
Billy B and Johnny D Drank Whiskey before the Special Counsel Appointment
The timing of when John Durham killed the Italian-predicated tip into Trump's finances may dictate whether we learn more about it in his report.

The Trump-Biden-Pence Documents Story Is Not (Yet) about Overclassification
There is, to date, not any evidence that the Bush-Biden-Pence document story is about overclassification. Rather, it's about the way that Presidents and Vice Presidents go from being immune from laws on classification to being subject to them in an instant, all while packing up boxes to leave.

More on Brandon Straka's So-Called Cooperation
Comparing Brandon Straka's unsealed cooperation memos to his January 6 Committee interview still leaves big questions about why DOJ gave him a sweetheart misdemeanor plea deal.

About Your Pence Special Counsel Complaint: On the Missing Coverage of Section 600.2(b)
Merrick Garland didn't appoint a Special Counsel right away to investigate the classified documents found at President Biden's office and home. He appointed John Lausch to conduct an initial assessment.

"Why Did Mike Pence Wait So Long to Reveal His Stash of Classified Documents?"
This table should provide journalists a handy guide of details they need to know before chasing classified documents discovered in a former Constitutional officer's home.

No, Charles McGonigal Likely Isn't Responsible for that Part of the Russian Investigation You Hate
There are a number of key FBI investigations, including some in which Oleg Deripaska had tangential interest, on which Charles McGonigal would have had complete visibility. They're not the ones left, right, and frothers are most concerned about though.

Former FBI SAC Charles McGonigal Indicted for Crimes Spanning from 2017 to 2021
The former FBI Assistant Direct of Counterintelligence in New York , Charles McGonigal, just got busted in DC and NY for the kinds of crimes he used to investigate.

When Your Lawyer is Acting Like H.R. Haldeman, It's Time to Get a New Lawyer
Cassidy Hutchinson is too young to have lived through Watergate, but she clearly recognized how the Nixon lawyers worked.

Johnny McEntee: Enforcer of Trump's Authority to Invoke the Insurrection Act
Johnny McEntee likely testified to a grand jury last Friday about a potentially exculpatory comment he claims he heard Trump make to Mike Flynn. But along the way he may have been asked about his role in Trump's plan to use the National Guard to protect him as he marched on the Capitol.

"Several Work and Storage Areas:" Why DOJ Likely Doesn't Trust Biden's Personal Attorneys
Until Biden's lawyers answer some key questions about where the documents found this month were stored -- whether an actively used office or a storage space -- there's no reason to believe their story of cooperation is any more complete than Trump's was.

What We Can't Rule Out with Biden's Classified Documents
While one thing still distinguishes Trump's classified documents from Biden's -- his refusal to give them back -- we can't rule out that Biden's share some of the more damning details present with Trump.

On emptywheel's Continued Obsession with Delayed Oligarch Associate Arrests
DOJ chose to prosecute the guys who allegedly helped launder the Viktor Veklesberg seized in May in DC.

The Primary Thing Eric Herschmann Remembers from January 6 Is that Cassidy Hutchinson Was Wrong about That Note
Even though he became a star witness of the January 6 hearings with his potty-mouth attacks on other lawyers, Eric Herschmann didn't remember a lot of details that Cassidy Hutchinson did about January 6.

Special Master in Project Veritas Investigation Reviewed Crime-Fraud Submissions in December
The same week that Project Veritas' law firm withdrew from the Special Master case in the Ashley Biden investigation, Special Master Barbara Jones reviewed crime fraud submissions.

SCOTUS Is Wrecking The Societal Safety Net
SCOTUS protects itself from the consequences of its decisions. No one protects us.

Trump Worked with People Who Allegedly Worked with the Proud Boys to Obstruct the Peaceful Transfer of Power
As the Proud Boys trial gets underway, finally, prosecutors are beginning to show how the Proud Boys worked with people -- Alex Jones, Ali Alexander, and Roger Stone -- who in turn worked with Donald Trump in what ended up being a successful attempt to obstruct the certification of Donald Trump's loss.

Three Things: California Carrot Cataclysm
What's weird about carrots for all their popularity and straightforward consumption, is how little the average American knows about them — and about U.S. agriculture at large.

How Legal Certainty about 1512(c)(2) Has Wobbled Even as Certainty Trump Violated It Increased
No matter how much work Jack Smith and his team get accomplished in the weeks ahead, it will be hamstrung by appellate uncertainty around the one charge, 18 USC 1512(c)(2), that most people agree should be used to hold Trump accountable.

Why Trump's Lawyer, Evan Corcoran, Says Joe Biden Couldn't Violate 18 USC 1924
Trump's lawyer, Evan Corcoran, argued last May that 18 USC 1924 -- which many Twitter experts claim is at issue with Biden's classified documents -- cannot apply to the President. If his analysis is correct, it also cannot apply to the Vice President.

If the Former President Gets Top Billing in a Sedition Trial But You Didn't Bother to Notice ...
Charlie Pierce wants trials the likes of the Nuremberg Trials, which were so powerful because the architects of an authoritarian conspiracy were tied to the events that took place at the crime scene. And DOJ took a key step in doing that week -- a key step in an effort that has been obviously in the works for 18 months, an effort that started on January 4, 2021, when Enrique Tarrio's phone was seized.
And yet Charlie Pierce has seen no evidence of that.