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Bragg did a really good letter to that criminal Jordon in which emptywheel noted some important points. Not quite the love letter, but the most beautiful, most amazing, best letter one could see. In other words, telling Jordon to sit back down and shut the f*#!k up. "Honorable" would not be the description I would give, but I understand his professionalism.
emptywheel
@emptywheel
This letter from Bragg to Jordan is really a work of art. Others have noted the strong pushback. Note, too, the suggestion that Jordan et al were "collaborating" in threats of violence with the unlawful attempt to interfere.
https://twitter.com/emptywheel/status/1641824257503010816
DISTRICT ATTORNEY
COUNTY OF NEW YORK
ONE HOGAN PLACE
New York, N. Y. 10013
(212) 335-9000
ALVIN L. BRAGG, JR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY
March 31, 2023
By email
The Honorable Jim Jordan
Chairman, House Committee on the Judiciary
The Honorable Bryan Steil
Chairman, House Committee on House Administration
The Honorable James Comer
Chairman, House Committee on Oversight and Accountability
Dear Chairman Jordan, Chairman Steil, and Chairman Comer:
Yesterday, the District Attorney of New York County filed charges against Donald Trump for violations of New York law.1 The charges filed yesterday were brought by citizens of New York, doing their civic duty as members of a grand jury, who found probable cause to accuse Mr. Trump of having committed crimes in New York.
Like any other defendant, Mr. Trump is entitled to challenge these charges in court and avail himself of all processes and protections that New York State’s robust criminal procedure affords. What neither Mr. Trump nor Congress may do is interfere with the ordinary course of proceedings in New York State. Your first letter made an unprecedented request to the District Attorney for confidential information about the status of the state grand jury investigation—now indictment— of Mr. Trump. Your second letter asserts that, by failing to provide it, the District Attorney somehow failed to dispute your baseless and inflammatory allegations that our investigation is politically motivated. That conclusion is misleading and meritless. We did not engage in a point-by-point rebuttal of your letter because our Office is legally constrained in how it publicly discusses pending criminal proceedings, as prosecutorial offices are across the country and as you well know. That secrecy is critical to protecting the privacy of the target of any criminal investigation as well as the integrity of the independent grand jury’s proceedings.2
_____________________________________________________
1 The charges contained in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
2 See, e.g., McKeever v. Barr, 920 F.3d 842, 844 (D.C. Cir. 2019) (“The Supreme Court has long maintained that the proper functioning of our grand jury system depends upon the secrecy of grand jury proceedings. That secrecy safeguards vital interests in (1) preserving the willingness and candor of witnesses called before the grand jury; (2) not alerting the target
The Honorable Jim Jordan, et al.
March 31, 2023
Page 2 of 6
The Committees Lack Jurisdiction to Oversee a State Criminal Prosecution
Your recent letter states that the purpose of your inquiry is to conduct “an examination of the facts” relating to the investigation of Mr. Trump.3 But Congress has no warrant for interfering with individual criminal investigations—much less investigations conducted by a separate sovereign. See United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549, 561 (1995) (“Under our federal system, the States possess primary authority for defining and enforcing the criminal law.”); Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37, 44 (1971) (“This underlying reason for restraining courts of equity from interfering with criminal prosecutions is reinforced by an even more vital consideration, the notion of ‘comity,’ that is, a proper respect for state functions.”); cf. Gamble v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 1960 (2019) (recognizing state sovereign interests in the criminal justice context). The Committees’ attempted interference with an ongoing state criminal investigation—and now prosecution—is an unprecedented and illegitimate incursion on New York’s sovereign interests.
Moreover, your examination of the facts of a single criminal investigation, for the supposed purpose of determining whether any charges against Mr. Trump are warranted, is an improper and dangerous usurpation of the executive and judicial functions. See Trump v. Mazars USA, LLP, 140 S. Ct. 2019, 2032 (2020) (“Congress may not issue a subpoena for the purposes of ‘law enforcement’ because “those powers are assigned under our Constitution to the Executive and the Judiciary.”); Plaut v. Spendthrift Farm, Inc., 514 U.S. 211, 219, 224 (1995) (“The Framers of our Constitution lived among the ruins of a system of intermingled legislative and judicial powers” and accordingly created a system that separated “the legislative power to make general law from the judicial power to apply that law in particular cases.”). Even worse, based on your reportedly close collaboration with Mr. Trump in attacking this Office and the grand jury process,4 it appears you are acting more like criminal defense counsel trying to gather evidence for a client than a legislative body seeking to achieve a legitimate legislative objective.
The Committees’ Vague and Shifting Legislative Purpose is Insufficient
You suggest that your request has a valid legislative purpose because Congress may consider legislation to shield former presidents from state criminal investigations for “personal acts” that do not involve their conduct in office. You did not identify any such legislative purpose in your initial letter, suggesting that your proposal to “insulate current and former presidents”
______________________________________
of an investigation who might otherwise flee or interfere with the grand jury; and (3) preserving the rights of a suspect who might later be exonerated.” (citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted)); People v. DiNapoli, 27 N.Y.2d 229, 235 (1970) (identifying five policy reasons for maintaining the secrecy of grand jury proceedings). 3 See also The Lead with Jake Tapper, CNN, Mar. 26, 2023 (https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2023/03/26/sotu- rep-comer-full.cnn) (Comer: “[Bragg] should come explain to us exactly what he’s investigating”). 4 Annie Grayer et al., Inside the backchannel communications keeping Donald Trump in the loop on Republican investigations, CNN.com (March 28, 2023), https://tinyurl.com/mr3n675p.
The Honorable Jim Jordan, et al.
March 31, 2023
Page 3 of 6
from state criminal investigations is a baseless pretext to interfere with our Office’s work.5 Indeed, we doubt that Congress would have authority to place a single private citizen— including a former president or candidate for president—above the law or to grant him unique protections, such as removal to federal court, that are unavailable to every other criminal defendant. “[E]very President takes office knowing that he will be subject to the same laws as all other citizens upon leaving office. This is a feature of our democratic republic, not a bug.” Comm. on Ways and Means v. U.S. Dep’t of Treasury, 45 F.4th 324, 338 (D.C. Cir. 2022).
