bonginoreport--2020-04-28--Report: Christopher Steele Had Undisclosed Meetings With DNC Lawyers, Clinton Campaign

• Christopher Steele shed new light on his work for the Clinton campaign and DNC , revealing in testimony last month that he met with two lawyers for the Democrats as part of his investigation into Donald Trump .
• Steele met with Perkins Coie partners Michael Sussmann and Marc Elias , he testified .
• Steele said that Sussmann provided him with the now-debunked tip that a Russian bank had a secret communications channel with the Trump Organization .
A lawyer representing the DNC and Clinton campaign provided Christopher Steele with information in 2016 regarding an alleged secret communications @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Russian bank , the former spy told a British court last month .
That now-debunked tip , from Perkins Coie lawyer Michael Sussmann , set off a chain of events that led to Steele publishing a Sept. 14 , 2016 memo accusing the founders of the bank , Alfa Bank , of having “ illicit ” ties to Vladimir Putin , according to a court transcript obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation .
A week after Steele wrote that memo , he had another meeting with Sussmann ’ s colleague , Marc @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Steele disclosed the previously unreported meetings with Sussmann and Elias during testimony in a defamation lawsuit filed against him by the Alfa Bank founders , the transcript shows .
Steele ’ s testimony about Sussmann and Elias provides insight into how deeply involved the two lawyers were in the Trump investigation , and suggests they helped shape Steele ’ s investigation into possible Russian interference in the 2016 election .
Perkins Coie , Sussmann and Elias did not respond to requests for comment for this story .
Elias , who served as general @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fusion GPS in April 2016 to investigate Donald Trump .
Fusion GPS in turn picked Steele , a former MI6 officer , in June 2016 to investigate Trump ’ s possible ties to Russia .
Steele would go on to produce 17 memos alleging that the Russian government had blackmail material on Trump , and that members of his campaign were conspiring with the Kremlin to influence the 2016 election .
Many of Steele ’ s most explosive allegations have been debunked in the 40 months since BuzzFeed News published the dossier .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ report said that Steele ’ s primary source of information disputed many of the allegations in the dossier .
The IG report also said that the FBI and U.S. intelligence community received evidence in 2017 that Russian intelligence operatives may have fed disinformation to Steele .
The IG report also dealt a fatal blow to the Alfa Bank theory peddled by Sussmann .
It said the FBI investigated whether there were “ cyber links ” between Alfa Bank and the Trump Organization , the company owned by Donald Trump , “ but had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were no such links.
” The three owners of Alfa Bank have sued Steele in the U.S. and U.K. over the Sept. 14 , 2016 memo , which is referred to as “ Company Intelligence Report 112 ” in the dossier .
Steele testified under oath in London on March 17 and 18 .
He revealed that Sussmann , a former Justice Department official , told him during a meeting on July 29 , 2016 about suspicious network traffic between the Trump Organization and Alfa Bank , according to the transcript .
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ computer server traffic was the catalyst for the dossier memo he would write six weeks later about Alfa Bank , the transcript shows .
( RELATED : EXCLUSIVE : Dossier Author Testified His Records Were ‘ Wiped ’ ) “ I ’ m very clear is that the first person that ever mentioned the Trump server issue , Alfa server issue , was Mr. Sussman [ sic ] , ” Steele told Hugh Tomlinson , a lawyer for the Alfa Bank owners , on March 17 , the transcript shows .
Steele went @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Glenn Simpson instructed him at some point after the Sussmann meeting to write a report about Alfa Bank , according to the transcript .
“ I was given the instruction sometime after that meeting by Mr. Simpson , ” said Steele , adding that the instruction from Simpson “ was absolutely , definitely linked to the server issue , ” the transcript shows .
It was not previously known whether Steele keyed in on Alfa Bank on his own initiative , or if someone else tasked him with investigating the bank .
Steele @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to collect information from Russia about the bank , the transcript shows .
The transcript also shows that Steele claimed that the source , who has not been identified , met with a “ top level Russian government official , ” who reported back on the Alfa Bank founders .
In Report 112 , Steele wrote that the Russian official said that the three Alfa Bank founders had had “ ups and down ” with Vladimir Putin in the past , but were on “ very good terms ” with the Russian leader @ @ @ @ @ @ @ alleged that the Alfa Bank founders had delivered “ large amounts of cash ” to Putin in the 1990s , when he served as deputy mayor of St. Petersburg .
The report also alleges that both sides held compromising information on the other , keeping everyone involved in check .
Sussmann shopped the allegations about the Alfa Bank computer servers around to others besides Steele , including to journalists and the FBI ’ s top lawyer .
He shared the information with reporters from the New York Times and Slate , which ran @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
According to that story , Alfa Bank ’ s servers were communicating in a peculiar fashion with those of the Trump Organization .
A team of computer experts who studied the traffic determined that the Alfa-Trump channel was being used for some sort of communication between the two sides , the story said .
That assessment , if true , would have fit into Steele ’ s theory that the Trump campaign was conspiring with the Kremlin .
The Slate story appeared as rumors gained steam that the Trump campaign was somehow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ emails from the DNC and Clinton campaign .
On Sept. 23 , 2016 , Yahoo !
News published a story alleging that Trump campaign aide Carter Page met secretly with Kremlin insiders to discuss exchanging material on Hillary Clinton .
On the day the Slate story appeared , Mother Jones reporter David Corn published a report citing a “ former Western intelligence officer ” who claimed that the Russian government had compromising material on Trump .
It is now known that Steele was involved in one way or the other in all three @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in court proceedings to meeting with both reporters from Mother Jones and Yahoo , and had investigated the allegations central to the Slate story .
To further spread the Alfa Bank story , Sussmann contacted James Baker , his former DOJ colleague who then served as general counsel for the FBI .
Baker told House investigators on Oct. 18 , 2018 that Sussmann contacted him to share the information and that they met on Sept. 19 , 2016 .
That day was a busy one for the FBI ’ s Crossfire Hurricane team @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Steele provided six memos from his dossier to the FBI that same day .
The FBI began almost immediately drafting an application for a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act ( FISA ) warrant against Carter Page .
The applications relied heavily on Steele ’ s dossier , which alleged that Page was a key link between the Trump team and Kremlin .
Notably , Steele did not provide the FBI with Report 112 from his dossier , according to the IG report .
The FBI eventually obtained the memo on Nov. 6 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It is unclear whether Sussmann and Steele ’ s outreach to the FBI on Sept. 19 , 2016 was coordinated , or merely coincidental .
Three days later , Steele met with Elias at Perkins Coie ’ s offices in Washington , D.C. , the ex-spy testified .
Steele did not provide details of his discussions with Elias .
He also met with several journalists to discuss the dossier during that same visit to the U.S. capital .
One of the journalists Steele met was Michael Isikoff , the author of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Perkins Coie has been reluctant to discuss its affiliation with Fusion GPS and Steele .
Elias , the Perkins Coie partner , did not disclose his involvement in the matter when he attended a congressional deposition regarding the dossier along with his client , former Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta .
New York Times reporter Ken Vogel has said that Elias misled him in 2017 when asked if Perkins Coie funded the dossier .
One mystery is where Sussmann obtained the information regarding an Alfa Bank connection to the Trump Organization .
Steele @ @ @ @ @ @ @ passed Sussmann the information in late July 2016 .
The cyber experts , who go by the pseudonyms “ Max ” and “ Tea Leaves , ” have spoken to numerous reporters about their investigation , including at Slate , The New Yorker and The New York Times .
A cyber firm that Alfa Bank hired to investigate the server allegations determined that the computer records were likely fabricated by “ threat actors ” who wanted “ to make it appear as though a connection existed ” between the Trump Organization and Alfa @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would constitute a potential violation of various US federal laws , ” Ankura , the cyber firm , wrote in a report released Friday .
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience .
For licensing opportunities of our original content , please contact licensing @ dailycallernewsfoundation.org .

