FBI Report Warned of “War” at the Capitol

A day before rioters stormed Congress, an FBI office in Virginia issued an explicit internal warning that extremists were preparing to travel to Washington to commit violence and “war,” according to an internal document reviewed by the Washington Post that contradicts a senior official’s declaration the bureau had no intelligence indicating anyone at last week’s pro-Trump protest planned to do harm.

Prosecutors Weigh Sedition and Conspiracy Charges

The top federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C., said today that more than 70 people tied to the Capitol riot had been charged with crimes and that he expected that number to rise into the hundreds, with prosecutors looking at charging some rioters with sedition and conspiracy, as the NYT reports.

U.S. Expected to Require Covid-19 Tests for All International Visitors

The U.S. government is expected to require all international airline passengers to show proof of a negative Covid-19 test before boarding flights to the country, as the WSJ reports.

Pompeo Says Iran Gives al Qaeda New “Home Base”

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said today without providing hard evidence that al Qaeda had established a new home base in Iran and that it was time “for America and all free nations to crush the Iran-al-Qaeda axis,” as Reuters reports.

Global Forecast 2021

"The United States might feel it is done with the Middle East, but the reverse isn’t true," writes CSIS's Jon B. Alterman in a new analysis of the U.S. role in the Middle East.

Global Forecast is an annual collection of essays by CSIS experts focused on the critical issues facing the United States and the world in the year ahead.

Coronavirus Crisis Update

The Coronavirus Crisis Update podcast brings you the latest updates and analysis from CSIS experts and the leaders directing the global response. Past guests include NIAID Director Anthony Fauci, White House Chief of Staff-designate Ron Klain, IHME Director Dr. Chris Murray, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Representative Tom Cole (R-OK), Former FDA Commissioner Peggy Hamburg, and more. Listen on Apple Podcasts & Spotify.

Video Shorts

Check out CSIS’s new series of video shorts: “Data Unpacked,” Testify,” “What's Happening,” “Preview,” and “High Resolution.” And don’t forget to subscribe to the CSIS YouTube Channel!

In That Number

170

Investigators had identified at least 170 people who they believe committed a wide range of crimes on the Capitol grounds.

Source: NYT

Critical Quote

“We’re looking at significant felony cases tied to sedition and conspiracy.”

— Michael Sherwin, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia

iDeas Lab

Analysis from CSIS's Transnational Threats Project finds that most domestic terrorist attacks and plots between January 1 and August 31, 2020 were committed by white supremacists, anti-government extremists from the violent far-right, and involuntary celibates (incels). Far-right terrorists committed 67 percent of attacks and plots, far-left terrorists committed 20 percent, and extremists with other motivations (such as supporters of the Boogaloo movement) and Salafi-jihadists each committed 7 percent.

The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and multimedia.

Optics

(Photo credit: Sarah Silbiger/POOL/AFP via Getty Images.) Steven D'Antuono, head of the FBI Washington field office, left, and Michael Sherwin, acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, speak at the Department of Justice today.

This Town Tomorrow

Tomorrow, at 8:00 a.m., join CSIS's China Power Project for the second day of its Taiwan and Indo-Pacific Regional Security Architecture Conference, featuring keynote remarks and a moderated discussion with Foreign Minister Joseph Wu of Taiwan.

Then, at 1:00 p.m., CSIS's Project on Prosperity and Development holds an event examining the role of veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces in global development.

Later, at 3:00 p.m., CSIS's Asia Program hosts former senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) for a discussion of his career in the Senate, with a focus on his work on foreign policy issues in Asia.

Video

CSIS's Energy Security and Climate Change Program recently examined how developing countries are balancing their development priorities with the mounting need for carbon mitigation. A short video explores case studies in Ethiopia, Vietnam, and the Indian state of Gujarat.

Podcasts

On the latest episode of The Truth of the Matter, I spoke with Jonathan Karl, ABC News’ chief White House correspondent, who reflects on the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and Donald Trump’s final days as president, as well as the challenges an incoming Biden administration will face on day one.

Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

Smiles

Many of you wrote me about Delaney and Bonnie last week after I played a clip of Bonnie Bramlett solo. During their short time performing and recording together, I think Delaney and Bonnie produced some of the very best rock and roll in history.

Eric Clapton, who performed with them in one of their Delaney & Bonnie and Friends iterations, is fond of saying that Delaney Bramlett taught him everything he knows about singing.

There isn’t a great deal of Delaney and Bonnie material out there. And their studio albums never quite measured up to their lighting hot live performances. But what we do have is a treasure.

This clip features the quintessential Delaney and Bonnie band. Several musicians in addition to Clapton would go on to form Derek and the Dominoes with EC: drummer Jim Gordon, bassist Carl Raddle and keyboardist Bobby Whitlock. The rest of the band was comprised of the great horn section Bobby Keys and Jim Price who did a pretty good job when they went on to perform with the Stones for most of the 70s. Rounding out the band was singer Rita Coolidge, who sang with so many great bands it’s impossible to count, plus won two Grammys for her own solo efforts.

If you watch the three songs on this clip (you can scroll past the announcer after the first tune), you’ll get a sense of how great Delaney and Bonnie were.

I invite you to email me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz

The Evening is my daily guide to key insights CSIS brings to the events of the day. It is composed with the External Relations team: Emma Colbran, Caleb Diamond, and Kendal Gee.