Politics Election category, Page 307
Supreme Court could reshape congressional subpoena power in Trump caseVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and House Democrats don’t agree on much these days, but both sides will tell the Supreme Court during oral arguments Tuesday that the fate of four committee subpoenas could redraw the limits of congressional investigative power. Trump’s personal lawyers and the Justice Department have warned...
Trump abruptly ends briefing after contentious exchangesVideo
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump abruptly ended his White House news conference Monday following combative exchanges with reporters Weijia Jiang of CBS News and Kaitlan Collins of CNN. Jiang asked Trump why he was putting so much emphasis on the amount of coronavirus tests that have been conducted in...
Former Justice Department official says AG Bill Barr ‘twisted’ her words
WASHINGTON —A former career Justice Department official said Attorney General William Barr misused her statements to justify the department’s decision to drop the criminal case against Michael Flynn. Mary B. McCord, the Justice Department official overseeing the early stages of the Russia investigation, said in a New York Times opinion...
Pence, task force members isolate after virus exposureVideo
WASHINGTON — Vice President Mike Pence was self-isolating Sunday after an aide tested positive for the coronavirus last week, joining three of the nation’s top scientists in taking protective steps after possible exposure. An administration official said Pence was voluntarily keeping his distance from other people in line with guidance...
As Trump pulls back from virus, Congress races to fill void
WASHINGTON — As President Donald Trump tries to moves on from the coronavirus, Congress is rushing to fill the void and prepare the country for the long fight ahead. Jolted by the lack of comprehensive federal planning as states begin to reopen, lawmakers of both parties, from the senior-most senators...
2 members of White House virus task force in quarantine
WASHINGTON — Two members of the White House coronavirus task force placed themselves in quarantine after contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, another stark reminder that not even one of the nation’s most secure buildings is immune from the virus. Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for...
Trump administration tightens visas for Chinese reporters
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is tightening visa guidelines for Chinese journalists in response to the treatment of U.S. journalists in China, as tensions flare between the two nations over the coronavirus. The Department of Homeland Security has issued new regulations, set to take effect Monday, that will limit visas...
California Gov. Newsom formally endorses Biden for president
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom formally endorsed Joe Biden for president on Friday, praising the former vice president for his “deep compassion and empathy” during a virtual high-dollar fundraiser in partnership with the Democratic National Committee. “I just couldn’t be more proud of you and the prospects of...
House, Trump agree: Supreme Court should settle financial records subpoena dispute
WASHINGTON — All sides told the Supreme Court on Friday that the justices should go ahead and settle the blockbuster dispute over congressional subpoenas for President Donald Trump’s financial records from an accounting firm and two banks. Attorneys for the House, the Justice Department and Trump filed extra briefs that...
Donald Trump knocks Joe Biden for campaigning from basement amid coronavirus
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump needled his Democratic rival Joe Biden on Friday for limiting his campaign appearances to virtual events from the basement of his home in Delaware. “I’d love to see him get out of the basement so he can speak,” Trump said in a telephone interview with...
Lawyers: Investigators recommend that whistleblower at HHS be reinstated
WASHINGTON — Federal investigators have found “reasonable grounds” that a government whistleblower was punished for opposing widespread use of an unproven drug that President Donald Trump touted as a remedy for covid-19, his lawyers said Friday. Dr. Rick Bright headed the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. He had received...
Trump administration asks court to toss lawsuit over ERA
RICHMOND, Va. — The Trump administration has asked a judge to throw out a lawsuit filed by three Democratic state attorneys general seeking to force the U.S. archivist to recognize Virginia’s vote to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment and adopt it in the U.S. Constitution. Virginia became the 38th and...
Aide to Vice President Mike Pence tests positive for coronavirus
WASHINGTON — An aide to Vice President Mike Pence has the coronavirus, marking the second person in the White House complex known to test positive this week. The latest positive test was confirmed by a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters....
Biden accuser Tara Reade gives first on-camera interview, to Megyn KellyVideo
WASHINGTON — The woman who has accused Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her decades ago repeated her allegation Thursday, in her first on-camera interview since the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee unequivocally denied her claim last week. “I want to say, ‘You and I were there, Joe Biden,’” Reade said in...
Trump administration buries detailed CDC advice on reopeningVideo
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Trump administration shelved a document created by the nation’s top disease investigators with step-by-step advice to local authorities on how and when to reopen restaurants and other public places during the still-raging coronavirus outbreak. The 17-page report by a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention team,...
Justice Department dropping Michael Flynn’s Trump-Russia caseVideo
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Thursday said it is dropping the criminal case against President Donald Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, abandoning a prosecution that became a rallying cry for the president and his supporters in attacking the FBI’s Trump-Russia investigation. The action was a stunning reversal...
Trump valet has coronavirus; president again tests negative
WASHINGTON — A member of the military serving as one of President Donald Trump’s valets has tested positive for the coronavirus, the White House said Thursday. It said Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have since tested negative for the virus and “remain in good health.” It marked the latest...
Face masks make a political statement in era of coronavirus
WASHINGTON — The decision to wear a mask in public is becoming a political statement — a moment to pick sides in a brewing culture war over containing the coronavirus. While not yet as loaded as a “Make America Great Again” hat, the mask is increasingly a visual shorthand for...
Study shows why Dems should be cautious of Biden’s polling lead
WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton famously lost to President Trump in 2016 despite winning more votes because she underperformed in key states in the Electoral College. But a new study released Wednesday quantifies exactly how many votes the former Democratic presidential nominee “wasted” — and warns Democrats they might be doomed...
Trump holds firm on bid to ask Supreme Court to end 2010 health care lawVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that his administration would not alter its call for the Supreme Court to strike down the 2010 health care law. “We want to terminate health care under Obamacare,” Trump told reporters Wednesday in the Oval Office. He said Republicans hoped to replace the...
Senate bill would mandate safety protocols for Pennsylvania nursing homes
Long-term care facilities that have become the epicenter of Pennsylvania’s covid-19 fatalities would be subject to new safety protocols during emergency disaster declarations under a measure state Sen. Kim Ward is promoting. Pennsylvania has recorded 3,106 deaths from covid-19, with about two thirds of those coming from 495 nursing homes...
DC appeals court nominee sails through confirmation hearing amid pandemic rancor
WASHINGTON — Judge Justin Walker, as expected, breezed through his confirmation hearing Wednesday for a spot on an influential appeals court in Washington, even as Democrats pressed him on previous comments about his judicial approach and his criticism of rulings that upheld the 2010 health care law. The hearing turned...
Birth control war returns to a divided Supreme Court
For the third time in six years, a divided Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday over whether employers with religious or moral objections to contraception can be compelled under the 2010 Affordable Care Act to provide no-cost access to birth control to their workers. And also for the third time, the...
Students accused of sexual misconduct get stronger protections under new federal rules
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos issued broad changes Wednesday to campus sexual misconduct rules that would bolster the rights of the accused and give colleges more flexibility in how they handle Title IX cases. The long-awaited rules make key changes to former guidelines from the Obama administration, including a tighter definition...
Ex-California lawmaker seeks prison term delay due to coronavirus
SAN DIEGO — Former California Rep. Duncan Hunter wants to push back the start of his prison term for stealing campaign funds until next year because of concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. Hunter’s lawyers and prosecutors filed a joint motion in federal court on Tuesday and were awaiting a ruling...
