The Commentariat -- July 10, 2020

Afternoon Update:

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Friday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Friday are here.

Betsy Klein of CNN: "... Donald Trump's Portsmouth, New Hampshire, rally has been delayed, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Friday. McEnany told reporters aboard Air Force One that the rally would be postponed a week or two due to the impending storms in the area. The rally was slated to be held outside at an airplane hangar amid the coronavirus pandemic.... Plans for an Alabama rally, which had been tentatively scheduled for July 11 before the New Hampshire rally was announced, were scrapped after local officials voiced opposition to holding a large gathering as cases rise in the state."

Ashley Parker, et al., of the Washington Post: "Callers on President Trump in recent weeks have come to expect what several allies and advisers describe as a 'woe-is-me' preamble. The president rants about the deadly coronavirus destroying 'the greatest economy,' one he claims to have personally built. He laments the unfair 'fake news' media, which he vents never gives him any credit. And he bemoans the 'sick, twisted' police officers in Minneapolis, whose killing of an unarmed black man in their custody provoked the nationwide racial justice protests that have confounded the president. Gone, say these advisers and confidants..., are the usual pleasantries and greetings. Instead, Trump often launches into a monologue placing himself at the center of the nation's turmoil. The president has cast himself in the starring role of the blameless victim -- of a deadly pandemic, of a stalled economy, of deep-seated racial unrest, all of which happened to him rather than the country."

Jake Sherman of Politico: "Chris Cox..., Donald Trump's top liaison to the House of Representatives, has told associates he is leaving the White House, 15 hours after Politico raised questions about his alleged contacts with a former lobbying client while in government. On multiple occasions, Cox suggested while working in the White House that he was collecting intelligence or doing work after speaking to representatives and lobbyists from corporate interests, multiple sources said.... On Thursday afternoon, Politico raiseda further series of questions about whether and how Cox was involved in a matter last month involving a former lobbying client that was pushing for help in the Trump administration...." ~~~

     ~~~ From Thursday afternoon's Politico Playbook: "On two occasions over the last few days, CHRIS COX -- who runs House outreach for the White House legislative affairs office -- suggested to colleagues he was doing errands and collecting political intelligence for lobbyist friends on K Street. COX told colleagues in the White House that he was seeking information on the executive orders that ... DONALD TRUMP was readying to issue so he could brief people downtown -- in other words, suggesting he wanted to give lobbyists a sneak peek."

Whistling Dixie. Brad Kutner of Courthouse News: "Calling a Confederate general who led an uprising against the United States of America an 'American war veteran,' a state judge blocked the removal of any war monuments in the state capital Thursday afternoon. Richmond City Circuit Court Judge Bradley B. Cavedo delivered his ruling from the bench during an emergency hearing. The fight started when an anonymous Virginian claimed the July 1 removal of Confederate statutes -- ordered by Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney under emergency powers -- violated state law. Cavedo granted a similar request to block Virginia Governor Ralph Northam's attempt to remove of a Robert E. Lee Statue from state-owned land." Mrs. McC: Sorta like a statue of Emperor Hirohito at Pearl Harbor would be an homage to an American war veteran. Really, really stupid.

~~~~~~~~~~

Trump, et al., v. the LawIs Not Going Well:

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for prosecutors in New York to see President Trump's financial records, a stunning defeat for Mr. Trump but a decision that probably means the records will be shielded from public scrutiny under grand jury secrecy rules until after the election, and perhaps indefinitely. In a separate decision, the court ruled that Congress could not, at least for now, see many of the same records." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: “The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected President Trump's assertion that he enjoys absolute immunity while in office, allowing a New York prosecutor to pursue a subpoena of the president's private and business financial records. In a separate case, the court sent a fight over congressional subpoenas for the material back to lower courts because of 'significant separation of powers concerns.' 'In our judicial system, "the public has a right to every man's evidence,"' Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote in the New York case, citing an ancient maxim. 'Since the earliest days of the Republic, "every man" has included the President of the United States.' In both cases, the justices ruled 7 to 2, with Trump nominees Neil M. Gorsuch and Brett M. Kavanaugh joining the majorities. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. dissented. Trump reacted angrily, and inaccurately, on Twitter: 'Courts in the past have given "broad deference". BUT NOT ME!'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney of Politico: "The Supreme Court has delivered a split decision on subpoenas for ... Donald Trump's tax returns and financial records, unanimously rejecting his broadest claims of 'absolute' immunity in a New York state criminal investigation, but ruling that lower courts did not do enough to scrutinize congressional subpoenas for similar records. The pair of highly-anticipated decisions likely mean more delays and court proceedings on both subpoenas, increasing the odds that Trump makes it to the November election without the tax and financial details he has long resisted disclosing being turned over to the prosecutors and Congressional committees demanding them." The report has been updated. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

Mrs. McCrabbie: Jeff Toobin calls the rulings "a legal defeat" for Trump but "a practical victory" since Trump can delay release of the returns (none of which would necessarily have become available to the public anyway).

Axios. "President Trump fired off a series of tweets on Thursday morning after the Supreme Court upheld a subpoena from the Manhattan district attorney for his financial records -- attacking the Obama administration, the Mueller investigation, the GOP-led Senate Judiciary Committee and others for allegedly undermining his presidency." The report cites the tweets -- so far. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Trump on Thursday derided New York City as a 'hellhole' as he complained about a Supreme Court ruling that upheld the Manhattan district attorney's subpoena to obtain his tax returns. 'This is purely political. I win at the federal level and we won very decisively and so they send it to New York,' Trump said of the pursuit of his financial records, which he has shielded from public view. 'You know what's going on in New York,' he continued. 'Everyone's leaving. It's turned out to be a hellhole, and they better do something about it because people are leaving New York. But this is a political witch hunt that just continues.'" ~~~

~~~ Here's a much calmer report on Trump's reaction to the rulings. He had a very civil conversation with Bart:

Toluse Olorunnipa & John Wagner of the Washington Post: "President Trump reacted angrily to a pair of Supreme Court rulings about his financial records Thursday, taking to Twitter to call them 'not fair to this Presidency or Administration!' and describing himself as the victim of a 'political prosecution.' Hours later, the White House released a statement saying Trump was 'gratified' by one of the decisions and had been 'protected' in the other.... The decision will give Democrats, including ... Joe Biden, more ammunition in their attempts to raise ethical questions about a president who has fought relentlessly to keep his financial records out of the public eye, said Russell Riley, a presidential historian.... After the Supreme Court rulings were released, Biden took to Twitter to retweet a post from last October in which he described himself as 'one of the poorest men in government' during his decades-long Washington career. Biden has released 21 years of tax records, following the tradition of all major recent presidential candidates except for Trump."

Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: "Michael D. Cohen, President Trump's onetime lawyer and fixer, was taken back into federal custody on Thursday after being furloughed from prison in May, federal officials said. 'Today, Michael Cohen refused the conditions of his home confinement and as a result, has been returned' to a federal Bureau of Prisons facility, the bureau said in a statement. The bureau's statement did not elaborate on what specifically Mr. Cohen had done, but one person briefed on his legal status said he had refused to sign papers agreeing to certain conditions related to media appearances and writing books." A CNN story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Spencer Hsu & Ann Marimow of the Washington Post: "The Justice Department said Thursday that Roger Stone should report to prison next week as ordered by his sentencing judge despite his concerns about the deadly novel coronavirus.... The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit gave Stone until Friday to respond to the government.... The filing came one day after an interview in which Attorney General William P. Barr defended Stone's prosecution and prison sentence. 'I think the prosecution was righteous and I think the sentence the judge ultimately gave was fair,' Barr told ABC News." The Week has an item here. An ABC News report on the Barr interview is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Jerry Lambe of Law & Crime: "... Roger Stone, 67, appealed directly to ... Donald Trump, telling a news organization that the president should pardon him or commute his sentence in the interest of justice. 'I want the president to know that I have exhausted all my legal remedies and that only an act of clemency will provide justice in my case and save my life!' Stone, said in a Tuesday text message to Bloomberg." Mrs. McC: Actually, that's an indirect appeal; Stone made it through an intermediary. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ "He Was Framed." Kevin Liptak & Kaitlan Collins of CNN: "... Donald Trump implied in a pair of interviews Thursday that he was ready to grant clemency to Roger Stone.... Trump is widely expected to pardon or commute Stone's sentence, according to at least half a dozen sources close to the President. Asked by Fox News host Sean Hannity whether he's considered a pardon or commutation for Stone, Trump said during a phone interview, 'I am always thinking.... You'll be watching like everyone else in this case,' he said. In another interview, with radio host Howie Carr, Trump decried Stone's treatment at the hands of law enforcement and said he may grant his clemency plea. 'He was framed. He was treated horrible. He was treated so badly,' Trump said."

Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A federal court judge is putting up a highly unusual fight against an appeals court ruling seeking to immediately shut down the prosecution of former national security adviser Michael Flynn for making false statements in the FBI's investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. Lawyers for U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan filed a petition Thursday asking the full bench of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to review a 2-1 decision a panel of that court issued last month, directing Sullivan to cancel his plans for a hearing and instead grant the government's request to drop the case." (Also linked yesterday.)

Nicholas Fandos & Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: "Geoffrey S. Berman, who was abruptly dismissed by President Trump last month from his post as the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, told lawmakers on Thursday that Attorney General William P. Barr tried unsuccessfully to pressure him to resign voluntarily, warning that a firing could ruin his career. Testifying before a closed-door hearing of the House Judiciary Committee, Mr. Berman recounted being summoned with no warning in June to a meeting with Mr. Barr at the Pierre Hotel in New York, in which the attorney general asked him to step down. Mr. Berman said he rebuffed Mr. Barr time and again during a tense, 45-minute discussion, telling him he would not resign and did not want to be fired, according to copies of his prepared statement obtained by The New York Times." (Also linked yesterday.)

