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

DCCC Fights Democratic Primary Challengers 3/27/19

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), which is the campaigning organization for House Democrats, revealed a new policy this past Friday, which will hurt Primary Challengers.

The DCCC will refuse to award contracts to any political firms that work alongside Democratic Primary Challengers of House Members in 2020 in an attempt to keep their majority within the House.

This new policy is an attack on Democratic Elections, hurting the ability to openly debate an campaign on equal footing for those who are not already within the political realm.

Source: https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/435332-dems-seek-to-stifle-primary-challenges-to-incumbents

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

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

The Treasonous Representative: Steve King’s Civil War Post 3/19/19

Steve King, Representative of Iowa, has possibly committed treason with his latest Facebook post.

The Representative, best known for his racist statements including his recent gaffe of asking why the terms White Supremacist and White Nationalist were offensive, as well as his at least 17 year history of racist statements [1] which led to his removal from all committee assignments by Congress.

Now, his post has openly advocated for a second Civil War, including references to bloodshed via bullets.

The post, deleted soon after it was posted, was put up on his Official Facebook Account.

“This is treason,” said Richard Painter, who served as the chief ethics lawyer in President George W. Bush’s administration, on Twitter. “Steve King should be expelled from the House immediately.”
Responding to Painter, Harvard Law professor Laurence Tribe modified his criticism: King “isn’t actually COMMITTING treason, but he is fomenting and inciting it. Ample reason to expel him.” [2]

Sources

Source 1: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/15/us/politics/steve-king-offensive-quotes.html

Source 2: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/03/18/steve-king-posts-meme-warning-that-red-states-have-trillion-bullets-event-civil-war/?utm_term=.667ead6e3919

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/

Massive Election Law Will be Blocked by Republicans 3/11/19

The Democrats passed H.R. 1, also known as the ‘For the People Act’, a massive bill that attempts to clean up our voting structure in the US. The Bill was passed on party lines, with none of the Republicans in the House voting for the Bill.
by doing the following:

A Constitutional Amendment to end Citizens United, which funnels in massive amounts of Corporate Money into politics.
Disclose Dark Money donors that invest in Political Campaigns.
Pass the Honest Ads Act, which forces tech companies to disclose where the money for the ads on their sites came from.
Require those running for President and Vice President (including Trump as it works retroactively) to reveal their past 10 years of Tax Return Documents.
Prohibiting Voter Purging from voter rolls (as we’ve seen recently).
Force States to use Independent Commissions to Redistrict the State, to end Gerrymandering for Racist or Political reasons.
Automatic Voter Registration for citizens.
Making Election Day a Federal Holiday across the country.
Require Poll Workers give the public a weeks notice for all Changes to Polling Locations.
Make Colleges and DMV places to Register to Vote.
Adding more Poll Workers for Polling Stations.
Increase Election Security Funding.
Allows for Matching funds from Small Donors for Congressional and Presidential Candidates.
Bars members of Congress from serving on Corporate Boards.
Restructures the Federal Election Commission, which oversees money in politics.
Allows citizens to Register to Vote Online.

Mitch McConnell, however, has stated he will refuse to let the Bill come for a vote in the Senate, effectively killing the Bill.

Republicans also had complained about wanting the bill to state only Citizens would be allowed to vote, a non-issue, since it’s already illegal for anyone but Citizens of the United States to vote in Federal Elections due to the Federal Voting Rights Act, and only Green Card holders are allowed to vote in State and Local elections, and even then, depending on the State laws in which they reside.

Sources

Source 1: https://www.npr.org/2019/03/08/701455283/house-passes-extensive-election-and-campaign-finance-overhaul-bill

Source 2: https://www.axios.com/house-hr1-anti-corruption-package-vote-a5ce4105-1684-458e-b1b9-4e41cdad70c1.html

Source 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBClMces-HE

Source 4: https://www.npr.org/2019/03/08/701455283/house-passes-extensive-election-and-campaign-finance-overhaul-bill

Source 5: https://www.thoughtco.com/can-i-vote-1951751

Week in Review 3/7/19

This week has been a major news week in politics across the world.

