I am still unclear on the insistence to end any challenges before we actually see the extent of alleged irregularities. I have expressed skepticism on past claims, but we now have sworn allegations of fraud. Why not look at the evidence? jonathanturley.org/2020/11/08/pul…
Again, we would not know if we have systemic rather than episodic problems until we look at this evidence. It is not about sharpies or poll watchers. It is about possible problems in software and authentication systems. What is the harm in allowing courts to review such claims?
...The demand for clear evidence of systemic violations during the tabulation stage is bizarre. We would not necessarily have such evidence, which is largely held by election officials. As expected, we have a series of localized affidavits and allegations of intentional fraud...
...It is like saying that a patient has low white blood cell level but insisting on stopping testing if you cannot conclusively say that there is cancer. These initial allegations may or may not be indicative of a more systemic problem. Let's find out.
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Fani Willis was just disqualified by the Georgia Court of Appeals. Trump appears to be running the table in these lawfare cases. It will now be up to another prosecutor as to whether to continue the case...
...The Georgia case did have some viable criminal charges against other defendants for offenses like unlawful access to restricted areas. However, in attempting to bag Trump, she created an absurdly attenuated RICO theory that should not be embraced by the new prosecutor.
...While this disqualification is due to the conduct of Willis and not the underlying claims, any new prosecutor will have to make an independent judgment on whether and what to prosecute...
As predicted, Judge Merchan has rejected the challenge to the Bragg charges under the recent immunity decision of the Supreme Court. He tossed the challenge entirely but also found that any possible violations would be harmless error. Here is the opinion: nycourts.gov/LegacyPDFs/pre…
...Merchan created layers of findings to ironplate the case for appeal. He ruled that (1) this was entirely unofficial conduct, (2) if it was official conduct, and (3) if it was official and within the protections of the Constitution, it was harmless error ...
...He still has to rule on the general challenge over errors committed at trial. Some of us view the case as replete with layers of reversible error. However, Merchan was never viewed as likely to second guess his prior rulings...jonathanturley.org/2024/06/03/buz…
The new IG report on January 6th may raise more questions than answers. It confirms that confidential sources did indeed enter the Capitol and restricted areas. The question is whether the presence of these sources were revealed to the defense in the hundreds of prosecutions...
...Moreover, there is a question of why the three sources who entered the Capitol were not charged as part of an operation that the Justice Department described as an effort to "shock and awe" targeting everyone involved on that day...
...The IG found that most of these individuals were there without any instructions or requests from the government. However, as paid sources for the FBI, the question is what they did on that day...
So now the judge has dismissed the first count on second-degree manslaughter and is allowing the jury to consider the second count after the weekend. This is precisely what Bragg was hoping for in setting up a possible compromise verdict...
...With the Allen charge, the prosecutors hoped to pressure the jury into voting on the low standard of criminal negligence. Outside of New York or a few other cities, this case would likely either have not been brought or would have collapsed quickly before the jury...
...I am still hopeful that there will be holdouts on the lesser offense. That would leave this as a hung jury, though the treatment of Penny will leave chilling message for New York thinking of protecting others in New York...
The jury just sent a note to the court that it is deadlocked on the first count, the second-degree manslaughter charge. The court will likely now issue an Allen charge to get them to resume deliberations...
...The question is whether the court will instruct the jury to consider the second charge of the criminal negligence charge. The judge expressed doubt over whether, in the absence of a unanimous verdict on the first charge, he could tell them to move on to the second charge...
...Many of us cannot see how this case could have produced a conviction with the layers of reasonable doubt in the evidence. The absence of clear causation makes a conviction difficult to justify in such a case. Indeed, it makes it difficult to see why the case was brought.
The Sisyphean effort to spin the President's unethical act into moral triumph continues in Washington. Rep. James Clyburn defended the Biden pardon, insisting that Hunter wouldn’t have been convicted but for the fact that Joe Biden was "the object of a lot of unfair untruths."...
...It is not clear what those "unfair untruths" were given the fact that the President repeatedly lied to the public about his never meeting his son's clients, knowing of the business deals, or any intention to pardon him. Those just seem garden-variety Biden untruths...
...It also ignores that Hunter was convicted in arguably the most favorable district for a Biden in Delaware by a jury that heard all of the evidence, including a rigorous defense from his own team.