The Commentariat -- May 19, 2020

Late Morning Update:

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

Here's the memo, via CNN, from Sean Conley, Trump's White House physician, regarding Trump's claim that he's taking hydroxychloroquine. Nowhere does he say he has prescribed hydroxychloroquine for Trump. Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post has some thoughts on that. Mrs. McC: While Conley may have carefully-worded his letter to help perpetrate another Trump lie, many Trumpbots will follow the apparent "advice" of Trump's doctor and try this at home. For a public servant (Conley is a Navy commander), he should apply "first, do no harm" to all Americans, not just Trump. It's occurred to me that there's another possibility that no one seems to have mentioned: Trump is taking "the hydroxy," but Conley refused to prescribe it, so Trump found another source.

Erica Werner & Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin defended the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus outbreak Tuesday at a hearing where senators pressed him to move faster on hundreds of billions in lending to businesses, cities and states and others.... Also testifying along with Mnuchin was Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome H. Powell." The New York Times is live-updating the hearing here.

Shane Harris of the Washington Post: "Texas congressman John Ratcliffe (R) took a step closer to becoming President Trump's top intelligence adviser on Tuesday, after the Senate Intelligence Committee voted along party lines to move his nomination to the full Senate. Committee members voted 8 to 7 in favor of Ratcliffe as the next director of national intelligence, following an extraordinary hearing earlier this month held under social distancing guidelines. Ratcliffe sat far back from masked senators who questioned him on his credentials and whether he was capable of acting independently of his political allegiance to the president. The committee vote was held behind closed doors in a secure facility in the Capitol. Ratcliffe is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate in a vote likely to be held after Memorial Day, according to congressional aides." A Hill story is here.

Alexander Bolton & Laura Kelly of the Hill: "Senate Republicans are demanding a fuller explanation from President Trump about his firing of State Department Inspector General Steve Linick, the fourth inspector general to be removed or targeted for removal by the president in the past three months." Among those requiring more answers are John Thune, Lisa Murkowski, Rob Portman, & John Risch, along with Chuck Grassley.

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

** Jane Timm of NBC News: "... Donald Trump on Monday said he has been taking hydroxychloroquine, an unproven treatment for COVID-19 that he has vigorously promoted. 'A lot of good things have come out about the hydroxy.... You'd be surprised at how many people are taking it,' Trump said at the White House. ... I'm taking it hydroxychloroquine, right now.' The president said he has been taking the drug for 'a couple weeks' and that it was prescribed by the White House doctor. The FDA has warned against its use for COVID-19 outside of a hospital setting due to a risk of serious heart problems." Mrs. McC: He also is imbibing prodigious gulps of bleach, doctor-presribed, of course. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

~~~ Zeke Miller, et al., of the AP: "The White House physician, Dr. Sean Conley, said in a statement released through the White House press office that, after 'numerous discussions' with Trump about the evidence for and against using hydroxychloroquine, 'we concluded the potential benefit from treatment outweighed the relative risks.'" ~~~

~~~ Justin Baragona & Adam Rawnsley of the Daily Beast: "Trump claimed he received a letter the other day from a New York doctor who alleged he has successfully treated hundreds of COVID-19 patients with a combo of the drug and azithromycin. He also complained about 'phony reports' that showed the lack of efficacy of the drug in treating the coronavirus.... Immediately after Trump made his stunning disclosure, Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto [said on-air,] 'The fact of the matter is, though, when Trump said what do you got to lose, in a number of studies the vulnerable population have one thing to lose, their lives,' Cavuto somberly said during his Fox News broadcast. 'I cannot stress enough: This will kill you!'" ~~~

He's our president, and I would rather he not be taking something that has not been approved by the scientists, especially in his age group and his, shall we say, weight group ... morbidly obese, they say. -- Nancy Pelosi, on CNN Monday night

~~~ First, Do No Harm. Steve M. has a few theories about this, all of them reasonable: "Washington is talking about Mike Pompeo and the inspector general who was fired for investigating him, so President Trump decided to regain control of the news cycle[.]... Trump might simply be lying about this -- he knows that the announcement will be headline-grabbing, and he knows that advocating hydroxychloroquine is an effective way of needling the libs." Also, hydroxychloroquine is popular with Foxbots.... Trump's doctors haven't been honest and forthcoming about his health, but it was revealed in 2018 that he has cardiovascular issues.... Under those circumstances, if you were one of the president's doctors, would you give him a drug that can disturb heart rhythms? I think you'd give him a placebo and let him think it's hydroxychloroquine."

Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Trump on Monday threatened to permanently halt U.S. funding for the World Health Organization (WHO) if the body does not commit to 'major substantive improvements' in the next 30 days. The president, in a letter to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, levied a series of allegations that the global health entity overlooked or ignored various warning signs about the coronavirus and criticized its stance toward China during the pandemic." ~~~

~~~ Andrew Jacobs, et al., of the New York Times: "A meeting of the World Health Organization that was supposed to chart a path for the world to combat the coronavirus pandemic instead on Monday turned into a showcase for the escalating tensions between China and the United States over the virus. President Xi Jinping of China announced at the start of the forum that Beijing would donate $2 billion toward fighting the coronavirus and dispatch doctors and medical supplies to Africa and other countries in the developing world. The contribution, to be spent over two years, amounts to more than twice what the United States had been giving the global health agency before President Trump cut off American funding last month.... Mr. Trump declined to address the two-day gathering, providing the Chinese president an opening to be one of the first world leaders to address the 194 member states.... In videotaped remarks to the assembly after Mr. Xi spoke, Alex M. Azar II, the U.S. secretary of health and human services, countered wit sharp criticism of both the W.H.O. and China, saying their handling of the coronavirus outbreak led to unnecessary deaths." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I didn't bother to read this piece in Sunday's Washington Post by Ashley Parker & Phil Rucker, but I should have. I might think Rucker took my criticism to heart: "President Trump has proclaimed the latest phase of pandemic response the 'transition to greatness.' But Trump appears poised to preside over the eventual transition more as a salesman and marketer than a decider. The United States under Trump has also retreated from its historic position of global leadership, declining, for instance, to participate in a coronavirus summit with other nations earlier this month. Amid a once-in-a-century deadly pandemic, Trump has inserted his ego squarely into the U.S. response while simultaneously minimizing his own role -- deferring critical decisions to others, undermining his credibility with confusion and misinformation, and shirking responsibility in what some see as a shrinking of the America presidency." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Trump Is So Corrupt He Doesn't Know He's Corrupt. Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "After former top vaccine official Rick Bright maintained Sunday that the federal government's response to the coronavirus pandemic has been slow and chaotic, President Trump responded in a late-night tweetstorm, saying that whistleblowers like Bright are 'causing great injustice and harm' to the nation. In an interview with '60 Minutes,' Bright, the former director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, criticized the government for failing to have a clear plan in place to address the totality of the American outbreak.... Shortly after the program aired, Trump took to Twitter to again describe the concerns of Bright, who led BARDA for four years, as complaints from a 'disgruntled employee,' and he reiterated his long-standing call to undo protections for whistleblowers." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: That is, when someone points to wrongdoing and/or incompetence in the Trump administration, it causes "great harm to the nation." That doesn't even make any sense. Most taxpayers want their tax dollars to be used effectively, and if someone is screwing up, they expect others to call attention to it & correct the errors. But Trump thinks the malfeasance is not the corruption or incompetence but the act of reporting corruption or malfeasance.

