memeorandum: Fired Inspector General Was Probing Pompeo Over Saudi Arms Deal, Mistreating Staffer: Reports (HuffPost)

2:10 PM ET, May 18, 2020

Top Items:

Trump's purge just got much more corrupt. Here's what's coming next. — President Trump's abrupt decision to remove the inspector general of the State Department constitutes the latest in a string of corrupt efforts to remove public servants who prioritize real oversight and accountability over protecting Trump at all costs.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, CNBC, New York Times, Washington Times, Raw Story and Patterico's Pontifications

Washington Post:

Fired inspector general was examining whether Pompeo had a staffer walk his dog, handle dry cleaning, official says — The State Department inspector general fired by President Trump was looking into allegations that a staffer for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was performing domestic errands …

Discussion: NBC News, Talking Points Memo, The Hill, Daily Kos, Redstate, Law & Crime, Fox News, Common Dreams, POLITICUSUSA, Columbia Journalism Review, The Root, Axios and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

HuffPost:
Fired Inspector General Was Probing Pompeo Over Saudi Arms Deal, Mistreating Staffer: Reports

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN and Talking Points Memo

Zachary Cohen / CNN:
Democrats claim watchdog fired by Trump was probing Pompeo's fast-tracking of $8 billion Saudi arms sale

Discussion: American Greatness and Raw Story

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Hypocrisy watch: Republicans who championed inspectors general under Obama stand by as Trump purges them

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Hill, Breitbart and Chuck Grassley

Edward Wong / New York Times:
Inspector General's Firing Puts Pompeo's Use of Taxpayer Funds Under Scrutiny

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Moderate Voice, National Review, Washington Post, Lawfare, Raw Story, NBC News, Axios, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Daily Kos

Andrew Desiderio / Politico:
Fired watchdog was investigating Trump administration arms sales to Saudi Arabia

Discussion: Axios and Raw Story

Matt Zapotosky / Washington Post:

Barr says he does not expect Obama or Biden will be investigated by prosecutor reviewing 2016 Russia probe — Attorney General William P. Barr said Monday that he did not expect the prosecutor he handpicked to review the 2016 FBI investigation into President Trump's campaign …

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

This is why Trump is back to attacking Obama — It makes zero sense, you would think, for President Trump to attack his predecessor, since President Barack Obama is the most popular politician around (next to his wife) — someone who instills in Democrats a feeling of solidarity, of nostalgia for decent leadership and of hope.

Discussion: Raw Story, National Review, POLITICUSUSA, Contemptor and Politico

Brooke Singman / Fox News:
Barr says he does not expect criminal investigation of Obama or Biden as result of Durham probe

Discussion: The Hill

Allan Smith / NBC News:
Barr says it's unlikely Justice Department will investigate Obama or Biden

Discussion: IJR

Eric Tucker / Associated Press: Barr says he doesn't envision investigations of Biden, Obama

New York Times:

F.B.I. Finds Links Between Pensacola Gunman and Al Qaeda — The gunman in December's shooting, a Saudi cadet who had trained with the U.S. military, had been in contact with the terrorist group, officials said. — WASHINGTON — The gunman in last year's deadly shooting at a military base …

Discussion: Axios and The Daily Caller

CNN:
FBI finds al Qaeda link after breaking encryption on Pensacola attacker's iPhone

Discussion: National Review and 9to5Mac

CBS News:
Saudi shooter in Florida air base attack had “significant ties” to al Qaeda, Barr says

Discussion: IJR, The Daily Caller, Sara A. Carter and Raw Story

Eric Tucker / Associated Press:
Official: FBI finds link between Pensacola gunman, al-Qaida

Discussion: Politico, ABC News, Florida Politics and The Hill

Wall Street Journal: FBI Discovers al Qaeda Link in Pensacola Attack

Jason Wilson / The Guardian:

US lockdown protests may have spread virus widely, cellphone data suggests — Devices associated with protesters travelled up to hundreds of miles after rallies where few precautions were taken — Cellphone location data suggests that demonstrators at anti-lockdown protests …

Discussion: Common Dreams and POLITICUSUSA

Denise Grady / New York Times:

Moderna Coronavirus Vaccine Trial Shows Promising Early Results — The company said its preliminary test in 8 healthy volunteers was safe. It is on an accelerated timetable to begin a larger human trial soon. — The first coronavirus vaccine to be tested in people appears to be safe …

Discussion: CNBC, Townhall, Washington Post, Gothamist, Common Dreams, Daily Kos and Mediaite

Moderna, Inc.:
Moderna Announces Positive Interim Phase 1 Data for its mRNA Vaccine (mRNA-1273) Against Novel Coronavirus

Discussion: In the Pipeline, Gizmodo, KNWA FOX24, Fox News, STAT, New York Post and Sara A. Carter

Michael Wines / New York Times:

Freed by Court Ruling, Republicans Step Up Effort to Patrol Voting — Officials seek to recruit 50,000 poll watchers and spend millions to fight voter fraud. Democrats say the real goal is to stop them from voting. — WASHINGTON — Six months before a presidential election in which turnout …

NBER: The Relationship between In-Person Voting, Consolidated Polling Locations, and Absentee Voting …

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

Swing-state Republicans warn Trump's reelection is on shaky ground — Donald Trump has made clear he will attack Joe Biden unmercifully in order to ensure the election is a choice between him and Joe Biden — rather than an up-or-down vote on the president's handling of the coronavirus.

