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[U] Special Counsel Urges All Due Expediency, In Supremes’ Review Of Tangerine’s Specious “Absolute Immunity” Claims…

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Updated 12.23.2023 @ 11 AM: Well, it is not much of a win for Tangerine, as now he will have to convince a three judge appellate panel that he has absolute immunity (he doesn’t) — but the Supremes won’t rule on that pre-trial request from the Special Counsel (for now). End updated portion.

Let’s stipulate at the outset, that if Tangerine actually believed he had a meritorious defense, he’d be rushing — sprinting, in fact — to have the Supremes decide it for him, so his deck would be clear by the time of the GOP Convention (where he will, no doubt, be seeking a nomination).

But he seeks the opposite: he doesn’t want any trial held — or even a defense motion, resolved — before the 2024 cycle concludes.

We may thus fairly infer that he knows — dead to rights — on at least a few of the 93 counts… he will be found guilty — of felonies.

In any event, just filed overnight — here it is, all ten pages, from special counsel Jack Smith’s office (calling BS on him), and a bit:

…Respondent [Trump] agrees that the question whether a former president of the United States, enjoys absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for a conspiracy to overturn an election — and thereby prevent the lawful winner from taking office — is an issue of great Constitutional moment….

Respondents principal argument in opposition, is that this Court should wait.

That is incorrect. This Court’s immediate review of that question is the only way to achieve its timely and definitive resolution….

[Trump’s] immunity claim implicates issues that are central to the rule of law. Contrary to respondent’s characterization (Br. in Opp. 8-10), the indictment alleges serious criminal conduct: that respondent, while serving as President and a candidate for reelection, conspired to thwart the lawful transfer of power through (1) fraud against the United States to impair, obstruct, and defeat the federal government’s collection, counting, and certification of the results of the election; (2) corruptly obstructing the proceeding conducted by the Joint Session of Congress to confirm the electoral vote; and (3) depriving millions of citizens of their right to have their votes counted. Enforcing federal criminal laws that prohibit such conduct is vital to protecting our constitutional processes and democracy itself….

Now you know… what a pathetic path he now treads (how can his acolytes be so… blind?). Onward, grinning among the cacti….

नमस्ते

Hinderaker’s Blog: Where Irony Goes To… Die.

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So, this evening John tells us that “decency” will be on the ballots, nationally in the 2024 cycle.

And he thinks… the GOP has the edge here?!

The guys who just “grab her by the p#ssy”?!

The 93 count felony indictees?

The FL GOP chair credibly accused of rape?!

The party that forcibly separates babies from their moms, at the border, and in Texas, slices them up with floating razor wire barriers?!

The guys who feel women shouldn’t control their own reproductive cycles?

And… the SCOTUS Justice (Thomas) who complains he doesn’t “make enough” — so that major donors will buy him a $250,000 motor home… and buy a nephew’s private college education, in full?!

That sort of “decency”, Hinderaker?!

Erh… riiiiiight.

Out.

In The Eagle Pass Floating Razor Wire Barrier Case, The Agencies Respond To Gov. Abbott Overnight In West Texas…

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We intend to keep a complete record of the millions in local Texas taxpayer funds Gov. Abbott and AG Paxton are wasting on clearly specious legal filings — in a suit they’ve already lost. And that is before we mention the depravity and cruelty, of the violations of international law they seek to continue along the Rio Grande.

So, overnight, the federal agencies have reiterated why they won — in response to a post trial motion from Texas, to dismiss without additional proceedings. This, even though Texas has appealed to the Fifth Circuit, on its losses. It will continue to lose, because the federal waterways… are, well… federal — and the agencies are empowered by self-executing treaties and statutes, to remove all barriers on them. Here’s a bit of a very cogent 28 pager:

…[T]he amended complaint states a claim under the Supremacy Clause that Article VII of the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo preempts Texas’s construction of the floating barrier.

The treaty text and the parties’ post-ratification understanding unambiguously reflect that Article VII’s guarantee of free navigation on the Rio Grande is self-executing. That other provisions of the 1848 Treaty may not be self-executing is irrelevant, and the treaty’s dispute resolution provision is not a domestic enforcement mechanism. Finally, the United States alleges sufficient facts to support its claim, and Texas’s defenses based on amorphous “territorial rights” lack merit….

Now you know — and now… it is time to pack, quick-clean the house — and catch an Uber to O’Hare! Be excellent to one another!

नमस्ते

It’s A Good Thing Hinderaker Was Never A Crim. Defense Counsel — His Clients Would All Go To JAIL!

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John is lying again tonight. YAWN. And… as a matter of fact, when Trump was shown to have withheld Congressionally mandated funds from Ukraine, in 2019, until the Ukrainian government would agree to snoop for dirt on Mr. Biden… Hinderaker poo-pooed it as a “mere process crime”.

He opined it probably wasn’t a crime at all — but now, that the non-credible, bare allegation is that Mr. Biden received something, in exchange for an official act… Hinderaker is just certain that 18 USC § 201 means he’s committed… a felony.

