Jack Smith Hits Brick Wall in Florida - The Friday AM Quickie 6/21/24

By Corey Pein — Jun 21, 2024

Donald Sutherland, who died yesterday at 88, was terrific scene-stealing presence in basically every movie he appeared in, but let it not be forgotten he was a stalwart of Hollywood's left wing and an important player in protests against the Vietnam war back in the day. I'm off next week but Jacob's got you covered – see you in July! - Corey

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THE BIG NEWS

Hacky Florida Trump Judge Refused to Recuse Herself When Asked By Senior Colleagues

Inexperienced Federalist Society hack Judge Aileen Cannon, appointed to the federal bench for life by Donald Trump despite a glaring lack of judicial experience, has been a constant source of frustration for Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith and his team in their effort to hold Trump accountable for stealing boxes of classified documents from the White House and hoarding them in desks, closets, and bathrooms at Mar-a-Lago. The frustration extends to the legal experts who've been watching closely as Cannon reliably mishandles the complex national security case. Unfortunately, as the New York Times diplomatically puts it, "her unusual handling of the case has now become business as usual."

The latest "far-fetched" claim by Trump's lawyers Cannon has deigned to entertain is a motion to dismiss the charges against Trump on the grounds that Smith's office was funded through unconstitutional means and that Smith himself should never have been appointed. Backed up by law professors and experienced trial lawyers and judges, the paper describes Cannon's various decisions as "quizzical," "bizarre," and "baffling" – not the sort of words one hopes to see in close proximity to the name of a federal judge, much less one who is overseeing an unprecedented criminal case against a corrupt former president who is seeking reelection to inflict vengeance on his enemies (and, presumably, to reward the people who help keep him out of prison for the many crimes with which he's been charged).

Even Cannon's own Republican peers on the bench know she is a problem. In a separate story yesterday, the Times reports that at least two of her colleagues, including Southern District of Florida chief judge Cecilia Altonaga, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, privately asked Cannon to recuse herself from the Trump case, to which she'd been randomly assigned. Cannon refused. And here we are, with Cannon "in over her head, in the tank for Mr. Trump — or both." Whatever the truth, the plodding pace set by Cannon has, per NBC News, "played right into Trump's strategy of trying to delay a trial" until after the election. No trial date has been set and Cannon is in no hurry to change that. I'd wager that someone has her eyes set on a Supreme Court seat.

Meanwhile in Washington, DC, grotesque Trump adviser Steve Bannon will still be required to report to prison on July 1 after a federal appeals court refused his request to stay free while he fights his contempt of Congress conviction up to the Supreme Court. Bannon's lawyers had argued that the Justice Department was interfering with the Trump reelection campaign by going after the sweaty podcaster, but prosecutors countered "that Bannon's 'role in political discourse' is irrelevant." Too kind!

QUICKEST QUICKIES

New York Will Require Parental Consent for Kids to Access 'Addictive' Algorithmic Social Media Feeds Meanwhile, some researchers who study social media and mental health say Surgeon General Vivek Murthy's plan to institute online warning labels "stretches and oversimplifies the scientific evidence." via the Verge and the New York Times.
200-Mile Long Dust Storm Sweeps US Southwest as Heat Dome Crushes Northeast and Midwest Roughly one-third of the US population endured temperatures over 90 degrees Farenheit yesterday. via the Washington Post and the New York Times.
FBI Raids Homes of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and City Recycling Contractors The "raids followed years of investigations into suspected illegal campaign contributions made by Cal Waste Solutions to five City Council candidates, including Thao," a first-term mayor already facing a recall vote. via the San Francisco Chronicle.
Manhattan Prosecutor Drops Charges Against 31 Columbia University Student and Staff Antiwar Protesters Charges have also been dismissed against six City College students involved in this spring's pro-Palestine protests, but Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office is still pursuing cases against others there, "including five charged with assaulting police officers." via NBC News and Gothamist.

SOME NUMBER

15x

That's how much more Novo Nordisk charges Americans for the weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy than people in other countries, making them what Vermont socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders calls "the most lucrative product[s] that the pharmaceutical industry has ever developed." The New York Times reports that Novo Nordisk's drive for profits from the weight loss drugs has created an insulin shortage in South Africa, because the drugs rely on the same manufacturing capacity.

ON THE SHOW TODAY

6/21: It's Casual Friday! Emma and the MR Crew break down the biggest headlines of the day. Then, they're joined by comedian Matt Lieb, co-host of the Bad Hasbara podcast!

DON'T MISS MR CLIPS‌

'Never Seen Anything Like This': SHOCKING Report on Crimes By Israel and Hamas

Here is the report from the UN Human Rights Office.

Fox Host Easily Outsmarted By Democrat

To be fair, Brian Kilmeade and Wes Moore aren't in the same weight class.

PARTING WORDS

"It still haunt me today. ... It still feel like a ghost spirit or something still in the area, you would say. It's still spooky, still a little scary, still a little shaky. And in my mind, I do not want to be caught here at night by myself."

-- Eddie Hinton, 64, a pastor at Mount Zion United Methodist Church in Philadelphia, Mississippi, speaking to the Washington Post about the notorious murders of civil rights workers Mickey Schwerner, James Chaney and Andrew Goodman by the Ku Klux Klan. The Freedom Summer killings took place 60 years ago today.

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