That’s all for today, everyone. Thanks for tuning in on yet another eventful day. A quick recap of recent developments:
The Venezuela saga continues, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo hinting that the US would not be recalling its diplomats within the next 72 hours, as Nicolas Maduro demanded after the Trump administration recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country’s interim president.
With the government shutdown is in its 33rd day, and no end in sight, 12 protesters were arrested outside of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office. The protesters, many of whom were federal union leaders, were chanting, “We want to work!” Meanwhile, union leaders for air traffic controllers, pilots, and flight attendants issued a statement expressing concern over safety during the shutdown, saying that with so many of their federal worker counterparts unsure of when they could return to work, they could not “even calculate the level of risk currently at play, nor predict the point at which the entire system will break.” Lara Trump urged federal workers working without pay to “stay strong” through this “little bit of pain.”
House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff and Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters are planning a joint investigation into Deutsche Bank, which is under scrutiny for its business dealings with President Trump.
Iowa Senator Joni Ernst told Bloomberg that she was both a rape and domestic abuse survivor.
Air traffic controllers, pilots, and flight attendant are “have a growing concern for the safety and security of our members, our airlines, and the traveling public due to the government shutdown.”
Late on Day 33 of the longest government shutdown in the country’s history, the presidents of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the Air Line Pilots Association, and the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA issued a statement that “in our risk averse industry, we cannot even calculate the level of risk currently at play, nor predict the point at which the entire system will break. It is unprecedented.”
“Due to the shutdown, air traffic controllers, transportation security officers, safety inspectors, air marshals, federal law enforcement officers, FBI agents, and many other critical workers have been working without pay for over a month. Staffing in our air traffic control facilities is already at a 30-year low and controllers are only able to maintain the system’s efficiency and capacity by working overtime, including 10-hour days and 6-day workweeks at many of our nation’s busiest facilities. Due to the shutdown, the FAA has frozen hiring and shuttered its training academy, so there is no plan in effect to fill the FAA’s critical staffing need. Even if the FAA were hiring, it takes two to four years to become fully facility certified and achieve Certified Professional Controller (CPC) status. Almost 20% of CPCs are eligible to retire today. There are no options to keep these professionals at work without a paycheck when they can no longer afford to support their families. When they elect to retire, the National Airspace System (NAS) will be crippled.
“The situation is changing at a rapid pace. Major airports are already seeing security checkpoint closures, with many more potentially to follow. Safety inspectors and federal cyber security staff are not back on the job at pre-shutdown levels, and those not on furlough are working without pay. Last Saturday, TSA management announced that a growing number of officers cannot come to work due to the financial toll of the shutdown. In addition, we are not confident that system-wide analyses of safety reporting data, which is used to identify and implement corrective actions in order to reduce risks and prevent accidents is 100 percent operational due to reduced FAA resources.
“As union leaders, we find it unconscionable that aviation professionals are being asked to work without pay and in an air safety environment that is deteriorating by the day. To avoid disruption to our aviation system, we urge Congress and the White House to take all necessary steps to end this shutdown immediately. “
Republican Senator Joni Ernst told Bloomberg on Wednesday that she had been raped in college.
The Iowa lawmaker came forward with her story after details from affidavits she and ex-husband Gail Ernst filed in their divorce were inadvertently made public this week, and allegations that her ex-husband had physically abused her came out.
“I didn’t want to share it with anybody, and in the era of hashtag-MeToo survivors, I always believed that every person is different and they will confront their demons when they’re ready,” Ernst said. “And I was not ready.”
Ernst is a high-ranking member of her party, and she had been on a shortlist to be President Trump’s vice president. But with everything happening with her family, she later called Trump to withdraw from consideration.
She is planning on seeking reelection in 2020.
“People know my situation now,” she said. “What I can do is be honest about what happened. And I can move forward.”
In the latest twist in the Venezuela saga, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo seemed to imply that the US would not be recalling its diplomats within the next 72 hours.
Pompeo issued a statement Wednesday evening that “the United States does not consider former president Nicolas Madura to have the legal authority to break diplomatic relations with the United States or to declare our diplomats persona non grata.”
“We call on the Venezuelan military and security forces to continue protecting the welfare and well-being of all Venezuelan citizens, as well as US and other foreign citizens in Venezuela,” Pompeo said. “We call on all parties to refrain from measures that are inconsistent with the privileges and immunities enjoyed by the diplomatic community. The United States will take appropriate actions to hold accountable anyone who endangers the safety and security of our mission and its personnel.
