(WASHINGTON) — The House select committee investigating Jan. 6 on Tuesday announced its next hearing: July 12 beginning at 10 a.m. ET.
The panel has been holding a series of public hearings since last month related to its year-long inquiry into the events before, during and after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.
The most recent hearing featured lengthy testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson, a former top aide to Trump’s last White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — Four U.S. Army veterans were awarded with the Medal of Honor Tuesday for their “acts of gallantry and intrepidity” during the Vietnam War half a century ago — after their cases got a fresh review.
President Joe Biden presented Specialist 5 Dwight W. Birdwell, Major John J. Duffy and Specialist 5 Dennis M. Fujii with the nation’s highest military honor at a White House ceremony on Tuesday morning. John Kaneshiro, the son of Staff Sergeant Edward N. Kaneshiro, accepted the award on his late father’s behalf.
The awards come after the Army concluded the decorated veterans’ previous honors should be elevated to the Medal of Honor, the United States military’s most prestigious award for bravery and heroism.
“Today, we’re setting the record straight. We’re upgrading the awards of four soldiers who performed acts of incredible heroism during the Vietnam conflict to respect the conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity of their service,” Biden said. “They went far above and beyond the call of duty. It’s a phrase always used but it just — it takes on life when you see these men.”
“Today’s ceremony presented a poignant reminder of the sacrifices of the service members who served with these men, especially those who never made it home,” the Congressional Medal of Honor Society said in a statement welcoming the recipients. “These newest Medal of Honor recipients wear the Medal on behalf of those who were lost and those whose freedom was secured by their sacrifice.”
Birdwell, who is also a former Cherokee Nation Supreme Court justice, becomes the first Native American honored for action in Vietnam and the first to receive the award for action in any conflict since 1973. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin introduced a directive last year ordering the Secretaries of the Military Departments to review Black and Native American war veterans for upgrades to the Medal of Honor.
“It’s a point of great pride for the Cherokee people and I think all native people to see a Native American get this honor,” Cherokee Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin told ABC News in an interview. “I think about the fact that Dwight Birdwell represents thousands of Native Americans who have served this country in military service since the 1970s and even before at such high numbers, disproportionately high numbers. I think it’s fitting and high time that someone get the Medal of Honor who’s a Native American.”
On Jan. 31, 1968, Birdwell moved directly into the line of fire, getting wounded in the process, to retrieve ammunition for his fellow soldiers.
Birdwell told ABC News his time in the Army gave him “a sense of discipline, enhanced respect for life, more respect for nature, and respect for people beyond the boundaries of this country.”
“Someone asked me if I feel like a hero. I don’t feel like I am, but I served with plenty, especially that day, and [I’m] honored to have served with them,” Birdwell said. “I’m really overwhelmed by the whole process. But again, proud for the Cherokee people, proud for the unit I served with, and personally very satisfied that it came about.”
In a 1972 battle for Fire Support Base Charlie, Duffy directed defense and facilitated the air evacuation of his team while under attack. He was the last to board an aiding helicopter.
“It’s a great honor. Each of those awards are appreciated, and recognizing your endeavors, your duty that you’ve done, and the pride you have in your uniform that you’ve earned in combat,” he said of his nomination. “And the same disciplines that applied in battle applied in life, whether it’s being a broker or any other occupation, journalist, etc., you’re focused, you’re trying to tell a story and you’re trying to do your job. So you learn discipline in the military — not just the Army but all the military — that serves you forever throughout life.”
After retiring from the Army, Duffy went on to work in publishing and finance before focusing on poetry. The Pulitzer Prize nominee’s works are engraved on two monuments.
In February 1971, Fujii served as crew chief of a helicopter ambulance. He is being honored for his role in several evacuations and tireless treatment of wounded Vietnamese military along the allied perimeter, even after a series of failed attempts to rescue him following a helicopter crash. Throughout this time, he directed strikes and defense until his eventual rescue.
“I was overwhelmed…the news it really shocked me,” Fujii told KITV. “I mean, to be congratulated by the president himself, the commander in chief, that’s something.”
On Dec. 1, 1966, Kaneshiro defended his squad in the trenches from enemy fire using six grenades and a rifle, allowing for their successful extrication.
