Disqualified!

 

Little Sister Resister made a meme!

We have a disqualification!

I've written a lot about Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment. You can find my initial summary here, which distills the brilliant legal analysis of a small bit of the United States Constitution. 

You'll remember that two conservative (members of the Federalist Society no less!) Constitutional scholars, William Baude and Michael Stokes Paulsen, wrote about the Section and outlined very clearly why the clause disqualifies the Apricot Pol Pot from taking office again. 

Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment reads:

No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

The upshot of Baude's and Pauslen's analysis is that the Section is valid and not expired; that it is self executing, meaning Congress does not need to pass any other law to enforce it; that it supersedes any previous provisions in the Constitution that disagree with it; and that the disqualifications are sweeping, and indeed include the office of president.

After a few other states declined to pursue the matter, the Colorado Supreme Court agreed to hear the case and found that indeed 45 is not eligible to become 47, based on Section Three of the Fourteen Amendment, and therefore ruled to disqualify him from the Colorado primary ballot.

What what?!

The nation is all in a kerfuffle. 

What are the talking heads saying?

Those on the right of course are saying that the decision was wrong. All the remaining presidential candidates have all said that T**** should not be beaten by a court but by the voters. 

Other skeptics agree. Some say it was a "political gift" to T****. Karl Rove, political advisor and deputy chief of staff for Dubya, wrote an editorial in the Wall Street Journal calling it "fundamentally undemocratic." You can see him on Faux News discussing his views. Interesting that he said Section Three has only been used twice (which is untrue, but that is for another day). He dismissively described one back in 1919, but he conspicuously neglects to mention that another decision was in 2022, which disqualified New Mexico's Couy Griffen from office, based on his participation in an insurrection against the United States on January 6, 2021. 

Other voices are saying it's the correct decision, including conservative voices.

George Conway, famous for being a vocal conservative voice against Donald T****, wrote a compelling piece in The Atlantic. Conway had been of the mind that the assertion that Section Three would disqualify candidate T**** was wrong, until interestingly, the dissenting opinions on the Colorado decision convinced him otherwise. 

Another conservative voice agrees with the decision, that of former judge Michael Luttig. Luttig was an assistant attorney general under Bush I, and Bush II appointed him to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. More recently, Luttig was adviser to Vice President Mike Pence. Luttig agrees with Colorado's decision and had been thinking about Section Three years before the issue came to the forefront. Luttig calls the Colorado decision "masterful" and "unassailable."

Read his interview with Politico. It's a worthwhile read. 

or watch him on MSNBC:

What are The People saying?

54% of American voters approve of the decision, according to a YouGov poll. This includes 84% of Democrats, 48% of independent voters, and to my eye, a whopping 24% of Republicans. 

What is LSR saying?

Can you guess what her responses are to these cries of "not fair!"?

"He should be eliminated by the voters, not by a court!"

Well, first off, he was repudiated by voters – twice. And yes, it would be great if he were again. But then he participated in an insurrection and aided and abetted thousands of others who also participated. Secondly, he is not being disqualified by a court, he is being disqualified by the United States Constitution. If the Constitution says he's a no-go, then he's a no-go. The court doesn't disqualify him, the Constitution does. The court is there to confirm and enforce what is written.

"It's just political. A bunch of leftists are trying to change the election! It's not fair!"

Like Michael Luttig said, it's the opposite of politics. It's not a trick or a loophole or a technicality. It is our Constitution. It is the law of the land. 

"It's a gift to T****. Neener-neener-neener."

Well, which is it? Not fair to him or a gift to him? It's only a gift because he makes it a gift. And he better milk it quick. The gift lasts only while it is being litigated. And of course, a big-fat ribboned gift if SCOTUS rules the other way. And then, let him have the gift. It's true; he will eat it up and play the victim and grift his minions out of more money. Let him. It is his MO, and we expect no different. He will whine and cry witch hunt and say everyone is out to get him. He's not wrong. Voters don't want him. And we won't have him, regardless. 

"He hasn't been convicted of engaging in an insurrection!"

The Section doesn't say he has to be convicted. And it doesn't even say he has to engage in an insurrection directly. Even if he simply gave "aid and comfort" to others that did, he is disqualified. How 'bout this for aid and comfort? 

"But wait! If T**** is out, Nikki Haley will take the nomination, and she beats Biden!"

Well, that's a leap. But even if true, we have to ignore the possible consequences. Sure, it'll be a different fight if another candidate rises. But the issue is the issue. Whatever happens after, we will deal with as voters and as a nation. To think any other way, or to bend the issue to what is good for your party, is to make it political. And it is not political. It is an American legal issue. Period. 

Jack Ohman

What is next?

