Monday, Oct. 30
á Special
prosecutor Robert Mueller revealed charges against three former Trump campaign
officials — former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort,
his longtime business partner Rick Gates and former Trump foreign policy
adviser George Papadopoulos, and unsealed a plea-deal agreement entered into
with Papadopoulos on Oct. 5. Manafort and Gates, who
were charged with 12 counts stemming from the investigation into Russian
influence in the 2016 presidential election, pled not guilty. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/manafort-and-former-business-partner-asked-to-surrender-in-connection-with-special-counsel-probe/2017/10/30/6fe051f0-bd67-11e7-959c-fe2b598d8c00_story.html?undefined=&utm_term=.21ba84e39851&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1
á Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the Federal District Court for the
District of Columbia blocked enforcement of President Donald TrumpÕs order
banning military service by transgender persons, saying the justification for
the ban was likely unconstitutional. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/10/30/federal-judge-blocks-enforcement-of-trumps-directive-banning-military-service-by-transgender-individuals/?utm_term=.810929319667&wpisrc=al_news__alert-politics--alert-national&wpmk=1
á Court documents
revealed that Russian officials alerted the Trump campaign in April 2016 that
they had thousands of Democratic emails and other ÒdirtÓ on Hillary Clinton,
two months before the Russian hacking of the DNC was made public. http://nyti.ms/2zkZ0ka
á The Washington Post
reported that Papadopoulos has been working with MuellerÕs team for three months,
and he is described in court documents as a Òproactive cooperator.Ó https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/daily-202/2017/10/31/daily-202-10-takeaways-from-mueller-s-shock-and-awe-gambit/59f778d330fb0468e7653ee5/?undefined=&utm_term=.a5ffe2e200ec&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1
Tuesday, Oct. 31
á Eight people were killed and 11 seriously injured in what New York
mayor Bill de Blasio termed a terror attack, when a
driver, an immigrant from Uzbekistan, plowed into pedestrians and cyclists on a
New York City bike path. Trump also condemned the act as a terrorist attack. . http://bit.ly/2ikTIdz
á Federal
authorities charged the 29-year-old driver they say drove a rented truck into
people on a New York City bike path with providing support to a terrorist
organization, alleging he was inspired by the Islamic State to inflict mayhem. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/11/01/new-york-attack-probe-expands-to-uzbekistan-as-possible-militant-links-explored/?utm_term=.a100ba6ce8ae
á Trump criticized
the diversity visa lottery program, and Senate Minority Leader Charles Shumer who helped create the program in 1990, after news
reports that the alleged attacker, Sayfullo Saipov, had entered the U.S. from Uzbekistan under the
program. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/11/01/extreme-right-gins-up-a-culprit-for-n-y-terror-attack-chuck-schumer/?undefined=&utm_term=.f3f0ad2820ec&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1
á Special Counsel
Mueller disclosed in a new court filing that onetime Trump campaign chairman
Paul Manafort keeps three U.S. passports with
different identification numbers and submitted 10 passport applications in as
many years, thus posing a significant flight risk. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/special-counsel-manaforts-stated-wealth-fluctuated-wildly-he-keeps-3-passports/2017/10/31/760021c6-be8b-11e7-8444-a0d4f04b89eb_story.html?utm_term=.546f050fea2c
Wednesday, Nov. 1
á Trump posted a
message on Twitter saying that New York terror suspect, Sayfullo
Saipov, should be executed. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/01/us/politics/trump-new-york-attack-schumer-visa.html
á Sam Clovis
withdrew his nomination for USDAÕs top scientist post after being linked to
Russia probe as one of the campaign officials of efforts by foreign policy adviser
George Papadopoulos to broker a relationship between the campaign and Russian
officials. Clovis had already been criticized for having no academic
credentials for the scientist post and for having made controversial comments
about climate change and gay rights. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/11/02/sam-clovis-withdraws-nomination-for-udsas-top-scientist-post-after-being-linked-to-russia-probe/?utm_term=.3d91bad49e73&wpisrc=al_news__alert-politics--alert-national&wpmk=1
Thursday, Nov. 2
á House
Republicans on Thursday proposed the biggest overhaul of the U.S. tax code in
