GOP members of the newly created House subcommittee investigating the "weaponization" of the federal governmentdiscussed the possibility of issuing subpoenas during their first closed-door meeting on Friday.
Why it matters: It's a clear indication of the aggressive posture and approach that the committee has been expected to take in probing federal law enforcement including the Justice Department and FBI.
The New Jersey man who used chemical spray to assault police officers, including the late Brian Sicknick, during the Jan. 6 insurrection was sentenced to 80 months in prison on Friday, the Washington Post reports.
The big picture: Sicknick suffered two strokes and died of natural causes the day after the Capitol attack. Julian Khater pleaded guilty in September to two felony charges for assaulting police officers with a dangerous weapon — pepper spray — and causing bodily injury.
Former Vice President Mike Pence on Friday said "mistakes were made" regarding the classified documents found at his home earlier this week.
Driving the news: "While I was not aware that those classified documents were in our personal residence, let me be clear: Those classified documents should not have been at my personal residence," Pence said during a speaking engagement at Florida International University.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen taunted Moscow that U.S.-led sanctions have impaired Russia's “ability to conduct war” and claimed their military is now scavenging to find crucial replacement parts for battlefield equipment.
Why it matters: Yellen made her comments in an interview with Axios in Johannesburg, South Africa, after warning government officials in Pretoria they shouldn’t violate U.S. sanctions.
Ronna McDaniel secured a fourthterm as chair of the Republican National Committee on Friday, following a bitter election over the leadership post, multipleoutlets reported.
Why it matters: The RNC chair election exposed GOP infighting after the Republican Party's showing in the midterm elections and conflict over the vision for the party before 2024.
Video footage of the attack on Paul Pelosi, the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was made public on Friday.
The big picture: The move comes after a coalition of 13 news organizations had pushed for the release of evidence in the case of David DePape, the suspect accused of attacking Paul Pelosi, NBC News reported.
Elon Musk met with several GOP congressional leaders this week, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), at the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C.
Driving the news:Twitter majority owner Musk tweeted Thursday evening that he met with McCarthy to "discuss ensuring that this platform is fair to both parties."
Former President Trump’s ex-attorney John Eastman is at risk of losing his law license in California for allegedly helping Trump execute "a strategy, unsupported by facts or law, to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election."
Why it matters: The State Bar of California filed 11 disciplinary charges against Eastman Thursday and said it "intends to seek Eastman’s disbarment before the state bar court."
Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh said he's optimistic about the future of the Supreme Court despite the perception that it is divided.
Driving the news: “I’m optimistic about the court, I’m optimistic about the country, I’m optimistic about my colleagues,” he said during an event this week at Notre Dame Law school.
The U.S. government is investigating whether the civil rights of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man who died days after a traffic stop in Memphis, Tennessee, were violated during his encounter with police officers.
The latest: Attorneys representing Nichols' family on Friday called for police reform after five former Memphis Police Department officers were each charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression over Nichol's death.
The Department of Justice on Friday announced three new arrests related to an alleged murder-for-hire plot to kill a New York-based journalist and human rights activist who was critical of the Iranian government.
Why it matters: The Justice Department alleged that the three arrested men were members of an Eastern European criminal organization with ties to Iran and were tasked with killing the victim, a U.S. citizen of Iranian origin who was previously the target of other intimidation, harassment and kidnapping plots by the Iranian government.
Former COVID-19 czar Jeff Zients will become President Biden'schief of staff, following longtime Biden strategistRon Klain's departure, Biden confirmed in a statement Friday.
Why it matters: Zients takes the reins as Biden is expected to launch his re-election campaign and as congressional Republicans are prepared to launch a series of investigations into the administration.
Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said Friday that video of the arrest of Tyre Nichols shows "unconscionable" behavior from the five former officers who have each been charged with second-degree murder over Nichols' death.
Driving the news: Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, died days after a forceful traffic stop. Attorneys for his family have alleged that footage from the stop — set to be released later Friday evening —shows Nichols being subjected to “unadulterated, unabashed, nonstop beating” by police officers for three minutes.
The murder rates in Trump-voting states from 2020 have exceeded those in Biden-voting states every year since 2000, according to a new analysis by ThirdWay, a center-left think tank.
Why it matters: Republicans have built their party on being the crime-fighting candidates, even as murder rates in red states have outpaced blue states by an average of 23% over the past two decades.
Republican candidates might have to beef up grassroots fundraising operations to qualify for the first 2024 presidential primary debate, Axios has learned.
Driving the news: The Republican National Committee is planning to mimic a Democratic tactic in 2020, requiring a certain number of unique individual donors to get a spot on the debate stage, according to a source familiar with the discussions.
Some of the nation's top historians are going after lies and misinformation about U.S. history in a new book.
Why it matters: Red states in recent years have enacted laws aimed at limiting classroom discussions of slavery and Native American removal, while pushing a positive, nationalist version of U.S. history. Historians say that's a dangerous path.
The Half Moon Bay shootings that left seven people dead and one injured were likely "workplace violence" incidents, police said this week at a news conference.
The latest: The suspected gunman, Chunli Zhao, told NBC Bay Area's Janelle Wang in a jailhouse interview on Thursday that he was responsible for Monday's shootings and used a semiautomatic handgun to open fire on his co-workers.
Driving the news: Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) has threatened to block Biden's nominees until the Senate Intelligence Committee receives the classified documents found at both President Biden and former President Trump's residences.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has spent the last year forging a new path as a bipartisan dealmaker, an understated — but unmistakable — shift in strategy for a man who was Democrats' chief foil for more than a decade.
Why it matters: The self-described "Grim Reaper" of progressive policy has a reputation for ruthlessness. Now the longest-serving Senate leader in U.S. history, the 80-year-old McConnell is changing tack at a time when a string of election defeats has fueled a civil war within the GOP — and made it tougher to attract moderate candidates.
