Prosecutors subpoena Trump's bank and sue the NRA

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Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf is testifying before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee today regarding the deployment of federal officers to Portland, Ore. It should not be lost on anyone that Wolf’s service in an "acting" capacity, similar to others serving in the administration, violates the Constitution's Appointments Clause, which requires high-ranking government officials to serve in their positions only with the approval of the Senate. Lawfare ([link removed]) lays out the founders' reasoning for this quite well. The presence and actions of federal law enforcement agents in Portland raise serious Constitutional concerns. The question of the legitimacy of the powerful man overseeing their deployment intensifies that debate. —Melissa Amour, Managing Editor
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** 1. NY probe widens its net
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The Manhattan district attorney's office, which is seeking President Trump's tax records, has subpoenaed his longtime lender, Deutsche Bank—and the bank is reportedly complying with the request to provide the president’s financial records. The subpoena is another sign that the criminal investigation into Trump's business practices is more broad than previously thought. But if you're expecting something to emerge before the election, don't get your hopes up. The records may never see the light of day at all unless they are called on as evidence in a trial. —Newsweek ([link removed])
* — Remember that other investigation? Special Counsel Robert Mueller's two-year probe into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election yielded an avalanche of research and witness testimony, much of which has been released via a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. The documents reveal what some key members of Trump's inner circle told Mueller's team. —BuzzFeed News ([link removed])
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* — Meanwhile it's all still happening. According to a State Dept. report released yesterday, Russia continues to use a network of proxy websites to spread pro-Kremlin disinformation and propaganda in the United States and other parts of the West. The report, however, largely avoids discussing how Moscow is trying to influence the current presidential campaign. —The New York Times ([link removed])
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* — Stay tuned...there's more to come. In response to congressional Democrats' demands for the declassification and public release of more information about ongoing foreign election interference efforts, a federal official promises more. The director of the Department of Homeland Security's cybersecurity agency, Christopher Krebs, said, "That was the beginning of a conversation with the American people about these threats, about the risks we face. More is absolutely coming." —The Hill ([link removed])

MORE: Weissmann: America's prosecutors know what Bill Barr did was wrong —The Atlantic ([link removed])


** 2. Goodman & Weissmann: What can DOJ employees do?
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"What can be done if [Attorney General Bill] Barr seeks to take actions in service of the president's political ambitions? There are a variety of ways for Justice Dept. employees in the Trump era to deal with improper requests. Employees who witness or are asked to participate in such political actions—who all swore an oath to the Constitution and must obey department policies—can refuse, report, and, if necessary, resign. Other models include speaking with Congress under subpoena or resigning and then communicating directly to the public. Reputable organizations are at the ready to advise whistleblowers about the risks and benefits of pursuing these paths." — ([link removed]) The New York Times ([link removed])

Ed. Note: Ryan Goodman, co-editor-in-chief of Just Security, and Andrew Weissmann, a senior prosecutor in the Mueller Investigation, teach law at New York University.

MORE: State Dept inspector general resigns after less than three months in job —Politico ([link removed])


** 3. NY AG: NRA came and took it
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New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit against the National Rifle Association, calling for its dissolution and for the removal of CEO Wayne LaPierre from the post he has held for 39 years. James accuses the organization's leadership of flouting state and federal laws and signing off on reports and statements they knew were fraudulent, while diverting millions of dollars away from the NRA's charitable mission to benefit themselves and their allies. ([link removed])
* — James has asked a New York court to force LaPierre and three key deputies to repay NRA members for the ill-gotten funds and inflated salaries that her 18-month investigation found they took. ([link removed])
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* — The attorney general requested that the court bar the four men—LaPierre, General Counsel John Frazer, former Treasurer Woody Phillips, and former Chief of Staff Joshua Powell—from ever serving in a leadership position for a New York charity in the future. ([link removed])
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* — "The NRA's influence has been so powerful that the organization went unchecked for decades while top executives funneled millions into their own pockets," James said in a statement. —The Washington Post ([link removed])

