Every Crime Imaginable: The House January 6^th Committee has issued a subpoena to former White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, who fought back against President Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Cipollone is being summoned as there’s increasing talk about possible criminal charges against Trump and the circle of people around him who attempted what would have amounted to a coup.

  The former White House lawyer was present during conversations and meetings leading up to January 6^th in which Trump talked about using his powers of office to overturn the election.

  Cipollone might refuse to testify, citing attorney client privilege, but the privilege doesn’t cover planning for commission of a crime. “Any concerns Mr. Cipollone has about the institutional prerogatives of the office he previously held are clearly outweighed by the need for his testimony,” Representatives Bennie Thompson and Liz Cheney, the leaders of the committee, said in a statement.

  The Cipollone subpoena comes after the dramatic testimony Tuesday by former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, who overheard a conversation between Cipollone and Chief of Staff mark Meadows about the crowd at the Capitol calling for Vice president Mike Pence to be hanged.

  She also said Cipollone objected to the plan for Trump to March to the Capitol with the protesters on January 6^th saying, “We’re going to get charged with every crime imaginable.”

Facing Russia:  NATO formally invited Finland and Sweden to join the strategic alliance and set out a new mission statement describing Russia as a threat and China as a “challenge.”

  The statement says, “The Russian Federation has violated the norms and principles that contributed to a stable and predictable European security order. We cannot discount the possibility of an attack against Allies’ sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

  The document also says China’s “stated ambitions and coercive policies challenge our interests, security and values.”

  The US also announced it will bolster its military presence in several NATO countries.

  President Biden said, “In a moment when Putin has shattered peace in Europe and attacked the very tenets of the rules-based order, the United States and our allies — we’re going to step up.” 

  Finland and Sweden were invited to join after Turkey gave up its opposition. Their membership would bring the alliance to 32 countries, putting a member, Finland, on the border with Russia for the first time.

  Russia’s Vladimir Putin said, “If military contingents and infrastructure are deployed there, we will have to respond in kind and create the same threats against the territories from which threats are created against us.” 

Off Key: R&B singer R. Kelly was sentenced yesterday to 30 years in prison for his conviction on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking, and having sex with minors. At age 55, it’s effectively a life sentence for the multiple Grammy winner.

 With hits like “I Believe I Can Fly,”  Kelly was once known as the king of R&B and was one of the most chart-topping American musicians in the 1990s and 2000s. As his popularity soared he had his way with his fans, regardless of their age.

The War Zone: Ukraine has driven Russian forces off Snake Island, the small but strategic spot of land in the Black Sea that was vital to the Russian plan to control shipping lanes. But the Russians might still attempt to block Ukraine from exporting grain through the port of Odessa to the west.

  In the meantime, Ukraine and Russia have agreed to a prisoner exchange, trading 144 soldiers and fighters from each side.

  But the war goes on. Russia is reported to be sending thousands more soldiers and heavy weapons to eastern Ukraine in an attempt to wrap up control of the last bit of Ukrainian-held territory in Luhansk Province. They’re using everything from rocket propelled grenades to armored vehicles and heavy bombers to crush Ukrainian resistance.

  The Russians are still casually striking civilian targets all over Ukraine, including the shopping mall leveled by a missile in the center of the country. “They might be going for military structures, but they are mostly hitting civilian infrastructure,” Vitaly Kim, governor of the Mykolaiv region, said in a news briefing. “I think they are trying to frighten the local population and demoralize our military.”

The Obit Page: Hershel “Woody” Williams, the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient from World War IIhas died at age 98.

  As a Marine during the battle of Iwo Jima, the Japanese island fortress in the Pacific, Williams went forward alone to take out machine gun positions that were raining devastating fire on fellow Marines. For four hours, Williams fought then returned to American positions to get more demolition charges and flamethrowers.

  Williams said that public speaking about his experience later was the therapy that helped him get over it.

  After the war, Williams worked for 33 years in the Department of Veterans Affairs and created the Woody Williams Foundation to support and advocate for Gold Star Families that lost a member in war. 

The Spin Rack: The number of dead from the migrant-packed truck in Texas has grown to 53. Authorities say the driver tried to pass himself off as one of his passengers. — CNN Reports that more than a third of the district attorneys representing the 25 most populous counties that have or will ban abortion have publicly vowed not to prosecute abortion cases. — Appeals Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will be sworn in to the Supreme Court today, replacing Justice Stephen Breyer — Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Biden’s pandemic adviser, said he thinks the anti-viral drug Paxlovid kept him out of hospital when he came down with Covid-19. He still missed his daughter’s wedding.  

-30-