I live in downtown Chicago and my family and I were among the 200,000+ peaceful protesters who formed a 2 mile long march down all 6 lanes of Michigan Ave. The oldest protestor was 107! People played instruments, included the well known bucket boys who drummed for us. We sang songs and the call and response was loud and proud. People lined the march route cheering us on.
Does this sound like a war torn city? The lies being told by the trump regime about Chicago are bear no resemblance to what is actually happening. There are no riots and it is ICE and BP who are the aggressors using tear gas and other chemical weapons to terrorize protestors at the ICE facility and wherever protestors are found. Around 30 Chicago Police have been victims of ICE/BP tear gas. I fear the Supreme Court will allow the trump regime to invade our city despite evidence showing no riots or other such behavior.
You are in good company, Sue. Chicagoans are bewildered by what the administration is saying. People like you spread the truth while they tried to deceive with blatant lies.
Sue, thank you for your first hand account, and it sounds like a lovely experience to have the comradery and the band! It is valuable and comforting to know the truth!
Chicago is a "war-torn city" only in the deluded minds of the Republican President and his useless sycophants. Those of us who still have functioning brains recognize that Chicago, Portland and other blue cities are generally peaceful. The true danger to the United States is the Prez and his clowns!
250,000 people can let out a huge ROAR, and we did so in response to Pitzker whose words resonated strongly:
“We will never surrender!” the governor said. “Throughout history we have learned that tyranny doesn’t arrive with dramatic proclamations. We learned that it comes wrapped in ‘law and order’ … The reality here in Chicago is this: Black and Brown people are being targeted for the color of their skin. Children are being zip-tied and separated from their families … These people are not abstractions. They pay taxes on their businesses. They work hard — these people are the fabric of our society.”
As “U.S.A!” chants erupted through the crowd, Pritzker called on Chicagoans to come together in the face of the Trump administration’s actions.
“Peaceful, democratic resistance is always scary for authoritarians,” Pritzker said. “We in Chicago are not afraid to stand up … Today we are resisting more than just Donald Trump’s attacks on democracy, and he knows it.”
Thank you to BlockClub Chicago for reporting in a way that captured the spirit and force of Chicago’s protest. We need more pro-democracy journalism. Please contribute when you see it.
My t-shirt reads Mighty Poplar. They’re a very fine bluegrass band. I taped yellow flowers to the handle at the last minute and will work more with flowers next time I make a sign.
MAGA is doing the same thing, telling the same shameless lies, about Portland, though so far less viciously than in Chicago. It breaks my heart to see my city and yours so maligned. Why do so many believe their lies?
Trump continually expresses a visceral hate of Chicago, the home of former President Obama. I wore my “I Miss Barack” hat to the rally. Many people came up to me and said “I miss him too.”
Sue, I live on Lake Shore, a block or so south of Belmont. A bunch of us - maybe 200 total - stood with our signs at the corner of Oakdale and Sheridan .
It was great to know there were other groups throughout the city. Friends of mine joined the family friendly protest at Oz Park. There was face painting, bubbles and more for the kids while the adults had their protest signs. As one fiend said…it was a great way to expose kids to pushing back and speaking out in a non violent way.
Hi Sue, I live in Portland, Oregon and attended Saturday’s protest. We had approximately 50-70K marchers closing two bridges across the Willamette river in a two mile route. There were small children in strollers and elderly people in wheelchairs and walkers and every age between, basically a family-friendly event. It was peaceful without any out-of-state counter-protestors similar to the 2020 George Floyd protests.
There were some protesters after the No Kings event at the ICE building about six miles from the downtown event that got out-of-hand. ICE and DHS agents used tear gas and pepper balls to “disperse” the crowd of about 30 people, most of which were in inflatable and other costumes with, I believe, three people being arrested by Portland Police.
Portland, Chicago and L.A. have been labeled “War Ravaged” and being “Burned to the Ground” by the president. Obviously, he’s not getting his intelligence from reliable sources, or he’s being showed old footage, or images from Chili, Paraguay or some other South American country as was recently pointed out.
This administration shamelessly lies to the American people, the military and the courts as evidenced of the 7th Court of Appeal's recent ruling “political opposition is not rebellion.” Let’s hope the SCOUS upholds the lower courts rulings on free speech and the right to peacefully assemble.
Sounds like a great No Kings event. Those of us who live in Portland, LA and Chicago must continue to tell the world what is really happening in our cities.
Here’s a little bit of what has happened in Chicago. ICE killed an immigrant they accused of trying to run them over (a verified lie). The man’s “crime”? Some past moving violations. ICE shot a protester 5 times (luckily they were not marksmen and her injuries were not life threatening). Why? They accused her of being in a caravan of 10 cars and “boxing” them in (another verified lie). ICE shot a minister in the head with a chemical. Why? Because he posed a “threat” to agents as he stood there, arms outstretched in prayer. ICE has thrown tear gas canisters from moving cars into neighborhood streets where there were no protesters. And the most revolting of all- ICE, Border Patrol, FBI and others conducted a 2 am military style raid on a 130 unit apartment building. They came via helicopter and military convoy. They removed everyone from the building, zip tied them (including children), separated them by race and put them in box trucks they had rented. This included many US residents. Why? The feds said that Tren de Agaua gang members were known to frequent the building. There was no allegation they lived in the building. How many gang members did they arrest? As best the media can sort out, they arrested 1 gang member. I could go on but you get the idea.
