• N.Y. prosecutor rebuffs GOP demand for documents related to Trump inves

    From VegasJerry@21:1/5 to All on Thu Mar 23 13:55:53 2023
    N.Y. prosecutor rebuffs GOP demand for documents related to Trump investigation

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Thursday emphatically rebuffed a House Republican demand for documents and testimony related to his office’s investigation of former president Donald Trump, saying the request was “an unprecedented inquiry
    into a pending local prosecution.”

    On Tuesday, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Bragg demanding materials related to his investigation into alleged hush-money payments from Trump to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016
    presidential campaign. Jordan also accused Bragg of an “unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority,” an escalation of the standoff between the district attorney’s office and Trump’s House Republican allies.

    The demand by Jordan and other GOP lawmakers came after Trump claimed over the weekend that he would be arrested in the coming days and called on his supporters to protest. The Manhattan grand jury weighing possible criminal charges against Trump will
    not consider the matter again until at least Monday, according to two people familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss secret grand jury proceedings. On his Truth Social platform, Trump has kept up a steady stream of
    attacks on Bragg in all-caps-heavy posts, calling him an “animal” and demanding his removal from office.

    In a letter to Jordan and others Thursday, Bragg’s office said their request “treads into territory very clearly reserved to the states” — and noted that it had only come after Trump had “created a false expectation that he would be arrested …
    and his lawyers reportedly urged you to intervene.”

    “Neither fact is a legitimate basis for congressional inquiry,” stated the letter from the district attorney’s office, signed by general counsel Leslie Dubeck.

    Complying with their request would interfere with law enforcement and violate New York’s sovereignty, Dubeck added. The letter also poured cold water on Jordan’s suggestion that Congress needed those documents for a review of federal public safety
    funds, but said the district attorney’s office would nonetheless submit a letter describing its use of federal funds.

    “While the DA’s Office will not allow a Congressional investigation to impede the exercise of New York’s sovereign police power, this Office will always treat a fellow government entity with due respect,” the letter from Bragg’s office
    concluded. “Therefore, again, we request a meet and confer to understand whether the Committee has any legitimate legislative purpose in the requested materials that could be accommodated without impeding those sovereign interests.”

    Jordan’s letter drew sharp criticism from Democrats, who pointed out that the right-wing lawmaker had ignored a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The Jan. 6 committee later voted to
    refer Jordan and other GOP lawmakers who had also defied its subpoenas to the House Ethics Committee.

    Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee have also pushed back on Jordan’s letter to Bragg, which they did not sign.

    “Jim Jordan is out of control,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) wrote in a Twitter post Thursday. “He’s trying to put his thumb on the scale for his friend Donald Trump by injecting MAGA politics into an ongoing criminal investigation. I appreciate [
    Bragg’s] measured response to Jordan’s dangerous request.”

    In one of his last acts as president, Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the nation’s highest civilian award — to Jordan in January 2021. The White House at the time praised Jordan, one of eight House lawmakers who were part of Trump�
    ��s defense team in his first Senate impeachment trial, for his work to “unmask the Russia hoax and take on Deep State corruption” and for his efforts to “confront the impeachment witch hunt.”

    Republicans have rallied to Trump’s defense since the former president predicted over the weekend he would be arrested. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and many other high-profile GOP figures — including those who could be Trump’s chief
    rivals in the 2024 presidential primary — accused Bragg, a Democrat, of pursuing a political agenda.

    Notably silent over the weekend was Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), another likely 2024 opponent, who on Monday claimed Bragg was “weaponizing the office” but couldn’t resist making references to the allegations against Trump.

    “Look, I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair — I just, I can’t speak to that,” DeSantis said, prompting laughter and applause from the audience at a Florida state college.

    Prosecutors from Bragg’s office have been presenting grand jurors with evidence related to payments during the 2016 presidential campaign aimed at keeping Daniels from airing her claim that she’d had a sexual relationship with Trump years earlier.

    Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, was paid $130,000 by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer. Trump reimbursed him after becoming president, in installments that were designated legal fees.

    Bragg has declined to give details of the investigation, and his office declined to comment Thursday. But he is believed to be considering charges related to the payments that would include falsifying business records, possibly in commission of another,
    campaign-related crime.
    ____________________

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Tim Norfolk@21:1/5 to VegasJerry on Thu Mar 23 18:08:49 2023
    On Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 4:55:57 PM UTC-4, VegasJerry wrote:
    N.Y. prosecutor rebuffs GOP demand for documents related to Trump investigation

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Thursday emphatically rebuffed a House Republican demand for documents and testimony related to his office’s investigation of former president Donald Trump, saying the request was “an unprecedented inquiry
    into a pending local prosecution.”

    On Tuesday, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Bragg demanding materials related to his investigation into alleged hush-money payments from Trump to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016
    presidential campaign. Jordan also accused Bragg of an “unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority,” an escalation of the standoff between the district attorney’s office and Trump’s House Republican allies.

    The demand by Jordan and other GOP lawmakers came after Trump claimed over the weekend that he would be arrested in the coming days and called on his supporters to protest. The Manhattan grand jury weighing possible criminal charges against Trump will
    not consider the matter again until at least Monday, according to two people familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss secret grand jury proceedings. On his Truth Social platform, Trump has kept up a steady stream of
    attacks on Bragg in all-caps-heavy posts, calling him an “animal” and demanding his removal from office.

    In a letter to Jordan and others Thursday, Bragg’s office said their request “treads into territory very clearly reserved to the states” — and noted that it had only come after Trump had “created a false expectation that he would be arrested �
    �� and his lawyers reportedly urged you to intervene.”

    “Neither fact is a legitimate basis for congressional inquiry,” stated the letter from the district attorney’s office, signed by general counsel Leslie Dubeck.

    Complying with their request would interfere with law enforcement and violate New York’s sovereignty, Dubeck added. The letter also poured cold water on Jordan’s suggestion that Congress needed those documents for a review of federal public safety
    funds, but said the district attorney’s office would nonetheless submit a letter describing its use of federal funds.

    “While the DA’s Office will not allow a Congressional investigation to impede the exercise of New York’s sovereign police power, this Office will always treat a fellow government entity with due respect,” the letter from Bragg’s office
    concluded. “Therefore, again, we request a meet and confer to understand whether the Committee has any legitimate legislative purpose in the requested materials that could be accommodated without impeding those sovereign interests.”

    Jordan’s letter drew sharp criticism from Democrats, who pointed out that the right-wing lawmaker had ignored a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The Jan. 6 committee later voted to
    refer Jordan and other GOP lawmakers who had also defied its subpoenas to the House Ethics Committee.

    Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee have also pushed back on Jordan’s letter to Bragg, which they did not sign.

    “Jim Jordan is out of control,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) wrote in a Twitter post Thursday. “He’s trying to put his thumb on the scale for his friend Donald Trump by injecting MAGA politics into an ongoing criminal investigation. I
    appreciate [Bragg’s] measured response to Jordan’s dangerous request.”

    In one of his last acts as president, Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the nation’s highest civilian award — to Jordan in January 2021. The White House at the time praised Jordan, one of eight House lawmakers who were part of
    Trump’s defense team in his first Senate impeachment trial, for his work to “unmask the Russia hoax and take on Deep State corruption” and for his efforts to “confront the impeachment witch hunt.”

    Republicans have rallied to Trump’s defense since the former president predicted over the weekend he would be arrested. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and many other high-profile GOP figures — including those who could be Trump’s chief
    rivals in the 2024 presidential primary — accused Bragg, a Democrat, of pursuing a political agenda.

    Notably silent over the weekend was Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), another likely 2024 opponent, who on Monday claimed Bragg was “weaponizing the office” but couldn’t resist making references to the allegations against Trump.

    “Look, I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair — I just, I can’t speak to that,” DeSantis said, prompting laughter and applause from the audience at a Florida state
    college.

    Prosecutors from Bragg’s office have been presenting grand jurors with evidence related to payments during the 2016 presidential campaign aimed at keeping Daniels from airing her claim that she’d had a sexual relationship with Trump years earlier.

    Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, was paid $130,000 by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer. Trump reimbursed him after becoming president, in installments that were designated legal fees.

    Bragg has declined to give details of the investigation, and his office declined to comment Thursday. But he is believed to be considering charges related to the payments that would include falsifying business records, possibly in commission of another,
    campaign-related crime.
    ____________________

    So much for States' rights. Again (see the Fugitive Slaves Act)

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From da pickle@21:1/5 to Tim Norfolk on Fri Mar 24 07:53:47 2023
    On 3/23/2023 8:08 PM, Tim Norfolk wrote:
    On Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 4:55:57 PM UTC-4, VegasJerry wrote:
    N.Y. prosecutor rebuffs GOP demand for documents related to Trump investigation

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Thursday emphatically rebuffed a House Republican demand for documents and testimony related to his office’s investigation of former president Donald Trump, saying the request was “an unprecedented
    inquiry into a pending local prosecution.”

    On Tuesday, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Bragg demanding materials related to his investigation into alleged hush-money payments from Trump to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016
    presidential campaign. Jordan also accused Bragg of an “unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority,” an escalation of the standoff between the district attorney’s office and Trump’s House Republican allies.

    The demand by Jordan and other GOP lawmakers came after Trump claimed over the weekend that he would be arrested in the coming days and called on his supporters to protest. The Manhattan grand jury weighing possible criminal charges against Trump will
    not consider the matter again until at least Monday, according to two people familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss secret grand jury proceedings. On his Truth Social platform, Trump has kept up a steady stream of
    attacks on Bragg in all-caps-heavy posts, calling him an “animal” and demanding his removal from office.

    In a letter to Jordan and others Thursday, Bragg’s office said their request “treads into territory very clearly reserved to the states” — and noted that it had only come after Trump had “created a false expectation that he would be arrested
    … and his lawyers reportedly urged you to intervene.”

    “Neither fact is a legitimate basis for congressional inquiry,” stated the letter from the district attorney’s office, signed by general counsel Leslie Dubeck.

    Complying with their request would interfere with law enforcement and violate New York’s sovereignty, Dubeck added. The letter also poured cold water on Jordan’s suggestion that Congress needed those documents for a review of federal public safety
    funds, but said the district attorney’s office would nonetheless submit a letter describing its use of federal funds.

