Barr plans to remain attorney general until Trump’s term ends
WASHINGTON — Attorney General William Barr plans to remain in his post and won’t step down early unless President Donald Trump asks him to leave, according to a Justice Department official.
Speculation has swirled that Barr might resign this month after his latest falling-out with Trump over the attorney general’s comments that the department hadn’t found evidence of widespread voter fraud that would overturn the Nov. 3 presidential election.
The nation’s top law enforcement officer, who as one of Trump’s most loyal aides weighed in on key criminal cases important to the president — including those of former national security adviser Michael Flynn and longtime confidant Roger Stone — will be expected to resign when President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in on Jan. 20, the official said.
The revelation on Wednesday that Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, is facing a federal criminal investigation could give Barr a reason to appoint a special counsel to help oversee the probe, extending it well into the next president’s term.
Earlier this month it was disclosed that Barr named U.S. Attorney John Durham of Connecticut to be a special counsel in his ongoing investigation into the origins of the FBI’s Russia probe, ensuring that investigation won’t be shut down after Biden takes office.
—Bloomberg News
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Outgoing Congressman Max Rose sets his sights on NYC mayor’s race
NEW YORK — Congressman Max Rose, D-N.Y, who recently lost a bruising battle for reelection, is poised to enter the packed race for mayor of New York City.
He filed a mayoral campaign committee with the city Campaign Finance Board on Thursday evening.
Last month, the Democratic U.S. Army combat veteran lost his bid for reelection to Republican New York Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis after just one term representing N.Y.’s 11th congressional district, a conservative swath of Staten Island and Brooklyn.
Candidates in the June Democratic primary for mayor include Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, former Citigroup executive Ray McGuire, City Councilman Carlos Menchaca, ex-Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia, former nonprofit CEO Dianne Morales, Comptroller Scott Stringer, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s former, veterans affairs commissioner, Loree Sutton, and ex-de Blasio legal adviser Maya Wiley.
—New York Daily News
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CDC chief says he told staff to ignore email from Trump official
WASHINGTON — The head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said he told staff to ignore an email by a top Trump administration health official who had sought changes to a scientific report on COVID-19’s risk to children.
The email in question was written by Paul Alexander, a senior adviser to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. Charlotte Kent, the editor of the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, told congressional investigators that while on vacation in August she received instructions to delete the email.
“I instructed CDC to ignore Dr. Alexander’s comments,” CDC Director Robert Redfield said Thursday at a virtual event held by the Council on Foreign Relations. He also said he instructed staff that they didn’t need to reply to the message. “I would never delete an email,” he said.
The comments came in response to allegations Thursday from Rep. James E. Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat and head of a congressional oversight subcommittee. In a letter to Redfield and Azar, Clyburn said the Trump administration had attempted to “destroy evidence that senior political appointees interfered with career officials’ response to the coronavirus crisis” at the CDC.
At the event, Redfield also expressed concerns that the U.S. will face far more deaths because of the pandemic in the coming months, even with a vaccine on the way. He urged Americans to follow virus-mitigation strategies such as wearing masks and social distancing, and to stay home for the holidays.
—Bloomberg News
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US plans to sanction Turkey for buying Russian S-400 missiles
WASHINGTON — The U.S. plans to impose sanctions on Turkey over its purchase of S-400 missiles after years of drama that began with the NATO ally’s decision to buy the air-defense system from Russia in 2017.
President Donald Trump has signed off on a package of measures recommended by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, according to two people familiar with the matter. The people didn’t say what the sanctions would include.
The sanctions would be imposed under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, known as CAATSA. Trump, who has long highlighted his personal rapport with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, had resisted bipartisan calls from Congress to punish Turkey for the deal with Russia.
Officials at the Treasury Department and State Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ankara has argued that the air defense system is an urgent need given the military conflicts surrounding it, and said allies including the U.S. failed to offer it any alternatives — such as the Patriot missile defense system — on terms acceptable to Turkey.
Turkey’s decision to buy the S-400 did have one cost: the country was essentially expelled from the U.S.-led F-35 program. The country had planned to buy about 100 of the next-generation fighters built by Lockheed Martin Corp., and while Turkey continues to manufacture some key components for the jet, that is expected to wind down in 2022.
—Bloomberg News
