Birmingham’s Kamau Marshall joins Joe Biden administration
Former Birmingham resident Kamau Marshall has joined the Joe Biden administration’s communications team as Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Media and Public Affairs, Al.com reported. He previously served as a Spokesperson and Senior Advisor for outreach and communications to the CEO and Co-Chairs for the 59th Presidential Inaugural Committee. Most recently, Kamau was the Director of Strategic Communications for the 2020 Biden presidential campaign. Marshall moved to Alabama as a youth, moving from Pittsburgh to Birmingham. “They’re not that far apart culturally,” Marshall told AL.com. “Both are blue-collar cities with strong Black communities; both are steel mill towns. I was very excited as a young child moving, mainly due to the civil rights aspects and its history,” he added. “Yes, I was that child—very excited about moving to Birmingham.” Marshall also served in the Obama-Biden Administration as the Communications Advisor and Speechwriter at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He was a special assistant to the late Congressman Elijah E. Cummings. “It’s exciting to serve this president and vice president at this time,” said Marshall, who lived in Midfield, Fairfield, and Ensley. “There’s a strong focus on economics and trade—things a lot of people don’t think about regarding how they relate to their day-to-day lives. Economics and trade are how the world goes.” A graduate of Texas Southern University, he considers himself a native of many cities and states, and while his brothers graduated from Wenona High School, they moved to Georgia before he was able to attend. “I loved my time in Birmingham; it played a critical role in my life,” he says. “It’s part of my foundation, especially for a person who previously lived up north—providing a solid sense of community and southern living. Southern manners can take you far.” Marshall’s mother was an Alabama native, and he still has relatives in Alabama—in Tuscaloosa and Huntsville. “It’s really like we never left,” he said.
Shifting explanations for withholding aid draw GOP alarm
The shifting White House explanation for President Donald Trump’s decision to withhold military aid from Ukraine drew alarm Friday from Republicans as the impeachment inquiry brought a new test of their alliance. Trump, in remarks at the White House, stood by his acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, whose earlier comments undermined the administration’s defense in the impeachment probe. Speaking Thursday at a news conference, Mulvaney essentially acknowledged a quid pro quo with Ukraine that Trump has long denied, saying U.S. aid was withheld from Kyiv to push for an investigation of the Democratic National Committee and the 2016 election. He later clarified his remarks. Trump appeared satisfied with Mulvaney’s clarification and the president dismissed the entire House inquiry as “a terrible witch hunt. This is so bad for our country.” But former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who ran against Trump in the 2016 Republican primary, said he now supports impeaching the president. Mulvaney’s admission, he said, was the “final straw.” ”The last 24 hours has really forced me to review all of this,” Kasich said on CNN. In Congress, at least one Republican, Rep. Francis Rooney of Florida, spoke out publicly, telling reporters that he and others were concerned by Mulvaney’s remarks. Rooney said he’s open to considering all sides in the impeachment inquiry. He also said Mulvaney’s comments cannot simply be undone by a follow-up statement. “It’s not an Etch-A-Sketch,” said Rooney, a former ambassador to the Holy See under President George W. Bush. “The only thing I can assume is, he meant what he had to say — that there was a quid pro quo on this stuff,” he said. The tumult over Mulvaney’s remarks capped a momentous week in the impeachment investigation as the admission, from highest levels of the administration, undercut the White House defense and pushed more evidence into the inquiry. GOP leaders tried to contain the fallout. But four weeks into the inquiry, the events around Trump’s interaction with the Ukraine president, which are are at the heart of impeachment, have upended Washington. The Energy Secretary, Rick Perry, who has been caught up in the probe, announced his resignation. A beloved House chairman, Rep. Elijah Cummings, Democrat-Maryland, a leading figure in the investigation, died amid ongoing health challenges. The march toward an impeachment vote now seems all but inevitable, so much so that the highest-ranking Republican, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, privately told his GOP colleagues this week to expect action in the House by Thanksgiving with a Senate trial by Christmas. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has given no timeline for conclusion but wants the inquiry completed “expeditiously.” She said Thursday that facts of the investigation will determine next steps. “The timeline will depend on the truth line,” she told reporters. This week’s hours of back-to-back closed-door hearings from diplomats and former top aides appeared to be providing investigators with a remarkably consistent account of the run-up and aftermath of Trump’s call with Ukraine President Volodymy Zelenskiy. In that July call, Trump asked the newly elected Zelenskiy for a “favor” in investigating the Democratic National Committee’s email situation, which was central to the 2016 election, as well as a Ukraine gas company, Burisma, linked to the family of Trump’s 2020 Democratic rival, Joe Biden, according to a rough transcript of the phone conversation released by the White House. Republican leaders tried to align with Trump Friday, amid their own mixed messages as House Democrats, who already issued a subpoena to Mulvaney for documents, now want to hear directly from him. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the House GOP leader, cited Mulvaney’s clarification as evidence that there was no quid pro quo. He said witnesses have also testified similarly behind closed doors in the impeachment inquiry. “We’ve been very clear,” McCarthy said. “There was no quid pro quo.” Lawmakers involved in the three House committees conducting the investigation want to hear more next week, which promises another packed schedule of witnesses appearing behind closed doors. Republicans want the interviews made open to the public, including releasing transcripts. Democrats in the probe being led by Rep. Adam Schiff, chairman of the Intelligence Committee, are keeping the proceedings closed for now, partly to prevent witnesses from comparing notes. Three House committees investigating impeachment have tentatively scheduled several closed-door interviews next week, including one with Bill Taylor, the current top official at the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine. Taylor’s interview, scheduled for Tuesday, is significant because he was among the diplomats on a text message string during the time around the July phone call. He raised a red flag and said it was “crazy” to withhold the military aid for a political investigation. It’s unclear whether all the witnesses will appear, given that the White House is opposing the inquiry and trying to block officials from testifying. The schedule includes a mix of State Department officials and White House aides. By Lisa Mascaro, Andrew Taylor, Mary Clare Jalonick Associated Press Republished with the permission of the Associated Press
