Today in one sentence: Trump pressed top officials at the DOJ to claim the election was fraudulent and "leave the rest to me" and his congressional allies; the DOJ ruled that the IRS must release Trump's tax returns to Congress; Trump said the officers who testified about the 1/6 insurrection are "pussies"; the delta variant appears to spread as easily as chickenpox; and Biden ordered the military to move toward mandatory vaccinations.

1/ Trump pressed his Justice Department to claim that the 2020 election results were corrupt. Trump pressed top Justice Department officials late last year to declare that the election was corrupt even though they had found no instances of widespread fraud. “Leave the rest to me,” and to congressional allies, the former president is said to have told top law enforcement officials. (New York Times / CNN / Washington Post)

2/ The Department of Justice ruled that the IRS must release Trump’s tax returns to Congress. Trump has refused for years to voluntarily disclose his income tax returns. Congress can now see them, the Justice Department said. (CNBC / The Hill)

3/ Trump said the Capitol police officers who spoke to Congress are “pussies.” Trump has expressed anger that the officers blamed him for the riot he clearly inspired and speculated they were being used as pawns by Speaker Nancy Pelosi. (Daily Beast)

4/ The delta variant of the coronavirus appears to cause more severe illness than earlier variants and spreads as easily as chickenpox, according to an internal federal health document that argues officials must “acknowledge the war has changed.” The document captures the struggle of the nation’s top public health agency to persuade the public to embrace vaccination and prevention measures, including mask-wearing, as cases surge across the United States and new research suggests vaccinated people can spread the virus. (Washington Post)

5/ Biden ordered the military to move toward mandatory COVID vaccinations. Biden said making the vaccines mandatory is important because troops often serve in places where vaccination rates are low. (Military.com)

Two years ago today: Day 922: An emblem of hate.