Top Items:
Politico:
Trump ousts State Department watchdog — President Donald Trump has removed State Department Inspector General Steve Linick and replaced him with an ally of Vice President Mike Pence — the latest in a series of moves against independent government watchdogs in recent months.
RELATED:
House Foreign Affairs Committee:
Engel Statement on the Firing of Inspector General Linick — Washington—Representative Eliot L. Engel, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, this evening made the following statement on the President's removal of State Department Inspector General Steve Linick:
Discussion:
Letters from an American and Balloon Juice
CNN:
State Department inspector general becomes the latest watchdog fired by Trump — (CNN)President Donald Trump on Friday fired State Department Inspector General Steve Linick, the latest in a series of dismissals of independent government watchdogs that have come in the wake of the President's acquittal …
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money
Michele Kelemen / NPR:
Trump Removes State Department Inspector General Steve Linick — President Trump is ousting State Department Inspector General, Steve Linick, extending a string of administration firings of government watchdogs. — The president sent notice of Linick's removal, effective in 30 days, to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday.
Discussion:
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Raw Story and New York Times
Conor Finnegan / ABC News:
Trump fires IG said to be investigating Pompeo, involved in impeachment probe — Inspector General Steve Linick will be replaced by a Trump appointee. — The White House fired the State Department Inspector General late Friday, according to a State Department spokesperson …
Matthew Lee / Associated Press:
Pompeo fires State Dept. watchdog critical of Trump moves
Pompeo fires State Dept. watchdog critical of Trump moves
Discussion:
Raw Story
Natasha Korecki / Politico:
‘Manipulative, deceitful, user’: Tara Reade left a trail of aggrieved acquaintances — Harriet Wrye did a double take the first time she saw Tara Reade on television lodging sexual assault allegations against Joe Biden. — “Jim, that's Tara,” the 79-year-old author and psychologist called …
Discussion:
Law & Crime, NB Blog, Spectator USA and PBS NewsHour
RELATED:
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
New Reporting Increases Doubts on Tara Reade's Allegation Against Joe Biden — When Tara Reade first made her assault allegation against Joe Biden, I thought the charge was more likely to be true than false. To be clear, I had no intention of changing my vote.
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Washington Times, Twitchy, Law & Crime and Washington Monthly
Katie Glueck / New York Times:
How the Biden Campaign Aims to Win Battleground States
New York Times:
A Sitting President, Riling the Nation During a Crisis — By smearing his opponents, championing conspiracy theories and pursuing vendettas, President Trump has reverted to his darkest political tactics in spite of a pandemic hurting millions of Americans.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Manu Raju / CNN:
GOP congressman on why he's not wearing a mask: 'There's just no need' — Washington (CNN)Republican Rep. Ted Yoho of Florida was spotted Friday walking around the Capitol and on the House floor without wearing a mask. — Asked why not, he told CNN: “There's just no need.”
Discussion:
The Hill and Talking Points Memo
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Drug promoted by Trump as coronavirus ‘game changer’ increasingly linked to deaths — For two months, President Trump repeatedly pitched hydroxychloroquine as a safe and effective treatment for coronavirus, asking would-be patients “What the hell do you have to lose?”
Discussion:
Houston Chronicle and NPR
Washington Post:
Trump sets goal of hundreds of millions of coronavirus vaccine doses by January, but scientists doubt it — Some warn it's dangerous to set a timetable, given the scientific unknowns and the danger of rushing testing. — President Trump formally unveiled an initiative Friday afternoon aimed …
RELATED:
CNN:
Behind the Justice Department's split over the Flynn dismissal — (CNN)Before the Justice Department moved last week to drop the charges against Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, department officials and the FBI were in sharp disagreement …
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CNN:
‘He lied on national television’: Trump says truckers protesting industry problems are actually honking to support him — This is what brings out Trump's inner child — Washington (CNN)When blaring truck horns intruded on President Donald Trump's Friday speech in the White House Rose Garden …
Victoria F. Piccoli / ODNI Newsroom:
Director of National Intelligence Announces Changes to Election Security Briefings — WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the ODNI announced that the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) will lead all intelligence-based threat briefings to candidates, campaigns, and political organizations under the U.S. Government's notification framework.
