TODAY IN CONGRESS (TIC):
Your One Stop Shop For Learning What Our Congress Critters Are Up To!
Here Are The Headlines:
Postmaster DeJoy Gets Subpoenaed For White House Correspondence!
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Day 120 Since the House Passed the HEROES Bill and 21 Days Until the Government Runs Out of Money!
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DC Appeals Court Three Judge Panel Deals Congress Another Set Back in McGahn Case.
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Full Appeals Court Rules Against Flynn’s and DoJ’s Legal Action to Stop Trial Judge Hearing into Dismissal of Charges!
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2nd Circuit Appeals Court Three Judge Panel Delays Manhattan DA’s Subpoena of Trump Financial Records Until September 25 Hearing.
Well it’s September and Congress is back for a brief period before the election. This is usually a “do next to nothing” period for Congress since incumbents never want to rock the boat before an election. But there is one thing Congress has to do this time. That’s pass some sort of spending legislation that Trump will sign before September 30 so the Federal Government does not shut down. The key question (which I will explore in this post) is whether the spending legislation will include all/some of the COVID Relief spending in the House passed HEROES Act or simply be a Continuing Resolution where the Government is allowed to temporarily operate at current spending levels?
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 —
11:00 am — House Transporation subcommittee Hearing on Amtrak's Response to COVID-19 Pandemic (A House Transporation subcommittee holds a hearing examining Amtrak’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.)
Senate —
10:00 am — Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Hearing on Vaccines (National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Dr. Francis Collins and Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams testify on vaccines before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.)
10:00 am — Senate Session (The Senate is expected to take up and debate a Coronavirus aid package this week. They’ll also work on a number of judicial nominations.)
3:00 pm — Senate Intelligence Committee Hearing on Declassification Policy (The Senate Intelligence Committee holds an open hearing discussing declassification policy and possible changes to the process.)
3:30 pm — Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Hearing on Suicide Prevention (The Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee holds a hearing on mental health care and suicide prevention for veterans.)
Recent Votes: None.
Comments:
Legislative Action —
Government Funding Deadline & H.R.6800 - HEROES Act — Well here we are at Day 120 (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 we have 22 Days until the Government runs out of money and we face another government shutdown. So the key question which I posed above is whether Congress will tie COVID Relief Aid to Spending legislation needed to keep the government running? Well, if Mike Pence and this CNBC Story is to be believed, we have our answer:
The Trump administration and Congress have agreed to pass a bill to avoid a government shutdown without tying funding to separate measures such as coronavirus relief, Vice President Mike Pence said Friday.
Approving a continuing resolution, which would temporarily set federal spending at current levels, would not inject the heated politics of pandemic aid into efforts to keep the government running.
“Now, we can focus just on another relief bill, and we’re continuing to do that in good faith,” he told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.”
So Again, if Pence is accurately portraying the situation, it looks like House Dems. have already thrown in the towel on any plan to link COVID Relief Aid to legislation to keep the Government running beyond September 30. I know many of you may be disappointed that Dems. have apparently waved the white flag without a fight, but it’s really a pretty good move on their part. When you have two Parties playing chicken with the Government Shutdown Snake you never know which one (or both) might get bit. Really no reason for the Dems. to risk the electoral advantage they currently have on a government funding standoff that could see them lose more than gain.
So where do we stand with regard to COVID Relief legislation? Again from the CNBC Story:
Pence criticized Democrats over perhaps the largest remaining sticking point in talks. Democratic leaders want more than $900 billion in new aid to cash-crunched state and local governments, while the Trump administration has offered $150 billion.
“We’re not going to allow Democrats in Congress to use a coronavirus relief bill to bail out poorly run Democratic states,” the vice president said.
The bipartisan National Governors Association has asked for at least $500 billion more in state and municipal aid. Governments have warned of possible cuts to essential services as they take on more costs and lose revenue during the pandemic.
Pence repeatedly made the case for another round of stimulus checks as part of the fifth coronavirus rescue package. He said “nobody wants to give direct payments to American families more than Donald Trump again.”
That’s the White House’s position, what about Congress:
Senate Republicans aim to take up a narrow pandemic aid plan when they return from their August recess next week. Democrats oppose the roughly $500 billion proposal, meaning it likely will not get through Congress and become law.
Here are some details of the proposal courtesy of NPR:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell rolled out a new proposal for a smaller version of a pandemic relief aid bill, but it's unclear how much support the measure could garner even in his own party. And top Democrats opposed the plan, arguing it was "emaciated" even before it was officially released.
The measure includes more money for a small business loan program, a scaled back version of an expanded unemployment payment program, funding for schools and the U.S. Postal Service. The plan is slated to get an initial vote as early as this week, but is unlikely to advance without any significant Democratic support.