Elijah Cummings, powerful congressman leading Donald Trump probe, has died
Maryland Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, a sharecropper’s son who rose to become a civil rights champion and the chairman of one of the U.S. House committees leading an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump, died Thursday of complications from longstanding health problems. He was 68. Cummings was a formidable orator who advocated for the poor in his black-majority district , which encompasses a large portion of Baltimore and more well-to-do suburbs. As chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, Cummings led investigations of the president’s government dealings, including probes in 2019 relating to Trump’s family members serving in the White House. Trump criticized the Democrat’s district as a “rodent-infested mess” where “no human being would want to live.” The comments came weeks after Trump drew bipartisan condemnation following his calls for Democratic congresswomen of color to go back to their “broken and crime-infested countries.” Cummings replied that government officials must stop making “hateful, incendiary comments” that distract the nation from its real problems, including mass shootings and white supremacy. “Those in the highest levels of the government must stop invoking fear, using racist language and encouraging reprehensible behavior,” Cummings said. On Thursday, Trump ordered flags at the White House, military bases and other federal buildings to be flown at half-staff through Friday to honor Cummings. He also tweeted his “condolences to the family and many friends of Congressman Elijah Cummings. I got to see firsthand the strength, passion and wisdom of this highly respected political leader.” The tweet made no reference to past feuds. Former President Barack Obama, whose 2008 presidential bid counted Cummings as an early supporter, said he and his wife, Michelle, were “heartbroken” by the loss of their friend. “As Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, he showed us all not only the importance of checks and balances within our democracy, but also the necessity of good people stewarding it,” Obama said in a statement, describing Cummings as “steely yet compassionate, principled yet open to new perspectives.” In a joint statement, former President Bill Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, also praised Cummings’ leadership of the committee “in finding facts, exposing fictions, and demanding that our government be accountable.” Congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis said that with Cummings’ death, Americans “have lost a great leader at a time of crisis in our democracy.” “When this nation needed him most, he became a moral voice ‘crying in the wilderness,’ and his words and actions called a reluctant nation to conscience,” the Georgia Democrat said in a statement. Cummings’ career spanned decades in Maryland politics. He rose through the ranks of the Maryland House of Delegates before winning his congressional seat in a 1996 special election to replace Kweisi Mfume, who left to lead the NAACP. By 2016, Cummings was the senior Democrat on the House Benghazi Committee, which he said was “nothing more than a taxpayer-funded effort to bring harm to Hillary Clinton’s campaign.” Throughout his career, Cummings used his fiery voice to highlight the struggles and needs of inner-city residents. He believed in much-debated approaches to help the poor and addicted, such as needle exchange programs to reduce the spread of AIDS. A key figure in the Trump impeachment inquiry , Cummings had hoped to return to Congress within about a week after a medical procedure for which he didn’t offer details. He’d previously been treated for heart and knee issues. Cummings’ committee, authorized to investigate virtually any part of the federal government, is one of three conducting the House impeachment probe of Trump. Cummings was among the three chairmen to sign a letter seeking documents into whether Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate the family of Democratic presidential rival Joe Biden, the former vice president. The committees have issued subpoenas of witnesses after the Trump administration’s refusal to cooperate with the impeachment probe and have jointly been meeting behind closed doors to hear testimony. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, a veteran Democrat from New York, will for now take over leadership of the House oversight committee, according to a senior Democratic leadership aide who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the decision publicly. Separately, Cummings led an effort to gain access to Trump’s financial records. His committee subpoenaed records from Mazars USA, an accounting firm that provided services to Trump. The panel demanded documents from 2011 to 2018 as it probed Trump’s reporting of his finances and potential conflicts of interest. Last week, a federal appeals court ruled the records must be turned over. Cummings’ office said he died early Thursday at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and constituents began mourning soon after. His widow, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, chairwoman of Maryland’s Democratic Party, said in a statement: “He worked until his last breath because he believed our democracy was the highest and best expression of our collective humanity and that our nation’s diversity was our promise, not our problem.” Cummings was born Jan. 18, 1951. In grade school, a counselor told Cummings he was too slow to learn and spoke poorly, and would never fulfill his dream of becoming a lawyer. “I was devastated,” Cummings told The Associated Press in 1996, shortly before winning his seat in Congress. “My whole life changed. I became very determined.” It steeled Cummings to prove that counselor wrong. He became not only a lawyer, but one of the most powerful orators in the statehouse, where he entered office in 1983. He rose to become the first black House speaker pro tem. He would begin his comments slowly, developing his theme and raising the emotional heat until it became like a sermon from the pulpit. Cummings was quick to note the differences between Congress and the Maryland General Assembly, which has long been controlled by Democrats. “After coming from the state where, basically, you had a lot of people working together, it’s clear that the lines are drawn here,” Cummings said shortly after entering Congress in 1996. Cummings began his long push for civil rights at age
Aide says Donald Trump’s critics should focus on problems back home