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Thursday are here: "The surge in coronavirus cases in the United States ... is being driven largely by states that were among the first to ease virus restrictions as they moved to reopen their economies. Florida has seen its average new daily cases increase more than tenfold since it began reopening in early May. Cases in Arizona have jumped by 858 percent since beginning to reopen May 8. Cases in Texas have risen by 680 percent since beginning to reopen May 1. Epidemiologists had warned that reopening could lead to waves of new infections if it was done before the virus was contained, and before contact tracing was sufficiently ramped up enough to contain future outbreaks. ~~~

~~~ "As President Trump continued to press for a broader reopening, the United States set another record for new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, with more than 59,400 infections announced, according to a New York Times database. It was the fifth national record in nine days.... On Thursday, cases were decreasing in only two states -- Vermont and New Hampshire. In 14 states and territories, the number of cases was mostly the same. And in the rest of the country new cases were on the rise." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Thursday are here: "Anthony S. Fauci, the nation's top infectious-disease official, is advising that some states seriously consider 'shutting down' again if they are facing major resurgences of the virus -- a warning that conflicts with President Trump's push to reopen the country as quickly as possible.... A record 62,751 new infections were reported across the United States on Wednesday, including 9,979 in Texas and 11,694 in California. The total number of cases has surpassed 3 million in the United States, where the death toll is approaching 130,000." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Paul Krugman of the New York Times: "A normal president and a normal political party would be horrified by this turn of events. They would realize that they made a bad call and that it was time for a major course correction; they would start taking warnings from health experts seriously. But Trump ... seems completely untroubled by the toll from a pandemic that seems certain to kill more Americans than were murdered over the whole of the past decade. And he's doubling down on his rejection of expertise, this week demanding full reopening of schools in defiance of existing guidelines.... He has spent the past five months trying to will us back to where we were in February, when he was sitting on top of a moving train and pretending that he was driving it."

MEANWHILE, the abnormal President* is headed to Miami-Dade County today, an epicenter of the coronavirus, where he'll hold a series of meetings.

Here's a Change/Correction/"Clarification." Alex Harring of CNBC: "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will soon issue additional safety guidelines on reopening schools this fall, but the agency doesn't plan to change its original recommendations that... Donald Trump criticized as too tough and expensive, CDC Director Robert Redfield said Thursday. Redfield said in an interview on ABC's 'Good Morning America' the additional documents don't ease the CDC's recommendations. He said the agency is providing more information for communities, care givers and schools on how to reopen safely. Vice President Mike Pence indicated Wednesday the agency would soften its recommendations. But when asked about the possibility, Redfield said there would be no changes." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

A Rare Covid Success Story. (Secret Recipe: Don't believe Trump.) Thanks to PD Pepe for the link. Here's a transcript of the PBS Newshour interview: ~~~

~~~ Lena Sun & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "As the country enters a frightening phase of the pandemic..., the CDC, the nation's top public health agency, is coming under intense pressure from President Trump and his allies, who are downplaying the dangers in a bid to revive the economy ahead of the Nov. 3 presidential election. In a White House guided by the president's instincts, rather than by evidence-based policy, the CDC finds itself forced constantly to backtrack or sidelined from pivotal decisions. The latest clash between the White House and its top public health advisers erupted Wednesday, when the president slammed the agency's recommendation that schools planning to reopen should keep students' desks six feet apart, among other steps to reduce infection risks.... The CDC ... is increasingly isolated — a function both of its growing differences with the White House and of its own significant missteps earlier in the outbreak.... During a May lunch with Senate Republicans, Trump told the group the CDC 'blew it' on the coronavirus test and that he'd installed a team of 'geniuses' led by ... Jared Kushner to handle much of the response...."

Alexandra Alper of Reuters: "A reporter who attended White House briefings this week has tested positive for the coronavirus, the White House Correspondents' Association said on Thursday, raising further concerns about the health of staff and journalists working in the building. The individual, who wore a mask during press conferences with Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Monday and Wednesday, has no symptoms and spent no additional time at the White house this week, the group said, adding that it was contacting individuals who had been in close contact with the person."

Eric Levai of the Daily Dot: "White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany's parents received millions of dollars in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, according to data released by the Small Business Administration this week.... As long as the money is used to pay employees, and for rent and utilities, the government will forgive the entire loan.... According to the loan data, McEnany Roofing said it employs 141 people. In an interview with Fox News back in April, McEnany noted that the program was designed to go to companies with 10 or fewer employees.... When asked about the lack of transparency of the program, she noted that'We’re concerned with getting money to people right now. I mean, look, we're not concerned with cobbling a list together to please the media.'... Kayleigh McEnany has previously criticized government assistance...."

Jeff Cox of CNBC: "Weekly jobless claims were lower than expected last week as workers slowly returned to their jobs in the wake of rising coronavirus cases. Claims for the week ended July 4 totaled 1.314 million, compared with the 1.39 million expected from economists surveyed by Dow Jones. The total marked a decrease of 99,000 from a week earlier, according to the Labor Department." (Also linked yesterday.)

Zachary Cohen of CNN: "Secretary of Defense Mark Esper confirmed Thursday that he had been briefed on information regarding Russian payments to the Taliban, seemingly acknowledging that Russia's support for the militant group in Afghanistan is not a 'hoax' [perpetrated by Democrats], as ... Donald Trump has claimed. However, Esper also made clear that he has not seen intelligence that corroborates claims that American troops were killed as a result of the 'bounty' payments, walking a delicate line between acknowledging a well-known threat and potentially clashing with the President. Esper's comments came during a long-awaited appearance before the House Armed Services Committee, where lawmakers had their first opportunity to ask the defense secretary and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley about their knowledge of intelligence on Russia offering bounties to the Taliban for killing US troops in Afghanistan.... Milley acknowledged that the Trump administration was 'perhaps not' doing "as much as we could or should" to deter Russia and other foreign governments from supporting militant groups in Afghanistan."

Gen. Milley Thumbs His Nose at Trump. Alex Horton of the Washington Post: "The military's top officer on Thursday described Confederate leaders as traitors and said he is taking a 'hard look' at renaming 10 Army installations that honor them, despite President Trump's opposition to any changes. 'The Confederacy, the American Civil War was fought, and it was an act of rebellion,' the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark A. Milley, told members of the House Armed Services Committee. 'It was an act of treason at the time against the Union, against the Stars and Stripes, against the U.S. Constitution, and those officers turned their back on their oath.' The Army is now about 20 percent black, he said.... Last month, Trump rejected calls to rename installations after Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper signaled a willingness to do so, saying his administration 'will not even consider' that plan."

Indiana. Casey Smith of the AP: "An Indiana woman was arrested in a hit-and-run crash that sent one woman to the hospital and caused minor injuries to a man during a southern Indiana protest over the assault of a Black man by a group of white men, sheriff's officials said Thursday. Christi Bennett, 66, was booked into the Monroe County Jail early Thursday on preliminary charges of criminal recklessness and leaving the scene of an accident, Deputy Barry Grooms said. She was released a couple of hours later on $500 cash bond." (Also linked yesterday.)

Virginia. Wife of Prominent Black Man Outraged by Town's Support for Black Lives Matter. Patricia Sullivan of the Washington Post: "The banner says 'Welcome to Clifton where Black Lives Matter.' It was posted over the tiny Northern Virginia town's Main Street.... The gesture -- which Mayor William R. Holloway called 'a first step' to beginning discussions of racial equity -- drew mostly positive responses, according to the town clerk [of this] overwhelmingly white town.... But it prompted outrage from some residents of Fairfax County and nearby towns.... One critical email, which was shared with The Washington Post, was sent from the email account of Ginni Thomas..., who is married to Clarence Thomas, the only black justice on the U.S. Supreme Court."

Full Sharpiegate IG Report Released. Andrew Freedman & Jason Samenow of the Washington Post: "The Commerce Department inspector general issued a delayed and harshly critical report laying out how political pressure originating from the White House resulted in the issuance of a poorly crafted and unsigned National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) statement on Sept. 6, 2019. That statement backed President Trump's erroneous claims that Hurricane Dorian was likely to severely impact Alabama and criticized the agency's own meteorologists.... The episode foreshadowed subsequent Trump administration science controversies, including the White House's repeated dismissals of public health advice for responding to the coronavirus pandemic.... The inspector general's office had released summary findings from the report on June 29 prior to the release of the full report.... In response to the report, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), ranking member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, came out against acting NOAA administrator Neil Jacobs's pending nomination for the position." The Hill's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ A pdf of the full IG's report is here, via the IG.

Stop the Presses! Catherine Rampell of the Washington Post: "The Trump administration is turning legal immigrants into undocumented ones. That is, the 'show me your papers' administration has literally switched off printers needed to generate those 'papers.' Without telling Congress, the administration has scaled back the printing of documents it has already promised to immigrants -- including green cards.... Of the two facilities where these credentials were printed, one, in Corbin, Ky., shut down production three weeks ago. The other facility, in Lee's Summit, Mo., appears to be operating at reduced capacity.... 'The administration has accomplished its goal of shutting down legal immigration without actually changing the law,'... says Anis Saleh, an immigration attorney in Coral Gables, Fla."

Elections 2020

Sean Sullivan & Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "Joe Biden unveiled a proposal Thursday to spend $700 billion on American products and research, challenging President Trump's 'America First' agenda with a competing brand of economic nationalism.... Biden called for the federal government to spend $400 billion over four years on materials and services made in the United States, as well as $300 billion on U.S.-based research and development involving electric cars, artificial intelligence and similar technologies. He also advocated a 100-day 'supply chain review' that could require federal agencies to buy only medical supplies and other goods manufactured in the United States. And he urged an end to loopholes that let procurement officers and federal contractors get around existing 'Buy American' clauses.... Biden repeatedly castigated Trump and sounded populist notes that were reminiscent of his more liberal primary challengers."

