A 'war' against Congress

If you were looking for clear-cut answers as to what truly transpired at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, you may have been left wanting yesterday. At a joint oversight hearing in the Senate, the first step toward a potentially massive investigation into the failures that contributed to the insurrection, Capitol security officials testified for five hours about the attack that threatened an entire branch of government as it met to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election.

• — Passing the buck. All four witnesses—former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund, former House Sergeant-at-Arms Paul Irving, former Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Michael Stenger, and acting D.C. Police Chief Robert Contee—implicated senior officials at the Pentagon, FBI, and Department of Homeland Security for the breakdown that day. All agreed that the intelligence they were given ahead of time did not point to the types of violence and outright lawlessness that officers confronted, and Contee said he was "literally stunned" at the response—or lack thereof—from the Defense Department.
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• — Nobody asked. Big questions remain unanswered: What was the cause of Capitol Police Ofc. Brian Sicknick's death? What is the status of any review of lawmakers' relationships to some of the rioters, including allegations that some may have been given tours of the building on Jan. 5? What is the basis for the Capitol Police's ongoing investigations of 35 officers for their conduct on Jan. 6?
   
• — What about March 4? Sen. Jacky Rosen requested information about potential violence on March 4—the Constitution's original inauguration day—which authorities have warned could feature another attempted attack by those who refuse to accept the election results. Rosen asked what was being done by authorities to prepare, but her time expired, leaving that question unanswered as well.
   
• — More hearings to come. The chairs of the two committees spearheading the probe—Sens. Gary Peters and Amy Klobuchar—plan to convene another hearing next week, seeking testimony from Pentagon, DHS, and FBI officials. —Politico

Rubin: A cancelation for the 'cancel culture' cops

"It was a telling coincidence that while [Judge Merrick] Garland was testifying, the right-wing confab of the Conservative Political Action Conference, which is holding a conference on 'cancel culture' later this week, was forced to cancel the appearance of a notorious antisemite. A more self-aware group might recognize that 'cancel culture' has nothing to do with politics, governance, or America's challenges; it is merely an invective thrown around when whining right-wingers are held responsible for racism and other bad behavior." —Jennifer Rubin in The Washington Post

Jennifer Rubin is an attorney and political opinion columnist at The Washington Post.

MORE: Senate advances key nominees as Biden's Cabinet starts to take shape —USA Today

The fallout in Texas

Temperatures in Texas have returned to normal, but investigations continue into the blackouts that left millions of Texans without power amid an arctic blast last week. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is looking at irregularities in the Texas energy market, warning that extreme weather will continue to stress the power grid. Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota wrote a letter urging federal regulators to investigate possible price gouging for natural gas, pointing to prices that spiked to nearly 100 times typical levels, even outside of Texas. Meanwhile, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is investigating possible market manipulation in the natural gas and electricity sectors during the crisis. —CNN

MORE: ERCOT board members who live outside of Texas are resigning in the aftermath of the power outage, winter storm —The Texas Tribune

'No closer friend' than Canada

President Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met virtually yesterday, unveiling a "U.S.-Canada Partnership roadmap" for renewing relations between the two countries. The two leaders pledged to work together to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis, and to strengthen global alliances and defense. Biden said he chose to have his first bilateral meeting with Trudeau because the U.S. "has no closer friend" than Canada. Trudeau made clear that he is eager to reinvigorate relations, saying pointedly, "U.S. leadership has been sorely missed over the past year." —Axios

MORE: Canada's parliament passes motion saying China's treatment of Uighurs is genocide —Reuters

The Economist: Inside Turkey's flirtation with Russia

"At present, Turkey is a country unmoored. It is increasingly estranged from the Western alliance. But its partnership with Russia is recent, thinly based, and reversible. Among the many priorities competing for President Biden's attention, stopping Turkey's drift away from the West and into [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's arms deserves to be near the top of the list." —The Economist

MORE: Facebook execs silenced an enemy of Turkey to prevent a hit to the company's business —ProPublica

Focus on global democracy

China's Communist Party already wields outsized influence over Hong Kong's political landscape. Its allies handpick the territory's leader. Its loyalists dominate the legislature. It ousted four of the city's elected opposition lawmakers last year. Now, Beijing plans to impose restrictions on Hong Kong's electoral system to root out candidates the Communist Party deems disloyal and to quash the few remaining vestiges of political dissent left in the territory. The move would effectively block pro-democracy advocates from running for any elected office. —The New York Times

• — Haiti. Haitian President Jovenel Moise blamed powerful oligarchs this week for seven attempts in his four-year term to overthrow Haiti's democratic system, most recently an attempted coup on Feb. 7. He defended his use of decrees, saying he had to take off his "gloves" to fight against organized crime and kidnapping instigated by the oligarchs. Nonetheless, he assured a virtual meeting of the United Nations Security Council that "we see the democratic regime and elections are the only way to have access to power." —The Washington Post
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• — Myanmar. Since the military coup in Myanmar three weeks ago, nearly 700 people, including monks, writers, activists, politicians, and others, have been arrested. Many of those arrested were charged using legacy laws—some dating back to British colonial times—while the junta is introducing new laws as well, to crack down on dissidents. Human rights groups fear a sizable expansion in the number of political prisoners in the country. —Associated Press
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• — Spain. The arrest of Pablo Hasél, a Spanish rap artist, for lyrics and social media remarks praising terrorist violence and insulting the Spanish monarchy, has brought thousands to the streets in protest. Under the banner of freedom of expression, many Spaniards object to putting an artist behind bars and are demanding that the Spanish government roll back the Public Security Law that was used to prosecute Hasél and other artists. —Associated Press

WaPo Ed Board: Europe is crucial to Biden's foreign policy goals

"President Biden made clear last week that his push to revive U.S. relations with traditional allies in Europe is not simply a matter of restoring a status quo disrupted by Donald Trump. 'We are,' he said in an address to the Munich Security Conference, 'in the midst of fundamental debate about the future and direction of our world,' a contest between democracy and autocracy. The 'galvanizing mission' of the democracies, he argued, must be to prevail in this struggle with Russia, China, and other dictatorships. That will require a close partnership." —The Washington Post

MORE: EU to sanction four Russians over Navalny, including prosecutors —Reuters

Interior Alaska communities rely on wind turbines too! They are not an issue here. There's a video about it at https://youtu.be/bERB9LUSfyk. —Mwasi M., Alaska

I wish everyone would stop calling people who support Trump "conservative." Real conservatives are not Trump supporters. Conservatives are people who believe in government as the entity that takes care to safely protect and defend the Constitution, people who have respect and integrity in how they treat each other—no name-calling, no lies, no criminal activity. I want Republican conservatives like Evan McMullin, true conservatives who respect the Constitution and the functions of the United States. Conservatives who show the world we are a country of strength, decency, and freedom. All in all, a good list on THE TOPLINE. —Donna C., California

Truth and truthful, unbiased journalism are essential to democracy. In the 1960s, they taught that in school. Evidence would suggest they stopped teaching that shortly thereafter. Personally, I could have gone without that being proved to be true, but alas here we are. —Tom A., Oregon

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