The Immunity Brief: How We Got Here, Where We’re Going
In a bid to delay their response to Jack Smith’s immunity filing until after the election, Trump’s lawyers misrepresent the timing that brought us here.
Author Archive for: emptywheel
About emptywheel
Marcy Wheeler is an independent journalist writing about national security and civil liberties. She writes as emptywheel at her eponymous blog, publishes at outlets including Vice, Motherboard, the Nation, the Atlantic, Al Jazeera, and appears frequently on television and radio. She is the author of Anatomy of Deceit, a primer on the CIA leak investigation, and liveblogged the Scooter Libby trial.
Marcy has a PhD from the University of Michigan, where she researched the “feuilleton,” a short conversational newspaper form that has proven important in times of heightened censorship. Before and after her time in academics, Marcy provided documentation consulting for corporations in the auto, tech, and energy industries. She lives with her spouse in Grand Rapids, MI.
Entries by emptywheel
John Roberts’ Sordid Legacy: 14 Pages of Mean Tweets
/93 Comments/in 2020 Presidential Election, 2024 Presidential Election/by emptywheelJohn Roberts’ newfangled presidential immunity is so sordid, he forced prosecutors to spend 14 pages explaining why Trump’s attacks on fellow Republicans are not official acts of the President of the United States.
Jack Smith’s Immunity Argument
/204 Comments/in 2020 Presidential Election/by emptywheelOpen thread on Jack Smith’s immunity filing.
The “Truth” about JD Vance
/113 Comments/in 2020 Presidential Election, 2024 Presidential Election/by emptywheelLast night’s debate is not going to affect the election. But I think JD Vance did what he needed, for his own wildly ambitious goals: He doubled down on undermining democracy, and ratcheted up the professionalism of Trump’s attack on truth.
Donald Trump Didn’t Do the Homework Assignment
/27 Comments/in 2020 Presidential Election/by emptywheelBecause Trump didn’t engage with the redactions in the way Judge Tanya Chutkan ordered him to, it looks more likely we’ll get to see Smith’s substantive brief sooner rather than later.
Bill Barr Didn’t Hear When Trump Asked, “Russia Are You Listening?”
/8 Comments/in 2016 Presidential Election, emptywheel, Mueller Probe/by emptywheelOne of the last things Mueller’s prosecutors added to the report was language explaining why Trump’s successful solicitation of a hacking attempt wasn’t a crime. They need not have bothered. Bill Barr was deliberately ignorant to that episode.
As Kamala Harris Passes the Two-Thirds Mark, Trump Adopts Apocalyptic Language
/118 Comments/in 2024 Presidential Election/by emptywheelAs we enter the last third of Kamala Harris’ race to be President, Donald Trump looks weak and Donald Trump looks violent, but that is not yet a persistent news coverage theme.
My Sixth Amendment Sense about Jack Smith’s Proposed Book Report
/65 Comments/in 2024 Presidential Election/by emptywheelI predict that Trump’s attorneys will balk at the way Jack Smith wants to present his immunity case, by including quotes from sensitive materials, without identifying the witness who said it.
Iranian Hackers Compromised Roger Stone’s Email Eight Years After Russian Hackers Exfiltrated DNC Emails
/18 Comments/in 2016 Presidential Election, 2024 Presidential Election, Mueller Probe/by emptywheelIranian hackers first compromised Donald Trump’s rat-fucker eight years, almost to the day, after Russian hackers stole the emails from the DNC that Roger Stone used to help get Trump elected.
Fridays with Nicole Sandler
/5 Comments/in 2024 Presidential Election/by emptywheelWe talked about Jack Smith’s still-sealed 180-page brief in the Trump January 6 case.