theguardian--2020-05-26--Andrew Cuomo gave immunity to nursing home execs after big campaign donations

As Governor Andrew Cuomo faced a spirited challenge in his bid to win New York ’ s 2018 Democratic primary , his political apparatus got a last-minute boost : a powerful healthcare industry group suddenly poured more than $ 1m into a Democratic committee backing his campaign .
Less than two years after that flood of cash from the Greater New York Hospital Association ( GNYHA ) , Cuomo signed legislation last month quietly shielding hospital and nursing home executives from the threat of lawsuits stemming from the coronavirus outbreak .
The provision , inserted into an annual budget bill @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one of the nation ’ s most explicit immunity protections for healthcare industry officials , according to legal experts .
Critics say Cuomo removed a key deterrent against nursing home and hospital corporations cutting corners in ways that jeopardize lives .
As those critics now try to repeal the provision during this final week of Albany ’ s legislative session , they assert that data prove such immunity is correlating to higher nursing home death rates during the pandemic – both in New York and in other states enacting similar immunity policies .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ globe ’ s major pandemic hotspots – and the center of the state ’ s outbreak has been nursing homes , where more than 5,000 New Yorkers have died , according to Associated Press data .
Those deaths have occurred as Cuomo ’ s critics say he has taken a hands-off approach to regulating the healthcare industry interests that helped bankroll his election campaign .
In March , Cuomo ’ s administration issued an order that allowed nursing homes to readmit sick patients without testing them for Covid-19 .
Amid allegations of undercounted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against pressure to have state regulators more stringently record and report death rates in nursing homes .
And then came Cuomo ’ s annual budget – which included a little-noticed passage shielding corporate officials who run New York hospitals , nursing homes and other healthcare facilities from liability for Covid-related deaths and injuries .
GNYHA – a lobbying group for hospital systems , including some that own nursing homes – said it “ drafted and aggressively advocated for ” the immunity provision .
The new law declares that top officials at hospital and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from any liability , civil or criminal , for any harm or damages alleged to have been sustained as a result of an act or omission in the course of arranging for or providing healthcare services ” to address the Covid-19 outbreak .
Prior to the budget language , Cuomo had already temporarily granted limited legal immunity to doctors and nurses serving on the medical frontlines .
But the carefully sculpted passage buried in the state ’ s annual spending bill expanded that by offering extensive immunity to any “ healthcare facility administrator @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , trustee or other person responsible for directing , supervising or managing a healthcare facility and its personnel or other individual in a comparable role ” .
New York is now one of just two states to shield those corporate officials from both civil lawsuits and some forms of criminal prosecution by the government , according to an analysis by Syracuse University law professor Nina Kohn and the University of Houston ’ s Jessica L Roberts .
“ New York is an outlier and has the most explicit and sweeping immunity language , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ administration said the new immunity provision – which is a narrow version of a broader proposal championed by the Senate Republican leader , Mitch McConnell – is necessary .
“ This pandemic remains an unprecedented public health crisis and we had to realign New York ’ s entire healthcare system , using every type of facility to prepare for the surge , and recruiting more than 96,000 volunteers – 25,000 from out of state , to help fight this virus , ” said Cuomo ’ s senior adviser Rich Azzopardi in an emailed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ samaritans and what was passed by 111 members of the legislature was an expansion of the existing Good Samaritan Law to apply to the emergency that coronavirus created .
If we had not done this , these volunteers wouldn ’ t have been accepted and we never would have had enough frontline healthcare workers.
” Democratic assemblyman Ron Kim said that “ the language of the [ immunity ] bill and the entire proposal was drafted , submitted , and negotiated into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo and his staff ” .
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pushing legislation to repeal the language – and some of them assert that the immunity provisions are linked to higher death rates in nursing homes .
“ It is now apparent that negligence by administrators and executives of nursing homes has occurred at an extraordinary degree , ” proponents of the legislation argued in a memo accompanying the bill .
“ [ The immunity law ] egregiously uses severe liability standards as a means to insulate healthcare facilities and specifically , administrators and executives of such facilities , from any civil or criminal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is a much-needed step to holding healthcare administrators accountable and doing everything possible to stop even more preventable deaths from happening.
” GNYHA has framed its push for liability protections as an effort to defend workers .
In a 2 April memo to its members , the association wrote : “ You and your heroic workers have enough to agonize over without having to worry about liability for decisions and actions made under extraordinarily challenging circumstances.
” By contrast , opponents of the legislation contend that Cuomo ’ s language immunizing executives from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make it easier for nursing home corporations to profit off unsafe business practices .
“ The reason why neglect happens in nursing homes is executives make business decisions that result in the frontline workers not having the tools – in nursing homes , the manpower – to deliver the services those workers are trained to deliver , ” said plaintiffs ’ attorney Andrew G Finkelstein , a managing partner at Jacoby & Meyers .
“ These executives choose how much staffing will be in a nursing home and they know the more staffing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ safe the nursing home will be – but the less profits they will make , ” Finkelstein said .
“ When you remove their liability from that choice , the net effect will be less and less staffing and more and more neglect in nursing homes , because those decision-makers will know there will be no legal consequences for the decisions they make.
” Immunity followed $ 2.3m in campaign cash The immunity provision in Cuomo ’ s budget came 18 months after the GNYHA delivered $ 1.25m to the Cuomo-controlled New York @ @ @ @ @ @ @ governor ’ s re-election bid .
The money went to the committee ’ s so-called housekeeping account .
The account , which can accept unlimited donations , is meant to support general party activities but has also been used to promote Cuomo and his agenda in television ads , including in his 2018 re-election campaign .
The GNYHA donations – which were a huge increase from prior years – made the group one of the New York Democratic party ’ s largest contributors during Cuomo ’ s campaign .
Three of the hospital @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than $ 150,000 to Cuomo ’ s campaign between 2015 and 2018 .
In all , during the governor ’ s second term , Cuomo ’ s campaign and his state party committee raked in more than $ 2.3m from hospital and nursing home industry donors and their lobbying firms , according to data compiled by the National Institute on Money in Politics .
Azzopardi said the Cuomo administration ’ s decision to insert the language into the budget was not a reflection of lobbyists ’ influence .
“ This law was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ care , and any suggestion otherwise is simply outrageous , ” he said .
GNYHA paid $ 60,000 to the MirRam Group in March and April , according to the firm ’ s report .
John Emrick , a lobbyist at the firm who previously served as the chief of staff for the controversial Independent Democratic Conference state senate caucus , disclosed lobbying the Senate majority leader ’ s office on “ safe staffing ” and “ medical malpractice ” .
Another GNYHA lobby firm is Bolton-St Johns , which gave Cuomo ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re-election .
That firm employs Giorgio DeRosa , Joseph DeRosa , and Jessica Davos – the father , brother and sister of Cuomo ’ s top aide , Melissa DeRosa , who is secretary to the governor .
Giorgio DeRosa is described on Bolton ’ s website as a partner and the firm ’ s “ chief Albany lobbyist ” .
GNYHA pays the firm $ 24,000 a month to lobby on “ budget/appropriations ” issues , according to state records .
The governor ’ s office has said Melissa DeRosa has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ executives across the state to ensure frontline workers have the resources they need ” .
While Azzopardi acknowledged in an email that Giorgio DeRosa ’ s firm lobbies for GNYHA , he said : “ This law was intended to increase capacity and provide quality care , and any suggestion otherwise is simply outrageous .
Also : Melissa did not negotiate this bill , nor did anyone at that firm lobby on it.
” Giorgio and Joseph DeRosa were listed as lobbyists in GNYHA state disclosures for many years , including when Melissa @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chief of staff .
As of mid-2017 , the DeRosas have no longer been listed as lobbyists on the association ’ s disclosure forms .
Bolton-St Johns spokesperson Justin Berhaupt said in an emailed statement that “ Giorgio DeRosa has never worked on issues related to GNYHA .
“ Historically , Bolton St Johns registered all of its lobbyists for all of its clients , ” Berhaupt explained .
“ Upon Ms DeRosa becoming secretary to the governor , Bolton St Johns changed its policy and only registered Bolton St Johns ’ lobbyists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ GNYHA spokesperson Brian Conway said in an emailed statement : “ GNYHA does not lobby on behalf of nursing homes.
” He added : “ When GNYHA lobbied for Covid-19-related immunity for hospitals and their workforce , we did not involve Bolton-St Johns.
” Since receiving large hospital and nursing home campaign donations , Cuomo has supported other legislation backed by those industries .
His administration backed New York ’ s first increase of Medicaid reimbursement rates in more than a decade , which is expected to deliver a windfall to private healthcare @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cuomo promised that he would support requiring hospitals and nursing homes to spend more on staffing , which proponents said would improve healthcare and safety , but could also reduce corporate profit margins .
The governor subsequently only initiated a study of the issue – a move that the nursing home industry ’ s lobbying group lauded .
People are 7.5 times more likely to die from Covid-19 in states with corporate legal immunity As New York ’ s state legislative session draws to a close this week , 14 Democratic legislators in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cuomo ’ s corporate immunity law .
In pushing for a vote on the legislation , bill author Kim is circulating a report to other lawmakers that he says shows that liability shields are linked to higher nursing home death rates .
To date , 19 states have enacted some form of immunity for hospitals and nursing homes during the pandemic .
Based on data reported by the New York Times , Kim ’ s analysis asserts that more than three-quarters of total nursing home deaths from Covid-19 come from states that have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The analysis found that “ of the 10 states with the highest fatality rates , eight have corporate immunity and represent 93 % of all fatalities , or 63,187 deaths ” .
The report also says the data show that “ states with corporate immunity saw more than three times the absolute number of fatalities than states without such immunity .
The average rate of death per state is 7.5 times higher in states with corporate immunity than states with no immunity for corporations.
” In all , the report concludes : “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ states that gave immunity to corporations who owned nursing homes and healthcare facilities ; moreover , 76 % of total nursing home deaths come from states that have legal immunity status for these facilities.
” “ Simply put , people are 7.5 times more likely to die from Covid-19 in states with corporate legal immunity , ” Kim said .
“ Giving immunity to corporations in care work before the apex of a pandemic leads to higher fatalities .
It is clear that businesses , especially nursing homes that interface with Covid-19 positive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proper procedures that save lives.
” Azzopardi disputed the report ’ s findings , calling it a “ flaming hot pile of bad math and inaccurate , skewed metrics ” .
He said the report initially overstated the per-capita death rate in the state ’ s nursing homes , and he questioned whether it accounts for the fact that other states may share less information than New York .
“ The reality is the states cited happened to also be mainly those hardest hit east coast states that received the 3 million travelers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ here for weeks after travel from China was blocked , greatly helping the west coast , ” Azzopardi said .
‘ The industry gets caught with its pants down … we ’ re now telling them they don ’ t have to wear pants ’ Azzopardi asserted that the new immunity law “ builds on NY Good Samaritan laws which say that if you provide medical help to someone at the scene of an accident in an emergency you are immune from suit ” .
But some legal experts counter that the new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state ’ s longstanding laws .
Prior to the change , New York statutes went out of their way to declare that nursing home companies and their executives are liable for corporate misconduct .
In one high-profile class action case in central New York last year , a judge denied James Square nursing home ’ s motion to shield owners and shareholders from liability over allegations that the company ’ s cost-cutting measures endangered patients .
“ I don ’ t have a problem with giving frontline workers immunity , it is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kill people – they are the ones who have to be held personally responsible , ” said attorney Jeremiah Frei-Pearson , who represented James Square residents in their successful suit , which ultimately forced the company to spend more money to increase staffing at the facility .
“ Many of the corporate owners are just trying to make money – they don ’ t care about the elderly people in their custody , and if you take them off the hook , they are going to do the absolute minimum , which risks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ liability shield law , that kind of ruling may be harder to secure at a time when the Trump administration has been reducing fines against nursing home operators and is now suspending safety enforcement during the pandemic .
“ We ’ ve had a longstanding problem holding nursing homes responsible , because if you look at government enforcement , it ’ s typically a slap on the wrist .
A private lawsuit is often all you have left to hold a nursing home accountable , ” said Syracuse University ’ s Kohn .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the future .
The industry gets caught with its pants down during the crisis , and we ’ re now telling them they don ’ t have to wear pants.
” They could sue but now because of this immunity they can not As they push to expand immunity laws across the country , the hospital and nursing home industries have continued to cast their campaign as a necessary defense of medical workers .
“ As our care providers make these difficult decisions , they need to know they will not be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ emblematic letter from industry groups pressing California ’ s governor , Gavin Newsom , to issue an executive order shielding them from legal liability .
And yet Kohn ’ s research shows that 16 out of the 19 states that created liability protections extended immunity to both individual workers and nursing home facilities as a whole .
New York – unlike many other states – explicitly extended the immunity to company executives and corporate board members who are not on the frontlines , but who are making key budget and staffing decisions that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the expansion beyond healthcare workers is not an accident – he said it deliberately “ discourages medical staff and frontline workers in nursing homes from safely coming out against malpractices they might observe from executive leadership ” .
That assertion was echoed by University of Wyoming law professor Michael Duff , one of the nation ’ s leading experts on workplace law .
He said that while the change does not modify traditional workers ’ compensation protections for hospital or nursing home employees , it could reduce the legal rights of contract @ @ @ @ @ @ @ precisely the moment that healthcare facilities are outsourcing work to third-party staffing firms .
“ Often medical personnel in operating rooms and emergency areas are contracted out [ and ] the same often goes for groups like janitorial services , ” said Duff , a former National Labor Relations Board investigator .
“ Ordinarily , employees of the institutions would be unable to sue because of workers ’ compensation exclusive remedy rule .
But independent contractors aren ’ t bound by that rule .
They could sue but now because of this immunity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ part , the Cuomo administration has struck a defiant tone .
During a televised press conference this weekend , DeRosa suggested that New York ’ s nursing-home casualty rates are not anomalously high – and she argued that the state ’ s “ confirmed ” death rates are in line with other states , though others have asserted that the state has been undercounting nursing home casualties .
Meanwhile , Cuomo has enlisted titans to lead a 15-member commission focused on “ reimagining ” New York and its public policies .
Among the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CEO , Michael Dowling , whose company operates two New York nursing homes where there have been Covid-related deaths .
Northwell Health is a member of the hospital association that lobbied for the immunity provisions , and Dowling is a Cuomo donor .

