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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Gabrielle Canon in San Francisco (now) and Erin Durkin in New York (earlier)

Treasury department won't meet deadline to release Trump's tax returns – as it happened

William Barr testifies at Senate hearing

Wednesday night summary

Closing down for the evening! Thanks for following along. Here’s what happened Wednesday evening:

  • A new bill in Ohio that just passed the legislature would ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected – which is typically before most women even know they are pregnant. Ohio is one of several states introducing legislation in an attempt to push a Roe v Wade reconsideration from the newly conservative-heavy supreme court.
  • Republicans grilled tech executives from Facebook, Google, and Twitter about conservative censorship on their platforms, a move Democrats called a strategy to increase bias and favorable treatment online.
  • The treasury department declined to hand over Trump’s tax returns before a deadline set in a request from the House ways and means committee chairman, Richard Neal. In a letter, Secretary Steve Mnuchin said his department was still deciding whether to comply, and seeking support from the justice department.

Jeff Bezos will meet with federal prosecutors this week, CNN reports, as investigators deepen their inquiry into the Amazon CEO’s claims that Saudi Arabia was behind the National Enquirer extortion scandal that exposed his affair.

Bezos believes the Saudis targeted him because of he owns the Washington Post, and has in recent weeks provided prosecutors with documents uncovered by his personal investigators to support the accusation.

American Media Inc (AMI), which owns the National Inquirer, denies the allegations and a spokesperson told CNN the company “does not have nor have we ever had, any editorial or financial ties to Saudi Arabia”.

Prosecutors are now seeking access to Bezos’s electronic devices as part of their investigation, the results of which could show that AMI violated a non-prosecution agreement.

Per CNN:

As part of that agreement, company officials admitted to its involvement in a hush-money scheme to influence the 2016 presidential election by silencing a woman who claimed an affair with then-candidate Donald Trump and agreed not to commit any crimes for three years.

The agreement stemmed from prosecutors’ investigation of Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen, who helped orchestrate that hush-money payment”.

Treasury Department misses deadline to turn over Trump's tax returns

The Treasury Department will not turn over Trump’s tax returns by today’s deadline. In a letter to Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin cited concerns over “an abuse of authority” and wrote that the law cited in Neal’s request could not be used “for purposes of embarrassing or attacking political figures of another party”.

Emphasizing the political weight of the request, he adds that the Department is seeking counsel from the Department of Justice “to ensure that our response is fully consistent with the law and the Constitution”.

Mnuchin’s letter was supported by Congressman Kevin Brady, the top Republican on the Ways and Means Committee, who referred to his Committee’s request for the returns as “political fishing expeditions”.

“The Treasury Department is right to carefully review the privacy impact this request would have on every taxpayer,” he added in a statement.

Trump has repeatedly refused to release the returns and has told reporters, despite the requests made by Congress, they would not become public. Last week, Mick Mulvaney, the president’s chief of staff vowed they would never get released.

On Tuesday, Mnuchin told lawmakers during a hearing, that his department’s lawyers had discussed the decision with White House counsel before the official request for the returns was made but did not seek “permission”, even though he had been told by Trump’s lawyers not to hand over the returns until the Justice Department weighed in.

Updated

At a Senate panel hearing today, Republican lawmakers grilled tech executives for more than three hours, over a perceived conservative bias they believe is exhibited across the highly-trafficked platforms, the Washington Post reports.

Representatives from Facebook, Google, and Twitter were questioned by Republicans on the panel, which is headed by Ted Cruz, who accused the tech giants of a “consistent pattern of political bias and censorship”.

Per the Post:

‘Not only does big tech have the power to silence voices with which they disagree, but big tech likewise has the power to collate a person’s feed so they only receive the news that comports with their own political agenda’, Cruz said.

But Democrats sharply rebuked Cruz and his GOP allies for convening the hearing in the first place. ‘For decades, Republicans have bashed the supposedly liberal mainstream media in an effort to work the refs’ said Senator. Mazie Hirono. ‘Now that two-thirds of Americans get their news from social media, Republicans have a new boogeyman to target — big tech’.

