The Commentariat -- July 11, 2020

Afternoon Update:

The New York Times' live updates for coronavirus developments Saturday are here.

Dennis Romero & Austin Mullen of NBC News: "The United States saw another record day for new coronavirus cases, surpassing 70,000 for the first time, according to an NBC News tally Friday.... Sunbelt states experiencing surges including California, Florida, Texas and Georgia contributed to the record tally. California reported 7,798 new cases Friday, and state officials said they're considering releasing about 8,000 inmates from a prison system battered by the virus. In South Florida, NBC Miami reported [t]hat seven area hospitals have no intensive care beds available as a result of being inundated with virus patients."

Jesse Byrnes & Tal Axelrod of the Hill: "GOP Sen. Mitt Romney (Utah) on Saturday sharply condemned President Trump's commutation for ... Roger Stone.... 'Unprecedented, historic corruption: an American president commutes the sentence of a person convicted by a jury of lying to shield that very president,' Romney tweeted Saturday morning.... Sen. (R-S.C.) tweeted Friday before the commutation was announced that 'in my view it would be justified' for Trump to intervene, saying, 'This was a non-violent, first-time offense.'"

"Worse Than Nixon." Jeffrey Toobin of the New Yorker: "... Nixon never gave a pardon, or commuted a sentence, of anyone implicated in the Watergate scandal. But, on Friday night, Donald Trump commuted the prison sentence of Roger Stone.... William Barr ... had already overridden the sentencing recommendation of the prosecutors who tried the case -- a nearly unprecedented act.... But Barr's unseemly interference in the case was somehow not enough for the President.... The only trace of shame in Trump's announcement was that he delivered it on a Friday night -- supposedly when the public is least attentive.... The Stone commutation isn't just a gift to an old friend -- it is a reward to Stone for keeping his mouth shut during the Mueller investigation. It is, in other words, corruption on top of cronyism.... One of the touchstones of authoritarian political cultures is the use of the criminal-justice system to reward friends and punish enemies."

Quinta Jurecic & Benjamin Wittes of Lawfare: "... the predictable nature of Trump's action should not obscure its rank corruption. In fact, the predictability makes the commutation all the more corrupt, the capstone of an all-but-open attempt on the president's part to obstruct justice in a self-protective fashion over a protracted period of time.... Trump publicly encouraged Stone not to cooperate with Robert Mueller's investigation, he publicly dangled clemency as a reward for silence, and he has now delivered. The act is predictable precisely because the corrupt action is so naked.... According to newly unsealed material in the Mueller report, [Stone is] a person who had the power to reveal to investigators that Trump likely lied to Mueller -- and to whom Trump publicly dangled rewards if Stone refused to provide Mueller with that information.... Trump clearly knew about and encouraged Stone’s outreach to WikiLeaks, the unredacted report shows. Yet in written answers the president provided to Mueller's office..., Trump insisted that he did not recall ... any discussions with Stone of WikiLeaks."

David Frum of the Atlantic: The amazing thing about the Trump-Stone story is how much of it happened in the full light of day.... Stone told the journalist Howard Fineman why he lied and whom he was protecting. 'He knows I was under enormous pressure to turn on him. It would have eased my situation considerably. But I didn't.' You read that, and you blink. As the prominent Trump critic George Conway tweeted: 'I mean, even Tony Soprano would have used only a pay phone or burner phone to say something like this.' Stone said it on the record to one of the best-known reporters in Washington. In so many words, he seemed to imply: I could have hurt the president if I'd rolled over on him. I kept my mouth shut. He owes me."

~~~~~~~~~~

A Reprieve for Roger

Jesse Byrnes of the Hill: "P>resident Trump on Saturday morning defended his decision to commute the prison sentence for his longtime associate and political confidant Roger Stone.... 'Roger Stone was targeted by an illegal Witch Hunt that never should have taken place. It is the other side that are criminals, including the fact that Biden and Obama illegally spied on my campaign - AND GOT CAUGHT!' Trump tweeted."

Your Friday Night News Dump. Breaking at 7:53 pm ET: NBC News has confirmed that Donald Trump has phoned Roger Stone & told him he would commute Stone's prison sentence. ~~~

~~~ Update. Spencer Hsu & Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post: "President Trump has commuted the sentence of his former aide and longtime confidant Roger Stone, who was convicted at trial last year of obstructing a congressional investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election. The president signaled his intentions on Twitter last month, saying Stone 'was a victim of a corrupt and illegal Witch Hunt' and 'can sleep well at night!' President Trump then told reporters Friday that he is 'looking at' pardoning Stone, as he continued to build suspense over whether he will intervene before Stone is scheduled to report to prison next week." ~~~

With this commutation, Trump makes clear that there are two systems of justice in America: one for his criminal friends, and one for everyone else. -- Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) ~~~

~~~ Peter Baker, et al., of the New York Times: "In a lengthy statement released late on a Friday evening, the White House denounced the prosecution against Mr. Stone on what it called 'process based charges' stemming from 'the Russia Hoax' investigation. 'Roger Stone has already suffered greatly,' the statement said. 'He was treated very unfairly, as were many others in this case. Roger Stone is now a free man!' Punctuated by the same sort of inflammatory language and angry grievances characteristic of the president's Twitter feed, the official statement assailed 'overzealous prosecutors' working for ... Robert S. Mueller III, and the 'witch hunts' aimed at the president and his associates. It attacked the 'activist juror' who led the panel that convicted Mr. Stone and went on to complain about the show of force used by federal law enforcement agents when he was arrested.... The statement did not argue that Mr. Stone was innocent, only that he should not have been pursued." The statement is here. ~~~

~~~ Tierney Sneed of TPM: "The statement announcing the commutation pointed to several bogus conspiracies Stone, Trump and their allies pushed about federal prosecutors. It alluded to the debunked claim that prosecutors tipped off CNN to Stone's arrest. It reiterated Stone's allegations, already dismissed by a judge, that his jury was biased against him because the foreperson once tweeted negatively about Trump. And the statement asserted the prosecutors only 'set their sights on Mr. Stone' because they were 'desperate for splashy headlines to compensate for a failed investigation.'"

Just had a long talk with #RogerStone. He says he doesn't want a pardon (which implies guilt) but a commutation, and says he thinks #Trump will give it to him. 'He knows I was under enormous pressure to turn on him. It would have eased my situation considerably. But I didn't.' -- Journalist Howard Fineman, in a tweet Friday afternoon

In other words, Stone strongly implies, or outright admits, that Trump conspired with him in certain criminal acts, and a commutation should be Stone's reward for not incriminating -- "turning on" -- Trump. -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie ~~~

~~~ And So He Did. Mrs. McCrabbie: Dan Goldman, appearing on MSNBC, goes even further, saying that Stone's remarks about the possibility of "turning on" Trump were an implied threat to Trump, and Trump knew it. That is, if Trump didn't commute Stone's sentence, Stone would squeal on Trump from a prison cell. Trump issued the commutation to protect himself, not Stone, in Goldman's view. Makes sense. That's the way criminals communicate. In fact, we know that Trump spoke to Stone about the commutation, so whether or not the two used coded crime-family language, they managed to get on the same page. ~~~

~~~ Bill Kristol agrees with Goldman. Writing in the Bulwark: "Of course Donald Trump would have preferred to wait until November 3 to commute Roger Stone's sentence. But Stone had let it be known that he might talk if he had to set foot in prison for even a short time. And so he received his get out of jail card on July 10, four days before he was to report to the federal penitentiary.... Will no elected Republican now stand up and say to the president: You chose Stone; I choose Biden."

Kevin Drum of Mother Jones: "But wait. Someone who gets a pardon can no longer invoke the Fifth Amendment as a justification for refusing to testify in court. If Stone were called in some other case, he'd be required to spill any beans he had. But if I understand the law correctly, a commutation is more limited. The conviction stands, and the possibility of putting yourself in further jeopardy remains. Thus your Fifth Amendment rights stand. So if you wanted to help out a buddy, but you also wanted to make sure he couldn't be forced to provide dangerous testimony in the future, commutation sure seems like the best bet, doesn't it?" Mrs. McC: Trump would not have known of this distinction, but -- assuming Drum is right -- Trump's lawyers knew. On the other hand, a prosecutor could give Stone full immunity to get to Trump.

Aha! Here's another reason for the Friday night news dump: Harper Neidig of the Hill: "A federal appeals court on Friday denied Roger Stone's emergency motion to delay the start of his prison term, a move that came just an hour before President Trump stepped in to commute his longtime ally's sentence. A three-judge panel on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Stone's appeal after a federal judge set his reporting date for prison to Tuesday."

Rachel Maddow highlighted former prosecutor Aaron Zelinsky's testimony to Congress last month on "Stone's conduct" before the 2016 election & known communications between Stone & Trump. A transcript of Zelinsky's prepared statement is here. It's an easy read. Maddow also highlighted this graf from the Zelinsky statement that made her wonder about Trump's claim that he recently "aced" a cognitive test:

In his written answers to the Special Counsel's Office, President Trump denied remembering anything about his conversations with Stone during the summer of 2016, and he denied being aware that Stone had discussed WikiLeaks with anyone associated with the campaign. One week after submitting his written answers, President Trump criticized 'flipping' witnesses and stated that Stone was 'very brave' in indicating he would not cooperate with prosecutors. The Special Counsel's Report stated that the President's statements complimenting Stone 'support the inference that the President intended to communicate a message that witnesses could be rewarded for refusing to provide testimony that was adverse to the President[.]'

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Sounds like witness tampering to me. Former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance suggested Trump could be prosecuted after he leaves office for commuting Stone's sentence in exchange for Stone's refusal to rat on Trump.

