DL Open Thread: Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024
It is approaching four weeks since a federal appeals court considered Donald Trump’s audacious claim that he should enjoy absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for his actions as president. Under ordinary circumstances, it can take months for appellate judges to produce a ruling. In the current case, this delay borders on unconscionable. It plays right into Trump’s hands.
Trump’s bid to manipulate the system is evident from the pace of his filings. Trump’s lawyers first raised the notion of his supposed immunity from prosecution in late August. It wasn’t until Oct. 5 that they finally filed the promised motion to dismiss; U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan rejected the claim on Dec. 1.
When Trump appealed, special counsel Jack Smith, seeking to forestall the current predicament, asked the Supreme Court to leapfrog the appeals court and decide the matter itself. If the justices had figured there was no need for them to step in because the appeals court would act swiftly — well, that now looks like a bad bet.
A US judge has formally postponed Donald Trump’s trial on federal charges that the former president sought to overturn the 2020 election results.
The trial was due to start on 4 March in Washington before the delay ordered from the federal judge Tanya Chutkan.
Chutkan had indicated in January that Trump’s original trial date – chosen last summer – would not hold because the case had been frozen by the former president’s appeal.
The central question is whether a romantic relationship between District Attorney Fani Willis and the special prosecutor she hired, Nathan Wade, compromises the integrity of the case.
The two acknowledged their relationship in court filings on 2 February, but they denied that they violated conflict of interest laws or misused funds.
Ms Willis and Mr Wade have been issued with subpoenas by lawyers for one of Mr Trump’s co-defendants, Michael Roman.
Mr Roman was an operations director on Mr Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign and is seeking to have the charges against him dismissed.
He is accused of helping put forward a slate of fake pro-Trump electors (officials who certify election results), in Georgia and other battleground states.
On Friday, Ms Willis was also subpoenaed separately by the US House of Representatives’ Judiciary Committee over allegations that she had fired a whistleblower who tried to stop a campaign aide from misusing federal funds.
It is part of a larger inquiry by congressional Republicans on whether the prosecutor used federal funds as part of her investigation into Mr Trump.
“We don’t have Taylor Swift on our side, but you know who we have? We have Kid Rock. We have Ted Nugent. We have influencers. We have all these people — Jon Voight.”
Even the organizers know that this turnout is embarrassing:
“We need keyboard warriors. If you’re sittin’ at home, you’re on your phone, we want you to be warriorin’ fer us.”
Philly Democratic Machine Ensures Its Own Obsolescence. Gets rid of committee persons who supported Working Families candidates. Leaving just the hacks in charge:
Philly’s Democratic Party last month informed some committee people that they are being removed from their positions for supporting non-Democrats in last year’s City Council at-large race, a violation of party bylaws.
On the surface, the move appears to be a simple case of party chairman Bob Brady making good on his threats to oust Democratic ward leaders and committee people who backed candidates from the progressive Working Families Party.
…only about 20 committee people appear to have been targeted for removal, progressive organizers said. Of those, at least 11 are in Mount Airy’s 22nd Ward, which is led by longtime Councilmember Cindy Bass, while the rest are scattered across other wards.
Some in Bass’ ward believe they are being targeted for backing her Democratic primary opponent last year. And at least one, Polly Weiss,said she has never endorsed a non-Democrat. But she has clashed with Bass, and she did support Seth Anderson-Oberman, who unsuccessfully challenged Bass in last year’s primary. (Endorsing Anderson-Oberman would not violate party rules because he ran as a Democrat.)
Bass declined to say whether she recommended names of people in her ward for the party to crack down on (meaning she did). But she said she has no problem with the committee-people in her ward getting ousted.
“Folks were warned and warned, again and again, and I spoke to each and every person that there could be repercussions because Bob Brady made it so clear that this would not be tolerated,” Bass said. “I’m here for Democrats. Now if anybody else wants to do something else, Brady made it clear to them that they’re going to have a problem from him.”
Brady, a former congressman who has chaired the city party since 1986, did not respond to a request for comment.
Got that? He’s chaired the Party since 1986. His actions will only hasten more progressive activism that will rid the city of hacks like Brady and his Mindless Minions.
BTW, the two WFP members running against Republicans for at-large seats on City Council? They both won.
Let’s close with a belated tribute to the Groundhog–along with our HS senior year musical:
What do you want to talk about?
Just as I will not live to see term limits, neither shall I see the courts reformed and the end of justice at an injured snails pace. America’s legal system jails the poor rapidly and gives endless opportunity to avoid penalties to those with the money to play the game. With Trump we see the failings of the legal system in plain view, and it’s not over yet.
Yeah, a private equity court system will NEVER be just.