A bill in Ohio banning any abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected — which is usually before most women know they are pregnant — has passed the state’s legislature today with a promised signature from Republican governor, Mike DeWine. Choice advocates are already preparing their legal responses.

Seven other states have filed similar legislation, AP reports, Kentucky and Mississippi already have enacted laws, and other states, like Alabama, are making moves to criminalize the women who terminate their pregnancies. In Texas, legislators are considering a bill that would qualify abortion as homicide — a crime that could mean the death penalty in the state.

The bills are expected to serve as a direct challenge to Roe v Wade, to set the stage for reconsideration from the newly conservative-heavy Supreme Court.

“To me this is an issue the court simply got wrong years ago,” Alabama representative Terri Collins, who sponsored her state’s anti-abortion bill told AP.

It’s unlikely they will reach the court soon and Federal judges on lower courts have blocked some of the state bills, including the Kentucky ban. But, with a Trump-stacked 5th circuit, the path is much less bumpy.

Per AP:

If even one circuit breaks with Roe v. Wade and upholds a heartbeat ban, that could be enough for the Supreme Court to take up the issue, said Justin Dyer, a political science professor at the University of Missouri...

...What might happen at the Supreme Court is far from clear. Legal experts are unsure what effect the Trump appointees might have, or where Chief Justice John Roberts stands in regard to Roe...If the Supreme Court ever did overturn Roe v. Wade, states would presumably be left to decide for themselves whether abortion would be legal”.

Gabrielle Canon here, taking over for Erin Durkin.

Today, California Congresswoman Karen Bass did her part to ensure the impact of Nipsey Hussle, a rapper and activist from her district who was gunned down on March 31, would not soon be forgotten. The Grammy-nominated musician’s legacy was officially submitted into Congressional record.

Calling him a “humble visionary”, the record details how he helped uplift his community, as a musician, entrepreneur, and advocate, highlighting his advocacy efforts against inequality, police brutality and gang violence.

Throughout his projects, Nipsey Hussle brought the neighborhood with him. In working to ensure that the community was knowledgeable about their economic power, Nipsey Hussle made sure to give jobs to residents in the neighborhood who were struggling, some of which were homeless and formerly incarcerated...

...He taught and reminded our community that the power we hold is the power welcome from and that awareness of our power is something no one can take from us. Nipsey Hussle will be remembered as a visionary, as a protector, as an inspiration, as a philanthropist, as a father, as a brother and as an unabashed son of South LosAngeles. For all he was given, he gave back. And for that legacy, South Los Angeles has been changed forever”.

Summary

  • Attorney General William Barr said he believes the government spied on Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. “I think spying did occur,” he said before a Senate committee, adding he would look into whether the surveillance was justified.
  • Donald Trump launched a new attack on the Mueller investigation, calling it crooked and treasonous. At the same time, he claimed not to care about Mueller’s report and said he hasn’t read it.
  • The acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Ron Vitiello, resigned, the latest in an apparent purge of top homeland security officials. Donald Trump last week withdrew Vitiello’s nomination to lead the agency on a permanent basis, saying he wanted someone “tougher.”

Acting Ice director resigns

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting director, Ron Vitiellohas, has resigned, according to Bloomberg News.

Donald Trump last week withdrew his nomination to lead the agency on a permanent basis.

Updated

Former Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley has joined e-cigarette company Juul Labs, the Boston Globe reports.

The company has been criticized by regulators and advocates for marketing geared to teens, and current Massachusetts AG Maura Healey has launched an investigation into their practices.

Another Republican Senator is urging Donald Trump to stop his purge of the top ranks of the Department of Homeland Security. The Washington Post reports:

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Homeland Security and Government Reform Committee, said he is worried that [DHS General Counsel John] Mitnick could be dismissed. Johnson is preparing a letter to the administration advising “against even considering getting rid of the counsel.”

