Non-Executive Privilege: Former President Donald Trump is trying to exert executive privilege over documents sought by the Congressional committee investigating the January 6^th insurrection.

  Responding to the committee’s request for 40 documents,  Trump said in a letter to the National Archives that “I hereby formally assert executive privilege over these records,” that he believes are covered by executive privilege or attorney-client privilege. “Should the committee persist in seeking other privileged information, I will take all necessary and appropriate steps to defend the Office of the Presidency,” Trump said.

  President Joe Biden, on the other hand, is declining to exert executive privilege over documents generated during the Trump administration, basically hanging the former President out to twist in the wind.

  White House counsel Dana Remus wrote to the Archives that, “The constitutional protections of executive privilege should not be used to shield from Congress or the public, information that reflects a clear and apparent effort to subvert the Constitution itself.”

Postage Due: While the former President claimed his Trump International Hotel in the old post office building in Washington made millions in profits, it actually lost $70 million and had to be loaned $27 million from one of his holding companies, according to documents released by the House Oversight Committee.

  The documents also revealed that the hotel received an estimated $3.7 million from foreign governments, which the committee says raises “concerns about possible violations of the Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause.” The emoluments clause, designed to prevent corruption, says gifts and payments to the president must be approved.

  A spokesperson for the Trump Organization called the findings by the committee “intentionally misleading, irresponsible and unequivocally false,” saying that the committee “has a fundamental misunderstanding of basic accounting principles — including the difference between gross revenue and net profit.”

The Texas Mess: Most abortions in Texas have been suspended once again after a three-judge panel of a federal appeals court blocked the ruling of a lower court judge prohibiting enforcement of the law.

  The Texas law bans abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected at about six weeks, before many women know they are pregnant. It also allows any Texas citizens to sue a woman who has an abortion or anyone who helps her obtain one.

  Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said on Fox News, “There’s always a presumption that the people’s elected representatives have the ability to put whatever legislation they want to in place.” 

  Actually, no, they don’t. The 5^th Circuit Court of Appeals decided to continue allowing enforcement of the law until they can hear arguments on its Constitutional legality. 

Now Hiring: The US economy added about 194,000 new employees in September, less than half the expected number in a disappointment to the Biden administration.

  At the same time, the unemployment rate fell to $4.8 percent. The expectation had been that the expiration of federal emergency unemployment payments would have had a more dramatic effect on re-employment.

Taxing Issues: The world’s most powerful countries have agreed to a dramatic change in international tax rules, setting a 15 percent global minimum tax and other changes intended to eliminate tax havens that have left many countries banging a tin cup for revenue.

  The tax agreement sets a floor. It helps President Biden, who’s hoping to raise corporate tax rates.

  The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said the new minimum tax rate would apply to companies with annual revenue of more $866 million and would generate about $150 billion in additional global tax revenue every year. Prior to this agreement, countries have been competing to set the lowest tax rates in order to get companies to move their profits to low-tax jurisdictions, depriving many nations of money they need to grow their economy and take care of their citizens.

  Hungary, Ireland, and Estonia were important holdouts that joined the agreement. Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka did not sign on.

The Spin Rack: Two parents have been found guilty in the “Varsity Blues” investigation in which non-athletes claimed to be varsity quality candidates to be admitted to college based on athletic ability.  While as many as 50 people were indicted, John Wilson, a private equity financier, and Gamal Abdelaziz, a former casino executive, were the first parents to go to trial in the scheme and lost — Florida’s state Board of Education is cutting funding to eight school districts that require mask wearing despite the governor’s order that it must be optional. —  An Islamic State suicide bomber killed dozens of worshipers inside a Shiite mosque in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz in continuing warfare  against the Hazara minority.

No Joke: Professional celebutante Kim Kardashian is hosting Saturday Night Live tonight.

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