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babylonsister
babylonsister's Journal
babylonsister's Journal
July 9, 2019
Trump Dossier Author Christopher Steele Grilled by DOJ Watchdogs: Report
Jamie Ross
Published 07.09.19 7:46AM ET
Trump Dossier Author Christopher Steele Grilled by DOJ Watchdogs: Report
https://www.thedailybeast.com/christopher-steele-grilled-by-doj-watchdogs-report?ref=homeTrump Dossier Author Christopher Steele Grilled by DOJ Watchdogs: Report
Jamie Ross
Published 07.09.19 7:46AM ET
Christopher Steele—the former British intelligence author who wrote the infamous dossier that alleged misconduct between the Trump campaign and Moscow—has been interviewed by federal lawyers probing the origins of the Mueller investigation, according to Reuters. Three attorneys from the Inspector General’s office of the Justice Department reportedly met Steele in Britain last month, while Trump was visiting the country. Steele’s dossier alleged that Moscow tried to help Trump's campaign and was widely quoted for other, more salacious claims, about the president. One of Reuters' sources said the investigators appear to have found Steele’s information sufficiently credible to extend the investigation.
July 8, 2019
The Battle Over the Census Citizenship Question Is Now About Civil Rights
By Cristian Farias
3:28 P.M.
Near the end of Supreme Court’s oral arguments regarding the Trump Administration’s attempt to add a citizenship question to the census, Noel Francisco, the Solicitor General, warned the Justices that a ruling against the government would open the door to “any group in the country to knock off any question on the census if they simply get together and boycott it.” Justice Sonia Sotomayor cut him off. “Are you suggesting that Hispanics are boycotting the census?” she asked. “Are you suggesting they don’t have, whether it is rational or not, that they don’t have a legitimate fear?”
The fear that immigrant communities are experiencing as the result of the Administration’s open hostility toward them was not an issue that the Court was asked to address in the census case. Neither did the Justices resolve whether racism may have played a role in how the Administration’s proposed citizenship question came to be. But in the time since the Court ruled against the Administration, at the end of June, these questions have acquired greater importance. That, in great part, is thanks to President Trump, whose insistence that the citizenship question be included in the census has sown chaos and uncertainty for the courts, the public, and members of his own Administration.
snip//
The only real hurdle the Trump Administration faced after the Supreme Court’s ruling was the absence of a true rationale for adding the question. The Wall Street Journal reported, though, that Administration officials concluded that adding it was not possible “given the high court’s decision, the printing deadline and other unresolved legal issues tied to the case.” Trump, determined to include the question, contradicted the lawyers and had Administration officials work through the Fourth of July holiday, trying to find options for proceeding. There may not be one, no matter what position the Administration adopts. Late on Sunday, the Justice Department issued a cryptic statement, saying that it was changing the entire legal team assigned to the census case. The announcement fueled further confusion about what the Administration’s next steps will be.
The only person who seemed clear on how to proceed was Judge Hazel, in Maryland. The census case he is overseeing didn’t go to the Supreme Court, but he has been considering whether racial discrimination was one of the motivating factors driving the Administration’s decision-making, based on evidence that surfaced in May suggesting that gathering citizenship data would disadvantage Latinos and help “Republicans and non-Hispanic whites.”
On July 5th, Hazel let the litigation proceed in that direction, allowing the plaintiffs to question under oath as many as five Administration officials and to seek relevant documents. “Plaintiffs’ remaining claims, are based on the premise that the genesis of the citizenship question was steeped in discriminatory motive,” Hazel wrote. This means that, in effect, the battle over the legality of the citizenship question isn’t just one of administrative law, it is now about civil rights.
The Battle Over the Census Citizenship Question Is Now About Civil Rights
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-battle-over-the-census-citizenship-question-is-now-about-civil-rightsThe Battle Over the Census Citizenship Question Is Now About Civil Rights
By Cristian Farias
3:28 P.M.
Near the end of Supreme Court’s oral arguments regarding the Trump Administration’s attempt to add a citizenship question to the census, Noel Francisco, the Solicitor General, warned the Justices that a ruling against the government would open the door to “any group in the country to knock off any question on the census if they simply get together and boycott it.” Justice Sonia Sotomayor cut him off. “Are you suggesting that Hispanics are boycotting the census?” she asked. “Are you suggesting they don’t have, whether it is rational or not, that they don’t have a legitimate fear?”
