Flotsam and Jetsam - Supes Step On Jack Smith's Script

The big news of the day is that the Supreme Court, in an apparently unanimous decision, denied possibly illegally appointed Special Persecutor Counsel Jack Smith's plea to skip the apellate process, and directly decide Donald Trump's appeal asking for dismissal of most of Jack's J6 charges based on Presidential immunity, sending it back to the courts to review. This puts a definite hamper on Jack's plan to start the trial on Super Tuesday, and may, in fact, push it back until after the election. Shawn Fleetwood at Da Fed, 19 AGs File Brief Opposing Jack Smith’s ‘Partisan’ Bid To Fast-Track His Get-Trump Prosecution. Da Caller,  Supreme Court Hands Jack Smith A Major Defeat In Trump 2020 Election Case. NBC opines Supreme Court sidesteps decision on Trump presidential immunity claim in federal election interference case. "Trump is claiming broad immunity for actions he took in office, including efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results for which he faces prosecution." Capt. Ed chimes in "Smith will have to make his argument to the DC Circuit first. That will take place on January 9." At Althouse, "The Supreme Court declined on Friday to decide for now whether former President Donald J. Trump is immune from prosecution on charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election."

Smith had argued: "The public importance of the issues, the imminence of the scheduled trial date and the need for a prompt and final resolution of respondent’s immunity claims counsel in favor of this court’s expedited review at this time."

Trump’s lawyers argued: "Importance does not automatically necessitate speed. If anything, the opposite is usually true. Novel, complex, sensitive and historic issues — such as the existence of presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts — call for more careful deliberation, not less."

At Da Caller, ‘That’s How High The Stakes Are’: CNN Legal Analyst Explains The One Way Jack Smith’s Jan. 6 Case Could Be Over “I think either way, whether it’s expedited or not, March 4 is in big trouble. And keep in mind, it’s not just March 4. Jury selection starts Feb. 9, so even if the Supreme Court says, ‘We’re gonna take this, and we’re gonna expedite it to the highest degree,’ I don’t think they get it done by Feb. 9.” At Breitbart, Joe Biden Pressured Merrick Garland to Prosecute Donald Trump, Resurfaced NYT Report Says. Hat Hair's Dave Strom catches the girls on view Saying the Quiet Part Out Loud: Biden Might Lose, So Screw the Constitution. From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 12.22.23, Da Fed's John Davidson argues that By Trying To Keep Trump Off The Ballot, Democrats Are Staging A Coup In Broad Daylight. Althouse again, "Meet the biggest and baddest new power broker in the 2024 presidential contest: an unelected and unenthusiastic U.S. Supreme Court." "If this thought sits a bit uneasily, blame the lawfaring leftists who engineered the sandbagging of the nation's top jurists.... Embittered by electoral losses, unwilling to trust the will of voters, the left now routinely turns to extraordinary legal action in hopes of pressing the courts to impose its political objectives by judicial fiat. Every party to these high-stakes, highly speculative cases knew exactly where this would end. And not one cares a whit for the consequences for the high court.... The biggest question now is whether the three liberal justices understand the grave risks of this lawfaring agenda...Writes Kimberley A. Strassel in "Sandbagging the Supreme Court" (Wall Street Journal)." At Da Caller, Dems Seek To ‘Affect The Outcome’ Of Key 2024 Cases Through Public Pressure On SCOTUS, Legal Experts Say.  At Am Con, The Mainstream Against Democracy. "Why win votes when you can engage in lawfare?"

