Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

I really should read my own blog.

The GOP couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

This really is a full service blog.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires

This fight is for everything.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

I’m sure you banged some questionable people yourself.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

Second rate reporter says what?

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

You are here: Home / Politics / Activist Judges! / Actions Have Consequences

Actions Have Consequences

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This cracked me up:

A federal judge blasted by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump Friday has taken note of the fact that Trump isn’t happy with the way the judge is handling lawsuits over alleged fraud by the Trump University real estate seminar program.

Just hours after Trump used a campaign speech at a San Diego convention center to unleash a remarkable verbal fusillade against U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel, the judge — who also happens to be based in the same southern California city — acknowledged a much more measured fashion of the criticism Trump has aimed at the court.

“Defendant became the front-runner for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential race, and has placed the integrity of these court proceedings at issue,” Curiel said in an order unsealing a series of internal Trump University documents that Trump’s lawyers asked be kept from the public.

The judge’s order didn’t make reference to Trump’s 12-minute tirade Friday afternoon in which the all-but-certain Republican nominee called Curiel a “hater” and again invoked his Latino heritage. However, the judge cited a series of news stories from earlier in the campaign, including an NBC story which noted Trump called Curiel “extremely unfair” and an Associated Press story titled, “Trump: Judge’s ethnicity matters in Trump University suit.”

“I have a judge who is a hater of Donald Trump, a hater. He’s a hater. His name is Gonzalo Curiel … I think Judge Curiel should be ashamed of himself,” Mr. Trump said at Friday’s rally, echoing many of the same points he made in speeches a few months ago. “I’m telling you, this court system, judges in this court system, federal court, they ought to look into Judge Curiel. Because what Judge Curiel is doing is a total disgrace, OK?”

Curiel said in his order Friday that Trump’s presidential campaign and his criticism of the court were reasons to overrule his objections to the release of so-called “Playbooks” describing Trump University’s operations. The judge also noted that one version was published by POLITICO in March. “The entire 2010 Playbook has been posted online by Politico,” Curiel wrote.

His lawyers have to be screaming.

Reader Interactions

153Comments

  3. 3.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    Or, perhaps his lawyers are rubbing their hands in glee, thinking of all the overtime for extra motions and appeals and so forth, perhaps?

    Working for Trump, they had to know who and what they were in for…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  5. 5.

    Schlemazel Khan

    I’d like to hear from some of the lawyers around the place, how does this BS impact the trial? Should the judge recluse himself to avoid the appearance of prejudice? Could the Drumpfster fire use this in an appeal?

  7. 7.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @Schlemazel Khan: IANAL, but it seems to me that he can’t recuse himself simply based on Trump’s public statements. If there is something there there, then his lawyers can put it in a motion – if they dare.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  9. 9.

    smith

    @Schlemazel Khan: If it were a requirement for a judge to recuse himself every time a defendant mouthed off about him, there would never be any trials. They’d all use this one weird trick to put it off forever.

  10. 10.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @burnspbesq: Wouldn’t they demand to be on retainer before accepting a job with him?

    (But, yeah, I guess one has to worry about being paid on time even there.)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  11. 11.

    Emma

    @Schlemazel Khan: Not a lawyer, but recusing himself would set a precedent of people being able to get judges dismissed from cases based on ethnicity. Not a desirable outcome.

  13. 13.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Schlemazel Khan:

    Should the judge recluse himself to avoid the appearance of prejudice?

    Oh hell no. Otherwise, anyone could get a judge off a case simply by trashing him in public. Same reason the Bundy attempts to sue their judge won’t work.

    But as efgoldman noted supra, you don’t fuck with a federal judge. They have massive egos and a lot of power to go with that. Expect every borderline issue to break against Trump in the rest of this case. And the judges are the court of appeals came mostly from the ranks of trial judges, so they will have the same attitude toward Trump for his behavior.

  14. 14.

