Tag: Trump thinks he’s above the law

Grassley says White House response on IG firings insufficient

Washington Post logoA senior Senate Republican criticized the White House late Tuesday for what he deemed an insufficient response to demands from senators to more fully explain President Trump’s controversial recent ousters of two inspectors general.

Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), a longtime defender of the dozens of independent government watchdogs placed throughout the federal government, released the five-page response from White House counsel Pat Cipollone on Tuesday evening.

Senators had raised concerns about the abrupt dismissal of Michael Atkinson, who had served as the intelligence community inspector general and had alerted Congress to a whistleblower’s complaint about Trump pressuring Ukraine to investigate his political rival — a chain of events that led to Trump’s impeachment and eventual acquittal in the Senate. Grassley also demanded an explanation for the ouster of Steve Linick, the inspector general for the State Department who had started to investigate alleged misconduct on the part of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Continue reading.

Republican corruption and carelessness led to devastation in Michigan: Does Trump even care?

AlterNet logoPresident Trump spent another week feuding with a Democratic governor, this time as Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer dealt with historic levels of rainfall which led to the collapse of a pair of privately-owned dams in the state. Instead of momentarily pausing his politics of petty revenge, Trump made matters worse, as is his wont.

The president diverted already strained resources for a campaign stop in Michigan that doubled as a political stunt, advertising his personal refusal to wear a mask, even in settings where everyone else is required to. Trump’s antagonistic rhetoric towards a state that is facing multiple life-or-death crises at the same time was widely criticized. But what he did more quietly did this week reveals just how vulnerable his deregulatory actions have left America.

In a move strikingly reminiscent of the Ukraine scandal, Trump took to Twitter on Wednesday to threaten to withhold federal funding from Michigan, even as floodwaters from the two breached dams forced thousands of residents of the city of Midland to flee their homes. Trump apparent goal was to coerce Michigan officials not to send vote-by-mail applications to the state’s 7.7 million registered voters vote-by-mail. As usual, the president was unclear about exactly what funding he had in mind. Hours later he sent another tweet claiming that his administration had already activated military and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) response teams but said Gov. Whitmer “must now ‘set you free’ to help.” Whitmer said at a news briefing on Tuesday that she had already contacted federal officials for help and activated the National Guard. Once again, nobody really knows what Trump was talking about. Continue reading.

Where Are They?’: Biden Criticizes G.O.P. Over Trump’s Firing of Inspectors General

New York Times logoAt a virtual round table discussion, the former vice president said that defending the independent watchdogs “used to be a hobbyhorse for Republican senators.”

Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Wednesday blasted the Republican response to President Trump’s firings of a string of inspectors general in recent weeks, suggesting that in another era there would have been louder bipartisan criticism for ousting watchdogs.

His remarks, part of a virtual round table aimed at a Wisconsin audience, came several days after the president ousted Steve A. Linick, who led the office of the inspector general at the State Department — the latest inspector general Mr. Trump has removed.

The White House has said Mr. Trump fired Mr. Linick at the urging of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Democrats have opened an investigation. Mr. Biden spoke in forceful terms about his disappointment in some of his former Republican colleagues. Continue reading.

Trump presses immunity argument in Summer Zervos defamation case

Washington Post logoNEW YORK — Lawyers for President Trump this week reiterated their argument that a defamation lawsuit from a woman who alleges Trump groped and kissed her without consent should be halted because the president is immune from lawsuits filed in state courts while serving in office.

A new 28-page court brief, filed Monday and released publicly by the New York State Court of Appeals on Tuesday, is Trump’s latest salvo in a multi-front legal battle to limit the ability of private citizens, Congress and even law enforcement to investigate him as a sitting president.

The release came on the same day that Trump’s lawyers argued to the U.S. Supreme Court that the president should be able to shield his tax returns and private business records from subpoenas issued by Democratic-led House congressional committees and the Manhattan district attorney. They argued the president should be immune from requests he believed were political attempts to harass. Continue reading.

Trump lawyer: ‘We’re asking for temporary presidential immunity’

They’d said it before, but President Donald Trump’s attorney put it more bluntly than ever:

“We’re asking for temporary presidential immunity,” Jay Sekulow told the Supreme Court Tuesday

“Temporary presidential immunity,” in the way the President’s lawyers describe it, would mean that Trump (or whomever is president at the time) couldn’t be investigated or prosecuted while holding the office of President. No subpoenas, no testimony, no indictments, if investigators sought those. Continue reading.