Johnson emphasized that Mitnick was a consensus pick, having been confirmed unanimously to the job.

“You need management in the department and particularly a counsel that will shoot straight,” Johnson said. “I just think the current counsel is a good person and we want to make sure he stays on the job.”

He said [acting Homeland Security secretary Kevin] McAleenan is facing a job that is an “almost impossible task for anybody.”

“And it’s not getting any easier whatsoever,” Johnson said. “But right now, I’ve got a great deal of confidence in the commissioner.”

Senator Bernie Sanders says he is not surprised by the opposition to his Medicare for All plan.

Nancy Pelosi: "I don't trust Barr"

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday that Attorney General William Barr’s comments about “spying” on the Trump campaign undermine his role as the chief US law enforcement officer.

“He is not the attorney general of Donald Trump. He is the attorney general of the United States,” Pelosi said in an interview with the Associated Press. “I don’t trust Barr, I trust Mueller.”

She said she was “she was “very concerned” about Barr’s handling of the Mueller report.

Pelosi said Barr’s comments about spying undermine the Constitution and his role in the Justice Department.

Updated

Donald Trump again attacks the Mueller probe, this time via tweet.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos told a congressional committee Wednesday she is “not familiar” with affirmative action rules the administration reversed this year, Politico reports.

The Obama-era guidance told school districts and colleges they could consider race in some cases in trying to diversify their student bodies.

Asked about the decision in testimony before a House committee Wednesday, DeVos said she’s “not familiar with that particular document,” according to Politico. She also said she was “not familiar” with a Supreme Court ruling on race-based admissions, on which the scrapped guidelines were partially based.

Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani accused House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler of “diarrhea of the mouth.” Nadler has said he will subpoena a full version of the Mueller report if it’s not turned over to Congress soon.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders released a statement blasting the Medicare for All bill introduced today by Senator Bernie Sanders:

“Self-proclaimed socialist Senator Bernie Sanders is proposing a total government takeover of healthcare that would actually hurt seniors, eliminate private health insurance for 180 million Americans, and cripple our economy and future generations with unprecedented debt. Americans deserve relief from the empty promises of Obamacare. The Trump Administration is working on realistic solutions to provide Americans with the options and control they want, the affordability they need, the ease they expect, and the quality they deserve, rather than forcing a government takeover of the healthcare system. We will protect people with pre-existing conditions, lower prices for care and prescription drugs even further, end surprise medical bills, and make sure Americans get the absolute best quality of care.”

Senator Chuck Schumer, never one to neglect local concerns after becoming Senate minority leader, is urging a federal investigation after 14 Friendly’s restaurants closed in upstate New York, the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin reports.

Donald Trump, on a trip to Texas, called his son in law Jared Kushner’s upcoming immigration proposal “very exciting” and “very important,” the Washington Post reports.

Kusher has reportedly been working on a plan that would increase legal immigration, even as Republicans introduced a bill in the Senate Wednesday that would slash legal immigration.

Donald Trump is pleased to see a Trump flag waved at Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s re-election party.

After Netanyahu’s opponent conceded, Trump says he called the Israeli prime minister to congratulate him.

Updated

Washington Gov. and presidential candidate Jay Inslee has been writing and illustrating children’s books for his grandkids for the last decade, CNN reports.

And they’re very on brand, with several of the books focusing on the warming climate and its effect on the environment.

“These books are more for fun and being able to read to your grandkids. That is a treasure, that is priceless and that is why we wrote the books,” Inslee told CNN.

Elizabeth Warren raises $6m in three months

Senator Elizabeth Warren raised $6 million for her presidential campaign in the first three months of the year.

She got 213,000 contributions from more than 135,000 donors, with an average donation of $28, according to the New York Times.

She trailed the top fundraisers in the Democratic field, Beto O’Rourke and Bernie Sanders, but about matched Senator Kamala Harris in small dollar donations.

