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April 30, 2019
BREAKING NEWS: TRUMP TRIES TO BLOCK SUBPOENAS, CAUSING TOP DEMOCRATS TO CALL FOR IMPEACHMENT
Biden: If Trump blocks investigations, Congress has no choice but to impeach him
BY JOHN BOWDEN - 04/30/19 09:13 AM EDT
Former Vice President Joe Biden said Tuesday that Congress should move forward with impeachment proceedings if the White House and Republicans work to block Democratic efforts to investigate matters "left undone" by special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.
In an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America," the 2020 presidential candidate said that Democrats would have "no alternative" but to impeach President Trump if he were to block a congressional investigation into whether he obstructed justice by firing former FBI Director James Comey and attempting to fire Mueller.
Biden's call for Congress to begin impeachment proceedings if the White House blocks its investigation falls short of the position of his fellow 2020 primary contender Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), who said at a town hall last week that Congress should begin impeachment proceedings now.
"We have very good reason to believe that there is an investigation that has been conducted which has produced evidence that tells us that this president and his administration engaged in obstruction of justice. I believe Congress should take the steps toward impeachment," she told a CNN town hall in New Hampshire.
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/441301-biden-if-trump-blocks-investigations-congress-has-no-choice-but-to
BY JOHN BOWDEN - 04/30/19 09:13 AM EDT
Former Vice President Joe Biden said Tuesday that Congress should move forward with impeachment proceedings if the White House and Republicans work to block Democratic efforts to investigate matters "left undone" by special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.
In an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America," the 2020 presidential candidate said that Democrats would have "no alternative" but to impeach President Trump if he were to block a congressional investigation into whether he obstructed justice by firing former FBI Director James Comey and attempting to fire Mueller.
Biden's call for Congress to begin impeachment proceedings if the White House blocks its investigation falls short of the position of his fellow 2020 primary contender Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), who said at a town hall last week that Congress should begin impeachment proceedings now.
"We have very good reason to believe that there is an investigation that has been conducted which has produced evidence that tells us that this president and his administration engaged in obstruction of justice. I believe Congress should take the steps toward impeachment," she told a CNN town hall in New Hampshire.
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/441301-biden-if-trump-blocks-investigations-congress-has-no-choice-but-to
Trump sues Deutsche Bank, Capital One to block subpoenas
After US lawmakers demanded Donald Trump's financial records from Deutsche Bank and Capital One, the US president sued to stop the release. The subpoenas would serve to "ferret" for damaging material, the lawsuit says.
Previously, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said the subpoenas were part of an investigation "into allegations of potential foreign influence on the US political process," hinting at Trump's dealings with Russia.
Responding to Trump's legal move, Schiff and his colleague from the House Financial Committee Maxine Waters said the lawsuit was "meritless."
"This lawsuit is not designed to succeed; it is only designed to put off meaningful accountability as long as possible," they said.
https://www.dw.com/en/trump-sues-deutsche-bank-capital-one-to-block-subpoenas/a-48541673 https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/441301-biden-if-trump-blocks-investigations-congress-has-no-choice-but-to
After US lawmakers demanded Donald Trump's financial records from Deutsche Bank and Capital One, the US president sued to stop the release. The subpoenas would serve to "ferret" for damaging material, the lawsuit says.
Previously, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said the subpoenas were part of an investigation "into allegations of potential foreign influence on the US political process," hinting at Trump's dealings with Russia.
Responding to Trump's legal move, Schiff and his colleague from the House Financial Committee Maxine Waters said the lawsuit was "meritless."
"This lawsuit is not designed to succeed; it is only designed to put off meaningful accountability as long as possible," they said.
https://www.dw.com/en/trump-sues-deutsche-bank-capital-one-to-block-subpoenas/a-48541673 https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/441301-biden-if-trump-blocks-investigations-congress-has-no-choice-but-to
April 27, 2019
"Trump isn't just defying Congress. He's rejecting the whole idea of oversight."
The stakes in the current showdown are higher than a few subpoenas.
By Steve Vladeck
Steve Vladeck is a professor at the University of Texas School of Law, co-editor in chief of Just Security, co-host of the National Security Law Podcast and a CNN legal analyst.
The administration’s emerging position appears to be that Congress does not really have the power to investigate the president, at least not when one chamber is controlled by his political adversaries, even if whatever information it seeks might eventually be used in an impeachment proceeding. That’s a deeply disturbing argument, and one that, if successful, would tilt the separation of powers, perhaps irrevocably, toward the executive branch.
Several fights between the administration and the House seemed to boil over this past week. The Justice Department has said the official who oversees its civil rights division won’t give a deposition to a House committee investigating the administration’s plan to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census. The White House blocked another official, who handles security clearances, from testifying before a different panel looking into that work. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has missed deadlines to provide Trump’s tax returns to the House Ways and Means Committee, which has requested them as permitted by statute; Mnuchin says he’ll decide next month whether to comply. Trump also sued the chairman of the House Oversight Committee (as well as his own accounting firm) to try to quash a subpoena the panel issued for financial information related to Trump’s businesses.
