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simonconsultancypage · 4 years

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Guest Post: Directors Beware: More Perils from COVID-19

The coronavirus pandemic poses a host of threats and challenges for every organization. The outbreak also presents a number of serious challenges for boards of directors as well. In the following guest post, Paul Ferrillo, a partner in the McDermott, Will & Emery law firm, considers the challenges that boards are facing and the litigation threats that may arise as a result. I would like to thank Paul for allowing me to publish his article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this blog’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Paul’s article.

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We are writing this article from home this week, principally because NYC is essentially “closed.” No NCAA events. No Madison Square Garden events. Schools are closed and probably for a long time. Museums closed. Stores closing or laying off employees. People getting sick left and right, and dying with far too great a frequency. Our world right now is badly out of alignment.

We have been through this sort of chaos before, and unfortunately “the bad guys” seem to also view the chaos as an opportunity to prey on the innocent. In the last week there have been several significant developments affecting corporations and their directors and officers. Lots of litigation and a bunch of cyber-attacks, both in the private sector and the US government. The old expression “and the hits keep on playing” is truly reflective of things today.

Of course none of us were ready for a pandemic or its potential impact, including litigation effects. Cyber attackers are always a problem, but faking and infecting the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 chart with malware? Totally not cool as people are panicking and looking for updated information constantly on the progression of the virus. See Live Coronavirus Map Used to Spread Malware.

This article is meant to be the primer for directors and officers. What are we seeing? What’s next? And what maybe you can do to help yourself and your company stem the potential tide of litigation. Lastly, we finish with some insurance advice.

Securities Litigation

COVID-19 affects everything. Every business. Every airline. Everybody. The problem for public companies is disclosures, both press releases and periodic filings. Statements are made. Guidance gets published. And then bad things happen.

At least 150 companies have warned investors that earnings will not be good; many have publicly withdrawn guidance. Indeed, two major companies pulled their guidance stating that “the coronavirus pandemic disrupts global trade patterns and economic activity.” For reference, read this article and this article.

Those companies that have attempted to minimize the potential effects of COVID-19 have suffered. One cruise line was recently sued for securities fraud. In the press release, the company said that “despite the current known impact” from the coronavirus outbreak, as of the week ending February 14, 2020, “the Company’s booked position remained ahead of prior year and at higher prices on a comparable basis.” The press release also stated that the company “has an exemplary track record of demonstrating its resilience in challenging environments” and that the company has “proactively implemented several preventive measures to reduce potential exposure and transmission of COVID-19.” Obviously, as COVID-19 spread across the US, and because of other cruise line “failures,” plaintiffs claim the statements made by the company were false and misleading. Potentially damaging emails from customer service agents will help plaintiffs’ scienter allegations.

We expect more of these lawsuits where companies appear to remain confident about their general prospects or the sufficiency of their supply chain, see CEOs: Do Not Misstate Your Coronavirus Supply Chain Difficulties, in the face of dismal news about the economy and the global impacts of COVID-19. Another company was recently sued for promising an actual vaccine. As it turned out, the Company later disclosed that it had only developed a “precursor” to a vaccine. That disclosure caused a huge stock drop and a securities fraud lawsuit to be filed against a firm that promised coronavirus vaccine.

The SEC is in the mix here too monitoring the effects of the virus on business, and providing guidance to issuers on disclosure issues. Chair Jay Clayton recently noted in a public statement:

We recognize that such effects [of COVID-19] may be difficult to assess or predict with meaningful precision both generally and as an industry- or issuer-specific basis. This is an uncertain issue where actual effects will depend on many factors beyond the control and knowledge of issuers. However, how issuers plan for that uncertainty and how they choose to respond to events as they unfold can nevertheless be material to an investment decision.

See Proposed Amendments to Modernize and Enhance Financial Disclosures; Other Ongoing Disclosure Modernization Initiatives; Impact of the Coronavirus; Environmental and Climate-Related Disclosure.

As COVID 19 and its effects march across the US, there will certainly be more securities disclosure developments for businesses to consider.

Our best advice: if you know you are going to be adversely affected by the economic impacts of COVID-19, say so as soon as you know the facts just like the other 150 companies have already reported the business effects of the virus on their company. Otherwise, plaintiffs may attempt to exploit stock drops related to COVID-19 similar to other forms of event driven litigation (see Avoiding Event Driven Litigation through Good Cybersecurity Governance) by framing them as the materialization of a known but previously undisclosed risk that the company was under a duty to warn about. Even if plaintiffs cannot argue that a company failed to predict the impact of COVID-19 in actuality, they could also argue that a company’s past disclosures failed to adequately warn of the risks from other virus or epidemic like events.

More corporate litigation

With any sort of propagated illness or virus, you can expect there will be some sort of personal injury litigation, especially with a pretty standard three-year statute of limitations. Of course, COVID-19 does not disappoint. Several passengers of the Golden Princess have brought suit against the parent company alleging that the company dropped its duties overboard by allowing a sick passenger to board the ship, which later resulted in other passengers getting sick, with the rest being forced to quarantine. Other corporate litigation around alleged failures to keep workers and employee safe are also expected. Of course, we have yet to see how business insurance policies will respond to these sorts of pandemic-related claims and lawsuits. If your business hasn’t already been affected adversely by COVID-19, it would be a good time to check your insurance coverage.

Cybercriminals are taking advantage of COVID-19

Already we have seen attempted breaches (not yet fully defined as of now) on the US Government’s Department of Health and Human Services potentially seeking healthcare and infection rate information. Though apparently nothing was stolen, it is a good lesson that healthcare PHI or PII remains a high value target for both nation-states and cyber criminals. It is also a prime asset for attackers to try to lock up the data in a ransomware attack. See Suspicious cyber activity targeting HHS tied to coronavirus response, sources say.

Aside from the government attack, there have been several other campaigns launched to attempt to steal both corporate and personal information using the virus as a “hook”:

Attackers have “adopted” the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 infection rate map and laced it with suspicious malware, waiting for an anxious person looking for information to click on the map. Read more here.

Multiple instances where ransomware attacks were generated by fake statements regarding the spread of coronavirus in other countries. One recent report noted, “One of the most recent coronavirus hoaxes to come to light is an Android app available at coronavirusapp[.]site. It claims to provide access to a map that provides real-time virus-tracking and information, including heat map visuals and statistics. In fact, a researcher from Domain Tools said, the app is laced with ransomware.” Read the article here. There has even been one ransomware attack against a Czech Republic hospital treating COVID-19 infected patients, readt the article here.

Multiple COVID-19 phishing scams are out there seeking to steal your information. Some of the more severe (and tricky):

Sites that are seeking charitable donations for COVID-19 patients

Sites that are imitating the World Health Organization, or other ministries of health around the globe offering updates on the virus (these are likely nation-state instigated)

Emails allegedly coming from colleges and universities offering students information on how the virus is affecting classes and student housing

Here is what you can do to potentially avoid these cyber scams

The US Department of Homeland Security’s Cyber and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), confirms that malicious actors are using COVID-19 as a pretext to send emails with attachments or links to fraudulent websites to trick victims into downloading malware, revealing sensitive information or donating to fraudulent charities or causes.

Companies should consider sending a security reminder or bulletin to personnel to remain vigilant against potential cyber-attacks and scams by:

Not clicking on links or opening attachments contained in unsolicited emails

Using trusted sources, such as hospitals and government websites, to obtain up-to-date, fact-based information about COVID-19

Not providing personal or financial information when responding to online solicitations

Consider whether or not a managed service provider might help you in this time of dwindling employee resources. If your IT employees get sick, who will be watching the network? An MSP would provide a great back up to any organization’s cybersecurity incident response plan.

