White House blocks Navarro from testifying to House panel about ventilator deal

Michael Purpura, deputy counsel to President Donald Trump, wrote to Krishnamoorthi on Sept. 9 that the White House would not make Navarro available.

The White House has blocked trade adviser Peter Navarro from testifying at a House oversight hearing Wednesday about a partially canceled Defense Production Act contract to manufacture ventilators.

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), who heads the Oversight Economic and Consumer Policy Subcommittee, issued a staff report in late July that argued the administration vastly overpaid Philips Respironics, agreeing to a $646.7 million deal without even trying to negotiate a lower price.

“Despite the astonishing scale of this waste, the loss of more than 190,000 lives and his willingness to appear on the cable news shows of his choice—Mr. Navarro refuses to appear before Congress to answer for his actions,” Krishnamoorthi said in a statement. Continue reading.

Trump Brags About Receiving Nonexistent ‘Bay Of Pigs’ Award From Cuban Community

The president appeared to mistake a 2016 endorsement from a Florida veterans group for the bestowing of an award.

Amid another bizarre criticism of Democratic rival Joe Biden, President Donald Trump claimed that he himself had received a non-existent honor. 

In a Sunday tweet, the president took aim at Biden’s record with Latino voters, accusing him of “relying on” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to win their support. 

Trump then boasted of having received “the highly honored Bay of Pigs Award” from Miami’s Cuban community. But there is no such award. Continue reading.

Trump ad asks people to support the troops. But it uses a picture of Russian jets.

The Trump Make America Great Again Committee is run by both the Republican National Committee and the campaign.

A digital ad released by a fundraising arm of the Trump campaign on Sept. 11 calling on people to “support our troops” uses a stock photo of Russian-made fighter jets and Russian models dressed as soldiers.

The ad, which was made by the Trump Make America Great Again Committee,features silhouettes of three soldiers walking as a fighter jet flies over them. The ad first appeared on Sept. 8 and ran until Sept. 12.

“That’s definitely a MiG-29,” said Pierre Sprey, who helped design both the F-16 and A-10 planes for the U.S. Air Force. “I’m glad to see it’s supporting our troops.” Continue reading.

Watchdog Reportedly Probing Justice Officials’ Interference In Roger Stone Sentencing

Prosecutors quit when Attorney General Barr forced a lighter sentence for Trump confidant Roger Stone, who dodged prison entirely after Trump commuted it.

The Inspector General’s Office of the Justice Department has launched an investigation into officials’ interference in the sentencing of long-time Donald Trump confidant and convicted felon Roger Stone, sources have told NBC News.

The probe is reportedly examining the details of what happened in February when prosecutors said DOJ bosses applied “heavy pressure” to ensure a far lighter sentence for Stone than what was initially planned.

Attorney General William Barr ultimately intervened to override prosecutors’ recommendation of seven to nine years for Stone to ask for a lighter sentence. All four prosecutors then quit the case in dissent. Continue reading.

Bob Woodward Reveals New Tape of Trump’s Shocking COVID Comments

“It’s so easily transmissible, you wouldn’t even believe it,” the president can be heard telling Bob Woodward on the new recording.

The hits keep coming from Rage author Bob Woodward, who premiered a new exclusive audio recording of President Donald Trump admitting behind closed doors how dangerous he knew the coronavirus to be long before he started taking it remotely seriously in public. 

“Bob, it’s so easily transmissible, you wouldn’t even believe it,” Trump can be heard saying on the tape, which Woodward recorded on April 13th, 2020, and shared with Stephen Colbert for Monday night’s episode of The Late Show. The president goes on to tell what he apparently thought was a hilarious story about being in the Oval Office with a group of advisers when one of them let out a sneeze.

“A guy sneezed, innocently,” Trump says. “Not a horrible—just a sneeze. The entire room bailed out, OK? Including me, by the way.”  Continue reading.

