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 | | Fani Willis, district attorney for Fulton County, Georgia, opened an investigation last year into potential attempts to improperly influence the 2020 general election in Georgia by then-President Donald Trump and his associates. | | Dustin Chambers, Dustin Chambers-USA TODAY | |
| Happy Valentine's Day, OnPolitics readers! |
| On a heavier note, the U.S. government warned Sunday that Russia may invade Ukraine any day now, citing a buildup of forces and other tell-tale signs as proof. |
| National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday that a Russian invasion would "begin with a significant barrage of missiles and bomb attacks" followed by "an onslaught of a ground force moving across the Ukrainian frontier. Again, where innocent civilians could get caught in the crossfire or get trapped in places they could not move from." |
| In a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Sunday, President Joe Biden committed to a swift and decisive response should Russian President Vladimir Putin decide to send Russian forces into Ukraine though that response is expected to be in the form of economic sanctions – not a deployment of U.S, troops to the conflict. |
| The Biden administration also warned Americans in Ukraine to leave the country ahead of a possible invasion. |
| "This is the time, if you are an American in Ukraine, you should be making your way out," Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told "Fox News Sunday." |
| It's just Chelsey this week with today's top stories out of Washington. |
More on the Georgia District Attorney who could bring charges against Trump |
| Top prosecutor Fani Willis, 50, knew on her first day in office as Fulton County district attorney that actions taken by former President Donald Trump — who allegedly told Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find more votes" needed to overturn his 2020 presidential election defeat — might warrant an investigation. |
| Willis told USA TODAY the phone call between Raffensperger and the former president was "enough to raise eyebrows and even cause grave concern that it was already necessary to at least preliminarily look at other facts." |
| A special grand jury to help investigate the allegations is set to begin in May. But the decision to charge Trump with a crime is up to Willis, the first Black woman to serve as district attorney of Fulton County and a prosecutor with a reputation for going after murderers and cheating teachers. |
| "I am not privy to ... enough information to even say whether charges will or will not be brought," Willis told USA TODAY. "You don't go into investigations like that, with the end in mind; you go in seeking information that leads you to the truth ... I can foresee any of the possibilities, but my mind is completely open." |
Real quick: stories you'll want to read |
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Russia building pretext to invade Ukraine |
| Top security aide Jake Sullivan warned Sunday that Russia is prepared to launch military action against Ukraine and is only looking for a pretext to start a war. |
| Sullivan said the world "should be prepared for Russia staging a pretext and then launching a potential military action," on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday. |
| "We are going to make sure that we are laying out for the world what we see as transparently and plainly as we possibly can," he said. |
| There is further evidence that Russian media has been preparing its populace for a "false flag operation," or attempts to find motivation to invade neighboring Ukraine, by "trying to condition their public that some kind of attack by the Ukrainians is imminent," according to Sullivan. |
| In early February, U.S. intelligence officials said it had proof that Russia planned to produce a propaganda video depicting a fake attack against Russian soldiers by Ukrainian forces. But experts say possible false flags appear to have grown in seriousness. |
| "There are a lot of potential options on the table for the Russians to use a false flag," said Jason Blazakis, professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. |
| Want to know more?: President Biden vows Nord Stream 2, the completed but not-yet-operational pipeline that runs from Russia to Germany, will not become operational if Russia invades Ukraine, even as Russia spends millions behind the scenes to influence the company that will operate the pipeline. |
| That's all for now, OnPolitics readers. What did you think of last night's Super Bowl halftime show? — Chelsey |
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