Mornings on the Mall
Thursday, June 25, 2020
Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese
Executive Producer: Heather Hunter
Guests: Tom Fitton and Emily Jashinsky
7:05AM INTERVIEW – TOM FITTON – President of Judicial Watch
TOPIC: Judicial Watch Obtains Records Showing FDA Paid for ‘Fresh and Never Frozen’ Human Fetal Parts for Use In ‘Humanized Mice’ Creation
8:05AM INTERVIEW – EMILY JASHINSKY – Cultural Editor at The Federalist
TOPIC: Protests and riots in DC/tearing down of statues
5AM HOUR:
5A/B/C – DOJ NEWS:
- TRUMP (on CBN with David Brody) CALLS ENTIRE INVESTIGATION IN TO HIM “TREASON” “It’s treason,” the president repeated. “Look, when I came out a long time ago, I said they’ve been spying on our campaign. They’ve been ‘taping,’ that was in quotes, meaning a modern-day version of ‘taping,’ they were spying on my campaign. I told you that a long time ago. It turned out I was right. Let’s see what happens to them now.”
- DOJ WHISTLEBLOWER ADMITS TO SEEKING JOB W/HOUSE DEMOCRATS Collins pressed Elias on his conversations with Democrats and whether he had sought a position to work with them during the Trump impeachment. Initially, Elias said he had asked to work on antitrust policy. “Did you not ask to be detailed to the committee’s work on oversight during impeachment? Is that not correct? Refresh your memory,” Collins said. “I may have also asked for oversight at one point – with the blessing of assistant attorney,” Elias responded.
5D/E – NO COPS/CHOP ZONES:
- A Minneapolis Neighborhood Vowed to Check Its Privilege. It’s Already Being Tested. Mitchell Erickson’s fingers began dialing 911 last week before he had a chance to even consider alternatives, when two black teenagers who looked to be 15, at most, cornered him outside his home a block away from the park. One of the boys pointed a gun at Mr. Erickson’s chest, demanding his car keys. Flustered, Mr. Erickson handed over a set, but it turned out to be house keys. The teenagers got frustrated and ran off, then stole a different car down the street. Mr. Erickson said later that he would not cooperate with prosecutors in a case against the boys. After the altercation, he realized that if there was anything he wanted, it was to offer them help. But he still felt it had been right to call the authorities because there was a gun involved. Two days after an initial conversation, his position had evolved. “Been thinking more about it,” he wrote in a text message. “I regret calling the police. It was my instinct but I wish it hadn’t been. I put those boys in danger of death by calling the cops.”
- Seattle CHOP zone prompts lawsuit from businesses, residents Numerous Seattle businesses – including an auto repair shop, a tattoo parlor and a property management company – sued the city Wednesday, alleging city officials were complicit in allowing an “occupied protest” that has made them feel unsafe in their neighborhood, according to reports. “(T)his lawsuit is about the constitutional and other legal rights of plaintiffs – businesses, employees and residents in and around CHOP – which have been overrun by the city of Seattle’s unprecedented decision to abandon and close off an entire city neighborhood, leaving it unchecked by the police, unserved by fire and emergency health services and inaccessible to the public at large,” the lawsuit says, Q13 FOX reported.
- CHOP ORGANIZERS URGE PEOPLE TO LEAVE AND VOTE FOR BIDEN “The CHOP project is now concluded,” the lengthy message said. “While we expect a very small handful of holdouts may try to remain in the CHOP no further organizing will be occurring to support this presence and the number on-site will be too small to be more than an annoyance for pedestrians rather than a zonal blockade.” The statement then urged supporters to vote for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and to reelect Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, both Democrats.
6AM HOUR:
6A/B/C – STATUES/PROTESTS:
- DC Mayor, Police Won’t Say If They’ll Protect Emancipation Memorial From Protesters Planning To Tear It Down Democratic Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Metropolitan Police Department did not respond or declined to comment on whether they would protect the Emancipation Memorial on Thursday night, when protesters have vowed to tear it down. Protesters surrounded the statue Tuesday night and vowed to bring equipment and tear it down Thursday at 7p.m. Bowser’s office did not respond to multiple emails and phone calls from the Daily Caller asking whether she planned to protect the statue. The Metropolitan Police Department declined to comment, saying it did not comment on operations. The statue, which stands in Lincoln Park in the nation’s capital, depicts President Abraham Lincoln with his left hand outstretched over a freed slave who is rising from his knees. Erected in 1876, the statue was paid for almost entirely by freed slaves, and Frederick Douglass delivered the dedication address, saying it represented the gratitude all black Americans have toward Lincoln.
- WJLA… Marcia Cole, a member of the Female RE-Enactors of Distinction (FREED), says she supports keeping the Emancipation Memorial in Lincoln Park. … “He is in the act of getting up. And his head is up, not bowed, because he’s looking forward to a future of freedom.”
