DOJ Asks Judge to Grant Trump an Emergency Ballroom

Transcript

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors — the audio is the record.

0:00:09 Thomas: Hello and welcome to Opening Arguments. This is Vabbed Response. This is number 30. 30. Can you believe it? I can because that's numbers. I'm Thomas. That over there is real life immigration attorney Matt Cameron. How you doing Matt? Matt.

0:00:23 Matt: I'm having a ball, Thomas. You know where I can hold it?

0:00:28 Thomas: Matt would like to know where he can hold his balls. And how are you doing, Lydia?

0:00:32 Lydia: I'd also like to know where matt can do that so I can give him privacy and yeah

0:00:40 Thomas: Oh, boy. Yeah. Yep. This is I can't wait to talk about this. Matt, why don't you give us a preview? What are we going to be talking about today? I

0:00:49 Matt: Well, we talked about it briefly on Rapid Response Friday. We got into it, and then a whole bunch of stuff popped off after Friday, and things just got weirder. We're going to be talking about the Trump ballroom case, of course. The National Historic Preservation Trust is trying to stop the construction of the gigantic ballroom. We'll talk about the details. We'll get into a little bit of the history of it, but what we really have to do, the the reason that we're here today is the incredible nine -page filing from DOJ just hot off. And it is something. It is really just a disgrace. And we have to read almost every word of it, really.

0:01:22 Thomas: Just I only glance, but just is it safe? Is it the proper characterization to say they think because this shooting happened, they can just say a bunch of stuff to the judge and then they'll be like, you're right. You do need a ballroom. Is that kind of what they're doing?

0:01:37 Matt: I think they just let their client dictate this one. I think that this is straight up just Trump dictating.

0:01:41 Thomas: My God. But is that basically

0:01:42 Matt: And yeah, no, no. It's just we haveと do this.

0:01:43 Thomas: What it was? There's not like a legal thing that, okay. Yeah. So it's, oh

0:01:47 Matt: Yeah. And I think he insisted on filing something. Also, as we'll talk about, the legal vehicle for this motion is ridiculous.

0:01:54 Matt: And It's incredible who filed this. I'm just going to have to make you wait for that.

0:01:58 Thomas: I am excited. And of course we always have an amuse douche. Maybe we'll just, we won't even tease that one. It'll be a surprise. We'll see. The usual stuff, but we've got to thank our patrons. That's what we do each and every week. We thank our Hall of Famers, our all -time greats, before we go to break. These are the folks that support the show at the $5 level and above on patreon .com slash law. Begin with our first third. They are Hope U. Sitwell, Deputy Chair.

0:02:26 Thomas: Stupid. The Ruth Bader Gins-Buhgluh. My house is a mess, but I read a lot of books. Griff the Tired 1L. Gary the Seagull. Matthew Cutler, Autistic Twitch Twitch streamer, Veterinary for America, 2028, one man, one vote. Unremarkable. Don't you dare read this. Sorry, I violated it. Amina, Donna Treadaway, Mother of Harridans. Mike Lapinsky, a Toyota's a Toyota. Wait, did we have that last time? I feel like we either, there was a different one that was like that where it was like, yeah, but I like it. Toyota's the toy. Cyanitis. This is a reference to another show.

0:02:51 Matt: It's pretty good. No. With a Toyota, I think, yeah.

0:02:51 Lydia: I don't think so. Yeah.

0:03:01 Thomas: So good. Grey Pouponderance of the Evidence, a classic. Mr. Chief Justice and May It Please the Court, Apprentice of Adventure, Charlie Kelly, Attorney at Birdlaw, and Probably a Real Person. Thank you so much, top patrons. We'll take our first quick break, which you can avoid by becoming a patron at any level, and then we'll get to it. All right, Matt, we are ready to be a moose douched. I don't know how the language works there.

0:03:25 Matt: Very familiar face on screen for today's

0:03:26 Thomas: I mean, you say that I'm used to his face not being a corpse. Jeez, this this guy.

0:03:27 Matt: Douche. Lindsey Graham.

0:03:33 Thomas: It's not yet. And it's not about age. It's also about having to be shameless. I think Lindsey Graham is one who knows better. Like there's a few of them and he knows better and yet he's even more shameless about it.

0:03:32 Lydia: He's not aging well. Yeah, yeah. It's so weird too because like usually when you sell your soul to the devil, like you get youth and energy, but for whatever reason, all these people who do they actually look worse and so they just lose on all accounts yeah

0:03:49 Thomas: You get better looking. Yeah. Oh, boy. Yeah. They forgot. They hung the painting on themselves. The Dorian Gray or whatever. Oh, I'm not supposed to wear the painting? On me?

0:04:06 Matt: So this is a relevant Amuse -Douche clip here of a press conference explaining why we have to build the ballroom and how Congress is going to proceed if Lindsey Graham is in charge, if he has anything to do with it. And there's some funny stuff around this so let's just let's just see what it has to say oh

0:04:18 Thomas: Matt, you're going to hate me for this, but I realize, to us, this is all obvious, but just in case anyone listens or watches at some other time, there was a shooting at the White House Correspondents Dinner thing, which, I mean, obviously not at the white house, it was at a hotel, and the shooter did not get anywhere close. He sprinted through, but security got him pretty quickly and he wasn't even on the same floor as the event. He didn't even get that far. So, I mean, honestly, it sounds like there's some security lapses for sure because everything about Trump's administration is incompetent. And, you know, even even on normal circumstances, it's it's hard to be perfectly secure at all times like mistakes happen. But this seems like pretty a pretty bad lapse. But that's entirely what I would expect when you got the entire state, essentially the federal government of all its employees in every which way I would respect there to be lapses. And when only loyalists remain, I would I would suspect there to Beelaps. So you're saying that because a shooter sprinted through and got, I don't know, 100 feet or something and didn't get on the same floor. The argument is Trump needs to build his ballroom.

0:04:25 Matt: Great yes

0:05:30 Thomas: That is not where the event would have even been.

0:05:30 Matt: Yes we've got to have these parties in a safe place that's right and this is the same hotel where Reagan was almost assassinated in 81 just for context the Washington Hilton and yeah and there is actually as of the time we are recording this about 4 days after the event

0:05:36 Lydia: Interesting

0:05:37 Thomas: So this hotel is not very good at assassinating people.

0:05:43 Matt: Right it's 0 and 2 so far

0:05:46 Lydia: Always a bridesmaid never a bride yeah

0:05:49 Thomas: Get good, hotel. Anyway, sorry.

0:05:52 Matt: It is also as of of the time we're recording this, about four days after the event, and we don't even know for sure that he even fired any shots. I mean, there's shots that are on the recording, but it could just be all Secret Service doing the shooting. There was someone who was shot and not hurt badly, fortunately, but he could have been friendly fire. We don't know yet. He has been indicted as of today, but I'm sure we'll be talking about it.

0:06:10 Thomas: Because if his manifesto is to be is to be believed, I'm going through puberty. Sorry. If his manifestos to be believed then he didn't want to kill like an innocent bystander like he wasn't this wasn't a 4chan bullshit, you cell shooter who was trying to just cause me like he had a targeted list and it it would make sense if he didn' didn't get like reach his targets. And so he didn't shoot anyone. I was actually wondering about that. We'll get all those facts eventually, I'm sure. So shall we hear Lindsey Graham's amazing?

0:06:38 Matt: Let's hear the official republican

0:06:39 Thomas: Shall we hear this Dorian Gray painting's amazing arguments about why we need this?

0:06:39 Matt: Position yeah so

0:06:43 Clip: That would authorize $400 million to be spent to secure to build the presidential ballroom underneath there will be a lot of military stuff there will been a secret service annex

0:06:57 Thomas: It's going to be super cool because

0:06:59 Clip: And we paid for it by offsetting it with custom fees but the estimate is $332 million we're going to do $400 because I think it's probably going to take more more. Private donations can be used, but I think they should be used for buying China and stuff like that.

0:07:10 Thomas: You get a tip. Yeah.

0:07:17 Clip: Underneath this ballroom will be infrastructure that is national security centric. The ballroom itself will avoid the dilemma of having to leave the White House grounds with future presidents and this president's to go downtown in a place that's less secure. President Trump said to me this morning, excuse me, yesterday, we need the ballroom, not just for me but for future presidents he literally could have left his bedroom walked out the back of the white house and been at the ballroom that's what needs to happen when you have a thousand or two thousand people gathered in today's environment and the sooner we get the ballroom built the more hardened it is the better for the country so

0:07:28 Thomas: Ever. Yeah, yeah,

0:07:44 Lydia: Unbelievable

0:07:45 Thomas: Sure. He's the most selfless man, famously. Okay. No.

0:08:07 Clip: I hope and pray that most Most people in the Senate, after Saturday night, will support this bill.

0:08:08 Thomas: I'd argue the opposite. Oh my God. If this bullshit works, I swear to God, I'm quitting the country. I can't.

0:08:16 Matt: A couple things yeah well it's actually getting to be pretty funny because it might actually really impede other republican plans because they're trying to jam it into the reconciliation bill and they had promised the reconciliation bill was only going to be homeland security stuff so they could solve this isis problem and um yeah so if they start jamming other stuff in it's really going to complicate everything and potentially it could tank the whole thing trump wants it by june 1st we will see we will We'll see. But yeah, they

0:08:43 Lydia: But isn't this crazy because like like I mean the the whole issue yeah I know it's crazy on so many fronts but but the whole thing was like we're building the ballroom and it's privately funded like the funding is accounted for the issue is that the the judge says no right like the issue is like we're in a legal battle it's not about funding oh

0:08:59 Thomas: Well, if they, but if they passed a bill, then that would bypass that. Right, Matt? Is that?

0:09:04 Lydia: I see gotcha

0:09:04 Matt: Could do it, right?

0:09:05 Thomas: Yeah.

0:09:05 Matt: Because the real question, as we'll see in these filings, is congressional authorization. But he's just throwing in $400 million, just, I guess, cherry on the sundae, because why not?

