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1. If this tweet is true…
…then the irony is that the Friday night shock firing of Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. Attorney for the fabled Southern District of New York, is in many old media and social media quarters going to overshadow the Tulsa rally.
When you take off all of the bells and whistles, Donald Trump’s Oklahoma jamboree is just another MAGA marathon. But it’s not every day that Bill Barr uses a press release to fire the head of the most powerful U.S. Attorney’s office in the land, a person who had shown amazing independence in going after Trump-related interests.
And a man whose office is/was still at it:
This story is now five stories.
A. Why did TrumpBarr do this?
B. How quickly can this firing be investigated by Democrats and the media – and who will take the lead?
C. How quickly will the leakers in the SDNY begin the anti-TrumpBarr flow – and what will they say?
D. What if the crime is worse than the (alleged) coverup?
E. How does this standoff end -- with Berman metaphorically barricading himself in the office after all but accusing Barr of obstructing ongoing probes?
I wouldn’t want to pick a favorite among those five, but (C) is colossal. The one thing that Hillary Clinton and James Comey can now agree on (besides their shared belief that Donald Trump is the most corrupt president in American history) is that the good people of SDNY (including its swaggering FBI agents) are the most ruthless leakers in these United States.
If TrumpBarr took that fact into consideration beforehand, they were clearly desperate to make the move no matter what.
If they didn’t think that through before acting, heaven help them.
If their removal of Berman leads to widespread damaging leaks about the status of all these ongoing probes, that will lead to goose cooking.
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2. Beyond the Twitter-fueled theories (conspiracy and otherwise), what can we say emphatically is fishy about these circumstances?
* Obviously, the kind of standoff happening with Berman is not typical.
* Obviously, all this:
Berman’s ongoing investigations reportedly include probes into the finances of Trump’s inaugural celebrations and into billions in Deutsche Bank loans made to Trump’s company and to the businesses of his son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
Berman’s office is also reportedly probing whether Trump’s attorney and confidante Rudy Giuliani violated lobbying laws by acting as the president’s intermediary in Ukraine.
His office is also investigating the Turkish Halkbank for allegedly violating U.S. trade sanctions against Iran.
In his upcoming memoir, former National Security Advisor John Bolton claims that Trump told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan he would block the probe in return for Erdogan releasing an American pastor imprisoned in Turkey. (New York Post)
* Obviously, this also:
* The operational half of TrumpBarr that did this deed already has a well-earned reputation (fact pattern, really) for making moves that have little or no precedent in attorneys general’s history, a list longer than a typical edition of Wide World of News. So let me summarize some greatest hits by writing “Removal of the DC US attorney, Michael Flynn, the Mueller investigation, Roger Stone, the clearing of Lafayette Park,” and, in the immortal words of Yul Brynner
* Standard shady Friday night news dump, coupled with the presumed presumption that the Tulsa rally would blot out the firing.
* This backstory reminder, via, the Wall Street Journal:
Reports of tensions between Mr. Barr and Mr. Berman began circulating almost immediately after Mr. Barr was sworn in as attorney general in early 2019. Mr. Barr at the time sought information from the Manhattan federal prosecutor’s office about two cases involving the Trump administration, according to people familiar with the matter. One was an investigation into hush-money payments made to two women who alleged affairs with Mr. Trump, which had led to Mr. Cohen’s guilty plea the year before. The other was an investigation into alleged campaign-finance violations involving associates of Mr. Giuliani.
Mr. Barr expressed skepticism at the time about the prosecutors’ theories about those cases, which created tensions between the offices. Mr. Barr also intervened in other cases involving parties close to the administration. The two offices also clashed over the Southern District’s prosecution of a Turkish bank that allegedly helped Iran evade U.S. sanctions, people familiar with the matter said.
* “U.S. attorneys are typically replaced by their first assistants, but Mr. Trump’s choice to replace Mr. Berman is an outsider who has never worked in that office.” (New York Times)
* The person selected to run the office on an interim basis, Craig Carpenito, the current U.S. attorney for New Jersey, is not supposed to take over until July 3. Why that date and why Carpenito, who already has a job?
* The nominee-designate of TrumpBarr, current Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton to the post, apparently has almost no federal prosecutorial experience, having previously worked as a Wall Street lawyer at Sullivan & Cromwell, with clients including Goldman Sacks, UBS, Barclays, and, wait for it…Deutsche Bank.