A top White House aide said Sunday that President Donald Trump, frustrated by the Democrats’ unrelenting investigations and talk of impeachment, swung hard at an influential black Democratic congressman and his Baltimore district because he believes such Capitol Hill critics are neglecting serious problems back home in their zeal to undermine his presidency. Acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney insisted in two national television interviews that that Trump was not making racist comments when he tweeted that the majority-black district of Rep. Elijah Cummings was a “disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess.” Mulvaney, a former congressman himself, said he understood why some people could perceive Trump’s words as racist. Trump’s repeated weekend attacks on Cummings, the powerful chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, marked the latest rhetorical shot against a prominent lawmaker. Two weeks ago, Trump caused a nationwide uproar with racist tweets directed at four Democratic congresswomen of color as he looked to stoke racial divisions for political gain heading into the 2020 election. Mulvaney said Trump’s words were exaggerated for effect — “Does the president speak hyperbolically? Absolutely” — and meant to draw attention to Democratic-backed investigations of the Republican president and his team in Washington. “Instead of helping people back home, they’re focusing on scandal in Washington D.C., which is the exact opposite of what they said they would do when they ran for election in 2018,” Mulvaney said, pointing at Democrats who now control the House. He asserted that Trump’s barbs were a reaction to what the president considered to be inaccurate statements by Cummings about conditions in which children are being held in detention at the U.S.-Mexico border. At a hearing last week, Cummings accused a top administration official of wrongly calling reports of filthy, overcrowded border facilities “unsubstantiated.” “When the president hears lies like that, he’s going to fight back,” Mulvaney said.Trump’s tweets Saturday charged that Cummings’ district, which includes Johns Hopkins Hospital, the Social Security Administration and the national headquarters of the NAACP, is “considered the worst run and most dangerous anywhere in the United States.” Condemnation followed from Democrats over the weekend, including some of the party’s presidential candidates. Statements from a spokesman for Maryland’s Republican governor and from the lieutenant governor defended Cummings’ district and its people. Trump, unbowed, resumed the verbal volleying Sunday: “There is nothing racist in stating plainly what most people already know, that Elijah Cummings has done a terrible job for the people of his district, and of Baltimore itself. Dems always play the race card when they are unable to win with facts. Shame!” The president has tried to put racial polarization at the center of his appeal to his base of voters, tapping into anxieties about demographic and cultural changes in the nation in the belief that the divided country he leads will simply choose sides over issues such as race.Mulvaney argued that Trump would criticize any lawmaker, no matter the person’s race, in a similar way if Trump felt that individual spoke unfairly about the president’s policies. He volunteered that if Rep. Adam Schiff, the California Democrat who leads the House Intelligence Committee, had made the same remarks as Cummings, Trump would have pushed back. “It has zero to do with the fact that Adam is Jewish and everything to do with Adam would just be wrong if he were saying that,” Mulvaney said. “This is what the president does. He fights and he’s not wrong to do so.” To Mulvaney, Trump was “right to raise” the challenges faced in Cummings’ district at the same time that Cummings and other Democrats are “chasing down” the Russia investigation undertaken by Robert Mueller and pursuing “this bizarre impeachment crusade.” Nonetheless, the chief of staff said he understood why some people view Trump’s comments as racist, “but that doesn’t mean that it is racist.” “The president is pushing back against what he sees is wrong,” he added. “It’s how he’s done it in the past and he’ll continue to do it in the future.” Cummings is leading multiple investigations of the president’s governmental dealings. In his direct response to Trump on Twitter, Cummings said: “Mr. President, I go home to my district daily. Each morning, I wake up, and I go and fight for my neighbors. It is my constitutional duty to conduct oversight of the Executive Branch. But, it is my moral duty to fight for my constituents.” Cummings has also drawn the president’s ire for investigations touching on his family members serving in the White House. His committee voted along party lines Thursday to authorize subpoenas for personal emails and texts used for official business by top White House aides, including Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner. Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro said Trump was engaging in “racial priming.” “Using this language and taking actions to try and get people to move into their camps by racial and ethnic identity. That’s how he thinks he won in 2016 and that’s how he thinks he’s going to win in 2020,” Castro said. Rarlier this month, Trump drew bipartisan condemnation following his call for Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan to get out of the U.S. “right now.” He said that if the lawmakers “hate our country,” they can go back to their “broken and crime-infested” countries. All four lawmakers of color are American citizens and three of the four were born in the U.S. The House later voted largely along party lines to condemn his “racist comments.”Mulvaney claimed that if he had focused on investigations when he was in Congress rather than poverty and other issues, “I’d get fired.” More rural than Cummings’ district, Mulvaney’s former district in South Carolina has a lower per-capita income than the one targeted by Trump, and the poverty rates are roughly the same. Cummings’ district is about 55 percent black and includes a large portion of Baltimore. The city has struggled with
Democrats raise ethics questions about Trump defense fund
Congressional Democrats raised ethics questions on Monday about the framework of a defense fund set up to help pay legal costs for White House, Trump campaign and transition officials caught up in investigations into Russian meddling in the election. Eighteen House Democrats claim the new defense fund appears to be structured more loosely than ones in earlier administrations. Because of the way it’s set up, the fund could receive donations from lobbyists or others with interests before the Trump administration — and also could be used to influence witnesses, the Democrats warned in a letter to David Apol, the acting director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. The Democrats asked the ethics office to provide records documenting communications between Wiley Rein LLP, the Washington law firm that set up the fund, and White House, Trump campaign and transition representatives. In late January, Apol told a group of Washington lawyers who set up the fund that a draft agreement of its structure appeared to be “in compliance” with federal ethics law. The ethics office, however, has not officially approved or disapproved of the structure of the fund — Patriot Legal Expense Fund Trust LLC — which has been in operation since late February. In their letter to Apol, the Democrats, including Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, said that while previous defense funds earmarked money for individual officials, the new defense fund “has the authority to pay money to an unlimited number of individuals, with limited disclosure requirements.” The fund was established in Delaware as a nonprofit organized under Section 527 of the U.S. tax code. That designation requires the fund to tell the Internal Revenue Service the names of all donors who donate more than $200. The Democrats claim the Patriot fund appears to allow donations by