Politics

(WASHINGTON) — House GOP leaders appear to have given a Fox News host exclusive access to more than 40,000 hours of previously unreleased surveillance camera footage from the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

After Axios reported on Monday that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy had authorized the release, Fox host Tucker Carlson said on his program Monday night that he had gained “unfettered” access to the video, saying that some of his “smartest producers” have been reviewing the footage at an undisclosed location for about a week.

It was unclear on Tuesday where Carlson’s team was reviewing the footage, or exactly who they got it from, and McCarthy’s office did not immediately respond to an ABC News request for comment.

Fox News refused to comment beyond referring to what Carlson said on his program.

On Monday, Carlson claimed that some of the footage appears to contradict “the story that we’ve been told for more than two years,” but he was short on details or specifics. Instead, Carlson teased that his team’s findings would air on his program next week.

Carlson has repeatedly spread conspiracy theories about the circumstances surrounding the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and has suggested it was part of a “false flag” operation to target Trump supporters.

The apparent offer to Carlson’s team also comes as a recent filing from the voting company Dominion in their lawsuit against Fox News revealed damning internal communications showing top Fox personalities, including Carlson, expressing concerns over the accuracy of false allegations of voter fraud even as they pushed to their audiences the false narrative of the 2020 election being stolen.

The U.S. Capitol Police maintain access to and control over such surveillance videos, but ABC News has learned that the department did not directly provide the videos to Fox.

“When Congressional Leadership or Congressional Oversight Committees ask for things like this, we must give it to them,” U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said in a statement to ABC News.

The Justice Department has already made public hundreds of hours of surveillance and body camera footage as part of their more than 900 prosecutions of rioters charged in the attack on the Capitol.

But at times, the DOJ has joined with the Capitol Police in expressing concern over the release of some footage that could disclose sensitive areas in the Capitol, the location of closed circuit cameras, and other sensitive security movements.

Separately, a coalition of media outlets, including ABC News, has also fought in court for the release of exhibits from those prosecutions, in many cases over the objections of defendants.

The possible release by House GOP leaders comes as Democratic leaders in the House say they are looking into the matter and brand the footage’s release as having “potential national security implications.”

“The apparent transfer of video footage represents an egregious security breach that endangers the hardworking women and men of the United States Capitol Police,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote in a letter to his caucus on Tuesday.

The Jan. 6 House select committee had access to the footage but was careful in its decision-making about what particular clips they made public, sources on the committee said, given security concerns and the potential for sensitive operational information of the U.S. Capitol the videos could reveal.

The former chairman of the committee, Bennie Thompson, emphasized the potential security risks of irresponsibly releasing the videos and demanded an explanation from House Republicans as to why they would grant a Fox News host access to the trove of material.

“If Speaker McCarthy has indeed granted Tucker Carlson … and his producers access to this sensitive footage, he owes the American people an explanation,” read a statement from former Jan. 6 committee chair Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., in part.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md, who also sat on the Jan. 6 committee, called Carlson a “pro-Putin” journalist and branded the release of the footage “an ethical collapse” in a tweet Monday.

“What security precautions were taken to keep this from becoming a roadmap for 2024 insurrection?” Raskin tweeted.

McCarthy appears to be less worried than some congressional lawmakers about security. He has been vocal about opening the Capitol building to public visitors following the COVID-19 pandemic and Jan. 6 riot.

And within minutes of Republicans taking the House majority in January, he directed magnetometers removed from entrances to the House floor, overturning former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s directive for lawmakers to go through such a security screening.

McCarthy also told reporters that he did not want fencing placed around the Capitol when President Joe Biden delivered his State of Union address earlier this month, saying he did not see a need for it.

The speaker has repeatedly called for congressional oversight into the Jan. 6 committee’s investigation, even asking the body to preserve its records weeks before it disbanded at the end of the 117th Congress.

The bipartisan committee released and previewed numerous clips from security cameras on the day of the riots during its public hearings last year.

Still, McCarthy has signaled that Republicans in the current 118th Congress would release additional footage during hearings of their own.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(JACKSON, Miss.) — A bill banning gender-affirming care for people under the age of 18 is heading to the desk of Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves.

The bill, passed by the Mississippi Senate on Tuesday, would restrict access to gender-affirming hormone therapy and puberty blockers for people age 17 or younger. The bill also passed the House in January.