0:09:12 Lydia: You don't need that right like you could just just have language

0:09:13 Matt: Well, according to Trump, you don't. Yeah, according TO Trump, it's going to be funded. And you'll see, in these fileings, he's promising. I mean, they should have coordinated their messages a little better here, between the DOJ and Lindsey Graham. But yeah. So that's the Republican position, as of now, is we have to have this ballroom for national security.

0:09:28 Lydia: With military stuff underneath it you know

0:09:28 Thomas: We can't use that money to save countless lives in Africa or any other place where we cut off, you know, AIDS, Medicaid, all that stuff we did and killed thousands, hundreds of thousands. I don't even know. So many people, children, but we need to get this man that everyone hates his ballroom so that he can hide in there. Is it, when would it even be done? Like, would it Even, yeah, I

0:09:50 Matt: I don't know. It's huge. I'm sure they could probably push it through within a couple of years here, but it's, and of course there's a bunker underneath, which we don't know exactly what is going to be in there, but they're expanding it a lot. And then they're claiming that they have to have something on top to protect the bunker and that it's going to have other security features. We'll see some of this in the filings, but that is what's going on. But I did want to put a, pull up a picture, just to remind everybody of the size of this thing, because it is obnoxious.

0:09:54 Thomas: Guess. Yeah. Right. Right. Hmm. Look at the size of this thing.

0:10:14 Lydia: Doesn't this also have like such a feel of like like the russian czar and like you know sort of this split between classes and like like

0:10:21 Thomas: Like his tomb is going to be in there and like we'll bury him with his riches, his golden toilets.

0:10:23 Matt: It's yeah it's like versailles like yeah like yeah

0:10:27 Lydia: Exactly like like it really just has this classist thing that I think is I don't know I people are going to storm the castle kind of thing you know god

0:10:31 Matt: The presidential palace yeah no totally and so the east wing of course was removed on the right and that was a much more modest size that was closer it's actually a little bit smaller than the west wing on the other side and that is just a gigantic gigantic thing that's like the size of his house and it's just a huge ballroom. I just really wanted to emphasize, again, the size of this thing. And I mean, the fact is, of course, as we know, just before Halloween, they tore it down.

0:10:45 Lydia: That's so gross I'm sorry it's so ugly yeah

0:11:00 Matt: So they have to build something there. Tore it down without asking, which is going to be a problem. But yeah, so Congress, as We Talk to Bill.

0:11:06 Thomas: Look, I'm not a buildingsman, but like, couldn't you do something about these arms that look like you've catered something in your wedding? You know, these look like the tents that you have catering in for a wedding. I mean, you're the White House. You're fancy. Couldn't this just be like maybe a little underground passage and then back up? Like, it just looks stupid. I don't know.

0:11:25 Matt: It's huge.

0:11:26 Thomas: I don' t know anything.

0:11:26 Lydia: It looks really really bad cannons

0:11:27 Matt: It's huge,

0:11:28 Thomas: Somebody could take five minutes and make, if they had an actual, like, education and training. I know Trump hates experts, but maybe it's because, you know, a kid designed this on a piece of paper. The way Graham was talking about in the beginning is like, it's going to be, it' s going to have all kinds of, it'' s going have guns, it'S going to have turrets, it '' s going to have monster trucks, and a skateboard area where you can do tricks, a half pipe, you Yeah. Pizza every day and a soda machine.

0:11:47 Lydia: And pizza every day yeah

0:11:52 Matt: Ponies for everybody. Buddy yeah yeah

0:11:56 Thomas: It's like really what it felt like. Oh, these people are children.

0:11:59 Lydia: There's there's a way to like like design something that actually looks good and it feels like they just picked the most disgusting, ostentatious, bigger is better sort of idea. It's so bad.

0:12:09 Matt: All right it's very trumpy all right so we should talk about the context a little bit before we get to the main event uh case has been in front of judge richard j leon uh but let's let's go back and take a look at some of the initial filings uh just because I've got some some good stuff in here I'm I don't I don' t want to go through It's actually pretty interesting, but it's not we're here to talk about but this is from the Second Amendment complaint the one that went forward with the the trust and know establishing its standing essentially as An organization that is concerned about historic buildings in DC the main sort of person in This suit is a historian we'll talk about But they do a really good job on page 14 of summarizing the Trump Administration's position on how they get to do this because remember it's very clear from the law couldn't be more clear that Congress has to authorize major changes to the White House.

0:12:56 Lydia: Ballroom project must be expressly authorized by Congress. As the defendants acknowledge, no building or structure in quotes may, quote, be erected on any reservation, park, or public grounds of the federal government in the District of Columbia without express authority of Congress. The defendants admit the ballroom is a, quote structure, and that President's Park is a federal park in the District of Columbia. Okay, yeah, boom and boom.

0:13:17 Thomas: Closed. This could be a one paragraph thing. Thing.

0:13:20 Lydia: That leaves only express authorization from Congress. Rather than admit that none exists, the defendants invent a Rube Goldberg machine. Their theory, or so it goes, is that, one, by enacting 3 U .S .C. subsection 105D, which only authorizes appropriations for, quote, the care, maintenance, repair, alteration, refurnishing, improvement, air conditioning, heating, and lighting, including electric power and fixtures, of the executive residence at the White House.

0:13:44 Matt: One sec, let's stop right there for just, I want to really emphasize this, we talked about it on Friday, but that is the only thing the president gets to do, is like the HVAC system, right? And heating and lighting updates, you know, renovations. And the presidents have done in turn.

0:13:55 Thomas: It's going to be a really big HVAC system. It is huge. They should have just done that.

0:14:00 Lydia: And The biggest.

0:14:01 Thomas: Made it like the outside looks like an HVac thing. You know when a company does that? Their headquarters is like a big, I don't know. Yeah, exactly.

0:13:58 Matt: That's right. So I

0:14:01 Lydia: The best. Yeah. Yeah. In the shape of whatever they sell. Yeah. Yeah.

0:14:13 Thomas: How has

0:14:13 Matt: Just really appreciated this paragraph because they're just going to take you through one, two, three, four, like what they're actually arguing, like breaking down the argument. But starting with the premise that 105D is the only thing you could possibly use because Congress says you can't build any structures in the park. And I just want to point out too, they pointed this out, and I think in the same filing, the Trump administration, when they wanted to build a tennis court in 2017 that had a bathroom attached to it, went to Congress. I mean, that's just perspective. Yeah. One tennis court, one bathroom.

0:14:38 Thomas: He not built a golf course on that fucking place yeah I that's when you said bunker I actually was thinking oh like a sand trap like it's

0:14:41 Lydia: Truly. Oh, yeah.

0:14:45 Matt: . All right. Let's see. Number two was,

0:14:48 Lydia: And two, by appropriating $2 .475 million under that statute for the president to spend consistent with 105D and the even narrower, in italics, appropriation language, parenthetical for required maintenance, resolution of safety and health issues, and continued preventative maintenance. Congress was implicitly three, number three, authorizing both the demolition of the East Wing and construction of a 90 ,000 square foot ballroom using four, 400 million or more in private funds accepted through NPS's separate statutory authority to receive donations,

0:15:14 Thomas: Maintenance of a kind you know when you're trying to do a home project yourself and you just wreck the entire fucking house and level it you're doing maintenance like you're in charge of the maintenance not

0:15:27 Lydia: Which

0:15:30 Matt: Yeah, you've maintained something or not.

0:15:32 Lydia: Were to be five funneled to EXR from NPS under the Economy Act. Weird

0:15:39 Thomas: What's the EXR and NPS Yes. Oh, national parks. OK.

0:15:40 Matt: So that's the executive residence. One of the big things they were doing was saying, you can't sue us. You can't stop us from doing anything because we're not an agency. We're just like this part of the White House. It was being being very sneaky about this. But as they're pointing out here, they're moving money around and trying to make it look like there's something they can't touch. Obviously, the judge found this is an executive action. The Administrative Procedures Act applies. You can't pretend that you can't stop them.

0:16:05 Lydia: Then six deposited in the same bank account as the 2 .475 million dollars appropriated under 105d so those funds could seven be used in a way that neither 105d nor congress has ever contemplated even even setting aside that this convoluted process is illegal one obvious and essential thing is missing express authority of congress for ballroom construction yeah

0:16:27 Matt: There you go. That's it. That'S all we need here. But I just wanted to point out, that's a great summary. Great work.

0:16:30 Thomas: Case closed.

0:16:32 Matt: Yeah. I just love using bullet points to break things down. I do that a lot with the 1, 2, 3, 4 thing. It's very effective. All right. So let's it

0:16:32 Lydia: Especially

0:16:40 Thomas: Yeah, well, when they give you a case this fucking easy, Matt, we could do this.

0:16:41 Lydia: Like Like, right. Right.

0:16:43 Matt: Totally uh but it takes a certain art to really break it down that way uh let's go on to the next thing I just wanted to make sure that that was very clear to everybody that this is illegal congress has to authorize it and they're trying to squeeze it through in this stupid statue that has nothing to do with actually building an entirely new thing and previous presidents

0:16:48 Thomas: That's incredible. All right.

0:16:59 Lydia: And then doing a sneaky thing with money to pretend like it's not actually happening.

0:17:03 Thomas: I got a question.

0:17:03 Matt: To move things around yeah well

0:17:04 Thomas: Can the fact that they're asking Congress now be used as further proof? They're like, Hey, they recognize that they need Congress or they, I guess they don't even need to get that far.

0:17:10 Lydia: That they need it. Yeah,

0:17:12 Matt: Now lindsey graham is just out of the goodness of his heart he's stepping forward and he's like how about we just do this for you and and give you money too.

0:17:17 Thomas: Yeah, I would think they'd be like, well, that implies that they need to authorize it, but maybe that's why the money, because it's like, they're just giving the money. Okay.

0:17:24 Lydia: That could be. All

0:17:26 Matt: Is Judge Richard Leon. Now you might remember him from such opinions as the WilmerHale opinion. And at the very beginning of this administration, long ago, 14 months ago, we looked at the Trump administration's attempt to basically shut down or to control Wilmer Hale. You might remember it when Trump was kind of going after all the law firms.

0:17:34 Thomas: Man.

