The Commentariat -- June 13, 2020

Late Morning Update:

Matt Viser of the Washington Post: "Joe Biden ratcheted up some of his criticism of President Trump on Friday, saying that his handling of the coronavirus was 'almost criminal,' that he has 'bungled' the economic fallout, and that he has exacerbated racial tensions in the country. During an hour-long town hall with the labor union AFSCME, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee warned that the U.S. will likely see a resurgence of the coronavirus and that Trump isn't doing enough to prepare.... On Friday, Biden also criticized Senate Republicans, saying they need to pass the Heroes Act, which would provide another round of federal funding. 'They're so damn stupid,' he said. Biden, a longtime senator known for strong bipartisan relationships, does not typically go after Republican lawmakers in such stark terms."

Tal Axelrod of the Hill: "President Trump said he'll leave the White House peacefully if he loses this November's presidential election, addressing concerns he would try to hold onto power after a defeat. 'Certainly, if I don't win, I don't win,' he said in an interview that aired on Fox News Friday, adding that if he lost, he'd 'go on, do other things.' Trump has never given any indication that he would defy the results of an election that showed him losing to former Vice President Joe Biden, though his remarks Friday appear to be the first public comments he's given on the subject." Mrs. McC: We'll see.

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The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Friday are here. "Two of the nation's most populous states, Texas and Florida, both reported this week their highest daily totals of new coronavirus infections, a concerning sign as all 50 states move to ease social distancing restrictions and allow more businesses to reopen. The nation's most populous state, California, hit a new daily high last week, when it recorded 3,593 new cases, a record it nearly matched ... again this week. The rise in cases helps explain why the nation continues to record more than 20,000 new cases a day even as some of the original hot spots, including New York, have seen dramatic declines." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) More on Florida's response to the pandemic linked below. ~~~

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

The C.D.C. Revolts. Sort of. Lena Sun & Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post: "Federal health officials on Friday urged organizers of large gatherings that involve shouting, chanting or singing to 'strongly encourage' attendees use cloth face coverings to lower the risk of spreading the coronavirus. The guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention comes after more than a week of national protests against police brutality where many attendees and police did not wear masks. It also coincides with President Trump's plans to hit the campaign trail next week and to accept his party's nomination in Jacksonville, Fla. later this summer. The Republican National Committee has indicated it does not want to require participants to wear masks for the speech.... A similar recommendation for using cloth face coverings in settings that involve shouting, chanting, or singing, including choirs, was removed from the agency's guidance for reopening houses of worship two weeks ago after weeks of debate between the White House and the CDC.... CDC Director Robert Redfield began the agency's first full-fledged briefing in more than three months, saying he recognizes that Americans are eager to return to normal activities. But it's important for them to remember 'this situation is unprecedented and that the pandemic has not ended,' he said." The article is free to nonsubscribers. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The New York Times story is here.

Kudlow Said It, So It's Wrong. Quint Forgey of Politico: "The White House's top economic advisers on Friday shrugged off concerns of a potential 'second wave' of the coronavirus, reflecting ... Donald Trump's eagerness to continue reopening broad swaths of the country even as cases of Covid-19 are spiking in more than a dozen states. 'There is no emergency. There is no second wave. I don't know where that got started on Wall Street,' Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, told 'Fox & Friends.' Kudlow previously claimed in late February that the federal government had 'contained' the threat of a domestic coronavirus outbreak 'pretty close to airtight' -- an assessment which proved to be direly wrong.... Kudlow ... said he had spoken with top public health officials 'at some length' Thursday evening. 'They are saying there is no second spike. Let me repeat that. There is no second spike,' he said." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Florida. Chris Persaud of the Palm Beach Post: "Florida's former top coronavirus data scientist has launched a website showing far more COVID-19 information than she said the state allowed her to report as an employee, including statistics contradicting Florida's official coronavirus numbers accompanying the push to reopen the state. Former Health Department geographic data scientist Rebekah Jones has created FloridaCOVIDAction.com, which asserts that the state's widely read public-facing dashboard under reports how many people have tested positive for the pathogen. Florida also overcounts how many have been tested, Jones said, to the benefit of Gov. Ron DeSantis' push to reopen the state after two months of quarantine. 'I decided to stop wallowing in self-pity and do something constructive, something useful with the skill set I've been using for so long,' Jones said. 'People have a right to know what's going on in a straightforward nonpolitical kind of way.'... Jones, who built the state dashboard, says she was fired May 18 after refusing to 'manipulate' COVID-19 data to justify reopening. [Gov. Ron] DeSantis [R] said she was fired because 'she didn't listen to the people who were her superiors.'"

Joshua Partlow, et al., of the Washington Post: Donald Trump's "company ... was already suffering from a tarnished brand before the novel coronavirus hit. The fresh wave of political anger directed toward Trump complicates an already difficult recovery for the company. Interviews with current and former Trump Organization employees and tenants, and emails obtained by The Washington Post, show the pandemic in particular has rattled operations at the company. With thousands of Trump's hotel rooms empty, the company laid off or furloughed more than 2,800 employees and scoured for even the smallest savings. It eliminated flowers, chocolates and newspapers at its New York hotel and turned off lights in common areas in its Chicago hotel to save on electricity.... After this story published Friday... , [Eric Trump] ... accused The Post of trying to harass the president and the company." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Trump Looks at Chokeholds from Both Sides of His Mouth Now. John Greve of the Guardian: "Donald Trump further stoked controversy over race issues and policing by remarking on Friday that chokeholds sounded 'so innocent and so perfect', and once again claimed he has been the best president for black Americans -- only partially conceding that Abraham Lincoln may have surpassed him. The US president also called his choice to resume rallies on 19 June, the Juneteenth day marking the end of slavery, 'a celebration', despite having picked a city known for a historic massacre of black Americans by white Americans and used divisive language over the anti-racism protests spurred by the police killing of George Floyd.... 'I think the concept of chokeholds sounds so innocent and so perfect,' Trump said, adding that 'you have to be careful. With that being said, it would be, I think, a very good thing that, generally speaking, it should be ended.'... Trump offered several equivocal answers on sensitive issues in a time of exceptional national tumult, with the coronavirus pandemic, the resulting economic nosedive and the blight of police brutality all falling disproportionately on black Americans.... In the Fox interview, Trump said the choice of Juneteenth for a partisan rally was not specific, but 'the fact that I'm having a rally on that day, you can really think about that very positively as a celebration because a rally, to me, is celebration.' Senator Kamala Harris of California remarked on Twitter on the implications, calling the move a 'welcome home party' for white supremacists."

Tom Hamburger of the Washington Post: "Former national security adviser John Bolton's forthcoming book will include descriptions of President Trump's 'inconsistent, scattershot decision-making' driven by 'reelection calculations' rather than national security, according to a news release from the book's publisher.... 'What Bolton saw astonished him: a president for whom getting reelected was the only thing that mattered, even if it meant endangering or weakening the nation,' the news release said.... 'Trump's Ukraine-like transgressions existed across the full range of his foreign policy -- and Bolton documents exactly what those were, and attempts by him and others in the Administration to raise alarms about them,' the Simon & Schuster news release states." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Kyle Cheney & Quint Forgey of Politico: "... Donald Trump repeatedly endangered national security -- and committed a series of potentially impeachable offenses -- to boost his reelection prospects, former national security adviser John Bolton argues in a forthcoming White House memoir. Bolton writes that the House should have broadened its impeachment inquiry to other areas of his foreign policy.... Despite his swipe at the House, Bolton famously refused to cooperate with House investigators as they pursued allegations that Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate his Democratic adversaries." (Also linked yesterday.)

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: While it's tempting to scream at Bolton, "Why didn't you say this stuff when it mattered?" the truth is that there are hundreds of knowledgeable people in the administration & Congress who decided to keep their heads down. They're all traitors to the Constitution & democratic principles. Bolton's voice would have made little difference: what? one or two more GOP senators voting for impeachment? ~~~

~~~ It Was About the Money. Jada Yuan of the Washington Post: "When Melania Trump stayed behind in New York after her husband's presidential inauguration, she said it was because she didn't want to interrupt their then-10-year-old son Barron's school year. News stories at the time concentrated on an apparent frostiness between the first couple and on the exorbitant taxpayer costs to protect Melania and Barron away from Washington. Those stories are true, but Washington Post reporter Mary Jordan reveals in a new book that the first lady was also using her delayed arrival to the White House as leverage for renegotiating her prenuptial agreement with President Trump." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) A New York Times story is here. A Guardian story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ The Non-denial Denial. Brett Samuels of the Hill: "'Yet another book about Mrs. Trump with false information and sources. This book belongs in the fiction genre,' Stephanie Grisham, the first lady's chief of staff, said in a statement. The statement did not address any specific claims in the book." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

All the Best People, Ctd. Em Steck, et al., of CNN: "The White House's nominee for a top position at the Pentagon has a history of making Islamophobic and inflammatory remarks against prominent Democratic politicians, including falsely calling former President Barack Obama a Muslim.Retired Army Brig. Gen. Anthony Tata, a frequent guest on Fox News and ardent defender of ... Donald Trump, was nominated to become the under secretary of defense for policy. If confirmed by the Senate, Tata would become the third highest official in the Pentagon overseeing the Defense Department's policy shop.... In several tweets from 2018, Tata said that Islam was the 'most oppressive violent religion I know of' and claimed Obama was a 'terrorist leader' who did more to harm the US 'and help Islamic countries than any president in history.' Following the publication of this story, Tata deleted several of his tweets, screenshots of which were captured by CNN's KFile." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Margot Sanger-Katz & Noah Weiland of the New York Times: "The Trump administration on Friday finalized a regulation that will erase protections for transgender patients against discrimination by doctors, hospitals and health insurance companies, a move announced on the four-year anniversary of the massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando and in the middle of Pride Month. The rule, which does not differ much from a proposed version released last year, is part of a broad Trump administration effort across multiple areas of policy -- including education, housing, and employment, as well as health care -- to narrow the legal definition of sex discrimination so that it does not include protections for transgender people." A Guardian story is here. ~~~

~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: The title of the news release from Health & Human Services for this rules change, BTW, is Orwellian: "HHS Finalizes Rule on Section 1557 Protecting Civil Rights in Healthcare, Restoring the Rule of Law, and Relieving Americans of Billions in Excessive Costs" ~~~

~~~ Dan Avery of the Insider: "... Joe Biden said Donald Trump's cruelty 'truly knows no bounds' on Friday, after the Trump administration finalized a rule change removing Obama-era nondiscrimination protections in healthcare for transgender Americans.... Biden noted that the rule change was announced during LGBTQ Pride month, and on the fourth anniversary of the Pulse nightclub massacre, when 49 people were shot and killed at a gay club in Orlando."