Even if you were seriously considering such legislation and had the constitutional authority to enact it (which you do not), your request for information from the District Attorney and his former attorneys concerning an ongoing criminal probe is unnecessary and unjustified. Congress has many sources from which it could seek information on the wisdom of this legislation, including from former federal or state prosecutors not involved in this pending matter. The “unique constitutional position” our Constitution affords the states with respect to the criminal law “means that Congress may not look” to active state investigations “as a ‘case study’ for general legislation.” Trump, 140 S. Ct. at 2035-36 (2020). Likewise, it is unclear what pertinence the requested documents have to Congress’s evaluation of whether to grant a former president or presidential candidate with immunity from prosecution for state crimes. The documents and information relating to the pending criminal case would be relevant only if Congress is intending to specifically prevent this prosecution—an intent that you purport to disclaim.6
The DA’s Office Uses Limited Federal Funds to Effectively Fight Crime & Help Victims
The Committees’ initial rationale for its inquiry related to this Office’s use of federal funds. Over the last decade and a half, this Office has contributed to the federal fisc. Indeed, the DA’s Office has helped the Federal Government secure more than one billion dollars in asset forfeiture funds in the past 15 years. The DA’s Office receives only a small fraction of those forfeited funds.
____________________________________________
5 This concern is heightened given that some committee members have explicitly stated an intent to interfere with the state proceeding. For example, responding to Trump’s statement that he would be arrested, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene stated that “Republicans in Congress MUST subpoena these communists and END this! We have the power to do it and we also have the power to DEFUND their salaries and departments!”, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@ RepMTG), Twitter (Mar. 18, 2023, 8:59 AM), https://twitter.com/RepMTG/status/1637076244708614144, and that Republicans who “do nothing to stop” the prosecution “will be exposed to the people and will be remembered, scorned, and punished by the base”, Rep. Marjorie Tylor Greene (@mtgreenee), Twitter (Mar. 18, 2023, 7:57 AM) https://twitter.com/mtgreenee/status/1637060574314917888. See also Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@realannapaulina), Twitter (Mar. 18, 2023, 3:42 PM), https://twitter.com/realannapaulina/status/1637177616225501191 (“Pay attention to who is being silent on what is currently happening to Trump.”). 6 Letter from Rep. Jim Jordan, H. Comm. on the Judiciary, et al. to Hon. Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., District Attorney, New York County (March 23, 2023) at 7 (asserting that “the Committees’ oversight will in no way ‘stop [the] prosecution or set limits on the management of a particular case”).
The Honorable Jim Jordan, et al.
March 31, 2023
Page 4 of 6
Our review of the Office’s records reflect that, of the federal forfeiture money that the Office helped collect, approximately $5,000 was spent on expenses incurred relating to the investigation of Donald J. Trump or the Trump Organization. These expenses were incurred between October 2019 and August 2021. Most of those costs are attributed to the Supreme Court case, Trump v. Vance—subpoena-related litigation in which the DA’s Office prevailed and which led to the indictment and conviction of Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg and two Trump organizations. No expenses incurred relating to this matter have been paid from funds that the Office receives through federal grant programs.
Federal Grant Programs
Currently, the DA’s Office participates in three federal grant programs relating to our casework.7 Award letters relating to these programs are attached. The Office can provide additional documentation regarding these grants on a rolling basis to be agreed upon in the previously requested meet and confer.
Stop Violence Against Women Act Program. The DA’s Office receives $50,000 in federal grant money yearly via New York State’s Division of Criminal Justice Services during our current award period, which runs from January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2025, for work to hold accountable those who commit acts of violence against women. These funds are used to help pay a portion of the salaries for senior positions in the Special Victims Division of the Office, including those who prosecute the most serious acts of violence and who directly interface and help victims of crime through the process. We note that, according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, New York has the third lowest rate of domestic violence victimization for women of all 50 states.8
Victims of Crime Act, Victim and Witness Assistance Grant Program. The DA’s Office receives $583,111.04 in federal grant money yearly during our current award period, which runs from October 1, 2022, to September 30, 2025, from the Victims of Crime Act Victim and Witness Assistance Grant Program, which is sub-granted from the federal government through the New York State Office of Victim Services to our Office. All these funds are used by our Witness Aid Services Unit (WASU). WASU provides a variety of court-related services, social services, and counseling services designed to meet the needs of crime victims, witnesses, and their families. The Unit also provides information related to the prosecution of the case, assists victims in understanding the criminal justice system, and provides information regarding crime victims’ rights. WASU ensures that crime victims, witnesses, and their families can access the
_____________________________________
7 In addition, to support the Federal Government’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program, the DA’s Office receives funds and acts as the financial fiduciary recipient for grant funding for the New York/New Jersey HIDTA. Expenditure of these funds is directed by an executive board of law enforcement partners; the DA’s Office does not control decision-making on the use of these funds. 8 National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, State-By-State Statistics, available at: https://ncadv.org/state-by-state.
The Honorable Jim Jordan, et al.
March 31, 2023
Page 5 of 6
services they need to address their trauma and rebuild their lives, while also helping them navigate New York’s complex court system. All these efforts help make our city safer; by ensuring victims participate in court processes, they help hold those who commit crimes accountable for their actions, and by addressing trauma they help prevent future criminality. Our Office’s focus on public safety in every aspect of our work, including WASU, is one thing that helps explain why an expert analysis of the overall impact of the cost of crime per resident, taking into account the cost of both violent and property crime, found New York City the fifth safest large city in America.
9 Department of Justice, Justice Assistance Grant. The DA’s Office receives $204,730 in federal grant money during our current award period, which runs from October 1, 2020, to September 30, 2024, from the Department of Justice’s Justice Assistance Grant program which is sub-granted from the City of New York. These funds go towards addressing violent and other felony crimes in our jurisdiction. With the help of these funds, New York City has the fifth lowest rate of homicides of the top 50 most populated cities in the United States.10
* * *
Finally, as you are no doubt aware, former President Trump has directed harsh invective against District Attorney Bragg and threatened on social media that his arrest or indictment in New York may unleash “death & destruction.” As Committee Chairmen, you could use the stature of your office to denounce these attacks and urge respect for the fairness of our justice system and for the work of the impartial grand jury. Instead, you and many of your colleagues have chosen to collaborate with Mr. Trump’s efforts to vilify and denigrate the integrity of elected state prosecutors and trial judges and made unfounded allegations that the Office’s investigation, conducted via an independent grand jury of average citizens serving New York State, is politically motivated. See, e.g., Annie Grayer et al., Inside the backchannel communications keeping Donald Trump in the loop on Republican investigations, CNN.com (March 28, 2023), https://tinyurl.com/mr3n675p (“House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik . . . and Trump spoke several times last week alone, where she walked him through the GOP’s plans for an aggressive response to Bragg.”). We urge you to refrain from these inflammatory accusations, withdraw your demand for information, and let the criminal justice process proceed without unlawful political interference.
___________________________________________
9 Deb Gordon, Safest Cities In America 2023: Violent Crime Rate Increases Drive Per Capita Cost of Crime, available at https://www.moneygeek.com/living/safest-cities/, analyzing 263 cities with populations of over 100,000 using FBI data and relying on academic measurement of the cost of crime to society.
