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Watch live: Garland to announce special counsel in Trump probes

Attorney General Merrick Garland is set to announce a special counsel to oversee federal investigations into former President Trump.

The news comes just days after the former president announced intent for a third bid for the White House in 2024.

The event is scheduled to begin at 2:15 p.m. ET.

Watch the video above.

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Garland to name special counsel in Trump probes

Attorney General Merrick Garland is expected to announce the appointment of a special counsel to oversee federal investigations into former President Trump just days after Trump announced his intent to seek office again in 2024.

According to The Associated Press, Garland will seek a special counsel to take on both the Justice Department’s investigation into the mishandling of sensitive government records at Mar-a-Lago as well as aspects of its investigation surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.

Garland will formally announce the move in a 2:15 p.m. address.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The move, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, is sure to surprise legal observers, many of whom have been vocal in suggesting that doing so is of little benefit to the Justice Department.

It also comes after Trump pointed to the Justice Department when kicking off his campaign, complaining “I am a victim” and listing the FBI among the “gravest threats to our civilization.”

“Nothing is greater than the weaponization from the system, the FBI or the DOJ. We must conduct a top to bottom overhaul to clean out the festering rods and corruption of Washington, D.C.,” he said.

“The journey ahead of us will not be easy,” Trump added. “Anyone who truly seeks to take on this rigged and corrupt system will be faced with a storm of fire that only a few could understand.”

Updated at 1:53 p.m.

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Democrat Adam Frisch concedes to Lauren Boebert in nail biter House race

Democrat Adam Frisch conceded on Friday to Rep. Lauren Boebert (R) in the race for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, saying that an expected recount was unlikely to change the outcome of the election. 

In a video call with reporters, Frisch said that he had called Boebert to offer his concession. He said that while the race appeared to be headed for a mandatory recount, “the likelihood of this recount changing more than a handful of votes is very small.”

“We are not asking for this recount. It is one that the citizens of Colorado mandate through our election system,” he said, telling supporters not to donate to his campaign for the recount effort. 

“Please save your money for your groceries, your rent, your children,” he said.

In his remarks, Frisch, a former Aspen city councilman, said he was proud of the campaign he had run in a district that former President Trump carried just two years ago. But he also criticized his own party for eroding “the trust of rural Americans.”

“Democrats have abandoned rural America and working-class America for the last many years,” he said. “Republicans have had a monopoly over the backbone of this country.”

The race for Colorado’s 3rd District appeared headed for a recount late Thursday and early Friday, with the latest vote totals showing Boebert leading Frisch by just 0.16 percentage points, or 551 votes. 

Under state law, an automatic recount is triggered if the margin in a race is half a percentage point or less of the top vote-getter’s total. Once the recount begins, it could delay the final outcome of the race for days or possibly even weeks.

While that recount still appears likely to happen, Frisch’s concession effectively brings the race to a close, setting Boebert up for a second term in the House.

Republicans captured the House majority this week, winning the 218 seats needed to take control of the lower chamber. Still, the GOP is poised to have a much smaller majority than Republicans had hoped for after Democrats over performed in a number of key races. 

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Biden administration seeks Supreme Court relief after student debt plan blocked

The Biden administration on Friday urged the Supreme Court to clear one of the legal obstacles blocking its student debt relief program, as part of the administration’s broader legal effort to have the policy reinstated.

The administration is currently fending off two separate rulings issued over the last two weeks that have effectively halted President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, which would give federal borrowers making less than $125,000 a year up to $10,000 debt relief.  

In its Friday filing, the Department of Justice (DOJ), on behalf of the administration, urged the justices to lift a ruling issued Monday by the St. Louis-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit that halted the loan relief program, saying its current legal status has left “vulnerable borrowers in untenable limbo.” 

“The [8th Circuit’s] injunction thus frustrates the government’s ability to respond to the harmful economic consequences of a devastating pandemic with the policies it has determined are necessary,” U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar told the justices.

Biden’s policy, which the Congressional Budget Office estimates will cost about $400 billion over 30 years, has drawn numerous legal challenges. Its aim is to forgive up to $10,000 in federal student loan debt for those making under $125,000 annually and up to $20,000 for recipients of Pell Grants, which assist students from lower-income families.

The administration’s move on Friday comes after a unanimous three-judge panel on the 8th Circuit halted Biden’s massive debt relief plan, which had already been blocked nationwide by a separate court ruling.

