Pentagon Probe Finds Hegseth’s Use of Signal Risked Exposing Sensitive Yemen Strike Details 
U.S. Repatriation Flight Carrying 266 Venezuelan Migrants Lands in Caracas 
Trump Administration Tightens H-1B Visa Vetting With New Focus on Free Speech and Censorship 
Israel Receives Body of Deceased Hostage as Rafah Crossing Reopening Hinges on Final Returns 
IMF Deputy Dan Katz Visits China as Key Economic Review Nears 
U.S. Justice Department Orders Intensified Probe Into Antifa and Domestic Extremist Groups 
Honduras Election Turmoil Intensifies as Nasralla Blames Trump for Shift in Results 
Trump’s Name Appears on U.S. Institute of Peace Ahead of Rwanda–Congo Deal Signing 
Cuba Reaffirms Anti-Drug Cooperation as Tensions Rise in the Caribbean 
U.S.-Russia Talks Leave Ukraine Peace Efforts Uncertain 
Australia Progresses AUKUS Review as U.S. Affirms Strong Support 
New Orleans Immigration Crackdown Sparks Fear as Federal Arrests Intensify 
Taiwan Opposition Criticizes Plan to Block Chinese App Rednote Over Security Concerns 
China Urged to Prioritize Economy Over Territorial Ambitions, Says Taiwan’s President Lai 
China’s Expanding Maritime Military Presence Alarms Taiwan and Japan 
UN Chief Says Gaza Operation “Fundamentally Wrong” as Concerns Over War Crimes Grow 
One of the central figures that played a big role in inciting the pro-Trump mob on January 6 was Missouri Republican senator Josh Hawley. In the book by Jonathan Karl, he revealed one conference call where Hawley ignored Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s demand to justify his stance to overturn the 2020 elections.
In the book by Karl, “Betrayal,” one part appeared to suggest that McConnell was losing his grip over his caucus in the Senate leading up to January 6. In the part of the book that focused on Hawley, Karl described McConnell with an “unusual anger” in his voice in a Senate GOP conference call on new year’s eve. McConnell’s mood was due to the sudden public decision made by Hawley to vote to overturn the 2020 election results.
“McConnell...demanded that Hawley justify his decision and posed a series of questions that came down to this: Why was he forcing a vote where his colleagues would have to choose between publicly defying Donald Trump or defying the Constitution by overturning the election,” said Karl.
Hawley apparently did not answer, and McConnell asked him again to defend his decision, only to receive no answer from the Missouri lawmaker. One of his fellow members suggested that Hawley might be having technical difficulties with the conference call connection. However, it was clear that there were no technical difficulties.
“Hawley wasn’t there. He had blown off the call, ignoring McConnell’s pleas, and then not bothered to join the call to defend his decision. Now that Hawley had forced a debate and vote on Trump’s lost cause, McConnell was determined to keep other senators from voting with Hawley to effectively undo a presidential election,” wrote Karl.
Meanwhile, ProPublica reports that Trump Campaign official Kimberly Guilfoyle, who is also the partner of the twice-impeached former president’s son Donald Trump Jr, boasted to a GOP operative that she raised $3 million for the former president’s “Stop the Steal” rally that preceded the insurrection.
The outlet cites text messages that Guilfoyle sent to Trump White House liaison Katrina Pierson, where she detailed her fundraising efforts and supported the push to get far-right speakers on the stage at the rally with Trump.