As Governor Andrew Cuomo faced a spirited challenge in his bid to win New York’s 2018 Democratic primary, his political apparatus got a last-minute boost: a powerful healthcare industry group suddenly poured more than $1m into a Democratic committee backing his campaign.
Less than two years after that flood of cash from the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA), Cuomo signed legislation last month quietly shielding hospital and nursing home executives from the threat of lawsuits stemming from the coronavirus outbreak. The provision, inserted into an annual budget bill by Cuomo’s aides, created one of the nation’s most explicit immunity protections for healthcare industry officials, according to legal experts.
Critics say Cuomo removed a key deterrent against nursing home and hospital corporations cutting corners in ways that jeopardize lives. As those critics now try to repeal the provision during this final week of Albany’s legislative session, they assert that data prove such immunity is correlating to higher nursing home death rates during the pandemic – both in New York and in other states enacting similar immunity policies.
New York has become one of the globe’s major pandemic hotspots – and the center of the state’s outbreak has been nursing homes, where more than 5,000 New Yorkers have died, according to Associated Press data.
Those deaths have occurred as Cuomo’s critics say he has taken a hands-off approach to regulating the healthcare industry interests that helped bankroll his election campaign. In March, Cuomo’s administration issued an order that allowed nursing homes to readmit sick patients without testing them for Covid-19. Amid allegations of undercounted casualties, the governor also pushed back against pressure to have state regulators more stringently record and report death rates in nursing homes.
And then came Cuomo’s annual budget – which included a little-noticed passage shielding corporate officials who run New York hospitals, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities from liability for Covid-related deaths and injuries.
GNYHA – a lobbying group for hospital systems, including some that own nursing homes – said it “drafted and aggressively advocated for” the immunity provision. The new law declares that top officials at hospital and nursing home companies “shall have immunity from any liability, civil or criminal, for any harm or damages alleged to have been sustained as a result of an act or omission in the course of arranging for or providing healthcare services” to address the Covid-19 outbreak.
Prior to the budget language, Cuomo had already temporarily granted limited legal immunity to doctors and nurses serving on the medical frontlines. But the carefully sculpted passage buried in the state’s annual spending bill expanded that by offering extensive immunity to any “healthcare facility administrator, executive, supervisor, board member, trustee or other person responsible for directing, supervising or managing a healthcare facility and its personnel or other individual in a comparable role”.
New York is now one of just two states to shield those corporate officials from both civil lawsuits and some forms of criminal prosecution by the government, according to an analysis by Syracuse University law professor Nina Kohn and the University of Houston’s Jessica L Roberts.
“New York is an outlier and has the most explicit and sweeping immunity language,” Kohn said.
Cuomo’s administration said the new immunity provision – which is a narrow version of a broader proposal championed by the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell – is necessary.
“This pandemic remains an unprecedented public health crisis and we had to realign New York’s entire healthcare system, using every type of facility to prepare for the surge, and recruiting more than 96,000 volunteers – 25,000 from out of state, to help fight this virus,” said Cuomo’s senior adviser Rich Azzopardi in an emailed statement. “These volunteers are good samaritans and what was passed by 111 members of the legislature was an expansion of the existing Good Samaritan Law to apply to the emergency that coronavirus created. If we had not done this, these volunteers wouldn’t have been accepted and we never would have had enough frontline healthcare workers.”
New York is an outlier and has the most explicit and sweeping immunity language Nina Kohn
Democratic assemblyman Ron Kim said that “the language of the [immunity] bill and the entire proposal was drafted, submitted, and negotiated into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo and his staff”. He is leading 14 New York lawmakers in pushing legislation to repeal the language – and some of them assert that the immunity provisions are linked to higher death rates in nursing homes.
“It is now apparent that negligence by administrators and executives of nursing homes has occurred at an extraordinary degree,” proponents of the legislation argued in a memo accompanying the bill. “[The immunity law] egregiously uses severe liability standards as a means to insulate healthcare facilities and specifically, administrators and executives of such facilities, from any civil or criminal liability for negligence. Repealing this article is a much-needed step to holding healthcare administrators accountable and doing everything possible to stop even more preventable deaths from happening.”
GNYHA has framed its push for liability protections as an effort to defend workers. In a 2 April memo to its members, the association wrote: “You and your heroic workers have enough to agonize over without having to worry about liability for decisions and actions made under extraordinarily challenging circumstances.”
By contrast, opponents of the legislation contend that Cuomo’s language immunizing executives from civil and criminal litigation is designed to make it easier for nursing home corporations to profit off unsafe business practices.
“The reason why neglect happens in nursing homes is executives make business decisions that result in the frontline workers not having the tools – in nursing homes, the manpower – to deliver the services those workers are trained to deliver,” said plaintiffs’ attorney Andrew G Finkelstein, a managing partner at Jacoby & Meyers.
“These executives choose how much staffing will be in a nursing home and they know the more staffing that they put in, the more safe the nursing home will be – but the less profits they will make,” Finkelstein said. “When you remove their liability from that choice, the net effect will be less and less staffing and more and more neglect in nursing homes, because those decision-makers will know there will be no legal consequences for the decisions they make.”
Immunity followed $2.3m in campaign cash
The immunity provision in Cuomo’s budget came 18 months after the GNYHA delivered $1.25m to the Cuomo-controlled New York State Democratic committee that was supporting the governor’s re-election bid. The money went to the committee’s so-called housekeeping account. The account, which can accept unlimited donations, is meant to support general party activities but has also been used to promote Cuomo and his agenda in television ads, including in his 2018 re-election campaign.
The GNYHA donations – which were a huge increase from prior years – made the group one of the New York Democratic party’s largest contributors during Cuomo’s campaign. Three of the hospital association’s top officials separately gave more than $150,000 to Cuomo’s campaign between 2015 and 2018.
In all, during the governor’s second term, Cuomo’s campaign and his state party committee raked in more than $2.3m from hospital and nursing home industry donors and their lobbying firms, according to data compiled by the National Institute on Money in Politics.
Azzopardi said the Cuomo administration’s decision to insert the language into the budget was not a reflection of lobbyists’ influence.
“This law was intended to increase capacity and provide quality care, and any suggestion otherwise is simply outrageous,” he said.
Big lobbying contracts
GNYHA paid $60,000 to the MirRam Group in March and April, according to the firm’s report. John Emrick, a lobbyist at the firm who previously served as the chief of staff for the controversial Independent Democratic Conference state senate caucus, disclosed lobbying the Senate majority leader’s office on “safe staffing” and “medical malpractice”.
Another GNYHA lobby firm is Bolton-St Johns, which gave Cuomo’s campaign $40,000 during his 2018 re-election. That firm employs Giorgio DeRosa, Joseph DeRosa, and Jessica Davos – the father, brother and sister of Cuomo’s top aide, Melissa DeRosa, who is secretary to the governor. Giorgio DeRosa is described on Bolton’s website as a partner and the firm’s “chief Albany lobbyist”. GNYHA pays the firm $24,000 a month to lobby on “budget/appropriations” issues, according to state records.
The governor’s office has said Melissa DeRosa has been “strategizing with hospital leadership and business executives across the state to ensure frontline workers have the resources they need”.
While Azzopardi acknowledged in an email that Giorgio DeRosa’s firm lobbies for GNYHA, he said: “This law was intended to increase capacity and provide quality care, and any suggestion otherwise is simply outrageous. Also: Melissa did not negotiate this bill, nor did anyone at that firm lobby on it.”