The order to remove him from Colorado's primary ballot was stayed by the court immediately. The decision was stayed in case the Supreme Court wants to take up the issue before ballots are printed. The stay is until January 4, 2024, the day before ballots are to be finalized. It's just a couple weeks away!

Which brings us to... The sticky wicket. The Supreme Court of the United States. I don't know about you, but I've lost some trust in SCOTUS. It's been sullied. Some justices were placed there under scurrilous circumstances, and at least one justice is on the take. Let's face it, this is not your father's SCOTUS.

If they take it up in time, the originalists will have to put up or shut up. This matter is classic originalist fodder. A majority of the court are originalists. Will they put their money where there mouth is? 

My prediction, and I hope I'm wrong: the Supreme Court will delay hearing the case until it is too late. They will call it moot and move on. They have already said they will not fast-track the immunity question. There is no reason for them to want to get their hands in this mess.

For more speculation about what SCOTUS may do, read the smart Aaron Blake's analysis in The Washington Post.

AND! There are other states with the issue before their courts. It may very well come around again, with the Colorado decision as a bolster and a roadmap.

Whatever happens, dear resisters, do not fret. We will keep up the resistance. And we will prevail!

Legal Churnings and Dictator Yearnings

News has been coming in fast and low. Hold on your hats cuz I'm gonna try to catch up quickly!

THE COURT CASES

A couple major setbacks for King Minus came on December 1:

Setback in the Federal Election Subversion case: Judge Chutkan, who is overseeing the federal January 6 case against Voldemoron, ruled that he does not have immunity, stating in her ruling that the four years of the presidency doesn't include a "lifelong 'get-out-of-jail-free' pass." He of course appealed immediately.

45's tactic is to delay, delay, delay so that the case is moot in the event that he wins the presidency (ugh I hate typing those words!). But in a brilliant chess move, Special Prosecutor Jack Smith requested that the Supreme Court of the United States put the appeal on a fast-track to be heard, skipping over lower courts and their time-consuming processes. SCOTUS has said that they will consider the request.

Trumpty Dumbty's lawyers have until this Wednesday to file briefs about what they think SCOTUS should do . 

Interestingly enough, a baby judge by the name of Brett Kavanaugh wrote a briefing 25 years ago that would shoot down any claim of immunity. See Lawrence O'Donnell from MSNBC analyze this:

Unfortunately, even still, his delay tactic is working. Judge Chutkan put the trail on pause while the immunity appeal is sorted out. Come on, SCOTUS!!

On the same day as Judge Chutkan's immunity ruling, POTATUS suffered a setback with regard to civil lawsuits from victims of the January 6 attacks. A three-judge panel ruled that he was acting as a candidate, not as president, and he is not protected by presidential immunity.

“He is acting as office-seeker, not office-holder — no less than are the persons running against him when they take precisely the same actions in their competing campaigns to attain precisely the same office,” Judge Sri Srinivasan (another brown-skinned immigrant judge!) wrote on behalf of the unanimous panel (which, by the way, includes a Donald Dump-appointed judge). 

Several civil suits aimed at SCROTUS are in the mill. There have been suits filed by police officers injured during the insurrection, one by Congressperson Eric Swallwell (D-Cal.), and one by other House Democrats.

Both of these December 1 rulings are yuge! He is getting backed into the corner. It is obvious there is no protection from him from the law. 

There was a doozy in the Mar-a-lago documents case. Attorney Jennifer Little (who was his attorney then and now) "very clearly" warned Double Agent Orange that he had to comply with the subpoena for the classified documents and that he "absolutely" understood. She is quoted as advising him that, "Once this is signed – if anything else is located – it's going to be a crime." Not that ignorance of the law is a defense, but he has chosen it as a defense. You know the rest of the story.

They are still wrangling about who can lay eyes on classified information. These wrangles may delay the trial, but as of now, it is still scheduled to start May 20.

The New York civil fraud trial continues. 45 had been slated to testify in his own defense but pulled out at the last minute. The trial will wind up after the new year with a judgment on penalty coming soon.

The gag orders are both in effect. As you recall, there was back-and-forth about gag orders in the federal January 6 case and the New York civil fraud trial. Thought they have been modified, gag orders stand in both cases. 

The hush money case in Manhattan still sits on a slow simmer. No new developments, and the trial is scheduled to start on March 25.

THE WANNABE DICTATOR 

Clay Bennett

We heard his "vermin" remarks. There is no backing down from his authoritarian stance. In fact, now he has gone further, telling Sean Hannity on Faux News that he will be a dictator "only on day one." And there it is. 