In 2021, Reeves passed an anti-trans sports bill that barred transgender girls from playing on teams that align with their gender identity.

According to the Madison County Journal, Reeves has signaled support for the bill, saying “I look forward to signing this legislation to protect Mississippi kids from this woke ideology that is trying to be pressed upon kids across America.”

If signed, Mississippi would be at least the fifth state to implement a law against gender-affirming care for minors. This includes Alabama, Utah, South Dakota, and Arkansas. Florida did not pass a law, but instead restricted this care via the state Board of Medicine.

Laws in Alabama and Arkansas are being battled in the courts.

Studies have shown that gender-affirming care is safe and effective for transgender or nonbinary youth, and that such care improve patients’ mental health and self confidence.

LGBTQ people and activists say that gender-affirming care can be “life-saving” for transgender youth who already face higher risks of suicide, substance abuse, bullying and poor mental health outcomes due to discrimination.

Supporters of these bans suggest that transgender youth should wait until they are adults before making decisions about gender-affirming care. In other states, some proposed bills begin to restrict care even into young adulthood, up to the ages of 21 or 26.

Several major national medical associations recommend gender-affirming care, with the American Medical Association calling it “medically necessary.”

Critics are urging Reeves to veto the bill.

“Mississippi lawmakers are insisting that they know what’s best for transgender youth and ignoring the recommendations of every major medical association,” said Jensen Luke Matar, Executive Director of The TRANS Program in Mississippi in a statement.

“Patients, along with their health care providers – not politicians – should decide what medical care is in the best interest of a patient. I know from years of working directly with trans youth in Mississippi that they need support, love, and affirmation – not this brazen political attack that cuts off their access to life-saving care,” Matar continued.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — Rhode Island Democratic Rep. David Cicilline is leaving Congress in June, according to a statement from his office.

Cicilline, who was elected to Congress in 2010, will become the president and CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation, the largest nonprofit in the state, his office said on Tuesday. He will step down from his office on June 1.

“Serving the people of Rhode Island’s First Congressional District has been the honor of my lifetime,” he said in a statement. “As President and CEO of one of the largest and oldest community foundations in the nation, I look forward to expanding on the work I have led for nearly thirty years in helping to improve the lives of all Rhode Islanders.”

Cicilline served as the mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, the state capital, from 2003-2011 before joining the House, where he has since been a voice on the Judiciary and Foreign Affairs Committees.

He also served as an impeachment manager during the second impeachment of former President Donald Trump, in the wake of Jan. 6.

In a 2022 book, he wrote that he was “certain Trump deserved to be held accountable” for his actions on the day of the Capitol insurrection.

“David Cicilline will be remembered as a fighter,” Rich Luchette, a longtime aide, told ABC News. “Whether it was cleaning up a corrupt city government, advocating on important issues or leading the second impeachment of Donald Trump, I have never seen another public servant roll up their sleeves and do whatever it took to get the job done.”

“Our country will miss his tenacity,” said Luchette, now an associate vice president at Precision Strategies.

Reaction from members of the Rhode Island Congressional delegation were supportive as well.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse called Cicilline “an able, hard-fighting colleague” and added that he’ll “miss his spirit in our delegation” but that Cicilline will be a great asset for the Rhode Island Foundation.

Sen. Jack Reed likewise called Cicilline a “hard charger” who has been an “incredible champion” for Rhode island families.

“David is an incredibly effective legislator who tackled big issues and got things done to improve people’s lives and help Rhode Island,” Reed said. “He’s been a leading voice on human rights, civil rights, marriage equality, gun safety, anti-trust, bringing back manufacturing jobs, and so much more.”

Colleagues in the House agreed.

“For over a decade, Congressman Cicilline has served the people of Rhode Island’s First Congressional District with honor, courage, and decency,” Freshman Rhode Island Rep. Seth Magaziner said. “Many elected officials can only dream of achieving as much as Rep. Cicilline has during his time in Congress, and I thank him for his many years of dedicated public service to the people of Rhode Island.”

Cicilline said he put his “heart and soul” into serving the people of Rhode Island.

Rhode Island will hold a special election to finish out Cicilline’s term. That date has not yet been set by state officials.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg announced Tuesday a multi-part push to hold the freight rail industry accountable in the wake of the East Palestine train derailment.

