John Oliver joined us for anotherLast Week Tonightfrom his great white void and kicked off the episode by addressing a non-coronavirus related story but it was still big news involving the White House and Donald Trumps former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
Last week, Attorney General William Barrs Justice Department moved to throw out the case in which Flynn pled guilty about lying to the FBI about his dealings with a Russian official. Oliver points out this is a crime especially considering that Flynn was lying about was his contact a Russian official and the FBI was in the midst of a Russian counterintelligence investigation.
He continues, All of this is particularly worrying because this was a case brought up by special counsel Robert Mueller and the whole point of having special counsel investigate was to keep the process free from conflicts of interest. By dropping these charges, Barr can be setting a dangerous precedent that a president could not just pardon the subject of an investigation but have his appointees invalidate the investigation itself.
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For an Attorney General to do this, it is truly unheard of but as Oliver points out Barr doesnt give a fuck.
After warming us up with Flynn news, Oliver shifted to his usual unpacking on Trumps inability to manage the coronavirus. He started off by addressing Trumps recent visit to a mask factory where he didnt wear a mask and at one point during the tour they played Guns N Roses Live and Let Die, which Oliver later connected to a Twitter feud between the bands frontman Axl Rose and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
During a press conference, Trump was asked why he wasnt wearing one and he claimed he was adding I cant help it if you didnt see me. Oliver said that the whole point of Trump wearing a mask was for a photo opportunity and to show what people need to be doing.
For all of Trumps ideological wavering over the years, one thing has remained consistent: hes never used protection and hes never not been an asshole about it afterward, Oliver quips.
Since April 3, the CDC have said that masks are required for various public settings. Since then, multiple White House staffers have tested positive for coronavirus. Oliver said that Trumps cavalier attitude has trickled down to states and many are lifting stay at home orders even though they dont meet federal guidelines that suggest they reopen when cases decline. In essence, lives are at risk here, but in another press conference, Trump framed it as positive and says that all of us are warriors together.
We dont have to be warriors and to the extent that we are, we dont have to go into a battle unarmed, said Oliver. You cant just call everyone warriors and make their deaths not count.
He added, All this talk of Americans being brave warriors seems designed to accept deaths that we should be trying to prevent and yet, this administration seems, at times, actively hostile to those preventions efforts.
Last week, the White House rejected CDC guidance on safely reopening restaurants, churches and schools and said they would never see the light of day.
So this is where we are right now: our wartime president has decided the only way to win this war is to draft every one of us, hide our battle plans and hope that we are brave enough not to notice that we have already surrendered, said Oliver. Calling back to the music playing during Trumps visit to the mask factory, Oliver punctuates that sentiment: His plan to steer us through this pandemic is for him to live while letting a lot of us die.
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