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| Presented By Kroger and Albertsons Companies |
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| Axios Sneak Peek |
| By Alayna Treene, Hans Nichols and Zachary Basu · Dec 19, 2022 |
| Welcome back to Sneak. Smart Brevity™ count: 945 words ... 3.5 minutes. |
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| 1 big thing: Jan. 6 committee's unanswered questions |
| Screenshot: MSNBC Even after 18 months of investigation and over 1,200 witness interviews, the House Jan. 6 committee released the executive summary of its final report today with several major questions lingering, Axios' Andrew Solender reports. Why it matters: The committee's work has been historic, culminating in an unprecedented criminal referral against former President Trump on four charges. But gaps remain — largely as a result of roadblocks that special counsel Jack Smith must now overcome in his own criminal investigation of Trump and his allies. 1. Witness tampering: Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) said today that the committee had "obtained evidence of efforts to provide or offer employment to witnesses." - One witness was "offered potential employment that would make her 'financially very comfortable' as the date of her testimony approached by entities apparently linked to Donald Trump and his associates," according to the report.
- "The Select Committee is aware of multiple efforts by President Trump to contact Select Committee witnesses. The Department of Justice is aware of at least one of those circumstances," the report adds.
- Asked why witness tampering wasn't included in the criminal referrals, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) told Axios: "We wanted to proceed where we feel the evidence is overwhelming ... and not throw out dozens of charges. We're very focused on what we actually know."
2. Inconsistent testimony: The report highlights competing facts across different witness interviews and stresses that the committee found some witnesses more unreliable than others. - For example, it cites portions of former White House adviser Ivanka Trump's testimony about her and her father's actions on Jan. 6 that were seemingly contradicted by her former chief of staff, Julie Radford.
- The report also cites concerns about ties to Trump leading to flawed testimony, including by witnesses "who still rely for their income or employment by organizations linked to President Trump, such as the America First Policy Institute."
3. Cassidy Hutchinson: One witness the report casts as particularly unreliable is Anthony Ornato, the former Secret Service agent and White House deputy chief of staff who was at the center of bombshell testimony by former Meadows aide Cassidy Hutchinson. - Hutchinson testified that Ornato relayed to her an incident in the presidential SUV on Jan. 6 in which Trump lunged at a Secret Service agent in an effort to be driven to the Capitol.
- According to the report, Ornato later testified that he had no recollection of Trump being angry, let alone physically violent, despite "multiple other witness accounts indicat[ing] that the President genuinely was 'irate,' 'heated,' 'angry,' and 'insistent.'"
- Although the introductory materials provided to Axios contain thorough testimony and evidence of a "furious interaction" in the SUV, they don't appear to corroborate the claim of a physical altercation.
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| 2. 📖 Committee's legacy |
| The Jan. 6 committee will disband — and several of its members will leave Congress — with the knowledge that its work left a lasting legacy on at least three fronts: - Election-denying candidates backed by Trump were thumped in key races in the midterms.
- Trump will be remembered not only as the first president to be impeached twice, but also as the first former president to be referred by Congress for criminal prosecution.
- And although the committee's criminal referrals carry no official weight, key evidence that will factor into the Justice Department's decision on whether to indict Trump is now in the public record.
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| 3. 👀 Stunning story: Rep.-elect's shady resume |
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| Rep.-elect George Santos. Photo: Wade Vandervort/AFP via Getty Images |
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| More than a month after the election, The New York Times has published a bombshell report alleging that Rep.-elect George Santos (R-N.Y.) may have faked much of his biography, including: - His jobs at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs
- His graduation from Baruch College
- His family's wealth
- His home address
- His employment of four victims of the Pulse night club shooting
- His nonprofit
Why it matters: Santos — who touts himself as the pro-Trump, openly gay son of immigrants — flipped one of four New York congressional seats from blue to red during the midterms, making the state one of Republicans' few bright spots. - Some Democrats have called Santos' election a searing indictment of the New York Democratic Party's leadership, given its failure to expose his resume gaps through opposition research.
- House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has yet to weigh in on the allegations against Santos, whose vote he will likely need for his fragile speaker bid.
🤯 Can't make this up: In a statement condemning the report as a "smear" — but not addressing any of the specific details — Santos' lawyer Joseph Murray appeared to falsely attribute a quote to Winston Churchill. Read the full story. |
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| A message from Kroger and Albertsons Companies |
| Serving America with fresher food, faster |
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| With Albertsons Cos., we will provide customers nationwide: - A wider selection of Our Brands products to save without compromising on quality.
- An even more seamless and personalized shopping experience.
- Additional savings on products they love.
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| 4. ✉️ Trump changes tune on mail-in voting |
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| Trump and former first lady Melania Trump after voting in Palm Beach, Fla., on Nov. 8. Photo: Phelan M. Ebenhack for The Washington Post via Getty Images |
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| Former President Trump told Breitbart News that Republicans have "no choice" but to compete with Democrats on mail-in voting — a system he has long railed against and made the centerpiece of his false claims about election fraud. Why it matters: Republicans' defeat in the 2020 election and underperformance in 2022 have triggered a GOP realization that conspiracy theories about mail-in voting are actively damaging the party. Until now, Trump appeared to be the key holdout. What they're saying: The former president falsely told Breitbart that "a mail-in ballot will always be corrupt" (Trump himself has voted by mail multiple times) but called for Republicans to work within the system until they can be in a position to change it themselves. |
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| 5. 🐦 Charted: Hill's most prolific tweeters |
 Data: Quorum Federal; Chart: Tory Lysik/Axios Visuals Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was by far the most prolific senator on Twitter in 2022, beating his fellow Texas Republican John Cornyn by nearly 3,000 tweets, Axios' Stef Kight writes from a new Quorum report. Share this graphic. |
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| A message from Kroger and Albertsons Companies |
| Creating a competitive alternative to large, non-union retailers |
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| Kroger is proud to operate union grocery stores. With Albertsons Cos., we will secure the long-term future of union jobs. - Kroger has grown our unionized workforce by 100K+ since 2012.
- We expect to invest $1 billion in wages and comprehensive benefits for a best-in-class associate experience.
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| 📬 Thanks for reading tonight. This newsletter was edited by Zachary Basu and copy edited by Brad Bonhall. |
 | | Are you a fan of this email format? Your essential communications — to staff, clients and other stakeholders — can have the same style. Axios HQ, a powerful platform, will help you do it. | | |
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