| | | | Baseball practice turns into terror for GOP lawmakers | | CNN's Stephen Collinson sets the scene: All they expected to hear was the crack of bat on ball. But with one loud blast of a gunshot, early morning batting practice turned to terror for Republican lawmakers, staffers and one small boy, as a lone assailant sprayed bullets across a baseball diamond, sending them fleeing for their lives. Their unimaginable ordeal in the line of fire unfolded over 10 terrible minutes at a neighborhood field in Alexandria, Virginia, as players piled into dugouts seeking shelter, armed only with bats to repel bullets.
Trapped, as a war zone scene played out before them, they watched helplessly as a wounded colleague, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, dragged himself along the ground -- leaving a trail of blood on the infield. Shaken and emotional, they later admitted they owed their lives to the heroism of pistol-wielding police officers who stood up to a barrage of automatic fire, eventually mortally wounding the gunman, even after they themselves were hit.
Alabama Republican Mo Brooks (pictured above) was just about to hit on a warm morning just after 7 a.m., as lawmakers limbered up for Thursday's always-popular congressional charity game at Nationals Park. "I was on deck, about to hit home plate, and I hear a loud 'Bam!' And I look around, and behind third base ... I see a rifle," Brooks told CNN. "Then I hear another 'Bam!' and realize there's an active shooter. At the same time, I hear Steve Scalise over near second base scream. He was shot."
The shooting left five people wounded:
— Scalise is in critical condition after surgery at MedStar Washington Hospital Center.
— Matt Mika, a lobbyist for Tyson Foods and former congressional staffer, was out of surgery and in critical condition as of Wednesday afternoon, according to a statement from his family.
— A congressional staffer, Zach Barth, was also shot in the leg and has since been released from the hospital.
— House Speaker Paul Ryan also identified two members of the Capitol Police who were injured, Crystal Griner and David Bailey. In a statement, Capitol Police said Griner was in "good condition in the hospital having been shot in the ankle," and that Bailey "was treated and released having sustained a minor injury during the incident."
At the Capitol, House members greeted each other with bear hugs today. The Democratic baseball team invited the Republican team over to the National Democratic Club for a bipartisan dinner. And on both sides, lawmakers decried the intense, bitter, hardened nature of the modern political climate. | | "An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us." | | | | Texas Rep. Roger Williams, a coach of the Republican baseball team, is on crutches after being injured while diving for cover during the shooting. Zach Barth, the legislative correspondent for Williams who was shot, was expected to recover fully, Williams said. | | WaPo: Mueller is investigating Trump for obstruction | | A major scoop tonight from The Washington Post's Devlin Barrett, Adam Entous, Ellen Nakashima and Sari Horwitz: "The special counsel overseeing the investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 election is interviewing senior intelligence officials as part of a widening probe that now includes an examination of whether President Trump attempted to obstruct justice, officials said.
"The move by Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III to investigate Trump's own conduct marks a major turning point in the nearly year-old FBI investigation, which until recently focused on Russian meddling during the presidential campaign and on whether there was any coordination between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. Investigators have also been looking for any evidence of possible financial crimes among Trump associates, officials said.
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Mueller meets with Senate Russia investigators: Special counsel Robert Mueller met on Capitol Hill with the leaders of the Senate intelligence committee, a long-awaited connection as lawmakers and federal investigators plot a path forward on the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. More from CNN's Tom LoBianco and Jeremy Herb. | | | Today is President Donald Trump's 71st birthday. And this is what the President's Twitter account looks like right now. | | | A congressional hearing scheduled for Wednesday morning to debate gun legislation was canceled until further notice in the wake of the shooting at a Republican congressional baseball practice. ... Missouri State Rep. Mike Moon is back in the news for a Facebook Live video in which he beheads a chicken and rips its heart out -- to announce his latest abortion bill. ... The Fox News Channel quietly drops its "Fair and Balanced" slogan in an effort to move beyond the era of its former chairman and CEO, Roger Ailes. | | | Get the Nightcap, a comprehensive summary of the most important political news, delivered to your inbox daily. | | | | | |
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