The Commentariat -- July 28, 2020
Afternoon Update:
The New York Times & Washington Post carried the Barr hearing live on their front pages; i.e., free to nonsubscribers. So if you don't have another means to view the hearings, there ya go. ~~~
~~~ Nicholas Fandos & others at the New York Times report on the, ah, highlights of Barr's testimony. Matt Zapotosky & others have the Washington Post's "highlights" report. Even Chuck Todd! ran a short montage of Barr's echoing some of Trump's stupider remarks.~~~
~~~ Amber Phillips of the Washington Post homes in on five takeaways: "1. He is all in as a partisan player[.]... 2. Under increased scrutiny, Barr is not backing down from sending federal agents into cities[.]... 3. Barr doesn't think police have a racism problem[.]... 4. Barr continued to cast doubt about voting by mail[.]... 5. Barr hesitates to say a president shouldn't accept foreign help to get elected[.] In probably one of the most stunning exchanges of the day, Barr at first did not denounce clearly illegal behavior. The question was from Rep. David N. Cicilline (D-R.I.).
"Cicilline: Is it ever appropriate, sir, for the president to solicit or accept foreign assistance in an election?
"Barr: It depends what kind of assistance.
"Cicilline: Is it ever appropriate for the president or presidential candidate to accept or solicit foreign assistance of any kind in his or her election
"Barr: No, it's not appropriate.
"Foreign help, of any kind, in an election is absolutely illegal." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Sean Sullivan of the Washington Post: "... Joe Biden announced a plan Tuesday to spend tens of billions of dollars to help people of color overcome inequities in the economy, a move that comes amid financial and racial upheaval nationwide. The plan calls for dedicating $30 billion worth of previously proposed government investments to a small business opportunity fund benefiting black, brown and Native American entrepreneurs. The goal is to spur five times as much in private investments. Biden is also proposing to triple the goal for federal contracting with small disadvantaged businesses, from 5 percent to at least 15 percent of all spending on materials and services by 2025. And he is calling for President Trump and Congress to create an emergency housing support program, along with promoting a refundable tax credit of up to $15,000 to help families purchase their first homes. The plan marks Biden's latest attempt to make a major statement on racial issues, a topic on which he has faced blowback from activists on several occasions during his campaign." ~~~
~~~ So while Joe was figuring out ways to provide better economic possibilities for minorities & inch toward the American idea of equal opportunities for all, let's see what Donnie was doing: ~~~
~~~ Reed Richardson of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump went on a late night Twitter binge on Monday with more than a dozen posts pushing dubious claims about the drug hydroxychloroquine, including twice retweeting a video from a woman falsely claiming that the drug was a 'cure' for Covid-19 and that 'you don't need a mask.'" ~~~
~~~ Justin Baragona of the Daily Beast: "... Donald Trump exhibited his new serious tone toward the coronavirus crisis on Monday night, sharing a viral video of fringe doctors touting the controversial anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine as 'a cure for COVID.' The video, which also featured the doctors dismissing mask-wearing, was eventually taken down by Facebook for 'sharing false information' about the virus, after racking up millions of views in a matter of hours. Several right-wing outlets and personalities, however, continued to promote the clip of the doctors' press conference on Twitter, eventually reaching the president's timeline.... Trump then shared a tweet directly from Dr. Stella Immanuel, one of the physicians who took part in the press conference. Immanuel is also a preacher who once wrote a book claiming that there is a Satanic plot to take over the world and recently challenged CNN anchors and top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci to provide her with urine samples.... The president also shared tweets attacking Fauci on Monday night, despite insisting recently that he had a 'very good relationship' with the doctor after White House officials publicly blasted him." ~~~
~~~ Darlene Superville & Amanda Seitz of the AP: "... Donald Trump's attempt to project a more serious tone about the coronavirus lasted for about a week. On Tuesday, he resumed spreading misinformation about how to fight the virus and amplifying criticism of Dr. Anthony Fauci.... Social media platforms worked to remove multiple versions of a video promoted by Trump that included unproven claims about treating people who test positive for the virus, but only after more than 17 million people had seen one version of it.... Fauci, a leading member of the White House coronavirus task force, responded to Trump's tweets during an appearance Tuesday on ABC's 'Good Morning America.' 'I go along with the FDA,' said Fauci, the longtime director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases. 'The overwhelming prevailing clinical trials that have looked at the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine have indicated that it is not effective in coronavirus disease.'" ~~~
