John Bolton – Opening Arguments

June 19, 2020June 20, 2020

OA396.5 BONUS Episode: Will You Be Able To Read John Bolton’s Book?

Today’s bonus episode takes a deep dive into the lawsuit brought by the Trump Administration to try and block the publication of John Bolton’s tell-all book. We break down the legal arguments and tell you whether you can look forward to getting that copy you ordered or not. (And seriously, you shouldn’t give money to John Bolton. He’s still a scumbag.)

We begin, however, with a quick Andrew Was Right! in that PG&E pleaded guilty to 84 counts of manslaughter; we told you PG&E was likely criminally liable way back in Episode 241!

Then, it’s time to break down the Justice in Policing Act of 2020 which just passed the House Judiciary Committee and is an unambiguously good bill. Listen and find out why!

After that, it’s time to dig in to both the Complaint and the motion for TRO filed by the United States on behalf of Donald Trump because John Bolton’s book made Trump feel bad. Do we really live in a society in which that happened? Yes. Do we live in one in which the court will grant injunctive relief? No. Listen and find out why.

No #T3BE in this bonus episode but there’s lots and lots of great content!

Patreon Bonuses

All patrons get a special behind-the-scenes deep dive into our amicus brief!

Appearances

None! But if you’d like to have either of us as a guest on your show, event, or in front of your group (virtually!), please drop us an email at openarguments@gmail.com.

Show Notes & Links

Although the plea agreement isn’t available, this Ars Technica article is a good timeline of PG&E’s criminal activities; we told you PG&E was likely criminally liable way back in Episode 241!
Click here to read the Justice in Policing Act of 2020 which just passed the House Judiciary Committee.
You can read the Supreme Court’s decision in Snepp v. U.S. 444 U.S. 507 (1980), the decision in the Pentagon Papers case, and also read the Complaint and the motion for TRO filed by the U.S. against Bolton. Injunctive relief is governed by Rule 65 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
Finally, check out the NSA’s pre-publication procedures.

-Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law

-Follow us on Twitter: @Openargs

-Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/openargs/, and don’t forget the OA Facebook Community!

-For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed! @oawiki

-Remember to check out our YouTube Channel for Opening Arguments: The Briefs and other specials!

-And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com!

Download Link

January 10, 2020January 10, 2020

Transcript of OA349: Bolton Will Testify; Iran, Soleimani & So Much More

Listen to the episode and read the show notes

Topics of Discussion:

[Show Intro]

Thomas: Hello and welcome to Opening Arguments, this is episode 349. I’m Thomas Smith, that’s Andrew Torrez. How’re you doing, sir?

Andrew: I am fantastic, Thomas, how are you?

Thomas: I’m good but I’m just realizing does this mean new intro quotes soon?

Andrew: Ooooh!

Thomas: Is that how the numbers work? I can’t remember.

Andrew: Yeah, it is how the numbers work.

Thomas: Okay.

Andrew: Yeah, we’ll have to get that up and running awfully quickly over at patreon.com/law where people can submit their own 15 second intro quotes for the show.

Thomas: It’s definitely a lot shorter than 15 seconds, but that’s okay!

January 9, 2020January 10, 2020

OA349: Bolton Will Testify; Iran, Soleimani & So Much More

Today’s episode takes on (some of) the two biggest pending news stories right now: (1) the U.S. assassination of Iranian Gen. Soleimani, and (2) the pending impeachment of President Trump. Oh, and we also cover a bunch of other things along the way, including the latest CNN settlement regarding the kid from Covington Catholic, and, well, you’ll just have to listen to find out everything!

We begin with a pre-show grab bag of mini-stories, including the “drain the swamp” news that outgoing Energy Secretary Rick Perry has joined the board of a holding company that owns a pipeline company. Is this 100% the same scandal as Burisma hiring Hunter Biden? (Hint: yes.)

Then, we delve into some disturbing background information on the Solemani strike and answer the first of many listener questions about it: was the strike arguably justified by the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) against the 9/11 hijackers?

After that, it’s time for some Yodeling! We look at the current state of the House/Senate standoff on articles of impeachment and what the likely way forward will be. You’ll learn that former NSA Director John Bolton is willing to testify; the question is whether two more Republicans care about that at all.

Finally, we cover the latest news that CNN settled the defamation lawsuit brought by Nick Sandmann of Covington Catholic relating to the video shared by CNN nearly a year ago.

After all that, it’s time for a brand-new #T3BE 161 — this one is a constitutional law question regarding anti-discrimination laws. Can Thomas get it right??

Appearances

None! If you’d like to have either of us as a guest on your show, drop us an email at openarguments@gmail.com.

Show Notes & Links

Pre-show links: (a) Rick Perry rejoins the board of a pipeline company; (b) the Hofeller Files; and (c) the 5th Circuit’s decision on Trump’s stupid wall, which we last covered in Episodes 243 and 255.
Iranian strike links: (a) Washington Post story on Pompeo masterminding the strike; (b) the Heather Timmons piece in Quartz warning us that Trump was listening to Rapture loons like Pence and Pompeo 18 months ago; and (c) Mary Lee Bigham-Bartling’s 2018 doctoral dissertation on Rapture theology.
This is the 2001 AUMF, and you can also verify that Solemani is named in neither the 9/11 Commission Report nor the 2019 State Department Fact Sheet. We also quoted from a VOA News report on Sunnis “celebrating” the death of Solemani.
On impeachment: the important thing is to click here to read John Bolton’s public decision to comply with a Senate subpoena.
Finally, although you can’t read the CNN/Covington Catholic settlement, you can still watch both the original Sandmann video, and the updated video released a few days later.