0:17:43 Matt: And he wrote an especially memorable opinion that had like 30 exclamation points in the whole thing. And I'm happy to tell you there's like 20 exclamation points in this one. You can already see some of them.

0:17:52 Lydia: I love that.

0:17:53 Thomas: Normal judge's lifetime amount is like seven.

0:17:55 Lydia: Oh my god. They are not Lydia writing emails to other people and overusing Using exclamation marks. Yeah, that's something I'm working on.

0:18:04 Matt: Years old. Yeah right,

0:18:05 Thomas: The judges aren't sitting around being like, ah, do I seem mean here?

0:18:08 Lydia: Yeah.

0:18:09 Thomas: Oh, I got to do like, oh, yeah.

0:18:10 Lydia: I'm waiting for emojis to start making their way.

0:18:12 Thomas: Shit. Is this too many exclamation points? Now I seem insane.

0:18:15 Lydia: I already used one here, so this has to be a period and then I can use it later.

0:18:16 Thomas: I picture it. Yeah. You can't use in a row. You got to alternate sentences. A judge is in his robes. Like, oh God, I'm going to come across like a total asshole.

0:18:23 Matt: And just for everybody, I want everybody to picture a small man with a bow tie and round glasses who's 76 years old appointed by George W. Bush writing this.

0:18:26 Lydia: Is that what he looks like? He

0:18:32 Matt: That's what he looks like.

0:18:33 Lydia: Wears bow ties.

0:18:34 Matt: Our defenders of freedom.

0:18:34 Lydia: That is so sweet. Sweet.

0:18:35 Matt: That's what they look like. George W. Bush appointees.

0:18:37 Thomas: Lydia wants to adopt him. Apparently apparently that's

0:18:38 Lydia: It's sweet. Round glasses and a little bow tie. I love it. Can be my grandpa.

0:18:43 Matt: Let's get a little taste here.

0:18:43 Thomas: Who should be in charge of this like if someone's like just who should be in change of like if you build something on the white house grounds a little guy with a bow tie and some glad like obviously number one they

0:18:55 Lydia: Okay. I'm excited. The president of the United States is the steward of the White House for future generations of first families. He is not, however, the owner! Exclamation point.

0:19:04 Thomas: Don't oh wow that's a wow blew

0:19:05 Lydia: Second sentence.

0:19:07 Thomas: Your load early on that one because

0:19:09 Lydia: President Trump claims that Congress has given him authority in existing statutes to construct his East Wing ballroom project and to do it with private funds. The plaintiff, the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States, claims the president has no such authority under existing statutes and that a preliminary injunction is necessary to avoid irreparable harm. I have concluded that the National Trust is likely to succeed on the merits because no statute comes close to giving the president the authority he claims to have. As such, I must therefore grant the National Truss motion for a preliminary injunction and the ballroom construction project must stop until Congress authorizes its completion.

0:19:31 Thomas: Duh yeah is

0:19:45 Matt: Beautiful. And so he summarizes basically the history. He goes through exactly why he's doing this, gives you the legal standard. But he talks about how all of these examples that they're giving, that the defendants are giving, when presidents have changed things in the White House, have been interior, they've been minor, and they've otherwise just gotten Congress's permission, even for pretty small stuff.

0:20:01 Thomas: He trying to do the ship of theseus where Where they're like, well, if you could a president change out this one room here. OK, maybe could they change out? What if there's a hole in the wall?

0:20:11 Lydia: The stair banister?

0:20:13 Thomas: Could they replace the. Yeah. And then if you do all of it, you're like.

0:20:16 Lydia: Over time.

0:20:17 Thomas: But yeah, then you build a separate White House next to it. Which one's the real White House with all the like extra parts that you took?

0:20:22 Matt: Can you even call it the White House anymore? Yeah.

0:20:25 Thomas: Exactly. Exactly. That would honestly, if they tried that as the argument, I'd respect it a little more. I'd be like, okay, that's a better argument, right, Matt? Like, if I were to try to draw this out and be like we could theoretically replace this, we could theoretical replace that, but we could do both. If you add all that together, that means we could theoretically make a whole ballroom.

0:20:27 Lydia: That's deep.

0:20:48 Thomas: Better argument than what they're doing.

0:20:48 Matt: That's, that's pretty creative. Yeah, there's there's no good argument here. So go with that.

0:20:53 Lydia: Does this leave us? Unfortunately for defendants, unless and until Congress blesses this project through statutory authorization, construction has to stop. Exclamation point. It's like they're so used to judges not being respected in their order that they have to get absolutely explicit with what they're saying. And your direction, like these are children that you're talking to.

0:21:03 Matt: Exclamation point. Yeah

0:21:07 Thomas: This is weird. I may not be the best take, but I'm not actually a fan of this exclamation point usage. I thought it was going to be better. This is Weird. I don't like the first one was like, nor is he the owner. Oh, Matt, your light stuff went weird.

0:21:27 Matt: Don't worry about it I'll come back I'm

0:21:29 Thomas: I'll just not worry about it. The first one, I'm like, I don' t know. The first was like nor is. He, however, the owner or something, whatever it was that works better without an exclamation point, because it was sort of like a sardonic kind of comment. I gotta say your honor, your

0:21:31 Matt: Just waving yeah

0:21:41 Lydia: This is like a state of the world sort of exclamation point, which is frustrating.

0:21:43 Thomas: Honor. This is not a good use. I would have been better if you waited until the end and been like you idiots. And then just like, man, just like a bunch of them after that, you know, use them all in one thing.

0:21:54 Lydia: Well, and then like when it'd be the exclamation point and sometimes there's a one. Yeah, exactly. Yeah., I like it.

0:21:58 Thomas: The one. That would be okay. Sorry. Go on.

0:22:00 Matt: You know at 76 though I'll give him a pass whatever all the exclamation points you want

0:22:03 Thomas: It does feel old timey. Yeah?

0:22:05 Lydia: He has the bow tie. But here's the good news. It is not too late for Congress to authorize the continued construction of the ballroom project. The president may at any time go to Congress to obtain express authority to construct a ballroom and to do so with private funds. Indeed, Congress may even choose to appropriate funds for the ballrooms or at least decide that some other funding scheme is acceptable. Either way, Congress will thereby retain its authority over the nation's property and its oversight over the government's spending. The National Trust's interest in a constitutional and lawful process will be vindicated, and the American people will benefit from the branches of government exercising their constitutionally prescribed roles. Not a bad outcome, that. This is really stupid.

0:22:42 Thomas: He lost me. I fucking hate that.

0:22:44 Matt: I just think that's funny not a bad outcome comma that that's

0:22:45 Thomas: I hate that I never like that kind of sentence I don't know why, it's just me That's my personal preference But alright, you know I agree with it

0:22:55 Matt: The order that's what happened

0:22:50 Lydia: That. I don't really like that either. What can you do? What can he do?

0:22:57 Matt: So there was a little more back and forth after this uh we talked about it on friday but basically went up the circuit they had to clarify like how much they could actually stop but effectively right now there is some construction going on that's associated with the national security part of it but it's effectively stopped so this brings us to saturday when the events that we have just discussed happened and todd blanch went ahead and posted this letter that we're going to take a look at this is now the acting attorney general todd blanch very familiar to listeners of this program um and this letter is really something we should take a break you're gonna want to sit down for this letter

0:23:26 Thomas: Shall we take a break Before we get to it Oh, so that's the teaser Yeah, this Amazingness is brought to you by The following amazing patrons Nick Fish, thank you for the good thoughts The jury found the insurance company acted in bad faith and awarded my client $250 ,000.

0:23:47 Lydia: Nicely done.

0:23:48 Thomas: And it says again, comma, and then it's done. So I guess it can fit more. Now I just have to know.

0:23:47 Matt: Congrats very

0:23:54 Lydia: Shoot us a message. Send us an email let us know more details yeah and

0:23:56 Thomas: Congrats. That was the person for people who don't remember was the patron name that was like, I'm taking on an insurance company or whatever. So that's awesome. Wow. A Negative Phenomenon. 404 error username not found. You got to fight for your right to ex parte. Jay Sink, David Souther, vehicular man's laughter is an equal opportunity provider of avian transportation to the public community resources. Committed a major faux pas by talking about pigeons rather than seagulls. It was, yeah.

0:24:04 Lydia: They won nice job

0:24:26 Thomas: So they're in damage control mode. We'll see. We'll See How It Goes, vehacular

0:24:25 Lydia: Wow yeah they are looks like he's a city council member right so he is it's you yeah how

0:24:32 Thomas: Man's Laughter. Yeah. Yeah. It's his first scandal. It's everywhere. Uh chief justice matt 2029 uh john roberts choking on four you might love this one uh john robert's choking on 4 .3 inches of coal that was a good summary of what happened today's episode is brought to you by the letter unreadable cavalry Thomas Freeman Cajunkilla Fraud Fishy Hates Everything Chris Simpson gavelhead chucking away Anonymous Aquila Mark Schultz, and E.T., Thank you so much, top patrons. We'll take a break, and then we're going to get to this amazing filing. Right, as teased, Matt, here is a letter from gavel

0:24:42 Lydia: Do you feel about that matt oh

0:24:42 Matt: Thank you I decline thank you very specific um Department

0:25:20 Thomas: Gavel character Todd Blanche. Or wait.

0:25:23 Matt: Of Justice.

0:25:24 Thomas: Oh, sorry.

0:25:24 Lydia: It's from his team. From his team,

0:25:26 Thomas: Oh, from his team.

0:25:26 Matt: It's from... But he posted it. And he posted with an ex post saying, it's time to build the ballroom. This was sent on April 26th, which was the day after.

0:25:29 Thomas: Gotcha.

0:25:34 Lydia: Priorities.

0:25:36 Matt: So a Sunday. And it's writing to Greg Craig, who is former White House Chief of Staff, has been around some white houses in his life knows from a white house uh yeah I know that's one of my favorite lawyer names all

0:25:46 Thomas: Craig Craig.

