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Congress is out for Thanksgiving but if you thought it was going to be a slow news Monday, you’re wrong. Yesterday, ABC News reported that Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team is investigating whether Donald Trump sought to obstruct a federal inquiry into connections between his presidential campaign and Russian operatives, and has now directed the DOJ to turn over a broad array of documents. So right on cue, 45 took to Twitter, creating a distraction for the echo chambers to chase. First he responded to LaVar Ball, the outspoken father of one of the three UCLA basketball players arrested for shoplifting in China, after Ball downplayed the president’s involvement in freeing his son. “Now that the three basketball players are out of China and saved from years in jail, LaVar Ball, the father of LiAngelo, is unaccepting of what I did for his son and that shoplifting is no big deal. I should have left them in jail!” Trump tweeted. And he didn’t stop there. In a series of tweets, he has been attacking Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and NFL player Marshawn Lynch, touting tax reform, the border wall, and debating making it easier to kill elephants. Senate GOP leaders are working from their districts to create unity among their ranks for their version of the tax bill. And these overflowing news cycles are all taxing on the folks who track it. So we’re taking a break to enjoy the short week. The last Beat DC for the week will be tomorrow so the team can enjoy a nice Thanksgiving with family. We hope you guys will miss us as much us Chance the Rapper misses Barack Obama! We’re kicking off the short week with this...
- Thousands march in DC in support of aid for Puerto Rico.
- Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) intros legislation to combat sexual assault in the military.
- Michelle Obama says the slew of reports on sexual harassment make her sick.
- Congressman Ro Khanna (D-CA) starts an Antitrust Caucus.
- FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to roll out plans this week on net neutrality.
- Rev. Jesse Jackson reveals Parkinson’s diagnosis.
- Former Obama official makes bid on Weinstein, Co.
- Columbia University honors Eric Holder with an institute.
- Former Hispanic Lobbyists Association President Cristina Antelo jumps over to Vantage Knight.
- Black Trump surrogate thinking about running for Congress.
- The Big Easy elects its first female mayor.
- Congressman Emmanuel Cleaver (D-MO) and Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) pen letter to Internet Association over racial bias.
- Protester who caused a viral photo sensation in September is elected to office in North Carolina.
- Gay Times Editor fired over inappropriate tweets.
- Fox News anchor who’s suing the network for racial discrimination speaks today in London with British authorities looking at Fox-Sky deal.
- Satirical website The Onion starts online magazine headed by person of color.
- TIME nominates several POCs as their Person of the Year.
- Chief of Staff to House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) may have info on GOP platform changes related to Russia.
- Trump is apparently all happy now with the “Mexican” judge he didn’t like.
- Turkey investigates former US Attorney Preet Bharara.
- Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) is hosting a holiday party with donors of color. RSVP below!
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Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL) with Cuban activist Félix Yuniel Llenera. | |  | Actor and activist Jesse Williams with singer/songwriter Pharrell in Shanghai after "debuting" his song "100 Years," a song about climate change, which will be locked away until 2117. | |
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Latino Lawmakers vs. John Kelly
Tensions between the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and WH Chief of Staff John Kelly are surfacing again as Congress is poised for a year-end fight over whether to enact permanent legal protections for hundreds of thousands of "Dreamers." WaPo reports that Kelly is expected to be a key player in the upcoming negotiations, which have become intertwined with the need to pass a spending bill next month to keep the government from shutting down. Hispanic Caucus members are among the Democrats pushing most aggressively to withhold needed votes for the funding measure until a deal is solidified on the future of dreamers. Earlier this year, CHC members described him during public hearings and private meetings as patronizing, disingenuous and unwilling to concede facts when confronted with what they say was evidence that immigration officers may be overstepping bounds. "A four-star general doesn’t have very many people who are going to challenge him," said Congressman Joaquín Castro (D-TX). "You could tell it was unusual for him to be challenged by people." During one meeting, Kelly said that "Dreamers" were "good kids, I support them," Congresswoman Nanette Díaz Barragán (D-CA) recalled. But when she asked if he would support their legislation, "He stood there in complete silence," she said, before telling the group, "I’m unaware of any such legislation." Dems in the room gasped and at least one member shouted, "Are you serious?" Congressman Rubén Gallego (D-AZ) said, "We warned people. We people of color usually catch onto this stuff before anyone else." More here.
