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Post by mhbruin on Jun 5, 2023 7:51:26 GMT -8
Thieves had broken into my house and stolen everything except my soap, shower gel, towels and deodorant. Dirty Bastards.
He Doesn't Know What Love Is
Donald Trump's former national security advisor, John Bolton, told CNN that watching the former president over the years, it became evident that he was in over his head when it came to international affairs, particularly with dictators like Kim Jong Un.
"Well, we saw warning signs in Trump's reaction to these letters that Kim sent him before the Singapore summit and then after," recalled Bolton. "And now there is no doubt in my mind, these letters were written by some Communist party hack in the agitprop of the North Korea Workers Party, but they were filled with phrases like 'your excellency,' and he thought there were love letters. I shook my head. I don't think he understands what he's up against when he faces the hard men of contemporary international affairs. Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping — he just doesn't know what room he's in."
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Post by mhbruin on Jun 5, 2023 7:53:32 GMT -8
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Post by mhbruin on Jun 5, 2023 7:54:42 GMT -8
Three Lawyers Walked into the DOJ ...
Attorneys for Donald Trump Monday morning entered the U.S. Dept. of Justice, as expectations grow the ex-president could soon be charged in his unlawful removal, retention, and refusal to return hundreds of classified and top secret documents.
CBS News chief election and campaign correspondent Robert Costa reports sources say Special Counsel Jack Smith its expected to reach a decision on charging Trump in the case soon.
"Trump’s lawyers just spotted by @cbsnews entering the Justice Department, per @roblegare who is on site," Costa tweeted at 10:09 AM ET. He says that "comes as sources tell me the special counsel is moving toward a charging decision in the classified documents case."
Citing sources, Costa adds, "Trump’s lawyers are expected to raise concerns about how prosecutors have handled atty-client questions during the grand jury but there is no sign the special counsel is going to waver from how he and his team have handled the crime-fraud exception…"
Trump's attorneys being at DOJ is a possible sign the Special Counsel could be close to asking a grand jury to bring charges against the one-term, twice impeached ex-president who is currently facing 34 felonies in an unrelated New York case.
"Often defense attorneys are given the opportunity to 'pitch' the DOJ before a charging decision is made," former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti notes. "Trump’s team visiting DOJ likely means that we won’t see charges in the next few days—as their pitch is considered—but could potentially see charges in the next 5 to 15 days."
A Plea Deal?
"Plenty of possible angles they might choose to play including guilty plea for noncustodial sentence," he adds, referring to any possible plea bargain with no sentence behind bars. "But unless Trump side leaks, discussions will stay confidential."
CBS News' Robert Costa and Rob Legare broke the news that Trump's attorneys had gone into DOJ. Responding to that, former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance offers up a few possible scenarios.
"The smart move here for Trump is a guilty plea to a misdemeanor if DOJ will offer one & a felony with no jail time if they won't," she says, pointing to her Substack newsletter where she discussed this very subject Sunday night.
"For those who dislike these possible outcomes (I would number myself in that group), it's nonetheless important to understand the prior precedent that will shape DOJ's charging decisions & any plea offers in this matter. This is Trump's best possible outcome, not the country's," says Vance.
She adds, "Trump seems incapable of saying he's done anything wrong. To plead, he'd have to say under oath in open court that he was guilty. It'll be interesting to see if he can do that, or would rather run the risk of being convicted of felonies that carry up to 20 years in custody."
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Post by mhbruin on Jun 5, 2023 7:57:57 GMT -8
Crappy Guy Hires a Crappy Lawyer
Attorney Norm Pattis will defend a second member of the Proud Boys against charges stemming from the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Pattis notified the court this month that he will be representing Zach Rehl. The attorney already works for fellow Proud Boy Joe Biggs.
Rehl, head of the Philadelphia Proud Boys chapter, was convicted on seditious conspiracy charges along with Biggs and Henry "Enrique" Tarrio. They could spend up to 20 years in prison.
Pattis is facing a six-month law license suspension for misconduct while defending conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in the Sandy Hook trial. The court has ruled that he can continue practicing law while the suspension is being appealed.
Lawfare's Roger Parloff said it was unusual for Rehl to hire Pattis because of a potential conflict of interest.
"In interview with me, Pattis concedes this is 'unusual' but says he's discussed with both Rehl & Biggs the potential conflicts & each has waived any conflict," Parloff noted on Twitter. "Says he's discussed with govt, too, and they 'appear to take the view that it's a waivable conflict.'"
"My own view is that this is still weird," he added. "At sentencing a lawyer will often argue why his client is less culpable than the other defendants. Obviously Pattis can't do that now. And, at least prior to the videos coming out suggesting that Rehl pepper sprayed police."
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Post by mhbruin on Jun 5, 2023 7:59:31 GMT -8
The Perils of Pauline
A legal battle is brewing as federal judges accuse Pauline Newman, a 95-year-old Reagan appointee who sits on the Federal Circuit, of committing "misconduct" by refusing to retire despite being incapacitated — and she has responded by suing her colleagues and accusing them of violating the Constitution, reported The Washington Post.
