;)
The Commentariat -- October 2, 2020
Afternoon Update:
** Ashley Parker & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post (in Election Live Updates): "Two administration officials said that [Donald] Trump is preparing to depart for Walter Reed Medical Center Friday evening around 5:30 p.m. The visit is 'out of an abundance of caution,' the official said, adding that the president may remain there for several days. Trump spent Friday working and making calls from his residence, and plans to continue working from the hospital, the official said. Walter Reed has an executive office suite set up for this very purpose, including both a residence and an office space, the official said. The official stressed that Trump is not seriously ill, but because of his age, as well as other risk factors, he and aides decided to take this additional step." Reis Thebalt: "Trump has received an 'antibody cocktail' treatment after testing positive for the coronavirus, and he is now 'fatigued but in good spirits,' his physician said late Friday afternoon. The experimental treatment, a drug made by the pharmaceutical company Regeneron, is one of the most promising known, and experts say it could be the best bet for fighting the virus." The updates are free to non-subscribers, according to a blurb at the top of the updates. ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McC Update: Trump lumbered out to Marine 1 of his own volition. He was wearing a suit & a mask. Others in the vicinity were all wearing masks as far as I could observe.
Susan Svrluga & Paulina Firozi of the Washington Post: "The president of the University of Notre Dame has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, school officials announced Friday. The announcement came several days after he attended a White House ceremony. The Rev. John I. Jenkins had been self-isolating on campus after the Sept. 26 event announcing Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a Notre Dame alumna, as President Trump's Supreme Court nominee. Jenkins had been criticized by students for not wearing a mask or following other public-healt protocols at the event, and expressed regret to campus earlier this week.... In [a] statement to campus, Jenkins said, 'My symptoms are mild and I will continue work from home. The positive test is a good reminder for me and perhaps for all of how vigilant we need to be.'" An ESPN story is here. Mrs. McC: Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who also has tested positive, attended the Supreme announcement, too. It would be ironic if Trump contracted the virus at an event aimed at jamming through a Supreme Court nominee. ~~~
~~~ Seung Min Kim, et al., of the Washington Post: "Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett tested positive for the coronavirus earlier this year but has since recovered, three officials familiar with her diagnosis told The Washington Post. Two of the officials said she tested positive for the virus in the summer. All of the people spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose her medical condition."
The New York Times' live updates of election developments Friday are here.
Hill: "Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden have tested negative for COVID-19, his doctor confirmed on Friday. 'Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden underwent PCR testing for COVID-19 today and COVID-19 was not detected,' said Kevin O'Connor, Biden's primary care physician, in a statement." Mrs. McC: A reminder that these tests may have been administered too early to detect contagion from Trump or other Trump team members Tuesday night. ~~~
~~~ Natasha Korecki, et al., of Politico: "The Biden campaign is testing those who attended the first presidential debate with the former vice president for Covid-19. A source familiar with the situation told Politico that, in the wake of ... Donald Trump's confirmation that he has tested positive himself, the Biden campaign has 'rapid testing capability and is testing everyone who attended the debate.'"
Mrs. McCrabbie: White House spokespeople, including Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, have claimed Donald Trump's symptoms are "mild." However, they were apparently not mild enough to allow him to participate today in an ironically scheduled teleconference about "seniors & coronavirus," and mike pence had to fill in. This would have been a good opportunity for Trump to say, "For God's sake, don't do what I did!"
Brian Schwartz of CNBC: "Republican donors who attended ... Donald Trump's fundraiser at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club are panicking after being around the commander in chief hours before he announced that he was infected with the coronavirus. GOP donors have been reaching out to Trump campaign and GOP officials for any guidance following the event.... After publication of this article, donors who attended the gathering were sent an email [from the Trump campaign] with an 11:18 a.m. ET time stamp. The email reminds them that no one was permitted within six feet of the president and advises them to contact their doctor if they start feeling coronavirus symptoms.... About 30 to 50 donors came close to the president Thursday night, this person added, while noting most of the interaction with Trump took place outdoors.... The gathering had tickets costing up to $250,000. Dr. Rich Roberts, a longtime Republican donor, told The Lakewood Scoop on Friday that Trump privately met with about 19 people at the event."
David Corn of Mother Jones: "So now when the coronavirus hits the West Wing, infects the president, a top aide, his wife, and perhaps others and triggers yet another crisis, a crucial element will be missing: trust. Can the public believe anything Trump and his minions say about this latest development? Of course, not. Test results do speak for themselves -- assuming they are reliably reported. But many other questions -- how these infections came to be, what is the president's condition, who else may be at risk -- need answers. And there is no reason to accept White House statements or Trump tweets on these and related matters. A man who would lie about events that are publicly witnessed -- the size of a crowd, a performance at a debate -- would certainly lie about private affairs unseen by the voters."
Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said on Friday that he has tested positive for the coronavirus.... 'Unlike the test I took just a few days ago while visiting the White House, yesterday's test came back positive. On advice of the Senate attending physician, I will remain isolated for the next 10 days,' Lee said in a statement."