During the interview, which was a town hall meeting in Iowa, Hannity lobbed the softball toward him, asking him to reassure the American people that, "under no circumstances, you are promising America tonight, you would never abuse power as retribution against anybody?" only to have the flaming bat filled with 100% New York-grown authoritarian cork come out swinging hard. Not only did the Mango Mussolini proclaim he would be dictator on day one, but he repeated the exchange, just in case you missed it. Clownigula pointed to Hannity and said, 'We love this guy. He says, 'You’re not going to be a dictator, are you?' I said: 'No, no, no, other than day one. We’re closing the border, and we’re drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I’m not a dictator.'"

During campaign speeches, he is leaning hard into the dictator talk. A couple days ago he approvingly quoted Putin and Hungary's Victor Orban, called January 6 defendants "hostages," and dripped his words with flavors of Hitler by continuing the dehumanization of immigrants by saying that they are "poisoning the blood of our country."

Here's a caution from Robin Abcarian writing in the LA Times. Believe them when they make their authoritarian threats against a free press.

And the editorial board of the LA Times urges us to take this all "literally and seriously." He would do very bad things if he rises to power again.

There has been speculation about what his cabinet would be like. The saving grace last time was that there were good and true people in the cabinet. Yes, they were bootlickers, too, but remember, they were replaced when they showed a modicum of loyalty to the U.S. Constitution over the Orange Menace. They next T**** cabinet (please dear Zeus let there not be a next T**** cabinet) would have loyalists installed. Loyalty would trump competence as Axios speculates, and we may end up with a cabinet filled with Steven "White Rat" Miller, J.D. Vance, Empty Gee, Steve Bannon, Fucker Carlson, and Jeffery Clark in positions of power. Be afraid. Be very afraid. 

And yet, maybe you can put your fear on the shelf for now. Here is one upbeat-ish message for those afraid of a TЯUMP dictatorship. William Cooper writes for CNN: Would Trump be a dictator in a second term? No, but he would be a disaster. Cooper believes our system of checks and balances would hold a true dictatorship at bay. But, he cautions, it would still be really bad. 

Would our democratic institutions hold? The only way to not find out is to preempt this thought experiment and make sure they are not put to such a test. Stock up now with postcards, stamps, and campaign money. Get ready to write letters to the editor, to stump for Democrat candidates, to get out the vote. It is up to each and every one of us to RESIST.

OTHER  DUFUSES

Rudolph William Louis Giuliani has been ordered to pay $128,000,000 to his victims Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, whom he defamed by spreading lies that they committed election fraud. What a Rufus (leaving this fun typo). Even after the judge ruled that he had defamed the women, while waiting for a ruling, Rudy was asked if he regretted his actions. Doubling down (quadrupling down? Quintzillioning down?), he said, "Of course I don't regret it, I told the truth," he said. "They were engaged in changing votes." He continued from the ol' familiar playbook: He said to "stay tuned" for the "proof." 

Ummmm, honey, the truth and the proof has been laid bare. Just shut your little yellow mouth. 

After the verdict was read and he was ordered to pay ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-EIGHT MILLION DOLLARS, he continued his lies, lies, lies. He said that he was not allowed to present evidence. The most audacious thing he said was that though the "comments" the women received were bad, he gets them too, and "this is a terrible part of political system. Republicans, Democrats, liberals, and conservatives all get that." 

Yeah, right. "Everyone" is subject to vile threats like the two women suffered. Get out of your gilded cage, Rufus. You chose to be in the public eye. These women were volunteering as their civic duty called. To have powerful men come after them is shameful. You, sir, lack honor. 

By the way, it's questionable if the two women will see any money. Rudy may not have much money, and certainly not 128 million dollars.  

George Anthony Devolder Santos (R-NY), liar extraordinaire, was finally expelled from Congress, only the sixth member of Congress to be expelled. He won't be fading into the background, though. He faces multiple federal charges for fraud, money laundering, and lying to Congress. And, fun stuff! he is making Cameo videos for anyone who has a few hundos to throw his way. Jimmy Kimmel tells you more:

Kenneth John Chesebro and Sidney Katherine Powell. Part of their plea deal in the Georgia racketeering case was a condition hat they each write an apology letter to the citizens of Georgia for their actions. Oh! How heartfelt their missives! 

Here they are, in their entirety.

I apologize for my actions in connection with the events in Coffee County. s/ Sydney Powell October 19, 2023

October 20, 2023 I apologize to the citizens of the state of Georgia and Fulton County for my involvement in Count 15 of the indictment. s/ Kenneth J. Chesebro

The fake electors in Nevada. 

More charges against those who would do our country harm. Six fraudsters in Nevada have been charged for their actions. The indictments follow cases filed against fake electors in Michigan and, as we know well, Georgia. Throw the book at them!

THE RUSSIA CONNECTION

An unreacted binder full of Russian intelligence went missing in the waning days of the last administration. They still don't know where it is. 

