Vote Passes Allowing Subpoenas for Mueller Report 4/3/19

The House Judiciary Committee has voted 24-17, along party lines, to allow for subpoenas for the Mueller Report, as well as to five former employees of the Trump Administration:

Don McGahn – Former White House Counsel
Ann Donaldson – Don McGahn’s former Chief of Staff
Steve Bannon – Former Adviser to the President and White House Chief Strategist
Hope Hicks – Former White House Director of Strategic Communications
Reince Priebus – Former White House Chief of Staff

The Subpoenas have not been filed, as of this moment, since Jerrold Nadler, Chairman of the Committee, has stated he will still try to negotiate for the full release with Attorney General Barr before issuing them.

The reason for this is because, by filing a Subpoena, any push-back from Attorney General Barr would force either a charge of Contempt of Congress or for it to be taken up by the courts, likely resulting in a Supreme Court case [1][2].

Sources

Source 1: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/03/us/politics/mueller-report-subpoena-house.html

Source 2: https://www.npr.org/2019/04/03/709404618/house-judiciary-approves-subpoena-for-full-mueller-report-in-party-line-vote

Trump’s Transgender Military Ban to go into Effect 3/29/19

Trump’s Ban on Transgender people in the military is to go into effect starting on April 12th.

The current version of the law will allow for the military to ban new transgender recruits from joining the military, as well as allowing for the discharge of members in need of hormone treatment and/or surgery.

The case against the ban is still open, however, and the DC Court of Appeals may still decide against the ban. Currently they have only allowed for the injunctions to be lifted.

Source: https://thehill.com/policy/defense/435945-appeals-court-clears-path-for-pentagon-to-enforce-transgender-ban-april-12

Mueller Report Filed but is Not the End (Updated) 3/27/19

While this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.
Robert Mueller on Obstruction of Justice Charges

Robert Mueller has finished it’s report and openly stated that the President has not Conspired with Russia, a relief to many Republicans on the Hill [1].

What the report did not outline however, and actually avoided concluding on, was if Trump had committed Obstruction of Justice in trying to prevent the investigation, which the House Judiciary Committee is currently looking into and actively investigating [2].

The current best case situation is that Trump committed no discernible crime.

The worst case is that he did and the Department of Justice will refuse to act upon it, setting precedent that a President is more than a man of the people, the very thing the founders wanted to avoid by beginning this country [3].

We won’t know which is true until the majority or entirety of the report is obtained, as William Barr doesn’t believe a President can be indicted especially on Obstruction of Justice charges [4], which Trump has already openly admitted to attempting when he fired James Comey and said it was for the Russia Investigation [5], as well as when he asked Russia to hack the DNC and they did so within hours [6].

This is why the Democratic leaders, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, are trying to ensure that Congress gets a more thorough view of Mueller’s Report [7].

Let us also not assume that the case is closed, as even though Mueller has stated his team will serve no more indictments [8], he has handed off many cases to Federal and State prosecutors.

The still-live investigations range from an expansive probe into the Trump inaugural committee, to various investigations relating to former top Trump campaign officials Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, to tips that stemmed from Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen’s experience with Trump and his family’s company. It’s possible other investigations are being conducted quietly, as well. [9]

For a good summation on the possible legal implications, please look at THIS DISCUSSION about US Attorney General Barr’s Summary of the Mueller Report to listen to this clip of a discussion between former US Attorney for SDNY, Preet Bharara, and former AG of NJ, Anne Milgram, on what they’ve read so far [10].

Sources

Source 1: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/24/mueller-report-donald-trump-barr-congress-russia

Source 2: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/03/26/mueller-obstruction-of-justice-legislation-1237498

Source 3: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/why-america-has-president-instead-exalted-highness-180961841/

Source 4: http://time.com/5505438/wiliam-barr-confirmation-hearing-attorney-general/

Source 5: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-says-he-didn-t-fire-comey-because-russia-contradicting-n878836

Source 6: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/13/us/politics/trump-russia-clinton-emails.html

Source 7: https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/32419/

Source 8: https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2019/03/25/trump-russia-mueller-evidence-danger-even-without-indictments-column/3268632002/

Source 9: https://wtvr.com/2019/03/24/investigations-will-continue-despite-end-of-mueller-report/

Source 10: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/stay-tuned-with-preet/e/59625778?autoplay=true

Trump Administration Eyes Change to Medicaid 3/27/19

The Trump Administration has been focused on finding ways to cut Medicaid over the past two years and believe that their best method is by implementing Work Requirements, in which a citizen is required to show proof of employment within a certain amount of time to continue to receive service.