Washington Post Editors: "The president may have had the power to help his longtime friend. But that does not make it any less a perversion of justice -- indeed, it is one of the most nauseating instances of corrupt government favoritism the United States has ever seen. There is no doubt about Mr. Stone's guilt.... As Mr. Trump discussed granting clemency to his criminal friend, [even Bill] Barr publicly defended the sentence, perhaps to prevent a mutiny among Justice Department staff.... The president seems to be doing his best, within the confines of the U.S. constitutional system, to emulate the gangster leadership of Russian President Vladimir Putin, a man whose ruinous reign Mr. Trump has always admired. If the country needed any more evidence, Friday confirmed that the greatest threat to the Republic is the president himself."

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

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

Ashley Parker, et al., of the Washington Post: "Callers on President Trump in recent weeks have come to expect what several allies and advisers describe as a 'woe-is-me' preamble. The president rants about the deadly coronavirus destroying 'the greatest economy,' one he claims to have personally built. He laments the unfair 'fake news' media, which he vents never gives him any credit. And he bemoans the 'sick, twisted' police officers in Minneapolis, whose killing of an unarmed black man in their custody provoked the nationwide racial justice protests that have confounded the president. Gone, say these advisers and confidants..., are the usual pleasantries and greetings. Instead, Trump often launches into a monologue placing himself at the center of the nation's turmoil. The president has cast himself in the starring role of the blameless victim -- of a deadly pandemic, of a stalled economy, of deep-seated racial unrest, all of which happened to him rather than the country." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Jeremy Diamond & Kevin Liptak of CNN: "... Donald Trump -- who has stubbornly refused to wear a mask in public, ridiculed those who have and done little to encourage his supporters to embrace the common sense public health measure -- has said he will wear a mask during a visit to Walter Reed National Medical Center on Saturday. He is also expected to be photographed wearing it, a photo opportunity that some of the President's aides practically begged him to agree to and hope will encourage skeptical Trump supporters to do the same. 'I'm going to Walter Reed to see some of our great soldiers who have been injured. Badly injured. And also see some of our Covid workers people who have such a great job,' Trump said. 'And I expect to be wearing a mask when I go into Walter Reed. You're in a hospital so I think it's a very appropriate thing.'... One presidential adviser described the effort as more than a week of 'lots of negotiation' and repeated 'pleading' by aides who urged the President to set an example for his supporters by wearing a mask on the visit."

Laurie McGinley & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "White House trade adviser Peter Navarro is leading a Trump administration effort to demand the Food and Drug Administration reverse course and grant a second emergency authorization for the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine to treat covid-19.... Navarro, armed with a new study that he says shows the drug's effectiveness, is being cheered on by President Trump, who has long touted the drug as a 'game changer' and even used it himself as a possible preventive measure. Trump praised the study on Twitter this week, urging the FDA to 'Act Now.' The campaign also has been promoted by Rudolph W. Giuliani, the president's lawyer, and Laura Ingraham's show on Fox News. But Navarro, an economist..., faces serious challenges as he denounces what he calls 'media-induced hydroxy hysteria.' Scientists have widely criticized the new study, by Detroit's Henry Ford Health System, as flawed. In addition, just weeks ago the FDA revoked its emergency authorization for hydroxychloroquine after major studies found the medication wasn't effective for covid-19. And the unexpected revival of a politically fraught issue comes as FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn tries to shake off criticism he sometimes seems overly deferential to Trump."

Roger Sollenberger of Salon, via RawStory: "Charter schools across the country tapped the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for what could have been more than $1 billion, according to a preliminary analysis of Treasury Department data.... Treasury Department does not disclose specific dollar amounts, but breaks loans into maximum and minimum ranges. Salon's research did not make clear whether this analysis covered every charter school in the nation, but that seems unlikely. Regardless, the minimum total is roughly $500 million, and [a]t the maximum, the total would appear to exceed $1 ;billion." --s

Mississippi. Giacomo Bologna of the Mississippi Clarion Ledger (July 8): "Gov. Tate Reeves is warning the public to get tested for coronavirus if they have been in contact with a state lawmaker. The number of coronavirus cases linked to an outbreak at the Capitol has grown to 36, which includes 26 legislators, according to the state's top health official. Many politicians flouted recommendations to wear a mask inside the Capitol in recent weeks. Now, about one in six of Mississippi state lawmakers have tested positive for the coronavirus." Mrs. McC: No doubt most of these infected legislators are Republicans, though they could have made Democrats sick, too.

Stephen Collinson & Caitlin Hu of CNN: "Angela Merkel may not scream down the phone at ... Donald Trump -- but she knows how to insert a dagger. Trump, as well as Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro and Russia's Vladimir Putin, must have felt his ears burning when the German Chancellor demolished their approaches to the coronavirus in a speech [to the European Parliament] Thursday. 'As we are experiencing firsthand, you cannot fight the pandemic with lies and disinformation any more than you can fight it with hate or incitement to hatred," Merkel said. "The limits of populism and denial of basic truths are being laid bare.'" Emphasis added.

** Rafael Bernal of the Hill: "President Trump said Friday he intends to sign an executive order on immigration within the next month that he said will include a 'road to citizenship' for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. In an interview with Telemundo anchor José Díaz-Balart, Trump blamed Democrats from walking away from a deal on DACA and said the Supreme Court's decision last month blocking his administration's plan to end the Obama-era program gave him 'tremendous power.'" Here's Trump's word salad "explanation" of his "plan":

I'm going to do a big executive order. I have the power to do it as president and I'm going to make DACA a part of it. But, we put it in, and we'll probably going to then be taking it out. We're working out the legal complexities right now, but I'm going to be signing a very major immigration bill as an executive order, which Supreme Court now, because of the DACA decision, has given me the power to do that.... What I'm going to do is that they're going to part of a much bigger bill on immigration. It's going to be a very big bill, a very good bill, and merit-based bill and it will include DACA, and I think people are going to be very happy. But one of the aspects of the bill is going to be DACA. We're going to have a road to citizenship.

~~~ As Franco Ordoñez of NPR put it, "In an interview with Noticias Telemundo, Trump made a series of seemingly conflicting comments about his next steps." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: So it's going to be an executive order or a Congressional bill or something. DACA is going to be in or it's going to be out. Further, Trump's latest "interpretation" of the recent Supreme Court ruling that the Trump administration blew its attempt to kill President Obama's executive order establishing DACA is bananas. (At the time the Court announced its DACA decision last month, Trump denounced it as "horrible & politically charged" & tweeted, "Do you get the impression that the Supreme Court doesn't like me?") Bernal writes, "The White House attempted to clarify Trump's remarks a short time after the interview aired, saying any immigration deal would not include amnesty.... It's unclear whether the president can unilaterally grant a category of undocumented immigrants -- in this case DACA beneficiaries -- permanent legal status with a road to citizenship." Since Trump has spent several years trying to rescind DACA, it's hard to believe he wasn't just playing to Díaz-Balart's Latino audience. We'll end up with, "I never said that," and "It's the Democrats' fault."

Mrs. McCrabbie: In another Friday night news dump that Rachel Maddow highlighted, Bill Barr has dumped/promoted Richard Donoghue, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn), and replaced him with Seth DuCharme, who has been the EDNY U.S. Attorney before. This is like the move Barr attempted to pull against Geoffrey Berman of the SDNY, but Berman balked. I couldn't find a single print story on this Friday night, but here's the DOJ's press release. For some reason, Maddow suspects Barr has unrighteous ulterior motives.

Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "A federal judge in Manhattan has given lawyers for President Trump a Wednesday deadline to say whether he will further challenge a subpoena for his tax documents, part of an ongoing investigation by local prosecutors here into hush money payments made during the 2016 election season. The order by U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero follows Thursday's highly anticipated Supreme Court ruling in favor of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., who had been seeking the president's tax records as part of a probe into the Trump Organization's role in the payments.... Lawyers from Vance's office previously argued that delays could jeopardize their ability to file charges if any are warranted due to the timing of the payments as they apply to state statutes of limitations. The statute of limitations for a misdemeanor falsifying business records count has already passed, and the five-year deadline by which to bring a felony-level case over the transactions is approaching."

Jake Sherman of Politico: "Chris Cox..., Donald Trump's top liaison to the House of Representatives, has told associates he is leaving the White House, 15 hours after Politico raised questions about his alleged contacts with a former lobbying client while in government. On multiple occasions, Cox suggested while working in the White House that he was collecting intelligence or doing work after speaking to representatives and lobbyists from corporate interests, multiple sources said.... On Thursday afternoon, Politico raised a further series of questions about whether and how Cox was involved in a matter last month involving a former lobbying client that was pushing for help in the Trump administration...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ From Thursday afternoon's Politico Playbook: "On two occasions over the last few days, CHRIS COX -- who runs House outreach for the White House legislative affairs office -- suggested to colleagues he was doing errands and collecting political intelligence for lobbyist friends on K Street. COX told colleagues in the White House that he was seeking information on the executive orders that ... DONALD TRUMP was readying to issue so he could brief people downtown -- in other words, suggesting he wanted to give lobbyists a sneak peek." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Ray Levy-Uyeda of Mic: "At least 68 people have driven their cars into Black Lives Matter protesters since May 25.... Data collected since late May by Ari Weil, deputy research director at the Chicago Project on Security and Threats of the University of Chicago, shows that vehicle assaults on protesters are increasingly common. According to NPR, Weil's research has found that 18 of the attacks were 'deliberate,' with many more still under investigation." --s

Whistling Dixie. Brad Kutner of Courthouse News: "Calling a Confederate general who led an uprising against the United States of America an 'American war veteran,' a state judge blocked the removal of any war monuments in the state capital Thursday afternoon. Richmond City Circuit Court Judge Bradley B. Cavedo delivered his ruling from the bench during an emergency hearing. The fight started when an anonymous Virginian claimed the July 1 removal of Confederate statutes -- ordered by Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney under emergency powers -- violated state law. Cavedo granted a similar request to block Virginia Governor Ralph Northam's attempt to remove of a Robert E. Lee Statue from state-owned land." Mrs. McC: Sorta like a statue of Emperor Hirohito at Pearl Harbor would be an homage to an American war veteran. Really, really stupid. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Oliver Darcy of CNN: "The top writer for Fox News host Tucker Carlson has for years been using a pseudonym to post bigoted remarks on an online forum that is a hotbed for racist, sexist, and other offensive content, CNN Business learned this week.... [Darcy reports some of the writer's online remarks.] And over the course of five years, [writer Blake] Neff has maintained a lengthy thread in which he has derided a woman and posted information about her dating life that has invited other users to mock her and invade her privacy. There has at times also been overlap between some material he posted or saw on the forum and Carlson's show.... In a recent article in the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine, Neff said, 'Anything [Carlson is] reading off the teleprompter, the first draft was written by me.'... CNN Business contacted Neff for comment Thursday night. After he or someone acting on his behalf passed that email to Fox News spokespeople, a network spokesperson on Friday morning told CNN Business that Neff had resigned.

Elections 2020

This Matters. David Siders of Politico: "... while new voter registrations had plummeted amid the coronavirus pandemic, those who were registering in competitive states tended to be whiter, older and less Democratic than before.... For months last year and in early 2020, Democrats had been registering voters at a faster clip than Republicans in many competitive states that register by party, including Iowa, Florida, Maine, New Hampshire, Arizona and Nevada. That was in part a function of the Democratic Party's competitive presidential primary, and in part a reflection of animosity toward Trump. But the effect of the pandemic on voter registrations was severe.... In a majority of 10 [battleground] states..., registrations skewed older and whiter than before the pandemic."

Apparently the Crazy Man in the White House heard that his campaign against mail-in ballots was causing Republicans to shun them, so he contrived a fix:

Mail-In Ballot fraud found in many elections. People are just now seeing how bad, dishonest and slow it is. Election results could be delayed for months. No more big election night answers? 1% not even counted in 2016. Ridiculous! Just a formula for RIGGING an Election.... ....Absentee Ballots are fine because you have to go through a precise process to get your voting privilege. Not so with Mail-Ins. Rigged Election!!! 20% fraudulent ballots? -- Donald Trump, in a pair of tweets Friday

There's one big problem with that: Absentee and mail-in ballots are the same thing. --Kathryn Krawczyk of the Week

Krawczyk might think Trump is nuts, but it looks to me as if his plan is to assert that Republicans are filing honest absentee ballots and Democrats are stuffing ballotboxes with fake mail-in ballots. My guess is that Trump is right: there are plenty of Republicans dumb enough to fall for that. -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie

Betsy Klein of CNN: "... Donald Trump's Portsmouth, New Hampshire, rally has been delayed, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Friday. McEnany told reporters aboard Air Force One that the rally would be postponed a week or two due to the impending storms in the area. The rally wa slated to be held outside at an airplane hangar amid the coronavirus pandemic.... Plans for an Alabama rally, which had been tentatively scheduled for July 11 before the New Hampshire rally was announced, were scrapped after local officials voiced opposition to holding a large gathering as cases rise in the state." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Annie Karni of the New York Times: "Amid ongoing concerns about President Trump attracting only small crowds at his re-election events, officials said Friday that his campaign was postponing a planned rally for the following evening in Portsmouth, N.H., citing safety concerns associated with an incoming tropical storm.... Current weather forecasts for Portsmouth indicate that the rain is supposed to stop there around noon on Saturday; the rally was scheduled for 8 p.m.... It was not clear whether the New Hampshire rally was on track to fill up. Aides were adamant they'd fill the venue. But people familiar with the sign-ups said the interest in the rally was significantly lower than for rallies that took place before the coronavirus paused campaigning. There was also a lack of local interest in the rally in Portsmouth, a blue town without a red base to draw from, according to a New Hampshire Republican familiar with the event." Mrs. McC: However, earlier reports did predict fairly severe weather, and I think there could have been a problem flying through the storm. ~~~

