News Roundup: The Long Month Ahead
* Barr’s Calendars
* DeJoy’s Calendars (Or Not)
* White House Pandemic Communications with Private Sector

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The Big Stories

With just over a month left in his administration, there is still plenty of time for President Donald Trump to cause lasting damage ([link removed]) or throw wrenches into the presidential transition ([link removed]) machinery. Or, in the case of the coronavirus pandemic, for him to continue to do little to address the horrifying reality of thousands dying each day.

Instead of urging caution, recommending restrictions, or even simply expressing sadness over a daily death toll that CDC Director Robert Redfield said will exceed that of Sept. 11 for months ([link removed]) , Trump has remained fixated on his election loss, with his latest defeat coming last week when the Supreme Court rejected ([link removed]) Texas’ farfetched and anti-democratic lawsuit against four battleground states.

According to the Associated Press ([link removed]) , Trump is also pushing to have a special counsel appointed to investigate Hunter Biden, reportedly angry with outgoing Attorney General William Barr for not having announced the investigation into the taxes of the president-elect’s son. Barr, who announced his resignation ([link removed]) this week, reportedly kept ([link removed]) the ongoing investigation from going public during the lead-up to the election. The potentially politicized nature of the investigation was put into stark relief by a recent report from the New York Times
([link removed]) that material from Rudy Giuliani spurred a separate inquiry into Hunter Biden earlier this year.

Of course, another Justice Department investigation that has long preoccupied Trump was not kept under wraps during the investigation, and that is U.S. Attorney John Durham’s investigation into the origins of the Russia probe. According to Fox News reporter Jake Gibson ([link removed]) , Durham — whom earlier this month Barr appointed as a special counsel ([link removed]) — is adding additional prosecutors to his team. We’ve previously reported that Barr met frequently with Durham in the months after the Russia investigation ended, and this week obtained calendars ([link removed]) indicating further contact between the two in 2020. (More on those calendars below.)

Meanwhile, news continues to emerge about the troubling or corrupt actions of members of Trump’s administration, including his cabinet. The six largest veterans service organizations have called on VA Secretary Robert Wilkie ([link removed]) to resign following the release of a department inspector general report confirming that he attempted to discredit ([link removed]) a congressional aide, veteran Andrea Goldstein, who said she had been sexually assaulted in a VA medical center. Those smear attempts were also linked to Rep. Dan Crenshaw ([link removed]) .

It was also reported this week that the inspector general of the Commerce Department has been investigating billionaire Secretary Wilbur Ross’ finances ([link removed]) throughout most of his tenure in office. (We have, too. ([link removed]) ) As reported by Forbes ([link removed]) , the watchdog found that Ross failed to avoid the appearance of ethical and legal conflicts.

Then there’s Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who this week told career employees ([link removed]) to “be the resistance” during the Biden administration, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, who have continued to ignore Covid-19 precautions so as to enjoy indoor holiday parties ([link removed]) . (Many declined to attend ([link removed]) Pompeo’s Tuesday party, and he canceled his final party ([link removed]) after having been in contact with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus.) And speaking of Pompeo and department watchdogs, the State Department’s acting inspector general, Matthew Klimow, is leaving his job Friday
([link removed]) . His departure, attributed to the Vacancies Reform Act, comes after Pompeo’s office attacked the inspector general for a report about official trips the secretary took with his wife, Susan Pompeo.

As we approach the final month of Trump’s presidency, American Oversight will continue to hold not just the president accountable for his actions, but also those in his administration.

On the Records

Barr’s Calendars
This week, the Justice Department produced calendars and phone logs for Attorney General Barr, which cover May 2019 through April 2020. The records show multiple meetings with some of the president’s most vocal congressional defenders, such as Rep. Matt Gaetz, Rep. Jim Jordan, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, including during the months of the impeachment proceedings. You can read more here ([link removed]) about how Barr spent his time.