    Davis X. Machina

    @shomi:

    I say 1 year because he would likely be impeach by that time…

    I’m not sure we can get the contradictions sufficiently heightened on such a tight schedule.

  16. 16.

    kindness

    Trump the Carnival Barker. And a sizeable number of people are going to vote for a Carnival Barker.

    Maybe democracy isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I mean, the parallels to 30’s Germany are becoming to easy to spot. Crazy.

  17. 17.

    PaulWartenberg2016

    @Schlemazel Khan:

    If a judge has to recuse him/herself every time a defendant complained about “unfair” treatment, we’d have no trials or judges.

    Trump and his lawyers would have to prove such “unfairness” in appeal anyway, using qualitative and quantitative proof. For example, they’d have to show this judge once ruled on a similar proceeding in one way but then ruled the opposite on Trump, or show that the judge allowed evidence that in previous trials he never granted.

    This is basically Trump setting himself up to be the victim of someone else’s “hatred” of him all because he’s Trump – loved by women, feared by men, ruler of all kingdoms – rather than the factual evidence of Trump’s ongoing con artist scams.

  19. 19.

    sdhays

    The trial was initially going to start this month, wasn’t it? I remember reading a few months ago that it was really going to hit the fan right around the time it would become impossible for the Republican Party to make him go away (that turned out to be earlier than previously expected, but at the time it was forecast to be right about now).

  20. 20.

    JPL

    I’m listening to CSPAN’s coverage of the Libertarian party. I think they are all stoned.

  21. 21.

    Kropadope

    @Schlemazel Khan:

    Should the judge recluse himself to avoid the appearance of prejudice?

    Before long, defendants would be able to simply select the judge they want. The defendant calling the judge a “hater” is no evidence of bias.

  22. 22.

    Mike J

    @Emma:

    Do not, ever, piss off the judge.

    Even if the judge really did have it in for you. Especially if the judge really has it in for you. (Not that it was the case with Trump’s judge, at least before this.)

  26. 26.

    Miss Bianca

    @efgoldman: “I’ll bet said lawyers threw up in their mouths when Trump and the opossum on his head, opened his.
    As the Bundys are finding out in another federal court, you don’t fuck with a federal judge.”

    Oh, from your mouth to God’s ear, efg!

  27. 27.

    Miss Bianca

    @JPL: Really?? :) That tickles me to no end, for some reason, because the one Libertarian I know really well is relatively straight-edge – he’ll drink some, but doesn’t smoke at all, at all…never has.

  30. 30.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @efgoldman:

    Woke up this morning, started to sneeze
    I had a cigarette and a cup of tea
    I looked in the mirror what did I see
    A nine stone weakling with knobbly knees
    I did my knees bend press ups touch my toes
    I had another sneeze and I blew my nose
    I looked in the mirror at my pigeon chest
    I had to put on my clothes because it made me depressed
    Surely there must be a way
    For me to change the shape I’m in
    Dissatisfied is what I am
    I want to be a better man

    Supra-man Supra-man wish I could fly like Supra-man
    Supra-man Supra-man I want to be likeSupra-man
    I want to be like Supra-man
    Supra-man Supra-man wish I could fly like Supra-man

  33. 33.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @efgoldman: See Burn[s]’s link at #26. It has Trump’s deposition from December 10, 2015.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  36. 36.

    Miss Bianca

    @JPL: Eh? I don’t trust ’em either, necessarily – but do they have something to do with Libertarians? I thought they were an international company…

  39. 39.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet: They’re going to have unimpeachable reasons for removal of a judge, and the whining of a 69 year old man-child who embarrasses toddlers with his outbursts is not going to meet that standard.

  40. 40.

    NotMax

    @JPL

    Always used to find* entertaining the interviews on C-SPAN with candidates from the Natural Law party. Eccentric rather than crazy, yet resolutely rational.

    *Before the ragga-fragga cable company moved it to the next higher cost tier.

  41. 41.

