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  • Cheney to be honored during funeral at Washington National Cathedral

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    Past presidents and politicians of both parties will gather Thursday in Washington, D.C., for former Vice President Dick Cheney’s funeral.Neither President Donald Trump nor Vice President JD Vance were invited to Cheney’s funeral, according to a source familiar with the matter.Cheney will receive full military honors at the memorial service, which is expected to be a bipartisan who’s who of Washington dignitaries.More than 1,000 guests are expected at the invitation-only funeral Thursday morning at Washington’s National Cathedral — including all four living former vice presidents and two former presidents.Former Presidents George W. Bush and Joe Biden will pay their respects, along with former Vice Presidents Kamala Harris, Mike Pence, Al Gore and Dan Quayle. There are also expected to be a number of Supreme Court Justices, including Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Elena Kagan. A large number of past and present Cabinet members from both Republican and Democratic administrations will also attend, as well as congressional leaders from both sides of the aisle.Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi is expected to attend along with Senate Majority Leader John Thune and former leader Mitch McConnell.CNN has reached out to the White House for comment. Axios was first to report that Trump was not invited to the funeral.The funeral’s guest list itself is a nod to a time when Washington was not so polarized and politicians from both sides of the aisle paid their respects when a dignitary passed away.Cheney’s funeral will be held at 11 a.m. ET. Speakers will include Bush, Cheney’s daughter former Rep. Liz Cheney and some of his grandchildren.Cheney, who served as Bush’s vice president from 2001 to 2009, died on November 3 at the age of 84. Prior to being elected vice president, Cheney served as defense secretary, White House chief of staff and as a congressman representing Wyoming.He was considered one of the most powerful and influential vice presidents in history, but his role as the architect of the Iraq War saw him leave office deeply unpopular and cemented a polarizing legacy.While official Washington funerals usually include invites to the White House, excluding Trump should not be a surprise.Cheney was a lifetime hardline conservative who endorsed Trump’s 2016 campaign. But he spent the last years of his life speaking out against Trump, particularly after his daughter then-Rep. Liz Cheney drew the president’s ire for her prominent role in a congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol.In 2022, Cheney described Trump as a coward and said no one was a “greater threat to our republic.”Trump has not publicly expressed his condolences or commented on Cheney’s death.The White House offered a muted reaction after Cheney’s death with press secretary Karoline Leavitt telling reporters that Trump was “aware” the former vice president had died and noting that flags had been lowered to half-staff.Honorary pallbearers at Cheney’s funeral will include members of his Secret Service detail; his former chiefs of staff, David Addington and Scooter Libby; and photographer David Hume Kennerly.On one of the last pages of the service leaflet is a quote from the writer and naturalist John Muir, saying: “The mountains are calling and I must go.”

    WASHINGTON —

    Past presidents and politicians of both parties will gather Thursday in Washington, D.C., for former Vice President Dick Cheney’s funeral.

    Neither President Donald Trump nor Vice President JD Vance were invited to Cheney’s funeral, according to a source familiar with the matter.

    Cheney will receive full military honors at the memorial service, which is expected to be a bipartisan who’s who of Washington dignitaries.

    More than 1,000 guests are expected at the invitation-only funeral Thursday morning at Washington’s National Cathedral — including all four living former vice presidents and two former presidents.

    Former Presidents George W. Bush and Joe Biden will pay their respects, along with former Vice Presidents Kamala Harris, Mike Pence, Al Gore and Dan Quayle. There are also expected to be a number of Supreme Court Justices, including Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Elena Kagan. A large number of past and present Cabinet members from both Republican and Democratic administrations will also attend, as well as congressional leaders from both sides of the aisle.

    Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi is expected to attend along with Senate Majority Leader John Thune and former leader Mitch McConnell.

    CNN has reached out to the White House for comment. Axios was first to report that Trump was not invited to the funeral.