The issue with this plan is that Arkansas has already tested it and shown that Work Requirements do not lead to more people working, but instead to fewer people being insured.

Of the roughly 18,000 Arkansans who lost their coverage last year due to the new rules, only about 2,000 have re-enrolled in 2019, according to HHS.
…
Only 1,981 of those people matched entries in the state’s database of new hires, CBPP says, suggesting that the rest didn’t find work.
Even that number may be overstated, because the database includes people who found new work for a short time, and those who switched jobs.
It also doesn’t say whether people who found employment get health coverage through those jobs.

Source: https://www.axios.com/medicaid-work-requirements-labor-participation-arkansas-9fa3d173-1ed5-4c81-82f0-ee50b433df3a.html

House Fails to Prevent Emergency Declaration, Funding from Pentagon 3/26/19

The House failed to override President Trump’s Veto, voting 248-181, with 14 Republicans joining all Democrats [1], yet falling 38 votes short of the required 2/3 majority needed to pass [2].

Due to this, the Department of Defense has stated that they’ve procured $1 Billion for the border fencing.

Even though the Pentagon never informed Congress of their allocation, which is required to consult with them before any reallocation of funding could be performed, the Defense Secretary, Patrick Shanahan, stated that this process can be skipped in the case of an Emergency Deceleration by the President [3].

Sources

Source 1: https://www.c-span.org/video/?458887-1/us-house-fails-override-presidents-veto-border-resolution-248-181

Source 2: https://www.apnews.com/056c0ce531a34b999a6a50179e2265ad

Source 3: https://www.npr.org/2019/03/26/706795716/pentagon-authorizes-1-billion-for-fence-construction-at-mexico-border

Congress Attempts to Override Trump’s Emergency Declaration 3/19/19

Beginning on February 26th, the House passed a measure to overturn Trump’s Emergency Declaration, voting 245-182, just 11 days after the declaration was made [1].

Eventually, the measure was moved to the Senate, where on March 14th, 12 Republicans voted for the measure to be moved forward, with a vote of 59-41, passing the Senate but not within a veto-proof majority [2].

From there, Trump announced his intentions of Vetoing the measure, and did so the following day [3].

Now, Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, is expected to challenge his Veto in the House, publicly stating that she’d do so by having an override vote take place on March 26th [4].

In this instance, Nancy Pelosi’s vote on March 26th is unlikely to pass, as a Supermajority of 2/3 is needed to override a Presidential Veto, meaning 67 members of the Senate or 290 members of the House, which neither Congressional House met during the vote.

The Emergency on the Southern Border, however, isn’t an emergency at all [5], and will inevitably be forgotten after Trump leaves office.

There is a long process needed to get the land on the southern border, requiring Eminent Domain utilization by the Federal Government, in which the government can seize private land for their own use. This was done during the W. Bush and Obama Presidencies to allow for the Secure Fence Act, against the wishes of many who owned the land, which put the current Border Fence we have lining the most accessible portions of the United State’s Southern Border that is there today [6].

Sources

Source 1: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/431722-house-votes-to-overturn-trump-emergency-declaration

Source 2: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-renews-veto-threat-as-senate-prepares-to-rebuke-him-on-national-emergency/2019/03/14/2efbea36-4647-11e9-aaf8-4512a6fe3439_story.html

Source 3: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/15/us/politics/trump-veto-national-emergency.html

Source 4: https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2019/03/16/pelosi-override-trump-vetos-congressional-national-emergency/

Source 5: https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/03/13/donald-trump-national-emergency-border-225781

Source 6: https://www.texastribune.org/2017/12/14/border-land-grab-government-abused-power-seize-property-fence/

New Statehood Proposal for D.C. and a possible Future for Puerto Rico 3/14/19

Washington D.C. is an area that denies a common American Tenet:
No Taxation Without Representation.

Democrats want to change that.