0:25:45 Lydia: Great name. All right. Dear Mr. Craig, last night there was another attempt on President Trump's life. This time, the shooter targeted President Trump at the Washington Hilton, the only ballroom in Washington, D.C. suitable to host large gatherings for the president, where another shooter targeted president Reagan 45 years ago.

0:26:06 Thomas: If he had a ballroom, he might still be alive today.

0:26:11 Lydia: As history proves, that venue is demonstrably unsafe for the President of the United States because its size presents extraordinary security challenges for the Secret Service.

0:26:20 Thomas: Extraordinary. That's why there's two things in 45 years.

0:26:24 Lydia: Service.

0:26:25 Thomas: I mean, like, come on. Okay.

0:26:27 Lydia: Also, like if you like capitalism so much, if that's the only suitable ballroom in all of Washington, D.C., why don't you engage, you know, companies to try and like create a ballroom that can host events that are that size?

0:26:33 Thomas: Why don't you start a small business? Yeah. Yeah.

0:26:35 Matt: The invisible hand will provide build a ballroom

0:26:40 Lydia: Yeah. Yesterday's assassination attempt on President Trump proves yet again that the White House ballroom is essential for the safety and security of the president, his family, his cabinet and his staff. When the Whitehouse ballroom is complete, President Trump and his successors will no longer need to venture beyond the safety of the White House perimeter to attend large gatherings at the Washington Hilton Ballroom. The White House Ballroom will ensure the safety and security of the president for decades to come and prevent future assassination attempts on the president at the Washington Hinton once every 45 years.

0:27:11 Thomas: Is so stupid.

0:27:11 Lydia: Put simply, your lawsuit puts the lives of the President, his family, and his staff at grave risk. I hope yesterday's narrow miss will help you finally realize the folly of a lawsuit that literally serves no purpose except to stop President Trump, no matter the cost.

0:27:15 Thomas: Your lawsuit serves

0:27:27 Matt: No other purpose huh yeah there's

0:27:28 Thomas: Quite a bit of purpose. Yeah.

0:27:30 Lydia: Enough is enough. Your client should voluntarily dismiss this frivolous lawsuit today in light of last night's assassination attempt on President Trump. If your client does not dismiss the lawsuit by 9 a .m. on Monday, the government will move to dissolve the injunction and dismiss the case in lightof last nightÕs extraordinary events. We will state your position as opposed if we do do not hear back from you by 9 a .m. on Monday. I'm available today if you would like to discuss ending this unnecessary and dangerous litigation.

0:27:56 Thomas: Hey, Matt, I'm no lawyer. Is the definition of a frivolous lawsuit one that the judge has already been like, like yeah you win already you're going to win I wish I could make you win faster

0:28:06 Matt: No statutory authority whatsoever for this completely frivolous yeah

0:28:08 Lydia: And here's the step. Here's the step to take care of it. It's like so clear and so precise and very simple. Go lobby Congress.

0:28:16 Matt: Just go do this yeah

0:28:18 Lydia: Congress, go talk to them.

0:28:17 Thomas: How about how about yeah forward this letter to fucking congress and be like okay congress needs to do this is so stupid I if it were judge thomas smith in this in this I want to be like well I'm not gonna grant this because it turns out the president has a better remedy. He can just stop being a pedophile and a war criminal.

0:28:36 Lydia: There you go.

0:28:37 Thomas: And I guess people will stop trying to assassinate him. It's in this manifesto. Yeah. Just stop doing that. That's easier.

0:28:40 Lydia: If you stop sucking, stopping evil,

0:28:44 Thomas: So you have a remedy available to you. Yeah.

0:28:44 Lydia: And then people won't kill you.

0:28:48 Thomas: What do you think, Matt? Would that be good legal reasoning?

0:28:50 Matt: Same thing you know the same thing happened to Nero, that Nero had to build like a gigantic palace in the middle of Rome because everybody was constantly trying to kill him for some reason, just because he was such a bad emperor. Yeah.

0:29:00 Lydia: Man.

0:29:01 Thomas: Not uh greg craig responded maybe we'll read a little bit of this it's

0:29:06 Matt: So Yeah, first few paragraphs at least.

0:29:09 Lydia: Write to acknowledge receipt of your letter requesting that the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States dismiss the above captioned lawsuit. That lawsuit seeks to require the president to secure authorization from Congress as mandated by the Constitution and federal law before undertaking further construction on the proposed ballroom. The National Trust respectfully declines the invitation to dismiss. At the outset, I want to emphasize that the National Trust is grateful that the president and all guests were unharmed on Saturday evening and that the Secret Service special agent wounded in the line of duty is expected to recover fully. Indeed, the National Trust has made clear at every stage of this litigation that the personal safety of the president is of critical importance. The National Trust filings have repeatedly insisted that any injunction on ballroom construction nonetheless permit work to continue on the below ground bunker construction you have represented to the court is necessary to

0:29:31 Thomas: Rsvp -ing no no yeah which

0:30:03 Lydia: Preserve national security. The National Truss consistency on this point is unambiguous and unquestionable. What Saturday's awful event does not change is that the Constitution and multiple federal statutes require Congress to authorize construction of a ballroom on White House grounds, and that Congress has not done so. Equally clear is that nothing in this lawsuit puts the personal safety of the president and his family or his staff in any jeopardy, obviously. Indeed, after reviewing multiple secret security submissions by your office, the court concluded that the absence of a White House ballroom is not a matter of national security, permitting those federal laws to be ignored. Board. Finally, as you know, there has not actually been any pause and work on the ballroom to date, which continues apace.

0:30:03 Thomas: Is also stupid but yeah yeah really what

0:30:42 Lydia: Oh, wow. In violation.

0:30:44 Matt: Well, just enough.

0:30:43 Thomas: Just because they're doing the underground thing

0:30:46 Matt: Yeah. So just enough for the top part to support the security parts, I think was the order from the DC circuit. They sent it back to Remand to clarify and he clarified that.

0:30:55 Lydia: Okay. And the D .C. Circuit Court of Appeals will soon address the very issues of national security and presidential safety that your letter raises. Your assertion that this lawsuit puts the president's life at, quote, grave risk is incorrect and irresponsible. Simply put, this case does not jeopardize the president and safety in any way, and nothing prevents you from asking Congress at any time for the necessary authorization required by the Constitution and federal law.

0:31:14 Thomas: That you can troll it's not even yeah

0:31:18 Lydia: Yeah, exactly. It's the easiest thing to just like get Lindsey Graham on the phone, apparently, and he'll take care of it. The National Trust has consistently maintained that this lawsuit is not about whether there should be a ballroom, but whether the president must follow the law. We therefore cannot assent to your motion and request that you inform the court that we will oppose it. Respectfully, greg craig is

0:31:17 Matt: Good work, Greg Craig.

0:31:37 Thomas: Ah love a good greg craig letter

0:31:40 Lydia: His middle name brig greg brig craig

0:31:42 Thomas: Greg greg the soccer players like greg the leg Craig or something the kicker the

0:31:48 Matt: Yeah,. Or he's related to the Confederate general, so it's Gregory Bragg Craig. All right, so yes, we've got now the main event. Now, I will note, looking at the docket, as anyone can, nothing happened on Monday. So that was an idle threat. Yep, nothing happening at all.

0:31:52 Thomas: Main event yeah they didn't oh wait what then

0:32:06 Lydia: So they didn't do anything by no they didn'T you know

0:32:11 Thomas: What is this though sorry I thought this oh so they waited a day okay

0:32:12 Matt: This is from last night. It's Tuesday. Yeah, but what they filed, I need to explain the procedural thing, but let's pull it up because this is truly astonishing. Astonishing. Even by the current DOJ standards, if you've heard about how ridiculous this is, you do have to see it to believe it. Just the title. Just begin with the title if you want to just read it out.

0:32:17 Lydia: Interesting uh

0:32:23 Thomas: Translate

0:32:33 Lydia: Defendants rule 62 .1 motion for an indicative ruling dissolving the court's injunction yeah

0:32:40 Matt: An indicative ruling. Let's break that down for just a moment. So this has already been appealed. Remember, there was an injunction that has been clarified, and now they have appealed it back up to the DC Circuit. It is on appeal to the D .C. Circuit, which means typically the DEC Circuit has to modify it, has to do something. If you want it changed, If you don't want it to be the way it is, you have to challenge it with the D .C. Circuit.

0:32:41 Thomas: That for us yeah so they're already doing that

0:33:00 Matt: They're already doing that. And so coming back to the district court is the only option. And again, my guess is here that their client was screaming at them, just like absolutely berating them about like you have to do something. You have to tell them my side of things, right, about how I'm going to get killed. And so the best they can do is this Rule 62 .1, which is a very unusual situation. But basically, you can go back to The Lower Court and file something. Thing. And the rule actually says the lower court has the option to ignore the motion, which is kind of funny, or to defer it or to issue an indicative ruling, basically saying, if you did send this back to me, here's what I'd do. And that's what they're asking for is like a meaningless statement essentially from the judge saying that he would end this.

0:33:38 Thomas: It's like a we didn't quite hear you right the first time it's just like a what and then he's like oh still the same oh

0:33:42 Matt: It's meaningless. And they attached a pretty funny order, which I probably will have to pull up in a a minute. But yeah, the proposed order is pretty funny.

0:33:49 Thomas: Like a proposed order oh I love that oh I Love

0:33:51 Matt: But let's read this amazing document because this is not usually, for those who don't usually read Department of Justice filings, this is Not Usually What They Sound Like. If you've read the President's Truth Social work over the years, this is what that sounds like. So the author is, to me, pretty clear. But

0:33:52 Thomas: That okay in

0:34:08 Lydia: The National Trust for Historic Preservation, in quotes, is a beautiful name, but even their name is fake in all capital letters, because when they add the words, quote, in the United States to the National Trust for Historic Preservation and makes it sound like a governmental agency, which it is not.

0:34:22 Thomas: The united states the

0:34:24 Matt: Great start, guys. Great start. You're pretending to be...

0:34:26 Thomas: National I don't even understand what the fuck that's the national trust for historic preservation in the United States is that what what it's called?