In its announcement, the Department of Transportation set out proposals for the railroad industry, the DOT itself and Congress to follow to improve safety on rails.

For the freight railroad industry, including Norfolk Southern, the DOT called for a series of proactive steps to improve safety, including joining the Federal Railroad Administration’s Confidential Close Call Reporting Program and phasing in safer tank cars more quickly, instead of by a congressionally mandated 2029 deadline.

The DOT called on the railroad industry to give workers paid sick leave — a sticking point in union talks — and to let state emergency response teams know beforehand when they’re sending hazardous gas tank cars through states.

About 50 cars on a Norfolk Southern Railroad train traveling from Illinois to Pennsylvania derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, earlier this month. Eleven of those cars contained hazardous materials, five of which contained vinyl chloride, a highly volatile colorless gas produced for commercial uses.
 
As for its own actions, the DOT said in its Tuesday notice it is advocating for a rule that will require at least two people to be on train crews and working on starting safety inspection programs for routes that often involve hazardous materials and for older tank cars.

When it comes to Congress, the DOT called for the enactment of stricter safety protocols and to increase maximum fines the department can issue to rail companies for violating safety regulations. The current maximum fine is $225,455.

“A six-figure penalty for a fatal incident is pretty much a rounding error for multibillion dollar corporations,” Buttigieg said.

Buttigieg said Norfolk Southern’s operating income was $4.8 billion in 2022 and the company reportedly paid shareholders $18 billion in stock buybacks and dividends while slashing their workforce and refusing to provide paid sick leave.

In a sharply worded, three-page letter sent Sunday to Norfolk Southern Railway president and CEO Alan Shaw, Buttigieg accused the Atlanta-based company of repeatedly prioritizing profit over safety — a problematic ethos within the larger transportation industry that the secretary said has contributed to several derailments over the years.

“The derailment of a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials near East Palestine, Ohio, has upended the lives of numerous residents, many of whom continue to worry about their immediate health and safety as well as the long-term effects of the dangerous materials released near their homes,” Buttigieg said in the Sunday letter. “They fear for their future, as do thousands of American communities and neighborhoods that sit along railway lines.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden on Monday made a surprise visit to Kyiv, Ukraine, to reiterate America’s commitment for the war-torn country one year after Russia’s invasion.

Biden’s previously unannounced trip adds him to the list of sitting U.S. presidents who visited a war zone — a list that includes Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Richard Nixon and even Abraham Lincoln, among others.

Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln was in the White House when Confederate troops invaded Washington, D.C., in July of 1864. Lincoln left the White House and visited the battlefield at Fort Stevens.

Lincoln is thought to remain the only sitting president to come under fire. He climbed a parapet at Fort Stevens for a better view and troops began shooting. The president may have been warned by a nearby soldier — according to legend — to “get down, you damn fool!” A Union surgeon a few feet from Lincoln was hit and wounded.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Roosevelt was in office for almost the entirety of World War II. His only overseas visit to the theater of war — which encapsulated much of Europe — was on Dec. 8, 1943.

On the second anniversary of his famous speech on Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt visited Allied military installations in Italy.

Lyndon B. Johnson

Johnson first sent U.S. troops to Vietnam in March 1965 and he made two overseas visits to the war zone during his term.

In October of 1966, he visited U.S. forces in Cam Ranh Bay. A little over a year later, he returned to Cam Ranh Bay on Dec. 23, 1967.

Richard Nixon

The U.S. withdrew from Vietnam during Nixon’s time in office and he made one overseas trip before the conflict ended.

On July 30, 1969, Nixon met with South Vietnamese President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu and visited U.S. troops in Saigon.

George W. Bush

Bush oversaw U.S. troop deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq as a part of what was known as the War on Terror following the 9/11 attacks.

In his two terms, Bush made two visits to Afghanistan and four visits to Iraq.

Bush’s first war zone visit was Nov. 27, 2003, to Baghdad. He met with Iraqi leaders and addressed U.S. military personnel. He made two more trips to Baghdad and one trip to Al-Assad Air Force Base during his terms.

Bush visited Bagram Airfield and Kabul in Afghanistan in 2006. He met with then-Afghan President Hamid Karzai, dedicated a new U.S. embassy and visited U.S. troops. He returned to Kabul in 2008 and again met with Karzai and visited U.S. troops.

Barack Obama

Obama made one visit to Baghdad, in April 2009. He met with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and visited U.S. military personnel.

