Saturday, April 20, 2024

The First Criminal Trial Hasn’t Really Begun

Point well taken.
"Well, a few things," said Litman. "First, their nonrelease, it's not a small point. You can guarantee that the two Trump lawyers are going to have a hellish weekend. It's one thing to prepare solidly to cross-examine someone you know will be, but it could be anyone at all. That's a serious sort of sanction for his misbehavior. But second, yes, it is exactly as you say, there's been on the one hand, Judge Merchan made quick work of things, but yet there are these eruptions of kind of chaos and stress and we have almost a tale of two trials. And as it goes forward, those will be the sort of high points that people remember and this trial could be really freighted going forward or it could stay smooth."
On the surface, this hurts Trump’s lawyers more than it hurts Trump. It’s redolent of his childishness (how else do you put it at this point? Mary Trump says of her uncle: "Some individuals cannot bear the feeling of being restrained by individuals," but I think Trump is just a child now.).  Ultimately it hurts Trump, of course. But will he ever see that?

I will pause here to note:
With respect to his demeanor, I will tell you that it may be the case that at rallies and other political functions, when he acts an overacts and makes faces and does his thing — people enjoy it," Bharara said. "But this is not a MAGA rally." 
"It's 12 jurors who were sworn to uphold their oath as jurors; a sacrosanct duty, civic duty and in my experience, they'll be watching the defendant in this case, Donald Trump, very carefully and if they detect that the defendant, Donald Trump, is not taking the proceeding seriously or is contemptuous of them or it's not comporting himself with respect towards the judge and the others in the room that is to his detriment."
This is Trial Lawyering 101. It’s basic, it’s fundamental, it’s important. You impress this upon your client. You cannot overemphasize it.

If you remember the OJ trial, the one all America watched/saw some of, OJ sat quietly and calmly for the entire trial. The only time he played a part in the trial was when he put the gloves on. He listened to his lawyers. He left the trial to them. It’s one of the primary reasons he died outside of prison.

Trump is going in precisely the opposite direction. Why? I leave that (mostly) to the experts. What matters is that he’s doing it. He’s making the case harder for his lawyers to defend, he’s making it more likely the jury will turn against him. And all he can think of is himself, in the moment. 

He’s making it harder for his lawyers to defend him. He’s pouting, sleeping, grumbling, playing with his phone, and before the trial begins he faces a show cause hearing and has damaged his defense. The fairness of the judge in letting Blanche have the name of one witness is twice nothing, not 33% of a win. It’s also a test. If that witnesses name shows up on the intertoobs this weekend, there’s still the show cause on Tuesday.

And if it doesn’t, the justice (yes, that’s the right term in New York) has found a pinch point on Trump, at least. The point, after all, is not to rap Trump’s knuckles every day and make him stay after school until his behavior improves; it’s to ensure a fair trial and due process. Trump, on the other hand, 
is a child determined to be miserable because he’s not getting his way. “Nasty, crooked people” are going to include the jury before this is over.

And while I have you here:
Dershowitz is just simply full of shit. The court has ruled on this: EOD. He’s not a lawyer on this case, he’s not responsible for representing Trump, he’s just shooting off his mouth so he can get on TeeVee, especially since nobody at Martha’s Vineyard will invite him to their parties. Somebody make him put his money where his mouth is. I guarantee he won’t pay up faster than Lindell has. America is yearning for a convicted felon in the White House. Of course it is.
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Friday, April 19, 2024

4000 Cybertrucks Have Been Sold

All 4000 have been recalled. Like Thanos in the movies, Tesla built its reputation on its inevitability. In the end, reality has proven to be Iron Man. The car really is a piece of shit.
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Meanwhile....

It’s that winning attitude that’s going to persuade the jury to vote to acquit! Why do I think he doesn’t have Trump’s best interests at heart? And all the pundits and Nate Silver cry with one voice: “We Told You So!” Same answer. He still thinks that matters. Although honestly, I’m hoping CNN gets wise next week and quits giving Trump the oxygen.

