It should not be a 5-4 split and majority decision, but that just goes to reflect how radical and structurally political the Supreme Court has become.  In an important ruling today the Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 that illegal aliens can be prosecuted by the states for stealing the identity of U.S. persons on employment eligibility paperwork.  [Direct pdf link]

Stunningly four justices (BREYER, GINSBURG, SOTOMAYOR, and KAGAN) dissented from the majority decision; and instead gave their minority opinion that federally mandated I-9 employment eligibility certifications should not be permitted for use as evidence in cases surrounding identity theft.
According to the dissenting opinion, if your identity or social security number was stolen by an illegal alien; and used to falsify employment eligibility documents; that illegal action is not itself criminal conduct because the documents are not permissible as evidence to show the alien falsified information. An absolutely bizarre position in a nation of laws.
The primary issue surrounds federal laws that state employment affidavits, like an I-9 eligibility declaration, cannot be used to prosecute illegal aliens, unlawfully residing in the U.S.  However, it is simultaneously unlawful under federal law to provide false information on those employment eligibility documents.
(more…)

Lou Dobbs reminds everyone tonight about a rapidly approaching FISA reauthorization deadline coming quickly on March 15th without any public input, public hearings, information about current DOJ/FBI corrective measures, or sunlight on the issues.
Appearing tonight with Mr. Dobbs is House Judiciary Committee ranking member Doug Collins who has been trying to draw attention to an upcoming reauthorization and the refusal of House democrats to hold hearings on the need for reform in the wake of yet another IG report hightlighting abuses of the current system.

.
As outlined by Lou Dobbs, in November of 2019 buried deep in the congressional budget Continuing Resolution (CR) was a short-term extension to reauthorize the FISA “business records provision”, the “roving wiretap” provision, the “lone wolf” provision, and the more controversial bulk metadata provisions [Call Detail Records (CDR)], all parts of the Patriot Act.  As a result of the FISA CR inclusion the terminal deadline was pushed to March 15, 2020:
(more…)

While presiding over the Senate impeachment trial of U.S. President Donald Trump, apparently Chief Justice John Roberts will not allow questions that are targeted to the origination of the House impeachment plot.  WATCH:

.
Senator Rand Paul’s question was:

“Are you aware that House intelligence committee staffer Shawn Misko had a close relationship with Eric Ciaramella while at the National Security Council together; and are you aware -and how do you respond to- reports that Ciaramella and Misko may have worked together to plot impeaching the President before there were formal house impeachment proceedings?“

(more…)

Today the Supreme Court granted the Trump administration’s request to continue enforcement of the “public charge” rule on immigration. The SCOTUS decision allows the government to enforce a provision of federal immigration law banning non-citizens from receiving a green card if the government believes the applicant is likely to become a “public charge” – or reliant on government assistance.

The ruling blocks a nation-wide injunction put into place by a single activist judge.

WASHINGTON – […] The Monday order followed a 5-4 split vote that divided the court’s conservatives and liberals.

At issue is the administration’s rule issued in August that would restrict immigrants entering the United States if the government believes they will rely on public assistance, such as housing or health care benefits. Lower federal courts had blocked the policy from being implemented while the issue is being litigated.

(more…)

The U.S. Senate Impeachment Trial of President Donald Trump begins today at 1:00pm Eastern.  The first series of anticipated events includes the framework for Senate rules for impeachment which will come in the form of a final resolution for Senate vote.
The formation of the impeachment rules, and any amendments therein, will likely take up the majority of the afternoon in the Senate.  Anticipated start time 1:00pm EST.
Fox News Livestream – Fox Business Livestream – RSBN Livestream Link

(more…)

The gang is getting back together again.  Representatives Jim Jordan, John Ratcliffe, Mark Meadows, Debbie Lesko, Elise Stefanik, Lee Zeldin and Doug Collins have been selected as additions to President Trump’s impeachment defense team. UPDATE: and Mike Johnson

The MAGAnificent Seven

WHITE HOUSE – Today, President Donald J. Trump announced that the following Members of the House of Representatives will serve as part of his team working to combat this hyper-partisan and baseless impeachment. This initial list includes the following Members:

♦ Congressman Doug Collins
♦ Congressman Jim Jordan
♦ Congresswoman Debbie Lesko
♦ Congressman Mark Meadows
♦ Congressman John Ratcliffe
♦ Congresswoman Elise Stefanik
♦ Congressman Lee Zeldin
♦ ¹Congressman Mike Johnson