Naomi Viloria and John Kaneshiro were young children when their father was killed in action on March 6, 1967. Viloria was 8 years old and her brother, who went on to enlist in the Army after high school, was only 4 months old.
“I didn’t know him. So you know, I didn’t have that father figure, but just reading the actions that he did in newspaper articles of the period, that told me he was a man of character,” he said. “So, you know, you put that together and say, ‘Wow, you know, I hope I can be like him.'”
Viloria told ABC News their family has worked for decades to have his actions reviewed and nearly gave up.
“But then finally, this year, right after my mother passed away, we were notified that his combat record was being under review and he could possibly be awarded the Medal of Honor, and I finally got the call from President Biden,” she said, adding that the family was “overjoyed” to hear the news.
“I think for us now, our family, it’s an honor that America has suggested we recognize his selflessness, his courageousness in the face of adversity,” John Kaneshiro said. “We’re happy that he was recognized, finally.”
ABC News’ Luis Martinez, Cindy Smith, and Abby Cruz contributed to this report.
(FULTON COUNTY, Ga.) — The Fulton County special grand jury investigating possible criminal interference in Georgia’s 2020 elections has issued subpoenas for Rudy Giuliani, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and several others in former President Donald Trump’s orbit.
Others who were issued subpoenas include John Eastman, Cleta Mitchell, Kenneth Chesbro and Jenna Ellis, all of whom advised Trump on ways to overturn President Joe Biden’s win in Georgia.
The special grand jury also subpoenaed attorney and podcast host Jacki Pick Deason.
The development was first reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Giuliani, Trump’s personal attorney, testified in front of Georgia lawmakers on several occasions in late 2020.
Eastman, who part of a plan to push then-Vice President Mike Pence to reject the official slate of Democratic electors in Georgia and other battleground states, also testified in front of Georgia’s legislators following the election, saying that there was “more than enough” evidence of fraud to warrant a different slate of electors.
At the end of its investigation, the special grand jury conducting the probe will, if appropriate, make recommendations to prosecutors, who would then need to decide whether to pursue any charges.
(WASHINGTON) — Four Army veterans are being recognized with the Medal of Honor for their “acts of gallantry and intrepidity” during the Vietnam War.
President Joe Biden will present Specialist 5 Dwight W. Birdwell, Major John J. Duffy and Specialist 5 Dennis M. Fujii with the nation’s highest military honor at a White House ceremony on Tuesday morning. Staff Sergeant Edward N. Kaneshiro will receive the award posthumously.
The awards come after U.S. Army reviews that concluded the decorated veterans’ previous honors should be elevated to the Medal of Honor, the United States military’s most prestigious award for bravery and heroism.
Birdwell, who is also a former Cherokee Nation Supreme Court justice, will become the first Native American honored for action in Vietnam and the first to receive the award for action in any conflict since 1973.
“It’s a point of great pride for the Cherokee people and I think all native people to see a Native American get this honor,” Cherokee Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin told ABC News. “I think about the fact that Dwight Birdwell represents thousands of Native Americans who have served this country in military service since the 1970s and even before at such high numbers, disproportionately high numbers. I think it’s fitting and high time that someone get the Medal of Honor who’s a Native American.”
On Jan. 31, 1968, Birdwell moved directly into the line of fire, getting wounded in the process, to retrieve ammunition for his fellow soldiers.
Birdwell told ABC News his time in the Army gave him “a sense of discipline, enhanced respect for life, more respect for nature, and respect for people beyond the boundaries of this country.”
“Someone asked me if I feel like a hero. I don’t feel like I am, but I served with plenty, especially that day, and [I’m] honored to have served with them,” Birdwell said. “I’m really overwhelmed by the whole process. But again, proud for the Cherokee people, proud for the unit I served with, and personally very satisfied that it came about.”
In a 1972 battle for Fire Support Base Charlie, Duffy directed defense and facilitated the air evacuation of his team while under attack. He was the last to board an aiding helicopter.
“It’s a great honor. Each of those awards are appreciated, and recognizing your endeavors, your duty that you’ve done, and the pride you have in your uniform that you’ve earned in combat,” he said of his nomination. “And the same disciplines that applied in battle applied in life, whether it’s being a broker or any other occupation, journalist, etc., you’re focused, you’re trying to tell a story and you’re trying to do your job. So you learn discipline in the military — not just the Army but all the military — that serves you forever throughout life.”
