Balloon Juice - Jan 6: Insurrection Archives

Monday Evening Open Thread: Pardonable

by Anne Laurie| January 20, 20258:15 pm| 62 Comments

This post is in: Jan 6: Insurrection, Proud to Be A Democrat, Republican Venality, Something Good Open Thread

President Biden on the pardons: "These are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing."
"Even when individuals have done nothing wrong … and will ultimately be exonerated, the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage reputations and finances."

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— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1.bsky.social) January 20, 2025 at 7:20 AM

I may be overlapping on an earlier MisterMix post here, but for the record…

President Biden: "My family has been subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me—the worst kind of partisan politics. Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end."

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— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1.bsky.social) January 20, 2025 at 11:45 AM

Why this was necessary:

General Mark Milley accepts President Biden’s pardon, per @ckubeNBC

“I do not wish to spend whatever remaining time the Lord grants me fighting those who unjustly might seek retribution for perceived slights,” he wrote in a statement

— Gary Grumbach (@GaryGrumbach) January 20, 2025

Eight hours later…

The portrait of retired General Mark Milley, who served as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2019 to 2023 was removed from the Pentagon today, shortly after Trump took office.

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— Molly Ploofkins™ (@mollyploofkins.bsky.social) January 20, 2025 at 4:36 PM

Dr. Fauci: "I have committed no crime … The fact is, however, that the mere articulation of baseless threats, and the potential that they will be acted upon, create immeasurable and intolerable distress for me and my family … I acknowledge and appreciate the action that Pres. Biden has taken."

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1.bsky.social) January 20, 2025 at 9:20 AM

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Ex-Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn: "I'm eternally grateful to Pres. Joe Biden, not just for this preemptive pardon, but for his leadership and service … I wish this pardon weren't necessary, but unfortunately, the political climate we are in now has made the need for one somewhat of a reality."

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1.bsky.social) January 20, 2025 at 10:50 AM

In a new statement, Rep. Bennie Thompson and Liz Cheney thank President Biden for their pardons and recognizing that they're being targeted with threats "simply for doing our jobs and upholding our oaths of office. We have been pardoned today not for breaking the law but for upholding it."

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1.bsky.social) January 20, 2025 at 3:17 PM

In an incredible piece of news, President Biden has pardoned Ravi Ragbir, the immigrant rights leader who has been facing deportation for years. Without a pardon for his 24-year-old wire fraud conviction, Trump was likely to have him deported. www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-roo…

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— Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social) January 19, 2025 at 3:57 PM

Knight Institute Applauds President Biden’s Decision to Pardon Prominent Immigration Activist Ravi Ragbir.
Full statement from @ramyakrishnan.bsky.social at the link:
knightcolumbia.org/content/knig…

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— Knight First Amendment Institute (@knightcolumbia.org) January 19, 2025 at 3:57 PM

Elsewhere… Incoming:

New on @MSNBC: Trump and his admin have prepared a list of pardons for individuals convicted of rioting at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1.bsky.social) January 20, 2025 at 2:20 PM

Maybe there will be a blanket pardon for the Jan6 rioters, which would be enough of an insult. More likely, IMO, there will be endless in-house debate over who ‘deserves’ one (i.e., who can pay with cash, clout, or earned media), whether particularly egregious criminals like Stewart Rhodes should have their pardons slow-walked (because Rhodes has made it clear he intends to kill his ex-wife & kids if he’s released), et al. Then Dear Leader will be distracted by the next shiny object, the minions will scurry to comply, and the (literal) Base of disposable NPCs will still be sitting in jail.

ETA: *Sigh*

President Trump has pardoned 1,500 people who stormed the Capitol four years ago to block his successor from taking office, including 174 charged with using weapons or assaulting police and conspirators who plotted "to oppose by force the lawful transfer of presidential power."

— Brad Heath (@bradheath.bsky.social) January 20, 2025 at 7:52 PM

To clarify this, Trump commuted the sentences of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers convicted in seditious conspiracy cases. He has pardoned everyone else who was convicted, including those who assaulted the police. And he has ordered DOJ to drop any pending cases.

— Brad Heath (@bradheath.bsky.social) January 20, 2025 at 7:57 PM

Maybe someone can help me out here, but I can't think of a previous instance of a president instructing DOJ to dismiss particular pending criminal cases.

