Slouching Towards Oblivion

Friday, May 14, 2021

Roosting Chickens

A couple of encouraging things from NPR today.

First, we can be a little more confident there will be no whitewash when it comes to getting the US military squared away and unfucked.

Active-Duty Marine Corps Major Charged In Capitol Riot

An active-duty officer in the U.S. Marine Corps has been arrested and charged for allegedly assaulting police during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters.

Maj. Christopher Warnagiris was arrested Thursday in Virginia and charged with five counts, including assaulting or impeding an officer, obstruction and unlawful entry. Officials say he is believed to be the first active-duty military service member to be charged in connection with the Capitol insurrection.

According to an FBI document filed in federal court, security camera footage from the Capitol on Jan. 6 shows Warnagiris forcing his way through East Rotunda doors.

Warnagiris then allegedly tried to prevent U.S. Capitol Police officers from shutting the doors and at one point pushed an officer who was trying to secure the entrance.

The FBI received a tip from the public in March that helped identify Warnagiris, according to court papers. Agents followed up on the information by obtaining two government photographs of Warnagiris and then interviewing a co-worker at his military command, who identified him in photographs from the Capitol.

Warnagiris made his initial appearance Thursday in federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia. The government did not seek his detention.

More than 400 people have been charged so far in connection with the Capitol breach, including around 40 military veterans as well as a handful of guard members and reservists.


And second - uh-oh, this could be trouble.

2 Years Later, Former White House Counsel Don McGahn Agrees To Testify

Former Trump White House counsel Don McGahn will testify before the House Judiciary Committee about his role in former special prosecutor Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, the panel announced Wednesday.

McGahn will speak only to committee members in private, under an agreement negotiated by his attorneys, the committee and the Justice Department. The interview will be conducted "as soon as possible" and a transcript will be released publicly shortly thereafter, according to the court filing.

McGahn served as the campaign attorney for former President Donald Trump's 2016 presidential run and later as his White House counsel until 2018.

The agreement settles a nearly two-year court battle over McGahn's refusal to testify before the Judiciary Committee. It first subpoenaed McGahn in 2019 after Mueller's report indicated he would be knowledgeable of multiple allegations of obstruction committed by Trump. His administration prevented key White House advisers from testifying in the committee's review of the Mueller investigation.

The interview will be limited to information attributed to McGahn in the publicly available portions of the Mueller report, as well as events that involved him personally. He can decline to answer questions that go beyond that scope. Attorneys for the Justice Department may also tell McGahn not to answer certain questions.

McGahn can be asked, however, whether he believes the Mueller report accurately reflects his statements during the investigation and whether those comments were truthful.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler said in a statement Wednesday, "I am pleased that we have reached an arrangement that satisfies our subpoena, protects the Committee's constitutional duty to conduct oversight in the future, and safeguards sensitive executive branch prerogatives."




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