36 Comments
author

Guys, please refrain from posting any legal conclusions here unless you are a licensed attorney and even then...maybe not.

Expand full comment

The years have taken a toll on our optimism & faith in things we used to take for granted. Before: No one is above the law. Now: Republicans ARE the law 😖

Expand full comment

I'll keep my mouth shut going forward.

Expand full comment
Mar 6, 2020Liked by Amee Vanderpool

This was so enlightening and nicely explained. Thank you! Glad to see this development. I remain hopeful.

Expand full comment
author

Thanks, Leah!

Expand full comment
Mar 6, 2020Liked by Amee Vanderpool

I share your newsletters on Mastodon then cross post to Twitter. Do you have a Mastodon handle I can credit?

Expand full comment
author

I meant no, I don't have a handle there;)

Expand full comment
author

No, sorry-just use my name and you're fine.

Expand full comment

YES !!! I hope Barr does prison timeover this !!!

Expand full comment

Barr has the option to resist any lawful demand just as all congressional subpoenas have gone unpunished. Why is this any different. Do we have the means by which to imprison him?

Expand full comment
author

He does not have the right to resist a court order. A Congressional Subpoena does not have the prison power that a court order does if Barr is held in contempt, which he will be if he just ignores the judge’s ruling. Barr will likely appeal the ruling, but he will not likely win that appeal or the next one. The law is firmly against him here. That is how this is different in a nutshell.

Expand full comment

Nope. He has the right. You lie.

Expand full comment

Good question

Expand full comment

Lock him up.

Expand full comment

Odds that Barr will never comply: 90-10.

Expand full comment
author

It's a court order-he'll go to jail if he doesn't.

Expand full comment

Who in the administration at the level Barr is at has ever gone to jail for contempt. Hell, Trumputin is essentially in contempt. Barr will just appeal and things will trickle on until Trumputin is removed ... that could be in 2024 for all we know.

Expand full comment
author

Contempt of court is VERY different than Contempt of Congress. You go to jail for the first one.

Expand full comment

That’s how it’s supposed to work

Expand full comment

Nope moron. You are uneducated.

Expand full comment

I think you’re being generous

Expand full comment
Mar 6, 2020Liked by Amee Vanderpool

This is not Congress. This is Federal Court.

Expand full comment

Hi Amee. Hope you are feeling better. Just wondering if there has been an update to this. Thank you. Again, hopefully you are past the peek of your COVID and on the mend. Stay strong Amiga❤

Expand full comment

Looks like our comments may have been infiltrated by a troll

Expand full comment

I now expect Trump to try to shut down the govt because CPAC attendees - his friends, admirers, and cult members - have been exposed to someone with the virus and that includes him. Perfect way to avoid almost everything plaguing him and eliminating any action against Barr. This, I admit, may be extreme negativism but almost anything is imaginable with this man.

Expand full comment

"especially considering that the Mueller Report did turn up evidence of contacts between people associated with the Trump campaign and Russia."

That made no sense what so ever.

The so called judge has not found anything wrong with the press conference. There is no contradiction except in your mind. The judge has zero right to read the complete report anyway.

Expand full comment

The Justice Department will appeal, and it will eventually reach the Supreme Court where, given the Court's current membership, this decision will be overturned. Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings..............

Expand full comment
author

I disagree with your legal assessment here, Ian.

Expand full comment

Why?

Expand full comment
author

I don’t agree that SCOTUS will necessarily overturn it-and you can’t either without knowing the complete details of the case.

Expand full comment

You're right; none of us know for sure, but I'm going to stand by my assertion. Let's play this out: One of two things is going to happen now. Either the Justice Department (which has in effect become our Dear Leader's publicly-paid law firm) will turn over the unredacted Muller report now that the Judge has ordered it (I doubt that it will) or it will ignore the Judge's Order and concurrently appeal the decision to the 4th DCA. I won't venture a guess as to what the Appellate Judges will do, seeing as I do not know the makeup of that Court, but either way, whoever loses will then file a Writ of Certiorari with the US Supreme Court. Given that the Supreme Court is now made up of four reactionary Justices (Gorsuch, Alito, Thomas, Kavanaugh) and one slightly squishy but generally conservative Justice (Roberts), I would submit that the odds are pretty strong that the Supreme Court will find some way to have this report remain in the Justice Department's hands.

Expand full comment
author

Walton is a Bush appointee which means he has a conservative background-his ruling was SCATHING. In order for an appeals court to overturn him, there is going to have to be substantial political bias that is somehow founded in something. I’m not sure Roberts is ready to take that step yet given that disclosing the entire report will not likely do much to hurt Trump or Barr at this point. Either way, we can’t assume anything-we have to wait and see.

Expand full comment

Meant to write "The MAJORITY on the Supreme Court is made up of......"

Expand full comment
Mar 6, 2020Liked by Amee Vanderpool

Are you an attorney, Ian. And what is your specialty?

Expand full comment

I am a litigator.

Expand full comment
Mar 6, 2020Liked by Amee Vanderpool

And it may take forever for all of the truth to come out, but it will come out. SCOTUS is what it is, but that does not mean it will be what it is forever.

Expand full comment