TODAY IN CONGRESS:
Your One Stop Shop For Learning What Our Congress Critters Are Up To!
THEY’RE BACK!
Well recess is over kids. Time to get back to work. I hope this will mean that the Record Breaking Pace of BREAKING NEWS on the Impeachment front will slow down, but it’s probably going to get faster if that’s even possible.
Also, I am not the only one trying to keep track of Impeachment events. Kerry Eleveld did a great end of the week summary post that you should check out HERE.
Here’s today’s schedule with the events I think may be the most interesting in bold. You can watch C-Span HERE. NOTE: Sometimes C-Span posts additional Congressional events not on my list, later in the day.
Today’s Events:
House -
2:00 pm — House Session (The House will debate eight bills including several measures in support of human rights in Hong Kong and the recent protests there as well as “condemning the interference of the People’s Republic of China in Hong Kong’s affairs.”)
Senate -
3:00 pm — Senate Session (The Senate returns from a 2-week recess to resume debate on the nomination of Barbara Barrett to be Air Force Secretary.)
Yesterday’s Votes:
House & Senate — No Votes.
Comments:
Today’s Events – Not much happening on camera as Representatives and Senators trickle back into town after their two week recess. But a lot going on behind the scenes I would guess.
COMMITTEE SUBPOENA WARS & IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS —
Today’s Impeachment/Subpoena HeadlineS:
Former Ukraine Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch Gave Over 9 Hours of Riveting Testimony on Friday Honoring a Congressional Subpoena and Defying the White House Block
Fiona Hill (former US Russia Aide) Testifies to Congressional Committee
Gordon Sondland to Honor Congressional Subpoena and Testify on October 17
Diplomat Bill Taylor (of Sondland E-mail Fame) Called to Testify to Congressional Committee
DC Court of Appeals Panel Rules Against Trump in Mazars’ Case
AG Barr Visited SDNY the Day Before Giuliani Henchmen Indicted
Giuliani Reportedly A Subject of SDNY Investigation
US Diplomat Bill Taylor to Testify before Congressional Committees
Former State Department Advisor Michael McKinley to Testify before Committees
Details below under “COMMITTEE ACTIVITY”.
COMMITTEE ACTIVITY:
Introduction: Before I get started with today’s long list of subpoena and impeachment activity, let me say that I have decided to do away with posting the repetitive “Background” section here on each Committee activity, in an effort to shorten an already too long post. Instead each background section will include a link to my September 26 Diary containing the full backgrounds for those who need to get up to speed. I will keep editing that Diary as time goes on to keep the background up to date. Below, I will post only recent developments (stuff that happened the day before) and any new developments.
Now on with the show. (New and Important stuff in bold)
House Judiciary Committee Barr Subpoena for Unredacted Mueller Report —
Background - CLICK HERE.
Recent Developments — None.
New Developments — On Friday, October 11, DoJ responded to Judge Beryl Howell’s question on whether Mueller had shared protected Grand Jury material with any foreign government. According to Fox News (yes, I had to use Fox since I couldn’t find any other news organization reporting on this, so take it with a huge grain of salt):
The judge also ordered that the DOJ state by Friday whether Mueller's team had disclosed grand jury information when asking for help from other countries, saying she wanted to know if the department was withholding information from Congress that was already shared with foreign countries. None, awaiting ruling from Judge Howell.
And in response, DoJ stated:
"No grand jury information collected from the Mueller investigation and protected from disclosure was shared with any foreign government as part of a Mutual Legal Assistant Treaty (MLAT) request," and no information was shared pursuant to a rule that governs any mutual assistance treaty with another nation or disclosure to another law enforcement agency, according to court documents.
Not sure where this allegation came from, but I don’t think it will have much bearing on the Judge’s decision on the Grand Jury materials, as we await her decision.
House Judiciary Committee McGahn Subpoena —
Background — CLICK HERE.
Recent Developments — None.
New Developments — None, waiting for October 31 Court Hearing.
House Judiciary Committee Hicks and Donaldson Subpoenas —
Background — CLICK HERE
Recent Developments — None.
New Developments — None, apparently waiting on results of the McGahn case.
