September 1, 2020

In Steve Bannon Case, Prosecutors Have 'Voluminous' Emails

Source: New York Times

Federal prosecutors have seized “voluminous” emails and other communications in their case against Stephen K. Bannon, the former adviser to President Trump who is charged with defrauding donors to a private group that promised to build a wall on the Mexican border, the government said on Monday.

Mr. Bannon and three other men have been accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in the scheme. The campaign, known as “We Build the Wall,” raised more than $25 million from private donors by promising to build portions of the wall, the president’s signature political initiative.

Prosecutors have said that while thousands of investors were led to believe all their donations would go toward the project, Mr. Bannon diverted over a million dollars and used some of it for personal expenses. He pleaded not guilty on Aug. 20 and declared as he left federal court in Manhattan, “This entire fiasco is to stop people who want to build the wall.”

The government outlined the materials it had seized during a virtual court hearing in Manhattan Monday that also highlighted the charged, election-year atmosphere surrounding the case.


Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/31/nyregion/steve-bannon-build-the-wall-fraud.html

September 1, 2020

Trump urges keeping tax returns away from Manhattan's top prosecutor

Source: Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday urged a federal appeals court on Monday not to let Manhattan’s top prosecutor get eight years of his tax returns, saying the handover would cause him irreparable harm.

The argument was made in a filing with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan, which on Tuesday will hear oral arguments on Trump’s bid to delay Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance’s subpoena for the returns during Trump’s appeal.

If the appeals court were to reject a delay, Trump requested an administrative stay to give the U.S. Supreme Court sufficient time to consider his request, the filing said.


Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-vance-idUSKBN25R2SQ

September 1, 2020

Trump said he was going to talk to Blake family, but not their lawyers

Source: NBC News

President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday that he has not spoken to the family of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man who was shot by a white police officer which later sparked protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and across the country.

"I spoke with the pastor, wonderful man, the family's pastor, and I thought it would be better not to do anything where there are lawyers involved. They wanted me to speak but they wanted to have lawyers involved and I thought that was inappropriate so I didn't do that," Trump said at Monday's White House briefing.

He added, "I may, at some point...but I just gave my best regards. But again, I spoke with the pastor."

However, Jacob Blake Sr. and Blake's family attorney Benjamin Crump told CNN in an appearance on Monday that the family does not have a designated pastor and their attorneys represent the family. Crump said Jacob Blake's mother tried to set up a call with her pastor and the president but it never materialized. He noted when President Barack Obama talked with Travyon Martin's family, he was also on the phone as the family's lawyer.


Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-said-he-was-going-talk-blake-family-not-their-n1238934?cid=sm_npd_ms_tw_ma

September 1, 2020

Trump knocks Fauci: 'I inherited him'

Source: The Hil

President Trump on Monday questioned the value of Anthony Fauci to the White House coronavirus task force, saying in an interview with Fox News that he "inherited" the government's top infectious disease expert.

"I disagree with a lot of what he said," Trump told Laura Ingraham when asked if he would put Fauci "front and center" in the pandemic response if he could do it again.

"I get along with him, but every once in a while, he'll come up with one that I say, 'Where did that come from?'" Trump continued. "I inherited him. He was here. He was part of this huge piece of machine."

The president reiterated his claim that Fauci opposed his decision to restrict travel from China in January. Fauci indicated at the time he did not think it was a good idea, though he later said it had bought the U.S. time to fight the virus.


Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/514523-trump-knocks-fauci-i-inherited-him

September 1, 2020

Trump defends gunman charged with murdering 2 in Kenosha

Source: Politico

President Donald Trump on Monday portrayed the gunman charged with murdering two protesters in Kenosha, Wis., as a victim, suggesting that the Illinois teenager was acting in self-defense.

Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, was arrested last week and charged with two counts of first-degree murder for shooting during an anti-racist protest following the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Video of Rittenhouse at the protests showed him carrying an assault rifle and telling someone on the phone that “I just killed somebody”, according to the criminal complain against him. He was taken into custody the following day.

