Opinion
By Jeff Childers
01-27-2024
Good morning, C&C family, and welcome to the Weekend Edition! In todayβs roundup: a multiplier update; a mini-roundup of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willisβs sinking political prospects; the oversized New York jury verdict in the Trump defamation lawsuit; Tucker interviews Texas Governor Greg Abbot and Biden blows smoke about the border; and great news from motivated Ohio republicans who won a major culture war battle protecting kids.
π THE C&C ARMY POST π
πͺ OPERATION MULTIPLIER UPDATE: Yesterday we ran a multiplier for Jeanette Breen, the courageous New York midwife who was fined $300,000 for treating kids with holistic βvaccinesβ and then reporting to the Department of Healthβs vaccine registry that the kids were βvaccinated.β First of all, we blew out the fund-raiser, raising about $150,000 yesterday which covered Jeanetteβs fine (New York generously offered a 50% βdiscountβ if it was paid early).
Iβm very proud of our C&C Army.
Second, Jeanette somehow found me online yesterday, called the office, and we got connected. She said our support overwhelmed her, especially all the words of encouragement, and she was extremely grateful. She was also everything you would have hoped: smart, well-informed, patient-focused, and fully aware of what she was doing. Paraphrasing, Jeanette based her treatments on peer-reviewed science, and feels that, under the CDCβs newly-expanded definition of a βvaccine,β her scientifically-recognized naturopathic βinoculationsβ should have counted.
Decide for yourself. Hereβs the CDCβs current definition of a βvaccine:β
VACCINE: A preparation that is used to stimulate the body’s immune response against diseases. Vaccines are usually administered through needle injections, but some can be administered by mouth or sprayed into the nose.
Thatβs pretty broad. I assume New Yorkβs statutes are more specific than the CDC, but who knows? Maybe a New York lawyer should take a look at this. If thereβs any wiggle room, they might file a declaratory action seeking a court to say whether parents can satisfy state vaccine mandates by giving their kids anything that satisfies the CDCβs definition of a vaccine, such as any βpreparationβ that βstimulates the bodyβs immune response.β Like maybe β¦ vitamins?
Wouldnβt that be fun? Anyway, great job, C&C! If you missed out yesterday, you can still get in on the action here at this link. Remember to end the amount with a $2, and leave Jeanette an encouraging note!
ππ¬ WORLD NEWS AND COMMENTARY π¬π
π₯ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ran a gloomy story yesterday, which given the sordid circumstances carried the awkward and unfortunately suggestive headline, βPressure on Fulton DA grows as critics seize on allegations of impropriety.β Maybe not the same kind of pressure that was growing on her before the scandal arose, but still. The sub-headline hilariously tossed in, βWillis is facing calls to step aside in Trump probe.β Probe. These guys are killing me.
To be honest, Fani Willis got spanked this week. Right in its lead paragraph, the AJC admitted that Fani βis at what could be the most perilous moment of her career.β It might as well have said former career. Fani Willis is a dead duck. Out of many positions she was presumably in before her affair became public knowledge, she is now in a canβt-win position.
Most of the DAβs traditional democrat allies have catapulted her off Democrat Fantasy Island. Look out below! In other words, all passengers have now departed Faniβs Love Boat.
Apart from her fiery Big Bethel Church tirade defending her adulterous affair from the pulpit two weeks ago, Big Fani has kept her big fat mouth sewn tightly shut. She ainβt talkinβ βcause she got nuthinβ to say. Her newfound verbal restraint only highlighted the deafening silence of any defense of Fani by any prominent democrats. They ainβt talkinβ, neither.
Normally youβd expect a flurry of democrat claims about Republican witch hunts and claims itβs all politics and so forth and et cetera. But now? Zip. Itβs almost like Bidenβs White House ordered everybody to keep quiet because this thing could get ugly.
They are hanging Fani out to dry. Theyβre throwing her under the bus. Theyβre leaving her right in the lurch. They have given up the ship, and the SS Fani Willis is sinking fast, with only its captain left on board, a fatter, blacker, female Merrill Stubing. How fast is her Love Boat sinking? Fast. Letβs review this weekβs Fani Willis timeline.
On Monday, the judge in Nathan Wadeβs divorce case unsealed the record. He also stayed the deposition of Fani Willis in the divorce, set to occur that day, until special prosecutor Nathan Wade β whom she hired for the high-profile Trump case β had first testified about his relationship and financial conditions himself. I watched the hearing. Contrary to breathless media reports, the judge was not helping the embattled DA. His logic in delaying her deposition was legally sound. Heβs just being careful. Fani got a short stay of execution and nothing more.