After retiring from the Army, Duffy went on to work in publishing and finance before focusing on poetry. The Pulitzer Prize nominee’s works are engraved on two monuments.
In February 1971, Fujii served as crew chief of a helicopter ambulance. He is being honored for his role in several evacuations and tireless treatment of wounded Vietnamese military along the allied perimeter, even after a series of failed attempts to rescue him following a helicopter crash. Throughout this time, he directed strikes and defense until his eventual rescue.
On Dec. 1, 1966, Kaneshiro defended his squad in the trenches from enemy fire using six grenades and a rifle, allowing for their successful extrication.
Naomi Viloria and John Kaneshiro were young children when their father was killed in action on March 6, 1967. Viloria was 8 years old and her brother, who went on to enlist in the Army after high school, was only 4 months old.
“I didn’t know him. So you know, I didn’t have that father figure, but just reading the actions that he did in newspaper articles of the period, that told me he was a man of character,” he said. “So, you know, you put that together and say, ‘Wow, you know, I hope I can be like him.'”
Viloria told ABC News their family has worked for decades to have his actions reviewed and nearly gave up.
“But then finally, this year, right after my mother passed away, we were notified that his combat record was being under review and he could possibly be awarded the Medal of Honor, and I finally got the call from President Biden,” she said, adding that the family was “overjoyed” to hear the news.
“I think for us now, our family, it’s an honor that America has suggested we recognize his selflessness, his courageousness in the face of adversity,” John Kaneshiro said. “We’re happy that he was recognized, finally.”
ABC News’ Luis Martinez and Abby Cruz contributed to this report.
Paul Weaver/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — The Democratic Governors Association hopes to turn anger at the overturning of Roe v. Wade into big-dollar fundraising for critical races where governors will hold sway over abortion access at the state level.
The DGA on Tuesday launched the “Protect Reproductive Rights Fund” to support gubernatorial races in states where access to abortion is at risk.
The DGA said it aims to raise $10 million for the new fund. The targeted states where the money will be directed include Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin.
The fund will be chaired by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who told ABC News that once the Supreme Court’s five-justice majority opinion reversing Roe was leaked in May, she and some of her fellow Democratic governors knew that action had to be taken to protect abortion rights.
“We can look to Washington for leadership, that’s important, but also the power does rest with the states,” Hochul said. “And we’ve known all along that we are the ones who are the firewall between what the Supreme Court does and doing what we can to protect the rights of our women.”
“I want to take ownership of this [fund] and support other Democratic candidates, whether they’re incumbent governors or they’re challengers, because where these critical decisions will be made is in the statehouses,” Hochul told ABC.
In her own state, she has taken several actions to protect and expand access to abortion since the Supreme Court found there was no constitutional guarantee to accessing it. Those steps included allocating $35 million to providers, not only to accommodate women in New York seeking an abortion but also to prepare for the influx of women who may travel to the state from places where it is or will be widely banned.
Others governors, however, are in legal battles trying to ensure abortion access over the objections of abortion opponents there.
Last week, Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Ton Evers filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s 19th-century pre-Roe abortion ban, which criminalizes abortion and only allows an exception to save the mother’s life. Evers’ lawsuit argues that the ban is unenforceable because it conflicts with other abortion laws that have since been passed.
Due to confusion over whether the ban is enforceable — with Evers’ suit pending — abortion providers are suspending services in the state.
In the interim, Evers and his administration are taking steps to ensuring state residents have access to clinics in neighboring states such as Illinois and Minnesota.
“The unfortunate thing is that the most vulnerable women don’t have probably [the] most opportunities to jump in a car and go to Illinois or Minnesota,” Evers told ABC News.
In April, Michigan’s Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who is up for reelection this year, filed a lawsuit in support of abortion rights under the state’s constitution.
In Pennsylvania, the legality of abortion could change depending on who is elected as governor in November.
The state’s Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf is term-limited and cannot seek reelection. Democratic state Attorney General Josh Shapiro and Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano are running to be his successor. Shapiro has said he would protect the right to an abortion while Mastriano said he would not.