— Brad Heath (@bradheath.bsky.social) January 20, 2025 at 8:15 PM

I guess he figured it would look good on the teevee.

Monday Evening Open Thread: PardonablePost + Comments (62)

Friday Evening Open Thread: Tina Peters, This Week’s #FAFO Queen

by Anne Laurie| October 4, 20247:01 pm| 165 Comments

This post is in: Jan 6: Insurrection, Open Threads, Republican Venality

Election denier Tina Peters laughed during her sentencing, argued with the judge, and then was led away in handcuffs to serve a 9-year sentence. @MarcSallinger reports for @nexton9news. #copolitics pic.twitter.com/ruiGoUAco5

— Kyle Clark (@KyleClark) October 4, 2024

For those who missed the comments in this morning’s dawn post (or who just want to enjoy it again)…

Tina Peters, former Colorado clerk, sentenced 9 years for voting scheme. She lied at her sentencing which is stupid. She asked for mercy while lying. Judge said she was unserious. She will have ample time to think about her lying. Trump can’t pardon her. https://t.co/LvB25HOofL

— John W. Dean (@JohnWDean) October 3, 2024

Per the Associated Press:

A judge ripped into a Colorado county clerk for her crimes and lies before sentencing her Thursday to nine years behind bars for a data-breach scheme spawned from the rampant false claims about voting machine fraud in the 2020 presidential race.

District Judge Matthew Barrett told former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters — after earlier sparring with her for continuing to press discredited claims about rigged voting machines — that she never took her job seriously.

“I am convinced you would do it all over again if you could. You’re as defiant as any defendant this court has ever seen,” Barrett told her in handing down the sentence. “You are no hero. You abused your position and you’re a charlatan.”

Jurors found Peters guilty in August for allowing a man to misuse a security card to access to the Mesa County election system and for being deceptive about that person’s identity…

At trial, prosecutors said Peters, a Republican, was seeking fame and became “fixated” on voting problems after becoming involved with those who had questioned the accuracy of the presidential election results.

A one-time hero to election deniers, Peters has been unapologetic about what happened.

Before being sentenced, Peters insisted that everything she did to try to unroot what she believed was fraud was for the greater good…

It’s impossible to overestimate the damage Peters has done to other election workers in Colorado and elsewhere, Colorado County Clerks Association director Matt Crane told the court.

“In a real and specific way, her actions have led directly to death threats and general threats to the lives and the families of the people who work in our elections,” Crane said. “She has willingly aided individuals in our country who believe that violence is a way to make a point. She has knowingly fueled a fire within others who choose threats as a means to get their way.”

He, his wife and his children have been among those threatened, Crane said.

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Shortly before Tina Peters was sentenced to 9 years in prison, she angered the judge by saying that she was sure that he really agreed with her election fraud conspiracies. He wasn’t happy. pic.twitter.com/Suz0SCP7uq

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) October 3, 2024

Per Colorado Public Radio:

… Ahead of sentencing, Peters asked for probation. She said she recognized the jury’s decision to find her guilty on most of the counts, but that the jury wasn’t allowed to hear other evidence she wanted to present. That evidence was largely tied to conspiracies about the county’s Dominion Voting Machines, which were ruled inadmissible.

“I’m not a criminal and I don’t deserve to go into a prison where other people have committed heinous crimes,” Peters told the judge tearfully. She showed the judge pictures of her deceased husband and her son, a Navy Seal who died in the line of duty. She asked for probation in part to be able to keep visiting her 95-year-old mother in Virginia.

“I’m remorseful. Yes sir, I really am,” said Peters. “I never expected that just doing an image which was completely legal, before and after the trusted build would’ve landed me here. I thought it was going to come out quietly.”

But Barrett said his sentence was not just about punishment and the acceptance of responsibility but also deterrence. A stiff sentence, Barrett said, would ensure other elected officials respect the responsibilities of their office…

Mesa County Commissioner Cody Davis said the estimated cost of Peters’ actions to Mesa County taxpayers was $1.4 million. That includes Peters’s salary while she was barred from the elections office, as well as numerous recounts the county paid for to prove their elections were accurate.

While Davis explained the efforts to convince the public that Peters’ claims were untrue, Barrett interjected to ask what the hand count and other recounts showed.