10 Bloomberg News analysis of murder rates in the top 50 most populated cities in America, using data from the Major Cities Chiefs Association, Federal Bureau of Investigation, local police departments, media reports, and the US Census Bureau, available at: https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-03-03/pandemic-murder-wave-has-crested- here-s-the-postmortem.
The Honorable Jim Jordan, et al.
March 31, 2023
Page 6 of 6
If you will not withdraw your request, we reiterate our willingness to meet and confer with you or your staff about how we can accommodate your request without violating our obligations as prosecutors to protect the integrity of an ongoing criminal prosecution. We respectfully request that you provide us with a list of questions you wish to ask District Attorney Bragg and to describe the type of documents you think we could produce that would be relevant to your inquiry without violating New York grand jury secrecy rules or interfering with the criminal case now before a court. We trust you will make a good-faith effort to reach a negotiated resolution before taking the unprecedented and unconstitutional step of serving a subpoena on a district attorney for information related to an ongoing state criminal prosecution.
Respectfully Submitted,
Leslie B. Dubeck
General Counsel
cc: Honorable Jerrold Nadler, Ranking Member, Committee on the Judiciary
Honorable Joseph Morelle, Ranking Member, Committee on House Administration
Honorable Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member, Committee on Oversight and Accountability
Majority Staff, Committee on the Judiciary
Minority Staff, Committee on the Judiciary
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23735838-230331-bragg-response-jordan
APPEALING? That's nice.
Must have heard about Traitor Trumps indictment;
Have you ever seen a jump like this? pic.twitter.com/AUkHsuc70G
— Gabriele Corno (@Gabriele_Corno) March 31, 2023
Oh, and DeSantis also said: "The state of Florida will not assist with an extradition request".
On MSNBC, Joy Reid--who seems not to have had time to get makeup done--just said solemnly, "This is not a joyful occasion..."
Wanna bet??
Hilary right now #TrumpIndictment pic.twitter.com/omSYCHpnzA
— Janey Godley (@JaneyGodley) March 30, 2023
Traitor Trump says; STOP THE COUNT!
CNN Analyst Says NYPD Has Ordered Every Cop In The City Of Every Rank To ‘Show Up In Uniform Tomorrow’
By Tommy ChristopherMar 30th, 2023, 7:39 pm
https://www.mediaite.com/crime/cnn-analyst-says-nypd-has-ordered-every-cop-in-the-city-of-every-rank-to-show-up-in-uniform-tomorrow/
I'm sure it will entail more than just the city's officers.
Saw that, was trying to find confirmation. Still sealed, but sources say;
CNN’s John Miller reporting Trump to be charged with 34 (!) counts of falsifying business records. pic.twitter.com/bGJuGuwqsA
— Rich Luchette (@richluchette) March 30, 2023
That just put a lot more NATO border on Russia. Pretty big deal actually. Putin a loser again.
Turkey approves Finland’s NATO application, clearing the last hurdle. Sweden is still waiting
Ivana Kottasová
By Ivana Kottasová, CNN
Updated 5:49 PM EDT, Thu March 30, 2023
https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/30/europe/turkey-vote-finland-nato-membership-intl/index.html
Turkey has finally approved Finland’s application to join NATO, putting an end to months of delays while also continuing to block Sweden from joining the military alliance.
The Turkish Parliament voted unanimously in favor of Finland’s membership on Thursday, clearing the last hurdle in the accession process.
The vote fulfills Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s “promise” to allow Finland in the defense alliance. Turkey was the last NATO member to approve Finland’s accession, although Hungary only did so on Monday.
In a statement after the vote, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said his country is “now ready to join NATO.”
“All 30 NATO members have now ratified Finland’s membership. I want to thank every one of them for their trust and support,” he also said. “Finland will be a strong and capable ally, committed to the security of the Alliance.”
“We look forward to welcoming Sweden to join us as soon as possible,” the Finnish president added.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also hailed the decision. “I welcome the vote of the Grand National Assembly of #Türkiye to complete the ratification of #Finland’s accession. This will make the whole #NATO family stronger & safer,” Stoltenberg said in a tweet.
Finland and Sweden had for decades committed to non-alignment with NATO as a way of avoiding provoking Moscow. However, that changed when the Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops into Ukraine and forced the two Scandinavian countries to re-evaluate their neutral status......more
Just the start of years of drama, more indictments, and more GOP wars backing up the criminals.
On another note;
California police union executive charged with attempting to import opioids
Executive director of the San Jose Police Officers Association charged with attempt to unlawfully import valeryl fentanyl
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/30/california-police-union-executive-charged-importing-opioids
Lois Beckett in Los Angeles
@loisbeckett
Thu 30 Mar 2023 15.50 EDT
The executive director of a US police union has been charged with attempting to illegally import a fentanyl analogue, and has been accused of using the police union’s office to communicate with her suppliers and mail the drugs.
Joanne Segovia, the executive director of the San Jose Police Officers Association in California, was charged with attempt to unlawfully import valeryl fentanyl, a variation of the powerful synthetic opioid, and faces up to 20 years in prison, the justice department said in a statement on Wednesday.
Between 2015 and 2023, Segovia allegedly used “her personal and office computers to order thousands of opioid and other pills to her home and agreed to distribute the drugs elsewhere in the United States”, the justice department said.
At least one package of drugs, in 2021, was sent using the UPS account of the San Jose Police Officers’ Association, according to a photograph of the shipment, according to the criminal complaint against Segovia.
The packages of controlled drugs were allegedly labeled “Wedding Party Favors”, “Gift Makeup” or “Chocolate and Sweets”, prosecutors said.
Segovia was charged “as part of an ongoing Homeland Security investigation into a network that was shipping controlled substances into the San Francisco Bay Area from abroad”, the justice department said.
As fentanyl-related overdose deaths rise across the United States, the source of illegal opioids has become a political flashpoint. Many Americans incorrectly believe that most fentanyl is being smuggled into the United States by migrants in unauthorized border crossings, a talking point of Republican politicians like Ron DeSantis.
a person kneels with head in hand and a lighter as another person walks behind them with a walker
The daily battle to keep people alive as fentanyl ravages San Francisco’s Tenderloin
Read more
Law enforcement agencies in multiple states, including California and Florida have also been criticized by medical experts for spreading misinformation about the dangers of touching fentanyl, after they shared videos of officers allegedly collapsing after skin contact with the drug.
In fact, experts say, illegal opioids most often enter the United States at legal ports of entry. “Drug traffickers deal with professionals, not amateurs, and they prefer US citizens,” Sanho Tree, director of the Drug Policy Project at the Institute for Policy Studies, told PolitiFact in 2022.