Updated

Senator Mark Warner said he was “amazed” that Attorney General William Barr would say there was “spying” against Donald Trump’s campaign.

The Virginia Democrat and vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee told CNN it was “disrespectful” to the law enforcement professionals who work at the Justice Department to make such a claim.

It shows a “lack of understanding or willful ignorance of what goes into a counter-intelligence investigation,” he said.

“He almost seems to be endorsing one of these theories that has been debunked time and time again,” Warner said.

Of the 18 Democrats running for president, six own guns, the Washington Post reports.

Beto O’Rourke inherited several guns from a great uncle but says they’re not in operating condition. Pete Buttigieg owns two antique guns, which he also says he doesn’t use. Rep. Tim Ryan said he has a Remington 12-gauge shotgun that he won in a raffle and doesn’t use (he does hunt, but not with that gun). Former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper owns a shotgun and a rifle and uses them for bird hunting. Kamala Harris and John Delaney are also gun owners, according to the Post.

The field generally supports stronger gun control.

Republican senators Mitt Romney, Lisa Murkowski, and Cory Gardner have said they would vote against confirming Herman Cain to the Federal Reserve board, according to Politico.

Senator Chuck Grassley said he has received no assurances that Donald Trump won’t fire US Citizenship and Immigration Services director Francis Cissna, according to CNN. Grassley has been pushing Trump not to oust him, amid a larger purge of Homeland Security leaders. “They’re taking it under consideration. I don’t know whether I’ll be satisfied or not when it’s all done,” Grassley said.

Three Republican senators introduced a bill Wednesday that would slash legal immigration.

Senators Tom Cotton, David Perdue, and Josh Hawley are sponsoring the bill, the Hill reports.

It would reduce the total number of immigrants allowed into the US and end preferences for family members other than spouses and minor children. It would instead prioritize would-be immigrants with higher job skills.

Former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley is writing a book about her time in the Trump administration, CNN reports.

Haley “will talk candidly about her tenure as UN Ambassador and the consequential actions, decisions, confrontations, and behind-the-scenes negotiations that shaped national and world events,” according to her publisher.

House minority leader Kevin McCarthy is meeting today with ex-Rep. Michael Grimm, who is once again attempting a comeback after serving prison time on tax charges, according to the Hill.

Grimm is eyeing a run for his old Staten Island seat, which was won last year by Democrat Max Rose after Grimm ran and lost in the primary. McCarthy’s PAC has already donated to Nicole Malliotakis, a Republican assemblywoman who has launched a campaign for the seat.

The House passed legislation Wednesday to reinstate net neutrality rules, the Hill reports.

Federal Communications Commission in 2017 reversed the Obama-era rules, which prohibit internet providers from slowing down or blocking certain websites.

The bill passed by a 232-190 vote, according to the Hill, but is unlikely to get through the Senate.

Updated

Twitter removed a campaign video posted by President Trump after Warner Bros. Pictures complained about the use of the score from its 2012 movie ‘‘The Dark Knight Rises.’’ From AP:

Trump on Tuesday tweeted the video, which featured images of Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton juxtaposed with images from Trump’s two years in office. The text, set against the movie’s score, read: ‘‘First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they call you a racist. Donald J. Trump. Your vote. Proved them all wrong.’’

Warner Bros. said use of the score from the Batman movie starring Christian Bale was ‘‘unauthorized.’’

Twitter replaced the video with this message: ‘‘This media has been disabled in response to a report by the copyright owner.’’

Willam Barr clarifies his prior comments about spying on the Trump campaign: “I am not saying that improper surveillance occurred. I am saying that I am concerned about it and looking into it. That’s all.”

Attorney General William Barr declined to say what basis he has for believing there was spying on Donald Trump’s campaign.

Invoking past surveillance of civil rights groups, he said it was worth looking into even if it didn’t rise to the level of a criminal investigation.