"The court is no longer assigning Newman new cases," reported Rachel Weiner. "Newman claims she was also stripped of her assistant, a law clerk and an office computer. Kimberly Moore, the Federal Circuit’s chief judge, has written that the staffers chose to leave and that Newman’s failure to understand the situation is a sign of her decline. Some of Newman’s fellow judges in court orders have accused Newman of 'paranoid' and 'bizarre' behavior. Newman says she’s fine and it’s her colleagues who have lost their minds."
Newman has remained defiant in calls for her to step aside.
“It’s important to the nation, if I can say so,” said Newman of her refusal to retire. “If I really were debilitated, as they say, physically and mentally, I hope I’d have the sense to step down. But as it is, I feel that I can make a contribution and must. That’s what I was appointed to do.”
FROM EARLIER: Trump would immediately move to 'secure autocratic power' in second term: Former GOP DOJ official
But according to court orders in a judicial investigation into Newman's competence, she has shown "significant mental deterioration" after a 2021 heart attack, writes fewer opinions than other judges and takes longer, failed to complete online security training, blames "hackers" for being unable to find where she saved files on her computer, forgets court rules in her decisions, and even allegedly threatened to have a staffer arrested over a dispute.
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Post by mhbruin on Jun 5, 2023 8:02:38 GMT -8
Could This Be a Bigger Train Wreck Than the One in India?
The bill will come due for commercial real estate mortgages, which could potentially trigger another economic recession.
Around $1.5 trillion in mortgages must be repaid in the next two years, and 70 percent of those loans are held by regional or smaller lenders, which means a write-down in commercial loans could drag down the economy heading into the 2024 presidential campaign -- and lawmakers have few options to prevent a crisis, reported Politico.
“Am I worried? The short answer is yes,” said Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), a senior member of the Senate Banking Committee. "The long answer is hell yes. I hope the Federal Reserve and the banking regulators are worried as well, and I hope they won’t be caught flat-footed like they were with the bank failures that we’ve had so far."
Federal policymakers raised interest rates last month by a quarter point, which puts more pressure on the real estate industry and on banks, some of which are prepared to sell off property loans for a loss to reduce their exposure in the commercial real estate market.
“The fact that banks want to sell loans is coming up in a lot of conversations,” Chad Littell, an analyst at the research company CoStar, told the Financial Times. “I am hearing more about it than any time in the past decade.”
Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell has tried to downplay the threat posed by the commercial real estate market, saying the banking system was “strong and resilient," but FDIC chair Martin Gruenberg said his agency was urging lenders to reduce their exposure in that sector.
“Right now, we have the double whammy of much higher interest rates and the commercial real estate market going through a shock post-COVID,” said Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA). “So I don’t think we can presume that ... we’re going to be able to simply glide through [without a crash]. I’m still trying to sort through some of the policy options. I have encouraged the White House, though, that we need to do some more intervention on these regional banks right away.”
The pandemic sent millions of workers home, and many of them remain there, and that sent office vacancy rates soaring to 18.6 percent earlier this year, and economists don't expect those rates to stabilize until next year.
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Post by mhbruin on Jun 5, 2023 8:05:08 GMT -8
FloridumbFlorida is known worldwide for its beaches, resorts and theme parks, but has recently made headlines for a different reason. The state has been rocked by political controversies, bitter debates and fatal shootings at odds with its previously laid back holiday destination image. In his 1947 book, Inside USA, writer John Gunther described Florida’s “freakishness in everything from architecture to social behaviour unmatched in any American state”. If Gunther had been writing today, he might be just as judgemental. Florida’s recent political turmoil can be attributed to some highly contentious policies. The state has witnessed heated debates and legislative battles on issues including abortion, gun control, education, LGBTQ+ rights and voting rights. Florida has been derided as “the worst state” in which to live, one of the worst in which to be unemployed or a student, and not a good place to die. Even Donald Trump, who moved to his Florida Mar-a-Lago home during his presidency, has called it “among the worst states” to live in or retire to. This was an attack on Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who is also running for the Republican presidential nomination. What was once considered by many to be a purple state – one that could either be Republican or Democrat – is now fiercely Republican. In recent years, the divide between those of different political beliefs has become toxic. International tourism and trade is huge business for Florida. In 2022, more than 1.1 million people visited Florida from the UK, the second largest group of international visitors on an annual basis. The UK is also Florida’s eighth largest trade partner with bilateral trade reaching $5.8 billion (£4.6 billion) in 2022. So state leaders might worry about tarnishing its image abroad. Business leaders are already fretting about a fall in international visitor numbers linked to COVID and negative media coverage of the state. Around US$50 million was invested in marketing the state to tourists in 2023, this is expected to rise dramatically in 2024. The state’s ability to attract workers to keep its tourism and other industries going is weakening, reports suggest. Heather DiGiacomo, chief of staff at the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, told Florida senators that applications for jobs at state-run agencies were down and staff retention was down too. “These turnover rates … impacts the number of well-trained staff available to mentor new staff and puts additional strain on current staff without longer shifts in detention.” Florida 'freakishness': why the sunshine state might have lost its appeal
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Post by mhbruin on Jun 5, 2023 10:06:00 GMT -8
I've Got Some New Attormeys for Previous Guy
'We will not hire Jews': Prominent LA lawyers busted for blatant anti-Semitism
Two attorneys who until recently worked at big-name law firm Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith have been exposed for making years' worth of anti-Semitic comments in emails to one another.
