I’ve been working most of the day, but even though we haven’t heard from the appeals court yet, there seems to be a lot of legal news.
š¼ It seem to me that Fani Willis is handling herself pretty well here.
JUST IN: Fani Willis has moved to quash the subpoena issued by Nathan Wade’s wife in their divorce proceedings. She says the marriage has been “irretrievably broken” since 2021 and she has nothing relevant to offer.
Details TKhttps://t.co/pUbzKPbHBZ
ā Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) January 18, 2024
š¼ Ā We suspected that the time waiting for the appeals court to rule would most likely delay the March trial date, and now we have confirmation from Judge Chutkan, or at least a strong hint.
New: Federal judge overseeing Trumpās election case in DC indicates the March trial date wonāt hold ā Chutkan told Trump that he would get the full seven months to prepare his defense, and time waiting for DC Circuit to rule wonāt count against him. https://t.co/o8EQrDbInm
ā Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) January 18, 2024
Guardian article about the hint from Judge Chutkan referenced above.
š¼ Ā Rebutting the “Trump won his motion about Jack Smith” bullshit.
Judge Chutkan DENIED ALL OF THAT. She said Jack Smith did nothing wrong. She said he didn’t violate the stay order. And she modified the stay order to bar Jack Smith from making further filings.
To say “trump won” is fucking laughable. END/
ā Mueller, She Wrote (@MuellerSheWrote) January 18, 2024
Full list of what Trump had asked for, and was denied. Ā Click for a larger version.
. was violating
Judge Chutkan DENIED ALL OF THAT. She said Jack Smith did nothing wrong. She said he didn’t violate the stay order. And she modified the stay order to bar Jack Smith from making further filings.
To say “trump won” is fucking laughable. END/
ā Mueller, She Wrote (@MuellerSheWrote) January 18, 2024
š¼ What a fucking pig Trump is. Ā Imaging grieving and having to have T**** around. Ā Still no sympathy; Melania made her deal with the devil that is Trump, hope she thinks it was worth it.
This is the grieving-over-my-mother-in-law version of Trump ā¤µļø https://t.co/dfisHUZTBk
ā Katie Phang (@KatiePhang) January 18, 2024
š¼ Open thread!
Manyakitty
Vomit. No wonder everyone is on edge. That festering shitbag is unavoidable. Barf. Gag. Retch.
Leto
I was reading The WaPo article on Fanni Willis and I donāt understand this part:
The italics are mine, and what I donāt understand. Dude basically files a legal motion saying they have an improper relationship, doesnāt produce a lick of evidence, but everything is now grinding to a halt so they can have a separate hearing to determine this? Donāt you need to have some evidence to offer up? Iām simply failing to understand this circus here. I get the usual, delay/deflect/obscure, but like wtf?
teezyskeezy
@Manyakitty: Yeah, I hate the Schrƶdinger’s cat (not a ref to the commenter) nature of where we are. We either avoid Shitstain Regime II or we are destroyed.Ā It’s such a dichotomy, and yet…here we are. It’s hard to function. That old chestnut about how you have to live as if you are going to die tomorrow but prepare as if you are going to live forever.Ā It’s that amplified by 100x. I have to prepare for two completely contradictory existences that could be real in a few years. I really resent it.
Chetan Murthy
@teezyskeezy: I keep on coming back to “Life During Wartime” by the Talking Heads: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLwZvg46jms
“Why stay in college?
Why go to night school?
Gonna be different this time
Can’t write a letter,
can’t send no postcard
I ain’t got time for that now
Trouble in transit,
got through the roadblock
We blended in with the crowd”
teezyskeezy
@Chetan Murthy: That has been one of my favorite songs for awhile now.Ā Excellent
Edit: In fact…gonna listen right now.
Betty Cracker
@Leto: Romanās attorney claims she has evidence of an improper relationship between Wade and Willis from Wadeās divorce proceeding but cannot attach it to the filing because the records in that case were sealed when Wade was hired as a special prosecutor (the day before the divorce proceedings started, IIRC). Thatās why Trumpās Ā henchmanās lawyer is asking for those records to be unsealed.
Iām not a lawyer, but Willisās comments to date suggest she is/was romantically involved with Wade. Otherwise, it seems like sheād simply deny it. Also, the timing suggests they had a personal relationship before Willis hired Wade. If thatās true, at the very least, Willis showed incredibly bad judgment.
