Laken Riley's father says he supports bill named for his daughter
Laken Riley’s father, Jason Riley, told NBC News exclusively that he was grateful for the elected officials who supported the legislation named for his daughter, which he said he believed has “helped change things politically.”
“I think it turned out to be a good thing,” he said today, adding that he hates that her killing “became such a national story” and put the family in the spotlight, but that he understood “why it became so politically charged.”
“We’re very happy with the way things have turned out,” he said.
Riley said he hopes that other families won’t have to go through what his has.
The House is expected to vote on an amended version of the Laken Riley Act on Wednesday.
GOP Rep. Mike Turner says House Intelligence Committee 'might be losing its focus'
Rep. Mike Turner, who led the House Intelligence Committee until he was removed from the post last week, warned today that the panel might be shifting its focus in the wrong direction.
"If you go in a different direction with the Intelligence Committee, where you’re looking into the intelligence community itself, and you know, the so-called deep state, you stop looking at the nation states, or the nonstate actors that seek to threaten Americans," Turner, R-Ohio, said on CNN. "That’s what I’m fearful of. My focus was on national security, it will continue to be on national security. And I think, you know, it’s unfortunate that the committee might be be losing its focus."
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., removed Turner as committee chairman last week, saying "we just need some fresh horses in some of these places."
Turner also weighed in on Trump pardoning Jan. 6 rioters convicted of violent offenses.
"I think that was very unexpected," he said. Asked if he has a problem with those pardons, Turner said, "Certainly yes, I do."
Oath Keepers founder seen at Capitol
Oath Keepers Founder Stewart Rhodes was seen today at the Longworth Building in the Capitol after being pardoned.
Rhodes was released from the D.C. Central Detention Facility yesterday after Trump commuted his sentence.
In 2023, he was sentenced to 18 years in prison after his conviction on seditious conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting for his actions on Jan. 6, 2021.
Guy Reffitt says 'I love you, Jackson' when asked what he would say to his son
Jan. 6 rioter Guy Reffitt, who was released from prison after being pardoned by Trump, had one message for his son: "I love you, Jackson."
Jackson Reffitt, who reported Reffitt to the FBI and testified at his trial, told MSNBC earlier today that he is "paranoid" and bought a gun for his own safety.
Jackson said today he has been threatened and is fearful of his safety, saying he has his newly purchased handgun on his waist at all times. Guy’s wife Nicole said today they haven’t talked to Jackson yet.
“We’re going to wait on Jackson,” she said. “When he starts feeling more comfortable, when he starts feeling more confident, then that will be the time. But there’s no pressure on him right now. I want him to be as safe, and feel as secure as he can. Just give it time. Time heals a lot.”
Guy Reffitt did not enter the Capitol on Jan. 6, but he was on Capitol grounds, armed with a pistol, zip ties, and body armor. He was the first Jan. 6 defendant convicted.
Press secretary says Trump deserves apology from bishop
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said today that Trump deserves an apology from Bishop Marianne Budde, whose sermon yesterday faced backlash from the president.
"Everybody there was shocked and mortified by the disturbing comments from this bishop who chose to weaponize the pulpit," she said. "So the comments by that bishop yesterday were egregious, and she should apologize to President Trump for the lies that she told."
In her sermon, Budde asked Trump to "have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now." Afterward, Trump said he "didn't think it was a good service."
Biden's letter to Trump revealed: 'I wish you and your family all the best'
A White House official shared the text of the letter Joe Biden left for his successor.
Fox News first reported the contents of the letter.
“Dear President Trump,
As I take leave of this sacred office I wish you and your family all the best in the next four years. The American people — and people around the world — look to this house for steadiness in the inevitable storms of history, and my prayer is that in the coming years will be a time of prosperity, peace, and grace for our nation.
May God bless you and guide you as He has blessed and guided our beloved country since our founding.
Joe Biden
1-20-25”
Lauren Boebert says she offered Jan. 6 defendants a guided tour of Capitol, but 'no plan in place' yet
Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., told reporters today that there is currently no plan to make good on her offer at the D.C. jail yesterday for Jan. 6 defendants to go on a guided Capitol tour.
“I offer guided tours all the time and yes, I did offer that. There’s no plan in place right now,” Boebert said.
