Clarence Thomas is either truly as unclear on the laws as he claims and therefore does not belong on the court, or he knows exactly what he has been doing and he does not belong on the court. We'll get to him next, but I want to channel Jack Smith's focus.
And why O why hasn't this serial grifter been audited by the IRS? The man's reporting history practically begs for periodic if not annual auditing already!
The IRS lacks resources to expeditiously get after the really unconscionable chests. I think it’s possible the entire citizens United donor base falls into this category. It’s why the republicans are so outraged about Biden’s $80B+ increase in IRS funding.
I wonder if the justices are protected from audits? Would be embarrassing to the court to find out that a member of the highest court intentionally or inadvertently could not do their taxes right.
He could be reporting his financial information to the IRS correctly & complying with the rules, but not disclosing the correct financial information (for « gifts ») on the reporting as a judge. That’s not to say that he shouldn’t be audited by the IRS.
That Chief Justice John Roberts seems completely unconcerned about the damage to the reputation of the Supreme Court under his leadership and hasn't yet publicly reprimanded Associate Justice Thomas...says at least as much about Roberts as it does about the Thomases. The whole mess is unbelieveably shameful, but Chief Justice Roberts evidently doesn't posesses a conscience. Apparently the Federalist Society is careful to remove inconvenient integrity and moral compasses before offering the vetted judgeship candidates up for appointments.
He seems to lack not only a moral compass but a political one. More and more the chief justice is reminding me of the hapless Kevin McCarthy, who is in so far over his head and has no idea what to do about it.
I saw Roberts speak with about 1000 other people at a synagogue in NYC Oct 2019. The rabbi asked him about SCOTUS and politics. He LITERALLY with a straight face said, "SCOTUS isn't political." 1000 largely Jewish people laughed out loud and I know I said that's BULLSHIT.
I ponder this a lot, about Clarence Thomas and quite a few others. I'm guessing that they believe the laws and ethical constraints that apply to others don't apply to them. Louis XIV's "L'Etat c'est moi" (I am the state) keeps coming to mind. How they came to this conclusion I don't know. I don't know how they justify it to themselves, or whether they feel they have to. The self-centered self-righteousness is breathtaking -- and you're 100% right: "he does not belong on the court."
Aw, no fret. I’m a lifelong non-member of the Bar and don’t much need the Federal Rules in my daily toil. I know what in limine means, and Rule 12 just reassures me that not going to law school was a stellar decision by yours truly.
I am interested in including your poem in my forthcoming Indicting the 45th President: Boss Trump, the GOP, and What We Can Do About the Threat to American Democracy. If you are interested in doing so and/or have any questions about doing so, then please email me at gbarak@emich.edu and we can arrange for this. Thank you, Gregg
The audacity of Trump and his advisors is a result of decades of others in our system getting by without notice or at least without being held responsible.
Considering that Trump always accuses Democrats of doing whatever he's been doing himself, I wonder if he has a personal "deep state" hidden in our government.
If you look at sooooo many of his appointees sprinkled throughout government agencies, the answer is yes. But the orange pustule did not think up any plans himself, he has had a cadre of government-destroying slugs milling about him for decades.....I immediately think of Bannon, Miller, omg SO MANY
Even we (retired) attorneys benefit from your review of Rule 12 and your clear explanation of motions in limine. Aside from the political urgency, I find these criminal cases legally fascinating. I truly respect the expertise of the federal & state prosecutors bringing these charges, and I marvel at their bravery in the face of the threats they face from extremists in our country.
That was really good for me today Joyce - me being a non- lawyer by trade.
Maybe somewhere you could address why Alabama does not automatically have to comply with an SC ruling. Why is there even a hearing. And what happens in the event the three panel of judges does not order compliance.
Yes. But we are actually here where there is open defiance of an SC order AND strangely enough there is actually a process to now discuss it. It’s bizarre.
hmm...could that possibly be related to the fact that SCOTUS has cooked its own goose on the credibility issue? Do other justice systems now wish to check their reasoning against established law, since at least 3 of them have broken their confirmation assurances about stare decisis? Are they no longer the final word on constitionality? Are they slowly sinking into the swamp?
Great question. If they don’t isn’t it unconstitutional? They are trying to set a precedent for other states to follow suit. And I’m wondering whether there is any recourse within the law to stop these injustices😡
This is "Resistance" redux, per Southern-state pushback of Brown v Board of Education, where many "Old Confederacy" states for years implemented workarounds to desegregation and maintenance of "separate but equal"...remember the all-white "academies"? And again here we see pushback, delay, stalling, and outright disobedience of a SCOTUS decision. Let's hope the federal courts quickly disabuse AL politicians - and any other state potentially affected by Milligan - to get with the program pronto, or suffer the consequences...enough is enough!
