The Commentariat -- September 3, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Eric Bradner of CNN: "... Joe Biden said he had spoken by phone Thursday with Jacob Blake, the 29-year-old Black man who was shot in the back by police, while meeting with Blake's family in Wisconsin. 'He talked about how nothing was going to defeat him. How whether he walked again or not, he was not going to give up,' Biden said. His comments came at a meeting in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the site of Blake's shooting, with local political, law enforcement, religious and nonprofit leaders. Earlier Thursday, Biden had met privately in Milwaukee with members of Blake's family, who he said put him on the phone with Blake, who is out of the intensive care unit. He said he had spoken about faith with Blake.... Biden met in Milwaukee with Blake's father, brother and two sisters, with Blake's mother and attorneys joining by phone. Blake attorney Ben Crump tweeted a statement saying that it had been a 'very engaging' 90-minute meeting.... While in Kenosha Tuesday, [Donald] Trump did not meet with the family of Blake. Trump claimed that he's not meeting with Blake's family during his Wisconsin visit because they wanted to involve lawyers."

~~~ A Biden-Harris campaign ad, released Thursday:

~~~ Another ad released Thursday:

Trump's Vote-Twice Advice Alarms North Carolina Officials. Tucker Higgins of CNBC: "Officials in North Carolina are scrambling to counteract ... Donald Trump’s call for residents of the state to attempt to vote twice in the upcoming contest for the White House, issuing a notice on Thursday warning voters that doing so intentionally is a felony. Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, said in the memo to voters that the board also discouraged people from showing up at polling sites on Election Day to check whether their absentee ballot had been counted." ~~~

     ~~~ Bell's notice is here. It begins, "The following is a message to North Carolina voters from Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections: It is illegal to vote twice in an election. N.C.G.S. § 163-275(7) makes it a Class I felony for a voter, 'with intent to commit a fraud to register or vote at more than one precinct or more than one time ... in the same primary or election.' Attempting to vote twice in an election or soliciting someone to do so also is a violation of North Carolina law." ~~~

~~~ Richard Hasen in Slate: "... Donald Trump on Thursday repeated his encouragement to his supporters to vote twice, first by mail and then -- if election officials allow -- in person. Voting twice -- as the president requests -- is not only illegal, but a recipe for chaos in November. Perhaps that is exactly the point. Trump defended his call as a way to test the system against voter fraud, but it's like encouraging his supporters to try to rob the 7-Eleven to make sure that the police can respond adequately to robberies.... Many people may hear his comments and think he is serious. This is particularly true given that he repeated the comments the very next day and his attorney general, William Barr, refused to acknowledge that double voting is illegal.... What's worse, the comments are going to put a strain on an election system stretched to its limits by trying to conduct a presidential election in the midst of a pandemic and with one of the candidates constantly casting doubt on the election's legitimacy. Again, this is probably Trump's real intent."

White You Win, Black You Lose. Bill Barr Puts His Fat Thumb on the Scale of Justice. Aris Folley of the Hill: "Attorney General William Barr said that he doesn't think the cases of George Floyd and Jacob Blake are 'interchangeable' when asked about both in an interview on Wednesday.... Pressed by host Wolf Blitzer for an explanation, Barr said Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died in Minneapolis earlier this year after a white police officer kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes, was 'already subdued, incapacitated, in handcuffs and was not armed.... In the Jacob case, he was in the midst of committing a felony, and he was armed. So that's a big difference,' Barr claimed before adding moments later that he doesn't want to talk about either of the cases 'as if they're interchangeable.'... It's unclear if [Blake] was armed with a knife at the time of the shooting. The [Wisconsin Department of Justice] said the knife was recovered from the floorboard of Blake's car and that no other weapons were recovered during the search.... 'Attorney General Barr is misinformed. The police officers were the aggressors from start to finish, based on video and witness accounts,' [Blake's] legal team said in a joint statement. 'There was never any point in time when there was justification for deadly force. In fact, there were innocent bystanders in the line of fire when he shot seven times into Jacob's back.'"

Azi Paybarah of the New York Times: "A California police officer was charged on Wednesday with felony manslaughter for fatally shooting a Black man inside a Walmart in April in a swift confrontation that the district attorney said displayed an unreasonable use of deadly force. District Attorney Nancy E. O'Malley of Alameda County said in a statement on Wednesday that charging Officer Jason Fletcher of the San Leandro Police Department 'is not a decision that is made lightly, nor rashly.' She faulted the officer for 'his failure to attempt other de-escalation options,' which 'rendered his use of deadly force unreasonable and a violation' of state law."

Jeff Cox of CNBC: "New filings for jobless claims totaled 881,000 last week, better than estimates as the employment market continued its gradual progress during the coronavirus pandemic recovery. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for a total of 950,000. The number reflects an improving labor market as well as a change in methodology from the Labor Department to address seasonal factors. Unique circumstances associated with the coronavirus likely caused jobless claims totals to be overstated during the pandemic." ~~~

     ~~~ Scott Horsley of NPR: "Without the seasonal adjustment, state unemployment claims rose by more than 7,500. In addition to the state unemployment claims, 759,000 people applied for benefits under a special federal program for gig workers and the self-employed, who are ordinarily not eligible for unemployment. Those claims also increased from the previous week."

Former Michigan Republican Governor Endorses Joe Biden. Rick Snyder in a Detroit Free Press op-ed: "I will continue to support and stand up for Republican policies and values, and support Republican candidates, but I will not support Donald Trump for reelection.... He is a bully.... In addition, President Trump lacks a moral compass. He ignores the truth.... I had the opportunity to interact with Mr. Biden when he served as vice president. My interactions were always constructive and respectful. He has shown the desire to heal a deeply divided nation; has demonstrated strong moral character and empathy; and he seems willing to listen to people who have different perspectives from his own.... While I am endorsing Joe Biden for president, I am still a Republican who also will be publicly supporting Republican candidates at the local, state and federal level." ~~~

~~~ Tim Reid of Reuters: "Nearly 100 Republican and independent leaders will endorse Democrat Joe Biden for president on Thursday, including one-time 2020 Republican presidential candidate Bill Weld and the former Republican governors of Michigan and New Jersey, people involved in the effort told Reuters.... Called 'Republicans and Independents for Biden' the group is headed by Christine Todd Whitman, a former Republican governor of New Jersey who has become one of Trump's fiercest critics and who spoke at the recent Democratic National Convention in support of Biden."

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "... as Mr. Trump seeks to become the oldest individual ever elected to the office for a second term, recent questions about his mental and physical condition have sent him into paroxysms of pique. They have complicated his own efforts to question the health of his challenger and fellow septuagenarian, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. The president elevated the issue this week by taking the bait of a critic's tweet and denying that he had 'mini-strokes' last year around the time of a mysterious trip to the hospital. But Mr. Trump only raised more questions when he could not keep his explanations for that hospital visit straight. He wrote that it 'was to complete my yearly physical' -- contrary to how he explained it at the time, when he said it was 'phase one of my yearly physical' to be completed later." The story has more detail about Trump's remarks & tweets concerning his and others' fitness. ~~~

~~~ "Donald Trump Would Like to Momentarily Pause This Campaign to Tell You How Good His Brain Is." Asawin Suebsaeng & Scott Bixby of the Daily Beast: "Following a carefully manicured, four-day convention in which Donald Trump's chief lieutenants branded him as an avatar of stability and Joe Biden as the pied-piper of race riots, the president did what he always does: He casually disposed of his team's messaging in the service of nursing personal grudges. This week, it was about how his brain isn't dying.... Shortly after Trump's [tweeted] tirade about 'mini-strokes,' his re-election campaign called for CNN to fire an analyst [-- former Bill Clinton press secretary Joe Lockhart --] who asked his Twitter followers whether the president was hiding a past stroke from the American public.... When the Drudge Report ... led the site on Tuesday with Trump's furious denial [of having had 'mini-strokes,'] Trump blew up again.... Joe Biden's presidential campaign was practically thrilled to play along, arguing that Trump's focus on his own mental acuity was rooted in his failures on a more pressing health matter: the coronavirus pandemic...."

Elizabeth Dwoskin & Craig Timberg of the Washington Post: "Facebook plans to block new advertising the week before the presidential election -- the first time the company has taken action to limit political advertising in the United States, the company said Thursday.... The company also said that it would label posts by any candidate or campaign that tries to declare victory before the final results are in, directing people to the official results from Reuters. It will do the same for any posts that try to delegitimize the outcome of the election -- for example, a claim that voting by mail could lead to fraud. It has also started to limit users' ability to forward articles on its Messenger platform to large groups of people.... The Trump campaign blasted the company for its new policies." A New York Times story is here. The Guardian's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: The Trump campaign is pissed because there's been every indication that Trump does intend to declare victory prematurely, while Biden has not expressed any such inclination. The Guardian's story spells that out.

Pentagon Boosts Republican Senators. Paul Sonne of the Washington Post: "President Trump’s decision to use Pentagon money to pay for his border wall created problems on the campaign trail for Republican senators seeking reelection in states that lost military construction projects to the president's effort. But the Defense Department's move in recent months to restart many of those domestic projects has provided political cover to several Republican incumbents facing tough reelections.... Some of the revived projects are in states with two Democrats representing them in the Senate. But others are hot-button projects in states such as North Carolina, Colorado and Arizona, where Republican senators in competitive races had been taking heat over their defunding."

Nahal Toosi of Politico: "The Trump administration has quietly named a new acting State Department inspector general, the latest personnel shift to hit the troubled watchdog unit since Secretary of State Mike Pompeo engineered the firing of its longtime leader. Matthew Klimow, the U.S. ambassador to Turkmenistan since mid-2019, has been handed the reins of the inspector general's office for at least 90 days, according to a Wednesday email seen by Politico.... Klimow is a career government employee with a lengthy resume that includes receiving a Silver Star for valor in combat when he was in the Army. It was not immediately clear if Klimow is giving up his position as the U.S. envoy in hermetic, energy-rich Turkmenistan, although in a note to the inspector general's staff, he said he would be with them for 'a relatively short time.'" Mrs. McC: I wonder how many coverups Klimow is supposed to finesse in that "relatively short time."

Danny Hakim & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "The National Rifle Association's former second-in-command is breaking with the group's orthodoxy and calling for universal background checks and so-called red flag laws in a new book assailing the organization as more focused on money and internal intrigue than the Second Amendment, while thwarting constructive dialogue on gun violence. The former executive, Joshua L. Powell, who was fired by the N.R.A. in January, reinforces the kind of criticism made of the organization by gun control groups and state regulators, but it is the first critical look at its recent history by such a high-ranking insider. He describes the N.R.A.'s longtime chief executive, Wayne LaPierre, as a woefully inept manager, but also a skilled lobbyist with a deft touch at directing President Trump to support the group's objectives, and who repeatedly reeled in the president's flirtations with even modest gun control measures."

Update on the Horrifying Scandal of the Year. Ryan Saavedra of the Daily Wire: "Christine Pelosi, the daughter of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), released a letter from a law firm on Wednesday afternoon that attacked the owner of the salon that Pelosi recently visited in apparent violation of coronavirus lockdown rules. The letter from attorney Matthew Soleimanpour was on behalf of Jonathan De Nardo, a California Certified Cosmetologist based out of San Francisco, California." Thanks to Anonymous for the link. Mrs. McC: The lawyer's letter, which Saavedra cites in full, completely exonerates Speaker Pelosi & implicates the salon owner Erica Kious in a sting. It's kinda worth reading, at least if you read any of the stories that preceded this one.

~~~~~~~~~~

Presidential Race, Etc.

Bill Barrow & Will Weissert of the AP: "Campaigning for more than a year as a calming, unifying figure, Joe Biden faces the most intense test yet of his core pitch when he travels to Kenosha, Wisconsin, a city wrenched by police and protest violence that makes it a microcosm of the nation's election-year reckoning with systemic racism. The 77-year-old former vice president, traveling two days after ... Donald Trump visited the same city, plans to meet Thursday with family of Jacob Blake, who remains hospitalized after being shot seven times in the back by a white police officer.... Biden also plans a community discussion that he indicated would draw business figures, civic leaders and law enforcement officials. 'This is about making sure that we move forward,' Biden told reporters Wednesday. He added that he's 'not going to tell Kenosha what they have to do' but instead encourage a community to 'talk about what has to be done.' Falling exactly two months before Election Day, the trip presents Biden both opportunity and risks as he tests his promise, made again and again for 16 months, that he can 'unify the country' and find consensus even where it's not readily apparent. The approach always has been an intentional contrast with Trump, a president who thrives on conflict."

