Trump Administration 53 , CD3 DFL

Betsy DeVos must testify in student loan forgiveness lawsuit, judge rules

The class action was brought by 160,000 student loan borrowers over the administration’s handling of their loan forgiveness claims.

WASHINGTON — Former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos must testify in a class-action lawsuit about her handling of student loan forgiveness claims, which involved delays in the administration’s decision-making and ultimate denial of a significant number of the applications, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

In a 12-page ruling, Judge William Alsup denied a motion to quash a subpoena for the Cabinet secretary’s deposition, writing that “exceptional circumstances” warrant her to sit for one.

The ruling, first reported by Politico, says those circumstances “warrant the deposition of Secretary DeVos for three hours, excluding breaks,” though he acknowledged that it’s “rare” for courts to authorize depositions of Cabinet secretaries. Continue reading.

Melania Trump cost taxpayers at least $64,000 for a spa weekend as whole Trump family racked up $600 million in security

Former first lady Melania Trump refused to go to public events with her husband as news became public that he had an affair with Stormy Daniels in the weeks that followed her giving birth to his son. Mrs. Trump sought to go to Mar-a-Lago for a spa weekend instead of being with her husband on international visits.

The facts are part of Washington Post reporter Carol Leonnig’s new book on the lack of funding to sustain the Secret Service.

“Melania Trump reportedly was ‘blindsided’ and ‘furious’ by reports about Trump’s alleged affair with porn star Stormy Daniels, so she took an impromptu, two-day trip to Mar-a-Lago,” The Mercury Newsreported. “That quick trip possibly cost American taxpayers at least $64,000 in costs, from traveling on a military C-32A plane, the New York Times reported at the time.” Continue reading.

This Week in Republican Insurrection Erasure

It will shock you how much it never happened.

In the week following Liz Cheney’s purge for the crime of speaking honestly about the former president’s unprecedented, if buffoonish, attempt to overthrow the election and stay in power against the will of the people, Republicans have taken out their neuralyzer and moved deliberately and unapologetically down the path of January 6 erasure.

A witness to the president’s support for a domestic terror assault on the Capitol refuses to testify.
A congressman tries to retcon his support for overturning the election on national TV.
A Republican campaign committee rewards the members who tried to “Stop The Steal.”
A senator who spearheaded the legislative coup is given massive platforms to promote his book about being silenced.

For the GOP, memory-holing the insurrection is the point.

It will shock you how much it never happened. Continue reading.

Inside Trump’s push to oust his own FBI chief

The former president repeatedly asked his aides to fire Christopher Wray, including in an explosive encounter in April of last year.

Then-President Donald Trump sought to oust FBI Director Christopher Wray last spring and replace him with counterintelligence head William Evanina, according to three former Trump officials familiar with the episode.

Under the plan, the former officials said, Kash Patel — a former aide to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) and a fierce critic of the Russia probe — would have become the bureau’s deputy director.

Previously unreported details of the proposal reveal just how seriously the former president took his grievances against the intelligence and law enforcement establishment. It shows Trump at his mercurial peak, ordering up the removal of his own appointee in a fit of rage, only to back down when then-Attorney General William Barr threatened to resign if he followed through with the maneuver. (Aspects of this story were first reported by Business Insider.) Continue reading.

Capitol Police Officers Blast GOP Leaders For Opposing Jan. 6 Commission

On Wednesday, anonymous members of the United States Capitol Police, in a letter addressed to members of Congress, said they felt “profound disappointment” in the decisions by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to oppose an investigation into the January 6 attack.

The U.S. Capitol Police said on its Twitter account that the letter was not an official statement from the organization.

CNN reported that it had confirmed with the Capitol Police officer who wrote the letter that it represents the views of 40-50 officers. Continue reading.

GOP defections over Jan. 6 commission deliver rebuke to McCarthy

Ultimately, 35 Republicans joined Democrats in approving the commission.

House GOP divisions were on full display Wednesday as dozens of Republicans broke with their party leadership and former President Donald Trump to support a proposed commission investigating the Jan. 6 siege on the Capitol.

The measure, which would task a bipartisan 10-person commission with delivering a report on the causes and facts of the insurrection by the end of the year, passed the House by a 252-175 vote with every Democrat and 35 Republicans in support.

It now heads to an uncertain future in the 50-50 Senate, where Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says he’ll oppose the legislation. Continue reading.

Parents of 54 migrant children found after separation under Trump administration

The parents of 54 migrant children have been found after being separated at the border under former President Trump’s administration, court records reveal.

Lawyers from the Department of Justice and the American Civil Liberties Union said in a court filing on Wednesday that it still has to locate the families of 391 children, down from the 445 it previously reported in April.

The parents of 277 of the remaining children are believed to have been removed from the U.S. after they were separated from their children, the lawyers wrote. The parents of another 100 children are believed to be in the U.S. and are being searched for. Continue reading.

Trump legal risks mount with New York moves

Former President Trump‘s legal woes are mounting with the news that state and local prosecutors in New York are conducting a joint criminal investigation into his company.

It’s unclear exactly what charges the New York attorney general and the Manhattan district attorney are exploring, but the announcement signals an escalation in the offices’ investigations that have at times spilled into public view in recent years. The rare move to publicly announce a criminal probe is also fueling Republican efforts to discredit it.

The news comes three months after Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. (D) obtained Trump’s tax returns, ending a protracted legal battle that twice reached the Supreme Court over a grand jury subpoena. Continue reading.

DFL Party Slams Republicans for Voting Against Commission to Investigate Violent Assault on Capitol

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, Representatives Hagedorn, Emmer, Fischbach, and Stauber voted against bipartisan legislation to establish a commission to investigate the January 6th assault on the United States Capitol.

In response, DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin released the following statement:

“It is disgraceful that Representatives Hagedorn, Emmer, Fischbach, and Stauber voted against a bipartisan commission to get to the bottom of the worst assault on American democracy in living memory. To make matters worse, Minnesota’s Republican members of Congress voted against the insurrection commission because they know they propped up the Big Lie that helped inspire the assault on the Capitol in the first place.

“Instead of forcefully pushing back against the lie that the 2020 election was stolen, Minnesota Republicans perpetuated that lie and allowed it to take root and grow within their party. Now, they are trying to block efforts to establish the truth of the January insurrection and leave our Capitol vulnerable to future attacks in a pathetic and cowardly attempt to avoid bad headlines.

House approves Jan. 6 commission over GOP objections

The House on Wednesday passed a bill to establish a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, earning relatively little support from Republicans as GOP leaders sought to quash a bill negotiated by one of their own members.

Lawmakers passed the bill in a 252-175 vote, with 35 Republicans joining all Democrats in support.

The legislation’s chances appear increasingly slim in the Senate after both Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) came out in opposition to the bill. Continue reading.

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