Federal appeals panel rejects Trump suit over Jan. 6 documents

Senate vote paves way for debt limit increase

Donald Trump loses again in his lawsuit against the Jan. 6 investigation. Congress could act next week on a debt limit increase. And the U.S. Supreme Court could do something unusual today. This is “Regular Order” for December 10, 2021.

JANUARY 6. A three-judge federal appeals court panel dealt another legal defeat to Donald Trump on Thursday, rejecting his lawsuit to stop Congress from seeing White House documents possibly related to the Capitol Attack. Those documents are now in the possession of the National Archives. Read the 68 page ruling at this link.

• RULING. In their decision, the judges minced no words about the relevance of the January 6 investigation. “There is a direct linkage between the former President and the events of the day,” they wrote, labeling the investigation a 'critical legislative inquiry.'

• WHAT'S NEXT. In the ruling, the appeals court panel specifically gave Trump and his lawyers 14 days to get action from the U.S. Supreme Court.

January 6th Committee @January6thCmte

We applaud the Appellate Court’s decisive ruling, which respects the Select Committee’s interest in obtaining White House records and the President’s judgment in allowing those records to be produced. Our work moves ahead swiftly. We will get to the truth.

POWERPOINT COUP. Thursday also brought the leak of a new document which circulated among senior White House aides, to have Vice President Pence block Joe Biden’s Electoral College win. It also suggested that Trump declare a national emergency, and "declare electronic voting in all states invalid." Think about that last sentence.

• DEMS. For Democrats, this only confirms that Trump and his aides were doing all they could to illegally stay in power. "Trump's former chief of staff has revealed that Trump wanted to declare a fake national security emergency to cancel the election," said Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ).

• JANUARY 6. Meanwhile, the work continued Thursday in the investigation, with more closed-door testimony. "The Committee has already met with nearly 300 witnesses," said Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY). "We are conducting multiple depositions and interviews every week."

• COMMITTEE. Everyone on Capitol Hill knows if Republicans take charge in the 2022 elections, this committee will be eliminated. But now it's becoming a talking point for GOP candidates running for Congress:

Max Miller @MaxMillerOH

Upon taking office, I will make sure one of my first votes is to disband this partisan committee that has weaponized its powers against innocent Americans. Ohioans are tired of watching D.C.’s witch hunts and political theater while the country burns. 1/2

DEMOCRACY. The House approved a bill on Thursday called the 'Protect our Democracy Act' - which seeks to reduce the possibility of abuse of power by a President. Only one GOP lawmaker - Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) - voted for the bill, which most Republicans denounced as an effort to go after Donald Trump.

• REFORM. "The past four years revealed serious vulnerabilities in our democratic systems," said Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL). The plan forces candidates to publicly release their tax returns, limits pardons by a President, and limits money-making opportunities for a President while in office.

• AOC. Not every amendment from Democrats was approved. The House voted down a plan from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), which would have allowed GAO investigators more access to U.S. Intelligence agencies for oversight.

• DEBATE. The debate was instructive as to where things are in Congress right now. Most Republicans were absolutely furious with the bill's details, seeing it as part of a continuing effort by Democrats to attack Trump. Democrats see it as a logical response to the blurred ethical lines of the Trump White House.

DEBT LIMIT. The Senate voted 59-35 on Thursday night to approve a bill which avoids across the board budget cuts in Medicare and farm programs - and also paves the way for a debt limit increase without the threat of a Senate filibuster. The plan now goes to the President for his signature.

• DETAILS. The House and Senate could vote next week to increase the debt limit by a specific amount of money. Despite the demand by Republicans for that - it was never done that way during the Trump Administration. Instead, the debt limit was simply 'suspended' for a time period.

• SCHUMER. "I want to thank Leader McConnell for working with us on this agreement," Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer said of his GOP counterpart. "This is the responsible path forward: no brinksmanship, no default on the debt."

SUPREME COURT. There could be news today from the U.S. Supreme Court, as the Justices will issue at least one opinion today. Most of you will shrug your shoulders. But to those who watch the Court, this is very odd.

• FRIDAYS. The only time I ever remember the Supreme Court issuing rulings on a Friday was at the end of a term, late in June. The obvious item which comes to mind is the Texas abortion law case which was argued last month - but we'll see what happens.