In emails between the two that were obtained by Forward, attorneys John Barber and Jeff Ranen are seen to routinely mock Jews and, in one exchange, even said, "we will not hire Jews" in response to a letter of recommendation they had received.
The pair also used the word "Jew" as a verb to denote stinginess with money.
"I might be able to Jew them down," wrote Ranen in one email where he discussed getting a hotel to lower its prices.
Other instances of blatant anti-Semitism include an email in which Barber mocked Ranen for bringing bagels into work by labeling him a "Jew c--t"; Ranen responding to a submitted invoice by saying, "This is the reason why people don’t like Jews"; and a complaint from Ranen about society frowning upon anti-Semitism by lamenting, "Since when can we not make Jew jokes?"
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Post by mhbruin on Jun 5, 2023 10:08:25 GMT -8
I Guess DeathSentence Isn't Ready for Showtime
Showtime quietly pulled an episode of its Vice newsmagazine last week — one that featured a report on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ time as a U.S. Navy lawyer serving at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba.
The episode, the fourth in Vice‘s fourth season, had been slated to air May 28. Showtime pulled the episode, however, and is now referring to the June 4 installment as episode four of the season. Repeat programming aired in place of the shelved episode on May 28.
Mentions of the originally scheduled episode, titled “The Gitmo Candidate & Chipping Away,” have been scrubbed from Showtime’s website and press portal. An email sent to press May 24 noted that a screener of the episode was available; however, on May 30, a follow-up email noted a different installment, titled “Detransitioners & Draining the DRC,” as episode four.
The description of the episode, as seen on cached versions of the Vice page on Showtime’s site, hinted at potentially explosive material about DeSantis, who recently entered the Republican presidential race. The episode’s description reads in part, “Seb Walker investigates allegations from former Guantanamo Bay detainees that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis witnessed acts condemned by the United Nations as torture during his past service at the controversial detention camp as a Navy JAG officer.” (The “Chipping Away” part of the episode title refers to a different report on the “high-stakes race between the U.S. and China over the production of semiconductors.”)
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Post by mhbruin on Jun 5, 2023 10:10:28 GMT -8
If the Russians Left Ukraine, They Would Be Free to Fight Each Other
The Wagner mercenary group says it has detained a regular Russian army officer, who allegedly opened fire on a Wagner vehicle in Ukraine.
In a video, the officer says that the incident happened while he was drunk, because of his dislike for Wagner.
Earlier, the group's boss said the Russian army had mined the roads Wagner used to leave the city of Bakhmut.
There are longstanding tensions between Wagner and Russia's regular army, although they fight on the same side.
The head of the private military company, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has launched several scathing attacks on Russia's most senior defence officials, complaining frequently of a lack of ammunition during the battle for Bakhmut in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region.
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Post by mhbruin on Jun 5, 2023 10:12:39 GMT -8
She Watched Her Four Children Die, and Then it Got WorseA woman once branded "Australia's worst female serial killer" has been pardoned after new evidence suggested she did not kill her four infant children. Kathleen Folbigg spent 20 years in prison after a jury found she killed sons Caleb and Patrick and daughters Sarah and Laura over a decade. But a recent inquiry heard scientists believe they may have died naturally. The 55-year-old's case has been described as one of Australia's greatest miscarriages of justice. Ms Folbigg, who has always maintained her innocence, was jailed for 25 years in 2003 for the murders of three of the children, and the manslaughter of her first son, Caleb. Each child died suddenly between 1989 and 1999, aged between 19 days and 19 months, with prosecutors at her trial alleging she had smothered them. Previous appeals and a separate 2019 inquiry into the case found no grounds for reasonable doubt, and gave greater weight to circumstantial evidence in Ms Folbigg's original trial. But at the fresh inquiry, headed by retired judge Tom Bathurst, prosecutors accepted that research on gene mutations had changed their understanding of the children's deaths. On Monday, New South Wales Attorney General Michael Daley said Mr Bathurst had concluded that there was reasonable doubt that Ms Folbigg was guilty. As a result, the NSW governor had signed a full pardon, and ordered Ms Folbigg's immediate release from prison. Kathleen Folbigg: Woman jailed over infant deaths pardoned
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Post by mhbruin on Jun 5, 2023 10:19:00 GMT -8
Are the Sheriffs Proud?
Three volunteers working at West Hollywood Pride this weekend were just violently targeted and arrested by LASD deputies for the “crime” of asking them to stop laughing at Pride displays and hurting the cops’ feelings.
Pride is no longer safe for queer people as long as fascist police are allowed to act with impunity against the LGBTQ+ community. It should be noted that two of the arrestees were present at the recent anti-LGBTQ+ protest that turned violent at a local elementary school. One of the volunteers is being held on a ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLAR bond.
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