On a Thursday in early June, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent returned to Capitol Hill to face the House Ways and Means Committee, a day after he had declined to say whether the president and his family would remain shielded from IRS audits. The question hung over the visit because the administration had recently abandoned a $1.776 billion compensation fund that would have benefited the president's allies. It is the sort of moment where the mechanics of public money and the question of who is spared its scrutiny meet in the same room. The full content of what he told lawmakers is not yet clear
The Latest: Scott Bessent testifies before the House on Treasury Department priorities
A refusal to answer one day, and a return to the same building the next.
Mark
Why does the audit question matter enough to anchor this story?
Mimi
Because Bessent refused to say Wednesday whether Trump and his family would still be immune from IRS audits, and the context is the abandoned $1.776 billion compensation fund that would have benefited the president's allies.
Mark
So he was pressed again Thursday?
Luke
We can't say that. The reporting confirms he testified before Ways and Means on Treasury priorities. It doesn't tell us what he said about audits.
Mimi
Fair. The setup is solid; the outcome isn't in the material.
Mark
And Bolton?
Mimi
He has reportedly agreed to plead guilty to one count of retaining classified information, with a deal that could let him avoid prison.
Luke
Note the sourcing: one person familiar with the matter. No court filing is cited, and 'could' avoid prison is not 'will'.
Mark
What about the other headlines in the roundup?
Luke
Most of that text is garbled. I'd trust the headlines, like the $700 million coal support and the Ukraine aid vote, but not any detail beyond them.
Mimi
That's the honest limit of what this page can carry.
El Pulso
- A Treasury chief who refused to answer a question on Wednesday was back before lawmakers on Thursday, pressed on whether the president's family still enjoys audit protection.
- A dropped $1.776 billion compensation fund, meant to benefit the president's allies, has turned an administrative retreat into a fresh political flashpoint.
- A single unnamed source says former national security adviser John Bolton will plead guilty to one count of retaining classified information, a deal that could spare him prison.
- The newsroom's live feed of the day's wider news is largely unreadable, leaving only headlines like coal support, Ukraine aid, and jet fuel cuts to tell the broader story.
- Answers remain unresolved: what Bessent said about audit immunity, and whether Bolton's plea will be formally entered in court.
On a Thursday in early June, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent returned to Capitol Hill to face the House Ways and Means Committee, a day after he had declined to say whether the president and his family would remain shielded from IRS audits. The question hung over the visit because the administration had recently abandoned a $1.776 billion compensation fund that would have benefited the president's allies. It is the sort of moment where the mechanics of public money and the question of who is spared its scrutiny meet in the same room. The full content of what he told lawmakers is not yet clear from the available reporting.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent went back to Capitol Hill on Thursday to testify before the House Ways and Means Committee about the department's priorities. The hearing followed a difficult day before, when he declined to say whether President Donald Trump and his family would still be shielded from IRS audits. That question surfaced after the administration dropped plans for a $1.776 billion compensation fund that would have benefited the president's allies.
The reporting does not yet say what Bessent told the committee on Thursday, so the outcome of the appearance is still unknown. What is clear is the sequence: a refusal to answer one day, and a return to the same table the next.
Separately, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday that former national security adviser John Bolton has agreed to plead guilty to a single count of retaining classified information. The plea would be part of a Justice Department deal that could let him avoid prison. The claim rests on one unnamed source, and it is not known when a plea would be entered or what sentence is contemplated.
The day's live coverage also carried headlines on a $700 million coal industry package, a House vote on Ukraine aid, and Marco Rubio's assurances to Kuwait after an Iranian strike on its airport. Much of the page's text was garbled, so those items are noted only as headlines.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent returned to Capitol Hill on Thursday to testify before the House Ways and Means Committee about the department's priorities. The appearance came one day after he declined to say whether President Donald Trump and his family would still be shielded from IRS audits. That question arose after the administration abandoned plans for a $1.776 billion compensation fund that would have benefited the president's allies.
The audit-immunity question and the dropped fund are the two concrete facts the day's reporting ties to Bessent's testimony. The material available does not detail what he said Thursday, so what follows from the hearing itself remains to be seen. What is established is the setup: a refusal to answer one day, and a return to the same building the next.
Separately, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday that former Trump administration national security adviser John Bolton has agreed to plead guilty to a single count of retaining classified information. The plea is part of a deal with the Justice Department that could allow him to avoid prison time. The account rests on one unnamed source, and the reporting does not say when a plea would be entered or what sentence the deal contemplates beyond the possibility of no prison.
The Associated Press live coverage, which the Atlanta Journal-Constitution carried, was a running roundup of other developments, and the text of that page is in large part garbled and unreadable. Only a few items can be reliably identified from their headlines. One said Trump expected to announce $700 million in new support for the struggling coal industry. Another said the House was poised to pass Ukraine aid over the objections of Republican leaders. Another reported that Marco Rubio had assured Kuwait of U.S. support after an Iranian strike on its airport. Others covered a Supreme Court ruling siding with the administration on federal regulation of telecom companies, American Airlines temporarily suspending some summer routes because of steep jet fuel costs, and Trump saying work on the Reflecting Pool was done and that it was set to be filled with water.
Because the body of those items is scrambled, details such as vote counts, dollar breakdowns beyond the headline figures, and direct quotes cannot be responsibly repeated here. The headlines themselves are the firm ground.
What to watch is straightforward. Whether Bessent gave the Ways and Means Committee any answer on audit immunity for the president and his family is the open question tied to his appearance. Whether Bolton's plea is formally entered in court, and on what terms, is the open question on the Justice Department side.
Citas Notables
Bolton has agreed to plead guilty to a single count of retaining classified information under a deal that could allow him to avoid prison time.— A person familiar with the matter, per the Associated Press
Quieres la nota completa?
Lee el original en The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ↗
Politics & Governance