Changing of the guard

Plus: Investigating false Trump electors; Pelosi to run again [View this email online]( [NPR Politics]( Jan. 29, 2022 This week, we looked at Supreme Court Justice Breyer's retirement, investigations into false Electoral College submissions and flaws in a DOJ early release program. Plus, tax season begins. --------------------------------------------------------------- The Big Picture: Changing of the guard Andrew Harnik/AP When President Biden and Justice Stephen Breyer stood in the White House together announcing Breyer’s retirement from the Supreme Court, it represented something of a changing of the guard in America. Breyer, 83, and Biden, 79, are emblematic of the way things used to be when it came to the left in politics and the elite legal framework. Two older white men, talking nostalgically about America now giving way to another generation and a more diverse court. Biden [reiterated]( that he would appoint a Black woman to the Supreme Court, the first ever. And while some conservatives are already criticizing Biden’s intention as something of an affirmative action pick, instead of making it color blind, that ignores the reality of: - the different American experiences people of different races have; and - that argument holds little weight when a nominee is as highly qualified as [the nominees Biden is talking about](. — [Domenico Montanaro]( NPR’s senior political editor/correspondent --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- ICYMI: Top Stories Rey Del Rio/Getty Images "False elector" investigations: Groups of Republicans in seven states that Joe Biden won in 2020 [met and signed documents falsely asserting Donald Trump was or may be]( the rightful recipient of their state's Electoral College votes. Now, prosecutors in at least two states are investigating those actions. The Jan. 6 House panel [has subpoenaed 14 people in the scheme](. Grand jury for Georgia Trump investigation: The Superior Court of Fulton County [has granted a request by the local district attorney to impanel a special grand jury]( for the DA's investigation into former President Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election in the state. A special grand jury is devoted to just one case and has subpoena power and the authority to obtain documents. Pelosi running again: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi [announced she's running for reelection this year](. When Democrats retook the House majority in 2019, Pelosi pledged that she would limit herself to two additional terms as speaker, and in her reelection announcement she didn’t address whether she’d seek another term in leadership. Flaws in early prison release: Thousands of people are leaving federal prison this month thanks to the First Step Act. But thousands of others may still remain behind bars [because of fundamental flaws in the Justice Department's method]( for deciding who can win early release. The biggest flaw: persistent racial disparities that put Black and brown people at a disadvantage. Top DOJ official fights violent crime after the shooting death of his brother: Kenneth Polite, head of the Justice Department's criminal division, wants to take the most dangerous people off the streets and spend more on preventing violence. His brother died in 2004 after being shot in an apparent act of retaliation. "I carry the memory of my half brother with me every day," [he told NPR's Carrie Johnson](. It’s tax time: This week marked the beginning of tax season, when the IRS begins accepting this year's tax returns. [But the agency still has a massive backlog of returns filed last year](. — [Brandon Carter]( NPR Politics social media producer The Shot: CPL Vanessa Parker/New Zealand Defense Force/via AP Newly released before and after satellite images show devastating damage to the Tongan islands after an undersea volcano eruption two weeks ago. Tonga's government said the volcanic eruption and tsunami caused "unprecedented disaster.” Coral reefs around the atolls were damaged and images show Nomuka Island, about 40 miles northeast of the volcano, covered by ash. [NASA researchers estimate]( the eruption's power was the equivalent of 10 megatons of TNT. [See the satellite images here](. — [Heidi Glenn]( NPR digital editor --------------------------------------------------------------- Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. [Listen Live]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Twitter]( What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: [nprpolitics@npr.org](mailto:nprpolitics@npr.org?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback) Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! [They can sign up here.]( Looking for more great content? [Check out all of our newsletter offerings]( — including Daily News, Code Switch, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Politics emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( [NPR logo]