‘He’s only concerned about himself’: Governor slams Trump after his revealing comments about coronavirus risk

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When thousands of Trump supporters attended an indoor MAGA rally in Las Vegas over the weekend, social distancing was not encouraged — and protective face masks were few and far between in the crowd. Critics of President Donald Trump have slammed the rally as blatantly irresponsible, including Democratic Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak — who didn’t hold back during an appearance on MSNBC on Monday.

In an interview, Trump had dismissed concerns about contracting the virus at the rally, saying: “I’m on a stage and it’s very far away.” He added: “And so I’m not at all concerned.”

Of course, his supporters in the audience were packed in tightly against each other, many of them not wearing masks. Continue reading.

Trump Health Aide Pushes Bizarre Conspiracies and Warns of Armed Revolt

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Michael R. Caputo told a Facebook audience without evidence that left-wing hit squads were being trained for insurrection and accused C.D.C. scientists of “sedition.”

WASHINGTON — The top communications official at the powerful cabinet department in charge of combating the coronavirus made outlandish and false accusations on Sunday that career government scientists were engaging in “sedition” in their handling of the pandemic and that left-wing hit squads were preparing for armed insurrection after the election.

Michael R. Caputo, the assistant secretary of public affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services, accused the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of harboring a “resistance unit” determined to undermine President Trump, even if that opposition bolsters the Covid-19 death toll.

Mr. Caputo, who has faced intense criticism for leading efforts to warp C.D.C. weekly bulletins to fit Mr. Trump’s pandemic narrative, suggested that he personally could be in danger from opponents of the administration. “If you carry guns, buy ammunition, ladies and gentlemen, because it’s going to be hard to get,” he urged his followers. Continue reading.

ICE whistleblower: Nurse alleges ‘hysterectomies on immigrant women in US’

Advocacy groups have filed a complaint against a migrant detention centre in the US, alleging medical neglect and a lack of virus safety measures.

The complaint condemns the practices and conditions at the private Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia.

It is based on the allegations of a whistleblower, a nurse identified as Dawn Wooten.

She worked at the centre, which houses immigrants detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

As part of her complaint, filed on Monday, Ms Wooten expressed concerns about the high number of hysterectomies performed on Spanish-speaking women at the centre. Continue reading.

Jason Lewis Says He Has ‘No Disagreements’ With President on Issues, Proves He Lacks Independence to Choose What’s Best for Minnesota


SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – In an interview with KMRS/KKOK last Friday, when Republican Senate candidate Jason Lewis was asked if there were any
issues he differed from President Trump on, Lewis said, “…it’s not a time to look for a crack in the movement,” and added “I have no disagreements.” Listen to the full interview here, and Lewis’ remarks begin at 8:44. 

This comes after Lewis also refused to name a single policy (or tweet) where he disagreed with Trump earlier this year. In February, on WCCO Sunday Morning with Esme Murphy, Lewis was asked if there was anything President Trump has done that he does not support or endorse. Lewis responded by saying, “Well, good policy is good politics. And I agree with his policies, so why would I oppose anything?”

Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party Chairman Ken Martin on Lewis’s comments: 

Continue reading “Jason Lewis Says He Has ‘No Disagreements’ With President on Issues, Proves He Lacks Independence to Choose What’s Best for Minnesota”

#EndorseThis: Trump ‘Not At All Concerned’ Over Virus Infecting Voters At His Nevada Rally

Donald Trump defended his decision to defy coronavirus mitigation orders in order to hold a packed indoor rally in Henderson, Nevada, on Sunday night, saying that he was far away from the thousands of maskless attendees who were defying social distancing orders.

“I’m on a stage, and it’s very far away,” Trump said in an interview with a reporter from the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “And so I’m not at all concerned.”

Trump expressed no concern in the interview for the thousands of his supporters who defied all social distancing orders to pack into the indoor rally, most of them not wearing masks, putting themselves at risk of contracting the deadly virus, which has to date killed 193,950 people in the United States. Continue reading.