DOLE. Congressional leaders were joined by President Biden on Thursday in paying tribute to the late Sen. Bob Dole, who died earlier this week at age 98. "Bob Dole loved this Capitol," Mr. Biden said during ceremonies in the Rotunda, where Congress has honored fallen Presidents and other heroes. "He belongs here, in this place, in this temple of liberty."

• TODAY. A funeral for Dole will be held this morning at the National Cathedral. At 1:15 pm, Dole's casket will be brought by the World War II Memorial on the National Mall for another ceremony. That event is open to the public.

COVID IN THE HOUSE. On Wednesday, Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY) was front and center on the floor of the House of Representatives, managing a bill and engaging in debate. But he evidently didn't feel well.

• GUTHRIE. "Out of an abundance of caution, I took a COVID-19 test, and it came back positive," Guthrie said, indicating he was having only 'mild symptoms.' The Kentucky Republican said he is fully vaccinated.

• CORONAVIRUS. There have been some weird moments during the pandemic courtesy of politicians. Suggestions of injecting bleach and more. The latest is Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) suggesting mouthwash as a way to combat the virus. I’m not kidding. Listen to the audio at this link.

GIFT IDEA. If you’re like me, you’re already worried about whether that gift you ordered gets delivered before Christmas. But if you give the gift of straight news with ‘Regular Order,’ you won’t have to worry about UPS, the Postal Service, or a slow boat from China. Christmas is just two weeks from Saturday.

LONGWORTH. U.S. Capitol Police arrested a House staffer on Thursday for carrying a loaded weapon into a House office building. Police said "officers in the Longworth Building spotted the image of a handgun in a bag on the x-ray screen. The man was tracked down four minutes later and arrested."

• ARREST. In other words, the picture of the gun was up on the screen, even as the staffer, Jeffrey Allsbrooks, picked up his bag and headed for his office. Allsbrooks is a Logistics manager for the House CAO.

• FOUR MINUTES. “This case remains under investigation and the Department is looking into what happened before, during and after those four minutes,” police added.

UKRAINE. Members of Congress met on Thursday with legislators from Ukraine, amid warnings of possible military action by the Russians. "I told them not to doubt the bipartisan resolve in the United States Senate to stand firm with the Ukrainian people," said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL).

• RUSSIA. Standing firm with Ukraine is one thing. Committing military resources or troops to fight Russia is another - and despite a lot of talk about how the U.S. should be tough with Vladimir Putin, there is little reason to believe NATO would intervene on behalf of Ukraine.

• 1939. Anytime I hear someone suggest that the U.S. should defend Ukraine, I think of the hollow promises of help made by France and Britain to Poland - which was then quickly carved up by Germany and Russia.

BUILD BACK BETTER. The House and Senate are off today. Christmas is two weeks from tomorrow. This week comes to a close with no evidence of any fresh momentum for President Biden’s Build Back Better plan. But Democrats say they’re edging closer to a final deal in the Senate.

• SCHUMER. "We remain on schedule to bring this bill to the floor of the Senate before December 25th," Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer said Thursday. Next week will be the 'Byrd Bath' process, where both parties argue before the Parliamentarian about the details of the bill.

• MANCHIN. The final hurdle remains a familiar one - what does Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) want changed? What will he support? Will Democrats try to force his hand before Christmas? Or will this get booted into the New Year?

BIPARTISANSHIP. We saw it in the House earlier this week, and we’ll see it in the Senate when the defense bill gets a final vote next week. Bipartisanship is not dead - especially when it comes to spending money for the Pentagon - but part of that could be because the military has become sort of its own pork barrel. That’s my column this week for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

JOBS. The number of people making their first claim for jobless benefits dropped to the lowest level this week since 1969. See the data at this link.

MUSE OF HISTORY. December 10, 1872. On this date, the U.S. Senate grappled with calls to ban the import of all intoxicating liquors into the U.S. The issue wasn't so much the subject matter - but where such legislation should be considered. Sen. John Sherman of Ohio said the bill had no place before the Finance Committee. "We thought it was rather a question of morals than a question of finance," Sherman said, making clear his panel would not produce legislation to crack down on booze. The Temperance movement was gathering steam in the U.S. at this time - the Prohibition Party nominated its first candidate for President in 1872, led by James Black of Pennsylvania.

LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:

The House convenes on Monday.

The Senate meets next on Monday.

President Biden’s daily schedule link.

Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree. Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com