~~~ Chip off the Old Blockhead. Katie Shepherd & Taylor Telford of the Washington Post: "Twitter on Tuesday penalized Donald Trump Jr. for posting hydroxychloroquine misinformation, the social media giant said.... Twitter said it ordered the president's son to delete the misleading tweet and said it would 'limit some account functionality for 12 hours.' The tweet, which featured a viral video showing a group of doctors making misleading and false claims about the coronavirus pandemic, was directly tweeted by Trump Jr.'s account. That contrasts with his father, who retweeted multiple clips of the same video to his 84.2 million followers Monday night. Twitter removed the videos, deleting several of the tweets that President Trump shared, and added a note to its trending topics warning about the potential risks of hydroxychloroquine use." An Axios story is here. ~~~
~~~ Will Sommer of the Daily Beast: "A Houston doctor who praises hydroxychloroquine and says that face masks aren't necessary to stop transmission of the highly contagious coronavirus has become a star on the right-wing internet, garnering tens of millions of views on Facebook on Monday alone. Donald Trump Jr. declared the video of Stella Immanuel a 'must watch,' while Donald Trump himself retweeted the video. Before Trump and his supporters embrace Immanuel's medical expertise, though, they should consider other medical claims Immanuel has made.... She has often claimed that gynecological problems like cysts and endometriosis are in fact caused by people having sex in their dreams with demons and witches. She alleges alien DNA is currently used in medical treatments, and that scientists are cooking up a vaccine to prevent people from being religious."
S.V. Date of the Huffington Post: "... Donald Trump's campaign is violating federal election law by funneling close to a quarter-billion dollars to date through private companies in order to hide the ultimate recipients of the money, including the wife of one of his sons and the girlfriend of another, a watchdog group charged in a complaint filed Tuesday. 'The money is being laundered through corporations run by top Trump campaign officials,' said Brendan Fischer, a lawyer with the Campaign Legal Center. 'That has the effect of keeping the public in the dark as to a big chunk of Trump campaign spending.' The group's complaint with the Federal Election Commission asks for an investigation to put an end to the practice and to punish the campaign with fines. How quickly any of that might happen, though, is an open question, given that the commission currently does not have a quorum to take official actions. Even with one in place, investigations can last for several years."
~~~~~~~~~~
The Trumpidemic, Ctd.
The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Tuesday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Tuesday are here.
David Knowles of Yahoo! News: "President Trump continued to urge states to reopen their economies Monday despite the sharp increase in the number of Americans testing positive for COVID-19 in recent weeks. 'I really do believe governors should be opening up states they're not opening, and we'll have to see what happens with them,' Trump said during a visit to a Morrisville, N.C., biotech facility that is working on a coronavirus vaccine. In recent weeks, Trump has been pushing the nation's schools to reopen, though a spike in new COVID-19 cases has called that idea into question as the fall semester looms. Over the past two weeks, new cases have risen by 13 percent nationwide."
John Wagner of the Washington Post has a story on National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien's contracting Covid-19. "'He has mild symptoms and has been self-isolating and working from a secure location off site,' the White House said in a statement. 'There is no risk of exposure to the President or the Vice President. The work of the National Security Council continues uninterrupted.'" Mrs. McC: This is getting to be like a version of the cat-on-the-roof joke. First, it's Mrs. Stephen Miller who works far, far away in the veep's office. Then it's the valet who has a crummy job but works closely with Donaldo. Then it's the girlfriend of the ne'er-do-well son. Now it's a top advisor to the president. Who next? Bill Barr? Mike Pompeo? Before November, it will be Donald Trump. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Daniel Lippman of Politico: "... Donald Trump socially distanced himself from his own national security adviser on Monday after he tested positive for Covid-19. Asked about the positive test result for Robert O'Brien, Trump said..., 'I haven't seen him lately.... I heard he tested, yeah. I have not seen him.'"