“I want to know, what was the difference?” Barrett asked.

“They were identical,” Davis said, of the votes, noting that a hand count as well as a tabulation by a different voting machine company confirmed the election tallies were accurate. “No material difference.” …

Peters was found guilty of three felony counts of attempting to influence a public servant and one count of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation. She was also convicted of first-degree official misconduct, violation of duty, and failure to comply with an order from the Secretary of State, all misdemeanors.

The investigation began a little more than three years ago when images taken during a secure update of Mesa County’s voting equipment surfaced online. At the same time, a copy of Mesa County’s hard drive was displayed and discussed at a “cyber symposium” hosted by Mike Lindell, the MyPillow CEO who has been at the center of false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

Over the course of a lengthy trial, prosecutors laid out a timeline demonstrating that Peters had begun meeting with election conspiracy theorists in early 2021 about assumed “irregularities” in voting totals. In response, Peters and others hatched a plan to bring in an unauthorized person to observe a software update of Dominion Voting Machines. The plot involved creating security credentials for a local man named Gerald Wood and using those credentials to help another man gain access to voting equipment.

That man was retired surfer Conan Hayes, who clandestinely joined the software update and made copies of sensitive information that ended up online. That deceit was what the jury found Peters guilty of.

This speech by Judge Matthew Barrett today in sentencing Tina Peters to 9 years for tampering with voter data was brilliant. What struck me most was that it almost word for word applies to Trump. Worth a listen. pic.twitter.com/6wDk9mhntB

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) October 3, 2024

Of all the dumb ways to literally throw your life away, imagine doing so for Donald Trump. https://t.co/4c55UpXraE

— Patrick Skinner (@SkinnerPm) October 3, 2024

Friday Evening Open Thread: Tina Peters, This Week’s #FAFO QueenPost + Comments (165)

Late Night Fever Dreams Open Thread: MAKE THEM RIOT

by Anne Laurie| October 3, 20242:24 am| 102 Comments

This post is in: Jan 6: Insurrection, Open Threads, Republican Venality, Trump Crime Cartel

🚨WOW. Trump and his people encouraged the violent attack on the Capitol.

From Jack Smith’s unsealed court filing, “When he was warned there would be violence he said ‘Make them riot, do it.’” pic.twitter.com/a7nvYPzdcS

— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) October 2, 2024

“He peacefully gave over power”

– JD Vance, last night

“Make them riot.”

– unsealed testimony, today

— Ben Wexler (@mrbenwexler) October 2, 2024

This is not gonna come as a big surprise to anyone who’s been paying attention for the last four years, which leaves that considerable percentage of the voting public which hasn’t. As the overarching GOP quote goes, These are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

Per the Associated Press, “Prosecutors lay out new evidence in Trump election case, accuse him of having ‘resorted to crimes’”:

Donald Trump laid the groundwork to try to overturn the 2020 election even before he lost, knowingly pushed false claims of voter fraud and “resorted to crimes” in his failed bid to cling to power, according to a court filing unsealed Wednesday that offers new evidence from the landmark criminal case against the former president.

The filing from special counsel Jack Smith’s team offers the most comprehensive view to date of what prosecutors intend to prove if the case charging Trump with conspiring to overturn the election reaches trial. Although a months-long congressional investigation and the indictment itself have chronicled in stark detail Trump’s efforts to undo the election, the filing cites previously unknown accounts offered by Trump’s closest aides to paint a portrait of an “increasingly desperate” president who, while losing his grip on the White House, “used deceit to target every stage of the electoral process.”…

The brief was made public over the Trump legal team’s objections in the final month of a closely contested presidential race in which Democrats have sought to make Trump’s refusal to accept the election results four years ago central to their claims that he is unfit for office. The issue flared as recently as Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate when Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, lamented the violence at the Capitol while a Republican opponent, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, refused to directly answer when asked whether Trump had lost the 2020 race…

The purpose of the brief is to persuade U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan that the offenses charged in the indictment were undertaken in Trump’s private, rather than presidential, capacity and can therefore remain part of the case as it moves forward. Chutkan permitted a redacted version to be made public, even though Trump’s lawyers argued that it was unfair to unseal it so close to the election.