Eric Bradner of CNN: "... Joe Biden blamed ... Donald Trump for schools' struggles to open amid the coronavirus pandemic, saying that if Trump had done his job, 'American schools would be open and they'd be open safely.... Instead, American families across this country are paying the price for his failure and his administration's failure,' Biden said in a speech Wednesday in Delaware. Biden's speech followed a briefing he and his wife, Jill Biden, a long-time high school teacher and community college professor, attended with education and health experts in Wilmington. Biden called opening schools 'a national emergency.'"

Shane Goldmacher & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "President Trump and Joseph R. Biden Jr. clashed on Wednesday in dueling remarks and with new advertisements about public safety and the outbursts of violence in some American cities, as the presidential campaign entered an aggressive new phase with the parties tussling over both the issues and the electoral map they are being fought on. The collisions came as a wave of new polling gave the first significant snapshot of the race since the Democratic and Republican conventions last month. The polls showed that Mr. Biden still holds a steady if not overwhelming lead, tight enough to give Democrats cause for concern and Republicans room for hope, particularly in the key battleground of Pennsylvania.... While the president has a dwindling number of days to reset a race in which he has consistently trailed this year, Democrats are still wrestling with the asymmetrical nature of battling a candidate willing to make outlandish and false statements in pursuit of victory."

** Marc Caputo of Politico: "Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee reported raising a record $365 million in August, surprising even seasoned party fundraisers and putting to rest fears that President Trump would drown him in campaign spending. The staggering cash coincides with Biden naming Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate before the convention. It more than doubles Trump's $165 million record, set in July, and also eclipses the $193 million raised by Barack Obama in September 2008. Trump has not yet announced his August numbers." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Molly Beck of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Former Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, will visit Kenosha on Thursday as tensions simmer in the city following the shooting of a Black man by a white police officer and the deaths of two people protesting his shooting by an armed teenager.... It's the first visit to Wisconsin by Biden this year, and the first to the state by a Democratic presidential nominee since 2012.... 'Vice President Biden will hold a community meeting in Kenosha to bring together Americans to heal and address the challenges we face,' his campaign said in a release. 'After, Vice President Biden and Dr. Biden will make a local stop.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Trump Urges N.C. Voters to Vote Twice. Lauren Egan & Pete Williams of NBC News: "... Donald Trump suggested that people in North Carolina should vote twice in the November election, once by mail and once in person, escalating his attempts to cast confusion and doubt on the validity of the results. 'So let them send it in and let them go vote, and if their system's as good as they say it is, then obviously they won't be able to vote. If it isn't tabulated, they'll be able to vote,' Trump said when asked whether he has confidence in the mail-in system in North Carolina, a battleground state. 'If it's as good as they say it is, then obviously they won't be able to vote. If it isn't tabulated, they'll be able to vote. So that's the way it is. And that's what they should do,' he said. It is illegal to vote more than once in an election." ~~~

     ~~~ Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "... Mr. Trump's suggestion that people should vote twice is one he has discussed privately with aides in recent weeks amid concerns he is depressing turnout among his supporters by raising alarms about the security of mail-in voting.... He has continued to float wild theories about extensive voter fraud that are not backed up by evidence. He has repeatedly detailed far-fetched, seemingly manufactured stories about ballots being forged." ~~~

~~~ Wait, wait! You think Trump is bad? Here is the Attorney General of the United States repeatedly saying he doesn't know if it's illegal to vote twice because he doesn't know what the state law is. He says maybe a voter can go in and change his mind after he's voted once. Just astounding: ~~~

Philip Bump of the Washington Post: Nearly four years later, Trump still can't accept the fact that he lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton. Now, besides his usual fake claim that he really won except for all the voter fraud in California, blah blah, he's claiming that the vote that were to libertarian candidate Gary Johnson in 2016 were really votes for Trump. Mrs. McC: This is a fairly hilarious post, except for a couple of factors, like Bump's final note that Trump "creates these rationalizations that have the unhappy side effect of reducing confidence in the electoral system." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Trumps Go All-in for the Crazy. Chris Rodrigo of the Hill: "Lara Trump recently joined Republican congressional candidate Laura Loomer at a campaign event in Florida, throwing the support of the Trump name behind the far-right activist and self-described Islamophobe. President Trump's daughter-in-law and campaign adviser was photographed with Loomer, the GOP nominee to challenge Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.) in a reliably blue district, at a campaign event with some pictures showing a lack of face masks and social distancing." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Both parties get stuck with radical candidates on their side. In the past, if the candidates were bad enough, the party denounced them & refused to give them campaign money and endorsements. Otherwise, party leaders held their noses & tentatively accepted the nutters, but maybe without financial support or endorsements. Party leaders sure as hell don't campaign with nonconforming candidates. So when a Trump family member campaigns with a crazy QAnon candidate -- and one who has almost no chance of winning -- it's obvious they're pushing hard for the batshit-crazy vote. And it also suggests, especially when considering Trump's recent insane endorsement of wacky ideas, that the Trumps themselves are batshit crazy.

Laura Vozzella & Peter Jamison of the Washington Post: "Two voters who say they were tricked into supporting Kanye West's campaign for president are suing to try to get him kicked off the ballot in Virginia, seeking immediate court intervention as deadlines for printing and mailing absentee ballots are fast approaching. In a suit filed Tuesday in Richmond Circuit Court, Matthan Wilson and Bryan Wright, both Suffolk residents, said signature-gatherers for West misled them into pledging to serve as electors for the rapper and entrepreneur. Wilson and Wright are represented by Marc E. Elias and other attorneys at the nationally prominent Democratic firm Perkins Coie. The suit names state elections officials as defendants, saying they should not have certified West for the ballot...."

Rachel Maddow featured these two ads by Vote Vets. The first one, released last week, is a true tearjerker. Mrs. McCrabbie: I made a small contribution to Vote Vets.

~~~ BUT Trump was more upset about this less consequential Lincoln Project ad:

     ~~~ Brad Reed of the Raw Story: "... Donald Trump on Wednesday threw a tantrum about a new Lincoln Project ad that mocked him for scoring lower television ratings for the Republican National Convention than Democratic rival Joe Biden.... 'We had FAR more people (many millions) watching us at the RNC than did Sleepy Joe and the DNC, and yet an ad just ran saying the opposite. This is what we're up against. Lies. But we will WIN![' Trump tweeted." Mrs. McC: Less a tantrum than a lie, according to TV rating services.

Georgia. Annie Grayer & Pamela Kirkland of CNN: "The state of Georgia has likely removed nearly 200,000 Georgia citizens from the voter rolls for wrongfully concluding that those people had moved and not changed the address on their voter registration, when in fact they never moved, according to a new report released on Wednesday. The ACLU of Georgia released the report which was conducted by the Palast Investigative Fund, a nonpartisan group that focuses on data journalism, on Wednesday."

Montana. Iris Samuels of the AP: "... Donald Trump's reelection campaign and the Republican Party sued Montana on Wednesday after Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock gave counties the choice to conduct the November election entirely by mail amid the coronavirus pandemic. The lawsuit alleges Bullock's directive would dilute the integrity of Montana's election system."

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

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

Nothing Suspicious About This. At All. Kathryn Watson & Sara Cook of CBS News: "The Centers for Disease Control has urged governors to be prepared for the distribution of a coronavirus vaccine by November 1, which is two days before Election Day." ~~~

~~~ Sheila Kaplan, et al., of the New York Times: "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has notified public health officials in all 50 states and five large cities to prepare to distribute a coronavirus vaccine to health care workers and other high-risk groups as soon as late October or early November. The new C.D.C. guidance is the latest sign of an accelerating race for a vaccine to ease [the] pandemic.... The documents were sent out on the same day that President Trump told the nation in his speech to the Republican National Convention that a vaccine might arrive before the end of the year.... The documents were dispatched the same day that Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the C.D.C., sent a letter to governors asking them to prepare vaccine distribution sites by Nov. 1, as McClatchy reported.... The possibility of a rollout in late October or early November has heightened concerns that the Trump administration is seeking to rush the distribution of a vaccine -- or simply to hype that one is possible -- before Election Day on Nov. 3."

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: The CDC, which once set the world standard for public health agencies, now has been reduced to an arm of the Trump re-election campaign. It might be Exhibit 1 in the argument that Trump has ruined the federal government.

Noah Weiland, et al., of the New York Times: "Dr. Scott W. Atlas has argued that the science of mask wearing is uncertain, that children cannot pass on the coronavirus and that the role of the government is not to stamp out the virus but to protect its most vulnerable citizens as Covid-19 takes its course. Ideas like these, both ideologically freighted and scientifically disputed, have propelled the radiologist and senior fellow at Stanford University's conservative Hoover Institution into President Trump's White House, where he is pushing to reshape the administration's response to the pandemic. Mr. Trump has embraced Dr. Atlas, as has Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, even as he upsets the balance of power within the White House coronavirus task force with ideas that top government doctors and scientists like Anthony S. Fauci, Deborah L. Birx and Jerome Adams, the surgeon general, find misguided -- even dangerous -- according to people familiar with the task force's deliberations. That might be the point. 'I think Trump clearly does not like the advice he was receiving from the people who are the experts -- Fauci, Birx, etc. -- so he has slowly shifted from their advice to somebody who tells him what he wants to hear,' said Dr. Carlos del Rio, an infectious disease expert at Emory University...." (This is the article behind an NYT live update item linked yesterday.)

The Second-Most Incompetent, Obnoxious White House Prick. David Lynch, et al., of the Washington Post: "Amid the Trump administration's troubled response to the coronavirus pandemic, senior White House aide Peter Navarro has refashioned himself as a powerful government purchasing chief, operating far beyond his original role as an adviser on trade policy.... Navarro's harsh manner and disregard for protocol have alienated numerous colleagues, corporate executives and prominent Republicans. In a previously undisclosed incident, the White House Counsel's Office in 2018 investigated Navarro's behavior in response to repeated complaints and found he routinely had been verbally abusive toward others. Navarro narrowly avoided losing his job, but the abuse has continued.... On Monday, the administration terminated one contract that Navarro had directly negotiated -- for 42,900 Philips ventilators. A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said the cancellation was 'subject to internal HHS investigation and legal review.' The contract had been criticized by a House oversight subcommittee, which concluded that the government had overpaid for the ventilators by $500 million. The cancellation came after another transaction Navarro championed, a government loan to fund Eastman Kodak's transformation into a drugmaker, unraveled and became embroiled in a securities investigation. The watchdog panel says it is broadening its inquiry to examine all of Navarro's deals."

Scandal of the Year. Lock Her Up. Jaclyn Peiser of the Washington Post: "For almost six months, hairdressers in San Francisco have been prohibited from cutting and styling their clients' hair inside a salon. But on Monday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), one of the most outspoken Democratic lawmakers on following coronavirus restrictions, became an exception to the rule in her home district. Surveillance footage aired on Fox News on Tuesday showed Pelosi walking through a salon with a mask around her neck as a stylist wearing a mask followed behind. Republican critics pounced on Pelosi, accusing her of hypocrisy.... A spokesman for Pelosi insisted she was following the rules outlined by the salon before her visit. 'The speaker always wears a mask and complies with local covid requirements,' spokesman Drew Hammill said in a statement to The Washington Post, adding Pelosi briefly took down her mask while getting her hair washed. 'This business offered for the speaker to come in on Monday and told her they were allowed by the city to have one customer at a time in the business. The speaker complied with the rules as presented by this establishment.'... [But] San Francisco Mayor London Breed (D) announced last week that salons could reopen for outdoor service only starting Tuesday." An AP story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: While I suppose Pelosi didn't anticipate a videographer would stalk her, this was still a stupid move. Pelosi is extremely wealthy and could easily have afforded to have a Covid-tested stylist come to her home. ~~~

     ~~~ Update. "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi responded on Wednesday to criticism of her trip to a San Francisco hair salon -- which was not cleared to reopen for indoor service and where she appeared momentarily maskless. Her defense: 'It was a setup.' The California Democrat insisted that she had followed the salon's rules as they were presented to her.... Pelosi said she was told that the city would allow one customer in the shop at a time, and she complied with those guidelines. However, San Francisco ... allowed salons to open for outdoor service only starting Tuesday, the day after her visit. 'As it turns out, it was a setup,' Pelosi said of the appointment at a Wednesday news conference.... 'So I take responsibility for falling for a setup....' Fox News aired surveillance footage from eSalon showing Pelosi walking through the business.... Erica Kious, eSalon's owner, told Fox that she rents space to independent stylists and was incensed that Pelosi came in when the rest of Kious's business had to remain closed.... But Pelosi, responding to reporters' repeated questions about the visit, said there is 'more to this that I'm not going into as to the motivations of the salon.'... 'I think that this salon owes me an apology,' Pelosi said." From the WashPo's coronavirus updates for Wednesday, linked above. Here's a San Francisco Chronicle story. The Hill has a story here. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: For all it's worth, I amend my comment above. I believe Pelosi. The fact that video of Pelosi immediately showed up on Fox "News," accompanied by Kiois' on-air criticism of her, makes the incident look suspiciously like a set-up, as Pelosi charges.

More cops have died from covid this year than have been killed on patrol. -- Joe Biden, in remarks Tuesday ~~~

~~~ The "Law & Order" President* Is Killing Police Officers. Christopher Ingraham of the Washington Post: "As of Sept. 2, on-the-job coronavirus infections were responsible for a least 100 officer deaths, more than gun violence, car accidents and all other causes combined, according to the Officer Down group. [National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund] reported a nearly identical number of covid-related law enforcement deaths.... It also noted that fatalities due to non-covid causes are actually down year-over-year, undermining President Trump's claims that 'law enforcement has become the target of a dangerous assault by the radical left.'"