    Baud

    @JPL:

    Someone wants to fund the military with bake sales

    That used to be a liberal bumper sticker.

  42. 42.

    Keith P.

    @Baud: Mark my words, when Trump goes down in the polls, he’ll leak his own returns in order to make a big stink over the IRS leaking his returns on Obama’s orders.

  45. 45.

    JPL

    @Baud: You could try that. This is the first time that I watched a Libertarian debate. I can’t decide whether or not I find it interesting or horrifying.

  50. 50.

    SiubhanDuinne

    His lawyers have to be screaming.

    Why? Won’t they get paid regardless?

  51. 51.

    NotMax

    @JPL

    One of the Koch brothers was on the Libertarian ticket as candidate for veep.

    All you need to know about the Libertarians. ’nuff said.

  52. 52.

    smintheus

    Amusingly, Trump likes to remind people that he’s a “counterpuncher”. Personally, I doubt that Trump has ever taken a punch in his life, and have to wonder whether he even knows what counterpunching is about.

  57. 57.

    A Ghost To Most

    All the libertarians I’ve known have been all about obsessive greed and selfishness, not about choice of celebrant.

  58. 58.

    Baud

    @JPL: Pretty straightforward questions. Better than the questions asked during the Dem debates.

  60. 60.

    NotMax

    @efgoldman

    Already tried when it happened some years ago, to no avail.

    Turns out general access is a preferred suggestion, not a requirement or regulation.

  62. 62.

    Adam L Silverman

    @smintheus: I would pay good money to see Secretary Clinton, at the first debate, turn to him in mid tirade and say: “Shut the fuck up Donny!” And when he started telling her to stop or he’d do something about it that she’d reply: “what are you gonna do tough guy, come on, show everybody just how tough you are.”

    If Jeb had done that when Trump badmouthed his mom during that debate, things might be different now.

  66. 66.

    NotMax

    @NotMax

    Would add that when first moved here it took more than 5 years of incessant nagging to get them to carry C-SPAN at all, on any tier. And that was back when there was only one C-SPAN channel.

  69. 69.

    Miss Bianca

    @Adam L Silverman: You’re killing me over here.

    @Baud: I wouldn’t doubt it. If you took Libertarian principles seriously, and called yourself a Jeffersonian Democrat, you might be able to remake your whole campaign for Baud! 2020!

  71. 71.

    ThresherK

    @JPL: Well, I guess if “a Libertarian is a Republican who wants* to smoke pot…”

    It’s a well know fact that there’s one more way to finish that axiom. Were they trying to get laid?

  73. 73.

    WarMunchkin

    Not that I want to be seen as defending Trump, but doesn’t this come off like a judge is allowed to do whatever s/he wants if the judge doesn’t like a participant in a trial? I guess to some extent that’s always the case, but what accountability is there if a judge did this, to, say, a civil rights group that criticized the handling?

  75. 75.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Miss Bianca: I thought Jeb should have walked over and gotten into his face over those remarks. The “aw man!” and the role of the eyes and the shoulder shrug certainly didn’t do him any good.

  77. 77.

    Baud

    @JPL: That wasn’t McAfee. It was the guy next to Feldman. He said the government can have unisex bathrooms but private property owners can discriminate against transgender folks because PROPERTY RIGHTS!!!

    ETA; It was Austin Peterson.

  78. 78.

    Miss Bianca

    @Adam L Silverman: OMG. This shit is comedy *gold*! You can’t make me believe that media outlets couldn’t be making a killing marketing the truth of what’s really going on in the world!

  79. 79.

    smith

    @JPL:

    What is McAfee talking about.. He is definitely on something.

    Whatever happened to that murder charge he was dodging?

  80. 80.

    smintheus

    @WarMunchkin: A civil rights group, being sued for fraud and racketeering, that asked the judge to keep its policy papers secret? A group that went on to hold the judge up to public contempt and portrayed the court proceedings as a travesty of justice?

