Jun 4, 2019

Schiff on AG Barr: "I think he's the 2nd most dangerous man in the country"

House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said on Tuesday that he thinks Attorney General Bill Barr is "the second most dangerous man in the country," accusing him of lying to Congress and characterizing him as President Trump's defense lawyer.

"So we find ourselves for the first time with an attorney general who really is the president's defense lawyer and spokesperson, and who's quite good at it and has the veneer of respectability to camouflage what he's doing. He is not the sophist that Giuliani is, he's much more dangerous. And I think he's the second most dangerous man in the country for that reason....
"When you have an attorney general, and I hesitate to use the word but there's no other word that seems to apply here, that lies to Congress ... that's a very dangerous situation and as someone who came out of that department, I spent six years with the Justice Department and I venerate the department, to think that it is being led by someone this way breaks my heart for the department but is profoundly concerning for the country."

Driving the news: The House is expected to vote on June 11 on whether to hold Attorney General Bill Barr and former White House counsel Don McGahn in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with subpoenas.

Go deeper ... Bill Barr on potentially ruining his reputation: "Everyone dies."

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Rashaan Ayesh
58 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

Photo: Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

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Axios
Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 6 p.m. ET: 11,921,616 — Total deaths: 546,318 — Total recoveries — 6,506,408 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 6 p.m. ET: 3,035,231 — Total deaths: 132,042 — Total recoveries: 936,476 — Total tested: 36,878,106 — Map.
  3. Public health: Deaths are rising in hotspots — Déjà vu sets in as testing issues rise and PPE dwindles.
  4. Travel: United warns employees it may furlough 45% of U.S. workforce — How the pandemic changed mobility habits, by state.
  5. Education: New York City schools will not fully reopen in fall — Harvard and MIT sue Trump administration over rule barring foreign students from online classes.
  6. 🎧 Podcast: A misinformation "infodemic" is here.
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Bryan Walsh
2 hours ago - Health

Fighting the coronavirus infodemic

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

An "infodemic" of misinformation and disinformation has helped cripple the response to the novel coronavirus.

Why it matters: High-powered social media accelerates the spread of lies and political polarization that motivates people to believe them. Unless the public health sphere can effectively counter misinformation, not even an effective vaccine may be enough to end the pandemic.

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