~~~ Monica Alba, et al., of NBC News: "Well before the call was made to postpone ... Donald Trump's Saturday re-election rally in New Hampshire, the warning lights were flashing red. There were no signs of the typical throngs of supporters camped out days in advance for a good spot; the Republican governor said he would skip it, advising anyone at high risk to stay home over coronavirus concerns; fears of a repeat of Tulsa's disappointing turnout weighed heavily; and then came the stormy weather reports, which could have further stifled attendance. By the time the campaign announced that the Portsmouth event was off, citing 'safety concerns' over a tropical storm barreling toward the Northeast on Friday afternoon, people close to the campaign said fears over low turnout also motivated the decision to scrap the event.... The decision to reschedule over bad weather is a 'convenient excuse' for the Trump 2020 team, one outside adviser [to Trump] told NBC News."

Dan Diamond of Politico: The Trump campaign's headquarters in Arlington, Va. "was shut down for its first deep cleaning in weeks after a senior campaign official tested positive for the virus. The decision to conduct the cleaning came after two months of flouting the Trump administration's own public health guidance: There are no face coverings or temporary barriers between desks at headquarters, and leaders have limited efforts to implement social distancing.... 'You get made fun of, if you wear a mask,' said one person. 'There's social pressure not to do it.'" Besides being contrary to CDC advice, the campaign's office configuration & policies violates state policies on social distancing & mask-wearing. Gov. Ralph Northam (D) decided to let it go to avoid a fight with the campaign.

Colby Hall of Mediaite: "After a quick debate [with Sean Hannity Thursday during a telephone interview] over whether [Joe] Biden recently revealed he had passed a COVID or cognitive test, Trump revealed that he is tested for the coronavirus all the time before saying that Biden 'didn't take a cognitive test because he couldn't pass one.' It was then that he revealed that he had submitted to a cognitive test himself. 'I actually took one very recently when I was -- when the radical left was saying "is he all there, is he all there?'" Trump offered. 'I proved I was all there because I aced it. I aced the test and he should take the same exact test, a very standard test.... I took it at Walter Reed, a medical center in front of doctors, and they were very surprised,' Trump continued. 'They said "that's an unbelievable thing. Rarely does anybody do what you just did."'" ~~~

~~~ Tommy Christopher of Mediaite lists the tasks on the "Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA), the test that Trump first took as president in 2018 according to then-White House physician Dr. Ronny Jackson." For someone with normal cognitive skills, the tasks are simple, like, "Correctly identifying pictures of a lion, a rhinoceros, and a camel." Mrs. McC: This test seems to be given fairly commonly to people older than 65 as I know a number of people who have taken it. I've taken it at least three times, and I think I "aced" it each time -- except once when I forgot one of the items in a list of five things named earlier. I don't know why doctors would be "very surprised" that Trump passed unless they thought he was a basket case. And it simply is not credible that "They said 'that's an unbelievable thing. Rarely does anybody do what you just did.'" If doctors said that, they were lying, as I'm sure doing well on the simple test is neither "rare" nor "unbelievable." Most adults know what a camel looks like. ~~~

~~~ Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "... the White House would not say when he took [the test] or why. Mr. Trump boasted that his success on the test surprised his doctors as he continued his attempt to make a campaign issue of whether ... Joseph R. Biden Jr., was mentally fit.... Mr. Trump described taking the test after Mr. Hannity mentioned that Mr. Biden had said he had taken several cognitive tests. The president insisted that Mr. Biden must have meant tests he took for the coronavirus and that his rival 'couldn't pass' a cognitive test.... Mr. Trump is a difficult messenger for an attack on Mr. Biden as his own health has come under scrutiny."

Michael Balsamo of the AP: "Federal officials were so worried Jeffrey Epstein's longtime confidant Ghislaine Maxwell might take her own life after her arrest that they took away her clothes and bedsheets and made her wear paper attire while in custody, an official familiar with the matter told The Associated Press...The other protocols put in place for Maxwell's confinement include ensuring that she has a roommate in her cell, that she is monitored and that someone is always with her while she's behind bars, the official said." --s

The Commentariat -- July 10, 2020

Afternoon Update:

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

Betsy Klein of CNN: "... Donald Trump's Portsmouth, New Hampshire, rally has been delayed, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Friday. McEnany told reporters aboard Air Force One that the rally would be postponed a week or two due to the impending storms in the area. The rally was slated to be held outside at an airplane hangar amid the coronavirus pandemic.... Plans for an Alabama rally, which had been tentatively scheduled for July 11 before the New Hampshire rally was announced, were scrapped after local officials voiced opposition to holding a large gathering as cases rise in the state."

Ashley Parker, et al., of the Washington Post: "Callers on President Trump in recent weeks have come to expect what several allies and advisers describe as a 'woe-is-me' preamble. The president rants about the deadly coronavirus destroying 'the greatest economy,' one he claims to have personally built. He laments the unfair 'fake news' media, which he vents never gives him any credit. And he bemoans the 'sick, twisted' police officers in Minneapolis, whose killing of an unarmed black man in their custody provoked the nationwide racial justice protests that have confounded the president. Gone, say these advisers and confidants..., are the usual pleasantries and greetings. Instead, Trump often launches into a monologue placing himself at the center of the nation's turmoil. The president has cast himself in the starring role of the blameless victim -- of a deadly pandemic, of a stalled economy, of deep-seated racial unrest, all of which happened to him rather than the country."

Jake Sherman of Politico: "Chris Cox..., Donald Trump's top liaison to the House of Representatives, has told associates he is leaving the White House, 15 hours after Politico raised questions about his alleged contacts with a former lobbying client while in government. On multiple occasions, Cox suggested while working in the White House that he was collecting intelligence or doing work after speaking to representatives and lobbyists from corporate interests, multiple sources said.... On Thursday afternoon, Politico raiseda further series of questions about whether and how Cox was involved in a matter last month involving a former lobbying client that was pushing for help in the Trump administration...." ~~~

     ~~~ From Thursday afternoon's Politico Playbook: "On two occasions over the last few days, CHRIS COX -- who runs House outreach for the White House legislative affairs office -- suggested to colleagues he was doing errands and collecting political intelligence for lobbyist friends on K Street. COX told colleagues in the White House that he was seeking information on the executive orders that ... DONALD TRUMP was readying to issue so he could brief people downtown -- in other words, suggesting he wanted to give lobbyists a sneak peek."