I gotta say, it’s a toss up which place is more interesting today:
Winning hearts and minds. That, or Gaetz can count votes.🗳️   (This do I subtly introduce a new topic.) This would be a bad comedy sketch if it wasn’t real life. This will take a few tweets, but it’s worth it. It’s about the Sandoval hearing, if Trump testifies. Among other things. Yeah, we’re pulling some threads together, here. Of course he does. Rich white man Presidential privilege. Now we see why Trump thinks this trial is going too fast. And why he needs more fundraising. Nope. Not over yet. Now we’re done.  Gonna be a long six weeks for Trump.  Longer (and better) once CNN, et al., realize he has nothing new to say everyday.  Although he might be prompted to talk about witnesses/jurors, and get his ass thrown in jail.

There's an upside to everything, I guess.
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He Will.

He’s an idiot. And he has to be in control.
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Just In Time 💨

I think everybody decided to hurry up and leave.
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I Would Only Add To This…

 …That a lot of people are not going to follow the trial obsessively, especially since it won’t be on TeeVee. But they will see a lot of Trump yelling at cameras on street corners, at least until editors realize he’s repeating himself for the 1,000th time.

And that Americans tend to take jury verdicts very seriously. If Trump is adjudged a felon, no matter how weak the crime seems to “experts”:

 the electorate will take it seriously. 😐 I don’t think people really care about the nuance between the DC charges and the Florida charges and the Georgia “perfect phone call” charges. A felony conviction is a serious thing, especially for a presidential candidate who, honestly, isn’t all that popular.

As the argument at Slate says, Trump doesn’t have the margins to lose many votes. And the campaigning he hasn’t done yet (because the lawyers are vacuuming up the money), he can’t do for six weeks or more; except to shout at TeeVee cameras. The other element the pundits (and the Slate article) ignore is that: actually, campaigns do matter. While Biden is campaigning and opening multiple offices in many states, Trump is farting in the courtroom, and snoozing,?and hoping to squeeze in another fundraiser or milk some more cash from small donors, to pay for all the consultants looking up old posts of potential jurors. (The guy is bleeding cash at this point.) Trump’s appearances people actually see are going to be Trump ranting about this trial and, soon enough, about the verdict.

And seriously, who wants to vote for “that guy”?
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Carrying Over The Theme… 💨

I wonder if he’s doing it in his sleep? 💤 💨 
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Chip Roy Is The Tip Of The Iceberg 💨

Conservatives in the House Freedom Caucus are signing up to take shifts to monitor the chamber floor in order to prevent their own party leaders from making unilateral moves that could curb their power. 
The Freedom Caucus’ Floor Action Response Team, shorthanded as “FART,” aims to guard against an unannounced request to pass resolutions that would stealthily limit their leverage against leadership, according to two Republicans with direct knowledge, who were granted anonymity to speak candidly. 
While one of the Republicans said the group largely doesn’t expect major developments, members also don’t want to be caught flat-footed if a GOP colleague tried to seek unanimous consent or a voice vote for a resolution that would change the House’s structure. Two potential examples of threats the Freedom Caucus perceives: the removal of its members from the Rules Committee or changes to agreements made at the beginning of this Congress with former Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Who knew the House floor was such a den of iniquity? Or that it should be watched over by a FART? 💨 

Like a fart in a hurricane. And, as ever, putting the national interest first. The objectives of FART are to not get Massie and Roy kicked off the Rules Committee, and not to raise the threshold for the majority bringing a motion to vacate the chair. Ironically, that power may soon pass to the Democrats anyway.