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "A federal appeals court panel appeared inclined on Friday to permit a trial judge to complete his review of the Justice Department's attempt to drop a criminal case against President Trump's former national security adviser Michael T. Flynn, as all three judges asked skeptical questions about a request that they intervene and order the case dismissed. The nearly two hours of oral arguments, conducted by telephone because of the coronavirus pandemic and live-streamed over YouTube, were the latest step in an extraordinary and politically charged case against Mr. Flynn. He had twice pleaded guilty to lying to the F.B.I. about his conversations in 2016 with the Russian ambassador before Attorney General William P. Barr decided last month to try to drop the case, a highly unusual intervention.... If the appeals court panel permits [the] process to play out, the Justice Department will have to respond to a scathing brief [former federal judge John] Gleeson submitted this week to Judge [Emmet] Sullivan that portrayed Mr. Barr's decision as a 'gross abuse' of power." An AP story is here. A Politico story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Instead of calling them nonlethal, we now call these weapons 'less lethal', and that is in comparison to a standard bullet. -- Dr. Jeffrey M. Goodloe ~~

~~~ Knvul Sheikh & David Montgomery of the New York Times: "... rubber bullets -- as well as tear gas, flash-bangs and beanbag rounds -- that protesters around the country have faced in marches against racial injustice, have been deemed 'nonlethal weapons' by law enforcement officials and the military, who use them regularly around the world. But research increasingly shows they can seriously injure and disable people -- and sometimes even kill. A 2017 analysis published in the British Medical Journal of several decades of the use of rubber bullets, beanbag rounds and other projectiles during arrests and protests found that 15 percent of people who were injured were left with permanent disabilities and 3 percent of those who were injured died. Of those who survived, 71 percent had severe injuries, with their extremities most frequently impacted."

Elections 2020

Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Trump will push back his planned rally for next week by one day to avoid overlapping with Juneteenth, he said Friday, citing widespread criticism that the campaign event would fall on the same day that marks the end of slavery. 'We had previously scheduled our #MAGA Rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for June 19th -- a big deal. Unfortunately, however, this would fall on the Juneteenth Holiday,' Trump tweeted late Friday night. 'Many of my African American friends and supporters have reached out to suggest that we consider changing the date out of respect for this Holiday, and in observance of this important occasion and all that it represents,' he continued. 'I have therefore decided to move our rally to Saturday, June 20th, in order to honor their requests.'" This is a developing story @11:30 pm ET Friday. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: As the Guardian story by John Greve, linked near the top of the page, indicates, Trump had earlier defended his decision to hold the Tulsa rally on Juneteenth. AND there's this: ~~~

~~~ USA Today: "... Donald Trump said in an interview that aired Friday that his decision to hold a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma -- the site of a horrific 1921 attack on African Americans, on the holiday marking the end of U.S. slavery -- was not deliberate. Fox News host Harris Faulkner asked Trump whether he chose the location and date on purpose, to which the president said 'no,' even though his campaign has trumpeted the Juneteenth holiday when asked about its timing.... Despite Trump denying the significance of Tulsa, he's never held a rally there and Oklahoma is a firmly red state he won by 36 percentage points in the 2016 election.... When asked about why the campaign decided to hold the rally in Tulsa and on Juneteenth, senior Trump campaign adviser Katrina Pierson said in a statement Thursday, 'as the party of Lincoln, Republicans are proud of the history of Juneteenth.' White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany later told reporters Juneteenth was very 'meaningful' for Trump."

~~~ As we learned earlier this week, Donald Trump will be holding his first campaign rally in months in Tulsa, Oklahoma, this coming Friday Saturday. As CBS News (and others) reported Thursday, "Trump supporters who attend ... [the rally] must agree not to sue if they contract COVID-19.... The BOK Center ... seats more than 19,000 people. The president has emphasized he wants his rallies full of people and has made his distaste for masks clear. 'By clicking register below, you are acknowledging that an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public place where people are present,' the campaign website says on the RSVP page for the rally." AND with good reason, people! ~~~

~~~ KJRH Tulsa: "The Tulsa Health Department is urging caution on gatherings to Tulsa County residents as COVID-19 cases reach record daily high. The Tulsa Health Department (THD) says Friday reports showed the new highest daily increase of coronavirus cases to day in the county.... Officials said the increase has been identified as an outbreak linked to indoor gatherings." You might say that yelling, screaming & singing while standing shoulder-to-shoulder indoors with thousands of people from places far & wide, few of whom are wearing masks, is not "using caution." But enjoy! you dimwitted bastids. ~~~

~~~ AND Joe Biden Can't Get Anything Straight. From the USA Today report linked above: "Former Vice President Joe Biden criticized Trump's scheduled rally in Tulsa during a teleconference call with thousands of AFSCME union members Friday. But a day after mistakenly saying the rally was in Texas, Biden said it was Arizona." Mrs. McC: Clearly, Biden is not getting the significance of the 1921 Tulsa massacre, which is central to the story of Trump's original plan to hold his rally on Juneteenth very near the site of the mass murder of black Americans as an in-your-face pushback against international "Black Lives Matter" protests. Biden's briefers really need to give him news quizzes before he speaks. And they need to test him till he passes. This is embarrassing.

Sam Levine of the Guardian: "The alarm bells have been going off for months, but the election fiasco in Georgia on Tuesday made it clear: America is ill-prepared to hold a fair presidential vote in November, and is dangerously close to having an election disaster. The Georgia contest offered the most alarming preview to date of what could happen in November without major overhauls, training and planning. Voters stood in line to vote for upwards of four hours, saying they never received mail-in ballots requested weeks ago. Local officials, forced to consolidate polling locations because of Covid-19, were unable to manage the influx of voters and struggled to operate new voting equipment.... 'We're just going to have a catastrophe in November,' said Michael McDonald, a professor at the University of Florida who studies elections. 'We've already passed the point of catastrophic failure.'"

Beyond the Beltway

New York. Luis Ferré-Sadurní & Jesse McKinley of the New York Times: "New York on Friday became the first state to take meaningful action to rein in police forces after the killing of George Floyd, banning the use of chokeholds by law enforcement and repealing a half-century-old law that has kept police disciplinary records secret in the state. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed the expansive package of bills less than three weeks after Mr. Floyd's death at the hands of the police in Minneapolis, which has since sparked widespread civil unrest and demonstrations against police brutality and racism. New York City also took tentative steps toward meeting protesters' calls to 'defund the police.' On Friday, the City Council speaker, Corey Johnson, said the Council had identified $1 billion in cuts to the Police Department's $6 billion budget, and would urge Mayor Bill de Blasio to agree in advance of the July 1 budget deadline. Mr. de Blasio quickly rejected the proposal, while indicating that he was open to further negotiations over the size of the Police Department."

Oklahoma. Top Tulsa Cop Says Cops Should Shoot More Black People. David Li of NBC News: "Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum on Wednesday blasted one of his police department's top commanders after the officer denied there's systemic racism in law enforcement, then said African Americans 'probably ought to be' shot more. Tulsa Chief of Police Wendell Franklin, the first African American to hold that position, on Thursday also denounced the incendiary comments made by Major Travis Yates." Yates said on a KFAQ radio program called "Behind the Blue Line" that "All the research said -- including Roland Fryer, an African American Harvard professor -- ... we're shooting African Americans about 24 percent less than we probably ought to be based on the crimes being committed." "Fryer, an economics professor..., authored a 2016 paper on policing, published in The Journal of Political Economy. He found that African Americans and Hispanics were disproportionately targeted for use of force by officers -- but said there were 'no racial differences' in terms of officer-involved shootings."

Texas. Erin Ailworth of the Wall Street Journal: "Houston's top prosecutor has concluded that a scandal-ridden former Houston police officer likely lied when he arrested George Floyd on a minor drug offense for which Mr. Floyd served time in state jail. The Harris County District Attorney, Kim Ogg, also said that due to her office's examination of Mr. Floyd's case it could expand a continuing investigation to examine more arrests made by Gerald Goines, who was charged with murder after a botched drug raid in 2019 in which two people were killed. Mr. Goines -- who also is charged with tampering with a government record by lying to obtain the search warrant that authorized the deadly 2019 raid -- is the officer who arrested Mr. Floyd in 2004 over what Ms. Ogg described as a one-rock, $10 crack buy.... [Goines] has pleaded not guilty. Ms. Ogg's statements suggest that years before Mr. Floyd was killed by a former Minneapolis police officer with a history of complaints on his record, he may have been set up by a Houston officer with a notorious background. 'Goines was likely lying in this case,' she said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, pointing to several red flags, including that the deal was 'very small time' and that Mr. Goines was the only police-officer witness. 'These are not cases that we would take or that we would accept for charges under my administration.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: The story is of course firewalled, but I went at it a few different times, and it accidentally came up. KPRC Houston has the story, too, but their report is less clear than the WSJ's. The point here is this: because Floyd was black, he was a mark for the cops & was arrested, convicted & jailed for nothing. I don't look at this as an anomaly but as an ideal example of the "systemic racism" which the Trump administration denies. Yo, Bill Barr, if you can show me your sheet & a photo of yourself in those slimming stripes exercising in the prison yard, then I'll amend my remarks. Sadly, multiple shocking videos have forced Trump himself to concede there are "a few bad apples" (as opposed to system-wide racism) among the police, tho as we know, Trump is quite capable of viewing video evidence of police abuse as likely the work of an antifa provocateur setting up innocent men in riot gear.

The Commentariat -- June 12, 2020

Afternoon Update:

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Friday are here. "Two of the nation's most populous states, Texas and Florida, both reported this week their highest daily totals of new coronavirus infections, a concerning sign as all 50 states move to ease social distancing restrictions and allow more businesses to reopen. The nation's most populous state, California, hit a new daily high last week, when it recorded 3,593 new cases, a record it nearly matched ... again this week. The rise in cases helps explain why the nation continues to record more than 20,000 new cases a day even as some of the original hot spots, including New York, have seen dramatic declines." ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Friday are here.

The C.D.C. Revolts. Sort of. Lena Sun & Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post: "Federal health officials on Friday urged organizers of large gatherings that involve shouting, chanting or singing to 'strongly encourage' attendees use cloth face coverings to lower the risk of spreading the coronavirus. The guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention comes after more than a week of national protests against police brutality where many attendees and police did not wear masks. It also coincides with President Trump's plans to hit the campaign trail next week and to accept his party's nomination in Jacksonville, Fla. later this summer. The Republican National Committee has indicated it does not want to require participants to wear masks for the speech.... A similar recommendation for using cloth face coverings in settings that involve shouting, chanting, or singing, including choirs, was removed from the agency's guidance for reopening houses of worship two weeks ago after weeks of debate between the White House and the CDC.... CDC Director Robert Redfield began the agency's first full-fledged briefing in more than three months, saying he recognizes that Americans are eager to return to normal activities. But it's important for them to remember 'this situation is unprecedented and that the pandemic has not ended,' he said." The article is free to nonsubscribers.

Kudlow Said It, So It's Wrong. Quint Forgey of Politico: "The White House's top economic advisers on Friday shrugged off concerns of a potential 'second wave' of the coronavirus, reflecting ... Donald Trump's eagerness to continue reopening broad swaths of the country even as cases of Covid-19 are spiking in more than a dozen states. 'There is no emergency. There is no second wave. I don't know where that got started on Wall Street,' Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, told 'Fox & Friends.' Kudlow previously claimed in late February that the federal government had 'contained' the threat of a domestic coronavirus outbreak 'pretty close to airtight' -- an assessment which proved to be direly wrong.... Kudlow ... said he had spoken with top public health officials 'at some length' Thursday evening. 'They are saying there is no second spike. Let me repeat that. There is no second spike,' he said."

Joshua Partlow, et al., of the Washington Post: Donald Trump's "company ... was already suffering from a tarnished brand before the novel coronavirus hit. The fresh wave of political anger directed toward Trump complicates an already difficult recovery for the company. Interviews with current and former Trump Organization employees and tenants, and emails obtained by The Washington Post, show the pandemic in particular has rattled operations at the company. With thousands of Trump's hotel rooms empty, the company laid off or furloughed more than 2,800 employees and scoured for even the smallest savings. It eliminated flowers, chocolates and newspapers at its New York hotel and turned off lights in common areas in its Chicago hotel to save on electricity.... After this story published Friday... , [Eric Trump] ... accused The Post of trying to harass the president and the company."

Tom Hamburger of the Washington Post: "Former national security adviser John Bolton's forthcoming book will include descriptions of President Trump's 'inconsistent, scattershot decision-making' driven by 'reelection calculations' rather than national security, according to a news release from the book's publisher.... 'What Bolton saw astonished him: a president for whom getting reelected was the only thing that mattered, even if it meant endangering or weakening the nation,' the news release said.... 'Trump's Ukraine-like transgressions existed across the full range of his foreign policy -- and Bolton documents exactly what those were, and attempts by him and others in the Administration to raise alarms about them,' the Simon & Schuster news release states." ~~~

