Lawfare No Bull

On April 25, 2024 the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in Trump v. United States , former President Trump's appeal of the D.C. Circuit's rejection of his claim that presidential immunity shields him from being prosecuted by special counsel Jack Smith for alleged attempts to subvert the outcomes of the 2020 presidential election. D. John Sauer represented Trump. Michael Dreeb...

On February 12th, 2024, Judge Scott McAfee held a motions hearing in Fulton County Superior Court. The hearing centered on several motions to quash filed by individuals who received subpoenas to testify or produce documents ahead of an evidentiary hearing on whether district attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified from prosecuting Donald Trump and others. Judge McAfee did not immediately rule...

On Jan. 12, Israel delivered oral arguments rejecting South Africa’s claims of Israeli genocide in Gaza in the International Court of Justice (ICJ). In South Africa v. Israel , South Africa alleges that Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza has violated the 1948 Convention Against Genocide . At this stage of the proceedings, South Africa seeks a directive, or “provisional measure,” from the ICJ that...

On Jan. 11, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) held a public hearing in the case of South Africa v. Israel, on whether Israel is committing acts of genocide in Gaza. In its first public hearing of the case, the ICJ heard the South African legal delegation’s oral arguments, in which they alleged that Israel’s actions in Gaza have violated its obligations under the Genocide Convention of 1948....

On Dec. 6, the Colorado Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the appeal of the Denver District Court decision that found that former President Donald Trump “engaged in insurrection” but could not be disqualified from primary and general election ballots in Colorado because of the language of Section 3. The arguments in front of the state supreme court centered on whether the presidency is an “off...

On Dec. 5, FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary in a hearing entitled “Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.” The committee questioned Wray about FISA Section 702 reauthorization, sextortion and child sexual exploitation, the rise in hate crimes across America, and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Dec. 1 in Fulton County, Judge Scott McAfee heard arguments from the State and several of the 15 defendants on a number of motions related to First Amendment concerns, the scheduling of an eventual trial, discovery matters, and general and special demurrers. Judge McAfee did not immediately rule on any of the motions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Nov. 21, in a hearing in Fulton County, Judge Scott McAfee heard arguments on whether Harrison Floyd, the former leader of a group called Black Voices for Trump, should have his bail revoked for using X, formerly known as Twitter, to indirectly communicate with witnesses. Judge McAfee determined that the most appropriate solution is to amend Floyd’s conditions of release, not remand him to cust...

On Nov. 20, the three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on the gag order imposed on former President Donald J. Trump by Judge Tanya S. Chutkan in the Jan. 6 case. The three judge panel pressed Trump’s lawyer, D. John Sauer, on whether any limit can be imposed on political speech related to a court proceeding and whether a gag order could be imposed on Trump to p...

On Nov. 15, Judge Scott McAfee heard arguments from defendants in the Fulton County election interference case on the State’s emergency motion for a protective order and defendant David Shafer’s response in opposition and proposed protective order. The State had proposed a blanket protective order for all discovery, while Shafer proposed a protective order that would only apply to discovery deemed...

On Nov. 3, in a hearing in Fulton County, Judge Scott McAfee heard arguments on motions from the Georgia Secretary of State, the Fulton County Superior Court Clerk, and the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections to quash defendant Harrison Floyd’s subpoenas for access to elections data from the 2020 election. During the hearing, Floyd’s counsel withdrew its subpoena of the Board of Elec...

On Oct. 31, NCTC Director Christine Abizaid, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs in a hearing entitled “Threats to the Homeland.” The committee questioned the witnesses about terrorism threats facing the country, issues related to the southern border, antisemitic and fa...

On Oct. 24, Jenna Ellis, a former Trump lawyer, pleaded guilty to one felony count in the Fulton County election interference case. Ellis will serve five years of probation and agreed to testify against other defendants in the case. Ellis’s plea comes days after co-defendants Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell pleaded guilty.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Oct. 20, Kenneth Chesebro, a former Trump lawyer and alleged architect of the “fake electors scheme,” pleaded guilty to one felony count in the Fulton County election interference case. Chesebro will serve five years of probation and agreed to testify against other defendants in the Fulton County case. Chesebro’s plea comes one day after co-defendant Sidney Powell pleaded guilty.  Hosted o...

On Oct. 19, Sidney Powell, a former Trump lawyer and one of 19 defendants in the Fulton County election interference case, pleaded guilty to six misdemeanor charges, including conspiracy to commit intentional interference of election duties. Powell will serve six years of probation and agreed to testify against the remaining defendants in the Fulton County case. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priv...

On Oct. 16, in a hearing in Fulton County court, Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell’s attorneys haggled with prosecutors over questions in the jury selection questionnaire that will be handed out to potential jurors on Friday Oct. 20. Judge Scott McAfee focused on eliminating repetitive questions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Oct. 10 and 11, Judge Scott McAfee heard arguments on a number of pre-trial motions in the Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell trial in Fulton County Court, including motions to dismiss the indictment and motions to dismiss the racketeering charges. The audio from the two hearings has been edited and put together here with a break in the middle. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more in...

On Sept. 29, Scott Hall, a Georgia bail bondsman and one of the 19 defendants in the Fulton County election interference case, pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor charges in exchange for probation. As part of the deal, he agreed to testify against other defendants in the Fulton County case. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

 On Sept. 20, Attorney General Merrick Garland testified before the House Judiciary Committee in a hearing entitled “Oversight of the U.S. Department of Justice.” The committee questioned Garland about the Hunter Biden investigations, the role of special counsels, the Department of Justice’s actions related to January 6th, and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Sept. 14, in a hearing in Fulton County, Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee granted an expedited trial schedule for former Trump lawyers Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell, separate from their 17 other co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case. The hearing also covered the defendants’ motion to unseal transcripts of witness testimony before the special purpose grand jury. During th...

On June 21, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing to discuss Special Counsel John Durham’s recently released report that examined the origins and conduct surrounding the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation into allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The committee heard testimony from Durham. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On March 23, the House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing to discuss TikTok and the social media company’s association with the Chinese government. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified about the Chinese Communist Party’s access to American user data, misinformation on the platform, TikTok’s “Project Texas,” and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On March 1, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing to examine Oversight of the Department of Justice. The committee heard from attorney general Merrick Garland, who discussed topics ranging from Section 230 reform to climate change to FISA’s Section 702 and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Feb. 23, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit heard oral arguments in a case concerning the Justice Department’s efforts to access Representative Scott Perry’s phone. This is part of the department’s investigation into efforts by former President Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election. The government is trying to access the phone amid congressional probes that claim Perry...

On Feb. 22, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Twitter v. Taamneh , a case that deals with the liability of platforms that host or promote terrorist material. This case addresses the scope of the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, arguing that Twitter aided and abetted ISIS by hosting and promoting its content on its platform. Hosted on Acast. See acast.co...