Have the corrupt treasonous republicans formed a defense to this latest atrocity yet?

I've been too busy at work this morning to see what sort of ethical gymnastics they need to contort themselves in order to defend the nation's most secret documents strewn on the floor of a hotel.

Trump adds former Florida solicitor general to legal team working Mar-a-Lago probe

Source: Politico

Former President Donald Trump has hired Chris Kise, Florida’s former solicitor general, to represent him in the criminal investigation related to the FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago resort in early August.

Kise’s hiring comes at a critical juncture for the former president, whose legal team has faced criticism for its handling of the case in the Southern District of Florida, including its struggle to handle basic administrative tasks and make timely requests of the court. Trump’s team has tried to argue that the former president has the ability and right to declassify documents, that as a former president he is not bound to the same laws regarding the handling of classified materials, and some of the materials are covered by executive or attorney-client privilege. Trump has also sought to frame the dispute as a bookkeeping matter over presidential records, requiring negotiation with the National Archives, not criminal proceedings.

The Archives spent months attempting to recover the highly classified materials housed at Mar-a-Lago and grew alarmed when Trump resisted permitting a Justice Department review of the files Trump had agreed to return earlier in the year, leading the agencies to suspect there were additional documents Trump had not returned.

Kise joins Evan Corcoran and Jim Trusty in advising Trump on the Florida probe, one of several the former president faces across multiple venues. His hiring, which was confirmed by three people familiar with Trump’s legal team, was first reported by NBC News.


Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/08/30/trump-florida-solicitor-general-mar-a-lago-probe-00054219

LOCK HIM UP

Federal judge says Texas can't ban 18- to 20-year-olds from carrying handguns

Source: Texas Tribune

A federal court in Fort Worth on Thursday struck down a Texas prohibition that limited adults under 21 from carrying handguns.

Texas law bars most 18- to 20-year-olds in the state from obtaining a license to carry a handgun or carrying a handgun for self-defense outside their homes. Two plaintiffs, who fall within that age range, and the Firearms Policy Coalition Inc., filed a lawsuit against the state to challenge the statute. The suit says the Texas law prevented the plaintiffs from traveling with a handgun between Parker, Fannin and Grayson counties, where they lived, worked and went to school.

U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman wrote that the Second Amendment does not specify an age limit and protects adults under 21 years old.

“Based on the Second Amendment’s text, as informed by Founding-Era history and tradition, the Court concludes that the Second Amendment protects against this prohibition,” Pittman wrote in the ruling.



Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2022/08/25/federal-court-texas-21-handguns/

White House shines light on Republicans who are criticizing student debt cancellation after getting

Source: NBC News

The White House hit back at Republicans in an uncharacteristic manner Thursday by using its Twitter account to go after GOP lawmakers who are bashing President Joe Biden's move to cancel some student debt after they personally benefited from having Paycheck Protection Program loans forgiven during the Covid pandemic.

In a series of tweets, the White House highlighted several congressional Republicans — Reps. Vern Buchanan of Florida, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania, and Markwayne Mullin and Kevin Hern of Oklahoma — who it said had six- and seven-figure PPP loans forgiven as part of a federal program intended to help those harmed by the coronavirus.

Like many of their GOP colleagues, the lawmakers have blasted Biden over his student loan decision.

Greene, who said on Newsmax that “it’s completely unfair” for student loans to be forgiven, had $183,504 in PPP loans forgiven, according to the White House.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/white-house-shines-light-republicans-are-criticizing-student-debt-canc-rcna44904

Opinion Trump's risk of indictment for his document snatch just skyrocketed

When U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart initially indicated he was disposed to unsealing the affidavit accompanying the search warrant executed at former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, former prosecutors and legal experts were surprised, to put it mildly.

Sign up for a weekly roundup of thought-provoking ideas and debates
Now it appears we are unlikely to see much if anything from the affidavit — and for good reason. On Monday, Reinhart issued a ruling noting that “one of the statutes for which I found probable cause … prohibits obstructing an investigation. Also, as some of the media Intervenors have reported, there have been increased threats against FBI personnel since the search.”

