Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly Demands Someone at DOJ Put Ethical Skin in the Game
Around mid-day (maybe my time? maybe yours?), everything went wrong in the Dan Richman docket, in his bid to stop DOJ from violating his Fourth Amendment rights in their bid to indict Jim Comey.
The Clerk alerted the filers of four of the last filings they had fucked up.
Richman’s attorneys — lawyers from NY who filed docket # 9 and 15 — had filed a document signed by the people who posted it under someone else’s PACER login. The Clerk reminded Richman’s lawyers the person who actually signs into PACER to file something must have signed the document.
The other error was potentially more serious. DOJ’s two filings, 12 and 13, which were DOJ’s identical bid to lift the restraining order on accessing Richman’s data and opposing Richman’s motion for a TRO, noticed a different error. Best as I can explain it, the guy who filed this stuff, John Bailey, is not on the filings at all.
Not scintillating, perhaps. But nevertheless a testament to the fact that this docket, with its NY lawyers for Richman and a mix of shady lawyers for DOJ, were not doing what the clerk’s office checks to make sure the people actually making court filings have ethical skin in the game.
This came after another apparent problem in the docket. By all appearances, Pam Bondi had blown off Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly’s order that someone at DOJ confirm they were following her order that the entire government will stay out of Dan Richman’s stuff until Friday.
The Attorney General of the United States or her designee is further ORDERED to certify that the United States is in compliance with this Order no later than 12:00 p.m. ET on Monday, December 8, 2025.
It turns out DOJ’s failure to file anything on the docket was just another problem with the docket.
After both DOJ and Richman filed their filings yesterday (which I wrote about here) and after neither responded to Judge KK’s order that if they want to discuss these files, they may need to do a filter protocol, Judge KK weighed in again.
She noticed the same thing I did!! None of the people making these claims wanted to put their own ethical skin in the game. This is, significantly, what she seemed to be looking for when she made sure Richman got someone to file a notice of appearance.
Today’s order reveals what happened with her order to file a notice of compliance by Monday: They emailed it, two minutes before her deadline (but fucked up Lindsey the Insurance Lawyer’s filing … and anything else would frankly shock me at this point, because this has happened with pretty much everything filed under her name since she first showed up for Trump).
In response to this Court’s [10] Order dated December 6, 2025, Attorney Robert K. McBride sent an email to this Court’s Chambers at approximately 11 :58 a.m. ET on December 8, 2025, attaching a document certifying the Government’s compliance with the Court’s [10] Order, along with proposed Notices of Appearance for himself and Attorneys Todd W. Blanche and Lindsey Halligan. 1
1 The document that the Court is construing as a proposed Notice of Appearance for Attorney Halligan was attached with the filename “NOA Halligan,” but the substance of the document appeared to be a Notice of Appearance for Attorney Blanche. Another document attached to Attorney McBride’s email, entitled “NOA Blanche” was identical to this document except that it omitted Attorney Blanche’s Bar number.
She then laid out the two problems I did here. “[P]roviding documents by email is not a substitute for filing them on the docket.” “Attorney Bailey’s electronic signature does not appear in the body of the Government’s [12] Response and Motion–only the electronic signatures of Attorneys Blanche, Halligan, and McBride appear-and Attorney Bailey has not filed a notice of appearance.”
And then she laid out the problem with it — the reason I’ve been watching it closely this week.
To ensure that counsel who are accountable for the Government’s representations and legal positions in this matter are accurately identified in the official record of this case, it is ORDERED that all counsel of record for the Government shall file notices of appearance no later than 10:00 a.m. ET tomorrow, December 11, 2025.
She needs someone to hold accountable. She needs ethical skin in the game.
And then she ordered someone to file a certification of compliance on the docket, like she originally expected, by tomorrow morning.
It is further ORDERED that, no later than the same deadline, 10:00 a.m. ET tomorrow, December 11, 2025, the Government shall file on the docket its certification of compliance with this Court’s [10] Order dated December 6, 2025.
Who knows what happens next?!?!
What I do know is Todd Blanche and his buddies are awfully squirmy about what they’re doing. And I’m not the only one who noticed.
In my head, I’m seeing a bunch of DOJ lawyers sitting around a conference table, sounding like that old Life cereal commercial . . .
“I won’t sign it.”
“I won’t sign it.”
“I won’t sign it.”
“Let’s get . . .”
But I can’t figure out which name will fill in that last sentence.
Whoever it is, their appearance before Judge K-K will be . . . interesting.
It wasn’t me! h/t Shaggy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTMgX1PDGAE
10AM is too early for popcorn, and definitely too early for a high-ball, but I really, really, really want to see how they try to slither out of this.
My guess is they’ll just follow her order–though Blanche may balk based in his inappropriate participation in these things while also being a witness.
Bondi, Blanche et al stupidly thought that CKK would not pay attention to this detail. But the jig is up. To protract this ridiculous three-ring circus, I can see them placing Halligan’s or Habba’s or the name of another “special attorney” on the filing, thus tying up the court for several more months — as motions are made to disqualify said attorneys and are argued and followed by appeals, etc. — with what amounts to egregious stonewalling. These are the most conniving but also the most stupid people ever to lead a prominent federal agency.
“Let’s make Mikey sign it. He’ll sign anything.”
OT Republican lobbyist on class divide representation in districts, re-his paper
https://cgcn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/FILE_0729.pdf
Class Dismissed II Analysis The Secession of the Successful
It’s not every day that you find us agreeing with President Clinton’s former Labor Secretary,
Robert Reich. But back in the 1990s, Reich captured an emerging social phenomenon, which
he called “the secession of the successful.” By that he meant the nation’s elite removing
themselves from everyday people and their concerns.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFXl6l8XIew
As of this time (12/10/2025, 7:18 ET), the respective tab on CourtListener (“Parties and Attorneys”) says respondent USA is represented by John Bailey (Attorney to be noticed and Lead Attorney). No more attorneys are listed.