John Hamercheck, president of Ohio's Lake County Board of Commissioners, on Tuesday denied knowing about any attempts to breach the county's election network during the spring primary.

Driving the news: According to the Washington Post, a private laptop was plugged into the network inside Hamercheck's government office on May 4. No sensitive data was obtained.

A federal judge on Friday questioned a key charge the Justice Department is relying on to prosecute hundreds of Capitol riot defendants, Politico reports.

Why it matters: For many defendants, the obstruction charge is the most serious count they face. If U.S. District Court Judge Dabney Friedrich tosses out the charge in the case of Guy Reffitt, it could be similarly dismissed in other cases.

A Trump-allied former assistant attorney general, who reportedly helped the 45th president amplify false claims around the election, refused on Friday to answer questions in a deposition with the special House panel looking into the Jan. 6 insurrection, AP reports.

Why it matters: It's the latest blow to the committee, which has struggled to secure cooperation from Trump associates. Some have outright defied the lawmakers.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) will call for Republicans to break up with Big Business when he addresses the National Conservatism Conference on Monday, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Rubio is seeking re-election in one of the most high-profile and expensive races of the 2022 cycle. He's using this speech to differentiate himself from traditional economic conservatism by branding himself as a leading proponent of the working class.

The House of Representatives voted 229-202 on Thursday to hold former Trump strategist Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the Jan. 6 select committee.

Why it matters: The Justice Department will now consider bringing criminal charges against Bannon, marking a significant escalation in the Jan. 6 committee's efforts to enforce subpoenas against Trump allies who refuse to cooperate.

A state judge on Wednesday dismissed a Georgia lawsuit alleging that members of Fulton County's election board counted fraudulent ballots in the 2020 election, Reuters reports.

Driving the news: Henry County Superior Court Judge Brian Amero said that petitioners failed to allege injuries affected them in a "personal and individual way," per Reuters.

Idaho Chief Deputy Secretary of State Chad Houck announced Thursday the state plans to bill MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell for the cost of auditing three counties to disprove allegations of election fraud, the Idaho Statesman reports.

Why it matters: Houck's remarks come days after the audit concluded, reporting a 0.1% margin of error across the three counties.

A federal judge on Wednesday denied Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani and Mike Lindell's motion to dismiss multibillion-dollar lawsuits involving their claims about the 2020 presidential election.

Why it matters: The lawsuits argue that the Trump allies' false claims of election fraud defamed the Dominion voting equipment company.

Dominion Voting Systems on Tuesday sued conservative media networks Newsmax and One America News Network, as well as businessman Patrick Byrne, alleging they defamed the company.

Driving the news: Dominion, one of the largest voting-machine companies in the U.S., accused the media networks of propagating false statements that the voting machines switched votes from former President Trump to President Biden during the 2020 election.

Maricopa County and Dominion Voting Systems both refused on Monday to comply with subpoenas from the Republican-controlled Arizona state Senate over an audit of the 2020 presidential election.

Why it matters: Their refusal comes days after the Justice Department issued a second warning to states that so-called audits of the election could violate federal laws, something Dominion cited in its refusal Monday, per the Arizona Republic.