Afrigather Howdy whats up, OnPolitics readers!
It is Ella, again from a short OnPolitics hiatus. I’ve spent the final two days in a D.C. federal courtroom overlaying the trial of Capitol rioter Doug Jensen, probably the most high-profile instances tied to the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on our nation’s legislature.
Accounts of the chaos on the Capitol that day opened the second day of testimony in Jensen’s trial on Wednesday. A number of members of regulation enforcement who clashed with Jensen within the constructing’s halls, together with Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman, gave testimony for the prosecution, portraying Jensen as “aggressive, “smug,” and at one level, the “chief of the mob.” Read that coverage here.
There’s by no means been a query of whether or not Jensen was on the Capitol on Jan. 6. Ample picture and video proof present Jensen parading by means of the constructing, sporting a hard-to-miss “Q” t-shirt, in homage to the conspiracist motion QAnon. Jensen’s legal professional, Christopher Davis, mentioned plainly in his opening remarks that this is no “whodunnit” case.
As an alternative, the protection has painted Jensen as much less violent than different Capitol rioters — one of many rioters “wearing costume,” not “dressed for battle.”
I will be again at court docket tomorrow with extra updates on Jensen’s trial. Within the meantime, listed here are immediately’s prime tales out of Washington.
Actual fast: Tales you may wish to learn
- Save America’s spending: As Donald Trump labored to mount a authorized protection to an unprecedented federal search of his Mar-a-Lago property, one in every of a litany of escalating investigations with the previous president on the middle, his political motion committee’s bills for legal consulting skyrocketed, reporters Erin Mansfield and Kevin McCoy discovered.
- Trump investigation particular grasp: The particular grasp reviewing 11,000 paperwork seized at Donald Trump’s Florida property asked for help Thursday from a retired decide, Justice Division correspondent Bart Jansen studies.
- Antifa on trial: A prison case may change how American regulation enforcement tackles the much-misunderstood movement known as Antifa, writes extremism reporter Will Carless.
- Electoral Rely Act overhaul: The Home approved bipartisan legislation Wednesday to make clear how presidential Electoral Faculty votes are tallied and challenged, aiming to stop confusion and a repeat of the Capitol assault on Jan. 6, 2021.
- ICYMI: Supreme Court docket Justice Clarence Thomas’ spouse, Ginni Thomas, agreed to be questioned by the Home committee investigating the Capitol assault.
🗣️ What’s subsequent On Politics: Arizona’s secretary of state races are sometimes sleepy campaigns, however this yr’s contest will seize the nationwide highlight when the 2 main get together contenders conflict of their first debate tonight.
Verify again at USATODAY.com for protection of the takeaways.
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