An assault weapons ban is back on Joe Biden’s agenda today as he heads to Pennsylvania to deliver a speech on guns, crime and Republican attacks on the FBI.
The push for a ban is a centerpiece of the president’s Safer America Plan unveiled earlier his month, and Biden will use his afternoon address in Wilkes-Barre to hammer Republicans for their opposition to it.
A series of deadly mass shootings has propelled gun violence back into prominence, and the White House says, during his remarks in Pennsylvania, Biden will continue to press for a reinstatement of the ban, believing it will resonate with voters ahead of the November midterms, 10 weeks ahead today.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at her briefing Monday:
The president is going to talk about how he brought the Democrats and Republicans together earlier this month to pass the most significant safety law in 30 years. He’ll talk about how we have built on that momentum and how we must act on banning assault weapons.
A majority of Americans support… banning assault weapons; the National Rifle Association opposes it. We are going to hear from the president about the importance of making sure that we protect our communities.
[He] has been really clear that congressional Republicans, that extreme MAGA [Make America Great Again] agenda that you heard him talk about last week is a threat to the rule of law.
It’s the first of three visits Biden will make to the key battleground state of Pennsylvania in six days. On Thursday he will give a primetime address from Philadelphia on “the continued battle for the soul of the nation,” covering America’s standing in the world and how its democracy is at stake.
On Labor Day, next Monday, he will be in Pittsburgh celebrating “the dignity of American workers.”
Biden’s administration, while carefully avoiding commentary on the justice department’s investigation into former president Donald Trump and the FBI raid on his Florida resort that netted hidden classified documents, nevertheless sees opportunity in the moment.
Some extreme Republicans have called for defunding the FBI in protest at the raid. Biden will use today’s speech to promote Democrats as the party of law and order and tough on crime, reiterating that fully funding law enforcement is another key tenet of the Safer America plan.
Key events
Three Arizona Republicans, including secretary of state nominee Mark Finchem and congressman Paul Gosar, must pay $75,000 in attorney fees for filing a defamation suit against a former Democratic lawmaker “primarily for purposes of harassment”, a judge has ruled.
The Associated Press reports that the Republicans filed the lawsuit last year against former state representative Charlene Fernandez after she and other Democrats called for an investigation of their roles in the 6 January insurrection at the US Capitol.
The judge, Levi Gunderson, dismissed the lawsuit in April, saying Fernandez’s request was protected by the first amendment’s rights to free speech and to petition the government.
On Tuesday, Gunderson ruled that the lawsuit appeared to have been “written for an audience other than the assigned trial court judge” as it made irrelevant references to open borders and Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
The lawsuit “was brought for an improper purpose, having been filed against a political opponent primarily for purposes of harassment,” he added.
Fernandez and 41 other Democratic lawmakers signed a letter in January 2021 urging the justice department to investigate Finchem, Gosar and then state representative Anthony Kern, allies of Donald Trump who were in or around the US Capitol at the time of the riot. All deny wrongdoing.
UN expert: LGBTQ+ equality in US ‘not within reach’
States that have passed legislation restricting LGBTQ+ rights have come under attack from an independent United Nations expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Speaking at a UN briefing on discrimination against LGBTQ+ communities in New York on Tuesday, Victor Madrigal-Borloz said he looked at a cross-section of key indicators from housing to health care access:
Equality is not yet within reach, and in many cases not within sight of LGBT communities and populations in the US. All outcomes in the sectors I mentioned are inferior, and in many cases significantly inferior, for the LGBT population.
I am extremely concerned about a series, and I would say a concerted series, of actions at state level, both legislative and administrative, that tend to base on prejudice and stigma, to attack and to rollback the rights of LGBT persons.
Numerous US states have passed, or have been contemplating restrictive anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in recent months, none more so than Florida.
Republican governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a “don’t say gay” bill that outlaws most classroom discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation topics, as well as a law banning transgender athletes.
DoJ tightens rules around some staff attending election events
Political appointees at the US Department of Justice (DoJ) will be barred from attending campaign events or fundraisers, according to new guidance issued by attorney general Merrick Garland today, ahead of November’s midterm elections, Reuters reports.
I know you agree it is critical that we hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards to avoid even the appearance of political influence as we carry out the department’s mission. It is in that spirit that I have added these new restrictions on political activities by non-career employees,” Garland wrote in a memo.
While it is common for the justice department to remind its staff to tread carefully about political activities ahead of election seasons, Garland’s memo contains among the most restrictive policies in recent times.
Federal employees in general are subject to the Hatch Act, a law which limits some of their political activities to ensure the government is free from partisan influence.
Previously, political appointees at the department were permitted to attend partisan events in their personal capacity, as long as they sought prior approval.
