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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
Donald Trump flies to Ohio for a rally, right as the state’s governor tests positive for coronavirus.
Meanwhile, New York Attorney General Tish James files a lawsuit to dissolve the National Rifle Association on grounds of rampant corruption and financial crimes.
And lastly, a wild story out of LA: Sheriff’s deputies organized in “secret societies” that functioned like street gangs cost the county $55 million in settlements for their corrupt and brutal behavior.
THESE ARE THE STORIES YOU NEED TO KNOW:
Donald Trump flew into Ohio today just in time to not meet with Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, because DeWine had just tested positive for COVID-19.
DeWine, to his credit, has been far more aggressive against the coronavirus than many of his fellow Republican governors. After testing positive, he headed home to self-isolate and did not meet Trump at the airport.
Trump then gave a planned speech on reopening the economy in Cleveland, but used most of his time to rail against Joe Biden, saying the former vice president was in favor of quote:
“No Religion, no anything -- hurt the bible, hurt god. He’s against god, hes against guns, he’s against energy, our kind of energy, I don’t think he’s going to do too well in Ohio.”
endquote.
Trump said Biden wants all those things because he’s following quote “the radical left agenda,” endquote. Buddy, we wish Biden was following the radical left agenda! Unfortunately, he very much is not.
This is pretty much the attack line that the Biden campaign must be expecting, and if that’s the best Trump can bring, it’s clear he’s just grasping at straws and trying to play the hits. Guns and God? Sure, that stuff is catnip for conservatives, but at a certain point people have gotta realize they’ve heard it all before.
NY Sues NRA
New York Attorney General Leticia James filed a lawsuit aiming to dissolve the National Rifle Association, a huge target that has been under fire for months with allegations of financial impropriety and open corruption. What can I say, if you’ve got the shot, take it.
Gun puns aside, the lawsuit is a huge step that represents a culmination of years of diligent reporting by Propublica and nonprofit newsroom The Trace, which broke story after story detailing the NRA’s internal chaos and corruption.
James’s suit, according to the New York Times, accuses the N.R.A. and executives like Wayne LaPierre and John Fazer of “violating numerous state and federal laws” by kicking back some $64 million of organizational funding to enrich themselves and their friends and family over the past 3 years. The NRA is a nonprofit chartered in New York City, so this is basically James’s wheelhouse.
Karl Racine, the attorney general of Washington, D.C., filed suit against the N.R.A. and it’s charity wing, which is based in DC instead of New York.
It’s not going to be a quick fight, however: the legal battle is expected to take years, so the NRA will surely play a role in the 2020 election, as they have every other year. But it is a strong opening volley against one of the most noxious political forces in America.
LA Sheriffs Also in Gangs
Our last story today isn’t so much breaking news as it is a shocking reminder of how dirty police forces in American routinely get.
According to the LA Times, a group of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies cost the county and their department $55 million in court settlements over a decades-long period, as they formed organized, aggressive secret societies that glorified brutal policing and operated like street gangs. IN the last 10 years alone, the county has paid out at least 21 million to these groups’ victims.
They gave themselves names too: different groups were called things like “the Vikings,” “Regulators,” “3000 Boys” and “the Banditos.” They operated out of jails and sheriff’s department stations for years, acting with impunity throughout the tenures of multiple top LA County Sheriffs. The Times reports some of the gangs even had tattoos and “earned their ink” by breaking inmates bones.
Take the biggest case the department was forced to settle: Francisco Carrillo Jr. was jailed for over 20 years before his murder conviction was overturned in 2011. He was arrested when he
was 16 by members of the Department’s white supremacist Lynwood Vikings gang, who he later alleged in a lawsuit had manipulated witnesses to pick him out of a lineup.
John Sweeney, an attorney who has represented families of people killed by deputies said quote: “I think it’s a willful failure. For some reason, they pride themselves, the Sheriff’s Department, on having these violent cliques I guess to show the public who’s the boss. But, you know, what it does is just fosters a horrible relationship between the community that these sheriffs serve.”
AND NOW FOR SOME QUICKER QUICKIES:
Mark Zuckerberg is facing some serious pushback from his employees, who asked him at a public forum on Thursday whether he would stop Donald Trump using the service to contest the 2020 election, according to Buzzfeed News. Facebook took down a Trump campaign post yesterday for misinformation, but has a track record of wimping out on bigger issues.
The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that fear of COVID-19 is not a good enough reason to vote absentee, striking a nasty blow against vote-by-mail in that state. If a deadly pandemic isn’t good enough, what is?
Congress has abandoned us, as Politico reports that Senators went home at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday and the House is out of session next week. They could get called back, but if they’re heading to home states it means a coronavirus relief bill is still a long way off.
The State Department’s special envoy to Iran, Brian Hook is quitting, and being replaced by basically the worst possible person for the job: Eliott Abrams, one of the most bloodthirsty warhawks to ever grace the halls of power in Washington.
Catch the Majority Report LIVE early today at 10:30AM ET!
August 7, 2020 - AM Quickie
HOSTS - Sam Seder & Lucie Steiner
WRITER - Jack Crosbie
PRODUCER - Dorsey Shaw
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER - Brendan Finn