26 August 2021
The House Intelligence Committee is planning to hold a second, classified briefing on Afghanistan when members return to Washington, D.C., in September, a committee official tells Axios.
Why it matters: The planning comes as several members of Congress demand more information from the Biden administration regarding the unfolding crisis abroad as the U.S. approaches its Aug. 31 deadline to evacuate Americans from Afghanistan. It also comes just hours after multiple U.S. service members and civilians were killed in Kabul Thursday morning.
Details: The House is not expected to return from recess until Sept. 20, meaning it will likely be weeks before the committee holds its briefing.
- While many committee members would like to have a briefing sooner given the latest developments in Afghanistan, the committee official told Axios it's difficult to hold the update over the phone given the highly sensitive classified information.
- The official added, however, that if Congress comes back into session earlier, the Intelligence Committee will likely move up the in-person briefing.
The big picture: The committee held aclassified briefing on Monday — the first in-person meeting with lawmakers on Afghanistan.
- Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) told reporters after the briefing that he thinks "it's very unlikely" the Biden administration will be able to successfully complete its evacuation from Afghanistan by Aug. 31.
- Schiff also told reporters on Monday that the Kabul airport could be a "very attractive target" for terrorists as the U.S. continues to evacuate thousands of people. "This has been a concern of mine for some days now — that this would make a very attractive target for ISIS-K or for elements of Al Qaeda," Schiff said.
- During a full House briefing Tuesday, several congressmen, including multiple Democratic lawmakers, urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley to reconsider the withdrawal deadline.
- Many lawmakers also expressed frustration after the briefing, with several sources familiar with the meeting telling Axios that President Biden's national security deputies declined to provide estimates on the number of Americans remaining in Afghanistan.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.