One of the first pieces of legislation that Mastriano introduced as a state senator was a “heartbeat” bill which would have banned abortions if a fetal cardiac activity could be found.
Hochul told ABC News that she believes the DGA’s new fund will make a difference in this year’s governor races and that people are going to be “energized” to vote following Roe’s overturning — a ruling that inspired passionate reactions from both sides of the issue.
“[Abortion] is going to have a major effect on this November’s election, as well as the importance of raising the resources to support our governors,” Hochul said.
(WASHINGTON) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, overseeing a very narrow Democratic majority, issued a warning to voters after the Supreme Court struck down Roe vs. Wade.
Republicans are “plotting a nationwide abortion ban” and will act if they get the majority in Congress this midterm election, she said — a sentiment that is a nationwide rallying cry for Democrats.
And while that’s possible — the fall of Roe means abortion is no longer legally protected nationwide, leaving the door open to making it illegal nationwide — the bigger question is whether its plausible.
Here’s what to watch:
First things first: there is a Democrat in the Oval Office.
If Republicans were to win a lot of seats in the House and the Senate in November, giving them enough votes to pass a nationwide ban on abortion, that bill would still have to go to the president’s desk to be made law of the land.
“The key backstop to there being a ban is that the president would veto it,” said Victoria Nourse, a law professor at Georgetown University who focuses on Congress.
The only way around that, in the short-term, would be for Republicans to secure two-thirds of the Senate chamber, or 67 votes, to override that veto — an incredibly unlikely scenario.
Still, such legislation could “very well backfire,” given that only just 13% of Americans support making abortion illegal outright, according to a long-running Gallup poll, said Michele Goodwin, a constitutional law professor at University of California, Irvine.
But just because legislation is unlikely to pass in the immediate wake of the 2022 midterms, those races will still set the stage for bigger threats to abortion rights down the line.
“Where we are today is more of a marathon than a sprint,” Goodwin said.
That’s because if Republicans were to win the House or the Senate, they would be that much closer to enacting a ban if a Republican president was then elected in 2024.
And while Republicans could be pushed away from flat-out bans because of their unpopularity, more tailored bans could gain traction.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has thrown his weight behind a national ban on abortions after 15 weeks, which could get more support from moderate Republicans because nearly all abortions happen before then.
A ban like that could set up a “chip-away” of abortion rights, Goodwin said.
“To the extent that there is a chip-away that ultimately is realized, like what we see in Dobbs and with these trigger bans, one should actually be deeply concerned about the chip-away that could take place in Congress and also in the executive leadership of our country,” she said.
Of course, the underlying question is whether Republicans would actually push for a nationwide ban, if all the pieces were in place.
So far, the only prospective 2024 candidate to go so far as call for a nationwide ban is former Vice President Mike Pence, who reacted to the Supreme Court decision by urging people not to “relent” until “the sanctity of life is restored to the center of American law in every state in the land.”
Other possible Republican contenders like former President Donald Trump, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley have hailed the decision as a victory for state’s rights, steering clear of mentioning top-down action at the federal level.
“This long divisive issue will be decided by the states and the American people,” Trump said at a rally on Saturday in Illinois. “That’s the way it should have been many many years ago, and that’s the way it is now.”
And Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who initially said a nationwide ban was “possible,” recently said he didn’t think it would be possible to get 60 senators, which is how many would have to vote in favor of a ban without ending the filibuster.
Any legislation would end up right back in court
Yet another potential barrier would be the court, which is where any law that touches the Roe vs. Wade decision would end up, whether it’s an attempt to codify abortion rights or get rid of them.
And the Supreme Court ruled states should decide the laws around abortion on an individual basis, which could neuter interference at the federal level of either kind.
That’s led states like California, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey to enact laws that protect peoples’ rights to an abortion and make them safe harbors. It’s unclear how those laws might interact with a nationwide ban — something experts describe as uncharted territory.
But Nourse also said she sees a world where the court is more favorable to a nationwide abortion ban, which would align more with its recent ruling, than an attempt to make abortion legal.
“The bottom line is it will go back to the courts either way,” said Nourse.
What about the steps to codify Roe vs. Wade as law?
