CAFE Insider

A weekly Note from Elie is part of the CAFE Brief. Please enjoy this recording of Elie reading his note, "A Lawyerless World" and read his note in your inbox every Friday. 

In this bonus from Stay Tuned, Mike Birbiglia talks about the first time he met President Obama, handling hecklers, and his favorite jokes.Thank you for being a member of the CAFE Insider community.REFERENCES & SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALSJOKES & JOKESTERS“Humor in Hard Times,” New York Times, 9/19/09Watch: “Jon Stewart on Comedy in Times of Tragedy,” Bill Moyers Journal (2007)“Where does canned laughter come from – and where did it go?,” BBC, 9/26/16“Please Chuckle Here, New York Magazine, 11/23/11 Steven Wright:Watch: “Comic Relief ‘Steven Wright’ Stand Up Comedy 1987”Stephen Wright, Spotify“The Mosaic View Of Comedian Steven Wright,” Wisconsin Public Radio, 3/7/20“Headwaters for a River of Stand-Up,” New York Times, 4/30/14 Mitch Hedberg:Mitch Hedberg: “Strategic Grill Locations,” Spotify (2003)“Mitch Hedberg: The Best Pre-Twitter Twitter Comedian,” GQ, 6/4/13“Mitch Hedberg, a Comedian Who Performed Surreal Routines, Dies at 37,” New York Times, 4/1/05 Jerry Seinfeld:Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedian, Netflix (2002)Watch: “Seinfeld - Night Guy” Roy Wood Jr:Roy Wood Jr.: “Father Figure,” Amazon Prime Video (2017)

In this episode of CAFE Insider, “Fevered Nation,” Preet and Anne break down all the latest coronavirus developments and analyze the politically-charged legal questions surrounding the government’s response, including:— The spectacle of the daily White House coronavirus press conferences, and the impact of the President’s repeated false claims on the government’s response effort.— The President’s now-abandoned wish to reopen the economy by Easter, and the chaos surrounding his public announcement that he was considering quarantining the entire New York metro area — which he later walked back that same day. — The White House’s deployment of the Defense Production Act to compel General Motors to produce ventilators.— The passage of a massive $2 trillion stimulus package, and the importance of effective Congressional oversight over its implementation.Amid the round-the-clock coronavirus coverage, there was also this news that would have otherwise wielded much attention: The DOJ’s indictment of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and 13 of his associates on drug trafficking charges.We hope you’re enjoying CAFE Insider. Email us at Insider@cafe.com with your suggestions and questions for Preet and Anne.REFERENCES & SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALSLIFE UNDER LOCKDOWNPreet’s movie recommendation, Happy FeetCourse: “The Science of Well-Being,” offered by Yale University, CourseraPREVIOUSLY ON CAFE: Special Insider episode featuring Lisa Monaco (3/17/20) Special Insider episode featuring  Juliette Kayyem (3/24/20)Andy Slavitt Stay Tuned Interview, 3/26/20WHITE HOUSE PRESS CONFERENCES Preet’s tweet about not watching the Trump press conferences, 3/29/20Trump tweet about his coronavirus press conference ratings, 3/29/20Clip: Trump falsely claims Seoul, South Korea has a population of 38 million people, 3/30/20“Fauci Socks, Fauci Donuts: The Coronavirus Expert Attracts Cult Following,” Washington Post, 3/31/20“Dr. Deborah Birx’s praise of Trump raises questions about her credibility,” Vox, 3/27/20REOPENING GOVERNMENT / STATES’ RIGHTSClip: Fauci says “the virus makes the timeline,” 3/25/20The Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution The 21st Amendment of the U.S. ConstitutionSouth Dakota v. Dole (1987), Supreme Court case holding that Congress’s spending power allows it to indirectly encourage state action to obtain uniformity in the States' drinking ages by imposing reasonable conditions on the receipt of federal funds“Trump set Easter target after Kushner meeting, seeing empty pews,” Bloomberg, 3/30/20“Restrictions are slowing down coronavirus infections, new data suggest, New York Times, 3/30/20“Fever Detection Cameras to Fight Coronavirus?” NBC News, 3/27/20“Trump Can’t Reopen the Country Over State Objections,” Lawfare, 3/27/20NEW YORK QUARANTINE Trump tweet giving consideration to instituting a quarantine of tri-state area, 3/28/20Trump tweet saying that there will be no quarantine, 3/28/20“A Coronavirus Quarantine in America Would be a Huge Legal Mess,” Atlantic, 2/16/20DEFENSE PRODUCTION ACT Congressional Research Service Report on the Defense Production Act, 3/2/20White House statement on invoking Defense Production Act, 3/27/20STIMULUS PACKAGE / CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT The Stimulus Bill (S. 3548 CARES Act)John Kerry’s tweet mocking Rep. Thomas Massie, 3/27/20Neil Barofsky’s tweet about overseeing TARP, 3/30/20House Rules Committee’s Majority Staff Report Examining Voting Operations During the Covid-19 Epidemic, 3/23/20“The House just passed a $2 trillion coronavirus relief package. Here’s what’s in it,” Vox, 3/25/20“Rep. Massie forces colleagues back to DC for vote,” Washington Post, 3/27/20“Cuomo Slams Stimulus Package as “Terrible” for New York,” New York Post, 3/25/20“Justice Department investigates Burr’s stock trades before coronavirus spike,” Washington Post,  3/30/20MADURO INDICTMENT SDNY’s Indictment of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and associates, 3/26/20Transcript of AG Barr’s press conference announcing Maduro indictment, 3/26/20OLC memo on indicting a sitting President CRIMINAL JUSTICE AG Barr’s memo to Bureau of Prisons, 3/26/20“‘We’re Left for Dead,’ Fears of Virus Catastrophe at Rikers Jail,’” New York Times, 3/30/20