But Romanās complaint hinges on the accusation that Willis benefited financially from the relationship, which seems like something that would be hard to prove. IMO, the biggest concern for people who want to see Trump brought to justice is that this might delay the trial and undermine the case in the court of public opinion.
eclare
Have y’all seen photos from Melanie’s mother’s funeral?Ā How tall is Barron? 6’6″? 6’7″?Ā Taller?Ā Plus he may grow more.Ā Wow.
https://www.kiro7.com/news/trending/photos-former/46JR3P6ZFRGEPFRRWFRJLVP5OA/
Bruce K in ATH-GR
@Betty Cracker: Now I’m hoping that the Georgia prosecution has a decently high “bus factor” (i.e. greater than 1).
eclare
@Betty Cracker:
Yeah, the fact that she has not denied it, and is also saying that it doesn’t matter because the marriage had been broken since 2021, pretty much confirms that they are/were in a relationship.
Do coworkers date each other?Ā All the time.Ā But bosses should never, ever date their subordinates due to the power imbalance.Ā We don’t know if the relationship existed before his hiring, if it did, I don’t know if any juror in GA could be impartial.Ā If it did not, upon starting a relationship, he should have resigned from the case.
Like you said, just horrible lack of judgment, which rightly or wrongly, will color a lot of people’s minds.
A lot of people have been forced to resign over inappropriate relationships.
Gretchen
@eclare: imagine your husband had to take time out from the damages trial heās involved in for assaulting another woman. And her parents are roughly the same age as Trump. So much ick in this turn of circumstances.
Gretchen
@eclare: it sounds like the relationship might predate the case. If you should never date a subordinate, you should never, ever, ever hire someone youāre already dating. Sheās been so on point up until now, I donāt understand this. Surely there were other lawyers she could have hired.
AlaskaReader
There is the possibility that it’s a nothing-burger but it is the kind of thing you would expect a defense lawyer running out of options to throw against the wall.
Yes, the public has already been poisoned because the public, jumping to conclusions and casting about for something that may align with someone’s bias guarantees it.
I think when I see it being addressed within the context of the court where it arose as the best way for anyone to think about it.
Wait for it to play out before speculation overtakes the reality of a thing.
eclare
@Gretchen:
Oh I agree, it’s a bad look all around.Ā And now it will detract from what seems like a pretty good case, having TIFG recorded on the phone pressuring/threatening the SOS.Ā Makes me want to pull my hair out with frustration.
eclare
@Gretchen:
I really feel sorry for Barron.Ā He has the last name to contend with, and now being so tall he is easily recognizable.Ā Plus the obvious of a shitty mom and dad.
Balconesfault
@AlaskaReader: note that the judge entertaining the challenge to Willis is both a former employee of hers … AND a Federalist Society Judge appointed by Kemp.
Gretchen
@eclare: yes. He canāt blend into the crowd.
Lapassionara
@AlaskaReader: I feel like Iām always āwaiting for it to play out.ā We have a national security risk running for president and having a chance to win the office again. Iāve heard that the Constitution is not a suicide pact, but, if so, how have we gotten to this place in our history where we are waiting and waiting for legal proceedings to play out.
AlaskaReader
@Balconesfault: Mmmmm. I think whatever judge was involved may very well have ‘entertained’ the motion, IANAL but, filed motions have to be considered from the standpoint of possible grounds for future appeals, no judge wants to be less than able to justify their decisions should appeals be filed.
It’s hard to figure how this resolves because it has to play out in the courts before anyone is going to have all the parts of the puzzle and there’s lots of moving parts.
Plenty of opportunity to opine after the ‘facts’ are weighed in the context the courts will bring to those facts.
Betty Cracker
@eclare: I’ll give the Third Lady credit for one thing — she did keep that kid out of the public eye as much as possible. Sometimes people with horrid parents turn out fine. Hopefully the youngest Trump spawn will be one of that type, but the track record of the older siblings doesn’t inspire confidence.
AlaskaReader
@Lapassionara: Yeah, I don’t like how long it takes for ‘justice’ to play out, …but then I think of what the alternatives are.
Our systems are unwieldy and imperfect, but I still hope to to see the preservation of the integrity of the ideals those systems arose from.
I might be considered a dissenter, but I am proud of what we are supposed to stand for, and don’t want anyone to lose sight of where we might be without it
Edited to add, ….I can’t fight oppression and corruption if I were to ever give up.
eclare
@Betty Cracker:
Good point.Ā I will give her credit for that too, through gritted teeth.
piratedan
@Betty Cracker: perhaps they’ll serve as cautionary examples….
Anne Laurie
@eclare: Some people say Melania has been feeding her anchor baby human growth hormones for years, to ensure he would ‘live up’ to the TFG dynasty.Ā There were some ick-inducing stories during the White House occupation, with her boasting about rubbing caviar-infused lotion into his skin, etc.
All *I*’m sure of, is that Melania intends to flee her marriage, and possibly the country, as soon as Barron is old enough to get every penny he’s entitled to per her (amended) pre-nup.Ā IIRC, she’s talked about getting him into one of the best European universities (he turns 18 later this year, I believe) so that he’ll ‘be able to make a life for himself’ in the EU.Ā Especially since her mother’s death, there doesn’t seem to be much tying Melania to… you know… the Family.
