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Cairn Horn88

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https://www.emptywheel.net/2023/08/17/as-xitters-lawyer-stalled-doj-elon-musk-met-with-jim-jordan-twice-and-kevin-mccarthy/

 

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Elon Musk has been eerily quiet about being held in contempt by Beryl Howell since the DC Circuit opinion was first released on August 9.

It’s not like him to pass up the opportunity to make an obnoxious comment.

Which is why I’m interested in what Musk was doing during the period when Xitter’s counsel was stalling on the DOJ request — including a visit to Kevin McCarthy on January 26.

Beryl Howell approved the warrant on January 17. After several failed attempts, the government served it to the official portal on January 19. But then Xitter’s senior-most legal person stalled for 12 days, until she told DOJ that Xitter was going to make a First Amendment challenge so Trump could invoke executive privilege.

 

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The government’s initial service attempts on Twitter filed twice, with the government’s receipt both times of an automated message indicating that Twitter’s “page [was] down.” Gov’t’s Mot. at 2 (alteration in original). On January 19, 2023, the government was finally able to serve Twitter through the company’s Legal Requests Submissions site. Id

Twitter, however, somehow did not know of the existence of the Warrant until January 25, 2023—two days before the Warrant returns were due. That day, the government contacted Twitter about the status of the company’s compliance with the Warrant, and Twitter’s Senior Director of Legal, JN [redacted], indicated she was not aware of the Warrant but would consider it a priority.” Id; see also Decl. of [redacted], Senior Director of Legal for Twitter (“[redacted] Decl”) 2 (SEALED), ECF No. 9-1. The government indicated that they were looking for an on time production in two days time” to which [J redacted] responded, “without knowing more or taking any position that would be a very tight turn around for us.” [Jl Decl. ¶ 2. The government sent the six pages of the Warrant and the NDO directly to [J redacted] later that evening Meanwhile, [J redacted] directed Twitter’s personnel to preserve data available in its production environment associated with the Target Account, and “have confirmed that the available data was preserved.” Id. ¶ 4.

Twitter notified the government in the evening of January 26, 2023, that the company “would not comply with the Warrant by the next day, “Id. 5, and responded to the government’s request for more specific compliance information, by indicating that “the company was prioritizing the matter and taking it very seriously” but that [redactedl had the Warrant and NDO only “for two days,” id. ¶ 8, even though the government had tried to submit the Warrant and NDO through Twitter’s Legal Requests Submissions site nine days earlier. The Warrants deadline for compliance makes no exception for the provider’s failure to have a fully operational and functioning system for the timely processing of court orders.

On January 31, 2023, Twitter indicated for the first time that the company would not comply with the Warrant without changes to the NDO, stressing as “essential to Twitter’ business model including [its] commitment to privacy, transparency, and neutrality) that [Twitter] communicate with users about law enforcement efforts to access their data.” 1d. 10.

 

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The Legal Director’s declaration is more obnoxious than that. She made no mention of DOJ’s attempts to serve the warrant before she got involved and makes much of a claim that it took the AUSA two efforts to email a separate copy to her. Her assurances that everything was preserved — made as of January 25 — don’t rule out any deletions before that.

It wasn’t until February 1 that WilmerHale was officially involved.

And in the meantime, Elon Musk had made a widely covered trip to DC. He met with Jim Jordan on Thursday January 26, Kevin McCarthy that evening, and then Jordan (again) with James Comer the next day (Axios, NYT, CNN)

As of now, at least, Jordan and McCarthy are two of the just 51 people that Trump follows, who could have sent him DMs.

 

Spoiler

he next week, Comer formally announced his dick pics hearing, which (as Allison Gill observed yesterday) took place the day between two hearings on the warrant, as contempt fees started piling up. In that hearing, Republicans spun Musk’s willful violation of the consent decree against Xitter as an assault on the First Amendment.

As it was happening, Musk posted a tweet with nothing more but a period.

This was happening in the period when Xitter was doing more intensive searches to get — for example — the second preservation of Trump’s account from January 12, 2021 and all other accounts associated, via common device, cookie, or IP, with Trump’s own.

In the February 7 hearing, then-Chief Judge Beryl Howell questioned whether Xitter was stalling on this production because Musk “wants to cozy up with the former President, and that’s why you are here?”

But it may be more than that.

Musk is solidly part of the far right culture that might have been involved in any DM lists organizing the insurrection. One of the entire reasons he started considering buying Xitter is because of the efforts Xitter took in the aftermath to crack down on violence.