The panel, which comprised two Trump-appointed judges and one appointee of former President George W. Bush, said its order would remain in effect until further notice by the 8th Circuit or the Supreme Court.

The ruling was a win for six conservative-led states — Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and South Carolina — that challenged the program on the grounds that they were harmed by a freeze on the collection of student loan payments and interest. The court’s six-page ruling singled out the impact on a large, Missouri-based holder of student loans called the Higher Education Loan Authority of the State of Missouri. 

“The equities strongly favor an injunction considering the irreversible impact the Secretary’s debt forgiveness action would have as compared to the lack of harm an injunction would presently impose,” the panel wrote. “Among the considerations is the fact that collection of student loan payments as well as accrual of interest on student loans have both been suspended.”

The White House, for its part, maintains that its policy is authorized by a 2003 federal law known as the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act, which both the Trump and Biden administrations have drawn upon to alleviate student borrowers’ financial strain during the global pandemic.

In a related legal development last week, a Trump-appointed federal judge in Texas invalidated the program, saying the presidential action unlawfully encroached on Congress’s power. The Biden administration has asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit to halt that ruling while it mounts a formal appeal.

Several other similar challenges to Biden’s plan have so far proved unsuccessful. Among them were two cases that eventually sought emergency relief in the Supreme Court but were unilaterally rejected by Justice Amy Coney Barrett. 

The Supreme Court may be more inclined to intervene now that the U.S. government is the party seeking relief and as courts across the country reach different conclusions about the program’s lawfulness.

The DOJ, in its Friday filing, told the justices they could choose to construe the government’s request as a formal petition for appeal and place it on a procedural fast-track. 

The DOJ filing comes as student loan borrowers are anxiously awaiting for payments to restart at the beginning of 2023. 

Advocates have been pressuring the Biden administration to extend the pause on payments, which began at the beginning of the pandemic, while the debt relief program is going through the courts. 

Before the legal challenges, millions of borrowers applied for the debt relief through an application on the Department of Education’s website. Borrowers were told to apply before Tuesday in order to have a chance at their debt being forgiven before the payments began. 

Since then, the applications have been taken down, and borrowers could have to wait months to get a final decision on the legality of the program from the courts. 

The Washington Post previously reported talks were happening in the White House to extend the payment pause again due to the court challenges, despite Biden telling borrowers there would be no more extensions.

However, there has been no official word from the White House on the issue with only a month and a half left before payments resume.

—Updated at 12:56 p.m.

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Jeffries announces bid for House Democratic leader

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Friday formally announced his bid to replace Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) at the top of the party next year, one day after the longtime party leader said she would step out of that position in the next Congress. 

Jeffries, the chair of the House Democratic Caucus, has long been eyeing a run to succeed Pelosi as the leader of House Democrats when she stepped down. If he succeeds, as expected, he would become the first Black leader of either party, in either chamber, in the history of Congress. 

To launch his bid, Jeffries sent a four-page letter to colleagues Friday morning outlining his goals for the caucus as it heads into the next Congress as the minority party.

“When I initially sought the position of Chair of the House Democratic Caucus two terms ago, none of us could have predicted the challenges the American people would confront in the years to come. However, time and time again, throughout a period of enormous turmoil for our nation, House Democrats rose to the occasion,” Jeffries wrote.

“Today, I write to humbly ask you for your support for the position of House Democratic Leader as we once again prepare to meet the moment,” he added.

Developing

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Here's how much homebuyers could save after mortgage rates tumble

Mortgage rates experienced their largest weekly drop in nearly 40 years this week, easing potential buyers’ monthly payments. 

The 30-year fixed rate fell to 6.61 percent, declining by nearly half a percentage point from a week earlier after a report showing softer than expected inflation. 

This historic drop could save buyers more than $100 each month, according to an analysis from the real estate company Redfin.

Now the typical monthly mortgage payment across the U.S. is $2,430, down from $2,542.

But Redfin deputy chief economist Taylor Marr cautioned that the overall impact could be muted without consistently declining inflation.  

Still, buyers in need of a home will benefit from the falling rate.  

“Serious buyers who need to purchase a home as soon as possible can feel good about pouncing on a home this week, knowing it could cost them upwards of $100 less per month than the same home would’ve cost if they’d signed the deal a week earlier,” Marr said.  