Christopher Steele shed new light on his work for the Clinton campaign and DNC, revealing in testimony last month that he met with two lawyers for the Democrats as part of his investigation into Donald Trump.
Steele met with Perkins Coie partners Michael Sussmann and Marc Elias, he testified.
Steele said that Sussmann provided him with the now-debunked tip that a Russian bank had a secret communications channel with the Trump Organization.
A lawyer representing the DNC and Clinton campaign provided Christopher Steele with information in 2016 regarding an alleged secret communications channel between the Trump Organization and a Russian bank, the former spy told a British court last month.
That now-debunked tip, from Perkins Coie lawyer Michael Sussmann, set off a chain of events that led to Steele publishing a Sept. 14, 2016 memo accusing the founders of the bank, Alfa Bank, of having “illicit” ties to Vladimir Putin, according to a court transcript obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
A week after Steele wrote that memo, he had another meeting with Sussmann’s colleague, Marc Elias, according to the transcript.
Steele disclosed the previously unreported meetings with Sussmann and Elias during testimony in a defamation lawsuit filed against him by the Alfa Bank founders, the transcript shows.
Steele’s testimony about Sussmann and Elias provides insight into how deeply involved the two lawyers were in the Trump investigation, and suggests they helped shape Steele’s investigation into possible Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Perkins Coie, Sussmann and Elias did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
Elias, who served as general counsel for the Clinton campaign, hired Fusion GPS in April 2016 to investigate Donald Trump. Fusion GPS in turn picked Steele, a former MI6 officer, in June 2016 to investigate Trump’s possible ties to Russia.
Steele would go on to produce 17 memos alleging that the Russian government had blackmail material on Trump, and that members of his campaign were conspiring with the Kremlin to influence the 2016 election.
Many of Steele’s most explosive allegations have been debunked in the 40 months since BuzzFeed News published the dossier.
A Justice Department inspector general’s report said that Steele’s primary source of information disputed many of the allegations in the dossier. The IG report also said that the FBI and U.S. intelligence community received evidence in 2017 that Russian intelligence operatives may have fed disinformation to Steele.
The IG report also dealt a fatal blow to the Alfa Bank theory peddled by Sussmann.
It said the FBI investigated whether there were “cyber links” between Alfa Bank and the Trump Organization, the company owned by Donald Trump, “but had concluded by early February 2017 that there were no such links.”
The three owners of Alfa Bank have sued Steele in the U.S. and U.K. over the Sept. 14, 2016 memo, which is referred to as “Company Intelligence Report 112” in the dossier.
Steele testified under oath in London on March 17 and 18.
He revealed that Sussmann, a former Justice Department official, told him during a meeting on July 29, 2016 about suspicious network traffic between the Trump Organization and Alfa Bank, according to the transcript.
He also said that the theory about the computer server traffic was the catalyst for the dossier memo he would write six weeks later about Alfa Bank, the transcript shows. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Dossier Author Testified His Records Were ‘Wiped’)
“I’m very clear is that the first person that ever mentioned the Trump server issue, Alfa server issue, was Mr. Sussman [sic],” Steele told Hugh Tomlinson, a lawyer for the Alfa Bank owners, on March 17, the transcript shows.
Steele went on to say that Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson instructed him at some point after the Sussmann meeting to write a report about Alfa Bank, according to the transcript.
“I was given the instruction sometime after that meeting by Mr. Simpson,” said Steele, adding that the instruction from Simpson “was absolutely, definitely linked to the server issue,” the transcript shows.
It was not previously known whether Steele keyed in on Alfa Bank on his own initiative, or if someone else tasked him with investigating the bank.
Steele said that he directed his dossier source to collect information from Russia about the bank, the transcript shows.
The transcript also shows that Steele claimed that the source, who has not been identified, met with a “top level Russian government official,” who reported back on the Alfa Bank founders.
In Report 112, Steele wrote that the Russian official said that the three Alfa Bank founders had had “ups and down” with Vladimir Putin in the past, but were on “very good terms” with the Russian leader at the time. The source also alleged that the Alfa Bank founders had delivered “large amounts of cash” to Putin in the 1990s, when he served as deputy mayor of St. Petersburg.
The report also alleges that both sides held compromising information on the other, keeping everyone involved in check.
The Alfa Bank founders have vehemently denied Steele’s allegations.
Sussmann shopped the allegations about the Alfa Bank computer servers around to others besides Steele, including to journalists and the FBI’s top lawyer.
He shared the information with reporters from the New York Times and Slate, which ran a story on Oct. 31, 2016.
According to that story, Alfa Bank’s servers were communicating in a peculiar fashion with those of the Trump Organization. A team of computer experts who studied the traffic determined that the Alfa-Trump channel was being used for some sort of communication between the two sides, the story said.
That assessment, if true, would have fit into Steele’s theory that the Trump campaign was conspiring with the Kremlin.
The Slate story appeared as rumors gained steam that the Trump campaign was somehow involved in the hack and release of emails from the DNC and Clinton campaign. On Sept. 23, 2016, Yahoo! News published a story alleging that Trump campaign aide Carter Page met secretly with Kremlin insiders to discuss exchanging material on Hillary Clinton.
On the day the Slate story appeared, Mother Jones reporter David Corn published a report citing a “former Western intelligence officer” who claimed that the Russian government had compromising material on Trump.
It is now known that Steele was involved in one way or the other in all three of the stories. He has acknowledged in court proceedings to meeting with both reporters from Mother Jones and Yahoo, and had investigated the allegations central to the Slate story.
To further spread the Alfa Bank story, Sussmann contacted James Baker, his former DOJ colleague who then served as general counsel for the FBI. Baker told House investigators on Oct. 18, 2018 that Sussmann contacted him to share the information and that they met on Sept. 19, 2016.
That day was a busy one for the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane team. The Justice Department IG report said that Steele provided six memos from his dossier to the FBI that same day.
The FBI began almost immediately drafting an application for a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant against Carter Page. The applications relied heavily on Steele’s dossier, which alleged that Page was a key link between the Trump team and Kremlin.
Notably, Steele did not provide the FBI with Report 112 from his dossier, according to the IG report. The FBI eventually obtained the memo on Nov. 6, 2016, when provided it to Baker.
It is unclear whether Sussmann and Steele’s outreach to the FBI on Sept. 19, 2016 was coordinated, or merely coincidental.
Three days later, Steele met with Elias at Perkins Coie’s offices in Washington, D.C., the ex-spy testified. Steele did not provide details of his discussions with Elias.
He also met with several journalists to discuss the dossier during that same visit to the U.S. capital. One of the journalists Steele met was Michael Isikoff, the author of the Yahoo! story about Carter Page.
Perkins Coie has been reluctant to discuss its affiliation with Fusion GPS and Steele. Elias, the Perkins Coie partner, did not disclose his involvement in the matter when he attended a congressional deposition regarding the dossier along with his client, former Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta.
New York Times reporter Ken Vogel has said that Elias misled him in 2017 when asked if Perkins Coie funded the dossier.
One mystery is where Sussmann obtained the information regarding an Alfa Bank connection to the Trump Organization. Steele testified that a group of cyber experts passed Sussmann the information in late July 2016.
The cyber experts, who go by the pseudonyms “Max” and “Tea Leaves,” have spoken to numerous reporters about their investigation, including at Slate, The New Yorker and The New York Times.
A cyber firm that Alfa Bank hired to investigate the server allegations determined that the computer records were likely fabricated by “threat actors” who wanted “to make it appear as though a connection existed” between the Trump Organization and Alfa Bank.
“If true, this would constitute a potential violation of various US federal laws,” Ankura, the cyber firm, wrote in a report released Friday.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.


bonginoreport--2020-04-28--Trump to Sign Executive Order Helping Meat Producers After Warning of Potential Shortages

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WASHINGTON ( Reuters ) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he will sign an executive order later in the day that addresses employer liability issues that have arisen from the coronavirus outbreak .
Trump , taking questions from reporters in the Oval Office as he met with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis , said the order would have to do with the meat supply and that his administration was working with poultry producer Tyson Foods Inc. Administration officials and some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that are reopening need liability protection from lawsuits employees might file if they become sick .
They cast it is a necessary prerequisite for business to have the confidence they need to reopen .
STOPPING CORONAVIRUS IN US MEAT PLANTS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE , EXPERTS SAY Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer , speaking to reporters on a teleconference on Tuesday that mainly centered on immigrants working in the healthcare sector , was asked about Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pushing for business liability protections as they reopen their operations .
`` Is he saying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ needs to work next to a sick person without a mask and would n't be liable ?
That makes no sense , '' Schumer said .
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he will sign an executive order later in the day that addresses employer liability issues that have arisen from the coronavirus outbreak.
Trump, taking questions from reporters in the Oval Office as he met with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, said the order would have to do with the meat supply and that his administration was working with poultry producer Tyson Foods Inc.
Administration officials and some Republicans on Capitol Hill have said businesses that are reopening need liability protection from lawsuits employees might file if they become sick.
They cast it is a necessary prerequisite for business to have the confidence they need to reopen.
STOPPING CORONAVIRUS IN US MEAT PLANTS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE, EXPERTS SAY
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, speaking to reporters on a teleconference on Tuesday that mainly centered on immigrants working in the healthcare sector, was asked about Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pushing for business liability protections as they reopen their operations.
Ticker Security Last Change Change % TSN TYSON FOODS INC. 53.72 -0.69 -1.28%
"Is he saying if an owner tells a worker he needs to work next to a sick person without a mask and wouldn't be liable? That makes no sense," Schumer said.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS


bonginoreport--2020-04-28--Dem Rep. Mocks Idea of Stacey Abrams for VP

Democratic Missouri Rep. Lacy Clay criticized former Democratic Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams for publicly lobbying to become former Vice President Joe Biden ’ s running mate in the 2020 election .
Clay said in an interview Tuesday that Abrams ’ s lobbying campaign to become Biden ’ s VP is “ inappropriate , ” and noted that she lost the race for Georgia governor that catapulted her to national notoriety .
“ Here ’ s what I do know .
And it ’ s like all of the other presidential candidates , Democratic presidential primary candidates and their supporters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ process , Bernie Sanders has conceded , and this applies to Stacey [ Abrams ] too , ” Clay said on the Tangazo !
podcast .
He added : “ You know , at the race track , you can not show up at the winner ’ s window with loser ’ s tickets .
You haven ’ t won anything .
You can ’ t show up at the winner ’ s window with loser ’ s tickets and demand anything.
” “ I ’ ll tell you what is somewhat offensive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ marketing yourself as a VP candidate , ” Clay added , stating that “ for you to be out there marketing and putting on a PR campaign that way , I think it ’ s inappropriate.
” ( RELATED : 5 Reasons Why Stacey Abrams Would Be A Risky VP Choice For Joe Biden ) Abrams has aggressively campaigned to be Biden ’ s running mate .
“ I would be an excellent running mate , ” she said in an interview earlier in April .
“ If I am selected , I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ She said in another interview that she would be concerned about Biden “ not picking a woman of color because women of color , particularly black women , are the strongest part of the Democratic party , the most loyal.
” Abrams ’ s 2018 gubernatorial campaign is still being investigated by Georgia ’ s ethics commission , the commission chief told the Daily Caller News Foundation on Friday .
“ The investigation into the Abrams campaign remains ongoing , ” David H. Emadi , the Georgia Government Transparency & Campaign Finance Commission @ @ @ @ @ @ @ DCNF in an email .
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience .
For licensing opportunities of our original content , please contact licensing @ dailycallernewsfoundation.org .

Democratic Missouri Rep. Lacy Clay criticized former Democratic Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams for publicly lobbying to become former Vice President Joe Biden’s running mate in the 2020 election.
Clay said in an interview Tuesday that Abrams’s lobbying campaign to become Biden’s VP is “inappropriate,” and noted that she lost the race for Georgia governor that catapulted her to national notoriety.
“Here’s what I do know. And it’s like all of the other presidential candidates, Democratic presidential primary candidates and their supporters, OK, we went through a process, Bernie Sanders has conceded, and this applies to Stacey [Abrams] too,” Clay said on the Tangazo! podcast.
He added: “You know, at the race track, you cannot show up at the winner’s window with loser’s tickets. You haven’t won anything. You can’t show up at the winner’s window with loser’s tickets and demand anything.”
“I’ll tell you what is somewhat offensive to me, is when you are marketing yourself as a VP candidate,” Clay added, stating that “for you to be out there marketing and putting on a PR campaign that way, I think it’s inappropriate.” (RELATED: 5 Reasons Why Stacey Abrams Would Be A Risky VP Choice For Joe Biden)
An Abrams spokesman didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
Abrams has aggressively campaigned to be Biden’s running mate.
“I would be an excellent running mate,” she said in an interview earlier in April. “If I am selected, I am prepared and excited to serve.”
She said in another interview that she would be concerned about Biden “not picking a woman of color because women of color, particularly black women, are the strongest part of the Democratic party, the most loyal.”
Abrams’s 2018 gubernatorial campaign is still being investigated by Georgia’s ethics commission, the commission chief told the Daily Caller News Foundation on Friday.
“The investigation into the Abrams campaign remains ongoing,” David H. Emadi, the Georgia Government Transparency & Campaign Finance Commission’s executive director, told the DCNF in an email.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.


bonginoreport--2020-04-28--Trump Campaign Brushes Off Hillary Clinton’s Biden Endorsement

President Trump 's 2020 campaign manager said Hillary Clinton 's endorsement of Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination all but assures Trump 's victory this fall .
`` There ’ s no greater concentration of Democrat establishment than @ JoeBiden & @ HillaryClinton together , '' said Brad Parscale .
`` Both carry baggage of decades in the DC swamp & both schemed to keep the Dem nomination from Bernie Sanders . ''
Parscale wrote , `` @ realDonaldTrump beat her once & now he ’ ll beat her chosen candidate . ''
Clinton announced Tuesday her support for Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fall during a town hall addressing how women are affected by the coronavirus .
Clinton , who won the party 's primary election against Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in 2016 , attacked Sanders this year for sowing discord in the party amid Democratic organizers ' effort to rally against Trump .
“ All the way up until the end , a lot of people highly identified with his campaign were urging people to vote third party , urging people not to vote , ” Clinton said earlier this year .
In a pitch @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voters , Biden praised the Vermont senator for starting a `` movement '' of young people that Democrats need in order to remove Trump from office .
“ Bernie has an incredible following , ” Biden said .
“ He ’ s maybe one of a half-dozen people in American history who may not be the nominee but has had an impact on American politics in a significant way , in a positive way . ''
Former President Barack Obama also endorsed Biden , his former vice president , earlier this month .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the incredible progress that we made together during my presidency , '' Obama said while announcing his endorsement .
`` But if I were running today , I wouldn ’ t run the same race or have the same platform as I did in 2008 .
The world is different .
There ’ s too much unfinished business for us to just look backwards .
We have to look to the future.
” '' Barack Obama spent much of the last five years urging Joe Biden not to run for president out of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Parscale said at the time .
Trump has argued the Democratic National Committee rigged both of the presidential primaries Sanders has run in against him .
`` It is happening again to Crazy Bernie , just like last time , only far more obvious , '' Trump said earlier this year .
`` They are taking the Democrat Nomination away from him , and there 's very little he can do . ''
Biden has said Trump attacks him and others in the Democratic establishment because Trump knows `` I 'll beat @ @ @ @ @ @

President Trump's 2020 campaign manager said Hillary Clinton's endorsement of Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination all but assures Trump's victory this fall.
"There’s no greater concentration of Democrat establishment than @JoeBiden & @HillaryClinton together," said Brad Parscale. "Both carry baggage of decades in the DC swamp & both schemed to keep the Dem nomination from Bernie Sanders."
Parscale wrote, "@realDonaldTrump beat her once & now he’ll beat her chosen candidate."
There’s no greater concentration of Democrat establishment than @JoeBiden & @HillaryClinton together. Both carry baggage of decades in the DC swamp & both schemed to keep the Dem nomination from Bernie Sanders. @realDonaldTrump beat her once & now he’ll beat her chosen candidate. — Brad Parscale - Download our Trump 2020 App today! (@parscale) April 28, 2020
Clinton announced Tuesday her support for Biden's bid for the White House this fall during a town hall addressing how women are affected by the coronavirus.
Clinton, who won the party's primary election against Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in 2016, attacked Sanders this year for sowing discord in the party amid Democratic organizers' effort to rally against Trump.
“All the way up until the end, a lot of people highly identified with his campaign were urging people to vote third party, urging people not to vote,” Clinton said earlier this year.
In a pitch to appeal to Sanders's more liberal voters, Biden praised the Vermont senator for starting a "movement" of young people that Democrats need in order to remove Trump from office.
“Bernie has an incredible following,” Biden said. “He’s maybe one of a half-dozen people in American history who may not be the nominee but has had an impact on American politics in a significant way, in a positive way."
Former President Barack Obama also endorsed Biden, his former vice president, earlier this month.
“I could not be prouder of the incredible progress that we made together during my presidency," Obama said while announcing his endorsement. "But if I were running today, I wouldn’t run the same race or have the same platform as I did in 2008. The world is different. There’s too much unfinished business for us to just look backwards. We have to look to the future.”
Parscale scoffed at Obama's remarks.
"Barack Obama spent much of the last five years urging Joe Biden not to run for president out of fear that he would embarrass himself,” Parscale said at the time.
Trump has argued the Democratic National Committee rigged both of the presidential primaries Sanders has run in against him.
"It is happening again to Crazy Bernie, just like last time, only far more obvious," Trump said earlier this year. "They are taking the Democrat Nomination away from him, and there's very little he can do."
Biden has said Trump attacks him and others in the Democratic establishment because Trump knows "I'll beat him like a drum."


bonginoreport--2020-04-28--Global Lockdowns Are Finally Beginning to Ease

Cops found the 35-year-old chef , Garima Kothari , dead in her ...

