Join me for a special Father's Day episode of #TheNewNormal with my 2 dear friends writer/producer/director (of @SHO_Billions, Oceans 11, more) @briankoppelman + comedian/actor/writer Mike Birbiglia (@birbigs) as we discuss fatherhood, humanity & COVID-19.
sorry I meant Oceans 13! If you want a soulful podcast, even for a guy like me that doesn't generally listen to them b/c I love music too much,Brian's is exquisite. And now @birbigs is getting in the game too! Gonna listen to his tmrw, espec w/his special guest. The links are...
Tmrw, the Judge is going to take up Trump's violation of the gag order. It's an obvious violation, as the Order bars Trump from commenting on prospective jurors. The DA sought $1000 fines. But the vios here are flagrant, and the judge has another solution: jail time (suspended)
The law permits a 30 day jail term for these violations. Of course, putting him in jail now is a drastic step, especially when a jury is impaneled. But the vios are flagrant. So what to do? 1 possibility is to say Trump is sentenced to a jail term, and then suspend service of it
He could tell Trump that he's doing this, and that he'll evaluate the sentence at the end of the trial. That Trump holds the keys to not serving the sentence in his own hands, if he can act like most all other criminal defendants in this nation and behave.
SCOTUS oral argument on abortion drug has just begun. Solicitor General Prelogar opens with a powerful argument, on both legal standing and the safety of the drug.
Justice Thomas asks the first question. About standing.
(My amazing law partner, Jess Ellsworth, will be arguing next. Then the challengers' lawyer, Erin Hawley, will argue.). The case is slated for 60 minutes and it will likely go double that length of time or more.
Justice Alito aggressively asks the SG if anyone would have legal standing to sue. He mentions states, and she says no.
Today, the trial of Defendant Trump for Jan 6 was supposed to begin in Washington, DC
Instead, we are widely expected to get a decision from the Supreme Court permitting Trump to remain on the ballot, despite being an adjudicated insurrectionist. 1/2
This comes on top of last week’s Supreme Ct action delaying Trump’s Jan 6 trial until possibly past the election, depriving you&me of a public trial where the evidence for/against Trump would be laid out for the world to see
I’ll cover the Supreme Ct decision live at 10AM on @msnbc. 2/2
The Colorado trial court conducted a hearing, and made the adjudication that Trump was barred from the ballot due to his conduct.
Smith's filing is really excellent. The one quibble is that he should have cited Trump v Thompson, where SCOTUS denied a stay against Trump's claim the lower court opinion was too broad. SCOTUS said no stay b/c it wouldn't make a difference to outcome of the case. Same true here
Trump's lawyer begins in a very bizarre place, that Ct can't decide this because 14th amendment allows an insurrectionist to hold office w/a two-thirds vote of Cong. Chief Justice all over him for this. And argument boomerangs--Trump's lawyer is highlighting how the 14a has a democratic solution--if Trump upset he can't run, he can go to Congress and try to get that 2/3 vote.
Justice Alito asks what precedent Colorado Supreme Ct would set -- would it mean Trump DQ'd in other states under the doctrine of collateral estoppel? Trump lawyer wisely says no, but then explains that this could lead to a 50 state disuniformity nightmare. Challengers to Trump need to hit this head on
I just love listening to Justice Kagan on the bench. She's so thoughtful, trying to really get to the essence of an argument, and she does it with humor and precision. She's getting Trump's lawyer to explain what his argument on "self executing" with specificity.
Trump is not only indicted, his name is mentioned 193 times in the indictment, and the charges go out of the way to show Trump directly violated the law