May 20, 2021

Trump Takes Aim at '35 Wayward Republicans'

May 20, 2021 at 1:35 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard

Former President Trump slapped the “wayward” House Republicans who voted in support of a commission that will investigate the Capitol insurrection on January 6.

Said Trump: “See, 35 wayward Republicans—they just can’t help themselves. We have much better policy and are much better for the Country, but the Democrats stick together, the Republicans don’t.”

He added: “They don’t have the Romney’s, Little Ben Sasse’s, and Cheney’s of the world. Unfortunately, we do. Sometimes there are consequences to being ineffective and weak. The voters understand!”

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https://politicalwire.com/2021/05/20/trump-takes-aim-at-the-35-wayward-republicans/

May 20, 2021

Even the terrorist threat to the United States is now partisan

Philip Bump 1 hr ago

Hours after he announced his objection to forming a commission to investigate the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) defended his case in an appearance on Fox News (to the extent that host Laura Ingraham demanded a defense).

“I’ll raise a very good point of what we should be focused on,” McCarthy said. “I went to the border a couple months ago. I was told how we were catching people coming across the border, not from Central America, but from Yemen and others that were on the terrorist watch list.”

He said he was briefed by the CIA and received information that alarmed him.

“Why don’t we have a commission about that?” McCarthy continued. “Why aren’t we securing our border? That’s putting Americans at risk.”

more/NO PAYWALL
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/even-the-terrorist-threat-to-the-united-states-is-now-partisan/ar-AAKcLn5

May 20, 2021

New York AG criminally investigating Trump Organization CFO Weisselberg

Source: NBC News


The investigation of Weisselberg’s personal finances stems in part from documents shared by his former daughter-in-law, Jennifer Weisselberg.

May 20, 2021, 12:38 PM EDT

By Michael Kosnar, Jonathan Dienst and Adam Edelman

New York Attorney General Letitia James' office is criminally investigating longtime Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg’s personal taxes, an official close to the investigation told NBC News.

The investigation of Weisselberg’s personal finances stems in part from documents shared by his former daughter-in-law, Jennifer Weisselberg.

Alan Garten, the Trump Organization’s general counsel, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Jennifer Weisselberg's attorney, Duncan Levin acknowledged she was cooperating with the New York attorney general's office in a Thursday statement obtained by NBC News.

“Ms. Weisselberg has been in touch with prosecutors from the criminal division of the New York attorney general's office since at least March," Levin said. "She has provided information to them as part of their criminal investigation and will continue to cooperate in any way she can be helpful."



Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/new-york-ag-criminally-investigating-trump-organization-cfo-weisselberg-n1268036

May 20, 2021

Biden proposes doubling IRS workforce as part of plan to snag tax cheats

Source: Politico



By BRIAN FALER

05/20/2021 12:20 PM EDT

Updated: 05/20/2021 01:35 PM EDT

President Joe Biden is proposing to double the size of the IRS, by hiring nearly 87,000 new workers over the next decade, as part of a sweeping plan to chase down tax cheats.

The hiring spree, part of a bid to increase IRS funding by $80 billion, would be phased in to give the department time to absorb the additional resources, the Treasury Department said in a report Thursday.

The agency’s workforce would never grow by more than a “manageable” 15 percent each year. And its total budget would increase by about 10 percent annually.

At the same time, the administration wants to require financial institutions and other businesses to report a lot more information about the money coursing through their customers’ accounts — a proposal designed to put the fear of the IRS in the hearts of tax scofflaws.





Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2021/05/20/irs-funding-boost-489830

May 20, 2021

U.S. will keep Covid travel restrictions at Canada, Mexico land borders through June 21

Source: CNBC


PUBLISHED THU, MAY 20 202112:15 PM EDT UPDATED AN HOUR AGO

Kevin Breuninger
@KEVINWILLIAMB

KEY POINTS

The Biden administration said it will continue to enforce coronavirus-related restrictions on nonessential travel across U.S. land borders through June 21.

Essential trade and travel will still be permitted, the Department of Homeland Security said in a tweet.

The administration’s decision to keep the restrictions in place for another month was announced amid a decline in Covid infections and deaths in the U.S.

The U.S. will continue to enforce coronavirus-related restrictions on nonessential travel across U.S. land borders through June 21, the Biden administration announced on Thursday.

“We’re working closely with Canada & Mexico to safely ease restrictions as conditions improve,” the Department of Homeland Security said on Twitter.

Essential trade and travel will still be permitted, the DHS tweeted.

It was unclear from the DHS tweet if the agency anticipated easing those restrictions immediately after June 21, or if it would merely reassess the need for those limits at that time. DHS did not immediately respond to requests for clarification.




Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/20/us-continues-covid-travel-restrictions-at-canada-mexico-land-borders.html

May 20, 2021

Clarence Thomas awaits his chance to drive the conservative majority on abortion and guns

By Ariane de Vogue, CNN Supreme Court Reporter

Updated 6:44 AM ET, Thu May 20, 2021

(CNN) - Twenty-nine years ago, less than a year after he had taken the bench, Justice Clarence Thomas joined a dissent calling the landmark opinion Roe v. Wade "plainly wrong" and an "erroneous constitutional decision." Over the years Thomas would say Roe had "no basis in the Constitution" and call out the court's abortion precedents as "grievously wrong."

He also took aim at challenges to the Second Amendment, accusing lower courts and his own colleagues of thumbing their noses at the right to bear arms, calling it a "disfavored right."