    The funeral’s guest list itself is a nod to a time when Washington was not so polarized and politicians from both sides of the aisle paid their respects when a dignitary passed away.

    Cheney’s funeral will be held at 11 a.m. ET. Speakers will include Bush, Cheney’s daughter former Rep. Liz Cheney and some of his grandchildren.

    Cheney, who served as Bush’s vice president from 2001 to 2009, died on November 3 at the age of 84. Prior to being elected vice president, Cheney served as defense secretary, White House chief of staff and as a congressman representing Wyoming.

    He was considered one of the most powerful and influential vice presidents in history, but his role as the architect of the Iraq War saw him leave office deeply unpopular and cemented a polarizing legacy.

    While official Washington funerals usually include invites to the White House, excluding Trump should not be a surprise.

    Cheney was a lifetime hardline conservative who endorsed Trump’s 2016 campaign. But he spent the last years of his life speaking out against Trump, particularly after his daughter then-Rep. Liz Cheney drew the president’s ire for her prominent role in a congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol.

    In 2022, Cheney described Trump as a coward and said no one was a “greater threat to our republic.”

    Trump has not publicly expressed his condolences or commented on Cheney’s death.

    The White House offered a muted reaction after Cheney’s death with press secretary Karoline Leavitt telling reporters that Trump was “aware” the former vice president had died and noting that flags had been lowered to half-staff.

    Honorary pallbearers at Cheney’s funeral will include members of his Secret Service detail; his former chiefs of staff, David Addington and Scooter Libby; and photographer David Hume Kennerly.

    On one of the last pages of the service leaflet is a quote from the writer and naturalist John Muir, saying: “The mountains are calling and I must go.”

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  • Opinion | Dick Cheney and the Fruits of Regime Change

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    He has largely proved right about Iraq and the broader Middle East.

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    Barton Swaim

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  • Interceptions sink UNC football in Big Sky Conference loss at Eastern Washington

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    University of Northern Colorado football quarterbacks combined for five interceptions while Eastern Washington quarterback Jake Schakel turned in a stellar Saturday for the Eagles in a 27-7 Big Sky Conference win over the Bears at Roos Field in Cheney, Washington.

    The loss is the fifth in a row this season for the Bears, and their 16th straight to Eastern Washington (5-6 overall, 4-3), which received a strong performance from redshirt freshman Schakel.

    Schakel was 31 of 41 passing for 299 yards with two touchdowns and an interception that set up UNC’s only touchdown. He left the game late with an apparent injury and was replaced by freshman Kaden Rolfsness.

    UNC (3-8, 1-6) couldn’t get anything going on offense against the Eagles, who allowed UNC its fewest points in a game this season. The Bears came into the game averaging 21.2 points per game.

    Starting quarterback Eric Gibson Jr. threw two interceptions in the first half, and Peter Costelli threw three picks, including one that set up an Eastern Washington touchdown for a 17-7 lead late in the second quarter. Costelli’s third interception came on the final play of the game.

    UNC had four other turnovers on downs.

    “I think the tale of the day was the interceptions,” Lamb said. “Four of those five passes were to wide receivers in one-on-one opportunities. We didn’t win in those moments. Not all of the interceptions were the type where they were bad decisions. We didn’t win in those situations.”

    Lamb said earlier this week that both Gibson Jr. and Costelli would see action against Eastern Washington while the team looked for one quarterback to help the Bears get a win.

    Costelli was the starter coming out of preseason camp, but he suffered a fractured collarbone in the opener against Chadron State and missed the next seven weeks. Gibson Jr. took over and generally performed well, giving the Bears more of an offensive presence than they previously had in Lamb’s time as head coach.

    Lamb said this week the coaches wanted better decisions from the quarterbacks.

    Gibson Jr. was 13 of 19 passing for 108 yards with a touchdown and the pair of interceptions. Costelli was 8 of 17 for 83 yards and the three interceptions.

