16 June 2021
Nestled in a recent press release from the Treasury Department announcing new staff appointments was a familiar name within the White House, the son of President Biden's counselor and longtime aide, Steve Ricchetti.
Why it matters: J.J. Ricchetti will serve as a special assistant in Treasury's Office of Legislative Affairs. He's now the fourth immediate family member working in the Biden administration.
- Steve Ricchetti, a former lobbyist, has an office in the White House and regularly accompanies the president to Camp David and other destinations.
- Daniel Ricchetti, his son, serves as senior adviser in the office of the undersecretary for arms control and international security at the State Department.
- Shannon Ricchetti, his daughter, is deputy associate director of the Office of the Social Secretary at the White House.
- The White House declined any on-the-record comment.
What they're saying: White House aides cite their backgrounds to argue they're qualified for the roles and have experience equal to their predecessors, in contrast to complaints about the Trump administration.
- Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump were senior aides with large portfolios they came to with little direct experience.
- Kushner, for example, handled the president’s Middle East policy as well as an array of other shifting and far-reaching responsibilities.
Between the lines: Daniel Ricchetti spent seven years working for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee before moving to the State Department.
- Shannon Ricchetti came to her position with years of research and event planning experience, including at the Aspen Institute.
- And J.J. Ricchetti is a recent college graduate, as was an Obama administration holder of the same job in Treasury's Office of Legislative Affairs.
The big picture: Biden vowed to “restore and maintain public trust in government” by signing an executive order on ethics during his first day in office.
- It broadly received praise from White House ethics experts.
Flashback: On the campaign trail, Biden promised that no one in his family would hold a job in the White House or participate in a business relationship with a foreign government.
- None of his direct family members serve in his administration.
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.