~~~ Kyle Cheney & Quint Forgey of Politico: "... Donald Trump repeatedly endangered national security -- and committed a series of potentially impeachable offenses -- to boost his reelection prospects, former national security adviser John Bolton argues in a forthcoming White House memoir. Bolton writes that the House should have broadened its impeachment inquiry to other areas of his foreign policy.... Despite his swipe at the House, Bolton famously refused to cooperate with House investigators as they pursued allegations that Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate his Democratic adversaries."

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: While it's tempting to scream at Bolton, "Why didn't you say this stuff when it mattered?" the truth is that there are hundreds of knowledgeable people in the administration & Congress who decided to keep their heads down. They're all traitors to the Constitution & democratic principles. Bolton's voice would have made little difference: what? one or two more GOP senators voting for impeachment? ~~~

~~~ It Was About the Money. Jada Yuan of the Washington Post: "When Melania Trump stayed behind in New York after her husband' presidential inauguration, she said it was because she didn't want to interrupt their then-10-year-old son Barron's school year. News stories at the time concentrated on an apparent frostiness between the first couple and on the exorbitant taxpayer costs to protect Melania and Barron away from Washington.Those stories are true, but Washington Post reporter Mary Jordan reveals in a new book that the first lady was also using her delayed arrival to the White House as leverage for renegotiating her prenuptial agreement with President Trump." ~~~

     ~~~ The Non-denial Denial. Brett Samuels of the Hill: "'Yet another book about Mrs. Trump with false information and sources. This book belongs in the fiction genre,' Stephanie Grisham, the first lady's chief of staff, said in a statement. The statement did not address any specific claims in the book."

All the Best People, Ctd. Em Steck, et al., of CNN: "The White House's nominee for a top position at the Pentagon has a history of making Islamophobic and inflammatory remarks against prominent Democratic politicians, including falsely calling former President Barack Obama a Muslim.Retired Army Brig. Gen. Anthony Tata, a frequent guest on Fox News and ardent defender of ... Donald Trump, was nominated to become the under secretary of defense for policy. If confirmed by the Senate, Tata would become the third highest official in the Pentagon overseeing the Defense Department's policy shop.... In several tweets from 2018, Tata said that Islam was the 'most oppressive violent religion I know of' and claimed Obama was a 'terrorist leader' who did more to harm the US 'and help Islamic countries than any president in history.' Following the publication of this story, Tata deleted several of his tweets, screenshots of which were captured by CNN's KFile."

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "A federal appeals court panel appeared inclined on Friday to permit a trial judge to complete his review of the Justice Department's attempt to drop a criminal case against President Trump's former national security adviser Michael T. Flynn, as all thre judges asked skeptical questions about a request that they intervene and order the case dismissed. The nearly two hours of oral arguments, conducted by telephone because of the coronavirus pandemic and live-streamed over YouTube, were the latest step in an extraordinary and politically charged case against Mr. Flynn. He had twice pleaded guilty to lying to the F.B.I. about his conversations in 2016 with the Russian ambassador before Attorney General William P. Barr decided last month to try to drop the case, a highly unusual intervention.... If the appeals court panel permits [the] process to play out, the Justice Department will have to respond to a scathing brief [former federal judge John] Gleeson submitted this week to Judge [Emmet] Sullivan that portrayed Mr. Barr's decision as a 'gross abuse' of power." An AP story is here. A Politico story is here.

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Fred Imbert & Yun Li of CNBC: "Stocks suffered their biggest one-day pull-back in three months on Thursday as traders grew concerned about the number of coronavirus cases increasing in some states that are reopening up from lockdowns. Shares that have surged recently on hopes for a smooth reopening of the economy led the declines. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 1,861.82 points, or 6.9%, to close at 25,128.17. The S&P 500 slid 5.9% to 3,002.10 while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 5.3%. to end the day at 9,492.73. The major averages posted their worst day since March 16, when they all dropped more than 11%. The S&P 500 also logged in its first three-day losing streak since early March."

Mike Stobbe of the AP: "Cases [of Covid-19] are rising in nearly half the states, according to an Associated Press analysis, a worrying trend that could intensify as people return to work and venture out during the summer. In Arizona, hospitals have been told to prepare for the worst. Texas has more hospitalized COVID-19 patients than at any time before. And the governor of North Carolina said recent jumps caused him to rethink plans to reopen schools or businesses. There is no single reason for the surges. In some cases, more testing has revealed more cases. In others, local outbreaks are big enough to push statewide tallies higher. But experts think at least some are due to lifting stay-at-home orders, school and business closures, and other restrictions put in place during the spring to stem the virus's spread."

How to Piss off Trumplethinskin, Part 1. Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "The country's top military official apologized on Thursday for taking part in President Trump's walk across Lafayette Square for a photo op after the authorities used tear gas and rubber bullets to clear the area of peaceful protesters. 'I should not have been there,' Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a prerecorded video commencement address to National Defense University. 'My presence in that moment and in that environment created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics.... As a commissioned uniformed officer, it was a mistake that I have learned from,' General Milley said. He said he had been angry about 'the senseless and brutal killing of George Floyd' and repeated his opposition to Mr. Trump's suggestions that federal troops be deployed nationwide to quell protests.... General Milley called on the military to address issues of systemic racism in the armed forces, where 43 percent of the enlisted troops are people of color but only a tiny handful are in the ranks of senior leadership.... His first public remarks since Mr. Trump's photo op, in which federal authorities attacked peaceful protesters so that the president could hold up a Bible in front of St. John's Church, are certain to anger the White House, where Mr. Trump has spent the days since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis taking increasingly tougher stances against the growing movement for change across the country.... The back and forth between Mr. Trump and the Pentagon in recent days is evidence of the deepest civil-military divide since the Vietnam War -- except this time, military leaders, after halting steps in the beginning, are now positioning themselves firmly with those calling for change." A CNN story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Courtney Kube & Carol Lee of NBC News: "The Pentagon's top general [Mark Milley] discussed resigning amid criticism over his participation in ... Donald Trump's controversial photo op at a Washington church, three defense officials familiar with the matter told NBC News. [The evening of Trump's infamous Bible-hoisting photo-op], Milley spent hours looking at social media and reading news articles and saw dozens of people criticizing him for being at the photo op and walking around the city in his combat uniform, according to ... defense officials. He stayed up much of the night reading social media. He also reached out to confidantes, asking them for advice and discussing whether he should resign, the officials said." ~~~

     ~~~ Philip Rucker, et al., of the Washington Post: "This will be the backdrop for Trump's visit Saturday to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he will deliver a commencement address to 1,105 graduating cadets. Milley is not expected to accompany the president -- nor is Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper, a West Point graduate who also has clashed with the president over his handling of the protests.... Lt. Gen. Darryl A. Williams, the superintendent at West Point, said in an interview Thursday that he is honored by Trump's visit.... Amid last week's unrest, Williams, the first black officer to command West Point in its 218-year history, implored all students and faculty to commit themselves to eradicating racism and building cohesion in their community through kindness and compassion." ~~~

     ~~~ Fred Kaplan of Slate: "Trump is scheduled to give a commencement address this Saturday to the graduating cadets at West Point. Rather than delivering it remotely, as various leaders have done for other military academies, Trump -- against the wishes of West Point's leaders -- demanded that the Army cadets return to campus, isolate themselves for two weeks, and then, during the ceremony itself, sit in tight formation, ignoring CDC guidelines on social distancing. Of the 1,100 graduating cadets, 17 have tested positive for the coronavirus. The whole business, which seems designed to provide footage of Trump speaking before the newest flock of military officers for his reelection campaign, has sparked quiet resentment from many in the Army." ~~~

     ~~~ Hundreds of West Point Alumni in Medium, to West Point's Class of 2020: "Today, our Constitutional aspirations remain unfulfilled. The abhorrent murder of George Floyd has inspired millions to protest police brutality and the persistence of racism. Sadly, the government has threatened to use the Army in which you serve as a weapon against fellow Americans engaging in these legitimate protests. Worse, military leaders, who took the same oath you take today, have participated in politically charged events. The principle of civilian control is central to the military profession. But that principle does not imply blind obedience. Politicization of the Armed Forces puts at risk the bond of trust between the American military and American society.... We are concerned that fellow graduates serving in senior-level, public positions are failing to uphold their oath of office and their commitment to Duty, Honor, Country. Their actions threaten the credibility of an apolitical military."

How to Piss off Trumplethinskin, Part 2. Connor O'Brien of Politico: "The Senate Armed Services Committee has approved legislation that would give the Pentagon three years to rename installations and other military assets named for Confederate leaders. The measure was part of the overall $740 billion National Defense Authorization Act, which also includes provisions to block the military from using force against protesters. The committee approved the legislation in a 25-2 vote Wednesday in a closed markup. Senate Armed Services Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) aims to pass the bill before the July Fourth holiday. During markup, the panel adopted an amendment from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) by voice vote to require the Pentagon to rename bases named that honor Confederate generals.... The panel also approved an amendment from Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) that would restrict funding for the use of military force against protesters.... Despite its approval by the committee, Inhofe signaled his consternation with the provision.... It's a rare showing of unity against ... Donald Trump, who on Wednesday tweeted that he 'will not even consider' renaming bases such as Fort Bragg, Fort Hood or Fort Benning.... The White House pledged that Trump would veto legislation to rename the bases, which makes the NDAA more of a dogfight between lawmakers and Trump than anticipated." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Cristina Marcos of the Hill: "A pair of senior members of the Congressional Black Caucus introduced legislation on Thursday that would remove the remaining Confederate statues from the Capitol following nationwide protests against police brutality and racial profiling. The bill from Reps. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) came a day after Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called for removing Confederate statues from the Capitol complex. There are 11 statues of people who served in the Confederacy, either as officials or soldiers, displayed in the Capitol complex. Some, such as Jefferson Davis, who served as president of the Confederate States, are located just steps from the House chamber."

Colby Itkowitz & John Wagner of the Washington Post: "President Trump praised the use of tear gas and other force to disperse Minneapolis protesters, calling it a 'beautiful scene' and describing the National Guard's actions 'like a knife cutting butter.' 'I'll never forget. You saw the scene on that road ... they were lined up. Man, they just walked straight. And yes, there was some tear gas and probably some other things,' Trump said in opening remarks at a roundtable on policing and race. 'And the crowd dispersed and they went through. By the end of that evening, and it was a short evening, everything was fine.'... He defended police officers.... 'We have to respect our police. We have to take care of our police. They're protecting us. And if they're allowed to do their job, they'll do a great job,' Trump said.... Trump's campaign released an ad Wednesday focused on his self-proclaimed credentials as a law-and-order president while seeking to cast Biden as overly supportive of those who have protested Floyd's death." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: The President* of the United States has described as a "beautiful scene" an army of armored U.S. police & National Guardsmen lobbing tear gas at U.S. citizens peacefully protesting the police (alleged) murder of an American citizen. And Mitt Romney was the only Republican Member of Congress who voted to remove this brutal tyrant from office. ~~~

