September 21, 2022
Late Morning Update:
** Kara Scannell of CNN: "New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a civil fraud lawsuit Wednesday against ... Donald Trump, according to court records. The case docket indicates the defendants are Donald J. Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump, Allen Weisselberg, Jeffrey Mcconney, The Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, The Trump Organization, Inc., and other businesses associated with Trump. This story is breaking and will be updated."
Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post: "For those flabbergasted and dismayed by Judge Aileen M. Cannon's absurd ruling granting ... Donald Trump a special master's review of the sensitive documents recovered from Mar-a-Lago, Tuesday's hearing before the special master himself, Judge Raymond J. Dearie, came as a breath of fresh air -- and a reminder that not every judge is an unabashed partisan. As a preliminary matter, Dearie made clear that this was a civil case in which Trump had the burden to show he had some claim to get back documents seized under a properly served search warrant. That was already an improvement over Cannon, who seemed never to consider that vital prerequisite to any further ruling." And so forth.
The Washington Post publishes an excerpt of a book by its reporters Rachel Bade & Karoun Demirjian. The excerpt outlines how Mitch McConnell & most Senate Republicans quickly folded & decided against convicting Trump of his second impeachment.
AirLive: "Russian airlines have stopped selling tickets to Russian men aged 18 to 65 unless they can provide evidence of approval to travel from the Ministry of Defense. All flights from Russia to available foreign destinations were sold out Wednesday after President Vladimir Putin declared a 'partial' mobilization of the country's 25 million reservists."
~~~~~~~~~~
Via Scott Lemieux.
Charlie Savage & Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "On Monday evening, lawyers for ... Donald J. Trump insisted that he should not have to formally declare in court whether, as he has claimed publicly, he had used his power before leaving office to declassify sensitive documents seized from his Florida home last month. But on Tuesday, in a separate court filing, Mr. Trump's lawyers argued that the Justice Department has not proved that those same documents ... continue to be classified, coyly hinting Mr. Trump might have declassified them. Mr. Trump, in other words, wants it both ways: He is arguing that he and his legal team should not have to state in a legal proceeding, where they could become subject to perjury charges or other penalties, that he declassified the documents, while also telling the courts that they should not accept the Justice Department's word that they remain classified." (Also linked yesterday.) This story has been updated to describe the hearing held yesterday. More on that by Politico, linked below. ~~~
~~~ Marie: A WashPo story, linked yesterday, indicates that the Trump lawyers argued that Trump should not have to reveal his fake declassification excuse because they might want to use that fiction in his defense if he's indicted. In today's filing, according to the NYT story linked above, "The president has broad authority governing classification of, and access to, classified documents." So I'll just point out that Trump is not the president. Maybe his attorneys are planning an insanity defense: he thinks he's president so he thinks he can access and/or declassify whatever he wants. Trump's incarceration could end up being nothing more onerous than a short stay in an upscale mental-health facility. ~~~
The government gives me prima facie evidence that these are classified documents.... As far as I'm concerned, that's the end of it. -- Judge Raymond Dearie, Tuesday ~~~
~~~ ** Update. Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney of Politico: “The senior federal judge tasked with reviewing the materials seized by the FBI from Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate sharply questioned the former president's attorneys Tuesday during their first hearing before his courtroom. Judge Raymond Dearie pushed Trump's lawyers repeatedly for refusing to back up the former president's claim that he declassified the highly sensitive national security-related records discovered in his residence. "You can't have your cake and eat it,' said Dearie.... Dearie bristled at the effort by Trump's lawyers to resist his request for proof that Trump actually attempted to declassify any of the 100 documents that the Justice Department recovered from his estate. Without evidence from Trump, Dearie said his only basis to judge the classification level of the records was the fact that they all bear markings designating them as highly sensitive national security secrets.... Dearie ... noted that ... the burden of proof is on Trump to back up any assertion of privilege or other protected interest in the documents." (Also linked yesterday.)
