Author: condor

This (From The Ever Cogent Keyboard Of EmptyWheel!) Is An Excellent “Sum Up” — Of Just The First Three Weeks — Of Tangerine 2.0’s “Failure Tours / Scorch Trials.”

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The irrepressible EmptyWheel, writing this morning our time, from across the pond (in Ireland), has Tangerine’s malign brand of idiocy pickled — in a granny jar. Stowed; flawlessly and hermetically sealed, too! It will still be crisp and fresh, many years from this morning. This is, in sum, the telling that will appear in history books — decades from now — as a cautionary tale for sixth graders studying civics and politics.

Do go read it all — it is… devastating — but here’s just some of the purely salty… brine:

…Thus far, Trump’s biggest success on immigration in his second term has been to claim credit — twice! — for things that [Mr.] Biden did, in one case years ago.

He threatened sanctions on Colombia, only to agree to let Colombian President Gustavo Petro send planes to fetch deportees, sometimes in Colombian military planes, rather than receive them in US military planes.

He threatened sanctions on Mexico, only to boast after Claudia Sheinbaum committed to put 5,000 fewer Mexican troops on the border than are already there, the same 10,000 that Biden obtained years ago.

He threatened sanctions on Canada, only to boast that Justin Trudeau agreed to the same $1.3 billion in investments to counter fentanyl trafficking he put in place in December.

As for his efforts to round up and deport migrants in the US?

Almost two weeks ago, I noted that the quotas ICE introduced to try to boost the deportation numbers fell wildly short of delivering the deportations Trump had promised his rubes, to say nothing of the way those quotas will lead to deportation of non-criminal migrants instead of the violent criminals Trump claims to be targeting.

Almost two weeks ago, Trump’s flunkies confessed they would never be able to meet his promises for mass deportation.

The fate of a highly publicized raid in Aurora [Colorado] last week is a spectacular case in point….

Of course Trump is pissed that his biggest immigration success so far was stolen from [Mr.] Biden.

Of course Tom Homan is pissed that he can’t deliver what he promised.

Of course ICE is squirmy because even if they could meet their quotas — even if those migrants in Aurora, CO against whom ICE had no probable cause of a crime willingly opened their doors so ICE could arrest and deport them — the number of deportees would still fall far short of Trump’s goal.

But this all arises from the false expectations set during the election — from the lies Stephen Miller told, over and over and over and over and over, about the number of criminal migrants….

Trump is furious that his thugs can’t fulfill his promises. But those failures arise not through want of trying. Rather, those failures stem from the fact that reality in no way matches the hellhole Miller pitched for Trump, the imaginary hellhole Miller used to get voters afraid enough to vote for Trump.

Trump has redirected virtually all instruments of US national security to chase Stephen Miller’s lies. Not only is it going to lead to ongoing fury from the Boss, because reality will never match the propaganda Miller spun. But by neglecting the things that really do pose much more urgent threats — by destaffing investigations into real terrorists or operations to counter real ransomware attacks — Trump leaves America vulnerable in myriad ways….

Precisely. Exactly.

To. A. Tee.

नमस्ते

Update: USDC Judge Kness’s Hearing Dates — On Fitton’s Specious Strike Suit Against Local Restorative Justice…

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The ongoing little bit of bickering over this later-decided case, called Hierholzer in another Circuit (with relevance to dismissing Tom Fitton’s nonsense strike suit) is entirely… a sideshow.

That is, Judge Kness has plenty of US Supreme Court jurisprudence to say the five recruited “plaintiffs” have no standing to be in court, at all. They don’t live here — nor pay taxes, here — and they didn’t apply for it, so that all bounces their claims. In sum — “it is NOT their money“. [Prior backgrounder, here.]

No, the important part of the below minute order on the docket in Chicago (on a Saturday, no less!)… is that USDC Judge Kness (a Tangerine appointee) indicates — after February 24, 2025 — he will schedule a hearing on the City’s long pending motion to dump the whole suit — without need for any additional wasting of scarce judicial resources. Let that come on swift wings, sez me.

…MINUTE entry before the Honorable John F. Kness

Defendant’s motion [24] for leave to file a notice of supplemental authority is granted.

The Court has read Plaintiffs’ response in opposition and notes the challenges detailed by Plaintiffs’ counsel in conferring with Defendant’s counsel on whether the motion for leave would be opposed.

Partly in view of that narrative, Plaintiffs are given leave to file a response to the notice of supplemental authority, not to exceed five pages, on or before February 24, 2025.

No further briefing on the supplemental authority will be permitted.

By separate order, the Court will set a date for in-person oral argument on the pending motion [13] to dismiss. [02/08/2025]….

