Political Rewind: Jan. 6th report releases today; Trump's tax returns; Warnock on voter suppression

The panel

Guest host Greg Bluestein, @bluestein, senior political reporter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Edward Lindsey, @edlindsey14, former member of Georgia state House

Fred Smith, @fredosmithjr, professor of law, Emory University

Matt Brown, @mrbrownsir, democracy reporter, The Washington Post

Tammy Greer, professor of political science, Clark Atlanta University

The breakdown

1. The January 6th Committee is scheduled to release its final report today.

• The release comes days after the committee handed criminal referrals for former President Trump and other associates to the Department of Justice.
• The report will detail the committee's reasoning for recommending specific charges, which are:
  • Obstruction of an official proceeding;
  • Conspiracy to defraud the United States;
  • Conspiracy to make a false statement; and
  • Conspiracy to defraud the U.S. by assisting, aiding or comforting those involved in an insurrection.

2. The House Ways and Means Committee vowed to release Trump's tax returns.

• The Democrat-led committee alleged that the IRS didn't properly audit the former president during his first two years in office. A probe found that one audit was started but left incomplete.
• Republican Leader Rep. Kevin Brady warns that the action would only be punitive and sets a negative precedent for the committee.

3. Sen. Raphael Warnock made his first major public appearance on 'CBS This Morning' following his reelection.

• Warnock addressed detractors who claimed he was an 'election denier' for his allegations of voter suppression.
• In an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger cited Warnock's reelection as a sign that Georgians' votes weren't suppressed.
• Some Georgians waited for hours in lines. Some absentee ballots weren't delivered, and the long legal battle over Saturday voting may have left some confused.

4. Axios reports that Stacey Abrams owns venders more than $1 million.

• Campaign manager Lauren Groh-Wargo confirmed the story. The Abrams campaign similarly almost ran out of money in 2018.
• Staffers allege that while compensation was high, their paychecks were cut off one week before the election.
• Abrams raised almost $100 million, but her ad budget was slashed towards the end. Money went towards a rental home that served as a campaign headquarters and was meant to be a "hype house" for viral marketing on services like TikTok.

Thursday on Political Rewind: GPB's Stephen Fowler joins us for the last live show of 2022!