three decades, a plan that would cut tax rates for corporations from 35 to 20
percent, cut some individual taxes, mostly for the wealthiest, while
eliminating many popular deductions. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/republican-tax-plan-to-lower-cap-on-mortgage-interest-deduction-to-500000-loans/2017/11/02/c0f594d6-bfd5-11e7-8444-a0d4f04b89eb_story.html?undefined=&utm_term=.86eb7ff82532&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1
á The National
Association of Realtors and the National
Federation of Independent Businesses both said they canÕt support
the tax overhaul and the National Association of Home Builders had already
announced it's opposition because of changes to mortgage interest deductions.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-finance-202/2017/11/02/the-finance-202-playbook-to-kill-tax-overhaul-already-written-before-bill-s-debut/59fa220a30fb0468e7654023/?undefined=&utm_term=.a9e015d68d01&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1
á The Wall Street
Journal reported that the Justice Department has identified more than six
members of the Russian government involved in hacking the Democratic National
Committee computers during the 2016 presidential election. Prosecutors reportedly
have assembled evidence to charge the Russian officials and could bring a case
next year. http://on.wsj.com/2z6revZ
á The New York
Times reported that the changes in the tax code proposed by House Republicans would
raise taxes on nearly 13 million tax filers who earn $100,000 a year or less,
according to preliminary calculations using the open-source economic modeling
software TaxBrain. http://nyti.ms/2zada4R
Friday, Nov. 3
á In an interview,
a Trump said he wanted to see the Justice Department investigate Hillary
Clinton over several alleged scandals and openly stated his frustration with
his inability to get the department to do his bidding in this regard. http://www.wmal.com/2017/11/03/listen-president-donald-trump-to-larry-oconnor-im-very-unhappy-the-justice-department-isnt-going-after-hillary-clinton/
á The Trump
administration released a scientific report a calling human activity the
dominant driver of global warming, a conclusion at odds with TrumpÕs postions to withdraw from a key international climate
accord, champion fossil fuels and reverse Obama-era climate policies. The White
House did not try to prevent the release of the governmentÕs National Climate
Assessment, which is mandated by law. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/11/03/trump-administration-releases-report-finds-no-convincing-alternative-explanation-for-climate-change/?undefined=&utm_term=.d4465b3038e6&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1
á The Pentagon
sent a letter to lawmakers saying the only way to locate and secure all of
North KoreaÕs nuclear weapons sites is through an invasion of ground forces,
and in the event of conflict, North Korea could use biological and chemical
weapons. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/securing-north-korean-nuclear-sites-would-require-a-ground-invasion-pentagon-says/2017/11/04/32d5f6fa-c0cf-11e7-97d9-bdab5a0ab381_story.html?utm_term=.4b9cfacd8afe&wpisrc=al_news__alert-national&wpmk=1
Saturday, Nov. 4
á Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort offered to post $12.5 million-worth of assets
— including his Trump Tower apartment — as part of a bail package
to ensure that he appears for the trial heÕs facing on charges of money
laundering and failing to register as a foreign lobbyist. http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/46681-manafort-proposes-125-million-bail-package
á The Telegraph reported that Alt-Right Twitter
Blogger Jenna Abrams, was, in fact, a Russian fictitious blogger. Abrams, who had more than 70,000 followers, had
posts on contentious issues like the Confederate flag debate, segregation and
Black Lives Matter.
http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/46670-alt-right-twitter-blogger-jenna-abrams-unmasked-as-creation-of-russian-troll-factory
Sunday, Nov. 5
á NBC reported
that Federal
investigators have gathered enough evidence to bring charges in their investigation
of President Donald TrumpÕs former national security adviser, Mike Flynn, and
his son as part of the probe into RussiaÕs intervention in the 2016 election. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/amp/mueller-has-enough-evidence-bring-charges-flynn-investigation-n817666
á The Washington
Post reported new polling that Trump has an approval rating lower than any
previous chief executive at this point in his presidency over seven decades of
polling. http://wapo.st/2lT6bdz