** Scot Stedman & Eric Levai of Forensic News: "[A]ccording to documents exclusively obtained by Forensic News... [b]y the fall of 2013, Yugra Bank ... was the 106th largest bank in Russia.... [T]his small regional bank in Russia was able to quietly transfer nearly one-third of a billion dollars into a Deutsche Bank subsidiary on Wall Street in New York. The principals of the bank, mainly majority shareholder Alexey Khotin, are now accused of embezzling millions by Russian authorities after a falling-out with his political connections. Khotin and others in his inner circle are said to have had close ties to the intelligence services of Russia.... The remarkable episode is just one example of how dark Russian money connected to the upper-echelon of Putin's siloviki -- former Russian military and intelligence officials -- flowed into the Deutsche Bank division [DBTCA] that lent Donald Trump hundreds of millions of dollars.... DBTCA issued large loans to Donald Trump in 2012 and again in 2015 for his properties in Miami, Chicago and Washington, DC, totaling approximately $340 million... According to the New York Times, Trump still owes $297 million to Deutsche Bank for the loans for these properties." --s
"Bomb Trains" Is So 2020. Sarah Okeson of DC Report: "An energy company tied to a hedge fund that loaned millions to the Trump Organization and the Kushner Companies will benefit after Team Trump approved railroads running 'bomb trains' through our nation. They are loaded with liquefied natural gas with more explosive power than the atom bomb that destroyed Hiroshima.... Drue Pearce, the political appointee who is deputy administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, helped shepherd the regulation through the agency. Trump in April 2019 had called for federal rules to be rewritten so trains could carry liquefied natural gas." --s
Oklahoma. Josh Dulaney of The Oklahoman: "A man who posted anti-child-trafficking slogans is accused of murdering his girlfriend's infant daughter.... Authorities arrested Joshua Paul Jennings, 33, on a complaint of child abuse.... The Daily Beast reported that Jennings posted the QAnon-linked slogan #SaveOurChildren on his Facebook page." --s
Jasper Jolly of the Guardian: "Amazon has revealed that almost 20,000 of its workers in the US have contracted Covid-19 after months of demands for public disclosure from activists." --s
China. Emma Graham-Harrison & Helen Davidson of the Guardian: "Soon after China imposed the new national security law that effectively ended Hong Kong's limited autonomy, a hawkish legal academic in Beijing spelt out a warning to Taiwan. The law was not just about ending a year of protests in Hong Kong, Tian Feilong said in an interview with DW News, it was also sending a message to Taipei -- and to Washington, which has recently approved new arms sales and high-level visits by US officials to self-rule Taiwan. The provisions being used to crush dissent across Hong Kong could provide a template, he argued, for tackling 'the Taiwan problem'. 'I believe that in the future, you could just change the name of the Hong Kong national security law, and substitute instead "Taiwan national security law",' said Tian." --s
~~~~~~~~~~
The Trumpidemic, Ctd.
** Peter Baker & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "President Trump said early Friday that he and the first lady have tested positive for the coronavirus, throwing the nation's leadership into uncertainty and escalating the crisis posed by a pandemic that has already killed more than 207,000 Americans and devastated the economy. 'Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19,' Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter. 'We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!'... Mr. Trump has for months played down the severity of the virus and told a political dinner just Thursday night that 'the end of the pandemic is in sight.' Mr. Trump's positive test result could pose immediate difficulties for the future of his campaign against former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., his Democratic challenger, with just 33 days before the election on Nov. 3. Even if Mr. Trump, 74, remains asymptomatic, he will have to withdraw from the campaign trail and stay isolated in the White House for an unknown period of time. If he becomes sick, it could raise questions about whether he should remain on the ballot at all. Even if he does not become seriously ill, the positive test could prove devastating to his political fortunes given his months of diminishing the seriousness of the pandemic...." CNN' story is here. ~~~
~~~ Annie Karni & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "On Monday, President Trump updated the nation on the administration's coronavirus testing strategy and announced a plan to distribute 150 million rapid tests. By early Friday morning, he had the virus himself. On the days in between, Mr. Trump interacted with scores of staff members, donors and supporters. Even the woman he has nominated to the Supreme Court, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, has been at the White House this week.... Early Friday morning, it was still unclear how many other aides who had come into close contact with Mr. Trump had tested positive.... White House officials had hoped to keep the news about [Hope] Hicks from becoming public, to no avail.... Onstage in Cleveland, Mr. Trump mocked [Vice President] Biden ... for his habit of wearing a mask in public.... 'I don't wear a mask like him. Every time you see him, he's got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away from them and he shows up with the biggest mask I've ever seen.'" ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: If mike pence gets sick, too, will it be President Pelosi? And would she preside in that cramped, virus-infested White House? What makes me angriest about Trump's & Hicks' diagnoses is that Trump & his guests at the debate exposed Joe Biden. In fact, Trump's sweating at the debate, that I noted yesterday, may have been a symptom of the virus. ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post has live election updates for Friday here: One of Biden's front-row guests during the debate Tuesday night, whose father died of covid-19, was sharply critical of the president and his family for potentially putting others at risk in the debate hall. Kristin Urquiza, co-founder of the group Marked by COVID, said that while everyone attending the debate had to test negative, they were also supposed to wear masks. 'And though every one of Biden's guests managed to do this, Trump's guests were shockingly barefaced,' she said in a statement. 'The Trump family exposed every attendee at the debate: guests, workers, Members of Congress, Secret Service agents, members of the media, and janitors to a deadly virus that has killed 205,000 Americans to date,' she said. 'Irresponsible is an understatement: this is criminal.'" Mrs. McC: CNN reported at 9:12 am ET that the White House did not contact Joe Biden or his campaign about the coronavirus going around the White House. ~~~
~~~ Vice President Pence and his wife, Karen Pence, both tested negative for the coronavirus on Friday morning, a spokesman said.
