Opening Arguments
Opening Arguments is a law show that helps you make sense of the news! Comedian Thomas Smith and lawyer Matt Cameron help you understand not only current events, but also deeper legal concepts and areas! The schedule is M-W-F, with the main show on Monday and Friday and Vapid Response on Wednesday!
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OA624: Good News Show! Williams v. Kincaid Sets a Good Precedent for Trans Rights
Perhaps we can have good things? Andrew breaks down Williams v. Kincaid, a 4th Circuit case that actually sets a positive precedent for trans rights! After that, we interview Jalessah Jackson, Executive Director of ARC Southeast - one of the abortion funds that OA listeners raised an incredible amount of money for! Links: 42 U.S. Code Chapter 126 ADA, 42 U.S. Code § 12211 - Definitions exception
OA623: This Week in High Treason
There's still SO much to talk about in the Mar-a-Lago Treason Trove! Lots of updates on that, plus the Weiselberg plea, Trump passports, and more! We also squeeze in a wildcard on Alex Jones's loser lawyers. Links: The Atlantic article that is wrong, 42 U.S. Code § 2274 - Communication of Restricted Data, Jonathan Toebbe case, 10 CFR Part 1045 -- Nuclear Classification and Declassification, Classification of Nuclear Weapons-Related Information, Dep't of the Navy v. Egan, Trump's passports returned, Norm Pattis Sanctions order, Reynal order, Pattis "moved to dismiss", Alex-Jones-Kyng-S.-Lee-Affidavit
OA622: Will Alex Jones' Damages Be Capped by Texas Law?
The unfortunate answer is... yes. BUT. There may be a one weird trick that actually could sidestep this! Listen in for the breakdown and why there is a sliver of hope on this really terrible nonsense. After that, we talk about our Matthew Hoh interview and the response we have gotten. Links: Texas bill, More TX statutes, Texas Constitution, Hanna v. Sweeney, 78 Conn. 492, NCSBE certified GP as a political party, new Demw lawsuit
OA621 Extra! More on Mar-a-Lago
So much breaking news, we did an extra episode for you!
OA621: The FBI Goes to Mar-a-Lago! This Is Big...
If you're anything like me, you've been waiting for the Andrew breakdown of the FBI warrant service on Mar-a-Lago. Well, here it is, PLUS breaking news while we were recording! We didn't yet have the info that it might be nuclear documents, which makes everything Andrew said EVEN MORE right. Links: 18 U.S. Code § 3109, 18 U.S. Code § 3103a - Additional grounds for issuing warrant, List of attorneys who tried to steal your 2020 vote, What were FBI agents looking for in Trump's Mar-a-Lago? : NPR, Dep't of the Navy v. Egan, 484 U.S. 518 (1988), Basic Laws and Authorities | National Archives, The FBI Just Raided Trump's Mar-a-Lago Home, Justice Dept. using grand jury to probe Trump's Mar-a-Lago documents, National Archives had to retrieve Trump White House records from Mar-a-Lago, 44 U.S. Code Chapter 22 - PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS, 44 U.S. Code § 2202, 18 U.S. Code § 1924 - Unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or material, 18 U.S. Code § 793 - Gathering, transmitting or losing defense information, "Lock Her Up" | Law Offices of P. Andrew Torrez, 18 U.S. Code § 2071 - Concealment, removal, or mutilation generally, Jan. 6 committee tees up 20 witness transcripts for DOJ Seth Barrett Tillman, 'Who Can Be President of the United States?: Candidate Hillary Clinton and the Problem of Statutory Qualifications,' 5(1) British Journal of American Legal Studies 95 (2016) (peer review) Seth Barrett Tillman, 'Secretary Clinton Can Relax Because Section 2071 Disqualification Does Not Apply to the Presidency: A Response to Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey and Cause of Action (with a Short Reply from Attorney General Mukasey)' (2015)
OA620: OA Debates Green Party Candidate Matthew Hoh
Listeners will know we have been incredibly hostile to the idea of voting for or running as a third party candidate. Despite that, Matthew Hoh, Green Party candidate for Senate in NC, accepted Andrew's invitation to come on the show. So why is he running? Can we convince him it's a bad idea? Listen and find out!
OA619: OK, Alex Jones's Lawyers REALLY Don't Know WTF They're Doing
This is... wow. Just wow. Jones's lawyers accidentally handed over his entire cell phone and didn't remedy it when they could have. Just staggering. Get Andrew's full breakdown of this glorious happening. Also, GOOD NEWS FROM KANSAS! The people of Kansas did a good thing. And Pat Cipollone was subpoenaed by the Justice Dept! All in all just a really good news episode. Links: Hodes & Nauser v. Schmidt, House Concurrent Resolution No. 5003, Justice Dept. Subpoenas Pat Cipollone, Justice Dept. Asking Witnesses About Trump, U.S. v. Nixon, Cassidy Hutchinson kept working for Donald Trump for 9 weeks, Jones video, Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984)
OA618: The Case That Could Allow Republicans to Steal 2024
In today's doom coverage, Andrew breaks down Moore v. Harper and how it is completely outrageous that the Supreme Court granted cert. It's bad. It's real bad. But guess what! It's also worse. In the first segment, we talk about the likelihood that the Secret Service texts were lost accidentally. Lots of tech people contacted us about prior coverage. Links: Cert petition, Amicus by the national Republican redistricting trust, Bush v Gore, McPherson v Blacker, Smiley v Holm, opposition brief
OA617: Alex Jones' Lawyers Have No F*cking Idea What They're Doing
There was a truly amazing moment in the Alex Jones trial that we can't wait to share with you. And, it's a chance for some law talkin'! Jones' lawyers are completely inept and we should all enjoy nice things. Then, Andrew takes us through an interesting election situation in North Carolina involving the Green Party. Guess what, they still suck and are helping Republicans win! So much so that Republicans are literally fighting legal battles for Green Party candidates. Links: Rule 801, Strickland v. Washington, Matthew Hoh, NC § 163-122, NC Stat. § 163.96: create a new party, Candidates - North Carolina Green Party, Docs from state board meeting on Green Party, Matthew Hoh tweet, Republicans financed Montana Green Party
OA616: The Final Jan 6 Hearing. OR IS IT?
