TODAY IN CONGRESS (TIC):
Your One Stop Shop For Learning What Our Congress Critters Are Up To!
Today’s Headlines:
Fauci & Others to Testify (virtually) in front of Senate Committee TODAY!
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Trump Tax Cases Before SCOTUS TODAY!
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House CARES 4.0 Bill Taking Shape
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Details below.
Here’s today’s schedule with the events I think may be the most interesting in bold. You can watch C-Span HERE. NOTE: Sometimes C-Span posts additional Congressional events not on my list, later in the day.
Today’s Events:
House —
12:00 pm — House Pro Forma session.
Senate —
10:00 am — Senate Health Committee Hearing on Coronavirus Response and Reopening Phases (Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dr. Robert Redfield and other members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force testify on the response and reopening phases before the Senate Health Committee.)
10:30 am — Senate Session (Senators will resume consideration of the nomination of Brian Montgomery, of Texas, to be Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.)
Other —
10:00 am — Supreme Court Oral Argument on Congressional Subpoenas for President Trump's Financial Records (The Supreme Court hears oral argument via teleconference due to the coronavirus pandemic. This oral argument involves consolidated cases dealing with congressional subpoenas to third party companies for President Trump’s financial records.)
Comments:
Today’s Events —
Fauci & SCOTUS Competition — After weeks of nothing happening on C-Span, there are two blockbuster events happening on the same day, at the SAME time! The Scheduling Gods are not being kind to us today. One event (which will be audio only) is the SCOTUS session where they will hear oral arguments on two of the Trump vs. Congress tax cases. The other event is Dr. Fauci and other medical officials from the Executive Branch testifying before a Senate committee. Both are equally popcorn worthy so I will let each of you decide which one to tune in to. Or you could do both at the same time by listening to SCOTUS and watching the Senate with the sound off and subtitle text engaged. If you’re that talented, go for it. But, for myself, I still can’t walk and chew gum at the same time. Anyway, more on each of these events below under “Committee Activity”.
CARES 4.0 — We’re still waiting for the unveiling of CARES 4.0 by the House, which is touted as being the LARGEST Corona virus relief bill to date. It could come as soon as today. While Speaker Pelosi gave some hints as to what might be in this Bill during her interview on "All In" with Chris Hayes, she did make one thing clear. This will be a Bill generated by House Democrats, not a negotiated piece of legislation, at least not yet. She also stated that so far 83% of the $$ from CARES 1.0 — 3.5 has gone to the top 1% (some as intended and some through intentional and unintentional mis-management I presume), and strongly implied that 100% of the $$ from CARES 4.0 will go to the bottom 99%. Although, the specific contents of CARES 4.0 are not yet know, some stuff is leaking out with respect to what will be in and what will not be in the Bill, as described in this New York Post Report:
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and her caucus also want to show voters that they’re still on the job, despite members remaining in their districts.
Their legislation, which is still being written and is subject to change, according to Axios, is expected to include:
- About $1 trillion for state and local governments, which many state and local officials say are going broke as their spending soars to deal with the outbreak.
- Roughly $25 billion to keep the US Postal Service in business.
- Expanded food and other nutritional benefits, Medicaid funding and a continuation of increased unemployment insurance payouts, which are set to expire at the end of July.
- Another round of direct payments to all Americans to juice spending.
House leaders also want to narrow down the guidelines for how the funds are allocated to ensure that people aren’t “double dipping” into the different sources of money, a senior Democratic aide told Axios.
For example, they don’t want someone who is getting increased unemployment money to also get cash through the Paycheck Protection Program.
“We’re trying to limit the amount of overlap so people aren’t abusing the system,” the aide said.
The package will not include liability protection for businesses that reopen and whose workers catch the virus as a result, which Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says is a top priority for the GOP.
It also will not include a payroll tax cut, something Trump has championed, but which Democrats say will never happen.
Hopefully, we will have an actual Bill draft today. Fingers crossed!