The fear that immigrant communities are experiencing as the result of the Administration’s open hostility toward them was not an issue that the Court was asked to address in the census case. Neither did the Justices resolve whether racism may have played a role in how the Administration’s proposed citizenship question came to be. But in the time since the Court ruled against the Administration, at the end of June, these questions have acquired greater importance. That, in great part, is thanks to President Trump, whose insistence that the citizenship question be included in the census has sown chaos and uncertainty for the courts, the public, and members of his own Administration.
snip//
The only real hurdle the Trump Administration faced after the Supreme Court’s ruling was the absence of a true rationale for adding the question. The Wall Street Journal reported, though, that Administration officials concluded that adding it was not possible “given the high court’s decision, the printing deadline and other unresolved legal issues tied to the case.” Trump, determined to include the question, contradicted the lawyers and had Administration officials work through the Fourth of July holiday, trying to find options for proceeding. There may not be one, no matter what position the Administration adopts. Late on Sunday, the Justice Department issued a cryptic statement, saying that it was changing the entire legal team assigned to the census case. The announcement fueled further confusion about what the Administration’s next steps will be.
The only person who seemed clear on how to proceed was Judge Hazel, in Maryland. The census case he is overseeing didn’t go to the Supreme Court, but he has been considering whether racial discrimination was one of the motivating factors driving the Administration’s decision-making, based on evidence that surfaced in May suggesting that gathering citizenship data would disadvantage Latinos and help “Republicans and non-Hispanic whites.”
On July 5th, Hazel let the litigation proceed in that direction, allowing the plaintiffs to question under oath as many as five Administration officials and to seek relevant documents. “Plaintiffs’ remaining claims, are based on the premise that the genesis of the citizenship question was steeped in discriminatory motive,” Hazel wrote. This means that, in effect, the battle over the legality of the citizenship question isn’t just one of administrative law, it is now about civil rights.
July 8, 2019
N.Y. Gov. Cuomo signs bill allowing Congress to access Trump's state tax returns
The measure ensures that "no one is above the law," the governor said in a statement.
July 8, 2019, 10:40 AM EDT / Updated July 8, 2019, 12:16 PM EDT
By Allan Smith and Adam Edelman
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday signed a bill that would allow certain members of Congress to access President Donald Trump's New York state tax returns.
The bill, which Cuomo had been expected to OK, requires New York officials to release tax returns of public officials that have been requested by "congressional tax-related committees" that have cited "specified and legitimate legislative purpose" in seeking them.
The tax bill, which was passed weeks ago by the Democratically controlled state Legislature, makes it easier for New York to turn over the state tax returns of certain public office-holders, along with entities those people control or have a large stake in, that are requested by the leaders of the three congressional tax-writing committees.
more...
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/ny-gov-cuomo-signs-bill-allowing-congress-access-trump-s-n1027396?fbclid=IwAR2nEmoay4IzLyG2rR6AmG7YmpVoQNmhhlSfSHtNFKMP4nJ7wCGptZWCZFQ
N.Y. Gov. Cuomo signs bill allowing Congress to access Trump's state tax returns
N.Y. Gov. Cuomo signs bill allowing Congress to access Trump's state tax returns
The measure ensures that "no one is above the law," the governor said in a statement.
July 8, 2019, 10:40 AM EDT / Updated July 8, 2019, 12:16 PM EDT
By Allan Smith and Adam Edelman
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday signed a bill that would allow certain members of Congress to access President Donald Trump's New York state tax returns.
The bill, which Cuomo had been expected to OK, requires New York officials to release tax returns of public officials that have been requested by "congressional tax-related committees" that have cited "specified and legitimate legislative purpose" in seeking them.
"This bill gives Congress the ability to fulfill its Constitutional responsibilities, strengthen our democratic system and ensure that no one is above the law," Cuomo, a Democrat, said in a statement. "Tax secrecy is paramount — the exception being for bona fide investigative and law enforcement purposes."
The tax bill, which was passed weeks ago by the Democratically controlled state Legislature, makes it easier for New York to turn over the state tax returns of certain public office-holders, along with entities those people control or have a large stake in, that are requested by the leaders of the three congressional tax-writing committees.
"It's a momentous day for transparency in government, especially when it comes to holding elected officials more accountable," David Buchwald, a state Assemblyman who sponsored the legislation, told NBC News
.
more...
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/ny-gov-cuomo-signs-bill-allowing-congress-access-trump-s-n1027396?fbclid=IwAR2nEmoay4IzLyG2rR6AmG7YmpVoQNmhhlSfSHtNFKMP4nJ7wCGptZWCZFQ
July 8, 2019
July 7, 2019 4:49PM ET
Senator Says Trump Is Using ‘Cruelty to Children’ as Immigration Tool
“We’ve got an administration that has intentionally used cruelty to children as a tool of immigration policy,” Senator Chris Coons said
By Peter Wade
On Sunday, Senator Chris Coons was a guest on CBS News’ Face the Nation. Host Margaret Brennan asked the senator to speak to the duration of time that families and children are being held at migrant detention centers at the U.S. border. Coons directly said the administration’s strategy is purposely harsh.
