theintercept--2020-12-09--ICE Mismanagement Created Coronavirus "Hotbeds of Infection" In and Around Detention Centers

Customs Enforcement ’ s response to the Covid-19 pandemic has been a horrifying — and avoidable — calamity .
By handing out masks late , forcing detained people into close quarters , refusing to release the medically vulnerable , not reporting infections , testing inadequately , frequently transferring detainees , and pressuring staff and guards to continue working despite compromised health , ICE ’ s handling of the pandemic has led to over 7,000 reported positive cases and at least 8 coronavirus-related deaths among detained people .
A new report from Detention Watch Network finds that the dire situation inside @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spread in the communities surrounding detention centers is included , ICE ’ s sprawling incarceration system added nearly a quarter million cases to the total U.S. caseload .
The DWN report , “ Hotbeds of Infection , ” released on Wednesday , lays bare how ICE ’ s abundant failures and dilatory mismanagement killed and infected people inside detention centers and significantly contributed to the spread of Covid-19 across the country .
By August 1 , almost 5.5 percent of total U.S. cases , according to the report , were attributable to spread @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is yet another damning indication that ICE ’ s dereliction in protecting basic human rights , grievous medical neglect , and lack of transparency in how it detains and treats people in its system of over 200 detention centers is a massive public health threat — both to detainees and the greater U.S. population .
“ The impact of ICE ’ s failure to adequately respond to the pandemic was far reaching and multilayered , ” the DWN report says .
“ Even as COVID-19 cases have surged across the country , ICE @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a recipe for disaster for those in detention and surrounding communities.
” Dr. Ranit Mishori , a Georgetown University School of Medicine professor and senior medical adviser at Physicians for Human Rights , said , “ The United States has a long history of scapegoating immigrants for the spread of infectious diseases , yet medical evidence suggests that punitive immigration enforcement — such as packing detention facilities or scaring immigrants away from accessing medical care — is the true threat to public health.
” Danielle Bennett , an ICE spokesperson , told The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agency “ has taken extensive steps to safeguard all detainees , staff and contractors , including : reducing the number of detainees in custody by placing individuals on alternatives to detention programs , suspending social visitation , incorporating social distancing practices with staggered meals and recreation times , and through the use of testing , cohorting and medical isolation.
” and August 1 , the DWN report found , ICE detention facilities were responsible for over 245,000 Covid-19 cases throughout the country .
If a separate country had reported the number of Covid-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at that point , it would have ranked 16th in the world , having a higher case rate than Germany , France , and Canada .
The infection rate inside immigration detention centers was 13 times higher than that of the general U.S. population , which would have , taken together , made them by far the most contagious country in the world , according to World Health Organization stats .
“ Hotbeds of Infection ” takes advantage of county-level data on coronavirus infections made available by the New York Times .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and confirmed cases of Covid-19 in nearby counties .
Focusing on the initial spread of Covid-19 and based on logistic regression modeling , the report provides evidence that Covid-19 arrived sooner — in April and May — and outbreaks were more severe in counties with ICE facilities , as well as in neighboring counties .
Over the summer , there was a sharp contrast between counties situated in multicounty economic areas with a high number of people detained by ICE and counties situated in areas with fewer people detained .
As the pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the health care system in economic areas with a significant ICE presence were burdened by thousands of additional Covid-19 cases .
Recognizing that other factors besides the presence of detention centers contribute to increased Covid-19 caseloads , the authors included a range of control variables , including but not limited to the presence of nursing homes ; meatpacking plants ; other high-density living quarters including prisons , military bases , or universities ; population density ; and the percentage of nonwhite populations , who continue to suffer the worst of the pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ variables , the analysis showed a statistically significant relationship between the presence of an ICE detention center and an exacerbation of the Covid-19 outbreak in the surrounding multicounty area .
( DWN also released a companion methodology report . )
The advocacy group Freedom for Immigrants reports that over half of immigration detention centers are currently reporting coronavirus outbreaks .
According to the DWN report , California , Texas , and Arizona had by far the most Covid-19 cases resulting from the presence of ICE detention facilities .
ICE wasn ’ t only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and for spreading the virus to surrounding communities , it was also spreading the virus abroad .
By continuing deportations even while the U.S.-Mexico border was almost completely shut down for migrants and asylum-seekers , ICE exported the virus to Guatemala , Haiti , Mexico , El Salvador , and India — all countries with few intensive care beds , few respirators , and relatively meager health systems particularly vulnerable to viral spread .
Last spring , at one point , people deported from the United States made up as much as 20 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Guatemala .
In the 2020 fiscal year , ICE deported 164,455 people from the U.S. , potentially sending thousands , or even tens of thousands , of cases throughout the world .
, and even judges began sounding the alarm about Covid-19 in the immigration detention system in March , but ICE failed to heed the calls to take significant preventive measures .
Early on in the pandemic , the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that ICE was not providing detainees with proper information about the virus .
The Intercept reported that a detention center @ @ @ @ @ @ @ host of medically dangerous practices , was ignoring and underreporting coronavirus cases .
In April , a federal judge ordered ICE to consider the release of all detainees over the age of 55 due to risks from coronavirus , ruling that ICE has shown “ medical indifference ” and put people with serious medical conditions or disabilities at “ substantial risk of harm.
” Overall , though , very few people were released .
Thousands got sick .
Just last week , a judge issued a scathing decision against ICE ’ s Mesa @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — where more than half of the detainees and one-third of the staff have tested positive for the virus — claiming that ICE ’ s actions showed a “ deliberate indifference to the safety of the detainees.
” The judge admonished ICE and the private detention corporation GEO Group for their “ appalling ” and “ abominable ” response to infections , accusing the detention authorities of deliberately avoiding tests so that the facilities would not need to take protective measures for detainees .
The Intercept recently reported that detainees at an Alabama @ @ @ @ @ @ @ solitary confinement , merely for asking to be tested .
Meanwhile , medical staff , administrators , vendors , visitors , and guards have been bringing the virus into detention centers across the country and carrying the virus out , with ICE doing little — and sometimes nothing — to contain the spread on both sides of the bars .
Immigration detention centers , the report grimly notes , “ have been among the deadliest of public institutions during the Covid-19 pandemic.
” The U.S. immigration detention system has a history of medically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sometimes deadly conditions — including previous viral outbreaks — that far predate the Covid-19 crisis .
Just in fiscal year 2020 , a total of 20 people died in ICE detention centers .
For years , experts have repeatedly condemned the agency for violating basic health standards , keeping detained people locked up for prolonged periods , abusing them , even torturing them , and placing them at high risk for mental and physical decline .
In 2019 , the House Committee on Oversight and Reform and its Subcommittee on Civil Rights and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in-custody deaths of adults and children , as well as deficient medical care , improper treatment , and filthy conditions at facilities operated by both ICE and Customs and Border Protection , another immigration enforcement agency under the umbrella of the Department of Homeland Security .
They found “ a widespread failure to provide necessary medical care to detainees with serious and chronic medical conditions , along with critical medical staff shortages.
” The conditions , in other words , were perfect for a rapacious virus to take hold .
“ Hotbeds of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ build on the investigations into the dangers within detention centers and looks closely at the risks they pose to the communities where they ’ re located .
“ Evidence points to detention centers sparking infections early in the pandemic and making outbreaks worse , ” the report says .
The multicounty areas surrounding detention centers with the highest number of people detained saw a 20 percent increase in Covid-19 caseloads .
Hooks , the report co-author , said , “ I think of prisons and detention centers as ongoing superspreader events.
” While @ @ @ @ @ @ @ detention has been going down throughout the pandemic — in large part because of the broader lockdown , especially at the U.S.-Mexico border — the concern remains that ICE isn ’ t doing enough to release people .
Legally , the agency could release almost everyone in their custody , and there have been calls for them to do so .
Jails and prisons are equally dangerous for spreading infection , though their contribution to community spread — with thousands of them throughout the country — is harder to tabulate .
The infection @ @ @ @ @ @ @ times as high as that of the general public and the death rate is more than twice as high , according to a report from the National Commission on Covid-19 and Criminal Justice .
And , much like immigrant detention centers , prisons and jails see people constantly going in and out .
In late October , Gothamist reported that ICE agents were rearresting older people who , because of their medical vulnerabilities , had been previously released and locking them back into detention .
Bennett , the ICE spokesperson , told The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ICE has worked to reduce intake so that the agency is maintaining detention capacity at each facility at or below the 75 percent recommended by the CDC ” — the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .
Nonetheless , social distancing inside detention centers remains all but impossible .
Detainees have complained not only of inadequate testing and being forced into close quarters with a transient population but also a lack of basic essentials such as masks , disinfectant , or soap .
“ These facilities are dangerous , ” said Bob Libal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ They are bad for the people detained , bad for the people who work there , and bad for the surrounding communities .
”

