The Supreme Court on Monday denied a bid by a right-wing government watchdog group to require former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary ClintonHillary Diane Rodham ClintonTrump the X-factor in Virginia governor race Surgeon who treated Gabby Giffords after shooting launches House bid in Arizona President Biden, on special interest money are you more an ‘Obama’ or a ‘Hillary?’ MORE to face a deposition over her use of personal email while secretary of state.

In an unsigned order issued without comment, the justices declined an appeal from Judicial Watch that followed a ruling last August by a federal appeals court panel which said Clinton could not be compelled to sit for a deposition.

Judicial Watch had sought to depose Clinton and aide Cheryl Mills over Clinton’s use of a personal email server in connection to the 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.

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Clinton’s emails were subject to numerous investigations including by the FBI, which declined to charge her with violating federal records-keeping requirements or other crimes.

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The issue of Clinton’s emails figured as a major political issue in her unsuccessful 2016 presidential campaign against Donald TrumpDonald TrumpThe Hill’s Morning Report – Biden to talk infrastructure amid border, voting controversies Juan Williams: The GOP’s big lie on voting rights Schumer kicks into reelection mode MORE.

Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton issued a statement in response to the court’s move.

“Hillary Clinton ignored the law but received special protection from both the courts and law enforcement,” he said. “For countless Americans, this double standard of justice has destroyed confidence in the fair administration of justice.”

 

Earlier this month on his way home from work, Pete ButtigiegPete ButtigiegThe Hill’s Morning Report – Biden to talk infrastructure amid border, voting controversies Buttigieg charms Washington with his accessibility Infrastructure bill won’t include mileage tax: DOT spokesperson MORE made a pit stop at a Pizza Hut parking lot to pick up a used road bike that the new secretary of Transportation plans to use to get around Washington, D.C. 

“Good bike!” Buttigieg wrote on Twitter a few days after he made the purchase, with a caravan of security agents in tow. 

Those around Buttigieg say the story of his bike — which he sometimes rides to work —is a personal example of how he’s trying to make himself “accessible” at the department.

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In his first two months on the job, Buttigieg, who endorsed President BidenJoe BidenThe Hill’s Morning Report – Biden to talk infrastructure amid border, voting controversies Juan Williams: The GOP’s big lie on voting rights Schumer kicks into reelection mode MORE after his surprisingly strong primary campaign fizzled in South Carolina following a strong showing in the Iowa caucuses, has made headlines for pedaling to work.

He’s also appeared on late night television, spoken at the popular SXSW conference and maintained a social media presence befitting his political-celebrity status.

He has a new @SecretaryPete account on Instagram and pokes fun at himself on Twitter.

“Bike Twitter says my seat is too low,” Buttigieg wrote earlier this month after using the bike share in Washington. “Can confirm.” 

Buttigieg won attention during the Democratic primary as a policy wonk, and administration officials credit him as one of the best voices for pushing what is expected to be a $3 trillion infrastructure plan.

To date, he’s met with nearly two dozen members in the House and 13 senators, administration officials said. He has also had multiple sessions with the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National League of Cities and held a discussion at the National Governors Association. 

“President Biden and the White House asked Secretary Buttigieg to play a leading role in developing the President’s recovery agenda and building support for the Rescue Plan, and the Secretary has done an admirable job in that work and in communicating it to the American people,” a White House official said. 

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The former mayor of South Bend, Ind., has served as a strong advocate for Biden since before the election, when he was a powerful messenger for the campaign through media hits.

The 39-year-old Navy veteran, and first openly gay Cabinet official, was always expected to get a nod from Biden in the administration. When it was announced that he would be nominated for Transportation Secretary, Buttigieg, whose biography is titled “Shortest Way Home,” joked about his love for Amtrak and the Chicago airport.

As the only millennial serving in Biden’s Cabinet, Buttigieg has continued to be the young, reliable and sharp advocate for the administration.

Days after Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law, Buttigieg was out in the field touting it.

Earlier this month, he met with UPS workers delivering vaccines to D.C. and Maryland at a Landover, Md., distribution center.

At that event, he made news when he told reporters the administration will be taking action on infrastructure well before a Sept. 30 deadline to reauthorize surface transportation funding.