I’ve read of those incidents you mentioned, but not of the apartment building. That’s horrible!
We had a similar thing happen in Hillsboro, a suburb of Portland, with a large hispanic population. ICE and DHS used bullhorns calling out a person name at an apartment. When the tenants, including a baby, did not respond to the agents, they busted down the door, guns and rifles drawn telling the occupants to not move and put their hands up or they would shoot.
When ICE discovered the person they were looking for wasn’t there and the occupants didn’t know him, they arrested the two males, then shipped them off to Tacoma, WA because their paperwork was pending and hadn’t been approved yet. The men and women were terrified they’d be shot.
The whole immigration “crack down”, and that matter, this administration, is totally out of control with nothing but amateurs, crackpots and bullies.
"I live in downtown Chicago and my family and I were among the 200,000+ peaceful protesters who formed a 2 mile long march down all 6 lanes of Michigan Ave. The oldest protestor was 107! People played instruments, included the well known bucket boys who drummed for us. We sang songs and the call and response was loud and proud. People lined the march route cheering us on." This statement can be a useful piece of evidence against MAGA lawyers in courts, proving that their claim of violence in the streets is a total lie. I can see the value of peaceful NO Kings Day.
Expansion, term limits, some kind of limitation of the scope of their authority. I also think we need a new way of appointing Judges and justices - It is painfully obvious that having a corrupt Executive leaves us with a corrupted SC and lower Courts.
I agree 100%. McConnell's blocking Obama's SCOTUS nomination of Garland by claiming it was an election year and then turning around four years later and ramrodding through a Trump administration SCOTUS nomination weeks before the 2020 election was political nihilism of the first degree.
We need to have severe consequences for corruption at the highest levels of government, and clearer jurisdiction delineations of same among the three branches.
It will take a change in the majority of the House and Senate for this to happen, as they need to take back the authorities and duties that they abandoned to the Executive, and have been ignoring as far as the Judicial Branch. Checks and balances need to be restored to Congress.
It will take more than a just a majority to meaningfully change SCOTUS through the legislative process. Sixty solidly Democratic Senate votes will be required—along with a President who would sign whatever bill passes.
While it’s possible that at some point over the next couple of years, Democrats might be able to regain majority status, sixty votes would be reach for even the most optimistic among us.
Why would these lawyers for the executive not immediately face the consequences for lying to the court, when the ruling obviously finds that they have? Doesn’t seem like that charge and consideration of penalty would have to wait on appeal to the Supreme Court on the original issue. Tie them up in legal red tape in the same way that Trump has used to evade consequences all these years. Regular citizens would not be allowed to wander through the courts lying in case after case without consequences. They are wasting our tax dollars. THIS is fraud.
As a former judge, I can say categorically that Trump’s most of Trump’s lawyers representing the Department of Justice ,ICE, Homeland Security, etc. regularly violate( trample is a better word) the Canons of Ethics…This of course includes Attorney General Pam Bondi, whose intentional and reckless disregard of the Canons, not to mention the Constitution, knows no bounds…
Can the Third Circuit refer the attorneys who submitted false documents and affidavits to their respective Bar Associations for proceedings? I think this should be happening whenever possible. Actions must have consequences or we are doomed.
Thanks for the perspective from your expertise. Would the judges making the rulings and finding the evidence submitted to be false be the ones to charge contempt of court? Could citizens mount a class action civil lawsuit to recoup our tax dollars for the time wasted on legal proceedings as well as deployment of troops, damage to public and privately owned buildings in their escapades, (like in the Chicago apartment building raid with Blackhawks etc), and the expense of creating theatrical propaganda poses, (Noem on a roof glaring at a chicken), and including harm to the NG soldiers who are pulled from their jobs and families).
We are being defrauded right and left every day, paying for illegal actions, murders, kidnappings, lying to the courts. Our legislators who have given up control of the purse strings also need to be included in the lawsuit.
It's actual waste, fraud, and abuse.... I often think about how all of our tax dollars are being thrown down the toilet of government BS (pardon the expression!!). It is exasperating when senior citizens like me are so very careful in managing expenses, and the government has reduced services that benefit the public to less than a bare minimum, (not to mention the extortion going on with our scientific and educational investments), only to see the vast expenditures on either extravagant benefits that corruptly increase the wealth of the president, billionaire backers, and Cabinet members, or being used to intimidate the People. Every day millions of dollars of our money is spent to deploy National Guard troops who are not needed, and masked ICE agents, who are not wanted, in the streets of our U.S. cities ... a lawless, armed takeover to threaten people, reduce liberty, and limit those who plan to vote in November.
