| "We've had conversations with the former attorney general already." - Representative Bennie Thompson, chair of the January 6 select committee, confirms former Attorney General William Barr has spoken with investigators.
Welcome to the "Face the Nation" Five at Five newsletter. Scroll down for your five takeaways from today's broadcast of "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on CBS. Did someone forward you this? Sign-up at cbsnews.com/email. 1. Thompson: "We are concerned that our military was part of this big lie"  Congressman Bennie Thompson, chairman of the House select committee investigating the January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol, was asked Sunday if investigators intend to talk to former Attorney General William Barr about a draft executive order reportedly given to former President Donald Trump that would have directed the Defense Department to seize voting machines after he lost the 2020 election. What we asked: "There was also another story, significant. Politico published the text of a draft executive order that had been presented to President Trump in December of 2020 to have the defense secretary seize voting machines in battleground states. And multiple news organizations have now reported this. Do you intend to go to the Attorney General, Bill Barr, to ask him about this? I mean, how do you follow up on this kind of allegation and the paperwork to back it up?" What Thompson said: "Well, yes, we do. To be honest with you, we've had conversations with the former attorney general already. We have talked to Department of Defense individuals. We are concerned that our military was part of this big lie on promoting that the election was false. So, if you are using the military to potentially seize voting machines, even though it's a discussion, the public needs to know, we've never had that before. And so any of these individuals who are participating and trying to stop the election, the duly election of a president, and if we can document it, we will share it with the public." Why it matters: The draft executive order, first reported by Politico , was never issued, and it's unclear who wrote the document. Dated December 16, 2020, the order would have authorized the secretary of defense to "seize, collect, retain and analyze all machines, equipment, electronically stored information, and material records required for retention" under a federal law governing the retention and preservation of election records. 2. Blinken: "Massive consequences" for Russia if they invade Ukraine  As tensions continue to escalate over Russia's troop buildup near the border with Ukraine, Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned there will be "massive consequences" for Russia if its military forces invade Ukraine. What we asked: " More than 100,000 Russian troops are now poised to potentially invade from the north, east and south of Ukraine. Russian fighter jets and missiles arrived in neighboring Belarus, where war games are set to begin. Meanwhile, NATO naval exercises are taking place south of Crimea in the Mediterranean, and 90 tons of military aid just arrived in Kiev from the United States. President Biden is monitoring the situation from Camp David, and he met with his national security team yesterday. Late Saturday, Britain accused Russia of a plot to install a pro-Russian leader in Ukraine as it considers some form of attack. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is just back from consultations with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, and he joins us this morning from the State Department. Good morning. Mr. Secretary, these all look like signs of escalation." What Blinken said: " Well, we've been seeing this throughout. Russia's been engaged in an ongoing escalation... There is a path of diplomacy and dialogue, which is clearly the preferable one, the most responsible thing to do. There's also the path of Russian aggression and massive consequences for Russia if it engages in that aggression. And so I tried to make clear both paths in my meeting with Foreign Minister Lavrov in Geneva this week, and we'll see if we can advance the diplomacy. But even as we're doing that, we're preparing, building up defenses, building up deterrence if Russia chooses the other path." Why it matters: Despite diplomatic negotiations led by the U.S., more than 100,000 Russian troops have moved to Russia's border with Ukraine, while satellite imagery shows tanks, artillery and support equipment also beginning to amass. With tensions rising and warnings of a potential invasion growing, experts believe Russian President Vladimir Putin would wait until February, when the ground freezes, to attack Ukraine. 3. McCaul: "We're getting key Democrats on board" to provide lethal assistance to Ukraine  Representative Michael McCaul, ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, tells us Sunday about a bill to provide lethal aid to the Ukrainian government and calls for "joint exercises in Poland, the Baltic states, Romania, Bulgaria to show Putin that we're serious." What we asked: "Let's pick back up on the issue of Russia. We're talking about immediate action, potentially. Congress is going away for a week. There are bills before the Senate. I know you're working on one in the House. I mean, do you have that kind of time to play with legislation or do you need something in terms of a tool set to hand the president more quickly?" What McCaul said: "Well, time is of the essence. I'm working on a bill I've introduced to get- we're getting key Democrats on board. It would be an assistance package of lethal aid to Ukraine. That's important. But what's also important is the message of deterrence. We need joint exercises in Poland, the Baltic states, Romania, Bulgaria to show Putin that we're serious. Right now. He doesn't see we're serious and that's why the buildup is taking place. I think this all started, Margaret, with Afghanistan and the unconditional surrender to the Taliban when he saw weakness. Weakness invites aggression. We saw that with Chamberlain and Hitler. You know, Reagan talked about peace through strength. And right now, whether- and the thing is, this is not just about Ukraine. It's about China. It's about President Xi and Taiwan. It's about the Ayatollah and the bomb. It's about North Korea that just fired off two missiles, they said, were, you know, these, you know, these hypersonic weapons. I think this has broader global ramifications. We're seen as weak right now because of President Biden. His comments about a limited invasion was somehow acceptable, and that NATO was divided. I think one thing he said was true is that NATO is divided, and that's- Putin's goal is to divide and weaken NATO. He's accomplished some of that." Why it matters: McCaul and other House Republicans introduced the GUARDS Act earlier this month to provide lethal aid to the Ukrainian government "to ensure the Kremlin understands a further invasion of Ukraine would come at a terrible cost." President Biden said Thursday that it was his "guess" that Russia would invade Ukraine, and the White House sought to walk back comments he made at a press conference Wednesday that suggested there could be divisions among Western nations about the consequences Russia could face if it launched a "minor incursion" into Ukrainian territory. 4. Gottlieb: "Too soon" to lift school mask mandates  Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former head of the Food and Drug Administration, warned it may not be time just yet to lift school mask mandates, saying, "a lot of schools have built their preparations around the use of masks. And whatever we want to say about the benefit that masks are providing, it's providing some benefit." What we asked: "Nearly 1 million children were infected with COVID in the last week, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. A million. Is it too soon for mask mandates to be lifted in schools, as the governor of Virginia just ordered?" What Gottlieb said: "Look, I think it is too soon to do that because a lot of schools have built their preparations around the use of masks. And whatever we want to say about the benefit that masks are providing, it's providing some benefit. And a lot of schools that couldn't implement social distancing, couldn't implement testing, are relying on masks as their only tool. So, to withdraw it right at the peak of the epidemic, I think it's imprudent. We should wait. I think within two weeks we'll be able to make that decision. But this whole COVID epidemic, I think, has been colored by the fact that policymakers have not prescribed clear endpoints to when they are going to withdraw these measures. I think parents are willing to tolerate masks in schools, recognizing it's very disruptive to children, if there is an end date to it. If it's clearly prescribed when we're going to use these masks and when we're going to withdraw them, so they don't disrupt two years of a child's socialization and school activities. So, I think policymakers stepping in and saying, 'Look, we're going to put an end point on this when prevalence declines to a certain level,' and in sticking to it is very prudent. But to do it in a setting of the peak of this epidemic, I think puts a difficulty on schools that have based their mitigation around the use of masks." Why it matters: Having kids mask up in schools has been a topic of debate since our nation's children returned to in-person learning. Just this weekend, newly-inaugurated Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin made the decision to lift the state's school mask mandate, forcing some districts to enforce their own COVID rules without the support of the state. 5. How our "Listening to America" panel views the economy, COVID, President Biden's first year and more  Over the course of the pandemic, "Face the Nation" has been listening to Americans, through Zoom, to get their thoughts on COVID, the economy and how the government is handling it all. On Friday, we checked back in with six of them. | 
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