ICYMI: TPM’s Week In Review

Bad News For Michael Flynn?

• John Gleeson, the retired judge appointed to advise Judge Emmet Sullivan on the Michael Flynn case, told Sullivan on Wednesday that he should deny the Justice Department’s request to drop the case and move toward sentencing the former Trump national security adviser.
• Gleeson railed against the DOJ’s efforts to walk away from the case against Flynn. But that’s not all! Gleeson also sharply criticized Flynn’s own tactics in the case.
• The case went before the U.S. Court of Appeals for District of Columbia Circuit on Friday, where the DOJ argued that court action against its decision to drop the case would cause chaos at the department.

Trump Stands Alone On Confederate Icons

• After the U.S. military expressed openness to renaming bases named after Confederate generals, Trump inserted himself into the debate. “My Administration will not even consider the renaming of these Magnificent and Fabled Military Installations,” the President tweeted.
• Trump may find himself lonely on the issue. The Republican-controlled Senate Armed Services Committee passed a measure to change the names of bases commemorating Confederate figures. And NASCAR announced it will ban Confederate flags from its events and properties.
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, meanwhile, has called for the removal of 11 Confederate statues in the U.S. Capitol.

‘Unskew The Polls’ Is Baaaack!

• The awesome — and amusing — “unskew the polls” movement is back in the headlines after President Trump hired a pollster to help explain away some bad numbers.
• Kate Riga dug into the crusade’s rich history. It came to the fore back in 2012, when Republicans claimed that polls showing Barack Obama besting Mitt Romney were “skewed” because there weren’t enough Republican respondents.
• Trump ratcheted things up a notch by demanding CNN apologize for and retract a poll that showed him trailing Biden by nearly 15 points.

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