~~~ As Greg Sargent of the Washington Post wrote before the hearing: "This episode reveals the perils of lawyering by Fox News: If you tailor arguments to a forum where damning facts are never admitted as evidence and Trump's defenses never face real scrutiny, eventually you'll hit a wall of legal reality.... Dearie essentially asked Trump's lawyers to put up or shut up. And they chose Door No. 2.... What's darkly amusing here is that Trump's own claims that he declassified the documents are what led the special master to demand that Trump&'s lawyers put up or shut up." (Also linked yesterday.)
GOP State AGs File a "Yo Mama" Brief. Andrew Jeong & Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "Texas's Ken Paxton and 10 other GOP state attorneys general came to the defense of ... Donald Trump on Tuesday in his legal fight over documents the FBI seized last month, filing an amicus brief in a federal appellate court that argued the Biden administration could not be trusted. In a 21-page document that repeated numerous right-wing talking points but that experts said advanced little new legal ground, the officials accused the Biden administration of 'ransacking' Mar-a-Lago ... during an Aug. 8 court-authorized FBI raid and of politicizing the Justice Department.... The amicus brief urges the appellate court to deny the appeal.... The GOP officials list a wide array of grievances against the Biden administration, including how it handled immigration law enforcement and its response to the coronavirus pandemic, that do not appear directly related to the case.... The brief is 'of course a political stunt,' said Jon D. Michaels, a law professor at the University of California at Los Angeles.... 'The officials are playing to the fierce MAGA bases in their states,' he said." See also Patrick's comment below.
Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: "In May, New York passed a law giving adult sexual assault victims a one-time opportunity to file civil lawsuits, even if the statutes of limitations have long expired. Now, a writer who says former President Donald J. Trump raped her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s plans to use the law to sue Mr. Trump, according to court papers made public on Tuesday. The writer, E. Jean Carroll, had already sued Mr. Trump in 2019 for defamation, claiming that he had harmed her reputation when he branded her a liar and denied having attacked her. She plans to file her new case against Mr. Trump on Nov. 24, the start of a one-year window in which the law allows such suits to be filed, Ms. Carroll's lawyer, Roberta A. Kaplan, wrote in a letter to the federal judge overseeing the defamation lawsuit." The Guardian's story is here.
David Fahrenthold of the New York Times: "The Justice Department said on Tuesday that a federal grand jury had indicted 44 people on charges that they ran a brazen fraud against anti-hunger programs during the coronavirus pandemic, stealing $240 million by billing the government for meals they did not serve to children who did not exist. The case, in Minnesota, is the largest fraud uncovered in any pandemic-relief program, prosecutors said, standing out even in a period when heavy federal spending and lax oversight allowed a spree of scams with few recent parallels. The Minnesota operation, prosecutors said, involved faked receipts for 125 million meals. At times, it was especially bold: One accused conspirator told the government he had fed 5,000 children a day in a second-story apartment." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post story, by Tony Romm, has the grand jury indicting 47 people who defrauded the government of more than $250 million. (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story has been updated to report that 48 people have been indicted. Maybe that grand jury just keeps on indictin'. The Guardian's story is here.
~~~ Say, ya wanna know another flagrant Covid scam? Cruel hoaxer Ron DeSantis used Covid money to pick up 48 asylum-seekers from Texas and dump them, under false pretenses, on Martha's Vineyard. (Also linked yesterday.)
Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "A group of Venezuelan migrants who were flown from Texas to Martha's Vineyard last week -- allegedly after being falsely promised work and other services -- have filed a class-action lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and other officials who arranged the flights, saying the officials used fraud and misrepresentation to persuade them to travel across state lines. The migrants said they were approached outside a shelter in San Antonio by people 'acting in concert' with the Florida officials 'pretending to be good Samaritans offering humanitarian assistance,' according to a copy of the complaint. The supposed Good Samaritans told the migrants that if they were willing to board airplanes to other states, they would receive employment, housing, educational opportunities and other assistance, the complaint alleged." ~~~
~~~ AP: "The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Boston, alleges that the migrants were told they were going to Boston or Washington, 'which was completely false,' and were induced with perks such as $10 McDonald's gift certificates." ~~~
~~~ Paul Blest of Vice: "A Texas sheriff [-- Sheriff Javier Salazar of Bexar County --] announced Monday that he would investigate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's administration flying Venezuelan migrants from San Antonio to Martha's Vineyard last week. And now, his office says, it's received 'numerous threats.'" MB: Probably not all that smart to threaten law enforcement officers. ~~~
~~~ Flight of the Bumble-Head. Priscilla Alvarez, et al., of CNN: "Delaware officials and volunteers began to make preparations Tuesday after reports and flight plans suggested a plane chartered to take migrants to Martha's Vineyard last week was about to bring a group of migrants from Texas to the president's home state. By Tuesday afternoon, though, there was no sign of such a flight, and the plane expected to depart Kelly Field in San Antonio had not even arrived at the departure airport.... [Flight-tracking] sites listed a route from Kelly Field in San Antonio to a brief stop in Crestview, Florida, and on to Georgetown, Delaware.... Jill Fredel, the director of communications for the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, said in a news conference Tuesday that ... the governor's office has not received any outreach from Florida or Texas, but noted the state is putting preparations in place just in case.... White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said the White House has coordinated with Delaware officials...." ~~~
~~~ According to the Vice story linked above, "... the flight from east Texas rerouted to Nashville, and is now scheduled to land in Bergen County, New Jersey Tuesday evening." ~~~
~~~ So Then. Karen Yi of the Gothamist: "Within hours of hearing a plane carrying asylum seekers might land in New Jersey, volunteers and organizers had assembled at the Teterboro Airport -- ready with diapers, food and greeting signs stuffed in their cars. But no migrants ever arrived. Instead, Ultimate Air Shuttle 11 touched down in Teterboro[, N.J.,] with only crew on board." MB: Who could possibly have guessed Ron DeSantis just might be a chicken?
Jonathan Allen of NBC News: "Sen. Lindsey Graham's national 15-week abortion ban would likely force many women to undergo invasive transvaginal ultrasounds before terminating pregnancies, according to doctors. Under the bill, which Graham introduced last week, physicians could be prosecuted for terminating pregnancies after 15 weeks, except in a handful of scenarios.... Doctors would be on the hook to ask each patient about the timing of her pregnancy 'and perform or cause to perform such medical examinations and tests' as needed to 'make an accurate determination of gestational age.' Because violations of Graham's proposed 15-week ban would be punishable by up to five years in prison, doctors say the legislation would create a powerful incentive to perform transvaginal ultrasounds to make an age judgment." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Is there any clause in the bill that says Lindsey gets to watch? Getting that probe shoved up your wazoo can be "uncomfortable," so I'll bet Lindsey would like to see that.
Even Alex Jones' Lawyers Are Crooked (Allegedly). Elizabeth Williamson of the New York Times: "A federal bankruptcy judge in Houston ordered new personnel to oversee the bankruptcy of Alex Jones's Infowars late on Tuesday, citing an ongoing lack of transparency, including over Mr. Jones's lavish personal spending. Judge Christopher Lopez dismissed Mr. Jones's attorney and chief restructuring officer in the bankruptcy of Free Speech Systems, Infowars' parent company, and expanded the duties of a Department of Justice-appointed trustee already monitoring the case. The judge authorized the trustee to hire additional legal and other help, specifying that any new hires must have 'no connection to any of these cases,' he said, citing a need to investigate 'insider relationships.'"
Way Beyond the Beltway
Ukraine, et al.
