Sorry, if you’ve heard this before, but the US Senate will have to decide whether to not to confirm the nomination of the most corrupt and compromised Attorney General in the nation’s history.
The good news is that the Judiciary Committee has postponed today’s vote because two GOP senators — John Cornyn and Thom Tillis — are holding out. The bad news is that we’ve seen this play before and it usually ends badly.
But it’s worth repeating:
The case against Todd Blanche beggars attempts at brevity, so I refer you to the public record in general: His role in the Epstein cover-up, his sweetheart deal with Ghislaine Maxwell, his election denialism, his slavish eagerness to do Donald Trump’s bidding, his civil rights and court orders, the $1.8 billion slush fund/IRS deal, the weaponization of the DOJ against political opponents, violations of his voluminous ethical conflicts, and the general enshittification that has caused 16,000 lawyers to bail from Blanche’s wretched bark. (I wrote about some of it here: “The (Overwhelming) Case Against Todd Blanche.”)
But, as Cornyn and Tillis wrestle with the decision to rubber stamp the deplorable nominee, they should ponder the latest revelations about the bizarre prosecution of James Comey for posting a picture of the shells that spelled out “86-47”
. Blanche’s willingness to serve up Comey’s head is, after all, what got him this job; it was the top item on his Trumpian resume.
Pam Bondi was fired because she was unable or unwilling to deliver Trump the vengeance he demanded.
Blanche had no such qualms.
He ignored counsels of prudence and fast-tracked the ludicrous case that sought to imprison Comey on the risible premise that the picture of the seashells constituted a death threat.
As new court filings make clear, it was even worse than it looked.
Happy Thursday.
Clowns with flamethrowers Chapter 897
On Tuesday, Comey’s lawyers asked a federal judge to dismiss the case on the grounds of vindictive and selective prosecution. But it is the details that are dazzling — and disqualifying for anyone involved in this kangaroo operation.
You can read the whole motion here.
Some of the lowlights:
The case was so weak that even former Attorney General Pam Bondi thought the indictment was a lousy idea.
“Investigators had interviewed Mr. Comey and elected not to arrest or charge him, and the Secret Service decided there was no need to open a full investigation. Even Ms. Bondi reportedly believed that the government had no viable case against Mr. Comey.”
The U.S. Secret Service “knowingly conducted illegal electronic surveillance” of the former FBI director at the request of a high-level official on the same day President Donald Trump claimed Comey was threatening “assassination” by posting a photo of seashells on a North Carolina beach forming the numbers “8647,”
The filings document the obsessive personal involvement of Trump himself and his DOJ lackeys.
“Behind the scenes, the Secret Service was closely coordinating with the DOJ and the President himself.”
“The Secret Service sent frequent updates to Air Force One, in response to direct requests from President Trump who wished for an update in advance of speaking to the press” about Comey’s post on Instagram, the filing says.
The key witness, described as “Person-1”, originally thought that “86” was just a restaurant term, but changed their mind when — and I’m not making this up — when they heard a podcast by Rudy Giuliani. Comedy's lawyers argue that the witness had a “utter lack of credibility” because of an “express bias against Mr. Comey.”
“Person-1 admitted that they had been estranged from Mr. Comey and had not spoken to him for at least two years; Person-1 also made clear their intense bias against Mr. Comey, stating that they hoped Mr. Comey ‘goes to jail. for the ‘crimes that he committed’ as FBI Director,” defense lawyers wrote. “
According to defense lawyers, the individual originally interpreted “86” through it’s “food service meaning,” but later believed the term “86” was associated with violence after listening to an episode of Rudy Giuliani’s podcast.
Desperate to make the case, the FBI interviewed Gambino crime underboss Sammy the Bull Gravano, who ended up stomping on the prosecution theory that the term 86 referred to murder. Via Mediaite:
When the FBI asked Gravano who else might be an “authority” on the use of the term “86,” he urged them to interview former federal prosecutor John Gleeson, who worked two cases involving Gotti before becoming a judge, calling him “brilliant.”
A sworn July affidavit by Gleeson lists his extensive credentials as “an expert on the topic of the jargon used by members and associates of La Cosa Nostra” — more commonly known as the “mafia” — including “the terminology used by such persons to refer to murder.”
As part of his investigations in these cases, Gleeson interviewed “more than 100 members of the mafia,” spent “more than 500 hours with cooperating witnesses,” and reviewed hundreds of hours of recorded wiretapped conversations and secretly bugged conversations between mafia members and associates.
“The claim that ’86’ is mafia jargon for ‘kill’ is preposterous,” Gleeson declared in his affidavit. “If it weren’t made in the context of seeking to deprive a man of his liberty, it would be laughable.”
Today’s podcast with Tara Palmeri
Tara Palmeri, host of The Tara Palmeri Show and author of the newsletter "The Red Letter," joins me to talk about Todd Blanche, and to unpack Trump's attack on Kaitlan Collins at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. She also tells the story of the time Harvey Weinstein tried to bully her into killing a story. We also discuss a genuinely cringeworthy video of the late Lindsey Graham.
Subscribers can listen to an ad-free version right here… or you can watch on YouTube / Listen (and subscribe) on Apple/ Spotify / iHeart / RSS Feed
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Note: If you enjoy conversations like this one, or just want to hang around with smart, sane people, please consider joining us. As you know, we depend on the kindness of strangers to keep doing this work. And the dogs and I are immensely grateful for your generous support.
Some highlights of our conversation
Voting for Blanche = Voting for the Epstein cover-up
Todd Blanche’s pardon offer to Ghislaine Maxwell…
When Harvey Weinstein tried to bully Tara
Lindsey Graham yukking it up over the fact that Trump “loves blowing stuff up”
Thursday dogs
Quick note: I’m going to be on vacation next week, but I think Auggie and Eli may have some messages for our loyal readers. Stay tuned.