~~~ Real Cat-on-the-Roof Story. Charlie Cooper of Politico: "A pet cat in England has tested positive for Covid-19, the first confirmed case in an animal in the U.K. and one of very few worldwide. The U.K.'s Chief Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss said that it was 'a very rare event' and there was no evidence to suggest that pets transmit the coronavirus to humans. The cat is thought to have contracted the virus from its owners, who had tested positive and since made a full recovery -- as has the cat." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Ashley Parker & Philip Rucker of the Washington Post: "... both allies and opponents agree [Trump] has failed at the one task that could help him achieve all of his goals -- confronting the pandemic with a clear strategy and consistent leadership. Trump's shortcomings have perplexed even some of his most loyal allies, who increasingly have wondered why the president has not at least pantomimed a sense of command over the crisis or conveyed compassion for the millions of Americans impacted by it. People close to Trump ... say the president's inability to wholly address the crisis is due to his almost pathological unwillingness to admit error; a positive feedback loop of overly rosy assessments and data from advisers and Fox News; and a penchant for magical thinking that prevented him from fully engaging with the pandemic.... In the past couple of weeks, senior advisers began presenting Trump with maps and data showing spikes in coronavirus cases among 'our people' in Republican states, a senior administration official said.... This new approach seemed to resonate...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: IOW, Trump could not care less about Americans dying as long as those Americans were not likely to vote for him or buy MAGA hats.
Erica Werner, et al., of the Washington Post: "Senate Republicans will propose cutting weekly emergency unemployment benefits from $600 to $200 until states can bring a more complicated program online, according to two people familiar with the plan.... The proposal will come as part of a broader $1 trillion relief bill aimed at dealing with the economic fallout caused by the novel coronavirus. Republicans plan to release the legislation later on Monday and start negotiations with Democrats.... Republican lawmakers and some business executives have complained that the $600 weekly payment has created a situation where some Americans are paid more to stay home than to return to their jobs." Mrs. McC: Another way to look at it: Congress, in its wisdom, thought what a family needed to survive was $600/week (or $15/hour, $31,200/year). That suggests not that the emergency benefits should be cut but that the minimum wage should be raised to more than $15/hour. Republicans look at everything ass-backwards. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ AND a Boondoggle for the Boss. Emily Cochrane & Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: "The [GOP] proposal was part of a $1 trillion opening bid that would have to be reconciled with Democrats, who are pushing a recovery package that would spend three times as much and extend the $600 per week in extra unemployment aid through the end of the year. Economists say the money, slated to expire this week, has provided a crucial economic buffer for the unemployed, and that lowering the payments could have a cascade of damaging effects across the economy.... With a small but vital bloc of conservative senators opposed to providing any more federal coronavirus aid, the [Republican] party has struggled to agree on how to stabilize the battered economy, leaving Democrats with crucial leverage for an intense set of negotiations over the relief package.... Complicating the picture, Republicans and the White House continued to bicker over the contents of the package even after it was announced, with Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, appearing surprised that it included funding for a new F.B.I. building that has long been an obsession of Mr. Trump's. ~~~
''[White House Chief-of-Staff Mark] Meadows and [Treasury Secretary Steve] Mnuchin sought to leave an indelible mark on the package on behalf of Mr. Trump, spending a weekend on Capitol Hill meeting with Senate staff -- an unusual step for senior cabinet officials -- to hammer out the technical details of the unemployment proposal.... While the two men ultimately agreed to drop demands for a payroll tax cut -- a presidential priority dismissed by members of both parties -- they succeeded in securing $1.75 billion for the design and construction of a new building for the F.B.I. Headquarters across from Mr. Trump's luxury hotel in downtown Washington, in which he has repeatedly shown a personal interest." A CNN story on the FBI HQ is here.
~~~ Chris Hayes of MSNBC and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) also noted that the GOP package, while shorting ordinary workers, includes a provision to return the 3-martini to big spenders, spenders who will do that spending at restaurants, some of which Donald Trump owns, like the ones across the street from the proposed new FBI HQ. What a prick! ~~~
They managed to have enough money for $2 billion for the FBI headquarters that benefits Trump hotel and they say they have no money for food assistance. -- Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.).
~~~ Mitch Is Not Amused. Jonathan O'Connell, et al., of the Washington Post: "Under intense White House pressure, Senate Republicans agreed Monday to allocate $1.75 billion in their coronavirus relief bill toward the construction of a new D.C. headquarters for the FBI. But top Senate Republicans immediately began distancing themselves from the provision after it was made public, saying they weren't sure why the White House repeatedly insisted on putting it in the bill. In calling for a new 'Washington, DC headquarters facility,' the provision reflects President Trump's ongoing interest in building a new headquarters for the FBI downtown, rather than a secure campus in the suburbs that was envisioned before he took office. At a news conference Monday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) initially denied that the FBI money was in the bill, but then was notified by reporters that the language was in fact included. 'You'll have to ask them why they insisted that be included,' he told reporters, referring to the White House.... Asked Monday what a new FBI building had to do with the novel coronavirus, Sen. Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.), a key negotiator of the stimulus package, paused and said, 'Good question.'"
