Maybe Judge Cannon should appoint the SNL Church Lady as special master to examine the documents seized from Mar a Lago, because she’s going to have a hell of a time finding anybody else to do it in South Florida.
I find it particularly galling that this judge, a Trump appointee, is bending over backwards for the most corrupt individual in the U.S. that we can identify without blinking right now. He is getting his money's worth. That she doesn't seem to grasp the severity of this is an outrage in a time of daily escalating outrages. We're all exhausted by him. I bet he's exhausted. I hope he is. He is employing all his dishonest tactics of his entire business life that normally keeps people who worked for him from getting paid and other such things. For the many less well-heeled than he, he just grinds them into poverty if they pursue the honest effort to getting the money they're due. Trump is without a doubt the most despicable product of America, probably ever. Nobody else as terrible as he has had the funds to stay out of jail for similar crimes. But then again, the longer he's allowed to rant and rave in print and on camera, perhaps as he proves his guilt daily, he will be the architect of his own complete public demise.
Facebook is ridiculous. But when you get banned, and I have been several times now, you realize you do like using it for the little bit you use it. It's horribly annoying. I got banned for this comment, "Shoot, I wish I could do that." Had to be "shoot," don't you think?
I can sort of understand why FB bans the kind of comment that I and others routinely make here, on this site. It is impossible sometimes to disguise one’s murderous hatred of t-Rump sufficiently for the comment to meet FB’s standards. Calling for the arrest, trial and EXECUTION of an absolutely evil man seems like a good thing to me!
their algorithms are so stupid that I can manage to get around the hate-and-violence ones simply by stating the terrible notion that certain people should be "drawn and quartered." of course, when I said that Flynn should be taken out and shot at dawn, I got banned for a week. not only are Zuckerberg and his minions completely corrupt, they're also stupid as fuck.
I'd hesitate to call Schmuckerberg stupid, but all that wealth and power has absolutely corrupted him! As for Flynn: he deserves exactly the punishment you (and George Washington) prescribed for traitors.
You've made me laugh out loud. The best medicine is in sharing a sense of humor with likeminded folks. I have said the exact thing about Zuck, he's corrupt and lots of other unpleasant things.
Boy, complete truth in those words, Judith. There are times I hate Trump so much if he were close by, I believe I could incinerate him with my burning eyeballs. And I would not feel one whit of guilt about it.
I belong to a FB group that so anti-trump that it has moderators that have to screen all submissions from members-we've been attacked by the Magats enough so that they require everyone's posts to be checked for loaded words, etc before they're allowed to be posted.
I will be so thankful on the day that SOB is either dead or in prison for the rest of his life because so many people think he walks on water.
They have no idea what contempt he holds them in, or how he plays them for the marks they are.
If only they knew. DT couldn't give a shit less about his followers.
You are so right. He needs to be gone for good off the planet and just only mentioned in his 10% base. I am in Alabama thi week, went to a restaurant and when my friend and I were leaving we were talking about Tito's Vodka and we buy it because they give money to animal causes. Two women close by heard and it and were so enthusiastic and pleasant. I said, y'all are so great and kind, I just bet you are Republicans. LOL. I just shouldn't have done that. The said they think he's brilliant. I don't engage in that with these folks. Nothing is going to change them except finally getting there somehow.
Stan, say it. Everyone's contribution is the best. We arewhere we belong, with all of us on the same page and reinforcing each other feels good in a world that feels bad a lot.
All well and good, but the 800 lb gorilla in the room concerns the 48 empty file folders that used to shield national security contents deemed too sensitive to be photographed. Empty. All of them, and none of which can be mated with exposed and unshielded national security documents found among Donald Trump's personal belongings. So where are those documents. Undoubtedly, those files can be reconstructed, but that's not why there's concern. The question is, in whose hand are those documents to be found NOW. This is a huge pile of shit that has the potential to pass through an enormous fan with worldwide exposure, and with potentially horrific consequences for our country. My instinct would be to waterboard Donald Trump until he tells investigators what he did with those documents. Another 42 empty folders contained sensitive documents that were purportedly handed off to an army officer to be returned to the national security agency. No explanation about why Trump wanted those documents, or what he did with them. Trump's BFF, former Attorney General Bill Barr came out foursquare in supporting the Biden administration. Wonders never cease.
