TODAY IN CONGRESS (TIC):
Your One Stop Shop For Learning What Our Congress Critters Are Up To!
Here Are The Headlines:
Manhattan DA Vance Court Filing in Trump Tax Subpoena Case Reveals Broad Investigation Into Trump Bank/Insurance/Tax Fraud!
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Day 83 Since the House Passed the HEROES Bill and Dems. Now Negotiating Directly With the White House “B” Team, Sidelining Mitch and His “Do Nothing” GOP Senate While Trump Golfs!
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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 subcommittee Hearing on 2020 Election Security (A House subcommittee convenes a hearing to examine security for the upcoming presidential election in November.)
11:00 am — House Pro Forma Session (U.S. House meets for a brief pro forma session; no votes are expected.)
Senate —
10:00 am — Senate Session (The Senate will wrap up debate on the nomination of Mark Menezes to be Energy Deputy Secretary. A confirmation vote is expected.)
11:15 am — Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing on Venezuela's Security and Humanitarian Issues, Part 2 (The Senate Foreign Relations Committee convenes a hearing to discuss deteriorating security and humanitarian conditions in Venezuela.)
Thursday, Friday & Monday Votes:
House — No significant votes.
Senate — No significant votes.
Comments:
Legislative (IN-) Action —
H.R.6800 - HEROES Act — Well here we are at Day 83 (by my count) since the House passed the HEROES Act (a comprehensive Bill to provide additional Federal Aid related to the health and economic hardships caused by COVID-19) and Mitch and his heard of GOP Senate Cats have been pushed to the side by the White House “B” Team (Mnuchin & Meadows), while Trump golfs over the weekend. The fluent situation is best expressed by this Joan McCarter Post:
Yet even now, as the $600 weekly payments end the day before rent is due for millions of Americans, the White House and Senate Republicans are still squabbling amongst themselves. On Friday, the White House indicated that Trump is entirely willing to scrap the one provision McConnell has called his “red line”—providing liability protections to businesses and schools so they can't get sued by workers who contract the coronavirus in a work setting.
In fact, the White House said it could negotiate directly with Democrats to cut a deal, though McConnell certainly has the power to block any bill that leaves out his pet issue from reaching the Senate floor. That said, if Democrats and the White House really did come to an agreement, the pressure on McConnell would be enormous since he doesn't even have the strategic skills to line up the GOP caucus behind one bill.
How this will all turn out is anybody’s guess at this point. But Speaker Pelosi has vowed to keep the House in session indefinitely until there is a Bill. And not just any Bill.
The truth is, Trump is likely more anxious to pass a relief bill because, electorally speaking, he simply cannot afford to hamstring the economy any more than his disastrous coronavirus policies already have. And frankly, neither can Senate Republicans if they want any chance of keeping their majority this fall.
Combine Trump’s and some Republicans’ political desperation to get a Bill and the expiration of enhanced unemployment and eviction moratoriums as the economy worsens, and it is obvious that Pelosi smells blood in the water. So I don’t expect her to give away the farm to get a Bill. However, will Mitch bring such a Bill to the Senate floor with likely only a minority of his GOP willing to vote for it. He may have no choice if Team Trump makes a deal with Dems.
For the latest summary documenting how badly the GOP is screwing up negotiations, take a peak at Kerry Eleveld's Post.
Today’s C-Span TV Picks — Not a lot going on in front of the C-Span Cameras today (a lot of behind the scenes action on COVID relief). But if you are into scary movies you may want to check out the House Hearing on 2020 Election Security. Feel free to cover your ears during the scary parts.
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 —
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 — If you didn’t catch it, Epidemiologist and all-around Corona Virus Expert Dr. Anthony Fauci testified in front of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis on Friday: Here are some highlights from The Hill:
Fauci appears more optimistic about vaccine prospects
Fauci, who heads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he was “cautiously optimistic” a vaccine would be approved by the end of the year, and widely distributed throughout 2021.