Giorgio and Joseph DeRosa were listed as lobbyists in GNYHA state disclosures for many years, including when Melissa DeRosa was serving as Cuomo’s chief of staff. As of mid-2017, the DeRosas have no longer been listed as lobbyists on the association’s disclosure forms.
Bolton-St Johns spokesperson Justin Berhaupt said in an emailed statement that “Giorgio DeRosa has never worked on issues related to GNYHA.
“Historically, Bolton St Johns registered all of its lobbyists for all of its clients,” Berhaupt explained. “Upon Ms DeRosa becoming secretary to the governor, Bolton St Johns changed its policy and only registered Bolton St Johns’ lobbyists for the specific clients they served.”
GNYHA spokesperson Brian Conway said in an emailed statement: “GNYHA does not lobby on behalf of nursing homes.” He added: “When GNYHA lobbied for Covid-19-related immunity for hospitals and their workforce, we did not involve Bolton-St Johns.”
Since receiving large hospital and nursing home campaign donations, Cuomo has supported other legislation backed by those industries. His administration backed New York’s first increase of Medicaid reimbursement rates in more than a decade, which is expected to deliver a windfall to private healthcare facilities.
During his re-election campaign, Cuomo promised that he would support requiring hospitals and nursing homes to spend more on staffing, which proponents said would improve healthcare and safety, but could also reduce corporate profit margins. The governor subsequently only initiated a study of the issue – a move that the nursing home industry’s lobbying group lauded.
People are 7.5 times more likely to die from Covid-19 in states with corporate legal immunity
As New York’s state legislative session draws to a close this week, 14 Democratic legislators in Albany are sponsoring a bill to repeal Cuomo’s corporate immunity law. In pushing for a vote on the legislation, bill author Kim is circulating a report to other lawmakers that he says shows that liability shields are linked to higher nursing home death rates.
To date, 19 states have enacted some form of immunity for hospitals and nursing homes during the pandemic. Based on data reported by the New York Times, Kim’s analysis asserts that more than three-quarters of total nursing home deaths from Covid-19 come from states that have granted corporate immunity to healthcare facilities.
The analysis found that “of the 10 states with the highest fatality rates, eight have corporate immunity and represent 93% of all fatalities, or 63,187 deaths”. The report also says the data show that “states with corporate immunity saw more than three times the absolute number of fatalities than states without such immunity. The average rate of death per state is 7.5 times higher in states with corporate immunity than states with no immunity for corporations.”
In all, the report concludes: “77% of total deaths come from states that gave immunity to corporations who owned nursing homes and healthcare facilities; moreover, 76% of total nursing home deaths come from states that have legal immunity status for these facilities.”
Giving immunity to corporations in care work before the apex of a pandemic leads to higher fatalities Ron Kim
“Simply put, people are 7.5 times more likely to die from Covid-19 in states with corporate legal immunity,” Kim said. “Giving immunity to corporations in care work before the apex of a pandemic leads to higher fatalities. It is clear that businesses, especially nursing homes that interface with Covid-19 positive individuals, are less compelled to implement proper procedures that save lives.”
Azzopardi disputed the report’s findings, calling it a “flaming hot pile of bad math and inaccurate, skewed metrics”. He said the report initially overstated the per-capita death rate in the state’s nursing homes, and he questioned whether it accounts for the fact that other states may share less information than New York.
“The reality is the states cited happened to also be mainly those hardest hit east coast states that received the 3 million travelers from Europe, which brought the virus here for weeks after travel from China was blocked, greatly helping the west coast,” Azzopardi said.
‘The industry gets caught with its pants down … we’re now telling them they don’t have to wear pants’
Azzopardi asserted that the new immunity law “builds on NY Good Samaritan laws which say that if you provide medical help to someone at the scene of an accident in an emergency you are immune from suit”.
But some legal experts counter that the new provision represents a significant departure from the state’s longstanding laws.
Prior to the change, New York statutes went out of their way to declare that nursing home companies and their executives are liable for corporate misconduct. In one high-profile class action case in central New York last year, a judge denied James Square nursing home’s motion to shield owners and shareholders from liability over allegations that the company’s cost-cutting measures endangered patients.
I don’t have a problem with giving frontline workers immunity, it is the people who make the business decisions that kill people Jeremiah Frei-Pearson
“I don’t have a problem with giving frontline workers immunity, it is the people who make the business decisions that kill people – they are the ones who have to be held personally responsible,” said attorney Jeremiah Frei-Pearson, who represented James Square residents in their successful suit, which ultimately forced the company to spend more money to increase staffing at the facility. “Many of the corporate owners are just trying to make money – they don’t care about the elderly people in their custody, and if you take them off the hook, they are going to do the absolute minimum, which risks lives.”
Under Cuomo’s new liability shield law, that kind of ruling may be harder to secure at a time when the Trump administration has been reducing fines against nursing home operators and is now suspending safety enforcement during the pandemic.
“We’ve had a longstanding problem holding nursing homes responsible, because if you look at government enforcement, it’s typically a slap on the wrist. A private lawsuit is often all you have left to hold a nursing home accountable,” said Syracuse University’s Kohn. “Granting immunity sends a terrible message for the future. The industry gets caught with its pants down during the crisis, and we’re now telling them they don’t have to wear pants.”
They could sue but now because of this immunity they cannot
As they push to expand immunity laws across the country, the hospital and nursing home industries have continued to cast their campaign as a necessary defense of medical workers.
“As our care providers make these difficult decisions, they need to know they will not be prosecuted or persecuted,” said an emblematic letter from industry groups pressing California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, to issue an executive order shielding them from legal liability.
And yet Kohn’s research shows that 16 out of the 19 states that created liability protections extended immunity to both individual workers and nursing home facilities as a whole. New York – unlike many other states – explicitly extended the immunity to company executives and corporate board members who are not on the frontlines, but who are making key budget and staffing decisions that affect workers and patients.
Kim says that the expansion beyond healthcare workers is not an accident – he said it deliberately “discourages medical staff and frontline workers in nursing homes from safely coming out against malpractices they might observe from executive leadership”.
That assertion was echoed by University of Wyoming law professor Michael Duff, one of the nation’s leading experts on workplace law. He said that while the change does not modify traditional workers’ compensation protections for hospital or nursing home employees, it could reduce the legal rights of contract workers to demand better safety protections at precisely the moment that healthcare facilities are outsourcing work to third-party staffing firms.
“Often medical personnel in operating rooms and emergency areas are contracted out [and] the same often goes for groups like janitorial services,” said Duff, a former National Labor Relations Board investigator. “Ordinarily, employees of the institutions would be unable to sue because of workers’ compensation exclusive remedy rule. But independent contractors aren’t bound by that rule. They could sue but now because of this immunity they cannot.”
For its part, the Cuomo administration has struck a defiant tone. During a televised press conference this weekend, DeRosa suggested that New York’s nursing-home casualty rates are not anomalously high – and she argued that the state’s “confirmed” death rates are in line with other states, though others have asserted that the state has been undercounting nursing home casualties.
Meanwhile, Cuomo has enlisted titans to lead a 15-member commission focused on “reimagining” New York and its public policies. Among the panel members is Northwell Health’s CEO, Michael Dowling, whose company operates two New York nursing homes where there have been Covid-related deaths.
Northwell Health is a member of the hospital association that lobbied for the immunity provisions, and Dowling is a Cuomo donor.


