As many of you know, I was out for the count with the flu this past week…nothing like getting a week behind on everything you need to do right before Christmas. I have to say that I have not been that sick in a really long time — please make sure to get your flu and COVID shots because this is supposed to a brutal winter. (And thanks to all of you for your kind words and get well wishes on the Substack chat!)
I was not too sick, though, to enjoy reading the Colorado Supreme Court’s lengthy opinion disqualifying Trump from the state primary ballot (a decision which is stayed until January 4 at the least, and longer, if the Supreme Court takes it up, which effectively means he’ll still be on the primary ballot). This week, SCOTUS expert Steve Vladek joined me on the It’s Complicated podcast to talk about the “Trump term” and some of the other cases to keep an eye out for this winter and spring. (For those of you who have only recently enrolled in The Freedom Academy, make sure to check out my Freedom Academy Book Club discussion with Steve about his book, The Shadow Docket — it is a must-read, in my opinion.)
Steve and I dove into the Colorado Supreme Court’s reasoning, as well as the realistic odds of the Supreme Court affirming the decision, so I won’t rehash that here. One thing I do want to highlight, since I think it is often overlooked, is how consequential the January 6th Committee’s findings have proven to be — something that I was reminded of while reading the Colorado opinion. One of the issues the court considered was whether the district court had abused its discretion by admitting parts of the January 6 Committee report into evidence. In addition to finding that it didn’t, the court went on to cite the district court’s use of the detailed findings from the report to affirm its conclusion that Trump had “engaged” in an “insurrection” within the meaning of Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Let’s not forget that, by all indications, the January 6 Committee is also what (finally) spurred the Justice Department into action, as far as investigating people at the top, rather than just the foot soldiers. It may have been tempting at the time to dismiss the congressional hearings as being ineffective for holding Trump accountable — but I think history will show that without it, none of these other state and federal legal threads, civil and criminal, would have been possible. On to the discussion:
Media clips from this week:
I rallied from the flu to get back on TV to discuss the Colorado ruling:
My articles this week:
Former CIA officer Marc Polymeropolous and I wrote this sober prediction of the impact of a second Trump administration on the U.S. intelligence community for Just Security. I hope you will give it a read.
Other articles worth reading:
The latest ProPublica reporting that Clarence Thomas’ “financial strain” (hey, that RV isn’t going to pay for itself!) and push to allow judges to take speaking fees. This guy is not only corrupt, but SUCH A WHINER.
This New York Times piece about the machinations going on at the Supreme Court in the months leading up to the Dobbs decision. It’s crazy.
This TPM piece — courtesy of a subscriber tip (thank you!) — about a Russian propaganda mill (which has officially registered under FARA) operating out of Florida.
Upcoming events:
Holiday Happy Hour, Wednesday, December 27, 5pm EST: In lieu of office hours for December, I want to do a fun happy hour for paid subscribers! NO TRUMP TALK. Just fun conversation about the holidays and plans for the New Year! Zoom link will be sent to paid subscribers at 2 p.m.
Freedom Academy Book Club, Wednesday, January 17, 12 p.m.: A discussion with by Scott Shapiro, author of Fancy Bear Goes Phishing: The Dark History of the Information Age, in Five Extraordinary Hacks. Zoom link will be sent to paid subscribers at 9 a.m. The talk will be recorded and posted the following day.
I know that the Hamilton musical is no longer what everyone is listening to all the time, but I thought I’d close out with this fun Christmas parody which always puts a smile on my face whenever I watch it (and we all need SOMETHING to smile about these days!). Enjoy — and have a wonderful holiday, however you choose to celebrate!
It's quaint that in the clip everyone seems to agree that the voters will decide and the election will put an end to it but we know that Trump only accepts one result. It's going to be deja vu all over again. It will not stop at the election either way
So glad to hear your voice again. Hope you continue to mend. Definitely going to be a bumpy ride ahead. We need you to sort it all out first us!