The Commentariat -- October 3, 2020

Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Reality Chex still is bobbing up & down, but for very short periods of time. If you can't access the site, try again.

Mid-Morning/Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

From Saturday's New York Times live coronavirus updates: "President Trump's vital signs were concerning over the last day and he was not out of danger, a person close to the situation said on Saturday, even as doctors mounted an aggressive effort to treat him and the coronavirus infected an ever widening swath of the president's aides and allies. While doctors maintained during a televised briefing that Mr. Trump was 'doing very well' after a night at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, they refused to provide critical details and left open the impression that the president was actually known to be sick a day earlier than previously reported.... Shortly after the upbeat briefing by the doctors, a person familiar with the president's health gave a far more sober assessment to reporters at Walter Reed on the condition of anonymity. 'The president's vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care,' this person said. 'We're still not on a clear path to a full recovery.' Two people close to the White House said in separate interviews with The New York Times that the president had trouble breathing on Friday and that his oxygen level dropped, prompting his doctors to give him supplemental oxygen while at the White House.... During his televised briefing, Dr. Sean P. Conley, the White House physician, told reporters outside Walter Reed that the president was not currently on supplemental oxygen ... but repeatedly declined to say definitively whether he had ever been on oxygen." Read on. Somebody is lying here, Dr. Conley. ~~~

     ~~~ Update: The "person close to the situation" turns out to be Mark Meadows. Jonathan Lemire, et al., of the AP: "... Donald Trump went through a 'very concerning' period Friday and the next 48 hours 'will be critical' in his care as he battles the coronavirus at a hospital, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said Saturday. Meadows' comments contradicted the rosy assessment of Trump's condition offered by his staff and doctors, who took pains not to reveal the president had received supplemental oxygen at the White House before his hospital admission. 'We're still not on a clear path yet to a full recovery,' said a weary Meadows.... [Dr. Sean] Conley ... revealed that Trump began exhibiting 'clinical indications' of COVID-19 on Thursday afternoon, earlier than previously known."

~~~ Maeve Reston of CNN: "An attempt by ... Donald Trump's doctor to reassure the public about Trump's condition following his infection with Covid-19 only created widespread confusion and concerns about transparency on Saturday, as a source familiar with the President's health told reporters that the next 48 hours will be critical in determining how he fares.... Moments earlier on Saturday morning, the President's physician, Navy Cmdr. Dr. Sean Conley, had offered an upbeat assessment of the President's condition stating that he was feeling well, that he had been 'fever-free' for 24 hours and that his symptoms -- which included an 'extremely mild cough,' nasal congestion and fatigue -- 'are resolving and improving.'... Conley offered scant and insufficient details about the President's vital signs. He acknowledged that the President had a fever at one point, but refused to say what it was.... Conley ... declined to say when Trump had his last negative Covid-19 test...."

Chris Christie has tweeted that he has tested positive for Covid-19. Christie was part of the team that prepped Trump for the presidential debate. He has previously said that no one in the small room wore a mask. A CNN story is here.

White House Misuses Covid-19 Testing Device. Apoorva Mandavilli of the New York Times: "For months, the White House's strategy for keeping President Trump and his inner circle safe has been to screen all White House visitors with a rapid test. But one product they use, Abbott's ID Now, was never intended for that purpose and is known to deliver incorrect results. In issuing an emergency use authorization, the Food and Drug Administration said the test was only to be used by a health care provider 'within the first seven days of symptoms.' The ID Now has several qualities in its favor: It's portable, doesn't need skilled technicians to operate and delivers results in 15 minutes. Used to evaluate someone with symptoms, the test can quickly and easily diagnose Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. But in people who are infected but not yet showing symptoms, the test is much less accurate, missing as many as one in three cases.... Still, the Trump administration has routinely used the test to screen people without symptoms, allowing anyone who tested negative to go without a mask during meetings and official proceedings."

Maureen Dowd of the New York Times: "... in the end, the con man in the Oval Office could not con the virus.... He seemed oddly intent on tempting fate. Certainly, he put a lot of his fans, especially older ones in the most vulnerable demographic (like Herman Cain, who died of Covid after attending a Trump rally in Tulsa, Okla.), at risk with his dismissiveness about the virus, laxity on testing and tracing, and his insistence on continuing rallies.... Democrats tried to be nice. On Friday, the Biden campaign paused their negative ads, and Barack Obama said at a virtual fund-raiser that despite being in a fight 'with issues that have a lot at stake,' we're still Americans and 'we want to make sure everybody is healthy.' (At the same moment, the Trump campaign issued an attack on 'lyin' Obama.')"

Dave Alsup & Susannah Cullinane of CNN: "The Michigan Supreme Court ruled Friday that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer had no authority to issue or renew executive orders relating to Covid-19 beyond April 30. The Democratic governor extended the state's coronavirus emergency declaration by executive order April 30 after the Republican-controlled Legislature advanced a bill that would not have renewed the original declaration.... Whitmer noted that the court's ruling would not take effect for at least 21 days and that her emergency declaration and orders would remain in place until then. She stressed that the coronavirus pandemic remains a clear danger...."

Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) has tested positive for the coronavirus, becoming the third senator to announce in the past two days that they had contracted the virus. Johnson's office said in a statement on Saturday that he was exposed to an individual on Sept. 29 who has since tested positive for the virus."

Missed this earlier this week: Cristina Marcos of the Hill (Sept. 29): "The House adopted a resolution on Tuesday to affirm the chamber's support for a peaceful transfer of power after President Trump last week declined to commit to it if he loses reelection. Lawmakers adopted the measure in a bipartisan 397-5 vote.... The five Republicans who voted against the resolution were Reps. Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Louie Gohmert (Texas), Clay Higgins (La.), Steve King< (Iowa) and Thomas Massie (Ky.).... Tuesday's vote followed one last week on a virtually identical measure in the Senate, which lawmakers in that chamber passed unanimously."

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The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

** Ashley Parker & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post (in Election Live Updates): "Two administration officials said that [Donald] Trump is preparing to depart for Walter Reed Medical Center Friday evening around 5:30 p.m. The visit is 'out of an abundance of caution,' the official said, adding that the president may remain there for several days. Trump spent Friday working and making calls from his residence, and plans to continue working from the hospital, the official said. Walter Reed has an executive office suite set up for this very purpose, including both a residence and an office space, the official said. The official stressed that Trump is not seriously ill, but because of his age, as well as other risk factors, he and aides decided to take this additional step." Reis Thebalt: "Trump has received an 'antibody cocktail' treatment after testing positive for the coronavirus, and he is now 'fatigued but in good spirits,' his physician said late Friday afternoon. The experimental treatment, a drug made by the pharmaceutical company Regeneron, is one of the most promising known, and experts say it could be the best bet for fighting the virus." The updates are free to non-subscribers. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McC Update: Trump lumbered out to Marine 1 of his own volition. He was wearing a suit & a mask. Others in the vicinity were all wearing masks as far as I could observe.

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Friday are here. (also linked yesterday): "In a brief video message the president tweeted shortly after arriving at Walter Reed, he looked tired. He declared that he is 'doing very well' and suggested that he was visiting the hospital only as a precaution.... After landing at Walter Reed just after 6:30 p.m., he entered his S.U.V. for the short drive from the landing site to the medical facility. The president has a low-grade fever, nasal congestion and a cough, according to two people close to Mr. Trump. He was not planning to transfer his authority to Vice President Mike Pence, according to a White House spokesman, Judd Deere.'The president is in charge,' he said.... Hours before Mr. Trump announced his infection on Twitter, he told an audience that 'the end of the pandemic is in sight.'"

Mrs. McCrabbie: White House spokespeople, including Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, have claimed Donald Trump's symptoms are "mild." However, they were apparently not mild enough to allow him to participate Friday in an ironically scheduled teleconference about "seniors & coronavirus," and mike pence had to fill in. This would have been a good opportunity for Trump to say, "For God's sake, don't do what I did!" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Michael Crowley & Annie Karni of the New York Times: "Vice President Mike Pence, the first in line to occupy the Oval Office if President Trump becomes too ill to carry out his duties, tested negative for the coronavirus on Friday and planned to resume campaign appearances, including at the vice-presidential debate on Wednesday night.... Mr. Pence worked from his official residence at the Naval Observatory, a few miles from the White House, the rest of the day, filling in for Mr. Trump on a conference call and preparing for his debate next week with Senator Kamala Harris.... The debate's host, the University of Utah, said on Friday that the event would proceed as planned on Oct. 7.... Some health officials on Friday questioned Mr. Pence's intention to carry on in public despite his exposure to Mr. Trump, although [a] statement from his doctor suggested that his interactions with the president had not met C.D.C. quarantine guidelines."

Nicholas Fandos & Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times look at what happens if the president is incapacitated or dies in office. ~~~

~~~ Garrett Graff in Politico Magazine: "... while the news that Trump has tested positive and is showing symptoms of Covid-19 is worrisome, true fear about the future of the Republic shouldn't settle in until either the vice president falls ill or the vice president takes over. Both these scenarios could lead to potential power struggles and fraught questions about whom military and government officials should be listening to.... Given the current makeup of the executive branch, it's not hard to imagine a scenario in which Secretary of State Mike Pompeo might, with the help of an aggressive attorney general, William Barr, challenge any attempt by Nancy Pelosi to ascend to the presidency if both Trump and Pence are incapacitated by Covid-19 -- perhaps even preemptively putting out a legal opinion that Pompeo is legally next in line for the acting presidency." Thanks to unwashed for the link.

The Washington Post's live updates of election developments Saturday are here: "Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to a campaign official, becoming the latest person in the president's orbit to receive a diagnosis." The page is free to nonsubscribers. ~~~

     ~~~ Alex Isenstadt of Politico: "Donald Trump's campaign manager has tested positive for Covid-19, dealing another blow to his reelection effort on a day that saw the president and the head of the Republican National Committee report contracting the disease as well. Bill Stepien received his diagnosis Friday evening and was experiencing what one senior campaign official described as 'mild flu-like symptoms.' People familiar with the situation said the 42-year-old Stepien plans to quarantine until he recovers." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Maybe we should stop calling events like biker rallies "superspreaders" & admit that the #RealSuperspreader is #Covfefe-1, a/k/a Donald Trump.

Dan Berman & Jim Acosta of CNN: "Former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway announced Friday night that she has tested positive for coronavirus, the latest major political figure to say they have Covid-19 after attending a Rose Garden event last Saturday where ... Donald Trump announced his Supreme Court pick."

Wow! Trumpbots Must Be Chastened Now! Uh, No. Tina Nguyen of Politico: "Donald Trump's coronavirus diagnosis has stunned MAGA world, but it hasn't changed how it reacts to bad news: blame others, accuse the left of craven behavior and cling tighter to the president.... The president's backers furiously descended upon commentators who pointed out Trump's comorbidities, such as his borderline obesity and age, which raise the risk of serious infection. Conservatives accused journalists and liberals of celebrating or even questioning Trump's diagnosis.... Some swiftly predicted rosy outcomes -- the president was already healthy, he could take hydroxychloroquine, a much-hyped drug Trump has touted as a Covid-19 treatment.... Others concocted theories that the Democrats were, somehow, trying to steal the election once again. Meanwhile, the president was unusually silent. After his post-midnight tweet announcing he had the virus, Trump went silent until nearly 7 p.m., leaving his fervent online fan base without guidance on his preferred narrative." Read on to get a better appreciation of how smart your fellow Americans are.

Justin Baragona of the Daily Beast: "Appearing on the president's favorite morning program Fox & Friends, [Chris] Wallace excoriated the Trumps for refusing to adhere to the safety restrictions put in place by the Cleveland Clinic at the debate hall.... The Fox News Sunday host, who was Tuesday night's debate moderator, pointed out that his wife and four of his children were also at the hall, and they noticed that the first family didn't wear masks. Wallace, meanwhile, highlighted that the Biden family and contingent were all wearing face coverings throughout the evening.... During a later appearance on Fox News' America's Newsroom..., wanted Fox viewers to know that the neuroradiologist [Dr. Scott Atlas, who appears frequently on Fox 'News,'] was not an actual expert on the novel coronavirus.... 'Dr. Scott Atlas is not an epidemiologist, is not an infectious disease specialist. He has no training in this area at all.... There are a number of top people on the president's coronavirus task force who have had grave concerns about Scott Atlas and his bona fides,' [Wallace said]."

