Axios

A federal jury on Friday convicted a QAnon believer who led a charging mob that was trying to breach the Senate chamber during the Capitol riot, NBC News reports.

Driving the news: Douglas Austin Jensen, of Iowa, was one of the first people to breach the Capitol during the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, as then-President Trump's followers sought to block the certification of the 2020 election results.

Former President Trump’s claim this week that presidents can declassify documents “even by thinking about it” did not square with former vice president Mike Pence’s top aide.

Driving the news: Marc Short, Pence's former chief of staff, called Trump’s assertion "absurd” in an interview with CBS News on Friday.

The White House on Saturday ripped an Arizona court decision reinstating a near-total ban on abortion that dates to 1864.

Driving the news: "The potential consequences of this ruling are catastrophic, dangerous and unacceptable," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

Intelligence officers will resume a national security risk assessment of material seized from former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate after a federal appeals panel ruling earlier this week, Politico reports.

Catch up quick: The Department of Justice had previously been blocked from examining Trump's storage of the sensitive government records, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit granted a partial stay in a ruling on Wednesday.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is swamping his state's airwaves, far eclipsing rival Charlie Crist (D) in the sheer number of TV ads aired, data shows.

Why it matters: Advertising volume isn't everything. But such a significant mismatch can spell trouble in the final leg of a campaign.

A Mississippi man has been charged with hate crime and arson violations for burning a cross in a bid to threaten a Black family, the Justice Department announced Friday.

The big picture: The Klu Klux Klan wielded cross burnings as a symbol of racial hatred and terror, with white supremacists deliberately targeting Black neighborhoods. Though less frequent today, the intimidation tactic remains a tool for racism and oppression.

A Pima County judge ruled on Friday that Arizona's pre-statehood ban on most abortions will go into effect following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.

Driving the news: Judge Kellie Johnson ruled that years of subsequent abortion restrictions that are less lenient than the territorial-era ban don't negate it.

Allies of former President Trump are creating a new super PAC called MAGA Inc., according to paperwork filed Friday with the Federal Election Commission.

The big picture: The PAC is expected to be the main channel for funneling money into key midterm races and could become a part of Trump's campaign finance infrastructure if he runs for a second presidential term in 2024, AP writes.

House Republicans have withdrawn their advertising for Ohio Republican J.R. Majewski, a MAGA-aligned candidate who was at the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riots, Axios has learned.

What's happening: The National Republican Congressional Committee withdrew about $1 million in ad reservations for the district, according to a GOP source familiar with its strategy, all but surrendering the seat to Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur.

Republican governors have transported over 10,000 migrants from the southern border to Democratic strongholds this year, sparking a political firestorm over immigration policies less than two months before November's midterm election.

The big picture: The tactic, started by the governor of Texas in April, reached a fever pitch after migrants were flown to Martha's Vineyard and dropped off in front of the vice president's house last week.

The White House is launching a talent search to be ready for turnover in President Biden's cabinet and other senior administration roles after the 2022 midterm elections.

Driving the news: White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain has tapped former administration officials Jeff Zients and Natalie Quillian to help oversee a wide talent search effort outside the administration to bring in new talent, an administration official told Axios.

Mehmet Oz, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, on Friday released his health records, as he competes in a closely watched race against the state’s Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D), who suffered a stroke in May.

Why it matters: The move comes as the Oz campaign continues to spotlight — and question — the health of Fetterman, whose stroke occurred just days before winning the Democratic nomination for Pennsylvania's open U.S. Senate seat.

An amended autopsy report made public Friday has changed the cause of death for Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man who died after police officers put him in a chokehold in 2019, from "undetermined" to complications from administration of the sedative ketamine after forcible restraint.

The big picture: Nationwide protests against police brutality in 2020 renewed attention on McClain's death. Though the Aurora, Colorado police department found no policy violations in an earlier investigation, an independent probe concluded that officers had no legal basis to stop, frisk or use a chokehold on McClain.

The Biden administration is giving $1.5 billion in funding to states and territories to help curb the U.S. opioid crisis, the White House said Friday.

Why it matters: Deaths from overdoses hit a new record of more than 107,000 throughout the 12-month period ending in December 2021, according to provisional data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

World Bank President David Malpass said Friday that he will not resign, less than one day after Axios reported that Biden administration officials may try to oust him.

The big picture: Malpass apologized for remarks he made this week when he would not answer whether climate change was caused by humans. "I don't know — I'm not a scientist," he said during the event, sparking international furor.

A group of anonymous employees at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is urging President Biden to fire DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari.

Why it matters: Cuffari, a Trump appointee, has been swept up in controversy since facing allegations of a cover-up in his office's investigation into deleted Jan. 6 Secret Service messages. Several Democrats have called on him to step down from his position.

