I don’t know how many people have been following this story with everything else that is going on but over the weekend the director of the Consumer Finanace Protection Board, Richard Cordray, stepped down and decided he had the right to name his own successor. He installed Leandra English as acting director but Donald Trump turned around and named Mick Mulvaney as acting director setting up a court battle.
It turns out this was not much of a court battle because today the court sided with the President and Mick Mulvaney was named the acting director. Here is more:
A U.S. District Court judge in Washington handed a big victory to President Donald Trump, ruling in favor of the administration in its bid to install White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Judge Timothy Kelly denied a request by Leandra English, who was named last week as acting director by outgoing CFPB chief Richard Cordray, for a temporary restraining order to block Mulvaney from taking the post.
Kelly said there was not a substantial likelihood that the case would succeed on its merits.
This was a no-brainer: the President, as the head of the Executive branch, has the power to name department heads, it cannot be left up to an unelected official to make these type of executive decisions and the quick action by the court shows how brazen this move was.
But when it comes to court decisions recently nothing is a no-brainer and I would not have been surprised if the judge ruled against Donald Trump in this case after some of the recent decisions. The CFPB is already unconstitutionally funded outside of the Congress through (I believe) the Federal Reserve so I still harbored a bit of concern about what the decision would be but the judge got this one right.
Even though the court decision cannot be challenged the left is not going to let this go and has vowed to fight on.
While this ruling cannot be challenged, Deepak Gupta, English’s lawyer, told reporters that he would have to consult with his client about the next steps. These would either involve seeking a preliminary injunction or requesting a ruling on a permanent injunction, either of which could be appealed to a higher court.
“This court is not the final stop,” Gupta said. “This judge does not have the final word on what happens in this controversy, and I think he understands that.” He praised the court for acting expeditiously but criticized the government for proposing a litigation schedule that would continue into next year.
The left is not going to let that pesky little Constitution stand in the way of getting what they want…
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
The House to take up concealed carry reciprocity bill
According to this story the House is planning on debating a concealed carry reciprocity bill which would allow legal concealed carry permit holders in their home state to carry their weapons across state lines. Here is more:
The House this week will push ahead with legislation allowing concealed carry permit holders to bring their guns to other states.
The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled on Tuesday to consider the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017. The legislation was introduced in January by Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., and followed reports of gun owners getting arrested for traveling through states with stricter gun laws.
“Currently, the patchwork of reciprocity laws and agreements between states is confusing and has caused law-abiding citizens to unwittingly break the law and suffer arrest and detention,” Hudson said. All 50 states allow concealed carry, but with different standards and requirements.
The legislation would also permit concealed carry in national parks and other federally-owned land.
On the surface this seems like a great idea to gun owners but I have serious concerns about this type of legislation. Many states already have reciprocity agreements with each other so my concern is that if this passes it will for the first time give the Federal government a door into regulating state concealed carry gun laws.
Nancy Pelosi defends Al Franken and John Conyers but attacks Donald Trump and calls Roy Moore a child molester
I have purposely not written anything about all of the sexual misconduct charges that have been flying around lately because this has been hearsay and accusations but there have been no official charges against anyone to date.
Social media, specifically Facebook, has been full of people defending their candidates or politicians using the “the other side is guilty too” approach to downplay the accusations of the people they support. The left defends John Conyers and Al Franken by pointing to the accusations about Donald Trump and Roy Moore, while the right defends Donald Trump and Roy Moore by pointing to Al Franken and Donald Trump as if this somehow makes their support of their side more tenable.
But this is not a defense, it is a deflection, and what it shows us is that nobody is really interested in the truth or the alleged victims or the accusations. Both sides are trying to score political points and I find it to be disingenuous. Read more…
Sunday, November 26th open thread: ‘Chelsea Dagger’
Here is the open thread for Sunday, November 26th. Please feel free to post links to interesting articles and to discuss whatever issues arise during the course of the day. Nothing is off-topic here.
Last week with Thanksgiving we only discussed 4 stories but did you miss any of them? If so there is an easy way to make sure it does not happen again. I understand that all of you are busy and cannot always find the time to check the blog for updates so why not subscribe to America’s Watchtower and receive email updates whenever I write a new post? That is the easiest way to follow the blog to ensure you never miss another post.
