A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things.
Rosen And Donoghue Tell Their Stories
Former Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and former acting Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue gave testimony this weekend on then-acting civil division chief Jeffrey Clark’s attempts to weaponize the DOJ to help Trump steal the 2020 election.
- Rosen and Donoghue testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee for more than six hours and about five hours, respectively, on Saturday. Rosen met with investigators at DOJ inspector general Michael Horowitz’s office for two hours on Friday, the New York Times reports.
- Rosen reportedly told Horowitz’s investigators that he discovered Clark was having unauthorized discussions with Trump on how the DOJ could cast doubt on the legitimacy of Biden’s win.
- The ex-acting attorney general also said that Clark admitted in late December that he had met with Trump and promised to Rosen not to do it again, according to the Times.
- Rosen reportedly hastened to speak with Horowitz’s office and the Judiciary committee on Clark’s skullduggery before anyone, including Trump’s legal team, could stop him.
- Trump’s pressure campaign against Rosen to overturn the election “was real, very real” and “very specific,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin (D-IL) told CNN on Sunday.
- Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), a member of the committee, said Rosen provided “dramatic evidence of how intent Trump was in overthrowing the election,” the Times reports.
Over The Final Infrastructure Hurdle
The Senate voted 68-29 to invoke cloture on the bipartisan infrastructure bill last night, meaning we’re FINALLY set for the vote on actually passing the damn thing by Tuesday.
- Meanwhile, plans to move along Senate Democrats’s weeping $3.5 trillion infrastructure proposal are moving forward: They’ll be unveiling the budget resolution today, Budget Committee chair Bernie Sanders (I-VT) told Punchbowl.
- Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will tell the Senate to lift the debt ceiling not through reconciliation but “on a bipartisan basis,” something Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has flatly stated he and his GOP colleagues have no interest in doing.
A Key COVID-19 Vaccine Milestone
As of today,
there are more Americans fully vaccinated than there are Americans who are not
I know we have a lot of work to do to get more people the shot
But its worth celebrating this milestone pic.twitter.com/nSCpt7EFMT
— Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH (@ashishkjha) August 8, 2021
Cuomo Troubles
Melissa DeRosa, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) top aide, resigned on Sunday night after state Attorney General Letitia James’ investigation found that Cuomo had sexually harassed 11 women.
- “Personally, the past two years have been emotionally and mentally trying,” DeRosa said in a statement.
- One of the 11 women, a Cuomo staffer who accuses the governor of groping her, has filed a criminal complaint. She spoke out in a pre-taped CBS interview earlier on Sunday, saying that “what he did to me was a crime.”
CBS THIS MORNING EXCLUSIVE: The aide who accused NY Gov. Cuomo of groping her speaks publicly for the first time: "What he did to me was a crime," Brittany Commisso tells @CBSThisMorning & @timesunion. "He broke the law." Watch Monday at 7a, only on CBS. https://t.co/W9SGPNSf1S pic.twitter.com/kRulD0ViUD
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) August 8, 2021
- Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) is quietly preparing to take the reins in case Cuomo resigns (which he has declared he will not do) or is impeached by the state Assembly (a majority of whom have said they support doing), according to the New York Times.
A Huge Wake-Up Call
Humans have driven global warming at an “unprecedented” speed and some of the changes are “irreversible,” according to an alarming new report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
- Limiting the warming to the 1.5°C threshold “will be beyond reach” unless “there are immediate, rapid, and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions,” one of the IPCC top officials warned.
- Other climate scientists also sounded the alarm over the report:
The new IPCC 6th Assessment Report (AR6) provides an unprecedented degree of clarity about the future of our planet, and the need to reduce – and ultimately eliminate – our emissions of greenhouse gases.
In this thread I take a look at some key findings from the report: 1/27
— Zeke Hausfather (@hausfath) August 9, 2021
Key analysis: “A Hotter Future Is Certain, Climate Panel Warns. But How Hot Is Up to Us.” – The New York Times
The State Of Texas Democrats’ Fight For Voting Rights
Twenty-two of the more than 50 Texas House Democrats who fled the state to kneecap the passage of their GOP colleagues’ anti-voting bill are suing Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and House Speaker Dade Phelan (R).
- The Democrats accuse Abbott (who has vowed to have them arrested) and Phelan (who has already signed a civil arrest warrant against one of the legislators) of violating their constitutional rights, including freedom of speech.
- The lawsuit seems to be largely symbolic; the Democrats are claiming only $15 dollars in damages overall.
Trump’s Brain Worms In Action
Trump: Could you imagine if I were President right now and we had this massive attack from the Coronavirus. You know they like to call it the, they have new names and they’ll have other new names but it’s exactly what we had. pic.twitter.com/HwAqce3S60
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 8, 2021
Your Much-Needed Dose Of Cute This AM
I’m in the market for a flying squirrel now pic.twitter.com/16N2tYvceW
— Justin?Boldaji (@justinboldaji) August 8, 2021