An archived version of the San Jose police union’s website from late last year said that Segovia, 64, had worked for the union since 2003, and that “she maintains control over financial and administrative matters associated with the SJPOA, as well as the SJPOA Charitable Foundation”. It also noted that she “works with Concerns of Police Survivors (Cops) in line of duty deaths”.
In one of the messages about pill shipments she allegedly exchanged with a person using a phone number based in India, Segovia wrote, “Im so sorry, im on a business trip because we had 2 officers that got shot! I should be home tomorrow night so ill get them shipped as soon as i can,” according to the criminal complaint.
Her name is no longer listed among the staff members on the San Jose police union’s website.
The union was informed of the federal investigation last Friday, and Segovia, one of the group’s “civilian employees”, was “immediately” placed on leave, union spokesperson Tom Saggau said in a statement.
The union has been “fully and completely cooperating” with federal authorities in the investigation, and the spokesperson said that “no additional individual at the POA is involved or had prior knowledge of the alleged acts”.
“The board of directors is saddened and disappointed at hearing this news,” Saggau said.
It's playing on the news now. Indictment is still under seal at the moment. So when is the arrest?
Trump Org stopped paying for Allen Weisselberg's lawyer, who was not "Trumpy" enough.
— Jose Pagliery (@Jose_Pagliery) March 30, 2023
They're now paying for a new one. There is an effort to block any cooperation with DA.@thedailybeast had it first--and reported it accurately.
TV networks are lame.https://t.co/C5dn8PjYZ5
As another responded, "talk about grooming".
I am not surprised. https://t.co/NTeLEBGnAh
— Gen Michael Hayden (@GenMhayden) March 29, 2023
It's bad enough that Marjorie Taylor Greene lies about everything and spreads dangerous conspiracy theories.
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) March 29, 2023
But when she lies to fight against policies that would save kids' lives, it truly makes her beneath contempt. pic.twitter.com/9AFCfrBkuV
Nope it won't, the GOP are just child killers, their mantra, their culture, their fault, they are the cause, and killing children is nothing they are sorry for. Simple permits and registration too much to stop the killing. They try to impress that it's making America great by being number one in killing of children, number one in supporting the drug trade from Mexico and supplying all the guns to the gangs so they continue having power to shove all those drugs up to the US to kill even more children. Being the cause of all that fentanyl coming over the border just gives them something to blame Biden. Accusations are just confessions.
North Carolina legislature overrides veto and repeals permit requirement for handgun purchase
BY OLAFIMIHAN OSHIN - 03/29/23 12:32 PM ET
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/3923894-north-carolina-legislature-overrides-veto-and-repeals-permit-requirement-for-handgun-purchase/
North Carolina’s state legislature has voted to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s (D) veto and repeal the state’s requirement for a resident to obtain a permit from a local sheriff before legally purchasing a handgun.
Senate Bill 41 passed in the state’s House of Representatives in a 71 to 46 vote on Wednesday. The state Senate previously voted 30 to 19 on Tuesday in approval of the measure.
Republicans have a supermajority in the Senate and did not need Democratic votes to override Cooper.
In the House, three Democrats weren’t present at Wednesday morning’s vote, meaning that state Republicans only need 71 votes to override Cooper’s veto instead of 72.
The repeal will take effect immediately, according to The Associated Press.
The enacted bill would also allow guns on some school properties where religious services are held.
In a statement, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein (D) said that the state legislature’s moves to override the requirement is a mistake and will eventually put citizens at risk.
“We need to be taking more measures to reduce gun violence, more background checks, other things like red flag laws to keep us safe because gun violence is on the increase, is now the number one cause of death of children in this country more than car crashes,” Stein said in his video statement.
“So I’m very disappointed, and even though the legislature is failing to do its job to protect the people in North Carolina, I’m going to continue to do everything I can as your attorney general to keep us safe.”
The votes come amid a national focus on yet another school shooting.
Watch live: Schumer joins Damar Hamlin to unveil measure increasing access to defibrillators
Biden tops Trump by 2 points in hypothetical 2024 matchup, trails DeSantis
Three children and three adults were killed when a gunman opened fire on Monday inside The Covenant School, a private Christian elementary school in Nashville, Tenn.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Mayday page goes off
Peds Trauma
Run to the scene
In the trauma bay
You’re barely visible in the adult-sized gurney
Surrounded by a crew of laser-focused, life-saving professionals
Who can’t save you
Bloody little hands
You’re cold
You’ve got a beaded blue butterfly bracelet on one wrist
And crusted blood on the other
I hold a light to your eyes
And watch your pupils dilate to black
Forever
I tell your mama you’re never coming back
And then the next sound that I hear
Is worst sound a human can ever hear
It’s the deep, echoing, piercing wail of a now-broken mother
Shot in the heart with the news
That she has lost you
As she collapses onto the floor
And I want to die
And I want to scream
I bite my teeth
I hide away and cry
Firearms are now the number one leading cause of death in American children.
La Doctora Jones MD
@ladoctorajones
Board Certified Pediatric Intensivist.
Of course the GOP is to busy banning books and rainbows and trying to label everything and anything on being informed and educated on racism, discrimination, social injustices, and learning to use more critical thinking, or "woke". Care about our children my ass.
Child and Teen Firearm Mortality in the U.S. and Peer Countries
Matt McGough Follow @mcgough_matthew on Twitter , Krutika Amin Follow @KrutikaAmin on Twitter , Nirmita Panchal , and Cynthia Cox Follow @cynthiaccox on Twitter
Published: Jul 08, 2022
Firearms recently became the number one cause of death for children in the United States, surpassing motor vehicle deaths and those caused by other injuries.
We examine how gun violence and other types of firearm deaths among children and teens in the United States compares to rates in similarly large and wealthy countries. We select comparable large and wealthy countries by identifying Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member nations with above median GDP and above median GDP per capita in at least one year from 2010-2020. Using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Wonder database and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study data, we compare fatality rates and disability estimates for people ages 1 through 19. (Since estimates were not available for children ages 1-17 alone, young adults ages 18 and 19 are grouped with children for the purposes of this brief).
We find that the United States is alone among peer nations in the number of child firearm deaths. In no other similarly large or wealthy country are firearm deaths in the top 4 causes of mortality let alone the number 1 cause of death among children.
In 2020 (the most recent year with available data from the CDC), firearms were the number one cause of death for children ages 1-19 in the United States, taking the lives of 4,357 children. With the exception of Canada, in no other peer country were firearms among the top five leading causes of childhood deaths. Motor vehicle accidents and cancer are the two most common causes of death for this age group in all other comparable countries.
