Fauci Invokes Fifth Amendment More Than 100 Times During Senate Hearing

Dr. Anthony Fauci appeared before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, chaired by Senator Rand Paul. During the combative hearing, Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times, declining to answer questions about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the origins of the coronavirus. During the hearing, Fauci decried what he called Rand Paul’s “unhinged obsession with me.” Dr. Anthony Fauci: “Given Senator Paul’s obvious obsession with calling for my prosecution, his repeated slanderous comments about me, and recently his publicly releasing my unredacted personal diary aimed at embarrassing and intimidating me, the only conclusion I can reach is that the sole reason he is calling me before this committee is to get me to say something — anything — that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, quote, 'behind bars,' unquote.” After the hearing, Rand Paul announced the committee would vote on whether to hold Fauci in contempt. Before leaving office, President Biden issued a preemptive pardon for Fauci, believing that Republicans would go after him after he left office. www.democracynow.org

GOP Congressmember Miller Faces Allegations of Domestic Abuse from Ex-Wife

Republican Congressmember Max Miller of Ohio is facing allegations of domestic abuse as he runs for reelection. His ex-wife Emily Moreno, who is the daughter of Ohio’s Republican Senator Bernie Moreno, claims that Congressmember Miller burned her chest and stomach by throwing hot water at her; held a gun to her head; and fractured their 2-year-old daughter’s collarbone. Miller is also facing a defamation lawsuit from former Trump spokesperson Stephanie Grisham, who alleges that he abused her, as well, during their relationship before he married Moreno. This comes as Democratic Congressmember Ro Khanna and Republican Congressmember Anna Paulina Luna recently introduced a bill barring federal elected officials from using campaign funds to settle sexual misconduct allegations. www.democracynow.org

Trump Asks SCOTUS to Overturn $83.3 Million Jury Award Against Him for Defaming E. Jean Carroll

President Trump has asked the Supreme Court to overturn an $83.3 million jury award against him for defaming the writer E. Jean Carroll, who accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s. Carroll filed the defamation suit over remarks Trump made while president. Earlier this month, a federal judge ruled that Trump must pay E. Jean Carroll $5.8 million in connection with a separate Carroll lawsuit against Trump. Her lawyers say that Carroll has already collected the $5.8 million. In that case, a jury found that Trump had sexually abused and defamed her. www.democracynow.org

U.S. Senate Unanimously Passes Bill Opposing Pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell

The U.S. Senate has unanimously passed a resolution opposing a pardon for Epstein’s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking crimes. The resolution introduced by Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen of Nevada says that Maxwell “should not be granted a Presidential pardon or any form of clemency for her crimes with Jeffrey Epstein relating to the sexual exploitation and abuse of minors.” www.democracynow.org

GOP Senator Cornyn and Tillis Threaten to Withhold Support for Blanche to Be Attorney General

On Capitol Hill, a critical vote on Todd Blanche’s nomination to be attorney general has been postponed. Republican Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina have threatened to withhold their support for Blanche if he does not provide written limits on the controversial settlement reached between Trump and the IRS over Trump’s unprecedented lawsuit against the agency. Cornyn and Tillis are seeking written assurances that the Justice Department will not create a $1.776 billion fund for Trump’s allies, including January 6 insurrectionists. The senators also want to scale back the part of the settlement that exempted Trump from IRS audits. Before joining the Justice Department, Blanche served as Trump’s personal attorney. On Wednesday, a group of Jeffrey Epstein survivors lobbied senators to vote against Blanche, saying that he was “very condescending” to them during their meeting earlier this month. www.democracynow.org

Federal Reserve Votes to Maintain the Current Interest Rate at Around 3.6%

The Federal Reserve voted to maintain the current interest rate at around 3.6%. Three officials dissented and voted to raise the interest rate. President Trump has repeatedly pressured the Fed to lower rates despite persistently high inflation for more than five years. www.democracynow.org

Drop Site News: Trump’s Former Campaign Manager Working to Influence How AI Chatbots Talk About Gaza

Drop Site News is reporting Trump’s former campaign manager Brad Parscale has been quietly working with Israel to help influence how artificial intelligence chatbots talk about Gaza. Israel awarded Parscale’s firm a $46.5 million contract for the project, which involves creating websites and blog posts about Israel. The target audience for the sites is AI chatbots like Claude or ChatGPT. When Drop Site asked one chatbot whether it would be beneficial for the United States to enhance military cooperation with Israel, the chatbot responded with a one-word answer: “Yes.” The top source cited was a website created by Parscale’s firm for the Israeli government. www.democracynow.org