Julia Davis of the Daily Beast: "The shocking announcement that ... Donald Trump has contracted the coronavirus was promptly followed by well-wishes from the Kremlin. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday sent President Trump a telegram, wishing a speedy recovery to the U.S. president and the first lady. According to a Kremlin readout of the telegram, Putin wrote, 'I am sure that your inherent vitality, good spirits and optimism will help you cope with the dangerous virus.'... Meanwhile..., initial reactions in the Russian state media encompassed a full spectrum of emotions -- ranging from sympathy to schadenfreude. Discussing Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis, Evgeny Popov, the host of Russian state media news talk show 60 Minutes, said, 'Our candidate got sick.'... Deputy of the State Duma Aleksey Zhuravlyov smugly noted [on the show], 'I'm glad that COVID got involved in the presidential race and it will most likely win. Not Joe Biden or Trump, but COVID will win.' Popov pondered out loud, 'So we've been interfering and interfering, but all of that was for naught?' The program's hosts ... baselessly claimed that the Democrats are 'celebrating' Trump's diagnosis, but state media reporter Denis Davydov in the U.S. ... pointed out that ... 'Those are just the Russian bots.'..."

David Corn of Mother Jones: "So now when the coronavirus hits the West Wing, infects the president, a top aide, his wife, and perhaps others and triggers yet another crisis, a crucial element will be missing: trust. Can the public believe anything Trump and his minions say about this latest development? Of course, not. Test results do speak for themselves -- assuming they are reliably reported. But many other questions -- how these infections came to be, what is the president's condition, who else may be at risk -- need answers. And there is no reason to accept White House statements or Trump tweets on these and related matters. A man who would lie about events that are publicly witnessed -- the size of a crowd, a performance at a debate -- would certainly lie about private affairs unseen by the voters." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Jordain Carney of the Hill:"Sen. Thom Tillis (N.C.) said on Friday that he has tested positive for the coronavirus, becoming the second GOP senator who was at the White House on Saturday to be diagnosed with the virus."

Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said on Friday that he has tested positive for the coronavirus.... 'Unlike the test I took just a few days ago while visiting the White House, yesterday's test came back positive. On advice of the Senate attending physician, I will remain isolated for the next 10 days,' Lee said in a statement." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Susan Svrluga & Paulina Firozi of the Washington Post: "The president of the University of Notre Dame has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, school officials announced Friday. The announcement came several days after he attended a White House ceremony. The Rev. John I. Jenkins had been self-isolating on campus after the Sept. 26 event announcing Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a Notre Dame alumna, as President Trump's Supreme Court nominee. Jenkins had been criticized by students for not wearing a mask or following other public-health protocols at the event, and expressed regret to campus earlier this week.... In [a] statement to campus, Jenkins said, 'My symptoms are mild and I will continue work from home. The positive test is a good reminder for me and perhaps for all of how vigilant we need to be.'" An ESPN story is here. Mrs. McC: Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who also has tested positive, attended the Supreme announcement, too. It would be ironic if Trump contracted the virus at an event aimed at jamming through a Supreme Court nominee. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Seung Min Kim, et al., of the Washington Post: "Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett tested positive for the coronavirus earlier this year but has since recovered, three officials familiar with her diagnosis told The Washington Post. Two of the officials said she tested positive for the virus in the summer. All of the people spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose her medical condition." (Also linked yesterday.)

Brian Schwartz of CNBC: "Republican donors who attended ... Donald Trump's fundraiser at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club are panicking after being around the commander in chief hours before he announced that he was infected with the coronavirus. GOP donors have been reaching out to Trump campaign and GOP officials for any guidance following the event.... After publication of this article, donors who attended the gathering were sent an email [from the Trump campaign] with an 11:18 a.m. ET time stamp. The email reminds them that no one was permitted within six feet of the president and advises them to contact their doctor if they start feeling coronavirus symptoms.... About 30 to 50 donors came close to the president Thursday night, this person added, while noting most of the interaction with Trump took place outdoors.... The gathering had tickets costing up to $250,000. Dr. Rich Roberts, a longtime Republican donor, told The Lakewood Scoop on Friday that Trump privately met with about 19 people at the event." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Tal Axelrod of the Hill: "Three White House reporters tested positive for COVID-19 Friday after President Trump confirmed he was diagnosed with the coronavirus earlier in the day. The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) said in a letter to White House reporters that the three unidentified individuals had all been at the building within the last week and that the White House Medical Unit is beginning the process of contact tracing for each person. The WHCA added that several White House journalists are self-isolating pending testing."

David Li of NBC News: "At least 11 positive coronavirus tests can be traced to organizers of this week's presidential debate in Cleveland, city officials said Friday.... The city specifically said positive tests were traced to people involved in organizing the debate.... The city's announcement also came shortly after the Cleveland Clinic, which oversaw Covid-19 protocols at the debate, said it's confident that guests at Tuesday night's event were safe from the coronavirus.... Ohio House Minority Leader Emilia Strong Sykes said she personally witnessed members of the president's entourage declining masks from health care providers -- from the Cleveland Clinic -- inside the hall at Case Western Reserve University.... U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, said Trump's wife entered the hall just ahead of him but he kept a safe social distance away. But he too was amazed to see so many people without masks at the debate. 'And they walk in without masks, it was really a level of arrogance you rarely see,' Ryan told MSNBC."

Hill: "Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden have tested negative for COVID-19, his doctor confirmed on Friday. 'Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden underwent PCR testing for COVID-19 today and COVID-19 was not detected,' said Kevin O'Connor, Biden's primary care physician, in a statement." Mrs. McC: A reminder that these tests may have been administered too early to detect contagion from Trump or other Trump team members Tuesday night. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Natasha Korecki, et al., of Politico: "The Biden campaign is testing those who attended the first presidential debate with the former vice president for Covid-19. A source familiar with the situation told Politico that, in the wake of ... Donald Trump's confirmation that he has tested positive himself, the Biden campaign has 'rapid testing capability and is testing everyone who attended the debate.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Nicholas Wu & Cristal Hayes of USA Today: "Senate Democrats argued Friday it was 'premature' to move forward with confirmation hearings for ... Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett as two members of the committee that will hold the proceedings tested positive for COVID-19. Both Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., tested positive for COVID-19, days after meeting in-person with Barrett, sparking worries from Democrats about the safety of the hearings. Despite the concerns, Senate Republican leaders say they want to move ahead with confirmation hearings for Barrett, which are slated to begin Oct. 12. Both Lee and Tillis are members of the 22-member Senate Judiciary Committee that will hold the hearings and ultimately decide whether his confirmation will move forward for a vote in the full Senate.... On Twitter Friday evening, [Judiciary Committee chair Lindsey] Graham rebuffed Democratic calls to postpone the hearings and said things will go on as planned on Oct. 12, noting he was also tested for COVID-19 and found to be negative. He added that 'any Senator who wants to participate virtually will be allowed to do so.' But just hours after the tweets, another member of his panel [Tillis] also tested positive." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Perhaps Graham also will let senators remotely vote Barrett out of committee. Although the House has changed its rules to allow for remote voting during the pandemic, I don't believe the Senate has done so. (Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong on this.) If neither Tillis nor Lee could vote for Amy Comey Barrett, then the vote would be a tie if Democrats stick together. I suppose Graham could temporarily replace Tillis & Lee on the committee. However, as RAS pointed out in yesterday's thread, if these two senators can't participate in the full Senate confirmation vote, if Mitt Romney Lisa Murkowski & Susan Collins stick to their objections to Trump's nomination (okay, good luck with Collins), and if Democrats & Independents stick together, Barrett would not be confirmed. Nonetheless, I feel Graham & McConnell will figure out how to pull off Barrett's confirmation. ~~~

It's critical that Chairman Graham put the health of senators, the nominee and staff first -- and ensure a full and fair hearing that is not rushed, not truncated and not virtual. Otherwise this already illegitimate process will become a dangerous one. -- Chuck Schumer & Dianne Feinstein, in a statement ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Carl Hulse & Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "A coronavirus outbreak that infected President Trump and spread to the Senate threw a fresh element of uncertainty on Friday into the politically fraught fight over installing Judge Amy Coney Barrett on the Supreme Court before Election Day, as Republicans vowed to press ahead and Democrats insisted on a pause.... Top Republicans insisted they would move ahead at an uncommonly swift pace to hold hearings on Judge Barrett&'s nomination by Oct. 12, send her nomination to the full Senate by Oct. 22 and confirm her as soon as Oct. 26 ... -- even if it meant breaking Senate norms and considering a lifetime judicial nomination by videoconference. But the latest outbreak raised the possibility that Republicans could lose their slim majority in the Judiciary Committee or on the Senate floor.... Top Democrats ... declared that a fully virtual hearing for a candidate for a lifetime appointment to the nation's highest court would be unacceptable."

Emily Cochrane & Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California on Friday suggested that President Trump's coronavirus diagnosis could help to break a stalemate over a stimulus package to counter the economic toll of the pandemic, even as she remained far from an agreement with the administration on the contours of a bipartisan compromise. Congressional aides and Washington policy analysts remained more pessimistic, saying that Mr. Trump's diagnosis and a monthly jobs report that fell short of forecasters' expectations were unlikely to motivate Democrats and Republicans to break a monthslong deadlock and make a deal. But after several days of lengthy conversations with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Ms. Pelosi sounded upbeat on Friday about the prospects of an eventual agreement. 'This kind of changes the dynamic, because here they see the reality of what we have been saying all along: This is a vicious virus,' Ms. Pelosi said on MSNBC. She later urged airlines to delay furloughing tens of thousands of employees, vowing that the House would soon pass relief for those workers either as stand-alone legislation or as part of a broader package."

Jasper Jolly of the Guardian: "Amazon has revealed that almost 20,000 of its workers in the US have contracted Covid-19 after months of demands for public disclosure from activists." --s (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Presidential Race, Etc.

The New York Times' live updates of election developments Friday are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Arpan Lobo, et al., of the Detroit Free Press: "Wearing a blue surgical mask, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden pleaded with the American people to follow guidance that will slow the spread of COVID-19 during a visit to Grand Rapids on Friday. The former vice president's comments were his first in public after ... Donald Trump and first lady Melania announced they had tested positive for the disease caused by the coronavirus. 'This is not a matter of politics. It is a bracing reminder to all of us that we have to take this virus seriously,' Biden said. 'It's not going away automatically. We have to do our part to be responsible. It means following the science, listening to the experts, washing our hands, social distancing, It means wearing a mask in public, it means encouraging others to do so as well. It means having masking mandates nationwide.' The event took place outside a United Food and Commercial Workers hall on the northeast side of Grand Rapids. 'Essential workers here in Grand Rapids won't forget how the UFCW members saw their jobs turned suddenly into a life and death task,' Biden said. "

Bill Powell of Newsweek: "As President Trump headed to Walter Reed hospital in the wake of his COVID-19 diagnosis, former Vice President Joe Biden's campaign announced that it was pulling all negative campaign ads. Biden had already said he and his wife would 'continue to pray for the health and safety of the President and the First Lady.'... [Trump] campaign manager Bill Stepien issued a statement saying that all campaign events involving the president were 'being moved to virtual events, or were temporarily postponed.' Trump's participation in the second debate, on October 15, was now in question, also dependent on whether his illness worsens over the next two weeks." Mrs. McC: It is emblematic that the Trump campaign is having to scramble to come up with a new campaign plan while Biden, who has conducted his own campaign respecting the limitations imposed by the virus, has had to make few adjustments.

Natasha Korecki & Alex Isenstadt of Politico: "The Commission on Presidential Debates has agreed to seat Kamala Harris and Mike Pence 12 feet apart at the vice presidential debate next week, after the Biden campaign raised health and safety objections to the original spacing between the two candidates because of Covid concerns. As of Friday evening, however, the commission would not accede to the Biden campaign's request that Harris and Pence stand during the debate. Instead, the two will be seated, which was the preference of the Trump campaign, a source familiar with the discussions told Politico."

Alexander Burns of the New York Times: "... it seemed all but foreordained that the coronavirus pandemic would dominate the campaign to the end. And for all of the tumult of the race between President Trump and Joseph R. Biden Jr. -- for all of the other currents battering the country and its leaders in an election year -- the issue of the virus has never retreated as the overwhelming factor.As a singular force in the country's political life, the pandemic has resisted Mr. Trump's efforts to change the subject and quashed the wishful thinking of countless voters who shared his hope it would fade quickly.... And after all of the efforts by Mr. Trump to dismiss the disease as a threat..., his diagnosis confirmed with a neon exclamation point the impossibility of that goal.... Mr. Trump has been the world's loudest critic of prudent pandemic-control policy, and his contracting the disease that he dismissed as a threat even this week is an irony of Sophoclean proportions, whether or not it changes how voters think about him."

