Stone goes free, Fauci gets muzzled
Lacking a unified response, the U.S. has been disproportionately impacted by coronavirus relative to other nations. Each state has its own response; the federal government differs from the states; and government officials differ from each other—in particular, President Trump and epidemiologist Dr. Anthony Fauci. Trump cannot directly fire Fauci, an expert who has worked in government for 50 years, under six presidents, and enjoys strong, bipartisan congressional support. Instead, the president seeks to undermine and discredit the leading member of his own coronavirus task force. The White House released a statement about Fauci, suggesting "officials are concerned" about him because he "has been wrong on things." At a time when the U.S. is struggling to get a handle on the virus, disparaging the most consistent, experienced, and trusted voice is not only reprehensible, it could directly contribute to greater mistrust, more cases, and more deaths. —Mindy Finn
1. 'Unprecedented, historic corruption'
President Trump's commutation of his longtime ally Roger Stone's prison sentence on Friday drew swift condemnation from Democrats and a couple Republicans too. "Unprecedented, historic corruption: an American president commutes the sentence of a person convicted by a jury of lying to shield that very president," Sen. Mitt Romney tweeted on Saturday morning. He was followed by Sen. Pat Toomey, who called the commutation a "mistake." The criticism earned the pair a presidential tweet, in which Trump called them "RINOs," a conservative smear meaning "Republican in Name Only." —Bloomberg
— Pelosi went even further. "It's staggering corruption, but I think it's important for people also to know it's a threat to national security," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. "The whole impeachment process was about our national security. Why we are at the Supreme Court on these cases was to find out about the Russian connection, and we will continue to pursue that. This case was about the Russian connection." —The Hill
— Mueller to testify again? Sen. Lindsey Graham, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, suggested yesterday that Robert Mueller may be invited to testify before his panel, after the former special counsel published a Washington Post op-ed in which he defended his office’s prosecution of Stone. —The Washington Post
— A Roger Stone gathers no moss. Stone says that he plans to write and speak for Trump's re-election now that he "won't die in a squalid hellhole of corona-19 virus." Predicting a Trump victory in November, he says, "I will do anything necessary to elect my candidate, short of breaking the law." Uh-huh. —Axios
2. Mueller: Roger Stone remains a felon
"Russian efforts to interfere in our political system, and the essential question of whether those efforts involved the Trump campaign, required investigation. In that investigation, it was critical for us (and, before us, the FBI) to obtain full and accurate information. Likewise, it was critical for Congress to obtain accurate information from its witnesses. When a subject lies to investigators, it strikes at the core of the government's efforts to find the truth and hold wrongdoers accountable. It may ultimately impede those efforts." —The Washington Post
Ed. Note: Former FBI Director Robert Mueller served as special counsel for the Justice Department from 2017 to 2019.
MORE: Trump's commutation of Roger Stone's sentence is an unforgivable betrayal of his office —The Washington Post
3. 'We are living in the perfect storm'
The stark words and warnings from Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, have won him no fans in the White House. As the Trump Administration has strayed from the advice of many of its scientists and public health experts, it has moved to sideline and even publicly denigrate Fauci. The White House has scuttled some of his planned TV appearances, and he no longer briefs President Trump, even as coronavirus infections surge in large swaths of the country. —The Washington Post
— A bad record to break. Florida shattered the national record for a state's largest single-day increase in confirmed coronavirus cases over the weekend with 15,300 cases. That didn’t stop Walt Disney World from reopening, after having been shuttered since March. —Associated Press
— Secretary of miseducation. Education Sec. Betsy DeVos said yesterday there is no danger in children returning to school amid the pandemic and stood by a threat to withhold federal funds from schools that do not resume in-person classes. She also joined Trump in downplaying the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for reopening. —USA Today
— Finally a face mask. Trump wore a mask during a visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Saturday, the first time he has been seen in public with one. Face masks are recommended by health officials as a precaution against spreading or becoming infected by the novel coronavirus. —Associated Press
MORE: Okinawa governor wants tougher action as 61 Marines infected —Associated Press
4. Wehle: SCOTUS gave Congress a win
"The Supreme Court's decision in Mazars USA is best viewed in tandem with the Republican Senate majority's acquittal of Trump for obstruction of Congress. Trump's lawyers successfully argued that the president can totally flout any requests for information from Congress to the Executive Branch with impunity, leaving American voters and their representatives without the basic information needed for oversight. Congress gave that power away, with nothing gained in return. The Supreme Court just handed it back." —Politico
Ed. Note: Kimberly Wehle is a professor of law at the University of Baltimore School of Law.
5. ICYMI: Quick takes from the weekend
If you were too busy with summer activities this weekend to check on the news, good for you. Here's a roundup of stories you may have missed...
