Tuesday, September 29 | By Joshua Feldstein and Claire Leibowitz
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Smith faces hostile crowd in Senate Republicans: |
Former special counsel Jack Smith testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday morning, diving into his past investigations into President Trump.
"I stand by my decisions as Special Counsel, including my decision to bring charges against President Trump," Smith said in his opening statement.
Smith led a team of Justice Department investigators to determine if Trump would face charges in his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, and the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case. Both cases were wound down when Trump was re-elected.
"I made these decisions without regard to President Trump's political association, activities, beliefs, or candidacy in the 2024 presidential election,” Smith said.
Republicans made the counter case: Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) bashed Smith over his subpoenas issued as a part of his investigation into the president.
The subpoenas were used to track finances for conservative groups who sponsored and organized events surrounding the Jan. 6 events and election challenges.
"I can tell you why we issued subpoenas, and it was to conduct a criminal investigation of one of the most serious crimes that's ever happened in our nation's history." Smith said to Grassley.
In return, Grassley stated that “Donations to Republican groups wasn’t necessary for your investigation, which is proved out by the fact that it was not mentioned in your public report.”
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) ripped into Smith for seeking phone records of some Republican senators as part of his probe, accusing the attorney of not disclosing the requests to the judge overseeing his investigation.
“You make me want to throw up in my mouth,” Kennedy said, after repeatedly cutting off Smith.
Partisan problem: Smith told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he didn't understand why Republicans thought the investigation into Trump was a partisan effort.
"One of the reasons [Trump] was not able to take power, even though he was seeking to do these things, is because Republicans stood up,” he said.
Smith noted that Former Arizona House speaker Rusty Bowers and former Vice President Mike Pence, "did the right thing and put the interests of the country over the personal interests of Donald Trump" into the investigation.
Smith previously testified before the House Judiciary Committee in January on the matter.
💬 Follow today’s live blog for updates on the Jack Smith questioning
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A "really big deal" for college sports: |
On Monday night, the Senate passed the Protect College Sports Act, which makes various changes, including a cap on how much money in name, image and likeness (NIL) is being dished out to college athletes.
The Senate passed the bill 77-22, with President Trump calling it a "really big deal" on Truth Social.
"It will not only save college sports, it will save the colleges themselves," Trump continued.
Not just an NIL cap: According to The Hill's Dominick Mastrangelo, the bill provides the NCAA with federal antitrust protection from lawsuits around the organization's rule enforcement.
The Protect College Sports Act also emphasizes the recent trends in conference realignment, enforcing a minimum revenue share for big programs where football and basketball rake in a lot more money than smaller programs.
Additionally, the bill guarantees scholarships for 10 years after eligibility and gives athletes the opportunity to transfer once during their college career without having to sit out for a year.
Who wanted this passed?: It was a bipartisan effort led by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.).
Several conferences, including the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and Big Ten, endorsed the bill in July.
Who wants it dead: Democratic Sens. Cory Booker (N.J.) and Chris Murphy (Conn.) were two major critics of the bill, saying that it does not benefit student athletes, but rather the coaches getting paid and universities making money.
"This is a bill not about student athletes, it's about wealthy coaches and wealthy institutions and an NCAA who has enjoyed unbridled power for decades as we watch discrimination and hardships [for student athletes]," Booker said on Monday.
Organizations such as the NAACP, the AFL-CIO ad the Congressional Black Caucus have raised red flags over the bill's lack of emphasis on worker protections and who determines the future of Black athletes, coaches and agents and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
It now heads to the House, where it won’t be taken up until after the midterms.
🔎Read Mastrangelo’s full report on the Protect College Sports Act
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Tuesday’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Summit touts speakers like Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Vice President Vance and former boxing heavyweight Mike Tyson.
Leaders from the government, healthcare, agriculture and business worlds are gathering to discuss approaches to improving health across the country.
Packed agenda: There are 17 programs scheduled, including “Psychedelic Medicine, the Next Frontier,” “AI and Healthcare,” and “The MAHA Athlete.”
Russell Brand, a comedian expected to go to trial in London next month after pleading not guilty to three counts of rape, is moderating a panel with Mehmet Oz, administrator of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and Director of Medicaid Dan Brillman.
The day will end with an “exciting announcement” by the health secretary’s wife Cheryl Hines, and then a fireside chat between Vance and RFK Jr.
Here as friends: Health insurers are attending the summit to express that they are partners, not enemies, in making healthcare more accessible affordable.