Matt Zapotosky & Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "Bracing for possible civil unrest on Election Day, the Justice Department is planning to station officials in a command center at FBI headquarters to coordinate the federal response to any disturbances or other problems with voting that may arise across the country, officials familiar with the matter said. Though the Justice Department monitors elections every year to ensure voters can cast their ballots, officials' concerns are more acute this year that toxic politics, combined with the potential uncertainty surrounding vote tallies, could lead to violent demonstrations or clashes between opposing factions, those familiar with the matter said."

Kentucky Senate Race+. Travis Waldron & Kevin Robillard of the Huffington Post: "Kentucky Democratic Senate candidate Amy McGrath this week released a new television ad that features a supporter praising ... Donald Trump and attacking her opponent, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The ad is standard fare for McGrath, who needs to court Trump supporters to defeat McConnell in a state the president is likely to win by double-digits. But it isn't running only in deep-red Kentucky. The ad is also appearing in the Cincinnati, Ohio, media market ― meaning a Democratic candidate is paying for a television spot praising Trump in a state where former Vice President Joe Biden's campaign is spending millions of dollars to win in November." Mrs. McC Note to Amy: This is not how you thread the needle.

Texas. Elise Viebeck of the Washington Post: "Voting rights advocates have filed suit against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, contending that his new order limiting mail-ballot drop-off locations to one per county burdens voters and 'undermines the public's confidence in the election itself.' The complaint, filed late Thursday in federal court, seeks to block enforcement of an order Abbott (R) issued Thursday and to allow counties to offer multiple ballot drop-off locations ahead of a projected rise in mail voting during the general election."

** Scot Stedman & Eric Levai of Forensic News: "[A]ccording to documents exclusively obtained by Forensic News... [b]y the fall of 2013, Yugra Bank (or 'Jugra'; 'Ugra') was the 106th largest bank in Russia.... [T]his small regional bank in Russia was able to quietly transfer nearly one-third of a billion dollars into a Deutsche Bank subsidiary on Wall Street in New York. The principals of the bank, mainly majority shareholder Alexey Khotin, are now accused of embezzling millions by Russian authorities after a falling-out with his political connections. Khotin and others in his inner circle are said to have had close ties to the intelligence services of Russia.... The remarkable episode is just one example of how dark Russian money connected to the upper-echelon of Putin's siloviki -- former Russian military and intelligence officials -- flowed into the Deutsche Bank division [DBTCA] that lent Donald Trump hundreds of millions of dollars.... DBTCA issued large loans to Donald Trump in 2012 and again in 2015 for his properties in Miami, Chicago and Washington, DC, totaling approximately $340 million... According to the New York Times, Trump still owes $297 million to Deutsche Bank for the loans for these properties." --s (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

"Bomb Trains" Are So 2020. Sarah Okeson of DC Report: "An energy company tied to a hedge fund that loaned millions to the Trump Organization and the Kushner Companies will benefit after Team Trump approved railroads running 'bomb trains' through our nation. They are loaded with liquefied natural gas with more explosive power than the atom bomb that destroyed Hiroshima.... Drue Pearce, the political appointee who is deputy administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, helped shepherd the regulation through the agency. Trump in April 2019 had called for federal rules to be rewritten so trains could carry liquefied natural gas." --s (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Marisa Iati, et al., of the Washington Post: "Police and civilian witnesses sharply disagreed about whether Louisville officers announced themselves before breaking down Breonna Taylor's door in March and shooting her, newly revealed grand jury recordings show, laying bare a core disagreement about what happened in the moments before she was killed. These divergent accounts were among those included in a trove of audio recordings made public Friday, a highly unusual release that pierced the typical secrecy shrouding the grand jury process. But prosecutors' recommendations to jurors weighing whether any officers should be charged in Taylor's death were not recorded, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron's office said, an absence that legal analysts said leaves pivotal questions unanswered about how his office handled the case." Mrs. McC: How convenient. Sounds like a cover-up to me. ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' story is here.

Beyond the Beltway

New York. Luis Ferré-Sadurní & Jesse McKinley of the New York Times: "Lovely Warren, the Rochester, N.Y., mayor whose leadership has come under attack after her administration mishandled the death of a Black man who had been placed in a hood by the police, was indicted on Friday on two unrelated felony campaign finance charges."

Oklahoma. Josh Dulaney of The Oklahoman: "A man who posted anti-child-trafficking slogans is accused of murdering his girlfriend's infant daughter.... Authorities arrested Joshua Paul Jennings, 33, on a complaint of child abuse.... The Daily Beast reported that Jennings posted the QAnon-linked slogan #SaveOurChildren on his Facebook page." --s (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Way Beyond

China. Emma Graham-Harrison & Helen Davidson of the Guardian: "Soon after China imposed the new national security law that effectively ended Hong Kong's limited autonomy, a hawkish legal academic in Beijing spelt out a warning to Taiwan. The law was not just about ending a year of protests in Hong Kong, Tian Feilong said in an interview with DW News, it was also sending a message to Taipei -- and to Washington, which has recently approved new arms sales and high-level visits by US officials to self-rule Taiwan. The provisions being used to crush dissent across Hong Kong could provide a template, he argued, for tackling 'the Taiwan problem'. 'I believe that in the future, you could just change the name of the Hong Kong national security law, and substitute instead "Taiwan national security law",' said Tian." --s (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

News Lede

New York Times: "Bob Gibson, the St. Louis Cardinals' Hall of Fame right-hander who became one of baseball's most dominating pitchers, winning 251 games in 17 seasons with an intimidating fastball and an attitude to match, died on Friday. He was 84."

The Commentariat -- October 2, 2020

Afternoon Update:

** Ashley Parker & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post (in Election Live Updates): "Two administration officials said that [Donald] Trump is preparing to depart for Walter Reed Medical Center Friday evening around 5:30 p.m. The visit is 'out of an abundance of caution,' the official said, adding that the president may remain there for several days. Trump spent Friday working and making calls from his residence, and plans to continue working from the hospital, the official said. Walter Reed has an executive office suite set up for this very purpose, including both a residence and an office space, the official said. The official stressed that Trump is not seriously ill, but because of his age, as well as other risk factors, he and aides decided to take this additional step." Reis Thebalt: "Trump has received an 'antibody cocktail' treatment after testing positive for the coronavirus, and he is now 'fatigued but in good spirits,' his physician said late Friday afternoon. The experimental treatment, a drug made by the pharmaceutical company Regeneron, is one of the most promising known, and experts say it could be the best bet for fighting the virus." The updates are free to non-subscribers, according to a blurb at the top of the updates. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McC Update: Trump lumbered out to Marine 1 of his own volition. He was wearing a suit & a mask. Others in the vicinity were all wearing masks as far as I could observe.

Susan Svrluga & Paulina Firozi of the Washington Post: "The president of the University of Notre Dame has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, school officials announced Friday. The announcement came several days after he attended a White House ceremony. The Rev. John I. Jenkins had been self-isolating on campus after the Sept. 26 event announcing Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a Notre Dame alumna, as President Trump's Supreme Court nominee. Jenkins had been criticized by students for not wearing a mask or following other public-healt protocols at the event, and expressed regret to campus earlier this week.... In [a] statement to campus, Jenkins said, 'My symptoms are mild and I will continue work from home. The positive test is a good reminder for me and perhaps for all of how vigilant we need to be.'" An ESPN story is here. Mrs. McC: Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who also has tested positive, attended the Supreme announcement, too. It would be ironic if Trump contracted the virus at an event aimed at jamming through a Supreme Court nominee. ~~~

~~~ Seung Min Kim, et al., of the Washington Post: "Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett tested positive for the coronavirus earlier this year but has since recovered, three officials familiar with her diagnosis told The Washington Post. Two of the officials said she tested positive for the virus in the summer. All of the people spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose her medical condition."

The New York Times' live updates of election developments Friday are here.

Hill: "Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden have tested negative for COVID-19, his doctor confirmed on Friday. 'Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden underwent PCR testing for COVID-19 today and COVID-19 was not detected,' said Kevin O'Connor, Biden's primary care physician, in a statement." Mrs. McC: A reminder that these tests may have been administered too early to detect contagion from Trump or other Trump team members Tuesday night. ~~~

~~~ Natasha Korecki, et al., of Politico: "The Biden campaign is testing those who attended the first presidential debate with the former vice president for Covid-19. A source familiar with the situation told Politico that, in the wake of ... Donald Trump's confirmation that he has tested positive himself, the Biden campaign has 'rapid testing capability and is testing everyone who attended the debate.'"

Mrs. McCrabbie: White House spokespeople, including Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, have claimed Donald Trump's symptoms are "mild." However, they were apparently not mild enough to allow him to participate today in an ironically scheduled teleconference about "seniors & coronavirus," and mike pence had to fill in. This would have been a good opportunity for Trump to say, "For God's sake, don't do what I did!"

Brian Schwartz of CNBC: "Republican donors who attended ... Donald Trump's fundraiser at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club are panicking after being around the commander in chief hours before he announced that he was infected with the coronavirus. GOP donors have been reaching out to Trump campaign and GOP officials for any guidance following the event.... After publication of this article, donors who attended the gathering were sent an email [from the Trump campaign] with an 11:18 a.m. ET time stamp. The email reminds them that no one was permitted within six feet of the president and advises them to contact their doctor if they start feeling coronavirus symptoms.... About 30 to 50 donors came close to the president Thursday night, this person added, while noting most of the interaction with Trump took place outdoors.... The gathering had tickets costing up to $250,000. Dr. Rich Roberts, a longtime Republican donor, told The Lakewood Scoop on Friday that Trump privately met with about 19 people at the event."

David Corn of Mother Jones: "So now when the coronavirus hits the West Wing, infects the president, a top aide, his wife, and perhaps others and triggers yet another crisis, a crucial element will be missing: trust. Can the public believe anything Trump and his minions say about this latest development? Of course, not. Test results do speak for themselves -- assuming they are reliably reported. But many other questions -- how these infections came to be, what is the president's condition, who else may be at risk -- need answers. And there is no reason to accept White House statements or Trump tweets on these and related matters. A man who would lie about events that are publicly witnessed -- the size of a crowd, a performance at a debate -- would certainly lie about private affairs unseen by the voters."

Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said on Friday that he has tested positive for the coronavirus.... 'Unlike the test I took just a few days ago while visiting the White House, yesterday's test came back positive. On advice of the Senate attending physician, I will remain isolated for the next 10 days,' Lee said in a statement."

** Scot Stedman & Eric Levai of Forensic News: "[A]ccording to documents exclusively obtained by Forensic News... [b]y the fall of 2013, Yugra Bank ... was the 106th largest bank in Russia.... [T]his small regional bank in Russia was able to quietly transfer nearly one-third of a billion dollars into a Deutsche Bank subsidiary on Wall Street in New York. The principals of the bank, mainly majority shareholder Alexey Khotin, are now accused of embezzling millions by Russian authorities after a falling-out with his political connections. Khotin and others in his inner circle are said to have had close ties to the intelligence services of Russia.... The remarkable episode is just one example of how dark Russian money connected to the upper-echelon of Putin's siloviki -- former Russian military and intelligence officials -- flowed into the Deutsche Bank division [DBTCA] that lent Donald Trump hundreds of millions of dollars.... DBTCA issued large loans to Donald Trump in 2012 and again in 2015 for his properties in Miami, Chicago and Washington, DC, totaling approximately $340 million... According to the New York Times, Trump still owes $297 million to Deutsche Bank for the loans for these properties." --s

"Bomb Trains" Is So 2020. Sarah Okeson of DC Report: "An energy company tied to a hedge fund that loaned millions to the Trump Organization and the Kushner Companies will benefit after Team Trump approved railroads running 'bomb trains' through our nation. They are loaded with liquefied natural gas with more explosive power than the atom bomb that destroyed Hiroshima.... Drue Pearce, the political appointee who is deputy administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, helped shepherd the regulation through the agency. Trump in April 2019 had called for federal rules to be rewritten so trains could carry liquefied natural gas." --s

Oklahoma. Josh Dulaney of The Oklahoman: "A man who posted anti-child-trafficking slogans is accused of murdering his girlfriend's infant daughter.... Authorities arrested Joshua Paul Jennings, 33, on a complaint of child abuse.... The Daily Beast reported that Jennings posted the QAnon-linked slogan #SaveOurChildren on his Facebook page." --s

Jasper Jolly of the Guardian: "Amazon has revealed that almost 20,000 of its workers in the US have contracted Covid-19 after months of demands for public disclosure from activists." --s

