Trump to Be Arraigned at 7:30 P.M. Thursday Eve [UPDATE-1]

/220 Comments/in , /by

[NB: check the byline, thanks. /~Rayne]

 

Trump announced in a rambling Truth Social post he would be arraigned this evening in Fulton County at 7:30 p.m. local time. He’s already left the Newark NJ airport.

Atlanta’s residents are being warned which roads are likely to be problematic due to security and crowds along the roadway. Local news outlet Atlanta News First offers the TL;DR:

Avoid I-85 between Georgia Tech and the airport, Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway between Maddox Park and the connector and Lowery Boulevard entirely if you can between 6:30 p.m. and roughly 9 p.m. We don’t how long the booking process will take, but Trump already has a bond agreement so he likely won’t spend any time in the Rice Street Jail. The former president should be in and out of Atlanta in a matter of hours.

Just stay off the roughly 14 miles of road between Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Fulton County Jail on 901 Rice St NW from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m.

~ ~ ~

UPDATE-1 — 9:45 P.M. ET —

— Trump’s mugshot has been posted and shared widely. I’m sure you’ll see it soon if you haven’t already. I’m not sharing it here now because I’m already sick of looking at it.

Some folks are questioning if the image has been photoshopped because he has bags under his eyes and his skin doesn’t look quite right and his tie’s not the right goddamned shade of MAGA red. I can’t help ask if they’ve ever said any twaddle like that about a BIPOC person’s mugshot after arraignment. Stop feeling sorry for an old flabby-assed scofflaw who’s gotten away with so much criming over the years because the system has been built for him by people like him.

— Earlier today ABC News reported Trump had changed lawyers in Georgia. Drew Findling represented Trump in Georgia for the last two years; he’s being replaced by Steven Sadow.

— Foster Bail Bonds LLC of metro Atlanta will post Trump’s bond which has been set at $200,000.

And now for something fun:

emptywheel community member TooLoose LeTruck has won the 2023 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest with their worst opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels in an category to remain confidential.

Contributing team member Peterr proposed “a completely unauthorized new category of January 6/2020 election theft entries.”

Offer your best worst in comments below, prefacing your entry with #BLFC-6JAN2020.

~ ~ ~

This is an open thread. Bring all your off-topic idle chatter here while you wait for the anticipated arraignment photo and rant-y perp speech to follow.

Any future updates will appear at the bottom of this post.

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220 replies
  1. Rayne says:

    Will he or won’t he wear the same glum look we’ve seen in other booking photos?

    I personally can’t wait for the down-angle camera perspective used in all the other perps’ shots. It’ll do fabulous things to that yellow cotton candy fluff on top of his head.

    • bmaz says:

      And “THAT” is what important to you?? You really think a dumbass “mugshot” means something important here?

      Really? Maybe find a new hobby

      • SEASanders says:

        Oh, come on bmaz. Give paulka123 a break. For his entire presidency, Trump was able to shield the most basic information about himself from public knowledge if he considered it derogatory. To be arraigned and now finally have his weight (and maybe actual height) revealed is both symbolic and tangible of at last being exposed in such a basic way.

        It’s not as if there is likely to be breaking legal news from this, is there? But here, such a mundane legal process makes quite a sly political point.

        • Benoit Roux says:

          Trump was allowed to report his own vitals, such as eye color, weight and height, which expedited the process. So, 6’3” and 215 pounds for you.

        • P J Evans says:

          Report is that they go with DL/state ID, to save time. I’m surprised they can’t do it like doctors’ office, with the digital scale right there, and a height scale also. (There’s a lot of online comments about his height and weight, with photos of people who really are that height and weight.)

        • wa_rickf says:

          It’s true. Donald Trump self-reported his height a6 6’3″ and 215 pounds.

          https://www.mediaite.com/crime/hes-lost-25-pounds-cnn-and-x-users-do-not-buy-trumps-self-reported-weight-at-booking/

          Poltiico reports that Trump’s NY DRL lists his height at 6’2″. It would not surprise me to know that Mr. Trump’s self-reported weight’s first digit has been falsely stated down one digit.

          https://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/trump-drivers-license-height-232948

        • earlofhuntingdon says:

          Things like height and weight are self-reported in DLs too. So, no more reliable than anything else Trump says about his size.

        • Valerie Klyman-Clark says:

          Can’t figure out how to embed the image here but Ron Filipkowski xittered ?! “At least they finally released his fingerprints.” It’s silly, but made me chuckle and thought I’d share . . .

        • earlofhuntingdon says:

          About as accurate as Ronny Jackson’s figures, or those staged mug shots of Trump and Meadows, who must share the same stylist, tailor, and studio director.

        • Rugger_9 says:

          Maybe it’s just the ego.

          Pivoting a bit, the Wagner group still doesn’t have a new leader reported which means a couple of things if true: Yevgeny is dead in a decapitation operation, and Vlad has another paramilitary to play with in operations that need plausible deniability. See where the contracts go, which for the moment is an important revenue stream for the Putin regime. They’ll be put t use somewhere under Vlad’s thumb.

