Day 650: "Hellscape."
Today in one sentence: Federal prosecutors charged the man accused of breaking into Nancy Pelosi's home with attempted kidnapping and assault; Elon Musk tweeted and deleted a baseless anti-LGBTQ conspiracy theory about the attack on Nancy Pelosi's husband; the Jan. 6 committee obtained eight emails from late 2020 that a judge described as evidence that Trump and his lawyer John Eastman “more likely than not” committed crimes; Trump filed an emergency application asking the Supreme Court to temporary block Congress from obtaining his past tax returns; and 49% of voters say the economy is extremely important to their vote for Congress.
1/ Federal prosecutors charged the man accused of breaking into Nancy Pelosi’s home with attempted kidnapping and assault. David DePape broke into the Pelosis’ San Francisco home through a glass door Friday morning, attacked her husband, Paul Pelosi, with a hammer, and shouted “Where’s Nancy?” DePape told police he was going to hold Nancy Pelosi hostage and wanted to “break her knee caps” to send a message to other Democrats. Nancy Pelosi was in Washington at the time. DePape brought with him a roll of tape, white rope, zip ties, two hammers, rubber gloves, and other items. He had posted memes and conspiracy theories on Facebook about Covid-19 vaccines, the 2020 election and the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, as well as blogged about QAnon and other bigoted and fringe topics. DePape is also facing state charges of attempted murder and other felonies. The attempted kidnapping charge carries a maximum of 20 years in prison, and up to 30 years for assaulting an immediate member of a federal official’s family and inflicting a serious injury with a dangerous weapon. Paul underwent surgery for a fractured skull and serious injuries to his hands and right arm. (Washington Post / New York Times / Politico / CNN / Wall Street Journal / CNBC)
2/ Elon Musk tweeted and deleted a baseless anti-LGBTQ conspiracy theory about the attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband. Three days after purchasing Twitter, Musk responded to a tweet by Hillary Clinton assailing the Republican Party for spreading “hate and deranged conspiracy theories” that she said encouraged the man who attacked Paul Pelosi. Musk replied that “There is a tiny possibility there might be more to this story than meets the eye” and then shared a link to an article from the Santa Monica Observer – an outlet that has repeatedly published fake stories, including that Clinton had died in the Sept. 11 attacks and that Democrats had been using a body double. The article alleges that Paul Pelosi was drunk and in a fight with a male prostitute. Musk’s tweet was later deleted after receiving immediate and widespread backlash. Days earlier, Musk pledged to advertisers that Twitter wouldn’t become a “free-for-all hellscape” under his leadership. Trump Jr., meanwhile, retweeted a proposed “Paul Pelosi” Halloween costume featuring men’s underwear and a hammer, saying “The Internet remains undefeated.” (New York Times / NBC News / Bloomberg / CNN / Axios)
3/ The Jan. 6 committee obtained eight emails from late 2020 that a judge described as evidence that Trump and his lawyer John Eastman “more likely than not” committed crimes. Last week, U.S. District Court Judge David Carter ordered Eastman, the architect of Trump’s effort to subvert the 2020 election, to deliver the emails to the committee. Eastman had argued that the emails should be shielded from the Jan. 6 committee, citing privileges for attorney-client communications or legal work product. Among the documents is an email that Carter said showed Trump signed legal documents attesting to voter fraud data that he knew was erroneous, communications between Trump attorneys that indicate they knew details they submitted to courts to challenge the election were false, as well as emails discussing filing lawsuits as a way to hold off congressional certification of Trump’s electoral loss. (Politico / CNN)
4/ Trump filed an emergency application asking the Supreme Court to temporary block Congress from obtaining his past tax returns. The tax records are set to be turned over to the House Ways and Means Committee this week if the court doesn’t act. In 2019, the House Ways and Means committee requested Trump’s tax returns, citing a federal law that gives the panel the authority to see any taxpayer’s documents. The Trump administration, however, refused to let the Treasury Department turn over the records. Since then, lower courts have ruled that the committee has broad authority to obtain tax returns, rejecting Trump’s claims that it was overstepping. (CNN / NBC News / Washington Post / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Associated Press / CNBC)
poll/ 49% of voters say the economy is extremely important to their vote for Congress. 42% of voters say abortion is extremely important to them, followed by crime (40%), gun policy (38%), and immigration (37%). Climate change is the least important issue at 28%. (Gallup)
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