Roger Stone is rewarded for covering up Trump’s corruption with a commuted prison sentence, the White House orchestrates a hit job on Dr. Anthony Fauci for telling the truth about the pandemic, and Congress debates the next round of pandemic relief as the economy stalls. Then Pod Save the People’s Kaya Henderson talks to Jon Lovett about the debate over re-opening schools this fall.

Show Notes

Trump commutes Roger Stone’s sentence

• NYT: Trump Commutes Sentence of Roger Stone in Case He Long Denounced
• WaPo: Trump’s commutation of Roger Stone’s sentence, annotated
• WaPo: Trump commutes sentence of confidant Roger Stone who was convicted of lying to Congress and witness tampering
• Slate: Roger Stone Says Trump “Saved My Life” by Commuting Prison Sentence
• Vox: Trump just commuted Roger Stone’s sentence
• Vox: The past 24 hours in Trump legal issues and controversies, explained 
• Politico: ‘Historic corruption’: 2 Republican senators denounce Trump’s commutation of Stone
• NBC News: Trump on commuting Roger Stone’s sentence: ‘Very happy with what I did’
• NYT: Trump’s Clemency Came After Displays of Loyalty by Stone
• WaPo: Trump confidant Roger Stone leaped over thousands of inmates seeking clemency
• WaPo: Roger Stone, and Trump’s extraordinary record on clemency
• NYT: In Commuting Stone’s Sentence, Trump Goes Where Nixon Would Not
• CNBC:  Attorney General Barr told Trump he shouldn’t grant Roger Stone clemency
• Lawfare: The Roger Stone Commutation Is Even More Corrupt Than It Seems
• New Yorker: The Roger Stone Case Shows Why Trump Is Worse Than Nixon
• Esquire: This Was a Straight-Up Mob-Style Transaction
• Lawfare: Trump’s Aberrant Pardons and Commutations
• The Atlantic: Stone Walks Free in One of the Greatest Scandals in American History
• The Atlantic: Trump’s Most Brazen Reprieve Yet
• NPR: Roger Stone Clemency Latest Example Of Trump Rewarding His Friends, Scholars Say
• NYT: What Trump Wants From Roger Stone – The president needs political help, and who better to give it than his political guru of many decades?
• WaPo: Robert Mueller: Roger Stone remains a convicted felon, and rightly so
• NYT: In Rare Public Comments, Mueller Defends Prosecution of Roger Stone
• NBC News: Graham says he plans to call on Mueller to testify before Senate after Roger Stone
• NYT: Graham to Call Mueller to Testify Before Senate Judiciary Committee
• Politico: Trump allies push for a new campaign opening act: Michael Flynn
• NYT: Judge in Michael Flynn Case Asks for Full Appeals Court Review
• CNN: READ: Judge’s petition for en banc rehearing in Flynn case
• WaPo: Judge asks appeals court to revive Michael Flynn case, permit review of DOJ dismissal
• Politico: Flynn judge asks appeals court to reconsider dismissal order
• Politico: New documents show internal debate over whether to prosecute Flynn

Trump vs. Fauci

• WaPo: Fauci is sidelined by the White House as he steps up blunt talk on pandemic
• NBC News: White House seeks to discredit Fauci as coronavirus surges
• Slate: White House Moves to Discredit Fauci as Disagreements With Trump Become Evident
• CNN: Trump and Fauci not speaking as coronavirus pandemic worsens
• Daily Beast: The White House Made a List of All the Times Fauci ‘Has Been Wrong’ on the Coronavirus
• Guardian: Fauci says he hasn’t briefed Trump in two months as Covid-19 cases rise
• NBC News: Trump says Fauci ‘made a lot of mistakes’
• FiveThirtyEight: Fauci: ‘I Don’t Think You Can Say We’re Doing Great. I Mean, We’re Just Not.’
• The Hill: Coronavirus Report: The Hill’s Steve Clemons interviews Anthony Fauci
• WaPo: Coronavirus update: Florida shatters single-day infection record with 15,300 new cases
• USA Today: Coronavirus updates: Single-day records set for new cases in world, Florida; Houston officials want lockdown
• WaPo: Trump’s drop in polls has confident Democrats sensing ‘a tsunami coming’ in November
• AP: Trump wears a mask in public for the first time since COVID-19 pandemic started
• WaPo: Trump dons mask in public for the first time, months after public health experts said everyone should
• Politico: Pelosi: Trump ‘crossed a bridge’ when he donned mask
• LA Times: As infections soar, Trump finally dons a face mask. At this point, will it help?
• Talking Points: Biden Camp Rips Into Trump After He Finally Wears Mask In Public: ‘He Wasted Four Months’
• CNN: Trump gives in to the mask but takes new risks with schools
• WaPo: Breaking news! Trump finally puts on a mask!
• NYT: Trump’s Health Officials Warn More Will Die as Covid Cases Rise
• NYT: A day after Trump first sported a mask in public, administration officials urge the public to do so, too.

Economic Crisis

• WaPo: After the fastest recession in U.S. history, the economic recovery may be fizzling
• NYT: Hiring Outlook Remains Dim, With ‘Scarring in the Economy’
• NYT: The ‘Rocket Ship’ Economic Recovery Is Crashing
• Bloomberg: Top U.S. Banks Set for Worst Quarter Since Financial Crisis
• WaPo: IMF says global economic collapse caused by coronavirus will be even worse than feared
• Reuters: U.S. Congress needs compromise to extend COVID-19 unemployment payments, Pelosi says
• Vox: America’s looming housing catastrophe, explained
• CNN: I beg them’: Still-unemployed workers plead for Congress to extend federal $600 benefit
• NBC News:  Views on recovery weigh on debate over extending unemployment benefits
• CNBC: The extra $600 unemployment benefit probably won’t be extended—here’s what to know
• WSJ: Mnuchin Expects New Stimulus Deal by End of July
• WaPo: McConnell calls for five-year lawsuit shield for businesses as part of next coronavirus bill
• WaPo:  How a bipartisan stimulus became a political stumbling block 
• Politico: Key battleground states most vulnerable to cutoff in jobless aid
• USA Today: Unemployment benefits: This is the number of weeks each states pays in COVID-19 jobless aid with CARES Act
• Vox: Congress’s Covid-19 rescue plan was bigger than the New Deal. It’s about to end. – The CARES Act is vital, historic legislation expiring before its time.
• NYT: Health Care Takes Center Stage in Battle for Congress During Pandemic
• Axios: Biden and Trump point fingers over “buy American” proposals
• NYT: In ‘Buy American’ Speech, Biden Challenges Trump on the Economy.
• Axios: Biden’s 2020 rivals line up to pitch his economic recovery plan
• NYT: Business Leaders Urge Trump to Leave DACA Alone After Court Ruling