Employees, like others, may be susceptible to targeted phishing, fraud and other cybercriminal actions based on their interest or concern about COVID-19. While messaging used to entice individuals to click malicious links may be COVID-19 related, methods to execute these attacks will remain largely the same. Companies may effectively use this attention to COVID-19 for security awareness by alerting employees, contractors or others to these risks.

To drive the point home, companies may consider conducting a phishing simulation with a faux phishing email related to COVID-19. Companies could use the results of the phishing simulation to provide supplemental training to those employees who fell victim to the simulated phish.

To minimize the success rate of potential attacks of this sort, companies should consider providing consistent updates about COVID-19 and creating an internal resource center that employees and others can use to receive current and accurate information.These may include a trusted email address, known trusted subject line or known trusted websites (CDC, CISA or otherwise) that can be checked for up-to-date COVID-19 information.

For more information on how to avoid these sorts of attacks see Privacy, HIPAA, Security and GDPR – COVID 19 considerations. See also our recent webinar on key cybersecurity and privacy considerations related to COVID-19.

A Brave New (and Remote) World

Each of the above scams is potentially exacerbated by the nature of today’s March 2020 workforce. Being home can be great. But it’s also different and in some sense busier, with kids out of school. Dogs incessantly barking at Amazon and Fed Ex trucks don’t help either. The same security adages always hold true regardless.

Rule 1: Don’t click on the link or attached document

Rule 2: Update and patch your computers to the latest update

Rule 3: #backitup daily if you can

Rule 4: See rule 1.

What COVID-19 is teaching us is that good health hygiene (like washing your hands frequently) works very well. So does good cyber hygiene.

Stay safe and healthy!

Guest Post: Directors Beware: More Perils from COVID-19 published first on http://simonconsultancypage.tumblr.com/

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terabitweb · 5 years

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Original Post from SC Magazine Author: Victor M. Thomas

Looking for insights in modern literature to address the challenges facing CISOs might seem farfetched, but there is some logic to this. Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass illustrates the challenges posed by ransomware. While this might seem contradictory on the surface, the options and twisted logic Alice faced are eerily similar to those posed by this pernicious malware.

Yet fight ransomware CISOs must do, so be prepared to abandon logic and enter the looking glass that is modern-day cybersecurity.

The good news is that there are ways to tilt those ransomware calculations in the company’s favor so you are less likely to have to pay the ransom. Fighting ransomware in 2019 forces CISOs to embrace quite a few contradictions that are most vexing. Here are some to consider:

• In a logical world, it is only the ransom-demander who is the criminal with the enterprise target merely a victim. But in the contrarian world of ransomware, there is an excellent chance that a company — or a company employee — paying a ransom might be violating federal law by sending money if the attacker is associated with terrorists or is in a country that doesn’t play nice with the U.S. Ultimately, you could be prosecuted for it. If you do not pay, you can lose your data. If you do pay, you might go to jail. Tough choice.

• There is potentially more legal trouble for the ransomware victim: Compliance and breach disclosure issues could be expensive and damage the company image. There could be related costs, such as states that require purchasing identity theft insurance for all impacted consumers. But were the consumers impacted? This raises a question that is difficult to answer: How far can a CISO trust the representations of the attacker? The company’s decision here can have expensive repercussions.

By all indications, an attack merely seemed to encrypt sensitive data. But given that the bad guys needed to first access it to encrypt it, might they have copied the data first so they could double-dip and sell the data on the black market even if the company pays the ransom? If the attacker has not yet done so, does that exfiltration still trigger compliance-related costs and efforts? Are companies required to assume that the attackers did more than they claimed? Will regulators make that assumption? Questions like these can send even the most grizzled CISO down the proverbial rabbit hole looking for answers.

• As is the case when anyone is dealing with a kidnapper who demands a ransom, it seems foolish to trust such a thief. What would stop them from taking your ransom and then opting to renege and not release your data? And yet, ransomware experts say that ransomware in 2019 is a highly professional business and that these ransomware businesses, which will often have customer service and free tech support, can be trusted to do what they say. If they do not, their highly lucrative business model would quickly implode. Is there a CISO or CEO willing to take that chance?

• The official policy of just about every Fortune 1000 company is to never pay a ransom. And yet, just about all of those same companies routinely will pay that ransom when the ROI calculation of fighting versus paying makes it clear that paying is better. That said, the calculation sometimes tells companies to not pay, depending on the situation and the nature of the attack. Was the City of Atlanta correct in saying no to a $51,000 ransom (the exchange rate for six bitcoin at the time of the attack) when experts say the costs to restore the data might well reach an estimated $17 million?

• If the situation is dire enough, CISOs always retain the option of surrendering and simply paying the ransom. And yet, many companies then discover that the nature of buying cryptocurrency — the ransom of choice these days — is next-toimpossible to do in volume given the limits the system imposes on cryptocurrency brokers, especially if the company does not have existing relationships with multiple cryptocurrency brokers. Buying a lot of cryptocurrency to hold in reserve for a future ransomware attack also does not work, both because of the potential loss of value due to the dramatic shifts in cryptocurrency exchange rates and because there is no way to know which cryptocurrency will be demanded.

• The limits as to how much bitcoin a single broker can sell changes from broker to broker, as do the precise procedures. Regardless, it is critical to start establishing those relationships before an attack hits so that your team can get as much of the paperwork wrapped before you need the virtual currency, experts agree. A second option is to get ransomware insurance and let the insurance company do all of that paperwork and logistics.

• Senior executives often assert that when the time comes to deal with ransomware, they will be the ones to decide, often in concert with the board. And yet, some ransomware attacks are now designed for mid-level or entry-level employees to be able to pay on their own — with demands as low as $100 or a few hundred dollars, in cryptocurrency — so the lowerlevel employee can, in theory, avoid the embarrassment and potential punishment of admitting to management that they clicked on the attachment and caused the problem.

Dante Disparte, CEO, Risk Cooperative

Unraveling the contradictions

A typical first line of defense includes aggressive backups, but attackers plan for that. Attackers often plant malware that goes silent for weeks or more before sending a ransom demand. This is designed to not merely infect backups with the malware, but to make it difficult to determine exactly when the infection began. Also, even if the security team identifies the exact date of infection, it might mean restoring a backup from a month or longer ago, losing considerable critical data.

This is all part of the ransomware return on investment (ROI) strategy. Attackers want the enterprise’s ROI calculation to make it worthwhile to pay the ransom.

The most obvious way to combat this strategy is to separate data backups from executables backups. In theory, this would allow protection of all data, as a database of raw data should not be able to house a malware executable. But homegrown legacy applications, along with legacy apps made from companies that are no longer in business or at least no longer selling that application, make that executable backup essential. This would suggest keeping secure backups of all legacy code on disks that are entirely off-network, ideally with multiple copies in multiple air-conditioned and air-gapped vaults.

Bryan Kissinger is the CISO for Banner Health, an $8.5 billion chain of 28 hospitals along with physician groups, long-term care centers and outpatient surgery centers in six states. Kissinger argues that his security team has done everything it can think of to thwart a ransomware attack.

“We’re preparing ourselves as best as we can,” Kissinger says. “We don’t allow our workforce to have administrative privileges on end-user devices.”

That restriction on administrative privileges is a key part of Banner’s defense strategy. Given that the typical ransomware attack involves attachment malware intended to compromise administrative credentials, “we attempt to head that part off. Our remedy would be to flush the system and reload it from a clean backup.”

