Monday, Sept. 17

á           Senate Republicans delayed a Judiciary Committee vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh that had been scheduled for Thursday and instead set a public hearing for Monday, Sept. 24, when both Kavanaugh and the woman who has accused him of sexual assault, Christine Blasey Ford, could testify about the alleged assault. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/kavanaugh-accuser-willing-to-testify-her-lawyer-says/2018/09/17/21db2860-ba6c-11e8-9812-a389be6690af_story.html?utm_term=.75c5db5813db&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1

á           President Donald Trump ordered the Justice Department to declassify significant Russia-related materials, including portions of a secret court order to surveil one of his former campaign advisers, Carter Page, and to release text messages of several former high-level FBI officials, including James B. Comey and Andrew McCabe. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-orders-justice-dept-to-declassify-russia-related-material/2018/09/17/661b7c78-bac1-11e8-9812-a389be6690af_story.html?utm_term=.be03aea95b46

á           Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the Trump administration is slashing the refugee admission limit to no more than 30,000 in the coming fiscal year, the lowest number in decades and only two-thirds of the 45,000 allowed in this year. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-slashes-the-number-of-refugees-it-will-allow-into-the-country/2018/09/17/a26f398a-bac1-11e8-bdc0-90f81cc58c5d_story.html?utm_term=.5313df1b8559

á           Trump announced the United States would begin imposing tariffs on another $200 billion worth of Chinese goods on Sept. 24, on top of the $50 billion worth of products he previously taxed. The new tariffs would impact many consumer products Americans use every day, such as food, clothing and electronics. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/17/us/politics/trump-tariffs-american-factories.html

Tuesday, Sept. 18

á           CNN reported that an investigation by the independent, Yemen-based, human rights group Mwatana details that fragments of U.S.-manufactured bombs were at the scene of a string of incidents since 2015, when the civil war began, in which civilians were killed or put at risk. https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2018/09/world/yemen-airstrikes-intl/index.html

á           In a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Christine Blasey FordÕs lawyers said an FBI investigation of her claims about a decades-old sexual assault by Kavanaugh should be the next step in addressing her allegation before further hearings. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/grassley-says-mondays-hearing-will-be-limited-to-two-witnesses-kavanaugh-and-his-accuser/2018/09/18/301da074-bb48-11e8-a8aa-860695e7f3fc_story.html?utm_term=.0e040411bdf8&wpisrc=al_news__alert-politics--alert-national&wpmk=1

á           The Supreme Court declined to stay a lower courtÕs ruling throwing out the regulation that allowed nonprofit groups to keep their donors secret. The Supreme CourtÕs decision to let the ruling stand could affect fundraising for the mid-term elections. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/political-nonprofits-must-now-name-many-of-their-donors-under-federal-court-ruling-after-supreme-court-declines-to-intervene/2018/09/18/851ea210-bb72-11e8-9812-a389be6690af_story.html?utm_term=.a19cf86527da

Wednesday, Sept. 19

á           CNN reported that Walmart, Ace Hardware, Joann Fabrics and Target had lobbied the administration not to impose MondayÕs tariffs against imported Chinese goods: ÒThe immediate impact will be to raise prices on consumers and tax American business and manufacturers,Ó Walmart said in a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. https://money.cnn.com/2018/09/19/news/companies/walmart-tariffs-trump-china/index.html

á           Bloomberg reported that the Justice Department, FBI and Office of the Director of National Intelligence are expected to propose redactions to the Òimmediate declassificationÓ of sensitive materials about the Russia investigation, ordered Monday by Trump. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-19/fbi-doj-said-to-plan-redactions-despite-trump-s-document-order

Thursday, Sept. 20

á           The Wall Street Journal reported that Secretary of State Pompeo backed continued U.S. military support for Saudi ArabiaÕs war in Yemen over the objections of State Department specialists worried about the rising civilian death toll. Pompeo was worried that an aid cutoff could jeopardize $2 billion in weapons sales to AmericaÕs Gulf allies. https://www.politico.com/story/2018/09/20/hill-sexual-harassment-victims-misconduct-bill-831635?nname=playbook-pm&nid=0000015a-dd3e-d536-a37b-dd7fd8af0000&nrid=00000158-890d-dfd4-ad7b-c96fadf30001&nlid=964328

á           On Twitter, Trump urged congressional Republicans to Òget toughÓ about funding his border wall by threatening a government shutdown on Oct. 1, just over a month before mid-term elections. https://www.politico.com/story/2018/09/20/trump-shutdown-midterms-kavanaugh-830986?nname=playbook-pm&nid=0000015a-dd3e-d536-a37b-dd7fd8af0000&nrid=00000158-890d-dfd4-ad7b-c96fadf30001&nlid=964328

á           On Twitter Ed Whelan, a friend of Brett Kavanaugh, identified a home he said could have been the site of the party at which Ford alleged Kavanaugh assaulted her. Whelan also named and posted photographs of another classmate, not Kavanaugh, he suggested could be responsible for the assault. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gop-vows-to-move-ahead-with-kavanaugh-vote-if-his-accuser-doesnt-testify-monday/2018/09/20/a7132ee8-bcf5-11e8-8792-78719177250f_story.html?utm_term=.094d4997cd98&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1

Friday, Sept. 21

á           Trump reversed his order earlier this week to declassify information in the ongoing probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, saying Justice Department officials and others had persuaded him not to do so for the time being. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-walks-back-his-plan-to-declassify-russia-probe-documents/2018/09/21/79d95f94-bdac-11e8-8792-78719177250f_story.html?utm_term=.e9c74a0bb2e1&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1

á           ÒI made an appalling and inexcusable mistake of judgment in posting the tweet thread in a way that identified KavanaughÕs Georgetown Prep classmate,Ó tweeted Ed Whelan about his tweet the previous day. Whelan also said he did not communicate with Kavanaugh or the White House about his theory of a different individual who assaulted Ford. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/kavanaugh-ally-says-he-did-not-communicate-with-white-house-or-supreme-court-nominee-about-theory-of-another-attacker/2018/09/21/88335f1a-bdaa-11e8-b7d2-0773aa1e33da_story.html?utm_term=.14afc8c0a5da

Saturday, Sept. 22

á           A top press adviser helping lead the Senate Judiciary CommitteeÕs messaging on the sexual assault allegation against Kavanaugh, Garrett Ventry, stepped down amid evidence he was fired from a previous political job in part because of a sexual harassment allegation against him. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/spokesman-gop-kavanaugh-nomination-resigns-has-been-accused-harassment-past-n912156

á           Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Dr. Ben Carson told an audience of conservative activists that the sexual assault allegations facing TrumpÕs nominee to the Supreme Court are part of a plot by socialists to take over America that dates back more than a century. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/21/hud-secretary-ben-carson-kavanaugh-allegation-is-part-of-a-socialist-plot.html?__source=sharebar%7Ctwitter&par=sharebar

Sunday, Sept. 23

á           The Senate Judiciary Committee agreed to allow Christine Blasey Ford to testify Thursday about her claim that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers.

á           Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, called for a delay in further consideration of Kavanaugh after a second woman, a classmate at Yale, accused him of exposing himself at a party. https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/as-hearing-on-kavanaugh-assault-allegations-loom-senators-seem-unwilling-to-budge/2018/09/23/99f3fd3e-bf37-11e8-90c9-23f963eea204_story.html?utm_term=.d0bce49f4124