ALERT: New House legislation would block Trump Admin from vacating Jan 6 seditious conspiracy cases

Bill would change rules of crim. procedure to “clarify federal judges have the authority to accept or reject the govt’s motion to dismiss ‘in the interests of justice”

(MORE) Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA) is the sponsor

Scanlon argues, “Reforming Rule 48a to ensure that federal judges have appropriate oversight over problematic prosecutorial decisions will reinforce an important check and balance to ensure the integrity of our justice system"

(MORE)

FLASH: Kash Patel has filed $250 million defamation lawsuit against the Atlantic

Filed here in DC Here's the 19-page civil complaint from Kash Patel against The Atlantic

Patel claims "Defendants published the Article with actual malice, despite being expressly warned, hours before publication, that the central allegations were categorically false"

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…

FLASH: Federal judge James Boasberg QUASHED subpoenas from Trump Admin into Fed chair Jerome Powell

Judge: "A mountain of evidence suggests that the Government served these subpoenas on the Board to pressure its Chair into voting for lower interest rates or resigning. On the other side of the scale, the Government has produced essentially zero evidence to suspect Chair Powell of a crime" Trump's Truth Social posts appear to have gravely injured his attempt to get a criminal case against Jerome Powell

From judge's opinion to quash subpoena of Powell ===>

ALERT: KASH PATEL FLIGHTS

Sen. Dick Durbin says whistleblower has revealed "in the immediate aftermath of the murder of Charlie Kirk, the FBI’s shooting reconstruction team was asked to fly to Utah to aid the investigation and process the scene. However, the team’s deployment was delayed by at least a day because of a Bureau plane and pilot shortage caused by the Director’s personal flights" Sen. Durbin also says "The Director’s misplaced priorities and poor management of the FBI’s resources—including its aircraft—also harmed the FBI’s ability to respond to the shooting at Brown University on December 13, 2025. Once again, the shooting reconstruction team was set to respond to the scene immediately, but was unable to fly out of Richmond, Virginia, using one of the FBI’s planes."

MASSIVE loss for Trump. Supreme Court strikes down Trump tariffs in major setback for economic agenda

cbsnews.com/news/supreme-c… Rep Brendan Boyle (D-PA): “This ruling is a victory for every American family paying higher prices because of Trump’s tariff taxes. The Supreme Court rejected Trump’s attempt to impose what amounted to a national sales tax on hardworking Americans”

ALERT: Justice Dept failed in attempt to indict six congressional Democrats who drew President Trump's ire last year by taping a video telling members of the military that they must reject "illegal orders," according to three sources familiar

cbsnews.com/news/grand-jur… Enormous loss by Trump Admin

They continue to face rejections from grand juries in America

NOW: Jack Smith testifies publicly in US House Judiciary Committee hearing -- to detail his criminal case against Trump for attempting to overturn the 2020 election

In the front row: Four Jan 6 police responders (Harry Dunn, Aquilino Gonell, Dan Hodges, Michael Fanone) Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) lays down the bottom line of Jack Smith's prior closed-door interview w/ committee

About the Jan 6 attack, Smith said "he caused it... he exploited it.... it was foreseeable to him."

NEW: 80 cosponsors to US House bill seeking impeachment of Kristi Noem

Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL)
Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN)
Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN)
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN)
Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-IL)
Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL)
Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL)
Rep. Y. Clark (D-NY)

(MORE) Rep. Juan Vargas (D-CA)
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)
Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-IL)
Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA)
Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL)
Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-NM)
Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY)
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY)

(MORE)

NEW: Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) has filed a federal civil lawsuit against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Hegseth recently began a process to demote and cut the retirement pay of Sen. Mark Kelly

Kelly's lawsuit seeks a judicial review of the agency's action

FLASH: Sen Thom Tillis (R-NC) is on Senate floor and he's about to make a motion for "unanimous consent" to expedite the hanging of the January 6th plaque at the Capitol

To honor the police heroes Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) speaks first: "In 2022, we passed a law .. saying we'd hang this plaque"

"I'm here to team up with my colleague from North Carolina to have a strategy to make sure we *do* have this plaque up"

JAN 6 - 5 years later

Some pardoned rioters are retracing their march from the Ellipse to the Capitol

Some victims are part of a 10am hearing organized by House Democrats

And: Anger, toxicity and confrontation continue to define Jan 6. Still. Poltico Playbook on Jan 6 just now:

“Today D.C., and much of America, is deeply divided about what happened.

