POKING AROUND - THANKSGIVING EDITION

News to put a smile on your face and ammo to use on Uncle MAGA tomorrow.

GIULIANI GETS HIS:

Giuliani was back in federal court yesterday, where, as the NYT put it, he lost his lawyers and his temper. In addition to getting smacked around by a federal judge for his courtroom outburst, Giuliani was taken to task once again for his dilatory efforts to surrender assets to Freeman and Moss to satisfy their enormous judgment against him for lying about them trying to commit election fraud during the 2020 vote count.

With his original lawyers allowed to withdraw from the case, having cited an unspecified dispute over “professional ethics,” it was left to Giuliani’s new lawyer to shut his client up in front of the judge, to no avail. The judge warned that Giuliani, himself now disbarred in New York and D.C., would face sanction for any further outbursts.

The judge refused to delay a trial set for January over the disposition of some of Giuliani’s assets, a delay Giuliani has sought so he could attend Donald Trump’s second inauguration. The irony of course is that Giuliani got himself in this mess while representing Trump, who failed to pay him. Giuliani’s claims against the Trump campaign for unpaid bills is one of the assets he has to surrender.

Giuliani’s outburst in court was mostly about how cash-strapped he now is, thanks to Freeman and Moss. “The truth is, I have no cash.”

I love watching scumbags get kicked to the ground, then get kicked in their face. Repeatedly.

CALIFORNIA DELIVERS!

There’s great news out of California about the election. Yes, the election! Votes are still being counted in California in two tight House races.

Democrat Derek Tran leads his opponent, the very Trumpy and scandal-plagued Michelle Steel in CA-45, and is expected to prevail. Some have already called the race for him based on which votes remain to be counted and the direction things have consistently gone. In CA-13, the closest race in the country and against most expectations, Democrat Adam Gray just pulled ahead by around 182 votes and is now also slightly favored to win over incumbent John Duarte.

If this holds, California will be a bright spot in this election: Democrats will have held every seat in the state’s congressional delegation while flipping three Republican ones.

Assuming these races wind up adding two more seats to the Democratic side, the GOP House majority will be 220 to 215, the narrowest House majority ever to begin a session. And that spells a world of trouble for Speaker Mike Johnson.

If Tran and Gray win as expected, the House will technically be at 220 to 215, the narrowest margin since 1930. That means in the first few weeks, assuming full attendance, the balance will be 219 to 215. With these numbers, Republicans can only afford to lose one vote on any measure. If they lose two votes, the count goes to a 217 to 217 tie, meaning it fails. With Gaetz’s resignation and the loss of two House seats due to Elise Stefanik and Mike Wal;z joining the Administration until they can be filled by special election, the balance of power will be 217 to 215 for many weeks.

That will make passing Trump’s agenda really difficult if not impossible, including extension of the Trump tax cuts for the wealthy; gutting the ACA, Social Security and Medicare; and authorizing billions of dollars to build mass detention centers for undocumented migrants.

TRUMP TEAM KINDA SORTA SIGNS LONG-DELAYED AGREEMENT:

The Trump transition has signed a “Memorandum of Understanding” with the Biden White House. Their unprecedented delay in signing these agreements, weeks after being declared the winner of the election, had alarmed former officials and ethics experts who warned it could lead to conflicts of interest and leave the new government unprepared to govern on Day One.

But the Trump team is still refusing to accept several items of the presidential transition process, including federal funding, equipment and office space - and most importantly official government background and security checks for his transition staff. The agreement does not include an ethics pledge for the president-elect, required by the Presidential Transition Act, stating that Trump will avoid conflicts of interest while in office.

Trump’s transition team is planning for all political appointees to receive sweeping security clearances on the first day by presidential order, and only face FBI background checks after the incoming administration takes over the bureau and its own officials are installed in key positions, “according to people familiar with the matter.”

WE’RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER CLOWN CAR:

Latest announced appointees to Trump 2.0: Anti-lockdown Stanford Dr. Jay Bhattacharya as Director of the National Institutes of Health. Robert Lighthizer protegé Jamieson Greer as U.S. trade representative. Former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers Kevin Hassett as Director of the White House’s National Economic Council. Peter Thiel associate Jim O’Neill as Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Trump’s Cabinet is almost complete just three weeks after his reelection, offering an unusually quick window into his plans and priorities for a second administration. After years of complaining about first-term staff members who resisted his ideas and ultimately denounced him, Trump has prioritized loyalty over traditional expertise and has elevated supporters with little direct or managerial experience in the areas they are set to lead.

That’s Another Fine Mess is facing a new lease here, effective January 1, 2025, with a substantial increase in rent (It’s L.A., surprise surprise) and in the security deposit. There are 3,600 free subscribers here. If 10% of you were to become paid subscribers at the $7/month level, this problem would be permanently solved. Please consider this. Your support now in these times is crucially important.

While we have seen 15% of the hoped-for new paid subscribers step up to support TAFM in these challenging times, the fund-raiser is going to have to be extended into December(consider it a holiday gift?). I’d like to thank all the new subscribers and the others who have decided to become Founder Subscribers for their support.

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