    I’m having trouble figuring out which civil rights group you might have in mind.

  81. 81.

    SFAW

    @WarMunchkin:

    a civil rights group that criticized the handling?

    I think there might be a difference between criticizing a judge’s handling and vile personal attacks.

    I’m actually a little amazed that Trump was so restrained. I would have thought he would call the Hon. Judge Curiel a mojado. [Had he done that, his lawyers might have been tempted to kill themselves.]

  82. 82.

    Miss Bianca

    @Adam L Silverman: See, that would *have* to be my model as a politician. I’ve decided that if I ever want to fall on my sword and run as an honest-to-God Democrat in my county, knowing that I will get creamed, the only way to get thru’ it is to treat it as complete performance art. I’d have nothing – absolutely nothing – to lose by speaking truth to power.

    Of course, I might *have* to start packing a side-arm, at that point…

  83. 83.

    JPL

    This is the reason I’m cheering for Feldman.. This is his response on whether or not abortion should be illegal “I don’t mix dairy products and meat products, but I don’t think cheeseburgers should be illegal.”

  85. 85.

    Baud

    “People are smart enough to know not to give heroin to a child except under the direct supervision of a doctor.”

  88. 88.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @NotMax: Rational? I don’t think so. At least I never understood the consistency of their “rational system”.

    NLP Defense Platform:

    To further strengthen our security, the Natural Law Party offers a peace-promoting technology that will help neutralize international tensions and conflict and promote stability and harmony within the family of nations. Through this peace-promoting technology, which is based upon groups of experts collectively practicing the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program, the Natural Law Party can help to ensure a peaceful world. Only through the addition of this technology to reduce global stress and to generate an actual, physical influence of peace among the family of nations can a political party responsibly cut defense spending and divert the precious resources of the nation toward more life-supporting and humane programs at home and abroad.

    Their policies were a mixture of Reaganism (with some nicer words hiding it) with some libertarian stuff (drugs) with a bunch of weird meditation mumbo-jumbo on top. Nobody was buying it – they folded in 2004.

    There’s no “natural law” about it.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  90. 90.

    Baud

    Gary Johnson just lost the crowd by saying he would have supported the 64 civil rights act.

  92. 92.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Miss Bianca: Its all performance art. Trump gets this instinctively and that’s why he’s where he is and the others are all at home.

  93. 93.

    Gin & Tonic

    @JPL: Can’t link now, but look up the Wired article about Mcafee from 3-4 years ago. He is not just crazy, he may be a murderer.

  95. 95.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @Adam L Silverman: You had me very confused there.

    “What!!? Jim Webb is trying to run as a Libertarian now?!?!!”

    You mean William Weld, I think. ;-)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  96. 96.

    Anya

    @lamh36: I think she’s afraid he will punish her daughter. This is the same sick guy who reneged on a promise to pay the medical bills of his nephew’s sick infant when his brother’s children sued their grandfather’s estate for being left out of the will.

  98. 98.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Miss Bianca: It was predictable. Neither Johnson nor Weld are really Libertarians. Weld is an old style Massachusetts Republican and Johnson is just an inconsistent on the ideological issues Southwestern Republican. They make little sense for the Libertarian Party – not that it makes much sense itself, but Johnson thinks he should be president so…

  99. 99.

    Really?

    @Adam L Silverman: Or some cliche thought experiment like “Can you imagine/synergise(season eight Simpsons) Hillary VS. Melania who might just have that shred of humanity?”

  102. 102.

    JPL

    Johnson just got booed because he believes that folks should have a license to drive. Now McAfee is giving his final speech.

  104. 104.

    JPL

    I don’t know who this Perry guy is, but he likes tomatoes .. We all need to be as free as tomatoes.

  107. 107.

    Really?

    … Or that pic of Sophie Turner -> “Matriachry” I subscribe to G Carlin -> “He – and if there is a God, I am convinced He is a He, because no woman could or would ever fuck things up this badly.”