There is no question that the power of inquiry has limits. As the Supreme Court explained in 1957, “No inquiry is an end in itself; it must be related to, and in furtherance of, a legitimate task of the Congress. Investigations conducted solely for the personal aggrandizement of the investigators or to ‘punish’ those investigated are indefensible.” Supporters of the president might point to this language as proof that any subpoena issued by the current House is invalid, because it’s clearly part of a “witch hunt” against Trump.
This argument doesn’t remotely follow. No one disputes that one of the most important tasks that the Constitution commits to Congress is the power to impeach and remove federal officers for “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/trump-isnt-just-defying-congress-hes-rejecting-the-whole-idea-of-oversight/2019/04/26/acf0a00a-67c9-11e9-a1b6-b29b90efa879_story.html?utm_term=.8eaee25cd542
By Steve Vladeck
Steve Vladeck is a professor at the University of Texas School of Law, co-editor in chief of Just Security, co-host of the National Security Law Podcast and a CNN legal analyst.
The administration’s emerging position appears to be that Congress does not really have the power to investigate the president, at least not when one chamber is controlled by his political adversaries, even if whatever information it seeks might eventually be used in an impeachment proceeding. That’s a deeply disturbing argument, and one that, if successful, would tilt the separation of powers, perhaps irrevocably, toward the executive branch.
Several fights between the administration and the House seemed to boil over this past week. The Justice Department has said the official who oversees its civil rights division won’t give a deposition to a House committee investigating the administration’s plan to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census. The White House blocked another official, who handles security clearances, from testifying before a different panel looking into that work. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has missed deadlines to provide Trump’s tax returns to the House Ways and Means Committee, which has requested them as permitted by statute; Mnuchin says he’ll decide next month whether to comply. Trump also sued the chairman of the House Oversight Committee (as well as his own accounting firm) to try to quash a subpoena the panel issued for financial information related to Trump’s businesses.
There is no question that the power of inquiry has limits. As the Supreme Court explained in 1957, “No inquiry is an end in itself; it must be related to, and in furtherance of, a legitimate task of the Congress. Investigations conducted solely for the personal aggrandizement of the investigators or to ‘punish’ those investigated are indefensible.” Supporters of the president might point to this language as proof that any subpoena issued by the current House is invalid, because it’s clearly part of a “witch hunt” against Trump.
This argument doesn’t remotely follow. No one disputes that one of the most important tasks that the Constitution commits to Congress is the power to impeach and remove federal officers for “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/trump-isnt-just-defying-congress-hes-rejecting-the-whole-idea-of-oversight/2019/04/26/acf0a00a-67c9-11e9-a1b6-b29b90efa879_story.html?utm_term=.8eaee25cd542
April 12, 2019
Obstruction of justice is defined by federal statute as any "interference with the orderly administration of law and justice" and governed by 18 U.S.C. §§ 1501-1521. Federal code identifies more than 20 specific types of obstruction, including "Obstruction of proceedings before departments, agencies, and committees" (18 U.S.C. § 1505)
Trump enlists conservative allies as he resists Democrats’ push for Mueller report, tax returns
By John Wagner April 8
President Trump went on Twitter Monday morning... as he continued to air grievances about efforts of congressional Democrats to obtain the full special counsel report and his tax returns.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-enlists-conservatives-allies-as-he-resists-democrats-push-for-mueller-report-tax-returns/2019/04/08/50e0671c-59f2-11e9-842d-7d3ed7eb3957_story.html?utm_term=.d6722cb1e799
Obstruction of justice, in United States jurisdictions, is a process crime, consisting of obstructing prosecutors or other (usually government) officials. Common law jurisdictions other than the United States tend to use the wider offense of perverting the course of justice.
Obstruction also applies to overt coercion of court or government officials via the means of threats or actual physical harm, and also applying to deliberate sedition against a court official to undermine the appearance of legitimate authority.
Elements of an Obstruction of Justice Charge:
There was a pending federal judicial proceeding;
The defendant knew of the proceeding; and...
The defendant had corrupt intent to interfere with or attempted to interfere with the proceeding.
Other ways an individual may commit this offense include, but are not limited to, the following acts:
>Influencing or injuring an officer or juror generally (18 U.S.C. § 1503)
>Obstruction of criminal investigations (18 U.S.C. § 1510)
>Tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant (18 U.S.C. § 1512)
>Retaliating against a witness, victim, or an informant (18 U.S.C. § 1513)
>Destruction of corporate audit records (18 U.S.C. § 1520)
>The crime can take any number of forms, whether it's bribery, tampering with evidence, lying to investigators, abusing one's power, or some other act intended to impede a criminal investigation.
EXAMPLES OF OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE BY TRUMP AND BARR
Obstructing Justice Under Federal Jurisdiction:Obstruction of justice is defined by federal statute as any "interference with the orderly administration of law and justice" and governed by 18 U.S.C. §§ 1501-1521. Federal code identifies more than 20 specific types of obstruction, including "Obstruction of proceedings before departments, agencies, and committees" (18 U.S.C. § 1505)
What Might Be Blacked Out of Mueller's Trump-Russia Report?
