The January 6 committee filed its response to Trump's request that the Supreme Court hear his executive privilege case.

supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/21/2…

To compare, here's what Trump filed: supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/21/2…

(No surprise: The committee's brief is written and argued well.)

1/
Here is how Trump's brief presented the issue ⤵️

His argument is that the select committee's request was unconstitutional, therefore, he should have gotten a preliminary injunction. He wants the Court to decide whether the request was constitutional.

Here's the problem . . .
2/
To get a preliminary injunction, Trump had to show with clear evidence each of these four criteria⤵️

The likelihood of succeeding on the merits is only one element.

So far, there has not actually been a trial on the merits of whether the request was Constitutional.

3/
The problem for Trump is that the lower court found that he failed to show ANY of the four elements.

The committee points out that even if there are Constitutional issues, this case is not the vehicle for considering them . . .

4/
You're not allowed to raise new issues on appeal.

The Committee points out that in the lower courts, Trump disclaimed a freestanding challenge and stated that all of his arguments about why the committee shouldn't have the documents pertained to these particular docs.

5/
At the same time, Trump failed to make particularized arguments in the lower court about these particular documents.

He also failed to meet the other criteria required to get a preliminary injunction.

6/
My sense all along has been that even if the Court is interested in the issue Trump raises (and I doubt it is) the Court will wait for a decision on the merits and won't take an appeal from a preliminary injunction.

I'll answer this question⤵️ . . .


7/
The Presidential Records Act allows a former president to "be heard" in questions of executive privilege. So Trump's ability to get involved comes from this act.

Here's what's funny: In a previous brief . . .

8/

. . . he argued that the Presidential Records Act is unconstitutional because it gives the final say to the incumbent president, which of course is Biden.

He had a different view of the matter when he was the sitting president.

But he never worried about consistency.

9/
Here's what I'm stuck on: Because the Supreme Court would have to find that Trump met each of the four elements in order to overturn the ruling denying a preliminary injunction, what Trump really wants to do is to seed the idea that the committee is illegitimate.

10/

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More from @Teri_Kanefield

30 Dec 21
It seems to me that these filings serve multiple purposes for Trump:

🔹They keep his base fired up
🔹They help with fundraising
🔹They show that he's a "fighter"
🔹They help seed right-wing talking points
I'm arguing against the Twitter Talking Point that these are primarily delay tactics.

These cases are going very quickly and are not holding up the committee.

People said the same thing about the election lawsuits, which delayed nothing.

The truth is much more nuanced.

If everyone shouts "DELAY TACTICS" each time Trump files something in court, people miss much of what's happening.

The election lawsuits did not create any delays, but they served their purposes.
Read 18 tweets
30 Dec 21
Trump filed a supplemental brief with the Supreme Court (in his executive privilege case) arguing that the committee is considering criminal referrals, therefore, the request for documents exceeds Congress's legislative powers.

1/

supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/21/2…
His argument is that Congress does not (and should not) have a law enforcement function.

Central to his argument is that the committee is illegal and illegitimate and so the subpoenas are unenforceable.

Here is the article he quotes: washingtonpost.com/politics/janua…

2/
Given the fact that the committee is studying a crime to find out what legislation can prevent future crimes, it's hard to say that they shouldn't make criminal referrals where appropriate.

Trump's argument comes down to "they're picking on me!"

3/
Read 14 tweets
29 Dec 21
I think what @TimothyDSnyder is trying to say is that Tweeting isn't political activism. Even really really mean rage Tweeting doesn't actually count.

"Too much screen time makes us vulnerable to bad politics," he says.

Idea: Find out how to help administer the 2022 election.
Not long ago, Steve Bannon horrified (and terrified) people when we learned he was trying to move Trump-Coup supporters into positions administering elections.

#2 on my list is "get involved with local elections."

terikanefield.com/things-to-do/
Yes. @TimothyDSnyder talks about the pandemic and suggests that it isn't a coincidence that the coup in 2020 came after people cooped up inside.

I worked the past several elections as a volunteer lawyer and worked a polling place during the CA recall. . .
Read 5 tweets
26 Dec 21
Good morning. Anyone ready to read a legal doc?🤓It's totally fun, I promise.

Taylor Budowich’s lawsuit against Pelosi and the select committee is here:
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…

A pattern to these is emerging.

First, the person claims to have cooperated in good faith.

1/
Then, after totally cooperating, the person is "ambushed" to learn about a subpoena.

So, either:

🔹The committee is totally unreasonable and unfair OR
🔹Said person isn't really turning everything over, and in fact, is holding back key docs.

Which could it be? 🤔

2/
The timing of these letters indicates that the records have already been furnished to Congress (but nobody knows).

If it's too late and Congress will get these docs, what is the purpose of these lawsuits?

I have a clue from my email in-box . . .

3/
Read 15 tweets
24 Dec 21
I see people say, "X said it, so I believe it."

A person can be right about one thing, and wrong about others. A person can know a lot about one area, but nothing about other areas.

Democracy requires a lot of citizens, including the ability to evaluate sources.
⤵️
Do they talk in what @TimothyDSnyder calls "Internet triggers"? Do they repeat internet triggers?

"X said it so I believe it" is close to authoritarianism. (Trump said it so I believe it)

"I was right about X so listen to me about Y" is also suspect.
Being the mother of a 17-year-old, I'm not used to anyone requesting a lecture 😂 but here's the other critical thinking error:

Confusing speculation with fact.

Nothing is wrong with speculating. What's wrong is when people take it as fact.

Example . . .
Read 6 tweets
24 Dec 21
Notice specifically what Thompson says. First, he says if a criminal referral would be warranted, there would be no reluctance on the part of the committee to do that.

Note also the possible crime: 18 U.S. Code 1505:
law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18…

1/ Image
Earlier, @emptywheel quoted from the letter the committee sent to Jim Jordan (Screenshot #1)

See how the language echoes the language of 18. U.S. 1505? (Screenshot #2)

2/ ImageImage
One of the things that goes wrong on social media is confusing speculation (this must be happening because) or (we know it isn't happening because) versus following what is reported as facts.

Yes, we all know that Trump delayed and tried to obstruct the proceedings. . .

3/
Read 7 tweets

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