Thursday Illinois Political Docket: Republican Governor Candidates Debate, Madigan In D.c. On Gay Rights

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has asserted executive privilege over audio of his interview with special counsel Robert Hur that’s at the center a Republican effort to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress, the Justice Department told lawmakers on Thursday. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] It comes as the the House Oversight and Accountability Committee and the Judiciary Committee are each expected to hold a hearing to recommend that the full House refer Garland to the Justice Department for the contempt charges over the department’s refusal to hand over the audio. Garland advised Biden in a letter on Thursday that the audio falls within the scope of executive privilege.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) declared that a bill he signed that removes climate change as a priority in state energy policy would restore “sanity” and reject “the agenda of the radical green zealots,” Axios reports.

“Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate, the Silicon Valley investor Nicole Shanahan, said on Wednesday night that she had given another $8 million to their independent presidential campaign as it carries out the expensive endeavor of gaining ballot access across the country and tries to propel Mr. Kennedy onto debate stages,” the New York Times reports.

“Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) prepped his run for a fiercely contested Senate seat by bashing the incumbent for ‘abandoning the Democratic Party’ and Arizonans, and standing in the way of expanding voting rights and abortion access with her support for the filibuster,” the Washington Post reports. “Now, after Sinema decided not to seek reelection, Gallego says he would ‘love to have’ avowed centrist Sen.

“House Republicans are threatening to hold Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over audio of President Biden’s interview with a special counsel investigating his handling of government documents,” the New York Times reports. “The contempt resolution would have to go to the full House for a vote.

George Conway turned directly to the camera and addressed Donald Trump about why he will not testify in his election interference trial. Trump's lawyers indicated they haven't made a decision about his testimony, but as Conway pointed out, he'd be shredded in about 3 minutes because, as one of Trump's prior lawyers pointed out, "he's an effing liar." Conway also reminded viewers that he doesn't listen to his lawyers, instead making his own poor decisions about how the trial should go, which is why the cross-examination of Stormy Daniels was such a failure. "If he doesn't testify, it's not going to be because he all of a sudden decided to follow legal advice," Conway asserted.