House Judiciary Committee Subpoenas of Sessions, Kushner and Other Trump Staff —
Background — CLICK HERE.
Recent Developments — None.
New Developments — None. Waiting to see if Nadler holds Lewandowski in Contempt.
House Judiciary Committee Rob Porter & Rick Dearborn Subpoena —
Background — CLICK HERE.
Recent Developments — None.
New Developments — None, likely waiting for McGahn ruling on “Absolute Immunity”.
House Judiciary Committee Homeland Security Subpoena —
Background — CLICK HERE.
Recent Developments — None.
A source close to the process told CNN that White House officials tried to talk McAleenan out of resigning.
In a statement posted to Twitter, McAleenan thanked Trump for the opportunity to serve and department employees for their work. He said he would strive to ensure a smooth transition.
"With his support, over the last 6 months, we have made tremendous progress mitigating the border security and humanitarian crisis we faced this year, by reducing unlawful crossings, partnering with government in the region to counter human smugglers and address the causes of migration, and deploy additional border security resources," he said of Trump.
Sources close to McAleenan insist the decision has more to do with his feeling of having done all that he can do on the job as well as feeling the frustrations of someone who perceives his job to be non-partisan and does it from the perspective of a law enforcement officer.
McAleenan has also been in the position of working for a President who -- critics say --seems to see immigration in starkly political and often racist terms.
Now as you may know, McAleenan is in defiance of a Congressional subpoena to produce documents having to do with Trump’s alleged promise to pardon anyone in DHS who defied court orders and proceeded with the building of Trump’s southern border wall. Now that he has resigned, I am not sure what happens to the document subpoena since he presumably no longer has access to the subpoenaed documents.
House Intelligence Committee Subpoena —
Background — CLICK HERE.
Recent Developments — No reports saying Flynn turned over the requested documents on September 18 nor on whether he showed up to testify yesterday (September 25) that I could find. I will continue looking, but my guess is the session was either postponed or he was a no show.
New Developments — None.
House Intelligence Committee Whistleblower Investigation —
Background — CLICK HERE.
Recent Developments — Here’s a brief summary of what has happened in recent days:
- Yovanovitch Scheduled to be Deposed — Marie Yovanovitch (who is a well respected career diplomat, not a Trump Hack) who was recalled as Ambassador to Ukraine when she was getting in the way of Trump/Giuliani’s extortion scheme, is scheduled to be deposed on October 11 by members and staff from the Congressional Committees involved in the Impeachment investigation. But there's still drama over whether Yovanovitch, who is still a State Department employee, will appear for the deposition. The committees had scheduled US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland to be interviewed on Tuesday, but the State Department directed him not to attend early that morning. He's now received a subpoena to appear next week. Trump on Thursday suggested he might not let Yovanovitch testify. "I just don't think, you're running a country, I just don't think that you can have all of these people testifying about every conversation you've had," Trump told reporters when asked if he would let Yovanovitch testify. Yovanovitch was still expected to testify before the three committees as of Thursday evening, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.
Also, we learned last night from The Rachel Maddow Show that Trump political hack, Gordon Sondland (who was blocked by the White House from testifying, but probably welcomed being blocked) unofficially took over Ukraine diplomacy after the Trump/Giuliani Hit Team had Ambassador Yovanovitch recalled for interfering with their extortion scheme. So effectively the career professional diplomat was replaced by an unqualified loyal member of the extended Trump Crime Family. Nice!
- Former US Russian Aide Fiona Hill Scheduled Scheduled to Testify Next Week — Hill, a hawk on Russian, became involved in the Ukraine mess, but left the State Department just before the President’s July 25 call. Fiona Hill, who was until recently President Donald Trump’s top aide on Russia and Europe, plans to tell Congress that Rudy Giuliani and E.U. ambassador Gordon Sondland circumvented the National Security Council and the normal White House process to pursue a shadow policy on Ukraine, a person familiar with her expected testimony told NBC News. Congressional committees this week requested that Hill testify on Oct. 14, according to a letter obtained by NBC News, and she agreed. She has not been subpoenaed by Congress.