China. Emma Graham-Harrison & Helen Davidson of the Guardian: "Soon after China imposed the new national security law that effectively ended Hong Kong's limited autonomy, a hawkish legal academic in Beijing spelt out a warning to Taiwan. The law was not just about ending a year of protests in Hong Kong, Tian Feilong said in an interview with DW News, it was also sending a message to Taipei -- and to Washington, which has recently approved new arms sales and high-level visits by US officials to self-rule Taiwan. The provisions being used to crush dissent across Hong Kong could provide a template, he argued, for tackling 'the Taiwan problem'. 'I believe that in the future, you could just change the name of the Hong Kong national security law, and substitute instead "Taiwan national security law",' said Tian." --s

~~~~~~~~~~

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

** Peter Baker & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "President Trump said early Friday that he and the first lady have tested positive for the coronavirus, throwing the nation's leadership into uncertainty and escalating the crisis posed by a pandemic that has already killed more than 207,000 Americans and devastated the economy. 'Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19,' Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter. 'We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!'... Mr. Trump has for months played down the severity of the virus and told a political dinner just Thursday night that 'the end of the pandemic is in sight.' Mr. Trump's positive test result could pose immediate difficulties for the future of his campaign against former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., his Democratic challenger, with just 33 days before the election on Nov. 3. Even if Mr. Trump, 74, remains asymptomatic, he will have to withdraw from the campaign trail and stay isolated in the White House for an unknown period of time. If he becomes sick, it could raise questions about whether he should remain on the ballot at all. Even if he does not become seriously ill, the positive test could prove devastating to his political fortunes given his months of diminishing the seriousness of the pandemic...." CNN' story is here. ~~~

~~~ Annie Karni & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "On Monday, President Trump updated the nation on the administration's coronavirus testing strategy and announced a plan to distribute 150 million rapid tests. By early Friday morning, he had the virus himself. On the days in between, Mr. Trump interacted with scores of staff members, donors and supporters. Even the woman he has nominated to the Supreme Court, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, has been at the White House this week.... Early Friday morning, it was still unclear how many other aides who had come into close contact with Mr. Trump had tested positive.... White House officials had hoped to keep the news about [Hope] Hicks from becoming public, to no avail.... Onstage in Cleveland, Mr. Trump mocked [Vice President] Biden ... for his habit of wearing a mask in public.... 'I don't wear a mask like him. Every time you see him, he's got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away from them and he shows up with the biggest mask I've ever seen.'" ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: If mike pence gets sick, too, will it be President Pelosi? And would she preside in that cramped, virus-infested White House? What makes me angriest about Trump's & Hicks' diagnoses is that Trump & his guests at the debate exposed Joe Biden. In fact, Trump's sweating at the debate, that I noted yesterday, may have been a symptom of the virus. ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post has live election updates for Friday here: One of Biden's front-row guests during the debate Tuesday night, whose father died of covid-19, was sharply critical of the president and his family for potentially putting others at risk in the debate hall. Kristin Urquiza, co-founder of the group Marked by COVID, said that while everyone attending the debate had to test negative, they were also supposed to wear masks. 'And though every one of Biden's guests managed to do this, Trump's guests were shockingly barefaced,' she said in a statement. 'The Trump family exposed every attendee at the debate: guests, workers, Members of Congress, Secret Service agents, members of the media, and janitors to a deadly virus that has killed 205,000 Americans to date,' she said. 'Irresponsible is an understatement: this is criminal.'" Mrs. McC: CNN reported at 9:12 am ET that the White House did not contact Joe Biden or his campaign about the coronavirus going around the White House. ~~~

~~~ Vice President Pence and his wife, Karen Pence, both tested negative for the coronavirus on Friday morning, a spokesman said.

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I wonder what Trumpbots will do in response to the news that Donald & Melania Trump & at least one top White House aide have contracted the coronavirus. Call it fake news? Or reach for the bleach?

Shannon Pettypiece of NBC News in a straight report: "After months of publicly rejecting the advice of his own medical experts..., Donald Trump has fallen victim to his own false narrative around the risks of the coronavirus and how to avoid getting infected. The news early Friday that the president and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for Covid-19 came as a jolt -- but medical experts said it shouldn't have. In recent weeks, Trump, 74, has put his health and the health of his staff at risk by holding mass gatherings, some indoors, and shunning mask use while claiming that the end of the virus was just around the corner. In turn, his staff, his family members and his supporters have followed his lead. He may have been infected by one of his top aides, Hope Hicks, who works in a White House that has disregarded every workplace recommendation for social distancing, with few people wearing masks, no efforts made to spread out desks and staff members' cramming into meeting rooms. His campaign has routinely packed thousands of supporters into rallies where masks are booed by the crowd."

Matt Berman of BuzzFeed News: "This deeply weird presidential campaign as we know it could theoretically be over. If Trump commits to quarantining for the CDC recommended minimum, he would be sheltered from the public until at least mid October.... The debate was on Tuesday, where Trump yelled at Joe Biden and moderator Chris Wallace -- inside -- for 90 minutes. The debate hall was filled with Trump and Biden family members, and the Trump side of the hall was (at least largely) not masked.... More than 2 million people have already voted.... If Trump or Biden is not able to serve as president and have to withdraw from the election, their respective parties would technically decide on their replacements. This has never happened before...." ~~~

     ~~~ Rick Hasen of Election Law blog looks at some scenarios of what could happen if Trump (or Biden) is very sick or dies in the near future. ~~~

~~~ Here are stories that preceded news that the Trumps tested positive: ~~~

~~~ ** Trump Says Hope Hicks Has Coronavirus. Kaitlan Collins, et al., of CNN: "... Donald Trump confirmed on Thursday night that top aide Hope Hicks has tested positive for coronavirus and said he and first lady Melania Trump were tested Thursday evening. 'She did test positive, I just heard about this. She tested positive. She's a hard worker. Lot of masks, she wears masks a lot but she tested positive. Then I just went out with a test. I'll see -- you know, because we spent a lot of time -- and the first lady just went out with a test also. So whether we quarantine or whether we have it, I don't know,' Trump said during a call-in appearance on Fox News' 'Hannity.' He added, 'I just went for a test and we'll see what happens, I mean, who knows. ... I spent a lot of time with Hope and so does the first lady, and she's tremendous.' Hick[s] has traveled with the President multiple times recently, including to the debate in Cleveland on Tuesday, and was seen boarding Marine One, along with several other of the President's closest aides -- Jared Kushner, Dan Scavino and Nicholas Luna -- none of whom wore masks, on Wednesday as Trump was heading to a campaign rally in Minnesota." The story has been update: "A source close to Hicks told CNN that she is experiencing symptoms and is back in Washington. It is unclear how severe her symptoms are at this point. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: According to MSNBC, Hicks learned of her positive test Wednesday night, so Trump's claim that some 24 hours later he "just heard about this" is rather doubtful. Update: Jonathan Lemire of the AP said on MSNBC the "White House" learned of Hicks' diagnosis Wednesday night. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump is scheduled to make two campaign appearances in Wisconsin this weekend. Wisconsin is experiencing a spike in Covid-19 cases & deaths. Gov. Tony Evers (D) asked Trump not to come even before news outlets reported that Trump & his traveling team have been exposed to coronavirus. ~~~