Brittany Shamas & Lena Sun of the Washington Post: "A Minnesota biker who attended the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally has died of covid-19 -- the first fatality from the virus traced to the 10-day event that drew more than 400,000 to South Dakota. The man was in his 60s, had underlying conditions and was hospitalized in intensive care after returning from the rally, said Kris Ehresmann, infectious-disease director at the Minnesota Department of Health. The case is among at least 260 cases in 11 states tied directly to the event, according to a survey of health departments by The Washington Post. Epidemiologists believe that figure is a significant undercount, due to the resistance of some rallygoers to testing and the limited contact tracing in some states. As a result, the true scope of infections stemming from the event that ran from Aug. 7 to Aug. 16 is unlikely to ever be known." Free to non-subscribers.

Zack Budryk of the Hill: "A viral photo of two California girls forced to use Taco Bell WiFi to do their homework spotlighted the disadvantages faced by low-income families as many school districts move online. California Senate President Kevin de León tweeted a photo of the two last week, noting that 40 percent of Latinos lack reliable Internet access. 'This is California, home to Silicon Valley ... but where the digital divide is as deep as ever,' León tweeted." Mrs. McC: My monthly Comcast bill, which includes Internet access, land-line phone service, & two TV modems (and a modest TV premium package) is about $235. Obviously, low-income families can't afford anywhere near this. Comcast advertises that it will provide some low-income families with Internet service, which they claim is only $10/month. I hope that's true, but I'm betting there are other charges attached to actually getting it installed & keeping it running. If you know more about it, let us know, too.

Black Lives Matter ~~~

But Not to King Donald. Rebecca Klar of the Hill: "President Trump on Wednesday called for federal government agencies to begin reviewing potential funding cuts to cities having what the president deemed 'lawless' protests. Trump signed a five-page memo ordering federal agency heads to submit a report to the Office of Management and Budget detailing all federal funds provided to Seattle, Portland, New York City and Washington, D.C. within 14 days. 'My Administration will not allow Federal tax dollars to fund cities that allow themselves to deteriorate into lawless zones,' Trump stated according to a copy of the memo shared by the White House.... Attorney General William Barr is also directed to publish on the Department of Justice website a list identifying 'anarchist jurisdictions,' defined as state and local jurisdictions 'that have permitted violence and the destruction of property to persist and have refused to undertake reasonable measures to counteract these criminal activities,' according to the memo.... [Trump] specifically calls out his frequent Democratic targets, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, by name in the memo. Trump calls for review to cut funding to cities with 'lawless' protests[.] Cuomo appeared to respond to Trump's memo by calling it 'an illegal stunt'" and criticizing the president's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.... Russell Vought said the review will help ensure federal resources 'flowing to lawless cities aren't being squandered.'" ~~~

~~~ AND Definitely Not to This GOP Congressman. Amanda Terkel of the Huffington Post: "Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) said he'd be more than willing to shoot any armed demonstrators in Louisiana in a Facebook post Tuesday that was accompanied by a picture of Black men with guns. 'One way ticket fellas,' he wrote on his campaign account. 'Have your affairs in order. Me?... I wouldn't even spill my beer. I'd drop any 10 of you where you stand.'... Higgins [is] a former police officer.... Facebook confirmed to The Acadiana Advocate that it took Higgins' post down for violating the company's 'violence and incitement' policies.... Higgins' initial post came in advance of a Black Lives Matter protest scheduled for Tuesday night. The event was peaceful, according to the Advocate, and was basically a barbecue. A small group with guns known as the Louisiana Cajun Militia did show up. They appeared to be all, or mostly, white.... It doesn't seem like a coincidence that Higgins chose a picture of armed Black vigilantes. It was taken from coverage of a Black militia that showed up in Louisville, Kentucky, to protest the police killing of ... Breonna Taylor. If Higgins was truly concerned about vigilantes of all colors at protests, as he said, it would have been far easier to find a picture of white militia members." ~~~

~~~ ** NOR to These Rochester, N.Y. Cops. Michael Hill of the AP: "A Black man who had run naked through the streets of a western New York city died of asphyxiation after a group of police officers put a hood over his head, then pressed his face into the pavement for two minutes, according to video and records released Wednesday by the man's family. Daniel Prude died March 30 after he was taken off life support, seven days after the encounter with police in Rochester. His death received no public attention until Wednesday, when his family held a news conference and released police body camera video and written reports they obtained through a public records request. 'I placed a phone call for my brother to get help. Not for my brother to get lynched,' Prude's brother, Joe Prude, said at a news conference. 'How did you see him and not directly say, "The man is defenseless, buck naked on the ground. He's cuffed up already. Come on." How many more brothers gotta die for society to understand that this needs to stop?'... A medical examiner concluded that Prude's death was a homicide caused by 'complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint.' The report lists excited delirium and acute intoxication by phencyclidine, or PCP, as contributing factors." ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE. Caitlin Oprysko of Politico: "Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday rejected the notion that systemic racism exists in the criminal justice system, but acknowledged that 'there are some situations where statistics would suggest' people of color are treated differently than white people. 'I think there are stereotypes. I think people operate very frequently according to stereotypes, and I think it takes extra precaution on the part of law enforcement to make sure we don't reduce people to stereotypes, we treat them as individuals,' Barr told CNN's Wolf Blitzer. In the at times contentious interview, the attorney general defended law enforcement officers against accusations of excessive force, arguing that rather than being motivated by race, an officer may be 'scared for his life and is in a situation where a half a second can mean the difference between his life and his death, and he's wrestling with somebody.... They sometimes may do things that appear in hindsight to be excessive,' Barr asserted, but he cautioned that 'it doesn't necessarily mean that it's racism.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: If, the Fates forbid, police found Billy Barr running around in the buff, do you think they would put a spit hood over his head & ram his face into the pavement till he stopped breathing? I doubt it. (Sorry for imposing this image on you, but, you know, sometimes hypothetical comparisons are awfully helpful!)

Republicans' Fake "Democrat Cities" Argument. Emily Badger of the New York Times: "Minneapolis, Chicago, Portland, Ore., and Kenosha, Wis., are first and foremost 'Democrat cities' in President Trump's telling.... Mr. Trump has sharpened his party's long-running antipathy toward urban America into a more specific argument for the final two months of the campaign: Cities have problems, and Democrats run them. Therefore, you don't want Democrats running the country, either. But that logic misconstrues the nature of challenges that cities face, and the power of mayors of any party to solve them, political scientists say. And it twists a key fact of political history: If cities have become synonymous with Democratic politics today, that is true in part because Republicans have largely given up on them.... Mr. Trump and his surrogates have pushed that history to its seeming conclusion: Rural and suburban problems in America today are national problems -- but urban problems are Democratic problems.... [Yet] politicians, of either party, do not blame Republican county executives for rural opioid problems.... The president ... has never mentioned ... Republican-led Tulsa, Okla., San Bernardino, Calif..., Miami, Jacksonville, Fla., or Fort Worth -- in his vows to deploy federal forces to help control urban crime. Numerous studies suggest that the partisanship of mayors has limited effect on much of anything: not just crime, but also tax policy, social policy and economic outcomes." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Luke Broadwater & Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "The United States Postal Service has paid about $286 million over the past seven years to XPO Logistics, the former employer of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. He still holds at least a $30 million stake in the company, which has ramped up its business with the Postal Service since he took the helm at the agency. The figures, obtained by The New York Times from a public records request, shed new light on the extent to which the company where Mr. DeJoy was a top executive -- and in which he still has a substantial amount of money invested -- is intertwined with the agency he now runs, fueling questions about a potential conflict of interest.... The documents also show a surge in revenue for XPO from the Postal Service since Mr. DeJoy took over on June 15.... The findings emerged on the same day that the House Oversight Committee issued a promised subpoena for documents that the panel has said Mr. DeJoy is withholding from Congress, including information about his personal financial affairs." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Here we go again: "... fueling questions about a potential conflict of interest." "Fueling questions"? "Potential conflict of interest"? This is the definition of "conflict of interest." It's a glaring conflict, a conflict so glaring as to disqualify DeJoy from holding the postmaster general job. More-or-less equivalent to contracting out the federal government's social media policy to Mark Zuckerberg. Be best, NYT. Tell it like it is.

AND Farcical Mystery Solved! Justin Baragona of the Daily Beast: "... Donald Trump's latest outlandish conspiracy about a 'person' he refuses to name having 'firsthand' witnessed a commercial flight full of 'thugs' and 'looters' clad in 'black uniforms with gear' may seem ripped directly from an unhinged relative's Facebook page. But before this bizarre theory was being pushed by the president, another GOP lawmaker was spouting a nearly identical story. Speaking to pro-Trump outlet Breitbart News over the weekend, House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Devin Nunes (R-CA) ... relay[ed] a story that matches closely the tale the president spun to Fox News host Laura Ingraham on Monday. 'So, these people that descended on Washington, D.C., most of them were not local,' Nunes declared. 'In fact, I flew in with a bunch of them where I got on a plane in Salt Lake City where I had to commute through and I saw maybe two dozen BLM people.... The irony is they were all white people, they weren't even Black, but somebody was paying for those people to go there -- they were coordinated, paying for that, and then what they did was they were not protesting....'" ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Because people who "aren't even Black!" don't care that cops are killing Black people.

Way Beyond the Beltway

Philip Otterman of the Guardian: "The German government has said toxicological exams at Berlin's Charité hospital have yielded 'unequivocal proof' that the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a novichok nerve agent. Navalny, a strong critic of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, fell ill on a flight back to Moscow from Siberia on 20 August and was transferred to Berlin two days later. The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, said in a personal statement on Wednesday afternoon that testing by a special military laboratory had shown proof of a chemical nerve agent from the novichok group. 'It is now clear: Alexei Navalny is the victim of a crime,' Merkel said. 'He was meant to be silenced. This raises very difficult questions that only the Russian government can answer, and has to answer.' Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent, was used to poison the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Britain."

The Commentariat -- September 2, 2020

Afternoon Update:

Here's the New York Times' full story on Scott Atlas, by Noah Weiland & others, & outlined (linked below) in the Times' coronavirus live updates.

** Marc Caputo of Politico: "Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee reported raising a record $365 million in August, surprising even seasoned party fundraisers and putting to rest fears that President Trump would drown him in campaign spending. The staggering cash coincides with Biden naming Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate before the convention. It more than doubles Trump's $165 million record, set in July, and also eclipses the $193 million raised by Barack Obama in September 2008. Trump has not yet announced his August numbers."

Molly Beck of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Former Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, will visit Kenosha on Thursday as tensions simmer in the city following the shooting of a Black man by a white police officer and the deaths of two people protesting his shooting by an armed teenager.... It's the first visit to Wisconsin by Biden this year, and the first to the state by a Democratic presidential nominee since 2012.... 'Vice President Biden will hold a community meeting in Kenosha to bring together Americans to heal and address the challenges we face,' his campaign said in a release. 'After, Vice President Biden and Dr. Biden will make a local stop.'"

Republicans' Fake "Democrat Cities" Argument. Emily Badger of the New York Times: "Minneapolis, Chicago, Portland, Ore., and Kenosha, Wis., are first and foremost 'Democrat cities' in President Trump';s telling.... Mr. Trump has sharpened his party's long-running antipathy toward urban America into a more specific argument for the final two months of the campaign: Cities have problems, and Democrats run them. Therefore, you don't want Democrats running the country, either. But that logic misconstrues the nature of challenges that cities face, and the power of mayors of any party to solve them, political scientists say. And it twists a key fact of political history: If cities have become synonymous with Democratic politics today, that is true in part because Republicans have largely given up on them.... Mr. Trump and his surrogates have pushed that history to its seeming conclusion: Rural and suburban problems in America today are national problems -- but urban problems are Democratic problems.... [Yet] politicians, of either party, do not blame Republican county executives for rural opioid problems.... The president ... has never mentioned ... Republican-led Tulsa, Okla., San Bernardino, Calif..., Miami, Jacksonville, Fla., or Fort Worth -- in his vows to deploy federal forces to help control urban crime. Numerous studies suggest that the partisanship of mayors has limited effect on much of anything: not just crime, but also tax policy, social policy and economic outcomes."