This particular binder, reportedly 10 inches thick, was fast-tracked for declassification by TЯUMP just before he left the Whitewash House. A few redacted versions are accounted for and remain in the Justice Department's possession. The intact documents? Gone.

Any guesses as to the contents of the binder? Yup, intelligence into the Russian connections to the 2016 election and information about the investigation of the same. It contains information on intelligence methods and on Russian sources. Who would love this info? His Cutie Putie would love this info.

Where could the binder be? In a bathroom at Mar-a-Lago, or maybe the Bedminster outhouse this time? Tucked into a golf bag at Doral? ....Or maybe Putin already has it. 

THE GOP IMPLOSION

It continues. 

Both Repug candidates for a house seat from Ohio have been behaving badly. One lied about military service, the other bashed the Messiah. As you know, the Repugs have a hersesy clause and one must not speak ill of the Orange Jesus. Read about Ohio's woes here. 

THE OTHER  SIDE

Remember when gas prices were sky high over the summer? You'd see stickers on the gas pumps that look like this:

And remember when inflation was surging and headlines popped up like, "Inflation is Biden's fault, and only Biden's fault" and when the stock market struggled and it was "Biden's market?" 

So, now we will hear "Three cheers for Biden! Hip-hip-hooray!" Right? Right? Cuz inflation is slowing, the stock market is sharply up – at record highs – and gas prices are down about 7% from a year ago. Do we hear cheers? No? Are you sure? We should be hearing accolades for the President's direct influence on lower prices and a surging economy, shouldn't we?

What's that noise instead? We hear, "Impeach Biden!" And more than that, we hear, "I don't know what he's done or when, but we're going to look into it and hopefully find something!" 

Here's newsman Stephen Colbert to explain:

John Darkow 

That's all for now. 

Keep up the resistance, sister and brother resisters! If we don't meet before the new year, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to all (both?) of my devoted readers! XOXOXO

Saying the quiet part out loud

Saying the quiet part out loud

Steve Breen

Honestly, it has never been quiet. But now the message is loud and clear: T**** is a fascist. He wants to be a dictator. He has the cult following. He has the ideology. And he is using the language. 

He has really and truly crossed into Hitler territory. At a recent campaign stop in New Hampshire, on Veterans Day no less, he said the following: "We pledge to you that we will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists, and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country." When citizens are equalled to "vermin" that must be destroyed, it gives permission for hatred and violence. This is not ok. 

And he went on: "They’ll do anything, whether legally or illegally, to destroy America and to destroy the American Dream." He continued: “The threat from outside forces is far less sinister, dangerous and grave than the threat from within. Our threat is from within. Because if you have a capable, competent, smart, tough leader, Russia, China, North Korea, they’re not going to want to play with us.”

It is not simply a narcissist's pathological projection, though it is that. No, this kind of language is horrifying. Historians are sounding the alarm from coast to coast. It matters.

Tom Nichols writing in The Atlantic has reserved the words "T**** is a fascist" until now. Now it's obvious. You can read his thoughts here. 

Many of the rest of us have called it out long ago. I have used the words fascism and fascist on these pages numerous times. My most driect treatment was looking directly at fascism and outlining the parallels of fascist tendencies and T****'s traits. You can read what I published on June 24, 2018: Descending into Darkness. I also wrote Dictatorship 101 back on February 26, 2020.

Here's a video I included in that post; it briefly describes authoritarian strategies and how to resist. It was made five years ago and remains supremely relevant. 

 

T****'s campaign is fine n dandy with authoritarian language, too. In a follow-up statement about his "vermin" comments, Steven Cheung, T**** campaign spokesperson, told the Washington Post, "Those who try to make that ridiculous assertion are clearly snowflakes grasping for anything because they are suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome and their entire existence will be crushed when President Trump returns to the White House." In the shocked aftermath, he clarified he comments, stating that he meant to say their “sad, miserable existence" instead of their “entire existence.” So much more comforting!!

And just this week, down in Texas, Attorney General Ken Paxton showed his true Nazi colors when he filed a lawsuit against a journalism organization who called out Elon Musk and his Nazi sympathizing social media site (By the way, demonizing journalism and controlling mass media is #6 in the list I outlined about fascist tactics in my Descending into Darkness post).

T**** and his gang are embracing fascism and authoritarianism, and very single one of us has the power to  RESIST. Keep your guard up! Our democratic republic is hanging on by a thread. The bottom line is, the only way to preserve it is to vote. Do what you can to help to empower voters, support the candidates you want, and vote. 

Court News: 91 criminal charges and a civil fraud charge still pending

The Civil Fraud Case in NY has been most active. 