0:34:34 Matt: It is a congressionally chartered non -profit, and it has been around for a long time, and it looks out for the interests of, just as it would suggest, especially in D .C., for historic buildings and parks. Pretty straightforward. I don't know why they're starting. This is not a great point to start on. This ist stream of consciousness.

0:34:48 Thomas: Jesus, yeah. This is already so bad.

0:34:51 Matt: This is a ramble.

0:34:52 Thomas: This is a tweet.

0:34:53 Lydia: In fact, the United States refused to continue funding it in 2005 because they strongly disagreed with their mission and and objectives. They are very bad for our country. They stop many projects that are worthy and hurt many others. Oh my god, this is terrible.

0:35:08 Thomas: This is a kid's fifth grade homework assignment.

0:35:09 Matt: It's embarrassing. Wait till you see who signed this. I mean, this is really something.

0:35:15 Thomas: Signed the dumbest fucking moron ever to exist.

0:35:17 Lydia: In this case, they are trying to stop one that is vital to our national security and the safety of all presidents of the United States, both current and future, their families, staff, and cabinet members.

0:35:28 Thomas: Yeah, it's the unborn presidents whose rights we're fighting for.

0:35:31 Lydia: They were asked by the United State's military not to bring the suit because of the top secret nature of the important facility being built. They were shown detailed plans and specifications of this kitted, unified, and cohesive structure by top officers and leaders

0:35:43 Thomas: They're knitting it? That can't be right. Yeah it's

0:35:44 Matt: This doesn't sound very safe. You're making it out of yarn?

0:35:47 Thomas: Not even gonna, how are they gonna keep it standing up? It's not not even gonna work commonly

0:35:53 Lydia: In both the military and Secret Service. But this did not deter them because they suffer from Trump derangement syndrome, commonly referred to as TDS, as noted by Democrat Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and are represented by the lawyer for Barack Hussein Obama, Gregory Craig.

0:36:02 Thomas: Referred to oh wow here we go yeah

0:36:14 Matt: I will note Fetterman is the only person, the only Democrat so far to say that he would vote for the ballroom. Of course, of course he is.

0:36:17 Thomas: He's such an idiot he's such a fucking moron

0:36:20 Lydia: Just and like using the TDS as part of his like like statement for that, too, is so obnoxious.

0:36:25 Thomas: Unbelievable what it what a I mean it's like it's like he died I think I mean look he he had a brain event that killed him and now someone else is there and that person doesn't belong there yeah

0:36:30 Lydia: Man of the people. Yeah.

0:36:37 Matt: And we're only on the first page of this founding, so just throw in some Islamophobia too and do the Barack Hussein, Obama thing, just get Hussein.

0:36:44 Thomas: How so what why is gregory craig the lawyer for Barack Hussein Obama? Did he used to do something?

0:36:48 Matt: He was counsel, yeah, he was White House counsel, I think, and Chief of Staff, maybe both, but he was definitely in the White House for Obama. Obama. He knows his way around.

0:36:53 Lydia: But also like calling him the lawyer for Obama makes it sound like he's currently representing him and Obama's behind this entire lawsuit. Yeah. Great. The lower section of the building does not work without the upper section.

0:36:59 Thomas: Yeah, is Obama the one? It won't even make sense.

0:37:12 Lydia: That really caught me off guard.

0:37:13 Matt: That bunker really tied the room together.

0:37:15 Thomas: Hold on. There's more, though. Hold on, there's, we got to read this, the next, read the next best of that sentence.

0:37:22 Lydia: And likewise, the upper section of the building does not work without the lower.

0:37:28 Matt: I concede that point. I take your point on that. If there was a giant pit, you couldn't build on top of it. That's true. You can't put a ballroom on it without the lower.

0:37:34 Lydia: Well, it is all one highly integrated unit.

0:37:39 Matt: Exclamation point.

0:37:42 Lydia: Oh, boy.

0:37:44 Thomas: It sounds so complex. There's a top part in a bottom part. You need both. Can't just have one. That's stupid.

0:37:53 Lydia: Here they're going to give some examples. As an example, one venting system, one electrical system, one plumbing system, One security system, One air conditioning and heating system, One elevator connector, and very importantly, One structural steel and enforced concrete system, and more.

0:38:09 Thomas: That is why they build skyscrapers all the floors at once. I think you can work your way up. I don't know. I am sure there is something to this, but who cares? Just fucking go to Congress.

0:38:13 Lydia: Just attack it from all sides. Even the bulletproof windows and glass and the heavy steel drone-proof roof protect what is below. With such a facility, it would have been impossible for an attack like that, which took place last Saturday evening in D .C., when an attempted assassin, armed with a shotgun, pistol, and knives, charged through a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton in an attempt to assassinate President Donald J. Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and members of the president's cabinet and senior staff during the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

0:38:48 Matt: Notice what's missing there from that summary? It doesn't say he shot anything. It says nothing about firing any shots. I think that's interesting.

0:38:54 Lydia: Yeah, yeah. Interesting.

0:38:55 Thomas: I feel like maybe the guy was shot by the other Secret Service, maybe.

0:38:59 Matt: It seems likely at this point. That's not what the indictment says, but we'll see.

0:39:03 Lydia: The secret service fortunately neutralized the assassin before he could reach the ballroom however saturday's narrow miss which marks ballroom

0:39:10 Thomas: Before he could reach the ballroom. So we don't need a different ballroom like you didn't even get to that part like yeah it's

0:39:18 Lydia: Actually was pretty secure it sounds like the hotel at large might not have been

0:39:21 Thomas: Funny that they use the word ballroom so he never got to that part so that's fine. I

0:39:26 Lydia: However satursday's narrow mess which marks the third assassination attempt on president trump since 2024 confirms what should have already been obvious. Presidents need a secure space for large events that currently does not exist in Washington, D .C., and this court's injunction stalling this project cannot defensively continue for the sake of the safety of President Trump, future presidents and their families, cabinets, and staff. Defendants thus request that this court issue an indicative ruling under Rule 62 .1 that it will dissolve its injunction.

0:39:54 Thomas: Think the judge should say alright you can build the left part of the building but not the right part just for fun. It's just a mess of them

0:40:02 Lydia: Three assassination attempts, including the attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, where an assassin's bullet hit the president's ear is enough. There is absolutely no argument that a woman walking her dog in the vicinity of the White House has standing to stop such a desperately needed structure for the people of the United States of America as it will provide presidents current and future a secure space to do their jobs. Yeah. What?

0:40:19 Thomas: What does

0:40:24 Matt: So context needed. Yes, there is context for this, but it's very stupid.

0:40:26 Lydia: Please. OK.

0:40:29 Matt: I mentioned before, I'm sorry I'm not remembering her last name right now, but Allison is the name of the person, the member of the trust. She's a very well -respected historian. She has written six books and she is an expert on historic preservation. She is not not just a woman walking her dog.

0:40:24 Thomas: That mean? Yeah yeah

0:40:45 Matt: But as part of the standing, because it was actually difficult to establish standing in this, but organizations can establish standing if they can show that their purpose is being harmed. And there's a whole test that the judge went through to meet this. But one of the things they're alleging was aesthetic injury. And I think we've all suffered aesthetic injury just by looking at this model. It wasn't nice to look at. And she's saying, as somebody who loves historic buildings and walks around this area all the time, we have to look At this monstrosity. I think that's fair. But you know, they're just there. They're, yeah,

0:40:44 Thomas: Yeah we're the fucking taxpayers dude like yeah

0:41:12 Lydia: It's our house. It's literally our house, So, yeah.

0:41:13 Matt: That's right. That's right, and if you care about historic buildings in D .C., it's got to be extra painful to walk by and see the swing demolished that way, but she's not just a woman walking her dog at the vicinity of the White House. That's so demeaning. She's a very well -respected person.

0:41:23 Thomas: Weird the

0:41:26 Lydia: Gross. The day after this assassination attempt, defendants asked the trust whether they oppose this motion and still seek to stop this project by continuing their dangerous lawsuit. The trust, in quotes, refused to heed their request and responded that it opposes this motion.

0:41:40 Matt: Really don't like characterizing lawsuits as dangerous. Don't like that at all, especially when they're not following the law.

0:41:42 Thomas: Call yeah also would he would they also need to build a ballroom in Pennsylvania and that would have stopped the thing where they we're gonna build a Ballroom everywhere he does a rally there has has to be a ballroom yeah

0:41:52 Lydia: For a safe rally space. Yeah, yeah,

0:41:57 Matt: Like the Popemobile, he just goes around in a ballroom. It's a gigantic ballroom on wheels.

0:41:59 Thomas: It's a yeah gigantic ballroom out of wheels it's just I think it should have like big like arms that like walk you know like a almost like a miyazaki type thing like a house moving castle or whatever yeah I actually support that yeah

0:42:05 Lydia: That's just a wiener mobile.

0:42:11 Matt: Like a crawler yeah yeah yeah see that oh

0:42:14 Lydia: Yeah okay I kind of like that actually yeah I would too that's that's our taxpayer money well spent

0:42:19 Thomas: Get Miyazaki on it.

0:42:21 Matt: We can skip this paragraph this is just the thing about the jurisdiction and about how they're they're acknowledging there's no jurisdiction but you know that they can do this through the rule yep okay number two uh

0:42:26 Lydia: Earlier

0:42:26 Thomas: Et cetera, et cetera. Where, how far down should we go?

0:42:29 Matt: No you can go number two

0:42:30 Thomas: Number two.

0:42:31 Lydia: This week an assassin traveled by train across the country with multiple firearms and knives planning to kill the president the first lady and senior ranking officials within the administration and they cite something uh oh a new york post article wow Wow. There you go. That's, you know, premier citation, folks.

0:42:48 Thomas: Oh, I get, did they, they, they got the manifesto, huh?

0:42:50 Matt: They might have had it first yeah

0:42:51 Thomas: Yeah. They might have that first.

0:42:52 Matt: Gotta

0:42:53 Lydia: The timing was not coincidental. As stated in his, quote, sprawling manifesto, the assassin identified the White House Correspondents Dinner as his, quote, first real opportunity to target the president. That is so because the assassin understood what defendants have been saying for months. The president lacks a secure space for large events.