McConnell, R-Ky. said the proposal illustrates Republicans' efforts to keep trying to push through a new wave of stimulus for the economy despite Democratic opposition. Both parties have been at a standstill to reach a deal on new coronavirus funding for several months.
"We want to agree where a bipartisan agreement is possible, get more help out the door and keep arguing over the rest later, that's how you legislate, that's how you make law," McConnell argued from the Senate floor on Monday following the plan's introduction.
On Tuesday, McConnell described the plan as targeted, focusing on healthcare, education and economic issues.
"It's not a sweeping, multi-trillion dollar plan to rebuild the entire country in Republican's image. It does not even contain every single relief policy that Republicans ourselves think would help in the short term. I am confident the Democrats would feel the same," McConnell said. "But the American people don't need us to keep arguing over what might be perfect. They need us to actually make a law."
Another too little, too late Bill from McConnell that will likely be opposed by some of his Party’s Fiscal Conservatives and one which is unlikely to gain Democrats support. But McConnell has apparently recalculated the Party’s and his own political situation since he came out against doing anything in June when Democrats passed the HEROES Act. Now he apparently realizes that his earlier “Let Them Eat Cake” position won’t sell well going into the 2020 election. We will continue to track this to see how it plays out. But with many States talking about Budget cuts and substantial layoffs of State workers as well as teachers, police firefighters, etc., pressure to pass more robust COVID legislation is bound to increase. You can read McConnell’s mini-Bill at the bottom of this NPR Story.
Recent Votes — No significant votes.
Today’s C-Span TV Picks — I don’t really have any favorite viewing picks for you today since it appears to be another slow day as Congress Critters crawl back into town after their Summer recess. So watch whatever floats your boat. However, you may want to peak unto the Senate Session to see if McConnell’s mini relief Bill gets any traction. Doubtful!
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 Oversight & Reform Committee Postal Investigation —
Background — See my Aug 21 TIC.
Recent Developments — Postal Service Hearing official announcement from the Committee on House.gov:
On Monday, August 24, 2020, at 10:00 a.m., Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, the Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, will hold a hybrid hearing with Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and Postal Service Board of Governors Chairman Robert M. Duncan regarding changes at the postal service under Mr. DeJoy’s leadership.
The hearing will examine operational and organizational changes at the Postal Service that have resulted in delivery delays across the country, including the delivery of critical medications, and the impact of these changes on the rights of eligible Americans to cast their votes through the mail in the November elections.
On August 18, 2020, Mr. DeJoy issued a statement suspending some of his recent changes, stating: “To avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail, I am suspending these initiatives until after the election is concluded.”
However, he refused to reinstate the sorting machines, mailboxes, and other infrastructure he ordered removed. It is also unclear whether other possible changes—including how the Postal Service will prioritize election mail—will continue.
How this Hearing will go, nobody really knows. Will Democrats meekly ask a few polite probing questions as their Senate colleagues did (see Senate Homeland Security Hearing below), or will they go on full attack mode and try to get DeJoy to purger himself as often as possible? Will Republicans offer a strident defense of DeJoy’s actions as their Senate colleagues did, or will they sit back and squirm in their chairs throwing out some softball questions. Who knows? But House Hearings always tend to be more loud and confrontational than Senate Hearings, so I am hopeful our side will give Dejoy a good thrashing.
Some have suggested using the questioning method of each side having a seasoned Prosecutor asking the questions as was done during the House Intelligence Committee Impeachment Hearings instead of each Representative getting their 5 minutes of fame, as proposed by this Thomas Hailey Kloecker Diary. For the most part, I agree, more questioning by highly experienced prosecutors and less by show boat politicians). But if I had my druthers, I would give all the questioning time to Rep. Katie Porter. Let her open a Big Can of Whoop Ass on DeJoy.
However, although watching DeJoy get the thrashing he deserves is fun, I would suggest watching how Postal Service Board of Governors Chairman Robert M. Duncan responds to questions, remembering the Board has the power to fire Mr. DeJoy and toss him out on his ass.
New Developments — House Oversight Committee subpoenas documents from Postmaster General DeJoy. The House subpoena calls on DeJoy to remit “all documents and communications” on the proposed or actual changes to Postal Service policies, standards or operations since his appointment. Details from CNN:
The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy after DeJoy missed an August 26 deadline to respond to the committee, a House Oversight spokesperson told CNN on Wednesday.
The committee, led by Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney of New York, says DeJoy has until September 16 to comply with the subpoena.
The US Postal Service responded to the subpoena in a statement, saying, "We fully intend to comply with our obligations under the law," but it also criticized the move.