This is the bench trial, no jury, in which the judge has already determined that T****, his sons, and his company committed fraud when they grossly inflated property values in order to get better loan terms. The trial is simply to assess for punishment. 

Hunter Biden much?

"The children" were called to testify. Daddy protested much. "Leave my children alone, Engoron!" What, are they four years old? 

Da boys (both co-defendants), scraggly and unshaven, sat smugly in the witness box and proclaimed that "I don't focus on appraisals" and anyway it was the damn rogue accountants who did the deeds. Pesky!

Ivanka (not a defendant) testified that she was "not privy" to Daddy's personal financial statements. 

Prickly testimony

And dad himself testified, in what has been described as meandering and bombastic. Do we expect different? The Washington Post described that, "He alternately appeared boastful and frustrated, proud and irritated, bored and distracted."

Not surprisingly, he did not stick to facts and went off the rails during his testimony, lambasting the court as well as the prosecutor, calling the judge "hostile" and the trial "a scam." Judge Engoron rebuked him strongly and told T****'s lawyers "this is not a political rally" and ordered the attorneys to "control him."

The Toddler-in-Chief still cannot sit still and be quiet for two dang minutes.

Jack Ohman

Jack Ohman

Here is a live-feed version of that day's events from NBC.com.

The prosecution rests

The prosecution wound up its case last week, and now it is the defense's turn. In looking at ABC's live feed of goings-on, it looks like it is not going super well for the defense. For example, one "expert" ended testimony rather abruptly after he contradicted his earlier findings in a report that he authored. 

The continuing saga of the gag order

The gag has been removed by an appellate court, and, unmuzzled, T**** has taken off running. He resumed his attacks on Judge Engoron's clerk, as well as the judge himself, District Attorney Leticia James, and his former attorney Michael Cohen, who testified earlier in the trial. 

The federal January 6 case

This is the case brought by special prosecutor Jack Smith. The indictment charges T**** with four felony charges surrounding the conspiracy to obstruct a free and fair election.

The continuing saga of this gag order

The federal gag order is also under appeal, and a three-judge panel is deciding whether to sustain it or pare it back. They heard arguments Monday morning. They are trying to balance free speech issues as well as trial justice issues. T****'s argument is that the order will stifle free speech regarding campaign issues. The prosectutors do not want him to malign court officers or intimidate witnesses. As it stands, the gag order is narrow already: it keeps him from talking about witnesses, court personnel, and his co-defendents. The court seems to have indicated that they may narrow it the order further. Grrrrr. Why should his status as candidate give him special leeway? To learn more, the Washington Post has analyzed it better than I ever could. 

Motions

Judge Tanya Chutkan has considered a couple motions in recent weeks: 

1. T****'s team actually joined in media outlets asking that the federal trial be televised. No decision yet on that. 

2. The Judge gave his legal team until January to decide whether they will present a "advise of counsel" defense, which essentially says, "My lawyers said it was ok to do it." If they go ahead with this defense, it allows the attorney-client privilege wall to come down. 

3. T**** asked for any mention of the Capitol riots to be removed from the indictment so that the jury would not see it. She ruled that it is a moot point; she hadn't planned to show the indictment to the jury.

Trial is still set for March 4.

The federal classified documents case

This case surrounds the illegal retention of dozens of classified documents in unsecured locations, including the bathroom and the ballroom of Mar-a-lago. T**** is charged with 40 felony counts surrounding the keeping of the documents and the obstruction of the United States to get them back. 

Not much movement

There hasn't been a lot of movement, mostly because of the amount of classified material that must be handled. 

Trial is set for May 20, and though Judge Aileen Cannon has thought about changing it, it stands today. She doesn't seem to be in much of a hurry to set it in stone, and her delays in entertaining motions may delay the start all by themselves. 

The Georgia election interference case

This case involves T**** and 18 co-defendents, four of whom have pled guilty already. They are charged under racketeering statutes with conspiring to obstruct the election results in Georgia. 

It's been mostly quiet

Not a lot of movement with the case, except for prosecutor Fani Willis's request for an August 5 start date. 

Also, Judge Scott McAfee has barred the release of "sensitive" evidence. This, after a couple of the co-defendents' video-recorded statements during their plea arrangements were leaked to the media. See here at WaPo or here at ABC News!

The New York hush-money case

There has been very little movement in this case revolving around paying off Stormy Daniels to keep her from talking about a sexual encounter. Trial date is set for March 25 in Manhattan. 

Remember the 14th Amendment Angle?

I had prematurely called the Section Three idea to disqualify T**** from state ballots dead in the water, but now it's creeping closer to the dustbin. Last week, a Colorado court found that although T**** engaged in an insurrection, he is still eligible to run for president because, "The Court holds there is scant direct evidence regarding whether the Presidency is one of the positions subject to disqualification." 