Mr. Silen is correct. The missing classified documents are the newest nightmare in this tale. I'll say it again -- Bedminster & Rump Tower (and maybe even Ivana's coffin) are places the FBI should have been looking as well as Mar-a-Lardo. Depending on the exact subject matter of the missing documents (and who has them), the damage to the country's intelligence collection capability, not to mention overall security, could be immense. Yeah, maybe Jabba-the-Rump should be taken to Guantanamo for a brief visit to the interrogation facility so he could be "gently" asked where the missing documents are.
Heard some speculation on MSNBC or CNN earlier that when all this finally gets to SCotUS they'll be setting new executive precedents—you know, like about post-presidential privilege and stuff. Just in case you didn't have any worries before.
As I've stated before, this judge is a Trump appointee but she clearly lacks common sense in the way she's trying to tell the DOJ how to do their job while she doesn't know how to do hers.
I have no idea why she thinks kissing Trump's ass now is going to do her any good, because she has a lifetime appointment, he isn't running for any office (god help us if he does) and she is not (in my books at least) qualified to do a decision for this case anyway.
It's called pandering. Why I do not know why she's bothering. The DOJ is irritated at her jumping into the middle of this fight and she's clearly pro Trump-she's just another useful tool for Trump to delay the case.
However, there are appeal courts, as you noted, and I'm sure that those judges will see that the DOJ should have total control of their own case. I'm sure that the DOJ is ready to fight this one as well.
There are very few things/entities one should be afraid of-and between the IRS and the DOJ it's a tossup.
She should just pass on approving this request and let Trump go down in flames. It's gonna happen anyway. She would save her professional life if she just steps aside and let it happen.
Someone wrote on another substack that she is behaving as if she's auditioning for a part in the Apprentice. That's how I look at her - she's willing to throw her "reputation" away for fifteen minutes of fame and a wink from TFG. How pathetic.
Hi Lucian. I enjoy your writing and insight. I need help to understand how top secret documents can make it out of the White House and go undetected for so long. It seems these types of documents would be held in a Fort Knox type vault and anyone accessing them would be known and documents not returned would raise a red flag.
I think if I walked out of my local library without scanning the barcode on my book, alarms would go off at the door. I certainly receive overdue notices when I’ve held onto my library materials past the due date.
Who are the people that checked out these top secret documents? Is there no record? No camera video from the “vault doors” where top secret documents of the White House are stored?
I’m a retired nurse and I would lose my license and be subject to much discipline if I rummaged around through your medical record and you were not my patient. (HIPPA laws).
Seems like there needs to be a better process for the President to get their hands on these documents in the first place --TFG has some long overdue library dues.
Whatever light you can shed on the front end of the process is much appreciated.
Every White House has had controls and safeguards on the handling of classified materials. And then came Trump. His White House was sloppy and insecure because of his own habits and because his motivations did not include serving the country, but only himself. The people who controlled intelligence and top secret materials just gave up after a while. Remember, he had only been in office a few days when he had Sergey Kislyak and Sergey Lavrov into the Oval Office and shared Top Secret information that had been developed by Israel. That was pretty much the end of Israel cooperating with our intelligence community, just one of the very serious consequences of 74 million of our fellow citizens seeing fit the elect him president. I hope this was helpful.
Thanks for taking the time to reply ---there are so many moving parts and I am grateful to be able to rely on a few good Substack writers/researchers/historians to help sort out all the mayhem.
I had forgotten about the sharing of top secret documents when TFG was just a few days in office -- thanks for the memory refresh.
Most of my puzzlement has to do with a "root cause" analysis of how the sloppiness of handling highly secret records was allowed to go unnoticed for so long. I realize there were so many lackeys appointed and when you surround yourself with so many people of so little integrity, the laws and processes mean nothing. --- Our government under TFG was like a Mafia house. --- not sure all 74 million fellow citizens really want to live under an autocracy -- they worry about their individual freedoms now???? ----
I believe we should Term Limits for Congress and SCOTUS and definitely keep working on getting the mega dollars out of political races --
I just watched a movie "Delicious" -- set in France - 1789 -- before the Revolution -- it is a beautiful "art" film --- the Duke and his sycophants remind me of how TFG would like to exist in this country -- aristocracy doing what they want and all those not deemed worthy are servants. If you and Tracey have not seen the film, I think you might enjoy.