“Well, my concern here is that we’ve got an administration that has intentionally used cruelty to children as a tool of immigration policy,” Coons said.
Coons then explained that the Trump administration is going out of its way to avoid a political solution.
https://twitter.com/TPMLiveWire/status/1147901650368991232
more...
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/senator-coons-trump-cruelty-to-children-immigration-856218/
Senator Says Trump Is Using 'Cruelty to Children' as Immigration Tool
July 7, 2019 4:49PM ET
Senator Says Trump Is Using ‘Cruelty to Children’ as Immigration Tool
“We’ve got an administration that has intentionally used cruelty to children as a tool of immigration policy,” Senator Chris Coons said
By Peter Wade
On Sunday, Senator Chris Coons was a guest on CBS News’ Face the Nation. Host Margaret Brennan asked the senator to speak to the duration of time that families and children are being held at migrant detention centers at the U.S. border. Coons directly said the administration’s strategy is purposely harsh.
“Well, my concern here is that we’ve got an administration that has intentionally used cruelty to children as a tool of immigration policy,” Coons said.
Coons then explained that the Trump administration is going out of its way to avoid a political solution.
https://twitter.com/TPMLiveWire/status/1147901650368991232
“I’ll remind you that their zero tolerance policy that forcibly separated children from their parents at the border a year ago was a humanitarian disaster and faced a bipartisan outcry of both Republicans and Democrats,” Coons said.
The senator continued, “So they don’t have a lot of moral authority to stand on in arguing that they’d like Congress to give them an unlimited ability to detain children and their parents at the border.”
The senator continued, “So they don’t have a lot of moral authority to stand on in arguing that they’d like Congress to give them an unlimited ability to detain children and their parents at the border.”
more...
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/senator-coons-trump-cruelty-to-children-immigration-856218/
July 7, 2019
FBI, ICE using state driver's license photos without consent for facial recognition searches: report
By Owen Daugherty - 07/07/19 05:12 PM EDT
The FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have reportedly been using driver’s license photos for facial recognition searches without license holders' knowledge or consent.
The Washington Post reports the two agencies have used millions of Americans’ photos, largely from driver’s licenses, for the purpose of facial recognition searches, citing internal documents and emails from the two agencies that were obtained by Georgetown Law researchers over the past five years and shared with the news outlet.
The photos give the agencies a new layer of information on Americans and a new tool to potentially track both criminals and those who have never committed a crime, according to the Post, which adds that Congress has not authorized any such development of a facial recognition system.
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle expressed their dismay over reports that the federal agencies were using driver’s license photos.
more...
https://thehill.com/policy/technology/451913-fbi-ice-using-state-drivers-license-photos-without-consent-to-create-facial
FBI, ICE using state driver's license photos without consent for facial recognition searches: repo
FBI, ICE using state driver's license photos without consent for facial recognition searches: report
By Owen Daugherty - 07/07/19 05:12 PM EDT
The FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have reportedly been using driver’s license photos for facial recognition searches without license holders' knowledge or consent.
The Washington Post reports the two agencies have used millions of Americans’ photos, largely from driver’s licenses, for the purpose of facial recognition searches, citing internal documents and emails from the two agencies that were obtained by Georgetown Law researchers over the past five years and shared with the news outlet.
The photos give the agencies a new layer of information on Americans and a new tool to potentially track both criminals and those who have never committed a crime, according to the Post, which adds that Congress has not authorized any such development of a facial recognition system.
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle expressed their dismay over reports that the federal agencies were using driver’s license photos.
“Law enforcement’s access of state databases,” particularly DMV databases, is “often done in the shadows with no consent,” House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) told the Post in a statement.
more...
https://thehill.com/policy/technology/451913-fbi-ice-using-state-drivers-license-photos-without-consent-to-create-facial
July 7, 2019
Cuccinelli, an immigration hardliner who took the helm of the agency last month, said it is within ICE's discretion to determine who among those with final orders of deportation will be targeted in operations, suggesting the full pool of approximately one million immigrants might not face deportation after all.
more...
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ken-cuccinelli-on-face-the-nation-ice-is-ready-to-deport-1-million-undocumented-immigrants/?fbclid=IwAR3B-XgQ_Ki7kLPioFeB_HV3ZbrKXuLFWv5RSJXZNPHcOl6B2r_miaDSykM
Top immigration official says ICE is ready to deport 1 million undocumented immigrants
Give me your tired, your poor... 
