I’m eagerly awaiting the January 2020 John Roberts decision that the courts have no role in disputes between the executive and legislative branches.
rowe33
3514
Yeah, I thought this was already underway but blocked for some reason. But this is the first actual lawsuit? WTF have they been waiting for?
Correct, Mnuchin simply ignored the subpoena, and now the D’s are finally suing.
Menzo
3516
That’s the thing though: there is a law that Congress passed and a President signed, that says the IRS must provide the President’s return on request.
The only option for the Supreme Court is to declare the law unconstitutional. Otherwise don’t they have to force the IRS to comply with the law?
The tax code provides that Congress’ tax committees—including the House Committee on Ways and Means, the Senate Committee on Finance, and the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT)—are entitled to obtain any tax returns from the IRS that they request.3 Section 6103(f)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) reads:
Upon written request from the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, the chairman of the Committee on Finance of the Senate, or the chairman of the Joint Committee on Taxation, the Secretary [of the Treasury] shall furnish such committee with any return or return information specified in such request, except that any return or return information which can be associated with, or otherwise identify, directly or indirectly, a particular taxpayer shall be furnished to such committee only when sitting in closed executive session unless such taxpayer otherwise consents in writing to such disclosure.4
There is nothing in there about adjudicating why Congress is asking for the return, or intent. It simply states all they have to do is ask and the IRS must provide them.
Sater to testify tomorrow (in theory):
Lots more items today:
House Judiciary ready to start firing supoenas:
Gov’t not sure of Flynn’s testimony?
And of course, the literacy of America is dreadful (but What’s the Point? what an effing tool):
vyshka
3519
DOJ IG finds Steele credible.
Timex
3520
Steele isn’t some kind of political hack, as much as the GOP has tried to spin it that way. The dude was a professional spy.
Clay
3521
You ain’t from Russia, so why are you rushin’?
Not sure if this is any other threads but its dominating news here.
The Russian angle is that Oakeshott received the leaked diplomatic cables from… someone.
Hey man, if you lot want to terminate the Special Relationship, can’t say as I’d blame you at this point.
What’s the point? They weren’t going to do shit about it no matter what the contents of the report. They’re fine with a criminal ‘president’ as long as he says he’s on their team.
Mueller Deputies to testify too?
https://politicalwire.com/2019/07/09/house-seeks-testimony-from-mueller-deputies/
“Two former prosecutors on the special counsel’s team, James Quarles and Aaron Zebley, have been in negotiations to testify behind closed doors to the House Judiciary Committee on the same day that Mr. Mueller would appear in an open hearing before that panel and the House Intelligence Committee”
Pelosi baiting the hook too:
“I don’t even want to address him,” Pelosi said when asked about Barr’s assertion. “He has lied to Congress as the attorney general of the United States. He’s lied under oath. I’m not speaking to anything more that he has to say.”
Man, this guy Flynn really wants the judge to throw the book at him in sentencing.
This is interesting and a thread which needs further examination (or at least information) as it strikes to the heart of some of the allegations:
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2019/07/10/russias-role-in-bankrolling-italys-far-right-is-exposed/
In January 2016, before Donald Trump was inaugurated, I wrote a piece (“Mnuchin Needs to Explain the 19.5% Sale of Rosneft”) for the Washington Monthly that argued that Trump’s nominee for Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, “will need to be grilled on these topics during his confirmation hearings.”
“These topics” were divulged in the Steele Dossier–published just a few days prior.
I was just beginning to look into the Rosneft story when I wrote my first piece on it, but in March 2018 I came back to it (“Revisiting Carter Page and the Rosneft Deal”).
It is evident that Steele’s sources knew what they were talking about even if they unsurprisingly were not omniscient about the details. Vladimir Putin was looking for investors to buy up 19 percent of Rosneft but it was difficult because of Western sanctions. One solution was to convince America to lift the sanctions, and offering the Trump team the brokerage fee on the sale was their enticement. The day after the sale was announced, Carter Page flew back to Moscow, but this time he was subject to a FISA warrant and under constant surveillance. The timing of his second visit is unlikely to be a coincidence.
That process would have been highly illegal and complicated, as the Americans would have had to enter into an agreement banned by sanctions only to retroactively make it legal by lifting them. This would require quite a bit of concealment in how and when the money changed hands.
Now, it’s obvious that Robert Mueller’s investigators never found slam-dunk prosecutable evidence that could link the Trump team to the Rosneft sale or we would have read about it in his report. But for those who are skeptical that the Russians were at least attempting to make this transaction, you should really look at the newest scandal in Italy.
12 more subpoenas to ignore! Go Dems! Go Justice. Go Banana!
Hansey
3531
I’d really like to be optimistic about news like this, except we already know that the people involved will ignore or refuse to comply with any subpoenas and NOTHING WILL HAPPEN. At least not that I’ve yet noticed. Have I missed any occasions where any of the refusals to appear or comply or whatever have resulted in negative consequences for anyone involved?
Nope! Unless you count the DEMS IN DISARRAYS narratives. Those seem damaging.