A weekly Note from Elie is part of the CAFE Brief. Please enjoy this recording of Elie reading his note, "Mass Trauma Brings Out the Crooks and the Heroes" and read his note in your inbox every Friday. 

In this bonus from Stay Tuned, Andy Slavitt explains how a leader should make decisions in crisis, his heroes, and what he's watching at home.Thank you for being a member of the CAFE Insider community.REFERENCES & SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALSWinston Churchill, The Gathering Storm, RosettaBooks, 1948Andy Slavitt on The Woj Pod Show, 3/20/2020Steven Levy, “The Doctor Who Helped Defeat Smallpox Explains What's Coming,” WIRED, Contagion, dir. Stephen Soderbergh, Warner Bros., 2011“'Go home!': Italian mayors rage at coronavirus lockdown dodgers — video,” The Guardian, 3/23/2020

In this special episode of CAFE Insider, “Pandemic Ethics & Glimmers of Hope,” Preet and Anne are joined by Juliette Kayyem. Kayyem served as President Obama’s Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security. Drawing on her experience managing crises — including the H1N1 pandemic and the BP oil spill — she helps Preet and Anne break down all of the latest coronavirus developments and issues, including:— The Trump administration’s delayed deployment of the Defense Production Act of 1950, what the action allows the government to do, and why it took so long. — The ethics around the government’s response to the pandemic, the adverse effects that social distancing will have on the economy, and the President’s apparent inclination to “re-open” the economy before the conclusion of the quarantine period recommended by public health experts. — The controversy surrounding the decisions of several United States Senators, most notably Senators Richard Burr and Kelly Loeffler, to sell significant amounts of stock around the time of a classified Senate briefing warning about the impact of coronavirus — well before the government’s public position reflected those private warnings. — The threat the pandemic poses to jails and prisons, and the steps states like New Jersey are taking to address the challenges to the criminal justice system.— How long we can expect to remain in quarantine, and what the process looks like to get back to “normal.” We hope you’re enjoying CAFE Insider. Email us at Insider@cafe.com with your suggestions and questions for Preet and Anne.REFERENCES & SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALSJULIETTE’S CRISIS MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCEJuliette Kayyem’s biography“US Reaction to Swine Flu: Apt and Lucky,” New York Times, 1/1/10“BP Moves to Fix a Leak as Obama Warns of Damage,” New York Times, 5/2/10“New York’s Virus Count is Doubling Every Three Days,” New York Times, 3/24/20DEFENSE PRODUCTION ACT Congressional Research Service Report on the Defense Production Act, 3/2/20“What’s in Trump’s Executive Order on the Defense Production Act?” Lawfare, 3/20/20“Trump’s excuses for not using the Defense Production Act are wrong — and dangerous,” Vox, 3/23/20“Trump will use Defense Production Act to secure thousands of test kits,” Politico, 3/24/20ETHICSTrump tweet about allowing people to return to work, 3/24/20“A Plan to Get America Back to Work,” Thomas Friedman Op-Ed, New York Times, 3/22/20Clip: “Boris Johnson orders UK into lockdown to fight coronavirus pandemic,” CNN, 3/23/20 “Trump says coronavirus cure ‘cannot be worse than the problem itself,’” New York Times, 3/23/20“DeWine: ‘We Save our Economy First by Saving Lives,” ABC Cincinnati, 3/24/20“Rand Paul Worked in the Senate for Days after COVID-19 Test,” Time Magazine, 3/23/20BAILOUT“Trump on GOP’s $500 billion slush fund: ‘I’ll be the oversight,’” New York Magazine, 3/23/20“Top Senate Democrat and Treasury Secretary say they are near a stimulus deal,” New York Times, 3/24/20INSIDER TRADING STOCK Act Summary, GovTrack, 4/4/12Sen. Burr’s 2012 radio interview on his opposition to the STOCK Act, 2/2/12“Burr and Loeffler selling stocks as the market tanks is the reason some people think Senators shouldn’t own stock,” Vox, 3/20/20“Sen. Richard Burr, who sold stock before pandemic, voted in 2012 against banning insider trading for Congress, Washington Post, 2/20/20“Trump deflects