In addition to subscribing you can also follow America’s Watchtower on Facebook and Twitter by clicking the links on the right. But you will get more than that for I often post links to articles probably will not be writing about so it is a great way to keep up with what is happening.
The Twitter widget in the sidebar is fully interactive. This widget updates my tweets in real time and allows you to respond to or retweet my tweets right from the blog. It also allows you to tweet me right from America’s Watchtower.
Here is The Fratellis performing “Chelsea Dagger” on the Jools Holland show in 2006.
frui diem
Fusion GPS caught withholding bank records from House investigation
The House Intelligence Committee had been seeking the financial records of the firm behind the Russian dossier, Fusion GPS, but the firm was unwilling to turn them over. Fusion GPS went so far as to seek an injunction to keep its financial records secret but at the end of October we learned the firm reached an agreement with the House Intelligence Committee and would turn over the documents.
It looked like that part of the saga was over but now we are learning, according to this story, that Fusion GPS has been caught withholding 112 documents related to the request. Here is more:
Fusion and the House at first worked out a deal for relevant banks records. But House lawyers say they learned that Fusion withheld 112 transactions pertinent to the Russia probe.
The suspect transactions, House lawyers say, deal with two Russia issues. One is the dossier. The other is Fusion’s payments from another law firm, BakerHostetler. That money came from the Russian firm Prevezon Holdings which is lobbying Washington to repeal a law that brought stiff economic sanctions on President Vladimir Putin’s regime.
In that vein, the House committee wants copies of Fusion bank transfers with other law firms in addition to Perkins Coie and Hostetler.
“Fusion has established a pattern and practice of using law firms as intermediaries to mask the true beneficiaries of its research,” the House filing says.
It looks like the withheld documents are related, in part, to payments Fusion GPS made to journalists–probably with Free Beacon.
Lawyers representing the House Intelligence Committee made the assertion in a bid to force Fusion to turn over additional bank transactions involving reporters, law firms and a media company.
“The committee seeks transactions related to three individual journalists,” stated the House general counsel court filing, “each of whom have reported on and/or been quoted in articles regarding topics related to the committee’s investigation.”
Free Beacon hired Fusion GPS during the Republican primary to do opposition research on Donald Trump before being hired by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee, at which point Fusion GPS began working with foreign agents to bring down Donald Trump. This was already known so why would Fusion GPS not turn over the documents with the others? The plot thickens…
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Michael Flynn’s lawyers cut ties with Donald Trump’s lawyers
Michael Flynn’s lawyers have been sharing information about the Russia collusion probe with Donald Trump’s lawyers. Apparently this is a common practice between defense lawyers but yesterday the President’s lawyers were informed that Michael Flynn’s lawyers can no longer share information, leading to speculation Michael Flynn is now working with the prosecutors.
Here is more:
Lawyers for former national security adviser Michael Flynn told President Trump’s attorneys they can no longer discuss the special counsel’s investigation into Russian election meddling — a sign that Flynn may be working with prosecutors, according to a report Thursday.
Flynn’s legal team had been sharing information with the president’s lawyers about Robert Mueller’s probe into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with the Russian government to interfere with the 2016 presidential election, the New York Times reported.
But Flynn’s lawyers cut ties with Trump’s attorneys, ending the information-sharing agreement, the paper reported, citing four people involved in the case.
This is speculation at this point but I think the key phrase in the block quote above is “can no longer discuss” because that certainly makes it sound as if Michael Flynn is working with the prosecution, otherwise it seems to me the phrase would have been “will no longer discuss.”
As the article I linked to above reminds us, it was reported several weeks ago that Robert Mueller had enough evidence against Michael Flynn to file charges but he has not done so and this seems like the logical reason why. If this is true it could be bad news for Jared Kushner.
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Happy Thanksgiving
I just wanted to take a moment to wish all America’s Watchtower readers a very happy Thanksgiving and also to thank you for all the support over the last year. I hope you all have a wonderful day surrounded by family, food, and friends.
I would also like to take a moment to remember those who cannot be home today because they are serving our nation abroad, it is because of people like them that we are afforded this luxury. Thank you!
“Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High” Psalm 20:14
“By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.” (Hebrews 13:15)
frui diem
Federal Judge blocks Donald Trump’s Executive Order halting federal funding of sanctuary cities
Today a Federal Judge has blocked Donald Trump’s Executive Order which would have halted Federal monies being sent to sanctuary cities. Here is more on the decision:
A federal judge on Monday permanently blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order to cut funding from cities that limit cooperation with U.S. immigration authorities.