How come the District Court judges don't refer the government attorneys to their state bar association with a recommendation to begin disciplinary hearings against them?
When you are admitted to the Federal Bar, you take an oath that you will act in good faith, and will not bring frivolous cases or not make arguments that are at least arguably accurate. Clearly the government lawyers are lying through their teeth!
And if the Democrats capture the House (from my keyboard to The Lord's eyes!) I hope that the first thing the House does is pass Articles of Impeachment against Thomas and Alito for accepting what can only be considered bribes from some billionaires who claim to be their friends but in reality wouldn't get those billionaires attention for half minute were they not in their positions. If that's not "high Crimes and Misdemeanors" then nothing is!
I agree about the Bar Association referrals; long pass time for that.
Democrats also have to capture the presidency, or the current president will submit younger MAGA judges to be the replacements - if the Senate convicts. Impeachment without conviction would certainly look bad, but the judges themselves would not care; they have no shame.
Sad to say, you're probably right on both counts. If somehow either of those 2 left office (whether through impeachment and conviction or death), Don the Con would replace them with someone just as bad-- or worse-- and who was 35 years old. We'd be stuck with them for 50 years!
That's the problem with presidential impeachment, too - every person in the line of succession is as bad or worse than the one before - but younger and probably healthier.
Well, yeah, but while Vontz (Yiddish, look it up) is as malevolent as Don the Con-- maybe even more so-- I suspect he doesn't cause the fear of retribution among GQP office holders that Don can. I also suspect that once Don the Con leaves the scene (he's 79, hasn't seen his belly button since Eisenhower was in the White House, and doesn't exercise) there will be a massive power struggle among the MAGAts. I would not assume that JD will win that struggle.
There are some GQPs in Congress who do know right from wrong, and are not crazy, but are cowed into complicity by threats. But when Vontz goes to some Representative or Senator with a demand, the sane adults will look at him and say (to quote Foghorn Leghorn) "Go away son, you bother me.
Vance is the Vice President. If Trump leaves office for whatever reason before his term is up, Vance will succeed him, at least til the end of the term. Just sayin'. But after that, who knows.
Very good article, thank you. Personally, I think the sanctions would have to be a very high monetary penalty to defer further government lawyer misrepresentations.
I wish I had faith in what the SCOTUS does but sadly, I do not! They are complicit in the destruction of American norms. I know justices can be impeached but is there any possibility of that happening in this case? It just seems incredibly frustrating that Trump, like a king, has taken over the responsibilities of both the legislative AND the judicial branch of the government. Who says he's not acting like a king?
He's the mad-would-be king. He certainly is acting like a king. Unfortunately, the GOP is fine with authoritarianism, and, sadly, I suspect SCOTUS may be as well.
Not sure about "king." But "insatiable, incompetent, bigoted, malevolent, perverted christo fascist thief" seems a good fit for Trump, the thugs of Trump and their handlers and funders...
I'd say that he's taken over the POWER of both the legislative and judicial branches of the government - one of the most obvious defects in his character which should instantly have been recognised as making him unsuitable for high office (or any sort of office) is a complete refusal of any responsibility.
So much truth here. Thank you, Jen. I'm wondering what has happened to the oversight of licensed attorneys who purposefully lie in court to federal judges. Where is the bar association? How does this work?
I keep wondering: where is the American Bar Association in all this? Does it condone lawyers deliberately lying to the courts? Is it not receiving any formal complaints about such conduct? And what, if anything, is it doing about such complaints? Is integrity at the bar no longer a thing?
The ABA is not a licensing authority - each state has its own system for licensing lawyers. But, as a former ABA member, I would really like to see some clear position statements from them upholding the rule of law.
Please stop perpetuating the belief that MAGA supporters predominantly live in small towns and/or rural areas. Small town/rural America is as diverse as larger cities; they just don't have the population size to offset the wacko views of a small group. Small towns/rural areas may be more moderate, but that doesn't make them MAGA.
I live in an upstate NY rural town of 500 people. It’s definitely more Republican, there are very few vocal MAGA supporters, and there are increasingly more closet Democrats who are “coming out.” Being Republican is very rooted in families here. If a person runs as a Democrat, just because of the label, that person will never win. All our regional representatives are Republican. I think the more neighbors reveal the personal harm Trump-supporting elected officials are doing locally to rural Americans, the more likely those officials will lose the support of local rural voters.It’s difficult because many rural news sources (local papers and FOX News) have a decidedly conservative (Trump) slant.
Pro Democracy forces need to be louder and more visible. These nationwide protests are doing that. IMO smaller towns need to be helped to organize.
