Hopping Into the Week Ahead

Happy Lunar New Year! There are a few stories folks have their eyes on as we head into the Year of the Rabbit.

The 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade overlaps with new and frankly infuriating information that emerged as part of the documentary Justice. The film debuted recently at the Sundance Film Festival, and it concerns the investigation into (or should we say, cover up of) sexual assault allegations against Justice Kavanaugh during his Senate confirmation hearings. The Supreme Court is now embroiled in two continuing scandals, both involving what feel like cover-ups, and both of which relate to the majority’s decision to eliminate abortion as a constitutional right. It is a historic low point for the Court.

Justice Department officials discovered more documents marked classified as part of a voluntary search of President Biden’s Delaware residence, leading many to now wonder how the Department might still make a strong case to the public that what ex-president Trump did was illegal but what Biden did was merely bad. The task ahead is undoubtedly trickier as a result of these new and continuing discoveries. But obstruction is still obstruction, and criminal intent is still criminal intent, and we’ll have to get skilled at distinguishing the unfortunate from the prosecutable.

Speaking of prosecutions, all eyes will be on a hearing on Tuesday in Atlanta that will determine whether a Fulton County grand jury’s investigative report into election interference by the Trump campaign should be made public. While not determinative, that decision could affect the timing of any announcement by District Attorney Fani Willis around possible indictments.

Finally, the new GOP House will continue to flex its committee muscles and see how much chaos it can cause with ongoing investigations, government spending, and our nation’s creditworthiness generally. So far, the Biden administration has refused to play along, with the DoJ declining to provide details of its criminal cases and the White House refusing to negotiate on the debt ceiling, or what I’ve called the “deadbeat ceiling,” which we need to raise in order to pay bills already incurred.

Then there’s probably another shoe to drop from the Talented Mr. Santos, after the volleyball footwear and spiked heels that fell last week. Just a hunch.

Lots already on the horizon! But for today, let me just say, Happy Lunar New Year to all! The last hours of the Tiger year ended with another senseless and tragic massacre, this time in my own AAPI community. I hope that beyond the anguish and death, some small good eventually can come of that, and the Chinese American community there and in especially in nearby Orange County can connect the dots back to the Republican death-lock marriage to the NRA, and in particular how that poisons our efforts in Washington at many sensible gun violence prevention measures.

In the spirit of the more relaxed and chill Year of the Rabbit, let’s remember to take deep breaths, eat our vegetables, and keep our ears up and alert.

Jay