You may remember that Section Three of the 14th Amendment reads:

No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

Apparently the judge, the first one to have the cajones to say plainly that T**** engaged in insurrection, was not willing to say that President of the United States is an "officer of the United States." 🙄

Still, theres's life! The groups that brought the lawsuit is bringing it to the Colorado Supreme Court. We'll see how far it goes!

The 2024 Campaign

Not much to say. There have been Repug debates. I have not watched a single minute. Have you? There have been candidates drop out, including Mike Pence, and the field is now down to eight. Somehow T**** remains the frontrunner by far. 

The Chaos in the Capitol or, Repugs Run Amok

Drew Sheneman

The boys have been acting badly. It's such an embarrassment. 

GOP representative Tim Burchett (Tenn.) accused former speaker Kevin McCarthy of elbowing him in the kidney as he passed by. It was caught on tape by an NPR reporter. Burchett just happened to vote for McCarthy's ouster last month. Mc Carthy denied intentionally elbowing him, saying, that it was a "tight hallway."

Meanwhile, down at the Senate chambers, a United States Senator challenged a hearing witness to a fist fight. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) seems to have a score to settle with Teamster president Sean O'Brien.

See the video here, and after that, Stephen Colbert's take.

Colbert:

Other Bad Boys: Members of the United States Supreme Court

SCOTUS finally adopted a code of ethics, but there is no mechanism for enforcement or for oversight of any kind. So, Mr. Thomas can keep on accepting millions in bribes, I guess. 😑

The Good News: A lot to be thankful for

Reproductive Rights got a win this past Election Day!
Voters in three states voted to protect a woman's right to make her own reproductive choices. Democrats and abortion rights activists won big in Ohio, Virginia, and Kentucky. This is very good news for 2024. Go, blue voters, go!!

SCOTUS actually made a couple good decisions. They refused to uphold Florida's ban on drag shows, and they appeared to hold up a law preventing perpetrators of domestic violence from owing a gun. 

People who were closest to T**** have been speaking out, and you can use their words around the Thanksgiving dinner table. Maybe they will sway "Uncle Maga" – and maybe not. But it's that good these citizens are lending their voice. 

Our system of checks and balances seems to be holding. 

Court cases are moving along as they do, people are being held accountable, and there is an election in just under one year in which we will wrestle back our democracy. Be grateful this Thanksgiving and have a wonderful, warm holiday!

Clay Bennett

More Flips!

We have flippers!

Bill Bramhall

Not this kind:

Nor this kind:

Not this kind either:

It's this kind!

 

Former T**** attorney Jenna Ellis. Don't she look smug in this mug?

Former T**** Chief of Staff Mark Meadows: Takin' down da boss.

Two more central players to the attack on our nation flipped! 

Within hours of each other, the news emerged that Jenna Ellis had pled guilty in the election interference case against her in Georgia, and Mark Meadows had been cooperating with the Federal investigation into T**** and his involvement in the attempt to overthrow the United States Government after the 2020 election. 

Jenna Ellis was one of the 19 co-conspirators facing felony charges in Georgia. She was an attorney and Faux News face that helped in the plot to install fake electors in Georgia and other states that would challenge the certification of Joe Biden as president-elect on January 6. You may also remember her as the one who had to endure Rudy Giuliani's farts at a hearing in Michigan.

In August, she stated on Twitter or X, or whatever it was called in August, that she would "trust the Lord," but by October she decided to trust that the Georgia justice system would be lenient if she pled guilty and promised to testify against other of her co-defendants. 

Ellis issued a tearful video statement after her conviction:

Her sentence: five years probation, $5000 in restitution, community service, a written apology to the citizens of Georgia, along with the pledge to testify truthfully in others' trials.

These early flippers – now numbering four – are getting pretty good deals. If I were a co-defendant, I'd want on that bus!

Mark Meadows, T****'s seemingly unshakable-in-his-loyalty chief of staff, finally broke with his boss and cooperated with the special counsel in exchange for immunity in the election interference case. He admitted he was "dishonest" with the public about the 2020 election. He stated that he told T**** multiple times that the claims of fraud were baseless. 

He lied to the public in front of cameras, and he lied in his book, "The Chief's Chief." Shame on him.

So, he has immunity in the federal case, but not in the Georgia case, where he is charged with two felony counts, the over-reaching RICO charge, and one count of Solicitation of Violation of Oath by Public Officer, which stems from the call he arranged and took part in to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. 

I wonder if he will end up pleading guilty there.

