Reflecting Pool Turns Into Quicksand for Jeanine Pirro
INSIDE: Abdul El-Sayed ... Max Miller ... Sean O'Mara
Saga Not Over Yet
While most of the reflecting pool coverage focuses on the reality TV-style palace intrigue among the ridiculous personas of Donald Trump, Jeanine Pirro, and Doug Burgum, pay attention to how hard the former criminal defendants in the now-dismissed “vandalism” cases push for court-ordered consequences for the misbegotten prosecutions.
As a first step, attorneys for David Hearn are asking a judge to dismiss the case with prejudice, which would keep Pirro from recharging him later. Pirro has sought to dismiss the charges without prejudice and keep her options open.
They take particular exception to Pirro’s claims that prosecutors were not aware of the fatal flaws in their case until shortly before they moved to dismiss the case. They provide a timeline of what prosecutors learned as the case unfolded that challenges the sequence of events Pirro provided the court in her motion to dismiss.
As Empty Wheel’s Marcy Wheeler notes, Hearn’s counsel also suggested to the judge in the latest filing that the court could still revisit their pending request for the grand jury materials — or review them in chambers.
There are also three other similar cases Pirro is trying to dismiss, as she tries to point the finger at Burgum and the Interior Department, save her job, and avoid court-ordered sanctions or ethics reviews.
And yet … I realize the palace intrigue has some appeal, so here you go:
NYT: Inside the Oval Office Showdown Between Trump and Jeanine Pirro
Politico: Jeanine Pirro struggles to give Trump the wins he craves the most
WSJ: Pirro’s About-Face in Pool Case Followed Prosecutors’ Private Concerns
The Toll on the Federal Judiciary
U.S. District Judge John McConnell, the chief judge in Rhode Island, goes on the record about the numerous threats he’s faced after issuing several important rulings adverse to the Trump administration.
McConnell was among the judges to have received unrequested pizza deliveries, as a way a warning “We know where you live.” In his case, the name on the pizza order was Daniel Anderl, the slain son of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas, who was killed by a disgruntled lawyer in an attack at the judge’s New Jersey home.
Jan. 6 Never Ends
U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta, reluctantly granting the Trump DOJ’s motion to dismiss the seditious conspiracy indictment against eight members of the far-right Oath Keepers militia, including Stewart Rhodes, all of whom were convicted but later had their sentences commuted by President Trump:
This is the last of the prosecutions seeking to hold accountable those responsible for the events of January 6. That book is now closed. Today’s epilogue diminishes the gravity of that day, denigrates the work of the prosecutors and law enforcement officers who secured these convictions, and excuses criminal acts that caused a centuries-long pillar of our democracy—the peaceful transfer of presidential power—to buckle. The court cannot write a different ending.
Profile in Courage Ducking for Cover
Facing a tough re-election in a key Senate race, Maine Sen. Susan Collins is being given cover by Senate Republicans to vote against the nomination of Todd Blanche for attorney general. She didn’t announce her opposition until after Blanche cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday. With two senators still officially undecided, there remains some faux drama around the confirmation, but Collins getting a get-out-of-jail-free card confirms where this is headed.
2026 Midterms Watch
Michigan-Senate: In a nail-biter that pre-election polling did a poor job of picking up on, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed eked past Rep. Haley Stevens in the Democratic primary. The race was too close to call for much of the night, but the AP has now declared the race for El-Sayed, who hold a 49-48 lead with 99% of the votes counted.
Missouri-01: In a rematch of the 2024 Democratic primary, Rep. Wesley Bell defeated former Rep. Cori Bush.
Virginia-05: Former Rep. Tom Perriello (D) won the Democratic primary to challenge incumbent Rep. John McGuire (R).
House GOP Scandal Update
Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) has dropped his re-election bid in the aftermath of a cringey-as-hell House Ethics Committee report with excruciating details about his awkward and uncomfortable behavior toward two young women staffers in his office.
Rep. Max Miller (R-OH), who has been accused of abusive behavior by multiple women, including his ex-wife, the daughter of Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH), went on CNN to defend himself in an extended interview with Jake Tapper and, oh boy:
The Antisemitism Is Ubiquitous
TPM’s Hunter Walker: Colorado Republicans Attack Jewish Gov Candidate With AI ‘Cartoon Devil Horns’ Graphic
Make America Wipe Again
From a NYT Mag profile of Dr. Sean O’Mara, whose dietary recommendations have been embraced by Vice President JD Vance, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy:
“When you start eating healthy, you don’t need toilet paper,” he claimed. “Animals in the wild have no residual stool on their anus.” He described a proper bowel movement to me this way: odorless, wipe-free, over in three to seven seconds and “nearly orgasmic.”
“I could have a bowel movement behind a sheet at a dinner party in the corner of the room,” he said, “and nobody would know.”
I just can’t with this.
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The. GOP has given the Dems a new talking point: “They’re coming for your toilet paper!”
Very glad to hear that Hearn's lawyers are asking for dismissal with prejudice. Seems entirely justified in this case.