COMMITTEE ACTIVITY:
Introduction:
NOTE #s1 — 4: To keep this diary as short as possible while still providing a means for new readers to obtain a chronological history on each Committee Activity topic/event below, I have squirreled away the Background information on these topics in other previously posted diaries. So each topic’s Background section below will include links to my September 26, 2019 Diary for Background prior to November 22, my November 22, 2019, 2019 Diary for Background between November 22, 2019 and January 30, 2020, and my January 30, 2020 Diary for Background from January 30, 2020 until today. This and other regular TIC diaries will only include Recent Developments (stuff that happened the day before) and New Developments on each Committee topic/event. Also, I will discontinue posting Committee topics/events that have been inactive for weeks, but their histories will remain in the Background Diaries. If something new happens on these discontinued topics/events, I will bring them back from the dead and post it in the regular TIC.
Now on with the show. (New and Important stuff in bold)
House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis (NEW) —
Background — This Committee was born on the same day that the House passed CARES 3.5, by passage of H.Res. 938. As the name implies it will provide and coordinate oversight of the Trump Administration with regard to the Coronavirus Crisis.
Recent Developments — None
New Developments — None.
House Energy & Commerce Committee COVID-19 Hearings —
Background — None
Recent Developments — Rick Bright (demoted Corona virus Whistleblower) scheduled to appear before House Energy & Commerce Committee on Thursday, May 14. For those who might not know who Rick Bright is, here’s a little background from statnews:
Rick Bright, the ousted head of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, has filed a formal whistleblower complaint alleging he was involuntarily transferred to a lower position at the National Institutes of Health because he raised concerns about the Trump administration’s Covid-19 response and about nepotism in the Department of Health and Human Services.
Among the most explosive accusations: Bright’s complaint alleges he was pressured by HHS Secretary Alex Azar to allow the distribution of hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug, unproven as a Covid-19 treatment that has nevertheless been championed by President Trump. According to the complaint, Bright worked “frantically,” alongside top Food and Drug Administration official Janet Woodcock, to resist a plan to distribute the drug widely.
Bright also alleges his decision to speak to a reporter about the dangers of hydroxychloroquine may have played a role in his ultimate ousting.
“HHS leadership, including Secretary Azar and Dr. Kadlec, were already gunning for Dr. Bright’s removal,” the complaint states. “But they chose to remove him as BARDA Director within days of publication of the article about chloroquine because they suspected that he was the source.”
As the head of BARDA, Bright played a leading role in doling out government funding for infectious disease treatments. STAT first reported on April 21 that Bright had been unwillingly reassigned to a narrower position at the National Institutes of Health. Bright will also testify before a subcommittee of the House Energy & Commerce Committee on May 14, an attorney for Bright announced Tuesday.
This Hearing, should it happen (these days you never can be sure of such things), will be a definite popcorn worthy event. I will probably have more on this as we get closer to Thursday so stay tuned.
New Developments — None.
Senate Health Committee to Hold COVID-19 Hearing —
Background — None
Recent Developments — The Senate Health Committee (Chaired by Lamar Alexander (R-TN)) will hold a Corona virus Hearing on Tuesday, May 12 in which Dr. Fauci and others will testify remotely. Having been blocked by the White House (Trump) from testifying before the House Committee for “reasons?”, Dr. Anthony Fauci will appear before the Senate Committee via video link.None
New Developments — All eyes will be on the Senate Health Committee Hearing on the Corona virus which will feature remote testimony from Dr. Robert Redfield, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Stephen Hahn, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Brett Giroir, the assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services, and of course the STAR of the show, Dr. Anthony Fauci, all testifying remotely under self-quarantine. All are waiting to see what the historically honest Dr. Fauci will have to say. This CNN Report has some juicy hints:
Dr. Anthony Fauci, a key member of the White House's coronavirus task force, plans to tell a Senate committee on Tuesday that the country risks "needless suffering and death" if states open up too quickly, he told The New York Times late Monday evening.
"If we skip over the checkpoints in the guidelines to: 'Open America Again,' then we risk the danger of multiple outbreaks throughout the country," Fauci said in an email to the Times, referring to the federal government's plan for states to re-open. "This will not only result in needless suffering and death, but would actually set us back on our quest to return to normal."
Since Fauci probably gave his opening statement to the White House yesterday, it is my guess that it caused Trump and Pence to do their surprising 180 on Federally funded widespread testing. Anyway, let’s all watch the virtual fireworks.
House Judiciary Committee Barr Subpoena for Mueller Grand Jury Materials —
Background — Pre-Nov. 22 CLICK HERE. Nov. 22 to Jan. 30 CLICK HERE. Post Jan 30 CLICK HERE. Also, see my May 11 TIC.
