Rod Rosenstein – Opening Arguments

March 25, 2019March 26, 2019

OA264: The Barr Summary of the Mueller Report

Today’s emergency, late-breaking episode breaks down the Barr Summary of the Mueller Report and gives you some advance warning that the narrative on the Mueller report is about to shift very quickly in the opposite direction. Get ahead of the story by listening today!

Due to the length of the breakdown, we don’t have our regular segments today, but we do have (as always), the answer to Thomas Takes The Bar Exam #119 regarding contracts for the sale of wheat. Can Thomas keep his streak alive? Listen and find out! And, as always, remember to follow our Twitter feed (@Openargs) and like our Facebook Page so that you too can play along with #TTTBE!

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. This is the Barr Summary of the Mueller Report.
2. Ken Dilanian’s tweet.
3. Glenn Greenwald’s tweet.
4. We discussed disaggregation of the investigations in Episode OA: 259.
5. Confirms the Senate Intelligence Committee report we talked about in Episode OA: 190.
6. Russian Lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya’s OPEN SDNY criminal trial as of 1/8/2019 for obstruction of justice.
7. Mueller’s NFL report is here.

Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law

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

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

And email us at openarguments@gmail.com

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February 21, 2019February 22, 2019

OA255: Wall of Emergency

Today’s episode breaks down Trump’s recent declaration of a state of national emergency as a pretext to build his big, dumb wall. What’s being done about it? What can be done about it? Listen and find out!

We begin, however, with a trip up Yodel Mountain to observe one of its most bizarre members, Roger Stone, who recently posted a “notice of apology” after having uploaded a picture to Instagram of Judge Jackson with a reticule nearby. What does this mean for the gag order entered in his case? We tell all — even before the court ruled!

Next, it’s time for our main segment about the wall. Andrew breaks down exactly where the funding is going to come from, and details all the lawsuits to try and block it. We end the segment, of course, with a (pessimistic) prediction.

Then, it’s time for even more yodeling. Is the Mueller investigation really coming to an end? If so, what’s next? And what about

We end, as always, with a brand new Thomas Takes the Bar Exam Question #115 about offers to compromise. As always, remember to follow our Twitter feed (@Openargs) and like our Facebook Page so that you too can play along with #TTTBE!

Appearances
Andrew was just a guest on Episode 87 of the So Here’s My Story podcast; go check it out! And 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. Stone’s notice of apology.
2. Stone’s original partial gag order.
3. 18 U.S. Code § 1512: Tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant.
4. The Emergency Declaration.
5. The Presidential Border Security Victory Proclamation
6. Episode OA 243: BUILD THAT WALL!! where we first discussed states of emergency.
7. The Landowners lawsuit filed in DC, Sierra Club/ACLU lawsuit, and finally the California lawsuit filed by 16 states discussed in the show: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Virginia.
8. 31 U.S.C. § 9703 (TFF).
9. Department of the Treasury Forfeiture Fund.
10. 10 U.S. Code § 284 – Support for counterdrug activities and activities to counter transnational organized crime.
11. 10 U.S. Code § 2808 – Construction authority in the event of a declaration of war or national emergency – discussed in OA: 243 and “Military construction” defined in 10 U.S.C. § 2801(a).
12. Cummings report on Saudi Arabia.
13. Manafort sentencing discussed DC in OA 253: Religious Freedom and Domineque Ray
14. The transcript of Judge Jackson’s findings on Manafort’s lies
15. Manafort gets a 38 in the E.D.Va sentencing memo
16. Cohen to testify publicly before the House Oversight Committee on Feb. 27th.

Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law

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

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

And email us at openarguments@gmail.com

Download Link

September 24, 2018September 25, 2018

OA212: Rod Rosenstein and… G. Zachary Terwilliger?

Today’s episode is that rare Rapid Response Tuesday, necessitated by the persistent rumors that Donald Trump is about to fire Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Is it true? How bad are things if it is? And who is this mysterious G. Zachary Terwilliger? You’ll have to listen to know for sure!

We begin by examining the New York Times reporting that predicated the efforts to force out Rosenstein. Listen and you’ll learn why is Andrew confident that these reports are false — and get a rare “Randall Was Right” segment to boot!

After that, we look to the statutory line of succession if Rosenstein is indeed fired, and we wind up at Noel Francisco and… Sideshow Zach? How did THAT happen? Bonus: Is Francisco a Trump hack? All signs point to…

Then, we look to the statutory protections for Mueller even if Rosenstein is fired. Will the entire Russia investigation be fed into a Fargo/Deadpool 2-style woodchipper?

And, if all that wasn’t enough, we also have a mini-deep dive into the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, 5 U.S.C. § 3345 et seq. Does it matter if Rosenstein was fired or if he resigned?

Finally, we end — at long last! — with Thomas Takes the Bar Exam Question #94 regarding the Forest Service’s new rules. Remember to follow our Twitter feed (@Openargs) and like our Facebook Page so that you too can play along with #TTTBE!

Recent Appearances

Lots! Thomas will be at QED in Manchester, UK on Oct. 13 and 14.

Andrew will be debating originalist (and Kavanaugh clerk!) Justin Reed Wilson in Louisville, Kentucky on September 27 at Impellizzeri’s Pizza; to attend, just RSVP on this Facebook link.

Show Notes & Links