Trump Ordered To Hand Over Tax Returns – In a case that will likely wind up at the US Supreme Court, a federal judge has ordered the president to give his tax returns to the Manhattan district attorney who is investigating allegations of hush money payments made by President Trump prior to his election. The 3 judges on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said their ruling was that Trump cannot avoid giving information to an investigation due to executive privilege and that their ruling is not over whether a sitting president can be prosecuted.
Bloomberg Weighing Presidential Run -Former NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg says he is seriously considering running for president as a Democrat because he is concerned that the current field of candidates can’t beat President Trump in 2020. Advisors say that he has not yet made a final decision over whether to run, but is still filing paperwork to get on primary ballots in Alabama. Bloomberg, who is 77-years old and has a net worth of some $52 billion, is unlikely to be able to win any of the early primary states if he jumps into the race now, so he will instead focus on Super Tuesday states.
Sessions Announces Senate Bid – Former US Attorney General Jeff Session, who was booted out of his position by President Trump over his refusal to follow Trump’s orders with regard to the Russia investigation, is running for US Senate in Alabama, a position he held for many years before accepting the AG position. President Trump is famously not fond of Sessions and has reportedly been trashing his Senate bid in private. In an attempt to counteract Trump’s hatred towards him, Sessions’ first campaign video was a clip of him speaking, saying that he fully supports the president and his policies.
Sondland Revises Testimony – When he first testified before the House Intelligence Committee, US Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland told investigators that no quid pro quo existed with regard to Trump’s request that Ukraine investigate the Bidens. But Sondland revised his testimony this week, saying he now remembers having told the Ukrainians that military aide to the country would likely be held up if they did not announce a corruption investigation into the actions of the Bidens . Democrats say they will begin public hearings on the impeachment inquiry next week.
Whistleblower Identified – The whistleblower who set off the investigation into President Trump’s actions with regard to Ukraine was publicly identified as Eric Ciaramella, a CIA analyst who was working at the White House. Ciaramella is currently assigned to the National Intelligence Committee, where he is a deputy national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia.
Drug Cartel Kills 9 US Citizens – Gunmen from a Mexican drug cartel killed 9 US citizens living in northern Mexico after possibly mistaking them for members of a rival cartel. Six children and three women were killed in the ambush, while another 8 children were able to escape to nearby brush, but five of them still sustained gunshot wounds. Following the massacre President Trump offered the Mexican government aide to “wage WAR on the drug cartels and wipe them off the face of the earth.
White Supremacist Arrested In Bomb Plot – Richard Holzer, a white supremacist who espoused anti-Semitic views for a while, was arrested this week by the FBI over a plot to bomb a temple in Colorado. FBI agents who Holzer thought was working with him got “explosives” for him to carry out his attack. They arrested him shortly before he planned to follow through with his plans.