memeorandum: Trump's Weekend of Scandal Was Hiding in Plain Sight (Tim Miller/The Bulwark)

1:50 PM ET, May 18, 2020

Top Items:

Trump's purge just got much more corrupt. Here's what's coming next. — President Trump's abrupt decision to remove the inspector general of the State Department constitutes the latest in a string of corrupt efforts to remove public servants who prioritize real oversight and accountability over protecting Trump at all costs.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, CNBC, Washington Times, Raw Story and Patterico's Pontifications

Washington Post:

Fired inspector general was examining whether Pompeo had a staffer walk his dog, handle dry cleaning, official says — The State Department inspector general fired by President Trump was looking into allegations that a staffer for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was performing domestic errands …

Discussion: NBC News, Talking Points Memo, The Hill, Redstate, Daily Kos, Law & Crime, Fox News, Common Dreams, POLITICUSUSA, Columbia Journalism Review, The Root, Axios and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Zachary Cohen / CNN:

Democrats claim watchdog fired by Trump was probing Pompeo's fast-tracking of $8 billion Saudi arms sale — Washington (CNN)The State Department inspector general fired by President Donald Trump on Friday, Steve Linick, had nearly completed an investigation into Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's decision …

Discussion: American Greatness and Raw Story

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Hypocrisy watch: Republicans who championed inspectors general under Obama stand by as Trump purges them

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Hill, Breitbart and Chuck Grassley

HuffPost:
Fired Inspector General Was Probing Pompeo Over Saudi Arms Deal, Mistreating Staffer: Reports

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN and Talking Points Memo

Edward Wong / New York Times:
Inspector General's Firing Puts Pompeo's Use of Taxpayer Funds Under Scrutiny

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Moderate Voice, National Review, Washington Post, Lawfare, Raw Story, NBC News, Axios, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Daily Kos

Andrew Desiderio / Politico:
Fired watchdog was investigating Trump administration arms sales to Saudi Arabia

Discussion: Axios and Raw Story

New York Times:

F.B.I. Finds Links Between Pensacola Gunman and Al Qaeda — The gunman in December's shooting, a Saudi cadet who had trained with the U.S. military, had been in contact with the terrorist group, officials said. — WASHINGTON — The gunman in last year's deadly shooting at a military base …

Discussion: Axios and The Daily Caller

CNN:
FBI finds al Qaeda link after breaking encryption on Pensacola attacker's iPhone

Discussion: National Review and 9to5Mac

CBS News:
Saudi shooter in Florida air base attack had “significant ties” to al Qaeda, Barr says

Discussion: IJR, The Daily Caller, Sara A. Carter and Raw Story

Eric Tucker / Associated Press:
Official: FBI finds link between Pensacola gunman, al-Qaida

Discussion: Politico, ABC News, Florida Politics and The Hill

Wall Street Journal: FBI Discovers al Qaeda Link in Pensacola Attack

Matt Zapotosky / Washington Post:

Barr says he does not expect Obama or Biden will be investigated by prosecutor reviewing 2016 Russia probe — Attorney General William P. Barr said Monday that he did not expect the prosecutor he handpicked to review the 2016 FBI investigation into President Trump's campaign …

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

This is why Trump is back to attacking Obama — It makes zero sense, you would think, for President Trump to attack his predecessor, since President Barack Obama is the most popular politician around (next to his wife) — someone who instills in Democrats a feeling of solidarity, of nostalgia for decent leadership and of hope.

Discussion: National Review, Raw Story, POLITICUSUSA, Contemptor and Politico

Brooke Singman / Fox News:
Barr says he does not expect criminal investigation of Obama or Biden as result of Durham probe

Discussion: The Hill

Eric Tucker / Associated Press: Barr says he doesn't envision investigations of Biden, Obama

Jason Wilson / The Guardian:

US lockdown protests may have spread virus widely, cellphone data suggests — Devices associated with protesters travelled up to hundreds of miles after rallies where few precautions were taken — Cellphone location data suggests that demonstrators at anti-lockdown protests …

Discussion: Common Dreams and POLITICUSUSA

Yaron Steinbuch / New York Post:

Man who called coronavirus ‘fake crisis’ gets infected, issues warning — A Florida man who initially believed the coronavirus is a “fake crisis” that was “blown out of proportion” is now hospitalized along with his wife — and is sounding a cautionary note about the deadly bug.