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Michelle Obama Speaks About Headlines of Girls and Women and Sexual Assault
During former First Lady Michelle Obama’s speech in Hartford, CT on Thursday, she addressed a slew of allegations that have made headlines involving inappropriate sexual behavior. "I can’t tell you how sick it makes me, the more I see the uncovering of the truth that all us women know has been out there, that there is an ugliness there," she told the crowd. She went on to explain that in order for women to gain the strength to speak up for themselves, it's going to take a lot of work. But it's not all on women -- men need to act as allies: "I’m talking to the men out there, who cannot be innocent bystanders and complacent ... watching this happen," she said. FLOTUS44 also spoke about the state of anxiety women constantly live in. "We live in a world ... where young girls are literally in danger of some kind of mess, whether it’s what a man says to us, or how he looks at us, or an opportunity that is taken from us, or somebody who’s got our foot on our necks," she said. "It is such a sad, common existence for women and girls in this country." More here from Glamour.
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Jesse Jackson Reveals Parkinson’s Diagnosis
Civil rights icon Jesse Jackson announced on Friday that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. The 76-year-old said he had found it “increasingly difficult to perform routine tasks” and get around in recent years. Jackson said that after initially resisting due to his work, he relented and sought medical testing. Jackson was diagnosed with the disease in 2015, according to a statement released by Northwestern Medicine in Chicago. “Since that time, Northwestern has been treating Rev. Jackson in an outpatient setting.” Jackson remains an active presence in American life and politics. “I will continue to try to instill hope in the hopeless, expand our democracy to the disenfranchised and free innocent prisoners around the world,” Jackson wrote, adding that he would also work on a memoir. “I steadfastly affirm that I would rather wear out than rust out.” Jackson described Parkinson's as “a disease that bested my father” and pledged to use his platform and voice to seek a cure for the illness. According to the CDC, Parkinson's is the second-most common neurodegenerative disorder, trailing only Alzheimer's disease. More here.
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Prepping for last Thursday's Utah Diné Bikéyah's 1st Annual Indigenous Dinner with Sioux Chef's Yazzie The Chef, and Vern Defoe, Lake Superior Chippewa, in Salt Lake City. | |  | ABC News commentator Tara Setmayer with progressive activist Sally Kohn. Polar opposites politically but still friends. | |
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Hirono Intros Bipartisan Legislation to Combat Sexual Assault in the Military
Last week, Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and a group of bipartisan colleagues reintroduced the Military Justice Improvement Act, which would establish an impartial, fair, and accountable military justice system to address the crisis of sexual assault. Last year, the Department of Defense announced a record number of sexual assaults reported against service members, and the lowest conviction rates for their assailants on record, at just 9%. The most recent Pentagon survey found that nearly 6 out of 10 survivors say they have experienced some form of retaliation for reporting the crime. "We have institutionalized and protected a process that does not result in justice for victims. I continue to call for the passage of the Military Justice Improvement Act to address this injustice, and thank Senator Gillibrand for her leadership on this critical issue," said Hirono. Learn more here.
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Khanna Starts Antitrust Caucus
Congressmen Ro Khanna (D-CA), Rick Nolan (D-MN), and Mark Pocan (D-WI) started a new Antitrust Caucus aimed at combating economic concentration across industries including airlines, telecom, and pharmaceuticals. "What Congress can do is really strengthen the enforcement agencies on these issues and make sure they are robust," Khanna told Politico, noting that legislative efforts could help increase funding for the DOJ antitrust division and boost support for the FTC. Another focus is ensuring appropriate scrutiny of tech mergers like Amazon-Whole Foods, he said. Alex Thompson and Noah Kulwin from VICE News report that Khanna and the Antitrust Caucus have a list of targeted industries that includes the airline, telecom, agri-business, financial services, and even tech, despite the fact that Khanna represents a wide swath of Silicon Valley. The creation of the Caucus, he said, helps organize the anti-monopoly push so that it’s not just individual members giving "one-off speeches on the floor or sending one-off letters." More here.