    “While the DA’s Office will not allow a Congressional investigation to impede the exercise of New York’s sovereign police power, this Office will always treat a fellow government entity with due respect,” the letter from Bragg’s office
    concluded. “Therefore, again, we request a meet and confer to understand whether the Committee has any legitimate legislative purpose in the requested materials that could be accommodated without impeding those sovereign interests.”

    Jordan’s letter drew sharp criticism from Democrats, who pointed out that the right-wing lawmaker had ignored a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The Jan. 6 committee later voted to
    refer Jordan and other GOP lawmakers who had also defied its subpoenas to the House Ethics Committee.

    Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee have also pushed back on Jordan’s letter to Bragg, which they did not sign.

    “Jim Jordan is out of control,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) wrote in a Twitter post Thursday. “He’s trying to put his thumb on the scale for his friend Donald Trump by injecting MAGA politics into an ongoing criminal investigation. I
    appreciate [Bragg’s] measured response to Jordan’s dangerous request.”

    In one of his last acts as president, Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the nation’s highest civilian award — to Jordan in January 2021. The White House at the time praised Jordan, one of eight House lawmakers who were part of
    Trump’s defense team in his first Senate impeachment trial, for his work to “unmask the Russia hoax and take on Deep State corruption” and for his efforts to “confront the impeachment witch hunt.”

    Republicans have rallied to Trump’s defense since the former president predicted over the weekend he would be arrested. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and many other high-profile GOP figures — including those who could be Trump’s chief
    rivals in the 2024 presidential primary — accused Bragg, a Democrat, of pursuing a political agenda.

    Notably silent over the weekend was Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), another likely 2024 opponent, who on Monday claimed Bragg was “weaponizing the office” but couldn’t resist making references to the allegations against Trump.

    “Look, I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair — I just, I can’t speak to that,” DeSantis said, prompting laughter and applause from the audience at a Florida state
    college.

    Prosecutors from Bragg’s office have been presenting grand jurors with evidence related to payments during the 2016 presidential campaign aimed at keeping Daniels from airing her claim that she’d had a sexual relationship with Trump years earlier.

    Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, was paid $130,000 by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer. Trump reimbursed him after becoming president, in installments that were designated legal fees.

    Bragg has declined to give details of the investigation, and his office declined to comment Thursday. But he is believed to be considering charges related to the payments that would include falsifying business records, possibly in commission of
    another, campaign-related crime.
    ____________________

    So much for States' rights. Again (see the Fugitive Slaves Act)

    So much for States' Rights ... the United States covers almost
    everything for the individual States ... really started with the 14th
    ... the SC took care of most everything else since then. (I would look
    to the Interstate Commerce Act for a whole bunch of stuff.)

    [Roe v Wade was clearly "unconstitutional" in my opinion, but a
    necessary compromise, in my opinion.]

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From VegasJerry@21:1/5 to Tim Norfolk on Fri Mar 24 13:42:20 2023
    On Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 6:08:52 PM UTC-7, Tim Norfolk wrote:
    On Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 4:55:57 PM UTC-4, VegasJerry wrote:
    N.Y. prosecutor rebuffs GOP demand for documents related to Trump investigation

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Thursday emphatically rebuffed a House Republican demand for documents and testimony related to his office’s investigation of former president Donald Trump, saying the request was “an unprecedented
    inquiry into a pending local prosecution.”

    On Tuesday, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Bragg demanding materials related to his investigation into alleged hush-money payments from Trump to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016
    presidential campaign. Jordan also accused Bragg of an “unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority,” an escalation of the standoff between the district attorney’s office and Trump’s House Republican allies.

    The demand by Jordan and other GOP lawmakers came after Trump claimed over the weekend that he would be arrested in the coming days and called on his supporters to protest. The Manhattan grand jury weighing possible criminal charges against Trump
    will not consider the matter again until at least Monday, according to two people familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss secret grand jury proceedings. On his Truth Social platform, Trump has kept up a steady
    stream of attacks on Bragg in all-caps-heavy posts, calling him an “animal” and demanding his removal from office.

    In a letter to Jordan and others Thursday, Bragg’s office said their request “treads into territory very clearly reserved to the states” — and noted that it had only come after Trump had “created a false expectation that he would be
    arrested … and his lawyers reportedly urged you to intervene.”

    “Neither fact is a legitimate basis for congressional inquiry,” stated the letter from the district attorney’s office, signed by general counsel Leslie Dubeck.

    Complying with their request would interfere with law enforcement and violate New York’s sovereignty, Dubeck added. The letter also poured cold water on Jordan’s suggestion that Congress needed those documents for a review of federal public
    safety funds, but said the district attorney’s office would nonetheless submit a letter describing its use of federal funds.

    “While the DA’s Office will not allow a Congressional investigation to impede the exercise of New York’s sovereign police power, this Office will always treat a fellow government entity with due respect,” the letter from Bragg’s office
    concluded. “Therefore, again, we request a meet and confer to understand whether the Committee has any legitimate legislative purpose in the requested materials that could be accommodated without impeding those sovereign interests.”

    Jordan’s letter drew sharp criticism from Democrats, who pointed out that the right-wing lawmaker had ignored a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The Jan. 6 committee later voted to
    refer Jordan and other GOP lawmakers who had also defied its subpoenas to the House Ethics Committee.

    Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee have also pushed back on Jordan’s letter to Bragg, which they did not sign.

    “Jim Jordan is out of control,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) wrote in a Twitter post Thursday. “He’s trying to put his thumb on the scale for his friend Donald Trump by injecting MAGA politics into an ongoing criminal investigation. I
    appreciate [Bragg’s] measured response to Jordan’s dangerous request.”

    In one of his last acts as president, Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the nation’s highest civilian award — to Jordan in January 2021. The White House at the time praised Jordan, one of eight House lawmakers who were part of
    Trump’s defense team in his first Senate impeachment trial, for his work to “unmask the Russia hoax and take on Deep State corruption” and for his efforts to “confront the impeachment witch hunt.”

    Republicans have rallied to Trump’s defense since the former president predicted over the weekend he would be arrested. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and many other high-profile GOP figures — including those who could be Trump’s chief
    rivals in the 2024 presidential primary — accused Bragg, a Democrat, of pursuing a political agenda.

    Notably silent over the weekend was Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), another likely 2024 opponent, who on Monday claimed Bragg was “weaponizing the office” but couldn’t resist making references to the allegations against Trump.

    “Look, I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair — I just, I can’t speak to that,” DeSantis said, prompting laughter and applause from the audience at a Florida state
    college.

    Prosecutors from Bragg’s office have been presenting grand jurors with evidence related to payments during the 2016 presidential campaign aimed at keeping Daniels from airing her claim that she’d had a sexual relationship with Trump years earlier.


    Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, was paid $130,000 by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer. Trump reimbursed him after becoming president, in installments that were designated legal fees.

    Bragg has declined to give details of the investigation, and his office declined to comment Thursday. But he is believed to be considering charges related to the payments that would include falsifying business records, possibly in commission of
    another, campaign-related crime.
    ____________________
    .

    So much for States' rights. Again (see the Fugitive Slaves Act)
    .

    And this what to do with GOP demand for documents?

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Tim Norfolk@21:1/5 to VegasJerry on Fri Mar 24 17:37:28 2023
    On Friday, March 24, 2023 at 4:42:23 PM UTC-4, VegasJerry wrote:
    On Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 6:08:52 PM UTC-7, Tim Norfolk wrote:
    On Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 4:55:57 PM UTC-4, VegasJerry wrote:
    N.Y. prosecutor rebuffs GOP demand for documents related to Trump investigation

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Thursday emphatically rebuffed a House Republican demand for documents and testimony related to his office’s investigation of former president Donald Trump, saying the request was “an unprecedented
    inquiry into a pending local prosecution.”

    On Tuesday, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Bragg demanding materials related to his investigation into alleged hush-money payments from Trump to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels during the
    2016 presidential campaign. Jordan also accused Bragg of an “unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority,” an escalation of the standoff between the district attorney’s office and Trump’s House Republican allies.

    The demand by Jordan and other GOP lawmakers came after Trump claimed over the weekend that he would be arrested in the coming days and called on his supporters to protest. The Manhattan grand jury weighing possible criminal charges against Trump
    will not consider the matter again until at least Monday, according to two people familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss secret grand jury proceedings. On his Truth Social platform, Trump has kept up a steady
    stream of attacks on Bragg in all-caps-heavy posts, calling him an “animal” and demanding his removal from office.

    In a letter to Jordan and others Thursday, Bragg’s office said their request “treads into territory very clearly reserved to the states” — and noted that it had only come after Trump had “created a false expectation that he would be
    arrested … and his lawyers reportedly urged you to intervene.”

    “Neither fact is a legitimate basis for congressional inquiry,” stated the letter from the district attorney’s office, signed by general counsel Leslie Dubeck.

    Complying with their request would interfere with law enforcement and violate New York’s sovereignty, Dubeck added. The letter also poured cold water on Jordan’s suggestion that Congress needed those documents for a review of federal public
    safety funds, but said the district attorney’s office would nonetheless submit a letter describing its use of federal funds.

    “While the DA’s Office will not allow a Congressional investigation to impede the exercise of New York’s sovereign police power, this Office will always treat a fellow government entity with due respect,” the letter from Bragg’s office
    concluded. “Therefore, again, we request a meet and confer to understand whether the Committee has any legitimate legislative purpose in the requested materials that could be accommodated without impeding those sovereign interests.”

    Jordan’s letter drew sharp criticism from Democrats, who pointed out that the right-wing lawmaker had ignored a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The Jan. 6 committee later voted
    to refer Jordan and other GOP lawmakers who had also defied its subpoenas to the House Ethics Committee.

    Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee have also pushed back on Jordan’s letter to Bragg, which they did not sign.

    “Jim Jordan is out of control,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) wrote in a Twitter post Thursday. “He’s trying to put his thumb on the scale for his friend Donald Trump by injecting MAGA politics into an ongoing criminal investigation. I
    appreciate [Bragg’s] measured response to Jordan’s dangerous request.”

    In one of his last acts as president, Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the nation’s highest civilian award — to Jordan in January 2021. The White House at the time praised Jordan, one of eight House lawmakers who were part of
    Trump’s defense team in his first Senate impeachment trial, for his work to “unmask the Russia hoax and take on Deep State corruption” and for his efforts to “confront the impeachment witch hunt.”