~~~ Maegan Vazquez of CNN: "... Donald Trump warned against [falsely] labeling 'tens of millions of decent Americans as racist or bigots' on Thursday during an event promoted as discussing 'justice disparities' in Dallas, Texas.... On Thursday, Trump repeatedly lauded police forces and described those who used excessive force as 'bad apples.' And instead of speaking about police violence against black people, Trump decried officers who are targeted in the line of duty. He also suggested his attempts at racial reconciliation would go 'quickly and easily.'... The President also confirmed during his remarks that the White House is finalizing an executive order on policing standards in the wake of national outcry over [George] Floyd's death at the hands of police officers in Minnesota. Trump said the order 'will encourage police departments nationwide to meet the most current, professional standards for the use of force, including tactics for de-escalation.' Explaining what standards of force the executive order would call for, Trump said it 'means force, but force with compassion.'... He is expected to attend a multimillion dollar reelection fundraiser." ~~~

      ~~~ Mrs. McC: We must leave it to our imaginations to picture what Trump thinks "force with compassion" looks like. As for Trump's "quickly & easily" resolving 400 years of racial injustice, well, great, git 'er done, Donald. As we know, only you can fix it. Idiot. ~~~

~~~ Also from Vazquez's report: Trump has "continued to stand by his inflammatory rhetoric, which has often stoked racial tensions. In an interview with Fox News after the roundtable, Trump defended his use of the phrase 'when the looting starts, the shooting starts,' which, when he tweeted it last month, Twitter flagged for 'glorifying violence.' In a clip of the interview released Thursday night, Harris Faulkner, a black journalist with Fox News, asked the President where he thought the phrase came from. 'I think Philadelphia, the mayor of Philadelphia,' the President said. 'No,' Faulkner answered. 'It comes from 1967. I was about 18 months old at the time,' she said. 'It was from the chief of police in Miami. He was cracking down, and he meant what he said. And he said, "I don't even care if it makes it look like brutality, I'm going to crack down. When the looting starts, the shooting starts." That frightened a lot of people when you tweeted that.' 'Well, it also comes from a very tough mayor,' Trump said, referring to former Philadelphia Mayor and Police Commissioner Frank Rizzo, a statue of whom was removed from its post in the city last week." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Even worse, Donald, you ignorant bigot. From a NYT report June 3: "The city of Philadelphia took a step to heal a notable scar from its past early Wednesday morning by quietly removing the statue of the former mayor Frank Rizzo..., long criticized as a symbol of racism and division..., who took a confrontational approach to black and gay people as police commissioner in the 1960s and '70s." Rizzo urged the residents of the City of Brotherly Love to "vote white." I suppose that in Trump's mind, suggesting Rizzo was a racist would be "falsely labeling" the "very tough mayor." ~~~

~~~ Todd Gillman & Gromer Jeffers of the Dallas Morning News: "... Donald Trump heads to Dallas on Thursday for a discussion on race and policing that excludes the three top law enforcement officials in the county -- a police chief, sheriff and district attorney who all are black. The police chief of Glenn Heights, a town of 11,000 south of Dallas, will be part of the discussion." Mrs. McC: The Glenn Heights chief is Vernell Dooley, and he is black. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Caitlin Oprysko of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Thursday extended hi feud with the mayor of Seattle and governor of Washington after the pair mocked his threats to intervene in a police-free 'autonomous zone' set up in the city by protesters this week. Drawing former Vice President Joe Biden into the dispute, Trump urged his presumptive general election rival in a tweet to 'tell his Radical Left BOSSES that they are heading in the wrong direction' and 'tell them to get out of Seattle now.' Gov. Jay Inslee, he added, 'is looking "the fool". LAW & ORDER!' The back-and-forth began Wednesday night, when Trump charged in a tweet that the protesters who'd taken over several city blocks in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood were tantamount to 'domestic terrorists,' faulting what he characterized as the city's 'radical left' Democratic leadership for the situation. Days earlier, demonstrators there protesting police brutality and racism declared control over the area after forcing police to vacate one of their precincts in the neighborhood, newly dubbed the 'Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone.'"

Ellen Mitchell of the Hill: "Defense Secretary Mark Esper late Thursday announced an 'After Action Review' of the National Guard's controversial role in nationwide protests last week. The Pentagon chief named Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy to lead the review, which is due by July 30 and will look at the Guard's 'recent efforts in support of law enforcement to address civil unrest,' specifically in the past two weeks, according to a Defense Department statement. In the statement, Esper said the Guard 'has performed professionally and capably in support of law enforcement in cities across the United States.' Lawmakers are pressing for answers on the use of military forces in the protests sparked by the May 25 death of an unarmed black man, George Floyd...." Mrs. McC: Sounds as if Esper has predetermined the conclusions of the "review."

Pete Muntean & Gregory Wallace of CNN: "... several aircraft -- both piloted and unpiloted -- that CNN has been able to track [were] flying [in highly-restricted airspace] over protests in Washington, [as well as in] Minneapolis and Las Vegas. Government watchdogs fear the planes were used to track protesters and perhaps capture cell phone data. The government's use of surveillance planes to watch over those protesting the police killing of George Floyd has captured the attention of nearly three dozen Democrats in Congress who want to know whether the planes -- typically equipped wit live video cameras and heat sensors -- were used for 'surveilling of Americans engaged in peaceful protests.'In a June 9 letter to the heads of the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Customs and Border Protection and the National Guard, lawmakers demanded an end to the practice "immediately and permanently" and called the use of aircraft above protests a 'deep and profound' breach of Americans' First and Fourth Amendment rights."