Vice President Mike Pence has asked the United Nations to recognize Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s legitimate leader, per AFP.

The United States has recognized Guaido, the head of the opposition, as the rightful president rather than Nicolas Maduro.

Donald Trump said his adviser Stephen Miller - an immigration hardliner who appears to be gaining influence amid a purge of Department of Homeland Security leaders - is a “wonderful person” and “brilliant man.”

But he insisted he is in charge of his own immigration policy. “Frankly there’s only one person that’s running it. You know who that is? It’s me,” he told reporters outside the White House.

Here’s a transcript of Attorney General William Barr’s comments on alleged FBI “spying” on Donald Trump’s campaign, via Lawfare.

Bernie Sanders on Wednesday re-introduced his Medicare for all healthcare plan, the Vermont senator’s signature domestic policy proposal that has moved from a fringe, leftwing idea to a progressive litmus test.

The new bill has support from Sanders’ fellow rivals for the 2020 Democratic nomination, including Senators Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren. They had all previously endorsed an earlier version of the bill.

Medicare for all has reshaped the debate over healthcare among Demcorats, pushing the center of gravity on the issue far to the left of what was under consideration when Congress passed the Affordable Care Act. Republicans have accused the Democrats of trying to bring socialism to the US.
Sanders envisions a complete transformation of the US healthcare system. Under Medicare for all, the US would transition to a single payer system run entirely by the federal government.

The bill is largely the same as the one he introduced in 2017. The transition would take place over a four year period, with the age of eligibility for Medicare dropping by 10 years until it reaches age 35 in year three. This differs from a House version of this bill, introduced earlier this year that calls for a two-year transition period.

The plan would cover all medically necessary care including vision and dental. There is, however, one notable change: the newer vision of the bill expands coverage to include home-and community based long-term care services. Private insurers could stay in business only to provide for care that is not covered by Medicare for all, such as elective surgery.

While Sanders likes to proudly point to polling that shows public support for universal healthcare has spiked since his 2016 run, the major barrier for would-be supporters is the price tag.

In an accompanying fact sheet, Sanders says the plan “does not represent any new spending at all. Instead, it represents a rebalance of how our current dollars are spent.” The fact sheet includes several proposals to offset the costs, including several ideas based on raising taxes on the wealthy individuals.

Attorney General William Barr declined to say whether he believes, as Donald Trump does, that the Mueller investigation was illegal or a witch hunt.

“I’m not going to characterize. It is what it is,” he said.

Senator Elizabeth Warren released her 2018 tax return today.

It showed more than $900,000 in family income, the Washington Post reports. She and her husband, Bruce Mann, reported earning $905,742 in total income, including $176,280 from her Senate salary and $324,687 from her books. They paid $230,965 in taxes and donated $50,138 to charity.

Warren had already released ten prior years of her taxes, according to the Post. Other Democratic presidential candidates including Kirsten Gillibrand, Amy Klobuchar and Jay Inslee have already released their taxes.

Robert Mueller did not indicate whether he wanted Attorney General William Barr to make a judgment about Donald Trump’s culpability for obstruction of justice.

Mueller’s report did not make a conclusion on whether Trump was guilty of obstruction of justice, instead laying out evidence on both sides. Barr, in his own summary, said he believes Trump did not commit obstruction.

Senator Patrick Leahy asked Barr whether Mueller told him that he wanted to let Congress decide about obstruction. “He didn’t say that to me, no,” Barr said. Leahy then asked if Mueller said that Barr should decide. “He didn’t say that either. But that’s generally how the Department of Justice works,” he said.

Barr said he would explain his conclusion that Trump was not guilty of obstruction, but not yet. “I don’t feel I can do it until the report is out. I think the report contains a lot of the information that would give meaning and content to the decision,” he said.

Attorney General William Barr is defending the Justice Department’s decision to argue in court that Obamacare should be thrown out in its entirety.

Reversing course, the Justice Department backed a judge’s ruling that the healthcare rule is unconstitutional. The Supreme Court had previously upheld it.