By Camilo Montoya-Galvez CBS News July 7, 2019, 10:52 AM
Top immigration official says ICE is ready to deport 1 million undocumented immigrants
Last Updated Jul 7, 2019 5:08 PM EDT
The Trump administration's top official at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said immigration authorities are ready to identify, detain and eventually deport approximately one million undocumented immigrants with pending removal orders.
"They're ready to just perform their mission, which is to go and find and detain and then deport the approximately one million people who have final removal orders," Acting USCIS Director Ken Cuccinelli said on "Face the Nation" on Sunday, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) branch charged with removal operations.
Cuccinelli, an immigration hardliner who took the helm of the agency last month, said it is within ICE's discretion to determine who among those with final orders of deportation will be targeted in operations, suggesting the full pool of approximately one million immigrants might not face deportation after all.
"They've been all the way through the due process and have final removal orders. Who among those will be targeted for this particular effort ... is really just information kept within ICE at this point," he added. "The pool of those with final removal orders is enormous."
more...
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ken-cuccinelli-on-face-the-nation-ice-is-ready-to-deport-1-million-undocumented-immigrants/?fbclid=IwAR3B-XgQ_Ki7kLPioFeB_HV3ZbrKXuLFWv5RSJXZNPHcOl6B2r_miaDSykM
July 7, 2019
Rep. Justin Amash: I Won’t Rule Out 2020 Presidential Run
Justin Baragona
Published 07.07.19 9:44AM ET
Rep. Justin Amash: I Won't Rule Out 2020 Presidential Run
https://www.thedailybeast.com/rep-justin-amash-i-wont-rule-out-2020-presidential-run?ref=homeRep. Justin Amash: I Won’t Rule Out 2020 Presidential Run
Justin Baragona
Published 07.07.19 9:44AM ET
Rep. Justin Amash (I-MI), who recently announced he was leaving the Republican Party after calling for President Trump’s impeachment, said on Sunday that he won’t rule out a presidential run in 2020. Appearing on CNN’s State of the Union, the former Freedom Caucus member confirmed that at the moment he plans to run for re-election to Congress as an independent, prompting host Jake Tapper to inquire about a possible third-party White House run.
“I still wouldn’t rule anything like that out,” Amash replied. “I believe that I have to use my skills, my public influence where it serves the country best and I believe I have to defend the Constitution in whichever way works best and if that means doing something else, then I do that.” Asked when he would make that decision, the libertarian lawmaker said it wasn’t on his “radar right now.”
“I still wouldn’t rule anything like that out,” Amash replied. “I believe that I have to use my skills, my public influence where it serves the country best and I believe I have to defend the Constitution in whichever way works best and if that means doing something else, then I do that.” Asked when he would make that decision, the libertarian lawmaker said it wasn’t on his “radar right now.”
July 7, 2019
Posted on Sat, Jul 6th, 2019 by Sean Colarossi
Joy Reid Shuts Down GOP Strategist For Saying Republicans Aren’t The Party Of Trump
When a Republican strategist tried to defend her party by saying the GOP hasn’t completely sold its soul to Donald Trump, MSNBC’s Joy Reid shut her down.
snip//
https://twitter.com/politicususa/status/1147545025657626625
The exchange:
The GOP is the Trump Party
There seem to be three types of Republicans that exist in the Donald Trump era of American politics:
The truth is clear, and it has been for more than two years: The GOP is Donald Trump and Donald Trump is the GOP. There is no separation between the two.
Through all of his incoherent and embarrassing tweets, scandals, corruption and incompetence, Republicans have stood by this president. They have refused to put country over party.
To be a Republican in this era of politics means you have to own what the GOP has become. So they should either own it, or stop being a Republican altogether.
Joy Reid Shuts Down GOP Strategist For Saying Republicans Aren't The Party Of Trump
https://www.politicususa.com/2019/07/06/joy-reid-shuts-down-gop-strategist-for-saying-republicans-arent-the-party-of-trump.htmlPosted on Sat, Jul 6th, 2019 by Sean Colarossi
Joy Reid Shuts Down GOP Strategist For Saying Republicans Aren’t The Party Of Trump
When a Republican strategist tried to defend her party by saying the GOP hasn’t completely sold its soul to Donald Trump, MSNBC’s Joy Reid shut her down.
snip//
https://twitter.com/politicususa/status/1147545025657626625
The exchange:
NIKPOUR: He said he was quitting the GOP. He didn’t say he was quitting Donald Trump. He could have said, maybe, I’m quitting team Trump. I don’t agree with that. He said he’s quitting the GOP.