* Berman obtained his post in an usual way:
Mr. Berman was initially appointed as a temporary U.S. attorney. His appointment was later made permanent by the Southern District’s chief judge, not through the traditional nomination and confirmation process. …
The White House never said why Trump didn’t formally nominate Berman. (Associated Press)
….which will cause endless legal eagle chatter about which is the more controlling legal authority. Is it this:
Berman issued his own statement saying he had learned that he was being pushed out through a press release. He vowed to stay on the job until a Trump nominee is confirmed by the Senate, challenging Barr’s power to remove him from office because he was appointed to the job by federal judges, not by the president. Under federal law, a U.S. attorney who is appointed by district court judges can serve “until the vacancy is filled….” (Associated Press)
Or this:
A 1979 opinion by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel concluded that the president can remove court-appointed U.S. attorneys like Mr. Berman, but the attorney general lacks that power…. (Wall Street Journal)
Halperin says: The legal bottom line (irrelevant to those on Twitter and cable TV) would seem to be that a president can remove a US attorney, even one who was put in place by the judicial branch. And/but just because it might be legal doesn’t mean it’s proper.
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3. Regarding the soon-to-be-fleshed-out tick tock of what happened, the New York Times leads the pack so far with this reporting:
Mr. Barr asked Mr. Berman to resign, but he refused, so Mr. Barr moved to fire him, according to a person familiar with the matter. Mr. Trump had been discussing removing Mr. Berman for some time with a small group of advisers, the person said. Mr. Trump has been upset with Mr. Berman ever since the Manhattan prosecutor’s office pursued a case against Mr. Cohen….
Mr. Barr met with Mr. Berman on Friday in New York, according to a person familiar with the matter. It was not clear what they discussed.
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4. Here is the part of the tick tock that was systematically peddled late Friday night to several news organizations by Team TrumpBarr:
A Justice Department official said that Mr. Clayton told administration officials he was considering leaving government but was interested in serving as top federal prosecutor in Manhattan and that Mr. Barr agreed it was a good idea.
The official said Mr. Barr also offered Mr. Berman a job leading the Justice Department’s civil division in Washington, after Jody Hunt announced this week he planned to resign, but Mr. Berman declined. Mr. Berman couldn’t be reached for comment on this matter…. (Wall Street Journal)
Halperin says: If this account is true, TrumpBarr has inadvertently caused itself a lot of unnecessary trouble!!!
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5. Two more things about Clayton that caught my eye:
* Per good ol’ reliable Wikipedia:
“During college and graduate school, Clayton was a member of the Ocean City Beach Patrol,[5] an intern with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia and the U.S. House of Representatives, and an employee of United Engineers and Constructors.[6]” [Emphasis added.]
Halperin says: Not since Bill Clinton in the 1992 campaign included his time interning for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on his list of foreign policy experience has such a credential loomed so large.
* Per the New York Times archive, Manhattan D.A. Cy Vance backed Clayton for the SEC slot, suggesting a complexity that would be in play if Mr. Clayton ever actually gets the job.
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6. A partial look at the list of those from whom I am eager to hear on all this: the Wall Street Journal editorial board, Lawfare, Rudy Giuliani (whose lawyer says he didn’t know about this in advance), John Cornyn, Chuck Grassley, Chris Christie, and every Fox News Channel anchor.
There will be an avalanche of Democratic and NeverTrump reaction, all along the lines of the person you should watch closely on Twitter while this story plays out:
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7. So, the rally.
The Associated Press smartly goes for the subtext:
President Donald Trump’s push to resume big rallies despite concern he’s putting the public’s health at risk is part of a broader reelection campaign effort to turn the national debate about the coronavirus into a political fight that he frames as “US vs. THEM.”
“They hate me. They hate you. They hate rallies and it’s all because they hate the idea of MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump said in a recent fundraising email.
To curtain raise your S-A, S-A, S-A, S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y NIGHT, I can’t match all the logistical descriptions of the two stages, the hand sanitizer, the metal fencing, etc.
I am curious about what the three major news cable webs will do in terms of live coverage, particularly the two whose viewers will be torn between wanting to see it all happen and being disgusted by the prospect of giving the incumbent the kind of extended live live live he got four years ago.
Semi-safe bet: CNN and MSNBC will carry much of it live, but with real-time annotation that will displease Kayleigh McEnany.
Mortal lock bet: Fox will carry the whole thing live.
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8. Here’s your rally roundup:
* Tulsa’s population is 400,000 and authorities say more than 100,000 outsiders could be in town Saturday.
* McEnany told the world Friday that she wouldn’t wear a mask at the event, while Brad Parscale suggested he probably would.