** Erica Werner of the Washington Post: "President Trump on Monday intensified his push for businesses to reopen as quickly as possible, but companies and cities continued to wait for the disbursement of unspent bailout funds and remain unsure what to expect as rules and programs continue to shift.... The Congressional Oversight Commission, a new body, released a report on Monday finding that the Treasury Department had spent very little from a $500 billion fund created by the Cares Act in March to help businesses and local governments, even though many of these entities have asked for immediate help. Senators are expected to press Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell about this during a hearing Tuesday morning."

Nick Valencia of CNN: "A senior official from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday offered a pointed rebuke of White House trade adviser Peter Navarro's scathing criticism of the top health agency in the latest sign of growing tension between the CDC and the White House. 'We should remind Mr. Navarro that the CDC is a federal agency part of the administration. The CDC director is an appointed position, and Dr. (Robert) Redfield was appointed by President (Donald) Trump,' the official told CNN. 'If there is criticism of the CDC, ultimately Mr. Navarro is being critical of the President and the man who President Trump placed to lead the agency.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Jeff Cox of CNBC: "The U.S. economy could shrink by upwards of 30% in the second quarter but will avoid a Depression-like economic plunge over the longer term, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told '60 Minutes in an interview aired Sunday. The central bank chief also conceded that jobless numbers will look a lot like they did during the 1930s, when the rate peaked out at close to 25%[.]" The full transcript & a video of Powell's "60 Minutes" appearance is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Greg Sargent of the Washington Post: "President Trump's abrupt decision to remove the inspector general of the State Department [Steven Linick] constitutes the latest in a string of corrupt efforts to remove public servants who prioritize real oversight and accountability over protecting Trump at all costs.... House Democrats have discovered that the fired IG had mostly completed an investigation into Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's widely criticized decision to skirt Congress with an emergency declaration to approve billions of dollars in arms sales to Saudi Arabia last year, aides on the Foreign Affairs Committee tell me.... 'We don't have the full picture yet, but it's troubling that Secretary Pompeo wanted Mr. Linick pushed out before this work could be completed,' [Rep. Eliot] Engel [D-N.Y.] said in the statement to me.... The [arms sale to Saudis] was condemned by lawmakers in both parties who have increasingly been turning on continued U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, which stretches back to the last administration and has unleashed a humanitarian catastrophe. Congress subsequently voted to block the arms sales, with some Republican support, but Trump vetoed the effort." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ A related CNN report, by Zachary Cohen, is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Trump Says the Dog Ate Mike's Homework or Something. John Bowdon of the Hill: "Speaking with reporters at the White House, Trump defended Pompeo as a 'high-quality person' and a 'brilliant guy,' while suggesting that the nation's top diplomat had assigned government employees to perform household tasks because his wife or children were not around. '[N]ow I have you telling me about dog walking, washing dishes and you know what, I'd rather have him on the phone with some world leader than have him wash dishes because maybe his wife isn't there or his kids aren't ... you know,' Trump said. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Needless to say, there's nothing wrong with Pompeo & his family's hiring help to wash the dishes & walk the dog. What's wrong, and against the law, is asking or ordering federal employees -- who have other jobs -- to carry out his & his wife's personal errands. As for Pompeo's being a "brilliant guy," for a brilliant guy, he sure is clueless -- or claims to be -- about what's going on under his nose. ~~~

     ~~~ Carol Morello of the Washington Post: "In a telephone interview, Pompeo said the decision was not an act of political retaliation, because he did not know beforehand that the official, Steve Linick, was investigating allegations that he had an aide run personal errands for him." ~~~

~~~ John Hudson & Carol Morello of the Washington Post: "Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his top aides blasted the State Department's ousted internal watchdog on Monday, accusing him of mishandling leaks to the media and failing to promote Pompeo's mission statement to employees. The remarks attempted to fill in the gaps in the mysterious firing of Steve Linick by President Trump late Friday night, but they also raised new questions about the dismissal and exposed a sharp divide among State Department employees.... Pompeo told The Washington Post that he advised Trump to fire Linick because he was not 'performing a function' that was 'additive for the State Department.' One of Pompeo's top aides, Brian Bulatao..., said the secretary was frustrated with Linick's indifference to an 'ethos statement' Pompeo formulated for employees last year that includes mottos such as 'I am a champion of American diplomacy.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: It sounds as if Pompeo was upset because Linick wouldn't join all the other girls & boys in raising their right hands & pledging in unison, "I am a champion of American diplomacy," like a troop of Cub Scouts. ~~~

~~~ Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the most senior Republican in the Senate, is pressing President Trump to explain why he fired the State Department inspector general, noting that Trump's notice on Friday that he would remove Steve Linick after 30 days did not include an explanation as required by law. Grassley in a letter to Trump Monday warned inspectors general 'should be free from partisan political interference, from either the Executive or Legislative branch.' He is asking Trump to 'provide a detailed reasonin' for the removal of Linick no later than June 1.'" Mrs. McC: June 1? Really?

Morgant Chalfant of the Hill: "Attorney General William Barr said Monday that he does not expect a criminal investigation of former President Obama or former Vice President Joe Biden to result from the probe undertaken by U.S Attorney John Durham. 'Based on the information I have today, I don't expect Mr. Durham's work will lead to a criminal investigation of either man,' Barr told reporters at the Justice Department. 'Our concern over potential criminality is focused on others.' Barr was asked about President Trump's recent remarks encouraging investigations into Obama and other officials from the previous administration. The president suggested they were involved in criminal wrongdoing in connection with the FBI's investigation into Russian interference.... 'What happened to the president [Trump] in the 2016 election and throughout the first two years of his administration was abhorrent,' Barr told reporters Monday. 'It was a grave injustice and it was unprecedented in American history.'" A Washington Post report is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: So, at least so far, Barr has decided fake "Obamagate' is a bridge too far. We'll see if he changes his mind in the weeks before the November election.

