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Trump Appointees Pressured the CDC to Make Its COVID-19 Reports Fit Trump’s Rosy Assessments

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Michael Caputo

Three unnamed sources from the U.S. Centers from Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have accused Trump-appointed political officials in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) of pressuring the CDC to change its reports on COVID-19 to conform with Republican President Donald Trump’s public statements on the epidemic.

According to a report from Politico, the political pressure began after April when Michael Caputo, “a former Trump campaign official with no medical or scientific background,” was appointed as the HHS spokesperson.

Sources from the CDC accused HHS appointees of asking the CDC to change its past CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports (MMWR) to say that they “wrongly inflated” the risks of COVID-19 and that infected Americans were likely infected because of their own behavior.

In an August 8 email to CDC Director Robert Redfield and other officials, Caputo himself accused CDC scientists of trying to use the reports to “hurt the President.”

HHS appointee Paul Alexander allegedly wrote to Redfield, “The CDC to me appears to be writing hit pieces on the administration.” He told Redfield to change two reports discussing the risks of children spreading coronavirus while Trump was urging schools to reopen.

Alexander and Caputo also told the CDC to stop all future MMWRs until Alexander could make line edits to ensure that the reports are “fair and balanced and ‘complete'” before they’re released to the public.

“The reports must be read by someone outside of CDC like myself, and we cannot allow the reporting to go on as it has been, for it is outrageous. Its lunacy,” Alexander allegedly said.

The CDC sources also accused the HHS of suppressing reports on the ineffectiveness of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria medication touted by Trump as a possible COVID-19 treatment even though it can dangerously exacerbate underlying issues. A CDC report on the drug came out a month late.

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'THIS IS A CRIME SCENE'

Hate Crime: Vandals Smear Feces on Gay Couple’s Christmas Decorations Near Pride Flag

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3 years ago

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December 19, 2020

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Eureka, California, gay couple, Brian Kleinmeyer, Daniel Kain, Christmas decorations, hate crime, gingerbread, feces, shit, poop

On Wednesday, Eureka, California gay couple Brian Kleinmeyer and Daniel Kain discovered that someone had taken the gingerbread men they had placed as Christmas decorations on their front lawn, smeared feces on them and then laid them in front of the couple’s small Pride flag nearby.

“Last night, somebody came to our home on Myrtle, and wiped feces all over our Gingerbread Men,” Kleinmeyer later wrote in a public Facebook post. “They literally ripped them out of the ground, and wiped their asses with them, and carefully laid them at the base of our Pride Flag… I thought things might get stolen, but never in a million years did I think this would happen. I’m completely in shock.”

Kleinmeyer wrote that Eureka Police Chief Steve Watson subsequently called to inform the couple that he “fully intends to charge whoever did this with a hate crime.”

Watson told The Lost Coast Outpost, “It’s very clear in my mind this was a deliberate act based on the suspect’s perception of [the victims’] sexual orientation,” calling the vandalism an “absolutely horrendous and appalling thing.”

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'THIS IS A CRIME SCENE'

‘Illegal Super Spreader MAGA Rally’: Trump Blasted as Photos Reveal No Social Distancing or Masks at His RNC Speech

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4 years ago

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August 27, 2020

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Many Americans are furious that President Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee have intentionally run roughshod over both acceptable norms and likely federal law by holding his renomination convention acceptance speech at the White House. Many are also angry that the coronavirus pandemic is again being ignored by Trump and his supporters.

1000 invited guests are funneling onto the South Lawn. They are sitting in white wooden folding chairs crammed close together.

There will be no coronavirus testing, masks, or social distancing, leading some to label this Republican National Convention a super-spreader event, while others lament the assault on American values and norms.

Here’s a noted national security lawyer weighing in:

A noted government ethics expert:

And a noted professor of international relations, political scientist and journalist:

And a former DOJ spokesperson and current MSNBC Justice and Security Analyst:

Here’s what others are saying:

 

 

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