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Pai to Roll Out Open Internet Plans This Week
FCC Chair Ajit Pai is set to unveil plans this week for a final vote to reverse a landmark 2015 net neutrality order barring the blocking or slowing of web content. In May, the FCC voted 2-1 to advance the Republican’s plan to withdraw the former Obama administration’s order reclassifying internet service providers as if they were utilities. Pai now plans to hold a final vote on the proposal at the FCC’s December 14th meeting and roll out details of the plan this week. Internet providers say ending the rules could spark billions in additional broadband investment and eliminate the possibility a future administration could regulate internet pricing. Critics say the move could harm consumers, small businesses, and access to the internet. Pai has been mounting an aggressive deregulatory agenda as evidenced by last week’s vote to eliminate the 42-year-old ban on cross-ownership of a newspaper and TV station in the same major market. This move helps clear the path for conservative media group Sinclair Broadcasting’s proposed $3.9 billion merger with Tribune Media. More here.
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CBC Members Press Internet Association on Racial Bias
Today, Congressman Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) and Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) sent a letter to the Internet Association (IA) urging the organization, which represents some of the world's biggest tech companies, to "stop the spread of racial and gender bias through technology and adopt practices and policies to hold members accountable when it comes to the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology." They write, "It is imperative that policy makers carefully attempt to balance policies and regulations that mitigate social and ethical risks while providing an environment that allows for and supports innovation in industries such as yours." Politico reports that the members ask IA to answer these questions: whether it has implemented a process to ensure no gender, racial or religious bias in its data sets, algorithms and products; whether it has put in place best practices to prevent discrimination; and if there's a process that could educate the public and IA members on how to spot racial- or gender-biased content. See the full letter here.
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Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) with Congressmen Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), José Serrano (D-NY), Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL), and Darren Soto (D-FL) on Thursday talking about further aid for hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico. | |  | Ron Gonzales, President and CEO of the Hispanic Federation of Silicon Valley, with Cid Wilson, President and CEO of the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility. | |
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Obama Official and Mexican Immigrant Makes Bid on Weinstein Co.
María Contreras-Sweet, who ran the Small Business Administration during the Obama administration, has made a $275 million bid to buy the embattled Weinstein Co. In a letter to the board of directors, Contreras-Sweet said she hopes to be Executive Chairwoman of a majority-female board heading Weinstein Co., which would be renamed. She also wants to set up a fund for victims of alleged sexual misconduct by the studio’s recently fired co-chairman Harvey Weinstein, and a mediation process to reach settlements with them. She is backed by silent partners, many of them women, and top finance attorney Mickey Mayerson of Loeb & Loeb. Another person supporting Contreras-Smith is attorney Gloria Allred, who is representing several of the women accusing Harvey Weinstein of unwanted sexual advances and alleged assault. In her letter, Contreras-Smith, who immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico at age five with her family, said she has been “profoundly affected by the recent revelations” and that “reorganizing the company as a woman-led venture will be an inspiration to the industry, and a new model for how an entertainment company can be both financially successful and treat all its employees with dignity and respect." More here.