The National Archives and Records Administration says the Department of Justice has asked the agency to not share information related to the Mar-a-Lago probe "to protect the integrity of DOJ’s ongoing work."

Driving the news: In a letter dated Thursday, acting archivist Debra Steidel Wall responded to questions from Republicans on the House Oversight Committee about the agency's previous refusal to turn over records to the lawmakers.

Democrats are stepping up efforts to portray Sen. Lindsey Graham's proposed 15-week nationwide abortion ban as a de facto criminalization of certain forms of reproductive health care.

Driving the news: The White House's Gender Policy Council said in a memo obtained by Axios that the ban would "create a nationwide health crisis" and open the door to "doctors being thrown in jail if they fulfill their duty of care to patients according to their best medical judgment."

The Biden administration's top border official blamed Republican governors for luring more migrants to the U.S. with promises of free relocation to Washington, New York and elsewhere, NBC News reported Friday.

Driving the news: Chris Magnus, the Customs and Border Protection commissioner, said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Florida Gov. Ron Desantis and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey are "lying" to migrant families about housing, job opportunities and other support they will receive once they're in the northern cities.

Former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, in his first televised interview since retiring from the bench in June, lamented the court's reversal of Roe v. Wade, saying he is "very, very, very sorry" about it.

Driving the news: "Was I happy about it? Not for an instant. Did I do everything I could to persuade people? Of course, of course," Breyer told CNN's Chris Wallace of the court's Dobbs decision.

Biden officials have considered trying to oust World Bank President David Malpass, who took office during the Trump administration, because they believe he's weak on climate, according to people familiar with the matter.

Why it matters: Administration officials are deeply concerned by Malpass' failure to answer this week when asked if climate change was caused by humans. His response provides ammunition to officials who want Biden to spend some political capital to attempt to remove him.

With midterms right around the corner, last week saw a bump in voters showing interest in immigration over abortion.

• Plus, the U.S. sanctions Iran, after the death of a woman in police custody.
• And, passengers say they’re more frustrated with U.S. airports.

Guests: Axios' Margaret Talev and Laurin-Whitney Gottbrath.

Credits: Axios Today is produced by Erica Pandey, Sara Kehaulani Goo, Alexandra Botti, Lydia McMullen-Laird, Fonda Mwangi, Alex Sugiura. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at [email protected]. You can text questions, comments and story ideas to Niala as a text or voice memo to 202-918-4893.

Go Deeper

• Search interest in abortion falls as the border rises
• Ginni Thomas agrees to interview with Jan. 6 select committee
• U.S. sanctions Iran's morality police over death of woman in custody

House Republicans will roll out their four-part midterm agenda Friday with the blessing of a surprising group — Democrats, who see plenty there to campaign against.

Driving the news: After the agenda language was accidentally released ahead of the rollout, Dems seized on the GOP's pledge to "protect the lives of unborn children and their mothers," as well as sections taking aim at Democrats' much-heralded drug pricing law and proposing ballot access restrictions.

Residents in Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine began voting in referendums on joining Russia on Friday morning.

The big picture: Russian-installed leaders were holding votes in the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions from Friday through Tuesday in what's been widely slammed by Ukrainian, Western and other world leaders as a sham that could lead to the annexation of nearly 15% of Ukraine.

A jury found Project Veritas liable in a federal civil case for fraudulently misrepresenting itself and violating wiretapping laws after the conservative group targeted a Democratic political consulting firm in an undercover operation, per the New York Times.

The big picture: Project Veritas founder James O'Keefe said on the group's YouTube channel Thursday night they'll appeal the verdict after the jury awarded the consulting firm, Democracy Partners, $120,000 in the case.

House Homeland Security Committee chair Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) on Thursday joined the chorus of calls urging the federal government to investigate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' (R) transport of migrants.

Why it matters: Thompson is urging the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice to probe whether coercion was involved after some of the migrants filed a lawsuit against DeSantis alleging Florida officials used "bold-faced lies" to mislead them about the flights.

A U.S. Army reservist, whom prosecutors described as a white supremacist and Nazi sympathizer, was sentenced to four years in prison on Thursday for his role during the U.S. Capitol riot.

Driving the news: Timothy Louis Hale-Cusanelli, 32, of Colts Neck, New Jersey, was working as a contractor at a naval weapons station during the time of the insurrection, which he described to a friend as "exhilarating" and said he was hoping for a "civil war," per a Department of Justice statement.

Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund is pouring $1 million into new television ads urging Wisconsin voters to oust Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), accusing him of enabling rising crime and gun violence, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: The attack on Johnson is one of the most prominent examples of Democrats flipping the script against Republicans on the issue of crime — which has become a potent GOP attack in the final stretch of the midterms — by tying it to gun safety.