7. Secret Service may have deleted texts just like they may have gotten attacked by the former president

• According to the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, text messages from Secret Service agents from January 5 and January 6, 2021, were deleted “as part of a device-replacement program.” The messages had been requested for an investigation into the riot at the U.S. Capitol. In response to the claim of deleted messages, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said, “We take strong issue with these categorically false claims and I will be responding in detail shortly.”

• This, of course, connects to allegations that former President Donald Trump tried to grab the steering wheel and physically fight with Secret Service agents that day, which has been disputed by the Secret Service themselves. CNN claims they have information that “corroborates” this claim with a source close to a D.C. police officer who they will not name to CNN, saying he witnessed a “heated exchange.” However, no one actually corroborates the allegation that Trump was grabbing at the steering wheel and attacking Secret Service agents. Hearsay about a hearsay account is not corroboration.

6. Alabama Democrats will pick another party leader

• State Representative Chris England (D-Tuscaloosa) will not run for re-election as chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party. The State Democratic Executive Committee will take steps to elect a new chair on August 13.

• A diverse list of candidates is expected to be presented to the committee by the Alabama Democratic Conference, according to the leader of the conference Joe Reed, who has also made comments about a need to rebuild the Democratic Party in Alabama.

5. Casey White will be charged with Vicky White’s death

• Former Lauderdale County corrections officer Vicky White died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after a national manhunt for her and escaped inmate Casey White. Now, Casey has been charged with murder for Vicky’s death.

• The indictment says, “White caused the death of Vicky White who died from a gunshot to the head.” The official report stated that Vicky died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and that finding has not been denied or contradicted. Some attorneys have raised questions about the charge, saying Vicky White’s suicide was her choice. The attorneys quoted by CNN did not know of an instance where a suicide has been charged this way.

4. Democrats are completely out of touch

• U.S. Representative Jason Crow (D-Colo.) has supported the idea that Democrats are completely out of touch, as he’s recently stated, “The bottom line is that the Democratic Party, the House Democratic Caucus is the party of national security in the 21^st century.” 

• Crow went on to say, “We are the party that’s dedicated to rule of law, to affirming our connection to our allies, to addressing the largest security threat facing our planet and our country – that is climate change, which is both a threat multiplier and a threat magnifier.” New polling shows Republicans are becoming more working class and more multiracial, while Democrats are becoming more college-educated and losing Hispanic support.

3. Carl pushes for American drilling and Biden to avoid Saudi Arabia

• U.S. Representative Jerry Carl (R-Mobile) has advocated for President Joe Biden to produce more domestic oil instead of seeking oil from Saudi Arabia. Carl recently spoke on the House floor about the issue.

• Carl said that the current efforts from Biden would “bring the price of fuel down.” He added, “The price of fuel has gone up. In his text, he’s going to release fuel from his reserves. All it did was put money in the Chinese pockets, 950,000 barrels of oil, and someone’s got to be answerable for that… Don’t go to Saudi Arabia, Mr. President…Release our energy.”

2. Alabama representatives unhappy with Active Shooter Alert Act

• The Active Shooter Alert Act of 2022 split Alabama’s delegation along party lines and has received criticism from U.S. Representative Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) for being “an anti-gun propaganda program designed to dramatize and inflate the reported number of ‘active shooter’ incidents in an effort to expand support for unconstitutional gun control measures.”

• The act passed in the U.S. House of Representatives and would create an AMBER Alert for active shooters. Moore went on to say, “Sensationalizing violence specifically involving guns while ignoring the crime epidemic intensifying on their watch is a blatant attempt by Democrats to promote their anti-Second Amendment agenda, not the safety of Americans.”

1. Rogers says not to use ARPA money for prisons, but Congress left it pretty open-ended

• While Alabama has a need for new prisons, U.S. Representative Mike Rogers (R-Saks) recently criticized how the state planned to finance the current $1.3 billion plan for new men’s prisons by using $400 million from the American Rescue Plan Act. However, it is pretty clear most states saw this money as a grab bag to use as they saw fit because pandemic-related expenses were not specifically required as a reason to spend the money.

• Rogers said he’s “so aggravated” with the state’s spending plan and went on to say, “We gave the state the money to deal with COVID and the problems that came out of COVID.” Rogers added, “[T]he fact that they’re even discussing what to do with it rather than spending on rural broadband makes me just want to chew nails…All states are doing it. They’re using it as kind of a cookie jar to get their wish list fulfilled. But they ought to be spending on things to help us deal with the next pandemic, assuming we have another one.”