Given that Banner performs backups on everything in the network — applications, data and operating system — there is always a risk of the malware infecting the backup so “we try and go back to a good time.” But by sharply limiting who has administrative privileges, Kissinger is hoping an attack would not ever touch any of the backups.

When asked about whether his firm, if indeed caught in a ransomware web, would ever pay ransom, he says he would recommend such a payment in only a few circumstances, such as if the system was “hopelessly locked and if the ransom is lower than our operating costs to repair the damage.”

Kissinger adds that it is hardly practical to have an ironclad policy against ever paying such a ransom. “I think anyone who says flat out ‘no’ is not being realistic.”

Bryan Kissinger, CISO, Banner Health

But if it ever happened, Kissinger says, his top priority would be identifying how the attacker got in and patching that hole. “We would try and close the threat vector so they can’t just attack again” after the ransom is paid, he says.

The question of whether paying encourages more ransomware is a difficult one to answer, which is why most companies that pay do everything they can to keep the payments secret.

“Broadly, I would advise ‘don’t pay’ because I do think it encourages the problem,” says Sean Tierney, director of cyber intelligence for security consulting firm Infoblox of Santa Clara, Calif. “But (CISOs) have to be aware of what the business reality is and what the impact of not paying will be. This does require the decision-makers to decide in advance what their decision will likely be.”

When an enterprise is trying to craft strategies and policies to counter today’s ransomware threats, it must look closely at its abilities to pay a ransom if it chose to do so. Many companies have tried and quickly discovered that the logistics of paying a large ransom in blockchain currency can be overwhelming if arrangements have not been put in place months earlier, says Mark Rasch, a former federal prosecutor who today serves as a private practice cybersecurity lawyer in Bethesda, Md.

Can I? May I? Should I?

“With ransomware, the first questions a company must address are ‘Can I? May I? Should I?,’” Rasch says.

The “Can I?” part addresses the tricky nature of cryptocurrency. “Do I have access to cryptocurrency — in multiple denominations and multiple types? Anywhere from (a value of) $300 to $3 million?” Rasch asks rhetorically. “If you have a need to deploy cryptocurrency, who in the organization will be responsible for making that decision? And how do you get that information to that person?”

Sean Tierney, director of cyber intelligence, Infoblox

When an attack hits, the extortionist typically gives a very short window for paying, often 24-48 hours. That means that every minute is critical. When some employee receives an extortion demand, does that employee know where to send it? Does that employee’s supervisor know? And what if the designated recipient is on vacation, traveling or otherwise unavailable? Is there a backup assigned to handle it and is that backup’s contact information widely known among employees? If designated contacts and/ or their backups leave the company, is there an immediate trigger for someone to select a replacement? Are such plans routinely rehearsed to learn of holes?

“Who makes that decision? Is somebody is going to own that decision?” Rasch queries. Sometimes staffers have different spending approval limits, so it becomes a question of determining which person has the authority to approve the ransom spend.

The “May I?” part refers to the tricky legal environment surrounding ransomware. There are various regulatory rules — the most prominent coming from a unit in the U.S. Treasury called the Office of Foreign Asset and Control (OFAC) — that restricts where money can go (prohibited countries) and people/organizations where it can go (entities on suspected terrorist or terrorism organization lists).

This is where the nature of ransomware makes payments complicated. Communications between the victim company and attacker typically improves after a ransomware attack, which is at least a microdot of a silver lining. “You’re never more secure than you are two weeks after having been attacked. It’s a motivating event, at least temporarily. You’re going to be doing some locking down,” Rasch says. “The idea that paying ransomware invites more ransomware is probably not true. But being vulnerable to ransomware probably does invite more attacks.”

Rasch argues that there really is a professionalism among many of the larger ransomware groups and punishing a paying customer is rarely seen. “In the incidents where I have dealt with ransomware, we haven’t had the experience that they immediately get hit again,” Rasch says, adding that not delivering a paid-for decryption tool is something else that rarely if ever happens.

Mark Rasch, private practice cybersecurity lawyer and former federal prosecutor

“They don’t make money if you can’t unlock it,” Rasch says. “They want to be known as a trustworthy thief. They want four stars on http://www.hostages-r-us.com.”

The final consideration, the “Should I,” essentially addresses the aforementioned discussion on comparing the ROI of paying the ransom versus not paying it. The CISO calculates what it will cost the company to try and repair the damage itself—factoring in down-time, status of backups, how long ago the system was impacted—versus paying the ransom. It may be galling, but a hard calculation will inform the “Should I?” decision. It also overlaps with the May I factor when it comes to the legality of paying, plus addresses a host of business and ethical considerations unique to each company.

Legal beagles

On other legal matters, there are the compliance issues dealing with states and other rules requiring disclosures, and possibly consumer insurance purchases, when Social Security numbers or other specified personally identifiable information (PII) is stolen. Given that even a forensic examination does not always deliver a complete and definitive picture of what attackers did (especially given the ever-present possibility that the bad guys manipulated security logs to hide their true tracks), it is hard to know if data was stolen (copied and exfiltrated) before it was encrypted.

As with almost everything in compliance, each rule depends on its definitions and phrasing. “One of the triggers is unauthorized access,” says Tatiana Melnik, a Tampa-based attorney who specializes in cyber issues. “At the same time, there is a requirement under HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) that requires integrity of the data remains in place. If someone has encrypted the data, does integrity of the data remain in place?”

The answer is to do everything your company can to determine what happened. “If you can, see what the malicious code was intended to do. If it was merely designed to find information and encrypt it, arguably, it may not be a breach,” Melnik says—and then make that argument to regulators and hope for the best.

Tatiana Melnik, attorney

Dante Disparte, CEO at the Washington, DC-based security consulting firm Risk Cooperative and a member of the national report entitled Black Market Ecosystem: Estimating the cost of ownership. “If either a nameserver or front-end is blocked or taken offline, a new one is automatically created in its place, allowing the back-end server hosting the criminal customers’ content to remain online.”

Deloitte noted that companies are quite open, on the dark web, at least, about the software suites they sell specifically for ransomware attacks, including whether fees are flat or involve a percentage of ransom acquired.

There is an advantage that the larger ransomware companies are so well known. That means that their tactics are well known. Companies, such as cyber insurance firms, often can identify the company attacking by looking at the code used. “Is it a variant of some known code? Has it been used before?” Rasch says.

Sometimes, attackers reuse their decryption tools and even decryption keys, which creates the slight possibility that victims can find the decryption items online from a recent victim of the attack rather than from the attacker.

Another concern is about the attackerprovided decryption tool. Not whether it will work necessarily, but how well it will work.

“In the last three months we’ve seen the Ryuk strain of ransomware become very active. It is the fast growing ransomware strain we see,” says Joshua Motta, CEO of San Francisco-based Coalition, a cyber insurance company. “More worrisome is that the ransoms for Ryuk are much larger than other strains of ransomware, totaling between $200K to $700K.”

This graphic illustrates a dark web page with ransomware for sale. Ransomware become a commodity, often sold the same way as packaged software with support and a license. According to Deloitte, “This enables [ransomware sellers] to provide a malicious ‘suite’ of services in conjunction with ransomware, known as Ransomware as a Service (RaaS).” *note – monthly costs for ransomware builds distributed over 12 months

He adds that “Unlike previous forms of ransomware, including SamSam and Dharma, Ryuk is extraordinarily difficult to remove. It is also very difficult to recover from. Even if you pay the ransom, the decryptor provided by the threat actor doesn’t work well. It does decrypt files, but it frequently fails making recovering extraordinarily time consuming for the victim.”

