The year in power was Mistruth and consequences. Add to your saved stories Comment on this story
This was a year of mistruth and consequences, as well as a year of trying to figure out what rules remain in effect for a sundowning democracy, how those rules should be enforced and who gets to do the enforcing. The four special counsels that were employed over the last year weren't special at all. Rudy Giuliani was indicted on racketeering charges, forced into bankruptcy after being found liable for defaming two election workers, and sued by his former lawyer over an alleged unpaid bill. We went through the past week by week until we got to the future. Kevin McCarthy lined up for 14 smackdownes to get the gavel as Speaker of the House, but came into power on the 15th ballot. The Justice Department assigns a special counsel to look into President Biden's handling of classified documents, including in the president's garage near his prized sports car. Biden reassured the nation that it was not like they were sitting out in the street.
In celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Republican lawmakers get dragged online for cherry-picking quotes. Richard Barnett was found guilty on eight counts after he claimed in court that he only put his feet on a desk in Nancy Pelosi's office. The Secretary of State decided not to go to China because of the "unacceptable" Chinese spy balloon that flew through American airspace. FBI agents found more classified documents in the home of former vice president Mike Pence. The residents of East Palestine, Ohio, enter their second week living in the real-life version of Don DeLillo's "White Noise" after a train carrying hazardous materials derails, poisoning the water supply, air, soil and whatever goodwill remained between them and the government and corporate President Biden said it was legitimate for people to raise issues about his age. Bill Lee is getting ready to sign a bill banning male or female impersonators who provide entertainment that appeals to a prurient interest. Silicon Valley Bank is the second largest bank failure in US history. A Treasury official says that the firms are not being bailed out.
Hunter Biden filed a lawsuit against the Delaware computer repairman who said that a man using Hunter's name dropped off some equipment at his shop and never picked it up, accusing him of invasion of privacy. What kind of person can charge a former President of the United States who got more votes than any sitting President in history, and who was the leading candidate? Donald Trump warns that he should not be indicted in New because he knows that no crime has been committed. It is the first time in U.S. history that a former president has been charged with a crime. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. files formal paperwork to run for president, a move that will eventually unite anti-Trump Democrats, pro-Trump Republicans and members of the Kennedy family in their disapproval. The FBI arrested a 21-year-old National Guardsman on suspicion that he leaked Pentagon intelligence assessments to his online friends. One of his gaming friends said that he did it because he wanted them to know what was going on.
The screenwriters guild announces a strike. A useful test case for how long a dishonest, indicted politician not named Trump will get political cover from the GOP is set up by the Justice Department. A civil jury ordered Trump to pay 5 million dollars after finding that he sexually abused and defamed the writer. John Durham, the special counsel investigating the origins of the FBI's Trump-Russia case, releases his report.
The unstoppable Republican Candidate of the Future Ron DeSantis is running for president. A national security adviser who used to be a food critic resigned from the staff of a senator after he appeared to take too much credit for the senator's blockade of Pentagon appointments. The second time in U.S. history a former president has been charged with a crime, Trump was indicted in Florida. The power struggle within the Republican Party took a turn as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene called Rep. Lauren Boebert a "little b—" during an argument. She has been a nasty little bit of a person.
The Supreme Court guts affirmative action, with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. co-writing.
The white powder found in the White House was cocaine, not a chemical or radiological material, as was claimed by the Secret Service agents. Possibly Stoppable Republican Candidate of the Future Ron DeSantis fires nearly a dozen staffers and urges patience.
Secret Service documents obtained by a conservative watchdog group show that the Bidens have had at least 10 altercations with their German shepherd, Commander.
A former president has been charged with a crime three times in U.S. history. In its latest report, ProPublica reveals that Clarence Thomas has received many gifts and benefits from rich conservatives over the years, adding fuel to the debate over whether Supreme Court justices might be corruptible. We are interested in 38 destination vacations, 26 private jet flights, eight helicopter rides, and the University of Nebraska football tickets if you give them out with no strings attached. The fourth time in U.S. history a former president has been charged with a crime, Trump is indicted in Georgia. A New York art critic had this to say: "Harshly lit, slightly out of focus, no depth of field."
Senate Minority LeaderMitch McConnell appears to freeze at the lectern, the second time this summer, adding fuel to the debate over whether some senators might be too old. A month later, Sen. Dianne Feinstein dies in office at the age of 90. In Week 37, Sen. Romney reveals that he plans to retire at the end of the term, and that his method of eating salmon is to put it on the cob. According to a poll, 65 percent of Americans say they always or often feel exhausted when thinking about politics. In the middle of a televised contest for a job that is not actually available, Republican presidential candidateNikki Haley said that she felt a little bit dumber. The new House Speaker will be Jim Jordan. Reputable news outlets launch investigations into answering the question, Does Ron DeSantis wear lifts in his boots? The Supreme Court hears oral arguments in a case regarding whether a man who shot at a bystander, threatened another woman with a gun, and took part in five other shooting should be allowed to keep his guns. I will bite 100 percent in a fight. Markwayne Mullin challenged a union boss to fight him during a Senate hearing. The week ended with George Santos getting kicked out of Congress in a bipartisan vote. The younger Biden is accused of spending millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his taxes.
The Texas Supreme Court decided that Kate Cox should not be allowed to have an abortion because her fetus was likely to die from a fatal condition. The Colorado Supreme Court bars Trump from appearing on the state's primary ballot because the 1868 provision of the Constitution prevents insurrectionists from holding office. The nation is waiting to see what the Supreme Court thinks about that and whether Trump can be tried for trying to overturn the election. Kevin McCarthy leaves the House of Representatives after a few weeks.