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic has been a horrifying — and avoidable — calamity. By handing out masks late, forcing detained people into close quarters, refusing to release the medically vulnerable, not reporting infections, testing inadequately, frequently transferring detainees, and pressuring staff and guards to continue working despite compromised health, ICE’s handling of the pandemic has led to over 7,000 reported positive cases and at least 8 coronavirus-related deaths among detained people.
A new report from Detention Watch Network finds that the dire situation inside also led to wider consequences: When spread in the communities surrounding detention centers is included, ICE’s sprawling incarceration system added nearly a quarter million cases to the total U.S. caseload.
The DWN report, “Hotbeds of Infection,” released on Wednesday, lays bare how ICE’s abundant failures and dilatory mismanagement killed and infected people inside detention centers and significantly contributed to the spread of Covid-19 across the country. By August 1, almost 5.5 percent of total U.S. cases, according to the report, were attributable to spread from ICE detention centers. The report is yet another damning indication that ICE’s dereliction in protecting basic human rights, grievous medical neglect, and lack of transparency in how it detains and treats people in its system of over 200 detention centers is a massive public health threat — both to detainees and the greater U.S. population.
“The impact of ICE’s failure to adequately respond to the pandemic was far reaching and multilayered,” the DWN report says. “Even as COVID-19 cases have surged across the country, ICE has ramped up enforcement activities, creating a recipe for disaster for those in detention and surrounding communities.”
The report’s authors were at pains to explain that it is not immigrants who spread disease but rather the immigration detention regime — the nature of incarceration and all it entails — that fosters disease and sickens migrants and communities alike. “It is setting up ideal lab conditions for incubating viruses and putting them out into the community,” said Gregory Hooks, a professor of sociology at McMaster University and co-author of the DWN report.
It is not immigrants who spread disease but rather the immigration detention regime that fosters disease and sickens migrants and communities alike.
Dr. Ranit Mishori, a Georgetown University School of Medicine professor and senior medical adviser at Physicians for Human Rights, said, “The United States has a long history of scapegoating immigrants for the spread of infectious diseases, yet medical evidence suggests that punitive immigration enforcement — such as packing detention facilities or scaring immigrants away from accessing medical care — is the true threat to public health.”
Danielle Bennett, an ICE spokesperson, told The Intercept that since the outbreak, the agency “has taken extensive steps to safeguard all detainees, staff and contractors, including: reducing the number of detainees in custody by placing individuals on alternatives to detention programs, suspending social visitation, incorporating social distancing practices with staggered meals and recreation times, and through the use of testing, cohorting and medical isolation.”
Between May 1 and August 1, the DWN report found, ICE detention facilities were responsible for over 245,000 Covid-19 cases throughout the country. If a separate country had reported the number of Covid-19 cases attributed just to ICE detention facilities at that point, it would have ranked 16th in the world, having a higher case rate than Germany, France, and Canada. The infection rate inside immigration detention centers was 13 times higher than that of the general U.S. population, which would have, taken together, made them by far the most contagious country in the world, according to World Health Organization stats.
“Hotbeds of Infection” takes advantage of county-level data on coronavirus infections made available by the New York Times. The authors examined links between ICE detention facilities and confirmed cases of Covid-19 in nearby counties. Focusing on the initial spread of Covid-19 and based on logistic regression modeling, the report provides evidence that Covid-19 arrived sooner — in April and May — and outbreaks were more severe in counties with ICE facilities, as well as in neighboring counties. Over the summer, there was a sharp contrast between counties situated in multicounty economic areas with a high number of people detained by ICE and counties situated in areas with fewer people detained. As the pandemic spiraled out of control over the summer, the health care system in economic areas with a significant ICE presence were burdened by thousands of additional Covid-19 cases.
Activists try to deliver a petition, demanding the release of at-risk immigrant families in detention centers during the coronavirus pandemic, outside ICE headquarters in Washington, D.C., on July 17, 2020. Photo: Olivier Douliery/AFP/Getty Images
Recognizing that other factors besides the presence of detention centers contribute to increased Covid-19 caseloads, the authors included a range of control variables, including but not limited to the presence of nursing homes; meatpacking plants; other high-density living quarters including prisons, military bases, or universities; population density; and the percentage of nonwhite populations, who continue to suffer the worst of the pandemic. After taking into account these other variables, the analysis showed a statistically significant relationship between the presence of an ICE detention center and an exacerbation of the Covid-19 outbreak in the surrounding multicounty area. (DWN also released a companion methodology report.)
The advocacy group Freedom for Immigrants reports that over half of immigration detention centers are currently reporting coronavirus outbreaks. According to the DWN report, California, Texas, and Arizona had by far the most Covid-19 cases resulting from the presence of ICE detention facilities.
ICE wasn’t only responsible for imperiling the people it detained and for spreading the virus to surrounding communities, it was also spreading the virus abroad. By continuing deportations even while the U.S.-Mexico border was almost completely shut down for migrants and asylum-seekers, ICE exported the virus to Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico, El Salvador, and India — all countries with few intensive care beds, few respirators, and relatively meager health systems particularly vulnerable to viral spread.
Last spring, at one point, people deported from the United States made up as much as 20 percent of all known Covid-19 cases in Guatemala. In the 2020 fiscal year, ICE deported 164,455 people from the U.S., potentially sending thousands, or even tens of thousands, of cases throughout the world.
Attorneys, advocates, detainees , and even judges began sounding the alarm about Covid-19 in the immigration detention system in March, but ICE failed to heed the calls to take significant preventive measures. Early on in the pandemic, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that ICE was not providing detainees with proper information about the virus. The Intercept reported that a detention center in Georgia, while engaging in a host of medically dangerous practices, was ignoring and underreporting coronavirus cases.
In April, a federal judge ordered ICE to consider the release of all detainees over the age of 55 due to risks from coronavirus, ruling that ICE has shown “medical indifference” and put people with serious medical conditions or disabilities at “substantial risk of harm.” Overall, though, very few people were released. Thousands got sick.
Just last week, a judge issued a scathing decision against ICE’s Mesa Verde processing facility in Bakersfield, California — where more than half of the detainees and one-third of the staff have tested positive for the virus — claiming that ICE’s actions showed a “deliberate indifference to the safety of the detainees.” The judge admonished ICE and the private detention corporation GEO Group for their “appalling” and “abominable” response to infections, accusing the detention authorities of deliberately avoiding tests so that the facilities would not need to take protective measures for detainees. The Intercept recently reported that detainees at an Alabama ICE jail were punished, including with solitary confinement, merely for asking to be tested.
Meanwhile, medical staff, administrators, vendors, visitors, and guards have been bringing the virus into detention centers across the country and carrying the virus out, with ICE doing little — and sometimes nothing — to contain the spread on both sides of the bars.
Immigration detention centers, the report grimly notes, “have been among the deadliest of public institutions during the Covid-19 pandemic.”
The U.S. immigration detention system has a history of medically negligent, dehumanizing, squalid, and sometimes deadly conditions — including previous viral outbreaks — that far predate the Covid-19 crisis. Just in fiscal year 2020, a total of 20 people died in ICE detention centers.
For years, experts have repeatedly condemned the agency for violating basic health standards, keeping detained people locked up for prolonged periods, abusing them, even torturing them, and placing them at high risk for mental and physical decline. In 2019, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform and its Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties began investigating troubling reports of in-custody deaths of adults and children, as well as deficient medical care, improper treatment, and filthy conditions at facilities operated by both ICE and Customs and Border Protection, another immigration enforcement agency under the umbrella of the Department of Homeland Security. They found “a widespread failure to provide necessary medical care to detainees with serious and chronic medical conditions, along with critical medical staff shortages.” The conditions, in other words, were perfect for a rapacious virus to take hold.
“Hotbeds of Infection” is the first report to build on the investigations into the dangers within detention centers and looks closely at the risks they pose to the communities where they’re located. “Evidence points to detention centers sparking infections early in the pandemic and making outbreaks worse,” the report says. The multicounty areas surrounding detention centers with the highest number of people detained saw a 20 percent increase in Covid-19 caseloads. Hooks, the report co-author, said, “I think of prisons and detention centers as ongoing superspreader events.”
Protesters drive in a caravan around ICE’s El Paso processing center to demand the release of detainees due to Covid-19 safety concerns on April 16, 2020, in El Paso, Texas. Photo: Paul Ratje/Agence France-Presse/AFP/Getty Images
In May, officials in Pearsall, Texas, raised the alarm after every local case of Covid-19 could be traced back to ICE’s negligence at the South Texas ICE Processing Center. Similarly, a detention center in El Paso, Texas, has not only been experiencing its own scourge but is exacerbating wider community contagion: El Paso and its surrounding areas are suffering one of the worst infection rates in the country — and the immigration detention center contributed to more than 1,250 cases in the county.
“These facilities are dangerous. They are bad for the people detained, bad for the people who work there, and bad for the surrounding communities.”
While the number of people locked into immigration detention has been going down throughout the pandemic — in large part because of the broader lockdown, especially at the U.S.-Mexico border — the concern remains that ICE isn’t doing enough to release people. Legally, the agency could release almost everyone in their custody, and there have been calls for them to do so.
Jails and prisons are equally dangerous for spreading infection, though their contribution to community spread — with thousands of them throughout the country — is harder to tabulate. The infection rate in prisons is more than four times as high as that of the general public and the death rate is more than twice as high, according to a report from the National Commission on Covid-19 and Criminal Justice. And, much like immigrant detention centers, prisons and jails see people constantly going in and out.
In late October, Gothamist reported that ICE agents were rearresting older people who, because of their medical vulnerabilities, had been previously released and locking them back into detention. Bennett, the ICE spokesperson, told The Intercept that, since March, “ICE has worked to reduce intake so that the agency is maintaining detention capacity at each facility at or below the 75 percent recommended by the CDC” — the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nonetheless, social distancing inside detention centers remains all but impossible. Detainees have complained not only of inadequate testing and being forced into close quarters with a transient population but also a lack of basic essentials such as masks, disinfectant, or soap.
“These facilities are dangerous,” said Bob Libal, another co-author of the DWN report. “They are bad for the people detained, bad for the people who work there, and bad for the surrounding communities.”
Leonel Ignacio Martín contributed reporting.