“More casual buyers may want to wait a few more months, as there’s reason to be cautiously optimistic that the worst of inflation and high rates are behind us, and monthly payments could come down more.” 

The Federal Reserve’s aggressive effort to fight persistent inflation through a series of jumbo interest rate hikes has seriously impacted the housing market. Since the Fed issued its first interest rate increase in March, mortgage rates have shot up from 4.16 percent.

These rising rates, when combined with consistently high prices, have pushed many Americans out of the housing market — especially first-time buyers. 

The Fed’s actions have also impacted builders, leading to falling builder confidence and sharp decline in new home construction. 

Housing starts declined by 4.2 percent from September to 1.43 million units, according to Census Bureau data released on Thursday.   

Meanwhile, data released Wednesday by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) revealed that home builders’ confidence in the market for newly constructed single-family homes is at an all-time low. 

“Higher interest rates have significantly weakened demand for new homes as buyer traffic is becoming increasingly scarce,” NAHB Chairman Jerry Konter said in a media release. 

But the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index found that homebuilders are looking for ways to encourage more buyers to enter the market, with 37 percent saying they have cut prices. Overall, 59 percent of homebuilders said they are using some sort of incentive.

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Boebert lead narrows, recount likely

The Colorado House race between Rep. Lauren Boebert (R) and her opponent Adam Frisch (D) is too close to call after the right-wing firebrand’s lead narrowed from more than 1,000 votes to approximately 551 this week, meaning the contest is likely heading to a recount.

After the latest round of votes in the 3rd District was tallied, Boebert holds 50.1 percent of the vote with 99 percent reporting, while Frisch holds 49.9.

The race has been surprisingly close as the two candidates have gone back and forth with the lead since Election Day

Colorado state law orders a mandatory recount when the vote margin between the two leading candidates is equal to or less than 0.5 percent of the votes attributed to the first-ranked candidate.

The current margin between Boebert and Frisch is approximately 0.35 percent.

Boebert, who enthusiastically claims that former President Trump won the 2020 presidential election despite providing no evidence of fraud, claimed victory in a video posted on Thursday night.

“We won! I am so thankful for all of your support and I am so proud to be your Representative!” the congresswoman wrote alongside the video.

Boebert added that the close race will trigger an automatic recount to be completed in early December.

“My campaign team and our lawyers will definitely make sure everything is conducted properly,” she said.

“Come January, you can be certain of two things: I will be sworn in for my second term as your congresswoman and Republicans can finally turn Pelosi’s House back into the people’s House.”

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The Hill's Morning Report — Pelosi steps down after historic 20-year run

Editor’s note: The Hill’s Morning Report is our daily newsletter that dives deep into Washington’s agenda. To subscribe, click here or fill out the box below.

After two decades at the top of Democratic congressional leadership, the Nancy Pelosi era has come to an end.

The Speaker announced Thursday that she will not be seeking reelection for a party leadership position, though she will remain a member of the House, The Hill’s Mike Lillis reports. Pelosi, who was first elected to her California congressional seat during a 1987 special election, has led House Democrats since 2003. In 2007, Pelosi shattered the glass ceiling when she became the first woman ever to ascend to the House Speakership — a feat she repeated in 2019.

“She’s a tough, effective, focused, disciplined woman,” Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), a close Pelosi ally, said Thursday morning. “I wasn’t always on the same side as her — and it’s not pleasant being on the other side of her — but she knew how to bring a disparate group of people together to get the job done. For women, the doors have been opened wider for all of us because of what she did.”

Over the course of her leadership career, Pelosi helped steer the congressional response to the 2008 recession, guided the passage of the Affordable Care Act, secured trillions of dollars in emergency relief through the COVID-19 pandemic and made the decision to impeach former President Trump — not once, but twice. She also launched the special investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

This year’s midterm elections will factor into Pelosi’s legacy. The expected GOP red wave never materialized; instead, Democrats were able to cling to dozens of toss-up seats in battleground districts, limiting the Republican gains. 

“History will note she is the most consequential Speaker of the House of Representatives in our history,” President Biden said about Pelosi in a Thursday statement. “There are countless examples of how she embodies the obligation of elected officials to uphold their oath to God and country to ensure our democracy delivers and remains a beacon to the world.”

