Fridays with Nicole Sandler
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Listen on Apple (transcripts available)
On the Misguided Tactical Conversations about Volume Two of the Jack Smith ... Expressions Of Individuality In Democracy 
I’ve always figured there’s another explanation for the “F” in TFG. Now it’s TFC or TFF.
After he is pardoned, of course.
Yesterday, President Biden declared the ERA amendment is now the “law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex,” citing the 2020 approval from the Virginia legislature, and is now the 28th amendment.
I don’t understand why the Biden Administration waited until 2025 to announce this and not do something about this during his four years and not ordering the archivist of the United States to formally publish the amendment in 2021 when Joe first came to office, instead of the last minute with the possibility of Trump derailing this. I also wonder if this would have impacted Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization by thwarting the lawsuit in the first place.
That’s one of the topics Heather Cox Richardson wrote about
in yesterday’s Letters from an American:
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/january-17-2025
She links to her sources at the end of the piece.
O_O
What if this is a backdoor approach to contesting the legitimacy of the Office of Legal Counsel, the one which prohibited indictment of a seated president? Who/what is the OLC to determine the rights of more than half the country anyhow?
The attorneys general oF Virginia, Illinois and Nevada sued to force the archivist to publish it. The judge. Rudolph Contreras, said no, the original deadline is binding:
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/federal-judge-says-states-acted-too-late-ratify-equal-rights-n1259783
Illinois and Nevada appealed and in. Illinois v. Ferriero, the DC Court affirmed the original judgement:
https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/cadc/21-5096/21-5096-2023-02-28.html
Hmmm…interesting idea.
Yesterday, Kyle Cheney posted about five other OLC memos
which have been released. I posted about it here:
https://www.emptywheel.net/2025/01/16/the-inadequate-declination-discussions-in-both-special-counsel-reports/#comment-1084150
Cheney:
OLC [as in Steven Bradbury‘s ca. 2006 work at OLC] also came up in my travels yesterday as I was trying to wade through the HEGSETH Hearing.
https://www.emptywheel.net/2025/01/15/how-right-wingers-rushed-to-dei-hire-pete-hegseth/#comment-1084116
I learned that he was one of Clarence THOMAS’ first law clerks at SCOTUS.
Emptywheel mentioned the prosecutors for Smith may have on their mind a goal to continue working for DOJ.
For what it’s worth, Leo Wise stated he plans to head to PIN.
Lovely.
That acronym is more accurately PIS, which would reflect it’s mission if Wise does move in and take it over (as I assume his intention would be).
Yeah, he said that at the Smirnov hearing.
When Chesnoff asked for a recess to discuss the defendant statement, Wise and Hines crossed through the swingy gate thingy into the audience area and were talking to the govt staffers.
When I realized they were talking shit about the defendant, I started eavesdropping and taking notes, lol.
They were making fun of Smirnov’s claim to be blind, calling it a “Christmas miracle” he could see in the court room.
Wise then said “she” fled so they couldn’t talk to her, followed by making fun of the family relationship structure, so I believe “she” was the girlfriend whose bank accounts received Smirnov’s illicit funds. I distinctly picture Wise making a gross-out face while speaking.
The dad/ex husband and son were in the audience. The dad, I think had stepped out during the recess, but I believe the son was in earshot of this conversation, so may have heard it. I didn’t realize it was them until after the hearing I could turn on my phone and pull up the Daily Mail and other articles to confirm.
I don’t think that is normal conduct by prosecutors, lol. But maybe, it was my first sentence hearing.
I’m trying to be respectful to their family situation and not speak about that. But the dad/ex-husband is the founder of the ETT corporate entity and a former director of bitoftrade and former director of Writ Media.
ETT and bitoftrade are involved in the illicit payments, which Wise claims were completely separate from the Biden frame job during the Brady side channel.
Writ Media is mentioned in the Pittsburgh vetting document. (Exhibit 6 I believe, but Wise called it Exhibit 5 in the hearing). In that document, on 7/9/20, PG FBI asked the handling agent if Smirnov knows Guralnik and other stuff including Writ Media. The HA had a bulleted response for almost all except Writ Media.
I’m telling, when you read the transcript, the full dynamic of the hearing won’t come through, including the disdain the judge and the big smiles by the prosecutors as they exited in street clothes. My description probably doesn’t even do it justice, lol.
Burrowing in. Makes it harder for a Democratic administration to undo their bullshit.
Here is a 5 minute segment talking about questions that the Dems should have asked Pam Bondi, and the strategy of questions that Dems need to use during confirmation hearings. Here’s the link to it on Nicole’s YouTube channel
https://youtu.be/NHJpaGiLc3A
I ran the show through a transcription program and added subtitles to this episode.
“Transcripts available” but I couldn’t find a link to any transcript at either Spotify or Apple. I prefer reading to listening and a transcript would help.
Apple transcript definitely there for me when I listened 27 hours ago.
So the issue with Apple may be location related.
On the subject of punches that would likely be pulled in the Volume 2 report, I’m guessing that would include skirting over the reasons for not searching the locked closet and hidden room at MaL, as well as ignoring Bedminster, where Trump showed the highly classified Iran attack plan as a brag, while also pointing out that he couldn’t declassify the doc with his brain waves.
That latter bit was caught on tape and broadcast by CNN, which resulted in a superseding charge against him by Smith when Nauta and deOliveira were added, and yet no move was made to search Bedminster, despite the additional publicly-aired evidence of footage showing the Trump team loading a plane with the same kinds of boxes that the MAL search discovered, a plane going from MAL headed Bedminster around the time of the original search.
It’s not just about Smith coming clean regarding highly questionable decisions (or explaining those decisions in detail to try to dispel the questions), it’s also about letting the country know that the NatSec damage Trump wreaked was never fully contained.
In that regard, I’m wondering if Smith will be just as happy if that Report never does see the light of day.