Though the prospects of a trial are uncertain, particularly if Trump wins the presidency and a new attorney general seeks the dismissal of the case, the brief nonetheless functions as a roadmap for the testimony and evidence prosecutors would elicit before a jury. It is now up to Chutkan to decide which of Trump’s acts are official conduct for which Trump is immune from prosecution and which are, in the words of Smith’s team, “private crimes” on which the case can proceed.

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The filing alleges that Trump “laid the groundwork” for rejecting the election results before the contest was over, telling advisers that in the event he held an early lead he would “declare victory before the ballots were counted and any winner was projected.”

Immediately after the election, prosecutors say, his advisers sought to sow chaos in the counting of votes. In one instance, a campaign employee described as a Trump co-conspirator was told that results favoring Democrat Joe Biden at a Michigan polling center appeared accurate. The person is alleged to have replied: “find a reason it isnt” and “give me options to file litigation.”…

Of the more than 1,200 Tweets Trump sent during the weeks detailed in the indictment, prosecutors say, the vast majority were about the 2020 election, including those falsely claiming Pence could reject electors even though the vice president had told Trump that he had no such power.

That “steady stream of disinformation” culminated in his speech at the Ellipse on the morning of Jan. 6, 2021, where Trump “used these lies to inflame and motivate the large and angry crowd of his supporters to march to the Capitol and disrupt the certification proceeding,” prosecutors wrote.

His “personal desperation was at its zenith” that morning as he was “only hours from the certification proceeding that spelled the end,” prosecutors wrote.

This is not an "October Surprise."

Jack Smith was not holding this back just to drop it now.

This is happening now because of Trump's appeals and the Supreme Court's horrendous ruling.

Jack Smith wanted this out months ago. Trump should already have had his trial.

— Mark Romano (@Tactelller) October 2, 2024

A quick note on the attribution of a quote making the rounds in Jack Smith's brief:

The figure quoted saying “Make them riot” and “Do it!!!" is "P5."

That person is described as a "a Campaign employee, agent, and co-conspirator" of Trump. pic.twitter.com/9CkgsPnTMC

— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) October 2, 2024

There's a clear, disturbing arc in the Jack Smith brief of the Trump team's weekslong pressure on Pence, while Pence routinely makes clear he won't go along with it. Then on Jan. 1, Trump tells him that if he doesn't, "hundreds of thousands" of people "are gonna hate your guts." https://t.co/nGvDHunrgY

— Roger Sollenberger (@SollenbergerRC) October 2, 2024

The "make them riot" comment is getting a lot of play, but I'd argue that "give me options to file litigation…even if it's BS" is equally damning. They knew Trump lost, and they moved heaven and earth to get him back into office anyway. https://t.co/P760GDP5km

— Mike Rothschild (no relation) (@rothschildmd) October 2, 2024

“Make them riot. Make them do it” pic.twitter.com/dFi4jZMItV

— Mike Madrid (@madrid_mike) October 2, 2024

Late Night Fever Dreams Open Thread: MAKE THEM RIOTPost + Comments (102)

Cold Grey Dawn Open Thread: ‘Just Us’ Alito, a/k/a Sammy the Bullsh*tter

by Anne Laurie| May 21, 20243:39 am| 156 Comments

This post is in: Jan 6: Insurrection, Open Threads, Republican Venality, Supreme Court Corruption

Drew Sheneman, The Star-Ledger #SamuelAlito #SCOTUS pic.twitter.com/RBNuZcjHXz

— Editorial & Political Cartoons (@EandPCartoons) May 17, 2024

Justice Alito turned the flag upside down. Donald Trump turned the Bible upside down. MAGA turned the Capitol upside down. The Roberts Court turned the Constitution upside down. Let’s set America right side up in November.

— Jamie Raskin (@jamie_raskin) May 20, 2024

I’m beginning to wonder how much of Justice ‘Teflon Clarence’ Thomas’ immunity to serious prosecution relies on the unspoken fact that he does pull the ‘high tech lynching’ card whenever he’s challenged. (And, yes, his life has been considerably harder because of his race, although his choices of how to respond to institutional racism are still personal.) But Samuel Alito can’t rely on unspoken White guilt… and his personal go-to religious persecution!!! charge is really only effective, AFAICT, with evangelicals, many of whom still think of Catholics as Papists who owe primary allegiance to a retrograde foreign global power.