At Am Spec Rabbi Fischer, Colorado Geniuses Ban Trump to Prove US Elections Are Fair, "This transcends hypocrisy" and Scott McKay, ‘Our Democracy’ Isn’t What You Think, And You Just Saw It in Colorado, "This is an attempt to keep Trump out of the White House by any means — any means — necessary."   TNP reports the Colorado Supreme Court is Mired in Accusations of Sexual Harassment, Discrimination, Retaliation. PJM's Kevin Downey wonders Are Dems and Republicans Working Together to Clear the Presidential Slate for the Young Turks? Lara Logan@laralogan "It is so obvious what is going on here - the Republicans want to get rid of Trump but they don’t want their fingerprints on it so the Dems are doing it for them. They all know if Trump gets on the ballot it’s over. Same with the impeachment of Biden - the Dems want to get rid of him but they don’t want any of the blame so the Republicans are doing that for them. This is the elite establishment in action. They hate “wethepeople” & have no intention of allowing the constitution or the Republic to survive in anything but name only. Would not be surprised if more Dem controlled states follow suit - then the Republicans can say Trump cannot be the nominee because he can’t win if he is off the ballot in these states. Not their fault of course….Trump’s fault as usual!" From Zero Hedge, Should Texas Ban Biden From The Ballot For Not Securing The Border? and Capt. Ed adds "Why not ban Biden from the ballot on the 14th Amendment grounds of giving aid and comfort to our enemy in Afghanistan? He abandoned thousands of Americans to the Taliban and abandoned billions of dollars’ worth of US military equipment to them as well. I’m not seriously suggesting that as a course of action either, although I think Congress should have considered impeachment for that disgrace. But like ZeroHedge, I am proposing that this is what American politics will become unless the Supreme Court swiftly and credibly swats down the execrable Colorado ruling."

Jenny Blalock, a/k/a “TNFlyGirl,” 

Stacy McCain wants you to consider ‘TNFlyGirl’ as a Metaphor, the woman who fatally crashed her plane because she didn't have someone teach her how to use the autopilot, "I voted for Trump and would vote for him again, but it’s frustrating to know that so many of his problems are self-inflicted wounds that could have been avoided, if he would have been amenable to good advice." Althouse, "Trump denied that he intended any racist sentiment with his 'poisoning the blood' comments, and he pointed to his strong poll numbers with African American and Hispanic voters." "Asked again specifically about the Hitler comparisons, Trump said: 'First of all, I know nothing about Hitler. I’m not a student of Hitler. I never read his works. They say that he said something about blood, he didn’t say it the way I said it either, by the way, it’s a very different kind of a statement.'" TNP reports Iowa Republicans ‘MORE LIKELY’ To Support Trump Due to ‘Poisoning the Blood’ Remarks. PJM's Stephen Kruiser sees the Trump Derangement Syndrome Meltdown of the Week — New Year's Resolution Liberal Tears Edition. Althouse, "This has been the mystery of the Trump era — every time we think this is the final straw, it turns into a steel beam that merely solidifies his political infrastructure." "Said Eliot Spitzer, a man who resigned for nothing more than using prostitutes." Jeff Charles at RedState has Sources that say President Trump Is Considering a Controversial Running Mate for 2024, Nikki Haley. I get it. You don't need a Veep that's a true believer, you want one to attract a different set of voters, in this case white women. Does she gain or lose votes net? I dunno. PJM's Matt Margolis is suspicious too, What Office Is Nikki Haley Actually Running For? Nicole Silvero at Da Caller thinks DeSantis Reveals One Critical Thing That Helped Kill His Campaign. “I would say, if I would have one thing changed, I wish Trump hadn’t been indicted on any of this stuff. I mean, honestly, I think from Alvin Bragg on, I’ve criticized the cases, I think someone like Bragg would not have brought that case if it was anyone other than Donald Trump, and so someone like that is distorting justice, which is bad. But I also think it distorted the primary, and I think those have been the main issues that have happened.” 

At Da Caller, A Republican Of All People Is Throwing A Wrench Into California’s Senate Race "Garvey could effectively boot Porter and Lee from competing with Schiff in the general if he were to place in second for the open primary, which would likely mean that Schiff would win the Senate seat." Ugh. 

Shawn Fleetwood at Da Fed, Queens Resident Indicted For Submitting 118 Absentee Ballot Applications During New York’s 2022 Democrat Primaries. You know if they cheat each other, they'll cheat us. At Am Think Mark J. Fitzgibbons thinks about the 2020 Election Fraud and the Courts.  

In the shameful case of the California Bar against constitutional scholar John Eastman, he filed his Post-Hearing Brief on December 1 this year, and it identifies the types of evidence of the “small” things that occurred in Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin which added up to the big steal. He identifies:

(1) use of unauthorized drop boxes, (2) avoidance of voter ID requirements through abuse of statutory “indefinite confinement” requirements, (3) illegal ballot curing, (4) violations of Wisconsin’s election law involving residential care facilities, (5) ultra vires extensions of the deadlines for mail-in ballots, (6) chain-of-custody issues involving absentee ballots, (7) weakening of signature verification requirements, (8) counterfeit ballots, (9) unavailable ballot images, (10) evidence of Vote Flipping, (11) double-counted ballots, (12) duplicate reported ballots in the Fulton County post-election recount, (13) ineligible voters casting votes, and (14) evidence of security vulnerabilities involving voting equipment.

