RealClearInvestigations' Picks of the Week
July 26 to Aug. 1, 2020 Susan Rice, the vice presidential contender with a high-profile history of questionable public statements, may have misled Congress when she testified that the FBI never informed her about its Trump-Russia investigation. As Eric Felten reports for RealClearInvestigations, this conflicts with former FBI Director James Comey's testimony that Rice was present when he first informed President Obama about the probe in August of 2016. Felten reports: - In sworn testimony to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on September 8, 2017, Rice denied on numerous occasions that the FBI had informed her of its investigation.
- In response to one question, President Obama's former National Security Adviser responded: "We were not informed by Director Comey or the Attorney General that there was an active investigation of anybody in the Trump orbit."
- Rice also stated: "[I]n the Obama White House, we maintained scrupulously the firewall between people in the While House and contacts with Justice about potential or actual criminal matters. The only communication that was sanctioned in that vein was between the White House counsel and the Justice Department or the FBI."
- This conflicts with Comey's testimony to the Justice Department Inspector General that Rice was present at an August 2016 meeting in which Comey recalled telling President Obama and others that the Bureau was looking at three or four individuals with "some association or connection to the Trump campaign" as part of its probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
- Rice earned a reputation for shading the truth after the 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya when was famously dispatched to five different Sunday morning news shows to repeat false talking points.
- Rice also raised eyebrows for an email she wrote an email to herself on the day of Trump's inauguration stating that Obama had insisted that everything to do with the Russia investigation be done "by the book."
Rice spokesperson: "As Ambassador Rice wrote in her book and stated to Congress, she was not briefed by the FBI or the Department of Justice on the existence of an FBI investigation into allegations of collusion between Mr. Trump's associates and Russia." The spokesperson offered no comment, however, about Comey's assertion. Trump-Russia/2020 Election News Brookings Institution: A Collusion Collaborator American Greatness
Trump Allies Helped Expose Dossier Source New York Times
Flashback '16: Reid Advised Fake Trump Intel Briefings Huffington Post
New 'Unmasking' Probe and More From Barr Testimony Daily Signal
Declassified: 'Bitter Argument' Between CIA, FBI Over Dossier Daily Caller
The Media's Biggest Favor to Biden Was to Ignore Him Politico Other Noteworthy Articles and Series Rite Aid Deployed Facial Recognition System in Stores
Reuters
Over about eight years, the drugstore chain Rite Aid quietly added facial recognition systems to 200 stores across the United States as part of its anti-crime strategies. Using the technology to approach people who previously have committed "dishonest acts" in a store before they do so again is less dangerous for staff, a Rite-Aid spokesman explained. Nevertheless, this article suggests the key takeaway is that stores in more impoverished areas, many which were "less white," were nearly three times as likely as those in richer areas to have facial recognition cameras. Rite-Aid has stopped using the technology, and after noting it was manufactured by the Chinese, the article raises the specter, without evidence, that the information from the stores could be making its way back to the communist government. We're Publishing Trove of Secret NYPD Discipline Files
ProPublica
This article is really an announcement that ProPublica is pulling back the blue curtain, providing, for the first time, a link to a database that lists the disciplinary records of many New York City police officers. The searchable database lists active-duty officers who've had at least one allegation against them substantiated by the Civilian Complaint Review Board. That's about 4,000 officers out of the NYPD's 36,000-member force. The article does not describe those cases. It does report that the database became available after New York State repealed a law that kept NYPD disciplinary records secret; the police unions are challenging that in court. In a separate article, ProPublica reports that police departments around the country often refuse to disclose whether they have investigated incidents of officers apparently abusing protesters caught on viral videos. In another article, ProPublica reports that at least 12 protesters arrested in Portland have been specifically barred from attending protests or demonstrations as a condition of release as they await trials on federal misdemeanor charges. The Search for Syrian War Criminals in Europe
Harpers
As Anwar al-Bunni walked down a Berlin street, the human rights lawyer spotted a familiar face from Syria: Anwar Raslan, a colonel in the brutal Assad regime who had helped oversee the nation's detention facilities. Raslan was identified as one of several men who, in 2006, abducted al-Bunni from the street outside his home in Damascus, and took him to a faculty where he was tortured both physically and psychologically. This article reports on the obstacles al-Bunni faced trying to bring this alleged war criminal to justice. Russian Brothers Collect Art, Skirt Law to Buy, Sell, Launder Millions
Wall Street Journal
Two months after the U.S. imposed sanctions on Russian construction billionaires Arkady and Boris Rotenberg in March 2014, the brothers sent their art adviser on a multi-million dollar shopping spree in America. This article reports that such blacklisted individuals are increasingly turning to fine art to evade sanctions. Companies based in the U.S. are forbidden by law from having any financial dealings with sanctioned individuals but a new government report criticizes auction houses and art dealers for doing little to screen or stop sanctioned people from trading art in the U.S. The art world has its own disclosure protocols, but it has long struggled to enforce them. Collectors prize discretion and don't always want their identities or income sources shared. Dealers likewise tend to be tight-lipped about their major clients, and no one wants to cede business to rivals willing to ask less and sell more. This helps explain why so many catalogs brim with works whose only ownership clue is "private collection." 'Bunny Ebola' Is Sweeping the Southwest U.S.