- MASHABLE PUBLISHES HOW-TO VIDEO SHOWING VIEWERS HOW TO PULL DOWN STATUES… ‘HYPOTHETICALLY’… (VIDEO)
- EXCLUSIVE: Trump Activating 400 National Guard Troops Through July 8 To Protect Federal Monuments In DC The District of Columbia National Guard is activating roughly 400 troops to help U.S. National Park Police protect federal monuments, statues, and other properties within the district. Both Park Police and the Department of Defense confirmed the news Wednesday afternoon to the Daily Caller, noting that the activation was in response to a Tuesday request from Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt.
- Park Police Releases New Footage of Violent Lafayette Park Protests The Department of the Interior released new footage Wednesday of U.S. Park Police clashes with violent protesters outside the White House late last month, showing protesters repeatedly striking officers and hurling bricks and other projectiles at them. “The video shows agitators throwing bricks, glass, bottles, and other assaults against law enforcement officers,” an agency spokesman said. “More than 60 U.S. Park Police officers have been injured since these protests started, some hospitalized requiring surgeries.” The video, according to the agency, was taken during protests before June 1, when authorities cleared Lafayette Park to give President Donald Trump a path to visit St. John’s Church. The actions taken by police were roundly criticized by Trump’s political opponents and media commentators, who have repeatedly characterized the ongoing anti-police protests as peaceful. The Park Police defended the decision to clear Lafayette Park, emphasizing the violence officers had dealt with in the days leading up to June 1.
- Pew Research: Only 1-in-6 Protesters Are Black, 46 Percent Are White Only about one-in-six protesters over the last month are black Americans, while the plurality are white, according to Pew Research Center analysis. Though recent protests and riots have been centered around racial tensions with law enforcement, only 17 percent of protesters have been black, while 46 percent are white, 22 percent are Hispanic, and eight percent are Asian, the analysis shows. The data reveals that black Americans are not the largest minority group represented in the protests.
6D – DOJ NEWS:
- APPEALS COURT ORDERS FLYNN CASE DISMISSAL A federal appeals court on Wednesday ordered a lower court to allow the case against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to be dismissed, as requested by the Justice Department — likely ending the years-long legal saga stemming from the Russia investigation. The abrupt ending came in a 2-1 ruling and order from judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
- STRZOK NOTES SHOW OBAMA & BIDEN WEIGHED IN ON FLYNN CASE Powell wrote that the notes show that “Director Comey himself and the highest levels of the Obama Administration had the transcripts of Flynn’s phone calls with officials of other countries and knew General Flynn’s calls were lawful and proper.”“Strzok’s notes believed to be of January 4, 2017, reveal that former President Obama, James Comey, Sally Yates, Joe Biden, and apparently Susan Rice discussed the transcripts of Flynn’s calls and how to proceed against him,” Powell wrote. “Mr. Obama himself directed that ‘the right people’ investigate General Flynn.”
- BARR AGREES TO TESTIFY IN FRONT OF HOUSE JUDICIARY The move comes as top congressional Democrats are calling for new probes and hearings concerning the Justice Department after Berman’s ouster over the weekend. Nadler previously said his panel would “immediately open an investigation” into the removal. President Trump apparently fired Berman after he refused to step down, though the president has since distanced himself from the process. “Attorney General Bill Barr told us that Geoffrey Berman of the SDNY had resigned—which was untrue,” Nadler said in a statement. “Barr told us that the president asked him to fire Mr. Berman—which may also be untrue, given that the president says he had nothing to do with the decision.”
6E – PELOSI:
- Pelosi Says She Won’t Apologize For Saying Senate Republicans Are ‘Trying To Get Away With’ The ‘Murder Of George Floyd’ In an interview on NBC News, Pelosi was asked about her comments and if she would be apologizing for them, to which she said “Absolutely, positively not.” The question comes after Pelosi attacked Republicans, saying they are responsible for Floyd’s death, just one day after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell set a date to vote on the GOP’s police reform legislation.
- Schumer Says He’s ‘Fine With’ Pelosi’s Comment That Republicans Are ‘Getting Away With Murder’ Schumer was asked about Pelosi’s comment that Republicans are “getting away with the murder” of Floyd, saying, “Pelosi has answered that question herself, and what she said is fine with me.” Pelosi said Wednesday she will not apologize for her comments.
- Senate Democrats Block Republican Police Reform Legislation Senate Democrats blocked a Republican police reform bill on a procedural vote Wednesday without debating the legislation. The vote needed 60 votes in order for it to move forward to a debate. The vote was 55-45. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell filed cloture Monday on the Republican police reform legislation, setting up Wednesday’s vote. Republicans needed seven or more Democrats to vote with them in order for the legislation to advance. Senate Republicans released their police reform legislation the previous Wednesday in response to the killing of George Floyd and the ongoing protests.
