Hi John,

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Best,
Evan McMullin & Mindy Finn

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: The Topline <[email protected]>
Date: Tue, May 12, 2020 at 1:16 PM
Subject: Deflecting and distracting
To: SUR <[email protected]>
The U.S., sadly, is No. 1 in the world in COVID-19 cases and deaths, which have now surpassed 80,000. To distract Americans from that devastating reality, Donald Trump has revived an old conspiracy theory—that former President Barack Obama launched an illegal surveillance operation against him during the 2016 presidential campaign. The facts, once again, bear repeating: Russia conducted a sweeping information warfare attack against America in 2016 to help Trump win election. Trump and his team knew what was happening, encouraged it, planned to benefit from it, failed to report it to the FBI, and then tried to cover it up. These facts are indisputable, and in the absence of public vigilance, history may well repeat itself this year.
 
—Evan McMullin
Click here for shareable version

1. 'An absolute chaotic disaster'

Donald Trump has shifted his focus back to a familiar old rival—former President Barack Obama. In a verified recording of a web talk between the former president and members of the Obama Alumni Association, leaked last Friday, Obama called the administration's handling of the coronavirus outbreak "an absolute chaotic disaster." Addressing the Justice Dept.'s dropping of the case against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, Obama also said the "rule of law is at risk" in the U.S. Needless to say, the president was enraged, and has spent days tweeting about "Obamagate," which he believes is an illegal surveillance operation initiated by Obama to derail his 2016 presidential campaign. —The Guardian More: Nearly 2K former DOJ officials call for AG Barr to resign over Flynn case (ABC News)
 
2. Foer: Putin gets by with a little help from POTUS

"Vladimir Putin dreams of discrediting the American democratic system, and he will never have a more reliable ally than Donald Trump. A democracy can't defend itself if it can't honestly describe the attacks against it. But the president hasn't just undermined his own country's defenses—he has actively abetted the adversary's efforts. If Russia wants to tarnish the political process as hopelessly rigged, it has a bombastic amplifier standing behind the seal of the presidency, a man who reflexively depicts his opponents as frauds and any system that produces an outcome he doesn't like as fixed. If Russia wants to spread disinformation, the president continually softens an audience for it, by instructing the public to disregard authoritative journalism as the prevarications of a traitorous elite and by spouting falsehoods on Twitter." —The Atlantic

More: Andelman: Uh oh, Putin's following Trump's COVID-19 playbook (CNN)
 
3. Fauci testifies to Senate

So what is President Trump hoping to distract Americans from this week? Well, first off, the testimony by four key public health experts to the Senate Health Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee today. Dr. Anthony Fauci, who participated remotely, warned the panel of "needless suffering and death" if the country opens up prematurely amid the coronavirus pandemic. Sen. Mitt Romney took issue with Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir, who praised the U.S.'s current testing capacity. "Yesterday, you celebrated that we had done more tests per capita than South Korea but ignored the fact that they accomplished theirs at the beginning of the outbreak, and we treaded water in February and March," Romney declared. —The Daily Beast More: US officials: Beware of China and others trying to steal COVID-19 research (NPR)
 
4. Cook: China looks to become the new Russia

"While some covert tactics were documented, for many years there was no significant evidence that Chinese actors were engaging in aggressive disinformation campaigns like the one pursued by Russia on global social media platforms ahead of the 2016 U.S. elections. That has now changed. Over the past month alone, a series of exposés demonstrated that pro-Beijing actors are carrying out a whole range of covert activities in multiple countries and languages. The campaigns aim to spread proven falsehoods, sow societal discord and panic, manipulate perceptions of public opinion, or undermine the democratic process." —The Diplomat

Ed. Note: Sarah Cook is a senior research analyst for China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan at Freedom House and is director of its China Media Bulletin.

More: Wary Europe welcomes China's help—but not its disinformation (The Christian Science Monitor)
 
5. Tax cases hit the Supreme Court

The second thing President Trump hopes you won't watch this week is his ongoing effort to keep his tax returns and financial records from the Democratic-led House, a New York district attorney, and ultimately, the American people. The cases are now in the Supreme Court, and oral arguments began today. More: Supreme Court hears arguments on releasing Trump's financial records (The New York Times)
 
6. McConnell seeks greater surveillance of Americans

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is seeking to renew and expand the 2001 PATRIOT Act. In two different amendments, McConnell proposes not only to increase the surveillance power of the U.S. government over American citizens, but also to give more powers over the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Court to, of all people, Attorney General Bill Barr.
7. Korkmaz: A model for countering populism

"Populists in power undermine the democratic institutions, that is, free and fair elections, free access to information, the accountability of government, the right to free speech, the rule of law, freedom of the press. They also suppress the opposition, not only through the use of force, as do authoritarian leaders, but also with popular support. Populist leaders like Erdoğan, Trump, Orban, Johnson, Modi, Bolsanaro, Netanyahu—they all benefit from their shared experiences, to motivate and support each other. There is an invisible populist coalition around the world. However, there is also strong global resilience against populist authoritarianism. Those movements should also learn from each other." —Open Democracy

Ed. Note: Seren Selvin Korkmaz is the co-founder and executive director of the IstanPol Institute, an independent think-tank; a doctoral researcher at Stockholm University Institute for Turkish Studies; and a former Fox Fellow at Yale University.

More: Populism threatens the American Dream, warns economist (Forbes)
 
8. Iraq's new PM faces uphill battle

President Trump spoke yesterday with Iraq's new prime minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, to congratulate him on the approval of his new government by Iraqi lawmakers last week. al-Kadhimi's installation is a positive development for Iraq, which had been without a government since former Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahd resigned last November amid anti-government protests. But he faces myriad obstacles in addition to the global coronavirus pandemic. More: A powerful Iran-backed militia is losing influence in Iraq (Foreign Policy)
 
10. An American Story: Music is good medicine

Tucked away inside his room at a senior care facility in Franklin, Tenn., 88-year-old Air Force veteran Bob Coleman knew he couldn't go out into the world with the coronavirus raging. But he could share with the world his first love—country music. So he's become one of several retirees who have turned into DJs for a new online radio hour known as "Radio Recliner." Ed. Note: We are spotlighting ways that Americans are helping each other through the coronavirus crisis. Would you like to suggest an "American Story" from your local news? If so, please forward a link to the story to [email protected]. Thank you!
 
It is concerning to me that the president and vice president have chosen not to wear masks, since that is the recommendation for the general public. They are setting a poor example. —Linda S., Georgia

A great resource on face masks for the general public from the Royal Society DELVE Initiative: http://rs-delve.github.io/reports/2020/05/04/face-masks-for-the-general-public.html —Ken G., Colorado

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