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Biden To Take On Republicans Over Gun Control, Crime And Attacks On FBI – Live

An assault weapons ban is back on Joe Biden’s agenda today as he heads to Pennsylvania to deliver a speech on guns, crime and Republican attacks on the FBI.

The push for a ban is a centerpiece of the president’s Safer America Plan unveiled earlier his month, and Biden will use his afternoon address in Wilkes-Barre to hammer Republicans for their opposition to it.

A series of deadly mass shootings has propelled gun violence back into prominence, and the White House says, during his remarks in Pennsylvania, Biden will continue to press for a reinstatement of the ban, believing it will resonate with voters ahead of the November midterms, 10 weeks ahead today.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre addresses reporters on Monday. Photograph: Oliver Contreras/EPAWhite House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at her briefing Monday:

The president is going to talk about how he brought the Democrats and Republicans together earlier this month to pass the most significant safety law in 30 years. He’ll talk about how we have built on that momentum and how we must act on banning assault weapons.

A majority of Americans support… banning assault weapons; the National Rifle Association opposes it. We are going to hear from the president about the importance of making sure that we protect our communities.

[He] has been really clear that congressional Republicans, that extreme MAGA [Make America Great Again] agenda that you heard him talk about last week is a threat to the rule of law.

It’s the first of three visits Biden will make to the key battleground state of Pennsylvania in six days. On Thursday he will give a primetime address from Philadelphia on “the continued battle for the soul of the nation,” covering America’s standing in the world and how its democracy is at stake.

On Labor Day, next Monday, he will be in Pittsburgh celebrating “the dignity of American workers.”

Biden’s administration, while carefully avoiding commentary on the justice department’s investigation into former president Donald Trump and the FBI raid on his Florida resort that netted hidden classified documents, nevertheless sees opportunity in the moment.

Some extreme Republicans have called for defunding the FBI in protest at the raid. Biden will use today’s speech to promote Democrats as the party of law and order and tough on crime, reiterating that fully funding law enforcement is another key tenet of the Safer America plan.

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Justice department to file ‘special master’ responseA little later this morning we’re expecting to see the justice department’s legal response to Donald Trump’s request for a “special master” to oversee its review of classified documents seized by the FBI in a raid on his Florida home.

It will be a lengthy filing running up to 40 pages, CNN reports, after Florida district judge Aileen Cannon waived a 20-page limit imposed by the court.

Merrick Garland. Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty ImagesThe justice department argued the lower limit wasn’t sufficient to “adequately address the legal and factual issues raised by” Trump’s demand, the network reported.

Many observers see the former president’s move as a delaying tactic to the justice department’s investigation, given that any special master – usually a retired lawyer or judge – would require time to review all the materials.

As the Guardian has previously reported, FBI agents confiscated about 30 boxes containing highly sensitive documents from his Mar-a-Lago resort in an investigation into the unauthorized retention of government secrets. Attorney general Merrick Garland approved the justice department’s request for a warrant to carry out the raid.

Cannon’s order said the justice department had to file its response to the Trump request “on or before Tuesday”. Trump’s legal team will have until 8pm Wednesday to give a reply, and Cannon has scheduled a hearing for Thursday at which she is expected to make a decision.

We’ll bring you details of the justice department filing as we get them.

Martin Pengelly

More than two-fifths of Americans believe civil war is at least somewhat likely in the next 10 years, according to a new survey – a figure that increases to more than half among self-identified “strong Republicans”.

Amid heated rhetoric from supporters of Donald Trump, the findings, in research by YouGov and the Economist, follow similar results in other polls.

On Sunday night, the South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham predicted “riots in the streets” if Trump is indicted over his retention of classified documents after leaving the White House, materials recovered by the FBI at Trump’s home this month.

Lindsey Graham. Photograph: Sarah Silbiger/ReutersGraham earned widespread rebuke. On Monday, Mary McCord, a former acting deputy attorney general, told CNN it was “incredibly irresponsible for an elected official to basically make veiled threats of violence, just if law enforcement and the Department of Justice … does their job”.