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I wonder what Trumpbots will do in response to the news that Donald & Melania Trump & at least one top White House aide have contracted the coronavirus. Call it fake news? Or reach for the bleach?
Shannon Pettypiece of NBC News in a straight report: "After months of publicly rejecting the advice of his own medical experts..., Donald Trump has fallen victim to his own false narrative around the risks of the coronavirus and how to avoid getting infected. The news early Friday that the president and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for Covid-19 came as a jolt -- but medical experts said it shouldn't have. In recent weeks, Trump, 74, has put his health and the health of his staff at risk by holding mass gatherings, some indoors, and shunning mask use while claiming that the end of the virus was just around the corner. In turn, his staff, his family members and his supporters have followed his lead. He may have been infected by one of his top aides, Hope Hicks, who works in a White House that has disregarded every workplace recommendation for social distancing, with few people wearing masks, no efforts made to spread out desks and staff members' cramming into meeting rooms. His campaign has routinely packed thousands of supporters into rallies where masks are booed by the crowd."
Matt Berman of BuzzFeed News: "This deeply weird presidential campaign as we know it could theoretically be over. If Trump commits to quarantining for the CDC recommended minimum, he would be sheltered from the public until at least mid October.... The debate was on Tuesday, where Trump yelled at Joe Biden and moderator Chris Wallace -- inside -- for 90 minutes. The debate hall was filled with Trump and Biden family members, and the Trump side of the hall was (at least largely) not masked.... More than 2 million people have already voted.... If Trump or Biden is not able to serve as president and have to withdraw from the election, their respective parties would technically decide on their replacements. This has never happened before...." ~~~
~~~ Rick Hasen of Election Law blog looks at some scenarios of what could happen if Trump (or Biden) is very sick or dies in the near future. ~~~
~~~ Here are stories that preceded news that the Trumps tested positive: ~~~
~~~ ** Trump Says Hope Hicks Has Coronavirus. Kaitlan Collins, et al., of CNN: "... Donald Trump confirmed on Thursday night that top aide Hope Hicks has tested positive for coronavirus and said he and first lady Melania Trump were tested Thursday evening. 'She did test positive, I just heard about this. She tested positive. She's a hard worker. Lot of masks, she wears masks a lot but she tested positive. Then I just went out with a test. I'll see -- you know, because we spent a lot of time -- and the first lady just went out with a test also. So whether we quarantine or whether we have it, I don't know,' Trump said during a call-in appearance on Fox News' 'Hannity.' He added, 'I just went for a test and we'll see what happens, I mean, who knows. ... I spent a lot of time with Hope and so does the first lady, and she's tremendous.' Hick[s] has traveled with the President multiple times recently, including to the debate in Cleveland on Tuesday, and was seen boarding Marine One, along with several other of the President's closest aides -- Jared Kushner, Dan Scavino and Nicholas Luna -- none of whom wore masks, on Wednesday as Trump was heading to a campaign rally in Minnesota." The story has been update: "A source close to Hicks told CNN that she is experiencing symptoms and is back in Washington. It is unclear how severe her symptoms are at this point. ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: According to MSNBC, Hicks learned of her positive test Wednesday night, so Trump's claim that some 24 hours later he "just heard about this" is rather doubtful. Update: Jonathan Lemire of the AP said on MSNBC the "White House" learned of Hicks' diagnosis Wednesday night. ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump is scheduled to make two campaign appearances in Wisconsin this weekend. Wisconsin is experiencing a spike in Covid-19 cases & deaths. Gov. Tony Evers (D) asked Trump not to come even before news outlets reported that Trump & his traveling team have been exposed to coronavirus. ~~~
~~~ Update. Donald & Melania to Quarantine. Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break has just tested positive for Covid 19. Terrible! The First Lady and I are waiting for our test results. In the meantime, we will begin our quarantine process! -- Donald Trump in a tweet, Thursday @10:44 pm ET ~~~
