Monday, April 29
á
The Washington Post reported that President
Donald Trump has passed the 10,000 mark for false or misleading statements,
increasing his rate to 23 per day, almost three times the number of false or
misleading statements in the first 601 days of his presidency.
á
The Centers for Disease Control reported that
704 cases of measles have been contracted by Americans this year, the highest
total in a single year in more than 25 years. Measles had been declared
eliminated in the U.S. in 2000.
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In a memo, Trump ordered major changes to U.S.
asylum policies, including charging fees to those applying for humanitarian
refuge.
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Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein submitted
his resignation letter, effective May 11.
Tuesday, April 30
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The House Intelligence Committee on made a criminal referral to
the Justice Department for Erik Prince, the billionaire founder of the private
military contractor Blackwater and an ally of
President Trump, accusing him of Òknowingly and willfullyÓ making false
statements to Congress.
á
Trump accused Cuban troops and militia of
conducting military operations in Venezuela, and threatened a complete embargo
and sanctions if Cuba did not stop.
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U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled that
congressional Democrats can move ahead with a lawsuit alleging that some of
TrumpÕs business arrangements violate the emoluments clause of the
Constitution.
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The Washington Post reported that Special
Counsel Robert Mueller wrote a letter in late March to Attorney General William
Barr, that BarrÕs memo to Congress describing the principal conclusions of the
investigation Òdid not fully capture the context, nature and substance of
MuellerÕs work.
Wednesday, May 1
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Attorney General Barr testified before the
Senate Judiciary Committee and critiqued MuellerÕs investigation after it was
revealed that Mueller had twice pressed Barr to speed the production of
MuellerÕs summaries of the report to Congress and the public.
á In a nine-page letter from White House Counsel Pat Cipolonne, the administration ÒrejectedÓ the House Oversight CommitteeÕs request for documents related to possible abuses of the security clearance system.
á
Trump asked Congress for $4.5 billion in
emergency aid to address the surge of Central American immigrants at the U.S.
southern border.
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Attorney General Barr said he will not testify
before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday, as he had been scheduled to
do.
Thursday, May 2
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Steve Moore withdrew himself from consideration
for the Federal Reserve Board.
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Barr Òlied to
CongressÓ when, in congressional hearings last month, Barr said he was not
aware of any concerns MuellerÕs team might have expressed about his summary of
the report even though Mueller had written Barr a letter stating his concerns.
á
The Senate failed to override TrumpÕs veto of a
resolution demanding an end to U.S. military involvement in Yemen.
Friday, May 3
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The unemployment rate fell to a 50-year low of
3.6 percent, down from 3.8 percent.
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In a series of briefs filed in the case against
Roger Stone, U.S. prosecutors argued that Special Counsel Mueller did not need
to prove conspiracy between the Russian government and the Trump campaign to
show that Stone obstructed CongressÕ investigation of the matter.
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A three-judge federal panel ruled that OhioÕs gerrymandered
congressional district map is unconstitutional and ordered the creation of a
new map in time for the 2020 elections.
Saturday, May 4
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In reference to a $2 trillion infrastructure
plan developed with Democrats earlier this week, Trump tweeted that ÒThere is
nothing easy about a USA Infrastructure Plan.Ó The tweet was in response to
negative signals from Republican lawmakers including Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell.
Sunday, May 5
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Trump said he will increase tariffs on Chinese
imports from 10 to 25 percent on Friday, May 10, as well as ÒshortlyÓ levy a
new 25 percent tariff on all remaining Chinese imports.
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Trump said Mueller should not testify before Congress, reversing
course from his previous position that the decision is up to Attorney General
Barr.