I have NEVER understood the whole family politics business. I recently had a conversation, prior to the last election, with a long-time friend and I was totally amazed by what she said. She started off by stating, "I am a Republican. I am proud to be a Republican. My father and my grandfather were Republicans. I don't care what anyone else says. I intend to vote Republican till the day I die." When she finished her diatribe, I told her that I have always been an Independent voter, simply because I don't wish to belong to a group of people who will run into a burning building just because their leader says it's okay. I vote for the person running for the office, whatever office it might be, and I do my research on them every time. I do not run blindly into the fires of Hell. I hope she is realizing what a stupid decision she made on Election Day 2024.
In my family, those who can't vote for Trump supported candidates simply choose not to vote. But moderate Democrats are proving they can win in Republican districts. I hope Dem leadership is taking that evidence seriously. Mamdani's progressive views may work in New York, but they won't succeed here in North Carolina. However, that doesn't mean those who vote Republican or stay affiliated with the Republican Party are MAGA and generalizing them as such is sure to backfire.
I agree. Here, more people are seeing the Trump edicts are being devastating. My husband and most of his siblings were Republicans. My lifelong Republican husband dropped out of the party this year and registers as an Independent. The lies and grifts, and unconstitutional behavior drove him out of the party. He’s kind of like an Adam Kinsinger and THAT’s the type of person who should be welcomed with open arms into the Democratic Party. But, more broadly, IMO BOTH major parties need a major overhaul.
I live in a red county in NC where Republicans are elected by huge margins - problem is finding Democrats to run. But I see Mamdani's economics playing well here - the message that the super rich have rigged the system so that the hard earned taxes you pay don't improve your lives.
"Smaller towns need to be helped to organize." Bingo! Once again, the need for SOMEbody to organize MONTHLY town halls -- one in every Congressional District and ATTENDED by that District's representatives in Congress -- comes to mind. Citizens/Voters need opportunities to talk with each other and to exercise their voting muscle.
The president is confusing Chicago with Gaza, where his peace plan has fallen apart to the point he's rushed Kushner, Wickoff and Vance to the scene of the crime. (I've always thought also that he's confused "antifa" with "intifada' in terms of some association with alleged terrorism. He's that much of an ignoramus.) See this morning's NYT headline, "Clashes in Gaza Reveal Cease-Fire’s Fragility, With Rougher Road Ahead," and the comments to that article. This man is going to be one unhinged actor in the coming days.
What on earth or in he11 does this administration or its puppet figurehead know about peace-making OR peacekeeping?
1,000 THANK YOUs to the Nobel Prize committee, for making the answer clear: NOTHING!!!
Our government has been handed over to scheming, lying, rapacious, ruthless thugs with nothing of value to offer Americans or the world, and a distinct obsession with profiting from institutional oppression and enforced misery of self-defined "others."
Regardless of where MAGA supporters live, they are bamboozled by Trump and his acolytes. And if you live in rural America, you are less likely to have a true view of what goes on in big cities. Instead, you have the propagandists’ nonsense, not easily dispelled by the facts. It’s a big problem.
The bar disciplinary process varies from state to state. But in every state I imagine it takes a while for the due process to unfold that will deprive a person of the right to practice the profession. State bars aren't employers who can just fire someone on the spot.
I understand. It will take an Illinois citizen to complain about the ethics of these lawyers to open an investigation. Hopefully someone will do so to help save our democracy.
I live in downtown Chicago and my family and I were among the 200,000+ peaceful protesters who formed a 2 mile long march down all 6 lanes of Michigan Ave. The oldest protestor was 107! People played instruments, included the well known bucket boys who drummed for us. We sang songs and the call and response was loud and proud. People lined the march route cheering us on.
Does this sound like a war torn city? The lies being told by the trump regime about Chicago are bear no resemblance to what is actually happening. There are no riots and it is ICE and BP who are the aggressors using tear gas and other chemical weapons to terrorize protestors at the ICE facility and wherever protestors are found. Around 30 Chicago Police have been victims of ICE/BP tear gas. I fear the Supreme Court will allow the trump regime to invade our city despite evidence showing no riots or other such behavior.
You are in good company, Sue. Chicagoans are bewildered by what the administration is saying. People like you spread the truth while they tried to deceive with blatant lies.
- The Contrarian
Sue, thank you for your first hand account, and it sounds like a lovely experience to have the comradery and the band! It is valuable and comforting to know the truth!
Yes. I too so appreciate your first hand account Sue!
Chicago is a "war-torn city" only in the deluded minds of the Republican President and his useless sycophants. Those of us who still have functioning brains recognize that Chicago, Portland and other blue cities are generally peaceful. The true danger to the United States is the Prez and his clowns!
Indivisible is now estimating 250,000 protesters.
250,000 people can let out a huge ROAR, and we did so in response to Pitzker whose words resonated strongly:
“We will never surrender!” the governor said. “Throughout history we have learned that tyranny doesn’t arrive with dramatic proclamations. We learned that it comes wrapped in ‘law and order’ … The reality here in Chicago is this: Black and Brown people are being targeted for the color of their skin. Children are being zip-tied and separated from their families … These people are not abstractions. They pay taxes on their businesses. They work hard — these people are the fabric of our society.”