“There's never a guarantee that you're going to get a safe and effective vaccine, but from everything we've seen now in the animal data, as well as the early human data, we feel cautiously optimistic that we will have a vaccine by the end of this year and as we go into 2021,” Fauci said.
Testing delays persist but improvements are coming
Commercial labs have struggled under increased demand for COVID-19 testing created by outbreaks in the South and West. Adm. Brett Giroir, the health official leading the Trump administration’s testing strategy, said a two- or three-day turnaround time for all test results is not currently possible, raising concerns about the effectiveness of contact tracing.
About 75 percent of test results are coming back within five days, he said.
“If you have to wait multiple days for the result of a test, and the test is done in the context of contact tracing, that in many respects obviates the whole purpose of doing it,” Fauci noted. “Because if you have to wait that long, a person has already been out in the community in that period of time.”
Fauci pushes back on hydroxychloroquine study touted by Trump
A study that appears to show hydroxychloroquine as an effective COVID-19 treatment is “flawed,” Fauci told an inquiring member of Congress.
The study, conducted by Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, has been promoted by President Trump and conservatives as proof the antimalarial drug can treat the coronavirus.
But the study was noncontrolled and retrospective, Fauci said, opening it up to potential bias. Patients also received corticosteroids, which have been proven to reduce death in COVID-19 patients, further clouding the effects of hydroxychloroquine.
“That study is a flawed study,” Fauci said.
Conservatives take combative approach toward Fauci
Conservative Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), a close Trump ally, took the most combative approach in questioning Fauci.
Jordan sought to engage Fauci on what some conservatives view as a double standard: progressives and some public health experts supporting limits on public gatherings while at the same time supporting Black Lives Matter protests that bring together thousands of people.
Fauci, however, did not address the protests directly, saying more broadly: "Avoid crowds of any type no matter where you are ... I don't judge one crowd versus another crowd."
If you missed it you can watch the rerun via this C-Span Link.
Of Course, the all knowing Orange Turd who credits all he knows to the Funk & Wagnel volumes left on his father’s porch (Johnny Carson Carnac reference) had to dispute Fauci’s knowledge of pandemics. From POLITICO:
President Donald Trump publicly rebuked Dr. Anthony Fauci on Saturday, forcefully rejecting the nation’s top infectious disease expert's testimony on why the U.S. has experienced a renewed surge in coronavirus cases.
“Wrong!” Trump wrote in a retweet of a video where Fauci explained to a House subcommittee that the U.S. has seen more cases than European countries because it only shut down a fraction of its economy amid the pandemic. “We have more cases because we have tested far more than any other country, 60,000,000. If we tested less, there would be less cases,” the president added.
Senate Judiciary Committee — Police Reform Legislation —
Background — See my June 8, 18 & 23 TICs.
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 & July 21 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 SCOTUS.
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 & July 22 TICs.
Recent Developments — None.
New Developments — None.
House Judiciary Committee Barr Whistleblowers (Berman & Others) —
Background — See my June 24, 25, 29, July 21, 22, 29 & 30 TICs.
Recent Developments — None.
New Developments — None.
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, 23, 29 , July 22 TICs.
Recent Developments — Some good news in the cause for justice you may or may not of heard about. Flynn isn’t off the hook yet According to this NPR Story:
The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit says it has scheduled oral arguments in the case of former national security adviser Michael Flynn on Aug. 11.
A smaller panel of judges within the D.C. Circuit ruled earlier that a lower-court judge must terminate the case against Flynn, as requested both by his attorneys and — in an unusual wrinkle — the Justice Department.
That lower-court judge, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, said he wanted to probe the reasons for the government's move, but the smaller appellate panel ordered him to stop that work and simply end the matter.
Sullivan asked for the full appeals court to consider the case, and it agreed on Thursday.
Stay tuned! The Fat Lady has yet to sing in Flynn’s case.
New Developments — None.