Mrs. McCrabbie: Donald Trump is headed to Portsmouth, NH -- a city near the Atlantic coast -- Saturday for a semi-open-air rally. BUT, as Bobby Lee pointed out in yesterday's thread, so is Tropical Storm Fay. Forecast: Probability of rain: 85%. Expected precipitation: 1.86". Wind gusts (the hair!): 34 mph. We'll see how that goes.

Weird News. Annie Karni & Patricia Mazzei of the New York Times: "When President Trump first threatened to pull the Republican National Convention out of Charlotte, N.C., Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida started campaigning to bring the event to his state. But now, as convention planners in Jacksonville seek to raise tens of millions of dollars on an almost impossibly rushed time frame, and in the middle of a raging pandemic, the governor is hindering those efforts, interviews show. Mr. DeSantis, a Republican, has directed his top fund-raiser, Heather Barker, to tell donors not to give to the convention because of a personal dispute between the governor and Susie Wiles, his former campaign manager who is serving as an informal adviser to the convention planners, according to multiple people familiar with his actions." The Tampa Bay Times has a summary report here.

There Is Voter Mail Fraud. David Mack of BuzzFeed News: "A West Virginia mail carrier is facing prison time after admitting he attempted election fraud by changing the party registrations of people who had requested absentee ballots for the state's June primary, officials announced Thursday. Thomas Cooper, 47, of Dry Fork signed an agreement in which he pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to defraud the residents of West Virginia of a fair election and one count of injury to the mail."

Adam Liptak & Jack Healy of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled by a 5-4 margin that nearly half of Oklahoma is an Indian reservation in the eyes of the criminal-justice system, preventing state authorities from prosecuting offenses there that involve Native Americans. The decision was potentially one of the most consequential legal victories for Native Americans in decades. It was written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, a Westerner who has sided with tribes in previous cases and joined the court's more liberal members." A Hill story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Way Beyond the Beltway

** South Korea. Hyung-Jin Kim & Kim Tong-Hyung of the AP: "Police say the body of the missing mayor of South Korea's capital, Seoul, has been found. They say Park Won-soon's body was located in hills in northern Seoul early Friday, more than seven hours after they launched a massive search for him. Park's daughter had called police on Thursday afternoon to report him missing, saying he had given her a 'will-like' message before leaving home. A police officer said Park's body was found near a traditional restaurant and banquet hall located in the hills.... News reports say one of Park's secretaries had lodged a complaint with police on Wednesday night over alleged sexual harassment. Kim Ji-hyeong, a Seoul Metropolitan Government official, said Park did not come to work on Thursday for unspecified reasons and had canceled all of his schedule, including a meeting with a presidential official at his Seoul City Hall office." (Also linked yesterday.) A New York Times story is here.

The Commentariat -- July 9, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Trump, et al., v. the Law Is Not Going Well:

Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: "Michael D. Cohen, President Trump's onetime lawyer and fixer, was taken back into federal custody on Thursday after being furloughed from prison in May, federal officials said. 'Today, Michael Cohen refused the conditions of his home confinement and as a result, has been returned' to a federal Bureau of Prisons facility, the bureau said in a statement. The bureau's statement did not elaborate on what specifically Mr. Cohen had done, but one person briefed on his legal status said he had refused to sign papers agreeing to certain conditions related to media appearances and writing books." A CNN story is here.

Spencer Hsu & Ann Marimow of the Washington Post: "The Justice Department said Thursday that Roger Stone should report to prison next week as ordered by his sentencing judge despite his concerns about the deadly novel coronavirus.... The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit gave Stone until Friday to respond to the government.... The filing came one day after an interview in which Attorney General William P. Barr defended Stone's prosecution and prison sentence. 'I think the prosecution was righteous and I think the sentence the judge ultimately gave was fair,' Barr told ABC News." The Week has an item here. An ABC News report on the Barr interview is here. ~~~

~~~ Jerry Lambe of Law & Crime: "... Roger Stone, 67, appealed directly to ... Donald Trump, telling a news organization that the president should pardon him or commute his sentence in the interest of justice. 'I want the president to know that I have exhausted all my legal remedies and that only an act of clemency will provide justice in my case and save my life!' Stone, said in a Tuesday text message to Bloomberg." Mrs. McC: Actually, that's an indirect appeal; Stone made it through an intermediary.

Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A federal court judge is putting up a highly unusual fight against an appeals court ruling seeking to immediately shut down the prosecution of former national security adviser Michael Flynn for making false statements in the FBI's investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. Lawyers for U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan filed a petition Thursday asking the full bench of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to review a 2-1 decision a panel of that court issued last month, directing Sullivan to cancel his plans for a hearing and instead grant the government's request to drop the case."

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for prosecutors in New York to see President Trump's financial records, a stunning defeat for Mr. Trump but a decision that probably means the records will be shielded from public scrutiny under grand jury secrecy rules until after the election, and perhaps indefinitely.In a separate decision, the court ruled that Congress could not, at least for now, see many of the same records."

Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected President Trump's assertion that he enjoys absolute immunity while in office, allowing a New York prosecutor to pursue a subpoena of the president's private and business financial records. In a separate case, the court sent a fight over congressional subpoenas for the material back to lower courts because of 'significant separation of powers concerns.' 'In our judicial system, "the public has a right to every man's evidence,"' Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote in the New York case, citing an ancient maxim. 'Since the earliest days of the Republic, 'every man' has included the President of the United States.' In both cases, the justices ruled 7 to 2, with Trump nominees Neil M. Gorsuch and Brett M. Kavanaugh joining the majorities. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. dissented. Trump reacted angrily, and inaccurately, on Twitter: 'Courts in the past have given "broad deference". BUT NOT ME!'"

Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney of Politico: "The Supreme Court has delivered a split decision on subpoenas for ... Donald Trump's tax returns and financial records, unanimously rejecting his broadest claims of 'absolute' immunity in a New York state criminal investigation, but ruling that lower courts did not do enough to scrutinize congressional subpoenas for similar records. The pair of highly-anticipated decisions likely mean more delays and court proceedings on both subpoenas, increasing the odds that Trump makes it to the November election without the tax and financial details he has long resisted disclosing being turned over to the prosecutors and Congressional committees demanding them." This is all there is (as of 10:30 am ET) to an update of an earlier story that anticipated release of the decisions. The report has since been updated.

Mrs. McCrabbie: Per Pete Williams of NBC News, Supremes have ruled 7-2 in favor of Manhattan D.A. Cyrus Vance, Jr. against Trump. They're sending it back to trial court, though, (Mrs. McC: so Trump may be able to run out the clock). Sounds like in the 2nd case, the Supremes, 7-2, have also sort of ruled in favor of Congress. This is not likely to be cut-and-dried, either. More when reporters & analysts have had a chance to read & write about the decisions. In any event, Trump/Barr's argument for "presidential categorical immunity" is dead. Jeff Toobin calls the rulings "a legal defeat" for Trump but "a practical victory" since Trump can delay release of the returns (none of which would necessarily have become available to the public anyway). CJ Roberts wrote both opinions. Trump is irate. Good.

Axios. "President Trump fired off a series of tweets on Thursday morning after the Supreme Court upheld a subpoena from the Manhattan district attorney for his financial records -- attacking the Obama administration, the Mueller investigation, the GOP-led Senate Judiciary Committee and others for allegedly undermining his presidency." The report cites the tweets -- so far.

Here's a much calmer report on Trump's reaction to the rulings. He had a very civil conversation with Bart:

Mrs. McCrabbie: Apparently Biden put out a statement -- which I can't find online yet -- to the effect that, "I put out 20-some years of my tax returns. What has Trump got to hide?" Severe, possibly inaccurate, paraphrase.

Nicholas Fandos & Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: "Geoffrey S. Berman, who was abruptly dismissed by President Trump last month from his post as the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, told lawmakers on Thursday that Attorney General William P. Barr tried unsuccessfully to pressure him to resign voluntarily, warning that a firing could ruin his career. Testifying before a closed-door hearing of the House Judiciary Committee, Mr. Berman recounted being summoned with no warning in June to a meeting with Mr. Barr at the Pierre Hotel in New York, in which the attorney general asked him to step down. Mr. Berman said he rebuffed Mr. Barr time and again during a tense, 45-minute discussion, telling him he would not resign and did not want to be fired, according to copies of his prepared statement obtained by The New York Times."

Adam Liptak & Jack Healy of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled by a 5-4 margin that nearly half of Oklahoma is an Indian reservation in the eyes of the criminal-justice system, preventing state authorities from prosecuting offenses there that involve Native Americans. The decision was potentially one of the most consequential legal victories for Native Americans in decades. It was written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, a Westerner who has sided with tribes in previous cases and joined the court's more liberal members." A Hill story is here.

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Thursday are here: "As President Trump continued to press for a broader reopening, the United States set another record for new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, with more than 59,400 infections announced, according to a New York Times database. It was the fifth national record in nine days.... On Thursday, cases were decreasing in only two states -- Vermont and New Hampshire. In 14 states and territories, the number of cases was mostly the same. And in the rest of the country new cases were on the rise." ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Thursday are here: "Anthony S. Fauci, the nation's top infectious-disease official, is advising that some states seriously consider 'shutting down' again if they are facing major resurgences of the virus -- a warning that conflicts with President Trump's push to reopen the country as quickly as possible.... A record 62,751 new infections were reported across the United States on Wednesday, including 9,979 in Texas and 11,694 in California. The total number of cases has surpassed 3 million in the United States, where the death toll is approaching 130,000."

Here's a Change/Correction/"Clarification." Alex Harring of CNBC: "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will soon issue additional safety guidelines on reopening schools this fall, but the agency doesn't plan to change its original recommendations that... Donald Trump criticized as too tough and expensive, CDC Director Robert Redfield said Thursday. Redfield said in an interview on ABC's 'Good Morning America' the additional documents don't ease the CDC's recommendations. He said the agency is providing more information for communities, care givers and schools on how to reopen safely. Vice President Mike Pence indicated Wednesday the agency would soften its recommendations. But when asked about the possibility, Redfield said there would be no changes."

Jeff Cox of CNBC: "Weekly jobless claims were lower than expected last week as workers slowly returned to their jobs in the wake of rising coronavirus cases. Claims for the week ended July 4 totaled 1.314 million, compared with the 1.39 million expected from economists surveyed by Dow Jones. The total marked a decrease of 99,000 from a week earlier, according to the Labor Department."

Casey Smith of the AP: "An Indiana woman was arrested in a hit-and-run crash that sent one woman to the hospital and caused minor injuries to a man during a southern Indiana protest over the assault of a Black man by a group of white men, sheriff's officials said Thursday. Christi Bennett, 66, was booked into the Monroe County Jail early Thursday on preliminary charges of criminal recklessness and leaving the scene of an accident, Deputy Barry Grooms said. She was released a couple of hours later on $500 cash bond."

** Hyung-Jin Kim & Kim Tong-Hyung of the AP: "Police say the body of the missing mayor of South Korea's capital, Seoul, has been found. They say Park Won-soon's body was located in hills in northern Seoul early Friday, more than seven hours after they launched a massive search for him. Park's daughter had called police on Thursday afternoon to report him missing, saying he had given her a'will-like' message before leaving home. A police officer said Park's body was found near a traditional restaurant and banquet hall located in the hills.... News reports say one of Park's secretaries had lodged a complaint with police on Wednesday night over alleged sexual harassment. Kim Ji-hyeong, a Seoul Metropolitan Government official, said Park did not come to work on Thursday for unspecified reasons and had canceled all of his schedule, including a meeting with a presidential official at his Seoul City Hall office."

