U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan denied Trump’s request to toss out his four-count August indictment on charges of conspiring to defraud the federal government’s election process, to obstruct Congress’s certification of the vote on Jan. 6, 2021, and to disenfranchise American voters.
“Whatever immunities a sitting President may enjoy, the United States has only one Chief Executive at a time, and that position does not confer a lifelong ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ pass,” she wrote in the 48-page opinion. She said Trump may be subject to federal investigation, indictment, prosecution, conviction and punishment for any criminal acts undertaken while in office.
“Defendant’s four-year service as Commander in Chief did not bestow on him the divine right of kings to evade the criminal accountability that governs his fellow citizens,” Chutkan added.
Chutkan said no court or any other branch of government has ever accepted Trump’s contention that former presidents enjoy “absolute immunity from criminal prosecution.” Nor, she said, was there any basis for Trump’s double jeopardy argument asserting he could not be prosecuted for a crime unless he had been impeached and convicted of those actions while in office. It defied the Constitution’s “plain meaning, original understanding, and common sense,” she wrote.
[…]
Chutkan’s decision followed a unanimous opinion earlier in the day by a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit rejecting Trump’s claim of blanket immunity from civil liability for inciting the violent Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. The 67-page appeals court opinion in the lawsuit filed by police officers and lawmakers distinguished between protected conduct in his “official capacity as president” and actions taken “in his unofficial capacity as presidential candidate.”
like christmas bells, judge chutkun’s words ring today in the loser’s ears:
No civil immunity … no criminal immunity … Dumbass got quite the legal education in one day.
Yep, it was a lousy day in court for Pumpkin Head yesterday. And in a hearing in his Georgia case his lawyers were making the same immunity and free speech claims at the same time as they were being rejected by the appeals panel and the trial judge in DC.
Throughout all these losses since his legal woes began Trump’s ridiculously expansive arguments for putting presidents above the law have actually managed to limit presidential power. Thanks to him courts are establishing clear restrictions on the president’s Executive Privilege, Attorney-Client Privilege, First Amendment Rights and Immunity from prosecution or civil lawsuits.
The only way that changes is if he is elected and achieves his stated goal of dismantling the judicial system.
Damn if it ain’t Saturday again.
Short Story of the Latest Scaramucci
“The Secret Life of James Thurber,” by James Thurber
First I ever heard of this one was yesterday and I thought I’d read them all.
In this is to be found Thurber at his finest. It is a comparison of his own life and times and art to that of Salvador Dalì. It so happens to be the Thurber story read aloud by Olbermann on Olbermann’s Friday podcast. It just shows to go ya what a master was the writer Thurber.
(He was miffed that his last book was $1.75 while Dalì’s was $6.00. )
The O-man reads from Thurber every Friday on his podcast. I think it’s for his Dad who loved Thurber and introduced his writings to the young Keith.
O has told the story of his having read his dad’s favorite story to him as his dad lay dying. “I Went To Sullivant”.
Query: After the walls have closed all the way in, will they remain forever orange?
3/4 time…..its a waltz.
The Moth and the Star
By James Thurber
A young and impressionable moth once set his heart on a certain star. He told his mother about this and she counseled him to set his heart on a bridge lamp instead. “Star’s aren’t the thing to hang around,” she said; “lamps are the thing to hang around.” “You get somewhere that way,” said the moth’s father. “You don’t get anywhere chasing stars.”
But the moth would not heed the words of either parent. Every evening at dusk when the star came out he would start flying toward it and every morning at dawn he would crawl back home worn out with his vain endeavor.
One day his father said to him, “You haven’t burned a wing in months, boy, and it looks to me as if you were never going to. All your brothers have been badly burned flying around street lamps and all your sisters have been terribly singed flying around house lamps. Come on, now, get yourself scorched! A big strapping moth like you without a mark on him!”
