On the last post, I used some art that showed Chris Christie, that had been photoshopped to show him eating an ice cream sundae. I did not notice the alteration when I picked the picture, thinking it was a straightforward picture of Christie. I deplore fat jokes. They are not only bigoted and unfair, but they are the lowest, cheapest form of humor. Christie is wrong because of his ideas, not because of his weight.
My sincere apologies for the mistake.
Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas is being let off of criminal charges for campaign finance violations.
The Daily Beast reported Monday evening that despite concealing the sources of $325,000 in political donations to a group supporting former President Donald Trump.
The Federal Election Commission, which is supposed to regulate campaign finance laws, rarely is able to generate enough votes to prosecute anyone accused of violating federal election laws, guilty or not. It wasn't until 2020 that the committee had the necessary members to meet to decide cases.
"The outcome was disclosed last week in an exhibit attached to a brief that Parnas’ attorney filed ahead of his client’s sentencing, scheduled for Wednesday," said the report. "It’s the latest in a series of befuddling non-decisions from the notoriously sclerotic FEC, whose Republican commissioners have declined time and again to take action against accused violators, even in the face of evidence of wrongdoing."
Parnas' lawyer was convicted for charges in court, but the FEC had “insufficient votes to find reason to believe that [Parnas] knowingly and willfully violated” the same law.
The letter to Parnas also says that “the Commission was equally divided on whether to dismiss the allegation as a matter of prosecutorial discretion." Thus they have closed the case.
Extremist firebrand Steve Bannon made a claim in a court filing on Monday some are calling a "stunt." According to Bannon, the prosecutors won't give him the documents he is entitled to. Bannon is miffed that he is being indicted when Mark Meadows has not been.
The problem with the filing, according to legal analyst Marcy Wheeler, is that the difference between Meadows and Bannon couldn't be more pronounced. First, Bannon claimed that he got the same letter that former chief of staff Mark Meadows and White House aide Dan Scavino received from the demands by the House Select Committee investigating the attack on Congress.
All of the letters are easily available and able to compare online. The ones sent to Meadows and Scavino, when put side-by-side with the letter to Bannon, show how different they are, as legal analyst Marcy Wheeler explained with screen captures.
According to Bannon's lawyer, anything Bannon discussed with Trump, even after his employment at the White House, falls under executive privilege. He cited the Meadows and Scavino claims that he believes also applies to him.
You tell me. Are these paragraphs the same?
If not, you should be calling out Bannon for deceit, not magnifying his stunt. pic.twitter.com/h2I22KPesz
— emptywheel (@emptywheel) June 27, 2022
Instead of the claims Bannon is making, Wheeler suggested looking at the email exchange between lawyer Justin Clark, lawyer and former Trump staffer, and Bob Costello, Bannon's lawyer. The email Clark references cite the one that Costello sent to Rep. Bennie Thompson refusing to participate in the hearing.
"Bob — I just read your letter dated October 13, 2021 to Congressman Benny Thompson. Just to reiterate, our letter referenced below didn't indicate that we believed there is immunity from testimony for your client," as Clark wrote. "As I indicated to you the other day, we don't believe there is. Now, you may have made a different determination. That is entirely your call. But as I also indicated the other day other avenues to invoke the privilege - if you believe it to be appropriate - exist and are your responsibility. If you haven't already I'd encourage you again to contact counsel for the committee to discuss it further.
Bannon's letter also sources a New York Times report purporting to have "a copy of the declination letters and, based on their reporting on the matter, it might well be that the letters reflecting the decision not to prosecute either Mr. Meadows or Mr. Scavino were summary notices, without much, if any analysis provided."
That's not what the Times report says at all in the report cited in the footnotes.
Former law professor and legal adviser John Eastman was searched and had his electronics taken last week when a number of Republicans were raided by federal agents.
According to CNN, around the same time that GOP leaders, a former Republican Trump elector from Georgia and a former Arizona Trump campaign staffer were being awakened by federal agents, John Eastman was also being searched. Appearing in a New Mexico court on Monday, Eastman said that he was filing a lawsuit saying that the search and seizure were "improper."
Eastman was leaving a restaurant after dinner with his wife and a friend when six investigators approached him and asked for access to his email on his iPhone 12.
"Eastman contends the agents 'forced' him to unlock his phone," said CNN. "A seizure warrant document included in Eastman’s filing noted any electronic devices agents seized were to be sent to Washington, DC, or the Justice Department inspector general’s forensic lab in northern Virginia."
Read the full report at CNN.com
NOW WATCH: Mitch McConnell says some women's rights 'outdated and wrong' following abortion ruling
Mitch McConnell says some women's rights 'outdated and wrong' following abortion ruling www.youtube.com
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