Whistling Dixie. Brad Kutner of Courthouse News: "Calling a Confederate general who led an uprising against the United States of America an 'American war veteran,' a state judge blocked the removal of any war monuments in the state capital Thursday afternoon. Richmond City Circuit Court Judge Bradley B. Cavedo delivered his ruling from the bench during an emergency hearing. The fight started when an anonymous Virginian claimed the July 1 removal of Confederate statutes -- ordered by Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney under emergency powers -- violated state law. Cavedo granted a similar request to block Virginia Governor Ralph Northam's attempt to remove of a Robert E. Lee Statue from state-owned land." Mrs. McC: Sorta like a statue of Emperor Hirohito at Pearl Harbor would be an homage to an American war veteran. Really, really stupid.

~~~~~~~~~~

Trump, et al., v. the LawIs Not Going Well:

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for prosecutors in New York to see President Trump's financial records, a stunning defeat for Mr. Trump but a decision that probably means the records will be shielded from public scrutiny under grand jury secrecy rules until after the election, and perhaps indefinitely. In a separate decision, the court ruled that Congress could not, at least for now, see many of the same records." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: “The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected President Trump's assertion that he enjoys absolute immunity while in office, allowing a New York prosecutor to pursue a subpoena of the president's private and business financial records. In a separate case, the court sent a fight over congressional subpoenas for the material back to lower courts because of 'significant separation of powers concerns.' 'In our judicial system, "the public has a right to every man's evidence,"' Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote in the New York case, citing an ancient maxim. 'Since the earliest days of the Republic, "every man" has included the President of the United States.' In both cases, the justices ruled 7 to 2, with Trump nominees Neil M. Gorsuch and Brett M. Kavanaugh joining the majorities. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. dissented. Trump reacted angrily, and inaccurately, on Twitter: 'Courts in the past have given "broad deference". BUT NOT ME!'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney of Politico: "The Supreme Court has delivered a split decision on subpoenas for ... Donald Trump's tax returns and financial records, unanimously rejecting his broadest claims of 'absolute' immunity in a New York state criminal investigation, but ruling that lower courts did not do enough to scrutinize congressional subpoenas for similar records. The pair of highly-anticipated decisions likely mean more delays and court proceedings on both subpoenas, increasing the odds that Trump makes it to the November election without the tax and financial details he has long resisted disclosing being turned over to the prosecutors and Congressional committees demanding them." The report has been updated. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

Mrs. McCrabbie: Jeff Toobin calls the rulings "a legal defeat" for Trump but "a practical victory" since Trump can delay release of the returns (none of which would necessarily have become available to the public anyway).

Axios. "President Trump fired off a series of tweets on Thursday morning after the Supreme Court upheld a subpoena from the Manhattan district attorney for his financial records -- attacking the Obama administration, the Mueller investigation, the GOP-led Senate Judiciary Committee and others for allegedly undermining his presidency." The report cites the tweets -- so far. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Trump on Thursday derided New York City as a 'hellhole' as he complained about a Supreme Court ruling that upheld the Manhattan district attorney's subpoena to obtain his tax returns. 'This is purely political. I win at the federal level and we won very decisively and so they send it to New York,' Trump said of the pursuit of his financial records, which he has shielded from public view. 'You know what's going on in New York,' he continued. 'Everyone's leaving. It's turned out to be a hellhole, and they better do something about it because people are leaving New York. But this is a political witch hunt that just continues.'" ~~~

~~~ Here's a much calmer report on Trump's reaction to the rulings. He had a very civil conversation with Bart:

Toluse Olorunnipa & John Wagner of the Washington Post: "President Trump reacted angrily to a pair of Supreme Court rulings about his financial records Thursday, taking to Twitter to call them 'not fair to this Presidency or Administration!' and describing himself as the victim of a 'political prosecution.' Hours later, the White House released a statement saying Trump was 'gratified' by one of the decisions and had been 'protected' in the other.... The decision will give Democrats, including ... Joe Biden, more ammunition in their attempts to raise ethical questions about a president who has fought relentlessly to keep his financial records out of the public eye, said Russell Riley, a presidential historian.... After the Supreme Court rulings were released, Biden took to Twitter to retweet a post from last October in which he described himself as 'one of the poorest men in government' during his decades-long Washington career. Biden has released 21 years of tax records, following the tradition of all major recent presidential candidates except for Trump."

Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: "Michael D. Cohen, President Trump's onetime lawyer and fixer, was taken back into federal custody on Thursday after being furloughed from prison in May, federal officials said. 'Today, Michael Cohen refused the conditions of his home confinement and as a result, has been returned' to a federal Bureau of Prisons facility, the bureau said in a statement. The bureau's statement did not elaborate on what specifically Mr. Cohen had done, but one person briefed on his legal status said he had refused to sign papers agreeing to certain conditions related to media appearances and writing books." A CNN story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Spencer Hsu & Ann Marimow of the Washington Post: "The Justice Department said Thursday that Roger Stone should report to prison next week as ordered by his sentencing judge despite his concerns about the deadly novel coronavirus.... The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit gave Stone until Friday to respond to the government.... The filing came one day after an interview in which Attorney General William P. Barr defended Stone's prosecution and prison sentence. 'I think the prosecution was righteous and I think the sentence the judge ultimately gave was fair,' Barr told ABC News." The Week has an item here. An ABC News report on the Barr interview is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Jerry Lambe of Law & Crime: "... Roger Stone, 67, appealed directly to ... Donald Trump, telling a news organization that the president should pardon him or commute his sentence in the interest of justice. 'I want the president to know that I have exhausted all my legal remedies and that only an act of clemency will provide justice in my case and save my life!' Stone, said in a Tuesday text message to Bloomberg." Mrs. McC: Actually, that's an indirect appeal; Stone made it through an intermediary. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ "He Was Framed." Kevin Liptak & Kaitlan Collins of CNN: "... Donald Trump implied in a pair of interviews Thursday that he was ready to grant clemency to Roger Stone.... Trump is widely expected to pardon or commute Stone's sentence, according to at least half a dozen sources close to the President. Asked by Fox News host Sean Hannity whether he's considered a pardon or commutation for Stone, Trump said during a phone interview, 'I am always thinking.... You'll be watching like everyone else in this case,' he said. In another interview, with radio host Howie Carr, Trump decried Stone's treatment at the hands of law enforcement and said he may grant his clemency plea. 'He was framed. He was treated horrible. He was treated so badly,' Trump said."

Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A federal court judge is putting up a highly unusual fight against an appeals court ruling seeking to immediately shut down the prosecution of former national security adviser Michael Flynn for making false statements in the FBI's investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. Lawyers for U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan filed a petition Thursday asking the full bench of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to review a 2-1 decision a panel of that court issued last month, directing Sullivan to cancel his plans for a hearing and instead grant the government's request to drop the case." (Also linked yesterday.)

Nicholas Fandos & Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: "Geoffrey S. Berman, who was abruptly dismissed by President Trump last month from his post as the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, told lawmakers on Thursday that Attorney General William P. Barr tried unsuccessfully to pressure him to resign voluntarily, warning that a firing could ruin his career. Testifying before a closed-door hearing of the House Judiciary Committee, Mr. Berman recounted being summoned with no warning in June to a meeting with Mr. Barr at the Pierre Hotel in New York, in which the attorney general asked him to step down. Mr. Berman said he rebuffed Mr. Barr time and again during a tense, 45-minute discussion, telling him he would not resign and did not want to be fired, according to copies of his prepared statement obtained by The New York Times." (Also linked yesterday.)

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Thursday are here: "The surge in coronavirus cases in the United States ... is being driven largely by states that were among the first to ease virus restrictions as they moved to reopen their economies. Florida has seen its average new daily cases increase more than tenfold since it began reopening in early May. Cases in Arizona have jumped by 858 percent since beginning to reopen May 8. Cases in Texas have risen by 680 percent since beginning to reopen May 1. Epidemiologists had warned that reopening could lead to waves of new infections if it was done before the virus was contained, and before contact tracing was sufficiently ramped up enough to contain future outbreaks. ~~~

~~~ "As President Trump continued to press for a broader reopening, the United States set another record for new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, with more than 59,400 infections announced, according to a New York Times database. It was the fifth national record in nine days.... On Thursday, cases were decreasing in only two states -- Vermont and New Hampshire. In 14 states and territories, the number of cases was mostly the same. And in the rest of the country new cases were on the rise." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Thursday are here: "Anthony S. Fauci, the nation's top infectious-disease official, is advising that some states seriously consider 'shutting down' again if they are facing major resurgences of the virus -- a warning that conflicts with President Trump's push to reopen the country as quickly as possible.... A record 62,751 new infections were reported across the United States on Wednesday, including 9,979 in Texas and 11,694 in California. The total number of cases has surpassed 3 million in the United States, where the death toll is approaching 130,000." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Paul Krugman of the New York Times: "A normal president and a normal political party would be horrified by this turn of events. They would realize that they made a bad call and that it was time for a major course correction; they would start taking warnings from health experts seriously. But Trump ... seems completely untroubled by the toll from a pandemic that seems certain to kill more Americans than were murdered over the whole of the past decade. And he's doubling down on his rejection of expertise, this week demanding full reopening of schools in defiance of existing guidelines.... He has spent the past five months trying to will us back to where we were in February, when he was sitting on top of a moving train and pretending that he was driving it."

MEANWHILE, the abnormal President* is headed to Miami-Dade County today, an epicenter of the coronavirus, where he'll hold a series of meetings.

Here's a Change/Correction/"Clarification." Alex Harring of CNBC: "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will soon issue additional safety guidelines on reopening schools this fall, but the agency doesn't plan to change its original recommendations that... Donald Trump criticized as too tough and expensive, CDC Director Robert Redfield said Thursday. Redfield said in an interview on ABC's 'Good Morning America' the additional documents don't ease the CDC's recommendations. He said the agency is providing more information for communities, care givers and schools on how to reopen safely. Vice President Mike Pence indicated Wednesday the agency would soften its recommendations. But when asked about the possibility, Redfield said there would be no changes." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

A Rare Covid Success Story. (Secret Recipe: Don't believe Trump.) Thanks to PD Pepe for the link. Here's a transcript of the PBS Newshour interview: ~~~