April 11, 2019, at 7:05 a.m.
BY JAN WOLFE
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Attorney General William Barr has pledged to release next week Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russia's role in the 2016 U.S. election and contacts between Moscow and President Donald Trump's campaign, albeit with color-coded redactions, accompanied by notes explaining the grounds for withholding information. It is unclear how much will be blacked out.
While congressional Democrats have demanded the release of the full report with nothing blacked out, as well as the underlying evidence Mueller collected, Barr has said he will redact four categories of sensitive information.
According to a March 24 letter Barr sent to lawmakers, Mueller's nearly 400-page report presents evidence on both sides of the question of whether Trump engaged in obstruction of justice, and while it "does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."
https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2019-04-11/explainer-what-might-be-blacked-out-of-muellers-trump-russia-report
April 11, 2019, at 7:05 a.m.
BY JAN WOLFE
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Attorney General William Barr has pledged to release next week Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russia's role in the 2016 U.S. election and contacts between Moscow and President Donald Trump's campaign, albeit with color-coded redactions, accompanied by notes explaining the grounds for withholding information. It is unclear how much will be blacked out.
While congressional Democrats have demanded the release of the full report with nothing blacked out, as well as the underlying evidence Mueller collected, Barr has said he will redact four categories of sensitive information.
According to a March 24 letter Barr sent to lawmakers, Mueller's nearly 400-page report presents evidence on both sides of the question of whether Trump engaged in obstruction of justice, and while it "does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."
https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2019-04-11/explainer-what-might-be-blacked-out-of-muellers-trump-russia-report
Trump enlists conservative allies as he resists Democrats’ push for Mueller report, tax returns
By John Wagner April 8
President Trump went on Twitter Monday morning... as he continued to air grievances about efforts of congressional Democrats to obtain the full special counsel report and his tax returns.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-enlists-conservatives-allies-as-he-resists-democrats-push-for-mueller-report-tax-returns/2019/04/08/50e0671c-59f2-11e9-842d-7d3ed7eb3957_story.html?utm_term=.d6722cb1e799
Treasury department won't meet deadline to release Trump's tax returns...
The treasury department declined to hand over Trump’s tax returns before a deadline set in a request from the House ways and means committee chairman, Richard Neal. In a letter, Secretary Steve Mnuchin said his department was still deciding whether to comply, and seeking support from the justice department.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2019/apr/10/trump-news-today-latest-live-updates-mueller-report-barr-bernie-sanders-medicare-for-all
The treasury department declined to hand over Trump’s tax returns before a deadline set in a request from the House ways and means committee chairman, Richard Neal. In a letter, Secretary Steve Mnuchin said his department was still deciding whether to comply, and seeking support from the justice department.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2019/apr/10/trump-news-today-latest-live-updates-mueller-report-barr-bernie-sanders-medicare-for-all
Obstruction of justice, in United States jurisdictions, is a process crime, consisting of obstructing prosecutors or other (usually government) officials. Common law jurisdictions other than the United States tend to use the wider offense of perverting the course of justice.
Obstruction also applies to overt coercion of court or government officials via the means of threats or actual physical harm, and also applying to deliberate sedition against a court official to undermine the appearance of legitimate authority.
Take Trump’s Tweet-Threat to Democrats Seriously
No, Mr. President, attempting to intimidate your opponents to avoid subpoenas is not a “game.”
By Noah Feldman
November 7, 2018, 9:52 AM MST
"President Donald Trump has defined it in a tweet, threatening a criminal investigation of Democrats if the House Democratic majority uses its powers to investigate him."
Tweet by Donald J. Trump:
✔
@realDonaldTrump
If the Democrats think they are going to waste Taxpayer Money investigating us at the House level, then we will likewise be forced to consider investigating them for all of the leaks of Classified Information, and much else, at the Senate level. Two can play that game!
"Oversight and investigation therefore are not a “game,” as Trump says. They are core features of what keeps democracy from dissolving into corruption."
Citing the Trump tweet, the news article reports that Trump is "overtly threatening to go after the Democrats if and only if they try to investigate him. That’s an explicit distortion of partisanship in the interests of personal self-preservation.
"Democrats in the House now have subpoena power to use in investigating Trump... And he is taking steps to prevent the Democrats’ investigation power from harming him." In Trump’s plan, "the way to defend yourself is simply to threaten the other side," according to the news article. Also, Trump "wants to expend on his opponents’ supposed wrongdoings, even if they are completely invented."
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-11-07/trump-tweet-threatening-house-democrats-is-not-normal
No, Mr. President, attempting to intimidate your opponents to avoid subpoenas is not a “game.”
By Noah Feldman
November 7, 2018, 9:52 AM MST
"President Donald Trump has defined it in a tweet, threatening a criminal investigation of Democrats if the House Democratic majority uses its powers to investigate him."