Now Thomas is 72 years old with a head of gray hair and he is awaiting a new season on a 6-3 conservative majority court. The justices have agreed to hear a case next term that critics -- and some supporters -- say is meant to gut Roe. They will also hear a Second Amendment case that could expand gun rights. And Thomas, the longest-serving member of the court, will likely find himself in the majority.

All along, Thomas has been cultivating his jurisprudence, often in dissent. Now, he's lasted long enough to potentially see a shift not only in the areas of abortion and the Second Amendment but also in other key areas, including affirmative action and voting rights.

more
https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/20/politics/clarence-thomas-abortion-guns/index.html

May 20, 2021

Justin Amash warns of painting Liz Cheney as a 'hero' and questions why she spoke out about Trump

By Veronica Stracqualursi, CNN

Updated 1:18 PM ET, Thu May 20, 2021

(CNN) - Justin Amash, a former Republican congressman, argued that propping up GOP Rep. Liz Cheney as "some sort of hero" for breaking with her party about former President Donald Trump "is a bit misguided," criticizing her for not speaking up sooner.

"We had four years where she could have stood up and said, 'There's a problem here. What Donald Trump is doing is wrong,'" Amash told CNN's David Axelrod in an episode of "The Axe Files" podcast released Thursday.

"For a long time, I was warning that the president's approach could lead to things like violence, could lead to a lot of animosity and contempt, and all sorts of things that would be harmful to our country. She didn't stand up for that view," he said.

Now, Cheney, a conservative who voted in line with Trump's agenda nearly 93% of the time, finds herself an outlier in her party for voting to impeach Trump over the January 6 Capitol insurrection and refusing to embrace the former Republican President and his falsehoods about the 2020 election, resulting in her ouster from her party leadership position last week.

more
https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/20/politics/justin-amash-liz-cheney-axe-files/index.htm

May 20, 2021

Democrats brace for momentous decision: Will Pelosi run again?

By Manu Raju and Alex Rogers, CNN

Updated 1:15 PM ET, Thu May 20, 2021

(CNN) - After taking back the House in 2018, Nancy Pelosi called herself "a bridge to the next generation of leaders" and agreed to a deal: she'd serve again as speaker for no more than four years.

Time is now ticking -- and no one knows what Pelosi will do in 2022.

Confidantes of the 81-year-old speaker reject any rumors she might quit before the end of this Congress, saying doing so would only embolden Republicans and undercut her ability to raise millions to save her party's imperiled majority. She has yet to say if she will mount a reelection bid next year, though her campaign continues to raise millions in case she runs for the seat she's held since 1987.
While Pelosi has previously indicated that this is her last term as speaker, she hasn't completely shut the door quite yet, fueling speculation she could ultimately seek to prolong her 18-year tenure ruling the House Democratic caucus.

Democrats and Republicans are watching her next moves closely, given that her decision would have a seismic impact across the political spectrum, fuel Democratic jockeying to replace her on Capitol Hill and prompt a scramble to replace her in her liberal-leaning district -- potentially with one of her daughters.

more
https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/20/politics/nancy-pelosi-future-2022/index.html

May 20, 2021

Unnamed Likud officials: Netanyahu drawing out Gaza conflict to stop Lapid forming gov't

Source: Times of Israel


FROM THE LIVEBLOG OF THURSDAY, MAY 20, 2021

Sources in the Likud party tell the Ma’ariv newspaper there are concerns Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is extending the fighting in Gaza because Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid currently holds the mandate to form the next government.

“Netanyahu is drawing out the operation in Gaza because Lapid is holding the mandate,” a senior political adviser in the party says.

“He doesn’t seem to have a real desire to eradicate Hamas. Relations between the Arabs in Israel and Jews are being left in ruins,” the adviser says. “Netanyahu is galloping toward a fifth election and taking the country hostage. The collapse of right-wing chairman Naftali Bennett gives him a boost, but support for him within the Likud is weakening.”

Other elements in the right-wing bloc tell the newspaper that it is thought Netanyahu believes the conflict with Hamas will boost his image in fifth elections.



Read more: https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/unnamed-likud-officials-netanyahu-drawing-out-gaza-conflict-to-stop-lapid-forming-govt/

May 20, 2021

New Poll Shows 61 Percent of Republicans Say Dr. Anthony Fauci 'Hurt America'

Source: Mediaite


A substantial majority of Republicans say that Dr. Anthony Fauci “hurt America” more than he helped it during the coronavirus pandemic.

By Tommy Christopher May 20th, 2021, 11:30 am

A new Yahoo! News/YouGov poll asked respondents to assess the impact of Dr. Fauci’s tenure as the lead infectious disease expert on coronavirus task forces under both the Trump and Biden administrations.

Respondents were asked “Which comes closest to your view of Dr. Anthony Fauci’s impact during the pandemic?”, and given the choice of answering that “Fauci helped America more than he hurt America,” that “Fauci hurt America more than helped America,” or “not sure.”

Among all respondents, 46 percent said Fauci helped more than he hurt, with 30 percent saying he “hurt America” and 24 percent saying they weren’t sure.

But among Republicans, double the number of respondents — 61 percent — said Fauci hurt America, with another 18 percent unsure, and only 22 percent saying Fauci helped. Among Trump voters, an even higher 71 percent said Fauci hurt America.

Read more: https://www.mediaite.com/news/new-poll-shows-61-percent-of-republicans-say-dr-anthony-fauci-hurt-america/