theintercept--2020-12-10--Inside Biden's Meeting with Civil Rights Leaders

A recording of the virtual meeting , attended by Biden , Vice President-elect Kamala Harris , and civil rights leaders , was obtained by The Intercept .
Excerpts from it can be heard in this week ’ s Deconstructed podcast , which you can find for free at any platform that hosts podcasts .
On Tuesday , a group of civil rights leaders urged him privately to take a slew of executive action during a two-hour virtual meeting .
While he didn ’ t close the door to anything specific , he was far from enthusiastic about the idea of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ House , Senate , and around the country have been urging President-elect Joe Biden to use the maximum amount of executive authority available to him in order to grow the economy , expand civil rights , protect the climate , and otherwise implement the agenda he ran on , despite the expected obstruction from a Republican Senate .
So there ’ s some things that I ’ m going to be able to do by executive order .
I ’ m not going to hesitate to do it , but what I ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ m not going to do what used to — Vanita , you probably used to get angry with me during the debates , when you ’ d have some of the people you were supporting saying , ‘ On Day One I ’ m gon na have an executive order to do this !
’ Not within the constitutional authority .
I am not going to violate the Constitution .
Executive authority that my progressive friends talk about is way beyond the bounds .
And as one of you said , maybe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whether it ’ s far left or far right , there is a Constitution .
It ’ s our only hope .
Our only hope and the way to deal with it is , where I have executive authority , I will use it to undo every single damn thing this guy has done by executive authority , but I ’ m not going to exercise executive authority where it ’ s a question , where I can come along and say , I can do away with assault weapons .
There ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that .
And no one has fought harder to get rid of assault weapons than me , me , but you can ’ t do it by executive order .
We do that , next guy comes along and says , well , guess what ?
By executive order , I guess everybody can have machine guns again .
So we got ta be careful .
Biden also warned the civil rights leaders that pressure on the incoming administration around police reform could hurt the party ’ s chances in the Georgia Senate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to define that party as in favor of defunding the police is “ how they beat the living hell out of us across the country.
” Biden insisted that his commitment to police reform was unwavering , but argued that the branding effort had done too much damage .
Biden made his comments unprompted , referencing an earlier remark made by NAACP President Derrick Johnson , who had warned that appointing Tom Vilsack to be secretary of agriculture would anger Black farmers in Georgia , as well as Black voters generally in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a hero .
Sherrod was fired by Vilsack from her position as Georgia Director of Rural Development for the USDA during Vilsack ’ s previous tenure as agriculture secretary during the Obama administration .
Her firing was quickly revealed to have been a mistake , and based on an incomplete airing of a video by the late conservative provocateur Andrew Breitbart .
Particularly in Georgia , Johnson noted , Vilsack ’ s capitulation was still a sore spot and nominating him would be “ disastrous ” electorally .
“ If you consider the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it was around 12,000 votes .
And so as you consider appointments , you also must consider what impact would that have on voters in the state of Georgia .
And I will submit to you that former Secretary Vilsack could have a disastrous impact on voters in Georgia .
Shirley Sherrod is a civil rights legend , a hero , ” Johnson said .
Toward the end of the conversation , Biden raised Johnson ’ s remark to dismiss it , saying Johnson would soon learn more about Vilsack ’ s record @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prudent to have that fight before the Georgia runoffs , he said , before adding that police reform should also be avoided .
“ I also don ’ t think we should get too far ahead ourselves on dealing with police reform in that , because they ’ ve already labeled us as being ‘ defund the police , ’ anything we put forward in terms of the organizational structure to change policing — which I promise you , will occur .
Promise you , ” Biden said .
“ That ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of us across the country , saying that we ’ re talking about defunding the police .
We ’ re not .
We ’ re talking about holding them accountable .
We ’ re talking about giving them money to do the right things .
We ’ re talking about putting more psychologists and psychiatrists on the telephones when the 911 calls through .
We ’ re talking about spending money to enable them to do their jobs better , not with more force , with less force and more understanding.
” The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been blamed for House and Senate losses by Majority Whip James Clyburn , D-S.C. , along with other moderate House Democrats .
Former President Barack Obama joined in , calling it a snappy slogan that cost votes .
“ I just raise it with you to think about how much do we push between now and January 5th — we need those two seats — about police reform .
But I guarantee you , there will be a full blown commission .
I guarantee you it ’ s a major , major , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Subscribe to Deconstructed here , or on any podcast platform .

Democrats in the House, Senate, and around the country have been urging President-elect Joe Biden to use the maximum amount of executive authority available to him in order to grow the economy, expand civil rights, protect the climate, and otherwise implement the agenda he ran on, despite the expected obstruction from a Republican Senate.
On Tuesday, a group of civil rights leaders urged him privately to take a slew of executive actions during a two-hour virtual meeting. While Biden didn’t close the door to anything specific, he was far from enthusiastic about the idea of using executive action.
A recording of the virtual meeting, attended by Biden, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, and civil rights leaders, was obtained by The Intercept. Excerpts from it can be heard in this week’s Deconstructed podcast, which you can find for free on any platform that hosts podcasts.
Here’s what Biden told the civil rights leaders:
So there’s some things that I’m going to be able to do by executive order. I’m not going to hesitate to do it, but what I’m not going to do is I’m not going to do what used to — Vanita [Gupta], you probably used to get angry with me during the debates, when you’d have some of the people you were supporting saying, ‘On Day 1, I’m gonna have an executive order to do this!’ Not within the constitutional authority. I am not going to violate the Constitution. Executive authority that my progressive friends talk about is way beyond the bounds. And as one of you said, maybe it was you, Reverend Al [Sharpton], whether it’s far left or far right, there is a Constitution. It’s our only hope. Our only hope and the way to deal with it is, where I have executive authority, I will use it to undo every single damn thing this guy has done by executive authority, but I’m not going to exercise executive authority where it’s a question, where I can come along and say, ‘I can do away with assault weapons.’ There’s no executive authority to do away that. And no one has fought harder to get rid of assault weapons than me, me, but you can’t do it by executive order. We do that, next guy comes along and says, Well, guess what? By executive order, I guess everybody can have machine guns again. So we gotta be careful.
Biden also warned the civil rights leaders that pressure on the incoming administration around police reform could hurt the party’s chances in the Georgia Senate runoffs, claiming that the Republicans’ ability to define that party as in favor of defunding the police is “how they beat the living hell out of us across the country.”
Biden insisted that his commitment to police reform was unwavering but argued that the branding effort had done too much damage.
Biden made his comments unprompted, referencing an earlier remark made by NAACP President Derrick Johnson, who had warned that appointing Tom Vilsack to be secretary of agriculture would anger Black farmers in Georgia, as well as Black voters generally in the state, for whom Shirley Sherrod was a hero. Sherrod was fired by Vilsack from her position as Georgia director of rural development for the U.S. Department of Agriculture during Vilsack’s previous tenure as agriculture secretary during the Obama administration. Her firing was quickly revealed to have been a mistake and based on an incomplete airing of a video by the late conservative provocateur Andrew Breitbart. Particularly in Georgia, Johnson noted, Vilsack’s capitulation was still a sore spot, and nominating him would be “disastrous” electorally. “If you consider the victory that you appreciated in Georgia, it was around 12,000 votes. And so as you consider appointments, you also must consider what impact would that have on voters in the state of Georgia. And I will submit to you that former Secretary Vilsack could have a disastrous impact on voters in Georgia. Shirley Sherrod is a civil rights legend, a hero,” Johnson said.
Toward the end of the conversation, Biden raised Johnson’s remark to dismiss it, saying that Johnson would soon learn more about Vilsack’s record. It also wouldn’t be prudent to have that fight before the Georgia runoffs, he said, before adding that police reform should also be avoided. “I also don’t think we should get too far ahead ourselves on dealing with police reform in that, because they’ve already labeled us as being ‘defund the police’ anything we put forward in terms of the organizational structure to change policing — which I promise you, will occur. Promise you,” Biden said.
“That’s how they beat the living hell out of us across the country, saying that we’re talking about defunding the police. We’re not. We’re talking about holding them accountable. We’re talking about giving them money to do the right things. We’re talking about putting more psychologists and psychiatrists on the telephones when the 911 calls through. We’re talking about spending money to enable them to do their jobs better, not with more force, with less force and more understanding.”
The slogan “defund the police” has been blamed for House and Senate losses by Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., along with other moderate House Democrats. Former President Barack Obama joined in, calling it a snappy slogan that cost votes.
“I just raise it with you to think about how much do we push between now and January 5 — we need those two seats — about police reform. But I guarantee you, there will be a full-blown commission. I guarantee you it’s a major, major, major element,” Biden said.
Watch the full conversation here:
Subscribe to Deconstructed here or on any podcast platform.