From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 12.22.23, Jordan Boyd at Da Fed reports With Help From DOJ, Lesley Wolf Dodged GOP Questions About Her Obstruction Of Biden Probe and  Don Surber, Merry Christmas, Matt Drudge, "Did you flip because you were bored, you sold the site, or you feared the FBI?" At Da Caller, Lesley Wolf Refused To Explain Order To Remove Joe Biden From Search Warrant In Hunter Biden Case.  Fred Fleitz at Am Great sees A Glaring Sign of Rot Within the CIA "If there's a new administration in January 2025, it will have its work cut out for it." I would call it a smell. 

Insty, THE IRONY, IT BURNS: "Just The News is reporting a strong possibility that FISA’s warrantless search provision (Section 702) so favored by the Deep State going back to the W. Bush administration and embraced by the Obama and Biden DOJ may be biting Hunter Biden — and possibly the President — in the hiney." Ace, Biden's Corruption Is So Rancid Even the Washington Post Is Now Reporting On It, "Unbelievably, the Washington Post is actually doing new reporting on Biden corruption going back decades, rather than back to 2014." James Lynch at Da Caller, Hunter Biden Listed As Creditor On Rudy Giuliani’s Bankruptcy Filing, huh? Hat Hair's Capt. Ed, NBC: Joe Biden Emailed Hunter's Business 'Associate' 54 Times As VP. That's a lot of weather reports. 

Ace hears Biden's "Very, Very Dark" Polling Has Democrats Panicking "A recent Monmouth poll showed that only one third of Americans approve of Brandon's job performance. One third!" Matt Margolis notes Cook Political Reports Shift Two States to 'Toss Up' Amid Biden's Weak Polling, Nevada and Michigan. But that's before they count the "mail-in" votes. Breitbart wants you to WATCH as John Kirby Struggles to Name Biden Foreign Policy Achievement in 2023. 'Carpe Diem at Am Great thinks 2023 Was Biden’s Worst Year Yet. "Hopefully 2024 will be the last year that this administration is allowed to destroy our country." From the Free Bacon, They Justified Hamas Terrorism. Now Biden Is Letting Them Dole Out Taxpayer Dollars. "Climate Justice Alliance, tapped to distribute $50 mil in federal funds, has backed the 'Palestinian freedom struggle.'" At PJM, Speaker Johnson Dares Biden to Finally Do Something About the Border. I don't see how he could make it worse. At NYPo, Biden challenger Dean Phillips: ‘Irresponsible,’ ‘wrong’ and ‘dangerous’ for 80-year-olds to be president. At Am Spec Aubrey Gulick speculates Biden’s Pro-Abortion Campaign Might Just Work. "His administration plans to capitalize on Democrat wins this year to defeat Republicans in 2024."

Mark Tapscott at PJM Who Is Actually Running Biden's Potemkin Presidency?  and at Insty, BIDEN IS A POTEMKIN PUPPET: Hard not to reach such a conclusion from reading The Hill this morning. The headline says “Biden Kept At Distance from McConnell in Border Talks.” But the lede of the story puts it differently, suggesting that Biden himself avoided the talks: “President Biden has kept a distance …” "Deep into the story, an unnamed Democratic senator gives away the game – they don’t know what Biden might agree to, it might even mean moving back to Trump’s border policies, which would send the Left Crazies into, well, even more Crazy." Capt. Ed. "It’s one thing if Biden himself wanted to give Democrats more leeway to play hardball. Mark’s right, though; this reads more like Democrats are afraid that Biden will — in Obama’s alleged warning — “f*** things up” through sheer incompetence. “He could be dragged anywhere” is not a vote of confidence in the party’s nominal leader. And it strongly suggests that Biden is *routinely* ‘dragged’ into policy decisions, and these Senate Democrats know it"

Althouse, "A Proclamation on Granting Pardon for the Offense of Simple Possession of Marijuana, Attempted Simple Possession of Marijuana, or Use of Marijuana." "From Joe Biden. My intent by this proclamation is to pardon only the offenses of simple possession of marijuana, attempted simple possession of marijuana, or use of marijuana in violation of the Federal and D.C. laws... This pardon does not apply to individuals who were non-citizens not lawfully present in the United States at the time of their offense...." A grab for the stoner vote.