Throughout this process, these Members of Congress have provided guidance to the White House team, which was prohibited from participating in the proceedings concocted by Democrats in the House of Representatives. The President looks forward to their continued participation and is confident that the Members will help expeditiously end this brazen political vendetta on behalf of the American people. (link)

UPDATE – Oh man, they messed up my “MAGAnificent Seven” slogan by unexpectedly having eight. LOL.  Oh well, “Elite Eight” (pictured below) because it makes sense to include an actual constitutional attorney ¹Mike Johnson.  This is a big honor.  These names will appear in history books generations from now.

…And not Matt Gaetz LOL

(more…)

In advance of the formal answer to the Senate summons, the White House counsel held a background press briefing with media.  Here’s the transcript as released:
MR. GIDLEY: Thank you very much. Good afternoon, everyone. Thanks for taking the time to join this background call regarding impeachment.
The ground rules are as follows: Information on this call is on background, and can attributable to “sources close to the President’s legal team.”
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thanks, Hogan. I’m going to start, and then I’m sure my colleague is going to want to jump in.
So, from a procedural standpoint, we’re going to be filing in the next — probably next hour or two — our answer to the summons. [pdf Answer Here] This was the summons, which is part of the process that the Senate sent over to us with the articles of impeachment. We are issuing a very detailed response. This is not to be confused with our brief; our brief is not due until Monday.
(more…)

2020 is the year when a variety of prior democrat operations will converge with a single goal in mind.  Predictably we will see several years of prior effort beginning to merge, and it begins today.

NOTE: For interested readers it will be impossible for me to summarize the background for each step prior to putting the next puzzle piece into place.  Therefore I strongly suggest bookmarking posts for later reference because it would take tens of thousands of words to understand for anyone who steps into the light mid-way through. [Just an FYI]

Tomorrow, January 3rd, 2020, the House Judiciary Committeee (HJC) will be presenting oral arguments in the DC court of appeals for their effort to obtain the Mueller grand jury information [6(e) material], and also compel testimony of former White House counsel Don McGahn.
The House has a group of dozens of various DOJ and former Obama officials working on their behalf.  That House network also has several currently employed DOJ, FBI, State Department and Intelligence Community officials feeding them information on current real-time events.   The HJC are currently arguing the Mueller material and the McGahn testimony are needed for the impeachment trial of President Trump.
If the HJC team wins the argument to the three member DC Appellate Court, the DOJ will likely file for a full ‘en blanc’ review by the entire panel.  If the HJC wins the ‘en blanc’ argument the DOJ will likely appeal for an administrative stay by the Supreme Court.
(more…)

It looks like the beginning of a united plan for the Senate impeachment trial is in the works. According to a New York Post article the House impeachment managers would present their prosecution case; then President Trump’s designated lawyers will present his defense case; then the Senate will vote.
At least, that’s the plan being reported:

WASHINGTON – After weeks of behind-the-scenes debate, Senate Republicans have hit on their strategy for handling President Trump’s impeachment: a brief trial — with no witness testimony — and a fast acquittal.
“I’m ready to vote now,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) told The Hill. “I think the articles are a joke.”
But they don’t want to dismiss the House Democrats’ charges out of hand, as some Trump allies have proposed.

(more…)

As we suspected, albeit against much criticism, House counsel Doug Letter has responded to the DC Appeals Court arguing the forced testimony of White House counsel Don McGahn is needed for evidence in impeachment trial. [Court pdf Avail Here]
This court filing today bolsters the unspoken background motive for delayed House Impeachment Managers.  The House Judiciary Committee is using impeachment as support for their ongoing effort to gain: Don McGahn deposition, and Mueller grand jury material (6e).  The goal is opposition research; impeachment is a tool to establish legal standing to obtain it.  Everything else is chaff and countermeasures.

[Scribd pdf link – Direct pdf link (w/ embed below)]

This court filing bolsters CTH analysis that rushed House articles are a means to an end. That is – a way for House lawyers to argue in court all of the constitutionally contended material is required as evidence for pending judicial proceedings, a trial in the Senate.
This would explain why all the prior evidence debated for inclusion and legal additions to “articles of impeachment” were dropped. Instead the House focused only on quickly framing two articles that can facilitate pending court cases.
(more…)