Louisiana Voice

“The Trump Organization is expected to be hit with criminal charges as soon as next week by Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance’s office in a case that Trump attorneys say is tied to tax evasion related conduct, multiple people familiar with the matter tell NBC News.”

—Tweet by MSNBC host Ali Velshi (Ironic that this came as a tweet. Some might even call it karma.)

“Remember, if you win, we’ll cover your flight and hotel, you can bring a guest of your choice, AND you’ll get to meet your favorite President.”

—Email from Donald Trump, Jr. inviting me to enter a sweepstakes competition (by donating to daddy Trump, of course) for a chance for me to meet my “favorite President.” (I admit I’m tempted because I’d love to meet Teddy Roosevelt or Harry Truman.)

“Well, in the past, America had a very good solution for dealing with such traitors – execution… Any American involved in these efforts, from those who ran the voting machines to the very highest government officials, is guilty of treason under US Code 2381, which carries with it the penalty of death.”

—One America News (OAN) personality (I just can’t call him a news reporter) Pearson Sharp, with his somewhat vague accusation of (“Hundreds? Thousands? Tens of thousands?”) of “radical Democrats” who he claims carried out a “coup against the presidency.” (Curiously, he failed to provide any evidence or to identify precisely which “radical Democrat” should be executed.)

“There is no evidence presented at this time to prove either significant acts of fraud or that an organized, wide-scale effort to commit fraudulent activity was perpetrated in order to subvert the will of Michigan voters. Our clear finding is that citizens should be confident the results represent the true results of the ballots cast by the people of Michigan. The committee strongly recommends citizens use a critical eye and ear toward those who have pushed demonstrably false theories for their own personal gain. The report concludes there is no proof of dead voters or ‘fractional voting,’ no evidence of a fraudulent ‘ballot dump’ in Detroit and no proof any Michigan precincts had more than 100 percent voter turnout.”

—Michigan’s Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee released its findings this week.

“Since I have been completely exonerated from the Mueller witch hunt, with a charge of NO COLLUSION, I have often wondered: if a fake investigation is illegally started based on information provided and paid for by the DNC and the Clinton campaign, shouldn’t they be held accountable?”

—Email from Donald Trump in which he continues to call me one of his “best supporters.” Well, former guy, the fact is you really were not “completely exonerated”… And when did you even learn such multi-syllabled words like “exonerated,” anyway?

“If Democrats want to defund the police, they should start with the FBI.”

—Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) tweet, which he immediately deleted. Of course, the FBI just happens to be investigating whether or not he paid for sex with a 17-year-old girl and thereby broke federal sex trafficking laws.

“He’s not just stupid, he’s a pig.”

—Tucker Carlson, sounding much like a ‘60s hippie on Faux News, of Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley. I wonder if Carlson would have the courage to say that to Milley’s face?

“It’s one of the stupidest lies that he ever had me deal on his behalf. We know that there were no bone spurs, we know it’s an absolute lie. The part that bothered me the most about it, is after we would meet say a wounded veteran, the only thing that this idiot would turn around and say is, ‘Why would anybody go to war? Look at what happened and look at how they’re coming back. I mean, not me. I wouldn’t do it.’”

—Former Trump lawyer/fixer Michael Cohen, on the Jimmy Kimmel Show. (Not that we’d pin any medals on Cohen…)

“It was Thomas Jefferson that said, “Facts are stubborn things, and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.’ Let’s cast our eyes over the facts, shall we.” 

—US Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC). Uh, no Madison, it was actually John Adams who said that. But that’s okay, you don’t seem to know much about anything else, either – and you just can’t seem to stop yourself from lying.

“I’ve read Mao Zedong. I’ve read Karl Marx. I’ve read Lenin. That doesn’t make me a communist. So, what is wrong with understanding … the country which we are here to defend? I want to understand White rage. And I’m White. What is it that caused thousands of people to assault this building and try to overturn the Constitution of the United States of America? What caused that? I want to find that out.” 

—Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark Milley, lecturing the Z (as in Zero) Brothers, Florida Republicans Mike Waltz and Matt Gaetz, at yesterday’s House Armed Services Committee hearing on the teaching of critical race theory at West Point.

“With Generals like this it’s no wonder we’ve fought considerably more wars than we’ve won.”

