The list keeps growing, and it gives me quite a lot of vindictive (biased? Who, *me*?) pleasure every time it happens. Our “new” judge laid the hammer down on the DoJ, and it was harsh! It’s good to know someone will still do that, especially with the farce the DOJ has become, including Trump’s Revenge Tour™. He’s still going at it, and it was old when they went after AG James and Mr. Comey. But we are talking about the DoJ, not Dunderhead Donnie (for now). Appreciation to Raw Story for the jump-off point:
Legal analysts at Slate are calling a federal court hearing in New Jersey this week one of the “harshest judicial rebukes” of the Trump Justice Department yet — and say the fallout goes beyond embarrassment. Writing for Slate’s Amicus podcast, Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern broke down Friday an “explosive” transcript obtained by The New York Times in which U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi “laid bare the disturbing incompetence and contempt currently plaguing the entire agency.”
Stern argued that DOJ’s leadership chaos handed a man convicted of possessing child sexual abuse material a lighter sentence than he deserved. Prosecutors rushed his plea deal through before investigators finished searching his devices — and before discovering the full extent of the illegal images he possessed.
Okay, starting with the second paragraph quoted first. Child Abuse, of any kind, is heinous, but particularly the sexual kind, is the most disgusting thing I have ever learned about. They’re *children*. What a way to grow up. What a way to warp someone for all time. What a reprehensible thing to do. I can’t understand it and don’t want to. I don’t even want to try. Pedophiles should be confined in the deepest, darkest bowels of the earth. And from everything I’ve been told, they have to be kept away from the rest of the prison population because even the extreme cases will not put up with a pedophile.
First paragraph – that transcript must really be something. In my admittedly small experience, commenting that something is “explosive” pretty much means “YIKES!”. They’re used to reviewing court cases. This one was a surprise.
The chaos traced to Trump appointing personal lawyer Alina Habba as interim U.S. attorney. After the courts removed her, Pam Bondi installed three DOJ lawyers to collectively run the office, which Quraishi called a “triumvirate,” and a separate judge has already ruled it unconstitutional. At the hearing, Quraishi ejected a senior prosecutor who ignored his direct order to stay silent, then told the remaining lawyer: “I don’t believe you.” Stern noted Quraishi is a Bronze Star recipient, former ICE attorney, and former New Jersey federal prosecutor, not a “flaming liberal.”
Yep, another BadA$$ judge, for sure! Oh, to have been the proverbial fly on the wall! He has a super-powered bullsh!t meter. He’s not going to put up with any fast talk or talk-back. People are in court for a reason, and it’s not to be part of a soap opera. They are there to do their damn *jobs*. With the shambles in the government, they’re not hard to figure out. Blondi screwed up, and now her prosecutors seem to be doing the same. Ha!
“This is not a guy who lightly reams out federal prosecutors,” he said. “But I think he’s profoundly disturbed that the Trump administration would dig in and maintain this unconstitutional leadership structure at the U.S. Attorney’s Office rather than just appoint a qualified U.S. attorney. He’s disgusted that his own former office cannot be trusted to tell the truth in court. And he’s worried that the everyday work of this office is being harmed by the endless drama over who’s leading it.” “Generations of Assistant U.S. Attorneys had built the goodwill of [your] office for your generation to destroy it within a year. … That is what has happened to the credibility of your office,” Quraishi told prosecutors.
The scathing criticism floored Lithwick. “This was the worst judicial neck-punching I think I’ve ever seen,” she quipped.
Yikes! You can’t get more direct than that without using “inappropriate” language. He flattened them into grease puddles on the floor. Will they listen? That’s a pretty stiff rebuke. None of us would want to be on the receiving end of that. Unfortunately, if they are typical of the DoJ these days, they won’t. They should, but they won’t. And another American AG office hits the dirt. On the other hand, we still have a(nother) BadA$$ Judge. (He’s been added to the list, of course.)
See you soon!
Friends, I know everyone begs you for money. I promise that among all those asking for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest-working. We’re a group of old, disabled people, except for one writer in his mid-50s. The rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the chance to keep telling the truth about Trump and help ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thank you. Ursula
Thank God there’s people in positions of authority that are willing to stand up to tRump and his collection of characters! It actually gives me some hope for our country.
I agree 110%! Ha, yes I know, can’t go over 100%. We are up to 12 BadA$$ judges thus far. I expect more to come. It’s so encouraging to see judges do their job the right way, unlike most of SCOTUS. We definitely need that encouragement. It’s a lifeline.