The criminal complaint said he killed a man, Joseph Rosenbaum, after Rosenbaum threw a plastic bag at Rittenhouse and tried to grab his gun. A group of protesters chased after Rittenhouse, yelling that he had shot someone.

But speaking at a White House news conference on Monday, Trump suggested that the protesters were the instigators, out to get Rittenhouse, and that he was acting in self-defense.


Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/31/trump-defends-kenosha-gunman-406377

September 1, 2020

Tomorrow is the Massachusetts Primary

MA-SEN-D (vs Ed Markey (D))
Joe Kennedy (D) - Congressman, Attorney & Peace Corps Veteran

MA-SEN-R
Shiva Ayyadurai (R) - Computer Scientist, Businessman & '18 Candidate
Kevin O'Connor (R) - Attorney

MA-1-D (vs Richard Neal (D))
Alex Morse (D) - Holyoke Mayor

MA-4-D (Open (D) seat)
Jake Auchincloss (D) - Newton City Councilor, Software Executive & Afghan War Veteran
Dave Cavell (D) - Withdrew, but name remains on primary ballot.
Becky Grossman (D) - Newton City Councilor & Attorney
Alan Khazei (D) - Social Entrepreneur, Attorney & '10 US Sen Candidate
Ihssane Leckey (D) - Banking Regulator & Progressive Activist
Natalia Linos (D) - Public Health Center Executive Director
Jesse Mermell (D) - Ex-Brookline Selectman, Ex-Nonprofit Group Executive & Ex-Gubernatorial Aide
Ben Sigel (D) - Attorney
Chris Zannetos (D) - Withdrew, but name remains on primary ballot.

MA-4-R
Julie Hall (R) - Ex-Attleboro City Councilor, Retired USAF Officer & '18 St Rep Nominee
David Rosa (R) - Iraq War Veteran, Ex-Dighton Parks Commissioner & Frequent Candidate

MA-6-D (vs Seth Moulton (D))
Jamie Zahlaway Belsito (D) - Nonprofit Group Executive & Salem State University Trustee
Angus McQuilken (D) - Communications Consultant, Gun Control Activist & '04 St Sen Nominee

MA-8-D (vs Stephen Lynch (D))
Robbie Goldstein (D) - Physician

September 1, 2020

Trump demands 'patriotic education' in U.S. schools

Source: Politico

President Donald Trump said Monday that the nation must restore “patriotic education” in schools as a way to calm unrest in cities and counter “lies” about racism in the United States.

Trump blamed violent protests in Portland, Ore., and other cities in recent months on “left-wing indoctrination” in schools and universities, while accusing his Democratic presidential challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden, of giving “moral aid and comfort” to vandals.

“Many young Americans have been fed lies about America being a wicked nation plagued by racism,” Trump said during a news conference. “Indeed, Joe Biden and his party spent their entire convention spreading this hateful and destructive message while refusing to say one word about the violence.”

Trump’s solution: Children must be taught that America is “an exceptional, free and just nation, worth defending, preserving and protecting,” he said.



Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/31/trump-patriotic-education-406521

September 1, 2020

Task force reports show dire reality despite Trump's positive messaging

Source: CNN

As President Donald Trump was painting a positive picture of the coronavirus pandemic and urging states to reopen the nation's businesses and schools, data from the White House coronavirus task force released Monday shows he was getting increasingly dire reports about the spread of the pandemic in July and August.

The House Select Subcommittee on Coronavirus on Monday published eight weeks' worth of state reports compiled by the White House task force.

The task force releases these reports each week to governors' offices for their respective states, and has previously declined to make them publicly available or confirm the authenticity of any of the data reported. There had been some discussion on a call with governors earlier this month, audio of which was obtained by CNN, about making some of the data publicly accessible in real time, but that has yet to happen.

"Rather than being straight with the American people and creating a national plan to fix the problem, the President and his enablers kept these alarming reports private while publicly downplaying the threat to millions of Americans," subcommittee Chairman James Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat, said in a statement.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/31/politics/coronavirus-task-force-state-reports/index.html