Obama made four trips to Afghanistan, starting in March 2010, when he visited both Kabul and Bagram. He made two more trips to Bagram and one more trip to Kabul by 2014.

Donald Trump

Trump made two visits to troops overseas during his term. He first visited U.S. forces in Iraq on Dec. 26, 2018.

On Thanksgiving Day in 2019, he made a surprise visit to U.S. troops at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan.

ABC News’ Nancy Gabriner and Terry Moran contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WARSAW, Poland) — This week in Poland, President Joe Biden is set to underscore the importance of NATO’s support for Ukraine after making a surprise visit to Kyiv on Monday on the eve of the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion.

Biden’s chief message while in Warsaw, Poland, until Wednesday is expected to center around continued backing from western allies for Ukraine, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters last week.

The president is scheduled to meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda on Tuesday to discuss cooperation between Washington and Warsaw to aid Kyiv, particularly over Poland’s role as a key staging ground for military and financial aid flowing to Ukraine.

“The two leaders will discuss Poland’s important logistical role as well in helping the U.S. facilitate deliveries of military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine from not only the United States but from our allies and partners,” Kirby said last week. “The president will also have a chance to thank Poland for how they have hosted now an increased number of U.S. forces, including those that are permanently stationed and those who were deployed to Europe as part of our force posture adjustments.”

“As we approach the one-year mark since this invasion, we can proudly say that our support for Ukraine remains unwavering and our alliances and our international coalition in support of Ukraine remain stronger than ever,” Kirby said.

Biden echoed that while in Kyiv, a previously unannounced visit which he said showed “unwavering and unflagging commitment to Ukraine’s democracy, sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Also on Tuesday, Biden will deliver public remarks in Warsaw detailing U.S.-led efforts to arm Ukraine with assistance needed to respond to Russia’s invasion. The White House says his speech will address “how the United States has rallied the world to support the people of Ukraine as they defend their freedom and democracy, and how we will continue to stand with the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes.”

One day later, the president will meet with heads of state of the so-called Bucharest Nine, who comprise NATO’s eastern bloc.

“These are largely the group of eastern flank NATO allies who are basically and, quite frankly, literally on the frontlines of our collective defense right now,” Kirby said.

Those leaders have also been among the most vocal about the need to help Ukraine fend off Russia’s military, with some warning that Russian President Vladimir Putin could have his eyes set on invading other eastern European countries — including NATO members — at the same time that Russian officials have signaled they view the West’s support as its own provocation.

Biden first landed in Poland late Sunday, according to reporters traveling with him, then set off for to Ukraine for his roughly five-hour visit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, his first since Russia’s invasion last year.

“One year later, Kyiv stands and Ukraine stands. Democracy stands,” Biden said alongside Zelenskyy on Monday. “The Americans stand with you, and the world stands with you.”

“This is the largest land war in Europe in three quarters of a century, and you’re succeeding against all and every expectation except your own,” he added. “We have every confidence that you’re going to continue to prevail.”

Yet despite Biden’s successful trip to Kyiv, debate continues to rage in Washington and across the Atlantic over what kind of aid to provide Ukraine ahead of what is anticipated to be a major offensive from Russia.

House Republicans, who were elected to the majority in November, have pledged to push for accountability for U.S. assistance to Ukraine, describing it as an end to a “blank check” mentality. Some in the GOP conference have pushed for a harder line to pull back on sending money and supplies, though leaders in both parties have rejected that.

In total, the United States has committed $30 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden administration, including more than $29.3 billion since the beginning of Russia’s invasion. That has included sending increasingly complex munitions, from Stinger anti-aircraft systems and Javelin anti-armor systems to most recently Howitzers, and soon, Abrams tanks.

Now, though, Zelenskyy is pushing for the U.S. to allow F-16 fighter jets and longer range missiles to be sent to Ukraine, something that Biden has previously seemed reluctant to commit to.

Zelenskyy has said the jets could be instrumental in the fight and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said earlier this month that “nothing is off the table” and said the U.K. will begin to train Ukrainian pilots on NATO-standard aircraft.

In Washington, the Biden administration has also emphasized the importance of good training over any particular system.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken declined to answer directly, in an interview on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, about possibly sending F-16s.