    Republicans have rallied to Trump’s defense since the former president predicted over the weekend he would be arrested. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and many other high-profile GOP figures — including those who could be Trump’s
    chief rivals in the 2024 presidential primary — accused Bragg, a Democrat, of pursuing a political agenda.

    Notably silent over the weekend was Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), another likely 2024 opponent, who on Monday claimed Bragg was “weaponizing the office” but couldn’t resist making references to the allegations against Trump.

    “Look, I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair — I just, I can’t speak to that,” DeSantis said, prompting laughter and applause from the audience at a Florida state
    college.

    Prosecutors from Bragg’s office have been presenting grand jurors with evidence related to payments during the 2016 presidential campaign aimed at keeping Daniels from airing her claim that she’d had a sexual relationship with Trump years
    earlier.

    Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, was paid $130,000 by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer. Trump reimbursed him after becoming president, in installments that were designated legal fees.

    Bragg has declined to give details of the investigation, and his office declined to comment Thursday. But he is believed to be considering charges related to the payments that would include falsifying business records, possibly in commission of
    another, campaign-related crime.
    ____________________
    .
    So much for States' rights. Again (see the Fugitive Slaves Act)
    .

    And this what to do with GOP demand for documents?

    The prosecution is a New York State matter, and Congress isn't permitted to interfere.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From da pickle@21:1/5 to Tim Norfolk on Sat Mar 25 08:34:39 2023
    On 3/24/2023 7:37 PM, Tim Norfolk wrote:
    On Friday, March 24, 2023 at 4:42:23 PM UTC-4, VegasJerry wrote:
    On Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 6:08:52 PM UTC-7, Tim Norfolk wrote:
    On Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 4:55:57 PM UTC-4, VegasJerry wrote:
    N.Y. prosecutor rebuffs GOP demand for documents related to Trump investigation

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Thursday emphatically rebuffed a House Republican demand for documents and testimony related to his office’s investigation of former president Donald Trump, saying the request was “an unprecedented
    inquiry into a pending local prosecution.”

    On Tuesday, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Bragg demanding materials related to his investigation into alleged hush-money payments from Trump to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016
    presidential campaign. Jordan also accused Bragg of an “unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority,” an escalation of the standoff between the district attorney’s office and Trump’s House Republican allies.

    The demand by Jordan and other GOP lawmakers came after Trump claimed over the weekend that he would be arrested in the coming days and called on his supporters to protest. The Manhattan grand jury weighing possible criminal charges against Trump
    will not consider the matter again until at least Monday, according to two people familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss secret grand jury proceedings. On his Truth Social platform, Trump has kept up a steady
    stream of attacks on Bragg in all-caps-heavy posts, calling him an “animal” and demanding his removal from office.

    In a letter to Jordan and others Thursday, Bragg’s office said their request “treads into territory very clearly reserved to the states” — and noted that it had only come after Trump had “created a false expectation that he would be
    arrested … and his lawyers reportedly urged you to intervene.”

    “Neither fact is a legitimate basis for congressional inquiry,” stated the letter from the district attorney’s office, signed by general counsel Leslie Dubeck.

    Complying with their request would interfere with law enforcement and violate New York’s sovereignty, Dubeck added. The letter also poured cold water on Jordan’s suggestion that Congress needed those documents for a review of federal public
    safety funds, but said the district attorney’s office would nonetheless submit a letter describing its use of federal funds.

    “While the DA’s Office will not allow a Congressional investigation to impede the exercise of New York’s sovereign police power, this Office will always treat a fellow government entity with due respect,” the letter from Bragg’s office
    concluded. “Therefore, again, we request a meet and confer to understand whether the Committee has any legitimate legislative purpose in the requested materials that could be accommodated without impeding those sovereign interests.”

    Jordan’s letter drew sharp criticism from Democrats, who pointed out that the right-wing lawmaker had ignored a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The Jan. 6 committee later voted
    to refer Jordan and other GOP lawmakers who had also defied its subpoenas to the House Ethics Committee.

    Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee have also pushed back on Jordan’s letter to Bragg, which they did not sign.

    “Jim Jordan is out of control,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) wrote in a Twitter post Thursday. “He’s trying to put his thumb on the scale for his friend Donald Trump by injecting MAGA politics into an ongoing criminal investigation. I
    appreciate [Bragg’s] measured response to Jordan’s dangerous request.” >>>>
    In one of his last acts as president, Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the nation’s highest civilian award — to Jordan in January 2021. The White House at the time praised Jordan, one of eight House lawmakers who were part of
    Trump’s defense team in his first Senate impeachment trial, for his work to “unmask the Russia hoax and take on Deep State corruption” and for his efforts to “confront the impeachment witch hunt.”

    Republicans have rallied to Trump’s defense since the former president predicted over the weekend he would be arrested. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and many other high-profile GOP figures — including those who could be Trump’s
    chief rivals in the 2024 presidential primary — accused Bragg, a Democrat, of pursuing a political agenda.

    Notably silent over the weekend was Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), another likely 2024 opponent, who on Monday claimed Bragg was “weaponizing the office” but couldn’t resist making references to the allegations against Trump.

    “Look, I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair — I just, I can’t speak to that,” DeSantis said, prompting laughter and applause from the audience at a Florida state
    college.

    Prosecutors from Bragg’s office have been presenting grand jurors with evidence related to payments during the 2016 presidential campaign aimed at keeping Daniels from airing her claim that she’d had a sexual relationship with Trump years
    earlier.

    Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, was paid $130,000 by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer. Trump reimbursed him after becoming president, in installments that were designated legal fees.

    Bragg has declined to give details of the investigation, and his office declined to comment Thursday. But he is believed to be considering charges related to the payments that would include falsifying business records, possibly in commission of
    another, campaign-related crime.
    ____________________
    .
    So much for States' rights. Again (see the Fugitive Slaves Act)
    .

    And this what to do with GOP demand for documents?

    The prosecution is a New York State matter, and Congress isn't permitted to interfere.

    Tim, I did not know you were a "States Rights" guy. I am very much
    concerned about the "federal" folks taking over "everything" from the individual states.

    I wonder (since it is a former President of the USA that is involved) if
    such matters might be of concern to the "Federal" guys? When "Civil
    Rights" were concerned, the federal guys expended a lot of energy and
    money taking charge.

    [I remember a standoff between Gov Earl Long and the feds (US Army too) standing on one end of the bridge into Plaquemines Parish with Judge
    Leander Perez (and local and state police) on the other end ... school desegregation was supposed to be a STATE matter but ... anyway, finally
    Uncle Earl told Leander he had to let the feds in ... his reply to
    "Why?" ... "They have the bomb!"]

    And I wonder if a foreign diplomat was involved if you would feel the
    same about the fed "interfering" with the matter. I know it is
    "different" but sometimes our political thoughts/preferences get in the way.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Tim Norfolk@21:1/5 to da pickle on Sat Mar 25 08:49:24 2023
    On Saturday, March 25, 2023 at 9:34:31 AM UTC-4, da pickle wrote:
    On 3/24/2023 7:37 PM, Tim Norfolk wrote:
    On Friday, March 24, 2023 at 4:42:23 PM UTC-4, VegasJerry wrote:
    On Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 6:08:52 PM UTC-7, Tim Norfolk wrote:
    On Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 4:55:57 PM UTC-4, VegasJerry wrote: >>>> N.Y. prosecutor rebuffs GOP demand for documents related to Trump investigation

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Thursday emphatically rebuffed a House Republican demand for documents and testimony related to his office’s investigation of former president Donald Trump, saying the request was “an unprecedented
    inquiry into a pending local prosecution.”

    On Tuesday, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Bragg demanding materials related to his investigation into alleged hush-money payments from Trump to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels during the
    2016 presidential campaign. Jordan also accused Bragg of an “unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority,” an escalation of the standoff between the district attorney’s office and Trump’s House Republican allies.

    The demand by Jordan and other GOP lawmakers came after Trump claimed over the weekend that he would be arrested in the coming days and called on his supporters to protest. The Manhattan grand jury weighing possible criminal charges against Trump
    will not consider the matter again until at least Monday, according to two people familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss secret grand jury proceedings. On his Truth Social platform, Trump has kept up a steady
    stream of attacks on Bragg in all-caps-heavy posts, calling him an “animal” and demanding his removal from office.

    In a letter to Jordan and others Thursday, Bragg’s office said their request “treads into territory very clearly reserved to the states” — and noted that it had only come after Trump had “created a false expectation that he would be
    arrested … and his lawyers reportedly urged you to intervene.”

    “Neither fact is a legitimate basis for congressional inquiry,” stated the letter from the district attorney’s office, signed by general counsel Leslie Dubeck.

    Complying with their request would interfere with law enforcement and violate New York’s sovereignty, Dubeck added. The letter also poured cold water on Jordan’s suggestion that Congress needed those documents for a review of federal public
    safety funds, but said the district attorney’s office would nonetheless submit a letter describing its use of federal funds.

    “While the DA’s Office will not allow a Congressional investigation to impede the exercise of New York’s sovereign police power, this Office will always treat a fellow government entity with due respect,” the letter from Bragg’s office
    concluded. “Therefore, again, we request a meet and confer to understand whether the Committee has any legitimate legislative purpose in the requested materials that could be accommodated without impeding those sovereign interests.”

    Jordan’s letter drew sharp criticism from Democrats, who pointed out that the right-wing lawmaker had ignored a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The Jan. 6 committee later voted
    to refer Jordan and other GOP lawmakers who had also defied its subpoenas to the House Ethics Committee.

    Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee have also pushed back on Jordan’s letter to Bragg, which they did not sign.

    “Jim Jordan is out of control,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) wrote in a Twitter post Thursday. “He’s trying to put his thumb on the scale for his friend Donald Trump by injecting MAGA politics into an ongoing criminal investigation. I
    appreciate [Bragg’s] measured response to Jordan’s dangerous request.”

    In one of his last acts as president, Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the nation’s highest civilian award — to Jordan in January 2021. The White House at the time praised Jordan, one of eight House lawmakers who were part
    of Trump’s defense team in his first Senate impeachment trial, for his work to “unmask the Russia hoax and take on Deep State corruption” and for his efforts to “confront the impeachment witch hunt.”

