April 6, 2019

Kennedy Rips Democrats for Seeking Trump Taxes

April 5, 2019 at 6:18 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard

Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) mocked House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) on CNN for asking that the IRS hand over six years of President Trump’s tax returns.

Said Kennedy: “Chairman Neal, powerful man, head of Ways and Means, I know he’s an adult, but I don’t think he’s like a real adult. He says that he needs Trump’s tax returns, he says it’s policy not politics.”

He added: “I can’t believe he really thinks the American people are going to fall for that. It must really suck to be that dumb.”

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https://politicalwire.com/2019/04/05/kennedy-rips-democrats-for-seeking-trump-taxes/

April 6, 2019

Trump Takes a Jab at California Politicians for Daring to 'Complain' When Wildfires Erupt

President Trump took a jab at California politicians on Friday for “complaining” about wildfires, less than a year after dozens were killed in a massive blaze. “California’s always the first one to complain. And I don’t mean the people of California. They’re fantastic. I’m talking about the politicians in California. They complain,” he said, according to CNN. “When their forests go up, they complain. They gotta take care of their forests a lot better. But when the wall—they want the wall in San Diego and they’re always the first one. They were the first one to pull the National Guard. And they need the National Guard,” he said during a visit to the border in Calexico. California had the largest and deadliest wildfire in the state's history last year, destroying homes and killing more than 75 people. The state is also one of 16 states to file a lawsuit against the Trump administration's national emergency declaration to fund the wall along the southern border.

READ IT AT CNN

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https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-takes-a-jab-at-california-politicians-for-daring-to-complain-when-wildfires-erupt?ref=home

April 6, 2019

Trump Slams Nonexistent 'Judge Flores' for Landmark Immigration Ruling Actually Named After...

Trump Slams Nonexistent ‘Judge Flores’ for Landmark Immigration Ruling Actually Named After Migrant Teen

‘I have to tell you, Judge Flores, whoever you may be, that decision was a disaster for our country,’ he said, at least acknowledging he has no idea who Flores is.

Julia Arciga
04.05.19 9:14 PM ET

President Trump had a lot to say Friday about a landmark immigration ruling that limits how long the government can detain undocumented migrant children. Unfortunately, his argument took a turn for the incoherent as soon as he publicly called out a nonexistent judge for a 20-day cap on detaining immigrant minors.

Complaining about a build-up of migrants at the border while visiting Calexico, California, Trump blamed it on “some very bad court decisions,” singling out the “Flores decision” as a “disaster.”

“I have to tell you, Judge Flores, whoever you may be, that decision is a disaster for our country,” Trump said during a meeting with border patrol officials.

https://twitter.com/girlsreallyrule/status/1114276868818132992

The “decision” the president was referring to was Reno v. Flores—otherwise known as the Flores Settlement—which protects migrant children from being held indefinitely in custody and grants them certain basic rights, like the right to food, medical assistance, drinking water, and toilets while in detention. The Trump administration tried unsuccessfully to modify the agreement last year to allow for longer detention periods for minors.

The agreement was named not after a judge, but 15-year-old Jenny Lisette Flores, who fled El Salvador in the 1980s and was detained upon trying to enter the U.S. to live with her aunt. The teen was the lead plaintiff in the case, which came before the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. It was settled in 1997, with Clinton-era Attorney General Janet Reno as the defendant.

more
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-slams-nonexistent-judge-flores-for-landmark-immigration-ruling-actually-named-after-migrant-teen?ref=home

April 5, 2019

Trump lawyer contends Treasury must not release president's tax returns until...

Source: The Washington Post



Trump lawyer contends Treasury must not release president’s tax returns until the Justice Department weighs in

By Washington Post Staff April 5 at 4:10 PM

An attorney hired by President Trump on Friday told the Treasury Department that it should not turn over the president’s tax returns until it receives a legal opinion from the Justice Department.

William S. Consovoy, the attorney, attacked the request from Rep. Richard E. Neal (D-Mass.), chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, as a “gross abuse of power.”
This is a developing story. It will be updated.

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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2019/04/05/trump-lawyer-contends-treasury-must-not-release-presidents-tax-returns-until-the-justice-department-weighs-in/

April 5, 2019

Trump is floundering disastrously on multiple fronts. Stop pretending he's in control.

By Greg Sargent
Opinion writer
April 5 at 10:33 AM
Because so many of us got it so wrong in 2016, there’s a tendency among many commentators to reflexively assume President Trump possesses some kind of hidden, magical sway over the political environment that we’re all missing. But if there’s anything that should shatter this illusion, it’s the events of this particular moment.

When Trump brashly proclaimed “total exoneration” based on his attorney general’s four-page summary of the special counsel’s findings, it was widely proclaimed that Trump and Republicans were now “turning the tables” and going “on offense” against the media and Democrats for supposedly blowing the Russia scandal. Some in the media flagellated themselves upon Trump’s demand, and others absurdly overstated the scale of Trump’s new command of the political narrative.

Yet now new reports have badly damaged that story line by revealing that some of Robert S. Mueller III’s investigators say Attorney General William P. Barr’s letter underplayed just how damaging their findings really are for Trump — and that they prepared summaries of their findings, expressly for public release, that Barr did not divulge.