theintercept--2020-12-10--Lobbyists Mobilize for Priority Access to Coronavirus Vaccine

everyone from pesticide manufacturers to factory farms and aquarium and zoo operators , are pushing regulators to allow their workers to jump the line for the coronavirus vaccine .
A coronavirus vaccine , one of which could be cleared for use as early as today , is set to be distributed first to those in health care facilities , essential workers , and individuals most vulnerable to the virus .
This has set off an influence blitz as various industry groups petition the government for inclusion on the list of professions most crucial to keeping the country running .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ through a panel known as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices , has established a framework for individuals to receive the first available doses of approved Covid-19 vaccines .
The framework is nonbinding but expected to shape state agencies and other institutions that will govern distribution of the vaccines .
The first to receive the vaccine , through a process the ACIP has called Phase 1a , will likely be health care personnel and residents of long-term care facilities , who have been hit especially hard by the virus .
The second deployment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ workers .
The following group , Phase 1c , includes adults with high-risk medical conditions and senior citizens over the age of 65 .
The category of essential work has been the focus of furious lobbying this year as various businesses and professional groups have pressed to be certified as essential in order to stay open .
Each state has its own guidelines for who is considered essential , but the CDC provides broad guidance .
Many industry groups have asked the CDC to rely on a memo from the Department of Homeland @ @ @ @ @ @ @ document published in August , to determine whether a worker is deemed essential for vaccination — a list that was itself the focus of intense lobbying .
Earlier this year , dozens of industry associations lobbied the Department of Homeland Security to be on the critical infrastructure list , including gun manufacturers , coal mines , stock exchanges , and the Fragrance Creators Association , the trade group for the makers of perfumes , colognes , and scented candles .
The DHS memo , notably , includes the production of “ fragrances ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Homeland Security claimed the categories were determined to be “ so vital to the United States that their incapacitation or destruction would have a debilitating effect on security , national economic security , national public health or safety , or any combination thereof.
” The vaccine ’ s rollout has only intensified the campaign to shape the list of what type of workers are counted as critical to the economy .
Now truck drivers , bus drivers , Uber drivers , the restaurant industry , grocery stores , school nurses , and other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arguing that their members should count as essential workers .
Earlier this week , MarketWatch reported that the American Bankers Association asked that bank tellers , given their close contact with the public , should be given priority for receiving the vaccine .
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums , in a letter sent to the CDC last week , voiced “ strong support for inclusion of animal care workers in your phase 1 ( b ) priority recommendation for essential workers.
” Dan Ashe , the president of the group , noted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 100,000 animals .
The Biotechnology Innovation Organization , a lobby group for pharmaceutical firms such as Mallinckrodt and Bayer , argued in its petition to the CDC that drug manufacturers and lab researchers “ can not work from home ” and should be included as essential workers .
Pharmaceutical workers , BIO noted , are crucial for innovation “ within the human health , food and agriculture , and industrial and environmental sectors.
” Though many BIO member corporations include vaccine and immunotherapy developers , the group represents firms that sell opioid painkillers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ present crisis .
CropLife America , which lobbies for pesticide manufacturers , wrote to the CDC to urge regulators to consider those who “ who develop and package the seed , chemicals and fertilizers that farmers need for their crop ” should be counted as workers critical for the nation ’ s food supply .
Journalists have also lobbied for prioritization .
The National Press Photographers Association asked that journalists who have direct contact with the public be expressly included as essential workers .
“ While others have the option to walk away @ @ @ @ @ @ @ members of the public that don ’ t follow CDC health guidelines , visual journalist [ sic ] repeatedly put their own safety at risk to document what is occurring and inform their communities , large and small , ” the NPPA argued in its letter .
Other industries that have faced criticism for failing to protect the health and well-being of its workers are now petitioning the CDC for priority for the vaccine .
Tyson Foods and Smithfield , two of the largest slaughterhouse companies in the country , are facing numerous @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to provide protective equipment , coerced sick workers to come into work , and ignored early warning signs that the disease was rapidly spreading within its plants .
The North American Meat Institute , a lobby group for Tyson and Smithfield , ghostwrote the executive order signed by President Donald Trump that compelled slaughterhouse employees to continue working through the first weeks of the pandemic , overriding health and safety concerns .
Now , in a letter last week to the CDC , the same group is petitioning regulators to prioritize “ meat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ casts vaccine priority not only as crucial for maintaining the nation ’ s food supply but as an altruistic endeavor , vital for mitigating “ health inequalities given much of the workforce is comprised of minorities , immigrants , or those with lower socioeconomic status.
” Recent financial disclosures show another potential motive .
Tyson Foods has increased revenues by 5.3 percent in the last quarter , in a year that the company has pushed exports of meat products , particularly to markets in China .
During the company ’ s earnings report @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chase raised the issue that the main risk to future profits would be “ labor shortages in the next couple of months , not just because of actual illness , but also because of workers maybe afraid of getting a little sick .
”

Industry lobbyists, representing everyone from pesticide manufacturers to factory farms and aquarium and zoo operators, are pushing regulators to allow their workers to jump the line for the coronavirus vaccine.
A coronavirus vaccine, one of which could be cleared for use as early as today, is set to be distributed first to those in health care facilities, essential workers, and individuals most vulnerable to the virus. This has set off an influence blitz as various industry groups petition the government for inclusion on the list of professions most crucial to keeping the country running.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, through a panel known as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, has established a framework for individuals to receive the first available doses of approved Covid-19 vaccines. The framework is nonbinding but expected to shape state agencies and other institutions that will govern distribution of the vaccines.
The first to receive the vaccine, through a process the ACIP has called Phase 1a, will likely be health care personnel and residents of long-term care facilities, who have been hit especially hard by the virus. The second deployment, Phase 1b, will include essential workers. The following group, Phase 1c, includes adults with high-risk medical conditions and senior citizens over the age of 65.
The category of essential work has been the focus of furious lobbying this year as various businesses and professional groups have pressed to be certified as essential in order to stay open. Each state has its own guidelines for who is considered essential, but the CDC provides broad guidance. Many industry groups have asked the CDC to rely on a memo from the Department of Homeland Security on critical infrastructure workers, a document published in August, to determine whether a worker is deemed essential for vaccination — a list that was itself the focus of intense lobbying.
Earlier this year, dozens of industry associations lobbied Homeland Security to be on the critical infrastructure list, including gun manufacturers, coal mines, stock exchanges, and the Fragrance Creators Association, the trade group for the makers of perfumes, colognes, and scented candles. The DHS memo, notably, includes the production of “fragrances” as essential work.
Homeland Security claimed the categories were determined to be “so vital to the United States that their incapacitation or destruction would have a debilitating effect on security, national economic security, national public health or safety, or any combination thereof.”
Read Our Complete Coverage The Coronavirus Crisis
The vaccine’s rollout has only intensified the campaign to shape the list of what type of workers are counted as critical to the economy. Now truck drivers, bus drivers, Uber drivers, the restaurant industry, grocery stores, school nurses, and other associations have similarly petitioned the CDC, arguing that their members should count as essential workers. Earlier this week, MarketWatch reported that the American Bankers Association asked that bank tellers, given their close contact with the public, should be given priority for receiving the vaccine.
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums, in a letter sent to the CDC last week, voiced “strong support for inclusion of animal care workers in your phase 1(b) priority recommendation for essential workers.” Dan Ashe, the president of the group, noted that the Georgia Aquarium alone cares for 100,000 animals.
The Biotechnology Innovation Organization, a lobby group for pharmaceutical firms such as Mallinckrodt and Bayer, argued in its petition to the CDC that drug manufacturers and lab researchers “cannot work from home” and should be included as essential workers. Pharmaceutical workers, BIO noted, are crucial for innovation “within the human health, food and agriculture, and industrial and environmental sectors.” Though many BIO member corporations include vaccine and immunotherapy developers, the group represents firms that sell opioid painkillers and other medical treatments unrelated to the present crisis.
CropLife America, which lobbies for pesticide manufacturers, wrote to the CDC to urge regulators to consider that those “who develop and package the seed, chemicals and fertilizers that farmers need for their crop” should be counted as workers critical for the nation’s food supply.
Journalists have also lobbied for prioritization. The National Press Photographers Association asked that journalists who have direct contact with the public be expressly included as essential workers. “While others have the option to walk away from large crowds, or to avoid members of the public that don’t follow CDC health guidelines, visual journalist [sic] repeatedly put their own safety at risk to document what is occurring and inform their communities, large and small,” the NPPA argued in its letter.
Do you have a coronavirus story you want to share? Email us at coronavirus@theintercept.com or use one of these secure methods to contact a reporter.
Other industries that have faced criticism for failing to protect the health and well-being of its workers are now petitioning the CDC for priority for the vaccine. Tyson Foods and Smithfield, two of the largest slaughterhouse companies in the country, are facing numerous lawsuits over allegations that the companies failed to provide protective equipment, coerced sick workers to come into work, and ignored early warning signs that the disease was rapidly spreading within its plants.
The North American Meat Institute, a lobby group for Tyson and Smithfield, ghostwrote the executive order signed by President Donald Trump that compelled slaughterhouse employees to continue working through the first weeks of the pandemic, overriding health and safety concerns.
Now, in a letter last week to the CDC, the same group is petitioning regulators to prioritize “meat and poultry workers.” The NAMI letter casts vaccine priority not only as crucial for maintaining the nation’s food supply, but also an altruistic endeavor, vital for mitigating “health inequalities given much of the workforce is comprised of minorities, immigrants, or those with lower socioeconomic status.”
Recent financial disclosures show another potential motive. Tyson Foods has increased revenues by 5.3 percent in the last quarter, in a year that the company has pushed exports of meat products, particularly to markets in China. During the company’s earnings report last month, an analyst from JPMorgan Chase raised the issue that the main risk to future profits would be “labor shortages in the next couple of months, not just because of actual illness, but also because of workers maybe afraid of getting a little sick.”


