TODAY IN CONGRESS (TIC):
Your One Stop Shop For Learning What Our Congress Critters Are Up To!
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 — No in Session.
Senate —
10:00 am — Senate Committee (?) Hearing on EPA’s role in the coronavirus pandemic (EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler testifies about the agency’s role in the coronavirus pandemic as well as the agency’s overall priorities.)
10:00 am — Senate Session (Live gavel-to-gavel coverage of the United States Senate from the Capitol Building in Washington, DC.)
11:30 am — Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee Hearing on Pandemic IG Nominee & Biden-Burisma Subpeona (The Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee hold a hearing on the nomination of a special inspector general for the pandemic recovery and the panel votes on a subpoena to Blue Star Strategies.)
2:30 pm — Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Hearing on Energy Deputy Secretary Nominee (Mark Wesley Menezes, President Trump’s nominee to serve as the Energy Department’s deputy secretary, testifies before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.)
Tuesday’s Votes:
House — No Voting.
Senate — No significant votes.
Comments:
Today Events — If any day epitomizes the Senate fiddling while the Country Burns, today is that day. After the House passed monumental legislation providing over $3 Trillion in much needed Medical and Economic aid, aid that even the Trump Federal Reserve Appointee Jerome Powell is desperately needed to avoid long term economic harm, which the Senate could be working to pass TODAY, look at today’s Senate schedule. It’s filled with crap that at best does nothing and at worst just serves Trump and GOP selfish political goals. I have not highlighted any C-Span viewing above because there is simply nothing to watch. But if you have the stomach for it (I do not), you could tune into the Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee who will be debating and voting on a subpoena for the 100% political and 100% phony Biden-Burisma scandal, or Benghazzi 2.0 as I would call it.
BTW — If you are wondering what the opening picture of the McConnells is all about, check out MTmofo's Diary on Trump’s firing of the IG who was investigating Kentucky’s Bonnie & Clyde.
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. Also see my May 15 TIC for additional background.
Recent Developments — None.
New Developments — None
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 & 19 TICs.
Recent Developments — Well as already posted in News Corpse's Diary, the Judiciary Committee filed its legal arguments. According to this CNN Story:
The Democratic-led House of Representatives on Monday told the Supreme Court that the House needs secret Mueller grand jury materials to determine if there is new evidence of impeachable offenses involving President Donald Trump.
"The Committee's impeachment investigation related to obstruction of justice pertaining to the Russia investigation is ongoing," Douglas Letter, the House general counsel,
said in a court filing Monday.
"If this material reveals new evidence supporting the conclusion that President Trump committed impeachable offenses," Letter said, "the Committee will proceed accordingly -- including, if necessary, by considering whether to recommend new articles of impeachment."
Now don’t read too much into this. The House is trying to get SCOTUS to not hear this case, so they are using the most powerful Congressional argument it has in its tool box, and that is impeachment which SCOTUS should be obligated to respect. If SCOTUS were to agree to hear the case instead of letting the lower court ruling stand, it is unlikely that the House would get the documents before the end of the year possibly rendering impeachment moot. We should find out soon.
New Developments — None.
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 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 & 19 TICs.
Recent Developments — According to CNN:
Fifteen Republican state attorneys general on Monday told a federal judge they support the Trump administration dismissing former national security adviser Michael Flynn's criminal charge and warned the judge of overstepping his authority.
In a legal brief obtained by CNN, the Republican attorneys general wrote they believed that Judge Emmet Sullivan's questioning of the Justice Department was the court "inserting itself" into "prosecutorial discretion" and politics.
They urged Sullivan to dismiss the case, ending Flynn's legal jeopardy. They also asked him to dismiss Flynn's charge "without irrelevant or personal comment."
Lots of Luck fellas! The Judge isn’t going to let this drop.
None.
New Developments — Michael Flynn's lawyers try an end run around Judge Sullivan. According to this story from POLITICO:
Lawyers for former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn are mounting an unusual and aggressive bid to get a federal appeals court to shut down his prosecution despite efforts by the federal judge assigned the case to solicit outside advice on whether it should proceed.
Flynn’s lawyers filed a petition Tuesday with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals asking it to grant the Justice Department’s motion to abandon the case.
Flynn’s lawyers also accused U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan of bias and asked that the case be reassigned for any future proceedings, which could include a possible contempt of court charge against Flynn for repeatedly affirming that he lied to the FBI in 2017 — something he now insists did not happen.
“An innocent man has been the target of a vendetta by politically motivated officials at the highest level of the FBI,” Flynn lawyer Sidney Powell and her colleagues wrote in the new filing.
An innocent man! An Innocent man doesn’t plead guilty (twice in Flynn’s case) and then say to the court that “I am pleading guilty because I am guilty”. But I wouldn’t worry too much about this legal “Hail Mary” pass Flynn’s lawyers have thrown. It’s doubtful that the DC Appeals Court will intervene if for no other reason than Judge Sullivan has not yet made his ruling on the Motion to Dismiss.
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 , 12 , 13 & 14 TICs.
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 — None.
New Developments — None, awaiting SCOTUS rulings.
THAT’S IT FOR TODAY! And that’s it for this week. Heading off for some R & R. See you on the other side of the holiday when Congress gets back. Stay Healthy All!