Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

“Let’s not pretend [Trump] wants to engage in high-minded discourse.”

“In the future, this lab will be a museum. don’t touch it.”

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

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

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

Cole, when it comes to calico cats, restraint is overrated.

You know it’s bad when the Project 2025 people have to create training videos on “How To Be Normal”.

White supremacy is terrorism.

FFS people, this was a good thing. take the win.

An unpunished coup is a training exercise.

Republicans got rid of McCarthy. Democrats chose not to save him.

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” is supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

Everyone is in a bubble, but some bubbles model reality far better than others!

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

There are some who say that there are too many strawmen arguments on this blog.

The rest of the comments were smacking Boebert like she was a piñata.

Bark louder, little dog.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / This Could Be a Big Joe Biden Deal

This Could Be a Big Joe Biden Deal

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It seems like this could be a big Joe Biden Deal, unless it gets reversed in the higher courts.

Thank you, New Mexico!

Citizens for Ethics (CREW)

SANTA FE — A New Mexico judge ordered Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin be removed from office, effective immediately, ruling that the attack on the Capitol was an insurrection and that Griffin’s participation in it disqualified him under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. This decision marks the first time since 1869 that a court has disqualified a public official under Section 3, and the first time that any court has ruled the events of January 6, 2021 an insurrection.

Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, also known as the Disqualification Clause, bars any person from holding federal or state office who took an “oath…to support the Constitution of the United States” as an “officer of any State” and then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” or gave “aid or comfort” to insurrectionists. Griffin, as an Otero County Commissioner since January 2019, took an oath to “support and uphold the Constitution and laws of the State of New Mexico, and the Constitution of the United States.”

“This is a historic win for accountability for the January 6th insurrection and the efforts to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power in the United States. Protecting American democracy means ensuring those who violate their oaths to the Constitution are held responsible,” said CREW President Noah Bookbinder. “This decision makes clear that any current or former public officials who took an oath to defend the U.S. Constitution and then participated in the January 6th insurrection can and will be removed and barred from government service for their actions.”

Under New Mexico law, any private citizen of the state may file a lawsuit to remove a disqualified county official from office. A group of New Mexico residents were represented in this case by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and the New Mexico-based law firms of Freedman Boyd Hollander and Goldberg P.A, Dodd Law Office, LLC, and the Law Office of Amber Fayerberg, LLC, as well as by Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC.

“Judge Mathew’s decision is fully supported by the facts and the law and justice achieves a needed measure of accountability,” said Freedman Boyd Hollander and Goldberg P.A Partner Joe Goldberg.

“The Court’s findings that Mr. Griffin engaged in repeated efforts to mobilize a mob and incite them to violence on January 6, 2021 amply support the Court’s conclusion that he is unqualified under the Fourteenth Amendment to hold public office,” said Daniel Small of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC.

An eyewitness to Griffin’s behavior testified that Griffin also took on a leadership position within the mob at the Capitol on January 6th. Videos of Griffin’s speeches en route to Washington, DC for the “Stop the Steal“ rally showed Griffin’s willingness to stop, by any means necessary, a Biden presidency. In the days after the attack, Griffin continued to defend the insurrection, boasted about his involvement, and suggested a possible repeat of it in the future. Following a federal indictment for his behavior, he was convicted of breaching and occupying restricted Capitol grounds.

“January 6, 2021 was a dark day in our history. The court’s ruling today is a historic moment for our country. Mr. Griffin’s removal and bar from holding office again is a step towards obtaining justice and restoring the rule of law,” said Dodd Law Office, LLC President Christopher Dodd.

“The Court’s decision to remove and bar Mr. Griffin from public office represents a crucial step toward restoring the rule of law in our country and protecting our democracy from future attack,” said the Law Office of Amber Fayerberg, LLC Founder Amber Fayerberg.

Come on, 14th Amendment!  You can do this!

Also, I am hoping the attorneys here can explain more what this is about.

I DO like the sound of “ongoing investigations” and “uncharged individuals”!

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

40Comments

  1. 1.

    lollipopguild

    If the 14th ruling holds up in court, I am sure it will be appealed, then HOLY CRAP!

  3. 3.

    Scout211

    More good news, this one from the Iowa Supreme Court.

    DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Abortion will remain legal in Iowa after the state’s high court declined Friday to reinstate a law that would have largely banned the procedure, rebuffing Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds and, for now, keeping the conservative state from joining others with strict abortion limits.

     
    In a rare 3-3 decision, the Iowa Supreme Court upheld a 2019 district court ruling that blocked the law. The latest ruling comes roughly a year after the same body — and the U.S. Supreme Court — determined that women do not have a fundamental constitutional right to abortion.