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Columbia Announces the Eric Holder Initiative for Civil and Political Rights
Columbia College has announced the Eric H. Holder Initiative for Civil and Political Rights. Named after former AG Eric Holder, the double Columbia graduate (‘73 undergrad/‘76 law school), the school says the Holder Initiative will carve out a distinctive experience for Columbia University’s undergraduate students. Through an anonymous donor, $10 million has been raised to secure the Holder Initiative, halfway towards its $20 million goal of becoming an institute. Initial support for the Holder Initiative came in part from a three-year grant from the Ford Foundation. The Holder Initiative will sponsor courses, public events, student internships, and fellowships for practitioners that extend the themes and questions of the Core Curriculum -- the College’s distinctive set of common courses required of all students -- into a more focused interrogation of the mechanisms that promote justice and civil and political rights. Discouraging retreat into what Holder calls "the quiet prejudice of inaction," the Initiative hopes to encourage students to "live the Core" by supporting their civic action on and beyond campus. More here.
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Director of PR Electric Company Who Approved Whitefish Contract Resigns
Just days after a rough appearance before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee where he was criticized for greenlighting the controversial $300 million no-bid contract with Whitefish Energy, Ricardo Ramos, the embattled Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Agency (PREPA), resigned Friday effective immediately. Ramos had been heavily criticized for approving a contract with the small Montana firm to rebuild Puerto Rico’s electric grid after Hurricane Maria. Before announcing his resignation, Ramos posted on Facebook on Friday that while “mistakes were made” nothing was done illegally. However, local press reported that Ramos had awarded a nearly $100,000 contract to an attorney acquaintance for consulting work and that Ramos had tried to get him a job with PREPA. In a video posted later on Twitter, Ramos said his resignation "was a very personal decision" and that it had nothing to do with any one particular issue. Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló called Ramos a professional who worked hard, but that "there were a series of distractions, and a decision was taken to go in another direction." PR is struggling to rebuild after the hurricane, and nearly 60% of the island remains without electricity. More here (in Spanish).
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Vantage Knight Names CEO
The mass exodus from The Podesta Group continues. Principal Cristina Antelo announced on Friday she would be assuming the position as CEO of Vantage Knight, a lobbying firm run by Democratic strategist Manuel Ortiz. Cristina began her lobbying career in 2004 representing Fortune 500 clients. Before transitioning to government relations, in the early 2000's Cristina worked as a Wall Street investment banker and wealth management advisor at Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan. She also worked on the Democratic Steering Committee, when it was chaired by then-Senators Hillary Clinton and Tom Daschle. Cristina is one of many who have announced major moves after Tony Podesta announced he would be stepping down from his lobbying shop. Antelo, a native Spanish speaker, was born in Dallas to Cuban parents, graduated from Georgetown University and the George Washington University Law School, and is a founding member and former President of the Hispanic Lobbyists Association. Congrats, Cristina! More here.
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|  | Congressman Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) last week accepting the John F. Kennedy Library's New Frontier Award for his leadership on climate change, from JFK’s only grandson, Jack Schlossberg. | |  | Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) on Saturday showing her UC Berkeley Golden Bears pride before the big game against Stanford. | |
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Black Trump Surrogate Mulls Congressional Run in Cleveland
You guys remember the Cleveland pastor Darrell Scott, right? He was one of the Black faces paraded before cameras with Omarosa as part of her African American outreach. Well, this guy is mulling a congressional run. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that 58-year-old Scott is meeting with members of Trump’s inner circle as he lays the groundwork for a possible primary challenge of Congressman Dave Joyce (R-OH). Scott said he met with Corey Lewandowski last week in DC for two hours and that the two discussed fundraising, campaign staffing, and other political fundamentals. He also met with Donald Trump Jr. and plans to meet with Steve Bannon, who is encouraging him to run. Scott, who was an Obama-voting Democrat until recently, has never run for office. He is the CEO of the National Diversity Coalition for Trump, a group of racial and religious minority Trump supporters. During a public meeting of supporters that the WH called a Black History celebration, Scott announced that "top gang thugs" in Chicago wanted to meet with him to help reduce the "body count." When reporters followed up on these claims, he walked back his remarks and ended up meeting with “former street guys” at Trump’s hotel in DC. As far as his commitment to reducing the body count, Chicago reached its 600th murder last week. Curious what Pastor Scott has done to address some of the social ills plaguing Cleveland. More here.