          Head-snapping this time: the Pac-12’s demise rumbles on, with the ACC dangling for Cal and Stanford. We’ll see but there was an intriguing column this Sunday in the SF Chronicle calling for a California conference.
          Cal, Stanford, San Jose State, Fresno State, San Diego State are all FBS and decent academically. Cal Poly SLO, UC Davis, Sacramento State and University of San Diego are all FCS football level. Stadiums are also near Santa Clara (Stevens and PayPal), USF (Kezar), Fullerton, Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara (Harder) although some haven’t played football in a while and sizes would need to be upgraded. Pacific knocked down Stagg but there’s room to build. All of these are Division I programs for other sports, so it’s not a reach to get 10-12 out of this group without UCLA or USC. Including Hawaii, OSU and WSU (and maybe Nevada and UNLV) would also make some sense for a nicely compact and competitive conference.

          Of course, TV revenue would be a problem for a regional footprint and athletic department budgets at Cal and Stanford would require significant revenue streams to cover existing obligations.

        • Molly Pitcher says:

          I could see a new Pacific Coast conference appearing in a few years when the mega conferences collapse under their own weight and inevitable squabbling. I just don’t see it happening now.

          Cal and Stanford REALLY need the TV revenue to keep the wheels on.

          I will refrain from posting here my email to Chancellor Christ regarding this excrement escapade. It would be hard to imagine the situation having been handled any worse.

          What do the Rugby guys have to say about all of this ?

        • Rick Williams says:

          You left out the self-reported vital of “cognitive ability”:
          “Yes, the first few questions are easy, but I’ll bet you couldn’t even answer the last five questions. I bet you couldn’t. They get very hard, the last five questions,” Trump said.

    • David F. Snyder says:

      If they release it and it hits the ground, that would cause the biggest earthquake in the Atlanta region over the last 20 years!

      I’ll show myself out …

    • Overshire says:

      The British bookies have set the over/under at 278.5, and as of last night 70% were taking “over.” So yes, some people care, if for execrable reasons.

    • Narpington says:

      Maybe his height *and* weight I read. I’m starting a sweepstake and my bet is 5′ 11″ and 235lbs. I wonder if they’ll check him for lifts.

      • Rugger_9 says:

        Defendant-1 (or Fulton County Inmate P01135809) ‘self reported’ 6’3″ and 215 lbs., which is a typical NFL linebacker.

        I wonder if he could be prosecuted for false statements on his intake form.

  4. IainUlysses says:

    I’m waiting to see if he can look as happy and smiling as Jenna Ellis.

    Is anyone else not feeling all that comfortable with the idea of a breathlessly televised trial? I was in college for OJ and I do not remember it with fondness. I’m all for recording trials for a public record. Here I think a recording serves the public interest, but I’m uncomfortable with live streamed.

    • scroogemcduck says:

      Yes, the blanket media coverage of this like its an inauguration or something is a complete joke.

      • gruntfuttock says:

        He’s a black hole for the media; somehow he sucks everything into himself. It’s admirable in a way, but I wish it could be harnessed for good instead of grifting and hatred.

    • David F. Snyder says:

      Definitely don’t want streaming. If there’s a way for an audio/video feed to reporters in a media room, like what BB had when she reported on the OK trial, that’s fine. But if the judge wants to maintain decorum, don’t put DJT out on a public feed, it would probably be just a temptation for him to bad behavior.

    • Tech Support says:

      Yeah that was a circus, and not a fun one. I think our best hope is that the complexity and size of the case renders the proceedings so mind-numbingly tedious that only existing C-Span watchers care.

    • boatgeek says:

      A televised trial will be an utter circus. Imagine 19 (maybe 8 if the Chesebro stands alone) lawyers all preening for the cameras and asking the same questions and making the same objections over and over. My admittedly unhealthy desire to see Trump come unhinged at some point during the trial is outweighed by the need to have this trial actually work and get wrapped up on time.

    • adambulldog says:

      I must admit to some fondness for the Dancing Itos. But I share your concern about the spectacle of a televised Trump trial.

  5. TooLoose LeTruck says:

    Ooooh…

    Open thread…

    Probably safe to mention that I just took first place in one of the categories of the 2023 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest…

    If you’re unfamiliar w/ the B-L Fiction contest, from their website:

    “Since 1982 the Bulwer Lytton Fiction Contest has challenged participants to write an atrocious opening sentence to the worst novel never written. Our whimsical literary competition honors Sir Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, whose 1830 novel Paul Clifford begins with “It was a dark and stormy night.”

    I always knew I could be really, really bad at something, even terrible… and I’ve done it!

        • Peterr says:

          And the Dishonorable Mentions are also quite good. This one from the Science Fiction category might be of particular interest to bmaz . . .

          The signal was stronger than ever, and realizing they finally found the thing, a bunch of Mars vagabonds exited their rover and headed toward the crashed spaceship, a metal coffin, hacking into the door terminal and opening it to find this half man, half robot, the legend, the infamous first colonizer himself, Elun Musci, his paralyzed body lying still, dust of hundreds of years covering his armor, red eyes still glowing and blinking.

          Jyri And, Estonia

    • SteveBev says:

      Was it worse than

      “I don’t do it for the money – I’ve got enough, much more than I’ll ever need.”

      • ExRacerX says:

        I’ve played around with Chat GPT a bit with poetic or literary requests, and almost every “first draft” it’s produced has been an ill-conceived, sophomoric turd, so it might actually pass that test and surprise ya.