~~~~~~~~~~

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "Around 10 a.m. Thursday, the Supreme Court is set to decide whether President Trump can block the release of his financial records. The ruling, concerning tax returns and other information the president has fought hard to protect, is likely to yield a major statement on the power of presidents to resist demands for information from Congress and prosecutors. Here is a look at the two cases, one concerning subpoenas from House committees, the other a subpoena from the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., a Democrat." Mrs. McC: The lede is not strictly true, of course. The Supremes have already decided and today they will let us know what their decisions were.

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

You might be a sociopath ~~~

     ~~~ if you decide it's worth killing off teachers and children in hopes that will help you do a little better in an election you're losing.

The New York Times' live updates of coronoavirus developments Wednesday are here: "Hours after President Trump assailed guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for reopening schools, Vice President Mike Pence, appearing with the White House coronavirus task force, announced..., 'Well the president said today, we just don't want the guidance to be too tough.... That's the reason why next week, the C.D.C. is going to be issuing a new set of tools, five different documents that will be giving even more clarity on the guidance going forward.'... Dr. Robert R. Redfield, the C.D.C. director, said Wednesday that the agency's guidance should not be used to justify keeping schools closed.... Mr. Trump's threat comes as scientists grapple with rising concerns about transmission of the coronavirus in indoor spaces. Most public schools are poorly ventilated and don't have the funding to update their filtration systems.... Mr. Trump's funding threat carries real weight. When it passed its $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus law, Congress gave enormous latitude to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to decide how to parcel out tens of millions of dollars in relief to school districts." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Wednesday are here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Go to School & Get Sick, You Ungrateful Brats! Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Trump on Wednesday threatened to cut off federal funding for schools if they do not resume in-person learning this fall and criticized a top government health agency for being too tough with its guidelines to aid that process.... Trump said he disagreed with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 'on their very tough & expensive guidelines for opening schools. While they want them open, they are asking schools to do very impractical things. I will be meeting with them!!!'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Update. Peter Baker, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump on Wednesday pressured the government's top public health experts to water down recommendations for how the nation's schools could reopen safely this fall and threatened to cut federal funding for districts that defied his demand to resume classes in person. Once again rejecting the advice of the specialists who work for him, Mr. Trump dismissed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 'very tough & expensive guidelines.'... Within hours, the White House announced that the agency would issue new recommendations in the days to come.... Mr. Trump expressed no concern about the health implications of reopening in person and no support for compromise plans that many districts are considering." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: As MSNBC host Chris Hayes & a guest pointed out, school administrators all over the country have been working for months on plans to re-open their schools in a fashion that will accommodate health & safety concerns for students and staff in accordance with CDC guidelines. In addition, many school districts have made investments in materials to effect those plans. In one intemperate tweet, Trump threw all that planning & investment out the window. ~~~

~~~ Laura Meckler of the Washington Post: "The administration is finding it nearly impossible to control the situation, with the president's views often at odds with those of his health advisers, and decision-making resting with 50 states, more than 1,300 school districts and thousands of colleges and universities.... Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said schools 'must fully open and they must be fully operational,' and she singled out plans in Fairfax County, Va., for a hybrid system as a failure... .On Wednesday, New York City schools, the nation's largest school system, announced a plan that will have most students in school two days a week and learning from home the other three. Many other systems have announced or are considering similar plans.... Trump has no power to cut federal funding already allocated to states and districts, but the vice president suggested the administration would seek to tie any future aid to opening of schools."

Another TrumperWhopper. Ben Gittleson of ABC News: "As of Tuesday, the United States had the ninth-worst mortality rate in the world, with 39.82 deaths per 100,000 people, according to Johns Hopkins University.... The U.S. finds itself on a shortlist of countries that have the most coronavirus deaths proportional to both its total population and to its confirmed cases. In absolute terms, the United States also has the greatest number of overall deaths from coronavirus, with nearly twice as many as Brazil, which ranks second, according to Johns Hopkins.... Donald Trump and his White House have repeatedly claimed this week, falsely, that the United States has the lowest novel coronavirus mortality rate in the world.... Trump tweeted Monday that 'we now have the lowest Fatality (Mortality) Rate in the World' and that the coronavirus mortality rate in the United States was 'just about the LOWEST IN THE WORLD.' He tweeted on Tuesday, 'We have the lowest Mortality Rate in the World' and said 'The Fake News should be reporting these most important of facts, but they don't!'... Trump repeated his claim about the U.S. mortality rate at the Whit House on Tuesday afternoon, saying it was 'the lowest anywhere in the world.'... Trump's series of tweets on the matter -- and his press secretary's insistence to reporters -- reflected an attempt to explain his comment during a speech over the weekend that 99% of coronavirus cases are 'harmless,' which received significant blowback." (Also linked yesterday.)

Susan Svrluga & Nick Anderson of the Washington Post: "Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology sued the Trump administration Wednesday over an order that would require international students to take classes in person this fall, despite rising coronavirus caseloads that are complicating efforts by colleges and universities to offer in-person learning. The lawsuit represented a swift response to an unexpected order issued this week by the federal government, as universities rush to protect the status of thousands of international students. It also represents a new battle line in the war between Trump and education leaders over how to safely reopen schools in the midst of his reelection bid." (Also linked yesterday.)

Andrew Jacobs of the New York Times: "... hospitals, nursing homes and private medical practices are facing ... a dire shortage of respirator masks, isolation gowns and disposable gloves that protect front-line medical workers from infection.... The soaring demand for protective gear is now affecting a broad range of medical facilities across the country, a problem public health experts and major medical associations say could have been avoided if the federal government had embraced a more aggressive approach toward procuring and distributing critical supplies in the early days of the pandemic.... The inability to find personal protective equipment, known as P.P.E., is starting to impede other critical areas of medicine too. Neurologists, cardiologists and cancer specialists around the country have been unable to reopen their offices in recent weeks.... In a coronavirus briefing on Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence downplayed the shortages, but said the government was preparing to issue new guidance on the preservation and reuse of protective gear. 'P.P.E., we hear, remains very strong,' he said." Emphasis added. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump has erased mike pence. There is no longer a mike pence; there is only a little machine that says Donald's best words when Donald is otherwise occupied watching Fox "News."

The Coronavirus Ate Trump's Homework. Steve Eder & Ben Protess of the New York Times: "President Trump's annual financial disclosure report was due to be released more than a week ago. But the filing, the only official public document detailing his personal finances, was not published.... The White House addressed the issue on Wednesday night. An official said Mr. Trump had requested a deadline extension because the report was 'complicated' and the president had 'been focused on addressing the coronavirus crisis and other matters.'"

How a Whistleblower Complaint Is Supposed to Work. Ian Duncan of the Washington Post: "The head of the Transportation Security Administration ordered new coronavirus safety precautions last week after meeting with a whistleblower who alleged that the agency wasn't doing enough to protect employees and travelers, according to the whistleblower's attorney. The new measures require officers to wear eye protection when they are in close contact with travelers and aren't protected by a plastic screen, the attorney said. Officers must also change their gloves or sanitize them after patting down passengers, handling identification documents or checking in luggage. The Office of Special Counsel, an independent federal watchdog, had ordered the Department of Homeland Security last month to conduct an investigation into the whistleblower's allegations. The complaint was filed by Jay Brainard, the TSA's director in Kansas."

California. Madison Pauly of Mother Jones: "San Quentin [State Prison] is currently the site of one of country's worst COVID-19 clusters, with 1,300 prisoners and 184 staff having tested positive for the coronavirus as of July 7. At least six prisoners have died from the virus. Sick prisoners are being put in isolation or treated in tents, while those who have not fallen ill are locked down in crowded dormitories and cell blocks where fear of the coronavirus is sometimes overwhelming.... On May 30, the prison of about 3,500 people on the edge of San Francisco Bay had zero coronavirus cases. Then California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officials transferred 121 people to San Quentin from the California Institution for Men in Chino, which was struggling with a fierce outbreak. Some of the men, who had medical risk factors and hadn't been tested for up to four weeks, were packed onto buses where a handful fell ill even before they arrived at San Quentin."

Ryan Goodman of Just Security: "First, President Trump decided not to confront Putin about supplying arms to the [Taliban]. Second, during the very times in which U.S. military officials publicly raised concerns about the program's threat to US forces, Trump undercut them. He embraced Putin, overtly and repeatedly, including at the historic summit in Helsinki. Third, behind the scenes, Trump directed the CIA to share intelligence information on counterterrorism with the Kremlin despite no discernible reward, former intelligence officials who served in the Trump administration told Just Security." Emphasis original. (Also linked yesterday.)

John Santucci of ABC News: Pam Shriver, the former tennis star & the widow of Joe Shapiro, says her late husband was a casual friend of Donald Trump's but she does not believe he could have taken Trump's SAT tests as she believes Trump & Shapiro didn't meet until after they were both students at UPenn, contrary to the assertion Mary Trump makes in her book.

Bonfire of the Vanities. Marja Novak of Reuters: "A wooden sculpture of U.S. first lady Melania Trump was torched near her hometown of Sevnica, Slovenia, on the night of July Fourth, as Americans celebrated U.S. Independence Day, said the artist who commissioned the sculpture." Mrs. McC: It was kind of an ugly statue, IMHO, so Melanie probably isn't upset.

Missy Ryan & Shane Harris of the Washington Post: "An Army officer who played a high-profile role in President Trump's impeachment proceedings is retiring from the military over alleged 'bullying' and 'retaliation' by the president, his lawyer said Wednesday. Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who served as a national security aide at the White House until earlier this year and was up for promotion to colonel, will leave the military instead, his attorney, David Pressman, said in a statement. 'Through a campaign of bullying, intimidation, and retaliation, the president of the United States attempted to force LTC Vindman to choose: Between adhering to the law or pleasing a President. Between honoring his oath or protecting his career. Between protecting his promotion or the promotion of his fellow soldiers,' Pressman said. 'LTC Vindman's patriotism has cost him his career.'" CNN's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Eric Schmitt & Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "... the White House had made clear to officials in the Pentagon ... that Mr. Trump did not want to see Colonel Vindman promoted.... On multiple occasions, including this week, the White House pressed the Pentagon to seek witnesses who would come forward and say that Colonel Vindman acted improperly, the officials said. But Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper and Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy have been unable to produce such evidence, largely because it does not exist.... A person familiar with Colonel Vindman's decision said he decided to retire after more than 21 years in the Army when it became apparent he would not be able to serve in a useful capacity in his area of specialty, Eurasia affairs."

Minnesota. Richard Oppel & Kim Barker of the New York Times: "... newly released evidence reveals an even more desperate scene than previously known in the moments before an officer pressed his knee into [George] Floyd's neck. Mr. Floyd uttered 'I can't breathe' not a handful of times, as previous videotapes showed, but more than 20 times in all. He cried out not just for his dead mother but for his children too. Before his final breaths, Mr. Floyd gasped: 'They'll kill me. They'll kill me.' As Mr. Floyd shouted for his life, an officer yelled back at him to 'stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk.' The chilling transcripts of Minneapolis police body camera footage, made public on Wednesday, were filed in state court as part of an effort by one of the officers on the scene, Thomas Lane, 37, to have charges that he aided and abetted Mr. Floyd's murder thrown out by a judge."

California. Actual Hate Crime. Ella Torres of ABC News: "A white California couple has been charged with a hate crime after they were seen on video defacing a Black Lives Matter mural, according to a statement from the Contra Costa District Attorney's office. Two people, identified by the district attorney as Nicole Anderson, 42, and David Nelson, 53, were seen on July 4 painting over the B and L in the word 'Black,' which had been painted in yellow, with black paint.... When a woman could be heard asking, 'What's wrong with you?' the ma replied, 'We're sick of this narrative, that's what's wrong. The narrative of police brutality, the narrative of oppression, the narrative of racism. It's a lie.' He was wearing Trump 2020 garb and yelled 'Make America Great Again.'" Emphasis added. ~~~

