It’s Tuesday, the traditional day for elections and for our pause-and-consider newsletter on politics and policy.   

Photo by Abbey Oldham

THE MAN WHO SAW GOOD IN POLITICS
By Lisa Desjardins, @LisaDNews ([link removed])
Correspondent

In this big, brawling country, there is no shortage of passion, intelligence and good that could lift up our politics, Mark Shields liked to point out ([link removed]) . But he was himself special – in his complete confidence in the nation, his belief that politics can be good and his ability to charm even the most cynical ideological opponent with his joy and humor.

Mark died this weekend ([link removed]) at the age of 85. When I started as a new correspondent at the PBS NewsHour, coming into a revered place of journalism, I was not sure how I could measure up. Mark instantly made me feel not only welcome but worth every bit as much as anyone else on the team.

His sparkle, wit and love of people always stoked pride in me of the best of our shared Irish heritage. And the fact that he always had candy or cookies on hand – especially Hershey’s kisses – added to his charm.

This week is a big news week, but we thought it worth taking today’s newsletter here to reflect on someone who made our show and our politics as a country better.

Here’s how colleagues and family have remembered him:

“Mark Shields had a magical combination of talents: an unsurpassed knowledge of politics and a passion, joy, and irrepressible humor that shone through in all his work. He loved most politicians, but could spot a phony and was always bold to call out injustice. Along with Jim Lehrer and Robin MacNeil, he personified all that’s special in the PBS NewsHour.”
– Judy Woodruff, anchor and managing editor

“He taught me not to just think with my head, not to just be a pundit through my head or through some party position, but to let your heart be bare and to react with your heart – with the moral emotions you feel. And that was how he improved us all and how he lifted us all.”
– David Brooks, his longtime companion in the Friday political segment ([link removed])
Photo courtesy of Mark Shields' family

“Who he was on television and who he was … walking around the office, he's the same person. He was a very warm, loving, hilarious, charming person. And he would make — I mean, my mom — he always made us laugh …. my kids joke that he would make up games just to like drive them home from his house.

… What people loved about my dad and David's interactions, and my dad and David Gergen's interactions and all through everything you have done on the show forever, is that there was real conversation and real debate, but it wasn't ugly, and it wasn't partisan. And it wasn't like, I can't like you because you're a Republican.”
– Amy Doyle, Mark’s daughter

“Whether he was in the makeup room, or the hallway, or walking out of the studio - he always found a way to bring a smile to those around him. Mark gave us so much – as a show, as an industry, as a nation. He made us better and smarter. But he gave each and every one of us who had the privilege to know and learn from him, an immeasurable gift. I’m so grateful to him for that."
– Amna Nawaz, chief correspondent

We share more about Mark’s life and legacy here ([link removed]) . And as a bonus this week, scroll down for one of his favorite trivia questions.

TWO JAN. 6 HEARINGS THIS WEEK
By Joshua Barajas, @Josh_Barrage ([link removed])
Senior Editor, Digital

In the course of four hearings, with more to come ([link removed]) , the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol has been methodically laying out the events that led to a pro-Trump mob breaching the building in an effort to stop Congress’ count of Electoral College votes.

In today’s hearing ([link removed]) , the panel focused on former President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign on state officials to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

3 noteworthy moments from Tuesday’s hearing

In his opening remarks ([link removed]) , Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California, said Trump and his allies’ continued false claims of election fraud is a “dangerous cancer on the body politic.”

“If you can convince Americans that they cannot trust their own elections – that anytime they lose it is somehow illegitimate – then what is left but violence to determine who should govern?” he said.

Rusty Bowers, the Republican speaker of Arizona’s House of Representatives, testified that Trump and some of his legal advisers, including Rudy Giuliani, repeatedly said they have evidence of election fraud – but failed to provide any proof to support those claims. Bowers testified that he requested that evidence on multiple occasions, including after Trump and Giuliani asked him to help send a different slate of electors, adding that he didn’t think the claims warranted further steps like an official committee hearing to investigate the false election fraud claims.
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“I did not want to be used as a pawn,” Bowers said. He later recalled ([link removed]) telling Trump and Giuliani on another call, “You are asking me to do something against my oath, and I will not break my oath.”

