RantCrush Top 5: August 17, 2017

Yesterday, President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer John Dowd forwarded an email with secessionist propaganda to conservative journalists and government officials. The email had the headline “The Information that Validates President Trump on Charlottesville,” and said that there is no difference between George Washington and Robert E. Lee, the Confederate general. It also claimed that Black Lives Matter has been infiltrated by terrorists and is responsible for the deaths of police officers during protests last year. One of the recipients of the forwarded email sent it to the New York Times. But when asked about it over the telephone, Dowd said, “You’re sticking your nose in my personal email? People send me things. I forward them,” before hanging up.

The author of the email is Jerome Almon, a man who runs several websites claiming that the FBI is infiltrated by Islamic terrorists and other government conspiracy theories. Almon, who is black, said in the email that the protesters should “go back to the ghettos.” He hoped the email would get into Trump’s hands, but it’s unclear whether it reached the president. But the fact that his lawyer forwarded it around is problematic enough.

“People send me things, I forward them,” said Trump’s lawyer John Dowd. OK John.

I had a racist friend who used to send stuff like this. pic.twitter.com/r9KymSD6qA

— Elliott Lusztig (@ezlusztig) August 17, 2017

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.