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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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"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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