TODAY IN CONGRESS (TIC):
Your One Stop Shop For Learning What Our Congress Critters Are Up To!
Today’s Headlines:
After A Week of Opposing Any More Corona Virus Economic Relief Legislation, McConnell Waves the White Flag and Admits Another Aid Bill is Needed! Who Knew?
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HHS IG Tells Congressional Committee Why Trump Fired Her!
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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 —
10:00 am — House Session (The House will consider the FISA reauthorization bill extending authorities through December 2020. Some members will be using proxy voting for the first time during the COVID-19 pandemic.)
12:00 pm — House Ways & Means Hearing on Coronavirus Impact on Minorities (The House Ways & Means Committee holds a virtual hearing to examine the impact of the coronavirus on minorities.)
Senate — Not in Session.
Tuesday’s Votes:
House — No Votes.
Senate — No Votes.
Comments:
Today Topics/Events —
C-Span Viewing — Not a lot to see today, but the House Session might deserve a look as they put into practice proxy voting for the first time. I wonder how that will go? Also, the Committee Hearing on the Corona Virus could be fun depending on who the witnesses are.
The Turtle Cries Uncle — In a surprise to just about no one who watches Congress as much as I do, McConnell has given in to Pelosi and House Democrats and now admits another Corona Relief Bill is needed, or at least possibly needed in a month or so. As posted in this story from The Hill:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on Tuesday that there would "likely" be a fifth coronavirus relief bill "in the next month or so."
"Many of you are asking, what next? I think there's likely to be another bill. It will not be the $3 trillion bill the House passed the other day. But there's still a likelihood that more will be needed," McConnell said during an event at a hospital in Louisville, Ky.
"In the next month or so we'll be talking about possibly another bill," McConnell added about "what may lay ahead" for Congress's response to the coronavirus, which has sparked steep economic damage since March.
"We may need, as I said, one more plug here at the federal level to help us get through this period, but it will be very carefully crafted. It won't be [a] $3 trillion left-wing wish list," McConnell said on Tuesday.
"We're not going to be doing a $3 trillion bill. That won't happen. ... That isn't going to happen," he added.
There are deep divisions within the Senate Republican Conference on the fifth bill, including on when it needs to be passed, key policy disputes and if another bill is needed at all.
So let the games begin. While the Republicans oppose the $3 trillion HEROES Bill because they think its more than needed, some of the House Dem. Progressive members opposed it because they thought it did not contain enough of what’s needed. That may mean to some it contains just enough of what is needed, it also means that passage of this 4th COVID Bill will be a lot more difficult that the first three. Pelosi and Dem. Leadership in the House will have to walk a difficult line. On one hand, some of what is in the HEROES Bill will have to get jettisoned in order to get enough votes in the Senate to pass it, but on the other hand some of what is in the HEROES Bill will have to be retained in order to retain enough votes in the House to pass. With that in mind, it is CRITICAL that House Democrats decide internally what can go and what must stay in the Bill. That means developing a list of MUST HAVES to form a “Red Line” that we will not cross in order to pass a Bill. More on the MUST HAVE List in the days to come.
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 Oversight & Reform Committee Hearing on Corona Virus Crisis —
Background — None.
Recent Developments — None.
New Developments — On Tuesday, May 25, the House Oversight Committee held a Hearing to obtain testimony from newly fired HHS Inspector General Christi Grimm in hopes of learning why she was fired. They weren’t disappointed. Here's some excerpts from Jamess' Post:
"We follow the facts wherever they lead, we are impartial in what we do, and really anything that is done that could impair independence, I think, compromises the effectiveness of oversight of programs that are there to serve the American public — in our case the 300 programs within HHS," Grimm said.
Grimm angered Trump after she released a report in March that said there were "severe shortages" of testing kits in the US, "widespread shortages" of masks and other personal protective equipment at hospitals across the country, and significant delays in getting coronavirus test results. The deficits hampered the US's ability to respond effectively to the coronavirus outbreak and curb its spread, the report found..
Released April 6, the HHS inspector general’s report detailed the results of the survey of hospital administrators, making clear in the opening sentences that it provides “a national snapshot of hospitals’ challenges and needs in responding to the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic” and “is not a review of HHS response to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
In short, you show the TRUTH regarding the corruption and/or incompetence of the Trump Administration and they show you the door. If you missed it, you can watch the Full Hearing HERE.
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 & 20 TICs.
Recent Developments — None.
New Developments — On May 20, SCOTUS responded to House Committee’s request for access to the Mueller Grand Jury Records. According to this report from The Hill:
The Supreme Court on Wednesday denied a request from House Democrats for immediate access to redacted grand jury materials from former special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe.
The justices instead granted the Trump administration's request to continue shielding the secret grand jury transcripts and exhibits, further postponing a lower court’s disclosure order.
The Wednesday order also gave the Justice Department until June 1 to file a formal appeal of the March ruling from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, which said the administration must hand over the materials the Democratic-led House Judiciary Committee initially requested as part of the House impeachment inquiry into President Trump.
The unsigned order from the justices provided no reasoning and included no dissents.
So we are on hold until June 1.
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 20 TICs.
Recent 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.
New Developments — Judge Sullivan continues to press Justice in the Flynn case. According to this May 24 Report from CNN:
US District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan, who is overseeing former national security adviser Michael Flynn's criminal lying case, has retained a Washington, DC, law firm run by well-known trial lawyer Beth Wilkinson to help him respond to the appeals court about the Flynn case, according to a person familiar with the arrangement.
It'll be a high profile legal assist in what's become one of the most unusual and polarizing criminal matters in DC federal court in years.
To be clear, the firm hired by Judge Sullivan is to represent him in an appeal filed by Flynn’s lawyers. As indicated in the CNN Post:
Flynn challenged Sullivan's plans last week, going directly to the appeals court about the trial-level judge. That's when an appellate panel gave the surprising order for the judge to explain to them by June 1 his stance and his power over the case.
The small firm, Wilkinson Walsh, will be writing a legal argument on Sullivan's behalf after the appeals court last week gave him the unusual order to defend his authority, the person said.
The three-judge appellate panel includes two Republican-appointed judges who've been sympathetic to the Trump administration regarding cases related to the Mueller investigation — and they may be inclined to push back against Sullivan as Republican criticism of the judge has grown.
I have to say it doesn’t look good with 2 Republican Trump Judges on the Appeals Court panel. Sounds like Flynn’s lawyers went Court shopping. Still Sullivan seems like a fighter to me. I am not sure if he won’t further appeal the challenge to his authority to the Full Appeals Court if the 3 Judge panel decides in Flynn’s favor.
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! Stay Healthy All!