Why it matters: The IRS hasn't issued any guidance on the topic since a 2014 memo declaring cryptocurrencies property for the purpose of taxes. However, a number of issues have cropped up since then — like Bitcoin forks and using cryptocurrencies for purchases that continue to make paying taxes confusing.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley said Wednesday that allegations of sexual assault against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh can and should be investigated by his committee, but resisted calls by Democrats and the accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, for the FBI to launch an investigation into the claims.
The details: Ford has ruled out appearing at a Senate hearing scheduled for next week, insisting that the FBI should investigate first. But in a letter to Democrats on the committee, Grassley said the "FBI does not make a credibility assessment of any information it receives with respect to a nominee. Nor is it tasked with investigating those matters that this Committee deems important."
Sen. Ron Wyden has sent a letter to Senate leaders claiming a tech company has told a handful of senators foreign agents are continuing to target senators' and staffers' personal accounts — and that the Senate security services won't protect them because they're not official accounts, the AP's Frank Bajak reports.
Why it matters: Security is not just about shoring up cyber controls for politicians' official accounts. Hackers take a layered approach that hits on all possible vulnerabilities, not just official ones.
President Trump will nominate Nellie Liang, a 31-year Federal Reserve alum, to fill a vacant seat on the board of Fed Governors, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Why it matters: Liang's nomination is the last needed to fill 3 vacancies on the Fed's 7-seat board. The other two nominees — Michelle Bowman and Marvin Goodfriend — have yet to be confirmed by the Senate.
President Trump said on Wednesday before leaving for North Carolina that he "really would want to see what [Dr. Christine Blasey Ford] has to say," per pool reports.
The big picture: Trump has stood by Brett Kavanaugh, but Axios' Mike Allen reported that Republicans are privately worried that Ford's allegations will the confirmation. Trump said that if Ford shows up to a hearing scheduled for Tuesday, "that would be wonderful, if she doesn’t show up that would be unfortunate."
President Trump continued his attacks on Attorney General Jeff Sessions in an interview with The Hill, claiming that Sessions' rocky confirmation hearing scared him into needlessly recusing himself from the Russia investigation.
"I don’t have an Attorney General. It’s very sad. ... A lot of people have asked me to [fire Sessions]. And I guess I study history, and I say I just want to leave things alone, but it was very unfair what he did."
The backdrop: Trump recently criticized the Justice Department for indicting two Republican congressmen so close to the midterm elections, prompting Sessions to fire back: "While I am Attorney General, the actions of the Department of Justice will not be improperly influenced by political considerations."
A majority of Americans believe Bob Woodward's book and the anonymous NYT op-ed — both of which warned of internal resistance to President Trump — but there's no evidence that they've changed Americans' opinions of him, according to a new Axios/SurveyMonkey poll.
Why it matters: Everything is partisan. If two major news bombshells warning of White House chaos don't change things, it's further evidence that Americans' opinions of Trump are set in stone, whether they like him or not.
Christine Blasey Ford's attorney, Lisa Banks, told CNN's Anderson Cooper Tuesday that Ford will not testify in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee unless the FBI investigates the sexual assault allegations against Brett Kavanaugh.
The big picture: Even if the FBI agrees to investigate, Banks explained, a proper investigation cannot be done on Monday. "Asking her to come forward in four or five days in front of the committee is not a fair process. She will work with them in the investigation... There should be no rush. It’s premature to talk about a [hearing] on Monday," Banks said.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley officially canceled a committee vote on Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination that was scheduled for Thursday.
What's next: A Monday hearing with Christine Blasey Ford who has accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault. Democrats want Republicans to call other witnesses to testify under oath.
Mark Judge, the man that Christine Blasey Ford said was in the room when Brett Kavanaugh allegedly sexually assaulted her in high school, issued a statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday maintaining that he has "no memory" of the incident and that he does not wish to testify publicly.
Why it matters: Senate Democrats have called on Judge to testify — both Ford and Kavanaugh will be testifying publicly Monday — given Ford identified him as a witness to the alleged sexual misconduct. The letter comes days after Judge denied the incident to The Weekly Standard in an interview. "It's just absolutely nuts. I never saw Brett act that way," he said.
The Trump administration has again cut the number of refugees allowed into the U.S., and the overwhelming majority of the small group of refugees who were admitted this past year are Christians.
The big picture: Islam is the predominant religion in nations such as Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia, which account for 39% of the 25 million refugees in the world, according to UN data. Most Christian refugees came from Iraq, Iran and Myanmar (formerly Burma), where many faced brutal persecution.
President Trump says he feels "so badly" that his Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, is facing sexual assault allegations.
"I feel so badly for him. This is not a man that deserves this ... I feel terribly for him, for his wife, who is an incredibly lovely woman, and for his beautiful young daughters."
— Trump, speaking at a press conference with the president of Poland
The context: Trump placed blame on the Democrats for bringing up the allegations so close to the scheduled vote on his nomination. "It should have been brought to the fore …long ago," Trump said. Democrats, he said, "just resist and they just obstruct. Frankly, I think they’re lousy on policy and they’re lousy politicians."
Anita Hill has a few "ground rules" for senators in the upcoming hearing on Christine Blasey Ford's claims that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were in high school: "''[N]ot getting it' isn’t an option for our elected representatives. In 2018, our senators must get it right," Hill writes in an op-ed published in the New York Times.
Why it matters: Hill writes from her own experience in 1991, when she testified in front of the Senate with accusations of sexual misconduct on the part of then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas. She was aggressively questioned about her story, and Justice Thomas was ultimately confirmed. "There is no way to redo 1991, but there are ways to do better," Hill's op-ed begins.
Eight races will help determine if the "blue wave" will be strong enough to live up to the hype, allowing Democrats to wipe out the GOP in the House and possibly even win the Senate.
Why it matters: If it's a truly strong wave, we'll know not just from the high-profile races, but from lesser-known ones that would only be competitive if Democrats are winning everywhere.
