The Commentariat -- June 25, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

CDC: 23 Million Americans Have Contracted Coronavirus. Lena Sun & Joel Achenbach of the Washington Post: "The number of Americans who have been infected with the novel coronavirus is likely 10 times higher than the 2.3 million confirmed cases, according to the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 'Our best estimate right now is that for every case that's reported, there actually are 10 other infections,' CDC Director Robert Redfield said Thursday on a call with reporters. Using that methodology pushes the tally of U.S. cases to at least 23 million. Redfield said the larger estimate is based on blood samples collected from across the country that look for the presence of antibodies to the virus. For every confirmed case of covid-19, 10 more people had antibodies, he said.... The CDC also updated its guidance Thursday to help people understand their risk for severe illness from covid-19...." A Hill report is here.

Max Cohen of Politico: "... Former Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday ripped ... Donald Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic and put forward his vision for expanding health care access by building on Obamacare. '[Trump's] like a child who can't believe this has happened to him -- all his whining and self-pity,' Biden said at a speech in Lancaster, Pa. 'Well, this pandemic didn't happen to him. It happened to all of us. And his job isn't to whine about it. His job is to do something about it, to lead.' During the speech in a recreation center gym, Biden called on the Trump administration to stop its ongoing lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act, warning that it could lead to millions of Americans losing coverage."

Trumped-up Charges: Trump Creates a Pentagon Crisis. Helene Cooper & Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "The Pentagon is facing a hemorrhage of talent as senior officials resign amid continued efforts by the White House to purge those perceived as political foes, including the Army lieutenant colonel [Alexander Vindman] who testified in the House impeachment hearings. The challenge of managing White House pressures and concerns about morale inside the Pentagon confronts Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper, who is already in a precarious position with President Trump. The White House had made clear [to Pentagon officials] ... that Mr. Trump did not want to see Colonel Vindman promoted, the officials said. In fact, when they saw an earlier draft version of the list two weeks ago, National Security Council staff members even told their Defense Department counterparts they had evidence of misconduct by Colonel Vindman. No such evidence materialized.... The Army kept [Vindman's] name on the list, and sent it back to Mr. Esper, putting the defense secretary exactly where he did not want to be: in the cross hairs of the commander in chief." ~~~

~~~ Politicizing the Pentagon. Missy Ryan, et al., of the Washington Post: "The White House is intensifying an effort to hire Pentagon personnel with an undisputed allegiance to President Trump at a moment when his relationship with Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper has become strained, current and former officials said. The changes in mid-level leadership are poised to create a more avowedly political Defense Department and could erode the influence of Esper, who spoke out against Trump's proposed deployment of active-duty troops to quell unrest in U.S. cities after the killing of George Floyd in the custody of Minneapolis police."

That Would Be a "No." Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "President Trump's nominee to take over the Manhattan federal prosecutors office after the abrupt dismissal of U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman refused on Thursday to say whether he would recuse himself from pending investigations involving Trump's interests and associates if confirmed for the post. Appearing before a House Financial Services subcommittee, Securities and Exchange Committee Chairman Jay Clayton sought to deflect Democrats' questions about his selection for the job and the circumstances under which Berman was removed over the weekend, characterizing the Senate confirmation process as 'way down the road.' But when pressed by Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.) to 'commit, right here, to recusing yourself' from matters in which the president has a personal stake, Clayton demurred." Politico's story is here.

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court sided on Thursday with the Trump administration's efforts to speed the deportation of asylum seekers, ruling that a law limiting the role of federal courts in reviewing those decisions was constitutional.... Thursday's decision ... barred immigrants whose asylum claims were rejected in bare-bones proceedings from filing petitions for habeas corpus.... Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., writing for the five more conservative justices in the 7-to-2 decision, said asylum claims threatened to overwhelm the immigration system."

Family Matters. Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A revealing book set to be published next month by Mary Trump, niece of ... Donald Trump, moved closer to publication on Thursday after a probate court judge in New York turned down a bid to block release of the unflattering account. President Trump's brother Robert asked for a restraining order against publication, citing a nondisclosure agreement contained in a settlement involving the estate of their father Fred, who died in 1999.... Judge Peter Kelly of Queens County Surrogate Court said his court was not the proper venue for the dispute over the book, which he found to be far afield from matters involving the distribution of Fred Trump's estate. Kelly dismissed the legal application, calling it 'fatally defective.'... The lawyer who filed the application, Charles Harder, said he would take the request to another New York court."

Ben Sisario of the New York Times: "The Dixie Chicks are now the Chicks. The platinum-selling country trio, which in 2003 became pariahs in Nashville for criticizing President George W. Bush on the eve of the American-led invasion of Iraq, has changed its name, apparently in tacit acknowledgment of criticism over its use of the word 'Dixie,' a nostalgic nickname for the Civil War-era South. The group made the change stealthily on Thursday, releasing a new video as the Chicks and adjusting its social media presence. Representatives for the band confirmed the new name. But the three women of the group -- Natalie Maines, Emily Strayer and Martie Maguire, who have been among the most outspoken figures in the conservative world of country music -- made little immediate comment. In a brief statement on its new website, the band states simply: 'We want to meet this moment.'"

The New York Times' live updates for coronavirus developments Thursday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Thursday are here. "The 38,173 new infections reported by state health departments Wednesday underscored the changing geography of the U.S. outbreak. The bulk of the cases were posted in Texas, Florida and California, while Oklahoma also set a new statewide record in infections."

** Paying the Dead. Erica Werner of the Washington Post: "The federal government sent coronavirus stimulus payments to almost 1.1 million dead people totaling nearly $1.4 billion, Congress' independent watchdog reported Thursday.... The U.S. Government Accountability Office, an independent investigative agency that reports to Congress, issued the finding as part of a comprehensive report on the nearly $3 trillion in coronavirus relief spending approved by Congress in March and April. It said it had received the information from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration in an accounting as of April 30." An NBC News story is here. Thanks to Ken W. for the link.

Nelson Schwartz of the New York Times: "Nearly 1.5 million workers filed new claims for state unemployment insurance last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday, the 14th week in a row that the figure has topped one million. An additional 728,000 filed for benefits from Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a federally funded emergency program aimed at covering the self-employed, independent contractors and other workers who don't qualify for traditional unemployment insurance."

Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Hannity Kills. No, Really. Christopher Ingraham of the Washington Post: "In recent weeks, three studies have focused on conservative media's role in fostering confusion about the seriousness of the coronavirus. Taken together, they paint a picture of a media ecosystem that amplifies misinformation, entertains conspiracy theories and discourages audiences from taking concrete steps to protect themselves and others. The end result, according to one of the studies, is that infection and mortality rates are higher in places where one pundit who initially downplayed the severity of the pandemic -- Fox News' Sean Hannity -- reaches the largest audiences.... [An Annenberg/U. of Illinois peer-reviewed study] found that people who got most of their information from mainstream print and broadcast outlets tended to have an accurate assessment of the severity of the pandemic and their risks of infection. But those who relied on conservative sources, such as Fox News and Rush Limbaugh, were more likely to believe in conspiracy theories or unfounded rumors, such as the belief that taking vitamin C could prevent infection, that the Chinese government had created the virus, and that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was exaggerating the pandemic's threat 'to damage the Trump presidency.'"

Leah Asmelash of CNN: "NASA is renaming its headquarters [in Washington, D.C.,] after Mary W. Jackson, the agency's first African American female engineer who helped inspire the story behind the book and film 'Hidden Figures.'... Jackson began her career with NASA at the segregated West Area Computing Unit of the agency's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, NASA said. A mathematician and an aerospace engineer, Jackson led programs aimed at uplifting women within NASA. She retired from NASA in 1985 and passed away in 2005, at the age of 83."

Tom Foreman, Jr., of the AP: "Three members of a North Carolina police department have been fired after a department audit of a video recording captured one of the officers saying a civil war was necessary to wipe Black people off the map and that he was ready. The Wilmington Police Department took the action on Tuesday against Cpl. Jessie Moore, and officers Kevin Piner and Brian Gilmore. Each was accused of violating standards of conduct, criticism and use of inappropriate jokes and slurs."

John Wagner of the Washington Post: "Carly Fiorina, the former chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard who sought the Republican presidential nomination four years ago, said in a new podcast that she plans to vote for Democrat Joe Biden in the fall. Fiorina said she continues to be a registered Republican but considers the election a 'binary choice' and has made clear she cannot support President Trump.... Fiorina has said she voted for Trump four years ago, despite disparaging comments he made about her looks. 'Look at that face!' Trump said to Rolling Stone. 'Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?'" A CNN story is here.

~~~~~~~~~~

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates for coronavirus developments Wednesday are here. "More than 35,000 new coronavirus cases were identified across the United States on Tuesday, according to a New York Times database, the highest single-day total since late April and the third-highest total of any day of the pandemic. As the United States continues to reopen its economy, case numbers are rising in more than 20 states, mostly in the South and West. Florida on Wednesday reported a new daily high of 5,508 cases. Texas reported more than 5,000 cases on Tuesday, its largest single-day total yet. Arizona added more than 3,600 cases, also a record. And in Washington State, where case numbers are again trending upward, the governor said residents would have to start wearing masks in public." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Wednesday are here. "Across the United States, more than 36,000 new infections were reported by state health departments on Wednesday -- surpassing the previous single-day record of 34,203 set on April 25. Texas, Florida and California led the way, with all three states reporting more than 5,000 new cases apiece. Three states -- California, Florida and Oklahoma -- reported record highs in new single-day coronavirus cases, while hospitalizations hit a new peak in Arizona, where intensive care units have quickly filled."

Nomaan Merchant & Juan Lozano of the AP: "Hospital administrators and health experts warned desperately Wednesday that parts of the U.S. are on the verge of becoming overwhelmed by a resurgence of the coronavirus, lamenting that politicians and a tired-of-being-cooped-up public are letting a disaster unfold. The U.S. recorded a one-day total of 34,700 new COVID-19 cases, the highest in two months, according to the count kept by Johns Hopkins University. The number of new cases per day is now running just short of the nation's late-April peak of 36,400." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Ryan Grenoble of the Huffington Post: "COVID-19 testing centers across five states are set to lose federal funding next week after the Trump administration decided not to extend the program that established them. As a result, 13 testing sites across Colorado (1), Illinois (2), New Jersey (2), Pennsylvania (1) and Texas (7) will likely close if those states are unable to replace the necessary funding.... Donald Trump this week repeatedly called for a slowdown in COVID-19 testing, because the surge in new cases they help reveal is making his administration's response look bad.... 'It's pretty clear to me, and I think it's clear to all of us, that with the uptick of cases, now is not a time to retreat from our vigilance in testing,' Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said in a statement, distancing himself from the decision."