💨 
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Dark Brandon Ascendant

(I know it’s not news, now. But it is better when they say it. Well, funnier, anyway! 😹)
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The Fish Rots From The Head

You mean Donald Trump is not going to get immunity from the Supremes by yelling in street corners? Or be exonerated at trial for calling the judge and the prosecution corrupt for TeeVee cameras? Okay, I see the problem… Mr. Souzzi is being entirely too reasonable. I sometimes like to think Chip Roy is being reasonable. But then I realize it’s just a matter of who he’s yelling at.
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Legal Whizzing

Yeah, criminal cases don’t work that way. Your appeal is pursued while you’re in jail. Final judgments at the trial level are final until a superior court says otherwise. Speaking of which, has Trump ever secured a bond in that fraud case appeal?
"If a President does not have Immunity, the Opposing Party, during his/her term in Office, can extort and blackmail the President by saying that, 'if you don’t give us everything we want, we will Indict you for things you did while in Office,' even if everything done was totally Legal and Appropriate," Trump posted on Truth Social. 
"That would be the end of the Presidency, and our Country, as we know it, and is just one of the many Traps there would be for a President without Presidential Immunity." 
"Obama, Bush, and soon, Crooked Joe Biden, would all be in BIG TROUBLE. If a President doesn’t have IMMUNITY, he/she will be nothing more than a 'Ceremonial' President, rarely having the courage to do what has to be done for our Country," the former president added. "This is not what the Founders had in mind! Protect Presidential Immunity. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
Does he imagine the Supremes will read this and realize, “Oh, of course!”, and just cancel the arguments?  Or is he, as the Lovely Wife says, just fleecing the rubes? I really think: both and. Maggie Haberman picks up the irony baton, brandishes it!
In an update posted to the New York Times' live blog of the proceedings, Haberman wrote that "Trump appears to have fallen asleep in court again," and then added that "it happened several times just now" as "his eyes were closed for extended periods and his head dropped down twice."  
Haberman also had some observations about Trump's appearance as he entered court on Friday. 
"His hair is uncharacteristically messy," she wrote. "Like the wind hit it on the way into court."
Damned windmills! Dems in disarray!
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In Fairness, He Didn’t Tweet About It

The gag order has to come off," he declared. "People are allowed to speak about me but I have a gag order!" 
"I should be allowed to speak!" he complained. "They've taken away my constitutional rights to speak... I have a lot to say to you and I'm not allowed to say it! And I'm the only one! Everyone else can say whatever they want about me, they can say anything they want! They can continue to make up lies and everything else! They lie... they're real scum!"
Six weeks of listening to people accuse him of criminal activity. 😈
"So why am I gagged?" he complained. "I'm only telling the truth! They're not telling the truth! The judge has to take off this gag order! It's very, very unfair! My constitutional rights have been taken away!"
And yet, you keep talking.  And wait until his constitutional rights (5th amendment, 14th Amendment, 6th Amendment, etc.) lead him to a constitutionally sanctioned jail cell.

He’s gonna testify, too. Plan on it.
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“I Made This!”

Yes; yes , you did. The AZ Legislature has refused three times now to repeal that 1864 law.
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Luddites

Finally getting to the bottom of this. 

The “evidence” is that a computer software exists, therefor all electronic voting is unreliable, ergo voting “machines” must be replaced by hand written/hand counted ballots. QED.

We should probably repeal the 20th amendment while we’re at it; I mean, since we’re going back to the 18th century.

This “evidence” is never going to get before the Supreme Court. And it’s about as convincing as the old joke: “There is no gravity. The earth sucks.”

Mike Lindell should not be allowed anything sharper than a rubber ball. He’s the perfect example of a rich guy not being smart. At all.
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The GOP Nominee for POTUS

The Sandoval motion is to give the defense an idea of the information the prosecution has that they could use in cross-examination of the defendant. A sensible defendant (like OJ Simpson, who never said a word in his criminal trial) keeps mum. Any defendant would take one look at this list and tape his own mouth shut.🤐 

Donald Trump is more likely to to treat it all as fake news.
I still say he’ll do the same thing in court. A month of listening to people trash him? He won’t be able to stand it.
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Thursday, April 18, 2024

Remember Trump On His Phone In The Courtroom?