~~~ New York Traffic Report. What Trump Thinks Is a Hate Crime. Jonathan Dienst, et al., of NBC 4 New York: "New York City will start painting 'Black Lives Matter' on Fifth Avenue directly in front of Trump Tower on Thursday, picking up a delayed project that President Trump blasted as a 'symbol of hate.' City workers began closing the street Thursday morning and Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to take part in the mural some time Thursday afternoon, sources tell NBC New York. A police official said that the street could be closed for a couple of days to do the work."

Washington State. Allyson Waller of the New York Times: "A Seattle man who the authorities said drove into a protest on a closed section of Interstate 5 over the weekend, killing one demonstrator, was charged on Wednesday with vehicular homicide, vehicular assault and reckless driving. The man, Dawit Kelete, 27, is being held with bail set at $1.2 million and is expected to remain in jail, the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office said.... The authorities said that Mr. Kelete was driving a white Jaguar XJL when he drove into the protesters 'at a high rate of speed' early on Saturday morning, striking two protesters."

Elections 2020

Bernie Sanders, Pragmatist. Will Weissert & Bill Barrow of the AP: "Political task forces Joe Biden formed with onetime rival Bernie Sanders to solidify support among the Democratic Party's progressive wing recommended Wednesday that the former vice president embrace major proposals to combat climate change and institutional racism while expanding health care coverage and rebuilding a coronavirus-ravaged economy. But they stopped short of urging Biden's full endorsement of policies that could prove too divisive for some swing voters in November, like universal health coverage under 'Medicare for All' or the sweeping Green New Deal environmental plan. The groups, formed in May..., sought to hammer out a policy road map to best defeat ... Donald Trump."

Maggie Haberman & Annie Karni of the New York Times: "Mr. Trump's campaign is planning an event at an airport hangar in Portsmouth, N.H. But the state's governor, Chris Sununu, a Republican, has said he will not be attending. It isn't clear how many other Republican elected officials will come. The number of attendees could be low, or it could be expansive.... 'It's not what we need right now in terms of Covid,' said Tom Rath, a Republican former New Hampshire attorney general. 'We have been very, very fortunate -- our number of deaths are quite small.' Mr. Sununu, in particular, is threading a needle in a year when he is up for re-election in a swing state, and has gotten praise for how he has handled the coronavirus crisis, Mr. Rath said." Mrs. McC: I can tell you that after the local paper published my open letter to Sununu asking him to prevent Trump from landing in New Hampshire, strangers phoned me at home to thank me. People do not want the Orange Monster & his fan club of mouth-breathers gathering here. ~~~

~~~ BECAUSE Things Went So Well in Tulsa. Sean Murphy of the AP: "... Donald Trump's campaign rally in Tulsa in late June that drew thousands of participants and large protests 'likely contributed' to a dramatic surge in new coronavirus cases, Tulsa City-County Health Department Director Dr. Bruce Dart said Wednesday. Tulsa County reported 261 confirmed new cases on Monday, a one-day record high, and another 206 cases on Tuesday. By comparison, during the week before the June 20 Trump rally, there were 76 cases on Monday and 96 on Tuesday." A New York Times story is here.

Justine Coleman of the Hill: "A group of attorneys in Jacksonville, Fla. filed a lawsuit on Wednesday to block the Republican National Convention from taking place in the city next month. The lawsuit, filed in Duval County, points to several arguments why the city should not host the event as Florida's case numbers continue to spike, saying the convention would be 'a nuisance injurious to the health (and) welfare' of the community.... The attorneys filed the lawsuit days after Florida set a record for the most COVID-19 cases confirmed in a single day in a state during the pandemic, with 11,458 cases on Saturday."

Mixed Messaging? Nah. Totally Conflicting Messages. Andrew Kaczynski of CNN: "While ... Donald Trump has continuously railed against voting by mail, a Republican National Committee robocall in April voiced by his daughter-in-law Lara Trump said voting by mail could be done 'safely and securely.' The call was sent in support of Republican Mike Garcia in California's 25th US House District special election, the race for the seat previously held by Democratic Rep. Katie Hill. California's election was done almost entirely by mail after Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order in March that required every voter to be mailed a ballot. It was one of three RNC robocalls identified by CNN's KFile in which Lara Trump and the President's son Donald Trump Jr. urged voters to vote by mail in special elections since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic[.]" (Also linked yesterday.)

Mrs. McCrabbie: Here's the Lincoln Project ad that P.D. Pepe mentions in today's Comments thread. It is pretty stunning that conservative Republicans are going after not just Trump but also Republican senators who have enabled him. Most of the senators the ad highlights are up for re-election this year: ~~~

New Jersey. Paul Kane of the Washington Post: "Amy Kennedy planted a flag Tuesday for her family's political dynasty along the Jersey Shore, winning a heavily contested Democratic primary against an establishment favorite to advance to a general election race against an ex-Democrat [-- Jeff Van Drew --] who pledged his loyalty to President Trump rather than vote to impeach him. Shortly after the polls closed, Kennedy, the wife of former congressman Patrick J. Kennedy (D-R.I.), received a concession call from Brigid Callahan Harrison, a college professor and political commentator who had the support of most local party chairs, according to a senior Kennedy campaign adviser. With 30 percent of the votes in, Kennedy led 55 percent to 32 percent over Harrison, according to the Associated Press, which projected Kennedy as the winner." (Also linked yesterday.)

Texas. Summer Concepcion of TPM: "Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner on Wednesday afternoon said that city officials are canceling the Texas Republican Party's in-person convention originally scheduled for next week. The cancel[l]ation came on the heels of Turner saying earlier Wednesday during a virtual city council meeting that his administration was investigating ways to cancel it. Turner added that he directed the city's legal department to work with the Houston First Corporation, which operates the convention center, in reviewing the contract with the state's GOP.... The event was originally scheduled to take place July 16-18 and would potentially draw about 6,000 attendees."

John Cruzel of the Hill: "The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that a pair of Los Angeles-area Catholic schools are immune from discrimination suits brought by two former teachers in a decision that expands the scope of First Amendment safeguards for religious employers. DEVELOPING" More on this later. Apparently the vote was 7-2, with Justices Ginsburg & Sotomayor dissenting. The Washington Post's brief breaking story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Update. Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a Trump administration regulation that lets employers with religious or moral objections limit women's access to birth control coverage under the Affordable Care Act. As a consequence of the ruling, about 70,000 to 126,000 women could lose contraceptive coverage from their employers, according to government estimates. The vote was 7 to 2, with Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor dissenting." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Adam Liptak: "The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that federal employment discrimination laws do not apply to teachers whose duties include instruction in religion at schools run by churches. The vote was 7 to 2, with Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor in dissent. (Also linked yesterday.)

Capitalism Is Awesome, Ctd. Mike Isaac of the New York Times: "Auditors handpicked by Facebook to examine its policies said that the company had not done enough to protect people on the platform from discriminatory posts and ads and that its decisions to leave up President Trump's inflammatory posts were 'significant setbacks for civil rights.' The 89-page audit ... gave fuel to the company's detractors, who said the site had allowed hate speech and misinformation to flourish. The audit also placed the social network in the spotlight for an issue it had worked hard to avoid since the 2016 election: That it may once again be negatively influencing American voters." ~~~

