April 13, 2020 | 2:01pm | Updated April 13, 2020 | 5:48pm President Trump won't fire White House coronavirus task force member Anthony Fauci despite sharing a tweet with the hashtag #FireFauci, a spokesman said on Monday. "This media chatter is ridiculous – President Trump is not firing Dr. Fauci, " said White House principal deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley. " The President's tweet clearly exposed media attempts to maliciously push a falsehood about his China decision in an attempt to rewrite history, " Gidley said. "It was Democrats and the media who ignored Coronavirus choosing to focus on impeachment instead, and when they finally did comment on the virus it was to attack President Trump for taking the bold decisive action to save American lives by cutting off travel from China and from Europe. Dr. Fauci has been and remains a trusted advisor to President Trump. " But the simple reason Fauci's fate seemed bleak was that Trump on Sunday shared a tweet trashing the infectious disease expert's commenting in a TV interview that an earlier shutdown of the country could have saved lives.
Experience. Not political influence. That person is Dr. Fauci. #SaveFauci, " wrote Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich. ).
"It looks like the College has put star power and networking prowess above academic rigor and experience" — Michiel van Hulten, a College of Europe graduate "This is a bit like making someone who's never learnt to fly the captain of a big passenger airplane, " said Michiel van Hulten, a College of Europe graduate, speaking in a personal capacity. "It looks like the College has put star power and networking prowess above academic rigor and experience, " he said. "That is obviously disastrous from a reputational point of view. " "An academic institution should lead the way in transparent and accountable procedures, " van Hulten added. A group of 15 Green Members of the European Parliament wrote to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday to express concerns about the case. They said that the apparent support for Mogherini from both von der Leyen and Van Rompuy despite the candidate's "lack of experience" as required in the original job ad was "to the detriment of both equality of opportunity in recruitment and the independence of the institution. "
No country in Europe willingly gives up a trade commissioner. From a Brussels perspective, Ireland has literally gone kamikaze on its own economic interests. " They say a week is a long time in politics. It is certainly a very long time between "silly season" July and the most torrid Brussels August in memory. But perhaps the most important takeaway from the past few weeks is that despite our many challenges — and a no-deal Brexit is the biggest one — the Irish do have a vibrant rainbow of opinions and are not afraid to share them, even if it comes at a very high price. Also On POLITICO
Mueller, at that point, was investigating former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort's work for Yanukovych in Ukraine and his ties to Russia. Democratic Senators Dick Durbin, Bob Menendez and Patrick Leahy sent a letter to Lutsenko on May 4, 2018, expressing their "great concern" about reports that the investigation had been impeded — and asking directly whether "any individual from the Trump administration, or anyone acting on its behalf" encouraged Ukrainian government or law enforcement officials not to cooperate with the Mueller probe. They never received a response, according to a spokesman for Democrats on the Senate foreign relations committee. Renewed interest in the circumstances surrounding the sale of Javelin anti-tank missiles has been spurred by revelations about the Trump administration's dealings with Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Lutsenko, who met with Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani earlier this year as part of Giuliani's ongoing efforts to investigate what he claims is Ukraine's "interference" in the 2016 election, has not replied to multiple requests for comment in recent days.
HAPPY THURSDAY! Welcome to Overnight Energy, The Hill's roundup of the latest energy and environment news. Please send tips and comments to Rebecca Beitsch at. Follow her on Twitter: @rebeccabeitsch. Reach Rachel Frazin at or follow her on Twitter: @RachelFrazin. Signup for our newsletter and others HERE. OUT OF ORDER: The Biden administration is reversing course on changes the Trump administration made to the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), arguing the changes "undermined" the program. Acting Interior Secretary Scott de la Vega, in an order issued Thursday, revoked an order by then-Secretary David Bernhardt that required a "written expression of support" for land acquired through the LWCF from both governors and local governments, effectively allowing these officials to veto any land purchases. De la Vega's order also reversed course on a separate action that shifted money away from an LWCF grant program that benefits urban areas, a move that critics said took resources from low-income communities and communities of color.
Her request for permission included a letter signed by Van Rompuy. The College of Europe in Bruges is a training ground for future EU officials | Emmanuel Dunand/AFP via Getty Images As the Commission is one of its principal funders, the College said it would transfer the power to sign its grant application to the Commission and any document related to it from rector to treasurer if Mogherini is appointed. However, that assurance raised questions about how much Mogherini could be involved in managing the budget of the College — one of the rector's key tasks. "She will then be recruited only to have authority, make speeches, and oversee public relations, " the EU official and College alumnus said. "But the president of the administrative council, who is always a high-level politician and has all the resources, already takes over those tasks. " Also On POLITICO
So this is not necessarily a quick process to complete. The "filter team" then has to determine if any specific evidence collected in the IG investigation was produced solely as a result of information learned from a "compelled" statement. If such evidence is found, that evidence is "fruit of the poisonous tree" and is "filtered out" so the prosecution team never sees it. It is also the role of the "filter team" to see if there is an "independent source" for that evidence. Is there another route that the prosecutors could follow to come up with that same evidence — a route that does not depend on what was learned in the "compelled statement. " If so, then the evidence can remain in the case file when it is handed to the prosecution team. This "filter team" has to work independently of the leader of the investigation. Durham can't know of any of the information filtered out because that would contaminate him as well. Once the "filter" work is done, the "filter team" is disbanded because they cannot remain with the prosecution — they possess information about compelled statements that the prosecution cannot know.
Mogherini "does not comply with the criteria the College of Europe has set for the position, " Jon Worth, a visiting professor at the College, wrote in a blog post. "She has never run an academic structure (complex or not). " Mogherini has one degree, in political science from Rome's La Sapienza University. She later became an MP and served as Italian foreign affairs minister for eight months. Mogherini is a visiting professor in the College's EU International Relations and Diplomacy Studies Department. In her previous EU role, she gained a high international profile, headed the EU's External Action Service and is seen as one of the architects behind the Iran nuclear deal in mid-2015. If appointed, she would be the first woman to be rector of the College of Europe. Worth published an open letter expressing "concern and regret about the way the procedure to recruit a new Rector of the College has been handled and communicated. " The institution traditionally appoints rectors with PhDs from well-known European or Ivy League universities who built their careers within the College.
Last year, according to people familiar with the process, about 30 candidates applied for the rectorship of the College of Europe, which offers master's degrees in various subjects for fees of €25, 000 per year covering tuition, board and lodging. But according to several college professors and EU officials who are graduates of the College, Van Rompuy was not satisfied with the candidates and sought additional names. "He dismissed all of them for Mogherini, " one EU official and College alumnus said, adding that five "high-level" candidates were interviewed in November last year and "haven't heard from the College yet. " "It is a very unusual practice in the academic world, " the College alumnus said. "If candidates are not considered good, there is another call, you don't replace them with a former commissioner who is looking for an occupation. " Asked about Mogherini's candidacy, Van Rompuy said the Italian politician is "not yet appointed, " and a final decision will be taken in June.