Judge instructs Trump to provide copy of Roger Stone clemency order – live

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany defended Trump’s highly controversial decision to commute the sentence of his former associate, Roger Stone.

McEnany described Stone’s commutation as a “very important moment for justice in this country,” criticizing the Russia investigation that led to his conviction as “completely bogus.”

The press secretary complained that there are “really two standards of justice” in the country, arguing former officials like former deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe should have faced similar charges.

Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany downplayed the White House’s efforts to undercut the credibility of Dr Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert.

McEnany was asked why officials were sharing “opposition research” on Fauci with news outlets, after the White House sent an unsigned memo trying to cast Fauci’s past comments about coronavirus in a negative light.

“There’s no opposition research being dumped to reporters,” McEnany said, arguing that memo was sent in response to a specific question from the Washington Post.

McEnany added, “The notion of opposition research and ‘Fauci versus the president’ couldn’t be further from the truth. Dr Fauci and the president have a good working relationship.”

McEnany later said Trump appreciates Fauci’s advice, but she described Fauci as “one of many on the task force who provides advice.”

Trump’s press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, is now holding a briefing at the White House.

McEnany opened the briefing by noting the president would soon hold a roundtable discussion to “hear stories of families positively impacted by law enforcement.”

The press secretary said Trump “stands with our police officers” and “stands on the side of law and order to ensure peace on our streets.”

The roundtable comes as the country experiences a national reckoning over racism and police brutality after the police killing of George Floyd.

New York is now requiring travelers from states with high levels of coronavirus spread to provide their contact information to officials, governor Andrew Cuomo announced at a press briefing today.

The Democratic governor said he is issuing an emergency health order mandating that out-of-state travelers impacted by the directive must provide their contact information to officials or face a $2,000 fine.

The announcement comes after the governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut announced they would require travelers from certain states to quarantine for two weeks after arriving.

During his briefing, Cuomo also criticized Trump for “attacking science,” as the White House seeks to cast doubt upon the credibility of Dr Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert.

Here’s where the day stands so far:

• The judge presiding over Roger Stone’s case has requested a copy of the executive order commuting his sentence. Judge Amy Berman Jackson is seeking clarification on whether Stone’s commutation only applies to his prison term or if it also applies to the two years of probation he was sentenced to.
• Trump retweeted a claim that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is “lying” about coronavirus. The tweet comes as the White House seeks to raise doubts about the credibility of Dr Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert.
• A US district judge set a new delay in federal executions. US District Judge Tanya Chutkan’s injuction came hours before the first federal execution in 17 years was set to take place at a federal prison in Indiana.

The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow suggested Trump would consider offering additional government funding to schools that reopen this fall.

“I think the president would be willing to consider additional funding for state and local governments if the schools do reopen, so that’s perhaps an incentive,” Kudlow told Fox News this morning.

The comment marked quite a reversal from the White House, given that it comes a week after Trump threatened to withhold government funding from schools that didn’t reopen.

The president’s initial threat struck many school officials as counterintuitive, considering a number of school districts have said they can’t bring students back because they don’t have the money to safely reopen.

The Association of American Medical Colleges issued a statement in support of Dr Anthony Fauci, as the White House raises questions about the infectious disease expert’s credibility.

AAMC CEO David J. Skorton and AAMC chief scientific officer Ross McKinney said in the statement, “The AAMC is extremely concerned and alarmed by efforts to discredit Anthony Fauci, MD, our nation’s top infectious disease expert. Dr. Fauci has been an independent and outspoken voice for truth as the nation has struggled to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

“As we are seeing from the surge in COVID-19 cases in areas that have reopened, science and facts—not wishful thinking or politics—must guide America’s response to this pandemic.”

The statement concludes, “Taking quotes from Dr. Fauci out of context to discredit his scientific knowledge and judgment will do tremendous harm to our nation’s efforts to get the virus under control, restore our economy, and return us to a more normal way of life.

“America should be applauding Dr. Fauci for his service and following his advice, not undermining his credibility at this critical time.”

For exaple, the White House has recently highlighted one February quote from Fauci to cast doubt upon his expertise.

Fauci said at the time, “Right now at this moment there is no need to change anything that you’re doing on a day-by-day basis.” However, the White House has not noted that Fauci quickly followed the comment with, “Right now the risk is still low, but this could change.”

Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have sued the Trump administration to block new restrictions on foreign student visas in connection to many universities moving operations online for the fall semester.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued new guidance last week saying foreign students earning their degrees entirely online cannot stay in the United States, prompting accusations from university officials that the administration is attempting to pressure schools to resume in-person instruction.

“The Trump administration didn’t even attempt to explain the basis for this senseless rule, which forces schools to choose between keeping their international students enrolled and protecting the health and safety of their campuses,” Massachusetts attorney general Maura Healey said in a statement, per the New York Times.

California, as well as Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have already filed separate lawsuits seeking to block the rule.

District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who presided over the case of Roger Stone, has requested a copy of the president’s executive order commuting Stone’s sentence.

Specifically, Jackson is seeking to determine whether Stone’s commutation applies only to his prison sentence or if it also applies to his supervised release.

Jackson has asked to receive a copy of Trump’s executive order by tomorrow in order to proceed with the case.

In February, Jackson sentenced Stone to 40 months in prison and two years of probation.

Trump has now made more than 20,000 false or misleading claims as president, according to the Washington Post’s Fact Checker tally.

The Post reports:

It took President Trump 827 days to top 10,000 false and misleading claims in The Fact Checker’s database, an average of 12 claims a day.

But on July 9, just 440 days later, the president crossed the 20,000 mark — an average of 23 claims a day over a 14-month period, which included the events leading up to Trump’s impeachment trial, the worldwide pandemic that crashed the economy and the eruption of protests over the death of George Floyd in police custody.

The coronavirus pandemic has spawned a whole new genre of Trump’s falsehoods. The category in just a few months has reached nearly 1,000 claims, more than his tax claims combined. Trump’s false or misleading claims about the impeachment investigation — and the events surrounding it — contributed almost 1,200 entries to the database.

The Post noted Trump averaged fewer than five false or misleading claims a day in his first 100 days as president, indicating his tendency to exaggerate or ignore the truth is accelerating as he approaches the November election amid a global pandemic.

Republican senator Thom Tillis offered an optimistic outlook on his party’s chances in the November elections, even as a number of polls show Trump trailing Joe Biden in Tillis’ home state of North Carolina.

“The stakes are very high this election, but you know why I know we’re going to win? Because people remember how good their lives were back in February,” Tillis said during the virtual North Carolina Republicah convention.

The Senate Republican added, “Can you imagine if we had had a Democrat president and a Democrat majority in the Senate and the House, what our economy would’ve looked like at the worst possible time? At least we had that economy to buttress us while we fight and ultimately win the Covid war.”

But North Carolina voters do not cuurently appear to agree, considering the RealClearPolitics polling average of the state shows Biden ahead by 3.3 points. In comparison, Trump carried North Carolina by 4 points in 2016.

Tillis also faces a difficult reelection in November. A recent poll showed Tillis trailing his Democratic opponent, Cal Cunningham, by 8 points.