With Pelosi stepping back from the leadership ranks, she makes room for a younger generation of Democrats to assume key party positions.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) also announced Thursday he will remain in Congress next year but won’t seek a leadership position. Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), the third-ranking Democrat in the House, said he looked forward to assisting “our new generation of Democratic Leaders,” naming Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) and Reps. Katherine Clark (Mass.) and Pete Aguilar (Calif.), who are expected to seek the top three spots, respectively. Multiple sources told The Hill that Clyburn — who was crucial in securing Biden’s nomination in 2020 — wants to remain in the top tiers of leadership, and that he would run for the assistant leader role (The Hill).

Hoyer’s actions clear the way for Jeffries, the current chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, to jump several rungs up the leadership ladder to replace Pelosi in the next Congress, when Republicans take control of the lower chamber. If Jeffries secures the position in the coming weeks, he would become the first new House Democratic leader in two decades and make history of his own: No Black politician has ever led either party’s caucus in the House or Senate (The New York Times). 

At the end of Pelosi’s time in congressional leadership, The Hill’s Mike Lillis and Mychael Schnell have five key takeaways from her historic tenure.  

▪ The Washington Post: “I feel balanced about it all”: Pelosi reflects on two decades at the top.

▪ Politico: The legacy Pelosi never wanted: The groundbreaking Speaker’s aversion to impeachment led her to short-circuit the oversight process. The price was two acquittals for Trump and a weakened Congress. 

▪ Time: Pelosi reflects on her not-quite-end of an era.

▪ The Washington Post: Poised to succeed Pelosi, who is Jeffries?

The Jan. 6 House committee has established a subcommittee to craft possible criminal referrals and examine “all outstanding issues” facing the panel as it races a deadline to complete its work. Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said the panel formed the subcommittee about a month ago, grouping a number of the committee’s lawyers to examine how to move forward on unresolved subpoenas, investigative loose ends, as well as any recommendations to the Department of Justice (The Hill).

“We need to have a decision as to what we do with the members who did not recognize the subpoenas,” Thompson said. “It’s cleaning up every unfinished piece of work for the committee. And that part of it just fit better in some subcommittee. Let them come back and report, and we’ll make a decision.”

The Hill: Jan. 6 panel hits back at former Vice President Pence over new interview.

One of the people dodging a subpoena from the committee is Trump. The Hill’s John Kruzel breaks down where the various investigations into the former president stand as he enters the 2024 race, from the latest in the Department of Justice’s probe of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and the overlapping Fulton County, Ga. and federal investigations into 2020 election subversion as they relate to Trump and those in his orbit.  

The Hill’s Niall Stanage explains how Trump and likely 2024 rival Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) match up across a few crucial categories: Polling, fundraising, their governing records and more.

Related Articles

▪ Politico: New York Democrats look for someone to blame after election catastrophe.

▪ The Hill: Kari Lake declines to concede in Arizona governor’s race, says she’s assembling a legal team.

▪ The Hill: Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.): Herschel Walker “crossed a line” with attacks against family.

▪ The New York Times: Rep. Lauren Boebert’s (R-Colo.) race is nearing a conclusion, or a recount.

LEADING THE DAY

➤ CONGRESS

This week’s bruising leadership fight in the Senate exposed simmering tension between Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Trump’s closest ally in the Senate, writes The Hill’s Alexander Bolton. Graham voted this week to fire McConnell as Senate GOP leader, sharply criticizing McConnell’s leadership of the Senate Republican Conference during a private meeting this week. 

Graham then told reporters that he voted to elect Sen. Rick Scott (Fla.) as Senate Republican leader because he thought a change was needed. That earned Graham a sharp rebuke on Twitter Wednesday evening from Josh Holmes, McConnell’s former chief of staff and campaign manager, who accused Graham of flip-flopping on immigration reform.  

▪ The Atlantic: The new majority. Republicans are coming to Washington not to legislate or to govern, but to fight.

▪ The Hill: Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) to serve as top Republican on the Senate oversight committee.

The Senate on Thursday voted to begin debate on a bill to codify same-sex marriage protections that the Supreme Court granted in 2015. Senators in a procedural vote advanced the legislation, known as the Respect for Marriage Act, in a 53-23 vote.

Cloture and the final vote on the bill is expected to take place the week after Thanksgiving. A subsequent vote will be necessary in the House due to an amendment’s inclusion, leading to President Biden’s signature (The Hill).