Scott Laliberte, managing director and global leader of cybersecurity and privacy for consulting firm Protiviti of Menlo Park, Calif., argues that ransomware is likely to get a lot worse before it, actually, it will just continue to get worse.

“My thoughts are that we are going to see escalation in ransomware over the next few years. I think the payload will start moving beyond just denying access to data to other types of actions that could threaten harm. For example, attacking healthcare providers to put patient lives in danger unless ransom is paid, distribution companies’ logistics systems to prevent them from making shipments, chemical plants, threatening catastrophic accidents, etc.,” Laliberte says.

Cybercriminals will “look for ways to monetize their attacks [given that] credit report monitoring and credit card tokenization [is making] identity theft and credit card fraud less profitable. Consequently, I believe [cyberthieves] will be upping the stakes. We need to start preparing now for these types of attacks and expanding our view of risk assessment beyond loss of confidential data.” Laliberte says he expects IoT and mobile will be ransomware’s new focus in the near term.

The post Going down the ransomware rabbithole appeared first on SC Media.

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Go to Source Author: Victor M. Thomas Going down the ransomware rabbithole Original Post from SC Magazine Author: Victor M. Thomas Looking for insights in modern literature to address the…

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bountyofbeads · 5 years

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Week 136 is the longest list so far, with 202 not normal items - no wonder we are all anxious and exhausted! This week Trump manufactured two major story lines: an almost war with Iran, and mass roundups and deportations of “millions” of immigrants.

Week 1: 9 not normal items

Week 2: 18 items

Week 52: 120 items

Week 136: 202 items 👇👇🤔😱😱😱

(no, you are not imagining it)PLEASE READ 📖 AND SHARE this past week's exordinary list of things that happened (you may be totally unaware of many of them because there is so much chaos- by-design of this administration).

By Amy Siskind | Published June 22, 2019 | The List | Posted June 23, 2019 |

Experts in authoritarianism advise to keep a list of things subtly changing around you, so you’ll remember.

This week Trump manufactured two story lines: an almost war with Iran, and mass roundups and deportations of “millions” of immigrants. The two stories occupied much of the national attention, while Trump continued to stonewall Congressional attempts at oversight.

Authoritarian expert Masha Gessen wrote about “The Unimaginable Reality of American Concentration Camps,” as a national discussion over conditions at border facilities played out. Journalists, who have been given no access to facilities, reported through interviews on the alarming treatment of migrant children, including overcrowding, illness, and lack of basic necessities.

Trump came close to starting a war with Iran on Thursday, and reportedly was prepared and close to launch a missile attack. Of concern, Trump continued to act unilaterally and not seek Congressional approval — notably Speaker Pelosi said Friday she was not informed of Trump’s planned attack, despite being second in line for the White House. Meanwhile, pressure to start an impeachment inquiry grew as 76 House members called for impeachment as public opinion, largely among Democrats, is shifting in favor of it.

On Saturday, NYT reported the U.S. is stepping up cyberwarfare against Russia, using digital incursions into Russia’s electric power gridand other targets as a warning to Russia to stay out of U.S. cyber infrastructure.

The previously unreported deployment of computer code into Russia’s grid has taken place over the past three months in tandem with public actions announced after hacking and disinformation during the 2018 midterms.

These steps mark a shift to going on offense, and being positioned against aggressions. The Department of Homeland Security and FBI have said Russia has inserted malware in U.S. power plants, pipelines, and water supplies.

The actions were taken using new legal authorities quietly slipped into the military authorization bill passed by Congress last summer, allowing the defense secretary to take action without requiring presidential approval.

Two officials told the Timesthat Trump had not been briefed on the moves, which could spark a digital Cold War between the countries, out of concern he might countermand or discuss it with foreign officials.

On Saturday, Trump tweeted, “Do you believe that the Failing New York Times” did a story on increasing cyber attacks on Russia, calling it a “virtual act of Treason by a once great paper so desperate for a story.”

Trump also tweeted the reporting was “bad for our Country” and “ALSO, NOT TRUE!” saying, “Anything goes with our Corrupt News Media today,” calling them “cowards” and “THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!”

On Saturday, the NYTresponded to Trump, saying, “accusing the press of treason is dangerous,” adding, “We described the article to the government before publication” and “there were no concerns.”

On Sunday, Trump tweeted a poll should be done on “which is the more dishonest and deceitful newspaper,” the NYT or WAPO, adding “they are both a disgrace to our Country” and “the Enemy of the People.”

Trump also again mused about serving beyond the two term limit, tweeting “at the end of 6 years” after America is “GREAT” again, “do you think the people would demand that I stay longer?”

On Sunday, in celebration of Father’s Day, Trump tweeted, “Happy Father’s Day to all, including my worst and most vicious critics, of which there are fewer and fewer,” adding, “KEEP AMERICA GREAT!”

On Sunday, in a newly released part of his ABC News interview Trump chastised acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney for coughing, saying, “If you’re going to cough, please leave the room,” and asking for a retake.

On Sunday, ABC aired the hour long interview with Trump. The interview was a rating bust, coming in third in its evening time slot.

On Sunday, NBC News reported the Trump re-election campaign cut ties with some of its own pollsters, after leaked polling data which surfaced in Week 135 showed him trailing Democratic rivals in many states.

On Monday, Trump dismissed polling by Fox News which showed him losing to multiple Democratic presidential candidates, tweeting, “Something weird going on at Fox,” adding, “More Fake News.”

On Monday, Trump vowed mass immigration arrests, tweeting in the late evening: “Next week ICE will begin the process of removing the millions of illegal aliens who have illicitly found their way into the United States.”

Trump also tweeted, “They will be removed as fast as they come in.” Trump praised Mexico and Guatemala, but added, “The only ones who won’t do anything are the Democrats in Congress.”

On Monday, the State Department announced the regime is ending foreign aid for Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador until they take “concrete actions to reduce the number of illegal migrants” coming to the U.S.

Experts warned that cutting off aid will only exacerbate the conditions in the countries which are causing people to migrate. The regime’s plan is likely to face opposition in the Congress.

On Tuesday, WAPO reported Trump and Stephen Miller have recently pushed to remove thousands of immigrants whose deportation orders were expedited. Publicizing a large-scale ICE operation is unheard of.

ICE officials told the Postthey were not aware that Trump planned to make the plan public. Trump’s tweet of deporting millions was also at odds with available ICE budget and staffing.

On Tuesday, government attorney Sarah Fabian argued before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that migrant children sleeping on concrete floors is “safe and sanitary” and they did not need soap and toothbrushes.

Attorneys for the detained children argued the Trump regime is not following the requirements of the 1997 Flores Agreement for humane treatment, even though sanitary items are not specifically mentioned.

The judges appeared stunned by the regime’s arguments, with one saying, “I find it inconceivable that the government would say that that is safe and sanitary.” It is not clear when the panel will issue its decision.

On Wednesday, data obtained by the AP showed an El Paso border facility is neglecting 250 migrant infants, children, and teens, with kids taking care of kids and an inadequate supply of food, water, and sanitation.

Three girls told lawyers they alternated taking care of a 2 year-old boy who wet his pants and had no diapers. Lawyers could not discern where the boy was from or about his family from because he was not speaking.

Many of the children arrived alone, but some were separated from their families. A law advocate said in her 22 years of visiting children in detention, she had “never heard of this level of inhumanity.”

The acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner said CBP is holding 15,000 people while 4,000 is capacity. A psychoanalyst who evaluated 50 parents and children noted trauma causing lasting damage.

