Latest news with #Jan.6
Axios
6 days ago
- Politics
- Axios
Trump created a new Dem superstar: LaMonica McIver
The Justice Department's decision to charge a sitting House lawmaker after a scuffle with ICE officers has launched her on the fast track to stardom in Democratic politics. Why it matters: First-term Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.), 38, suddenly has a national profile and status among the Democratic base as something of a hero of the anti-Trump resistance. But it has also come at a cost: In addition to the financial burden and risks posed by her legal battle, McIver's office has been deluged by furious calls and messages, including many threats. The vitriol has risen to the point that her office has assigned a staffer to monitor Fox News for segments that will precipitate a new flood of angry calls, a source familiar with the matter told Axios. State of play: The Justice Department has charged McIver with assaulting law enforcement based on a scuffle she and other Democratic lawmakers had with a group of ICE officers. The Department of Homeland Security has pointed to body cam footage of McIver elbowing an officer; McIver has said she was the one who was assaulted and cast the charges as politically motivated. The lawmakers were at the Delaney Hall Detention Center in Newark to protest its use as a migrant holding facility. Driving the news: In the days after McIver was charged, she went from a virtually unknown member of Congress to a household name. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) featured her in fundraising emails. So did the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Pennsylvania Democrats. That dynamic is typically only seen with some of the biggest names in Democratic politics: Think Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi or Jamie Raskin. Zoom out: Several Democratic lawmakers have fast-tracked their careers by positioning themselves as Trump's most truculent foes in Congress. Such was the case with Raskin, a former Trump impeachment manager and Jan. 6 committee member who now leads Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee. Adam Schiff, another Trump impeachment and Jan. 6 committee veteran, leveraged his anti-Trump bona fides to help him win a U.S. Senate seat. What they're saying: "They've targeted her in a very unprecedented way, and so a lot of people are going to know about her and her story because we're all uplifting her and it's taken over the country," Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) told Axios.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
A retiring chief strains to keep the Capitol Police above the partisan fray
Thomas Manger inherited a force in crisis when he became chief of the U.S. Capitol Police four years ago. He's now leaving a force under a microscope. The 70-year-old law enforcement veteran came out of retirement just months after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol — tasked with stabilizing a department whose officers had been physically and emotionally battered and whose protective mission had suddenly grown immensely more complicated. But that was only the beginning of challenge for Manger, who soon found himself holding one of the most politicized jobs in all of policing. Within months, an alternative narrative about Jan. 6 took hold on the right, and with many of its proponents now in power in Washington — including President Donald Trump — he has had to strike a careful balance between standing up for his officers and heeding the lawmakers who oversee and fund his department. 'I don't think it's wise or necessary or useful to try and convince members of Congress what to think,' Manger said. 'I think you make the compelling argument about what the Capitol Police need, about what the Capitol Police require to do their jobs and allow them to make a decision.' That's not to say Manger has been silent. He has spoken out at key junctures, criticizing Trump's blanket pardons of Jan. 6 offenders and, just last week, the Justice Department's decision to move toward a $5 million settlement with the family of Ashli Babbit — the Jan. 6 rioter who was shot and killed by a Capitol Police officer while trying to storm a room off the House floor. But in a wide-ranging interview Tuesday — amid his last week on the job before retiring for good — Manger said it wasn't productive for the embattled force's chief to be snarled in political fights on the Hill, or in the larger war over the memory of the Capitol insurrection. While Manger has felt compelled to speak up about situations that directly affect his officers, he has taken pains to stay out of other