The House?s Sweeping New Probe May Be the Biggest Threat to Trump Yet

Members of the House Judiciary Committee have an opportunity to provide an important service to the American public – as long as they don’t blow it.On Monday, the committee opened a sweeping investigation into “obstruction of justice, public corruption, and other abuses of power” relating to President Donald Trump by requesting documents from 81 sources. The stakes of this investigation are high because the House Judiciary Committee has one power that all other entities lack – the power to initiate impeachment proceedings.Shocker: rather than quietly following the rules, the Trump White House is refusing to turn over documents to House DemocratsThe White House launched a fire-breathing public relations response to House Democrats while the Trump administration has refused or delayed turning over documents in 30 investigations by a dozen different committees, according to House Democrats.The delays buy time for White House officials to weigh important legal decisions, including whether to invoke executive privilege claims or a policy that provides immunity for senior White House aides. But Congress has historically been very reluctant to take that path.More fallout from Michael Cohen’s testimony: New York State is now looking into the Trump Organization’s insurance policiesNew York State regulators have issued an expansive subpoena to the Trump Organization’s longtime insurance broker, the first step in an investigation of insurance policies and claims involving President Trump’s family business, according to the company and a person briefed on the matter.The subpoena was served late Monday on the company, Aon, one of the largest insurance brokerage firms in the world, as part of an inquiry by the New York State Department of Financial Services.It came just days after Michael D. Instead, President Donald Trump’s former lawyer will be on Capitol Hill talking about the crimes he is now accusing Trump of committing.Cohen, who is now slated to begin his prison term May 6, is back on Capitol Hill on Wednesday for his fourth appearance in the last eight days, concluding his closed-door testimony before the House Intelligence Committee that began last week.Kim isn’t going to let Trump put the North Korea situation on the back burnerNorth Korea is restoring a missile launch site it previously claimed to be dismantling as an overture to the U.S., according to newly released commercial satellite photos and people briefed on South Korean intelligence.The move has sparked concerns that North Korea may be wavering on some of the gestures it made to demonstrate its willingness to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.The disclosure of the restoration work comes in the wake of last week’s U.S.-North Korean summit meeting in Hanoi, which failed to make headway on nuclear and sanctions issues.AOC faces scrutiny after reports emerge that her chief of staff helped create two “dark money” PACsRep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)’s chief of staff helped establish two political action committees that paid a corporation he ran more than $1 million in 2016 and 2017, federal campaign finance records show.The arrangement, first reported by conservative outlets, left hidden who ultimately profited from the payments — a sharp juxtaposition with Ocasio-Cortez’s calls for transparency in politics. While there is no legal consensus on the matter, Justice Department policy says that a president cannot be indicted while in office.Another reason for New Yorkers to be happy about the broken deal in Long Island CityLike with his son-in-law, a new reports states that Trump interfered in the process to give Ivanka a security clearancePresident Donald Trump pressured his then-chief of staff John Kelly and White House counsel Don McGahn to grant his daughter and senior adviser Ivanka Trump a security clearance against their recommendations, three people familiar with the matter told CNN.Several sources told CNN it is feasible that she was unaware of the red flags raised during her background check process, as well as the President’s involvement in it. According to a source familiar with her process, she “did not seek, nor have, outside counsel involved in her process as no issues were ever raised.” A separate person added that she was notified by career officials that her clearance had been granted.The latest revelation also contradicts Ivanka Trump’s denial to ABC News three weeks ago, when she said her father had “no involvement” regarding her or Kushner’s clearances.A record level of self-harm in the United StatesThe number of deaths from alcohol, drugs and suicide in 2017 hit the highest level since federal data collection started in 1999, according to an analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data by two public health nonprofits.The national rate for deaths from alcohol, drugs and suicide rose from 43.9 to 46.6 deaths per 100,000 people in 2017, a 6 percent increase, the Trust for America’s Health and the Well Being Trust reported Tuesday. One car had a handwritten sheet in the window reading, “On Police Commissioner’s Flag Football Team.”The NYPD said it relocated 30 cars by tow.Just days ago, Mayor de Blasio vowed to crack down on so-called placard abuse—government cars abusing parking rules.Another Cohen-related challenge for the Trump OrganizationNew York state regulators have issued a subpoena to the Trump Organization’s insurance company as part of an investigation into the president’s family business, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told NBC News on Tuesday.The subpoena was issued to Aon insurance company, the person with direct knowledge said, in an investigation of the insurance policies and claims tied to Trump’s namesake firm.Questions about the Trump family’s business practices intensified last week after Michael Cohen, the president’s former lawyer, told the House Oversight and Reform committee that Trump provided inflated assets to an insurance company.Asked by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., if Trump ever inflated the value of his assets to an insurance company, Cohen replied, “Yes.”Life appointments are getting longer under TrumpThe Senate voted Tuesday to confirm Allison Jones Rushing, 37, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, making her the youngest federal judge in the country.“She has practiced law for nine years. That’s so many circuit judges ― more than any other president confirmed by this point in his first term ― that 1 in 6 seats on U.S. circuit courts is now filled by a judge nominated by Trump.An unexpected Trump administration departureFood and Drug Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, who used his post to tackle difficult public health issues from youth vaping to opioid addiction – surprising early skeptics worried about his drug industry ties – resigned Tuesday, effective in about a month, according to an administration official.Gottlieb, who has been commuting weekly to Washington from his home in Connecticut, wants to spend more time with his family, the official said.