On Thursday, Dallas Morning News reported allegations made by acting Department of Homeland Security secretary Kevin McAleenan to Congress that 90% of those seeking asylum were skipping court dates is false.

McAleenan used the data to justify round-ups. Data showed that close to 100% of 47,000 asylum-seeking families with legal aid showed up to court. McAleenan’s data was from 7,000 cases decided in abstenia.

On Thursday, in an interview with Telemundo, Trump lied, saying he inherited an Obama-era policy of separating migrant families, saying, “Obama had a separation policy…I’m the one that put ’em together.”

On Friday, NYT reported on an overcrowded border station in Clinton, Texas, where hundreds of migrant children are being held. Children are wearing clothes caked with snot and tears, and toddlers have no diapers.

Most detainees have not been able to bathe or wash their clothes since they crossed the border. They have not been given toothbrushes, toothpaste, or soap. An advocate visiting described the scene, saying “there is a stench.”

The facility is one impacted by Trump regime not providing basics like soap or toothbrushes to the children. An advocate visiting said the conditions are the worse she has ever seen, with no care for sick children.

In the facility, guards wore wearing full uniforms, including weapons and face masks, to protect themselves from the unsanitary conditions. Children are locked up in cells nearly all day long, and are not getting enough food.

Border crossings have slowed in recent weeks, but remain high compared to recent years. Journalists and lawyers have been offered little access, so the overcrowded conditions are occurring without visibility to the public.

On Friday, HuffPost reported four toddlers under the age of 3 years-old at the Border Patrol facility in McAllen, Texas were so severely ill, that immigration lawyers forced the government to have them hospitalized.

The four were in the care of teenage mothers or guardians, and were feverish, coughing, vomiting, and had diarrhea. One toddler was “completely unresponsive” and limp, with her eyes rolled back in her head.

On Friday, WAPO reported Trump has directed ICE to conduct mass roundups of family members who have received deportation orders. Raids are expected to begin in the early hours of Sunday.

ICE and DHS refer to the roundup as “family op,” and will target 2,000 families in 10 cities, including Houston, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles, Atlanta, New York, Baltimore, Denver, San Francisco, and New Orleans.

McAleenan has urged Trump to narrow the roundup to 150 families, so as to avoid separating children from parents, and has voiced that ICE resources are better used for the crisis at the southern border.

The Los Angeles Police Department said it will not participate or assist in the roundup. New York AG Letitia James called it a “despicable act of racism and xenophobia that is antithetical to our basic human values.”

On Friday, acting ICE Director Mark Morgan defended the roundups, telling NPR, “my duty is not to look at the political optics, or the will the American people,” but to enforce the law and integrity of the system.

Morgan also repeated the false claim that the “majority of them don’t even show up. And then when they didn’t show up, they received ordered removal in absentia,” adding, “We have no choice.”

On Friday, authoritarianism expert Masha Gessen wrote at the New Yorker “The Unimaginable Reality of American Concentration Camps,” citing “the argument is really about how we history, ourselves, and ourselves in history.”

Gessen wrote: “Anything that happens here and now is normalized, not solely through the moral failure of contemporaries but simply by virtue of actually existing.”

On Saturday, a video posted on social media showed Phoenix police threatening to shoot a black family after their 4 year-old took a dollfrom a store. The incident led to an investigation and lawsuit against police.

On Tuesday, on the eve of House hearings on reparations for slavery, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters he was not in favor of reparations, calling it “for something that happened 150 years ago.”

McConnell also said slavery is something “none of us currently living are responsible” for, and added we paid for the “sin of slavery” by passing civil rights legislation and by electing “an African American president.”

On Wednesday, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee sponsored a bill before a House hearing of a 13 member commission which would allocate $12 million to study the effects of slavery and make recommendations to Congress.

Hundreds of spectators filled three overflowing rooms. Republican lawmakers and witnesses said black people should pull themselves up by their own bootstraps, saying reparations might damage their psyches.

Writer Ta-Nehisi Coates, whose 2014 article helped rekindle the conversation, responded to McConnell: “While emancipation dead-bolted the door against the bandits of America, Jim Crow wedged the windows wide open.”

Coates also said McConnell was “alive for the redlining of Chicago and the looting of black homeowners of some $4 billion,” adding, “Victims of their plunder are very much alive today.”

On Thursday, Fox News host Laura Ingraham backed Leader McConnell on her podcast, dismissing the idea of reparations, saying there are no “do-overs,” adding, “we won, you lost, that’s that. That’s just the way it is.”

On Wednesday, a federal judge in Maryland ruled that new information from hard drives of a deceased Republican redistricting strategist on the 2020 census question in Week 133 merits more consideration.

The case is now with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, but could be returned to the federal judge who said the new evidence “raises a substantial issue,” and could reach the Supreme Court again.

On Wednesday, the Senate confirmed Matthew Kacsmaryk to a lifelong federal judgeship, despite his record of hostility towards the LGBTQ community and having criticized Roe v. Wade.

On Thursday, in a major set-back for women’s health, a panel of federal judges ruled that the Trump regime’s abortion “gag rule” can go into effect, making clinics that provide abortion ineligible for Title IX funds.

Planned Parenthood could lose $60 million in fundingfrom the ruling. Attorneys general from 21 states argued the rule undermines the patient-provider relationship and endangers the health of millions of women.

On Friday, Missouri’s health department notified Planned Parenthood, the state’s only abortion clinic, that it declined to renew their license. The judge said his preliminary injunction to remain open is in place for now.

On Friday, Wisconsin’s Democratic Gov. Tony Evers vetoed four bills that would have restricted access to abortion, implicated doctors who perform abortions, and cut funding to Planned Parenthood.

On Friday, writer E. Jean Carroll came forward in a New York Magazine article to say that Trump raped her 23 years ago in a dressing room of the Bergdorf Goodman department store in midtown Manhattan.

Carroll, now 75, told two friends about the incident at the time. WAPO interviewed one friend who encouraged Carroll to go to the police at the time. The episode in the article is an excerpt from her new book.

Trump responded Friday in a statement, calling the allegations “fake news” and repeating his common refrain, “I’ve never met this person in my life.” The article is accompanied by a photo of the two together in 1987.

Trump accused Carroll of trying to sell books, “It should be sold in the fiction section,” and questioned if she was working with the Democratic Party. Carroll is the 16th woman to accuse Trump of sexual misconduct.

On Tuesday, AP reported U.S. air quality is worsening, after decades of improving. There were 15% more days with unhealthy air in 2017 and 2018 than the average of 2013 through 2016, the cleanest four years.

On Wednesday, Trump’s EPA issued the Affordable Clean Energy rule, the regime’s most significant step towards unwinding federal regulations aimed at addressing climate change.

The new rule cuts carbon emissions from power plants by less than half of what experts said was need to avoid catastrophic climate change. Trump aides and GOP lawmakers celebrated it as a victory for coal companies.

Also, unlike Obama’s 2015 Clean Power Plan, Trump’s rule does not set specific greenhouse gas emissions cuts, relieving pressure to improve efficiency by switching from coal to lower-carbon energy sources.

On Friday, Oregon’s Democratic Gov. Kate Brown sent Oregon State Police to fetch 11 GOP state senators who had fled to Idaho to avoid giving the Democrats a needed quorum to vote on bills to combat climate change.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his cabinet to inaugurate a new community located on the occupied Golan Heights, which will be named “Trump Heights” to recognize his ally.