    UNC’s touchown came early in the second quarter and was set up by a long interception return from safety Cam Chapa.

    The Bears’ defensive line pressured Schakel on play, forcing the quarterback into an errant throw in his own territory. Chapa picked off the ball at UNC’s 44 and returned it 34 yards to Eastern Washington’s 22. A personal foul penalty on Eastern Washington moved the ball to the 11 as the first quarter ended.

    Two plays later, Gibson Jr. rolled out and connected with wide receiver Carver Cheeks for a touchdown reception. Cheeks caught the ball at the 10 and did the rest to get inside the end zone pylon for the score.

    The touchdown was Cheeks’ team-high sixth receiving touchdown this season. He came away from the play holding his right arm or shoulder and appeared to be seeking attention on the sideline. Cheeks returned to the field and finished the game with five catches for 27 yards. Brayden Munroe led UNC with six catches for 59 yards.

    The game turned chippy in the second half. UNC picked up a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty after Allen III’s touchdown. Eastern Washington was called for two 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalties later in the quarter, after Eagles safety Isaac Redford picked off Costelli for Eastern Washington’s fourth interception of the day.

    Late in the third, UNC defensive lineman Dominic Butts hit Schakel as the quarterback threw the ball. No penalty was called on Butts on the hit. Schakel was shaken up on the play and he left the game. An Eastern Washington player was called for an unsportsmanlike penalty for a hit on Butts, forcing the junior from Severance High School to the sideline.

    Eastern Washington was called for another unsportsmanlike penalty a couple of plays later on short run by Rolfsness on third down.

    One of UNC’s turnovers came early in the fourth quarter on a short-yardage fourth-down attempt at Eastern Washington’s 2-yard line. The play also led to Lamb picking up an uncharacteristic unsportsmanlike penalty.

    The Bears lined up for a tush-push run play with former quarterback, now tight end Hank Gibbs carrying the ball. Officials ruled Gibbs didn’t get into the end zone on the play.

    Lamb said he received conflicting opinions from officials on the outcome of the play. One official told Lamb that Gibbs never got into the end zone and another official said Gibbs’ forward progress was stopped.

    UNC burned a time out while Lamb looked for more information on the call the Bears then challenged. The on-field call was upheld.

    “I didn’t do it with enough composure,” Lamb said of his inquiry. “I was upset. We made a second effort to get in and I thought it should’ve been ruled a touchdown. I regret it and I regret the way I handled it.”

    Eastern Washington 27, UNC 7

    UNC — 0-7-0-0 — 7

    Eastern Washington — 3-17-7-0 — 27

    1st Q, 6:42 — EWU, Soren McKee 38 field goal. 3-0.

    2nd Q, 14:50 — UNC, Carver Cheeks 12 reception from Eric Gibson Jr. 7-3.

    2nd Q, 11:00 — EWU, Cole Pruett 12 reception from Jake Schakel (Soren McKee kick). 10-7.

    2nd Q, 3:07 — EWU, Nolan Ulm 14 reception from Schakel (McKee kick). 17-7.

    2nd Q, 0:23 — EWU, McKee 22 field goal. 20-7.

    3d Q, 9:45 — EWU, Kevin Allen III 1 run (McKee kick). 27-7.

     

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    Anne Delaney

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  • Trump subpoena withdrawn by Jan. 6 select committee

    Trump subpoena withdrawn by Jan. 6 select committee

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    WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Jan. 6 committee has dropped its subpoena against former President Donald Trump as it wraps up work and prepares to dissolve next week.

    Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, the committee’s Democratic chairman, wrote in a letter to Trump lawyer David Warrington on Wednesday that he is formally withdrawing the subpoena. “As you may know, the Select Committee has concluded its hearings, released its final report and will very soon reach its end,” Thompson wrote. “In light of the imminent end of our investigation, the Select Committee can no longer pursue the specific information covered by the subpoena.”