* I still am as concerned about physical clashes inside the arena as outside. Here are two nicely drawn anecdotes from the Washington Post’s Friday Tulsa scene setter:
At one point in the afternoon, a young African American man clashed with a white Trump supporter who had parked his pink bicycle with a Confederate flag flying from a pole at the intersection of West Fourth Street and Boulder Avenue.
After a scuffle over the flag, the owner of the Confederate flag pulled a knife, which he kept to his side, while the other man yelled, “Make my day.”
The busy traffic was punctuated with frequent blasts from horns of Trump supporters and also pounding bass from vehicles rolling by playing a rap song at full blast with the lyrics, “Hey, hey f--- Donald Trump.” A woman in a Trump 2020 hat approached one, a Chevrolet Tahoe with the passenger-side window partially rolled down, and handed the occupant a white carnation, which was received.
* NBC News scoops:
Leading members of the coronavirus task force warned White House officials about the health risks of holding large-scale indoor campaign rallies and advised against such mass gatherings, according to two people familiar with the discussions.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, and task force response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx both vocalized concerns internally in the last week about the safety of holding a rally on Saturday with as many as 19,000 people in an enclosed arena in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
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9. Here’s your reelection roundup:
A. Based on various videos, cable comments, tweets, and this new website (https://www.barelytherebiden.com), it would appear for the moment that the president’s original negative frame on his opponent, Sleepy Joe, is the one the campaign is going with. The New York Times suggests that it hasn’t worked so far, but I don’t think they are tracking social media and focus groups enough.
This Trump tact might not work, but it is too soon to say it won’t.
Halperin says: The acid question is, will Biden have apparent senior moments so senior that they take over the national conversation?
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B. Two reader emails, in response to Friday’s mailbag, that provide a different perspective to those of you who think Biden can’t lose.
Reader #1:
Your reader from western Maryland may be seeing fewer Trump signs because of people’s fear of being cancelled. No one wants to get yelled at. Or it could be lack of enthusiasm, but doubtful.
Anyone who would abandon Trump after the bleach incident was never a Trump supporter in the first place. If that really bothered you then you were far more bothered long ago. I talk to plenty of Trump supporters. This NEVER comes up. But......your mileage may vary....but I doubt it.
More plausible is the cumulative effective of his bumbling around the race issue. But, to Trumps credit, all these tell all books describe his private behavior as no different than his public behavior. People hate phony politicians who talk different in front of different crowds.
We are in a Kobayashi Maru scenario. Nothing will ever satisfy their demands. Not that they really have any quantifiable demands. This is as much a poverty issue as a race issue. Poor people have a rough row to hoe and generally get treated like sh*t. Since many black people are poor - people assume it's all about race. Some of it is, but not all. Programs designed to help poor people regardless of color will be accepted more easily than race targeted programs. I really doubt if most black people want whites to give them anything just cause they are black.
People want the dignity of a decent job. If we bring back more jobs from China we will start to turn the tide. (I'll pay more for my iPhone - it will be worth it) ditto on immigration- less competition for entry level jobs will raise wages.
Trump is the only guy who will even try to accomplish this. The Democrats will be happy extending unemployment (no dignity there) or the ridiculous notion that everyone should learn how to code.
We need less free college and more free trade schools.
Equal opportunity has been transformed to mean equal outcomes.
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Reader #2, from the Bluegrass State:
How contagious is the virus? My 70+ year old parents were election judges in March in the suburbs of Chicago and didn’t get it. My mom continues to do freezer merchandising in grocery stores and my dad continued his physical therapy for knee surgery.
I was hugged by an Englishman on March 13 and didn’t get it.
I think I fall into a silent majority category of folks who haven’t really seen any “personal” evidence of covid. Sure I know people who know people who got it, and I have Facebook friends who have had covid. But that’s like single digits out of a pool of thousands, maybe even ten thousand.
The closest I’ve personally come is [hearing about] an Iraq war vet who’s lungs were shredded in the war, who had covid and was intubated for 12 days, and survived!
Maybe I did overreact to the nightmare in Italy and NYC.
I think more and more people “feel” this way here in KY.
Remains to be seen if there will be a flare up here. We are still averaging about 200 positives and 5 deaths a day here.
Halperin says: In all likelihood, Donald Trump and Joe Biden will both get north of 60 million votes come November. That means there are plenty of anecdotal views out there, enough to “prove” most any point — Red, Blue, or Purple. But more Red or Blue. And I find these voices help sort things out.