** Bill Barr Exonerates Russia. Sonam Sheth of Business Insider: "The Justice Department on Monday moved to drop its case against 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities who were indicted as part of the former special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 US election.... Notably, the filing continued to say that based on consideration of these circumstances, 'and particularly in light of recent events and a change in the balance of the government's proof due to a classification determination,' and other details outlined in a classified addendum to the filing, the Justice Department decided to drop its case." (Emphasis mine) --safari: How did this go under the radar in MSM? ~~~

~~~ Mary Ilyushina and Marshall Cohen of CNN: "Russian oligarch Yevegeny Prigozhin, who bankrolled the troll farm that meddled in the 2016 presidential election, took a victory lap on Tuesday after the US Justice Department dropped charges against two of his companies, weeks before a scheduled trial.... President Donald Trump also trumpeted the development, even though it was a setback for his own Justice Department.... One of the tweets read, 'How embarrassing for Team Mueller.' The criminal case against Prigozhin and his companies, including Concord Management and Consulting, was initiated by Mueller in 2018 and was slated to go to trial next month. But prosecutors abruptly announced Monday that they were scrapping the charges." --s

Lindsey Will Have His Witch Hunt Anyway. Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham is preparing to ask his colleagues on the panel for blanket permission to subpoena dozens of Obama and Trump administration officials connected to the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election -- and contacts between ... Donald Trump's team and Russians. His proposal would permit the South Carolina Republican to demand testimony and documents from figures involved in the intelligence associated with the launch of the Russia investigation, including Attorney General Loretta Lynch, former national intelligence director James Clapper, former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey." Mrs. McC: They should all refuse to show up until Trump releases every person Congressional Democrats have called to testify on everything.

Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A retired federal judge [John Gleeson] appointed to oppose the Justice Department's bid to dismiss former national security adviser Michael Flynn's guilty plea to lying to the FBI requested on Monday a hearing for oral arguments after he briefs the court. The request for a hearing sets the stage for a pitched legal and political battle triggered by Attorney General William P. Barr's April 30 move to undo the conviction of the highest-ranking adviser to President Trump convicted in special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's Russia investigation.... Also Monday, in one of the first publicly released draft filings to advise the court, more than 960 former Justice Department prosecutors accused Barr of appearing to serve the president's personal political interests. The prosecutors ... said in the filing that Barr violated his oath to faithfully execute the law and helped Trump undermine the Constitution by giving an aide impunity to lie to government investigators." ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE. Rebecca Klar of the Hill: "Fifteen Republican state attorneys general are urging the judge ruling over the case to dismiss it, showing support for the Trump administration's move to drop the charges against the president's first national security adviser. In a briefing filed Monday, the attorneys general said the court has created a problem of 'inserting itself into the Justice Department's exercise of prosecutorial discretion.'"

Katie Benner & Adam Goldman of the New York Times: "Federal investigators found cellphone evidence that links Al Qaeda to last year's deadly shooting at a United States military base in Pensacola, Fla., according to two American officials briefed on the investigation. The F.B.I. found that the gunman, Second Lt. Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, a Saudi Air Force cadet training with the American military, had communicated with a Qaeda operative who had encouraged the attacks, according to the two officials, who were not authorized to speak about it publicly ahead of an 11 a.m. news conference by Attorney General William P. Barr. The F.B.I. uncovered the links after recently bypassing the security features on at least one of Mr. Alshamrani's two iPhones without help from Apple, according to the officials." A CNN report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Donna Cassata of the Washington Post: "Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) will serve as the acting chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, replacing Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), who stepped aside last week after FBI agents seized his cellphone, seeking evidence related to stock sales he made before the coronavirus pandemic crashed global markets..., Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said...."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Eric Boehlert of Press Run: "When CBS News last year hired a Fox News reporter [Catherine Herridge] who had been aggressively wrong about the Benghazi story for three straight years, it was not a good sign.... She basically ran an ongoing misinformation campaign on behalf of the GOP. (Her Twitter feed still serves as one.)... Herridge has emerged in recent days as a media point person as the White House tries frantically to smear former President Barack Obama with the hollow claims of a 'Obamagate' scandal.... Herridge recently treated Attorney General Bill Barr to a softball interview after he ... dropped charges against ... Michael Flynn.... Then Herridge was handed a Republicans 'scoop,' which peddled the absurd claim that Obama and Vice President Biden were part of this vast, left-wing, Deep State conspiracy to ensnare the Trump presidency.... Somehow, CBS looked at her resume and decided they needed Herridge on their team." --s

The Commentariat -- May 18, 2020

Afternoon Update:

Jane Timm of NBC News: "... Donald Trump on Monday said he has been taking hydroxychloroquine, an unproven treatment for COVID-19 that he has vigorously promoted. 'A lot of good things have come out about the hydroxy.... You'd be surprised at how many people are taking it,' Trump said at the White House.... I'm taking it hydroxychloroquine, right now.' The president said he has been taking the drug for 'a couple weeks' and that it was prescribed by the White House doctor. The FDA has warned against its use for COVID-19 outside of a hospital setting due to a risk of serious heart problems." Mrs. McC: He also is imbibing prodigious gulps of bleach, doctor-presribed, of course.

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

Mrs. McCrabbie: I didn't bother to read this piece in Sunday's Washington Post by Ashley Parker & Phil Rucker, but I guess ti should have. I might think Rucker took my criticism to heart: "President Trump has proclaimed the latest phase of pandemic response the 'transition to greatness.' But Trump appears poised to preside over the eventual transition more as a salesman and marketer than a decider. The United States under Trump has also retreated from its historic position of global leadership, declining, for instance, to participate in a coronavirus summit with other nations earlier this month. Amid a once-in-a-century deadly pandemic, Trump has inserted his ego squarely into the U.S. response while simultaneously minimizing his own role -- deferring critical decisions to others, undermining his credibility with confusion and misinformation, and shirking responsibility in what some see as a shrinking of the American presidency."

Trump Is So Corrupt He Doesn't Know He's Corrupt. Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "After former top vaccine official Rick Bright maintained Sunday that the federal government's response to the coronavirus pandemic has been slow and chaotic, President Trump responded in a late-night tweetstorm, saying that whistleblowers like Bright are 'causing great injustice and harm' to the nation. In an interview with '60 Minutes,' Bright, the former director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, criticized the government for failing to have a clear plan in place to address the totality of the American outbreak.... Shortly after the program aired, Trump took to Twitter to again describe the concerns of Bright, who led BARDA for four years, as complaints from a 'disgruntled employee,' and he reiterated his long-standing call to undo protections for whistleblowers." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: That is, when someone points to wrongdoing and/or incompetence in the Trump administration, it causes "great harm to the nation." That doesn't even make any sense. Most taxpayers want their tax dollars to be used effectively, and if someone is screwing up, they expect others to call attention to it & correct the errors. But Trump thinks the malfeasance is not the corruption or incompetence but the act of reporting corruption or malfeasance.

Greg Sargent of the Washington Post:"President Trump's abrupt decision to remove the inspector general of the State Department [Steven Linick] constitutes the latest in a string of corrupt efforts to remove public servants who prioritize real oversight and accountability over protecting Trump at all costs.... House Democrats have discovered that the fired IG had mostly completed an investigation into Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's widely criticized decision to skirt Congress with an emergency declaration to approve billions of dollars in arms sales to Saudi Arabia last year, aides on the Foreign Affairs Committee tell me.... 'We don't have the full picture yet, but it's troubling that Secretary Pompeo wanted Mr. Linick pushed out before this work could be completed,' [Rep. Eliot] Engel [D-N.Y.] said in the statement to me.... The [arms sale to Saudis] was condemned by lawmakers in both parties who have increasingly been turning on continued U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, which stretches back to the last administration and has unleashed a humanitarian catastrophe. Congress subsequently voted to block the arms sales, with some Republican support, but Trump vetoed the effort." ~~~

     ~~~ A related CNN report, by Zachary Cohen, is here.

Morgant Chalfant of the Hill: "Attorney General William Barr said Monday that he does not expect a criminal investigation of former President Obama or former Vice President Joe Biden to result from the probe undertaken by U.S Attorney John Durham. 'Based on the information I have today, I don't expect Mr. Durham's work will lead to a criminal investigation of either man,' Barr told reporters at the Justice Department. 'Our concern over potential criminality is focused on others.' Barr was asked about President Trump's recent remarks encouraging investigations into Obama and other officials from the previous administration. The president suggested they were involved in criminal wrongdoing in connection with the FBI's investigation into Russian interference.... 'What happened to the president [Trump] in the 2016 election and throughout the first two years of his administration was abhorrent,' Barr told reporters Monday. 'It was a grave injustice and it was unprecedented in American history.'" A Washington Post report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: So, at least so far, Barr has decided fake "Obamagate' are a bridge too far. We'll see if he changes his mind in the weeks before the November election.

Nick Valencia of CNN: "A senior official from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday offered a pointed rebuke of White House trade adviser Peter Navarro's scathing criticism of the top health agency in the latest sign of growing tension between the CDC and the White House. 'We should remind Mr. Navarro that the CDC is a federal agency part of the administration. The CDC director is an appointed position, and Dr. (Robert) Redfield was appointed by President (Donald) Trump,' the official told CNN. 'If there is criticism of the CDC, ultimately Mr. Navarro is being critical of the President and the man who President Trump placed to lead the agency.'"

Katie Benner & Adam Goldman of the New York Times: "Federal investigators found cellphone evidence that links Al Qaeda to last year's deadly shooting at a United States military base in Pensacola, Fla., according to two American officials briefed on the investigation. The F.B.I. found that the gunman, Second Lt. Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, a Saudi Air Force cadet training with the American military, had communicated with a Qaeda operative who had encouraged the attacks, according to the two officials, who were not authorized to speak about it publicly ahead of an 11 a.m. news conference by Attorney General William P. Barr. The F.B.I. uncovered the links after recently bypassing the security features on at least one of Mr. Alshamrani's two iPhones without help from Apple, according to the officials." A CNN report is here.

Jeff Cox of CNBC: "The U.S. economy could shrink by upwards of 30% in the second quarter but will avoid a Depression-like economic plunge over the longer term, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told '60 Minutes in an interview aired Sunday. The central bank chief also conceded that jobless numbers will look a lot like they did during the 1930s, when the rate peaked out at close to 25%[.]" The full transcript & a video of Powell's "60 Minutes" appearance is here.

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Carolyn Johnson of the Washington Post: "Moderna, the Massachusetts biotechnology company behind a leading effort to create a coronavirus vaccine, announced promising early results from its first human safety tests Monday. The company plans to launch a large clinical trial in July aimed at showing whether the vaccine works. The company reported that in eight patients who had been followed for a month and a half, the vaccine at low and medium doses triggered blood levels of virus-fighting antibodies that were similar or greater than those found in patients who recovered. That would suggest, but doesn't prove, that it triggers some level of immunity. The antibody-rich blood plasma donated by patients who have recovered is separately being tested to determine whether it is an effective therapy or preventive measure for covid-19. Moderna's announcement comes days after one of its directors, Moncef Slaoui, stepped down from the board to become chief scientist for Operation Warp Speed, a White House initiative to speed up vaccine development. Watchdogs called out Slaoui's apparent conflict of interest, noting he owns Moderna stock options worth $10 million." The story is free to nonsubscribers. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: It's uncanny the way Trump manages to taint even good news with his predilection for corruption.

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

Trump Is Projecting Again. Rishika Dugyala of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Sunday dismissed his predecessor as 'grossly incompetent,' a day after former President Barack Obama said leaders weren't 'even pretending to be in charge' amid the coronavirus pandemic.... [President Obama] didn't name names, but the implication was clear.... 'Look,' [Trump said of Obama,] 'he was an incompetent president. That's all I can say. Grossly incompetent.'... [Trump's] brief comments on Sunday come as he pushes the unfounded 'Obamagate; conspiracy theory...."

Felicia Sonmez & Darryl Fears of the Washington Post: "Tensions between the White House and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spilled out into public view on Sunday as a top adviser to President Trump criticized the public health agency's response to the novel coronavirus pandemic.The comments by White House trade adviser Peter Navarro are the latest signal of how the Trump administration has sought to sideline the CDC. The agency typically plays the lead role in public health crises, but in recent weeks it's had its draft guidance for reopening held up by the White House, leaving states and localities to largely fend for themselves.Speaking on NBC News's 'Meet the Press,' Navarro sharply criticized the CDC over its production of a flawed coronavirus test kit that contributed to a nationwide delay in testing.... Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, whose agency oversees the CDC, pushed back against Navarro's criticism in an interview on CBS's 'Face the Nation.'" The article is free to nonsubscribers. ~~~