The Cult of Selfishness." Paul Krugman: "Premature reopening led to a surge in infections: Adjusted for population, Americans are currently dying from Covid-19 at around 15 times the rate in the European Union or Canada. Yet the 'rocket ship' recovery Donald Trump promised has crashed and burned: Job growth appears to have stalled or reversed, especially in states that were most aggressive about lifting social distancing mandates.... People truly focused on restarting the economy should have been big supporters of measures to limit infections without hurting business -- above all, getting Americans to wear face masks.... Also..., [they] should have wanted to sustain consumer purchasing power until wages recovered.... the modern U.S. right is committed to the proposition that greed is good.... Many on the right are enraged at any suggestion that their actions should take other people's welfare into account. This rage is sometimes portrayed as love of freedom.... But ... what they call 'freedom' is actually absence of responsibility."
Florida. Rosa Flores, et al., of CNN: "Just weeks before schools must open across Florida, the numbers of new [child] cases and hospitalizations due to Covid-19 have surged. On July 16, the state had a total of 23,170 children ages 17 and under who had tested positive since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the Florida Department of Health. By July 24, that number jumped to 31,150. That's a 34% increase in new cases among children in eight days. And more children in Florida are requiring hospitalization. As of July 16, 246 children had been hospitalized with coronavirus. By July 24, that number had jumped to 303. That's a 23% increase in child Covid-19 hospitalizations in eight days.... The surges ... directly contradict US Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos' claims that children are 'stoppers of the disease' who 'don't get it and transmit it themselves.'... The state has ordered schools to physically open next month." ~~~
~~~ Tyler Kepner of the New York Times: "The Miami Marlins postponed their home opener against the Baltimore Orioles on Monday -- four days after the season opener -- after learning that 14 members of the team's traveling party, including two coaches, had tested positive for the [corona]virus. The outbreak was first reported by ESPN." Here's an ESPN story. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Aris Folley of the Hill: "A Florida man has been arrested and is facing charges after federal prosecutors say he 'fraudulently' obtained nearly $4 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and used some of the money to buy a Lamborghini sports car. David Hines, 29, of Miami, was charged with one count of bank fraud, one count of making false statements to a financial institution and one count of engaging in transactions in unlawful proceeds, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced in a press release on Monday." Mrs. McC: The good news for Hines: he has now become an iconic "Florida man."
When the leader of the free world confronts an international pandemic. Thanks to Monoloco for the link:
Katherine Wu of the New York Times: "Researchers have long known that masks can prevent people from spreading airway germs to others -- findings that have driven much of the conversation around these crucial accessories during the coronavirus pandemic. But now, as cases continue to rise across the country, experts are pointing to an array of evidence suggesting that masks also protect the people wearing them, lessening the severity of symptoms, or in some instances, staving off infection entirely. Different kinds of masks 'block virus to a different degree, but they all block the virus from getting in,' said Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease physician at the University of California, San Francisco. If any virus particles do breach these barriers, she said, the disease might still be milder."
Trump's Stormtroopers, Ctd.
Tom Jackman & Carol Leonnig of the Washington Post: "An Army National Guard officer who witnessed protesters forcibly removed from Lafayette Square last month is contradicting claims by the attorney general and the Trump administration that they did not speed up the clearing to make way for the president's photo opportunity minutes later. A new statement by Adam DeMarco, an Iraq veteran who now serves as a major in the D.C. National Guard, also casts doubt on the claims by acting Park Police Chief Gregory Monahan that violence by protesters spurred Park Police to clear the area at that time with unusually aggressive tactics. DeMarco said that 'demonstrators were behaving peacefully' and that tear gas was deployed in an 'excessive use of force.' DeMarco backs up law enforcement officials who told The Washington Post they believed the clearing operation would happen after the 7 p.m. curfew that night -- but it was dramatically accelerated after Attorney General William P. Barr and others appeared in the park around 6 p.m. Monahan has said the operation was conducted so that a fence might be erected around the park. DeMarco said the fencing materials did not arrive until 9 p.m. -- hours after Barr told the Park Police to expand the perimeter -- and the fence wasn't built until later that night." The AP's story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) A New York Times story is here. Ali Velshi said DeMarco is testifying under whistleblower protection.~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Whom to believe? (1) An attorney general who has already lied to the American people and is a proven presidential* lapdog, or (2) an Army major who gets nothing out of contradicting Barr and others?