"We remain surprised and confused by Chairwoman Maloney's insistence on issuing a subpoena to the Postal Service in the midst of ongoing dialogue with her staff on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform to produce information in an orderly fashion," the USPS statement said.
Two sources familiar with the relationship told CNN that DeJoy's staff had been in regular contact with the House Oversight Committee following the hearing last week.
Notice the response from the postal service does not say they will hand over all the subpoenaed documents, only that they “fully intend to comply with our obligations under the law," which is code for handing over what we determine is legally required. We will likely find out what that is this week.
Here is some more recent news from of all places the
Missoula Current. I wonder how this is playing in Montana?
Scrutiny on DeJoy — who is the only postmaster general in two decades to lack experience in the Postal Service — has only increased in the weeks since leaked Postal Service memos showed a sweeping push to cut overtime, freeze executive hiring and ban extra mail deliveries.
One memo featured directions to employees to leave mail behind at distribution centers, regardless of its priority.
Democrats in the House and Senate have argued such decisions smack of impropriety as the millions of Americans prepare to cast their votes for the upcoming election between Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden.
DeJoy’s decision to remove hundreds of mail sorting machines, the very devices that make processing mail considerably faster, have prompted critics to cry foul and, in at least one case, to litigate.
Several New York voters and political candidates behind an August class action say DeJoy’s retirement of 671 sorting machines guarantees with “virtual certainty” that massive numbers of mail-in ballots will not be processed in time.
DeJoy went before the Senate to face questions on operational changes a few days after the lawsuit was filed. Calling the insinuations that he was attempting to sabotage the November election “outrageous,” DeJoy blamed widespread mail delays on the pandemic and vowed to prioritize election mail.
Records of internal briefings given to the postmaster in mid-August meanwhile showed that DeJoy’s predecessor at the Postal Service had managed to get mail out faster in the early months of the pandemic.
It was only around mid-June, just after DeJoy officially settled into the role, that the processing rate dipped considerably.
How this will all resolve is anyone’s guess. But with all the legal appeals DeJoy will likely file, I don’t see how the Courts will be able to act quickly enough to get all the sorting machines restored before the election, and DeJoy knows it. While he consider this “Mission Accomplished”, if we all mail in our ballots as early as possible or use State set up Drop Boxes, we can thwart his plans.
Senate Intelligence Committee Trump/Russia Investigation —
Background — See my Aug 21 & 24 TICs.
Recent Developments — None.
New Developments — None.
Senate Homeland Security Committee Postal Service Investigation —
Background — See my Aug 21 TIC.
Recent Developments — I watched a little of the Senate Hearing at the end and the Republicans were treating DeJoy like Mother Teresa instead of the Snidely Whiplash criminal he is. Frankly, the Democrats on the Committee didn’t do much better, asking some polite questions instead of giving DeJoy the thrashing he deserves. Maybe there were better questions earlier, but not that I heard in the last 15 minutes.
He is the person that caused the mess, not the person brought in to fix it.
He is the arsonist who threw gas on the postal service and lite the match, yet they all seem to be are asking him how he is going to put out the fire as if he were the Fire Chief! It’s just nuts!
I am hoping House Democrats do a better job today of treating him as the arsonist he is. At least they may be able to use some of what DeJoy testified to (under oath) on Friday to catch DeJoy in a Perjury Trap today. That would bring me Great “Joy”!
New Developments — None.
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 & Aug. 5 TICs for additional background.
Recent Developments — None.
New Developments - Hearing on Ensuring a Free and Fair Election during the Corona Virus Pandemic TODAY. Details above.
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. See my May 5 TIC for details on the April 28 DC Circuit Court (virtual) Hearing in this case. Also, see my Aug. 13 TIC.
Recent Developments — None.
New Developments — A three judge panel from the DC Circuit Court of Appeals deals Congress a (likely temporary) setback in the McGahn subpoena case. From the Lawfare Blog:
A divided panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit decided on Aug. 31 that the House of Representatives' lawsuit to enforce their subpoena against former White House counsel Don McGahn must be dismissed. The court found that the House’s Committee on the Judiciary lacks a cause of action to bring the suit because no statute gives the chamber authority to do so.
In a 2-1 ruling, the court held that the House lacks authority under the Constitution or federal law to seek judicial enforcement of a subpoena against an executive branch official. On behalf of the majority, judge Thomas Griffith—who is retiring from the court effective Sept. 1—wrote that the decision does not preclude Congress “from ever enforcing a subpoena in federal court; it simply precludes it from doing so without first enacting a statute authorizing such a suit.”
In a dissenting opinion, judge Judith Rogers wrote that the House’s ability to seek judicial enforcement of its subpoenas is implied in Article I of the constitution.
