theguardian--2020-05-20--Supreme court temporarily blocks release of testimony from Mueller investigation

The US supreme court has temporarily prevented the House of Representatives from obtaining secret grand jury testimony from special counsel Robert Mueller ’ s Russia investigation .
The court granted the Trump administration ’ s request to keep previously undisclosed details from the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election out of the hands of Democratic lawmakers , at least until early summer .
The court will decide then whether to extend its hold and schedule the case for arguments in the fall .
If it does , it ’ s likely the administration will be able to put @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after election day on 3 November .
Arguments themselves might not even take place before Americans decide whether to give Donald Trump a second term .
For justices eager to avoid a definitive ruling , the delay could mean never having to decide the case , if either Trump loses or Republicans regain control of the House next year .
If Democratic candidate Joe Biden were to win the election against Trump , it ’ s hard to imagine his administration would object to turning over the Mueller documents , or if Republicans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ equally hard to see them continue to press for them .
The federal appeals court in Washington ruled in March that the documents should be turned over because the House judiciary committee ’ s need for the material in its investigation of Trump outweighed the justice department ’ s interests in keeping the testimony secret .
Solicitor general Noel Francisco filed a request with the supreme court earlier this month to temporarily block the federal appeals court ’ s order , arguing it would cause “ irreparable harm ” to the federal government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the grand jury material .
“ Once the government discloses the secret grand-jury records , their secrecy will irrevocably be lost , ” Francisco wrote .
“ That is particularly so when , as here , they are disclosed to a congressional committee and its staff.
” Mueller ’ s 448-page report , issued in April 2019 , “ stopped short ” of reaching conclusions about Trump ’ s conduct , including whether he obstructed justice , to avoid stepping on the House ’ s impeachment power , the appeals court said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ that it needed access to the underlying grand jury material to make its own determinations about the president ’ s actions , the court said .
The materials initially were sought last summer , but by the time the appeals court ruled in March , Trump had been impeached by the House and acquitted by the Senate .
The justice department said in its supreme court filings that the court ’ s action was needed in part because the House hasn ’ t given any indication it “ urgently needs these materials for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ House had opposed the delay on the grounds that its investigation of Trump was continuing , and that time is of the essence because of the approaching election .
The current session of the House will end 3 January , and lawmakers elected in November will take their seats .
The committee investigation “ continues today and has further developed in light of recent events ” , the House told the justices , citing the “ possible exercise of improper political influence ” on decisions to seek a shorter prison term for Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of former national security adviser Michael Flynn , despite his two guilty pleas .
The case is one of several ongoing court disputes between the Trump administration and Congress .
The supreme court heard arguments last week over whether Trump ’ s accountants and banks must turn over financial records to House committees .
The administration is not a party to the case , but is backing the president .
The appeals court also is weighing whether former White House counsel Don McGahn must appear before the committee to answer questions related to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ department has said it will ask the supreme court to step in and kill a lawsuit alleging that Trump is illegally profiting off the presidency through his luxury Washington hotel .
Mueller ’ s report detailed multiple interactions between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia , and examined several episodes involving the president for potential obstruction of justice .
Mueller said his team did not find sufficient evidence to establish a criminal conspiracy between the campaign and the Kremlin to tip the election , though pointedly noted that he could not exonerate the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ report were blacked out , including grand jury testimony and material that Mueller said could harm ongoing investigations or infringe on the privacy of third parties .
Grand jury testimony is typically treated as secret , in part to protect the privacy of people who are not charged or are considered peripheral to a criminal investigation .
But several exceptions allow for the material to be turned over , including if it is in connection with a judicial proceeding .
Lower courts agreed with lawmakers that impeachment is considered a judicial proceeding , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The Associated Press contributed to this report

The US supreme court has temporarily prevented the House of Representatives from obtaining secret grand jury testimony from special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.
The court granted the Trump administration’s request to keep previously undisclosed details from the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election out of the hands of Democratic lawmakers, at least until early summer.
The court will decide then whether to extend its hold and schedule the case for arguments in the fall. If it does, it’s likely the administration will be able to put off the release of any materials until after election day on 3 November. Arguments themselves might not even take place before Americans decide whether to give Donald Trump a second term.
For justices eager to avoid a definitive ruling, the delay could mean never having to decide the case, if either Trump loses or Republicans regain control of the House next year. If Democratic candidate Joe Biden were to win the election against Trump, it’s hard to imagine his administration would object to turning over the Mueller documents, or if Republicans won the House, it would be equally hard to see them continue to press for them.
The federal appeals court in Washington ruled in March that the documents should be turned over because the House judiciary committee’s need for the material in its investigation of Trump outweighed the justice department’s interests in keeping the testimony secret.
Solicitor general Noel Francisco filed a request with the supreme court earlier this month to temporarily block the federal appeals court’s order, arguing it would cause “irreparable harm” to the federal government if House Democrats were allowed to review the grand jury material.
“Once the government discloses the secret grand-jury records, their secrecy will irrevocably be lost,” Francisco wrote. “That is particularly so when, as here, they are disclosed to a congressional committee and its staff.”
Mueller’s 448-page report, issued in April 2019, “stopped short” of reaching conclusions about Trump’s conduct, including whether he obstructed justice, to avoid stepping on the House’s impeachment power, the appeals court said.
The committee was able to persuasively argue that it needed access to the underlying grand jury material to make its own determinations about the president’s actions, the court said.
The materials initially were sought last summer, but by the time the appeals court ruled in March, Trump had been impeached by the House and acquitted by the Senate.
The justice department said in its supreme court filings that the court’s action was needed in part because the House hasn’t given any indication it “urgently needs these materials for any ongoing impeachment investigation”.
The House had opposed the delay on the grounds that its investigation of Trump was continuing, and that time is of the essence because of the approaching election. The current session of the House will end 3 January, and lawmakers elected in November will take their seats.
The committee investigation “continues today and has further developed in light of recent events”, the House told the justices, citing the “possible exercise of improper political influence” on decisions to seek a shorter prison term for Trump confidant Roger Stone and end the prosecution of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, despite his two guilty pleas.
The case is one of several ongoing court disputes between the Trump administration and Congress.
The supreme court heard arguments last week over whether Trump’s accountants and banks must turn over financial records to House committees. The administration is not a party to the case, but is backing the president.
The appeals court also is weighing whether former White House counsel Don McGahn must appear before the committee to answer questions related to the Mueller investigation. And the justice department has said it will ask the supreme court to step in and kill a lawsuit alleging that Trump is illegally profiting off the presidency through his luxury Washington hotel.
Mueller’s report detailed multiple interactions between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia, and examined several episodes involving the president for potential obstruction of justice. Mueller said his team did not find sufficient evidence to establish a criminal conspiracy between the campaign and the Kremlin to tip the election, though pointedly noted that he could not exonerate the president for obstruction.
Portions of the report were blacked out, including grand jury testimony and material that Mueller said could harm ongoing investigations or infringe on the privacy of third parties.
Grand jury testimony is typically treated as secret, in part to protect the privacy of people who are not charged or are considered peripheral to a criminal investigation. But several exceptions allow for the material to be turned over, including if it is in connection with a judicial proceeding.
Lower courts agreed with lawmakers that impeachment is considered a judicial proceeding, rejecting justice department arguments to the contrary.


theguardian--2020-05-20--Trump considers an in-person G7 meeting despite coronavirus pandemic

Donald Trump has said he may seek to revive a face-to-face meeting of Group of Seven leaders near Washington , after earlier canceling the gathering due to the coronavirus pandemic .
“ I am considering rescheduling the G-7 , on the same or similar date , in Washington , D.C. , at the legendary Camp David , ” the US president tweeted on Wednesday .
“ The other members are also beginning their COMEBACK .
It would be a great sign to all – normalization !
” In March , the Republican president canceled the physical summit scheduled for June @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nations grappled with the shutdown of international travel and multiple closures to fight the outbreak .
The leaders ’ April and May discussions were also moved to teleconference .
But Trump , who is head of the G7 this year , said an in-person summit would be a symbol of the United States and other countries seeking to return to normal , something the president has urged should happen quickly despite concerns from public health experts .
The French president , Emmanuel Macron , is open to traveling to the United States for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the coronavirus pandemic situation allows , an Elysee official said on Wednesday .
“ He ’ s open , he ’ s even willing to go there , but obviously with this caveat : only if the sanitary conditions allow , ” the official said , after the two leaders talked on the phone .
All 50 US states have sought to reopen at least partially as of Wednesday , although the nation ’ s capital and its suburbs remain largely shuttered .
Camp David is an hour ’ s drive north of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic has afflicted the United States more than any other country , with more than 1.5m known infections and more than 90,000 deaths .