~~~ Update. Donald & Melania to Quarantine. Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break has just tested positive for Covid 19. Terrible! The First Lady and I are waiting for our test results. In the meantime, we will begin our quarantine process! -- Donald Trump in a tweet, Thursday @10:44 pm ET ~~~

~~~ Maggie Haberman & Michael Shear of the New York Times: "It was not immediately clear what Mr. Trump meant by the 'quarantine process,' and White House officials declined to immediately provide any guidance.... And even if Mr. Trump first tests negative for the virus, the incubation period for it can last nearly two weeks, meaning he will not be certain for several days that he does not have it. The frantic moves by the president and his aides came after Bloomberg News reported that ... Hope Hicks, one of Mr. Trump's most senior advisers and someone who traveled with him several times this week, had tested positive. Two people briefed on her condition said she had symptoms.... Mr. Trump appeared to blame soldiers and law enforcement officials who he said wanted to give her hugs and thank her for her work at the White House. 'She's a very warm person,' the president said. 'When soldiers and law enforcement come up to her,' he said, she does not want to reject their entreaties." Mrs. McC: Yeah, blame those "loser" soldiers Hicks hugs during a pandemic. ~~~

      ~~~ Update. Zeke Miller & Jill Colvin of the AP: "It can take days for an infection to be detectable by a test, and it was unclear what Trump's quarantine entailed. Minutes before his tweet, the White House distributed a schedule for Friday that showed he planned to go forward with a fundraiser at his Washington, D.C., hotel and a political rally in Sanford, Florida.... Trump traveled to New Jersey Thursday for a fundraiser despite concerns about Hicks' health." Emphasis added. Mrs. McC: We already knew Trump considered his regular supporters "disgusting"; now we find out he doesn't care about his top-dollar donors, either. The Trump campaign should make up T-shirts for the fundraiser attendees: "I Gave Trump $...,000 and He Gave Me Covid-19" ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McC Update: According to MSNBC, Hicks was experiencing symptoms on Wednesday night and "self-quarantined" on AF-1 heading back from Minnesota. I doubt one can do much self-quarantining on Marine 1, the helicopter that takes the president & his party to & from Andrews AFB. BTW, we all have to hope that Trump didn't have the virus Tuesday night when he was unmasked & spittle-shouting at Joe Biden, albeit from a bit of a distance.

Orion Rummler of Axios: "Republican National Committee chair Ronna [Romney] McDaniel tested positive for the coronavirus on Wednesday and has been isolated at home in Michigan since last Saturday after a family member's positive test, the RNC said in a statement.... McDaniel was last with Trump a week ago, per the New York Times' Maggie Haberman." Mrs. McC: So you mean it might have been Mitt Romney's niece who gave Trump & Hicks Covid & not some thoughtless "loser" soldiers?

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Friday are here: "President Trump's disclosure that he had been infected by the coronavirus sent a shudder around the world on Friday, drawing sympathy from leaders who have grappled with the pandemic in their own countries and more pointed responses from critics who noted Mr. Trump's own cavalier handling of the threat.... The news injects a huge amount of uncertainty into financial markets, and uncertainty is what investors like least. It throws the political leadership of the world's largest economy into doubt.... Dr. Sean P. Conley, the White House physician, said in a statement that the president and first lady were both doing well. Other aides to the president would not say whether he was experiencing symptoms. Although people at the White House noticed that his voice sounded raspy on Thursday, it was not clear that that was abnormal for him, especially given the number of campaign rallies he has held lately." ~~~

President Trump is showing symptoms of the novel coronavirus, but mild ones, according to two people familiar with his condition. The president has had what one person described as coldlike symptoms. At a fund-raiser he attended at his golf club at Bedminster, N.J., on Thursday, where one attendee said the president came in contact with about 100 people, he seemed lethargic. -- Maggie Haberman ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live updates of coronavirus developments Friday are here.

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Thursday are here: "Pfizer's chief executive pushed back Thursday against President Trump's estimates for when a vaccine would be ready, saying in a note to employees that the company 'would never succumb to political pressure' and expressing disappointment that 'we find ourselves in the crucible of the U.S. presidential election.' In doing so, the chief executive, Dr. Albert Bourla, appeared to be distancing himself from the rosy predictions of Mr. Trump, who identified Pfizer by name at the presidential debate on Tuesday and said that a vaccine was 'weeks away.'... Pfizer is one of four companies testing coronavirus vaccines in large clinical trials in the United States, but it is the only one that has said it could have an answer about its product as early as this month, before the election on Nov. 3." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: CNN reporters pointed out on-air that the White House has not been forthcoming about Hicks' illness. Trump only told Hannity about it after Bloomberg had reported on it, and John Roberts, speaking on CNN. found it curious that Trump did not reveal the results of the rapid test he would have taken Thursday. Several reporters on both MSNBC & CNN complained that Kayleigh McEnany, who would have been in close contact with Hicks, delivered a press briefing, unmasked, Thursday afternoon.

Jeff Cox of CNBC: "Nonfarm payroll rose by a lower than expected 661,000 in September and the unemployment rate was 7.9%, the Labor Department said Friday in the final jobs report before the November election. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting a payrolls gain of 800,000 and the unemployment rate to fall to 8.2% from 8.4% in August. The decline in the unemployment rate came along with a 0.3 percentage point drop in the labor force participation rate to 61.4%. The report comes amid a raft of mostly positive economic signals, including strong signs from the housing market and retail spending, as well as worries that rising coronavirus cases could threaten the recovery."

Jeff Cox of CNBC: "First-time claims for unemployment insurance totaled 837,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday as the jobs market continues its plodding recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.... The weekly total represented a decline of 36,000 from the previous week's upwardly revised 870,000, according to seasonally adjusted numbers." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Reality Chex has been up and down & up & down for the last several days. The site's host Squarespace is working on it. I apologize for the inconvenience. I'll give occasional updates on outages on the Twitter account maintained by our old friend Constant Weader. You can check it here.

Presidential Race, Etc.

Covid-19 Exhibit 1. Jonathan Martin, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump's announcement early Friday that he had contracted the coronavirus upended the presidential race in an instant, inviting significant questions about his cavalier attitude toward the pandemic and the future of his campaign just 32 days before the election.... His personal indifference toward the virus could threaten his own health, the stability of the country and his already dimming hopes for re-election. As stock futures fell overnight Friday, strategists in both parties and even senior aides to Mr. Trump said the president would face a harsh judgment from voters for throwing the country into greater uncertainty after one of the most trying years in American history." A Politico story is here.

David Wasserman of NBC News: "... there are signs Trump's ground operation is paying off when it comes to registering new voters in key states, an advantage that could become important if the race tightens before Nov. 3. The Trump campaign has boasted that it knocks on more than a million doors a week, a claim that's impossible to independently verify. In sharp contrast, the Biden campaign had ditched a ground game for virtual outreach, citing Covid-19 concerns -- even though academic research has routinely concluded door-to-door canvassing is the 'most consistently effective and efficient method of voter mobilization.' Only just now has the Biden campaign decided to restart its in-person voter contacts in some battleground states. As deadlines approach, new data from the past few months shows Republicans have swamped Democrats in adding new voters to the rolls, a dramatic GOP improvement over 2016, even if new registrations have lagged 2016 rates across the board. It's a sign that in a pandemic, Democrats are struggling to seize traditional opportunities to pad their margins, such as the return of students to college campuses."

McChrystal, Fired by Obama, Endorses Biden. Helene Cooper of the New York Times: In 2010, "the commander of American troops in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, and his aides were quoted [in a Rolling Stone article] privately mocking several government officials. One McChrystal aide referred to Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. using the phrase 'bite me.' An angry President Barack Obama promptly fired the general, putting an end to a storied career that had included running the military's most secretive Special Operations missions and the American-led war effort in Afghanistan. On Thursday, General McChrystal added a coda to the story: He endorsed Mr. Biden..., not President Trump, to be the country's next commander in chief. 'I worked most closely with President Obama and Vice President Biden when I commanded in Afghanistan,' the general told Joe Scarborough on MSNBC's 'Morning Joe.' 'They didn't see everything the way I did,' he added. 'But in every instance, they listened. In every instance, they took in my view. In every instance, I felt that they were trying to make the best decision based on all the information they had, and based on a bedrock of values.'" The Rolling Stone story is here.

Joan Greve of the Guardian & Agencies: "Donald Trump's re-election campaign has rejected calls to change the rules of the next two presidential debates with Democratic challenger Joe Biden after the first chaotic event in Cleveland was marred by constant interruptions and outbursts. Tuesday night's debate, the first of three before the 3 November election, saw Trump regularly interrupt and talk over both Biden as well as the moderator, prompting America's presidential debates commission to announce it would adopt changes to allow for a 'more orderly discussion'. The next presidential debate is scheduled for 15 October in Miami. 'We don't want any changes,; Trump senior campaign adviser Jason Miller said on a conference call with reporters." Mrs. McC: Miller himself is incredibly obnoxious & enjoys bullying, interrupting & talking over hosts & other guests when he appears on CNN.

Oliver Darcy of CNN: "Chris Wallace, the Fox News anchor who moderated Tuesday's debate, is placing the bulk of the blame on ... Donald Trump for sending the political showdown into chaos. Wallace, who had in a Wednesday interview with The New York Times declined to pin the culpability on Trump, told his colleague Bill Hemmer during an interview Thursday that he believes Trump 'bears the primary responsibility for what happened....I had baked this beautiful, delicious cake and then frankly the President put his foot in it,' Wallace said."

Quint Forgey of Politico: "Former national security adviser H.R. McMaster said Thursday that ... Donald Trump is 'aiding and abetting' Russian President Vladimir Putin's efforts to sow doubt about the American electoral system. The stern warning from McMaster, who Trump handpicked to lead the White House National Security Council in 2017, came in an interview on MSNB.... McMaster's remarks Thursday represent perhaps his harshest public criticism of the president since he was ousted from the White House in 2018." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ David Sanger of the New York Times: "... in speaking with Hallie Jackson of MSNBC on Thursday, [H.R. McMaster] went further than he has at any point in the past in criticizing Mr. Trump for failing to call out Russian action...."

Jack Stubbs of Reuters: "The Russian group accused of meddling in the 2016 U.S. election has posed as an independent news outlet to target right-wing social media users ahead of this year's vote, two people familiar with an FBI probe into the activity told Reuters. The latest operation centred around a pseudo media organisation called the Newsroom for American and European Based Citizens (NAEBC), which was run by people associated with the St. Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency, the sources said." (Also linked yesterday.)

Another Trump Campaign Scandal. Oliver Darcy of CNN: "Fox News paid the former assistant to ex-host Kimberly Guilfoyle upward of $4 million to avoid going to trial after the employee wrote a 2018 draft complaint detailing allegations of sexual harassment against her, The New Yorker reported Thursday, citing two well-informed sources. Guilfoyle, who currently serves as the Trump campaign's finance chair, abruptly left her position as co-host of Fox News' 'The Five' in July 2018. At the time, a spokesperson for the network did not provide a reason for her exit and only said in a short, one-sentence statement: 'Fox News has parted ways with Kimberly Guilfoyle.' In 2018, HuffPost reported that Guilfoyle's departure had come following an investigation into inappropriate behavior, including allegations of sexual misconduct.... The New Yorker advanced the HuffPost story, detailing allegations from Guilfoyle's former assistant.... According to the magazine, Guilfoyle often required her former assistant to work at her apartment where allegedly Guilfoyle would sometimes be naked. The New Yorker added allegations that Guilfoyle showed her former assistant lewd images of men, with some of whom she had sexual relations. When lawyers at the firm Paul, Weiss started to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct at the network, Guilfoyle allegedly tried to buy her assistant's silence, The New Yorker reported...." The New Yorker story, by Jane Mayer, is here.

Taegan Goddard's Political Wire: "Former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale told friends he was under federal investigation days before his weekend meltdown for which he was involuntarily hospitalized, Business Insider reports." The Business Insider story is totally subscriber-firewalled. Mrs. McC: As you will recall, the RNC categorically denied Parscale was under investigation for stealing millions from the campaign. Of course it's possible that the RNC is not investigating Parscale, but the feds are.

Michigan. Matthew Choi of Politico: "The conservative conspiracists Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman were charged on Thursday with coordinating robocalls to suppress voters in the upcoming general election. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced the charges, which include intimidating voters and conspiracy to violate election law. Nessel said the two specifically targeted minority voters to discourage them from voting. The calls allegedly told voters that voter information would be collected in a database to track down old police warrants and outstanding credit card debts, according to a news release.... The Michigan charges relate to calls focused in the Detroit area, but other similar robocalls were also reported in New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Illinois, according to the release." The Washington Post's story is here.

Pennsylvania. Extreme Vote-Count Interference. Meghan Schiller of CBS News Pittsburgh: "The Republican-controlled statehouse in Harrisburg is looking at setting up what is being described as an 'Election Integrity' panel. The panel would have subpoena power to look into how elections are regulated and conducted. It would also use that power to determine if new laws are needed. The idea passed out of committee on Wednesday, but the threat of coronavirus halted discussions. A Republican representative tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday, canceling the morning's voting session and any discussion about the panel. 'It's just another attempt and part of their plan, I believe, to erode trust in voting and delay the results,' House Democratic Leader Rep. Frank Dermody said. Three Republicans and two Democrats would make up the panel, something state Republicans call a necessary watchdog group.... According to Democrats, they're afraid the Republicans in the majority would use this panel to launch partisan investigations and potentially impound uncounted ballots ahead of Election Day. 'It would cause tremendous disruptions,' Rep. Dermody said. 'They could subpoena votes, they could subpoena drop boxes, you name it. That's what I believe the intent was.'&"

Texas. Extreme Voter Suppression. Meryl Kornfield & Felicia Sonmez of the Washington Post: "Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Thursday said each of the state's counties could provide only one mail-in ballot drop-off location for the November election, a proclamation that quickly spurred criticism and a legal threat from Democrats and election officials.... The executive order, which amended a July 27 order by Abbott that expanded early voting and absentee ballot drop-offs, cites election security as the reason counties must close sites that were already collecting early ballots.... A civil rights organization, the League of United Latin American Citizens, announced Thursday that it would soon file a lawsuit against Abbott.... Harris County, which includes Houston and has more than 4.7 million residents, is the state's largest county and the third largest in the United States, according to the census. According to the Austin American-Statesman, Harris County has 12 ballot drop-off sites; Travis County, which includes Austin and has a population of 1.2 million, has four sites. President Trump lost in both counties in 2016 to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton." The Hill has a story here. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: One drop-off box for maybe a million Democratic voters? What's wrong with that? Harris County, BTW, not only has a population of millions, it covers a sprawling metropolis: 1,777 square miles, to be exact.

Matthew Choi of Politico: "... Donald Trump condemned white supremacist groups Thursday, two days after he came under fire for his comments on the issue during a debate with Democratic candidate Joe Biden. 'I condemn the KKK. I condemn all white supremacists. I condemn the Proud Boys. I don't know much about the Proud Boys, almost nothing, but I condemn that,' Trump said in a phone interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity. "But [Biden] should condemn also Antifa. Antifa is a horrible group of people.... The fallout of the debate comments was swift. Members of his own party urged him to explicitly denounce white supremacy immediately. Reporters peppered White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany with questions about the comment earlier Thursday. McEnany dismissed criticisms, saying Trump had settled the matter." Mrs. McC Note: Biden has repeatedly condemned violent protests.

Michael Shear of the New York Times: "The first lady, Melania Trump, delivered a profanity-laced rant about Christmas decorations at the White House and mocked the plight of migrant children who were separated from their parents at the border in 2018 during a conversation secretly taped by a former aide and close confidante. 'I'm working like a -- my ass off at Christmas stuff,' Mrs. Trump laments to the former aide, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, who has just published a tell-all book, in a recording that was first broadcast on CNN on Thursday night. Mrs. Trump continued, 'You know, who gives a fuck about Christmas stuff and decoration?' Later in the conversation, which occurred in July 2018, the first lady complained about the criticism leveled at President Trump and his administration that summer for separating families in a crackdown on illegal immigration. 'I say that I'm working on Christmas planning for the Christmas, and they said, "Oh, what about the children?" That they were separated.' She used another obscenity to express her exasperation, asking Ms. Winston Wolkoff, 'Where they were saying anything when Obama did that?'" ~~~

~~~ Caroline Kelly writes CNN's story: "Under former President Barack Obama, children were separated from parents only when authorities had concerns for their well-being or could not confirm that the adult was in fact their legal guardian, but not as a blanket policy as was done under Trump -- until a judge forced the administration to stop."

This woman's perfect life is about to be ruined by some dark-skinned people..Trump Says Minorites Are Ruining the Suburbs for White Women. Maya King & Laura Barron-Lopez of Politico: "On Tuesday..., Donald Trump refused to condemn white supremacists. On Wednesday, he blamed suburban, low-income people of color for 'ruining this American dream.' The two comments represent a feature, not a bug, of his presidency and campaign. And he's ramped it up in the final month of the election.... Speaking to a mostly white crowd in Duluth, Minn., on Wednesday, Trump gave a shout-out to the suburbs, particularly 'women in the suburbs.' He boasted he was the person to end an Obama-era fair housing rule, which he said brought 'low-income housing' to suburbia. 'By the way, just so we can get this straight, 30 percent of the people in the suburbs are low-income people. Thirty percent of the people in the suburbs are minorities. And so we're ruining this American dream for everybody,' Trump said."

Tom Jackman of the Washington Post: "A national commission on policing launched earlier this year by President Trump and Attorney General William P. Barr has violated federal law by seating only people in law enforcement and failing to include members with different perspectives such as civil rights activists, defense attorneys or mental health professionals, a federal judge ruled Thursday as he halted the group's work. The commission also did not file a charter, post public notice of its meetings or open them to the public, so even though it has already sent its draft report and recommendations to Barr for release later this month, the judge prohibited Barr from publishing a final report. The ruling by Senior U.S. District Judge John D. Bates in Washington came in response to a lawsuit from the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, which sought an injunction against the Presidential Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice for violating laws on how federal advisory committees must work. Bates did not issue an injunction yet, but asked both sides to file briefs on what should be included in an injunction, said he would order the commission to change its membership and comply with other aspects of the law, and that it could not issue a report until it had done so."