~~~ Lena Sun & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "As the country enters a frightening phase of the pandemic..., the CDC, the nation's top public health agency, is coming under intense pressure from President Trump and his allies, who are downplaying the dangers in a bid to revive the economy ahead of the Nov. 3 presidential election. In a White House guided by the president's instincts, rather than by evidence-based policy, the CDC finds itself forced constantly to backtrack or sidelined from pivotal decisions. The latest clash between the White House and its top public health advisers erupted Wednesday, when the president slammed the agency's recommendation that schools planning to reopen should keep students' desks six feet apart, among other steps to reduce infection risks.... The CDC ... is increasingly isolated — a function both of its growing differences with the White House and of its own significant missteps earlier in the outbreak.... During a May lunch with Senate Republicans, Trump told the group the CDC 'blew it' on the coronavirus test and that he'd installed a team of 'geniuses' led by ... Jared Kushner to handle much of the response...."

Alexandra Alper of Reuters: "A reporter who attended White House briefings this week has tested positive for the coronavirus, the White House Correspondents' Association said on Thursday, raising further concerns about the health of staff and journalists working in the building. The individual, who wore a mask during press conferences with Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Monday and Wednesday, has no symptoms and spent no additional time at the White house this week, the group said, adding that it was contacting individuals who had been in close contact with the person."

Eric Levai of the Daily Dot: "White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany's parents received millions of dollars in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, according to data released by the Small Business Administration this week.... As long as the money is used to pay employees, and for rent and utilities, the government will forgive the entire loan.... According to the loan data, McEnany Roofing said it employs 141 people. In an interview with Fox News back in April, McEnany noted that the program was designed to go to companies with 10 or fewer employees.... When asked about the lack of transparency of the program, she noted that'We’re concerned with getting money to people right now. I mean, look, we're not concerned with cobbling a list together to please the media.'... Kayleigh McEnany has previously criticized government assistance...."

Jeff Cox of CNBC: "Weekly jobless claims were lower than expected last week as workers slowly returned to their jobs in the wake of rising coronavirus cases. Claims for the week ended July 4 totaled 1.314 million, compared with the 1.39 million expected from economists surveyed by Dow Jones. The total marked a decrease of 99,000 from a week earlier, according to the Labor Department." (Also linked yesterday.)

Zachary Cohen of CNN: "Secretary of Defense Mark Esper confirmed Thursday that he had been briefed on information regarding Russian payments to the Taliban, seemingly acknowledging that Russia's support for the militant group in Afghanistan is not a 'hoax' [perpetrated by Democrats], as ... Donald Trump has claimed. However, Esper also made clear that he has not seen intelligence that corroborates claims that American troops were killed as a result of the 'bounty' payments, walking a delicate line between acknowledging a well-known threat and potentially clashing with the President. Esper's comments came during a long-awaited appearance before the House Armed Services Committee, where lawmakers had their first opportunity to ask the defense secretary and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley about their knowledge of intelligence on Russia offering bounties to the Taliban for killing US troops in Afghanistan.... Milley acknowledged that the Trump administration was 'perhaps not' doing "as much as we could or should" to deter Russia and other foreign governments from supporting militant groups in Afghanistan."

Gen. Milley Thumbs His Nose at Trump. Alex Horton of the Washington Post: "The military's top officer on Thursday described Confederate leaders as traitors and said he is taking a 'hard look' at renaming 10 Army installations that honor them, despite President Trump's opposition to any changes. 'The Confederacy, the American Civil War was fought, and it was an act of rebellion,' the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark A. Milley, told members of the House Armed Services Committee. 'It was an act of treason at the time against the Union, against the Stars and Stripes, against the U.S. Constitution, and those officers turned their back on their oath.' The Army is now about 20 percent black, he said.... Last month, Trump rejected calls to rename installations after Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper signaled a willingness to do so, saying his administration 'will not even consider' that plan."

Indiana. Casey Smith of the AP: "An Indiana woman was arrested in a hit-and-run crash that sent one woman to the hospital and caused minor injuries to a man during a southern Indiana protest over the assault of a Black man by a group of white men, sheriff's officials said Thursday. Christi Bennett, 66, was booked into the Monroe County Jail early Thursday on preliminary charges of criminal recklessness and leaving the scene of an accident, Deputy Barry Grooms said. She was released a couple of hours later on $500 cash bond." (Also linked yesterday.)

Virginia. Wife of Prominent Black Man Outraged by Town's Support for Black Lives Matter. Patricia Sullivan of the Washington Post: "The banner says 'Welcome to Clifton where Black Lives Matter.' It was posted over the tiny Northern Virginia town's Main Street.... The gesture -- which Mayor William R. Holloway called 'a first step' to beginning discussions of racial equity -- drew mostly positive responses, according to the town clerk [of this] overwhelmingly white town.... But it prompted outrage from some residents of Fairfax County and nearby towns.... One critical email, which was shared with The Washington Post, was sent from the email account of Ginni Thomas..., who is married to Clarence Thomas, the only black justice on the U.S. Supreme Court."

Full Sharpiegate IG Report Released. Andrew Freedman & Jason Samenow of the Washington Post: "The Commerce Department inspector general issued a delayed and harshly critical report laying out how political pressure originating from the White House resulted in the issuance of a poorly crafted and unsigned National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) statement on Sept. 6, 2019. That statement backed President Trump's erroneous claims that Hurricane Dorian was likely to severely impact Alabama and criticized the agency's own meteorologists.... The episode foreshadowed subsequent Trump administration science controversies, including the White House's repeated dismissals of public health advice for responding to the coronavirus pandemic.... The inspector general's office had released summary findings from the report on June 29 prior to the release of the full report.... In response to the report, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), ranking member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, came out against acting NOAA administrator Neil Jacobs's pending nomination for the position." The Hill's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ A pdf of the full IG's report is here, via the IG.

Stop the Presses! Catherine Rampell of the Washington Post: "The Trump administration is turning legal immigrants into undocumented ones. That is, the 'show me your papers' administration has literally switched off printers needed to generate those 'papers.' Without telling Congress, the administration has scaled back the printing of documents it has already promised to immigrants -- including green cards.... Of the two facilities where these credentials were printed, one, in Corbin, Ky., shut down production three weeks ago. The other facility, in Lee's Summit, Mo., appears to be operating at reduced capacity.... 'The administration has accomplished its goal of shutting down legal immigration without actually changing the law,'... says Anis Saleh, an immigration attorney in Coral Gables, Fla."

Elections 2020

Sean Sullivan & Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "Joe Biden unveiled a proposal Thursday to spend $700 billion on American products and research, challenging President Trump's 'America First' agenda with a competing brand of economic nationalism.... Biden called for the federal government to spend $400 billion over four years on materials and services made in the United States, as well as $300 billion on U.S.-based research and development involving electric cars, artificial intelligence and similar technologies. He also advocated a 100-day 'supply chain review' that could require federal agencies to buy only medical supplies and other goods manufactured in the United States. And he urged an end to loopholes that let procurement officers and federal contractors get around existing 'Buy American' clauses.... Biden repeatedly castigated Trump and sounded populist notes that were reminiscent of his more liberal primary challengers."

Mrs. McCrabbie: Donald Trump is headed to Portsmouth, NH -- a city near the Atlantic coast -- Saturday for a semi-open-air rally. BUT, as Bobby Lee pointed out in yesterday's thread, so is Tropical Storm Fay. Forecast: Probability of rain: 85%. Expected precipitation: 1.86". Wind gusts (the hair!): 34 mph. We'll see how that goes.

Weird News. Annie Karni & Patricia Mazzei of the New York Times: "When President Trump first threatened to pull the Republican National Convention out of Charlotte, N.C., Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida started campaigning to bring the event to his state. But now, as convention planners in Jacksonville seek to raise tens of millions of dollars on an almost impossibly rushed time frame, and in the middle of a raging pandemic, the governor is hindering those efforts, interviews show. Mr. DeSantis, a Republican, has directed his top fund-raiser, Heather Barker, to tell donors not to give to the convention because of a personal dispute between the governor and Susie Wiles, his former campaign manager who is serving as an informal adviser to the convention planners, according to multiple people familiar with his actions." The Tampa Bay Times has a summary report here.

There Is Voter Mail Fraud. David Mack of BuzzFeed News: "A West Virginia mail carrier is facing prison time after admitting he attempted election fraud by changing the party registrations of people who had requested absentee ballots for the state's June primary, officials announced Thursday. Thomas Cooper, 47, of Dry Fork signed an agreement in which he pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to defraud the residents of West Virginia of a fair election and one count of injury to the mail."