Always the question, back in the day federal marshals backed up Brown...in this case of flaunting the Court's redistricting order, the three-judge panel appealed to may well put some teeth into enforcement of Milligan, but as you say, we wait.
My understanding is that they don't make laws (I say that loosely), but rather interpret them. We knew it was just a matter of time before a state ignored them.
Thank you. I think we're all essentially in law school these days, just trying to keep up with the news.
I like the graphic with your tweet about Clarence Thomas. The little airplanes zipping around his head remind me of the fly that landed on Pence's head during the VP debate. Both the fly and the planes show there's a problem with how that person is thinking. I wanted SNL to do a sketch where Kamala Harris (Maya Rudolph) crossed the stage during the debate and smacked the fly off of Pence's head with a copy of the US Constitution, saying: "Live from New York...."
But seriously, thank you so much for talking us through the details of these indictments. If only it were a comedy.
i'll reserve my comments to the end of at least ONE of trump's trials. I dearly hope that the Judges in all these cases have a good long talk with the Jurors warning them to contact the court if anyone offers them a bribe, threatens them or their families, and the consequences of taking a bribe. the end.
Curious if any other indictments stemming from DC Grand Jury could be tried separately or do all co conspirators have to be linked to this trial? Also, is there a statute of limitations on Seditious Conspiracy or could that also be charged later, if the evidence supports?
Reporting to the IRS on your income is different than reporting « gifts » on your reporting as a judge. You could report your total income correctly & pay your taxes in full in compliance with the law, and still hide « gifts » in reporting as a judge. Many times IRS « gifts » are taxable to the giver, not the receiver. There are special rules if a corporation pays educational gifts for an individual. It gets complicated, as much of the IRS is.
We don’t know that these gifts were not reported correctly. For example, the payment of educational expenses for Justice Thomas’s nephew was made through a corporation, which is not considered income by the IRS, thus not income to the Justice or his nephew.
I am in favor of audits for all the Justices. It’s just that tax law & reporting law have different requirements.
That is true, but I suspect Thomas has had additional income that he has not claimed. It certainly sounds like it. I do think that all politicians should be audited and that should be a special department of the IRS. So, can ProPublica access the tax records of the donors and the Supreme Court Justices? Is this part of the public record?
Well then that is a bill that Congress should introduce. Of course they probably won't. It might help to have incomes aired. Let struggling constituents see the wealth of their elected representatives laid out, and of the courts.
What's to keep Trump from purposely doing or saying something early in the trial that would on the face of it call for a mistrial? What sanctions could be imposed? If his strategy is to delay, I doubt he would worry about the sort of consequences most of us might try to avoid.
like I just said...up is down, black is white, a mistrial might be his best chance to avoid the ankle bracelets; judicial "failure" is a get out of jail free card, which is what he wants most, if not a "pass go, collect $200 million" card.
I believe he is utterly aware of his jeopardy and is often overcome by his various mental illnesses as well as trying to take advantage of every possible loophole pointed out to him. But his handlers have as much trouble with him as everyone else in the country. His mental illness genuinely controls everything.
wish you had a "love" button besides just the like button.
As always, thank you for your clarity.
Clarence Thomas is either truly as unclear on the laws as he claims and therefore does not belong on the court, or he knows exactly what he has been doing and he does not belong on the court. We'll get to him next, but I want to channel Jack Smith's focus.
Ask Anita Hill if he’s dumb or just has total disregard for judicial integrity’
And why O why hasn't this serial grifter been audited by the IRS? The man's reporting history practically begs for periodic if not annual auditing already!
Exactly my thoughts. Is the IRS like the FBI in that for some individuals they use a light touch? Inequality is a part of the mix driving Trump fans.
The IRS lacks resources to expeditiously get after the really unconscionable chests. I think it’s possible the entire citizens United donor base falls into this category. It’s why the republicans are so outraged about Biden’s $80B+ increase in IRS funding.
You nailed it, Jen Andrews! :-)
I just don’t understand why he can’t be disbarred for such unethical behavior. He is, after all, a lawyer!
I wonder if the justices are protected from audits? Would be embarrassing to the court to find out that a member of the highest court intentionally or inadvertently could not do their taxes right.
He could be reporting his financial information to the IRS correctly & complying with the rules, but not disclosing the correct financial information (for « gifts ») on the reporting as a judge. That’s not to say that he shouldn’t be audited by the IRS.
