On Wednesday night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed a joint meeting of Congress. Speaking in English, he delivered an impassioned twenty-minute speech in which he said that “Ukrainian courage and American resolve must guarantee the future of our common freedom.”
The speech was greeted rapturously by most members of Congress, who gave the Ukrainian leader prolonged standing ovations. President Biden announced another tranche of aid for Ukraine. Earlier this week, the administration committed, for the first time, to send a Patriot missile defense system. US aid totals more than $100 billion dollars so far. Some Republicans have signaled an unwillingness to continue aid at current levels.
Zelensky’s brief appearance in Washington, which lasted less than 10 hours, overtook other big news in the nation’s capital.
The long awaited final report from the House Select Committee investigating the January 6th attack on the US Capitol was to have been released yesterday, but that release has been delayed until today. On Monday, the Select Committee held its last public meeting and made four referrals to the US Department of Justice recommending that former President Donald Trump be prosecuted for four crimes. The committee also released a 160-page executive summary of its final report, recapped some of the testimony they have heard over the course of their public and private hearings, and introduced some new testimony by Hope Hicks, a former advisor to the former president.
Also this week, the House Ways and Means Committee discovered that unlike other US presidents, Mr. Trump's tax returns while he was in office were not audited, as required by law.
Joining Tom now is Kimberly Wehle, a visiting law professor at American University and the author of several books, including How to Read the Constitution-And Why.
Kim Wehle joins us on our digital line…
