Good morning from New York.

At 10 a.m., @NewYorkStateAG will urge a judge to hold Donald Trump in civil contempt for allegedly flouting a judge's order to comply with her subpoena.

Follow along with me, @LawCrimeNews.

Background below: lawandcrime.com/high-profile/n… Court is now in session.

The Hon. Arthur Engoron is presiding.

Marjorie Taylor Greene's lawyer James Bopp just cited a wonky legal issue here: the 1872 Amnesty Law, which he claims has "prospective" application.

That argument worked for Cawthorn:

lawandcrime.com/u-s-capitol-br…

And previously lost with Greene:

lawandcrime.com/high-profile/f… Let's unpack this.

The 1872 Amnesty Act forgave former Confederates from some of the penalties of the 14th Amendment.

A federal judge who heard Bopp's argument that it applied to future insurrections suggested that defies "common sense," statutory construction and precedent.

"Seeking to Prevent Her Disqualification, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Claims Under Oath That She Can’t Remember Much About Talks Before Jan. 6"

Her testimony so far, chronicling what she allegedly can't recall, @lawcrimenews
lawandcrime.com/u-s-capitol-br… Lunch recess has concluded.

The proceedings are about to resume with more questioning of Greene from Andrew Celli.

"Your honor, the petitioners call Marjorie Taylor Greene to the stand."

She is sworn in and her testimony begins.

Follow live here.

Background @lawcrimenews lawandcrime.com/u-s-capitol-br… Her testimony is being broadcast on C-Span here. c-span.org/video/?519623-…

This morning, Georgia voters have a hearing attempting to disqualify Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene under the 14th Amendment's "insurrection" bar.

A federal judge recently refused Greene's attempt to block this effort days ago.

Background, @LawCrimeNews: lawandcrime.com/high-profile/f… The non-profit group Free Speech for People, which brought this and other challenges, is streaming the proceedings before an administrative law judge in Atlanta.

It's on their Facebook page. facebook.com/watch/live/?re…

Two of the men indicted with Steve Bannon years ago are about to plead guilty to the same allegations that Bannon dodged through Trump's pardon.

Follow my coverage, @LawCrimeNews.

Background: lawandcrime.com/high-profile/p… The two erstwhile Bannon co-defendants Brian Kolfage and Andrew Badolato have their guilty pleas schedule now in the We Build the Wall case.

The court is trying to resolve tech problems on the public line.

Johnny Depp's cross-examination just started as proceedings concluded yesterday.

They are about to kick off in earnest now.

Recap from yesterday: lawandcrime.com/live-trials/jo…

Live feed, now: Throughout the trial, Johnny Depp has painted a portrait of an abusive mother and a passive father.

Amber Heard's attorney just complicated that picture by asking him with his father punched him in the face and knocked him down when he was 15 years old.

Late last night, a federal judge rejected @RepMTG's effort to block a voter challenge seeking to disqualify her under the 14th Amendment ‘insurrection’ prohibition.

The case will go before an administrative law judge in Atlanta on Friday. @LawCrimeNews
lawandcrime.com/high-profile/f… If you want a legal explainer on efforts to disqualify politicians in connection to Jan. 6, read the full story at the top of this thread.

Here are some highlights:

In a different case, Rep. Cawthorn was able to block the effort, by invoking a law shielding ex-Confederates.

Whoops!

That case reassignment to a new judge in the Ghislaine Maxwell case? That's an admin error, the court says.

***DELETED DOCUMENT. [...] no document number. NOTICE OF CASE REASSIGNMENT, as to Ghislaine Maxwell. The document was incorrectly filed in this case. (bw) Judge Nathan's still on the case.

The @NewYorkStateAG files an appellate brief seeking to affirm the order sending Trump and two of his adult children to depositions.

It opens by noting the investigation has “uncovered significant evidence” of misleading asset valuations for “more than a decade.” NYAG’s office has interviewed more than 40 people since @MichaelCohen212’s congressional testimony sparked the investigation in 2019, she says.

New—

@January6thCmte chair @BennieGThompson releases a report recommending contempt referrals for Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino.

Here, the report notes Navarro went on @AriMelber's show a day after releasing a statement stonewalling the committee.

Doc docs.house.gov/meetings/IJ/IJ… The report also details the "Green Bay Sweep," a plot to overturn Trump's election defeat that Navarro detailed in his book.

The @WashingtonPost's video explainer here:

Lev Parnas's change of plea hearing on the Fraud Guarantee scheme has begun.

Asked by the judge whether he intends to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, Parnas replies: "Yes, your honor." Asked whether he's satisfied with his legal representation, Parnas pays a compliment to his longtime lawyer @josephabondy: "Beyond, your honor."

New—

An indictment will be UNSEALED against Andrey Muraviev, the Russian tycoon whose money Lev Parnas and his co-defendants were convicted of steering into U.S. elections.

That indictment isn't public yet.

Background:
lawandcrime.com/high-profile/f… The screenshot is the full document, which can be accessed here. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…

The Ghislaine Maxwell juror inquiry is scheduled to begin around 10 a.m. Eastern Time.

I'll be covering those proceedings live, @LawCrimeNews.

Catch up with background from late last month: lawandcrime.com/live-trials/gh… Court is running behind schedule today. Standby.

Closing arguments will begin shortly in the federal case against Ahmaud Arbery's convicted murderers. Unlike in the state case, prosecutors ask a jury to find that they committed their crimes "because of Arbery's race and color."

ICYMI, opening statements lawandcrime.com/live-trials/li… The first line by Christopher Perras, from the DOJ Civil Rights Division:

"There's a big difference between being vigilant and being a vigilante."

"Judge Refuses to Quash Subpoenas and Depositions for Donald Trump and His Children: It Would Be a 'Blatant Dereliction of Duty' Not to Investigate"

DEVELOPING story, with the 8-page ruling inside:
lawandcrime.com/high-profile/j… via @lawcrimene This is an absolutely blistering ruling.

Some highlights once I give the story an update. In the meanwhile, give the order inside the story a read.

New York AG @TishJames faces off this morning against Trump's lawyers on a motion to compel the Trump family, in the first hearing since the big Mazars news.

Follow our coverage, @LawCrimeNews. Kevin Wallace is arguing for @NewYorkStateAG.

Alina Habba and Ronald Fischetti are arguing for Donald Trump.

Hon. Engoran presides.

First line of a prosecutor's opening statement in the federal trial against Ahmaud Arbery's killers:

"I want to talk to you all about what turned out to be the last day of Ahmaud Arbery's life."

Background, @Lawcrimenews: lawandcrime.com/live-trials/li… AUSA on why the McMichaels and Bryan:

The short answer, you'll learn, is that all three defendants made decisions about Ahmaud because of the color of his skin.

Good morning from New York.

Sarah Palin's testimony continues in her lawsuit against the New York Times.

I'm covering the proceedings for @LawCrimeNews. During pre-trial arguments, the NYT's lawyer argues that someone known for saying "Don’t retreat, reload" will have a hard time arguing that she sustained emotional damage in the face of criticism about her gun rhetoric.

Sarah Palin is now on the witness stand. Questioning starts with biographical information, including her family and career.

When told many people haven't been to Wasilla, she says: "They're missing out!"

"It's a small town, about 30% of the work force commutes into Anchorage."

Ex-NYT editor James Bennet's second day of testimony continues in Sarah Palin's defamation suit.

NYT's counsel is up now.

ICYMI: Here's a roundup of Day One, with questioning of Bennet from Palin's lawyer. lawandcrime.com/high-profile/f… via @lawcrimenews Some highlights so far:

Q: When you used the word “incite,” were you intending to convey only that “incite” meant direct orders?

A: No, no. You can incite hate. You can incite anger. You can incite passion. You can even incite doubt. [...] Incite requires an object as a verb.