Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

Mediocre white men think RFK Jr’s pathetic midlife crisis is inspirational. The bar is set so low for them, it’s subterranean.

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

So many bastards, so little time.

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

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

This country desperately needs a functioning fourth estate.

My right to basic bodily autonomy is not on the table. that’s the new deal.

Baby steps, because the Republican Party is full of angry babies.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

You passed on an opportunity to be offended? What are you even doing here?

Conservatism: there are people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

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

Innocent people do not delay justice.

The only way through is to slog through the muck one step at at time.

“In this country American means white. everybody else has to hyphenate.”

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

President Musk and Trump are both poorly raised, coddled 8 year old boys.

We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

There are times when telling just part of the truth is effectively a lie.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

“I was told there would be no fact checking.”

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

You are here: Home / Politics / Trump Indictments / Friday Afternoon Open Thread: In Legal News

Friday Afternoon Open Thread: In Legal News

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Small roundup of legal news because I’m still wound up about, well, all of it!

Andrew Weissmann gets smacked down.

Andrew Weissmann’s buddy Norm Eisen doesn’t agree with Andrew, either!

Speaking of Norm Eisen. This is a short clip where he explains that he thinks there is room for 2 Trump cases to go to trial before the election, which ones, and why.

For rikyrah:

Loved this from Sheldon Whitehouse. “If you wanna be a celebrity, be a chef.”

Open thread.

Update: I’ll put up another Worker Power fundraising thread tomorrow, but if you donate in the meantime, just let me know in the comments here.   frosty’s match is still active, and we have another BJ Angel waiting in the wings, so all donations up to $25 per person will be matched as long as you let us know in the comments.

Reader Interactions

130Comments

  2. 2.

    Villago Delenda Est

    Sheldon Whitehouse clearly doesn’t have a need to be on Faux Noise as a “contributor” after he’s been disbarred.

  5. 5.

    Old School

    I flipped burgers at a fast food restaurant while in high school.  I didn’t realize I was doing it for the fame.

  6. 6.

    Sure Lurkalot

    Sorry not sorry, I’m beyond beginning to think TV lawyers are not worth listening to. And I’m not just talking Jonathan Turley,

    Maybe not yet Katy Tur or Andrea Mitchell level cringe worthy but they too often build high rises on a foundation of speculation and rarely self-correct.

  7. 7.

    WaterGirl

    @AM in NC: SDNY – the Southern District of New York basically waited A YEAR before turning over records for the Alvin Bragg case.  Waited until yesterday for the case where the jury selection starts 3/25, so the case will most likely be delayed.

  10. 10.

    AM in NC

    @WaterGirl:  Ah, thank you.  Any word/informed speculation on why they waited so long to turn these documents over to Bragg?

    Or if there is incriminating evidence in the document dump?

  15. 15.

    cain

    @WaterGirl:

    It’s interesting how the various people are helping Trump by trying to delay. You can see the corruption in front of your eyes.

    It’s rather sad actually because I always thought we were better than that – but we aren’t.

  16. 16.

    NotMax

    @WaterGirl

    Initial reporting (cannot speak to its complete accuracy) is that of the 31,000 pages just turned over, 176 of them (~0.006%) are evidentially relevant and/or directly applicable to the charges in the Bragg office’s case.

  17. 17.

    oldgold

    Due process in the employ of billionaires, like so many other things, like free speech, become a mockery of the good government they are to ensure.

  18. 18.

    WaterGirl

    @kindness: Judge McAfee says it’s because of the APPEARANCE of impropriety.

    To me, McAfee is appearing more and more like a Republican judge whose overarching goal is to be elected in November to what is currently an appointed position.

  19. 19.

    Butch

    @Sure Lurkalot: Funny you would say that.  We turned on Andrea Mitchell while we were eating lunch (first mistake); she was hosting a panel of legal types to talk about the Trump cases and “what it means” for the November elections.  It was infuriating, if pablum can be infuriating.

  20. 20.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @WaterGirl: Well, he’s stating “this is the standard of ethical behavior” when nowadays so many JDs are running around ignoring ethics because the money is just as good, if not better, as a wingnut propaganda “contributor.”

  24. 24.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Sure Lurkalot:

    Sorry not sorry, I’m beyond beginning to think TV lawyers are not worth listening to. And I’m not just talking Jonathan Turley, 

    It’s Turkey.

  25. 25.

    rikyrah

    @WaterGirl:

    They might be mad at the ‘ audacity’ of Bragg to bring a case against the Orange Menace when his predecessor had all sorts of reasons why he just couldn’t find the ways to charge Trump or his kids.

