*By Carlo Versano*
After nearly two weeks of resistance, President Trump ordered an FBI investigation into allegations of sexual assault against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, whose future seat on the nation's highest court had been suddenly thrown into doubt thanks to the wavering support of Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ).
Trump's order came at the end of another dramatic day in Washington, when Senator Flake, considered to be a key swing vote in Kavanaugh's confirmation, requested a delay on a floor vote so that the FBI could look into accusations raised by three women about sexual misconduct by Kavanaugh during his high school and collegiate years.
The Senate Judiciary Committee granted that request, saying in a statement, "The supplemental FBI background investigation would be limited to current credible allegations" and set a deadline of one week.
Earlier in the day Flake, after huddling with Democrats and being confronted by protestors, said that while he supported Kavanaugh's nomination, it was under the condition that there be a one-week delay for a "limited in scope" investigation. "We owe them due diligence," Flake said of Kavanaugh's named accusers, three women in total. That was a significant reversal from his position just a few hours earlier, when he'd indicated he was a "yes."
Around that same time President Trump said he had not thought "even a little bit" about a replacement for Kavanaugh. He added that he found Thursday's testimony of one of Kavanaugh's accusers, Prof. Christine Blasey Ford, to be credible and "very compelling." He said he would leave the final decision on what comes next to the Senate.
Trump also seemed to put some distance between himself and his nominee when he told undecided Senators like Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME) to "do what they think is right and be comfortable with themselves.”
After two days of marathon testimony, shouting, crying, and all-out partisan warfare carried live on television and social media, it appeared as of Friday evening that Kavanaugh did not, at the moment, have enough "yes" votes to join the Supreme Court, which begins its next session on Monday.
Now it will fall to the FBI to carry out a high-profile, multi-faceted investigation into decades-old allegations in a few days ー with the country looking on.
Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama says his new Cabinet will include an artificial intelligence “minister” in charge of fighting corruption. The AI, named Diella, will oversee public funding projects and combat corruption in public tenders. Diella was launched earlier this year as a virtual assistant on the government's public service platform. Corruption has been a persistent issue in Albania since 1990. Rama's Socialist Party won a fourth consecutive term in May. It aims to deliver EU membership for Albania in five years, but the opposition Democratic Party remains skeptical.
The Trump administration has asked an appeals court to remove Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve’s board of governors by Monday, before the central bank’s next vote on interest rates. Trump sought to fire Cook Aug. 25, but a federal judge ruled late Tuesday that the removal was illegal and reinstated her to the Fed’s board.
President Donald Trump's administration is appealing a ruling blocking him from immediately firing Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook as he seeks more control over the traditionally independent board. The notice of appeal was filed Wednesday, hours after U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb handed down the ruling. The White House insists the Republican president had the right to fire Cook over mortgage fraud allegations involving properties in Michigan and Georgia from before she joined the Fed. Cook's lawsuit denies the allegations and says the firing was unlawful. The case could soon reach the Supreme Court, which has allowed Trump to fire members of other independent agencies but suggested that power has limitations at the Fed.
Chief Justice John Roberts has let President Donald Trump remove a member of the Federal Trade Commission, the latest in a string of high-profile firings allowed for now by the Supreme Court.
President Donald Trump has fired one of two Democratic members of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to break a 2-2 tie ahead of the board considering the largest railroad merger ever proposed.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