~~~ Craig Timberg & Isaac Stanley-Becker of the Washington Post: “Facebook took down a network of more than 100 pages and accounts on Wednesday it said was affiliated with felon and former Republican operative Roger Stone for 'coordinated inauthentic behavior,' taking the company's campaign against disinformation closer to the heart of the nation's political establishment. The offending activity on Facebook and its subsidiary Instagram dated as far back as 2015 but was particularly active during the 2016 presidential election season, when Stone was advising Donald Trump's presidential campaign, and in 2017, as federal investigators were scrutinizing his activities. Facebook officials said Stone, a longtime friend of Trump's, used fake accounts and other deceptive measures to manipulate public debate." A Politico story is here.

The Commentariat -- July 8, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

The New York Times' live updates of coronoavirus developments Wednesday are here: "Hours after President Trump assailed guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for reopening schools, Vice President Mike Pence, appearing with the White House coronavirus task force, announced..., 'Well the president said today, we just don't want the guidance to be too tough.... That's the reason why next week, the C.D.C. is going to be issuing a new set of tools, five different documents that will be giving even more clarity on the guidance going forward.'... Dr. Robert R. Redfield, the C.D.C. director, said Wednesday that the agency's guidance should not be used to justify keeping schools closed.... Mr. Trump's threat comes as scientists grapple with rising concerns about transmission of the coronavirus in indoor spaces. Most public schools are poorly ventilated and don't have the funding to update their filtration systems.... Mr. Trump's funding threat carries real weight. When it passed its $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus law, Congress gave enormous latitude to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to decide how to parcel out tens of millions of dollars in relief to school districts." ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Wednesday are here.

Susan Svrluga & Nick Anderson of the Washington Post: "Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology sued the Trump administration Wednesday over an order that would require international students to take classes in person this fall, despite rising coronavirus caseloads that are complicating efforts by colleges and universities to offer in-person learning. The lawsuit represented a swift response to an unexpected order issued this week by the federal government, as universities rush to protect the status of thousands of international students. It also represents a new battle line in the war between Trump and education leaders over how to safely reopen schools in the midst of his reelection bid."

Another TrumperWhopper. Ben Gittleson of ABC News: "As of Tuesday, the United States had the ninth-worst mortality rate in the world, with 39.82 deaths per 100,000 people, according to Johns Hopkins University.... The U.S. finds itself on a shortlist of countries that have the most coronavirus deaths proportional to both its total population and to its confirmed cases. In absolute terms, the United States also has the greatest number of overall deaths from coronavirus, with nearly twice as many as Brazil, which ranks second, according to Johns Hopkins.... Donald Trump and his White House have repeatedly claimed this week, falsely, that the United States has the lowest novel coronavirus mortality rate in the world.... Trump tweeted Monday that 'we now have the lowest Fatality (Mortality) Rate in the World' and that the coronavirus mortality rate in the United States was 'just about the LOWEST IN THE WORLD.' He tweeted on Tuesday, 'We have the lowest Mortality Rate in the World' and said 'The Fake News should be reporting these most important of facts, but they don't!'... Trump repeated his claim about the U.S. mortality rate at the White House on Tuesday afternoon, saying it was 'the lowest anywhere in the world.'... Trump's series of tweets on the matter -- and his press secretary's insistence to reporters -- reflected an attempt to explain his comment during a speech over the weekend that 99% of coronavirus cases are 'harmless,' which received significant blowback."

John Cruzel of the Hill: "The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that a pair of Los Angeles-area Catholic schools are immune from discrimination suits brought by two former teachers in a decision that expands the scope of First Amendment safeguards for religious employers. DEVELOPING" More on this later. Apparently the vote was 7-2, with Justices Ginsburg & Sotomayor dissenting. The Washington Post's brief breaking story is here. ~~~

~~~ Update. Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a Trump administration regulation that lets employers with religious or moral objections limit women's access to birth control coverage under the Affordable Care Act. As a consequence of the ruling, about 70,000 to 126,000 women could lose contraceptive coverage from their employers, according to government estimates. The vote was 7 to 2, with Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor dissenting." ~~~

~~~ Adam Liptak: "The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that federal employment discrimination laws do not apply to teachers whose duties include instruction in religion at schools run by churches. The vote was 7 to 2, with Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor in dissent.

Ryan Goodman of Just Security: "First, President Trump decided not to confront Putin about supplying arms to the [Taliban]. Second, during the very times in which U.S. military officials publicly raised concerns about the program's threat to US forces, Trump undercut them. He embraced Putin, overtly and repeatedly, including at the historic summit in Helsinki. Third, behind the scenes, Trump directed the CIA to share intelligence information on counterterrorism with the Kremlin despite no discernible reward, former intelligence officials who served in the Trump administration told Just Security." Emphasis original.

Missy Ryan & Shane Harris of the Washington Post: "An Army officer who played a high-profile role in President Trump's impeachment proceedings is retiring from the military over alleged 'bullying' and 'retaliation' by the president, his lawyer said Wednesday. Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who served as a national security aide at the White House until earlier this year and was up for promotion to colonel, will leave the military instead, his attorney, David Pressman, said in a statement. 'Through a campaign of bullying, intimidation, and retaliation, the president of the United States attempted to force LTC Vindman to choose: Between adhering to the law or pleasing a President. Between honoring his oath or protecting his career. Between protecting his promotion or the promotion of his fellow soldiers,' Pressman said. 'LTC Vindman's patriotism has cost him his career.'" CNN's story is here.

Go to School & Get Sick, You Ungrateful Brats! Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Trump on Wednesday threatened to cut off federal funding for schools if they do not resume in-person learning this fall and criticized a top government health agency for being too tough with its guidelines to aid that process.... Trump said he disagreed with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 'on their very tough & expensive guidelines for opening schools. While they want them open, they are asking schools to do very impractical things. I will be meeting with them!!'"

Paul Kane of the Washington Post: "Amy Kennedy planted a flag Tuesday for her family's political dynasty along the Jersey Shore, winning a heavily contested Democratic primary against an establishment favorite to advance to a general election race against an ex-Democrat [-- Jeff Van Drew --] who pledged his loyalty to President Trump rather than vote to impeach him. Shortly after the polls closed, Kennedy, the wife of former congressman Patrick J. Kennedy (D-R.I.), received a concession call from Brigid Callahan Harrison, a college professor and political commentator who had the support of most local party chairs, according to a senior Kennedy campaign adviser. With 30 percent of the votes in, Kennedy led 55 percent to 32 percent over Harrison, according to the Associated Press, which projected Kennedy as the winner."

Mixed Messaging? Nah. Totally Conflicting Messages. Andrew Kaczynski of CNN: "While ... Donald Trump has continuously railed against voting by mail, a Republican National Committee robocall in April voiced by his daughter-in-law Lara Trump said voting by mail could be done 'safely and securely.' The call was sent in support of Republican Mike Garcia in California's 25th US House District special election, the race for the seat previously held by Democratic Rep. Katie Hill. California's election was done almost entirely by mail after Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order in March that required every voter to be mailed a ballot. It was one of three RNC robocalls identified by CNN's KFile in which Lara Trump and the President's son Donald Trump Jr. urged voters to vote by mail in special elections since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic[.]"

~~~~~~~~~~

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Tuesday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Tuesday are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Collin Binkley of NBC New York: "... Donald Trump on Tuesday launched an all-out effort to reopen schools this fall.... 'We're very much gong to put pressure on governors and everybody else to open the schools.' Trump did not immediately explain how he would pressure governors, but he repeated an earlier claim that Democrats want to keep schools closed for political reasons and not health reasons. He made the same claim Monday on Twitter, saying, 'They think it will help them in November. Wrong, the people get it!'" Mrs. McC: Every governor knows that at least part of that pressure will be Trump's writing nasty tweets about him or, for any Republican governors up for re-election, withholding or withdrawing his endorsement. To hell with the health & safety of students, teachers & family members. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Update. Peter Baker & Erica Green of the New York Times: "President Trump demanded on Tuesday that schools reopen physically in the fall, pressing his drive to get the country moving again even as the coronavirus pandemic surged through much of the United States and threatened to overwhelm some health care facilities. In a daylong series of conference calls and public events at the White House, the president, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and other senior officials opened a concerted campaign to lean on governors, mayors and others to resume classes in person months after more than 50 million children were abruptly ejected from school buildings in March.... But they offered no concrete proposals or new financial assistance to states and localities struggling to restructure academic settings, staffs and programs that were never intended to keep children six feet apart or cope with the requirements of combating a virus that has killed more than 130,000 Americans." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: So what we have here is a couple of villainous, ultra-rich heirs & private-school aficionados dictating that poor public schools open up & expose millions of children, educators and their families to a deadly illness. Seems like the premise of a horror movie. ~~~

~~~ Miriam Jordan, et al., of the New York Times: "A directive by the Trump administration that would strip international college students of their U.S. visas if their coursework was entirely online prompted widespread confusion on Tuesday as students scrambled to clarify their statuses and universities reassessed their fall reopening policies amid the coronavirus pandemic. The White House measure, announced on Monday, was seen as an effort to pressure universities into reopening their gates and abandoning the cautious approaches that many have announced they would adopt to reduce Covid-19 transmission." Mrs. McC: Huh. I saw the new policy as a way of getting rid of foreigners. I guess it's an either/or with no downside for Trump: force schools to re-open or deport foreigners.

