You might have heard, but there are some tensions boiling within the Democratic Party right now, as the establishment center and progressive left wing have struggled to see eye to eye on a number of issues. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wants to make sure that doesn't continue if she's elected president next year.
The New York Times reports that Warren, who generally espouses progressive views that often lean a little further to the left from the mainstream Democratic Party, is working overtime to bring the party's insiders over to her side and convince them her ideas aren't too fringe to unseat President Trump in the general election.
Warren is reportedly signaling to party leaders that she has no intention of staging a "political revolution," but instead wants to inject new life into the Democratic National Committee and help the party take back the Senate and retain the House. In short, she wants them to know she's a team player.
The Times reports that Warren is also attempting to make it clear within the party that she doesn't want there to be a competing power base — that is, between moderates and progressives — if she does assume office. The senator was even one of the first Democratic candidates to sign a pledge last month promising not to create any parallel political or organizing infrastructure that would compete with the Democratic Party on a national or state level going forward. Read more at The New York Times. Tim O'Donnell
President Trump on Sunday said The New York Times' report on his tax returns is "totally fake news."
The Times obtained tax return data extending for more than two decades, which shows Trump has largely avoided paying taxes because he reported losing substantially more than he made. Trump was asked about the Times' report during a press conference, and he responded, "Actually, I pay taxes. You'll see that as soon as my tax returns, they're under audit, they've been under audit for a long time." He went on to accuse the Internal Revenue Service of treating him "very, very badly," adding that he will be "proud to show" his returns once they are no longer being audited.
The IRS audits every sitting president's returns, and has said individuals are allowed to make their tax returns public while an audit is being conducted. Catherine Garcia
The New York Times has obtained tax return data for President Trump covering more than two decades, which shows that Trump paid only $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017 and paid no federal income taxes in 10 of the last 15 years, primarily because he reported losing more money than he made.
Trump has not made his tax filings public, and the information made its way to the Times via sources with legal access to it. The filings contain information Trump disclosed to the Internal Revenue Service, but do not reveal his net worth. Trump has said his tax returns aren't as important as the annual financial disclosures he must submit as president, and comparing the two, the Times found that in 2018, Trump put in his disclosure he made at least $434.9 million, while the tax records show he incurred $47.4 million in losses.
During Trump's first two years in the White House, he received $73 million from overseas operations. Most of this came from his golf properties in Ireland and Scotland, but it also included millions in licensing fees: $3 million from the Philippines, $2.3 million from India, and $1 million from Turkey. In 2017, the same year he paid $750 in U.S. income taxes, Trump paid $156,824 in taxes in the Philippines and $145,000 in taxes in India, the Times reports.
The tax returns show that since 2010, Trump has failed to pay back $287 million to lenders, and within the next four years, more than $300 million in loans that he is personally responsible for will come due. Trump Tower in Manhattan is what is helping keep Trump afloat, the Times reports — the retail and commercial space has delivered $336.3 million in profits since 2000.
Alan Garten, a lawyer for the Trump Organization, told the Times "most, if not all, of the facts appear to be inaccurate" in the newspaper's report, adding that over the last decade, Trump "has paid tens of millions of dollars in personal taxes to the federal government, including paying millions in personal taxes since announcing his candidacy in 2015." The Times notes when Garten says "personal taxes," he seems to be conflating income taxes with other federal taxes Trump has paid, like Medicare and Social Security. Read more at The New York Times. Catherine Garcia
While Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee reportedly do not intend to boycott the confirmation hearing for President Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, the party's senators will likely do whatever they can to slow the process, Politico reports.
Some of the tactics available for Democrats, who believe Republicans set a precedent for blocking Supreme Court nominations in the lead up to a presidential election in 2016, that Politico lists include: invoking the "two-hour" rule — which Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has already done — slowing down legislative business, objecting to recess, denying a quorum, raising points of order, enlisting the aid of the Democratic-controlled House, and delaying the final committee vote. Politico goes into more detail about each tactic here.
Politico also reports that there is broad, overwhelming support for pulling out all the stops among Democrats, including those, like Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.), who face tough re-elections and may get pulled off the campaign trail during a potentially lengthy process, as well as typically more conservative lawmakers like Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.).
Jones accused Republicans of a "power grab," so even though Democrats don't have the votes to block the confirmation, "you do what you can to call attention to it." As Manchin put it, since "we don't do anything around here anyway, we've got plenty of time to do meetings." Read more at Politico. Tim O'Donnell