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Five Years Ago Today, Hunter Biden Bought a Gun

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emptywheel
As of today, the fifth anniversary of the day when Hunter Biden purchased a gun (and so the day statutes of limitation begin to expsire), things may start to get interesting with his challenge to his ongoing prosecution.
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Steve Scalise Calls Out Donald Trump

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Peterr
Some things age well, like fine wine, George Clooney, Halle Berry, and Robin Wright. Some things do not, like Steve Scalise's words on January 6, 2021.
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Twenty-Five: The Trump Family Member and Other Attorney-Client Delusions

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emptywheel
In addition to making a solid case that Judge Chutkan should make Trump declare whether he'll rely on an advice of counsel defense by December 18, DOJ's filing making that request admits that attorney-client privilege claims continue to blind DOJ to some of the universe of related communications pertaining to January 6.
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George Santos' Other Shoe

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emptywheel
George Santos was superseded yesterday with ten more counts of campaign finance related crimes. But there's reason to believe there's still more to come.
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"POTUS is very emotional and in a bad place." Donald Trump's Classified Discovery

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emptywheel
Among the things Trump seems to be doing with his classified discovery is chasing down all the notes that Mark Milley took about Trump's erratic behavior.
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The Utility of the Tim Thibault Smear for Insurrectionists

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emptywheel
The Grassley-to-Jordan conveyor belt of bullshit continues to churn away, turning disgruntled FBI agents with allegations but no evidence into the enforcement wing of their effort to weaponize government. 
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Three Things: This Week's Massive Dickhead Award Goes To...

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Rayne
This last week was bad. We were swamped with dickheads, more so than usual, and some of them bigger dickheads than the usual fare. Who won the award for Massive Dickhead?
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Most Underrated Trash Talk

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bmaz
We had a bit of a detour on Marcy's Absolute Immunity post. To get it out of the way here, yes I think the absolute immunity claim is ludicrous. But that is what Trump does. But the detour started with Adrian Belew being underrated. He…
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Alleged Menendez Co-Conspirator Fred Daibes' Life Just Got More Difficult

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emptywheel
It doesn't sound like accused Robert Menendez co-conspirator Fred Daibes is going to get the probation sentence he thought he had gotten when he pled guilty last year.
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"Nefarious": Chuck Grassley Panics at Possibility that Gary Shapley's Allegations Might Be Scrutinized

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emptywheel
Chuck Grassley seems to be panicked that a very carefully orchestrated effort to retroactively pitch Gary Shapley as a whistleblower using formal channels might face real scrutiny. 
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Elon Musk's Machine for Fascism: A Tale of Three Elections

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emptywheel
In 2016, far right trolls used Twitter's to hijack rational discussions about the election, contributing to Trump's win. In 2020, moderation and post-January 6 efforts thwarted a repeat performance, but only barely. Since then, Elon Musk attempted to restore the haven for far right trolls that Trump rode to the Presidency in 2016 and used to sow a coup in 2020.
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Big Kev Belittled

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emptywheel
Kevin McCarthy just suffered the humiliation of being fired by Matt Gaetz.
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Why Reality TV Star Donald Trump Is More Trusted than Most News Outlets

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emptywheel
Reality TV Show Actor Donald Trump showed up at his fraud trial today and manipulated the press to allow him to claim he "predicted" that he lost because The Corrupt Judge and The Black Woman Prosecutor ganged up on him. And in the process, Reality TV Actor Donald Trump will have once again led millions to believe in his fantasy self-worth.
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Three Things: Fraud Trial Begins, Newsom's Pick, Contingent Aid

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Rayne
It's going to be a rather busy Monday. Let's get at it.
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DOJ's Theory of Trump's Mob

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emptywheel
In the government's reply motion on its request for a gag, DOJ neatly lays out how Trump's attacks on Pence were a key tool he used to direct the mob.
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Trash Talk: The Trashiest Talk Ever Trashed

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Rayne
Uh, it's TRASH talk, which is talk about trash. Not all trash is exclusively about sports. This week's trash brought to you by the Taylor Swift effect.
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The Timeline of the Hunter Biden Investigation Doesn't Support Attacks on Lesley Wolf

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emptywheel
A timeline of the Hunter Biden investigation -- even as presented in documents provided by Gary Shapley and Joe Ziegler -- undermines many of their claims about the investigation generally and AUSA Lesley Wolf specifically.
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One of Dianne Feinstein's Greatest Legacies: Documenting CIA's Torture

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emptywheel
As we remember Dianne Feinstein, let's remember one of her most important legacies: documenting CIA's torture program.
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Gary Shapley Didn't Tell Congress about Election Meddling Concerns

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emptywheel
While Gary Shapley provided evidence that Richard Donoghue, not Lesley Wolf, was behind orders to delay any overt investigative steps into Hunter Biden until after the 2020 election, he didn't reveal discussions of election meddling drove some of those delays.
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