"Just Trying Not to Die." Sheryl Stolberg & Noah Weiland of the New York Times: "Coronavirus infections were spiking in 21 states on Wednesday, and cases in the United States topped two million -- but Washington had other business.... The coronavirus may not be done with the nation, but the nation's capital appears to be done with the coronavirus. As the pandemic's grim numbers continue to climb -- more than 112,000 dead as of Wednesday and warnings from Arizona that its hospitals could be full by next month -- Mr. Trump and lawmakers in both parties are exhibiting a short attention span.... 'You guys with all your masks, you look very different than you used to,' [Trump's Chief of Staff Mark Meadows] said [to reporters on Capitol Hill], not wearing one himself. 'We're just trying not to die,' replied Jake Sherman, a reporter for Politico." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Illinois. Chicago's Finest. Shia Capos of Politico: "As many as 13 Chicago police officers broke into Rep. Bobby Rush's Chicago campaign offices to lounge on chairs, drink coffee and make popcorn while looters vandalized nearby businesses in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, Rush and Mayor Lori Lightfoot said on Thursday. The two Illinois Democrats stood together at a news conference to call out the actions, which took place at the end of May. While they spoke, images of officers 'in repose,' as Rush said, were flashed on a screen.... Rush [said]: 'They even had the unmitigated gall to go and make coffee for themselves and to pop popcorn -- my popcorn -- in my microwave while looters were tearing apart businesses within their sight and within their reach.'... Rush's campaign office, which has been closed since the primary in March, is in a strip mall that was looted over the weekend of May 30-31. Rush said his staff noticed someone had broken into the offices when they entered on Monday, June 1. Then they looked at the surveillance video, which showed officers sitting on chairs and one even taking a nap. Lightfoot said the offices had been looted earlier in the weekend and that officers came in and out afterward over a period of four hours in the early hours of June 1."

Kentucky. Rebekah Riess & Theresa Waldrop of CNN: "The Louisville, Kentucky, metro council unanimously voted to pass an ordinance called 'Breonna's Law' on Thursday, banning no-knock search warrants in wake of Breonna Taylor's death. Breonna Taylor, 26, was shot eight times by Louisville police after officers forced their way inside her home and exchanged shots with her boyfriend in an attempted drug sting in March. The officers had a no-knock warrant. The council voted 26-0 in favor of the ordinance Thursday evening, tweeted that he plans to sign it 'as soon as it hits my desk.'"

New York. NBC 4 New York: "The 75-year-old man hospitalized after he was pushed by a police officer during a peaceful protest last week in Buffalo, New York, suffered a brain injury as a result of the incident, his lawyer revealed Thursday. Kelly Zarcone said her client, activist Martin Gugino, 'is starting physical therapy,' which Zarcone called 'a step in the right direction.'" Mrs. McC: Of course that didn't stop Donald Trump, who -- rather than showing concern for Gugino's well-being -- suggested Gugino was a provocateur who play-acted his fall.

Ohio. Might Be the "Colored Population's" Own Fault. Laura Bischoff of the Dayton (Ohio) Daily News: "During a hearing on whether to declare racism a public health crisis, state Sen. Steve Huffman, R-Tipp City, asked if 'the colored population' is hit harder by the coronavirus because perhaps they don't wash their hands as well as other groups. Huffman, an emergency room physician, asked a witness before the Senate Health Committee on Tuesday why COVID-19 is hitting African Americans harder than white people. 'My point is I understand African Americans have a higher incidence of chronic conditions and it makes them more susceptible to death from COVID. But why it doesn't make them more susceptible to just get COVID. Could it just be that African Americans or the colored population do not wash their hands as well as other groups or wear a mask or do not socially distance themselves? That could be the explanation of the higher incidence?' he said." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Jennifer Hansler of CNN: "... Donald Trump on Thursday authorized sanctions and additional visa restrictions against International Criminal Court personnel -- the latest attempt by the administration to strong-arm the international body out of an investigation into a potential war crimes by US military and intelligence officials. Under the new executive order, any individuals who 'have directly engaged in any effort by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute any United States personnel without the consent of the United States' or have attempted the same against a US ally without that country's consent may be subject to sanctions. The latest move comes months after the ICC authorized a probe into alleged war crimes committed in Afghanistan by US and Afghan forces as well as alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Taliban. It also follows a push by the court's Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to investigate potential crimes committed by Israel against the Palestinians -- a prospect about which Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said they were 'gravely concerned.'" Thanks to Ken W. for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)~~~

~~~ Jacopo Barrigazzi of Politico: "Donald Trump's decision to authorize sanctions against the International Criminal Court is 'a matter of serious concern,' the EU's top diplomat said.... This 'is a matter of serious concern, as you can understand, because we as the European Union are steadfast supporters of the International Criminal Court,' Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief, said in an online press conference after a virtual meeting with foreign affairs ministers from the Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine)."

Nick Miroff of the Washington Post: "U.S. Customs and Border Protection used emergency funding meant for [humanitarian aid to] migrant families and children to pay for dirt bikes, canine supplies, computer equipment and other enforcement related-expenditures, according to a report published Thursday by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.... The supplemental bill included a line item for about $112 million in 'consumables and medical care,' but CBP used some of the money to pay for enforcement-related hardware and expenses that were not authorized, according to the GAO...."

Presidential Race

Rebecca Shabad & Marianna Sotomayor of NBC News: "Joe Biden said Wednesday night that his greatest concern is whether everyone's votes will be counted in November as he warned that ... Donald Trump may try to 'steal' the presidential election. In an interview on Comedy Central's 'The Daily Show,' host Trevor Noah asked the former vice president what the plan is to ensure everyone has the opportunity to vote without being in a line that's six hours long, as many people in Georgia experienced during Tuesday's primary.... Biden noted that the president has repeatedly cast doubt on the legitimacy of mail-in ballots even though Trump himself took advantage of the process to vote in Florida earlier this year. 'This is a guy who said all mail-in ballots are fraudulent, voting by mail, while he sits behind the desk in the Oval Office and writes his mail-in ballot to vote in the primary,' he said.... He then spoke about the former high-ranking military officials who criticized Trump for how aggressively he responded last week to protests over George Floyd's death, using the National Guard to force peaceful demonstrators from outside the White House. 'I am absolutely convinced they will escort him from the White House with great dispatch,' Biden said if Trump loses the election and refuses to leave." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: As crazy as this sounds, it would not surprise me if Trump tried to foment treason among the armed forces & Second-Amendment militia by urging them to take up arms against those who would "escort him from the White House." If so, some would certainly answer the call.

King Covid Will Not Pay the Peasants. Kathryn Watson & Nicole Sganga of CBS News: "Trump supporters who attend his first rally since the coronavirus pandemic began must agree not to sue if they contract COVID-19. The president is set to hold his first rally since March next week at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, an arena that seats more than 19,000 people. The president has emphasized he wants his rallies full of people and has made his distaste for masks clear. 'By clicking register below, you are acknowledging that an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public place where people are present,' the campaign website says on the RSVP page for the rally. 'By attending the Rally, you and any guests voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19 and agree not to hold Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.; BOK Center; ASM Global; or any of their affiliates, directors, officers, employees, agents, contractors, or volunteers liable for any illness or injury.' Tulsa's mayor says the city is still working on details for the rally, which would violate the Centers for Disease Control's social distancing guidelines." ~~~

     ~~~ DeNeen Brown of the Washington Post: "... African Americans across the country have marked [June 19 as a] day of liberation with a holiday known as Juneteenth. President Trump announced Wednesday that he plans to resume holding his political rallies -- in Tulsa on June 19, the celebratory day of Juneteeth. Yet Tulsa is the site of one of the worst episodes of racial violence in U.S. history: the 1921 race massacre. The announcement that Trump would hold a political rally on Juneteenth in a city -- where as many as 300 black people were killed by mobs of white people -- shocked some historians.... On June 19, 1865 -- more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the slaves in Confederate states -- Maj. General Gordon Granger stood at the Headquarters District of Texas in Galveston and read 'General Order No. 3': 'The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.' Black people who heard the news erupted in celebration." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Don't be shocked, historians. Offending African-Americans is a Trump specialty. ~~~

~~~ Annie Karni of the New York Times: "It's official: President Trump [link fixed] will deliver his Aug. 27 convention speech in Jacksonville, Fla., inside an arena that holds 15,000 people, after his demands for an event without social distancing rules led to a rift with Democratic leaders in North Carolina, where the Republican convention was originally planned. Ronna [Romney] McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, confirmed on Thursday that the speech would take place at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, a diverse city where the mayor and the governor are both Republican allies of Mr. Trump's. An R.N.C. official would not say what, if any, coronavirus safety precautions would be put in place.... The event for Mr. Trump in Jacksonville ... coincides with one of the darkest days in the city's history. The president will address his supporters on the 60th anniversary of 'Ax Handle Saturday,' when a white mob organized by the Ku Klux Klan attacked mostly black civil rights protesters sitting at the city's whites-only lunch counters. The attackers hid ax handles in the brush at Hemming Park, said Alan Bliss, the executive director of the Jacksonville Historical Society." Emphasis added. A Politico story is here.

Donald Who? Sam Stein & Lachlan Markay of the Daily Beast: "Four months ago, Sen. Thom Tillis put out an ad defending ... Donald Trump from impeachment, boasting about the White House's trade deals, and triumphantly noting that the president would be on the ballot in November. This past week, references to the president were entirely absent from the vulnerable North Carolina Republican's latest campaign spot. In fact, the ad centered on his state's economic pain at the precise moment that Trump's re-election campaign was trying to sell a nascent economic recovery that it dubbed the 'Great American Comeback.' Tillis' change in tone underscores a much larger trend that's taking place among the Senate's most vulnerable Republican members. While many are happy to tout Trump in email and social media fundraising appeals, the president has all but disappeared from the ads they're airing in their home states.... Trump's conspicuous absence from Senate Republican ads tracks internal tactical advice that the National Republican Senatorial Committee relayed to Senate campaigns in April when it told them to avoid publicly defending White House efforts to combat the coronavirus and instead attack China over its complicity in the virus' early spread."

