Prof @FordhamLawNYC B"H JD/PhD History. “The People's Courts” Next: “Rise of the Prosecutor Politicians” "The Imaginary Unitary Executive" https://t.co/nifeHT604x
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Oct 9, 2018 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
1/ I just thought I'd tweet about U.S. anti-nepotism law today:
After Bobby Kennedy had served as JFK's attorney general, Congress passed a federal anti-nepotism law in 1967: "A public official may not appoint, employ, promote, advance, or advocate for appointment...
2/ "...employment, promotion, or advancement, in or to a civilian position in the agency in which he is serving or over which he exercises jurisdiction or control any individual who is a relative of the public official." law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/5/…
Oct 9, 2018 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
This article is wrong legally and politically.
Supreme Court Justices have life tenure, because "good behavior" tenure means life tenure. This "textualist" argument is silly, because constitutional textualism still relies on context and public meaning. 1/ newrepublic.com/article/151620…2/ There are so many sources, but let's start with Hamilton, Federalist 78: These are his caps, not mine:"All judges who may be appointed by the United States are to hold their offices DURING GOOD BEHAVIOR; which is conformable to the most approved of the State constitutions..."
Oct 8, 2018 • 9 tweets • 3 min read
1. The Trump/Alfa Bank server connection during the campaign wasn't random. 2. Trump and the GOP just appointed Brian Benczkowski, a lawyer who worked for Alfa Bank, to lead the DOJ's criminal division, and he refuses to recuse himself.
What the hell is going on here?
3. Must-read Filkins's New Yorker piece linked above. The Trump/Russia link is striking, and DeVos and Erik Prince are also implicated.
“And we thought, Why the hell is a Russian bank communicating with a server that belongs to the Trump Organization, and at such a rate?”...
Oct 7, 2018 • 5 tweets • 5 min read
Reminder #1: @nytimes cracked @realDonaldTrump's decades of criminal tax fraud.
Reminder #2: State Attorneys General have solid basis to use their #QuoWarranto powers to investigate and potentially dissolve the Trump Organization and LLCs. cc: @TishJames@NewYorkStateAG THREAD
2/ When it was unclear how to pursue #Emoluments suits against Trump because of standing problems in Feb. 2017, I wrote about the history of the powerful "quo warranto" writ and the statutory powers of state AGs to investigate corporate fraud. shugerblog.com/2017/02/09/sta…
Oct 7, 2018 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Democrats winning back the Senate in 2018 is possible. But people are overlooking how each of these 2018 races for taking back the Senate in 2021.
The 2020 Senate map is OK, but not great.
Every seat now brings control in 2020 a little closer. We need to work harder now. 1/2/ Senate is 51 R-49 D now. To win back the Senate, the Dems have to hold 5 red states (WV, ND, MT, MO, IN) + FL, and flip NV and AZ. If Dems lose in any of those states, they need to replace it with @BetoORourke in TX or @PhilBredesen in TN.
I'm hopeful, but not optimistic. 2/
Oct 5, 2018 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
This person giving a long speech about how sure she is that Roe and precedent are safe is the same person who was sure she got an amazing ACA fix for a huge tax cut for the super-rich.
How’s that working out for you, @SenatorCollins!
2/ @Dahlialithwick and I addressed Kavanaugh and Roe here. @SenatorCollins did not mention these remarkably clear speeches and decisions, which strongly signal the opposite. slate.com/news-and-polit…
Oct 5, 2018 • 10 tweets • 3 min read
Kavanaugh's partisan conspiracy rant was disqualifying.
Many claim that he threatened "revenge."
We need to be precise. He said, "What goes around comes around."
This may not be an explicit threat, but it was an injudicious statement creating a permanent appearance of bias. 1/2/ Here's the full passage. Soon after he said "This whole 2-week effort was a calculated and orchestrated political hit... Revenge on behalf of the Clintons," he said, "What goes around comes around."
This is patently unacceptable from a judge. washingtonpost.com/news/national/…
Oct 5, 2018 • 4 tweets • 3 min read
Kavanaugh update from @kasie & @GarrettHaake: @lisamurkowski: leaning no. @SenatorCollins was looking to get to yes, but had been troubled by Kav’s partisan anger in testimony. She felt “bullied” by anti-Kav callers. @JeffFlake: unknown, but felt FBI investigation was cover. 1/2/ @Sen_JoeManchin wants to vote yes as long as his vote doesn’t matter.
They didn’t mention @SenCoryGardner, a new undecided. Maybe the media isn’t taking him seriously, but I would. He is up in 2020, and Colorado went for Clinton by 4%.
Oct 4, 2018 • 7 tweets • 4 min read
Are you worried about the Supreme Court's upcoming double jeopardy case because it might allow Trump to pardon his way out of trouble?
It won't.
Don't fear it. Embrace it.
My new @Slate piece with @Teri_Kanefield: slate.com/news-and-polit…
cc:@AshaRangappa_@RDEliason@CBHessick2/ On Gamble v. U.S.: "Now that Mueller has so many major figures (Manafort, Flynn, Cohen) cooperating or facing a wide range of potential charges, the danger of pleas followed by leverage-removing pardons is probably inconsequential." @emptywheel@aravosis@joshgerstein
Oct 3, 2018 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
@JeffFlake said that if Kavanaugh lied to the committee, the nomination is over.