Recent Developments — None.
New Developments — None. Since I haven’t heard any Breaking News that the Grand Jury Materials were handed to Congress yesterday, I have to assume that SCOTUS granted at least a 7 day stay, while they decide whether to hear the DoJ’s appeal. If anyone else knows more, please comment.
House Judiciary Committee McGahn Subpoena —
Background — Pre-Nov. 22 CLICK HERE. Nov. 22 to Jan. 30 CLICK HERE. Post Jan 30 CLICK HERE. Also, see my May 5 TIC for details on the April 28 DC Circuit Court (virtual) Hearing in this case.
Recent Developments — None.
New Developments — None, awaiting Court Ruling.
House Judiciary & Intelligence Committee News —
NOTE #1: This used to be the “House Intelligence Committee’s Whistleblower Investigation”. Then it was titled the “House Intelligence, & Judiciary Committees’ Impeachment Investigation”. Then it was titled the “House & Senate Impeachment Proceedings.” But since Trump’s first impeachment is over, I have changed the heading again.
Background — Pre-Nov. 22 CLICK HERE. Nov. 22 to Jan. 30 CLICK HERE. Post Jan 30 CLICK HERE. Also, see my May 11 TIC.
Recent Developments — None.
New Developments — None.
House Intelligence Committee Flynn Subpoena —
Background — Pre-Nov. 22 CLICK HERE. Nov. 22 to Jan. 30 CLICK HERE. Post Jan 30 CLICK HERE. Also, see my May 11 TIC.
Recent Developments — While we await Judge Sullivan’s ruling on Barr’s Motion to drop the charges, we have this little nugget from a NY Times OpEd by Mary B. McCord, former acting assistant attorney general for national security at the Justice Department:
Bill Barr Twisted My Words in Dropping the Flynn Case. Here’s the Truth.
Here’s her story:
The motion [to dismiss the charges] was signed by Timothy Shea, a longtime trusted adviser of Mr. Barr and, since January, the acting U.S. attorney in Washington. In attempting to support its argument, the motion cites more than 25 times the F.B.I.’s report of an interview with me in July 2017, two months after I left a decades-long career at the department (under administrations of both parties) that culminated in my role as the acting assistant attorney general for national security.
But the report of my interview is no support for Mr. Barr’s dismissal of the Flynn case. It does not suggest that the F.B.I. had no counterintelligence reason for investigating Mr. Flynn. It does not suggest that the F.B.I.’s interview of Mr. Flynn — which led to the false-statements charge — was unlawful or unjustified. It does not support that Mr. Flynn’s false statements were not material. And it does not support the Justice Department’s assertion that the continued prosecution of the case against Mr. Flynn, who pleaded guilty to knowingly making material false statements to the FBI, “would not serve the interests of justice.”
She goes on to totally eviscerate Shea’s Dismissal Motion in great detail. I would encourage you to click on the link and give it a full read. I sure hope someone got Judge Sullivan to read it.
New Developments — Still waiting to hear from Judge Sullivan, but hears a little nugget I found over at CNN:
A correction notice filed Monday with a different bar number is signed by Jocelyn Ballantine, the assistant US attorney who was handling Flynn filings. Ballantine did not sign the motion to dismiss last week, and was blamed by a Justice Department official for making the ID number mistake.
"The error was not intentional," the new filing says.
I guess corruption and incompetence go hand-in-hand at the Barr DoJ.
House Committees Subpoenas/Requests for Trump Banking/Financial Records & Taxes:
Background — Pre-Nov. 22 CLICK HERE. Nov. 22 to Jan. 30 CLICK HERE. Post Jan 30 CLICK HERE. Also, see my May 11 TIC.
NOTE: In previous TICs, there were 3 separate topic threads (1. Deutsche/Capital One Bank Subpoenas, 2. Mazars’ Subpoena, and 3. Trump Taxes) covering 5 different court cases. Since they are all dealing with the same general topic (Trump’s hidden financial history) and were starting to get intertwined in my brain, I have rolled them all under the single header above to hopefully make things less confusing.
Also, to further help keep things organized, below are the five (5) ongoing court cases dealing with Trump’s Banking/Financial Records and tax returns.