  26. 26.

    WaterGirl

    @NotMax: I had seen something similar.  Even so, they have to wade through the haystack in case there is an important needle in it.

    That’s part of why this just looks like delay, delay, delay to me – only coming from SDNY.

    They haven’t covered themselves with glory.

  27. 27.

    PBK

    Open thread so I’d like to ask everyone to give their critters extra love today in memory of the best cat ever who we sent on this morning to the next of his nine lives.  There is never enough time with them or too much love you can give them.

  30. 30.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Sure Lurkalot: The whole Cable News/Legal Pundit industry is built on speculation to increase anxiety/outrage and get viewers/clicks.  Appeals Attorney, Teri Kanefield has a great thread on social media about it.

  35. 35.

    NotMax

    @WaterGirl

    Surely you don’t believe legal staffs eyeball every word and parse every sentence? There’s keyword search software nowadays in universal use.

  36. 36.

    rikyrah

    @WaterGirl:

    Payback.  Or personal grudge.  Or working on behalf of Trump. Those are the only three I can think of.

     

    What makes me mad is that the head of SDNY hasn’t gotten on camera to offer an explanation. I believe folks deserve an explanation as to why the office didn’t turn over the documents when requested by Bragg.

  37. 37.

    Bill Arnold

    @rikyrah:

    his predecessor had all sorts of reasons why he just couldn’t find the ways to charge Trump or his kids.

    Most of those reasons were probably in the category “cowardice”, though one can’t rule out “corruption”.

  39. 39.

    Josie

    I looked up the SDNY, and the head DA was appointed by Biden in 2021. I’m guessing he is not a Trump supporter. Either he doesn’t have control over others in the office or there is another non political reason for the delay.

  44. 44.

    Miss Bianca

    Open thread? In legislative, if not legal, news, I am due to be interviewing CO CD-7 Representative Brittany Pettersen in a few minutes. Yes, you’re jealous, because she’s awesome. :)

  45. 45.

    WaterGirl

    @rikyrah: SDNY is too good for that.  They don’t answer to anyone, including the public.

    As I think I wrote yesterday their motto is a combination of “you’re not the boss of me” and “fuck you, that’s why”.

  49. 49.

    B1naryS3rf

    Given cultural contexts this will sound bad but Fani Willis’s affect in her early press conference(s) appeared more vehement than necessary. Yes, I’m aware she received threats, but my spidey senses told me something was off. So when this nonsense with the prosecutor happened, it felt like less than a complete surprise. So Sen. Whitehouse’s tweets couldn’t possibly be more on point.

  50. 50.

    WaterGirl

    @NotMax: I don’t think we know yet whether it will be a 30-day delay.

    Bragg said he wouldn’t object to a 30-day delay, which, when translated into legal speak, apparently means I won’t object if you delay this by 30 days, but it had better not be longer than that.

    30 days is the outside number, and he would obviously like it to be shorter than that.  As far as I can see, no timeframe for delay has been addressed.

  53. 53.

    cain

    @PBK: Sorry for your loss. I will hug my 4 kitties extra hard. Well except for Ziggy – who doesn’t like me and always looks like he wants to kick my ass because he doesn’t trust me. :-)

  54. 54.

    Josie

    @WaterGirl: ​
     There may be division chiefs who were appointed earlier by a republican president. I couldn’t find that information. You are right that it doesn’t make them look good. I’d love to be a fly on the wall for some of the conversations taking place in that office.

  55. 55.

    oldgold

    The fact is we have oligarchs and they are largely above the criminal law.  Trump’s tale demonstrates that they are generally able to do as they damn please.

  56. 56.

    WaterGirl

    @Josie: That’s a good point.  I was speculating yesterday about Trump holdovers, but once I saw the head had been appointed by Biden, I kind of took that off the table.

    But you’re right about division chiefs.

  59. 59.

    trollhattan

    Sliver of accountability in 2nd Amendment America.

    The father of a Michigan school shooter who killed four students has been convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

    The trial heard James Crumbley, 47, ignored his 15-year-old son Ethan’s mental health needs, buying him the gun he used in the November 2021 attack. He and his wife – who was convicted on the same charges – now both face a maximum of 15 years in prison.

    The case is thought to mark the first time the parents of a mass shooter have been held criminally liable.

    The couple are scheduled to be sentenced on 9 April.

    The jury deliberated for just over a day after a nearly week-long trial. James Crumbley was in court on Thursday evening for the verdict and appeared to show little reaction as it was read out.