theintercept--2020-12-10--Inside Biden's Meeting With Civil Rights Leaders

Democrats in the House , Senate , and around the country have been urging President-elect Joe Biden to use the maximum amount of executive authority available to him in order to grow the economy , expand civil rights , protect the climate , and otherwise implement the agenda he ran on , despite the expected obstruction from a Republican Senate .
So there ’ s some things that I ’ m going to be able to do by executive order .
I ’ m not going to hesitate to do it , but what I ’ m not going to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to do what used to — Vanita [ Gupta ] , you probably used to get angry with me during the debates , when you ’ d have some of the people you were supporting saying , ‘ On Day 1 , I ’ m gon na have an executive order to do this !
’ Not within the constitutional authority .
I am not going to violate the Constitution .
Executive authority that my progressive friends talk about is way beyond the bounds .
And as one of you said , maybe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sharpton ] , whether it ’ s far left or far right , there is a Constitution .
It ’ s our only hope .
Our only hope and the way to deal with it is , where I have executive authority , I will use it to undo every single damn thing this guy has done by executive authority , but I ’ m not going to exercise executive authority where it ’ s a question , where I can come along and say , ‘ I can do away with assault @ @ @ @ @ @ @ authority to do away that .
And no one has fought harder to get rid of assault weapons than me , me , but you can ’ t do it by executive order .
We do that , next guy comes along and says , Well , guess what ?
By executive order , I guess everybody can have machine guns again .
So we got ta be careful .
Biden also warned the civil rights leaders that pressure on the incoming administration around police reform could hurt the party ’ s chances @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the Republicans ’ ability to define that party as in favor of defunding the police is “ how they beat the living hell out of us across the country.
” Biden insisted that his commitment to police reform was unwavering but argued that the branding effort had done too much damage .
Biden made his comments unprompted , referencing an earlier remark made by NAACP President Derrick Johnson , who had warned that appointing Tom Vilsack to be secretary of agriculture would anger Black farmers in Georgia , as well as Black @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whom Shirley Sherrod was a hero .
Sherrod was fired by Vilsack from her position as Georgia director of rural development for the U.S. Department of Agriculture during Vilsack ’ s previous tenure as agriculture secretary during the Obama administration .
Her firing was quickly revealed to have been a mistake and based on an incomplete airing of a video by the late conservative provocateur Andrew Breitbart .
Particularly in Georgia , Johnson noted , Vilsack ’ s capitulation was still a sore spot , and nominating him would be “ disastrous ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ victory that you appreciated in Georgia , it was around 12,000 votes .
And so as you consider appointments , you also must consider what impact would that have on voters in the state of Georgia .
And I will submit to you that former Secretary Vilsack could have a disastrous impact on voters in Georgia .
Shirley Sherrod is a civil rights legend , a hero , ” Johnson said .


theintercept--2020-12-11--Hollywood Deployed Lobbyists to Win Exemptions to Strict California Lockdown

California Gov .
Gavin Newsom was caught violating his own warnings against multiple households dining together indoors .
The Democratic governor was spotted at the French Laundry , an exclusive restaurant north of San Francisco , where he was celebrating the birthday of longtime friend Jason Kinney .
The dinner controversy was more than just an opulent display of political double standards — it also highlighted the backroom efforts to maintain special treatment during the pandemic .
Kinney , a veteran political operative , is a lobbyist for a number of interests seeking to shape the rules governing life under @ @ @ @ @ @ @ economic activities are deemed essential in order to stay in business .
The inside track may have paid off .
One of Kinney ’ s clients , Netflix , has been allowed to continue to operate during the latest round of forced closures that began last week as intensive care hospital capacity has dwindled across the state .
The entertainment industry has been given extensive leeway to operate during the pandemic , even as California now faces a stay-at-home order .
The state has deemed the television and movie production industry as “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ studios to continue filming projects , including in Los Angeles , which is facing the most strict lockdown order .
Many studios are still filming shows across Los Angeles , including HBO ’ s “ Curb Your Enthusiasm ” and Netflix ’ s “ The Kominsky Method , ” along with at least 40 feature films that began filming in November .
Sony Pictures told investors that it began to ramp up its production schedule back in July .
This stands in sharp contrast to the strict rules applied to the average California @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many counties now face fines or imprisonment for venturing outside for any “ nonessential ” travel , congregating in small groups , or operating an outdoor restaurant , even one that follows federal guidelines on social distancing and hygiene .
Kinney is just one of many entertainment industry lobbyists who has sought to influence the governor ’ s office over essential work and coronavirus response rules .
Sony Pictures , Walt Disney and Co. , Paramount Pictures , Warner Brothers Entertainment , and the Motion Picture Association , the trade group for major @ @ @ @ @ @ @ California state officials during the pandemic , disclosures show .
Warner Brothers , for instance , spent $ 22,500 earlier this year on lobbyists contacting the governor ’ s office for “ COVID/OUTREACH , TV/FILM PRODUCTION , ” according to a disclosure .
The Motion Picture Association spent $ 45,000 on lobbyists to shape the “ COVID-19 Reopening of film/tv sector.
” Paramount Pictures has spent at least $ 85,000 this year on the “ essential business ” rules developed by state agencies in California .
Netflix nearly tripled spending on lobbying in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The streaming giant , according to filings , spent an average of about $ 24,437 a quarter on efforts to influence state policymakers in 2019 .
This year , during the pandemic , Netflix ’ s lobbying fees jumped to an average of $ 70,725 a quarter .
The jump in spending includes increased fees to Axiom Advisors , the firm founded by Kinney .
The movie studios , Kinney , and the governor ’ s office did not respond to a request for comment .
The Motion Picture Association referred The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ group noting that the industry has worked with union and guild partners “ for reaching consensus on health and safety guidelines for motion picture , television and streaming productions in response to COVID-19.
” of exemptions has caused growing backlash to the entertainment industry .
Initially , the state of California did not include Hollywood studios in the list of essential workers issued in March .
But a revised listing , issued in April , declared that workers involved in “ the entertainment industries , studios , and other related establishments ” to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public health guidance around physical distancing.
” Then , in November , Newsom provided a special exemption to television and film production companies for his earlier limited shelter-in-place order issued before Thanksgiving , which featured a curfew from 10 p.m to 5 a.m .
The workforce on film sets could continue operations throughout the night .
Some industry insiders feared that the latest round of shutdown orders in the face of surging coronavirus cases would revoke the designation .
The orders issued by both Eric Garcetti , the mayor of Los Angeles , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , explicitly reiterate support for the entertainment industry to remain in business .
The anger over the exemption has continued to boil over .
Earlier this month , a central coronavirus testing site at the Union Station building faced a temporary closure to accommodate the filming of a remake of “ She ’ s all That ” featuring TikTok star Addison Rae .
Some 500 appointments were canceled .
The negative news cycle resulted in an intervention from the mayor ’ s office to keep the testing site open .
Around the same @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Angela Marsden , posted a viral video highlighting the disparity .
The video features Marsden displaying her own socially distanced outdoor dining , which has been shut down by the state , merely steps across a parking lot from similarly situated tents and chairs associated with the NBC Universal production set for the series “ Good Girls , ” which has been allowed to proceed as essential work .
“ If [ Newsom ] can dine indoors with 22 of his closest friends , ” Andrew Gruel , a chef who operates LA @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reporters this week , “ I can have my guests dine outdoors , in the beautiful air , absorbing the vitamin D , and enjoying a meal.
” Gruel , in comments to The Intercept , said the studio industry “ exemptions underscore the fact our officials policy revolves around supporting their campaign donors at the expense of small business .
It ’ s not about science or data.
” The Hollywood Reporter , the esteemed trade outlet , noted this week that entertainment executives have maintained guarded optimism over the fact that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ industry in his latest order .
“ It bodes well for the industry that it made it through this round , ” one state official told the outlet .
“ We are not a bar where everybody sits around with their masks off , ” said Momita Sengupta , vice president of Netflix ’ s physical production operations .
Industry insiders , according to the Hollywood Reporter , have also hoped that the entertainment industry ’ s economic contribution to the state will protect it from further regulation .
The industry may also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ elected officials .
The “ Big Six ” production studios have donated heavily to California elected officials and campaigns .
Netflix and its employees gave $ 135,950 ; Walt Disney and Co. and its employees gave $ 183,999 ; Paramount and its employees gave $ 119,308 ; Sony and its employees gave $ 27,961 ; Comcast-NBCUniversal and its employees gave $ 251,588 ; and Warner Bros. and its employees gave $ 77,050 .
The campaign donations were spent as the firms also deployed lobbyists to shape the pandemic rules governing the industry .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ firm that features former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez and former LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa as partners , is currently registered to lobby LA officials on filming issues on behalf of both Comcast-NBCUniversal and the Motion Picture Association .
Tracy Arnold , Newsom ’ s chief deputy cabinet secretary , previously served as partner at Mercury Public Affairs .
Paramount Pictures ’ lobbyist Greg Campbell previously served as chief of staff to former Assembly Speaker John Pérez .
The disclosure for his firm shows that Campbell lobbied the administration on the essential worker memorandum @ @ @ @ @ @ @ office earlier this year .
Campbell jointly serves clients through a partnership with a lobbyist named Jim DeBoo .
That relationship may serve him well .
On Wednesday , DeBoo was announced as Newsom ’ s new chief of staff to replace outgoing chief of staff Ann O ’ Leary .