Texas. Caitlin O'Kane of CBS News: "Texas Governor Greg Abbott [R] said Wednesday the state is facing a 'massive outbreak' in the coronavirus pandemic and that greater restrictions may be necessary. Abbott made the comments during an interview with CBS affiliate KFDA-TV in Amarillo, Texas."

West Virginia. AP: "... Gov. Jim Justice forced out the commissioner of his public health bureau on Wednesday, hours after he publicly questioned the accuracy of the state's coronavirus data and detailed growing outbreaks in about a dozen counties. The abrupt resignation of Cathy Slemp, who was also a state health officer, came after the Republican governor vented during a news conference that West Virginia's active virus caseload may have been overstated.... Slemp, who was a regular feature of the governor's daily virus news conferences, has decades of public health experience.... Justice, a billionaire coal businessman without previous political experience, had showered Slemp with praise as he hosted press conferences about the virus during the outbreak...."

David Li of NBC News: "Visitors from coronavirus hot spots will have to quarantine for 14 days if they set foot in New York, New Jersey or Connecticut, the governors of those northeastern states said Wednesday. Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington, Utah and Texas have high, current infection rates to warrant this new quarantine advisory, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said." ~~~

~~~ Dan Mangan of CNBC: "The White House said Wednesday that ... Donald Trump will not change his plan to travel to New Jersey this weekend despite a new order by the governor requiring visitors who have been in states with high numbers of coronavirus cases to quarantine for 14 days. 'The president of the United States is not a civilian,' said White House spokesman Judd Deere, when asked about Trump's compliance with the quarantine order given his travel Tuesday to Arizona, which has seen a rise in the rate of its Covid-19 cases. 'Anyone who is in close proximity to him, including staff, guests, and press are tested for COVID-19 and confirmed to be negative,' Deere said in a statement.... 'Anyone traveling in support of the president this weekend will be closely monitored for symptoms and tested for COVID and therefore pose little to no risk to the local populations.'" Trump, as we know, went maskless in an Arizona mega-church full of maskless, screaming kids earlier this week. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Actually, the POTUS* is a civilian. That's the whole idea behind the Constitution's Article II (you do remember Article II, don't you, Donnie?), which makes the civilian president, rather than a military leader, the commander-in-chief. And those "traveling in support of the president"? Most of them are probably civilians, too. Deere's assertion that "With regard to Arizona, the White House followed it's COVID mitigation plan to ensure the President did not come into contact with anyone who was symptomatic or had not been tested," is nonsense. Trump came into contact with some 3,000 people who had not been tested.

Trump Thinks He Can Get an Electoral College Vote in Maine. Jeff Stein & Rachel Siegel of the Washington Post: "The White House ordered the Department of Agriculture on Wednesday to extend farm bailout aid to the U.S. lobster industry, which has suffered under strained trade relations with China and tit-for-tat tariffs that significantly reduced exports to one of its biggest foreign markets. The order, signed by President Trump on Wednesday, comes weeks after a group of lobster fishermen in Maine asked the president for help.... On Wednesday night, Trump blamed ... Barack Obama for the decline of the lobster and fishing industries, despite the fact that the U.S. lobster trade was hurting under the current administration's trade war with China.

Dan Diamond of Politico: "Former national security adviser John Bolton's memoir has renewed concerns that ... Donald Trump undermined his administration's early attempts to grapple with China's spreading coronavirus outbreak out of concern for his personal relationship with President Xi Jinping.... Trump publicly praised China's handling of its outbreak across January and February, even as his health and national security deputies concluded that China was concealing information.... [Trump's tweets praising Xi] were counterproductive, said two current and one former official, noting that China had yet to provide key information about the virus' origins or allow U.S. health officials into the country; negotiations would stretch on through February.... Despite being out of the White House at the time, Bolton asserts in his memoir that Trump took steps to restrict information in the United States about the virus 'for fear of adversely affecting the elusive definitive trade deal with China, or offending the ever-so-sensitive Xi.'"

Erica Werner of the Washington Post: "Vice President Pence urged GOP senators on Wednesday to focus on 'encouraging signs' despite a recent spike in coronavirus cases in numerous states as various localities move swiftly to reopen their economies, according to several people present. Pence made the remarks in a closed-door lunch with Republican senators on Capitol Hill as lawmakers have begun to express alarm because of rising infection rates in Florida, Arizona, Texas and several other states, some of which are likely to be critical to the outcome of the presidential race in the fall and control of the Senate." Mrs. McC: Here's a heretofore secret videotape of the closed-door session:

Another Rat Leaves the Sinking Ship. Robert Costa, et al., of the Washington Post: "One of President Trump's senior economic officials has abruptly left the White House in the middle of the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. He becomes the second senior White House economic official whose departure was announced this month. Tomas J. Philipson, acting chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, will leave his post by the end of June, White House spokesman Judd Deere said in an email. The announcement comes two days after Kevin Hassett, a senior White House economic official and Philipson's predecessor as chair of the CEA, announced he would also be stepping down." A Politico story is here.

Kellyanne Warms to Racist Term. Max Cohen of Politico: "White House counselor Kellyanne Conway reacted to ... Donald Trump's use of 'kung flu' first by explaining that Trump used the phrase to highlight the origins of the coronavirus in China -- and then by suggesting she disagreed with him. Weeks ago, Conway blasted the phrase as 'highly offensive."'But on Wednesday, she initially reacted to a reporter's question about the president's repeated use of 'kung flu' by criticizing the Chinese government. 'My reaction is that the president has made very clear he wants everybody to understand, and I think many Americans do understand, that the virus originated in China,' Conway said." Mrs. McC: As Conway herself pointed out in March, when she so strongly objected to the term, her children are one-quarter Asian-American. But to hell with kids, I guess.

Carol Leonnig & Joshua Partlow of the Washington Post: "Dozens of Secret Service officers and agents who were on site for President Trump's rally in Tulsa last week were ordered to self-quarantine after two of their colleagues tested positive for the novel coronavirus, part of the fallout from Trump's insistence on holding the mass gathering over the objections of public health officials. The Secret Service instructed employees who worked the Tulsa event to stay at home for 14 days when they returned from the weekend trip, according to two people familiar with the agency's decision. The order came in the wake of the discovery -- hours before the president's Saturday evening rally -- that at least six advance staffers who helped organize the trip had tested positive for the virus, including two Secret Service employees. Another two advance staffers tested positive after Trump returned to Washington on Sunday."

Alexander Mallin & Luke Barr of ABC News: "Two Justice Department whistleblowers appeared before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday to outline a series of allegations regarding what they described as political meddling in department affairs under ... Donald Trump and Attorney General William Barr. Aaron Zelinsky, a department attorney who withdrew from the prosecution of Trump-ally Roger Stone after Barr intervened in the sentencing process, and John Elias, a former acting chief of staff in the antitrust division under Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim, both testified that they felt department leadership had wrongfully intervened in typically-sensitive law enforcement matters purely to benefit Trump's interests. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Zelinksy Names Names. Kyle Cheney of Politico: "A federal prosecutor offered lawmakers on Wednesday a roadmap to investigate alleged political interference in the sentencing of longtime Donald Trump confidant Roger Stone. Aaron Zelinsky, one of four lead prosecutors in the Stone case, told the House Judiciary Committee that senior officials -- including the head of the Justice Department's public corruption unit -- freely discussed concerns that they were being pressured to go easy on Stone during sentencing." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Nicholas Fandos, et al., of the New York Times: "Two Justice Department officials recounted to Congress in stinging detail on Wednesday how political appointees had intervened in criminal and antitrust cases to advance the personal interests of President Trump and Attorney General William P. Barr.... The two accounts painted a damning portrait of the Justice Department under Mr. Barr, made all the more remarkable given that the witnesses were both still department employees.... Democrats turned frequently to a third witness, Donald B. Ayer, who was deputy attorney general under President George Bush and warned that under Mr. Barr, the country was 'on the way to something far worse than Watergate.'... Not long after the hearing got underway, the Justice Department announced that Mr. Barr had agreed to appear himself before the panel on July 28. Democrats had been threatening to issue a subpoena for his appearance." ~~~

~~~ Matt Zapotosky & Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post: "A federal prosecutor's testimony Wednesday that he was pressed by supervisors to offer a more lenient sentencing recommendation for a friend of President Trump's capped a remarkable four-month stretch in which Attorney General William P. Barr has seemed to repeatedly bend the Justice Department to Trump's political interests -- generating significant controversy but no personal consequence, legal analysts said. Since February, Barr has intervened in two criminal cases to the benefit of those who once advised Trump; ousted a U.S. attorney who is investigating Trump's personal lawyer; and dutifully implemented Trumps vision for a forceful crack down on demonstrators in the District protesting police violence.... But lawmakers, who already held Barr in contempt last year for defying congressional subpoenas, seem to have little in the way of practical recourse." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: It isn't that Congress can do nothing; Congress has the power to impeach & remove Barr. It's that Congressional Republicans -- who of course control the Senate -- refuse to do anything. They are part of the vast right-wing conspiracy. ~~~

~~~ Aaron Blake of the Washington Post cites major takeaways from the House hearing. ~~~

~~~ Colin Kalmbacher of Law & Crime: "A federal court issued a brief order on Wednesday afternoon in an apparent attempt to make sure that Attorney General Bill Barr's DOJ isn't exerting improper influence over prison stint of ... Donald Trump's longtime confidant and political advisor Roger Stone. The order just so happened to come down on the same day so-called whistleblowers testified about the DOJ's controversial intervention in Stone's sentencing recommendations. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson advised the Department of Justice (DOJ) to come prepared in a filing due Thursday with some sort of precedent in the district -- or by way of an agency internal policy -- that would support delaying the start of Stone's imprisonment any further."