~~~ Maggie Haberman & Michael Shear of the New York Times: "It was not immediately clear what Mr. Trump meant by the 'quarantine process,' and White House officials declined to immediately provide any guidance.... And even if Mr. Trump first tests negative for the virus, the incubation period for it can last nearly two weeks, meaning he will not be certain for several days that he does not have it. The frantic moves by the president and his aides came after Bloomberg News reported that ... Hope Hicks, one of Mr. Trump's most senior advisers and someone who traveled with him several times this week, had tested positive. Two people briefed on her condition said she had symptoms.... Mr. Trump appeared to blame soldiers and law enforcement officials who he said wanted to give her hugs and thank her for her work at the White House. 'She's a very warm person,' the president said. 'When soldiers and law enforcement come up to her,' he said, she does not want to reject their entreaties." Mrs. McC: Yeah, blame those "loser" soldiers Hicks hugs during a pandemic. ~~~
~~~ Update. Zeke Miller & Jill Colvin of the AP: "It can take days for an infection to be detectable by a test, and it was unclear what Trump's quarantine entailed. Minutes before his tweet, the White House distributed a schedule for Friday that showed he planned to go forward with a fundraiser at his Washington, D.C., hotel and a political rally in Sanford, Florida.... Trump traveled to New Jersey Thursday for a fundraiser despite concerns about Hicks' health." Emphasis added. Mrs. McC: We already knew Trump considered his regular supporters "disgusting"; now we find out he doesn't care about his top-dollar donors, either. The Trump campaign should make up T-shirts for the fundraiser attendees: "I Gave Trump $...,000 and He Gave Me Covid-19" ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McC Update: According to MSNBC, Hicks was experiencing symptoms on Wednesday night and "self-quarantined" on AF-1 heading back from Minnesota. I doubt one can do much self-quarantining on Marine 1, the helicopter that takes the president & his party to & from Andrews AFB. BTW, we all have to hope that Trump didn't have the virus Tuesday night when he was unmasked & spittle-shouting at Joe Biden, albeit from a bit of a distance.
Orion Rummler of Axios: "Republican National Committee chair Ronna [Romney] McDaniel tested positive for the coronavirus on Wednesday and has been isolated at home in Michigan since last Saturday after a family member's positive test, the RNC said in a statement.... McDaniel was last with Trump a week ago, per the New York Times' Maggie Haberman." Mrs. McC: So you mean it might have been Mitt Romney's niece who gave Trump & Hicks Covid & not some thoughtless "loser" soldiers?
The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Friday are here: "President Trump's disclosure that he had been infected by the coronavirus sent a shudder around the world on Friday, drawing sympathy from leaders who have grappled with the pandemic in their own countries and more pointed responses from critics who noted Mr. Trump's own cavalier handling of the threat.... The news injects a huge amount of uncertainty into financial markets, and uncertainty is what investors like least. It throws the political leadership of the world's largest economy into doubt.... Dr. Sean P. Conley, the White House physician, said in a statement that the president and first lady were both doing well. Other aides to the president would not say whether he was experiencing symptoms. Although people at the White House noticed that his voice sounded raspy on Thursday, it was not clear that that was abnormal for him, especially given the number of campaign rallies he has held lately." ~~~
President Trump is showing symptoms of the novel coronavirus, but mild ones, according to two people familiar with his condition. The president has had what one person described as coldlike symptoms. At a fund-raiser he attended at his golf club at Bedminster, N.J., on Thursday, where one attendee said the president came in contact with about 100 people, he seemed lethargic. -- Maggie Haberman ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live updates of coronavirus developments Friday are here.
The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Thursday are here: "Pfizer's chief executive pushed back Thursday against President Trump's estimates for when a vaccine would be ready, saying in a note to employees that the company 'would never succumb to political pressure' and expressing disappointment that 'we find ourselves in the crucible of the U.S. presidential election.' In doing so, the chief executive, Dr. Albert Bourla, appeared to be distancing himself from the rosy predictions of Mr. Trump, who identified Pfizer by name at the presidential debate on Tuesday and said that a vaccine was 'weeks away.'... Pfizer is one of four companies testing coronavirus vaccines in large clinical trials in the United States, but it is the only one that has said it could have an answer about its product as early as this month, before the election on Nov. 3." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: CNN reporters pointed out on-air that the White House has not been forthcoming about Hicks' illness. Trump only told Hannity about it after Bloomberg had reported on it, and John Roberts, speaking on CNN. found it curious that Trump did not reveal the results of the rapid test he would have taken Thursday. Several reporters on both MSNBC & CNN complained that Kayleigh McEnany, who would have been in close contact with Hicks, delivered a press briefing, unmasked, Thursday afternoon.