Under the new guidance, however, there will be no exceptions – including on the evening of election day itself.
The change comes at a time when the justice department is under a national microscope over its extraordinary decision to search the Florida estate of former Republican president Donald Trump earlier this month.
This was part of an ongoing criminal investigation into whether he illegally retained government records, including some marked as top secret.
In addition to the pressure the department has faced over its investigation into Trump, some of its political appointees have also faced criticism for attending political functions.
Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas in July called for an investigation after Rachael Rollins, an outspoken progressive prosecutor who serves as the US attorney for Massachusetts, attended a Democratic fundraiser that month that was also attended by first lady Jill Biden.
Rollins in a tweet following news reports on her attendance said she had “approval to meet Dr. Biden & left early to speak at 2 community events”.
A spokesperson for Rollins did not immediately respond to a request for comment on today.
The White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is holding a gaggle aboard Air Force One, as Joe Biden heads to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to talk about gun safety.
The first topic in the gaggle is the flooding in Mississippi and the failure of the Jackson area water treatment services, which has caused a crisis over clean drinking water.
Jean-Pierre indicated the federal government is standing by in the event of a request from the state for federal supplies of water. Meanwhile, she said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) is liaising.
The state has created an incident command center to step in and restore water at the city’s plant. We are sending a request for a federally-declared disaster to support state and city emergencies. Clear communication between locals/state/feds. Please keep Jackson in your prayers! https://t.co/fmTPpqNu10
— Governor Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) August 30, 2022
Interim summary
Joe Biden is on his way to Pennsylvania, where he will give an address this afternoon promoting an assault weapons ban, while attacking Republicans over crime, and calls by some in the party to defund the FBI.
The president is scheduled to speak at 3.15pm in Wilkes-Barre, one of three upcoming appearances in the key swing state where a US Senate seat and governorship are at stake in the November’s election, now just 10 weeks away.
We’ll bring you his speech when it begins, and news from White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s lunchtime “gaggle” with reporters onboard Air Force One.
Here’s what else we’ve been following:
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US Secret Service official Tony Ornato, a figure of intense interest to the congressional committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack, has retired from the agency. He was an eyewitness to some of the most critical incidents involving Donald Trump in the hours leading up to the deadly assault on the US Capitol.
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NBC News reported that Trump has hired a criminal attorney who was once Florida’s solicitor to his legal team. Chris Kise is expected to make his first appearance in federal court in West Palm Beach on Thursday when district judge Aileen Cannon mulls Trump’s request for a special master to oversee the justice department’s review of classified materials seized by the FBI at his home.
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We’re awaiting at any moment the justice department’s legal response to Trump’s request, which will be a lengthy filing running up to 40 pages after Cannon waived a 20-page limit imposed by the court.
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Incumbent Democratic Arizona senator Mark Kelly leads Republican challenger Blake Masters by more than three points in a poll released today, appearing to confirm a growing belief within the party that pro-choice messaging on abortion will be vote-winner in November’s midterms.
Stay with us for what will surely be a busy afternoon.
Up the workers! A poll has found increased approval among US citizens for labor unions to its highest point in more than half a century.
The Gallup survey reveals that 71% have a favorable view of unions and union activity, up three points from a year ago and matching the figure from 1965. Peak public approval came in 1953 at 75%.
The Covid-19 pandemic is, the study says, at least partly responsible for this renewed enthusiasm, which reflects a steady rise from only 48% approval just over a decade ago:
The low unemployment rate that developed during the pandemic altered the balance of power between employers and employees, creating an environment fostering union membership that has resulted in the formation of unions at several high-profile companies.
While already on an upswing, public approval of unions has only increased further during the pandemic and is now at a level not seen in nearly six decades.
Several large companies, including Starbucks and Amazon, have led a backlash against unionization in their workforces, the Guardian reporting this week that the coffee giant had created a “culture of fear” and fired dozens of workers involved in union activism.
Workers for airlines, delivery companies, fast food restaurants, in the medical profession and even strippers have all been featured in the Guardian’s recent coverage of labor unions.
Read the views of Bernie Sanders, Vermont senator and a former candidate for the Democratic party’s presidential nomination, on the importance of unions:
There are exactly 10 weeks until November’s midterm elections, and Democrats are daring to believe that what was once expected to be a Republican rout might not yet come to pass.
It’s only one poll, but some good news for the party comes from Arizona, where incumbent Democrat Mark Kelly leads Republican challenger Blake Masters by more than three points.
Kelly is among Republicans’ top targets as they seek to win back control of the Senate, but Arizona appears to be one of a number of states where the Supreme Court’s reversal of federal abortion protections this summer appears to be resonating.