MEANWHILE. Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "A divided federal appeals court panel ordered an immediate end on Wednesday to the case against Michael T. Flynn, President Trump's former national security adviser -- delivering a major victory to Mr. Flynn and to the Justice Department, which had sought to drop the case. In the ruling, two of three judges on a panel for the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ordered the trial judge overseeing the matter, Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, to immediately dismiss the case withoutfurther review. The third accused his colleagues of 'grievously' overstepping their powers, and the full appeals court has the option of reviewing the matter. The order -- a so-called writ of mandamus -- was rare and came as a surprise, taking its place as yet another twist in the extraordinary legal and political drama surrounding the prosecution of Mr. Flynn, who twice pleaded guilty to lying to F.B.I. agents in the Russia investigation about his conversations in December 2016 with the Russian ambassador to the United States." A Politico story is here. Mrs. McC: You don't have to be a genius to guess which judges were Republican appointees & which was an Obama appointee. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Aaron Keller of Law & Crime: "A federal grand jury on Wednesday returned yet a third charging document against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The new document, a second superseding indictment, 'broaden[s] the scope of the conspiracy surrounding alleged computer intrusions with which Assange was previously charged,' the U.S. Department of Justice said.... Assange is in the U.K. The U.S. government has asked that he be extradited here to face the charges."

John Avlon of CNN rails against Donald Trump for falsely accusing President Obama (and others) of treason.

You know all that stuff in John Bolton's book about how Trump was so accommodating to Xi Jinpeng at the same time he was pretending to be "tough on China"? You know how Trump said it was all lies? Well, now there's this: ~~~

~~~ Andrew Desiderio of Politico: "On June 2, Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) signed on as a co-sponsor of a bill to punish China for undermining Hong Kong's independence. Two weeks later, he turned around and blocked it -- at the request of the White House. As a result, the bipartisan bill, which imposes mandatory sanctions over China's continued incursions into Hong Kong's internal affairs, is stalled on Capitol Hill even as it has broad bipartisan support."

Devlin Barrett & Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: “U.S. marshals have been told they should prepare to help protect national monuments across the country, according to an email directive viewed by The Washington Post, as President Trump has vowed stern punishment for those who vandalize or destroy such structures as part of police violence protests.... Earlier Wednesday, defense officials said that the Army activated about 400 unarmed members of the Washington, D.C., National Guard to 'prevent any defacing or destruction' of monuments."

Seung Min Kim of the Washington Post: "Senate Democrats on Wednesday blocked a Republican-drafted bill aimed at overhauling the nation's policing practices ... spelling a potential death knell to efforts at revisions at the federal level in an election year. In a 55-to-45 vote, the legislation written primarily by Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) failed to advance in the Senate, where it needed 60 votes to proceed. Most Democratic senators said the bill fell far short of what was needed to meaningfully change policing tactics and was beyond the point of salvageable.... GOP senators privately offered amendment votes meant to address several criticisms of the bill that [Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer and Sens. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) laid out in a letter to [Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell on Tuesday. The Democrats turned down that offer, according to two GOP officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss procedural deliberations, and also rejected a subsequent offer of more amendment votes. Scott privately told Democrats that if they did not get votes on amendments they sought, that he, too, would help them filibuster his own bill...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) An NBC News story is here.

Arizona. Simon Romero of the New York Times: "The police chief of Tucson, Ariz., abruptly offered to resign on Wednesday while releasing a video in which a 27-year-old Latino man, Carlos Ingram Lopez, died in police custody two months ago. The video, taken by police officers' body cameras and not made public until Wednesday, depicts a gruesome episode on April 21. Before his death, Mr. Lopez is seen handcuffed while pleading repeatedly in English and Spanish for water and for his nana, or grandmother. Chief Chris Magnus said officers did not use a chokehold on Mr. Lopez. But he said they violated training guidelines by restraining the victim in a prone position, face down, for about 12 minutes before Mr. Lopez went into cardiac arrest and died at the scene. While he was restrained, Mr. Lopez told the officers he could not breathe. The autopsy report said the cause of death was a combination of physical restraint and cardiac arrest involving cocaine intoxication. Three officers resigned from the department last Thursday, Chief Magnus said."

Georgia. Christina Carrega of ABC News: "A Georgia grand jury indicted the three men arrested and charged in connection with the alleged murder of Ahmaud Arbery. Cobb District Attorney Joyette M. Holmes announced on Wednesday that a grand jury voted to indict Gregory and Travis McMichael along with William Bryan for the felony murder and aggravated assault that resulted in Arbery death.... 'The presentation took an hour and a half and the true bill came back in 10 minutes,' Holmes said during a press conference on Wednesday afternoon." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) A New York Times story is here.

New York. Trolling Trump. Larry Celona & Julia Marsh of the New York Post: "Mayor Bill de Blasio is planning to install a massive Black Lives Matter mural right outside Trump Tower in Manhattan ... sometime before July 4th weekend.... The installation is one of seven that will pop up across all five boroughs. Three are now planned for Manhattan -- along Centre Street in Lower Manhattan, Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard in Harlem and in front of Trump Tower." Mrs. McC: Another reason for Trump to be glad he's now a Florida man.

Wisconsin. Yes, Some Protesters Are Violent & Stupid. Molly Beck & Lawrence Andrea of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Fury exploded outside the Wisconsin State Capitol on Tuesday night as protesters smashed windows at the statehouse, attacked a state senator, and tore down two iconic statues -- including one of an abolitionist who died trying to end slavery during the Civil War. The unrest began earlier Tuesday following the arrest of a Black man who was arrested after bringing a megaphone and a baseball bat into a Capitol square restaurant. It followed weeks of mostly peaceful protests of the death of George Floyd.... [The protesters' actions] prompted Gov. Tony Evers on Wednesday to put the Wisconsin National Guard on notice to protect state buildings, including the Capitol. During the melee late Tuesday, Democratic state Sen. Tim Carpenter was assaulted after filming the protesters." ~~~

~~~ Update. Scott Bauer & Todd Richmond of the AP: "Wisconsin's governor activated the National Guard on Wednesday to protect state properties after a night of violence that included the toppling of two statues outside the state Capitol, one of which commemorated an abolitionist Civil War hero."

Elections 2020

Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "The Democratic National Convention will move out of Milwaukee's professional basketball arena, and state delegations are being urged not to travel to the city because of concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, party officials said Wednesday. Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. still intends to travel to Milwaukee to accept his party's presidential nomination, his campaign manager said, but neither his campaign nor the Democratic National Committee has made firm commitments that Mr. Biden will attend. The Democratic convention will be 'anchored' in Milwaukee, but the four-night mid-August event will 'include both live broadcasts and curated content from Milwaukee and other satellite cities, locations and landmarks across the country,' according to a news release."

Tim Murphy of Mother Jones: "Tens of thousands of absentee ballots still remain to be counted, and the race is not likely to be called for days. But [Rep. Eliot] Engel's [D-N.Y.] opponent, 44-year-old former middle school principal Jamaal Bowman, declared victory on Wednesday morning after election-day returns gave him a commanding 27-point advantage over the incumbent.... Engel was endorsed by both of the state's Democratic senators, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and Westchester County's own Hillary Clinton."

Moo-Fucking-Hoo. Kate Irby of the Fresno Bee: "A judge has ruled that Rep. Devin Nunes [R] has no right to sue Twitter over statements made by a fake Internet cow, someone parodying his mother and a Republican strategist. Judge John Marshall said in a decision Friday that Twitter was 'immune from the defamation claims of' Nunes, R-Tulare, due to federal law that says social media companies are not liable for what people post on their platforms.... The case [is still] pending against the two parody Twitter accounts and [Republican strategist Liz] Mair. But it's a blow to Nunes nonetheless, as he was trying to push Twitter into revealing the identities of the two accounts, who have been mocking him online anonymously." Mrs. McC: Of course the biggest "blow to Nunes" is that Judge Marshall removed the deep pockets from the case, meaning there's no chance of a hefty nuisance settlement being laid out for Devin.

The Commentariat -- June 24, 2020

Afternoon Update:

The New York Times' live updates for coronavirus developments Wednesday are here. "More than 35,000 new coronavirus cases were identified across the United States on Tuesday, according to a New York Times database, the highest single-day total since late April and the third-highest total of any day of the pandemic. As the United States continues to reopen its economy, case numbers are rising in more than 20 states, mostly in the South and West. Florida on Wednesday reported a new daily high of 5,508 cases. Texas reported more than 5,000 cases on Tuesday, its largest single-day total yet. Arizona added more than 3,600 cases, also a record. And in Washington State, where case numbers are again trending upward, the governor said residents would have to start wearing masks in public." ~~~

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

Nomaan Merchant & Juan Lozano of the AP: "Hospital administrators and health experts warned desperately Wednesday that parts of the U.S. are on the verge of becoming overwhelmed by a resurgence of the coronavirus, lamenting that politicians and a tired-of-being-cooped-up public are letting a disaster unfold. The U.S. recorded a one-day total of 34,700 new COVID-19 cases, the highest in two months, according to the count kept by Johns Hopkins University. The number of new cases per day is now running just short of the nation's late-April peak of 36,400."

Seung Min Kim of the Washington Post: "Senate Democrats on Wednesday blocked a Republican-drafted bill aimed at overhauling the nation's policing practices ... spelling a potential death knell to efforts at revisions at the federal level in an election year. In a 55-to-45 vote, the legislation written primarily by Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) failed to advance in the Senate, where it needed 60 votes to proceed. Most Democratic senators said the bill fell far short of what was needed to meaningfully change policing tactics and was beyond the point of salvageable.... GOP senators privately offered amendment votes meant to address several criticisms of the bill that [Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer and Sens. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) laid out in a letter to [Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell on Tuesday. The Democrats turned down that offer, according to two GOP officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss procedural deliberations, and also rejected a subsequent offer of more amendment votes. Scott privately told Democrats that if they did not get votes on amendments they sought, that he, too, would help them filibuster his own bill...."

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "A divided federal appeals court panel ordered an immediate end on Wednesday to the case against Michael T. Flynn, President Trump's former national security adviser -- delivering a major victory to Mr. Flynn and to the Justice Department, which had sought to drop the case. In the ruling, two of three judges on a panel for the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ordered the trial judge overseeing the matter, Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, to immediately dismiss the case without further review. The third accused his colleagues of 'grievously' overstepping their powers, and the full appeals court has the option of reviewing the matter. The order -- a so-called writ of mandamus -- was rare and came as a surprise, taking its place as yet another twist in the extraordinary legal and political drama surrounding the prosecution of Mr. Flynn, who twice pleaded guilty to lying to F.B.I. agents in the Russia investigation about his conversations in December 2016 with the Russian ambassador to the United States." A Politico story is here. Mrs. McC: You don't have to be a genius to guess which judges were Republican appointees & which was an Obama appointee.