Jeff Cox of CNBC: "Nonfarm payroll rose by a lower than expected 661,000 in September and the unemployment rate was 7.9%, the Labor Department said Friday in the final jobs report before the November election. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting a payrolls gain of 800,000 and the unemployment rate to fall to 8.2% from 8.4% in August. The decline in the unemployment rate came along with a 0.3 percentage point drop in the labor force participation rate to 61.4%. The report comes amid a raft of mostly positive economic signals, including strong signs from the housing market and retail spending, as well as worries that rising coronavirus cases could threaten the recovery."
Jeff Cox of CNBC: "First-time claims for unemployment insurance totaled 837,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday as the jobs market continues its plodding recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.... The weekly total represented a decline of 36,000 from the previous week's upwardly revised 870,000, according to seasonally adjusted numbers." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Reality Chex has been up and down & up & down for the last several days. The site's host Squarespace is working on it. I apologize for the inconvenience. I'll give occasional updates on outages on the Twitter account maintained by our old friend Constant Weader. You can check it here.
Presidential Race, Etc.
Covid-19 Exhibit 1. Jonathan Martin, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump's announcement early Friday that he had contracted the coronavirus upended the presidential race in an instant, inviting significant questions about his cavalier attitude toward the pandemic and the future of his campaign just 32 days before the election.... His personal indifference toward the virus could threaten his own health, the stability of the country and his already dimming hopes for re-election. As stock futures fell overnight Friday, strategists in both parties and even senior aides to Mr. Trump said the president would face a harsh judgment from voters for throwing the country into greater uncertainty after one of the most trying years in American history." A Politico story is here.
David Wasserman of NBC News: "... there are signs Trump's ground operation is paying off when it comes to registering new voters in key states, an advantage that could become important if the race tightens before Nov. 3. The Trump campaign has boasted that it knocks on more than a million doors a week, a claim that's impossible to independently verify. In sharp contrast, the Biden campaign had ditched a ground game for virtual outreach, citing Covid-19 concerns -- even though academic research has routinely concluded door-to-door canvassing is the 'most consistently effective and efficient method of voter mobilization.' Only just now has the Biden campaign decided to restart its in-person voter contacts in some battleground states. As deadlines approach, new data from the past few months shows Republicans have swamped Democrats in adding new voters to the rolls, a dramatic GOP improvement over 2016, even if new registrations have lagged 2016 rates across the board. It's a sign that in a pandemic, Democrats are struggling to seize traditional opportunities to pad their margins, such as the return of students to college campuses."
McChrystal, Fired by Obama, Endorses Biden. Helene Cooper of the New York Times: In 2010, "the commander of American troops in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, and his aides were quoted [in a Rolling Stone article] privately mocking several government officials. One McChrystal aide referred to Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. using the phrase 'bite me.' An angry President Barack Obama promptly fired the general, putting an end to a storied career that had included running the military's most secretive Special Operations missions and the American-led war effort in Afghanistan. On Thursday, General McChrystal added a coda to the story: He endorsed Mr. Biden..., not President Trump, to be the country's next commander in chief. 'I worked most closely with President Obama and Vice President Biden when I commanded in Afghanistan,' the general told Joe Scarborough on MSNBC's 'Morning Joe.' 'They didn't see everything the way I did,' he added. 'But in every instance, they listened. In every instance, they took in my view. In every instance, I felt that they were trying to make the best decision based on all the information they had, and based on a bedrock of values.'" The Rolling Stone story is here.
Joan Greve of the Guardian & Agencies: "Donald Trump's re-election campaign has rejected calls to change the rules of the next two presidential debates with Democratic challenger Joe Biden after the first chaotic event in Cleveland was marred by constant interruptions and outbursts. Tuesday night's debate, the first of three before the 3 November election, saw Trump regularly interrupt and talk over both Biden as well as the moderator, prompting America's presidential debates commission to announce it would adopt changes to allow for a 'more orderly discussion'. The next presidential debate is scheduled for 15 October in Miami. 'We don't want any changes,; Trump senior campaign adviser Jason Miller said on a conference call with reporters." Mrs. McC: Miller himself is incredibly obnoxious & enjoys bullying, interrupting & talking over hosts & other guests when he appears on CNN.
Oliver Darcy of CNN: "Chris Wallace, the Fox News anchor who moderated Tuesday's debate, is placing the bulk of the blame on ... Donald Trump for sending the political showdown into chaos. Wallace, who had in a Wednesday interview with The New York Times declined to pin the culpability on Trump, told his colleague Bill Hemmer during an interview Thursday that he believes Trump 'bears the primary responsibility for what happened....I had baked this beautiful, delicious cake and then frankly the President put his foot in it,' Wallace said."
Quint Forgey of Politico: "Former national security adviser H.R. McMaster said Thursday that ... Donald Trump is 'aiding and abetting' Russian President Vladimir Putin's efforts to sow doubt about the American electoral system. The stern warning from McMaster, who Trump handpicked to lead the White House National Security Council in 2017, came in an interview on MSNB.... McMaster's remarks Thursday represent perhaps his harshest public criticism of the president since he was ousted from the White House in 2018." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ David Sanger of the New York Times: "... in speaking with Hallie Jackson of MSNBC on Thursday, [H.R. McMaster] went further than he has at any point in the past in criticizing Mr. Trump for failing to call out Russian action...."