battles. He again called the pardons 'an absolute slap in the face to police officers, frankly, all over this country' Tuesday, for instance, but refused to weigh in on the fate of a bronze plaque commemorating the officers who responded to the riot. Congress ordered the fabrication of the memorial and its installation 'at a permanent location on the western front of the United States Capitol' in March 2022. The plaque was cast, inscribed with 'THEIR HEROISM WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN,' but after Republicans won the House majority the following November, it was put into storage in the Capitol basement. Calling it a 'very political issue,' Manger said he has not spoken to Republican congressional leaders about the plaque and declined to call for it to be installed. He said he had not seen the actual memorial, just a photograph. 'I hope they will find some middle ground,' he said. 'There's not a lot of memorials that are attached to the Capitol building, but there are certainly a lot of informational pedestals where you have little historical briefings around the campus.' The tap dance reflects the enormous challenges of managing a department that is ultimately responsible to a web of overlapping overseers. There's the three-member Capitol Police Board, four oversight committees and senior congressional leaders themselves — all of whom have influence over the department and how it operates. Manger — who previously led the departments in Montgomery County, Maryland, and Fairfax County, Virginia — said dealing with the menagerie of Capitol Hill power centers was 'very different' from reporting to a single elected executive and 'very, very challenging.' That, he said, has required a focus on the future of the Capitol Police and securing what the department needs to keep lawmakers, tourists and staff safe. It's also a situation that will hang over whoever replaces Manger as chief. 'If they pick someone from the inside, they're going to know what our mission is,' Manger said. 'They'll have that — that's good. If they pick somebody from the outside, they're going to have to learn about our mission, the uniqueness of it, but the structure of oversight as well, and there is a learning curve there.' An even bigger challenge for the force, however, has been keeping up with a rising tide of threats against lawmakers. The department reported more than 9,400 in 2024, and a good number of those threats were deemed credible enough to require temporary protective details for rank-and-file lawmakers who otherwise would not be entitled to them. That has stretched resources thin, Manger said: 'We're always robbing Peter to pay Paul to put that together. We should have the staffing to do those kinds of details.' Manger recently made his final budget requests to Congress, asking lawmakers for $967.8 million for fiscal 2026, a 22 percent boost over the current funding level which was set in fiscal 2024. He acknowledged in hearings with appropriators that for his department's size — about 2,300 sworn officers and civilians — a budget approaching a billion dollars is enormous. He stressed the sweeping intelligence, security and nationwide coordination mandate of the Capitol Police. Both the Trump administration and Republicans on Capitol Hill are trying to rein in federal spending, and lawmakers tasked with spending are expected to begin writing their bills in the coming weeks. The outgoing chief warned against continuing to keep funding flat for the department he's set to exit long before any spending deal is reached. 'It would impact our ability to address the growing number of threats against a member of Congress,' Manger said. 'We'd just be crossing our fingers and saying, 'Well, hope nothing happens,' because there's more that we think we can do if we had the resources.' The job of choosing Manger's replacement will fall to the Capitol Police Board, comprised of House Sergeant-at-Arms William McFarland, Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Jennifer Hemingway and Architect of the Capitol Thomas Austin. Top congressional leaders choose those officials and are expected to have some influence in the pick. Manger said that anyone coming in after him has to know that the job has a much different mandate and set of responsibilities than a municipal police department. He said he would be available as a sounding board but was looking forward to retirement — some consulting work, maybe, and finally fixing the fence in his yard. 'One of the things that I really, truly want to get away from is the aggravations of being a police chief,' he said. 'So whatever I do, it's going to be something I want to do.'