While the midterms could hand Republicans a victory that set the stage for a future ban on abortion at the national level, they could also hand Democrats the votes they need to protect abortion rights.
“People across the country are mobilizing and women are pretty ticked off, including Republican women, even if they are not being vocal about this,” Goodwin said.
If the decision does galvanize Democrats enough to gain seats in the Senate, progressives have urged their party to end the filibuster, which would mean Democrats could get laws passed by a slimmer majority.
This past week, Biden endorsed the idea, handing progressives a win.
But moderates warn that the political maneuver would go both ways.
Ending the filibuster could open the door to Republicans using the same tactic to ban abortion — a point Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin leans on to defend his opposition to ending the filibuster.
The bottom line: No single election will guarantee a ban or the return of national protection for abortions, but every single one will have an impact.
“This is on the ballot,” Nourse said. “And it’s going to be on the ballot for a longtime.”
(WASHINGTON) — Congress “must pass” new immigration laws, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Sunday while defending the administration’s policies amid renewed scrutiny of the high amount of migration at the southern border.
“Because the border has been a challenge for decades, ultimately Congress must pass legislation to once and for all fix our broken immigration system,” Mayorkas told ABC This Week co-anchor Martha Raddatz.
Mayorkas’ defense comes after 53 migrants were found dead in a tractor-trailer in San Antonio, Texas, late last month, which Mayorkas called a “tragic result” of a “dangerous journey.” Four men have been charged in the deaths.
On This Week, Mayorkas said that the U.S. was working with regional allies in Central and South America beyond pushing for legislation, which remains a dim prospect in Congress.
“These are remarkable, distinct times,” Mayorkas said. In lieu of new laws, “we have a multi-faceted approach, not only to work with our partner countries but to bring law enforcement to bear to attack the smuggling organizations in an unprecedented way,” he said. “We are doing so very much.”
Raddatz pressed Mayorkas, noting that a legislative fix on immigration was unlikely given partisan gridlock on the issue — and, she said, the administration’s warning to migrants to not try to cross the border was either not being heard or not being heeded.
“Fifty-three people lost their lives in the most horrific of conditions,” Mayorkas said of the migrants who died in San Antonio. “We continue to tell people not to take the dangerous journey. We are enforcing our laws. And we are working with countries … including our close partner Mexico, but with Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Costa Rica, Colombia, to really address the migration that is throughout the Western Hemisphere.”
Still, Raddatz cited a historic high in May for southern border crossings: 240,000.
“I think that we are doing a good job. We need to do better,” Mayorkas acknowledged. “We are focused on doing more, and we are doing it with our partners to the south.”
“You have Congressman Henry Cuellar saying that only about 30% of the Border Patrol are doing missions at checkpoints and the border because the other 70% are tied up at detention centers. How do you fix that?” Raddatz pressed.
“We are pressing this issue vigorously and aggressively to address the number of encounters that we are experiencing at the southern border,” Mayorkas responded.
He touted the administration’s recent win before the Supreme Court, which ruled last week that the White House can end the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” policy that made migrants seeking asylum stay outside the U.S. during adjudication.
Mayorkas argued that policy “has endemic flaws and causes unjustifiable human tragedy.”
“We need to wait until the Supreme Court’s decision is actually communicated to the lower court, to the federal district court and the Northern District of Texas … So, we have to wait several weeks for that procedural step to be taken,” he said.
As for the migrant deaths in the tractor trailer in Texas, Mayorkas said he didn’t want to comment on the facts of the case as they were still emerging. He declined to say whether or not the vehicle had been “waved through” a checkpoint.
“The smuggling organizations are extraordinarily sophisticated. They are transnational criminal organizations,” he said.
Raddatz followed up, asking: “What good are these checkpoints if a truck like that gets through, full of migrants?”
Mayorkas said the “checkpoints are part of a multilayered approach.”
“In fiscal year 2022 alone we’ve stopped more than 400 vehicles and saved and rescued more than 10,000 migrants,” Mayorkas said. “But this is why we continue to communicate that the journey — the dangerous journey should not be taken. We are enforcing our laws and people lose their lives at the hands or exploitative smugglers.”