Now you know — onward to a sunny Super Bowl game day, and hot BLTs here — but with about an inch of powdery white stuff down already — and six more due by mid-week, for the morning of the Saint’s day. Onward.

नमस्ते

Schedule Now Set: For Ninth Cir. Appeal — By Tangerine 2.0 — Of His Complete Loss, On Birthright Nonsense Scribbles…

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This will never matter. But for a complete record… only.

The Ninth will affirm the able USDC Judge’s decision in Seattle: birthright is embedded directly in the Fourteenth Amendment. Tangerine’s minions… lose.

…PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION SCHEDULE NOTICE.

Preliminary Injunction Opening Brief Due (Appellant) 3/7/2025, Preliminary Injunction Answering Brief Due (Appellee) 4/4/2025. For appeal no. 25-807, 2:25-cv-00127-JCC.All briefs shall be served and filed pursuant to FRAP 31 and 9th Cir. R. 31-2.1.

Failure of the petitioner(s)/appellant(s) to comply with this briefing schedule will result in automatic dismissal of the appeal. See 9th Cir. R. 42-1….

[That appeal is docketed at 25-807, in the Ninth Circuit.] Onward, smiling into the sunshine….

नमस्ते

[U] Apparently, Tangerine Is AGAIN Confused: He Cannot “Order” The CFPB To Close Shop.

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Gosh… would somebody please read the United States Code to Tangerine 2.0? Again?!

Title X of Dodd-Frank created the consumer protection finance bureau.

It is an agency independent of the preznut. It is independent of the Congress, and it is even independent of the Federal Reserve. Only a new Act of Congress can end its mission.

So all this Saturday night bluster — about stopping “all investigative activity…” (just as with USAID, last week), will be enjoined in a federal court — next week.

See, 12 USC §§ 5301-5641.

More on Sunday — see this Supremes opinion from 2023, penned by none other than Justice Thomas. [It would take an an act of Congress to close it.] Net, net?

It. Is. Here. To. Stay.

नमस्ते

It’s Pretty Hilarious… John Barks That 47 Is An Amazingly Great POTUS — BUT…

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But Hinderaker is STILL obsessed — deeply perturbed — with our 44th President. He can’t stop crying about him. Tut-tut. Tragique….

He sees vast shadow conspiracies now nearly a decade after he left power — gracefully.

Unlike Tangerine 1.0.

Yes — John is struggling to avoid mentioning that Tangerine 2.0 is fulfilling his own desired destiny: a lawless, loser of an impotent, ineffectual aspiring autocrat.

Yes, John: 44 was and will always be — a far better statesman than any of the last six GOP POTUS officer holders.

Sorry John.

Oh, and Ms. Li has only ever been… an opportunist. She’s damaged good, man.

Monday Will See An NLRB Election At Amazon’s Garner, NC Facility: ~4,000 Workers There, Voting For The Week…

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To be fair, the State of North Carolina is a bit of an outlier, here — compared to the rest of the US workforce: nationally, on average — about 10% of all workers are union members. In North Carolina, the rate of union membership is less than a quarter of the the national average. So the odds of success, for the independent union called “CARE” — may not be particularly bright.

But vote they will. Through to a week from today. We will let you know how it comes out, but this is an election the NLRB has ordered, and will oversee — due to unfair tactics by Amazon, the last time voting was conducted. [The union seeks a $30/hour wage — where Amazon currently pays only about $18.50/hour (just a lil’ above minimum wage, in Chicago) — and that’s not nearly enough to live independently on — as a family — in pricey suburban Raleigh, NC.] Here’s the story, from CNN a few days ago:

…North Carolina is a state that is generally hostile to unions. Amazon is a company that is, historically, extremely hostile to unions. Now an upstart union is attempting to represent more than 4,000 Amazon workers at one of the online retailer’s facilities there.

The National Labor Relations Board is overseeing a six-day vote starting Monday, with votes due to be counted Saturday. A win by the union, Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment, or CAUSE, in the town of Garner would be just the second Amazon facility to see a union win a representation vote in the US….

Amazon is now the nation’s second largest employer, behind only WalMart — at about 1.8 million workers for Amazon — and around 2.1 million at WalMart (non-union).

And Amazon’s profits are utterly staggering, these last four years: Bezos’ company made $59 billion in net income in 2024 — twice what it made in 2023 (and about on a par with major multinational pharmaceutical companies).

Its NASDAQ market cap rings in, at $2.4 trillion, this week. With a “T”. So — paying workers ~$30/hour would be no stretch — none at all. Onward (do see our Canada story, from earlier in the week).

नमस्ते

Scott? So Much For His “Back The Blue” In Minneapolis — Unless They Have Already Choked Defenseless People Of Color To Death.

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Scott Johnson should probably accept that Derek Chauvin has been repeatedly stabbed in prison, in Arizona… for some rather substantial reasons.