        The freaky thing is when you call its dreck out, it comes up with a much-improved revision or a better, but different idea entirely. Chat GPT reminds me of a bright but lazy English 101 student.

    • Alan Charbonneau says:

      Congrats! This was my 2013 entry, but it didn’t get a mention:

      It was a “too quiet” kind of night, the kind you’d find in a poorly-written detective novel authored by a guy with too little talent, too much of a flair for the dramatic, and too little concern for the reader who, he assumed, would be a middle-aged, overweight, bleach blonde lying on a Santa Monica beach trying to sip her once-cold but now tepid beer without getting sand down her gullet.

  6. Patrick Carty says:

    I live here folks and there’s never a good time to drive down I-85. That same stretch is also combined I-75 and that’s always a mess too.

  7. Adam Treat says:

    Will Trump be successful in his attempt to sever himself from Kenneth Chesebro? He’s already made the notice that he’ll be trying to: https://t.co/5ee2CJWrZq

    What is the over/under that he doesn’t succeed and the trial is actually set to start by Oct 23rd??

      • Chuffles says:

        The crimes alleged happened over 3 years ago, man. I think we’re well beyond instant gratification. Nothing instant about it. Impatient? Sure. Cynical? Absolutely. But nobody is looking for instant gratification after watching the slow roll over the last 3 years when we watched all this crap happen in real time years ago.

      • Terduken says:

        Immediate gratification is the desire until the moment immediately following gratification. Sounds like….

    • ChicagoDD says:

      IANAL, far from it as I’m a I’m a guitar player (and consequently may well misuse vernacular!), but here’s a Q: Could DJT and Chesebro be in some kind of cahoots where Chesebro requests/gets an earlier trial only for himself – specifically in order to obtain/see Willis’ cards and thus forward that info to DJT to aid him in constructing his future defense? (in exchange for what, I don’t know, DJT paying for Chesebro’s legal bills, whatever?).

      • Max™_24AUG2023_2209h says:

        Pretty sure sharing info like that is a whole new exciting level of criming, and despite being a terrible enough lawyer that he makes Giuliani look competent (by dint of Rudy NOT trying to call her bluff on speedy trial rules) I doubt Chesebro is excited enough to guarantee even more prison time to help out the orange turd.

        Plus, I’m pretty sure paying co-defendant counsel links you legally in ways which preclude such sharing efforts.

        [Welcome to emptywheel. Please choose and use a unique username with a minimum of 8 letters. We are moving to a new minimum standard to support community security. Use of [tm] trademark in username is not acceptable. Because your username is far too short it will be temporarily changed to match the date/time of your first known comment until you have a new compliant username. Thanks. /~Rayne]

        • ChicagoDD says:

          You make sense on both points, and at the same time I do have to wonder (as the trials of the other 18 people might well end up staggered somehow and many will presumably take place before his own), how absolutely hungry P01135809 will be to get dope on what their lawyers are informed of via discovery. Unless, I guess, said info will be simply revealed in the course of their trials, and thus negate any need for any illicit info-passing? Out of my bailiwick regardless.

    • c-i-v-i-l says:

      The judge’s order says “these deadlines do not apply to any co-defendant,” only Chesebro.

        • BirdGardener says:

          This is why I usually avoid clicking on corporate-media articles about Trump. I do sometimes read their articles about his legal problems, though.

          The whole media circus surrounding his comings to and fro courthouses is absurd. If they were actually religiously consistent, right-wing Christians would warn each other against the dangers of worshipping human idols rather than encouraging the practice.

  10. Chuffles says:

    How much money is all this security costing us taxpayers? Highway shutdowns, ~14 black cars, an ambulance…who is paying for that?

    I would love to see him in cuffs. He is finally getting mug shots and bail, glad for that at least.

      • MartyJack says:

        There is always an ambulance in the Presidential motorcade. I learned yesterday that they are now including two since a while back one of the motorcycle officers had an accident and needed to be transported. The second one to handle anything that comes up and one to stay with the protectee.

        The major cost is in all those dozens and dozens of units that block the streets while the motorcade passes, both in staffing and it takes them away from other calls they could be responding to.

        [Welcome back to emptywheel. Please use the same username and email address each time you comment so that community members get to know you. It’s been quite a while since you commented last as “MartyInNH.” Thanks. /~Rayne]

  12. Peterr says:

    In honor of TooLoose LeTruck’s triumph in the Bulwer Lytton contest (whichever one it was that triumphed!), and in recognition of Trump’s booking tonight, I propose a completely unauthorized new category of January 6/2020 election theft entries.

    “It is a dark and stormy night, thought Donald Trump as his motorcade meandered its way through early evening rush hour traffic toward his booking on RICO charges, which, now that he thought about it, means it was actually not night but still daytime; looking out the windows of his car, he realized it was also not stormy — a word that has come to bring him weeks of depression rather than the memories of an evening of toe-curling delight as it once did.”

    Who’s next?

    • SteveBev says:

      It was a dark and stormy night; the sweat fell in rivulets- except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the from the latex sheets (for it is in London that our scat scene lies), rattling along the chain mail posing pouch and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the tea lights that struggled against the darkness of his chest hair.