(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department should not avoid prosecuting Donald Trump in relation to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack if a prosecution is warranted, Rep. Liz Cheney said in an interview with ABC News’ “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl.
While bringing charges against the former president — who may challenge President Joe Biden in 2024 — would be unprecedented and “difficult” for the country, not doing so would support a “much graver constitutional threat,” Cheney said Wednesday in an interview at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library that aired Sunday on “This Week.”
“Are you worried about what that means for the country, to [see] a former president prosecuted? A former president who was a likely candidate; who may in fact be running for president against Biden?” Karl asked Cheney.
“I think it’s a much graver constitutional threat if a president can engage in these kinds of activities, and the majority of the president’s party looks away; or we as a country decide we’re not actually going to take our constitutional obligations seriously,” Cheney said. “I think that’s a much, a much more serious threat.”
“I really believe we have to make these decisions, as difficult as it is, apart from politics. We really have to think about these from the perspective of: What does it mean for the country?” she said.
‘Absolutely confident’ in Hutchinson’s testimony
The Wyoming Republican told Karl she was “absolutely confident” in Cassidy Hutchinson’s startling testimony last week during a surprise hearing by the House’s Jan. 6 committee, which Cheney vice-chairs.
“She’s an incredibly brave young woman,” Cheney said of Hutchinson.
On Tuesday, the former aide to Trump’s White House chief of staff Mark Meadows testified that she was told Trump was verbally aggressive with Secret Service agents and lunged for the steering wheel of his vehicle after learning he was not going to the Capitol after his rally on Jan. 6, 2021.
Hutchinson said Tony Ornato, a Secret Service agent and Trump deputy chief of staff, told her as much not long after the incident that same day. Hutchinson’s account has drawn significant attention and push-back from Trump.
“What Ms. Hutchinson testified to was a conversation that she was part of with Mr. Ornato and which Mr. Engel [a Secret Service agent] was present, where they detailed what happened in the limousine,” Cheney said.
“Do you have any evidence other than Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony to corroborate what she said happened in that presidential motorcade?” Karl asked Cheney.
“The committee has significant evidence about a whole range of issues, including the president’s intense anger,” Cheney responded.
“I think you will continue to see in the coming days and weeks additional detail about the president’s activities and behavior on that day,” Cheney added.
In a statement to ABC News, the Secret Service said agents were prepared to give sworn testimony to the panel. A source close to the Secret Service did not dispute to ABC News that Trump was angry with agents in the car but said he did not reach for the wheel or lunge at Robert Engel, the lead agent on his detail.
Hutchinson also claimed that Trump knew his supporters were armed on Jan. 6 ahead of a march on the Capitol.
Trump on Tuesday worked to dismiss and downplay Hutchinson’s testimony, posting on social media that “I hardly know who this person … is, other than I heard very negative things about her (a total phony and ‘leaker’).”
“She is bad news!” he added.
Speaking with Karl, Cheney said the House committee “is not going to stand by and watch her [Hutchinson’s] character be assassinated by anonymous sources and by men who are claiming executive privilege. And so we look forward very much to additional testimony under oath on a whole range of issues.”
Criminal referral over witness tampering?
Cheney said during last week’s hearing that some witnesses had told investigators Trump aides attempted to influence their testimony before the panel. Hutchinson was among those to receive messages about protecting the former president, sources later told ABC News.
“Witness tampering is a crime. Are you making a criminal referral to DOJ on this?” Karl asked.
“We’ll make a decision as a committee about that,” Cheney replied.
“Do you have any doubt that [Trump] broke the law and that he is guilty of criminal violations?” Karl asked Cheney. (Trump insists he did nothing wrong.)”It’s a decision that we’ll make together as a committee,” Cheney said of referring any potential criminal conduct to the Justice Department.
“There’s no question that he engaged in high crimes and misdemeanors. I think there’s no question that it’s the most serious betrayal of his oath of office of any president in the history of the nation. It’s the most dangerous behavior of any president in the history of the nation,” she said.
“It’s possible there will be a criminal referral?” Karl asked.
“Yes,” Cheney said, adding that the Justice Department “doesn’t have to wait” for the panel to make a referral and that the committee could issue “more than one criminal referral.”