lobbyists or others with interests before the government — and could perhaps evade disclosure altogether. Despite the IRS requirement, the Patriot fund does not appear to prohibit donors giving money “on behalf of other undisclosed donors,” the Democrats said. And while Office of Government Ethics guidelines prohibit donations from lobbyists or others with governmental interests, the Patriot fund says donations for legal expenses would be banned only if the donor “indicates in writing that the contribution is being given because of an eligible recipient’s position or performance of duties.” It’s not clear from the fund’s draft how donors would be compelled to provide that information. Democrats also raised concern about the fund’s role in the possible influence of witnesses. Ethics rules ban contacts between the manager of a legal defense fund and those aided by the fund. But Democrats warned that a loophole would still let the fund manager contact Trump campaign representatives, who could, at the same time, remain in touch with fund recipients. “The agreement does not address the potential for pressure to be placed on potential recipients before they testify,” the Democrats said. “The agreement also does not prohibit communications between the manager of the fund and campaign representatives who are themselves under investigation.” A group of Wiley Rein lawyers sent a draft agreement of the Patriot defense fund to the ethics office on Jan. 29 after discussions with agency officials. The fund was officially unveiled in late February. Wiley Rein has deep expertise in election law and several partners have a history of ties to Republican administrations and the GOP. A firm member involved in setting up the defense fund declined to comment on the House Democrats’ letter. According to the draft, the fund would “be operated as a political organization,” with its donations listed in total in annual filings with the IRS. Previous defense funds, such as two 1990s-era funds for former President Bill Clinton and former first lady Hillary Clinton, had voluntary caps on the size of donations. The Patriot fund does not appear to have any limits on the size of donations. The draft explicitly says the fund was “formed to provide assistance paying legal expenses for persons involved in the investigations by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III,” House and Senate inquiries into Russia meddling and any other congressional probes. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Worst treatment ever, Donald Trump grumbles; Dems demand deep probe
Surrounded by multiplying questions, President Donald Trump complained Wednesday that “no politician in history” has been treated worse. Democrats demanded an independent commission to dig into his firing of FBI Director James Comey, but Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan cautioned against “rushing to judgment.” Ryan said Congress needs to get the facts, but “it is obvious there are some people out there who want to harm the president.” Elijah Cummings, top Democrat on a key House oversight panel, countered that Ryan and the Republicans had shown “zero, zero, zero appetite for any investigation of President Trump.” The White House has denied reports that Trump pressed Comey to drop an investigation into Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn. In addition Trump is facing pointed questions about his discussions with Russian diplomats during which he is reported to have disclosed classified information. Also Tuesday, in an extraordinary turn of events, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to turn over to Congress records of Trump’s discussions with the diplomats. The White House has played down the importance and secrecy of the information Trump gave to the Russians, which had been supplied by Israel under an intelligence-sharing agreement. Trump himself said he had “an absolute right” as president to share “facts pertaining to terrorism” and airline safety with Russia. Yet U.S. allies and some members of Congress have expressed alarm. Republicans and Democrats alike were eager to hear from Comey, who has increasingly emerged as a central figure in the unfolding drama. The Senate intelligence committee on Wednesday asked Comey to appear before the panel in both open and closed sessions. The committee also asked acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe to give the committee any notes that Comey might have made regarding discussions he had with White House or Justice Department officials about Russia’s efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election. Putin told a news conference that he would be willing to turn over notes of Trump’s meeting with the Russian diplomats if the White House agreed. He dismissed outrage over Trump’s disclosures as U.S. politicians whipping up “anti-Russian sentiment.” Asked what he thinks of the Trump presidency, Putin said it’s up to the American people to judge and his performance can be rated “only when he’s allowed to work at full capacity,” implying that someone is hampering Trump’s efforts. Trump himself hasn’t directly addressed the latest allegations that he pressured Comey to drop the Flynn investigation. But the swirling questions about his conduct were clearly on his mind when he told graduates at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut that “no politician in history, and I say this with great surety, has been treated worse or more unfairly.” Striking a defiant stance, he added: “You can’t let the critics and the naysayers get in the way of your dreams. … I guess that’s why we won. Adversity makes you stronger. Don’t give in, don’t back down. … And the more righteous your fight, the more opposition that you will face.” As for Comey, whom Trump fired last week, the FBI director wrote in a memo after a February meeting at the White House that the new president had asked him to shut down the FBI’s investigation of Flynn and his Russian contacts, said a person who had read the memo. The Flynn investigation was part of a broader probe into Russian interference in last year’s presidential election. Comey’s memo, an apparent effort to create a paper trail of his contacts with the White House, would be the clearest evidence to date that the president has tried to influence the investigation. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, Republican chairman of the House oversight committee, sent a letter to the FBI on Tuesday requesting that it turn over all documents and recordings that detail communications between Comey and Trump. He said he would give the FBI a week and then “if we need a subpoena, we’ll do it.” John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said late Tuesday that the developments had reached “Watergate size and scale.” Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader of the Senate, said simply, “It would be helpful to have less drama emanating from the White House.” The person who described the Comey memo to the AP was not authorized to discuss it by name and spoke on condition of anonymity. The existence of the memo was first reported Tuesday by The New York Times. The White House vigorously denied it all. “While the president has repeatedly expressed his view that General Flynn is a decent man who served and protected our country, the president has never asked Mr. Comey or anyone else to end any investigation, including any investigation involving General Flynn,” a White House statement said. Trump fired Flynn on Feb. 13, on grounds that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence and other officials about his contacts with Russians. The intensifying drama comes as Trump is set to embark Friday on his first foreign trip, which had been optimistically viewed by some aides as an opportunity to reset an administration floundering under an inexperienced president. Said Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina: “He’s probably glad to leave town, and a lot of us are glad he’s leaving for a few days.” Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