Balderdash.

As I say, there is zero evidence of this — and in any event, when it was proved beyond reasonable doubt that Trump did it… in 2019… Hinderaker claimed that it could not be a crime — due to “presidential immunity” — for official acts. Not from criminal exposure, son. [Which the Supremes’ opinions in US v. Nixon case definitively… debunked — for all time.]

Damn son… sit down, until you can… get your sh!t… together.

Make up your mind… that is to say — as to which lies you want to stick to, and which you are jettisoning.

Out.

FDA Formally Sends Merck “Back To Drawing Boards”, On Its Next Gen Cough Med — GSK May Benefit…

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We earlier mentioned that this would be the likely outcome. And we said, and still believe — this should not change Merck’s NYSE price, in any way — when the denial came.

And then we predicted that GSK could benefit from going to school — on where Merck missed the mark, three weeks ago. Now… FDA has tonight formally issued a denial — what are now politely called “complete response letters” — to Merck. No surprise — and immaterial overall:

…[Merck] announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a Complete Response Letter (CRL) regarding Merck’s New Drug Application (NDA) for gefapixant, an investigational, non-narcotic, oral selective P2X3 receptor antagonist, under development for the treatment of refractory chronic cough (RCC) or unexplained chronic cough (UCC) in adults. In the CRL, the FDA concluded that Merck’s application did not meet substantial evidence of effectiveness for treating RCC and UCC. The CRL was not related to the safety of gefapixant. Merck is reviewing the FDA’s feedback to determine next steps.

Chronic cough is defined as a cough lasting longer than 8 weeks. In adults with RCC, the cough persists despite appropriate treatment of underlying conditions such as asthma or gastroesophageal reflux disease, and UCC is a cough where the underlying cause cannot be identified despite a thorough evaluation….

Now you know. Onward — to a second graders’ pageant — for the ’23 holidays! Woot!

नमस्ते

The Lunacy — Out Of Texas, And Its Local GOP Politicians… Has Been Obvious, For Decades — But This May Take The Cake.

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After the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment, coupled to a fairly uncommon feature of Colorado state law… meant that Tangerine’s name cannot be placed on primary, or general ballots in that state — since he is an insurrectionist (as were all officers of the Confederate Army — after 1865)… Texas’ sitting Lt. Governor Patrick said he might seek to remove Mr. Biden’s name from that state’s ballots. Charming.

Come — let us reason, together: Mr. Trump is a four time, 93 count indicted felony defendant; and was twice impeached, whilst in office. All these are for crimes against the ordered liberty America enjoys.

Even if one disagrees with Mr. Biden’s border policies (that was Mr. Patrick’s “hook”, for the threat)… no one seriously disputes that the executive branch (Mr. Biden) is given exclusive authority over immigration policy (limited only by the guardrails of the US Constitution — which is why Tangerine was stopped from separating families at the border, BTW). There is no indictment — no impeachment — not even a credible allegation about him, even related to his son.

So — just as then GOP Gov. Perry was, about 12 years ago (see legacy graphic at right)… this current Texas GOP must be seen as a force largely for fascism — and against the will of the people… of the other 49 states. Back then, Perry tried vainly to prevent Obamacare from aiding millions of Texas’ poorest citizens. [He failed — as Abbott and Paxton and Patrick, are failing, this afternoon.]

नमस्ते

Mirengoff Is… Confused. It’s Hilarious.

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So… Paul thinks the Supremes will strike the Colorado Supreme Court decision. But he’s missed that the normal GOP actually is setting this up — to move Tangerine off the nomination stage.

It’s just… pathetic. These vipers… are confident Trump is not smart enough to realize the GOP is taking him out (think Hinderaker here). [Gorsuch may even pen the opinion doing Trump in.]

Mirengoff has missed the memo.

The suit was filed… by Colorado Republicans.

That’s all I need to say.

Merck Will Engage Dr. Meriem Sefta, And Owkin’s AI, To Build Out Diagnostic Tests For Various Gastric, Bile Duct And Endometrial Cancers — Sharpening Keytruda’s Focus.

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The idea here — since Keytruda is such a pricey therapeutic — is to more closely predict who will likely benefit most from getting the immuno-oncology therapy. [Patients with tumors that express lots of PD-1 are prime candidates, in this regard.]

Owkin’s AI shows promise to greatly sharpen the predictive diagnostics, in various gastric cancers — as the platform has already been demonstrated to work well in colorectal cancers, at predicting therapy candidates.

The age of truly personalized” cancer panels is upon us. And in the EU health systems, regulations dictate that patients be screened for expression of promising proteins before spending the perhaps $200,000 in a year — for a course of pembrolizumab. So having the Owkin diagnostic available will more readily allow oncologists in the UK and EU to prescribe Keytruda (with solid evidence that a given patient will see a robust benefit from the therapy) — now, in gastric cancer settings. Here’s a bit, from Fierce:

…In patients with colorectal cancer, finding out a tumor’s level of microsatellite instability can be essential in guiding treatment. Representing defects in a cell’s ability to correct errors in its DNA, those with high levels can see fewer benefits from chemotherapy, but better outcomes when matched with targeted immunotherapies — such as Merck’s mainstay immune checkpoint inhibitor Keytruda.