Damaging Trump ‘not the goal’ of hearings
Cheney has emerged as perhaps her party’s most vocal and most famous anti-Trump voice, drawing praise from Democrats and derision from many conservatives. Last year, she told ABC News that she would “do everything that I can to make sure” Trump “never gets anywhere close to the Oval Office again.”
“Have these hearings gotten you closer to that goal — making him toxic and not a viable candidate?” Karl asked in the new interview.
“That’s not the goal of the hearings,” she said.
“It’s crucial for the country to make sure that he’s never anywhere near the Oval Office again,” Cheney continued.
“The goal of the hearings is to make sure that the American people understand what happened; to help inform legislation, legislative changes that we might need to make,” she said. “I think it’s also the case that there’s not a single thing that I have learned, as we have been involved in this investigation, that has made me less concerned.”
“There’s no question: A man as dangerous as Donald Trump can absolutely never be anywhere near the Oval Office ever again,” Cheney said.
With looming primary, Cheney doesn’t ‘intend to lose’
Cheney was one of 10 House Republicans to vote to impeach Trump in 2021 for inciting the Capitol riot. Of that group, four are not running for reelection and Rep. Tom Rice of South Carolina was defeated in his May primary by a Trump-endorsed opponent.
Cheney will face Trump-backed candidate Harriet Hageman in early August. The former president won a greater share of the vote in Wyoming in 2020 than in any other state.
“You said recently the country is now in a battle: We must win against the former president trying to unravel our constitutional republic. What will it mean for that battle if you lose the Republican primary in Wyoming?” Karl asked Cheney.
“Well, I don’t intend to lose the Republican primary in Wyoming,” Cheney said.
“How important is it that you win, for that larger battle?” Karl asked.
“I think it’s important, because I will be the best representative that people of Wyoming can have,” Cheney said.
“The single most important thing is protecting the nation from Donald Trump. And I think that that matters to us as Americans more than anything else, and that’s why my work on the committee is so important,” she said.
“It’s so important to not just brush this past and say, ‘Okay, well, that’s in the past,’ but it informs whether this sort of toxin of Trump’s belief that he can put himself above the Constitution and put himself above the law — whether or not we successfully defeat that. And I think it’s very important that people know the truth. And that there are consequences,” Cheney said.
Cheney thinks GOP ‘can’t survive’ a Trump 2024 bid
Cheney said the Republican Party “can’t survive” if the former president runs for the White House again and wins the GOP nomination for 2024.
“I think that he can’t be the party nominee. And I don’t think the party would survive that,” Cheney said. “I believe in the party, and I believe in what the party can be and what the party can stand for. And I’m not ready to give that up.”
“Those of us who believe in Republican principles and ideals have a responsibility to try to lead the party back to what it can be, and to reject, and to reject so much of the toxin and the vitriol,” she added.
“I think it’s important also to remember that millions of people, millions of Republicans have been betrayed by Donald Trump. And that is a really painful thing for people to recognize and to admit,” she said.
“But it’s absolutely the case and they’ve been betrayed by him, by the ‘big lie” — referring to Trump’s continued baseless claims of election fraud — “and by what he continues to do and say to tear apart our country and tear apart our party, and I think we have to reject that,” Cheney said.
She said she has not “made a decision” about running for president in 2024.
“I’m obviously very focused on my reelection. I’m very focused on the Jan. 6 committee,” she said, with public hearings expected to resume later this month. “I’m very focused on my obligations to do the job that I have now. And I’ll make a decision about ’24 down the road.”
“But I think about it less in terms of a decision about running for office and more in terms of as an American — and as somebody who’s in a position of public trust now — how do I make sure that I’m doing everything I can to do the right thing, to do what I know is right for the country, and to protect our Constitution?”
(NEW YORK) — Supreme Court marshal Gail Curley is asking Maryland officials to enforce state and local laws that prohibit picketing outside the homes of justices.
Curley sent the requests to Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Montgomery County executive Mark Erlich in letters dated July 1, citing an uptick in demonstrations since May — when the draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade was leaked to the public.
“For weeks on end, large groups of protesters chanting slogans, using bullhorns, and banging drums have picketed Justices’ homes in Maryland,” Curley wrote to Hogan, noting one crowd outside the home of a justice grew to more than 100 people.
