Almost two years ago, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown questioned President Trump’s elimination of the global health security office, part of the National Security Council.

Last week, we fact-checked Sen. Sherrod Brown’s criticism of President Donald Trump and found that the Ohio Democrat didn’t have the goods.

This week, he does.

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During a press conference Friday afternoon about the federal government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, Trump was asked what responsibility he took for disbanding the White House office almost two years ago that had been set up to manage America’s response to pandemics.

Trump called it a "nasty question," claimed "I didn’t do it" and twice maintained "I don't know anything about it."

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Brown quickly took to Twitter: "Not true, @realDonaldTrump. I wrote to you more than 600 days ago demanding answers after you fired the entire White House pandemic team."

And the senator provided proof: a two-page letter to the president dated May 18, 2018.

In the missive, Brown questioned Trump’s elimination of the global health security office, part of the National Security Council.

The 22-month-old critique by Brown, a doctor’s son, sounds eerily prescient today:

"The administration’s proposed budget cuts threaten our ability to respond to a public health emergency. … In our globalized world, where diseases are never more than a plane ride away, we must do all we can to prepare for the next, inevitable outbreak and keep Americans safe from disease.

"I urge you to act swiftly in reaffirming your commitment to global health security by taking immediate action to designate senior-level NSC personnel to focus on global health security, supporting adequate and appropriate funding for global health security initiatives, and leading the way in preparing for the next pandemic threat."

On the Senate floor last week, Brown said, "We unilaterally disarmed against the world’s infectious diseases."

When reporters asked Trump about shortcomings in testing and other areas cited by members of his own administration, he replied, "I don't take responsibility at all."

Pressed on elimination of the office to handle pandemics, he finally said, per the official White House transcript: "It’s the – it’s the administration. Perhaps they do that. You know, people let people go. You used to be with a different newspaper than you are now. You know, things like that happen."

Coronavirus courts

Justice cannot come to a grinding halt amid the coronavirus outbreak, says Ohio Supreme Court Justice Maureen O'Connor. But she concedes that precautions must be taken, Dispatch Reporter Randy Ludlow notes.

"Closing courthouses and disrupting services is not a plan," O'Connor said Saturday in guidance to the state's judges while announcing that the high court will continue to hear its schedule of appeals.

To check the spread of the virus, the chief said, judges could grant continuances in trials to avoid empaneling jurors and should consider reducing bond amounts, when appropriate, to help avoid packing jails with more defendants.

Franklin County's common pleas and municipal courts last week moved to delay most civil and criminal trials for a month.

The court's timing on another front was impeccable, Ludlow observed. Late last year, it produced a 154-page guidebook that was distributed to judges in January. The title: "Judicial Guide to Public Health."

drowland@dispatch.com

@darreldrowland