Then it should be over.
And not necessarily from his testimony relating to Prof. Ford.
He lied concretely about his illegal conduct during the Starr grand jury investigation. See links: 1/
2/ Feinstein explained: "I asked Judge Kavanaugh in questions for the record whether he had shared ‘information learned through grand jury proceedings.’ His answer, which says that he acted ‘consistent with the law,’ conflicts with the official memo..." politico.com/story/2018/09/…
2/ Trump mocked and misrepresented Ford, attributed her charges to “evil” people. The crowd reportedly chanted “Lock her up.”
This morning, @JeffFlake just called his conduct “appalling.”
A “yes” vote would also be appalling.
Here's a grand compromise proposal: 1. Withdraw Kavanaugh, allow him to return in peace to DC Cir. 2. Trump gets new nominee, Dems promise not to obstruct. 3. Congress investigates Ford leak, punish whomever leaked letter. 4. Dems promise to keep Court at 9 seats through 2025...
5. No more judges get confirmed for 2 years. 6. GOP passes bill protecting special counsel from firing and giving him full independence and funding.
Oct 1, 2018 • 9 tweets • 5 min read
This might - and I emphasize might - be straight-up perjury by Kavanaugh. But it needs: 1. Confirmation. 2. Two Republican Senators with a backbone and a conscience.
Both will be hard to find...
Sen. Flake in Boston now: “I am talking to the White House Counsel to make sure it’s a full investigation of all credible accusations. A fulsome investigation, not just cover.” 1/2/ Flake: “I didn’t like Kavanaugh’s partisan accusations and tone. I didn’t like how he treated my colleagues. But he came back and apologized to Sen Klobuchar and I understood why he was angry, if he had been falsely accused.”
Sep 30, 2018 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Overlooked: Don McGahn chose Kavanaugh and is protecting him.
But he may also be protecting *himself* by preventing questions about his own involvement (and Kav’s) w/ the monstrous plan by Ed Whelan to blame an innocent man, a former friend of Kavanaugh, a school teacher. 1/
2/ To review: It is implausible that Whelan and Leonard Leo magically came up with the identity of “Squi” and the details of Bethesda’s 17 year olds in 1982.
More plausible: Kavanaugh set up his innocent friend for this vile smear.
And McGahn helped.
Committee is voting first on nominee and then on delaying floor vote.
11-10 yes on committee vote.
But now debate on scheduling full Sebate floor vote only after 1 week FBI investigation.
Give a bit of credit to Flake on this request to delay for 1 week FBI investigation.
But once he saw @ChuckGrassley rushing immediate vote on nominee with no understanding of his request, and certainly no agreement, he should have stopped vote, or otherwise VOTED NO.
Sep 28, 2018 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
For the love of God. How do Flake's principles of "fairness and due process" line up with: 1. Rushing a vote today. 2. Preventing an FBI investigation. 3. Hiring a prosecutor to interrogate the victim, then stopping her once she starts finding holes in the accused's account...
4. Refusing to subpoena the witness who the victim says was in the room? 5. Giving the presumption in favor of the one who told an obvious series of falsehoods and misrepresentations under oath?
(Long thread with many links here)
Where is Chief Justice Roberts?
With his legitimacy on the line, he could simply ask for a pause and an FBI investigation.
In an extraordinary crisis, the ABA took this step after it’d given Kavanaugh its highest rating.
Roberts should look to Earl Warren‘s example from 1969. 1/2/ Justice Abe Fortas had been nominated to be chief. Evidence of unethical financial benefits emerged. It killed his elevation, and then Earl Warren persuaded his close friend to go a further step and resign entirely from the Court in 1969 (see Laura Kalman’s terrific book).
Sep 27, 2018 • 44 tweets • 14 min read
So now that we have about 20 areas of Kavanaugh’s misleading statements and failures of credibility as an adult (long thread w/ links below), I hope the Senators focus on the most relevant set for questions today: 1. Did you have any contact with Ed Whelan from Sept 14-18?
2. Did you have any contact with Leonard Leo from Sept. 14-18? (Of course he did. Kavanaugh was in the White House much of 9/17-18) 3. Given that you suggested a case of mistaken identity, did you suggest any suspects to Leo, McGahn, or anyone?
There is a Kavanaugh conspiracy theory: The GOP is pushing for him specifically because of a double jeopardy case on SCOTUS docket (Gamble), and he would give Trump the power to pardon his way out of trouble.
I've written often on this issue.
This theory doesn't make sense. 1/2/ The Gamble case will not impact whether Manafort, Flynn, and Cohen still face sufficient criminal liability. That's partly thanks to Mueller's strategy of saving some charges for the states, partly due to luck (see link), and... slate.com/news-and-polit…
Sep 25, 2018 • 35 tweets • 11 min read
I was going to try to put together a list of all of the falsehoods, implausible claims, and questionable conduct by Kavanaugh solely as an ADULT.
But it’s hard to keep up.
And I’m worried the thread would be so long it would break Twitter.
Hell with it. Let’s break Twitter. 1/2/ Let's keep this thread concise with links. Here is the @washingtonpost fact-checker. They gave him 3 Pinocchios on 3 different statements under oath for his use of documents stolen from Senate Democrats: washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/…
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