Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

Disappointing to see gov. newsom with his finger to the wind.

Every decision we make has lots of baggage with it, known or unknown.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

Today in our ongoing national embarrassment…

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

Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.

Fundamental belief of white supremacy: white people are presumed innocent, minorities are presumed guilty.

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

Republicans do not trust women.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

Innocent people do not delay justice.

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

Trump’s cabinet: like a magic 8 ball that only gives wrong answers.

There are no moderate republicans – only extremists and cowards.

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

If you cannot answer whether trump lost the 2020 election, you are unfit for office.

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

The revolution will be supervised.

I swear, each month of 2025 will have its own history degree.

We will not go quietly into the night; we will not vanish without a fight.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2020 / A Little Justice Served

A Little Justice Served

by | 75 Comments

This post is in: 

Justice is the main course, but schadenfreude is the dessert:

A federal judge sent a strong message to each of the so-called “Kraken” lawyers behind litigation to upend the 2020 election, ordering that they be referred for a professional conduct investigation and “possible suspension or disbarment.” The attorneys include pro-Trump lawyers Lin Wood and Sidney Powell.

Full of indignation and spanning 110 pages, U.S. District Judge Linda Parker‘s ruling reads like a treatise on the judiciary’s role in protecting the democratic process.

“This lawsuit represents a historic and profound abuse of the judicial process,” Judge Parker wrote in her opinion and order. “It is one thing to take on the charge of vindicating rights associated with an allegedly fraudulent election. It is another to take on the charge of deceiving a federal court and the American people into believing that rights were infringed, without regard to whether any laws or rights were in fact violated. This is what happened here.”

Fines, referrals for punitive action, and legal education were ordered. It’s rare, but sometimes people get a taste of what they deserve.

Reader Interactions

75Comments

  2. 2.

    RepubAnon

    I look forward to seeing them pushing shopping carts full of bottles and cans to the recycling center for rent money.

  4. 4.

    NorthLeft12

    I will be interested to see if this sticks. I suspect that the appeal judge is going to be much more lenient.

  7. 7.

    trollhattan

    Cripes, two new fires in the Sierra Nevada foothills, one in Nevada County and the other in Calaveras, it being the larger.

  9. 9.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    also… six years on a guilty plea

    GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — A man upset over state-ordered coronavirus restrictions was sentenced to just over six years in prison Wednesday for planning to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a significant break that reflected his quick decision to cooperate and help agents build cases against others.
    Ty Garbin admitted his role in the alleged scheme weeks after his arrest last fall. He is among six men charged in federal court but the only one to plead guilty so far. It was a key victory for prosecutors as they try to prove an astonishing plot against the rest. …
    In his plea agreement, Garbin said the six men trained at his property near Luther, Michigan, constructing a “shoot house” to resemble Whitmer’s vacation home and “assaulting it with firearms.”

    a “shoot house”

  10. 10.

    Haroldo

    A delightful bit fromLGM

    Sidney Powell mopped some of hair dye running down onto Rudy’s jowls and offered some sarcastic consolation.

    “You didn’t release the Kraken, Rudy,” she said, “but you do seem to sweating out an awful lot of Scotch.”

    Giuliani grunted, too out of breath to form a reply. He’d tried everything – mental images of sitting behind the desk in the oval office, that one cousin with the nice ass and the fetching lisp, that Borat broad who’d made him waste a blue pill. But he just hadn’t been able to rise to the occasion.

    Powell slipped out of bed and put on a leopard print robe. Giuliani eyed her hungrily, and then moaned at his own impotence.

    Powell cast a scornful look at the rumpled bag of failure staining her bed sheets.

    “I guess,” said Powell as she strolled out of the room, “if I want to get properly fucked it’ll have to be by a judge in Michigan.”

  11. 11.

    The Dangerman

    Had two interactions with a looney tooner today. I don’t think I could have made it any more clear that I had no interest in discussing his topics (and he was angry and looney enough that I wondered if a 3rd interaction would have been with him having a firearm or similar). I just left.

    Topic 1 was about how the vaccines are causing cancer. Hadn’t heard that one before so give him points for originality.

    On the rebound, Topic 2 was Afghanistan and how Biden was gonna get us all killed or something.

    This guy was gone baby gone. Way over the edge. I have no idea how he gets deprogrammed.

  14. 14.

    bbleh

    @RepubAnon: Lol no.  This will be a “badge of honor” from an “Obama judge” — something something affirmative action quotas something — and a meal ticket for paid speechifying, right-wing media appearances, and very possibly wingnut-welfare sinecures.

