Biden Announces New ‘Buy American’ Economic Agenda

Ousted attorney Geoffrey Berman says he was pressured to quit

(From NewsHero issue 135 available here)

Bill Christeson holds up a sign that reads “Follow the Money” outside the Supreme Court, Thursday, July 9, 2020, in Washington. The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Manhattan district attorney can obtain Trump tax returns while not allowing Congress to get Trump tax and financial records, for now, returning the case to lower courts. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

🦸‍♀️🦸‍♀️ — U.S. Supreme Court, for hopefully getting Trump’s taxes public — eventually
🦸‍♀️🦸‍♀️ — Joe Biden, for at least addressing key issues and not pretending they don’t exist
🦸‍♀️🦸‍♀️ — Florida Democratic Party, for returning the PPP money
🦸‍♀️🦸‍♀️🦸‍♀️ — Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner
🦸‍♀️🦸‍♀️🦸‍♀️ — Geoffrey Berman

• The U.S. Supreme Court, brushing aside Donald Trump’s complaints he’s being harassed, ruled Thursday in favor of a New York prosecutor’s demands for the billionaire president’s tax records, reports The Associated Press. His taxes and other financial records will no doubt however be kept from the public until after the November election.
  Promising to keep pressing the case in the lower courts, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said today’s decision “is not good news for President Trump.”
  “The Court has reaffirmed the Congress’s authority to conduct oversight on behalf of the American people,” she said in a statement.
  Check out “Where’s Trump’s Financial Disclosure? The White House Blames the Pandemic,” from The New York Times for further reading.
• Joe Biden turned his presidential campaign toward the economy today, reports The Washington Post, introducing a New Deal-like economic agenda that he says is the most aggressive government investment in the U.S. economy since World War II. He also accused Trump of ignoring the coronavirus pandemic and the climate crisis while fueling division as the country seeks to address systemic racism.
• The Florida Democratic Party announced late Wednesday that it was returning at least $780,000 in small-business loans after its own lawmakers criticized the acceptance of the money as highly questionable if not illegal and unethical, states Politico.
• Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner has canceled the Texas Republican Party convention a week before it was set to be held, reports The New York Times.
  Yeah, that’s also probably a good idea.
• Detailing for the first time the events leading up to his firing, former top federal prosecutor Geoffrey Berman told lawmakers today that he was pressured by Attorney General William Barr to resign, Politico reports. In a written statement to the House Judiciary Committee, Berman said Barr tried to get him to quit, even suggesting other positions he might take.
  “I said that there was no job offer that would entice me to resign from my position,” Berman said in his opening statement, obtained by Politico. Barr later issued a statement announcing Berman’s resignation anyway.

(From NewsHero issue 135 available here)

Sources:

• Supreme Court says Congress can’t get Trump records, for now — AP News
• U.S. Supreme Court rules against Trump bid to conceal financial records from prosecutor — Reuters
• Supreme Court set to decide who can see Trump’s tax returns, financial records — Politico
• Where’s Trump’s Financial Disclosure? The White House Blames the Pandemic — The New York Times
• Biden proposes $700 billion-plus ‘Buy American’ campaign — The Washington Post
• Houston Mayor Cancels Texas G.O.P. Convention, Calling It ‘Public Health Risk’ — The New York Times
• Florida Democrats return PPP money amid scandal — Politico
• Ousted U.S. Attorney Berman testifies that Barr repeatedly pressured him to resign — Politico