He therefore found that “given the public notoriety and controversy about this search, it is likely that even witnesses who are not expressly named in the Affidavit would be quickly and broadly identified over social media and other communication channels, which could lead to them being harassed and intimidated.” In other words, the MAGA campaign of incitement against law enforcement should weigh heavily against disclosure.

Reinhart continued, “The Affidavit discloses the sources and methods used by the Government in its ongoing investigation. I agree with the Government that the Affidavit ‘contains, among other critically important and detailed investigative facts: highly sensitive information about witnesses, including witnesses interviewed by the government; specific investigative techniques; and information required by law to be kept under seal.’ ”

Reinhart therefore concluded: “Government has a compelling reason not to publicize that information at this time.” Reinhart agreed to consider whether a redacted affidavit might be released, but his opinion strongly suggests that nothing significant would be revealed.

Jury finds two men guilty of plot to abduct Michigan governor

Source: Rueters

Jury finds two men guilty of plot to abduct Michigan governor

Aug 23 (Reuters) - A jury on Tuesday convicted two men accused of conspiring to trigger "a second American revolution" by kidnaping Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, handing the U.S. government a victory in its second attempt to prosecute the case.

The verdict against Adam Fox, 39, and Barry Croft Jr., 46, comes about four months after a federal judge in Grand Rapids, Michigan, declared a mistrial in the same case. Two other defendants were found not guilty in the first trial.

The pair, who the government said were members of the Three Percenters militia group, were also found guilty of conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction - an exposive device that prosecutors say the conspirators planned to hinder law enforcement's response to a kidnapping. Croft was guilty on an additional charge of possession of an explosive device,

The men face the possibility of life in prison.



Read more: https://www.reuters.com/legal/jury-finds-two-men-guilty-plot-abduct-michigan-governor-2022-08-23/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=Social

Those who represent themselves have a fool for a client.

Here's a "what if" regarding the stolen classified documents:

What if the orange fuck was going to use them to buy Russia's interference in the 2024 election?

What if thought he didn't win 2020 because Russia was pretty hands-off compared to 2016, and he thought classified documents were the perfect currency to get Russia to install him in the White House again?

And now that the FBI has the documents back, he no longer has that bargaining chip?

Or did he make copies which he can still use?

The pundits keep saying he's going to declare his candidacy any minute now, yet he hasn't done it. Maybe now he doesn't have the means to buy this election?





Okay .... tinfoil hat off.

Federal judge denies Lindsey Graham's latest 'unpersuasive' attempt to evade grand jury subpoena

Source: Raw Story

Federal judge denies Lindsey Graham's latest 'unpersuasive' attempt to evade grand jury subpoena

For the second time this week a federal judge has denied U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham‘s attempt to evade a grand jury subpoena requiring him to testify in the investigation of Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, calling his legal argument “unpersuasive.”

U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May Friday afternoon responded to Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis’ request to order the GOP Senator from South Carolina to appear before the Special Purpose Grand Jury (SPGJ).

“Senator Graham’s arguments are entirely unpersuasive,” Judge May writes, as Politico’s Kyle Cheney notes, “and they do not even demonstrate a ‘substantial case on the merits.’ As an initial matter, Senator Graham takes issue with the Court’s recognition that his sole request-to quash the subpoena in its entirety–was built largely (if not entirely) on the premise that Senator Graham will only be questioned about the phone calls, which Senator Graham characterizes as legitimate legislative factfinding exercises and thus completely protected by the Speech or Debate Clause.”

“Instead, Senator Graham maintains that he believes that the ‘other topics’ will simply be used as a ‘backdoor’ for questioning him about the phone calls,” the judge adds. “The problem for Senator Graham is that the record thoroughly contradicts his suggestion that the District Attorney and grand jury simply wish to use questions on other topics as a ‘backdoor’ to asking him about the legislative fact- finding on the phone calls.”

Judge May found Sen. Graham had “no basis” to claim he should not be ordered to testify, and ordered him to testify on August 23.

Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/federal-judge-denies-lindsey-grahams-latest-unpersuasive-attempt-to-evade-grand-jury-subpoena/