Last month, California Gov. Gavin Newsom was caught violating his own warnings against multiple households dining together indoors. The Democratic governor was spotted at the French Laundry, an exclusive restaurant north of San Francisco, where he was celebrating the birthday of longtime friend Jason Kinney.
The dinner controversy was more than just an opulent display of political double standards — it also highlighted the backroom efforts to maintain special treatment during the pandemic. Kinney, a veteran political operative, is a lobbyist for a number of interests seeking to shape the rules governing life under the pandemic, including what kind of economic activities are deemed essential in order to stay in business.
The inside track may have paid off. One of Kinney’s clients, Netflix, has been allowed to continue to operate during the latest round of forced closures that began last week as intensive care hospital capacity has dwindled across the state.
The entertainment industry has been given extensive leeway to operate during the pandemic, even as California now faces a stay-at-home order. The state has deemed the television and movie production industry as “critical infrastructure” and has allowed Hollywood studios to continue filming projects, including in Los Angeles, which is facing the most strict lockdown order.
Many studios are still filming shows across Los Angeles, including HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and Netflix’s “The Kominsky Method,” along with at least 40 feature films that began filming in November. Sony Pictures told investors that it began to ramp up its production schedule back in July.
This stands in sharp contrast to the strict rules applied to the average California resident or small business. Californians in many counties now face fines or imprisonment for venturing outside for any “nonessential” travel, congregating in small groups, or operating an outdoor restaurant, even one that follows federal guidelines on social distancing and hygiene.
Kinney is just one of many entertainment industry lobbyists who has sought to influence the governor’s office over essential work and coronavirus response rules. Sony Pictures, Walt Disney and Co., Paramount Pictures, Warner Brothers Entertainment, and the Motion Picture Association, the trade group for major Hollywood studios, deployed lobbyists to influence California state officials during the pandemic, disclosures show.
Warner Brothers, for instance, spent $22,500 earlier this year on lobbyists contacting the governor’s office for “COVID/OUTREACH, TV/FILM PRODUCTION,” according to a disclosure. The Motion Picture Association spent $45,000 on lobbyists to shape the “COVID-19 Reopening of film/tv sector.” Paramount Pictures has spent at least $85,000 this year on the “essential business” rules developed by state agencies in California.
Netflix nearly tripled spending on lobbying in California as the pandemic hit the state. The streaming giant, according to filings, spent an average of about $24,437 a quarter on efforts to influence state policymakers in 2019. This year, during the pandemic, Netflix’s lobbying fees jumped to an average of $70,725 a quarter. The jump in spending includes increased fees to Axiom Advisors, the firm founded by Kinney.
The movie studios, Kinney, and the governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment. The Motion Picture Association referred The Intercept to a previous statement from the group noting that the industry has worked with union and guild partners “for reaching consensus on health and safety guidelines for motion picture, television and streaming productions in response to COVID-19.”
An employee walks by the filming stages at Warner Bros Studios in Burbank, Calif., on June 12, 2020. Photo: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images
An unusual series of exemptions has caused growing backlash to the entertainment industry.
Initially, the state of California did not include Hollywood studios in the list of essential workers issued in March. But a revised listing, issued in April, declared that workers involved in “the entertainment industries, studios, and other related establishments” to be essential “provided they follow covid-19 public health guidance around physical distancing.”
Then, in November, Newsom provided a special exemption to television and film production companies for his earlier limited shelter-in-place order issued before Thanksgiving, which featured a curfew from 10 p.m to 5 a.m. The workforce on film sets could continue operations throughout the night.
Some industry insiders feared that the latest round of shutdown orders in the face of surging coronavirus cases would revoke the designation. The orders issued by both Eric Garcetti, the mayor of Los Angeles, and Newsom in recent days, however, explicitly reiterate support for the entertainment industry to remain in business.
The anger over the exemption has continued to boil over. Earlier this month, a central coronavirus testing site at the Union Station building faced a temporary closure to accommodate the filming of a remake of “She’s all That” featuring TikTok star Addison Rae. Some 500 appointments were canceled. The negative news cycle resulted in an intervention from the mayor’s office to keep the testing site open.
Around the same time, an LA restaurant owner, Angela Marsden, posted a viral video highlighting the disparity. The video features Marsden displaying her own socially distanced outdoor dining, which has been shut down by the state, merely steps across a parking lot from similarly situated tents and chairs associated with the NBC Universal production set for the series “Good Girls,” which has been allowed to proceed as essential work.
“If [Newsom] can dine indoors with 22 of his closest friends,” Andrew Gruel, a chef who operates LA restaurants Slapfish and Big Parm, told reporters this week, “I can have my guests dine outdoors, in the beautiful air, absorbing the vitamin D, and enjoying a meal.”
Gruel, in comments to The Intercept, said the studio industry “exemptions underscore the fact our officials policy revolves around supporting their campaign donors at the expense of small business. It’s not about science or data.”
The Hollywood Reporter, the esteemed trade outlet, noted this week that entertainment executives have maintained guarded optimism over the fact that Newsom has maintained support for the entertainment industry in his latest order. “It bodes well for the industry that it made it through this round,” one state official told the outlet. “We are not a bar where everybody sits around with their masks off,” said Momita Sengupta, vice president of Netflix’s physical production operations.
Do you have a coronavirus story you want to share? Email us at coronavirus@theintercept.com or use one of these secure methods to contact a reporter.
Industry insiders, according to the Hollywood Reporter, have also hoped that the entertainment industry’s economic contribution to the state will protect it from further regulation.
The industry may also lean on its significant political ties to elected officials. The “Big Six” production studios have donated heavily to California elected officials and campaigns.
Netflix and its employees gave $135,950; Walt Disney and Co. and its employees gave $183,999; Paramount and its employees gave $119,308; Sony and its employees gave $27,961; Comcast-NBCUniversal and its employees gave $251,588; and Warner Bros. and its employees gave $77,050.
The campaign donations were spent as the firms also deployed lobbyists to shape the pandemic rules governing the industry. Mercury Public Affairs, a bipartisan lobbying firm that features former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez and former LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa as partners, is currently registered to lobby LA officials on filming issues on behalf of both Comcast-NBCUniversal and the Motion Picture Association. Tracy Arnold, Newsom’s chief deputy cabinet secretary, previously served as partner at Mercury Public Affairs.
Paramount Pictures’ lobbyist Greg Campbell previously served as chief of staff to former Assembly Speaker John Pérez. The disclosure for his firm shows that Campbell lobbied the administration on the essential worker memorandum from the governor’s economic affairs office earlier this year.
Campbell jointly serves clients through a partnership with a lobbyist named Jim DeBoo. That relationship may serve him well. On Wednesday, DeBoo was announced as Newsom’s new chief of staff to replace outgoing chief of staff Ann O’Leary.


