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Democratic Sens. Mark WarnerMark Robert WarnerHillicon Valley: FBI sees spike in cyber crime during pandemic | Facebook to alert users exposed to virus misinformation | Bezos says mass testing needed to reopen economy Senate Democrat urges FCC to more aggressively expand internet access The Hill's 12:30 Report: Trump turns to lawmakers to advise on reopening MORE (Va.) and Dianne FeinsteinDianne Emiel FeinsteinThe Hill's 12:30 Report: Trump turns to lawmakers to advise on reopening Trump taps members of Congress to advise on reopening New ad targets McConnell's 'culture of corruption' amid coronavirus pandemic MORE (Calif.) are calling on Justice Department watchdogs to investigate Attorney General William BarrWilliam Pelham BarrJudge denies Roger Stone's motion for new trial Democrats call on Trump to halt border wall construction amid pandemic Mississippi mayor reverses, will allow drive-in church with windows up MORE's comments about the firing of intelligence community Inspector General Michael Atkinson.

Warner and Feinstein the top Democrats on the Intelligence and Judiciary Committees, respectively sent a letter Friday to Jeffrey Ragsdale, acting director of the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Professional Responsibility, and DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitzarguing that Barr has "misstated key facts."

"This is a disservice to ICIG Atkinson. It also raises broader questions about whether Attorney General Barr is following Department policies and rules of professional conduct that demand candor and impartiality from lawyers, particularly those who serve the public trust," the senators wrote.

"We request that you investigate whether Attorney General Barrs statements in matters involving the interests of the President violate applicable Justice Department policies and rules of professional conduct," they added.

Trump shocked Washington earlier this month when he announced he was firing Atkinson, who handled the whistleblower complaint at the center of the House impeachment inquiry. The complaint dealt with Trump's actions on U.S. aid to Ukraine and a request thatKyiv help "look into" Democrats.

The two Democratic senators point to a Fox News interviewwith Barr earlier this month, when he said Trump "was correct" and "did the right thing" by firing Atkinson.

Barr added during the interview that Atkinson should have sent the whistleblower report to the executive branch before reporting it to Congress.

He was told this in a letter to the Department of Justice, and he is obliged to follow the interpretation of the Department of Justice, and he ignored it, Barr said.

How to handle the whistleblower complaint was a point of contention between Atkinson,DOJ and then-acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Joseph MaguireJoseph MaguireSchiff calls on DNI Grenell to explain intelligence community changes Democrats seize on Trump's firing of intelligence community watchdog Trump fires intelligence community watchdog who flagged Ukraine whistleblower complaint MORE.

Atkinson notified Congress of the existence of the whistleblower complaint, though he declined to discuss detailsof the complaintduring a closed-door briefing last year with House lawmakers.

Atkinson also forwarded the complaint to Maguire, who initially refused to hand it over to Congress, stating that the allegations fell outside the intelligence community's whistleblower statute. The office of the DNI subsequently transmitted a classified versionto the congressional Intelligence committees in September.

Feinstein and Warner note in their letter that Atkinson "did not transmit the complaint or reveal its contents to Congress" but notified Congress of a disagreement between himself and Maguire about whether the complaint should be handed over to Congress.

"It was ultimately DNI Maguire, not ICIG Atkinson, who transmitted the complaint to Congress," the senators wrote.

Barr who was confirmed last year largely along party lines has emerged as a top defender of Trump and holds broad views on executive power. His actions since assuming the top DOJ spot have rankled Democrats, including his comments on the FBI's 2016 investigation into Russia's election interference and the Trump campaign.

The two senators pointed to an opinion last month from D.C. District Court Judge Reggie Walton that upbraided Barr for comments he made about former special counsel Robert MuellerRobert (Bob) MuellerCNN's Toobin warns McCabe is in 'perilous condition' with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting The Hill's 12:30 Report: New Hampshire fallout MORE's report before it was released to the public.

"Judge Waltons finding that Attorney General Barr may have intentionally distorted facts to further the Presidents interests warrants your attention," Feinstein and Warner wrote.

Walton, appointed to the bench by former President George W. Bush, wrote in the opinion that "the Court cannot reconcile" some statements made by Barr with the report's findings.

The inconsistencies between Attorney General Barrs statements ... and portions of the redacted version of the Mueller Report that conflict with those statements cause the Court to seriously question whether Attorney General Barr made a calculated attempt to influence public discourse about the Mueller Report in favor of President TrumpDonald John TrumpMichael Cohen to be released early from prison amid coronavirus pandemic: report Biden assembling White House transition team Top Republicans call on Trump to fund WHO pending director-general's resignation MORE," the judge wrote.