Devlin Barrett & Nick Miroff of the Washington Post: "The Trump administration is sending more federal agents to Portland, Ore., as officials consider pushing back harder and farther against the growing crowds and nightly clashes with protesters, vandals, and rioters.... To strengthen federal forces arrayed around the city's downtown courthouse, the U.S. Marshals Service decided last week to send 100 deputy U.S. Marshals to Portland, according to an internal Marshals email reviewed by The Post. The personnel began arriving Thursday night. The Department of Homeland Security is also considering a plan to send an additional 50 U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel to the city, but a final decision on the deployment has not been made, according to senior administration officials involved in the federal response.... There were 114 federal agents there in mid-July -- though it is unclear how many personnel there now would be relieved and sent home once the reinforcements arrive." Related Oregon Public Broadcasting story linked yesterday. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Marissa Lang of the Washington Post: "Protesters who say they were tear-gassed, shot at, pepper-sprayed and assaulted outside a federal courthouse while peacefully demonstrating and rendering aid to others sued the Trump administration Monday over its use of force during nightly demonstrations in downtown Portland. A group of five women and two organizations, including longtime Black Lives Matter protesters and the yellow-clad Wall of Moms group that assembles nightly to stand between protesters and federal law enforcement officers, filed a lawsuit alleging that several agencies -- the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Federal Protective Service -- have violated their constitutional rights of free speech, assembly and due process and against unreasonable seizures."
Andrew Hay & Nathan Layne of Reuters: "The Department of Homeland Security says its agents are in Portland and other cities to protect government property from 'violent anarchists.' Democratic mayors said the federal interventions, without the consent of local officials, were illegal. 'We call on Congress to pass legislation to make clear that these actions are unlawful and repugnant,' the mayors of Portland, Chicago; Seattle; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Kansas City, Missouri; and Washington, D.C., wrote in a letter to the leaders of both parties in the Senate and House of Representatives. The appeal followed a surge in Black Lives Matter protests over the weekend with an escalation in violence and the appearance of white supremacists and an armed Black militia."
Texas. Gary Bass of KLTV (Tyler): "During a rally organizers said was to 'protest the unconstitutional occupation of Portland,' on Sunday, Hank Gilbert's campaign manager was allegedly assaulted by a group of counter-protesters. Gilbert, a Democrat from Tyler, is running against U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, a Republican, for the 1st Congressional District. The protest took place in Tyler's downtown square on Sunday afternoon. Ryan Miller, the alleged victim, is Gilbert's campaign manager. 'Miller was attacked by at least four protesters, some of whom were armed, and sustained blows to the head and other parts of his body, as well as a large gash under his eye,' a press release from the campaign stated. 'The incident occurred as officers from the Tyler Police Department drove around the square idly, waving at the Blue Lives Matter counter-protesters who had come to support Gilbert's opponent.' According to the press release, counter-protesters disrupted the rally by shouting, 'Louie! Louie! Louie!' repeatedly. The press release also claimed the counter-protesters shouted 'Louie' as Miller was being assaulted." A TPM story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Virginia. WSLS Roanoke: "Riots in downtown Richmond[, Virginia,] over the weekend were instigated by white supremacists under the guise of Black Lives Matter, according to law enforcement officials. Protesters tore down police tape and pushed forward toward Richmond police headquarters, where they set a city dump truck on fire.... The mayor of Richmond thanked the Black Lives Matter protesters he said tried to stop the white supremacists from spearheading the violence."