Testing for high status, known as MSI-H, is now recommended by international cancer treatment guidelines — with about 15% of colorectal cancer patients carrying the biomarker — however, according to Owkin, that screening is not typically performed in the collaboration’s four cancer targets.

“It is clear that there is a need for AI diagnostics that can both ease bottlenecks and resource pressures while also ramping up biomarker testing to match patients with optimal treatments,” Owkin’s chief diagnostics officer, Meriem Sefta, said in a statement….

Now you know… escaping the icy air tomorrow afternoon — for the cacti, for a month. But first, baby-girl’s second grade Holiday Pageant tonight… grin. Whoosh!

नमस्ते

[U] In Which Hinderaker… Finds A Fainting Couch — And Well, You Can Guess The Rest… Hilarious.

~ condor ~ 1 Comment

Updated @ 11:20 pm EST — Hinderaker has taken a lot of flack in his comments, from his MAGA readers… incensed that he said the Supremes won’t overturn the Colorado result. So in an update, he quotes a “highly respected” (but anonymous) lawyer to say the US Supremes will dump the Colorado opinion 9-0. Heh. Dream on.

That’s why I update — all the rest is trivial, but there is very little chance KBJ or the Wise Latina Justice will say that CO got it wrong. At most, they’ll decline to rule at all. And Gorsuch — a Justice from Colorado, may very well agree with his CO brothers. In any event, it will be… entertaining from here.

I could even see the Chief (Roberts) letting the CO ruling stand — so as to kill Trumpism good and dead before the 2024 cycle ends. Hilarious! End, updated portion.

I get that on the surface of his bleating tonight, John hopes to incite violence against the Supreme Court of Colorado — and her Justices — as well as the trial court judge there.

That is transparently obvious.

What I think is his more subtle goal… is one he and the Powerliner boys have long openly courted. They all want the GOP to be PREVENTED from naming Tangerine as the 2024 nominee, this coming summer.

And this 213 page Colorado decision (especially if one views it as essentially immutable, and not subject to being overturned in the US Supremes — as John says he does) is a perfect on-ramp to that outcome.

If Hinderaker is right, that the Supremes will say this is a states’ rights issue… then no sane GOP delegate to the Convention next summer will nominate Tangerine.

You cannot win, if you are not on the ballot in as many as perhaps five states, by then. [No matter that they are reliably blue states.] The math will never work for any GOP nominee who cannot garner a single vote, in perhaps 10 per cent of all states. And thus those states’ electoral college electors… will already be certifying a Democratic president, as winner — before polls close, even. The slaughter will be historic, for if that is how it goes, MAGA voters won’t even show up, and down ballots will be deep blue, nationwide.

All (John implies, UNLESS)… unless the GOP votes to run… someone else. Someone who is still eligible to be on Colorado’s ballots.

That is in fact John’s end game — getting to the compelled “someone else” — on the GOP ticket, in the general… and having the ability to blame Democrats when said “someone else” loses. [As he or she will.]

Again, accept the ugly truth of it, John — if Trump is not the GOP nominee, we all know he will run third party — and that per force means… your “someone else” is about 20 to 30 million votes in the hole, out of the gate.

It is… in sum, a wipe-out — either way. Democrats will control 1600 Penn. no matter what now — for four more years, minimum.

[Updated.] Y A W N. The Fifth Cir. Decides GOP Politics — Not Federal Law — Controls Them. No Matter.

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Here is the badly mistaken Fifth Cir. panel opinion, just published this evening.

You may safely ignore it.

This will decided by the Supremes.

But for a moment now, CBP and DHS cannot permanently remove (but may cut) razor wire. They may however, cut and / or remove during “exigent circumstances” — (defined here and in the District Court opinion as) “for purposes… [of] a medical emergency, inspection, or detention….”

Why? Because that exception (with the word “inspection”) appears in plain text in federal statutes. And so, the exception entirely swallows the rule announced by the Fifth tonight, so long as CBP lays down about $60 worth of razor wire, after freeing the asylum seekers being held back by it.

This is solely a political speech — not a legal opinion, in the Fifth tonight.

That is, the Fifth Circuit panel doesn’t explain how (or why) it squares this circle, preferring instead to call their order “temporary”. Pure political theater, that.

All of which… tells you all that you need to know — about the sophistry of these GOP appointed judges.

If on the other hand, this opinion is meant as a “shot across the bow” — of the Colorado Supreme Court… for ruling Tangerine ineligible to seek high office ever again… well, my personal view is that Colorado ought to let him be thrashed at the ballot box (without doubt he will be), and avoid letting him claim martyrdom. Yet and still — I am grinning (all 213 pages here, as a pdf file)!

नमस्ते