—Tweet by Matt Gaetz following Milley’s testimony (Notice he didn’t have the cajones to say it to Milley’s face.)

“And in what war has Gaetz fought?”

“Matt Gaetz – he’s the one who hanging out with underage girls right? This person has some gall to take a swipe at the military…but only on social media when no one is around.”

“Matt Gaetz is a one-man ignorance parade.”

“My faith in the intelligence of our military brass grew exponentially after Milley verbally byatch-slapped Gaetz so publicly. Shut him all the way down like it was Congressional WWE but with class and dignity.”

“Gaetz needs to keep his head down and mouth shut …and stay 500 yards away from schools and playgrounds.”

“It’s hilarious to see Gaetz shamelessly displaying himself (but then teen girls are used to Gaetz displaying himself).”

“White Rage? Look no further than trump and those that choose to embrace this charlatan; makes them mad when they are exposed for what they stand for: STUPID.”

“With supposed citizens like Gaetz, it is a wonder we’ve won any war. Fortunately, the military trains soldiers, not serial sexual predators.”

—A sampling of the 2,236 comments posted on The Washington Post story about Milley’s testimony.

University of Virginia law professor Thomas Frampton on Wednesday filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Baton Rouge asking the court to stop what Frampton describes as the City of Baton Rouge’s retaliation against his freedom of speech. He argues that the city is trying to put him in jail for contempt of a proceeding that never existed.

The case arises out of a 2020 stop and search by Baton Rouge police officers of Louisiana resident Clarence Green and his younger brother, a juvenile. Only Clarence Green was charged with any crime. 

In a December 2020 order, federal judge Brian A. Jackson excoriated the government for its actions, writing that “the state agents in this case demonstrated a serious and wanton disregard for defendant’s constitutional rights, first by initiating a traffic stop on the thinnest of pretext, and then by haphazardly invading Defendant’s home (weapons drawn) to conduct an unjustified, warrantless search.” Body worn camera footage of the stop and search was entered into the public record, and all charges against Green were dismissed. 

Frampton, of the University of Virginia School of Law, stepped in to represent the Green family in a civil rights lawsuit against BRPD, and quickly settled the case for $35,000.

One of the officers involved in the stop and search, Ken Camallo, was demoted from sergeant to corporal and suspended two and one-half months, according to a STORY in The Baton Rouge Advocate on Wednesday.

On May 27, 2021, BRPD’s mistreatment of the Green Family first became a national news story. The CBS Evening News ran a story entitled “Baton Rouge reaches $35,000 settlement with family after police strip-searched teen and entered home without warrant.” 

The next day, the City of Baton Rouge filed a petition in Baton Rouge juvenile court, seeking to hold Professor Frampton in contempt of juvenile court for releasing the body-worn camera footage to CBS. In this context, contempt of court is punishable by up to six months in prison.

The city argued that Frampton had violated a Louisiana law that makes “records and reports concerning all matters or proceedings before the juvenile court” confidential. In its petition, the city explained that it had “received a substantial amount of negative correspondence from the public” after the CBS story, and so was taking action against Professor Frampton. 

But as Frampton argues in the lawsuit filed today, what the city describes is literally impossible – because there never was a matter or proceeding before the juvenile court. Mr. Green’s brother, the only juvenile in the video, was never charged with any crime, and no proceeding was ever started in the juvenile court.

For that reason, Frampton filed the lawsuit, asking the federal court to order the city to stop its course of action against him. He also filed a motion in state court under Louisiana’s Anti-SLAPP law – a law that allows a person to stop a case and seek attorneys’ fees when they are attacked for their free speech. Both are attached. 

Frampton is represented by a legal team that includes the Tulane Law School’s First Amendment Clinic, Jane Hogan of Hogan Attorneys, and William Most of Most & Associates.

Katie Schwartzmann, director of the Tulane Law School First Amendment Clinic, said, “Residents of Baton Rouge need to know when their police department engages in behavior that violates the law. For the city to seek to jail a lawyer for sharing information with the public is deeply troubling, not only because it violates the Constitution but also because it may prevent other Baton Rouge residents from coming forward about police misconduct.”

Attorney William Most added, “The City of Baton Rouge is trying to throw a law professor in jail for contempt of a proceeding that never existed. Baton Rouge citizens should be ashamed of their parish attorney’s office for seeking this expensive, retaliatory, nonsensical course of action.”