US presses for answers after arrest in documents leak |
On Thursday afternoon, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that the Justice Department arrested United States Air Force National Guard employee Jack Teixeira “in connection with an investigation into alleged unauthorized removal, retention and transmission of classified national defense information.”
Teixeira reportedly oversaw the Discord group Thug Shaker Central, where leaked classified documents with intelligence on the Ukraine war and more first appeared. The documents eventually ended up on other social media platforms. The FBI said it was “continuing to conduct authorized law enforcement activity at the residence.”
Thursday’s developments follow “a week of speculation on the identity and motivation of the leaker, prompting the Pentagon to cull distribution lists for its intelligence reports as the FBI sought to identify the leaker,” The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch wrote.
Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said Thursday, “We do have stringent guidelines in place for safeguarding classified and sensitive information. This was a deliberate, criminal act, a violation of those guidelines.” Ryder said the Pentagon is continuing to review and update distribution lists. “We’re always gonna learn from every situation.” How Teixeira, the 21-year-old Air Guard member based in Massachusetts, allegedly had access to the documents is unknown at this time.
Read more on the guardsman’s arrest here |
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Welcome to Evening Report! I’m Amee LaTour, catching you up from the afternoon and what’s coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here. |
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Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said talk of a prisoner swap “can be examined only after a court delivers its verdict” regarding Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who Russia accused of spying (an allegation the U.S. has denied).
Former President Trump appeared for his second deposition in New York Attorney General Letitia James‘s (D) fraud lawsuit.
Several House Republicans introduced a bill to block state and local prosecutors from using federal funds to investigate a president, with Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) citing Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg‘s indictment of Trump as the impetus for the bill.
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© Greg Nash/Anna Rose Layden |
Rep. Khanna opens up about call for Feinstein’s removal
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Since Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) called on Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) to resign on Wednesday, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) followed suit and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) criticized the push.
“My intent was not to make a splash, it was simply to say publicly what so many know privately,” Khanna told The Hill’s Hanna Trudo.
Feinstein has been absent from the Senate since February, when she was diagnosed with shingles. She said Wednesday she asked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to temporarily replace her on the Judiciary Committee, which is responsible for advancing judicial nominees.
Pelosi suggested there were “political agendas” at play in calls for Feinstein to step down and said, “I’ve never seen them go after a man who was sick in the Senate in that way.”
“I don’t know what political agendas are at work with her comments,” Khanna responded. “I just know there are so many people who are really concerned about women’s rights, who are concerned about the Texas decision with the FDA. And what they want to know is why can’t we confirm these judges?”
Read more on the Khanna interview from The Hill here.
And read more on Feinstein’s absence here. |
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DOJ seeks SCOTUS involvement in abortion pill fight |
Part of the fight over mifepristone, a pill commonly used for abortions, is heading to the U.S. Supreme Court.
A federal appeals court ruled against a Texas judge who last week moved to rescind the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, meaning it’ll remain available as the case proceeds. But the court upheld part of the Texas ruling, which is poised to limit access effective Saturday.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said, “We will be seeking emergency relief from the Supreme Court to defend the FDA’s scientific judgment and protect Americans’ access to safe and effective reproductive care.”
The upheld portions of the ruling roll back changes “allowing the mifepristone to be sent through the mail, lifting a requirement for three in-person visits, approving a generic and approving the drug’s use up to 10 weeks into a pregnancy, rather than seven weeks,” The Hill’s Zach Schonfeld wrote. Schonfeld noted the Justice Department’s request will go to Justice Samuel Alito, who “could act on the application alone or refer it to the full court for consideration.”
Read more here |
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Heterosexual marriages increasingly egalitarian in terms of income
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A Pew Research Center study shows a growing number of heterosexual marriages are egalitarian in terms of income, though women do a greater share of household work. |
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PBS is joining NPR among the ranks of media companies abandoning Twitter after recent changes that labeled the accounts “government-funded.” “PBS stopped tweeting from our account when we learned of the change and we have no plans to resume at this time,” a spokesman said. Read more here |
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Challenging legislative terrain ahead for House GOP
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The Hill’s Emily Brooks and Mike Lillis look at what’s ahead for the House GOP beyond its first 100 days in power:
“The coming fiscal debates over must-pass legislation will differ from those that defined the first three months of the year, when McCarthy’s new GOP majority focused largely on messaging bills designed to enliven the party base and, at times, highlight Democratic divisions on hot-button issues like crime and immigration.” Read more here |
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“Over-the-counter Narcan will save lives — once we know how to use it” — Michael McNeil Ed.D., program director of Columbia University’s Opioid Overdose Prevention Program, and Melanie Bernitz MD, medical director of the program. (Read here)
“Macron in Beijing: Why US China-watchers need to take a deep breath” — Michael Shurkin, a nonresident fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center. (Read here) |
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572 days until the presidential election. |
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