Dear listeners,
Well, it’s been a more eventful week than usual. President Trump was shot in the ear at a rally in Pennsylvania — a shocking security failure by the Secret Service, and now the subject of an FBI investigation; there is much to look at even though there is no shooter to pursue. Ken and I discuss why we still don’t think “stochastic terrorism” is a useful concept when talking about law or policy, and how admonishments that people should be careful about what they say lest they inspire violence are now being thrown back at liberals.
In addition to still being alive, Trump is also no longer a federal defendant in the documents case, for now — Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed that case, saying the appointment of a special counsel to prosecute him was never authorized by law. Cannon’s view is not the standard one among federal judges — many courts have ruled the other way about special counsel appointments — but it’s not in direct contravention of a controlling precedent. As such, while an appeals court is likely to reverse her position and reinstate the indictment, Ken does not expect an appeals court to go the additional step of removing her from the case. And of course, an appeal could be rendered moot if Trump is elected in November.
Rudy Giuliani’s bankruptcy case has been dismissed — a mixed blessing, since he’s out from under the supervision of a bankruptcy trustee, but he also no longer enjoys the protections of bankruptcy and his creditors can more directly pursue his assets. In Georgia, Judge Ural Glanville has been removed from the Young Thug RICO trial, which is likely to lead to a mistrial. And Alec Baldwin’s manslaughter case is dismissed with prejudice due to extreme incompetence on the part of prosecutors in New Mexico.
Oh, and Bob Menendez was convicted, but we’ll get to that next week.
We hope you enjoy the episode,
Josh
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