We the people (Democrats/Democracy) have to win the house and senate this November --- I'm doing my individual service to be a poll worker and to talk up the importance of voting --- Our rightful President -- Joe Biden -- gave a powerful, truthful speech last Thursday -- ouch to those who don't like to hear the truth.
Thanks again for how you are contributing to keeping us sane.
I do hope it will be a safe volunteer assignment. Never before have I entered into a volunteer assignment with such trepidation. It is what I feel I can do as an individual to support our democracy -- I'm not one to riot and protest in the streets. Let's hope and pray that we can carry the November elections.
Yes, please, forfucksake. We need to get beyond this level of aggressive ignorance and indulgent, infantile idiocy.. Enough with stupid people. Time to move the hell on. The planet is burning, the flora and fauna are perishing - and we can actually do something about it, if we take our heads out of our collective asses and realign our focus.
Guantanamo. Set up to keep those who threaten our security at a distance. In all these years has anything at all been learned?? His Heinous might be the first truly hi risk individual ever housed there
“The DOJ already has surveillance tapes from Mar a Lago that show people who lack security clearances handling the boxes containing national defense information, and they have interviewed witnesses who lack security clearances and have described handling the documents themselves.” WTAF is DOJ waiting for. Every new revelation just makes my blood boil another degree. Trump should be in jail now.
Hopefully this will set a precedent for a statute of limitation and mandatory incarceration for bullsh*ting the American People as well as the Department of Justice.
I have seen several legal beagles opine this judge has zero legal ground to grant a special master being appointed. But, she is a Trump appointed judge with what has been called "impeccable" conservative bona fides so who knows what she might rule . But, as one of the aforementioned experts opined "judges appointed to the Federal bench do not build a reputation having their rulings overruled by a higher court." So the question with this judge is as with all things Trump "do you really want to lose your career and reputation in service to a con man who would throw you under the bus?
What makes no sense to me from a practical POV is exactly who would this judge appoint with the credentials and qualifications to review this kind of material? It would have to be someone with the experience and current security clearances to do so. And, from what I have seen in the press and media NO ONE with such a clearance is going to do anything but come to the conclusion what Trump did was a , per se, violation of national security the minute he/she saw the first SECRET/TOP SECRET/SCIF document. So, it would appear to me the "best" Trump could get out of it would be a slight delay and at worst just another confirmation, this one endorsed by a Court and Trump appointed Judge he was in violation of the Espionage Act. First, rule of problem solving is when you are in a hole stop digging, right?
I think the only judges qualified to even look at this stuff are the ones on the FISA court, who have high security clearances..but of course the DOJ isn't going to go to them for any rulings on this stuff yet.
Of course, examining the documents will be difficult for anyone because they’re going to have a hell of a time finding the documents. [follow the ketchup trail]
I may have skimmed too fast but here's a question. Why would a lawyer looking at them for attorney client privilege not have the issue of needing to be in a SCIF and have a security clearance?
I believe they would, and therefore I presume the DoJ's seperate Privilege team of lawyers will have had the required security clearances and examined the documents in the DoJ SKIF facility/room when they did so already.
The Former Guy is a master of delay, diversion and concealment, and completely without an ethical bone in his body. He learned at the feet of another such master, one of his earliest attorneys in the business world - Roy Cohn, who himself was completely ethically-challenged.
That has been TFG's MO his entire adult life, and he has generally had the means to pay for attorneys to do that dirty work in legal proceedings against him - until he stiffed them on their fees and hired others who bought into his behavior and the false image he projected of a real estate tycoon. He's like a one man pyramid scheme leaving in his wake a trail of debt to his business partners and joint venturers, vendors, suppliers, attorneys and other professionals, among others. How he has not been called to account before this is beyond me (other than perhaps the settlement of the Trump U. claims).