Jack Stubbs of Reuters: "The Russian group accused of meddling in the 2016 U.S. election has posed as an independent news outlet to target right-wing social media users ahead of this year's vote, two people familiar with an FBI probe into the activity told Reuters. The latest operation centred around a pseudo media organisation called the Newsroom for American and European Based Citizens (NAEBC), which was run by people associated with the St. Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency, the sources said." (Also linked yesterday.)
Another Trump Campaign Scandal. Oliver Darcy of CNN: "Fox News paid the former assistant to ex-host Kimberly Guilfoyle upward of $4 million to avoid going to trial after the employee wrote a 2018 draft complaint detailing allegations of sexual harassment against her, The New Yorker reported Thursday, citing two well-informed sources. Guilfoyle, who currently serves as the Trump campaign's finance chair, abruptly left her position as co-host of Fox News' 'The Five' in July 2018. At the time, a spokesperson for the network did not provide a reason for her exit and only said in a short, one-sentence statement: 'Fox News has parted ways with Kimberly Guilfoyle.' In 2018, HuffPost reported that Guilfoyle's departure had come following an investigation into inappropriate behavior, including allegations of sexual misconduct.... The New Yorker advanced the HuffPost story, detailing allegations from Guilfoyle's former assistant.... According to the magazine, Guilfoyle often required her former assistant to work at her apartment where allegedly Guilfoyle would sometimes be naked. The New Yorker added allegations that Guilfoyle showed her former assistant lewd images of men, with some of whom she had sexual relations. When lawyers at the firm Paul, Weiss started to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct at the network, Guilfoyle allegedly tried to buy her assistant's silence, The New Yorker reported...." The New Yorker story, by Jane Mayer, is here.
Taegan Goddard's Political Wire: "Former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale told friends he was under federal investigation days before his weekend meltdown for which he was involuntarily hospitalized, Business Insider reports." The Business Insider story is totally subscriber-firewalled. Mrs. McC: As you will recall, the RNC categorically denied Parscale was under investigation for stealing millions from the campaign. Of course it's possible that the RNC is not investigating Parscale, but the feds are.
Michigan. Matthew Choi of Politico: "The conservative conspiracists Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman were charged on Thursday with coordinating robocalls to suppress voters in the upcoming general election. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced the charges, which include intimidating voters and conspiracy to violate election law. Nessel said the two specifically targeted minority voters to discourage them from voting. The calls allegedly told voters that voter information would be collected in a database to track down old police warrants and outstanding credit card debts, according to a news release.... The Michigan charges relate to calls focused in the Detroit area, but other similar robocalls were also reported in New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Illinois, according to the release." The Washington Post's story is here.
Pennsylvania. Extreme Vote-Count Interference. Meghan Schiller of CBS News Pittsburgh: "The Republican-controlled statehouse in Harrisburg is looking at setting up what is being described as an 'Election Integrity' panel. The panel would have subpoena power to look into how elections are regulated and conducted. It would also use that power to determine if new laws are needed. The idea passed out of committee on Wednesday, but the threat of coronavirus halted discussions. A Republican representative tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday, canceling the morning's voting session and any discussion about the panel. 'It's just another attempt and part of their plan, I believe, to erode trust in voting and delay the results,' House Democratic Leader Rep. Frank Dermody said. Three Republicans and two Democrats would make up the panel, something state Republicans call a necessary watchdog group.... According to Democrats, they're afraid the Republicans in the majority would use this panel to launch partisan investigations and potentially impound uncounted ballots ahead of Election Day. 'It would cause tremendous disruptions,' Rep. Dermody said. 'They could subpoena votes, they could subpoena drop boxes, you name it. That's what I believe the intent was.'&"
Texas. Extreme Voter Suppression. Meryl Kornfield & Felicia Sonmez of the Washington Post: "Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Thursday said each of the state's counties could provide only one mail-in ballot drop-off location for the November election, a proclamation that quickly spurred criticism and a legal threat from Democrats and election officials.... The executive order, which amended a July 27 order by Abbott that expanded early voting and absentee ballot drop-offs, cites election security as the reason counties must close sites that were already collecting early ballots.... A civil rights organization, the League of United Latin American Citizens, announced Thursday that it would soon file a lawsuit against Abbott.... Harris County, which includes Houston and has more than 4.7 million residents, is the state's largest county and the third largest in the United States, according to the census. According to the Austin American-Statesman, Harris County has 12 ballot drop-off sites; Travis County, which includes Austin and has a population of 1.2 million, has four sites. President Trump lost in both counties in 2016 to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton." The Hill has a story here. ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: One drop-off box for maybe a million Democratic voters? What's wrong with that? Harris County, BTW, not only has a population of millions, it covers a sprawling metropolis: 1,777 square miles, to be exact.