On Wednesday, the Democratic-controlled Fulton County Commission voted 6-1 to table an unrelated request from Fani Willisβs office to spend an astounding $611,000 request for new cars for the District Attorneyβs office.
On Thursday, Trumpβs attorneys joined an effort to dismiss the elections crimes case brought by one of his co-defendants, who blew the original hole in her political cruise ship by alleging Willis was having a secret βromantic relationshipβ with her married, severely-overpaid special prosecutor Nathan Wade, and that she benefitted financially when Wade escorted her on luxury vacations.
On Friday, Georgia’s GOP-controlled Senate approved a hefty special investigative committee to probe DA Willis for βvarious forms of misconduct relating to the prosecution of cases related to the 2020 Presidential Electionβ amidst the tawdry revelations of her βimproperβ affair with subordinate counsel.
The resolution advertised where things are going. It said that, if Fani was in fact funding a boy toy in the Trump Case, then all Hades is going to break loose:
WHEREAS, such relationship, if proven to exist, would constitute a clear conflict of interest and a fraud upon the taxpayers of Fulton County and the State of Georgia; establish grounds for District Attorney Willis’s recusal from further involvement in the prosecution, potentially delaying it indefinitely and requiring the appointment of a special prosecutor at public expense; and subject District Attorney Willis and potentially others to discipline by the State Bar of Georgia or other entitiesβ¦
It is almost certain that βsuch relationshipβ will be βproven to exist,β not least since Fani hasnβt denied it. When she delivered her βIβm the victim hereβ sermon at AME Church, she never denied the discreditable relationship or any of the material allegations. Ominously, the District Attorneyβs Bethel AME sermon began by admitting she βwasnβt perfectβ β an unpromising start β and while the congregation was on the edge of their seats waiting for the next part, the Iβm not perfect β¦ but I didnβt do anything wrong part, Fani just said βracism.β
Yikes.
Anyway, the new Special Investigative Committee has subpoena power and is authorized to compel depositions and require the turnover of documents and, ominously for DA Willis and her adulterous love magnet, to βundertake such actions as may be necessary to enforce such subpoenas in cases of refusal to obey.β
Fani needs a lot of lawyers. New ones.
Also yesterday, Georgia State Representative Charlice Byrd filed articles of impeachment against Fani. Itβs worth noting highly-skeptical Republicans hold majorities in the Georgia House and the Senate. There are a total of 22 articles of impeachment in the articles, each potentially a violation of Georgia State Code.
For even more background, read Heritage.orgβs September 2023 piece exposing Fani Willisβs deep connections with black-power communism.
The clock is ticking on whatβs left of Fani Willisβs career in politics. She will have to resign, soon, and whatβs left of the Trump case will implode soon after.
π₯ In other Trump legal news, Fox ran an appalling story yesterday headlined, βTrump ordered to pay more than $80 million in E. Jean Carroll defamation trial.β The sub-headline explained, βPresident Trump says he will appeal the ‘absolutely ridiculous’ verdicts.ββ
The case started when the 73-year-old plaintiff, E. Jean Carroll, had written a book alleging Trump sexually assaulted her in a Bergdorf-Goodman dressing room almost thirty years ago. Trump vigorously denied her claim, so she sued the President for defamation. (The statute of limitations on sexual assault had long since run out.)
Last year, despite holes in Carollβs story bigger than Zelenskyβs bank accounts, and despite a series of inexplicable judicial decisions and a brand-new enabling statute clearly targeting Trump, the jury decided Trump was liable for defamation last year. The trial this week was the second trial, this one only to determine the amount of damages to be awarded for Ms. Carrollβs βdefamation.β
Yesterday the jury awarded even more than Carrollβs lawyers had asked for, somehow toting up $18.3 million in actual damages and adding $65 million more in punitive damages.
Trumpβs next move will be a legal motion with the archaic and slightly-bizarre title of βremittitur.β That is, a motion to reduce a βgrossly excessiveβ jury verdict, and it happens all the time in these kinds of lawsuits. Some alert readers will no doubt recall the infamous βhot coffeeβ incident, where Stella Liebeck sued McDonaldβs for making her hot coffee too hot, and a jury gave her a supersized $2.9 million dollars, which used to be a lot of money, back in the day.
