There’s a perfect storm brewing. Russia is interfering in our primaries and in our general election this year, and the Senate keeps ejecting any attempts to secure our elections. Even though Attorney General Bill Barr told Trump to stop talking about his investigations, Trump continues to tweet and talk about Roger Stone, Bob Mueller, and Russia (he just can’t help himself), and he continues to remove appointees he thinks aren’t loyal enough to him. Finally, Barr has farmed out investigations into Trump’s perceived opponents to state attorneys. What could go wrong?

Here’s that and what else happened in politics for the week ending February 23…

Shootings This Week:

There were FIVE mass shootings in the U.S. this week (defined as killing and/or injuring 4 or more people). Shooters kill 7 people and injure 17 more.

1. Students from Alcorn State University in Port Gibson, MS, are involved in a shooting that leaves 2 people dead and 2 more injured.
2. A shooter injures 4 people on a busy street in Greensboro, NC.
3. A shooter kills 2 people and injures 3 more in a murder-suicide at a senior living complex in Caldwell, ID.
4. A shooter kills 3 people and injures 1 more at a private home in Clarkton, NC.
5. A shooter injures 7 people at a family-friendly dance in Houston, TX.

Russia:

1. Trump ignores Barr’s public advice to stop saying the quiet parts out loud, urging the judge in Stone’s case to grant him a new trial. Trump also says he’ll intervene if the courts don’t overturn Stone’s conviction.

• • The judge refuses to delay Stone’s sentencing and gives him a prison sentence of three years and four months, less than half of what DOJ prosecutors recommended before Barr stepped in and revoked their recommendation. It’s still commensurate though, and the judge delivers a blistering opinion on Stone’s behavior.

2. Trump tweets that the whole Mueller investigation was illegal and based on phony evidence. He says that everything having to do with the investigation should be thrown out even though eight Trump associates either pleaded guilty or were convicted by a jury. And then he suggests he might sue over it.
3. U.S. officials tell Bernie Sanders that Russia is trying to interfere in the Democratic primaries by assisting his campaign. Sanders’ response is unequivocal: “My message to Putin is clear: Stay out of American elections, and as president I will make sure that you do.”
4. Intelligence officials also briefed the House last week that Russia is meddling again in the 2020 elections to sow discord and promote Trump, which pissed off both Republicans in the House and Trump.

• • Trump thought that only Adam Schiff was briefed about it, and then accuses Schiff of leaking it to the media (with no evidence). Paranoid much?
  • But then, higher-level officials say the briefing was an over-reaction and that there’s no evidence that Russia is helping Trump (though Trump does say they’re helping Sanders).
  • According to news sources, “some intelligence officials viewed the briefing as a tactical error, saying the conclusions could have been delivered in a less pointed manner or left out entirely to avoid angering Republicans.” So we shouldn’t learn the truth if it makes some people mad?

5. A lawyer in Julian Assange’s trial says that in 2017, then-Representative Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) traveled to London to offer Assange a pardon. The pardon was conditioned on Assange agreeing to say that Russia didn’t have anything to do with the leaking of the DNC emails and documents.

• • Dana Rohrabacher corroborates the story. He was following up on his conspiracy theory that Russia didn’t hack the DNC. Dana thinks climate change is caused by dinosaur farts. I doubt he knows better than our intelligence agencies.

• • Trump’s press secretary says Trump barely knows Rohrabacher and that this is probably just a “total lie from the DNC, but here’s what Trump had to say about him in 2018: “Dana Rohrabacher has been a great Congressman for his District and for the people of Cal. He works hard and is respected by all – he produces! Dems are desperate to replace Dana by spending vast sums to elect a super liberal who is weak on Crime and bad for our Military & Vets!”

6. Trump decides not to nominate Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph McGuire to a permanent cabinet post after a member of McGuire’s staff briefed lawmakers about Russian interference in our 2020 elections. Trump blew up at him a few days before the announcement because of the briefing.
7. Trump replaces McGuire with Richard Grenell, who is currently the U.S. Ambassador to Germany. Grenell doesn’t have an intelligence or security background, but this move does two things:

• • It puts a Trump loyalist in the position of overseeing and coordinating our intelligence agencies.
  • It puts the first openly gay man in a Cabinet secretary position.

