Trump lashes out with distractions and disinformation
LA TimesPresident Trump during a meeting Monday in the Cabinet Room of the White House. “But his history of making baseless, conspiratorial claims — whether it’s Obama’s birth certificate, linking Ted Cruz’s family to the Kennedy assassination or now Obamagate — is striking for its scale and frequency.” Critics said Trump’s messaging was particularly destructive as Americans struggle with the pandemic, which has crippled the economy and killed more than 90,000 in the U.S. as of Monday. Gen. William Barr said he doesn’t plan to criminally investigate former President Obama or former Vice President Joe Biden for wrongdoing involving the Russia investigation, which President Trump has alleged. Gen. William Barr told reporters Monday that he doesn’t expect a “criminal investigation of either man” based on “the information I have today.” Speaking later at the White House, Trump professed surprise at Barr’s comment, saying he has “no doubt that they were involved in it.” Barr recently asked a federal judge to drop the case against Michael Flynn, the president’s first national security advisor. “Maybe the judge doesn’t like me very much.” Trump has chipped away at independent oversight by firing federal officials empowered to find waste, fraud and abuse.