Donald Trump has said he may seek to revive a face-to-face meeting of Group of Seven leaders near Washington, after earlier canceling the gathering due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“I am considering rescheduling the G-7, on the same or similar date, in Washington, D.C., at the legendary Camp David,” the US president tweeted on Wednesday. “The other members are also beginning their COMEBACK. It would be a great sign to all – normalization!”
In March, the Republican president canceled the physical summit scheduled for June, moving to a video conference as nations grappled with the shutdown of international travel and multiple closures to fight the outbreak.
The leaders’ April and May discussions were also moved to teleconference.
But Trump, who is head of the G7 this year, said an in-person summit would be a symbol of the United States and other countries seeking to return to normal, something the president has urged should happen quickly despite concerns from public health experts.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, is open to traveling to the United States for an in-person meeting of G7 leaders if the coronavirus pandemic situation allows, an Elysee official said on Wednesday.
“He’s open, he’s even willing to go there, but obviously with this caveat: only if the sanitary conditions allow,” the official said, after the two leaders talked on the phone.
All 50 US states have sought to reopen at least partially as of Wednesday, although the nation’s capital and its suburbs remain largely shuttered. Camp David is an hour’s drive north of Washington in Thurmont, Maryland.
The pandemic has afflicted the United States more than any other country, with more than 1.5m known infections and more than 90,000 deaths.


theguardian--2020-05-20--Only man convicted over 9/11 says he is renouncing terrorism and Bin Laden

The only man ever convicted in a US court for a role in the 9/11 attacks has said he is renouncing terrorism , al-Qaida and the Islamic State .
Zacarias Moussaoui is serving a life sentence at a federal prison in Colorado after narrowly escaping the death penalty at his 2006 trial .
Prosecutors argued that he could have prevented the attacks if he had not lied to the FBI about his knowledge of al-Qaida and its efforts to attack the US when he was arrested in August 2001 .
In a handwritten court motion Moussaoui filed with the federal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wrote : “ I denounce , repudiate Osama bin Laden as a useful idiot of the CIA/Saudi .
I also proclaim unequivocally my opposition to any terrorist action , attack , propaganda against the US.
” He also said he wanted “ to warn young Muslim against the deception and the manipulation of these fake jihadis ” .
His remarks are a far cry from his 2006 trial , when he taunted victims and flashed a victory sign after a jury opted to send him to prison for life rather than execute him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he said “ God save Osama bin Laden.
” Bin Laden was killed in a raid by US forces on a compound in Pakistan in 2011 .
Moussaoui made his renunciation in a petition seeking relaxation of the conditions under which he serves his sentence .
In particular , he says he wants either Donald Trump ’ s lawyer Rudy Giuliani or Alan Dershowitz to represent him as a lawyer , so he can testify in a civil trial filed by victims of the 9/11 attacks .
He has written numerous letters seeking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and at the military trials of al-Qaida members including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed .
But as recently as 2018 , he continued to refer to himself as a “ natural born terrorist “ in court papers .
In another handwritten motion that year , he concluded his motion with “ God Curse Ugly Satan of Abomination ” in huge letters .
Katherine Donahue , who wrote a book about Moussaoui after attending his 2006 trial , said she was unaware of any other instance in which he had renounced terrorism or Bin Laden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in prison ] 14 years .
It ’ s a long time to think about what you ’ ve done , ” she said .
“ I don ’ t see him lying .
There were so many ways he could have helped himself before by lying ” – but she said he didn ’ t .
Terry Strada , whose husband died in the attack on the World Trade Center and is one of the plaintiffs suing Saudi Arabia for its alleged complicity in the attacks , was more skeptical .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that he ’ s reformed himself in prison , ” she said .
“ I wouldn ’ t trust him around anybody ’ s youth.
” US district Judge Leonie Brinkema , who presided over Moussaoui ’ s trial and was regularly subjected to Moussaoui ’ s insults in court papers , denied his request and said any grievance he has about the treatment he is receiving in prison should be filed in Colorado , where he resides .

Associated Press in Alexandria, Virginia

The only man ever convicted in a US court for a role in the 9/11 attacks has said he is renouncing terrorism, al-Qaida and the Islamic State.
Zacarias Moussaoui is serving a life sentence at a federal prison in Colorado after narrowly escaping the death penalty at his 2006 trial.
Prosecutors argued that he could have prevented the attacks if he had not lied to the FBI about his knowledge of al-Qaida and its efforts to attack the US when he was arrested in August 2001.
In a handwritten court motion Moussaoui filed with the federal court in Alexandria last month, Moussaoui wrote: “I denounce, repudiate Osama bin Laden as a useful idiot of the CIA/Saudi. I also proclaim unequivocally my opposition to any terrorist action, attack, propaganda against the US.”
He also said he wanted “to warn young Muslim against the deception and the manipulation of these fake jihadis”.
His remarks are a far cry from his 2006 trial, when he taunted victims and flashed a victory sign after a jury opted to send him to prison for life rather than execute him.
At his final sentencing hearing, he said “God save Osama bin Laden.” Bin Laden was killed in a raid by US forces on a compound in Pakistan in 2011.
Moussaoui made his renunciation in a petition seeking relaxation of the conditions under which he serves his sentence. In particular, he says he wants either Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani or Alan Dershowitz to represent him as a lawyer, so he can testify in a civil trial filed by victims of the 9/11 attacks.
He has written numerous letters seeking to testify at the 9/11 civil trial, and at the military trials of al-Qaida members including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
But as recently as 2018, he continued to refer to himself as a “natural born terrorist“ in court papers. In another handwritten motion that year, he concluded his motion with “God Curse Ugly Satan of Abomination” in huge letters.
Katherine Donahue, who wrote a book about Moussaoui after attending his 2006 trial, said she was unaware of any other instance in which he had renounced terrorism or Bin Laden.
“He’s been [in prison] 14 years. It’s a long time to think about what you’ve done,” she said. “I don’t see him lying. There were so many ways he could have helped himself before by lying” – but she said he didn’t.
Terry Strada, whose husband died in the attack on the World Trade Center and is one of the plaintiffs suing Saudi Arabia for its alleged complicity in the attacks, was more skeptical.
“I don’t trust him, that he’s reformed himself in prison,” she said. “I wouldn’t trust him around anybody’s youth.”
US district Judge Leonie Brinkema, who presided over Moussaoui’s trial and was regularly subjected to Moussaoui’s insults in court papers, denied his request and said any grievance he has about the treatment he is receiving in prison should be filed in Colorado, where he resides.


theguardian--2020-05-20--Campaign wars: Trump rallies base while Biden tries to broaden his

Diving into the campaign app for Donald Trump ’ s re-election campaign results in a radically different experience than the app for Joe Biden ’ s campaign .
It is a difference that illustrates a key aspect of how the Trump campaign is going about organizing online during the coronavirus pandemic versus Biden ’ s effort : the former is mobilizing its own base , and the latter is seeking to broaden it .
The Trump campaign ’ s app and digital footprint increasingly reflects an emphasis on activating its passionate communities of supporters .
Meanwhile , the Biden campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ traditional approach , with an app and organizing events that point more to the list-building approach common among federal and statewide campaigns .
It allows for voters that aren ’ t necessarily hardcore Democrats or Biden supporters .
In a campaign where door-to-door knocking is limited because of the coronavirus , strategists are having to explore new online ways of rallying voters and collecting information on potential supporters .
“ People don ’ t want you to knock on their door any more .
Digital does that now .
They haven ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ old people want to go to events .
Well , you ’ ve seen digital solve all that with Zoom .
You ’ ve seen digital solve that with an app , ” said Republican strategist Jim McIntosh .
“ Coronavirus has sped up the natural cycle of things .
We were already going this way but digital impact will have the biggest impact this year.
” Strategists have taken note of the differences in the two presidential campaigns ’ approach .
“ What Trump is doing with the app that I think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s really building up this idea of ‘ us versus them .
You ’ re on our team .
You ’ re with us , ’ ” said Democratic digital strategist Stefan Smith , former online engagement director for Pete Buttigieg ’ s presidential campaign .
“ So you become this sort of under-siege political minority … because that ’ s the language they ’ re using , even though they ’ re winning .
That mentality keeps them feeling like , ‘ OK , we have to stay together ’ , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” The difference between the two apps is apparent from the minute the downloads have completed .
The Trump campaign app sends out multiple email alerts over a few days – the Biden campaign app over the same period barely sent out any .
Both campaign apps offer updated lists of events , but the Trump campaign app also offers other ways to help it .
You can help registering voters , become “ a bundler ” for fundraising , “ Host a Maga meet-up ” , join the campaign ’ s election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump team leader ” .
There ’ s also a point system on the app for rewards .
“ This is about energizing the base and getting more out of the same people , ” said Republican strategist and ad maker Will Ritter .
For the Biden campaign app , there are standard links to make calls , send texts , volunteer and donate , and a list of campaign events .
But there is no point system .
And the variety of ways to engage with the campaign is smaller .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ events online .
Both campaigns send out fundraising and supporter emails .
Both campaigns have migrated mostly to holding events online with surrogates .
For Biden , it ’ s often himself and other elected officials or leaders of various wings of the Democratic party ; for Trump , it ’ s minor icons within the larger Trump movement .
But the Trump campaign has been much more aggressive about slicing up and offering various groups for Trump supporters .
The campaign regularly distributes a weekly broadcast schedule of online events with groups @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and “ Maga Mamas ” and an event featuring Lara Trump , the president ’ s daughter-in-law .
Trump himself doesn ’ t participate in those events but he doesn ’ t have to as he has the bully pulpit of his office .
Oftentimes during the pandemic official White House events involving Trump have been featured live on major cable networks .
Smith said that another major difference between the campaign ’ s online approach has been the types of voters the campaigns are trying to reach .
“ [ The Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ putting things on your own social media profile .
Like if you look at the instructions on the app , ” Smith said , pointing to the step-by-step instructions on the Trump campaign app to invite friends and use specific hashtags .
Those directions are for a specific audience of older Trump supporters who may not be as savvy as younger voters .
“ It has instructions in the app – ‘ How do you sign up for a Facebook page ?
’ Not : how do you post on one ?
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get on Facebook just to spread news about the president to earn points so that they can maybe see him and get merch or whatever.
” Smith added : “ This is a base strategy .
This is the assumption that if we can get everybody in the same direction and we don ’ t lose anybody then we can keep them.
” Even before the Democratic presidential primary shrank to only Biden , strategists fretted about the data lead Republicans and the Trump campaign had been building over their Democratic rivals .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump campaign scares me a little , ” Smith warned .
“ They have so much runway , they have so much data.
” The Biden campaign has been working to catch up .
Recently the campaign has been on a hiring spree , bringing in a swath of new digital staffers .
Even before the coronavirus pandemic emerged , the Trump campaign was more focused on rallying base voters with its big rallies .
That was a sign , Ritter said , of where the campaign ’ s priorities have been .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ not to just excite the human beings in the room .
It gives a thing for your base supporters to participate in .
Maybe , while they ’ re there and pumped up you can push them farther down the funnel , ” Ritter said .
“ You can turn the supporter to a volunteer , and a volunteer to a door knocker or a donor .
You ’ ve got to feed the beast .
You ’ ve got to give supporters a place to put their energy and enthusiasm , to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ watch because an email that says : ‘ Stay tuned , Joe Biden is about to do another Zoom from his basement !
’ – it ’ s not going to get the job done , ” Ritter added .

