Meadows: Subpoenas sent to Mueller may be invalid

Rep. Mark Meadows said the subpoenas compelling former special counsel Robert Mueller to testify next month may be invalid. Reacting to news that Mueller agreed to testify about the Russia investigation, Meadows called the whole thing a "sham" orchestrated by Democrats to "harass" President Trump. "I just find it just unbelievable that here in Congress tonight, we find out about this on the House floor. They don't even go through normal protocol to let the minority know," the North Carolina Republican said Tuesday evening on Fox News. "They broke House rules. I'm not sure the subpoena is valid because you can't issue the same subpoena from two different committees of jurisdiction."

House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler and Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff announced Mueller's agreement to testify July 17 before an open joint session of their committees. The Democrats shared the letter they sent accompanying the subpoenas they each issued to Mueller. The Justice Department released Mueller's 448-page report with redactions in April, which showed his team did not establish any criminal conspiracy between the Russian government and the Trump campaign. Mueller also outlined 10 scenarios of possible obstruction in his report, but declined to make a determination about whether the president obstructed justice.

Although Trump and his allies say the case is closed, Democrats argue Mueller's refusal to clear Trump on obstruction provides them a road map to continue to investigate and possibly seek impeachment. Attorney General William Barr said he and former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein determined there was not sufficient evidence to establish a crime had occurred. In his only public appearance since being appointed special counsel, Mueller indicated he would not say anything that is not already evident in his 448-page report. "We chose those words carefully and the work speaks for itself and the report is my testimony. I would not provide information beyond that which is already public in any appearance before Congress," he said. Meadows said Mueller can expect to be "cross-examined for the first time, and the American people will start to see the flaws in his report."

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/mark-meadows-subpoenas-sent-to-mueller-may-be-invalid

Letter to Mueller

https://judiciary.house.gov/sites/democrats.judiciary.house.gov/files/documents/Letter%20to%20Special%20Counsel%20Mueller%20%286.25.19%29.pdf

Mueller Subpoena

https://judiciary.house.gov/sites/democrats.judiciary.house.gov/files/documents/Mueller%20Subpoena%20%286.25.19%29.pdf

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Mark Meadows: Subpoena sent to Mueller may be invalid

Mark Meadows says the subpoena sent to special counsel Robert Mueller by two Democratic chairmen may be invalid.

DOJ sues Omarosa Manigault Newman for failing to submit financial disclosure form

The Justice Department sued former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman for allegedly failing to file a termination financial disclosure form after she left the Trump administration a year and a half ago. The civil lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Tuesday, said Manigault Newman "knowingly and willfully failing to file the required public financial disclosure report after her employment terminated." The Justice Department, which seeks a civil penalty up to $50,000, said Manigault Newman failed to submit the paperwork despite multiple outreach attempts by the White House ethics counsel, after which the Executive Office of the President referred the matter to the agency.

Manigault Newman's attorney, John Phillips, responded to the complaint, denying that his client "knowfully and willfully" failed to file a report. Phillips said the White House and its Counsel's Office "seized" records from Manigault Newman upon her termination as an employee. Over several calls and emails to the White House, Phillips said his client discussed the need for "contents from seven boxes" that were taken at her departure and it was not until May 10 that they agreed to provide to documents or acknowledge their existence. Manigault Newman and Phillips requested an extension until they receive the documents.

Manigault Newman, who was a contestant on President Trump's reality TV show The Apprentice, worked as director of communications in the Office of the Public Liaison. She was fired in December 2017. Last year, she released a tape of then-chief of staff John Kelly firing her, citing "some pretty serious integrity violations."

While she was promoting her tell-all book Unhinged last fall, Manigault Newman claimed she was likely fired because Kelly knew she was close to obtaining an alleged audio recording of Trump using the N-word. In August, Trump said Manigault Newman will never work for him again following her recent "vicious" attempts to attack her former colleagues and boss. Trump's campaign organization filed for arbitration against Manigault Newman that same month, claiming that she broke a 2016 nondisclosure contract by disparaging the president in her book and revealing private conversations from the White House Situation Room.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/doj-sues-omarosa-for-failing-to-submit-financial-disclosure-form

2019 6 25 Complaint

https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents

/6168717/1-2019-6-25-Complaint.pdf

Omarosa Manigault Newman Response

https://twitter.com/mattzap/status/1143654513397686272

Exclusive: Philadelphia Energy Solutions seeks to permanently shut oil refinery - sources

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES) is expected to seek to permanently shut its oil refinery in the city after a massive fire caused substantial damage to the complex, two sources familiar with the plans said on Tuesday. Shutting the refinery, the largest and oldest on the U.S. East Coast, would cost hundreds of jobs and squeeze gasoline supplies in the busiest, most densely populated corridor of the United States.