0:43:08 Thomas: Doesn't have a ballroom.

0:43:11 Matt: Get him take him out before he has a ballroom very important you

0:43:12 Lydia: Well, well, the Washington Hilton is no exception. Indeed, the assassin himself seems to have bragged that he was able to check into the hotel as a guest and, quote, walk in with multiple weapons without anyone dealing with him as a, quote threat.

0:43:25 Thomas: Yeah, because that was a huge lapse in security because you're incompetent idiots. Idiots.

0:43:31 Matt: Could fund the social as a secret service a little better and they're having real problems right now yeah yeah

0:43:33 Thomas: Why not do that?

0:43:36 Lydia: Again, also, I feel like there's an argument here regarding gun control and like, you know, just that he had multiple weapons on him. There's probably a way that that could have been avoided, too.

0:43:42 Thomas: And there's also a certain part of it. That's like, I don't know. Also it worked. Okay. Like it, even with the incompetent security, he wasn't able to do anything. I mean, I guess, yeah.

0:43:51 Matt: Wasn't on the same floor

0:43:55 Thomas: Um, they had swept the ballroom for explosives. So it's like that wasn't going to happen. I, I, you know, it's okay. No, no one, unfortunately no one was really that seriously hurt. So in some ways you could be like, it worked fine. I also think they probably should tighten up security and, you know, maybe fund these federal parts of the government that do this kind of thing. But yeah, still it worked.

0:44:20 Lydia: Further, he believed that come Saturday, he would be able to exploit the venue's security defects and make his way up to the president willing to, quote, go through most everyone there to get to him. The assassin came horrifically close, as U.S. Secret Service Deputy Director Quinn's declaration explains. During the event, the assassin was able to run through a security checkpoint and open fire on a Secret Service agent before he was apprehended.

0:44:44 Thomas: What if the judge is like, all right, I will allow you $100 to put a little dog gate where he ran through.

0:44:52 Thomas: That's what that seems like it would fix the problem. I don't know, like some sort of just a little or just go to Lowe's and just you You can build a little fancy thing there next time. There you go. So this is always what they have to do. They always have to both be super powerful and helpless and victims.

0:45:16 Matt: That's right. That's fascism.

0:45:32 Lydia: House complex will allow for major improvements in safety and significantly increase the ability of the Secret Service to protect the president and guests from threats. OK, take that line and go lobby Congress. Go pitch it to them. And, you know, that that to me sounds like like what you would see in regular business, government business as like budget requests and things of that nature. Right. Like just why why does the judge have to opine on that? That's a request for Congress.

0:45:43 Thomas: Well, like, yeah. And like Greg the Leg Craig said, they're already building it. There's not, what are they going to build it faster? They're already apparently doing it. It hasn't been stopped. So there's nothing, none of this is anything. Well, who's had a chance to dispute that? Okay, sorry.

0:46:02 Lydia: As the undisputed evidence demonstrates the project is required for national security it will

0:46:13 Thomas: Sorry.

0:46:13 Lydia: Shield the now exposed east room of the executive mansion and provide best in class modern security to the president and his family

0:46:19 Matt: Now exposed. Hey, how did it get exposed?

0:46:21 Thomas: Yeah. That assassin, he took out that whole building first. Yeah,

0:46:25 Matt: The whole wing.

0:46:22 Lydia: You guys just demolished it this quote fixed structure constructed using quote threat resistant materials including missile Missile-resistant steel columns, military-grade venting, drone -proof ceilings, and bullet -ballistic and blast -proof glass

0:46:40 Thomas: That's for his flatulence, by the way. It's got, it's got military-grade venting for this fucking diaper, man. It is going to be, you know, you should almost grant it just for that. We are dealing with a smell and it is not fun. We need that venting. These are military grade age shits he's putting in his diaper like you have no idea so

0:46:52 Matt: Blast proof class. Yeah, I

0:46:58 Lydia: Will form a fortified structural buffer, protecting both the main White House and West Wing. Together, the ballroom and secure facilities throughout the project, bomb shelters, a state -of -the -art hospital and medical facilities, Okay. Top secret military installations, structures. Yeah, wait.

0:47:13 Thomas: The ballroom is going to get health care before most of america well

0:47:17 Lydia: Why? Why are they doing that there?

0:47:19 Thomas: When you dance too hard at the ball room you need you need fluids you know

0:47:23 Lydia: You've cut too much of a rug. Yeah? Yeah. No, seriously. Like, why is why is there a hospital? Like, uh, sure.

0:47:29 Matt: Guess that the bunker, the existing structure. So there is like a pretty significant structure under the White House where he can go to escape, you know, when I guess when he starts a war. But yeah, I guess it all needs to be updated. That is part of the thing.

0:47:40 Thomas: Well is that going to be in instead of going to uh what's the hospital yeah well to read are they going to do that like is that their plan that's interesting

0:47:42 Lydia: Walter Reed.

0:47:46 Matt: I mean, if he has to be in there for a little while I guess I don't know um or if there's injuries outside and they have to pull people in allegedly

0:47:52 Lydia: So it wouldn't be like for his regular like medical appointments or anything like that. Like they're not moving. It's not like a Walter Reed Jr. that they're creating in the White House.

0:47:58 Thomas: Well but but it's weird to call it a state -of -the -art hospital. I don't know. That's kind of, it

0:48:03 Lydia: Top secret military installations, structures and equipment, protective partitioning and other features are a single integrated complex unit that is vital for the national security of the United States.

0:48:13 Thomas: Sure isn't.

0:48:14 Lydia: This project will ensure that events like the horrific attack on Saturday night. What was horrific about it? But what? Nothing. Do not happen again.

0:48:22 Thomas: His 40 time, I guess. Darn it, you non -sports people. Anyway, that was funny. Everybody, I hear the laughter of the crowds.

0:48:27 Lydia: Sorry. What? I'm so sorry. Yeah. You have to share podcast space with so many non -sports people.

0:48:36 Thomas: It's It's just, the joke is like he didn't run fast enough. Like the combine, the NFL players, they run a 40 -yard dash and have the time. So that was what was horrific about it. It wasn't fast enough, yeah wait

0:48:43 Matt: Thank you for explaining that okay yeah

0:48:45 Lydia: Got it. Got it. The attack confirms that this court's injunction is intolerable and unsustainable as a matter of equity and law. In addition to the multiple classified declarations to to the contrary, the attack on Saturday night is proof positive that this wrongful injunction should be dissolved. In its most recent opinion, the court stated that there is no, quote,

0:49:06 Thomas: Wait wait what in addition to the multiple classified declarations to the contrary

0:49:12 Matt: This is a mistake they didn't mean to say that

0:49:14 Thomas: The attack on saturday night is proof positive that so they filed a bunch of classified ones that were like this thing's stupid don't listen to this guy okay so they messed that up yeah all right they fucked up wow I'm so surprised that there's like a wording mistake in this mat that. That's shocking.

0:49:19 Matt: Yeah I yeah right that's very funny now

0:49:25 Lydia: Good decision, judge. Yeah. In Its Most Recent Opinion, the Court Stated That There Is No, Quote, National Security Justification For Why A Secure Ballroom Must Be Constructed, Quote Immediately. Those Assertions Were Wrong Then, And They Are Indefensible Now. The fact that

0:49:46 Thomas: He says to the same person who said them and we'll just say them again.

0:49:50 Lydia: An assassin came mere seconds from shooting the president, along with his family, the bulk of his cabinet, his senior staff, and the Washington press corps, lays bare that D .C. does not have a secure space for large, high -profile events or one able to, quote, accommodate an event with the line of succession for the U .S. government.

0:50:08 Thomas: Yeah, he was mere. Good.

0:50:09 Lydia: Footnote.

0:50:11 Thomas: Oh, footnote. Oh yeah. He was mere seconds from shooting 480 people like at once. Oh John Fetterman.

0:50:08 Matt: Hold on folks

0:50:12 Lydia: Anything in the footnote, Matt?

0:50:16 Matt: No, I don't care about the footnote, actually, in this case. This is one time I don't care about the foot note. I was going to say we're about to go down the roller coaster because we're about to switch authors.

0:50:19 Thomas: Well I do. Oh wait, what?

0:50:26 Lydia: Oh, interesting.

0:50:27 Matt: You can tell. There's going to be a tone shift.

0:50:27 Lydia: Interesting.

0:50:29 Matt: See if you notice!

0:50:30 Lydia: OK. OK. To end this paragraph, what he did on Saturday night could not have taken place in this new and highly secure facility, exclamation point.

0:50:37 Matt: Exclamation point. Okay.

0:50:40 Thomas: Oh we're gonna get at some caps. I see caps already.

0:50:40 Matt: Getting weird? Yeah.

0:50:42 Lydia: All I see. After the attack, a bipartisan chorus of legislators, analysts and media pundits have vocally expressed support for completion of the ballroom project.

0:50:51 Thomas: Oh, well, if they could just express it in the form of a bill, then that means, yeah, don't

0:50:55 Lydia: Then case closed. Then you're all taken care of. This group includes Democrat Senator John Fetterman and Senator Rand Paul. All.

0:51:01 Thomas: Call them that.

0:51:03 Lydia: In addition, in the long and storied history of the White House dating back to 1791, Congress has never dictated or tampered with the zoning, permitting, or architectural aspects of any project, especially one being given, in all caps, free of charge as a gift to the country.

0:51:20 Matt: We are just putting truth social stuff, stuff, just copying and pasting it into DOJ filings now. That's a thing we're doing. I'm sure he insisted on that. I mean, it's too weird. Like, I just can't see them voluntarily writing this way. None of the people that signed this are that stupid.

0:51:34 Thomas: What a disgrace these fucking people are.

0:51:35 Matt: It's awful to see this in a filing. It's so embarrassing.