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, July 22, 23 & 29 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. Vance (Criminal Case) — Case brought by Trump against against the Manhattan DA for Trump’s tax returns and other financial records. Trump is attempting to block a subpoena from the Manhattan DA to Mazars (the Trump Organization’s former Accounting Firm). 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 — I just caught this story from Salon:
Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed by the GOP-controlled U.S. Senate in 2018 and sworn in as a U.S. Supreme Court justice, Democrats feared that he would be very sympathetic to President Donald Trump's agenda — more so than former Justice Anthony Kennedy, the right-wing libertarian he replaced. But Joan Biskupic, a CNN legal analyst, is reporting that according to "multiple sources," Kavanaugh "urged his colleagues in a series of private memos this spring to consider avoiding decisions in major disputes over abortion and Democratic subpoenas for President Donald Trump's financial records."
Now I will leave it up to you whether to believe this story or not. But if SCOTUS had sat out the Trump tax cases, the lower court rulings would have stood which were not in Trump’s favor and would have required required the subpoenas for Trump’s financial records (both Congress’s and the Manhattan DA’s) to be immediately complied with by Mazars who said they would comply and hand over the records. Since the cases have now gone back to the lower court and will likely be appealed again to SCOTUS, Kavanaugh will get another shot at keeping SCOTUS out of it, if the above story is true.
New Developments —
Case #3 News — In Subpoena Case #3, Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance submitted a Court Filing in response to Team Trump’s latest appeal filing. In Trump’s appeal filing he claims that the Grand Jury subpoena for 8 years of his tax returns and financial records is overly broad since the DA’s case was limited to just a couple of alleged 2016 “Hush” money claims, so they thought. But the DA’s Court Filing suggests the Grand Jury’s investigation into a broader range of other crimes. According to this report from the NY Times:
The Manhattan district attorney’s office suggested on Monday that it had been investigating President Trump and his company for possible bank and insurance fraud, a significantly broader inquiry than the prosecutors have acknowledged in the past.
Until now, the district attorney’s inquiry had appeared largely focused on hush-money payments made in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election to two women who said they had affairs with Mr. Trump.
In the new filing, the prosecutors did not explicitly identify the matters under scrutiny in the grand jury inquiry, which by law is conducted in secret. But they said that “undisputed” assertions in earlier court papers and several news reports about Mr. Trump’s business practices showed that the office had a wide legal basis for the subpoena.
Follow The Money! That definitely seems to be what the Manhattan DA is doing. You can read the entire Court Filing HERE.
So cutting to the chase, will we get to see Trump’s taxes/financial records via the DA’s subpoena before the election? Legal Eagles analyzing the latest Trump appeal and the DA’s response indicate that this case could move quickly in Vance’s favor based on past court decisions in this case, and the Court of Appeals and SCOTUS may not hear the case (see “SCOTUS News” below). That said, even if Mazars is forced to hand over the Trump tax/financial records to the Grand Jury, they will not become public until the Grand Jury issues an indictment and maybe not even then. Whether such an indictment occurs before the election is anyone’s guess, although Trump cannot stop it. Also, such an indictment is unlikely to present the full swath of the Trump tax/financial records, only those parts which the DA feels necessary to prove his case. Time will tell!
SCOTUS News — A little post-script from the SCOTUS decisions in Cases 1, 2 & 3 above from this exclusive inside the chambers CNN Report:
(CNN)Chief Justice John Roberts had the majority on his side after the Supreme Court heard arguments on whether President Donald Trump's financial records could be released to congressional Democrats and a New York prosecutor, according to multiple sources familiar with the inner workings of the court.
But the vote among the justices was close, and the narrow margin did not satisfy Roberts -- or his colleagues.
They wanted a coalition of liberal and conservative justices -- as much ideological unity as possible -- for the decisions regarding presidential power, four sources with knowledge of the internal deliberations told CNN. It would take nearly two months to produce the two 7-2 rulings.
I will leave it up to your judgment whether you believe any of the above. But if true, doesn’t seem more important to you to have Trump’s taxes released by a narrow SCOTUS margin before the election, than to have large margin against Trump’s case of imperial power and likely leaving his taxes hidden until after the election? Just my opinion!
THAT’S IT FOR TODAY!