How One Ex-Dubya Official Found Gainful Employment. Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A former head of public affairs for the Drug Enforcement Administration who later worked as a producer for TMZ has admitted to a fraud scheme that involved posing as an undercover CIA operative in order to swindle government contractors out of over $4 million. Details of the complex scam carried out by Garrison Courtney, 44, became public Thursday morning as he pleaded guilty to a felony wire fraud charge in Alexandria, Va., before U.S. District Judge Liam O'Grady. In the scheme, Courtney informed various businesses that the CIA or other agencies needed to place individuals on the companies’ payroll as part of an undercover operation ... O'Grady explained as he read from an agreed statement of facts in the case. Courtney told the firms the program involved a 'task force' set up by the president, the attorney general and the director of national intelligence, according to the judge. Courtney even drafted fake letters from the attorney general claiming those involved in the operation had legal immunity from prosecution, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Alexandria." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Hannah Wiley & Kate Irby of The Fresno Bee: "A Democratic strategist [Adam Parkhomenko] is refusing to disclose communications that could reveal the identity of anonymous Twitter users who criticize Rep. Devin Nunes, arguing in a new court filing that the accounts are clearly satirical expressions of political speech. Nunes, R-Tulare, has sued Twitter and anonymous social media users who run accounts known as Devin Nunes' Cow and Devin Nunes' Mom.... 'No reasonable person would believe that Devin Nunes' cow actually has a Twitter account...' reads the filing in Virginia's Henrico County Circuit Court. 'It is self-evident that cows are domesticated livestock animals and do not have the intelligence, language, or opposable digits needed to operate a Twitter account. Defendant 'Devin Nunes' Mom' likewise posts satirical patronizing, nagging, mothering comments which ostensibly treat Mr. Nunes as a misbehaving child.'" --s

Beyond the Beltway

Australia. Lorena Allam & Calla Wahlquist of the Guardian: "Mining giant BHP Billiton is poised to destroy at least 40 -- and possibly as many as 86 -- significant Aboriginal sites in the central Pilbara to expand its $4.5bn South Flank iron ore mining operation, even though its own reports show it is aware that the traditional owners are deeply opposed to the move.... Under section 18 of the Western Australian Aboriginal Heritage Act, the traditional owners -- in this case the Banjima people -- are unable to lodge objections or to prevent their sacred sites from being damaged." --s

The Commentariat -- June 11, 2020

Afternoon Update:

Jennifer Hansler of CNN: "... Donald Trump on Thursday authorized sanctions and additional visa restrictions against International Criminal Court personnel -- the latest attempt by the administration to strong-arm the international body out of an investigation into a potential war crimes by US military and intelligence officials. Under the new executive order, any individuals who 'have directly engaged in any effort by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute any United States personnel without the consent of the United States' or have attempted the same against a US ally without that country's consent may be subject to sanctions. The latest move comes months after the ICC authorized a probe into alleged war crimes committed in Afghanistan by US and Afghan forces as well as alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Taliban. It also follows a push by the court's Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to investigate potential crimes committed by Israel against the Palestinians -- a prospect about which Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said they were 'gravely concerned.'" Thanks to Ken W. for the link.

How to Piss off Trumplethinskin, Part 1. Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "The country's top military official apologized on Thursday for taking part in President Trump's walk across Lafayette Square for a photo op after the authorities used tear gas and rubber bullets to clear the area of peaceful protesters. 'I should not have been there,' Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a prerecorded video commencement address to National Defense University. 'My presence in that moment and in that environment created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics.... As a commissioned uniformed officer, it was a mistake that I have learned from,' General Milley said. He said he had been angry about 'the senseless and brutal killing of George Floyd' and repeated his opposition to Mr. Trump's suggestions that federal troops be deployed nationwide to quell protests.... General Milley called on the military to address issues of systemic racism in the armed forces, where 43 percent of the enlisted troops are people of color but only a tiny handful are in the ranks of senior leadership.... His first public remarks since Mr. Trump's photo op, in which federal authorities attacked peaceful protesters so that the president could hold up a Bible in front of St. John's Church, are certain to anger the White House, where Mr. Trump has spent the days since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis taking increasingly tougher stances against the growing movement for change across the country.... The back and forth between Mr. Trump and the Pentagon in recent days is evidence of the deepest civil-military divide since the Vietnam War -- except this time, military leaders, after halting steps in the beginning, are now positioning themselves firmly with those calling for change." A CNN story is here.

How to Piss off Trumplethinskin, Part 2. Connor O'Brien of Politico: "The Senate Armed Services Committee has approved legislation that would give the Pentagon three years to rename installations and other military assets named for Confederate leaders. The measure was part of the overall $740 billion National Defense Authorization Act, which also includes provisions to block the military from using force against protesters. The committee approved the legislation in a 25-2 vote Wednesday in a closed markup. Senate Armed Services Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) aims to pass the bill before the July Fourth holiday. During markup, the panel adopted an amendment from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) by voice vote to require the Pentagon to rename bases named that honor Confederate generals.... The panel also approved an amendment from Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) that would restrict funding for the use of military force against protesters.... Despite its approval by the committee, Inhofe signaled his consternation with the provision.... It's a rare showing of unity against ... Donald Trump, who on Wednesday tweeted that he 'will not even consider' renaming bases such as Fort Bragg, Fort Hood or Fort Benning.... The White House pledged that Trump would veto legislation to rename the bases, which makes the NDAA more of a dogfight between lawmakers and Trump than anticipated."

Todd Gillman & Gromer Jeffers of the Dallas Morning News: "... Donald Trump heads to Dallas on Thursday for a discussion on race and policing that excludes the three top law enforcement officials in the county -- a police chief, sheriff and district attorney who all are black. The police chief of Glenn Heights, a town of 11,000 south of Dallas, will be part of the discussion." Mrs. McC: The Glenn Heights chief is Vernell Dooley, and he is black.

"Just Trying Not to Die." Sheryl Stolberg & Noah Weiland of the New York Times: "Coronavirus infections were spiking in 21 states on Wednesday, and cases in the United States topped two million -- but Washington had other business.... The coronavirus may not be done with the nation, but the nation's capital appears to be done with the coronavirus. As the pandemic's grim numbers continue to climb -- more than 112,000 dead as of Wednesday and warnings from Arizona that its hospitals could be full by next month -- Mr. Trump and lawmakers in both parties are exhibiting a short attention span.... 'You guys with all your masks, you look very different than you used to,' [Trump'sChief of Staff Mark Meadows] said [to reporters on Capitol Hill], not wearing one himself. 'We;re just trying not to die,' replied Jake Sherman, a reporter for Politico." ~~~

~~~ Ohio. Might Be the "Colored Population's" Fault. Laura Bischoff of the Dayton (Ohio) Daily News: "During a hearing on whether to declare racism a public health crisis, state Sen. Steve Huffman, R-Tipp City, asked if 'the colored population' is hit harder by the coronavirus because perhaps they don't wash their hands as well as other groups. Huffman, an emergency room physician, asked a witness before the Senate Health Committee on Tuesday why COVID-19 is hitting African Americans harder than white people. 'My point is I understand African Americans have a higher incidence of chronic conditions and it makes them more susceptible to death from COVID. But why it doesn't make them more susceptible to just get COVID. Could it just be that African Americans or the colored population do not wash their hands as well as other groups or wear a mask or do not socially distance themselves? That could be the explanation of the higher incidence?' he said."

Rebecca Shabad & Marianna Sotomayor of NBC News: "Joe Biden said Wednesday night that his greatest concern is whether everyone's votes will be counted in November as he warned that ... Donald Trump may try to 'steal' the presidential election. In an interview on Comedy Central's 'The Daily Show,' host Trevor Noah asked the former vice president what the plan is to ensure everyone has the opportunity to vote without being in a line that's six hours long, as many people in Georgia experienced during Tuesday's primary.... Biden noted that the president has repeatedly cast doubt on the legitimacy of mail-in ballots even though Trump himself took advantage of the process to vote in Florida earlier this year. 'This is a guy who said all mail-in ballots are fraudulent, voting by mail, while he sits behind the desk in the Oval Office and writes his mail-in ballot to vote in the primary,' he said.... He then spoke about the former high-ranking military officials who criticized Trump for how aggressively he responded last week to protests over George Floyd's death, using the National Guard to force peaceful demonstrators from outside the White House. 'I am absolutely convinced they will escort him from the White House with great dispatch,' Biden said if Trump loses the election and refuses to leave."

How One Ex-Dubya Official Found Gainful Employment. Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A former head of public affairs for the Drug Enforcement Administration who later worked as a producer for TMZ has admitted to a fraud scheme that involved posing as an undercover CIA operative in order to swindle government contractors out of over $4 million. Details of the complex scam carried out by Garrison Courtney, 44, became public Thursday morning as he pleaded guilty to a felony wire fraud charge in Alexandria, Va., before U.S. District Judge Liam O'Grady. In the scheme, Courtney informed various businesses that the CIA or other agencies needed to place individuals on the companies' payroll as part of an undercover operation ... O'Grady explained as he read from an agreed statement of facts in the case. Courtney told the firms the program involved a 'task force' set up by the president, the attorney general and the director of national intelligence, according to the judge. Courtney even drafted fake letters from the attorney general claiming those involved in the operation had legal immunity from prosecution, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Alexandria."

~~~~~~~~~~

Dan Diamond of Politico: "The coronavirus is still killing as many as 1,000 Americans per day -- but the Trump administration isn't saying much about it.... 'We've made every decision correctly,' Trump claimed in remarks in the Rose Garden Friday morning.... Inside the White House, top advisers like Jared Kushner privately assured colleagues last month that the outbreak was well in hand.... Meanwhile, officials in at least 19 states have recorded two-week trends of increasing coronavirus cases, including spikes of more than 200 percent in Arizona and more than 180 percent in Kentucky. Two months after the White House issued so-called gating criteria that it recommended states hit before resuming business and social activities, only a handful of states -- like Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and South Dakota -- currently meet all of those benchmarks, according to CovidExitStrategy.org." (Also linked yesterday.)

Cara Richardson of USA Today: "There are 2 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the United States.... Of those cases, roughly 113,000 of them have been deadly.... A Harvard researcher told CNN that as many as 100,000 additional U.S. deaths could come by September."

Oliver Milman of the Guardian: "For Americans, coronavirus went from being a mysterious affliction that occurred in far-off lands to 1m confirmed cases on US soil within 14 weeks. Now, just six weeks later, the US has broken through the grim milestone of 2m positive tests for Covid-19, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. The anguish of life lost, of a severely wounded economy and wrenching political turmoil have taken a harrowing toll upon a fatigued American public. But further, perhaps far greater pain is yet to come, pandemic experts have warned, even as authorities wave people back into reopened shops and offices and the US president's political rhetoric on an epochal crisis dwindles away to near silence."

