The Tap: Monday, September 5, 2016

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The Tap covered election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events from February 2016 to February 2022.

Review of the day

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #33 of The Tap, which was published on September 10, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

• Speaking to reporters on his plane, Donald Trump denied any connections between a donation to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi in 2013 and her office’s decision not to pursue an investigation into fraud allegations against Trump University. On September 17, 2013, the Donald J. Trump Foundation, a 501(c)(3), donated $25,000 to And Justice for All, a 527 organization that backed Bondi’s successful re-election bid in 2014, four days after her office announced it was “reviewing the allegations” made against Trump University. The Washington Post reported on September 1, 2016, that Trump had paid a $2,500 penalty earlier this year because the donation violated federal tax law. When asked for a response to accusations that the donation was connected to Bondi’s decision not to pursue an investigation, Trump said, “No. I never spoke to her. First of all, she’s a fine person, beyond reproach. I never spoke to her about it at all. … Many of the attorney generals turned that case down because I’ll win that case in court. Many turned that down. I never spoke to her about it.”
  • See also: Trump University
• Hillary Clinton’s new campaign plane made its maiden voyage from New York to Cleveland with her traveling press corps in tow. Previously, Clinton and the press corps would fly to the same event on separate charter planes. This new traveling arrangement comes as Clinton has been under increased pressure to hold a news conference after more than 270 days without one.

• Judge Gerard Lynch of the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit assumed senior status, creating a second vacancy on that court. On August 1, 2016, Judge Richard Wesley assumed senior status on the Second Circuit. Both Judge Wesley’s and Judge Lynch’s positions are Article III judicial positions. Successors to both judges must be nominated by the president and confirmed on the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate.

• House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) called a memo outlining the Pentagon’s strategy for opposing the defense policy and spending bills “shameless.” The leaked memo written by Pentagon comptroller Mike McCord and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs Stephen Hedger stated, “In short, we should attack the OCO gimmick and be prepared to play hardball opposing it. The veto threat is our primary weapon. However, a veto threat only works if it is supported by the Democratic leadership and their caucuses. Our job is to encourage and support those efforts.” One of the reasons President Barack Obama has threatened to veto the House bills is that they use “the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) account to get around budget caps. A portion of the war fund would be used for base budget items, leaving the OCO account dry by April and forcing the next president to request supplemental funding,” according to The Hill. Ryan said in a statement, “For this administration, it's always politics first, even at the Pentagon. This memo details with relish a plan to use a presidential veto of a defense bill as a 'weapon.' … It's shameless, and it threatens more than five decades of bipartisan cooperation to enact a national defense bill for our troops. The men and women who defend our country deserve better."
  • According to Politico, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook declined to comment on the memo, but he said that the department’s “strong opposition to the House proposal should not be a surprise.”

Local

• The city of Seattle missed a self-imposed deadline for a proposal related to civilian oversight of the city’s police. City Attorney Pete Holmes set the deadline before a federal judge in August 2016. Mayor Ed Murray (D) has been a proponent of this sort of oversight since November 2014. This delay has partially been due to a conflict between the mayor and the Community Police Commission, a civilian-advocacy body. The Seattle Police Officers’ Guild has also rejected such reforms and cites the attempts at reform as one of the reasons they have not yet signed a new contract with the city. Seattle is the 21st-largest city in the United States by population, and the largest in Washington.

Preview of the day

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #32 of The Tap, which was published on September 3, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

• Judge Gerard Lynch of the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit will assume senior status, creating a second vacancy on that court. On August 1, 2016, Judge Richard Wesley assumed senior status on the Second Circuit. Both Judge Wesley and Judge Lynch’s positions are Article III judicial positions. Successors to both judges must be nominated by the president and confirmed on the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate.
  • For more, see: Ballotpedia’s August 2016 Federal Vacancy Count