- TIM SCOTT: I offered Democrats the chance to offer AT LEAST 20 amendments. They walked out. #JUSTICEAct (THREAD)
7AM HOUR:
7A – INTERVIEW – TOM FITTON – President of Judicial Watch
TOPIC: Judicial Watch Obtains Records Showing FDA Paid for ‘Fresh and Never Frozen’ Human Fetal Parts for Use In ‘Humanized Mice’ Creation
7B – NADLER VS GOHMERT
- NADLER LOSES CONTROL OF HEARING As Ayer neared the end of his opener, Gohmert started audibly tapping on his desk because Ayer had gone over the time limit. “Regular order, the witness will continue,” Chairman Jerry Nadler said in response to the disruption, but Gohmert refused to stop. Congressman Hank Johnson (D-GA) and others also asked Gohmert to stop, to which, the Texas representative responded “[Ayer] is way beyond his time, and if there are no rules about when people can talk, there’s no rules about when you can make noise.”
- ‘No Rules About When You Can Make Noise’: Congressional Hearing Goes Off The Rails As Louie Gohmert Refuses To Stop Banging His Desk Republican Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert refused to stop banging his desk during a House Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday, arguing that the witness had exceeded his allotted time. Donald Ayer — a former deputy attorney general under then-President George H.W. Bush and a staunch critic of Attorney General Bill Barr — was a key witness during the hearing. A video on Twitter appears to show Gohmert tapping his desk loudly as Ayer attempts to speak. “I can’t hear this witness,” Democratic Georgia Rep. Hank Johnson said, as Gohmert continued to make a noticeable tapping noise. “This is a very important witness.” “Well, he’s way beyond his time, and if there are no rules when people can talk, there’s no rules about when you can make noise,” Gohmert responded. “Either we have rules or we don’t.”
7D/E – COVID NEWS:
- Coronavirus resurgence in several states could erase months of progress, experts warn A coronavirus resurgence in several states could wipe out two months of U.S. progress in fighting the pandemic, some experts and hospital administrators warn — and politicians and a public tired of being cooped up are letting it happen. “People got complacent,” said Dr. Marc Boom, CEO of the Houston Methodist hospital system, told The Associated Press. “And it’s coming back and biting us, quite frankly.” The U.S. recorded a one-day total of 34,700 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, the highest level since late April, when the number peaked at 36,400, according to a count by Johns Hopkins University released on Wednesday. While newly confirmed infections have been declining steadily in early hot spots such as New York and New Jersey, several other states have set single-day records this week, including Florida, Arizona, California, Mississippi, Nevada, Texas and Oklahoma. Some of them also broke hospitalization records, as did North Carolina and South Carolina.
- Texas governor says there is a “massive” coronavirus outbreak across the state after reopening Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Wednesday the state is facing a “massive outbreak” in the coronavirus pandemic and that greater restrictions may be necessary. Abbott made the comments during an interview with CBS affiliate KFDA-TV in Amarillo, Texas. When asked if he still considered the Texas panhandle a “hot spot” for coronavirus infection, Abbott replied, “There is a massive outbreak of COVID-19 across the state of Texas.” “Today will we have 5,000 people test positive, again, as well as more than 4,000 people hospitalized because of it,” Abbott told the station, though he noted that Amarillo was doing better than some other areas. “We are looking at greater restrictions,” Abbott said, adding that some new restrictions could be localized to areas that are “running tight on hospital capacity.”
- HOT AIR: Are The New COVID Hot-Spot States Headed For “Soft” Lockdowns? As of this morning ICU capacity in [Houston] was at 97 percent, with Texas Children’s Hospital — the largest pediatric hospital in the U.S. — opening its doors to adults in order to handle the crush. Hospitals having to prepare for surge capacity is one obvious hallmark of a lockdown scenario, replete with postponing elective surgeries in order to free up resources. That may be coming soon to Texas and other states as well.
- CNN: Black Lives Matter protests have not led to a spike in coronavirus cases, research says Despite warnings from public health officials, new research suggests Black Lives Matter protests across the country have not led to a jump in coronavirus cases. A new study, published this month by the National Bureau of Economic Research, used data on protests from more than 300 of the largest US cities, and found no evidence that coronavirus cases grew in the weeks following the beginning of the protests. In fact, researchers determined that social distancing behaviors actually went up after the protests — as people tried to avoid the protests altogether. But obviously, these demonstrations caused a decrease in social distancing among actual protesters. “Our findings suggest that any direct decrease in social distancing among the subset of the population participating in the protests is more than offset by increasing social distancing behavior among others who may choose to shelter-at-home and circumvent public places while the protests are underway,” the report reads.