~~~ Stephen Collinson of CNN: "Two of ... Donald Trump's top officials are now pointing the finger at the administration's own scientists and Americans' pre-existing health conditions to explain the country's world-leading Covid-19 death toll. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar suggested Sunday that underlying health conditions, including among minorities, were one reason for the high American death toll -- nearly 90,000 as of Sunday evening. And Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro added the government's own Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to its list of scapegoats alongside China and the Obama administration. The White House has been escalating its effort to recast the narrative of its own chaotic response to the crisis as it aggressively pushes to reopen the country, a process vital to the fortunes of millions of people who have lost their jobs in lockdowns and its own political prospects in November.... The United States accounts for about 4.25% of the world's population, but currently has about 29% of the confirmed deaths from the disease...."

If you want to know how much your neighbors are sheltering in place, this Washington Post map has an interactive county-by-county breakdown based on cellphone location information.

WPVI Philadelphia: "Drexel [University]'s experts ... used real-life numbers to estimate how many lives were saved [by shutdowns & social distancing], and how many hospitalizations didn't happen in 30 cities around the country[.] For Philadelphia, it estimates that 45 days of being shut down, and doing social distancing spared 62-hundred lives, and kept 57-thousand people out of hospitals than if life went on as usual. There were sizable results in other cities - in Baltimore, the model estimates nearly 23-hundred fewer deaths. In Dallas, 10-thousand lives saved, while in New York City, 25-thousand lives may have been saved by changing our behavior."

Europe. Kate Connolly of the Guardian: "The mayor of Athens has said he will 'liberate' public space from cars. His counterpart in Paris says it is out of the question for the city to return to pre-coronavirus traffic and pollution levels. In Berlin, 14 miles (22 km) of new bike lanes have appeared almost overnight. Around the world, from Dublin to Sydney, cities are being radically reshaped in favour of cyclists and pedestrians as empty streets give authorities the opportunity to implement and accelerate large-scale projects. Cycling advocates and environmental activists are urging governments to ensure the revival is long-term and lasts beyond the pandemic, for fear of a pushback by the car lobby." --s

** Josh Lederman & Andrea Mitchell of NBC News: Steve Linick, "the State Department inspector general who was removed from his job Friday [by Donald Trump, at Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's 'recommendation,'] was looking into whether ... Pompeo made a staffer walk his dog, pick up his dry cleaning and make dinner reservations for Pompeo and his wife, among other personal errands, according to two congressional officials assigned to different committees. The officials said they are working to learn whether former Inspector General Steve Linick may have had other ongoing investigations into Pompeo. The officials say the staffer who was alleged to have been made to do personal tasks is a political appointee who was serving as a staff assistant. CNN reported last year that congressional Democrats were investigating a different complaint, this one from a whistleblower, alleging that Pompeo's diplomatic security agents were made to perform similar personal tasks. The House first obtained details of the inspector general investigation late last week after learning of Linick's sudden removal." The Washington Post report is here. ~~~

~~~ Edward Wong of the New York Times: "Secretary of State Mike Pompeo swatted away questions about his use of government resources again and again last year.... But his record is now coming under fresh scrutiny after President Trump told Congress on Friday night that he was firing the State Department inspector general -- at Mr. Pompeo's private urging, a White House official said.... Democrats and other critics of Mr. Pompeo say the cloud of accusations shows a pattern of abuse of taxpayer money -- one that may mean lawmakers will be less willing to give the administration the benefit of the doubt as congressional Democrats begin an investigation into Mr. Linick's dismissal.... Mrs. Pompeo has accompanied Mr. Pompeo on several long trips overseas.... Other secretaries of state have occasionally traveled with spouses, but some officials in the State Department say Mrs. Pompeo, a former bank executive, has played an unusually active role in running meetings and accompanying her husband on official business."

Andrea Shalal, et al. of Reuters: "U.S. lawmakers and officials are crafting proposals to push American companies to move operations or key suppliers out of China that include tax breaks, new rules, and carefully structured subsidies. Interviews with a dozen current and former government officials, industry executives and members of Congress show widespread discussions underway - including the idea of a 'reshoring fund' originally stocked with $25 billion - to encourage U.S. companies to drastically revamp their relationship with China.... U.S. reliance on China-made products ... accounted for some 18% of overall imports in 2019." --s

Presidential Race

Yesterday we learned from the NYT that Donnie Junior (Dumb) "on Saturday posted a social media message suggesting Joseph R. Biden Jr. was a pedophile, an incendiary and baseless charge that illustrates the tactics the president is turning to as he attempts to erase Mr. Biden's early advantage in key state polls." Now, we learn that Eric (Dumber) is playing, too: ~~~