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NOLA Makes History Electing First Female Mayor
The Big Easy made history over the weekend, electing City Councilwoman LaToya Cantrell the city’s first female mayor in its 300-year history. She defeated former Municipal Court Judge Desiree Charbonnet, also a Democrat, in a runoff election on Saturday, where Cantrell claimed 60% of the vote. She is a relative newcomer on the public scene and is the first outsider elected to the office since 1961. The 45-year-old mayor-elect grew up in Los Angeles and moved to New Orleans to attend college at Xavier University. She became head of the Broadmoor Improvement Association, where she helped thwart a city plan to raze the neighborhood in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. She then went on to win election to City Council in 2012, and is the latest candidate that the progressive group Our Revolution, led by Nina Turner, can claim as a victory. More here.
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Protester in Viral Photo Gets Elected to Office
Last September, Braxton Winston was the center of a dramatic photo from Charlotte, NC showing him shirtless and with his fist raised, facing a line of police wearing riot gear and holding batons. Now the 34-year-old has been elected as an at-large member of the Charlotte City Council. He says the path that led him to the Council began specifically on September 20, 2016, the night the photo was taken and went viral. He and hundreds of others demanded that the Police Chief and other city officials resign in the wake of Keith Lamont Scott's fatal shooting in a parking lot. Police arrested Winston during a protest that weekend, although the charges were later dropped. He also joined a lawsuit against the city, which has since been dropped, alleging police violated the rights of protesters. Winston, who grew up in Brooklyn after his parents moved from North Carolina, said he wants to work on ending the inequalities in Charlotte and change the civic system to get more people to participate. The Davidson College graduate wants to be an agent of change, but he recognized that some things need to stay the same, such as trash collection and clean running water. "We're trying to learn how to run a city while still being dedicated and active in changing the inequities of the system that do pervade around us," he said. More here.
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Former Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Airbnb's Janaye Ingram getting ready to see Ms. Nasty, Janet Jackson, in concert. | |  |
Congressman Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) enjoying genuine NM food with friend and volunteer Connie Trujillo over the weekend. | |
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Gay Times Editor Fired
Gay Times Editor Josh Rivers, has been fired for tweeting a series of anti-Semitic and misogynistic comments, as well as using Twitter to attack gay people, homeless people, and disabled children. The first person of color to serve as Editor of a gay men’s magazine took the position only last month, but his future was in jeopardy after a string of incendiary posts on his Twitter account between 2010 and 2015 came to light. He was suspended by the magazine last Wednesday and on Thursday morning, the magazine announced that it had dismissed him. Rivers tweeted an apology and said in an accompanying statement that at the time, he faced “issues that prevented me from treating people with the respect and kindness I value so dearly now.” More here.
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Fox News Anchor Speaks with British Authorities Over Sky Deal
Fox News anchor Kelly Wright, who is suing the network for racial discrimination, is set to meet today with British authorities scrutinizing 21st Century Fox’s attempted $15 billion takeover of Sky. He will speak to the Competition and Markets Authority and then at a meeting in Parliament chaired by Ed Miliband, the former Labour Party leader who has been a vocal opponent of the Fox-Sky deal. Kelly's remarks will not be made public. Fox owns 39% of Sky and wants to buy the rest of the European pay-TV giant. Leadership at Fox News has been seized upon by opponents of the deal who say it is evidence that the Murdoch family would not be fit and proper owners of Sky. Additionally, the U.K. feed of the channel has been pulled. More here.
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The Onion Presents The Take Out
The Onion and A.V. Club have launched a new online magazine, The Takeout. The magazine will discuss the intersection of food, drinks, and pop culture, as well as explore food from a scientific angle with features on recipes and reviews. Joining as Editor-In-Chief is Kevin Pang, who was a food editor for A.V. Club before joining the spin-off publication. Pang also contributes to The New York Times and Lucky Peach. His documentary, For Grace, premiered at SXSW 2015. Kevin has been nominated for five James Beard Foundation Awards, including a 2010 winner for The Cheeseburger Show. Pang began his career as a Metro Reporter at the LA Times and as a writer for the Chicago Tribune, and before that, worked as a Little League baseball umpire and a magic shop demonstrator. Jen Sabella has come on as the Managing Editor. She was previously the Deputy Editor and Director of Social Media for DNAinfo. Both will be based in Chicago. More here.
