Afternoon Briefs: Man at Pelosi's desk among those charged in Capitol riot; Dominion sues Sidney Powell
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So far, more than 50 people face local and federal charges in Capitol riot
So far, 13 people are facing federal charges in connection with rioting at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, while about 40 people face charges in the District of Columbia superior court. Among those charged are Arkansas man Richard “Bigo” Barnett, photographed with his feet up on the desk of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and newly elected West Virginia GOP state lawmaker Derrick Evans. Barnett is charged with entering restricted grounds, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, and theft of public property. Evans is charged with unlawfully entering restricted grounds; his lawyer says he is innocent. (The Washington Post, Department of Justice press release)
Voting machine company sues ex-Trump campaign lawyer
Election machine company Dominion Voting Systems has filed a defamation lawsuit against Sidney Powell, a former lawyer for the Trump campaign. Powell has made “demonstrably false” accusations that Dominion machines were rigged to swing the 2020 presidential election to President-elect Joe Biden, the lawsuit says. “Powell put forward conspiracy theorists, con artists and other facially unreliable sources as experts,” the suit says. (NBC News, NPR, the Washington Post, the Jan. 8 lawsuit)
Legal industry saw slight loss of jobs last month
The legal services industry lost 200 jobs in December following gains of thousands of jobs for several months in a row. The industry had 1,122,600 jobs in December, down from 1,122,800 jobs in November, according to seasonally adjusted and revised figures released Friday. The revised figures show a gain of 3,600 jobs in November and 6,000 jobs in October, when the industry had 1,119,200 jobs. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statics data)