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Ed Martin personally reviewed pardon application for Jan. 6 ringleader Stewart Rhodes
In his first full week as the Justice Department's pardon attorney, Ed Martin personally reviewed a pardon application for Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes. Peter Ticktin, a lawyer and former classmate of President Donald Trump's at New York Military Academy, hand delivered a collection of 11 pardon applications to Martin at the Justice Department on Thursday, including one for Rhodes, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy and sentenced to 18 years in prison in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. 'I know Ed Martin and I felt it was important to bring these particular applications to his attention,' Ticktin told POLITICO. The effort to submit new pardon applications to Martin was arranged by Ticktin and pardoned Jan. 6 rioter Treniss Evans, both now in leadership positions with a conservative nonprofit, American Rights Alliance. Martin shared a photo of the May 22 meeting on X over the weekend, but the names of the 11 pardon applicants have not been previously reported. Proud Boys members Joseph Biggs, Ethan Nordean, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola are also among those who submitted new applications since Martin's appointment, according to Ticktin and Evans. While Trump pardoned or dismissed cases for nearly 1,600 Jan. 6 rioters on his first day back in office, certain prominent participants convicted of seditious conspiracy had their sentences commuted to time served — a lesser form of clemency than outright pardons. Some have continued to lobby publicly for their commutations to be converted into pardons. While Martin made no assurances that Trump would grant pardons to the 11 applicants, Ticktin said, he did pledge to advance the applications to White House pardon czar Alice Johnson for review. Johnson, who Trump pardoned during his first term, serves in a newly created position at the White House advising the president on candidates for pardons. Martin was most recently serving as interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, but his nomination to be confirmed to the position failed because of his ties to Jan. 6 rioters. 'I really appreciated the way he looked at everything carefully and wanted to make sure that he was doing his job,' Ticktin said. The Justice Department and the White House did not respond to requests for comment. An attorney for Rhodes did not respond to requests for comment. Dozens of Proud Boys, a far-right fraternal organization known for engaging in political violence, were convicted on obstruction or assault charges for their actions during the Jan. 6 riot. At least 20 members of the far-right Oath Keepers militia group were convicted on similar charges. An attorney for Biggs urged Trump to grant his client's latest pardon application, citing Biggs' Army service. 'He earned a Purple Heart placing his life at risk and becoming seriously injured on behalf of the United States,' attorney Norm Pattis said. 'A commutation is wonderful, but a pardon gets him his pension back.' Martin has a long history of advocating for people charged in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection. The Missouri lawyer has spent the last four years raising money for Jan. 6 legal defense funds and personally representing defendants in court. Martin was on Capitol Hill during the riot and posted on social media that afternoon comparing the event to 'Mardi Gras.' During his interim stint as the chief federal prosecutor in Washington, Martin fired dozens of prosecutors who oversaw Jan. 6 cases. Now, fresh off his failed nomination to serve in that job full time, Martin takes control of the pardon office as the first political appointee in modern history to do so and will also serve as the director of the Justice Department's weaponization working group and associate deputy attorney general under Trump's former personal lawyer Todd Blanche. 'It's unprecedented to have a political appointee in the position of pardon attorney, and it suggests that this administration intends to wield the clemency power differently than presidents prior have,' said Liz Oyer, the previous pardon attorney who was fired by Blanche in March. Led by career Justice Department officials, the office of the pardon attorney reviews applications for clemency and makes recommendations to the president for candidates who have met various criteria. Presidents of both parties have gone around the pardon attorney for politically sensitive pardons — Trump granted clemency to his political advisers Paul Manafort and Roger Stone in the final days of his first term and President Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter and other family members before leaving office. But Martin has already demonstrated a willingness to evaluate controversial pardon applications through the office, based on the early applications on his desk. At the top of the pile submitted to Martin last week was a pardon application for Jonathan Woods, a former Arkansas state senator indicted in early 2017 on federal bribery charges who was ultimately convicted and sentenced to 18 years in prison. The case against Woods was prosecuted in part by the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section (PIN) which was led by former special counsel Jack Smith from 2010 to 2015. Smith's deputy at the special counsel's office and his successor as the chief of PIN, Ray Hulser, signed the indictment against Woods. 'It's my firm belief that any case that Jack Smith prosecuted should be looked at,' Evans said. 'We don't break the law to quote unquote uphold the law, and that's what happened in many of these cases, which is why pardons are justified.' Reviewing cases related to Smith's former unit could fall within Martin's other remit as the weaponization working group director. A February memo from Attorney General Pam Bondi calls for the working group to examine 'weaponization by special counsel Jack Smith and his staff.' 'He is running an entire weaponization investigation out of the deputy attorney general's office and no one is there to tell him no,' said a former Justice Department official granted anonymity to speak candidly about private conversations with colleagues still in the department. Martin has already pledged to investigate pardons Biden granted to his family members and members of the Jan. 6 select committee, calling the preemptive pardons 'something we've never seen in history.' Martin's many roles have raised concerns among former department officials, who worry he may seek out politically expedient pardon candidates to please the president while simultaneously using investigations to target Trump's political opponents, even if there are no prosecutable crimes. Martin himself said at a press conference earlier this month if some people "can't be charged, we will name them" and certain people should be "shamed." 'The fact that Martin also has this other portfolio … certainly suggests that his role is going to be one that is highly political and that he will be coming to the pardon attorney role with a political agenda,' Oyer said. 'And that is very concerning.'
