TODAY IN CONGRESS (TIC):
Your One Stop Shop For Learning What Our Congress Critters Are Up To!
Today’s Headlines:
Game of Chicken Going On Between McConnell and Schumer Over Senate Police Reform Bill
____________________________________________________________________________________
House Poised to Pass Their “Justice In Policing” Bill This Thursday!
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Barr Whistleblowers Schedule To Testify in Front of House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday!
_____________________________________________________________________________________
DAY 38 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.
Today’s Events:
House —
2:00 pm — House Ways and Means subcommittee Hearing on Child Care Amid Coronavirus Pandemic (A House Ways and Means subcommittee holds a virtual hearing to address child care issues amid the cononavirus pandemic.)
Here are more activities on today’s House Calendar, but not (yet) posted on C-Span:
Tuesday, June 23, 2020
11:00 AM |
2118 Rayburn HOB
11:00 AM |
2123 Rayburn HOB
11:30 AM |
ONLINE VIA VIDEOCONFERENCING
1:00 PM |
2118 Rayburn HOB
3:00 PM |
2118 Rayburn HOB
4:30 PM |
2118 Rayburn HOB
Senate —
10:00 am — Senate Session (Following leader remarks, the Senate will resume debate on the nomination of Cory Wilson to be a U.S. Court of Appeals Judge for the Fifth Circuit.)
10:00 am — Senate Health Committee HELP Hearing on Coronavirus Response & Future Pandemic Preparedness (The Senate Health Committee holds a hearing to discuss lessons learned from the coronavirus response and future pandemic preparedness efforts.)
2:30 pm — Senate Judiciary Hearing on China & Coronavirus Pandemic (The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing on the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and China’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.)
Thursday, Friday & Monday Votes:
House — No votes
Senate — No significant votes.
Comments:
Today Topics/Events —
Police Reform Legislation — The Battle of the Bills is due to start this week as the House likely passes its’ comprehensive “Justice in Policing” Bill and the Senate tries to pass it’s Bill. Here is the latest from The Hill:
House Democrats and Senate Republicans have offered their own bills to address calls for changes to the law enforcement system and an end to racial profiling and police brutality.
Though the two bills have similarities they also have significant policy differences, including on the use of no-knock warrants and whether to make changes to “qualified immunity,” which shields police officers from civil lawsuits.
In the Senate:
Absent a deal with Democrats, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is expected to tee up a vote on ending debate to proceed to the Senate GOP bill for Wednesday.
To overcome the initial hurdle he’ll need votes from at least seven Democrats, who are grappling with whether they should block the bill or let the legislation, spearheaded by Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), come up for debate and try to change it.
“All we know is that Sen. McConnell wants to move to a motion to proceed. We don't know if that means that there will be amendments or no amendments. ... There's no basic understanding as we move forward,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told reporters late last week.
“If we felt that it was an honest process, where we can offer different ideas or even negotiate in advance a package that might be considered on the floor, I think more Democrats would be open,” he added.
Democrats want a deal on amendments and have not said if they will block the legislation if they don’t get it.
Republicans have added that if Democrats want to make changes to the GOP police reform bill then they should let it come up for debate, where they could try to strike a deal on amendment votes. Asked how many amendment votes he would give Democrats, McConnell told reporters they “have to get on it first.”
So in the Senate, the battle lines for a possible legislative standoff are being drawn. So far it seems McConnell is balking at making any deal with Democrats on offering amendments before the Wednesday Cloture Vote on the Motion To Proceed which is needed to bring the Senate Bill to the floor. On the other side of the aisle, Schumer is being cagey as to whether he will ask Senate Democrats to block the Senate Bill if McConnell refuses to allow a relatively open amendment process. The decision Schumer will have to make is whether he should fight for amendments now which could bring the Senate Bill closer to the Houses version, or let the Senate Bill go through as it is and fight it out in a House/Senate Conference Committee. My advice would be to go for the former (block the Bill unless McConnell agrees to amendments) while public sentiment is overwhelmingly on the side of tougher police reform measures.
Meanwhile, in the House:
Democrats, who believe they have leverage given polls showing support for action, argue the GOP bill is “ineffective” and doesn’t meet the breadth of reforms needed.
Instead, the House will take up the Democratic police reform bill on Thursday, where it is largely expected to pass along party lines.
“The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act is a direct response to the outpouring of calls across the nation to confront systemic racism and end police brutality. Now that this bill has been marked up the Judiciary Committee, I will bring it to the House Floor for a vote next Thursday, June 25,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said in a statement.
The House should pass their police reform bill on Thursday without a hitch. The only question will be how many House Republicans will vote “yes”, and whether there will be any House Democrat defections. Time will tell?
