Sonny Tufts
Member

You asked me why the two cases were treated differently, and I gave you my best answer. You didn't ask what the differences in the crimes were. To opine on that I'd need to review what HRC actually did and research the statutes that HRC allegedly violated, something I don't have time to do right now. Please understand, I'm no fan of HRC; she's despicable.

He's being accurate. From sitting on his butt for over 3 hours watching TV while his goon supporters stormed the Capitol, to urging Pence to do something that he had no authority to do which, after Pence refused to do it, caused some of the goons to call for Pence's death, Trump demonstrated that he violated his oath and is unfit to be President. Of course the Trump lemmings think he can walk on water and crap flowers, so an oath is irrelevant. But is is nice to see a GOP legislator take Trump to task instead of waiting in line with almost all of the rest of them so he can kiss Trump's butt. Thank you, Mr. Massie.

There's an entire statute dealing with presidential records -- the Presidential Records Act of 1978, which defines "Presidential records" as: "Personal records" is defined as: The Act further provides, "The United States shall reserve and retain complete ownership, possession, and control of Presidential records; and such records shall be administered in accordance with the provisions of this chapter." 44 USC §2202

I never said it was legally required. It's just smart to put it in writing so that there's no misunderstanding that declassification has in fact occurred. EDIT: See below for a statutory requirement (44 USC §2203).

No, he took documents that didn't belong to him and didn't give some of them them up after being supoenaed. That sounds like theft, not declassification. Incidentally, the warrant covered unclassified material ("Any governmental and/or Presidential Records created between January 20, 2017 and January 20, 2021") as well as classified material.

I'm a good enough lawyer to understand that when you declassify something you should document that decision in writing. That way nobody has to rely only on the word of someone with very little credibility, such as Trump.

Has anyone seen any evidence that Trump declassified any of the records that were taken in the execution of the warrant? It's my understanding that Trump was subpoenaed last spring and some records were turned over to the National Archives. In June a Trump attorney told the DOJ that there were no more classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. I assume that subsequently the FBI or DOJ received information that this wasn't the case and that there were additional classified documents at the residence, thus prompting the search warrant. OK, you don't like "ultra high security". How about TS/SCI, which stands for Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information?

All laws are, not just tax laws. The federal income tax was created in 1861, not 1913, and its premise is that the federal government needs revenue to operate. Choosing the tax base (i.e., what to tax) isn't self-evident, and somebody will always complain no matter what the tax base is. But the government can tax only to the extent that the people allow it to. Don't think so? Just one example: the 2017 tax cuts that, among other things, doubled the gift and estate tax exemption from $6+ million to $12+ million and roughly doubled the income tax standard deduction.

My guess is that the DOJ didn't have the guts to go after HRC. In addition, did any of HRC's emails have the ultra-high security classification that some of Trump's records did? Keep in mind that all that's happened to Trump so far is the execution of a search warrant. He hasn't been charged with, much less convicted of, anything.

He acknowledged they were false when he admitted the shooting really happened.

Witness claimed the warrant was bogus and based on no evidence. How does the witness know there was no supporting evidence? Maybe the witness thinks he can use ESP to divine what the judge who signed the warrant took into consideration, just like Trump can declassify things just by using his mind.

In a defamation case a public figure must prove not only that the statement was false but also that the defendant either knew his statement was false or that he made the statement with reckless disregard of its truth or falsity. Apparently Moore presented enough evidence to convince the jury of either of these elements.

You've seen the affidavit? By all means, please share it with us. What did it say?

I suggest to you that what's partisan and biased is the reaction of the Trump supporters to the execution of the search warrant. None of them knows anything about the underlying reason the warrant was issued, what the FBI was looking for, or what efforts were used to attempt to obtain the material short of getting a warrant, but that doesn't stop their knee-jerk, we're-in-a-police-state complaints that their idol is being persecuted.

If it's a kicker, it's wide left. Congress has no authority to add a disqualification to the office of the Presidency, a Senator, or a Representative. See Powell v. McCormack, 395 U.S. 486 (1969). The qualifications to be President, a Senator, or a Representative are spelled out in the Constitution, and the only areas in which a person can be disqualified from serving in such capacities are in cases of impeachment and insurrection.

Rand Paul in 2016: In 2002, an investigation of Trump via a court-approved search warrant is "an attack on the rule of law". In 2016 Trump supporters chanted "Lock Her Up!" (I don't claim Paul ever did.) But in 2022 they claim Trump is the victim of a witch hunt. It all depends on whose ox is gored, doesn't it?

That's a wonderful goal, but using 18 USC 2071 may not get you there. The statute is probably unconstitutional because it adds a qualification (in a negative sense) to being President in addition to those specified in the Constitution, something Congress has no authority to do.

