought by the Justice Department Thursday against the leader of the Oath Keepers and other members of the right-wing group signals the government is prepared to take on an ambitious fight to show that they joined the Jan. 6 attack as part of a coordinated effort to deny President Biden the White House. The indictment contains the first sedition charges that have been brought in the wake of the riot and mark a significant escalation in prosecutors’ efforts by drawing a connection between the physical acts of mayhem that day with the broader effort by former President Trump’s supporters to obstruct Biden from taking office. Read the full story here     GOP's McCarthy has little incentive to work with Jan. 6 panel By Rebecca Beitsch and Scott Wong   With his eye on the Speaker’s gavel, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has almost no political incentive to cooperate with the special Jan. 6 committee. Read the full story here     Trump slams Biden, repeats unsubstantiated election fraud claims at first rally of 2022 By Julia Manchester   Former President Trump held his first rally of the midterm year in Arizona on Saturday, taking the opportunity to hit President Biden and continue to voice his unsubstantiated claims about election fraud in the 2020 presidential election.  Read the full story here     Pence says both Capitol riot and nixing filibuster are a 'power grab' By Lexi Lonas   Former Vice President Mike Pence made the case against Democrats' push to nix the legislative filibuster in order to pass sweeping voting legislation.  In an op-ed published by The Washington Post Friday, Pence stated that both the Capitol riot that took place on Jan. 6, 2021, and the Democrats' attempt to change Senate rules amounted to a “power grab.” Read the full story here       Biden's voting rights gamble prompts second-guessing By Brett Samuels   President Biden spent the past two weeks expending significant political capital in pushing for voting rights legislation that appears doomed to fail in the Senate, prompting second-guessing about whether the White House raised expectations to its own detriment. Read the full story here     All hostages free, safe after hours-long standoff at Texas synagogue: governor By Brad Dress and Caroline Vakil   Hostages were released from a Texas synagogue after an hours-long standoff that began Saturday morning and extended into the night, according to Gov. Greg Abbott (R). Read the full story here     Harris takes fresh start to 2022 By Amie Parnes   Vice President Kamala Harris is undergoing a fresh start in 2022.  Since the new year began, Harris has been front and center, alongside President Biden in delivering speeches on the Jan. 6 anniversary of the Capitol insurrection and on voting rights earlier this week in Atlanta. The vice president is also bringing in new aides, particularly on her communications team, as part of the refresh. On Thursday, she appeared on NBC's "Today" to talk about key issues, including COVID-19, currently facing the administration. Read the full story here     Sinema reignites 2024 primary chatter amid filibuster fight By Jordain Carney   Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) is pouring fuel onto talk of a 2024 Democratic primary challenge by digging into her opposition to changing the filibuster.   Read the full story here     Youngkin inaugurated as first GOP Virginia governor in over a decade By Caroline Vakil   Glenn Youngkin (R) was sworn in as Virginia’s governor on Saturday, marking the first time a Republican was inaugurated to the office in over a decade. Read the full story here     Fears of Russian invasion of Ukraine rise despite US push for diplomacy By Laura Kelly   U.S. officials are raising alarm that Russian threats of war against Ukraine are spiking dangerously despite the conclusion of a week of diplomatic meetings aimed at avoiding the outbreak of open conflict.  Read the full story here     Who has the guts to resist authoritarian rule? By Former Rep. Martin Frost (D-Texas)   OPINION | Thirty-two years ago, House Speaker Tom Foley (D-Wash.) appointed me chairman of a Special Bi-partisan House Task Force to help the parliaments of Central and Eastern Europe convert from authoritarian Communist rule to democracy after the fall of the Berlin Wall. We ultimately worked in nine countries including Lithuania, the original home of my mother’s family.   Current day congressional Republicans could learn a lot from anti-communist dissidents who emerged to work for democracy in that part of the world even though a few of these countries have now backslid to right-wing authoritarian rule.   Read the full story here     Voting rights are essential for environmental justice and climate action By Carla Walker   OPINION | If national legislation is not passed to protect voting rights, the bills currently on the table in states across the country will disproportionately thwart Black voters and other marginalized communities from casting their votes. This would not only serve as a huge blow to American democracy, but it would also be a step backward for environmental justice and climate action. Read the full story here     The Washington Post: The Justice Dept. alleged Jan. 6 was a seditious conspiracy. Now will it investigate Trump? By Matt Zapotosky, Josh Dawsey, Tom Hamburger and Rachel Weiner   The Justice Department’s decision to charge Oath Keepers with seditious conspiracy last week makes clear that prosecutors consider the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol part of an organized assault to prevent the peaceful transfer of presidential power. Read the full story here     The New York Times: Trump rally underscores GOP tension over how to win in 2022 By Jeremy W. Peters   Donald Trump’s rally in Arizona on Saturday featured a host of election deniers. His involvement in state races and his inability to let go of his 2020 loss worries many Republicans. Read the full story here     The Wall Street Journal: Omicron surge spurs new COVID-19 relief push in Congress By Brody Mullins    Many in GOP say taxpayers have spent enough, but gyms, minor league ball clubs and others say they were largely left out of previous aid. Read the full story here     The Associated Press: Microsoft discloses malware attack on Ukraine govt networks By Frank Bajak   Microsoft said late Saturday that dozens of computer systems at an unspecified number of Ukrainian government agencies have been infected with destructive malware disguised as ransomware, a disclosure suggesting an attention-grabbing defacement attack on official websites was a diversion. The extent of the damage was not immediately clear. Read the full story here     Reuters: Loud blasts heard in western Iran, cause unknown - reports By Reuters staff   Loud blasts were heard in several cities in western Iran early on Sunday, according to local news agencies and postings on social media, but the nature of the blasts was not immediately known. Read the full story here         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for The Hill Tipsheet       Forward this Tipsheet   You Might Like       Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©1998 - 2022 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved.

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