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TIME's Person of the Year
For 90 years, TIME magazine has named a “Person of the Year,” defined as a person (or people) who has had the most influence over the news in the last 12 months. This year, where news cycles have come to redefine time, the magazine offers readers a wide scope of names, influencers, and movements to be considered. They include: San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz; Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA); Serena Williams who made history this year winning the Australian Open for an Open Era record seventh time, defeating her sister, Venus. This was her 23rd Grand Slam singles title and the first time in the Open Era that two players aged 35 or older competed in the final of a Grand Slam tournament. The new mom was a blushing bride on Thursday, marrying Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. Also on the TIME list is Colin Kaepernick, who sparked a movement peacefully protesting police brutality and inequities in the criminal justice system; ESPN’s Jemele Hill, who drew national attention when she said white supremacy was the reason Donald Trump was elected President. She also targeted Cowboys owner Jerry Jones after he said players who kneel won’t play; the 800,000 "Dreamers" made the list as their lives hang in the balance while Congress debates DREAM Act legislation. Earlier this year, AG Jeff Sessions announced the administration's intention to rescind an Obama-era protection for "Dreamers"; Also making the list is the #MeToo movement, which was started by Tarana Burke ten years ago to highlight sexual abuse but has recently taken off amidst ubiquitous headlines detailing sexual assault and harassment. TIME reveals its selection on Dec. 6th. You can vote here.
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Actor and activist Lin-Manuel Miranda joined Hispanic Federation and thousands of people who showed up to the Puerto Rico Unity March on Sunday in DC. | |  | CNN's Symone Sanders with jouro Lauren Duca united over the weekend and talked breaking down the patriarchy. | |
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Paul Ryan’s Chief of Staff May Have Intel on Pro-Russia GOP Platform Change
The investigation into the Trump campaign’s possible collusion with Russia during the 2016 campaign may inch towards the office of House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI). His Chief of Staff, Jonathan Burks, may have some answers. Burks, who is the only African American Chief of Staff for a Republican House member, is not accused of any wrongdoing and was part of a team of three congressional aides who advised the GOP convention's platform committee on foreign policy matters. According to Politico, they had a front-row seat when a low-profile group of delegates, acting in conjunction with Trump campaign officials, spiked a proposal urging a tougher U.S. policy against Russian aggression in Ukraine. The other two aides are Robert Wilkie, an advisor to Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) who's been nominated by Donald Trump to a senior Pentagon post, and Michael Stransky, a National Security Aide to the Senate Republican Policy Committee, run by Senator John Barrasso (R-WY). Some speculate this info make this trio a group that Special Counsel Robert Mueller may want to speak with. Burks attended the GOP convention in a personal capacity as a volunteer for the Republican Party and the 2016 convention, not as a representative of Ryan’s office. At the time, he was a National Security Advisor to the Speaker. Burks would neither confirm nor deny whether he had heard from the special counsel: “I'm not going to have any comment,” he said. The other two say they have not been contacted. More here.
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Trump Attorney Praises Judge Curiel
Remember when Donald Trump embodied the literal definition of racism when he said that Judge Gonzalo Curiel could not handle overseeing the case of class-action lawsuits against the now-defunct Trump University because he’s “Mexican?” Well, apparently POTUS45 has changed his mind -- now that the judge has ruled in his favor. Trump agreed last November -- just days after the election -- to settle three lawsuits filed against his now-defunct real estate school for $25 million. Curiel approved the terms in March and called it "extraordinary" since it would award class members most of their money back. But former student Sherri Simpson stalled the payout of the funds with an appeal filed in May, which is why Trump's lawyer was in court last week. Attorney David Kirman praised Judge Curiel's handling of the settlement, calling it a "textbook example of a district court properly administering a settlement." Federal Judge Andrew Hurwitz interrupted, asking, "So your client's view of Judge Curiel has changed?" Kirman responded, "Your honor, yes. It's our position that Judge Curiel administered this settlement in a textbook fashion." BTW, Judge Curiel was born in Indiana. That makes him an American. More here.