“We’re in very close collaboration and coordination with the Ukrainians precisely on this question of what do they need at any given time. But what’s very important is this: What we should not do, any of us, is to focus or get fixated on any particular weapons system because the weapon system itself, as important as it is, is not sufficient. You have to make sure that Ukrainians are trained on the systems that are being provided,” he said.

Biden returns to the White House from Poland on Wednesday.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — Following President Joe Biden’s surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Monday, senior members of his administration detailed the security discussions that led up to the decision to go on the trip and the content of the meetings Biden had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the course of his roughly five hours in the city.

And while the officials remained tight-lipped about the precise security details required to manage the trip, including Biden’s mode of transportation in and out of the war-torn country, they did say that the U.S. informed Russia of the visit shortly before Biden left for Ukraine.

“We did notify the Russians that President Biden would be traveling to Kyiv. We did so some hours before his departure for deconfliction purposes,” Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser to the president, told reporters on Monday morning in a press briefing.

“Because of the sensitive nature of those communications, I won’t get into how they responded or what the precise nature of our message was. But I can confirm that we provided that notification,” Sullivan said.

The planning for the trip was incredibly delicate, said John Finer, the U.S. deputy national security adviser, and began months prior.

“Only a handful of people” from offices across Washington were involved, including the White House chief of staff’s office, the National Security Council, the White House Military Office, the Pentagon, the Secret Service and the intelligence community, Finer said.

“The president was fully briefed on each stage of the plan and any potential contingencies and then made the final go- or no-go decision after a huddle in the Oval Office and by phone with some key members of his national security cabinet on Friday,” Finer said.

Among the challenges around such a visit was the limited U.S. military and embassy presence in Ukraine, compared to other war zones that presidents have visited, administration officials said.

“Unlike previous visits … like Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. obviously does not have a military presence on the ground in Ukraine which made a visit from a sitting president all the more challenging. But this was a risk that Joe Biden wanted to take,” White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said.

The administration officials emphasized that the risk was strategic — intended to show Russian President Vladimir Putin that the U.S. stands strong with Ukraine and is confident enough in Ukraine’s military prowess to visit the capital city in a time of war, one year after Russia first invaded.

“What he [Biden] wanted to do in Kyiv was to send a clear, unmistakable message of enduring American support for Ukraine,” Sullivan said.

“And also to be able to stand there next to President Zelenskyy in a free Kyiv to not just tell, but to show the world through a powerful demonstration that Ukraine is successfully resisting Russian aggression and Russia is suffering strategic failure in Ukraine,” Sullivan said.

Asked whether there were security concerns from the Pentagon or other officials, Sullivan declined to share the planning conversations but said that Biden made the decision based on presentations from his security team.

“The president proceeded with the confidence that his security team was able to bring risks to a manageable level,” Sullivan said. “That was what ultimately led him to make the call to go.”

“I am not going to get into specifics of who said what to him in the Oval, particularly on things as sensitive as his security. I will just say that he got a full presentation of a very good and very effective operational security plan. He heard that presentation. He was satisfied that the risk was manageable,” Sullivan said.

While in Kyiv, Biden met with Zelenskyy and Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska at Mariinsky Palace, visited St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Cathedral in central Kyiv and laid a wreath at the Wall of Remembrance for those slain in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, just as air raid sirens sounded.

Biden also announced another $500 million in aid, which he’s expected to further detail in a speech on Tuesday night from Poland.

During the visit, which lasted from around 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. local time, Zelenskyy and Biden had an extended conversation about “all aspects of the ongoing war,” according to Sullivan, including the battlefield, humanitarian aid, energy infrastructure and economic support.

Biden was also briefed by members of Zelenskyy’s team to understand what would be needed to sustain Ukraine’s efforts “and then some.”

Regarding whether F-16 fighter jets were discussed — which Zelenskyy has long sought — Sullivan would not get into the specifics of the discussion, though Biden and Zelenskyy noted in their public remarks from Kyiv that the U.S. wasn’t sending any new ammunition that Ukraine hasn’t received before.

“What I will say is that there was a good discussion on the subject. I think the two presidents both laid out their perspectives on a number of different capabilities that have been thrown around in the press both recently and over the course of several months. And I will leave it at that,” Sullivan said.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams greeted Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis with a sarcastic tweet Monday morning ahead of the GOP star’s visit to the borough of Staten Island.

