Rep. Pramila Jayapal Expertly Cut to the Heart of William Barr’s Hypocrisy

Attorney General William Barr appeared before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday to answer for the Trump administration’s move to invade cities like Portland, Oregon, where federal agents have recently been brutalizing demonstrators. He ran into questioning from committee Democrats, particularly Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.). The Democrat took the attorney general to task for sending troops to quell Black Lives Matter demonstrations but doing nothing when armed militias swarmed government buildings in Michigan and elsewhere to demand the economy reopen during the coronavirus pandemic.

Jayapal began by asking Barr whether he felt it was appropriate to order federal officers to “tear gas, pepper spray, and beat protesters” in Lafayette Park, in Washington, D.C., so that President Trump could walk to St. John’s Church to brandish a Bible for a photo op, Barr ignored the question to dispute whether tear gas was used. Jayapal rightly pointed out that this is a semantic distinction that has been widely debunked. Tear gas-like chemical agents were indeed used on peaceful demonstrators, according to U.S. Park Police.

Jayapal then brought up comments Trump made to governors about the need to “dominate” Black Lives Matter demonstrators, noting that he was going to “activate” Barr “strongly” to handle the issue. But as Jayapal notes, Barr was in no way activated to tamp down protests against stay-at-home orders during the pandemic, because those protesters were pushing Trump’s agenda to get the economy up and running. Never mind that many of those protesters were armed, sporting Swastikas, Confederate flags, and, in Michigan, calling for Governor Gretchen Whitmer to be lynched.

“The point I’m trying to make,” Jayapal continued, “is that there is a real discrepancy between how you react as the attorney general. When white men with Swastikas storm a government building with guns there is no need for the president to ‘activate’ you because they’re getting the president’s personal agenda done. But when black people and people of color protest police brutality, systemic racism, and the president’s very own lack of response to those critical issues, then you forcibly remove them with armed federal officers and pepper bombs, because they are considered terrorists by the president.”

Barr tried to interrupt by arguing that he has a responsibility to the federal government and shouldn’t be involved in demonstrations in Michigan, conveniently ignoring Trump’s quote to governors that he would “activate” Barr to deal with protesters, or the fact that federal officers have been sent to Portland, which *checks notes* is not federally controlled territory. Jayapal wasn’t having it.

“You are supposed to represent the people of the United States of America, not violate people’s First Amendment rights,” she concluded. “You are supposed to uphold democracy and secure equal justice under the law, not violently dismantle certain protesters based on the president’s personal agenda.”

Melania Trump Announces Rose Garden Rennovation Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

First Lady Melania Trump announced on Monday that she is going to take on renovating the White House Rose Garden, located by the Oval Office on the West Wing. Melania plans for the garden to look more like the original that was built under former President John F. Kennedy.

Melania gave a statement, “The very act of planting a garden involves hard work and hope in the possibility of a bright future. Preserving the history and beauty of the White House and its grounds is a testament to our nation’s commitment to the care of this landscape and our dedication to American ideals, safeguarding them for our children and their children for generations to come.”

She tweeted, “Even in the most difficult times, the @WhiteHouse Rose Garden has stood as a symbol of strength & continuity. Today, it is my pleasure to announce our plans to renew & restore this iconic space so that we preserve its history & beauty for generations to come.”

President Donald Trump had been frequently using the Rose Garden as a space to hold press conferences outdoors during the coronavirus pandemic, as the virus is less likely to spread outside. Renovations made to the garden would require forfeiting use of the space.

Usually renovations to the White House are made in August when the first family goes on vacation. In both August 2017 and 2018 renovations were made by the Trump family while they stated in Bedminster, New Jersey.

Many have been critical of Melania’s decision to proceed with renovations during the coronavirus pandemic.

One Twitter user wrote, “In order to mitigate the suffering caused by COVID-19 and ensure that states have all the PPE & testing/tracing elements they so desperately need, Melania Trump will be revamping the Rose Garden and Trump will be golfing and tweeting.”

Another said, “With Nearly 150,000 dead from coronavirus, 18 Million unemployed, and unemployment benefits ending, Melania will revamp the Rose Garden as her husband does nothing to alleviate the pain and suffering.”

Useful Idiots: Thomas Chatterton Williams on the Open Letter on Cancel Culture

In this week’s quarantine episode of our Useful Idiots podcast, hosts Matt Taibbi and Katie Halper are joined by journalist Thomas Chatterton Williams, who was instrumental in the recent Harper’s open letter.

Our hosts break down the discrepancies in CNN analyses of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo — from Jake Tapper on one side, and the Governor’s brother Chris Cuomo on the other — and, of course, the instant-classic Cuomo COVID-19 poster is on the table.