The thing of it is, he did himself in by running for President. It exposed to intense public scrutiny his entire tawdry business life and underhanded if not criminal schemes (like different financial statements for the tax man than for his loan applications). And while that did not prevent his election in 2016, his continuing to behave, as President and afterwards, as he always did in the business world, seems to finally be leading to some come-uppance courtesy of the Jan. 6 investigation, the DOJ investigation, and the various other investigations in GA and NY that are ongoing.
While there will likely be additional delay and setbacks in those investigations in keeping with dilatory manner in which he responds to and addresses them, it seems that he is finally being placed in positions he can't wriggle out of, and that at some point, hopefully sooner than later, justice will be served for the miserable life he has led.
Ideas: 1. Core issue: the majority of our White tribe want to ensure governance of the country. 2. Professing to buy The Big Lie is a more socially acceptable way of disguising the Core belief. 3. The person who benefits most from our current politics, daily violence and threats of violence is Vladimir Putin. 4. The majority of Republicans (and quietly some "Democrats") are willing to support anyone they believe can deliver on Core Value #1, corruption of the leader and in the tribe be damned.
Battle over Core Value #1 has dominated our politics, and killing one another, more or less since the founding of the country; it will always be so unless another tribe dominates. If there is to be a period of authoritarianism, let it be before November this year.
I find it particularly galling that this judge, a Trump appointee, is bending over backwards for the most corrupt individual in the U.S. that we can identify without blinking right now. He is getting his money's worth. That she doesn't seem to grasp the severity of this is an outrage in a time of daily escalating outrages. We're all exhausted by him. I bet he's exhausted. I hope he is. He is employing all his dishonest tactics of his entire business life that normally keeps people who worked for him from getting paid and other such things. For the many less well-heeled than he, he just grinds them into poverty if they pursue the honest effort to getting the money they're due. Trump is without a doubt the most despicable product of America, probably ever. Nobody else as terrible as he has had the funds to stay out of jail for similar crimes. But then again, the longer he's allowed to rant and rave in print and on camera, perhaps as he proves his guilt daily, he will be the architect of his own complete public demise.
Bravo! I hope you are correct. Facebook just banned me yet again for a comment about T-Rump that didn’t even include his name!
I have scads of 30 day jail terms, but, the absurdity of META is a current joke.
I was just convicted for a Messenger item sent to one person, go figure.
Facebook is ridiculous. But when you get banned, and I have been several times now, you realize you do like using it for the little bit you use it. It's horribly annoying. I got banned for this comment, "Shoot, I wish I could do that." Had to be "shoot," don't you think?
I can sort of understand why FB bans the kind of comment that I and others routinely make here, on this site. It is impossible sometimes to disguise one’s murderous hatred of t-Rump sufficiently for the comment to meet FB’s standards. Calling for the arrest, trial and EXECUTION of an absolutely evil man seems like a good thing to me!
their algorithms are so stupid that I can manage to get around the hate-and-violence ones simply by stating the terrible notion that certain people should be "drawn and quartered." of course, when I said that Flynn should be taken out and shot at dawn, I got banned for a week. not only are Zuckerberg and his minions completely corrupt, they're also stupid as fuck.
I'd hesitate to call Schmuckerberg stupid, but all that wealth and power has absolutely corrupted him! As for Flynn: he deserves exactly the punishment you (and George Washington) prescribed for traitors.
It seems there's a lot of "smart about this" "stupid about that" out there these days.
You've made me laugh out loud. The best medicine is in sharing a sense of humor with likeminded folks. I have said the exact thing about Zuck, he's corrupt and lots of other unpleasant things.
Boy, complete truth in those words, Judith. There are times I hate Trump so much if he were close by, I believe I could incinerate him with my burning eyeballs. And I would not feel one whit of guilt about it.
Incineration sounds about right!
Of course!
I belong to a FB group that so anti-trump that it has moderators that have to screen all submissions from members-we've been attacked by the Magats enough so that they require everyone's posts to be checked for loaded words, etc before they're allowed to be posted.
I will be so thankful on the day that SOB is either dead or in prison for the rest of his life because so many people think he walks on water.
They have no idea what contempt he holds them in, or how he plays them for the marks they are.
If only they knew. DT couldn't give a shit less about his followers.
I should belong to that FB group!