    Republicans have rallied to Trump’s defense since the former president predicted over the weekend he would be arrested. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and many other high-profile GOP figures — including those who could be Trump’s
    chief rivals in the 2024 presidential primary — accused Bragg, a Democrat, of pursuing a political agenda.

    Notably silent over the weekend was Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), another likely 2024 opponent, who on Monday claimed Bragg was “weaponizing the office” but couldn’t resist making references to the allegations against Trump.

    “Look, I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair — I just, I can’t speak to that,” DeSantis said, prompting laughter and applause from the audience at a Florida state
    college.

    Prosecutors from Bragg’s office have been presenting grand jurors with evidence related to payments during the 2016 presidential campaign aimed at keeping Daniels from airing her claim that she’d had a sexual relationship with Trump years
    earlier.

    Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, was paid $130,000 by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer. Trump reimbursed him after becoming president, in installments that were designated legal fees.

    Bragg has declined to give details of the investigation, and his office declined to comment Thursday. But he is believed to be considering charges related to the payments that would include falsifying business records, possibly in commission of
    another, campaign-related crime.
    ____________________
    .
    So much for States' rights. Again (see the Fugitive Slaves Act)
    .

    And this what to do with GOP demand for documents?

    The prosecution is a New York State matter, and Congress isn't permitted to interfere.
    Tim, I did not know you were a "States Rights" guy. I am very much
    concerned about the "federal" folks taking over "everything" from the individual states.

    I wonder (since it is a former President of the USA that is involved) if such matters might be of concern to the "Federal" guys? When "Civil
    Rights" were concerned, the federal guys expended a lot of energy and
    money taking charge.

    [I remember a standoff between Gov Earl Long and the feds (US Army too) standing on one end of the bridge into Plaquemines Parish with Judge
    Leander Perez (and local and state police) on the other end ... school desegregation was supposed to be a STATE matter but ... anyway, finally Uncle Earl told Leander he had to let the feds in ... his reply to
    "Why?" ... "They have the bomb!"]

    And I wonder if a foreign diplomat was involved if you would feel the
    same about the fed "interfering" with the matter. I know it is
    "different" but sometimes our political thoughts/preferences get in the way.

    I am not. However, the GOP always touts those rights, unless they want to interfere with a Blue state.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From da pickle@21:1/5 to Tim Norfolk on Sat Mar 25 12:05:55 2023
    On 3/25/2023 10:49 AM, Tim Norfolk wrote:
    On Saturday, March 25, 2023 at 9:34:31 AM UTC-4, da pickle wrote:
    On 3/24/2023 7:37 PM, Tim Norfolk wrote:
    On Friday, March 24, 2023 at 4:42:23 PM UTC-4, VegasJerry wrote:
    On Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 6:08:52 PM UTC-7, Tim Norfolk wrote: >>>>> On Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 4:55:57 PM UTC-4, VegasJerry wrote: >>>>>> N.Y. prosecutor rebuffs GOP demand for documents related to Trump investigation

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Thursday emphatically rebuffed a House Republican demand for documents and testimony related to his office’s investigation of former president Donald Trump, saying the request was “an unprecedented
    inquiry into a pending local prosecution.”

    On Tuesday, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Bragg demanding materials related to his investigation into alleged hush-money payments from Trump to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels during the
    2016 presidential campaign. Jordan also accused Bragg of an “unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority,” an escalation of the standoff between the district attorney’s office and Trump’s House Republican allies.

    The demand by Jordan and other GOP lawmakers came after Trump claimed over the weekend that he would be arrested in the coming days and called on his supporters to protest. The Manhattan grand jury weighing possible criminal charges against Trump
    will not consider the matter again until at least Monday, according to two people familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss secret grand jury proceedings. On his Truth Social platform, Trump has kept up a steady
    stream of attacks on Bragg in all-caps-heavy posts, calling him an “animal” and demanding his removal from office.

    In a letter to Jordan and others Thursday, Bragg’s office said their request “treads into territory very clearly reserved to the states” — and noted that it had only come after Trump had “created a false expectation that he would be
    arrested … and his lawyers reportedly urged you to intervene.”

    “Neither fact is a legitimate basis for congressional inquiry,” stated the letter from the district attorney’s office, signed by general counsel Leslie Dubeck.

    Complying with their request would interfere with law enforcement and violate New York’s sovereignty, Dubeck added. The letter also poured cold water on Jordan’s suggestion that Congress needed those documents for a review of federal public
    safety funds, but said the district attorney’s office would nonetheless submit a letter describing its use of federal funds.

    “While the DA’s Office will not allow a Congressional investigation to impede the exercise of New York’s sovereign police power, this Office will always treat a fellow government entity with due respect,” the letter from Bragg’s office
    concluded. “Therefore, again, we request a meet and confer to understand whether the Committee has any legitimate legislative purpose in the requested materials that could be accommodated without impeding those sovereign interests.”

    Jordan’s letter drew sharp criticism from Democrats, who pointed out that the right-wing lawmaker had ignored a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The Jan. 6 committee later voted
    to refer Jordan and other GOP lawmakers who had also defied its subpoenas to the House Ethics Committee.

    Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee have also pushed back on Jordan’s letter to Bragg, which they did not sign.

    “Jim Jordan is out of control,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) wrote in a Twitter post Thursday. “He’s trying to put his thumb on the scale for his friend Donald Trump by injecting MAGA politics into an ongoing criminal investigation. I
    appreciate [Bragg’s] measured response to Jordan’s dangerous request.” >>>>>>
    In one of his last acts as president, Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the nation’s highest civilian award — to Jordan in January 2021. The White House at the time praised Jordan, one of eight House lawmakers who were part
    of Trump’s defense team in his first Senate impeachment trial, for his work to “unmask the Russia hoax and take on Deep State corruption” and for his efforts to “confront the impeachment witch hunt.”

    Republicans have rallied to Trump’s defense since the former president predicted over the weekend he would be arrested. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and many other high-profile GOP figures — including those who could be Trump’s
    chief rivals in the 2024 presidential primary — accused Bragg, a Democrat, of pursuing a political agenda.

    Notably silent over the weekend was Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), another likely 2024 opponent, who on Monday claimed Bragg was “weaponizing the office” but couldn’t resist making references to the allegations against Trump.

    “Look, I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair — I just, I can’t speak to that,” DeSantis said, prompting laughter and applause from the audience at a Florida state
    college.

    Prosecutors from Bragg’s office have been presenting grand jurors with evidence related to payments during the 2016 presidential campaign aimed at keeping Daniels from airing her claim that she’d had a sexual relationship with Trump years
    earlier.

    Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, was paid $130,000 by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer. Trump reimbursed him after becoming president, in installments that were designated legal fees.

    Bragg has declined to give details of the investigation, and his office declined to comment Thursday. But he is believed to be considering charges related to the payments that would include falsifying business records, possibly in commission of
    another, campaign-related crime.
    ____________________
    .
    So much for States' rights. Again (see the Fugitive Slaves Act)
    .

    And this what to do with GOP demand for documents?

    The prosecution is a New York State matter, and Congress isn't permitted to interfere.
    Tim, I did not know you were a "States Rights" guy. I am very much
    concerned about the "federal" folks taking over "everything" from the
    individual states.

    I wonder (since it is a former President of the USA that is involved) if
    such matters might be of concern to the "Federal" guys? When "Civil
    Rights" were concerned, the federal guys expended a lot of energy and
    money taking charge.

    [I remember a standoff between Gov Earl Long and the feds (US Army too)
    standing on one end of the bridge into Plaquemines Parish with Judge
    Leander Perez (and local and state police) on the other end ... school
    desegregation was supposed to be a STATE matter but ... anyway, finally
    Uncle Earl told Leander he had to let the feds in ... his reply to
    "Why?" ... "They have the bomb!"]

    And I wonder if a foreign diplomat was involved if you would feel the
    same about the fed "interfering" with the matter. I know it is
    "different" but sometimes our political thoughts/preferences get in the way.

    I am not. However, the GOP always touts those rights, unless they want to interfere with a Blue state.

    So, because it is a Blue State involved, you believe "their" rights are different than if a Red State was involved? That is not what I think
    you really think.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Tim Norfolk@21:1/5 to da pickle on Sun Mar 26 17:07:55 2023
    On Saturday, March 25, 2023 at 1:05:47 PM UTC-4, da pickle wrote:
    On 3/25/2023 10:49 AM, Tim Norfolk wrote:
    On Saturday, March 25, 2023 at 9:34:31 AM UTC-4, da pickle wrote:
    On 3/24/2023 7:37 PM, Tim Norfolk wrote:
    On Friday, March 24, 2023 at 4:42:23 PM UTC-4, VegasJerry wrote:
    On Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 6:08:52 PM UTC-7, Tim Norfolk wrote: >>>>> On Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 4:55:57 PM UTC-4, VegasJerry wrote: >>>>>> N.Y. prosecutor rebuffs GOP demand for documents related to Trump investigation

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Thursday emphatically rebuffed a House Republican demand for documents and testimony related to his office’s investigation of former president Donald Trump, saying the request was “an unprecedented
    inquiry into a pending local prosecution.”

    On Tuesday, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Bragg demanding materials related to his investigation into alleged hush-money payments from Trump to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels during the
    2016 presidential campaign. Jordan also accused Bragg of an “unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority,” an escalation of the standoff between the district attorney’s office and Trump’s House Republican allies.

    The demand by Jordan and other GOP lawmakers came after Trump claimed over the weekend that he would be arrested in the coming days and called on his supporters to protest. The Manhattan grand jury weighing possible criminal charges against
    Trump will not consider the matter again until at least Monday, according to two people familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss secret grand jury proceedings. On his Truth Social platform, Trump has kept up a
    steady stream of attacks on Bragg in all-caps-heavy posts, calling him an “animal” and demanding his removal from office.

    In a letter to Jordan and others Thursday, Bragg’s office said their request “treads into territory very clearly reserved to the states” — and noted that it had only come after Trump had “created a false expectation that he would be
    arrested … and his lawyers reportedly urged you to intervene.”

    “Neither fact is a legitimate basis for congressional inquiry,” stated the letter from the district attorney’s office, signed by general counsel Leslie Dubeck.

