Today’s edition of quick hits.
* This needs to be followed by a series of even more ambitious steps: “President Joe Biden announced Wednesday a set of executive actions he is taking on climate change that fall short of the ambitious plans he proposed at the start of his presidency as prospects for his wider climate agenda dwindle in Congress.”
* Look for more on this on tonight’s show: “Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday reiterated that ‘no person’ is above the law amid calls from some congressional Democrats to charge former President Donald Trump over last year’s Capitol riot.”
* No end in sight: “Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that the geographical objectives of Moscow’s ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine are no longer limited to the eastern Donbas region but include a number of other territories, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported. Lavrov added that Russia’s objectives will expand still further if the West delivers long-range weapons to Kyiv, the agency said.”
* A story we’re following closely: “Nearly a dozen of Georgia’s ‘fake electors’ revealed Tuesday they’ve been subpoenaed to appear before the Fulton County special grand jury hearing evidence in the criminal investigation into possible 2020 election interference by former President Donald Trump and his allies.”
* In related news: “Sen. Lindsey Graham agreed Tuesday to accept service of a subpoena for his testimony before a Georgia grand jury investigating possible criminal meddling in the 2020 election by then-President Donald Trump. But Graham, R-S.C., still retained his right to challenge the legality of the subpoena, a court filing showed.”
* This isn’t what Giuliani wanted to hear: “A New York judge has ordered Rudy Giuliani to testify before the Georgia special grand jury hearing evidence in an investigation into possible 2020 election interference by former President Donald Trump and others, court filings show. The order came after Giuliani, who was Trump’s personal attorney, failed to appear at a July 13 hearing before the judge to challenge a subpoena for his testimony in the investigation.”
* This was heartening, but Senate Democrats still have so many more confirmations to go: “The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed the nomination of South Carolina jurist Michelle Childs — recently under consideration for a slot on the U.S. Supreme Court — to sit on the federal court typically seen as a proving ground for the nation’s highest bench. Senators, including a number of Republicans, voted 64 to 34 to approve Childs’ nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.” * A position like this sure does sound familiar: “President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil called dozens of foreign diplomats to the presidential palace on Monday to tell them that he believed the country’s voting systems could be rigged, a potential preview of his strategy for an election that is 75 days away and that polls forecast he will lose in a landslide.” * Only the second Senate-confirmed ATF director takes office: “Steven Dettelbach was sworn in Tuesday as director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, becoming only the second ATF director to win Senate approval since confirmation was required in 2006.” See you tomorrow.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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