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If only we could hear from the person who drafted the special counsel regulations, and have them weigh-in on why and how they were written, and provide some background on how they’ve been supported in court cases.

Oh look, we do have that — from Neal Katyal, who drafted the special counsel regulations in 1999 when he was with DOJ, prior to becoming the Acting Solicitor General of the U.S:

“Judge Aileen Cannon’s decision to throw out serious national-security criminal charges in the classified documents case against Donald Trump is legally unsupported, ignores decades of precedent and is deeply dangerous. // Her decision is quite unlikely to survive the tests of time, or even the appeal Mr. Smith plans to make to the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.” (Neal Katyal in NYT, 7/15/2024)

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/15/opinion/trump-court-classified-documents.html

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Well said!

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Apparently, Jack Smith has been waiting for her to do this. He is going to appeal, which I believe he has already filed, and the appeals court will no doubt remove her from the case. I listen to Meidastouch, and that's where I get my information from.

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And now, like Biden, she should bow out and allow someone who is much more mature and really cares about upstate N.Y. and it's constituents.

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Hopefully this is the beginning of the end of Elise.....Now that tRump has "abandoned" her. And, I would think the final nail in the coffin will be when tRump loses the election. Good riddance!!!

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I fear Rep. Stefanik will be with us for some time. I always thought she might end up with national GOP because she is such a prolific fundraiser.

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Hopefully, people realize she's a prolific idiot also.

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Unfortunately, not yet.

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Hopefully Cannon will not only be removed from the case...Is there any grounds for impeachment since it seems to be the preferred political "punishment" of the day..

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I don't think so.

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We will have to be content with eventually laughing at the ex-POTUS while he’s in prison. After he’s handily (and humiliatingly) defeated in November. This karma is gonna be a real….🫢

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You are right on that point! Stefanik has become the ultimate corrupt politician in “sucking up” to trump. The ultimate disgrace to her constituents.

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Thank you for the quick history of the special prosecutor as it related to Watergate. Seems a certain faction of the GOP has been up to insulating their president from criminal prosecution for awhile. Mostly criminal presidents of the GOP? Anyway, that Bork was then sent as a nominee to the Supreme Court, I remember, and not confirmed? The GOP have been trying to seat GOP-presidential power friendly justices for a longer time than I realized.

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I didn't realize Bork's role either.

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That’s right Bork was not confirmed. Ted Kennedy was Chairman of Judiciary Committee at the time. Since then Republicans refer to “unfair” hard questioning in Republican candidate confirmation hearings as being “Borked”

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Doubtful, indeed. It's hard to even read her "Newsletter". She usually refers to the former president as if he still holds the office. Shouting for transparency when she's cloaked in lies and deceit. She doesn't represent this voter.

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Not to worry about Elise. She passed the Trump loyalty test with flying colors. We may soon refer to her as Madame Cabinet Secretary. Aileen Cannon has earned her spot on SCOTUS. But who would replace Elise? My guess would be State Senator Stec. The 21st is a blood red district which became redder with redistricting.

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This is not a snowball's chance in hell that Trump is winning his "Kings anointing in 2024!

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Stec has disappointed me with his turn towards a more divisive tone. I remember years ago when local Republicans tried to “out” him for going to a Democratic politician’s kid’s graduation party, he rightly told them politics has nothing to do with friendship. I don’t know if he would take the same stand today.

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Stefanik showed fealty to Trump and Stec has shown fealty to Stefanik. You don't hear many GOP supervisors saying much about Stefanik.

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Dan Stec would be the expected choice, but the district has a long history of bringing outsiders like John Sweeney, Stefanik, Chris Gibson and even Kirsten Gillibrand.

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I was very disappointed In Dan Stec's supportive comments about Stefanik. I thought he had more integrity and good sense to vouch for an election denier and Trump supporter.

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Politics is often about selling your soul these days. Dan Stec could have done more good for the people if he had stayed in Warren County as chairman of the board of supervisors.