Justice Alito in 2022: “Questioning our integrity crosses an important line.”
@jrpsaki: “There lies the crisis. Justices like Alito have the gall to reprimand those who question the Court's integrity, while choosing to ignore, excuse and at worst flaunt their own partisanship." pic.twitter.com/pCmDELDnWP

— Inside with Jen Psaki (@InsideWithPsaki) May 19, 2024

Upside-down flag at Justice Alito's home another blow for Supreme Court under fire https://t.co/wYeGvK0eAG

— The Associated Press (@AP) May 18, 2024

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Cold Grey Dawn Open Thread: ‘Just Us’ Alito, a/k/a Sammy the Bullsh*tterPost + Comments (156)

Saturday Morning Open Thread: Busy, Busy, Busy All the Time

by Anne Laurie| May 18, 20249:23 am| 115 Comments

This post is in: Biden Administration in Action, Elections 2024, How about that weather?, Jan 6: Insurrection, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat

Wow! Even Newsmax can’t ignore the great things President Biden has done “Biden has funneled a record $16 billion to Black universities, passed criminal justice reforms, and worked to roll back marijuana restrictions, among other legislative efforts.”pic.twitter.com/PlGuKjVXNd

— Harry Sisson (@harryjsisson) May 17, 2024

Holding our Houston area jackals in the light… y’all check in when you get the chance:

BREAKING: Power outages could last weeks in some parts of Houston after storms caused extensive damage, county official says. https://t.co/GJ8b0Fv3zK

— The Associated Press (@AP) May 17, 2024

“Debates over the debate” convo in full spate:

Trump accepts a VP debate but wants it on Fox News. Harris has already said yes to CBS https://t.co/lMcWDDHMQM

— The Associated Press (@AP) May 18, 2024

Per the Associated Press, “Trump accepts a VP debate but wants it on Fox News. Harris has already said yes to CBS”:

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… President Joe Biden’s campaign signaled it would reject Trump’s offer, an official pointing to the acceptable debate parameters it detailed earlier this week. Under those conditions, a Fox News-hosted debate would not qualify.

Republican Trump’s post on his social media network came after Democrat Harris accepted a different invitation from CBS News…

Fox News said in a statement it offered to host a VP debate on July 23, August 13 or a day after both party conventions. Harris’ team previously told CBS she would debate in-studio on the July or August dates Fox mentioned…

Trump for months has pressed Biden to debate, even placing an empty second lectern onstage at some of his rallies as a symbolic offer to the president. In a separate post Friday, he said he had accepted an invitation for still an additional debate, hosted by NBC and Telemundo, after previously committing to yet another invitation from Fox News for an October debate.

Biden’s campaign on Friday referred back to a previous statement in which chair Jen O’Malley Dillon accused Trump of having “a long history of playing games with debates: complaining about the rules, breaking those rules, pulling out at the last minute, or not showing up at all.”

Trump is starting to weasel his way out . . . https://t.co/qBumlGyHWz

— John V. Moore (@johnvmoore) May 18, 2024

Taking presidential debates out of commission's hands virtually guarantees fewer viewers https://t.co/xgYTLTdfV4

— The Associated Press (@AP) May 17, 2024

At least it will, if our Very Serious Horserace-Tout Media has anything to do with it…

… CNN said Friday that it will make its debate, scheduled for June 27 with Jake Tapper and Dana Bash as moderators, available for simulcast on any U.S. network with a news division that wants it, and allow free entry to CNN.com to stream it. ABC had said on Wednesday that it would allow networks and streaming services to simulcast its debate, set for Sept. 10 with David Muir and Linsey Davis as moderators.

A debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and whomever former President Trump chooses as his running mate is expected to air this summer on CBS. Fox News said it was seeking a second undercard debate but the Biden campaign signaled it would reject that

Each of the two debates between Biden and Trump in 2020 were carried on at least 16 networks, according to the Nielsen company. The first was seen by 73.1 million viewers, the second by 63 million…

For CNN leaders, there was a great temptation to keep it for themselves. It would have likely been the most-watched event ever on a network that is struggling in ratings. CNN’s chief executive, Mark Thompson, made a point in tying the debate to the brand on Wednesday when he announced the agreement to hold it during a sales presentation to advertisers in New York…

[Which is why CNN is not doing that!]
Despite worries about how many people will watch, Jamieson said there’s some irony in that there’s a lot to like about the proposed ground rules for the event. So far, the plans are to hold them in television studios without an audience.