    Complying with their request would interfere with law enforcement and violate New York’s sovereignty, Dubeck added. The letter also poured cold water on Jordan’s suggestion that Congress needed those documents for a review of federal public
    safety funds, but said the district attorney’s office would nonetheless submit a letter describing its use of federal funds.

    “While the DA’s Office will not allow a Congressional investigation to impede the exercise of New York’s sovereign police power, this Office will always treat a fellow government entity with due respect,” the letter from Bragg’s office
    concluded. “Therefore, again, we request a meet and confer to understand whether the Committee has any legitimate legislative purpose in the requested materials that could be accommodated without impeding those sovereign interests.”

    Jordan’s letter drew sharp criticism from Democrats, who pointed out that the right-wing lawmaker had ignored a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The Jan. 6 committee later
    voted to refer Jordan and other GOP lawmakers who had also defied its subpoenas to the House Ethics Committee.

    Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee have also pushed back on Jordan’s letter to Bragg, which they did not sign.

    “Jim Jordan is out of control,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) wrote in a Twitter post Thursday. “He’s trying to put his thumb on the scale for his friend Donald Trump by injecting MAGA politics into an ongoing criminal investigation. I
    appreciate [Bragg’s] measured response to Jordan’s dangerous request.”

    In one of his last acts as president, Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the nation’s highest civilian award — to Jordan in January 2021. The White House at the time praised Jordan, one of eight House lawmakers who were part
    of Trump’s defense team in his first Senate impeachment trial, for his work to “unmask the Russia hoax and take on Deep State corruption” and for his efforts to “confront the impeachment witch hunt.”

    Republicans have rallied to Trump’s defense since the former president predicted over the weekend he would be arrested. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and many other high-profile GOP figures — including those who could be Trump’s
    chief rivals in the 2024 presidential primary — accused Bragg, a Democrat, of pursuing a political agenda.

    Notably silent over the weekend was Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), another likely 2024 opponent, who on Monday claimed Bragg was “weaponizing the office” but couldn’t resist making references to the allegations against Trump.

    “Look, I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair — I just, I can’t speak to that,” DeSantis said, prompting laughter and applause from the audience at a Florida
    state college.

    Prosecutors from Bragg’s office have been presenting grand jurors with evidence related to payments during the 2016 presidential campaign aimed at keeping Daniels from airing her claim that she’d had a sexual relationship with Trump years
    earlier.

    Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, was paid $130,000 by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer. Trump reimbursed him after becoming president, in installments that were designated legal fees.

    Bragg has declined to give details of the investigation, and his office declined to comment Thursday. But he is believed to be considering charges related to the payments that would include falsifying business records, possibly in commission of
    another, campaign-related crime.
    ____________________
    .
    So much for States' rights. Again (see the Fugitive Slaves Act)
    .

    And this what to do with GOP demand for documents?

    The prosecution is a New York State matter, and Congress isn't permitted to interfere.
    Tim, I did not know you were a "States Rights" guy. I am very much
    concerned about the "federal" folks taking over "everything" from the
    individual states.

    I wonder (since it is a former President of the USA that is involved) if >> such matters might be of concern to the "Federal" guys? When "Civil
    Rights" were concerned, the federal guys expended a lot of energy and
    money taking charge.

    [I remember a standoff between Gov Earl Long and the feds (US Army too) >> standing on one end of the bridge into Plaquemines Parish with Judge
    Leander Perez (and local and state police) on the other end ... school
    desegregation was supposed to be a STATE matter but ... anyway, finally >> Uncle Earl told Leander he had to let the feds in ... his reply to
    "Why?" ... "They have the bomb!"]

    And I wonder if a foreign diplomat was involved if you would feel the
    same about the fed "interfering" with the matter. I know it is
    "different" but sometimes our political thoughts/preferences get in the way.

    I am not. However, the GOP always touts those rights, unless they want to interfere with a Blue state.
    So, because it is a Blue State involved, you believe "their" rights are different than if a Red State was involved? That is not what I think
    you really think.

    It was certainly true with the slave-owning and non-slave-owning states. Strangely, most of the former are now Red states, and the latter are generally Blue.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From da pickle@21:1/5 to Tim Norfolk on Mon Mar 27 11:20:56 2023
    On 3/26/2023 7:07 PM, Tim Norfolk wrote:
    On Saturday, March 25, 2023 at 1:05:47 PM UTC-4, da pickle wrote:
    On 3/25/2023 10:49 AM, Tim Norfolk wrote:
    On Saturday, March 25, 2023 at 9:34:31 AM UTC-4, da pickle wrote:
    On 3/24/2023 7:37 PM, Tim Norfolk wrote:
    On Friday, March 24, 2023 at 4:42:23 PM UTC-4, VegasJerry wrote:
    On Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 6:08:52 PM UTC-7, Tim Norfolk wrote: >>>>>>> On Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 4:55:57 PM UTC-4, VegasJerry wrote: >>>>>>>> N.Y. prosecutor rebuffs GOP demand for documents related to Trump investigation

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Thursday emphatically rebuffed a House Republican demand for documents and testimony related to his office’s investigation of former president Donald Trump, saying the request was “an unprecedented
    inquiry into a pending local prosecution.”

    On Tuesday, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Bragg demanding materials related to his investigation into alleged hush-money payments from Trump to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels during the
    2016 presidential campaign. Jordan also accused Bragg of an “unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority,” an escalation of the standoff between the district attorney’s office and Trump’s House Republican allies.

    The demand by Jordan and other GOP lawmakers came after Trump claimed over the weekend that he would be arrested in the coming days and called on his supporters to protest. The Manhattan grand jury weighing possible criminal charges against
    Trump will not consider the matter again until at least Monday, according to two people familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss secret grand jury proceedings. On his Truth Social platform, Trump has kept up a
    steady stream of attacks on Bragg in all-caps-heavy posts, calling him an “animal” and demanding his removal from office.

    In a letter to Jordan and others Thursday, Bragg’s office said their request “treads into territory very clearly reserved to the states” — and noted that it had only come after Trump had “created a false expectation that he would be
    arrested … and his lawyers reportedly urged you to intervene.”

    “Neither fact is a legitimate basis for congressional inquiry,” stated the letter from the district attorney’s office, signed by general counsel Leslie Dubeck.

    Complying with their request would interfere with law enforcement and violate New York’s sovereignty, Dubeck added. The letter also poured cold water on Jordan’s suggestion that Congress needed those documents for a review of federal public
    safety funds, but said the district attorney’s office would nonetheless submit a letter describing its use of federal funds.

    “While the DA’s Office will not allow a Congressional investigation to impede the exercise of New York’s sovereign police power, this Office will always treat a fellow government entity with due respect,” the letter from Bragg’s office
    concluded. “Therefore, again, we request a meet and confer to understand whether the Committee has any legitimate legislative purpose in the requested materials that could be accommodated without impeding those sovereign interests.”

    Jordan’s letter drew sharp criticism from Democrats, who pointed out that the right-wing lawmaker had ignored a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The Jan. 6 committee later
    voted to refer Jordan and other GOP lawmakers who had also defied its subpoenas to the House Ethics Committee.

    Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee have also pushed back on Jordan’s letter to Bragg, which they did not sign.

    “Jim Jordan is out of control,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) wrote in a Twitter post Thursday. “He’s trying to put his thumb on the scale for his friend Donald Trump by injecting MAGA politics into an ongoing criminal investigation. I
    appreciate [Bragg’s] measured response to Jordan’s dangerous request.” >>>>>>>>
    In one of his last acts as president, Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the nation’s highest civilian award — to Jordan in January 2021. The White House at the time praised Jordan, one of eight House lawmakers who were part
    of Trump’s defense team in his first Senate impeachment trial, for his work to “unmask the Russia hoax and take on Deep State corruption” and for his efforts to “confront the impeachment witch hunt.”

    Republicans have rallied to Trump’s defense since the former president predicted over the weekend he would be arrested. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and many other high-profile GOP figures — including those who could be Trump’s
    chief rivals in the 2024 presidential primary — accused Bragg, a Democrat, of pursuing a political agenda.

    Notably silent over the weekend was Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), another likely 2024 opponent, who on Monday claimed Bragg was “weaponizing the office” but couldn’t resist making references to the allegations against Trump.

    “Look, I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair — I just, I can’t speak to that,” DeSantis said, prompting laughter and applause from the audience at a Florida
    state college.

    Prosecutors from Bragg’s office have been presenting grand jurors with evidence related to payments during the 2016 presidential campaign aimed at keeping Daniels from airing her claim that she’d had a sexual relationship with Trump years
    earlier.

    Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, was paid $130,000 by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer. Trump reimbursed him after becoming president, in installments that were designated legal fees.

    Bragg has declined to give details of the investigation, and his office declined to comment Thursday. But he is believed to be considering charges related to the payments that would include falsifying business records, possibly in commission of
    another, campaign-related crime.
    ____________________
    .
    So much for States' rights. Again (see the Fugitive Slaves Act)
    .

    And this what to do with GOP demand for documents?

    The prosecution is a New York State matter, and Congress isn't permitted to interfere.
    Tim, I did not know you were a "States Rights" guy. I am very much
    concerned about the "federal" folks taking over "everything" from the
    individual states.

    I wonder (since it is a former President of the USA that is involved) if >>>> such matters might be of concern to the "Federal" guys? When "Civil
    Rights" were concerned, the federal guys expended a lot of energy and
    money taking charge.

    [I remember a standoff between Gov Earl Long and the feds (US Army too) >>>> standing on one end of the bridge into Plaquemines Parish with Judge
    Leander Perez (and local and state police) on the other end ... school >>>> desegregation was supposed to be a STATE matter but ... anyway, finally >>>> Uncle Earl told Leander he had to let the feds in ... his reply to
    "Why?" ... "They have the bomb!"]

    And I wonder if a foreign diplomat was involved if you would feel the
    same about the fed "interfering" with the matter. I know it is
    "different" but sometimes our political thoughts/preferences get in the way.

    I am not. However, the GOP always touts those rights, unless they want to interfere with a Blue state.
    So, because it is a Blue State involved, you believe "their" rights are
    different than if a Red State was involved? That is not what I think
    you really think.

    It was certainly true with the slave-owning and non-slave-owning states. Strangely, most of the former are now Red states, and the latter are generally Blue.