As “U.S.A!” chants erupted through the crowd, Pritzker called on Chicagoans to come together in the face of the Trump administration’s actions.
“Peaceful, democratic resistance is always scary for authoritarians,” Pritzker said. “We in Chicago are not afraid to stand up … Today we are resisting more than just Donald Trump’s attacks on democracy, and he knows it.”
Thank you to BlockClub Chicago for reporting in a way that captured the spirit and force of Chicago’s protest. We need more pro-democracy journalism. Please contribute when you see it.
I just uploaded our happy faces on Oct 18 to Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/pd1ljw.bsky.social/post/3m3n2gtbjds2r
My t-shirt reads Mighty Poplar. They’re a very fine bluegrass band. I taped yellow flowers to the handle at the last minute and will work more with flowers next time I make a sign.
MAGA is doing the same thing, telling the same shameless lies, about Portland, though so far less viciously than in Chicago. It breaks my heart to see my city and yours so maligned. Why do so many believe their lies?
Trump continually expresses a visceral hate of Chicago, the home of former President Obama. I wore my “I Miss Barack” hat to the rally. Many people came up to me and said “I miss him too.”
I miss him and other Presidents who respected the rule of law, and conducted themselves with decorum and dignity.
Sue, I live on Lake Shore, a block or so south of Belmont. A bunch of us - maybe 200 total - stood with our signs at the corner of Oakdale and Sheridan .
We were a happy, rowdy bunch!
It was great to know there were other groups throughout the city. Friends of mine joined the family friendly protest at Oz Park. There was face painting, bubbles and more for the kids while the adults had their protest signs. As one fiend said…it was a great way to expose kids to pushing back and speaking out in a non violent way.
My bro went to the Evanston rally and a lot of friends went to the Highland Park rally.
Hi Sue, I live in Portland, Oregon and attended Saturday’s protest. We had approximately 50-70K marchers closing two bridges across the Willamette river in a two mile route. There were small children in strollers and elderly people in wheelchairs and walkers and every age between, basically a family-friendly event. It was peaceful without any out-of-state counter-protestors similar to the 2020 George Floyd protests.
There were some protesters after the No Kings event at the ICE building about six miles from the downtown event that got out-of-hand. ICE and DHS agents used tear gas and pepper balls to “disperse” the crowd of about 30 people, most of which were in inflatable and other costumes with, I believe, three people being arrested by Portland Police.
Portland, Chicago and L.A. have been labeled “War Ravaged” and being “Burned to the Ground” by the president. Obviously, he’s not getting his intelligence from reliable sources, or he’s being showed old footage, or images from Chili, Paraguay or some other South American country as was recently pointed out.
This administration shamelessly lies to the American people, the military and the courts as evidenced of the 7th Court of Appeal's recent ruling “political opposition is not rebellion.” Let’s hope the SCOUS upholds the lower courts rulings on free speech and the right to peacefully assemble.
Sounds like a great No Kings event. Those of us who live in Portland, LA and Chicago must continue to tell the world what is really happening in our cities.
Here’s a little bit of what has happened in Chicago. ICE killed an immigrant they accused of trying to run them over (a verified lie). The man’s “crime”? Some past moving violations. ICE shot a protester 5 times (luckily they were not marksmen and her injuries were not life threatening). Why? They accused her of being in a caravan of 10 cars and “boxing” them in (another verified lie). ICE shot a minister in the head with a chemical. Why? Because he posed a “threat” to agents as he stood there, arms outstretched in prayer. ICE has thrown tear gas canisters from moving cars into neighborhood streets where there were no protesters. And the most revolting of all- ICE, Border Patrol, FBI and others conducted a 2 am military style raid on a 130 unit apartment building. They came via helicopter and military convoy. They removed everyone from the building, zip tied them (including children), separated them by race and put them in box trucks they had rented. This included many US residents. Why? The feds said that Tren de Agaua gang members were known to frequent the building. There was no allegation they lived in the building. How many gang members did they arrest? As best the media can sort out, they arrested 1 gang member. I could go on but you get the idea.
I’ve read of those incidents you mentioned, but not of the apartment building. That’s horrible!
We had a similar thing happen in Hillsboro, a suburb of Portland, with a large hispanic population. ICE and DHS used bullhorns calling out a person name at an apartment. When the tenants, including a baby, did not respond to the agents, they busted down the door, guns and rifles drawn telling the occupants to not move and put their hands up or they would shoot.
When ICE discovered the person they were looking for wasn’t there and the occupants didn’t know him, they arrested the two males, then shipped them off to Tacoma, WA because their paperwork was pending and hadn’t been approved yet. The men and women were terrified they’d be shot.
The whole immigration “crack down”, and that matter, this administration, is totally out of control with nothing but amateurs, crackpots and bullies.
