On Politics: New Details on Whistle-Blower’s Complaint

2019年9月20日星期五

SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

Good Friday morning. Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today.

New details emerged Thursday about a potentially explosive complaint, made by a whistle-blower in the intelligence community, that is said to involve President Trump — and that is still shrouded in mystery. The complaint was not just related to a single discussion with a foreign leader, as was suggested in an initial report by The Washington Post, but rather involves a series of actions, according to interviews.

The president's legal team is trying to block a subpoena seeking his tax returns by claiming in a lawsuit that any criminal investigation of Mr. Trump is unconstitutional.
Mr. Trump has threatened to order "the ultimate option" of a strike on Iran after attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities, but also has emphasized his opposition to another war.
For the past 50 years, the United States has trained and supplied the Saudi military, selling more than $150 billion in high-tech weapons, including fighter jets and air defense systems. And yet, the kingdom could not protect a prized asset: its oil installations.

"No, we're not moving on anything," Mr. Trump said this week, when asked by a Fox News reporter if the White House was preparing to roll out gun control proposals.

The Education Department has ordered Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to remake their Middle East studies program, as Education Secretary Betsy DeVos searches for perceived anti-Israel bias in higher education.

In the Democratic primary, there have been clashes over the Obama administration's policies. But even liberal voters who admire the former president prefer to look to the future.

Facing mounting criticism for blocking proposals to bolster election security, Senator Mitch McConnell backed an infusion of $250 million to help states guard against outside interference in the 2020 voting.