LOL: the Supreme Court is asking the Trump administration to submit a letter brief on the mootness issue in December's Second Amendment case. The justices gave the SG, like, an hour and a half to file. #SCOTUS
The Justice Department informed the Court that it believes the dispute is not moot (that is, that the case should proceed and the justices should issue a decision). The Court would like the Trump administration to say a bit more on the subject.
The SG has responded to the Court's request and submitted the government's letter views -- just in time to enjoy the Olson reception at #FedSoc2019#SCOTUS
The German government prevailed at the Supreme Court today in a dispute over a medieval art collection high Nazi officials extorted from Jewish dealers. But the Court left an alternative path open for the plaintiffs to obtain restitution. #SCOTUS
The Welfenschatz, or the Guelph treasure, is a collection of statuettes, religious artifacts, and the like assembled by the House of Welf. Much of the collection is displayed in Berlin. Some Guelph pieces (not at issue in this case) are maintained at the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Hermann Göring allegedly strong-armed a consortium of Jewish art dealers into selling much of the Welfenschatz for one-third of its value in 1935. Heirs to the dealers are seeking restitution. The value of the treasure is about ~$250 million.
President Biden tapped Vanita Gupta for the no. 3 position at DOJ. Her father is a chemicals magnate and Wall Street advisor who sits of several Fortune 500 company boards. But she didn't mention that when asked about conflicts on a Senate questionnaire.
The committee questionnaire is vague about the scope of conflicts a nominee should disclose, but the Justice Department isn't. DOJ guidance calls on employees to avoid matters touching parents, absent approval from their superiors and an ethics official.
These aren't hypothetical conflicts. For example, Mr. Gupta sits on DuPont's board of directors. DOJ had to approve DuPont's merger with Dow in 2017, and it recently settled a case involving environmental law violations at a DuPont plant in Texas.
The disconnect between what Trump allies are saying on television/Twitter and what the Trump legal team is alleging in its court filings is really striking. Accusations of widespread fraud hyped by the former aren't showing up in filings from the latter.
Take MI: the Trump camp's lawsuit is very thin on particulars. They claim election challengers have been denied access to absentee voter counting boards and drop box surveillance video, but they offer no facts or details to that effect. See for yourself:
Pro-Trump pundits pushing a fraud narrative would be surprised by the content (or lack thereof) of these submissions. This is happening on an accelerated basis and there's still time for a case to develop, but the Trump camp will need more than gauzy filings to get somewhere.
NEW: The Trump camp moves to intervene in the PA mail-in ballots appeal at the Supreme Court, as to whether late-arriving ballots will be counted. A short-handed #SCOTUS declined to decide the issue before the election, but left room to revisit the case.
PA election officials are separating tardy ballots from all other votes while legal challenges go forward. It is not at all obvious that the contested ballots will be decisive to the result. #SCOTUS
The Supreme Court has called for a response to the Trump camp's motion by 5 pm Thursday. #SCOTUS
Lots of causes behind the approaching 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court. One of them is a series of tactical mistakes and miscues on the part of Senate Democrats. New at @FreeBeacon:
The prime mistake was in 2017, when Democrats lodged a hopeless filibuster against Justice Gorsuch. Fourteen months later when Justice Kennedy retired, Democrats had no procedural means of stopping Justice Kavanaugh's confirmation.
The 51-49 GOP Senate *might* have abolished the #SCOTUS filibuster in that emotional maelstrom. Does Susan Collins get to yes if the nuclear option is the prerequisite? Does Jeff Flake? Recall that Lisa Murkowski voted no on BK and Joe Manchin is a likely no on the rule change.
Coral Theill's allegations of abuse against the People of Praise, a religious group Amy Coney Barrett is connected with, have been widely amplified in the press. The @FreeBeacon found Theill has a penchant for nuisance suits, fabulism, and partisanship.
Theill's accusations have appeared in the @washingtonpost, @Reuters, @politico, and @Newsweek, among other publications. This, from Friday's Newsweek story, is representative of her claims.
Theill's memoir, "BONSHEÁ" is a deeply sad account of her 20-year marriage. She spent five of those years in the People of Praise. Theill accuses her ex-husband, her parents, her children, her lawyers, and her therapist -- almost everyone in her life -- of abuse or neglect.