    • Tech Support says:

      (With apologies to William Gibson)

      The sky above Rice Street was the color of Windows 11 right before it locks up. “It’s not like I have Executive Privilege,” Trump heard someone say as his Secret Service agents shouldered their way through the common rabble and the municipal Deep State wannabes processing them, “It’s more like when my lawyer says STFU I actually listen to her!” It was a shitlib voice and a shitlib joke. Rice Street was a jail for amateur criminals and working class suckers, Democrats all of them. You could be held there for a week and never hear two words from your public defender.

      • Knowatall says:

        Brilliant. The blue screen of death. Throw in something about a text message from a sweet-looking Asian girl, with the Little Big Man screaming ‘Gina!’.

      • Troutwaxer says:

        Very nice. Bit fan of Neuromancer here. (I wonder how many kids these days understand that “television tuned to a dead channel” does not mean blue.)

        • Tech Support says:

          That opening line sticks with me and I’ve often thought about how it’s also the most glaringly dated bit of the entire novel.

    • ExRacerX says:

      The twice-impeached, one-term ex-President’s spray-tanned neck wattles quivered like pudding each time the limo cleared a speed-bump, and within his comically oversized suit, all orange fat rolls below did the same.The limo ride was bumpy, but Trump’s day was about to get even bumpier.

    • timbozone says:

      Ah, yes, the contest of contests, one best approached by a lazy English 101 student…

      “It was a lively parade of cars that carried the brooding great genius forward to the Newark Airport, his ambitions matched the circus atmosphere he felt would propel him to even greater things, things like that Wendy’s sign reminded him that he’d be missing out on on his jet flight to down South where they cook really good fried chicken he’d heard, and maybe with honey mustard.”

    • Fraud Guy says:

      For a long time, he used to go to bed late, watching the pleasant encomiums of his favorite channel, as they repeated his favorite clips of his performances of the day, where he would point out his big hands, the small ones of his opponents, and how stupid they were compared to his stable genius, which everyone did acknowledge, even as they begrudged it, claiming that he was using it for base purposes only, but the base purposes were for his base, who loved him, and would come up to him in the street, weeping, to tell him how much his policies had helped them, and saved the country, and they would hug him, these big, strong men, and women, even though he did not like to be touched, because of icky germs, but these were his people, and they needed that common touch, to feel a part of his life, like the taco bowls of his restaurant, the best restaurant, whose taste reminded him of a time when, as a child, his father had pointed out to him that using undocumented immigrants for labor would really cut his costs, so he could save his money for golden toilets and other classy touches in his homes, because he really deserved the best, which he had put to the side to become President, and live in the White House, a tacky place, really, that had not been updated in years, and that needed to be cleaned because that man had lived there for years, despite not being a natural born person, like himself, a fine example of the best that the US had to offer, but which he had to leave because antifa, all fake news, had rioted at the Capital, but wore his hats, his beautiful MAGA hats, really the best hats, and shot the poor lady, and the news, including his favorite news, said it was his people, and all he ever did was make the country better, so he now must tweet, but now can’t tweet, because the Deep State took that away, and claimed that he had tried to overthrow the election, which is what Sleepy Joe did.

    • DrStuartC says:

      As he unwrapped his second hamberder for breakfast in the back of his limo headed for the Fulton County DA’s office, Donald J.Trump smiled at the thought of how great this was going to be.
      “This is going to be the best booking ever,” he said to his lawyers. “Nobody, I mean, nobody, has ever had such a great arrest and made this much money from getting booked! It’s crazy, right?” He took a bite and chewed as he continued, spewing bits of berder on the lawyers, who pretended not to notice.
      “I mean, my base is going to pay big time for this. Wait till you see my serious face for the mug shot! Ha! My MAGA mug shot mugs, only 19.95. That’s right only 19.95, order now!” The lawyers looked at him uncertainly.
      “Uhm, sir, wouldn’t it be better if Melania were here with you?”
      “Well, she did she wanted to come but she said had a really really great important appointment at the anchor baby conference. It’s ok, we’re going to have the really best greatest ever arrest ever! How much do you think my amazing wonderful people will pay for a mugshot t-shirt?” The lawyers shrugged collectively, just to be on the safe side.
      “Hey Walt,” the ex-president called out, “we got any more hamberders?”

  15. BobBobCon says:

    The BS the political press pulls with body language “experts” will multiplied by a million.

    The political press just worked itself into a frenzy when a supposed lip reader employed by the Daily Mail claimed Biden said “no comment” in reaponse to a shouted question about the Maui wildfires. What will Peter Baker do with the pitches from his GOP buddies about how to interpret Trump straightening his tie?

    Limited video clips of major points might be OK — it might even be better than no video at all. But complete coverage would be awful.

  16. Tetman Callis says:

    Trump is ever getting what he wanted. At least some part of it. And that’s the attention. Gazes of millions turned his way, watching his every move. The show must go on.

  17. earlofhuntingdon says:

    Trump claimed today that he weighs 215 pounds. Dana Bash responds, “Guess they didn’t put him on a scale.”

    Journo claims Trump is 6’3″. Guess they didn’t take his shoes off and measure his height without lifts.

