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"Reasonable Persons:" Trump's Recusal Stunt Flops

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emptywheel
In her opinion rejecting Trump's bid for her recusal, Judge Tanya Chutkan addresses the required standard: what reasonable people might conclude about the care she took in sentencing two January 6 defendants, a standard Trump's attorneys ignored.
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Republicans Plan to Declare Trump's Entire Business Model a High Crime and Misdemeanor

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emptywheel
As government workers face an imminent financial crisis, Kevin McCarthy is rushing forward with an impeachment based on the premise that Trump's entire business model is a High Crime and Misdemeanor.
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Donald Trump's Fantasy Self Worth

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emptywheel
Trump confessed, in a sworn deposition, that if he can't make objective reality match his own inflated self-worth, he's sure the Saudis will bail him out. 
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The Still Ongoing Investigation into Where that Robert Menendez Cash Came From

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emptywheel
An NBC story published hours before SDNY indicted Robert Menendez suggests there are still gaps in the investigation into Robert Menendez. Damian Williams seems to be confident they'll soon be closed.
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"They Were Trying to Boot the Machine:" John Paul Mac Isaac Claims the FBI Really WERE That Incompetent

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emptywheel
If you can believe John Paul Mac Isaac's book, the FBI tried to boot up the laptop attributed to Hunter Biden before they even obtained a warrant for it.
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Hunter Biden Threatens to Make Robert Costello's Dalliance with Rudy Giuliani Even More Costly

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emptywheel
As he did with Garrett Ziegler, Hunter Biden has sued Rudy Gialiani and Robert Costello for hacking his data. These lawsuits provide basis to claim that DE USAO is pursuing Hunter for misdemeanor tax charges, while ignoring the way the President's son was and continues to be serially hacked by his father's opponents. 
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John Lauro's False Claims about Assaults "at the Behest" of Donald Trump

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emptywheel
In a bid to defeat a gag order in the Federal January 6 case against Trump, John Lauro claims there's no evidence in the docket that Trump's statements led directly to violence. He's wrong. And it is his own fault he's wrong.
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"Piker:" Donald Trump Rants as if Robert Menendez's 22 Ounces of Gold Were as Big as Jared's $2 Billion

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emptywheel
In yet another rant projecting his own corruption on others last night, Trump called Robert Menendez a "piker." He's not wrong. After all, Menendez' alleged payoff for laundering the reputation of Egypt for its role in the Jamal Khashoggi was merely $40,000. Jared's pricetag for laundering the reputation of Mohammed bin Salman was $2 billion.
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The Sordid Second Season of the Robert Menendez Bribery Series

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emptywheel
The bribery indictment of Robert Menendez and others doesn't explain the bulk of the money that Fred Daibes allegedly gave to Menedez and his spouse.
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The Menendez Indictment: "how much is one kilo of gold worth" ... "kilo of gold price"

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emptywheel
Two times, according the indictment charging Robert Menendez with accepting bribes, he Googled the price of gold right after doing something suspect.
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Nora Dannehy Confirms that Bill Barr Attempted to Sway 2020 Election with Dubious Interim Report

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emptywheel
In testimony related to a CT Supreme Court nomination, Nora Dannehy confirmed earlier NYT reporting that John Durham wrote a draft report making unsubstantiated allegations about Hillary Clinton that Barr threatened to release in time to influence the election.
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What If Journalists Actually Read Gary Shapley Rather Than Parroting His Testimony?

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emptywheel
If reporters who have championed Gary Shapley would simply report on the way his own notes answer the questions Republicans badgered Merrick Garland with yesterday, they might be forced to report on how cynical that stunt hearing was.
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Special Counsel Weiss Demanding that Hunter Biden Show Up for Initial Appearance

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emptywheel
In a fight over whether Hunter Biden will have to make his initial appearance in person, we'll get to see the degree to which David Weiss is overtly trying to make his prosecution of the President's son as a proxy fight with Trump's opponent.
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"My life's on the line here:" Gary Shapley's Direct Supervisor Believed His Claims Were Unsubstantiated

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emptywheel
During the period when Gary Shapley was writing documents misrepresenting David Weiss' words, his supervisor recommended he be removed from the Hunter Biden case.
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Hunter Biden Sues the IRS

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emptywheel
For five years, the government has (apparently) chosen to relentlessly pursue pickayune charges against Hunter Biden while ignoring the crimes committed to try to force the government to file those charges. And Abbe Lowell may be preparing to make that case in the case of any trial.
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On Recusal, Give Trump the Evidentiary Hearing He Demands!

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emptywheel
Trump claims that during the year and a half of January 6 cases she had presided over by October 28, 2022, Judge Tanya Chutkan had not seen any evidence from which she could form an opinion about Trump's role in the event. By all means, let's put the evidence she had seen in the record.
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Trash Talk: Won't Somebody Think of the Children Edition

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Rayne
Disgusting: how unprepared MSU was to handle a high-profile sexual harassment complaint, and how the GOP blows off revolting behavior by its own. Won't somebody think of the children?
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Sunset Musings III and Trash Talk

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bmaz
A few of you may remember Sunset Musings II regarding the fall of Grandpa Pricky. Most were likely not here back then. So Casa de bmaz has today lost yet another noble centurion. Grandma Pricky.
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After Threats Elicited by Gary Shapley's Misleading Testimony, Hunter Biden Prosecutors Reneged on the Plea Deal

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emptywheel
In a package to Congress, Abbe Lowell laid out all the evidence that Gary Shapley's political pressure led directly to David Weiss' decision to ratchet up the charges against Hunter Biden. But the package left something out: Shapley's media tour has also led to credible threats of violence targeting the prosecutor who first crafted the plea deal.
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