- WSJ: News From the Non-Lockdown States A new analysis by The Sentinel, a Kansas nonprofit, compares the 42 states that shut down most of their economies with the eight that did not. The latter group includes mostly rural states with some small metropolitan areas: North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Wyoming and Utah. Private employment on average fell by 7.8% between May 2019 and May 2020 in these states while plunging 13.2% in the others. Rural state economies generally rely more on “essential” services like agriculture and food production, and some industries like energy and hospitality would have shed jobs regardless of the lockdowns. Still, private job losses were higher in states that locked down like Colorado (9.5%) compared to economically similar ones that didn’t like Utah (4.6%). Yet per-capita Covid fatalities in states that stayed open were on average about 75% lower than those that locked down. One reason is that deaths in most states, regardless of whether they locked down, have been concentrated in nursing home facilities and minority communities that have higher rates of underlying health conditions and multigenerational housing. This is a main reason hospitalizations and deaths continued to surge in states like New York, New Jersey, Illinois and Massachusetts long after lockdowns took effect. About half of deaths in New Jersey and Illinois have been in nursing homes, and most others have been in dense low-income minority neighborhoods where social distancing is difficult.
- TEEN SUSPECT IN 4 MURDERS WAS RELEASED DUE TO COVID CONCERNS A 16-year-old boy charged with killing four people and committing several other violent crimes in D.C. was released from custody just weeks before the homicides because of concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, sources tell News4. Michael Mason, of Southeast D.C., was arrested last week and charged in the killings of 31 year-old Terrance Griffin, 20-year-old Jaszel Henderson, 21-year-old Brea Moon and 18-year-old Antwuan Roach. All four young people were killed in Ward 7 and Ward 8 in April and May.
- PARENTS IN FAIRFAX BEING GIVEN A CHOICE FOR SCHOOLING The virtual learning option would have students log on for full-time schooling. Interactive instruction will be offered four days a week. Parents could also choose the in-person option, which would mean students spend at least two full days at school and do an independent study on other days. The school may be able to offer more than two days a week, depending on how many kids choose the virtual option.
- OBAMA ADMIN USED “KUNG FLU” IN PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS Two federally-run Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals during the Obama administration used the term “Kung Flu” in official materials, along with imagery of a monkey in a karate suit and a ninja wearing a flu mask, Fox News has learned. President Trump’s use of the term “Kung Flu” to refer to the coronavirus has drawn accusations of racism and insensitivity, but the use of the term under the Obama administration has gone unreported.
8AM HOUR:
8A – INTERVIEW – EMILY JASHINSKY – Cultural Editor at The Federalist
TOPIC: Protests and riots in DC/tearing down of statues
8B/C – BUBBA WALLACE Backs Off His Don Lemon Remarks… Bubba Wallace Says He’s ‘Relieved’ The FBI Determined The Rope In His Stall Wasn’t A Noose NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace said that he’s “relieved” by the FBI’s findings that he wasn’t the victim of a hate crime. Wallace posted a statement Wednesday afternoon to Instagram and said in part, “I want to say how relieved that this wasn’t what we feared it was. I want to thank my team, NASCAR and the FBI for acting swiftly and treating this as a real threat.” He said that it’s okay to “take a little embarrassment over what the alternatives could have been.” You can read his full statement below about the alleged noose incident from Sunday below. This is a very different tone from Wallace as he was saying as recently as Tuesday night that the door pull rope found in his stall at Talladega was a straight up noose.
8D – NADLER VS GOHMERT
- NADLER LOSES CONTROL OF HEARING As Ayer neared the end of his opener, Gohmert started audibly tapping on his desk because Ayer had gone over the time limit. “Regular order, the witness will continue,” Chairman Jerry Nadler said in response to the disruption, but Gohmert refused to stop. Congressman Hank Johnson (D-GA) and others also asked Gohmert to stop, to which, the Texas representative responded “[Ayer] is way beyond his time, and if there are no rules about when people can talk, there’s no rules about when you can make noise.”
- ‘No Rules About When You Can Make Noise’: Congressional Hearing Goes Off The Rails As Louie Gohmert Refuses To Stop Banging His Desk Republican Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert refused to stop banging his desk during a House Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday, arguing that the witness had exceeded his allotted time. Donald Ayer — a former deputy attorney general under then-President George H.W. Bush and a staunch critic of Attorney General Bill Barr — was a key witness during the hearing. A video on Twitter appears to show Gohmert tapping his desk loudly as Ayer attempts to speak. “I can’t hear this witness,” Democratic Georgia Rep. Hank Johnson said, as Gohmert continued to make a noticeable tapping noise. “This is a very important witness.” “Well, he’s way beyond his time, and if there are no rules when people can talk, there’s no rules about when you can make noise,” Gohmert responded. “Either we have rules or we don’t.”
8E – Joe Biden’s Terrible Ad