Politico
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Politico
Ed Martin personally reviewed pardon application for Jan. 6 ringleader Stewart Rhodes
In his first full week as the Justice Department's pardon attorney, Ed Martin personally reviewed a pardon application for Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes. Peter Ticktin, a lawyer and former classmate of President Donald Trump's at New York Military Academy, hand delivered a collection of 11 pardon applications to Martin at the Justice Department Thursday, including one for Rhodes, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy and sentenced to 18 years in prison in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. 'I know Ed Martin and I felt it was important to bring these particular applications to his attention,' Ticktin told POLITICO. The effort to submit new pardon applications to Martin was arranged by Ticktin and pardoned Jan. 6 rioter Treniss Evans, both now in leadership positions with a conservative nonprofit, American Rights Alliance. Martin shared a photo of the May 22 meeting on X over the weekend, but the names of the 11 pardon applicants have not been previously reported. Proud Boys Joseph Biggs, Ethan Nordean, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola are also among those who submitted new applications since Martin's appointment, according to Ticktin and Evans. While Trump pardoned nearly 1,600 Jan. 6 rioters on his first day back in office, certain prominent participants convicted of seditious conspiracy had their sentences commuted to time served — a lesser form of clemency than outright pardons. Some have continued to lobby publicly for their commutations to be converted into pardons. While Martin made no assurances that Trump would grant pardons to the 11 applicants, Ticktin said, he did pledge to advance the applications to White House pardon czar Alice Johnson for review. Johnson, who Trump pardoned during his first time, serves in a newly created position at the White House advising the president on candidates for pardons. Martin was most recently serving as interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, but his nomination to be confirmed to the position failed because of his ties to Jan. 6 rioters. 'I really appreciated the way he looked at everything carefully and wanted to make sure that he was doing his job,' Ticktin said. The Justice Department and the White House did not respond to requests for comment. An attorney for Rhodes did not respond to requests for comment. Dozens of Proud Boys, a far-right fraternal organization known for engaging in political violence, were convicted on obstruction or assault charges for their actions during the Jan. 6 riot. At least 20 members of the far-right Oath Keepers militia group were convicted on similar charges. An attorney for Biggs urged Trump to grant his client's latest pardon application, citing Biggs' Army service. 'He earned a Purple Heart placing his life at risk and becoming seriously injured on behalf of the United States,' attorney Norm Pattis said. 'A commutation is wonderful, but a pardon gets him his pension back.' Martin has a long history of advocating for people charged in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection. The Missouri lawyer has spent the last four years raising money for Jan. 6 legal defense funds and personally representing defendants in court. Martin was on Capitol Hill during the riot and posted on social media that afternoon comparing the event to 'Mardi Gras.' During his interim stint as the chief federal prosecutor in Washington, Martin fired dozens of prosecutors who oversaw Jan. 6 cases. Now, fresh off his failed nomination to serve in that job full time, Martin takes control of the pardon office as the first political appointee in modern history to do so, and will also serve as the director of the Justice Department's weaponization working group and associate deputy attorney general under Trump's former personal lawyer Todd Blanche. 'It's unprecedented to have a political appointee in the position of pardon attorney and it suggests that this administration intends to wield the clemency power differently than presidents prior have,' said Liz Oyer, the previous pardon attorney who was fired by Blanche in March. Led by career Justice Department officials, the office of the pardon attorney reviews applications for clemency and makes recommendations to the president for candidates who have met various criteria. Presidents of both parties have gone around the pardon attorney for politically sensitive pardons — Trump granted clemency to his political advisors Paul Manafort and Roger Stone in the final days of his first term and President Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter and other family members before leaving office. But Martin has already demonstrated a willingness to evaluate controversial pardon applications through the office, based on the early applications on his desk. At the top of the pile submitted to Martin last week was a pardon application for Jonathan Woods, a former Arkansas state senator indicted in early 2017 on federal bribery charges who was ultimately convicted and sentenced to 18 years in prison. The case against Woods was prosecuted in part by the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section (PIN) which was led by former special counsel Jack Smith from 2010 to 2015. Smith's deputy at the special counsel's office and his successor as the chief of PIN, Ray Hulser, signed the indictment against Woods. 