Food Banks Remove Trump Letter from Food Assistance Boxes. Laura Reiley & Kim Bellware of the Washington Post: "Thirty-five days before the election, food assistance boxes, doled out at food banks around the country, are coming with a surprise: a signed letter from President Trump. Anti-hunger advocates and food bank workers are outraged, saying the move violates the Hatch Act and compromises relationships with the food-insecure Americans they serve.... San Francisco-Marin Food Bank is removing the letters at distribution sites and asking any of the neighborhood pantries in their network that receive these boxes to do the same, says Keely Hopkins, the food bank's communications and social media manager.... Kate Leone, chief government relations officer at Feeding America..., says many food banks will not comply with including the letter.... Many schools that serve as distribution points for food assistance will receive these boxes directly."

Julia Ainsley of NBC News: "Federal law enforcement officials were directed to make public comments sympathetic to Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager charged with fatally shooting two protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, according to internal Department of Homeland Security talking points obtained by NBC News. In preparing Homeland Security officials for questions about Rittenhouse from the media, the document suggests that they note that he 'took his rifle to the scene of the rioting to help defend small business owners.' Another set of talking points ... said the media were incorrectly labeling the group Patriot Prayer as racists after clashes erupted between the group and protesters in Portland, Oregon. It is unclear whether any of the talking points originated at the White House or within Homeland Security's own press office.... Despite the talking points, Homeland Security officials have not gone as far to support Rittenhouse." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Stef Kight of Axios: "The Trump administration plans to only admit a maximum of 15,000 refugees this fiscal year, the State Department said in a release late Wednesday evening.... This is yet another record-low refugee cap. Before leaving office, President Obama set the refugee limit at 110,000 for fiscal year 2017 -- a number Trump has continued to slash throughout his presidency." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "The Trump administration said it would cut its already rock-bottom refugee admissions still deeper into record territory for the upcoming year, as President Trump returned to his anti-immigrant themes in the closing month of his re-election campaign.... The cut signaled that Mr. Trump is willing to take his exclusionary immigration policies still further, and it was delivered to Congress as the president was unleashing a xenophobic tirade against one of the nation's most prominent refugees, Representative Ilhan Omar, on Wednesday night at a rally in her home state, Minnesota.... 'She tells us how to run our country, can you believe it?' he thundered at his rally in Duluth, Minn. 'How the hell did Minnesota elect her? What the hell is wrong with you people -- right? What the hell happened?... Another massive issue for Minnesota is the election of Joe Biden's plan to inundate your state with a historic flood of refugees' the president said.'... Mr. Biden ... has said he would reset the refugee cap at 125,000 if elected.... 'Biden will turn Minnesota into a refugee camp,' Mr. Trump said." ~~~

~~~ Miriam Jordan of the New York Times: "A federal judge ruled on Thursday that President Trump overstepped his authority in suspending new visas for hundreds of thousands of foreign workers amid the coronavirus pandemic, enabling major companies like Microsoft, Goodyear Tire and Exxon Mobil to resume bringing employees from abroad. Judge Jeffrey S. White of U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California temporarily blocked further implementation of the sweeping order, issued in June, as it applied to thousands of companies seeking to bring workers to the United States on a wide array of visas, including the H-1B for high-skilled workers, seasonal employees on guest-worker visas and others, such as au pairs, who enter the country on cultural exchange visas. 'Congress' delegation of authority in the immigration context does not afford the President unbridled authority to set domestic policy regarding employment of nonimmigrant foreigners,' the judge wrote...."

Joby Warren & Simon Denyer of the Washington Post: As Kim Jong Un sent love letters to Donald Trump, "at six of the country's missile bases..., workers dug a maze of new tunnels and bunkers, allowing North Korea to move weapons around.... Southeast of the capital, meanwhile, new buildings sprouted across an industrial complex that was processing uranium for as many as 15 new bombs, according to current and former U.S. and South Korean officials, as well as a report by a United Nations panel of experts. The new work reflects a continuation of a pattern observed by analysts since the first summit between Trump and Kim in 2018. While North Korea has refrained from carrying out provocative tests of its most advanced weapon systems, it never stopped working on them, U.S. intelligence officials said. Indeed, new evidence suggests that Kim took advantage of the lull by improving his ability to hide his most powerful weapons and shield them from future attacks." Mrs. McC: No one is surprised, except maybe Donald. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Michael Chapman of the Raw Story: "On Monday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) told CNBC that there was no question the Republican Party was going to take care of people with pre-existing health conditions if the Supreme Court invalidates the Affordable Care Act. 'Every Republican agrees we&'re going to protect pre-existing conditions,' said Cruz. '100 out of 100 senators agree we're going to protect pre-existing conditions regardless of what happens with Obamacare.' Just two days later, he moved to block a Senate amendment sponsored by a colleague, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), that would do exactly that." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Heidi Przybyla of NBC News: "... Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, failed to disclose her participation in a 2006 newspaper ad calling for Roe v. Wade to be overturned and ending its 'barbaric legacy' when she submitted paperwork to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Two Democratic committee aides ... said [her participation in the two-page ad] should have been included in the response to a question in the forms asking for citations of 'books, articles, reports, letters to the editor, editorial pieces or other published material you have written or edited.'"

Way Beyond the Beltway

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do. Stephen Castle & Steven Erlanger of the New York Times: "The European Commission announced on Thursday that it was pressing ahead with legal action against Britain over Brexit legislation that the government in London has said would permit it to break international law. The commission, the European Union's administrative arm, gave Britain an ultimatum last month, threatening to take it to court unless it dropped plans to override parts of an agreement on withdrawal from the bloc that Prime Minister Boris Johnson struck last year. With the deadline having expired, the commission said in a statement that it had sent the British government 'a letter of formal notice for breaching its obligations under the Withdrawal Agreement.' Britain has 30 days to respond and any legal action could take months to unfold. That gives the two sides the opportunity to resolve their standoff if they can strike a deal in wider Brexit talks on a trade agreement." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Commentariat -- October 1, 2020

Afternoon Update:

Jeff Cox of CNBC: "First-time claims for unemployment insurance totaled 837,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday as the jobs market continues its plodding recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.... The weekly total represented a decline of 36,000 from the previous week’s upwardly revised 870,000, according to seasonally adjusted numbers."

Quint Forgey of Politico: "Former national security adviser H.R. McMaster said Thursday that ... Donald Trump is 'aiding and abetting' Russian President Vladimir Putin's efforts to sow doubt about the American electoral system. The stern warning from McMaster, who Trump handpicked to lead the White House National Security Council in 2017, came in an interview on MSNB.... McMaster's remarks Thursday represent perhaps his harshest public criticism of the president since he was ousted from the White House in 2018."

Jack Stubbs of Reuters: "The Russian group accused of meddling in the 2016 U.S. election has posed as an independent news outlet to target right-wing social media users ahead of this year's vote, two people familiar with an FBI probe into the activity told Reuters. The latest operation centred around a pseudo media organisation called the Newsroom for American and European Based Citizens (NAEBC), which was run by people associated with the St. Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency, the sources said."

Julia Ainsley of NBC News: "Federal law enforcement officials were directed to make public comments sympathetic to Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager charged with fatally shooting two protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, according to internal Department of Homeland Security talking points obtained by NBC News. In preparing Homeland Security officials for questions about Rittenhouse from the media, the document suggests that they note that he 'took his rifle to the scene of the rioting to help defend small business owners.' Another set of talking points ... said the media were incorrectly labeling the group Patriot Prayer as racists after clashes erupted between the group and protesters in Portland, Oregon. It is unclear whether any of the talking points originated at the White House or within Homeland Security's own press office.... Despite the talking points, Homeland Security officials have not gone as far to support Rittenhouse."

Stef Kight of Axios: "The Trump administration plans to only admit a maximum of 15,000 refugees this fiscal year, the State Department said in a release late Wednesday evening.... This is yet another record-low refugee cap. Before leaving office, President Obama set the refugee limit at 110,000 for fiscal year 2017 -- a number Trump has continued to slash throughout his presidency."

Joby Warren & Simon Denyer of the Washington Post: As Kim Jong Un sent love letters to Donald Trump, "at six of the country's missile bases..., workers dug a maze of new tunnels and bunkers, allowing North Korea to move weapons around.... Southeast of the capital, meanwhile, new buildings sprouted across an industrial complex that was processing uranium for as many as 15 new bombs, according to current and former U.S. and South Korean officials, as well as a report by a United Nations panel of experts. The new work reflects a continuation of a pattern observed by analysts since the first summit between Trump and Kim in 2018. While North Korea has refrained from carrying out provocative tests of its most advanced weapon systems, it never stopped working on them, U.S. intelligence officials said. Indeed, new evidence suggests that Kim took advantage of the lull by improving his ability to hide his most powerful weapons and shield them from future attacks." Mrs. McC: No one is surprised, except maybe Donald.

Michael Chapman of the Raw Story: "On Monday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) told CNBC that there was no question the Republican Party was going to take care of people with pre-existing health conditions if the Supreme Court invalidates the Affordable Care Act. 'Every Republican agrees we're going to protect pre-existing conditions,' said Cruz. '100 out of 100 senators agree we're going to protect pre-existing conditions regardless of what happens with Obamacare.' Just two days later, he moved to block a Senate amendment sponsored by a colleague, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), that would do exactly that.:

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do. Stephen Castle & Steven Erlanger of the New York Times: "The European Commission announced on Thursday that it was pressing ahead with legal action against Britain over Brexit legislation that the government in London has said would permit it to break international law. The commission, the European Union's administrative arm, gave Britain an ultimatum last month, threatening to take it to court unless it dropped plans to override parts of an agreement on withdrawal from the bloc that Prime Minister Boris Johnson struck last year. With the deadline having expired, the commission said in a statement that it had sent the British government 'a letter of formal notice for breaching its obligations under the Withdrawal Agreement.' Britain has 30 days to respond and any legal action could take months to unfold. That gives the two sides the opportunity to resolve their standoff if they can strike a deal in wider Brexit talks on a trade agreement."

~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks to a reader for the artwork.Presidential Race, Etc.

Nancy Cook & Matthew Choi of Politico: "A day after fighting for attention in a nearly audience-free debate..., Donald Trump on Wednesday returned to his safe space: an adoring crowd of hundreds who were happy to declare him the winner. Trump visited Minnesota less than 24 hours after the first debate for a fundraiser outside of Minneapolis, followed by a campaign rally in Duluth at an airport hangar."

Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: The banner headline on Wednesday night & Thursday morning's New York Times online edition is, "Republicans Distance Themselves After Trump Fails to Condemn White Supremacy." ~~~

~~~ Alexander Burns, et al.: "President Trump's refusal to condemn an extremist right-wing group [the Proud Boys] in his first debate with Joseph R. Biden Jr. sent a shudder through the Republican Party..., as prominent lawmakers expressed unease about Mr. Trump's conduct amid mounting fears that it could damage the party on Election Day.... On Wednesday, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, called it 'unacceptable not to condemn white supremacists,' without criticizing Mr. Trump by name, while Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said the president should 'make it clear Proud Boys is a racist organization antithetical to American ideals.'... Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, one of two Black Republicans in Congress, suggested that perhaps Mr. Trump 'misspoke' and urged him to fix his error. But Mr. Scott also allowed, 'If he doesn't correct it, I guess he didn't misspeak.' Mr. Trump, in a brief encounter with reporters Wednesday afternoon, tried to contain the damage while stopping well short of a full reversal of his stance. Reprising a ploy familiar from past controversies, Mr. Trump insisted he did not know anything about the [Proud Boys], though he made no suggestion to that effect during the debate. 'I don't know who the Proud Boys are,' Mr. Trump said. '... I can only say they have to stand down, let law enforcement do their work.'... But the president once again quickly added that left-wing violence was 'the real problem' [after he had] falsely accused former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. of refusing to say the words 'law enforcement' during Tuesday night's presidential debate.... When Mr. Biden pointed out that Mr. Trump's own F.B.I. director, Christopher A. Wray, had said that antifa was an idea, not an organization, the president replied, 'Oh, you've got to be kidding.' (Mr. Wray also said this month that 'racially motivated violent extremism,' mostly from white supremacists, had made up a majority of domestic terrorism threats.)" An Axios report is here. A Politico report is here. ~~~

~~~ Robert Costa & Matt Viser of the Washington Post: "The aftermath of the first presidential debate ... triggered a reckoning among Republicans on Wednesday about the incumbent's incendiary remarks on white supremacy and his baseless claims of electoral fraud, with GOP officials privately expressing alarm about the fallout with key voters as the president's allies argued that he electrified his core supporters.... But few Republicans voiced outrage in the wake of Trump's norm-shattering spectacle in Cleveland on Tuesday.... Responses ranged from silence to muted criticism, reflecting how the GOP remains convinced that an alliance with Trump and his voters is crucial for their survival. But hewing too close to him is also seen as a mistake by some Republicans...."~~~

~~~ Gabby Orr of Politico: "... Donald Trump spent his first 2020 presidential debate heckling his opponent at every turn. His supporters are hoping he got it out of his system -- for good. Trump aides and allies saw Tuesday night's event, a 90-minute schoolyard brawl featuring incessant interruptions from the incumbent Republican and pleas from his Democratic opponent to quit the 'yapping,' as an avoidable tragedy in the president's quest for reelection.... The cast of 'Fox & Friends,' a Fox News morning show Trump watches religiously, on Wednesday morning aired a rare segment in which several conservatives close to the Trump campaign also grumbled about the president's debate performance.... Following the debate, Trump lit up his Twitter feed with retweets of people who praised his combative style and suggested in a Wednesday afternoon tweet that the disorder that ensued the previous night had nothing to do with his conduct. 'Try getting a new Anchor and a smarter Democrat candidate!' Trump tweeted...."