"I live in downtown Chicago and my family and I were among the 200,000+ peaceful protesters who formed a 2 mile long march down all 6 lanes of Michigan Ave. The oldest protestor was 107! People played instruments, included the well known bucket boys who drummed for us. We sang songs and the call and response was loud and proud. People lined the march route cheering us on." This statement can be a useful piece of evidence against MAGA lawyers in courts, proving that their claim of violence in the streets is a total lie. I can see the value of peaceful NO Kings Day.
Sue, I was there also. So beautiful to see it all
Bravo Jennifer Rubin -- I believe "We the People" should start picketing the Supreme Court.
Hear hear! I think we must. SCOTUS must also be completely overhauled.
Expansion, term limits, some kind of limitation of the scope of their authority. I also think we need a new way of appointing Judges and justices - It is painfully obvious that having a corrupt Executive leaves us with a corrupted SC and lower Courts.
I agree 100%. McConnell's blocking Obama's SCOTUS nomination of Garland by claiming it was an election year and then turning around four years later and ramrodding through a Trump administration SCOTUS nomination weeks before the 2020 election was political nihilism of the first degree.
If nothing else, the Roberts court should be required to conform to the same code of ethical conduct that all other federal courts do.
We need to have severe consequences for corruption at the highest levels of government, and clearer jurisdiction delineations of same among the three branches.
It will take a change in the majority of the House and Senate for this to happen, as they need to take back the authorities and duties that they abandoned to the Executive, and have been ignoring as far as the Judicial Branch. Checks and balances need to be restored to Congress.
It will take more than a just a majority to meaningfully change SCOTUS through the legislative process. Sixty solidly Democratic Senate votes will be required—along with a President who would sign whatever bill passes.
While it’s possible that at some point over the next couple of years, Democrats might be able to regain majority status, sixty votes would be reach for even the most optimistic among us.
Instead, a few Congressional Repoublicans can end this.
Massive Congressional visits November 18.
https://www.instagram.com/flare.usa/p/DP_mdOyjdiG/
Visit Congressional Republicans.https://www.mobilize.us/indivisible/event/851451/
Why would these lawyers for the executive not immediately face the consequences for lying to the court, when the ruling obviously finds that they have? Doesn’t seem like that charge and consideration of penalty would have to wait on appeal to the Supreme Court on the original issue. Tie them up in legal red tape in the same way that Trump has used to evade consequences all these years. Regular citizens would not be allowed to wander through the courts lying in case after case without consequences. They are wasting our tax dollars. THIS is fraud.
As a former judge, I can say categorically that Trump’s most of Trump’s lawyers representing the Department of Justice ,ICE, Homeland Security, etc. regularly violate( trample is a better word) the Canons of Ethics…This of course includes Attorney General Pam Bondi, whose intentional and reckless disregard of the Canons, not to mention the Constitution, knows no bounds…
Can the Third Circuit refer the attorneys who submitted false documents and affidavits to their respective Bar Associations for proceedings? I think this should be happening whenever possible. Actions must have consequences or we are doomed.
Thanks for the perspective from your expertise. Would the judges making the rulings and finding the evidence submitted to be false be the ones to charge contempt of court? Could citizens mount a class action civil lawsuit to recoup our tax dollars for the time wasted on legal proceedings as well as deployment of troops, damage to public and privately owned buildings in their escapades, (like in the Chicago apartment building raid with Blackhawks etc), and the expense of creating theatrical propaganda poses, (Noem on a roof glaring at a chicken), and including harm to the NG soldiers who are pulled from their jobs and families).
We are being defrauded right and left every day, paying for illegal actions, murders, kidnappings, lying to the courts. Our legislators who have given up control of the purse strings also need to be included in the lawsuit.
It's actual waste, fraud, and abuse.... I often think about how all of our tax dollars are being thrown down the toilet of government BS (pardon the expression!!). It is exasperating when senior citizens like me are so very careful in managing expenses, and the government has reduced services that benefit the public to less than a bare minimum, (not to mention the extortion going on with our scientific and educational investments), only to see the vast expenditures on either extravagant benefits that corruptly increase the wealth of the president, billionaire backers, and Cabinet members, or being used to intimidate the People. Every day millions of dollars of our money is spent to deploy National Guard troops who are not needed, and masked ICE agents, who are not wanted, in the streets of our U.S. cities ... a lawless, armed takeover to threaten people, reduce liberty, and limit those who plan to vote in November.
Is there no way Bondi and her ilk could be disbarred?
So why don’t the judges penalize the lawyers?
Cowardice ?
How come the District Court judges don't refer the government attorneys to their state bar association with a recommendation to begin disciplinary hearings against them?
When you are admitted to the Federal Bar, you take an oath that you will act in good faith, and will not bring frivolous cases or not make arguments that are at least arguably accurate. Clearly the government lawyers are lying through their teeth!
And if the Democrats capture the House (from my keyboard to The Lord's eyes!) I hope that the first thing the House does is pass Articles of Impeachment against Thomas and Alito for accepting what can only be considered bribes from some billionaires who claim to be their friends but in reality wouldn't get those billionaires attention for half minute were they not in their positions. If that's not "high Crimes and Misdemeanors" then nothing is!