The coronavirus brought the world to a grinding halt, but there were signs of life around the globe Tuesday as some areas loosen lockdown restrictions — allowing for certain businesses, attractions and outdoor spaces to reopen.
Germany, which has lost more than 6,000 people to the contagion, took its first steps to ease restrictions last week — and by Tuesday locals were pictured visiting the Berlin Zoo and snapping selfies in front of elephants as the zoo partially reopened.
Smaller businesses were also permitted to reopen in the country, but strict social distancing measures remain in place, and there are still bans on large gatherings of people.
In Australia, where COVID-19 has claimed the lives of more than 80 people, swimmers and sun-bathers returned to Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach after it reopened Tuesday, following a five-week closure amid the global coronavirus pandemic.
Joyful locals were spotted in the sand as eager surfers took to the waves.
“We’ve got our beach back,” read a message on one thrilled swimmers’ bareback.
Italy — the European country hardest-hit by COVID-19, suffering a loss of more than 27,000 people to the virus – has also begun its gradual reopening process.
Some restrictions are expected to be lifted on May 4, with the reopening of parks, which have been shuttered for weeks.
Retail shops and museums will be allowed to reopen by May 18, while bars, restaurants, salons and barbershops can start to reopen in June.
France, which has seen more than 23,000 deaths as a result of the virus, outlined a plan Tuesday to reopen some shops, including farmers markets and small museums, as well as schools and nurseries starting May 11.
Restaurants, parks, major museums and other businesses will remain closed until at least June 2.
Locals in France will be allowed to travel starting May 11, but only up to 60 miles away.
France is expected to conduct at least 700,000 virus tests a week and anyone taking public transportation, taxis or shared car services will be required to wear a mask.
Spain, which has been under strict lockdown orders for more than seven weeks, unveiled Tuesday what Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called “a transition plan to a new normal.”
More than 23,000 people have died in the country due to coronavirus and more than 232,000 people were infected by the bug there.
The virus has infected more than 3 million people worldwide, including more than 1 million in the US alone, according to the latest data from the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.
With Post wires


bonginoreport--2020-04-28--More Public Companies Begin Suspending Dividends to Conserve Cash

The pace of dividend cuts in the U.S. surged during the past week and a half , where we 've added an additional 44 distressed firms either reducing their dividends or suspending payments to our ongoing tally for April 2020 .
To put that number in perspective , when recessionary conditions are present in the U.S. economy , we 'll see firms announce dividend cuts at a rate of 25 or more during the course of a single month .
We now anticipate triple that figure by the time April 2020 is over .
The following chart compares the current @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the same quarter in the years 2017 , 2018 , and 2019 , which is the stock market equivalent to those excess mortality charts illustrating the full impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic .
We confirm the number of dividend cuts and suspensions announced in the quarter to date for our 2020-Q2 sampling is elevated well above the comparatively healthy quarters of 2017-Q2 and 2018-Q2 , and is also considerably higher than the year ago quarter of 2019-Q2 , when the oil and gas sector of the U.S. economy experienced a relatively short @ @ @ @ @ @ @ list of U.S. firms announcing dividend cuts or omitting dividend cuts in the seven trading days since our previous report : The oil and gas sector makes up 20 of the 44 firms above , an outcome of the fall in demand and oil prices that has taken place since with the global coronavirus pandemic .
The finance sector , including real estate investment trusts , accounts for another 10 firms , with the remainder split among 11 other industrial sectors , confirming the broad impact of the coronavirus recession .
The distribution @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a consequence of both the degree of distress they are facing and also of the calendar , with many companies following their regular schedule for declaring dividends , with the past seven trading days being heavily loaded with firms in the oil and gas sector .
We 'll have a more complete analysis after the end of the month with the next installment of our monthly Dividends By The Numbers series .

The pace of dividend cuts in the U.S. surged during the past week and a half, where we've added an additional 44 distressed firms either reducing their dividends or suspending payments to our ongoing tally for April 2020.
To put that number in perspective, when recessionary conditions are present in the U.S. economy, we'll see firms announce dividend cuts at a rate of 25 or more during the course of a single month. We now anticipate triple that figure by the time April 2020 is over.
The following chart compares the current pace of dividend cuts during 2020-Q2 to the same quarter in the years 2017, 2018, and 2019, which is the stock market equivalent to those excess mortality charts illustrating the full impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
We confirm the number of dividend cuts and suspensions announced in the quarter to date for our 2020-Q2 sampling is elevated well above the comparatively healthy quarters of 2017-Q2 and 2018-Q2, and is also considerably higher than the year ago quarter of 2019-Q2, when the oil and gas sector of the U.S. economy experienced a relatively short period of distress.
Here is the list of U.S. firms announcing dividend cuts or omitting dividend cuts in the seven trading days since our previous report:
The oil and gas sector makes up 20 of the 44 firms above, an outcome of the fall in demand and oil prices that has taken place since with the global coronavirus pandemic. The finance sector, including real estate investment trusts, accounts for another 10 firms, with the remainder split among 11 other industrial sectors, confirming the broad impact of the coronavirus recession.
The distribution of these dividend cuts among industries is a consequence of both the degree of distress they are facing and also of the calendar, with many companies following their regular schedule for declaring dividends, with the past seven trading days being heavily loaded with firms in the oil and gas sector. We'll have a more complete analysis after the end of the month with the next installment of our monthly Dividends By The Numbers series.
References
Seeking Alpha Market Currents Dividend News. [Online Database]. Accessed 24 April 2020.
Wall Street Journal. Dividend Declarations. [Online Database]. Accessed 24 April 2020.


bonginoreport--2020-04-28--3.5 Million Mortgage Borrowers (7%) Are Receiving Payment Relief

WASHINGTON ( Reuters ) - About 3.5 million mortgage borrowers have had their payments paused or reduced as the novel coronavirus outbreak in the United States continues to throw millions out of work , a survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association showed on Monday .
The share of mortgage loans in forbearance rose to 6.99 % from 5.95 % from April 13-19 , the industry lobbying group said .
The number of new requests for relief fell relative to the prior week but were still 100 times greater than in early March , MBA said .
Ginnie Mae loans grew @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up 1.47 % , and they also had the highest percentage of loans in forbearance by investor type , at 9.73 % of loans .
For FHA and VA borrowers , the share of loans in forbearance stood at roughly 10 percent .
An unprecedented 26.5 million Americans have sought unemployment benefits since mid-March , erasing all the job gains made since the last recession .
More than 95 % of Americans have been under “ stay-at-home ” or “ shelter-in-place ” orders to curb the spread of the virus , although several @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their economies against the advice of health officials .
MBA has called on the U.S. government to provide relief to the mortgage service industry .
Federal Reserve officials have said they are monitoring the situation and may step in if the situation were to appreciably worsen .
“ We expect forbearance requests will pick up again as we approach May payment due dates , ” said Mike Fratantoni , MBA ’ s senior vice president and chief economist .
The United States has the world ’ s highest number of confirmed cases of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the coronavirus .
About 77 % of the first-mortgage servicing market responded to the survey , the same as the previous period .
They cover about 38.3 million loans .

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - About 3.5 million mortgage borrowers have had their payments paused or reduced as the novel coronavirus outbreak in the United States continues to throw millions out of work, a survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association showed on Monday.
The share of mortgage loans in forbearance rose to 6.99% from 5.95% from April 13-19, the industry lobbying group said. The number of new requests for relief fell relative to the prior week but were still 100 times greater than in early March, MBA said.
Ginnie Mae loans grew the most from the prior week, up 1.47%, and they also had the highest percentage of loans in forbearance by investor type, at 9.73% of loans. For FHA and VA borrowers, the share of loans in forbearance stood at roughly 10 percent.
An unprecedented 26.5 million Americans have sought unemployment benefits since mid-March, erasing all the job gains made since the last recession.
More than 95% of Americans have been under “stay-at-home” or “shelter-in-place” orders to curb the spread of the virus, although several states have now begun to slowly reopen their economies against the advice of health officials.
MBA has called on the U.S. government to provide relief to the mortgage service industry. Federal Reserve officials have said they are monitoring the situation and may step in if the situation were to appreciably worsen.
“We expect forbearance requests will pick up again as we approach May payment due dates,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s senior vice president and chief economist.
The United States has the world’s highest number of confirmed cases of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.
About 77% of the first-mortgage servicing market responded to the survey, the same as the previous period. They cover about 38.3 million loans.


bonginoreport--2020-04-29--Court Overturns California’s Background Check Requirement for Ammo Purchases