"Bad Things Happen in Philadelphia." Danny Hakim, et al., of the New York Times: "The group of Trump campaign officials came carrying cellphone cameras and a determination to help the president's re-election efforts in Philadelphia. But they were asked to leave the city's newly opened satellite election offices on Tuesday after being told local election laws did not permit them to monitor voters coming to request and complete absentee ballots. On social media, right-wing news sites and in the presidential debate on Tuesday night, President Trump and his campaign quickly suggested nefarious intent in the actions of local election officials, with the president claiming during the debate that 'bad things happen in Philadelphia' and urging his supporters everywhere to 'go into the polls and watch very carefully.' The dark and baseless descriptions of the voting process in Philadelphia were the latest broad-brush attempt by the Trump campaign to undermine confidence in this year's election, a message delivered with an ominous edge at the debate when he advised an extremist group, the Proud Boys, to 'stand back and stand by' in his remarks about the election. The sinister insinuations and calls for his followers to monitor voting activity are clear.... Voting rights groups fear that effort could veer toward voter intimidation."

John Verhovek & Molly Nagle of ABC News: "After a raucous and chaotic first presidential debate, former Vice President Joe Biden is embarking on a roughly 200-mile whistle stop train tour on Wednesday through the battleground states of Ohio and Pennsylvania, pushing his economic agenda while hoping to appeal to voters that have strayed from the Democratic Party in recent years.... The Democratic nominee, long-known for his affinity for Amtrak, briefly commented on last night's debate.... 'Last night's debate, and this election, it's supposed to be about ... you and all the people I grew up with in Scranton, and people in Youngstown and Claymont, Delaware, and all the people who make a difference,' Biden said standing outside at a socially-distanced event just feet away from his newly-minted campaign train. 'Does your president understand at all what you're going through? What so many other people are going through? The question is does he see you where you are and where you want to be? Does he care?' Biden asked rhetorically." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Katie Glueck & Thomas Kaplan of the New York Times: "A day after a staggeringly contentious presidential debate, Joseph R. Biden Jr. sought again to put President Trump on the defensive on Wednesday by casting his opponent as a callous plutocrat who abandoned the working Americans who elected him. In his most vigorous day of campaigning in months, Mr. Biden embarked on an old-fashioned train tour to directly appeal to the blue-collar white Americans who powered Mr. Trump's victories in the Midwest in 2016."

Quint Forgery of Politico: "The Commission on Presidential Debates announced on Wednesday that the prior night's face-off between ... Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden showed the need for 'additional structure' to the format 'to ensure a more orderly discussion.' It added that it would announce the new measures shortly, while also commending Chris Wallace of Fox News for his 'professionalism' moderating the Tuesday night debate." This story has been expanded since linked Wednesday afternoon.

Michael Grynbaum of the New York Times: "Chris Wallace ... [called Tuesday's 'debate'] 'a terrible missed opportunity.... I never dreamt that it would go off the tracks the way it did.'... Recalling his thoughts as he sat onstage in the Cleveland hall, with tens of millions of Americans watching live, Mr. Wallace said: 'I'm a pro. I've never been through anything like this.'... Mr. Wallace said, in conclusion[,] 'I'm just disappointed with the results. For me, but much more importantly, I'm disappointed for the country, because it could have been a much more useful evening than it turned out to be.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: A lot of pundits have blamed Wallace for not better controlling the debate proceedings, but -- other than trying to put the brakes on Trump from the get-go instead of waiting until Trump had repeatedly shouted over Biden -- there was not a lot more he could have done under the rules the candidates had negotiated. I suppose he might have dug into his memories of rearing children & recalled that if you give a bratty kid an inch, he'll take a mile.

New York Times Upshot: Three "instapolls" peg Biden as winning the debate. "CNN found that Mr. Biden decisively won the debate, 60 percent to 28 percent, while CBS News and an early cut from a Data for Progress poll found far closer seven- and 12-point leads for Mr. Biden.... A closer look [at these polls] ... raises the possibility of good news for Mr. Biden. His favorability rating improved by a net four percentage points, compared with how the same respondents answered before the debate. The president's rating declined by a net four points.... Historically, the winner of these polls tends to gain in the real polls over the next week.... It's hard to say anyone clearly won the debate last night, and that's a win for Mr. Biden. He was the front-runner heading into the debate, and it was the president who needed a win to try to narrow the race." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

From the New York Times' live coronavirus updates Wednesday (also linked under Trumpidemic below): "Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the leading U.S. official on infectious diseases, hit back at President Trump on Wednesday for what he called the misrepresentation of his stance on using masks to curb the coronavirus. In the presidential debate on Tuesday, Mr. Trump claimed that Dr. Fauci initially said 'masks are not good -- then he changed his mind.' And when former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. said wearing masks could save tens of thousands of lives, Mr. Trump contended that 'Dr. Fauci said the opposite.'... 'Anybody who has been listening to me over the last several months knows that a conversation does not go by where I do not strongly recommend that people wear masks,' he said in an interview on ABC News's 'Start Here' podcast.... Dr. Fauci explained that 'very early on in the pandemic,' the authorities did not recommend masks to the general public because they were worried about shortages and hoarding. But that changed, he said, as it became clear that asymptomatic transmission was spreading the virus and that masks helped stop it. 'I have been on the airways, on the radio, on TV, begging people to wear masks,' Dr. Fauci said." ~~~

~~~ Tim Elfrink of the Washington Post: "As President Trump argued during Tuesday night's debate that vast numbers of law enforcement officials are supporting his campaign, he began listing the locations of his alleged police backers. 'I have Florida, I have Texas, I have Ohio,' he said. 'Excuse me, Portland, the sheriff there just came out today and said, "I support President Trump."'... Multnomah County [includes Portland] Sheriff Mike Reese quickly took to Twitter on Tuesday night to forcefully deny any affinity for the president. 'In tonight's presidential debate the President said the 'Portland Sheriff' supports him. As the Multnomah County Sheriff I have never supported Donald Trump and will never support him,' Reese tweeted. In fact, as Trump has seized on unrest in Portland as a campaign issue and sent federal agents to the city for weeks of violent standoffs with protesters, Reese has regularly criticized the president's handling of the situation." (Also linked yesterday.)

David Sanger of the New York Times: "President Trump's angry insistence in the last minutes of Tuesday's debate that there was no way the presidential election could be conducted without fraud amounted to an extraordinary declaration by a sitting American president that he would try to throw any outcome into the courts, Congress or the streets if he was not re-elected.... They were a stark reminder that the most direct threat to the electoral process now comes from the president of the United States himself. Mr. Trump's unwillingness to say he would abide by the result, and his disinformation campaign about the integrity of the American electoral system, went beyond anything President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia could have imagined. All Mr. Putin has to do now is amplify the president's message, which he has already begun to do. Everything Mr. Trump said in his face-off with Joseph R. Biden Jr. ... he had already delivered in recent weeks, in tweets and at rallies with his faithful. But he had never before put it all together in front of such a large audience as he did on Tuesday night.... Encouraging his supporters to 'go into the polls' and 'watch very carefully' ... seemed to be code words for a campaign of voter intimidation, aimed at those who brave the coronavirus risks of voting in person." Emphasis added.

Mrs. McCrabbie: Two things: I don't think this contrast has received enough attention: Joe Biden looked at the camera Tuesday night & told voters the election was in their hands. That does not sound especially enlightening; after all, that's what we expect, isn't it? Donald Trump said just the opposite: that he would not accept election results he considered "rigged" -- i.e., results that go against him; that he would rely on "supporters" to make sure the election wasn't "rigged" -- i.e., by people voting against him; and that he would further rely on "his judges" to decide the election -- i.e., not the voters. The other thing is something we all know -- that Trump needs to hang onto his job to avoid paying his debts, including taxes, & to stay out of jail -- but David Plouffe put it succinctly: "He sees the White House as his safe house."

Washington Post Editors: “THE FIRST debate between President Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden, on Tuesday night at Cleveland's Case Western Reserve University, was a disgrace. But it was not without value. Voters learned that the president cannot bring himself to condemn white-supremicist groups or admit that human activity is the primary driver of climate change or unambiguously tell people to wear masks. Americans learned that Mr. Trump's health-care plans crumble at even the slightest scrutiny. People learned that he believes he has done a phenomenal' job on the novel coronavirus and that the country should not expect any better from him on protecting public health. The nation learned -- or relearned -- that Mr. Trump has no positive case for reelection, let alone a vision of where to take the country in the next four years. When he was not hurling insults at Mr. Biden, he tried to take credit for an economy he did not build or to allege that Mr. Biden would destroy the suburbs. And voters learned ... that Mr. Trump has nothing but contempt for the values and norms that are essential to democracy: among them, truth, civility and respectful disagreement." ~~~

~~~ New York Times Editors: "President Trump's performance on the debate stage was a national disgrace.... The debate featured one politician trying his best to do his job, trying to bring some normalcy to America's battered public square, and one politician who seemed incapable of self-control -- petulant, self-centered, rageful. After five years of conditioning, the president's ceaseless lies, insults and abuse were no less breathtaking to behold. Mr. Trump doesn't care if you think he's corrupt, incompetent and self-centered. He just wants you to think everyone else is just as bad, and that he's the only one brave enough to tell it to you straight. It is an effort to dull Americans' sense of right and wrong, making them question reality itself and, eventually, driving them to tune out. Yet there was a new sense of desperation in Mr. Trump's performance."