theintercept--2020-12-11--Tom Vilsack for Agriculture Secretary Is Everything That's Wrong With the Democratic Party

The secretary of agriculture is an underrated and important Cabinet member whose work intersects with climate change , workers ’ safety , racial justice , antitrust , rural development , and of course , feeding the country .
The Covid-19 pandemic put America ’ s fragile and destructive food system on display .
Massive plant closures threatened the food supply , front-line food workers fell sick and died in large ( and growing ) numbers , and nearly 1 in 4 households experienced food insecurity .
The next agriculture secretary has an unprecedented moment to enact much needed systemic changes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
If Vilsack repeats his Obama-era strategy , we won ’ t see that progress .
This is because Vilsack doesn ’ t actually speak to the totality and needs of rural people .
In his work at the Department of Agriculture and as a dairy lobbyist , Vilsack represents the powerful few of Big Ag .
Vilsack let down independent family farmers when he failed to take on agribusiness domination .
Food production is concentrated in the hands of a shrinking number of giant multinational corporations who hold immense power over farmers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
As a candidate , Barack Obama promised to take on Big Ag during the 2008 Iowa caucuses and reiterated the goal at the start of his presidency .
Starting in 2010 , Vilsack ’ s USDA along with the Department of Justice held a series of hearings across the country where farmers shared stories of abuse and anti-competitive conduct by dominant meatpackers , such as Tyson or Smithfield , and seed and chemical goliaths , such as Monsanto .
This listening tour culminated in promising new rules to reinvigorate and update the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Progressive Era anti-monopoly law that established fair codes of conduct in the livestock industry .
Vilsack had complete authority to finalize these rules , but in the face of industry and congressional pressure , he decided to expand their comment period from the usual 60 days to 150 days , which pushed any finalization past the 2010 midterms .
At that point , Republicans took the House in a tea party insurgency and proceeded to pass funding riders that blocked the Department of Agriculture from passing the rule .
Vilsack eventually introduced watered-down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ last days in office , but at this point many farmers who spoke out at risk of retaliation had lost faith .
The Trump administration promptly blocked and withdrew these modest reforms , and even dissolved the independent office that enforced the Packers and Stockyards Act .
put meatpacker profits over worker and food safety by implementing a new poultry inspection system that , among other changes , opened a door for plants to run at faster speeds and transferred some inspection duties from USDA staff to meatpacking employees .
While the department @ @ @ @ @ @ @ safety , a report by the Government Accountability Office questioned the data behind their claims .
In a public comment on the rules , one concerned USDA consumer safety inspector wrote , “ If this proposal goes through and inspectors are cut , I would not feel safe enough to feed [ poultry ] to my family.
” This proposal also threatened to lift maximum poultry processing speeds from 140 birds per minute to 175 .
Numerous studies show that faster line speeds increase meatpacking workers ’ risk of injury , and labor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — or so it seemed .
Select plants kept loopholes to operate at faster speeds which the Trump administration later expanded .
Trump ’ s USDA has granted waivers for poultry and beef plants to operate at faster speeds even during the pandemic .
Meatpackers need to slow line speeds to reconfigure plants and allow for distancing , as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , between front-line processing workers , but few have budged .
Slaughter deregulation is just one example of the ways the Department of Agriculture ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worker safety and racial inequity , as the majority of meatpacking workers are immigrants and people of color .
Historically , the USDA has driven racial wealth disparities by systemically denying Black farmers loans or access to other farm supports .
These actions contributed to a 98 percent decrease in the number of Black farmers from 1920 to 1997 , as well as mass land dispossession that affected 98 percent of Black agricultural landowners .
While Vilsack has touted his civil rights record at the department , an investigation by The Counter found @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inaccurate claims about an increase in Black farmers and a record low in civil rights complaints .
Racial lending disparities also persisted under Vilsack ’ s tenure and Vilsack personally failed to prioritize civil rights , according to accounts from USDA employees .
In one case , a longtime civil servant and Black farmer , Lloyd Wright , asked Vilsack to rally Senate support for a bill that would have extended the statute of limitations on several valid USDA civil rights complaints that had expired during the Bush years .
Vilsack allegedly did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Senate despite passing the House .
“ I ’ m convinced he was never committed , ” Wright said of Vilsack .
The USDA eventually foreclosed on some Black farmers with cases still under review .
In fact , between 2006 and 2016 , the USDA was six times more likely to foreclose on a Black farmer than a white farmer .
To top it all off , Vilsack ousted Georgia ’ s USDA rural development director and civil rights leader , Shirley Sherrod , based on false claims circulated by right-wing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told Biden that Vilsack ’ s association with this incident could jeopardize Democrats ’ prospects in the Georgia ’ s Senate runoff elections next month .
of justice the USDA must address during the Biden administration is climate change .
Biden has signaled that he wants to make agriculture a key part of his climate policy and floated ideas such as a carbon market to pay farmers for sequestering carbon ( a solution industry has started to line up behind and some scientists have started to doubt ) .
Here , too , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tweaks to fundamentally flawed systems .
Vilsack , along with most of the Democratic establishment , strongly supports ethanol as a renewable biofuel and a market for excess commodity corn .
Some 30 million acres of U.S. corn will turn into ethanol this year .
But many environmentalists now believe the pollution , chemical use , and soil degradation associated with growing more corn outweighs any benefits of replacing oil with ethanol .
Tom Philpott ’ s book “ Perilous Bounty ” documents how the persistent overproduction of monoculture corn and soybeans will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ especially in Vilsack ’ s home state of Iowa .
However , agribusinesses profit off artificially cheap corn and soy in the form of animal feed or derivatives like high fructose corn syrup , and they lobby hard for federal subsidies and policies that keep overproduction in place .
Vilsack himself lobbied for such policies in the dairy industry , promoting exports as a way to deal with the persistent milk surplus that has collapsed milk prices below the cost of production and pushed small dairy farmers to get big or get out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of massive industrial farms may benefit milk processors , who profit off lower milk prices , but just as in consolidated livestock production , these growing factory farms are an environmental disaster .
solidly establishment choice , which tells you everything you need to know about the Democratic establishment .
The former Iowa governor went on to become Obama ’ s longest-serving Cabinet member .
Only a few weeks after leaving the USDA in 2017 , he became president and CEO of the U.S .
Dairy Export Council , a dairy industry trade @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million a year from Dairy Management Inc. , the council ’ s parent organization .
He is also a longtime supporter of Biden ; Vilsack endorsed Biden ’ s first campaign for president in 1988 and advised Biden ’ s 2020 campaign on rural policy .
Many in the Democratic establishment routinely look to Vilsack for advice on how to win back rural voters .
But in all the time that Vilsack oversaw America ’ s central rural development agency and guided party strategy in the wake of the 2016 election , Democrats @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This year , the result for Biden in Iowa was as good as it was for small farmers under Vilsack ’ s regime : He finished an embarrassing fourth in the Iowa caucuses and then was beaten badly by Donald Trump in the general election there — an election that additionally saw Democrats lose a key Senate race in Iowa .
Freshman Democratic Rep. Abby Finkenauer was also ousted , as the party ’ s rural erosion progressed .
One poll found more than 88 percent of young people and 82 percent of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a moratorium on factory farms and corporate monopolies in food and agriculture.
” But Vilsack would rather mitigate some of the worst environmental hazards of factory farms than invest in a safer model of meat and dairy production .
As secretary , Vilsack unveiled a plan to reduce 25 percent of U.S. dairy emissions by promoting anaerobic digesters .
These machines capture methane and other greenhouse gas emission emitted by livestock manure lagoons , a growing source of agricultural pollution as industrial animal farms drive out small ones .
Opponents argue this imperfect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a dirty industry , rather than meaningfully regulate it .
Rural communities , the Democratic Party , and our planet can not afford another four years of the corporatist agriculture status quo .
Vilsack had eight years and numerous opportunities to right historic wrongs within the USDA and put protecting farmers , workers , and the environment ahead of agribusiness profiteering , but he chose not to .
Knowing this , constituents do not need to “ wait and see ” if Vilsack will deliver on big promises ; they will need to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
During the pandemic , there have been some fledgling bright spots of farmer-labor solidarity against corporate power , and these alliances need to expand and incorporate rural communities harmed by industrial agriculture , environmentalists , and , frankly , everyone who eats .