Jessie Hellmann of the Hill: "Anthony Fauci ... warned Tuesday the U.S. should not fall into 'false complacency' because COVID-19 death rates have dropped, noting the virus can cause other severe health outcomes. 'It's a false narrative to take comfort in a lower rate of death,' Fauci said Tuesday during a livestreamed press conference hosted by Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.)... While the infections have surged in the South and West, with several states seeing single-day highs in recent days, death rates have not increased. That could be because younger adults are making up a higher percentage of new cases compared to the early days of the epidemic. Experts anticipate deaths, a lagging indicator in an outbreak, will rise as people generally don't die until weeks after they become sick." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: It does seem that Fauci has slipped his leash. To appear at the press conference of a Democratic Senator where he repudiates Trump's "false narrative," without naming Trump, has to be heresy at the Unholy Church of the Lord Donald.

Emily Rauhala, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Trump administration has sent a letter to the United Nations withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, a dramatic move that could reshape public health diplomacy. The notice of withdrawal was delivered to United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, said a senior administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.... It is not clear whether the president can pull the United States out of the organization and withdraw funding without Congress." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I think a lot of people figured that no matter how crass Trump was, he would try to do the right thing in a crisis. Well, the joke's on them. The coronavirus crisis has exposed a landslide of purposeful errors, not the least of which has been having the unmitigated gall to to continue the prosecute the suit against the Affordable Care Act & withdrawing from the WHO instead of forcing reforms.

Georgia (USA). Dan Merica, et al., of CNN: "Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, one of the top prospects to be presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's running mate, said Monday that she has tested positive for Covid-19. 'COVID-19 has literally hit home. I have had NO symptoms and have tested positive,' the mayor said on Twitter. She told CNN's Chris Cuomo that she received the news that both she and her husband were positive just before 6 p.m. ET on Monday. She said they decided to get tested because her husband had been sleeping more than normal since last Thursday." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Brazil. Ernesto Londoño of the New York Times: "President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, who has railed against social distancing measures and repeatedly downplayed the threat of the coronavirus as the epidemic in his country became the second-worst in the world, said Tuesday that he, too, has been infected. Critics at home and abroad have called Mr. Bolsonaro's handling of the pandemic cavalier and reckless, allowing the virus to surge across Brazil, Latin America's largest nation. At one point he dismissed it as 'a measly cold,' and when asked in late April about the rising death toll, he replied: 'So what? Sorry, but what do you want me to do?' As the caseload has skyrocketed, Mr. Bolsonaro has attended mass rallies in his support, shunned masks, insisted that the virus poses no threat to healthy people, championed unproven remedies and shuffled through health ministers who disagreed with him. Brazil now has more than 1.6 million confirmed cases and more than 65,000 deaths -- more than any country except the United States. Speaking to journalists outside the presidential palace in Brasília shortly after noon on Tuesday, Mr. Bolsonaro, said he had taken a test on Monday after experiencing fatigue, muscle pain and a fever. He said he was feeling 'very well,' which he credited to having taken hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug he has endorsed but which studies show does not ward off the virus." Includes a photo of Bolsonaro with his arm around U.S. Ambassador Todd Chapman at a July 4th shindig at the U.S. Embassy in Brazil. Sweet! (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ A CNN story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Sweden. A Cautionary Tale. Peter Goodman of the New York Times: "... Sweden has captured international attention by conducting an unorthodox, open-air experiment. It has allowed the world to examine what happens in a pandemic when a government allows life to carry on largely unhindered. This is what has happened: Not only have thousands more people died than in neighboring countries that imposed lockdowns, but Sweden's economy has fared little better.... Sweden's grim result -- more death, and nearly equal economic damage -- suggests that the supposed choice between lives and paychecks is a false one: A failure to impose social distancing can cost lives and jobs at the same time.... Per million people, Sweden has suffered 40 percent more deaths than the United States, 12 times more than Norway, seven times more than Finland and six times more than Denmark." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I do recall reading the headlines & ledes by various confederate writers exclaiming upon how smart Sweden was. As Goodman writes, making an essential -- and simple -- point that Donald Trump is too dense to grasp: "It is simplistic to portray government actions such as quarantines as the cause of economic damage. The real culprit is the virus itself."

Ian Sample of the Guardian: "Doctors may be missing signs of serious and potentially fatal brain disorders triggered by coronavirus, as they emerge in mildly affected or recovering patients, scientists have warned. Neurologists are on Wednesday publishing details of more than 40 UK Covid-19 patients whose complications ranged from brain inflammation and delirium to nerve damage and stroke. In some cases, the neurological problem was the patient's first and main symptom." --s

There Was a Crooked Man

Maggie Haberman & Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "Mary L. Trump, President Trump's niece, plans to publish a tell-all family memoir next week, describing how a decades long history of darkness, dysfunction and brutality turned her uncle into a reckless leader who, according to her publisher, Simon & Schuster, 'now threatens the world's health, economic security and social fabric.' The book ... depicts a multigenerational saga of greed, betrayal and internecine tension and seeks to explain ... President Trump's ... 'twisted behaviors' -- attributes like seeing other people in 'monetary terms' and practicing 'cheating as a way of life.'... As a high school student in Queens, Ms. Trump writes, Donald Trump paid someone to take a precollegiate test, the SAT, on his behalf. The high score the proxy earned ... helped the young Mr. Trump to later gain admittance as an undergraduate to the University of Pennsylvania's prestigious Wharton business school." Mrs. McC: Mary Trump names the person who took Donald's SATs & writes that Donald's sister Maryanne did his homework for him. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) An AP story is here. ~~~

~~~ Update. Haberman & Feuer, in a second story: "President Trump's niece describes him in a much-awaited tell-all book as a child in an adult’s body, someone psychologically brutalized and damaged by his 'sociopath' father and who developed defenses of anger and distrust to mask his own chronic insecurities." Mrs. McC: I got a kick out of this: "Ms. Trump recalled that [Donald & Ivana Trump] once gave her[, as a holiday gift,] a package of underpants, as well as a cracker and caviar set that no longer included the caviar."

Shane Harris & Michael Kranish of the Washington Post: "A tell-all book by President Trump's niece describes a family riven by a series of traumas, exacerbated by a daunting patriarch who 'destroyed' Donald Trump by short-circuiting his 'ability to develop and experience the entire spectrum of human emotion,' according to a copy of the forthcoming memoir obtained by The Washington Post." (Also linked yesterday.)

Lachlan Cartwright, et al., of the Daily Beast: "Mary Trump's book ... paints her uncle the president in a horrifying light and reveals explosive details about his character and disparaging comments made by his sister, retired federal judge Maryanne Trump Barry.... 'He's a clown,' Maryanne allegedly confided in her niece. 'This will never happen again.'... In one particularly disturbing scene from a trip to Mar-a-Lago, Mary recounts how when she was 29 and wearing a bathing suit and a pair of shorts to lunch at the resort, her uncle looked up at her and remarked, 'Holy shit, Mary. You're stacked.'... [At a White House dinner,] Mary recounts how Donald gestured towards Eric Trump's wife, his daughter-in-law. 'Lara, there,' he said. 'I barely even knew who the fuck she was, honestly, but then she gave a great speech during the campaign in Georgia supporting me.' The couple had been together for eight years." A CNN story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Jonathan Swan of Axios: "In what reads like a scene out of [the film] Spotlight, Mary Trump tells the story for the first time of how she secretly gave the New York Times much of the source material for its 14,000 word investigation of how 'President Trump participated in dubious tax schemes during the 1990s, including instances of outright fraud, that greatly increased the fortune he received from his parents.'" Swan describes and cites some of the story. Mrs. McC: Rachel Maddow read it aloud during an extended Maddow "Storytime." Tuesday's show is not up on her website as of midnight ET, but the Storytime segments should be up soon, and they're worth hearing.

All the Best Swamp Creatures. Theodoric Meyer & Debra Kahn of Politico: "[A]t least 82 former Trump administration officials who have registered as lobbyists, according to an analysis of lobbying disclosure filings. Many more former administration officials have gone to work at lobbying firms or in government affairs roles in corporate America but have not registered as lobbyists.... Some former administration officials decamped for K Street so quickly that they've already returned to the government.... Trump has also hired a large number of former lobbyists to serve in his administration -- including the current Defense, Energy, Labor and Interior secretaries; the acting Homeland Security secretary; the EPA administrator; and the U.S. trade representative -- and some of them have already gone back to K Street." --s

Julian Borger of the Guardian: "Chinese agents have been pursuing hundreds of Chinese nationals living in the US [often coerced by thinly veiled threats against their families back in China] in an effort to force their return, as part of a global campaign against the country's diaspora, known as Operation Fox Hunt, the FBI director [Christopher Wray] has said.... Fox Hunt was launched six years ago by President Xi Jinping, ostensibly to pursue corrupt officials and business executives who had fled abroad.... Wray said the operation's principal aim now was to suppress dissent among the diaspora.... Wray portrayed China as an aggressive rival with little or no regard for international or national laws. He said that nearly half the FBI's 5,000 active counter-intelligence cases were China-related." --s

Luis Martinez of ABC News: "The top U.S. general in the Middle East said Tuesday he was aware of the intelligence of a Russian bounty program targeting U.S. troops in Afghanistan, but ... he said he did not believe it was tied to actual U.S. military deaths on the battlefield. 'I found it very worrisome, I just didn't find that there was a causative link there,' Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, the commander of U.S. Central Command, said in an interview with a small number of reporters. "The intel ... case wasn't proved to me -- it wasn't proved enough that I'd take it to a court of law -- and you know that's often true in battlefield intelligence,' said McKenzie.... 'Over the past several years, the Taliban have done their level best to carry out operations against us, so nothing is practically changed on the ground in terms of force protection, because we have a very high force protection standard now...,' said McKenzie."

Presidential Race

Adam Edelman of NBC News: "Joe Biden has won the Democratic presidential primaries in New Jersey and his home state of Delaware, NBC News projects. The pair of wins Tuesday night allows Biden, who is already the presumptive Democratic nominee, to build on the delegate haul he's already amassed heading into next month's scaled-down Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee. Biden officially became the party's presumptive nominee last month when he exceeded the 1,991 pledged delegates needed to do so. Both states are conducting their primaries almost entirely by mail, due to the coronavirus pandemic. And in New Jersey, where politics watchers were closely following several congressional primaries, election officials cautioned that results were not likely to be known for several days, because ballots can be postmarked as late at 8:00 p.m. ET Tuesday."

** Tom Friedman of the New York Times is right: "First, Biden should declare that he will take part in a [presidential] debate only if Trump releases his tax returns for 2016 through 2018. Biden has already done so, and they are on his website.... No more gifting Trump something he can attack while hiding his own questionable finances. And second, Biden should insist that a real-time fact-checking team approved by both candidates be hired by the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates -- and that 10 minutes before the scheduled conclusion of the debate this team report on any misleading statements, phony numbers or outright lies either candidate had uttered. That way no one in that massive television audience can go away easily misled. Debates always have ground rules. Why can't telling the truth and equal transparency on taxes be conditions for this one?" ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Biden has released his tax returns every year at least back till 2009 (and probably earlier years, too). As I recall, Joe & Jill Bidens' tax returns appeared on the White House website every year Joe Biden was veep. So Trump should be required to release those years, too.

Chris, the Cowardly Guv. Ryan Nobles & Donald Judd of CNN: "New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu assured reporters Tuesday that ... Donald Trump's upcoming rally in the state could be pulled off safely and without a mandatory mask order.... Sununu also said that while he plans to greet the President at some point during his visit to the state, it was unlikely he'd attend Saturday's rally in person, citing health concerns. 'I'm going to go and greet the President as the governor,' he said. 'I will not be in the crowd of thousands of people..., if that's your question specifically. I try to -- unfortunately, you know, I have to be extra cautious as the governor, I try to be extra cautious for myself, my family.' The governor said that while he would wear a mask and hopes others -- including the President -- wear one, he was not going force rally organizers or attendees to put them on." Mrs. McC: You know what, Chris? Some of those Trumpbots attending the rally you didn't have the guts to prohibit are going to come breathe on you anyway. Even in New England, there's no such thing as a "moderate Republican" officeholder; the few who falsely claim the "moderate" mantle are cowards who cave to the nutjobs while expressing meaningless "concern."

The Senators Regret. Jacob Knutson of Axios: "At least five GOP senators have said they will not attend next month's Republican National Convention in Jacksonville either due to coronavirus concerns or political reasons." They are Chuck Grassley (Iowa) (Trump could make me sick), Mitt Romney (Utah) (Looking forward to Trump's seeing how it feels to lose to a Democrat), Susan Collins (Maine) (I'm concerned), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) (Eeew!) & Lamar Alexander (Tennessee) (I'm retiring -- don't have to go). ~~~