theguardian--2020-05-26--'You have to respond forcefully': can Joe Biden fight Trump's brutal tactics?

Once , Joe Biden was adamant .
He would wait until after the November election to give his opponent a nickname : “ Former president Donald Trump.
” But as the smears from the president , his family and his campaign grew increasingly caustic , Biden responded with a moniker of his own .
“ I call him President Tweety , ” Biden said this week .
The name was perhaps more a statement of fact than an effective rejoinder to Trump ’ s own nickname for Biden : “ Sleepy Joe ” .
But its genesis also reflected the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appetite for political combat defined his rise to power .
Name-calling , conspiracy-peddling and grievance-airing were parts of the playbook Trump deployed in 2016 , first against 16 Republicans , then against Hillary Clinton .
Now , six months before another election , eager to distract from a pandemic that has killed nearly 100,000 and ravaged the US economy , Trump and his allies are reprising these same brutal tactics , generating a fog of insinuations , accusations and smears .
“ He ’ s going to throw everything and the kitchen sink @ @ @ @ @ @ @ former senior adviser to Biden .
“ And we haven ’ t seen the kitchen sink yet.
” Flush with cash and digital prowess , the Trump campaign recently unveiled an ad offensive targeting Biden on fronts including his age and past comments on China .
Trump hammered the theme in an interview on Sunday , the 73-year-old president accusing his 77-year-old rival of lacking the mental acuity to lead an economic recovery , claiming Biden “ doesn ’ t know he ’ s alive ” .
The president ’ s sons also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fox News , Eric Trump accused Democrats of “ milking ” coronavirus lockdowns to improve their electoral prospects .
Donald Trump Jr shared a meme that baselessly suggested Biden was a pedophile .
The younger Trump claimed he was “ just joking ” – then shared another message that made the same insinuation .
All of that came as Trump launched a dark and unfounded accusation that Barack Obama – and by extension his vice-president – was involved in a plot to undermine his successor .
“ God almighty this is sick , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he dismissed the onslaught as a tired attempt to divert the public from Trump ’ s handling of the coronavirus outbreak , a central theme of the Biden post-primary campaign so far .
Asked if he intended to ignore the president , Biden , who once challenged Trump to a push-up contest , replied : “ I don ’ t want to get down in the mud with these guys.
” And yet his campaign has acknowledged the effectiveness of Trump ’ s tactics in a fundraising email that included a screen grab @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaign blasts to supporters that carried the subject line : Joe Biden Is Guilty .
Biden ’ s campaign , lamenting the falsehoods in the email , warned :  “ It is the EXACT same thing he did in 2016 .
And quite honestly , we ’ re scared because we know it worked last time. ”  ‘ The more he talks , the better off I am ’ The Trump camp hopes to frame the election as it did in 2016 : a choice between an anti-establishment change agent and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is far from certain if it can deliver the same dramatic ending , as the cast , roles and backdrop have all changed significantly .
Trump is now a president with a governing record to defend .
And Biden , despite his vulnerabilities and a lengthy record of his own , is far less polarizing than Clinton , who had been the target of decades of sensationalist attacks .
The campaign looks different too .
It remains uncertain when , if ever , the candidates will be able return to the traditional trail @ @ @ @ @ @ @ debates , even party conventions are in doubt .
And though Biden lacks Trump ’ s bully pulpit , he believes the new landscape has worked to his advantage .
“ The more he talks , the better off I am , ” the challenger said this week .
Yet even by the standards of Trump ’ s presidency , his behavior has alarmed some in his party .
They fear he may cost them the Senate and the White House .
But he has also rattled some Democrats , who warn that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arsenal of the federal government , reinforced by Republican allies in Congress .
“ He used to tweet , ‘ Lock her up , ’ said Jesse Ferguson , a Democratic operative who worked on Clinton ’ s campaign .
“ Now he pressures the justice department to issue a subpoena.
” After Trump alleged criminal conduct by his predecessor in the Oval Office , attorney general William Barr was forced to respond , dismissing the possibility of an investigation into Obama or Biden .
But Barr did not count out investigations of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ look into the matter .
Ron Johnson , of Wisconsin , forged ahead with a vote this week , authorizing a subpoena to investigate business dealings involving Biden ’ s son , Hunter .
Democrats think an anxious nation simply wants leadership in a moment of crisis .
“ [ Trump ] tries to be the master distractor but it ’ s those very distractions that are one of his biggest problems right now , ” Ferguson said .
“ Every time he goes in for a smear , what people see is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump ’ s penchant for conspiracy theories poses a unique problem .
Responding to baseless claims risks elevating them .
Not responding can allow such claims to spread uncontrollably .
Already Trump has elevated unsubstantiated claims about Biden ’ s ties to China , his son ’ s business dealings and the supposed “ deep state ” plot he calls “ Obamagate ” .
Inside the conservative media echo chamber , these messages are easily amplified .
“ Trump is uniquely skilled at this , ” said Tim Miller , a Republican who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaign .
“ He ’ s got a lizard brain for it.
” Miller said it was important to closely monitor stories on social media and fringe websites , to determine what is gaining traction and thus warrants a response .
Part of the trick is knowing when and how to respond .
He said Biden ’ s campaign should arm allies and surrogates with forceful rebuttals , particularly to claims about Hunter Biden and the Obama administration .
Perhaps most importantly , he said , the campaign must be ready to go @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the lessons we learned from 2016 is that just pivoting to policy is not a solution , ” he said .
Biden ’ s campaign has been quick to decry Trump ’ s attacks as a sign of desperation , as the president slides in national polls .
In response to the effort to paint Biden as “ China ’ s puppet ” , an ad hit Trump as soft on Beijing .
And the campaign has also escalated critiques of Trump ’ s response to the coronavirus crisis .
“ We know @ @ @ @ @ @ @ test of leadership , ” Biden said at a virtual Wisconsin rally .
“ He thinks he ’ s a builder but he ’ s a destroyer of everything he touches.
” In turn , the Trump camp has indicated that little will be off limits – even charges that apply equally to the president himself .
When Biden said on Friday that African Americans who don ’ t support him “ ain ’ t black ” , the Trump campaign quickly assembled a press call featuring prominent black supporters of a president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Hours later , Biden apologized .
As one Republican operative described the strategy , “ It ’ s not , ‘ My guy is better than your guy.
’ It ’ s ‘ Your guy isn ’ t as good as you think he is.
’ ” ‘ You can ’ t let any attack go unanswered ’ Give the current national crisis , few strategists believe Trump can successfully reframe the election as anything but a referendum on his record in office .
Democrats say his scattershot messaging suggests his campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attack that sticks .
But even a marginal impact on support or turnout could make a difference in what will likely be another close race , said Ben Tulchin , a top pollster on both Bernie Sanders campaigns for the Democratic nomination .
“ You can ’ t let any attack go unanswered , ” he said .
“ Any attack he makes , you have to respond forcefully .
You can ’ t allow him to define you.
” After nearly 50 years in national politics , Biden believes Trump and his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ change public perception of him .
“ People know me , ” Biden said this week .
“ The good news is the bad news.
” On Friday evening , perhaps seeking to assuage any doubts stoked by Trump ’ s “ Sleepy Joe ” attacks , the candidate outlined for donors a daily workout routine designed by a former White House doctor .
Every exercise and repetition must add up to 46 , Biden said , because he would be the 46th president .
“ I wish I ’ d been the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ It would have been a lot easier .
”