It is remarkable, but not at all accidental, that a narrative built from minor incidents, gross exaggeration and outright fabrication is now at the center of the effort to re-elect the president. -- Jim Rutenberg, NYT Magazine report ~~~

~~~ The Trump GOP's Long-Running Disenfranchisement Campaign. Jim Rutenberg in a New York Times Magazine feature: In 2016, Republican officials launched investigations & brought largely false charges in several states against voter registration efforts backed by Democratic-friendly groups. Their efforts generated headlines. "... all those headlines about voter fraud -- amplified daily on Facebook and Twitter -- ... laid the groundwork for a legal challenge. The Trump campaign had a team of election lawyers standing by to dispute election results throughout the country, and the Republican National Lawyers Association had readied a self-described 'Navy SEAL-type' operation to fight similar cases. In the event of a Republican loss, they would need a story, and fraud was it. The truth appeared to be a secondary concern at best.... As the 2020 presidential election nears, it is becoming clear that the Trump administration and the Republican Party are not just looking at but heavily investing in the largely nonexistent problem of voter fraud. A New York Times Magazine investigation, based on a review of thousands of pages of court records and interviews with more than 100 key players -- lawyers, activists and current and former government officials -- found an extensive effort to gain partisan advantage by aggressively promoting the false claim that voter fraud is a pervasive problem. The effort takes its most prominent form in the president's own public statements, which relentlessly promote the false notion that voter fraud is rampant." A long piece. ~~~

     ~~~ ** For a much shorter version, Daniel Victor of the NYT writes a report on the report.

Michael Scherer & Lena Sun of the Washington Post: "President Trump has scheduled large campaign rallies this weekend in Wisconsin despite recommendations from the White House Coronavirus Task Force that call for increasing social distancing in the state 'to the maximal degree possible.' The task force has further flagged La Crosse and Green Bay, the metropolitan areas where Trump plans to gather thousands of supporters Saturday, as coronavirus 'red zones,' the highest level of concern for community spread of the virus, according to a report from the group released Sunday and obtained by The Washington Post. Wisconsin is listed in the document as the state with the third-highest rate of new cases in the country, with 243 new cases per 100,000 people over the previous week, about 2.6 times greater than the national average. Ahead of Trump's scheduled rally in Green Bay, the Bellin Health System said Tuesday that its hospital in that city is at 94 percent capacity as covid-19 continues to spike in the community." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Should be a big boost to Trump's poll ratings on the "cares about me" question.

Seaborn Larson of the Helena (Montana) Independent Record: "Former Montana governor and Republican National Committee Chair Marc Racicot on Tuesday said he would not vote for ... Donald Trump, citing Trump's character as fault enough to vote for Democrat challenger Joe Biden on Nov. 3.... Racicot is not the only Montana Republican to reject the Trump-bearing GOP. In July, former Secretary of State and state Senate President Bob Brown penned a guest column in the Missoulian, his own 'Declaration of independence from the Republican Party.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Meant to link a story this last week. Arlette Saenz, et al., of CNN: "Tom Ridge, the former Department of Homeland Security secretary during the George W. Bush administration, endorsed Joe Biden in an op-ed published Sunday in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Ridge's backing of the former vice president is the latest among a broad list of prominent Republican endorsements for Biden. Ridge, a former GOP governor of Pennsylvania, wrote in the Philadelphia Inquirer he considers it 'a point of personal pride; to be counted among the first Republicans to reject ... Donald Trump, referencing a 2015 NBC News interview where he called Trump an 'embarrassment to the party' and country." Mrs. McC: I suppose it would be wrong if I wrote that Ridge will always be "Duct Tape Tom" to me. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

** New Jersey Congressional Race. GOP Mainstreams QAnon-Crazy, Death Threats Against Democrat Follow. Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "Representative Tom Malinowski, Democrat of New Jersey, is facing down death threats from QAnon supporters after the House Republicans' campaign arm falsely accused him of lobbying to protect sexual predators. QAnon supporters began targeting Mr. Malinowski, a first-term congressman, on Tuesday, after he led a bipartisan resolution condemning the movement, which spreads a baseless conspiracy theory that President Trump is battling a cabal of Democratic pedophiles. QAnon believers seized on an advertisement released last month by the campaign arm, the National Republican Congressional Committee, that falsely claimed that Mr. Malinowski, then a lobbyist for Human Rights Watch, worked to block a provision in a 2006 crime bill that would have expanded registration requirements for sex offenders.... 'We've been warning the Republicans running this play for at least the last two or three weeks that they were playing with fire,' he said. 'Now the match has been lit.'" The BuzzFeed News story is here.

Alex Isenstadt & Gary Fineout of Politico: "Brad Parscale, a senior adviser to Donald Trump's campaign who was involuntarily detained by police this weekend, said he is stepping away from the reelection effort and seeking help for what he called 'overwhelming stress' on him and his family. In a statement provided to Politico on Wednesday, Parscale's wife, Candice, also denied that Parscale physically abused her, despite a police report in which said she told authorities the contrary.... Police also said they spotted 'larged sized contusions' on Candice Parscale's arms, cheek, and forehead.... In its request to the court that the guns [in Parscale's arsenal be taken] be taken, police said 'further investigation has revealed that Mr. Parscale's drinking and violent behavior increased shortly after he was demoted at his employment.'"

Trump: "Hey, I'm Feeding You Starving Losers." Helena Evich of Politico: "The Agriculture Department last week began mandating that millions of boxes of surplus food for needy families include a letter from ... Donald Trump claiming credit for the program. The USDA's $4 billion Families to Farmers Food Box Program has distributed more than 100 million boxes to those in need since May, with the aim of redirecting meat, dairy and produce that might normally go to restaurants and other food-service businesses. But organizations handing out the aid complain the program is now being used to bolster Trump's image a month before a high-stakes election -- and some even have refused to distribute them. In my 30 years of doing this work, I've never seen something this egregious,' said Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, executive director of the Ohio Association of Food Banks. 'These are federally purchased boxes.'" Mrs. McC: Trump, of course, did nothing to negotiate the Congressional morass that brought about this legislation; if anyone's letter should go in the boxes -- and it shouldn't, since taxpayers are the "giftors" -- it's Nancy Pelosi's.

Vatican Goes Old Testament on Pompeo, Takes an Eye for an Eye. Jason Horowitz & Lara Jakes of the New York Times: "Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently published a sharp letter excoriating the Vatican's plans to renew an agreement with the Chinese government on Church operations in China. He promoted the article in a tweet, concluding, 'The Vatican endangers its moral authority, should it renew the deal.' An indignant Vatican took the article more as a calculated affront than a diplomatic gesture. The friction broke into the open on Wednesday as Mr. Pompeo arrived in Rome and met with prelates and others who are hostile to Pope Francis, while the Vatican denied him a meeting with the pontiff and rebuffed his efforts to derail the deal with China." Politico's story is here: It more strongly suggests that Francis himself, rather than "the Vatican," was behind the Pompeo snub.

Battle of the Self-Righteous Phonies. Nicholas Fandos & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "The former F.B.I. director James B. Comey testified on Wednesday before a Republican-led Senate committee seeking to discredit the investigation he opened during the 2016 election into ties between Donald J. Trump's campaign and Russia.... Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee were eager to portray President Trump as a victim of a politically motivated smear by the F.B.I. that unfairly cast a shadow over his presidency. And they contended that Mr. Comey was the ringleader. Mr. Comey strongly defended the F.B.I.'s handling of the investigation, including his decision to open it. But he acknowledged, as he has before, that his initial claims were wrong that a wiretap of a former Trump campaign adviser, Carter Page, was properly handled and conceded that the bureau had been sloppy on that aspect of the broader inquiry. He testified by video from his home." The Washington Post's report is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Olivia Beavers of the Hill: "Former FBI Director James Comey on Wednesday warned that government officials with significant personal debt could pose a risk to national security. Comey, who was responding to a question about President Trump's finances during congressional testimony, said personal debt is a serious consideration when granting security clearances because it could be leveraged by a foreign foe. 'A person's financial situation could make them vulnerable to coercion by an adversary and allow an adversar to do what we try to do to foreign government officials we find are indebted, which is to try to recruit them to our side,' Comey told Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).... 'I don't know whether the Russians have something over President Trump, but it is difficult to explain his conduct, his statements in any other way, especially as a refusal to criticize [Russian President] Vladimir Putin. So it raises significant questions and obviously the question is only deepened by disclosure, if it is true, of significant indebtedness,' Comey said." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Kyle Cheney & Andrew Desiderio of Politico: "Former FBI Director James Comey said on Wednesday that the Justice Department's attempt to drop the prosecution of Michael Flynn is 'deeply concerning,' suggesting ... Donald Trump's former national security adviser is receiving special treatment and key pieces of evidence have been misrepresented. 'It's deeply concerning because this guy is getting treated in a way that nobody's been treated before,' Comey said during public testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee.... Comey also questioned Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe's decision to release a Russian intelligence assessment stating that Hillary Clinton tried to pin Russia's 2016 hack of the Democratic National Committee on Trump. Specifically, Ratcliffe wrote that Comey was briefed on that assessment.... 'That doesn't ring any bells with me,' Comey said, adding that he had 'trouble understanding' Ratcliffe's letter." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Harper Neidig of the Hill: "A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the Department of Justice (DOJ) to publish information redacted from the Mueller report that had been designated as privileged. District Judge Reggie Walton said the Trump administration had failed to justify certain redactions from the report on the special counsel's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The specific redactions he took issue with cover the decisionmaking process within former special counsel Robert Mueller's team over whether to charge certain people with crimes during the probe." ~~~

~~~ Mueller: Can't Dish It Out; Can't Take It. Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post (Sept. 29): "Former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III pushed back Tuesday against a prosecutor in his office who says in a tell-all book that investigators should have done more to hold President Trump accountable, suggesting that the account is 'based on incomplete information' and asserting that he stands by his decisions in the case. The rare public statement from Mueller came on the day Andrew Weissmann ... released a book alleging that the group did not fully investigate Trump's financial ties and should have stated explicitly that it believed he obstructed justice." Mrs. McC: Mueller harks back to the day when it was quite all right to go after common criminals but "bad form" to look under the covers of most white-collar, white-necked elites, which apparently includes any lowlife who sits in the Oval Office.

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Wednesday are here.

Sheila Kaplan of the New York Times: "The White House has blocked a new order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to keep cruise ships docked until mid-February, a step that would have displeased the politically powerful tourism industry in the crucial swing state of Florida. The current 'no sail' policy, which was originally put in place in April and later extended, is set to expire on Wednesday. Dr. Robert R. Redfield, the director of the C.D.C., had recommended the extension, worried that cruise ships could become viral hot spots, as they did at the beginning of the pandemic. But at a meeting of the coronavirus task force on Tuesday, Dr. Redfield's plan was overruled, according to a senior federal health official who was not authorized to comment and so spoke on condition of anonymity. The administration will instead allow the ships to sail after Oct. 31, the date the industry had already agreed to in its own, voluntary plan. The rejection of the C.D.C.'s plan was first reported by Axios." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Trump's "Infodemic." Sheryl Stolberg & Noah Weiland of the New York Times: "Of the flood of misinformation, conspiracy theories and falsehoods seeding the internet on the coronavirus, one common thread stands out: President Trump. That is the conclusion of researchers at Cornell University who analyzed 38 million articles about the pandemic in English-languag media around the world. Mentions of Mr. Trump made up nearly 38 percent of the overall 'misinformation conversation,' making the president the largest driver of the 'infodemic' -- falsehoods involving the pandemic. The study, to be released Thursday, is the first comprehensive examination of coronavirus misinformation in traditional and online media."

Oops, Moderna Tells the Truth (in Perhaps a Best-Case Scenario). Jacob Knutson of Axios: "Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said Wednesday that his company's coronavirus vaccine won't be available for widespread distribution until at least spring 2021, according to Financial Times.... Bancel told FT that the drugmaker will not seek emergency authorization for Food and Drug Administration approval for its vaccine to use in frontline medical workers and at-risk individuals until Nov. 25 at the earliest. He added the company would not seek FDA approval for use in the general population until late January. If the vaccine is proven safe and effective, approval is unlikely to come until at least late March or early April." ~~~

~~~ Marisa Taylor & Dan Levine of Reuters: "The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has broadened its investigation of a serious illness in AstraZeneca Plc's COVID-19 vaccine study and will look at data from earlier trials of similar vaccines developed by the same scientists, three sources familiar with the details told Reuters. AstraZeneca's large, late-stage U.S. trial has remained on hold since Sept. 6, after a study participant in Britain fell ill with what was believed to be a rare spinal inflammatory disorder called transverse myelitis. The widened scope of the FDA probe raises the likelihood of additional delays for what has been one of the most advanced COVID-19 vaccine candidates in development."

Chris Isadore & Pete Muntean of CNN: "Time has run out for 32,000 airline employees at American and United. American Airlines ... CEO Doug Parker said late Wednesday that the airline has no choice but to cut 19,000 jobs after attempts to get more federal money failed. United Airlines ... CEO Scott Kirby said the decision to cut 13,000 jobs marked 'a very sad day for all of us here at United.' Earlier in the day, Parker told CNN he still hoped that the job cuts might be avoided if the airline saw signs that Congress and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin would be able to reach a deal. They were considering a multi-trillion dollar stimulus package that would include $25 billion in help for the nation's airlines. But sources told CNN that an agreement needs more time to win the support it needs to pass."

Caitlin Emma of Politico: "The Senate on Wednesday passed a stopgap spending bill to avert a government shutdown, preventing an unlikely but potentially disastrous scenario that would kneecap federal agencies in the weeks before the presidential election. The Senate cleared the continuing resolution — which would extend about $1.4 trillion in government funding until Dec. 11 -- in a bipartisan 84-10 vote.... The stopgap spending bill came together last week after [Nancy] Pelosi and [Steve] Mnuchin carved out a compromise over trade relief for farmers requested by the White House, which Democrats originally opposed. In exchange, Democrats secured about $8 billion in pandemic-related nutrition assistance." Mrs. McC: I guess we have to assume that the House previously passed an identical bill; Emma doesn't say. It does say Trump may miss the deadline for signing the bill before the end of the fiscal year, as he's busy campaigning in Minnesota. And don't you love the way Democrats' "demands" are about things like saving starving children, while Republicans' demands are for tax breaks for their contributors?

Marisa Iati, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Kentucky attorney general will have two additional days to release audio from the proceedings of the grand jury that considered charges in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor, a judge ruled Wednesday. Attorney General Daniel Cameron's office requested a week-long extension after Jefferson County Circuit Judge Ann Bailey Smith ordered that his office file a recording with the court by noon Wednesday. Cameron (R) cited a need to protect witnesses by redacting personal information from the audio, which his spokeswoman said is more than 20 hours long. Smith ruled that the attorney general's office could have until noon Friday to upload the recording, Cameron spokeswoman Elizabeth Kuhn said."