“Andrew Cuomo almost always gets a pass from his brother, ‘Fredo’ Cuomo, well his name really is Chris Cuomo, but let’s call him Chris ‘Fredo’ Cuomo. So this is a rare occasion where CNN actually is critical of Andrew Cuomo, and I think Jake Tapper really nails it,” says Katie, referring to a recent Jake Tapper segment on Governor Cuomo’s self-congratulatory poster. “[Chris is] probably going to threaten Jake.”

“It’s CNN-on-CNN crime,” says Matt. “We love it. We’d love to see more of it.”

Katie and Matt also give a requiem for former U.S. Attorney General and Senator Jeff Sessions, after his recent primary loss in Alabama.

In the big media news of the week, our hosts discuss the self-canceling and departure of opinion editor Bari Weiss from the New York Times, and the ongoing conversation in media circles about “cancel culture” and free speech.

“What makes Bari Weiss presenting herself as a victim of censorship or mob mentality kind of ironic and problematic is that she herself, when she was a student at Columbia University, really did a lot to smear certain professors as anti-Semites,” Katie explains.

Matt points to the lack of intellectual diversity in mainstream media companies. “Forget about whether it’s Bari Weiss or Brett Stephens or whoever, if basically your op-ed page is a whole bunch of people who agree with each other, and Ross Douthat, right? The loser there is the rest of the staff and the readers of the New York Times,” says Matt. “You’re going to end up getting a picture of the world that’s incomplete, and the paper is going to suck because it’s not going to be able to see what the rest of the world is thinking. They’ve already proven that that’s the case.”

Thomas Chatterton Williams join Katie and Matt, allowing the show to really lean in to the subject of intellectual diversity in journalism. Williams, along with several colleagues, drafted the Harper’s open letter, solicited the signatories, and is now in the middle of an international debate over it. “He’s literally sitting at ground zero of this whole controversy,” says Matt.

Williams discusses the reasoning and decision-making that went into to the letter, and who was asked to sign it. He also opines on the overarching goal of putting it out.

“Everyone’s like, ‘Oh, this is what I’ve been talking about in my private texts.’ Their group chats. Now people are talking about it openly,” says Williams. “We probably always have had things that are beyond the pale, that cross a line. We’re collectively trying to figure out where our lines are now, and to try to make whatever we’re doing to enforce quickly-developing norms on the fly. W’re trying to make it more and more fair.”

Williams describes the variety of reactions the letter has received, and the intensity of the criticism — as well as the vindication. “I’ve taken an enormous amount of abuse,” Williams admits. “Lots of us have had negative experiences in the last week or more with this letter, but ultimately those individual negative experiences pale in comparison to what I think has been collectively healthy.”

Administration Reassures Public Trump Won’t Actually Commit Basic Act of Humanity

In an interview with Telemundo’s José Díaz-Balart, President Trump said that he is planning to sign an executive order on immigration that will include “a road to citizenship” to “Dreamers” covered by the Obama Administration’s DACA protections. But that is a lie. The president does not have the power to make unilateral action like that via executive order. And further, White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere released a statement after the interview clarifying that the executive order will address merit-based immigration but not DACA recipients.

During the bizarre interview, Díaz-Balart asked Trump why is he so “laser-focused on deporting” DACA recipients, which is when Trump baselessly claimed that he is not deporting DACA recipients and would instead create opportunities for them to obtain citizenship. Even while he was lying, though, the president couldn’t even keep straight that the action he was talking about was an executive order and not a bill — a term reserved for legislation that has gone through Congress.

Díaz-Balart interjected to correct him and ask, “This is an executive order?”

The president corrected and continued, “I’m gonna do a big executive order. I have the power to do it as president,” he said. “And I’m going to make DACA a part of it. We put it in, and we’re probably going to then be taking it out. We’re working out the legal complexities right now. But I’m going to be signing a major immigration bill as an executive order, which the Supreme Court now, because of the DACA decision, has given me the power to do that.”

“If you look at the Supreme Court ruling, they gave the president tremendous powers when they said that you could take in, in this case, 700,000 or so people,” Trump added. “So they gave powers, based on the powers that they gave, I’m going to be doing an immigration bill. One of the aspects of the bill that you’ll be very happy with — and that a lot of people will be, including me and a lot of Republicans, by the way — will be DACA. We’ll give them a road to citizenship.”

Last month, the Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump could not abolish DACA by claiming it was unconstitutional, but, Chief Justice Roberts wrote in the opinion for the majority, the president does have the power to rescind the program by other legal means. The court did not, however, say that the president could create a path to citizenship for “Dreamers” without Congress.

At least one person will be relieved to discover the president had no idea what he was talking about. As soon as news broke that the president said he would create a path to citizenship, Sen. Ted Cruz took to Twitter to complain that he was violating the constitution.