0:51:38 Lydia: Yeah, very childish and depressing. Without such a location, the president is thus put to the the choice of risking his safety by attending events in unsecure venues just secure it just secure it I mean it was secured

0:51:50 Thomas: Again, this would imply that the only place he can ever go is that ballroom. Like he's, so he's never leaving. He's never going anywhere else. Or is there such a thing as securing hearing wherever you go and just going places so

0:52:03 Lydia: Well he's able to secure all the golf courses he goes to

0:52:05 Thomas: There's no campaigning yeah there can't be any campaign I better not see any campaigning ever again stumping stump speeches anything I know he's not running necessarily but there should be no never to leave again the

0:52:09 Lydia: Can't go to mar -a -lago you're done with that I guess sir

0:52:17 Thomas: Minute yeah the minute that would be interesting is if the minute he goes anywhere else they file something like hey there wouldn't have been a ballroom there so your whole argument is fucking stupid yeah without your traveling but miyazaki ballroom uh

0:52:24 Lydia: You're not safe sir uh be it the tents on the white house lawn or places like the washington hilton which is now Now home to two attempted presidential assassinations or foregoing those events entirely to the detriment of his constitutional responsibility to, quote, speak to and on behalf of the American people. Forcing a president to make such a choice is intolerable, all the more so when one accounts for the supposed, quote harms on the other side of the ledger. Once more, the trust is suing on behalf of a single person, in italics, who walks her dog in the italics vicinity of the White House.

0:52:44 Thomas: -huh yeah well you're also suing for a single person

0:53:04 Lydia: In italics once a month and in italic expects to dislike this project without ever having seen it. A more a more lopsided balance is inconceivable.

0:53:11 Matt: That's one way to say it, I guess. So look what he's citing here. He's citing the dissent.

0:53:18 Lydia: See National Trust for Historic Preservation, United States. OK.

0:53:21 Matt: So this is the most recent order.

0:53:23 Lydia: With Rao.

0:53:24 Matt: He's stating the dissент from Rao.

0:53:24 Lydia: Gotcha. Mm hmm.

0:53:26 Matt: But also, if you, I'm looking at page eight of that dissent right now, I don't know what they're referring to. She doesn't say anything about a lopsided balance. That page has nothing to do with what they're saying here. And they're citing a dissent anyway, so who cares?

0:53:22 Thomas: Ralph yeah

0:53:34 Lydia: Interesting. Yeah.

0:53:37 Thomas: Okay what

0:53:38 Lydia: The quote current safety of the president as well as his family and staff plainly outweighs future visual preference in brackets harms to the trust.

0:53:45 Thomas: Was that what

0:53:45 Matt: But yeah. In brackets. Yeah. They're heavily characterizing the harms as visual preference rather than violation of federal law.

0:53:49 Thomas: Why is it in brackets jackets oh

0:53:55 Matt: Because they want to put an inference. They want to put some sauce on it. A little spin.

0:53:59 Thomas: I don't know yeah

0:53:59 Lydia: So it's not actually in the quote. Yeah that should have doomed this injunction months ago under on point Supreme Court precedent on point. Supreme Court. What a weird way to characterize

0:54:09 Thomas: The last ballroom that was built

0:54:11 Matt: Just check out the quote, though. Usually, I wouldn't say this, but look in the parentheses at the summary of this case, because it's very funny. A

0:54:12 Lydia: That. Yeah. Holding injunction unjustified because national security interests, quote, plainly outweighed the, quote plaintiff's ecological, scientific and recreational interests in marine mammals. Marine mammals.

0:54:28 Thomas: Trump is in a way a marine mammal yeah directly

0:54:31 Lydia: My God. Beluga. Yeah, wow.

0:54:30 Matt: Manatee that's directly on point, on point Supreme Court precedent involving marine mammals.

0:54:35 Thomas: On point ecological scientific recreational yeah okay that

0:54:39 Lydia: Yeah what? I want to know more about that case now.

0:54:44 Thomas: Would be like yeah you'd write that if you were roasting them like Like, it's very on point because of the, yeah.

0:54:48 Matt: The marine mammals. You didn't even have to put the marine mammals part. You could have ended at interests.

0:54:51 Lydia: And recreational

0:54:53 Thomas: Interest in bracket, whatever, yeah, apparently you can just bracket and put whatever the fuck you want when you're quoting president, right?

0:54:54 Lydia: Interests yeah yeah yeah that's like a self -roast weird but the balance of the equities is inescapable now the passing visual gripes of a wandering pedestrian cannot possibly justify delaying the construction

0:55:10 Thomas: They were so proud. I guarantee you they were så proud of that fucking sentence, and that is dancing.

0:55:12 Lydia: Cannot possibly justify delayING the construction of for the president to do his job.

0:55:21 Thomas: There must be balls.

0:55:21 Lydia: With like, you have to do the you have to do that hands. Yeah, yeah.

0:55:25 Thomas: The president must dance.

0:55:30 Lydia: If that were the argument, I'd actually like be way more interested in it. I'm like, yeah, I get it. Me too. On that score, this weekend makes clear why this court's injunction must be dissolved, quote, immediately.

0:55:34 Thomas: Man so good quote

0:55:43 Lydia: I don't know why they're They're quoting immediately. In its prior opinion, this court stated that the defendants would likely not suffer short term irreparable harm because a complete ballroom is still, quote, months or, quote. Years away from being finished. However, that misses the entire point.

0:55:42 Thomas: Immediately why is okay okay

0:55:59 Lydia: As defendants have detailed and as this weekend plain painfully confirms, all current and future presidents need to secure large event space now.

0:55:58 Thomas: Okay it does that you're just saying exactly why it didn't make sense because they're like well it's not going to be finished so there can't be any immediate harm but that ignores the fact that we need it now yeah but it's not going materialize out of nowhere if the grants then or gets rid of the injunction Stupid.

0:56:24 Lydia: Now. Yeah, even

0:56:20 Matt: Also, and that decision was in December when the judge was saying pretty reasonably, like nothing has even started yet like come back when it looks like maybe it's going to happen and then he granted it when it was that's how it works the

0:56:34 Lydia: If that space cannot be conjured with a finger snap, the injunction, quote, inevitably extends the time during which the ballroom remains unavailable and, quote. The president's residence remains less secure.

0:56:45 Thomas: Any minute he spends not dancing is a minute that is intolerable to the American people.

0:56:50 Lydia: Every

0:56:50 Matt: Ballroom remains unavailable what a phrase

0:56:54 Lydia: Additional day of White House vulnerability harms the government, in quotes.

0:56:59 Thomas: Sure doesn't. Oh, man.

0:57:02 Lydia: That is so because every additional day of court manufactured delay is yet another day that the lives of the president his family his cabinet and his staff and those of future presidents

0:57:11 Thomas: His family's never... Melania's never fucking there. Shut up.

0:57:14 Lydia: Are being subject to avoidable hazard it so does that mean that all of those people are never leaving the white house either either like like literally everybody not just trump

0:57:21 Thomas: That's what I'm saying. It means you can never leave. So nobody can ever... They're all going to live in the ballroom. It's going to be...

0:57:28 Lydia: Until the day they all die.

0:57:29 Thomas: Yeah, the president, his family, the cabinet, his staff. Just everybody... They all have to live there and do like televised like speeches from there.

0:57:37 Lydia: Yeah, here's

0:57:37 Matt: And they got a hospital so you know they're good got everything they need yeah all the food yeah

0:57:41 Lydia: The thing, because

0:57:39 Thomas: Got everything they need. It's like a little city in there. It's biodome.

0:57:42 Lydia: Because guns are dangerous. And instead of addressing the fact that guns are dangerous and scary and like, yeah.

0:57:47 Thomas: Not even that. It's secure. They're the white. So is the White House not secure? They're like White House vulnerability. So does that mean, hey, guys, I got news. The White House is apparently vulnerable right now.

0:57:57 Lydia: Yeah I think then we should be having a different conversation and spending money not on a ballroom but on the security of the White House.

0:58:04 Lydia: Let's see, where was If any other president had the ability, foresight, or talents necessary to build this ballroom, which will be one of the greatest, safest, and most secure structures of

0:58:10 Thomas: Yeah. He's out there with his hard hat, like ready to go. OK, now I get it. This paragraph is not written by the same person who came up with that

0:58:20 Matt: You can imagine just grabbing the keyboard not that he knows how to use a keyboard but just like grabbing it and physically removing it from the hands of his lawyers theirs.

0:58:23 Thomas: He probably someone printed it out for him he probably like wrote some shit on it yeah

0:58:29 Matt: And a Sharpie. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

0:58:27 Lydia: Its kind anywhere in the world, there would never have been a lawsuit. Suit.

0:58:35 Thomas: It's this it's proper noun world

0:58:38 Lydia: Yeah. But because it is, in all caps, Donald J. Trump, a highly successful real estate developer who

0:58:47 Thomas: Jesus christ this is so funny oh keep going this is great this is a great specifically dancing abilities uh

0:58:49 Matt: Citation needed. Cition needed.

0:58:50 Lydia: Has abilities that others don't, especially those who assume the office of president. This is amazing. This ist amazing. Oh my god, this is hilarious script writing.

0:59:04 Thomas: I wish we could challenge in real terms barack obama versus donald trump at literally anything like and just name a thing that could be done by humans contest that's my reality show go I would love that this

0:59:23 Lydia: My god I'd tune in this frivolous and merit and meritless lawsuit was filed again it's called in all capitals trump derangement syndrome on top of everything else this project is a gift to our country with a capital c from president trump and other donors with a capital d it is free of charge to the american taxpayer capitals american taxpayer god I'm so so sick of this. Who could ever object to that? He ends the paragraph with a question. This court should never have enjoined this project, but now, after the Saturday night attempted assassination, which could have never taken place in the new facility, reasonable minds can no longer differ. The injunction must be dissolved. This court should immediately issue an indicative ruling that it will dissolve the injunction and put an end to this frivolous lawsuit, which greatly endangers the lives of all presidents, current Also, yeah, this, like, attempted assassination could have never taken place in the new facility, which does not exist yet, so you would have had to have it somewhere, like the only, apparently the only space big enough for it.

1:00:07 Thomas: Is so funny this current yeah what your honor we would also like you to grant us a time machine

1:00:27 Lydia: Yeah, exactly.

