Tag Archives: Trump administration

14 States Sue Over New Food Stamp Restrictions

Politico reports: A coalition that includes attorneys general in 14 states, the District of Columbia and New York City are suing the Agriculture Department over a plan to impose stricter work requirements on millions of food stamp recipients. The lawsuit, filed Thursday by mostly Democratic-led states, argues that USDA unlawfully limited states’ discretion to exempt certain adults from work requirements …

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DOJ Investigates James Comey Over Years-Old Leak

The New York Times reports: Federal prosecutors in Washington are investigating a years-old leak of classified information about a Russian intelligence document, and they appear to be focusing on whether the former F.B.I. director James B. Comey illegally provided details to reporters, according to people familiar with the inquiry. The case is the second time the Justice Department has investigated …

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Human Rights Groups Sue Over Trump’s Asylum Policy

Via press release from the ACLU: The American Civil Liberties Union, National Immigrant Justice Center, Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, and Human Rights First filed a federal lawsuit today challenging the Trump administration’s policies regarding so-called “safe third country” agreements with Guatemala and other nations that force people fleeing for their lives to seek asylum in the same dangerous …

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Nine Federal Agencies Propose Undoing Obama-Era Executive Order On Grants To Religious Organizations

NBC News reports: President Donald Trump on Thursday announced a series of new rules and guidance memos designed to push federal funds to religious organizations and advance prayer in public schools. The guidance comes amid a formal White House declaration recognizing Jan.16 as Religious Freedom Day. In a reversal of Obama-era requirements that tightly restricted religious organizations receiving taxpayer money, …

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Move To Withdraw Plea Postpones Flynn’s Sentencing

The Associated Press reports: A federal judge on Thursday postponed the sentencing of former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn, two days after Flynn moved to withdraw his guilty plea. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan did not immediately rule on Flynn’s request. Instead, in a brief written order, the judge asked for additional court filings on the matter over …

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John Bolton To Dish Ukraine Dirt In Upcoming Book

The New York Times reports: The Senate is still discussing whether it will hear witness testimony from John Bolton, the former national security adviser, who has said he would comply with a subpoena during the impeachment trial. But he’s planning to reveal some of what he saw regarding the Ukraine matter in his upcoming book, according to people familiar with …

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Michael Flynn Seeks To Withdraw Guilty Plea

NPR reports: Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who admitted to lying to the FBI about contacts with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S., wants to withdraw his two-year-old guilty plea, saying federal prosecutors reneged on a promise not to ask for jail time at his upcoming sentencing. Flynn, who held the post of national security adviser for less than a …

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US Won’t Extradite Diplomat’s Wife After Fatal UK Crash

Reuters reports: The United States on Friday rejected a formal request from Britain for the extradition of a U.S. diplomat’s wife who left the country last year after a road collision that killed 19-year-old Briton Harry Dunn. British prosecutors are seeking the extradition of Anne Sacoolas over the crash last August in which Dunn was killed while riding his motorbike. …

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Pompeo And Mnuchin Unveil New Sanctions On Iran

ABC News reports: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin detailed new sanctions on Iran at the White House Friday morning — the response President Donald Trump chose after backing away from further military conflict after Iran fired missiles at U.S. forces following his order to kill Iran’s top commander, Qassem Soleimani. Mnuchin said the administration was …

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Pompeo Bans War Crimes Investigators From US Entry

Reuters reports:  The United States will withdraw or deny visas to any International Criminal Court personnel investigating possible war crimes by U.S. forces or allies in Afghanistan, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday. The court, which sits in The Hague, responded that it was an independent and impartial institution and would continue to do its work “undeterred” by …

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DHS Ordered To Return Deported Gay Asylum Seeker

NBC News reports: A federal judge has ordered the Department of Homeland Security to return a gay asylum-seeker who was deported to Chad, ruling that the government had not properly considered his asylum claim based on his status as a gay man before deporting him. Oumar Yaide arrived in the U.S. in 2009 and requested political asylum because he was …

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Defense Sec. Mark Esper: We’re Not Looking To Start A War With Iran, But We’re Ready To Finish One [VIDEO]

CNN reports: “We are not looking to start a war with Iran, but we are prepared to finish one,” Defense Secretary Mark Esper told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour Tuesday.  He also insisted the US had evidence to justify the attack that killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in Iraq last week. “I can assure you it’s more than razor thin, it’s persuasive. …

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Feds Want Up To Six-Month Sentence For Michael Flynn

The Washington Post reports: Michael Flynn deserves up to 6 months in prison, the U.S. says in a reversal for former Trump national security adviser. The retired three-star Army general turned against prosecutors after initially cooperating in special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s probe and pleading guilty to lying to investigators about his contacts with Russia’s ambassador. A federal judge …

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REPORT: Pompeo Decides Against 2020 Senate Run

The New York Times reports: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday told Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, that he does not plan to run for Senate in 2020, most likely ending Republicans’ hopes of securing a potentially dominant candidate for the open seat in his home state of Kansas, according to four people briefed on the meeting. Mr. …

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Pompeo: Trump Just Made The World Safer [VIDEO]

ABC News reports: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” that the world is a safer place as a result of Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani’s death. “This was a bad guy, we took him off the playing field. And that’s important because this was a fella who was the glue, who was conducting active plotting against …

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Trump Admin Warns Congress Of Iranian Retaliation

CNN reports: The Trump administration has warned members of Congress that Iran is expected to retaliate against the US “within weeks” for the strike that killed Qasem Soleimani even as they failed to convince some that the operation was merited due to an imminent threat against American lives. There are also intense discussions taking place inside US military and intelligence …

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Trump Rule Excludes Climate Issues From New Projects

The New York Times reports: Federal agencies would no longer have to take climate change into account when they assess the environmental impacts of highways, pipelines and other major infrastructure projects, according to a Trump administration plan that would weaken one of the benchmark environmental laws of the modern era. The proposed changes to the 50-year-old National Environmental Policy Act …

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State Department Travel Advisory For US Citizens: Draft Your Will And Plan Your Funeral Before Entering Iraq

Via press release from the State Department: Do not travel to Iraq due to terrorism, kidnapping, and armed conflict. U.S. citizens in Iraq are at high risk for violence and kidnapping. Numerous terrorist and insurgent groups are active in Iraq and regularly attack both Iraqi security forces and civilians. Anti-U.S. sectarian militias may also threaten U.S. citizens and Western companies …

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Pompeo: Iraq Airstrike Was Due To “Imminent Threats”

CNN reports: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the airstrike ordered to kill top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani “saved American lives,” after Pompeo said on Twitter Friday morning that the decision to eliminate Soleimani was in response to “imminent threats to American lives.” “I can’t talk too much about the nature of the threats. But the American people …

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Trump Admin Bans Some Flavored Vaping Products

CNBC reports: The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it has issued a ban on flavored vaping products, with the exception of tobacco and menthol. Under the new rule, companies that do not stop the distribution of fruit and mint flavors within 30 days are at risk of regulatory action by the FDA, the agency said. “The United States has …

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