DeJoy’s Calendars (Or Not)
Here is where we would tell you what we found in Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s calendars, which we received on Tuesday in response to our lawsuit for the records. Except that the calendars, which are also on the radar ([link removed]) of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, are almost entirely redacted ([link removed]) . We’ll be challenging these excessive redactions, so stay tuned.

‘We Want Them Infected’
According to Politico ([link removed]) , former HHS science adviser Paul Alexander — the same Trump appointee who attempted to interfere with CDC science reports, and whose email Director Redfield allegedly told staff to delete ([link removed]) — urged top health officials to adopt the deadly “herd immunity” strategy toward combating the pandemic, which requires that millions of Americans contract the virus. “We want them infected,” Alexander reportedly wrote. This fall, we reported on records ([link removed]) we obtained showing that in May, HHS Assistant Secretary Michael Caputo had listed Alexander as one of a handful of
public affairs officers he approved to handle press inquiries.

White House Pandemic Communications with Private Sector
During the early months of the pandemic, as the Jared Kushner-led effort ([link removed]) to address medical supply shortages stumbled through the spring ([link removed]) , private individuals and companies were granted privileged access to propose solutions. We published a number of emails that add further color to these reports, showing personal connections — including associates of the president — easily able to get their feet in the door without going through more formal channels. Read more here. ([link removed])

Headlines You Might Have Missed

Covid-19
* Emmanuel Macron: Positive test prompts European leaders to self-isolate (BBC News ([link removed]) )
* FDA says Pfizer vaccine vials hold extra doses, expanding supply (Politico ([link removed]) )
* Vice President Mike Pence to receive televised Covid-19 vaccine (Axios ([link removed]) )
* Pandemic backlash jeopardizes public health powers, leaders (Kaiser Health News ([link removed]) )
* Trump-Biden divide hampers Covid vaccine trust-building effort (Politico ([link removed]) )
* Vaccination campaign at nursing homes faces obstacles and confusion (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* A mysterious gap in Covid-19 deaths appeared in Florida before the presidential election (South Florida Sun Sentinel ([link removed]) )
* FDA review confirms Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine is safe and effective (Axios ([link removed]) )
* U.S. government buys another 100 million doses of Moderna vaccine (Politico ([link removed]) )
* U.S. poised for wave of evictions in January as federal ban expires (Wall Street Journal ([link removed]) )
* Getting Covid vaccines to people will cost states billions they don’t have (Wall Street Journal ([link removed]) )
* DeSantis refused to disclose White House coronavirus report that contradicts him (Tampa Bay Times ([link removed]) )
* UnitedHealth hires former Trump official who helped pick it to dispense recovery funds (Politico ([link removed]) )

This newly released letter details the criminal referral on Donald Trump over his Ukraine phone call (BuzzFeed News ([link removed]) )

Russian hack, undetected since spring, upends government agencies (New York Times ([link removed]) )

‘Protect the secretary’: VA chief Robert Wilkie installs political aide at watchdog investigating his inner circle (Project on Government Oversight ([link removed]) )

How did a Proud Boys leader with a felony record get into the White House? (Salon ([link removed]) )

Oleg Deripaska’s Rusal role spurred Europe sanctions warning to U.S. (Bloomberg ([link removed]) )

Former Houston police captain accused of violent attempt to prove election conspiracy was hired by GOP activist’s group (Texas Tribune ([link removed]) )

Contractors dynamite mountains, bulldoze desert in race to build Trump’s border wall (NPR ([link removed]) )

In final years at Liberty, Falwell spent millions on pro-Trump causes (Politico ([link removed]) )

Potential family conflicts arise for Joe Biden and aides as his administration drafts new ethics rules (Washington Post ([link removed]) )

Trump administration is planting loyalists in Biden transition meetings (New York Times ([link removed]) )

The Trump administration has finalized an agreement to send asylum-seekers to El Salvador to seek protection (BuzzFeed News ([link removed]) )

U.S. border officials expelled dozens of migrant children in violation of court order (CBS News ([link removed]) )
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Thank you again for following our latest news. We are grateful for your support and for helping us hold the administration accountable.

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