    Their son killed fellow students Tate Myre, 16; Hana St Juliana, 14; Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Justin Shilling, 17, with a semi-automatic handgun at Oxford High School. Seven others were also injured in the shooting.

    He is serving a sentence of life in prison without parole.

    Earlier this week in her closing arguments to the jury of six men and six women, prosecutor Karen McDonald called the attack “preventable and foreseeable”. She added that James Crumbley’s actions had been “rare and egregious”. He did not take even the slightest measures to ensure his son was not a threat after giving him a semi-automatic pistol as a gift just days before the shooting, said the prosecutor.

    Prosecutors also said the Crumbleys had not done enough to address their son’s declining mental health.

    On the morning of the shooting, the two parents cut short a school meeting about a disturbing drawing their son had made to go to work and had declined to take him home. School officials sent him back to class without checking his backpack, which contained a gun.

  60. 60.

    NotMax

    @WaterGirl

    I’m not saying partisan slant does not come into play and even color some cases but automatically presuming it does so in ALL cases (by either perceived side) is a perilous path.

  61. 61.

    Burnspbesq

    @rikyrah:

    What makes me mad is that the head of SDNY hasn’t gotten on camera to offer an explanation. I believe folks deserve an explanation as to why the office didn’t turn over the documents when requested by Bragg.

    If Wheeler’s speculation about ongoing grand jury investigations is correct, then Rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure would prohibit Williams from saying anything. He couldn’t even acknowledge the existence of such investigations.

  64. 64.

    thruppence

    Ummm… just woke up, turned to balloon-juice for the outrage du jour, and donated $25 to WPAZBOT

    Also, so sorry, PBK – we have an elderly kitty here acting like she’s thinking about leaving, but is not ready yet.

  65. 65.

    WaterGirl

    @NotMax:

    I’m not saying partisan slant does not come into play and even color some cases but automatically presuming it does so in ALL cases (by either perceived side) is a perilous path.

    Are you suggesting that I’m doing that?

  66. 66.

    NotMax

    @NotMax

    Amend (clicked publish too fast).

    “further ongoing investigations simmering on the back burners” which have yet to rise to the grand jury stage.

  67. 67.

    WaterGirl

    @thruppence: I was trying to figure out what W PAZ BOT G was!

    *I think we have all seen that I am not great with acronyms :-)

    At least I got it on my third try.  Always room for improvement.

  69. 69.

    B1naryS3rf

    @Bill Arnold: worth a lot, thank you for clarifying. It should apply to everyone. Say the facts and get the fuck off our screens. Jack Smith can coach them.

  71. 71.

    Sister Golden Bear

    In other court news, the SCOTUS via shadow docket denied a request by a Texas A&M LGBTQ student group that was hoping to host a “PG-13” drag show for charity on campus.

    The university’s president banned the event, saying it would not host drag shows, saying they stereotype women. He added there was no such thing as a “harmless drag show,” and that the show “celebrat[e] conduct that causes many to feel demeaned and objectified.” Because Republicans care sooo much about respecting women.

    The ban was first upheld by U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk — a Trump-appointed Texas judge who got his start as a lawyer for an anti-LGBTQ hate group. He’s the same judge who ruled that mifepristone should be banned.

  72. 72.

    Citizen Alan

    @Sure Lurkalot: I believed that since Greta Susteren, who by all accounts I’ve heard was a perfectly competent attorney pre-O.J., parlayed her fame as a legal expert during the Simpson trial into a media career where she made herself into a ridiculous joke. Probably pays well, though.

  74. 74.

    rikyrah

    @Burnspbesq:

    SDNY ratfucking Bragg on behalf of Trump.

     

    Yeah, I see it too. And, somehow, they thought, what, that it would reflect poorly on Bragg?

    Bragg had enough sense to practice Black Professional Sensibilities, which  meant he had that proof that he asked for the files eons ago,…meaning Bragg’s Office DID its job.

  76. 76.

    NotMax

    @Steve in the ATL

    Not that I ever frequent fast food emporia but crossed Wendy’s off the list some years ago after watching a worker through the drive-in window subconsciously (I hope) shoving a hand down the back of his pants to scratch his ass and subsequently continue to wrap and bag what passed as food.

  78. 78.

    Origuy

    Elsevier, the academic publisher, (motto: Pay us and we’ll publish it.) published a paper in Radiology Case Reports that contained the text “In summary, the management of bilateral iatrogenic I’m very sorry, but I don’t have access to real-time information or patient-specific data, as I am an AI language model.” So the author, the co-authors, the alleged reviewers, and the editor missed that the whole thing was AI generated.

