This is a very good thread on the charges that were revealed today, particularly those of George Papadopoulos. Mr. Abramson connects the dots between the the details of the indictments and prior events, and lays out the implications for Trump’s WH.
The transgender service members sued in August to try to block the ban. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ruled that the plaintiffs were entitled to an injunction halting enforcement of the ban until their case is resolved.
The service members asserted that Trump’s policy violated their rights to due process and equal protection under the law under the U.S. Constitution.
…
Kollar-Kotelly said the plaintiffs were likely to succeed in their claims that the ban was unconstitutional because the reasons given for the ban “do not appear to be supported by any facts.” She said that other factors, including “the unusual circumstances surrounding the president’s announcement” of the ban, weighed in her decision.
The judge, however, tossed out the suit’s challenge to the sex-reassignment surgery directive, saying none of the plaintiffs had shown they would be impacted by that prohibition.
Quick civics refresher: a prosecutor can get an indictment if a grand jury thinks it’s more likely than not that a specific individual has broken the law.
So here’s what you may be wondering about this one:
WHY
IS IT SEALED?: This is one of those things that probably
sounds more dramatic than it is. It’s not uncommon for defendants
to get the chance to turn themselves in before the charges are
announced publicly, or for law enforcement to want time to plan an
arrest that won’t turn into a circus without tipping off, say, a
wealthy defendant with connections abroad in time to flee the
country. Most dramatically and least likely – though at this point we have to get used to thinking of this stuff as a possibility –
they might need to make arrangements to put a potential informant into
protective custody.
DID
WE GET HIM? IS IT OVER?!: Sorry, no. This is, at best, the end of Act I. The
tipping point may be coming soon, but a lot can happen between now
and “soon.” You need to prepare yourself, because things can get
darker fast. Someone a whole lot more even-keeled than Trump would
panic with the walls closing in like this. Keep an eye on activist
groups like MoveOn and Indivisible in case we need to mobilize
quickly against an even more authoritarian turn. Firing Mueller,
pardoning everyone around him, a show trial of Hillary Clinton, war
with freaking Belgium – assume we’re going to have to put up a fight against something serious any day now.
The
regime did so much desperate covfefe-flinging last week that it looks
as if they had some sense this was coming soon, but even before this news dropped, there were quite a few
developments that they seem to have been trying to drown out over the
past few days:
Lindsay E. Jones, the chief policy and advocacy officer for the National Center for Learning Disabilities, said she was particularly concerned to see guidance documents outlining how schools could use federal money for special education removed.
“All of these are meant to be very useful … in helping schools and parents understand and fill in with concrete examples the way the law is meant to work when it’s being implemented in various situations,” said Jones.
…
“Much of the guidance around [the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act] focused on critical clarifications of the regulations required to meet the needs of students with disabilities and provide them a free, appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment,” Scott said in a statement. “Notwithstanding the actions taken by the Department today, the regulations still remained enforced; however they lack the clarification the guidance provided.”
…
“If the documents that are on this list are all covered in newer documents that were released — which sometimes does happen — that would be fine,” said Jones.” Our goal is to make sure that parents and schools and educators understand how these laws work, and the department plays a critical role in that.”
In between this,
the current bill in Congress weakening the ADA that pits an individual against business in compliance with accessibility regulations – as if individuals have the same resources and power as businesses,
Hearseeno 