Switching now to Tuesday’s show cause (contempt of court) hearing: I’ll finish this myself. Contempt occurs in two forms: violation of a court order outside the presence of the judge; and in the presence. On the distinction rests severity. The judge can more easily impose jail for the contempt in the latter case. So Bragg is going big, because he isn’t going home. The result probably won’t be jail; but Merchan could raise the option and hold it over Trump’s head, to make it clear how close he really is. It’s a little early for jail; but if Merchan finds some of the contempt occurred within the building, that finding can support another contempt charge leading to jail time. Shortens the leash, IOW. I was sure Eric was the dumb one. This could well be an illegal campaign contribution. Or a conspiracy; a real one.
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😭

Can’t you just feel the excitement? “Propelled!” “Dramatic!” With less than 10 peremptory challenges apiece and a judge screening out bias on a mass scale, a child could have predicted jury selection would be finished by week’s end. Aaron Sorkin ain’t writing this trial. Most of the testimony will be dull and tedious, and reported third-hand by people telling us what other people said.

I’ve watched clips of the same Trump rally from Acyn, Rupar, and Biden/Harris, and sometimes you think three different rallies must be going on. Even a thoroughly predictable Trump rally (he says the same things, on a loop; Like a comedian with one act) is never anticipated as “dramatic.” Jury trials exist to be as anti-dramatic as possible. There’s no Johnny Cochran this time, no OJ to act as if the gloves don’t fit. And no camera to show it, anyway. 

Sorry; no drama.
Is she on the witness list? The bodega cats 🐈‍⬛ have a secret plan. Trump promised them a lifetime supply of tuna. This is how Trump wins New York. Shouting to cameras after a long day sleeping and scowling in court. For the next 6 weeks. 😈 I still love the fantasy that Trump reads. Does Trump understand what lawyers do? Why he’s in a court of law? Maybe he’s going to appeal on grounds he wasn’t competent to stand trial? That would damage his competency defense. Then again, maybe not. 🤔 According to Kudlow, this is how Trump campaigns for the next six weeks. And how he wins hearts and minds. Pretty sure that’s going to be obvious to everyone in the world except Stephen Miller in a very short time. Bring that up in court, too. What’ve you got to lose? 🤷🏻‍♂️  Unfair! He’s being kept away from his golf course! ⛳️  Trump made Nauta legally change his name to “Everybody.”
I'm guessing that as this goes on even more of those who were true believes in him will realize they've been conned by a blubbering, crybaby con-man. It won't be a mass exodus but slower. They won't become Biden voters, my guess is a lot of them don't vote at all in the fall. Democrats should put together a compilation of his blubbering and whining because that's bound to turn off anyone.
I truly expect the Biden-Harris Twitter feed to do that. And that Trump’s post-court whinging is going to do as much damage as the jury verdict. Unless the Supremes punt the immunity ruling to the next term, I also think Trump will have at least one more trial before November.
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Can You Start With A Definition…

...of “free speech” that the courts would recognize? And then explain just exactly what the fuck you mean by “signature campaign”?

Because you might as well be promising to protect Mom, America, and Apple Pie. (From what?, I might add. That’s why the definition is important. What are we supposed to give you credit for?) And “signature campaign”? Last one of those I remember was “Hands Across America,” where people were supposed to join hands from sea to shining sea. When it became clear that wasn’t going to work, they opted for rolls of butcher paper with hand prints and signatures.

And it still wasn’t enough.

What, exactly, are you putting your money into, and how will we know you reached your goal?

For a guy we were repeatedly told was “smart,” you really don’t show it.
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Schadenfreude

That display is not going unnoticed by prospective jurors. Expect it to continue as witnesses in trial do not testify to his sterling qualities, either.

He is his own worst witness.

🍿 


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Those Who Weren’t There Are Always The Most Expert

The "counterculture” was never popular so much as infamous. Most of the radical personalities were either rich kids or made money off their fame (no Springsteen working class characters, IOW), and college graduates who emulated Dustin Hoffman’s “Graduate” quickly turned into Yuppies after Nixon gave us Carter, and Reagan told us greed and racism were “good” again. Which is what really buried the Democrats. I was in college starting three years after Kent State. The biggest national craze associated with college students was streaking.

People forget very quickly. Look how many have to be reminded of just four years ago.