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As the old joke goes, a good lawyer knows the law, a great lawyer knows the judge. It is hard to believe in this day and age that 4 judges nominated by the defendant get to sit in judgement as if there is nothing to see here, move along. Never do they address the right or wrong of Trump's actions. Oh the good ol' days when republicans used to scream about criminals getting off on a "technicality" .

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I must apologize because this only tangentially concerns Stefanik, although I presume she was in the room where this happened. But this little snippet was in the Post Star today, and it just describes in a nutshell what is wrong with the Republican party:

“WASHINGTON — Republican leaders warned party members against using overtly racist and sexist attacks against Vice President Kamala Harris, as they and former President Donald Trump's campaign adjust to the reality of a new Democratic rival just months before Election Day.

At a closed-door meeting of House Republicans on Tuesday, National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Richard Hudson, R-N.C., urged lawmakers to stick to criticizing Harris for her role in Biden-Harris administration policies.

The admonitions came after some members and Trump allies cast Harris as a "DEI" hire — a reference to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Trump, in particular, has a history of racist and misogynistic attacks that could turn off key groups of swing voters.”

So this is who they are. They needed to call a closed door meeting to tell each other to not “overtly” use racist and misogynistic attacks (dog whistles are acceptable, I guess) because if voters knew how they really feel, they wouldn’t vote for them. They need to be dishonest in order to fake having some integrity. They are rotten through and through.

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This is the world Trump has brought to the GOP.

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Notice they’re not concerned with racist and misogynistic attacks turning off their core voters, only those all important swing voters. Their core voters apparently approve of that kind of behavior. I hope enough people see through their act. I think in the end they will.

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Thanks Ken for the tip on that Daily Beast article. I knew it had to be great with a John Oliver writer. I subscribe and somehow missed that. Can’t imagine how with the deluge of news lately. 😉

So funny that Stefanik got screwed over by Trump choosing the shillbilly that he’s now having buyer’s remorse over. I can’t stand her, but she would’ve been so much better a choice.

It’s ironic that one of Trump’s nitwit attacks on Harris is to call her “Laffin’ Kamala.” In the short while JD has been with us I’ve noticed this forced laughter thing he does. He and Trump were doing an interview with Jesse Watters. Trump says something and Vance does the phoniest suckup laugh along with it. Then there’s his pathetic “please laugh” moment with the diet Mountain Dew.

Elise dodged a bullet not being chosen. Vance’s life is going to be hell. His family’s is too and he’s the one putting them through it for his own ego. His wife is already being attacked by racists, you know Trump’s base.

I’m hopeful though that karma still has some comeuppances for Elise. ETTD and I can’t believe she’s fully paid the price yet.

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I’ll link to a great substack by Timothy Snyder on the selection of Vance. He’s writing that it was about the money. With Trump, quelle surprise! The tech bros bought Vance’s way onto the ticket. It’s delicious that Musk is now reneging on the $45 million a month and Trump is stuck with the shillbilly. The Old Man is losing his touch and getting taken himself.

This is from Snyder’s post and something I hadn’t thought about but is kinda obvious.

“Trump has been played by unreliable people, which could be uncomfortable for Vance. And Vance must understand that the Harris candidacy alters his own situation.

Instead of coasting to victory with Trump and waiting for him to die, Vance now must contemplate what it would mean to lose alongside Trump in November -- in an election angry Republicans have been trained to believe would be a landslide. Trump cannot blame the broligarchs or Putin, since he cannot admit that he needed the money and support of others. That leaves Vance as the scapegoat.

Vance must now imagine a world, about three months from now, in which Trump instructs his followers that Vance is to blame. Trump has driven Republicans out of the party by stochastic violence. He was ready to sacrifice the life of his last vice-president. If Vance leaves now, he will feel the heat for a moment, but can go back to his prior life. The longer Vance waits to leave the Trump ticket, the greater the risk of a scenario involving a stake.”

Stefanik may have gotten really lucky.

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Thank you for all the history. What we can see are those who stood up for justice and law (and were fired) and those who sold their soul for power--the cost of their betrayal is high--to themselves and to the world. Thank you, Ken....

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Can’t wait to see your play!!

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