But on remittitur, the judge reduced the award to $640,000, which was still generous, but shrank the lawsuit into a happy meal-sized box and McDonaldβs took the deal. Under the rules, a defendant can either take the judgeβs reduced offer or appeal.
More recently, and maybe more similar in some ways to Trumpβs case, in a case involving alternative lifestyles and secret videotapes, Hulk Hogan sued Gawker Media in 2016 for publishing two minutes of a sordid sex tape of him grappling with Heather Clem, who at the time was married to Florida radio personality βBubba the Love Sponge.β An outraged jury sided with the wrestler and gave Hulk an eye-popping $140 million for his inconvenience. But Gawker appealed, and an appellate court reduced the monster award to $52 million; after a chapter 11 bankruptcy filing and a further appeal, Hogan and Gawker settled for βonlyβ $32 million.
So the Presidentβs next step is filing for remittitur, which can be filed along with other post-trial motions. Given the case history, it seems unlikely the judge will help Trump much, but Iβd be surprised if he doesnβt reduce the award to some extent. The judge will probably try to make it hard for Trump to decide whether to take the reduced award or appeal. After the post-trial motions, Trump can appeal the entire case, liability and damages, which the President has indicated he plans to do, in no uncertain terms:
The Carroll case is far from over, and it is unlikely to be resolved before the election.
π₯ In todayβs border update, you might enjoy this interview Tucker posted yesterday with Governor Greg Abbott, whoβs traveling in India on some kind of official business.
It was helpful to hear directly from Governor Abbott, who seems uncharacteristically fired-up. He pointed out that on March 5th, a new Texas law takes effect allowing any law enforcement officer in Texas to arrest people who illegally cross the border, teeing up a whole new conflict with the feds. Abbott reported that ten states so far have sent National Guard or other law enforcement to help. He also vowed to continue clamping down the border until January 20th of next year, when a new president is sworn in, and this thing can be fixed for good.
The Democrats are trying to jump-start a narrative alleging Republicans and red states are βdefying the lawβ and are therefore βanti-democraticβ insurrectionists. Expect to see Biden propose a series of unworkable βcompromisesβ before claiming that Republicans are unreasonable and itβs all their fault. For example, hereβs the headline from this morningβs Politico:
Uh huh. The truth is, the border crisis began when Biden revoked three Trump-era executive orders. If he wanted to, Biden could solve the border crisis in five minutes just by re-issuing those orders or combining them into a single order if that would be more convenient. He doesnβt need Republicans.
So far, despite democratsβ best efforts, the border continues to be a losing issue for Biden. You can tell because the New York Timesβ website this morning didnβt include any border story, not even about Greg Abbottβs Defiance. Same for the Wall Street Journal, which managed to cram a story about the $83 million Carroll verdict onto its home page but reported nothing about the border crisis. The top story on the Washington Postβs site is something about Trumpβs future plan for economic war with China β and nothing about the border.
Iβll keep you posted as the story continues to unfold.
π₯ Local Spectrum News-1 in Ohio ran a terrific story yesterday headlined, βSenate overrides DeWine’s veto of SAFE Act 23-9.β The counter-revolution continues.
On Wednesday, Ohioβs Republican-controlled Senate voted 23-9 to blow past Republican Governor Mike DeWineβs veto of a long-overdue law banning gender surgery and hormone therapy, limiting βmental healthβ indoctrination of transgender kids, and banning biological boys from all girlsβ sports from kindergarten through college. Thereβs a grandfather clause β sorry, grandperson clause β allowing kids already in treatment to continue.
I think Spectrum News thought this was a helpful personal interest anecdote, but the article quoted the horrifying story of Kat Scaglione, who has three kids. Kat, an βartist,β has one biological daughter and two biological sons β both of whom identify as girls. Coincidentally. But to sane folks, Katβs story is the exact reason why the new law is so necessary.
According to the article, the Scagliones are considering moving out of Ohio. They havenβt made up their minds yet, nor did they say where they would prefer to go. Maybe Portland?
Have a wonderful weekend! And sail on back here Monday morning to kick off a whole new week of Coffee & Covid.
We canβt do it without you. Consider joining with C&C to help move the nationβs needle and change minds. I could use your help getting the truth out and spreading optimism and hope, if you can: β Learn How to Get Involved π¦
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Β© 2022, Jeff Childers, all rights reserved
The views expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Citizens Journal Florida