The refinery, which could still change its plans, is also expected to begin layoffs of the 700 union workers at the plant as early as Wednesday, the sources said. The layoffs could include about half of the union workforce, with the remaining staff staying at the site until the investigation into the blast concludes, the sources said. PES is expected to file a notice of intent with state and federal regulators as early as Wednesday, setting in motion the process of closing the refinery, the sources said. A spokesperson for Philadelphia Energy Solutions on Tuesday night declined to comment on the potential closure and layoffs.

The 335,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) complex, located in a densely populated area in the southern part of the city, erupted in flames in the early hours on Friday, in a series of explosions that could be heard miles away. The cause of the fire was unknown as of Tuesday, though city fire officials said it started in a butane vat around 4 a.m. (0800 GMT). It destroyed a 30,000-bpd alkylation unit that uses hydrofluoric acid to process refined products. Had the acid caught fire, it could have resulted in a vapor cloud that can damage the skin, eyes and lungs of nearby residents.

Before the fire, the refinery had suffered from years of financial struggles, forcing it to slash worker benefits and scale back capital projects to save cash. It went through a bankruptcy process last year to reduce its debt, but its difficulties continued as its cash on hand dwindled even after emerging from bankruptcy in August. After bankruptcy, Credit Suisse Asset Management and Bardin Hill became the controlling owners, with former primary owners Carlyle Group and Sunoco Logistics, an Energy Transfer subsidiary, holding a minority stake.

Workers were picking up large debris out of nearby waterways on Monday, according to pictures seen by Reuters, while other pictures showed the charred remains of control rooms and burned components. The blaze was the second in two weeks at the complex, spurring calls from Philadelphia’s mayor for a task force to look into both the cause and community outreach in the wake of the incidents. A spokesperson for Mayor Jim Kenney declined to comment on the potential closure of the plant. Investigators on the scene are dealing with unstable structures that need to be certified by engineers, slowing down the inquiry, city officials said. The investigation could ultimately take months or perhaps years, they said. The state Department of Environmental Protection said they have concerns about the integrity of storage tanks on site, the agency said on Tuesday. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board is also investigating the incident.

U.S. gasoline futures rose as much as 5.4% on Wednesday to $1.9787 a gallon, the highest since May 23. The front month price was at $1.945 at 0551 GMT. Futures are up 8.9% since Thursday’s close. The rally in U.S. gasoline futures has pushed U.S. gasoline prices above European and Asian markets, raising the prospects for U.S. imports. “Chances are that (the wider price spread) could open up the arbs between U.S. Gulf/Europe and PADD 1,” said Matthew Chew, principal oil analyst at IHS Markit, referring to the Petroleum Administration for Defense District (PADD) 1, the designation the U.S. government uses for the East Coast in its weekly oil storage report.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-refinery-blast-philadelphia-exclusive/exclusive-philadelphia-energy-solutions-seeks-to-permanently-shut-oil-refinery-sources-idUSKCN1TR09E

U.S. border agency acting head leaving as House passes migrant aid funding bill

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency said on Tuesday its acting commissioner is resigning as House Democrats passed a $4.5 billion funding package to ease a migrant surge that has subjected children detained at U.S-Mexico border to overcrowded conditions. John Sanders, who led CBP since April, will leave his post on July 5, the agency said.

Attorneys raised alarms last week after finding more than 300 migrant children in an overcrowded Texas border patrol station, where they said some had been held for weeks without adequate food and water. Most of the children were transferred to other facilities but then 100 were moved back to the station in Clint, Texas, CBP officials told reporters on Tuesday. Accounts from lawyers of children wearing soiled clothes and older children caring for younger ones has increased criticism by immigration activists and Democrats of Republican President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies. Sanders departure less than three months after being elevated to the post in a reshuffling of the Department of Homeland Security drew criticism.

“President Trump’s latest leadership change only worsens the chaos at the department,” said Representative Bennie Thompson, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. “Leadership changes won’t change the fact that the Trump Administration’s cruel and abhorrent immigration policies are complete failures.”

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration/u-s-border-agency-acting-head-leaving-as-house-passes-migrant-aid-funding-bill-idUSKCN1TQ290