Pelosi Pushes Plans For Another Round Of Stimulus Legislation

(Washington, DC-AP) – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is pushing plans for the “next phase” of stimulus legislation. Hosting a telephone news briefing at the Capitol, Pelosi said bold action must be taken to renew America’s infrastructure.

She called it a key investment to build a smarter, safer national infrastructure that is built to last. Pelosi said it will create millions of new jobs. President Trump tweeted this week that the next stimulus should involve another two-trillion dollars for infrastructure renovation.

House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn said the coronavirus crisis has exposed significant fault lines in the federal government. The President signed a roughly two-trillion dollar stimulus bill last Friday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell appeared to pump the brakes on another stimulus bill.

In a radio interview, the Kentucky Republican suggested that the ink is barely dry on the last stimulus. Economic stimulus bills are a response to the deepening economic fallout from the growing coronavirus outbreak.

Lawmakers Expected To Get Classified Briefing On Airstrike This Week

(Washington, DC-AP) – Democrats are angry that congressional leaders were not briefed before the U.S. airstrike that killed a top Iranian military leader in Iraq.

Lawmakers are expected to get a classified briefing on the incident this week. The briefing will likely be conducted by CIA Director Gina Haspel, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Meantime, House Democrats are planning a vote this week on a war powers resolution aimed at limiting President Trump’s military actions on Iran. The House resolution would have little chance of passage in the Republican-led Senate.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the airstrike endangered U.S. service-members and diplomats by “risking a serious escalation of tensions with Iran.” The House resolution would have little chance of passage in the Republican-led Senate.

No Cap: The U.S. Had A Trade Agreement With Wakanda….

(USA) – The U.S. doesn’t have a free trade agreement with the Kingdom of Wakanda, despite what the U.S. Department of Agriculture says.

The fictional African nation, home to Marvel superhero Blank Panther, was included in an online USDA list of nations with U.S. trade deals.

The listing was removed this week after a software engineer called it out on Twitter. A USDA spokesman said the fake country was included by mistake as part of a test.

Donald Trump Becomes The 3rd President To Be Impeached, Nancy Pelosi Says No One Is Above The Law

(Washington, DC) – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says President Trump has been held accountable and insists that “no one is above the law.” Talking with reporters at the Capitol, Pelosi called this week’s impeachment of the President a solemn and necessary action. She said she has not decided who will prosecute the case in a Senate trial and when the articles of impeachment will be formally submitted to the Senate. Pelosi argued that the process guiding a Senate trial should be fair.

Pelosi dismissed questions about critical comments from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. McConnell suggested that House Dems are getting cold feet about sending impeachment articles to the Senate. Pelosi said she doesn’t care what Republicans think.

There are two articles of impeachment: Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Congress.

 

Pelosi Tells Reporter: “Don’t Mess With Me

(Washington, DC-AP) – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is offended by suggestions that she “hates” President Trump. Pelosi scolded a reporter during a Capitol briefing, saying — “Don’t mess with me when it comes to words like that!” She said she’s a Catholic who doesn’t hate anyone. She also noted that she regularly prays for the President. Pelosi also defended the move toward impeachment, saying the President’s actions have left lawmakers with “no choice.”

The reporter who asked the question was James Rosen, a former Fox News correspondent who now works for the Sinclair Broadcast Group. He said he was referring to comments from some House Republicans, who have said impeachment is being fueled by Democrats’ dislike of the President.

Rudy Giuliani Is In Ukraine Seeking Dirt On Political Rivals

(Kiev-AP) – President Trump’s personal attorney is back in Ukraine seeking to shift attention off the impeachment inquiry and on to political rivals.

The New York Times reports Rudy Giuliani met with a former Ukrainian prosecutor and is a key figure in the impeachment inquiry in Budapest on Tuesday.

He’s now in Kiev meeting with other former Ukrainian prosecutors.

