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With Matt Gaetz, Donald Trump’s Myth Cannot Fail — It Can Only Be Failed
Already, in Trump's first term, crony US Attorneys managed to claim evidence was the opposite of what reality said it was. But in a Matt Gaetz DOJ, a willingness to sustain Trump's myth would be the price of admission. Trump's myth cannot fail, it can only be failed.

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David Weiss Dons His “Let’s Go Brandon” Frame
In motions in limine in advance of the Alexander Smirnov trial, Leo Wise and Derek Hines made a superb case they're treating Alexander Smirnov differently than the gun shop owner who doctored the Hunter Biden gun purchase form after the fact.

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Special Counsel Reports Include Declination Decisions
Jack Smith's declination decisions, which by regulation he must include in any closing report, may prove to be of great interest.

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Trump’s Blacklist: His Fascism, Legal Fuck-ups, and Business Failures
In addition to using lawsuits to seed his false claim that the election was not fair, Donald Trump bullied the NYT for a group of stories that debunked his con.

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Lessons from Red States on How to Push Back
For many, last week's election was a paralyzing shock. But progressives in red states have proven that it is possible to push back against MAGA -- and win.

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2024 Presidential Election, emptywheel, Hunter Biden, Mueller Probe

With Matt Gaetz, Donald Trump's Myth Cannot Fail -- It Can Only Be Failed

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November 20, 2024

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Already, in Trump's first term, crony US Attorneys managed to claim evidence was the opposite of what reality said it was. But in a Matt Gaetz DOJ, a willingness to sustain Trump's myth would be the price of admission. Trump's myth cannot fail, it can only be failed.

2016 Presidential Election, 2020 Presidential Election, emptywheel, Hunter Biden

David Weiss Dons His "Let's Go Brandon" Frame

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November 19, 2024

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In motions in limine in advance of the Alexander Smirnov trial, Leo Wise and Derek Hines made a superb case they're treating Alexander Smirnov differently than the gun shop owner who doctored the Hunter Biden gun purchase form after the fact.

2020 Presidential Election, 2024 Presidential Election, emptywheel, January 6 Insurrection, Leak Investigations

Special Counsel Reports Include Declination Decisions

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November 18, 2024

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Jack Smith's declination decisions, which by regulation he must include in any closing report, may prove to be of great interest.

2024 Presidential Election

Trump's Blacklist: His Fascism, Legal Fuck-ups, and Business Failures

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November 17, 2024

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In addition to using lawsuits to seed his false claim that the election was not fair, Donald Trump bullied the NYT for a group of stories that debunked his con.

2024 Election, Civil Rights, COVID-19, Kansas

Lessons from Red States on How to Push Back

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November 15, 2024

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For many, last week's election was a paralyzing shock. But progressives in red states have proven that it is possible to push back against MAGA -- and win.

2020 Presidential Election, 2024 Presidential Election, January 6 Insurrection

Boris Epshteyn's One-Two Punch on DOJ

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November 15, 2024

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According to Politico, Co-Conspirator #6 is the guy who suggested Matt Gaetz would make a good Attorney General.

2024 Presidential Election, emptywheel

Go Stare at the Ocean

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November 14, 2024

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Go stare at the ocean and prepare to pick yourself back up again.

2024 Presidential Election

Republicans Get to Chew on Matt Gaetz for Two Months and a Week

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November 13, 2024

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Sure, Matt Gaetz is the worst possible pick to be Attorney General. But there are some upsides to Trump having picked the worst possible pick, especially early enough to give Republicans two months to pick him apart.

2020 Presidential Election, 2024 Election, 2024 Presidential Election, Hunter Biden

The Orbanization of US Politics Began Years Ago

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November 13, 2024

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The assault on civil society that we expect from a second Trump Administration already accelerated two years ago, and already had an impact on the election.

2024 Presidential Election

Litmus Tests Likely Explain Who the Fuck is Pete Hegseth

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November 13, 2024

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Trump likely picked Pete Hegseth to run the largest military in the world because would be willing to do with it things that none of his qualified candidates would do.

2016 Presidential Election, 2024 Presidential Election, emptywheel, Mueller Probe

Russia Attempts to Collect Its Winnings

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November 12, 2024

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Russia has been engaged in a whole bunch of dick-wagging since Trump won the election. That's likely because the last time they helped Trump get elected, he deferred on and then failed to deliver his side of the bargain.

2020 Presidential Election, 2024 Presidential Election, January 6 Insurrection

How Garland-Whinger Ankush Khardori's Willful Impotence Helps Trump Evade Accountability

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November 11, 2024

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There's a telling quote from Greg Sargent in his description of Kamala Harris' difficulties in convincing voters that Trump was a bad president. Some Democrats believe that the leading pro-Harris Super PAC, Future Forward, failed to spend enough…

2024 Presidential Election

Two Elections: "The rules were that you guys weren’t going to fact-check"

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November 10, 2024

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There were two elections last week. A traditional political one, in which Democrats had some down ballot successes. And a far bigger propaganda one, in which Trump -- but not always the rest of his party -- had tremendous success.

2024 Presidential Election, Foreign Policy, Intelligence, Russo-Ukrainian War, State Department

The Mixed Emotions of November 9th

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November 9, 2024

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From the Beer Hall Putsch in 1923 to Kristallnacht in 1938 to the Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, November 9th brings very mixed emotions. On this November 9th, they are being mixed once more.

2024 Presidential Election

Fridays with Nicole Sandler

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November 9, 2024

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We talk a miserable election loss.

2020 Presidential Election, 2024 Presidential Election

Jack Smith Asks for Three Weeks

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November 8, 2024

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Jack Smith has asked for three weeks -- until December 2 -- to inform Judge Tanya Chutkan what they plan to do with the January 6 case going forward.

2020 Presidential Election, 2024 Presidential Election

The Legal Cases Implicating Donald Trump's Conduct That Won't Go Away [Because of His Election]

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November 8, 2024

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By dint of his twin prosecutions, Hunter Biden has what virtually no one else in the country will be able to get now: standing to raise questions about Donald Trump's conduct.

2024 Presidential Election

The Time before Confrontation

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November 7, 2024

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Had Kamala Harris won on Tuesday, we'd likely be in an immediate crisis of political violence. Instead, we have two months before the manufactured excuse to seize authoritarian powers.

2024 Presidential Election

When Special Counsels Finish Up, They Must Write Reports

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November 6, 2024

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If Jack Smith will shut down his investigation, then he must write a report for Merrick Garland. That would provide one more opportunity to disclose the findings of his investigation.

2024 Presidential Election, January 6 Insurrection

The Upcoming Pardon-Palooza

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November 6, 2024

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Trump's own impunity will do grave damage to the rule of law. But the pardons he will surely give will turn it into a transactional form of loyalty test.