The hearing also focused on how Trump’s baseless election fraud claims wreaked havoc on the lives of election workers ([link removed]) and their families. Trump falsely accused Wandrea ArShaye “Shaye” Moss and her mother, Ruby Freeman, of feeding thousands of rigged ballots through voting machines while working for the Fulton County elections board on Election Day in Georgia.

Both election workers were seen in a video of them processing ballots, which was heavily circulated among right-wing online circles, conservative media outlets and Trump allies as proof of voter fraud. Claims about the video were widely debunked.

Moss and Freeman described the onslaught of online harassment and threats they endured. Moss also said Trump supporters showed up to her grandmother's home and threatened to do a citizen's arrest.
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Freeman, known as “Lady Ruby,” said in her recorded testimony ([link removed]) that she lost her sense of security.

“There is nowhere I feel safe. Nowhere. Do you know how it feels to have the president of the United States target you?” she said, visibly shaken. “He targeted me, Lady Ruby, a small business owner, a mother, a proud American citizen who stand up to help Fulton County run an election in the middle of a pandemic."

When is the next hearing?

The next public hearing will be at 3 p.m. EDT Thursday, June 23.

It’s expected to focus on Trump’s pressure campaign on the Justice Department to declare the 2020 election “corrupt.”

Check your local listings to find the PBS station near you, or watch online here ([link removed]) or in the player below.
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You can also follow our live coverage on YouTube ([link removed]) , Twitter ([link removed]) and Facebook ([link removed]) , and see highlights on our Instagram ([link removed]) .

Digital anchor Nicole Ellis will hold a live conversation with White House correspondent Laura Barrón-López to preview Thursday’s hearing.

Who is testifying at Thursday’s hearing?

It’s not immediately clear.

The committee has yet to confirm who’s testifying at the June 23 hearing, and has been largely releasing more details a day before the hearing.

For the latest and greatest on the Jan. 6 hearing schedule and who’s expected to testify, check out this page ([link removed]) . We’re updating that story as soon as we learn more.

What happens next after this week’s hearings?

More hearings are expected after this week (although there are no new dates and times yet.) That includes a postponed hearing focused on Trump’s campaign to remove Attorney General Bill Barr that has yet to be formally rescheduled.

After this month’s hearings, the committee’s investigation will continue, Cheney signaled in the first hearing, saying “what we make public here will not be the complete set of information we will ultimately disclose.”

The committee is expected to deliver a final report sometime later this year. It said it will turn over additional materials, including transcripts of its closed-door interviews, to the Department of Justice by the end of the month, The Associated Press reported.

Some of the standout moments from the Jan. 6 hearings so far:
* At the first prime-time hearing, Wyoming GOP Rep. Liz Cheney – one of two Republicans chosen to serve on the Jan. 6 committee, delivered a stark line ([link removed]) that will endure beyond the House’s investigation: “I say this to our Republican colleagues who are defending the indefensible: There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone – but your dishonor will remain.”
* Former Attorney General William Barr, in recorded testimony ([link removed]) shown at the June 13 hearing, said Trump was “detached from reality” with his claims about election fraud.
* Vice President Mike Pence came within 40 feet of the pro-Trump mob on Jan. 6, the committee revealed ([link removed]) in the third hearing.
* Many of the people surrounding Trump did not believe his claims of voter fraud, according to witnesses in public hearings ([link removed]) and video of former administration officials testifying behind closed doors.
* For more highlights, here’s what we learned from the first ([link removed]) , second ([link removed]) and third ([link removed]) hearings.

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#POLITICSTRIVIA
By Joshua Barajas, @Josh_Barrage ([link removed])
Senior Editor, Digital

Mark Shields once explained to us ([link removed]) that he likes to use non-political trivia questions to get a conversation going. In that spirit, we wanted to ask y’all a variation of one of his go-tos.

Our question: What is the smallest state capital city in the country? (Do note that initial 2020 Census Bureau data was released in April. We’re using those numbers.)

Send your answers to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) or tweet using #PoliticsTrivia. The first correct answers will earn a shout-out next week.

Last week, we asked: How many of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach the former president are not running for re-election in 2022?

The answer: Four. They are: Reps. John Katko of New York, Fred Upton of Michigan, Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, the latter of whom is one of the two Republicans on the Jan. 6 committee.

Congratulations to our winners: Ed Witt and Barry Weinstein!

Thank you all for reading and watching. We’ll drop into your inbox next week.
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