Discussion: The Hill, Associated Press, Vanity Fair, Big League Politics and Raw Story

Yaron Steinbuch / New York Post:

Man who called coronavirus ‘fake crisis’ gets infected, issues warning — A Florida man who initially believed the coronavirus is a “fake crisis” that was “blown out of proportion” is now hospitalized along with his wife — and is sounding a cautionary note about the deadly bug.

Nick Valencia / CNN:

Senior CDC official rebukes White House trade adviser's criticism as tensions escalate over reopening strategy — (CNN)A senior official from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday offered a pointed rebuke of White House trade adviser Peter Navarro's scathing criticism …

Discussion: ABC News, Talking Points Memo, The Hill, Raw Story, Daily Kos and Washington Post

Stephen Collinson / CNN: Trump officials deflect blame for US death toll, escalate reopening push

Ben Smith / New York Times:

Is Ronan Farrow Too Good to Be True? — He has delivered revelatory reporting on some of the defining stories of our time. But a close examination reveals the weaknesses in what may be called an era of resistance journalism. — It was a breathtaking story, written by The New Yorker's marquee reporter …

Discussion: The Intercept, The Wrap, Mediaite and Althouse, more at Mediagazer »

CNN:

Former Australian PM calls out the ‘Murdoch mafia’ — Kevin Rudd, a former prime minister of Australia, argues that Rupert Murdoch's media empire is a “cancer on democracy” in the U.S., U.K. and Australia, using “mafia"-like intimidation tactics against dissenting voices.

CBS News:

Full Transcript: Fed Chair Jerome Powell's 60 Minutes interview on economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic — Jerome Powell lays out his thoughts on getting the economy back to its pre-coronavirus numbers. The transcript from the Federal Reserve chairman's interview with Scott Pelley.

Discussion: CNBC, HuffPost, Fox News, New York Post, IJR, Just The News, The American Independent, Axios and Politico

Erica Werner / Washington Post:

$500 billion Treasury fund meant for coronavirus relief has lent barely any money so far, oversight commission finds — A Congressional Oversight Commission created by Cares Act issues its first report even though it still doesn't have a chair. — A $500 billion Treasury Department fund created …

Brooke Singman / Fox News:
Oversight commission finds coronavirus relief funds have not yet been distributed to airlines

Discussion: Associated Press

Washington Post:

Barr installs top DOJ aide, prosecutor of Trump's Mar-a-Lago trespasser, as deputy over U.S. prosecutors in Washington — Attorney General William P. Barr has installed a new top deputy over the federal prosecutor's office for Washington, raising concerns that a key U.S. attorney's office …

Tim Miller / The Bulwark:

Trump's Weekend of Scandal Was Hiding in Plain Sight — It's going on right now and no one can see it because of the chaff. — The Washington Post published a picture of Stacey Abrams wearing a cape this weekend. — You may have seen it, since in certain corners of the conservative news media …

Discussion: Raw Story

Bloomberg:

Over 100 Million in China's Northeast Face Renewed Lockdown — Conditions return to height of China's epidemic in February — Frustration as restrictions tighten again after earlier easing — Some 108 million people in China's northeast region are being plunged back under lockdown conditions …

Discussion: Gizmodo

Dexter Filkins / New Yorker:

The Twilight of the Iranian Revolution — For decades, Ayatollah Khamenei has professed enmity with America. Now his regime is threatened from within the country. — One night last December, the chief resident physician at a hospital in the Iranian city of Gorgan was asked to consult on a baffling case …

Rebecca Klar / The Hill:

Schwarzenegger holds up mock Trump University diploma in commencement speech — Actor and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) held up a mock Trump University degree as part of a virtual commencement address to the graduating class of 2020. — “You are celebrating that journey today …

Discussion: Breitbart and POLITICUSUSA

Molly Jong-Fast / The Daily Beast:

It's Official: Laura Ingraham Wants Your Grandmother to Die — Testing and tracing are just a Democratic conspiracy. Go out. Go to bars. Spread disease. Sorry, grandma, you've had a good run. — BEAST INSIDE — Friday night Laura Ingraham admitted she thinks maybe it's time to stop coddling granny.