The New York Times' live updates of developments Wednesday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's live updates for Wednesday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here. ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live briefings for Wednesday are here: "... Vladimir Putin announced a 'partial mobilization' of troops in an address to his nation on Wednesday, framing the move to call up reservists as an attempt to defend Russian sovereignty against a West that seeks to use Ukraine as a tool to 'divide and destroy Russia.' His speech comes as Ukraine is in the midst of a counteroffensive and as Kremlin-backed officials press ahead with staged referendums that could result in Moscow annexing occupied parts of Ukraine -- an act that would mark a major escalation in the conflict. World leaders gathering in New York for the U.N. General Assembly have widely condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine, describing it as a threat to global order and world peace."
Melissa Eddy of the New York Times: "The German government on Wednesday announced that it was taking over Uniper, previously the country's largest importer of Russian gas, to ensure the supply of energy to homes and businesses. The German state will spend 8 billion euros ($7.9 billion) to acquire shares in Uniper it does not already own, giving it a 99 percent stake. Fortum, a Finnish energy company, will sell its majority stake to the German government for €1.70 per share, a fraction of what Uniper's stock was worth before Russia invaded Ukraine in February, when it traded at around €40 per share. In July, the German government took a 30 percent stake in Uniper and agreed to a €15 billion rescue package to keep it from going under. The company is responsible for supplying about 40 percent of all gas used in Germany, including to hundreds of municipalities that provide heating to homes across the country." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I couldn't see how buying Uniper would help ensure a supply of gas, but it seems the company has purchased liquified natural gas from countries other than Russia.
David Nakamura of the Washington Post: "Attorney General Merrick Garland and his Ukrainian counterpart, Andriy Kostin, signed an agreement Tuesday aimed at formalizing cooperation over joint efforts to prosecute alleged war crimes committed by Russian forces in the war in Ukraine. The two men signed the memorandum of understanding after meeting at Justice Department headquarters in Washington, a show of partnership to step up international pressure amid evidence of new mass atrocities discovered after Ukrainian forces took back wide swaths of territory in recent weeks."
News Lede
New York Times: "Hurricane Fiona was slowly moving north toward Bermuda as a Category 4 storm early Wednesday after battering the Turks and Caicos Islands, largely knocking out Puerto Rico's power grid and drenching parts of the Dominican Republic earlier this week. The storm was more than 100 miles north of the northernmost island in the Turks and Caicos archipelago as it churned through the Atlantic Ocean at about 8 miles per hour on Wednesday morning, the National Hurricane Center said in a forecast. It had maximum sustained winds of 130 m.p.h and was forecast to approach Bermuda late Thursday after strengthening and shifting to the north-northeast."
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Reader Comments (11)
Here I've combined a couple of comments Akhilleus posted early this morning in yesterday's thread & submitted before I put up today's page.
By Akhilleus
It ain’t that tough…
Fatty and his hack lawyers are trying to tell Judge Dearie not to believe his lying eyes when he sees “Top Secret” stamped on all those documents he stole.
It’s like trying to argue with a cop who pulled you over for running a stop sign by claiming first, that you MAY have changed it to a GO sign and he was just too stupid to know any better, and second, that the local transportation board had not confirmed that it actually is a stop sign.
The cop, a reasonable chap, tells you to look at the sign. “It says ‘Stop’, mac. Here’s your ticket.” It ain’t that tough.
The fact that Trump has been able to get away with crap like this is the biggest reason he has salted the justice system with ignorant hacks like Cannon, so he can argue that “stop” means “go” when he sez so.
There are plenty of other Trumpy judges who will find that an entirely valid legal argument. Luckily for us, Dearie does not appear to be such a partisan hack. Or an idiot.
My other favorite thing about Trump’s lawyers involves their soooo sly legal-like thinking. They tell the judge they don’t want to talk about declassification because if Fatty gets indicted, they’re gonna use the declassification thing as a defense and talking about it would give away their whole plan.
Um, don’t look now guys, but you just DID give it away.
Jesus, what morons. No wonder they don’t get paid.
About the GOP AGs filing and amicus "Yo Mama" brief to the appeals court:
Every one of those AGs is a paid public servant, sworn to defend and support the US constitution, it's laws, and the constitution and laws of his (they all appear to be men, maybe I'm wrong) state.