I agree about the Bar Association referrals; long pass time for that.
Democrats also have to capture the presidency, or the current president will submit younger MAGA judges to be the replacements - if the Senate convicts. Impeachment without conviction would certainly look bad, but the judges themselves would not care; they have no shame.
Sad to say, you're probably right on both counts. If somehow either of those 2 left office (whether through impeachment and conviction or death), Don the Con would replace them with someone just as bad-- or worse-- and who was 35 years old. We'd be stuck with them for 50 years!
That's the problem with presidential impeachment, too - every person in the line of succession is as bad or worse than the one before - but younger and probably healthier.
Well, yeah, but while Vontz (Yiddish, look it up) is as malevolent as Don the Con-- maybe even more so-- I suspect he doesn't cause the fear of retribution among GQP office holders that Don can. I also suspect that once Don the Con leaves the scene (he's 79, hasn't seen his belly button since Eisenhower was in the White House, and doesn't exercise) there will be a massive power struggle among the MAGAts. I would not assume that JD will win that struggle.
There are some GQPs in Congress who do know right from wrong, and are not crazy, but are cowed into complicity by threats. But when Vontz goes to some Representative or Senator with a demand, the sane adults will look at him and say (to quote Foghorn Leghorn) "Go away son, you bother me.
I actually think Vance is quite skilled at the lies and oily salesmanship needed to take over the fascist GOP movement. Discount him at your peril.
Vance is the Vice President. If Trump leaves office for whatever reason before his term is up, Vance will succeed him, at least til the end of the term. Just sayin'. But after that, who knows.
Sanctions. https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_11
Very good article, thank you. Personally, I think the sanctions would have to be a very high monetary penalty to defer further government lawyer misrepresentations.
I wish I had faith in what the SCOTUS does but sadly, I do not! They are complicit in the destruction of American norms. I know justices can be impeached but is there any possibility of that happening in this case? It just seems incredibly frustrating that Trump, like a king, has taken over the responsibilities of both the legislative AND the judicial branch of the government. Who says he's not acting like a king?
Still waiting for motions to recuse Thomas and Alito.
Still waiting for motions to impeach them, along with Roberts himself for allowing his court to go so far from serving the people.
He's the mad-would-be king. He certainly is acting like a king. Unfortunately, the GOP is fine with authoritarianism, and, sadly, I suspect SCOTUS may be as well.
SUSPECT?!?!?!
For them to be impeached Democrats need to win the House and the Senate in 2026. Unless GOP members of Congress come to their senses sooner.
Not talking about impeachment. Recusal. https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/Code-of-Conduct-for-Justices_November_13_2023.pdf
Patricia Dempsey mentioned impeachment. My comment follows yours but was a response to Patricia.
Not sure about "king." But "insatiable, incompetent, bigoted, malevolent, perverted christo fascist thief" seems a good fit for Trump, the thugs of Trump and their handlers and funders...
FUMIGATE!!!
...and EXTRICATE!!! (from the Oval Office)
I'd say that he's taken over the POWER of both the legislative and judicial branches of the government - one of the most obvious defects in his character which should instantly have been recognised as making him unsuitable for high office (or any sort of office) is a complete refusal of any responsibility.
They won't be impeached. They won't be sanctioned. And the lying govt. lawyers won't be disbarred or penalized.
I fervently wish it were otherwise, but it's not.
Thank you for an extremely informative and helpful summary. It really helps cut through the noise and the blatant lies by Trump lawyers.
So much truth here. Thank you, Jen. I'm wondering what has happened to the oversight of licensed attorneys who purposefully lie in court to federal judges. Where is the bar association? How does this work?
I keep wondering: where is the American Bar Association in all this? Does it condone lawyers deliberately lying to the courts? Is it not receiving any formal complaints about such conduct? And what, if anything, is it doing about such complaints? Is integrity at the bar no longer a thing?
The ABA is not a licensing authority - each state has its own system for licensing lawyers. But, as a former ABA member, I would really like to see some clear position statements from them upholding the rule of law.
Exactly!
The ABA is little more than a trade association these days. Mostly it protects the interests of its paying members.
Alas, and so it seems with almost all things.
It may help to take a look at the path leading to John Eastman’s disbarment.
Here is one source, but there are many more easily found.
https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/california-state-bar-court-panel-recommends-ex-trump-adviser-be-disbarred
End lifetime Appointments!
That would solve the problem of Trump baby-lawyer appointees fresh out of their bar exams.
No deference to Trump.
Please stop perpetuating the belief that MAGA supporters predominantly live in small towns and/or rural areas. Small town/rural America is as diverse as larger cities; they just don't have the population size to offset the wacko views of a small group. Small towns/rural areas may be more moderate, but that doesn't make them MAGA.