Matthew Choi of Politico: "... Donald Trump condemned white supremacist groups Thursday, two days after he came under fire for his comments on the issue during a debate with Democratic candidate Joe Biden. 'I condemn the KKK. I condemn all white supremacists. I condemn the Proud Boys. I don't know much about the Proud Boys, almost nothing, but I condemn that,' Trump said in a phone interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity. "But [Biden] should condemn also Antifa. Antifa is a horrible group of people.... The fallout of the debate comments was swift. Members of his own party urged him to explicitly denounce white supremacy immediately. Reporters peppered White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany with questions about the comment earlier Thursday. McEnany dismissed criticisms, saying Trump had settled the matter." Mrs. McC Note: Biden has repeatedly condemned violent protests.
Michael Shear of the New York Times: "The first lady, Melania Trump, delivered a profanity-laced rant about Christmas decorations at the White House and mocked the plight of migrant children who were separated from their parents at the border in 2018 during a conversation secretly taped by a former aide and close confidante. 'I'm working like a -- my ass off at Christmas stuff,' Mrs. Trump laments to the former aide, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, who has just published a tell-all book, in a recording that was first broadcast on CNN on Thursday night. Mrs. Trump continued, 'You know, who gives a fuck about Christmas stuff and decoration?' Later in the conversation, which occurred in July 2018, the first lady complained about the criticism leveled at President Trump and his administration that summer for separating families in a crackdown on illegal immigration. 'I say that I'm working on Christmas planning for the Christmas, and they said, "Oh, what about the children?" That they were separated.' She used another obscenity to express her exasperation, asking Ms. Winston Wolkoff, 'Where they were saying anything when Obama did that?'" ~~~
~~~ Caroline Kelly writes CNN's story: "Under former President Barack Obama, children were separated from parents only when authorities had concerns for their well-being or could not confirm that the adult was in fact their legal guardian, but not as a blanket policy as was done under Trump -- until a judge forced the administration to stop."
This woman's perfect life is about to be ruined by some dark-skinned people..Trump Says Minorites Are Ruining the Suburbs for White Women. Maya King & Laura Barron-Lopez of Politico: "On Tuesday..., Donald Trump refused to condemn white supremacists. On Wednesday, he blamed suburban, low-income people of color for 'ruining this American dream.' The two comments represent a feature, not a bug, of his presidency and campaign. And he's ramped it up in the final month of the election.... Speaking to a mostly white crowd in Duluth, Minn., on Wednesday, Trump gave a shout-out to the suburbs, particularly 'women in the suburbs.' He boasted he was the person to end an Obama-era fair housing rule, which he said brought 'low-income housing' to suburbia. 'By the way, just so we can get this straight, 30 percent of the people in the suburbs are low-income people. Thirty percent of the people in the suburbs are minorities. And so we're ruining this American dream for everybody,' Trump said."
Tom Jackman of the Washington Post: "A national commission on policing launched earlier this year by President Trump and Attorney General William P. Barr has violated federal law by seating only people in law enforcement and failing to include members with different perspectives such as civil rights activists, defense attorneys or mental health professionals, a federal judge ruled Thursday as he halted the group's work. The commission also did not file a charter, post public notice of its meetings or open them to the public, so even though it has already sent its draft report and recommendations to Barr for release later this month, the judge prohibited Barr from publishing a final report. The ruling by Senior U.S. District Judge John D. Bates in Washington came in response to a lawsuit from the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, which sought an injunction against the Presidential Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice for violating laws on how federal advisory committees must work. Bates did not issue an injunction yet, but asked both sides to file briefs on what should be included in an injunction, said he would order the commission to change its membership and comply with other aspects of the law, and that it could not issue a report until it had done so."
Food Banks Remove Trump Letter from Food Assistance Boxes. Laura Reiley & Kim Bellware of the Washington Post: "Thirty-five days before the election, food assistance boxes, doled out at food banks around the country, are coming with a surprise: a signed letter from President Trump. Anti-hunger advocates and food bank workers are outraged, saying the move violates the Hatch Act and compromises relationships with the food-insecure Americans they serve.... San Francisco-Marin Food Bank is removing the letters at distribution sites and asking any of the neighborhood pantries in their network that receive these boxes to do the same, says Keely Hopkins, the food bank's communications and social media manager.... Kate Leone, chief government relations officer at Feeding America..., says many food banks will not comply with including the letter.... Many schools that serve as distribution points for food assistance will receive these boxes directly."