- Giuliani Ukraine Henchmen Indicted By DoJ SDNY and Jailed — Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, two Giuliani Associates who were working to get Ambassador Yovanovitch out of the way and were scheduled to be deposed yesterday and today before Congressional Committees, were arrested on Campaign Finance law charges as they attempted to board a plane with a one way ticket to Vienna. According to this ABC News Story:
Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, two Soviet-born businessmen based in Florida, have been charged with four counts, including conspiracy to commit campaign finance fraud, false statements to the Federal Election Commission, and falsification of records. Both Parnas and Fruman have been tied to the work done by the president's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, in Ukraine where Giuliani has had significant business interests.
Two associates of Parnas and Fruman, David Correira and Andrey Kukushkin, were indicted along with Parnas and Fruman on Thursday. William Sweeney, FBI assistant director in charge of the New York Field office, said at the news conference that Kukushkin was taken into custody in San Francisco, while Correia had yet to be arrested.
Berman [Geoffrey Berman, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York] said the investigation is ongoing.
There are a lot more details to this story then I can post here. So check out the full ABC News Story. Also, check out the segment of last night’s Rachel Maddow Show on this story. She has an interesting angle to this story about how Rudy and his two henchmen were about to go to Vienna to possibly visit Ukrainian Billionaire Dimetry Furtash who is under House Arrest in Austria fighting extradition to the US, in order to get more phoney dirt on Joe Biden since Mr. Furtash previously gave Giuliani phoney Biden dirt.
But what intrigues me the most about all this is what’s going on behind the scenes at DoJ? In particular, what’s going on between the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Geoffrey Berman, who obtained the indictments of the Giuliani Henchmen, and Trump’s Roy Cohn, AG Barr? Some have suggested that Berman was just following Barr’s orders to arrest these two clowns to prevent them from testifying to Congress. That’s even too crazy for me to believe. So, as I see it, we are left with two possibilities: 1. Berman proceeded in the tradition of an independent SDNY and had rudy’s guys indicted with little warning given to AG Barr. If this is the case, you can bet Trump and Barr are both blowing a gasket right about now; or 2. AG Barr has decided to start distancing himself from the sinking Trump ship and has quietly endorsed what Berman is doing. Personally, I think its #1.
- Rick Perry Gets His Congressional Subpoena — House Democrats issued a subpoena on Thursday to Energy Secretary Rick Perry as part of their impeachment inquiry. The subpoena demands records and communications related to the May inauguration of Zelensky, for which Perry led the U.S. delegation. It seeks records connected to a host of meetings abroad and at the White House that Perry attended along with senior Ukrainian officials. And it requests all records related to “proposed or actual transactions, investments, or projects relating to liquified natural gas (LNG) in Ukraine.” The subpoena has a deadline of Oct. 18.
- Trump Replaced White House Career Budget Staff with Trump Loyal Hack — The White House gave a politically appointed official the authority to keep aid to Ukraine on hold after career budget staff members questioned the legality of delaying the funds, according to people familiar with the matter, a shift that House Democrats are probing in their impeachment inquiry. While career civil servants put an initial hold on the aid, Michael Duffey, associate director of national security programs in OMB, was given the authority for continuing to keep the aid on hold after the career staff began raising their concerns to political officials at OMB, according to the people familiar with the matter. Another example of Trump following a key Organized Crime Rule, make sure you have your loyal soldiers running the show.
- Pompeo Senior Advisor Steps Down — Michael McKinley, a career diplomat who has held posts including ambassador to Afghanistan, Colombia and Peru, has stepped down, The Washington Post reported Thursday. McKinley and others were disappointed in Pompeo's lack of public support for diplomats who have been asked to testify before the House as part of an impeachment inquiry into President Trump, and that there has been particular concern for former ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, who was dismissed earlier this year and is slated to testify on Friday.
New Developments — Once again a lot of new stuff to try to summarize:
- Yovanovitch Testimony — On Friday, October 11, Former US Ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch bravely chose to defy President Trump and be deposed in a closed door session by Members and Staff from the Congressional Impeachment Committees. While she was originally asked to appear voluntarily, Trump’s threat to block her from testifying (note: Although relieved of her Ambassadorship, she is still a State Department employee) made it necessary for the Committees to serve her with a last minute subpoena which she respected and honored. According to this POLITICO Report:
Marie L. Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, told House impeachment investigators Friday that she was abruptly forced out of her role in May at the direction of President Donald Trump.
