America revisits the assault on its democracy: Weekend Reads

Americans watched televised hearings in the House of Representatives into the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol and then-President Donal [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( Americans watched [televised]( hearings in the House of Representatives into the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol and then-President Donald Trump’s efforts to reverse his election loss to Joe Biden. Politicians and special interests including Trump himself are using the hearings in [appeals]( for donations. Biden said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy [tuned out]( warnings that Russia would invade his country in the lead-up to the Feb. 24 attack. Despite surviving a no-confidence vote, Boris Johnson is engaged in a day-to-day [fight]( to hold on to his UK premiership. Beijing and Shanghai both resumed [mass testing]( for Covid-19 as new outbreaks emerged just days after the two key Chinese cities eased social curbs that had been in place for months. Delve into these and more of Bloomberg’s top political stories from the past seven days in this edition of Weekend Reads. — [Karl Maier]( A Trump supporter holds a bust of him after hundreds of people stormed the Capitol. Photographer: Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images Click [here]( for this week’s most compelling political images and share this newsletter with others. They can sign up [here](. ‘War Scene,’ Ivanka, Trump Tweet: Key Points From Jan. 6 Hearing The House committee presented evidence that could focus [new attention]( on the assault ahead of midterm congressional ballots and add detail to a record Trump will have to confront if he seeks re-election in 2024, [Mike Dorning]( and [Billy House]( report. - Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, said in a video message that she believed there was no evidence of [fraud]( sufficient to change the 2020 election’s outcome. Edwards, who suffered a [brain injury](, appeared at Thursday’s hearing, the first of seven sessions. “I couldn’t believe my eyes; there were officers on the ground, they were bleeding, they were throwing up,” she said. “I was slipping in people’s blood.” Ukraine Likely to Win Initial EU Backing for Path to Membership The European Union’s executive arm is expected to says next week that Ukraine should be granted [candidate status](, a key step on the long path to EU membership, sources say. As [Jorge Valero]( and [Alberto Nardelli]( report, the recommendation would come with conditions linked to the rule of law and anti-corruption legislation. - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen paid an [unannounced visit]( to Kyiv on Saturday in a boost to Ukraine’s bid to join the EU. - Ukraine’s finance chief said it must clinch a new [loan program]( with the International Monetary Fund as efforts to fight off invading Russian forces push its budget and international reserves to the limit. Russia Is in Topsy-Turvy World Where Belarus Tops German Exports Russian efforts to rewire trade flows and bypass sanctions for the war in Ukraine can’t make up for the collapse in imports. For the first time, Belarus, in April [leapfrogged](Germany — an economy more than 60 times bigger — by the value of imports to Russia, according to a Bloomberg analysis of the latest data. - Iran’s [painful experience]( of dealing with Western sanctions carries warning signs for Russia. Forced Labor Dispute Is Completely Redefining US-China Relations The name “Xinjiang” has become synonymous with human-rights abuses after China’s push to assimilate mostly Muslim ethnic minority Uyghurs sparked an [international outcry](. But as the US prepares to ban all goods from the remote western region, President Xi Jinping is moving to rebrand Xinjiang and better integrate it with the rest of China — and the globe. - US and Chinese defense officials said they planned further talks after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his counterpart Wei Fenghe [sparred]( over Taiwan and other regional security issues in their first in-person encounter. Marxism Reappears in China’s Crackdown on ‘Disorderly Capital’ In China’s boom years when annual growth exceeded 10%, Western-influenced economics helped private entrepreneurs in tech, real estate and other industries amass billions. Now, as [Tom Hancock]( reports, Xi has made clear that [Marxism is back](. Xi at Renmin University of China in April. Photographer: Xie Huanchi/Xinhua/Getty Images Boris