He should probably realize that the testimony of the MPD Chief was at best a small amount of added weight (as irony would have it), on Chauvin’s own neck. [The video was conclusive, boys.]

He should also… let it go. He’s trying vainly (along with Hinderaker) to say Chauvin should not be in jail, but should still be a decorated MPD officer. His… racism and sexism (the Chief is a whyte woman officer) is on front street, here. We will leave it that way.

The balance of Scott’s latest belching on it may be found here.

To counteract that malign view — here is George Floyd’s lil’ daughter Gianna — her statement from back in the day, at age 8. She’s already 13 this year. Tempus Fugit, but her loss will echo… into eternity, Scott and John:

“…He was kind… he helped me brush my teeth… he was my friend… I miss you, and I love you, daddy….”

It takes a special kind of evil, to not be moved by this child talking of her murdered father.

What a pair of putzes the Powerliners are. Out.

[U: Hinderaker’s Insipid Take?!] As We (In The Courts) Work Our Way Through These Lawless Black Sharpie Scribble Stacks… Keep The Below In Mind: [Trump Is 0-12.]

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Updated: Super Bowl Sunday — once again, proving that his ”courage comes from a bottle” (i.e., he’s drunk, on this Sunday afternoon), Hinderaker weighs in — to describe this case as an ex parte partisan judge, preventing Donald Trump from “accessing his own documents”.

It scarcely bears repeating, but these documents do not belong to Donald Trump.

They belong to all of us as taxpayers, not him. A bipartisan Congress long ago established that. By law. 18 USC § 208(a).

So, the case holds in fact, John — that people like Musk who do not swear oaths required by federal statutes, and who will not disclose their conflicting interests… and/or people who will not submit themselves to the lobbying laws, and thus (according to statutes) have no legitimate business in seeing private financial documents of American citizens — they cannot have access to them — especially my payments to the United States Treasury and my 1040.

That’s what this case actually rules. John is a sad, bitter old man… one given to fits of preposterous lies. End, update.

Yes. We all know the whole idea was to flood the zone — with lawless barrages of “orders” (some of them, truly trivial: “Gulf of America; renaming Lake Michigan and annexing Green Bay, WI“), in order to “break a lot of stuff — and quickly“. [And of course, to distract from the autocracy being shoved down our throats.]

The central bulwark against this gambit is naturally turning out to be courageous federal civil servants, backed by federal judges (appointed by both Democratic and Republican administrations). These civil servants are insisting that the law be followed — and many are being walked out of their buildings (at least initially) for doing so. Most will win back their positions (if they sue for them), plus substantial damages, when all the dust settles.

But in the mean time, we want to acknowledge their significant sacrifices, in real time by quoting from last night’s memo of law filed by 18 states (which resulted in Musk being locked out from US Treasury payment data). Here’s that bit (and all 41 pages of it, as a PDF):

…The federal government maintains a compilation of ethics laws that constitute an ethics code to govern the conduct of federal employees. Included amongst the ethics rules, title 18 of the U.S. Code provides restrictions on federal employee conduct in order to ensure such employees avoid conflicts, including personal interests that affect official action. See 18 U.S.C. § 208(a). SGEs are governed by these ethics rules, including § 208(a), and subject to penalties under section 216 of the Code. See 18 U.S.C. § 216 (describing the penalties and injunctions for violating, inter alia, §§207 and 208, including civil penalties up to $50,000 for each violation, and/or an injunction against further violations). The only exception from § 208(a)’s requirements relevant here would be for the appointing official of an SGE (with a duly filed financial disclosure pursuant to chapter 131 of title 5) to review the SGE’s disclosure and certify that the SGE’s work “outweighs the potential for a conflict of interest.” 18 U.S.C. § 208(b)(3)….

The Privacy Act of 1974 “provides certain safeguards for an individual against an invasion of personal privacy,” by requiring governmental agencies to maintain accurate records and providing individuals with more control over the gathering, dissemination, and accuracy of agency information about themselves. Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records, 87 Fed. Reg. 16244, 16245 (Mar. 22, 2022); 5 U.S.C. § 552a. To accomplish this purpose, the Privacy Act sets forth conditions for disclosure of private information and precludes an agency from disclosing information in its files to any person or to another agency without the prior written consent of the individual to whom the information pertains. See 5 U.S.C. § 552a(b)….

The Privacy Act lists 13 exceptions to the bar on disclosure, only one of which is relevant here: (i) an agency may disclose the records it maintains within the agency “to those officers and employees of the agency… who have a need for the record in the performance of their duties.” Id. § 552a(b)(1) (emphasis added). Moreover, each agency that “maintains a system of records” is required to publish a system of records notice (“SORN”) in the Federal Register identifying the “existence and character” of that system. Id. § 552a(e)(4). Agencies are required to give 30 days’ notice of new or revised SORNs, allowing public comments. 5 U.S.C. § 552a(e)(11). A SORN must include information on the categories of individuals and records in the system, the routine uses of the records, and the agency’s policies on storage, access, retention, and disposal. 5 U.S.C. § 552a(e)(4)….