  108. 108.

    Miss Bianca

    @Adam L Silverman: Ah. But knowing that, sometimes one can use art to speak truth when it’s needed. You do have to be a performer, tho’. President Obama, for example, I call a consummately skilled performer, who is informed by real intellect, real understanding – and real heart. He raises the art of political performance – performing leadership – to a height that only be dreamed of – not even dreamed of – by someone like Trump.

    Which is why I love your little Clinton-Trump scenario. The day that Clinton seizes that audacious energy and runs with it – she could smear Trump’s pretensions under her heel, and that laugh of hers while she did it would be infectious.

  109. 109.

    JPL

    @Baud: I am never going to the Cleveland Clinic though. Although I think he is the winner tonight, I certainly don’t want him injecting me .

  111. 111.

    Really?

    @Adam L Silverman: You missed the meta which is nothing after season 10. Though purists would insist that it’s not after season eight. Whether or not someone is committed enough to strap some plastique to their chest remains to be seen.

  112. 112.

    ? Martin

    @I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:

    Their policies were a mixture of Reaganism (with some nicer words hiding it) with some libertarian stuff (drugs) with a bunch of weird meditation mumbo-jumbo on top. Nobody was buying it – they folded in 2004.

    They were the Transcendental Meditation party. Through meditation we could reduce global stress, reduce crime, war, unemployment, and so on. Tough sell in a country that believes God sent Donald Trump to protect civilization from the harpies.

  113. 113.

    JPL

    Gotta say that I’m still confused about McAfee’s statement. Are they building top down or not?

    I’m glad that I watched though..
    The questions were good
    The candidates were a tad odd though

  114. 114.

    Baud

    @JPL: Agree. That was confusing. The libertarians will have a difficult decision to make tomorrow.

  116. 116.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Miss Bianca: We will have to see if she will rise to the occasion. She did very well with Congressman Gowdy’s Special Benghazi Committee, so I expect we’re in for some surprises from her that people aren’t expecting.

  117. 117.

    Schlemazel Khan

    Thanks for the answers about the case. I figured the judge would stay but was not sure because I thought Drumpf’s lawyers would claim prejudice when they lose.

    I have a good friend who wanted to be a libertarian but hung with the Republicans because be swallowed the BS about ‘smaller government” It took me about 5 years of pointing out what they really believed and then the insanity of Boy Blunder’s maladministration for him to flip. He has not voted for a Republican since 2002 and I see it as a proud accomplishment.

  121. 121.

    Hal

    “I’m telling you,

    I’m not going. You’re the best man I’ll ever know, there’s no way I could, ever go…

  122. 122.

    Miss Bianca

    @Adam L Silverman: What’s deeply, hilariously disturbing to me is that a lot of Republicans are probably wishing like hell that they *had* the Johnson-Weld ticket!

  126. 126.

    JPL

    @Captain C: Tomorrow I assume the same audience selects their candidate. As long as that candidate takes away from Trump, I could care less who it is. The one thing I realized after listening, is that I’m not a libertarian.

  127. 127.

    Really?

    @Miss Bianca: Your namesake left quite an impression on me as a lad. (John Candy as an albatross!” COWABUNGA)

    It’s part of what fascinates me with these MRA swine and their terrible fear of “stronk women!’

  128. 128.

    Miss Bianca

    @Adam L Silverman: and yet, I got called out on this very forum just the other day for advancing an opinion very similar! Accused of being “Rumsfeldian!” Oh, my heart, my heart!

  131. 131.

    Bill_D

    @Villago Delenda Est: If elected, Trump will have him arrested and imprisoned. Without trial. Everyone who refuses to engage in this unconstitutional act will be fired until Trump finds lackeys who will do it. Just like Nixon did in the “Saturday Night Massacre”.

    If Trump gets in, it’s a whole new ball game. You can’t assume any rights you’ve previously taken for granted will still be there.

  134. 134.

