OnPolitics: It’s been 1 year since George Floyd was murdered

Philonise Floyd, George Floyd's brother, looks down at Gianna Floyd, George Floyd's daughter, while standing with members of the Floyd family prior to a meeting to mark the anniversary of the death of George Floyd with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. (Photo: Erin Scott, POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

A year ago today, George Floyd was murdered when Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pinned Floyd to the ground under his knee for over nine minutes. 

In April, Chauvin was found guilty of second- and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

But the anniversary of Floyd’s murder has come and will go without lawmakers on Capitol Hill coming to a deal to pass legislation that is named in Floyd’s honor.

It’s Mabinty, with a look at how Washington is honoring Floyd. 

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Before I dive in, consider reading USA TODAY’s coverage of Floyd: 

  • ‘A year that’s ripped my heart out’:George Floyd family struggles with loss a year since killing
  • This is America: One year later. Where’s the change?
  • George Floyd’s murder fueled the Black Lives Matter movement. Activists are clashing over what comes next
  • After George Floyd,other families demand justice after police killings
  • George Floyd’s murder generated outrage— and lots of soulful art

Biden meets with the Floyd family

In his first joint address to Congress, Biden urged lawmakers to commemorate Floyd’s memory by passing the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, a large package of police reforms policies, by the anniversary of Floyd’s murder.

That will likely not happen. 

While lawmakers in Washington continue to negotiate a package on police reform, the White House has downplayed the delay of legislation being passed by the one-year mark of Floyd’s death, a deadline that Biden himself set. Instead of focusing on the talks, the president and vice president instead commemorated Floyd’s death with his relatives, who visited the White House Tuesday.

After meeting with Biden and Harris, the Floyd family said it was an honor and called on Congress to pass police reform, our White House reporter Rebecca Morin reports. “If you can make federal laws to protect the bird which is the bald eagle, you can make federal laws to protect people of color,” Philonise Floyd said.

Ongoing talks on the police reform bill are led by Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., and Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Tim Scott, R-S.C. Negotiations are largely stalled around the issue of whether to end qualified immunity for police officers, which would allow civilians to sue officers for on-duty abuses.

Now what? The White House, however, believes a deal will be reached, and the president still wants to sign the legislation into law “as quickly as possible.”

Real quick: What else is going on in Washington

  • Republican leaders slam Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Holocaust comments, but don’t call for punishment
  • White House says COVID-19 vaccination ratefor US adults to surpass 50%
  • Biden to visit Tulsato mark Tulsa Race Massacre centennial
  • Biden administration will reopen US consulatein Jerusalem in a bid to repair ties with Palestinians
  • Jeffrey Epstein prison guards get no jail timeregarding his death, falsifying documents

Plot twist from Biden’s DOJ

Interesting news: Biden’s Justice Department is appealing an order to release the full contents of a 2019 memorandum that recommended President Donald Trump not be charged with obstructing special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. 

Earlier this month, a federal judge ordered the internal document’s release, blasting the Trump Justice Department for misleading the court about the nature of its deliberations before concluding that Trump not be prosecuted.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson characterized the memo prepared for then-Attorney General William Barr as a “strategic” document, asserting that Justice Department officials had come to a predetermined conclusion that Trump would not be charged with obstruction of justice.

Read more on the memo that recommended Donald Trump not be charged with obstructing Mueller’s Russia investigation by USA TODAY’s Kevin Johnson. 

Hope you have a peaceful rest of the week —Mabinty 

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