TV News LIES

Representative Lloyd Doggett, who sits on the House Ways and Means Committee, said Democrats, who control the House of Representatives, were slow to request Trump’s tax returns from the Internal Revenue Service and now need to push back forcefully against Trump’s refusal to turn over the returns.

“Because this request was delayed until April and no legal action has yet been filed to get the returns, it is certain we won’t get them this year and perhaps (will face) some challenge to even get them with favorable expedited rulings by the time this Congress ends,” Doggett, who chairs the House Ways and Means health subcommittee, told CNN.

Rep. Susan Brooks has decided not to seek reelection in 2020, a stunning blow for House Republicans who had chosen her to lead recruitment in their attempt to claw back the majority.

The Indiana Republican will leave after her fourth term in the House, where she has been a rare moderate voice in a GOP that has veered sharply to the right under President Donald Trump. She has also been a vocal advocate for helping to elect Republican women to the House, where she is currently one of just 13.

Rep. Tom Emmer, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said that Brooks will continue to head up the party's recruitment efforts: "We are full steam ahead."

More...

The Senate failed to pass two resolutions Thursday intended to block arms sales to Bahrain and Qatar.

The resolutions, introduced by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), are part of a broader effort to curb the president’s authority on U.S. foreign policy. The measure to block arms sales to Bahrain failed in a 43-56 vote, while the effort to block arms sales to Qatar failed 42-57.

The U.S. House of Representatives’ Intelligence Committee has issued subpoenas against former White House adviser Michael Flynn and President Donald Trump’s former deputy campaign chairman Rick Gates, the panel said in a statement on Thursday.

In a letter accompanying the subpoena, the panel’s Democratic chairman, Adam Schiff, demanded that Flynn and Gates, who have both pleaded guilty to charges related to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, provide documents by June 26 and to testify before the committee on July 10.

More...

• Former White House communications director Hope Hicks has agreed to testify before the House Judiciary Committee next week.
• Hicks is the first material witness connected to the former special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe to appear before the panel.

• Her decision is especially noteworthy given that the White House instructed her — and all other witnesses who have been called to testify regarding the Mueller report — not to comply with the committee's subpoena for documents and testimony.