'It's my firm belief that any case that Jack Smith prosecuted should be looked at,' Evans said. 'We don't break the law to quote unquote uphold the law, and that's what happened in many of these cases, which is why pardons are justified.' Reviewing cases related to Smith's former unit could fall within Martin's other remit as the weaponization working group director. A February memo from Attorney General Pam Bondi calls for the working group to examine 'weaponization by special counsel Jack Smith and his staff.' 'He is running an entire weaponization investigation out of the deputy attorney general's office and no one is there to tell him no,' said a former justice department official granted anonymity to speak candidly about private conversations with colleagues still in the department. Martin has already pledged to investigate pardons Biden granted to his family members and members of the Jan. 6 select committee, calling the preemptive pardons 'something we've never seen in history.' Martin's many roles have raised concerns among former department officials, who worry he may seek out politically expedient pardon candidates to please the president while simultaneously using investigations to target Trump's political opponents, even if there are no prosecutable crimes. Martin himself said at a press conference earlier this month if some people 'can't be charged, we will name them' and certain people should be 'shamed.' 'The fact that Martin also has this other portfolio… certainly suggests that his role is going to be one that is highly political and that he will be coming to the pardon attorney role with a political agenda,' Oyer said. 'And that is very concerning.'
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Israeli Embassy suspect charged with murder of a foreign official
The man accused of killing two Israeli Embassy staffers outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., was on Thursday charged with murder of foreign officials and other charges, according to court filings. Elias Rodriguez, 31, made his first court appearance a day after allegedly gunning down a young couple who worked for the embassy — Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26 — after an event at the museum Wednesday night. Police officials said he shouted 'free, free Palestine' following his arrest. He faces five charges, including two counts of first-degree murder, causing the death of a person through the use of a firearm and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, a criminal complaint shows. U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh informed Rodriguez that some of the charges against him carry the death penalty or life in prison if he is convicted. Wearing a white jumpsuit but unshackled, Rodriguez was informed of his rights and appointed a public defender, Elizabeth Mullin, to represent him. He seemed attentive and at one point scanned the gallery. No plea was entered, and a preliminary hearing was set for June 18. Rodriguez did not object to remaining detained as the case moves forward, for now. The case is being prosecuted by Jeffrey Nestler, a veteran of the U.S. attorney's office in D.C. who handled the seditious conspiracy trial of the Oath Keepers and other high-profile Jan. 6 cases. Police said Rodriguez, of Chicago, approached a group of four people leaving an event at the museum shortly after 9 p.m. Wednesday. He fired at close range, killing Lischinsky and Milgrim, before walking into the museum, where he was apprehended. In an interview with D.C. Metropolitan Police detectives, following the attack, Rodriguez 'expressed admiration' for airman Aaron Bushnell, who in February 2024 self-immolated in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington as a form of protest meant to draw attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to an FBI affidavit. Rodriguez labeled him a 'martyr,' the affidavit said. He flew into Reagan National Airport on Tuesday and declared a firearm in his checked baggage, according to the affidavit. The attack drew sharp rebuke from U.S. and global leaders. Both President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decried the killings as the result of antisemitism. 'These horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW!' Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social early Thursday morning. Netanyahu called the deaths 'the terrible price of anti-Semitism and wild incitement against the State of Israel.' The FBI previously said early indications are that the shooting was a targeted act of violence. The victims were soon set to be engaged, according to Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter. He told reporters that Lischinsky had purchased a ring and planned to propose in Jerusalem next week. —Zach Schonfeld contributed to this post, which was updated at 5:34 p.m. EDT. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
