Good Tuesday morning.
Two minutes of hate:
On Monday, the Biden Administration accused China of using “criminal contract hackers” to hack Microsoft’s email system. CNN wants you to know the Biden Administration is debating if the US will impose sanctions on China. Compare this to the Solar Winds hack, which was attributed to RUSSIA back in April and the swift penalties the WH imposed on the RUSSIANS. White House spokesliar Jen Psaki tried to down play the different treatment.
“We are not allowing any circumstance or consideration to prevent us from taking actions where warrant. And also we reserve the option to take additional actions were warrant as well. This is not the conclusion of our efforts as it relates to cyber activities with China or Russia,” Psaki said. State Department spokesman Ned Price similarly said during a briefing that the US is “not ruling out further action should it be merited and should it be appropriate.” What’s the hold up by the big guy? I think we know.
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced new DOJ restrictions on how the agency can hoover up the communications of journalists. The move follows the bombshell report that an Israeli company’s spy product used to hunt terrorists was being used by governments around the world to spy on activist and journalists (really the same thing.) Politico wants you to know, “The Justice Department under President Biden previously vowed not to secretly investigate reporters’ records. The previous department under Donald Trump seized the records of reporters in secret during a leak investigation, a policy Biden has criticized.” Now was the Trump Administration targeting journalists or was the Trump Administration trying to find who was leaking highly classified information–like an incoming NSA’s communications with a foreign leader–to partisan hacks in the media?
“Because a free and independent press is vital to the functioning of our democracy, the Department of Justice has long employed procedural protections and a balancing test to restrict the use of compulsory process to obtain information from or records of members of the news media,” Garland said in the memo.
“There are, however, shortcomings to any balancing test in this context,” he continued, explaining that such a balancing test can “fail to properly weight the important national interest in protecting journalists from compelled disclosure of information revealing their sources, sources they need to apprise the American people of the workings of their government.”
Of course. Let’s see how this works if someone inside the Biden Administration starts leaking docs to outlets like Revolver, The Federalist or American Greatness.
Frank Luntz’ roommate and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has picked five Republicans to sit on the House January 6 commission. The top Republican on the committee will be Rep. Jim Banks (Ind.).
The others , sources said, are Rep. Jim Jordan (Ohio), the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee and the co-founder of the far-right Freedom Caucus; Rep. Rodney Davis (Ill.), the top Republican on the Administration Committee; and Reps. Kelly Armstrong (N.D.) and Troy Nehls (Texas), a former county sheriff.
The Hill wants you to know “While all five picks have backed former President Trump in the past, not all of them supported his efforts to overturn Democratic President Biden’s election victory in November. Jordan, Banks and Nehls were among 139 House Republicans who voted to overturn the election results, while Davis and Armstrong voted to certify the results.”
McCarthy’s selections will join Speaker of the House’s Democrat picks which include GOPe Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming.
46:
White House says Harris tests negative for COVID-19 after meeting with Texas Dems
Senior House Dem trashes Senate’s bipartisan infrastructure talks
Democrat unveils bill to allow only House members to serve as Speaker
Texas State Troopers find semi loaded with 105 migrants being smuggled into US
Biden administration debating whether and how to sanction China for ransomware attacks
Biden orders review of remittances to Cuba
Justice Department has ‘concerns’ about Purdue Pharma bankruptcy exit plan
Civil unrest:
Capitol rioter to serve 8 months in prison in 1st felony sentencing from Jan. 6
Hasbro whistleblower claims CRT being pushed through toy packaging; training says 6 month olds can be racist
Washington, DC Black Lives Matter plaza to be permanent, mayor says
Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio pleads guilty in Black Lives Matter banner burning
Ivy League Lawyers Head to Trial for Firebombing Cop Car
ACLU files suit over Montana transgender birth certificate law
Former Maryland county police chief likely to become Capitol Police’s next leader
New chief of Capitol Police chosen in aftermath of Jan. 6 riot
CRT Opponents Are Claiming Victory Over The Biden Administration. There’s Just One Problem
Marie Claire urges Hollywood to depict more parents having abortions
Coronavirus news:
Twitter suspends Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for ‘misleading’ COVID-19 information
Stock Market Plunges As Investors Fear Increasing Coronavirus Cases
DeSantis warns he’ll take legal fight against CDC’s COVID-19 cruise ship rules to Supreme Court if necessary
Parents Notch Victory in Effort To Recall School Board Member Who Opposed Reopening
China Says WHO Should Investigate Fort Detrick In Maryland Instead Of Returning To Wuhan
Denver doctor calls for indoor mask mandates over COVID breakthrough cases
More than 110,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses have been destroyed in Georgia since December
Other morsels:
Ben & Jerry’s to stop sales in West Bank, east Jerusalem
2,500 Afghan allies being flown to Virginia military base as American withdrawal looms
Hundreds Of Flights Delayed As Wildfires Rage Across Western US
‘Impossible’ To Pinpoint Why 2020 Polls Were The Least Accurate In Decades, Report Finds
LAPD bomb squad likely caused destructive fireworks explosion, chief says
Vienna is latest Havana Syndrome hub with 2 dozen U.S. staffers reporting mysterious illness: report
A large red tide has contributed to more than 600 tons of dead marine life in Florida
And that’s all I’ve got, now go beat back the angry mob!