Tweet by Donald J. Trump:
✔
@realDonaldTrump
If the Democrats think they are going to waste Taxpayer Money investigating us at the House level, then we will likewise be forced to consider investigating them for all of the leaks of Classified Information, and much else, at the Senate level. Two can play that game!
"Oversight and investigation therefore are not a “game,” as Trump says. They are core features of what keeps democracy from dissolving into corruption."
Citing the Trump tweet, the news article reports that Trump is "overtly threatening to go after the Democrats if and only if they try to investigate him. That’s an explicit distortion of partisanship in the interests of personal self-preservation.
"Democrats in the House now have subpoena power to use in investigating Trump... And he is taking steps to prevent the Democrats’ investigation power from harming him." In Trump’s plan, "the way to defend yourself is simply to threaten the other side," according to the news article. Also, Trump "wants to expend on his opponents’ supposed wrongdoings, even if they are completely invented."
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-11-07/trump-tweet-threatening-house-democrats-is-not-normal
Elements of an Obstruction of Justice Charge:
There was a pending federal judicial proceeding;
The defendant knew of the proceeding; and...
The defendant had corrupt intent to interfere with or attempted to interfere with the proceeding.
Trump rejects giving Dems tax returns, citing audit
BY BRETT SAMUELS - 04/10/19 10:05 AM EDT
Trump has insisted he will not voluntarily give up his returns. He has cited an ongoing audit, the same reason he gave when he broke with years of precedent and declined to release his returns during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump on Wednesday echoed the argument of his allies, who have pushed back against the Democratic request, suggesting the issue was litigated during the 2016 election and "frankly, the people don’t care."
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/438197-trump-rejects-giving-dems-tax-returns-citing-audit
BY BRETT SAMUELS - 04/10/19 10:05 AM EDT
Trump has insisted he will not voluntarily give up his returns. He has cited an ongoing audit, the same reason he gave when he broke with years of precedent and declined to release his returns during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump on Wednesday echoed the argument of his allies, who have pushed back against the Democratic request, suggesting the issue was litigated during the 2016 election and "frankly, the people don’t care."
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/438197-trump-rejects-giving-dems-tax-returns-citing-audit
Other ways an individual may commit this offense include, but are not limited to, the following acts:
>Influencing or injuring an officer or juror generally (18 U.S.C. § 1503)
>Obstruction of criminal investigations (18 U.S.C. § 1510)
>Tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant (18 U.S.C. § 1512)
>Retaliating against a witness, victim, or an informant (18 U.S.C. § 1513)
>Destruction of corporate audit records (18 U.S.C. § 1520)
>The crime can take any number of forms, whether it's bribery, tampering with evidence, lying to investigators, abusing one's power, or some other act intended to impede a criminal investigation.
Partial Timeline of Trump and Obstruction of Justice: Key Dates and Events
What are the three scenarios that prosecutors, members of Congress, and the public could consider under the heading of obstruction of justice?
>First, any attempts to unlawfully have FBI Director James Comey drop the investigations of Michael Flynn
>Second, any attempts to unlawfully interfere with FBI or congressional investigations into collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian officials during the 2016 election
>Third, any attempts to unlawfully interfere with the FBI or congressional investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election (having nothing to do with any alleged Trump campaign collusion)
The federal obstruction of justice statute is written broadly and focuses more on the effect (or intended effect) of a particular action rather than the specific act itself. Therefore, seemingly innocuous acts could be construed as criminal activity if they have the intended effect of impeding justice.
more timeline of OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE, by Trump, at this link:
https://www.justsecurity.org/45987/timeline-trump-obstruction-justice-key-dates-events/
What are the three scenarios that prosecutors, members of Congress, and the public could consider under the heading of obstruction of justice?
>First, any attempts to unlawfully have FBI Director James Comey drop the investigations of Michael Flynn
>Second, any attempts to unlawfully interfere with FBI or congressional investigations into collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian officials during the 2016 election
>Third, any attempts to unlawfully interfere with the FBI or congressional investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election (having nothing to do with any alleged Trump campaign collusion)
The federal obstruction of justice statute is written broadly and focuses more on the effect (or intended effect) of a particular action rather than the specific act itself. Therefore, seemingly innocuous acts could be construed as criminal activity if they have the intended effect of impeding justice.
more timeline of OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE, by Trump, at this link:
https://www.justsecurity.org/45987/timeline-trump-obstruction-justice-key-dates-events/
Trump Can’t Help Obstructing Justice. Who Will Stop Him?
The president abuses his office and views the Justice Department as a tool to punish his political enemies and give his allies a free pass.
By Renato Mariotti
Mr. Mariotti is a former federal prosecutor.
Remember, Robert Mueller, the special counsel, was appointed just last May in the wake of significant critical public reaction to his firing of James Comey, the F.B.I. director, who reportedly offered no assurances about curtailing the Russia investigation generally or specifically taking it easy on Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser.
Since then, Mr. Trump has increasingly obstructed the special counsel’s investigation in plain view, in the process politicizing both the Justice Department and F.B.I. It is no longer news when the president — the head of the executive branch — maligns the F.B.I., calls on the Justice Department to investigate his political enemies or teases pardons to try to influence potential witnesses against him.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/04/opinion/trump-sessions-obstructing-justice.html
The president abuses his office and views the Justice Department as a tool to punish his political enemies and give his allies a free pass.
