By
Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Special counsel Jack Smith delivered brief remarks today: “Smith continued his remarks at the Justice Department saying that the U.S. has ‘one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone.’ ... ‘Adherence to the rule of law is a bedrock principle of the Department of Justice, and our nation’s commitment to the rule of law sets an example for the world,’ he said.”
* President Joe Biden’s silence is exactly what was required today: “Biden was asked at an event in North Carolina about Trump’s indictment. He gave a one-sentence answer: ‘I have no comment at all.’”
* Even Turley? “Jonathan Turley, a constitutional law expert who drew national attention when he became the lone Republican witness to testify during the first Trump impeachment hearings, appeared on Fox News this afternoon and described the newly unsealed federal indictment as ‘extremely damning.’ ... ‘This is not an indictment that you can dismiss,’ said Turley, who is a regular legal analyst on Fox News and tends to provide analysis that is more favorable to the former president.”
* The end of an unfortunate era in the U.K.: “Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson shocked Britain on Friday by quitting as a lawmaker after being told he will be sanctioned for misleading Parliament. He quit with a ferocious tirade at his political opponents — and at his successor, Rishi Sunak — that could blast open tensions within the governing Conservative Party.”
* Important allegations: “Iran is sending materials to Russia to help Moscow build a drone manufacturing plant that could be operational next year, part of a “deepening” military partnership between the two countries, the Biden administration said Friday. Officials also said that Tehran provided hundreds of armed drones to Russia last month for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.”
* The latest Jan. 6 prison sentence: “A Virginia man who told his wife — and a federal jury — that he had ‘fun’ at the U.S. Capitol riot was sentenced on Friday to six years in prison for attacking police as he stormed the building. Markus Maly’s prison sentence is significantly lower than the punishment that prosecutors sought for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.”
* The latest in the Paxton scandal: “The FBI on Thursday arrested a businessman at the center of the scandal that led to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s historic impeachment, a move that came amid new questions about the men’s dealings raised by financial records the Republican’s lawyers made public to try to clear him of bribery allegations.”
* The last of the Covid-19 Response Coordinators: “Ashish Jha, the White House Covid-19 czar, will be leaving his post next week in the latest sign the Biden administration is confident the country is on stronger footing in its fight against the virus.”
* Republicans on the so-called weaponization committee suffer another embarrassment: “Garret O’Boyle, an FBI agent who was presented in a public hearing by House Republicans as a whistleblower, was suspended by the bureau because internal investigators had concluded that he leaked sensitive investigative information to the right-wing group Project Veritas, according to a bureau official.”
Have a safe weekend.