    These people pay no attention to facts or logic.  A judicial opinion that almost nobody will ever read … meh.

    Disbarment would be just.  But I have much less faith in bar associations than in the federal judiciary. They are less likely to hold their own to account even than medical boards.

  15. 15.

    The Dangerman

    @Omnes Omnibus: I was in a store. I really have no idea why he chose me as someone that would listen to him. I didn’t say a word to him other than telling him to have a nice day (I think that was after 2, but it could have been 1).

  16. 16.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @The Dangerman: FWIW I have a tendency to attract talkative loonies as well.  Usually when my brother is there to witness and laugh.  Mine have been mostly harmless.

  17. 17.

    The Dangerman

    @Omnes Omnibus: This  guy might have been harmless in that it was all for show, but his anger (at Pfizer and Biden) was concerning enough that I walked. I’d rather switch then fight.

  18. 18.

    Kelly

    @trollhattan: Yikes! Sympathy and condolences from this Oregonian.

    Smoke in the Cascade foothills east of Salem has been dreary but kept us inside for only a couple days. The Bull Complex fire is growing by a few hundred acres a day not far from where the Beachie fire started last summer. After last summer’s 2 week evacuation we’re gonna be kind anxious about it until the fall rains come.

  22. 22.

    WaterGirl

    @H.E.Wolf:

    This lawsuit represents a historic and profound abuse of the judicial process. It is one thing to take on the charge of vindicating rights associated with an allegedly fraudulent election. It is another to take on the charge of deceiving a federal court and the American people into believing that rights were infringed, without regard to whether any laws or rights were in fact violated. This is what happened here.

    That’s one hell of an opening paragraph.

  23. 23.

    H.E.Wolf

    In addition to ordering the lawyers who brought the Kraken suit to pay all costs, Her Honor ordered that they take continuing legal education in basic law, and that they be referred to state bar associations for possible disbarment.

    Accordingly, […] IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiffs’ attorneys shall jointly and severally pay the fees and costs incurred by the State Defendants and the City of Detroit to defend this action. […]

    IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiffs’ attorneys shall each complete at least twelve (12) hours of continuing legal education in the subjects of pleading standards (at least six hours total) and election law (at least six hours total) within six months of this decision. Any courses must be offered by a non–partisan organization and must be paid for at counsel’s expense. Within six months of this decision, each attorney representing Plaintiffs shall file an affidavit in this case describing the content and length of the courses attended to satisfy this requirement.

    IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall send a copy of this [110-page] decision to the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission and the appropriate disciplinary authority for the jurisdiction(s) where each attorney is admitted, referring the matter for investigation and possible suspension or disbarment: (i) Sidney Powell–Texas; (ii) L. Lin Wood–Georgia; (iii) Emily Newman–Virginia; (iv) Julia Z. Haller–the District of Columbia, Maryland, New York and New Jersey; (v) Brandon Johnson–the District of Columbia, New York, and Nevada; (vi) Scott Hagerstrom–Michigan; (vii) Howard Kleinhendler–New York and New Jersey; (viii) Gregory Rohl–Michigan; and (iv) Stefanie Lynn Junttila–Michigan.

    IT IS SO ORDERED

  27. 27.

    oldgold

    Ted Cruse is not pol; Tucker Carlson is not a journalist and these jdholes are not lawyers. These shriveled souls are all shapeshifters that obscenely contort their supposed vocations to perform on Fox and the like for the mindless and mirthless pleasure of the deplorably aggrieved.

  28. 28.

    Snarki, child of Loki

    I, for one, look forward to the Kraken scammers blowing off the “legal education refresher course” requirement, getting hauled into court over it, and sentenced for contempt.

    Well, not as richly deserved as “Bailiff, haul these assholes out of court and hang them”, but it’ll do. For now.

  30. 30.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @WaterGirl: The first time I got asked for directions when I was living in London, I was so proud.  I’d been there about 2 months and must not have been wearing my LL Bean Norwegian sweater.  I appaently looked like I knew where I was.  I also was able to give decent directions to the guy.

  31. 31.

    Steeplejack

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    One of my minor—and only intermittently useful*, as far as I can tell—superpowers is that I am one of those that strangers engage and confide in at the drop of a hat. One time my brother and I were discussing this phenomenon over lunch at Wendy’s and a guy from a neighboring table leaned over to weigh in on that topic!

    * It did come on handy when I was a newspaper reporter, now that I think about it.

  33. 33.

    RaflW

    Sounds like Lin Wood is still actively fighting to avoid having a mental health exam that GA authorities are tying to get. He seems notable unhinged, so good on the system for wanting that.