Diving into the campaign app for Donald Trump’s re-election campaign results in a radically different experience than the app for Joe Biden’s campaign.
It is a difference that illustrates a key aspect of how the Trump campaign is going about organizing online during the coronavirus pandemic versus Biden’s effort: the former is mobilizing its own base, and the latter is seeking to broaden it.
The Trump campaign’s app and digital footprint increasingly reflects an emphasis on activating its passionate communities of supporters. Meanwhile, the Biden campaign has thus far taken a far more traditional approach, with an app and organizing events that point more to the list-building approach common among federal and statewide campaigns. It allows for voters that aren’t necessarily hardcore Democrats or Biden supporters.
In a campaign where door-to-door knocking is limited because of the coronavirus, strategists are having to explore new online ways of rallying voters and collecting information on potential supporters.
“People don’t want you to knock on their door any more. Digital does that now. They haven’t wanted to go to events. Only old people want to go to events. Well, you’ve seen digital solve all that with Zoom. You’ve seen digital solve that with an app,” said Republican strategist Jim McIntosh. “Coronavirus has sped up the natural cycle of things. We were already going this way but digital impact will have the biggest impact this year.”
Strategists have taken note of the differences in the two presidential campaigns’ approach.
“What Trump is doing with the app that I think is so interesting … is he’s really building up this idea of ‘us versus them. You’re on our team. You’re with us,’” said Democratic digital strategist Stefan Smith, former online engagement director for Pete Buttigieg’s presidential campaign.
“So you become this sort of under-siege political minority … because that’s the language they’re using, even though they’re winning. That mentality keeps them feeling like, ‘OK, we have to stay together’, and then you’re getting constant uploads.”
The difference between the two apps is apparent from the minute the downloads have completed.
The Trump campaign app sends out multiple email alerts over a few days – the Biden campaign app over the same period barely sent out any. Both campaign apps offer updated lists of events, but the Trump campaign app also offers other ways to help it. You can help registering voters, become “a bundler” for fundraising, “Host a Maga meet-up”, join the campaign’s election day team, or “Become a Trump team leader”. There’s also a point system on the app for rewards.
“This is about energizing the base and getting more out of the same people,” said Republican strategist and ad maker Will Ritter.
For the Biden campaign app, there are standard links to make calls, send texts, volunteer and donate, and a list of campaign events. But there is no point system. And the variety of ways to engage with the campaign is smaller.
It’s a similar situation with supporter events online. Both campaigns send out fundraising and supporter emails. Both campaigns have migrated mostly to holding events online with surrogates. For Biden, it’s often himself and other elected officials or leaders of various wings of the Democratic party; for Trump, it’s minor icons within the larger Trump movement.
Joe Biden in San Diego last year. His campaign has been on a hiring spree, bringing in a swath of new digital staffers. Photograph: Mike Blake/Reuters
But the Trump campaign has been much more aggressive about slicing up and offering various groups for Trump supporters. The campaign regularly distributes a weekly broadcast schedule of online events with groups like “Black Voices for Trump” and “Maga Mamas” and an event featuring Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law. Trump himself doesn’t participate in those events but he doesn’t have to as he has the bully pulpit of his office. Oftentimes during the pandemic official White House events involving Trump have been featured live on major cable networks.
Smith said that another major difference between the campaign’s online approach has been the types of voters the campaigns are trying to reach.
“[The Trump] ecosystem is really about sharing, putting things on your own social media profile. Like if you look at the instructions on the app,” Smith said, pointing to the step-by-step instructions on the Trump campaign app to invite friends and use specific hashtags.
Those directions are for a specific audience of older Trump supporters who may not be as savvy as younger voters. “It has instructions in the app – ‘How do you sign up for a Facebook page?’ Not: how do you post on one? But they’re helping their older supporters get on Facebook just to spread news about the president to earn points so that they can maybe see him and get merch or whatever.”
Smith added: “This is a base strategy. This is the assumption that if we can get everybody in the same direction and we don’t lose anybody then we can keep them.”
Even before the Democratic presidential primary shrank to only Biden, strategists fretted about the data lead Republicans and the Trump campaign had been building over their Democratic rivals.
“As a digital professional, the Trump campaign scares me a little,” Smith warned. “They have so much runway, they have so much data.”
The Biden campaign has been working to catch up. Recently the campaign has been on a hiring spree, bringing in a swath of new digital staffers.
Even before the coronavirus pandemic emerged, the Trump campaign was more focused on rallying base voters with its big rallies. That was a sign, Ritter said, of where the campaign’s priorities have been.
“The purpose of a rally is not to just excite the human beings in the room. It gives a thing for your base supporters to participate in. Maybe, while they’re there and pumped up you can push them farther down the funnel,” Ritter said.
“You can turn the supporter to a volunteer, and a volunteer to a door knocker or a donor. You’ve got to feed the beast. You’ve got to give supporters a place to put their energy and enthusiasm, to organize around, give them something to watch because an email that says: ‘Stay tuned, Joe Biden is about to do another Zoom from his basement!’ – it’s not going to get the job done,” Ritter added.


theguardian--2020-05-20--He opposed public lands and wildlife protections. Trump gave him a top environment job