~~~ Derek Hawkins of the Washington Post: "Eric Trump claimed Saturday that the coronavirus will 'magically' vanish after the November election and allow the country to fully reopen -- an assertion that has no basis in science and is contradicted by health experts worldwide. In an interview with Fox News's Jeanine Pirro, Trump suggested the president's critics were using the pandemic to undermine his father's rallies, calling it a 'cognizant strategy' that would cease once it was no longer politically expedient.... The Biden campaign pushed back against Trump's comments.... 'We're in the middle of the biggest public health emergency in a century, with almost 90,000 Americans dead, 1.5 million infected, and 36 million workers newly jobless,' said Biden communications director Kate Bedingfield in a statement. 'So for Eric Trump to claim that the coronavirus is a political hoax that will 'magically' disappear is absolutely stunning and unbelievably reckless.'... President Trump himself has acknowledged the pandemic will remain a public health problem for months." An Axios story is here. Mrs. McC: It would be quite sad if a hoax made Dumber really sick.

Capitalism Is Awesome, Ctd. Heather Vogell of ProPublica: "Among the toxic contributors to the financial crisis of 2008, few caused as much havoc as mortgages with dodgy numbers and inflated values. Huge quantities of them were assembled into securities that crashed and burned, damaging homeowners and investors alike.... Twelve years later, there's evidence something similar is happening again. Some of the world's biggest banks -- including Wells Fargo and Deutsche Bank -- as well as other lenders have engaged in a systematic fraud that allowed them to award borrowers bigger loans than were supported by their true financials, according to a previously unreported whistleblower complaint submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission last year. Whereas the fraud during the last crisis was in residential mortgages, the complaint claims this time it's happening in commercial properties like office buildings, apartment complexes and retail centers." --s ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: If there's a scam to be had, scammers will have it.

Beyond the Beltway

Washington State. Jim Brunner & Joseph O'Sullivan of the Seattle Times: "Controversial Spokane Valley state Rep. Matt Shea, who was suspended from the House Republican caucus after an investigation concluded he had engaged in domestic terrorism, will not seek reelection this fall. Shea did not file to run again for the Legislature as the candidate filing deadline for the August primary expired Friday afternoon, said Mike McLaughlin, elections manager for the Spokane County Auditor's Office. Shea did, however, file to run as a Republican precinct committee officer. The surprise development came after Shea had for months defiantly refused calls from Republican and Democratic leaders to resign, vowing to fight on and not bow down to what he called 'a coup' against him. Shea's decision came after a House-commissioned investigation released in December concluded the lawmaker planned and participated in domestic terrorism against the United States with his involvement in a trio of standoffs against the government." --s ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: It's comforting to know that at least Washington state Republicans have some standards: they would prefer their elected officials were not terrorists.

Way Beyond

Israel. Oliver Holmes of the Guardian: "Benjamin Netanyahu has been sworn in as Israel's prime minister, heading a unity government in which he will rotate the leadership with his former rival, Benny Gantz, in a deal that could see the annexation of large parts of the West Bank.... The Netanyahu-Gantz deal also hints at the potential annexation of parts of the Palestinian territories this summer, stating that Netanyahu could bring Donald Trump's 'vision for peace' to the cabinet for discussion from 1 July." --s ~~~

~~~ Juan Cole: "The new government is a catastrophe.... It will encourage Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu to continue to dismantle Israeli democracy.... Netanyahu will be emboldened in his plan to annex some 30 percent of the Palestinian West Bank.... The usually cautious King Abdullah II of Jordan warned of 'massive conflict' were Netanyahu to follow through.... It will sideline the 20% of Israelis who are of Palestinian heritage and who have 15 seats in the 120-member Knesset or Israeli parliament. They had been on the brink of being admitted to the Israeli political game, but now will be completely marginalized. The US corporate press won't tell you this, but the reason for the inability to form a government was Israeli racism." --s

News Lede

New York Times: "Ken Osmond, who played the duplicitous teenager Eddie Haskell on the long-running sitcom 'Leave It to Beaver,' one moment a smarmy young man when talking to parents, the next moment a devilish troublemaker when the adults were out of sight, died on Monday at his home in ... Los Angeles. He was 76."

The Commentariat -- May 17, 2020

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

Audra Burch & John Eligon of the New York Times: "... former President Barack Obama delivered a virtual commencement address on Saturday, urging thousands of graduates at historically black colleges and universities 'to seize the initiative' at a time when he says the nation's leaders have fumbled the response to the coronavirus pandemic. The speech combined the inspirational advice given to graduates with pointed criticism of the handling of a public health crisis that has killed more than 87,000 Americans and crippled much of the economy.... Mr. Obama's remarks ... also appeared to be an effort to comfort and assure an American public divided by President Trump's handling of the crisis. The former president also used the moment to attempt to rally the nation in an election year around values historically championed by Democrats like universal health care, and environmental and economic justice." ~~~

     ~~~ New Lede: "Without the springtime rituals of traditional graduation ceremonies, former President Barack Obama delivered two virtual commencement addresses on Saturday, urging millions of high school and college graduates to fearlessly carve a path and 'to seize the initiative' at a time when he says the nation's leaders have fumbled the response to the coronavirus pandemic." ~~~

~~~ Veronica Stracqualursi of CNN: President "Obama on Saturday criticized the handling of the coronavirus pandemic without mentioning ... Donald Trump by name, just a week after privately critiquing the administration's response to the Covid-19 crisis. ~~~

~~~ Zeeshan Aleem of Vox: "And much of his advice encouraging students to become leaders doubled as an indictment of the Trump administration's management of the pandemic.... On the whole, Obama struck his signature tone of calm and measured optimism, and used the country's current economic and public health crises as springboards for discussing his usual political themes, including the importance of community organizing and finding common ground outside of comfort zones. And he also emphasized the unique injustices faced by young black people like Ahmaud Arbery at a time when some political leaders are arguing that coronavirus is an equalizer of sorts.... The speech won't be Obama's final commencement address in 2020 — his next graduation speech, to high school seniors, will take place Saturday at 8 pm ET, and he will deliver a third address to 2020 graduates at 3 pm ET on June 6." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McC: Obama's political radar is still near-perfect. What a guy! Please put him on the Supreme Court, Joe, if he'll do it. Otherwise, Secretary of State. Earth would swoon. The New York Times has the full transcript here. The page does have video of Obama's HBCU speech, but you have to find it. Here's a clip: ~~~