  4. 4.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    I thought we’d already heard months ago of someone being removed from office on these grounds. Or was that another 19th century law? Or was that this guy, but he fought it and this was the end of the process?

  6. 6.

    Shalimar

    Translation of the Smith motion: Please order in advance that opposing lawyers and their ignoramus client will be sanctioned if any of the confidential discovery material finds it’s way into the press or onto Truth Social.

    It’s a standard motion, nothing special.

  9. 9.

    kalakal

    I’m sure there are several members of congress to whom this could be applicable.

    Mustn’t get my hopes up but…

  10. 10.

    Scout211

    And in other good news:  The College Board and the APA are fighting back against the Florida Man.  Link

    The Florida Department of Education sent a letter to the College Board, which runs the AP program, on May 19 asking the organization to review all AP courses to see if they “need modification to ensure compliance” with a Florida law and state Board of Education rule targeting instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity.

     
    The College Board responded Thursday with a defiant letter stating that “we will not modify our courses to accommodate restrictions teaching essential, college-level topics.” That could set up a showdown between Florida and College Board officials.
     
    The AP Psychology class is a potential point of conflict. The course has a unit dealing with developmental psychology that includes discussion of gender and sexual orientation.
     

    The American Psychological Association issued a statement Thursday voicing “unqualified support” for the College Board. CEO Arthur Evans Jr. lambasted the state of Florida’s “unconscionable demand to censor an educational curriculum and test that were designed by college faculty and experienced AP teachers who ensure that the course and exam reflect the state of the science and college-level expectations.”

  11. 11.

    trollhattan

    Hope my family never nails me with the Disqualification Clause, especially with Father’s Day coming up and all.

  12. 12.

    piratedan

    @kalakal: agreed, if this interpretation of the 14th holds, it should imply that any citizen, should they choose to do so, could lay charges about fitness to serve should proof exist of their participation.  The repercussions if proven would not only remove these asshats from office, it keeps them from ever holding public office again.

  14. 14.

    Ryan

    @Scout211: Let them fight.  Honestly, I took AP courses, the credit didn’t do anything for me in college.  All I got was a better high school experience, which is fine, but not worth the $75 per exam.

  16. 16.

    mrmoshpotato

    @trollhattan:

    Hope my family never nails me with the Disqualification Clause, especially with Father’s Day coming up and all. 

    Hahaha!

  20. 20.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @dexwood:

    As does this old New Mexican.

    Speaking of the classics, the state is neither “new” nor ‘Mexico.”

  21. 21.

    JWR

    From NBC:

    Dodger Stadium hosts Pride Night after weeks of high-profile controversy

    Dodger Stadium will host LGBTQ+ Pride Night Friday following weeks of back-and-forth and emotional reaction over the involvement of a group of self-described “queer and trans nuns” who are active in community and charity programs.

    TV news had videos of a gathering of these religious nutballs holding some sort of pagan prayer service in the Dodger Stadium parking lot

    ETA RIP Daniel Ellsberg. :(

  22. 22.

    UncleEbeneezer

    BREAKING: A federal judge has blocked a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth in Indiana from going into effect.

  24. 24.

    Gvg

    @Ryan: In Florida, the state funds the AP exam cost to public school districts for AP. It’s been going on for a long long time. I had forgot it used to have to be paid for. I don’t think DeSantis and the legislature actually know that so I hope no one tells them. Of course if he tries to take it away, the outrage will be deafening. The students who take a lot of AP courses tend to have upper middle class or wealthy parents who are trying to get into the better schools and get the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship. You wouldn’t think it would matter to them, but they really care about that. Some of the poor students benefit too, but that scholarship was about stopping a brain drain to the ivys and other out of state schools. Politically it could be worse than attacking Disney but more a local issue.

    Still I’d rather not point it out to him.

  25. 25.

    dexwood

    @O. Felix Culpa: ​
      True story. I moved here in 1974 when I was 22. When I told my mother what I was about to do she said, “why, isn’t our country good enough for you?” New Mexico magazine used to have a regular feature called One Of Our Fifty Is Missing. Her question could have been one of the stories.

  26. 26.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @dexwood:

    Lol. I’ve heard of people traveling to NM being asked for passports on US domestic flights. Hasn’t happened to me yet though.

  27. 27.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    Here’s Michael Popok’s commentary on Jack Smith’s motion for protection of the discovery documents. He says it’s a standard thing, and the defense has already agreed to it so it should be a no-brainer.

    He also hypothesizes that DOJ is going to be using motions partly to see whether judge Cannon (I don’t think she rates an uppercase “J”) makes a sufficiently stupid ruling to allow them to move for recusal, or even to tempt her into doing so.