Julia Ainsley of NBC News: "Federal law enforcement officials were directed to make public comments sympathetic to Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager charged with fatally shooting two protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, according to internal Department of Homeland Security talking points obtained by NBC News. In preparing Homeland Security officials for questions about Rittenhouse from the media, the document suggests that they note that he 'took his rifle to the scene of the rioting to help defend small business owners.' Another set of talking points ... said the media were incorrectly labeling the group Patriot Prayer as racists after clashes erupted between the group and protesters in Portland, Oregon. It is unclear whether any of the talking points originated at the White House or within Homeland Security's own press office.... Despite the talking points, Homeland Security officials have not gone as far to support Rittenhouse." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Stef Kight of Axios: "The Trump administration plans to only admit a maximum of 15,000 refugees this fiscal year, the State Department said in a release late Wednesday evening.... This is yet another record-low refugee cap. Before leaving office, President Obama set the refugee limit at 110,000 for fiscal year 2017 -- a number Trump has continued to slash throughout his presidency." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "The Trump administration said it would cut its already rock-bottom refugee admissions still deeper into record territory for the upcoming year, as President Trump returned to his anti-immigrant themes in the closing month of his re-election campaign.... The cut signaled that Mr. Trump is willing to take his exclusionary immigration policies still further, and it was delivered to Congress as the president was unleashing a xenophobic tirade against one of the nation's most prominent refugees, Representative Ilhan Omar, on Wednesday night at a rally in her home state, Minnesota.... 'She tells us how to run our country, can you believe it?' he thundered at his rally in Duluth, Minn. 'How the hell did Minnesota elect her? What the hell is wrong with you people -- right? What the hell happened?... Another massive issue for Minnesota is the election of Joe Biden's plan to inundate your state with a historic flood of refugees' the president said.'... Mr. Biden ... has said he would reset the refugee cap at 125,000 if elected.... 'Biden will turn Minnesota into a refugee camp,' Mr. Trump said." ~~~
~~~ Miriam Jordan of the New York Times: "A federal judge ruled on Thursday that President Trump overstepped his authority in suspending new visas for hundreds of thousands of foreign workers amid the coronavirus pandemic, enabling major companies like Microsoft, Goodyear Tire and Exxon Mobil to resume bringing employees from abroad. Judge Jeffrey S. White of U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California temporarily blocked further implementation of the sweeping order, issued in June, as it applied to thousands of companies seeking to bring workers to the United States on a wide array of visas, including the H-1B for high-skilled workers, seasonal employees on guest-worker visas and others, such as au pairs, who enter the country on cultural exchange visas. 'Congress' delegation of authority in the immigration context does not afford the President unbridled authority to set domestic policy regarding employment of nonimmigrant foreigners,' the judge wrote...."
Joby Warren & Simon Denyer of the Washington Post: As Kim Jong Un sent love letters to Donald Trump, "at six of the country's missile bases..., workers dug a maze of new tunnels and bunkers, allowing North Korea to move weapons around.... Southeast of the capital, meanwhile, new buildings sprouted across an industrial complex that was processing uranium for as many as 15 new bombs, according to current and former U.S. and South Korean officials, as well as a report by a United Nations panel of experts. The new work reflects a continuation of a pattern observed by analysts since the first summit between Trump and Kim in 2018. While North Korea has refrained from carrying out provocative tests of its most advanced weapon systems, it never stopped working on them, U.S. intelligence officials said. Indeed, new evidence suggests that Kim took advantage of the lull by improving his ability to hide his most powerful weapons and shield them from future attacks." Mrs. McC: No one is surprised, except maybe Donald. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Michael Chapman of the Raw Story: "On Monday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) told CNBC that there was no question the Republican Party was going to take care of people with pre-existing health conditions if the Supreme Court invalidates the Affordable Care Act. 'Every Republican agrees we&'re going to protect pre-existing conditions,' said Cruz. '100 out of 100 senators agree we're going to protect pre-existing conditions regardless of what happens with Obamacare.' Just two days later, he moved to block a Senate amendment sponsored by a colleague, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), that would do exactly that." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Heidi Przybyla of NBC News: "... Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, failed to disclose her participation in a 2006 newspaper ad calling for Roe v. Wade to be overturned and ending its 'barbaric legacy' when she submitted paperwork to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Two Democratic committee aides ... said [her participation in the two-page ad] should have been included in the response to a question in the forms asking for citations of 'books, articles, reports, letters to the editor, editorial pieces or other published material you have written or edited.'"
Way Beyond the Beltway
Breaking Up Is Hard to Do. Stephen Castle & Steven Erlanger of the New York Times: "The European Commission announced on Thursday that it was pressing ahead with legal action against Britain over Brexit legislation that the government in London has said would permit it to break international law. The commission, the European Union's administrative arm, gave Britain an ultimatum last month, threatening to take it to court unless it dropped plans to override parts of an agreement on withdrawal from the bloc that Prime Minister Boris Johnson struck last year. With the deadline having expired, the commission said in a statement that it had sent the British government 'a letter of formal notice for breaching its obligations under the Withdrawal Agreement.' Britain has 30 days to respond and any legal action could take months to unfold. That gives the two sides the opportunity to resolve their standoff if they can strike a deal in wider Brexit talks on a trade agreement." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
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