TODAY IN CONGRESS (TIC):
Your One Stop Shop For Learning What Our Congress Critters Are Up To!
Today’s Headlines:
George Floyd’s Brother (and Others) Testify In Front Of House Judiciary Committee!
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Retired Judge Blasts Barr DoJ in Flynn Case Brief
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DAY 27 Since the House Passed the HEROES Bill and Not A Peep From Mitch!
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.
BTW — Sorry, for the late TIC Post. I had no power and no internet this morning, so chalk up my tardiness to circumstances beyond my control.
Today’s Events:
House —
12:30 pm — Coronavirus Subcommittee Hearing on COVID-19 in Nursing Homes (The Coronavirus Crisis Subcommittee holds a virtual hearing on the impact of the pandemic in the nation’s nursing homes.)
1:00 pm — House Administration Subcommittee Hearing on Voting Rights & COVID-19 (The House Administration Subcommittee on Elections holds a hearing on voting rights during the coronavirus pandemic.)
2:00 pm — House Veterans' Affairs Committee Hearing on the VA's Response to COVID-19 (The House Veterans' Affairs Committee holds a hearing to examine the Veterans Affairs Department’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.)
Senate —
10:00 am — Senate Judiciary Committee Meeting on Subpoenas Related to the FBI's Russia Investigation (The Senate Judiciary Committee met to consider authorizing subpoenas for individuals involved in the FBI investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russian officials.)
10:00 am — Senate Session (The Senate will resume work on a public lands package to permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and establish a fund for maintenance of national parks and other public lands.)
Wednesday’s Votes:
House — No votes
Senate — No significant votes.
Comments:
Today Topics/Events —
Police Reform Legislation — Well as most of you know by now, Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) has been tasked to put together the GOP Senate’s version of Police Reform Legislation. Also, the Orange Turd who occupies the White House is due to make a speech outlining his plan for Police Reform. So they are all jumping on the Protester’s Anti-Police Racist Brutality Bandwagon now. According to The Hill, here’s what the GOP Senate is doing:
Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.), the only African American Republican in the Senate, has been tapped by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to lead a working group of GOP senators in drafting police reform legislation.
Scott on Tuesday met with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, White House adviser Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, and deputy assistant to the president Ja’Ron Smith to discuss reforms.
“I think it’s important to have a response,” McConnell told reporters Tuesday.
“None of us have had the experience of being an African American in this country and dealing with this discrimination, which persists here some 50 years after the 1964 civil rights bill and the 1965 civil rights bill,” he added.
“We’re still wrestling with America’s original sin,” McConnell said, referring to slavery. “We try to get better but every now and then it’s perfectly clear we’re a long way from the finish line.”
“I think the best way for the Senate Republicans to go forward on this is to listen to one of our own, who’s had these experiences — he’s had them since he’s been in the United States Senate,” McConnell said of Scott.
McConnell on Tuesday said Republicans would decide to proceed legislatively once Scott and the working group of GOP colleagues he is leading make their recommendations.
“Once Sen. Scott and his team decide what to recommend, we’ll let you know,” he said.
So no specifics regarding what Scott and his group might be looking at. But one things for sure it will be a watered down version of the House’s “Justice in Policing” Bill.
COVID-19 Legislation — Here we are Day 27 from the House passage of the HEROES Bill and still not so much as a peep out of MoscowMitch about this Bill or anything about the worsening Corona Virus Health and Economic Crisis. So what is the silent message coming from the GOP: “Hey, we bailed out our UBBER Rich friends on Wall Street and the Stock Market is doing just fine, so there is no reason to help Main Street or State and Local governments, especially the Blue ones.”
Today’s C-Span TV Picks — It was somewhat of a tossup for me today between the House Corona Virus Hearing and the House Voting Rights Hearing, so I tossed a coin and decided to recommend the Voting Rights Hearing. But feel free to pick the one you like.
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)
Senate Judiciary Committee — Past FBI Trump/Russia Investigation & FISA Warrants —
Background — See my June 8 TIC.
Recent Developments — None.
New Developments — None.
House Homeland Security Committee Briefing on the President’s Stunt —
Background — See my June 8 TIC.
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, 20 & June 5 TICs.
Recent Developments — None.
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, June 5 & 8 TICs.
Recent Developments — George Floyd’s brother is set to testify in front of the House Judiciary Committee TODAY, as the Committee grapples with police reform. But that’s not all! According to this report from The Hill:
The brother of George Floyd, his family's attorney and a conservative radio show host will be among the slate of witnesses at a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday to discuss police reforms.