The Maryland residences of Chief Justice John Roberts and justices Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh have been the site of such activity. Alito and Kavanaugh were part of the majority opinion overturning Roe on June 24.
Last month, a man was arrested outside Kavanaugh’s home with a gun. Nicholas Roske, 26, allegedly told authorities he intended to kill the justice. Roske has pleaded not guilty to one count of attempting to kill a justice of the United States.
Curley in her letters pointed to a Maryland law which states a “person may not intentionally assemble with another in a manner that disrupts a person’s right to tranquility in the person’s home.” The law provides imprisonment for up to 90 days or a $100 fine.
Curley also cited a Montgomery County law that states a “person or group of persons must not picket in front of or adjacent to any private residence.”
As the Supreme Court marshal, Curley oversees security and the court’s police force.
Hogan and Elrich’s offices did not immediately respond to a request for comment by ABC News.
Curley noted that Hogan previously said he was “deeply concerned” when hundreds of people gathered to protest at the justices’ homes. In mid-May, Hogan joined fellow Republican governor, Virginia’s Glenn Youngkin, in urging U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to enforce a federal law that forbids demonstrations intended to sway judges on pending cases. In Virginia, the home of Justice Amy Coney Barrett has also been a target of protesters.
Elrich previously told ABC affiliate WCTI that he wished the protests were done somewhere else. “If everybody’s going to protest everybody who does something at their houses, we’re going to have a very hard time maintaining civil society,” he said, as Curley noted in her letter.
Security has been tightened for the justices and their families since the draft abortion ruling was leaked on May 2, and the protests have been the topic of legal debate as protesters argue they are exercising their First Amendment rights.
Curley is also investigating the leak of the draft opinion. Little details have been provided about the probe, but it will likely look at the document’s paper trail, as draft opinions are not widely accessible.
The high court just ended a dramatic and divisive term, ruling on hot-button topics like abortion, gun rights, religious liberty and environmental regulation.
The justices will reconvene in October for a term that will include cases on election laws, free speech and consideration of race in college admissions processes.
(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to New Orleans on Saturday to take part in the Essence Festival of Culture.
According to White House officials, Harris will speak in “a fireside conversation with Emmy-winning actress and leading millennial voice Keke Palmer, where the Vice President will speak to the most critical issues facing Black women, including the implications of the Supreme Court’s decision on [Roe v. Wade].”
“This will be the largest audience the Vice President has addressed since the Court’s decision last Friday,” the officials said.
The Supreme Court on June 24 overturned the landmark ruling that legalized abortion access nationwide for the past five decades.
Harris responded to the repeal of Roe that day, stating it was “the first time in the history of our nation that a constitutional right has been taken from the people of America.”
“This is a health care crisis, because understand, millions of women in America will go to bed tonight without access to the health care and reproductive care that they had this morning; without access to the same healthcare or reproductive healthcare that their mothers and grandmothers had for 50 years,” she said during a visit to Plainfield, Illinois.
Harris also said the decision could impact other privacy rights, including precedent on contraception and same-sex marriage.
“The great aspiration of our nation has been to expand freedom, but the expansion of freedom clearly is not inevitable,” the vice president said.
The Biden administration has taken some steps to protect access to care. The Justice Department said it will protect women traveling across state lines for abortion services and Health and Human Services is working to ensure access to federally-approved medication such as contraception and the abortion pill mifepristone.
President Joe Biden met with Democratic governors on Friday to discuss additional efforts to safeguard reproductive care and women’s rights.
But the president has said it’s up to Congress to make Roe federal law, and without a carveout to the Senate filibuster it’s unlikely any attempt to do so by Democrats will fail.
Democratic leaders have also said it’s up to voters to elect more representatives who support abortion rights.
“You have the power to elect leaders who will defend and protect your rights,” Harris said last week.
The Essence Festival of Culture kicked off on Thursday and will run through Sunday, featuring performances by Kevin Hart, Nicki Minak, Janet Jackson and more.
Harris, the first female and Black vice president, last spoke at the festival in 2019, when she was running for the Democratic nomination for president.
While in New Orleans, Harris will also meet privately with leaders of reproductive justice organizations.