Now you know. These guys with Tangerine 2.0 are less competent than most fifth graders — at least as to following the well-settled black letter federal law. But we won’t be overwhelmed; we are prepared — and we will keep… winning. Out.

नमस्ते

Musk Now Barred By NYSD TRO, From Accessing Treasury Payments Data.

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The losses for these low intel, would be autocrats… just keep piling up. Having a billion or more dollars… clearly does not make you… smart.

Meanwhile, it has taken a minute, but the wins for the rule of law (and checks & balances) now just keep on rolling in.

As we’ve said repeatedly, Mr. Musk does not have security clearance, and is not in any sense a civil servant.

In fact, he says he is completely outside of the government. Which is why we have repeatedly complained that he is thus an unregistered lobbyist — in addition to being an interloper — into this Nation‘s sensitive, private records.

Only civil servants are allowed access to this sort of sensitive payee / payer data at Treasury. They each and all swear an oath not to misuse it. Mr. Musk has done no such thing. And so it is that he is now enjoined from entering Treasury, as are his minions… for any similar purpose. Here is the late nighter:

…The Court’s firm assessment is that, for the reasons stated by the States, they will face irreparable harm in the absence of injunctive relief. See Winter v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 20 (2008). That is both because of the risk that the new policy presents of the disclosure of sensitive and confidential information and the heightened risk that the systems in question will be more vulnerable than before to hacking. The Court’s further assessment is that, again for the reasons given by the States, the States have shown a likelihood of success on the merits of their claims, with the States’ statutory claims presenting as particularly strong. The Court’s further assessment is that the balance of the equities, for the reasons stated by the States, favors the entry of emergency relief….

Onward. I’ll post that summary order, out of Manhattan — entered after midnight — when it hits the public docket.

Be excellent to one another.

We Now Have USDC Judge Nichols’ Full TRO Preserving USAID, In DC. And It Is… A Banger.

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Do go read all seven pages, it is precise, succinct… and devastating. [Briefing schedule to come over the weekend, for a full on prelim. injunction.]

This cogent order flatly calls out Tangerine 2.0 and Marco Rubio — for lawless actions… each flat-out contrary to existing statutes — unlawful. Judge Nichols (a Trump 1.0 appointee — put that in your pipe, and smoke it Hinderaker!) said placing almost 3,000 USAID employees on administrative leave would violate the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024, which requires the State Department and USAID to consult with Congress before, among other things, “reorganiz[ing]” or “redesign[ing]” USAID, including by “downsiz[ing]” it. Pub. L. 118-47 §§ 7063(a), (b), 138 Stat. 460 (2024).

This then is the meat of it:

…Taking the TRO factors somewhat out of order and beginning with irreparable injury, the Court finds that plaintiffs have adequately demonstrated that their members are facing irreparable injury from their placement on administrative leave, and that more members would face such injury if they were placed on administrative leave tonight. Many USAID personnel work in “high risk environments where access to security resources is critical.” ECF No. 9-10 ¶ 14. No future lawsuit could undo the physical harm that might result if USAID employees are not informed of imminent security threats occurring in the countries to which they have relocated in the course of their service to the United States. The government argued at the TRO hearing that placing employees on paid administrative leave is a garden-variety personnel action unworthy of court intervention. But administrative leave in Syria is not the same as administrative leave in Bethesda; simply being paid cannot change that fact. . . .

Plaintiffs again have a plausible argument that the expedited evacuations are unlawful (here because, in plaintiffs’ telling, they flow from the ultra vires unilateral closure of USAID’s overseas offices and operations), and the government, while opposing this argument, has not submitted any briefing on the issue. Nor has the government articulated any harm that would result to its interests if it could not continue recalling USAID employees during the next week, while preliminary injunction briefing proceeds….

When the Court asked the government at the TRO hearing what harm would befall the government if it could not immediately place on administrative leave the more than 2000 employees in question, it had no response — beyond asserting without any record support that USAID writ large was possibly engaging in “corruption and fraud….”

For these reasons, and again in light of plaintiffs’ strong showing of irreparable harm, the Court finds a TRO is warranted….

Gratifying, indeed — but no sane commander in chief would have ever — ever — put US government employees, and citizens in such clear danger, in the first place. Impeach? I dunno. Have to think on that — because if we succeed, we get… Vance. Ick — more competent than Trump… even if only slightly. And that’s a bad bargain. Out.

नमस्ते