Alan Zweibel

I asked why Comey's lawyers would increase their fees? What has how they get paid got to do with that?

Well, in this case, I doubt that Comey's attorneys are underqualified.

Well, to give Trump some credit, there is a sector that he prioritizes over the interests of his BFF Vladimir Putin. It's the US oil and gas industry. As you may recall, he imposed huge tariffs on India for importing Russian oil. That has the effect of boosting the price of oil from other source above where it otherwise would be.

What has how payment is made got to do with this issue?

And if evenkeel's comment had any validity, that would justify a claim that because epidemiologists can't predict exactly who will die, then vaccines are useless.

So when it comes to appeals, attorneys change their hourly rate?

Actually, Musk is making an interesting point but it takes getting past one's Pavlovian reactions to understand what he is about. Economically speaking, robots are the equivalent of slaves. The don't get paid for the value they create. Basically, their only cost is the cost of their manufacture and maintenance. So, if robots are working essentially for nothing and can substitute for human workers, who is going to consume what they produce? Well, if all citizens and others specified parties are distributed government credits, they will. As Musk points out, for those who want to work, they can. Maybe earn some extra credits that way. Anyway, it doesn't seem that hard to get what he was driving at.

Obviously foolish comment: The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes. https://archive.ph/Im0GE#selection-323.0-329.83

File this under: What Have You Done For Me Lately?

And this is a significant point you have raised because it is almost unprecedented that attorneys would charge for their services when decisions are appealed?

As I've pointed out, andrew mccarthy, a former federal prosecuutor, who is extremely right wing, actually predicted what would happen based on the merits or rather lack of merits of the case. And now Jonathan Turley who has been a consistent defender of Trump wrote this: “Everything about this indictment seems to be rather rushed into – and improvisational,” Turley said. “When the Comey indictment came down, I noted that it seemed sort of disjunctive. They took out this count and the other two counts did not exactly fit neatly together and you got a sense of how quickly they had to get this through and that, I think, sat badly with this judge.” https://www.aol.com/news/jonathan-turley-says-james-comey-190627839.html In fact, we know that the Justice dept considers Halligans appointment to be legally unsound since Bondi later tried to appoint her as a Special Attorney, or, as McCarthy put it Bondi’s Retroactive Ratificiation of Her Retroactive Ratification of the Comey Grand Jury Presentation https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/bondis-retroactive-ratificiation-of-her-retroactive-ratification-of-the-comey-grand-jury-presentation/

Right. It's Comey who should be feeling disgraced.

This threat needs a new headline Ex-US Atty. for Virginia's East District, cleaning House,

I looked up ASCDL via Google and also Chatgpt. So, whether or not you are a member of the Afro-Asian Society for Cosmetic Dermatology and Laser, or the Associated Students Child Development Laboratory, or the Alaska Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory, or maybe just some secret society as yet undetected by search engines or AI, I can see you are well qualified to be commenting on this case.

As McCarthy put it: Bondi’s Retroactive Ratification of Her Retroactive Ratification of the Comey Grand Jury Presentation https://archive.ph/Cfodx

Trump abruptly pulled plan to announce Obamacare extension after ‘significant congressional backlash’: report Just minutes before President Donald Trump was set to unveil a plan to avert a massive hike for Obamacare health plans on Monday afternoon the event was suddenly pulled – reportedly because of widespread Republican unease on the Hill. On CNN, anchor Jessica Dean was forced to interrupt herself as she asked a question of a health expert to announce some breaking news as it came into her ear – that the event had been abruptly postponed. Federal subsidies passed under the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act are set to expire at the end of the calendar year, and many Americans are already receiving notice that the monthly cost of their health care plans could jump by hundreds or even thousands of dollars for larger plans. https://ca.news.yahoo.com/trump-abruptly-pulled-plan-announce-010740764.html Double TACO?

According to McCarthy, the motions still pending can ultimately put the kibosh on the government's case.

Actually, I got it somewhat wrong. If the indictments were found to be invalid, then the government can't try again. There's a typically excellent discussion of this by Andrew McCarthy, whose politics, by the way, are very right wing. Despite which, as an experienced federal prosecutor, he has repeatedly pointed out glaring weaknesses in the DOJ's case. Here's a link: https://archive.ph/8Pap8

As noted above, they still could. At least, I'm betting that the DOJ will try again to indict them.

Mr. Trump slapped 50 percent tariffs on Brazilian imports and imposed sanctions on a Brazilian Supreme Court justice to try to keep Mr. Bolsonaro — a right-wing politician sometimes called the Trump of the Tropics — out of prison. Five months later, Mr. Trump has all but admitted defeat. Mr. Bolsonaro, 70, is in a prison cell, starting a 27-year sentence. And Mr. Trump — after a chummy meeting with Mr. Lula — has just removed the most significant tariffs against Brazil. https://archive.ph/zfvcS

Sen. Mark Kelly faces Pentagon investigation for making video on refusing ‘unlawful orders’ The Pentagon on Monday said that it was reviewing what it called “serious allegations of misconduct against” Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona for making a video with five other Democratic lawmakers that urged members of the military to refuse to follow unlawful orders... Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a statement on X announcing the probe of Kelly, who is a retired U.S. Navy captain, said, “The video made by the ‘Seditious Six’ was despicable, reckless, and false.”.. The Pentagon, in its statement Monday, said “The Department of War reminds all individuals that military retirees remain subject to the UCMJ for applicable offenses, and federal laws such as 18 U.S.C. § 2387 prohibit actions intended to interfere with the loyalty, morale, or good order and discipline of the armed forces,” the post. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/24/mark-kelly-pentagon-trump.html Another case that should be laughed out of court. But given the havoc that Hegseth has unleashed on the military justice system, it will probably drag on longer than it should. Hegseth has made a point of ridding the military of principled members of JAG.

Judge dismisses James Comey and Letitia James indictments over ‘unlawful’ prosecutor appointment A federal judge in eastern Virginia on Monday dismissed criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, ruling that Lindsey Halligan, the interim U.S. attorney who brought both indictments, was invalidly appointed. Senior U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie ruled in both cases that Halligan, President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, had been installed as interim federal prosecutor in violation of the Appointments Clause of the Constitution. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/24/trump-comey-james-indictments-halligan.html KInd if disappointing, actually. Not the these grounds for dismissal weren't solid. But there were so many other grounds. Like vindictive prosecution, or just that the evidence was so weak as to be laughable. Well, we can all enjoy the spectacle of Trump exploding. Still, we may get a chance to see the DOJ shooting itself in the foot again. According to Federal rules, the govt has about six months from the date of the original statute of limitations expiration date to attempt to re-indict.

I've been found out.

Even if that were true, it has nothing to do with why she is getting such special treatment.

Always interesting how pointing out that Ghislaine Maxwell, the sex offender, who has been given special treatment by the Trump administration, never seems to draw any comment from Trump's defenders.