3 Stories You Should Read 4/24/2019: Trump, Boy Scouts, Russian Election Interference

April 24, 2019 Confluence

Reading Time: 2 minutes

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In the category of: Truth hurts.

Don’t tell Donald Trump about Russia’s election interference!

“But in a meeting this year, Mick Mulvaney, the White House chief of staff, made it clear that Mr. Trump still equated any public discussion of malign Russian election activity with questions about the legitimacy of his victory. According to one senior administration official, Mr. Mulvaney said it ‘wasn’t a great subject and should be kept below his level.'”

So. The broad and deep attempt by Russia to influence our last presidential election — to aid Trump and hurt Hillary Clinton — can’t be brought up in front of the President because he can’t differentiate between that interference and those who question his legitimacy as president. And because of Trump’s views, and because he is purposely kept o

ut of the loop on the issue, it’s difficult for top aides (in this case former Department of Homeland Security boss Kirstjen Nielsen) to get people within the administration to take future threats seriously.

Sure! This is all fine! Nothing to see here, folks!

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In the category: About those camping trips…

Nearly 8,000 Alleged Child Abusers Identified In Boy Scouts’ Files, Review Finds

The BSA also reported 12,254 alleged victims within its organization dating back

An expert hired by the Boy Scouts of America to review allegations of child sexual abuse within the organization identified 7,819 alleged abusers among its leaders and volunteers dating back to 1944, according to a newly released court document.

Of the files examined over five years, 12,254 alleged victims were identified, Dr. Janet Warren, a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia’s medical school, testified in late January.

“They’re called ineligible volunteer files and these are files that [the BSA] created. Individuals who have had their registration with the Boy Scouts revoked because of reasonable allegations of child sexual abuse,” Warren told the court.

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In the category of: Convoluted twists and turns of law

Trump Is Now in Open Defiance of Congress

The White House’s stonewalling leaves Democrats facing a new dilemma.

Even the announcement was delayed as long as possible.

It has seemed likely since before Democrats won the House of Representatives in November, promising to demand President Donald Trump’s tax returns, that the White House would refuse to hand the documents over without a fight. But after weeks of dickering and assurances that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was considering the legality of the request, the White House finally said, with just hours to go, that it would not produce the documents by the Tuesday deadline set by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal.

Also on Tuesday, a former White House official in charge of security clearances did not appear to testify to the House Oversight Committee, after the administration instructed him not to comply with a subpoena. Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings said he’d move to hold the former official, Carl Kline, in contempt of Congress. The Washington Post also reported that Trump would fight a subpoena calling former White House Counsel Don McGahn to testify. And on Monday, the White House filed a lawsuit against Cummings and his own accounting firm to try to block the firm, Mazars USA, from handing over information about Trump’s finances.

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