On Tuesday, after some public tokenizing and horse trading, President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team crowned dairy industry lobbyist and former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to lead the Department of Agriculture. Vilsack won out over House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn’s pick, Rep. Marcia Fudge, who was also backed by progressives. Whereas Fudge represented an opportunity to unite the USDA’s rural and urban constituents and address the agency’s long history of racial discrimination, Vilsack is a rerun of pro-corporate policies that continue to drive rural communities away from the Democratic Party.
President-elect Joe Biden, left, arrives at a campaign stop with former agriculture secretary and former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack in Algona, Iowa, on Dec. 2, 2019. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images
The secretary of agriculture is an underrated and important Cabinet member whose work intersects with climate change, workers’ safety, racial justice, antitrust, rural development, and of course, feeding the country.
The Covid-19 pandemic put America’s fragile and destructive food system on display. Massive plant closures threatened the food supply, front-line food workers fell sick and died in large (and growing) numbers, and nearly 1 in 4 households experienced food insecurity. The next agriculture secretary has an unprecedented moment to enact much needed systemic changes in how we grow and distribute food.
If Vilsack repeats his Obama-era strategy, we won’t see that progress. This is because Vilsack doesn’t actually speak to the totality and needs of rural people. In his work at the Department of Agriculture and as a dairy lobbyist, Vilsack represents the powerful few of Big Ag.
As agriculture secretary, Vilsack let down independent family farmers when he failed to take on agribusiness domination. Food production is concentrated in the hands of a shrinking number of giant multinational corporations who hold immense power over farmers, workers, consumers, and policymakers. As a candidate, Barack Obama promised to take on Big Ag during the 2008 Iowa caucuses and reiterated the goal at the start of his presidency. Starting in 2010, Vilsack’s USDA along with the Department of Justice held a series of hearings across the country where farmers shared stories of abuse and anti-competitive conduct by dominant meatpackers, such as Tyson or Smithfield, and seed and chemical goliaths, such as Monsanto.
As a dairy lobbyist, Vilsack represents the powerful few of Big Ag.
This listening tour culminated in promising new rules to reinvigorate and update the 1921 Packers and Stockyards Act, a Progressive Era anti-monopoly law that established fair codes of conduct in the livestock industry. Vilsack had complete authority to finalize these rules, but in the face of industry and congressional pressure, he decided to expand their comment period from the usual 60 days to 150 days, which pushed any finalization past the 2010 midterms. At that point, Republicans took the House in a tea party insurgency and proceeded to pass funding riders that blocked the Department of Agriculture from passing the rule.
Hillary Clinton speaks with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, emphasizing investment in small towns to help strengthen rural America as part of a plan released after Vilsack endorsed her during an organizing event in Baldwin, Iowa, on Aug. 26, 2015. Photo: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Vilsack eventually introduced watered-down regulations of meatpacker mistreatment in his very last days in office, but at this point many farmers who spoke out at risk of retaliation had lost faith. The Trump administration promptly blocked and withdrew these modest reforms, and even dissolved the independent office that enforced the Packers and Stockyards Act.
Vilsack’s USDA also put meatpacker profits over worker and food safety by implementing a new poultry inspection system that, among other changes, opened a door for plants to run at faster speeds and transferred some inspection duties from USDA staff to meatpacking employees. While the department contended this new system would improve food safety, a report by the Government Accountability Office questioned the data behind their claims. In a public comment on the rules, one concerned USDA consumer safety inspector wrote, “If this proposal goes through and inspectors are cut, I would not feel safe enough to feed [poultry] to my family.”
This proposal also threatened to lift maximum poultry processing speeds from 140 birds per minute to 175. Numerous studies show that faster line speeds increase meatpacking workers’ risk of injury, and labor advocates successfully fought to keep speeds down — or so it seemed. Select plants kept loopholes to operate at faster speeds which the Trump administration later expanded. Trump’s USDA has granted waivers for poultry and beef plants to operate at faster speeds even during the pandemic. Meatpackers need to slow line speeds to reconfigure plants and allow for distancing, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between front-line processing workers, but few have budged.
Slaughter deregulation is just one example of the ways the Department of Agriculture’s policies intersect with broader issues of worker safety and racial inequity, as the majority of meatpacking workers are immigrants and people of color. Historically, the USDA has driven racial wealth disparities by systemically denying Black farmers loans or access to other farm supports. These actions contributed to a 98 percent decrease in the number of Black farmers from 1920 to 1997, as well as mass land dispossession that affected 98 percent of Black agricultural landowners.
While Vilsack has touted his civil rights record at the department, an investigation by The Counter found Vilsack’s USDA promoted misleading and inaccurate claims about an increase in Black farmers and a record low in civil rights complaints. Racial lending disparities also persisted under Vilsack’s tenure and Vilsack personally failed to prioritize civil rights, according to accounts from USDA employees. In one case, a longtime civil servant and Black farmer, Lloyd Wright, asked Vilsack to rally Senate support for a bill that would have extended the statute of limitations on several valid USDA civil rights complaints that had expired during the Bush years. Vilsack allegedly did nothing, and the bill died in the Senate despite passing the House. “I’m convinced he was never committed,” Wright said of Vilsack.
The USDA eventually foreclosed on some Black farmers with cases still under review. In fact, between 2006 and 2016, the USDA was six times more likely to foreclose on a Black farmer than a white farmer. To top it all off, Vilsack ousted Georgia’s USDA rural development director and civil rights leader, Shirley Sherrod, based on false claims circulated by right-wing platform Breitbart. Civil rights leaders recently told Biden that Vilsack’s association with this incident could jeopardize Democrats’ prospects in the Georgia’s Senate runoff elections next month.
Another critical issue of justice the USDA must address during the Biden administration is climate change. Biden has signaled that he wants to make agriculture a key part of his climate policy and floated ideas such as a carbon market to pay farmers for sequestering carbon (a solution industry has started to line up behind and some scientists have started to doubt). Here, too, environmentalists fear Vilsack will favor technical corporate-friendly tweaks to fundamentally flawed systems.
Former Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, left, and Democratic presidential candidate New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, center, tour the POET Biorefining Ethanol Facility with POET general manager Wael Sanduka on May 17, 2019, in Gowrie, Iowa. Photo: Charlie Neibergall/AP
Vilsack, along with most of the Democratic establishment, strongly supports ethanol as a renewable biofuel and a market for excess commodity corn. Some 30 million acres of U.S. corn will turn into ethanol this year. But many environmentalists now believe the pollution, chemical use, and soil degradation associated with growing more corn outweighs any benefits of replacing oil with ethanol. Tom Philpott’s book “Perilous Bounty” documents how the persistent overproduction of monoculture corn and soybeans will eventually ruin America’s farmland, especially in Vilsack’s home state of Iowa. However, agribusinesses profit off artificially cheap corn and soy in the form of animal feed or derivatives like high fructose corn syrup, and they lobby hard for federal subsidies and policies that keep overproduction in place.
Vilsack himself lobbied for such policies in the dairy industry, promoting exports as a way to deal with the persistent milk surplus that has collapsed milk prices below the cost of production and pushed small dairy farmers to get big or get out. Shifting milk production to a handful of massive industrial farms may benefit milk processors, who profit off lower milk prices, but just as in consolidated livestock production, these growing factory farms are an environmental disaster.
Vilsack is a solidly establishment choice, which tells you everything you need to know about the Democratic establishment. The former Iowa governor went on to become Obama’s longest-serving Cabinet member. Only a few weeks after leaving the USDA in 2017, he became president and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council, a dairy industry trade group; he made nearly $1 million a year from Dairy Management Inc., the council’s parent organization. He is also a longtime supporter of Biden; Vilsack endorsed Biden’s first campaign for president in 1988 and advised Biden’s 2020 campaign on rural policy.
Many in the Democratic establishment routinely look to Vilsack for advice on how to win back rural voters. But in all the time that Vilsack oversaw America’s central rural development agency and guided party strategy in the wake of the 2016 election, Democrats only lost ground with rural voters. This year, the result for Biden in Iowa was as good as it was for small farmers under Vilsack’s regime: He finished an embarrassing fourth in the Iowa caucuses and then was beaten badly by Donald Trump in the general election there — an election that additionally saw Democrats lose a key Senate race in Iowa. Freshman Democratic Rep. Abby Finkenauer was also ousted, as the party’s rural erosion progressed.
One poll found more than 88 percent of young people and 82 percent of independent voters in rural areas support “a moratorium on factory farms and corporate monopolies in food and agriculture.” But Vilsack would rather mitigate some of the worst environmental hazards of factory farms than invest in a safer model of meat and dairy production.
As secretary, Vilsack unveiled a plan to reduce 25 percent of U.S. dairy emissions by promoting anaerobic digesters. These machines capture methane and other greenhouse gas emission emitted by livestock manure lagoons, a growing source of agricultural pollution as industrial animal farms drive out small ones. Opponents argue this imperfect technology is an expensive workaround to accommodate a dirty industry, rather than meaningfully regulate it.
Rural communities, the Democratic Party, and our planet cannot afford another four years of the corporatist agriculture status quo. Vilsack had eight years and numerous opportunities to right historic wrongs within the USDA and put protecting farmers, workers, and the environment ahead of agribusiness profiteering, but he chose not to. Knowing this, constituents do not need to “wait and see” if Vilsack will deliver on big promises; they will need to push the agency hard from day one. During the pandemic, there have been some fledgling bright spots of farmer-labor solidarity against corporate power, and these alliances need to expand and incorporate rural communities harmed by industrial agriculture, environmentalists, and, frankly, everyone who eats.