Lawfare No Bull

On Tuesday, January 11th, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the threat of domestic terrorism facing our nation, one year after the attack on the U.S. Capitol. The hearing included testimonies from Matthew Olsen, Assistant Attorney General in the National Security Division of the Department of Justice and Jill Sanborn, Executive Assistant Director of the National Security Branch of the FBI. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On January 6th 2022, President Joe Biden spoke in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol, to commemorate the attack that happened there one year ago. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On January 5th 2022, the eve of the first anniversary of the January 6th insurrection, Attorney General Merrick Garland delivered a speech reviewing the Justice Department’s efforts to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the attack on the Capitol. He also promised that the DOJ will do everything in its power to defend American people and American democracy and confirmed that the department remains committed to holding all January 6th perpetrators, at any level, accountable under law. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the evening of December 13th, the House Committee investigating the January 6th Capitol riot unanimously passed a motion to hold former Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows in criminal contempt of Congress. The vote stemmed from a 51-page report that laid out the case against Meadows, who refused to testify in front of the committee and defied a subpoena to hand over records that could shed light on the investigation into the January 6th riot. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

President Biden delivered closing remarks at the Virtual Summit for Democracy on December 10th. During the two-day event, he met with global leaders to discuss issues ranging from COVID-19, voting rights, the climate crisis and cybersecurity. This event was the first of two, with the second planned to take place one year from now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On December 7th, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing addressing the controversial topic of closing Guantanamo, 20 years after the September 11th attacks. The committee heard from six witnesses including Brigadier General John Baker, Chief Defense Counsel for Military Commissions; Retired Major General Michael Lehnert; Katya Jestin, Co-Managing Partner at Jenner and Block; Colleen Kelly, Co-founder of 9/11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows; Jamil Jaffer, Founder and Executive Director at the National Security Institute; and Charles Stimson of the Heritage Foundation.As of today, 39 men still reside in the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Energy, the Environment and Cyber met to discuss climate change in the Arctic. The virtual hearing, led by Chair William R. Keating, heard from four expert witnesses who explained the national security, environmental and societal impacts that global warming poses to the Arctic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Saturday, November 13th, 190 nations decided on a deal to reduce global emissions. John Kerry, the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, spoke at the COP26 summit after the agreement, stressing that compromise on a range of issues was necessary to reach a deal that benefits everyone. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Wednesday, November 3, 2021, at 9:30 AM ET, the House Intelligence Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation Subcommittee will hold an open hearing on countering domestic terrorism with The Honorable John Cohen, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; and Mr. Timothy Langan, Assistant Director, Counterterrorism Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on Monday, November 8th, in a case involving the surveillance of Muslim communities as part of a post-9/11 FBI operation. The central issue of the case revolves around whether or not the surveillance violated the Constitution - or if a provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) will allow it to continue. Yassir Fazaga is one of the three individuals who filed the lawsuit against the FBI, claiming to be targets of the operation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.