    The committee had voted to subpoena Trump during its final televised hearing before the midterm elections in October, demanding testimony and documents from the former president as it has investigated his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and efforts to overturn his 2020 defeat.

    Lawmakers on the panel have acknowledged the subpoena would be difficult to enforce, especially as Republicans are poised to take over the House in January. But the move had political and symbolic value.

    “We are obligated to seek answers directly from the man who set this all in motion,” Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the panel’s vice chair and one of two Republicans on the nine-member committee, said at the time. “And every American is entitled to those answers.”

    Trump then sued the panel in November to avoid cooperating. The lawsuit contended that while former presidents have voluntarily agreed to provide testimony or documents in response to congressional subpoenas in the past, “no president or former president has ever been compelled to do so.”

    The committee’s request for documents was sweeping, including personal communications between Trump and members of Congress as well as extremist groups. Trump’s attorneys said it was overly broad and framed it as an infringement of his First Amendment rights.

    While the panel never gained Trump’s testimony, the committee interviewed more than 1,000 witnesses, including most of his closest White House aides and allies.

    Many of those witnesses provided substantive detail about his efforts to sway state legislators, federal officials and lawmakers to help him overturn his defeat. And White House aides who were with him on Jan. 6 told the panel about his resistance to tell the violent mob of his supporters to leave the Capitol after they had broken in and interrupted the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory.

    In its final report issued last week, the committee concluded that Trump engaged in a “multipart conspiracy” to upend the 2020 election and failed to act on the violence. The panel also recommended that the Justice Department investigate the former president for four separate crimes, including aiding an insurrection.

    On social media Wednesday evening, Trump and his lawyers construed the move as a victory. “They probably did so because they knew I did nothing wrong, or they were about to lose in Court,” Trump wrote on his social-media site. He called the panel “political Thugs.”

    On Twitter, Trump lawyer Harmeet Dhillon said the panel had “waved the white flag.”

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  • House Jan. 6 select committee expected to advise Justice Department to hit Trump with criminal charges

    House Jan. 6 select committee expected to advise Justice Department to hit Trump with criminal charges

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    WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Jan. 6 committee is wrapping up its investigation of the violent 2021 U.S. Capitol insurrection, with lawmakers expected to cap one of the most exhaustive and aggressive congressional probes in memory with an extraordinary recommendation: The Justice Department should consider criminal charges against former President Donald Trump.

    At a final meeting on Monday, the panel’s seven Democrats and two Republicans are poised to recommend criminal charges against Trump and potentially against associates and staff who helped him launch a multifaceted pressure campaign to try to overturn the 2020 election.

    Context: What to expect as House Jan. 6 panel readies final report on Trump’s ‘attempted coup’

    Also: Jan. 6 select committee to review referral recommendations from Cheney, Raskin, Schiff and Lofgren at Monday session

    While a criminal referral is mostly symbolic, with the Justice Department ultimately deciding whether to prosecute Trump or others, it is a decisive end to a probe that had an almost singular focus from the start.

    “I think the president has violated multiple criminal laws and I think you have to be treated like any other American who breaks the law, and that is you have to be prosecuted,” Rep. Adam Schiff, a Democrat from Southern California and a member of the panel, said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

    The panel, set to dissolve on Jan. 3 with the advent of a Republican-led House, has conducted more than 1,000 interviews, held 10 well-watched public hearings and collected more than a million documents since it launched in July 2021. As it has gathered the massive trove of evidence, the members have become emboldened in declaring that Trump is to blame for the violent attack on the Capitol by his supporters almost two years ago.

    From the archives (June 2022): Fox News is notable exception as prime-time Jan. 6 committee hearing blankets TV airwaves

    Also (July 2022): Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson’s live testimony before Jan. 6 select committee was a TV ratings hit: Nielsen data

    After beating their way past police, injuring many of them, the Jan. 6 rioters stormed the Capitol and interrupted the certification of President Joe Biden’s win, echoing Trump’s lies about widespread election fraud and sending lawmakers and others running for their lives.