Cathy Salgado at PJM hears an Economist: 2024 Will See ‘Biggest Single Crash’ of Our Lifetime. Economists predicted the last 12 of 3 recessions.  I&I, Dear Santa: Why Is Christmas So $@#*% Expensive This Year? Steve Moore at Hat Hair decries The Tyranny of the Phillips Curve, "Repeat after me, class: Growth does NOT cause inflation. Write it on the blackboard 100 times."

From the Free Bacon, Claudine Gay Plagiarism Victim Posts Seven-Point Plan for Fixing Harvard "'Fire Claudine Gay posthaste,' Carol Swain says", a black woman. At NYPo the Dersh complains The Harvard Crimson refuses to publish my letter critical of president Claudine Gay. Also at NYPo, Revealed: Harvard cleared Claudine Gay of plagiarism BEFORE investigating her — and its lawyers falsely claimed her work was ‘properly cited’. Hat Hair's Beege Welborn kibbitzes "I’m DYING here… And you absolutely MUST get into the article and read the letters the lawyers sent The Post threatening death, destruction, and a spanking before bed if they DARED publish any of the “false” charges of plagiarism. OMG – the hubris and arrogance is so thick, you could safely walk a herd of elephants over them." Althouse, "It has always been inconvenient that Harvard’s first Black president has only published 11 academic articles in her career and..." "... not one book (other than one with three co-editors). Some of her predecessors, like Lawrence Bacow, Drew Gilpin Faust and Lawrence Summers, have had vastly more voluminous academic records. The discrepancy gives the appearance that Dr. Gay was not chosen because of her academic or scholarly qualifications, which Harvard is thought to prize, but rather because of her race...." Writes John McWhorter, in "Why Claudine Gay Should Go" (NYT)." At Da Caller, Harvard University Loses Another Billionaire Donor Following President’s Disastrous Hearing. Ace hears Students Offered Early Admission to Harvard are Weighing Their Options, Thinking About the School's Antisemitism and Its Declining Cache in the Job Market. "I love the smell of leftist dominated institutions burning in the morning."

At LI, Mike LaChance documents UPenn Faculty Warn of ‘Hostile Takeover’ as Trustees and Donors Take Action Over Anti-Semitism on Campus and Herr Professor Jacobson has a VIDEO – Campus Antisemitism Crisis: Cornell, The Ivies, and Beyond. Dave Strom at Hat Hair finds Vox Worried That Antisemites Make DEI Look Bad. 

TNP reports Hamas Sympathizers Defile D.C.’s Lincoln Memorial With ‘Free Gaza’ Paint. At Da Caller a Video Shows Pro-Palestine Protesters Plunging Democrats’ Holiday Party Into Chaos. How could they tell? Da Wire, Judge Orders Teen Who Allegedly Plotted Terror Attack Against Synagogue To Do ‘Book Report’ Who says there's no accountability these days? From Front Page, a Direct Action Campaign Calls Out Pro-Hamas Campus Hate Groups, "Confronting the radicals and Jew-haters on their own turf."

Also at TNP, Jill Biden Press Sec Fired After Taking Gay Hook Ups to President’s Secure Floor During NATO Summit. Front Page, The Senate, Gay Sex and Videotape, "Leftist ideals - and their earthly incarnations." From Ace's MORNING RANT: Transgender Role Models vs Anorexic Role Models; Bari Weiss’ Definition of Wokeness "Good morning. With Christmas weekend upon us and an overcrowded calendar, I am going to take a shortcut today and simply link two items I recently read that brilliantly capture a couple of the cultural malignancies of this era: Wokeness and the Transgender Social Contagion." 

From Da Wire, Virginia Drops Remaining Criminal Charge Against Loudoun Superintendent Who Lied About Rape "Convicted of more serious crime in September, prosecutors opt to avert second trial on lesser charge." Stack the jail time, I don't care. 

Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links. The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Happy New Year! and FMJRA 2.0: (Like) There’s No Tomorrow ready at The Other McCain.