Fridays with Nicole Sandler
We talk a lot about the SCOTUS immunity hearing.
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
Brett Kavanaugh Thinks that Jack Smith Is as Crazy as Ken Starr Was
/91 Comments/in 2020 Presidential Election, 2024 Presidential Election, Hunter Biden, January 6 Insurrection/by emptywheelBrett Kavanaugh tried to spin his concerns about Donald Trump being investigated, at all, yesterday as a concern about Special Counsels. Ironically, Hunter Biden may give Kavanaugh opportunity to back his stated concern with Special Counsels before Donald Trump does.
Sam Alito Says that Donald Trump Is a Maligned Ham Sandwich
/197 Comments/in 2020 Presidential Election, January 6 Insurrection/by emptywheelSam Alito appears to believe everything Trump has claimed about the unfairness of his prosecutions.
The Phone Contacts between the “Total Moron” and the PAC Head
/35 Comments/in 2020 Presidential Election, 2024 Election, January 6 Insurrection, Leak Investigations/by emptywheelJack Smith focused close attention on contacts between Person 5 — who may be Boris Ephsteyn — and Person 49 — who may be Susie Wiles.
Mark Meadows’ Proffer
/15 Comments/in 2020 Presidential Election, Leak Investigations/by emptywheelMark Meadows December 2022 proffer is pretty boring. But it shows the baseline story that Meadows was willing to tell, before iterative interviews led that testimony to evolve to follow the evidence.
Trump’s Attorney-Client Leak Privilege
/13 Comments/in 2020 Presidential Election, Leak Investigations/by emptywheelTrump made a whole bunch of claims of prosecutorial abuse last summer in a bid to get grand jury transcripts before he was charged.
Trump’s Nuclear Documents Were Mixed with Post-Presidential Press Clippings
/128 Comments/in 2020 Presidential Election, Leak Investigations/by emptywheelThe Archives’ initial description of the 15 boxes Trump returned in January 2022 explain why NARA referred them for more investigation: Trump had buried a nuclear document among press clippings, some post-dating his presidency.
Trump’s White House Didn’t Archive Twitter DMs
/12 Comments/in 2020 Presidential Election, Leak Investigations/by emptywheelDocuments from Trump’s motion to compel in Florida remind of newly significant details of his White House’s failure to preserve tweets covered by the Presidential Records Act.
David Weiss Treats IRS Agents Who Accused Him of Misconduct as “Whistleblowers”
/7 Comments/in Hunter Biden/by emptywheelIn a bid to dismiss Hunter Biden’s Ninth Circuit appeal of Judge Scarsi’s denial of his motions to dismiss, David Weiss called the IRS agent media campaign “whistleblower disclosures.”
Trial Attention: Don’t Let a Pecker Distract from More Important Stories
/179 Comments/in 2016 Presidential Election, 2020 Presidential Election/by emptywheelBeware of getting entirely distracted by Trump’s trial from the many events that will have far more impact on US and world