Expect a circus

The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol issued subpoenas to five more Trump allies yesterday. Whether they comply is anyone's guess, but for at least two of them, the testimony would be, well, a spectacle. Longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones were served with demands for documents and testimony, as the committee deepens its probe of the two rallies that preceded the deadly insurrection. The other three subpoenas were issued to Dustin Stockton, Jennifer Lawrence (not the actress), and Taylor Budowich, who, along with Stone and Jones, are implicated in the planning and promotion of those rallies.

• — Stone spoke at rallies on the day before the insurrection, and he used members of the far-right group the Oath Keepers as personal security guards while he was in Washington. Stone was previously convicted in the Mueller Investigation for lying to Congress about his efforts to gather inside information about Russia-hacked Democratic emails that were published by WikiLeaks in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election. He was subsequently pardoned by Donald Trump.
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• — The House panel also wants to hear from Jones. The conspiracy theorist and radio personality helped organize the Jan. 6 rally at the Ellipse that directly preceded the insurrection. Jones repeatedly promoted Trump's claims of election fraud, urged his listeners to come to Washington for the rally, and marched from the Ellipse to the Capitol. According to Rep. Bennie Thompson, chair of the panel, Jones also "made statements implying that [he] had knowledge about the plans of President Trump with respect to the rally."
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• — "The Select Committee is seeking information about the rallies and subsequent march to the Capitol that escalated into a violent mob attacking the Capitol and threatening our democracy," said Thompson. "We need to know who organized, planned, paid for, and received funds related to those events, as well as what communications organizers had with officials in the White House and Congress." Stay tuned. —Associated Press

Another one bites the dust

U.S. Senate candidate Sean Parnell of Pennsylvania suspended his campaign yesterday, hours after a judge ruled against him in a custody battle. Parnell, a decorated U.S. Army veteran and well-known Fox News commentator, won a hearty endorsement from Donald Trump in August. But his campaign unraveled after a rival publicly questioned his personal conduct and then, two months later, when his wife, Laurie Snell, testified during the custody trial that Parnell had choked her and pinned her down during their turbulent marriage. His decision marked a rapid collapse for the candidate viewed as the GOP front-runner in the nationally watched race to replace retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey—and opens up the race to others who will now seek Trump's coveted endorsement. —The Philadelphia Inquirer

MORE: Pennsylvania's GOP-controlled Senate to spend up to $270K on election investigation —The Hill

Mead: Russia's Ukraine strategy

"China and Russia don't like or trust each other very much, and should they succeed in marginalizing the U.S., they would quickly fall out. But for now their mutual distrust turns them both against the U.S. as they compete to seize enough spoils from the declining American order to position themselves for the future. As the West weakens, for example, Mr. Putin is raising the stakes in Ukraine and the Black Sea partly because he can, and partly because he needs to grab everything on the table to prepare for the day when Russia and China face off." —Walter Russell Mead in The Wall Street Journal

Walter Russell Mead is the global view columnist at The Wall Street Journal, the Ravenel B. Curry III Distinguished Fellow in Strategy and Statesmanship at Hudson Institute, and the James Clarke Chace Professor of Foreign Affairs and Humanities at Bard College.

MORE: Ukraine wants more exercises, training with U.S. —Defense One

Biden makes Senate Republicans happy

President Biden will nominate Jerome Powell for a second term as chair of the Federal Reserve, an announcement that won plaudits from Sen. Pat Toomey, the top-ranking Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, and several of his GOP colleagues. Powell, a Republican, was named to the Fed's board 10 years ago by former President Barack Obama and was elevated to the chairman's post four years ago by Donald Trump. He's enjoyed bipartisan support in the Senate, where he earned 84 votes in his favor when he was confirmed in 2018. His term as chair expires in February. Powell faces a vote in the Banking Committee before coming to the full Senate floor. Most Democrats are expected to support him. —The Wall Street Journal

MORE: U.S. to release 50 million barrels of oil to ease energy costs —Los Angeles Times

More Voice DC: RCV brings choice and civility

"The benefits of ranked-choice voting are just as diverse as the candidates who are empowered to run under this system. Candidates are incentivized to campaign positively to appeal to the supporters of other candidates as a backup preference. Data shows that in all jurisdictions that use RCV—including New York City, Minneapolis, and San Francisco—voter turnout is modestly increasing, and races are more dynamic and genial with genuine policy debates supplanting negative campaign tactics." —More Voice DC on Yahoo! Finance

More Voice DC seeks to engage Washingtonians in the political process and ensure that residents of the District are educated about how to effectively use their voice.