A new Bill, H.R. 51, is a Bill advocating for the addition of Washington D.C. as a new, 51st state, giving the population of somewhere around 715,000 people the right to have Representatives and Congresspersons, thus giving them a voice in the Nation through representation [1].

The full process requires a Joint Resolution after the writing of a new State Constitution, then the signature of the President [2], which is unlikely to happen unless there is a new Democratic President in the Oval Office come 2021, as the state will almost certainly vote Democratic.

When it comes to Puerto Rico, it seems likely that Statehood will also be on the table in 2020. It’s been a point to visit the island for a few 2020 Democratic Candidates, such as Julian Castro and Elizabeth Warren, while Bernie Sanders named Carmen Yulín Cruz, the mayor of San Juan, as a co-chair to his campaign [3].

It seems the 2020 election will majorly dictate the future of America and who is in it.

Sources

Source 1: https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/democrats-push-to-make-washington-dc-the-fifty-first-state

Source 2: https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/how-do-new-states-become-part-of-the-us/103-448157125

Source 3: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-puertorico/puerto-rico-governor-says-2020-democrats-must-support-statehood-idUSKCN1QB2A4

Senate Votes to End Support in Yemen 3/13/19

The Senate has voted to end support of the Saudi’s coalition in the war in Yemen, for the first time invoking the War Powers Resolution to stop a foreign conflict.

The Trump White House has threatened to veto the resolution, which passed the Senate 54-46, a number that is not enough to override a veto, meaning there is still an uphill battle to ensure it’s passage.

This is not the first time that the Senate has passed a bill to end the US’ involvement in Yemen, having taken a vote and passing it in December before it was blocked from being voted on in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives [1].

This is a positive move by the United States, not just for removing their support of the Saudi family who killed Jamal Khashoggi [2], focusing on moving away from the need to be involved in every global conflict via military might.

In the words of the former Deputy and Acting Secretary of State Bill Burns, who served during both George W. Bush and Barack Obama, from his book (as summarized by Tommy Vietor of Pod Save the World):

Foreign Service Examiner – “What’s the biggest challenge in American Foreign Policy Today”
Bill Burns – “I think it’s us. After Vietnam (and now Iraq and the Middle East) I think we need to do a better job of determining what we can solve, and what we can manage.” [3]

Sources

Source 1: https://www.apnews.com/784139fedb1f4940bc39f33b5ffa2930

Source 2: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/13/state-department-calls-jamal-khashoggis-death-human-rights-violation.html

Source 3: https://crooked.com/podcast/antisemitism-the-nsa-khashoggi-then-fmr-dep-secretary-of-state-bill-burns/

Backlog of Rape Kits in NY lead to over 1,000 arrests 3/13/19

Kits that sat for up to 15 years and went untested were finally forced into testing by the
Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr.

There is an estimated 155,000 other kits that have gone untested to date, and some of the kits that were tested with a positive match ended up leading to no arrests, due to the
Statute of Limitations running out.

Languishing evidence in over 100,000 sexual assault cases around the country has been sent for DNA testing with money from a New York prosecutor and federal authorities, spurring over 1,000 arrests and hundreds of convictions in three years, officials say.
It’s estimated that another 155,000 or more sex assault evidence kits still await testing, and thousands of results have yet to be linked to suspects. Many who have been identified can’t be prosecuted because of legal time limits and other factors.

This is an issue that pervades across the United States and laws need to be amended to ensure Police Stations are doing their job and testing these kits when they arrive.

Source: https://apnews.com/c87e200f99844d649788e90b588a0d49

Pentagon Moving Forward with Transgender Ban 3/13/19

The Defense Department has signed a memo stating that it is moving forward with a plan to stop Transgender individuals from serving in the military if they require hormone treatments or surgery for transition.

The plan is expected to take effect on April 12th, but critics point out that the Pentagon’s own studies contradict the need for this policy:

A 2016 Pentagon-commissioned study found that any impact on cost or military readiness from having transgender troops would be marginal. It estimated there were around 2,450 transgender troops at the time [1].

The policy was allowed when the new Supreme Court allowed the ban to take place, overruling the ruling by the lower-courts [2].

Sources

Source 1: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-military-transgender/pentagon-sets-limits-on-transgender-troops-idUSKBN1QU06M

Source 2: https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/22/politics/scotus-transgender-ban/index.html