Today’s edition of quick hits:
* A case we’ve been following: “Members of a federal appeals court signaled Tuesday that they will likely let a lower court judge decide whether to dismiss criminal charges against former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn.”
* State Department: “The Trump administration failed to assess the risk of civilian deaths when it approved the sale of bombs and other weapons to Saudi Arabia last year, according to a government watchdog report released Tuesday. But the State Department did not violate the law on arms exports when it declared an ’emergency’ to bypass Congress and push through the weapons deal worth $8.1 billion, the report said.”
* In related news: “Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is denying congressional subpoenas for four key witnesses in a months-long investigation into his role in the firing of State Department Inspector General Steven Linick.”
* What could possibly go wrong? “Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Tuesday that Russia has registered the world’s first coronavirus vaccine with state regulators for use. While Putin said it had ‘proven efficient’ and ‘passed all the necessary tests,’ no data has been published by researchers for peer review and the long-term effects of the treatment remained unclear.”
* I guess Trump’s lobbying didn’t make a difference: “The Big Ten and Pacific-12 Conferences, boasting some of America’s most elite schools and storied college football programs, postponed 2020 gridiron action on Tuesday due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.”
* Dr. Sonia Angell: “California’s public health chief resigned late Sunday, days after officials revealed a backlog of hundreds of thousands of coronavirus records that Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday were never reported to his administration.”
* Ron Johnson: “The Republican chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee announced Monday that he has issued a subpoena to the FBI for records related to the bureau’s probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election.”
* The Wisconsin Republican is also apparently delighted that bipartisan talks for a new economic aid package have stalled: “From my standpoint, the breakdown in the talks is very good news. It’s very good news for future generations. I hope the talks remain broken down.” * That’s a lot: “An internal investigation by Facebook has uncovered thousands of groups and pages, with millions of members and followers, that support the QAnon conspiracy theory, according to internal company documents reviewed by NBC News.” * I’m curious to know what led to this: “The acting head of the National Park Service abruptly announced his retirement on Friday, vacating a role that a Senate-confirmed nominee has not held during the entire Trump administration. David Vela, a 30-year career NPS official who assumed the role of acting director of the agency in October, will retire in September, the Interior Department said.” See you tomorrow.
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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