He's not a flipper per se, but Mike Pence dropped his candidacy for president. And this means he is "just" a witness again. T**** can't talk about him without violating his gag order. And if We the People were very lucky, he would testify in open court (he has already testified in front of the federal grand jury and does not face any charges). 

Speaking of gag orders, Judge Tanya Chutkan, who had suspended the gag order while she considered a stay in light of T****'s attempts to appeal the decision, has reinstated the order. And in the New York civil fraud trial, T**** was fined an additional $10,000 for violating Judge Engoron's gag order there. 

Other trial news:

The Federal election obstruction case: T**** and his team are throwing out the idea that his trial should be considered double jeopardy because he was acquitted in the impeachment trial. Yeah, no. I'm not a constitutional scholar by any means, but no. Double jeopardy does not apply. That "trial" was in name only.

The Federal classified documents case: there is a hearing scheduled for this week, on Wednesday, November 1. Judge Aileen Cannon will discuss scheduling of the trial. Currently, the trial is scheduled to begin on May 20, 2024. We will see if that holds. 

The New York civil fraud trial: Ivanka Trump has been ordered to testify. She doesn't want to. But she's gonna. Ivanka had not been charged in the case, but prosecutor Leticia James states she has "knowledge of facts" and should talk about them. Sure, let's hear her!

Former T**** attorney Michael Cohen testified and got raked over the coals for his previous dishonesty. He's quite a scumbag, trying to rehabilitate by speaking out all over the place about his former boss, for whom he took a fall and served time in jail. He testified about his part in inflating the property values of T****'s properties to "what ever number Mr. Trump told us."

Nothing else to report tonight. I have a feeling though, that the Bus o' Guilty Pleas will be taking on more passengers this week. 

Stay tuned, resisters! 

Flippers and gags

Flippers and Gags

oooh... Sounds a little kinky, don't it?

Truthfully all the news in the last couple weeks does have me a little turned on....

Joe Heller

The shit is going down.

The Flippers

I told you in my last post about former bail bondsman Scott Hall, who pleaded guilty a couple weeks ago and worked out a deal with the prosecutor. He was the first of the 19 co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case to flip. Since then, two of the major turncoats have also decided to plead guilty and cooperate. Now they are turncoat turncoats.

You may recall that two of the inner-circle defendants, attorneys Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro, had asked for and received a speedy trial and were diverted from the consolidated trial of the other 18. Their trials were due to start this month, and both took a turn.

Look at you, Sidney Powell!

First, on Thursday, attorney Sidney Powell, evil mastermind of the plot to subvert the Dominion voting machines data, decided to plead guilty to six counts. 

You'll remember Powell as the one promoting conspiracy theories about the election, such as the involvement of the (long-dead) Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. She was at that infamous Oval Office meeting that almost devolved into fisticuffs. She is a bad lady. 

According to the Washington Post, the terms of her plea deal are: "six years’ probation and agreed to pay a $6,000 fine and $2,700 in restitution to the state of Georgia, turn over documents and testify truthfully in her co-defendants’ trials."

Chris Britt

Yo! Chesebro!

Friday, just as jury selection was underway, Kenneth Chesebro, former T**** campaign attorney, also plead guilty. 

You remember that Chesebro was the mastermind behind the plot to have fake electors "certify" a win for T****. Certify this, Kenny Boy!

The terms of his plea deal are similar to Powell's. According to the Washington Post: "Chesebro pleaded guilty to a single felony count of conspiracy to file false documents and accepted a sentence of three to five years of probation, a $1,000 fine, $5,000 in restitution to the state of Georgia, an apology letter, 100 hours of community service and a promise to testify truthfully against any other co-defendants in the case, should they go to trial."

Love those last bits of the plea terms! What co-defendants might they testify against? A few other co-defendants shared the charges that the Chese-man was facing. They are campaign operative Michael Roman, lawyers Ray Smith and Robert Cheeley, and! attorneys John Eastman and Rudy Giuliani, as well as the big guy, djt himself. Powell shares charges with some of the lower-level conspirators, such as Cathleen Latham, former GOP Chair of Coffee County, Georgia, and Misty Hampton, the former elections supervisor who did Very Bad things like letting T**** people in to access the voting machines and tamper with them. 

But this. This is the best co-conspirator to testify against. A tremendous co-conspirator. The best. He must be tired of winning Bigly Co-conspirator:

Inmate #P01135809

Besides being a big win for D.A. Fani Willis in getting the convictions, with these two early trials off the table, she doesn't have to yet show her hand of the evidence she has. 

Chesebro gets to keep his law license, gets to serve his probation in his home area of Puerto Rico, and if he is a good boy during probation, he will have his conviction expunged under the first-offender part of the deal.

Powell's fate is trickier. She has had numerous lawsuits filed against her regarding her election interference, as well a Texas state bar lawsuit. She may be able to hold on to her legal license, but she has a lot of legal problems separate from this conviction. 