Once, Joe Biden was adamant. He would wait until after the November election to give his opponent a nickname: “Former president Donald Trump.”
But as the smears from the president, his family and his campaign grew increasingly caustic, Biden responded with a moniker of his own.
“I call him President Tweety,” Biden said this week.
The name was perhaps more a statement of fact than an effective rejoinder to Trump’s own nickname for Biden: “Sleepy Joe”. But its genesis also reflected the difficulty of running against a man whose appetite for political combat defined his rise to power.
Name-calling, conspiracy-peddling and grievance-airing were parts of the playbook Trump deployed in 2016, first against 16 Republicans, then against Hillary Clinton.
Now, six months before another election, eager to distract from a pandemic that has killed nearly 100,000 and ravaged the US economy, Trump and his allies are reprising these same brutal tactics, generating a fog of insinuations, accusations and smears.
Trump is going to throw everything and the kitchen sink. And we haven't seen the kitchen sink yet Moe Vela
“He’s going to throw everything and the kitchen sink,” said Moe Vela, a former senior adviser to Biden. “And we haven’t seen the kitchen sink yet.”
Flush with cash and digital prowess, the Trump campaign recently unveiled an ad offensive targeting Biden on fronts including his age and past comments on China. Trump hammered the theme in an interview on Sunday, the 73-year-old president accusing his 77-year-old rival of lacking the mental acuity to lead an economic recovery, claiming Biden “doesn’t know he’s alive”.
The president’s sons also got in on the act. On Fox News, Eric Trump accused Democrats of “milking” coronavirus lockdowns to improve their electoral prospects. Donald Trump Jr shared a meme that baselessly suggested Biden was a pedophile. The younger Trump claimed he was “just joking” – then shared another message that made the same insinuation.
All of that came as Trump launched a dark and unfounded accusation that Barack Obama – and by extension his vice-president – was involved in a plot to undermine his successor.
“God almighty this is sick,” Biden told Yahoo News. But he dismissed the onslaught as a tired attempt to divert the public from Trump’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak, a central theme of the Biden post-primary campaign so far.
Asked if he intended to ignore the president, Biden, who once challenged Trump to a push-up contest, replied: “I don’t want to get down in the mud with these guys.”
And yet his campaign has acknowledged the effectiveness of Trump’s tactics in a fundraising email that included a screen grab of one of the president’s campaign blasts to supporters that carried the subject line: Joe Biden Is Guilty.
Biden’s campaign, lamenting the falsehoods in the email, warned: “It is the EXACT same thing he did in 2016. And quite honestly, we’re scared because we know it worked last time.”
‘The more he talks, the better off I am’
The Trump camp hopes to frame the election as it did in 2016: a choice between an anti-establishment change agent and a corrupt Washington insider. But it is far from certain if it can deliver the same dramatic ending, as the cast, roles and backdrop have all changed significantly.
Donald Trump speaks as Senators John Barrasso and Mitch McConnell wear masks. Photograph: Patrick Semansky/AP
Trump is now a president with a governing record to defend. And Biden, despite his vulnerabilities and a lengthy record of his own, is far less polarizing than Clinton, who had been the target of decades of sensationalist attacks.
The campaign looks different too. It remains uncertain when, if ever, the candidates will be able return to the traditional trail. Under the pandemic, rallies, debates, even party conventions are in doubt. And though Biden lacks Trump’s bully pulpit, he believes the new landscape has worked to his advantage.
“The more he talks, the better off I am,” the challenger said this week.
Yet even by the standards of Trump’s presidency, his behavior has alarmed some in his party. They fear he may cost them the Senate and the White House. But he has also rattled some Democrats, who warn that he now has at his disposal the arsenal of the federal government, reinforced by Republican allies in Congress.
“He used to tweet, ‘Lock her up,’ said Jesse Ferguson, a Democratic operative who worked on Clinton’s campaign. “Now he pressures the justice department to issue a subpoena.”
After Trump alleged criminal conduct by his predecessor in the Oval Office, attorney general William Barr was forced to respond, dismissing the possibility of an investigation into Obama or Biden. But Barr did not count out investigations of Obama aides and Senate Republicans vowed to look into the matter. Ron Johnson, of Wisconsin, forged ahead with a vote this week, authorizing a subpoena to investigate business dealings involving Biden’s son, Hunter.
Democrats think an anxious nation simply wants leadership in a moment of crisis.
“[Trump] tries to be the master distractor but it’s those very distractions that are one of his biggest problems right now,” Ferguson said. “Every time he goes in for a smear, what people see is him avoiding responsibility for his failures.”
‘A lizard brain’
Trump’s penchant for conspiracy theories poses a unique problem. Responding to baseless claims risks elevating them. Not responding can allow such claims to spread uncontrollably.
Already Trump has elevated unsubstantiated claims about Biden’s ties to China, his son’s business dealings and the supposed “deep state” plot he calls “Obamagate”. Inside the conservative media echo chamber, these messages are easily amplified.
One of the lessons we learned from 2016 is that just pivoting to policy is not a solution Tim Miller, former Jeb Bush adviser
“Trump is uniquely skilled at this,” said Tim Miller, a Republican who worked on Jeb Bush’s 2016 campaign. “He’s got a lizard brain for it.”
Miller said it was important to closely monitor stories on social media and fringe websites, to determine what is gaining traction and thus warrants a response.
Part of the trick is knowing when and how to respond. He said Biden’s campaign should arm allies and surrogates with forceful rebuttals, particularly to claims about Hunter Biden and the Obama administration. Perhaps most importantly, he said, the campaign must be ready to go on the offensive.
“One of the lessons we learned from 2016 is that just pivoting to policy is not a solution,” he said.
Biden’s campaign has been quick to decry Trump’s attacks as a sign of desperation, as the president slides in national polls. In response to the effort to paint Biden as “China’s puppet”, an ad hit Trump as soft on Beijing. And the campaign has also escalated critiques of Trump’s response to the coronavirus crisis.
“We know that Donald Trump has utterly failed his test of leadership,” Biden said at a virtual Wisconsin rally. “He thinks he’s a builder but he’s a destroyer of everything he touches.”
In turn, the Trump camp has indicated that little will be off limits – even charges that apply equally to the president himself. When Biden said on Friday that African Americans who don’t support him “ain’t black”, the Trump campaign quickly assembled a press call featuring prominent black supporters of a president whose critics regularly accuse him of racism. Hours later, Biden apologized.
As one Republican operative described the strategy, “It’s not, ‘My guy is better than your guy.’ It’s ‘Your guy isn’t as good as you think he is.’”
‘You can’t let any attack go unanswered’
Give the current national crisis, few strategists believe Trump can successfully reframe the election as anything but a referendum on his record in office. Democrats say his scattershot messaging suggests his campaign is struggling to find a line of attack that sticks.
Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden share a Zoom video call with their granddaughter, Finnegan Biden. Photograph: Brian Cahn/ZUMA Wire/REX/Shutterstock
But even a marginal impact on support or turnout could make a difference in what will likely be another close race, said Ben Tulchin, a top pollster on both Bernie Sanders campaigns for the Democratic nomination.
“You can’t let any attack go unanswered,” he said. “Any attack he makes, you have to respond forcefully. You can’t allow him to define you.”
After nearly 50 years in national politics, Biden believes Trump and his allies face an uphill battle trying to change public perception of him.
“People know me,” Biden said this week. “The good news is the bad news.”
On Friday evening, perhaps seeking to assuage any doubts stoked by Trump’s “Sleepy Joe” attacks, the candidate outlined for donors a daily workout routine designed by a former White House doctor. Every exercise and repetition must add up to 46, Biden said, because he would be the 46th president.
“I wish I’d been the 20th president,” he said. “It would have been a lot easier.”


theguardian--2020-05-27--Revealed: conservative group fighting to restrict voting tied to powerful dark money network

This story was reported in collaboration with OpenSecrets .
A powerful new conservative organization fighting to restrict voting in the 2020 presidential election is really just a rebranded group that is part of a dark money network already helping Donald Trump ’ s unprecedented effort to remake the US federal judiciary , the Guardian and OpenSecrets reveal .
The organization , which calls itself the Honest Elections Project , seemed to emerge out of nowhere a few months ago and started stoking fears about voter fraud .
Backed by a dark money group funded by rightwing stalwarts like the Koch @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Honest Elections Project is part of the network that pushed the US supreme court picks Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch , and is quickly becoming a juggernaut in the escalating fight over voting rights .
The project announced it was spending $ 250,000 in advertisements in April , warning against voting by mail and accusing Democrats of cheating .
It facilitated letters to election officials in Colorado , Florida and Michigan , using misleading data to accuse jurisdictions of having bloated voter rolls and threatening legal action .
Calling voter suppression a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been extremely active in the courts , filing briefs in favor of voting restrictions in Nevada , Virginia , Texas , Wisconsin and Minnesota , among other places , at times represented by lawyers from the same firm that represents Trump .
By having a hand in both voting litigation and the judges on the federal bench , this network could create a system where conservative donors have an avenue to both oppose voting rights and appoint judges to back that effort .
Despite appearing to be a free-standing new operation , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ alias for the Judicial Education Project , a well-financed nonprofit connected to a powerful network of dark money conservative groups , according to business records reviewed by the Guardian and OpenSecrets .
“ These are really well-funded groups that in the context of judicial nominations have been systematically , over the long term but also the short term , kind of pushing an agenda to pack the courts with pretty extreme right wing nominees , ” said Vanita Gupta , the president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ve built over the years has been a really important vehicle for them to do this.
” For nearly a decade , the organization has been almost entirely funded by DonorsTrust , known as a “ dark money ATM ” backed by the Koch network and other prominent conservative donors , according to data tracked by OpenSecrets .
In 2018 , more than 99 % of the Judicial Education Project ’ s funding came from a single $ 7.8m donation from DonorsTrust .
The Judicial Education Project is also closely linked to Leonard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people in Washington who has shaped Donald Trump ’ s unprecedented effort to remake the federal judiciary with conservative judges .
The organization has deftly hidden the changes to its name from public view .
In December , the Judicial Education Project formally changed its legal name to The 85 Fund , a group Leo backed to funnel “ tens of millions ” of dollars into conservative causes , according to Axios .
The Honest Elections Project is merely a fictitious name – an alias – the fund legally adopted in February .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ 85 Fund registered two other legal aliases on the same day , including the Judicial Education Project , its old name .
The legal maneuver allows it to operate under four different names with little public disclosure that it is the same group .
The Judicial Education Project is closely aligned with the Judicial Crisis Network , a group with unmatched influence in recent years in shaping the federal judiciary .
The Judicial Crisis Network spearheaded the campaigns to get Gorsuch and Kavanaugh confirmed to the US supreme court , spending millions of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also spent significantly on critical state supreme court races across the country .
There is a lot of overlap between the Honest Elections Project and the Judicial Crisis Network .
Both groups share personnel , including Carrie Severino , the influential president of the Judicial Crisis Network .
Both groups have been funded by The Wellspring Committee , a group Leo raised money for until it shut down in 2018 .
Both have also paid money to BH Group , an LLC Leo once disclosed as his employer , that made a $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inauguration .
“ This is a small community that is really trying to push forward these more suppressive tactics that will be challenged in court and having those judges on the bench , they ’ re really hoping it ’ s going to continue to rig the system in their favor , ” said Lena Zwarensteyn , who closely follows judicial nominations at the Leadership Conference .
“ By changing the rules of the game and who the referees are , they ’ re trying to change the landscape.
” Neither the Honest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ responded to requests for an interview .
The Honest Elections Project has become active as Republicans are scaling up their efforts to fight to keep voting restrictions in place ahead of the election .
The Republican National Committee will spend at least $ 20m on litigation over voting rights and wants to recruit up to 50,000 people to help monitor the polls and other election activities .
Gupta said seeing a group that has been extremely successful in pushing judicial confirmations turn its attention to voting rights was alarming .
“ It isn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ us that do work in both of these spaces that our opponents [ who ] want to constrict access to voting , access to the courts , who are seeking an anti-inclusive , anti-civil rights agenda are one in the same , ” she said .

