Pumpkin Head Is Scared

Like clockwork, after yesterday’s WSJ report that the special counsel probe is nearing indictment, Trump reveals he had his lawyers demand a meeting with Attorney General Garland. Has the vibe of something he dictated himself and his lawyers worked to redraft into something resembling lawyering.

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Author: craigcrawford

Trail Mix Host. Lapsed journalist, author & retired pundit happily promoting nothing but the truth for Social Security checks.

36 thoughts on “Pumpkin Head Is Scared”

  1. great gales of guffaws resound throughout lawyer land, emanating mostly from AG office at DOJ. 

    BTW that new yorker cartoon! great find, craig. 

    at 1st I thought that doc was signed by mr loser himself in one of his pseudo poses (like john baron, john miller and david dennison) but no those 2 signees are real according to this 2022 piece:

    All the former president’s lawyers (that we know of) – POLITICO

    […]
    James M. Trusty: Trusty, a D.C.-based former federal prosecutor, has signed several of Trump’s filings in the special master litigation and did most of the arguing before Cannon. He previously oversaw gang prosecutions at Justice Department headquarters.
    […]
    John Rowley: Another former prosecutor, Rowley has also communicated with the Justice Department on Trump’s behalf in regards to its Jan. 6 probe. Rowley also represents former Trump adviser Peter Navarro in his ongoing contempt of Congress case and Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), whose cell phone was seized by the FBI. In addition, Rowley represents former Trump White House aide Stephen Miller in a lawsuit contesting a Jan. 6 select committee subpoena for phone records.

  2. very worthy of repost is trail friend Jack’s contribution last night.  starts off the 2024 prez campaign in brave new AI  world style.

    A.I. Joe Biden tells it like it is.

  3. My mom used to say you catch more flies with sugar than with you do with vinegar. Apparently Rowley and Trusty don’t believe that. As a lawyer who deals with other lawyers all the time I can say that when I get a letter like that I let it sit and consider how I want to respond. The response is never anything like “Okay, let’s set up a meeting!”   The response is always some version of “Fuck you. Harsh letter to follow.”

  4. comments about that AI ad were mostly in this vein:

    That’s a surprisingly effective campaign ad, actually.

    Dark Brandon saying the quiet part out loud and I love it! Four more years of holding Fascism at bay! Let’s get to it.

    Not the Joe we asked for, but the Joe we need 😎

    Wow they really pulled all the stops on that one!😎It would probably actually work for him if he did that. Give the trumpers some their own medicine👊🏻Bam

  5. speaking of AI stuff, OpenAI leaders call for regulation to prevent AI destroying humanity | Artificial intelligence (AI) | The Guardian

    The leaders of the ChatGPT developer OpenAI have called for the regulation of “superintelligent” AIs, arguing that an equivalent to the International Atomic Energy Agency is needed to protect humanity from the risk of accidentally creating something with the power to destroy it.
    In a short note published to the company’s website, co-founders Greg Brockman and Ilya Sutskever and the chief executive, Sam Altman, call for an international regulator to begin working on how to “inspect systems, require audits, test for compliance with safety standards, [and] place restrictions on degrees of deployment and levels of security” in order to reduce the “existential risk” such systems could pose.
    “It’s conceivable that within the next 10 years, AI systems will exceed expert skill level in most domains, and carry out as much productive activity as one of today’s largest corporations,” they write. “In terms of both potential upsides and downsides, superintelligence will be more powerful than other technologies humanity has had to contend with in the past. We can have a dramatically more prosperous future; but we have to manage risk to get there. Given the possibility of existential risk, we can’t just be reactive.”
    In the shorter term, the trio call for “some degree of coordination” amongcompanies working on the cutting-edge of AI research, in order to ensure the development of ever-more powerful models integrates smoothly with society while prioritising safety. That coordination could come through a government-led project, for instance, or through a collective agreement to limit growth in AI capability.
    [continues]

     

    hmmm, sounds like a plea to rescue themselves from their own out of control selves.

    Image result for funny help help i can't control myself

  7. Ha! Yeah, those words came from the voices in Orange Adolf’s head.   The “we” doesn’t sound like those of his lawyers, but more like a royal “we.”
     
     

  8. https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/23/politics/desantis-supreme-court-conservative-majority/index.html

    Republicans have to lose, and lose bigggly, in every election. We can’t let the fascists win and destroy democracy.

    “If you look over the next two presidential terms there is a good chance that you could be called upon to seek replacements for Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Samuel Alito. And the issue with that is you can’t really do better than those two. They are the gold standard for jurisprudence, so you gotta make sure that we are appointing people as close to that standard as possible,” DeSantis said, referring to two conservative stalwarts.”

    “Alito is 73, Thomas is 74.”

    “DeSantis also highlighted what he sees as a potential opportunity to replace conservative Chief Justice John Roberts, 68, or liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor, 68, to cement a conservative majority for years. The court currently has a 6-3 conservative supermajority.”

    So, RonDuh wants an activist SC.

  11. Quite a while ago I dumped Netflix after many years using it, starting with the DVD’s then the streaming, so I am not up on how things are going with it.  This kerfuffle about subaccounts and pricing, along with password sharing, is something I do not understand.  My guess is Netflix wants to have every person in a house have a separate paying subscription.  Do I miss Netflix? No. Not even a smidgen.
    Florida is no longer a place to live or visit.  It will be a while before me or people like me can go there in safety.  The other states that follow with hate will have the same.  I will not be doing much volunteering to go to disasters for a while, and I expect many others too.  Hate and violence is a big part of the far right white supremacist life.  Shame.

