
Digging Through The Science—And The Noise—On What Is Known About The Origin Of SARS CoV-2
Scientific analysis says SARS CoV-2 is very closely related to coronaviruses seen in bats. There is evidence suggesting, but not proving, that the virus made the jump to humans at the Wuhan wet market, possibly through an intermediate animal other than bats. There is no concrete evidence at this time for the alternative explanation of the virus accidentally escaping a lab in Wuhan, despite many claims that that is the case.

Judge Sullivan Already Ruled that Mike Flynn's David Ignatius Story Doesn't Help Him
It would be unwise to underestimate Bill Barr's ability to interfere with DOJ's normal processes (precisely the allegation being waged against the FBI). Still, Judge Sullivan still gets a vote, and on some of this stuff, he already voted against it.

Lysol and UV Rays: Running a Pandemic Like a Reality TV Show
Three months in, Trump is still trying to manage a pandemic like he's the star of a Reality TV Show.

The Fabulous Emptywheel Music Blog: Setting The Scene
We have done live music for a couple of weeks, now let's set the scene with the greatest music documentaries.

Trump's Medical Quackery Exposes the Press' Both-Sides Quackery
Some in the press are still treating Trump's insane rantings not as newsworthy themselves, but instead as a matter of both sides dispute.

John Durham's Eternal Crossfire HurriFlame
Thus far, John Durham has been investigating the first ten months of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation for eleven months, and Bill Barr seems to think it'll go at least through August.

Long Overdue Policies that Look Obvious in the Age of Pandemic
With the crisis of COVID, policies that long made sense but were considered too radical have become necessary.

Brian Kemp Suggests Workers at Nail Salons Don't Own Their Own Lives
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp justified reopening his state before any guidelines recommend by suggesting that if business owners can't force workers to risk their lives by working in unsafe conditions, it amounts to taking everything they have.

Arrrr Matey, There Be A New Bucco In The Bay
Gronk is back. He and TB12 will look a LOT different playing in a Bruce Arians offense. This is truly exciting, and will be when the NFL comes back.

The COVID Delay Should Give Reggie Walton First Pass at the Roger Stone Unsealing
Not only does a COVID delay in Reggie Walton's review of the Mueller Report mean he--and not DOJ--may get first pass at deciding what Stone-related materials can be released, but we're also likely to see the warrants behind the Stone investigation in short order.

The Nuances of the Carter Page Application
The Carter Page application certain backs the conclusions of the DOJ IG Report. But it also shows that the Steele dossier, which fed the FBI's inexcusable confirmation biases, undermined the FBI investigation into questions that have not yet been fully answered.

On Trump's COVID Rallies: Lying and Bullying Are Different Things
Ben Smith argued today that Trump's rallies are only about politics, not public health, and so we should stop debating whether media outlets should cover them. But Trump's lies are a public health menace.

The Human Experiment in Herd Immunity Ohio Is Unintentionally Running at Marion Prison
Given the disproportionate impact of this disease on the poor and those who live or work in confined spaces, especially people of color in both populations, given the political stakes Republicans are placing on proceeding as if a pandemic doesn't change ordinary politics, as more populations like the one in Marion do tests of the entire population, will present ethical questions that our society is in no way prepared to handle.

Trump Blames Mueller for Woes Mike Flynn Brought on Himself
Mike Flynn may yet avoid a prison sentence and if he gets one and if BOP actually makes him report during the coronavirus Trump likely will pardon him. But Trump will only be pardoning Flynn for his own stupidity that led him, at each stage of the game, to expose himself to more and more legal danger.

On Mountains, Mountain Climbing, and COVID-19
The language of mountains is all over the COVID-19 coverage, from the talk of "reaching the peak" of infections to the euphoria of "hitting the plateau." But here's the thing: we're still on the mountain, and the descent is much more dangerous than the climb.

Rural COVID-19: The Tyson Food Clusters
Trump has named the CEO of Tyson Foods, Dean Banks, as one of the CEOs he's consulting with about reopening the economy. Between clusters in two different Tyson plants, however, six Tyson workers have died.

Emptywheel Blog Live Music II: Electric Bugaloo
So, last weekend we did a live music discussion that turned out to be unexpectedly wildly popular. So, this weekend, we will do a related followup as to the concerts we have all been to. This was suggested by our Roving Reporter Rosalind and,…

Liberate All Trump's Criminals to Sustain the Lockdown
I'm all in favor of moving Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort into home confinement for as long as the COVID outbreak lasts. But the premise for doing so is that COVID remains too great a threat to reopen the country.

The DOJ IG Footnotes Show FBI Doing What They Do and Russia Doing What They Do
A general review of what the newly declassified DOJ IG footnotes show.

Roger Gets Stoned by Amy Berman Jackson
Roger Stone and his lawyers were not as crazy as Flynn and Sid Powell, but they were not far off. Now there is a court opinion evidencing exactly that.