“I’ll let the president lead on the legislative priorities and sequencing, but as you’ve seen from the public impatience and the congressional interest, these conversations are very much live,” he said at the event.

He has his work cut out for him when it comes to selling the infrastructure plan to skeptics. Republicans already have criticized its price tag and its focus on climate change.

But the GOP has been largely positive about Buttigieg.

“I don’t mean to sound adversarial,” said Rep. Garret GravesGarret Neal GravesButtigieg charms Washington with his accessibility Friends and colleagues mourn loss of Louisiana Rep.-elect Luke Letlow Louisiana Rep.-elect Luke Letlow dies of COVID-19 MORE (R-La.), a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, in an interview with The Hill about his concerns with the infrastructure plan.

“I really appreciate a lot of the things that the secretary has said already, I’ve been — based on what I was expecting — I think that he’s come across as being a lot more thoughtful than I anticipated with his experience as mayor. I do think he’s a very bright and thoughtful guy,” he said.

Rep. Don YoungDonald (Don) Edwin YoungButtigieg charms Washington with his accessibility Pro-union bill passes House, setting up lobbying battle in Senate Lobbyists eager for return to earmarks MORE (R-Alaska), former chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said at a hearing this week with Buttigieg testifying that he was “really proud” of the fact that Buttigieg got to be secretary. He joked he would give Buttigieg a grade after four years, noting he has worked with 10 Transportation secretaries in his career.

Buttigieg’s longtime allies say they are hopeful his accessible approach will help the Biden administration.

“I think his approach is breath of fresh air,” said Eric Lesser, a state senator in Massachusetts and former aide in the Obama White House, who has known Buttigieg since the two attended Harvard together. 

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“Pete has always been at heart a listener and that’s especially important in the role he’s in now,” Lesser said. “Our communities are suffering from transportation disinvestment and so many worthy projects laying on the planning room floor.” 

Lesser said Buttigieg’s experience as mayor gives him a palpable understanding of what states are attempting to tackle with infrastructure.

“He comes from a community that has suffered from those cracks” in the system. 

The interest in Washington over Buttigieg and his husband, Chasten Buttigieg, is palpable. Washingtonian magazine deemed them “DC’s favorite new power couple” following a New York Times piece highlighting a new type of second spouse.

The piece revealed that the two live on Capitol Hill in an apartment, where Buttigieg takes his Zoom calls. They have two dogs, Buddy and Truman, who gained national fame during his presidential run.

On top of his public media presence, Buttigieg has held off the record calls with reporters. He and Chasten Buttigieg have also been spotted out and about.

Earlier this month, Chasten Buttigieg and second gentleman Doug EmhoffDoug EmhoffButtigieg charms Washington with his accessibility SNL’s Kamala Harris hosts Ted Cruz for ‘Unity Seder’ The Hill’s 12:30 Report – Presented by Facebook – Biden’s first news conference since taking office MORE went out for coffee together and a passerby took a selfie with them.

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“I guess you’ll be Secretary Pete,” Rep. Steve CohenStephen (Steve) Ira CohenButtigieg charms Washington with his accessibility Chris Christie joins board of New York Mets NYPD investigating anti-Asian incident against teen MORE (D-Tenn.) said to him at the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing this week.

“I’ll always answer to that,” Buttigieg replied.

 

 

The World Health Organization (WHO) asked rich countries on Friday to donate 10 million coronavirus vaccine doses to poorer nations.

“COVAX is ready to deliver, but we can’t deliver vaccines we don’t have. Bilateral deals, export bans and vaccine nationalism have caused distortions in the market with gross inequities in supply and demand,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference, Reuters reported.

“Ten million doses is not much, and it’s not nearly enough,” Tedros added.

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Poorer countries have struggled with obtaining the vaccine. 

Richer ones such as the United States, China and others have been able to vaccinate millions of citizens in order to curb the coronavirus. 

The U.S. has signaled it will not be sending vaccines to most other countries until every American is able to be vaccinated, though the Biden administration has announced a deal to share with its neighbors, Canada and Mexico.

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“The president has made clear that he is focused on ensuring that vaccines are accessible to every American. That is our focus,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at a press briefing toward the beginning of March. “The next step is economic recovery, and ensuring that our neighbors, Mexico and Canada, have similarly managed the pandemic so that we can open our borders and build back better.”