Trump Lies About Everything ... Because He Envies Everyone. Pathetic. Katie Rogers & Noah Weiland of the New York Times: "An hour before Dr. Anthony S. Fauci threw the first pitch at the season opener between the New York Yankees and the Washington Nationals, President Trump stood on the briefing room stage at the White House and declared that he, too, had been invited to throw out his own opening pitch. 'Randy Levine is a great friend of mine from the Yankees,' Mr. Trump, referring to the president of the baseball team, told reporters on Thursday.... 'And he asked me to throw out the first pitch, and I think I'm doing that on Aug. 15 at Yankee Stadium.' There was one problem: Mr. Trump had not actually been invited on that day by the Yankees.... His announcement surprised both Yankees officials and the White House staff. But Mr. Trump had been so annoyed by Dr. Fauci's turn in the limelight, an official familiar with his reaction said, that he had directed his aides to call Yankees officials and make good on a longtime standing offer from Mr. Levine to throw out an opening pitch. No date was ever finalized.... Over the weekend, Mr. Trump officially canceled.... This is not the first time Mr. Trump has made such a request to fend off a potential upstaging. In April, the day before Vice President Mike Pence was to speak at the Air Force commencement ceremony in Colorado, Mr. Trump suddenly announced that he would be speaking at West Point. That was news to officials at West Point." The Hill has a summary story here.
A full month after news broke that Russia had placed bounties on U.S. soldiers, a reporter finally asked "... Donald Trump whether he brought up alleged Russian bounties on US troops in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but Trump falsely claimed that he doesn't discuss his calls with foreign leaders." CNN video.
Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "President Trump's lawyers are pushing to kill a grand jury subpoena for his tax records by arguing that the Manhattan district attorney's order to produce documents is 'wildly overbroad' and tantamount to 'harassment,' according to an amended lawsuit filed in federal court here on Monday. The president's latest attempt to shield his financial records comes as Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. seeks to accelerate his investigation into hush-money payments made to two women during the 2016 presidential campaign. It follows a major Supreme Court ruling earlier this month that found Trump's status as a sitting president does not make him immune to investigation by local authorities." The New York Times story is here. A Reuters story is here.
Bryan Bender & Nahal Toosi of Politico: "... Donald Trump intends to nominate a brash former military officer [Col. Douglas Macgregor] to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to Germany, the White House announced Monday.... Macgregor is a regular on Fox News, as are many of Trump's nominees for top posts.... Washington-Berlin relations have soured under Trump, who is determined to reduce America's troop presence there. If confirmed for the post in Berlin, Macgregor would succeed another divisive figure, Richard Grenell. Grenell's harsh and outspoken style, in which he constantly promoted Trump's America First views, alienated many Germans.... Macgregor, who speaks fluent German, is steeped in German military and political history. A West Point graduate who earned a Bronze Star for valor in the 1991 Gulf War, he holds a master's degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. And he has written extensively about the relationship and fighting between the Soviet Union and Germany." Mrs. McC: At least Macgregor is qualified on paper.
Rachel Siegel of the Washington Post: "Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she will vote against Judy Shelton's nomination to the Federal Reserve Board, raising the stakes of a political fight around one of President Trump's controversial picks for a seat on the central bank. Collins joined Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) in opposing Shelton's nomination, which is slated to go for a vote before the full Senate. Collins and Romney alone can't derail Shelton's advancement, but the margin is getting thinner for Shelton, who is known for her outspoken criticism of the Fed and her advocacy for a return to the gold standard.... If the Senate's Democrats and Independents all vote against Shelton's nomination, her confirmation could be doomed if she looses the support of more than three Republicans." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Sarah Owermohle of Politico: "A White House meeting with top pharmaceutical executives that ... Donald Trump promised for Tuesday is off, five industry sources familiar with discussions told Politico. Three said the drug-pricing discussion was canceled because the major drug lobbies, reeling from Friday's cluster of executive orders on the topic, refused to send any members. Drugmakers and Trump were slated to discuss an executive order, signed Friday but not yet released, that would order health officials to release a plan linking Medicare payments for certain medicines to lower costs paid abroad. The provision, known as a most-favored-nations rule, has been lambasted by the drug industry and some patient groups that say it would curb innovation and reduce drug access."
Matt Zapotosky & Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post: "Attorney General William P. Barr is scheduled to testify Tuesday before the House Judiciary Committee, where he is expected to face critical questioning on his response to anti-police brutality protests across the nation, his controversial interventions in high-profile cases involving allies of President Trump and many other matters. The hearing, which begins at 10 a.m., marks the first time Barr has appeared before the panel since Democrats took over the House majority in 2019...." ~~~
~~~ The story has been substantially updated. New Lede: "Attorney General William P. Barr will tell the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday that President Trump has not inappropriately intervened in Justice Department business -- even though Barr has more than once moved in criminal cases to help the president's allies -- and he will defend the administration's response to civil unrest in the country, according to a copy of his opening statement. Barr, according to the statement, will take a defiant posture as he testifies before the panel for the first time since Democrats took control of it, alleging that they have attempted to 'discredit' him since he vowed to investigate the 2016 FBI probe of possible coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign, and the media has been unfair in covering unrest." ~~~
~~~ The New York Times story, which also reports on Barr's opening statement, is here. CNN's story is here. Politico has Barr's full opening statement, as prepared, here (pdf). A related Politico story is here.