U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez has issued a preliminary injunction overturning California 's ammunition sales laws .
Those rules required all ammo sales to be conducted face-to-face with a licensed dealer , and they also forced all ammo buyers to undergo computerized background check through the California Department of Justice .
The state has already appealed the ruling to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals , and the Court has already placed a stay on actually enforcing the decision .
* Benitez 's decision in the case of Rhode v. Becerra , ** which launched last summer with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Association , breaks at times into the sort of strong language one might ordinarily associate with a pro-Second-Amendment op-ed .
`` The casualties have been counted , '' he writes .
`` California 's new ammunition background check law misfires and the Second Amendment rights of California citizens have been gravely injured '' by the state 's `` onerous and convoluted new laws requiring ammunition purchase background checks and implementing ammunition anti-importation laws . ''
Because the law makes it illegal for a California citizen to buy ammunition directly from out-of-state dealers , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Constitution 's Commerce Clause .
And he is disturbed that the standard to prove oneself a citizen—step one of the background check process for legally buying ammunition—requires a federal `` REAL ID '' –compliant drivers license not yet enforced on all Californians , which is a more onerous hurdle than even buying a gun legally right now .
( Without one , the prospective ammo buyer must also produce either a passport or a certified birth certificate .
Only around 7 million of California 's approximately 28 million adults have a REAL @ @ @ @ @ @ @ law 's title—the Safety for All Act—is `` a misnomer , '' The injunction analyzes how the ammo background check system has worked so far .
The judge finds that 616,257 people underwent a `` standard '' background check , and that of these The only guidance a rejected would-be buyer gets , Benitez complains , is a 15-digit number and a government website address for the California Firearms Application Reporting System ( CFARS ) .
The rejected citizen must then go to that website to discover the reason for rejection .
Of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ access to a computer and the internet .
The State says that the most common reason a person is rejected is a mis-match of addresses .
Address mis-matches caused about 38 % of the rejections .
The second most common reason for a rejection accounting for about 26 % of all rejections is that the purchaser did not have an AFS [ Automated Firearms System ] record .
The AFS database is a record of firearm transfers , but it is limited to shotguns and rifles purchased since 2014 and handguns purchased mostly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ may lawfully own a firearm and have no AFS entry .
Benitez notes that the number of people officially denied under the system does n't count those who , lacking REAL-ID or its alternatives , do n't even reach the step of getting checked .
`` How many gave up ?
If it is any indication , early on at two California stores , approximately one-half of the potential ammunition customers were turned away without a background check . ''
Benitez digs deep into an issue that Second Amendment forces hope the Supreme @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is the proper judicial standard of review for Second Amendment cases ?
The state of California thinks the proper standard is intermediate scrutiny , in which the `` government 's interest must be important and the fit of the law to the objective must be reasonable . ''
The government 's lawyers support this with what Benitez calls `` a complex analysis that only a law professor can appreciate . ''
The judge adds that `` these complicated legal tests usually result in upholding Second Amendment restrictions upon something akin to a rational @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rational basis test , the law merely must be seen to have some rational relation to some state goal , and that is more properly applied to laws where no fundamental constitutional right is at issue , which is not the case with the Second Amendment , Benitez believes . )
Benitez does n't think that 's what the Supreme Court wanted when it ruled , in the 2008 Heller decision , that the Second Amendment protected an individual right to possess commonly used weapons for self-defense in the home .
`` It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` that the California background check laws that de facto completely block some law-abiding responsible citizens from buying common ammunition are unconstitutional . ''
He argues that the ammo law `` is not one of the presumptively lawful regulatory measures identified in Heller , '' and further that `` an ammunition background check has no historical pedigree . ''
If the ammo rule burdens the Second Amendment , the judge argues , another analytical hurdle must be jumped and `` the correct level of scrutiny must be selected .
For that selection [ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The first step measures how close the statute hits at the core of the Second Amendment right .
The second step measures how severe the statute burdens the Second Amendment right . ''
By keeping lawful buyers from purchasing ammunition , the rules `` directly burden the Second Amendment right directly to its core , which is the right to defend one 's self , family , and home . ''
This makes them `` unconstitutional under any level of scrutiny . ''
Still , Benitez dabbles with existing 9th Circuit precedent , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` sliding scale of scrutiny . ''
Since some people initially denied the right to purchase ammo do indeed eventually succeed after much effort on their part , California believes the burden is not strict enough to require anything other than `` intermediate scrutiny '' from courts .
Benitez responds : `` The government has certainly not demonstrated that the blanket background check system will cure any disease and alleviate harm in a direct and material way without unnecessarily burdening the rights of citizens .
So far , the benefit of the background @ @ @ @ @ @ @ number of prohibited persons have been denied authorization to buy ammunition at a licensed ammunition vendor .
On the other hand , the burden is that 101,047 law-abiding citizens ( plus an untold additional number who may have been discouraged by the clumsiness of the system ) were unable to exercise their Second Amendment right to acquire ammunition for their firearms . ''
Benitez spends many pages showing the thinness of the data California used to defend the idea that the ammo laws would reduce firearms violence .
He notes that in 1968 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recordkeeping on ammo buys , and that nearly two decades later `` the Treasury Department and the Bureau of Alcohol , Tobacco and Firearms informed Congress that the ammunition recordkeeping requirement was not useful for law enforcement .
Congress then removed the ammunition regulations in 1986 .
The result of that national experiment calls into question the effectiveness of new state ammunition regulations . ''
With an appeal already launched in the 9th Circuit—which in the past has not exactly been prone to upholding a vigorous version of the Second Amendment—how is this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ past performance may not be a guarantee of future results .
During the Trump presidency , the 9th Circuit has undergone an ideological shift that might make its panels more likely to uphold the Second Amendment .
Chuck Michel , a lawyer who serves as president of the California Rifle and Pistol Association , points to the appeals panel that earlier this month considered a previous pro–Second Amendment decision from Judge Benitez .
This was in the case of Duncan v. Becerra , in which he enjoined state laws restricting weapons ' magazine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Michel reports , seemed at least somewhat sympathetic to the gun-rights cause .
But he grants that it 's always risky to predict what a court panel will or wo n't do until a decision has been issued .
We 'll have to wait to see how it rules on Duncan—and then whether that 's a bellwether for Rhode v. Becerra .
*The Appeals Court having already stayed the order pending final resolution was not noted in original posting of article .
**The case name was misspelled in original posting of article .

U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez has issued a preliminary injunction overturning California's ammunition sales laws. Those rules required all ammo sales to be conducted face-to-face with a licensed dealer, and they also forced all ammo buyers to undergo computerized background check through the California Department of Justice.
The state has already appealed the ruling to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Court has already placed a stay on actually enforcing the decision.*
Benitez's decision in the case of Rhode v. Becerra,** which launched last summer with the backing of the California Rifle and Pistol Association, breaks at times into the sort of strong language one might ordinarily associate with a pro-Second-Amendment op-ed. "The casualties have been counted," he writes. "California's new ammunition background check law misfires and the Second Amendment rights of California citizens have been gravely injured" by the state's "onerous and convoluted new laws requiring ammunition purchase background checks and implementing ammunition anti-importation laws."
California's ammo laws are constitutionally defective, the judge argues:
First, criminals, tyrants, and terrorists don't do background checks. The background check experiment defies common sense while unduly and severely burdening the Second Amendment rights of every responsible, gun-owning citizen desiring to lawfully buy ammunition. Second, the implementing regulations systematically prohibit or deter an untold number of law-abiding California citizen-residents from undergoing the required background checks. Third, in the seven months since implementation, the standard background check rejected citizen-residents who are not prohibited persons approximately 16.4% of the time. Fourth, the ammunition anti-importation laws directly violate the federal dormant Commerce Clause.
Because the law makes it illegal for a California citizen to buy ammunition directly from out-of-state dealers, Benitez thinks it also runs afoul of the Constitution's Commerce Clause. And he is disturbed that the standard to prove oneself a citizen—step one of the background check process for legally buying ammunition—requires a federal "REAL ID"–compliant drivers license not yet enforced on all Californians, which is a more onerous hurdle than even buying a gun legally right now. (Without one, the prospective ammo buyer must also produce either a passport or a certified birth certificate. Only around 7 million of California's approximately 28 million adults have a REAL I.D.)
He saltily adds that law's title—the Safety for All Act—is "a misnomer,"
The injunction analyzes how the ammo background check system has worked so far. The judge finds that 616,257 people underwent a "standard" background check, and that of these
there were 188 would-be purchasers identified as "prohibited persons" (felons, fugitives, violent misdemeanants, etc.) and denied authorization to purchase ammunition….These are the people the new laws are designed to stop. Unfortunately, the Standard background check also rejected 101,047 other law-abiding citizen residents that the laws were not designed to stop. Later analysis reveals the rejections were either because the State has no record of gun ownership or because of identifier mismatches. To put this in perspective, 16% of those who established their citizenship were rejected and prevented from lawfully exercising their Constitutional right.
The only guidance a rejected would-be buyer gets, Benitez complains, is
a 15-digit number and a government website address for the California Firearms Application Reporting System (CFARS). The rejected citizen must then go to that website to discover the reason for rejection. Of course, this requires the person have access to a computer and the internet. The State says that the most common reason a person is rejected is a mis-match of addresses. Address mis-matches caused about 38% of the rejections. The second most common reason for a rejection accounting for about 26% of all rejections is that the purchaser did not have an AFS [Automated Firearms System] record. The AFS database is a record of firearm transfers, but it is limited to shotguns and rifles purchased since 2014 and handguns purchased mostly since 1990. Thus, a person may lawfully own a firearm and have no AFS entry.
Benitez notes that the number of people officially denied under the system doesn't count those who, lacking REAL-ID or its alternatives, don't even reach the step of getting checked. "How many gave up? If it is any indication, early on at two California stores, approximately one-half of the potential ammunition customers were turned away without a background check."
Tangled Standards of Review
Benitez digs deep into an issue that Second Amendment forces hope the Supreme Court will eventually tackle nationally: What is the proper judicial standard of review for Second Amendment cases?
The state of California thinks the proper standard is intermediate scrutiny, in which the "government's interest must be important and the fit of the law to the objective must be reasonable." The government's lawyers support this with what Benitez calls "a complex analysis that only a law professor can appreciate." The judge adds that "these complicated legal tests usually result in upholding Second Amendment restrictions upon something akin to a rational basis test." (In a rational basis test, the law merely must be seen to have some rational relation to some state goal, and that is more properly applied to laws where no fundamental constitutional right is at issue, which is not the case with the Second Amendment, Benitez believes.)
Benitez doesn't think that's what the Supreme Court wanted when it ruled, in the 2008 Heller decision, that the Second Amendment protected an individual right to possess commonly used weapons for self-defense in the home. "It is obvious," he writes, "that the California background check laws that de facto completely block some law-abiding responsible citizens from buying common ammunition are unconstitutional." He argues that the ammo law "is not one of the presumptively lawful regulatory measures identified in Heller," and further that "an ammunition background check has no historical pedigree."
If the ammo rule burdens the Second Amendment, the judge argues, another analytical hurdle must be jumped and "the correct level of scrutiny must be selected. For that selection [another] two-step evaluation is required. The first step measures how close the statute hits at the core of the Second Amendment right. The second step measures how severe the statute burdens the Second Amendment right." By keeping lawful buyers from purchasing ammunition, the rules "directly burden the Second Amendment right directly to its core, which is the right to defend one's self, family, and home." This makes them "unconstitutional under any level of scrutiny."
Still, Benitez dabbles with existing 9th Circuit precedent, which imposes on the Second Amendment a "sliding scale of scrutiny." Since some people initially denied the right to purchase ammo do indeed eventually succeed after much effort on their part, California believes the burden is not strict enough to require anything other than "intermediate scrutiny" from courts.
Benitez responds: "The government has certainly not demonstrated that the blanket background check system will cure any disease and alleviate harm in a direct and material way without unnecessarily burdening the rights of citizens. So far, the benefit of the background check laws is that a very small number of prohibited persons have been denied authorization to buy ammunition at a licensed ammunition vendor. On the other hand, the burden is that 101,047 law-abiding citizens (plus an untold additional number who may have been discouraged by the clumsiness of the system) were unable to exercise their Second Amendment right to acquire ammunition for their firearms."
Benitez spends many pages showing the thinness of the data California used to defend the idea that the ammo laws would reduce firearms violence. He notes that in 1968 the federal government imposed a requirement for recordkeeping on ammo buys, and that nearly two decades later "the Treasury Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms informed Congress that the ammunition recordkeeping requirement was not useful for law enforcement. Congress then removed the ammunition regulations in 1986. The result of that national experiment calls into question the effectiveness of new state ammunition regulations."
The Appeal is Underway
With an appeal already launched in the 9th Circuit—which in the past has not exactly been prone to upholding a vigorous version of the Second Amendment—how is this decision likely to hold up?
That past performance may not be a guarantee of future results. During the Trump presidency, the 9th Circuit has undergone an ideological shift that might make its panels more likely to uphold the Second Amendment. Chuck Michel, a lawyer who serves as president of the California Rifle and Pistol Association, points to the appeals panel that earlier this month considered a previous pro–Second Amendment decision from Judge Benitez. This was in the case of Duncan v. Becerra, in which he enjoined state laws restricting weapons' magazine size. The panel's questioning, Michel reports, seemed at least somewhat sympathetic to the gun-rights cause.
But he grants that it's always risky to predict what a court panel will or won't do until a decision has been issued. We'll have to wait to see how it rules on Duncan—and then whether that's a bellwether for Rhode v. Becerra.
Corrections:
*The Appeals Court having already stayed the order pending final resolution was not noted in original posting of article.
**The case name was misspelled in original posting of article.