Legal Fallout:

1. The Trump administration reassigns deputy national security adviser Victoria Coates following rumors that she’s the “Anonymous” author of an op-ed about the administration in the New York Times who later published a book about it.

• • A literary agent involved with the book releases a statement saying Coates is not Anonymous.
  • Peter Navarro, Trump’s top trade advisor has been comparing different people’s writings to see if they match the style of Anonymous.

2. The Department of Defense says its computer systems were hacked and personal information for around 200,000 people got exposed.

Impeachment:

1. Remember Devin Nunes’ former aide Kash Patel who Trump thought was his Ukraine expert when his Ukraine expert was actually Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman? Well, he’s now a senior adviser for the new Acting DNI, Richard Grenell.
2. Former national security adviser Susan Rice tells John Bolton that it’s inconceivable to her that she would withhold testimony if she had firsthand knowledge of abuse of presidential power, with or without a subpoena.
3. Post-impeachment, Trump instructs the White House to find and force out anyone who isn’t deemed to be loyal enough to Trump. Trump says he wants “bad people” out of his government. Most presidents fill their staff with people who both agree and disagree with them because that’s good for governance.

• • Trump asks Under Secretary of Defense John Rood to resign. Rood certified Ukraine’s compliance with our anti-corruption requirements and warned Defense Secretary Mark Esper against withholding Ukraine’s aid. Rood agrees to step down.
  • Trump has a 29-year-old campaign aide working on this project.
  • In a surreal twist, the wife of a Supreme Court Justice has been suggesting who the White House should hire and fire. Ginni Thomas, Clarence Thomas’s wife, has been at it for a year and a half. Other conservative groups, including the Heritage Foundation, have been doing the same.

4. The general counsel for the DNI resigns. He’s the guy who initially blocked the whistleblower’s report from getting to Congress.

Courts/Justice:

1. The Federal Judges Association calls an emergency meeting to discuss interference in politically sensitive cases by the DOJ and by Trump.
2. GOP lawmakers Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, and Kevin McCarthy issue a statement supporting Barr after more than 2,000 former DOJ officials called for Barr to resign.
3. Trump issues pardons and commutes sentencing for a group of white-collar criminals who are guilty of crimes like fraud, corruption, and racketeering. Great job draining the swamp, though!

• • He commutes Rod Blagojevich’s prison sentence. Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in 2011 for an attempted quid pro quo. He wanted to trade an appointment to Obama’s vacant Senate seat in return for campaign contributions. The Illinois GOP asked Trump not to do this because it sends a “damaging message” about efforts to “root out public corruption in our government.”

• • He pardons Edward DeBartolo Jr, owner of the San Francisco 49ers, who was convicted of gambling fraud.
  • He pardons Former NYPD Commissioner Bernie Kerik, who pleaded guilty to tax fraud after accepting a $250,000 “loan” from an Israeli billionaire.
  • He pardons financier Michael Milken, who pleaded guilty to tax evasion and insider trading. He was fined $600 million, if that gives you an idea of the extent of his fraud.

4. Trump also pardons:

• • Paul Pogue, a construction consultant who pleaded guilty to tax fraud.
  • Ariel Friedler, a software CEO who hacked into competing companies’ software systems.
  • David Safavian, who was convicted of perjury in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.
  • Angela Stanton, a teacher who pleaded guilty to charges of inappropriate sexual activities with teenage boys.

5. Trump commutes the sentences for:

• • Tynice Nichole Hall, who was convicted for multiple drug and firearm offenses including selling crack cocaine.
  • Crystal Munoz, who was convicted for her role in helping marijuana distributors get around a drug checkpoint. She got 18 years for drawing them a rough map.
  • Judith Negron, who was found guilty in a $205 million Medicare fraud scheme.

Health/Healthcare:

1. The State Department and a top Trump health official go against the CDC’s advice and fly home 14 passengers infected with the coronavirus along with passengers who were not infected.
2. As the coronavirus spreads globally, Trump’s ability to respond is hampered in part because he fired the entire pandemic response chain of command in 2018. Just another Obama creation that Trump felt compelled to dismantle. He also cut funding to programs designed to fight the spread of these infectious diseases.
3. In response to bills in Alabama that severely restrict abortion access in the state, Democratic Representative Rolanda Hollis introduces a bill to force men to have vasectomies after they have three children or reach the age of 50. Hollis says both men and women should take responsibility for family planning.