Nomaan Merchant of the AP: "The Trump administration has agreed not to expel a group of immigrant children it detained in a Texas hotel under an emergency declaration citing the coronavirus and will instead allow them to seek to remain in the U.S., the administration said Monday. The move comes days after The Associated Press first reported on the U.S. government's secretive practice of detaining unaccompanied children in hotels before rapidly deporting them.... Government data obtained by AP showed the U.S. had detained children nearly 200 times over two months in three Hampton Inn & Suites hotels in Arizona and two Texas border cities. But the Trump administration has not said it will stop using hotels to detain children. The legal groups that sued Friday night said they still plan to fight the larger practice in court. Their agreement only covers 17 people.... After the hotel's owner said Friday it would end reservations of rooms used for child detention, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement removed the children from the hotel but refused to say where it had taken them."
Bill Barrow & Andrew Taylor of the AP: "In a solemn display of bipartisan unity, congressional leaders praised Democratic Rep. John Lewis as a moral force for the nation on Monday in a Capitol Rotunda memorial service rich with symbolism and punctuated by the booming, recorded voice of the late civil rights icon. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Lewis the 'conscience of the Congress' who was 'revered and beloved on both sides of the aisle, on both sides of the Capitol.' Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell praised the longtime Georgia congressman as a model of courage and a 'peacemaker.' 'The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice,' McConnell, a Republican, said, quoting the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. 'But that is never automatic. History only bent toward what's right because people like John paid the price.'" ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McConnell: Say, Mitch, what about this? Orion Rummler of Axios (July 22): The House passed a voting rights bill in 2019, "but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has declined to bring it up for a vote.... Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) introduced a bill with the support of 47 co-sponsors on Wednesday that would fully restore the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965 in the name of the late civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.).... The bill was co-sponsored by every Democratic senator and the two independents who caucus with Democrats, as well as Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)[.]" ~~~
~~~ Graceless President* Refuses to Honor a Man Full of Grace. Caitlin Oprysko of Politico: "Asked by reporters whether he would [go to the Capitol] to pay his respects to [John] Lewis, who was a vocal critic of Trump, the president offered a concise reply. 'No, I won't be going, no,' he said.... When ... Lewis ... died..., Donald Trump publicly ignored his passing for about 12 hours. As the news broke late on a Friday and remembrances poured in, the president was blasting out nearly four dozen tweets and retweets about various other topics, from his niece's scathing new book to former Vice President Joe Biden. Trump's muted reaction to the death of a historic figure -- albeit one with whom he disagreed -- is just the latest instance of how he struggles to respond as a typical president would in these situations.... It's also an illustration of the strikingly different ways Trump has treated the passing of iconic figures, a contrast that was brought into stark relief by how he reacted to the death of a beloved TV personality [Regis Philbin] on Saturday[, whom he praised effusively]."
Elections 2020
Jonathan Easley of the Hill: "The first presidential debate in September has been moved from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., to Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. The move came after the Rev John Jenkins, president of Notre Dame, announced the school would withdraw as host of the debate, saying the burdensome health precautions required would interfere with student education." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Zeke Miller of the AP: "The University of Michigan was scheduled to host the second presidential debate but withdrew last month. That debate will now be held at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami."