    WaPo claims Trump weighed 244 in 2020. Guess it took Ronny Jackson seriously.

    https://www.rawstory.com/trump-news-2664374617/

    • earlofhuntingdon says:

      One effect of trying Chesebro alone and ahead of everyone else is that it forces Willis to show her hand. It reveals her tactics and strategy, and how well she or her deputies perform at trial. It reveals principal legal arguments and counter-arguments. It establishes a baseline for evidence and which arguments might keep some of it out. It locks in witness testimony and reveals how well witnesses do on direct and cross.

      A conviction would be appealed, of course, which would reveal how well that process works for defendants. And it adds to the burdens on Willis’s office, which has a similar effect as Trump’s common tactic of burying his opponent in shit.

      • Spencer Dawkins says:

        I’m sure this is a no-brainer for people who work in the field – I don’t – but I have to ask – how do you sever prosecution for one person charged with a RICO conspiracy with other people?

        I can guess at some of the mechanics, and you point out some of the downsides for the prosecution if Chesebro’s trial reveals things the prosecutors also plan to use in the trials of other accused conspirators, but does this also mean that Chesebro can be acquitted while other accused conspirators are later convicted, and vice versa?

        • bmaz says:

          Willis has stated she wants them all tried together. Which is likely logistically impossible, but that is what she has clearly stated. But severance is absolutely possible.

      • ernesto1581 says:

        So — by demanding his 6A right a speedy trial, Chesebro is severed from the other 18 by default, yes? Betting, among other things, that the court schedule will not be able to accommodate a speedy trial and result in dismissal? Or is it a double-dare to Willis to jam the whole crowd into court for an early trial as well, with all the additional logistical nightmare and tv spectacle that will entail? Or is he taking one for the team to call Willis’s hand, as you mention. Or does he consider his federal exposure much more serious than his Georgia exposure and figures to get out of Fulton Co as fast as possible without getting hung up in the others’ trial, which could to go on for years. Or all of the above?

  19. HCinND says:

    My bag is sinkin’ low
    And I do believe it’s time
    To get back to Miss Fanny
    You know she’s the only one
    Who sent me here with her
    Regards for everyone

  21. Savage Librarian says:

    Counting on ‘Fessings

    When I’m worried and read old tweets,
    I count my ‘fessings and my deceits,
    Cheat after cheat,
    Counting my ‘fessings.

    When my big lies are way too tall,
    My lawyers snooker to make them small,
    Cheat after cheat,
    Counting my ‘fessings.

    I think about some purse strings
    as I picture swirling debts,
    And one by one I count them
    like I fumbled with past bets.

    If you’re worried about receipts,
    Counting your ‘fessings & all your cheats,
    and the deadbeats…
    Discount your ‘fessings!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQfn6JPrQ-A

    “Count Your Blessings Instead Of Sheep” – Jazz guitar & piano ( Irving Berlin )

  22. wa_rickf says:

    Should Donald J. Trump ever be sentenced to prison, and actually serve, it is possible that We The People can stop paying for his Secret Service detail?

      • posaune says:

        I couldn’t imagine being the SS agent assigned to sit a full shift next to DJT’s jail cell all day. That would be torture! What would be the criteria for choosing the persons so assigned?

        • scroogemcduck says:

          Due to the logistical problems involved, I expect he would have a very, very short stay in prison followed by a period of home confinement. I would also not be surprised if Biden commuted his sentence, either shortly before or shortly after the ’26 midterms.

        • earlofhuntingdon says:

          The logistical problems related to long term incarceration of Donald Trump are as hyped as the unprecedented nature of his indictments. They are readily solvable, but would need several months of prep and some investment (reusable after the Don no longer needs it).

          He and his USSS detail could be readily accommodated, for example, in a purpose-built building within an existing minimum security federal prison. There are several, including one in Florida and one in Georgia. Were Trump to be convicted of serious felonies, home confinement would be a joke.

        • bmaz says:

          Have not had the chance to really look hard at it, but it appears at first glance that home arrest in GA is for pre-trial, but not post conviction and sentencing. But GA is a bigger concern in this regard than the federal cases. Probation is presumptive on Bragg’s silly NYC charges, even if he succeeds in getting them elevated to felonies (which is no given whatsoever).

  23. wa_rickf says:

    I want to publicly thank ol’ Joe and his Dept of Ed for forgiving my 29-year old student loan at 9% interest on 08/15/23, the day after a nice federal judge told the CATO Institute they did not have standing to stay Joe’s IDR Account Adjustment plan due to the Institute using hypothetical damages in their suit.

    It’s understandable that the Institute’s attempted to use hypothetical damages in their suit, given the SCOTUS’ majority ruling in CREATIVE LLC ET AL. v. ELENIS ET AL was based on hypothetical damages.

  25. I Never Lie and am Always Right says:

    His hair paraded around the glowing embers, pulling his body with it, while the wind threw the leaves to and fro, like random shuffleboard pieces being tossed in an earthquake, all the while thinking about the turgid prose in the last letter from his long lost lover, Penelope.

    That was fun.

  27. Disraeli56 says:

    #BLFC-6JAN2020.

    Overshawdowed by the tumult of the January 6, 2021 petit coup was the flood of counterfeit Viagra, in time this would become the Fake Erectors scandal.