The rubber band of American culture, IOW, snapped back into place.

But civil rights prevailed (despite the death of the ERA), and the draft, bane of Vietnam that it was, is dead as the dodo.🦤 True, Boomers control the Roberts Court; but you expected Jane Fonda and Tom Hayden and Abbie Hoffman? The WWII generation dominated the Warren Court. The backlash to that was inevitable, too. But change still happened. As the Greeks understood, reason must always fight against chaos. It’s a permanent state of affairs. One step forward, one step back.

And Moss is old enough to take responsibility for his generation. Why haven’t they fixed all the Boomers’ mistakes? I mean, the last Boomer was born 56 years ago. Pretty sure a lot of post-Boomers voted for Trump; both times. And it was never because of “economic anxiety,” either.
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These Are Not The Defenses You Are Looking For 👀

The “political attacks” defense doesn’t fly in the context of a criminal case. Try harder.

The “order is ambiguous” is boilerplate. You always throw that in, so you can argue (now or later) that it’s too vague to be enforceable. Throw it against the wall, see what sticks.

“Replication” is too cute by half. Presumably they have something better they are saving for the brief; because otherwise, they got nuthin’.
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LOCK HIM UP!

Lot of loose talk (“The horror! The horror!”) about Trump “getting away with something” because he’s not in jail for life yet.

Again, it’s getting hard to distinguish Trump supporters from Trump detractors.

There is a hearing on Tuesday for Trump’s contempt. If Merchan puts him in jail, and Trump appeals for a mistrial (prejudicing the jury/jury pool), and everything could go to shit. So calm down. Every action has consequences. The contempt finding will not help him, even if the punishment doesn’t satiate tout le internet.

Please note Trump’s lawyer told him to put the phone away. And prospective jurors are watching Trump petulantly refuse to rise when they walk in . I want him to behave that way for six weeks, and play with his phone as often as possible. Blanche understands this, too.

It’s fine with me if Trump doesn’t. The courtroom is a very closed loop. What goes around in there comes right back around, very quickly.

Trump is going to FAFO. Let him.
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ELECTION INTERFERENCE!!!

It’s a representative government (something I remind myself in Texas every day): A reminder: Trump has only 10 peremptory challenges, and he’s used some (I don’t know how many). He can move the judge to dismiss “for cause,” so long as the judge agrees. At some point, probably soon, the jury will be seated. Trump can’t do very much about that.

I still won’t be surprised if they have a jury by Friday.
I’ve been told this is not the same thing as pre-Pearl Harbor isolationism, but I don’t think that leopard has really changed its spots. 

And I’m still wondering if Marge can count. It would only take a few Republicans saying “Fuck this noise,” and a smart Democratic play to get a few concessions, to ruin her bluster.

I also don’t think her sentiments are all that popular:
I’m guessing she also voted against the infrastructure bill: I’m sure we could find the same corruption of officeholders in America. But I’m guessing it will be h, since they don’t tend to announce the bribes at press conferences or in the steps of the Capitol.
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🔔 🔔🔔

The ex-president's campaign circulated talking points ahead of the trial, which started Monday, directing surrogates to describe the case as a "a full-frontal assault on American Democracy and the Constitution" and a "witch hunt," and recommending that supporters do not refer to the case as a "hush money case," but to instead describe it as "entries in the company’s records."
Oops. That’s known by a technical legal term called: “confession.” Part of the crime here is that Trump hid the payments to Stormy Daniels by repaying Michael Cohen for paying her, and booking the payments as “legal fees.” And yet here he is, confessing he made the payments to her personally, so that he can’t be guilty of campaign finance law violations. 34 of them, according to the indictment. But for business fraud, not violating campaign finance laws.

But he did it in the first place to quell the story, after the Access Hollywood tape torpedoed his campaign. Which, the indictment alleges, is the crime that makes the fraud a felony. It was an unreported campaign contribution, which couldn’t be reported because that was the purpose for paying it. And the purpose for hiding it.