Alexander Mallin & Luke Barr of ABC News: "Two Justice Department whistleblowers appeared before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday to outline a series of allegations regarding what they described as political meddling in department affairs under ... Donald Trump and Attorney General William Barr. Aaron Zelinsky, a department attorney who withdrew from the prosecution of Trump-ally Roger Stone after Barr intervened in the sentencing process, and John Elias, a former acting chief of staff in the antitrust division under Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim, both testified that they felt department leadership had wrongfully intervened in typically-sensitive law enforcement matters purely to benefit Trump's interests. ~~~

~~~ Zelinksy Names Names. Kyle Cheney of Politico: "A federal prosecutor offered lawmakers on Wednesday a roadmap to investigate alleged political interference in the sentencing of longtime Donald Trump confidant Roger Stone. Aaron Zelinsky, one of four lead prosecutors in the Stone case, told the House Judiciary Committee that senior officials -- including the head of the Justice Department's public corruption unit -- freely discussed concerns that they were being pressured to go easy on Stone during sentencing."

Georgia. Christina Carrega of ABC News: "A Georgia grand jury indicted the three men arrested and charged in connection with the alleged murder of Ahmaud Arbery. Cobb District Attorney Joyette M. Holmes announced on Wednesday that a grand jury voted to indict Gregory and Travis McMichael along with William Bryan for the felony murder and aggravated assault that resulted in Arbery death.... 'The presentation took an hour and a half and the true bill came back in 10 minutes,' Holmes said during a press conference on Wednesday afternoon."

~~~~~~~~~~~

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

** USA = Shithole Country. Matina Stevis-Gridneff of the New York Times: "European Union countries rushing to revive their economies and reopen their borders after months of coronavirus restrictions are prepared to block Americans from entering because the United States has failed to control the scourge, according to draft lists of acceptable travelers seen by The New York Times. That prospect, which would lump American visitors in with Russians and Brazilians as unwelcome, is a stinging blow to American prestige in the world and a repudiation of President Trump's handling of the virus in the United States, which has more than 2.3 million cases and upward of 120,000 deaths, more than any other country." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Quint Forgey of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Tuesday insisted he was serious when he revealed that he had directed his administration to slow coronavirus testing in the United States, shattering the defenses of senior White House aides who argued Trump's remarks were made in jest. 'I don't kid. Let me just tell you. Let me make it clear,' Trump told reporters, when pressed on whether his comments at a campaign event Saturday in Tulsa, Okla., were intended as a joke." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Evidently, That Was a Big Fat Lie, Because ... Brianna Ehley of Politico: "The government's top infectious disease expert told a House hearing Tuesday that he and other health officials have not been told to slow coronavirus testing, just hours after ... Donald Trump again suggested he had asked for fewer tests. Anthony Fauci ... told the House Energy and Commerce Committee that the administration continues to focus on scaling up testing capacity and that, to his knowledge, none of the White House coronavirus task force members had been told to do otherwise. 'It's the opposite,' Fauci said in response to a question referencing Trump's remarks. 'We're going to be doing more testing, not less.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Sheryl Stolberg & Noah Weiland of the New York Times: "Dr. Anthony S. Fauci told Congress on Tuesday that he was seeing a 'disturbing surge' of infections in some parts of the country, as Americans ignore social distancing guidelines and states reopen without adequate plans for testing and tracing the contacts of those who get sick. Dr. Fauci's assessment, delivered during a lengthy hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, painted a much grimmer picture of the coronavirus threat than the one given by President Trump, who claimed last week that the virus that had infected more than two million Americans and killed more than 121,000 would just 'fade away.' 'The virus is not going to disappear,' said Dr. Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, who testified that the virus was not yet under control in the United States." ~~~

~~~ Lauren Neergaard & Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar of the AP: "The next few weeks are critical to tamping down a disturbing coronavirus surge, Dr. Anthony Fauci told Congress on Tuesday -- issuing a plea for people to avoid crowds and wear masks just hours before mask-shunning ... Donald Trump was set to address a crowd of his young supporters in one hot spot."

In Search of a Scapegoat. Nancy Cook & Adam Cancryn of Politico: "White House officials are putting a target on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, positioning the agency as a coronavirus scapegoat as cases surge in many states and the U.S. falls behind other nations that are taming the pandemic. Trump administration aides in recent weeks have seriously discussed launching an in-depth evaluation of the agency to chart what they view as its missteps in responding to the pandemic including an early failure to deploy working test kits, according to four senior administration officials.... Aides have also discussed narrowing the mission of the agency or trying to embed more political appointees in it.... Politically, Trump aides have also been looking for a person or entity outside China to blame for the coronavirus response and have grown furious with the CDC...." (Also linked yesterday.)

Scott Bixby of the Daily Beast: "With more than 50,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and nearly 1,400 deaths, Arizona has become the newest hot spot for the coronavirus outbreak in the United States. But inside the Dream City Church in Phoenix, where thousands of young conservatives packed shoulder to shoulder on Tuesday afternoon for ... Donald Trump's second in-person rally since March, the message from the president and his supporters on the pandemic could not have been more triumphant. 'The long, slow surrender is over,' Trump told the cheering crowd of roughly 2,900 supporters, most of them college-aged. 'We are going to be stronger than ever before, and it's gonna be soon.'" More on Trump's Arizona excursion linked under "Elections 2020" below.

D'Angelo Gore of FactCheck.Org: "Contrary to President Donald Trump's repeated claims that he inherited a Strategic National Stockpile with 'empty' or 'bare' cupboards, the federal government had more ventilators in stock than it ended up distributing amid the COVID-19 pandemic, FactCheck.org has learned. The SNS had 16,660 ventilators 'immediately available for use' when the federal government began deploying the breathing machines to states to treat critically ill COVID-19 patients in March, according to a Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson. None of those ventilators was bought by the Trump administration, the spokesperson told us. In a separate email to us on June 17, another HHS spokesperson said the federal government has distributed 10,640 ventilators during the pandemic." --s (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Minnesota. So there was this warm, fuzzy Amazon ad on my teevee where this Amazon worker and loving mom personalized how proud she was to help Amazon make America safe for everyone, when I read this: Ahiza García-Hodges, et al., of NBC News: "An Amazon warehouse in Minnesota was the site of a spike in COVID-19 cases, according to newly released data from the Minnesota Department of Health. The warehouse in Shakopee, Minn., had 88 positive cases in about 70 days. It employs about 1,000 people, meaning about 1 in 12 employees contracted the virus. The cases were reported from April 4 to June 14, with most occurring between late April and mid-May. The Minnesota health department said the outbreak at the Shakopee warehouse is one of the biggest it has seen but not the worst. A meatpacking plant in Cold Spring, Minn., saw 194 cases in May. Amazon's situation has improved since implementing new state recommendations and were working to mitigate spread, according to state health officials."

** Karoun Demirjian, et al., of the Washington Post: "A federal prosecutor and another Justice Department official plan to tell Congress on Wednesday that Attorney General William P. Barr and his top deputies issued inappropriate orders amid investigations and trials 'based on political considerations' and a desire to cater to President Trump. Aaron Zelinsky, an assistant U.S. attorney in Maryland formerly detailed to Robert S. Mueller III's Russia investigation, will tell the House Judiciary Committee that prosecutors involved in the criminal trial of Trump's friend Roger Stone experienced 'heavy pressure from the highest levels of the Department of Justice to cut Stone a break' by requesting a lighter sentence, according to Zelinsky's prepared remarks. The expectation, he intends to testify, was that Stone should be treated 'differently and more leniently' because of his 'relationship with the President.'... Zelinsky will be joined by John Elias, an official in the Justice Department's Antitrust Division, who will say that Barr ordered staff to investigate marijuana company mergers simply because he 'did not like the nature of their underlying business.'..." This is a major update of a story linked yesterday afternoon. ~~~

~~~ Nicholas Fandos, et al., of the New York Times: "Senior law enforcement officials intervened to seek a more lenient prison sentence for President Trump's friend and ally Roger J. Stone Jr. for political reasons, a former prosecutor on the case is expected to testify before Congress on Wednesday, citing his supervisor's account of the matter.... [Prosecutor Aaron] Zelinsky is expected to be joined by another current Justice Department employee, John W. Elias, a senior career official in the antitrust division, who will tell the committee that under Attorney General William P. Barr's leadership, the division was forced for political reasons to pursue unjustified investigations of the fledgling legal marijuana industry and an antipollution pact between California and several automakers.... At least in the case of Mr. Zelinsky, the secondhand nature of his account of the intervention by Mr. Barr and the acting U.S. attorney in Washington[, D.C.,] at the time, Timothy Shea, could undercut some of its potential force." A Politico story is here. ~~~

~~~ Dan Friedman of Mother Jones has a facsimile of Aaron Zelinsky's prepared testimony here.

[Barr] obfuscated and misled the American public about the results of the Mueller investigation. He wrongfully interfered in the day-to-day activities of career prosecutors, and continues to do so, bending the criminal justice system to benefit the President's friends and target those perceived to be his enemies. -- 65 George Washington U. Law School Faculty Members ~~~

~~~ Chandelis Duster of CNN: "Law professors and faculty from George Washington University Law School, Attorney General William Barr's alma mater, said in a letter Tuesday he has 'failed to fulfill his oath of office to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States."' The rebuke comes after continued fallout over the departure of Geoffrey Berman, the federal prosecutor ousted over the weekend by the Trump administration, and is the latest in a chorus of criticism over Barr's actions as attorney general. Barr received his Juris Doctor degree from the law school in 1977 and while serving as attorney general under then-President George H.W. Bush he received an honorary degree from the university in 1992. In a bi-partisan statement signed by 65 faculty and professors from the law school, the group wrote that Barr's actions as attorney general 'have undermined the rule of law, breached constitutional norms, and damaged the integrity and traditional independence of his office and of the Department of Justice.' Signatories to the letter include president and CEO of the National Bar Association Alfreda Robinson and interim dean of the school Christopher Alan Bracey."

