The Delaware federal jury in the Hunter Biden trial found him guilty on all three charges. One count was possession of a firearm by a prohibited person under 18 USC Sec. 922(g)(3), which prohibits anyone “who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance” from possessing a firearm that has moved in interstate commerce. The other charges involved making false statements on a form he filled out when buying the handgun in Delaware in 2018, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(a)(6) and 924(a)(1)(A).

Factually, Hunter's case is as tawdry as they come. But, there are two interesting legal issues, which likely will be bases for his appeal. The first is whether 18 USC § 922(g)(3) is unconstitutional. In a recent Supreme Court case called Bruen , available here, the Court changed the test for deciding whether gun regulations pass constitutional muster under the Second Amendment.

Boiled down to the simplest of terms, under Bruen, if the person wasn't excluded (or a member of an analogous group of persons excluded) from having rights under the the Second Amendment when the Consitution was ratified in 1791, they can't be excluded now. [More...]

Run Lola Run is back in theaters Friday, on the 25th anniversary of its 1999 release. It has been restored and upgraded to 4k. If you still go to movie theaters, this is one to see there. As director/writer Tom Tykwer says during a recent interview in the linked article, the reaction of people watching the film has been a "sheer joy to watch". A very basic plot summary from the article:

In the film, Lola (Franka Potente) has 20 minutes to come up with enough money to get her boyfriend, Manni (Moritz Bliebtreu), out of debt with a gangster. The film portrays three attempts by Lola to find a solution on foot.

Every time she is unsuccessful, the film rewinds to the beginning and Lola tries again. The film's presentation of three different realities qualifies as an early depiction of the multiverse, where infinite universes exist simultaneously.

[More...]

Donald Trump has read his tea leaves and believes he will be convicted. Not because he is guilty, of course, but because the judge is corrupt. Outside the courthouse, after the jury began deliberating, he said:

"Mother Teresa could not beat these charges," Trump said, "These charges are rigged. The whole thing is rigged."

I've been waiting for the jury instructions to be released before commenting on the strength of the case. (They are now available here) Although, as it turns out, the jury will not have a copy of the instructions in the deliberation room. That strikes me as very odd in such a complex case. [More...]

I am not writing about the Israel-Hamas war, or as of yet, the protests on college campuses. But I know everyone has strong feelings about the protests. And many readers do want to discuss them. So here's an open thread for those of you who do want to discuss these topics.

Keep in mind TalkLeft is not the government and what you consider free speech may differ from my interpretation of acceptable speech. And since this is my site, my interpretation prevails. [More...]

When covering a trial, there is nothing better to read for accuracy than the court transcripts. In almost all federal trials, transcripts are guarded like hawks, because that's how court reporters make their money. By the page. In major trials, the major media companies form a consortium and pitch in together to share the cost. But they rarely share, due to the court reporter's right to charge for each copy. The Trump hush-money trial is not in federal court, and some state courts are better attuned to transparency with their citizens.

So let's give thanks to the New York State Court system, which has made the Trump Hush Money trial transcripts available now, for free. And thanks to the New York Times for publishing them all. So you all don't hit another pay wall, since I am a Times subscriber, I have ten free links to share a month. Here is my free and shareable link to the transcripts.

Should the link not work, with a little bit of help from Google, I'm sure you can find the New York State Unified Court System website which should have the link, or another media outlet that's decided to post them.

By reading the transcripts, we all avoid fake news. [More...]

Americans have been dealt a hand with two candidates, neither of whom they particularly think should be President. Nonetheless, barring Trump being criminally tried, convicted and imprisoned before November, which has become more and more unlikely the past few months, Americans will have to choose between them.

So there's a lot riding on Joe Biden's speech tonight. I have not seen the draft, but I suspect like almost everything he does, he will land in the center, disappointing those with firm convictions at either extreme.

He's not going to come out against the death penalty, in favor of removing border walls or cutting back on prisons or cessation of jailing non-violent offenders, or even for federal legalization of marijuana. If he supports lowering pot from a Schedule I substance to a Schedule 3 substance, he is still missing the point. Marijuana should be removed from the controlled substance list entirely. Now that would be progress. [More....]

I've joked a few times I wouldn't be surprised if Trump were to make Ivanka his running mate -- or appoint Don Jr.'s girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle to be Attorney General if he gets re-elected (because she would dismiss the federal indictments against him, relieving him of the need to spend years in court debating whether he has the power to pardon himself).

But I missed the real mark: It's Eric's wife Lara Trump who Donald Trump is promoting for Co-Chair of the Republican Party.

Can no one in this family get where they want to go on their own credentials and experience? Apparently not. Except for Jared Kushner, who finally got it through his thick skull that he is rich enough not to have to step in the dog doo that follows his father-in-law everywhere he goes. In a recent interview, Jared says he won't be involved in a second Trump administration, should there be one.

A New York Judge has rejected Donald Trump's request to delay his trial in the "Hush Money" - Stormy Daniels case.

Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to hush payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. He denies the charges.

Prosecutors intend to prove that Trump resorted to business fraud as a means of concealing the true nature of the payments so as not to hurt his chances of winning the presidency in 2016.

What a difference a year makes. When this Indictment was announced, it was a big deal. Now, it seems so hum-hum. Trump indicted? What else is new?

Forget the $5 million the first Jean Carroll jury ordered Donald Trump to pay for defaming her. That's bupkis compared to Friday's verdict by jury # two which decided, after only 3 hours of deliberation, that Trump should pay Carroll a total of $83 million in damages: $18.3 mil in compensatory damages and $68 million in punitive damages.

Now here's the important thing for Trump: He can shed as many tears of a clown as he wants, but if he intends to appeal this verdict (and he appealed the first verdict), I would imagine he's going to put up a much heftier appeal bond in this caase then case #1/

Sad news. Singer and 60's icon Melanie (Safka) has passed away at age 76. She was one of a kind. Her voice was so rich, so unique and powerful. I loved listening to her albums, especially the ones with "Brand New Key" and Beautiful People.

Her children posted the news on Facebook. They ask:

... that tonight (Jan. 24), at 10 p.m. CT, “each of you lights a candle in honor of Melanie. Raise, raise them high, high up again. Illuminate the darkness, and let us all be connected in remembrance of the extraordinary woman who was wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend to so very many people.”

R.I.P. Melanie.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Your turn, all topics welcome.
I’ll be back later or over the weekend.

The media is over-playing the significance of Trump's win among the 15% (110,000) of Iowa's Republicans who showed up to vote in yesterday's Republican caucuses, and in its entrance polls. The last contested Iowa caucus was in 2016, and 187,000 Republicans showed up to vote.

Winning the Republican caucus vote in Iowa does not translate to winning the Republican nomination for President. Caucuses are different than primaries and mean a whole lot less. Just look at the statistics for Iowa Republican caucuses in 2008, 2012 and 2016. Also, the candidate with the most number of delegates is the one who wins a party's nomination, not the one who won the most votes or has the greatest percentage of the vote.

Trump's win is slightly more than a nothing-burger, but not by much. It certainly does not mean he will be the party's nominee.