  28. RitaRita says:

    #BLFC-6jan2020

    The darkest of motorcades bearing the corpulent corruption slithered through the rain swept streets like a plumber’s snake winding its way slowly through arteries clogged with the putrescent remains of too many cheeseburgers and fries.

    PS I am traveling in a different time zone with limited access to tv – so my imagination substitutes for reality.

  29. scroogemcduck says:

    #BLFC-6JAN2020

    Steve stood in front of the mirror and buttoned up his shirt. Then put on a second shirt and buttoned it up. Then a third shirt. Then he put on his jacket. Finally, he tamed his remaining hair and topped his attire with a red hat, emblazoned with his life’s motto, Make America Great Again. Satisfied with his sartorial elegance, “Today is the day,” Steve told himself. Finally, after all this time. Finally, those elite bastards would get what was coming to them, and the real people of America would stand up and seize control of the Government. Then Steve left his luxury suite at the 5-star Willard Intercontinental Hotel, DC, and walked down to the “war room” to meet with his fellow revolutionaries. The hair on the back of Steve’s neck stood to attention; he felt sure that there would be violence on that day. But there would be no fighting in the war room.

    • gruntfuttock says:

      ‘furious puckered asshole’

      Hence the golden merkin ;-)

      That needs to be an award for something: This year’s recipient of The Golden Merkin is … ;-)

  31. Rick Ryan says:

    #BLFC-6JAN2020

    It was the night before he would lead the violent overthrow of democracy, and the President had only one thing on his mind: a nice dry steak, no pink, extra ketchup — just the way he liked it.

  32. scroogemcduck says:

    #BLFC-6JAN2020

    It was a dull, grey, cold morning in the Netherlands, a day just the one before and the one before. Jack Smith sipped his coffee. He had been preparing his case against Salih Mustafa day after day, for months. He thought and dreamed of little else. Mustafa’s victims, of torture, of murder, had been waiting 22 years for justice and Smith was determined they would get it. 4,000 miles away, in Washington, another criminal was about to make his move. Another criminal who would consume Jack’s thoughts for months on end.

  33. Boatsail says:

    It was heartening to see TRumpster lawyer Jenna Ellis smiling and having fun at her booking.

    On the other hand, based on their grim Mug Shots, it did not appear the Mobsters TRumpster and Guiliani were having fun at the Booking.. Maybe if they are cellmates they can learn how to have fun in jail

      • Rugger_9 says:

        I guess they meant Fulton County Inmate P01135809 (h/t First Draft). I think our (anti-) hero thinks it makes him look like Churchill but to me it looks like a 5 year old being told he can’t have his cookies until after he eats his broccoli (OT, that’s a great Vegas ad). However, I might be biased….

  34. OldTulsaDude says:

    #BLFC-6JAN2020

    Winners do not lay up, thought the tall, thin, handsome President, as he juggled his balls in his hand before choosing the Titleist 1 and teeing up; then he stood and with the hard-earned glare of a soldier who has fought and won thousands of battles worldwide, he stared down the 6th fairway, seemingly in a silent dare to the hole to defy his iron will, to not be his birdie bitch.

  35. boatgeek says:

    It’s cold but I can’t stop sweating my bills. I want a swig of bourbon, but today’s bottle is half empty and I need to save some for this afternoon. Maybe if the Boss pays up I can afford to get the heat turned on. He’s pissed off about the Four Seasons fiasco, as if his coffee boy didn’t choose the place and make us all look like fools. He’s got a new scheme now, wants me to work with some broad. Kenny says she’s a nutjob, but the Boss gets what he wants. She walks in without even a knock. Walks right up to me and whispers in my ear, “Release the Kraken.” I feel a single drop of hair dye rolling down my cheek.

    #BLFC-6JAN2020

  36. Rugger_9 says:

    Over at LGM today, that have a mashup with the ‘Kubrick stare’ indicating severe craziness.

    However, we also have one of the GA fake electors throwing Inmate P01135809 under the bus and with 18 co-defendants here I suspect there will be more to follow as they take personal stock and find out how much Inmate P01135809 is willing to help them (i.e. not going to help). Just like the J6 committee made it OK to talk, this case while much despised by some here as a waste of time will have the same effect of opening some opportunities for SC Smith to exploit in DC and elsewhere.

    https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2023/08/presumed-guilty-2

  37. bloopie2 says:

    I’ve just read that, in June of last year, in advance of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v Wade, both Steve Sadow (Trump’s new lead counsel in Georgia) and Drew Findling (being replaced) announced publicly that they would represent, pro bono, any doctor prosecuted for performing an abortion. A commenter on another post here posited recently that Findling’s donations to Democrats, including Willis, was a key factor in Trump’s firing of Findling. Maybe that’s not so, in light of this pro-abortion status. Or maybe, just maybe, Trump wants the best possible lawyer, and believes Sadow is that person. I’m curious to know who is advising Trump on what lawyers to hire.

    • sparkity-spark says:

      Question(s) on this topic from a decided non-lawyer: are court filings of this sort considered to be sworn statements, admissible later in the jury portion of the trial? Even if the trial does NOT get moved to Federal court as a result of the filing? If a defendant’s filing literally says “I did it, but only because Trump told me to,” can DA Willis later use that directly in court against the defendant — or against Trump himself, even if he doesn’t testify? Could SC Smith use it against Trump in DC?