“It is a defensible and reasonable legal position,” Barr said.

Barr says he believes there was 'spying' on Trump's campaign

Attorney General William Barr elaborated on his statement yesterday that he is putting together a team to review the origins of the FBI’s investigation into Trump’s campaign.

He said he believes there was “spying” on Trump’s campaign, a claim the president has frequently made, and he wants to determine whether that surveillance was justified.

Updated

Attorney General William Barr said he would not redact information from the Mueller report to protect Donald Trump’s reputation.

One of the categories of redactions he plans to make is to protect the privacy and reputational interest of third parties not charged with a crime. But when asked in Senate testimony, he said those parties do not include Trump.

“I’m talking about people in private life, not public office holders,” Barr said.

Donald Trump congratulated Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his likely election victory.

“It may be a little early, but I’m hearing he’s won it,” Trump said Wednesday morning outside the White House, according to footage aired by CNN. “He’s been a great ally, and he’s a friend. I’d like to congratulate him.”

Trump went on to say he believes the Israeli hardliner’s victory makes peace in the Middle East more likely.

“Everybody said you can’t have peace in the Middle East,” he said. “I think we have a chance and I think we have now a better chance with Bibi having won.”

Attorney General William Barr tells the Senate he intends to release a redacted version of the Mueller report itself, as oppose to his own summary of the report.

He plans to make redactions in four categories, the most controversial of which may be protecting the privacy of people who have not been charged with crimes.

On the day of the deadline House Democrats gave the IRS to turn over Donald Trump’s taxes, Trump again refused to release them.

“I would love to give them, but I’m not going to do it while I’m under audit. It’s very simple,” Trump said outside the White House.

The House Ways and Means committee has requested the returns from the IRS under a law that allows them to obtain the taxes of any citizen.

Trump noted he won the election despite breaking with the practice of all nominees in recent history and refusing to release them. “Frankly the people don’t care,” he said.

Updated

Attorney General William Barr is now before a Senate appropriations subcommittee.

Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the ranking Democrat on the committee, tells him she is concerned about reports that Robert Mueller’s investigators were not satisfied with his summary of the Mueller report, which they felt left out damaging information. “The American people should be allowed to see the report in its entirely so they can make their own judgments,” she said.

Trump on Mueller investigation: 'Everything about it was crooked'

Donald Trump is again attacking the Mueller investigation, claiming “everything about it was crooked” and calling it an attempted coup.

“It was an illegal investigation,” Trump told reporters outside the White House, according to footage aired on CNN. “It was started illegally. Everything about it was crooked. Every single thing about it.”

Trump has repeatedly claimed the investigation was illegal, although it was launched by the Justice Department according to legal procedures.

Trump called Mueller’s investigators “dirty cops.” “There were very bad people,” he added.

“This was an attempted coup. This was an attempted takedown of a president. And we beat them. We beat them,” Trump said. “What they did was treason. What they did was terrible.”

Trump said he had not seen or read the report.

“I have not read the Mueller report. I haven’t seen the Mueller report. As far as I’m concerned, I don’t care about the Mueller report. I’ve been totally exonerated,” he said.

Updated

White House adviser Kellyanne Conway makes a new pledge about the yet-to-exist GOP healthcare plan: “People who like their Obamacare can keep their Obamacare,” she said on CNN.

It’s an echo of former President Barack Obama’s pledge that “if you like your health plan, you will be able to keep your health plan,” which, as Conway noted, was not accurate.

Past proposals from the GOP would have repealed Obamacare, making Conway’s pledge also untrue. But it’s unclear what a new plan may look like, and Trump has now said it won’t come until the 2020 election. She said protections for people with pre-existing conditions would be “non-negotiable.”

Jeffrey Rosen, Donald Trump’s pick to be deputy attorney general, faces a Senate confirmation hearing today.

Rosen is currently the deputy secretary of transportation and has not previously worked in the Justice Department, the Washington Post reports.