On Monday, after threats from Trump, Iran warned it would breach limits on stockpiled enriched uranium under the 2015 deal which Trump exited. The White House National Security Council called it “nuclear blackmail.”

The U.S. sent 1,000 more troops to the region on Monday. On Tuesday, Iran President Hassan Rouhani said on state-TV, “Iran will not wage war against any nation,” and Russia called on the U.S. to stop stoking tension.

On Tuesday, Politico reported the Trump regime is laying the groundwork for a possible conflict with Iran, while preparing to do so without needing Congressional approval.

On Monday, Politico reported House Democrats investigating obstruction of justice are considering bypassing Trump’s use of executive privilege by calling for testimony from people outside the government.

Names cited in the Mueller report who may be called include former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and Chris Christie, as well as former top campaign officials Paul Manafort and Rick Gates.

On Monday, Politico reported Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee are quietly racking up oversight winsagainst Trump in areas like retaliation at the State Department and Trump’s relation with Putin.

Chair Eliot Engel has eschewed cable-TV and other flashy rhetoric, allowing bipartisan cooperation on his committee, with Republicans exasperated with Trump on foreign policy and national security issues.

On Monday, the Supreme Court voted 7-2 to uphold the ‘double jeopardy’ standard. The ruling could blunt the impact of potential Trump pardons for individuals like Manafort, who also faces charges in New York.

On Monday, NYT reported that as Manafort was scheduled to head to Rikers Island, last week Manhattan prosecutors received an unusual letter from Jeffrey Rosen, a top deputy of Attorney General William Barr.

Rosen indicated he was monitoring where Manafort would be held. Then on Monday, federal prison officials weighed in saying Manafort would not be go to Rikers, where most federal inmates facing state charges are held.

Former DOJ officials and state prosecutors said it was highly unusual for the second highest official at the DOJ to take an interest in such a case. The decision is typically made by the warden where the inmate is being held.

On Monday, Daily News reported five undocumented immigrants fired from Trump’s golf courses in New York and New Jersey planned to hold a press conference in Florida on Tuesday, ahead of Trump’s 2020 launch.

On Tuesday, ahead of Trump’s official 2020 re-election campaign launch in Orlando, Florida, the Orlando Sentinel took the unusual step of endorsing “Not Donald Trump.”

The Sentinel cited, “after 2½ years we’ve seen enough” of “the chaos, the division, the schoolyard insults, the self-aggrandizement, the corruption, and especially the lies,” adding he “diminished our standing in the world.”

On Tuesday, while speaking to reporters before heading to Orlando, Trump refused to apologize for his prior call for the Central Park 5 to get the death penalty. Trump said, “You have people on both sides of that.”

Trump said “they admitted their guilt,” and “some of the prosecutors, they think that the city should never have settled that case,” adding, “You better believe that I hate the people who took this girl and raped her brutally.”

On Tuesday, Trump launched his re-election bid, picking up on many familiar themes from his 2016 campaign, promising greatness and invoking many of the same grievances from that campaign.

Trump relished in his victory over Hillary Clinton while the crowd shouted, “Lock her up!” Trump said he was still looking for her missing emails, and teased about having the DOJ prosecute her.

Trump attacked the media, calling reporters in the arena “fake news” while the crowd cheered the familiar refrain, “CNN sucks.”

Trump attacked Democrats, calling them “radical” and saying they are “driven by hatred, prejudice and rage,” and warning, “They want to destroy you, and they want to destroy our country as we know it.”

Trump said immigrants should come on the basis of merit, saying the Democrat agenda of open borders is “morally reprehensible,” and “the greatest betrayal of the American middle class, and frankly American life.”

CNN calculated that Trump made 15 false statement during his 76-minutes speech, many of which he has repeated frequently in the past, including the topics of trade, the environment, Russia, his wall, and Hillary’s emails.

WAPO reported after the rally, Trump flew on Air Force One in the opposite direction of the White House to visit his Doral golf course, his 126th visit to a Trump property since taking office.

Trump also recently suggested his Doral golf course to host the Group of Seven meeting of world leaders. Trump has gotten pushback from the White House Counsel’s Office on the topic but has ignored it.

Trump has reshaped the GOP fundraising schedule, with 23 of 63 fundraisers he attended taking place at one of his properties. Trump properties have also become a vendor for the federal government.

On Thursday, Media Matters reported Sinclair broadcasting is forcing its local stations to run a commentary segment which is akin to an unofficial Trump 2020 campaign ad within a short window after its release.

In one clip, former Trump aide Boris Epshteyn said, “The energy behind President Trump and his “America First” movement is palpable,” praising “crowds that fill up massive stadiums” and social media engagement.

On Monday, Jarrod Agen, Vice President Mike Pence’s communications director and one of his most trusted advisers who held multiple roles, announced he was leaving to take a job at Lockheed Martin.

On Tuesday, Trump announced on Twitter that Patrick Shanahan, his nominee for defense secretary, was withdrawing. WAPO and USA Today reported on incidents of domestic violence involving his family.

Trump told reporters he did not ask Shanahan to withdraw. Trump nominated Secretary of the Army Mark Esper to replace Shanahan, who prior was the head lobbyist for defense company Raytheon.

On Tuesday, CNN reported Katharine Gorka is expected to be named press secretary for CBP. Gorka, the wife of far-right extremist Sebastian Gorka, has been a political appointee at DHS since shortly after Trump took office.

Gorka has stirred controversy over her views on terrorism and has ties to far-right national groups. In Week 40, she helped pull DHS funding for Life After Hate, a group set up to counter neo-Nazis and white supremacists.

On Thursday, Trump appointee Eric Blankenstein, who left the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in May over racially charged online posts from years ago, was hired by the Department of Housing and Urban Development as a senior legal counsel.

On Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters Senate Democrats will prioritize defense amendments to boost election security and keep Russia from meddling in 2020.

On Tuesday, Reuters reported Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blocked the inclusion of Saudi Arabia from a U.S. list of countries that recruit childsoldiers, despite experts’ findings of their use in the Yemen’s civil war.

On Wednesday, a months-long United Nations investigation by Agnes Callamard, a human rights expert, into the killing of Jamal Khashoggi found “credible evidence” Saudi Crown Prince MBS was likely involved.

She faulted the U.S. and other countries for not exerting enough pressure on Saudis, and called for sanctioning and freezing the prince’s assets until a final determination is made. Saudi Arabia would not allow her in.

Pompeo said Trump deplored the killing of Khashoggi, but that the U.S. relationship is too important to be sidetracked by one incident. Callamard called the U.S. response ambiguous and conflicted.

On Thursday, the Senate rebuked Trump, voting to block billions of weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Trump had tried to circumvent Congress by declaring an emergency over Iran.

Seven Republicans, including Trump ally Lindsey Graham voted with Democrats in the Senate, not enough to override an expected veto by Trump. Britain announced a similar measure on Thursday.

On Thursday, Reuters reported ex-U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who is being held in Russia over accusations of spying, told reporters he was asking Trumpand the leaders of Britain, Canada, and Ireland for help.

Whelan said he has been threatened and harassed by a Russian investigator. He said, “we cannot keep America great unless we aggressively protect and defend American citizenswherever they are.”

On Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that Trump believes he has the authority to oust Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve Chair and demote him to board governor, saying the Fed had gone crazy” under Powell.

On Wednesday, the Fed left rates unchanged, with a rate cut possible soon. Asked by reporters about Trump’s comments, Chair Powell said, “I think the law is clear that I have a four-year term and I fully intend to serve it.”

On Wednesday, Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to conservative economist Arthur Laffer. In his remarks, Trump said the Laffer Curve is “still, a very, very highly respected economic curve.”