    Interesting that you are so prejudiced ... I did not think that of you.
    I knew you certainly leaned, but I did not know that you were that far
    gone. How do you feel about those damned "colonists" that decided that
    "States Rights" was a really good thing ... slaves or not?

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Tim Norfolk@21:1/5 to da pickle on Mon Mar 27 10:40:05 2023
    On Monday, March 27, 2023 at 12:20:50 PM UTC-4, da pickle wrote:
    On 3/26/2023 7:07 PM, Tim Norfolk wrote:
    On Saturday, March 25, 2023 at 1:05:47 PM UTC-4, da pickle wrote:
    On 3/25/2023 10:49 AM, Tim Norfolk wrote:
    On Saturday, March 25, 2023 at 9:34:31 AM UTC-4, da pickle wrote:
    On 3/24/2023 7:37 PM, Tim Norfolk wrote:
    On Friday, March 24, 2023 at 4:42:23 PM UTC-4, VegasJerry wrote: >>>>>> On Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 6:08:52 PM UTC-7, Tim Norfolk wrote: >>>>>>> On Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 4:55:57 PM UTC-4, VegasJerry wrote: >>>>>>>> N.Y. prosecutor rebuffs GOP demand for documents related to Trump investigation

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Thursday emphatically rebuffed a House Republican demand for documents and testimony related to his office’s investigation of former president Donald Trump, saying the request was “an
    unprecedented inquiry into a pending local prosecution.”

    On Tuesday, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Bragg demanding materials related to his investigation into alleged hush-money payments from Trump to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels during
    the 2016 presidential campaign. Jordan also accused Bragg of an “unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority,” an escalation of the standoff between the district attorney’s office and Trump’s House Republican allies.

    The demand by Jordan and other GOP lawmakers came after Trump claimed over the weekend that he would be arrested in the coming days and called on his supporters to protest. The Manhattan grand jury weighing possible criminal charges against
    Trump will not consider the matter again until at least Monday, according to two people familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss secret grand jury proceedings. On his Truth Social platform, Trump has kept up a
    steady stream of attacks on Bragg in all-caps-heavy posts, calling him an “animal” and demanding his removal from office.

    In a letter to Jordan and others Thursday, Bragg’s office said their request “treads into territory very clearly reserved to the states” — and noted that it had only come after Trump had “created a false expectation that he would be
    arrested … and his lawyers reportedly urged you to intervene.”

    “Neither fact is a legitimate basis for congressional inquiry,” stated the letter from the district attorney’s office, signed by general counsel Leslie Dubeck.

    Complying with their request would interfere with law enforcement and violate New York’s sovereignty, Dubeck added. The letter also poured cold water on Jordan’s suggestion that Congress needed those documents for a review of federal
    public safety funds, but said the district attorney’s office would nonetheless submit a letter describing its use of federal funds.

    “While the DA’s Office will not allow a Congressional investigation to impede the exercise of New York’s sovereign police power, this Office will always treat a fellow government entity with due respect,” the letter from Bragg’s
    office concluded. “Therefore, again, we request a meet and confer to understand whether the Committee has any legitimate legislative purpose in the requested materials that could be accommodated without impeding those sovereign interests.”

    Jordan’s letter drew sharp criticism from Democrats, who pointed out that the right-wing lawmaker had ignored a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The Jan. 6 committee later
    voted to refer Jordan and other GOP lawmakers who had also defied its subpoenas to the House Ethics Committee.

    Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee have also pushed back on Jordan’s letter to Bragg, which they did not sign.

    “Jim Jordan is out of control,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) wrote in a Twitter post Thursday. “He’s trying to put his thumb on the scale for his friend Donald Trump by injecting MAGA politics into an ongoing criminal investigation. I
    appreciate [Bragg’s] measured response to Jordan’s dangerous request.”

    In one of his last acts as president, Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the nation’s highest civilian award — to Jordan in January 2021. The White House at the time praised Jordan, one of eight House lawmakers who were
    part of Trump’s defense team in his first Senate impeachment trial, for his work to “unmask the Russia hoax and take on Deep State corruption” and for his efforts to “confront the impeachment witch hunt.”

    Republicans have rallied to Trump’s defense since the former president predicted over the weekend he would be arrested. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and many other high-profile GOP figures — including those who could be Trump’
    s chief rivals in the 2024 presidential primary — accused Bragg, a Democrat, of pursuing a political agenda.

    Notably silent over the weekend was Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), another likely 2024 opponent, who on Monday claimed Bragg was “weaponizing the office” but couldn’t resist making references to the allegations against Trump.

    “Look, I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair — I just, I can’t speak to that,” DeSantis said, prompting laughter and applause from the audience at a Florida
    state college.

    Prosecutors from Bragg’s office have been presenting grand jurors with evidence related to payments during the 2016 presidential campaign aimed at keeping Daniels from airing her claim that she’d had a sexual relationship with Trump years
    earlier.

    Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, was paid $130,000 by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer. Trump reimbursed him after becoming president, in installments that were designated legal fees.

    Bragg has declined to give details of the investigation, and his office declined to comment Thursday. But he is believed to be considering charges related to the payments that would include falsifying business records, possibly in commission
    of another, campaign-related crime.
    ____________________
    .
    So much for States' rights. Again (see the Fugitive Slaves Act) >>>>>> .

    And this what to do with GOP demand for documents?

    The prosecution is a New York State matter, and Congress isn't permitted to interfere.
    Tim, I did not know you were a "States Rights" guy. I am very much
    concerned about the "federal" folks taking over "everything" from the >>>> individual states.

    I wonder (since it is a former President of the USA that is involved) if
    such matters might be of concern to the "Federal" guys? When "Civil >>>> Rights" were concerned, the federal guys expended a lot of energy and >>>> money taking charge.

    [I remember a standoff between Gov Earl Long and the feds (US Army too) >>>> standing on one end of the bridge into Plaquemines Parish with Judge >>>> Leander Perez (and local and state police) on the other end ... school >>>> desegregation was supposed to be a STATE matter but ... anyway, finally >>>> Uncle Earl told Leander he had to let the feds in ... his reply to
    "Why?" ... "They have the bomb!"]

    And I wonder if a foreign diplomat was involved if you would feel the >>>> same about the fed "interfering" with the matter. I know it is
    "different" but sometimes our political thoughts/preferences get in the way.

    I am not. However, the GOP always touts those rights, unless they want to interfere with a Blue state.
    So, because it is a Blue State involved, you believe "their" rights are >> different than if a Red State was involved? That is not what I think
    you really think.

    It was certainly true with the slave-owning and non-slave-owning states. Strangely, most of the former are now Red states, and the latter are generally Blue.
    Interesting that you are so prejudiced ... I did not think that of you.
    I knew you certainly leaned, but I did not know that you were that far
    gone. How do you feel about those damned "colonists" that decided that "States Rights" was a really good thing ... slaves or not?

    I sit on the Federalist side. Without it, the US could just crash back into Third World status.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From BTSinAustin@21:1/5 to Tim Norfolk on Mon Mar 27 10:56:16 2023
    On Monday, March 27, 2023 at 1:40:12 PM UTC-4, Tim Norfolk wrote:
    On Monday, March 27, 2023 at 12:20:50 PM UTC-4, da pickle wrote:
    On 3/26/2023 7:07 PM, Tim Norfolk wrote:
    On Saturday, March 25, 2023 at 1:05:47 PM UTC-4, da pickle wrote:
    On 3/25/2023 10:49 AM, Tim Norfolk wrote:
    On Saturday, March 25, 2023 at 9:34:31 AM UTC-4, da pickle wrote: >>>> On 3/24/2023 7:37 PM, Tim Norfolk wrote:
    On Friday, March 24, 2023 at 4:42:23 PM UTC-4, VegasJerry wrote: >>>>>> On Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 6:08:52 PM UTC-7, Tim Norfolk wrote:
    On Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 4:55:57 PM UTC-4, VegasJerry wrote:
    N.Y. prosecutor rebuffs GOP demand for documents related to Trump investigation

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Thursday emphatically rebuffed a House Republican demand for documents and testimony related to his office’s investigation of former president Donald Trump, saying the request was “an
    unprecedented inquiry into a pending local prosecution.”

    On Tuesday, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Bragg demanding materials related to his investigation into alleged hush-money payments from Trump to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels during
    the 2016 presidential campaign. Jordan also accused Bragg of an “unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority,” an escalation of the standoff between the district attorney’s office and Trump’s House Republican allies.

    The demand by Jordan and other GOP lawmakers came after Trump claimed over the weekend that he would be arrested in the coming days and called on his supporters to protest. The Manhattan grand jury weighing possible criminal charges against
    Trump will not consider the matter again until at least Monday, according to two people familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss secret grand jury proceedings. On his Truth Social platform, Trump has kept up a
    steady stream of attacks on Bragg in all-caps-heavy posts, calling him an “animal” and demanding his removal from office.

    In a letter to Jordan and others Thursday, Bragg’s office said their request “treads into territory very clearly reserved to the states” — and noted that it had only come after Trump had “created a false expectation that he would
    be arrested … and his lawyers reportedly urged you to intervene.”

    “Neither fact is a legitimate basis for congressional inquiry,” stated the letter from the district attorney’s office, signed by general counsel Leslie Dubeck.

    Complying with their request would interfere with law enforcement and violate New York’s sovereignty, Dubeck added. The letter also poured cold water on Jordan’s suggestion that Congress needed those documents for a review of federal
    public safety funds, but said the district attorney’s office would nonetheless submit a letter describing its use of federal funds.

    “While the DA’s Office will not allow a Congressional investigation to impede the exercise of New York’s sovereign police power, this Office will always treat a fellow government entity with due respect,” the letter from Bragg’s
    office concluded. “Therefore, again, we request a meet and confer to understand whether the Committee has any legitimate legislative purpose in the requested materials that could be accommodated without impeding those sovereign interests.”

    Jordan’s letter drew sharp criticism from Democrats, who pointed out that the right-wing lawmaker had ignored a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The Jan. 6 committee later
    voted to refer Jordan and other GOP lawmakers who had also defied its subpoenas to the House Ethics Committee.

    Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee have also pushed back on Jordan’s letter to Bragg, which they did not sign.