Philip Bump of the Washington Post: Nearly four years later, Trump still can't accept the fact that he lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton. Now, besides his usual fake claim that he really won except for all the voter fraud in California, blah blah, he's claiming that the vote that were to libertarian candidate Gary Johnson in 2016 were really votes for Trump. Mrs. McC: This is a fairly hilarious post, except for a couple of factors, like Bump's final note that Trump "creates these rationalizations that have the unhappy side effect of reducing confidence in the electoral system."

Trumps Go All-in for the Crazy. Chris Rodrigo of the Hill: "Lara Trump recently joined Republican congressional candidate Laura Loomer at a campaign event in Florida, throwing the support of the Trump name behind the far-right activist and self-described Islamophobe. President Trump's daughter-in-law and campaign adviser was photographed with Loomer, the GOP nominee to challenge Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.) in a reliably blue district, at a campaign event with some pictures showing a lack of face masks and social distancing." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Both parties get stuck with radical candidates on their side. In the past, if the candidates were bad enough, the party denounced them & denied them campaign money and endorsements. Otherwise, party leaders held their noses & tentatively accepted the nutters, but maybe without financial support or endorsements. Party leaders sure as hell don't campaign with nonconforming candidates. So when a Trump family member actually campaigns with a crazy QAnon candidate -- and one who has almost no chance of winning -- it's obvious that they're pushing hard for the batshit-crazy vote. It also suggests, especially when considering Trump's recent insane endorsement of wacky ideas, that the Trumps themselves are batshit crazy.

Scandal of the Year. Lock Her Up. Jaclyn Peiser of the Washington Post: "For almost six months, hairdressers in San Francisco have been prohibited from cutting and styling their clients' hair inside a salon. But on Monday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), one of the most outspoken Democratic lawmakers on following coronavirus restrictions, became an exception to the rule in her home district. Surveillance footage aired on Fox News on Tuesday showed Pelosi walking through a salon with a mask around her neck as a stylist wearing a mask followed behind. Republican critics pounced on Pelosi, accusing her of hypocrisy.... A spokesman for Pelosi insisted she was following the rules outlined by the salon before her visit. 'The speaker always wears a mask and complies with local covid requirements,' spokesman Drew Hammill said in a statement to The Washington Post, adding Pelosi briefly took down her mask while getting her hair washed. 'This business offered for the speaker to come in on Monday and told her they were allowed by the city to have one customer at a time in the business. The speaker complied with the rules as presented by this establishment.'... [But] San Francisco Mayor London Breed (D) announced last week that salons could reopen for outdoor service only starting Tuesday." An AP story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: While I suppose Pelosi didn't anticipate a videographer would stalk her, this was still a stupid move. Pelosi is extremely wealthy and could easily have afforded to have a Covid-tested stylist come to her home.

~~~~~~~~~~

Massachusetts Primary Elections. From the Washington Post's live updates:

Sen. Edward J. Markey fended off a primary challenge from Rep. Joe Kennedy, making it the first time a Kennedy has lost a statewide election in Massachusetts. Markey, 74, faced Kennedy, 39, who was not yet born when the senator began his political career, and who came into the race with a long list of endorsements. But Kennedy's message of generational change, which helped power some primary challenges in other states, did not resonate as much as Markey's focus on his long liberal record and his sponsorship of the Green New Deal.

Rep. Richard E. Neal fended off a primary challenge from Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse in Massachusetts's 1st District, according to the Associated Press. Neal had touted the endorsement of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), while Morse had the backing of liberal Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).

In the 8th [Congressional] District, Rep. Stephen F. Lynch beat back a left-wing challenger, the latest and best-organized of his 19-year career in the House. Republicans are not contesting the race in November. ~~~

~~~ A Politico story by Stephanie Murray is here. The New York Times story, by Jonathan Martin, is here.

The Strange Case of the Madman in the White House

(1) What Is Trump Hiding? Mrs.  McCrabbie: I was just thinking reporters ought to get to the bottom of the real reason Trump rushed to Walter Reed last November, then lied about it (story linked yesterday), when -- without prompting -- Trump himself provided a clue! ~~~

~~~ Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Trump on Tuesday denied that he made an emergency visit to the hospital last year after suffering 'a series of mini-strokes' after a new book claimed that Vice President Pence was on standby in the event Trump was incapacitated. The president's denial raised eyebrows, as the book from New York Times correspondent Michael Schmidt did not specifically state that Trump had suffered from a series of small strokes. 'It never ends! Now they are trying to say that your favorite President, me, went to Walter Reed Medical Center, having suffered a series of mini-strokes. Never happened to THIS candidate -- FAKE NEWS,' Trump tweeted, before insinuating that ... Joe Biden may have dealt with health issues." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I hope some pro-Biden group -- not the Biden campaign itself -- will start hounding Trump about his secretive hospital visit. It is a matter of public interest as to why a president* is rushed to the hospital & the veep is called to stand by. Voters deserve to have a full & truthful answer (not gonna happen, I know). ~~~

~~~ Mike Pence's Convenient Memory Lapse. Axios: "Vice President Mike Pence said in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday that he does not 'recall' being told to be on standby to assume the powers of the presidency if President Trump was put under anesthesia during his sudden visit to Walter Reed Medical Center last November.... The White House physician later issued a statement at the request of Trump saying the president 'has not experienced nor been evaluated for' a stroke or mini-stroke." Mrs. McC: If I might be about to become President-for-a-Day, I'm sure I'd "recall" it.

(2) What Is Trump Hiding? Benjamin Weiser & William Rashbaum of the New York Times: "President Trump on Tuesday won another delay in the long-running legal battle over whether he must turn over eight years of tax returns to the Manhattan district attorney's office, which subpoenaed them a year ago in a criminal investigation focused on Mr. Trump, his business and his associates. In a brief order, a federal appeals court in New York said it would temporarily block a grand jury subpoena issued by the district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., a Democrat, while it considers Mr. Trump's arguments that the request was 'wildly overbroad' and politically motivated. The ruling is the latest development in the president's aggressive effort to keep his tax returns and other financial records out of the hands of prosecutors, Congress and others -- a dispute that has reached the United States Supreme Court once and is almost certain to end up there again." A Hill story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Mrs. McCrabbie: Remember back in June when we thought those Western militia were idiots for believing in crazy conspiracy theories about impending Antifa invasions? Well, guess what? Donald Trump is one of the idiotic conspiracy theorists. ~~~

~~~ Dan Martin of the American Independent: "Donald Trump doubled-down Tuesday morning on a bizarre conspiracy theory about a plane full of black-clad rioters and looters that has been thoroughly debunked.... Trump was asked about his earlier claims on Tuesday, before flying to Wisconsin to meet with law enforcement and survey property damage in Kenosha.... He insisted to reporters that the debunked conspiracy was true, but provided no evidence other than suggesting a person on that plane had told him about the experience. Trump refused to identify his source." ~~~

... a person was on a plane said that there were about six people like that person, more or less. And what happened is the entire plane filled up with the looters, the anarchists, the rioters, people that obviously were looking for trouble. And the person felt very uncomfortable on the plane. This would be a person you know, so I will see whether or not I can get that person -- I'll let them know and I'll see whether or not I can get that person to speak to you. But this was a firsthand account of a plane going from Washington to wherever. And I'll see if I can get that information for you. Maybe they'll speak to you, maybe they won't. -- Donald Trump, to reporters Tuesday morning

~~~ Ben Collins of NBC News: "The conspiracy theory that ... Donald Trump pushed Monday that a plane 'almost completely loaded with thugs' had been set to disrupt the Republican National Convention was almost identical to a rumor that went viral on Facebook three months ago.... He ... claimed the matter was 'under investigation right now.' There is no evidence of any such flight.... [A] version of the rumor picked up enough steam in Idaho Facebook groups [in June] that the Payette County Sheriff's Office had to release a statement insisting that the viral rumor was 'false information.'... One of the most viral rumors on an Antifa invasion into the suburbs was taken down after Twitter said it was created by a troll account with ties to white nationalists. Some armed Americans took to town squares in several towns to fight off fictitious busloads of Antifa in June, spurred by false rumors on Facebook pages. Seven days after the original Idaho rumor went viral on Facebook, armed men stood guard over protests in Missoula, Montana, worried about the planeloads of Antifa supporters." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: As Collins pointed out to Chris Hayes of MSNBC, a real president would be informing the public about real threats, such as the coronavirus, Russia interfering in the 2020 election (story linked below), and other matters he learned from intelligence agencies. Instead, he's validating false conspiracy theories. Update: To further confirm the B.S. nature of Trump's "intelligence," Collins also noted this morning that Trump changed his original story: he told Ingraham the dark, shadowy people were coming to D.C.; in the version yesterday, they were leaving D.C.

~~~ Davey Alba & Ben Decker of the New York Times: "In a wide-ranging interview with the Fox News host Laura Ingraham on Monday night, President Trump spread multiple conspiracy theories about the protests that have erupted across the nation. Many of his unfounded claims can be traced back to narratives that have been swirling online for months. Here are three of the baseless conspiracy theories that Mr. Trump spread and where they came from. [1] A plane 'loaded with thugs' headed to the Republican convention.... [2] Some 'very stupid rich people' are bankrolling racial justice protests across the U.S.... The unsupported idea echoes claims spread online for months that George Soros, the billionaire investor and Democratic donor, was funding protests against police brutality.... The false notion that a shadowy cabal of Democratic elites like Mr. Soros pulls strings behind the scenes and controls the world with money is a main pillar of the far-right extremist conspiracy theory QAnon. [3] 'People that you haven't heard of' are controlling Joseph Biden[.] This rumor, too, is a pillar of the baseless internet conspiracy QAnon. The theory states, falsely, that the world is run by a group of Satan-worshiping pedophiles that is plotting against Mr. Trump while operating a global child sex-trafficking ring." ~~~

~~~ Reporter Ben Collins worried aloud on MSNBC that Trump was wasting the presidency warning Americans about fake dangers instead of real one. Well, here's an update that should reassure Collins: ~~~

... You have people coming over with big bags of soup and ... the the anarchists take it and they start throwing it at our cops and our police... -- Donald Trump, in Kenosha Tuesday ~~~

Actual photo of violent liberal Democrat anarchist in action. Heavy: "Some dubbed ... Donald Trump the 'Soup Nazi' -- a reference to a famous 'Seinfeld' episode -- after he said cans of soups were being weaponized during protests over racism and police brutality in Portland, Oregon, and Kenosha, Wisconsin. Trump originally made the comments while meeting the National Association of Police Organizations Leadership in July, according to Second Nexus."

Another Fake Trump Video-op. Ben Johnson of WTMJ Milwaukee: "A Kenosha business owner is accusing ... Donald Trump of using his destroyed store for political gain. Tom Gram's century-old camera shop burned to the ground a week ago during the unrest in Uptown Kenosha. Gram said he declined President Trump's request to be a part of his tour of damage Tuesday in Kenosha. Instead, a former owner of the shop was invited and he praised the president's efforts." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I think it was Jason Johnson, speaking on MSNBC, who noted that -- while Trump claimed he went to Kenosha to "survey the damage" -- Trump did nothing to survey the real human damage in Kenosha: the police shooting of Jacob Blake and a teenager's (alleged) murders of Joseph Rosenbaum & Anthony Huber and the wounding of Gaige Grosskreutz.

