Attention to the Unseen

The Washington Post reports: The Department of Homeland Security issued a warning Wednesday to alert the public about a growing risk of attacks by “ideologically-motivated violent extremists” agitated about President Biden’s inauguration and “perceived grievances fueled by false narratives.” DHS periodically issues such advisories through its National Terrorism Advisory System, but the warnings have typically been generated by elevated concerns about attacks by foreign governments or radical groups, not domestic extremists. In a statement, the department said the purpose of…

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Vice News reports: On the eve of the riot at the U.S. Capitol, Roger Stone walked out on stage before hundreds of cheering Trump supporters in Washington, D.C., flashed his signature Nixon Victory pose, and then danced to the Deplorable Choir’s girlpop anthem “Roger Stone Did Nothing Wrong.” But several members of his posse stayed backstage, their faces covered, wearing military tactical gear. They were members of Oath Keepers, a far-right militia steeped in anti-government conspiracies. And on that night,…

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Benjamin Weiser reports: Of all the pardons former President Donald Trump granted in the hours before he left office, perhaps none was as galling to his critics, government watchdog groups and even some of his allies as the pardon of his former chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon. Mr. Bannon, 67, had been charged with conspiring to swindle donors to a private fund to build a wall along the Mexican border, siphoning off more than $1 million for personal and other…

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CNN reports: Chief Justice John Roberts has long been a student of history, but this is one part of history — presiding at the second trial of Donald Trump — he can do without. Roberts won a reprieve from another ordeal with Trump, a man who challenged judicial integrity, declared he could get his way at the Supreme Court and then called the justices “totally incompetent and weak” when he failed to prevail. Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat and…

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The Associated Press reports: The Justice Department’s inspector general is launching an investigation to examine whether any former or current department officials “engaged in an improper attempt” to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Inspector General Michael Horowitz said Monday that the investigation will investigate allegations concerning the conduct of former and current Justice Department officials but will not extend to other government officials. The investigation comes after The New York Times reported that a former assistant attorney…

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The New York Times reports: Dominion Voting Systems filed a defamation lawsuit on Monday against Rudolph W. Giuliani, the lawyer for Donald J. Trump and former mayor of New York City who played a key role in the former president’s monthslong effort to subvert the 2020 election. The 107-page lawsuit, filed in the Federal District Court in Washington, accuses Mr. Giuliani of carrying out “a viral disinformation campaign about Dominion” made up of “demonstrably false” allegations, in part to enrich…

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The Wall Street Journal reports: In his last weeks in office, former President Donald Trump considered moving to replace the acting attorney general with another official ready to pursue unsubstantiated claims of election fraud, and he pushed the Justice Department to ask the Supreme Court to invalidate President Biden’s victory, people familiar with the matter said. Those efforts failed due to pushback from his own appointees in the Justice Department, who refused to file what they viewed as a legally…

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The New York Times reports: Two days after the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, Jackson Reffitt’s father, Guy W. Reffitt, returned to the family’s home in Texas. He told his son that he had stormed the Capitol, according to an F.B.I. affidavit. Then his father leveled a threat: If Jackson, 18, reported him to the police, he would have no choice but to do his “duty” for his country and “do what he had to do.” In interviews with investigators,…

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CNN reports: The Justice Department revealed new charges against a Texas man who allegedly participated in the Capitol attack and posted online death threats against Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and a US Capitol Police officer. Garret Miller of Texas faces five criminal charges stemming from the Capitol insurrection, including trespassing offenses and making death threats. Miller allegedly tweeted, “assassinate AOC,” according to court documents. He also said the police officer who fatally shot a Trump supporter during the attack “deserves…

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The Wall Street Journal reports: Jacob Fracker is a member of the Virginia National Guard and a police officer in the small town of Rocky Mount, Va. On Jan. 6, he joined the mob that broke into the U.S. Capitol and posted a photo of himself next to a fellow off-duty officer with his middle finger raised in front of a statue of a Revolutionary War commander, according to court documents. Mr. Fracker and the other officer, Thomas Robertson, were…

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The New York Times reports: The Justice Department’s top leaders listened in stunned silence this month: One of their peers, they were told, had devised a plan with President Donald J. Trump to oust Jeffrey A. Rosen as acting attorney general and wield the department’s power to force Georgia state lawmakers to overturn its presidential election results. The unassuming lawyer who worked on the plan, Jeffrey Clark, had been devising ways to cast doubt on the election results and to…

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The Daily Beast reports: A member of the far-right paramilitary group the Oath Keepers who’s been charged with conspiring to storm the Capitol was ready “for violence” during the deadly riot and had plans for a “further insurrection,” federal prosecutors said Friday. “The plan was never for peaceful protest,” a Virginia prosecutor said during a detention hearing for Donovan Crowl, a former U.S. Marine. “The Oath Keepers arrived in D.C. prepared for violence.” Crowl, 50, is one of three members…

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Politico reports: Former President Donald Trump can be convicted in an impeachment trial for his role in inciting the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6 even though he is no longer in office, a bipartisan group of constitutional law scholars wrote in a letter Thursday. “We differ from one another in our politics, and we also differ from one another on issues of constitutional interpretation,” wrote the signatories, which include the co-founder and other members of the conservative Federalist Society legal…

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