And in the lead-up to Musk’s purchase of Xitter, someone — there’s reason to believe it might be Stephen Miller, who had been interviewed by Jack Smith’s prosecutors in November, before he was interviewed in a privilege-waived interview in April — texted Musk personally to raise the sensitivities of restoring Trump to Xitter.

And one of Musk’s phone contacts appears to bring Trump up. However, unlike others in the filings, this individual’s information is redacted.

“It will be a delicate game of letting right wingers back on Twitter and how to navigate that (especially the boss himself, if you’re up for that),” the sender texted to Musk, referencing conservative personalities who have been banned for violating Twitter’s rules.

The anonymous texter then offers up a suggestion for “someone who has a savvy cultural/political view to be the VP of actual enforcement.” That suggestion: “A Blake Masters type.”

Any delays and obstruction may not just be an effort to protect Trump.

It could be Musk’s effort to protect his own network — and people in DC like Jim Jordan.

 

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A huge part of the reason Trump won in 2016 is because a significant fraction of Clinton supporters didn't think there was any way he could win, and so they stayed home.  

Trump:  63.0M

Clinton:  65.8M

Other:  7.7M

Total:  136.5M

 

In 2020, those numbers were quite different, and there is no reason to believe the Democrats and independents are going to slide back into complacency about Trump's chances:

Trump:  74.2M

Biden:  81.3M

Other:  2.9M

Total:  158.4M

 

Edited by jimmyjazz
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12 minutes ago, Constant said:

Exactly. Shrugging off his chances is precisely how we got where we are. He ought to be treated as the threat he is and destroyed. I strongly believe our Democracy cannot survive another Trump presidency. He has already shown how fragile it is with the shit he did get away with. 

This.  You don't rest while the existential threat still breathes.

Here's what we did to the last even remotely "existential threat" we faced:

Atomic_bombing_of_Japan.jpg

The threat isn't gone until the threat is completely and totally destroyed.  Until you have an unconditional surrender in Tokyo Bay, you fight, and crush, and burn.  And keep doing it.

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1 hour ago, kevwun said:

They should spend less time trying to convince him not to do the news conference and more time interviewing attorneys who can represent them when they inevitably get indicted.

Thing is, when you develop a very loud reputation of being “that guy” that stiffs his attorneys and asks them to do unethical shit to the point where it leads to their own disbarment, “interviewing attorneys” becomes Exhibit A of beggars being choosers.

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1 hour ago, The Dog said:

Kerik is one of the "un-indicted co-conspirators"

 

btw these idiots like Kerik and the MAGA senators/reps need to shut up because they are likely being called as witnesses and the GA case will be televised.

This is the best and most succinct example of what the internet has done to us.  This is why we are doomed.

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15 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

This is the best and most succinct example of what the internet has done to us.  This is why we are doomed.

Correction: it is the SECOND best and most succinct example of what the internet has done to us.

The first such example is....boobs.  Lots, and lots, and lots of boobs.

So, good sir, I will NOT have you besmirching the internet's good name!

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9 minutes ago, Steamboat1874 said:

How much money do you have that you are willing to wager on that ?

Watch your ass. I bet a MAGA fool on the 2020 election and he has yet to pony up.

I gave him plenty of chances to back out, showed him the surveys, explained the effect of Covid, told him Hilary was not running, mid terms etc. He still stepped in it.

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36 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

This.  You don't rest while the existential threat still breathes.

Here's what we did to the last even remotely "existential threat" we faced:

Atomic_bombing_of_Japan.jpg

The threat isn't gone until the threat is completely and totally destroyed.  Until you have an unconditional surrender in Tokyo Bay, you fight, and crush, and burn.  And keep doing it.

Dropping an atom bomb on MAL seems a bit much

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1 minute ago, Jiggy-Z said:

Watch your ass. I bet a MAGA fool on the 2020 election and he has yet to pony up.

I gave him plenty of chances to back out, showed him the surveys, explained the effect of Covid, told him Hilary was not running, mid terms etc. He still stepped in it.

Put him on blast 

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LOL at the edits.

10 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Correction: it is the SECOND best and most succinct example of what the internet has done to us.

The first such example is....boobs.  Lots, and lots, and lots of boobs.

So, good sir, I will NOT have you besmirching the internet's good name!