Peter Beinart in a New York Times op-ed, relies on polling data to show that Joe Biden is running a more successful campaign against Donald Trump than Hillary Clinton did because Biden is a man. A 2010 study Beinart cites is instructive: "... two Yale researchers ... asked participants their opinions of two fictional candidates, one male and one female, who were described as possessing 'a strong will to power.' Attributing ambition to the male candidate didn't hurt his appeal. But upon learning that the female candidate was ambitious, many participants responded with 'feelings of moral outrage.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Melanie Is Planning to Stay. Katie Rogers of the New York Times: "Melania Trump, the first lady, announced on Monday a plan renovate the White House Rose Garden.... The project, which includes electrical upgrades for television appearances, a new walkway and new flowers and shrubs, is meant to be an 'act of expressing hope and optimism for the future,' according to remarks Mrs. Trump delivered to the Committee for the Preservation of the White House on Monday morning. 'Our country has seen difficult times before, but the White House and the Rose Garden have always stood as a symbol of our strength, resilience and continuity.' Mrs. Trump's husband has not exactly focused on those principles during his many appearances in the Rose Garden, repeatedly breaking norms on how presidents use the space as it has become his preferred venue for announcing executive actions, boasting about the economy and extending political battles.... Aides say he believes the natural lighting favors his complexion." Private donations will fund the project. ~~~
Georgia Senate Race. The Nose Knows. Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "On Monday, Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) caused outrage over an attack ad that appeared to digitally enlarge the nose of his Jewish opponent, former congressional staffer Jon Ossoff. 'The ad called for donations to Perdue, a Republican, by claiming that "Democrats are trying to buy Georgia." It uses black-and-white photos of Ossoff and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is also Jewish, that have been Photoshopped to appear as if they were pulled from an old television set with poor reception,' reported Forward. 'But the Ossoff image, which was adapted from a 2017 Reuters photo of him, was also changed by having his nose lengthened and widened, even as other parts of his face stayed the same size and proportions, three graphic design experts told the Forward.... The campaign has pulled the ad and issued an apology, even as it denies any intentional anti-Semitism." The Forward story, linked in the story, is subscriber-firewalled. Mrs. McC: Very disappointed the ad-makers forgot to feature George Soros. ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Georgia, notorious for the lynching of Leo Frank in 1915, retains a substantial population of anti-Semites today: "In 2019, there were 60 incidents of extremism and anti-Semitism in Georgia, according to the Anti-Defamation League. The figure for 2019 decreased from the 91 incidents reported in the Peach State during 2018." I'd guess Perdue thought his anti-Semitic ad would be effective.
Joan Biskupic of CNN has a long piece on how Chief Justice John Roberts is controlling the Supreme Court. As Biskupic seems to have insider sources, the piece should be of interest to Court-watchers.
America's "Untouchables". Isabel Wilkerson of the Guardian: "In the winter of 1959, after leading the Montgomery bus boycott that arose from the arrest of Rosa Parks and before the trials and triumphs to come, Martin Luther King Jr and his wife, Coretta, landed in India, in the city then known as Bombay, to visit the land of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of nonviolent protest.... He wanted to see the so-called 'untouchables', the lowest caste in the ancient Indian caste system.... At one point in their trip, King and his wife ... visited with high-school students whose families had been untouchables. The principal made the introduction. 'Young people,' he said, 'I would like to present to you a fellow untouchable from the United States of America.'... King was floored.... He was, in fact, put off by it at first.... He realised that the land of the free had imposed a caste system not unlike the caste system of India, and that he had lived under that system all of his life. It was what lay beneath the forces he was fighting in the US." --s
Way Beyond the Beltway
Ecuador/China. Dan Collyns of the Guardian: "Ecuador has sounded the alarm after its navy discovered a huge fishing fleet of mostly Chinese-flagged vessels some 200 miles from the Galápagos Islands, the archipelago which inspired Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. About 260 ships are currently in international waters just outside a 188-mile wide exclusive economic zone around the island, but their presence has already raised the prospect of serious damage to the delicate marine ecosystem, said former environment minister Yolanda Kakabadse." --s
Libya. Metin Gurcan of Al-Monitor: "Armed with parliamentary approval for cross-border military action, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has full authority to intervene in neighboring Libya, a prospect that could lead to a conventional military confrontation between regional rivals Egypt and Turkey, which back opposing sides in Libya's proxy war.... Ankara seems to confidently rule out a comprehensive ground operation by Egypt in Libya.... [But] Ankara is preoccupied with whether Egypt will receive open or covert air support from the United Arab Emirates, its chief ally in Libya, and Russia." --s
Malaysia. Richard Paddock of the New York Times: "A Malaysian court on Tuesday found Najib Razak, the countr's former prime minister, guilty of corruption on charges stemming from the disappearance of $4.5 billion from a government investment fund he once controlled. The conviction of Mr. Najib, the scion of a political dynasty, was seen as a win for the rule of law even after his allies in government returned to power in March, taking control from the reformist government that ousted him in 2018. Tuesday's trial was the first of five related to the theft of billions from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad fund and Mr. Najib was found guilty on all seven charges of abuse of power, breach of trust and money laundering. But experts said the verdict could be overturned on appeal."
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