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| Hello, OnPolitics readers! |
| The Justice Department announced the formation of Task Force KleptoCapture, a special task force designed to go after the assets of Russian oligarchs loyal to Russian President Vladimir Putin. |
| The announcement came a day after President Joe Biden singled out Russian financial and political elites during his Tuesday State of the Union speech. |
| "Tonight I say to the Russian oligarchs and corrupt leaders who have bilked billions of dollars off this violent regime: 'No more,'" Biden said. He then added that the U.S. will join European allies in seizing yachts, luxury apartments, jets and other "ill-begotten gains." |
| The task force will combine federal law enforcement resources from various agencies, including the FBI, Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service, to enforce sanctions, export restrictions and economic countermeasures already imposed by the U.S. and allies, according to Attorney General Merrick Garland. |
| It's Amy and Chelsey with today's top stories out of Washington. |
Jan. 6 panel alleges Trump tried to overturn election results |
| The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol said it has evidence that former President Donald Trump and others "engaged in a criminal conspiracy to defraud the United States," according to court documents released late Wednesday. |
| The documents detail how Trump and associates conspired to spread false theories about 2020 presidential election fraud and pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence to invalidate the election results. |
| "The evidence supports an inference that President Trump and members of his campaign knew he had not won enough legitimate state electoral votes to be declared the winner of the 2020 Presidential election during the January 6 Joint Session of Congress," the committee disclosed in the documents. "But the President nevertheless sought to use the Vice President to manipulate the results in his favor." |
| The court filing was part of the panel's efforts to force former Trump legal adviser John Eastman to disclose documents outlining the conspiracy. |
| "The facts we've gathered strongly suggest that Dr. Eastman's emails may show that he helped Donald Trump advance a corrupt scheme to obstruct the counting of electoral college ballots and a conspiracy to impede the transfer of power," the panel leaders said in a joint statement. |
| More on the investigation: The Jan. 6 committee subpoenaed six individuals Tuesday who promoted false claims of election fraud and attempted to delay certification of electoral votes on the day of the insurrection. |
| Want this news roundup in your inbox every night? Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter here. |
Real quick: stories you should read |
| • | SCOTUS allows KY abortion ban case to continue: The Supreme Court ruled that Kentucky's Republican attorney general may step in to defend a state ban on a common abortion procedure, allowing the case to continue in lower federal courts. | | • | Oath Keeper pleads guilty to seditious conspiracy: Joshua James pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of seditious conspiracy and obstruction, making him the first person involved in the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol to be convicted of the rarely used charge. | | • | SCOTUS on CIA 'black sites' info request: The Supreme Court blocked a Guantanamo Bay detainee for subpoenaing two former CIA contractors involved with his detention at a European "black site," citing concerns the move would have compromised national security. | | • | "Stop this COVID theater": Irked by the sight of high school students wearing masks at his press conference Wednesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis encouraged them to remove the facial coverings. | |
Ukraine, Russia agree to create safe corridors for evacuating civilians, deliver aid |
| Ukraine said it has agreed with Russia to create safe corridors backed by cease-fires to evacuate civilians and deliver aid as a second round of negotiations began Thursday amid Russia's ferocious assault on its neighbor. |
| Officials from both nations are meeting in Belarus as the war entered its second week. Putin has demanded Ukraine accept "demilitarization," declare itself neutral and drop its bid to join NATO. |
| Macron's call to Moscow: French President Emmanuel Macron spoke by phone with Putin for 90 minutes and now believes "the worst is yet to come," a Macron aide told France24. Putin reportedly vowed to conduct an "uncompromising fight" in Ukraine. |
| Ukraine's major cities have come under heavy bombardment, a senior Defense Department official said. About 90% of the 150,000 combat forces Putin deployed to Ukraine's borders are now inside the country, said the official, who described military movements on condition of anonymity. |
| "Bombs, bombs, bombs": As Russian paratroopers lay siege to Ukraine's cities, more than 1 million Ukrainians and other nationals have fled to neighboring countries such as Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova and Romania, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. |
| The UNHCR has warned the situation may become Europe's largest refugee crisis this century, surpassing the 1.3 million people who traveled to the continent to request asylum in 2015 as conflicts raged in the Middle East. |
| Gas prices in many U.S. cities will hit $5 in weeks, with some prices already higher. Click here to see if your city may be one of them. -- Amy and Chelsey |
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