~~~ Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: Susan Collins is facing "the toughest re-election race of her career -- and one that could determine whether Republicans retain control of the Senate in November.... She refused to say whether she would vote for Mr. Trump in November, and said she would not attack the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Joseph R. Biden Jr.... 'I do not campaign against my colleagues in the Senate,' she added..." Cochrane describes Collin's challenges in Maine's Senate race.

Quint Forgey of Politico: "Former acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney on Tuesday conceded that if November's general election becomes a 'referendum' on ... Donald Trump, the Republican incumbent will face 'real headwinds' in his race against former Vice President Joe Biden. 'If the president can go back to drawing those contrasts between him and Joe Biden -- that becomes a race between Trump and Biden -- I think the president does extraordinarily well,' Mulvaney told Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo.... But 'if it ends up being a popularity contest or, worse, a referendum on President Trump, I think he's got some real headwinds to face,' Mulvaney, who now serves as the U.S. special envoy to Northern Ireland, said." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Backfire. Amy Gardner & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "President Trump's relentless attacks on the security of mail voting are driving suspicion among GOP voters toward absentee ballots -- a dynamic alarming Republican strategists, who say it could undercut their own candidates, including Trump himself. In several primaries this spring, Democratic voters have embraced mail ballots in far larger numbers than Republicans during a campaign season defined by the coronavirus pandemic. And when they urge their supporters to vote by mail, GOP campaigns around the country are hearing from more and more Republican voters who say they do not trust absentee ballots, according to multiple strategists. In one particularly vivid example, a group of Michigan voters held a public burning of their absentee ballot applications last month."

AND Kanye West is planning a delusional run for president -- this year. Randall Lane of Forbes has the story. Mrs. McC: Contributor Hattie mentioned this several days ago, so -- I don't know -- maybe she's Kanye's campaign manager. He could do worse. (And if Kanye chooses Elon Musk for the job, as he's hinted, he would do worse.)

Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. suffered a fall at a Maryland country club last month that required an overnight stay in the hospital, a Supreme Court spokeswoman confirmed Tuesday night.The 65-year-old chief justice was taken by ambulance to a hospital after the June 21 incident at the Chevy Chase Club, which was serious enough to require sutures. He stayed at the hospital overnight for observation and was released the next morning. Roberts has twice experienced seizures, in 1993 and in 2007, but Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathleen Arberg said doctors ruled out that possibility in the latest incident. Doctors believe he was dehydrated, she said. Roberts did not publicly disclose the matter, and the court's confirmation came in response to an inquiry from The Washington Post, which received a tip." A Politico story is here. Mrs. McC: Could explain a couple of seemingly-moderate rulings Roberts made recently, so maybe Republicans will try to impeach him as unfit.

Capitalists Are Awesome, Too. Mike Isaac & Tiffany Hsu of the New York Times: "Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook's two top executives, met with civil rights groups on Tuesday in an attempt to mollify them over how the social network treats hate speech on its site. But Mr. Zuckerberg ... and Ms. Sandberg ... failed to win its critics over. For more than an hour over Zoom, the duo, along with other Facebook executives, discussed the company's handling of hate speech with representatives from the Anti-Defamation League, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Color of Change and other groups. Those organizations have recently helped push hundreds of companies, such as Unilever and Best Buy, to pause their advertising on Facebook to protest its handling of toxic speech and misinformation." A CNN story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: You know, Zuck, civil rights leaders have been hearing B.S. from smoother guys than you forevah. The notion that you could snow them was ludicrous from the git-go.

Oh, Dear. Hand-wringing in the Ivory Tower. Jennifer Schuessler & Elizabeth Harris of the New York Times: An open letter titled 'A Letter on Justice and Open Debate,' and signed by 153 prominent artists and intellectuals..., began with an acknowledgment of 'powerful protests for racial and social justice' before pivoting to a warning against an 'intolerant climate' engulfing the culture.... The letter, which was published by Harper's Magazine and will also appear in several leading international publications, surfaces a debate that has been going on privately in newsrooms, universities and publishing houses that have been navigating demands for diversity and inclusion, while also asking which demands -- and the social media dynamics that propel them -- go too far.... And on social media, the reaction was swift, with some heaping ridicule on the letter's signatories...." Thanks to Hattie for the link. ~~~

~~~ AND on That Note. David Waldstein of the New York Times: "Hasbro, which owns the rights to Scrabble in North America, said Tuesday night the players association had 'agreed to remove all slurs from their word list for Scrabble tournament play, which is managed solely by NASPA and available only to members.' John Chew, the chief executive of the association, seemed to agree. He had asked the organization's 12-person advisory board to vote on the matter in the coming days, but the statement from Hasbro was presented as a fait accompli.... The game that Hasbro sells in retail stores has not included slurs in its dictionary since 1994." ~~~

~~~ AND While We're at It. CNN: "... some ... [everyday words & phrases] are directly rooted in the nation's history with chattel slavery. Others now evoke racist notions about Black people.... America's reckoning with systemic racism is now forcing a more critical look at the language we use." Mrs. McC: I would disagree with some of what CNN is suggesting perhaps should be taboo. At some point a remark like, "I painted all the walls Sherwin Williams 'pure white'" will be deemed evidence of racism, no matter who says it.

Way Beyond the Beltway

Matthew Goldstein of the New York Times: "When Jeffrey Epstein moved his money, Deutsche Bank didn't ask many questions. In a $150 million settlement to be announced on Tuesday, the New York Department of Financial Services said that Mr. Epstein, a convicted sex offender, engaged in suspicious transactions for years, even though Deutsche Bank had deemed him a 'high risk' client from the moment he became a customer in summer 2013." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

U.K. Hannah Devlin of the Guardian: "An arrogant culture in which serious medical complications were dismissed as 'women's problems' contributed to a string of healthcare scandals over several decades, an inquiry ordered by the government has found. The review of vaginal mesh, hormonal pregnancy tests and an anti-epilepsy medicine that harmed unborn babies paints a damning picture of a medical establishment that failed to acknowledge problems even in the face of mounting safety concerns, leading to avoidable harm to patients. Instead, women routinely had symptoms attributed to psychological issues or it being 'that time of life', with 'anything and everything women suffer perceived as a natural precursor to, part of, or a post-symptomatic phase of, the menopause', the inquiry heard." --s