COVID-19 Legislation — Today is Day 38 since the House passed the HEROES Bill with still no response from #MoscowMitch or any Senate Republican. However, rumors have it that the Senate will take up some form of Corona Virus economic aid legislation after the July recess now that the Stock Market is floundering again. No hurry folks, as thousands continue to die, over 13% of the country is unemployed and State and Local governments go broke and are on the verge of massive layoffs.
House Vote on D.C. Statehood — Well this came out of left field! I have to say I didn’t see this one coming. As detailed in this Joan McCarter Post:
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer announced last week that H.R. 51, the Washington, D.C. Admission Act to grant statehood to the District of Columbia will get a vote this Friday, June 26. The vote became imperative after Donald Trump and Attorney General William Barr essentially occupied the city by force, using federal officers to attack peaceful protesters in Lafayette Square on June 1 so Trump could have his Bible photo op at St. John's Church and maintaining that force in the days following.
While I have no objections to the House passing a Statehood Bill, it will be DOA on MoscowMitch’s desk with the other hundred or so great pieces of legislation the House has passed this term.
Today’s C-Span TV Picks — Not a lot posted for C-Span viewing, at least not yet. But the House Calendar for today is full of some good COVID-19 Committee Activity. So hopefully some of these will make it to the C-Span TV screen today. Otherwise there is the Senate Hearing on the “China” virus for laughs.
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 — Police Reform Legislation —
Background — See my June 8 & 18 TICs.
Recent Developments — The House “Justice In Policing” Bill cleared the House Judiciary Committee’s Markup process by a Party Line vote of 24 to 14. But the real story from this Committee markup is how Republicans went off the rails and were called out on their Full of Crap amendments by one pissed of Democrat. Here’s a summary of the fireworks from RollCall:
The House Judiciary Committee’s debate on a broad policing overhaul bill Wednesday meandered predictably along partisan lines for hours as Republicans raised issues like abortion, allegations about the left-wing group Antifa and the FBI investigation of Michael Flynn — until Rep. Cedric Richmond decided to call them out in an unusually personal way.
The next five minutes — raised voices, fingers pointed, and Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz responding, “Who the hell do you think you are?” — in many ways encapsulated how typical Washington forces already threaten to squash any political momentum that started with the death of George Floyd at the knee of a Minneapolis police officer and was bolstered with days of demonstrations nationwide.
“By the time I’m finished, it will be clear that we are not good friends,” Richmond, a Louisiana Democrat and a former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, told Republicans on the committee.
Richmond said he has been “singing this same song since 1991.” He said this was a national crisis. And he characterized the Senate Republicans’ version of a policing bill, introduced that morning, as a watered-down measure “that mandates nothing.”
Richmond did more than hint that the Republican approach to the markup was seen differently by a political party that is overwhelmingly white as opposed to the more racially diverse Democratic caucus.
“To my colleagues, especially to the ones that keep introducing amendments that are a tangent and a distraction from what we’re talking about, you all are white males, you never lived in my shoes and you do not know what it’s like to be an African American male,” Richmond said.
He spoke about how some members of Congress voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 — landmark bills for black rights — because of side issues.
“If you are opposed to this legislation, let’s just have a vote,” Richmond said. “But please don’t come in here and make a mockery of the pain that exists in my community.”
Richmond said that this is a crisis, people are losing their lives, and he’s not interested in a watered-down bill or “equality with all deliberate speed” — and that he’s not interested in investigating Antifa or even the Klu Klux Klan as part of the policing overhaul.
“I will give you the benefit of the doubt that it is unconscious bias that I’m hearing, because at worst it’s conscious bias and that I would hate to assume of anyone on the other side,” Richmond said.
Gaetz interjected. He asked whether Richmond knew if any Republicans had children who were black, and the two lawmakers spoke over each other as Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., banged the gavel for order.
“Man, stop. I’m not about to get sidetracked by the color of our children,” Richmond told Gaetz. “It is not about the color of your kids. It is about black males, black people in the streets, that are getting killed. And if one of them happens to be your kid, I’m concerned about him too, and clearly, I’m more concerned about him than you are.”
Gaetz replied: “You’re claiming you have more concern for my family than I do. Who the hell do you think you are?”
“If the shoe fits,” Richmond said. “Kicked dog holler.”
Gaetz called it outrageous. Richmond replied, “Was that a nerve?”
“Yeah, you’re damn right it was a nerve,” Gaetz said.
Rep. Ted Lieu, who was born in Taiwan, cited his racial background later when he picked up on Richmond’s comments.
“I want my Republican colleagues to understand why it’s offensive, at this hearing about the killing of black Americans by the government, you’re talking about freaking Michael Flynn? And you talk about Google and Twitter, and you’re talking about protests in Seattle, things that have nothing to do with our government murdering black Americans,'' Lieu said.