Here you go-"Trump-You're Fired!". I've been in it for about 6 years now. They changed their name.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/431333373925226
Thank you. Since I am currently in FB JAIL, I doubt I’d be allowed to join, but I’m still allowed to read.
You are so right. He needs to be gone for good off the planet and just only mentioned in his 10% base. I am in Alabama thi week, went to a restaurant and when my friend and I were leaving we were talking about Tito's Vodka and we buy it because they give money to animal causes. Two women close by heard and it and were so enthusiastic and pleasant. I said, y'all are so great and kind, I just bet you are Republicans. LOL. I just shouldn't have done that. The said they think he's brilliant. I don't engage in that with these folks. Nothing is going to change them except finally getting there somehow.
I now belong to that group. That's a good place.
That is why he was chosen to run initially, that, and a purely transactional approach to any action.
Add no personal integrity and you have TFG or DJT or Orange Foolius!
Yes. And for goodness sake, never make reference to a "hangnail." "Hang" will get you every time.
All those dangerous buzz words. Too bad Facebook can't have a big bonfire for their jerkness.
And never mention guillotine!
Very well stated, Ms. Hughes. I was going to say something along those lines but you said it better.
Stan, say it. Everyone's contribution is the best. We arewhere we belong, with all of us on the same page and reinforcing each other feels good in a world that feels bad a lot.
All well and good, but the 800 lb gorilla in the room concerns the 48 empty file folders that used to shield national security contents deemed too sensitive to be photographed. Empty. All of them, and none of which can be mated with exposed and unshielded national security documents found among Donald Trump's personal belongings. So where are those documents. Undoubtedly, those files can be reconstructed, but that's not why there's concern. The question is, in whose hand are those documents to be found NOW. This is a huge pile of shit that has the potential to pass through an enormous fan with worldwide exposure, and with potentially horrific consequences for our country. My instinct would be to waterboard Donald Trump until he tells investigators what he did with those documents. Another 42 empty folders contained sensitive documents that were purportedly handed off to an army officer to be returned to the national security agency. No explanation about why Trump wanted those documents, or what he did with them. Trump's BFF, former Attorney General Bill Barr came out foursquare in supporting the Biden administration. Wonders never cease.
Mr. Silen is correct. The missing classified documents are the newest nightmare in this tale. I'll say it again -- Bedminster & Rump Tower (and maybe even Ivana's coffin) are places the FBI should have been looking as well as Mar-a-Lardo. Depending on the exact subject matter of the missing documents (and who has them), the damage to the country's intelligence collection capability, not to mention overall security, could be immense. Yeah, maybe Jabba-the-Rump should be taken to Guantanamo for a brief visit to the interrogation facility so he could be "gently" asked where the missing documents are.
Family members should also be investigated, especially Jared and Melanoma's parents.
I agree. Can you imagine Donnie Jr & Eric getting their hands on this stuff?!
Heard some speculation on MSNBC or CNN earlier that when all this finally gets to SCotUS they'll be setting new executive precedents—you know, like about post-presidential privilege and stuff. Just in case you didn't have any worries before.
As I've stated before, this judge is a Trump appointee but she clearly lacks common sense in the way she's trying to tell the DOJ how to do their job while she doesn't know how to do hers.
I have no idea why she thinks kissing Trump's ass now is going to do her any good, because she has a lifetime appointment, he isn't running for any office (god help us if he does) and she is not (in my books at least) qualified to do a decision for this case anyway.
It's called pandering. Why I do not know why she's bothering. The DOJ is irritated at her jumping into the middle of this fight and she's clearly pro Trump-she's just another useful tool for Trump to delay the case.
However, there are appeal courts, as you noted, and I'm sure that those judges will see that the DOJ should have total control of their own case. I'm sure that the DOJ is ready to fight this one as well.
There are very few things/entities one should be afraid of-and between the IRS and the DOJ it's a tossup.
She should just pass on approving this request and let Trump go down in flames. It's gonna happen anyway. She would save her professional life if she just steps aside and let it happen.
Someone wrote on another substack that she is behaving as if she's auditioning for a part in the Apprentice. That's how I look at her - she's willing to throw her "reputation" away for fifteen minutes of fame and a wink from TFG. How pathetic.