    “Jim Jordan is out of control,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) wrote in a Twitter post Thursday. “He’s trying to put his thumb on the scale for his friend Donald Trump by injecting MAGA politics into an ongoing criminal investigation.
    I appreciate [Bragg’s] measured response to Jordan’s dangerous request.”

    In one of his last acts as president, Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the nation’s highest civilian award — to Jordan in January 2021. The White House at the time praised Jordan, one of eight House lawmakers who were
    part of Trump’s defense team in his first Senate impeachment trial, for his work to “unmask the Russia hoax and take on Deep State corruption” and for his efforts to “confront the impeachment witch hunt.”

    Republicans have rallied to Trump’s defense since the former president predicted over the weekend he would be arrested. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and many other high-profile GOP figures — including those who could be Trump�
    �s chief rivals in the 2024 presidential primary — accused Bragg, a Democrat, of pursuing a political agenda.

    Notably silent over the weekend was Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), another likely 2024 opponent, who on Monday claimed Bragg was “weaponizing the office” but couldn’t resist making references to the allegations against Trump.

    “Look, I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair — I just, I can’t speak to that,” DeSantis said, prompting laughter and applause from the audience at a Florida
    state college.

    Prosecutors from Bragg’s office have been presenting grand jurors with evidence related to payments during the 2016 presidential campaign aimed at keeping Daniels from airing her claim that she’d had a sexual relationship with Trump
    years earlier.

    Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, was paid $130,000 by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer. Trump reimbursed him after becoming president, in installments that were designated legal fees.

    Bragg has declined to give details of the investigation, and his office declined to comment Thursday. But he is believed to be considering charges related to the payments that would include falsifying business records, possibly in commission
    of another, campaign-related crime.
    ____________________
    .
    So much for States' rights. Again (see the Fugitive Slaves Act) >>>>>> .

    And this what to do with GOP demand for documents?

    The prosecution is a New York State matter, and Congress isn't permitted to interfere.
    Tim, I did not know you were a "States Rights" guy. I am very much >>>> concerned about the "federal" folks taking over "everything" from the >>>> individual states.

    I wonder (since it is a former President of the USA that is involved) if
    such matters might be of concern to the "Federal" guys? When "Civil >>>> Rights" were concerned, the federal guys expended a lot of energy and >>>> money taking charge.

    [I remember a standoff between Gov Earl Long and the feds (US Army too)
    standing on one end of the bridge into Plaquemines Parish with Judge >>>> Leander Perez (and local and state police) on the other end ... school
    desegregation was supposed to be a STATE matter but ... anyway, finally
    Uncle Earl told Leander he had to let the feds in ... his reply to >>>> "Why?" ... "They have the bomb!"]

    And I wonder if a foreign diplomat was involved if you would feel the >>>> same about the fed "interfering" with the matter. I know it is
    "different" but sometimes our political thoughts/preferences get in the way.

    I am not. However, the GOP always touts those rights, unless they want to interfere with a Blue state.
    So, because it is a Blue State involved, you believe "their" rights are >> different than if a Red State was involved? That is not what I think
    you really think.

    It was certainly true with the slave-owning and non-slave-owning states. Strangely, most of the former are now Red states, and the latter are generally Blue.
    Interesting that you are so prejudiced ... I did not think that of you.
    I knew you certainly leaned, but I did not know that you were that far gone. How do you feel about those damned "colonists" that decided that "States Rights" was a really good thing ... slaves or not?
    I sit on the Federalist side. Without it, the US could just crash back into Third World status.


    We get closer to being a 3rd world country every day

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM0x6UEDdmI

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From da pickle@21:1/5 to Tim Norfolk on Mon Mar 27 14:03:58 2023
    On 3/27/2023 12:40 PM, Tim Norfolk wrote:
    On Monday, March 27, 2023 at 12:20:50 PM UTC-4, da pickle wrote:
    On 3/26/2023 7:07 PM, Tim Norfolk wrote:
    On Saturday, March 25, 2023 at 1:05:47 PM UTC-4, da pickle wrote:
    On 3/25/2023 10:49 AM, Tim Norfolk wrote:
    On Saturday, March 25, 2023 at 9:34:31 AM UTC-4, da pickle wrote: >>>>>> On 3/24/2023 7:37 PM, Tim Norfolk wrote:
    On Friday, March 24, 2023 at 4:42:23 PM UTC-4, VegasJerry wrote: >>>>>>>> On Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 6:08:52 PM UTC-7, Tim Norfolk wrote: >>>>>>>>> On Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 4:55:57 PM UTC-4, VegasJerry wrote: >>>>>>>>>> N.Y. prosecutor rebuffs GOP demand for documents related to Trump investigation

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Thursday emphatically rebuffed a House Republican demand for documents and testimony related to his office’s investigation of former president Donald Trump, saying the request was “an
    unprecedented inquiry into a pending local prosecution.”

    On Tuesday, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Bragg demanding materials related to his investigation into alleged hush-money payments from Trump to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels during
    the 2016 presidential campaign. Jordan also accused Bragg of an “unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority,” an escalation of the standoff between the district attorney’s office and Trump’s House Republican allies.

    The demand by Jordan and other GOP lawmakers came after Trump claimed over the weekend that he would be arrested in the coming days and called on his supporters to protest. The Manhattan grand jury weighing possible criminal charges against
    Trump will not consider the matter again until at least Monday, according to two people familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss secret grand jury proceedings. On his Truth Social platform, Trump has kept up a
    steady stream of attacks on Bragg in all-caps-heavy posts, calling him an “animal” and demanding his removal from office.

    In a letter to Jordan and others Thursday, Bragg’s office said their request “treads into territory very clearly reserved to the states” — and noted that it had only come after Trump had “created a false expectation that he would be
    arrested … and his lawyers reportedly urged you to intervene.”

    “Neither fact is a legitimate basis for congressional inquiry,” stated the letter from the district attorney’s office, signed by general counsel Leslie Dubeck.

    Complying with their request would interfere with law enforcement and violate New York’s sovereignty, Dubeck added. The letter also poured cold water on Jordan’s suggestion that Congress needed those documents for a review of federal
    public safety funds, but said the district attorney’s office would nonetheless submit a letter describing its use of federal funds.

    “While the DA’s Office will not allow a Congressional investigation to impede the exercise of New York’s sovereign police power, this Office will always treat a fellow government entity with due respect,” the letter from Bragg’s
    office concluded. “Therefore, again, we request a meet and confer to understand whether the Committee has any legitimate legislative purpose in the requested materials that could be accommodated without impeding those sovereign interests.”

    Jordan’s letter drew sharp criticism from Democrats, who pointed out that the right-wing lawmaker had ignored a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The Jan. 6 committee later
    voted to refer Jordan and other GOP lawmakers who had also defied its subpoenas to the House Ethics Committee.

    Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee have also pushed back on Jordan’s letter to Bragg, which they did not sign.

    “Jim Jordan is out of control,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) wrote in a Twitter post Thursday. “He’s trying to put his thumb on the scale for his friend Donald Trump by injecting MAGA politics into an ongoing criminal investigation. I
    appreciate [Bragg’s] measured response to Jordan’s dangerous request.” >>>>>>>>>>
    In one of his last acts as president, Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the nation’s highest civilian award — to Jordan in January 2021. The White House at the time praised Jordan, one of eight House lawmakers who were
    part of Trump’s defense team in his first Senate impeachment trial, for his work to “unmask the Russia hoax and take on Deep State corruption” and for his efforts to “confront the impeachment witch hunt.”

    Republicans have rallied to Trump’s defense since the former president predicted over the weekend he would be arrested. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and many other high-profile GOP figures — including those who could be Trump’
    s chief rivals in the 2024 presidential primary — accused Bragg, a Democrat, of pursuing a political agenda.

    Notably silent over the weekend was Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), another likely 2024 opponent, who on Monday claimed Bragg was “weaponizing the office” but couldn’t resist making references to the allegations against Trump.

    “Look, I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair — I just, I can’t speak to that,” DeSantis said, prompting laughter and applause from the audience at a Florida
    state college.

    Prosecutors from Bragg’s office have been presenting grand jurors with evidence related to payments during the 2016 presidential campaign aimed at keeping Daniels from airing her claim that she’d had a sexual relationship with Trump years
    earlier.

    Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, was paid $130,000 by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer. Trump reimbursed him after becoming president, in installments that were designated legal fees.

    Bragg has declined to give details of the investigation, and his office declined to comment Thursday. But he is believed to be considering charges related to the payments that would include falsifying business records, possibly in commission
    of another, campaign-related crime.
    ____________________
    .
    So much for States' rights. Again (see the Fugitive Slaves Act) >>>>>>>> .

    And this what to do with GOP demand for documents?

    The prosecution is a New York State matter, and Congress isn't permitted to interfere.
    Tim, I did not know you were a "States Rights" guy. I am very much >>>>>> concerned about the "federal" folks taking over "everything" from the >>>>>> individual states.

    I wonder (since it is a former President of the USA that is involved) if >>>>>> such matters might be of concern to the "Federal" guys? When "Civil >>>>>> Rights" were concerned, the federal guys expended a lot of energy and >>>>>> money taking charge.

    [I remember a standoff between Gov Earl Long and the feds (US Army too) >>>>>> standing on one end of the bridge into Plaquemines Parish with Judge >>>>>> Leander Perez (and local and state police) on the other end ... school >>>>>> desegregation was supposed to be a STATE matter but ... anyway, finally >>>>>> Uncle Earl told Leander he had to let the feds in ... his reply to >>>>>> "Why?" ... "They have the bomb!"]

    And I wonder if a foreign diplomat was involved if you would feel the >>>>>> same about the fed "interfering" with the matter. I know it is
    "different" but sometimes our political thoughts/preferences get in the way.

    I am not. However, the GOP always touts those rights, unless they want to interfere with a Blue state.
    So, because it is a Blue State involved, you believe "their" rights are >>>> different than if a Red State was involved? That is not what I think
    you really think.

    It was certainly true with the slave-owning and non-slave-owning states. Strangely, most of the former are now Red states, and the latter are generally Blue.
    Interesting that you are so prejudiced ... I did not think that of you.
    I knew you certainly leaned, but I did not know that you were that far
    gone. How do you feel about those damned "colonists" that decided that
    "States Rights" was a really good thing ... slaves or not?

    I sit on the Federalist side. Without it, the US could just crash back into Third World status.