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Democrats request probe of Barr's remarks on firing of intelligence community IG | TheHill - The Hill

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) pressed Pence on Trumps Twitter feed at the end of the call, asking why the president was trying to incite division by tweeting LIBERATE Virginia, Minnesota and Michigan and aligning himself with protests in those states over their lockdowns. Pence said the administration was working with governors but that the president will continue to communicate with the American people as he always had.

That demurral left Democrats unsatisfied. Kaine said Trumps tweets were disrespectful and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) asked Pence to answer Kaines question.

Anthony Fauci, the leading infectious disease expert in the federal government, and Deborah Birx, the head of the coronavirus task force, were also on the call and answered most of the questions along with several other public health experts. At one point, Fauci corrected Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) when she attributed a statement about coronavirus response to him.

Another Democrat on the call said that the Trump administration is hoping to have enough tests at the end of the month to be able to reopen some parts of the country and the economy from lockdowns but was vague on the details and was overly optimistic in its thinking.

The fundamental problem is a lack of capacity which at this point they cant fix. So they are explaining it away, the Democrat said. Everyone was livid.

After the call, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) released a statement saying that Pence expressed willingness work with him on his concerns about the treatment of rural health care providers in the massive aid package passed at the end of March.

Pence also spoke to Senate Democrats last week, a call that ran so long that members scheduled Fridays call to continue the discussion.

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'I have never been so mad about a phone call in my life' - POLITICO

WASHINGTON The surprise defeat of a conservative justice in a statewide Wisconsin election despite a show of support from President Trump drove Republicans and Democrats back to their 2020 electoral playbooks on Tuesday, as both parties examined whether a surge of enthusiasm and on-the-ground organization among Democrats could help them capture that critical battleground state in November.

Leaders of both parties said that the victory, by an overwhelming margin of more than 120,000 votes, could provide a road map for Democrats trying to beat Mr. Trump in November in Wisconsin (which he carried by 22,748 votes in 2016) and other states where he narrowly prevailed. Democrats did have an advantage, though: A presidential primary was on the ballot, which probably raised turnout.

Wisconsin was also the first major test of vote-by-mail efforts for the parties since the outbreak of the coronavirus. Democrats by all accounts had the superior program, forcing Republicans to reckon with what could be a challenge for Mr. Trumps re-election efforts.

Mr. Trump and some Republicans have attacked vote-by-mail efforts in response to the virus, arguing without evidence that they enable fraud and favor Democrats. But the Wisconsin result was a clear sign for both parties that a strong mail-in strategy could be important in the general election.

While the dynamics surrounding the election and their impact on the outcome are still being sorted out, the spread and the margin on this race is absolutely concerning for Republicans in Midwestern battleground states, said Nick Everhart, a Republican strategist in Ohio. Id be the first to admit that from afar, I really thought that this was going to be won by the Republican.

Former Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, a Republican who signed into law the voting restrictions that chafed Democrats, said he was unconcerned about the result, saying that Democrats had been drawn to the polls by their partys presidential primary between former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Mr. Sanders ended his presidential campaign the morning after the Wisconsin vote.

As for November, there are no real takeaways as the turnout will be about twice as large in the fall, Mr. Walker said by email.

It is risky to draw broad national lessons, particularly about what this might mean for Mr. Trump, from a single state judicial election conducted in the spring, with turnout that was far lower than in a general election. But there were clearly worrisome signs for the president, as well as a few notes of caution for Democrats looking to seize on the result as a glimmer of good news.

Democrats demonstrated that they have a superior vote-by-mail program built in a weeks time as the pandemic shut down movement in the state and an enthusiastic voter base willing to brave challenging conditions to get to the polls. They also displayed an ability to mobilize voters and organize mail-in ballots in heavily Democratic areas like Milwaukee and Madison, despite the obstacles of the virus and closed polling places.

The primary between Mr. Biden and Mr. Sanders did help fuel turnout, but that race was effectively resolved well before this vote, with Mr. Biden for weeks viewed as the presumptive Democratic nominee. A senior Sanders aide said the senator had remained in the race through the Wisconsin primary in part to lift turnout for Jill Karofsky, the liberal judge who ousted an incumbent conservative State Supreme Court justice, Daniel Kelly.

Still, Mr. Trump drew far more votes in 2016 than Justice Kelly did, and there is little reason, at least as of now, to think that the presidents ability to inspire his core supporters has diminished. Mr. Biden still faces the task of reuniting Democrats and rallying Mr. Sanderss supporters some of whom backed Mr. Trump against Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic nominee behind him. And Republicans have months to learn lessons from what Democrats did, and they have the money and political expertise to put in place any new tactics or strategies.