 

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2 hours ago, Gatorubet said:

I’m in.  We are fond of animals in New Orleans, so instead of the Clydesdales, I recommend Marge and Ted and Josh pull him, who will be whipped through the streets by two Powerball raffle winners to ensure that the corpse is dragged quickly enough. For late night entertainment, those three will be put in a cage in Jackson Square  - and forced to fight over one well-done steak with catchup for their sustenance - and our amusement. 

They still need IBS, or at least a spastic colon.

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So a former U.S. President, and not us pack of degenerates, finally used the term "the big Orange one" in a social media post?  

And his three years in the making, press conference to shatter everything we've ever known about reality has been indefinitely postponed because a lawyer who once handled some legal issues for Joey Buttafuoco said it might not be a good idea?  Well I guess I'll see you fuckers In New Orleans for this Clydesdales Pride parade thing.  

 

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1 hour ago, The Dog said:

Kerik is one of the "un-indicted co-conspirators"

 

btw these idiots like Kerik and the MAGA senators/reps need to shut up because they are likely being called as witnesses and the GA case will be televised.

 

1 hour ago, Brisketexan said:

This reply pretty much covers the flaw in the MAGA logic:

 

 

The MAGA logical flaw is even more ridiculously flawed than that.  If all it takes to prove a crime are allegations of them on the internet, then Donald Trump is guilty of every charge in every one of these indictments and a LOT more.

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13 hours ago, YGIFS said:

Still a fascinating statistic after all these decades.  Last time a Democratic Presidential nominee won a general election and took office for a previous Democratic President who left office of their own volition (left before 2-term limit deal was an issue or just decided not to run again, does not include death in office or assassination) was Buchanan after Pierce.  Curiously, both one-term presidents.  And that occurred, by the time of the next inauguration, 164 years ago.  

I honestly don't know if Trump will be dead, or unavailable to run, if another GOP nominee will win, if y'all's party will somebody else forward over an aging Biden, or if Biden himself will win a well-deserved second term.

But our history of Presidents is much more curious than most people realize.  But what I do know is that very, very soon...Donald Trump...the 45th President of the United States.  And perhaps the 47th (hopefully not, but history is a mad scientist).  He is going to die.  And for the first and only occurrence in every single lifetime of every poster on here...we will witness the celebration of a fallen President.  We all watched Presidents get voted out, impeached, even shot.  But we all rallied and wished them well because they were public servants, public leaders, public disciples.  But we get to watch Donald Trump die.  We get to celebrate it.  We get to watch the world embrace it.  We get to see his moronic followers weep over his casket in the Capitol while we wind them up to murder one another at the post-game tailgate.  We get to see, for the first time in the history of our Republic, the dead body of our former Head of State, literally get pissed on.  That is not nothing.  We have buried controversial presidents, mourned those that died in office, or went to the other side after passing in old age despite controversy and tumult.  But this guy is going out soon and we get to watch 24/7 coverage of the world celebrating his death and his confused acolytes seeking meaning in a time of great despair.  I get to laugh at tens of millions of stupid people in real time and show my children what true evil looks like with visual aids.  Enjoy it folks, because god willing-it will never, ever happen again in our lifetime.

Many of the world's worst despots have had their graves unmarked, moved, or destroyed so that they would not serve as rallying points for extremist movements.  We may actually get to shit on America's shittiest President.  Yeah, few of us gonna get arrested.  But think about that.  We get to debase the grave of our worst American, who somehow led us.  

May his grave be treated in the same manner as Ivana Trump

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23 minutes ago, wildcat09 said:

Everyone was horrified by 1/6, but within a year so many had forgotten about it that the GOP was treating those who stormed the Capitol as heroic patriots and took back the House in 2022

If it wasn't for extreme gerrymandering that is being undone via SCOTUS' decision (LA, AL, maybe SC and FL) and state courts (NY, WI), they would not have won the House.

Record inflation and the first midterm of Biden's first term and they *barely* won the House.  They underperformed so badly.  The electorate you claim has a short memory is still fucking pissed about Dobbs. 

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24 minutes ago, wildcat09 said:

Sure there is. It'll be 4 years later and most people haven't seen him losing his mind on Truth social every day. If it weren't for the criminal prosecutions that will be ongoing to remind everyone, a decent chunk of the electorate would absolutely forget why they thought Trump was so awful in 2020 by the time November 2024 comes around.

Uhhh . . . so you agree?  People are being reminded why Trump is a huge threat to the country?

 

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I know I'm a broken record on this, but only like four of y'all actually seem to get it.

LMAO.  So disagreeing with you means "we don't get it"?  Never stop.

