Trump/Eastman emails; new Omicron subvariants; loan forgiveness appeal

A judge ordered the release of emails between former President Donald Trump and attorney John Eastman; health officials are warning of two new subvariants of COVID-19; and a taxpayers group has asked the Supreme Court to block the student loan forgiveness program. These stories highlight the Daily Rundown for Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022.

Judge orders release of Trump/Eastman emails – In an 18-page opinion issued Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge David Carter said emails between former President Trump and Eastman must be handed over to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. Carter ruled the emails cannot be withheld because they include evidence of potential crimes. This includes allegations that Trump signed legal documents challenging the results of the 2020 election that included voter fraud claims he knew to be false.

“The emails show that President Trump knew that the specific numbers of voter fraud were wrong but continued to tout those numbers, both in court and to the public,” Carter wrote. He added the emails are “sufficiently related to and in furtherance of a conspiracy to defraud the United States.”

New Omicron subvariants – Health officials, including National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, are warning of a pair of “pretty troublesome” COVID-19 subvariants. BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, which both come from the Omicron variant of COVID-19, are responsible for more than 10% of all current U.S. cases, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data released last week. A week prior, the subvariants weren’t even significant enough to list.

According to Fauci, both subvariants have dangerous “qualities or characteristics that could evade some of the interventions we have.”

Supreme Court appeal over student loan forgiveness – A Wisconsin taxpayers group has asked the Supreme Court to temporarily block the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness program from taking effect. The Brown County Taxpayers Association filed the request to Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who has jurisdiction over the lower court that ruled on the case. She is likely to refer the matter to the full court.

The lower court threw out a lawsuit from the group, ruling that it didn’t have standing to bring the suit. According to the filing with Barrett, student loan cancellation could begin as soon as Sunday if the court does not intervene.

The Associated Press, CNBC and CNN contributed to this report.