    One size fits all. Hummm

    At least you are as far from libertarian as you can be.

    Communism or dictatorship is the ultimate one size fits all, of course. Benevolent dictatorship/super good king or queen might be the best ...
    until it isn't.

    I think that the closer you are to your own home, the fewer "others"
    should be telling you what to do or not to do. Do not like your spot,
    find another spot that is closer to your liking. Don't like you neighbors/town/city/state/country move to someplace more to what you want.

    We disagree ... that is the beauty of this country.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From VegasJerry@21:1/5 to BTSinAustin on Mon Mar 27 13:52:40 2023
    On Monday, March 27, 2023 at 10:56:20 AM UTC-7, BTSinAustin wrote:
    On Monday, March 27, 2023 at 1:40:12 PM UTC-4, Tim Norfolk wrote:
    On Monday, March 27, 2023 at 12:20:50 PM UTC-4, da pickle wrote:
    On 3/26/2023 7:07 PM, Tim Norfolk wrote:
    On Saturday, March 25, 2023 at 1:05:47 PM UTC-4, da pickle wrote:
    On 3/25/2023 10:49 AM, Tim Norfolk wrote:
    On Saturday, March 25, 2023 at 9:34:31 AM UTC-4, da pickle wrote: >>>> On 3/24/2023 7:37 PM, Tim Norfolk wrote:
    On Friday, March 24, 2023 at 4:42:23 PM UTC-4, VegasJerry wrote: >>>>>> On Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 6:08:52 PM UTC-7, Tim Norfolk wrote:
    On Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 4:55:57 PM UTC-4, VegasJerry wrote:
    N.Y. prosecutor rebuffs GOP demand for documents related to Trump investigation

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Thursday emphatically rebuffed a House Republican demand for documents and testimony related to his office’s investigation of former president Donald Trump, saying the request was “an
    unprecedented inquiry into a pending local prosecution.”

    On Tuesday, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Bragg demanding materials related to his investigation into alleged hush-money payments from Trump to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels
    during the 2016 presidential campaign. Jordan also accused Bragg of an “unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority,” an escalation of the standoff between the district attorney’s office and Trump’s House Republican allies.

    The demand by Jordan and other GOP lawmakers came after Trump claimed over the weekend that he would be arrested in the coming days and called on his supporters to protest. The Manhattan grand jury weighing possible criminal charges
    against Trump will not consider the matter again until at least Monday, according to two people familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss secret grand jury proceedings. On his Truth Social platform, Trump has kept up
    a steady stream of attacks on Bragg in all-caps-heavy posts, calling him an “animal” and demanding his removal from office.

    In a letter to Jordan and others Thursday, Bragg’s office said their request “treads into territory very clearly reserved to the states” — and noted that it had only come after Trump had “created a false expectation that he would
    be arrested … and his lawyers reportedly urged you to intervene.”

    “Neither fact is a legitimate basis for congressional inquiry,” stated the letter from the district attorney’s office, signed by general counsel Leslie Dubeck.

    Complying with their request would interfere with law enforcement and violate New York’s sovereignty, Dubeck added. The letter also poured cold water on Jordan’s suggestion that Congress needed those documents for a review of federal
    public safety funds, but said the district attorney’s office would nonetheless submit a letter describing its use of federal funds.

    “While the DA’s Office will not allow a Congressional investigation to impede the exercise of New York’s sovereign police power, this Office will always treat a fellow government entity with due respect,” the letter from Bragg’s
    office concluded. “Therefore, again, we request a meet and confer to understand whether the Committee has any legitimate legislative purpose in the requested materials that could be accommodated without impeding those sovereign interests.”

    Jordan’s letter drew sharp criticism from Democrats, who pointed out that the right-wing lawmaker had ignored a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The Jan. 6 committee
    later voted to refer Jordan and other GOP lawmakers who had also defied its subpoenas to the House Ethics Committee.

    Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee have also pushed back on Jordan’s letter to Bragg, which they did not sign.

    “Jim Jordan is out of control,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) wrote in a Twitter post Thursday. “He’s trying to put his thumb on the scale for his friend Donald Trump by injecting MAGA politics into an ongoing criminal investigation.
    I appreciate [Bragg’s] measured response to Jordan’s dangerous request.”

    In one of his last acts as president, Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the nation’s highest civilian award — to Jordan in January 2021. The White House at the time praised Jordan, one of eight House lawmakers who
    were part of Trump’s defense team in his first Senate impeachment trial, for his work to “unmask the Russia hoax and take on Deep State corruption” and for his efforts to “confront the impeachment witch hunt.”

    Republicans have rallied to Trump’s defense since the former president predicted over the weekend he would be arrested. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and many other high-profile GOP figures — including those who could be
    Trump’s chief rivals in the 2024 presidential primary — accused Bragg, a Democrat, of pursuing a political agenda.

    Notably silent over the weekend was Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), another likely 2024 opponent, who on Monday claimed Bragg was “weaponizing the office” but couldn’t resist making references to the allegations against Trump.

    “Look, I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair — I just, I can’t speak to that,” DeSantis said, prompting laughter and applause from the audience at a
    Florida state college.

    Prosecutors from Bragg’s office have been presenting grand jurors with evidence related to payments during the 2016 presidential campaign aimed at keeping Daniels from airing her claim that she’d had a sexual relationship with Trump
    years earlier.

    Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, was paid $130,000 by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer. Trump reimbursed him after becoming president, in installments that were designated legal fees.

    Bragg has declined to give details of the investigation, and his office declined to comment Thursday. But he is believed to be considering charges related to the payments that would include falsifying business records, possibly in
    commission of another, campaign-related crime.
    ____________________
    .
    So much for States' rights. Again (see the Fugitive Slaves Act) >>>>>> .

    And this what to do with GOP demand for documents?

    The prosecution is a New York State matter, and Congress isn't permitted to interfere.
    Tim, I did not know you were a "States Rights" guy. I am very much >>>> concerned about the "federal" folks taking over "everything" from the
    individual states.

    I wonder (since it is a former President of the USA that is involved) if
    such matters might be of concern to the "Federal" guys? When "Civil >>>> Rights" were concerned, the federal guys expended a lot of energy and
    money taking charge.

    [I remember a standoff between Gov Earl Long and the feds (US Army too)
    standing on one end of the bridge into Plaquemines Parish with Judge
    Leander Perez (and local and state police) on the other end ... school
    desegregation was supposed to be a STATE matter but ... anyway, finally
    Uncle Earl told Leander he had to let the feds in ... his reply to >>>> "Why?" ... "They have the bomb!"]

    And I wonder if a foreign diplomat was involved if you would feel the
    same about the fed "interfering" with the matter. I know it is
    "different" but sometimes our political thoughts/preferences get in the way.

    I am not. However, the GOP always touts those rights, unless they want to interfere with a Blue state.
    So, because it is a Blue State involved, you believe "their" rights are
    different than if a Red State was involved? That is not what I think >> you really think.

    It was certainly true with the slave-owning and non-slave-owning states. Strangely, most of the former are now Red states, and the latter are generally Blue.
    Interesting that you are so prejudiced ... I did not think that of you. I knew you certainly leaned, but I did not know that you were that far gone. How do you feel about those damned "colonists" that decided that "States Rights" was a really good thing ... slaves or not?
    I sit on the Federalist side. Without it, the US could just crash back into Third World status.
    .

    We get closer to being a 3rd world country every day
    .

    Well, that would require a definition of Third World Country. I invite your definition.

    Here’s a Google:

    “What is ‘Third World’? The modern definition of ‘Third World’ is used to classify countries
    that are poor or developing. Countries that are part of the “third world” are generally
    characterized by (1) high rates of poverty, (2) economic and/or political instability, and (3)
    high mortality rates.”

    Yea, that can fit us, can’t it? What I see is a developing of a separation of the classes. Which
    then requires a definition of “classes.” But the above “Google” kinda covers that, don’t it?

    (1) High rates of poverty:

    Yea, well we got that, right? They’re always showing how this or that group of employees are, “Below
    the poverty level.” Meat packers, Walmart employees, non-officer military, waitresses, some school
    teachers, farm workers, fast food workers, ec cetera.

    (2) Economic and/or political instability.

    We got that, too, right? We still have you election deniers (and Republican House) claiming Trump
    was cheated. And various DAs are making political prosecutions. Banks taking advantage of Trump
    and the Republicans lowering of guard rails and crashing banks.

    (3) High mortality rates.

    How many people is Trump responsible for letting die of Covid? How many died totally? How may still are because various politicians (Republicans) actually refuse to allow masks?

    “Not everybody?”

    Okay, let’s look at the Separation of the Classes.

    Special tax rates for the rich. (“Tax cuts for the rich”)

    Special deductions for the rich. (“Reduced rates if you own (n) For instance if you own a private jet).
    Have your own charity. Et cetera.

    Go into Walmart. (Or look at “People of Walmart.”) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPapSwKZQGs

    You find their carts loaded with beer, potato chips and cartons of cigarettes. And they pay with food stamps. (Except when the clerk points out, “You can't use food stamps on TV dinners and beer).

    Go into a Trader Joe’s and see THAT clientele. Go to the Strip and see those shows, and who attends. Go to those parts of town that have houses, rather than motels with weekly rates, or the high raisers at The Projects.

    Look at a Trump Rally. Tattooed hillbillies, with few apposing teeth for chewing McDonalds burgers.
    Look at the stockcar races compared to the opera. More stores are requiring a pass, before letting you in, (COSCO) to keep marauding blacks doing Looter Raids. Why don’t cops arrest the raiders? If they do, the cop gets arrested, while the press (
    afraid BLM and other blacks will call for a boycott of the station or advertisers).

    Look at the southern states. Politicians do what the can to block blacks from voting. They move polling places, stop voting on Sundays, remove drop boxes. They cut resources to black schools; charge high college tuitions, then stand in the door to block
    black kids from going. People live in communities behind locked gates. Companies let people only work 30-hours so the don’t have to provide health insurance.

    Shit, I could go on and on and on…

    There is a slow separation of the classes, and it’s growing, and the thin line between them is thinning and will soon part. Republican politicians representing corporations. Democrats supporting the working man.

    And fools like you that don’t understand it. (Or that Republicans are STILL trying to take you Social Security and Healthcare).



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