The Citigroup Sellout -- an actual Oscar story -- and a harrowing deportation flight

This week Congress turns its attention to the banks -- specifically, loosening rules on what they can get up to. With the tenth anniversary of the financial crisis approaching, how else would you expect Washington to mark the occasion? There is in fact a good argument to be made that we could loosen a few rules or reporting requirements for community banks and it would be a good thing to do -- not necessarily because the banks need it, but it (probably) wouldn't hurt and would make good politics. Big banks are incredibly toxic on Capitol Hill, so they rely on community banks to be their shields. If Democrats could manage to win over community banks, it would take the big banks' biggest weapon away from them. By giving a little bit to the little guys, they could stop the big guys from getting a lot, the argument goes. But that hasn't happened yet, so Citigroup is looking for a big payday this coming week. The details of what they have managed to shove into a bill that is allegedly for community banks were first revealed in this comprehensive story by David Dayen, with reporting help by Lee Fang, Kate Aronoff, Aida Chavez and me. I know you don't come to this newsletter for Oscar coverage, but we actually have an Academy-related story: Zaid Jilani writes about how the voting system the committee uses -- ranked-choice voting -- is far superior to the one we use for regular elections. And a new piece from Maryam Saleh, on a harrowing deportation flight bound for Somalia that never made it, and what has happened since it returned home. It's very much worth your time.This email grows by word of mouth. If you enjoy getting it, please forward this note to friends and tell them to sign up to start getting their own copy here. I'm the Washington bureau chief at The Intercept, and I send this several times a week. If you want to contribute directly to help keep the thing running, you can do so here, though be warned a donation comes with no tote bags or extra premium content or anything. Or you can support it by buying a copy of Out of the Ooze: The Story of Dr. Tom Price or Wall Street's White House, the first two books put out by Strong Arm Press, a small progressive publishing house I cofounded. Sent via ActionNetwork.org. To update your email address, change your name or address, or to stop receiving emails from Grim News, please click here.