This story was reported in collaboration with OpenSecrets.
A powerful new conservative organization fighting to restrict voting in the 2020 presidential election is really just a rebranded group that is part of a dark money network already helping Donald Trump’s unprecedented effort to remake the US federal judiciary, the Guardian and OpenSecrets reveal.
The organization, which calls itself the Honest Elections Project, seemed to emerge out of nowhere a few months ago and started stoking fears about voter fraud. Backed by a dark money group funded by rightwing stalwarts like the Koch brothers and Betsy DeVos’ family, the Honest Elections Project is part of the network that pushed the US supreme court picks Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch, and is quickly becoming a juggernaut in the escalating fight over voting rights.
The project announced it was spending $250,000 in advertisements in April, warning against voting by mail and accusing Democrats of cheating. It facilitated letters to election officials in Colorado, Florida and Michigan, using misleading data to accuse jurisdictions of having bloated voter rolls and threatening legal action.
Calling voter suppression a “myth”, it has also been extremely active in the courts, filing briefs in favor of voting restrictions in Nevada, Virginia, Texas, Wisconsin and Minnesota, among other places, at times represented by lawyers from the same firm that represents Trump. By having a hand in both voting litigation and the judges on the federal bench, this network could create a system where conservative donors have an avenue to both oppose voting rights and appoint judges to back that effort.
Despite appearing to be a free-standing new operation, the Honest Elections Project is just a legal alias for the Judicial Education Project, a well-financed nonprofit connected to a powerful network of dark money conservative groups, according to business records reviewed by the Guardian and OpenSecrets.
“These are really well-funded groups that in the context of judicial nominations have been systematically, over the long term but also the short term, kind of pushing an agenda to pack the courts with pretty extreme right wing nominees,” said Vanita Gupta, the president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. “The infrastructure that they’ve built over the years has been a really important vehicle for them to do this.”
For nearly a decade, the organization has been almost entirely funded by DonorsTrust, known as a “dark money ATM” backed by the Koch network and other prominent conservative donors, according to data tracked by OpenSecrets. In 2018, more than 99% of the Judicial Education Project’s funding came from a single $7.8m donation from DonorsTrust.
The Judicial Education Project is also closely linked to Leonard Leo, one of the most powerful people in Washington who has shaped Donald Trump’s unprecedented effort to remake the federal judiciary with conservative judges.
The organization has deftly hidden the changes to its name from public view. In December, the Judicial Education Project formally changed its legal name to The 85 Fund, a group Leo backed to funnel “tens of millions” of dollars into conservative causes, according to Axios. The Honest Elections Project is merely a fictitious name – an alias – the fund legally adopted in February. The change was nearly indiscernible because The 85 Fund registered two other legal aliases on the same day, including the Judicial Education Project, its old name. The legal maneuver allows it to operate under four different names with little public disclosure that it is the same group.
The Judicial Education Project is closely aligned with the Judicial Crisis Network, a group with unmatched influence in recent years in shaping the federal judiciary. The Judicial Crisis Network spearheaded the campaigns to get Gorsuch and Kavanaugh confirmed to the US supreme court, spending millions of dollars in each instance. It has also spent significantly on critical state supreme court races across the country.
There is a lot of overlap between the Honest Elections Project and the Judicial Crisis Network. Both groups share personnel, including Carrie Severino, the influential president of the Judicial Crisis Network. Both groups have been funded by The Wellspring Committee, a group Leo raised money for until it shut down in 2018. Both have also paid money to BH Group, an LLC Leo once disclosed as his employer, that made a $1m mystery donation to Trump’s inauguration.
The Honest Elections Project is part of the network that pushed the US supreme court picks Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch. Photograph: Doug Mills/Getty Images
“This is a small community that is really trying to push forward these more suppressive tactics that will be challenged in court and having those judges on the bench, they’re really hoping it’s going to continue to rig the system in their favor,” said Lena Zwarensteyn, who closely follows judicial nominations at the Leadership Conference. “By changing the rules of the game and who the referees are, they’re trying to change the landscape.”
Neither the Honest Elections Project nor the Judicial Crisis Network responded to requests for an interview.
The Honest Elections Project has become active as Republicans are scaling up their efforts to fight to keep voting restrictions in place ahead of the election. The Republican National Committee will spend at least $20m on litigation over voting rights and wants to recruit up to 50,000 people to help monitor the polls and other election activities.
Gupta said seeing a group that has been extremely successful in pushing judicial confirmations turn its attention to voting rights was alarming.
“It isn’t any surprise to those of us that do work in both of these spaces that our opponents [who] want to constrict access to voting, access to the courts, who are seeking an anti-inclusive, anti-civil rights agenda are one in the same,” she said.


theguardian--2020-05-27--Republicans sense rich pickings in Biden archive – but will it be made public?

Richard Nixon had tapes .
Hillary Clinton had emails .
Joe Biden has an archive spanning 36 years in the US Senate .
It ’ s a record of his thinking , on everything from criminal justice to the Iraq war , and it could offer rich pickings for reporters and Republican opposition researchers .
The Biden senatorial papers comprise 1,875 boxes of “ photographs , documents , videotapes and files ” and 415 gigabytes of electronic records at the University of Delaware in his home state .
They recently came to public attention when Biden was accused by Tara @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sexually assaulting her in a Capitol Hill basement in 1993 .
While vehemently denying that allegation in a TV interview on 1 May , the former vice-president simultaneously acknowledged the explosive potential of the archive ’ s many other contents .
“ The fact is that there ’ s a lot of things , of speeches I ’ ve made , positions I ’ ve taken , interviews that I did overseas with people , all of those things relating to my job , and the idea that they would all be made @ @ @ @ @ @ @ running for public office , they could be really taken out of context , ” he told interviewer Mika Brzezinski on MSNBC ’ s Morning Joe program .
“ They ’ re papers or position papers , they are documents that existed and that – for example , when I met with [ Vladimir ] Putin or when I met with whomever , and all of that could be fodder in a campaign at this time.
” Biden , 77 , also insisted that the collection does not contain personnel records , sending @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the National Archives and Senate in search of evidence of a complaint filed by Reade at the time of the alleged incident .
The trail went cold , but the University of Delaware treasure trove remains tantalizing .
Last week the Republican National Committee launched a digital advertising campaign , raising questions about whether the university is keeping documents under seal related to the Reade allegation .
One of the ads alleges : “ University of Delaware is complicit in sexual assault cover-up.
” Judicial Watch , a rightwing activist group , is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ grounds to take the university to court for access to the records .
Its president , Tom Fitton , said on Thursday : “ If we find that the documents are being withheld from us contrary to law , we are prepared to sue.
” Biden ’ s defenders argue he is merely following precedent : past senators who ran for president have not been required to disclose all their papers .
But Fitton contended : “ It ’ s not that they ’ re being required ; the question is whether the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he had them at his house , maybe there ’ s an argument , but they ’ re not at his house .
They ’ re at a university and subject to Foia [ Freedom of Information Act ] .
” Biden ’ s records were donated to the University of Delaware in 2012 .
The university did not respond to questions for this article but Andrea Boyle , a spokeswoman , told CNN earlier this month that it is still “ curating the collection ” , a process likely to continue well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not be released until two years after Biden retires from public life .
That is unlikely to deter newspaper editors sensing that Biden , first elected to the Senate in 1972 at the age 29 , is likely to have skeletons in the closet .
His long political career includes the 1991 confirmation hearings for supreme court justice Clarence Thomas , accused of sexual harassment , as well as his support for a 1994 crime law that contributed to mass incarceration .
Then there was his 2003 vote authorizing the invasion of Iraq @ @ @ @ @ @ @ regrets .
Furthermore , critics on the progressive wing of the Democratic party would be eager to scrutinize Biden ’ s links to the financial services industry , a big player in Delaware .
Conservatives might hunt for documents linking Biden ’ s son , Hunter , to overseas business interests .
In a replay of the 2016 campaign , when he encouraged Russia to hack Clinton ’ s emails , Donald Trump may welcome a chance to make mischief by demanding “ transparency ” .
Larry Sabato , director of the Center @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , said : “ His papers are much more voluminous than Hillary Clinton ’ s emails , so I would expect there would be even more stories .
Republicans are going to say , ‘ You just know there ’ s some interesting material at the University of Delaware ’ .
No , there really isn ’ t , but they know it ’ s a safe thing to say because it can ’ t be disproven before the election.
” There are practical objections , Sabato added , but Republicans will seek @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ First of all , you couldn ’ t publish it all or even open it all .
He had an incredibly long career , a 50-year political career , and there are some personal items in there as well , from what I understand .
How could you even manage to make it available to researchers , much less the general public , just a few months ahead of an election ?
It ’ s not going to happen .
“ Therefore , it sets up the Republican line perfectly , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hiding ?
How come he won ’ t show us ?
’ No one out there is going to going to say , ‘ Well , of course , it ’ s an enormous amount of material and why would he and most of it ’ s junk , ’ which is true , by the way .
” Other presidential candidates have faced similar pressures .
Rich Galen , a campaign strategist for actor and former Republican senator Fred Thompson ’ s unsuccessful 2008 bid , recalled : “ His papers from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tennessee and his opponents kept quacking about the fact that we had locked them up , literally , because we didn ’ t want to go through every morning having some 12-year-old take five words out of a 300-word essay and have to defend it all day .
“ So we just said to hell with you , if that ’ s what the fight is going to be about , then the fight will be about not getting access to the papers as opposed to what ’ s in the papers .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to make the case that Biden won ’ t give up the papers at the University of Delaware while Trump has been in federal court for 27 years to protect his financial records .
”