The set of 12 witnesses announced by the panel on Tuesday will include people directly connected to Floyd — whose death has set off nationwide protests over police brutality toward African Americans — as well as civil rights activists, law enforcement and allies of President Trump.
A “Conservative Radio Show Host”. What’s up with that? I suppose it was meant to satisfy a request from some (racist) Republican on the Committee. Can’t wait to hear Conservative Radio’s perspective.
Other witnesses invited by Democrats include Art Acevedo, chief of the Houston police department and president of the Major Cities Chiefs Association; Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund; Marc Morial, head of the National Urban League; Ron Davis, legislative affairs chairman of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives; and Vanita Gupta, president of the Leadership Conference for Civil Rights.
Three witnesses will be appearing at the request of Republicans on the Judiciary Committee: Dan Bongino, a conservative radio show host; Angela Underwood Jacobs, whose brother David Underwood was shot during recent protests in Oakland, Calif.; and Darrell Scott, an African American pastor who was part of Trump's transition team.
Yup, I was right about the GOP picking the Conservative Radio Host. Sounds like the GOP is going full Anti-Police Reform. Should make for some great fireworks. But look for Floyd’s brother (Philonise Floyd) and the other Democrat selected witnesses to deliver an emotional and powerful case for racial police reform.
New Developments — So unless you live under a rock, you already know that George Floyd’s brother gave emotionally gripping personal testimony in front of the House Judiciary Committee yesterday, as the Committee grapples with police reform. Since there are already a number of News Reports up in this topic, I won’t go into detail. But here are the links to some of them if you haven’t read them already:
NY Times
Washington Post
AP News
NPR
Also, if you haven’t already watched the Hearing, here is the C-Span Link for your viewing pleasure.
But what caught my attention in the Hearing was how tone deaf some right wing Republican’s on the Committee were to very loud and massive Nationwide outcries of the Protesters. As pointed out in this Vox Report:
Some Republicans seemed more worried about protecting law enforcement than addressing police brutality
Amid discussion of specific policy proposals and their various merits and shortcomings, several Republican lawmakers instead took stands against concepts like “abolish the police” or “defund the police.” (The bill that prompted the hearing included neither.)
Other GOP members of the committee seemed committed to equating black lives and police lives.
Amazing! It should be noted that there is NOTHING in the House Bill whatsoever about Defunding or Abolishing the Police. This is just another FALSE GOP Boogyman being rolled out by the GOP to distract from the problems with policing in America that they don’t want to talk about. It’s right along with their other FALSE canard that Antifa is behind the crimes and violence during some protests.
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, 27, June 3, 5 & 8 TICs.
Recent Developments — Retired Judge Gleeson to file Brief in the Flynn case, TODAY! According to this Reuter's Report:
A retired judge on Wednesday is due to file his arguments for why a federal court in Washington should not allow the Justice Department to dismiss its criminal case against President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
The U.S. district judge hearing the case, Emmet Sullivan, last month tapped retired colleague John Gleeson to serve as a “friend of the court,” after the Justice Department abruptly asked the court to dismiss the criminal charge against Flynn.
Sullivan has argued that he cannot serve as a mere rubber stamp and must carefully review the facts in this “unprecedented” request before proceeding.
Oral arguments in Flynn’s appellate case are scheduled for Friday.
New Developments — Well Retired Judge John Gleeson sure did not disappoint in the Brief he filed yesterday in opposition to DoJ’s request to drop all charges against Micheal Flynn. He went after the Barr/Trump DoJ with both barrels and after that he pick up a Bazooka. Here are the highlights from POLITICO:
The former federal judge, John Gleeson, skewered Attorney General Bill Barr’s handling of the case, describing it as an “irregular” effort that courts would “scoff” at were the subject anyone other than an ally of Trump. The 82-page excoriation featured a painstaking reconstruction of the Flynn case and accused DOJ of contradicting its own arguments and precedents to justify dropping the case against Flynn.
“Even recognizing that the Government is entitled to deference in assessing the strength of its case, these claims are not credible,” Gleeson wrote. “Indeed, they are preposterous.”
Gleeson is recommending that the judge overseeing the case, U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan, instead proceed to sentence the former Trump national security adviser on the false-statement charge he admitted to two-and-a-half years ago — and later rescinded.
"The facts surrounding the filing of the Government's motion constitute clear evidence of gross prosecutorial abuse. They reveal an unconvincing effort to disguise as legitimate a decision to dismiss that is based solely on the fact that Flynn is a political ally of President Trump," Gleeson wrote in a filing Wednesday with Sullivan, who formally tapped Gleeson to weigh in as a friend of the court.
You can read the Full 82 page Brief HERE.
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!