    TFG is allowed to see the discovery material, which includes the names of witnesses who have not been named in public, but he can only do so in the presence of his defense lawyers, and any notes on that material will also be kept under lock and key. You know, the way sensitive information is actually supposed to be handled.

    He’s not allowed to talk or hint about it in public. I can’t see him abiding by those rules. I predict there will be retaliation against some named witness within 24 hours of TFG seeing the name.

  28. 28.

    Sanjeevs

    The Fox News producer thought to have been responsible for running a provocative banner headline about Joe Biden during Donald Trump’s response to his criminal indictment on Tuesday has left the network, according to reports.
    Alexander McCaskill, former managing editor of Tucker Carlson Tonight, resigned following the banner, or chyron, that read “wannabe dictator speaks at the White House after having his political rival arrested”, according to the Daily Beast.

    McCaskill, the Fox News producer at the center of the chyron controversy, also featured in a lawsuit brought by former Fox talent booker Abby Grossberg that claims Fox News, Fox Corp and employees including Tucker Carlson fostered a workplace riven with abusive behaviors.
    Grossberg claims she was subjected to religious discrimination by McCaskill, who placed three inflatable Christmas decorations in the bookings area – “a preposterous display that was distracting and loud” and a smaller one by her desk with a sign that read “Hannukah bush”. Grossberg is Jewish.
    McCaskill, the lawsuit claims, “habitually belittled female employees”. While pitching a promotional idea for Carlson’s End of Men documentary, McCaskill remarked that the breastfeeding “mother’s room” was a “waste of space” and should be replaced with a “room of tanning beds for the guys to tan their testicles”.
    Grossberg also claims that McCaskill and another producer, Justin Wells, once remarked that a junior booker who reported to Grossberg “should use her sex appeal to the TCT team’s advantage, such as by ‘sleep[ing] with Elon Musk to get [an] interview’”.

     

     

    https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/jun/16/fox-news-wannabe-dictator-producer-alexander-mccaskill

  30. 30.

    terraformer

    @kalakal:

     

    indeed. i mean, is it *really* an amendment if it’s not enforced? glad to see someone else is doing this.

    lots of Republican MoC were directly involved in J6; we shouldn’t have to *hope* that someone, anyone will do something about it

  31. 31.

    Ken

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: I predict there will be retaliation against some named witness within 24 hours of TFG seeing the name.

    What happens then? Please say “house arrest”.  “Gag order with a real gag and duct tape” would also be acceptable.

  32. 32.

    Rand Careaga

    Of course, some future SCOTUS could agree with a Federalist Society argument that membership in or affiliation with the Democratic Party itself constitutes “engag[ing] in insurrection or rebellion”—after all, in 2018 TFG called out Congressional Democrats who failed to stand or applaud for him at that year’s State of the Union act as “un-American” and “treasonous.”

    Think the very notion is preposterous? Who would have imagined in 1989 that two years later the Soviet Union (or rather Russia, its principal component) would outlaw its own Communist party? These people are going for the gold.

  34. 34.

    AM in NC

    @Ryan:  For me, APs let me graduate in 3.5 years, rather than 4. Plus  a better HS experience.  Hate that the $ goes to a private company, though. The older I get, the more services I think should be publicly owned and run.

  35. 35.

    lee

    Decades ago the Governor of NM told a story about going to a play in New York. Some how it got out that they were the Gov of NM and were seated in the ‘foreign diplomat’ section (right up front). He decided not to correct them.

  36. 36.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @kalakal: Who would be the entity that brings that to court? From the CREW statement, this occurred in NM because an NM law provides that “…any private citizen of the state may file a lawsuit to remove a disqualified county official from office.”

    What are the options for doing this to statewide or federal elected officials?

  37. 37.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @Sanjeevs: Reminds me of Mustard Master Cole’s FPP recently: Why do these people choose to be such utter shitheels? Christ dancing on a pingpong table, they could do anything else with their lives and they and the world would be better off. But no, they have to live their worst lives.

  38. 38.

    Ella in New Mexico

    @O. Felix Culpa: Yep. He’s toast politically.

    And yet I don’t think we’ve heard the last of Good Time Griftin’ Couy. Loves the attention too much.

    Wasn’t there something in the news about him assaulting one of his tenants the other day?

  40. 40.

    The Very Reverend Crimson Fire of Compassion

    @Ryan: Yeah, no we get that erasing lgbtq+ people from history and psychology and public consciousness means almost nothing compared to the fact that you spent hundreds on a class that didn’t help you.  The National Socialists picked the same population for their first political persecution, and a candidate for the US presidency is following in their footsteps, but you lost money that one time, so “let them fight.”  Thanks for putting that in perspective for us all.

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