WASHINGTON — The Mar-a-Lago documents controversy continues this week. It was revealed that unnamed foreign nations (Iran) had accessed the documents. Russia France? Israel?) Nuclear secrets were among the files at Trump’s Florida resort.
This was an already grave situation. National security experts called this latest revelation a “gamechanger” because it increased U.S. vulnerability.
The Washington Post reported last month about the FBI looking for documents related to nukes. Trump responded on social media that “Nuclear Weapons Issue is a hoax just like Russia,” Russia was a hoax and two impeachments were a hoax. The Mueller investigation was also a hoax. Same sleazy people involved.”
Trump won this week’s legal dispute over documents, many of which are highly classified and found at Mar-a-Lago.
Aileen M. Cannon, Judge in the Southern District of Florida and Trump’s appointee granted Trump his request for a special master or independent arbiter to review records from Mar-a-Lago.
The special master was also granted expansive power by her, allowing her to determine whether certain documents are protected by attorney-client privilege or whether executive privilege could protect them. This also applies to communications between Trump’s advisers and him when he was president.
Cannon is yet to choose a candidate for the position. The Justice Department will appeal Cannon’s decision.
The involvement of a special master to review the documents will likely slow down the Justice Department’s investigation into this case.
The economy of Minnesota slowed down a little, but the inflation also slowed down.
This week’s Federal Reserve Bank report showed that the Ninth District, which is located in Minneapolis, had slightly less economic activity than July when it issued its last report.
Federal Reserve stated that employment grew moderately in the past report. “Wage pressures were high as labor demand remained strong and labor availability was still tight.
The central bank stated that one thing is keeping labor costs high is the inability to afford childcare.
The Ninth District includes Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota as well as the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and northwestern Wisconsin.
Inflation showed signs of slowing, as in 12 of the Federal Reserve’s districts.
In an effort to reduce inflation, the central bank has been raising interest rates steadily. It is on a tightrope as the cost of borrowing money for businesses and consumers could rise to the point that the country could fall into recession. Higher interest rates have already made mortgages more expensive and had an adverse effect on the real estate market.
For each of its eight annual reports, the central bank surveys businesses, economists, and market specialists. It also stated that “an index of regional manufacturing conditions indicated an increase in activity in Minnesota, South Dakota, and other states.”
“Consumer spending was flat overall, with contacts reporting a wide range of conditions. Residential construction and real property declined while commercial construction was flat. Although agricultural conditions improved modestly, some areas of the district were still threatened by drought. The new report stated that mixed reports were received from women-owned businesses and minority-owned enterprises.
According to the Federal Reserve, there are also “distilleries and wineries” in southern Minnesota.
According to the report, sales of cars, trucks and other recreational vehicles has slowed in recent years, with lower demand and continuing inventory shortages playing a part.
U.S. The U.S. Senate could soon pass legislation to protect same-sex married couples
The U.S. Senate could soon approve its version the Respect for Marriage Act. This bill would allow someone to be considered married in any state provided that the marriage is legal in that state. This legislation protects interracial and same-sex marriages.
The Senate was unable to approve the bill due to the 50-50 split of the Senate and frequent deployments of the filibuster. This requires that all Senate bills receive at least 60 votes in order for them to pass.
Sens. But Sens. The senators will introduce amendments to ensure that religious institutions and religious business owners have the right to oppose same-sex marriage, as well as other matters considered to be a “religious liberty rights”, in order to win the support they need.
The House approved the Respect for Marriage Act with the “yes” votes from 47 Republicans, including Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), in July This was in response to Roe v. Wade being overturned by the Supreme Court.
Justice Clarence Thomas concurred in his opinion that the high court should review previous rulings that allowed married couples to use contraception freely without restriction (Griswold v. Connecticut), same sex relationships (Lawrence v. Texas), and marriage equality (Obergefell v. Hodges.)
A volatile midterm
This week, Washington also saw the final unveiling of the official portraits for former President Barack Obama (finally) and former First Lady Michelle Obama.
With the House still in recess, and Washington slowly returning to normal after August vacations I have had time to reflect on the country’s politics and midterm campaigns. All indicators show that voters are angry, and it will be volatile general elections.
Labor Day marks the beginning of the fall sprint towards November’s midterms. Outside groups, which often don’t reveal their donors, have already spent more than $640million – more than twice the amount spent during the 2018 midterm cycle. This doesn’t include the many millions of dollars that political parties spend.
Advertising that aims to increase voter anger will receive a lot of the money. The anger is not just bipartisan. Democrats are angry that GOP appointees to the Supreme Court reversed Roe and that Trump brought classified documents home from Florida. Republicans are angry that they don’t control the White House anymore and bristle at almost everything the ruling Democrats do.
Yes, voters have been angry in the past. However, I worry that this year will be a record year of voter discontent. Unchecked emotions rarely lead to good political decisions.
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