questions about profiting from the presidency by reverting to his businessman mythology,” Washington Post, 3/23/20CRIMINAL JUSTICE “New Jersey will release low level offenders from jail to prevent coronavirus spread,” CNN, 2/23/20“‘Trapped on Rikers’: Jails and prisons face coronavirus catastrophe as officials slowly authorize releases,” Washington Post, 3/23/20“DOJ seeks new emergency powers amid coronavirus pandemic,” Politico, 3/21/20THE PROCESS BACK TO NORMALCY“The Crisis Could Last 18 Months. Be Prepared,” Juliette Kayyem Op-ed, The Atlantic, 3/21/20“When will the coronavirus pandemic end? What scientists can say about life returning to normal,” Boston Globe, 3/21/20OLYMPICS“I.O.C and Japan Agree to Postpone Tokyo Olympics,” New York Times, 3/24/20

In this bonus from Stay Tuned, Rahm Emanuel discusses how he would respond to coronavirus if he were still mayor of Chicago, his experience at the Lyndon Baines Johnson library, his cursing, and more.Thank you for being a member of the CAFE Insider community.

In this special episode of CAFE Insider, “Extraordinary Times,” Preet and Anne are joined by Lisa Monaco, who was President Obama’s chief homeland security and counterterrorism advisor. Drawing on her experience battling pandemics, Lisa provides valuable perspective on the response to the crisis, and helps Preet and Anne break down all of the important issues, including:— The administration’s preparedness for the outbreak, and the warnings about pandemics that the Obama national security team gave to incoming Trump officials in January 2017. — Challenges posed by testing and hospital capacity — and the impact of the 2018 decision to disband the National Security Council Directorate designed to coordinate pandemic response, an office that Lisa helped set up in the wake of the Ebola outbreak.— The benefits and shortcomings of the recent economic relief bill negotiated by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. We hope you’re enjoying CAFE Insider. Email us at Insider@cafe.com with your suggestions and questions for Preet and Anne.REFERENCES & SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALSLIFE UNDER QUARANTINEAnne Milgram’s beach chair tweet, 3/17/20Video of penguins roaming free at aquariums, 3/15/20WHITE HOUSE RESPONSE Picture of President Obama hugging a nurse who survived Ebola, Time Magazine, 10/24/14Transcript of President Trump’s 3/13 coronavirus press conference, New York Times, 3/13/20“A chastened President Trump presents a newly sober tone,” Politico, 3/16/20“The Next Pandemic Will Be Arriving Shortly,” Lisa Monaco op-ed in Foreign Policy, 9/28/18“Before Trump’s inauguration, a warning: ‘The worst influenza pandemic since 1918,” Politico, 3/16/20“I ran the White House pandemic office. Trump closed it,” Washington Post, 3/13/20“Travel Restrictions Spread as Coronavirus Pandemic Widens,” NPR, 3/12/20“How U.S. Coronavirus testing stalled,” Washington Post, 3/16/20“First Human Trial for Coronavirus Vaccine Begins on Monday in US,” CNBC, 3/16/20“Why Outbreaks like Coronavirus Spread Exponentially, and How to ‘Flatten the Curve,’” Washington Post, 3/14/20CONGRESSIONAL RESPONSEFamilies First Coronavirus Response Act Summary, 3/14/20“House passes $8.3b emergency coronavirus response bill,” New York Times, 3/4/20“There’s a Giant Hole in Pelosi’s Coronavirus Response Bill,” New York Times, 3/14/20“Senate poised to take up coronavirus package after House passes revised bill,” Politico, 3/16/20“Mitt Romney’s Coronavirus Response Plan: $1,000 to Each American Adult,” Vox, 3/16/20“We need real economic stimulus,” New York Times, 3/14/20“Will the Coronavirus Outbreak Turn Andrew Yang’s Dream into a Reality?” Time Magazine, 3/17/20STATE RESPONSE“Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine response has become a national guide to the crisis,” Washington Post, 3/16/20“Gov. Cuomo to President Trump: Mobilize the Military to help Fight Coronavirus,” New York Times, 3/15/20“Here are the states that postponed their primaries due to coronavirus,” CNN, 3/17/20IMPACT ON GENERAL ELECTION Joyce Vance Twitter thread on the possibility of postponing the general election, 3/13/20Congressional Record Service report on the legality of postponing a general election, 2004