For GOP, a dimmed zeal for investigations in Donald Trump era
The Republicans’ ardor for investigations and oversight, on display throughout the Obama administration, has cooled off considerably with Donald Trump in the White House. Each day seems to bring a new headache or near-crisis from Trump, the latest being the departure of his national security adviser under questionable circumstances involving Russia. Yet if there is a line too far, at which point Republicans will feel duty-bound to call for an independent investigation of their president or his administration, Trump hasn’t crossed it yet. Democrats are clamoring for a full-scale probe of the resignation of National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, including demanding to know what Trump knew, and when, about Flynn’s pre-inauguration conversations with a Russian ambassador about U.S. sanctions. White House press secretary Sean Spicer disclosed that Trump was told in late January that Flynn had misled Vice President Mike Pence about those conversations. Rather than go along with Democrats’ call for an independent outside investigation, Senate Republicans insisted Tuesday that the Intelligence Committee could look at the circumstances as part of an existing probe into Russia’s interference in the presidential election. “The Intelligence Committee is already looking at Russian involvement in our election and they have broad jurisdiction over the intel community writ large and they can look at whatever they choose to,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., adding that “it’s highly likely they’d want to take a look at this episode as well.” The intelligence panel’s chairman, Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, told reporters that “aggressive” oversight would continue “privately. We don’t do that in public.” House Republicans were even less interested, with some shrugging off Democrats’ calls for an investigation entirely. Rep. Devin Nunes of California, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said that the “real crime” is how Flynn’s phone conversations were leaked, echoing a complaint Trump himself made over Twitter. “I think the situation has taken care of itself” in light of Flynn’s resignation, House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, told reporters. That’s a far different stance toward potential wrongdoing by the executive branch than Chaffetz took last year, when House Republicans issued more than 70 letters and subpoenas aimed at investigating Democrat Hillary Clinton over a period of less than three months after the FBI announced criminal charges weren’t warranted related to her use of a private email server as secretary of state. Chaffetz did turn his attention to a different Trump administration matter later Tuesday, sending a letter to the White House seeking information about Trump’s discussion of a North Korea missile launch while dining al fresco with the Japanese prime minister at a resort in Florida. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., went so far as to counsel publicly against spending too much time investigating the White House, saying that doing so could only be counterproductive at a moment when the GOP faces a daunting legislative agenda on Capitol Hill. “I just don’t think it’s useful to be doing investigation after investigation, particularly of your own party,” Paul said in an appearance on Fox News Radio’s “Kilmeade and Friends.” ”We’ll never even get started with doing the things we need to do like repealing Obamacare if we’re spending our whole time having Republicans investigate Republicans. I think it makes no sense.” The relatively hands-off stance of the GOP toward the Trump White House angers Democrats, who are powerless to do much except fume from the minority in both chambers of Congress. “Do you hear the silence? This is the sound of House Republicans conducting no oversight of President Trump. Zero,” Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, complained at a news conference Tuesday. “That is what it sounds like when they abdicate their duty under the Constitution. We’ve been asking for months for basic oversight.” The GOP’s lack of enthusiasm about investigating the Trump White House comes as Capitol Hill Republicans struggle to come to terms with a new administration that has been engulfed in upheaval after upheaval. Republicans are trying to focus on their agenda despite the distractions. And for now, they appear to have concluded, going easy on Trump is the best way to achieve their goals, including confirming a Supreme Court justice and passing a new health care law and other legislation they want the president to sign. “We know full well that there are issues that are going to come up on a daily basis that we’re going to get asked about and have to respond to,” said Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the No. 3 Senate Republican, “but we’re interested in repealing and replacing Obamacare, reforming the tax code, reducing the regulatory burden on businesses, confirming a Supreme Court justice, getting these Cabinet nominees through — that’s what our agenda is right now.” Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Democrats decry Donald Trump threat to fire inspectors general
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee asked the White House Tuesday for information about reports that President Donald Trump‘s transition team threatened to remove a host of inspectors general from their posts. Democrats Elijah Cummings of Maryland and Gerald Connolly of Virginia said Trump officials apparently contacted as many as eight inspectors general earlier this month to inform them their positions were “temporary” and they should begin looking for other employment. The threats appear to have been withdrawn amid complaints from lawmakers and the inspectors general, “but there is no official communication confirming that this occurred,” the Democrats said. Cummings is the top Democrat on the oversight panel, while Connolly is the second-ranking Democrat. The lawmakers asked White House Counsel Donald McGahn to confirm in writing that Trump has no plans to fire any inspectors general. Inspectors general are internal watchdogs who conduct audits of federal agencies and investigate complaints of wrongdoing. The position is considered nonpartisan, although about half of the 70-plus inspectors general are appointed by the president; the rest are appointed by agency chiefs. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Sean Spicer says 20 percent tax on Mexican imports just an option
