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TODAY'S HEADLINES:

Thanks to Donald Trump’s cruel and inhumane policies, large numbers of immigrant children are being held without their parents in hotels before being deported to an unknown fate. An investiation finds that it’s not even clear whether their temporary caretakers have passed criminal background checks.

Meanwhile, Joe Biden says something kind of ignorant while trying to say something substantive about Trump’s racism. But, hey, he’s got a new video out with Barack Obama, so maybe it’s all a wash, huh?

And lastly, Trump announced yesterday that he’ll be sending more secretive federal forces to Democratic cities around the country, in a sign of weakness and desperation in the months leading up to the election. Now one urban prosecutor says he’ll bring charges against any federal agents who try to kidnap people in his city, as they’ve done to protesters in Oregon.

THESE ARE THE STORIES YOU NEED TO KNOW:

An investigation by the Associated Press found that the Trump administration is detaining QUOTE masses of children ENDQUOTE in hotels for weeks at a time before deporting them to their home countries. Some of the children are as young as one year old. Records and accountability are scarce.

Trump’s current policy in dealing with asylum seekers is to deport them immediately. The policy goes against federal anti-trafficking laws, a two-decade-old court settlement, and international humanitarian law. But documents show that unaccompanied immigrant children are winding up in three Hampton Inns and Suites in Arizona and Texas. Lawyers and advocates are challenging the policy on the grounds that they were not set up to care for children. They also say the contractors carrying out this policy have unclear credentials. Immigration and Customs Enforcement refuses to say whether the contractors are licensed child care professionals or have received FBI background checks. The Hilton corporation, which owns the Hampton Inns chains, also refuses to say how many rooms are being used to detain children, or how much they’re charging the government for them. But one hotel

company manager told the AP they did not know the rooms would be used to hold migrant children until they actually showed up. The children are reportedly being transported in unmarked white vans with no government insignia.

Advocates described chaotic scenes across two floors of one hotel, with gates placed over the doors, and the sounds of crying children in the hallways. Leecia Welch, an attorney at the nonprofit National Center for Youth Law told the AP, QUOTE, There really aren’t enough words to describe what a disgraceful example of sacrificing children this is ENDQUOTE.

At least two thousand unaccompanied children have been expelled since March, when Trump announced the no-entry policy, the AP reports.

New Obama-Biden video

Joe Biden yesterday called Trump America’s first racist president. We’re not sure how Biden arrived at that figure, considering that at least twelve past presidents owned slaves. Many people immediately pointed out that it would be faster to come up with a list of non- racist presidents, than to count all the racist ones. Biden made the comments during an online town hall meeting hosted by the Service Employees International Union. According to the Washington Post, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee was responding to a health-care worker who was concerned about Trump’s scapegoating of Asians during the coronavirus pandemic. Biden said QUOTE No sitting president has ever done this. Never, never, never... We’ve had racists, and they’ve existed. They’ve tried to get elected president. He’s the first one that has ENDQUOTE. Trump might be the most racist president, but even that is debatable. But he’s no more the first racist president than Bill Clinton was the first black president.

Anyway, maybe this will help: Biden is releasing a video today that’s a conversation between himself and former president Barack Obama. The Post says it’s basically a trash talk session targeting Trump. The Obama-Biden meeting took place earlier this year at Obama’s offices in Washington, DC, and it was reportedly the first time the two men had talked since April. And, per the Post, Biden spends as much time listening as he does talking in the video. That’s probably wise.

Philadelphia warns federal agents

The progressive Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said yesterday that he would prosecute any federal agents who assault and kidnap people. He is the first US prosecutor to say he would pursue charges against federal agents who make unlawful arrests as they have done to protesters in Portland, Oregon. In a statement, Krasner said QUOTE My dad volunteered and served in World War II to fight fascism, like most of my uncles, so we would not have an American president brutalizing and kidnapping Americans for exercising their constitutional rights and trying to make America a better place, which is what patriots do. Anyone, including federal law enforcement, who unlawfully assaults and kidnaps people will face criminal charges from my office ENDQUOTE. In a follow-up interview with Bloomberg News, Krasner said the tactics on display in Portland look like methods from a dictatorship.

Other elected Democrats have made similar statements. And Oregon’s Attorney General, Ellen Rosenblum, is seeking a judicial injunction to prevent such tactics in her state. But Krasner is the first local leader to promise immediate action to stop federal kidnappings. And his statement couldn’t have come at a better time. Yesterday Trump, along with US Attorney General Bill Barr, announced a QUOTE surge ENDQUOTE of federal law enforcement to Democratic-run cities around the country. They say it’s to combat crime. Democrats are catching on that it’s more about political control. Targeted cities include, at least for now, Chicago, Kansas City, Albuquerque, Baltimore, and Philadelphia. But local elected leaders aren’t the only line of defense against encroaching fascism. Everywhere Trump’s troops crack down, they provoke more people from all walks of life to join uprisings for democracy.

AND NOW FOR SOME QUICKER QUICKIES:

California now has the most reported coronavirus cases of any US state – more than four hundred and thirteen thousand – according to the Los Angeles Times. While New York has seen infections, deaths, and hospitalizations drop, California’s numbers are still climbing. However, three times as many New Yorkers have died from COVID-19 as have Californians, so far. Mask up and stay safe, everybody.

The Trump administration ordered the closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston, Texas, accusing the diplomats there of participating in a larger program of spying and sabotage. Asked for specifics, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Chinese government actions were costing American jobs. According to Bloomberg, China accused the US of harassing diplomatic staff, intimidating Chinese students, and detaining them without cause.Trump said yesterday more consular closures were possible. According to Reuters, China may retaliate by closing the US consulate in Wuhan. Separately, Taiwan’s foreign minister warned that the risk of a military clash with China was increasing.

A sixty million dollar racketeering case against Ohio’s Republican state House Speaker, Larry Householder, was revealed this week in federal court filings. According to the Columbus Dispatch, citing affidavits from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the scope of the pay-to-pay allegation will grow even beyond what was initially reported, to ecompass other corrupt legislative and campaign activities. Householder allegedly arranged a one billion dollar ratepayer bailout of a failing nuclear power company in exchange for millions of dollar in dark money campaign donations.

A new report by the Southern Poverty Law Center reveals that the pro-Trump media personality Jack Posobiec (Po-So-Bick) met with a Polish fascist group in 2017, around the time Trump spoke in Warsaw. Posobiec didn’t meet with the group, called ONR, which participated in Nazi terrorism against Jews in the Second World War. He also promoted their propaganda online, the SPLC reports. Posobiec, a former Naval intelligence officer, is currently employed as a correspondent for the One America News Network, which is a completely looney tunes operation.

That’s all for the AM Quickie. There is no Majority Report today as we mourn the passing of co-host Michael Brooks. But MR will be back soon, and AM Quickie will be here for you tomorrow.

July 23, 2020 - AM Quickie

HOSTS - Sam Seder & Lucie Steiner

WRITER - Corey Pein

PRODUCER - Dorsey Shaw

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER - Brendan Finn