The House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress —or the “Fix Congress” committee — is set to disband permanently, but its biggest recommendation in its last report is to make sure that dissolution isn’t truly permanent and the report isn’t truly final. The report says Congress should create a modernization subcommittee on the House Administration Committee (Roll Call). 

“Our work is not done,” said Vice Chairman Rep. William Timmons (R-S.C.). “One of our recommendations is to continue this work as a subcommittee of House Admin. I hope that will happen and believe that will happen.”

IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES

➤ INTERNATIONAL   

Missiles hit Ukrainian energy infrastructure Thursday as Russian forces stepped up attacks in the eastern part of the country, reinforced by troops pulled from Kherson in the south, which Kyiv recaptured last week.

“Punishment for all Russian atrocities — both present and past — will be unavoidable,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted Thursday as news broke that a Dutch court ruled an airliner shot down over eastern Ukraine in 2014 during fighting between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces was hit by a Russian-made missile. The court sentenced two former Russian intelligence agents and a Ukrainian separatist leader to life in prison for the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17, which killed all 298 passengers and crew. Moscow called the ruling “scandalous” (Reuters).

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday denied that this week’s deadly missile explosion in Poland and subsequent disagreements over the missile’s origin indicated a lack of communication and coordination with Ukraine after Zelensky and Western leaders issued contradictory statements.

“We’ve been in regular contact with our Ukrainian partners throughout. I spoke to my Ukrainian counterpart,” Blinken told reporters at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Thailand. “We’re sharing the information that we have and, again, the investigation is ongoing.”

Blinken did not answer a question about whether the incident cast doubt on Zelensky’s credibility, instead blaming Moscow for placing immense pressure on Kyiv. Western officials believe an errant Ukrainian air defense missile crossed the Polish border on Tuesday, killing two people (The Washington Post).

▪ Reuters: North Korea fires long-range missile landing near Japan, drawing condemnation.

▪ The Wall Street Journal: Iran rebuked by UN over stonewalling of its nuclear investigation.

▪ The Washington Post: Lionel Messi’s likely last World Cup inspires hope in beleaguered Argentina.

▪ The Wall Street Journal: Italian Catholic bishops release first report on sex abuse.

➤ ADMINISTRATION

The Biden administration on Thursday announced updated guidelines that will make it easier for those struggling with their student debt to discharge it in bankruptcy. The new bankruptcy policy from the Justice and Education Departments allows federal student loan borrowers to prove that they’re experiencing financial distress that would require a fresh start. 

The agencies may recommend that a bankruptcy judge discharge a borrower’s student debt if they find their case warrants it. Currently it’s difficult — if not impossible — for someone to walk away from their federal student debt in a standard bankruptcy proceeding (CNBC).

“Today’s guidance outlines a better, fairer, more transparent process for student loan borrowers in bankruptcy,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta.

The Hill: Biden administration looks to Supreme Court to continue student debt relief program.

The Biden administration in June promised complete relief for student loan borrowers from Corinthian Colleges, a move that would affect some 500,000 people following the school’s fraud scandal. But since then, debtors tell The Hill that the process has been fraught with inconsistencies, confusion, finger pointing and a lack of communication from the Education Department about their loan relief. Some borrowers and advocates worry that the program will take months if not years to kick in while the kinks are worked out between loan service providers and the administration (The Hill).

OPINION

■ Which party has a game plan for the future? We’re about to find out, by Mary C. Curtis, columnist, Roll Call. https://bit.ly/3TM2sc8 

■ Trump faces five major investigations. He has dozens of ways out, by Ankush Khardori, contributor, The New York Times. https://nyti.ms/3hQfAQy

WHERE AND WHEN

👉 The Hill: Share a news query tied to an expert journalist’s insights: The Hill launched something new and (we hope) engaging via text with Editor-in-Chief Bob Cusack. Learn more and sign up HERE.

The House convenes for a pro forma session at 11 a.m. ​​

The Senate will reconvene for a pro-forma session on Nov. 22 at 5:30 p.m. 

The president will receive the President’s Daily Briefing at 10:15 a.m. He will deliver remarks and meet with business and labor leaders at the White House at 1:30 p.m.

Vice President Harris is in Bangkok, Thailand, where she will attend events for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). Harris will speak at the APEC CEO Summit at 12:30 p.m. local time. At 6:45 p.m.,, she and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff will attend a reception with His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua and Her Majesty Queen Suthida Bajrasudhabimalalakshana.