Combining all child firearm deaths in the U.S. with those in other OECD countries with above median GDP and GDP per capita, the U.S. accounts for 97% of gun-related child deaths, despite representing 46% of the total population in these similarly large and wealthy countries. Combined, the eleven other peer countries account for only 153 of the total 4,510 firearm deaths for children ages 1-19 years in these nations in 2020, and the U.S. accounts for the remainder.
Firearms account for 20% of all child deaths in the U.S., compared to an average of less than 2% of child deaths in similarly large and wealthy nations.
On a per capita basis, the firearm death rate among children in the U.S. is about 7 times the rate of Canada, the country with the second-highest child firearm death rate among similarly large and wealthy nations.
If firearm deaths in the U.S. occurred at rates seen in Canada, we estimate that approximately 26,000 fewer children’s lives in the U.S. would have been lost since 2010 (an average of about 2,300 lives per year). This would have reduced the total number of child deaths from all causes in the U.S. by 12%.
After reaching a recent low (of 3.1 firearm deaths per 100,000 children) in 2013, the U.S. saw an 81% increase (to 5.6 firearm deaths per 100,000 children) by 2020, just seven years later.
The U.S. is the only country among its peers that has seen an increase in the rate of child firearm deaths in the last two decades (42% since 2000). All comparably large and wealthy countries have seen child firearm deaths fall since 2000. These peer nations had an average child firearm death rate of 0.7 per 100,000 children in the year 2000, falling 56% to 0.3 per 100,000 children in 2019.
Not all firearm deaths are a result of violent attacks. In the U.S., in 2020, 30% of child deaths by firearm were ruled suicides, and 5% were unintentional or undetermined accidents. However, the most common type of child firearm death is due to violent assault (65% of all child firearm deaths are assault).
The spike in 2020 child firearm deaths in the U.S. was primarily driven by an increase in gun assault deaths. The child firearm assault mortality rate reached a high in 2020 with a rate of 3.6 per 100,000, a 39% increase from the year before. The firearm suicide mortality rate among children in the U.S. increased 13% from 2019 to 2020, 31% since 2000, and 89% since the recent low in 2010.
Not only does the U.S. have by far the highest overall firearm death rate among children, the U.S. also has the highest rates of each type of child firearm deaths — suicides, assaults, and accident or undetermined intent — among similarly large and wealthy countries.
The U.S. also has a higher overall suicide rate (regardless of whether a firearm is involved) among peer nations. In the U.S., the overall child suicide rate is 3.6 per 100,000 children, and 1.7 per 100,000 children died by suicide from firearms. In comparable countries, on average, the overall child suicide rate is 2.8 per 100,000 children, and 0.2 per 100,000 children died by suicide from firearms. If the U.S. child firearm suicide rate was brought down to 0.2 per 100,000 children (the same as the average in peer countries), 1,100 fewer children would have died in 2020 alone.
Exposure and use of firearms also has implications for children’s mental health. Research suggests that children may experience negative mental health impacts, including symptoms of anxiety, in response to gun violence.
Methods
Data from CDC Wonder 2020 Underlying Cause of Death database and IHME Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019 study were used. Underlying cause of death categories are from IHME – GBD Level 3 Causes of Death. Top 20 leading causes of death among children ages 1-19 were ranked for the U.S. and comparable countries. These top 20 causes of death include: firearms, motor vehicle traffic, other injuries, congenital diseases, cancer, substance use disorders, cardiovascular diseases, infectious diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, respiratory infections, neurological disorders, diabetes and kidney diseases, maternal and neonatal complications, digestive diseases, nutritional deficiencies, HIV/AIDS and STIs, musculoskeletal disorders, skin and subcutaneous diseases, other mental disorders, and neglected tropical diseases. Unintentional firearm deaths include undetermined intent firearm deaths. Motor vehicle deaths include motor vehicle, pedestrian, other transport, being struck by or against a vehicle in traffic, and other land transport deaths. Other injuries encompass all injuries that are not from firearms, motor vehicles, or poisonings from substance use disorders, but not from injuries incurred via medical care. Cancer includes both malignant and in situ neoplasms. Congenital diseases include congenital malformations, deformations, and chromosomal disorders, as well as any disease/disorder that could not be identified via laboratory tests or examinations. Other mental disorders (not shown in the tables above but accounted for in analyses) include all deaths from mental health disorders, excluding suicide via firearm or other injury or poisonings via substance use disorder.
Move up to 2022;
More than 6,000 children killed, hurt by gunfire in 2022: Report
The incidents include 19 students slain in a mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/6000-children-killed-hurt-gunfire-2022-report/story?id=95833392
ByBill Hutchinson and Ahmad Hemingway
Video byCaterina Andreano and Katrina Stapleton
December 26, 2022, 2:44 PM
More than 6,000 children have been killed or injured in the United States by gunfire in 2022, the most ever recorded in the nine-year history of a nonprofit that tracks shooting incidents.
With five days to go in the year, the Gun Violence Archive found that 6,023 U.S. children 17 years old or younger have been killed or hurt in gunfire this year, surpassing the 5,708 killed or hurt 2021.
MORE: America has a gun violence problem. What do we do about it?
The Gun Violence Archive said it was the most children to die or be injured by gunfire in a single year since it started keeping track in 2014.
At least 306 children 11 years old or younger have been killed by gunfire in 2022, according to the website. Another 1,323 children between the ages of 12 and 17 died in shootings, according to the website.
In the first year the Gun Violence Archive began to track shootings in 2014, it recorded 2,859 children 17 years old or younger killed or injured by gunfire.
.........................more
At least 3 children are dead in another school shooting. Yet the GOP-led Judiciary Committee is passing a resolution tomorrow to make it easier for mass shooters to obtain pistol stabilizing braces. They must cancel this hearing now.
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) March 27, 2023
Nah, not a chance, that would be just to woke for him. His job is just to keep the supply of guns strong and ignore the consequences. Blame it on Biden and call it a day.
On the war front;
BREAKING:
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) March 27, 2023
The Hungarian Parliament has just ratified Finland’s application for NATO membership.
182 MPs voted yes, while 6 were against.
The only country left to ratify it is Turkey.
🇭🇺🇫🇮 pic.twitter.com/CeOqfWxPHD
Ukraine has killed Dmitry Lysitsky, the Russian commander who ordered the killing of Ukrainian soldiers who were promised a “green corridor” out of the Russian encirclement of Ilovaisk in 2014. pic.twitter.com/WJOW6q2Klq
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) March 26, 2023
THIS is last year's Christmas card from Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles, a Republican who represents the district that Covenant School is in in Nashville. #tnleg pic.twitter.com/IpkLzZs5m5
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) March 27, 2023
I wasn't really reading too much into it, I was just describing what the republicans were saying about it being too "woke" to pay attention to the simple science or biology. I was just replacing their word with what "woke" and "woke education" is. That is what the GOP says they are against, woke policies, and using "woke" as a way to cover up what they are really all about.
