OnPolitics: POTUS to meet with Saudi Arabia's crown prince

Good afternoon, OnPolitics readers!

Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former Trump campaign adviser and fiancée to Donald Trump Jr., was paid $60,000 for an appearance at a rally just before the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol using money raised for an "Official Election Defense Fund," according to a member of the House committee investigating the attack.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., told CNN's Jake Tapper in an interview Monday the committee had discovered that Guilfoyle was paid for the 2.5-minute speech using money Trump raised as he promoted the conspiracy that the 2020 election was stolen.

"So not only was there the big lie, there was the big rip-off," Lofgren said Monday. “Donors deserve to know where their funds are really going. They deserve better than what President Trump and his team did."

In Monday’s second public hearing, members of the Jan. 6 committee argued that Trump raised millions of dollars off of his false claims of election fraud for the purported “Election Defense Fund.” Gary Coby, a former Trump campaign staffer, said it was fair to call the “Election Defense Fund” a marketing tactic.

The fund, Coby said, was “just the topic matter where money could potentially go to be — how money could potentially be used." The committee claimed the Trump campaign team raised $250 million after the election, most of which went to an entity called the Save America PAC.

It's Amy and Chelsey with today's top stories out of Washington.

POTUS to meet with Saudi prince despite human rights concerns

President Joe Biden will meet with Saudi Arabia's crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, who U.S. officials believe ordered the killing of a Washington Post columnist, when he travels to the kingdom next month.

The White House initially said only that Biden would "see" bin Salman during the trip, which will also include a stop in Israel. But John Kirby, a White House national security spokesman, said Tuesday the administration expects bin Salman to be part of meetings between Biden and Saudi Arabia's leadership.

“There will be lots of bilateral discussions and, yes, that will certainly include (Saudi) King Salman and his team, and we expect the crown prince will be part of those discussions," Kirby said in an appearance on CNN after being pressed on whether Biden would have official talks with bin Salman. "We’re not shying away from that."

Pushback from Congress, human rights advocates: The White House's semantic gymnastics over Biden's meeting with bin Salman come after human rights advocates and some members of Congress urged Biden to either cancel the trip or go only under certain conditions. Biden himself said during his presidential campaign that his administration would make the kingdom a "pariah" state because of its human rights abuses.

Asked whether Biden would discuss the murder in October 2018 of Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post columnist whom U.S. officials believe bin Salman had ordered killed, Jean-Pierre said the president brings up human rights “with many leaders and plans to do so.”

The crown prince has denied any involvement in Khashoggi's killing.

Biden is set to visit Israel and Saudi Arabia July 13-16.

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Lawmakers debate gun legislation ahead of holiday recess

The most comprehensive gun control legislation in 30 years is likely to pass in the House and Senate despite some resistance, though whether lawmakers can get the work done before the July 4 recess is up for debate.

Proposed legislation includes expanding background checks on 18-to-21 year old buyers, closing the “boyfriend” loophole in domestic violence cases, authorizing grants to states to implement “red flag” laws and funding for school safety and mental health resources.

House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., said he would like to see a number of measures included in the legislative language before it’s approved; among them the background check, which will take juvenile records into account, and closing the loophole involving the three-day waiting period. Under current law, a gun may be sold even if the background check isn't completed.

The new proposals might have prevented the mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas and at a Black church in Charleston, South Carolina in 2015, had they been federal law.

Clyburn also advocates for a nationwide application of “red flag laws,” which allows courts to remove firearms from people considered a threat to themselves or others.

"A red flag law in South Carolina shouldn't be different from a red flag law in Georgia," he said. "We should unify the country with our legislative actions."

Happy Birthday, Donald Trump! The former president turns 76 today. Here's a look back at his presidency. -- Amy and Chelsey

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pres. Biden to meet with crown prince during Saudi Arabia trip