Plus three more things to know today.
1,100 ex-DOJ officials call for attorney general to step down
On Sunday, a bipartisan coalition of Democratic and Republican former career lawyers and political appointees released an open letter to the Department of Justice demanding the resignation of Attorney General William Barr. They also counseled current employees to take concerns about interference to the inspector general. The letter followed a week of unusual events, including four federal prosecutors quitting after Barr overrode their sentencing recommendation for the Roger Stone case.
New York City mayor endorses Sanders
After picking up an endorsement from Bill de Blasio on Friday, Sen. Bernie Sanders plans to campaign with the New York City mayor in Nevada ahead of that state’s Feb. 22 caucus. Though a progressive and himself a former presidential candidate, de Blasio has typically endorsed more establishment candidates, such as Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Impeachment over, Senate shifts attention back to whistleblower who sparked it
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr has turned his focus back to the whistleblower complaint that led to the impeachment process against President Donald Trump. Though Burr hasn’t confirmed if he will move to subpoena the whistleblower to testify, he is planning an interview with committee staff and said he will speak with the as-yet-unnamed whistleblower “sooner rather than later.”
Stacey Abrams to voters: Forget Iowa and New Hampshire
Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, widely considered a top vice presidential pick, says Democrats need a more representative sample than two of the smallest, whitest states before deciding who the primary frontrunners are. Only 65 delegates out of 1,991 have been pledged, so casting Sen. Bernie Sanders or Mayor Pete Buttigieg as leaders with less than two dozen behind them is premature at best and suppresses the voices of voters of color, Abrams told NowThis in an interview over the weekend.
Emiene Wright Emiene Wright is associate editor at Cardinal & PIne. Before that she was on the 24-hour news desk of the Miami Herald and the Detroit Free Press, and her writing has been featured in Crisis, the Charlotte Observer, and Our State magazine.