Adam Liptak & Jack Healy of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled by a 5-4 margin that nearly half of Oklahoma is an Indian reservation in the eyes of the criminal-justice system, preventing state authorities from prosecuting offenses there that involve Native Americans. The decision was potentially one of the most consequential legal victories for Native Americans in decades. It was written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, a Westerner who has sided with tribes in previous cases and joined the court's more liberal members." A Hill story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Way Beyond the Beltway

** South Korea. Hyung-Jin Kim & Kim Tong-Hyung of the AP: "Police say the body of the missing mayor of South Korea's capital, Seoul, has been found. They say Park Won-soon's body was located in hills in northern Seoul early Friday, more than seven hours after they launched a massive search for him. Park's daughter had called police on Thursday afternoon to report him missing, saying he had given her a 'will-like' message before leaving home. A police officer said Park's body was found near a traditional restaurant and banquet hall located in the hills.... News reports say one of Park's secretaries had lodged a complaint with police on Wednesday night over alleged sexual harassment. Kim Ji-hyeong, a Seoul Metropolitan Government official, said Park did not come to work on Thursday for unspecified reasons and had canceled all of his schedule, including a meeting with a presidential official at his Seoul City Hall office." (Also linked yesterday.) A New York Times story is here.

The Commentariat -- July 9, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Trump, et al., v. the Law Is Not Going Well:

Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: "Michael D. Cohen, President Trump's onetime lawyer and fixer, was taken back into federal custody on Thursday after being furloughed from prison in May, federal officials said. 'Today, Michael Cohen refused the conditions of his home confinement and as a result, has been returned' to a federal Bureau of Prisons facility, the bureau said in a statement. The bureau's statement did not elaborate on what specifically Mr. Cohen had done, but one person briefed on his legal status said he had refused to sign papers agreeing to certain conditions related to media appearances and writing books." A CNN story is here.

Spencer Hsu & Ann Marimow of the Washington Post: "The Justice Department said Thursday that Roger Stone should report to prison next week as ordered by his sentencing judge despite his concerns about the deadly novel coronavirus.... The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit gave Stone until Friday to respond to the government.... The filing came one day after an interview in which Attorney General William P. Barr defended Stone's prosecution and prison sentence. 'I think the prosecution was righteous and I think the sentence the judge ultimately gave was fair,' Barr told ABC News." The Week has an item here. An ABC News report on the Barr interview is here. ~~~

~~~ Jerry Lambe of Law & Crime: "... Roger Stone, 67, appealed directly to ... Donald Trump, telling a news organization that the president should pardon him or commute his sentence in the interest of justice. 'I want the president to know that I have exhausted all my legal remedies and that only an act of clemency will provide justice in my case and save my life!' Stone, said in a Tuesday text message to Bloomberg." Mrs. McC: Actually, that's an indirect appeal; Stone made it through an intermediary.

Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A federal court judge is putting up a highly unusual fight against an appeals court ruling seeking to immediately shut down the prosecution of former national security adviser Michael Flynn for making false statements in the FBI's investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. Lawyers for U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan filed a petition Thursday asking the full bench of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to review a 2-1 decision a panel of that court issued last month, directing Sullivan to cancel his plans for a hearing and instead grant the government's request to drop the case."

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for prosecutors in New York to see President Trump's financial records, a stunning defeat for Mr. Trump but a decision that probably means the records will be shielded from public scrutiny under grand jury secrecy rules until after the election, and perhaps indefinitely.In a separate decision, the court ruled that Congress could not, at least for now, see many of the same records."

Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected President Trump's assertion that he enjoys absolute immunity while in office, allowing a New York prosecutor to pursue a subpoena of the president's private and business financial records. In a separate case, the court sent a fight over congressional subpoenas for the material back to lower courts because of 'significant separation of powers concerns.' 'In our judicial system, "the public has a right to every man's evidence,"' Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote in the New York case, citing an ancient maxim. 'Since the earliest days of the Republic, 'every man' has included the President of the United States.' In both cases, the justices ruled 7 to 2, with Trump nominees Neil M. Gorsuch and Brett M. Kavanaugh joining the majorities. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. dissented. Trump reacted angrily, and inaccurately, on Twitter: 'Courts in the past have given "broad deference". BUT NOT ME!'"

Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney of Politico: "The Supreme Court has delivered a split decision on subpoenas for ... Donald Trump's tax returns and financial records, unanimously rejecting his broadest claims of 'absolute' immunity in a New York state criminal investigation, but ruling that lower courts did not do enough to scrutinize congressional subpoenas for similar records. The pair of highly-anticipated decisions likely mean more delays and court proceedings on both subpoenas, increasing the odds that Trump makes it to the November election without the tax and financial details he has long resisted disclosing being turned over to the prosecutors and Congressional committees demanding them." This is all there is (as of 10:30 am ET) to an update of an earlier story that anticipated release of the decisions. The report has since been updated.

Mrs. McCrabbie: Per Pete Williams of NBC News, Supremes have ruled 7-2 in favor of Manhattan D.A. Cyrus Vance, Jr. against Trump. They're sending it back to trial court, though, (Mrs. McC: so Trump may be able to run out the clock). Sounds like in the 2nd case, the Supremes, 7-2, have also sort of ruled in favor of Congress. This is not likely to be cut-and-dried, either. More when reporters & analysts have had a chance to read & write about the decisions. In any event, Trump/Barr's argument for "presidential categorical immunity" is dead. Jeff Toobin calls the rulings "a legal defeat" for Trump but "a practical victory" since Trump can delay release of the returns (none of which would necessarily have become available to the public anyway). CJ Roberts wrote both opinions. Trump is irate. Good.

Axios. "President Trump fired off a series of tweets on Thursday morning after the Supreme Court upheld a subpoena from the Manhattan district attorney for his financial records -- attacking the Obama administration, the Mueller investigation, the GOP-led Senate Judiciary Committee and others for allegedly undermining his presidency." The report cites the tweets -- so far.

Here's a much calmer report on Trump's reaction to the rulings. He had a very civil conversation with Bart:

Mrs. McCrabbie: Apparently Biden put out a statement -- which I can't find online yet -- to the effect that, "I put out 20-some years of my tax returns. What has Trump got to hide?" Severe, possibly inaccurate, paraphrase.

Nicholas Fandos & Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: "Geoffrey S. Berman, who was abruptly dismissed by President Trump last month from his post as the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, told lawmakers on Thursday that Attorney General William P. Barr tried unsuccessfully to pressure him to resign voluntarily, warning that a firing could ruin his career. Testifying before a closed-door hearing of the House Judiciary Committee, Mr. Berman recounted being summoned with no warning in June to a meeting with Mr. Barr at the Pierre Hotel in New York, in which the attorney general asked him to step down. Mr. Berman said he rebuffed Mr. Barr time and again during a tense, 45-minute discussion, telling him he would not resign and did not want to be fired, according to copies of his prepared statement obtained by The New York Times."

Adam Liptak & Jack Healy of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled by a 5-4 margin that nearly half of Oklahoma is an Indian reservation in the eyes of the criminal-justice system, preventing state authorities from prosecuting offenses there that involve Native Americans. The decision was potentially one of the most consequential legal victories for Native Americans in decades. It was written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, a Westerner who has sided with tribes in previous cases and joined the court's more liberal members." A Hill story is here.

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Thursday are here: "As President Trump continued to press for a broader reopening, the United States set another record for new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, with more than 59,400 infections announced, according to a New York Times database. It was the fifth national record in nine days.... On Thursday, cases were decreasing in only two states -- Vermont and New Hampshire. In 14 states and territories, the number of cases was mostly the same. And in the rest of the country new cases were on the rise." ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Thursday are here: "Anthony S. Fauci, the nation's top infectious-disease official, is advising that some states seriously consider 'shutting down' again if they are facing major resurgences of the virus -- a warning that conflicts with President Trump's push to reopen the country as quickly as possible.... A record 62,751 new infections were reported across the United States on Wednesday, including 9,979 in Texas and 11,694 in California. The total number of cases has surpassed 3 million in the United States, where the death toll is approaching 130,000."

Here's a Change/Correction/"Clarification." Alex Harring of CNBC: "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will soon issue additional safety guidelines on reopening schools this fall, but the agency doesn't plan to change its original recommendations that... Donald Trump criticized as too tough and expensive, CDC Director Robert Redfield said Thursday. Redfield said in an interview on ABC's 'Good Morning America' the additional documents don't ease the CDC's recommendations. He said the agency is providing more information for communities, care givers and schools on how to reopen safely. Vice President Mike Pence indicated Wednesday the agency would soften its recommendations. But when asked about the possibility, Redfield said there would be no changes."

Jeff Cox of CNBC: "Weekly jobless claims were lower than expected last week as workers slowly returned to their jobs in the wake of rising coronavirus cases. Claims for the week ended July 4 totaled 1.314 million, compared with the 1.39 million expected from economists surveyed by Dow Jones. The total marked a decrease of 99,000 from a week earlier, according to the Labor Department."

Casey Smith of the AP: "An Indiana woman was arrested in a hit-and-run crash that sent one woman to the hospital and caused minor injuries to a man during a southern Indiana protest over the assault of a Black man by a group of white men, sheriff's officials said Thursday. Christi Bennett, 66, was booked into the Monroe County Jail early Thursday on preliminary charges of criminal recklessness and leaving the scene of an accident, Deputy Barry Grooms said. She was released a couple of hours later on $500 cash bond."

** Hyung-Jin Kim & Kim Tong-Hyung of the AP: "Police say the body of the missing mayor of South Korea's capital, Seoul, has been found. They say Park Won-soon's body was located in hills in northern Seoul early Friday, more than seven hours after they launched a massive search for him. Park's daughter had called police on Thursday afternoon to report him missing, saying he had given her a'will-like' message before leaving home. A police officer said Park's body was found near a traditional restaurant and banquet hall located in the hills.... News reports say one of Park's secretaries had lodged a complaint with police on Wednesday night over alleged sexual harassment. Kim Ji-hyeong, a Seoul Metropolitan Government official, said Park did not come to work on Thursday for unspecified reasons and had canceled all of his schedule, including a meeting with a presidential official at his Seoul City Hall office."

