DL Open Thread: Thursday, April 13, 2023

Rethug Judges Giveth, Taketh Away.  Modify Kaszmaryk’s abortion pill ruling, but push to halt access to the pill:

In its order, the appellate panel said the F.D.A.’s approval of mifepristone could stand because too much time had passed for the plaintiffs, a consortium of groups and doctors opposed to abortion, to challenge that decision. The court also seemed to take into account the government’s view that removing a long-approved drug from the market would have “significant public consequences.”

But the appellate court said that it was not too late for the plaintiffs to challenge a set of steps the F.D.A. took beginning in 2016 that lifted restrictions and made it easier for more patients to have access to the pill.

The court also said that the government could not logically claim that the changes made since 2016 “were so critical to the public given that the nation operated — and mifepristone was administered to millions of women” before the old restrictions were eased.

Those changes approved use of the pill for up to 10 weeks into pregnancy instead of seven weeks, allowed it to be prescribed by some health providers other than doctors and permitted mifepristone to be mailed to patients instead of requiring it to be picked up from a health care provider in person.

The three-judge panel? Two Trump appointees, plus one from Dubya.  Meanwhile in DC, Feinstein’s absence has ground approval of Biden judicial appointees to a halt:

Feinstein has been out of work since early March. During that time, she has missed 60 votes, including 25 judicial appointments, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

“I intend to return as soon as possible once my medical team advises that it’s safe,” Feinstein said in the statement. “In the meantime, I remain committed to the job and will continue to work from home in San Francisco.”

Stepping down from the Senate Judiciary Committee helps, but not when it comes to getting nominees the Rethugs oppose across the finish line.  The people of Cali don’t need her any more than Delawareans need the barely-ambulatory Tom Carper.

Judge Davis Not Putting Up With Fox Prevarications:

A Delaware Superior Court judge sanctioned Fox News days before the trial for the $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems and will likely authorize an investigation into whether the corporation’s lawyers withheld evidence.

During a pretrial hearing, Dominion lawyers accused Fox of slow-walking documents as part of discovery, with Dominion still receiving documents days before trial. This includes recordings of a former Fox producer involving Trump associates.

Judge Eric Davis said that if a deposition needs to be done again, then “it will be done.” Fox will make the person available and cover the costs, he said.

Seems like everybody at Fox ‘forgot’ that Rupert Murdoch was an officer at Fox News.  Or at least neglected to mention it:

Davis will also consider additional sanctions against Fox News lawyers after it was revealed that Rupert Murdoch is a corporate officer for the cable news network. He indicated he will appoint a special master to investigate some of the issues that have been brought up during the pretrial hearing.

Dominion claimed that Fox withheld this information over the course of litigation in the last two years, despite repeated requests for information about Fox News’ corporate structure. Lawyers argued Wednesday that this prevented Dominion from receiving a significant number of documents during discovery.

Fox, Dominion said, has maintained during the course of litigation that its Fox News corporate officers were CEO Suzanne Scott, COO and CFO Joe Dorrego and President and Executive Editor Jay Wallace. On Sunday, Fox sent a list that added Murdoch to this group.

Oh.

The Sunshine State.  The inevitable and inexorable despoliation of Florida continues apace. As does climate change.

House Rethugs: State’s Rights Don’t Apply To–Prosecuting Ex-Presidents:

New legislation from House Republicans aims to prevent local district attorneys from pursuing charges against former presidents.

Now comes a proposal that Rep. Russell Fry (R-S.C.) said would “prevent political prosecutions” by moving cases against former presidents from state jurisdiction to federal court, where judges are confirmed by the Senate, an institution reliably influenced by elected Republicans.

The proposal would seem to take all power away from state courts in cases of criminal behavior by former presidents, David Rapallo, an associate professor at Georgetown University Law School and former Democratic staff director for the House Oversight Committee, said in an interview. And federal judges who wind up with the cases would have to familiarize themselves with state laws and legal precedents.

“It does seem a little ironic coming from people who tout states’ rights and how state courts and state legislatures should be making even more decisions than they currently do,” Rapallo said.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, said Tuesday evening that his committee would mark up the bill in a hurry.

Good.  Keeps ’em from doing any serious legislating.

Report: Racist Gun Nut Leaked Pentagon Intel:

The man responsible for the leak of hundreds of classified Pentagon documents is reported to be a young, racist gun enthusiast who worked on a military base, and who was seeking to impress two dozen fellow members of an internet chat group.

The Washington Post interviewed a teenage member of the group, who described the man, referred to by the initials “OG”, from their online correspondence, and shared photographs and videos. The Post also viewed a video of a man identified as OG at a shooting range with a large rifle.

“He yells a series of racial and antisemitic slurs into the camera, then fires several rounds at a target,” the report said. OG told fellow members of the same internet group that he worked on a military base, which was not named in the report, where his job involved viewing large amounts of classified information.

I’m sure he had the proper security clearances.

Seaford Places Businesses Over People:

David Genshaw exercised his mayoral authority Tuesday, casting a tiebreaking vote that sends a city charter change regarding voting rights to Delaware’s General Assembly.

The request would allow nonresident owners of artificial entities like limited liability companies to participate in municipal elections.

Hey, LLC’s are people, too.  This could be the rare Charter Change that engenders legislative oversight.

What do you want to talk about?