By Renato Mariotti
Mr. Mariotti is a former federal prosecutor.
Remember, Robert Mueller, the special counsel, was appointed just last May in the wake of significant critical public reaction to his firing of James Comey, the F.B.I. director, who reportedly offered no assurances about curtailing the Russia investigation generally or specifically taking it easy on Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser.
Since then, Mr. Trump has increasingly obstructed the special counsel’s investigation in plain view, in the process politicizing both the Justice Department and F.B.I. It is no longer news when the president — the head of the executive branch — maligns the F.B.I., calls on the Justice Department to investigate his political enemies or teases pardons to try to influence potential witnesses against him.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/04/opinion/trump-sessions-obstructing-justice.html
April 11, 2019
JERRY IANNELLI
The Trump administration's family-separation and child-immigrant-detention policies have forced innocent children into horrid, inhumane conditions and, in some cases, have violated international law.
But housing immigrant children has been extremely lucrative for the private contractors running detention facilities. In fact, one Florida company operating at the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Undocumented Children is making so much money off detained kids that it's part of a planned $100 million initial public offering, according to SEC filings reviewed by New Times.
That firm is Comprehensive Health Services, one of the main contractors running Homestead's migrant camp. Comprehensive Health, which was founded in 1975 and is based in Cape Canaveral, holds a federal contract for work at the camp that could be worth as much as $200 million this year. But last year, a larger corporation, Caliburn International LLC, bought Comprehensive Health, and now Caliburn is angling to go public on Wall Street and rake in cash.
To make matters even more interesting: Caliburn was apparently formed by none other than D.C. Capital Partners, a private equity firm that, as of 2017, employed former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly as a lobbyist through a subsidiary. The Intercept reported in January 2017 that D.C. Capital had paid Kelly $37,500 and that he had failed to disclose the payments on government forms. After that news broke, Kelly announced he was severing ties with the company.
https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/homestead-miami-child-migrant-camp-operators-will-be-part-of-100-million-ipo-11059423
What MANY readers don't know about the HOMESTEAD DETENTION CENTER FOR CHILDREN:
Miami Child Migrant Camp Operators Plan $100 Million Stock Offering With Firm Once Tied to John KellyJERRY IANNELLI
The Trump administration's family-separation and child-immigrant-detention policies have forced innocent children into horrid, inhumane conditions and, in some cases, have violated international law.
But housing immigrant children has been extremely lucrative for the private contractors running detention facilities. In fact, one Florida company operating at the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Undocumented Children is making so much money off detained kids that it's part of a planned $100 million initial public offering, according to SEC filings reviewed by New Times.
That firm is Comprehensive Health Services, one of the main contractors running Homestead's migrant camp. Comprehensive Health, which was founded in 1975 and is based in Cape Canaveral, holds a federal contract for work at the camp that could be worth as much as $200 million this year. But last year, a larger corporation, Caliburn International LLC, bought Comprehensive Health, and now Caliburn is angling to go public on Wall Street and rake in cash.
To make matters even more interesting: Caliburn was apparently formed by none other than D.C. Capital Partners, a private equity firm that, as of 2017, employed former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly as a lobbyist through a subsidiary. The Intercept reported in January 2017 that D.C. Capital had paid Kelly $37,500 and that he had failed to disclose the payments on government forms. After that news broke, Kelly announced he was severing ties with the company.
https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/homestead-miami-child-migrant-camp-operators-will-be-part-of-100-million-ipo-11059423
April 9, 2019
By Lauren Pearle New York — Apr 8, 2019 6:47 PM
Trump broke with precedent when he chose not to release any returns.
Lawmakers in New York have decided to directly take on President Trump and his [previously hidden] tax returns.
New York state senator Brad Hoylman, a Democrat, introduced a bill on Monday that would authorize the New York State Department of Taxation & Finance to share state tax return information with a requesting congressional committee. Current New York law generally prohibits the release of private tax information.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/york-lawmakers-steps-uncover-trumps-tax-returns/story?id=62255373
On April 3rd:
House Democrats have sent their long-anticipated request for six years of President Donald Trump's tax returns to the Internal Revenue Service, the opening salvo in what could prove an explosive battle between Democrats and the Trump administration over the president’s personal finances that is expected to wind up in the courts.
Democrats have said they would use Trump’s tax returns to inform their investigations into allegations of corruption and wrongdoing in the administration and the president’s family business.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/house-democrats-treasury-trumps-tax-returns/story?id=62150855
Trump Still Plans to Hide Tax Returns. hmmm
New York lawmakers take steps to uncover Trump's tax returnsBy Lauren Pearle New York — Apr 8, 2019 6:47 PM
Trump broke with precedent when he chose not to release any returns.
Lawmakers in New York have decided to directly take on President Trump and his [previously hidden] tax returns.
