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.
Australia says it will fight against plans to downgrade the Great Barrier Reef’s World Heritage status due to climate change, while environmentalists are applauding the U.N. World Heritage Committee’s proposal.
he Supreme Court has decided unanimously that the NCAA cannot enforce rules limiting education-related benefits that colleges offer to student athletes — things like computers and paid internships.
A sharply limited number of fans will be allowed to attend the Tokyo Olympics. The decision announced Monday comes as organizers try to save some of the spirit of the Games where even cheering has been banned.
The Supreme Court has dismissed a challenge to the Obama era health care law, preserving insurance coverage for millions of Americans.
The Supreme Court has ruled that the city of Philadelphia violated the Constitution by limiting its relationship with a Catholic foster care agency over that group's refusal to certify same-sex couples as foster parents.
President Joe Biden has signed legislation Thursday establishing a new federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery, saying he believes it will go down as one of the greatest honors he has as president.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week for the first time since April despite widespread evidence that the economy and the job market are rebounding steadily from the pandemic recession.
How much do you think cops make? A few hundred thousand per year? It sounds extreme, but this is the case in many cities across the country thanks to a slew of financial perks in ironclad union contracts.
The Federal Reserve is holding steady on the dovish policy stance that it's maintained since the beginning of the pandemic but not without a hat-tip to those worried about rising inflation.
Just 40 years ago, New York City's Times Square was a very different place: crime-ridden and adult theaters as the main source of entertainment. Cheddar explains how it went from this to one of the top tourist attractions in the world.
