IG will review law enforcement tactics

Yesterday, Donald Trump revealed that the acceptance speech portion of the Republican National Convention, which was scheduled to be held in Jacksonville, Fla., has been canceled and will be held in another format. This is a good thing, albeit a foregone conclusion from the start, especially given Florida's challenges with containing the coronavirus. While the RNC amends its plans, we invite you to join us for an alternative—the Convention on Founding Principles, which will offer a different perspective on American ideals in the 21st century. We’ll be hearing from speakers like Michael Hayden, Tara Setmayer, Jim Comey, Shermichael Singleton, David Jolly, Christine Todd Whitman, Heath Mayo, and many others, who will share a positive vision for America and our way forward. Please stand with us! ([link removed]) —Mindy Finn

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** 1. It's Friday, and there's another IG investigation
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The Justice Dept. announced yesterday that it is launching an investigation of the use of force by federal agents against protesters in Portland, Ore. Following another night of unrest, in which the city's mayor was tear-gassed, DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz said his office will investigate allegations that federal agents used excessive force against peaceful protesters in Portland, and conduct a separate review of actions taken against protesters in Washington, D.C.'s Lafayette Square on June 1. Hopefully, this IG won't fall victim to one of President Trump's Friday night massacres. Stay tuned. —Reuters ([link removed])
* — Let the press do its job. A federal judge yesterday issued a temporary order barring federal officers from using force, threats, and dispersal orders against journalists or legal observers documenting the demonstrations in Portland. "When wrongdoing is underway, officials have great incentive to blindfold the eyes of the Fourth Estate. The free press is the guardian of the public interest, and the judiciary is the guardian of the press," U.S. District Judge Michael Simon said. —The Oregonian ([link removed])

* — The Trump surge. Last night, President Trump openly mused about sending tens of thousands of federal agents into other major U.S. cities experiencing unrest, claiming he could "solve these problems so fast" if those cities just "invited" the 75,000 "tough" feds he supposedly has ready to go. —The Daily Beast ([link removed])
*
* — Hung up on Confederates. Meanwhile, in Congress, though the Senate passed its version of a $740 billion defense bill yesterday by a veto-proof majority, Trump still insisted today that he would strike down the legislation because it calls for renaming military bases that honor Confederate leaders. —New York Post ([link removed])

MORE: Texas Sen John Cornyn's effort to make Juneteenth a federal holiday blocked by fellow Republican —The Dallas Morning News ([link removed])


** 2. Applebaum: Putin tactics in Portland
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"Welcome to the world of performative authoritarianism, a form of politics that reached new heights of sophistication in Russia over the past decade and has now arrived in the United States. Unlike 20th-century authoritarianism, this 21st-century, postmodern influence campaign does not require the creation of a total police state. Nor does it require complete control of information, or mass arrests. It can be carried out, instead, with a few media outlets and a few carefully targeted arrests." —The Atlantic ([link removed])

Ed. Note: Anne Applebaum is a senior fellow of the Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University and the author of "Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism."

MORE: Donald Trump's divisive method culminates in Portland —The Economist ([link removed])


** 3. Coronavirus cancels convention
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As the U.S. hit a staggering 4 million cases of COVID-19 and with medical experts urging another nationwide shutdown, President Trump announced yesterday that he's canceling the Jacksonville portion of the Republican National Convention. Mentioning the possibility of "telerallies," he said, "I'll still do a convention speech in a different form. But we won't do a big crowded convention per se, it's just not the right time for that." You don't say. —The Charlotte Observer ([link removed])
* — But schools are fine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late yesterday released revised guidelines with a heavy focus on fully reopening schools in the fall, saying children are less likely to experience severe symptoms or spread the virus in schools. "School closures have disrupted normal ways of life for children and parents, and they have had negative health consequences on our youth," CDC Director Robert Redfield said. —The Hill ([link removed])

* — Shhh...don't tell Trump. While Republican leaders were publicly rejecting the use of face masks, the RNC spent $14,000 on the face coverings but labeled them as "building maintenance" in federal disclosures to avoid Trump's wrath. —Business Insider ([link removed])

MORE: Collinson: Trump's briefings were meant to show him in charge—now they are becoming absurd —CNN ([link removed])


** 4. US apprehends fugitive Chinese scientist
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U.S. officials announced this morning that a Chinese scientist who had been hiding in China's San Francisco consulate after accusations of visa fraud is now in custody. Officials also charged that Beijing has been using its diplomatic outposts to run an espionage network targeting American businesses, universities, and research centers. ([link removed])
* — Prosecutors allege Tang Juan, a researcher focusing on biology, lied about her connection to the Chinese military in order to obtain entry into the U.S. ([link removed])
*
* — The arrest comes just hours before Washington's deadline for Beijing to shutter it's consulate in Houston, a move that triggered China to retaliate by demanding the U.S. close its consulate in Chengdu. ([link removed])
*
* — The activities at the Houston consulate "are a microcosm, we believe, of a broader network of individuals in more than 25 cities," working to pilfer American intellectual property, according to a Justice Dept. official. —CNN ([link removed])

MORE: With Cold War language, Pompeo defines Trump's plan for totalitarian China —Defense One ([link removed])


** 5. Vinograd: Iran is still a threat
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"Iran has...reportedly increased its stockpile of enriched uranium significantly and increased the number of machines used to enrich uranium. After blowing through JCPOA-related safeguards, analysis indicates that Iran has now halved the time it would take to breakout to a nuclear weapon." —CNN ([link removed])

Ed. Note: Samantha Vinograd served on President Barack Obama's National Security Council from 2009 to 2013 and at the Treasury Department under President George W. Bush.