That lack of consensus represents a triumph, of sorts, for Donald Trump, and stands as testament to his unmatched ability both to reshape political narratives and to carry his supporters to extraordinary positions”

NEW: House Speaker Mike Johnson – after two years of deflecting questions on the matter – is now arguing that the legally-required January 6 plaque must be re-considered

(more) In a statement tonight, a spokesperson for Speaker Johnson says:

"As written, the statute authorizing this plaque is not implementable, and proposed alternatives devised by Democrat House staff, not members, also do not comply with the statute. If Democrats are serious about commemorating the work of USCP officers, they are free to work with the appropriate committees of jurisdiction to develop a framework for proper vetting and consideration, just as the House does for Congressional Gold Medals, commemorative gold coins, and similar ceremonial responsibilities”

ONE YEAR AFTER THE PARDONS:

Growing number of Jan 6 riot defendants are in new legal peril

HERE ARE SOME ====> Zachary Alam faces a hearing this month ahead of sentencing in a breaking-&-entering case in Henrico County, Virginia

Alam was convicted in October

On Jan 6, we was on frontlines outside House Speaker's Lobby and rioters confronted police and evacuating House members

(MORE)

ALERT: House Judiciary Committee releases 250+ page transcript of its interview of Special Counsel Jack Smith

Smith testified: "January 6th was an attack on the structure of our democracy in which over 140 heroic law enforcement officers were assaulted. Over 160 individuals later pled guilty to assaulting police that day. Exploiting that violence, President Trump and his associates tried to call Members of Congress in furtherance of their criminal scheme, urging them to further delay certification of the 2020 election. I did not choose those Members, President Trump did"

(MORE) Special Counsel Jack Smith interview w/ House Judiciary Committee (MORE)

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH): "You just made some pretty definitive statements about your belief that President Trump was guilty of these charges. Is that correct?"

Jack Smith: "Yes, I believe we had proof beyond a reasonable doubt in both cases"

Jordan: "And doesn't the Justice Manual prohibit prosecutors from asserting that a defendant is guilty of something before a jury makes a determination?"

Smith: "When a case is pending, yes."

STAND BY: Detention hearing at 1p in Capitol Hill Pipe Bomb Case

We *will* have access to our laptops here

Feds allege Brian Cole of Virginia has confessed

Defense to argue Justice Dept has made thin case, hasn't shown Cole is dangerous & made improper public statements Brian Cole enters court wearing khaki-colored prison garb. He has a four-person defense team at the table

First line of 39-page opinion from Judge Amir Ali in DC:

"The Constitution forbids government officials from using their power to retaliate against people for their speech.. even when the speech is critical of the government"

Judge restores security clearance to whistleblower attorney Mark Zaid

(MORE) Trump stripped Zaid's clearance in an executive order in opening days of 2nd term

Zaid told me Trump wanted him "taken off the playing field"

Zaid sued in DC federal court

(MORE)

Among the newly-released Epstein files. This Justice Dept email from Jan 2020

'I wanted to let you know that the flight records we received yesterday reflect that Donald Trump traveled on Epstein's private jet many more times than previously has been reported"

https://twitter.com/MacFarlaneNews/status/2003426216804761643

MORE: New batch of Epstein files shows a subpoena to Mar-a-Lago in the investigation of Ghislaine Maxwell

STAND BY:

At 930am, arguments begin here at DC federal court in the civil lawsuit brought by some U.S. House members against Trump, alleging he violated federal law by galvanizing the Jan 6 rioters and attack

Judge hears arguments on whether case should proceed Arguments are underway here in DC federal court in civil lawsuit by Members of Congress seeking damages from Trump for Jan 6

Question today: Will case be allowed to proceed?

NEW: Justice Dept files motion in court seeking to dismiss civil lawsuit filed by injured police officers who responded on Jan 6

Officers' suit sought court order to hang the legally-required Jan 6 honorary plaque for police

Justice Dept argues the plaque is faulty!

(MORE) The Justice Department argues that the plaque that's been shown on Capitol Hill "lists the names of approximately twenty-one law enforcement entities not the approximately 3,648 individual names of law enforcement personnel provided to the Architect"

ALERT: Former FBI agents file suit alleging "unlawful retaliation" against Kash Patel & FBI.. for firings over their kneeling response during DC unrest after George Floyd murder

Suit: "As a result of their tactical decision to kneel, the mass of people moved on without escalating to violence" The dozen fired FBI agents are seeking a court order to restore their jobs and provide backpay

Suit: "Plaintiffs were among the FBI personnel deployed during this period and saw the potential for violence first-hand" .. they say the kneeling was a de-escalation tool

FLASH: Judge rules James Comey criminal case is dismissed without prejudice. Judge determined the US Attorney Lindsey Halligan was not lawfully appointed

Here's the 29 page opinion: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco… Here it is from the federal judge:

"All actions flowing from Ms. Halligan’s defective appointment, including securing and signing Mr. Comey’s indictment, were unlawful exercises of executive power and are hereby set aside."