1. Trump vs. Deutsche Bank and Capital One — Case brought by Trump against the the two banks in an effort to block a subpoena from the House Financial Services and Intelligence Committees for the Trump Organization’s banking records, including tax returns.
2. Trump vs. Mazars (Congressional Case) — Congressional Mazar’s case brought by Trump against Mazars (the Trump Organization’s former Accounting Firm) in an effort to block a subpoena from the House Oversight and Reform Committee for the Trump Organization’s financial records, including tax returns.
3. Trump vs. Mazars (Criminal Case) — Case brought by Trump against against Mazars (the Trump Organization’s former Accounting Firm) in an effort to block a subpoena from the Manhattan DA for Trump’s tax returns. The DA has subpoenaed these takes returns in conjunction with his criminal investigation of Trump’s hush money pay off to Stormy Daniels.
4. Congress vs. the IRS & Treasury Department (Trump’s Federal Tax Returns) — This case is a lawsuit brought by the House Ways & Means Committee against the IRS and Treasury Department for their failure to turn over Trump’s tax returns upon the Committee’s request as required BY LAW.
5. Trump vs. NYS Tax Department (Trump’s State Tax Returns) — This case is a lawsuit brought by Trump to block NYS from turning over his State tax returns to Congress.
I will use these case #s below to help keep things organized.
Recent Developments — SCOTUS to hear Oral Arguments (virtually via video link) in the Turmp tax cases on Tuesday, May 12. The Hearing will involve Cases 1 & 2 above, not sure about Case 3. As reported by NBC News:
The dispute actually involves two related cases. The first case asks whether a congressional committee has the constitutional and statutory power to subpoena the accountant for Trump and some of Trump’s lenders for the billionaire's financial records. The second case asks whether a subpoena issued by a state grand jury to Trump’s accountant is subject to precedent regarding political questions.
But, as eluded to above under recent developments, some of the SCOTUS Justices may be looking for a way out of these politically charged cases:
On April 27, the court asked whether or not the dispute between Congress and Trump is a political question, meaning whether the question should be left to the two political branches, not the judiciary. The fact that the court asked for briefing on this issue suggests it is looking for a way to obfuscate its responsibility.
The Supreme Court owes it to us to describe the breadth and depth of Congress’ oversight authority over a president and the president’s power to push back against that authority. Throwing up its hands and passing the buck would have grave implications not just for this case, but also for lawmakers' ability to police future presidents.
New Developments — SCOTUS to hear Oral Arguments (virtually via audio link) in the Turmp tax Cases 1 & 2 above TODAY. As reported by CNN:
The Supreme Court will consider Tuesday whether the House of Representatives and a New York prosecutor can subpoena President Donald Trump's accounting firm and banks for his financial documents, two momentous disputes concerning separation of powers and Trump's broad claims of immunity.
Arguments in the cases, conducted over the telephone because of the
coronavirus pandemic, come after Trump has sought for years to shield his tax returns and other records, while his critics launched a variety of investigations into hush money payments and potential violations of financial disclosure as well as ethics rules.
Now the justices, including two of Trump's nominees, will be drawn into some of the hottest political disputes of the day that also raise profound constitutional questions regarding Congress' ability to investigate and the scope of executive power. The justices will render their decision sometime by early summer, potentially inserting a bombshell into the center the presidential campaign.
Somewhat surprised to hear that there will be a decision this summer. I thought they might try to punt it until after November to avoid entering into the political Frey.
Anyway, as we all listen intently to hear if Roberts or other Justices offer any hints in their question as to which way they may be leaning (often a futile endeavor), keep in mind that these two cases are far more than just Trump’s tax returns. As pointed out in an interview with NY Times Reporter David Enrich on last night’s
Rachel Maddow Show, these cases are about Congressional subpoenas for
ALL of Trump’s and the Trump Family Business’s Financial Records held by Duetsche Bank, Capital One and Mazars, Trump’s former Accounting Firm. That means handing over to Congress Trump’s entire financial history, warts and all. Also, as pointed out by Mr. Enrich, that is likely to mean records of potential money laundering flagged by Duetsche Bank staff, as well as the effort made by Duetsche Bank executives to cover it up. So release of these financial records will not only open a can of illegal worms for Trump, it would likely open several cans,
THAT’S IT FOR TODAY! Stay Healthy All!