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10. Another late-night story:
Protesters were jubilant late Friday after they toppled the statue of Confederate General Albert Pike near Judiciary Square in the District.
“Black Lives matter,” they cheered as the only Confederate statue in the District fell to the ground. “Let it burn,” someone said. And the group set it on fire. D.C. police looked on but did not intervene during the efforts of the group, which lasted about an hour.
That caught the attention of President Trump, who tweeted shortly after the statue fell: “The D.C. police are not doing their job as they watch a statue be ripped down & burn. These people should be immediately arrested. A disgrace to our Country!” (Washington Post)
Halperin says: Although the NYPD engaged in a blocking action Friday night, it seems only a matter of time before the Columbus statue at 59th Street near the Trump hotel comes down and the nation’s most famous circle needs a new name. Send me your suggestions for that one.
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11. Sorry for the paucity of pandemic coverage today; blame TrumpBarr.
Here are two items for your reading pleasure:
The vice president spent time outside of Washington this week mingling with scores of people at events that were tailored to look and feel as much like pre-pandemic life as the places he visited allow.
Pence walked through a crowded restaurant where patrons weren’t wearing masks, including an elderly veteran whom the vice president posed side-by-side with for a photograph. Any signs of an ongoing pandemic were minimized.
The table where Pence ate lunch was socially distanced from the others in the restaurant, for instance. But to get there he had to walk essentially shoulder-to-shoulder with people who lined either side of a narrow part of the restaurant and members of the audience at his outdoor speech to workers at a manufacturing plant were seated 6 feet apart.
Almost no one in the audience wore a mask. Pence did interviews with local reporters who weren’t wearing masks. His staff and security detail didn’t wear masks. And the guides on his tour of a manufacturing plant weren’t socially distanced or wearing masks. (NBC News)
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A Transportation Security Administration official charges that the agency helped spread COVID-19 by failing to provide enough protective gear for airport screeners who are in close contact with travelers every day.
The top TSA official in Kansas, Jay Brainard, says the agency didn’t train staff for the pandemic and barred supervisors like him from giving screeners stockpiled N95 respirators in March when facial coverings such as surgical masks were hard to buy.
“I have no doubt whatsoever that our people became Typhoid Marys and contributed to the spread of that virus because TSA senior leadership did not make sure (screeners) were adequately protected,” Brainard told The Associated Press on Friday.
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12. The Big 4 - by Brian P. Nadeau
* Activist group says PHX police escalating protests with arrests, intimidation. (Arizona Republic)
* AZ high school football coaches concerned about season, spike in COVID-19 cases. (Arizona Republic)
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* Federal judge rules Wolverine State gyms can open June 25, state plans to appeal. (Detroit Free Press)
* MI’s unpaid unemployment claims at 137K, many flagged for fraud. (The Detroit News)
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* GOP State Senator Joe Scarnati fast-tracking lucrative gambling expansion benefiting major campaign donor. (Spotlight PA)
* 5 Phillies players test positive for COVID-19; Clearwater spring training facility closed. (The Intelligencer)
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* Gov. Evers, Lt. Gov. Barnes announce proposed reforms on policing accountability, transparency. (WITI FOX6)
* City of Racine must halt COVID-19 restrictions per County Circuit Court judge. (The Journal Times)
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13. Here’s your two other stories that on a normal Friday/Saturday would have been the lead:
A. We are all waiting around for the federal judge who has the Bolton book case to decide what to do, with the Gang of 500 consensus being the jurist will likely not try to stop the book’s release but will impound the mustachioed man’s money. Politico has a nice roundup of Friday’s hearing.
Halperin says: Little commented on is the likelihood that one or both parties will appeal. With the book due out in a matter of days.
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B.
(AP) — The Trump administration has abruptly dropped its insistence on secrecy for a $600 billion-plus coronavirus aid program for small businesses.
The administration announced Friday it will publicly disclose the names of recipients of the taxpayer-funded loans, the amounts they received in ranges, as well as demographic data on the businesses.
Halperin says: The administration’s decision to relent in the face of bipartisan pressure and after fierce resistance demonstrates once again that Secretary Mnuchin has learned the ways of the Washington.
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14. TOP STORIES- by Brian P. Nadeau
Sports: MLB spring training facilities will all close for cleaning after COVID-19 outbreak, reports indicate.
Business: 2 Federal Reserve officials signal caution on U.S. economy’s recovery as coronavirus cases increase in many states.
Entertainment: Beyonce releases surprise song ‘Black Parade,’ co-written by husband Jay-Z, at end of Juneteenth day.
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