Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Ahead of tomorrow’s event: “The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Friday denied a request to order a Tulsa arena to enforce federal recommendations for preventing the spread of the coronavirus at President Donald Trump’s campaign rally. The groups suing could not establish a clear legal right to the order they were seeking, the court said in a unanimous, one-page order.”
* In related news: “Leading members of the coronavirus task force warned White House officials about the health risks of holding large-scale indoor campaign rallies and advised against such mass gatherings, according to two people familiar with the discussions.”
* A disappointing outcome: “The Navy has decided against reinstating Capt. Brett Crozier, who was relieved of his command after he sent a letter to his superiors pleading for help to contain a coronavirus outbreak aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt. The Navy’s top admiral also determined that Crozier should not be recommended for further command, effectively ending his career.”
* Bolton seems likely to win this round: “‘The Room Where It Happened,’ written by John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser, is due out Tuesday. ‘It seems to me, as we used to say in Texas, that the horse is out of the barn,’ said Federal District Court Judge Royce Lamberth during a two-hour videoconference hearing. ‘What am I supposed to do?’”
* Look for more on this on tonight’s show: “Millions of Americans on Friday observed Juneteenth, a holiday to mark the end of slavery in the United States that has taken on a new urgency following the national uproar over the killings of George Floyd and other African Americans by police. And for many marking the day, it was the first time.”
* Nebraska: “At his regular coronavirus press conferences, Gov. Pete Ricketts makes a point of urging Nebraskans to wear a mask when they go to a store. But when it comes to the state’s 93 courthouses and other county offices, he doesn’t want local officials to require masks. In fact, he’s told counties that they won’t receive any of the $100 million in federal COVID-19 money if their “customers” are required to wear masks.”
* Worth watching: “Top House Democrats say they’re seriously considering whether Bolton should appear before them — either voluntarily or under subpoena — to testify about explosive allegations contained in his new book, including that Trump encouraged China to construct internment camps for Uighurs, urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to purchase American agricultural products in order to help his reelection bid and promised autocrats like Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan that he would do legal favors for an ally facing a U.S. indictment.”
* Kathryn Wheelbarger, Elaine McCusker, and a changing DOD: “The White House’s post-impeachment loyalty purge is creating high-level personnel churn, felling two senior officials this week and raising new questions about Defense Secretary Mark Esper’s waning influence. The two departures bring to four the number of high-level civilians who have left the Pentagon since February, when the White House installed a new personnel manager charged with identifying officials who aren’t considered loyal enough to the president.” * Tata nomination: “At least three prominent retired general officers have dropped their support for President Trump’s nominee for the Pentagon’s top policy job, retired Army Brig. Gen. Anthony Tata, over inflammatory tweets he made two years ago on Islam, President Obama and Democratic lawmakers.” * I wouldn’t mind hearing a lot more about this: “The Air Force inspector general is investigating whether the military improperly used a little-known reconnaissance plane to monitor protests in Washington and Minneapolis this month, the Air Force said on Thursday.” Have a safe weekend.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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