In a message to federal employees in the midst of the longest government shutdown in the country’s history, Lara Trump, President Trump’s daughter-in-law and campaign adviser, described not being able to earn a paycheck for 33 days as “a little bit of pain.”
“But it’s going to be for the future of our country,” she said. She urged federal workers “to please stay strong.”
Trump spoke to BOLD TV about the shutdown, putting the blame squarely on the Democrats who “keep playing politics.” Her father-in-law is fighting for “what he knows is the right thing to do,” she said.
Toward the end of the 4-minute clip, BOLD founder Carrie Sheffield asked Trump, “In terms of the workers who are coming to work and not getting paid, what would you say to them?”
“It’s not fair to you, and we all get that, but this is so much bigger than any one person,” Trump said. “It is a little bit of pain, but it’s going to be for the future of our country, and their children and their grandchildren and generations after them will thank them for their sacrifice right now. I know it’s hard. I know people have families, they have bills to pay, they have mortgages, they have rents that are due. But the president is trying every single day to come up with a good solution here and, the reality is, it’s been something that’s gone on for too long and been unaddressed: our immigration problem.”
On Day 33 of the shutdown, 12 protesters, some with a federal workers union, were arrested outside Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office. All 12 were booked on suspicion of crowding, obstructing, or incommoding outside of room 317 in the Russell Senate Office Building, according to the US Capitol Police.
Activist Kristin Mink tweeted that the protesters were federal union leaders who were chanting “We want to work!” and “stop the shutdown!”
Schiff, Waters plan joint investigation into bank with Trump business dealings
House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff and Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters are planning a joint investigation into Deutsche Bank, Politico reports. The bank is under scrutiny for not just its possible role in money laundering schemes, but for its business dealings with President Trump.
The investigation into Deutsche Bank will be one of the most closely watched probes launched by the new Democratic-controlled Congress because it could provide a glimpse into Trump’s finances and his ties abroad.
Waters, who has called for the president’s impeachment, has vowed to follow the “Trump money trail” starting with Deutsche Bank. Before she became chairwoman, she asked the bank for details on its handling of Trump’s accounts and involvement in Russian money laundering schemes.
The bank declined her request, citing privacy issues for its customers. She now has subpoena power to get some answers.
After the Trump administration recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country’s interim president, Nicolas Maduro ordered all US diplomats to leave the country within 72 hours.
NEW: White House on Maduro's order to US diplomats to leave Venezuela in 72 hours: "The order is meaningless."
Alright folks, I’m handing over the keys of the blog to my colleague Vivian Ho on the West Coast. She’ll take you through the latest developments throughout the evening.
To recap yet another wild day so far:
Nancy Pelosi told Donald Trump he can no longer hold his State of the Union address inside the House chamber, leaving the president in search of an alternative venue
Michael Cohen, the president’s former attorney, delayed his planned testimony before Congress due to ‘threats’ from Trump and his legal team
The Trump administration has recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country’s interim president, prompting Nicolas Maduro to cut off all diplomatic relations with the US
The government shutdown is in its 33rd day, with no end in sight
Manafort attorneys dispute allegations he lied to investigators
The attorneys for former Trump campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, are pushing back once again on allegations by special counsel Robert Mueller’s office that he lied to federal investigators in a violation of his plea deal.
In a heavily redacted court filing filed on Wednesday, Manafort’s legal team argued that his answers simply amounted to “a lack of consistency”.
“Many of these events occurred years ago, or during a high-pressure U.S. presidential campaign he managed when his time was extraordinarily limited,” Manafort’s defense counsel wrote, “or during the difficult time that followed his departure from the 2016 presidential campaign because of the allegations leveled at him and the investigations that followed”.
They further added that Mueller had not provided evidence to “demonstrate any intentional falsehoods”.
Mueller’s team detailed Manafort’s alleged lies, with what they said was corresponding evidence, in a filing of their own last week.
Among the most damning revelations to come from the back-and-forth between Manafort’s legal team and the special counsel: that Manafort allegedly shared internal campaign polling data with Konstantin Kilimnik, a business associate of his with known ties to Russian intelligence.
Prosecutors allege that Manafort breached a plea agreement, struck with them in November, by lying to investigators during the course of 12 interviews. If convicted on the charge, Manafort could substantial jail time.