You can read all about Powell's path from quiet federal prosecutor and defense attorney to convicted felon in The Washington Post.

Three down, 16 to go!

The Gags

Judges now in two cases have issued gag orders on the primary defendant. 

In the Federal election interference case, Judge Tanya Chutkan placed a limited gag order last Monday, prohibiting T**** from disparaging the prosecuting attorneys, court personnel, and potential witnesses. Judge Chutkan said, "Mr. Trump is facing felony charges, and he does not get to respond to every criticism if that response could affect a potential witness. He doesn’t get to use all the words."

By Friday, she had paused the gag order while she considers the defendant's intentions to appeal the decision. She will hear arguments about the gag order and then decide if it shall remain in place while it is being appealed. 

It gets sticky, because one of the potential witnesses is also a competing presidential opponent, Mike Pence. T**** should have the right to talk about his opponent. Judge Chutkan ruled that, "If Mr. Trump wants to criticize his political rival, Mr. Pence, he may do so, but he cannot make statements about Mr. Pence’s role in the events in this case."

Nevertheless, T**** is loving the fight. He immediately took the issue to his followers as a donation pitch and issued his usual blustering statement.

This is the second gag order; you'll remember the first one stemmed from his behavior during his civil fraud trial. Judge Arthur Engoron prohibited him from posting about court personnel after he truth-socialed shit about the judge's clerk. 

Well! It turns out that that mean tweet was left up on his campaign website for 17 days after the judge issued the gag order and the original truth social post had been deleted. Judge Engoron fined him $5000.

Some pundits, like me, have applauded the gag orders.  Jeffrey Toobin in the New York Times said that T****'s rhetoric is not just intimidating but downright dangerous, and the Los Angeles Times editorial board assert that the gag order is right and proper. 

And some have cautioned that the gags are an overreach and a violation of T****'s First Amendment rights. Writers like Erwin Chemerinsky in the Los Angeles Times, who called it unconstitutional, and Jonathan Turley writing for The Hill, who called for it to be struck down. 

As the American Civil Liberty Union notes, however, "freedom of speech does not prevent punishing conduct that intimidates, harasses, or threatens another person, even if words are used." Freedom of speech ends when the speech interferes with others' rights. We the People have a right to a fair trial as well! Gag orders are not uncommon, and his status as a candidate should not factor in to protecting his harassing speech.

Other Trial News

The Mar-a-lago case

Co-defendant Waltine Nauta had a Garcia hearing, which considers conflict of interest issues. Nauta has retained T**** organization attorney Stanley Woodword. Woodward would be resonsible for cross-examining the third co-conspirator in the case, Yuscil Taveras. The trouble is that Woodward represented Taveras before Taveras fired him and switched to a public defender and decided to tell the truth. Judge Aileen Cannon criticized prosecutor Jack Smith's timing in bringing about the conflict-of-interest concerns. In the end, the judge ruled that Nauta could continue with Woodward despite potential conflicts of interest, and Woodward stated that he would not question current or former clients.

The New York State campaign Fraud / Stormy Daniels case

No news at this time. It's been put on the back burner so that the other cases can move forward a little more easily. 

Section Three Clarification

Last time I wrote, I said that the 14th Amendment, Section Three solution was dead in the water. That wasn't quite true. There are some lawsuits that are going ahead to force the issue, and no ban on T****'s candidacy will go forward without some court decisions. The groups who are pursuing a disqualification in some states face many challenges, however, and because of that I sort of prematurely called an "out" on that play. For accuracy's sake, I'll outline what the challenges at the state level are looking like. 

Minnesota: A challenge has been mounted in Minnesota by a group called Free Speech for People. Minnesota's Secretary of State Steve Simon has asserted that the secretary "does not have authority to investigate a candidate’s ineligibility." This prompted the group to pursue the state's Supreme Court to weigh in. The court ruled against T****'s direct involvement in the suit, but is allowing a pathway to allow his and his campaign's participation. Oral arguments are set to begin on November 2. 

Free Speech for People has also filed a lawsuit in Michigan. It is going ahead speedily. 

In addition, Free Speech for People had written letters to the secretaries of state in several other states asking for a ban, including Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin, New Hampshire and New Mexico. The secretaries have pretty much all backed away, saying they don't want to appear partisan and that it's not in their scope to determine who is and isn't eligible. 

The only other serious court case that I have found going ahead is in Colorado. A group called Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has filed a lawsuit to prevent T**** from appearing on the ballot there. The court has repeatedly rejected T****'s efforts to shut the lawsuit down. The trial in Colorado is set to begin on October 30. 

Stay tuned, Resisters!