Remember, last November, when Trump made an unscheduled visit to Walter Reed hospital in Maryland to supposedly take advantage of a “free weekend” to have part of his physical performed, even though it had been less than a year since his last one, he was free the weekend before and the one after, the visit didn’t follow protocols for a routine presidential medical exam, he never went back for the rest of the exam, and no report was released after the visit, as has been traditionally been the case? At the time, the White House claimed the trip was much ado about nothing, and that the hack liberal media was back on its usual FAKE NEWS bullshit. Eventually, the story died down, and attentions turned to the president’s penchant for witness tampering, his fake war on Thanksgiving, and his decision to go full anti-Semite in a room full of Jewish people.

This week, though, the mysterious visit popped up in the news again, with the release of New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt’s new book, which reads in part:

“In reporting for this book, I learned that in the hours leading up to Trump’s trip to the hospital, word went out in the West Wing for the vice president to be on standby to take over the powers of the presidency temporarily if Trump had to undergo a procedure that would have required him to be anesthetized.”

Later, a single political analyst raised the question of whether or not the president had had a stroke, causing Trump to fly off the handle and insist he 100% definitely did not:

Shortly thereafter, the White House released a statement from the president’s doctor, Sean Conley, backing up the denial. “I can confirm that President Trump has not experienced nor been evaluated for a cerebrovascular accident (stroke), transient ischemic attack (mini stroke), or any acute cardiovascular emergencies, as have been incorrectly reported in the media,” Conley wrote, adding that “the President remains healthy and I have no concerns about his ability to maintain the rigorous schedule ahead of him.” Of course, doctors have vouched for Trump in the past, and their claims have ranged from categorically absurd to actually written by the patient himself. (In 2018, Ronny Jackson told the press corps the president had a shot at living to be 200 years old. In 2015, the Trump campaign released a letter from the candidate’s then doctor, Harold Bornstein, stating that he would be “the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency,” which Bornstein later admitted had been dictated by Trump.) White House aides also allegedly blamed CNN analyst Joe Lockhart for supposedly reporting that Trump had had a ministroke—which Lockhart didn’t!—and, just for good measure, Lockhart says Jackson attacked him on Twitter.

All of which feels a lot like a case of an administration doth protesting too much! But while Trump certainly exhibits some the symptoms of having had a stroke—he frequently slurs his words, gets easily confused, and struggles to control his limbs—at this time, there is no credible evidence to indicate that he has. And who knows, he probably didn’t! (Likely he just has a degenerative brain disease.) Unfortunately, it’s very hard to believe the president or his staff’s denials because they constantly lie about everything all the time. Crowd size. A deadly pandemic. How much Black people love him. Things he’s said on-camera in rooms full of people. Windmills. Toilets. Hillary Clinton’s health. Commercial flights full of looters. And thousands—literally thousands—of other things. So they’ll have to forgive people for not giving them the benefit of the doubt on this one.

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Don’t worry, the Trump administration hasn’t forgotten about destroying the planet

Record unemployment, a once-in-a-generation pandemic, and various other crises haven’t stopped these people from doing their part to bury the earth in a shallow grave:

The Trump administration on Monday weakened a 2015 regulation that would have forced coal plants to treat wastewater with more modern, effective methods in order to curb toxic metals such as arsenic and mercury from contaminating lakes, rivers and streams near their facilities…. Environmental groups swiftly condemned the changes, calling them a gift to the power industry and a shortsighted decision focused only on potential costs to companies, rather than on the benefits to wildlife and to people living near coal plants. They argued that the Obama administration’s rule was based on years of peer-reviewed studies, input from health experts and a mountain of public comments—and that stricter oversight is needed, given the amount of pollution generated by the plants.

“Giving coal companies a free pass to dump more toxic heavy metals like mercury and arsenic into our waters is a travesty,” Brett Hartl, government affairs director for the Center for Biological Diversity, told the Washington Post. “This shameless handout will allow greater amounts of these dangerous pollutants to be spewed directly into our waterways, threatening public health and pushing hundreds of aquatic endangered species, including salmon, sturgeon, and hellbender salamanders, closer to extinction.” Luckily, coal industry executives were thrilled by the move, which of course was the whole point. “This new rule replaces a prime example of regulatory overreach that was specifically designed to stack the deck against the coal industry when compared with other fuels,” said Rich Nolan, president and CEO of the National Mining Association. He refrained from calling the coal industry an innocent victim but odds are he was thinking it.

Court rules we’ll have to wait slightly longer to know whether or not the president is a tax cheat

The paper of record has already essentially reported as much, but it’d be nice to get a definitive answer sometime before November 2020:

A federal appeals court in New York on Tuesday temporarily halted a lower court ruling that would have sped up the disclosure of President Trump’s tax returns to prosecutors in Manhattan. The unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel of the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals allows Trump to continue shielding eight years of corporate and personal tax returns while he appeals the lower court decision. The 2nd Circuit on Tuesday also scheduled a September 25 hearing over Trump’s claim that the New York grand jury subpoena seeking his tax returns is overbroad and was issued in bad faith. A federal trial judge dismissed those assertions in a lengthy opinion last month.

In July, the Supreme Court rejected Trump’s lawyer’s claims that a sitting president can’t be investigated for any crimes he may or may not have committed, i.e. the 5th Avenue Defense.

Well, this will make for an awkward family reunion

Elsewhere!

JPMorgan Says Investors Should Prepare for Rising Odds of Trump Win (Bloomberg)

Iowa State plans to allow 25,000 fans into football opener even as state’s cases spike (Washington Post)

U.S. says it won’t join WHO-linked effort to develop, distribute coronavirus vaccine (Washington Post)

Elon Musk Unveils Brain Computer Implanted in Pigs (Bloomberg)

Trump’s Reelection Campaign Is Corrupting the Entire Federal Government (NYM)

Amazon Drivers Are Hanging Smartphones in Trees to Get More Work (Bloomberg)

The Nine Types of Voters Who Will Decide 2020 (Bloomberg)

Twitter account of late Herman Cain deletes post downplaying COVID-19 (NYP)

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