Today in one sentence: Attorney General William Barr told the Jan. 6 committee that Trump had "become detached from reality" while pursing efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results; Giuliani denied that he was drunk when he urged Trump to declare victory on election night; the chairman of the Jan. 6 committee said the panel will not make a criminal referral of Trump or anyone else to the Justice Department; the Jan. 6 committee postponed its public hearing scheduled for Wednesday; coters have nominated at least 149 Republican candidates for state and federal office who have either repeated Trump’s lie that the 2020 election was rigged or campaigned on “election integrity” platforms; a bipartisan group of senators reached a tentative agreement on legislation to combat gun violence; and the S&P 500 fell further into bear market territory ahead of Wednesday's Federal Reserve decision on interest rates.

1/ Attorney General William Barr told the Jan. 6 committee that Trump had “become detached from reality” while pursing efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. “Before the election it was possible to talk sense to the president,” Barr said. “After the election, he didn’t seem to be listening.” Barr’s testimony, shown at the panel’s second public hearing, portrayed Trump as refusing to believe that the results were legitimate. “I was somewhat demoralized,” Barr said, “because I thought, ‘Boy, if he really believes this stuff, he has, you know, lost contact with — he’s become detached from reality if he really believes this stuff.’” Former Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien also told the committee that Trump’s world had divided into “Team Crazy” vs. “Team Normal.” Despite repeatedly being advised against pursuing claims that the election was stolen, Trump pressed ahead and raised $250 million from supporters for the so-called “Official Election Defense Fund” – which has never actually existed. Trump instead used the money to create the Save America PAC, sending millions of dollars to allies and former Trump officials. (New York Times / Los Angeles Times / Politico / Washington Post / Bloomberg / CNBC)

  • Jan. 6 Committee Hearing Recaps:

  • Day 1: CNN / NBC News

  • Day 2: New York Times / Washington Post / ABC News / USA Today / Associated Press / CNN / CNBC / NBC News

  • ✏️ The Fractious Night That Began Trump’s Bid to Overturn the Election. Trump’s advisers urged him not to declare victory on election night in 2020. He listened to the one who told him what he wanted to hear. (New York Times)

  • ✏️ New details emerge of Oval Office confrontation three days before Jan. 6. Jeffrey Clark, a mid-level Justice Department official, wanted Trump to name him attorney general in a plan aimed at potentially overturning the election. (Washington Post)

2/ Rudy Giuliani denied that he was drunk when he urged Trump to declare victory on election night while votes were still being counted, accusing campaign aides Jason Miller and Bill Stepien of perjury. In a pair of tweets that were later deleted, Giuliani claimed that he had “REFUSED all alcohol that evening,” and that he was “disgusted and outraged at the out right lie” by Miller and Stepien. Miller had testified under oath that Giuliani was “definitely intoxicated” on election night 2020. Stepien, however, never referenced Giuliani’s sobriety at the hearing, though Giuliani apparently believed he had. (NBC News / Washington Post)

3/ The chairman of the Jan. 6 committee said the panel will not make a criminal referral of Trump or anyone else to the Justice Department. Bennie Thompson suggested that making a formal referral to the Justice Department is “not our job. Our job is to look at the facts and circumstances around January 6, what caused it and make recommendations after that.” Thompson added: “If the Department of Justice looks at it and sees something that needs further review, I’m sure they’ll do it.” Other committee members, however, pushed back, saying the panel has a responsibility to report criminal activity to the Justice Department and that they have “not issued a conclusion regarding potential criminal referrals.” Attorney General Merrick Garland, meanwhile, said he’s watching the House hearings, as are Justice Department lawyers prosecuting cases related to the attack on the Capitol. (CNN / NPR / NBC News / Wall Street Journal

4/ The Jan. 6 committee postponed its public hearing scheduled for Wednesday due to “technical issues” stemming from “overwhelming” demand on staff to produce videos. Wednesday’s hearing had been expected to focus on Trump’s efforts to replace Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen with Justice Department lawyer Jeffrey Clark, who was supportive of his fraud claims. The next hearing is scheduled for Thursday afternoon and will focus on Trump’s efforts to pressure Pence to refuse to certify the election results. (CNN / NBC News / New York Times)

5/ Voters have nominated at least 149 Republican candidates for state and federal office who have either repeated Trump’s lie that the 2020 election was rigged or campaigned on “election integrity” platforms. Overall, 108 won their nominations or advanced to runoffs have denied or directly questioned the 2020 election results, while 41 other winners have campaigned on tightening voting rules despite the lack of evidence of widespread fraud. (Washington Post)

6/ A bipartisan group of senators reached a tentative agreement on legislation to combat gun violence. Ten senators from each party signed on to a framework that would pair modest new gun restrictions with new funding for mental health and school security. The deal would also provide incentives for states to implement and enforce “red flag” laws, which allow authorities to keep guns away from people found by a judge to represent a risk to themselves or others. Mitch McConnell, meanwhile, said he’s “comfortable” with the framework and is inclined to support it. If passed, the proposal would be the most significant gun law to make it through Congress in decades. (Washington Post / ABC News / Politico / Wall Street Journal)

7/ The S&P 500 fell further into bear market territory ahead of Wednesday’s Federal Reserve decision on interest rates. Before last week’s higher than expected inflation report, the Fed was expected to raise interest rates by half a percentage point this week and then again in July after raising rates a quarter point in March and half a point in May. Traders, however, now expect a more than 90% chance of a 75-basis-point rate hike tomorrow. Despite economic indicators warning of a possible recession ahead, Biden told the nation’s largest federation of labor unions he’s “never been more optimistic about America than I am today.” And, despite U.S. stocks plunging further into a bear market and worsening inflation, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre added that the administration believes Americans are “well positioned” to face these economic challenges. (New York Times / CNBC / Wall Street Journal)

  • ✏️ How the Fed and the Biden Administration Got Inflation Wrong. Officials applied an old playbook to a new crisis. “We fought the last war.” (Wall Street Journal)
Last year today: Day 146: "Accountability."
Three years ago today: Day 876: Probably not a good idea.
Four years ago today: Day 511: Persistent illegal conduct.
Five years ago today: Day 146: Foreign emoluments.