👀 McConnell breaks with McCarthy on Ukraine & touts military aid already approved “on an overwhelming bipartisan basis.”
“A Republican majority in the Senate will focus its oversight on ensuring timely delivery of needed weapons and greater allied assistance to Ukraine...”
NEW: As GOP divisions on Ukraine aid spill into public view once again, the White House is considering one last big $$$ request before Republicans likely win the House.
“This is no time to slow down, let alone stop,” says GOP Rep Fitzpatrick
Privately, Biden aides think McCarthy will blink. But for many on the Hill, including lots of Republicans, his comments to Punchbowl this week only heightened the urgency to include a big Ukraine aid package in the omnibus in December — right before GOP likely takes over.
Former VP Pence today denounced Republicans who “would have us disengage with the wider world.”
Fitzpatrick: “Nobody’s talking about a blank check...This is a historical thing where war fatigue sets in, and this is the big risk.”
BREAKING — The U.S. intelligence community will assess potential damages to national security stemming from Trump’s handling of documents seized at Mar-a-Lago, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told top lawmakers Friday
Haines to Maloney/Schiff: ODNI will lead an “assessment of the potential risk to national security that would result from the disclosure of the relevant documents.” She says this will not “unduly interfere with DOJ’s ongoing criminal investigation.”
HAINES: “The DOJ and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence are working together to facilitate a classification review of relevant materials, including those recovered during the search.”
This is the admin’s first known engagement w/ Congress on the issue.
Here’s DOJ explaining, in the memorandum of law just unsealed, why releasing the affidavit without redactions would harm the investigation and lead to the harassment/intimidation of witnesses.
“For example...”
“Meanwhile, FBI agents who have been publicly identified in connection with this investigation have received repeated threats of violence from members of the public...”
House Intel Republicans start off their press conference by condemning violence against law enforcement & expressing support for FBI rank and file
“There were many other options available to them,” Rep. Turner says. He also said it’s “disturbing” that there was apparently an informant around Trump.
Rep. Stefanik, House GOP conference chair and HPSCI member, condemns “weaponization” of DOJ against Biden’s “political opponents”
Stefanik says agency leadership “continues to protect Hunter Biden”
1/ Just got off the phone with Rep. Turner, the top R on House Intel, who made a more nuanced case for seeking info on the Mar-a-Lago search — rather than a knee-jerk defense of Trump w/o knowing the basis for the raid, as we’ve seen from other GOPers.
2/ Turner argues the only possible justification for this kind of search of an ex-POTUS’ home is if there’s a clear national security threat related to Trump’s possession of WH docs. As of now, he doesn’t know of one.
“This is not like he has 10 library books he hasn’t returned”
3/ “Trump has more classified information in his head than he could possibly have in his desk,” Turner told me. “What is it that rises to the level that they would raid his home to seek? ... Unless there is a true national security threat, this is clearly an overreach.”