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16.00EDTClosing summary

North Carolinas supreme court handed down a ruling that paves the way for partisan gerrymandering in the state, which its GOP-controlled legislature is expected to use to oust four Democratic House lawmakers. Meanwhile, special counsel Jack Smiths investigation of Donald Trump continues, with former vice-president Mike Pence appearing before his grand jury yesterday.

Heres what else happened today:

Samuel Alito, author of the supreme court opinion overturning Roe v Wade, said a leak of the decisions draft put conservative justices in danger.

Ron DeSantis is facing a reckoning over his actions while deployed at the Guantnamo prison camp, but does not like being asked about it.

An investigation into allegations of misconduct by Brett Kavanaugh prior to his supreme court confirmation contained omissions, a Guardian investigation has found.

Republican lawmakers nationwide are accusing their opponents of inciting insurrections, even when their actions dont fit the definition of the word.

The White House was not pleased with Axios, after a report from the outlet detailing concerns about Bidens age.

Updated at 16.00EDT

South Carolinas abortion ban was defeated in part due to a revolt by female Republican senators, who joined with Democrats to vote down the proposal.

One of those lawmakers, Sandy Senn, spoke to MSNBC about what motivated her stand:

"I'm not going to vote in a way that's going to oppress women simply because the party might want me to pander to them."

South Carolina State Rep. Sandy Senn (R) defends joining Democrats to vote down a near-total abortion ban Thursday in the legislature pic.twitter.com/5igAVMyrCz

Updated at 15.58EDT

Democrats have a tough order next year. They will need to defend their control of the White House and majority in the Senate, and try to retake the House. The Guardians Martin Pengelly has more details on how Joe Biden plans to deploy vice-president Kamala Harris to to win a second term:

As Joe Biden seeks to conquer public concern he is too old to run for and complete a second term in office, the White House is reportedly planning to boost support for Bidens vice-president, Kamala Harris, in the face of increasing Republican attacks.

An unnamed source familiar with conversations inside the White House told NBC News: They need her to be strong. They know she is a target, and the attacks have always been intense, and the ante is going to be upped. So they want to make sure she is on the best possible footing.

An unnamed Democratic strategist, meanwhile, pointed to Bidens eight years as vice-president to Barack Obama.

Updated at 15.35EDT

Roe v Wade was overturned after Donald Trump appointed three conservative justices to the supreme court, which he was able to do because Republicans controlled the Senate. And Republicans gained control of the Senate by spending the 2010s ousting Democrats from their seats, as states once friendly to the party turned against them.

One of the last Democratic senators hanging on in a red state is West Virgnias Joe Manchin. He is up for re-election next year in a contest that could decide Senate control, and while he hasnt said if he will seek a third full term, he gained a new challenger this week.

The Republican governor Jim Justice announced his candidacy alongside his pet, Babydog. The English Bulldog was right next to him in a public event to kick off his campaign, and in a Fox News interview:

Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV), with Babydog seated next to him, reacts to Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) saying I will win any race I enter after Justice announced a run for his seat:

I welcome Joe Manchin to come into the race But, at the end of the day, I think well be OK. pic.twitter.com/00htCIAp0h

Updated at 15.24EDT

By overturning Roe v Wade, Samuel Alito and other conservative supreme court justices allowed states to ban the procedure, and some Republican-led governments already have. But the Associated Press reports that such efforts have faced surprising headwinds in some Republican jurisdictions:

Abortion rights campaigners won notable victories in Nebraska and South Carolina on Thursday, blocking a six-week ban in the first state and a near-total ban in the second.

In Lincoln, Nebraska, a vote to end debate so the bill could advance failed by one vote. Cheers erupted as opponents of the bill waved signs and chanted: Whose house? Our house!

Jo Giles, executive director of the Womens Fund of Omaha, was brought to tears.

Wow! she said. This was unexpected, but were so glad to have this win. We have fought so hard. This bill is not what the majority of women in this state wanted.

Updated at 15.04EDT

Samuel Alito, the author of last years supreme court decision overturning Roe v Wade and allowing states to ban abortion, said the leak of a draft ruling put conservative justices in peril.

Those of us who were thought to be in the majority, thought to have approved my draft opinion, were really targets of assassination, Alito said in an interview published by the Wall Street Journal. It was rational for people to believe that they might be able to stop the decision in Dobbs by killing one of us.

The leak of the courts decision in Dobbs v Jackson Womens Health Organization marked a rare moment in which the public learned of the courts decision before its official announcement. Supreme court chief justice John Roberts ordered an investigation into the leak, and this past January, the courts marshal said she couldnt say who was the culprit.

I personally have a pretty good idea who is responsible, but thats different from the level of proof that is needed to name somebody, Alito said. It was a part of an effort to prevent the Dobbs draft . . . from becoming the decision of the court. And thats how it was used for those six weeks by people on the outsideas part of the campaign to try to intimidate the court.

Supreme court justices rarely grant interviews, but Alito, who was appointed by Republican George W Bush, spoke to an an editor on the Journals editorial board, which is reliably conservative. The other interviewer was David B Rivkin Jr, a former attorney in the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush.

