Wiretap Inquiry, Obamacare Repeal and A Supreme Court Hearing

Did Russian security services – or the Obama Administration – take “active measures” to influence the 2016 Presidential election? The House Select Intelligence Committee wants to know; it will conduct a hearing Monday headlined by testimony from FBI Director James Comey and Mike Rogers, director of the National Security Agency, on whether Russia hacked into… Continue reading

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Turmoil at Justice, Merkel in the Oval and the Fight to End – or Save – Obamacare – TenCount

As if the Justice Department didn’t already have enough worries, President Trump sparked another conflict on Friday when he ordered the remaining 46 United States Attorneys held over from the Obama Administration to resign. Preet Bharara, the outspoken and aggressive U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, refused to do so and was fired, he says – which… Continue reading

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An Address to Congress, a Hopeful Stock Market, and Budget Gains and Losses: TenCount for February 27, 2017

President Trump’s recent speeches have been free-wheeling – not to say rambling – affairs. On Tuesday, he will give his first address to a joint session of Congress, where legislators are hoping to be shown a roadmap for progress on tax reform and infrastructure investment. If Mr. Trump instead spends considerable time talking about his… Continue reading

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A New Border Security Plan, Talks With Foreign Leaders and a Fed Review

President Trump intends to issue new measures to improve America’s security this week, perhaps including a new immigration order to replace the one whose suspension was upheld by a federal appeals court last week. “We will be doing something very rapidly having to do with additional security for our country,” Mr. Trump said last week,… Continue reading

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Financial Un-Regulation, Empty Posts and Telecom Reversals: Sphere Consulting’s Tencount for February 6, 2017

The executive orders keep coming fast and furiously, with the latest directive instructing the Treasury and Labor Departments to undo a number of provisions for heightened regulatory scrutiny on the financial sector. Those came, of course, in the Dodd-Frank Act, the post-crisis response to the meltdown of the mortgage and financial markets in 2008. But… Continue reading

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