MORE: Iran seeks deals with Russia and China to build coalition to resist US —Newsweek ([link removed])
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** 6. Michael Cohen is heading home
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Michael Cohen, President Trump's former attorney and "fixer," will be released to home confinement again after a federal judge in New York found that he was sent back to prison as a retaliatory act over his decision to write a tell-all book about the president. ([link removed])
* — Cohen, who had been furloughed from prison since May due to the coronavirus, was taken back into custody after refusing to sign an agreement not to publish a book about Trump. ([link removed])

* — "I cannot believe fairly that it was not on purpose ... to stop his exercise of 1st Amendment rights," U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein said at a hearing yesterday, ordering Cohen to be released by this afternoon. —USA Today ([link removed])

MORE: Past DC Bar Association chiefs call for probe of William Barr —Politico ([link removed])


** 7. Daniszewski: Populism is perpetuating the global pandemic
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"The questioning of accepted facts is one characteristic of populist leaders. Another is to not risk alienating their bases—such as by telling people to stay at home or to wear masks in public. A third characteristic is the sowing of division that tends to make cooperation elusive. Finally, a fourth trait is a leadership style that favors bombast and crowd-pleasing antics." —Star Tribune ([link removed])

MORE: Peru is heading towards a dangerous new populism —The Economist ([link removed])


** 8. Ukraine still a source of intrigue
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More details have emerged about an alleged foreign interference campaign to damage former Vice President Joe Biden's electoral prospects. Democrats say a series of mysterious information packets were mailed to prominent allies of President Trump, including Rep. Devin Nunes, Sens. Lindsey Graham and Chuck Grassley, and then-White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, amid the House impeachment investigation late last year. The recipients have so far denied receiving any materials. ([link removed])
* — The packets were reportedly sent by Andrii Derkach, a Ukrainian lawmaker who met with Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani in Kyiv last December to discuss investigating the Biden family. ([link removed])

* — Derkach, who was formerly aligned with Ukraine's pro-Russia Party of Regions and is an alumnus of Moscow's FSB academy, denies any connections to foreign intelligence services. ([link removed])
*
* — Democrats fear the Senate investigation into the Bidens' connections to Ukraine is an attempt to "launder" the foreign influence campaign. The information packets were reportedly not turned over to the FBI. —Politico ([link removed])


** 9. Starbird: The murkiness of disinformation
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"History teaches that this blending of activism and active measures, of foreign and domestic actors, and of witting and unwitting agents, is nothing new. And certainly, the difficulty of distinguishing between these is not made any easier in the connected era. But better understanding these intersections can help researchers, journalists, communications platform designers, policymakers, and society at large develop strategies for mitigating the impacts of disinformation during this challenging moment." —The Conversation ([link removed])

Ed. Note: Kate Starbird is an associate professor of human-centered design and engineering at the University of Washington.

MORE: Pandemic, infodemic, and disinformation —The Parliament ([link removed])


** 10. An American Story: Food for the soul
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Kiana Muschett-Owes grew up in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, N.Y., and cherished the moments she spent at her family's round dining table, where they would gather to recount their days, debate issues, celebrate any occasion they could think of—and of course, eat. ([link removed])
* — She's tried to provide that feeling of sustenance for the soul at her own restaurant, Katie O's, and now, she's trying to give back to her community, amidst a pandemic that has exposed just how easy it is to go hungry in New York. ([link removed])
*
— Shopping day is Wednesday; food prep happens Thursday and Friday. Early Saturday, meals are ready for distribution, with volunteer drivers, to several sites: home deliveries to seniors, a church in East New York, a housing project in Clinton Hill. ([link removed])

* — Each weekend, she distributes between 1,000 and 1,500 meals to Brooklyn's needy, accompanied by uplifting notes tucked into the boxes, with prayers or thoughts like "We’ll get through this" or “What doesn’t kill you will build you." She also asks questions: how are people doing, whether they've lost their jobs. "This isn't just, 'grab your food and go,'" she said. —Associated Press ([link removed])

Ed. Note: Would you like to suggest "An American Story" from your local news? If so, please forward a link to the story to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) . Thank you!
It was bad enough that we had to have a "Department of Homeland Security," with its police state connotations. Now we have that department's agents detaining citizens without cause and placing them in unmarked vehicles. The resemblance to totalitarian states and dictatorships around the globe is sickening. Those of us who have left our country of birth for the freedoms enjoyed in the United States can't but be appalled. —Maria M., Florida
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** The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff or the Stand Up Republic Foundation.
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Got feedback about THE TOPLINE? Send it to Melissa Amour, Managing Editor, at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .
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