Adams, a Democrat, has feuded with the Florida governor repeatedly over DeSantis sending migrants to the Northeast and the state’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law. Adams singled out several GOP talking points in his tweet as he “welcomed” the governor — a possible presidential candidate in 2024.

“Welcome to NYC, @GovRonDeSantis, a place where we don’t ban books, discriminate against our LGBTQ+ neighbors, use asylum seekers as props, or let the government stand between a woman and health care,” Adams wrote.

“We’re happy to teach you something about values while you’re here,” he added.

Welcome to NYC, @GovRonDeSantis, a place where we don’t ban books, discriminate against our LGBTQ+ neighbors, use asylum seekers as props, or let the government stand between a woman and health care.

We’re happy to teach you something about values while you’re here. https://t.co/o2CgOt1SES

— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) February 20, 2023

DeSantis was set to meet with local law enforcement in Staten Island on Monday morning. He will be joined by Lee Zeldin, the former New York congressman who lost a heated battle for governor to Democrat Kathy Hochul.

Last April, Adams and DeSantis got into a war of words over the Parents Rights in Education bill, known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill for its ban on teaching young students about LGBT+ issues. Adams said he planned to put up billboards in Florida to encourage people to move to the city if they were offended by the then-bill, which DeSantis has since signed into law.

DeSantis said Adams was wasting taxpayer dollars, though Adams clarified the billboards would be donated by private individuals.

“I like rivalries with other states,” Adams said last April. “Florida can bring it on. … New York is the place to be, specifically with the ‘Don’t Say Gay.'”

Adams also made pointed criticism of DeSantis last September when he labeled the busing of migrants to the Northeast as “a political stunt.”

“I thought what really personified that political stunt is the governor of Florida,” Adams said at an unrelated press conference when asked about the issue. “He had nothing to do with it. I mean, what was his purpose of sending a planeload to Martha’s Vineyard. He just felt as though he wanted to get into this horrendous action.”

Staten Island is the one borough in New York City that regularly leans right on the political spectrum. The island, off the coast of New Jersey, is represented by Nicole Malliotakis, a strong supporter of former President Donald Trump.

Malliotakis also ran for mayor in the race that immediately preceded Adams’ election to head up the biggest city in the country. She lost handily to incumbent Bill de Blasio.

While he has yet to announce a run, DeSantis is generally assumed to be Trump’s top rival for the GOP nomination in 2024.

ABC News’ Ben Stein contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(KYIV, Ukraine) — President Joe Biden on Monday made an unannounced visit to war-torn Ukraine, arriving in Kyiv as the United States’ signals its ongoing support ahead of the anniversary of Russia’s invasion.

Biden planned to meet for extended discussions with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other officials, he said in a statement. He also planned to announce the delivery of “critical equipment, including artillery ammunition, anti-armor systems, and air surveillance radars.”

Biden’s arrival in the Kyiv — a city the Ukrainians successfully defended early in the war — was marked by an increased security presence, with downtown blocks brought to a standstill by police and military vehicles. He was also met with air raid sirens, a near constant sound in a city where civilians have often been targeted by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s missiles.

“When Putin launched his invasion nearly one year ago, he thought Ukraine was weak and the West was divided,” Biden said in a statement. “He thought he could outlast us. But he was dead wrong.”

He said the visit reaffirmed that the United States has “unwavering and unflagging commitment to Ukraine’s democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.”

Biden’s visit comes ahead of a planned meeting with NATO allies in Poland. He’s scheduled on Tuesday evening to give a speech at the Royal Castle Arcades in Warsaw.

His remarks in Poland are expected to offer an appraisal of international support during the first year of the war, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement earlier this month. He’ll also address “how we will continue to stand with the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes,” she said.

Biden also plans to meet in Poland with leaders of the Bucharest Nine, a group of eastern NATO allies formed in 2015 in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

Ukrainian officials had accused Russia of planning “large-scale nuclear exercises” to coincide with Biden’s European visit.

Biden’s surprise visit comes two months after Zelenskyy’s December address to Congress in Washington. That marked Zelenskyy’s first known international trip since the invasion began in February 2022.

The Ukrainian leader had sought further U.S. aid for the fight against Russia, telling lawmakers that they could “speed up our victory.”

“Your money is not charity. It’s an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way,” Zelesnkyy said at the time.