      I suppose I’m more generally asking: is there any RISK to the defendant(s) from making filings like these? Or are they basically free to throw anything at the wall, at this stage, to see what sticks?

  39. Rugger_9 says:

    Apparently Inmate P01135809 has sold M-a-L on 04 AUG 2023 to an organization headed by DJTJ. It also seems kind of weird to use a bail bondsman in Atlanta (with a 30 k$ nonrefundable fee) but the home sale has already been flagged as ‘curious’.

    Maybe it’s a play to keep it from Melania (does this mean a divorce is coming, another POTUS / FPOTUS first?) but I also have to wonder how that affects the play made earlier for DoJ to create a SCIF at M-a-L for the SDFL case. I see that the sale happened on 04 AUG, but the SCIF request came over the wires on 09 AUG so is it possible that Defendant-1 committed another crime for lying to the feds about the ownership (by claiming M-a-L was his when it no longer was)?

    • Rugger_9 says:

      Apparently the Politico source was Zillow, for 422 M$ which is orders of magnitude above the 24 M$ valuation Zillow has, and the 10 M$ or so paid for it not that long ago.

      So, who funded ‘Junior’s company’ to overpay for the estate? We know the legal bills are piling up given the clawback of PAC money earlier, and there have been a hum of rumors that Inmate P01135809 is a tightwad not because he wants to be but because he has to be after a series of dubious business adventures. IIRC, there are also some debt obligations coming due in that fiscal neighborhood. I generally do not believe in coincidence when values are oddly specific like this one is.

      • earlofhuntingdon says:

        With those variations in value, one might begin to wonder who was laundering whose money? And subsidizing Trump.

        I gather that the launderee keeps only a small percentage of the launderer’s money, though. If so, the big number you cite might be worth only ten percent of that to Trump, which won’t keep the dozens of lawyers his PAC is paying working for very long.

      • earlofhuntingdon says:

        If the listing and other data were “incorrect,” as Zillow now claims, someone came up with the incorrect data Zillow used; it didn’t come up with it on its own. So, more fun and games distraction from the Trump family?

        What would we not be seeing owing to the distraction? That Trump really is finding it hard to raise the money he needs to orchestrate his defense and dozens of others’, an observation this distraction seems meant to undercut?

        • Rugger_9 says:

          David Cay Johnston has the Zillow screenshot, but I don’t recall seeing what the new ‘sale price’ was. It could just be from person to trust or wholly owned TrumpOrg subsidiary, but even that is sketchy on tax grounds as well as not really answering the question of whether it’s available to cover a 30 k$ bond.

          For sale pricing, though Zillow scrubbed the sale now it should show up with the tax assessor or the records office in Palm Beach County, which still has Mar A Lago Club Inc as it owner. So, this could be a Politico / Zillow red herring.

  40. FrankM78 says:

    #BLFC-6JAN2020

    It was a dark and stormy night two hundred feet above his super secret safe room in the bowels, not literally but figuratively in his Mar-a-Lago estate. Papers that no one save himself knew existed down here have been stored almost since his childhood, which by all accounts was bigger and better than any other child in the world or at least New York, papers that the outside world would never get to see much less fondle and sniff the memories of each blissful encounter. The papers upon his passing (God forbid) would be interred in his Presidential Library designed by his sons bigger and better than the stone monument at Giza, and would put Pharoh Ramses to shame. Boxes of memories and secrets in a humidity controlled vault. Maybe Howard Hughes kept his urine in five gallon jugs, but Donald has his lifetime of Happy Meal boxes, cheeseburger wrappers, and Diet Coke cups for Eternity…

  41. klynn says:

    Since this is an open post…
    IANAL – why were the cases of Kilimnik and Belosic, now fugitives, reassigned?

  42. JohnK-NOLA says:

    “Never surrender”, he hissed at the American people, glaring through the camera straight into the eyes of the American people, while surrendering to charges brought by the American people.

  43. Rugger_9 says:

    We had yet another Cruze wreck yesterday, where it violated the particle exclusion principle with a backhoe. I’m not Mayor Breed or the Board of Supervisors in SF, but I’m sure someone in the city business licensing department has the ability to suspend Cruze’s and Waymo’s business license to operate until their safety records improve.

    CPUC: which of your loved ones are you willing to sacrifice for ‘progress’? You’re making the rest of us run for our lives, with no defined recourse if our luck runs out.

    • Rugger_9 says:

      That’s the Pauli Exclusion Principle for the nerds among our group. Two particles cannot occupy the same state.

  44. LeeNLP149 says:

    I’m usually the last one to find out about such things, but- I was half expecting the mug shots to show the defendants holding signs showing their inmate ID. Without the sign, and with the sheriff’s office insignia so small in Trump’s photo that it can be easily cropped out, it would be hard for me at least to pick the photo out of a lineup of, say, past presidents looking particularly somber right after, for instance, declaring war. To my naive eyes at least it looks like Trump won this PR round. Thoughts?

  45. Hug h roonman says:

    Congrats TooLoose!

    My feeble effort, can’t help but wonder on the endless nightmare it must be inside Trump’s head.