    Link to Bluesky thread

  80. 80.

    Paul in KY

    @WaterGirl: They have alot on that (in a sane world) would have been disbarred and in some cases, tarred & feathered & rolled down a big hill in a barrel.

  83. 83.

    NotMax

    @Paul in KY

    Tarring and feathering was a slow motion death sentence. Even if one survived the initial trauma, a majority died of infection afterward.

  84. 84.

    zhena gogolia

    I just got my lowest score ever on the NYT Friday news quiz — 6 out of 11. I guess throwing the front section in the trash the moment the paper comes in the house doesn’t help with the scoring.

  88. 88.

    Madeleine

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    Teri Kanefield also has a post on her website about TV lawyers. I don’t know how much it duplicates the thread you mentioned. She takes a dim view of all TV lawyers, and centers on those who are liberal.

  90. 90.

    Jackie

    For a bit of humorous news at a RWNJ’s expense:

    Tall tales about China influencing the 2020 presidential election with nefarious bamboo-filled ballotswere ridiculed by most elections experts — but not by Cochise County Recorder David Stevens.

    CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan reported on Friday that Stevens has invested $200,000 in purported “fraud-proof” paper to use for ballots in elections, only to see the returns on that investment go up in smoke.

    In an interview with O’Sullivan, Stevens defended his decision to buy the special ballot paper due to unverified “concerns” he’d heard from assorted voters in the county.

    “There were concerns… that people were making their own ballots and then interjecting them into the system, they were coming from foreign countries” he told O’Sullivan. “Maybe we can make our paper more secure, so we would know quicker or easier if it really is a valid Arizona ballot or if it is not.”

    Stevens did not explicitly endorse the wild claims about Chinese bamboo ballots but he also didn’t dismiss them when asked about them by O’Sullivan.

    O’Sullivan then went on to document how “a missed deadline and other bureaucratic snafus” derailed efforts to get the special paper used in 2024 election ballots, which led him to say to Stevens that the effort was “essentially $200,000 gone to waste.”

    “Uh, a little less than [$200,000], but yeah,” Stevens acknowledged.

    “So this sounds like a bit of a nightmare,” O’Sullivan said.

    “I… pretty much, yeah,” Stevens replied. “I want it to be over.”

    Democratic Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes told O’Sullivan that concerns about bamboo ballots never should have factored into any purchasing decision made by Stevens or any other elections official.

    “The economic costs of the conspiracy theories in Arizona are real dollars,” he said. “Now the paper that was purchased by this one county based on these conspiracy theories that is absolutely useless… this is taxpayer dollars down the drain based on lies.”

    https://www.rawstory.com/arizona-ballot-paper/

    Click the link to watch the video 😁

  91. 91.

    Kathleen

    @PBK: So sorry about your loss. I don’t have pets but when my granddog in Florida died I got very emotional even though I didn’t live with her so I can only imagine how  much harder it is for you.

  92. 92.

    Miss Bianca

    @zhena gogolia: Oh, yes. It was a gruesome process, and our forebears’ enthusiasm for it is one of the things that makes me really glad I wasn’t around for the birth of this particular nation.

  93. 93.

    trollhattan

    Moms for Liberty has their tentacles well into tony-ish Rocklin–Sacramento suburb–but their schtick does not work in blue collar Woodland.

    Woodland Joint Unified High School District board member Emily MacDonald resigned from her position earlier this week, according to school board president Rogelio Villagrana.

    “The reason Trustee MacDonald is not here is actually because she submitted her resignation to the superintendent of the county two days ago,” said Villagrana on Wednesday night’s school board meeting. “So that’s the reason she’s not here, in case people were wondering.” MacDonald is currently is losing a recall election that Woodland parents organized against her last fall, because of comments that she made about trans people, as well as her stance on ethnic studies.

    Trouble for MacDonald started last summer when she voted against the district’s proposed PRIDE Resolution, for which she was the sole dissenting vote. “While I share with everyone here tremendous respect for the achievements and contributions of Americans who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, this coalition forces acceptance of every aspect of transgenderism in order to be considered an ally of the others, and that is wrong,” she said at the June meeting.

    She encouraged the board to “act with great caution in order to protect the increasing numbers of children who are experiencing transgender procedures as a result of social contagion without sacrificing the tiny number of individuals who would identify as transgender even without social contagion, education campaigns, and the social cache attached to a transgender identity in the present.”