    MazeDancer

    @shomi:

    I say 1 year because he would likely be impeach by that time.

    Have wondered if this was the GOP strategy. Trump says he’s not really interested in the “real” job as President. That the VP will do all that governing stuff. And McConnell has said they’ll keep Trump in check.

    So, maybe their strategy, if Trump is elected, is impeach him. And let the VP do the real job.

    Trump may want to go with a lightweight for VP nom. Job security.

  135. 135.

    Miss Bianca

    @Really?: Ah, you speak of Miss Bianca in the movies! Do you know, I have never seen Disney’s Rescuers? Seems almost monstrous! …but my nym was inspired by the book. : )

  139. 139.

    Captain C

    @JPL: They often sounded a combination of sophomoric with retrofitting means and facts to meet their ideology. Also very enthusiastic in the 18th century sense.

  140. 140.

    burnspbesq

    @WarMunchkin:

    Trump has tried to spin it that way, and will likely continue to do so, but the WaPo had a lot of law on its side in asking for the docs to be unsealed.

    If you want to see this as payback for Trump’s attacks on Bezos, I probably won’t discourage you very much.

  147. 147.

    Barry

    @shomi: ” I say 1 year because he would likely be impeach by that time.”

    Counterexample: George W. Bush.

  148. 148.

    Ken

    @mak:

    Google “Trump discount.”

    And “Trump deadbeat.” Google it often, so it moves up in the autocomplete suggestions. Click on the links with the most damaging information, so they move up in the list.

  150. 150.

    Burgermeister

    @smith: If it were a requirement for a judge to recuse himself every time a defendant mouthed off about him, there would never be any trials. They’d all use this one weird trick to put it off forever.

    Exactly. Stupid defendants try crap like this all the time. Just look at the moron in the Bundy Ranch fiasco who, after he was indicted, arrested, and stuck in jail without bail by a Judge who has made it clear she’s not going to be taking any shit, decided that the smart play would be to file a civil suit against her and then demand she recuse herself because she’s a a party to “ongoing litigation” with the defendant.

    The failure there wasn’t nearly as spectacular or self defeating, but but it was a giant failure nonetheless

  151. 151.

    Davebo

    Dated a federal judge for a couple of years.

    The difference between God and a judge?

    God doesn’t think she’s a judge!

  152. 152.

    Barbara

    @WarMunchkin: The presumption against sealing materials in federal litigation is nearly overwhelming. In order to overcome it, the materials have to be of the kind that would cause irrevocable harm and that the party would never have willingly released to the public. As the judge said, the material that was at issue was made available by Politico on its website. Has Trump sued Politico to take it down because it obtained the material illegally? Strategy documents might count if they were current or contained a lot of proprietary data. Even then, you typically black out the parts that contain pricing information or trade secrets. This isn’t a federal judge winging it. This is a federal judge applying the standards of the jurisdiction (Ninth Circuit) that has a lot of case law on the subject. “Donald Duck” can’t avoid every negative outcome by ducking the issues and resorting to name calling.

  153. 153.

    TriassicSands

    Because Trump is the greatest human being ever to have walked the Earth, everyone is jealous of him. That means that they also want to bring him down, try to ruin his greatness, and reduce him to being an ordinary human being.

    Obviously, no Hispanic judge should ever be allowed to rule in a case involving Trump. Ditto for any judges who aren’t older, white males. Likewise, no male judge with a wife who isn’t “hot” should be permitted to oversee a Trump case. In fact, every potential judge should be given a polygraph test before being allowed to preside. In some cases, the polygraph may be inadequate and waterboarding and other enhanced questioning techniques will have to be used to ensure fairness for Mr. Trump.

    In the end, it may be necessary to allow Trump to choose his own judge, as that would be the only way to satisfy DT that he is being fairly. Better yet, simply allowing Trump to do whatever he wants to do, whenever he wants to do it, to whomever he chooses without the threat of punitive action is probably the best way to treat the world’s biggest baby.

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