Fwd: Deflecting and distracting
The U.S., sadly, is No. 1 in the world in COVID-19 cases and deaths, which have now surpassed 80,000. To distract Americans from that devastating reality, Donald Trump has revived an old conspiracy theory—that former President Barack Obama launched an illegal surveillance operation against him during the 2016 presidential campaign. The facts, once again, bear repeating: Russia conducted a sweeping information warfare attack against America in 2016 to help Trump win election. Trump and his team knew what was happening, encouraged it, planned to benefit from it, failed to report it to the FBI, and then tried to cover it up. These facts are indisputable, and in the absence of public vigilance, history may well repeat itself this year.
—Evan McMullin
1. 'An absolute chaotic disaster'
Donald Trump has shifted his focus back to a familiar old rival—former President Barack Obama. In a verified recording of a web talk between the former president and members of the Obama Alumni Association, leaked last Friday, Obama called the administration's handling of the coronavirus outbreak "an absolute chaotic disaster." Addressing the Justice Dept.'s dropping of the case against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, Obama also said the "rule of law is at risk" in the U.S. Needless to say, the president was enraged, and has spent days tweeting about "Obamagate," which he believes is an illegal surveillance operation initiated by Obama to derail his 2016 presidential campaign. —The Guardian
—"You know what the crime is." Trump continued to air his grievances at a press briefing yesterday, accusing his predecessor of committing the biggest political crime in history. Asked what the crime was, he responded, "You know what the crime is. The crime is very obvious to everybody. All you have to do is read the newspapers—except yours," referring to The Washington Post. —The Hill
— McConnell denounces Obama. Trump has at least one defender with regard to Obama's criticism of his pandemic response—Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. During an online Trump campaign event yesterday, he said, "I think President Obama should have kept his mouth shut. ... I think it's a little bit classless frankly to critique an administration that comes after you." Hmm, what about those that come before you? —Axios
— But investigate Obama? Nah. Trump's Senate allies yesterday refused to go as far as Trump in claiming that Obama acted illegally, and also indicated that they would pass on investigating the former president. "I'm not anticipating calling President Obama," said Senate Judiciary Chair Lindsey Graham, whose panel is probing the origins of the 2016 Russia investigation. Graham did say, however, that he would call former senior Obama Administration officials as witnesses. —Politico
More: Nearly 2K former DOJ officials call for AG Barr to resign over Flynn case (ABC News)
2. Foer: Putin gets by with a little help from POTUS
"Vladimir Putin dreams of discrediting the American democratic system, and he will never have a more reliable ally than Donald Trump. A democracy can't defend itself if it can't honestly describe the attacks against it. But the president hasn't just undermined his own country's defenses—he has actively abetted the adversary's efforts. If Russia wants to tarnish the political process as hopelessly rigged, it has a bombastic amplifier standing behind the seal of the presidency, a man who reflexively depicts his opponents as frauds and any system that produces an outcome he doesn't like as fixed. If Russia wants to spread disinformation, the president continually softens an audience for it, by instructing the public to disregard authoritative journalism as the prevarications of a traitorous elite and by spouting falsehoods on Twitter." —The Atlantic
More: Andelman: Uh oh, Putin's following Trump's COVID-19 playbook (CNN)
3. Fauci testifies to Senate
So what is President Trump hoping to distract Americans from this week? Well, first off, the testimony by four key public health experts to the Senate Health Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee today. Dr. Anthony Fauci, who participated remotely, warned the panel of "needless suffering and death" if the country opens up prematurely amid the coronavirus pandemic. Sen. Mitt Romney took issue with Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir, who praised the U.S.'s current testing capacity. "Yesterday, you celebrated that we had done more tests per capita than South Korea but ignored the fact that they accomplished theirs at the beginning of the outbreak, and we treaded water in February and March," Romney declared. —The Daily Beast
— "Our testing record is nothing to celebrate." The importance of mass testing for reopening businesses and schools and resuming normal life was reiterated at the hearing. Though the U.S. has ramped up testing from 150,000 tests per day a month ago to 300,000 per day recently, the current rate still remains far behind the five million daily target set last month, and tests are still not available to everyone. —The New York Times
— Fauci faces attacks and conspiracy theories. Fauci's diplomatic response to a question regarding his relationship with the president may or may not help quell the barrage of personal attacks and disinfo levied at him online, where the seemingly anodyne scientist has earned a controversial reputation. —Forbes— Twitter fights back. The social media giant will begin labeling posts containing misleading information about the coronavirus pandemic, the company announced yesterday. Similar to the ones Twitter began applying to manipulated media earlier this year, the labels will appear on tweets with "potentially harmful, misleading information" related to COVID-19. Good move. —The Hill
More: US officials: Beware of China and others trying to steal COVID-19 research (NPR)
4. Cook: China looks to become the new Russia
"While some covert tactics were documented, for many years there was no significant evidence that Chinese actors were engaging in aggressive disinformation campaigns like the one pursued by Russia on global social media platforms ahead of the 2016 U.S. elections. That has now changed. Over the past month alone, a series of exposés demonstrated that pro-Beijing actors are carrying out a whole range of covert activities in multiple countries and languages. The campaigns aim to spread proven falsehoods, sow societal discord and panic, manipulate perceptions of public opinion, or undermine the democratic process." —The Diplomat
Ed. Note: Sarah Cook is a senior research analyst for China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan at Freedom House and is director of its China Media Bulletin.
More: Wary Europe welcomes China's help—but not its disinformation (The Christian Science Monitor)
5. Tax cases hit the Supreme Court
The second thing President Trump hopes you won't watch this week is his ongoing effort to keep his tax returns and financial records from the Democratic-led House, a New York district attorney, and ultimately, the American people. The cases are now in the Supreme Court, and oral arguments began today.