Just days before the April 7 election in Wisconsin, Republicans there blocked efforts by Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, to delay the election because of the coronavirus and provide mail ballots to all voters. Democrats now argue that the Republican strategy might have backfired, citing the long lines of voters risking their health to cast ballots as evidence that Democrats were pushing back against efforts to suppress their vote.

When you have the coronavirus out there and you make the decision anyway to go out and vote, that says a lot, said Patty Schachtner, a state senator whose victory in a January 2018 special election flipped a seat that had been held by Republicans for 17 years and presaged sweeping Democratic triumphs later that year. If you took the time to put on a mask and go vote, then it meant a lot to you.

Ms. Schachtner did a six-hour shift as a poll worker last week, and said the persistence of Democrats waiting in line, often for hours, signaled an electorate that was highly motivated.

It is also possible that Wisconsin Republicans were too casual in their efforts, confident that Mr. Trumps advocacy for their candidate he tweeted several times on Mr. Kellys behalf and the spring turnout, which was 52 percent of the 2016 presidential electorate, made it highly unlikely that an incumbent would be removed. Mr. Kelly is just the second incumbent Wisconsin Supreme Court justice to lose since 1967.

Though Ms. Karofskys victory caught members of both parties by surprise, it was not a fluke. Perhaps the best comparison point to the race is a similar State Supreme Court election in April 2019, which Justice Brian Hagedorn, a conservative, won by 6,000 votes.

Ms. Karofsky improved on the performance by the liberal candidate in that race in 71 of Wisconsins 72 counties. She flipped three counties near Green Bay, a key swing area of the state, and cut into conservative margins of victory by at least 13 percentage points in each of the three suburban Milwaukee counties that represent the states Republican heartland.

The last two statewide elections where they have made it a referendum on President Trump, theyve gotten beat pretty handily, said Matt Lowe, the Waukesha County Democratic chairman, referring to Mr. Walkers 2018 re-election bid and Mr. Kellys Supreme Court race.

There is little history in the state of voting by mail, leaving Democrats to improvise as the virus transformed the election, while contending with onerous restrictions put in place by the Republicans in power. Early results suggest Democrats have been effective in having party volunteers help voters navigate a complicated process to request and return mail ballots, an online system that required uploading a copy of their photo identification. The sessions were often conducted through one-on-one video calls.

The work we did wasnt about taking unmotivated people and trying to prod them to cast a ballot, said Ben Wikler, the chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. It was about taking highly motivated people and helping them navigate a maze to help them safely and legally cast a vote.

In Washington, Democrats who had been bracing for a defeat theyd already blamed on voter suppression quickly turned to attribute the victory to a yearslong pattern of Mr. Trump repelling suburban and highly educated voters.

Id be peeing my pants right now if I was the Trump campaign, said David Bergstein, a Democratic National Committee official who helps oversee the partys battleground states program. Suburban voters do not like Trump and theyre taking it out on the Republican Party.

Michael Steele, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, called the result a clarion call to the Republican Party and the White House.

Wisconsin sends a message: This will not be the election you think it will be, Mr. Steele said. The danger is greater for Republicans because of what they tried to do with the Wisconsin campaign to force the vote. To put an arm of protection around their candidate for Supreme Court and then to have that wiped out handily by the Democrats.

Wisconsin is now in play in a big way, he said.

Like Mr. Walker, Wisconsin Republicans attributed the defeat to the presidential primary raising Democratic turnout. But they also said battles over whether to conduct the election amid the pandemic wound up keeping away more of their own voters, who tend to be older and more concentrated in rural areas where polling places are farther away.

The very regulations that Mr. Walker and fellow Republicans put in place to restrict voting by mail requirements that voters upload a copy of their photo identification to request a ballot and obtain a witness signature before returning their ballots may have had the effect of keeping away Republicans used to voting in person who were unfamiliar with new processes.

While Republicans encouraged early and absentee voting, many elderly either did not have the wherewithal to request absentee ballots or the inclination to vote in person on April 7, said Doug Rogalla, the Republican Party chairman in Monroe County. They were confused, afraid and decided to stay home.

Ms. Karofskys victory also showed the fruits of three years of Democratic organizing in Wisconsin, including in areas outside major cities that had been neglected during the Obama era.

Jim Kurz, the Democratic Party chairman in Rusk County in the states rural, wooded northwest, said the state party had dispatched a paid organizer to help with get-out-the-vote efforts in the heavily Republican area.

First time weve had that kind of help, Mr. Kurz said.

