TODAY IN CONGRESS (TIC):
Your One Stop Shop For Learning What Our Congress Critters Are Up To!
Here Are The Headlines:
Former AG Sally Yates to Testify TODAY in Front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on the Russia Investigation!
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Day 84 Since the House Passed the HEROES Bill and Talks Go On Between Dems. and White House “B” Team!
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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 — No events currently scheduled.
Senate —
10:00 am — Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Russia Investigation (Sally Yates, the former acting attorney general at the start of the Trump administration, testifies on the Russia investigation before the Senate Judiciary Committee.)
10:00 am — Senate Session ( With negotiations on another coronavirus relief bill continuing off the floor, Senators will speak on various subjects.)
10:00 am — Senate Commerce Committee Hearing on Federal Trade Commission (The five commissioners of the Federal Trade Commission testify about technology companies and antitrust law before the Senate Commerce Committee. The hearing follows testimony in the House from tech CEOs for Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google.)
Tuesday Votes:
House — No votes.
Senate — No significant votes.
Comments:
Legislative (IN-) Action —
H.R.6800 - HEROES Act — Well here we are at Day 84 (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 Nancy & Chuck are still negotiating with the White House “B” Team (Mnuchin & Meadows), with “some” progress being made. Here’s the latest from ClickonDetroit:
Frustrated Senate Republicans re-upped their complaints on Tuesday that Democratic negotiators are staking too hard a line in talks on a sweeping coronavirus relief bill, but an afternoon negotiating session brought at least modest concessions from both sides, even as an agreement appears far off.
Top Democrats emerged from a 90-minute meeting with Trump administration officials to declare more progress. The Trump team agreed with that assessment and highlighted its offer to extend a moratorium on evictions from federally subsidized housing through the end of the year.
“We really went down, issue by issue by issue slogging through this. They made some concessions which we appreciated. We made some concessions that they appreciated," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. “We’re still far away on a lot of the important issues but we’re continuing to go back.”
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said Tuesday's session was “probably the most productive meeting we've had to date." Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the two sides set a goal of reaching an agreement by the end of the week to permit a vote next week.
“I would characterize concessions made by Secretary Mnuchin and the administration as being far more substantial than the concessions that had been made by the Democrat negotiators," Meadows said.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., issued a pointed reminder that she and Schumer are “legislators with long experience" and a track record of working complicated deals — a rejoinder to critics complaining that they are being too tough and that the talks are taking too long.
“We agree that we want to have an agreement," Pelosi said. “Let’s engineer back from there as to what we have to do to get that done.”
Another glimmer of hope emerged as a key Senate Republican telegraphed that the party may yield to Democrats on an increase in the food stamp benefit as part of the huge rescue measure, which promises to far exceed a $1 trillion target set by the GOP.
Sounds like things might be moving in the right direction, that is Team Trump moving more towards Team Dem., however, in an NPR interview Pelosi said there are still some major differences to contend with. Time will tell, but we should have a better idea of where things stand by week’s end.
Today’s C-Span TV Picks — In a blast from the past, today’s pick is the “better late than never” Senate Judiciary Hearing on the Russia investigation featuring Former Deputy AG Sally Yates. I am sure Chairperson Lindsey Graham intends to rake her over the coals on a vain attempt to portray the Russian investigation as a Witch Hunt. However, I expect Yates will stick to her guns and give the Republicans on the Committee more return fire than they bargained for. Let the fireworks begin!
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 — 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.
New Developments - None.
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 & Aug. 4 TICs.
Recent Developments — None.
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 & Aug. 4 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 —
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!
New Developments — None.
THAT’S IT FOR TODAY!