In July 2017 , William Perry Pendley , a crusading conservative attorney , delivered a speech to a group of rightwing activists in North Carolina in which he was completely candid about his ideological commitments .
He accused “ the media ” of selling “ their soul to the greens ” .
And after criticizing the Endangered Species Act , he made light of killing endangered species .
“ This is why out west we say ‘ shoot , shovel and shut up ’ when it comes to the discovery of endangered species on your property , ” he said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the event obtained by the Guardian .
“ And I have to say , as a lawyer , that ’ s not legal advice , ” he added , as some in his audience quietly snickered at the reference to the illegal extermination , and the burial , of endangered animals .
It has been almost three years since he gave those remarks , and Pendley is now the acting director of the Bureau of Land Management , or BLM , a powerful agency that oversees more than 240m acres of federal land @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mineral resources and is required to comply with environmental laws like the Endangered Species Act .
Pendley has helped turn BLM into what one high-level employee , who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals , called “ a ghost ship ” in which “ suspicion ” , “ fear ” and “ low morale ” abound , despite the best efforts of career civil servants to support each other .
As Pendley and his superiors at the interior department press ahead with an effort to move BLM ’ s headquarters from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the agency has hemorrhaged staff members and lost critical institutional memory , which many critics believe was the true purpose of the relocation effort all along .
“ A skeleton crew is left ” at BLM headquarters , said the employee .
“ So few people were able to move west that a lot of people retired early and a lot of people took other jobs , so my ballpark estimate is there is only about 20 % of permanent employees left ” at headquarters .
As a result , the agency @ @ @ @ @ @ @ duties , like responding to public records requests and conducting oversight of state and regional operations , the staffer added .
Environmental and government watchdog groups are now responding with a lawsuit that calls into question the legitimacy of Pendley ’ s position .
Last week a pair of environmental nonprofits sued the interior department , alleging that by repeatedly tapping Pendley as the BLM ’ s acting director , rather than officially nominating him for the position , the interior secretary has skirted the Senate confirmation process usually required for high-level executive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ law .
“ The illegitimate Pendley appointment is particularly troublesome because he has forcibly moved the BLM Headquarters from Washington DC , to remote western Colorado , ” said Peter Jenkins , a senior counsel at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility , one of the groups that sued .
“ In doing so he uprooted the lives of scores of seasoned BLM staff and disrupted this already strained agency.
” “ Mr Pendley brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the department and is committed to carrying out the administration ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ … mission for the betterment of the American people , ” said Conner Swanson , the spokesperson .
“ Mr Pendley has provided a steady hand in facilitating important matters , from the BLM headquarters move west to its response to Covid-19.
” Swanson has said that the lawsuit against Pendley is “ baseless ” .
Pendley , a tall man with a handlebar mustache and a penchant for cowboy boots , has remarked in the past that his “ personal opinions are irrelevant ” to his job at BLM .
“ I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ m a zealous advocate for my client .
My client is the American people and my bosses are the president of the United States and [ interior ] secretary [ David ] Bernhardt , ” Pendley said during an appearance at the conference of the Society of Environmental Journalists in Fort Collins , Colorado , last year .
“ What I thought , what I wrote , what I did in the past is irrelevant .
I have orders , I have laws to obey , and I intend to do that.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and wildlife protections .
After serving in the Reagan administration in the 1980s , he became the president of the Mountain States Legal Foundation ( MSLF ) , a conservative litigation organization funded by conservative and industry groups including the Charles Koch Foundation and Exxon Mobil , according to research from the watchdog groups Documented and Accountable.US .
Under Pendley ’ s leadership , the firm was a persistent foe of federal land agencies , getting involved in dozens of cases on behalf of industry groups and private landowners to challenge environmental protections @ @ @ @ @ @ @ became something of a fixture among the anti-government set , writing numerous books extolling rebellion against public lands and the federal government .
He has expressed sympathy in the past for the Bundy family , whose militant agitation against federal land ownership included the armed takeover of the Malheur national wildlife refuge in 2016 .
He has compared climate change to unicorns because “ neither exist ” .
And in a 2016 National Review article , he laid out a case that argued for the near-total abolition of federal public lands across the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ legal advocacy on behalf of extractive industries , Pendley brought with him a 17-page recusal list of past clients , employers and investments when he took control of the BLM in 2019 .
The list included groups such as the American Exploration & Mining Association and the Petroleum Association of Wyoming .
It has been nearly impossible for the public to know whether Pendley has abided by his recusal list , however , because the BLM has failed to release his detailed official calendar to the public .
Though Pendley has long been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ always had kind words for Donald Trump .
In a 2016 op-ed in the Daily Caller , for instance , he said then-candidate Trump “ is not fit to pull off Reagan ’ s boots ” .
Apart from Pendley ’ s role in moving BLM ’ s headquarters to Colorado , the agency under his leadership has also repeatedly proposed land management plans that heavily promote the energy industry .
In March , for instance , conservationists in Montana came out aggressively against a BLM resource management plan that they believe is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gas interests , according to the Billings Gazette .
In a statement issued earlier this year , Representative Raúl Grijalva , the chairman of the House natural resources committee , expressed his concerns over Pendley .
“ Anyone who wants our land management agencies to be functional in the future needs to recognize the seriousness of what Secretary Bernhardt , acting director Pendley , and their subordinates are doing .
”

In July 2017, William Perry Pendley, a crusading conservative attorney, delivered a speech to a group of rightwing activists in North Carolina in which he was completely candid about his ideological commitments.
He accused “the media” of selling “their soul to the greens”. And after criticizing the Endangered Species Act, he made light of killing endangered species.
“This is why out west we say ‘shoot, shovel and shut up’ when it comes to the discovery of endangered species on your property,” he said, according to an audio recording of the event obtained by the Guardian. “And I have to say, as a lawyer, that’s not legal advice,” he added, as some in his audience quietly snickered at the reference to the illegal extermination, and the burial, of endangered animals.
It has been almost three years since he gave those remarks, and Pendley is now the acting director of the Bureau of Land Management, or BLM, a powerful agency that oversees more than 240m acres of federal land belonging to the American people, manages mineral resources and is required to comply with environmental laws like the Endangered Species Act.
Pendley has helped turn BLM into what one high-level employee, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals, called “a ghost ship” in which “suspicion”, “fear” and “low morale” abound, despite the best efforts of career civil servants to support each other.
As Pendley and his superiors at the interior department press ahead with an effort to move BLM’s headquarters from Washington DC to Grand Junction, Colorado, the agency has hemorrhaged staff members and lost critical institutional memory, which many critics believe was the true purpose of the relocation effort all along.
“A skeleton crew is left” at BLM headquarters, said the employee. “So few people were able to move west that a lot of people retired early and a lot of people took other jobs, so my ballpark estimate is there is only about 20% of permanent employees left” at headquarters. As a result, the agency is failing to fulfill its most basic duties, like responding to public records requests and conducting oversight of state and regional operations, the staffer added.
Environmental and government watchdog groups are now responding with a lawsuit that calls into question the legitimacy of Pendley’s position. Last week a pair of environmental nonprofits sued the interior department, alleging that by repeatedly tapping Pendley as the BLM’s acting director, rather than officially nominating him for the position, the interior secretary has skirted the Senate confirmation process usually required for high-level executive branch appointments, and has violated federal law.
“The illegitimate Pendley appointment is particularly troublesome because he has forcibly moved the BLM Headquarters from Washington DC, to remote western Colorado,” said Peter Jenkins, a senior counsel at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, one of the groups that sued. “In doing so he uprooted the lives of scores of seasoned BLM staff and disrupted this already strained agency.”
An interior department spokesperson defended Pendley’s record.
The Trump administration rolled back key provisions of the Endangered Species Act, a law credited with saving the gray wolf, bald eagle and grizzly bear. Photograph: Karen Bleier/AFP via Getty Images
“Mr Pendley brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the department and is committed to carrying out the administration’s priorities and achieving the BLM’s … mission for the betterment of the American people,” said Conner Swanson, the spokesperson. “Mr Pendley has provided a steady hand in facilitating important matters, from the BLM headquarters move west to its response to Covid-19.” Swanson has said that the lawsuit against Pendley is “baseless”.
Pendley, a tall man with a handlebar mustache and a penchant for cowboy boots, has remarked in the past that his “personal opinions are irrelevant” to his job at BLM.
“I have a new job now. I’m a zealous advocate for my client. My client is the American people and my bosses are the president of the United States and [interior] secretary [David] Bernhardt,” Pendley said during an appearance at the conference of the Society of Environmental Journalists in Fort Collins, Colorado, last year. “What I thought, what I wrote, what I did in the past is irrelevant. I have orders, I have laws to obey, and I intend to do that.”
Pendley has long opposed public lands and wildlife protections. After serving in the Reagan administration in the 1980s, he became the president of the Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF), a conservative litigation organization funded by conservative and industry groups including the Charles Koch Foundation and Exxon Mobil, according to research from the watchdog groups Documented and Accountable.US.
Under Pendley’s leadership, the firm was a persistent foe of federal land agencies, getting involved in dozens of cases on behalf of industry groups and private landowners to challenge environmental protections implemented by the interior department.
Pendley became something of a fixture among the anti-government set, writing numerous books extolling rebellion against public lands and the federal government. He has expressed sympathy in the past for the Bundy family, whose militant agitation against federal land ownership included the armed takeover of the Malheur national wildlife refuge in 2016.
He has compared climate change to unicorns because “neither exist”. And in a 2016 National Review article, he laid out a case that argued for the near-total abolition of federal public lands across the nation.
Given his long history of legal advocacy on behalf of extractive industries, Pendley brought with him a 17-page recusal list of past clients, employers and investments when he took control of the BLM in 2019. The list included groups such as the American Exploration & Mining Association and the Petroleum Association of Wyoming. It has been nearly impossible for the public to know whether Pendley has abided by his recusal list, however, because the BLM has failed to release his detailed official calendar to the public.
Though Pendley has long been a committed conservative, he has not always had kind words for Donald Trump. In a 2016 op-ed in the Daily Caller, for instance, he said then-candidate Trump “is not fit to pull off Reagan’s boots”.
Apart from Pendley’s role in moving BLM’s headquarters to Colorado, the agency under his leadership has also repeatedly proposed land management plans that heavily promote the energy industry. In March, for instance, conservationists in Montana came out aggressively against a BLM resource management plan that they believe is far too friendly to corporate oil and gas interests, according to the Billings Gazette.
In a statement issued earlier this year, Representative Raúl Grijalva, the chairman of the House natural resources committee, expressed his concerns over Pendley.
“Anyone who wants our land management agencies to be functional in the future needs to recognize the seriousness of what Secretary Bernhardt, acting director Pendley, and their subordinates are doing.”


theguardian--2020-05-20--Post-coronavirus, the UK must find some friends to stand up to China | Martin Kettle