~~~~~~~~~~

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "Around 10 a.m. Thursday, the Supreme Court is set to decide whether President Trump can block the release of his financial records. The ruling, concerning tax returns and other information the president has fought hard to protect, is likely to yield a major statement on the power of presidents to resist demands for information from Congress and prosecutors. Here is a look at the two cases, one concerning subpoenas from House committees, the other a subpoena from the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., a Democrat." Mrs. McC: The lede is not strictly true, of course. The Supremes have already decided and today they will let us know what their decisions were.

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

You might be a sociopath ~~~

     ~~~ if you decide it's worth killing off teachers and children in hopes that will help you do a little better in an election you're losing.

The New York Times' live updates of coronoavirus developments Wednesday are here: "Hours after President Trump assailed guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for reopening schools, Vice President Mike Pence, appearing with the White House coronavirus task force, announced..., 'Well the president said today, we just don't want the guidance to be too tough.... That's the reason why next week, the C.D.C. is going to be issuing a new set of tools, five different documents that will be giving even more clarity on the guidance going forward.'... Dr. Robert R. Redfield, the C.D.C. director, said Wednesday that the agency's guidance should not be used to justify keeping schools closed.... Mr. Trump's threat comes as scientists grapple with rising concerns about transmission of the coronavirus in indoor spaces. Most public schools are poorly ventilated and don't have the funding to update their filtration systems.... Mr. Trump's funding threat carries real weight. When it passed its $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus law, Congress gave enormous latitude to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to decide how to parcel out tens of millions of dollars in relief to school districts." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Wednesday are here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Go to School & Get Sick, You Ungrateful Brats! Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Trump on Wednesday threatened to cut off federal funding for schools if they do not resume in-person learning this fall and criticized a top government health agency for being too tough with its guidelines to aid that process.... Trump said he disagreed with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 'on their very tough & expensive guidelines for opening schools. While they want them open, they are asking schools to do very impractical things. I will be meeting with them!!!'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Update. Peter Baker, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump on Wednesday pressured the government's top public health experts to water down recommendations for how the nation's schools could reopen safely this fall and threatened to cut federal funding for districts that defied his demand to resume classes in person. Once again rejecting the advice of the specialists who work for him, Mr. Trump dismissed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 'very tough & expensive guidelines.'... Within hours, the White House announced that the agency would issue new recommendations in the days to come.... Mr. Trump expressed no concern about the health implications of reopening in person and no support for compromise plans that many districts are considering." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: As MSNBC host Chris Hayes & a guest pointed out, school administrators all over the country have been working for months on plans to re-open their schools in a fashion that will accommodate health & safety concerns for students and staff in accordance with CDC guidelines. In addition, many school districts have made investments in materials to effect those plans. In one intemperate tweet, Trump threw all that planning & investment out the window. ~~~

~~~ Laura Meckler of the Washington Post: "The administration is finding it nearly impossible to control the situation, with the president's views often at odds with those of his health advisers, and decision-making resting with 50 states, more than 1,300 school districts and thousands of colleges and universities.... Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said schools 'must fully open and they must be fully operational,' and she singled out plans in Fairfax County, Va., for a hybrid system as a failure... .On Wednesday, New York City schools, the nation's largest school system, announced a plan that will have most students in school two days a week and learning from home the other three. Many other systems have announced or are considering similar plans.... Trump has no power to cut federal funding already allocated to states and districts, but the vice president suggested the administration would seek to tie any future aid to opening of schools."

Another TrumperWhopper. Ben Gittleson of ABC News: "As of Tuesday, the United States had the ninth-worst mortality rate in the world, with 39.82 deaths per 100,000 people, according to Johns Hopkins University.... The U.S. finds itself on a shortlist of countries that have the most coronavirus deaths proportional to both its total population and to its confirmed cases. In absolute terms, the United States also has the greatest number of overall deaths from coronavirus, with nearly twice as many as Brazil, which ranks second, according to Johns Hopkins.... Donald Trump and his White House have repeatedly claimed this week, falsely, that the United States has the lowest novel coronavirus mortality rate in the world.... Trump tweeted Monday that 'we now have the lowest Fatality (Mortality) Rate in the World' and that the coronavirus mortality rate in the United States was 'just about the LOWEST IN THE WORLD.' He tweeted on Tuesday, 'We have the lowest Mortality Rate in the World' and said 'The Fake News should be reporting these most important of facts, but they don't!'... Trump repeated his claim about the U.S. mortality rate at the Whit House on Tuesday afternoon, saying it was 'the lowest anywhere in the world.'... Trump's series of tweets on the matter -- and his press secretary's insistence to reporters -- reflected an attempt to explain his comment during a speech over the weekend that 99% of coronavirus cases are 'harmless,' which received significant blowback." (Also linked yesterday.)

Susan Svrluga & Nick Anderson of the Washington Post: "Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology sued the Trump administration Wednesday over an order that would require international students to take classes in person this fall, despite rising coronavirus caseloads that are complicating efforts by colleges and universities to offer in-person learning. The lawsuit represented a swift response to an unexpected order issued this week by the federal government, as universities rush to protect the status of thousands of international students. It also represents a new battle line in the war between Trump and education leaders over how to safely reopen schools in the midst of his reelection bid." (Also linked yesterday.)

Andrew Jacobs of the New York Times: "... hospitals, nursing homes and private medical practices are facing ... a dire shortage of respirator masks, isolation gowns and disposable gloves that protect front-line medical workers from infection.... The soaring demand for protective gear is now affecting a broad range of medical facilities across the country, a problem public health experts and major medical associations say could have been avoided if the federal government had embraced a more aggressive approach toward procuring and distributing critical supplies in the early days of the pandemic.... The inability to find personal protective equipment, known as P.P.E., is starting to impede other critical areas of medicine too. Neurologists, cardiologists and cancer specialists around the country have been unable to reopen their offices in recent weeks.... In a coronavirus briefing on Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence downplayed the shortages, but said the government was preparing to issue new guidance on the preservation and reuse of protective gear. 'P.P.E., we hear, remains very strong,' he said." Emphasis added. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump has erased mike pence. There is no longer a mike pence; there is only a little machine that says Donald's best words when Donald is otherwise occupied watching Fox "News."

The Coronavirus Ate Trump's Homework. Steve Eder & Ben Protess of the New York Times: "President Trump's annual financial disclosure report was due to be released more than a week ago. But the filing, the only official public document detailing his personal finances, was not published.... The White House addressed the issue on Wednesday night. An official said Mr. Trump had requested a deadline extension because the report was 'complicated' and the president had 'been focused on addressing the coronavirus crisis and other matters.'"

How a Whistleblower Complaint Is Supposed to Work. Ian Duncan of the Washington Post: "The head of the Transportation Security Administration ordered new coronavirus safety precautions last week after meeting with a whistleblower who alleged that the agency wasn't doing enough to protect employees and travelers, according to the whistleblower's attorney. The new measures require officers to wear eye protection when they are in close contact with travelers and aren't protected by a plastic screen, the attorney said. Officers must also change their gloves or sanitize them after patting down passengers, handling identification documents or checking in luggage. The Office of Special Counsel, an independent federal watchdog, had ordered the Department of Homeland Security last month to conduct an investigation into the whistleblower's allegations. The complaint was filed by Jay Brainard, the TSA's director in Kansas."

California. Madison Pauly of Mother Jones: "San Quentin [State Prison] is currently the site of one of country's worst COVID-19 clusters, with 1,300 prisoners and 184 staff having tested positive for the coronavirus as of July 7. At least six prisoners have died from the virus. Sick prisoners are being put in isolation or treated in tents, while those who have not fallen ill are locked down in crowded dormitories and cell blocks where fear of the coronavirus is sometimes overwhelming.... On May 30, the prison of about 3,500 people on the edge of San Francisco Bay had zero coronavirus cases. Then California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officials transferred 121 people to San Quentin from the California Institution for Men in Chino, which was struggling with a fierce outbreak. Some of the men, who had medical risk factors and hadn't been tested for up to four weeks, were packed onto buses where a handful fell ill even before they arrived at San Quentin."

Ryan Goodman of Just Security: "First, President Trump decided not to confront Putin about supplying arms to the [Taliban]. Second, during the very times in which U.S. military officials publicly raised concerns about the program's threat to US forces, Trump undercut them. He embraced Putin, overtly and repeatedly, including at the historic summit in Helsinki. Third, behind the scenes, Trump directed the CIA to share intelligence information on counterterrorism with the Kremlin despite no discernible reward, former intelligence officials who served in the Trump administration told Just Security." Emphasis original. (Also linked yesterday.)

John Santucci of ABC News: Pam Shriver, the former tennis star & the widow of Joe Shapiro, says her late husband was a casual friend of Donald Trump's but she does not believe he could have taken Trump's SAT tests as she believes Trump & Shapiro didn't meet until after they were both students at UPenn, contrary to the assertion Mary Trump makes in her book.

Bonfire of the Vanities. Marja Novak of Reuters: "A wooden sculpture of U.S. first lady Melania Trump was torched near her hometown of Sevnica, Slovenia, on the night of July Fourth, as Americans celebrated U.S. Independence Day, said the artist who commissioned the sculpture." Mrs. McC: It was kind of an ugly statue, IMHO, so Melanie probably isn't upset.

Missy Ryan & Shane Harris of the Washington Post: "An Army officer who played a high-profile role in President Trump's impeachment proceedings is retiring from the military over alleged 'bullying' and 'retaliation' by the president, his lawyer said Wednesday. Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who served as a national security aide at the White House until earlier this year and was up for promotion to colonel, will leave the military instead, his attorney, David Pressman, said in a statement. 'Through a campaign of bullying, intimidation, and retaliation, the president of the United States attempted to force LTC Vindman to choose: Between adhering to the law or pleasing a President. Between honoring his oath or protecting his career. Between protecting his promotion or the promotion of his fellow soldiers,' Pressman said. 'LTC Vindman's patriotism has cost him his career.'" CNN's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Eric Schmitt & Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "... the White House had made clear to officials in the Pentagon ... that Mr. Trump did not want to see Colonel Vindman promoted.... On multiple occasions, including this week, the White House pressed the Pentagon to seek witnesses who would come forward and say that Colonel Vindman acted improperly, the officials said. But Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper and Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy have been unable to produce such evidence, largely because it does not exist.... A person familiar with Colonel Vindman's decision said he decided to retire after more than 21 years in the Army when it became apparent he would not be able to serve in a useful capacity in his area of specialty, Eurasia affairs."

Minnesota. Richard Oppel & Kim Barker of the New York Times: "... newly released evidence reveals an even more desperate scene than previously known in the moments before an officer pressed his knee into [George] Floyd's neck. Mr. Floyd uttered 'I can't breathe' not a handful of times, as previous videotapes showed, but more than 20 times in all. He cried out not just for his dead mother but for his children too. Before his final breaths, Mr. Floyd gasped: 'They'll kill me. They'll kill me.' As Mr. Floyd shouted for his life, an officer yelled back at him to 'stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk.' The chilling transcripts of Minneapolis police body camera footage, made public on Wednesday, were filed in state court as part of an effort by one of the officers on the scene, Thomas Lane, 37, to have charges that he aided and abetted Mr. Floyd's murder thrown out by a judge."

California. Actual Hate Crime. Ella Torres of ABC News: "A white California couple has been charged with a hate crime after they were seen on video defacing a Black Lives Matter mural, according to a statement from the Contra Costa District Attorney's office. Two people, identified by the district attorney as Nicole Anderson, 42, and David Nelson, 53, were seen on July 4 painting over the B and L in the word 'Black,' which had been painted in yellow, with black paint.... When a woman could be heard asking, 'What's wrong with you?' the ma replied, 'We're sick of this narrative, that's what's wrong. The narrative of police brutality, the narrative of oppression, the narrative of racism. It's a lie.' He was wearing Trump 2020 garb and yelled 'Make America Great Again.'" Emphasis added. ~~~