The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times EST): 4:50 p.m. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer now says slapping a 20 percent tax on imports from Mexico is just one of several options on the table for paying for a wall along the southern border. Spicer says President Donald Trump has yet to make a final decision about how the U.S. will recoup the costs of his proposed border wall. Spicer had said earlier Thursday that Trump wanted to slap a 20 percent tax on all imports from Mexico and predicted the tax would generate $10 billion a year. He had told reporters on Air Force One that Trump has discussed the idea with congressional leaders and wanted to include the measure in a comprehensive tax reform package. But Trump’s chief of staff Reince Priebus said later that the administration has “a buffet of options” to pay for the wall. ___ 4:45 p.m. President Donald Trump still knows how to win a television time slot. ABC reached 7.5 million viewers for its Wednesday night interview special of the president speaking to anchor David Muir. It was billed as Trump’s first network television interview since his inauguration last week. The special beat every other program competing at 10 p.m., according to the Nielsen company. CBS’ “Code Black” drama came in second with 5.6 million viewers. ___ 4:45 p.m. A Democratic congressman says he got a call from President Donald Trump, who wants to meet with him to discuss the price of prescription drugs. Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings said Thursday he received the short but cordial call a day earlier “to my surprise.” Cummings says Trump told him they would not agree on everything, but they could find some common ground on trying to address the rising costs of prescription drugs. Cummings says he’s looking forward to the meeting, which hasn’t been scheduled yet. Cummings also says Trump asked about the congressman’s special assistant, Katie Malone, who was injured in a fire at her home this month that killed six of her nine children. Cummings says the president said he wanted to make a contribution to help the family and expressed sincere sympathy. ___ 4:40 p.m. President Donald Trump has signed his first presidential proclamation, declaring this week “National School Choice Week.” The proclamation states that because education is important, parents should have the right to a “meaningful choice” about where their children goes to school. Charter schools and school choice are expected to be major elements of federal education policy in Trump’s administration. Betsy DeVos, Trump’s nominee for education secretary, has spent more than two decades advocating for school choice programs. Such programs provide students and parents with an alternative to a traditional public school education. DeVos is awaiting a Senate vote on her nomination. The proclamation adds that a renewed commitment to expanding school choice can make a great education possible for every child in America. ___ 3:35 p.m. President Donald Trump wants to pay for his proposed southern border wall by slapping a 20 percent tax on imports from Mexico. White House spokesman Sean Spicer says Trump has discussed the idea with congressional leaders and wants to include the measure in a comprehensive tax reform package. Spicer spoke to reporters on Air Force One as Trump flew back from a Republican retreat in Philadelphia. He says that taxing imports from Mexico would generate $10 billion a year and “easily pay for the wall.” Spicer says discussions are continuing with lawmakers to make sure the plan is “done right.” But he says it “clearly provides funding” for the wall. ___ 3:30 p.m. President Donald Trump’s chief White House strategist says that the media should “keep its mouth shut.” In an interview with The New York Times, published Thursday, Bannon said that the media is the “opposition party” of the new administration and “should be embarrassed and humiliated” by the unanticipated election result. The article cites Bannon as referring to himself at one point as “Darth Vader.” Asked if he was concerned that press secretary Sean Spicer lost credibility after a forceful opening press conference peppered with false information, Bannon replied, “we think that’s a badge of honor.” He adds, “The media has zero integrity, zero intelligence and no hard work.” ___ 3:15 p.m. Vice President Mike Pence is offering Republican lawmakers a preview of the upcoming Supreme Court pick. He says President Donald Trump will nominate a “strict constructionist” to the high court. Pence is speaking to House and Senate Republicans at a retreat in Philadelphia. He notes Trump plans to announce the Supreme Court pick next week and says he can “already tip you off.” Pence says the choice will be a “strict constructionist,” or a jurist who supports a narrow reading of the U.S. Constitution. The vice president says the choice will have a “top-notch legal mind” and a “commitment to the Constitution.” ___ 2:45 p.m. The United Nations hopes that any measures President Donald Trump takes on refugees are temporary, citing U.S. leadership in resettling people forced to flee their homes. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Thursday that taking in refugees is especially important when the world has seen the largest movement of migrants since World War II. He said it’s a basic principle of the United Nations that “refugees need solidarity and need help,” and at this time there’s never been a greater need for their protection. A draft executive order obtained by The Associated Press shows Trump intends to stop accepting Syrian refugees and to suspend the United States’ broader refugee program for 120 days. According to the U.N., refugees total nearly 21.3 million, half of them under age 18. ___ 1:45 p.m. President Donald Trump is claiming that he and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto agreed jointly to cancel their planned meeting over disagreements about who will pay for Trump’s promised southern border wall. Trump says during a Republican House and Senate retreat in Philadelphia that, “The president of Mexico and
On Twitter, President Donald Trump says he will order an investigation into voter fraud
President Donald Trump says he will order an investigation into voter fraud. The president tweeted early Wednesday that the measures will affect those registered to vote in more than one state, “those who are illegal and even, those registered to vote who are dead (and many for a long time).” Trump says that “depending on results, we will strengthen up voting procedures.” Trump repeatedly made disputable claims of a rigged voting system before the election, but now in the White House, he continues to raise concern over fraud. Trump has been fixated on his loss of the popular vote in the election and a concern that the legitimacy of his presidency is being challenged by Democrats and the media, aides and associates say. Trump’s own attorneys dismissed claims of voter fraud in a legal filing responding to Green Party candidate Jill Stein‘s demand for a recount in Michigan late last year. “On what basis does Stein seek to disenfranchise Michigan citizens? None really, save for speculation,” the attorneys wrote. “All available evidence suggests that the 2016 general election was not tainted by fraud or mistake.” Secretaries of state across the country have dismissed Trump’s voter fraud claims as baseless. After the president’s morning tweets, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted wrote on Twitter, “We conducted a review 4 years ago in Ohio & already have a statewide review of 