    I’d be amazed if some of these people pay the debts the judge assigned. Or at least they’ll exhaust every bullshit scintilla they can wriggle up to kick paying down the road.

  35. 35.

    bbleh

    @Snarki, child of Loki: Oh, somebody will fill out the requisite forms. Either they’ll actually do some CLE or they’ll pay somebody handsomely to say they did.

    The real question is whether there will be any accountability from state licensing agencies or bar associations.  And I’d be willing to give at least 5-1 that there will be either meaningless slaps on the wrist or nothing at all.

  36. 36.

    RaflW

    I didn’t realize there were so many. And I mean who are some of these people? I ended up picking Howard Kleinhendler to see who he might be. He seems kinda pathetic. He’s hung out his shingle as an independent lawyer. Like, bold move, dude! You’ll get some fringe nutcase clients, who, if they’re anything like Trump, will try to not pay you!

  37. 37.

    Kay

    @RaflW:

    This is the third case. There’s a Michigan AG submission to the state bar and a City of Detroit complaint too.

    They’ve all turned on one another. Sidney Powell’s defense was that she didn’t sign the pleading-  Gregory Rohl did- he’s one of the Michigan lawyers. Rohl then filed an affadavit where he said it was all Powell and Wood or maybe Junttila, the other Michigan lawyer, but it was definitely not his idea.

  38. 38.

    trollhattan

    @The Dangerman:

    I have a friend who is a freak magnet. If a freak has two (or twenty) people to pick from, they pick him and I have a lot of firsthand eyewitness time in on the phenomenon.

    My wish for you is that this is random, and not a sign you, too, may be a freak magnet. Wear a bodycam just in case.

  39. 39.

    Edmund Dantes

    My favorite part is Lin Wood is trying to use as his defense “I never had any role at all in this particular” lawsuit while ignoring that in a separate brief to a different court he talked up his role in the Michigan lawsuit.

    So his defense boils down to “I committed perjury somewhere”.

  40. 40.

    Mary G

    Had to go north up the coast to really rich people land to get my third Moderna shot . Went to the ATM for cash to tip Instacart drivers and it gave me two $100 bills and I had to go into the bank to change them. Is this a thing now and I’m just out of touch? Got my flu shot too. No side effects so far.

  42. 42.

    Honus

    @RaflW: it’s a bit more difficult for an attorney to ignore a judge’s order, especially of this type, than your average party to litigation.  And it’s not easy for civilians. I don’t recommend it to my clients.

  44. 44.

    Steeplejack

    @Mary G:

    The Bank of America ATMs I hit here in NoVA offer the option of choosing your denominations. Depending on the demographic of the area, it’s 20s and 50s or 20s and 100s. If you don’t specify, you get what you get.

    I never get 100s, and mostly I avoid 50s, too, because I have a morbid fear of giving the pizza delivery guy a 20, having him say, “Thank you, Mr. Steepleton,” and then later discovering that I gave him a 50 by mistake.

    When I haven’t specified denominations, I have never gotten only 100s. Maybe one with some 20s. Only 100s is weird, unless maybe you’re in Las Vegas.

  46. 46.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    @Poe Larity:

    My last order was $19. I gave the guy a 20 and a 5. Anecdote simplified—a 50 and a 5 would have gotten the same reaction.

  48. 48.

    RaflW

    @Honus: Glad to hear this. Whatever they have to pay seems inadequate to the damage to the republic, but we can take small succor.

  49. 49.

    Bokonon

    As a lawyer, all I can say is … remedial legal education is a cruel, cruel punishment.  Death might be preferable.

    Just kidding.  Fine them until they bleed from every orifice, and then disbar the bastards.

  50. 50.

    burnspbesq

    @NorthLeft12:

    I will be interested to see if this sticks. I suspect that the appeal judge is going to be much more lenient.

    Nope. The standard of review is “abuse of discretion,” and I invite you to peruse the entire 110 pages and see if you can find a single instance.

    Take all the time you need. We’ll wait.

    Also note the possibility of additional sanctions for filing a frivolous appeal.

  51. 51.

    Kent

    @NorthLeft12:I will be interested to see if this sticks. I suspect that the appeal judge is going to be much more lenient.

    They will have to have grounds for appeal.  Judges tend not to want to overrule their colleagues without having a good reason.

  52. 52.

    Another Scott

    With very rare exceptions, you never want a federal judge really fully enthusiastically engaged in writing about you.

    — WormfreeHat (@Popehat) August 26, 2021

    I suspect that is true!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  53. 53.