A true MAGAt Trumper cultist.
Hi Lucian. I enjoy your writing and insight. I need help to understand how top secret documents can make it out of the White House and go undetected for so long. It seems these types of documents would be held in a Fort Knox type vault and anyone accessing them would be known and documents not returned would raise a red flag.
I think if I walked out of my local library without scanning the barcode on my book, alarms would go off at the door. I certainly receive overdue notices when I’ve held onto my library materials past the due date.
Who are the people that checked out these top secret documents? Is there no record? No camera video from the “vault doors” where top secret documents of the White House are stored?
I’m a retired nurse and I would lose my license and be subject to much discipline if I rummaged around through your medical record and you were not my patient. (HIPPA laws).
Seems like there needs to be a better process for the President to get their hands on these documents in the first place --TFG has some long overdue library dues.
Whatever light you can shed on the front end of the process is much appreciated.
Every White House has had controls and safeguards on the handling of classified materials. And then came Trump. His White House was sloppy and insecure because of his own habits and because his motivations did not include serving the country, but only himself. The people who controlled intelligence and top secret materials just gave up after a while. Remember, he had only been in office a few days when he had Sergey Kislyak and Sergey Lavrov into the Oval Office and shared Top Secret information that had been developed by Israel. That was pretty much the end of Israel cooperating with our intelligence community, just one of the very serious consequences of 74 million of our fellow citizens seeing fit the elect him president. I hope this was helpful.
Thanks for taking the time to reply ---there are so many moving parts and I am grateful to be able to rely on a few good Substack writers/researchers/historians to help sort out all the mayhem.
I had forgotten about the sharing of top secret documents when TFG was just a few days in office -- thanks for the memory refresh.
Most of my puzzlement has to do with a "root cause" analysis of how the sloppiness of handling highly secret records was allowed to go unnoticed for so long. I realize there were so many lackeys appointed and when you surround yourself with so many people of so little integrity, the laws and processes mean nothing. --- Our government under TFG was like a Mafia house. --- not sure all 74 million fellow citizens really want to live under an autocracy -- they worry about their individual freedoms now???? ----
I believe we should Term Limits for Congress and SCOTUS and definitely keep working on getting the mega dollars out of political races --
I just watched a movie "Delicious" -- set in France - 1789 -- before the Revolution -- it is a beautiful "art" film --- the Duke and his sycophants remind me of how TFG would like to exist in this country -- aristocracy doing what they want and all those not deemed worthy are servants. If you and Tracey have not seen the film, I think you might enjoy.
We the people (Democrats/Democracy) have to win the house and senate this November --- I'm doing my individual service to be a poll worker and to talk up the importance of voting --- Our rightful President -- Joe Biden -- gave a powerful, truthful speech last Thursday -- ouch to those who don't like to hear the truth.
Thanks again for how you are contributing to keeping us sane.
Thank you for being a poll worker. It is an unsavory job and not one that gets enough positive recognition.
Thanks Marlene. So glad I do t have to be elected to the position.
Okay eying to stay positive that democrats and democracy will prevail.
I realize it’s voluntary, but I just wanted to acknowledge it. Stay safe!
Hi Marlene
I do hope it will be a safe volunteer assignment. Never before have I entered into a volunteer assignment with such trepidation. It is what I feel I can do as an individual to support our democracy -- I'm not one to riot and protest in the streets. Let's hope and pray that we can carry the November elections.
Vote, Vote, Vote -- Democrats and Democracy.
A word I hear often to describe the Trump White House is "chaotic," and that comes from people who worked in it.
"Slam, meet dunk."
Yes, please, forfucksake. We need to get beyond this level of aggressive ignorance and indulgent, infantile idiocy.. Enough with stupid people. Time to move the hell on. The planet is burning, the flora and fauna are perishing - and we can actually do something about it, if we take our heads out of our collective asses and realign our focus.
Guantanamo. Set up to keep those who threaten our security at a distance. In all these years has anything at all been learned?? His Heinous might be the first truly hi risk individual ever housed there
“The DOJ already has surveillance tapes from Mar a Lago that show people who lack security clearances handling the boxes containing national defense information, and they have interviewed witnesses who lack security clearances and have described handling the documents themselves.” WTAF is DOJ waiting for. Every new revelation just makes my blood boil another degree. Trump should be in jail now.