The moth left his father’s house, but he would not fly around street lamps and he would not fly around house lamps. He went right on trying to reach the star, which was four and one-third light years, or twenty-five trillion miles, away. The moth thought it was just caught in the top branches of an elm.
He never did reach the star, but he went right on trying, night after night, and when he was a very, very old moth he began to think that he really had reached the star and he went around saying so. This gave him a deep and lasting pleasure, and he lived to a great old age. His parents and his brothers and his sisters had all been burned to death when they where quite young.
Moral: He who flies afar from the sphere of our sorrow is here today and here tommrow.
Wait, what, that wasn’t what Moscow Mitch told us from the floor of Congress when he was dodging the bullet and passing the buck.
I like Judge Tanya’s style of writing.
Nice that a “Monopoly” reference makes it into the legal record.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/02/politics/speaker-johnson-says-he-believes-he-has-the-votes-for-a-biden-impeachment-inquiry/index.html
“An open hearing is five minutes on the Democrat side, five minutes on the Republican side. It becomes a very public press opportunity,” Stefanik said. “We want to go about this from a legal and factual perspective and the only way to go about that is through a deposition.”
“It’s the precedent,” Johnson added. “Every investigation of Congress in the modern era, the deposition has come first, and the public testimony follows. Why would we break that precedent now?”
MAGAt Mike & the Fascists want to twist info, so of course they don’t want Hunter to testify publicly first. The GQP knows it’s a hot pile of garbage. If they weren’t afraid of the truth, it wouldn’t be a problem. All Republicans are political vampires and they are afraid of sunlight.
https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/science-nature/science/20231202-153268/
“About 5½ years from now, astronomers calculate, an asteroid about as wide as the Empire State Building will streak through space within 32,000 kilometers of Earth, the closest any celestial object of that size will have come to our planet in modern history.”
“…its approach in 2029 will bring the asteroid within a cosmic cat’s whisker of Earth — less than one-tenth the moon’s distance from us and well within the orbits of geosynchronous Earth satellites.”
“An asteroid that large passing so near to Earth is estimated to occur roughly once every 7,500 years. The Apophis flyby is the first such encounter predicted in advance.”
“The tidal pull of Earth’s gravity likely will cause measurable disturbances to the asteroid’s surface and motion, changing its orbital path and rotational spin. Tidal forces could trigger landslides on Apophis and dislodge rocks and dust particles to create a comet-like tail.”
Store Opening Soon! Apply OnLine!
The 2020 “Research Questionnaire,”which we obtained from a Trump administration alumnus, was used in the administration’s final days — when most moderates and establishment figures had been fired or quit, and loyalists were flexing their muscles. Questions include:
“What part of Candidate Trump’s campaign message most appealed to you and why?”
“Briefly describe your political evolution. What thinkers, authors, books, or political leaders influenced you and led you to your current beliefs? What political commentator, thinker or politician best reflects your views?”
“Have you ever appeared in the media to comment on Candidate Trump, President Trump or other personnel or policies of the Trump Administration?”
The big picture: Similar questions are being asked for the Talent Database being assembled by the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 — the most sophisticated, expensive pre-transition planning ever undertaken for either party:
“Name one person, past or present, who has most influenced the development of your political philosophy.”
“Name a book that has most significantly shaped your political philosophy, and please explain its influence on your thinking.”
“Name one living public policy figure whom you greatly admire and why.”
Between the lines: An alumnus of the Trump White House told us both documents are designed to test the sincerity of someone’s MAGA credentials and determine “when you got red-pilled,” or became a true believer.
