How Mueller's Investigation Is Like Going After the Mob
There are new developments in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Friday, former White House National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. According to Jeet Heer, Editor at The New Republic, the plea is a result of Mueller cracking down on President Trump.
“He’s used to dealing with mobsters,” Heer says of Mueller, who headed the FBI for 12 years before being appointed as a special counsel for the Department of Justice earlier this year. “The way you deal with mobsters is you get the goons first, you get the higher ups, the capos, and then you get the godfather.”
Heer believes Flynn’s cooperation means he has flipped against the president, which could eventually lead to the FBI apprehending White House Senior Advisor and President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Heer says Mueller has managed to ensure that there won’t be any presidential pardons available, as there are ongoing state-level investigations, too.
“There’s a lot of leverage and it's all on Mueller’s side,” Heer said.
Meanwhile on Capitol Hill, Senate Republicans are leading a fierce battle to pass a vote on the GOP tax plan, which is expected to raise the national debt to $1.7 trillion, according to the CBO. Heer says the bill can pass, but it has to be now or never, since the party also had a very poor performance during the 2017 off-year elections.
“Republicans are headed to a tough season, which means they should probably get whatever they can out of the way,” he said.
Meet the new generation running for office in the midterm elections. Maxwell Frost, a 24-year-old Democrat, is the youngest candidate running for Florida’s 10th congressional district. A member of Gen Z (those born after 1996) Frost spoke to Cheddar about objectives that he believes are top of mind for his age bracket, including tackling gun violence, healthcare for all, and LGBTQ+ rights, especially in light of his state's recently enacted, so-called “Don’t Say Gay" law.
President Biden has announced a historic release of oil from the U.S. reserves in an attempt to cut down surging gas prices across the country. The administration will release 1 million barrels of oil per day for the next six months, marking the largest withdrawal in the nearly 50-year history of the country's emergency supply of oil. Patrick DeHaan, Head of Petroleum Analysis at GasBuddy, breaks down why the Biden administration is making this unprecedented move, and what impact it could have on prices at the pump.
The Biden administration plans to freeze federal student loan payments through Aug. 31, extending a moratorium that has allowed millions of Americans to postpone payments during the coronavirus pandemic.
Catching you up on what you need to know on April 5, 2022, with Biden's call for a war crimes trial for Putin, another arrest made in the Sacramento mass shooting, NYC rolling out a campaign against Florida’s "Don’t Say Gay" bill, an aluminum shortage potentially affecting beer and cat food cans, and more.
After a devastating mass shooting in Sacramento over the weekend that killed six people and wounded a dozen more, arguments about gun reform are also resurfacing. David Pucino, deputy chief counsel at Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, joined Cheddar News to talk about efforts to curb gun violence such as community intervention programs — and the more that needs to be done by lawmakers. "One thing that would be really important is at the federal level closing the loopholes that allow for private sales to go forward without a background check," he noted.