The second gentleman will join the APEC spousal program for a tour of the Arts of Kingdom Museum at 9:30 a.m., and attend the program’s luncheon at 11 a.m. At 1 p.m., Emhoff will visit Wat Pho, also known as the Chapel of the Reclining Buddha. He will then join the vice president at the 6:45 p.m. reception.

Secretary Blinken is in Bangkok for the APEC Ministerial Meeting.

Mitch Rosenthal, a pioneer in substance abuse treatment and the founder of Phoenix House, the nation’s first and largest nonprofit treatment organization, died Monday night at Weill-Cornell Medical Center in New York City. He was 87. Rosenthal, whose substance abuse treatment model was copied by hundreds of organizations in the United States and abroad, was an opinion contributor to The Hill.

ELSEWHERE

➤ TECH

Hundreds of Twitter’s remaining employees resigned ahead of a Thursday deadline that required them to sign a pledge to work more hours or request severance, further depleting the site’s workforce after Elon Musk fired over half its staff when he took over late last month and key executives exited one after another (The Verge and The New York Times). 

The departures have left multiple of the platform’s critical systems down to two, one or even zero engineers, a former employee told The Washington Post. Twitter also told employees that the company’s office buildings will be temporarily closed, effective immediately, with a planned reopening on Monday (BBC).

▪ The Hill: Senate Democrats ask FTC to investigate Twitter after “alarming steps” by Musk.

▪ The New York Times: How to prepare for life after Twitter.

▪ TechCrunch: New Twitter accounts will have to wait 90 days before buying a subscription.

▪ NPR: Misinformation threatens Twitter’s function as a public safety tool.

➤ COST OF LIVING

In the online shopping revolution, the supermarket was a holdout, writes The Hill’s Daniel de Visé, but the pandemic changed that. Online grocery sales leapt from $2 billion in August 2019 to $8 billion in August 2020, according to industry trackers. 

Two years later, more Americans than ever buy groceries online: 28 percent in 2022, up from 23 percent in 2021, according to Gallup. But sales are seesawing, and the industry’s future is one of retailing’s big unanswered questions. Inflation and looming recession have some shoppers questioning those $14.95 delivery fees. And then there’s the nightmare of “substitutions” — where delivery shoppers can swap out unavailable products for something not quite right, leaving you with raspberry vinaigrette when all you wanted was raspberries. And with Thanksgiving around the corner, most consumers still prefer to choose their own turkeys for the big day.

▪ The Economist: Even a global recession may not bring down inflation.

▪ Bloomberg News: Long is the way out of the global inflation fight, and hard.

➤ PANDEMIC & HEALTH 

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday reported a global coronavirus case increase last week for the first time in months. Weekly cases have been either stable or on the decline since mid-July, according to the organization’s weekly epidemiological reports. 

But last week saw a 2 percent increase in cases, raising the number to 2.3 million infections, WHO reported (U.S. News).

Simple blood tests for Alzheimer’s disease, long coveted by doctors and researchers, have hit the market, representing a potentially powerful tool to help diagnose the illness, which affects 6.5 million Americans. The tests detect tiny amounts of abnormal proteins in the blood to determine whether the pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s are present in the brain (The Washington Post).

“If you had asked me five years ago if we would have a blood test that could reliably detect plaques and tangles in the brain, I would have said it was unlikely,” Gil Rabinovici, a neurologist at the University of California at San Francisco, told the Post. “I am glad I was wrong about that.”

▪ The New York Times: Five unusual COVID-19 symptoms — and what to do about them.

▪ The Washington Post: Therapists say they can’t meet high demand as anxiety, depression linger.

▪ NPR: How banks and hospitals are cashing in when patients can’t pay for health care.

Total U.S. coronavirus deaths reported as of this morning, according to Johns Hopkins University (trackers all vary slightly): 1,076,683. Current U.S. COVID-19 deaths are 2,344 for the week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (The CDC shifted its tally of available data from daily to weekly, now reported on Fridays.)

THE CLOSER

And finally … 👏👏👏 Congratulations to the Morning Report Quiz winners! They Googled and guessed their way to answers about Thanksgiving traditions past and present.

In the winner’s circle: Stan Wasser, Patrick Kavanagh, Robert Bradley, and Kathleen Kovalik.

They knew the famous Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is tied for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States with America’s Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit. Both started in 1924, and only Philadelphia’s parade is older.