Amid the pandemic , the great issues of the day are inescapably immediate and health-centred .
But eyes will lift eventually , and as that happens we will notice how the wider world has already changed as a result of Covid-19 .
A lot of the speculation about the post-coronavirus political world is plain fanciful .
But there was a gripping reminder this week about one effect that is now more real than ever : the pandemic ’ s role in boosting the global heft of China .
The rise of China is of course not new .
In some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Even from a western viewpoint it was already well advanced before the pandemic .
But when the Obama administration ’ s US ambassador to the United Nations , Samantha Power , was asked this week by the Commons foreign affairs committee to assess Covid-19 ’ s impact on the global order , she turned first and without hesitation to China ’ s rise .
Covid-19 , said Power in her evidence , has accelerated all the trends .
The US is now decoupling decisively from China .
The developing world , bound @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the “ belt and road ” strategies , is in contrast binding more firmly to it .
China ’ s “ wolf-warrior ” diplomacy against states that criticise it is increasingly aggressive .
Meanwhile , in the global forums , China is stepping in to fill the vacuum left by Donald Trump ’ s US .
Chinese president Xi Jinping , said Power , is now well on his way to supplanting the postwar order based on the western alliance with a new China-centred network .
For proof of this , look @ @ @ @ @ @ @ World Health Organization assembly in Geneva this week .
On the one hand , Trump spent the week slagging off the WHO , threatening to withdraw all US funding , promoting quack medical remedies and attacking China .
On the other , Xi addressed the assembly , donated $ 2bn to the WHO for the coronavirus battle , called for a vaccine to be made available to all , and successfully watered down the planned post-pandemic international investigation into Covid-19 .
Having done that , Xi slapped a punitive 80 % tariff on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for a fuller , more independent Covid-19 probe .
Stand by , if it takes place , for a similar Xi approach at the postponed Cop26 climate conference .
As the world emerges from its coronavirus bunker , governments will discover a fast changing geopolitical landscape .
It will be one in which the authoritarian pull exerted by China is now steadily outmuscling the democratic and rights-based push of what used to be the US-led western alliance .
A potent catalyst for this has been Trump ’ s unilateral retreat into American nativism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the authoritarian process can be measured in other ways too , including China ’ s increasing use of cyber warfare against international Covid-19 critics , the more than 80 countries currently governed by emergency pandemic legislation and the upwards of 50 nations in which elections have been postponed , almost without debate .
At this point , we must ask what role Britain should play in this new global order .
That question lies behind Power ’ s appearance at the Commons foreign affairs committee this week .
It is examining the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” of Britain ’ s foreign , defence , security and development policy , announced in February .
This review was originally conceived as a root-and-branch recalibration of Britain ’ s role in the world after Brexit .
But it has now inescapably evolved into a review of the global post-coronavirus reset too .
Covid-19 is obviously part of any explanation about why the China issue has become a lot more volatile and salient in British politics .
It is only 10 years since Tony Blair could write that Britain should ensure that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ should offer China a new global partnership .
Every aspect of that proposition has now gone .
Britain is no longer part of Europe .
Europe is itself in existential difficulty .
The US is no longer a partner .
Meanwhile China has forged ahead on its own .
But it is not just the Blair approach that is long gone .
In his own memoirs , David Cameron explains how he advocated an economic “ long game ” with China that would give Britain greater political leverage “ to bring China into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on trade , but also rules on climate change , terrorism and human rights.
” Cameron even took Xi for a pint in a pub near Chequers .
But where , in the Trump era , is that rules-based system now ?
And where , post-Brexit , is Britain ’ s leverage in that or any other global order ?
Johnson ’ s Conservative party is struggling to find a plausible answer to this last question .
Perhaps the integrated review will provide it .
If so , it will need to come @ @ @ @ @ @ @ towards China .
This would need to echo the approach – an alliance based on rules , values and engagement to face down the Soviet Union without tipping into nuclear war – that the American diplomat George Kennan crafted in 1946 , and which shaped US foreign policy for nearly half a century .
Yet it would have to do it in the full knowledge that the UK is nowhere near as powerful as the US was in the postwar world , that the US has defected to isolationism , and that Brexit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sees itself – as an alliance breaker .
China in 2020 is not the USSR in 1946 .
But there is little sign that the Tory party is anywhere close to agreeing on the mature , long-term strategy on China that is needed .
The cold war and Euroscepticism both cast long shadows .
The bulk of newer Tory MPs , many of them active in the new China Research Group of MPs chaired by the foreign affairs committee chair Tom Tugendhat , now think about China as a threat but regard European @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any workable strategy for constraining Chinese power .
Yet Covid-19 has made the question of how to stand up to China more pressing than before .
The dilemmas are not restricted to the Tory party or to Britain .
Labour has notably toughened its line , as its China spokesman Stephen Kinnock made clear this week .
But no single nation state , even the US , can stand up to China and its authoritarian model without alliances , without patient deployment of hard and soft power , and without a readiness to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a medium-sized power like Britain is to have an alliance-based and institutions-based containment strategy and to work with Germany , France , the EU , India , Australia and others to achieve a relationship with China that rejects both Chinese and American bullying .
The problem is that this is the one thing that this government , besotted with its self-image of Britain as an independent , buccaneering world player , can not bring itself to do .

Amid the pandemic, the great issues of the day are inescapably immediate and health-centred. But eyes will lift eventually, and as that happens we will notice how the wider world has already changed as a result of Covid-19. A lot of the speculation about the post-coronavirus political world is plain fanciful. But there was a gripping reminder this week about one effect that is now more real than ever: the pandemic’s role in boosting the global heft of China.
The rise of China is of course not new. In some Chinese perspectives, it goes back centuries. Even from a western viewpoint it was already well advanced before the pandemic. But when the Obama administration’s US ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, was asked this week by the Commons foreign affairs committee to assess Covid-19’s impact on the global order, she turned first and without hesitation to China’s rise.
Covid-19, said Power in her evidence, has accelerated all the trends. The US is now decoupling decisively from China. The developing world, bound to China by the debt and dependency of the “belt and road” strategies, is in contrast binding more firmly to it. China’s “wolf-warrior” diplomacy against states that criticise it is increasingly aggressive. Meanwhile, in the global forums, China is stepping in to fill the vacuum left by Donald Trump’s US. Chinese president Xi Jinping, said Power, is now well on his way to supplanting the postwar order based on the western alliance with a new China-centred network.
01:21 White House: US-China relationship one of 'disappointment and frustration' - video
For proof of this, look no further than what happened at the World Health Organization assembly in Geneva this week. On the one hand, Trump spent the week slagging off the WHO, threatening to withdraw all US funding, promoting quack medical remedies and attacking China. On the other, Xi addressed the assembly, donated $2bn to the WHO for the coronavirus battle, called for a vaccine to be made available to all, and successfully watered down the planned post-pandemic international investigation into Covid-19. Having done that, Xi slapped a punitive 80% tariff on Australian barley to punish Canberra for pressing for a fuller, more independent Covid-19 probe. Stand by, if it takes place, for a similar Xi approach at the postponed Cop26 climate conference.
As the world emerges from its coronavirus bunker, governments will discover a fast changing geopolitical landscape. It will be one in which the authoritarian pull exerted by China is now steadily outmuscling the democratic and rights-based push of what used to be the US-led western alliance. A potent catalyst for this has been Trump’s unilateral retreat into American nativism. But, as Power pointed out, the authoritarian process can be measured in other ways too, including China’s increasing use of cyber warfare against international Covid-19 critics, the more than 80 countries currently governed by emergency pandemic legislation and the upwards of 50 nations in which elections have been postponed, almost without debate.
At this point, we must ask what role Britain should play in this new global order. That question lies behind Power’s appearance at the Commons foreign affairs committee this week. It is examining the Johnson government’s “integrated review” of Britain’s foreign, defence, security and development policy, announced in February. This review was originally conceived as a root-and-branch recalibration of Britain’s role in the world after Brexit. But it has now inescapably evolved into a review of the global post-coronavirus reset too.
Covid-19 is obviously part of any explanation about why the China issue has become a lot more volatile and salient in British politics. It is only 10 years since Tony Blair could write that Britain should ensure that Europe, in partnership with America, should offer China a new global partnership. Every aspect of that proposition has now gone. Britain is no longer part of Europe. Europe is itself in existential difficulty. The US is no longer a partner. Meanwhile China has forged ahead on its own.
But it is not just the Blair approach that is long gone. In his own memoirs, David Cameron explains how he advocated an economic “long game” with China that would give Britain greater political leverage “to bring China into the rules-based international system – through rules on trade, but also rules on climate change, terrorism and human rights.” Cameron even took Xi for a pint in a pub near Chequers. But where, in the Trump era, is that rules-based system now? And where, post-Brexit, is Britain’s leverage in that or any other global order?
Johnson’s Conservative party is struggling to find a plausible answer to this last question. Perhaps the integrated review will provide it. If so, it will need to come up with an extremely realistic containment strategy towards China. This would need to echo the approach – an alliance based on rules, values and engagement to face down the Soviet Union without tipping into nuclear war – that the American diplomat George Kennan crafted in 1946, and which shaped US foreign policy for nearly half a century. Yet it would have to do it in the full knowledge that the UK is nowhere near as powerful as the US was in the postwar world, that the US has defected to isolationism, and that Brexit Britain is itself seen – and partly sees itself – as an alliance breaker.
China in 2020 is not the USSR in 1946. But there is little sign that the Tory party is anywhere close to agreeing on the mature, long-term strategy on China that is needed. The cold war and Euroscepticism both cast long shadows. The bulk of newer Tory MPs, many of them active in the new China Research Group of MPs chaired by the foreign affairs committee chair Tom Tugendhat, now think about China as a threat but regard European allies as the past and thus lack any workable strategy for constraining Chinese power.
Yet Covid-19 has made the question of how to stand up to China more pressing than before. The dilemmas are not restricted to the Tory party or to Britain. Labour has notably toughened its line, as its China spokesman Stephen Kinnock made clear this week. But no single nation state, even the US, can stand up to China and its authoritarian model without alliances, without patient deployment of hard and soft power, and without a readiness to make tactical compromises.
The answer for a medium-sized power like Britain is to have an alliance-based and institutions-based containment strategy and to work with Germany, France, the EU, India, Australia and others to achieve a relationship with China that rejects both Chinese and American bullying. The problem is that this is the one thing that this government, besotted with its self-image of Britain as an independent, buccaneering world player, cannot bring itself to do.


