Open Thread

What’s on your mind?

Comments

[Kazinski]

Maybe Judge Boasberg is owed a partial apology. Reports were that Judge Boasberg approved subpoenas for about a dozen Congressman's possibly violating the Speech and debate clause of the constitution.

Well Jack Smith is now claiming that the subpoenas didn't disclose whose phone records were being seized, they were John Doe subpoenas:

"WASHINGTON — Jack Smith admitted that judges weren’t made aware his team was seizing Republicans’ phone records when asked to sign off on non-disclosure orders for associated subpoenas, according to a transcript of the ex-special counsel’s deposition released Wednesday.

Smith claimed to members of the House Judiciary Committee in the Dec. 17 sitdown that keeping the subpoenas — which were part of the FBI’s sprawling Arctic Frost probe into 2020 election interference — hidden was necessary to avoid a “grave risk of obstruction of justice.”

Asked by an unidentified Judiciary Committee questioner whether judges who approved the subpoenas knew they were demanding that phone carriers AT&T and Verizon hand over lawmakers’ call logs, Smith said: “I don’t think we identified that, because I don’t think that was Department policy at the time.”

If this was legal, there needs to be legislation to make it illegal well unless you are comfortable with Trump being able to issue subpoenas of Congress's phone records with no predicate, no disclosure to the judge, and a gag order to the service provider.

https://nypost.com/2025/12/31/us-news/jack-smith-withheld-names-of-gop-lawmakers-from-judges-who-granted-access-to-phone-records/

So I would.like.to.personally. apologize to.Judge Boasberg for assuming a federal judge wouldn't sign a gag order subpoena without having any idea who it was for or what it was about.

Now I know better.

Oh by the way this is the just released taped deposition of Jack Smith by congressional committee staff, which should explain to NG why they wanted to depose Smith by trained staff rather than amateurs in the more constrained congressional hearing format.

[Dr. Ed 2]

Impeach him anyway.

And Congress should retaliate against Verizon somehow as well.

[not guilty]

"Oh by the way this is the just released taped deposition of Jack Smith by congressional committee staff, which should explain to NG why they wanted to depose Smith by trained staff rather than amateurs in the more constrained congressional hearing format."

Contrary to this pronouncement, Kazinski in fact did not link to "the just released taped deposition." I surmise that he doesn't care whether he tells the truth or not.

As Jack Smith testified at page 18 of the transcript, "Toll records were sought for historical telephone routing information, collected after calls had taken place, identifying the incoming and outgoing call numbers, the time of the calls and their duration. Toll records do not include the content of calls. Those records were lawfully subpoenaed and were relevant to complete a comprehensive investigation." This information is neither Speech nor Debate in Congress.

And nothing about the deposition explains why it could not have been conducted in the light of day.

[Kazinski]

I didn't say I linked to the just released taped deposition, I linked to the Post article about the released taped deposition.

Learn to read.

If you, or anyone else, including Smith, want to dispute what Smith want to dispute what Smith said, well then go ahead. And nothing you quote contradicts what is said in the article. Or do you think Boasberg would recognize all those phone numbers without names?

Although to be fair Boasberg was probably accustomed to approving warrants and subpoenas without question or supporting details from his time on the FISA court.

But don't grasp at nonexistent straws like that, honestly it makes me feel sorry for you.

And to make it worse, you immediately post the easily found Transcript and video tape which contradicts nothing I or the article said.

[not guilty]

"Oh by the way this is the just released taped deposition of Jack Smith by congressional committee staff".

Your words, Kazinski, not mine. And your crawfishing hasn't spooked the words off the page, nor the pixels off the monitor.

[Kazinski]

Exactly. The quotes and the article refers to "the just released taped deposition of Jack Smith by congressional committee staff"

It didn't seem to take you long to find the transcript because it was linked in the Post Article I linked to.

How helpless are you?

That's a rhetorical question, I already know.

[not guilty]

Here is the video of Jack Smith's full deposition testimony before the House Judiciary Committee (which I have not viewed): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YR8slAt3Ek Here is the full transcript of the testimony (which I have read): https://d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net/static/2025/12/Smith-Depo-Transcript_Redacted-w-Errata.pdf

President Trump posted on Truth Social on October 29, 2025 kvetching, "These thugs should all be investigated and put in prison. A disgrace to humanity. Deranged Jack Smith is a criminal!!!" https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115457600588415376 The doofus-in-chief, however, conspicuously failed to identify any crime that Smith had committed. Neither has any MAGAt commenter on this blog identified any federal statute that Smith has violated, despite repeated challenges for them to do so.

MAGA cult, it's time to quit singing it and start bringing it. Like with John Brennan, James Comey and Leticia James, merely having pissed off Donald Trump is no crime. What statute do you claim that Jack Smith has violated, and by what particular conduct?

[Dr. Ed 2]

If your side can fabricate crimes, why shouldn’t Trump be able to do likewise?

[not guilty]

No one "can fabricate crimes." Criminal prosecution requires an enactment of Congress prohibiting the subject conduct and an indictment by a grand jury (or waiver of the indictment by the accused).

[Dr. Ed 2]

Bullshyte….

[Dr. Ed 2]

https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-882059

A second Iranian revolution to undo the first would be welcome news! And without Iranian funding, Hamas, Hesbola, etc. evaporate.

This is real peace…

[Kazinski]

I ran across this link at Insta pundit to a Substack which summarizes an affidavit for a series of search warrants in the Somali Social services fraud in Minnesota. The substack links to the court documents including the affidavit. Here is just one little anecdote about what is going on there:

"Kelly R was initially sent to UHHS by her “Community Access for Disability Inclusion” (CAID) manager — a state employee — under the “Housing Stabilization Services” program, another Minnesota progressive/socialism program looted by fraud as described below. UHHS told Kelly R that she could only rent one of their apartments if she could also qualify for services under ICS. Her CAID “manager” assisted her in applying for ICS and — SHOCKINGLY — she was qualified to participate.

She moved into an apartment in June 2024, for $60 a month.

When asked about any ICS services she received, Kelly R said she typically checked-in with the Front Desk when she got home from work. Sometimes no one was there. Kelly R explained that sometimes a UHHS employee would knock on her door to check on her. But Kelly R explained that many days she had no contact with UHHS employees and essentially lived on her own with no support.

Over a 447 day period from June 2024 to August 2025, UHHS billed Minnesota’s ICS program for ”services” to Kelly R on 443 of those days, and received $166,000 — or $375 per day. Keep in mind that UHHS had 10 other “clients” in the same apartment complex."

https://shipwreckedcrew.substack.com/p/ffa5b895-8bed-4617-9ed4-ec0766a9cb12

[Sarcastr0]

“ Here is just one little anecdote”

Hmmm.

“ what is going on there”
Wrong verb tense.

What does this inform other than more hate at the larger Somali-American community in MN?

I’m getting lunch with someone who does nonprofit grants, and I’m gonna ask what his take is on what happened here; he”s said something about MN being extra vulnerable to COVID grant fraud.

I suspect it’s not going to be a Democratic conspiracy to give every black Muslim in MN free money.

[Dr. Ed 2]

The Swiss bar fire is going to raise two questions— are European fire codes as good as U.S. ones (they aren’t), and if Swiss codes were followed (I doubt it).

Even if the explosions were rupturing gas lines, that’s not burning liquid dripping from the ceiling. I’m thinking flammable foam above the false ceiling and flammable varnish on it. US code would require a second staircase or other route to OUTDOORS.

AND SPARKLERS ARE NOT ALLLOWED!

There are a lot of rich victims from other European countries, this is going to be an interesting legal mess….