New York state senator Brad Hoylman, a Democrat, introduced a bill on Monday that would authorize the New York State Department of Taxation & Finance to share state tax return information with a requesting congressional committee. Current New York law generally prohibits the release of private tax information.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/york-lawmakers-steps-uncover-trumps-tax-returns/story?id=62255373
On April 3rd:
House Democrats have sent their long-anticipated request for six years of President Donald Trump's tax returns to the Internal Revenue Service, the opening salvo in what could prove an explosive battle between Democrats and the Trump administration over the president’s personal finances that is expected to wind up in the courts.
Democrats have said they would use Trump’s tax returns to inform their investigations into allegations of corruption and wrongdoing in the administration and the president’s family business.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/house-democrats-treasury-trumps-tax-returns/story?id=62150855
April 2, 2019
And, last but not least:
Aren't both your anticipated, illegal sources of future income and your obviously outdated "WALL" defense strategies, glaringly obvious and obsolete?
A brief ancient history on inefficiency of the Trump "WALL"
Get realDonaldJTrump, on your increasing lies about reasons the U.S.A. needs a border wall. But, first a questions:
Were you ever involved in the construction industry?
Do you still have personal contacts, in that industry, willing to provide kick-backs and bribes to participate in building your wall?
How many long-term (illegal) sources of income can you anticipate from your absurdly misguided "wall" enterprise?
How much money will U.S.A. taxpayers be forced to pay, IN ALL KINDS OF TAXES TO MAINTAIN YOUR FOOLISHLY, OUTDATED "WALL?"
Now, direct quotes from ANCIENT HISTORY Encyclopedia (https://www.ancient.eu/article/1231/artillery-in-medieval-europe/):
Artillery in Medieval Europe
Strategies
Artillery machines were used to pound walls and towers with huge boulders with the aim being to breach or collapse a section of the defense to allow foot soldiers to attack the besieged army inside. The most widely used devices operated using a single swinging arm, which is why they are often called beam-sling machines. Boulders were the most common ammunition, but alternatives included flaming missiles covered in pitch or containers made from wood, terracotta or glass containing a flammable liquid...
Types of Catapults
The different types of Catapults used in the Middle Ages included:
The Ballista - The Ballista was similar to a Giant Crossbow and worked by using tension
The Trebuchet - The massive Trebuchet consisted of a lever and a sling and was capable of hurling stones of various weights, with a range, which often exceeded 300 yards.
The Mangonel - Missiles were launched from a bowl-shaped bucket.
http://www.lordsandladies.org/catapults.htm
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Artillery machines were strategically positioned to target a specific area on extremely thick fortress walls; and their operators worked in shifts so that a target could be continuously bombarded.
Aside from physical damage, the sight of a battery of artillery machines being assembled in full view must have been a daunting one for those under siege. There were also other strategies besides the brute force of launching heavy objects at the enemy.
Artillery machines were used to pound walls and towers with huge boulders with the aim being to breach or collapse a section of the defense to allow foot soldiers to attack the besieged army inside. The most widely used devices operated using a single swinging arm, which is why they are often called beam-sling machines. Boulders were the most common ammunition, but alternatives included flaming missiles covered in pitch or containers made from wood, terracotta or glass containing a flammable liquid...
Types of Catapults
The different types of Catapults used in the Middle Ages included:
The Ballista - The Ballista was similar to a Giant Crossbow and worked by using tension
The Trebuchet - The massive Trebuchet consisted of a lever and a sling and was capable of hurling stones of various weights, with a range, which often exceeded 300 yards.
The Mangonel - Missiles were launched from a bowl-shaped bucket.
http://www.lordsandladies.org/catapults.htm
.
Artillery machines were strategically positioned to target a specific area on extremely thick fortress walls; and their operators worked in shifts so that a target could be continuously bombarded.
Aside from physical damage, the sight of a battery of artillery machines being assembled in full view must have been a daunting one for those under siege. There were also other strategies besides the brute force of launching heavy objects at the enemy.
And, last but not least:
Aren't both your anticipated, illegal sources of future income and your obviously outdated "WALL" defense strategies, glaringly obvious and obsolete?
March 19, 2019
March 19, 2019, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
For the first time, experts of European weather and climate research institutions have issued a joint paper on the impacts of climate change on winter sports. The initiators are the Stiftung Sicherheit im Skisport (SIS, Foundation for Safety of Ski Sports), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), and the German Sport University Cologne (DSHS).
At the Atmospheric Environmental Research Division of the Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research of KIT (IMK-IFU), KIT's Campus Alpine, scientists of KIT study potential impacts of climate change on mountain regions among others. "For Alpine regions in particular, we assume a very rapid and extensive climate change. Both observation time series of the past and our climate computations for the future reveal a higher temperature increase. The existing climate and vegetation zones will move to higher altitudes and also snow conditions will change," says the Head of IMK-IFU, Professor Hans Peter Schmid.
Use of renewable energy sources must be strengthened and energy and resource efficiency must be enhanced...
Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2019-03-position-paper-potential-impacts-climate.html#jCp
Why are coral reefs important, and why are they dying?