2016 election underway. Easy to vote, hard to cheat.” Trump’s exaggerations about inauguration crowds and assertions about illegal balloting have been distractions as advisers’ have tried to launch his presidency with a flurry of actions on the economy. His spokesman, Sean Spicer, has twice stepped into the fray himself, including on Tuesday, when he doubled down on Trump’s false claim that he lost the popular vote because 3 million to 5 million people living in the U.S. illegally cast ballots. All 50 states and the District of Columbia have finalized their election results with no reports of the kind of widespread fraud that Trump is alleging. “He believes what he believes based on the information he was provided,” said Spicer, who provided no evidence to back up the president’s statements. If the president’s claim were true it would mark the most significant election fraud in U.S. history — and ironically, would raise the same questions about Trump’s legitimacy that he’s trying to avoid. Rep. Elijah Cummings, ranking Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said Wednesday his panel has already sent letters to the attorneys general in all 50 states asking for reports of any election irregularities. “The president can join me and my staff,” Cummings said on MSNBC. He also said he wants Congress to restore voting protections, citing a Supreme Court ruling that “gutted” key sections of the Voting Rights Act, particularly the provision requiring southern states to get clearance in advance from the Justice Department before legislating changes in voting laws and procedures. Some Trump allies say he is justified in using his platform to defend his standing. They point to Georgia Democratic Rep. John Lewis‘ pre-inauguration statement that he did not see Trump as a legitimate president, as well as U.S. intelligence agencies’ assessment that Russia meddled in the election in order to help Trump win. “Segments of his own government keep driving this narrative,” said Roger Stone, a longtime confidant. “I don’t think it hurts to point it out.” Key advisers in Trump’s inner circle concede the focus on crowd claims and alleged voter fraud have been a distraction. After Friday’s inaugural festivities, the new president grew increasingly upset the next day by what he felt was “biased” media coverage of women’s marches across the globe protesting his election, according to a person familiar with his thinking. Trump was particularly enraged with CNN, which he thought was “gloating” by continually running photos of the women’s march alongside the smaller crowds that attended his inauguration the day before, according to this person, one of several White House aides and associates who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about private conversations. Tuesday night on Twitter, Trump slammed CNN again, referring to the network as “FAKE NEWS @CNN” while praising rival Fox News Channel. Trump has had a tumultuous relationship with the press, frequently calling the media dishonest and insulting individual reporters by name at his rallies and on Twitter. Still, two people close to Trump said he expected his coverage to turn more favorable once he took office. Instead, he’s told people he believes it’s gotten worse. The bad press over the weekend has not allowed Trump to “enjoy” the White House as he feels he deserves, according to one person who has spoken with him. The result has been a full display of Trump’s propensity for exaggeration and more. During an appearance at the CIA Saturday, he wrongly said the inaugural crowds gathered on the National Mall stretched to the Washington Monument, despite clear photo evidence to the contrary. And during a reception with lawmakers from both parties Monday night, he repeated his false assertion that millions of illegal immigrants provided Hillary Clinton‘s margin in the popular vote. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Minority Dem delegates frustrated with ‘Bernie or Bust’
As most Democrats rally around Hillary Clinton, the lingering “Bernie or Bust” movement is stirring frustration at the party’s convention among delegates of color, who say they’re upset at the refusal of the Vermont senator’s most fervent backers to fall in line. “I am so exhausted by it,” said Danielle Adams, a black Clinton delegate from North Carolina. “I think there are undercuts of privilege that concern me.” Adams is among those who say the “Never Hillary” crowd, a group that is largely younger and white, isn’t considering the struggles black Americans still face every day. And, they argue, how the nation’s ethnic and racial minorities may be affected by a Donald Trump presidency. Rep. Cheryl Brown, a California delegate from San Bernardino who is black, condemned what she called the “aggressive” behavior of some Sanders delegates, saying they jumped on tables and shoved people at the state’s hotel the night that Sanders moved that the convention nominate Clinton by acclamation. “I think here at the convention, it’s been exacerbated by the way they are treating people,” she said. “I haven’t had that happen with any of the African-American Bernie supporters.” Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, an African-American and close ally of Clinton, was telling the story of his late father — a share-cropper in South Carolina — on the convention’s first day when Sanders supporters started chanting “No TPP” and holding up signs opposing the trade pact. “It was downright disrespectful,” said Kweisi Mfume, a Clinton delegate and former head of the NAACP, who called it “a low point” of the four-day summer meeting. “I think it does not necessarily help the relations that Bernie’s people may have with the larger African-American community.” To be sure, many black delegates at the convention said they don’t view the “Bernie or Bust” movement through a racial lens. Count Cummings among them. He said that as a veteran of many civil rights protests, he understands the passions that drove the mostly young delegates to shout over his speech. “The optics were not pretty, but I couldn’t be upset with them. Two or three years ago, they would have been outside politics,” he said, adding that more than 100 people have since apologized for the outbursts. “I am so glad these people are under our tent.” Others, meanwhile, are frustrated by Sanders backers who contend the nomination was stolen from the Vermont senator. They say those delegates are ignoring the fact Sanders lost the nomination to Clinton, in part, because he didn’t appeal strongly enough to African-American voters. “They haven’t considered the perspective of minorities,” said Kenneth Williams, a black Clinton delegate from Texas. “I don’t think there was enough there to bridge to that community.” Clinton undoubtedly has far more appeal than Sanders among black voters, a critical voting bloc in Democratic primaries. The former secretary of state won more than three out of four black votes in 25 primary states where exit polling was conducted and, by the end of the primary season, she had swept the 15 states with the largest black populations. “At the end of the day, (Sanders’) coalition looked too much like a modern day Woodstock, and not enough like the Obama coalition it takes to win the primaries and the general,” said Boyd Brown, a Democratic National Committeeman from South Carolina who supported former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley. Michelle