Besides: a “mere” bookkeeping error made 34 times? Pull the other one, it’s got bells on it.
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Abort! Abort!!

Abbott and Paxton are acting this way (they don’t even care about abortion). I’m still wondering if they’re rocketing toward a rude awakening. We live in hope. Well, some of us do.
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Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Do They Still Make Bumper Stickers?

A) How many people know who Mayorkas is? Or particularly care?

B) Can you explain the alleged crime? (According to Sen. Kennedy, it was making misrepresentations to Congress. So; about what? In what way?)

C) (and most importantly): Can you put it on a bumper sticker? (“The House impeached Mayorkas (“who?”) for? And the Senate Democrats declined to waste time on this when the House has done… nothing to do with governing for two years, do…the problem is?”)

I mean, do you really want to open that can of worms? I think you’ll be better off selling this one: Don’t see it fitting on a bumper sticker, though.
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Idle Hands and Somebody’s Workshop

And then Trump had a day off; and he got bored.
"It is a very, very clear violation of the gag order," he told CNN's Erin Burnett on her show "Out Front." "The gag order's last provision says that Trump cannot make public statements about any prospective juror or any juror. Full stop."
"I mean, it is just not permissible and I think prosecutors who will have already asked to have him founded contempt for other violations where he's talked about witnesses. This in many respects is much more serious because judges take the jury and the integrity of the jury as almost sacrosanct and the idea that he's intimidating the jury is something that I think Judge Merchan is going to be very concerned about."
I’m old enough to remember yesterday, when Trump grumbled something one account described as barely audible, as a juror was leaving the room to. A dismissed juror. And Merchan told the lawyer (as he should do) to tell his client to watch his ass.

So I expect this gets folded into the show cause hearing and Trump may soon end up finding out it’s perfectly constitutional to introduce him to a jail cell before the trial is concluded. It may be the only way to keep his stubby little fingers off his phone.

Tomorrow, at least, should be interesting.
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In Case You Were Wondering…

...how that came out.
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Asymmetry Is A Feature, Not A Bug

It occurs to me I saw something similar in seminary.

In my second year, a new student arrived among much fanfare. She was reportedly brilliant and a very highly regarded student with impeccable credentials. She was also quite obviously very self-centered and enjoyed all the attention she could get (the term “narcissist” wasn’t widely bandied about in those halcyon days).

I didn’t have many classes with her, but in one I quickly realized she was not only bit “brilliant,” she didn’t know what she was talking about. I mentioned this to someone, and learned most of the faculty had figured that out. I did have one run in with her, while I was still living on campus.

I took a job at the seminary library, basically closing the place at night. She started there shortly after I did, and came into work shortly before closing, announcing to me that she was “here,” as if that was supposed to mean something. When it came time to close, the building was empty. But she came downstairs telling me there were noises in the upstairs bathroom and someone was hiding up there. I had been upstairs earlier and knew it was empty, and I needed to get home (it was nearly midnight). She wanted me to call the police (not campus police, we didn’t have any). I laughed and refused. The other worker (another student) didn’t know whether to go with me or stay with her (I’d have forced her to leave and locked up. So they stayed, and I left them to it.

The head librarian fired me the next day, saying I should have stayed because someone might’ve been upstairs. She had been called in, and found no one. But I was at fault, because the narcissist convinced people she couldn’t be wrong. She wanted to be important; she wanted to be powerful. She wanted to cry “wolf!” and have everyone come running.

That was my only dealing with her, but the system finally worked; sort of. I took a small church as pastor, cutting my time in class and extending my studies an extra year, so we graduated together. She was ordained almost immediately (required a call to a church, in our denomination. My ordination came months later.). It’s supposed to be a solemn and humble affair, where calling church gives gifts in celebration. The story was she reveled in the gifts like it was her birthday,?which left a lot of people wondering who, exactly, they had called to ministry for their church. Shortly after that, word came that she didn’t have the requisite undergraduate degree to get into seminary. How that slipped by was an administrative mystery. But it leant impetus to withdrawing her call. I don’t know how it ended up, but I’m sure it didn’t end well.