    Local parents and community members asked her to step down after the meeting, calling her comments “devastating” and in opposition to the beliefs of most of her constituents. She did not resign then, and they promised a recall effort if she didn’t. She had the support of local Moms for Liberty members, but a majority of voters — 61.87% — supported her losing her seat.

    https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/election/california-elections/article286734520.html#storylink=cpy

    I read of an ointment for that contagion. Buh-bye.

  98. 98.

    TBone

    @NotMax:  Before AI, in various positions in various law offices, my task was exactly that. Even copious, handwritten medical records.  Every single word.  My summaries were to contain any and everything that could be of use, but stated as succinctly as possible.  Doctors’ handwriting was particularly cumbersome but, once the “code” was cracked it got easier.  I’d be surprised if staff in the current cases is not similarly tasked.

  100. 100.

    Miss Bianca

    @BlueGuitarist: Great! We mostly talked about the Community Project Funding she’s brought home to the 7th (cough *earmarks* cough but don’t call ’em that), but we also touched on other issues such as affordable housing, wildfire mitigation, and immigration.

    If there’s any general interest among the Jackaltariat to read an interview with one of our House reps, I can send it to WaterGirl or TaMara once I’ve got it written up.

  101. 101.

    Baud

    @zhena gogolia:

     I guess throwing the front section in the trash the moment the paper comes in the house doesn’t help with the scoring.

    But it does wonders for the soul.

  102. 102.

    Geminid

    @WaterGirl: I think a New York criminal defense lawyer who comments here some said they knew from personal experience that Weisman was a bullying asshole. Other people here might also remember the story. Not sure if that discredits his commentary but it makes me think about it.

  104. 104.

    NotMax

    @TBone

    I’ll be the first to admit that deciphering and putting into context medical records is of a different scale and skillset than is today’s poring though the rat-a-tat of e-mails and text messages in differing circumstances.

  108. 108.

    PBK

    @cain: Ha…that’s how our little girl cat treats me!

    Thank you so much to everyone.  Think it breaks the blog if I include too many “reply to” in a comment.

  110. 110.

    JaySinWA

    @Butch:

    We turned on Andrea Mitchell while we were eating lunch (first mistake)

    EL&P feel your pain.

    Do you wanna be the player
    Do you wanna be the string
    Let me tell you something
    It just don’t mean a thing
    You see it really doesn’t matter
    When you’re buried in disguise
    By the dark glass on your eyes
    Though your flesh has crystallised
    Still… you turn me on
    Still… you turn me on
    Mmmm… you turn me

  113. 113.

    NotMax

    @WaterGirl

    “if she can’t even hold onto a boyfriend how can she prosecute a former president?”

    RWNJ media in 3…2…1….
    //

  115. 115.

    Jackie

    @Miss Bianca: Will you be interviewing the Dem candidates running for your 4th district? Since Boebert thinks she’s going to win, I’m curious about who she – or whoever – the GQP candidate will be, will be running against on the D ticket.

  116. 116.

    TBone

    @NotMax: Interrogatories and court transcripts, case law and opinion, visual/audio media transcription, etc. require exceptional attention to detail and are almost exclusively delegated to staff.  Thirty days means that they will be on round the clock shifts, I think. If 30 days is the delay time…so mote it be.

  118. 118.

    Miss Bianca

    @Jackie: I’m in CD-7, and this interview is for our local paper, so…(sadly) no, I won’t be. I did just receive notice from the state Democratic Party about a convention forum and meeting for the special election, tho, so I have no doubt there will be one!

  119. 119.

    Jackie

    @Miss Bianca: That’s going to be an entertaining special election to watch – especially since your primary election is the same day! Boohoohoo Boebert is probably torpedoing her odds by the day!🤭🤞🏻

  124. 124.

    Miss Bianca

    @Jackie: She’d have done better to stay in CD-3. Of course, that means our Democratic candidate for that seat, Adam Frisch, would also be the likely winner.

  126. 126.

    Geminid

    @Jackie: The Colorado 4th CD primary will be an interesting test of Trump’s endorsement power. Boebert has his endorsement, but that’s about all she’s got going for her. She has name recognition, but for the wrong reasons.

  127. 127.

    oldgold

    This morning I was watching Morning Joe.
    Joe and Mika expressed serious disapproval of  Fani’s extracurricular activities with a workmate.
    It amused me, as does Mika’s continuous hyping of the Know Your Value convention in Abu Dhabi.

  129. 129.

    BellyCat

    @PBK: Hugs. My “best cat” crossed the rainbow bridge two months ago. He will surely seek out your best cat to play together AND supervise us both!

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