theguardian--2020-05-21--Exclusive: US has three months to rebuild medical supplies stockpile, Obama administration scientist

Exclusive: US has three months to rebuild medical supplies stockpile, Obama administration scientists warn

Nine top scientists who advised Barack Obama in the White House are warning that the US has just three months to rebuild its national stockpile of emergency medical supplies or risk further drastic shortages of testing kits and protective gear should coronavirus strike again in the fall .
The dramatic warning from Obama ’ s former science advisers contains an implicit criticism of Donald Trump ’ s handling of the pandemic .
In a seven-page missive , the group says that federal government preparations for a possible resurgence of the disease must be triggered immediately if a repeat of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was seen in March and April is to be avoided .
“ Preparation for a resurgence needs to be initiated now .
It needs to be at a national level , in close collaboration and coordination with state and local officials , ” the letter says .
The nine authors , led by John Holdren , Obama ’ s White House science adviser throughout his two terms in office , criticise the Trump administration for failing to act on numerous studies urging replenishment of the Strategic National Stockpile ( SNS ) in preparation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unfolding today .
“ The United States was unprepared for the supply needs of the spring 2020 Covid-19 pandemic , ” the group says .
The scientists add : “ There has been a persistent shortage of ventilators , testing kits , masks and other PPE [ personal protective equipment ] … In recent years the nation has let down its guard.
” The group of nine are among the most pre-eminent scientists in the country .
In addition to Holdren , now at Harvard , they include Eric Lander of MIT and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Susan Graham of UC Berkeley .
All nine were members of the Council of Advisors on Science and Technology assembled by Obama at the start of his presidency .
Between 2009 and 2016 they co-wrote six reports for the president that touched on viral pandemics .
Though many other experts have offered advice on dealing with Covid-19 , the connection between the nine and Obama sharpens their intervention .
The former president is not responsible for any of the scientists ’ findings , but he has been kept informed about the group ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recent days , the already tense relationship between Obama and Trump has turned even more toxic .
The former president and the current incumbent of the White House have openly come to blows .
In a series of recent statements , Obama has been searingly critical of Trump ’ s management of the pandemic .
Last Saturday he told graduating students in an online commencement address that coronavirus had “ finally torn back the curtain on the idea that so many of the folks in charge know what they ’ re doing – @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even pretending to be in charge ” .
Trump hit back , accusing Obama of having been a “ grossly incompetent ” president .
Since the first confirmed case of coronavirus was reported in the US on 20 January , Trump has come under mounting attack for his hesitant and confused response to the pandemic .
His administration took almost six weeks to begin ramping up of diagnostic testing , was resistant to using the Defense Production Act to enlist commercial corporations into manufacturing supplies , and has largely left it to states @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The group of nine sees its mission as offering practical advice to a wide group of officials and politicians about how to prepare for future waves of Covid-19 in the US .
The letter is being circulated to senior Trump administration officials , key members of Congress on both sides of the aisle , Republican and Democratic governors and mayors , Democratic candidate Joe Biden ’ s presidential campaign and non-governmental opinion leaders .
In their new paper , the scientists recap how the Trump administration failed to act on Congressional advice that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reserves of surgical and N95 respirator masks had been depleted during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic , leading to a shortfall of millions of units .
The failure of the federal government to revive the stockpile was compounded by similar failings at state level , the authors say .
The group also points out that in April 2020 the Trump administration dramatically downgraded the remit of the national stockpile .
Until then , it was billed as the “ nation ’ s largest supply of life-saving pharmaceuticals and medical supplies for use in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supplies to respond to multiple large-scale emergencies simultaneously ” .
In April that wording was drastically rewritten .
Its newly enervated purpose was to “ supplement state and local supplies during public health emergencies ” and to provide a “ short-term stopgap buffer ” .
Looking to the future , the missive calls for a quick-start 30-day plan that would see the rebuilding of the stockpile with the aid of $ 30bn from Congress .
Over the next five years there would be regular reviews to ensure that once back up at scale @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The scientists see their paper as the first in a series .
Over the next couple of months they plan to put out advice on contact tracing , serology and antibody tests , and data management .
In what promises to be their most controversial move , the nine are also considering chronicling the advice they produced under Obama relating to pandemics .
Part of that work would be to explore what happened to the recommendations , which might make uncomfortable reading for Trump and his inner circle .

Nine top scientists who advised Barack Obama in the White House are warning that the US has just three months to rebuild its national stockpile of emergency medical supplies or risk further drastic shortages of testing kits and protective gear should coronavirus strike again in the fall.
The dramatic warning from Obama’s former science advisers contains an implicit criticism of Donald Trump’s handling of the pandemic. In a seven-page missive, the group says that federal government preparations for a possible resurgence of the disease must be triggered immediately if a repeat of the “extraordinary shortage of supplies” that was seen in March and April is to be avoided.
“Preparation for a resurgence needs to be initiated now. It needs to be at a national level, in close collaboration and coordination with state and local officials,” the letter says.
The nine authors, led by John Holdren, Obama’s White House science adviser throughout his two terms in office, criticise the Trump administration for failing to act on numerous studies urging replenishment of the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) in preparation for just the kind of health emergency unfolding today.
“The United States was unprepared for the supply needs of the spring 2020 Covid-19 pandemic,” the group says.
The scientists add: “There has been a persistent shortage of ventilators, testing kits, masks and other PPE [personal protective equipment] … In recent years the nation has let down its guard.”
The group of nine are among the most pre-eminent scientists in the country. In addition to Holdren, now at Harvard, they include Eric Lander of MIT and Harvard, Chris Chyba of Princeton and Susan Graham of UC Berkeley.
All nine were members of the Council of Advisors on Science and Technology assembled by Obama at the start of his presidency. Between 2009 and 2016 they co-wrote six reports for the president that touched on viral pandemics.
Though many other experts have offered advice on dealing with Covid-19, the connection between the nine and Obama sharpens their intervention. The former president is not responsible for any of the scientists’ findings, but he has been kept informed about the group’s progress since its inception.
In recent days, the already tense relationship between Obama and Trump has turned even more toxic. The former president and the current incumbent of the White House have openly come to blows.
In a series of recent statements, Obama has been searingly critical of Trump’s management of the pandemic. Last Saturday he told graduating students in an online commencement address that coronavirus had “finally torn back the curtain on the idea that so many of the folks in charge know what they’re doing – a lot of them aren’t even pretending to be in charge”.
Trump hit back, accusing Obama of having been a “grossly incompetent” president.
Since the first confirmed case of coronavirus was reported in the US on 20 January, Trump has come under mounting attack for his hesitant and confused response to the pandemic. His administration took almost six weeks to begin ramping up of diagnostic testing, was resistant to using the Defense Production Act to enlist commercial corporations into manufacturing supplies, and has largely left it to states to find their own way forward.
The group of nine sees its mission as offering practical advice to a wide group of officials and politicians about how to prepare for future waves of Covid-19 in the US. The letter is being circulated to senior Trump administration officials, key members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, Republican and Democratic governors and mayors, Democratic candidate Joe Biden’s presidential campaign and non-governmental opinion leaders.
In their new paper, the scientists recap how the Trump administration failed to act on congressional advice that the stockpile should be replenished. Emergency reserves of surgical and N95 respirator masks had been depleted during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, leading to a shortfall of millions of units.
The failure of the federal government to revive the stockpile was compounded by similar failings at state level, the authors say.
The group also points out that in April 2020 the Trump administration dramatically downgraded the remit of the national stockpile. Until then, it was billed as the “nation’s largest supply of life-saving pharmaceuticals and medical supplies for use in a public health emergency” with “enough supplies to respond to multiple large-scale emergencies simultaneously”.
In April that wording was drastically rewritten. Its newly enervated purpose was to “supplement state and local supplies during public health emergencies” and to provide a “short-term stopgap buffer”.
Looking to the future, the missive calls for a quick-start 30-day plan that would see the rebuilding of the stockpile with the aid of $30bn from Congress. Over the next five years there would be regular reviews to ensure that once back up at scale the supplies are sustained into the future.
The scientists see their paper as the first in a series. Over the next couple of months they plan to put out advice on contact tracing, serology and antibody tests, and data management.
In what promises to be their most controversial move, the nine are also considering chronicling the advice they produced under Obama relating to pandemics. Part of that work would be to explore what happened to the recommendations, which might make uncomfortable reading for Trump and his inner circle.