Barr is now facing sharp criticism by some in the legal community for his handling of this affair. And Democrats are now demanding these summaries, as well as communications with the special counsel about Barr’s decision-making. Whether or not these are forthcoming, it’s clear Democrats have new openings to pressure Barr for much greater disclosure than before.

more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/04/05/trump-is-floundering-disastrously-multiple-fronts-stop-pretending-hes-control/

April 5, 2019

Biden Accuser Lucy Flores Rips Ex-VP For Joking About Controversy: 'It's Clear' He 'Hasn't...

Biden Accuser Lucy Flores Rips Ex-VP For Joking About Controversy: ‘It’s Clear’ He ‘Hasn’t Reflected at All’

by Ken Meyer | Apr 5th, 2019, 2:03 pm

Former Nevada lawmaker Lucy Flores is bashing Joe Biden for not being more introspective about the allegations she and others have brought forth about his behavior over the years.

https://twitter.com/LucyFlores/status/1114204152261775361

Flores was the first of several women who’ve spoken out in recent days to claim Biden was physically inappropriate with them. These allegations loom over Biden’s possible run for president in 2020, but some political observers are defending the ex-veep by noting his affectionate nature and questioning the seriousness of the accusations against him.

Biden addressed the allegations against him several times in the last few days, acknowledging those who feel wronged by him and saying he’ll be more mindful of personal space from now on. He cracked jokes about the controversy during a speech he gave today, and then told reporters “I’m sorry I didn’t understand more,” but “I’m not sorry for any of my intentions”

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https://www.mediaite.com/online/biden-accuser-lucy-flores-rips-ex-vp-for-joking-about-controversy-its-clear-he-hasnt-reflected-at-all/

April 5, 2019

Trump Reportedly Withdrew ICE Director Nomination After Lobbying from Stephen Miller

by Josh Feldman | Apr 5th, 2019, 3:19 pm

President Donald Trump today made the surprise announcement that he is withdrawing his nomination of Ron Vitiello for ICE director. Vitiello currently serves as the acting director, but Trump said today during his announcement that they’re going in a “tougher” direction.

https://twitter.com/CBSNews/status/1114169123255275520

Per multiple reports, the president’s decision came after lobbying from Stephen Miller. CNN reports that Miller “directly lobbied” Trump and even said Vitiello was at odds with POTUS about closing the border:

https://twitter.com/kaitlancollins/status/1114221479070130176
https://twitter.com/kaitlancollins/status/1114222203590008832

The Washington Post similarly reports officials were blindsided over the move and aren’t too happy with Miller:



more
https://www.mediaite.com/online/trump-reportedly-withdrew-ice-director-nomination-after-lobbying-from-stephen-miller/

April 5, 2019

Ex-Spy Valerie Plame Weighs 2020 Run For New Mexico Congressional Seat

By Russell Conteras
April 5, 2019 1:12 pm

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Former CIA operative, author and activist Valerie Plame said Friday she is considering a 2020 run for an open U.S. congressional seat in New Mexico.

Plame told The Associated Press she is spending time with residents and will make a decision soon. The seat is currently held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, who is stepping down to run for U.S. Senate.

“Right now, I am going around and meeting with people,” said Plame, a Democrat. “I have a lot to learn and I would like another opportunity to serve my country.”

Plame became a national figure after her identity as a CIA operative was leaked by an official in President George W. Bush’s administration in 2003 in an effort to discredit her then-husband Joe Wilson.

more
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/valerie-plame-consider-2020-new-mexico-congressional-seat-run

April 5, 2019

Disgraced former Congressman Anthony Weiner designated Level 1 sex offender

Updated 2 hours ago

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- Disgraced former Congressman Anthony Weiner was designated a Level 1 sex offender Friday by a judge in the Bronx, where he has been living in a halfway house since his release from federal prison in February.

The New York Democrat, a once-rising star who also ran for mayor, was convicted of having illicit online contact with a 15-year-old North Carolina girl in 2017. He did not appear in court Friday.

He began serving a 21-month prison sentence that November at the Federal Medical Center Devens, located about 40 miles west of Boston in Ayer, Massachusetts.

Weiner, 54, must register for a minimum of 20 years. He is required to verify his address every year, notify the state within 10 days of moving and visit a police station every three years to have a new picture taken.

more
https://abc7ny.com/politics/ex-congressman-anthony-weiner-designated-level-1-sex-offender/5235318/

April 5, 2019

Trump Says 'Press' Is 'Truly the Enemy of the People'

Source: The Daily Beast



President Trump went after the media again in a Friday tweet, claiming the press—and not just the “fake news” media—is the “enemy of the people.” “The press is doing everything within their power to fight the magnificence of the phrase, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump wrote. “They can’t stand the fact that this Administration has done more than virtually any other Administration in its first 2yrs. They are truly the ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!” Earlier Friday, Trump told reporters that he would be skipping this year’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner because it would be “too negative.”

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1114221533461790721

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Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-says-press-is-truly-the-enemy-of-the-people