The most popular Thanksgiving side dish, according to Statista, is in fact mashed potatoes.

Even though presidents have informally been given turkeys as gifts for decades, President George H. W. Bush first issued a presidential turkey pardon in 1989.

And quizzers will be loath to know that the American Farm Bureau Federation estimates Thanksgiving dinner will be 20 percent more expensive this year than it was in 2021.

Stay Engaged

We want to hear from you! Email: Alexis Simendinger and Kristina Karisch. Follow us on Twitter (@asimendinger and @kristinakarisch) and suggest this newsletter to friends!

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Here's where three criminal probes stand as Trump enters 2024 race

Former President Trump entered the 2024 presidential race Tuesday with significant legal baggage.

Though he hasn’t been charged with any crimes, Trump faces exposure from multiple probes that are expected to ramp up now that investigators’ self-imposed hiatus on overt activity ahead of the midterms has been replaced with pressure to file any charges well in advance of the 2024 election.

The first indictment of a former president would not bar Trump from running for reelection. But such a historic move would almost certainly destabilize the country and deepen emerging divisions within the Republican Party as primary election season draws nearer. 

Here’s where three investigations surrounding Trump currently stand.

DOJ probe of classified document handling: Pace expected to intensify

Pages from a DOJ court filing on Aug. 30, 2022, in response to a request from the legal team of former President Donald Trump for a special master to review the documents seized during the Aug. 8 search of Mar-a-Lago, are photographed on Aug. 31, 2022. Included in the filing was a FBI photo of documents that were seized during the search.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) probe into Trump’s potentially unlawful retention of classified records after leaving the White House could soon ramp up significantly. 

Some legal experts believe that, based on what’s publicly known, there is enough evidence to pursue charges against Trump for mishandling national defense information. The recent addition of two high-profile veteran prosecutors to the investigative team could also indicate an uptick in tempo.

What began with the National Archives asking Trump last year to return all presidential records has since spiraled into a tense legal standoff. In January, Trump returned 15 boxes of records, which were later discovered to contain around 100 classified documents, including highly sensitive materials. 

The FBI later concluded that more classified records remained at the former president’s Florida home and obtained a warrant to search Mar-a-Lago. Investigators seized some 11,000 additional documents, which included more than 100 records marked as classified.

Both Trump and top aide Kash Patel have said publicly that the former president declassified the records housed at Mar-a-Lago, though Trump’s lawyers have stopped short of making this assertion in court filings.

Patel has reportedly faced questioning at least twice before a grand jury investigating Trump’s possible mishandling of classified documents. According to reports, Patel initially asserted his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination before prosecutors granted Patel limited immunity to shield him from liability for anything said before the grand jury.

Meanwhile, the case has become bogged down in legal skirmishing. In August, a Trump-appointed judge in Florida granted the former president’s request to subject the documents seized at Mar-a-Lago to further judicial scrutiny.

Judge Aileen Cannon agreed to appoint a third-party monitor to the case known as “special master,” who is charged with reviewing the records. The special master, Judge Raymond Dearie, will make a recommendation to Cannon over whether the records at issue belong to Trump or the government, and if any are subject to executive or attorney-client privilege.

The Department of Justice, for its part, has urged the court to broadly reject Trump’s sweeping claims regarding his possession of the records and their privileged status. The department has also appealed the appointment of a special master, with a hearing in the case scheduled for Tuesday.

In addition to the obvious political sensitivities surrounding the decision over whether to charge Trump, other rare challenges exist too.

The highly sensitive nature of the records at issue — including classified materials that reportedly relate to Iran’s missile system and China — means the DOJ would have to get the intelligence community’s permission to use those records in their prosecution of Trump.

“To use classified documents in a criminal case, the originator of the material would need to sign off. Usually, that means declassification,” said Barbara McQuade, a former federal prosecutor who teaches law at the University of Michigan Law School.

“If these documents are as sensitive as they have been reported to be, then members of the intelligence community will not approve their use. It may be that an eventual trial includes only a subset of the classified documents,” she added. “For criminal cases, prosecutors look for what they refer to as ‘Goldilocks’ documents, those that are neither too sensitive nor too insignificant.”

DOJ investigation of Jan. 6 attack: Scope has extended to Trump’s orbit

Violent insurrectionists storm the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington.

The DOJ is also probing Trump’s actions surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the Capitol, though this investigation has been largely overshadowed by the Trump classified records case.