Hopefully this will set a precedent for a statute of limitation and mandatory incarceration for bullsh*ting the American People as well as the Department of Justice.
Quite
I have seen several legal beagles opine this judge has zero legal ground to grant a special master being appointed. But, she is a Trump appointed judge with what has been called "impeccable" conservative bona fides so who knows what she might rule . But, as one of the aforementioned experts opined "judges appointed to the Federal bench do not build a reputation having their rulings overruled by a higher court." So the question with this judge is as with all things Trump "do you really want to lose your career and reputation in service to a con man who would throw you under the bus?
What makes no sense to me from a practical POV is exactly who would this judge appoint with the credentials and qualifications to review this kind of material? It would have to be someone with the experience and current security clearances to do so. And, from what I have seen in the press and media NO ONE with such a clearance is going to do anything but come to the conclusion what Trump did was a , per se, violation of national security the minute he/she saw the first SECRET/TOP SECRET/SCIF document. So, it would appear to me the "best" Trump could get out of it would be a slight delay and at worst just another confirmation, this one endorsed by a Court and Trump appointed Judge he was in violation of the Espionage Act. First, rule of problem solving is when you are in a hole stop digging, right?
I think the only judges qualified to even look at this stuff are the ones on the FISA court, who have high security clearances..but of course the DOJ isn't going to go to them for any rulings on this stuff yet.
Yes, I would think Judge Cannon should look in the mirror and ask herself those questions.
Is there a precedent of a judge being charged for obstruction of justice?
Asking for a fiend. (That's not a typo.)
8D
Of course, examining the documents will be difficult for anyone because they’re going to have a hell of a time finding the documents. [follow the ketchup trail]
I may have skimmed too fast but here's a question. Why would a lawyer looking at them for attorney client privilege not have the issue of needing to be in a SCIF and have a security clearance?
I believe they would, and therefore I presume the DoJ's seperate Privilege team of lawyers will have had the required security clearances and examined the documents in the DoJ SKIF facility/room when they did so already.
So very very special!
The Former Guy is a master of delay, diversion and concealment, and completely without an ethical bone in his body. He learned at the feet of another such master, one of his earliest attorneys in the business world - Roy Cohn, who himself was completely ethically-challenged.
That has been TFG's MO his entire adult life, and he has generally had the means to pay for attorneys to do that dirty work in legal proceedings against him - until he stiffed them on their fees and hired others who bought into his behavior and the false image he projected of a real estate tycoon. He's like a one man pyramid scheme leaving in his wake a trail of debt to his business partners and joint venturers, vendors, suppliers, attorneys and other professionals, among others. How he has not been called to account before this is beyond me (other than perhaps the settlement of the Trump U. claims).
The thing of it is, he did himself in by running for President. It exposed to intense public scrutiny his entire tawdry business life and underhanded if not criminal schemes (like different financial statements for the tax man than for his loan applications). And while that did not prevent his election in 2016, his continuing to behave, as President and afterwards, as he always did in the business world, seems to finally be leading to some come-uppance courtesy of the Jan. 6 investigation, the DOJ investigation, and the various other investigations in GA and NY that are ongoing.
While there will likely be additional delay and setbacks in those investigations in keeping with dilatory manner in which he responds to and addresses them, it seems that he is finally being placed in positions he can't wriggle out of, and that at some point, hopefully sooner than later, justice will be served for the miserable life he has led.
Ideas: 1. Core issue: the majority of our White tribe want to ensure governance of the country. 2. Professing to buy The Big Lie is a more socially acceptable way of disguising the Core belief. 3. The person who benefits most from our current politics, daily violence and threats of violence is Vladimir Putin. 4. The majority of Republicans (and quietly some "Democrats") are willing to support anyone they believe can deliver on Core Value #1, corruption of the leader and in the tribe be damned.
Battle over Core Value #1 has dominated our politics, and killing one another, more or less since the founding of the country; it will always be so unless another tribe dominates. If there is to be a period of authoritarianism, let it be before November this year.