U.S. News

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said that there will be a vote on the Jan. 6 Commission despite huge opposition from Republican counterpart Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

Politico cited Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) Tuesday evening that Schumer wants to have the vote before the Memorial Day break before noting that "everything is subject to the amendment process."

Former acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal denounced President Joe Biden's Justice Department decision not to release the memos that falsified a deliberation on whether to prosecute Donald Trump with obstruction of justice.

The DOJ released part of a redacted version of the memo that was reviewed by federal Judge Amy Berman Jackson that prompted a scathing opinion on the case. Attorney General Merrick Garland intends to fight the release of the memo to higher courts.

On MSNBC's "Deadline: White House" Tuesday, former federal prosecutor Harry Litman discussed the full extent of what evidence the New York grand jury weighing charges against former President Donald Trump would have for their consideration.

"The grand jury's going to get everything and that's true," said Litman. "We know that the — that was the inception of the case, but then, they got the mother lode. They got the tax returns, going back and forth to the Supreme Court twice to get them. So, that takes all kinds of transactions of this sort and forms the basis for possibly multiple counts where people surmise and it stands to reason that it's a similar kind of hanky-panky, changing the way you valuate same properties, one for tax to make it look low, one for loans to make it look high, that's fraud on both entities."

Speaking to MSNBC's Ari Melber on Tuesday, former Trump Organization executive said she was "surprised" that the Manhattan DA's case on former President Donald Trump's business has been sent to a grand jury.

Barbara Res explained that up until recently, "Trump has always been total Teflon. So the fact they're closing in on him is wonderful and surprising for him."

On CNN Tuesday, in response to the anti-Semitic comparisons of mask mandates to the Nazi yellow star from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), anchor Wolf Blitzer recounted how the Holocaust personally impacted his family.

"None of this should be political," said analyst Dana Bash. "My grandparents were Nazi refugees. My great-grandparents perished at Auschwitz, you know. Maybe a yellow star was something that was, you know — a yellow star was horrible, being gassed, which is what my great grandparents were, is a whole different thing, and to compare that to the notion of public health and wearing a mask is just beyond the pale. I can't imagine what it's like for you, Wolf. Your parents were in slave labor camps."

Legal experts took to Twitter Tuesday after the Washington Post revealed that Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance had moved his case against President Donald Trump to a grand jury.

Some explained that the move of going to a grand jury reveals that there is evidence that at least one crime was committed.

The Miami Herald reported that two federal prison officers who slept while Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide pleaded guilty today.

The charges were felonies for falsifying the report on the incident and sleeping on duty. It was part of a plea deal that helped get a lenient sentence.

On Tuesday, The Washington Post reported that Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance has convened a grand jury that will investigate, among other things, whether former President Donald Trump, his family, or his business associates should be indicted in connection with his criminal investigation.

"The panel was convened recently and will sit three days a week for six months," reported Shayna Jacobs and David Fahrenthold. "It is likely to hear several matters — not just the Trump case ­— during the duration of its term, which is longer than a traditional New York state grand-jury assignment, these people said. Like others, they spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. Generally, special grand juries such as this one are convened to participate in long-term matters rather than to hear evidence of crimes charged routinely."

On Tuesday's edition of MSNBC's "Deadline: White House," commentator Donny Deutsch laid into Republican leadership for tolerating anti-Semitic behavior from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) for as long as they did, waiting days after she compared mask mandates to the Holocaust to make any sort of statement.

"As a Jew, I'm so repulsed by this beast," said Deutsch. "The comparisons to the Holocaust, they did a survey last year with 11,000 people talking to Gen-Zers and Millennial. One in ten didn't know what it was. One in ten didn't think it existed. Over half couldn't name one of death camps. This is set against the backdrop of the anti-Semitism."

A Catholic priest known for spreading misinformation about COVID-19 has been asked to resign from his Wisconsin post, the Kansas City Star reports.

Rev. James Altman, who was the pastor of St. James the Less Roman Catholic Church in La Crosse announced that Bishop William Callahan considers him to be "divisive and ineffective." According to Altman, "cancel culture" is responsible for his stepping down and "no good Catholic" would want him removed.

This Monday, General Atomics announced that its high-tech electromagnetic catapults and arresting gear has achieved the U.S. Navy's targeted goal of 8,000 launches and recoveries aboard the new USS Gerald R. Ford, the Times of San Diego reports.

The catapults were the subject of criticism from former President Donald Trump back in 2017 when he told the Navy to bring back "goddamned steam." The new catapults were designed with the intention of reducing wear and tear on aircraft and pilots.

A federal judge has ordered Shane Jenkins, who is accused of throwing a desk drawer at police at the US Capitol on Jan. 6, to remain in detention, citing him as a risk for future political violence.

US District Court Judge Amit Mehta noted during a hearing on Tuesday that Jenkins traveled to Washington, D.C. with a "sharp-bladed tomahawk," describing a video of the defendant attempting to break out a window at the Capitol building with the weapon.

President Joe Biden proposed a $2 trillion infrastructure package that would fix all of the road and bridge problems but also extend to other forms of infrastructure like clean drinking water, repairing and securing the electric grid, create more car charging stations and other personal forms of infrastructure.

Republicans proposed a plan that was about $500 billion. But that was a game. The overwhelming amount of funds in the Republican-proposed package has infrastructure spending is already part of the budget as Glenn Kessler and Catherine Rampell wrote for The Washington Post.