In this bonus from Stay Tuned, David Plouffe discusses the impact of coronavirus on campaigning, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, the future of primaries, and more.Thank you for being a member of the CAFE Insider community.

In this episode of CAFE Insider, “Virus Lockdown & SCOTUS Showdown,” Preet and Anne break down the latest high-profile legal and political news making the headlines, including: — The Supreme Court’s upcoming decision on the first abortion case to come before the Court since Trump’s appointment of two new conservative justices, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. The case, June Medical Services LLC v. Russo, could threaten the long-standing legal precedent established in Roe v. Wade. — District Court Judge Reggie Walton’s forceful criticism of Attorney General Bill Barr over his “misleading” handling of the Mueller report’s rollout — and what that means for the credibility of the Department of Justice under Barr’s leadership.— The continued spread of COVID-19, and the challenges that the virus poses for governments and markets around the world — including the “emergency” steps that many state and local governments are taking to contain the outbreak. We hope you’re enjoying CAFE Insider. Email us at Insider@cafe.com with your suggestions and questions for Preet and Anne.REFERENCES & SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALSCORONAVIRUS NY Gov. Cuomo Executive Order declaring state of emergency, 3/7/20NYCLU statement criticizing NY emergency powers bill, 3/4/20“Republicans who came in contact with Trump self-quarantine,” Politico, 3/9/20“Trump compared coronavirus to the flu. Here’s why that’s a bad thing,” MSNBC, 3/9/20“Dow sinks 2,000 points in worst day since 2008,” CNBC, 3/10/20“Energy industry faces reckoning after oil prices crash,” Wall Street Journal, 3/10/20“Coronavirus in NY: Cuomo declares state of emergency,” New York Times, 3/7/20SUPREME COURT June Medical Services v. Rebekah Gee (2019), 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decisionWhole Women’s Health v. Hellerstedt (2016), Supreme Court decisionJune Medical Services Supreme Court oral arguments, 3/4/20“Justices give few hints on how they will rule in abortion law,” New York Times, 3/4/20“Schumer on Supreme Court remarks: ‘I should not have used those words,’” Axios, 3/5/20“Roberts rebukes Schumer,” Washington Post, 3/4/20 “The controversy over Chuck Schumer’s attacks on Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, explained,” Vox, 3/5/20“Chief Justice Roberts defends judicial independence after Trump attacks ‘Obama Judges,’” New York Times, 11/21/18BARR/WALTONJudge Reggie Walton’s opinion in EPIC v. Department of Justice (2020), District Court for the District of Columbia Harry Littman tweet on Walton’s opinion, 3/6/20“Judge calls Barr’s handling of Mueller report ‘distorted’ and ‘misleading,’” New York Times, 3/5/20“Meet the Chief Justice of America’s Secret Supreme Court,” Buzzfeed, 6/7/13BIDEN/BURISMA“Republicans lean into Biden probe as he surges in Democratic primary,” Politico, 3/4/2020“Dems push to ‘fight back hard’ against Trump’s Ukraine attack,” Politico, 3/5/2020ANNE LAUGHING CHALLENGE“New York Governor reveals state hand sanitizer amid price gouging,” New York 4, 3/9/20