Episode 19: “Justice Off-Balance”

04/01/2019

On Episode 19 of CAFE Insider, Preet and Anne discuss:

• The latest on making Mueller’s report public
• The acrimony in the House Intelligence Committee
• The GOP’s calls to investigate the investigators
• SDNY’s extortion case against Michael Avenatti
• Alex Jones’s deposition
• The Cook County State Attorney’s handling of the Jussie Smollett case

REFERENCES AND SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS

Check out Preet’s book, “Doing Justice” – it’s a #4 NYT Bestseller

Bill Barr and the Mueller Report

• Barr’s second letter to lawmakers giving an update on the release of the Mueller report
• Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure: Rule 6 (e) “The Grand Jury, Recording and Disclosing the Proceedings”
• The 2008 Office of Legal Counsel Opinion, “Assertion of Executive Privilege Concerning the Special Counsel’s Interviews of the Vice President and Senior White House Staff”
• An article in the NYT reporting on the length and release of Mueller’s report
• An explainer from the Washington Post on how executive privilege works and how it doesn’t

Adam Schiff and the acrimony in the House Intel Committee

• The letter Republican members of the House Intelligence Committee sent to Chairman Adam Schiff urging him to resign his post
• A video of Rep. Schiff’s speech responding to the GOP’s calls for his resignation
• An article in the Washington Post about the GOP and Trump’s attacks on Rep. Schiff 
• A 2012 article from the Washington Post on the former Intel Committee Chairman, Mike Rogers, a Republican, and the community of bipartisanship he created
• Rep. Schiff’s March 2018 interview on Stay Tuned

Polls

• NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll which found that 29% of Americans believe President Trump has been cleared of wrongdoing
• December 2018 NPR/PBS poll, which found that more than three in four Americans wanted the Mueller report to be released in its entirety

Michael Avenatti

• SDNY’s criminal complaint against Avenatti
• The criminal complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California
• Bloomberg columnist Matt Levine’s take on Avenatti's arrest

Alex Jones

• Charlie Warzel’s piece for the NYT, “Why Courtrooms Are Kryptonite for Alex Jones”
• An article in the NYT on the lawsuit against Alex Jones

Jussie Smollett

• A Chicago Tribune op-ed by Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, explaining the handling of the Jussie Smollett case
• The Illinois Prosecutors Bar Association Statement on Jussie Smollett Case Dismissal
• A timeline from NPR on the developments in the Jussie Smollett case
• A clip from the film Miller’s Crossing (“So it’s clear what I’m saying?” “As mud”)

The sandwich debate

• A listener tweet with a pressing question, plus this helpful infographic

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