Monday, Sept. 7

á           Labor Day. No news to report.

Tuesday, Sept. 8

á           Carolyn Maloney, chairwoman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, launched an investigation into Postmaster General Louis DeJoy following reports that he violated campaign finance law by illegally reimbursing former employees for political contributions. Maloney urged DeJoyÕs immediate suspension.

á           The United States expanded its sanctions on Lebanon by blacklisting former transport and finance ministers Yusuf Finyanus and Ali Hassan Khalil, accusing them of providing financial and material help to the Iran-backed Shia Islamist political party Hezbollah. ÒCorruption has run rampant in Lebanon, and Hizballah [sic] has exploited the political system to spread its malign influence,Ó Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.

á           At a rally in North Carolina, President Donald Trump said it would be an insult if Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris were to become president. ÒYou know what? People don't like her. Nobody likes her,Ó Trump said. ÒShe could never be the first woman president, she could never be.Ó

á           The Justice Department asked to move a case in which former Elle magazine advice columnist E. Jean Carroll accused Trump of raping her before he was president from state court to federal court, and sought to replace TrumpÕs private legal team with its own lawyers.

Wednesday, Sept. 9

á           The U.S. revoked visas for more than 1,000 Chinese nationals following TrumpÕs May 29 proclamation suspending Chinese students and researchers that Homeland Security claims have Òties to China's military fusion strategyÓ from entering the U.S.

Thursday, Sept. 10

á           Brian Murphy, a former Homeland Security deputy under-secretary for intelligence, filed a whistleblower complaint saying top officials within the department directed him to suppress facts in intelligence reports that Trump might find objectionable like Russian election interference and the white supremacist threat in the country. Instead, Murphy said he was instructed to report on potential political interference posed by China and Iran and to construe left-wing activist groups as threatening.

á           Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged diplomats from Southeast Asia to cut ties with Chinese companies assisting in the construction of islands in the South China Sea as part of a U.S. campaign ramping up tensions with China. ÒDon't let the Chinese Communist party walk over us and our people,Ó Pompeo said.

á           The Treasury Department blacklisted three Russian nationals and a Ukrainian parliament member who it claims are trying to influence the U.S. electoral process. ÒRussia uses a variety of proxies to attempt to sow discord between political parties and drive internal divisions to influence voters as part of MoscowÕs broader efforts to undermine democratic countries and institutions,Ó a Treasury statement read.

á           Federal law enforcement agencies charged 57 people with stealing $175 million from the Paycheck Protection Program and identified 500 more who may have also defrauded the $660 billion coronavirus relief program.

á           In a new book, journalist Bob Woodward revealed he taped a series of interviews with Trump in March in which Trump admitted to downplaying the threat of the coronavirus even though he was aware of how serious it is. Trump dismissed the revelation, taking to Twitter to say, ÒBob Woodward had my quotes for many months. If he thought they were so bad or dangerous, why didnÕt he immediately report them in an effort to save lives? DidnÕt he have an obligation to do so? No, because he knew they were good and proper answers. Calm, no panic!Ó

á           The New York District Court rejected the Trump administrationÕs attempts to prevent undocumented immigrants from being counted in the 2020 census.

á           The Trump administration charged Russian national Artem Mikhaylovich Lifshits with being part of a Russian effort to interfere in U.S. elections since at least 2014 in an initiative known as Project Lakhta, in which he served as a translation manager.

Friday, Sept. 11

á           Senate Democrats blocked a diluted new coronavirus relief bill that Republicans put together following a month-long vacation in the middle of the pandemic. The $300 billion bill was far short of the $3 trillion in response demanded by the Democrats.

á           The Trump administration formally proposed an expansion of its biological information collection effort to include the DNA and other biometric data not only of detained migrants but of others. The proposal would also include collection beyond genetic material such eye scans, voiceprints and palm prints.

á           China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced it would impose Òreciprocal restrictionsÓ on U.S. embassy and consulate staff in Beijing and Hong Kong in response to restrictions imposed on Chinese officials in the U.S., explaining it as a way to Òurge the US to repeal its wrong decisions as soon as possible.Ó

Saturday, Sept. 12

á           Vice President Mike Pence cancelled plans to attend a Trump campaign fundraiser in Montana after it was revealed that the eventÕs host was a supporter of QAnon, an increasingly prominent conspiracy theory that posits U.S. leaders and celebrities are part of a sex trafficking cabal of pedophiles.

Sunday, Sept. 13

á           A whistleblower complaint against Immigration and Customs Enforcement alleged that women held in detention centers underwent hysterectomies without their consent among other cases of Òjarring medical neglect.Ó

á           A border patrol official announced that about 8,800 unaccompanied children have been expelled from the U.S. along the Mexico border since March under a Trump measure that effectively ended granting asylum to such refugees. Over 159,000 people have been expelled overall.

á           Trump released an order to require pharmaceutical companies to tie their drug prices to those paid by countries with national healthcare systems. Drugmakers decried the order, though it could make medications more affordable.