Laffer, along with his disciple Stephen Moore, wrote a fawning book about Trump’s economic policies called “Trumponomics.” Trump’s $1.5 trillion tax cuts did not generate more tax revenue as Laffer’s theory posits.

On Wednesday, NYT reported federal prosecutors are investigating if Deutsche Bank complied with laws meant to stop money laundering and other crimes, including handling of suspicious activity reports.

The FBI has contacted former employee Tammy McFadden, who spoke to the Times in Week 131. The investigation marks the largest government examination of potential misconduct at one of the world’s largest banks.

FBI agents are also speaking to Val Broeksmit, the son of Deutsche Bank executive William Broeksmit, who committed suicide in 2014, about the bank’s role with Russian money laundering. Val has provided documents.

In addition to the FBI, the DOJ’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section and the U.S. attorney’s offices in Manhattan and Brooklyn are also investigating the bank, as are two House committees.

On Tuesday, White House Counsel Pat Cipollone said in a letter to House Judiciary Chair Jerrold Nadler that Hope Hick “is absolutely immune” from answering questions about her time on the transition team and White House staff.

Cipollone said a White House lawyer will be present for Hicks’ testimony “in order to preserve” Trump’s ability “to assert executive privilege.” The testimony will be private, but a transcript will be released within 48 hours.

On Wednesday, in a series of morning tweets, Trump attacked Democrats, saying they are “unhappy with the Mueller Report, so after almost 3 years, they want a Redo,” calling it “extreme Presidential Harassment.”

Trump tweeted Democrats gave “Crooked Hillary’s people complete Immunity, yet now they bring back Hope Hicks,” asking why aren’t they looking at “33,000 Emails that Hillary and her lawyer deleted.”

Trump also tweeted, “That is real Obstruction that the Dems want no part of because their hearings are RIGGED and a disgrace to our Country!” adding, “DEMOCRAT CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS ARE #RIGGED!”

Trump also tweeted if he did not have the “Phony Witch Hunt” and if the “Fake News Media and their partner in Crime, the Democrats” played it straight, he would be “ way up in the Polls right now.”

On Wednesday, Mark Thompson, CEO of the NYT said Trump “isolating journalists, as a group…is a really frankly hostile, stupid but also dangerous thing to do” at a CNBC forum.

On Wednesday, in an op-ed at the Journal, NYT Publisher A.G. Sulzberger said Trump accusing the newspaper of “treason” crossed “a dangerous line” of “accusing the Times of a crime so grave it is punishable by death.”

Sulzberger wrote, “He’s gone from misrepresenting our business, to assaulting our integrity, to demonizing our journalists with a phrase that’s been used by generations of demagogues,” to treason accusations.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker reported Trump had tweeted negatively about the press in every day of June so far, marking “the longest stretch since he declared his candidacy.”

The group also found that in the first 18 days of June, Trump had tweeted 44 times, some days up to five times per day, and that since Trump launched his 2016 campaign, he has sent over 1,500 negative tweets.

Later Wednesday, Trump tweeted, “So sad that the Democrats are putting wonderful Hope Hicks through hell,” saying Democrats want a “Do Over,” adding, “Very unfair & costly to her. Will it ever end?”

Trump also asked why Democrats are not “asking Hillary Clinton why she deleted and acid washed her Emails,” adding, “anybody else would be in jail for that,” and “Rigged House Committee.”

On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee interviewed Hope Hicks. NYT reported she refused to answer nearly every question about her time working in the regime, citing Trump said she was “absolutely immune.”

Democrats said Hicks even refused to answer about the location of her West Wing office at the closed door hearings. Hicks did discuss her time on the campaign, but with reportedly no meaningful revelations.

Democrats on the committee threatened to take Hicks to court to enforce the subpoena for her full testimony. Hicks was referred to more than 180 times in the Mueller report.

Legal experts said the legal process of compelling former White House officials like Hicks and Don McGahn could take several months or years to wind through the court system. Impeachment would hasten the process.

On Thursday, Politico reported according to a transcript of Hick’s interview released late Wednesday, she refused to answer 155 questions during her House testimony.

The transcript revealed dozens of objections from White House lawyers to prevent her from answering, including questions on Trump’s attempts to restrain the Mueller probe through directives to McGahn to fire Mueller.

At one point, Chair Nadler challenged a White House lawyer’s claims of “absolute immunity,” telling him, “that is absolute nonsense as a matter of law.” Hicks at times became snarky, and remained loyal to Trump.

On Thursday, Chair Nadler told Politico that House Democrats would file a lawsuit within days to compel Hicks and McGahn to testify, adding Hicks’ blanket refusal is a huge gift in the legal battle with Trump.

Nadler said, “We knew this was going to happen. The point of it was to dramatize for the court what the implications of this are.” The committee plans to show courts the Trump regime’s extremist view on stonewalling.

On Thursday, WAPO reported Felix Sater, a Russian-born real estate developer and Trump business partner who worked on Trump Tower Moscow, will testify Friday before the House Intelligence Committee.

Sater said, “I will answer every question without exception” in the closed door session. Sater also detailed what he described as a two-decade-long history of assisting the FBI, the CIA, and Defense Intelligence Agency.

On Friday, Sater was an unexplained no-show for the House hearings. Chair Adam Schiff said, “He agreed to appear this morning. He did not show up. We will have to subpoena him.”

On Friday, Politico reported that Sater’s excuse for missing his scheduled appearance was that he was feeling ill and slept through his alarm on Friday morning.

On Wednesday, the Trump regime reversed its decision to end the Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers announced in Week 133, after a backlash from a bipartisan lawmakers, including Leader McConnell.

On Wednesday, Trump called in to Fox News host Sean Hannity for what ended up being a 45-minute long interview. Trump accused two members of Congress of taking photos of Hicks and leaking them to the media.

Trump’s claim was false, but Hannity validated it by saying, “Oh good grief.” Trump continued on a variety of familiar topics, including Russia and his Wall. Trump continued as Ingraham’s show started at 10 p.m.

Trump pushed back on Hannity saying many people would like for Trump to “turn off the switch” and use Twitter less, telling Hannity “you’re not really patriots as much as you want ratings.”

Trump also told Hannity he might live tweet the Democratic debates next week despite his aides not wanting him to, saying “maybe I will now,” adding, “Instead of fake news, I’ll make them correct news. And that’s OK.”

On Thursday, Time released a transcript of its interview with Trump. When asked about the Mueller report, Trump changed topics to threaten a photographer for attempting to photograph his letter from Kim Jong Un.

Trump said, “Well, you can go to prison, instead, because if you use, if you use the photograph you took of the letter that I gave you . . . ” The Time reporter then tried to continue the interview.

Trump added, “confidentially, I didn’t give it to you to take photographs of it — so don’t play that game with me.” Asked if he was threatening jail time, Trump changed the subject to Time’s unfavorable coverage of him.

On Sunday, a WSJ-NBC News poll found 48% of Democrats want to begin impeachment hearings, up from 30% last month. Overall 27% support for starting impeachment up from 17% last month.

The poll also found that overall, 51% of Americans believe impeachment should start now or Congress should continue to investigate, up slightly from 49% last month. Opposition to impeachment remained at 48%.

On Wednesday, 71 House members were for impeachment, including 70 Democrats and Republican Rep. Justin Amash. Notably, only one of the 12 key committee chairs, Chair Maxine Waters, is for impeachment.

