Looks like Trump is suing Letitia James because he doesn't want to give a deposition under oath.

I'm reading it now.

Oh goodness. This will not break his losing streak. He needs a preliminary injunction and that isn't going to happen.
documentcloud.org/documents/2116…

1/
To paraphrase his argument: Letitia James is a Democrat and she doesn't like me so her investigation is politically motivated and therefore unfair and the court needs to make her stop.

I wish I was exaggerating.

Oy.

2/
And what law is she violating?

Count 1: Trump alleges that she is violating his civil rights under the Fourteenth Amendment.
law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42…

Alleging a 14th Amendment violation takes some real chutzpa.

3/
Count II alleges a First Amendment violation on the grounds that she is persecuting him for his political beliefs.

At first, I laughed.

Then I realized this will be his defense in right-wing media: He's a victim of radical left-wing haters persecuting him for his beliefs.

4/

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More from @Teri_Kanefield

22 Dec
There is a Twitter consensus that the purpose of all these lawsuits (like the one Flynn filed seeking an injunction against the select committee) is to "run out the clock."

This makes no sense because the clock runs until at least 2024 and the cases are moving quickly.

1/
The work of the committee will be done in 2022 but the select committee is a truth-finding panel. The prosecutors have until at least 2024.

People similarly said that the election fraud lawsuits were to “run out the clock.”

Those cases also went fast.

2/
The election fraud cases were to feed the right-wing propaganda network.

Trump and pals also lost 60 of the 61 election fraud lawsuits (and the "win" was a minor one that didn't help much.)

3/
Read 13 tweets
22 Dec
Michael Flynn is also claiming that the subpoena violates his 5th Amendment privilege against self-incrimination.

Here's the thing. He won't be able to stop prosecutors who want these records.

He can run but he cannot hide.
int.nyt.com/data/documentt… Image
Flynn claims that the committee has been "rushing" to refer non-cooperative witnesses for publication.

I know some people on this site who would take issue with the "rushing" part 😆

I believe this is what it feels like to witnesses like Flynn: a relentless pursuit. Image
Flynn seems genuinely afraid that any information he provides will lead to a criminal probe.

The problem he has is this: Refusing to testify won't stop that from happening.

I'm sensing some panic on his part. Image
Read 4 tweets
21 Dec
It's the ultimate cynicism.

They want to give back to the Democrats what they think the Democrats are doing to them with the select committee and other probes.

Underlying this is the assumption that all probes are politically motivated.

1/
The belief that all probes are politically motivated comes from the belief that nobody behaves honorably.

House Republicans know their probes are politically motivated, so they assume the probes of others are also politically motivated.

2/
They anticipate that the Select Committee televised proceedings will be great theater.

If you don't believe anyone behaves honorably, and if you have abandoned truth, what matters is who puts on the best show.

They're already planning their show.

3/
Read 6 tweets
16 Dec
Jim Jordan basically says, "All I did was forward that text."

He's offering somewhat of a denial, which is better than "so what?"

I suspect that eventually, we will get to "so what? Nothing wrong with sending around such a text."
Basically, the text says that the Electoral Count Act was unconstitutional, so it should be disregarded.

Among the problems is this: You can't change the rules by which the election results are tabulated after the counting of the votes. You can't change the rules after the game.
"I know I have cookie crumbs on my face, but I swear I wasn't the one who took the cookie."

(Although my expectations for these guys are so low I'm actually glad he isn't already digging in and saying there was nothing wrong with the text.)

Read 4 tweets
15 Dec
Here is what's mind-boggling.

Mark Meadows willingly turned these messages over to the select committee, but then, enraged, put the brakes on his cooperation when the committee wanted his private phone records.

1/
If he willingly turned over those messages, imagine what his phone records reveal.

He filed this suit to try to keep the committee from learning what's in them.

2/

It seems to me (and this is a guess, I've never done an investigation like this—my work was criminal defense)
the committee is releasing these to put pressure on the holdouts. It's like saying, "We know what's going on so you may as well come clean."

3/
Read 7 tweets
15 Dec
It isn't that nothing is happening. It's that too much is happening for people to focus.

Remember Benghazi? The only thing happening was a made-up scandal. There weren't any real scandals so there was nothing else to talk about.

Now there's too much.
washingtonpost.com/politics/donal…

1/
Made-up scandals can capture the public imagination because they're simple. The entire "scandal" can be boiled down to one sentence.

That's the beauty of lies. They're easily digestible.

The truth is complicated. It's multifaced. Real scandals have lots of details.

2/
Complicated crimes have lots of moving parts. It's too much to digest. So instead, people prefer simple lies ⤵️

Timothy Snyder calls them "Internet Triggers."

Reality is complicated and nuanced.

Lies are easy.

Can enough people embrace complicty?
Will truth win?

3/
Read 4 tweets

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