    West of the Rockies

    OT, but is Congress getting genuinely closer to seeing Trump’s taxes?  The case in New York seems to be stalled (at least to my impatient, non-lawyerly eyes).  The sexual assault case is also in suspended animation.

  54. 54.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Ken:

    The usual punchline is “Sir, this is an Arby’s.” 

    Oh, sorry.  Tell me, where can I get a good cheesy beef?

  55. 55.

    BeautifulPlumage

    I just finished reading all 110 pages. Wow, that judge is not messing around. And she draws in the whole “election fraud” angle. Would love to see them all disbarred from each place they’re licensed.

  56. 56.

    Comrade Colette

    OT, but I am really, thoroughly sick and tired of this Dodgers-Padres game. Neither of these teams deserves to win at this point (top of the 14th). Special demerits to Adam Frazier and F. Tatis, who are both 0 for 5. I hardly ever get to see the Padres play and they’re making me regret I stayed up for this one.

    Anyway, as always, beat LA!

  59. 59.

    Geminid

    There is an interesting article in the Times of Israel  today about Nikki Fried, Florida Agriculture Commissioner and candidate for Governor. Since being the only only Democrat to win statewide office in 2018, Fried has been a thorn in Republican Governor DeSantis’ side. She also has worked hard to convince the state’s farmers that she is, in her words, “a fierce fighter for them.”

    DeSantis is 42 years old, Fried 43. While DeSantis attended Yale University and then Harvard Law, Fried went to the University of Florida for both undergraduate and law school. The Agriculture Commissioner race was Fried’s first run for public office, but she did get elected student body president of her law school. Before that, she won her first campaign with the slogan, “You have a Friend in Fried.” It was for middle school Vice Mayor.

  60. 60.

    NotMax

    @Steeplejack

    Original ATM at the bank closest to the hovel abode spat out singles, fives, tens, twenties and fifties.

    Alas, no more, just boring ol’ twenties now.

  65. 65.

    germy

    Beltway press is like a child of divorce. They save all their anger for Mom (Dems) because they’re afraid if they display anger toward Dad (GOP), he’ll stomp off and they’ll never see him again.
    — Suburban Guerrilla Ω (@SusieMadrak) August 23, 2021

  66. 66.

    Geminid

    @germy: DeSantis and Fried do not play well together. When Fried, whose agency regulates gas pumps, had her (smiling) face put on the certification stickers on all Florida gas pumps, DeSantis accused her of wasting millions of tax payers money (the new stickers came in for less than $5500, $5.16 more than the old batch). Eventualy the Republican legislature required newer stickers sans portrait.

    DeSantis does not yet know who he’ll face next year. Ex-Republican Governor and current Democratic Congressman Charlie Crist is also running, and is Fried’s biggest rival. While Crist is considered a moderate and Fried a liberal, I doubt if there is much daylight between them on major issues. Fried is 43 years old, and Crist is 66, so there is a difference in this respect. Both Democrats poll close to DeSantis, Crist slightly ahead and Fried slightly behind. 

    Either Democrat will probably have a close race. Republicans won the last three Florida governor races with margins of 60,000, 66,000, and less than 40,000 votes.

  67. 67.

    RedDirtGirl

    I’ve never really known much about “the Law”, or had much interest in its inner workings, being more caught up in the visual effects/results. But one thing that this past election has done is brought me an appreciation for reading legal documents. I have to skip over a lot, but the descriptions of all the MAGA lawyers’s blatant misuse of the law and attempts to bluff their way past competent legal minds is incredibly fascinating to me!

  69. 69.

    Spanish Moss

    @Central Planning: I get 100’s by default in my area of MA. So annoying. When you choose something else there is no option for saying something like “all 20’s”, you have to individually increment the number for each domination you want. I can’t imagine why 100’s would be a popular choice. It is not like it is going to let you withdraw huge amounts of cash, and if you are wealthy wouldn’t you just use a credit card for a big payment?

  70. 70.

    Jim Vandewalker

    At 110 pages, it looks like Judge Parker intends for her decision to be watertight.
    “Appellant: Well, what if…”
    Appeals court: Nope, already answered on page…@NorthLeft12:

  71. 71.

    MontyTheClipArtMongoose

    @RepubAnon:  more likely, we can look forward to giuliani citing this opinion as typical anti-italian bigotry while syd the kraken condemns the ingrained misogyny of the hypocritical feminist left

  74. 74.

    Miss Bianca

    @germy: See, for me, that analogy, however apt it may be, gets me thinking, “Right-wing rageaholic Dad stomping off  is a problem…how?”

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