There Are Very Fine People on the White Supremacy Side. Maggie Haberman & Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "President Trump has repeatedly pushed inflammatory language, material and policies in recent days that seek to divide Americans by race as he tries to appeal to his predominantly white base of voters four months before Election Day rather than try to broaden his support. Trailing in national polls and surveys of crucial battleground states, and stricken by a disappointing return to the campaign trail, Mr. Trump has leaned hard into his decades-long habit of falsely portraying some black Americans as dangerous or lawless. And he has chosen to do so at one of the most tumultuous periods in decades as Americans protest recent episodes of police brutality against black people.... Over the last few days the president has tweeted context-free videos of random incidents involving black people attacking white people and baselessly argued that President Barack Obama ... committed 'treason.' In an interview with the Catholic News Agency that was posted online on Monday, Mr. Trump said he planned to sign an order to protect national monuments at a time when statues of Confederate generals are being torn down across the country. 'We're going to do an executive order,' Mr. Trump said. 'We're going to make the cities guard their monuments, this is a disgrace.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Andrew Desiderio & Marianne Levine of Politico: "Senate Republicans on Tuesday distanced themselves from ... Donald Trump's claim that former President Barack Obama committed 'treason,' refusing to back up the unfounded allegation that has fueled the president's revenge campaign against his predecessor.... Accusing Obama of treason was a bridge too far, they said. 'I don't think that President Obama committed treason,' said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who is up for reelection this year. 'I don't know what he's talking about,' added Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). 'I don't have any evidence to believe he committed treason.'... Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), one of Trump's more vocal GOP critics, said that she did not see the president's comments but that 'obviously, he shouldn't have said that.'"

Julie Zauzmer & Fenit Nirappil of the Washington Post: "An attempt by activists to create an 'autonomous zone' outside the White House has reignited tensions between President Trump and Mayor Muriel E. Bowser about who controls D.C. streets.... More than 100 police officers and a trash truck moved people and tents Tuesday from the autonomous zone, which is modeled after Seattle's 'Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone,' where the city had withdrawn police forces and allowed protesters to camp out.... Trump tweeted Tuesday: 'There will never be an "Autonomous Zone" in Washington, D.C., as long as I'm your President. If they try they will be met with serious force!' The mayor['s office] ... said she wanted to keep the plaza safe for demonstrators."; ~~~

     ~~~ Rachel Lerman of the Washington Post: "Twitter said [Trump's] tweet violates its policy prohibiting abusive behavior and specifically 'the presence of a threat of harm against an identifiable group.'... The warning label hides the president's tweet, and users must click in to view the text."

Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "Senate Democrats said on Tuesday that they would block Republicans' attempts to advance a narrow bill to encourage police departments to revise their practices, rejecting the measure as 'woefully inadequate' and setting up a clash that could mark the death of a fledgling congressional effort to address racial bias in law enforcement. Their decision, outlined the day before a planned test vote on the Republican bill, reflected deep opposition to the measure among Democrats and civil rights leaders, who have dismissed the legislation as an antiquated and inadequate response to systemic racism in policing amid a national outcry for an overhaul."

Liz Clarke of the Washington Post: "NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace was not the target of a hate crime, the FBI concluded Tuesday, after completing its investigation into an incident involving a noose in the garage stall of the series' only African American driver. After 48 hours that rattled and then galvanized stock-car racing at a fraught moment for the sport and the nation, the FBI said no federal charges would be filed after it determined that the noose had been there since at least October 2019 and that 'nobody could have known' that Wallace's team would be assigned to that stall." A New York Times story is here. An AP story is here.

Kentucky. Will Wright of the New York Times: "The Louisville Metro Police Department on Tuesday fired one of the three officers involved in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor, the most significant action yet in a case that has drawn public outrage for the killing and the fact that no criminal charges have been filed. In a termination letter posted to the department's Twitter account, Chief Robert Schroeder accused the former officer, Brett Hankison, of violating its policy on the use of deadly force, saying he 'wantonly and blindly' fired 10 shots into Ms. Taylor's apartment on March 13."

Family Matters

Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "President Trump's family is seeking a temporary restraining order to try to block publication of a tell-all book by the president's niece, Mary L. Trump. Ms. Trump is the daughter of the president's late brother, Fred Trump Jr., and her book, 'Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man,' is scheduled to be published by Simon & Schuster on July 28. Mr. Trump's younger brother, Robert S. Trump, requested the restraining order on Tuesday in a filing in Queens County Surrogate's Court, where the estate of the president's father, Fred Trump Sr., was settled." An NBC News story is here. ~~~

~~~ Mack Burke of the Commercial Observer: "The massive retail condominium owned by Kushner Companies at 229 West 43rd Street in Midtown Manhattan is headed for a Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) foreclosure auction scheduled for June 30[.]" --s (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Wendy Siegelman in Medium (Dec 2017): "The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Federal prosecutors in New York are looking at the loan made by Deutsche Bank to Jared Kushner's real estate company a month prior to the 2016 election related to the deal with [Soviet-born oligarch Lev] Leviev. The New York Times also reported on Friday about the subpoena issued out of the Eastern District of New York. The Brooklyn U.S. attorney's office sent a request mid-November to Kushner Companies for information related to a $285 million Deutsche Bank loan which was used to refinance the purchase of retail space at 229 West 43rd Street in the old New York Times Building." --s (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Bible Boy. Pranshu Verma of the New York Times: "Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, an evangelical Christian, created a commission last July to provide a new vision for human rights policy that would more closely align with the 'nation's founding principles' and uphold religious freedom as America's most fundamental value. Human rights scholars have criticized the panel, saying it is filled with conservatives intent on promoting views against abortion and marriage equality. Critics also warn the commission sidesteps the State Department's internal bureau tasked with promoting human rights abroad. And former agency officials caution that elevating the importance of religion could reverse the country's longstanding belief that 'all rights are created equal' -- and embolden countries that persecute same-sex couples or deny women access to reproductive health services for religious reasons." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Em Steck, et al., of CNN: "The White House's nominee for a top Pentagon post repeatedly spread conspiracy theories that a former CIA director tried to overthrow ... Donald Trump and even have him assassinated in newly discovered comments from radio and television appearances as well as on social media. Retired Army Brig. Gen. Anthony Tata, who was nominated to become the under secretary of defense for policy at the Department of Defense, promoted conspiracy theories that John Brennan, the former CIA director, wanted to oust Trump from office, and pushed a bogus conspiracy theory that Brennan sent a coded tweet to order the assassination of Trump in 2018." Mrs. Mc.C: "In a real administration, this revelation of course would be immediately disqualifying; in the Trump administration, it's a recommendation.

Elections 2020

Christina Cassidy, et al., of the AP: "Voters endured 90-minute waits in Kentucky's second-largest city, but the biggest hurdle in Tuesday's congressional primaries seemed to be what wasn't happening: quick counting of mail-in ballots in that state and New York. Final results in top races seemed unlikely for days. In the day's foremost contests, two young African American candidates with campaigns energized by nationwide protests for racial justice were challenging white Democratic establishment favorites for the party's nominations. First-term state legislator Charles Booker was hoping a late surge would carry him past former Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath for the Democratic Senate nomination from Kentucky. And in New York, political newcomer Jamaal Bowman was seeking to derail House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel's bid for a 17th term in Congress." ~~~

~~~ The New York Times is updating some election results here. ~~~

~~~ Ally Mutnick & James Arkin of Politico, with few races called, report on early returns in high-profile races. ~~~

~~~ North Carolina. Gary Robertson of the AP: "A 24-year-old real estate investment CEO won Tuesday's Republican primary runoff for a western North Carolina congressional seat over ... Donald Trump's endorsed candidate for the nomination. Madison Cawthorn handily defeated Lynda Bennett to complete an upset for the GOP nomination in the 11th Congressional District. Bennett had received the president's backing on Twitter and the earlier endorsement of Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who until recently had held the seat. Cawthorn, who also supports Trump, won by a roughly 2-to-1 margin while handing a setback for the president, who had recorded a phone message for Bennett's campaign.... [Cawthorn will] face Democrat Moe Davis, a former military prosecutor, and other party nominees in November. The district is still considered Republican-leaning despite recent boundary changes following litigation." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Of course Cawthorn is a jerk, too. He "got help from a super PAC that backs candidates allied with Sen. Rand Paul."

Alexander Burns, et al., of the New York Times: "Joseph R. Biden Jr. has taken a commanding lead over President Trump in the 2020 race, building a wide advantage among women and nonwhite voters and making deep inroads with some traditionally Republican-leaning groups that have shifted away from Mr. Trump following his ineffective response to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new national poll of registered voters by The New York Times and Siena College. Mr. Biden is currently ahead of Mr. Trump by 14 percentage points, garnering 50 percent of the vote compared with 36 percent for Mr. Trump. That is among the most dismal showings of Mr. Trump's presidency.... Mr. Trump has been an unpopular president for virtually his entire time in office. He has made few efforts since his election in 2016 to broaden his support beyond the right-wing base that vaulted him into office with only 46 percent of the popular vote and a modest victory in the Electoral College." Message from Hillary: Don't count your chickens.... ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Hope Sulzberger is ready for a cease-and-desist letter from the Trump campaign for publishing a totally fake poll.

The Fierce Urgency of Now. Matt Viser of the Washington Post: President "Obama and [Vice President] Biden made their first joint appearance in years, the former partners allied as they attempt to defeat President Trump. Obama was the main draw at a virtual fundraiser for Biden, raising more than $7.6 million from 175,000 individual donors, according to Biden's campaign. The campaign collected another $3.4 ;million at a separate event held for high-dollar donors.... Obama launched into an in-depth criticism of Trump, without mentioning him by name...."

Tim Reid of Reuters: "Dozens of Republican former U.S. national security officials are forming a group that will back Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, people familiar with the effort said, in a further sign that ... Donald Trump has alienated some members of his own party. The group will publicly endorse Biden in the coming weeks and its members plan to campaign for the former vice president who is challenging Trump in the Nov. 3 election, the sources said. It includes at least two dozen officials who served under Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, with dozens more in talks to join, the sources added. They will argue that another four years of a Trump presidency would endanger U.S. national security and that Republican voters should view Biden as the better choice despite policy differences, the sources said."

