Cross-Examination

• Trump subpoenaed by J6 Committee: On Friday, Nancy Pelosi’s January 6 Inquisition officially issued subpoenas for Donald Trump to testify before the committee. This action follows the committee’s recent vote to subpoena the former president. The subpoena demands that Trump provide documents and phone records to the committee by November 4 and that he sit for testimony before the committee by November 14. Significantly, that date comes days after the November 8 midterm elections, and given the growing likelihood that Republicans will gain control of the House, this testimony would effectively serve as the J6 Committee’s last hurrah. Trump responded: “Despite very poor television ratings, the Unselect Committee has perpetuated a show trial the likes of which this country has never seen before. There is no due process, no cross-examination, no ‘real’ Republican members, and no legitimacy since you do not talk about Election Fraud or not calling up the troops. It is a witch hunt of the highest level, a continuation of what has been going on for years.” The prospect that Trump will comply and testify seems unlikely. While he may sit before the committee, he would likely invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. This is especially the case given Trump’s weekend comments regarding a 2024 presidential run: “I will probably have to do it again.”

• Biden’s election bribe handout: The Eighth U.S. Court of Appeals on Friday granted an emergency petition to block Joe Biden’s unilateral gambit to “forgive” student loans, as six Republican-run states had raised a suit against Biden’s order in September. Biden has dubiously claimed the authority to forgive up to $20,000 in student loan debt by appealing to the HEROES Act, a law that gives the president certain authority over debt forgiveness regarding the military. Biden’s push for student loan forgiveness is a blatant political play aimed at assisting the Democrats’ electoral chances that have diminished considerably. Just last year, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected the notion that Biden had unilateral authority to forgive student loan debt. “People think that the president of the United States has the power for debt forgiveness,” she argued. “He does not. He can postpone. He can delay. But he does not have that power.” Of course, when Biden announced his intention to do so back in August, Pelosi completely reversed and threw her support behind it, contending that “President Biden’s bold action is a strong step in Democrats’ fight to expand access to higher education and empower every American to reach fulfillment.” Once again, Pelosi proves that the Democrats’ only consistent standard is a double standard.

• Biden’s baseless bloviating: Does Joe Biden even know what he’s saying at this point? Whether or not he actually believes what he’s preaching, it’s clear that the majority of the American people don’t believe it. One of the more recent examples of Biden’s increasingly unhinged claims is about inflation. He once claimed that it was “transitory,” and then insisted last week that the economy is “strong as hell” while he downed another ice cream cone. Then he promised inflation will get bad if Republicans “get their way.” Recently, when Biden was challenged regarding the Democrats’ diminishing chances in the midterms, he quipped: “I’m not sure about the polls. Because the way people conduct polls today, it’s hard. Ninety percent of it is you get on the telephone where you have to call seven times to get somebody to answer the phone, number one. Number two, a lot of what we’ve done and we’ve passed has not kicked in yet.” Denialism has never been a good campaign strategy. Biden further sought to brush off the negative impact of his agenda on the economy, as he essentially argued that Americans need to be patient: “It’s not all happening overnight. It’s not like we passed a law and all of a sudden the highways and bridges are all functioning. And it’s not like we’re in a position where we’re saying no senior — which we do — is going to have to pay more than $2,000 a year for their drug costs. … It hasn’t kicked in yet. It doesn’t kick in until next year.” This sounds a lot like Biden’s false claim last year that inflation would be transitory.

Headlines

• September migrant encounters hit record high, 20 suspected terrorists arrested (Fox News)

• Steve Bannon gets four months jail term for defying J6 Committee subpoena (Politico)

• Nancy Pelosi insists Democrats should “change that subject” on inflation in last-ditch effort to “inspire” voters (Fox News)

• RNC has launched 73 election lawsuits in 20 states (Fox News)

• “I got it passed by a vote or two”: Biden falsely claims student-debt “forgiveness” passed Congress (National Review)

• Biden pledges support for “gender-affirming care” and “trans kids” (PM) | Biden slammed over trans remarks: “Democrats are officially and proudly pro-mutilation for minors” (Daily Wire)

• With drag shows and “genderfluid” internships, it’s no wonder military recruiting is down (The Federalist)

• NHS warns gender dysphoria in teens could be “transient phase” (National Review)

• Nation’s report card shows largest ever drop in math scores (Washington Examiner)

• Elon Musk plans to fire 75% of Twitter staff (PM)

• NYC will no longer refer to virus as monkeypox to avoid “inaccurate and stigmatizing label” (Daily Wire)

• Rishi Sunak set to be next UK prime minister (Fox News)

• As China’s Xi extends his rule, his predecessor makes an unusual exit (WaPo)

• Policy: COVID vaccines shouldn’t be “routine” for kids (Vinay Prasad)

• Satire: CDC announces new initiative to promote homeschooling (Babylon Bee)

For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.