That Chief Justice John Roberts seems completely unconcerned about the damage to the reputation of the Supreme Court under his leadership and hasn't yet publicly reprimanded Associate Justice Thomas...says at least as much about Roberts as it does about the Thomases. The whole mess is unbelieveably shameful, but Chief Justice Roberts evidently doesn't posesses a conscience. Apparently the Federalist Society is careful to remove inconvenient integrity and moral compasses before offering the vetted judgeship candidates up for appointments.
He seems to lack not only a moral compass but a political one. More and more the chief justice is reminding me of the hapless Kevin McCarthy, who is in so far over his head and has no idea what to do about it.
I saw Roberts speak with about 1000 other people at a synagogue in NYC Oct 2019. The rabbi asked him about SCOTUS and politics. He LITERALLY with a straight face said, "SCOTUS isn't political." 1000 largely Jewish people laughed out loud and I know I said that's BULLSHIT.
The laugh track on that should go viral.
It was amazing that he thought a room full of liberal democrats was going to buy what he was selling.
I ponder this a lot, about Clarence Thomas and quite a few others. I'm guessing that they believe the laws and ethical constraints that apply to others don't apply to them. Louis XIV's "L'Etat c'est moi" (I am the state) keeps coming to mind. How they came to this conclusion I don't know. I don't know how they justify it to themselves, or whether they feel they have to. The self-centered self-righteousness is breathtaking -- and you're 100% right: "he does not belong on the court."
That's how I feel about Maine's Senator Susan Collins either too dumb or too sycophantic to represent us.
Joyce, thank you for returning to an earlier posting to re-explain Rule 12 and limine!
My apologies for not doing it originally. I had meant to, but it got away from me, and was so glad to have the opportunity to take it back up!
Aw, no fret. I’m a lifelong non-member of the Bar and don’t much need the Federal Rules in my daily toil. I know what in limine means, and Rule 12 just reassures me that not going to law school was a stellar decision by yours truly.
hahahahaha! Always nice to have unintended confirmation of a life choice!
Ah yes, Federal procedure, all the fun of the UCC without the poetry.
If Trump is winning
Americans are losing
It’s a simple equation
That needs no explanation
They hold him as hero
When he is absolutely zero
No ethics no morals no character
or Grace
We all know that he should not even be in the race
A conman a grifter a bully -soon to be
Indicted x 4
And we wish that Republicans would show him the door
But they are weak and spineless and
clamor to kiss his ring
He incites violence caused an insurrection
That is his thing
He said in his inauguration speech the carnage stops here stops now
And in the WhiteHouse we should never him
allow
Well done!☮️
Eni,
I am interested in including your poem in my forthcoming Indicting the 45th President: Boss Trump, the GOP, and What We Can Do About the Threat to American Democracy. If you are interested in doing so and/or have any questions about doing so, then please email me at gbarak@emich.edu and we can arrange for this. Thank you, Gregg
EG-- Thank you for the permission and when I opened it on my desktop rather than my smart phone the line thing as the end was fine. GB
Raising money off of false claims of voter fraud violates federal law. Who knew? 😊
The audacity of Trump and his advisors is a result of decades of others in our system getting by without notice or at least without being held responsible.
Considering that Trump always accuses Democrats of doing whatever he's been doing himself, I wonder if he has a personal "deep state" hidden in our government.
If you look at sooooo many of his appointees sprinkled throughout government agencies, the answer is yes. But the orange pustule did not think up any plans himself, he has had a cadre of government-destroying slugs milling about him for decades.....I immediately think of Bannon, Miller, omg SO MANY
Thank you for your ability to make legalese understandable. 😎
Even we (retired) attorneys benefit from your review of Rule 12 and your clear explanation of motions in limine. Aside from the political urgency, I find these criminal cases legally fascinating. I truly respect the expertise of the federal & state prosecutors bringing these charges, and I marvel at their bravery in the face of the threats they face from extremists in our country.
That was really good for me today Joyce - me being a non- lawyer by trade.
Maybe somewhere you could address why Alabama does not automatically have to comply with an SC ruling. Why is there even a hearing. And what happens in the event the three panel of judges does not order compliance.
That would be outrageous !
Yes. But we are actually here where there is open defiance of an SC order AND strangely enough there is actually a process to now discuss it. It’s bizarre.
hmm...could that possibly be related to the fact that SCOTUS has cooked its own goose on the credibility issue? Do other justice systems now wish to check their reasoning against established law, since at least 3 of them have broken their confirmation assurances about stare decisis? Are they no longer the final word on constitionality? Are they slowly sinking into the swamp?
"slowly" is a generous choice of descriptive.