Instead of attending to those duties, they see a higher duty in claiming the appeals court's time by submitting a political case, essentially suggesting that how they feel about Joe Biden is more dispositive than the laws governing presidential documents and classified information.
Although it is impossible to imagine the 11th Circuit doing so, it seems that this type of obfuscutory spaghetti-flinging calls for a censure of the AGs by the court. If you let people drown you in BS soon that's all you will have in your court.
Of course, if you like BS, never mind.
A father asks his teenage son what venture he envisions for himself and the kid says he sure would like to be an actor–-"I think I have the talent for it." Well, son, says his father, another avenue you might want to pursue is the LAW–--close cousin to the theater, I reckon, plus these days lawyers are a dime a dozen and the need for honest brokers is badly needed and by the time YOU finish law school the need will be even greater. The kid thanks his Dad and then does his best Trump impersonation –--he's preparing for the role of a lifetime in a future film.
I worry about Jean Carroll–-now that she's reopened her case against her rapist will the Q's ascend upon her and do her harm? I've lost track at the number of suits her rapist is involved with but am so glad she hasn't given up on this one.
And Marie: " Is there any clause in the bill that says Lindsey gets to watch? Getting that probe shoved up your wazoo can be "uncomfortable," so I'll bet Lindsey would like to see that."
First laugh of the day––-especially that "up the wazoo"–––oh, how I wish Pittypat could read this––maybe he piss in pants?
@P.D. Pepe: Yeah, obviously, I wasn't serious about the "Graham Observation" clause, but I do think this proposed law is another of the many instances in which Republicans propose and/or pass bills where cruelty toward some vulnerable group -- women or minorities -- is the point, or at least an essential, "appealing" element of their legislation.
A former DHS official, Miles Taylor, said Tuesday that Trump had concocted an even more twisted scheme than shipping immigrants to blue states, (with video)
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/miles-taylor-donald-trump-criminals-immigration_n_632aeac3e4b0913a3dd6c80e
Think we can get a bus load of transgen kids and their parents to shoot down to Florida, knock on DeSantolini’s door and ask for food, shelter, and jobs? Oh yeah, and send a film crew along.
@Akhilleus: The kids will have to wait in line. I've already organized two busloads of ex-felons from Mississippi looking for jobs, interim financial support (to cover the costs of Second-Amendment gun & ammo purchases, mostly) & voter registration cards, knock, knocking, knockin' on the governor's door.
But don't tell DeSantolini. The element of surprise, as he has taught us, is so important.
I'm hoping to make my Orange Blossom Special a permanent national program, with planes, trains & automobiles bringing ex-felons from all 49 states to Florida. One offload a week in a surprise Florida city or small town (heads up, Palm Beach!). Two weeks off for Christmas & one week for Easter. This is a Christian nation, after all (plus, that works out on a 52-week calendar -- although if Puerto Rico becomes a state, the Easter break is out).
But DeSantolini shouldn't worry. I'll try to make sure all of the ex-felons I send his way are totally rehabilitated. I promise.
My sister tells me that trump even wanted to ban preshredded cheeses.
He wanted to make America grate again.
Marie,
Make sure you remind your ex-felons to let DeSantolini know that their next stop, after picking out a cozy guest bedroom in his mansion, will be to the city clerk’s office where they’ll all register to vote.
Miles Taylor, "In 2019, Trump directed us to go and take immigrants from the border and, quote, bus and dump them into democratic cities but he was more specific. He wanted us to identify the murderers, the rapists, and the criminals, and in particular, make sure we did not incarcerate them."
I guess Trump was actually telling the truth for once when he complained that DeSantis was stealing his immigration idea. Though Trump's idea as usual was even worse.
I wonder if the Orange Jesus is singing this song to himself as he wanders about his personal space in Marred-a-Lardo given the news over the last few hours/days.