Saying “people are angry, they may be violent”, McCord said, showed that “what [Trump] knows and what Lindsey Graham also knows … is that people listen to that and people actually mobilise and do things.

“January 6 was the result of this same kind of tactic by President Trump and his allies.”

Nine deaths including suicides among police officers have been linked to the Capitol attack on 6 January 2021, when supporters Trump told to “fight like hell” to overturn his defeat by Joe Biden attempted to stop the certification of electoral results.

Since then, fears of political violence have grown.

Most experts believe a full-scale armed conflict, like the American civil war of 1861-65, remains unlikely.

But many fear an increase of jagged political division and explicitly political violence, particularly as Republican politicians who support Trump’s lie about electoral fraud run for Congress, governor’s mansions and key state elections posts.

Read the full story:

An assault weapons ban is back on Joe Biden’s agenda today as he heads to Pennsylvania to deliver a speech on guns, crime and Republican attacks on the FBI.

The push for a ban is a centerpiece of the president’s Safer America Plan unveiled earlier his month, and Biden will use his afternoon address in Wilkes-Barre to hammer Republicans for their opposition to it.

A series of deadly mass shootings has propelled gun violence back into prominence, and the White House says, during his remarks in Pennsylvania, Biden will continue to press for a reinstatement of the ban, believing it will resonate with voters ahead of the November midterms, 10 weeks ahead today.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre addresses reporters on Monday. Photograph: Oliver Contreras/EPAWhite House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at her briefing Monday:

The president is going to talk about how he brought the Democrats and Republicans together earlier this month to pass the most significant safety law in 30 years. He’ll talk about how we have built on that momentum and how we must act on banning assault weapons.

A majority of Americans support… banning assault weapons; the National Rifle Association opposes it. We are going to hear from the president about the importance of making sure that we protect our communities.

[He] has been really clear that congressional Republicans, that extreme MAGA [Make America Great Again] agenda that you heard him talk about last week is a threat to the rule of law.

It’s the first of three visits Biden will make to the key battleground state of Pennsylvania in six days. On Thursday he will give a primetime address from Philadelphia on “the continued battle for the soul of the nation,” covering America’s standing in the world and how its democracy is at stake.

On Labor Day, next Monday, he will be in Pittsburgh celebrating “the dignity of American workers.”

Biden’s administration, while carefully avoiding commentary on the justice department’s investigation into former president Donald Trump and the FBI raid on his Florida resort that netted hidden classified documents, nevertheless sees opportunity in the moment.

Some extreme Republicans have called for defunding the FBI in protest at the raid. Biden will use today’s speech to promote Democrats as the party of law and order and tough on crime, reiterating that fully funding law enforcement is another key tenet of the Safer America plan.

Good morning, and welcome to Tuesday’s US politics blog.

Joe Biden has a busy day ahead, and will use a visit to Pennsylvania to hammer Republicans on guns, crime, and calls by some in the party to defund the FBI after the agency’s raid on former president Donald Trump’s Florida resort.

Biden is expected to renew calls for an assault weapons ban, something Republicans in Congress remain resolutely opposed to despite a recent series of deadly mass shootings.

The president is scheduled to give remarks in Wilkes-Barre at 3.15pm. We’ll have more details about that coming up.

Here’s what else we’re watching today:

The fallout from the seizure of classified documents from Trump’s Palm Beach residence continues. We’re expecting a legal response from the justice department to the ex-president’s demand for a “special master” to be appointed to oversee the review of what was found.

There’s renewed hope among Democrats for their prospects in November’s midterm elections. A poll in Arizona shows Democratic senator Mark Kelly, a top Republican target, leading his opponent by more than three points.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre will address reporters on board Air Force One en route to Pennsylvania.

Congress is on summer recess, so we’re not anticipating much excitement in Washington DC.

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