bonginoreport--2020-04-29--Dossier Author Says He Believes Hillary Clinton and Susan Rice Were Aware of His Research

The documents underlying his now infamous Russian dossier are long since destroyed , but Christopher Steele ’ s recollections of his political opposition research on President Trump nearly four years later are poised to create new heartburn for Democrats .
Steele recently testified in a British court that he believed both then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and then-Obama National Security Adviser Susan Rice were aware of his dossier research as it was going on in summer 2016 .
The testimony makes his most direct link yet between his Russia collusion research and the top of the Clinton campaign and Obama @ @ @ @ @ @ @ court he believed he had been hired by the Fusion GPS firm owned by Glenn Simpson through the Democratic National Committee-linked law firm Perkins Coie to assist the Clinton campaign during the election , according to a transcript of the testimony .
“ I presumed it was the Clinton campaign , and Glenn Simpson had indicated that .
But I was not aware of the technicality of it being the DNC that was actually the client of Perkins Coie , ” Steele testified in March under questioning from lawyers for Russian bankers suing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it was the leadership of the Clinton presidential campaign did n't you ?
” a lawyer for the businessmen asked .
“ I believed it was the campaign .
Yes , ” he answered .
“ The leadership of the Clinton campaign ?
” he was asked .
“ Fine , the leadership of the campaign , ” Steele conceded .
“ You also understood that Hillary Clinton herself was aware of what you were doing ?
” the lawyer asked .
“ I think Glenn had mentioned it , but I was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Then Steele was confronted with what lawyers said were notes he took at a meeting with the FBI in 2016 in which he purported to tell agents that Clinton was aware of his research .
The lawyers read from those notes during the court proceedings .
The notes , according to the transcript , read : “ We explained that Glenn Simpson/GPS Fusion was our commissioner but the ultimate client were the leadership of the Clinton presidential campaign and that we understood the candidate herself was aware of the reporting at least , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : “ It ’ s your note , so we assume it ’ s accurate ?
” “ Yes , ” Steele answered during the March 17 testimony .
You can read that testimony here .
Messages seeking comment that were left Tuesday at Hillary Clinton ’ s office and the Clinton family library were not returned .
A day later in additional testimony , Steele was asked how he came to present some of his dossier findings to the U.S. State Department during an October 2016 meeting with then-Deputy Assistant Secretary of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ MI6 agent turned private intelligence investigator said his meeting was set up by State officials Jonathan Winer and Victoria Nuland after longtime Clinton adviser and friend Strobe Talbott had reached out to him .
“ The meeting was set up by a State Department official called John Winer , ” Steele explained .
“ No , at his request , his suggestion .
He invited us into meet , as I understood it , at her request , Assistant Secretary of State Nuland , ” Steele answered .
The lawyers asked whether Talbott @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I think Strobe Talbott had gotten in touch with us much earlier than that , ” Steele answered .
“ I remember taking a phone call from him , your lordship , earlier in the summer in which he said that he was aware that I had — he spoke in fairly cryptic terms — but he was aware that we had material of relevance to the U.S. election .
“ A little bit of background , if I may , your lordship on that , ” Steele added .
“ Both National @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Åssistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland , who were the key policymakers on Russia , had been colleagues of Mr. Talbott .
And I had , although he did n't state it explicitly , one or either or both of them had briefed him on the work we had been doing.
” You can read that part of the testimony here .
Winer has acknowledged having contact with Steele in the summer of 2016 , and Nuland has also acknowledged she was aware State officials met with the British operative .
Erin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told Just the News on Tuesday that Steele ’ s claim was “ utterly and completely false.
” Steele ’ s testimony provides other insights key to the ongoing investigation of the investigators in the Russia collusion probe .
Steele often disputed negative or contradictory accounts offered by other Russia case figures about his work , suggesting Kavalec ’ s notes of his meeting contained some “ fairly odd things ” and that Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz ’ s account of an interview with him was at times inaccurate .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of it wrong , ” Steele said of the IG report .
As for senior Justice Department official Bruce Ohr ’ s account of one of their meetings , Steele added : “ I think Bruce Ohr has misreported it ... or misremembered it.
” He also revealed that one piece of anti-Trump information he obtained in 2016 — a since-debunked claim that Trump secretly may have communicated with Russia through a computer server at the Alfa Bank — didn ’ t come from a Russian intelligence source but rather from one of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Steele divulged he paid some of his sources of information as much as $ 3,000 to $ 5,000 a month , prompting the lawyers for the plaintiffs to ask whether that might have compromised some of the information he got .
“ So they had a financial incentive to feed you stuff that was interesting , right ?
” a lawyer asked .
“ Yes , that is true , ” Steele answered .
“ But they were paid also to do other project work.
” Steele added he didn ’ t think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could be terminated if they did so .
Steele also told the court that most of his emails and other documents related to the dossier were destroyed by early January 2017 after he completed the project .
The British lawsuit is being brought under the Data Protection Act of 1998 by three international businessmen from Russia , arising out of the processing of their personal data in the Steele dossier .