In her opening statement, obtained by POLITICO, Yovanovitch said Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan told her that there was “a concerted campaign” against her — one based on “unfounded and false claims by people with clearly questionable motives.” Yovanovitch attended her deposition in defiance of the State Department’s orders.
“Her willingness when served with compulsory process to follow the law and testify — I think she is a courageous example for others,” Schiff told reporters.
Courageous Indeed to stand up to a Bully like Trump. Reminds me of the “Fearless Girl” standing up to the Bull on Wall Street. We will have to wait to see what Trump directs Pompeo to do with Yovanovitch. Will he have her fired as an example to other witnesses, just let it go or have her assigned to a consulate in Nome, Alaska? We’ll see.
- Fiona Hill Testifies — On Monday, October 14, Former US Russian Aide Fiona Hill was deposed for 10 hours in a closed door session by Members and Staff from the Congressional Impeachment Committees. According to this CNN Report:
Fiona Hill, President Donald Trump's former top Russia adviser, told lawmakers Monday that she had high praise for Trump's ousted US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch and spoke out about her concerns when Yovanovitch was removed, according to sources familiar with her testimony.
Hill also told lawmakers Monday that she was not part of Trump's July call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but she was involved with pre-call planning, according one of the sources. When the call took place on July 25, Hill had left the National Security Council.
Hill’s testimony seems to have provided a boatload of damning information about Trump and Giuliani’s escapades leading up to the July 25 Trump call and the illicit osting of Ambassador Yovanovitch.
Furthermore, after he exited the Hearing, Representative Denny Heck described Hill’s testimony (paraphrasing now) as the most substantive witness on a per minute basis he has ever heard, with an amazing amount of information provided from a women with a close to total recall memory. Finally, I urge you to check out Durrati's Diary, which has some leaked tidbits from Hill’s testimony, including this one where then National Security Advisor John Bolton tells her:
“I am not part of whatever drug deal Rudy and Mulvaney are cooking up.” “Giuliani’s a hand grenade who’s going to blow everybody up.”
Calling John Bolton! Your witness chair is ready!
- Gordon Sondland Agrees to Testify — Gordon Sondland, EU Ambassador and Trump’s Ukraine Stooge, says he will honor a subpoena and appear at a closed door Committee deposition this Thursday, October 17. According to this US News Report:
In a Friday statement from Sondland's lawyer, the EU ambassador agreed to appear for a scheduled deposition Thursday but said he won't provide requested documents related to the Ukraine scandal, citing federal law and State Department regulations that "prohibit him from producing documents concerning his official responsibilities."
"Notwithstanding the State Department's current direction to not testify, Ambassador Sondland will honor the committees' subpoena, and he looks forward to testifying on Thursday," Sondland's lawyer said in a statement provided to Politico.
If you remember, Sondland is the person who sent Ambassador Taylor a text telling him there was no Trump/Ukraine “Quid-Pro-Quo” and to stop texting about it, after Sondland had a phone call with Trump. Also, in refusing to turn over his personal texts which he already shared with the State Department, it seems he remains a Trump loyalist. So how cooperative he will be in his testimony to the Committee remains to be seen.
- Bill Taylor Requested to Testify — According to this CNN Report:
House Democrats have requested a deposition from Bill Taylor, the top US diplomat in Ukraine, as part of their impeachment inquiry, but his interview has not yet been formally scheduled, multiple sources familiar with the issue told CNN.
The request, if met by expected White House and State Department opposition, is likely to present a quandary for the longtime diplomat, according to former State Department officials who know him.
Those former officials close to the former ambassador suggested that if Taylor were made to choose between staying on to guide US policy as charge d'affaires in Kiev -- a post he came out of retirement to take -- or resigning to be able to testify, he would choose the former.
Taylor was the diplomat who sent EU Ambassador Sondland the text that read, "Are we now saying that security assistance and WH meeting conditioned on investigations?" Who responded by saying, "Call me." No definite date for the deposition has been disclosed.