Jonathan Lemire & Aamer Madhani of the AP: "... Donald Trump drew something closer to the jam-packed audience of political supporters he's been craving as hundreds of young conservatives filled a Phoenix megachurch Tuesday to hear his call for them to get behind his reelection effort. The crowded Dream City Church for the gathering of Students for Trump offered a starkly different feel compared to Trump's weekend rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, his first of the coronavirus era, which drew sparser attendance. Trump hailed the 'patriotic young Americans who stand up tall for America and refuse to kneel to the radical left.... You are the courageous warriors standing in the way of what they want to do and their goals,' he told the boisterous crowd. 'They hate our history. They hate our values, and they hate everything we prize as Americans.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Yes, yes "they" do. Because the history you "stand up tall" for is slavery. Because the values you espouse are white supremacy, fundamentalist Christian bigotry & anti-science mumbo-jumbo. And because everything you prize is mean & moronic.

Way Beyond the Beltway

Juan Cole: "As if the coronavirus pandemic, depression-era unemployment, and Mad President in the White House were not enough, Mother Nature has decided to remind us what the Big Kahuna really is. It is the climate emergency.... The small Siberian town of Verkhoyansk had a temperature of 100.4° F. on Sunday, something that has never happened since Thomas Edison's incandescent light bulb was first used outside in 1880, and likely hasn't happened for millions of years. AP reports that 680,000 acres are on fire. In.The.Arctic. These fires are not just a summer phenomenon, and are being called 'Zombie fires' because they have kept being rekindled since last winter." --s (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Commentariat -- June 23, 2020

Kendall Karson of ABC News: "Just two weeks after Georgia's messy day at the polls, another six states are testing the waters of voting during the coronavirus crisis on Tuesday in the final stretch of the primary season. Among the six, two are drawing outsize attention -- Kentucky and New York -- where a competitive Senate Democratic primary to take on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and a handful of congressional races are expected to be settled, but likely not on election night -- further fueling trepidations for the fall. Virginia, Mississippi, South Carolina and North Carolina are holding statewide races and primary runoffs."

Afternoon Update:

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

** USA = Shithole Country. Matina Stevis-Gridneff of the New York Times: "European Union countries rushing to revive their economies and reopen their borders after months of coronavirus restrictions are prepared to block Americans from entering because the United States has failed to control the scourge, according to draft lists of acceptable travelers seen by The New York Times. That prospect, which would lump American visitors in with Russians and Brazilians as unwelcome, is a stinging blow to American prestige in the world and a repudiation of President Trump's handling of the virus in the United States, which has more than 2.3 million cases and upward of 120,000 deaths, more than any other country."

Quint Forgey of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Tuesday insisted he was serious when he revealed that he had directed his administration to slow coronavirus testing in the United States, shattering the defenses of senior White House aides who argued Trump's remarks were made in jest. 'I don't kid. Let me just tell you. Let me make it clear,' Trump told reporters, when pressed on whether his comments at a campaign event Saturday in Tulsa, Okla., were intended as a joke." ~~~

~~~ This Was a Big Fat Lie, Because ... Brianna Ehley of Politico: "The government's top infectious disease expert told a House hearing Tuesday that he and other health officials have not been told to slow coronavirus testing, just hours after ... Donald Trump again suggested he had asked for fewer tests. Anthony Fauci ... told the House Energy and Commerce Committee that the administration continues to focus on scaling up testing capacity and that, to his knowledge, none of the White House coronavirus task force members had been told to do otherwise. 'It's the opposite,' Fauci said in response to a question referencing Trump's remarks. 'We're going to be doing more testing, not less.'"

In Search of a Scapegoat. Nancy Cook & Adam Cancryn of Politico: "White House officials are putting a target on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, positionin the agency as a coronavirus scapegoat as cases surge in many states and the U.S. falls behind other nations that are taming the pandemic. Trump administration aides in recent weeks have seriously discussed launching an in-depth evaluation of the agency to chart what they view as its missteps in responding to the pandemic including an early failure to deploy working test kits, according to four senior administration officials.... Aides have also discussed narrowing the mission of the agency or trying to embed more political appointees in it.... Politically, Trump aides have also been looking for a person or entity outside China to blame for the coronavirus response and have grown furious with the CDC...."

D'Angelo Gore of FactCheck.Org: "Contrary to President Donald Trump's repeated claims that he inherited a Strategic National Stockpile with 'empty' or 'bare' cupboards, the federal government had more ventilators in stock than it ended up distributing amid the COVID-19 pandemic, FactCheck.org has learned. The SNS had 16,660 ventilators 'immediately available for use' when the federal government began deploying the breathing machines to states to treat critically ill COVID-19 patients in March, according to a Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson. None of those ventilators was bought by the Trump administration, the spokesperson told us. In a separate email to us on June 17, another HHS spokesperson said the federal government has distributed 10,640 ventilators during the pandemic." --s

Karoun Demirjian & Rachel Bade of the Washington Post: "The House Judiciary Committee is preparing to subpoena Attorney General William P. Barr to testify before the panel early next month, setting up the latest showdown between congressional Democrats and the Trump administration over its handling of the Justice Department. Panel Democrats want Barr to testify on July 2 as part of a broader investigation into what they warn is dangerous politicization at the agency, where they charge that Barr has been perverting traditional judicial independence to cater to the president's political interests....It is unclear if Barr will comply with any subpoena.

Mack Burke of the Commercial Observer: "The massive retail condominium owned by Kushner Companies at 229 West 43rd Street in Midtown Manhattan is headed for a Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) foreclosure auction scheduled for June 30[.]" --s ~~~

~~~ Wendy Siegelman in Medium (Dec 2017): "The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Federal prosecutors in New York are looking at the loan made by Deutsche Bank to Jared Kushner's real estate company a month prior to the 2016 election related to the deal with [Soviet-born oligarch Lev] Leviev. The New York Times also reported on Friday about the subpoena issued out of the Eastern District of New York. The Brooklyn U.S. attorney's office sent a request mid-November to Kushner Companies for information related to a $285 million Deutsche Bank loan which was used to refinance the purchase of retail space at 229 West 43rd Street in the old New York Times Building." --s

Bible Boy. Pranshu Verma of the New York Times: "Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, an evangelical Christian, created a commission last July to provide a new vision for human rights policy that would more closely align with the 'nation's founding principles' and uphold religious freedom as America's most fundamental value. Human rights scholars have criticized the panel, saying it is filled with conservatives intent on promoting views against abortion and marriage equality. Critics also warn the commission sidesteps the State Department's internal bureau tasked with promoting human rights abroad. And former agency officials caution that elevating the importance of religion could reverse the country's longstanding belief that 'all rights are created equal' -- and embolden countries that persecute same-sex couples or deny women access to reproductive health services for religious reasons."