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Turkey Investigating Preet Bharara
AP reports that Turkish prosecutors are investigating former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara and his successor, Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim. Turkey accuses them of being involved in putting a Turkish-Iranian businessman on trial for allegedly violating U.S. sanctions against Iran. A statement from the Istanbul prosecutor’s office claimed that the sources of the documents and wiretaps being used as evidence in the U.S. case against gold trader Reza Zarrab were unknown and violated international and domestic laws. Zarrab, 34, has been charged in the U.S. for allegedly evading sanctions on Iran. An executive of Turkey’s state-owned bank, Halkbank, also faces charges and is due to appear in court in New York on November 27th. Turkish officials allege the case is politically motivated. They have accused Bharara of having links to a Pennsylvania-based Muslim cleric, Fethullah Gulen, whom the Turkish government blames for a failed July 2016 military coup. Bharara has vehemently rejected the allegation. Gulen denies involvement in the coup attempt. More here.
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Congressman Jimmy Gómez (D-LA) meeting with healthcare providers who opened a new facility in LA's Chinatown. | |  |
Resident Commissioner Congresswoman Jenniffer González (R-PR) meeting with Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao to talk about post-Hurricane Maria recovery efforts in Puerto Rico. | |
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Thousands Rally in DC for Puerto Rico
A crowd of several thousand demonstrators, including Lin-Manuel Miranda, chef José Andrés, and iconic actress Rita Moreno, marched on Sunday from the U.S. Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial to protest how Congress and the Trump administration have handled the island's hurricane recovery and to pressure them to step things up, such as approve more aid for the island. Today is exactly two months since Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico and it has been slow to recover -- nearly 70% of residents are still without electricity. "So Puerto Rico, you are not forgotten. The compassion of the American people is real and it is still here," Miranda said from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. "If the government would meet us where we already are, that would be a really incredible thing. We could keep raising money, but it's not going to do any good if the government doesn't help us." The march took place a day after a mini-summit was held at the University of the District of Columbia organized by several stateside and island Puerto Rican groups to discuss community organizing and legislative strategies going forward. More here.
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| FOMO
Wednesday, November 29th, 9:30A: The Center for American Progress and the National Urban League host a forum to discuss how the GOP tax plan would affect communities of color. Click here for more information and to RSVP. Wednesday, November 29th, 8P: Join Congressman André Carson (D-IN) for JAY-Z's 4:44 Tour. Capital One Arena, 601 F Street, N.W. For more information or to RSVP, contact Courtney Hodges or Randy Broz at: 202.403.0606 or email: Courtney@ABConsultingDC.com
Thursday, November 30th, 6:30P: A reception in support of Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA). 3205 R. St N.W. Click here to RSVP. Wednesday, December 6th, 6P: The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute holiday reception in honor of retiring Hispanic members of Congress. Library of Congress, Madison Hall, 101 Independence Avenue, S.E. Wednesday, December 6th, 6P: Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) join the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and 2044 Leadership Council holiday party. Library of Congress, Madison Hall, 101 Independence Ave, SE. Click here to RSVP.
Thursday, December 7th, 6P: The Ladies of Twelve Days of Christmas, Inc. Metro DC Chapter’s 15th Annual Holiday Party. SAX Lounge 734 11th Street, N.W. Click here to RSVP.
Thursday, December 14th, 6P: Solidarity Strategies hosts a Holiday Fiesta. Invite only.
Saturday, December 16th, 8P: The National Black MBA DC Chapter Annual Holiday Party. Hard Rock Cafe, 999 E Street, N.W. Click here to purchase tickets.
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