Another Republican legislator called the language in the bill — “period poverty” and “menstrual equity” — “woke terms.”
If you listened to Republicans this morning, you'd think they slept through the Trump years.
— Rep. Gerry Connolly (@GerryConnolly) March 23, 2023
Secretary Blinken was before @HouseForeign today. I took the chance to correct the record. Turns out the Trump Administration left quite a mess for him to clean up.
Take a look ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/GvhzTYXtnk
Meanwhile the GOP's number one killer of children still going strong. So they are doing ok on their war against women and children. I'm guessing that the word "victims" is too "woke" and the need for softer tones "patients".
Nashville officials report ‘multiple patients’ from school shooting
BY STEPHEN NEUKAM - 03/27/23 11:53 AM ET
ihttps://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/3920097-nashville-officials-report-multiple-patients-at-reported-school-shooting/
I was commenting on the JS comment that "That may make a lot of women angry. Even in Idaho." Same issue, peer humiliation from boys mostly, who are getting indoctrinated with the New GOP culture which is very discriminating to women and especially to the girls in our schools. When JS commented that "The school was simply making them available, along with pads", I posted this article where $3.50 per child in a projected $1.4 billion revenue surplus to curb the loss in emotional and educational value to the girls was too much help for children to become critical thinkers who are aware of social injustice and inequities. Too much value put on diversity and inclusion that works to dismantle racism and other forms of discrimination, including this type of discrimination to our daughters and granddaughters, or "woke" as the New GOP says. Fifteen states and Washington, D.C., have passed legislation mandating that free menstrual products be provided to students. Five more have set up grant systems for schools to provide the products, according to the nonprofit Alliance for Period Supplies.
Meaning giving out free tampons for the girls in schools will give too much education and critical thinking abilities for the female portion of our education system. Got to curb the desire for so many shoes I guess, I mean how are the girls going to learn how to be barefoot while they churn out how ever many babies the New GOP want. Like I said before, men should just get out of this kitchen, being a bunch of assholes or trying to be the head chefs in this kitchen for power and greed is really in very bad taste and detrimental to our society.
Idaho Republicans block ‘woke’ free tampons in schools proposal
BY NICK ROBERTSON - 03/24/23 11:36 AM ET
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/3916205-idaho-republicans-block-woke-free-tampons-in-schools-proposal
Republicans in the Idaho House blocked a bill that would provide free menstrual products to public school students, calling it “liberal” and “woke.”
One in four students who menstruate had trouble accessing period supplies in 2021, a survey from the nonprofit found. The same survey found that four in five students either missed class time due to lack of access to menstrual products or knew someone who did.
In reality, our ss max will keep increasing until 70 and you can take early retirement at a heavily reduced ss. How does it work over there.
Should make a lot of men angry too. I have a daughter and a granddaughter that's that age, and as a man, men should stay away from that subject area as much as possible and give them their privacy, shouldn't even be a debate. It's a direct attack on the females, quite discriminatory, and against science for quality of education and emotional self worth of the girls.
Don't count on that being so simple anymore. Common sense education policies just thrown out the window. What these people are doing to our education system and the children and teachers within it, is not going to end well.
The school was simply making them available, along with pads.
Didn't realize all of that about Milana Vayntrub aka Lily. A very real and talented person. Never paid attention a whole lot to that ATT commercial, just a commercial, but I will look at her with a newer respect when I see her again.
This lady might not be able to hold the candle against Milana, but pretty good in her own right.
No matter how you lay it out, Republican behavior around a possible Trump indictment should be setting off alarms. pic.twitter.com/FBaujvEijQ
— PoliticsGirl (@IAmPoliticsGirl) March 24, 2023
Don't count on the New GOP to take note. Their only intent it seems is to instill as much unhappiness, uncaring and hatred for others that they possibly can. Whatever it takes; lies, misinformation wars, culture wars, science wars. Anything for the power grab. Anything but facing the real serious problems that our society has to deal with todays times. Which in turn will do about everything opposite that study revealed or intended to show. Not good for the country, that's for sure.
Another fun fact about Finland;
The Finnish education system is based on a comprehensive education structure, which is offered free of charge at all levels, from pre-primary to higher education. Compulsory education consists of one-year pre-primary and a nine-year basic education for children aged 7-16. The Finnish school system has attracted worldwide attention, since the country has scored high in PISA tests and other international rankings throughout the 2000s. In recent years, the Nordic country has shown a decline in performance, but Finnish students still continue to perform well above the OECD average.
Basic education is offered at comprehensive schools, which include lower comprehensive school grades 1-6 and upper comprehensive school grades 7-9. Children typically enter comprehensive schools in the year they are turning seven years old. There is no division into primary and lower secondary education, and compulsory education ends after the completion of the education syllabus or by the age of 16. In 2021, there were over half a million students attending almost 2,140 comprehensive schools in the country. While the number of schools has declined over the past decade, public spending on basic education per pupil has increased at the same time. In general, Finland’s schools are publicly funded and there are no mandatory standardized tests during basic education.
Most of students continue their education in upper secondary schools immediately after basic education. Upper secondary education is split into two paths, general and vocational, which both usually take three years to complete. Over half of the students choose to go to upper secondary general schools, which prepare students for higher education. In their final year, students take a national matriculation exam, which qualifies for entry into university. Vocational education is more practice-orientated and on-the-job learning is a key element of the studies. Vocational education covers eight fields, of which technology, communication and transport was the largest, with over 91 thousand students. Although vocational education and training leads first and foremost to a profession, a vocational certificate provides equal eligibility for further studies.
In a similar manner, higher education is divided into two sectors; academic universities and more professionally-oriented universities of applied sciences. As of 2021, there are 14 universities, which had in total almost 160 thousand registered students. Most university students aim for a Master's degree, and over half of the university degrees and qualifications are completed by female students. At the same time, there were over 51 thousand students admitted at the 22 Finnish universities of applied sciences. Over one third of the degrees and qualifications were attained in the fields of health and welfare, followed by business, administration and law, as well as engineering, manufacturing and construction.
https://www.statista.com/topics/6722/education-in-finland/#topicOverview
This conclusion underscores two issues. First, happiness is an important societal quality, as it fosters wealth accumulation and invention. Both create jobs and give people opportunities to utilize their potential, while being active economic and social players. More importantly, in a state of happiness people are more optimistic, confident, and are willing to navigate untested terrains to achieve goals and build sound institutions. Their work is inspiring and serves to stimulate others to engage in economic activities and have faith in their ability to contribute positively to economic and technological progress. This reinforces the second issue: that happy people are generous, willing to help others, and display a long term-perspective. That is, these individuals do not lose the sense of history and their place in a world full of opportunities in which they can participate, create, invest, and build
What's a couple of trillion here, a trillion over there, and over there. And we can just ignore and not add up the other areas and those trillion $ spots. It's all just transitory right? Not a ripple, consequence, or domino to worry about. No sweat, they've got it all handled and under control. NOT! What are the final payments due and interest applied and where is the main population group to be charged going to come from in the end? When and for how long? Recovery can be a real bitch.