Bryant, a radio talk host in Milwaukee who is attending the convention, said she’s heard similar concerns from some people who call into her show. She said Clinton has a decades-long history of fighting for racial and economic justice that some Sanders supporters seem willing to dismiss — even as they promote Sanders’ civil rights advocacy. “You wouldn’t have expected this stuff to kind of break out along racial lines,” Bryant said. But those complaining about Sanders supporters and expressing fears of Clinton losing to Trump are missing the point, said Natalie Vowell, a white Sanders delegate from Missouri. Clinton, she said, just hasn’t been a positive for black Americans. “There have been more young black men imprisoned, more brown bodies piling up across the globe, and I’m not sure at this point that a warmonger like Hillary Clinton is any better than a tyrant like Trump,” said Vowell. She said she’s not yet sure if she will vote at all in November. Ohio state Rep. Alicia Reece, president of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus and a Clinton delegate, said she heard some complaints when a few people booed Michelle Obama when she mentioned Clinton’s name Monday night. But she predicted the party would ultimately come together. “Both groups have strong feelings about what’s going on,” she said. “Even non-African-Americans are afraid of Donald Trump, not just pro-Hillary people. They know we’ve got to unite and stop Trump.” Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Some Democrats fear Hillary Clinton’s message is failing
Hillary Clinton has questioned Bernie Sanders‘ electability. She’s criticized his plans for health care, foreign policy and Wall Street. And she’s tagged him with flip-flopping on gun control. None of it appears to be sticking, and that’s raising concerns among Democrats who fear that a months-long primary campaign could create lasting damage for their party. While most think Clinton will still capture the nomination, some say she is failing to respond effectively to Sanders, fueling both his primary rise and strengthening the Republican argument against her. Others say she got too a late of a start going after Sanders and is still not hitting him enough, eroding her lead in states that should be safe. “They didn’t take him seriously enough because they thought they had a gadfly,” said John Morgan, a Florida attorney and Clinton donor. “The gadfly wasn’t a gadfly, he was a lightning bug. And people have been following that lightning bug all over America.” Though Sanders has dismissed questions about Clinton’s use of a private email account and server as secretary of state and how she responded to the deadly 2012 Benghazi attacks, some Democrats say she needs a better response to his critique of her ties to Wall Street, which they argue reinforces months of Republican attacks on her character. “The better she does, the more those stories seem to recede in the minds of voters,” said Boston-based Democratic strategist Mary Anne Marsh. “Now, Benghazi seems to be back. Email seems to be back. A number of other things seem to be back.” Though the tightening nature of the race, particularly in Iowa, hasn’t sparked widespread panic among her supporters quite yet, it’s worrying some donors, as well as Bill Clinton and their daughter, Chelsea, who shared her concerns at a meeting with supporters in New York this week, according to people close to the campaign, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss private conversations. Democratic donors, strategists and pollsters, including some aligned with Clinton, expressed their concerns in nearly two dozen interviews with The Associated Press. Clinton has long struggled to connect with liberal activists, who have gained influence as the party has shifted left during President Barack Obama’s two terms in office. “Clinton’s message has always been more effective for a general election audience than the primary activist base,” said strategist Ben LaBolt, a former Obama campaign aide. Sanders released a gauzy, uplifting ad on Thursday with images of his overflowing rallies over a soundtrack of Simon and Garfunkel’s “America.” The wordless spot contrasts with a recent Clinton ad New Hampshire that’s about her experience and plans. In recent days, Sanders has intensified his critique of Clinton with rhetoric that’s edged toward breaking one of his core campaign pledges: no attacks. “Without naming any names, Goldman Sachs also provides very, very generous speaking fees to some unnamed candidates,” he said this week in Iowa, meaning her. His argument hasn’t gone unnoticed by Republicans. The Republican National Committee jumped to Sanders’ defense during the last debate, blasting out emails undercutting her. It’s all a win-win for Republicans, potentially bolstering Sanders, who they see as the less formidable general election opponent, and reinforcing negative impressions of Clinton. Clinton’s campaign released a statement accusing Sanders of following Republican cues to go after her (as much as it seems the other way around). The campaign’s communications director, Jen Palmieri, said it’s obvious that Clinton is the candidate Republicans are afraid to face. During Sanders’ rise in the summer, Clinton’s campaign avoided criticizing Sanders out of fear that would alienate his liberal supporters who will be important to the Democratic nominee this fall. That hesitancy has changed in recent weeks. “No one has laid a glove on Bernie,” said Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, a Clinton supporter who has warned about Sanders’ electability. “We like Bernie and he’s having a conversation we think is important so it’s not an easy thing to do.” She urged Democrats to think about the practicality of Sanders plans. “He is basing his candidacy on promises that in his gut he’s got to know can’t be kept because he’s got to work with Congress.” Recent preference polls suggest her lead in Iowa has evaporated and in New Hampshire, Sanders has opened up a significant edge. Clinton and her team believe they can still win the Feb. 1 caucuses in Iowa, arguing that her broader support will help her pick up more delegates, because of the proportional nature of their allocation in the state. Her strategists have long seen New Hampshire as a tougher race, given Sanders’ decades of representing a neighboring state. They’ve believed the nomination would be won in South Carolina, Nevada and the Southern states that vote on March 1. The larger numbers of minority voters in the later contests benefit Clinton, who’s consistently polled better among those groups. But even in Southern states, Democrats increasingly see a path for Sanders to cobble together a coalition of liberal whites, independents and younger black supporters. “Sanders organizers seem to be making some headway,” said Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, who says he’s likely to endorse Clinton. “What I’m hearing more and more is that (black voters) are now open to hearing Bernie.” And caucuses — which tend to reward liberal candidates — in March and in April in states such as Maine, Colorado and Wyoming could favor Sanders. “Nobody ever stops running for president, they just run out of money,” said former Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, a Clinton fundraiser. “Bernie has enough money for a long time.” Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