She was, I’d say now, a narcissist convinced of her own importance and glory (unless you plan to lead a megachurch, not goo qualities for ministry). The system let her through longer than she deserved, but then, we give people the benefit of the doubt, don’t we? Or the benefit of being persuasive. I remember the whole campus was buzzing with the reputation of her genius that preceded her. We all soon realized that was because she said so, and for no other reason.

I knew a lawyer like that, but for him it was not brag, just fact. He was still an asshole, though. Even his partners said so. But he was a good lawyer, so who cared?

Asymmetry in politics? Eh, seen that all my life. What brought down Sen. McCarthy? Not the courage (hah!) of the press; nor of the Senate. Not even Eisenhower. Nixon did in Nixon, just as Falwell outlasted his welcome. Jim and Tammy Faye got too greedy; Gingrich got too self-important (he always was, he just got worse). People seldom bring down such people; the “system” does because they linger too long, and become old and tiresome. What made them new and bold becomes old and dull. We honor people like that in the beginning; in the end we bury them with the refuse. We honor people like Dr. King in death, having dishonored them in life.

So it goes.
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The New York Trial Is Already Getting Expensive

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No Shit, Sherlock

Trump doesn’t go to the courtroom without his Secret Service team making sure it is secure. Former Presidents don’t go anywhere spontaneously. Not to Chuck-Fil-A, not to a bodega in Harlem.

My wife went to a bookstore when Hillary was First Lady, for a book signing. She was scanned on the way in, stood in line, and allowed to do only what SS would let her do. Lingering in the store was not one of the things. Of course these visits aren’t unplanned, and random people aren’t hugging Trump.

Get real.
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And They Think Court Is Boring!

I’m actually listening to this procedure on MSNBC. Hey, I’m old, I’m a lawyer, I have a very low boredom threshold. I read Kierkegaard for entertainment, for pity’s sake!

Schumer basically has Republicans in a box. They voted not to debate in private (Senate impeachment rules), so Schumer is going through each article raising a point of order on failure to state a crime (i.e., doesn’t meet constitutional requirements). Republicans keep making motions to adjourn or do other things (like go into closed session after all), and on and on it will go. Hell, even I might get bored!🥱 

I am old enough to remember when McConnell was a Senate rules genius, and wondering whatever happened to that (*cough cough bullshit bullshit!*). McConnell tried to get a motion passed;,it failed. I don’t think McConnell was ever a procedural genius; I think Dems were just in disarray. Schumer is running the Senate the way LBJ used to. Gonna have to change some narratives some pundits are far too young to remember.

😉

(MSNBC got bored first. I think it was Kennedy offering the second motion to adjourn, this time on the second article, and for a return date one day later than the earlier (failed) motion. Until May 1, if you’re wondering. Why do anything else for two weeks, right?)
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Restitution For Rich White Men

Agreed, except “fair trial” here means Trump is acquitted, exonerated of all other charges against him from New York courts, given the key to the city and a ticker tape parade, and declared President for Life by acclamation, term starting immediately, no take backs.

Rich white men expect their privileges.
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Right After They Come Up With The Crimes Mayorkas Committed

"Morning Joe” made much of the fact the Senate had articles of impeachment for the Secretary of Homeland Security, despite the fact no high crimes or misdemeanors are alleged against him. I guess Comer figures that’s good enough, so long as the GOP has 50% plus one? My only disappointment is that Moskowitz wasn’t there.
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“Old Man, Look At My Life, I’m A Lot Like You Were”

Wasn’t that the premise of “Friends”? Except I understand the unrealistic part there was getting such an apartment in NYC in the first place. I mean, at all.

The Golden Child rents a house (with her husband) half-again the size of the one she grew up in, and complains about the cost of housing. I’m sitting in the largest house I’ve ever lived in (it’s not THAT large, but bigger than the house I grew up in). It’s easily twice the size of the house where the Golden Child was born (well, first came home to).  It has risen dramatically in value since I bought it, but she and husband want a bigger house, which will be more expensive. And they complain about that.