New research shows more than 11 billion pieces of plastic litter corals in the Asia-Pacific.
Loes Witschge by Loes Witschge
29 Jan 2018
Dead coral is seen at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef in May 2016 [File: The Ocean Agency / XL Catlin Seaview Survey/Richard Vevers]
https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/coral-reefs-important-dying-180128135520949.html
Largest Extinction event ever documented already in progress
The 'great dying': rapid warming caused largest extinction event ever, report says
Up to 96% of all marine species and more than two-thirds of terrestrial species perished 252m years ago
The new research, published in Science, found that the drop in oxygen levels was particularly deadly for marine animals living closer to the poles. Experiments that varied oxygen and temperature levels for modern marine species, including shellfish, corals and sharks, helped “bridge the gap” to what the model found, Payne said.
This (current) warming is already causing punishing heatwaves, flooding and wildfires around the world, with scientists warning that the temperature rise could reach 3C or more by the end of the century unless there are immediate, radical reductions in emissions.
At the same time, Earth’s species are undergoing what some experts have termed the “sixth great extinction” due to habitat loss, poaching, pollution and climate change.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/06/global-warming-extinction-report-the-great-dying
Unusual BREAKING NEWS on Climate Change and mass-extinction.
Position paper on potential impacts of climate change on winter sportsMarch 19, 2019, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
For the first time, experts of European weather and climate research institutions have issued a joint paper on the impacts of climate change on winter sports. The initiators are the Stiftung Sicherheit im Skisport (SIS, Foundation for Safety of Ski Sports), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), and the German Sport University Cologne (DSHS).
At the Atmospheric Environmental Research Division of the Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research of KIT (IMK-IFU), KIT's Campus Alpine, scientists of KIT study potential impacts of climate change on mountain regions among others. "For Alpine regions in particular, we assume a very rapid and extensive climate change. Both observation time series of the past and our climate computations for the future reveal a higher temperature increase. The existing climate and vegetation zones will move to higher altitudes and also snow conditions will change," says the Head of IMK-IFU, Professor Hans Peter Schmid.
Use of renewable energy sources must be strengthened and energy and resource efficiency must be enhanced...
Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2019-03-position-paper-potential-impacts-climate.html#jCp
Why are coral reefs important, and why are they dying?
New research shows more than 11 billion pieces of plastic litter corals in the Asia-Pacific.
Loes Witschge by Loes Witschge
29 Jan 2018
Dead coral is seen at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef in May 2016 [File: The Ocean Agency / XL Catlin Seaview Survey/Richard Vevers]
https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/coral-reefs-important-dying-180128135520949.html
Largest Extinction event ever documented already in progress
The 'great dying': rapid warming caused largest extinction event ever, report says
Up to 96% of all marine species and more than two-thirds of terrestrial species perished 252m years ago
The new research, published in Science, found that the drop in oxygen levels was particularly deadly for marine animals living closer to the poles. Experiments that varied oxygen and temperature levels for modern marine species, including shellfish, corals and sharks, helped “bridge the gap” to what the model found, Payne said.
This (current) warming is already causing punishing heatwaves, flooding and wildfires around the world, with scientists warning that the temperature rise could reach 3C or more by the end of the century unless there are immediate, radical reductions in emissions.
At the same time, Earth’s species are undergoing what some experts have termed the “sixth great extinction” due to habitat loss, poaching, pollution and climate change.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/06/global-warming-extinction-report-the-great-dying
March 12, 2019
(Santa Fe, N.M.) -- New Mexico would become the first U.S. state to set up its own government-operated marijuana stores and subsidize medical cannabis for the poor under a bill brokered between Republicans and Democrats, as a new wave of states weighs legislation that would legalize recreational sales and consumption.
Those provisions were sown into Democrat-sponsored legislation that contains currents of social justice, including a provision to subsidize medical cannabis for poor people with "debilitating medical conditions" who might not otherwise be able to afford treatment. Tax dollars from recreational marijuana sales would fund employment and counseling programs in communities "disproportionately affected by past federal and state drug policies," including training to enter the marijuana sector.
Ten states and Washington, D.C., have legalized recreational marijuana -- all by ballot initiative except Vermont, which allowed for personal use and growing but is still debating whether to authorize commercial production and sales.
Other legislative efforts to legalize recreational marijuana are underway in New York and New Jersey, while a bill to legalize recreational cannabis in Democrat-dominated Hawaii fizzled last week.
http://www.witf.org/news/2019/03/new-mexico-mulls-state-run-pot-shops-subsidized-medical-use.php
Legalized Marijuana update 3/12/19
New Mexico mulls state-run pot shops, subsidized medical use Written by Morgan Lee/The Associated Press | Mar 12, 2019 9:23 AM(Santa Fe, N.M.) -- New Mexico would become the first U.S. state to set up its own government-operated marijuana stores and subsidize medical cannabis for the poor under a bill brokered between Republicans and Democrats, as a new wave of states weighs legislation that would legalize recreational sales and consumption.