All three of the former prosecutors have been accused of corruption in the past. The Times says Giuliani is talking to them for a documentary series that will debunk the case for impeachment.

Kamala Harris Drops Out, But Biden Would Consider Her As Running Mate

(Ames, IA-AP) – Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden says he’d consider Senator Kamala Harris as a running mate.

Harris dropped her campaign for the Democratic nomination this week. Biden told reporters in Iowa that she “has the capacity to be anything she wants to be.” He added that one day she could be president herself or even a Supreme Court justice.

Harris frequently butted heads with Biden during the presidential debates about his history in the Senate.

The Stage Is Set For The Democratic Debate

(Atlanta, Ga) – The stage is set for The 5th Democratic Debate tomorrow at Tyler Perry Studios. And even though several of the candidates have been holding court in Atlanta for days leading up to the debate; they’ll all come together face to face Wednesday night on the Oprah Winfrey Soundstage.

Tom Steyer met with members of the black clergy, while former Housing Secretary Julian Castro discussed some issues at Paschal’s restaurant and Andrew Yang hit the court with Dominique Wilkins for some 5 on 5.  Castro did not meet the requirements to appear in the debate at Tyler Perry Studios, but he’s making his rounds nonetheless.

Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar also held discussions in Atlanta and they along with VP Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Tulsi Gabbard, Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders,Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren and Andrew Yang will be front and center on the debate stage and it’s pretty insane.

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To qualify, The Democratic National Committee raised the criteria requiring candidates to either reach 3% in four national or early-state, DNC approved polls, or reach 5% in two early-state polls. They also had to demonstrate that they have 165,000 unique donors, including at least 600 each in at least 20 states, U.S. territories or the District of Columbia.

The Oprah Winfrey Soundstage is the largest stage at Tyler Perry Studios and will hold 1000 lucky guests, including The Morning Groove’s Toni Moore.

Moderators include Rachel Maddow, Andrea Mitchell, Kristen Welker and Ashley Parker.  The Washington Post and MSNBC will co-host the event.

It airs live at 9pm on MSNBC, msnbc.com and the washingtonpost.com

Schiff Accuses Trump Of Witness Intimidation “In Real Time”

(Washington, DC-AP) – The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee is accusing President Trump of “witness intimidation, in real time.”

During a break in testimony in the latest public House impeachment hearing, California Democrat Adam Schiff suggested that a tweet from Trump, during the hearing, was designed to have a chilling effect on witness testimony. Trump attacked testimony from former U.S.-Ukraine ambassador Marie Yovanovitch.

Trump tweeted, “Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad.” Asked to respond to the tweet, Yovanovitch defended her long service as a U.S. diplomat. She said — “I actually think that where I’ve served over the years, I and others have demonstrably made things better, for the U.S. as well as for the countries that I’ve served in.”

Yovanovitch also said it is important for Ukraine to “move out of Russia’s orbit.” The veteran diplomat said Russian influences have fueled considerable corruption in Ukraine. She alleged that “foreign and corrupt interests” have “hijacked” U.S.-Ukraine policy. She also argued that the State Department has been “hollowed out from within.”

Yovanovitch was recalled earlier this year after running afoul of Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who was conducting unofficial diplomacy in Ukraine. Giuliani was pressuring Ukraine to launch an investigation of Democrats.

 

Roger Stone Guilty On All Counts

(Washington, DC-AP) – A federal jury says President Trump’s confidante Roger Stone is guilty on all seven counts. Stone was brought to trial as part of the Mueller investigation for his attempts to learn what information WikiLeaks had on hacked Democratic emails during the 2016 election.

Stone was charged with lying to Congress, obstruction of justice and witness intimidation. The jury deliberated for less than two days.

The 67-year-old Stone could face up to 50 years in prison. Stone’s attorneys had argued that he was not intentionally dishonest.

They also claimed the case against their client was politically motivated. Stone has been a longtime friend and adviser to Donald Trump since well before he decided to run for president in 2016.