Johnson’s Hollow Win Shows Civil War Raging in Tory Party Johnson’s missteps and [misdeeds]( have left his party split into factions, all sniping at each other as they careen toward a potential early election with little sense of identity or purpose, [Ellen Milligan]( and [Kitty Donaldson]( report. - Aspirants to replace Johnson face a tricky[balancing act](: They must profess loyalty to the prime minister to keep their posts, even as they sound out potential supporters for the possible fight ahead. Best of Bloomberg Opinion This Week - [Jan. 6 Panel Made the Case Against Trump: Jonathan Bernstein]( - [Putin Can’t Keep Russian Mothers Silent: Clara Ferreira Marques]( - [Hard Lessons From 100 Days of the Ukraine War: Leonid Bershidsky]( - [Modi Has Good Reason Not to Alienate Middle East: Mihir Sharma]( - [Hawks Summon Shadows of Europe’s Debt Crisis: John Authers]( Soaring Oil Prices Force Biden to Engage With Spurned Saudis With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggering the biggest energy crisis in decades, Biden is contemplating visiting Saudi Arabia, a country he once vowed to turn into a “pariah” over the [murder]( of newspaper columnist Jamal Khashoggi. [Sylvia Westall](, [Grant Smith]( and [Anthony Di Paola]( explain the president’s turnaround. Biden’s Lackluster Los Angeles Summit Exposes Divided Hemisphere The US president sought to put on a show of hemispheric unity at a Los Angeles summit this week. But boycotts, bluster and lackluster pledges instead exposed the [shaky state]( of US influence in Latin America.  Kishida Could Rule Japan for Years After Proving Doubters Wrong Fumio Kishida’s emergence last year as Japan’s third prime minister in 13 months prompted concern Tokyo was sinking into another period of revolving-door leadership. Now, as [Isabel Reynolds]( writes, he now looks increasingly likely to [govern]( the country for years. Mysterious Wildlife Farm Robbery Puts Ramaphosa on Back Foot A robbery at South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s game farm more than two years ago that came to light this month has ignited a [political storm]( six months before he’s set to seek re-election as leader of the governing party.[Paul Vecchiatto]( and [Colleen Goko]( lay out what’s at stake. Children at Forefront of Hunger Crisis Gripping Horn of Africa A intensifying [hunger crisis]( in the Horn of Africa region is threatening the lives of hundreds of thousands of children, the United Nations, aid agencies and government officials warn. [Simon Marks]( and [Mohammed Omar Ahmed]( explain that failing rains and Russia’s war, which disrupted supply chains and sent grain prices soaring, are largely to blame. A woman on the shore of the Shabelle river in the city of Gode, Ethiopia, on April 8. Photographer: Eduardo Soteras/AFP/Getty Images Fathers Accused of Looting Nigeria, Children Running for Office Four children of men said by international investigators to have [stolen]( billions of dollars from Nigeria’s public coffers are running for high office. As [William Clowes]( reports, good-governance experts say it’s a sign of the history of impunity in Africa’s top crude producer. Explainers you can use - [Insurrection? Sedition? Incitement? A D.C. Riot Guide: QuickTake]( - [How Putin’s Spooking Japan Further Away From Pacifism]( - [All About the Prince at the Center of US-Saudi Reset]( - [Where Are We in Hunting for the Coronavirus’s Origin?]( - [Meet the Guptas, Symbols of South African Corruption]( Socialist Venezuela Has $200,000 Ferraris and a Bustling Casino Andreina Itriago Acosta](, [Nicolle Yapur]( and [Ezra Fieser]( detail how Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s decision to ease restrictions on businesses to allow pockets of free enterprise to thrive has helped spark a fragile [turnaround]( in a country where 90% remain in poverty. And finally … Investors who celebrated the emergence of construction magnate Rodolfo Hernandez in Colombia’s presidential runoff are starting to see risks. [Oscar Medina]( and [Maria Elena Vizcaino](report that bonds have slipped ahead of the June 19 election as money managers realize that scarce information about his economic policies could prove just as risky as anti-oil leftist Gustavo Petro. Hernandez at a campaign event in Bucaramanga, Colombia, on Sunday. Photographer: Natalia Ortiz Mantilla/Bloomberg Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Balance of Power newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( | [Ad Choices]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022