When asked if it was appropriate for Boebert to offer the tour, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said he hadn't spoken to her about it, but added every citizen has the right to one.
“I mean, every American citizen has access to the people’s House,” Johnson said. “I don’t know. I haven’t talked to her about it. Let me figure that out.”
Senate Commerce Committee reports out Sean Duffy's nomination to be transportation secretary
The Senate Commerce Committee has unanimously voted to report the nomination of former Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis., to serve as transportation secretary to the full Senate.
It's not yet clear when the Senate will take up the nomination for a floor vote.
Sen. Chris Murphy urges his colleagues to spend more time on John Ratcliffe's nomination for CIA director
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., urged his fellow senators to take more time to debate the confirmation of Trump’s pick for CIA director, John Ratcliffe, expressing concerns about decisions the nominee made when he served as director of national intelligence in the first Trump administration.
"Many people here have raised serious concerns about his qualifications," Murphy said in remarks on the Senate floor. "For instance, during his short tenure as director of national intelligence, Mr. Ratcliffe showed a very troubling propensity to play politics with sensitive intelligence."
Murphy noted that on the day of the first 2020 presidential debate between Trump and Biden, Ratcliffe declassified intelligence about a purported Russian assessment that others had labeled disinformation. The disclosed intelligence said the Russians had allegedly assessed that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had personally approved an effort "to stir up a scandal" against Trump during the 2016 election "by tying him to Putin and the Russians’ hacking of the Democratic National Committee."
At the time, Ratcliffe stated the U.S. intelligence community did "not know the accuracy of this allegation or the extent to which the Russian intelligence analysis may reflect exaggeration or fabrication," but his move drew fire from Democrats who said the move was aimed at aiding Trump’s political aspirations.
“Mr. Ratcliffe chose to declassify a cherry-picked CIA memo from four years earlier that outlined Russian claims that Hillary Clinton had approved a plan to tie Trump to Russia’s hack of the DNC so that Trump could use that in the debate,” Murphy said. “These were unverified Russian intelligence claims, and Mr. Ratcliffe’s decision went against explicit warnings by CIA personnel that its release would put it in jeopardy.”
In his confirmation hearing last week, Ratcliffe vowed not to play politics with critical matters of intelligence, promising under oath not to impose political litmus tests on agency employees or force them to swear loyalty to Trump over the country.
Noting that Senate Republicans have argued an extended debate over Ratcliffe’s nomination would compromise national security, Murphy said “spare me,” pointing to Trump’s pardon of more than 1,500 Jan. 6 defendants.
House Republicans announce creation of a subcommittee to investigate events before and after Jan. 6
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., announced in a news release this afternoon the creation of a select subcommittee to investigate events before and after Jan. 6, 2021.
“House Republicans are proud of our work so far in exposing the false narratives peddled by the politically motivated January 6 Select Committee during the 117th Congress, but there is still more work to be done," Johnson said in a statement.
The subcommittee's mission is to "uncover the full truth that is owed to the American people," Johnson said.
Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., will chair the subcommittee, which will fall under the jurisdiction of the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.
Notably, Loudermilk had given a tour of the Capitol to people the day before the insurrection, which included a man who was caught on footage during the Jan. 6 riot, later released by the select committee that investigated the attack, making violent verbal threats against top Democratic lawmakers. The rioter who made the threats, Trevor Hallgren, "took pictures of hallways and staircases" during Loudermilk's tour, according to the final report released by the former Jan. 6 select committee.
In a statement today, Loudermilk said, "What happened at the Capitol that day was the result of a series of intelligence, security, and leadership failures at multiple levels within numerous entities."
Congress had already investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol as part of a nearly two-year investigation through a bipartisan select committee when Democrats controlled the House.
Before leaving office Monday, Biden issued pre-emptive pardons to all lawmakers and staff who served on the committee, including its chair, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and vice chair, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo.
Just hours later, after Trump was sworn in to office, he pardoned nearly all Jan. 6 defendants.
Republicans, for their part, have dismissed or downplayed the events of Jan. 6 in recent years, with some even falsely suggesting that it was actually members of the group antifa who attacked the Capitol. Trump, who was impeached by the House and indicted by the federal government, over his role in trying to overturn the election, has said that it was a "day of love."