REID: Hold on a second. Donald Trump is the GOP. Donald Trump is the head of the Republican party. He’s running — all of the policies that Donald Trump is putting in place, your party 100% is standing behind him on, whether it’s the children in cages which violates all kinds of laws and maybe the Geneva convention. They’re behind him on tariffs, which are destroying people’s farms and ranches, destroying their lives. They’re behind him on everything he does even if he’s saying I’m going to ignore the Supreme Court. If no one has quit over that, Charlottesville, nothing else, does the guy get credit for saying he has some principle? At some point, he says enough.
NIKPOUR: He totally gets credit for being his own man and standing up for things that he doesn’t believe in or agree with, but to quit the party. The party is not the — the Republican party platform is not Donald Trump. It’s a platform —
REID: But it is. Yes, it is. It is Donald Trump. It is 100% Donald Trump. It’s whatever he wants, he does it. Whatever Donald Trump wants, that’s the platform.
REID: Hold on a second. Donald Trump is the GOP. Donald Trump is the head of the Republican party. He’s running — all of the policies that Donald Trump is putting in place, your party 100% is standing behind him on, whether it’s the children in cages which violates all kinds of laws and maybe the Geneva convention. They’re behind him on tariffs, which are destroying people’s farms and ranches, destroying their lives. They’re behind him on everything he does even if he’s saying I’m going to ignore the Supreme Court. If no one has quit over that, Charlottesville, nothing else, does the guy get credit for saying he has some principle? At some point, he says enough.
NIKPOUR: He totally gets credit for being his own man and standing up for things that he doesn’t believe in or agree with, but to quit the party. The party is not the — the Republican party platform is not Donald Trump. It’s a platform —
REID: But it is. Yes, it is. It is Donald Trump. It is 100% Donald Trump. It’s whatever he wants, he does it. Whatever Donald Trump wants, that’s the platform.
The GOP is the Trump Party
There seem to be three types of Republicans that exist in the Donald Trump era of American politics:
1. Those who have fully embraced Donald Trump, who make up the bulk of the modern party.
2. Those have completely denounced Donald Trump and the GOP for appeasing him (folks like Charlie Sykes, Rick Wilson and now, Rep. Justin Amash).
3. Republicans like Noelle Nikpour who twist themselves into a pretzel by arguing that Trump and the Republican Party are two separate entities.
2. Those have completely denounced Donald Trump and the GOP for appeasing him (folks like Charlie Sykes, Rick Wilson and now, Rep. Justin Amash).
3. Republicans like Noelle Nikpour who twist themselves into a pretzel by arguing that Trump and the Republican Party are two separate entities.
The truth is clear, and it has been for more than two years: The GOP is Donald Trump and Donald Trump is the GOP. There is no separation between the two.
Through all of his incoherent and embarrassing tweets, scandals, corruption and incompetence, Republicans have stood by this president. They have refused to put country over party.
To be a Republican in this era of politics means you have to own what the GOP has become. So they should either own it, or stop being a Republican altogether.
July 6, 2019
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-us-military-will-get-big-spike-in-recruitment-thanks-to-july-4th-event?ref=home
OF COURSE
Trump: U.S. Military Will Get ‘Big Spike’ in Recruitment Thanks to July 4th Event
Allison Quinn
Breaking News Reporter
Published 07.05.19 9:59PM ET
Trump: U.S. Military Will Get 'Big Spike' in Recruitment Thanks to July 4th Event
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-us-military-will-get-big-spike-in-recruitment-thanks-to-july-4th-event?ref=home
OF COURSE
Trump: U.S. Military Will Get ‘Big Spike’ in Recruitment Thanks to July 4th Event
Allison Quinn
Breaking News Reporter
Published 07.05.19 9:59PM ET
President Trump has credited his “Salute to America” Fourth of July celebration with a “big spike” in recruitment for the U.S. military, claiming he has “already heard” about “a lot of people calling in.” “We had a phenomenal crowd last night, and it was a fantastic evening for our country,” Trump told reporters gathered on the South Lawn of the White House on Friday. “You’re going to have a lot of people being recruited, I think, based on that. We're going to have a lot of—a lot of people joining our military,” he said. Noting that the military “has a hard time getting people” due to “job numbers,” Trump predicted that “you’re going to see a big spike. I've already heard it—a lot of people calling in. No place like our military. I think we showed that last night.” At Trump’s insistence, the Fourth of July celebration featured tanks and fighter planes, and the president urged young people in the crowd to join the military, at one point telling them to “make a great statement in life.”
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