The thing with doj is that they can add charges, they can start with charge a then add b then f as time and circumstance moves on. I believe that is where they are with asking for info from Congress. They want to know what they can add.
I didn’t see that the panda was a panda. I thought the guy was a fan of Watchman and that was a shout-out to Rorschach. (That kind of tracks for a Republican.)
One thing that I’m wondering is whether Pence will show up in the hearings. It certainly seems like he would endorse everything they’re saying and - in terms of both cementing himself in history and doing everything he can to endorse the continued functioning of the nation as a place of the rule of law - it seems like a good move.
Another point that was made in an e-mail that I got today from the Atlantic magazine is that Donald Trump gave a lot of the “Third String” their chance in the sun. E.g., John Eastman and Jeffrey Clark were essentially just nobodies who got to play important roles because they were willing to do such outlandish things. (Along these lines, in the same meeting in the Oval Office where Trump was warned that there would be mass resignations at Justice if he appointed Clark as Acting AG, Acting Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue apparently told Clark, “You’re an environmental lawyer. How about you go back to your office, and we’ll call you when there’s an oil spill.”)
This certainly doesn’t describe everybody in Trump’s orbit but it does describe some of them.
Rachel Maddow pointed out that Herschmann was the lawyer who in Trump’s first impeachment trial was saying that they ought to be impeaching Obama. Just kind of giving you some perspective that although Herschmann comes off as a “good guy” in these hearings, it is really just in a comparative context (and also because he has a pretty “colorful” personality whichever side he is taking in a conflict). As Maddow says, Trump seems to favor his lawyers like Cohen, Herschmann, and Eastman that, as she sort of diplomatically put it, come with extra hot sauce.
Pretty good answer, but I think it’s going to be scant comfort for them as they rot in prison.
True enough! By the way, the e-mail (“newsletter”) from Atlantic that I referred to has been published here on their website: Trump’s Dangerous Wannabes - The Atlantic
There’s something quaint about all the talking heads reacting to the word “bullshit”. They’ll play Barr saying it, and either self-censor or get beeped if they quote him.
Seth Meyers explains this on his show. The relevant part starts at about 6:03 if it’s not queued up. Essentially, they can play Barr saying it because they’re reporting on news. If it’s used in a different manner, such as a punchline, it has to be censored.
oh nevermind
That’s a bullshit rule.
It is the bullshit rule.
has no one heard of the feminine version “cow patty” ?! that would cover the censors and be funny.
I want to see that as much as you, but I seriously doubt Pence will testify or be asked to do so.
First reason is that the best time for his testimony would have been yesterday, when the committee’s focus was on the pressure campaign against him. If he appears in a future session, he would simply be confirming (or denying) evidence that has already been presented.
Granted, that would be HUGE. A former Vice President testifying that the President he served had pressured him to break the law is unprecedented. Imagine Agnew testifying against Nixon about Watergate, or Bush against Reagan in Iran-Contra.
Unfortunately, as much as it would guarantee Pence’s place in the history books, it would be toxic to his future in the Republican party, which is the second reason this would not happen. He would be labeled a traitor by Trump’s supporters, which would be enough to guarantee that he never wins a Republican nomination for anything ever again.
Yup, Oaths don’t mean Jack Shit as demonstrated by the ‘Oath Keepers’.
Isn’t Pence already persona non grata for going ahead with the certification? Being derided by The Donald as a traitor to the cause? Held in contempt by enough of the rabid base to torpedo any chance he has of succeeding in a primary, let alone an election?
Cite? If they were subpoenas for these guys, we’d hear about it.
Exactly.
Garland is incompetent.
The word I used to describe him recently was feckless.
He’s definitely already dead to the nut-jobs fanatical enough to chant “Hang Mike Pence” inside the Capitol, but as long as Trump isn’t spitting bile at him, his goons will be focused on hating whoever is getting spat upon.
In the meantime, Pence just needs to lay low, wait for this all to blow over, and dodge the topic like his life depends on it. The majority of Republicans want to believe that January 6 was just a crowd of justifiably angry people that just got out of hand and didn’t really want to hurt anybody.
Maybe we can just start saying “billbarr” instead, as in “That’s a giant load of billbarr.”
“Don’t billbarr a billbarrer” etc.