OA1093 - In this episode recorded on Thanksgiving Day, two vegetarians carve up the Canadian turkey born Aubrey Drake Graham. Are Drake’s exploratory legal actions against Universal Music in response to Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” the weakest move in the history of rap beefs? Matt shares some of his favorite diss tracks before we consider these filings and how Drake thought he could possibly come out of this looking good. We also take a look at Jack Smith’s motion to dismiss both of the federal criminal cases against the 47th President-elect of the United States,  and what we can learn about the possible future (?) of these cases from both his motion and DC federal judge Tanya Chutkan’s order granting it. Finally, in today’s footnote Thomas provides valuable evidence for the prospective plaintiffs in a cease and desist demand recently made against the ONLY guitar endorsed by Donald Trump.

• Government’s Motion to Dismiss in U.S. v. Trump (11/25/240

• Judge Chutkan’s order on government’s motion to dismiss U.S. v. Trump (11/25/24)

• OLC memo on immunity for sitting presidents (10/16/2000)

• OLC memo on presidential self-pardons (8/5/1974)

• Verified Petition in Frozen Moments LLC v UMG/Spotify  (NY Drake payola filing)(11/25/24)

• Verified Petition seeking depositions in TX (TX Drake defamation filing)(11/25/24)

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OA1092 plus T3BE49 - we continue our conversation with Somali-American author and advocate Abdi Nor Iftin.

Then, it's answer time for T3BE question 48, and our new question 49! Play along on BlueSky!

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OA1091 - We are honored to welcome Somali-American author and advocate Abdi Nor Iftin for the first of a 2-part Thanksgiving episode dedicated with gratitude to the incredible efforts that so many naturalized Americans have made to be a part of this country. Abdi has recorded the full story of his life in his book Call Me American, in which he details the long journey from his escape from being forced into service as a child soldier in war-torn Somalia to his years as a refugee in Kenya before winning the U.S. diversity visa lottery and building a thoroughly American life in one of the last states you might expect. In this extended interview we get to know Abdi as he shares his story and his unique perspective on what the current American moment means for him and his community. 

• Call Me American: A Memoir,: Abdi Nor Iftin (2018)

• “Now is the time to buckle up and fight, not to flee,” Abdi Nor Iftin, The Forecaster (11/19/24)

• “Abdi and the Golden Ticket,”  This American Life (7/3/2015)

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OA1090 - It's an ALL GOOD NEWS EPISODE! It exists, and there is plenty of it. Positive vibes only for today's dose of practical hope.

And right when you think it can't get any better, the Footnote Fetish returns! Matt has found yet another bizarre RFK Jr animal-related scandal, this one far from the headlines at the intersection of election and avian law. Also Thomas Takes the Bird Exam!

• 2024 Popular Vote Tracker, Cook Political Report

• Alvin Bragg’s letter to NY judge Juan Merchan opposing Trump’s motion to dismiss (11/19/24)

• “Situation in the State of Palestine: ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I rejects the State of Israel’s challenges to jurisdiction and issues warrants of arrest for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant | International Criminal Court” (11/21/24)

• Judge Melissa Owens’s summary judgment decision in Johnson v Wyoming (11/18/24)

• “November Surprise! State Finally Releases RFK Jr.’s Falconry Records,” Kevin Underhill, Lowering the Bar (11/5/24)

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OA1089 - Trump's Staff Infection, part 3 plus T3BE48!

In this installment of Fashwatch’s continuing review of Trump’s incoming legal team, we take a closer look at what we know about the top spots in his DOJ and some of the other most important lawyers in any Presidential administration: White House counsel, Solicitor General, and the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York. 

1. “How a Corporate Law Firm Led a Political Revolution,” David Enrich, The New York Times (8/25/22) 

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OA1088 - Trump's Staff Infection Vol. 2

With special guest Lydia Smith! Matt explains why only lawyers can truly destroy the rule of law before Lydia reviews what Project 2025 has planned for the Department of Justice. We then consider Donald Trump’s intention to make his favorite Florida (Congress)man our next Attorney General without or without Senate approval. Who is America’s Worst Matt, and could this weird loser really be the angel of Trump’s retribution? 

1. Mandate for Leadership, Project 2025

2. “Is Matt Gaetz an ‘Accomplished Attorney’?” Louis Jacobsen, Politifact (11/15/24)

3. Nayib Bukele on X: "US Congressmen visit CECOT (Center for the Confinement of Terrorism)

4. “Matt Gaetz’s 2008 DUI arrest resurfaces after jab at Hunter Biden’s substance abuse. Here’s what happened,” Tampa Bay Times (11/15/24) 

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OA1087 - We examine how the incoming President and his administration are already breaking the law with his transition team before taking on his announced intention to subvert the Constitution--and his own political party--through an unprecedented clown car of forced recess appointments. From the Defense Secretary the National Guard determined they couldn’t trust with a gun around Joe Biden to the Attorney General who just resigned from Congress to avoid the details of what he has been doing with high school students to the deputy chief of staff who is Stephen Miller, there are plenty of good reasons these freaks might not clear even a Republican Senate. Could this one weird Constitutional trick force them through? 

Finally, the world’s richest man wants to tell the federal government how to spend its money. What’s the deal with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency?

1. Harris-Walz Transition Team Ethics Plan

2. “Will Trump Pursue a Bonkers Plan to Adjourn Both Houses of Congress?,” Ed Whelan, National Review (11/13/2024)

3. House Ethics Rules (2024)

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OA1086 - We're modifying the schedule a little! Introducing fash-watch with Lydia. We're going to keep a very watchful eye on Trump's incoming government. We're starting this week with the EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and UN Ambassador Elise Stefanik.

But don't worry! After that, we're still on with Heather and the regularly scheduled bar exam failure! Make sure to find openargs on Bluesky and play T3BE there!

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OA1085 - Matt has put together a preliminary list of things Joe Biden can and should do in the lame duck period. Will he? Let's make him.

After that, we examine something that he should absolutely not do courtesy of the aspiring fascists of the National Review. As a little treat.

• Trump has made more than 100 threats to prosecute or punished perceived enemies," NPR News  (10/22/22)

• “Biden Should Pardon Trump,” Mark Antonio Wright, National Review (11/6/24)

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OA1083 - What does it mean to be a legal podcast at a time when the rule of law itself is in play? We reflect on this moment before answering a few patron questions and taking a closer look at the current state of each of the three criminal cases against Donald Trump as of this week.

• “A Sitting President’s Amenability to Indictment and Criminal Prosecution,” DOJ memo dated 10/16/2000. 

• Docket for Jack Smith’s appeal of Judge Cannon’s  11th Circuit

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