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Protests, Police and Putin

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 06: Demonstrators march during a protest against police brutality and racism on June 6, 2020 in Washington, DC. This is the 12th day of protests with thousands of people descending on the city t... WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 06: Demonstrators march during a protest against police brutality and racism on June 6, 2020 in Washington, DC. This is the 12th day of protests with thousands of people descending on the city to peacefully demonstrate in the wake of the death of George Floyd, a black man who was killed in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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June 7, 2020 2:19 p.m.
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Last night a flurry of reports from CBS, The New Yorker, the AP, NBC news and others presented a new version of what happened a week ago Monday outside the Episcopal Church in front of the White House, what now seems clearly to have been a turning point, at least in the recent weeks of drama and perhaps in the history of the Trump administration itself.

The less important part of the story – and one which merits the most skepticism – is that Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Michael Milley reportedly weren’t aware of what was happening when they agreed to walk with the President to St. John’s Episcopal Church after a mix of federal police and national guard troops forcibly cleared Lafayette Park of protestors.

The more interesting part comes earlier in the day.

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