A depressing story about the alleged rape of an 18 year old woman by two Detectives in Brooklyn.
Detectives Eddie Martins and Richard Hall picked up Anna Chambers in September 2017 for marijuana possession.
Anna states that both officers took turns raping her in the back of their squad car after her arrest, even getting a positive match for both officers semen with a rape kit she was tested with after they released her.
The officers however, allege that she consented to the sex, which, at that point in time in NY, was not against the law (it has been instituted in the state since due to this incident), and the officers are only being charged with taking bribes and official misconduct [1].

“She decided to speak out, and they shut it right down. It’s a very bad message to future victims of sexual violence, especially against law enforcement.”
Chambers’ attorney Mike David

The US Government, in coordination with Mexico, created a secret database of activists, journalists, and social media influencers tied to the migrant caravan and in some cases, placed alerts on their passports.
This has led to continual questioning and interrogation by border officials to those that were at the caravan who have been routinely monitored since the event and some have been barred from access to other countries [2].

In an ever developing story, the White House may have abused their power to get security clearances for Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner despite opposition from Security Agencies and the WH Security Office [3].

Because of this revelation, both the House Oversight Committee and the group
CREW (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington) are attempting to look into the issue [4], with the House Oversight Committee submitting a request to the White House for documents related to the security clearances.
The White House chose, in response, to reject their request for documents, a move that will lead to a subpoenas being handed out, possibly even to Trump himself [5].

Speaking on subpoenas, it seems likely, as stated by Judge Napolitano of Fox News, that Michael Cohen’s testimony may lead to multiple investigations within the House that, if they so choose, may subpoena the White House if documents are asked for and not handed over to the investigations [6].
This may come to fruition sooner than expected however, as the House Judiciary Committee has begun investigating:

The committee told reporters Monday that the investigation will focus on three primary issues: whether the president obstructed justice by interfering with criminal investigations; potential corruption such as violation of campaign and financial reporting laws, as well as possible misuse of office for personal gain; and abuses of power to include misuse of the pardon power and attacks on the press, judiciary and law enforcement agencies. [7]

Fox News reportedly knew of the Stormy Daniels story before the 2016 Election and refused to publish it (as well as avoiding coverage of it across their prime-time shows):

“But Falzone’s story didn’t run—it kept being passed off from one editor to the next. After getting one noncommittal answer after another from her editors, Falzone at last heard from LaCorte, who was then the head of FoxNews.com. Falzone told colleagues that LaCorte said to her, ‘Good reporting, kiddo. But Rupert [Murdoch] wants Donald Trump to win. So just let it go.’” [8]

Due to this story, the DNC has barred Fox News from hosting any of their Primary Debates, citing that the DNC believes the station cannot be ‘fair and neutral’ [9].

Reports from South Korea have indicated that North Korea has begun rebuilding their rocket testing sites they had promised to destroy after the initial summit with Trump, with US National Security Adviser John Bolton stating that it may lead to further sanctions [10].

The lack of urgency in the Trump Administrations methods to ensure ending North Korea’s nuclear armament is what is leading to their likelihood of succeeding in becoming a nuclear power, as the more time the US wastes not ensuring the end of their nuclear projects, the higher the chance of success for North Korea.

A massive uncovering of a Russian money laundering operation of over $9 Billion involving Citigroup, Raiffeisen, and Deutsche Bank, as well as Prince Charles, has been exposed by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and the Lithuanian news site 15min.lt using leaked data shared with others including The Guardian that led to the discovery. [11]
Dubbed “the Troika Laundromat,” it allowed for “Russian oligarchs and politicians to secretly acquire shares in state-owned companies, to buy real estate both in Russia and abroad, to purchase luxury yachts, to hire music superstars for private parties, to pay medical bills, and much more, to protect themselves, the wealthy people behind this system used the identities of poor people as unwitting signatories in the secretive offshore companies that ran the system.” [12]

The US has closed it’s Consulate in Jerusalem, causing massive tensions with Palestinian officials. Previously, Palestine had utilized the Consulate in a way similar to having their own Embassy to the United States. This move has caused Palestinian leaders to believe the US has stopped believing in and is moving away from a Two-State Solution. This move, along with the move of the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and cutting hundreds of millions of dollars in humanitarian aid to Palestine has enraged the Palestinian leadership, but the Trump Administration points out the avoidance of peace negotiations with Israel as a major factor [13].

