WHAT'S BREWING
PURGED VIRUS WHISTLEBLOWER TO TESTIFY THAT TRUMP WAS UNPREPARED FOR COVID-19 Rick Bright, the recently ousted government vaccine official, will testify before Congress on Thursday that the Trump administration was unprepared for the coronavirus pandemic and that the U.S. may soon face its “darkest winter in modern history.” “The world is confronting a great public health emergency which has the potential to eclipse the devastation wrought by the 1918 influenza which globally claimed over 50 million lives,” Bright says in his prepared remarks. [HuffPost]
JUDGE WEIGHS HOLDING FLYNN IN CONTEMPT The federal judge overseeing the case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn is considering holding him in criminal contempt for perjury and has appointed a former judge to argue against the Trump administration’s attempt to drop the case against him. U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan exercised his “inherent authority” to appoint former judge John Gleeson to present arguments in opposition to the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss the case against the former Trump administration official. [HuffPost]
OBAMA SPEAKS OUT AGAIN Former President Barack Obama on Wednesday urged a better government response to the coronavirus pandemic, just days after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told him he “should’ve kept his mouth shut” about the issue. McConnell also called Obama “classless” for criticizing President Donald Trump. Obama hasn’t publicly criticized Trump by name and didn’t do so on Wednesday. Instead, he urged “better policy decisions” to fight the infections and protect people from the economic fallout as he shared a Vox report with expert ideas on countering the COVID-19 virus. [HuffPost]
KUSHNER WALKS BACK ELECTION POSTPONEMENT COMMENTS Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, clarified his comments causing speculation that the White House may try to push back the November election. By law, the general election must take place on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, and the president ― let alone a single staffer ― does not have sole authority to change that. It would require an act of Congress. But Kushner raised eyebrows with his comments in a video interview released Tuesday about the economic crisis wrought by the coronavirus in America. [HuffPost]
BIDEN CALLS FOR RENT FORGIVENESS Joe Biden believes rent and mortgage payments should be forgiven during the coronavirus pandemic, he said in an interview, though his campaign was sparse on details. Asked by journalist Peter Hamby whether it was possible for there to be “some kind of federal rent bailout,” Biden replied: “Absolutely ... There should be rent forgiveness and there should be mortgage forgiveness now in the middle of this crisis.. Forgiveness. Not paid later, forgiveness. It’s critically important to people who are in the lower-income strata.” [HuffPost]
SENATE REJECTS BID TO PREVENT WARRENTLESS INTERNET SURVEILLANCE The Senate narrowly defeated a measure seeking to prevent Americans’ internet browsing and search histories from warrantless surveillance by the federal government. The vote was 59 in favor, 37 opposed ― short of the necessary 60 votes needed for adoption. “Is it right at this unique time when millions of law-abiding citizens are at home, for the government to be able to spy on their internet searches and web browsing without a warrant?” asked Sen Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). “That’s exactly what the government has the power to do without our amendment.” [HuffPost]
GOP FLIPS KATIE HILL'S OLD HOUSE SEAT Republican Mike Garcia defeated Democrat Christy Smith in Tuesday’s special election for a vacant congressional seat in a swing district in the Los Angeles suburbs. Garcia, a defense industry executive, and Smith, a state assembly member, were competing to replace former Rep. Katie Hill, a Democrat who resigned last year amid a scandal. Garcia will complete the rest of Hill’s term and will face Smith again in November in a general election for the term that begins in January 2021. Although votes are still being counted, Smith conceded on Wednesday. [HuffPost] | 
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