Richard Nixon had tapes. Hillary Clinton had emails. Joe Biden has an archive spanning 36 years in the US Senate. It’s a record of his thinking, on everything from criminal justice to the Iraq war, and it could offer rich pickings for reporters and Republican opposition researchers.
The Biden senatorial papers comprise 1,875 boxes of “photographs, documents, videotapes and files” and 415 gigabytes of electronic records at the University of Delaware in his home state. They recently came to public attention when Biden was accused by Tara Reade, a former staffer, of sexually assaulting her in a Capitol Hill basement in 1993.
While vehemently denying that allegation in a TV interview on 1 May, the former vice-president simultaneously acknowledged the explosive potential of the archive’s many other contents.
“The fact is that there’s a lot of things, of speeches I’ve made, positions I’ve taken, interviews that I did overseas with people, all of those things relating to my job, and the idea that they would all be made public in the fact while I was running for public office, they could be really taken out of context,” he told interviewer Mika Brzezinski on MSNBC’s Morning Joe program.
“They’re papers or position papers, they are documents that existed and that – for example, when I met with [Vladimir] Putin or when I met with whomever, and all of that could be fodder in a campaign at this time.”
Biden, 77, also insisted that the collection does not contain personnel records, sending journalists on a wild goose chase through the National Archives and Senate in search of evidence of a complaint filed by Reade at the time of the alleged incident. The trail went cold, but the University of Delaware treasure trove remains tantalizing.
Last week the Republican National Committee launched a digital advertising campaign, raising questions about whether the university is keeping documents under seal related to the Reade allegation. One of the ads alleges: “University of Delaware is complicit in sexual assault cover-up.”
Judicial Watch, a rightwing activist group, is taking legal advice on whether it has grounds to take the university to court for access to the records. Its president, Tom Fitton, said on Thursday: “If we find that the documents are being withheld from us contrary to law, we are prepared to sue.”
Biden’s defenders argue he is merely following precedent: past senators who ran for president have not been required to disclose all their papers. But Fitton contended: “It’s not that they’re being required; the question is whether the records are available under law. If he had them at his house, maybe there’s an argument, but they’re not at his house. They’re at a university and subject to Foia [Freedom of Information Act].”
Biden’s records were donated to the University of Delaware in 2012. The university did not respond to questions for this article but Andrea Boyle, a spokeswoman, told CNN earlier this month that it is still “curating the collection”, a process likely to continue well into 2021, and the papers will not be released until two years after Biden retires from public life.
It sets up the Republican line perfectly, which is, ‘What’s he hiding? How come he won’t show us?’ Larry Sabato
That is unlikely to deter newspaper editors sensing that Biden, first elected to the Senate in 1972 at the age 29, is likely to have skeletons in the closet. His long political career includes the 1991 confirmation hearings for supreme court justice Clarence Thomas, accused of sexual harassment, as well as his support for a 1994 crime law that contributed to mass incarceration. Then there was his 2003 vote authorizing the invasion of Iraq, which he has since said he regrets.
Furthermore, critics on the progressive wing of the Democratic party would be eager to scrutinize Biden’s links to the financial services industry, a big player in Delaware. Conservatives might hunt for documents linking Biden’s son, Hunter, to overseas business interests. In a replay of the 2016 campaign, when he encouraged Russia to hack Clinton’s emails, Donald Trump may welcome a chance to make mischief by demanding “transparency”.
Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, said: “His papers are much more voluminous than Hillary Clinton’s emails, so I would expect there would be even more stories. Republicans are going to say, ‘You just know there’s some interesting material at the University of Delaware’. No, there really isn’t, but they know it’s a safe thing to say because it can’t be disproven before the election.”
There are practical objections, Sabato added, but Republicans will seek to turn those to their advantage. “First of all, you couldn’t publish it all or even open it all. He had an incredibly long career, a 50-year political career, and there are some personal items in there as well, from what I understand. How could you even manage to make it available to researchers, much less the general public, just a few months ahead of an election? It’s not going to happen.
“Therefore, it sets up the Republican line perfectly, which is, ‘What’s he hiding? How come he won’t show us?’ No one out there is going to going to say, ‘Well, of course, it’s an enormous amount of material and why would he and most of it’s junk,’ which is true, by the way .”
Other presidential candidates have faced similar pressures. Rich Galen, a campaign strategist for actor and former Republican senator Fred Thompson’s unsuccessful 2008 bid, recalled: “His papers from the Senate were at the University of Tennessee and his opponents kept quacking about the fact that we had locked them up, literally, because we didn’t want to go through every morning having some 12-year-old take five words out of a 300-word essay and have to defend it all day.
“So we just said to hell with you, if that’s what the fight is going to be about, then the fight will be about not getting access to the papers as opposed to what’s in the papers. And it’s a little hard to make the case that Biden won’t give up the papers at the University of Delaware while Trump has been in federal court for 27 years to protect his financial records.”


theguardian--2020-05-27--Trump's devoted new press secretary is no different from her predecessors | David Smith

“ I will never lie to you , ” declared Kayleigh McEnany on her debut as the White House press secretary at the start of the month .
“ You have my word on that.
” That would be a welcome change , reasoned critics of Donald Trump , but their hopes of a change in the way his administration communicates have been dashed .
McEnany has stunned viewers with her evangelical devotion to the US president ( “ who I believe is one of the best presidents , if not the best president , this country will ever have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his wildest conspiracy theories and her already-wearing-thin stunt of trying to turn the tables on reporters .
Her briefing on Tuesday was , wrote the Washington Post , “ a case study in gaslighting , whataboutism and false claims ” .
Six times the press secretary was asked about tweets in which Trump promoted a totally debunked conspiracy theory about Joe Scarborough having some role in the death of Lori Klausutis , an aide who served in his office when he was a Republican member of Congress .
Now a TV host on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Six times McEnany ducked the questions .
Klausutis died in 2001 after losing consciousness from an abnormal heart rhythm and hitting her head on a desk .
Her widower has asked Twitter to delete Trump ’ s posts , arguing that he “ has taken something that does not belong to him – the memory of my dead wife – and perverted it for perceived political gain ” .
Jon Karl , the White House correspondent of ABC News , asked : “ Why is the president making these unfounded allegations ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ t it ?
The president is accusing somebody of possible murder ?
The family is pleading with the president to please stop unfounded conspiracy theories .
Why is he doing it ?
” McEnany studied her binder of notes then sought to deflect by pointing to a 2003 radio programme in which host Don Imus can be heard telling a joke about the death of an intern and Scarborough is heard laughing .
“ Well , you know , I would note that the president said this morning that this is not an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not .
In fact , in 2003 , on Don Imus ’ s show , it was Don Imus and Joe Scarborough that joked about killing an intern – joked and laughed about it .
So that was , I ’ m sure , pretty hurtful to Lori ’ s family.
” On Tuesday McEnany was also asked about Trump ’ s tweets that appeared to mock rival Joe Biden for wearing a face mask at a Memorial Day event on Monday .
She gave an odd reply : “ It is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ basement , right next to his wife , he ’ s not wearing a mask , but he ’ s wearing one outdoors when he ’ s socially distanced .
So I think that there was a discrepancy there.
” And as at previous briefings , McEnany also recycled mendacious and misleading claims about “ Obamagate ” and the Russia investigation .
“ John Brennan , of all of the – I ’ ll call them bad actors , because indeed they were – of the Obama administration , John Brennan probably has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said of the former CIA director .
The instant verdict on McEnany was scathing .
Joe Lockhart , a former White House press secretary under Bill Clinton , tweeted : “ @ PressSec entire defense of the President heartlessly causing pain to a Florida family to gain some perceived political position or punish an enemy is to repeatedly talk about an interview that was done in 2003 .
It is beyond disgraceful and pathetic .
Someone come up w/ the word.
” The incident captured growing dismay over the way McEnany , 32 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , has approached the position .
At first glance , she is cordial with reporters and goes out of her way to include all present in the question and answer sessions .
But she also becomes highly combative and has a tendency to end briefings by grilling journalists for not focusing on subjects of her choosing – a move bound to enthrall the Trump base .
Last week , for example , she offered unsolicited advice on what to ask about the case of Trump ’ s former national security adviser Michael Flynn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out a series of questions and perhaps , if I write them out in a slide format – maybe we ’ re visual learners and you guys will follow up with journalistic curiosity , ” she said in a tone many found patronising .
In response , Chris Wallace , the host of Fox News Sunday , told viewers this weekend : “ I spent six years in the White House briefing room covering Ronald Reagan .
I have to say , I never – and in the years since too – I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ act like that.
” Wallace added : “ Kayleigh McEnany isn ’ t acting like she ’ s working for the public .
She acts like she is what she used to be , which is a spokesperson for the Trump campaign.
” Appearing on the same show , Jonah Goldberg , the editor-in-chief of The Dispatch website , described McEnany ’ s behaviour as “ indefensible and grotesque ” .
He added : “ What Donald Trump wants in a press secretary is a Twitter troll who goes on attack , doesn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ job they have and instead wants to impress , really , an audience of one and make another part of official Washington another one of these , essentially , cable news and Twitter laboratory arenas.
” In June 2015 , McEnany had condemned Trump as a “ showman ” but she quickly leaped about the Trump train .
May ’ s briefings suggest she will ride it all the way to the November election .
Kurt Bardella , a political commentator and columnist , said : “ We ’ ve seen that , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ job of White House press secretary as being the chief spokesperson for the Trump re-election campaign .

“I will never lie to you,” declared Kayleigh McEnany on her debut as the White House press secretary at the start of the month. “You have my word on that.”
That would be a welcome change, reasoned critics of Donald Trump, but their hopes of a change in the way his administration communicates have been dashed.
McEnany has stunned viewers with her evangelical devotion to the US president (“who I believe is one of the best presidents, if not the best president, this country will ever have”), her straight-faced defence of his wildest conspiracy theories and her already-wearing-thin stunt of trying to turn the tables on reporters.
Her briefing on Tuesday was, wrote the Washington Post, “a case study in gaslighting, whataboutism and false claims”.
Six times the press secretary was asked about tweets in which Trump promoted a totally debunked conspiracy theory about Joe Scarborough having some role in the death of Lori Klausutis, an aide who served in his office when he was a Republican member of Congress. Now a TV host on MSNBC, Scarborough and Trump spar constantly. Six times McEnany ducked the questions.
Klausutis died in 2001 after losing consciousness from an abnormal heart rhythm and hitting her head on a desk. Her widower has asked Twitter to delete Trump’s posts, arguing that he “has taken something that does not belong to him – the memory of my dead wife – and perverted it for perceived political gain”.
Jon Karl, the White House correspondent of ABC News, asked: “Why is the president making these unfounded allegations? This is pretty nuts, isn’t it? The president is accusing somebody of possible murder? The family is pleading with the president to please stop unfounded conspiracy theories. Why is he doing it?”
McEnany studied her binder of notes then sought to deflect by pointing to a 2003 radio programme in which host Don Imus can be heard telling a joke about the death of an intern and Scarborough is heard laughing.
“Well, you know, I would note that the president said this morning that this is not an original Trump thought, and it is not. In fact, in 2003, on Don Imus’s show, it was Don Imus and Joe Scarborough that joked about killing an intern – joked and laughed about it. So that was, I’m sure, pretty hurtful to Lori’s family.”
Kayleigh McEnany holds a press briefing in Washington on Monday. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
On Tuesday McEnany was also asked about Trump’s tweets that appeared to mock rival Joe Biden for wearing a face mask at a Memorial Day event on Monday. She gave an odd reply: “It is a bit peculiar though that, in his basement, right next to his wife, he’s not wearing a mask, but he’s wearing one outdoors when he’s socially distanced. So I think that there was a discrepancy there.”
And as at previous briefings, McEnany also recycled mendacious and misleading claims about “Obamagate” and the Russia investigation. “John Brennan, of all of the – I’ll call them bad actors, because indeed they were – of the Obama administration, John Brennan probably has the most to answer,” she said of the former CIA director.
The instant verdict on McEnany was scathing. Joe Lockhart, a former White House press secretary under Bill Clinton, tweeted: “PressSec entire defense of the president heartlessly causing pain to a Florida family to gain some perceived political position or punish an enemy is to repeatedly talk about an interview that was done in 2003. It is beyond disgraceful and pathetic. Someone come up w/ the word.”
The incident captured growing dismay over the way McEnany, 32, Trump’s fourth press secretary, has approached the position. At first glance, she is cordial with reporters and goes out of her way to include all present in the question and answer sessions. But she also becomes highly combative and has a tendency to end briefings by grilling journalists for not focusing on subjects of her choosing – a move bound to enthrall the Trump base.
Last week, for example, she offered unsolicited advice on what to ask about the case of Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn. “I would like to lay out a series of questions and perhaps, if I write them out in a slide format – maybe we’re visual learners and you guys will follow up with journalistic curiosity,” she said in a tone many found patronising.
In response, Chris Wallace, the host of Fox News Sunday, told viewers this weekend: “I spent six years in the White House briefing room covering Ronald Reagan. I have to say, I never – and in the years since too – I never saw a White House press secretary act like that.”
Wallace added: “Kayleigh McEnany isn’t acting like she’s working for the public. She acts like she is what she used to be, which is a spokesperson for the Trump campaign.”
Appearing on the same show, Jonah Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of the Dispatch website, described McEnany’s behaviour as “indefensible and grotesque”.
He added: “What Donald Trump wants in a press secretary is a Twitter troll who goes on attack, doesn’t actually care about doing the job they have and instead wants to impress, really, an audience of one and make another part of official Washington another one of these, essentially, cable news and Twitter laboratory arenas.”
In June 2015, McEnany had condemned Trump as a “showman” but she quickly leaped about the Trump train. May’s briefings suggest she will ride it all the way to the November election.
Kurt Bardella, a political commentator and columnist, said: “We’ve seen that, unsurprisingly, Kayleigh McEnany is treating the job of White House press secretary as being the chief spokesperson for the Trump re-election campaign.”