theguardian--2020-05-21--Michael Cohen to be released from prison and serve sentence at home

Michael Cohen , Donald Trump ’ s longtime personal lawyer and fixer , will be released from federal prison Thursday and is expected to serve the remainder of his sentence at home , a person familiar with the matter told the Associated Press .
Cohen has been serving a federal prison sentence at FCI Otisville in New York after pleading guilty to numerous charges , including campaign finance fraud and lying to Congress .
He will be released on furlough with the expectation that he will transition to home confinement to serve the remainder of his sentence at home , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , began serving his sentence last May and was scheduled to be released from prison in November 2021 .
The person could not discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity .
Prison advocates and congressional leaders have been pressing the justice department for weeks to release at-risk inmates ahead of a potential outbreak , arguing that the public health guidance to stay 6ft away from other people is nearly impossible behind bars .
Attorney general William Barr ordered the Bureau of Prisons in March and April @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and expedite the release of eligible high-risk inmates , beginning at three prisons identified as coronavirus hot spots .
Otisville is not one of those facilities .
Cohen was told last month he would be released to serve the rest of his three-year sentence at home in response to concerns about coronavirus .
He had told associates he was expecting to be released earlier this month .
A federal judge had denied Cohen ’ s attempt for an early release to home confinement after serving 10 months in prison and said in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appears to be just another effort to inject himself into the news cycle ” .
But the Bureau of Prisons can take action to move him to home confinement without a judicial order .
The Bureau of Prisons said last week that more than 2,400 inmates had been moved to home confinement since Barr first issued his memo on home confinement in late March , and 1,200 others had been approved and were expected to be released in the coming weeks .
Other high-profile inmates have also been released as the number of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ system .
Paul Manafort , Trump ’ s former campaign chairman , was released on home confinement last week .
Michael Avenatti , the attorney who rose to fame representing porn star Stormy Daniels in lawsuits against Trump , was temporarily freed from a federal jail in New York City and is staying at a friend ’ s house in Los Angeles .
Former New York state Senate leader Dean Skelos , 72 , who was also serving a sentence at Otisville , was released on home confinement after testing positive for the @ @

Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s longtime personal lawyer and fixer, returned to his New York home on Thursday after he was released from federal prison due to concerns over coronavirus exposure.
Cohen, 53, had been serving a federal prison sentence at FCI Otisville in New York after pleading guilty to numerous charges, including campaign finance fraud and lying to Congress.
He had completed about a year of a three-year sentence for his role paying hush money to two women – the adult film actor and producer Stormy Daniels and the former Playboy model Karen McDougal – who said they had sexual relationships with the president, as well as for financial crimes and lying to Congress. Trump has denied relationships with either woman.
Cohen is expected to serve the rest of his sentence in home confinement, two sources familiar with the case said on condition of anonymity. Cohen had been eligible for release from prison in November 2021.
“There is so much I want to say and intend to say. But now is not the right time. Soon,” Cohen said on Twitter after walking into his Manhattan apartment building, wearing a white surgical mask, blue jeans and a dark blazer.
Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort was released from a federal prison in Pennsylvania last week to finish his sentence at home due to similar concerns.
A Cohen lawyer in March said the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has been “demonstrably incapable of safeguarding and treating BOP inmates who are obliged to live in close quarters and are at an enhanced risk of catching coronavirus”.
Cohen, who once said he would “take a bullet” for Trump, later turned on his former boss and cooperated with Democratic-led congressional inquiries. Trump has called Cohen a “rat”. Cohen has called Trump a “racist”, a “con man” and “a cheat”.
Cohen pleaded guilty to the charges that led to his imprisonment. They also included lying to Congress about plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.
Prison advocates and congressional leaders have been pressing the justice department for weeks to release at-risk inmates ahead of a potential outbreak, arguing that the public health guidance to stay 6ft away from other people is nearly impossible behind bars.
The attorney general, William Barr, ordered the Bureau of Prisons in March and April to increase the use of home confinement and expedite the release of eligible high-risk inmates, beginning at three prisons identified as coronavirus hotspots. Otisville is not one of those facilities.
A federal judge had denied Cohen’s attempt for an early release and said in a ruling earlier this month that it “appears to be just another effort to inject himself into the news cycle”. But the Bureau of Prisons can take action to move him to home confinement without a judicial order.
The Bureau of Prisons said last week that more than 2,400 inmates had been moved to home confinement since Barr first issued his memo on home confinement in late March, and 1,200 others had been approved and were expected to be released in the coming weeks.
Michael Avenatti, the attorney who rose to fame representing Daniels in lawsuits against Trump, was temporarily freed from a federal jail in New York City and is staying at a friend’s house in Los Angeles.
Former New York state senate leader Dean Skelos, 72, who was also serving a sentence at Otisville, was released on home confinement after testing positive for the coronavirus.


theguardian--2020-05-21--Mike Pompeo attacks China and says 'we stand with Australia' – video

The US secretary of state criticises China 's handling of the coronavirus outbreak , while backing Australia 's push for @ @ @ @ @ of Covid-19 .
In a media address , Mike Pompeo attacks the Chinese Communist party @ @ @ @ @ politically hostile to free nations ' .
His comments come after China slapped 80 % @ @ @ @ @ and continue similar rhetoric from the Trump administration that is increasingly critical of Beijing • @ @ @ @ @ exports hit by rule change as China escalates war of words

The US secretary of state criticises China's handling of the coronavirus outbreak, while backing Australia's push for an investigation into the origins of Covid-19. In a media address, Mike Pompeo attacks the Chinese Communist party, declaring it 'ideologically and politically hostile to free nations'. His comments come after China slapped 80% tariffs on Australian barley exports and continue similar rhetoric from the Trump administration that is increasingly critical of Beijing


theguardian--2020-05-22--Coronavirus US live: Trump appears without mask at Ford plant despite policy – as it happened

Wrapping up a speech at a Ford manufacturing plant in Michigan , Trump promised that he was working on plans to allow churches to hold Sunday services again , and “ you ’ re going to see something come out very soon.
” As the reported death toll nears 100,000 , the president said the country was ready to bounce back .
“ This country is poised for an epic comeback , ” Trump said .
“ This is going to be an incredible comeback .
Just watch .
It ’ s already happening.
” “ Americans who need and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be vilified , ” he said , likely a reference to the harsh public reactions to the predominantly white Americans who have staged large and sometimes volatile protests in Michigan and other states .
For many Americans , he said , especially those who work with their hands , “ working remotely is just not an option.
” In states like Georgia that have already begun to reopen , the numbers of coronavirus cases are going down , Trump claimed , “ and very substantially down ” .
But as the Atlantic ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there ’ s a weeks-long lag between the time states make decisions , and the time those decisions translate into more or fewer cases .
“ May ’ s declining cases are the result of April ’ s physical distancing , and the consequences of May ’ s reopenings won ’ t be felt until June at the earliest , ” he wrote .

Lois Beckett in San Francisco (now) and Joan E Greve in Washington (earlier)