— Fire on military ship. Firefighters are still battling a blaze raging aboard the Navy's USS Bonhomme Richard today, nearly 24 hours after the fire was first reported at its pier in San Diego. Fifty-seven sailors and firefighters have been injured. It's unclear how long it will take to control the fire. —The San Diego Union-Tribune
— Still with Guaidó. Speaking at a round table in Doral, Fla., with Venezuelan and Cuban political exiles on Friday, President Trump renewed his support for Venezuela’s opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, whose standing with Trump has grown uncertain in recent weeks. —The New York Times
— Charged. U.S. prosecutors have filed a superseding indictment against Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Like the original indictment, it accuses Maxwell of six criminal counts for allegedly luring underage girls so Epstein could sexually abuse them. —Reuters
— Say what? Elaine Duke, a lifelong Republican who served as acting secretary of homeland security for four months in 2017, says Trump raised the prospect of "selling" Puerto Rico during the response to Hurricane Maria’s devastation there.—The New York Times
— Shift at DOJ. Attorney General Bill Barr has pulled Richard Donoghue from his role as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York to become principal associate deputy attorney general. Donoghue supervised all DOJ investigations involving Ukraine and played a major role in the federal investigation into Trump's inaugural committee. —The Daily Beast
6. Around the world
President Trump on Friday confirmed for the first time that the U.S. launched a cyberattack on the Russian Internet Research Agency in 2018. The cyberattack was first reported in 2019 but not confirmed publicly by the administration. It involved U.S. Cyber Command disrupting internet access for the building in St. Petersburg that houses the IRA on the night of the U.S. 2018 midterm elections, halting efforts to spread disinformation as Americans went to the polls. —The Hill
— More Russia. Tens of thousands of people protested in Russia's Far East on Saturday in a rare display of opposition to President Vladimir Putin in the country's vast hinterland. They chanted, "Putin resign" and demanded the release of a regional governor arrested this past week on suspicion of multiple murders. —The New York Times
— Singapore. The ruling People's Action Party retained its 55-year hold on power in Singapore's national elections on Friday, but the opposition Workers' Party made significant gains, capturing the highest number of seats it ever has in the tightly controlled city-state. —The Wall Street Journal
— Hong Kong. Nearly 600,000 Hongkongers voted over the weekend in an unofficial primary election held by the city's pro-democracy camp as it gears up to field candidates for an upcoming legislative poll. —ABC News
MORE: China sanctions US lawmakers in retaliation for Xinjiang measures —Financial Times
7. Surotchak & Muzergues: Poland's choice
"At a time when global politics is being defined again by great-power competition, this time between the United States and China, it matters that Polish voters...perceive themselves as having to choose between Europe, represented by the liberal [Warsaw Mayor Rafal] Trzaskowski, and the United States, personified by the right-wing nationalist [President Andrzej] Duda." —World Politics Review
Ed. Note: Jan Surotchak is senior director for transatlantic strategy at the International Republican Institute. Thibault Muzergues is director of the Europe Program at the International Republican Institute.
MORE: Poland's conservative president wins new term, rifts likely with EU —Reuters
8. Election 2020 roundup
President Trump's re-election team canceled a planned rally in New Hampshire on Saturday, blaming expected bad weather in a statement on Friday. But campaign officials were reportedly concerned about bad optics too. Desperate to avoid a repeat of the Tulsa rally, where Trump spoke to a half-empty stadium, officials say low attendance concerns weighed heavily on their decision as well. —Business Insider
— Election officials nationwide are ramping up communication efforts over concerns that drastic changes to election procedures due to the coronavirus could confuse voters in November. —CNBC
— State budget shortfalls are complicating the issue too. There are a host of potential problems that can only be solved with more money, like additional safety equipment for polling stations, or staffing to replace elderly poll workers who don’t want to risk potential exposure to the coronavirus. —New York Magazine
— Members of the far-right QAnon movement are spreading pro-Trump conspiracy theories and propaganda across social media platforms. They're getting a boost from Trump and key supporters, who pick up and further amplify the messages. —Business Insider
MORE: Twitter suspends dozens of white nationalist accounts —New York Daily News
9. DN Ed Board: Distrust can't mar election
"Americans must have faith in their constitutional institutions to do their job. As the [Democracy Fund] study's authors observe, 'What distinguishes stable liberal democracies from their more endangered peers is not just the quality and integrity of their democratic institutions but the depth of their people’s commitment to them.'
Such abiding assurance—not to people but to structures of government—has been a hallmark of American democracy since George Washington stunned the world by relinquishing his power after two terms as president." —Deseret News
10. An American Story: Lowriders support farmers
Lowriders in Gilroy, Calif., cruising in Chevrolet Bel Airs, El Caminos, and Plymouth convertibles, led a car caravan to deliver food, masks, and other household goods to farmworkers on June 27. The caravan was also joined by cars decorated with signs thanking agricultural workers.
— The event was organized with the San Jose Woman's Club and the lowrider council, as well as Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, which brought volunteers to the parking lot of St. Mary's Church in Gilroy, where families could come by to pick up the donated goods.
— It's critical to bring aid to farmworkers, who have been essential workers throughout the pandemic. The cause was near and dear to lowriders' hearts because of the two groups' shared Latino culture.
— "Going through the fields and being Chicano, being born and raised in California … we all come from the field one way or another," said David Polanco, president of the United Lowrider Council of San Jose. "It's just another generation. It's humbling in a way." —The Mercury News
Ed. Note: We are spotlighting ways that Americans are helping each other through the coronavirus crisis and recent unrest, and promoting American values. 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!
My outlook on our world, author unknown: "Fear is the father of all lies. Therefore, strive to be truthful and kind to all you meet. Do not be cruel. Treat family, friends, and strangers with respect, dignity, and compassion, especially if you think they are undeserving. Do not hate." —Kerry S., California
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