Tag Archives: Trump administration

Bill Barr Backtracks On Foreign Help For Candidates

The Hill reports: Attorney General William Barr changed course and stated that it is not appropriate for a presidential candidate to accept foreign assistance after he initially responded to a question from a Democratic congressman stating it “depends” on the assistance. Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) asked Barr during a Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday if it is ever appropriate for a …

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LIVE VIDEO: Barr Testifies Before House Judiciary Panel

The New York Times reports: Attorney General William P. Barr will travel to Capitol Hill on Tuesday for his first congressional testimony in more than a year, and lawmakers are prepared to press for explanations on the federal response to nationwide protests of police killings of Black Americans and the handling of criminal cases involving President Trump’s allies. The hearing …

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Bill Barr To Defend Trump’s Troops In House Testimony

The Washington Post reports: Attorney General William P. Barr will tell the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday that President Trump has not inappropriately intervened in Justice Department business — even though Barr has more than once moved in criminal cases to help the president’s allies — and he will defend the administration’s response to civil unrest in the country, according …

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Specialty Fauci Baseball Card Breaks Sales Record

USA Today reports: It was on sale for only 24 hours, but it broke company records. The Topps NOW limited edition baseball trading card featuring Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, set an all-time print record run for the franchise, selling 51,512 cards, the company said. “We’re excited by the popularity of Dr. …

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FL Man Bought Lamborghini With Bailout Funds: DOJ

Via press release from the Justice Department: A Florida man was arrested and charged with fraudulently obtaining $3.9 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and using those funds, in part, to purchase a sports car for himself. Authorities seized a $318,000 sports car and $3.4 million from bank accounts at the time of arrest. David T. Hines, 29, of …

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Trump Security Advisor Robert O’Brien Tests COVID+

Bloomberg News reports: President Donald Trump’s National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien has tested positive for Covid-19, according to people familiar with his situation. O’Brien has been out of the office since late last week, one of the people said. O’Brien came down with the coronavirus after a family event and has been isolating at home while still running the National …

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Melania To Unveil Plan To Remodel WH Rose Garden

The New York Times reports: Melania Trump, the first lady, will announce a plan on Monday to renovate the White House Rose Garden, a signature showcase of power used by presidents for decades, as her husband enters a crucial stretch of his re-election effort. The project, which includes electrical upgrades for television appearances, a new walkway and new flowers and …

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Testing Czar: I’m Not Afraid To Press Trump On Testing

The Hill reports: Adm. Brett Giroir, the assistant secretary of Health and Human Services who is leading the administration’s coronavirus testing efforts, said Sunday that nobody on the White House coronavirus task force is afraid to press President Trump on the need to expand testing. “Everyone at the administration understands the importance of testing. Nobody in the task force is …

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Feds To Appeal Ruling Barring Arrests Of Journalists

Courthouse News reports: Federal police are now under a court order not to arrest or assault journalists and legal observers for doing their jobs, after a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order Thursday that the government said it would appeal. “An open government has been a hallmark of our democracy since our nation’s founding,” U.S. District Judge Michael Simon …

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Chris Christie Cashes In With Bailout Funds Lobbying

Politico reports: Chris Christie dreamed of becoming president. Now, he’s settling for a different role in Washington: lobbyist. The former New Jersey governor is making big money from businesses trying to tap the gusher of coronavirus relief funds coming from the federal government. Newly filed disclosures show Christie’s firm pulled in $240,000 in less than three months for lobbying the …

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Trump Repeals Obama-Era Fair Housing Regulation

The Los Angeles Times reports: With President Trump facing sagging support in the suburbs, his administration on Thursday targeted an Obama-era affordable housing regulation, the latest in a series of appeals to white voters’ fears of crime and declining property values. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that it would scrap a regulation known as Affirmatively Furthering …

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Trump Admin Blew $21M On “Laughable” Pepcid Study

The Associated Press reports: In early April, when government scientists learned of a proposal to spend millions in federal research funding to study Pepcid, they found it laughable, according to interviews, a whistleblower complaint and internal government records obtained by The Associated Press. But that didn’t stop the Trump administration from granting a $21 million emergency contract to researchers trying …

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DOJ To Probe Use Of Federal Force In DC And Portland

Via press release from the Justice Department: Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz announced today that: In response to Congressional requests, complaints received by the OIG, and a referral from the U.S. Attorney in Oregon, the DOJ Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has opened an investigation into use of force allegations involving DOJ law enforcement personnel …

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Family Says Stephen Miller’s Grandmother Died Of COVID, WH Denies It, Calls Media Inquiry “Disgusting”

Mother Jones reports: This month, Stephen Miller, the extremist anti-immigrant adviser to President Donald Trump who has promoted white nationalist ideas, lost a relative to the coronavirus pandemic, and his uncle tells Mother Jones that the Trump administration is partly to blame for this death. In response to a request seeking comment from Miller, a White House spokesperson sent Mother …

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DeVos: Science Says Children Are COVID “Stoppers”

“Certainly we all want school to be safe for kids. But the reality is, the science tells us that in – being in school is safe for children. There was just a study that came out from Germany on Monday that suggests that actually kids might even be stoppers of the virus. “That it was over 2,000 kids studied and …

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White House Cafeteria Closed After Worker Gets COVID

NBC News reports: The White House is conducting contact tracing after a cafeteria worker tested positive for coronavirus, three Trump administration officials tell NBC News. The cafeteria and an eatery in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, or EEOB, were both closed this week after the case was discovered, officials said. It was unclear how long the facility will remain closed, …

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Latest Trump Nominee Backed “Satanic” Hillary Claims

Are these stories even remotely surprising anymore? The Trump administration announced this week the nomination of a former conservative commentator with a history of inflammatory and conspiratorial tweets to be the head of the Office of Personnel Management. John Gibbs, the nominee, is currently the acting assistant secretary for community planning and development at the Department of Housing and Urban …

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Trump’s UK Ambassador Probed For Racist Comments

CNN reports: The billionaire NFL owner who serves as President Donald Trump’s ambassador to the United Kingdom was investigated by the State Department watchdog after allegations that he made racist and sexist comments to staff and sought to use his government position to benefit the President’s personal business in the UK, multiple sources told CNN. Robert Wood “Woody” Johnson, the …

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Randy Rainbow: “Gee, Anthony Fauci!” [VIDEO]

Randy Rainbow is back today with a tribute to Dr. Anthony Fauci set to the tune of Gee, Officer Krupke from the classic musical, West Side Story.  Some history on the song from Slate: When Stephen Sondheim was writing the lyrics for “Gee, Officer Krupke,” to be sung in the 1957 musical West Side Story, he was hoping to be …

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HHS Makes Deal For Up To 600M COVID Vax Doses

The Washington Post reports: Biotechnical companies Pfizer and BioNTech announced an agreement with the U.S. government Wednesday morning to distribute up to 600 million doses of a jointly produced vaccine for the novel coronavirus starting in December, through 2021. Through the deal, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Defense Department will pay $1.95 billion for the …

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