~~~ New York Traffic Report. What Trump Thinks Is a Hate Crime. Jonathan Dienst, et al., of NBC 4 New York: "New York City will start painting 'Black Lives Matter' on Fifth Avenue directly in front of Trump Tower on Thursday, picking up a delayed project that President Trump blasted as a 'symbol of hate.' City workers began closing the street Thursday morning and Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to take part in the mural some time Thursday afternoon, sources tell NBC New York. A police official said that the street could be closed for a couple of days to do the work."

Washington State. Allyson Waller of the New York Times: "A Seattle man who the authorities said drove into a protest on a closed section of Interstate 5 over the weekend, killing one demonstrator, was charged on Wednesday with vehicular homicide, vehicular assault and reckless driving. The man, Dawit Kelete, 27, is being held with bail set at $1.2 million and is expected to remain in jail, the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office said.... The authorities said that Mr. Kelete was driving a white Jaguar XJL when he drove into the protesters 'at a high rate of speed' early on Saturday morning, striking two protesters."

Elections 2020

Bernie Sanders, Pragmatist. Will Weissert & Bill Barrow of the AP: "Political task forces Joe Biden formed with onetime rival Bernie Sanders to solidify support among the Democratic Party's progressive wing recommended Wednesday that the former vice president embrace major proposals to combat climate change and institutional racism while expanding health care coverage and rebuilding a coronavirus-ravaged economy. But they stopped short of urging Biden's full endorsement of policies that could prove too divisive for some swing voters in November, like universal health coverage under 'Medicare for All' or the sweeping Green New Deal environmental plan. The groups, formed in May..., sought to hammer out a policy road map to best defeat ... Donald Trump."

Maggie Haberman & Annie Karni of the New York Times: "Mr. Trump's campaign is planning an event at an airport hangar in Portsmouth, N.H. But the state's governor, Chris Sununu, a Republican, has said he will not be attending. It isn't clear how many other Republican elected officials will come. The number of attendees could be low, or it could be expansive.... 'It's not what we need right now in terms of Covid,' said Tom Rath, a Republican former New Hampshire attorney general. 'We have been very, very fortunate -- our number of deaths are quite small.' Mr. Sununu, in particular, is threading a needle in a year when he is up for re-election in a swing state, and has gotten praise for how he has handled the coronavirus crisis, Mr. Rath said." Mrs. McC: I can tell you that after the local paper published my open letter to Sununu asking him to prevent Trump from landing in New Hampshire, strangers phoned me at home to thank me. People do not want the Orange Monster & his fan club of mouth-breathers gathering here. ~~~

~~~ BECAUSE Things Went So Well in Tulsa. Sean Murphy of the AP: "... Donald Trump's campaign rally in Tulsa in late June that drew thousands of participants and large protests 'likely contributed' to a dramatic surge in new coronavirus cases, Tulsa City-County Health Department Director Dr. Bruce Dart said Wednesday. Tulsa County reported 261 confirmed new cases on Monday, a one-day record high, and another 206 cases on Tuesday. By comparison, during the week before the June 20 Trump rally, there were 76 cases on Monday and 96 on Tuesday." A New York Times story is here.

Justine Coleman of the Hill: "A group of attorneys in Jacksonville, Fla. filed a lawsuit on Wednesday to block the Republican National Convention from taking place in the city next month. The lawsuit, filed in Duval County, points to several arguments why the city should not host the event as Florida's case numbers continue to spike, saying the convention would be 'a nuisance injurious to the health (and) welfare' of the community.... The attorneys filed the lawsuit days after Florida set a record for the most COVID-19 cases confirmed in a single day in a state during the pandemic, with 11,458 cases on Saturday."

Mixed Messaging? Nah. Totally Conflicting Messages. Andrew Kaczynski of CNN: "While ... Donald Trump has continuously railed against voting by mail, a Republican National Committee robocall in April voiced by his daughter-in-law Lara Trump said voting by mail could be done 'safely and securely.' The call was sent in support of Republican Mike Garcia in California's 25th US House District special election, the race for the seat previously held by Democratic Rep. Katie Hill. California's election was done almost entirely by mail after Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order in March that required every voter to be mailed a ballot. It was one of three RNC robocalls identified by CNN's KFile in which Lara Trump and the President's son Donald Trump Jr. urged voters to vote by mail in special elections since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic[.]" (Also linked yesterday.)

Mrs. McCrabbie: Here's the Lincoln Project ad that P.D. Pepe mentions in today's Comments thread. It is pretty stunning that conservative Republicans are going after not just Trump but also Republican senators who have enabled him. Most of the senators the ad highlights are up for re-election this year: ~~~

New Jersey. Paul Kane of the Washington Post: "Amy Kennedy planted a flag Tuesday for her family's political dynasty along the Jersey Shore, winning a heavily contested Democratic primary against an establishment favorite to advance to a general election race against an ex-Democrat [-- Jeff Van Drew --] who pledged his loyalty to President Trump rather than vote to impeach him. Shortly after the polls closed, Kennedy, the wife of former congressman Patrick J. Kennedy (D-R.I.), received a concession call from Brigid Callahan Harrison, a college professor and political commentator who had the support of most local party chairs, according to a senior Kennedy campaign adviser. With 30 percent of the votes in, Kennedy led 55 percent to 32 percent over Harrison, according to the Associated Press, which projected Kennedy as the winner." (Also linked yesterday.)

Texas. Summer Concepcion of TPM: "Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner on Wednesday afternoon said that city officials are canceling the Texas Republican Party's in-person convention originally scheduled for next week. The cancel[l]ation came on the heels of Turner saying earlier Wednesday during a virtual city council meeting that his administration was investigating ways to cancel it. Turner added that he directed the city's legal department to work with the Houston First Corporation, which operates the convention center, in reviewing the contract with the state's GOP.... The event was originally scheduled to take place July 16-18 and would potentially draw about 6,000 attendees."

John Cruzel of the Hill: "The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that a pair of Los Angeles-area Catholic schools are immune from discrimination suits brought by two former teachers in a decision that expands the scope of First Amendment safeguards for religious employers. DEVELOPING" More on this later. Apparently the vote was 7-2, with Justices Ginsburg & Sotomayor dissenting. The Washington Post's brief breaking story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Update. Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a Trump administration regulation that lets employers with religious or moral objections limit women's access to birth control coverage under the Affordable Care Act. As a consequence of the ruling, about 70,000 to 126,000 women could lose contraceptive coverage from their employers, according to government estimates. The vote was 7 to 2, with Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor dissenting." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Adam Liptak: "The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that federal employment discrimination laws do not apply to teachers whose duties include instruction in religion at schools run by churches. The vote was 7 to 2, with Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor in dissent. (Also linked yesterday.)

Capitalism Is Awesome, Ctd. Mike Isaac of the New York Times: "Auditors handpicked by Facebook to examine its policies said that the company had not done enough to protect people on the platform from discriminatory posts and ads and that its decisions to leave up President Trump's inflammatory posts were 'significant setbacks for civil rights.' The 89-page audit ... gave fuel to the company's detractors, who said the site had allowed hate speech and misinformation to flourish. The audit also placed the social network in the spotlight for an issue it had worked hard to avoid since the 2016 election: That it may once again be negatively influencing American voters." ~~~

~~~ Craig Timberg & Isaac Stanley-Becker of the Washington Post: “Facebook took down a network of more than 100 pages and accounts on Wednesday it said was affiliated with felon and former Republican operative Roger Stone for 'coordinated inauthentic behavior,' taking the company's campaign against disinformation closer to the heart of the nation's political establishment. The offending activity on Facebook and its subsidiary Instagram dated as far back as 2015 but was particularly active during the 2016 presidential election season, when Stone was advising Donald Trump's presidential campaign, and in 2017, as federal investigators were scrutinizing his activities. Facebook officials said Stone, a longtime friend of Trump's, used fake accounts and other deceptive measures to manipulate public debate." A Politico story is here.