Looks promising. The spray targets an area of the spike that is conserved (doesn't mutate) so that the region "changes its shape". This change prevents attachment of the virus to the host cell. 🤞🤞 https://t.co/YKfVhaNWFw
— Jette is Mataray 😊 (@white_bite) March 25, 2023
True to form and doubling down like always. Make Attorneys Get Attorneys are making their attorneys get more attorneys. Wonder when this rabbit hole will end. Got be a classic joke in here somewhere. Like what you get when you put 31 attorneys (and counting) in a room together? Or how many attorneys does it take to put a screw up tRumps ass? LOL
HAPPY CRIME-FRAUD EXCEPTION DAY, FOR THOSE WHO CELEBRATE
March 24, 2023/61 Comments/in 2020 Presidential Election, January 6 Insurrection, Leak Investigations /by emptywheel
https://www.emptywheel.net/2023/03/24/happy-crime-fraud-exception-day-for-those-who-celebrate/
Today marks the calendar start of celebration season for Mr. EW and I; all our big dates are squished into a short period that, this year, might well culminate in the first of several indictments for the former President.
For the US political world, though, today marks crime-fraud exception day, the day that at least one of Trump’s attorneys will be obliged to testify about how Trump lied to his lawyers to try to get away with hoarding stolen classified documents.
Because Evan Corcoran (and possibly Georgia attorney Jennifer Little) will testify today, I thought it a good day to update the list of attorneys who were or have been witnesses or who may be subjects in one or more investigations into Trump.
Since the Stormy Daniels payment may lead to Trump’s first indictment, Michael Cohen gets pride of place at number one on this list, a reminder that for seven years, Trump lawyers have been exposing themselves to legal jeopardy to help him cover things up.
The following lawyers have all — at a minimum — appeared in subpoenas pertinent to one or another of the investigations into Donald Trump, and a surprising number have testified before grand juries, including at least three with (Executive Privilege) waivers. To be clear: Many have no legal exposure themselves, but are instead simply witnesses to the efforts made to keep Trump in line before they were replaced with lawyers who were willing to let Trump do whatever he wanted, legal or no. But some of these lawyers have had legal process served against them, and so may themselves be subjects of one or multiple investigations.
Michael Cohen (hush payment): convicted felon whose phones were seized April 9, 2018
Rudolph Giuliani (Ukraine, hush payment, Georgia, coup attempt): phones seized in Ukraine investigation April 28, 2021, received subpoena for billing records in fundraising investigation around December 2022
John Eastman (Georgia, coup attempt): communications deemed crime-fraud excepted March 28, 2022; phone seized June 22, 2022
Boris Epshteyn (stolen documents, coup attempt, Georgia): testified in Georgia grand jury; phone seized in September after which he retroactively claimed to have been doing lawyer stuff
Sidney Powell (fraud, coup attempt, Georgia): Subpoenas sent in fraud investigation starting in September 2021; testified before Georgia grand jury; appeared in November subpoena
Jeffrey Clark (coup attempt): May 26 warrant for cloud accounts and phone seized June 22, 2022
Ken Klukowski (coup attempt): May 26 warrant for cloud accounts
Victoria Toensing (Ukraine, coup attempt): Phone seized in Ukraine investigation April 28, 2021, on June and November subpoenas
Brad Carver (Georgia and fake elector): phone contents seized June 22
Jenna Ellis (coup attempt and Georgia): Rudy’s sidekick, censured by CO Bar for lying serial misrepresentations, on June and November subpoenas
Kenneth Cheesbro (fake elector, Georgia): included in June and November subpoenas
Evan Corcoran (stolen documents): testified before grand jury in January, testifies under crime-fraud exception on March 24
Christina Bobb (coup attempt, Georgia, stolen documents): interviewed in October 2022 and appeared before grand jury in January, belatedly asked for testimony in Georgia
Stefan Passantino (coup attempt obstruction and financial): included in November subpoenas, alleged to have discouraged full testimony from
Cassidy Hutchinson
Tim Parlatore (stolen documents): appeared before grand jury in December 2022
Jennifer Little (Georgia and stolen documents): ordered to testify under crime-fraud exception
Alina Habba (stolen documents, NYS tax fraud): testified before grand jury in January
Bruce Marks (coup attempt): included in November subpoena
Cleta Mitchell (coup attempt and Georgia): included in November subpoenas
Joshua Findlay (coup attempt): included in June subpoenas
Kurt Olsen (coup attempt): included in November subpoenas
William Olson (coup attempt): included in November subpoenas
Lin Wood (coup attempt): included in November subpoenas
Alex Cannon (coup attempt, financial, stolen documents)
Eric Herschmann (coup attempt, Georgia, financial, stolen documents)
Justin Clark (coup attempt and financial): included June and November subpoenas
Joe DiGenova (coup attempt): included in June and November subpoenas
Greg Jacob (coup attempt): grand jury appearances, including with Executive Privilege waiver
Pat Cipollone (coup attempt): grand jury appearances in summer and — with Executive Privilege waiver — December 2
Pat Philbin (coup attempt and stolen documents): grand jury appearances in summer and — with Executive Privilege waiver — December 2
Matthew Morgan (coup attempt): included in November subpoenas
Tim Parlatore is the latest addition to this list, based off someone’s decision to reveal Parlatore’s testimony to the stolen documents grand jury in December. As ABC reported, Beryl Howell ordered him to testify after he belatedly revealed that investigators he hired had found four documents with classification marks in a box brought back to Mar-a-Lago after the August 2022 search (he emphasizes that he did so without a subpoena, but this was an effort to stave off a finding of contempt).
The Dec. 22 testimony from attorney Timothy Parlatore was ordered after months of wrangling between Trump’s attorneys and officials in the Justice Department, who had grown increasingly concerned that Trump still continued to hold onto classified documents after more than 100 were discovered in the August 8 search, sources said.
In fact, just days before his testimony, Parlatore revealed to the DOJ and D.C. district court Judge Beryl Howell that a search of Mar-a-Lago conducted by Trump’s legal team on Dec. 15 and 16 had discovered four additional documents with classification markings, according to sources.
[snip]
While Judge Howell declined to hold Trump or his legal team in contempt at a Dec. 9 hearing, sources said, she did order Parlatore to testify on issues surrounding a signed certification he had provided that outlined the results of his team’s searches of locations where records responsive to the DOJ’s original subpoena could be located.