He would replace Rod Rosenstein, who as deputy AG oversaw the Mueller investigation because former AG Jeff Sessions recused himself.

Rosen is likely to be pressed on his views on the Mueller probe as well as his qualifications, according to the Post.

Under pressure to show they have solutions, Democrats are honing proposals to address the surge of families entering the U.S. at the southern border, a problem they say President Donald Trump’s restrictive immigration policies are enflaming. AP reports:

House Democrats plan to introduce legislation soon addressing the recent waves of Central American migrants reaching the border. Senate Democrats are pursuing multiple tracks, including exploring whether talks with the White House might be feasible.

The House measure, described by lawmakers...is expected to increase federal resources at border entry points for processing refugees, counseling children and treating people needing medical care. It would create centers in Central America where asylum applications could be processed and provide aid to reduce poverty and violence in the region so fewer people would flee.

“You don’t just wait for people to show up at the border. It’s the worst way to deal with it,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., who’s working on the legislation with House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., and party leaders.

In the Senate, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., a senior member of the Judiciary committee, said she plans to introduce a bill that would beef up immigration courts to reduce a huge backlog of cases and prohibit separations of migrant families. The measure would face an uphill climb

Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell is telling Republicans alarmed by Donald Trump’s controversial Federal Reserve picks that they should speak up.

CNN reports that during Tuesday’s Senate Republican lunch, McConnell told senators concerned about the picks of pizza CEO Herman Cain and conservative commenter Stephen Moore that they should express their objections to the White House now, before the nominations are made official.

Cain’s 2012 campaign for the Republican presidential nomination was derailed by sexual harassment allegations. Moore’s pick is also controversial because critics believe he is poorly qualified and overly partisan.

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that Republicans are increasingly doubtful Cain would be confirmed.

Updated

The Manhattan US Attorney’s office has gathered evidence from members of Donald Trump’s inner circle in its investigation into hush money payments to women who say they had sexual encounters with him, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Prosecutors interviewed Hope Hicks, the former White House communications director, and Keith Schiller, Trump’s former security chief. Investigators also have a recorded phone call between Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen and a lawyer who represented the two women who got payouts, according to WSJ.

The prosecutors had evidence that Trump ordered the illegal payments even before Cohen made that claim in court, the paper reports.

Cohen pled guilty to campaign finance crimes for arranging the payments to porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, in exchange for their silence about alleged affairs with Trump. Those payments, for $150,000 and $130,000 respectively, were considered illegal campaign contributions.

Updated

Donald Trump doesn’t think much of George Washington’s real estate skills.

Politico reports that during a tour of Mount Vernon, the first US president’s Virginia estate, Trump remarked: “If he was smart, he would’ve put his name on it.”

“You’ve got to put your name on stuff or no one remembers you,” he said.

As the Mount Vernon president correctly pointed out, Washington did manage to get the nation’s capital named after him, as well as a state, a massive monument, and countless streets and institutions around the country.

Senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders of Vermont will unveil a new version of his “Medicare for All” plan on Wednesday. AP reports:

Four of Sanders’ fellow senators and rivals for the Democratic nomination are set to sign onto the updated single-payer health care proposal. The bill’s reintroduction promises to shine a bright light on Democratic presidential candidates’ disparate visions for the long-term future of American health care.

Under fire from President Donald Trump and Republicans for the astronomical price tag of Medicare for All, some candidates who support the plan tout it as one of several ways to achieve more affordable coverage and lower the number of uninsured. And others who don’t back it are instead focusing on safeguarding popular provisions of the Affordable Care Act, such as the one that protects coverage of pre-existing conditions.

“Of course, our No. 1 goal should be to make sure we keep in place those protections so people don’t get kicked off their insurance,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar , a Minnesota Democrat who isn’t signed onto Sanders’ bill, told reporters Tuesday. “Then we also have to see the Affordable Care Act as a beginning and not an end.”