• • It turns out that Ted Cruz isn’t a fan of government controlling your body after all. He tweets, “Yikes! A government big enough to give you everything is big enough to take everything…literally!” Sigh. Welcome to the world of being a woman in Alabama and Texas, Mr. Cruz.

4. Florida passes a bill requiring parental consent for women under 18 to obtain an abortion. At least the bill has a waiver process for cases of abuse and incest or when the parent would cause more harm. This still lets other people force a young woman to have a baby.
5. A panel of federal judges strikes down Mississippi’s “fetal heartbeat” bill, which would’ve banned abortions after six weeks of gestation.

International:

1. Protests continue in Canada against the development of a natural gas pipeline.
2. As Trump prepares for his visit to India, protests there continue against discriminatory changes to India’s citizenship laws.
3. A hoax email about the coronavirus in Ukraine sparks violent protests and police standoffs, and protestors block the arrival of evacuees from China.
4. Police use water cannons and tear gas against protestors in Chile.
5. An Iraqi cleric works to quash the ongoing protests in Iraq by sending in counter-protestors.
6. Sudanese security forces use tear gas against demonstrators protesting the dismissal of officers and soldiers who supported the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir last year.
7. Gunfire breaks out when police officers in Haiti protest for fair pay.
8. Protests continue in Algeria (for a year now) and Lebanon ( for five months so far)

Border Wall/Shutdown/National Emergency:

1. The Department of Homeland Security wavies 10 contracting laws to speed up approvals for Trump’s border wall.

Travel Ban/Immigration/Discrimination:

1. Following up on Trump’s decision to send Customs and Border Protection’s SWAT team to sanctuary cities, ICE starts arresting people in safe havens, like courthouses and churches, in California. These communities have worked to make sure immigrants feel safe reporting and testifying about crimes. If they’re afraid to go to courthouses, they’ll let the crimes go unpunished.
2. New Jersey raises its threat level for white supremacist violence higher than the level for ISIS and Al Qaeda.
3. The Republican attorneys general of five states—Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Nebraska, and South Dakota—file a motion to block the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. Democratic AGs, on the other hand, sue to have it ratified.
4. South Dakota is looking at a slew of discriminatory bills that would ban certain medical treatment for transgender youth, stop enforcing policies on same-sex marriage, and allow medical personnel to refuse to provide care based on religious or moral grounds.
5. In 2018, Trump ordered that the environmental impact studies that were blocking water diversion plans be re-evaluated.

Climate:

1. While California has been working on solutions for distributing its water supply between urban and rural areas, Trump signs an order to re-engineer the state’s water plans.

• • Trump also says California doesn’t have a drought and has tremendous amounts of water. Except that we don’t. This has been a very dry year.

2. The (Republican-run) USDA lays out goals to cut agriculture’s carbon footprint in half by 2050 while still increasing production.

Budget/Economy:

1. The U.S. has seen a record 10 straight years of growth, seven years under Obama and three years under Trump.
2. Mick Mulvaney of all people criticizes the GOP for being “a lot less interested” in deficits under Trump than they were under Obama. He says neither party cares about the deficit anymore and that the GOP is “evolving” on the issue.
3. Mulvaney also says the U.S. is desperate for more people to fill jobs because of the tight job market and the administration’s clamping down on legal immigration.
4. Trump promises more bailouts for farmers if the promised foreign purchases don’t kick in. He also says that it’ll be paid for out of the “massive tariff money coming into” the U.S., showing once again that he doesn’t understand how tariffs work. We consumers pay for them.

Elections:

1. An appeals court in Florida upholds a lower court decision that the state can’t deny ex-felons the right to vote because of outstanding court fines, fees, and restitution.
2. Elections are coming up and Russians are still meddling in them. Just thought you should know, in case you didn’t know.
3. A Democratic Super PAC has filed several lawsuits against states the PAC claims are suppressing voter turnout. Trump’s re-election campaign and the RNC plan to spend over $10 million defending those states.

Miscellaneous:

1. The Boy Scouts of America files bankruptcy, likely to protect their assets from an onslaught of sexual abuse allegations.