Hello or Привет, OnPolitics readers!
That’s (probably) how President Joe Biden greeted Russian President Vladimir Putin during their two-hour video call today.
Biden warned the Russian leader that continued aggression against Ukraine would come with huge costs to the Russian economy.
The U.S. believes Putin still hasn’t made a decision to invade Ukraine, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said following the call, but officials have stressed that Russia is putting in place the capacity to pursue such escalation if he chooses to do so.
Sullivan declined to spell out what economic sanctions the U.S. and its allies might impose on Russia if Putin decides to invade Ukraine. But he said Biden made it clear that while he prefers a diplomatic solution to the crisis, the U.S. is serious about taking countermeasures should they be required.
Biden reiterated his support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and called for de-escalation and a return to diplomacy, an official statement from the White House said.
It’s Amy with today’s top stories.
Meadows will not cooperate with Jan. 6 House committee
Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows will not cooperate with the committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, the latest reversal for a key figure in former President Donald Trump’s administration.
In November, Meadows’ attorney, George Terwilliger, said his client wouldn’t cooperate until courts ruled on Trump’s executive privilege claims. But late last month, the committee’s chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said Meadows had provided documents and soon would sit for a deposition with the committee.
On Tuesday, Terwilliger again said Meadows would not testify. In a letter sent to the committee, Terwilliger wrote Meadows “is precluded from making a unilateral decision to waive Executive Privilege claims asserted by the former president.” But he left open the possibility that Meadows could answer written questions.
Terwilliger said in the letter that Meadows had agreed to provide “thousands of pages of responsive documents” to the committee and was willing to testify on “non-privileged matters.” But new information from the committee indicated “that the Select Committee has no intention of respecting boundaries concerning executive privilege,” he wrote.
He also revealed the committee had issued subpoenas to Meadows’ communications provider.
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Nunes leaves Congress for Trump social media CEO position
Rep. Devin Nunes’ 10th term in Congress will be his last, as the California Republican announced Monday that he will retire at the end of the year to lead the media company being started by former President Donald Trump.
Nunes will leave the U.S. House, after being “presented with a new opportunity to fight for the most important issues I believe in,” he said in a statement on Instagram.
His new role: Trump Media & Technology Group announced Monday that Nunes will be its CEO.
“I will deeply miss being your congressman. It’s been the honor of a lifetime to represent you, and I thank you for the trust you put in me through all these years,” Nunes wrote on Instagram.
Nunes represents California’s 22nd Congressional District, which covers Tulare and Fresno counties in the Republican-leaning San Joaquin Valley. Nunes has served in the House since 2003. He is the ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and a member of the Ways and Means Committee.
December 7 marks the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. See how President Biden honored fallen soldiers here. — Amy
Read More: Former Trump chief of staff won’t participate in Jan. 6 hearings