~~~ Here's President Obama's speech to high-school graduates:

~~~ Edward Moreno & Justine Coleman of the Hill: "College graduates are poised to enter one of the most difficult job markets in U.S. history. Nearly 4 million people are expected to graduate with a college degree this academic year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. They will do so amid soaring unemployment and shuttering businesses."

MEANWHILE. Trump Cheers Militant Protesters. Daniel Politi of Slate: "... Kevin Vesey, a reporter with News 12 Long Island, posted a video of what he experienced at an anti-lockdown protest in Commack, N.Y., earlier this week.... At one point, a maskless protester gets close to Vesey. 'I think you need to back away,' Vesey can be heard saying in the video. 'No, I've got hydroxychloroquine,' the protester says as he continues to approach Vesey. 'I'm fine.'... If you haven't seen it yet, Vesey's video is shocking in its rawness. The reporter films as demonstrators, many of whom are wearing Trump paraphernalia..., repeatedly heckle him and outright insult him as he walks among them.... On Friday night ... Donald Trump joined those praising the protesters who made it difficult for Vesey to do his job.' FAKE NEWS IS NOT ESSENTIAL!' Trump tweeted as he shared the video. On Saturday the president again shared the video, which includes a protester giving the reporter the finger, while he praised the demonstrators as 'great people!'"

The Reckoning. Dan Balz of the Washington Post: "The government's halting response to the coronavirus pandemic represents the culmination of chronic structural weaknesses, years of underinvestment and political rhetoric that has undermined the public trust -- conditions compounded by President Trump's open hostility to a federal bureaucracy that has been called upon to manage the crisis. Federal government leaders, beginning with the president, appeared caught unaware by the swiftness with which the coronavirus was spreading through the country.... Even after the machinery of government clanked into motion, missteps, endemic obstacles and lack of clear communication have plagued the efforts to meet the needs of the nation.... This hollowing out has been going on for years as a gridlocked Congress preferred continuing resolutions and budgetary caps to hardheaded decisions about vulnerable governmental infrastructure and leaders did little to address structural weaknesses. The problems have grown worse in the past three years."

The Edward Luce piece of the Financial Times linked yesterday -- "Inside Trump's Coronavirus Meltdown" -- previously firewalled, is now free to read. --s

"Refusing to Wear a Mask Is a Uniquely American Pathology." Dahlia Lithwick of Slate explores how right-wing men, especially, have confused First Amendment rights with the right to expose others to the coronavirus. "The simplest explanation for the insistence that wearing masks is for thee, but not for me, rests in the fundamental narcissism of Donald Trump, and the booming cottage industry on the part of right-wing media in so-called vice-signaling—the performative acting out of malice and cruelty toward the weak." ~~~

~~~ Well, Not Entirely American. Shaun Walker of the Guardian: "With the news this week that Vladimir Putin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, is in hospital with Covid-19, the virus has now penetrated the Kremlin, 10 Downing Street, the Palácio do Planalto and the White House. Putin, Boris Johnson, Jair Bolsonaro and Donald Trump ... have had one thing in common in their responses to coronavirus: a belief or suggestion, at least in the early stages, that taking personal protective measures against the virus is somehow unseemly and at odds with their macho political brands."

"The Era of Stupid." Michael Cohen of the Boston Globe: "I have a suggestion for how we should define the Trump Years: The Era of Stupid.... There are so many 'stupid' examples one can choose from: Sharpie-gate; the president's talk of buying Greenland; his musing on whether it's possible to nuke a hurricane or inject people with disinfectants; his refusal, aped by many of his followers, to wear a mask in the midst of a global pandemic. The list goes on and on. But president's latest fixation is perhaps Peak Stupid -- 'Obamagate.'... Because we live in the Era of Stupid, many people seem primed to believe this bad thing they can't actually describe. The president said it's true. So did Tucker Carlson, Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity..., The result is an entire political ecosystem devoted to the propagation of stupid.... Alas, this is the time in which we are living; when the stupid, mindless, and inane have not just entered the political mainstream, but have come to define it. All of us, whether we believe it or not, are stupider as a result." --s

Isaac Scher of Business Insider: "Last month, Russia sent the United States a shipment of Aventa-M ventilators, saying they could help with the nationwide shortage. But now, the US Federal Emergency Management Agency says the ventilators won't be used after the model has been blamed for fatal fires.... On Tuesday, a fire broke out in the intensive care unit of a St. Petersburg[, Russia,] hospital, killing five coronavirus patients. A similar fire was started in a Moscow hospital three days earlier, killing one coronavirus patient..., Russian health officials have also banned the Aventa-M ventilators in the aftermath of the fires.... Reuters previously reported that the ventilators were manufactured by a Russian firm under US sanctions." --s ~~~/p>

~~~ Carla Babb of VOA: "The United States will donate 200 medical ventilators to Moscow via U.S. military transport beginning next week, to aid against the worsening coronavirus outbreak in Russia.... The U.S. government is donating 100 percent of the cost of the ventilators, their start-up components and their delivery expenses, which officials said totals roughly $4.7 million." --s

Bob Bland in a USA Today op-ed: "One month ago ... a small group of volunteers came together to found >Masks for America and teamed up with leading health care activist Ady Barkan's Be A Hero Fund, Social Security Works and National Nurses United to get our front-line heroes the equipment they needed to stay safe as they saved lives.... Our small group of volunteers has successfully delivered nearly 200,000 FDA-certified, CDC-approved KN95 masks to front-line workers in hard hit areas -- New York City, Detroit, New Orleans, Chicago, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico  — in just a matter of weeks. But it wasn't easy, because when the federal government finally decided to act...., instead of helping us, they seized some of our PPE shipments without telling us where they were taking them.... FEMA ... seized 50,000 N95 respirators we had ordered without giving us an explanation or telling us where those respirators were going. In my 15 years of working in the manufacturing industry with international and domestic supply chains, I have never -- never -- had the federal government interfere like this."

Cronyism. Jake Pearson of Mother Jones: "An Omaha, Nebraska-based private jet company [Jet Linx Aviation, which caters to well-to-do CEOs and executives] whose principal owner [Vice Chairman John Denny Carreker and his wife, Connie] donated generously to Donald Trump and Republicans ahead of the 2016 election received $20 million in taxpayer aid from the federal bailout package passed in March.... CNBC reported on Thursday that Clay Lacy Aviation, a Van Nuys, California-based private jet company whose founder has given nearly $50,000 to the Republican National Committee and Trump, got $27 million in federal funds.... [O]f the roughly 2,000 private jet companies operating in the U.S..., they received about $157 million in taxpayer aid, less than a percent of the more than $23 billion disbursed so far for the passenger airline industry." --s

Alaska. Argumentum ad Hitlerum. Meet Your Elected Official. Hannah Knowles & Candace Buckner of the Washington Post: "The uproar began when an Alaska lawmaker emailed all 39 of his statehouse colleagues to compare health-screening stickers to the badges that singled out Jews during the Holocaust.... [State] Rep. Ben Carpenter (R) wrote Friday, sharing his dismay at a new requirement for legislators returning to the Alaska Capitol amid the novel coronavirus pandemic[:] 'Are the stickers available as a yellow Star of David?' The backlash was swift: 'Ben, this is disgusting,' one Jewish representative wrote back.... 'I don't think a tag that we're cleared to enter the building is akin to being shipped to a concentration camp,' responded another. The leader of the state House's Republican delegation said Carpenter should apologize. But Carpenter dug in. 'Can you or I -- can we even say it is totally out of the realm of possibility that covid-19 patients will be rounded up and taken somewhere?' he said later in an interview with the Anchorage Daily News, arguing that officials are overreacting to the virus with limits on people's liberty. 'People want to say Hitler was a white supremacist. No. He was fearful of the Jewish nation, and that drove him into some unfathomable atrocities.' That provoked a new round of denunciations from fellow lawmakers...."

Maine. A Florida Man Delivers Protest Speech from Lexus. Charles Eichacker of the Bangor Daily News: "Former governor Paul LePage briefly returned [link fixed] to Blaine House on Saturday for a protest of the business restrictions that its current occupant, Gov. Janet Mills, has put in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. LePage did not even appear to leave the vehicle -- with its Florida plates -- that he drove to the rally. Instead, in what may have been a way to avoid violating Maine's requirement that out-of-state visitors remain in quarantine for two weeks after arriving here, he parked the Lexus sedan in a small lot next to the Blaine House and used his cell phone to address a gathering of protesters about 40 feet away. Then, he pulled out of the lot and appeared to drive off[.]" --s

Michigan. Corey Williams of the AP: "A man accused of making credible death threats against Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel has been charged on a terrorism count, the Wayne County prosecutor's office said Friday. Robert Tesh made the threats via a social media message to an acquaintance on April 14 and authorities concluded the message amounted to 'credible threats to kill,' prosecutor Kym Worthy said Friday in a news release." ~~~