Reid J. Epstein reported from Washington, and Adam Nagourney from Los Angeles.

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Democratic Victory in Wisconsin Looms as Clarion Call for Trump - The New York Times

Written by Billy Mitchell Apr 17, 2020 | FEDSCOOP

Several Democrats on Capitol Hill have condemned the White House for not openly participating in an inspector generals investigation of the militarysJoint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI)commercial cloud contract.

TheOffice of the Inspector General issued along and sweeping reporton its nearly yearlonginvestigation into the $10 billion JEDI contract, which the Pentagon awarded to Microsoft last fall. In it, theDepartment of Defensewatchdog found evidence of ethical misconduct and the improper sharing of proprietary information with competing companies, among other things.

The part that didnt sit right with Democrat lawmakers, however, was the White Houses refusal tospeak with the IG regardingthe Trump administrationsalleged inappropriate interference with the contract evaluation and award process a claim that is at the heart of losing bidder Amazon Web Services ongoingprotest of the contract.The White Housedid not allow staff to speak with investigators, claiming presidential communications privilege, and the Pentagons general counsel instructed senior DOD leaders not to discuss any communications they may have had with the White House.

Despite that, the IG determined the evidence we received showed that the DoD personnel who evaluated the contract proposals and awarded Microsoft the JEDI Cloud contract were not pressured regarding their decision on the award of the contract by any DoD leaders more senior to them, who may have communicated with the White House,

This led many lawmakers and other experts to questionhow the IG could determine with crystal-clear certainty that the White House didnt, in fact, taint the contracts award to Microsoft. Even the IG says in its report: We could not definitively determine the full extent or nature of interactions that administration officials had, or may have had, with senior DoD officials regarding the JEDI Cloud procurement, which prevented it from reviewing the matter fully.

Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, thetop Democraton theSenate Armed Services Committee, called the report troubling and incomplete.

It offers yet another example of the presidents efforts to inappropriately pressure federal agencies, Reed said. He went as far as to suggest that President Trumps recent removal of acting DOD Inspector General Glen Fine had to do with his tough probing of Pentagon matters, such as this one. Mr. Fines removal now appears connected to his willingness to do his job and ask hard questions.

Rep. Adam Smith, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, told FedScoop the reports findings that DOD personnel werent pressured is good news. However, the White Houses refusal to participate in the investigation makes it impossible to know if the administration attempted to interfere at a high level,the Washington state Democrat said.

Unfortunately, the reports findings are stained by the White Houses refusal to cooperate in this investigation by once again invoking broad claims of executive privilege, Smith said. This administrations complete disregard for independent oversight is further highlighted by the Presidents recent firing of the Departments acting Inspector General. I commend the Inspector General for completing a thorough inquiry under challenging circumstances and I look forward to the Department moving forward in development of critical cloud computing infrastructure.

Smiths minority counterpart Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, didnt touch on the White Houses involvement in the investigation. The JEDI program is vital to our national security, he told FedScoop in an emailed statement. Now that the IG report is complete, it is imperative DOD move forward.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said the matter is corruption is in plain sight, while pointing out Trumps well-documented disdain for Amazon and its owner Jeff Bezos.

When hes not firing Inspector Generals, Trump is obstructing their investigations. Here, hes hiding communications about a DOD contract for Amazon, a company Trump has repeatedly tried to punish because its founder owns the Washington Post, Schiff tweeted.

FedScoop reached out to other top Republicans on the Armed Servicespanels but they declined to comment.

The Pentagon took the report to be a final blow surrounding the JEDI cloud saga.The Inspectors General final report on the JEDI Cloud procurement confirms that the Department of Defense conducted the JEDI Cloud procurement process fairly and in accordance with law, a Pentagon spokesperson told FedScoop in an emailed statement. This report should finally close the door on the media and corporate-driven attacks on the career procurement officials who have been working tirelessly to get the much needed JEDI Cloud computing environment into the hands of our frontline warfighters while continuing to protect American taxpayers.

The same day as the reports release, Microsoft published an official blog post attributed to Jon Palmer, deputy general counsel, in which he fired shots at Amazon for its continued protest of the contract. Amazon did build its pricing for the entire procurement, and it wasnt good enough to win, Palmer writes. And now it wants a re-do. Thats not good for our war-fighters. Thats not good for confidence in public procurement. Thats not good for anybody but Amazon.

Amazon, however, has more questions than answers after the release of the IGs report.