    The attack came after weeks of Trump’s efforts to overturn his defeat — a campaign that was extensively detailed by the committee in its multiple public hearings. Many of Trump’s former aides testified about his unprecedented pressure on states, federal officials and on Vice President Mike Pence to find a way to thwart the popular will.

    “This is someone who in multiple ways tried to pressure state officials to find votes that didn’t exist, this is someone who tried to interfere with a joint session, even inciting a mob to attack the Capitol,” Schiff said. “If that’s not criminal, then I don’t know what it is.”

    See: Justice Department urges judge to hold Trump’s legal team in contempt over Mar-a-Lago case

    Members of the committee have said that the referrals for other individuals may also include ethics violations, legal misconduct and campaign finance violations. Lawmakers have suggested in particular that their recommended charges against Trump could include conspiracy to defraud the United States, obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress and insurrection.

    On insurrection, Schiff said Sunday that “if you look at Donald Trump’s acts and you match them up against the statute, it’s a pretty good match.” He said that the committee will focus on those individuals — presumably Trump — for whom they believe there is the strongest evidence.

    See: North Carolina state investigators say they’ve completed voter-fraud probe of Trump chief of staff Meadows

    Also: Nevada elections department subpoenaed in Trump 2020 election investigation

    And: Trump ally Kari Lake pursues formal challenge to loss in race for governor of Arizona

    While a so-called criminal referral has no real legal standing, it is a forceful statement by the committee and adds to political pressure already on Attorney General Merrick Garland and special counsel Jack Smith, who is conducting an investigation into Jan. 6 and Trump’s actions.

    The committee is also expected at the hearing to preview its massive final report, which will include findings, interview transcripts and legislative recommendations. Lawmaker have said a portion of that report will be released Monday.

    “We obviously want to complete the story for the American people,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat and constitutional scholar who serves on the select committee. “Everybody has come on a journey with us and we want a satisfactory conclusion, such that people feel that Congress has done its job.”

    The panel was formed in the summer of 2021 after Senate Republicans blocked the formation of what would have been a bipartisan, independent commission to investigate the insurrection. That opposition spurred the Democratic-controlled House to form a committee of its own. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy of California, a Trump ally, decided not to participate after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected some of his appointments. That left an opening for two anti-Trump Republicans in the House — Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois — to join the seven Democrats serving on the committee.

    From the archives (January 2021): Kevin McCarthy becomes poster boy for Republicans walking back their recent Trump criticism

    While the committee’s mission was to take a comprehensive accounting of the insurrection and educate the public about what happened, they’ve also aimed their work at an audience of one: the attorney general. Lawmakers on the panel have openly pressured Garland to investigate Trump’s actions, and last month he appointed a special counsel, Smith, to oversee several probes related to Trump, including those related to the insurrection.

    In court documents earlier this year, the committee suggested criminal charges against Trump could include conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress.

    Wall Street Journal: Trump tax returns may be released after House panel meets Tuesday

    In a “conspiracy to defraud the United States,” the committee argues that evidence supports an inference that Trump and his allies “entered into an agreement to defraud the United States” when they disseminated misinformation about election fraud and pressured state and federal officials to assist in that effort. Trump still says he won the election to this day.

    The panel also asserts that Trump obstructed an official proceeding, the joint session of Congress in which the Electoral College votes are certified. The committee said Trump either attempted or succeeded at obstructing, influencing or impeding the ceremonial process on Jan. 6 and “did so corruptly” by pressuring Pence to try to overturn the results as he presided over the session. Pence declined to do so.

    The committee may make ethics referrals for five House Republicans — including McCarthy — who ignored congressional subpoenas from the panel. Those referrals are unlikely to result in punishment since Republicans are set to take over the House majority in January.

    Read on: McCarthy’s long-held speaker ambition set to come to a head when new Congress convenes in January

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