U.S. District Court Judge William Orrick rejected the administration’s argument that the executive order applies only to a relatively small pot of money and said Trump cannot set new conditions on spending approved by Congress.
The judge had previously made the same arguments in a ruling that put a temporary hold on the executive order targeting so-called sanctuary cities.
The Trump administration will challenge the ruling:
The Trump administration has appealed that decision to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
“The District Court exceeded its authority today when it barred the President from instructing his cabinet members to enforce existing law,” Department of Justice spokesman Devin O’Malley said in a statement late Monday. “The Justice Department will vindicate the President’s lawful authority to direct the executive branch.”
This is not going to be a popular opinion here but I have to agree with the argument the judge used in this ruling. I have always been against governing through Executive Order. The “Barack Obama did it too” defense is not a defense and the Congress has already approved this money, it is too late to stop the money which was already allotted.
But that does not mean future money cannot be withheld from sanctuary cities the next time the budget comes up for debate. When deciding how to dole out money at that time the Congress should do its job and put the proper restrictions on sanctuary cities in place as a condition for accepting Federal money.
That would be the proper way to go about this but I think we all know the Congress will not have the courage to do it. I give Donald Trump credit for putting his money where his mouth is, I just wish the Congress had the same amount of courage…
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Judicial Watch sues the State Department for Podesta Group documents
Judicial Watch has been trying to obtain documents from the State Department through a FOIA request related to the Podesta Group and the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine but thus far the State Department has not been willing to reply. Today Judicial Watch announced the group was suing the State Department for these document.
Here is the press release:
(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of State for all records about the Podesta Group Inc. and the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine, which have both been connected to the recent special counsel indictment of Paul Manafort (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of State (No. 1:17-cv-02489)).
Judicial Watch sued after the State Department failed to respond to a September 13, 2017, FOIA request for:
- All records of communication between any official, employee, or representative of the Department of State and any principal, employee, or representative of Podesta Group, Inc.
- All records produced related to any meetings or telephonic communications between any official, employee, or representative of the Department of State and any principal, employee, or representative of Podesta Group, Inc.
- All records regarding the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine.
- The FOIA request covers the timeframe of January 1, 2012 to the present.
The Podesta Group, formerly led by Anthony Podesta, and the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine have been mentioned in connection with the criminal indictment of Paul Manafort by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
“Mueller’s special counsel operation seems more interested in the alleged foreign ties of the Trump Team, rather than Hillary Clinton’s associates,” stated Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton. “Judicial Watch aims to figure out the truth of what exactly the Podesta Group was doing with the Obama State Department.”
If Judicial Watch is successful these documents could prove to be very interesting indeed. We already know the Podesta Group has come under investigation by Robert Mueller’s special counsel, and since this revelation Tony Podesta has stepped down from the group.
Of course Tony Podesta’s brother, John, has been heavily involved with the Clinton’s for years and was Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Presidential campaign chairman. But I am sure this is all a coincidence…
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Sunday, November 19th open thread: ‘Whole Lotta Rosie’
Here is the open thread for Sunday, November 19th. Please feel free to post links to interesting articles and to discuss whatever issues arise during the course of the day. Nothing is off-topic here.
Last week we discussed 6 stories. Did you miss any of them? If so there is an easy way to make sure it does not happen again. I understand that all of you are busy and cannot always find the time to check the blog for updates so why not subscribe to America’s Watchtower and receive email updates whenever I write a new post? That is the easiest way to follow the blog to ensure you never miss another post.
In addition to subscribing you can also follow America’s Watchtower on Facebook and Twitter by clicking the links on the right. But you will get more than that for I often post links to articles probably will not be writing about so it is a great way to keep up with what is happening.
The Twitter widget in the sidebar is fully interactive. This widget updates my tweets in real time and allows you to respond to or retweet my tweets right from the blog. It also allows you to tweet me right from America’s Watchtower.
Malcolm Young of AC/DC passed away yesterday at the age of 64 so here is AC/DC performing “Whole Lotta Rosie” live from 1977. You will have to look hard to see Malcolm but he is there in the background.
frui diem
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