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US political violence increases; Democrats seek Jan 6 accountability
Jan. 6th Hearing: Much of the Facts Revealed Were Already Known | US Politics In :60 | GZERO Media

US political violence increases; Democrats seek Jan 6 accountability

Jon Lieber, head of Eurasia Group's coverage of political and policy developments in Washington, shares his perspective on US politics:

What was the biggest takeaway from the first January 6th hearing?

The House Committee investigating the January 6th riot at the Capitol hosted its first hearing last night. And while a major focus of the committee is making the case for the criminal culpability of former President, Donald Trump, for his role in instigating the riots, much of the facts revealed last night were already well known through leaks from the committee and are unlikely to change any minds for either supporters or detractors of the former president.

The committee also spent significant resources uncovering a connection between two nationalist groups, the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, in their role in deliberately stoking violence that day. The committee showed video evidence that group members coordinated in advance to attack the Capitol and disrupt the certification of a completely valid election. And they were egged on by Donald Trump's appearance at the White House that morning. The existence of these nationalist groups and their ability to organize online is going to be an ongoing challenge in the United States, which is starting to see elevated levels of political division and outright political violence.

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Democrats hope to use Jan 6 Trump focus to gain edge in midterms
Placeholder | US Politics :60 | GZERO Media

Democrats hope to use Jan 6 Trump focus to gain edge in midterms

Jon Lieber, head of Eurasia Group's coverage of political and policy developments in Washington, shares his perspective on US politics:

What role will the January 6 riots play in the midterm elections?

This week there was another round of primaries that continue to show good news for Republicans as they are looking to take over Congress in November's midterm elections. Although issues like gun control and abortion continue to take up some political space, inflation and the economy remain the number one issue for voters and the data here is not good for President Biden. Inflation remains high at around 8% and the Federal Reserve has indicated that it's willing to raise interest rates until it has inflation under control, which could result in economic slowdown sometime later this year or early next year. This is a big drag for President Biden whose approval ratings remain low and as a result, polls show a strong advantage for Republicans in the midterm elections.

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Progress on infrastructure bill despite Senate vote against it
Progress on Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Despite Senate Vote | US Politics :60s | GZERO Media

Progress on infrastructure bill despite Senate vote against it

Get insights on the latest news in US politics from Jon Lieber, head of Eurasia Group's coverage of political and policy developments in Washington:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi barred two Republican members from serving on the Jan. 6 commission. What's going on?

Well, the Jan. 6 commission was designed to be a bipartisan commission, taking input from members from Democrats and Republicans. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy had the opportunity to make recommendations but the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, could always veto those recommendations. In this case, she did, saying no to two members, Jim Banks and Jim Jordan, both of whom are strongly aligned with President Trump and who voted against certifying the election results in 2020. The Republicans for the most part see the Jan. 6 commission as an opportunity to score political points against them, and the Democrats say this is going to be a fair, non-biased, and nonpartisan investigation into what happened on Jan. 6, starting with a hearing next week with some of the police officers who were involved in the battle with the protesters inside the Capitol.

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Partisan wrangling likely to block January 6 commission in Congress
Partisan Wrangling Likely To Block Jan 6 Commission in Congress | US Politics In :60 | GZERO Media

Partisan wrangling likely to block January 6 commission in Congress

Get insights on the latest news in US politics from Jon Lieber, head of Eurasia Group's coverage of political and policy developments in Washington:

What is the status of the proposed January 6 commission to investigate the Capitol assault?

The January 6 commission was an idea originally from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who proposed a commission modeled after the very successful 9/11 commission, which looked at intelligence failures leading up to the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers in Manhattan on September 11th, 2001. Pelosi wanted to form a bipartisan commission to look at the Capitol insurrection on January 6th. Why it happened, how it happened, what the security failures were that led to it happening, who's responsible, and how to prevent it from ever happening again? And initially, Republicans were fairly cold to this idea because Pelosi had proposed a commission that was stacked in favor of the Democrats, with more democratic members than Republicans. House Republican minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, empowered representative John Katko from New York to go ahead and negotiate the commission. And eventually he came up with a compromised proposal that would have been evenly balanced between Republicans and Democrats, had subpoena power, and been able to produce a report by the end of the year.

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