On Thursday, Rep. Jan Schakowsky became the 72nd to call for impeachment, but hours later, she qualified her call to say Speaker Pelosi was “ultimately right” in her push to get rid of Trump in the 2020 election.

On Wednesday, tensions grew between the Trump regime and lawmakers of both parties over whether Trump could use the 2001 authorization for the use of military force (AUMF) for a military strike against Iran.

Secretary of State Pompeo told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee the basis would be Iran’s connections to al Qaeda, which he called “very real.” GOP Sen. Rand Paul said “there are no credible links” between al Qaeda and Iran.

The State Department’s special envoy for Iran said adding troops was for protection, not a strike. A bipartisan group of Senators said in a letter “Congress has not authorized war” and there was no statutory authority.

On Thursday, the U.S. military confirmed Iran’s Revolutionary Guard shot down a U.S. surveillance drone over the Strait of Hormuz, considered international waters, the first direct attack by Iran on U.S. military.

Trump tweeted shortly after, “Iran made a very big mistake,” and when asked about a U.S. response said, “You’ll soon find out.” Iran denied the U.S. version of events, saying the drone strayed into Iranian airspace.

As he met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Trump said, “We have it all documented. It’s documented scientifically, not just words.” When asked what came next, Trump said, “Let’s see what happens.”

Later, Trump seemed to soften, telling reporters, “I find it hard to believe it was intentional, if you want to know the truth,” adding, “I think that it could have been somebody who was loose and stupid that did it.”

At mid-day, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a televised direct line with the Russian public that a war between the U.S. and Iran “would be a catastrophe” and “could have possibly sad consequences.”

On Thursday, NYT reported Trump had approved retaliatory strikes against Iran, and as of 7 p.m. military and diplomatic officials were expecting strikes on a handful of targets.

Trump’s decision came after a discussion at the White House including his top national security officials and Congressional leaders. The strike was set to take place just before dawn on Friday in order to minimize risk.

Secretary of State Pompeo, national security adviser John Bolton, and CIA director Gina Haspel had favored a strike. Top Pentagon officials warned it could escalate. Congressional leaders were briefed in the Situation Room.

After the briefing, Democratic leaders called on Trump to de-escalate and to seek congressional authorization before taking any military action.

Later in the evening, Trump abruptly called off the strike, which would have been his third, including two strikes in Syria. It was unclear if Trump changed his mind or the regime altered course for some reason.

On Friday, Trump again attacked the Times, referring to a Washington Examiner story about a 2017 email from a NYTreporter to an FBI official. Trump tweeted about “the Failing and Desperate New York Times.”

Trump falsely claimed the Times“was feeding false stories about me, & those associated with me, to the FBI,” calling them a “Crooked newspaper” and asking, “Is what they have done legal?

On Friday, the Washington Examiner issued a correction, removing the characterization that a NYT reporter ‘fed information’ to the FBI, adding “we regret” the story did not meet our “normal standards and procedures.”

On Friday, in a series of tweets on Iran, Trump said Obama “made a desperate and terrible deal with Iran” falsely claiming Obama bailed Iran out by giving them “150 Billion Dollars plus 1.8 Billion Dollars in CASH!”

Trump blamed Obama for giving Iran “a free path to Nuclear Weapons, and SOON,” adding, “I terminated deal, which was not even ratified by Congress, and imposed strong sanctions” claiming he has weakened Iran.

Trump added after Iran shot down the drone, “We were cocked & loaded to retaliate last night on 3 different sights when I asked, how many will die. 150 people, sir, was the answer from a General.”

Trump added, “10 minutes before the strike I stopped it, not proportionate to shooting down an unmanned drone,” adding, “I am in no hurry,” and saying, “Iran can NEVER have Nuclear Weapons.”

Trump also tweeted, “Sanctions are biting & more added last night.” CNBC reported the Treasury Department has not issued new sanctions, and a spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

On Friday, Speaker Pelosi told reporters that she was not informed by Trump about his planned Iran strike. Traditionally, House and Senate leadership, and chair and ranking members key committees are informed.

On Friday, Reuters reported Iranian sources said Trump had warned Tehran that a U.S. attack was imminent, saying he was against war and wanted talks. The U.S. State Department denied Reuters’ report.

Trump spoke to Crown Prince MBS on the situation Friday. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she and fellow EU leaders “are concerned about the situation and support diplomatic negotiations.”

On Friday, WAPO reported key Trump allies had expected him to impose economic sanctions or other nonmilitary punishmenton Iran. The chaos of the response reinforced concerns about the Trump regime’s credibility.

Officials disputed Trump’s tweets, saying he was told the number of possible casualties early in the day, but gave the green light to prepare for a retaliatory strikes.

Later in the day, in an interview with NBC’s Chuck Todd, Trump changed his story, saying at no time did he he give final approval for any strikes and that no planes were in the air.

On Friday, NYT reported that one of the reasons Trump chose not to strike was warnings from his favorite Fox News host Tucker Carlson not to do so, highlighting the unusual decision-making process of Trump.

On Friday, Rep. William Lacy Clay and two co-sponsors filed articles of impeachment for obstruction of justice, and three co-sponsored a resolution for the House Judiciary to begin an impeachment inquiry.

On Friday, Politico reported Trump’s continual reference to serving more than two terms and comments by Michael Cohen that Trump will not leave if 2020 is close have people in Congress and the beltway chattering.

Concern is Trump would not accept a 2020 defeat, and tie the matter up in court for a long time. Republicans claim at that point they would intervene, and most at the juncture view the possibility as far-fetched.

On Friday, Trump tweeted a video depicting him on the cover of Time as running for president indefinitely. The video was a play on this week’s Time cover titled, “How Trumpism Outlasts Trump.”

On Friday, the number of Democrats calling for impeachment grew to 75 out of 235, bringing the total including Rep. Amash to 76.

On Friday, a newly unsealed filing from the Alexandria court revealed Sean Hannity and Paul Manafort exchanged hundreds of text messages about the Mueller probe in the time preceding Manafort’s criminal trial.

The two regularly communicated, sharing opinions and information about the Mueller investigation. Manafort put Hannity in touch with his attorney Kevin Downing, and Hannity relayed information from Trump’s orbit.

Manafort texted, “I won’t sell out. I cannot allow them to win..it would empower them to go after” Trump and others, adding he planned to work to re-elect Trump. Mueller brought the texts to the judge’s attention.

A gag order prevented Manafort from appearing on Hannity’s show, but he texted him, “Building a plan B.” He also told Hannity he was using information on Fox News for his legal arguments.

Manafort requested to put Downing in contact with Gregg Jarrett, another Fox News host, and set up Hannity with Downing on a phone call in a January 2018 to which Hannity said, “I asked him to feed me every day.”

Manafort said that unlike Gates, he would never cooperate. He also praised the hire of Rudy Giuliani, but repeatedly expressed frustration with then AG Jeff Sessions, whom he called “totally worthless.”

On Saturday, Trump defended the roundups, tweeting, “These are people that are supposed to go back to their home country,” adding, “They broke the law by coming into the country, & now by staying.”

On Saturday, Trump praised Bolton, despite reports of friction on Iran. Trump told reporters Bolton is a “hawk” and he disagrees with him at times, adding, “the only one that matters is me.”

On Saturday, Trump delayed planned deportation roundups scheduled for Sunday, facing a massive backlash from Democrats, activists, and elected officials and law enforcement in the 10 states he planned to target.

Pelosi called the roundups “heartless” and urged Trump to “stop this brutal action.” Trump tweeted, “at the request of Democrats, I have delayed the Illegal Immigration Removal Process (Deportation) for two weeks.”

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