The 8th and final(???) Jan 6. Hearing happened in prime time on Thursday. We saved our Monday deep dive for it! As usual, Andrew breaks it down with clips! Also, Bannon found guilty! and Jeff Clark hit with disciplinary hearings! What a great day! Links: 2 U.S. Code § 192 - Refusal of witness to testify or produce papers. Jeff Clarke proceedings, Opening Arguments live tweet thread, 18 U.S. Code § 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense, 18 U.S. Code § 1512 - Tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant, Hearing video
OA615: Rep. Jared Huffman on the Health Share Transparency Act
You may remember the ripoff scam that is Christian Health Share Ministries from such episodes as OA497: Christian Health Sharing Is a Scam and OA530: Andrew Testifies to Congress on Christian Healthshare Ministries! Well, as a direct result of Andrew's House testimony, Rep. Jared Huffman has sponsored and introduced a new bill to fight back against this scam! It's H.R.8324 - Health Share Transparency Act of 2022. Rep. Huffman is also a co-founder of the Congressional Freethought Caucus! He joins us today to explain the bill. Before that, I grill Andrew on the Secret Service deleted texts, with such questions as "what the f?" and "how the h?" There's a lot we can't know yet, but Andrew explains what we do know. Finally, we go through the first gun control legislation passed in two decades. It's good!
OA614: The FEC Is Corrupt and Broken. Biden Has Inexplicably Neglected to Fix It.
If you or anyone you know is President Biden, please dear god listen to this episode and then get the word out. The FEC has been broken and corrupted by Trump appointees. Biden could have easily done something about it from day 1 of his administration and he just... hasn't. Listen to the full story and see example #9,576 of why Trump and Republicans can never be trusted in office. In the first segment, we get a big update on the Musk Twitter deal. Andrew nailed another one! Links: 52 US Code § 30106 - FEC, 52 US Code § 30107 - Powers of Commission, 52 US Code § 30108 - Advisory opinions, 52 US Code § 30104 - Reporting requirements, Hillary campaign FEC, FEC ruling, conciliation
OA613: Cipollone Prediction: Bullseye. Here's the Next Potential Jan 6 Domino to Fall
We haven't gotten a chance to pat Andrew on the back enough for nailing the Cipollone prediction, so let's do so! Tuesday was the first hearing since that bombshell news, and it featured a little bit of Cipollone testimony, but also teased much more to come. Andrew takes us through the hearing, with some clips. And, he has another prediction! Given his track record, we'd better take note! Links: Meadows docs, Cleta Mitchell docs
OA612: The Supreme Court – How Did We Get Here?
In the wake of the Dobbs decision, Andrew gave a brilliant talk to the Houston Oasis group on how we got here and what we can do. Note in the QnA section, the questions were not recorded, sorry. They are reasonably easy to figure out with context clues though! Check out his slides here.
OA611: Cipollone to Testify! Andrew Called It! Here's What To Expect.
Today's episode pays off a bet Andrew made last month that the January 6 Committee would eventually secure the testimony of White House Counsel Pat Cipollone. Find out why that's such a big deal! In addition to explaining how the J6 Committee came to secure Pets of Belonging's testimony, Andrew answers your questions regarding whether this is some kind of elaborate con (No), how Cipollone's answers are likely to interact with executive and attorney-client privilege (frequently), and the likelihood that he will help round out the successful case for prosecuting Donald Trump for crimes in connection with the 1/6 Insurrection (EXTREMELY!). It's a big deal! After the main breakdown, we share a thoughtful and informative letter from a listener who helps put the Supreme Court's recent (atrocious) decision in Carson v. Makin (that we broke down in Episode 608) permitting direct government aid to expressly religious schools into a fuller context. It's an Andrew Was Wrong (About Rural Maine) and an important object lesson that you can never trust the fact section in a SCOTUS case involving religion these days. Links: The brilliant and hilarious Merrill Markoe captured the live-captioning of Pat Cipollone's name as Patsy Baloney (and others) on Twitter. For the background for the crime-fraud exception, check out Rule 1.2 and Rule 1.6 of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct. You can check out the Senate Judiciary testimony of Jeff Rosen as well as Richard Donohue for all sorts of new goodies, some of which we covered on the show! Click here to read the Supreme Court's opinion in Carson v. Makin., which we previously broke down in Episode 608 with Andrew Seidel. Finally, secret link! CLICK HERE to read the Kurt Olsen draft complaint for the DOJ, which we discovered in all its madness after the end of the record. Remember you can still donate to the Opening Arguments Foundation at OAfund.org!