I live in an upstate NY rural town of 500 people. It’s definitely more Republican, there are very few vocal MAGA supporters, and there are increasingly more closet Democrats who are “coming out.” Being Republican is very rooted in families here. If a person runs as a Democrat, just because of the label, that person will never win. All our regional representatives are Republican. I think the more neighbors reveal the personal harm Trump-supporting elected officials are doing locally to rural Americans, the more likely those officials will lose the support of local rural voters.It’s difficult because many rural news sources (local papers and FOX News) have a decidedly conservative (Trump) slant.
Pro Democracy forces need to be louder and more visible. These nationwide protests are doing that. IMO smaller towns need to be helped to organize.
I have NEVER understood the whole family politics business. I recently had a conversation, prior to the last election, with a long-time friend and I was totally amazed by what she said. She started off by stating, "I am a Republican. I am proud to be a Republican. My father and my grandfather were Republicans. I don't care what anyone else says. I intend to vote Republican till the day I die." When she finished her diatribe, I told her that I have always been an Independent voter, simply because I don't wish to belong to a group of people who will run into a burning building just because their leader says it's okay. I vote for the person running for the office, whatever office it might be, and I do my research on them every time. I do not run blindly into the fires of Hell. I hope she is realizing what a stupid decision she made on Election Day 2024.
In my family, those who can't vote for Trump supported candidates simply choose not to vote. But moderate Democrats are proving they can win in Republican districts. I hope Dem leadership is taking that evidence seriously. Mamdani's progressive views may work in New York, but they won't succeed here in North Carolina. However, that doesn't mean those who vote Republican or stay affiliated with the Republican Party are MAGA and generalizing them as such is sure to backfire.
I agree. Here, more people are seeing the Trump edicts are being devastating. My husband and most of his siblings were Republicans. My lifelong Republican husband dropped out of the party this year and registers as an Independent. The lies and grifts, and unconstitutional behavior drove him out of the party. He’s kind of like an Adam Kinsinger and THAT’s the type of person who should be welcomed with open arms into the Democratic Party. But, more broadly, IMO BOTH major parties need a major overhaul.
I live in a red county in NC where Republicans are elected by huge margins - problem is finding Democrats to run. But I see Mamdani's economics playing well here - the message that the super rich have rigged the system so that the hard earned taxes you pay don't improve your lives.
"Smaller towns need to be helped to organize." Bingo! Once again, the need for SOMEbody to organize MONTHLY town halls -- one in every Congressional District and ATTENDED by that District's representatives in Congress -- comes to mind. Citizens/Voters need opportunities to talk with each other and to exercise their voting muscle.
Where are the national calls for disbarment for lawyers committing crimes???
What the hell is wrong with all you lawyer who took an oath and claim the higher moral ground???
A kid stealing a candy bar goes straight to jail, why not these lying lawyers???
The president is confusing Chicago with Gaza, where his peace plan has fallen apart to the point he's rushed Kushner, Wickoff and Vance to the scene of the crime. (I've always thought also that he's confused "antifa" with "intifada' in terms of some association with alleged terrorism. He's that much of an ignoramus.) See this morning's NYT headline, "Clashes in Gaza Reveal Cease-Fire’s Fragility, With Rougher Road Ahead," and the comments to that article. This man is going to be one unhinged actor in the coming days.
What on earth or in he11 does this administration or its puppet figurehead know about peace-making OR peacekeeping?
1,000 THANK YOUs to the Nobel Prize committee, for making the answer clear: NOTHING!!!
Our government has been handed over to scheming, lying, rapacious, ruthless thugs with nothing of value to offer Americans or the world, and a distinct obsession with profiting from institutional oppression and enforced misery of self-defined "others."
We The People let it happen.
We The People have to fix it.
For the record, I don't think intifada means terrorism.
ANTIFA simply means "Anti-Facsim". So, of course we, the Resistence are ANTIFA.
My favorite sign from the march said:
ANTIFA = PATRIOTISM
TRUMP = TERRORISM
It means uprising.
Yes, it's a legitimate term for Palestinian action which some people, like Andrew Cuomo, have tried to characterize as anti-semitic.
Regardless of where MAGA supporters live, they are bamboozled by Trump and his acolytes. And if you live in rural America, you are less likely to have a true view of what goes on in big cities. Instead, you have the propagandists’ nonsense, not easily dispelled by the facts. It’s a big problem.
Yes, the Supremes (at least the rabid ones) must be held to account. You are as usual right on the mark, Jen.
With the Courts writing about the false claims made by the administration layers, why are the state bars not addressing this misconduct?
The bar disciplinary process varies from state to state. But in every state I imagine it takes a while for the due process to unfold that will deprive a person of the right to practice the profession. State bars aren't employers who can just fire someone on the spot.
I understand. It will take an Illinois citizen to complain about the ethics of these lawyers to open an investigation. Hopefully someone will do so to help save our democracy.
It will take a bar complaint from a citizen (or lawyer) from the state in which the government lawyer is licensed.