Axios reports that UnitedHealth, Elevance and AHIP, a health insurance trade association, are set to participate in a panel with a top Medicare official.
Their appearance comes as health insurers have received bipartisan criticism amongst lawmakers and congressional candidates who vow to make healthcare more affordable and blame big companies for the inaccessibility.
Some people aren’t happy: Robert Malone, a former member of RFK Jr.’s vaccine advisory panel, said in a Substack post he was “genuinely taken aback” by the speaker list.
He said that the day is not devoted to the “physicians, scientists, farmers, parents, patients, medical-freedom advocates and independent researchers,” who spent years building the MAHA Movement.
“Instead, the program is heavily populated by executives from some of the largest health-care corporations in America, major hospital systems, health insurers, technology companies, venture-backed medical businesses and companies whose fortunes may depend upon decisions being made by the very federal agencies represented at the conference,” Malone wrote.
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AI concerns mount, not just at the Vatican: |
Pope Leo XIV said discussions need to be had about how to regulate artificial intelligence, emphasizing that it is one of the biggest challenges we are facing today.
"If someone were to ask me, 'Am I in panic mode?' No, I'm not. I sleep at night. I do think that the concerns raised by many of the experts, specialists in AI should be taken seriously," the pope told reporters Monday while leaving France for Vatican City.
"I don't think that, that his is 'fake news' as some have said to try and cause whether financial or some other kind of benefit," Leo continued.
The pope has been in the middle of the AI discussion since the conclave elected him, with him raising concerns on the technology shortly after he was elected.
Latest cause for concern: In recent weeks, rogue AI software has attempted multiple hacks on federal websites including the Department of Education and the Securities and Exchange Commission and Census Bureau, OpenAI revealed over the weekend.
Anthropic and OpenAI researcher Jacob Coxon has warned that there is "not enough time" for tech employees to consider the risks of what they are working on.
➤ AI-POWERED LAUNCH:
President Trump launched America.gov on Tuesday, a website that will use AI to help Americans find federal information.
“It’s the ultimate product. It’s called America when you think about it,” Trump said at the launch event. “With America.gov, the federal government no longer stands in your way, and it stands only at your service. And that’s what we’re doing. We’re simplifying it. We’re glamorizing it. We’re making it what it should be.”
Trump has said in recent weeks he is not worried about AI development and will refer to it was "super intelligence" moving forward.
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— The Trump administration's ban on $1 billion worth of Canadian goods went into effect on Tuesday. Restrictions were placed on dairy products, alcoholic beverages and motor vehicles.
— Democratic Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.), Tim Kaine (Va.) and Peter Welch (Vt.) are warning the Trump administration against interference ahead of Brazil’s presidential elections, according to a letter obtained exclusively by The Hill.
— Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed an executive order to suspend the state's gas tax for 30 days as prices soar due to the Iran war. The order went into effect at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, suspending the 33.3 cents per gallon tax on gasoline and 37.3 cents per gallon tax on diesel.
— Two Navy aviators were ejected as they landed their plane on a carrier off the coast of Virginia Monday evening. Two aviators assigned to Carrier Air Wing 3 ejected from their aircraft and four sailors on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower were injured, the U.S. military said.
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Associated Press: Hurricane Polo makes landfall in Baja California with forecast of 'life-threatening' winds
NBC News: Dengue fever surge in Florida shows the virus' growing threat in the U.S.
Politico: Democrats demand leaders of top AI labs hand over incident reports of 'rogue agents'
Reuters: Prosecutors reopen investigation into alleged 2024 gang rape at Cornell University
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The House is out and Senate is in. President Trump is in Washington. (All times EDT)
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12:30 p.m.: Trump will participate in a meeting and luncheon on artificial intelligence.
1:25 p.m.: Remarks from Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins at the MAHA Summit.
4 p.m.: Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces hearing to examine updates to the Golden Dome.
5 p.m.: Remarks from Vice President Vance at the MAHA Summit.
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☕ Celebrate: Today is National Coffee Day. Food Network highlighted 42 places to get some freebies today. We don’t endorse a caffeine crawl, but it would hypothetically be interesting to see how many boxes you could tick.
⚾The MLB postseason begins today! It all starts at 2 p.m. when the Philadelphia Phillies face off against the Atlanta Braves.
🏒The NHL also starts their season at 5 p.m., with the defending Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes hosting the Florida Panthers.
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Because you made it this far, here’s a recent Jimothy sighting. If you need the refresher, it’s that raccoon making its rounds around Seattle.
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400 N Capitol Street NW Suite 650, Washington, DC 20001
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