    -Before I can remember my head’s been a squirmy clod of worms but THIS is too much, no fucking way I’m LOSING I knew I was screwed when I won but NO… NO NOT THIS… bet funny boy demon Roy is laughing now… just listen to the ones with a way out… Trump’s ALL IN now, all over but the LYING and nobody, NOBODY beats Trump LYING
    the dummy’s in the Red Hats keep PAYING, THAT is all that matters… “Get Rudi!”-

  46. Henry the Horse says:

    If the trials are televised, and Cheseboro goes first alone…all of the other defendants get the chance to watch the case.

    Depending on the verdict(s), the game theory for the others will be very interesting.

    My country died today. Or was it yesterday? I don’t know.

  47. earlofhuntingdon says:

    I wonder how and why the sheriff’s logo in Trump’s mug shot is illegible and so much smaller than it is in the other eighteen.

  48. Henry the Horse says:

    I am not a nihilist, and anything but defeated.

    I was honoring what is, to me, the greatest opening line ever written in a novel. Kind of the opposite of “it was a dark and stormy night…

    Surely, it is the Trump supporters who feel that their country is dying.

    I will try and do better next time.

    FWIW, I am 62, and have NEVER voted for a Republican for anything, ever. The only decent, effective one I can think of in my lifetime was Governor Milliken, but I was too young to vote then.

    I do love Empywheel so keep up the good work!!!!

    • earlofhuntingdon says:

      The context of your comment gave no indication you were thinking of it was a dark and stormy night.

  49. earlofhuntingdon says:

    Trump’s discussion of pardoning J6 rioters is not getting out the vote. It’s building a bigger and better mob for next time.

  51. Robot-seventeen says:

    Just curious. Anybody hear the over-under on the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission in GA removing Willis prior to October 23rd (or whenever trial starts). The commission starts considering complaints October 1.

      • Robot-seventeen says:

        DA’s will get GA Supremes to shoot it down? Injunction? Curious as to your opinion on that if you have a moment.

        • bmaz says:

          I have yet to see any valid basis for such action. Absent a strong complaint from the court, which is unlikely, just don’t see it.

          Adding: Don’t get me wrong, still think her investigation and indictment are ridiculously over-broad, but not to any extent that could or should result in removal. And, whoo boy, would doing so create a firestorm.

        • Robot-seventeen says:

          You’re aware of this I take it:

          Senate Bill 92, establishing the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission (PAQC) has been signed into law. The PAQC is expected to serve as an oversight mechanism for district attorneys and solicitors-general across Georgia, ensuring these officials fulfill their constitutional and statutory duties.

          There are state officials saying they’re going to use it to get rid of Willis.

          [FYI – use [blockquote] [/blockquote] but using right and left caret < characters instead of brackets. Test your code at https://www.w3schools.com/html/ using the Try It Yourself tool. /~Rayne]

  52. El Señor Onazol says:

    I know it’s Very Old News at this point… but does anyone remember that the SCO Durham’s “report” had a classified appendix? There were some filings on the public FISC dockets about limited disclosure of information in the classified appendix to members of Congress posted back in 07/13/2023 (https://www.fisc.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/Redacted%20June%207%2C%202023%20Motion.pdf ; https://www.fisc.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/June%2029%2C%202023%20Letter.pdf). But AFAIK no Congress members subsequently made any comments in public about whatever they saw.

    IANAL, much less a CIPA specialist, but it’s not unprecedented for a classified document to be made public (with or without redactions, see e.g. “Nunes memo,” “Schiff memo”) if it’s politically relevant. Like I said, Durham is long gone, but is it too much to ask for some, any information on what Durham is hiding to finally be made public?

  53. DrFunguy says:

    World’s on fire, better put it in the water!
    I think the smokey hazy keeping the grand-kids and I indoors is fallout from fires in the Okanagan that drifted down the Fraser Canyon past Vancouver and up the Salish Sea this weekend. But there are at least nine wildfires on Vancouver Island at present. Farther north in BC the unprecedented burning continues. I was on emergency response last month and listening to the daily sitreps (‘2100 lightening strikes as the past 24hrs; down from over 4000 in the previous…’ numerous fires of hundreds to 1000s of hectares being ‘monitored only’) was sobering indeed.
    In 2020 climate modelling for Vancouver Island predicted extreme high (once in 20 year events) temperatures would reach 36 by 2050 and 38 by 2080. In reality we hit 40 in 2021, so we’re clearly in uncharted territory. Its hard to stay positive given the multiple major stressors on contemporary ‘civilization’. My partner and I continually muse on what it will take to mobilize the war-footing, all hands on deck response demanded by the climate crisis. We’re at a loss.
    Meanwhile we do what we can to support adaptation to whats coming. We’re looking at an additional 40,000 gallons of water storage for our nursery to mitigate restrictions on our water license likely coming. Its a major investment for our modest business, but the minimum requirement if we’re to continue. Nearby rivers are at historic lows for this time of year and the salmon need water too.

    P.s. just kidding about ‘put it in the water’, I’m well aware of the crazy flooding in some places. Perhaps the most 2023 of all headlines: ‘Death Valley National Park closed due to flood damage’.
    I’m curious how others cope with climate change dread/fatigue.

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