MORE: Trump suggests NRA relocate to Texas after NY lawsuit —The Hill ([link removed])


** 4. Trump isn't immune to social media policies
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Twitter and Facebook sanctioned President Trump yesterday for spreading misinformation about COVID-19 on their platforms. In a drive to reopen schools, a video clip was posted to both Trump's Facebook and his campaign's Twitter accounts asserting that children are "virtually immune" to the novel coronavirus—a claim that violated both companies' policies regarding pandemic misinformation. For the first time ever, Facebook removed the president's post, while Twitter blocked his campaign from tweeting until it removed the offending post. —Politico ([link removed])
* — Kodak loan draws scrutiny. Congressional committees are seeking records from Eastman Kodak Co. and the government office that announced a potential $765 million loan to the photography giant to develop pharmaceuticals amid the pandemic. The announcement last week resulted in a financial windfall for Kodak investors. —The Wall Street Journal ([link removed])
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* — Is the vaccine being politicized? Like face masks before it, a potential vaccine for COVID-19 is being harnessed for political purposes. Trump suggested this morning that a vaccine could be ready by the election, despite public health experts' opinion that a vaccine won't be ready until 2021. —CNBC ([link removed])
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* — Unemployment numbers drop slightly. Today's Labor Dept. report shows initial jobless claims fell by 249,000 to 1.19 million in the week ending Aug. 1, besting the economic forecast of 1.4 million. Continuing claims decreased by 844,000 to 16.1 million in the week ending July 25, compared with a median projection of 16.9 million. —Bloomberg ([link removed])

MORE: Ohio Gov Mike DeWine tests positive for coronavirus —Cleveland.com ([link removed])


** 5. Peri: Fixing the voting system will take work. Let's do it
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"The rhetorical promise of democracy is inspiring; the nitty-gritty of bringing it to life, less so. It is easy to put off the work, the unsexy details, of ensuring that government functions and voters are heard. There is always another crisis to solve or another policy to chase. But unless our leaders prioritize that work, we are in danger of remaining a hobbled, impotent, perpetually imperfect union." —The Atlantic ([link removed])

Ed. Note: Sarada Peri is a writer and communications strategist, and was a senior speechwriter for former President Barack Obama.

MORE: Senator launches inquiry into Postal Service delays —The Washington Post ([link removed])
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** 6. More questions than answers in Beirut
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As citizens in Beirut demand answers about the massive explosion that devastated the Lebanese capital on Tuesday, killing more than 150 and injuring thousands, Defense Sec. Mark Esper is playing down claims that it was the result of an intentional act. "Still getting information on what happened," he said at a security forum yesterday. "Most believe that it was an accident as reported, and beyond that I have nothing further to report on that. It's obviously a tragedy." ([link removed])
* — Contradicting the president. "I met with some of our great generals and they just seem to feel that it was [an attack]," President Trump told reporters at the White House. "This was not some kind of a manufacturing explosion type of event—they would know better than I would. They seem to think it was an attack, it was a bomb of some kind, yes." ([link removed])
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* — The investigation begins. The explosions coincided with rising tensions between Israel and Hezbollah. Israel has long accused the Lebanese political group and militia of using warehouse control at the port to smuggle weapons into Lebanon. However, there is little evidence thus far that those tensions precipitated the blast. —Defense One ([link removed])

MORE: White House chief of staff defends Trump's description of Beirut 'attack' —Politico ([link removed])


** 7. Gonzalez: The fall of Juan Carlos
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"The inglorious departure of [former Spanish King] Juan Carlos, which can and should be seen as a flight from Spanish justice, is, of course, just what critics of the monarchy were waiting for. That is quite normal and right: No king should be above the law—and no U.S. presidents either, but that is by the by. Juan Carlos would have done better to explain himself to a Spanish court in Spain. That should go without saying in a modern constitutional monarchy." —Deutsche Welle ([link removed])