Updated at 14.47EDT

A woman who was jailed for her participation in the Jan. 6 insurrection embraced Donald Trump at a campaign event and called for the execution of Mike Pence.

At a Thursday campaign event in New Hampshire, QAnon supporter Micki Larson-Olson was pointed out to Trump as someone who participated in Jan 6. Trump then found Larson-Olsen, gave her a hug, and called her terrific, reported the Hill. Trump also told Larson-Olsen to hang in there.

During an NBC interview the following day, the woman called Trump the real president, adding that she would like a front seat of Mike Pence being executed.

Larson-Olsen was previously sentenced to six months in prison for her participation in Jan. 6 riots.

Updated at 14.26EDT

The White House has responded to claims made by the political website Axios that White House staffers face challenges with Joe Biden because of his age.

In an article published Friday, Axios said voters were concerned about Bidens age amid recent announcements that he plans to run for a second term.

The article also White House officials were amazed at Bidens stamina often adding the caveat for his age and had difficulty scheduling meetings with Biden outside of 10am to 4pm on weekdays.

In response to the article, White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates criticized the outlet on Twitter, writing that Axios previously claimed White House advisers as sources on a story claiming Biden would not announce a reelection campaign. He posted:

Funnily, half our on record response was omitted. For transparency: Are these the same advisers and close allies who you wrote on April 3 don't expect him to announce a run for re-election any time soon?"

Age well, kids: "Biden holds back '24 launch" https://t.co/PuGtQKzfk1 https://t.co/yfBCDTSp9M

Updated at 14.26EDT

Our columnist Moira Donegan considers the current impasse between the Democratic-controlled Senate judiciary committee and the conservative US supreme court chief justice, John Roberts, over ethics rules and the justices, in light of reporting about Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch

It was a short letter. John Roberts, chief justice of the US supreme court, was brief in his missive to Democratic senator Dick Durbin, who chairs the Senate judiciary committee.

Citing separation of powers concerns and the importance of preserving judicial independence, Roberts declined to appear before the committee to discuss disturbing recent revelations of ethics violations at the court.

Congress is meant to exert checks on judicial power to investigate or even impeach judges who abuse their office or interpret the law in ways that violate its spirit, and to affirm that the elected branches will hold more sway over policy than the appointed one. But the chief justices show of indifference to congressional oversight authority reflects a new reality: that there are now effectively no checks on the power of the court at least none that Democrats have the political will to use and that the justices can be assured that they will face no repercussions even if they act in flagrant violation of ethical standards. It seems that they intend to.

Read on

Updated at 13.36EDT

Heres some lunchtime reading from Jason Stanley, Jacob Urowsky professor of philosophy at Yale University, and the author of How Fascism Works

Fox News has finally broken ties with its most popular star, Tucker Carlson. His ousting has been bemoaned by some commentators, who have taken Carlson to be a rebellious anti-war populist, evading easy political characterization. But is it really so complicated to classify Carlsons political ideology?

In late February 2022, Carlson, in the face of Russias invasion of Ukraine, began a pro-Russia monologue urging his audience to ask themselves the question: Why do I hate Putin so much?

The gist of Carlsons comments about Russias leader is that Putin should not be regarded as an enemy. Instead, the real enemies of America are those who call white Americans racist, those who teach so-called critical race theory in schools, business elites who ship jobs abroad, and those who imposed Covid lockdowns on the United States.

Read on

Updated at 13.05EDT

More shots have been fired in the brewing Republican brouhaha over Ron DeSantiss fight with Disney, if from an unexpected artillery piece: that fielded by Kevin McCarthy, the speaker of the US House.

Id give him the same advice I gave President Biden, McCarthy told CNBC, while basking in having managed to pass a budget proposal amid a standoff with the White House over the increasingly pressing need to raise the debt ceiling.

Why wouldnt you sit down and negotiate and talk? If theres differences, you can always find ways that you can solve this problem.

DeSantis and Disney are at odds over the Florida governors so-called dont say gay law about teaching gender and LGBTQ+ issues in schools, and DeSantiss power grab at self-governing powers long enjoyed by the entertainment giant around its Disney World theme park near Orlando.

This week, Disney sued the governor and the governor, while on an international tour, snapped back.

McCarthy said: This is a big employer inside Florida. I think the governor should sit down with them. I dont think the idea of building a prison next to a place that you bring your family a threat made by DeSantis, possibly in jest is the best idea. I think itd be much better if you sat down and solved the problems.

DeSantiss standing in the Republican presidential primary has slipped, as concerns about issues including his attempt to bend Disney to his will are expressed within the party.

McCarthy added: If youre going to be a large employer inside this state, you should also abide by the rules and run your business and dont think you should get into politics. You can take whatever position you want, but remember, if youre elected to run a business, thats what your shareholders want you to do.

Here, as previously trailed today, is some further reading about DeSantiss military service:

Updated at 12.46EDT

See the original post here:
Samuel Alito says leaked abortion draft made conservative justices targets of assassination as it happened - The Guardian US