Countries in the European Union, meanwhile have come under fire for their slow vaccination rollout.

It is unclear what countries, if any, might respond to the WHO’s call for donations.

Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert RedfieldRobert RedfieldWHO report says transmission from animal is most likely source of coronavirus: report Redfield says he thinks COVID-19 began spreading in Wuhan in September or October Blinken suggests US won’t take punitive action on China over COVID-19 MORE said in an interview that aired Sunday that former Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar pressured him to revise reports on COVID-19.

Redfield told Sanjay Gupta as part of a CNN special report that his relationship with Azar grew shaky throughout the coronavirus pandemic, saying he was “most offended by” calls from his office to adjust the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). 

“The one time that was the most egregious was not only was I pressured by the secretary and his office and his lawyers, but as I was driving home, his lawyer and his chief of staff called and pressured me again for at least another hour,” Redfield told Gupta on CNN’s “Covid War: The Pandemic Doctors Speak Out.”

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“Even to the point of, like, accusing me of failing to make this change that would cost, you know, thousands of lives,” he said.

“I finally had a moment in life where I said, you know, enough is enough,” Redfield added. “You know? If you want to fire me, fire me. I’m not changing the MMWR.”

In his interview, Redfield appeared to confirm earlier reports, including from The Associated Press in December, about the CDC facing pressure by Trump administration officials to edit the MMWR, frequently called “the voice of CDC.”  

The former CDC director continued by saying Azar “may deny that, but it’s true.”

Azar denied Redfield’s account of events in a statement to The Hill.

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“From the beginning of this pandemic, I insisted on giving the public and media access to both critical information and data as soon as we had it, as well as to our scientist,” Azar said. “I have always stood for and defended the scientific independence of the MMWR and other evidence and science-based publications and disclosures from HHS and its agencies, and Dr. RedfieldRobert RedfieldBlinken suggests US won’t take punitive action on China over COVID-19 Overnight Health Care: More Johnson & Johnson doses coming next week | This is where schools are back in session | WHO asks rich countries to donate 10M vaccine doses Lawmakers say manufacturers are in better position to handle future pandemics MORE knows this. Any suggestion that I pressured or otherwise asked Dr. Redfield to change the content of a single scientific, peer-reviewed MMWR article is false.”

In a separate joint statement to the network, Azar and his deputies said they “always regarded the MMWR as sacrosanct.” 

Former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Stephen HahnStephen HahnThe Hill’s 12:30 Report – Biden’s first official trip as president The Hill’s Morning Report – With trial over, Biden renews push for COVID-19 bill How scientists saved Trump’s FDA from politics MORE also criticized Azar in his interview with Gupta, saying the secretary prevented the FDA from regulating lab-developed tests which was “a line in the sand for me.”

“It was reported in the press that we had a shouting match,” Hahn said during the special report. “I can 100 percent assure you that I did not shout and scream at the secretary of Health and Human Services.”

When asked if Azar shouted at him, Hahn responded, “You should ask him that question,” before acknowledging there was “pressure.”

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“If someone’s trying to ask me to do something that I don’t think is right and my patient, the American people, need something different,” Hahn said before shrugging. 

In a statement to CNN, Azar said “Hahn’s recitation of this call is incorrect,” asserting that “the only intemperate conduct … was Dr. Hahn’s threat to resign,” which Hahn denies happened. 

“FDA’s illegal assertion of jurisdiction over common lab developed tests … slowed the development of U.S. COVID testing,” Azar said in the statement.

Welcome to Hillicon Valley, The Hill’s newsletter detailing all you need to know about the tech and cyber news from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. If you don’t already, be sure to sign up for our newsletter by clicking HERE. 

Welcome! Follow our cyber reporter, Maggie Miller (@magmill95), and tech team, Chris Mills Rodrigo (@chrisismills) and Rebecca Klar (@rebeccaklar_), for more coverage.

Social media platform Parler revealed that it flagged concerning material for the FBI ahead of the January 6 U.S. Capitol riot. Meanwhile, a leading senator expressed serious concerns around Facebook’s handling of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation on both Facebook and Instagram, and new data shows schools are increasingly moving back into in-person learning. 