MORE: Spain puzzles over ex-King Juan Carlos' whereabouts —BBC News ([link removed])


** 8. If you can't beat 'em, fake it
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When you're Photoshopping images to support your advertising message, you just might be getting desperate. An ad released by the Trump campaign falsely depicts former Vice President Joe Biden as "hiding" alone in his basement, using an image altered to remove other people and portray a different location. "I was literally in the room of my Iowa town mayor's Holiday Bowl watch party when this photo was taken," Iowa state Sen. Zach Wahls tweeted. "Biden was neither hiding nor alone nor in ‘the heart of Delaware'..." —The Hill ([link removed])
* — Too late and not enough. In a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates yesterday, Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani requested that a fourth presidential debate be added in early September, arguing that a number of states will have already begun sending mail-in ballots to voters before the first scheduled debate. —U.S. News ([link removed])

* — The Democratic nomination. Biden will not travel to Milwaukee this month to accept his party's nomination for president due to the coronavirus. The Democratic National Convention Committee also announced that no speakers will travel to Milwaukee for the convention on the advice of health officials. Biden will deliver his acceptance speech from Delaware on Aug. 20. —Bloomberg ([link removed])
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* — The Republican nomination. Trump said he will likely deliver his nomination speech from the White House, citing the security price tag. Holding it at the White House "would be by far the least expensive from the country's standpoint," he said, with uncharacteristic concern about his travel costs. He said the plan is not firm because "somebody had difficulty with it," but he did not elaborate. —Reuters ([link removed])

MORE: Whither Trumpism? With the president's re-election uncertain, Republicans battle over their future —Los Angeles Times ([link removed])


** 9. Demings: Remember the Senate
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"The overwhelming evidence in Trump's impeachment—which showed that he abused his power, threatened our national security interests to cheat in the 2020 election, and then attempted to cover it up—was the kind of evidence any police detective would love in a case. But Republican members of the Senate, one excluded, decided that a crime to their party's benefit was no crime at all. Even as they publicly and privately admitted his obvious guilt, they voted to say, 'This doesn't bother us.'" — ([link removed]) The Washington Post ([link removed])

Ed. Note: Val Demings represents Florida’s 10th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.


** 10. An American Story: The Homies Empowerment Program
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The Homies Empowerment Program is a grassroots, youth, and community organization located in East Oakland, Calif., and it is giving away essential goods to make food accessible to their community. ([link removed])
* — Before COVID-19, Homies Empowerment operated as an independent after-school program, but now it has taken up a new mission to gather donations, food, and toiletries for the Latino and Black communities that have been impacted by COVID-19. ([link removed])
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* — Every Tuesday, the organization creates a large storefront called the FREEdom store, open for all from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Throughout the week, volunteers and community organizations come together to gather canned goods, fresh vegetables, and personal hygiene products to serve more than a thousand people a week. ([link removed])
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* — "We don't believe in charity, we believe in solidarity," said Rogelio X, inventory coordinator of the program. "To give back to the community any way you can, even if it's five minutes or 50 cents. It doesn't matter. Trying to find ways to contribute to the community because we are all in this together." — ([link removed]) ABC News ([link removed]) (via Karunavirus ([link removed]) )

Ed. Note: Would you like to suggest "An American Story" from your local news? If so, please forward a link to the story to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) . Thank you!
"The virus will just go away." Sure, like snow during the winter will eventually go away. So why plow the roads? The snow will eventually melt. Just wait it out and do nothing, which is Trump's way of handling COVID-19. Hey, we're all going to die sooner or later, likely sooner because of him and his sheep, so why do anything? As long as he is okay, to hell with everyone else. —Bill T., Arizona
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** The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff or the Stand Up Republic Foundation.
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Got feedback about THE TOPLINE? Send it to Melissa Amour, Managing Editor, at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .

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