Josh Margolin, et al., of ABC News: “In early July the Department of Homeland Security withheld publication of an intelligence bulletin warning law enforcement agencies of a Russian scheme to promote 'allegations about the poor mental health' of former Vice President Joe Biden, according to internal emails and a draft of the document obtained by ABC News.... The document mentions Iranian and Chinese efforts to criticize Trump, but focuses on -- and takes its title from -- Russia's attacks on Biden's mental fitness. It is a line of attack also utilized by both ... Donald Trump and his reelection campaign.... Critics said the decision to withhold the document will fuel concern that the Trump administration has sought to politicize intelligence, particularly after an announcement over the weekend that senior intelligence leaders will cease congressional election security briefings due to alleged leaks from lawmakers, and will instead provide only written reports." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: This is a good example of "some-say" and "he-said/she-said" "journalism." The report makes clear that a political appointee -- acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf (& his acting chief-of-staff) -- kept the bulletin secret. A reasonable person would assume that was for political reasons. Yet the ABC reporters cite only "critics" (they name one) who had "concerns" the top Trump appointee was politicizing intelligence to aid Trump. Then for the "she-said" part, the report cites an unnamed DHS spokesperson who claimed the bulletin "failed to meet the agency's standards." Yeah, right. ~~~

~~~ Trump's Deep State. John Sipher, a former CIA official, in a New York Times op-ed: John Ratcliffe, "the director of national intelligence is ending oral briefings with Congress -- a significant step toward eroding oversight and expanding executive overreach.... It smacks of the very thing that Mr. Trump has used to stoke outrage in his followers -- the formation of a politicized national security apparatus that can serve as a personal weapon for the president. A 'deep state.'... If our powerful secret agencies become handmaidens to the political whims of whoever sits in the White House, then our democracy and security are at risk in ways that are hard to imagine."

Presidential Race, Etc.

Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: "Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s campaign unveiled a new television ad late Tuesday that packages portions of his speech on Monday in Pittsburgh condemning the sporadic violence that has erupted in some cities. The ad came as the former vice president pushes back against President Trump's efforts to define the Democrats as a party tolerant of lawlessness." ~~~

Matt Viser of the Washington Post: "Joe Biden on Wednesday will turn his focus to the struggles that students and parents are facing around the country with school districts unable to fully reopen amid the ongoing concerns about the coronavirus. Biden and his wife, Jill, will receive a briefing from education leaders in their hometown of Wilmington, Del, before the Democratic presidential nominee delivers remarks on school reopenings. It is another attempt by Biden to continue emphasizing President Trump's response to the global pandemic, the issue that Biden's campaign believes will guide voters’ decisions more than any other."

Kate Sullivan of CNN: "Eighty-one Nobel Prize winners endorsed Joe Biden for president in an open letter on Wednesday, citing the former vice president's 'willingness to listen to experts' and his 'deep appreciation for using science to find solutions.' The Nobel laureates, winners of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Medicine and Physics, stressed the importance of elected leaders making decisions based on science, particularly during a global pandemic." Mrs. McC: I hope these very intelligent, accomplished scientists don't think they can influence the Trumpenproletariat who are shooting paintballs, Mace & live ammo to protect us from ... something.

A Racist Campaign Stop in Kenosha. Ashley Parker, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump on Tuesday inserted himself into a city already roiled by the police shooting of an unarmed Black man, using a trip to Kenosha, Wis., to highlight his hard-edge law-and-order message and press what he and his campaign advisers view as a political advantage against Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. Unwelcome by local officials -- including the city's Democratic mayor and the state's Democratic governor -- but hailed by others, Trump and an entourage that included Attorney General William P. Barr descended on the city ... for a campaign-style journey that included a visit to businesses and properties destroyed in rioting and to meet with law enforcement officials. At an event focused on community safety near the end of his visit, Trump said Kenosha had 'been ravaged by anti-police and anti-American riots' and vowed to stand firmly with law enforcement.... During his visit, Trump said he doesn't believe there is systemic racism in law enforcement and refused to engage on whether systemic racism is a broader issue in the country." Trump did not meet with anyone from victim Jacob Blake's family.

** The Big China Conspiracy Lie. Natasha Bertrand of Politico: "From the president's Twitter feed to the Republican National Convention to Fox News, a new talking point has taken hold among Donald Trump and his allies: that U.S. intelligence shows that China would prefer a Joe Biden presidency and is trying to help him win. 'Just In: Chinese State Media and Leaders of CHINA want Biden to win "the U.S. Election,"' Trump tweeted on August 26. 'Beijing Biden is so weak on China that the intelligence community recently assessed that the Chinese Communist Party favors Biden,' Donald Trump Jr. said at the RNC. 'Our intelligence community has concluded that China prefers Joe Biden's candidacy to the reelection of President Trump,' Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) wrote for Fox last week. But the intelligence community has said no such thing, according to public statements by the country's top counterintelligence official Bill Evanina and multiple sources who have seen the underlying intelligence.... When asked in a Fox News interview on Sunday...,' Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe replied that 'in an unclassified setting, I can't get into a whole lot of details, other than to say that China is using a massive and sophisticated influence campaign that dwarfs anything that any other country is doing.' But a national security official who has seen the underlying intelligence said it shows no evidence of such a concerted campaign aimed at interfering in the election." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: While it's plausible that China would prefer President Joe Biden be sworn in next January, so would all of our allies.

Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "Attorney General William P. Barr imposed new rules Tuesday tightening the use of government surveillance on political candidates or their staffers -- a move likely to cheer conservatives who have long criticized how the FBI investigated the Trump campaign in 2016. In a pair of memos, the attorney general said that before the FBI and Justice Department seek a warrant from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to secretly monitor the communications of an elected official, a declared political candidate, or any of their staff, official advisers or informal advisers, officials must first consider warning that person that foreign governments may be targeting them, and if they choose not to give such a warning, the FBI director must spell out in writing the reasons for not doing so."

** Electioneering on Your Dime. Isaac Arnsdorf of ProPublica: "Millions of Americans who are struggling to put food on the table may discover a new item in government-funded relief packages of fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy and meat: a letter signed by President Donald Trump. The message, printed on White House letterhead in both English and Spanish, touts the administration's response to the coronavirus, including aid provided through the Farmers to Families Food Box Program, a U.S. Department of Agriculture initiative to buy fresh food and ship it to needy families. The letter is reminiscent of Trump's effort to put his signature on stimulus checks and send a signed letter to millions of recipients.... Democratic lawmakers have gone so far as to say the USDA letter violates the federal Hatch Act. The law prohibits government officials from using their positions or taxpayer resources to engage in electioneering. Though the president himself is exempt, the ban applies to White House staff and agencies such as the USDA." --s

Sheera Frenkel & Julian Barnes of the New York Times: "The Russian group that interfered in the 2016 presidential election is at it again, using a network of fake accounts and a website set up to look like a left-wing news site, Facebook and Twitter said on Tuesday. The disinformation campaign by the Kremlin-backed group, known as the Internet Research Agency, is the first public evidence that the agency is trying to repeat its efforts from four years ago and push voters away from the Democratic presidential candidate, Joseph R. Biden Jr., to help President Trump. Intelligence agencies have warned for months that Russia and other countries were actively trying to disrupt the November election.... Now Facebook and Twitter are offering evidence of this meddling, even as the White House in recent weeks has sought to more tightly control the flow of information about foreign threats to November's election and downplay Russian interference. The Trump administration's top intelligence official as recently as Sunday has tried to suggest that China is a graver risk than Moscow." ~~~

~~~ Elizabeth Dwoskin & Craig Timberg of the Washington Post: "Facebook removed a network of fake accounts and pages created by Russian operatives who had recruited U.S. journalists to write articles critical of Democratic nominee Joe Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala D. Harris, in an apparent bid to undermine their support among liberal voters. Facebook said it caught the network of 13 fake accounts and two pages early, before it had a chance to build a large audience -- an action that the company said was evidence of its growing effectiveness at targeting foreign disinformation operations ahead of the 2020 election. The takedown emerged as a result of a tip from the FBI and was one of a dozen operations tied to the Russian Internet Research Agency or individuals affiliated with it.... The pages had about 14,000 followers." An AP story is here.

Hannah Denham of the Washington Post: "How ready is the U.S. Postal Service to process and deliver election mail on time come November? Not ready enough, the agency's watchdog says in a new report. In its audit of election mail processing, the agency's Office of Inspector General listed several potential trouble spots, including ballots mailed without bar codes used for tracking; ballot mailpiece designs that impede processing; election and political mail sent too close to Election Day for the mail service to deliver it on time; postmark requirements for ballots; and outdated voter addresses. 'Resolving these issues will require higher level partnerships and cooperation between the Postal Service and various state officials, including secretaries of state and state election boards,' the office said in a release. 'Timely delivery of Election and Political Mail is necessary to ensure the integrity of the U.S. election process.'... The audit doesn't reflect operational changes implemented by [new Postmaster General Louis] DeJoy. Those measures, plus widely reported mail delays during the summer, have led to questions from lawmakers and others about the GOP donor and his connection to the White House, especially after President Trump said he would block Postal Service funding to impede its ability to process ballots."

Iowa Senate Race. Joni goes Q. Katie Shepherd of the Washington Post: "When a man in the crowd of her Iowa campaign stop told Sen. Joni Ernst (R) on Monday that he believed the number of U.S. coronavirus deaths had been overcounted, Ernst replied that she too was 'so skeptical.' 'These health-care providers and others are reimbursed at a higher rate if covid is tied to it, so what do you think they’re doing?' she said to the crowd outside Waterloo, Iowa, according to a report by the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. Ernst's comments echo conspiracy theories pushed by QAnon followers that have been debunked by doctors and public health experts. According to fact-checking site PolitiFact, public health experts believe the number of coronavirus deaths is probably undercounted, because many of the hardest-hit cities lacked the resources to effectively document every death early in the pandemic." Here's a report from Iowa Starting Line.

Black Lives Matter

Kentucky. After Police Shot Her Dead in Her Own Home, the D.A. Tried to Frame Breonna Taylor. Marty Johnson of the Hill: "The lead attorney representing Breonna Taylor's family says Louisville prosecutors offered Jamarcus Glover -- her ex-boyfriend who is facing multiple drug-related charges -- a plea deal that listed Taylor, who was shot and killed by police in her own home in March, as a co-defendant in the case. Sam Aguiar posted a picture of the purported plea deal on Facebook Monday. '[Jefferson County] Commonwealth Attorney Tom Wine tried to give the Elliott Ave. defendants a plea deal on July 13 which would have identified Breonna Taylor as a "co-defendant" for actions related to the arrests on April 22, 2020,' Aguiar said in the post. '[W]hen was Breonna Taylor ever a co-defendant? And oh by the way, the cops killed her a month and a half before April 22 and four months to the day before the date of this effort to get a plea deal.'... In response to Aguiar's damning Facebook post, Wine released a statement later on Monday, stating that the document 'was a draft that was part of preindictment plea negotiations with Mr. Glover and his attorney.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) A Washington Post story is here.

Wisconsin. Natasha Korecki & Christopher Cadelago of Politico: "With a hand from Trump, the right makes [Kyle] Rittenhouse a cause célèbre. The rush to embrace Kyle Rittenhouse shows how far apart the pro- and anti-Trump sides are -- even when it comes to outright violence.... Online crowdfunding petitions have sprouted, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars in support of Rittenhouse.... During Trump's visit [to Kenosha], his supporters and Black Lives Matter activists clashed in the street along the main government complex near downtown, trading chants of 'All Lives Matter' and 'Black Lives Matter.'... Joe Biden has not spoken in-depth about Rittenhouse, though he said last week he was concerned about armed militias. In a statement Monday after Trump's news conference, Biden criticized the president for refusing to repudiate the Kenosha shootings. 'He is too weak, too scared of the hatred he has stirred to put an end to it,' Biden said. He urged Trump to join him in saying 'violence is wrong, period. No matter who does it, no matter what political affiliation they have. Period.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Seriously, do you feel safer knowing there is a baby-faced 17-year-old vigilante who drove into town to "protect property" by shooting people dead with an AR-15 he was carrying illegally? That kid and his fans terrify me.

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Wednesday are here: "Dr. Scott W. Atlas has argued that the science of mask wearing is uncertain, that children cannot pass on the coronavirus and that the role of the government is not to stamp out the virus but to protect its most vulnerable citizens as Covid-19 takes its course. Ideas like these, both ideologically freighted and scientifically disputed, have propelled Dr. Atlas, a radiologist and senior fellow at Stanford University's conservative Hoover Institution, into President Trump's White House, where he is pushing to reshape the administration's response to the pandemic. Mr. Trump has embraced Dr. Atlas even as he upsets the balance of power within the White House coronavirus task force with ideas that top government doctors and scientists find misguided -- even dangerous -- according to people familiar with the task force's deliberations. That might be the point. 'I think Trump clearly does not like the advice he was receiving from the people who are the experts -- Fauci, Birx, etc. -- so he has slowly shifted from their advice to somebody who tells him what he wants to hear,' said Dr. Carlos del Rio, an infectious disease expert at Emory University."