Howell also suggested at the hearing that Trump’s legal team include Mar-a-Lago in their list of locations to be searched again, despite the FBI’s previous court-authorized search of the property months earlier, sources said.
On Dec. 16, following a two-day search of Mar-a-Lago, Parlatore submitted a revised certification that acknowledged the discovery of the four additional documents in a closet near Trump’s office, sources said.
This explanation makes no mention of the classified folder found — presumably during the same search of Mar-a-Lago done at Howell’s suggestion — in Trump’s bedroom. Parlatore, who was brought in to do searches to give the patina of reliability to the earlier subpoena non-compliance, did not voluntarily hand over that folder; instead, DOJ subpoenaed it. In the wake of disclosures about that, Parlatore went on TV and made the ridiculous claim that the former President has nothing better to use to cover up a light on his bedside phone than random folders that once contained classified records, random folders that were not found during the FBI’s August 8 search.
Nor does this explanation mention the laptop with the documents marked classified (now numbered as four) also turned over.
Perhaps the most important detail this Parlatore-friendly story left out, however, is the way Trump’s team fought unsuccessfully to keep the names of the people who did the searches secret. After Howell ordered them to share those names in January, they testified before the grand jury, after Parlatore had already done so.
In this story, seeded the day before Corcoran testifies before the grand jury, that belatedly reveals Parlatore’s testimony before the grand jury, he makes claims of prosecutorial misconduct.
Parlatore, when reached for comment by ABC News, said, “I voluntarily and happily chose to go into the grand jury so that I could present my client’s case to them in the context of our search efforts. During my testimony, it was clear that the government was not acting appropriately and made several improper attempts to pierce privilege and, in my opinion, made several significant misstatements to the jury which I believe constitutes prosecutorial misconduct.”
Had Parlatore really believed something amounted to prosecutorial misconduct, we would have heard about it in December — though that would have required revealing how documents marked as classified got moved back to Mar-a-Lago after the August search. Had Parlatore really believed something amounted to prosecutorial misconduct, he would have said that on TV instead of sharing his bullshit story about covering up the light on a phone.
He didn’t. He didn’t make this claim until the night before Corcoran is set to testify about the adequacy of Mar-a-Lago searches Corcoran did six months before the one Parlatore did.
In between the time Parlatore testified to the grand jury in December and today, though, Parlatore made this bizarre claim about the possibility that Boris Epshteyn, described here as the gatekeeper between Trump and the lawyers, could be a subject of the investigation. (This story, dated March 14, followed the February 12 bullshit claim about the light by the side of the bed by just over a month.)
Mr. Epshteyn’s legal role with Mr. Trump, while less often focused on gritty legal details, has been to try to serve as a gatekeeper between the lawyers on the front lines and the former president, who is said to sometimes roll his eyes at the frequency of Mr. Epshteyn’s calls but picks up the phone.
“Boris has access to information and a network that is useful to us,” said one of the team’s lawyers, Timothy Parlatore, whom Mr. Epshteyn hired. “It’s good to have someone who’s a lawyer who is also inside the palace gates.”
Mr. Parlatore suggested that he was not worried that Mr. Epshteyn, like a substantial number of other Trump lawyers, had become at least tangentially embroiled in some of the same investigations on which he was helping to defend Mr. Trump.
“Absent any solid indication that Boris is a target here, I don’t think it affects us,” Mr. Parlatore said.
As I’ve noted, DOJ almost certainly believes that Trump still has classified documents. DOJ almost certainly believes that the searches Parlatore did in November and December not only weren’t adequate, but were proven to be inadequate when his investigators found classified documents that had been moved back to Mar-a-Lago after the initial search.
They tried to obtain those documents by holding lawyers who had attested to searches in contempt back in December. Instead, Beryl Howell made them do more investigation first, culminating in what may be the last order she issued as Chief Judge ordering Corcoran to testify.
One possible outcome of today’s testimony is that someone finally gets held in contempt, someone finally risks jail time until such time as an adequate search of all of Trump’s properties is conducted. And that may be why Tim Parlatore chose this moment to announce his inclusion on the ever-growing lists of Trump lawyers who may be witnesses or may be subjects of his investigations.
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Tags: Boris Epshteyn, Evan Corcoran, Michael Cohen, Tim Parlatore
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BlackRock Temp Cash TMCXX is paying 4.66% at Merrill
Fidelity Government Money Market is paying 4.22%
That's a strong incentive to stop spending into inflation and save temporarily.
Just the inflation-stopper the Fed is looking for.
There was an interesting conversation over at Biancore Research a few days ago about the money flowing out of the banks and into T bills and CD's with the 4% level being the public sentiment kicking in gear. Practically everyone I know, family, friends, acquaintances was moving their money into these things about that time. I've always had some, but when they went over 4% I got really heavy weighted and have been adding. Just got some more short term CD's for 5.2, 5.3%. Sure the CDs tie up the money a little bit more than Tbills, but you're talking pretty short time here. And everyday I see several articles that are pumping these options. If there is anyone that hasn't got cash transferred over, they will be getting in the trend, so I don't think we've seen the end to these banking problems.
Brick and mortar and these smaller regional banks are really between a boulder and cement slab with the competition for the interest rates paid out. Even if the gap gets closed a bit, they still would have to compete with the online banks like Ally and Marcus where my savings accounts are getting 3.75% for just holding some cash. Probably other online banks also.
https://twitter.com/biancoresearch
1/n
— Jim Bianco (@biancoresearch) March 21, 2023
This chart comes from the Fed H8 report. It is current through the latest data, March 8 ... two days before Silicon Valley Bank failed.
What has been the largest drawdown of deposits since the financial crisis?
The weeks BEFORE the bank failures of the last few weeks. pic.twitter.com/2uZ9H5knZl
3/n
— Jim Bianco (@biancoresearch) March 21, 2023
So why was their a big deposit flight out of banks before the failures?
As rates went from 0% to 4% between March and November 2022, inflows into money market mutual funds were a paltry $62 billion.
This changed when rates crossed above 4%. $143 billion flowed into money… pic.twitter.com/gsXbrEJwo5
I guess Higgens got into a little trouble for doing it. Boy the trouble we're all going to get into coming soon with this AI tech. It's only just started.
A Journalist Believes He Was Banned From Midjourney After His AI Images Of Donald Trump Getting Arrested Went Viral
“I suspect it was pushing my luck when I did the [Twitter] thread,” Bellingcat founder Eliot Higgins said.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/chrisstokelwalker/midjourney-ai-donald-trump-arrest-images-ban
Chris Stokel-Walker
BuzzFeed Contributor
Posted 6 hours ago