Juan Cole: "As if the coronavirus pandemic, depression-era unemployment, and Mad President in the White House were not enough, Mother Nature has decided to remind us what the Big Kahuna really is. It is the climate emergency.... The small Siberian town of Verkhoyansk had a temperature of 100.4° F. on Sunday, something that has never happened since Thomas Edison's incandescent light bulb was first used outside in 1880, and likely hasn't happened for millions of years. AP reports that 680,000 acres are on fire. In.The.Arctic. These fires are not just a summer phenomenon, and are being called 'Zombie fires' because they have kept being rekindled since last winter." --s

~~~~~~~~~~

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Monday are here. "As the coronavirus spreads at record speeds around the world, the United States accounted for 20 percent of all the new infections worldwide on Sunday, according to New York Times data, even as the country's population makes up about 4.3 percent of the world's." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Monday are here. "Twenty-nine states and U.S. territories showed an increase in their seven-day average of new reported cases on Monday, with nine states reporting record average highs. In the states where cases are spiking the most, hospitalizations are also rising sharply. More than 2,290,000 cases and 118,000 deaths have been officially reported in the United States."

Sarah Mervosh, et al., of the New York Times: "After months of lockdown in which outbreaks of the coronavirus often centered in nursing homes, prisons and meatpacking plants, the nation is entering a new and uncertain phase of the pandemic. New Covid-19 clusters have been found in a Pentecostal church in Oregon, a strip club in Wisconsin and in every imaginable place in between.... The newly emerging clusters -- which vary in size from a handful of cases to hundreds and have cropped up in large cities as well as small towns -- reflect the unpredictable course of the coronavirus. They also underscore risks that experts say are likely to persist as long as states try to reopen economies and Americans venture back into public without a vaccine. New known virus cases were on the rise in 23 states on Monday as the outlook worsened across much of the nation's South and West."

Putting Our Money Where His Mouth Is -- In a Hidey-hole. Rebecca Shabad of NBC News: "The Trump administration has been sitting on nearly $14 billion in funding that Congress passed for coronavirus testing and contact tracing, according to Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York and Patty Murray of Washington. The top Democrats said in a letter Sunday to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar that ... Congress passed these funds as part of a coronavirus relief bill in April.... Donald Trump told a crowd of his supporters at his first campaign rally in months Saturday that he wanted to slow down testing for the coronavirus." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Jessie Hellmann & Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Trump on Monday refused to say whether he told staff to slow down COVID-19 testing to make it look like the U.S. had fewer cases, while White House officials denied he had ever given such an order. Trump has been blaming rising case numbers of coronavirus in the U.S. on increased testing, arguing the country has been doing 'too good a job.'... Trump generated outrage this weekend when he said at his first campaign rally in months that he told staff to 'slow the testing down, please.' Trump aides later said his comments were a joke." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ No, Trump Was Not "Just Kidding" about Reducing Testing. Steve Benen of MSNBC elaborates: The "White House quickly insisted ... that Trump was simply kidding during an unscripted moment [when he said he had told his staff to slow down testing].... CBS News reported that Vice President Mike Pence spoke to a group of governors [Monday] morning and said Trump's comments about slowing down testing were merely 'a passing observation,' but not necessarily meant in jest. Soon after..., [Trump said,] 'Uhh, if it did slow down, frankly, I think we're way ahead of ourselves if you want to know the truth. We've done too good a job.'... [That is,] the president [said] ... quite seriously that he sees value in having his administration do less testing, even as the number of coronavirus cases in the United States climbs higher."

Shannon Pettypiece & Monica Alba of NBC News: "The White House has stopped conducting mandatory temperature checks for all staffers and visitors entering the grounds, removing another layer of safeguards put in place after two officials became ill with the coronavirus last month. While those who come in close contact with the president and vice president are still having their temperature checked and being questioned about symptoms, the steps are no longer being taken for others who enter the White House campus, said spokesman Judd Deere. Tents that had been manned for the past month by staffers with thermometers were being taken down on Monday.... The White House had already stopped requiring all staffers in the West Wing to wear masks.... The move comes after the virus once again touched on Trump's orbit last week when six staffers preparing for his campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, tested positive for the coronavirus." Thanks to Bobby Lee for the lead. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: @3:40 pm ET, NBC News is reporting that two more members of Trump's Tulsa advance team have tested positive for coronavirus. @4:05 pm ET, CNN reported that the two staffers attended the rally "but were wearing masks." CNN also reported that two Secret Service agents who went to Tulsa tested positive for the virus.

Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: "This is what American exceptionalism looks like under Donald Trump. It's not just that the United States has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths of any country in the world. Republican political dysfunction has made a coherent campaign to fight the pandemic impossible.... The rot starts at the top. At the beginning of the crisis Trump acted as if he could wish the coronavirus away, and after an interval when he at least pretended to take it seriously, his administration has resumed a posture of blithe denial.... So while countries with competent leadership haltingly return to normal, ours will continue to be pummeled."

Paul Krugman: "... in America, and only in America, basic health precautions have been caught up in a culture war. Most obviously, not wearing a face mask, and hence gratuitously endangering other people, has become a political symbol: Trump has suggested that some people wear masks only to signal disapproval of him, and many Americans have decided that requiring masks in indoor spaces is an assault on their freedom. As a result, social distancing has become partisan.... America's uniquely poor response to the coronavirus isn't just the result of bad leadership at the top.... There's a belligerent faction within our society that refuses to acknowledge inconvenient or uncomfortable facts, preferring to believe that experts are somehow conspiring against them. Trump hasn't just failed to rise to the policy challenge posed by Covid-19. He has, with his words and actions -- notably his refusal to wear a mask -- encouraged and empowered America's anti-rational streak. And this rejection of expertise, science and responsibility in general is killing us."

AND There's This Stupid Trump Trick. Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "Republicans are increasingly worried that their decade-long push to repeal the Affordable Care Act will hurt them in the November elections, as coronavirus cases spike around the country and millions of Americans who have lost jobs during the pandemic lose their health coverage as well. The issue will come into sharp focus this week, when the White House is expected to file legal briefs asking the Supreme Court to put an end to the program.... Speaker Nancy Pelosi, seizing on the moment, will unveil a Democratic bill to lower the cost of health care, with a vote scheduled for next week in the House. Republicans have long said their goal is to 'repeal and replace' the Affordable Care Act but have yet to agree on an alternative. This week's back-to-back developments -- Ms. Pelosi's bill announcement on Wednesday, followed on Thursday by the administration's legal filing -- has put Republicans in a difficult spot, strategists say." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Notice that Republicans aren't worried that Americans who get sick will have no health insurance coverage; they're worried it will hurt their re-election chances.

Michael Shear & Miriam Jordan of the New York Times: "President Trump on Monday temporarily suspended new work visas and barred hundreds of thousands of foreigners from seeking employment in the United States, part of a broad effort to limit the entry of immigrants into the country. In a sweeping order, which will be in place at least until the end of the year, Mr. Trump blocked visas for a wide variety of jobs, including those for computer programmers and other skilled workers who enter the country under the H-1B visa, as well as those for seasonal workers in the hospitality industry, students on work-study summer programs and au pairs who arrive under other auspices.... The directive, which has been expected for several weeks, is fiercely opposed by business leaders, who say it will block their ability to recruit critically needed workers from countries overseas for jobs that Americans are not willing to do or are not capable of performing."

AP: "The White House's stance on China was thrown into confusion on Monday night after trade adviser Peter Navarro announced a trade deal between the two countries was 'over', only to be quickly contradicted by Donald Trump.... Navarro told Fox News the 'turning point' came when the US learned about the coronavirus only after a Chinese delegation had left Washington following the signing of the phase one deal on 15 January.... 'It's over,' he said. But shortly after, the US president tweeted: 'The China trade deal is fully intact. Hopefully they will continue to live up to the terms of the agreement!' Navarro then said his comments had been taken out of context...Navarro's initial comments caused momentary panic on the markets, with contracts on the S&P 500 index falling as much as 1.6%, according to Bloomberg, and the offshore yuan weakening." --s

Axios: John "Bolton told ABC News that Trump 'directly linked the provision of that [security] assistance with the investigation' into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden in Ukraine -- the central allegation that saw him impeached in the House and later acquitted in the Senate. No official that testified was a direct witness to Trump explicitly tying aid to the investigations.... In January, Trump tweeted: 'I NEVER told John Bolton that the aid to Ukraine was tied to investigations into Democrats, including the Bidens. In fact, he never complained about this at the time of his very public termination. If John Bolton said this, it was only to sell a book.'" Mrs. McC: This is why GOP Senators wouldn't allow Bolton to testify in the impeachment hearings. They knew Bolton was, as he likes to say, "in the room" when Trump demanded the tit-for-tat. They're all scum.

Paul LeBlanc of CNN: "... Donald Trump has falsely accused former President Barack Obama of committing treason in his latest unfounded accusation aimed at his predecessor. Trump for months has publicly accused Obama of committing crimes, but has repeatedly declined to say which crimes in particular when asked by reporters. But speaking with CBN News in an interview that aired Monday, Trump offered, without evidence, that Obama had committed treason for spying on his campaign. 'It's treason,' Trump said. 'Look, when I came out a long time ago, I said they've been spying on my campaign. I said they've been taping, and that was in quotes, meaning a modern day version of taping, it's all the same thing.... But they've been spying on my campaign.' In reality, there is no evidence that the Obama spied on Trump's campaign or committed any acts that reach the definition of treason. Under the Constitution, treason is narrowly defined: 'Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.'"

Paul LeBlanc, et al., of CNN: "The White House on Monday admitted that ... Donald Trump was involved in the removal of US Attorney Geoffrey Berman after Trump had claimed he was 'not involved' in the process this weekend. Speaking at the White House Monday, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Trump was 'involved in the sign-off capacity' as she sought to explain the removal of Berman as a simple swap that would allow Jay Clayton, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, to take the post. Clayton and Trump also discussed the job, which leads the powerful Southern District of New York office.... On Monday, however, McEnany wasn't able to fully explain why Berman was dismissed before Clayton was confirmed by the Senate...."

Mrs. McCrabbie: According to Rachel Maddow, among the people Bill Barr lied to about Geoffrey Berman's "resignation" was Craig Carpenito, the New Jersey U.S. Attorney whom Barr had slated to fill Berman's post until the Senate confirmed Trump's choice for the job, Jay Clayton. Barr, according to Maddow, told Carpenito that Berman had resigned. Berman had not & refused to do so after he learned from Barr's press release that he was "stepping down."

Zack Budryk of the Hill: "Geoffrey Berman, the former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, refused to sign a letter criticizing New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) for okaying protests but not religious gatherings a day before Attorney General William Barr announced he would be replaced, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. Justice Department supervisors asked both Berman and Eric Dreiband, the head of the agency's civil rights division, to sign the letter, but after a brief back-and-forth, Berman objected to its characterization of de Blasio's handling of the protests as a double standard and said signing the letter would hurt relations between the city and his office, the newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The letter was never sent. It is unclear whether the episode contributed to the Justice Department's removal of Berman." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Quinta Jurecic & Benjamin Wittes in the Atlantic: "The administration's handling of [SDNY U.S. Attorney Geoffrey] Berman's firing was comically -- and typically -- inept.... And yet, for all the drama, the little matter of why Trump and Barr decided to get rid of Berman in the first place remains a mystery.... The most benign explanation -- though not exactly a comforting one -- is simple patronage. According to Barr's original statement, Trump had decided to appoint Jay Clayton ... to the job. Clayton, according to The New York Times, had recently golfed with the president ... and had expressed interest in the U.S. attorney job.... A second, more troubling possibility is that Berman's removal was retaliatory.... Trump has a long history of firing people who cause him trouble -- often those who are investigating him -- as a means of retribution.... Then there is the third possibility, the most sinister: that the removal of Berman was a specific effort to interfere with a specific investigation.... Trump does this as well.... If the goal of Berman's firing was to send yet another message to law-enforcement officials around the country that those who are no on the team will have to look over their shoulders at all times as long as Trump is president and Barr is running the Justice Department -- well, that message has been heard loud and clear." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ For context about Bill Barr's attempts to install Jay Clayton at USDNY. Press release 8 March 2017: "U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) ... sent a letter to Jay Clayton, the Trump Administration's nominee for Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), regarding concerns about Clayton's ability to effectively serve as SEC Chair, citing Clayton's numerous conflicts of interest and work on behalf of corporations with ties to Russia and Iran." (Emphasis mine) --s

Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "One of President Trump's most trusted economic advisers will leave the White House this summer amid one of the worst economic crises in decades. Kevin Hassett, who returned to the White House as an unpaid volunteer in March, said in an interview that his departure is in line with the administration's initial plan when he was brought back. Hassett said his agreement was to return to the White House for about 90 days, and he has already stayed for more than that amount of time. But Hassett's upcoming departure -- first reported by Axios -- could alarm critics who worry that the White House lacks respected economic officials to guide the nation through the economic calamity caused by the virus." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

New York. Robin Pogrebin of the New York Times: "The bronze statue of Theodore Roosevelt, on horseback and flanked by a Native American man and an African man, which has presided over the entrance to the American Museum of Natural History in New York since 1940, is coming down. The decision, proposed by the museum and agreed to by New York City, which owns the building and property, came after years of objections from activists and at a time when the killing of George Floyd has initiated an urgent nationwide conversation about racism. For many, the equestrian statue at the museum's Central Park West entrance has come to symbolize a painful legacy of colonial expansion and racial discrimination." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Virginia. Gregory Schneider of the Washington Post: The person responsible for developing the legal justification to allow Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) to take down Richmond's equestrian statue of Robert E. Lee is Rita Davis, a descendant of slaves & Northam's legal counsel. "It won't be easy. On Thursday, Richmond Circuit Judge Bradley B. Cavedo extended an injunction that bars the statue's removal, giving opponents more time to save it and making clear that he took a dim view of Northam's action." A good read about an impressive woman.

Washington, D.C. Fredrick Kunkle, et al., of the Washington Post: "Protesters attempted to topple a bronze statue of former president Andrew Jackson in a park next to the White House on Monday night but were thwarted when police intervened.... Protesters threw ropes around the statue of the seventh president astride a horse in Lafayette Square and began trying to pull it down, before police officers removed them from the area. Hundreds of protesters had locke arms around the statue. In a chaotic scene, a helicopter flew low over the park as 150 to 200 U.S.Park and D.C. police responded. Officers used a chemical irritant to disperse protesters and sweep them back to H Street NW. Protesters did manage to smash the wooden wheels of four replica cannons at the base of the Jackson statue. Protesters threw things at police, and officers shoved people in the melee." ~~~

~~~ Paul LeBlanc of CNN: "The US Secret Service on Monday evening told members of the White House press corps to immediately leave the White House grounds, a highly unusual decision that did not immediately come with an explanation. The decision came during an ongoing demonstration in Lafayette Square, across the street from the White House where protesters were trying to bring down a statue of former President Andrew Jackson that stands in the middle of the park. Those protesters were eventually pushed back out of the park by police." ~~~

     ~~~ The story has been updated: "The US Secret Service issued a statement early Tuesday, saying 'four members of the media were misdirected' to leave the White House grounds." Whatever that means.

