| From: Wharf Rat | 11/11/2025 9:43:21 PM | | | | | | 'Difficult to overstate the damage': Judge's striking rebuke of AG Bondi's DOJ instantly shows up in a bar complaint
Story by Matt Naham
• 5h
Several days after a U.S. magistrate judge criticized U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi's Justice Department for an "indict first, investigate later" mentality in the prosecution of ex-FBI Director James Comey, a bar complaint has been filed against the controversially appointed rookie prosecutor who secured the indictment.
Left-leaning watchdog group Campaign for Accountability's (CfA) bar complaint, filed Tuesday against interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Lindsey Halligan, accused the former defense attorney for President Donald Trump of violating the Rules of Professional Conduct, similar in approach to allegations that New York Attorney General Letitia James' attorneys levied in recent weeks.
The group, which brought a complaint against a different Bondi "special attorney" in August, asserted that Halligan's widely publicized berating of Lawfare's Anna Bower on Signal about the pending James prosecution — and her decision to seek indictments against the NYAG and Comey when career prosecutors believed the evidence against Trump's rivals was insufficient — together warrant the scrutiny of the Florida Bar and the Virginia Bar.
"Once in office, Ms. Halligan reportedly disregarded the conclusions of numerous experienced career prosecutors who had thoroughly investigated [Mr.] Comey's statements and found prosecution unsupportable. She then rushed to indict Mr. Comey in just four days, apparently failing to properly analyze the testimony at issue, the result of which was that she failed to recognize Mr. Comey's statements were literally true or at least not provably false," the complaint said. "Similarly, it has been reported that Ms. Halligan disregarded the conclusions of numerous experienced career prosecutors who had thoroughly investigated Ms. James's mortgage documents and found prosecution unsupportable. She nevertheless rushed to indict Ms. James soon after she was installed as Interim U.S. Attorney, again apparently failing to properly analyze the documents at issue[.]"
Questioning Halligan's competency and candor, while also slamming her extrajudicial statements on Signal, the complaint quoted remarks U.S. Magistrate William Fitzpatrick made from the bench not even a week ago.
"At a November 5, 2025 hearing in the Comey case Federal Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick criticized prosecutors saying, '[r]ight now, we are in a bit of a feeling of indict first, investigate later,'" the complaint said.
Fitzpatrick was not the first jurist to make a statement of the kind. In September, U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui criticized the DOJ's "many misfires," reportedly describing the government as taking a "we'll arrest people … then see what happens" approach to law enforcement.
The bar complaint alleged that Halligan did much the same by "proceeding with charges that career prosecutors, as well as, in Mr. Comey's case, a special counsel appointed by President Trump, deemed unsupported by evidence," apparently referring to former special counsel John Durham, who was appointed by ex-AG Bill Barr, not Trump.
Halligan, the complaint continued, "appears to have violated her additional responsibility as a prosecutor to refrain from prosecuting charges not supported by probable cause."
"It is difficult to overstate the damage wrought by Ms. Halligan's actions," CfA said, before placing Halligan at the center of "[w]eaponizing the DOJ to prosecute the president's enemies could destroy the democratic principles at the foundation of our Constitution."
"Her conduct undermines the integrity of the DOJ, appears to have violated multiple provisions of the Virginia and Florida Rules of Professional Conduct, and undoubtedly will erode public trust in the legal system if permitted without consequence," the complaint concluded.
Notably, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, as recently as Friday at an annual Federalist Society event for attorneys, responded directly to this very criticism.
"When I read now that we're weaponizing, I feel like I'm being gaslit, because we're doing exactly the opposite," Blanche said, according to Politico. "I take umbrage at the idea that the work that our prosecutors are doing is weaponization, because I have receipts. I know what happened the past couple years. I've lived it."
Blanche, the No. 2 official in the DOJ, like Halligan was a criminal defense attorney for Trump. |
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| From: techtrader73 | 11/12/2025 12:08:23 AM | | | | | | |
Elon likely envisions an AI system with computational scale matching a star's fusion-powered complexity, enabling it to "think" at cosmic levels. This aligns with xAI's quest to understand the universe's fundamental nature, potentially simulating stellar minds or harnessing solar-scale energy for advanced cognition. It's a bold step beyond human limits toward god-like intelligence. |
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| To: Mongo2116 who wrote (354669) | 11/12/2025 1:12:20 AM | | From: i-node | | | | JACKASS While I don't see it the same for most people it is easy to understand why he would: He's a real estate investor and has been for decades.
I've known many in the same business, and while they may be mostly dead by now, I expect most would have agreed with him: A residence is an investment and over time, buying a more expensive home is worthwhile even if it takes longer to pay it off.
I have a pretty good understanding of business math, and see it differently, but these are things rational people can disagree about. |
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| From: bustersmith | 11/12/2025 7:41:31 AM | | | | | | Big Beautiful Tariffs Update...
Major US clothing store calls out Trump's tariffs after announcing plans to shutter 150 locations
Source: The Independent
A major U.S. clothing store has called out Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs as having had a “meaningful” impact on its profits after announcing the closure of 150 stores across the country.
Carter’s, which sells clothes and other essentials for babies and toddlers, said its operating income was down by approximately 62 percent over the first three quarters when compared to the same period last year.
“Elevated product costs, in part due to the impact of higher tariffs, as well as additional investment, weighed meaningfully on our profitability,” CEO Douglas C. Palladini said in a statement accompanying the company’s latest earnings report. The company now plans to close approximately 150 stores at lease expiration in North America over the next three years, rather than 100, which it previously announced.
A hundred stores will be closed over the fiscal year 2025 and 2026 periods. The 150 stores collectively represent approximately $110 million in annual net sales on a last-12-months basis, according to the earnings report. Carter’s operates around 1,200 stores across the U.S., though it was not specified which locations would be closing down.
Read more: the-independent.com |
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| From: bustersmith | 11/12/2025 7:46:14 AM | | | | | | UFC Fighters saying FU to the Slobfathers Grift...
Fans first! UFC fighters starting to bail on 'political' White House lineup, push back against 'Hunger Games' tributes
Source: SB Nation
“Raw Dawg” doesn’t care about next year’s historic event.
You’ve probably noticed, nearly every Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter — American or not — has been clamoring to get on the highly anticipated UFC White House card set for next summer. And it makes sense. UFC CEO Dana White has already promised the event will be the “biggest, baddest card of all time,” and since it’ll likely air on CBS, millions of viewers will be tuning in. That’s massive exposure for any fighter lucky enough to get a spot.
However, there’s one competitor who couldn’t care less about it: No. 3-ranked Flyweight Brandon Royval, fresh off his “Fight of the Year” contender against Joshua Van, and widely regarded as one of the most exciting fighters in the division.
“I don’t give a shit about fighting at the f—king White House. I wanna fight in front of big crowds, bro,” Royval told the In The Arena MMA podcast. “It’s like, how big can the White House even have of a stadium? Is that shit outside, too? “I don’t give a f—k about any of our political figures right now, and to fight in front of them seems like some f—king Hunger Games type of f—king shit. I don’t give a f—k to fight in front of some f—king billionaires that could give a shit less about me. F—k you guys. I want to fight in front of people who are Raw Dawg fans, fans of MMA, and who can relate to me.”
Read more: sports.yahoo.com |
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