The Washington Post's live updates of coronavirus developments Tuesday are here: "White House testing czar Brett Giroir on Tuesday tamped down calls from many public health experts for the federal government to approve and fund more cheap antigen tests that can be taken regularly at home. But while in the past Giroir has suggested that kind of widespread coronavirus screening would be unhelpful, he now says it is simply unfeasible. 'I don't live in a utopian world. I live in the real world. And the real world had no test for this new disease when this first started,' Giroir, assistant secretary of health, told reporters on a late-morning conference call." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Cristina Cabrera of TPM: "Dr. Anthony Fauci on Tuesday threw cold water on ... Donald Trump and his allies' attempt to distort the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) data to misleadingly shrink the COVID-19 death toll. During an interview on 'Good Morning America,' Fauci clarified the CDC's recent report that states 6 percent (approximately 9,000) of the 183,500 COVID-19 deaths were attributed to the coronavirus alone. The infectious disease expert pointed out that the figure simply means COVID-19 caused those 9,000 deaths without causing the pneumonia, cardiac arrest, or other complications that killed the other 94 percent of people who contracted the virus. That data 'does not mean that someone who has hypertension or diabetes who dies of COVID didn't die of COVID-19. They did,' Fauci said." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I heard on the teevee where Trump tried to push this 6 percent hoax in his interview with Laura Ingraham, and Ingraham actually fact-checked him & shut down his claim. You know it's bad when a Fox "News" personality corrects Trump's malarkey in real time. Update: Here's the clip:

** Matthew Goldstein of the New York Times: "The Trump administration announced an order on Tuesday to bar evictions for most renters for the rest of the year as the nation grapples with the coronavirus pandemic. The order, put forward by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the action was needed to stop the spread of the virus and to avoid having renters wind up in shelters or other crowded living conditions, compounding the crisis. The moratorium would go further than the eviction ban under the pandemic CARES Act, which covered as many as 12.3 million renters in apartment complexes or single-family homes financed with federally backed mortgages. That provision expired in July, though landlords could not begin eviction proceedings for 30 days. To apply for the new moratorium, tenants will have to attest to a substantial loss of household income, the inability to pay full rent and best efforts to pay partial rent. Tenants must also stipulate that eviction would be likely to leave them homeless or force them to live with others at close quarters. Forms will be available on the C.D.C. website once the order is published in the Federal Register."

Jim Tankersley & Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told lawmakers [House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis.] on Tuesday that the economy was recovering from the pandemic-induced recession but said 'more work' was needed in certain areas, suggesting that the administration may be willing to agree on a stimulus package as large as $1.5 trillion.... The testimony, combined with renewed stimulus discussions among Republican lawmakers, highlighted divisions over how big of an economic package is needed as the pandemic continues to hurt businesses and keeps millions of people out of work. Mr. Mnuchin reiterated his support for at least some version of two of Democrats' top priorities in negotiations: enhanced benefits for the unemployed and additional money for revenue-constrained state and local governments, albeit at lower levels than Democrats support. But Senate Republicans appeared to be coalescing around a scaled-back stimulus plan that they could vote on as soon as next week but will not win Democrat support."

Odd Country Out. Emily Rauhala & Yasmeen Abutaleb of the Washington Post: "The Trump administration said it will not join a global effort to develop, manufacture and equitably distribute a coronavirus vaccine, in part because the World Health Organization is involved, a decision that could shape the course of the pandemic and the country's role in health diplomacy. More than 170 countries are in talks to participate in the Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access (Covax) Facility, which aims to speed vaccine development, secure doses for all countries and distribute them to the most high-risk segment of each population."

Tony Romm & Eric Yoder of the Washington Post: "The U.S. government will implement an across-the-board payroll tax deferral for about 1.3 million federal employees starting in mid-September, forcing some workers to take a temporary financial boost now that they likely will have to repay next year. The policy, confirmed Monday by a senior administration official, comes in response to a widely panned policy directive issued by President Trump earlier in August. Unions have sharply criticized the government's decision, fearing federal workers may not have a choice in whether to take the deferral -- resulting in them receiving smaller paychecks in 2021 until the past-due taxes are paid off." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

They Really Don't Care, Do They? Julia Ainsley & Jacob Soboroff of NBC: "A recent report from the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security has confirmed NBC News reporting that migrant children who had been separated from their parents were left waiting in vans for hours, in some cases overnight, while waiting to be reunited.... The inspector general said 73 migrant children were left waiting between 10 and 41 hours before they were reunited with their parents, who were being held inside the Port Isabel facility. The report attributed the wait times to ICE and the HHS Office of Refugee Settlement having 'fundamentally different understandings about the timing and pace of reunifications.'" --s ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: This is child abuse, pure & simple. Every agent & officer involved should do hard time.

Sarah Ellison & Paul Farhi of the Washington Post: "Since becoming the overseer of Voice of America in June, [Trump appointee] Michael Pack has fired subordinates, disbanded advisory boards and declined to renew the visas of foreign journalists who work under him.... Pack ... has offered a unique justification for his actions: He is rooting out potential spies.... Yet Pack has presented no evidence that anyone at VOA is a foreign intelligence agent. Nor has he explained why VOA and sister agencies such as Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Asia -- media organizations that don't control sensitive government information -- would be an appealing target for penetration by a hostile power. Now, a segment of staffers who had seethed quietly over Pack's attempts to reshape the agencies are in open revolt over his unsupported accusations about 'spies.'... On Monday, 14 senior journalists at VOA sent a letter to acting director Elez Biberaj protesting Pack's actions, which they said harmed the agency's mission and endangered its reporters.... After the letter was first published by NPR, at least a dozen more VOA journalists added their names to it...." The NPR story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Likely millions of Americans are "potential spies," "potential criminals" or "potential screw-ups." You don't fire staff for what you think they are capable of doing at some time in the future if offered compelling incentives. I suspect Pack's real motive is to weed out journalists who write unbiased reports that don't promote Donald Trump or present Trump as he is.

Trump's Shady Backers

Matt Zapotosky, et al., of the Washington Post: "Federal prosecutors are preparing to charge longtime GOP fundraiser Elliott Broidy in connection with efforts to influence the U.S. government on behalf of foreign interests, according to people familiar with the matter, a result of a sprawling, years-long investigation that involved a figure who helped raise millions for Donald Trump's election and the Republican Party. Broidy is under scrutiny for his alleged role in a campaign to persuade high-level Trump administration officials to drop an investigation of Malaysian government corruption, as well as for his attempt to push for the extradition of an outspoken Chinese dissident back to his home country.... In the past few years, the Chinese billionaire [Guo Wengui] has been closely aligned with Stephen K. Bannon, Trump's former campaign chief and top White House strategist. Bannon was on Guo's yacht off the coast of Westbrook, Conn., when he was arrested last month on charges he fleeced donors who supported a group that claimed to be building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border."

Rampant Corruption, Ctd. Jorban Libowitz of CREW: "Charles Rettig, the Trump-appointed IRS Commissioner who has refused to release President Trump's tax returns, has made hundreds of thousands of dollars renting out Trump properties while in office, according to documents obtained by CREW. Last year Rettig said it was his decision whether to turn over Trump's tax returns to Congress, under the supervision of Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.... When he was first nominated, he failed to disclose the properties were in a Trump-branded building. At his confirmation hearing, he did not directly answer concerns about the properties, only saying he would serve in an 'impartial, unbiased' manner." --s

Roger Sollenberger of Salon: "Senior Trump campaign official Jason Miller appears to have been paid about $20,000 a month for work done for a nonprofit co-founded by indicted former Trump strategist Steve Bannon, according to public court filings obtained by Salon. The nonprofit -- now reportedly under investigation in connection with the federal charges against Bannon -- started paying Miller the same month that Bannon's associates learned they were under federal investigation, court documents and public reports show. The Trump campaign has not disclosed any payments to Miller since news of his hiring broke in June -- nor has the campaign disclosed any salary payments to campaign manager Bill Stepien, according to mandatory federal filings. Publicly available court documents obtained by Salon together with Federal Election Commission (FEC) records suggest that the campaign is paying Miller $35,000 a month, apparently through non-public indirect transactions."

Even Melanie Is a Flagrant Scofflaw. Jada Yuan of the Washington Post: "Melania Trump regularly used a private Trump Organization email account, an email from a MelaniaTrump.com domain, iMessage and the encrypted messaging app, Signal, while in the White House, according to her former senior adviser and close friend Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, who says she corresponded multiple times a day with the first lady. 'Melania and I both didn't use White House emails,' says Winston Wolkoff, in an interview with The Washington Post, upon the publication of her tell-al memoir, 'Melania and Me...'. The Post has viewed messages dated after the inauguration that appear to be from private email and messaging accounts used by Melania Trump. The messages contained discussions of government hires and contracts (including Winston Wolkoff's), detailed schedules for the president and first lady during the Israeli and Japanese state visits, strategic partnerships for the first lady's Be Best initiative, the logistics of the Easter egg roll, and finances for the presidential inauguration, key parts of which Winston Wolkoff ... planned.... A first lady is not a government employee, said Richard Painter, who was the chief White House ethics lawyer for George W. Bush from 2005 to 2007, but 'if she is doing United States government business, she should be using the White House email.'"

News Lede

ESPN: "Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver, who led the New York Mets to an improbable World Series victory in 1969, has died at age 75. The Baseball Hall of Fame announced that Seaver died Monday from complications of Lewy body dementia and COVID-19." The New York Times' obituary of Tom Seaver is here.

The Commentariat -- September 1, 2020

Afternoon Update:

The Washington Post's live updates of coronavirus developments Tuesday are here: "White House testing czar Brett Giroir on Tuesday tamped down calls from many public health experts for the federal government to approve and fund more cheap antigen tests that can be taken regularly at home. But while in the past Giroir has suggested that kind of widespread coronavirus screening would be unhelpful, he now says it is simply unfeasible. 'I don't live in a utopian world. I live in the real world. And the real world had no test for this new disease when this first started,' Giroir, assistant secretary of health, told reporters on a late-morning conference call."

After Police Shot Her Dead in Her Own Home, the D.A. Tried to Frame Breonna Taylor. Marty Johnson of the Hill: "The lead attorney representing Breonna Taylor's family says Louisville prosecutors offered Jamarcus Glover -- her ex-boyfriend who is facing multiple drug-related charges -- a plea deal that listed Taylor, who was shot and killed by police in her own home in March, as a co-defendant in the case. Sam Aguiar posted a picture of the purported plea deal on Facebook Monday. '[Jefferson County] Commonwealth Attorney Tom Wine tried to give the Elliott Ave. defendants a plea deal on July 13 which would have identified Breonna Taylor as a "co-defendant" for actions related to the arrests on April 22, 2020,' Aguiar said in the post. '[W]hen was Breonna Taylor ever a co-defendant? And oh by the way, the cops killed her a month and a half before April 22 and four months to the day before the date of this effort to get a plea deal.'... In response to Aguiar's damning Facebook post, Wine released a statement later on Monday, stating that the document 'was a draft that was part of preindictment plea negotiations with Mr. Glover and his attorney.'"

(1) What Is Trump Hiding? Mrs. McCrabbie: I was just thinking reporters ought to get to the bottom of the real reason Trump rushed to Walter Reed last November, then lied about it (story linked below), when -- without prompting -- Trump himself provided a clue! ~~~

~~~ Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Trump on Tuesday denied that he made an emergency visit to the hospital last year after suffering 'a series of mini-strokes' after a new book claimed that Vice President Pence was on standby in the event Trump was incapacitated. The president's denial raised eyebrows, as the book from New York Times correspondent Michael Schmidt did not specifically state that Trump had suffered from a series of small strokes. 'It never ends! Now they are trying to say that your favorite President, me, went to Walter Reed Medical Center, having suffered a series of mini-strokes. Never happened to THIS candidate -- FAKE NEWS,' Trump tweeted, before insinuating that ... Joe Biden may have dealt with health issues." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I hope some pro-Biden group -- not the Biden campaign itself -- will start hounding Trump about his secretive hospital visit. It is a matter of public interest as to why a president* is rushed to the hospital & the veep is called to stand by. Voters deserve to have a full & truthful answer (not gonna happen, I know).

(2) What Is Trump Hiding? Benjamin Weiser & William Rashbaum of the New York Times: "President Trump on Tuesday won another delay in the long-running legal battle over whether he must turn over eight years of tax returns to the Manhattan district attorney's office, which subpoenaed them a year ago in a criminal investigation focused on Mr. Trump, his business and his associates. In a brief order, a federal appeals court in New York said it would temporarily block a grand jury subpoena issued by the district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., a Democrat, while it considers Mr. Trump's arguments that the request was 'wildly overbroad' and politically motivated. The ruling is the latest development in the president's aggressive effort to keep his tax returns and other financial records out of the hands of prosecutors, Congress and others -- a dispute that has reached the United States Supreme Court once and is almost certain to end up there again." A Hill story is here.

Mrs. McCrabbie: Remember back in June when we thought those Western militia were idiots for believing in crazy conspiracy theories about impending Antifa invasions? Well, guess what? Donald Trump is one of the idiotic conspiracy theorists. ~~~

~~~ Ben Collins of NBC News: "The conspiracy theory that ... Donald Trump pushed Monday that a plane 'almost completely loaded with thugs' had been set to disrupt the Republican National Convention was almost identical to a rumor that went viral on Facebook three months ago.... He ... claimed the matter was 'under investigation right now.' There is no evidence of any such flight.... [A] version of the rumor picked up enough steam in Idaho Facebook groups [in June] that the Payette County Sheriff's Office had to release a statement insisting that the viral rumor was 'false information.'... One of the most viral rumors on an Antifa invasion into the suburbs was taken down after Twitter said it was created by a troll account with ties to white nationalists. Some armed Americans took to town squares in several towns to fight off fictitious busloads of Antifa in June, spurred by false rumors on Facebook pages. Seven days after the original Idaho rumor went viral on Facebook, armed men stood guard over protests in Missoula, Montana, worried about the planeloads of Antifa supporters."

Tony Romm & Eric Yoder of the Washington Post: "The U.S. government will implement an across-the-board payroll tax deferral for about 1.3 million federal employees starting in mid-September, forcing some workers to take a temporary financial boost now that they likely will have to repay next year. The policy, confirmed Monday by a senior administration official, comes in response to a widely panned policy directive issued by President Trump earlier in August. Unions have sharply criticized the government's decision, fearing federal workers may not have a choice in whether to take the deferral -- resulting in them receiving smaller paychecks in 2021 until the past-due taxes are paid off."

~~~~~~~~~~

Massachusetts Democratic Primary Races Today. Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "The Democratic race between Representative Joseph P. Kennedy III and Senator Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts was perhaps the marquee Senate primary of the year, as the young scion of one of the country's most storied political families challenged a 43-year fixture of Congress. But it was not the only closely watched primary election that will unfold on Tuesday in Massachusetts.... Here's what we're watching for, from the Senate battle on down the ballot."

Presidential Race

Biden Delivers Major Speech Rebutting Trump. Matt Viser & Ashley Parker of the Washington Post: "Joe Biden excoriated President Trump on Monday as a threat to the safety of all Americans, saying he has encouraged violence in the nation's streets even as he has faltered in handling the coronavirus pandemic. For his most extensive remarks since violent protests have escalated across the country in recent days, Biden traveled to Pittsburgh and struck a centrist note, condemning both the destruction in the streets and Trump for creating a culture that he said has exacerbated it.... He called the president a danger to those suffering from the coronavirus, to anyone in search of a job or struggling to pay rent, to voters worried about Russian interference in the upcoming election and to those worried about their own safety amid unrest." (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times report, by Katie Glueck, is here. ~~~

No candidate for president has ever attacked a sitting president* the way Joe Biden did today. -- Lawrence O'Donnell, on MSNBC Monday ~~~

~~~ Caitlin Oprysko of Politico: "Former Vice President Joe Biden on Monday squarely blamed Donald Trump for the violence that has accompanied mass protests for racial justice this summer, accusing the president of 'long ago' forfeiting 'any moral leadership in this country.' In remarks in Pittsburgh..., [Biden] portrayed Trump as having lost control of a country rocked by a series of converging crises and being guilty 'for years' of fomenting racial tensions that have led to clashes and episodes of violence, which he also denounced. 'Ask yourself: Do I look like a radical socialist with a soft spot for rioters? Really?' Biden said. 'I want a safe America, safe from Covid, safe from crime and looting, safe from racially motivated violence, safe from bad cops. And let me be crystal clear: safe from four more years of Donald Trump.'" Here's a slightly condensed video: (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

See also Donald Trump's defense of the alleged Kenosha vigilante killer under Black Lives Matter, linked below.

Leo Shane III of the Military Times: "The latest Military Times poll shows a continued decline in active-duty service members' views of President Donald Trump and a slight but significant preference for former Vice President Joe Biden in the upcoming November election among troops surveyed.... In the latest results -- based on 1,018 active-duty troops surveyed in late July and early August -- nearly half of respondents (49.9 percent) had an unfavorable view of the president, compared to about 38 percent who had a favorable view.... Among all survey participants, 42 percent said they 'strongly' disapprove of Trump's time in office." --s

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Monday are here: "Americans began their Sunday with the news that the staggering pandemic death toll, seemingly beyond dispute, was being questioned by their own president, and ended it as the country reached more than six million confirmed infections. Almost 183,000 people have died in the United States from the virus -- some analyses put the true toll well past 200,000 -- but President Trump lent his embrace to fringe groups peddling claims that the number is grossly exaggerated." (Also linked yesterday.)

Yasmeen Abutaleb & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "One of President Trump's top medical advisers [-- Scott Atlas of the right-wing Hoover Institution --] is urging the White House to embrace a controversial 'herd immunity' strategy to combat the pandemic, which would entail allowing the coronavirus to spread through most of the population to quickly build resistance to the virus, while taking steps to protect those in nursing homes and other vulnerable populations, according to five people familiar with the discussions. The administration has already begun to implement some policies along these lines, according to current and former officials as well as experts, particularly with regard to testing.... [Atlas] He has advocated that the United States adopt the model Sweden has used.... Sweden ... has among the highest infection and death rates in the world. It also hasn't escaped the deep economic problems resulting from the pandemic.... [The discussion] is drawing concern from experts inside and outside the government who note that a herd immunity strategy could lead to the country suffering hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of lost lives.... In the United States, with a population of 328 million, reaching a 65 percent threshold for herd immunity may require 2.13 million deaths, assuming the virus has a 1 percent fatality rate, according to an analysis by The Post." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Philip Bump of the Washington Post: After the GOP convention, CNN's Jim Acosta "asked a White House official why there was apparently no effort to implement social distancing measures for the audience at the speech. The official's response? 'Everybody is going to catch this thing eventually,' the official reportedly said. It's a staggering comment.... Everyone won't catch the novel coronavirus eventually, ideally; the point of developing a vaccine is to keep that from happening. What's more, even if there were no vaccine, there's a big difference between people catching it now and catching it in a year or two when there might be better therapeutic treatments or potentially a cure.... Trump understood the risks of letting the virus spread without containment back in April, when he was defending the administration's decision to endorse a shutdown of economic activity.... Trump said of Sweden's strategy, '... if we did follow that approach, I think we might have 2 million people dead.'" But now the tens of thousands of Covid-19 deaths are hurting him politically, so he wants to curb testing to bring the number of known cases down, at the same time greatly increasing the number of people who get sick or die from the virus. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Like, Say, Zombie Tweeter Herman Cain, a Covid Victim Who Has Returned from the Dead to Back the Trump Theory. Ed Mazza of the Huffington Post: "The Twitter account formerly used by the late Herman Cain fired off a head-scratching message on Sunday, insisting that the coronavirus 'isn't as deadly' as once thought. Cain died in July at the age of 74 after being hospitalized for more than a month with the COVID-19 infection. His Twitter account ― now run by his family and social media managers ― tweeted: 'It looks like the virus is not as deadly as the mainstream media first made it out to be.' Given Cain's own cause of death, the tweet ― which was eventually deleted ― drew a rather stunned response from critics on social media[.]" Mrs. McC: Remember that Cain contracted the virus after attending a Trump rally where he (1) didn't wear a mask and (2) sat packed in with other Trumpophiles. Maybe Trump will use Cain's tweet from the grave as a testimonial to his strategy. (Also linked yesterday.)

William Davis of the New York Times: "Forty states are now signed up to provide their residents with an extra $300 or $400 in unemployment, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The benefit was originally envisioned by President Trump as an extra $400 to unemployed workers, with the federal government providing $300 and the states providing $100. But states balked at the additional cost.... Most states won't be able to start paying the benefit until mid-September or even October. And the payments are expected to last only four or five weeks." This report is an item in the Times' business live updates. A more extensive NYT report is here.

Black Lives Matter

This. Is. Not. Normal. Matthew Choi of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Monday portrayed the gunman charged with murdering two protesters in Kenosha, Wis., as a victim, suggesting that the Illinois teenager was acting in self-defense.... The criminal complaint [against alleged killer Kyle Rittenhouse] said he killed a man, Joseph Rosenbaum, after Rosenbaum threw a plastic bag at Rittenhouse and tried to grab his gun. A group of protesters chased after Rittenhouse, yelling that he had shot someone. But speaking at a White House news conference on Monday, Trump suggested that the protesters were the instigators, out to get Rittenhouse, and that he was acting in self-defense. 'That was an interesting situation,' the president said. 'He was trying to get away from them, I guess it looks like, and he fell and then they very violently attacked him, and it was something that we are looking at right now and it's under investigation. But I guess he was in very big trouble. He probably would've been killed. It's under investigation.'... Trump's opting to give the benefit of the doubt to Rittenhouse comes in stark contrast to his condemnation of protesters against police violence who have demonstrated in cities across the country.... Addressing a CNN reporter, the president said those responsible for [the Portland, Oregon,] shooting were 'your supporters.'" ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Generally speaking, prominent public officials don't comment on active cases that have not been tried as their comments could influence a jury pool. Specifically, public officials, particularly a POTUS*, do not exonerate murder suspects. This is extraordinary. The conceit that Trump is a "law and order" president* -- which was never remotely believable -- just died in a last gasp of stunning commentary. ~~~

~~~ Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: During his news briefing Monday, "Trump found little fault with ... [his] supporters who converged on Portland, Ore., and apparently fired paintball guns and pepper spray at protesters... '... that was a peaceful protest,' he said. 'And paint is not -- and paint as a defensive mechanism, paint is not bullets. ... These people, they protested peacefully. They went in very peacefully.' Trump then pointed to a man who identifies as an anti-fascist and who is under investigation in the killing of a right-wing demonstrator after a Trump rally in Portland. Trump said the man 'shot a young gentleman and killed him.... And I think it's disgraceful.' The president offered no such condemnation, though, when it was noted that one of his supporters, [Kyle] Rittenhouse, has been charged with killing ... in Kenosha. Trump indicated he thought Rittenhouse's actions might have been warranted.... It's evident to whom Trump gives the benefit of the doubt, from Charlottesville through today. And in the course of a couple of minutes Monday night, that benefit of the doubt applied to a supporter who has been charged with a crime -- in a way it very much didn't apply to another person who hasn't." ~~~

~~~ AND. This. Is. Not. Normal. Rather, It's Really Weird. Katie Shepherd of the Washington Post: "... President Trump on Monday night claimed in a Fox News interview that 'people that are in the dark shadows' are 'controlling the streets' and manipulating his Democratic opponent Joe Biden to sow chaos. When host Laura Ingraham suggested the claim 'sounds like conspiracy theory,' Trump doubled down, launching into a tale of a plane that allegedly flew from an unnamed city to Washington, D.C., this weekend loaded with 'thugs wearing these dark uniforms, black uniforms, with gear.'... The president declined to elaborate to Ingraham, saying the case was 'under investigation,' and the White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment late on Monday.... Debunked rumors of a plane filled with black-clad rabble-rousers setting out to harass right-leaning towns and suburbs have appeared on social media in the past. This weekend, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) similarly suggested on Fox News that the protesters who surrounded and heckled him as he left the Republican National Convention last week had been paid to come to D.C. as part of alleged 'interstate criminal traffic being paid for across state lines.'" Thanks to Ken W. for the link. ~~~

~~~ AND. This. Is. Not. Normal. Trump Plays Whack-a-Black. Reed Richardson of Mediaite: "Fox News" Laura Ingraham quickly jumped in during her interview with ... Donald Trump in an attempt to head off a highly inappropriate analogy, where he compared police officers who 'choke' by shooting Jacob Blake in the back or kneeling on George Floyd's neck until he dies to missing a three-foot golf putt. During the Fox host's hour-long interview, Ingraham ... framed her question around the dangers that police face.... 'It's more dangerous to be a police officer today, do you not think than it has been a long time?' Ingraham said. 'The police are under siege,' Trump then claimed. 'They can do 10,000 great acts, which is what they do, and one bad apple or a choker -- a joker -- they choke.' 'You mean, they, they panic,' Ingraham helpfully clarified. 'Shooting the guy in the back many times. I mean, "Couldn't you have done >something different? Couldn't you have wrestled him?'" Trump then said, alluding to Blake.... 'You know, I mean, in the meantime, he might've been going for a weapon.... But they choke, just like in a golf tournament, they miss a 3-foot putt...' 'You're not comparing it to golf,' Ingraham quickly jumped in, as Trump actually did compare police shootings and killings to missing a gimme putt. 'Because of course that's what the media would say ... people make, people panic,' she then added, steering Trump away from the golf analogy while nodding her head. I'm saying people choke,' Trump insisted, without disavowing his comparison." Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. Also see his commentary below.

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Ingraham is right. The media are going to call Trump out for suggesting the use of lethal force against black men is like missing a three-foot putt. In fairness to Trump, a highly-offensive golf analogy is the only way he can relate & excuse inexcusable deadly force against Americans. To Trump, Black people are objects, like golf balls you're trying to control and "putt in their place." ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE. Courtney Subramanian & David Jackson of USA Today: "... Donald Trump is not planning to meet with the family of Jacob Blake, a Black man who was shot multiple times in the back by a police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin, when he travels there Tuesday, the White House said. The president told reporters at a press conference Monday evening that he was not planning to meet with the family because they wanted to involve lawyers. 'I thought it would be better not to do anything where there are lawyers involved,' Mr Trump said. "... I thought that was inappropriate so I didn't do that.'... Blake's father and family's attorney, Benjamin Crump, confirmed to CNN that the family wanted their legal team involved in the call with the president. Crump also said he sat in on the call when the Blake family spoke to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.... [White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said,] 'We are efforting outreach, have not been able to connect yet. So tomorrow the plan is so far to go and to meet with law enforcement and to look at the damage from the riots, but we are holding his family close to our hearts.'..." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Funny how Biden & Harris aren't afraid of lawyers and the (alleged) criminal Trump is. The second-most egregious bit in this story is MacInaney's awkward attempt to turn the noun "effort" into a verb. "Efforting outreach?" Please.

Mitchell Schmidt of the Kenosha News: "Gov. Tony Evers (D) on Sunday sent a letter to ... Donald Trump asking the president to reconsider his plan to visit Kenosha on Tuesday. A spokesman for Trump said the president plans to meet with local law enforcement and survey damage from recent demonstrations.... 'It is our job as elected officials to lead by example and to be a calming presence for the people we know are hurting, mourning, and trying to cope with trauma,' Evers said in the letter. 'Now is not the time for divisiveness. Now is not the time for elected officials to ignore armed militants and out-of-state instigators who want to contribute to our anguish.' Evers also raised concern that an in-person visit from the president would require a large-scale redirection of resources to support the visit."

Peter Baker & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "President Trump has been throwing accelerant on the fire of the nation's social unrest rather than trying to put it out, seeking confrontation rather than calm at a volatile moment his advisers hope will help salvage his campaign for a second term. Other presidents in times of tumult tried to settle down communities convulsed by racial and cultural divisions, but Mr. Trump has encouraged one side against another. He has threatened to deploy federal forces, condoned freelance actions by his own armed supporters, conflated peaceful protesters with violent rioters and used the strife to undercut his political opponents.... The strategy is consistent with the president's lifetime of provocation. From his time as a celebrity real estate developer, Mr. Trump has never been a conciliator, and he has long gravitated toward conflict and sought to escalate it. As president, he often plays to and amplifies racial divisions in the country."

Annals of Journalism, Ctd. Marc Tracy of the New York Times: "A journalist resigned on Saturday from his job at The Kenosha News after objecting to the headline of an article that chronicled a rally in support of Jacob Blake, a Black man who was shot seven times in the back by a white Kenosha police officer. The journalist, Daniel J. Thompson, a digital editor who said he was the only full-time Black staff member at the paper..., said the headline did not accurately sum up the article and gave a false impression of the rally itself, which he attended. The rally for Mr. Blake ... included calls for unity from his father, Jacob Blake Sr., and Wisconsin's lieutenant governor, Mandela Barnes, the article said. The headline, which appeared on the Kenosha News website on Saturday, highlighted a remark from one rally participant: '... If you kill one of us, it's time for us to kill one of yours.' The online version of the article included a 59-second video showing the person who spoke those words, a Black man who was not identified by name. Mr. Thompson ... said he found the headline off-base. 'The story is about the entire reaction of all the speakers and people in attendance, and that quote is one outlier falling within a flood of positive ones.'..." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Apparently the Kenosha News headline writer & the story's editor follow the local teevee news dictum, "If it bleeds, it leads."

Portland, Oregon. Guardian: "Portland police declared a protest in the north-eastern part of the Oregon city an 'unlawful gathering' late on Sunday, ordering crowds to disperse or risk arrest.... Twenty-nine arrests were made, police said, adding that two of those held had handguns, others had knives and at least one had an expandable baton. Many in the group of protesters wore helmets, gas masks, goggles and armour. Police said some carried shields and reflective squares used to reflect police lights back at officers. Some threw rocks, eggs, and other items at officers and police vehicles."

"Sometimes You Have to Use Violence to Preserve Order." Will Sommer of the Daily Beast: “A Portland activist who had traveled to Washington, D.C., to protest the Republican convention says he was punched in the head by one of ... Donald Trump's most ardent evangelical Christian allies. Video of the attack appears to support his claim.... Footage ... shows anti-Trump protester Anthony Harrington biking past a group of Trump supporters [leaving the RNC convention], yelling 'Fuck Trump, fuck you!' As Harrington passed by, a man Harrington identified to The Daily Beast as [pro-Trump talk radio host Eric] Metaxas punched him in the side or back of the head.... Even his allies believe he threw the punch, supporting Metaxas by name while defending his action on grounds that Harrington 'had it coming.' 'Sometimes you have to use violence to preserve order,' Christian writer and Metaxas' friend Rod Dreher wrote in a blog post."

Keith Griffith of The Daily Mail (U.K.) (Aug. 28): "A high-ranking U.S. intelligence official who died in June killed himself in his own front yard in front of his terrified new wife, it has been revealed. Anthony Ming Schinella, 52, died on June 14 in Arlington, Virginia, but his death had not been widely reported until this week, when The Intercept revealed a medical examiner's report listed his cause of death as suicide from a gunshot wound to the head...[A] large collection of bondage and S&M gear ... had been hidden in his house.... Schinella was the highest-ranking military affairs analyst in the U.S. intelligence community, and was also a member of the powerful National Intelligence Council. He was an expert on the Taliban's military capabilities, and his death came shortly before the New York Times reported on June 26 that Russia paid bounties to the Taliban to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan. Following the report, the NIC drafted a memo, which quickly leaked, claiming that the intelligence about the bounties was inconclusive. The memo did not mention that the NIC's top analyst on military affairs and Taliban expert had killed himself days earlier." --s ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Both the Daily Mail & Intercept stories contain quite a bit of innuendo, and maybe where there's smoke, there's fire. But both stories also include elements that suggest Schinella may have killed himself for personal reasons having nothing to do with his job. From the Intercept: "His wife, who had just married him weeks earlier, told The Intercept that she was in her car in the driveway, trying to get away from Schinella when she witnessed his suicide.... After his death, Schinella's wife discovered a large collection of bondage and S&M gear that had been hidden in his house, along with 24 guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition."

Aiden Pink of the Forward: "More than half of all American states have passed laws designed to combat the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel. No advocacy group was more important to this push than the Israel Allies Foundation, an American non-profit that supports a network of pro-Israel legislators across the globe.... Now the group is backing another bill ... which would change civil-rights codes to define antisemitism to include anti-Zionism. Public records obtained by The Forward show that the Israeli government approved a grant of more than $100,000 to the Israel Allies Foundation in 2019. The IAF has not disclosed this or any previous Israeli grants to the United States government.... [IAF] is one of 11 American groups that received Israeli government funds, according to the documents.... [D]ocuments ... suggest that some ... trips [to Israel] included instructions for pro-Israel advocacy back home -- in statehouses and on college campuses -- which legal experts say may expose not just the recipient groups but also anyone who went on their trips to fines and even prosecution for violating disclosure rules." --s

Mueller Investigation

Harper Neidig of the Hill: "A federal appeals court rejected Michael Flynn's effort to force a judge to immediately dismiss the charges against him, overturning an earlier decision that would have allowed the Department of Justice to drop its case against the former national security adviser. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 8-2 against Flynn's petition for it to step in and force a district judge to grant the Justice Department's motion to drop charges without holding a hearing on the issue." This is a developing story. ~~~

~~~ Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "A Federal District Court judge may go forward with his plans to scrutinize the Justice Department's request to drop the prosecution of President Trump's former national security adviser Michael T. Flynn, a full appeals court ruled on Monday. A three-judge panel on the court had earlier ordered the judge to end the case immediately. Separately, a panel on that same court ruled for a second time that the House cannot sue Donald F. McGahn II, the president's former White House counsel, for defying a subpoena. The full court already reversed one such ruling by that same panel on different grounds, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House would 'immediately' ask the full body for another do-over." ~~~

~~~ Jan Wolfe of Reuters: "A U.S. appeals court on Monday ordered the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by a Democratic-led House of Representatives panel seeking to enforce a subpoena issued to former White House Counsel Donald McGahn. The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which will likely be appealed, marked a victory for the Trump administration in its effort to block congressional investigations into the president. In a 2-1 decision, a three-judge panel said the House Judiciary Committee's lawsuit had to be dismissed because Congress had never passed a law authorizing such litigation."

Suspicious White House Statement Turns Out to Be the Lie You Thought It Was. Paul LeBlanc of CNN: "Vice President Mike Pence was put on standby to temporarily assume the powers of the presidency during ... Donald Trump's unannounced visit to Walter Reed hospital in November 2019, according to a copy of New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt's forthcoming book obtained by CNN. Trump had undergone a 'quick exam and labs' as part of his annual physical out of anticipation of a 'very busy 2020,' the White House had said of the trip at the time. Schmidt writes, however, that he learned 'in the hours leading up to Trump's trip to the hospital, word went out in the West Wing for the vice president to be on standby to take over the powers of the presidency temporarily if Trump had to undergo a procedure that would have required him to be anesthetized.'... The visit did not follow the protocol of a routine presidential medical exam, a person familiar with the matter told CNN at the time." Mrs. McC: Also, the White House doctor accompanied Trump to Walter Reed. It sounds as if Trump had symptoms of some illness that could require surgery or painful probes. A normal presidential physical does not involve an unscheduled rush to the hospital nor does it feature procedures requiring anesthesia & a sudden call to the veep that he might have to be President for a Day. ~~~

~~~ Mike Allen of Axios: "One of the crazy nuggets in a deeply reported book by the N.Y. Times' Michael Schmidt -- 'Donald Trump v. the United States,' out tomorrow -- is that President Trump mulled the idea of 'settling' with special counsel Robert Mueller.... 'At one point, as the investigation seemed to be intensifying,' Schmidt writes, Trump told White House counsel Don McGahn 'that there was nothing to worry about because if it was zeroing in on him, he would simply settle with Mueller. He would settle the case, as if he were negotiating terms in a lawsuit.'" Mrs. McC: I wonder what "settlement" Trump had in mind. A $500 fine? A promise not to speak to Roger Stone for six months? (Also linked yesterday.)

Scott Stedman, et al. of Forensic News (Jan. 21): "A Russian government-controlled bank deposited at least half a billion dollars into the American subsidiary of Deutsche Bank around the time that the bank lent Trump his most scrutinized loans, according to exclusively obtained confidential bank records. As Trump received loans from the subsidiary, DBTCA, totaling over $360 million, Gazprombank sent $511 million in cash to DBTCA to be dispersed however the Russian bank directed. Additionally, DBTCA had deep liabilities to the Russian government in 2013, according to the documents acquired by Forensic News. The documents show that financial entities in Russia were owed nearly $3 billion by the subsidiary in October 2013." --safari: A reminder that this was never investigated by the FBI. Thanks, Rod.

Mrs. Betty Bowers, America's Best Christian, Picks the Fake Christian of the Week:

Way Beyond the Beltway

Australia. Anthony Galloway of The Sydney Morning Herald: "Australian security agencies are on alert for extremists who could have been inspired by the Christchurch mosque killer and other massacres overseas, as small far-right cells across the country are becoming more organised and sophisticated than ever before. The concern is being heightened by extreme right-wing groups increasingly attracting people from a military background who know how to use weapons, as well as a younger membership who aren't displaying obvious signs of their extremism - making them harder to detect.... The problem is being fuelled by online forums allowing people on the far-right to make quick and easy connections with like-minded individuals around the world, which ASIO believes has created a toxic peer environment in which acts of violence based on extreme right-wing ideologies are 'encouraged, glorified and promoted'." --s

Rwanda. Abdi Dahir of the New York Times: "Paul Rusesabagina, whose bravery in saving more than 1,200 fellow Rwandans from genocide inspired the film 'Hotel Rwanda,' has been arrested by the authorities in Rwanda who are holding him there on charges that include terrorism, arson and murder. During the Rwandan genocide in 1994, Mr. Rusesabagina, a Hutu who was working as a manager at a hotel in the capital, Kigali, helped shelter people fleeing the violence that eventually killed as many as one million ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus. But in recent years, Mr. Rusesabagina, 66, has become an opponent of the government of Rwanda's long-serving president, Paul Kagame, who has kept the country politically and economically stable but is accused by human rights groups of brutally silencing his critics. Mr. Kagame's government has alleged for years that Mr. Rusesabagina is supporting Rwandan rebels attacking the country from abroad."