Playing for a pardon

Rep. Matt Gaetz once bragged that he kind of liked being called a "tool" for Donald Trump. He repeatedly pledged his loyalty to the ex-president, even signing a letter nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize. Perhaps he had ulterior motives for his slavish devotion. In the final weeks of Trump's term, Gaetz privately sought blanket pre-emptive pardons for himself and unidentified associates for any crimes they may have committed.

• — At the time, Gaetz was publicly calling for broad pardons of members of Trump’s circle to thwart what he called the Democrats' "bloodlust." Unknown to the public, the Justice Department was already questioning Gaetz's associates about his conduct, including whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl.
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• — It is unclear whether Gaetz or the White House knew about the DOJ inquiry. Gaetz did not tell White House aides that he was under investigation for potential sex trafficking violations when he made the request.
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• — Trump was informed of the request, but Gaetz was not among the dozens of the ex-president's allies and others who ultimately received a pardon. White House lawyers and officials reportedly viewed the request for a pre-emptive pardon as a nonstarter that would set a bad precedent. —The New York Times

Atlanta fights back

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms signed an executive order yesterday, asking the city's chief equity officer to "mitigate" the effects of SB 202, Georgia's new restrictive voting law, recently signed by Gov. Brian Kemp. The announcement comes as multiple corporations have spoken out against the law, and Major League Baseball controversially moved the 2021 All-Star Game from Atlanta to Denver, Col., in response to the law. —Insider

MORE: Despite wave of voting reform bills fueled by fraud fears, Republicans in charge of Idaho and Washington elections say overhaul not needed —Idaho Press

Feldman: Gerrymandering may head back to SCOTUS

"The For the People Act's bold anti-gerrymandering initiative will face judicial hurdles if it is enacted. The Supreme Court will have the ultimate say. With more conservatives than liberals on the bench, the court could very well strike it down. That would leave us with the same partisan gerrymandering problem that plagues our democracy now more than ever." —Noah Feldman in The Frederick News-Post

Noah Feldman is a Bloomberg columnist and host of the podcast "Deep Background." He is a professor of law at Harvard University and was a clerk to Supreme Court Justice David Souter.

MORE: Gerrymandering threat index shows 35 states in danger of rigged maps for next decade —PR Newswire

Two sailors wounded in Maryland shooting

A U.S. Navy medic shot and injured two sailors at Riverside Tech Park in Frederick, Md., yesterday. The suspected gunman, 38-year-old Fantahun Girma Woldesenbet, was later shot and killed at the U.S. Army base Fort Detrick, where he drove after the shooting. The victims were air-lifted to a nearby hospital for treatment. One has since been released, and the other remains in critical condition. The FBI, ATF Baltimore, and Maryland State Police are investigating. The motive remains unclear. —CBS News

MORE: Alarmed by recent mass shootings, California lawmakers push to tax guns and ammo —Los Angeles Times

Friedman: Israel and the US have a lot in common

"In short, to thrive in the 21st century both America and Israel need to define anew what it means to be a pluralistic democracy—with big, idealistic aspirations—at a time when their populations have become so much more diverse. Right now, too many Americans and Israelis are walking around asking, quietly or loudly, 'Hey, whose country is this anyway?’ instead of, 'Hey, see what we can do when we're together?’ Both will remain stuck unless their focus is on the latter question." —Thomas Friedman in The New York Times

Thomas Friedman is a columnist for The New York Times. He has written extensively on foreign affairs, global trade, and environmental issues.

MORE: Netanyahu tapped to form new Israeli government —The Hill

Focus on the coronavirus pandemic

President Biden announced yesterday that the target to make COVID-19 vaccines available to every American over 16 has been moved up by nearly two weeks to April 19. Though the U.S. is vaccinating nearly five times faster than the global average, with 40% of adults having received at least one shot, it remains a race against time. More than 15,000 cases of the highly transmissible B.1.1.7 coronavirus variant, which also appears to be more deadly, have been reported in the U.S. —CNN

• — "We are seeing bright light at the end of the tunnel." Everything is looking sunny in California, at least as far as embattled Gov. Gavin Newsom is concerned. He announced yesterday that the state will open up its economy for "business as usual" on June 15. The state will lift its tiered system of risk and restriction, contingent on high vaccination and low hospitalization rates, while keeping its mask mandate and other "commonsense health measures" in place. —NPR
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• — "Texans are returning to normal life." Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said yesterday that the "safe and effective" COVID-19 vaccines are helping the Lone Star State get back to normal. But to drive home his point that the vaccines are "always voluntary and never forced," he signed an executive order banning government-mandated vaccine passports. "We will continue to vaccinate more Texans and protect public health—and we will do so without treading on Texans' personal freedoms," he said. —The Texas Tribune
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• — About those vaccines... There's more trouble for the Johnson & Johnson shot. Sixty-two million doses of the vaccine that have been made at the Emergent BioSolutions plant in Baltimore, Md., have to be checked to ensure they weren't contaminated. This is in addition to the 15 million doses from the problematic plant that were already destroyed. Worse, the government was aware as early as last June that the plant had a history of flouting rules and downplaying errors. —The New York Times

Caudill: Democracy needs two functioning parties

"This country needs a viable, functioning Republican Party that espouses a workable conservatism. Democracy needs it. American conservatism, whatever that is now, deserves better than what it gets from today's Republican Party." —David Caudill in Cincinnati Enquirer

David Caudill is a freelance writer, formerly of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

MORE: Robert Pape: What an analysis of 377 Americans arrested or charged in the Capitol insurrection tells us —The Washington Post

Generically targeting anyone with "mental illness" as being dangerous with a gun shows lack of understanding about the many different kinds of mental illnesses. Many mental illnesses make a person actually less likely to kill or hurt another person. Don't stereotype and stigmatize all people with mental illnesses. The majority of them still deserve the right to protect themselves. —Susan F., Utah

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