OnPolitics: Supreme Court rules Jan. 6 committee can access Trump administration records

Hello, OnPolitics readers!

Yesterday, the Senate voted to block voting rights legislation and any changes to the filibuster rule that may have allowed bills expanding voter protections to pass.

Senators voted 51-49 early Wednesday not to move the bill to the floor for a final vote. Democrats needed 60 votes to overcome the filibuster.

A separate vote that evening to change filibuster rules so that a voting rights bill could pass with a simple 51-vote majority was also shot down with the help of Democratic Sens. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz. and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.

In a statement Wednesday evening, President Joe Biden said he was "disappointed," but not deterred.

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"My Administration will never stop fighting to ensure that the heart and soul of our democracy — the right to vote — is protected at all costs. We will continue to work with allies to advance necessary legislation to protect the right to vote. And to push for Senate procedural changes that will protect the fundamental right to vote," Biden said.

It's Amy and Chelsey with today's top stories out of Washington.

Supreme Court: Jan. 6 committee can access Trump documents

Former President Donald Trump petitioned the Supreme Court to block the House select committee responsible for investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection from accessing his administration documents.

The court ruled Wednesday in the committee's favor.

Trump appealed to the Supreme Court in December to fight the release of a trove of documents — which could suggest whom he communicated with on Jan. 6 — from the National Archives and Records Administration. He argued the records should remain private so presidents can receive candid advice from aides.

In their decision, the justices called the request "unprecedented" and said it raises "serious and substantial concerns," including redefining executive privilege for the first time in nearly 50 years.

Jan. 6 committee chair and vice chair Reps. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., said in a joint statement “The Supreme Court’s decision tonight is a victory for the rule of law and American democracy.”

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Ukrainian president rebukes Biden over remarks on Russian invasion

Ukraine's president pushed back Thursday on President Joe Biden's suggestion that a "minor incursion" by Russia into Ukraine might not merit a strong international response.

"We want to remind the great powers that there are no minor incursions and small nations," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote in a tweet Thursday. "Just as there are no minor casualties and little grief from the loss of loved ones. I say this as the President of a great power."

Zelenskyy's comment was a remarkable retort from a close U.S. ally that has received millions of dollars in military assistance.

During a news conference Wednesday, Biden said the U.S. would hold Russian President Vladimir Putin accountable if Russia invades Ukraine but suggested the consequences would depend on the extent of Russia's aggression toward its neighbor.

What did Biden say exactly? "It depends on what (Russia) does. It's one thing if it's a minor incursion and we end up having to fight about we have to do and not do," Biden said in his remarks. The president also predicted that Russia would invade Ukraine, even as he warned of "severe economic consequences" if that happens.

One year ago today, President Joe Biden was inaugurated into the Oval Office. Check out photos from that day here. — Amy and Chelsey