Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Tax return case: “A federal appeals court on Tuesday temporarily blocked the Manhattan district attorney from getting access to President Donald Trump’s tax returns.”
* And speaking of cases we’ve been keeping an eye on: “The judge presiding over Michael Flynn’s case took a next step towards examining the Justice Department’s request to dismiss Flynn’s case, now that an appeals court has reversed its order that the judge immediately drop the prosecution.”
* Oversight matters: “Over $1 billion in emergency coronavirus aid relief went to companies who ‘double dipped’ and received multiple Paycheck Protection Program loans, in violation of the program’s rules, according to a preliminary analysis released by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis.”
* When Trump celebrates the demise of regulations, he’s often referring to developments like these: “On Monday, the Trump administration put in place new regulations for how coal-fired power plants must discard of wastewater tainted by pollutants including lead, selenium, and arsenic, relaxing the steps that power companies must take before this liquid is released into local waterways.”
* Iowa: “As Iowa’s positive coronavirus cases climbed this week to their highest level yet, local elected officials in several of the state’s most populated counties said they are increasingly relying on data sources other than the state health department to make decisions about protecting residents in their communities.”
* Falwell’s downfall continues: “Liberty University said it will conduct a ‘thorough investigation into all facets’ of Jerry Falwell Jr.’s tenure as president following his resignation last week amid a sex scandal.” * VOA: “On Monday, 14 reporters at Voice of America sent a letter to their acting editor to sharply rebuke Michael Pack, the CEO of the US Agency for Global Media, for his controversial campaign to — as he put it last week — ‘drain the swamp.’” * Remember this one? “It’s not much — white exterior walls, a chair and office phone inside, behind a door the EPA administrator could close behind himself. A photo obtained by E&E News under the Freedom of Information Act shows the secure phone booth EPA installed for then-Administrator Scott Pruitt.” See you tomorrow.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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