The Jan. 6 investigation has steadily expanded over the nearly two years since the attack. In addition to charging some 950 people with crimes related to the Jan. 6 riot, the department’s probe now extends to members of Trump’s orbit and the former president’s own actions — though there is no public evidence that Trump is currently the subject of a criminal investigation on this front. 

The grand jury investigating Jan. 6 has approved subpoenas for information on any coordination between Trump, his lawyers, senior officials and others in his orbit who helped to operationalize the Trump’s lies about his 2020 electoral defeat in a bid block the transfer of power to then President-elect Joe Biden.

According to The Washington Post, which first reported in July that Trump’s actions figured into the DOJ’s investigation, prosecutors have asked witnesses about post-election meetings involving Trump, the phony pro-Trump electors scheme and pressure on then-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn Biden’s victory. 

This summer, before the probe went quiet in September due to the approaching Nov. 8 midterms, investigators issued a flurry of subpoenas, conducted searches and seized the cellphones of top Trump allies.

High-profile investigative steps included a search in June of the home belonging to Jeffrey Clark, a former DOJ official who allegedly sought to use his official government position to overturn Trump’s election defeat in key battleground states. At one point after the election, Trump sought to install Clark as acting attorney general but was dissuaded from doing so after top department officials threatened to resign en masse.

Investigators in June also seized the cellphone of John Eastman, who authored fringe legal memos for the Trump campaign arguing that then-Vice President Mike Pence was authorized to unilaterally refuse to certify Biden’s win in the 2020 presidential election.

In a separate development, a federal judge in California who reviewed the evidence in a related lawsuit determined earlier this year it was “more likely than not” that the post-election conduct by Trump and Eastman was criminal. 

The determination by U.S. District Judge David Carter, an appointee of former President Clinton, arose in a clash between Eastman and the House committee investigating Jan. 6 over a subpoena the panel issued for a trove of Eastman’s records. As such, the judge’s analysis in the case has no direct bearing on whether Trump will face criminal charges. 

But it was nonetheless stunning for a federal court to find Trump likely culpable for two felonies: obstructing an official government proceeding, a serious charge that has been brought against hundreds of Capitol riot defendants, and conspiracy to defraud the United States. Last month, the judge further determined that Trump had made sworn statements in court filings and in public that he knew were false as part of his effort to overturn the election results in Georgia.

For now, the DOJ is reportedly locked in a court battle over whether two attorneys who served as White House counsel — Patrick Philbin and Pat Cipollone — can be compelled to testify over objections from Trump’s lawyers, citing executive and attorney-client privilege. 

Investigation of Georgia election interference: Charges could arrive before year’s end

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis watches as potential jurors are excused during proceedings to seat a special purpose grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, on May 2, 2022, to look into the actions of former President Donald Trump and his supporters who tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

An Atlanta-area prosecutor’s investigation into Trump’s effort to overturn his 2020 electoral defeat in Georgia represents significant legal exposure for the former president, legal experts say.

Decisions over whether to bring charges in the case may come before the end of the year, according to previous statements by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) and recent reporting on her office’s anticipated timeline. 

Willis has issued numerous subpoenas for testimony before a special grand jury that was impaneled earlier this year to investigate the potentially criminal effort to disrupt the Georgia election.

Among the high-profile Trump allies who have received subpoenas are former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, former lawyer Rudy Giuliani and other pro-Trump attorneys, and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), the latter of whom faced questions Thursday before the grand jury.

In an aggressive move this summer, the district attorney’s office told a group of 16 Republicans who served as a phony slate of pro-Trump electors in 2020 that they could face criminal charges in the probe.

“The steps her office has taken, including empaneling a special grand jury and subpoenaing high-profile witnesses, are very likely not steps she would have taken if she did not feel there was at least a significant possibility that she will move forward with charges,” Noah Bookbinder, president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), told The Hill in a previous interview.

A comprehensive analysis of the Georgia investigation published this week by the nonpartisan Brookings Institution, with members of CREW, concluded that Trump “is at substantial risk of criminal prosecution in Fulton County.”

Fulton County prosecutors announced the launch of a criminal investigation into 2020 election interference in February 2021, a month after Trump, in a taped phone call, unsuccessfully pressured Georgia election official to “find” the more than 11,000 votes required to overturn Biden’s victory and declare Trump the winner.

Source: TEST FEED1