The documents underlying his now infamous Russian dossier are long since destroyed, but Christopher Steele’s recollections of his political opposition research on President Trump nearly four years later are poised to create new heartburn for Democrats.
Steele recently testified in a British court that he believed both then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and then-Obama National Security Adviser Susan Rice were aware of his dossier research as it was going on in summer 2016.
The testimony makes his most direct link yet between his Russia collusion research and the top of the Clinton campaign and Obama White House.
Steele told a British court he believed he had been hired by the Fusion GPS firm owned by Glenn Simpson through the Democratic National Committee-linked law firm Perkins Coie to assist the Clinton campaign during the election, according to a transcript of the testimony.
“I presumed it was the Clinton campaign, and Glenn Simpson had indicated that. But I was not aware of the technicality of it being the DNC that was actually the client of Perkins Coie,” Steele testified in March under questioning from lawyers for Russian bankers suing over his research.
“You knew it was the leadership of the Clinton presidential campaign didn't you?” a lawyer for the businessmen asked.
“I believed it was the campaign. Yes,” he answered.
“The leadership of the Clinton campaign?” he was asked.
“Fine, the leadership of the campaign,” Steele conceded.
The lawyer persisted.
“You also understood that Hillary Clinton herself was aware of what you were doing?” the lawyer asked.
“I think Glenn had mentioned it, but I wasn't clear,” Steele answered.
Then Steele was confronted with what lawyers said were notes he took at a meeting with the FBI in 2016 in which he purported to tell agents that Clinton was aware of his research. The lawyers read from those notes during the court proceedings.
The notes, according to the transcript, read: “We explained that Glenn Simpson/GPS Fusion was our commissioner but the ultimate client were the leadership of the Clinton presidential campaign and that we understood the candidate herself was aware of the reporting at least, if not us.”
The lawyers prodded: “It’s your note, so we assume it’s accurate?”
“Yes,” Steele answered during the March 17 testimony. You can read that testimony here.
Messages seeking comment that were left Tuesday at Hillary Clinton’s office and the Clinton family library were not returned.
A day later in additional testimony, Steele was asked how he came to present some of his dossier findings to the U.S. State Department during an October 2016 meeting with then-Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Kathleen Kavalec.
The former British MI6 agent turned private intelligence investigator said his meeting was set up by State officials Jonathan Winer and Victoria Nuland after longtime Clinton adviser and friend Strobe Talbott had reached out to him.
“The meeting was set up by a State Department official called John Winer,” Steele explained.
“At your request?” the lawyers asked.
“No, at his request, his suggestion. He invited us into meet, as I understood it, at her request, Assistant Secretary of State Nuland,” Steele answered.
The lawyers asked whether Talbott opened the door in October.
“I think Strobe Talbott had gotten in touch with us much earlier than that,” Steele answered. “I remember taking a phone call from him, your lordship, earlier in the summer in which he said that he was aware that I had — he spoke in fairly cryptic terms — but he was aware that we had material of relevance to the U.S. election.
“A little bit of background, if I may, your lordship on that,” Steele added. “Both National Security Advisor at the time Susan Rice and Åssistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, who were the key policymakers on Russia, had been colleagues of Mr. Talbott. And I had, although he didn't state it explicitly, one or either or both of them had briefed him on the work we had been doing.”
You can read that part of the testimony here.
Winer has acknowledged having contact with Steele in the summer of 2016, and Nuland has also acknowledged she was aware State officials met with the British operative. Erin Pelton, a spokeswoman for Rice, told Just the News on Tuesday that Steele’s claim was “utterly and completely false.”
Steele’s testimony provides other insights key to the ongoing investigation of the investigators in the Russia collusion probe.
Steele often disputed negative or contradictory accounts offered by other Russia case figures about his work, suggesting Kavalec’s notes of his meeting contained some “fairly odd things” and that Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s account of an interview with him was at times inaccurate.
“All I know is they got some of it wrong,” Steele said of the IG report.
As for senior Justice Department official Bruce Ohr’s account of one of their meetings, Steele added: “I think Bruce Ohr has misreported it ... or misremembered it.”
He also revealed that one piece of anti-Trump information he obtained in 2016 — a since-debunked claim that Trump secretly may have communicated with Russia through a computer server at the Alfa Bank — didn’t come from a Russian intelligence source but rather was brought to his attention by one of the lawyers at Perkins Coie.
And Steele divulged he paid some of his sources of information as much as $3,000 to $5,000 a month, prompting the lawyers for the plaintiffs to ask whether that might have compromised some of the information he got.
“So they had a financial incentive to feed you stuff that was interesting, right?” a lawyer asked.
“Yes, that is true,” Steele answered. “But they were paid also to do other project work.” Steele added he didn’t think his sources would mislead him because they could be terminated if they did so.
Steele also told the court that most of his emails and other documents related to the dossier were destroyed by early January 2017 after he completed the project.
The British lawsuit is being brought under the Data Protection Act of 1998 by three international businessmen from Russia, arising out of the processing of their personal data in the Steele dossier.


bonginoreport--2020-04-29--At Least 20% of U.S. Coronavirus Deaths Have Been in Nursing Homes

A few days ago the World Health Organization ’ s European regional director garnered global headlines by providing a grim statistic that pinpoints the ground zero in this coronavirus pandemic .
More than half of the COVID-19 deaths in Europe have occurred in long-term care or nursing home facilities .
It is “ an unimaginable human tragedy , ” Dr. Hans Kluge declared .
Europe is not alone .
At least one in five deaths recorded in the United States so far has occurred in nursing homes or long-term care facilities and experts believe that percentage may grow substantially .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the leading health nonprofits in America , reported late last week that 27 percent of the COVID-19 deaths in the 23 states that report fatalities publicly by location have occurred in nursing homes and long-term facilities .
In six of those states — Delaware , Massachusetts , Oregon , Pennsylvania , Colorado and Utah — the percentage of coronavirus deaths in nursing homes was over 50 percent of total deaths , the foundation reported .
“ The individuals that reside in long-term care facilities are among the most vulnerable in the US to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ these facilities and residents ’ underlying poor health , ” Kaiser warned .
The disproportionate death toll in long-term care facilities is shining a painful light both on how poorly prepared these facilities were for a lethal outbreak and how the drastic measures since taken to stem the tide — including a ban on family visits — are creating isolation in the final days of victims ’ lives .
“ They are no longer getting their emotional and physical support that such visits provide , ” Kluge said .
“ Sometimes residents face @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dr. Max Arella , a Quebec-based virologist and molecular biologist studying coronavirus for decades , told Just the News that in Canada some nursing homes have had 40 % or more of their residents infected .
“ From the start everyone was responding as if this were a normal influenza virus and with the aging population and underlying conditions whether it is diabetes , rheumatoid arthritis or cancer patients it is hard to practice social distancing , ” he said .
“ Everyone failed from the start .
The Chinese and the World @ @ @ @ @ @ @ international , regional and national levels leaders failed , ” he said .
” There are sometimes two or more people in one room so if a healthcare provider goes from bed to bed or the patients play cards the virus spreads .
Not recognizing what this was and responding early was a major issue.
” The first U.S. nursing home coronavirus case identified was in late February in King ’ s County in the state of Washington .
As subsequent cases were reported , the Centers for Disease Control ( CDC ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ large quantities of viral RNA in asymptomatic , pre-symptomatic , and symptomatic residents , and recommended that “ all residents should be placed on isolation precautions if possible.
” In New York .
where the coronavirus numbers continue to climb , coronavirus patients in hospitals were returning to nursing homes because a New York state mandate required nursing homes to accept patients recovering from COVID-19 even if they were still contagious .
The March 25 New York Department of Health ’ s advisory to nursing home administrators and hospital discharge planners bears Gov @ @ @ @ @ @ @ states : ” No resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the nursing home solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19.
” Over 100 residents and employees at Hayward , California 's Gateway Care and Rehabilitation Center have been infected .
Gateway is one of 250 nursing homes in California that have been hit with the virus .
As the number of patients have become infected and perished with Gateway ’ s history of past state violations , the district attorney ’ s office has opened a criminal investigation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ repeatedly declined comment .
Last week The Washington Post reported that at least 255 nursing homes in the District of Columbia , Maryland and Virginia had cases of the virus , nearly double the number from two weeks earlier .
More than 2,000 residents and workers have now been infected .
Although Lombardy , Italy ’ s reputation for healthcare was widely recognized as one of the best in Europe , it turned out to be the hardest hit-region in one of the hardest-hit countries .
Of Italy ’ s 100,000 plus COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 70 % of that total .
Almost one-sixth of Italy ’ s 60 million residents live in Lombardy which includes Milan and the industrial heartland .
Lombardy has more people over 65 than any other Italian region and houses 20 % of the country ’ s nursing homes .
Italy closed its borders with China on Jan. 31 and its first case was reported on Feb. 21 .
Shortly thereafter the numbers started to explode , and the Rome-based national government locked down Lombardy on March 7 , although the factories remained open @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that all but essential production was stopped .
By April 7 the Lombardy doctor ’ s association issued a letter to regional authorities listing seven “ errors ” in their response to the virus which resonated with what is found in nursing homes in America , including lack of protective equipment and gear and lack of data about the contagion .
What this has meant for family members on the outside who can not visit their loved ones on the inside is a sense of worry and anxiety as the separation continues .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ God to live in community while one of our purposes is to share in others ’ joys , concerns , and losses , ” said Pastor Paul Teske , a retired Navy Chaplain and former minister of a church in Westport , Conn. “ Part of the current social dilemmas of isolating those in nursing care facilities is creating deeper emotional issues of guilt and closure for their loved ones while facing death . ''