He doesn’t actually look much like present-day Trump, or frankly his older siblings, so I doubt it would be difficult for him to change his name and effectively ‘disappear’ as just another rich child of an anonymous oligarch over there.
eclare
@Anne Laurie:
Oh.Ā I had not heard about the HGH angle, ugh.Ā That is awful, if true.
Honestly, getting him into college in Europe, away from TIFG and the rest, might be the best thing for him.Ā And yeah, once she has her $, there is nothing keeping her here.
Betty Cracker
@Anne Laurie: I hadn’t heard the HGH or fishy lotions rumors, though nothing that twisted bunch does would surprise me. I have read that the Third Lady and her parents created a tightly woven cocoon for the lad and that he grew up speaking Slovene. If the Third Lady is smart, she’ll whisk that kid (and her dad) off to Europe the minute they get their hands on a share of the Trump money. She’s seen what happens to the kids who remain under the father’s influence, and as awful as she is, maybe she recognizes that as a fate to avoid for her own spawn.
mrmoshpotato
@eclare:
She should at least be required to pay for the White House rose garden restoration with her own money before being allowed to flee the US.
sab
@Betty Cracker: Tiffany seems to be a reasonably normal human being.
Anne Laurie
Her mom made a very deliberate decision to raise her as far away from her sperm donor as possible.Ā She’d discovered for herself just how toxic the environment around her ‘crush’ was.
Frankensteinbeck
Trump is in a phase where winning a primary where he had no real competition has convinced him heās invincible again. Ā Heās sure his One Weird Tricks are going to completely dispel the legal trouble heās in.
That train is still barreling down on him, no matter how disconcerting it is to watch him dance on the tracks.
mrmoshpotato
@Frankensteinbeck:
Dance away, orange shitstain.
E.
Even if Willis did hire him after their relationship began, how does that affect anything in the pursuit of justice in this trial? It seems irrelevant to me, not even a matter for the state bar. Poor judgment, sure, and cause for discipline or dismissal in most workplaces, but not a relevant matter to this trial. Sheās not sleeping with the defense. I donāt get it.
sab
@Anne Laurie: That is kind of my point. Ivana had as much as Donald to do with the oldest three being what they are. Melania seems to be quite a bit more protective.
As I recall, Ivana’s funeral turned into a roast of her by her children. No love lost there.
Manyakitty
@eclare: he probably takes after his real father.
Manyakitty
@teezyskeezy: it’s adding to the PTSD from the last 7-8 years and I think people are falling apart fast. I sure am lololol š« š¶āš«ļøš
Manyakitty
@eclare: look at that doddering old fool. Grotesque.
Manyakitty
@AlaskaReader: this is also my take.
WaterGirl
@Manyakitty: What the hell is Trump doing there? Ā He looks like a feeble old man who doesn’t know where he is or what he’s doing. Ā (Which I would not criticize if he were not pretending to be a robust man running for President of the United States.)
Also, he doesn’t appear to be much taller than Melania. ??
Scamp Dog
@WaterGirl: Is Trump adjusting his lapels? You canāt see his thumbs in the photo, although I donāt see why the lapels need adjusting, either.
Citizen Alan
@eclare: I can’t help wondering if 18 or so years ago the Trumps had an exceptionally tall and good-looking chauffeur or security guard. Or perhaps a stable boy, if Melanoma was into horseback riding.
Betty
@eclare: And Trump looks really awful. He must hate being dwarfed by Barron who is a very good-looking young man.
Anne Laurie
@Manyakitty: Amusing as the idea might be, I’m quite sure the older kids — and probably TFG himself — insisted on DNA-testing Barron on the day of his birth.
Melania, like any good ‘feudal warlord’s youngest wife’, might’ve risked slipping around on the old man eventually, but *not* for her firstborn anchor baby.Ā Don’t know what the prenup might say, but she seems to be well-read on the ‘rules’ for relationships like hers!
sab
@Citizen Alan: Melania is quite tall, so it’s not surprising that her son is also.
Manyakitty
@Anne Laurie: that makes sense, dang it š.
Parfigliano
@Anne Laurie: Melania doesnt do “stable boys”.Ā Melania only does money.Ā It’s rule one in the whore code.
louc
@Betty Cracker: The rumors around DC were that Barron might be on the spectrum, given the school he attended in NYC and the school he attended in the DMV. My understanding is he pretty much lived with his grandparents while Trump was in office (their residence was near St. Andrews) and actually speaks fluent Slovenian
WaterGirl
@Scamp Dog: Oh, maybe?
Thought process: “I’m here with my wife who just lost her mother, and my son who just lost her grandmother, I think I’d better adjust my lapels because I certainly don’t have anything to say to either of them.”