~~~ Violet Ikonomova of Deadline Detroit describes Tesh as a "downtown Detroit real estate agent.... Online profiles and old media reports describe him as a real estate agent who was formerly marketing director for Downtown Realty. He's no longer with the brokerage after being fired in 2018 for failing to show up to work several days in a row, said owner Larry Else." Mrs. McC: I've now seen two photos of Tesh, and he looks creepy in both of them.

Texas. The State's Justices Want Texans to Die. Chris Boyette & Kelly Mena of CNN: "The Texas Supreme Court issued a stay Friday evening to keep county election officials from allowing voters who are afraid of catching coronavirus to vote by mail. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton asked the court to step in Wednesday, arguing that election officials are 'misapplying' the state's 'disability' requirement for absentee mail-in voting amid the pandemic. Paxton, a Republican, filed a petition for Dallas, Cameron, El Paso, Harris and Travis counties. The court will hear the case on May 20 as the next state election fast approaches. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Democrats and voting rights groups have pushed for states to expand vote-by-mail access. Those calls have been met with resistance from Republicans, who favor stricter measures that they argue ensure the integrity of the electoral process. The next election date in Texas is July 14 for a primary runoff election. The last day to apply for a mail-in ballot is July 2. The Texas Democratic Party filed a lawsuit in late March, asking a judge to allow that a Texas election provision allowing voters to cast a mail-in ballot if they suffer from a disability apply to any voter who feared for their health amid the coronavirus pandemic. On April 17, Travis County District Judge Tim Sulak issued a temporary injunction allowing any voter with coronavirus concerns to use the 'disability' election provision to request a vote-by-mail ballot. Paxton immediately filed an appeal...." ~~~

~~~ Gina Sunseri & Ella Torres of ABC News: "Texas has seen a steady rise in novel coronavirus cases and fatalities since reopening just over two weeks ago.... While the cases are still well below New York..., the steady increase shows that the curve has not yet flattened in Texas.... Hospitalizations rates have appeared to flatten, but that data is reported on a two-week lag.... Gov. Greg Abbott's communications director John Wittman told ABC News that the amount of testing has doubled since reopening, contributing to the rise in cases."

Karoina Modig of NBC News: "... on homemade placards at anti-lockdown protests in the last month, an unusual slogan has been spotted: 'Be more like Sweden.' Prominent Republican Party figures and GOP-supporting commentators have praised Sweden for its light-touch approach to the coronavirus pandemic -- it is almost unique among nations in not ordering citizens to stay indoors, while cafes and restaurants have stayed open.... But ... the Swedish Public Health Agency's strategy is based on trying to slow the spread of the virus as much as possible, not on keeping the economy going. The Swedish economy, heavily dependent on the global supply chain, is suffering just as much as many other countries. The decision to keep schools open was about freeing up health care workers to deal with the pandemic, not to stimulate the economy[.]... All Swedes have access to health care regardless of their income or ability to pay, and lifting a lockdown in the country would not leave the poor much more vulnerable to disease." ~~~

~~~ Lauren Leatherby & Allison McCann of the New York Times (May 15): Sweden's "moderated response to the coronavirus outbreak has drawn praise from some American politicians, who see Sweden as a possible model for the United States as it begins to reopen. 'We need to observe with an open mind what went on in Sweden, where the kids kept going to school,' Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, a Republican, said at a hearing on Tuesday. But while Sweden has avoided the devastating tolls of outbreaks in Italy, Spain and Britain, it also has seen an extraordinary increase in deaths, mortality data show. In Stockholm, where the virus spread through migrant communities, more than twice the usual number of people died last month. That increase far surpasses the rise in deaths in American cities like Boston and Chicago, and approaches the increase seen in Paris. Across Sweden, almost 30 percent more people died during the epidemic than is normal during this time of year, an increase similar to that of the United States and far higher than the small increases seen in its neighboring countries." Mrs. McC: As usual, Rand Paul doesn't know what he's talking about.

Andrew Desiderio of Politico: "... Donald Trump is appealing directly to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in his push for Congress to more aggressively investigate the origins of the 2016 Russia investigation. Trump's plea to McConnell (R-Ky.) comes after Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) swiftly rejected Trump's calls for the panel to haul in former President Barack Obama for testimony about the FBI's handling of the investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn.... 'Mitch..., Time is running out. Get tough and move quickly, or it will be too late. The Dems are vicious, but got caught,' [wrote] Trump, who has asserted without evidence that Obama acted improperly. 'They MUST pay a big price for what they have done to our Country. Don't let them get away with this!' In a separate tweet, Trump wrote: 'The Republicans must play by the same rules, or die!'... In an interview Thursday on Fox News..., McConnell declined to endorse an effort to call Obama before the Senate, deferring to ... [Graham]." Mrs. McC: Here's where we anatomy students find out if a Turtle has a backbone.

Hannah Knowles of the Washington Post: "Two top Democrats have told the Trump administration to preserve all records related to the Friday removal of the State Department's inspector general, a late-night move that led House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to warn of an acceleration in a 'dangerous pattern of retaliation' against federal watchdogs. Rep. Eliot L. Engel (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) launched an investigation Saturday into the ouster of Steve Linick, the latest in a string of weekend removals of oversight officials who have clashed with the Trump administration. Engel, the chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, claimed Linick was fired after opening an investigation into Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and said the timing suggested 'an unlawful act of retaliation.'" ~~~

~~~ Nahal Toosi of Politico: "... Donald Trump's decision to oust the State Department's inspector general may wind up backfiring on Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, whose role in the dust-up and overall use of his perch at Foggy Bottom now face heightened scrutiny from Democrats. Pompeo's wife, Susan, also could get dragged into any inquiries that arise.... The ex-congressman has repeatedly disavowed interest in [running for Kansas' open U.S. Senate seat], even as his actions have suggested he was laying the groundwork to leap into the contest, just in case. Whatever his ambitions, Pompeo's critics say too many of his actions as America's chief diplomat seem designed to bolster his domestic standing with the GOP base.... In letters to the White House, the State Department and Linick's office..., [Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) & Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.] cited reports that Pompeo had recommended Trump fire Linick, saying, 'It is our understanding that he did so because the inspector general had opened an investigation into wrongdoing by Secretary Pompeo himself. Such an action, transparently designed to protect Secretary Pompeo from personal accountability, would undermine the foundation of our democratic institutions and may be an illegal act of retaliation.'... U.S. diplomats have quietly voiced concerns for many months about Susan Pompeo's role at the State Department. They note, for instance, that she occasionally travels with the secretary, requiring State Department staffers to assist her." ~~~

