Page 6 - Florida Sentinel 1-8-19

White House
Pentagon Chief Of Staff Kevin Sweeney Resigns
Department of Defence chief of staff Kevin Sweeney has resigned, a month after the Defence Secretary James Mattis announced
his departure.
Rear Admiral Sween- ey said in a statement that "the time is right to return to the private sector".
He is now the third senior Pentagon official to announce his resignation since Presi- dent Donald Trump an- nounced US forces would leave Syria.
Officials have said there is no timetable for the troop de- parture.
Rear Adm. Sweeney
held his post for two years from January 2017.
In a terse resignation let- ter, he said it had been "an honour to serve" alongside
Rear Admiral Kevin Sweeney is the third senior Pentagon offi- cial to resign in recent weeks. Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
his colleagues in the depart- ment, but made no mention of Mr. Trump.
His announcement comes days after General Mattis left his post early, after ini- tially planning to stay in his role until February.
His departure adds to a sense of uncertainty sur- rounding the Trump adminis- tration's defence and foreign policies since the surprise an- nouncement of the planned withdrawal from Syria, ana- lysts say.
Millions Face Delayed Tax Refunds, Cuts To Food Stamps As White House Scrambles To Deal With Shutdown’s Consequences
A sign in a market window in New York advertises the acceptance of food stamps. The assistance may be cut if the government shut- down extends into February. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Food stamps for 38 mil- lion low-income Americans would face severe reductions and more than $140 billion in tax refunds are at risk of being frozen or delayed if the government shutdown stretches into February, wide- spread disruptions that threaten to hurt the economy.
The Trump administra- tion, which had not antici- pated a long-term shutdown, recognized only this week the breadth of the potential im- pact, several senior adminis- tration officials said. The officials said they were fo- cused now on understanding the scope of the consequences and determining whether there is anything they can do to intervene.
Thousands of federal pro- grams are affected by the shutdown, but few intersect with the public as much as
the tax system and the De- partment of Agriculture’s Supplemental Nutrition As- sistance Program, the current version of food stamps.
The partial shutdown has cut off new funding to the Treasury Department and the USDA, leaving them largely unstaffed and crippling both departments’ ability to fulfill core functions.
The potential cuts to food stamps and suspension of tax refunds illustrate the com- pounding consequences of leaving large parts of the fed- eral government unfunded indefinitely — a scenario that became more likely Friday when President Trump said he would leave the govern- ment shut down for months or even years unless Democ- rats gave him money to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Another Trump Attorney Raided By The FBI, Chicago Ald. Ed Burke Charged In Attempted Extortion Case
Chicago Alderman and tax attorney to Donald Trump, Ed Burke, has been charged with one count of at- tempted extortion for allegedly trying to use his political posi- tion to solicit business for his private law firm. His offices were raided by the FBI re- cently. Chicago Sun Times.
Burke was dropped by a member of his security detail at his lawyer’s office late Thurs- day morning but after spending time inside exited and took a cab to the FBI’s Chicago head- quarters on the West Side.
It has been five weeks since the FBI’s high-profile raid on Burke’s City Hall and ward of- fices. Federal agents showed up unannounced at City Hall the morning of Nov. 29, kicked everyone out and papered over the windows.
They spent about seven hours there, leaving via a back staircase to avoid waiting re- porters.
Ever since, speculation has been rampant about a likely end to Burke’s nearly 50-year
ED BURKE AND TRUMP
tenure on the City Council, whether through federal charges, an election loss, or both.
Burke has been targeted for political defeat in part be- cause he has done property tax appeal work for President Donald Trump. Some won- dered after the raid whether he would even stay in the race.
Burke did tax work for the Trump Organization for twelve
years and publicly severed that relationship six months ago. Chicago Sun Times June 9, 2018
The powerful Chicago Al- derman’s small law firm had worked for Trump for 12 years, persuading Cook County officials to cut the property taxes on the president’s name- sake downtown skyscraper by a total of more than $14 million.
PAGE 6 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2019