Popular Science
A deadly virus is spreading with alarming speed among wild and domestic rabbits in seven southwestern states. The contagion causes an illness called rabbit hemorrhagic disease that has earned the nickname "bunny Ebola" because the disease causes massive internal bleeding and bloody discharge around the nose and mouth. The disease is deeply worrying for domestic rabbit owners and could also have consequences for wild rabbit, hare, and pika populations. Coronavirus Investigations Which Masks Offer Best Covid Protection?
Wall Street Journal
This article illustrates a problem in journalism - the use of hyperlinks to suggest evidence for a claim that is not, in fact, supported by that underlying story. The lead of this "news you can use" article about picking the best mask for daily needs states: "Face masks are a simple way to help prevent the spread of the new coronavirus through talking, coughing or sneezing, scientists and public-health specialists say." The hyperlink meant to support that point takes readers to a July 18 article with the headline "Face Masks Really Do Matter." Readers then have to click on a separate link in that article to find the basis of that claim, a newly published study that shows masks are effective for trained health care professionals working in hospital settings. Does that prove masks are also effective for daily civilian use? Doctor Behind the Disputed Covid Data
New York Times
At the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, many countries decided to lockdown their economies based on the dire prediction issued by British epidemiologist Neil Ferguson. When his estimates of infection and death proved off-base, reporters discovered that Ferguson had a long history of scaremongering. That forms the backdrop for this article about Dr. Sapan Desai, who drew wide attention in May when he reported that the anti-malaria drugs like hydroxychloroquine, which President Trump promoted, were linked to increased deaths of COVID-19 patients. That - as well as another one of his studies - was retracted in June. Turns out his deception may not be surprising. The Times reports: "While the journal debacle has shaken the broader scientific community, many people who have known Dr. Desai, 41, described him as a man in a hurry, a former whiz kid willing to cut corners, misrepresent information or embellish his credentials as he pursued his ambitions." Covid Could Provide North Korea Pretext for Bio Weapon
Politico
North Korea surprised the world by announcing it is developing a COVID-19 vaccine, joining a high-stakes race allowing nations to show off their scientific chops. This article says experts increasingly believe the secretive Kim Jong Un could also have a more nefarious goal in mind: using the covid crisis to beef up his biological weapons arsenal. The fears highlight a longstanding concern in the biotech world, where much of the technology and knowledge is inherently dual-use - as good for killing as for healing. The fermenters used to manufacture certain vaccines, for example, can also be used to produce anthrax. Genetic modification builds vaccines, as well as novel, lethal pathogens. Aerosolized drug delivery can send a medicine deeper into the lungs - or shoot a deadly agent through a ventilation system. Also Coronavirus-Related Why COVID-19 Is Killing U.S. Diabetes Patients Reuters
Meat Industry Donates to Officials Stopping Covid Lawsuits Intercept
FEMA Sends Faulty Protective Gear to Nursing Homes New York Times |