Clare Foran & Manu Raju of CNN: "George Floyd's brother, Philonise Floyd, told House lawmakers on Wednesday that his brother 'didn't deserve to die over $20,' and called for police accountability and reform, saying, 'Make the necessary changes to make law enforcement the solution and not the problem.' Philonise Floyd appeared Wednesday before the House Judiciary Committee for an oversight hearing on policing and law enforcement accountability." ~~~

Trump Comes Down Hard on the Side of Traitors. John Ismay of the New York Times: "... a Pentagon official said Monday that Secretary of Defense Mark P. Esper and Secretary of the Army Ryan D. McCarthy were 'open to a bipartisan discussion on the topic' of removing Confederate names from [ten Army] bases. The announcement, first reported by Politico, came as each of the services have started to contend with many longstanding practices and allegations of racial bias that have gone unaddressed. The Pentagon official said Esper and McCarthy wanted Congress, the White House and other government officials to weigh in, according to CNN, shifting the responsibility onto lawmakers. President Trump on Wednesday was quick to shut down any bipartisan discussions, tweeting, 'my Administration will not even consider the renaming of these Magnificent and Fabled Military Installations.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Erik Loomis, in LG&$, finds himself agreeing with David Patraeus on "renaming military bases named after traitors. Loomis republishes a big chunk of Patraeus' opinion piece in the Atlantic. "All of this [anti-racism] is making vile racist Andrew Sullivan very sad." ~~~

The United States of America trained and deployed our HEROES on these Hallowed Grounds, and won two World Wars. -- Donald Trump, in his tweet refusing to allow the renaming of Army bases ~~~

     ~~~ Fred Kaplan of Slate: "Trump displayed no understanding of just who the namesakes of these bases were -- nor that these bases were given their names after World War I and, in some cases, after World War II.... The valor of an officer can no longer be separated from the criminal depravity of his cause, and many of the still-honored Confederate officers lacked so much as valor."

The Little Man Who Wasn't There. Julie Pace of the AP: "At a moment of national reckoning over racism in America..., Donald Trump is increasingly becoming a bystander. He wasn't in the pews of churches in Minneapolis or Houston to memorialize George Floyd, the black man whose death sparked protests across the country. He hasn't spoken publicly about the ways Floyd’s death during a police arrest has shaken the conscience of millions of Americans of all races. And he's dismissed the notion of systemic racism in law enforcement, repeatedly putting himself firmly on the side of the police over protesters.... Trump is leaning into many of the same personal and policy instincts that helped him draw support from disaffected, largely white, Americans in the 2016 election. Yet he appears to be falling out of step with the growing majority of Americans, including some of his supporters in politics, sports and pop culture, who see Floyd's death as a searing inflection point in America's fraught racial history."

Emily Jane Fox of Vanity Fair: "[T]he incidents of how Ivanka ran on an entirely different track from the most controversial and offensive pieces of her father's administration, of which she is a senior and central member, continued ... on Thursday, when Wichita State University Tech decided it would not air a speech that Ivanka had prerecorded for its virtual graduation ceremony on Saturday.... Ivanka didn't address the [BLM] movement ... in her speech. She had recorded it before the protests started. Of course, she could have rerecorded it to address these ideas.... The Bible stunt -- as with many previous such maneuvers, Trump pulled at Ivanka's suggestion -- was the height of the performative gesture without any kind of substantive change or deep reflection that protesters have been rallying against. It's at that moment that Ivanka, the most powerful and privileged among us, asked students struggling in this moment to listen to her.... Maybe she is more like her father than I thought." --s

Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "More than 1,250 former Justice Department workers on Wednesday called on the agency's internal watchdog to investigate Attorney General William P. Barr's involvement in law enforcement's move last week to push a crowd of largely peaceful demonstrators back from Lafayette Square using horses and gas. In a letter to Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz, the group said it was 'deeply concerned about the Department's actions, and those of Attorney General William Barr himself, in response to the nationwide lawful gatherings to protest the systemic racism that has plagued this country throughout its history.... In particular, we are disturbed by Attorney General Barr's possible role in ordering law enforcement personnel to suppress a peaceful domestic protest in Lafayette Square on June 1, 2020, for the purpose of enabling President Trump to walk across the street from the White House and stage a photo op at St. John's Church, a politically motivated event in which Attorney General Barr participated,' the group wrote.... The signatories are mostly former career prosecutors, supervisors and trial lawyers who are not household names and worked in both Republican and Democratic administrations."

A Bully AND a Liar. Ryan Lukas of NPR: "U.S. Attorney General William Barr has repeatedly blamed anti-fascist activists for the violence that has erupted during demonstrations over George Floyd's death, but federal court records show no sign of so-called antifa links so far in cases brought by the Justice Department. NPR has reviewed court documents of 51 individuals facing federal charges in connection with the unrest. As of Tuesday morning, none is alleged to have links to the antifa movement." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Alexandra Petri of the Washington Post offers helpful tips on "how to tell if your grandparent has become an antifa agent.... She belongs to a decentralized group with no leadership structure that claims to be discussing a 'book,' but no one ever reads the book and all they seem to do is drink wine. Is always talking on the phone with an 'aunt' you have never actually met in person. Aunt TIFA???? Always walking into rooms and claiming not to know why he walked into the room. Likely. He 'trips' over and breaks your child's Lego police station when walking through the living room in the dark." And so forth.

Benjamin Siegel of ABC News: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Wednesday called for the removal of nearly a dozen Confederate statues from the halls of Congress, throwing her weight behind efforts to take down the figures linked to racism and the Confederacy following the death of George Floyd. In a new letter to the Joint Committee on the Library, a House-Senate panel that manages the National Statuary Hall Collection, Pelosi asked Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., to direct the Architect of the Capitol to 'immediately' start removing 11 statues of men associated with the Confederacy from display in the Capitol complex.... Pelosi's request comes as Democrats plan to introduce a bill that would take down the statues in the Capitol -- sending them to the states that commissioned them, or to the Smithsonian -- and could yield the same result significantly faster."

Massachusetts, Virginia. Morgan Gstalter of the Hill: "Statues of Christopher Columbus were targeted by protesters in Massachusetts and Virginia on Tuesday night in an act of solidarity with indigenous peoples. The 8-foot-tall memorial to the explorer in Richmond, Va., was pulled down with ropes and dragged roughly 200 yards to nearby Landing at Foundation Lake, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. It was also reportedly briefly lit on fire.... Another statue of Columbus was beheaded in Boston overnight in the park named after him, according to CBS Boston." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Jack Holmes of Esquire: "When you build a statue of someone and place it at a center of civic life, it's ... a statement that they should be honored, revered, held up as an icon around which we should organize our society. That their deeds, and the values they lived by, should be a source of inspiration for us all in the here and now. And the only way that Christopher Columbus gets that kind of honor is if you teach kids in school that he sailed the ocean blue in 1492 and leave out the murder.... Otherwise, the kids might start asking why there's a statue of a mass murderer in town.... These statues are not constructed to communicate history.... They are the the beneficiaries of false histories, written and rewritten down the decades as much to absolve ourselves as these men.... The destruction of these monuments is an act that strikes a blow on behalf of history, not against it." --s

New Jersey. Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "As a peaceful Black Lives Matter march made its way through Franklin Township, N.J., the group protesting against police brutality and systemic racism walked past a white man kneeling on the neck of another white man in a mocking reenactment of George Floyd's death. The men were part of a group of white counterprotesters with flags supporting President Trump and 'Blue Lives Matter' that barked, 'Black lives matter to no one,' and 'Police lives matter,' at those marching on Monday to remember Floyd.... 'This is what happens when you don't comply with the cops!' yelled the man who was kneeling on the other man's neck.... 'Comply with the cops and this wouldn't have happened! He didn't comply!' (Floyd did indeed comply with police, according to the criminal complaint filed against the officers.)... On Tuesday, after the angry encounter was denounced by state leaders and law enforcement, one of the men in the video, a corrections officer, has been suspended, while another was fired from his job at FedEx." A Cherry Hill, N.J., Courier Post story, which includes videos, is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

New York. Holly Yan of CNN: "Martin Gugino is still hospitalized in severe pain almost a week after Buffalo officers pushed him to the ground, causing the elderly man's head to bleed. But after learning President Donald Trump tweeted a conspiracy theory, suggesting Gugino was an 'ANTIFA provocateur,' the 75-year-old just laughed. 'He had a good chuckle out of it,' said his friend Mark Colville, who spoke to Gugino by phone Tuesday." --s

Oklahoma. Tim Stelloh of NBC News: "Newly released body camera footage from an arrest in Oklahoma City last year shows a [black] suspect saying 'I can't breathe' before he died at a hospital. In the May 20, 2019 footage, released this week by the Oklahoma City Police Department, three officers are seen restraining the man, Derrick Scott, 42, who can be heard asking repeatedly for his medicine and saying that he can't breathe. 'I don't care,' one of the officers, Jarred Tipton, can be heard replying at one point. 'You can breathe just fine,' another officer can be heard saying a couple of minutes later. Scott, who appears unresponsive several minutes into the footage, was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. An autopsy obtained by NBC News lists his cause of death as a collapsed lung."

Michael Levenson of the New York Times: "NASCAR said on Wednesday that it would ban the Confederate battle flag from its events and properties, becoming the latest organization to reconsider the emblem's place amid a national reckoning over racism and white supremacy after the death of George Floyd.... NASCAR made the announcement two days after Darrell Wallace Jr., the first black driver in 50 years to win one of its top three national touring series, called on NASCAR to ban the flags outright.... NASCAR began asking fans to stop bringing Confederate battle flags to races in 2015, after photos circulated online of the white man who killed nine black churchgoers in Charleston, S.C., posing with the flag. But many in NASCAR's predominantly white Southern fan base have ignored the request and brought the flag anyway, hoisting it atop campers and R.V.s on fields around racetracks. NASCAR officials did not immediately respond to messages asking whether the ban would apply to parking lots outside racetracks or to Confederate imagery emblazoned on objects other than flags, such as bumper stickers and T-shirts." Mrs. McC: Kick all of 'em out.

Dominic Patten of Deadline: "Tucker Carlson ... is losing advertisers -- again.... Both Disney and T-Mobile have cut ties with the primetime Tucker Carlson Tonight over the host's polarizing point of view on the Black Lives Matter movement.... Along with Papa Johns and SmilDirectClub..., [Disney & T-Mobile] faced a backlash in recent days for their association with Carlson and his belief that the well attended protests were 'Black Lives Matter riots[.]'... Last week, the host told his ... audience that they weren't 'required to be upset about [George] Floyd's Memorial Day death in broad daylight on the street by cops. This is the same host who last summer pronounced white supremacy a 'hoax' that should be put on the 'conspiracy theory' shelf."