Great question. If they don’t isn’t it unconstitutional? They are trying to set a precedent for other states to follow suit. And I’m wondering whether there is any recourse within the law to stop these injustices😡
This is "Resistance" redux, per Southern-state pushback of Brown v Board of Education, where many "Old Confederacy" states for years implemented workarounds to desegregation and maintenance of "separate but equal"...remember the all-white "academies"? And again here we see pushback, delay, stalling, and outright disobedience of a SCOTUS decision. Let's hope the federal courts quickly disabuse AL politicians - and any other state potentially affected by Milligan - to get with the program pronto, or suffer the consequences...enough is enough!
Agreed. But…. What are the consequences. That’s my question. And we wait.
Always the question, back in the day federal marshals backed up Brown...in this case of flaunting the Court's redistricting order, the three-judge panel appealed to may well put some teeth into enforcement of Milligan, but as you say, we wait.
My understanding is that they don't make laws (I say that loosely), but rather interpret them. We knew it was just a matter of time before a state ignored them.
Thank you. I think we're all essentially in law school these days, just trying to keep up with the news.
I like the graphic with your tweet about Clarence Thomas. The little airplanes zipping around his head remind me of the fly that landed on Pence's head during the VP debate. Both the fly and the planes show there's a problem with how that person is thinking. I wanted SNL to do a sketch where Kamala Harris (Maya Rudolph) crossed the stage during the debate and smacked the fly off of Pence's head with a copy of the US Constitution, saying: "Live from New York...."
But seriously, thank you so much for talking us through the details of these indictments. If only it were a comedy.
Isn’t it? A dark comedy.
i'll reserve my comments to the end of at least ONE of trump's trials. I dearly hope that the Judges in all these cases have a good long talk with the Jurors warning them to contact the court if anyone offers them a bribe, threatens them or their families, and the consequences of taking a bribe. the end.
A civil society should not tolerate threats to anyone.
The GOP is the party of lawless disorder.
So much at stake for the government and the people. A battle to the end. All because of one very unstable and insecure man.
And millions of uninformed, apparently ineducable followers who vote.
Curious if any other indictments stemming from DC Grand Jury could be tried separately or do all co conspirators have to be linked to this trial? Also, is there a statute of limitations on Seditious Conspiracy or could that also be charged later, if the evidence supports?
I understand why the justice department steps in, but I do not understand why the IRS is not going after Clarence Thomas and Alito for tax fraud.
Reporting to the IRS on your income is different than reporting « gifts » on your reporting as a judge. You could report your total income correctly & pay your taxes in full in compliance with the law, and still hide « gifts » in reporting as a judge. Many times IRS « gifts » are taxable to the giver, not the receiver. There are special rules if a corporation pays educational gifts for an individual. It gets complicated, as much of the IRS is.
However, someone either the giver or the receiver should be in trouble with the IRS for these unreported gifts.
We don’t know that these gifts were not reported correctly. For example, the payment of educational expenses for Justice Thomas’s nephew was made through a corporation, which is not considered income by the IRS, thus not income to the Justice or his nephew.
I am in favor of audits for all the Justices. It’s just that tax law & reporting law have different requirements.
That is true, but I suspect Thomas has had additional income that he has not claimed. It certainly sounds like it. I do think that all politicians should be audited and that should be a special department of the IRS. So, can ProPublica access the tax records of the donors and the Supreme Court Justices? Is this part of the public record?
I think that access to tax records is restricted.
Well then that is a bill that Congress should introduce. Of course they probably won't. It might help to have incomes aired. Let struggling constituents see the wealth of their elected representatives laid out, and of the courts.
History will not look kindly at the complication and inequality of our tax system.
These "Week Ahead" messages are so helpful. Let's all stay focused and keep puttin' one foot in front of another.
In Pa we're focused on removing by vote a GOP majority in our state supreme court. Nov 7th can't come soon enough for me!
What's to keep Trump from purposely doing or saying something early in the trial that would on the face of it call for a mistrial? What sanctions could be imposed? If his strategy is to delay, I doubt he would worry about the sort of consequences most of us might try to avoid.
like I just said...up is down, black is white, a mistrial might be his best chance to avoid the ankle bracelets; judicial "failure" is a get out of jail free card, which is what he wants most, if not a "pass go, collect $200 million" card.
Jarred Kushner has his hand on three billion dollars. Anyone think some crumbs may drop in Trump's path?
He and his "wife" make my skin crawl.
This is a great breakdown of JK's criming https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8Na5c7J/
I believe he is utterly aware of his jeopardy and is often overcome by his various mental illnesses as well as trying to take advantage of every possible loophole pointed out to him. But his handlers have as much trouble with him as everyone else in the country. His mental illness genuinely controls everything.
Great question!