A few days ago the World Health Organization’s European regional director garnered global headlines by providing a grim statistic that pinpoints the ground zero in this coronavirus pandemic.
More than half of the COVID-19 deaths in Europe have occurred in long-term care or nursing home facilities. It is “an unimaginable human tragedy,” Dr. Hans Kluge declared.
Europe is not alone. At least one in five deaths recorded in the United States so far has occurred in nursing homes or long-term care facilities and experts believe that percentage may grow substantially.
The Kaiser Family Foundation, one of the leading health nonprofits in America, reported late last week that 27 percent of the COVID-19 deaths in the 23 states that report fatalities publicly by location have occurred in nursing homes and long-term facilities.
In six of those states — Delaware, Massachusetts, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Colorado and Utah — the percentage of coronavirus deaths in nursing homes was over 50 percent of total deaths, the foundation reported.
“The individuals that reside in long-term care facilities are among the most vulnerable in the US to this virus, given occupation density of these facilities and residents’ underlying poor health,” Kaiser warned.
The disproportionate death toll in long-term care facilities is shining a painful light both on how poorly prepared these facilities were for a lethal outbreak and how the drastic measures since taken to stem the tide — including a ban on family visits — are creating isolation in the final days of victims’ lives.
“They are no longer getting their emotional and physical support that such visits provide,” Kluge said. “Sometimes residents face the threat of abuse and neglect.”
Dr. Max Arella, a Quebec-based virologist and molecular biologist studying coronavirus for decades, told Just the News that in Canada some nursing homes have had 40% or more of their residents infected.
“From the start everyone was responding as if this were a normal influenza virus and with the aging population and underlying conditions whether it is diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis or cancer patients it is hard to practice social distancing,” he said.
“Everyone failed from the start. The Chinese and the World Health Organization failed and even at the international, regional and national levels leaders failed,” he said. ”There are sometimes two or more people in one room so if a healthcare provider goes from bed to bed or the patients play cards the virus spreads. Not recognizing what this was and responding early was a major issue.”
The first U.S. nursing home coronavirus case identified was in late February in King’s County in the state of Washington. As subsequent cases were reported, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued an indication of their findings that large quantities of viral RNA in asymptomatic, pre-symptomatic, and symptomatic residents, and recommended that “all residents should be placed on isolation precautions if possible.”
In New York. where the coronavirus numbers continue to climb, coronavirus patients in hospitals were returning to nursing homes because a New York state mandate required nursing homes to accept patients recovering from COVID-19 even if they were still contagious.
The March 25 New York Department of Health’s advisory to nursing home administrators and hospital discharge planners bears Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s name and states: ”No resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the nursing home solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19.”
Over 100 residents and employees at Hayward, California's Gateway Care and Rehabilitation Center have been infected. Gateway is one of 250 nursing homes in California that have been hit with the virus.
As the number of patients have become infected and perished with Gateway’s history of past state violations, the district attorney’s office has opened a criminal investigation. The facility’s owners have repeatedly declined comment.
Last week The Washington Post reported that at least 255 nursing homes in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia had cases of the virus, nearly double the number from two weeks earlier. More than 2,000 residents and workers have now been infected.
Although Lombardy, Italy’s reputation for healthcare was widely recognized as one of the best in Europe, it turned out to be the hardest hit-region in one of the hardest-hit countries. Of Italy’s 100,000 plus COVID-19 fatalities Lombardy’s official toll represents 70% of that total.
Almost one-sixth of Italy’s 60 million residents live in Lombardy which includes Milan and the industrial heartland. Lombardy has more people over 65 than any other Italian region and houses 20% of the country’s nursing homes.
Italy closed its borders with China on Jan. 31 and its first case was reported on Feb. 21. Shortly thereafter the numbers started to explode, and the Rome-based national government locked down Lombardy on March 7, although the factories remained open. It was not until March 26 that all but essential production was stopped.
By April 7 the Lombardy doctor’s association issued a letter to regional authorities listing seven “errors” in their response to the virus which resonated with what is found in nursing homes in America, including lack of protective equipment and gear and lack of data about the contagion.
What this has meant for family members on the outside who cannot visit their loved ones on the inside is a sense of worry and anxiety as the separation continues.
“I believe people are designed by God to live in community while one of our purposes is to share in others’ joys, concerns, and losses,” said Pastor Paul Teske, a retired Navy Chaplain and former minister of a church in Westport, Conn. “Part of the current social dilemmas of isolating those in nursing care facilities is creating deeper emotional issues of guilt and closure for their loved ones while facing death."


bonginoreport--2020-04-29--Senate Dems Demand Free Money for DACA Students

A group of nearly 30 Senate Democrats is calling on the Department of Education to allow college students who entered the country unlawfully obtain coronavirus aid provided by the federal government .
Twenty-eight Democratic senators on Monday demanded the Trump administration “ reverse ” a decision to bar college students enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals ( DACA ) program from receiving financial assistance from the coronavirus rescue package .
The $ 2.2 trillion Cares Act , passed in March to help Americans struggling under the coronavirus lockdown , allocated $ 6 billion in financial aid for students @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Education Department is not providing funds to illegal alien students — including those in the DACA program .
Senate Democrats said the administration was “ unauthorized ” to make this decision in a letter addressed to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos .
“ This decision unnecessarily harms students in need , and contradicts clear Congressional intent and the plain language of the CARES Act , ” the lawmakers wrote .
“ We expect you to comply with the intent of the CARES Act and reverse this unauthorized decision immediately.
” ( RELATED : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Former ICE Chief Says A Biden Victory Would Lead To ‘ Chaos ’ At The Border ) It continued : “ These students should not be excluded from critical emergency financial aid .
Indeed , those who are especially vulnerable to economic hardship are exactly whom these funds were designed to help.
” Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet , who launched a failed 2020 bid for his party ’ s presidential nomination , and New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez led the group of 26 other lawmakers in requesting the administration reverse its decision @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the country struggle to deal with the public health and economic consequences of the COVID-19 emergency , we must work together to help all students in need , regardless of immigration status , ” the letter concluded .
“ We , again , urge you to immediately reverse your decision to exclude DACA recipients from CARES Act emergency financial aid grants to students.
” This is far from the first time Democratic lawmakers have called on the government to provide coronavirus assistance to those who entered the United States illegally .
Fifty House @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their support to the Leave No Taxpayer Behind Act which , if passed into law , would allow illegal aliens to tap into the funds provided by the CARES Act .
Democratic leaders in Chicago and Minneapolis have also allocated state funds for those living unlawfully in the country .
California Gov .
Gavin Newsom announced earlier in April that his administration will hand out $ 125 million in coronavirus assistance to roughly 150,000 illegal alien adults living in the state , and he has already established a fund for businesses run by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ DACA program — which the White House is trying to terminate — rests in the hands of the Supreme Court , with a decision expected sometime in the summer .
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience .
For licensing opportunities of our original content , please contact licensing @ dailycallernewsfoundation.org .

A group of nearly 30 Senate Democrats is calling on the Department of Education to allow college students who entered the country unlawfully obtain coronavirus aid provided by the federal government.
Twenty-eight Democratic senators on Monday demanded the Trump administration “reverse” a decision to bar college students enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program from receiving financial assistance from the coronavirus rescue package.
The $2.2 trillion Cares Act, passed in March to help Americans struggling under the coronavirus lockdown, allocated $6 billion in financial aid for students through the Education Department. However, the Education Department is not providing funds to illegal alien students — including those in the DACA program.
Senate Democrats said the administration was “unauthorized” to make this decision in a letter addressed to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.
“This decision unnecessarily harms students in need, and contradicts clear Congressional intent and the plain language of the CARES Act,” the lawmakers wrote. “We expect you to comply with the intent of the CARES Act and reverse this unauthorized decision immediately.” (RELATED: ‘Every American Should Be Afraid’: Former ICE Chief Says A Biden Victory Would Lead To ‘Chaos’ At The Border)
It continued: “These students should not be excluded from critical emergency financial aid. Indeed, those who are especially vulnerable to economic hardship are exactly whom these funds were designed to help.”
Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, who launched a failed 2020 bid for his party’s presidential nomination, and New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez led the group of 26 other lawmakers in requesting the administration reverse its decision.
“As students and families across the country struggle to deal with the public health and economic consequences of the COVID-19 emergency, we must work together to help all students in need, regardless of immigration status,” the letter concluded. “We, again, urge you to immediately reverse your decision to exclude DACA recipients from CARES Act emergency financial aid grants to students.”
This is far from the first time Democratic lawmakers have called on the government to provide coronavirus assistance to those who entered the United States illegally.
Fifty House Democrats, for example, have given their support to the Leave No Taxpayer Behind Act which, if passed into law, would allow illegal aliens to tap into the funds provided by the CARES Act. Democratic leaders in Chicago and Minneapolis have also allocated state funds for those living unlawfully in the country.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced earlier in April that his administration will hand out $125 million in coronavirus assistance to roughly 150,000 illegal alien adults living in the state, and he has already established a fund for businesses run by undocumented immigrants.
The fate of the DACA program — which the White House is trying to terminate — rests in the hands of the Supreme Court, with a decision expected sometime in the summer.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.