Clinton personally approved the plan to spread the false Alfa bank story. It was one of the most successful disinformation campaigns in American politics, and Mook implicated Clinton as green-lighting the gas-lighting of the electorate. thehill.com/opinion/judici…
...Of course, Clinton has pushed for state and corporate censorship while demanding a “global reckoning” with those who spread disinformation. Yet, while her campaign lawyer could be convicted, the Clintons have long avoided any personal "reckoning" in a long line of scandals.
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...Roberts just slammed the lower court "a former president can be prosecuted for his official acts because the fact of the prosecution means that the former president has acted in defiance of the laws."...
...He said that he is "concerned" because it sounds like "a former president can be prosecuted because he is being prosecuted."...
We are off and running on the oral arguments on immunity with John Sauer, former Scalia clerk, arguing for the former president.
...Chief Justice Roberts asked the most poignant question. What if a president appointed an ambassador (a clearly official act) but does so for a bribe? Sauer offered a nuanced point that the bribe itself would not be an official act...
...Justice Sotomayor just hit Sauer and said that Trump was only acting for personal gain and not in the interests or in a function of his government. She is making the slippery slope argument that such immunity would protect the assassination of a president...
Edwin Kneedler is arguing for the United States. The Biden Administration wants a remand for further findings. Kneedler is arguing that the record is insufficient for an eighth amendment claim...
...Gorsuch just told Kneedler "don't mess with my hypothetical" as he pressed the Administration's confusing position in the case. Gorsuch pushed Kneedler into extreme positions. The Gorsuch hypotheticals are famously precarious for counsel and this shows why...
...He reduced the government's position to "the alcoholic has an eight amendment right even though there is a bed available" under one of his hypotheticals.
The fact that Bragg is starting with David Pecker to discuss an affair not directly involved in the alleged crimes is telling. With a dubious criminal theory, defuse facts, and delayed charges, the case will focus on a different alleged affair and hush money payment...
.....It is reminiscent of the old story about a man who comes upon another man in the dark looking for his wedding ring. Sympathetic, the man joined the stranger on his knees and looked for almost an hour until he asked if the man was sure that he dropped it here. “Oh, no,” the stranger admitted, “I lost it across the street but the light is better here.”
...Justice Kagan is hitting counsel hard on whether you can criminalize being homeless. Kagan is being very active in questioning to box the city into a corner that it is inherently arguing that it could criminalize being homeless...
The District Attorney has told the court that it will not release the names of expected witnesses due to the alleged violation of the gag order by the former president. Judge Merchan did not order them to do so...
...The defense is aware of the potential witnesses but not necessarily the order. Courts allow prosecutors to hold that information to the very last minute. However, there was a troubling aspect about Bragg's position...
...Bragg is saying that he may have given the names but will not do so due to the alleged violations. The court should have been clear that any witness who may be called in the next 24 hours or so must be disclosed. That is not one of the sanctions for a violation of the order...
...Justice Sotomayor was quick out of the gate to pursue a tough line of questioning for the defense counsel on why the broader meaning is warranted...
...Justice Barrett continued the tough questioning by asking if the defendant can still be convicted for seeking obstructing by seeking to stop the certificates themselves. In this way, the Court could adopt a narrower meaning but still allow for possible prosecution...