theguardian--2020-05-28--More than 100,000 Americans have now died from coronavirus – as it happened

Sam Johnson , a retired Republican congressman from Texas has died .
He was 89 .
Johnson , a Vietnam @ @ @ @ @ with John McCain at the POW prison that US troops referred to as the “ @ @ @ @ @ a conservative stalwart during his long stint in Congress .
He was a founding member @ @ @ @ @ , a conservative voting bloc in Congress that pushed to defund the National Endowment for @ @ @ @ @ Second Amendment .
Greg Abbott , the Texas governor , called Johnson a “ great @ @ @ @ @ Johnson was a fearless patriot and an American hero , and we are incredibly proud @ @ @ @ @ him a fellow Texan , ” Abbott said in a statement today .

Maanvi Singh, Joan E Greve and Joanna Walters

28 May 2020 01.27 BST The US coronavirus death toll surpassed 100,000. The country now has more than 1.6m reported cases and has recorded more deaths from the disease than any other nation.
The country now has more than 1.6m reported cases and has recorded more deaths from the disease than any other nation. The planned SpaceX launch was scrapped due to bad weather. The president and the vice-president were on hand to witness the launch, but it has been rescheduled for Saturday afternoon. Trump indicated he intends travel back to Florida this weekend.
The president and the vice-president were on hand to witness the launch, but it has been rescheduled for Saturday afternoon. Trump indicated he intends travel back to Florida this weekend. The first-ever House proxy vote was cast. Weeks after the House passed a resolution allowing voting by proxy, congressman Brendan Boyle cast a vote on behalf of fellow Democrat Zoe Lofgren. House Republicans have filed a lawsuit to block the resolution, claiming proxy voting is unconstitutional.
Weeks after the House passed a resolution allowing voting by proxy, congressman cast a vote on behalf of fellow Democrat House have filed a lawsuit to block the resolution, claiming proxy voting is unconstitutional. The secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, told Congress that Hong Kong is no longer autonomous from China. Pompeo’s pronouncement, which came after China issued a law aimed at bringing Hong Kong more under Beijing’s control, could trigger sanctions or other punitive measures against China.
US passes 100,000 coronavirus deaths as states relax lockdown measures Read more
Updated at 01.36 BST
28 May 2020 01.25 BST Sam Johnson, a retired Republican congressman from Texas has died. He was 89. Johnson, a Vietnam war veteran who was jailed with John McCain at the POW prison that US troops referred to as the “Hanoi Hilton”, was a conservative stalwart during his long stint in Congress.
He was a founding member of the Conservative Action Team, a conservative voting bloc in Congress that pushed to defund the National Endowment for the Arts and strengthen the Second Amendment. Greg Abbott, the Texas governor, called Johnson a “great Texan”. “Sam Johnson was a fearless patriot and an American hero, and we are incredibly proud and fortunate to have called him a fellow Texan,” Abbott said in a statement today.
Updated at 01.37 BST
27 May 2020 00.57 BST A million respirator masks sold by a former Trump administration official to the Indian Health Services do not meet federal standards for “use in healthcare settings by health care providers,” according to a report from ProPublica. The masks, which the Indian Health Service purchased to meet a desperate need at Navajo hospitals, are KN95 masks, a Chinese version for N95 masks that do not meet the FDA guidelines, even after the agency relaxed standards during the pandemic. More from ProPublica: ProPublica revealed last week that Zach Fuentes, President Donald Trump’s former deputy chief of staff, formed a company in early April and 11 days later won a $3 million contract with IHS to provide specialized respirator masks to the agency for use in Navajo hospitals. The contract was granted with limited competitive bidding. IHS said its Navajo office “has used every available avenue to purchase more supplies and keep up with the demand.” The masks provided by Fuentes “are not approved by the FDA or covered by an Emergency Use Authorization for use in healthcare settings by health care providers,” the agency said... On Wednesday, IHS told ProPublica the masks sold by Fuentes were made by four Chinese manufacturers and are registered in an FDA database, but have not met the regulator’s relaxed pandemic-era standards for Chinese-made masks. Fuentes charged the government $3.24 per mask, which is higher than the pre-pandemic rates for respirator masks and far higher than prices charged for masks that can’t be used in hospital settings.
Updated at 00.57 BST
27 May 2020 00.50 BST At a virtual fundraiser, Joe Biden said he’d hope to name a running mate at the beginning of August, according to the press pool report. That could mean two more months of speculation if he sticks to that timeline. That said, here is some very well-infomed (and informative) speculation, from The Guardian’s politics team: 05:15 Who will be Joe Biden's running mate? – video
27 May 2020 00.22 BST Joe Biden has addressed the US coronavirus death toll surpassing 100,000. There are moments in our history so grim, so heart-rending, that they're forever fixed in each of our hearts as shared grief. Today is one of those moments. 100,000 lives have now been lost to this virus.
To those hurting, I'm so sorry for your loss. The nation grieves with you. pic.twitter.com/SBBRKV4mPZ — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 27, 2020
27 May 2020 00.15 BST Donald Trump has so far not addressed the US reaching the grim milestone of 100,000 coronavirus deaths. On Twitter, he has vowed to veto the Fisa bill that the House is considering. He has also said that he has personally asked the FBI to expedite an investigation into George Floyd’s killing. After a Minneapolis police officer used his knee to pin down Floyd’s neck, the incident is being investigated for possible civil rights violations. It is unclear what Trump means when he said he “asked for this investigation to be expedited”. ....I have asked for this investigation to be expedited and greatly appreciate all of the work done by local law enforcement. My heart goes out to George’s family and friends. Justice will be served! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 27, 2020
Updated at 00.55 BST
27 May 2020 23.36 BST France is banning the use of hydroxychloroquine to cure Covid-19, according to a decree from the country’s health ministry. The health ministry initially advised against using the drug outside of clinical trials. Shortly afterward, the country also suspended the use of hydroxychloroquine treatment for coronavirus patients in clinical trials as well. The news comes after Donald Trump, who has frequently touted the unproven drug as a cure, said he finished taking a course of the medication as a prophylactic measure. Research so far has found that the antimalarial drug has not been particularly effective in treating coronavirus, though clinical trials are still ongoing.
27 May 2020 23.22 BST The number of recorded coronavirus deaths has just surpassed 100,000. But the actual death toll probably hit that figure days before. And despite scientists’ best efforts, that date may forever go unmarked. Coronavirus was probably spreading through the US before the Trump administration restricted travel from China, before the US had a reliable supply of diagnostic tests, and before the disease caused by the virus was even named. Models of the Covid-19 outbreak estimate that the virus was making its way through America’s major cities, undetected, weeks before a California woman in early February became the first American known to have died of related causes. Researchers are now doing detective work, revisiting autopsies from early this year and studying how the virus has subtly evolved to try to trace when Covid-19 may have first sickened and killed people in the US. Infectious disease experts caution, however, that finding a “patient zero”, or even figuring out exactly how many Americans were infected and died before testing was available, will be nearly impossible. Tracing 'patient zero': why America's first coronavirus death may for ever go unmarked Read more
Updated at 23.49 BST
27 May 2020 23.01 BST As the nation marked a grim milestone, DNC Chair Tom Perez said today “is a dark day in America”. He continued: 100,000 Americans have lost their lives. 100,000. It didn’t have to be this way. Instead of addressing this crisis, Trump spent his weekend golfing. And just last week, he said the fact that the U.S. has the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the world is a ‘badge of honor.’ But there is no honor in today’s numbers. They are a badge of shame that Trump will wear for the rest of his dwindling days in the Oval Office.
27 May 2020 22.50 BST The coronavirus death toll has surpassed 100,000 in the US More than 100,000 Americans with coronavirus have died, four months after the US reported its first confirmed case. The country now has more than 1.6m reported cases and has recorded more deaths from the disease than any other nation. According to Johns Hopkins University data, 100,047 fatalities recorded. The actual death toll is likely higher the official count, experts say. Up to half the deaths in some states have occured among nursing home residents and workers, studies suggest. Almost three times as many black Americans are dying of the virus as white people. Although the number of cases and deaths appears to be trending down in many states, experts are bracing for a possible uptick as states begin reopening businesses.
Almost 100,000 Americans have died from Covid-19. Here is that tragic story in figures Read more
Updated at 22.57 BST