"I sometimes see where these horrible dishonest reporters will say that oh jeez, the farmers are upset.' Well, they can't be too upset, because I gave them $12 billion and I gave them $16 billion this year," said Trump, who then added, "I hope you like me even better than you did in '16."
Health insurance companies are expected to pay $743 billion in refunds to consumers this month because of an Affordable Care Act rule, according to a new analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation. read more
Donald Trump measures political success on two imperfect metrics -- poll numbers and crowd sizes -- and Elizabeth Warren appears to be crushing it on both counts. During a major speech at a rally in New York on Monday night, a massive crowd of 20,000 turned out to hear Warren tear into the unprecedented corruption of the Trump era. The Massachusetts senator called Donald Trump "corruption in the flesh." read more
On Dec. 29, 2016, the Obama administration announced that it was giving nearly three dozen Russian diplomats just 72 hours to leave the United States and was seizing two rural East Coast estates owned by the Russian government. The Obama administration's public rationale for the expulsions and closures " the harshest U.S. diplomatic reprisals taken against Russia in several decades " was to retaliate for Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. But there was another critical, and secret, reason why those locations and diplomats were targeted.
A Pennsylvania man who voted for President Donald Trump in 2016 told CNN on Friday that he's bitterly disappointed in how he's seen no progress in manufacturing jobs returning to his community. read more
All speculation aside, here's what we do know:
Asha Rangappa @AshaRangappa_
10. The IG has to look at the complaint, determine that it is credible, and that it is urgent: That it is "[a] serious or flagrant problem, abuse, violation of law or Executive order, or deficiency relating to to...an intelligence activity involving classified information"
11. I direct you to an excellent resource from @NatlSecCnslrs who wrote an excellent Q&A on the statute for @just_security here www.justsecurity.org
12. Note that under the definition of "urgent," the complaint cannot simply be a difference in policy opinion. And the IG is an independent entity making the determination that it is serious enough to come to the attention of Congress
13. This IG is a *Trump appointee* as @EricColumbus astutely notes
#18 Yes, you are right. Good catch. From the Kaiser website
Using data reported by insurers to CMS, we estimate insurers will be issuing a total of at least $1.3 billion across all markets " exceeding the previous record high of $1.1 billion in 2012 (based on 2011 experience). The amount varies by market, with insurers reporting at least $743 million in the individual market, $250 million in the small group market, and $284 million in the large group market.
www.kff.org
Also this correction from The Fiscal Times:
Correction: An earlier version of this story said the refunds to consumers would total $743 billion instead of $743 million. We regret the error.
www.thefiscaltimes.com
Mimi Rocah @Mimirocah1 (Former Fed Prosecutor SDNY)
If US has legit need to investigate a US citizen with the help of a foreign government, there's a formal process through a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty filed by DOJ with aid of State Dept. That's NOT what this was. This was a political hit job through bribery & extortion.
4:36 PM - 20 Sep 2019