The decision comes after the full appeals court on Aug. 7 held that the House committee does have standing to seek enforcement of its subpoena. The en banc court remanded the case to the original three-judge panel to address whether the committee had a cause of action to bring its claim, among other matters.
I believe this is the same 3 Judge Panel of 2 to 1 Republican Judges who ruled against Congress the first time around and who was overruled by the Full en banc Court as stated above. Chances are that the Full Court will overrule the panel again. While I am not a lawyer, it seems ludicrous to me that every time Congress has to turn to the Judicial Branch to enforce a subpoena of someone in the Executive Branch they must first pass legislation to file such a suit Legislation that can be vetoed by the Chief Executive), as implied by the Panel’s ruling. You can read the whole JOKE decision at the end of the Lawfare Blog Article.
P.S. If you’re questioning why this case still matters, it’s because it will set an important precedent for all Congressional subpoenas of Executive Branch officials both pending and in the future.
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& Aug. 22 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, June3, 5, 8, 11, 15, 18, 23, 29 , July 22, Aug. 4, 13 & 21 TICs.
Recent Developments — None.
New Developments — As you probably have already heard, a Federal Appeals Court has ruled against Flynn and the DoJ in the case to deny Trial Judge Emmet Sullivan from holding a Hearing on DoJ’s proposed dismissal of charges against Flynn and against the requested removal of Judge Sullivan from the case. From CNN:
A federal appeals court ruled Monday against Michael Flynn and the Justice Department in their request to quickly shut down his criminal case.
The 8-2 decision restores power to a judge to question the Justice Department's moves in the politically divisive case, when Attorney General William Barr dropped charges against President Donald Trump's former national security adviser earlier this year despite twice pleading guilty to lying under oath to lying to the FBI.
Previously, a group of three judges on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals court sided 2-1 with Flynn in ordering the lower court to toss his case. Monday's 8-2 decision by the full court reached the opposite conclusion.
The appeals court also declined to reassign Flynn's case to another trial judge, after Flynn's legal team accused Sullivan of becoming partial against Flynn.
Sullivan, who hired a lawyer to argue the case regarding his authority and asked for the full panel to hear it this summer, had taken those steps for sound legal reasons, at the invitation of the appeals court, and not because he had taken a side in Flynn's underlying case, the court said.
"Nothing about that participation created a reasonable impression of partiality, nor could it," the appeals court wrote in its opinion Monday.
It now looks highly likely that Judge Sullivan will get to hold his Hearing on the DoJ’s request to drop all charges against Flynn, charges which he twice plead GUILTY to. A Hearing that, if held, will probe into Barr’s REAL motives for dropping the charges and who else in the Executive Branch might have been involved in that decision. It will be interesting to see if Barr chooses to go through with this Hearing which could disclose the dirty laundry behind the DoJ decision, or rescind their request to drop the charges and let Sullivan sentence Flynn, possibly forcing Trump’s Pardon hand once again. Stay Tuned and keep your popcorn machine ready!
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, 5, 7, 13, 22 & 24 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 — None.
New Developments — Case #3 — Another delay in the Manhattan DA’s subpoena case for financial records from Trump’s former Accounting Firm, Mazars. According to CNN:
A three-judge panel on the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals said the court would hear oral arguments in the appeal on September 25, bringing the court's decision of the case into mid-fall and making a hand-over of the documents to the district attorney's office increasingly unlikely to happen prior to the presidential election.
Earlier Tuesday, the panel had heard oral arguments regarding Trump's motion to prevent the subpoena to his longtime accounting firm from going into effect while the appellate court decides the case.
An attorney for the Manhattan district attorney's office, Carey Dunne, told the panel that Trump's argument that the subpoena is overly broad is based on inaccurate assumptions about the investigation, namely that it's limited to an inquiry regarding hush-money payments made to women who alleged affairs with Trump during the 2016 presidential election. Trump has denied the affairs.
"No facts in the complaint support that inference," Dunne told the panel. He added that Trump couldn't know the scope of the investigation, because "what the grand jury's looking at is secret. We're not allowed to make that public."
A few things to keep in mind about this case:
A few important points that I will briefly cover:
1. Even if the DA does get Trump’s financial records from Mazars in a few weeks, they will not likely be made public before the election since Grand Jury proceedings are secret until an indictment is filed.
2. Remember this is more than the Stormy Daniels payoff. This is about Trump committing Bank Fraud and/or Tax Fraud by both under valuing properties on his tax returns and over valuing them on his Deutsche Bank loan applications. The DA already has the Deutsche Bank Records, now he just needs the taxes.
THAT’S IT FOR TODAY!