The COVID-19 task force led by White House Senior Adviser and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner reportedly scrapped its plan for nationwide testing for COVID-19 at least partially due to an unwillingness to assist states that did not support Trump.
Wolf Orders DHS To Stop Collecting Intel On Press In Portland: ‘In No Way’ Did Secretary Condone
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf ordered his department’s intelligence office to stop collecting information on journalists following a report from The Washington Post that detailed the practice.
Current and former officials told the Post that the compilation of
“intelligence reports” about the work of press covering protests in Portland involve a government system that is intended to share information about suspected terrorists and violent actors.
A DHS spokesman said in a statement to the Post that “upon hearing about the practice” Wolf had directed the department to “immediately discontinue collecting information involving members of the press.”
The statement sought to distance Wolf from the practice, adding, “in no way” did Wolf “condone this practice and he has immediately ordered an inquiry into the matter. The Acting Secretary is committed to ensuring that all DHS personnel uphold the principles of professionalism, impartiality and respect for civil rights and civil liberties, particularly as it relates to the exercise of First Amendment rights.”
According to the Post’s report, the DHS’ Office of Intelligence and Analysis had distributed three Open Source Intelligence Reports to federal law enforcement agencies and others, in the past week, summarizing tweets written by a reporter for the New York Times and the editor-in-chief of the blog Lawfare.
The reports, obtained by the Post, note that the journalists had published leaked, unclassified documents about DHS operations in Portland and included images of tweets along with descriptions about the number of likes or retweets a particular post received.
The Post said that some of the leaked DHS documents the journalists posted and wrote about pointed at faults in the department’s understanding of the protests in Portland, as well as information about techniques used by intelligence analysts.
Report: FBI Concealed Copies Of Key Docs In Russia Probe Out Of Fear Trump Would End It
The FBI reportedly stashed away crucial documents in its Russia-Trump campaign investigation, including FBI Director James Comey’s memos on his conversations with President Donald Trump, out of fear that Trump would shut down the probe.
Duckworth Confirms She Was Interviewed For Biden VP Slot
Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth (D) confirmed Thursday that she has been interviewed by Joe Biden’s team as a potential vice presidential pick on the Democratic ticket.
“I have been interviewed, yes, I’m on Team Biden,” Duckworth told the Washington Post during an interview Thursday, adding, “But it really doesn’t matter what position I play as long as we get Joe Biden elected.”
The Post reported that a source with familiarity about the VP selection process confirmed that the senator had talks with a panel that Biden brought together to vet his potential picks. Duckworth made clear during the Post interview that she has frequently been in contact with Biden, saying she’s “always loved interacting with Vice President Biden.”
As a military veteran who received a Purple Heart, Duckworth noted in her interview with the Post that Biden was “a military family member.” She added that the Democratic presidential nominee and his wife “have been wonderful for our military men and women throughout their careers.”
“A war hero would make a terrific vice president of the United States,” Illinois Governor J.B.Pritzker (D) who has made no secret of his support for the senator told Yahoo News in a podcast interview that aired Thursday.
In spite of her military background, Duckworth fought off attacks from President Trump and Fox News host Tucker Carlson earlier this month, calling them “self-serving insecure men” after they questioned her patriotism. The challenge was prompted when she suggested conducting a “national dialogue” about the removal of statues of historical figures who have roots in slavery.
Carlson went so far as to suggest that Duckworth was among the Democrats who hated America and called the veteran who lost both of her legs in Iraq in 2004 after a helicopter she was co-piloting was shot down a “coward.”
Biden defended Duckworth at that time, calling attacks from Trump and his allies “disgusting” and “sickening.” He said that taking shots at Duckworth was a “reflection of the depravity of what’s going on in the White House right now.”
Biden has said he will decide on a running mate by next week. He has committed to selecting a woman and Duckworth is one of about a dozen he’s considering for the job.
If The Feds Protect The Suburbs, Will The Suburbs Protect The President?
The braying inner-city hordes are stationed just across the interstate. They’re smashing Confederate statues, federal buildings and mom-and-pop shops. They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists. Some, we assume, are good people.
Trump Doubles Down On Bogus Argument For Delaying The Elections
Unsurprisingly, President Donald Trump’s tweet calling for the November elections to be delayed was the main focus of his press briefing today.
When asked if he really plans to try to postpone the election (something he does not have the power to do), Trump ranted for several minutes about how mail-in voting leads to election fraud (something that does not happen). He claimed he doesn’t want the election to be delayed but he also doesn’t want to “find out the ballots are all missing and the election doesn’t mean anything.” Again, this claim was made with no evidence whatsoever.
The whole press conference was clearly meant to further solidify Trump’s attempts to delegitimize an election that he’s looking increasingly likely to lose in November if his grim approval ratings and poll figures against Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden hold up.
Read our live coverage of the briefing below:
Federalist Society Co-Founder Calls Trump Bid To Change Election Day ‘Fascistic,’ Impeachable
The co-founder of the conservative legal organization the Federalist Society said Thursday that Trump’s bid to move Election Day was “fascistic” and worthy of impeachment.
Trump Takes A Victory Lap Over Alarm Sparked By His Push To Postpone Election Day
President Donald Trump applauded himself on Thursday afternoon after his tweet about possibly delaying the election (which he has now pinned at the top of his Twitter profile) drew widespread concern earlier in the day.
Continue reading “Trump Takes A Victory Lap Over Alarm Sparked By His Push To Postpone Election Day”
Obama Eulogizes Legacy Of John Lewis In Most Pointed Call-To-Action Yet
Former President Barack Obama delivered a passionate eulogy at the memorial service for the late Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia congressman and civil rights icon who died earlier this month, that urged vigilance in the face of growing “dark currents” that threaten the progress of the nation’s democracy.
Continue reading “Obama Eulogizes Legacy Of John Lewis In Most Pointed Call-To-Action Yet”
The TeleTracking Mystery Continues
We reported last week on a major disruption to the COVID-19 data ecosystem: A hospital patient flow company, Pittsburgh-based TeleTracking, would replace the CDC as the government’s primary recipient of COVID-19 data from hospitals — everything from drug and ventilator use to bed capacity.