National Enquirer – Opening Arguments

Today’s Rapid Response episode takes a look at the just-released Law’d Awful Memo written by Attorney General nominee Bill Barr and sent to Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein concerning the Mueller investigation. Are the argument(s) raised in the memo any good? What does this mean for the future of the Mueller investigation? Listen and find out!

We begin, however, with a brief foray into everyone’s favorite show topic: BASEBALL LAW! Find out about the agreement reached between MLB and Cuba, and how (of course) Donald Trump can screw it up.

After that, it’s time for an Andrew Was Wrong (and Maybe Not Wrong) on David Pecker and AMI. Along the way, we’ll learn about the corruption case against Sun-Diamond Growers in connection with former Agriculture Secretary (and nearly-Senator) Mike Espy.

Then, we delve deeply into the Barr memo, taking apart the legal “arguments” and featuring a guest appearance from one Antonin Scalia!

Then, it’s time to tackle the rather surprising decision by Judge Sullivan in the Michael Flynn sentencing phase. What happened? Did he go off the rails?

After all that, we end with an all new Thomas (and Matt!) Takes The Bar Exam #106 on how to best transport heroin from Kansas City to Chicago and what the judge can instruct the jury… it’s complicated, but you won’t want to miss it! And, 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

Check out Matt & Mattingly’s Ice Cream Social podcast!
Baseball law: Here’s the press release from MLB.
We discussed U.S. v. Sun-Diamond Growers of Calfornia, 138 F.3d 961 (D.C. Cir. 1998), aff’d, 526 U.S. 398 (1999).
Don’t forget to read the Barr memo for yourself, and you can also check out the Wall Street Journal article that leaked it.
…And here’s our good buddy Antonin Scalia smacking down the logic used therein.
You can check out the government’s sentencing memorandum in Michael Flynn’s case as well as the memo filed by Covington & Burling on Flynn’s behalf.
Here is the 18-3071 sealed case order.

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And email us at openarguments@gmail.com

Download Link

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