Supreme Court could reshape congressional subpoena power in Trump case

The case is a microcosm of the rancorous partisan divide in Washington

President Donald Trump and House Democrats don’t agree on much these days, but both sides will tell the Supreme Court during oral arguments Tuesday that the fate of four committee subpoenas could redraw the limits of congressional investigative power.

Trump’s personal lawyers and the Justice Department have warned the justices that Congress needs to be stopped. They say lower court rulings that allow the House to demand Trump’s personal and business financial information from an auditing firm and two banks will open up a new political weapon for Congress to harass a president and keep him from doing his job.

“This would grant Congress easy access to, among other things, the President’s financial, legal, medical, and educational records,” Trump’s lawyers wrote. “Given the temptation to investigate the personal lives of political rivals, legislative subpoenas targeting the private affairs of presidents will become routine in times of divided government.” Continue reading.

Trump Attacks Flynn Inquiry Amid New Revelations on F.B.I.

New York Times logoThe bureau was on the verge of closing its investigation into Michael Flynn in early 2017 when new evidence prompted agents to keep it open, newly disclosed court papers showed.

WASHINGTON — President Trump revived his attacks on law enforcement on Thursday as a pair of former advisers, Roger J. Stone Jr. and Michael T. Flynn, renewed their fights against their criminal convictions.

Mr. Flynn’s lawyers accused the F.B.I. and the Justice Department of misconduct, citing newly unsealed documents showing that F.B.I. officials were about to close the investigation into their client in early 2017 until new evidence prompted them to keep it open.

Mr. Stone appealed his conviction to the federal court of appeals for the District of Columbia. He was sentenced in February to 40 months in prison for obstructing a congressional investigation, lying to federal investigators and tampering with a witness. Continue reading.

Trump White House ignores bipartisan group of senators demanding explanation for firing of former intelligence IG

AlterNet logoMonday, April 13 was the deadline that a bipartisan group of eight senators set for an explanation of President Donald Trump’s firing of Michael Atkinson, who served as inspector general for the United States’ intelligence community. That deadline has passed, and journalist Jenna McLaughlin — in an article published in Yahoo News — explains that as of Tuesday, April 14, the Trump White House had yet to provide that explanation.

The eight senators, who included Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, sent Trump a letter on April 8 and asked him to explain, in detail, why he decided to fire Atkinson. And the senators, McLaughlin notes, wanted to make sure it was “not for reasons unrelated to (Atkinson’s) performance” as intelligence inspector IG.

McLaughlin reports that according to a spokesperson for Grassley’s office, a follow-up request was sent to the Trump White House on April 14 — and it also went unanswered. Continue reading.

Trump says his ‘authority is total.’ Constitutional experts have ‘no idea’ where he got that.

Washington Post logoWhen President Trump was asked during Monday’s news briefing what authority he has to reopen the country, he didn’t hesitate to answer. “I have the ultimate authority,” the president responded, cutting off the reporter who was speaking.

Trump later clarified his position further, telling reporters, “When somebody is the president of the United States, the authority is total and that’s the way it’s got to be. … It’s total. The governors know that.”

The local leaders, Trump said, “can’t do anything without the approval of the president of the United States.” Continue reading.

Rep. Phillips Responds to President Trump’s Rejection of Oversight Language in Stimulus

Phillips helped secure key legislation that mandates a Congressional Oversight Commission for a $500 billion fund

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Just hours after signing a historic $2.2 trillion stimulus package, President Trump announced that he would attempt to reject certain elements the bill, including provisions introduced by Rep. Dean Phillips (MN-03) mandating oversight over the spending, including a five-person Congressional Oversight Commission for the $500 billion Treasury Department fund.

“This is the most significant distribution of taxpayer money in human history. Everybody in this country, Republicans, Democrats, and independents agree – we want to see our tax dollars used effectively, efficiently and with accountability and oversight,” Phillips said during an interview with Alex Witt on MSNBC.

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Click here to watch the full interview. Continue reading “Rep. Phillips Responds to President Trump’s Rejection of Oversight Language in Stimulus”