— Despite losses in all previous courts, Trump and his attorneys are arguing that Trump's tax returns and financial records cannot be turned over because they represent an attack on the presidency itself. Former presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton both made similar arguments and lost.
— In Trump v. Vance, the Supreme Court will decide whether to uphold a grand jury subpoena for Trump's tax returns as part of an investigation started by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance. Vance is seeking financial records from Trump to determine if corporate records were altered in violation of state laws.
— In Trump v. Mazars and Trump v. Deutsche Bank, three House committees are seeking to obtain Trump's financial records from his longtime accounting firm and bank. The committees argue that the records are needed to determine if Congress should amend its ethics-in-government laws and to determine if foreign agents have financial leverage over the president. —The Washington Post
More: Supreme Court hears arguments on releasing Trump's financial records (The New York Times)
6. McConnell seeks greater surveillance of Americans
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is seeking to renew and expand the 2001 PATRIOT Act. In two different amendments, McConnell proposes not only to increase the surveillance power of the U.S. government over American citizens, but also to give more powers over the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Court to, of all people, Attorney General Bill Barr.
— Under the McConnell amendment, Barr would get to look through the web browsing history of any American—including journalists, politicians, and political rivals—without a warrant, just by saying it is relevant to an investigation, according to Sen. Ron Wyden.
— While McConnell's amendment appears to block the FBI from seeking the "content" of web browsing and searching conducted by Americans, Sen. Wyden rejects that claim, saying that "content" and "its application to web browsing has never been settled in the courts."
— A vote to restore expired portions of the PATRIOT Act could come as soon this week. McConnell's amendments will be part of the provisions, but it is unclear if they have the necessary support to pass the Senate. —The Daily Beast
7. Korkmaz: A model for countering populism
"Populists in power undermine the democratic institutions, that is, free and fair elections, free access to information, the accountability of government, the right to free speech, the rule of law, freedom of the press. They also suppress the opposition, not only through the use of force, as do authoritarian leaders, but also with popular support. Populist leaders like Erdoğan, Trump, Orban, Johnson, Modi, Bolsanaro, Netanyahu—they all benefit from their shared experiences, to motivate and support each other. There is an invisible populist coalition around the world. However, there is also strong global resilience against populist authoritarianism. Those movements should also learn from each other." —Open Democracy
Ed. Note: Seren Selvin Korkmaz is the co-founder and executive director of the IstanPol Institute, an independent think-tank; a doctoral researcher at Stockholm University Institute for Turkish Studies; and a former Fox Fellow at Yale University.
More: Populism threatens the American Dream, warns economist (Forbes)
8. Iraq's new PM faces uphill battle
President Trump spoke yesterday with Iraq's new prime minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, to congratulate him on the approval of his new government by Iraqi lawmakers last week. al-Kadhimi's installation is a positive development for Iraq, which had been without a government since former Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahd resigned last November amid anti-government protests. But he faces myriad obstacles in addition to the global coronavirus pandemic.
— al-Kadhimi's ascent was a long and complicated process of backdoor negotiations with Iraq's various political blocs and party leaders, and he still doesn't have a full government, as five of his 20 cabinet candidates were rejected, and two key posts remain empty.
— Another issue is last month's historic crash in oil prices. It caused a steep budget deficit and potential economic catastrophe, forcing the government to consider cost-saving methods including austerity measures and cuts to social benefits to civil servants.
— The most immediate challenge facing al-Kadhimi, exacerbated by both the pandemic and economic woes, may well be the resumption of mass anti-government demonstrations in Baghdad and several other cities—the very crisis that brought down his predecessor. —Al Jazeera
More: A powerful Iran-backed militia is losing influence in Iraq (Foreign Policy)
9. Glanton: Ahmaud Arbery case is a turning point
"Something about Ahmaud Arbery's death struck a chord with a lot of people. This time, the gunning down of an unarmed black man seemed different from the countless times it has happened before. Or maybe we are different now. Forced to live in social isolation for weeks with no clear sight of an end, some of us have begun to look at life through a different lens. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed our vulnerabilities and cautioned us to take less for granted. Every moment of life—everyone's life—seems more precious now." —Richmond County Daily Journal
10. An American Story: Music is good medicine
Tucked away inside his room at a senior care facility in Franklin, Tenn., 88-year-old Air Force veteran Bob Coleman knew he couldn't go out into the world with the coronavirus raging. But he could share with the world his first love—country music. So he's become one of several retirees who have turned into DJs for a new online radio hour known as "Radio Recliner."
— The idea of Radio Recliner was kickstarted by Atlanta- and Birmingham-based marketing firm Luckie, to provide a sense of community to isolated seniors. Listeners can send song requests dedicated to family or friends, which are included in the daily show.
— The 60-minute show began airing last month, starting with quarantined retirees in middle Tennessee. It has since taken off, with seniors in assisted-living facilities in Georgia, Alabama, and other states jumping at the chance to be a DJ after being secluded because of strict social distancing rules.
— "For this generation, radio was the original social media," says Mitch Bennett, Luckie's chief creative officer. "Dedicating a song to someone you love, and having them hear it along with everyone else, is a special way of connecting. It's a great time to bring that feeling back." Indeed. —Associated Press
Ed. Note: We are spotlighting ways that Americans are helping each other through the coronavirus crisis. Would you like to suggest an "American Story" from your local news? If so, please forward a link to the story to editor@topline.com. Thank you!
It is concerning to me that the president and vice president have chosen not to wear masks, since that is the recommendation for the general public. They are setting a poor example. —Linda S., Georgia
A great resource on face masks for the general public from the Royal Society DELVE Initiative: http://rs-delve.github.io/reports/2020/05/04/face-masks-for-the-general-public.html —Ken G., Colorado
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