Those provisions were sown into Democrat-sponsored legislation that contains currents of social justice, including a provision to subsidize medical cannabis for poor people with "debilitating medical conditions" who might not otherwise be able to afford treatment. Tax dollars from recreational marijuana sales would fund employment and counseling programs in communities "disproportionately affected by past federal and state drug policies," including training to enter the marijuana sector.
Ten states and Washington, D.C., have legalized recreational marijuana -- all by ballot initiative except Vermont, which allowed for personal use and growing but is still debating whether to authorize commercial production and sales.
Other legislative efforts to legalize recreational marijuana are underway in New York and New Jersey, while a bill to legalize recreational cannabis in Democrat-dominated Hawaii fizzled last week.
http://www.witf.org/news/2019/03/new-mexico-mulls-state-run-pot-shops-subsidized-medical-use.php
March 12, 2019
• The European Union’s three biggest economies — Germany, Britain and France — joined Ireland, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and Oman in banning all Boeing 737 Max 8 planes from their airspaces on Tuesday. The decisions came two days after 157 people were killed on a Max 8 during a flight from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Nairobi, Kenya, and could cause considerable disruption to global air travel.
• At least 27 airlines have now grounded the Max 8, which has crashed twice in five months. Roughly half of the Max 8 planes in operation are now idled.
• Pressure escalated inside the United States for a grounding of the Max 8, despite the Federal Aviation Administration’s declaration that the plane was considered safe. The union representing flight attendants at American Airlines, a heavy Max 8 user, urged management to “strongly consider grounding these planes until a thorough investigation can be performed.” Senators on opposite sides of the aisle, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Mitt Romney of Utah, also urged a grounding.
• President Trump, weighing in for the first time, posted Twitter messages deploring what he described as the technological complexities of commercial aircraft. “Pilots are no longer needed, but rather computer scientists from MIT,” Mr. Trump said. Much of what he asserted, however, was misleading or lacked context, aviation experts said.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/12/world/africa/boeing-ethiopian-airlines-plane-crash.html
AFTER 157 DEATHS, TRUMP RESPONSE WAS "MISLEADING AND LACKED CONTEXT"
Ethiopian Airlines Crash Updates: E.U.’s Biggest Economies Ban Boeing Max 8 Jets; Trump Says Planes Are Too Complex• The European Union’s three biggest economies — Germany, Britain and France — joined Ireland, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and Oman in banning all Boeing 737 Max 8 planes from their airspaces on Tuesday. The decisions came two days after 157 people were killed on a Max 8 during a flight from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Nairobi, Kenya, and could cause considerable disruption to global air travel.
• At least 27 airlines have now grounded the Max 8, which has crashed twice in five months. Roughly half of the Max 8 planes in operation are now idled.
• Pressure escalated inside the United States for a grounding of the Max 8, despite the Federal Aviation Administration’s declaration that the plane was considered safe. The union representing flight attendants at American Airlines, a heavy Max 8 user, urged management to “strongly consider grounding these planes until a thorough investigation can be performed.” Senators on opposite sides of the aisle, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Mitt Romney of Utah, also urged a grounding.
• President Trump, weighing in for the first time, posted Twitter messages deploring what he described as the technological complexities of commercial aircraft. “Pilots are no longer needed, but rather computer scientists from MIT,” Mr. Trump said. Much of what he asserted, however, was misleading or lacked context, aviation experts said.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/12/world/africa/boeing-ethiopian-airlines-plane-crash.html
March 10, 2019
March 6, 20197:28 PM ET
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will seek to end federal protections for the gray wolf throughout the lower 48 states, Acting Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt announced Wednesday.
There are now more than 5,000 gray wolves in the Lower 48, up from about 1,000 in 1975, according to The Associated Press.
There is disagreement about how fully the gray wolf population has recovered. Conservation groups say the gray wolf is found in just a small portion of its former territory.
Jamie Rappaport Clark, a former director of the Fish and Wildlife Service now with the Defenders of Wildlife, told the AP that protections were needed to prevent "an all-out war on wolves" in states that would allow them to be hunted.
https://www.npr.org/2019/03/06/700890055/trump-administration-seeks-to-take-gray-wolf-off-endangered-species-list
Gray Wolves - as a species - have a right to survive! w/ recent NPR news
Trump Administration Seeks To Take Gray Wolf Off Endangered Species ListMarch 6, 20197:28 PM ET
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will seek to end federal protections for the gray wolf throughout the lower 48 states, Acting Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt announced Wednesday.
There are now more than 5,000 gray wolves in the Lower 48, up from about 1,000 in 1975, according to The Associated Press.
There is disagreement about how fully the gray wolf population has recovered. Conservation groups say the gray wolf is found in just a small portion of its former territory.
Jamie Rappaport Clark, a former director of the Fish and Wildlife Service now with the Defenders of Wildlife, told the AP that protections were needed to prevent "an all-out war on wolves" in states that would allow them to be hunted.
https://www.npr.org/2019/03/06/700890055/trump-administration-seeks-to-take-gray-wolf-off-endangered-species-list
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