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.
Hiring surged in July as American employers added 943,000 jobs.
State lawmakers are telling New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo that their ongoing impeachment investigation is “nearing completion” and gave him a deadline of Aug. 13 to provide additional evidence.
The Mexican government is suing U.S. gun manufacturers and distributors, arguing that their commercial practices have unleashed tremendous bloodshed in Mexico.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week by 14,000 to 385,000 more evidence that the economy and the job market are rebounding briskly from the coronavirus recession.
The White House will be requiring incoming travelers to the U.S. to be vaccinated., Gov. Cuomo is potentially looking at criminal charges, and Jeopardy! might be heading in a surprise direction for a new host.
The Biden administration wants automakers to raise gas mileage and cut tailpipe pollution between now and model year 2026. It also has won a voluntary commitment from the industry that electric vehicles would make up roughly half of U.S. sales by 2030.
A Belarusian Olympic sprinter who criticized her coaches at the Tokyo Games said Thursday that she showed police at the airport a translated plea for help on her phone as she tried to avoid being put on a plane back home.
The State Department says it's looking into the apparent disappearance of a nearly $6,000 bottle of whisky given more than two years ago to then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo by the government of Japan.
A majority of state Assembly members support beginning impeachment proceedings against Gov. Andrew Cuomo if he doesn’t resign over investigative findings that he sexually harassed at least 11 women.
Lobbyists for the crypto industry are calling for last-minute revisions to an infrastructure bill provision that could fundamentally change how the federal government treats holders of digital assets.