Masters, who believes in a “federal personhood law” recognizing unborn babies as human beings, has been attempting to promote the argument that his approach is common sense, and it’s Kelly’s support for abortion rights that represents the “extreme” position.
NBC reported that Masters has backtracked, and replaced pro-life statements on his campaign website with softer messaging.
There’s a long way to go of course, in Arizona and elsewhere, but there are signs the abortion debate could prove a clear vote-winner for Democrats in November. Last week in New York, pro-choice Democrat Pat Ryan defeated his opponent Marc Molinaro in a swing House seat expected to fall to the Republican.
Masters is not the only Republican candidate appearing to realize that presenting a strong anti-abortion message could be harmful in the fall election. CNN has details of a number of GOP hopefuls “trying to shift or paper over” their more conservative positions.
Ed Pilkington
Top US Secret Service official Tony Ornato, who has become a figure of intense interest to the congressional committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack, has retired from the agency.
Ornato was thrust into the center of the January 6 furor as an eyewitness to some of the most critical incidents involving Donald Trump in the hours leading up to the deadly assault on the US Capitol.
He began as head of Trump’s Secret Service detail but in an unprecedented move in December 2019 became deputy chief of staff in the White House.
In that capacity, he was drawn into the sights of the January 6 committee in its investigation of Trump’s role in inciting the Capitol insurrection. A former White House aide, Cassidy Hutchinson, in June testified publicly to the committee that Ornato had told her Trump had become “irate” when his security detail refused to drive him to the Capitol as the assault on Congress was beginning.
The attack aimed to prevent the congressional certification of Trump’s defeat to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.
When his Secret Service driver insisted it was not safe to go, Trump lunged for the steering wheel and then grabbed the agent’s throat, Hutchinson testified Ornato had told her. Ornato reportedly denied the account through unnamed sources.
Hutchinson also revealed to the committee that Ornato had briefed top White House aides on January 6 itself that weapons were being carried among the crowd at the Capitol, including guns, knives and spears. Ornato has not denied that allegation.
On Monday, he confirmed that he had retired from the Secret Service, saying in a statement that he wanted to work in the private sector. He has already been interviewed twice by the January 6 committee, though the contents of his testimony have not been made public.
Read the full story:
Talking of the FBI raid on Donald Trump’s Florida mansion, NBC News is reporting that the former president has hired a criminal attorney who was once the state’s solicitor general.
According to the network, Chris Kise, who has close ties to both Ron DeSantis, Florida’s ultra-conservative Republican governor, and DeSantis’s predecessor and current US Senator Rick Scott, joined Trump’s legal team after the 8 August raid.
Kise, NBC says, has a reputation as a “political knife fighter” and has “a winning record” in the US Supreme Court.
Sources have confirmed the hiring to the Guardian.
NEWS: Trump signed “360 degree lawyer” to rep him in the Mar-a-Lago documents case: former Florida Solicitor General Chris Kise, who has notched 4 wins before @SCOTUS and has a reputation as a political knife fighterhttps://t.co/cWuLw966mA
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) August 30, 2022
Trump has struggled to find and retain experienced lawyers as he fights criminal and civil proceedings and investigations on multiple fronts, none placing him in more legal jeopardy than the justice department’s investigation into his alleged retention of highly classified documents after he left office last year
The hiring of Kise would appear to buck that trend. He is expected to make his first appearance as Trump’s attorney in federal court in West Palm Beach on Thursday, NBC says.
At that hearing, district judge Aileen Cannon will mull whether to grant the former president’s request for a special master to oversee the justice department’s review of materials seized by the FBI at his home.
Boris Epshteyn is staying on as Trump’s in-house legal adviser, the Guardian understands. Others on his legal team for the documents case are Evan Corcoran, Jim Trusty and Lindsey Halligan.
Justice department to file ‘special master’ response
A little later this morning we’re expecting to see the justice department’s legal response to Donald Trump’s request for a “special master” to oversee its review of classified documents seized by the FBI in a raid on his Florida home.
It will be a lengthy filing running up to 40 pages after Florida district judge Aileen Cannon waived a 20-page limit imposed by the court.
The justice department argued the lower limit wasn’t sufficient to “adequately address the legal and factual issues” raised by Trump’s demand.
Many observers see the former president’s move as a delaying tactic to the justice department’s investigation, given that any special master – usually a retired lawyer or judge – would require time to review all the materials.
As the Guardian has previously reported, FBI agents confiscated about 30 boxes containing highly sensitive documents from his Mar-a-Lago resort in an investigation into the unauthorized retention of government secrets. Attorney general Merrick Garland approved the justice department’s request for a warrant to carry out the raid.
