January 2023

First, the most significant bit of news that went under the radar this week The DOJ charged former FBI official Charles McGonigal with concealing $225,000 in cash that he received from an outside source. McGonigal was also charged with taking money from Oleg Deripaska, a sanctioned Russian oligarch, who, if you recall, was one of Paul […]

Before we begin: My appellate practice was dedicated to representing indigents on appeal. I was appointed by the California appellate courts and paid through California’s general budget. I was in the trenches defending people who were among the most vilified by our society. My heart was broken every day but I did what I could,

A federal judge in Florida sanctioned Trump and his lawyers $938,000 for that silly RICO lawsuit he brought against Hillary and others. Yes, he has to pay Hillary Clinton. Want some fun? We can read the sanctions order together 🤓 then I’ll answer questions. (The sanctions order is here. Trump’s original lawsuit is here.) Basically, last March,

There is an important seditious conspiracy trial happening. So that we can all follow along (I could use the review myself) I went back to the indictment, which is here, to get back up to speed. In the last seditious conspiracy trial, two defendants Oath Keeper leaders Stewart Rhodes and Kelly Meggs were convicted of

To create fairness, our legal system and the federal government have grown increasingly complex. My question is whether the complexity has grown beyond too many people’s capacity to tolerate it. Q: Can democracy survive in America? A: (Spoiler) I don’t know. Can people tolerate this much complexity? I begin with history and facts about our current system because

The Members of the GOP who Sympathized with the Insurrection and Helped Spread Trump’s Election Lies are now in Control of the House of Representatives In a nutshell, what happened this week in the House was that Kevin McCarthy had difficulty securing enough votes to become Speaker of the House because a small group of