NEW: Today’s court order requiring Rudy Giuliani to place most of his possessions, cash, and even his NYC apartment in receivership for the two GA election workers to whom he owes $148 million reminds us what the Big Lie has cost its most avid mouthpieces. 1/ But while Rudy isn’t even allowed to keep his TV, a signed Reggie Jackson photo, or his grandfather’s watch, Trump remains locked in an airtight battle for a second presidential term, during which, if he wins, his legal problems will either disappear or at least recede. 2/

NEW: Georgia’s hand count rule cannot be implemented for the election, rules Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney.

https://twitter.com/sairaforgeorgia/status/1846342873140043822

For McBurney, the timing was crucial. He acknowledges that a hand count of ballots could be “consistent with the
SEB’s mission of ensuring fair, legal, and orderly elections.” But when the rule is scheduled to be implemented a mere fortnight before the election? 2/

NEW: I am watching a live hearing about the lawfulness of yet another Georgia Elections Board rule, this one requiring hand counts of ballots prior to certification. And Judge Robert McBurney wants to know why, given a “robust record of chaos” caused thus far, he shouldn’t just enjoin it. 1/ Because Fulton County Superior Court proceedings are live-streamed, come watch with me here: .youtube.com/live/-z0N1dHym…

NEW: While Hurricane Milton approaches, voting rights groups in GA and FL are in two separate federal courts this afternoon fighting for emergency extensions of Monday's voter registration deadline for those impacted by Hurricane Helene and/or preparing for Milton. Stay tuned. An update: The judge in Florida, Robert Hinkle, just denied the effort to extend the deadline there. More to come.

Look beyond the result of today’s GA abortion decision, and you can see Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney stake out a broader, methodological position, especially in the footnotes. 1/ McBurney makes plain what many are afraid to say: that “the meaning of the Constitution is no more fixed than is the composition of the majority in the highest courts of the land — especially when formerly bedrock principles such as stare decisis appear to be on the wane.” 2/

NEW: Judge Tanya Chutkan has now granted the Special Counsel's request to file a 180-page brief defending its superseding indictment as compliant with the Supreme Court's immunity ruling. But don't get your reading corner ready just yet. 1/ Since last year, the federal election interference case has been governed by a protective order that dictates how sensitive discovery materials must be used. And under that order, virtually any material that was not already public or obtained by the defense on its own, not through discovery, is covered. 2/

NEW: Today, while announcing the indictment of Sean “Diddy” Combs, SDNY U.S. Attorney Damian Williams thanked the victims and witnesses who have stepped forward so far. But there is one whose story looms largest in the indictment: Cassie Ventura, his ex-partner. 1/ Ventura filed a civil complaint against Combs last November in federal court that was settled a day later. But the complaint is still available—and a quick read highlights that many of the incidents she alleged are also core to the indictment. 2/

NEW: I watched a portion of the Trump press conference today--but it wasn't until I read his comments that I realized that just a day after New York's highest court upheld the gag order, he arguably violated it again. 1/ Trump focused his ire on "one person in particular" who he characterized as having been sent by the White House from DOJ to New York to get NY Attorney General Tish James's civil fraud case started, "then go to the DA in Manhattan." 2/

NEW: Judge Chutkan vowed to enter a scheduling order before day’s end. And she did, granting Jack Smith’s proposal to submit a “comprehensive” brief on immunity, including supporting evidence, by 9/26. 1/

That briefing will wrap up by late October, at which point she “will determine whether further proceedings are necessary.” 2/

NEW: Trump has asked SDNY Judge Alvin Hellerstein to stay his own order denying Trump leave to seek removal of the Manhattan DA’s case to federal court. Is that because staying the order would mean the removal notice is still pending—and therefore, Merchan can’t sentence Trump? (If you interpret the order as a denial of leave, and not a summary remand, this doesn’t work. But I’ll bet this is their thinking.)

