April 25, 2024
6 quotes from today's oral argument in Trump v. United States.
The implications of the Court's decision here extend far beyond the facts of this case. Could President George W. Bush have been sent to prison for... allegedly lying to Congress to induce war in Iraq? Could President Obama be charged with murder for killing U.S. citizens abroad by drone strike? Could President Biden someday be charged with unlawfully inducing immigrants to enter the country illegally for his border policies?
So what about President Franklin D. Roosevelt's decision to intern Japanese Americans during World War II? Couldn't that have been charged under 18 U.S.C. 241, conspiracy against civil rights?
3. Justice Gorsuch makes a brilliant suggestion. If Presidents didn't have immunity from prosecution, they could give themselves the equivalent by pardoning themselves on the way out. And note the reminder that Obama could be on the hook for those drone strike murders:
Listen to the live oral argument in Trump's immunity case.
ADDED: I've listened to the whole argument and have notes, but I need the transcript to write the things I have in mind, so please carry on the discussion without me.
AND: Here's what Adam Liptak wrote in the NYT:
"New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 conviction on felony sex crime charges.""
The NYT reports. Free access link.
In a 4-3 decision, the New York Court of Appeals found that the trial judge who presided over Mr. Weinstein’s case had made a crucial mistake, allowing prosecutors to call as witnesses a series of women who said Mr. Weinstein had assaulted them — but whose accusations were not part of the charges against him.
Citing that decision and others it identified as errors, the appeals court determined that Mr. Weinstein... had not received a fair trial....
Now it will be up to the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg — already in the midst of a trial against former President Donald J. Trump — to decide whether to seek a retrial of Mr. Weinstein....
If he is not retried, he still faces a 16-year sentence in California, where he was convicted of rape.
Here's the opinion. Excerpt:
"[T]ensions between the White House and the [New York] Times... had been bubbling beneath the surface for at least the last five years."
Writes Eli Stokols, in "Inside the NYT-White House Feud" (Politico).
"Please don’t speculate on who any of the real-life people could be. That’s not the point of our show."
"I hate that my tattoos are such a defining factor for me getting a job or not. Just because I have tattoos doesn’t mean I’m not going to be a good worker."
Said Ash Putnam, quoted in "Tattooed applicant claims she was denied TJ Maxx job over her ink, confronts store employees: ‘It’s so annoying’" (NY Post).
There's a big satanic tattoo on her throat and so much more."Out of control New York University protesters swarmed and berated an NYPD chief and his officers – calling them 'f–king fascists'..."
From "NYPD chief swarmed by anti-Israel protesters and berated while seeking shelter in NYU building" (NY Post)(video at link).
NYPD Assistant Chief James Mccarthy and a few officers are chased by protestors after making an arrest at NYU last night.
— Peter H (@peterhvideo) April 24, 2024
Mccarthy is seen attempting to get inside the NYU Catholic Center, but couldn't open the door. He eventually finds an unlocked door around the corner.… pic.twitter.com/WVVriOBbMP
"We think it may be to reduce competition and intimidation in the kinds of close-cooperation, within and between sexes, that’s required to make our complex, highly cooperative societies function."
April 24, 2024
"Biden and his supporters are intent on making Trump the Nelson Mandela of America."
Wow, that caught my eye, and not just because "I’m catching up on my fucking sleep ’cause I’m bored" is hilarious. Just this morning — and before reading that — I was saying, in conversation, that if Trump goes to jail the Trump movement will gain energy and "He'll become Nelson Mandela."
"We heard from employees who, because of noncompetes, were stuck in abusive workplaces."
Said FTC Chair Lina Khan, quoted in "U.S. bans noncompete agreements for nearly all jobs" (NPR).
The vote was 3 to 2 along party lines.... [The U.S. Chamber of Commerce] has vigorously opposed the ban, saying that noncompetes are vital to companies, by allowing them to better guard trade secrets, and employees, by giving employers greater incentive to invest in workforce training and development.
"I said: 'This is a terrible, toxic relationship, you and Trump. And you’ve got to break up.'"
"National Enquirer made up the story about Ted Cruz's father and Lee Harvey Oswald, former publisher says."
The paper had published a photo allegedly showing Cruz's father, Rafael Cruz, with Lee Harvey Oswald handing out pro-Fidel Castro pamphlets in New Orleans in 1963, not long before Oswald assassinated President John F. Kennedy....