The GOP presented their second alternative budget on Wednesday with a deficit totaling $1.7 trillion. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., discusses the Republican proposal with MSNBC's Keith Olbermann.
This video is from MSNBC's Countdown, broadcast Apr. 1, 2009.
The Department of Justice has located a document known as the "Alternative Mueller Report" — and officials are reviewing it for possible release sometime next year.
"A top deputy to Special Counsel Robert Mueller, Andrew Weissmann, revealed in a book he published last year that the team he headed prepared a summary of all its work — apparently including details not contained in the final report made public in 2019," Politico reported Thursday night. "The reference prompted the New York Times to submit a Freedom of Information Act request for the document in January and to follow up in July with a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. Lawyers from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan told Judge Katherine Polk Failla in a letter Thursday that officials have figured out what document Weissmann was alluding to and have begun reviewing it for possible release."
In response to the NYT's lawsuit, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Jude wrote in the letter: "Since Plaintiff filed its complaint, Defendant has located and begun processing this record and intends to release all non-exempt portions to Plaintiff once processing is complete. Defendant estimates that primary processing of the record will be complete by the end of January 2022 at which time Defendant expects to send the record to several other DOJ components for consultation."
Weissmann wrote in his book that "for posterity,' he directed team members to "write up an internal report memorializing everything we found, our conclusions, and the limitations on the investigation."
In Mueller's office, Weismann supervised "Team M" — which was focused on former president Donald Trump's one-time campaign manager, Paul Manafort. Another team, known as "Team R," was focused on Trump's ties to Russia.
"It's unclear whether investigative teams other than Weissmann's also prepared compilations that were not contained in Mueller's final report," Politico reports.
Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton was forcefully rebuked on the Senate floor on Thursday after accusing President Joe Biden and Democrats of being soft on Russia and President Vladimir Putin.
"The simplest way to deter invasion of Ukraine, the simplest way to deter Russian aggression, is to draw clear red lines of enforcement, something that Joe Biden will not do, something that apparently the Democratic senators will not force him to do," Cotton claimed.
New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen didn't waste any time shooting down Cotton's allegation.
"I just have to take real umbrage at your suggestion, Sen. Cotton," Shaheen said emphatically. "I'm the one who Vladimir Putin refused a visa to get into Russia, because of my opposition to Russia, and to what Putin was doing."
"He didn't deny you a visa to get into the country," Shaheen exclaimed, jabbing her finger toward Cotton. "So don't talk to me about how I've not been tough enough on Russia, because that dog won't hunt!"
Watch it below.
My gracious Jeanne Shaheen just handed Tom Cotton his own posterior on the Senate floor.pic.twitter.com/sPkPpSpbiR
On Thursday evening, the Senate overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan continuing resolution to prevent a government shutdown at the end of the week — dealing a blow to a small group of Republicans who had been hoping to force such a confrontation as a political statement.
Shutdown officially thwarted \n\nSenate passes the CR, 69-28. \n\nHappy stopgap to all those who celebrate.
The shutdown effort, led by Republicans like Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, was an attempt to "defund" enforcement of President Joe Biden's civilian vaccine mandate for most businesses over 100 employees, which is currently the subject of litigation on multiple fronts.
Cruz was famously also at the forefront of the 2013 government shutdown, where Republicans sought to defund implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
In the House, some Republicans like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia also encouraged a shutdown.
Passage of the resolution keeps the government fully funded for the short term, and prevents a potential protracted fight that could slow down economy recovery.