Do you know what a constitutional amendment does? It changes something in the original Constitution or adds something that wasn't there before. Didn't you ever have a middle school civics class? Please read Barron v. Mayor & City Council of Baltimore, 32 U.S. 243 (1833), available here: https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/32/243 The Court explains why the 5th Amendment in particular and the Bill of Rights in general were intended to apply only to the federal government, not to the States. You may disagree with the decision, but it was the law for almost 100 years. After the 14th Amendment was ratified, States could no longer do certain things they could do before. So in that sense the Constitution was clearly different than it originally was. Beginning in 1925 the Supreme Court held that the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment made certain proviosions of the Bill of Rights applicable to the States. But the 7th Amendment hasn't been one of them. See generally https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incorporation_of_the_Bill_of_Rights

The First Amendment permits one to be an idolater or polytheist, both of which violate the first two Commandments. Article VI, which prohibits religious tests for federal offices, hardly enshrines the Bible or Christianity in the Constitution. In the debate of the North Carolina Convention on the adoption of the Federal Constitution, James Iredell, later a Justice of the Supreme Court, said: ". . . t is objected that the people of America may, perhaps, choose representatives who have no religion at all, and that pagans and Mahometans may be admitted into offices. But how is it possible to exclude any set of men without taking away that principle of religious freedom which we ourselves so warmly contend for?"

Jones will likely appeal the judgment and claim that the judge abused her discretion in imposing the default judgment sanction. The appellate court will look at all of the facts and make the call. I can tell you that judges don't like to get involved in discovery disputes; they would rather have the parties work thing about between themselves. However, when that doesn't work, one party will ask the court for an order compelling the other side to do something -- produce documents, sit for depositions, answer interrogatories, etc. The judge may then enter an order requiring the recalcitrant party to comply. It's only when the party refuses to do so that the issue of sanctions arises. The nuclear option is to enter a default judgment, something judges rarely do. My take is that Jones must've really abused the discovery process and violated court orders to such an extent that the judge had no alternative but to drop the default-judgment bomb. Keep in mind that this also happened in the Connecticut case in which Jones is involved. It's much more probable that you have one asshole litigant (Jones) rather than two trigger-happy judges.

The 7th Amendment applies only to civil cases in federal courts, as it hasn't been incorporated into the 14th Amendment. See Minneapolis & St. Louis R. Co. v. Bombolis, 241 U.S. 211 (1916). Jones's case was in a state court. Also note that the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which are promulgated by the Supreme Court, contain a provision similar to the Texas rule that permit a court to enter a default judgment against a party who disobeys a court order. See FRCP 37.

I have no opinion. I haven't followed the Assange saga, although I suspect there's a statute that criminalizes unauthorized disclosure of classified information.

A few things the guy didn't mention: 1. Jones was found to be in contempt of court even before the trial started, failing to produce witnesses and materials relevant to the procedures. Consequently, Jones and Infowars were fined a total of $126,000 in October and December 2019. The judge imposing these fines was not the same judge who presided at the hearing on damages. 2. Rule 215.2(b) of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure provides: 3. The default judgments in the Texas case came only after Jones repeatedly failed to hand over documents and evidence as ordered by the court, which the judge characterized as "flagrant bad faith and callous disregard for the responsibilities of discovery under the rules."

The reason he wasn't allowed is because he continued to disobey court orders, after which the judge had no alternative but to use the nuclear option: enter a default judgment, which she is permitted to do under the Teas rules. The same thing happened in Connecticut. The3 moral of the story is that if you want to make a First Amendment claim don't effectively tell the judge to piss up a stump.

Yes. Sadly, Texas has a cap on punitive damages, so scum like Jones can simply build that risk into their cost of doing business and continue to spread lies. So long as gullible morons lap up their swill like so much Jim Jones kool aid, they'll still make a profit. The Texas statute limits punitive damages to an amount equal to the greater of: (1)(A) two times the amount of economic damages; plus (B) an amount equal to any noneconomic damages found by the jury, not to exceed $750,000; or (2) $200,000.

When Jones testified that he had complied with pretrial evidence gathering when the record clearly shows he didn't, that's perjury.

The punitive damages should have been higher.

If Jones wanted to raise a First Amendment issue, he could have. Instead, his continual disobedience of court orders resulted in the judge's rendering a default judgment against him, which means he lost any ability to defend the case on the merits. So if you want to blame someone for this case setting a bad precedent, blame Jones. (The case doesn't really set a precedent, except for narcissistic fools who would repeat Jones's obstructive tactics). People who knowingly say things that are false and that result in harm to other people get sued all the time. It's called defamation and/or intentional infliction of emotional distress, and it isn't protected by the First Amendment.

I'm reporting what happened in court. The fact is that due to Jones's continually disobeying court orders a default judgment was rendered against him in the Texas case. See the discussion at http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?556165-Default-Judgment-Rendered-Against-Alex-Jones&p=7062886&highlight=Jones#post7062886 It's obvious you know nothing about how the discovery process is designed to work. If you are ever involved in a lawsuit in which the opposing party essentially gives you and the judge a massive finger and refuses to adhere to the rules I think you'd have a different perspective and would insist that your opponent be sanctioned. And if your opponent bitched about a kangaroo court after being sanctioned you'd know he was a fool. Incidentally, the same thing happened to Jones in the Connecticut suit -- another default judgment for disobeying coutrt orders in connection with discovery.

He lost the case last September, when a default judgment was rendered against him after he repeatedly failed to hand over documents and evidence as ordered by the court, which the judge characterized as "flagrant bad faith and callous disregard for the responsibilities of discovery under the rules." The latest hearing is simply about how much he'll have to pay in compensatory and punitive damages. The jury came back today with a $4.1 million verdict on the compensatory damages, and the hearing will continue tomorrow on the punitive damages issue.