The House Passed a Resolution condemning antisemitism and bigotry in response to Representative Ilhan Omar, in which she stated:

“I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is OK for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country. I want to ask, ‘Why is it OK for me to talk about the influence of the [National Rifle Association], or fossil fuel industries or Big Pharma, and not talk about a powerful lobbying group that is influencing policy?'” [14]
Rep. Ilhan Omar

However, many progressives in the Democratic party came to her side, including three candidates for becoming the Democratic Presidential Candidate, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Kamala Harris, who stated that asking questions and criticizing Israel should not automatically be seen as antisemitic [15].

House and Senate Democrats Wednesday morning introduced a new three-page bill that would restore the FCC’s 2015 net neutrality rules. Dubbed the Save the Internet Act, the proposal would also restore FCC authority over internet service providers, stripped away in the wake of last year’s controversial repeal.

The original FCC rules prohibited ISPs from unfairly throttling or blocking websites or services they compete with. It also required that ISPs be entirely transparent with consumers about just what kind of broadband connection they’re buying.

“The Save the Internet Act would enact true net neutrality protections by codifying the FCC’s 2015 Open Internet Order as a new, free-standing section of law,” Congressman Mike Doyle told attendees of a morning press conference.
“We are on the right side of history, and we will not give up this fight,” Senator Ed Markey noted. “It begins today, and this coalition will not stop until we win.”
…

ISPs have a rich history of trying to use their role as internet gatekeepers both to nickel and dime consumers—and to disadvantage competitors.

In 2005, one North Carolina ISP banned internet phone provider Vonage because it didn’t want the provider competing with its own phone services. In 2012, AT&T blocked FaceTime unless iPhone users ponied up more money. More recently, AT&T has been imposing arbitrary usage caps on broadband users if they use streaming competitors like Netflix, but not if they use AT&T’s own streaming offerings.

Mobile carriers like Sprint have toyed with throttling all video, music, or games unless users pay an additional fee. Verizon now offers “unlimited” data plans that ban HD streaming unless you pay them more money, and the company was also caught last year trying to throttle and upsell firefighters in the midst of a historic forest fire.
Given the lack of competition in many markets, users often can’t switch to another ISP if their existing provider behaves anti-competitively. That’s why net neutrality rules were seen as a useful stopgap measure until lawmakers are willing to embrace policies that drive more competition to market—something telecom lobbyists work tirelessly to avoid. [16]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been discovered to have asked former Justice Minister (in charge of administration of Judiciary) Jody Wilson-Raybould to help a major construction firm called SNC-Lavin Group Inc avoid criminal trial.
The reason behind his actions seems to be based on the fact that SNC-Lavalin employs 9,000 Canadians and is a major employer in Quebec, but in order to do so, repeatedly pressured Wilson-Raybould to avoid going to trial even after she had decided they needed to do so.
Wilson-Raybould was then unexpectedly demoted in January and became a whistleblower after leaving the government [17].

Sources

Source 1: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/amphtml/claudiakoerner/anna-chambers-nypd-rape-charges-officers-dropped

Source 2: https://www.nbcsandiego.com/investigations/Source-Leaked-Documents-Show-the-US-Government-Tracking-Journalists-and-Advocates-Through-a-Secret-Database-506783231.html

Source 3: https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/05/politics/ivanka-trump-security-clearance-pressure/index.html

Source 4: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/433037-watchdog-organization-calls-for-investigation-into-kushner-clearance

Source 5: https://www.axios.com/white-house-rejects-house-oversight-request-security-clearances-3dafb296-376f-4b9b-8bd3-0601f240c28f.html

Source 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YEjFs9JSKo

Source 7: https://www.npr.org/2019/03/04/699976689/house-judiciary-launches-probe-of-allegations-of-obstruction-by-president-trump

Source 8: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/03/04/fox-news-reportedly-killed-stormy-daniels-story-its-downplayed-it-since/?utm_term=.7ae2994c2b0e

Source 9: https://www.npr.org/2019/03/06/700807729/dnc-bars-fox-news-from-hosting-2020-primary-debates

Source 10: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-nuclear/south-korea-sees-signs-north-korea-restoring-part-of-launch-site-it-promised-to-dismantle-idUSKCN1QM1ZA

Source 11: https://www.businessinsider.com/expos-on-russian-money-laundering-operation-entangles-banks-2019-3