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PARLER WRINKLE: Parler flagged material posted on its platform to the FBI in the run-up to the violent insurrection at the Capitol in January, the conservative social media network claimed in a letter to a lawmaker.

In the letter dated Thursday to House Oversight Committee Chairwoman Carolyn MaloneyCarolyn MaloneyHillicon Valley: Parler claims it alerted FBI to threats before Capitol riot | Warner presses Zuckerberg to tackle vaccine misinfo on Facebook, Instagram | U.S. schools increasingly resuming in-person learning Parler says it alerted FBI to threats before Capitol riot Let’s end the Postal Service political theater and create needed reforms MORE (D-N.Y.), lawyers for the platform said that the company referred violent content to the agency more than 50 times.

The lawyers noted that some of those flagged posts included threats specific to the Capitol, where five people died during an attempt to stop Congress from verifying President BidenJoe BidenDemocrats see Georgia as opening salvo in war on voting rights MLB could move All-Star game from Georgia after controversial new voter restrictions Biden fires majority of DHS advisory council members MORE’s Electoral College win.

“Far from being the far-right instigator and rogue company that Big Tech has portrayed Parler to be, the facts conclusively demonstrate that Parler has been a responsible and law-abiding company focused on ensuring that only free and lawful speech exists on its platform,” the lawyers wrote.

The letter includes a screenshot of what appears to be an email correspondence between Parler and the FBI.

A spokesperson for the FBI declined to comment.

Parler, which has pitched itself as a free speech alternative platform to Facebook and Twitter, has been criticized for being rife with content about storming Congress before Jan. 6.

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Shortly after the attack, it was blocked from the Apple and Google app stores and subsequently dropped by Amazon Web Services, functionally taking the service offline.

The platform announced last month that it would be relaunching.

Read more.

MISINFORMATION CONCERNS ABOUND: Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Mark Warner (D-Va.) on Friday pressed Facebook to do more to combat the spread of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation on both its platform and Instagram. 

In a letter to Facebook CEO Mark ZuckerbergMark Elliot ZuckerbergHillicon Valley: Parler claims it alerted FBI to threats before Capitol riot | Warner presses Zuckerberg to tackle vaccine misinfo on Facebook, Instagram | U.S. schools increasingly resuming in-person learning Warner presses Zuckerberg to tackle vaccine misinformation on Facebook, Instagram The Hill’s Morning Report – Biden shifts on filibuster MORE, Warner detailed his concerns that the social media giant is not doing enough to get a handle on the increasing tide of misleading information around the safety of the vaccines. 

“Anti-vaccination groups and other health conspiracy groups have long utilized – and been enabled by – Facebook’s platforms to disseminate misinformation,” Warner wrote. “Studies show a rapid increase in the spread of health misinformation online since the start of the pandemic.”

The letter was sent the day after Zuckerberg testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on the topic of misinformation on Facebook, particularly around COVID-19 and the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot. 

Zuckerberg detailed Facebook’s efforts to combat coronavirus vaccine misinformation on both Facebook and Instagram in his prepared testimony, noting that “we have made fighting misinformation and providing people with authoritative information a priority for the company.”

Read more about Warner’s concerns here. 

SCHOOL’S BACK (SORT OF): About a third of school districts across the nation have resumed in-person learning, while just 1 in 10 school districts continue teaching students entirely remotely, according to a new tracker launched to measure the way local schools adapt to the coronavirus pandemic.

The data shows that school districts across the South are the most likely to have sent children back to school already, while California has the highest concentration of districts that remain remote.

But the lack of a clear national strategy for reopening schools, a problem that is only beginning to be addressed as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention roll out new recommendations for distancing, air circulation and sanitation requirements, has kept most school districts in some kind of hybrid learning environment.

The data, maintained by Return to Learn, a joint project of the American Enterprise Institute and the College Crisis Initiative at Davidson College, shows 54 percent of school districts still operating school in some kind of hybrid model, in which kids attend class in person some days and virtually on others.

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Read more about the move back to in-person learning.

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ANTITRUST OFFICIAL INCOMING: President Biden’s team is reportedly vetting a lawyer who served as the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) general counsel under former President Obama for a top antitrust post. 