I just keep my counsel.
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“Whaddya Got?”

The Civil Rights Movement was organized and purposeful, and at least got the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act passed. We are, nearly 69 years later, reaching the nadir of the reactionary forces against those changes, but that just proves you can never declare “Mission Accomplished.”

The anti-war movement was never quite as organized or purposeful, occurring as it did on only a handful of campuses, carried out by college students who were exempt from the draft and war they were protesting. The war finally ended because public opinion turned against it, which may have been because of the protests, but was also because it dragged on so long we all lost the point. Then again, no one dares suggest reviving the draft, that carryover from WWII that we shot full of holes so middle class and above white boys would be safe.

Looking at this video I see more photographers than protesters, and can’t tell what they’re protesting (“Whaddya got?”). Burning the flag doesn’t really bother me, frankly. I’m a child of the Sixties and never much inclined to admire idols and symbols, anyway. You wanna drop a cross in a jar of piss, it’s fine with me. I don’t worship that cross, and I don’t have to put that jar in my house.

But you know, back in my day, protesting used to mean something. 👴🏻
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Professor of Criminal Procedure, Trump University School of Law

"UNCONSTITUTIONAL! RICH WHITE MAN PRIVILEGE CLAUSE! I SHOULD BE ABLE TO STRIKE ALL IF MANHATTAN FROM THE JURY! AND PUT ONLY MY FAMILY MEMBERS AND ALAN WEISSELBERG THERE! UNFAIR!”

(Alina Habba didn’t know anything about this!)
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Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Aging Well

But if he is asleep:
If anything he's probably brutally bored," Habba said. "It's painful. They make him sit there through jury selection, the first day was procedural."
Later that same day:
Habba then appeared on Newsmax hours later to field similar questions and admitted she hadn't been in the courtroom, but found the account — from New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman — a "remarkable story at best." "He reads a lot," Habba said. Habba, who defended Trump in two New York civil cases last year, once again argued that court proceedings are dull. "He's been sitting there as he's forced to, at the threat of going to jail if he's not sitting there, for what I assume would be a very mundane day," Habba said. "They are going through jury selection there were a tremendous amount of motions being heard yesterday."
So how about this account? Or the other accounts today? Just another conspiracy? Or a failure to appreciate how bored Trump is with the rest of us. It’s like he’s an arrogant super-villain, and Habba is his minion.
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Bodega Cats 🐈‍⬛

Two days of jury selection, 7 jurors selected, =“rushing this trial.”

🤣🤣🤣

He has no clue.
Does what you believe matter? See you at the hearing on the show cause order. You can tell the judge what you believe, there. See where it gets you. So that’s why you went there with a Secret Service contingent? You know the cameras never show the crowds. There were at least 5000 people there. But you can’t see them.
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If I’m Ever Caught Or Killed…

...or called for jury duty, I will disavow any knowledge of this blog.

I’ll say the readers did it without my knowledge.
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O, The Humanities!

Earlier today:
Agnifilo then explained a quirk of jury selection rules that allows the defense and prosecutors to request an unlimited number of jurors be excused for a specific reason (for cause) but limits each side to 10 "peremptory " removals, or removals lawyers can request without a reason. 
"You don't want to waste your peremptory," Agnifilo said. Which, she explained is why, "the prosecutor here did something very interesting." 
The Manhattan district attorney's office didn't challenge the first 12 jurors, ultimately landing the defense with 12 difficult decisions, Agnifilo explained. 
"That's a chess move on their part because it forces...the defense," she explained. " They only have ten challenges. If they don't like those jurors, and they don't get any for cause challenges, you could have two jurors right there." 
Agnifilo believes this forcing of the hand will essentially make impossible Trump's primary tactic in each of his four criminal cases: delay. 
"We're going to have a jury this week," she predicted. "It's going much faster than I thought."
And: Which explains the overtime. Merchan wants this case to get underway.
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Sidebars Interrupt Checking His Eyelids For Holes

🥱😂
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