1:00:28 Matt: So check out who signed this. So Todd Blanchett, you'd expect, because the attorney general is always at the top. Trent McCotter is currently holding the job that Todd Blanche used to have, as I understand it. He's been promoted. And Stanley Woodward is the third in charge. So these are the top three people in the Department of Justice that have signed this filing.

1:00:34 Thomas: Jesus

1:00:45 Matt: The top three people. And there are 11 people that are on the appeal, but none of them wanted to sign it for some reason. 11 DOJ lawyers could have signed this and none of them would. And Stan Woodward, who's of course also former Trump defense team, he defended Walt Nauta in the Florida case, the guy who moved the boxes around.

1:00:44 Thomas: Christ holy shit oh

1:01:03 Matt: And Stan woodward had, I could talk so much more about him, about the weird stuff he got into in that case. And like his allegation that they tried to bribe him on his first day, like DOJ tried to brib him in a meeting. It was all very strange, but he's a weirdo. But he's, these are people who are willing to just copy and paste things that Trump texts them, apparently, or whoever texts them on his behalf.

1:01:15 Lydia: Weird. Weird you

1:01:23 Matt: It's so bad. I'm embarrassed for them.

1:01:22 Thomas: That's incredible that's embarrassing we need to bring back standards and confidence to this country it's really it's it's there's no bottom when you start doing this I

1:01:30 Lydia: Guys we all went to school for so long and then like I just see this and I'm like this is the dumbest thing the number of people in this country who have gone into significant debt in schooling to like be experts at whatever industry it's like

1:01:43 Thomas: Don't think people have gone in debt to get past fourth grade I disagree I think

1:01:47 Lydia: I know I'm just saying like everybody else in this county is like country my god

1:01:49 Thomas: I know I'm saying you learn how to write better than this and by then clinic

1:01:53 Lydia: I see what you're saying yeah yeah agreed but

1:01:55 Matt: And McCotter is the principal deputy there. He's the head of the, what is it, the Separation of Powers Clinic at somewhere or other. I don't remember exactly. I might have to look up where that is. But I think that's very funny because this is clearly an expert on separation of powers who understands what Congress and the executive grants are supposed to be doing at the Catholic University of America.

1:02:14 Lydia: Willing to put his name on this yeah

1:02:15 Matt: It's the Director of Separation of Powers of Law. He's number two here. Yeah. So yeah, that's who we're working with. And those are the people that end up... I mean, this is very much like with the Eric Adams case, right, that they had to send Emile Beauvais because nobody else would do it, right? And it's just from DC. It is unheard of that you would have this kind of thing because nobody wants to touch it. So let's take a quick look at the order I just sent to you and we're just about done.

1:02:28 Lydia: Crazy I think we should take our last break yeah super

1:02:37 Thomas: We gotta take our final break real

1:02:38 Matt: All right. There you go.

1:02:39 Thomas: Quick and thank our amazing last group of patrons patreon.com/law five dollar eleven above oh a lot awful movies is recorded by the way that was fun oh boy we'll try try to get that to you as fast as we can, but it is in the hard drive. All right. Thank you too. A big steaming pile of loo. I don't know what that means. Probably for another show. I know Bob Loblaw's Law.... Podcast. Philly basement bar is currently closed. Oh, sorry. Close. Oh.

1:02:47 Lydia: Fun

1:02:48 Matt: Good times.

1:03:06 Thomas: Closed says close, but yeah. Currently closed for spring cleaning and reorganizing elect Thomas Smith, president American honky tonk bar association. When are they going to do that? It's been too too long.

1:03:06 Lydia: Closed when is a patron going to elect me to something because right now I have a patron a top patron who wants matt to be chief justice someone wants thomas to be president of american American Honky Tonk Bar Association.

1:03:24 Thomas: Find Lydia a position in

1:03:26 Lydia: Yeah. Where's the role for me? Okay.

1:03:26 Thomas: This cabinet, everybody. Yeah. Balticate, Philip Kizer, I, Thomas Smith, declare that the assassination attempt was staged and anything I say to the contrary is to throw people off. That's funny.

1:03:38 Matt: There you have it, folks.

1:03:39 Lydia: Amazing.

1:03:39 Thomas: Corrin Land, a string of unpronounceable characters, Malaika Chandler, ron2thedork .com, Milo Meadsong is fighting petty tyrants, Big Easy Blasphemy, hors d'oeuvres in the court before we report, Chris Waltrip, Fred Grotheus, Sam Donow, Classic Liptard, and Mitchell. Thank you so much. Top patrons. You're the best. Take our last break here and then we'll finish up. Ah, yes, of course, Matt, the Proposed Order. I forgot you did tease that. I can't wait.

1:04:04 Matt: It's very important that the judge have something to sign at the end of all of this. And remember, this is just like a declaratory statement that this is something he would do. This order doesn't make a lot of sense, I got to say.

1:04:07 Thomas: And for the non-lawyers, I saw this in my law thing. This is what you do in a normal lawsuit right you like drop a proposed order for stuff for the judge to just kind of sign yeah but it's probably not normally this

1:04:18 Lydia: Save him time. Yeah, yeah. Makes sense. Upon consideration of the motion of the United States, it is hereby ordered that were the United State's Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to remand this case to this court, given the events of the last 48 hours, the court would dismiss the instant action to ensure the completion of a facility that would protect the president, the first lady, members of the president's cabinet, and senior staff for gatherings of the same. Accordingly, it is ordered that the motion is granted.

1:04:48 Thomas: Accordingly and then the place for for judge leon to sign you know just just just needs that little signature right there judge so

1:04:51 Matt: Somebody at like three in the morning. Yeah. Really no big deal. Just yeah,

1:04:59 Lydia: Straighten your bow tie and just, you know, sign it right there.

1:05:00 Thomas: Funny yeah so

1:05:00 Matt: Just. Just imagining somebody at three in the morning, just polishing that off and thinking, yes, just nailed that. Sweet.

1:05:07 Lydia: Nailed that exactly.

1:05:08 Matt: Yeah. Yeah. Perfect.

1:05:06 Thomas: Stupid yeah

1:05:08 Lydia: Like, that's a good one. It's a really good one, jeez.

1:05:10 Matt: Yeah. This is going down in history. This is really, so far, this is the dumbest thing that I've seen in the DOJ file.

1:05:18 Thomas: That is saying something too you. This

1:05:19 Lydia: I feel like you say that every time, too. They're going to keep just like outperforming.

1:05:19 Matt: That is saying something.

1:05:19 Thomas: Is really dumb. No, I agree with him. This is

1:05:23 Lydia: Why?

1:05:23 Thomas: It. Yeah.

1:05:23 Lydia: No. But every single time, though, they're just going to Keep showing us that their, their depravity knows no depths.

1:05:26 Thomas: We'll see. Let him cook.

1:05:30 Lydia: Yeah, yeah, let them cook.

1:05:28 Matt: This is on the level of one of my favorite opening arguments episodes of all time, when we sat down with Liz Skeen to go through the Rudy Giuliani defense. Defense uh remember in the civil suit that that amazing filing that we just picked apart it's kind of on that level of pros that's what we're looking at here it was right yeah I mean this is this is where we're at folks um I mean it's all they got just to get mad I mean there's nothing else I mean you got to pound the table because they don't have the law or the facts here so that's how it works

1:05:46 Thomas: This is incredible. Yeah, they're just doing a won't someone think of the children. I mean, cross it out. President Trump won't.

1:06:01 Matt: But the the baby president yeah yeah yeah

1:06:04 Thomas: Yeah, it's so funny.

1:06:05 Lydia: The thing is, is like like again, it's like your remedy is so clear and so simple and doesn't have to have money tied to it at all. Right. Like you can just rally your members of Congress to just a one liner, like a one little thing and just enact it and then it's all taken care of. But instead, they're spending all of their time and resources on this stupid, you know, jerk off motion kind of back and forth stuff that's going on. And like and that is that is our money, right? Like the hours that they're putting on this stupid stuff when they have the answer in front of them, like the easiest path ever. And they could just do that. And why aren't they just doing that? Why are they going through all this like rigmarole, I guess?

1:06:14 Matt: That's right very

1:06:48 Thomas: So funny because no one should be allowed to tell him no, basically. Ah, it's so good. Well, that was a lot of fun. Well we need to, uh, go back into our ballrooms, each of us to hide and be safe until the next time. Yeah.

1:06:49 Matt: Good question and

1:06:55 Lydia: So pointless. God, I'm going to dance in mine. So I would

1:07:08 Thomas: Oh boy. Dance like no assassin is watching. I don't know.

1:07:09 Lydia: Like a ballroom actually yeah can we build a ball room off of our house Thomas

1:07:14 Thomas: We can, I can demolish something and say I'm going to, and then never quite get to it that's that's about what I could promise yeah yeah

1:07:20 Lydia: That's kind of no

1:07:22 Matt: You don't even need permission from congress I'm pretty sure pretty sure I don't know I don't know the details but yeah that's right maybe

1:07:25 Lydia: Won't someone privately fund my ballroom on my house

1:07:30 Thomas: The patrons yeah look

1:07:31 Matt: Just ask amazon maybe they'll just do it I don'' t know

1:07:33 Thomas: The bottom part of the ballroom and the top part go together patrons you can't and the

1:07:38 Lydia: I can't do the bottom without the top and I can do the top without the bottom god that's the best

1:07:40 Thomas: Top goes with the bottom them oh good times well this was fun matt thanks so much for taking us through that what a stupid fucking idiot thing thanks lydia for reading uh that nonsense as always and thanks listeners and patrons we love you so much we'll see you very soon uh for rapid response friday and again jump on that patreon for a lot of movies coming out soon we'll be back next time see you next time cool

1:08:06 Matt: Good times

1:08:06 Lydia: So yeah what

1:08:11 Clip: This has been Opening Arguments, produced by Thomas and Lydia Smith, with editing help from Peter Baird. The intro is by Thomas Smith. This outro is by Matt Cameron. Support the show at patreon.com/law. Contact us through Patreon or openarguments at gmail .com. Make sure to follow our blue sky at OpenArgs. But most of all, please share the show. Thanks for listening.