“It is offensive when you bring up these random issues; it shows that you don’t get the problem. I want you to have some humility and understand why many of us minorities get offend by your tactics,” Lieu said.
It’s good to see Democrats call out Republicans for trying to make a mockery of this important legislation with their BS amendments.
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, 11 & 15 TICs.
House Judiciary Committee Barr Whistleblowers (New) —
Background — None.
Recent Developments — None.
New Developments — This week two former DoJ Prosecutors (formerly part of the Muellet Team) are anticipated to honor subpoenas and blow the whistle on Barr. According to the Independent:
One of next week’s witnesses, Aaron Zelinsky, is a federal prosecutor who withdrew from the DOJ’s case against Mr Stone after department officials stepped in to advocate for a less severe sentence for the former Trump confidante.
Mr Zelinsky will be joined on the witness panel on 24 June by former Deputy AG Donald Ayer and current DOJ employee John Elias, who is expected to tell lawmakers about “improperly motivated activity by the Antitrust Division,” according to Mr Nadler.
Mr Ayer will provide bigger picture context. He plans to “describe what is at stake when there is a breakdown of the department’s independence at the hands of its own leadership,” Mr Nadler said.
Mr Nadler, whose committee drafted and ratified impeachment articles against Mr Trump last year, has proposed legislation to slash the budget of Mr Barr’s personal office at the DOJ by $50m, he announced earlier this month.
Most recently, Mr Barr has been excoriated for ordering law enforcement to use violent means — rubber bullets, chemical gas agents, and flash bang grenades — to clear peaceful protesters who gathered at Lafayette Square just north of the White House to demonstrate against police brutality.
Shortly after the street clearance, Mr Barr, Mr Trump, and others walked to nearby St John’s Episcopal Church, where the president held up a Bible as photojournalists snapped pictures and TV crews captured video footage.
There is just so much Barr Injustice that has been committed it’s hard for Nadler to decide where to begin. I would note that the above article was published before Barr’s attempted (but FAILED) SDNY Friday Night Massacre, so I’m sure Nadler is trying to figure out a way to add this latest bit of Barr Injustice to the Committe’s investigations.
UPDATE — Nadler appeared on last night’s Maddow Show and dropped a couple of bombshells. First he said arrangements are being made to get ousted SDNY Deputy AG Geoffrey Berman to testify before the Committee (apparently willingly) and to subpoena Barr. Here's the clip. It’s unknown whether Barr will step in to try to block Berman from testifying, however Nadler seemed to suggest that Berman wouldn’t allow himself to be blocked. But what is relatively certain, Barr won’t obey his subpoena. When asked by Rachel what the Committee would do to enforce its’ subpoena, a somewhat reluctant Nadler said the Committee is prepared to block DoJ funding, but did not go into specifics.
Beyond being somewhat tight-lipped regarding any details on the upcoming investigations, as can be expected under the circumstances, one thing I noticed about the Nadler interview was how unusually nervous Nadler was in talking about any of this. Which leads me to believe that we may be heading towards a true Constitutional Crisis over all of this. Which makes me strangely excited and worried at the same time. Stay Tuned!
House Judiciary & 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, 11, 15 & 18 TICs.
Recent Developments — After getting pummeled in last Friday’s Appeals Court Hearing, the DoJ filed a 46 page Brief with the Court in which they defend their own actions in the handling of the Flynn case while simultaneously throwing blame on the FBI. As reported by POLITICO:
Former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s claims of prosecutorial misconduct are “unfounded,” the Justice Department argued Wednesday in a court filing that nevertheless persists in the government’s unusual attempt to abandon the criminal case he pleaded guilty to 2½ years ago.
“Flynn’s allegations are unfounded and provide no basis for impugning the prosecutors from the D.C. United States Attorney’s Office,” Justice Department attorneys said in the filing, suggesting that the government has other reasons for seeking to back away from its case against Flynn.
The denial of wrongdoing by DOJ prosecutors, contained in a lengthy footnote buried in the 49-page filing, came despite Flynn’s lawyers’ repeated attacks on prosecutor Brandon Van Grack, some of which they reiterated Wednesday in their own submission to the U.S. District Court in Washington.
While the Justice Department submission indicates that the Flynn legal team’s numerous accusations of misconduct against Van Grack and other prosecutors are unwarranted, the filing gives no similar pass to the FBI. Indeed, the government’s brief is replete with suggestions of impropriety on the part of various senior FBI officials and agents.
With the exception of the Justice Department’s defense of its prosecutors, Flynn and the government largely agreed that Sullivan has no authority to investigate the reason Barr opted to drop the charge against Flynn.
So it’s all the FBI’s fault and we still think the charges against Flynn should be dropped, the same charges that Van Grack was right to vigorously prosecute Flynn for. Twisted DoJ logic!
New Developments — See Barr Whistleblower news above.
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!