~~~ Conor Finnegan & Benjamin Siegel of ABC News: "Under Linick, the State Department Inspector General's office has repeatedly criticized the agency and its Trump leadership for poor performance. Last November, it found that senior Trump appointees improperly retaliated against a career civil servant over her perceived nationality and political beliefs. Last August, it said senior political appointees in charge of one bureaus treated employees in a 'harsh and aggressive manner' and created a 'negative and "vindictive" environment.'... Appointed to the role in 2013 by President Barack Obama, Linick is a career government lawyer who served as a senior Justice Department official under President George W. Bush and assistant U.S. attorney in California and Virginia under President Bill Clinton." ~~~

The firings of multiple Inspectors General is unprecedented; doing so without good cause chills the independence essential to their purpose. It is a threat to accountable democracy and a fissure in the constitutional balance of power. -- Sen. Mitt Romney, in a tweet Saturday ~~~

~~~ Philip Rucker, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump accelerated his retaliatory purge of public servants by firing the State Department's inspector general, who had played a minor role in the president's impeachment proceedings and was said to have begun investigating alleged misconduct by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Acting on Pompeo's recommendation, Trump abruptly terminated Steve A. Linick late Friday night, again challenging established norms of American governance in his push to rid the federal bureaucracy of officials he considers insufficiently loyal to or protective of him and his administration.... Although [inspectors general] technically are political appointees, their independence has long been protected."

~~~ Zeeshan Aleem of Vox: "While Democrats appear to believe an inquiry into Pompeo may be behind this loss of confidence, it's also possible that Trump plans to release Linick due to his small role in 2019's impeachment proceedings. While he did not testify, Linick did hand over documents to Congress that had been given to the State Department by Rudy Giuliani, the president's personal lawyer. [Trump removed] a number of officials involved in those proceedings ...from their posts.... 'The assault on the [inspector generals] is late-stage corruption, and Trump's kicking down one of the last bulwarks that stand between us and the burgeoning corruption-driven authoritarianism,' tweeted Walter Shaub, the former White House ethics chief who resigned in 2017.... [He added] that Trump's moves are signs of a 'collapsing republic.'" ~~~

~~~ Kevin Drum of Mother Jones: "The Trump message continues to get stronger every day. If you so much as open an investigation against someone in the Trump administration, you're fired. Needless to say, this poses a problem. The job of an inspector general is to audit the cabinet department he works for. But since Trump is currently president, everyone in every cabinet department is part of the Trump administration. This basically means that the entire IG corps is on notice not to seriously investigate anyone." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: According to some legal expert I heard on CNN, the president* cannot fire an IG because he doesn't "have confidence" in the IG, as Trump wrote in a letter to Pelosi (see Vox's report & elsewhere), but only if the IG has proved guilty of some dereliction of duty, like, say, being drunk on the job or shtumping the Secretary's wife during office hours (oh, Steve, you didn't!). It's been my observation over the years that IGs often conduct investigations at the request of legislators from the opposing party. Needless to say, the subjects of these investigations are not likely to be ones that please the administration. The president or president* is not supposed to like it, even if he should want to know if some subordinates are behaving badly. As Drum lays out, investigating the department s/he works for is her or his job.

J. Edward Moreno of The Hill: "Nevada Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford admitted Friday that he was involved in an extra-marital affair with a former Senate intern...,.Gabriela Linder, who interned for former Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in 2009.... First elected in 2012 then again in 2018, Horsford is the first black person elected to represent Nevada in Congress. He has been married since 2000 and has three children. The affair reportedly happened from 2009-2010 and then again from 2017-2019." --s

Presidential Race

"Donald Trump Jr. Smears Biden with Baseless Instagram Post." Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "President Trump's eldest son on Saturday posted a social media message suggesting Joseph R. Biden Jr. was a pedophile, an incendiary and baseless charge that illustrates the tactics the president is turning to as he attempts to erase Mr. Biden's early advantage in key state polls. Donald Trump Jr., who is one of his father's most prominent campaign surrogates, put on Instagram a picture of Mr. Biden saying: 'See you later, alligator' alongside an image of an alligator saying: 'In a while, pedophile.' When a reporter shared the Instagram post online, the younger Mr. Trump, echoing one of his father's tactics, wrote on Twitter that he was only 'joking around.'.... Yet in the same Twitter post, he also reprised his original insinuation. He accused the former vice president of 'unwanted touching' alongside a collage of photographs of Mr. Biden showing affection for children. The misleading images were mostly taken from public swearing-in ceremonies at the Capitol, where the former vice president warmly greeted lawmakers and their families." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Good for Martin & the Times for getting a story right, and not making total trash talk a he-said/he-said story, as the Times is wont to do.

Marty Johnson of the Hill: "President Trump on Saturday lashed out at the Obama administration's early handling of the Russia investigation, mocked the news media and flatly dismissed his presumptive Democratic rival >Joe Biden in an hours-long tweetstorm. Trump, who is at Camp David for the weekend, spent much of the first half of Saturday sharing various articles and tweets aimed at buttressing his allegations against Obama-era officials and poking at ;various perceived critics." Mrs. McC: But, you know, all he cares about is you.

AP: "Michigan Rep. Justin Amash, a high-profile critic of ... Donald Trump who quit the GOP and became an independent, announced Saturday he would not seek the Libertarian nomination for the White House, weeks after saying he was running because voters wanted an 'alternative' to the two major parties. In deciding to drop out, he cited the challenges of trying to campaign as a third-party candidate during the coronavirus pandemic." The Washington Post's report, by Dave Weigel, is here. The New York Times' report, by Alexander Burns, is here.

Rich Shapiro of NBC: "Luke Denman, 34, was one of two ex-Green Berets [the other being fellow Army veteran Aidan Berry] arrested in a foiled plot to oust Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro. He's now locked up in a Venezuelan jail, his fate in the hands of a leader the U.S. government considers a dictator responsible for tens of millions of his people going hungry.... A third ex-Green Beret, Jordan Goudreau, claimed responsibility for the plot.... In interviews with NBC News, a half dozen family members and close friends of Denman and Berry said they believe the former Special Operations soldiers would have only participated in such an operation had the two men been convinced it was supported by the U.S. government.... Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said the U.S. had no 'direct involvement' in the operation." --s

Jillian Ambrose of the Guardian: "Beer and soft drinks could soon be sipped from 'all-plant' bottles under new plans to turn sustainably grown crops into plastic in partnership with major beverage makers. A biochemicals company in the Netherlands hopes to kickstart investment in a pioneering project that hopes to make plastics from plant sugars rather than fossil fuels.... Globally around 300 million tonnes of plastic is made from fossil fuels every year, which is a major contributor to the climate crisis.... The bio-refinery plans ... could appear on supermarket shelves by 2023." --s

Beyond the Beltway

Puerto Rico. Danica Coto of the AP: "Gov. Wanda Vázquez announced on Saturday that she will hold a nonbinding referendum in November to decide whether Puerto Rico should become a U.S. state, a move that comes amid growing disillusion with the island's U.S. territorial status. For the first time in the island's history, the referendum will ask a single, simple question: Should Puerto Rico be immediately admitted as a U.S. state? It's an answer that requires approval from U.S. Congress and a question that outraged the island's small group of independence supporters and members of the main opposition Popular Democratic Party, which supports the status quo. But it's a gamble that members of the governor's pro-statehood party are confident will pay off given that Puerto Rico has struggled to obtain federal funds for hurricanes Irma and Maria, a string of recent strong earthquakes and the coronavirus pandemic amid growing complaints that the island does not receive fair and equal treatment."