That’s something the Annenberg group had proposed a decade ago, saying an audience that reacts to what the candidates are saying is often a distraction, and that audience is usually packed with partisans on both sides.

If the two campaigns agree to rules where one candidate’s microphone would be shut off while his opponent answers a question, it would go a long way to solving what has been a more frequent problem recently with politicians interrupting and talking over an opponent, she said…

To win this debate, all Trump must do is behave like a completely different person than he has shown himself to be over the last 8 years

Not looking great for the MAGA crowd https://t.co/pdYXXzYy6V

— Swann Marcus (@SwannMarcus89) May 18, 2024

Elsewhere: Violent criminals & their defenders —

BREAKING: The man convicted of attacking ex-Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband with a hammer has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. https://t.co/vqH1dKzC1V

— The Associated Press (@AP) May 17, 2024

At least David duPape has the excuse of untreated mental illness:

Fox Business guest Brent Bozell calls George Soros “the greatest threat to democracy — not just in this country, but worldwide.”

Bozell’s son is currently awaiting sentencing for smashing window on Jan. 6, leading chase against police. Feds seek 11 years. https://t.co/4dJtR9DJ9F pic.twitter.com/3b2RtsZKj4

— Eric Kleefeld (@EricKleefeld) May 16, 2024

FLASH: Brent Bozell IV, seen here leaving court with Brent Bozell III, sentenced to 3 years and 9 months in federal prison for his role in the Capitol attack.

I asked him if he still thinks the 2020 election was stolen, he declined comment.

Reporting with @JulesJester. pic.twitter.com/TlC78aGqN8

— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) May 17, 2024

The next Supreme Court appointee will share a jurisprudence with one of these two people and the 2024 election is largely about which one it’ll be pic.twitter.com/V9WBDRRpew

— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) May 17, 2024

Saturday Morning Open Thread: Busy, Busy, Busy All the TimePost + Comments (115)

Will This Story Have Actual Legs (I Surely Hope So) Open Thread

by WaterGirl| May 17, 202410:05 pm| 155 Comments

This post is in: Jan 6: Insurrection, Open Threads, Politics, Republican Politics, Supreme Court, Supreme Court Corruption, Violent Insurrection at the Capitol

Please please please let this story have legs.

“I’ve never heard anything like this in the entire history of every controversy I’ve ever known about with the United States Supreme Court.” Rachel Maddow reacts to a NYT report that an upside-down flag, a symbol of Stop The Steal, flew over Justice Alito’s house after Jan. 6. pic.twitter.com/TKb0FNumjm

— Alex Wagner Tonight (@WagnerTonight) May 17, 2024

half a h/t to Jackie because she sent me a TikTok from Facebook and I tracked it down on twitter. The part where Rachel gets really serious is around 2 minutes, 18 seconds.

Gradually and then suddenly? We can only hope.

Oh, and if you want something soothing and uplifting watch this. I can’t recall who posted the link in a post earlier today.

Open thread.

*found the cartoon on twitter but also had it sent to me by TBone, so another half h/t for her! You know what they say, half a h/t here, half a h/t there, pretty soon you’re talking about real hat tips!

Will This Story Have Actual Legs (I Surely Hope So) Open ThreadPost + Comments (155)

Friday Evening Open Thread: Maybe ‘Justice’ Alito Was Just Jealous of His Benchmate?

by Anne Laurie| May 17, 20247:32 pm| 47 Comments

This post is in: Jan 6: Insurrection, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat, Republican Venality, Supreme Court Corruption

The originalist interpretation of an upside down flag is to signal that your fort is under attack so Biden should have sent Marines to crash through his windows as reinforcements. https://t.co/ij9No6BtDY

— zeddy (@Zeddary) May 16, 2024

“White man can’t even get the credit he deserves for undermining democracy in service to America’s real heroes, its billionaire oligarchs! Maybe if I blame it on the old ball’n’chain, I could get some attention here?!?… “

The one time he doesn’t see fit to interfere with a woman’s decision-making. https://t.co/5CVEr1hqf3

