Week 120: May 5-11

Mnuchin finally formally refused to hand over Trump’s tax returns to Congress, citing legal precedent that Congress can only request it for a legislative purpose.

Hundreds of former federal prosecutors signed a letter that said Mueller had enough evidence to charge Trump with obstruction: “All of this conduct — trying to control and impede the investigation against the President by leveraging his authority over others — is similar to conduct we have seen charged against other public officials and people in powerful positions.”
It was posted on Monday with over 300 signatories. By the weekend it was up to 802.

The New York Times obtained copies of Trump’s tax returns from 1985-1994: The numbers show that in 1985, Mr. Trump reported losses of $46.1 million from his core businesses — largely casinos, hotels and retail space in apartment buildings. They continued to lose money every year, totaling $1.17 billion in losses for the decade.

In order to force Europeans “to compensate for the unilateral American sanctions” they declared that they will no longer comply with two aspects of the Iran Nuclear Deal, rebuilding its stockpile of enriched uranium and resuming construction on a nuclear reactor.

The Judiciary Committee voted to hold Barr in contempt.

The Senate Intelligence Committee, led by Burr, issued the first subpoena for a Trump family member, Don Jr. The New York Times reports why they want to speak with him: The committee is particularly interested in the younger Mr. Trump’s account of the events surrounding the Trump Tower meeting — as well as his role in his father’s efforts to build a skyscraper in Moscow — and comparing the testimony to his previous answers to Senate investigators in 2017. The subpoena was issued in mid April. Republicans senators who face primary challenges next year are attacking Burr’s move, while others are supporting him.

Giuliani is traveling to Ukraine to persuade the incoming president not to replace the prosecutor who is investigating if Ukraine released documents about Manafort’s Ukraine dealings during the 2016 election. He he also hopes to pursue evidence that Joe Biden tried to persuade a Ukrainian prosecutor to back off of an investigation of a business that his son Hunter worked for. By the end of the weak, he said the trip is off.

Trump Job Approval: 42.4%