As always, please read the full articles!
It is still very possible that President Trump could use the Nunes memo as a pretext to try to quash or constrain special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s probe. Trump tweeted over the weekend that the memo “totally vindicates” his claim that the investigation is a “witch hunt,” which is an absurd lie in every possible respect, but it shows he’s still mulling a move on Mueller.
But the performance of congressional Republicans on the Sunday shows — and a weekend’s worth of legal analysis taking apart the Nunes effort — together suggest another possibility. The Nunes memo affair may be shaping up as a much bigger fiasco than we even know — so bad, in fact, that it could ultimately undermine Trump’s position even more dramatically than we could have expected.He concludes,
In the end, Trump could still use the Nunes memo to hamstring Mueller by firing Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and replacing him with a loyalist to oversee the probe. But this would now have to happen either after the Schiff rebuttal served to reinforce the investigation’s legitimacy, or after Trump suppressed the Schiff rebuttal even though it could further undermine his own rationale for taking such a dramatic step. Trump is shameless enough to do this in either scenario. But it could now be harder for congressional Republicans to go along with it. This would not be the case if not for Nunes’s antics — which Trump backed.We can only hope.
Tea party director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Mick "Dick" Mulvaney is back in the news. Following his actions to protect the payday loan shysters, he's continuing to do his best to further castrate the bureau and help his buds in the financial industry:
Mick Mulvaney, head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has pulled back from a full-scale probe of how Equifax Inc failed to protect the personal data of millions of consumers, according to people familiar with the matter.
Equifax (EFX.N) said in September that hackers stole personal data it had collected on some 143 million Americans. Richard Cordray, then the CFPB director, authorized an investigation that month, said former officials familiar with the probe. [snip]
Three sources say, though, Mulvaney, the new CFPB chief, has not ordered subpoenas against Equifax or sought sworn testimony from executives, routine steps when launching a full-scale probe. Meanwhile the CFPB has shelved plans for on-the-ground tests of how Equifax protects data, an idea backed by Cordray.
The CFPB also recently rebuffed bank regulators at the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency when they offered to help with on-site exams of credit bureaus, said two sources familiar with the matter. (our emphasis)The U.S. Supreme Court just rejected an attempt by Pennsylvania Republicans when it refused to block the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court's order to scrap the Republican- gerrymandered congressional map and replace it with a fair one by February 15:
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court dealt Republican gerrymandering a crippling blow when it refused to block a Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling that struck down the GOP’s congressional map for illegally discriminating against Democratic voters. The state court had ordered the Republican-controlled legislature to draw and pass a new map by Feb. 15, but GOP leaders have refused to cooperate with the ruling after Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf promised to veto any new gerrymander. As a result, the state court itself will likely draw new nonpartisan districts, which could lead to major Democratic gains this fall—anywhere from one to as many as six seats. [snip]
At the same time, because the state Supreme Court’s case is based on Pennsylvania law, this case can’t set a legal precedent for other states. However, the standard that the judges have established could influence federal courts that are hearing challenges to other partisan gerrymanders in pending cases in Maryland, Wisconsin, and North Carolina. This ruling could also encourage reformers to challenge maps elsewhere under their own state constitutions.
Ultimately, this decision is a monumental victory against one of the worst Republican gerrymanders in the country, and it’s a massive game-changer for Democratic chances of gaining a House majority in November.Significantly and surprisingly, ultra- right Justice Samuel Alito was the one who denied the stay. Things are looking up.
Finally, as customary, we would draw your attention to the link round- up put together by Infidel for an afternoon's worth of exploration.