Klobuchar supports a so-called public option, versions of which would allow Americans to buy into Medicare or Medicaid. Four other Democratic senators also running for president Elizabeth Warren , Cory Booker , Kamala Harris and Kirsten Gillibrand back Sanders’ single-payer plan, which would replace the current mix of private and government health insurance in the U.S. with a new system run by the government. But they have also signed onto at least one version of a public option.

Warren pointed to “a lot of different pathways” to universal coverage during a televised CNN town hall last month. “What we’re all looking for is the lowest cost way to make sure that everybody gets covered.”

The debate is unfolding in the early stages of a Democratic primary in which some candidates have pointed to their support of Medicare for All to prove their progressive bona fides. But other Democratic contenders, including former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper , have criticized Sanders’ measure as politically infeasible.

Under Medicare for All, Americans would no longer pay premiums or face insurance deductibles as the government-run system replaced private health insurance offered through employers, the mainstay of coverage for more than 160 million Americans.

Big tax increases would be needed to finance such a system. The transition is likely to be complicated, dismantling the private health insurance industry and making major changes for hospitals, doctors, drug companies and other medical providers.

“What our system does is get rid of insurance companies and drug companies making billions of dollars in profit every single year,” Sanders told CBS News for an interview set to air Wednesday, adding that private insurance would largely exist solely for elective medical care such as cosmetic surgery.

William Barr to testify before Senate subcommittee

Attorney General William Barr will return to Capitol Hill today, testifying before a Senate appropriations subcommittee.

On Tuesday, testifying before the House, Barr said he would be ready to release a redacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia report within a week.

Today’s hearing, like yesterday’s, is ostensibly about the justice department budget but lawmakers are expected to grill the attorney general about the Mueller report.

More from the Associated Press:

Justice department officials are scouring the report to remove grand jury information and details relating to pending investigations, among other materials. Democrats have escalated criticism over Barr’s handling of the document and say they will not accept any redactions. The House judiciary committee has approved, but not sent, subpoenas for the report , and top Democrats have said they are willing to take the battle to court.

At the House hearing, Barr bluntly defended himself, arguing that portions of the document need to be redacted to comply with the law. He said he’s open to eventually releasing some of the redacted material after consulting with congressional leaders, but he drew a line at releasing grand jury material, which would require court approval. He said Democrats are “free to go to court” themselves and ask for the grand jury information.

Barr wouldn’t discuss the substance of Mueller’s findings but did explain some of his process for receiving and reviewing the report and what to expect when it is released: he said the redactions will be color-coded and accompanied by notes explaining the decision to withhold information.

Updated

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The world was rooting for Britney Spears when she broke free — now concerns are growing over her very public spiral
IN FOCUS: When Spears was released from her conservatorship in November 2021, her fans celebrated in the streets. Less than five years on, the pop superstar’s DUI arrest comes amid growing concern for her wellbeing, writes Kevin E G Perry
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Jamie Lee Curtis says The Bear is ending with season 5 but admits she may have "completely blown" an under-wraps announcement
The Bear season 5 is expected to air this year
Total Film
Total Film
Boba Fett star all but confirms his Star Wars bounty hunter won't show up in The Mandalorian and Grogu: "[I’m] shelved, that’s all, like a jar of peaches"
Don't expect Boba Fett to show up in The Mandalorian and Grogu
Total Film
Total Film
I Was Stoked For New ACOTAR News, But Sarah J. Maas’ Comments About The TV Series Have Been An Emotional Rollercoaster
ACOTAR fans are definitely feeling a lot right now.
Cinemablend
Cinemablend
Popular potato chip flavor recalled in six states over health risk
The chips contained an undeclared ingredient, posing the risk of an allergic reaction
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
The ‘Jim Carrey is a clone’ theory is absurd. Of course people believe it
Conspiracy claims have erupted over the star’s appearance. These days, I can’t blame people for endless skepticism
The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
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