NEW: Federal court denies Trump's motion for leave to seek removal a second time, finding no good cause. 1/ Judge Alvin Hellerstein first holds that federal courts' limited jurisdiction does not allow him to take over a case because of Merchan's alleged bias. 2/

The Manhattan DA's office hasn't said a word in federal court with respect to Trump's efforts to move the hush money case there. But their letter to Judge Merchan makes clear where they stand. 1/ First, they remind him that Trump's removal efforts don't preclude him from ruling on two pending motions Trump brought before him: one to set aside the verdict and one to postpone his sentencing. 2/

Tomorrow’s the first working day of September—and we could see action in both state and federal courts as soon as tomorrow in Trump’s criminal cases. 1/ First, Trump has asked Judge Juan Merchan, who oversaw his Manhattan criminal trial, to postpone his sentencing, a request that the Manhattan DA did not outright oppose. Merchan has yet to decide that motion. 2/

NEW: Trump has filed a second notice of removal of the Manhattan DA's hush money case to federal court in what reads like a bid to prevent any sentencing hearing from going forward. 1/ Why would I say that? Because while the motion is premised on changes in federal law, especially the Supreme Court's immunity ruling, that case came down on July 1. Trump has not sought removal until now. 2/

The GA State Election Board, which was sued earlier this week by county election board members, voters, and Democratic Party organizations, has just opened its own account here. 1/

https://twitter.com/georgia_seb/status/1828599646387614129

And the account is operated, apparently, not by the chair or its executive director, but by Dr. Janice Johnston, one of the GOP members singled out by Trump for praise. 2/

sos.ga.gov/page/about-sta…

On September 5, a non-profit called The America Project will be hosting a gala at Trump’s Bedminster, NJ club “to provide much-needed assistance to the January 6th defendants who continue to face significant challenges.” 1/

americaproject.com/event/j6-award… While advertising for the gala notes only that Trump has been invited and not that he plans to attend, his legal team has an event of consequence that morning in D.C.: a status conference before Judge Chutkan. 2/

NEW(ish): Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg has not insisted on proceeding with Trump's Sept. 18 sentencing, as many had expected, but tells Judge Merchan he will defer to the judge's determination of when sentencing should happen. 1/ His letter to the court -- while neutral as to the result -- flags issues raised by Trump's request to postpone the sentencing, both good and bad. 2/

The Georgia Election Board convened this morning at 9 am to consider several proposed rule changes, including one that would require hand counting of GA ballots. 1/ Another proposed rule they are weighing this morning would allow any individual county election board member to request any and all election-related documentation before certifying county-level results. 2/

NEW: The letter Trump's lawyers just sent to Judge Merchan asking him to postpone sentencing until after the election contains multiple flaws. But it also highlights how ill equipped the Supreme Court's immunity decision is to resolve key procedural questions in the NY case. 1/ Let's start with what's problematic. Yes, the founder of the political consulting firm in which Judge Merchan's daughter is a minority partner (and does not currently service political clients) is personally involved in the Harris-Walz campaign. 2/

NEW: In a letter responding to Jim Jordan's request for documents and information, the political consulting firm in which Judge Merchan's daughter is a minority partner reveals that she and the firm's co-founder have received death threats--and that other firm employees have been threatened as well. 1/ Authentic Campaign's co-founder Mike Nellis writes, "Since these unfounded allegations surfaced, Loren Merchan and I have faced death threats and harassment, and suffered reputational damage. 2/

NEW: Judge Juan Merchan has now denied Trump’s third motion for Merchan’s recusal, which argued that Kamala Harris becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee — and Merchan’s daughter’s prior work on her behalf — changed the calculus. Merchan disagreed. 1/ Not only was he given the OK over a year ago by an advisory panel on judicial ethics, he notes, but the motion was made 48 days after the deadline for post-trial motions. But the real nail in the coffin as far as Merchan was concerned? Trump offered nothing new. 2/