"As Lawless & Corrupt as Ever." Reps. Adam Schiff (Calif.), Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.), Zoe Lofgren (Calif.), Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), Val Demings (Fla.), Sylvia Garcia (Tex.) and Jason Crow (Colo.) in a Washington Post op-ed: "Four months ago, we tried President Trump for abusing the power of his office in ways that undermined our country's national security, the integrity of U.S. elections and the constitutional structure of our republic. Trump's efforts to coerce an ally to help him cheat in the upcoming election violated the public trust, went to the heart of his unfitness for office -- and revealed that he prioritizes his interests over those of the nation. The president was not changed by impeachment. He is as lawless and corrupt as ever. But his wrongdoing has far greater consequences given the acute challenges facing the nation, the failure of those around him to curb destructive impulses, and the continued unwillingness of many members of Congress to serve as a meaningful check and balance as the Founders intended.... After the trial concluded, Trump focused on undermining institutions that could provide accountability and transparency.... Trump has targeted an even more foundational element of democracy: the right to vote.... Trump called in troops and sought to use the military against peaceful Americans...."

Charlie Savage & Adam Goldman of the New York Times: "A retired federal judge accused the Justice Department on Wednesday of a 'gross abuse of prosecutorial power' and urged a court to reject its attempt to drop the criminal case against Michael T. Flynn, President Trump's former national security adviser, and instead sentence him. The arguments in a 73-page brief by John Gleeson, the retired judge and former mafia prosecutor appointed to argue against the Justice Department's unusual effort to drop the Flynn case, were the latest turn in a politically fraught case that now centers on the question of whether Mr. Flynn should continue to be prosecuted.... 'The reasons offered by the government are so irregular, and so obviously pretextual, that they are deficient, Mr. Gleeson wrote. '... They reveal an unconvincing effort to disguise as legitimate a decision to dismiss that is based solely on the fact that Flynn is a political ally of President Trump.'... Mr. Flynn's lawyers and the Justice Department have sought to bypass Mr. Gleeson and the federal judge in the case who appointed him, Emmet G. Sullivan. An appeals panel will hear arguments on Friday about whether to dismiss the case without allowing Judge Sullivan to conduct his review of the department's request to withdraw the charge against Mr. Flynn." ~~~

~~~ Spencer Hsu & Ann Marimow of the Washington Post: "In a formal briefing to the judge overseeing Flynn's case, former New York federal judge John Gleeson said Flynn's guilt 'could hardly be more provable.' He issued a sharp rebuke of the Justice Department's move to abandon the long-running case and called out President Trump for refusing to accept 'settled foundational norms of prosecutorial independence.'... Gleeson said the government's 'ostensible grounds' for seeking dismissal were 'conclusively disproven' by its own earlier arguments in the case; contradict the court's prior orders and Justice Department positions taken in other cases; and 'are riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact.'" A Politico report is here. ~~~

~~~ TPM has a facsimile of Gleeson's brief here.

~~~ Paul Waldman of the Washington Post: Barr intervened to help Flynn "because it was what Trump wanted, and because he evidently shares Trump's belief that the government should essentially be run like a mob family, in which those who have the boss's favor need not be held accountable for any crimes they commit.... The case could well go all the way to the Supreme Court. It will be neither the first nor the last time the high court is asked to rule on whether Trump's utter corruption of the U.S. government should be limited or greeted with a smile and a nod, and there's no way to know how they'll rule.... But, at least for now, it's good to hear the truth spoken."

Elections 2020

Richard Fausset & Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "Georgia was waiting on Wednesday for the results of primary elections riddled with serious problems, as voting machines all over the state malfunctioned and frustrated voters waited in long lines for hours. Still unresolved by early Wednesday evening was whether Jon Ossoff, the 33-year-old Democrat who earned national headlines in 2017 with a spirited but unsuccessful congressional race in the Atlanta suburbs, would capture his party's nomination in a race for a Senate seat. He was well ahead of Teresa Tomlinson, the former mayor of Columbus, Ga., and Sarah Riggs Amico, a former candidate for lieutenant governor, and just over the 50 percent vote threshold needed to avoid a runoff. If he stays over the threshold, he would advance to challenge Senator David Perdue, an incumbent Republican and ally of President Trump's." The story has more primary results for Georgia & other states. (Also linked yesterday, but the story has been updated.) Update 2: The story has been updated to reflect Ossoff's outright primary win. ~~~

     ~~~ ** Update: Greg Bluestein of the Atlanta Journal Constitution: "Jon Ossoff captured the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, emerging from a crowded field that included two well-financed rivals to win an outright victory in the race to challenge U.S. Sen. David Perdue.... Ossoff's victory was called by The Associated Press as absentee ballots from metro Atlanta, his biggest base of support, steadily boosted his vote total above the 50% mark."

Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "The N.B.A. superstar LeBron James and a group of other prominent black athletes and entertainers are starting a new group aimed at protecting African-Americans' voting rights, seizing on the widespread fury against racial injustice that has fueled worldwide protests to amplify their voices in this fall's presidential election.... The organization, called More Than a Vote, will partly be aimed at inspiring African-Americans to register and to cast a ballot in November. But as the name of the group suggests, Mr. James and other current and former basketball stars -- including Trae Young, Skylar Diggins-Smith and Jalen Rose -- will go well beyond traditional celebrity get-out-the-vote efforts. Mr. James, 35, said he would use his high-profile platform on social media to combat voter suppression and would be vocal about drawing attention to any attempts to restrict the franchise of racial minorities.... The new organization represents Mr. James's most significant foray yet into electoral politics." A Deadline story is here.

If a Poll Looks Bad for You, Threaten the Pollster. John Wagner & Felicia Sonmez of the Washington Post: "President Trump's reelection campaign is asking CNN for an apology and demanding a retraction of a poll this week that shows presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden with a sizable lead, claiming it was designed 'to manufacture an anti-Trump narrative.' CNN said Wednesday that it stands by the poll, which showed Trump trailing the former vice president, 41 percent to 55 percent, or by 14 points, among registered voters in a November matchup.... This is the first known time that he or his campaign have threatened legal action to suppress results.... CNN ... general counsel David Vigilante responded Wednesday afternoon with a letter to the Trump campaign.... 'To the extent we have received legal threats from political leaders in the past, they have typically come from countries like Venezuela or other regimes where there is little or no respect for a free and independent media,' he said, calling the Trump campaign's letter 'factually and legally baseless.'" Mrs. McC: How dare Paul Waldman & others characterize the Trump camp as a mob-type organization. ~~~

     ~~~ CNN's report is here. "After CNN released the poll earlier this week, Trump tweeted that he had hired Republican pollster McLaughlin & Associates to 'analyze" the survey and others 'which I felt were FAKE based on the incredible enthusiasm we are receiving.' McLaughlin ranks as one of the least accurate pollsters in the industry, as measured by FiveThirtyEight." A Mediaite report is here. It contains a facsimile of the Trump campaign's cease-and-desist letter to CNN, also some Trump conspiracy-theory tweets about how fake the poll was.

Trump to Sicken & Kill Supporters. Annie Karni of the New York Times: "President Trump will return to the campaign trail on June 19 with a rally in Tulsa, Okla., for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak forced most of the country into quarantine three months ago, a campaign official said Wednesday.... Trump campaign officials are unlikely to put into place any social distancing measures for rally attendees, or require them to wear masks, people familiar with the decision-making process said, adding that it would be unnecessary because the state is so far along in its reopening. Mr. Trump has also made it clear he doesn't want to speak in front of gatherings that look empty because of social distancing, or to look out on a sea of covered faces as he tries to project a positive message about the country returning to normal life and the economy roaring back.... On Wednesday, Mr. Trump also said he planned to hold rallies in Florida, Arizona and North Carolina." A Politico story is here. ~~~

     ... AP: "... Donald Trump is planning to hold his first rally of the coronavirus era on June 19 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.... The rally will take place on Juneteenth, the commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Tulsa has its own troubling history on race. Its once-thriving African American business community was decimated in 1921, when a racist white mob killed hundreds of black residents. Black residents attempted to rebuild in the decades that followed, only to see their work erased during urban renewal of the 1960s...Trump carried Oklahoma by more than 36 percentage points in 2016[.]" --s

~~~ Trump to Crown Jacksonville Coronavirus City. Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Republicans expect to move their national convention from Charlotte, N.C., to Jacksonville, Fla., a shift planned after President Trump told officials in North Carolina that he did not want to use social distancing measures aimed at halting the spread of the coronavirus, according to three senior Republicans. The decision could change, the Republicans cautioned, but as of now, officials are on track to announce the new location as early as Thursday. Jacksonville has been Republicans' top choice for days, after Mr. Trump told the governor of North Carolina, Roy Cooper, a Democrat, that he needed an answer about whether Charlotte could accommodate the convention in August with a promise that there would not be social distancing.Jacksonville is the most populous city in Florida, where Ron DeSantis, a Republican and an ally of Mr. Trump, is the governor. Jacksonville's mayor, Lenny Curry, is a longtime Republican official." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Jacksonville, from I-10 anyway, is a beautiful, sparkling city. It is a hot city in August. But most of all, it is much more a southern city than a Florida city.

Way Beyond the Beltway

Cold Case Solved. Probably. Thomas Erdbrink & Christina Anderson of the New York Times: "Bedeviled for over 34 years by the mysterious killing of Olof Palme, the Swedish prime minister who was shot in the back by an unknown assailant on a quiet Stockholm street, Sweden's judiciary finally made its case on Wednesday. At a news conference in Stockholm, the prosecutor Krister Petersson said that there was 'reasonable evidence' that the assailant was Stig Engstrom, a graphic designer at an insurance company, who killed himself in 2000, at the age of 66. He added that only a court could rule on whether Mr. Engstrom was guilty or not, but that since the suspect is deceased, there would be no court case. But the prosecutor said he could not rule out the possibility that Mr. Engstrom had acted as part of a larger conspiracy.... The ... case was widely considered solved in 2018 by a freelance journalist, Thomas Pettersson, whose reporting led to Mr. Engstrom." Mrs. McC: They should have put Wallander on the case. Oh, wait. He sort of was. (Also linked yesterday.)