— Elizabeth Picciuto (@epicciuto) May 17, 2024

10 days before the flag hung upside down at Alito's home, this occurred. Never forget. There was no ambiguity, no gray area, no fuzziness about its meaning. pic.twitter.com/DeIyDh30IU

— Joe Delmonaco (@delmonaco_joe) May 17, 2024

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Or they did come forward and no one would run the story. That’s why we’ve heard of Jodi Kantor. Her fame is built on forcing thru the stories that the NYT has previously killed. https://t.co/fgAoTqy0Sg

— Henry Porter (@HenryPorters) May 17, 2024

I bet he did it after seeing that 10 Republicans voted to impeach Trump on the 13th. His entire mantra, more than any other justice, is that a Republican can never harm another Republican so that must have felt like a personal betrayal. https://t.co/CHgWWFah47

— zeddy (@Zeddary) May 17, 2024

Six-million-dollar Fox News anchor bravely steps up to defend the Alitos…

I spoke directly with Justice #Alito about the flag story in the NYT. In addition to what's in the story, he told me a neighbor on their street had a "F— Trump" sign that was within 50 feet of where children await the school bus in Jan 21. Mrs. Alito brought this up with the…

— Shannon Bream (@ShannonBream) May 17, 2024

Justice Alito says he and his wife were walking in the neighborhood and there were words between Mrs. Alito and a male at the home with the sign. Alito says the man engaged in vulgar language, "including the c-word". 3/

— Shannon Bream (@ShannonBream) May 17, 2024

Of course you did because you’re buddies with them. https://t.co/4EP3HA7B0y

— Mudpuppy ???????????????????????????? (@mudpuppy_16) May 17, 2024

Just Alito Touch O'Seditionhttps://t.co/NhCc3j0rI1

— Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) May 17, 2024

Sometimes, there is no place else to go except deep into the wisdom of Martin J. Dooley, saloonkeeper, landlord, ward captain, and entrepreneur of th’ Archey Road in Chicago. Of all the pearls that Mr. Dooley hurled before us swine, this is one of the most famous. “No matter whether th’ constitution follows th’ flag or not, th’ supreme coort follows th’ iliction returns.”…

Right now, the Court is deliberating the concept of sweeping presidential immunity, a legal absurdity concocted by the former president* and his lawyers in an attempt to sabotage once and for all special counsel Jack Smith’s case against him concerning his actions on January 6, 2021. The entire Republican party is engaged in a massive act of historical vandalism concerning the events of that day, and the guy in the special counsel’s crosshairs is the presumptive GOP presidential nominee. And the angriest, most arrogant member of the carefully cultivated conservative majority had the ultimate symbol of wing-nut vengeance flying above his house. That is not the flag that the Constitution follows.

Whether it’s Joe Biden displaying a menorah during Hanukkah or Sam Alito flying a “Stop the Steal” flag during an election-related court case, both sides have embraced divisive symbols at inopportune times.

— New York Times Pitchbot (@DougJBalloon) May 17, 2024

Thanks for reminding us that Alito has a history of failing to recuse when he should recuse! #AlitoResign

— Barstool Dark Brandon ???? (@TheeThomasB) May 17, 2024

Friday Evening Open Thread: Maybe ‘Justice’ Alito Was Just Jealous of His Benchmate?Post + Comments (47)

Jay on War for Ukraine Day 1,183: A Quick Thursday Night Update (May 23, 2025 @ 3:27am)

Jay on Thursday Evening Open Thread (May 23, 2025 @ 3:15am)

JWR on Thursday Evening Open Thread (May 23, 2025 @ 3:00am)

Geminid on Thursday Evening Open Thread (May 23, 2025 @ 2:42am)

prostratedragon on Thursday Evening Open Thread (May 23, 2025 @ 2:16am)

When you’re in more danger from the IDF than from Russian shelling, that’s really bad.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

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

Not rolling over. fuck you, make me.

The lights are all blinking red.

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

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

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

How stupid are these people?

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

The Supreme Court cannot be allowed to become the ultimate, unaccountable arbiter of everything.

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

I’m more christian than these people and i’m an atheist.

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

When we show up, we win.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

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Friday Evening Open Thread: Maybe ‘Justice’ Alito Was Just Jealous of His Benchmate?