Schumer calls for 'war' against pandemic with $750B package

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Monday he is preparing legislation in response to the coronavirus pandemic that would help hospitals, expand unemployment and health insurance, and assist small businesses, a proposal his office says is meant to "wage war" against the virus. “We will need big, bold, urgent federal action to deal with this crisis,” said Schumer in a statement on Monday. “The kinds of targeted measures we are putting together will mainline money into the economy and directly into the hands of families that need it most," he added. Schumer's proposal, which would provide an infusion of at least $750 billion, will be presented to congressional appropriators as early as Tuesday.

The measure will expand upon the economic package passed by the House last week by giving more resources to hospitals and medical professionals, allowing loan payment postponements for all federal loans, helping education with remote learning, and ensuring public transportation continues to run. "Importantly, this proposal will also ensure our medical professionals have all the resources — including physical space and equipment — they need to provide treatment and keep Americans safe, among other people-focused initiatives,” said Schumer. His proposal has some overlap with the House bill, which includes provisions for free coronavirus testing, two weeks of paid sick leave and up to three months of paid leave for workers, increased unemployment benefits, lunches for children who would normally eat at school, and higher Medicaid funding.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/schumer-calls-for-war-against-pandemic-with-750b-package

‘Measure your Coffin day’: John Durham charges man with threatening to kill Adam Schiff

U.S. Attorney John Durham announced Monday that he charged a man with threatening to kill House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff. Durham, the U.S. attorney for Connecticut who is leading the Justice Department’s review of the Russia investigators, sent out a press release noting he charged Robert Phelps of Torrington, Connecticut, “with threatening to assault and murder a U.S. official, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years, and with making interstate threats, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years.”

Phelps, 62, was arrested on March 13 after allegedly sending Schiff a vulgar and violent email on Nov. 12 telling the Democrat, “I want to kill you” and “smash your … face in,” according to court documents and statements made in court. Investigators interviewed Phelps at his Torrington residence and allegedly confirmed that Phelps sent the threatening communication. After appearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge William Garfinkel in Bridgeport, Phelps was released on a $25,000 bond.

The alleged threatening actions taken by Phelps, undertaken in the middle of Schiff-guided impeachment proceedings against President Trump, were detailed in a newly unsealed six-page affidavit by FBI special agent Daniel Heether. The complaint said Phelps sent Schiff’s office a “threatening communication” through his schedule-a-meeting website in November. “You little c—sucker I want to come and see you so I can spit in your face and I want to kill you with my bare hands and smash your sick little round fat lying face in,” the message said. “You had better hope I never meet up with you mother f—er.” The message was signed by “Robert M. Phelps Republican.” The email included Phelps’s full name, address, phone number, and email. For his organization, he listed “Lyingc—suckerclub.shittyshiffy” and for the names of additional participants he listed “NANCY PIGLOSI DUMOCRATIC RETARDS.” For the preferred day of the week for the meeting, the message stated: “Measure your Coffin day.”

Investigators interviewed Phelps at his home in earlier December, and he “admitted to sending the email to Congressman Schiff but did not see the message as threatening," according to the complaint. Phelps allegedly said he had a right to contact members of Congress and defend “his president.” When investigators had him review the message, Phelps said he was a Republican and repeated that he needed to protect “his president.” The complaint stated, “Phelps asked investigators if they were in his home because of Senator Blumenthal and that the Democrats that are involved in the impeachment proceedings against the president should be arrested.” The affidavit also notes that “Phelps stated that he would not send any more threatening emails.”

Schiff helped lead the Democratic Ukraine-related impeachment effort against Trump last year, resulting in Trump’s impeachment by the House for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress in mid-December 2019 and his acquittal by the Senate in early February. Durham, who was selected by Attorney General William Barr to be his right-hand man in the effort to investigate the origins of the FBI’s Russia-related investigation of Trump’s campaign, is expected to complete his inquiry by the end of the summer.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/measure-your-coffin-day-john-durham-charges-man-with-threatening-to-kill-adam-schiff