22 May 2020 01.13 BST Evening summary Wrapping up our live coverage of US politics for tonight, but you can follow our global coronavirus liveblog for more news. An updated evening news summary: Trump chose not to wear a face mask during his tour of a Ford manufacturing plant in Michigan, despite a company policy to do so. The president claimed he had worn a mask “in the back area” of the plant, something the company confirmed, but he said he did not want to give reporters “the pleasure” of seeing him wear it.
despite a company policy to do so. The president claimed he had worn a mask “in the back area” of the plant, something the company confirmed, but he said he did not want to give reporters “the pleasure” of seeing him wear it. Baltimore’s mayor asked Trump to reconsider his planned trip to the city, which is still under a stay-at-home order. “I wish that the president, as our nation’s leader, would set a positive example and not travel during this holiday weekend.” Democratic mayor Bernard Young said. A spokesman for the president said he would not change his plans.
which is still under a stay-at-home order. “I wish that the president, as our nation’s leader, would set a positive example and not travel during this holiday weekend.” Democratic mayor said. A spokesman for the president said he would not change his plans. Trump reiterated his criticism of vote by mail. A day after threatening to withhold funding from Michigan and Nevada over their efforts to expand vote by mail, the president falsely claimed that mail-in ballots are very susceptible to fraud. (Voter fraud is actually very rare.)
A day after threatening to withhold funding from Michigan and Nevada over their efforts to expand vote by mail, the president falsely claimed that mail-in ballots are very susceptible to fraud. (Voter fraud is actually very rare.) Congressman John Ratcliffe was confirmed as the next director of national intelligence. Ratcliffe’s nomination was approved in a party-line vote of 49-44, making the staunch Trump ally the first director of national intelligence to be confirmed in a partisan fashion.
Ratcliffe’s nomination was approved in a party-line vote of 49-44, making the staunch Trump ally the first director of national intelligence to be confirmed in a partisan fashion. Michael Cohen was released from prison because of coronavirus concerns. The former Trump lawyer and fixer was released early to home confinement as concerns mount about the potential spread of coronavirus in prisons.
The former Trump lawyer and fixer was released early to home confinement as concerns mount about the potential spread of coronavirus in prisons. The man who filmed the killing of unarmed jogger Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia was arrested and charged with felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment. Attorneys representing Arbery’s family had previously called for William “Roddie” Bryan Jr. to be arrested because he helped trap Arbery as he was trying to flee from the two white men who later killed him.
21 May 2020 23.38 BST ‘How racist was Henry Ford?’ Trump’s praise of Henry Ford’s “bloodlines” at the Ford Factory has prompted an online discussion of just how racist and harmful the auto company founder was. Ford was so racist von Schirach, leader of the Hitler Youth, shouted him and his pamphlet series out as a major radicalizing influence during his testimony at Nuremberg https://t.co/1vF0VwmDY8 — inorganic african feminist (@ztsamudzi) May 21, 2020 Hitler had a giant portrait of Ford in his office and plagiarized parts of Mein Kampf from Ford’s horrific The International Jew. Hitler called Ford a major inspiration. https://t.co/atAgTBQwUY — Glenn Fleishman (@GlennF) May 21, 2020 Yes, a giant portrait. As the Washington Post reported in 1998: “I regard Henry Ford as my inspiration,” Hitler told a Detroit News reporter two years before becoming the German chancellor in 1933, explaining why he kept a life-size portrait of the American automaker next to his desk.
21 May 2020 23.21 BST At Ford, Trump said he wore a mask in private; took it off in public Journalist Bill Ritter, an anchor for an ABC news channel in New York City, initially shared a photograph of Donald Trump wearing a mask during a private viewing of Ford cars at a Ford plant in Michigan. The president did not wear the mask for the public part of his tour. There it is, the image of the president in a mask.
But he did not wear it for the public portion of the tour https://t.co/0hQqpwzAZR — Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) May 21, 2020 But Ritter later deleted the tweet with the photograph, explaining that ABC had initially released the photograph, then “ruled that they weren’t yet able to confirm the photo.” i've deleted the tweet. ABC put it out and then ruled that they weren't yet able to confirm the photo. so .. deleted.. for now. https://t.co/fuR29YdIdh — Bill Ritter (@billritter7) May 21, 2020 Images of the president during the public tour without his mask have been shared widely. .@realDonaldTrump declines to wear a mask during Ford plant tour despite company regulations. Ford executives have masks on. pic.twitter.com/g3kMrUGws3 — Jeff Mason (@jeffmason1) May 21, 2020
Updated at 23.45 BST
21 May 2020 23.15 BST Trump will ignore Baltimore mayor’s request not to visit city A spokesperson for the president said he would continue with his planned visit to a national landmark to honor veterans, despite Baltimore’s mayor asking the president to stay home. Response from the WH's @JuddPDeere45:
"The brave men and women who have preserved our freedoms for generations did not stay home and the President will not either as he honors their sacrifice by visiting such a historic landmark in our Nation’s history"
(via @justinsink) https://t.co/cKvMIJDovA — Jordan Fabian (@Jordanfabian) May 21, 2020 Baltimore is a majority-black city that had more than 4,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases Tuesday, the Baltimore Sun reported, as Maryland overall saw a single day high of 1,784 new reported cases. Trump has previously maligned the city publicly as a “rat and rodent-infested mess”, and a “dangerous and filthy place” where “no human being would want to live”.
Updated at 23.28 BST
21 May 2020 23.04 BST Man who filmed Ahmaud Arbery's killing arrested, charged with felony murder Sam Levine The man who filmed the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, the unarmed Georgia jogger killed in February, was arrested Thursday and charged with felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment. The man, William “Roddie” Bryan Jr, age 50, had maintained he was not involved in Arbery’s death in the Satilla Shores neighborhood, and merely recorded the now widely-circulated video of Gregory and Travis McMichael chasing down and killing Arbery. Attorneys representing Arbery’s family had called for Bryan to be arrested because he helped trap Arbery, who was fleeing the McMichaels. The other two men were arrested earlier this month and face charges of murder and aggravated assault. Law enforcement in the area faces heavy scrutiny for their handling of the case. A local prosecutor recommended not bringing charges against the McMichaels in April before recusing himself from the case. BREAKING: William “Roddie” Bryan Jr., pictured on the right, has been arrested for murder in the #AhmaudArbery case. Bryan recorded the video of Arbery being shot and killed in Brunswick, GA in February @ActionNewsJax https://t.co/vjmC2cxkrg pic.twitter.com/TgEKlkol8H — Darling Hill (@DarlingReina) May 21, 2020
Updated at 23.20 BST
21 May 2020 22.49 BST Ford Motor Company: We asked Trump to wear a mask A spokesperson for Ford released a statement saying that Trump had worn a mask during part of his visit to a Michigan plant, but that he later removed it. Ford’s executive chairman personally encouraged Trump to wear a mask, the company said. “Bill Ford encouraged President Trump to wear a mask when he arrived. He wore a mask during a private viewing of three Ford GTs from over the years. The President later removed the mask for the remainder of the visit.”
21 May 2020 22.45 BST Trump praises Henry Ford’s ‘bloodlines’ It’s not particularly surprising that Trump might praise Henry Ford during his visit to a Ford plant in Michigan. But Trump’s particular phrasing has raised some eyebrows, given that Ford was a notorious anti-Semite who used his wealth and influence to spread dangerous lies about Jewish people. He talked about the company’s “bloodlines” and Ford’s “good blood”. Trump on notorious anti-Semite Henry Ford: "Good bloodlines. If you believe in that stuff, you've got good blood." pic.twitter.com/Vvoeu8pSXX — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 21, 2020 PBS has an interview with a scholar who provides more context on Ford’s antisemitism and its impact: In 1918, Henry Ford purchased his hometown newspaper, The Dearborn Independent. A year and a half later, he began publishing a series of articles that claimed a vast Jewish conspiracy was infecting America... As one of the most famous men in America, Henry Ford legitimized ideas that otherwise may have been given little authority.
Updated at 23.28 BST
21 May 2020 22.30 BST Trump on reopening churches and America’s ‘incredible comeback’ Wrapping up a speech at a Ford manufacturing plant in Michigan, Trump promised that he was working on plans to allow churches to hold Sunday services again, and “you’re going to see something come out very soon.” As the reported death toll nears 100,000, the president said the country was ready to bounce back. “This country is poised for an epic comeback,” Trump said. “This is going to be an incredible comeback. Just watch. It’s already happening.” “Americans who need and want to return to work should not be vilified,” he said, likely a reference to the harsh public reactions to the predominantly white Americans who have staged large and sometimes volatile protests in Michigan and other states. For many Americans, he said, especially those who work with their hands, “working remotely is just not an option.” In states like Georgia that have already begun to reopen, the numbers of coronavirus cases are going down, Trump claimed, “and very substantially down”. But as the Atlantic’s Ed Yong has explained yesterday, there’s a weeks-long lag between the time states make decisions, and the time those decisions translate into more or fewer cases. “May’s declining cases are the result of April’s physical distancing, and the consequences of May’s reopenings won’t be felt until June at the earliest,” he wrote. Here are 3 things to be mindful of when comparing different states (or countries), esp when thinking about different reopening decisions.
1) There's a *long* lag between actions and their effects. Today's numbers are not due to yesterday's decisions. https://t.co/n33jpJkNp7 pic.twitter.com/76s1tKr85T — Ed Yong (@edyong209) May 20, 2020
Updated at 23.22 BST
21 May 2020 22.00 BST Today so far That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Lois Beckett, will take over a blog for the next few hours. Here’s where the day stands so far: Trump chose not to wear a face mask during his tour of a Ford manufacturing plant in Michigan, despite a company policy to do so. The president claimed he had worn a mask “in the back area” of the plant, but he said he did not want to give reporters “the pleasure” of seeing him wear it.
despite a company policy to do so. The president claimed he had worn a mask “in the back area” of the plant, but he said he did not want to give reporters “the pleasure” of seeing him wear it. Baltimore’s mayor asked Trump to reconsider his planned trip to the city, which is still under a stay-at-home order. “I wish that the president, as our nation’s leader, would set a positive example and not travel during this holiday weekend.” Democratic mayor Bernard Young said.
which is still under a stay-at-home order. “I wish that the president, as our nation’s leader, would set a positive example and not travel during this holiday weekend.” Democratic mayor said. Trump reiterated his criticism of vote by mail. A day after threatening to withhold funding from Michigan and Nevada over their efforts to expand vote by mail, the president falsely claimed that mail-in ballots are very susceptible to fraud. (Voter fraud is actually very rare.)
A day after threatening to withhold funding from Michigan and Nevada over their efforts to expand vote by mail, the president falsely claimed that mail-in ballots are very susceptible to fraud. (Voter fraud is actually very rare.) Congressman John Ratcliffe was confirmed as the next director of national intelligence. Ratcliffe’s nomination was approved in a party-line vote of 49-44, making the staunch Trump ally the first director of national intelligence to be confirmed in a partisan fashion.
Ratcliffe’s nomination was approved in a party-line vote of 49-44, making the staunch Trump ally the first director of national intelligence to be confirmed in a partisan fashion. Michael Cohen was released from prison because of coronavirus concerns. The former Trump lawyer and fixer was released early to home confinement as concerns mount about the potential spread of coronavirus in prisons. Lois will have more coming up, so stay tuned.