MORE: Teenage UCF student spearheads a sweeping ballot proposal to change how Floridians vote —Orlando Sentinel

Focus on the pandemic

With COVID-19 mitigation tools at the ready—mainly widely available vaccinations—the U.S. is not headed toward another lockdown, the White House said yesterday. During a teleconference briefing, White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients said, "We have 82% of people now with one shot, and more and more people getting vaccinated." He also noted that 71% of adults are fully vaccinated while 95% of Americans as young as 5 years of age are eligible for the vaccines. Another 36 million have received a booster shot. "This is under control," said Zients. —United Press International

• — Things aren't quite as sunny in Europe. European nations are either instituting or considering reinstating lockdowns and other measures against Covid in the face of soaring infection rates—more than 2 million new cases each week, the most since the pandemic began. Austria imposed a full 10-day lockdown yesterday that compels Austrians to hunker down at home. Austria is also the first Western democracy to make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for all, starting in February. —The Economist
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• — Folks aren't too happy about it. Tens of thousands of people protested official crackdowns and vaccine requirements in Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Switzerland, and Croatia over the weekend, with scattered violence and police use of tear gas and water cannons. Some protesters were organized by far-right parties, but many were simply fed up with almost two years of intermittent state controls over their lives in the name of public health. —The New York Times
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• — "Vaccinated, recovered, or dead." Germany's health minister issued a stark warning to the country, which has one of the lower vaccination rates in Western Europe, with 68% of its adult population fully vaccinated, but only 7% having received a booster shot. "Some would say this is cynical, but probably by the end of this winter, pretty much everyone in Germany will be vaccinated, recovered, or dead ... That's the reality," Jens Spahn said yesterday. Now that's telling it like it is. —CNBC

Robertson: Much work ahead for the world's democracies

"At his inaugural address Biden used the word democracy five times in his introduction, and 11 times during his whole speech. It was at the forefront of his mind as he spoke at the spot where, just two weeks earlier, the United States' first attempted coup had unfolded. Looking out on Washington's flag-strewn Mall, his words broadcast into millions of living rooms and autocrats' offices around the world, Biden warned: 'We have learned again that democracy is precious. Democracy is fragile.' It has become even clearer since then that democracy's trials are far from over, both in the United States and around the world. Now, leaders must convert their well-meaning words into actions." —Nic Robertson on CNN

Nic Robertson is the international diplomatic editor at CNN.

MORE: Michael J. Abramowitz and David J. Kramer: Biden's Summit for Democracy shouldn't be just a photo op —The Washington Post

So is the lesson that Gaige Grosskreutz was in his right if he shot Rittenhouse out of fear of being shot? Essentially, Wisconsin is now the Wild West of the 1800s? —Ken G., Colorado

All parents, grandparents, teachers, group leaders, etc., need to use every opportunity they can to teach the children in their lives how to solve problems with others by using negotiation, compromise, etc., rather than violence! —Catherine H., Minnesota

Now that the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse is over and the verdict is in, it is time to think about what happens next. Like or dislike the verdict, it has made me wonder if the next protests will see people on both sides—and not just the fascists—carrying guns, shooting folks, and claiming self-defense. How many will be killed, how many will get off?

It's just a matter of time. Not if, but when. Contrary to what some say and think, all the guns are not owned by "one side." Folks should be careful what they wish for, because there are a lot of people (I knew many when I served in the military) who are not white supremacists but have all kinds of guns too, and know how to use them. Sick and very sad. And no, I am not calling for any sort of shootout or war—far from it. But it isn't rocket science to predict where we are headed as a nation, and it's not good. —Bill T., Arizona 

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