- Former US Diplomat Mike McKinley has Agreed to be Interviewed — McKinley is reportedly scheduled to testify TOMORROW, Wednesday, October 16. According to this CNN Report:
Michael McKinley, the former State Department adviser who resigned last week, is scheduled to testify Wednesday before the congressional committees leading the House impeachment investigation, according to two congressional sources.
McKinley is appearing for a transcribed interview, according to one of the sources, which indicates he is not coming under subpoena.
The Dam is Breaking is Breaking folks! What started off as a Volker trickle is now a flood of witnesses coming forward to shine a light on the scurrying gang of Trump cockroaches.
- Giuliani Subject of SDNY Criminal Investigation — It has been reported by multiple sources that Rudy Giuliani is now a “subject” of the SDNY ongoing criminal investigation involving Ukraine which led to the arrest of his two henchmen. According to Mark Sumner's Post here at DK:
CNN has reported, and ABC News has now confirmed, that Rudy Giuliani is a subject in the criminal investigation that has already landed two of his “associates” in jail. The investigation into Giuliani’s business relationship with Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman is part of an ongoing investigation by the FBI's New York field office and prosecutors in the Southern District of New York.
And Mark speculates that:
The unusual appearance of Attorney General William Barr at the U.S. attorney’s office on Thursday seems to be related to the very real possibility that Donald Trump’s personal attorney is about to find himself under arrest.
As Flounder of Animal House fame would say, “Oh Boy, Oh Boy, this is going to be Great!”
- Intelligence Community Whistleblower May Not Testify — According to this POLITICO Report:
House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff indicated Sunday that the whistleblower at the heart of Democrats’ impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump might not testify over concerns about the person’s safety.
Schiff’s remarks come after Trump dramatically escalated his attacks on the whistleblower and as he repeatedly calls for the official to be unmasked. Trump’s unrelenting barrage has spurred worries from Democrats that congressional Republicans might try to reveal that person’s identity — conceivably endangering his or her safety — at the behest of the president.
Schiff (D-Calif.) said the whistleblower’s testimony might not be needed given that a rough transcript of the call with Trump asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for a “favor” — the centerpiece of the whistleblower’s complaint — is public. In addition, lawmakers have a collected a tranche of damning text messages and witness testimony related to the scandal in the past two weeks
“Our primary interest right now is making sure that that person is protected. Indeed, now there’s more than one whistleblower, that they are protected,” Schiff said on CBS’ “Face the Nation“ on Sunday.
I am all for protecting the Whistleblower, but I sure hope Schiff isn’t hanging everything on the “rough” transcript. We need the full transcripts of all the Trump foreign calls locked in the White House Cyber-safe.
House Committees Issue Subpoenas to DoD and OMB -
Recent Developments — The deadline for producing the subpoenaed documents is October 15.
New Developments — None.
House Financial Services Committee and House Intelligence Committee Deutsche Bank and Capital One Subpoenas (Trump’s Banking Records) —
Background — CLICK HERE.
Recent Developments — On October 10 it was reported that Deutsche Bank said in a court filing in August that it has tax returns relating to the subpoenas, but the public version of the filing redacted the identities of the taxpayers. However, in its ruling on October 10, the appeals court said the unredacted version of Deutsche Bank's August letter "reports that the only tax returns it has for individuals or entities named in the subpoenas are not those of the President." So no Donald Trump Sr. tax returns from Deutsche Bank.
New Developments — Did Deutsche Bank Destroy Trump’s Tax Returns! According to this Salon Story:
A former Deutsche Bank executive suggested that the financial firm may have “destroyed” physical copies of President Trump’s tax returns after the bank told a court that it no longer had them.
David Enrich, the New York Times’ finance editor who spoke with the current and former bank officials, wrote that the bank “apparently got rid of” Trump’s tax returns even though officials say that it was “normal procedure at the bank to retain such records.”
The Big question that remains that if true, were they destroyed before or after the issuance of the Congressional subpoena. The latter is of course a criminal offense.
House Oversight and Reform Committee Mazars Subpoena (Financial Records) —
Background — CLICK HERE.
Recent Developments — None.
