2019年5月11日星期六

‘So Help Me God’ No More: House Traditions Get a Makeover

The Democrats running the House are changing things, including sometimes omitting words from the swearing-in oath. Some Republicans are not pleased.

2019年5月9日星期四

House Panel Approves Contempt for Barr After Trump Claims Privilege Over Full Mueller ReportHouse Panel Approves Contempt for Barr

House Panel Approves Contempt for Barr After Trump Claims Privilege Over Full Mueller Report

By NICHOLAS FANDOS

The House Judiciary Committee voted to hold Attorney General William P. Barr in contempt after President Trump asserted executive privilege over the full Mueller report.

Donald Trump Jr. Is Subpoenaed to Testify to Senate Panel on Russia Contacts

By MARK MAZZETTI and MAGGIE HABERMAN

Mr. Trump is the first of the president’s children to be subpoenaed in the congressional investigations into Russia’s 2016 election interference.

2019年5月8日星期三

Donald Trump’s war on oversight. Trump Asserts Executive Privilege Over Mueller Report, DOJ Says

Donald Trump risks permanently weakening Congress’s oversight capacity, and rendering presidential power virtually unrestrained

關於這個網站

ECONOMIST.COM

Donald Trump’s war on oversight
What’s happening now could reshape American democracy

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BREAKING: Trump has asserted executive privilege over all of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigative documents sought by House Democrats, a major escalation in a conflict between the White House and Congress

關於這個網站

BLOOMBERG.COM

Trump Asserts Executive Privilege Over Mueller Report, DOJ Says

2019年5月4日星期六

美國國防部正在以“國家利益”為名，宣布不再資助設有孔子學院的美國大學中的中文教育旗艦項目

美國防部參與封殺美國大學孔子學院

作者弗林發表時間04-05-2019 更改時間04-05-2

美國《新聞周刊》在近日報導指出，美國國防部正在以“國家利益”為名，宣布不再資助設有孔子學院的美國大學中的中文教育旗艦項目，這可能會導致一些大學中孔子學院的繼續關閉。

報導指出，由於近來美國對中國海外影響力擴張的加強關注，由中國官方支持的孔子學院也被指干預和削弱美國校園內的學術自由。美國國會在去年曾通過一項法律，停止國防部對已經設有孔子學院的大學中，中文教學旗艦項目的經濟支持，但除國防部准許豁免大學例外。根據最新消息顯示，美國國防部透露稱，目前申請豁免的13所設有孔子學院的大學，無一獲得或將獲得特批。

美國國防部發言人馬克斯維爾（Jessica Maxwell ）介紹稱：“國防部戰備與人事次長可以根據法律規定的條件，給予申請校方豁免資格。但經過審查，該部門已確定依照國家利益放棄對該條款的豁免使用權。”據悉，申請要求國防部豁免的13所大學現已被告知這一決定，因此將由這些學校的管理層在接下來決定是否繼續與孔子學院合作，還是就中文教學問題從美國政府得到資助。在過去數月來，印第安納大學（Indiana University）、羅德島大學（University of Rhode Island）以及明尼蘇達大學（University of Minnesota）紛紛宣布中斷與孔子學院的合作關係，並承認受到國防部新規定衝擊。

此外，舊金山州立大學（San Francisco State University）、俄勒岡大學（University of Oregon）和西肯塔基大學（Western Kentucky University）在過去2周中也宣布將關閉校內孔子學院。而在過去的15個月中已有15所美國大學宣布關閉了這一中方機構。俄勒岡大學的相關聲明指出，該校之所以關閉孔子學院是因為自2016至2017學年以來，他們從國防部中文教育旗艦項目中獲得了近380萬美元的資助經費。而在俄勒岡大學管理層作出這一決定前，國防部則停止向校方發放一筆34萬3千美元，意在幫助校內學生前往中國交換學習或實習的讚助資金。

2019年5月2日星期四

Mueller's full letter complaining about the attorney general characterization of his work

Read Mueller's full letter complaining about the attorney general characterization of his work.

http://time.com/5581055/robert-mueller-william-barr-letter-transcript/

Two days after initially receiving the report, Barr released a four-page summary on March 24 that briefly outlined the report’s “principal conclusions” to Congress. In it, Barr stated that Mueller did not establish a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia, and that he did not conclude whether the President obstructed justice. Trump and some of his allies later falsely used Barr’s summary to claim the President had been exonerated.

Mueller’s March 27 letter lays bare his frustrations with Barr’s summary, and the public reaction to it.

“The summary letter the Department sent to Congress and released to the public late in the afternoon of March 24 did not fully capture the context, nature and substance of this Office’s work and conclusions. We communicated that concern to the Department on March 25. There is now public confusion about critical aspects of the results of our investigation. This threatens to undermine a central purpose for which the Department appointed the Special Counsel: to assure full public confidence in the outcome of the investigation.”

Read the full letter here: