The Commentariat -- May 11, 2020

Afternoon Update:

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

Illinois. Tina Sfondeles of the Chicago Sun-Times: "A member of Gov J.B. Pritzker's senior staff has tested positive for COVID-19 and all staffers -- including the governor -- will now work from home for an 'appropriate isolation period,' the governor's office said Monday. The staff member was asymptomatic and tested positive late last week. That staffer was also in close contact with Pritzker and other staff members, the governor's office said. All staffers were tested last week. The Democratic governor and all other senior staffers have tested negative, and Pritzker was tested once again early Sunday and tested negative, his office said."

** Jonathan Kravis is a Washington Post op-ed: "Three months ago, I resigned from the Justice Department after 10 years as a career prosecutor. I left a job I loved because I believed the department had abandoned its responsibility to do justice in one of my cases, United States v. Roger Stone.... Last week, the department again put political patronage ahead of its commitment to the rule of law, filing a motion to dismiss the case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn -- notwithstanding Flynn's sworn guilty plea and a ruling by the court that the plea was sound.... In both cases, the department undercut the work of career employees to protect an ally of the president [right after the president* complained about the prosecutors].... Indeed, the department chose to assign these matters to a special counsel precisely to avoid the appearance of political influence. For the attorney general now to directly intervene to benefit the president's associates makes this betrayal of the rule of law even more egregious.... Department lawyers are ethically bound to protect the confidences of their client. Barr's decision to excuse himself from these obligations and attack his own silenced employees is alarming. It sends an unmistakable message to prosecutors and agents -- if the president demands, we will throw you under the bus." ~~~

~~~ ** DOJ Alumni Statement: "... Attorney General Barr has once again assaulted the rule of law, this time in the case of President Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn.... The Department's purported justification for [dismissing the case] does not hold up to scrutiny, given the ample evidence that the investigation was well-founded and -- more importantly -- the fact that Flynn admitted under oath and in open court that he told material lies to the FBI in violation of longstanding federal law.... We thus unequivocally support the decision of the career prosecutor who withdrew from the Flynn case, just as we supported the prosecutors who withdrew from the Stone case. They are upholding the oath that we all took.... We urge Judge Sullivan to closely examine the Department's stated rationale for dismissing the charges -- including holding an evidentiary hearing with witnesses -- and to deny the motion and proceed with sentencing if appropriate." Nearly 2,000 former DOJ attorneys have signed the statement. ~~~

     ~~~ Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "The letter, organized by the nonprofit group Protect Democracy, was signed by Justice Department staffers serving in Republican and Democratic administrations dating back to President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The vast majority were former career staffers == rather than political appointees -- who worked as federal prosecutors or supervisor at U.S. Attorney's Offices across the country or the Justice Department in downtown Washington."

Matt Flegenheimer of the New York Times looks back on "Joe Biden's time in Sarah Palin's shadow."

Farnaz Fassihi of the New York Times: "For the second time this year, Iran appears to have fired a missile at the wrong target with deadly consequences, fueling public disillusionment with the government and undermining faith in its military. On Sunday, a missile from an Iranian Navy frigate struck another Iranian naval vessel during a military exercise in the Sea of Oman, killing at least 19 sailors, the navy said. In January, Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps shot down a Ukrainian Airlines passenger plane with two missiles, killing the 176 passengers and crew onboard. Iran blamed the shooting on human error. Official details of the accident were scant on Monday. It was not immediately clear whether it was the result of human error or faulty equipment."

~~~~~~~~~~

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

Joe Biden in a Washington Post op-ed: "... instead of unifying the country to accelerate our public health response and get economic relief to those who need it, President Trump is reverting to a familiar strategy of deflecting blame and dividing Americans. His goal is as obvious as it is craven: He hopes to split the country into dueling camps, casting Democrats as doomsayers hoping to keep America grounded and Republicans as freedom fighters trying to liberate the economy. It's a childish tactic -- and a false choice that none of us should fall for.... Governors from both parties are doing their best to make [re-open America], but their efforts have been slowed and hampered because they haven't gotten the tools, resources and guidance they need from the federal government to reopen safely and sustainably. That responsibility falls on Trump's shoulders -- but he isn't up to the task.... Governors from both parties are doing their best to make that happen, but their efforts have been slowed and hampered because they haven't gotten the tools, resources and guidance they need from the federal government to reopen safely and sustainably. That responsibility falls on Trump's shoulders -- but he isn't up to the task."

Michael Shear & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "The Trump administration is racing to contain an outbreak of the coronavirus inside the White House, as some senior officials believe that the disease is already spreading rapidly through the warren of cramped offices that make up the three floors of the West Wing. Three top officials leading the government's coronavirus response have begun two weeks of self-quarantine after two members of the White House staff -- one of President Trump's personal valets and Katie Miller, the spokeswoman for Vice President Mike Pence -- tested positive. But others who came into contact with Ms. Miller and the valet are continuing to report to work at the White House. 'It is scary to go to work' Kevin Hassett, a top economic adviser to the president, said on CBS's 'Face the Nation' program on Sunday. Mr. Hassett said..., 'I think that I'd be a lot safer if I was sitting at home than I would be going to the West Wing.' He added: 'It's a small, crowded place....'... Late Sunday, the White House put out a statement saying that Mr. Pence would not alter his routine or self-quarantine.... Mr. Trump continues to reject guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to wear a mask when meeting with groups of people. But a senior administration official said the president was spooked that his valet, who is among those who serve him food, had not been wearing a mask. And he was annoyed to learn that Ms. Miller tested positive and has been growing irritated with people who get too close to him, the official said." ~~~

     ~~~ CNN has a related story on pence's refusal to self-quarantine here. Newsweek has a related story on Kevin Hassett's "scary" remarks here. ~~~

~~~ ** Robert Mackey of the Intercept: Here's what mike pence did shortly after learning his press secretary Katie Miller had tested positive for the coronavirus. "... a live video stream of the second event Pence attended on Friday, a roundtable discussion with food industry leaders in Des Moines, showed that all five of the invited guests arrived wearing masks but were asked to remove them shortly before the vice president joined them on stage. Two of those executives, Ken Sullivan of Smithfield Foods and Noel White of Tyson Foods, run meatpacking plants where hundreds of workers have contracted Covid-19, including a Tyson plant in Waterloo, Iowa where more than a third of the workforce -- 1,031 people -- has tested positive and at least three workers have died. The Tyson plant in Waterloo was reopened on Thursday following an executive order from ... Donald Trump.... Although the vice president appeared to follow social distancing guidelines during the discussion, he did not wear a mask, nor did any of the officials who accompanied him on Air Force Two from Washington[.]... Video of the earlier event attended by the vice president, a meeting with Iowa faith leaders to discuss the planned reopening of places of worship, showed that just one participant, Rabbi David Kaufman, wore a mask." Thanks to unwashed for the lead.

Jonathan Swan of Axios: "President Trump's aides plan to hold several events to try to persuade the public that they're ready for a likely second wave of the virus this fall. In particular, they'll focus on testing capacity and access to personal protective equipment.... Many parts of the country still lack the testing capacity that public health experts say is needed to safely reopen. But [the Trump administration has] scaled up capacity substantially in recent weeks." Mrs. McC: Uh, see Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker's assessment, linked below. ~~~

     ~~~ Matt Stieb of New York: "While the administration reportedly intends to emphasize its ability to test Americans for the coronavirus, the government's report card on testing so far suggests that it could be another example of the president mistaking the announcement of a project for its execution. Despite the son-in-law-led task forces and the comically-botched mobilization of the private sector, as of two weeks ago, the federal government only had enough tests to diagnose two percent of the U.S. population.... The most poetic example of the White House's failure to handle the first wave of the outbreak is the outbreak currently inundating the White House[.]... And as the president provides comments in which it's clear that he still doesn't understand how testing works, CNN reports that over the weekend, he worried that White House aides contracting the coronavirus would undermine his current message that the outbreak is easing." ~~~

~~~ Here's the video Stieb links on Trump's comments Friday that show he doesn't understand coronavirus testing. Trump is mystified that Katie Miller "for some reason ... all of a sudden" tested positive after she had recently tested negative for a coronavirus infection, and this is why "testing isn't great":

Jennifer Senior of the New York Times: "The president has contempt for expertise. During a national emergency, President Trump's top economic adviser is a former television host; his supply-chain coordinator is his son-in-law, who majored in nepotism and prioritizes the leads and needs of cronies; the chief of staff at his Department of Health and Human Services is a former breeder of Australian labradoodles..., though at least the man is well versed in the behaviors of lapdogs.... Trump never took staffing the federal workforce seriously. The executive branch is riddled with vacancies, especially at the top. Vice President Mike Pence may speak about a 'whole-of-government approach' to the pandemic, but what we truly have is a government of holes.... From the very beginning, Trump was incapable of grasping the value of civil servants.... In an alternate universe, the president's cabinet would deem him unstable, invoke the 25th Amendment, and give us an acting president. We'd still have Pence, it's true. But for once -- for blessed once -- an acting official would signal a modicum of stability."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Joe Lockhart in a CNN opinion piece: "By the height of the Watergate scandal in 1974, virtually every major newspaper in America had called for President Richard Nixon's resignation. During the investigation and impeachment of Bill Clinton in 1998, more than 100 newspapers called for him to resign. But ... Donald J. Trump? He could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody... and not a single major daily newspaper would call for his resignation.... After three years of political and actual carnage under Trump, including Robert Mueller's description of acts that amounted to, he told Congress, obstruction of justice; Trump's 'fine people on both sides' reaction to a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville...; his rampant conflicts of interest and credible accusations of his violations of the emoluments clause of the Constitution; his close to 17,000 false statements; a travel ban that primarily targets mostly Muslim-majority countries; impeachment for alleged extortion of a foreign government..., and the gross mishandling of a deadly pandemic, you'd think somebody on an editorial board might say it's time for the President to leave." Lockhart goes on to discuss theories of why editors are so reluctant to urge Trump's resignation. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: One possibility Lockhart does not discuss: Nixon & Clinton, for all their failings, had a familiarity with commonly-held moral precepts. They could be shamed. As for Trump, the answer to Joseph Welch's question, "At long last, have you left no sense of decency?" is absolutely not. Why bother urging Trump to resign when there's no chance he could understand he had done something wrong, much less consider paying for it?

Heads, the Rich Win; Tails, You Lose. Jesse Eisinger of ProPublica: "Ten weeks into the worst crisis in 90 years, the government's effort to save the economy has been both a spectacular success and a catastrophic failure. The clearest illustration of that came on Friday, when the government reported that 20.5 million people lost their jobs in April. [MEANWHILE,] The S&P 500 is now up 30% from its lows in mid-March and back to where it was last October, when the outlook for 2020 corporate earnings looked sunshiny.... Asset holders like Apollo and Blackstone -- disproportionately the wealthiest and most influential-- have been insured by [Federal Reserve,] the world's most powerful central bank. This largess is boundless and without conditions.... Many aspects of the coronavirus bailout that assist individuals or small businesses, meanwhile, are short-term or contingent.... It's a bailout of capital. 'If the theory is: Let's make sure companies are solvent and the workers will be OK, that theory could work. But it's a trickle-down theory,' said Lev Menand, a former New York Fed economist who now teaches at Columbia Law School." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Hope Yen & Michael Balsamo of the AP: "The Senate's top Democrat on Sunday called on the Department of Veterans Affairs to explain why it allowed the use of an unproven drug on veterans for the coronavirus, saying patients may have been put at unnecessary risk. Sen. Charles Schumer of New York said the VA needs to provide Congress more information about a recent bulk order for $208,000 worth of hydroxychloroquine.... Donald Trump has heavily promoted the malaria drug, without evidence, as a treatment for COVID-19.... VA Secretary Robert ... Wilkie in recent weeks has denied that veterans were used as test subjects for the drug and that it was instead administered at government-run VA hospitals only when medically appropriate, with mutual consent between doctor and patient. Still, Wilkie has repeatedly declined to say how widely the drug was being used for COVID-19 and whether the department had issued broad guidance to doctors and patients on the use of the drug." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Melanie Zanona of Politico: "A growing list of House hard-liners say they have reached their breaking point with the stay-at-home orders.... In recent weeks, Republicans have been angrily lashing out at the media, local and state officials and House Democratic leadership over the continued shutdown -- and are now actively encouraging the fired-up protesters swarming state capitols across the country.... Yet for all the heated protests taking place -- and as several states begin to wind down restrictions -- the desire to immediately end the lockdowns remains a minority opinion. According to new polling, most Americans do not feel comfortable with their states reopening salons, gyms, movie theaters and other businesses."

Illinois. Maya Parthasaranty of Politico: "Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, whose state has the fourth-most coronavirus cases in the country, said on Sunday he's confident Illinois can safely reopen without relying much on federal support. 'I have not been counting on the White House because there have been too many situations in which they have made promises, not delivered,' the Democratic governor said on CNN's 'State of the Union.' 'We're going it alone, as the White House has left all the states to do,' he said, explaining that Illinois is working to grow its testing rate to 64,000 tests a day. And while the number of people who test positive for Covid-19 is increasing, it's because Illinois has increased testing for the virus to 20,000 a day, he said.... The governor also hit back at an editorial in the Chicago Tribune that criticized his reopening efforts as overly cautious. 'If the Chicago Tribune thinks that everything is going to go back to completely normal without us having a very effective treatment or a vaccine, they're just dead wrong,' he said."

Nick Perry & Nomaan Merchant of the AP: "The difficulty in trying to reopen economies without rekindling coronavirus outbreaks was highlighted on Monday as concern grew in South Korea about a second wave of infections that was spread through newly reopened nightclubs. South Korea's government had felt confident enough to reopen much of its economy after several weeks of seeing cases increase by just a handful each day. But on Monday, new cases jumped by at least 35 after the outbreak in the nightclubs, which have been temporarily closed down again. China also saw a second day of double-digit increases, with five new cases in the city of Wuhan, the original epicenter of the pandemic where a strict lockdown was lifted last month. The government reminded people to step up personal protection against the virus. A balancing act continues to play out the world over, with leaders starting to loosen lockdowns that have left millions unemployed while also warning of the threat of a second wave of infections."

Mark Sherman of the AP: "... Donald Trump is hoping to persuade a Supreme Court with two of his appointees to keep his tax and other financial records from being turned over to lawmakers and a New York district attorney. The justices are hearing arguments by telephone Tuesday in a pivotal legal fight that could affect the presidential campaign, even with the coronavirus outbreak and the resulting economic fallout. Rulings against the president could result in the quick release of personal financial information that Trump has sought strenuously to keep private." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Axios: "Senate Health Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) expressed disapproval on Sunday of the Trump administration's decision to continue backing a lawsuit seeking to strike down the entire Affordable Care Act. 'I thought the Justice Department argument was really flimsy,' Alexander said on NBC's 'Meet the Press.' 'What they're arguing is that when we voted to get rid of the individual mandate, we voted to get rid of Obamacare. I don't know one single senator who thought that.' The lawsuit by a coalition of Republican states is set to be heard by the Supreme Court this fall, with major implications for November's election."

@RealUnstableLoon. Axios: "Between late Saturday night and early Sunday morning, President Trump tweeted or retweeted more than 50 times about the investigations by the FBI and the House Intelligence Committee into his campaign's alleged ties to Russia. The tweetstorm shows the degree to which Trump is still consumed by what he believes to be an illegal attempt to end his presidency by Democrats and intelligence officials from the Obama administration." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: Donald Trump continued to fume over the Russia investigation on Sunday..., three days after the justice department said it would drop its case against Michael Flynn.... 'The biggest political crime in American history, by far!' the president wrote in a tweet accompanying a conservative talk show host's claim that Barack Obama 'used his last weeks in office to target incoming officials and sabotage the new administration'. The tweet echoed previous messages retweeted by Trump, which earned rebukes for relaying conspiracy theories. On Sunday afternoon the president continued to send out a stream of tweets of memes and rightwing talking heads claiming an anti-Trump conspiracy. One tweet by Trump simply read: 'OBAMAGATE!' Trump fired Flynn ... in early 2017, for lying to Vice-President Mike Pence about conversations with the Russian ambassador regarding sanctions levied by the Obama administration...." Emphasis added. ~~~

~~~ John Bowden of the Hill: "Trump spent much of his Mother's Day tweeting and retweeting various accounts, with many of the posts aimed at his predecessor.... In [one] post, in which he retweeted a supporter's declaration that Obama was 'the first Ex-President to ever speak against his successor,' Trump wrote, 'He got caught, OBAMAGATE!'" Mrs. McC: And you thought Trump was going to spend Mother's Day with Melanie, or whatever her name is, thanking her for being such a good mom to their son. ~~~

~~~ Aris Folley of the Hill: "President Trump called for Chuck Todd, host of NBC's 'Meet the Press,' to be fired after the program issued an apology for 'inadvertently and inaccurately' cutting short a clip of remarks made by Attorney General William Barr about former national security adviser Michael Flynn. In a tweet blasting Todd late Sunday, Trump wrote: 'Sleepy Eyes Chuck Todd should be FIRED by "Concast" (NBC) for this fraud.'... [DOJ spokesperson Kerri] Kupec said she was 'disappointed' by what she referred to as the 'deceptive editing/commentary' by Todd and the NBC show in her tweet on Sunday. 'Not only did the AG make the case in the VERY answer Chuck says he didn't, he also did so multiple times throughout the interview.'..." The story explains how Chuck, in remarks made following the clip, misrepresented Barr's remarks. Mrs. McC: Kupec's "disappointment" is warranted, IMO, which is not to suggest that Barr isn't a flaming A. ~~~

~~~ Mary McCord, a former DOJ acting assistant AG, writes in a New York Times op-ed that Bill Barr's "Justice" Department twisted her words in order to come up with a bogus excuse for dropping charges against Michael Flynn. "... the report of my interview is no support for Mr. Barr's dismissal of the Flynn case.... In short, the report of my interview does not anywhere suggest that the F.B.I.'s interview of Mr. Flynn was unconstitutional, unlawful or not 'tethered' to any legitimate counterintelligence purpose." Mrs. McC: It is kind of perfect that Barr, via his lackey Timothy Shea, had to essentially lie to the court in order to drop charges against Flynn for lying to pence & others.

Presidential Race

Gabriel Debenedetti of New York: Joe Biden, "the self-conscious man in the Democratic middle -- mocked by the activist left throughout the primary campaign as hopelessly retrograde -- considers the present calamity and plots a presidency that, by awful necessity, he believes must be more ambitious than FDR's.... The heart of his [nomination] pitch, when he delivered it clearly, was status quo ante, back to normal, restore the soul of the nation. But in the space of just a few months, COVID-19 and the disastrous White House response appeared to have ... changed his perception of what the country would need from a president in January 2021...." ~~~

     ~~~ ** Mrs. McCrabbie: Well, crap. New York -- like nearly every other media outlet, now has begun to disallow readers to sneak around its paywall by opening stories in private windows. Ergo, the story above is firewalled, and I've reached my limit. If you haven't, it looks to be worth reading. The magazine is still allowing free access to stories that are specifically about the coronavirus, so we nonsubscribers will be able to read those, but we're out of luck on regular content. I'm sure gonna miss Chait & Frank Rich.

Ben Kesslen & Tim Stelloh of NBC News: "Georgia's attorney general asked the U.S. Justice Department on Sunday to investigate how local authorities handled the killing of Ahmaud Arbery. Attorney General Chris Carr said in a statement that local prosecutors had not informed his office that they had advised police on whether Gregory McMichael, 64, and Travis McMichael, 34, should be arrested after Arbery was killed Feb. 23 in Brunswick. Arbery, 25, who was black, was shot to death after being chased by white men in a pickup truck. Arbery was unarmed and on a jog at the time of his death, his family says. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation took the McMichaels, who are father and son, into custody Thursday after the release of a video showing Arbery's killing sparked nationwide protests. The men face charges of felony murder and aggravated assault." A Washington Post story is here. Mrs. McC: If you think Bill Barr's "Justice" Department is going to do a thorough job of investigating a hate crime, I've got a plantation called Tara to sell you.

The Commentariat -- May 10, 2020

Afternoon Update:

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

Jesse Eisinger of ProPublica: "Ten weeks into the worst crisis in 90 years, the government's effort to save the economy has been both a spectacular success and a catastrophic failure. The clearest illustration of that came on Friday, when the government reported that 20.5 million people lost their jobs in April. [MEANWHILE,] The S&P 500 is now up 30% from its lows in mid-March and back to where it was last October, when the outlook for 2020 corporate earnings looked sunshiny.... Asset holders like Apollo and Blackstone -- disproportionately the wealthiest and most influential -- have been insured by [Federal Reserve,] the world's most powerful central bank. This largess is boundless and without conditions.... Many aspects of the coronavirus bailout that assist individuals or small businesses, meanwhile, are short-term or contingent.... It's a bailout of capital. 'If the theory is: Let's make sure companies are solvent and the workers will be OK, that theory could work. But it's a trickle-down theory,' said Lev Menand, a former New York Fed economist who now teaches at Columbia Law School."

Hope Yen & Michael Balsamo of the AP: "The Senate's top Democrat on Sunday called on the Department of Veterans Affairs to explain why it allowed the use of an unproven drug on veterans for the coronavirus, saying patients may have been put at unnecessary risk. Sen. Charles Schumer of New York said the VA needs to provide Congress more information about a recent bulk order for $208,000 worth of hydroxychloroquine.... Donald Trump has heavily promoted the malaria drug, without evidence, as a treatment for COVID-19.... VA Secretary Robert ... Wilkie in recent weeks has denied that veterans were used as test subjects for the drug and that it was instead administered at government-run VA hospitals only when medically appropriate, with mutual consent between doctor and patient. Still, Wilkie has repeatedly declined to say how widely the drug was being used for COVID-19 and whether the department had issued broad guidance to doctors and patients on the use of the drug."

Mark Sherman of the AP: "... Donald Trump is hoping to persuade a Supreme Court with two of his appointees to keep his tax and other financial records from being turned over to lawmakers and a New York district attorney. The justices are hearing arguments by telephone Tuesday in a pivotal legal fight that could affect the presidential campaign, even with the coronavirus outbreak and the resulting economic fallout. Rulings against the president could result in the quick release of personal financial information that Trump has sought strenuously to keep private."

Axios: "Between late Saturday night and early Sunday morning, President Trump tweeted or retweeted more than 50 times about the investigations by the FBI and the House Intelligence Committee into his campaign's alleged ties to Russia. The tweetstorm shows the degree to which Trump is still consumed by what he believes to be an illegal attempt to end his presidency by Democrats and intelligence officials from the Obama administration."

~~~~~~~~~~~

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

Josh Dawsey, et al., of the Washington Post: "In a week when the novel coronavirus ravaged new communities across the country and the number of dead soared past 78,000, President Trump and his advisers shifted from hour-by-hour crisis management to what they characterize as a long-term strategy aimed at reviving the decimated economy and preparing for additional outbreaks this fall. But in doing so, the administration is effectively bowing to -- and asking Americans to accept -- a devastating proposition: that a steady, daily accumulation of lonely deaths is the grim cost of reopening the nation.... Some of Trump's advisers described the president as glum and shell-shocked by his declining popularity." Mrs. McC: It is hard to understand why a plan to kill Americans is unpopular with Americans.

Why Won't Trump & pence Self-Quarantine? Orion Rummier & Rebecca Falconer of Axios: "Anthony Fauci has begun a 'modified quarantine' after making a 'low risk' contact with a White House staffer who tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director told CNN and the New York Times Saturday.... CDC director Robert Redfield and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn are in self-quarantine after a similar COVID-19 exposure, officials confirmed earlier Saturday. Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary Katie Miller and President Trump's valet tested positive for the virus this week." ~~~

~~~ Seung Min Kim, et al., of the Washington Post: "But several administration officials said White House staffers were encouraged to come into the office by their supervisors, and that aide who travel with President Trump and Vice President Pence would not stay out for 14 days, the recommended time frame to quarantine once exposed to the virus. The conflicting ways in which officials and aides are responding after two staff members were diagnosed with the coronavirus this past week -- Pence spokeswoman Katie Miller and a military valet to the president -- continued to raise questions about how the White House is responding to the challenge of maintaining a safe work environment for Trump, Pence and their staff.... Both Redfield and Hahn had been scheduled to testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Tuesday, but will now do so by videoconference, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the panel's chairman, said Saturday night."

Maureen Dowd's column on bats, vampires, Trump & his son-in-law the android vampire, is silly, but she makes some valid points in passing ... including this one, Trump is such a fake, "Maybe Trump doesn't seem real to Trump, either."

Nicole Gaouette, et al., of CNN: "The United States has scaled back its role on the world stage, taken actions that are undermining efforts to battle the coronavirus pandemic and left the international community without a traditional global leader, according to experts, diplomats and analysts. The US ... has declined to take a seat at virtual international meetings convened by the World Health Organization and the European Union to coordinate work on potentially lifesaving vaccines.... The administration's decision to halt funding for the WHO, the world body best positioned to coordinate the global response to the raging pandemic, has appalled global health officials. On Friday the US blocked a vote on a UN Security Council resolution that called for a global ceasefire aimed at collectively assisting a planet devastated by the outbreak. The US did not want any reference to the WHO in the text and rejected a compromise version that didn't directly mention the organization -- and instead cited the UN's 'specialized health agencies,' according to two diplomats familiar with the process. The US has similarly blocked expressions of global unity at G7 and G20 meetings due to anger about China and the WHO.... Observers from the Asia Pacific to Europe expressed incredulity, amusement and sadness at ... Donald Trump's briefings on the virus, saying they are deeply damaging to the US image abroad."

The valedictator delivers an inspiring message: ~~~

Robert Mackey of The Intercept: "Mike Pence was unmasked in Iowa on Friday, attending two events without covering his face, even though public health officials say masks slow the spread of the deadly coronavirus and one of the vice president's aides tested positive for Covid-19 just before he departed Washington. What's more, a live video stream of the second event, a roundtable discussion with food industry leaders in Des Moines, showed that all five of the invited guests arrived wearing masks but were asked to remove them shortly before the vice president joined them on stage." --s

... Rachel Roubein &Zachary Brennan of Politico: "The Trump administration outlined its plan to distribute remdesivir -- the sole drug proven to help coronavirus patients -- to areas with the greatest need, after a backlash over its chaotic initial rollout. HHS will ship 14,400 vials of the drug to state health departments, putting the onus on them to decide which hospitals get some of the country's limited supply. Previously the administration had sent a total of 35,360 vials straight to a handpicked list of hospitals, via its contractor AmerisourceBergen. The drug's maker, Gilead, has donated 607,000 vials of remdesivir to the United States government. That's enough to treat about 78,000 patients, HHS said. Gilead had previously said it would make 1.5 million vials available worldwide at no charge.... 'The administration provides zero explanation for why and how the initial shipments were made,' said [Prof.] Rachel Sachs ... [of] Washington University in St. Louis...." Mrs. McC: It's not clear from the story who in the "Trump administration" is making these decisions, but it could be someone in HHS, like Trump's so-called preparedness assistant secretary Robert Kadlec (featured in the next-linked story).

Aaron Davis of the Washington Post: In late January, as the first case of Covid-19 was detected in the U.S., Michael Bowen of Prestigue Ameritech, a medical supply company near Fort Worth, Texas, contacted top administrators in the Department of Health and Human Services offering to 'ramp up production to make an additional 1.7 million N95 masks a week.'" They weren't interested. "Even today, production lines that could be making more than 7 million masks a month sit dormant.... Emails show [that whistleblower Rick] Bright pressed [Robert Kadlec, the assistant secretary for preparedness and emergency response (whom Bowen had contacted),] and other agency leaders on the issue of mask shortages -- and Bowen's proposal specifically -- to no avail. On Jan. 26, Bright wrote to a deputy that Bowen's warnings 'seem to be falling on deaf ears.'... The story of Bowen's offer illustrates a missed opportunity in the early days of the pandemic, one laid out in Bright's whistleblower complaint.... Within weeks, a shortage of masks was endangering health-care workers in hard-hit areas across the country, and the Trump administration was scrambling to buy more masks -- sometimes placing bulk orders with third-party distributors for many times the standard price." The Hill's summary report here. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: So the ha-ha assistant secretary for preparedness and emergency response -- a Trump appointee -- not only was not preparing for the coming pandemic, he refused to get prepared when an offer to help dropped in his lap.

California. Edward Moreno of the Hill: "There are almost 800 positive cases of coronavirus at the Federal Correctional Institution Lompoc in California as of this week, according to the Los Angeles Times. The news marks an increase of over 300 cases in recent days. The increase also means that 70 percent of the prison's population has been infected.... The California prison now accounts for 47 percent of confirmed coronavirus cases in the federal prison system, according to information from the Bureau of Prisons obtained by the Times."

Kentucky. AP: "A federal court halted the Kentucky governor's temporary ban on mass gatherings from applying to in-person religious services, clearing the way for Sunday church services. U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove on Friday issued a temporary restraining order enjoining Gov. Andy Beshear's administration from enforcing the ban on mass gatherings at 'any in-person religious service which adheres to applicable social distancing and hygiene guidelines.'... Two other federal judges, including U.S. District Judge David Hale, had previously ruled the ban was constitutional. But also on Friday, Hale, of Kentucky's western district, granted Maryville Baptist Church an injunction allowing in-person services at that specific church, provided it abide by public health requirements." Mrs. McC: Van Tatenhove is a Bush II appointee. Hale is an Obama appointee.

Louisiana. "Capitalism is Awesome: Covid-19 Edition." Mike Elk of Payday Report (New Orleans): "On Wednesday, dozens of garbage workers, employed by the temp service People Ready, went on strike, demanding proper safety equipment. The workers, who make only $10.25 an hour are also demanding hazard pay and paid sick leave. '$10.25 to pick up trash -- come on now. It's contaminated now with coronavirus,' strike leader Gregory Woods told Payday Report this week. After striking, the workers were fired en-masse earlier this week.... Now, the city [of New Orleans] has found new workers to replace the striking workers, prison labor from nearby Livingston Parish.... Under state rules, prison inmates, employed by Metro Services, will be paid only 13% of what garbage workers ... were ... making[.]" --s

New Mexico & Arizona. Morgan Lee of the AP: "Small Native American pueblos across New Mexico are embracing extraordinary isolation measures that turn away outsiders as well as near-universal testing to try to insulate themselves from [the coronavirus].... New Mexico's 19 indigenous pueblos -- communities that range from several thousand members to just 300 -- view the coronavirus as an existential threat after early infections raced through San Felipe and Zia pueblos.... Roadblocks against nonessential visitors extend to villages atop mesas in Acoma Pueblo's 'sky city' and on the Hopi reservation in Arizona, which is encircled by the Navajo Nation.... The coronavirus has rampaged across the vast Navajo Nation, one the most populous tribes in the U.S. whose boundaries extend from northwestern New Mexico through portions of Arizona and Utah. That outbreak has public health officials concerned that Native American communities may be especially susceptible to the pandemic because of underlying health issues, including high rates of diabetes, obesity and heart disease.... Native Americans accounted for more than 55% of confirmed COVID-19 infections in New Mexico as of Friday, though they're only 11% of the general population." ~~~

~~~ Rory Carroll of the Guardian: "The list of recent donors reads like an Irish phone book...[on] a GoFundMe page that by Friday had raised $3.15m of a $5m goal. The individual amounts are not remarkable -- $10, $20, $30, some exceeding $100 -- but the story behind the donations stretches back two centuries and encompasses a singular act of generosity that forged a bond between Native Americans and Ireland.... In 1847 the Choctaw nation set aside its own impoverishment and suffering to make a $170 donation to victims of the Irish famine. The tribe had suffered grievously during its Trail of Tears, a forced relocation to Oklahoma, and empathised with Irish people enduring misery and starvation more than 4,000 miles away. The generosity left a lasting mark on Ireland, which remembers it through art and commemorations. Now Irish people are reciprocating by donating to a fund for Navajo and Hopi communities hit by Covid-19." --s

South Dakota. Chris Boyette of CNN: "The governor of South Dakota has given an ultimatum to two Sioux tribes: Remove checkpoints on state and US highways within 48 hours or risk legal action.Gov. Kristi Noem sent letters Friday to the leaders of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe demanding that checkpoints designed to prevent the spread of coronavirus on tribal land be removed, the governor's office said in a statement.... According to Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe checkpoint policies posted on its social media, its reservation residents may travel within South Dakota to areas the state has not deemed a Covid-19 'hotspot' if it's for an essential activity such as medical appointments or to get supplies unavailable on the reservation. But they must complete a health questionnaire when they leave and when they return every time they go through a checkpoint. South Dakota residents who don't live on the reservation are only allowed there if they're not coming from a hotspot and it is for an essential activity. But they must also complete a health questionnaire. Those from a South Dakota hotspot or from outside the state cannot come to the reservation unless it is for an essential activity -- but they must obtain a travel permit available on the tribe's website." Mrs. McC: Apparently in South Dakota, the Sioux are still expendable. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Lee Strubinger of South Dakota Public Broadcasting: "Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Chairman Harold Fraizer says they're declining the governor's request. He says the tribe will not apologize for being an island of safety in a sea of uncertainty and death. A spokesman for the Oglala Sioux Tribe says Noem's assertions are without legal merit."

A Scientist Gone Nuts Becomes Right-Wing Phenom. Davey Alba of the New York Times: "In a video posted to YouTube on Monday, a woman animatedly described an unsubstantiated secret plot by global elites like Bill Gates and Dr. Anthony Fauci to use the coronavirus pandemic to profit and grab political power. In the 26-minute video, the woman asserted how Dr. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a leading voice on the coronavirus, had buried her research about how vaccines can damage people's immune systems. It is those weakened immune systems she declared, that have made people susceptible to illnesses like Covid-19. The video, a scene from a longer dubious documentary called 'Plandemic,' was quickly seized upon by anti-vaccinators, the conspiracy group QAnon and activists from the Reopen America movement, generating more than eight million views. And it has turned the woman -- Dr. Judy Mikovits, 62, a discredited scientist -- into a new star of virus disinformation.... [In April,] Darla Shine, the wife of Bill Shine, a former Fox News executive and former top aide to Mr. Trump, promoted Dr. Mikovits's book in a tweet." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Bill Shine is still an advisor to Trump's campaign. The Shines' relations with Trump illustrates a problem that RAS highlighted in yesterday's Comments: "... all [Trump's] thoughts and ideas come from his advisors and friends around him. Unfortunately for us his friends and staff are as stupid, selfish and callous as he is. He is easily manipulated by those around him, but never to the good of the country or world. He is a conman who is easily handled by other conmen."

Get to Know Your Local Extremists. Jason Wilson & Robert Evans of the Guardian: "Leaked audio recordings and online materials obtained by the Guardian reveal that one of the most prominent anti-lockdown protest groups, American Revolution 2.0 (AR2), has received extensive assistance from well-established far-right actors, some with extremist connections. [Led by Josh Ellis,] AR2 presents itself as a grassroots network, but the recordings and other materials reveal its allies include a well-connected Tea Party co-founder and a family of serial online activists who have rolled out dozens of 'reopen' websites and Facebook groups.... [I]n recordings of Ellis speaking to an inner circle of AR2 members last week..., Ellis told the group ... that in recent days he had 'talked to the Dorr brothers'. The Dorr brothers -- Chris, Ben, Aaron and Matthew -- are rightwing activists whose methods have been roundly criticized by conservative groups and legislators.... Ellis specified further help he had received, telling his inner circle: 'One of the Utah guys got me hooked up with the owner of mymilitia.com.'... [T]he owner of the mymilitia.com domain is Chad Embrey of New Lexington, Ohio.... The site's extensive library of PDFs includes a Canadian army manual on ambushes, a guide to destroying tanks, and a treatise outlining justifications and strategies for an insurgency in the US. Recent posts include examining the short-term prospect of civil war." --s

Olivia Beavers & John Kruzel of the Hill: "Democrats and other critics are seizing on the Department of Justice's (DOJ) decision to drop the case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn, arguing it shows how heavily politicized it has become under Attorney General William Barr. Anger over the extraordinary move by Justice to drop charges even after it secured a guilty plea has created a new political storm around Barr, who had previously angered Democrats for his handling of former special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.... 'Overruling the special counsel is without precedent and without respect for the rule of law,' [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi said in remarks echoed by other Democrats.... 'I think we lost 50 years worth of ground in solidifying the independence of the Justice Department after Watergate,' House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said Thursday night on MSNBC.... House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) vowed to ask the department's Inspector General to investigate the matter and called on Barr to testify about his Flynn decision as soon as possible[.]" ~~~

~~~ Former US attorney Glenn Kirschner in an NBC opinion piece: "Th[e] attempted dismissal of [Mike] Flynn's case has nothing to do with the strength of the evidence against Flynn or a fair application of the rule of law. Rather, it represents political cronyism and as such is an affront to our system of justice and to the American people. With this move, the corruption of the Department of Justice under Attorney General William Barr is as transparent as it is complete." --s ~~~

~~~ Katelyn Polantz of CNN: "The court filing on Thursday to drop former national security adviser Michael Flynn's criminal case used the attorney identification number for the previous US attorney, a technical error that adds to the twists of the dramatic reversal by the government. The bombshell court filing was signed only by interim DC US attorney Timothy Shea, a political appointee who used the court identity number of his ousted predecessor Jesse Liu. The incorrect ID number is a technical error that may need to be fixed before the judge weighs in." --s

Cassandra Negley of Yahoo! News: "The U.S. Department of Education, led by education secretary Betsy DeVos, announced new Title IX federal regulations that change requirements on who must report sexual assault allegations and how institutions respond to those complaints. The adjustments, outlined in a 2,033-page document and set to go into effect Aug. 14, no longer require coaches and other employees at colleges and universities to report allegations to the Title IX office. They also give schools a choice in what standard of proof they'd like to follow, bolster protections for the accused and require live hearings and cross examinations." --s

Syria. Jeff Seldin of VOA: "U.S.-led coalition special operation forces hit back against an Islamic State cell in Syria, capturing a midlevel leader linked to a rise in attacks by the terror group in the Deir el-Zour countryside.... It also came as [U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces] ... commanders continue to raise concerns about what they see as a sizable increase in IS operations over the past month. A source close to the SDF told VOA that many of the attacks have involved improvised explosive devices (IEDs), but that attacks involving IS fighters have been increasingly lethal." --s

Senate Race. Alabama. Burgess Everett of Politico: "Jeff Sessions is trying to win back his old Senate seat and move on from his rocky tenure as attorney general. But ... Donald Trump won't let it go. On Friday morning, Trump called Sessions a 'disaster' as the nation's top law enforcement officer and said Sessions visited Trump 'four times just begging me to be attorney general.' The stinging attack on Fox News comes during crunch time for a Alabama Senate primary in July pitting Sessions against former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville. The winner will face Democratic Sen. Doug Jones.... 'I never begged for the job of attorney general, not four times, not one time, not ever. The president offered me the job, I took it, I stood up for the truth and performed at the highest levels,' Sessions said in a statement.'

Howard Altman & Kyle Rempfer of Military Times: "To Army Special Forces veteran Drew White, the plan to take over Venezuelan oil fields after overthrowing the government -- being pitched by a troubled fellow former 10th Special Forces Group soldier [Sgt. 1st Class Jordan Goudreau] -- seemed too far-fetched to be believed. Documents pitching the plan -- obtained by Military Times -- included letterhead from a Washington consultant firm, as well as the names and credentials of President Donald Trump's longtime bodyguard [Keith Schiller] and another billionaire financier [Roen Kraft], all of whom have denied involvement in the ill-fated adventure.... White said that Goudreau implied that the scheme ... had the backing of the State Department.... Goudreau is now under federal investigation for arms trafficking, current and former U.S. law enforcement officials told AP.... The Trump administration has threatened military action against the Maduro regime for years but recently denied any involvement in the plot.... The U.S. government has offered a $15 million reward for information leading to Maduro's arrest or conviction. He was indicted by the Trump administration in March on charges of narcoterrorism." --s

The Commentariat -- May 9, 2020

There are weird videos on the Internets:

Chris Boyette of CNN: "The governor of South Dakota has given an ultimatum to two Sioux tribes: Remove checkpoints on state and US highways within 48 hours or risk legal action.Gov. Kristi Noem sent letters Friday to the leaders of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe demanding that checkpoints designed to prevent the spread of coronavirus on tribal land be removed, the governor's office said in a statement.... According to Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe checkpoint policies posted on its social media, its reservation residents may travel within South Dakota to areas the state has not deemed a Covid-19 'hotspot' if it's for an essential activity such as medical appointments or to get supplies unavailable on the reservation. But they must complete a health questionnaire when they leave and when they return every time they go through a checkpoint.South Dakota residents who don't live on the reservation are only allowed there if they're not coming from a hotspot and it is for an essential activity. But they must also complete a health questionnaire. Those from a South Dakota hotspot or from outside the state cannot come to the reservation unless it is for an essential activity -- but they must obtain a travel permit available on the tribe's website." Mrs. McC: Apparently in South Dakota, the Sioux are still expendable.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Fantasy. Those jobs will all be back, and they'll be back very soon. -- Donald Trump on Fox News, Friday morning ~~~

~~~ Reality. David Lynch of the Washington Post: "Mass unemployment on a scale that recalls the Great Depression has erased the economic gains of the past decade and now threatens to linger for years, fueling social discord and shaking an already-polarized political system.... Barely 51 percent of the population is employed, the lowest mark since records began, the Labor Department reported on Friday.... The unique character of this economic collapse, triggered by an ongoing public health crisis, may lead to an enduring decline in the demand for labor. While the pandemic rages, companies are developing new ways to operate with fewer people, replacing the lost workers with machines that are impervious to illness.... The conditions imposed in some states that are reopening for business make it unlikely that large numbers of ... jobs [in the leisure & hospitality sector] will quickly return.... High unemployment is likely to persist for years."

Lauren Egan, et al., of NBC News: "Two White House aides may have tested positive for the coronavirus in the past two days, but ... Donald Trump still held public events Friday with limited social distancing and without requiring participants to wear masks. Two dozen House Republicans gathered with Trump and other administration officials in the State Dining Room at the White House on Friday afternoon to discuss the country's economic recovery from the pandemic. None of the attendees wore a mask.... Although attendees appeared to be sitting a few feet apart from one another around the State Dining Room, not all stayed at the recommended 6-foot distance. [Also, Louie Gohmert (Texas) was there, and (I supposed it's redundant to say) he said something stupid.]... Neither Trump nor first lady Melania Trump wore face coverings to a wreath-laying ceremony at the World War II Memorial in Washington on Friday morning. Multiple World War II veterans also attended, all of whom are older and particularly vulnerable if infected. When asked if Trump considered wearing a mask around the veterans to protect them, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said 'they made the choice to come here.'..." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Yeah, it's the veterans' fault the Trumps didn't wear masks. In fairness, in the photos I saw, Donnie & Melanie did keep an appropriate distance from the vets at the event. ~~~

     ~~~ HOWEVER. Alex Horton & Adriana Usero of the Washington Post: "President Trump and Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper gathered with World War II veterans in Washington on Friday to mark the 75th anniversary of the Allied victory in Europe. Trump greeted a rank of seven veterans one by one from a distance of a few feet, apparently mindful of coronavirus concerns but not wearing a mask, a White House television pool video of the event shows. The veterans were not wearing masks. Esper, also without a mask, gathered with a few of the men for a photo a few minutes earlier and handed out 'challenge coins' from his pocket. At one point, a veteran grasped his elbow." ~~~

~~~ David Nakamura, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump on Friday continued to eschew key public health guidelines from his own administration -- meeting with Republican lawmakers and World War II veterans without a face mask -- while expressing confidence that he is protected from the coronavirus despite a second White House staffer testing positive this week. The president appeared puzzled that the aide, Katie Miller, the press secretary for Vice President Pence, had contracted the virus' out of the blue' after testing negative several times under a routine White House screening program put in place last month. During the event with GOP members, Trump suggested 'the whole concept of tests isn't great.'... 'We're dealing with an invisible situation. Nobody knows. All you can do is take precaution and do the best that you can.'... Several security officials with executive branch experience said in interviews Friday that the White House has taken a lax and risky approach that, in their view, reflected Trump's consistent efforts to minimize the threat from the virus.... Three visitors to the White House on Thursday said that few officials inside the complex were wearing masks.... Secret Service agents on Trump's protective detail, and officers who are taking the temperatures of all visitors to the White House grounds, also have routinely gone without masks...." ~~~

~~~ ** One Degree of Separation. Christina Wilkie of CNBC: "An aide to Vice President Mike Pence has tested positive for coronavirus, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Friday.... Pence was scheduled to travel to Des Moines, Iowa, in the morning, but his departure from Andrews Air Force Base was delayed by nearly an hour as staff dealt with news of the diagnosis. Reporters traveling with Pence said several staffers disembarked from Air Force Two just before takeoff. Those staffers left the plane because they had been in contact with the staffer who tested positive, NBC News reported." Mrs. McC: As we discussed in yesterday's Comments, pence & friends were delivering masks to a nursing home, for Pete's sake, without wearing masks or practicing social distancing. And now he's off to Des Moines. Look out, Ioway. The virus is coming. ~~~

     ~~~ ** Update. Colby Itkowitz of the Washington Post: "Katie Miller, the vice president's press secretary, was notified Friday about the result, according to people familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity.... Miller confirmed to NBC News that she tested positive and said she was asymptomatic. The White House earlier in the day confirmed that a member of Pence's staff tested positive but did not disclose the individual's name. President Trump later appeared to confirm it was Miller.... Miller is a fixture around Pence and has attended the coronavirus task force meetings that he leads. She is married to White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller." Emphasis added. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Obviously the Immigrant Ghoul, who no doubt breathes down Trump's neck regularly, has been exposed to the virus. As Dan Diamond writes (linked next), Stephen Miller "is in constant proximity to ... Donald Trump and White House advisers Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump." This must rattle Trump to no end. It would me. Remember, Trump became "lava level mad" at White House staff for not protecting him when he found out his valet had Covid-19. He's very afraid for his own health. It's ours he doesn't care about. And now. And now. The Immigrant Ghoul, whose plan is to use the coronavirus as an excuse to permanently cut "immigrant infestation" is the guy who probably has the cooties. The coronavirus smites the bad and the good, the just and the unjust. ~~~

~~~ Dan Diamond of Politico: "FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn will self-quarantine for 14 days after exposure to White House spokesperson Katie Miller, who tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday, three administration officials said. The White House is conducting contact tracing and making a case-by-case determination on who else should self-isolate based on exposure to Miller. Hahn is asymptomatic and tested negative for the virus on Friday, two senior administration officials said." Mrs. McC: So why the hell is pence, Katie Miller's boss who certainly has had closer contact with her than Hahn has, jetting around the country instead of self-quarantining? ~~~

~~~ Kaitlan Collins of CNN: "Ivanka Trump's personal assistant has tested positive for coronavirus, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. The assistant, who works in a personal capacity for ... Donald Trump's daughter, has not been around Ivanka Trump in several weeks. She has been teleworking for nearly two months and was tested out of caution, the source said." Mrs. McC: Yeah, I'd like to be "tested out of caution," too. ~~~

~~~ Jane Winter & Hunter Walker of Yahoo! News: "Multiple members of the U.S. Secret Service have tested positive for COVID-19..., according to Department of Homeland Security documents reviewed by Yahoo News.... [There are] 11 active cases at the agency as of Thursday evening, according to a daily report compiled by the DHS.... There are 23 members of the Secret Service who have recovered from COVID-19 and an additional 60 employees who are self-quarantining. No details have been provided about which members of the Secret Service are infected or if any have recently been on detail with the president or vice president." ~~~

~~~ Anne Gearan, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump is increasingly dismissing the consensus of health experts, scientists and some of his Republican allies that widespread testing is key to the safe end of restrictions meant to slow the spread of the deadly coronavirus, saying Friday that 'testing isn't necessary' and is an imperfect guide. The president has played down the need for testing as he overrides public health recommendations that would prolong the closures of schools, businesses and much of daily life. Although he is now tested every day with a rapid-result machine, Trump has questioned the value of extensive testing as the gap between available capacity and the amount that would be required to meet public health benchmarks has become clearer.... '... this is why testing isn't necessary. We have the best testing in the world, but testing's not necessarily the answer because they were testing them,' Trump said of the staff members [who tested positive]." ~~~

We have put in place the guidelines that our experts have put forward to keep this building safe, which means contact tracing. All of the recommended guidelines we have for businesses that have essential workers, we are now putting them in place here in the White House. So as America reopens safely, the White House is continuing to operate safely. -- White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, Friday ~~~

~~~ Greg Sargent of the Washington Post: "McEnany claims both that the United States is reopening safely and that the White House is operating safely. But only one of these two -- the White House -- actually has the sort of testing regime the White House itself is now implicitly acknowledging is a prerequisite to safety.... But Trump is urging Americans to resume economic activity without fully deploying the federal government so that the rest of the country can enjoy the protections Trump and those around him do.... Trump is making a choice not to meaningfully take the steps necessary to extend this to the rest of us. Businesses everywhere are reopening in the grip of a level of frightening uncertainty that the White House is being spared, in part because of that very choice." ~~~

~~~ The Biggest Losers. Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "Now is the spring of our disgrace. Around the world, countries are winning the battle against the coronavirus and beginning a responsible return to work, school and leisure.... But the United States..., unwilling to do the hard work needed to beat the pandemic..., [is] quitting: forcing people back to work without protections people in other countries enjoy. The most powerful country in the world is failing.... Trump has abandoned attempts to control the pandemic, though there is no downturn in cases.... This is state-sanctioned killing. It is a conscious decision to accept 2,000 preventable deaths every day, because our leaders believe the victims are the poor schlubs who work in meat-processing plants, not 'regular folks,' as Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Patience Roggensack memorably put it this week. It is deliberately sacrificing the old, factory workers, and black and Hispanic Americans, who are dying at higher rates."

Jason Dearen of the AP: "The decision to shelve detailed advice from the nation's top disease control experts for reopening communities during the coronavirus pandemic came from the highest levels of the White House, according to internal government emails obtained by The Associated Press. The files also show that after the AP reported Thursday that the guidance document had been buried, the Trump administration ordered key parts of it to be fast-tracked for approval. The trove of emails show the nation's top public health experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spending weeks working on guidance to help the country deal with a public health emergency, only to see their work quashed by political appointees with little explanation.... White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said Friday that the documents had not been approved by CDC Director Robert Redfield. The new emails, however, show that Redfield cleared the guidance.... [After continued CDC inquiries about the status of the White House's review,] on April 30 the CDC's documents were killed for good.... Until May 7. That morning The Associated Press reported that the Trump administration had buried the guidance...."

** Adam Serwer of the Atlantic: Trump was convinced that the coronavirus pandemic was a national emergency back when the virus "ensnared many members of the global elite: American celebrities, world leaders, and those with close ties to Trump himself." But when it emerged that the victims were disproportionately minorities, poor people and old folks, "the outbreak was no longer a question of social responsibility, but of personal responsibility."

SNAFU. Jonathan Swan of Axios: "A complete breakdown in communication and coordination within the Trump administration has undermined the distribution of a promising treatment, according to senior officials with direct knowledge of the discussions.... The drug, remdesivir, hasn't made it to some of the high-priority hospitals where it's most needed, and administration officials have responded by shifting blame and avoiding responsibility, sources said.... Gilead Sciences, the company that makes remdesivir, donated hundreds of thousands of doses to the federal government after the Food and Drug Administration authorized it as an emergency treatment for coronavirus patients. More than 32,000 doses of remdesivir were shipped and delivered on Tuesday to Indiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Virginia. But many of these doses went to 'less impacted counties,' an administration official said. 'Some went to the wrong places, some went to the right places,' said one senior official. 'We don't know who gave the order. And no one is claiming responsibility.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Jared's Secret Boondoggle. Amy Brittain, et al., of the Washington Post: "Since the debut of Project Airbridge in March, the Trump administration has promoted the initiative as part of a historic mobilization 'moving heaven and earth' to source and deliver vast amounts of medical supplies from overseas to pandemic hot spots in the United States. Widely credited to ... Jared Kushner, the plan harked back to storied U.S. wartime efforts such as the Berlin Airlift. It called for the federal government to partner with a handful of medical supply companies, which could purchase emergency masks, gowns and gloves in Asia. The government would pay to fly the supplies to the United States ... as long as the companies sold half of the goods in parts of the country hit hardest by the pandemic. Almost six weeks after its launch, Project Airbridge has completed its 122nd flight, having cost taxpayers at least $91 million. But its impact on the pandemic is unclear and shrouded in secrecy: The White House, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the companies involved have declined to disclose where supplies have been delivered.... The White House has on several occasions overstated the amount of supplies the project has delivered.... For example..., Project Airbridge on average has delivered about 2.2 million surgical masks a day over the program's span. Yet Vice President Pence claimed in a news briefing in April that the program delivered 22 million masks daily.... 'The fact is you're using taxpayer dollars to distribute private resources,' said W. Craig Fugate, who led FEMA for eight years under President Barack Obama." ~~~

~~~ Elizabeth Spiers in a Washington Post opinion piece: "Jared Kushner's coronavirus response team, we learned this week, is fumbling because it's largely staffed with inexperienced volunteers. Of course it is. It's being run by one. Kushner's lack of experience and expertise has not been remedied in any way during his now three-plus years in the White House. After bungling many high-profile efforts to address various problems and often making them worse (see, Middle East, peace in), he keeps being handed more responsibilities with higher stakes.... In any normal administration, an adviser with Kushner's string of failures would be fired, but Kushner, like his father-in-law, keeps crediting himself with imaginary successes.... He has also continued to bash the actual experts.... This is basically Kushner's modus operandi, and it's painfully familiar to me because he was my boss when I was the editor in chief of the New York Observer, which he had bought when he was 25." Withering. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Sarah Owermohle of Politico: "A federal watchdog is recommending that ousted vaccine expert Rick Bright be reinstated while it investigates whether the Trump administration retaliated against his whistleblower complaints when it removed him from a key post overseeing the coronavirus response, Bright's lawyers said Friday. The Office of Special Counsel is recommending that Bright be temporarily reinstated for 45 days as director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, a multibillion-dollar agency that funds companies to develop tests, treatments and vaccines. The investigative office said it has found 'reasonable grounds to believe' that that the administration was retaliating against Bright.... Donald Trump, during a White House appearance, called Bright a 'disgruntled employee' when asked about the watchdog decision. 'I don't know who he is, but to me he's a disgruntled employee and if people are that unhappy they shouldn't work,' he said, adding, 'I hadn't heard great things about him.'" ~~~

~~~ Yasmeen Abutaleb of the Washington Post: "OSC recommendations are not binding.... Bright is scheduled to testify before Congress next week about the circumstances of his reassignment."

Aaron Gregg of the Washington Post: "The Small Business Administration did not direct private lenders to prioritize minority- and female-owned businesses as Congress intended when they started implementing a $669 billion loan program under the Cares Act, a federal watchdog concluded in a report released Friday. The findings from the SBA Office of the Inspector General add to growing concerns about whether $2 trillion in Cares Act stimulus funds are being distributed fairly amid the economic fallout from the coronavirus.... 'Because SBA did not provide guidance to lenders about prioritizing borrowers in underserved and rural markets, these borrowers, including rural, minority and women-owned businesses may not have received the loans as intended,' the report reads." Mrs. McC: Whoever wrote the SBA guidance knows what Trump thinks of minorities & women. If he isn't out sick with Covid-19, he'll probably get a promotion.

Alex Daugherty & Ben Wieder of the Miami Herald: "A Fort Myers-based oncology network that was Florida's largest recipient of federal coronavirus relief dollars for healthcare facilities admitted last week to participating in a criminal conspiracy that limited treatment options available to cancer patients in order to maximize profits. Florida Cancer Specialists, which employs 250 doctors in 100 facilities across Florida, admitted in federal court on April 30 that it worked with unnamed co-conspirators to limit cancer treatment options for patients, agreeing to pay a $100 million federal fine -- the largest amount allowed by law -- along with a $20 million state fine. At nearly the same time, Florida Cancer Specialists was awarded $67 million in federal funds from the CARES Act, the $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill passed by Congress in March. The $67 million made Florida Cancer Specialists the largest recipient of funds in Florida from a $30 billion pot of money distributed by the Department of Health and Human Services to help healthcare facilities affected by the pandemic." Mrs. McC: Pretty smart getting the federal government to pay two-thirds of the fine it imposed on you.

California. William Feuer of CNBC: "Community spread of the coronavirus in California began in a nail salon, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday, as other states allow their manicurists to reopen. Newsom has announced a four-phase plan to reopening the state's economy that begins on Friday. Unlike some other states that have announced reopenings, California nail salons won't be allowed to reopen until the state's phase 3. The state is currently shifting from phase 1 to phase 2. 'This whole thing started in the state of California, the first community spread, in a nail salon,' Newsom said at a news briefing. 'I'm very worried about that.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Tal Axelrod of the Hill: "California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced Friday he has signed an executive order that requires county officials to send vote-by-mail ballots to every registered voter in the state. Newsom said California will work with people with disabilities, those experiencing homelessness and voters who do not speak English to ensure that in-person voting is still accessible to those who need it. But he said the access to mail-in voting would ensure that Californians would be able to cast ballots safely during the coronavirus pandemic." Mrs. McC: Gee, I remember when Gavin Newsom was a jerk married to Kimberly Guilfoyle, a woman of such substance she now dates Donald Junior. Newsom was always a liberal, but kind of a flaky one. Now he's growed up to be a good governor. People change. Maybe.

** Michael Isikoff of Yahoo! News: "Former President Barack Obama, talking privately to ex-members of his administration, said Friday that the 'rule of law is at risk' in the wake of what he called an unprecedented move by the Justice Department to drop charges against former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn. In the same chat, a tape of which was obtained by Yahoo News, Obama also lashed out at the Trump administration's handling of the coronavirus pandemic as 'an absolute chaotic disaster.'... [Of the Flynn matter, Obama said,] 'That's the kind of stuff where you begin to get worried that basic -- not just institutional norms -- but our basic understanding of rule of law is at risk. And when you start moving in those directions, it can accelerate pretty quickly as we've seen in other places.' The Flynn case was invoked by Obama as a principal reason that his former administration officials needed to make sure former Vice President Joe Biden wins the November election against President Trump." Read on. Obama gets it.

Michael Crowley of the New York Times: "In an interview with Fox News, Mr. Trump praised Attorney General William P. Barr for the dramatic action announced Thursday that nullified a major case prosecuted by the special counsel Robert S. Mueller III.... 'Bill Barr is a man of unbelievable credibility and courage, and he's going to go down in the history of our country,' Mr. Trump said. The president said the outcome reflected well on Mr. Barr, who has expressed skepticism about Mr. Mueller's investigation. 'He's the opposite of Robert Mueller because you look at Mueller -- that was purely corrupt,' Mr. Trump said.... Mr. Trump gathered a group of 19 conservative House Republicans at the White House, along with senior aides and economic officials, to discuss reopening the American economy. A sizable portion of the session featured the president and his guests denouncing the Russia investigation, or the F.B.I.'s 'effort to create a coup,' as Representative Louie Gohmert of Texas put it." [This was yet another stupid thing Gohmert said.]

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The Justice Department's decision to drop the criminal case against Michael T. Flynn ... even though he had twice pleaded guilty to lying to investigators, was extraordinary and had no obvious precedent, a range of criminal law specialists said on Thursday.... The move is the latest in a series that the department, under Attorney General William P. Barr, has taken to undermine and dismantle the work of the investigators and prosecutors who scrutinized Russia's 2016 election interference operation and its links to people associated with the Trump campaign." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: The closest precedent is when Barr advised Bush I to pardon six Iran-Contra co-conspirators. Back then, Barr didn't do as much for Bush as he's been willing to do for Trump: he's saved Trump from having to try to justify an unjustifiable pardon on the eve of an election. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Davd Badash of the New Civil Rights Movement in Raw Story: Legal experts weigh in on Barr's "shadow pardon" of Flynn. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Neal Katyal & Joshua Geltzer in a New York Times op-ed: In the Justice Department's] "view, federal investigators and prosecutors are a deep threat to the American people. That's the narrative about the handling of the Flynn case that began on far-right websites, then migrated to Fox News and has now -- appallingly -- been embraced by President Trump and his attorney general, Bill Barr. They're all peddling the idea that Mr. Flynn was 'set up' by the F.B.I. and the Justice Department.... Mr. Trump said his former adviser was 'tormented' by 'dirty, filthy cops at the top of the F.B.I.'... The point [of dropping the charges against Flynn] ... [is] to impugn federal law enforcement. Here's the tell. The Justice Department's new position isn't that Mr. Flynn didn't lie ... [but] that it was wrong for the F.B.I. to interview him in the first place. Look carefully at who the villain becomes in that narrative: not Mr. Flynn for lying, but the F.B.I. for asking the questions to which he lied in response." The authors recommend that Judge Emmet Sullivan, who must rule on the dismissal, should interrogate the prosecutors. ~~~

~~~ Devlin Barrett & Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "President Trump voiced uncertainty Friday over the future of his FBI director, Christopher A. Wray, a day after the Justice Department moved to throw out the guilty plea of the president's former national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn. The president's comments in a phone interview with Fox News highlight the ongoing distrust between the White House and some senior law enforcement officials.... 'It's disappointing,' Trump said when asked about Wray's role in the ongoing reviews of the FBI's handling of the Russia investigation. 'Let's see what happens with him. Look, the jury's still out.' Trump faulted the FBI director for 'skirting' the debate surrounding the Russia investigation, although the agency and the Justice Department have insisted it has cooperated fully with officials reviewing the case." An Axios item is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Presidential Race

Nelson Mandela Is a'Rollin' in His Grave. Asawin Suebsaeng & Erin Banco of the Daily Beast: "With the Justice Department announcing Thursday that it would drop the case against Michael Flynn, officials close to ... Donald Trump are already gaming out ways to bring the former national security adviser back onto the national political stage. Of the nine senior Trump administration officials, campaign staff, outside advisers, and longtime associates of the president reached on Thursday, all said that they wanted Flynn to assume some public-facing role in service of the president, including potentially as an official Trump surrogate as Election Day inches closer.... 'Years ago when Nelson Mandela came to America after years of political persecution he was treated like a rock star by Americans,' John McLaughlin, one of President Trump's chief pollsters, told The Daily Beast on Thursday evening. 'Now after over three years of political persecution General Flynn is our rock star. A big difference is that he was persecuted in America.'" Mrs. McC: I see a Medal of Freedom on Flynn's chest. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. on Friday turned down a request from the chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to designate another court to conduct an ethics inquiry into the circumstances surrounding a retirement from what is widely viewed as the second-most important court in the nation. In response to the request from Judge Sri Srinivasan, the circuit's chief judge, a legal adviser to Chief Justice Roberts said the request from last Friday did not meet the standards for transferring the inquiry to another judicial circuit to pursue. The issue arose from a March complaint filed by the progressive advocacy group Demand Justice, which asked the appeals court to determine whether political influence had inappropriately figured into the decision by Judge Thomas B. Griffith to retire, creating an election-year slot on the influential appeals court. The complaint noted that Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, had been encouraging eligible appeals court judges to retire so they could be replaced this year while Republicans still held the White House and Senate. In Judge Griffith's case, his decision to step down opened the way for President Trump to nominate Judge Justin Walker, 37, a federal district court judge in Kentucky who is a protégé of Mr. McConnell's. Judge Walker's confirmation hearing was Wednesday, a month after Mr. Trump named him."

Beyond the Beltway

Georgia. Christian Boone & Bert Roughton of the Atlanta Journal Constitution: "Two Glynn County commissioners say District Attorney Jackie Johnson's office refused to allow Glynn police to make arrests immediately after the Feb. 23 shooting death of Ahmaud Abery. Travis McMichael, 34, and his father Greg McMichael, 64, were arrested Thursday, more than two months after the fatal shooting [and after a video of the (alleged) murder circulated publicly]. 'The police at the scene went to her, saying they were ready to arrest both of them. These were the police at the scene who had done the investigation,' Commissioner Allen Booker, who has spoken with police, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 'She shut them down to protect her friend McMichael.' Greg McMichael, now retired, once worked as an investigator in Johnson's office. Commissioner Peter Murphy, who also said he spoke directly to Glynn County police about the incident, said officers at the scene concluded they had probable cause to make arrests and contacted Johnson's office to inform the prosecutor of their decision. 'They were told not to make the arrest,' Murphy said." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

News Lede

New York Times: "Richard Penniman, better known as Little Richard, who combined the sacred shouts of the black church and the profane sounds of the blues to create some of the world's first and most influential rock 'n' roll records, died on Saturday morning. He was 87.... His influence as a performer was immeasurable. It could be seen and heard in the flamboyant showmanship of James Brown, who idolized him (and used some of his musicians when Little Richard began a long hiatus from performing in 1957), and of Prince, whose ambisexual image owed a major debt to his. Presley recorded his songs. The Beatles adopted his trademark sound, an octave-leaping exultation: 'Woooo!' (Paul McCartney said that the first song he ever sang in public was 'Long Tall Sally,' which he later recorded with the Beatles.) Bob Dylan wrote in his high school yearbook that his ambition was 'to join Little Richard.'" ~~~

~~~ Rolling Stone's obituary is here. Rolling Stone names 20 essential Little Richard songs.