Anonymous ID: 06e1d6 March 29, 2019, 10:42 a.m. No.5963752   🗄️.is 🔗kun

Old-school legislator 'Richie' Neal in the spotlight for Trump tax returns investigation

 

Richard Neal has operated out of the spotlight for most of his career, but now finds himself closely scrutinized for his management of the Democratic effort to get President Trump's tax returns. In the 30 years that Neal has represented western Massachusetts, he's only authored five bills or resolutions that have become law or been adopted, two of which have to do with honoring basketball (Neal’s district hosts the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield). Instead, he's advanced his priorities more behind the scenes, lawmakers say, and by working with members of both parties. Neal's newfound power as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, however, grants him an opportunity to put his name on far more achievements. But in order to do so, he’ll first need to deliver on the promise to investigate Trump's taxes, a risky endeavor.

 

Four months into the Democrats' control of the House, they have yet to request Trump's tax returns, as the Ways and Means chairman is empowered by law to do. Some outside liberal activists have begun to grow restless and criticize Neal, noting that Democrats have promised for years to get the tax returns that Trump has refused to make public. For example, Jeff Hauser and Eleanor Eagan of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a left-leaning think tank, accused Neal of slow-walking the investigation in a March op-ed in the American Prospect. “It is not only Trump, but every rich tax evader in America who is breathing easier with Richard Neal as Chairman,” the two wrote.

 

Neal, though, has said he’s moving cautiously due to the sensitive legal nature of such a request. “I don’t think that we can air this [process] in public,” Neal told reporters earlier this month. “I think part of the preparation I have done is prudent based on the advice of [legal] counsel.” Asked for a timeline, Neal said simply, “when the case is ready.” Both Republican and Democratic former congressional staff characterize Neal's effort as especially tricky, and the situation largely unprecedented.

 

Neal's record is that of a careful legislator, not a partisan hothead likely to rush a sensitive investigation. He has a reputation as an old-school operator, a throwback to the days when Ways and Means Chairman Dan Rostenkowski, D-Ill., helped write bipartisan tax reform legislation with the Reagan administration and congressional Republicans. “He’s a guy who looks to bipartisanship, he’s not a partisan, rabid dog,” said Ken Kies, a former Republican staffer on the committee who now works as a tax lobbyist. Neal, 70, is "Richie" to his colleagues, who agreed with Kies’ characterization. “He’s the best, he’s the best. He has become one of, I think, the most respected members in Congress,” said Rep. Steven Lynch, D-Mass., who has served in the same state delegation since 2001. “He moves very well between our moderate members and also more progressive members,” said Lynch. “I think he’s earned that respect from all groups.” Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., a newcomer to the delegation who has aligned herself with some of the progressive upstarts among this freshman class of congressional Democrats, also spoke highly of Neal's ability to cooperate with all factions in the caucus. “He’s been like what you would hope any dean of a delegation to be. Offers counsel, has a lot of institutional memory, has welcomed me with open arms, supported me in advocating for the committee assignments that I was hopeful I would receive,” said Pressley. Neal's Democratic colleagues on the Ways and Means Committee declined to criticize his handling of the tax returns investigation when asked. “The chairman is handling it very, very well,” said Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., the head of the oversight and investigatory panel on Neal’s committee.

 

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/congress/old-school-legislator-richie-neal-in-the-spotlight-for-trump-tax-returns-investigation

 

Also see: Democrats face a dilemma over Trump's tax returns

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/economy/democrats-face-a-dilemma-over-trumps-tax-returns

Rising Star!

Anonymous ID: 06e1d6 March 29, 2019, 10:49 a.m. No.5963845   🗄️.is 🔗kun

Linda McMahon quits as Small Business Administration chief

 

Linda McMahon is to step down from her post as leader of the Small Business Administration. Before taking on the role early in the Trump administration, McMahon worked as an executive with World Wrestling Entertainment, which was founded by her husband, Vince McMahon. She was confirmed by the Senate in a 81-19 vote in February 2017. McMahon, 70, is expected to resign as soon as Friday, according to reports.

 

Before joining the Trump administration, McMahon launched unsuccessful bids for the U.S. Senate in her home state of Connecticut in 2010 and 2012 and had been active in Republican politics. Her selection to lead the Small Business Administration in December 2016 was praised by Republicans on Capitol Hill, who considered her to be a good pick for the role. Trump himself has been involved with WWE events, including in 2007 when he “tackled” Vince McMahon. Unlike other members of Trump’s cabinet —of which McMahon is one of five women — she has managed to avoid scandal. McMahon has played a key role in promoting the president’s agenda, including boosting Trump's new trade deal, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

 

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/sba-chief-linda-mcmahon-to-step-down

Anonymous ID: 06e1d6 March 29, 2019, 10:58 a.m. No.5963941   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>3991 >>4076

Famed painter targets anti-wall Dems, shown in Russian, EU, Mexican flags

 

He has been dubbed by the Washington Post as “one of the most significant painters of the current era,” and his latest pro-Trump work is a doozy of a blow against Democratic leaders lined up to block construction of the southern border wall.

 

Jon McNaughton’s “National Emergency” shows Trump in his flight jacket praying by a baby doll apparently lost by an illegal immigrant child near the border. Behind him stand key Democratic leaders, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi with her fist held high, clutching the flags of Russia, Mexico, the United Nations, and European Union as they trample the American flag. “It truly is a national emergency what’s happening on our border,” McNaughton said in a promotional YouTube video. “I wanted to make that very clear in this painting who our enemies truly are. I don’t blame the immigrants; I blame those in Washington that are trying to stop President Trump from doing the right thing, to protect the American people,” he said. Those shown challenging Trump are Pelosi, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President Barack Obama, Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Chuck Schumer, and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Adam Schiff, and Maxine Waters.

 

McNaughton has done several pro-Trump paintings and become even more famous along the way. He counts Fox News host Sean Hannity as a customer. The debut of the painting came as Trump was stepping up his effort to build the wall and threaten Mexico over the huge number of illegal immigrants flowing over the southern border.

 

McNaughton included this note with his email about the painting: "In my new painting, the Democrat establishment declares victory against President Trump as he announces a national emergency to secure the border. They proudly hold the flags they represent and cherish. Our politicians have become traitors to this country, in most cases they are more loyal to whichever country, lobbyist, corporation, or special interest group that will keep them in office and line their bank accounts. I’m sick of how they trample our flag and do not seek America’s interests first. '"Trump stands apart from them with his head bowed contemplating the state of our border situation. He sees a lost doll left behind by a little girl forced to make the dangerous journey. To not build the wall is to allow people on both sides of the border to suffer needlessly.'''

 

'Tolerance for illegal immigration is "not compassionate," but "cruel.'" – President Trump

 

The storm is rising and responsible Americans support President Trump as he declares a 'National Emergency.'"