Fridays with Nicole Sandler

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emptywheel
We spoke about Trump's imminent trial and other developments.
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Judge Maryellen Noreika Confuses Hunter Biden's Memoir for the NYPost

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emptywheel
Yet another participant in the Hunter Biden cases has made false claims about what's in his memoir. This time, Judge Noreika did so in her opinion denying Hunter's motion to dismiss.
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Walt Nauta Claimed Trump Hoarded Hairspray Cans in His Storage Rooms

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emptywheel
In his FBI interview, Walt Nauta claimed that Trump's storage rooms were fully of hairspray cans.
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Leo Wise Has a Sex Worker [and Other False Statement] Problem

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emptywheel
David Weiss' team, like Joseph Ziegler before them, keeps seeing sex workers where there were none.
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Three Things: No News Isn’t Good News

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Rayne
U.S. media, Congress, and the citizens who elected them own some of the media fail. Why aren’t we demanding more protection of our personal data in order to protect our democracy?
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emptywheel Makes CIPA History

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emptywheel
Judge Jesse Furman has used my intervention as an excuse to order the government to release redacted transcripts of a CIPA conference from the Josh Schulte case.
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How Mark Scarsi Post Hoc Dismantled Abbe Lowell's Juicy Timeline

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emptywheel
Mark Scarsi is an admirably meticulous judge. But in key areas of his opinion rejecting Hunter Biden's motions to dismiss, his failure to meet his own rigorous standards may make the decision more vulnerable on appeal.
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Maryellen Noreika and Mark Scarsi's Schrödinger's Cat

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emptywheel
Judge Maryellen Noreika's role in determining the status of the immunity agreement signed by Hunter Biden is quite different than Judge Mark Scarsi. That's because after she, as a non-party to it, inquired into the already-signed contract, it led the contract to become a non-contract.

The Import of Judge Mark Scarsi's Truncated Klamath Quote

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emptywheel
Both David Weiss and Judge Mark Scarsi relied on 9th Circuit precedent that says if the terms of the Hunter Biden diversion agreement are susceptible to different interpretations, then it is ambiguous and Hunter Biden's understanding of the agreement must hold.
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Jack Smith to Aileen Cannon: Treating Non-Lawyer Tom Fitton's Theories as Law Will Lead to Mandamus

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emptywheel
Jack Smith has now formally informed Judge Aillen Cannon that she has been chasing a whack theory spun up by someone, Tom Fitton, who doesn't even have a JD.

Judge Mark Scarsi's Quantum Theory of Murdered Contract Law

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emptywheel
Even Judge Mark Scarsi used a metaphor -- Schrödinger's cat -- intended to convey absurdity to describe his interpretation of Hunter Biden's diversion agreement.

Michael Schvartsman Prepares to Plead ... with Trump Org's Sometime Lawyer Alan Futerfas

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emptywheel
On the same day that Trump's media empire crashed on news that it may never become viable, a guy accused of insider trading and money laundering, Michael Schvartsman, took steps to plead guilty.
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NYT's Limited Understanding of Trump's "Tactics for Avoiding a Crisis Like the One He Now Faces"

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emptywheel
NYT wrote a story that pitched Trump's hush payment fraud case as a drama about whether formerly loyal associates flip on him, rather than a story about criminal justice.
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David Weiss Is Withholding the Proof Leo Wise Claims Doesn't Exist

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emptywheel
Leo Wise claims there's no proof that Gary Shapley's media tour had an impact on the Hunter Biden case. The Special Agent in Charge overseeing the case testified that it did.
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Worse than Segretti: Judge Recommends John Eastman Be Disbarred

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emptywheel
In recommending John Eastman be disbarred, Yvette Roland found that the California Bar had proven that Eastman and Trump conspired to disrupt the January 6, 2021 electoral count.

Citizenship

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Ed Walker
Citizenship entails rights common to all. It starts with the participation of all.