https://www.axios.com/2023/12/01/trump-government-job-applications-2025
Book of the Month
THE TRUE BELIEVER, by Eric Hoffer, 1951
The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements is a non-fiction book authored by the American social philosopher Eric Hoffer. Published in 1951, it depicts a variety of arguments in terms of applied world history and social psychology to explain why mass movements arise to challenge the status quo.[1] Hoffer discusses the sense of individual identity and the holding to particular ideals that can lead to extremism and fanaticism among both leaders and followers.[2]
Hoffer initially attempts to explain the motives of the various types of personalities that give rise to mass movements in the first place and why certain efforts succeed while many others fail. He goes on to articulate a cyclical view of history such that why and how said movements start, progress and end is explored. Whether intended to be cultural, ideological, religious, or whatever else, Hoffer argues that mass movements are broadly interchangeable even when their stated goals or values differ dramatically.[1] This makes sense, in the author’s view, given the frequent similarities between them in terms of the psychological influences on its adherents. Thus, many will often flip from one movement to another, Hoffer asserts, and the often shared motivations for participation entail practical effects. Since, whether radical or reactionary, the movements tend to attract the same sort of people in his view, Hoffer describes them as fundamentally using the same tactics including possessing the rhetorical tools. As examples, he often refers to the purported political enemies of communism and fascism as well as the religions of Christianity and Islam.
Viktor Frankl…..I think he was either next month or last month.
According to a survey conducted by the Book-of-the-Month Club and the Library of Congress, Man’s Search for Meaning belongs to a list of “the ten most influential books in the United States.”[1] At the time of the author’s death in 1997, the book had sold over 10 million copies and had been translated into 24 languages.[2][3]
Georgie Santos is openly threatening to lower the boom on several former colleagues. Threatening to rain down retribution upon them.
I’ve seen this guy, and he NEVER lies.
“The Future of Democracy
This year’s BBC Reith Lecturer, Ben Ansell, asks how we can make politics work for all of us as we face the challenges of the 21st century, from AI to climate change.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001sty4
58 mins
(listening to too much BBC worldservice so you don’t have to 🫡)
Sturg – Santos threatened other folks in Congress a week before the vote; he made it sound like lobbyists are running an escort service. I’m sure stories can be verified or dismissed by other means since he’s such a lying POS.
Ivy – So now we have the cheat codes. Cool.
Ivy, RTR‼️
Will Reichard kicked his way atop the college football history books on Saturday.
The Alabama kicker became the NCAA all-time points leader against Georgia in the Southeastern Conference Championship. He overtook Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds’ previous high of 530 points, set in 2015, with a field goal kick in first quarter inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
A native of Hoover, Alabama, Reichard returned to the Tide for a fifth season and has made the most of it, continuing to set records. He redefined the kicking position during his tenure in Tuscaloosa. A position that drew more headaches than glory saw Reichard eventually earn the loudest cheers of nearly any player during home game introductions.
https://www.al.com/alabamafootball/2023/12/alabama-kicker-will-reichard-becomes-college-footballs-all-time-points-leader.html
Pogo &Ivy…. Congrats! Fun game to watch!
Thanks, Renee.
Love to Jalen! (and Katy, Texas)
Roll Tide!
All good things must end.
The SEC Championship will be the finale on the league’s finale on the network before the ESPN brand fully conquers the conference. No longer will the Disney empire have to choose from the CBS leftovers of the 3:30 (or 2:30) as the mid-afternoon primetime slot.
This ends a relationship dating back to 1996 when the SEC and Big East shared time. The SEC became the exclusive partner a few years
https://www.al.com/sec/2023/12/an-ode-to-the-sec-on-cbs.html
I mentioned to my chat group – my sister, who was at the game, and my best friend- that I’m too old for this shit.
Thanks, Renee. Hopefully we’re playoff bound.
ivy, before Reichard started his march toward the NCAA points leader position, I used to say, “My kingdom for a kicker.“
Pogo & Ivy,
congrats and watch out for a possible FSU challenge according to ESPN
my ‘Noles might just roll y’all’s Tide.
that is if they get the chance.
NEW THREAD by Jack
Pat, thanks, we’re all waiting with bated breath.
Pogo & Ivy,
congrats and watch out for a possible FSU challenge according to ESPN
my ‘Noles might just roll y’all’s Tide.
that is if they get the chance.