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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and Republicans are launching a broad election-year attack on the foundation of the Russia investigation. That includes declassifying intelligence information to try to place senior Obama administration officials under scrutiny. The effort has been aided by a Justice Department decision to dismiss its prosecution of former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn. The decision coincides with a far-ranging push by Trump and his Republican allies to reframe the Russia investigation as a “deep state” plot to sabotage his administration.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The judge presiding over Michael Flynn’s case has appointed a retired jurist to evaluate whether the former national security adviser should be held in criminal contempt. The order Wednesday is the second signal registering the judge's resistance to swiftly accepting the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss all charges against Flynn. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan has appointed former federal judge John Gleeson as a friend-of-the-court to address whether Sullivan should hold Flynn in “criminal contempt for perjury.” Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about conversations with the then-Russian ambassador to the United States. He admitted in court he lied to the FBI and violated federal law.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has had many targets in his war against the media, but perhaps none is more surprising than the Voice of America. The venerable U.S.-funded institution was created during WWII to broadcast independent news and promote democracy and American values to the world. Trump and his supporters have accused the outlet of “disgraceful” reporting and are pushing to install their choice to run the agency that oversees VOA and its affiliates. That battle will soon hit Congress, where partisan lines have already been drawn over fears the administration wants to turn VOA into a Trump propaganda machine.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Political newcomer Mike Garcia's win over Democratic Assemblywoman Christy Smith represents a rare victory for Republicans in heavily Democratic California. The last time the party reclaimed a Democratic seat was 1998. The race in the 25th District was being watched nationally as a proxy vote on President Donald Trump’s leadership during the coronavirus crisis, as well as for hints about the political climate heading toward the November elections. Garcia says it was the 2018 elections that prompted him to enter public life after a career as a Navy aviator, as his home state moved deeper into Democratic-dominated government that he faults for job-crushing regulation and climbing taxes.
BEIJING (AP) — Coronavirus testing was to begin Thursday in the Chinese city of Wuhan after officials were given 10 days to test everyone in the city where the pandemic first broke out. A provincial television website said that about 1,000 residents in one compound would be tested in groups. No official announcement has been made, but local officials say they have received mass testing orders from the city's coronavirus task force. It's unclear if everyone in the city of 11 million people will actually be tested and how such a monumental campaign would happen.
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