  12. meanwhile on the debt ceiling front

    Court sets hearing to consider suspending debt limit law as unconstitutional | The Hill

    A federal judge late this month will hear arguments involving the debt limit law and whether it is unconstitutional and should be suspended.
    The hearing, set for May 31 at 2 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns, will come hours ahead of when the Biden administration warns the federal government could run out of funds to pay its obligations.
    […]
    The National Association of Government Employees (NAGE) earlier this month sued over the law that sets the nation’s debt limit, arguing it presents separation-of-powers issues. Yellen and President Biden were named as defendants.
    If the limit is reached, NAGE contends Biden would be forced to take over Congress’s spending authority by deciding which payments to prioritize over others. It also would effectively amount to a line-item veto, the union argues, which the Supreme Court has previously rejected.
    Stearns, an appointee of former President Clinton who sits in Massachussetts’s federal district court, at next Wednesday’s hearing will hear arguments about the union’s motion to suspend the law as their case proceeds, court records indicate.
    […]
    The Justice Department, which will represent Biden and Yellen at the hearing, has not yet responded to the merits of the union’s legal arguments.
    Biden has also said he believes he has the authority to use the 14th Amendment, which states the validity of the public debt “shall not be questioned,” to unilaterally address the debt ceiling. The union’s lawsuit notes that theory but focuses its argument elsewhere.
    “Plaintiff does not challenge the principle that Congress may limit the indebtedness of the United States or even require a default, notwithstanding the Fourteenth Amendment, and does not seek or ask this Court to resolve that controversial question,” the union wrote in court filings.

  13. “Representatives of Congress”

    who the hell are they referring to: House lawyers?  only Reps, not Senators?

    craig, you’re right about it looks like it was drafted by mr. loser, but i’m not so sure he let the lawyers do much else other than sign their names.  all three named lawyers (trusty, rowly and blanche) are former prosecutors aren’t they?   arm-twisting and powerful threats must have ensued at their last meeting with him.   

  14. Jack…  wow…  that is some ad!
     
    Craig…  good!  Bout time that pumpkin head realize that Garland is serious.
     
    Popcorn for everyone!

  16. That NAGE suit over the power of Biden to exercise the 14th i if the Hill represents the case as it was filed – should fail quickly.  Two huge bases for dismissing it are NAGE’s lack of standing and the absence of a “case and controversy” when the suit was filed.  I’ll have to see if I can find the complaint to see how NAGE tries to get around those issues.

  17. This is a very curious lawsuit – it is suing to get a declaratory judgment and an injunction against Yellen and Biden in anticipation of them following the debt limit law 31 U.S.C. § 3101 and shutting down the government when borrowing for payment of expenditures exceed the limit on total indebtedness set by 31 U.S.C. § 3101(b) – and here’s the weird part – because Biden and Yellen would have to prioritize spending because congress did not and would violate separation of powers when they do that.  By the time the hearing occurs, there may be clarity on whether that will have to occur.  In essence, they are suing to force Biden and Yellen to violate 31 U.S.C. § 3101(b) and continue to spend money beyond the debt limit until Congress can fix that law to avoid a separation of powers issue.  A ruling in NAGE’s favor would allow Biden to tell Congress to fuck off.

    NAGE’s standing argument is that the employees they represent may not get paid. The declaratory judgment action is how they are trying to get around the “case and controversy” rule (essentially a rule prohibiting courts from issuing advisory opinions).  Be interesting to see how this plays out.

  18. Wanda Sykes on Twitter: “Until a drag queen walks into a school and beats eight kids to death with a copy of ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’, I think you’re focusing on the wrong shit.”

  22. https://www.fpri.org/article/2023/05/america-and-the-philippines-update-defense-guidelines/

    “In May 2023, the United States and the Philippines issued new bilateral defense guidelines that clarified the conditions under which American forces would come to the aid of their Philippine counterparts under the terms of their mutual defense treaty. The guidelines marked a change in American policy in the South China Sea from “scrupulous noninvolvement” to one that seems focused on deterring provocative Chinese actions in “gray zone” scenarios.”

  23. https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/24/politics/trump-strategy-desantis-announcement/index.html

    “Donald Trump and his allies are planning a coordinated effort to upend the media cycle around the presidential campaign launch of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, which will include videos and a social media blitz leaning on high-profile, Trump-aligned conservative commentators, sources familiar with the plans told CNN.”

    “The group plans to have a box truck playing a new attack ad as it circles the Miami hotel where DeSantis will be.”

  24. bId – In the past when the government shuts down certain programs and agencies are deemed essential and the people continue working, just not getting a pay check.  That is the debt ceiling result.  The destruction of the executive branch is what the gqp is trying to accomplish, that is removal of jobs.  Hopefully President Biden is not going there.

  26. I’m so saddened to learn of the passing of Tina Turner.  I really wish someone would write a musical about her life.  I’d entitle it… Simply the Best.

  31. Movie of the Week
    ”Never Steal Anything Small”, Starring James Cagney and Shirley Jones.

  32. RR
    I share your sadness at the passing of Tina Turner
    I only saw her once in person   amazing
     

  33. Sad to hear about Tina T. For some reason, that now seems to me a young age for someone to pass. 

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