According to Politico, which cited two sources familiar with the matter, Jonathan Sallet, who played a key role in formulating the FCC’s net neutrality rules, has been in talks for several weeks now for a top role to work on Biden’s competition policy. 

One potential position Sallet could take on is leading the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, where Sallet served as deputy assistant attorney general for litigation from 2016 to 2017.

Read more here. 

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Lighter click: Please stop backseat steering!

An op-ed to chew on: The cybersecurity problem we should really worry about 

NOTABLE LINKS FROM AROUND THE WEB: 

Hackers target German lawmakers in an election year (CyberScoop / Sean Lyngaas)

The Hidden Hand Of Facial Recognition In The Capitol Insurrection Manhunt (HuffPost / Ryan J. Reilly and Jesselyn Cook)

How Intel got blindsided by China’s culture wars (Protocol / Shen Lu) 

Why Microsoft wants Discord (The Verge / Tom Warren)

 

The Philippines will go under a lockdown going through Easter after the country confirmed a record-breaking 9,829 cases on Saturday.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque made the announcement on Saturday, CNN reports, with the lockdown set to last one week from March 29-April 4 or Easter Sunday.

The Philippines is a majority-Catholic country and this lockdown will likely prevent millions from observing the holiday as they normally would with church services.

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The lockdown also includes a curfew from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. and gatherings of more than 10 people outside have been barred. Non-household members are not permitted to gather indoors.

Indoor dining will prohibited for the following week though take-out and delivery will still be allowed.

Thousands of officers have been deployed by the Philippine National Police to enforce the new rules, CNN reports.

The outlet notes that vaccines have begun to be sent out to frontline medical workers, with the Filipino Department of Health urging non-medical workers to not jump the line for vaccines.

“Do not worry. Our goal is still to ensure that everybody will be vaccinated,” Carlito Galvez, chief impleneter of the National Task Force Against Covid-19, said. “But while we do this, the government is prioritizing healthcare workers as they are the most exposed and the most at risk of getting Covid.”

“More vaccines will arrive, we are sure of that. We just have to wait for our turns to be vaccinated,” Galvez added.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 300,000 doses of coronavirus vaccines have been administered in the Philippines.

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A bipartisan group of lawmakers on Tuesday introduced a bill that seeks to give states more money to address aging water infrastructure, putting funds toward reducing lead levels and projects to address the impacts of climate change. 

The legislation, put forth by three Democrats and three Republicans on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, offers $35 billion for water resources. 

It comes in addition to the $3 trillion package that the White House is working on, which would reportedly include $400 billion for climate-related measures. 

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The water bill’s bipartisan backing could mean it has a decent shot of gaining the 60 Senate votes necessary to bypass the filibuster and eventually become law. 

“From permanent brain damage from drinking water contaminated with lead, to overflowing sewage, Americans across the country are now experiencing what happens when our drinking water and wastewater systems age into a state of disrepair,” Sen. Tammy DuckworthLadda (Tammy) Tammy DuckworthThe Hill’s Morning Report – Biden leans heavily into gun control Duckworth drops threat to oppose Biden picks over diversity concerns Duckworth, Hirono vow to oppose Biden picks over diversity concerns MORE (D-Ill.) said in a statement. 

“It’s clear that the lack of investments in our water infrastructure has led to a public health crisis and we have to do more to stop it, which is why I’m proud to introduce this bipartisan bill,” Duckworth added. 

The legislation will provide increased financial assistance for state drinking water systems, authorizing gradual increases starting with $2.4 billion for fiscal 2022 and ending with $3.25 billion in 2026. 

That’s up from $1.95 billion that was authorized this year.

It would also increase funding for grants aimed at tackling lead in drinking water, which can damage children’s brains and nervous systems, from $60 million per year to $100 million per year going forward. 

And it would create a grant program for projects aimed at making water systems more resilient to natural hazards, cybersecurity threats and extreme weather.

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Reykjavik, Iceland — Icelandic budget airline WOW Air ceased operations on Thursday, stranding passengers across two continents. In a statement on its website the airline, which had earlier suspended all its flights, told passengers there would be no further flights and advised them to check flights with other airlines for ways to reach their destinations.