Biden in January approved additional military aid to Ukraine, including sending 31 Abrams tanks. Those weapons would help Ukraine “achieve its strategic objectives,” Biden said.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi as House speaker had led a group of U.S. lawmakers on a similarly unannounced visit to Kyiv, the capital, in May 2022.

“Our delegation traveled to Kyiv to send an unmistakable and resounding message to the entire world: America stands firmly with Ukraine,” she said in a statement at the time.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on Sunday pushed the Biden administration to provide more aid to Ukraine after Vice President Kamala Harris said Russia was committing “crimes against humanity” in its invasion.

“I believe a decision will be imminent here when we get back to Washington that the administration will start training Ukrainian pilots on the F-16” fighter jet, Graham, a prominent defense hawk, told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz in an exclusive interview from the Munich Security Conference.

That would represent a major escalation of U.S. support and one which President Joe Biden has signaled reluctance to commit to. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, appearing separately on “This Week,” didn’t say whether F-16s had been approved but noted that proper training for the Ukrainians was also important.

“Let me just stress this: How can you call this war by Russia a crime against humanity … and not give the victim of their crime against humanity the defensive weapons they need to stop the crime? So, we need to do two things quickly: make Russia a state sponsor of terrorism under U.S. law, which would make it harder for China to give weapons to Russia, and we need to start training Ukrainian pilots on the F-16 now,” Graham said.

World leaders have been meeting in Munich for an annual gathering to discuss global security on the eve of the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Harris underscoring the need to stand up to authoritarian nations using “brute force.”

“In the case of Russia’s actions in Ukraine, we have examined the evidence, we know the legal standards, and there is no doubt: These are crimes against humanity,” she said in remarks to the security conference on Saturday, rebuking Russia’s repeated denials that it targets civilians and commits other atrocities.

When pressed by Raddatz on “This Week” over whether providing F-16 jets and long-range missiles to Ukraine would provoke Russian President Vladimir Putin, Graham said he was more concerned with removing Russia from Ukraine all together.

“I’m not worried about provoking Putin. I want to beat him. And how do you beat him? You beat him by giving the Ukrainians the military capability to drive the Russians out of Ukraine,” he said, adding, “I see solidarity across the aisle in America and across the seas.”

“Let’s make sure we beat Putin in Ukraine, because he will not stop if we do not,” Graham said.

He said that a defeat for Russia included them returning the Crimean Peninsula they illegally annexed in 2014. Graham pointed to a post-Soviet Union agreement in the ’90s with Ukraine and other countries in which Ukraine agreed to hand over its nuclear weapons in exchange for a guaranteed set of borders.

“To not honor that commitment would be tricking the Ukraine, would be rewarding Putin for rewriting agreements involving nuclear weapons,” he said.

He also doubled down on his hawkish views by calling for international tribunals to be established to try Putin himself, as well as other Russian officials.

“You label Putin’s Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism [and] you create international tribunals so we actually can try Putin and his cronies in the international court like we did after World War II,” he said.

He said boosting aid to Ukraine would send a warning over any ambitions Beijing may have to invade Taiwan and that the international community should be prepared to punish China for sending lethal aid to Moscow, as Blinken said on “This Week” they are considering.

“Now if that happens, the world needs to come down hard on China. … Any country that comes to their aid should pay a heavy price,” Graham said.

“That’s why we should designate Russia state sponsored terrorism, because if you do that under U.S. law and China provides lethal weapons, they will get sanctioned,” he said.

China’s Foreign Ministry insisted in a new statement that its relationship with Russia was “strategic” and “built on the basis of non-alliance, non-confrontation and non-targeting of third countries.” Graham urged them not to become more involved.

“To the Chinese, if you jump on the Putin train now, you’re dumber than dirt. It would be like buying a ticket on the Titanic after you saw the movie. Don’t do this. The most catastrophic thing that could happen to the U.S.-China relationship, in my opinion, is for China to give lethal weapons to Putin and his crime against humanity,” he said. “That would change everything forever.”

Separately, Raddatz asked Graham for his response to a recent Georgia grand jury report that reaffirmed no “widespread fraud” was found in the 2020 presidential election. Graham was subpoenaed and testified after a phone call he had with Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, about the 2020 election, before it was certified.

Graham told Raddatz he had “no concerns about my testimony” and said he agreed that there wasn’t major fraud, noting that he voted to certify the race.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.