This report doesnt tell us much. It says nothing about the merits of the award, which we know are highly questionable based on the Judges recent statements and the governments request to go back and take corrective action, an AWS spokesperson told FedScoop. And, its clear that this report couldnt assess political interference because several DoD witnesses were instructed by the White House not to answer the IGs questions about communications between the White House and DoD officials. The White Houses refusal to cooperate with the IGs investigation is yet another blatant attempt to avoid a meaningful and transparent review of the JEDI contract award.

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Democrats sound the alarm on White House's 'refusal to cooperate' in JEDI investigation - FedScoop

Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday strongly denounced President TrumpDonald John TrumpMichael Cohen to be released early from prison amid coronavirus pandemic: report Biden assembling White House transition team Top Republicans call on Trump to fund WHO pending director-general's resignation MORE's decision to suspend funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) over its handling of the coronavirus outbreak, saying that it ignored the administration's own mistakes in its response to the global pandemic.

While speaking at a briefing on the White House lawn, Trump said that the administration would halt funding for the WHO pending a review of the organization's "role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus."

The president claimed that theinternational body, which is part of the United Nations, "failed to adequately obtain, vet and share information in a timely and transparent fashion" and targeted the group over its opposition tolarge-scale travel restrictions.

Sen. Patrick LeahyPatrick Joseph LeahyThe Hill's 12:30 Report: Trump turns to lawmakers to advise on reopening Trump taps members of Congress to advise on reopening Can the Trump administration prevent asylum-seeking aliens from entering the US during COVID-19? MORE (Vt.), the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said in a statement that the move "makes as much sense as cutting off ammunition to an ally as the enemy closes in."

"The White House knows that it grossly mishandled this crisis from the beginning, ignoring multiple warnings and squandering valuable time, dismissing medical science, comparing COVID-19 to the common cold, and saying 'everything will be fine,'" Leahy, who also serves onthe subcommittee overseeing foreign operations, added. "Not wanting to take responsibility as the deaths continue to mount, he blames others."

Sen. Brian SchatzBrian Emanuel SchatzUN head responds to Trump: 'Not the time' to reduce funds for WHO Democrats blast Trump's move to suspend WHO funding Democratic senators want to create panel to determine how to reopen country MORE (D-Hawaii), an outspoken critic of the president, said in a tweet that the announcement felt like a "distraction." Sen.Chris MurphyChristopher (Chris) Scott MurphyOvernight Health Care: Trump to release guidelines on easing social distancing on Thursday | Trump WHO cuts meet blowback | Officials warn of lack of testing supplies | Global cases surpass 2 million Trump WHO cuts meet with furious blowback China hawks flex muscle amid coronavirus fallout MORE (D-Conn.) called ita "grade school caliber attempt to deflect attention from his China fawning and his ongoing negligence since."

"He wants this to be about other countries so he doesnt have to explain why South Korea and the USA got hit with their first cases at the same time, but South Korea prevented mass deaths,"Schatz added.

Sen. Tina SmithTina Flint SmithWarren, Smith call for B to rescue child care centers amid drop in attendance Democrats blast Trump's move to suspend WHO funding Democrats call for pollution reduction requirements in any aid for airlines, cruises MORE (D-Minn.) and Reps. Karen BassKaren Ruth BassDemocrats blast Trump's move to suspend WHO funding Biden congratulates Trump on implementing Defense Production Act House Democrats press Barr to protect inmates from coronavirus MORE (D-Calif.) and Jess Garca (D-Ill.) echoed those remarks, with Bass callingthe movean "abdication of international responsibility and leadership."

"International cooperation on public health has never been more critical," House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam SchiffAdam Bennett SchiffKrystal and Saagar debate former Clinton advisor on Biden's electability Schiff throws support behind Biden Democrats blast Trump's move to suspend WHO funding MORE (D-Calif.) tweeted. "Freezing funding for the WHOwill only make it worse."

The U.S. is the biggest contributor to the WHO's budget in the world. Trump'sfiscal 2021 budget request proposed cutting funding from $122 million to about $58 million.

Amid scrutiny over his administration's own response to the outbreak, Trump earlier this month began targeting the WHO and suggesting that it hid information about the severity of the disease when it first began spreading in China. Republican lawmakers have vocally supported the president's position, with Sen. Lindsey GrahamLindsey Olin GrahamGraham: 'You really can't go back to work until we have more tests' Democratic challenger outraises Graham in South Carolina Senate race China hawks flex muscle amid coronavirus fallout MORE (R-S.C.) last week vowing to end funding for the WHO under its current leadership.

Leahy acknowledged that the WHO made mistakes in its early response, saying that it "could have been stricter with China and called for travel restrictions sooner." But he argued that the group is serving an "essential function" right now and needs U.S. support.

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Democrats blast Trump's move to suspend WHO funding | TheHill - The Hill