Ben Smith / New York Times:

Is Ronan Farrow Too Good to Be True? — He has delivered revelatory reporting on some of the defining stories of our time. But a close examination reveals the weaknesses in what may be called an era of resistance journalism. — It was a breathtaking story, written by The New Yorker's marquee reporter …

Discussion: The Intercept, The Wrap, Mediaite and Althouse, more at Mediagazer »

Denise Grady / New York Times:

Moderna Coronavirus Vaccine Trial Shows Promising Early Results — The company said its preliminary test in 8 healthy volunteers was safe. It is on an accelerated timetable to begin a larger human trial soon. — The first coronavirus vaccine to be tested in people appears to be safe …

Discussion: CNBC, Townhall, Gothamist, Common Dreams, Daily Kos and Mediaite

Moderna, Inc.:
Moderna Announces Positive Interim Phase 1 Data for its mRNA Vaccine (mRNA-1273) Against Novel Coronavirus

Discussion: In the Pipeline, Gizmodo, KNWA FOX24, Fox News, STAT, New York Post and Sara A. Carter

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

Swing-state Republicans warn Trump's reelection is on shaky ground — Donald Trump has made clear he will attack Joe Biden unmercifully in order to ensure the election is a choice between him and Joe Biden — rather than an up-or-down vote on the president's handling of the coronavirus.

Discussion: Associated Press, Vanity Fair and Raw Story

Nick Valencia / CNN:

Senior CDC official rebukes White House trade adviser's criticism as tensions escalate over reopening strategy — (CNN)A senior official from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday offered a pointed rebuke of White House trade adviser Peter Navarro's scathing criticism …

Discussion: ABC News, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Daily Kos, The Hill and Washington Post

Stephen Collinson / CNN: Trump officials deflect blame for US death toll, escalate reopening push

CNN:

Former Australian PM calls out the ‘Murdoch mafia’ — Kevin Rudd, a former prime minister of Australia, argues that Rupert Murdoch's media empire is a “cancer on democracy” in the U.S., U.K. and Australia, using “mafia"-like intimidation tactics against dissenting voices.

CBS News:

Full Transcript: Fed Chair Jerome Powell's 60 Minutes interview on economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic — Jerome Powell lays out his thoughts on getting the economy back to its pre-coronavirus numbers. The transcript from the Federal Reserve chairman's interview with Scott Pelley.

Discussion: CNBC, HuffPost, Fox News, New York Post, IJR, Just The News, The American Independent, Axios and Politico

Erica Werner / Washington Post:

$500 billion Treasury fund meant for coronavirus relief has lent barely any money so far, oversight commission finds — A Congressional Oversight Commission created by Cares Act issues its first report even though it still doesn't have a chair. — A $500 billion Treasury Department fund created …

Brooke Singman / Fox News:
Oversight commission finds coronavirus relief funds have not yet been distributed to airlines

Discussion: Associated Press

Michael Wines / New York Times:

Freed by Court Ruling, Republicans Step Up Effort to Patrol Voting — Officials seek to recruit 50,000 poll watchers and spend millions to fight voter fraud. Democrats say the real goal is to stop them from voting. — WASHINGTON — Six months before a presidential election in which turnout …

Tim Miller / The Bulwark:

Trump's Weekend of Scandal Was Hiding in Plain Sight — It's going on right now and no one can see it because of the chaff. — The Washington Post published a picture of Stacey Abrams wearing a cape this weekend. — You may have seen it, since in certain corners of the conservative news media …

Discussion: Raw Story

Nancy Cook / Politico:

Trump's reopening troubles play out in his White House — As President Donald Trump urges businesses across the country to reopen and Americans to return to work, he and his administration are projecting a sense of normalcy after months of disruption because of the coronavirus.

Discussion: The Hill

Nancy Cook / Politico:
Trump keeps his staff in flux with White House musical chairs

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Raw Story

Bloomberg:

Over 100 Million in China's Northeast Face Renewed Lockdown — Conditions return to height of China's epidemic in February — Frustration as restrictions tighten again after earlier easing — Some 108 million people in China's northeast region are being plunged back under lockdown conditions …

Discussion: Gizmodo

Rebecca Klar / The Hill:

Schwarzenegger holds up mock Trump University diploma in commencement speech — Actor and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) held up a mock Trump University degree as part of a virtual commencement address to the graduating class of 2020. — “You are celebrating that journey today …

Discussion: Breitbart and POLITICUSUSA

Washington Post:

Barr installs top DOJ aide, prosecutor of Trump's Mar-a-Lago trespasser, as deputy over U.S. prosecutors in Washington — Attorney General William P. Barr has installed a new top deputy over the federal prosecutor's office for Washington, raising concerns that a key U.S. attorney's office …

Molly Jong-Fast / The Daily Beast:

It's Official: Laura Ingraham Wants Your Grandmother to Die — Testing and tracing are just a Democratic conspiracy. Go out. Go to bars. Spread disease. Sorry, grandma, you've had a good run. — BEAST INSIDE — Friday night Laura Ingraham admitted she thinks maybe it's time to stop coddling granny.

Geoffrey Skelley / FiveThirtyEight:

Are Older Voters Turning Away From Trump? — There are different “gaps” in American politics, but one that has consistently shown up in recent presidential elections is the age gap. That is, younger voters tend to vote more Democratic and older voters tend to vote more Republican.