New Developments — A Three (3) Judge Panel on the DC Court of Appeals ruled on Friday October 11 that Trump’s claims that he is immune to congressional oversight have no basis in law. According to this Vox Report:
That means the House Oversight Committee will soon gain access to many of Trump’s financial records — potentially including his tax forms.
The case, Trump v. Mazars USA, is an especially significant one because it represents House investigators’ best opportunity to shake records loose from a president who’s offered maximal resistance to any attempt to make him disclose information that he does not want disclosed. The House committee seeks financial records that Trump turned over to his accounting firm, Mazars USA, and the firm has indicated it will comply with the committee’s subpoena if it is ordered to do so.
Trump cannot simply refuse to turn over these records because they aren’t under his control.
Judge David Tatel, a Clinton appointee on the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, wrote the majority opinion in Mazars. And, as his opinion explains, the law governing this case is pretty straightforward. As a series of Supreme Court decisions that stretch back to the 1920s Teapot Dome scandal lay out, Congress has broad authority to conduct investigations so long as those investigations have a “valid legislative purpose.” Such a purpose exists as long as the investigation touches upon a matter “on which legislation could be had.”
Let’s be clear, this case is separate from the House Ways & Means Committee case involving their request that the IRS turn over Trump’s tax returns to Congress, and separate from the Deutsche Bank case above. It is also separate from the Manhattan DA’s case which subpoenaed Trump’s taxes as part of a criminal investigation. In this case, Mazars, Trump’s former accounting firm, has previously told the court that the Trump financial records in their possession include 8 years of Trump’s tax returns, which would now have to be turned over to the Committee, along with other Trump financial documents. Axios has a great story which attempts to sort out the multiple cases related to Trump’s taxes.
Trump’s only has two options at this point: 1. He could request that the case be heard by the entire DC Court of Appeals; or 2. He could ask SCOTUS to hear the case. We will likely find out this week.
House Oversight and Reform Committee Subpoenas of White House Staff Documents —
Background — CLICK HERE.
Recent Developments — None.
New Developments — None. Subpoena has a deadline of October 18.
House Ways & Means Committee Subpoena (Trump’s Tax Returns) —
Background — CLICK HERE.
Recent Developments — None.
New Developments — None, except for the Mazars case above.
COMMENTARY — Is Trump’s Military Decision in Syria an Impeachable Offense?:
Am I the only here one wondering if Trump’s order to pull US Troops out of Syria leaving the Kurds to a Turkish Slaughter and likely releasing thousands of anti-US ISIS fighters, can be another Article of Impeachment?
It has been said here and by many Constitutional experts that an Article of Impeachment does not have to be limited to specific constitutional or legal violations. They can be and have been in the past, simply “Abuses of Presidential Power”.
Now in this case, I am sure many of the Republicans who disagree vehemently with Trump’s decision to pull our troops out and abandoned the Kurds, would also say that this action by Trump is not an impeachable offense because it is fully within Trump’s authority as “Commander-in-Chief” under Article II of the Constitution. However, this is not a question of Trump’s constitutional/legal authority to wheal such power. It is a question of whether he is abusing his Constitutional power by making such a rash military decision, a decision that not only puts the Kurds (our Allies) at risk, but also threatens our national security by likely resulting in the release of thousands of anti-US ISIS fighters. And now Trump’s hasty decision has forced the Kurds to Alley with our enemy Assad for the sake of their survival. How “F-ed Up” can this thing get? Don’t answer that.
I would argue what Trump has done is an Abuse of Power, and as such can be an Article of Impeachment.
At the very least, Congress needs to get a hold of the full transcript or voice recording if there is one, of Trump’s phone conversation with Turkey’s President Erdogan which he had just before he made his decision on withdrawing troops. I wonder if there was any discussion of Trump's huge holdings in Turkey (including Trump Towers) or future investments?
In the end, I have to wonder how GOP Senators who are screaming about Trump’s reckless decision would react if confronted with such an Impeachment Article?
Please feel free to take the poll on this topic and/or issue a comment.
That’s All for today! If I missed some new development, I apologize. This this thing is now moving so fast in so many new directions I am finding it hard to keep up. I will continue to try my best.