Cannon’s order said the justice department had to file its response to the Trump request “on or before Tuesday”. Trump’s legal team will have until 8pm Wednesday to give a reply, and Cannon has scheduled a hearing for Thursday at which she is expected to make a decision.
We’ll bring you details of the justice department filing as we get them.
Martin Pengelly
More than two-fifths of Americans believe civil war is at least somewhat likely in the next 10 years, according to a new survey – a figure that increases to more than half among self-identified “strong Republicans”.
Amid heated rhetoric from supporters of Donald Trump, the findings, in research by YouGov and the Economist, follow similar results in other polls.
On Sunday night, the South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham predicted “riots in the streets” if Trump is indicted over his retention of classified documents after leaving the White House, materials recovered by the FBI at Trump’s home this month.
Graham earned widespread rebuke. On Monday, Mary McCord, a former acting deputy attorney general, told CNN it was “incredibly irresponsible for an elected official to basically make veiled threats of violence, just if law enforcement and the Department of Justice … does their job”.
Saying “people are angry, they may be violent”, McCord said, showed that “what [Trump] knows and what Lindsey Graham also knows … is that people listen to that and people actually mobilise and do things.
“January 6 was the result of this same kind of tactic by President Trump and his allies.”
Nine deaths including suicides among police officers have been linked to the Capitol attack on 6 January 2021, when supporters Trump told to “fight like hell” to overturn his defeat by Joe Biden attempted to stop the certification of electoral results.
Since then, fears of political violence have grown.
Most experts believe a full-scale armed conflict, like the American civil war of 1861-65, remains unlikely.
But many fear an increase of jagged political division and explicitly political violence, particularly as Republican politicians who support Trump’s lie about electoral fraud run for Congress, governor’s mansions and key state elections posts.
Read the full story:
An assault weapons ban is back on Joe Biden’s agenda today as he heads to Pennsylvania to deliver a speech on guns, crime and Republican attacks on the FBI.
The push for a ban is a centerpiece of the president’s Safer America Plan unveiled earlier his month, and Biden will use his afternoon address in Wilkes-Barre to hammer Republicans for their opposition to it.
A series of deadly mass shootings has propelled gun violence back into prominence, and the White House says, during his remarks in Pennsylvania, Biden will continue to press for a reinstatement of the ban, believing it will resonate with voters ahead of the November midterms, 10 weeks ahead today.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at her briefing Monday:
The president is going to talk about how he brought the Democrats and Republicans together earlier this month to pass the most significant safety law in 30 years. He’ll talk about how we have built on that momentum and how we must act on banning assault weapons.
A majority of Americans support… banning assault weapons; the National Rifle Association opposes it. We are going to hear from the president about the importance of making sure that we protect our communities.
[He] has been really clear that congressional Republicans, that extreme MAGA [Make America Great Again] agenda that you heard him talk about last week is a threat to the rule of law.
It’s the first of three visits Biden will make to the key battleground state of Pennsylvania in six days. On Thursday he will give a primetime address from Philadelphia on “the continued battle for the soul of the nation,” covering America’s standing in the world and how its democracy is at stake.
On Labor Day, next Monday, he will be in Pittsburgh celebrating “the dignity of American workers.”
Biden’s administration, while carefully avoiding commentary on the justice department’s investigation into former president Donald Trump and the FBI raid on his Florida resort that netted hidden classified documents, nevertheless sees opportunity in the moment.
Some extreme Republicans have called for defunding the FBI in protest at the raid. Biden will use today’s speech to promote Democrats as the party of law and order and tough on crime, reiterating that fully funding law enforcement is another key tenet of the Safer America plan.
Good morning, and welcome to Tuesday’s US politics blog.
Joe Biden has a busy day ahead, and will use a visit to Pennsylvania to hammer Republicans on guns, crime, and calls by some in the party to defund the FBI after the agency’s raid on former president Donald Trump’s Florida resort.
Biden is expected to renew calls for an assault weapons ban, something Republicans in Congress remain resolutely opposed to despite a recent series of deadly mass shootings.
The president is scheduled to give remarks in Wilkes-Barre at 3.15pm. We’ll have more details about that coming up.
Here’s what else we’re watching today:
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The fallout from the seizure of classified documents from Trump’s Palm Beach residence continues. We’re expecting a legal response from the justice department to the ex-president’s demand for a “special master” to be appointed to oversee the review of what was found.
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There’s renewed hope among Democrats for their prospects in November’s midterm elections. A poll in Arizona shows Democratic senator Mark Kelly, a top Republican target, leading his opponent by more than three points.
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White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre will address reporters on board Air Force One en route to Pennsylvania.
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Congress is on summer recess, so we’re not anticipating much excitement in Washington DC.