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2 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

A huge part of the reason Trump won in 2016 is because a significant fraction of Clinton supporters didn't think there was any way he could win, and so they stayed home.  

Trump:  63.0M

Clinton:  65.8M

Other:  7.7M

Total:  136.5M

 

In 2020, those numbers were quite different, and there is no reason to believe the Democrats and independents are going to slide back into complacency about Trump's chances:

Trump:  74.2M

Biden:  81.3M

Other:  2.9M

Total:  158.4M

 

the most concerning number there is the 74.2 million. the fuck are 11.2 million MORE people voting for trump after his disaster of a term? i get a ferw more here and there and covid was a major complicating factor that made people a little bit woowoo about shit, but that rings alarm bells for me. maybe they are the ones doing the voter fraud.

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9 minutes ago, hayden_horn said:

the most concerning number there is the 74.2 million. the fuck are 11.2 million MORE people voting for trump after his disaster of a term? i get a ferw more here and there and covid was a major complicating factor that made people a little bit woowoo about shit, but that rings alarm bells for me. maybe they are the ones doing the voter fraud.

A looooot of people didn't vote for Trump but against Harris. Thanks Obama. 

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12 minutes ago, hayden_horn said:

the most concerning number there is the 74.2 million. the fuck are 11.2 million MORE people voting for trump after his disaster of a term? i get a ferw more here and there and covid was a major complicating factor that made people a little bit woowoo about shit, but that rings alarm bells for me. maybe they are the ones doing the voter fraud.

That doesn't surprise me much - voter engagement was way higher in 2020, period. 9 million more eligible voters than 2016 and 17m more than 2012 - both which were piss poor turnout (58% and 59% of voting eligible population).  2020 had a huge bump to 67% of voting eligible population who voted. 20m more people turned out than in 2016. 

Highest turnout since 1960 in terms of VAP and 2008 in terms of VEP.  Especially with the change in voting to allow more people to vote by mail due to COVID. It was easier to vote. 

67% of VEP in 2016 would have meant 154m voters (almost 20m more). 

Trump needed a disengaged, low turnout election to win in 2016.  But he needed to juice up turnout of his base in 2020 if he had a chance to beat Biden, because Democrats were fired up and not going to repeat the mistake of sitting out again and independents hated Trump. 

Edited by Js1
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12 minutes ago, hayden_horn said:

the most concerning number there is the 74.2 million. the fuck are 11.2 million MORE people voting for trump after his disaster of a term? i get a ferw more here and there and covid was a major complicating factor that made people a little bit woowoo about shit, but that rings alarm bells for me. maybe they are the ones doing the voter fraud.

But it was offset by 15.5M more votes for Biden over Clinton.  Biden's electoral college victory margin was even wider than Trump's.  I honestly don't think Democrats and independents are going to sit this one out for some sort of 2016-ish apathy wave.

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3 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

But it was offset by 15.5M more votes for Biden over Clinton.  Biden's electoral college victory margin was even wider than Trump's.  I honestly don't think Democrats and independents are going to sit this one out for some sort of 2016-ish apathy wave.

It is not going to be a base election where Trump needs to win his base and slightly win independents to swing enough states.

Dobbs pretty much ensured that.  Abortion wasn't even directly on the ballot in Ohio and they smashed turnout for an August election. 

Edited by Js1
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17 hours ago, bolverk said:

 

Not seeing any discussion about this. Looks like it got lost in the midst of the big thread derail over the political leanings of engineers. Someone had asked on Monday night why Roger Stone wasn’t indicted in Georgia. I don’t know why. He’s certainly part of the enterprise. He should be indicted by someone.

Here’s the full video as it appeared on The Beat last night which broke the story. Ari Melber went through about 5 minutes of exposition before showing the video and I’ve skipped past that part. But you might want to rewind to watch some of it. I think you’ll probably agree, though, that he was way overhyping things. Just get to the video, Ari. Jesus. Anyway, here you go…

That clip is from the same Danish filmmaker who provided this footage to the Jan 6 committee:

So presumably they had already seen what MSNBC made public last night. I don’t know why that wasn’t mentioned during their hearings. But there’s something terribly wrong if Roger Stone manages to skate through all of this unscathed. 

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Regarding the question of looking to the president for moral leadership, we probably shouldn’t, but the idea that character isn’t a core component of leadership is insane.

The idea that conservatives has vigorously argued against character in leadership to the point that lack of character is a defining conservative feature is utter madness.

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