Tag: Karen McDougal

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OA235: Corporations Are People, My Friend… Criminal People

Today’s Rapid Response episode takes a look at three breaking stories related to the White House:  (1) the recent ruling requiring Stormy Daniels to pay Trump’s attorneys’ fees; (2) the sentencing of Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen; and (3) most importantly, the plea deal signed by American Media, Inc. — parent company to the National Enquirer — to cooperate with the Special Counsel’s Office.

We begin by revisiting the question of whether, in fact, Stormy Daniels is still a legal genius.  (Hint:  she is.)  But what does it mean that a court just ordered her to pay Trump nearly $300,000 — and why could it have been much, much worse?  Listen and find out.

After that, we check out Trump’s ex-“fixer” and the former Taxi King of New York, Michael Cohen, who was just sentenced to three years in prison.

Then it’s time for a fascinating look into a non-prosecution agreement reached between the Special Counsel’s Office and American Media, Inc. that tell us an awful lot about where Yodel Mountain is headed.

Finally, we end with an all new Thomas Takes The Bar Exam #105 on modifications to a contract.  As always, if you’d like to play along with us, just retweet our episode on Twitter or share it on Facebook along with your guess and the #TTTBE hashtag.  We’ll release the answer on next Tuesday’s episode along with our favorite entry!

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

  1. Here’s the merits ruling defamation we referenced during the show; you can also check out Trump’s motion for attorneys’ fees, Avenatti’s (rather weak) opposition brief, and the court’s ruling directing Stormy to pay almost $300,000.
  2. And because it never ends, check out the mediation questionnaire filled out by Avenatti for their appeal to the 9th Circuit.
  3. You know you want to read the press release regarding Michael Cohen’s sentence; after that, you can check out the sentencing memoranda filed by the SCO’s office (“good cop”) as well as the brief filed by the SDNY (“bad cop”).
  4. Finally, this is the AMI agreeement as well as the DOJ guidelines on prosecuting corporations.
  5. Oh, and just for fun, here’s Jose Canseco’s audition to be Trump’s Chief of Staff.  #YesWeCanseco

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OA203: Paul Manafort Convicted, Michael Cohen Pleads

Today’s extra-long, extra-early Rapid Response episode tackles the two biggest stories in the news right now:  Paul Manafort’s conviction, and Michael Cohen’s plea deal.  We tell you exactly what these two big stories actually mean.

We begin with Paul Manafort.  What did the jury decide?  Why did they fail to reach a verdict on 10 counts?  What were those counts?  How long is Paulie M going to stay in prison and what’s next?  And, most importantly:  what does this mean for Yodel Mountain?  How likely is Paulie M to flip on Donald Trump?  We answer all of these questions and more!

After that, we turn to everyone’s favorite weasel, Michael “I Would Take A Bullet For Donald Trump” Cohen, who… has not taken a bullet for Donald Trump but has in fact pled guilty to eight separate crimes.  What are they, what does it mean, and what comes next?  Listen and find out!

And if all that wasn’t enough, we end with an all new Thomas Takes The Bar Exam #90 involving  foreseeability, cross-motions for summary judgment, and tortious conduct.  If you’d like to play along, just retweet our episode on Twitter or share it on Facebook along with your guess and the #TTTBE hashtag.  We’ll release the answer on next Tuesday’s episode along with our favorite entry!

Recent 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

  1. You’ll want to start with the Manafort indictment, and you can also read the Manafort verdict.  Of the eight guilty counts, Manafort was convicted under 18 U.S.C. § 1344, 26 U.S.C. § 7206(1), and 31 U.S.C. § 5322.
  2. We first discussed the Federal Sentencing Guidelines back in Episode 162; you can check out the full manual (long!) and also the FSG Sentencing table to figure out how long Paulie M is going away.
  3. And don’t forget Manafort still has another trial pending in DC!  We gave you a primer on that back in Episode 194, and you can check out the pending indictment in that case.
  4. If Paulie M flips, it will be to take advantage of Rule 35(b) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.
  5. Of course, we first covered how Stormy Daniels is a Legal Genius back in Episode 154, and then the Karen McDougal story in Episode 158.
  6. Here’s Cohen’s plea deal; here are the conditions of his release; and here’s the article quoting his allocution.
  7. Sneak preview of the bonus episode:  here’s the DOJ manual on prosecuting campaign finance violations that proves Alan Dershowitz is lying.  Again.

Support us on Patreon at:  patreon.com/law

Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs

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And email us at openarguments@gmail.com


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OA158: Cambridge Analytica

In this rapid-response episode, Thomas and Andrew discuss the scandal regarding Cambridge Analytica.  Is there a legal angle?  Have crimes been committed?  Listen and find out!

In the pre-show segment, Andrew helps out our reporters by giving theme the question they need to be asking regarding Stormy Daniels, which is:  “Now that you’ve acknowledged that you’re DD, and you’ve sued Stormy Daniels for $20 million, can you tell us what claims you had against Ms. Daniels that you believe you settled in that agreement?  What could you have sued her for?”  You’re welcome.

That segues into the “A” segment, where the guys discuss the differences (and one strange overlap) between the recent lawsuit filed by Karen McDougal and the top-of-Yodel-Mountain Stormy Daniels lawsuit.

After the main segment, we tackle a listener question regarding the difference between textualism and originalism, inspired by our most recent episode, Episode 157.

Finally, we end with an all-new TTTBE #68 that requires some math to figure out the appropriate measure of damages for breach of contract.  Remember that you can play along with #TTTBE by retweeting our episode on Twitter or sharing it on Facebook along with your guess.  We’ll release the answer on next Tuesday’s episode along with our favorite entry!

Recent Appearances

None!  Have us on your show!

Show Notes & Links

  1. This is the National Review article that actually gets Stormy’s story right.
  2. Here’s Mike Murphy’s article expressing skepticism of CA’s claims.
  3. This is the Price v. Facebook class action civil lawsuit, arising out of California’s Unfair Competition Law, Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200 et seq.  And here’s the statement from NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
  4. If you wanted to set up a SuperPAC, Andrew’s old pals at Covington & Burling have drafted a simple how-to guide for you.
  5. Finally, here’s a hilarious Tweet from Peter Drice Wright that highlights a key problem with textualism.

Support us on Patreon at:  patreon.com/law

Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/

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