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit
RELATED:
New York Times:
Intelligence Chief Reduces Size of Counterterrorism Office
Intelligence Chief Reduces Size of Counterterrorism Office
Discussion:
ODNI Newsroom and Axios
Abigail Tracy / Vanity Fair:
Former National Security Officials: The “Unmasking” List Could Be Bad News for Mike Flynn
Former National Security Officials: The “Unmasking” List Could Be Bad News for Mike Flynn
Discussion:
Washington Post and Wall Street Journal
Stephanie M. Lee / BuzzFeed News:
JetBlue's Founder Helped Fund A Stanford Study That Said The Coronavirus Wasn't That Deadly — A highly influential coronavirus antibody study was funded in part by David Neeleman, the JetBlue Airways founder and a vocal proponent of the idea that the pandemic isn't deadly enough to justify continued lockdowns.
Corinne Gretler / Bloomberg:
Tobacco-Based Coronavirus Vaccine Poised for Human Tests — First phase of clinical trials could begin as early as June — Tobacco-made vaccine would contrast with other health effects — An experimental Covid-19 vaccine developed by cigarette maker British American Tobacco Plc is poised to begin testing in humans.
Paul Waldman / Washington Post:
Michael Flynn isn't a martyr. He's a crook and a crackpot. — For anyone with a memory that stretches all the way back to 2016, it is positively bizarre to see Republicans suddenly claiming that Michael Flynn, President Trump's former national security adviser, is a martyr.
Discussion:
PREVAIL
RELATED:
Brooke Singman / Fox News:
McEnany, pressed on Trump's accusations of Obama administration crimes, points to Flynn leaks
McEnany, pressed on Trump's accusations of Obama administration crimes, points to Flynn leaks
Discussion:
Associated Press, Breitbart and Jacobin
Annie Palmer / CNBC:
Amazon declines to commit to Jeff Bezos testimony in Congress — Amazon said it would “make the appropriate executive available” in response to requests from the House Judiciary Committee for its CEO Jeff Bezos to testify. — Earlier this month, top Democrats on the committee demanded …
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Barbara Sprunt / NPR:
Trump, Unveiling Space Force Flag, Touts What He Calls New ‘Super-Duper Missile’ — President Trump held an Oval Office ceremony Friday to sign the 2020 Armed Forces Day Proclamation and unveil the official flag of the Space Force, the newest military branch.
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA, Gizmodo and Highly Transmissible
RELATED:
Josh Feldman / Mediaite:
Dan Abrams: Based on All We Know Right Now, ‘This Obamagate Theory Is 100 Percent Bullsh*t’ — Mediaite founder and ABC News chief legal analyst Dan Abrams went on a tear during his SiriusXM show Friday calling the idea of the “Obamagate' scandal “100 percent bullshit.
Discussion:
Daily Kos
Mike Baker / New York Times:
F.D.A. Halts Coronavirus Testing Program Backed by Bill Gates — The program allows people in the Seattle area to easily take a coronavirus test at home. Researchers say such testing is essential for future monitoring of the virus. — SEATTLE — An innovative coronavirus testing program …
Discussion:
Raw Story and Marginal REVOLUTION
Brian Schwartz / CNBC:
Mike Bloomberg plots spending blitz to support Joe Biden's run for president — Billionaire and former presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg is plotting a massive spending blitz to back Joe Biden's quest for the White House. — The former New York mayor and his advisors are discussing whether …
Alexander Nazaryan / Yahoo News:
Newly reopened South Florida seen as an emerging coronavirus hotspot — WASHINGTON — Federal officials responding to the coronavirus pandemic are concerned about the rapidly rising number of cases in Palm Beach County, Fla., according to an internal Trump administration document reviewed by Yahoo News.
Jack Shafer / Politico:
How Not to Listen to Donald Trump — It turns out President Donald Trump's status as the most accessible person to ever hold the office is more a curse than a blessing. Day after day, he fills the air with the ack-ack of disinformation and misdirection, needlessly alarming the public …
Discussion:
Business Insider Nederland, New York Times, Breitbart, Redstate and The Hill