Presidential Race

Justine Coleman of the Hill: "... Joe Biden's campaign is committing to participate in three debates in the fall, while President Trump's campaign is pushing for four events. Biden's campaign manager, Jen O'Malley Dilllon, confirmed in a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates sent on Monday and obtained by The Washington Post that the former vice president would debate Trump on the dates previously scheduled by the commission -- Sept. 29, Oct. 15 and Oct. 22. Biden's running mate, who has not yet been announced, will debate Vice President Mike Pence on Oct. 7.... Biden's commitment to the debates comes days after several Trump aides, including ... Rudy Giuliani, started advocating for another debate and to conduct them earlier in the day than usual. Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale said last week that the aides don't want the debates to compete with football games." Mrs. McC: The candidate who wants more debates is usually the candidate who's losing. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ A Debate in Search of a Venue. David Jesse of the Detroit Free Press: "The University of Michigan is withdrawing from hosting a presidential debate between ... Donald Trump and ... Joe Biden, sources told the Detroit Free Press. The official announcement is expected to come Tuesday. U-M is making the move because of concerns of bringing the campaigns, media and supporters of both candidates to Ann Arbor and campus during a pandemic, two sources with direct knowledge of the move told the Free Press. The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak on behalf of the university. U-M had been scheduled to host the second debate of the cycle on Oct. 15 and had been planning a wide range of events and education around it."

Hallelujah! Mrs. McCrabbie: Here's my favorite entry from the Washington Post's live coronavirus updates for Monday, also linked above:

"President Trump will hold a rally Tuesday at an Arizona megachurch that claims its air purification system kills '99.9 percent of covid within 10 minutes' -- despite no scientific evidence that is the case. In a video posted by Dream City Church, senior pastor Luke Barnett and chief operations officer Brendon Zastrow touted an ionization system by CleanAir EXP that, Zastrow said, 'takes particles out and covid cannot live in that environment.' Barnett said, 'You can know when you come here you will be safe and protected. Thank God for great technology and thank God for being proactive.' Air purifiers can help reduce airborne contaminants but, on their own, cannot kill the coronavirus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Environmental Protection Agency said....CleanAir EXP said on its website that 'lab tests confirm that CleanAir EXP eliminates 99.9% of coronavirus surrogate from the air in less than 10 minutes.'"

Mrs. McCrabbie: Who is responsible when the dummkopfs who attend the Trump revival get Covid-19 in a couple of weeks? God? The Devil? Trump? Luke & Brendon? The liars at CleanAir EXP, who are apparently Luke's parishoners?

Ashley Parker & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: Donald Trump is increasingly preoccupied "over perceptions of his mental and physical health, at a time when critics have mocked him for episodes in which they say he has appeared frail or confused. The attacks Trump has previously levied against [Joe] Biden -- dismissing the former vice president as 'Sleepy Joe,' secreted away in his basement and enfeebled -- have boomeranged back on him, as opponents have seized on Trump's own missteps to raise concerns.... Saturday night in Tulsa..., the president devoted more than 14 minutes to regaling a campaign rally crowd with the tale of 'the ramp and the water.'" The article includes a photo of the West Point ramp, which Trump described as being as slippery as 'an ice-skating rink.' The ice-skaking ramp has non-slip strips every couple of feet.

Just can't get enough of these Trump rally fiasco postmortems: here's one from Alex Isenstadt of Politico, who focusses on Trump's inability to effectively attack Joe Biden. "Trump advisers have long been convinced that if the race is a referendum on him, rather than a choice between him and Biden, Trump will likely lose." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

Mrs. McCrabbie: Most of the mail-in voter "scandal" in the U.S. seems to be coming from Trump, his relatives and allies: ~~~

~~~ William Bredderman of the Daily Beast: "... Donald Trump went postal on Twitter Monday morning over the threat he claims mailed ballots pose to the integrity of U.S. elections -- but his family seems to have never gotten the message.... 'RIGGED 2020 ELECTION: MILLIONS OF MAIL-IN BALLOTS WILL BE PRINTED BY FOREIGN COUNTRIES, AND OTHERS. IT WILL BE THE SCANDAL OF OUR TIMES!' Trump tweeted.... The White House has acknowledged the president mailed in ballots in New York in 2018 and in Florida this year, and the Orlando Sun-Sentinel reported that First Lady Melania Trump had recently also taken advantage of the Sunshine State's remote voting program. On reviewing records from the Manhattan Board of Elections, The Daily Beast discovered that Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and the First Lady all had ballots mailed to them in Washington D.C. as recently as the 2018 election cycle, and have done so since decamping to the capital three years ago. Eric Trump, who remains in New York, similarly exercised his franchise via envelope and stamp in 2017. Various errors -- from the First Lady's forgetting to sign the crucial affidavit, to the First Daughter's sending her ballot back too late, to Kushner's failure to mail it back at all -- prevented the Washington-based wing of the family's votes from counting in 2017. But the Board of Elections documents show they all successfully returned their votes in the most recent election cycle." ~~~

~~~ Homeless Couple Claim Governor's Mansion as Their Residence. Marina Pitofsky of the Hill: "Vice President Pence and his wife, Karen Pence, voted by mail in Indiana earlier this year using the address of the Indiana governor's mansion, Business Insider reported. The couple mailed in their ballots for the June GOP primary in their home state of Indiana on April 13, according to voter files obtained by the outlet. They used the address of the governor's mansion in Indianapolis, where they have not lived since December 2016, when they transitioned to Washington, D.C. It is not illegal for the Pences to use their previous address to vote by mail. They remain registered to vote in Indiana. Pence's press secretary Devin O'Malley said in a statement to The Hill that the Pences do not own another home in Indiana, so the governor's mansion remains their 'legally correct' address for registration." Mrs. McC: O'Malley is probably right, but it seems weird for someone who hasn't been governor for years to use the governor's mansion as his legal residence. ~~~

~~~ Brian Slodysko of the AP: "A half-dozen senior advisers to ... Donald Trump have repeatedly voted by mail, according to election records obtained by The Associated Press, undercutting the president's argument that the practice will lead to widespread fraud this November." Among them, Bill Barr, Brad Parscale, Kayleigh McEnany & the lovely Betsy DeVos. "DeVos, the education secretary, has voted absentee in all but three Michigan elections over the past decade, according to records. Trump threatened last month to withhold federal funding after Michigan's Democratic secretary of state mailed out absentee ballot applications to registered voters. DeVos' family has donated millions of dollars to Republican causes, including groups that are now part of a fierce court fight to limit the expansion of vote-by-mail." And others.

Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "An Army private confessed to sharing secret information with a satanic neo-Nazi-group in a plot to attack his own unit while it was overseas and cause 'the deaths of as many of his fellow service members as possible,/ federal prosecutors in Manhattan said on Monday. The private, Ethan Phelan Melzer, was charged in an indictment unsealed this week with collaborating with the Order of the Nine Angles, or O9A, a group that prosecutors described as 'an occult-based neo-Nazi and racially motivated violent extremist group.'"

AP: "Venezuela's socialist government tried to recruit then-Congressman Pete Sessions to broker a meeting with the CEO of Exxon Mobil [-- Darren] Woods, then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's successor --] at the same time it was secretly paying a close former House colleague $50 million to keep U.S. sanctions at bay.... The purpose: to lure Exxon back to Venezuela after a decade's absence and inject much-needed dynamism into the OPEC nation's collapsing oil industry.... [F]ormer Miami Congressman David Rivera ... at the time was collecting part of a whopping $50 million contract for three months of consulting work..., now being investigated by federal prosecutors in Miami because he never registered as an agent of a foreign government.... It's not clear how Sessions, who is running again for Congress this fall, acted on the request.... But Sessions did engage in other mediation efforts in Venezuela over the next 15 months." --s

Nina Lakhani of the Guardian: "Millions of ordinary Americans are facing rising and unaffordable bills for running water, and risk being disconnected or losing their homes if they cannot pay, a landmark Guardian investigation has found.... Analysis of 12 US cities shows the combined price of water and sewage increased by an average of 80% between 2010 and 2018, with more than two-fifths of residents in some cities living in neighbourhoods with unaffordable bills.... Water bills exceeding 4% of household income are considered unaffordable.... Meanwhile, federal aid to public water utilities, which serve around 87% of people, has plummeted while maintenance, environmental and health threats, climate shocks and other expenditures have skyrocketed...In Washington, 90 lawmakers from across the country -- all Democrats -- are pushing for comprehensive funding reforms to guarantee access to clean, affordable running water for every American." --s

Way Beyond the Beltway

U.K. Thomas Colson of Business Insider: "Brexit is set to have cost the UK more than £200 billion in lost economic growth by the end of this year -- a figure that almost eclipses the total amount the UK has paid toward the European Union budget over the past 47 years.... The British economy is 3% smaller than it might have been if the UK had not voted to leave the EU.... That means the combined cost of Brexit since 2016 is likely to soon eclipse the total cost of the EU's budget payments, which were a central part of the Leave campaign's case for Brexit in the first place." --s