Loading summary
Transcript8 lines
- [00:01]
A
Some follow the noise. Bloomberg follows the money. Whether it's the funds fueling AI or
- [00:07]
B
crypto's trillion dollar swings, there's a money
- [00:10]
A
side to every story. Get the money side of the story. Subscribe now@bloomberg.com
- [00:18]
C
Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same Premium Wireless for $15 a month plan that I've been enjoying. It's not just for celebrities. So do like I did and have one of your assistant's assistants you to Mint Mobile today. I'm told it's super easy to do.
- [00:35]
B
@mintmobile.com Switch upfront payment of $45 for 3 month plan equivalent to $15 per month Required intro rate first 3 months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees, extra fee, full terms. At Mint mobile.com we got some breaking
- [00:50]
A
news about Donald Trump's phony $1.8 billion anti weaponization fund which he's created using a bad faith lawsuit that a federal judge challenged as being in bad faith and not a legitimate lawsuit to then use his captured Department of Justice, that he controls, his captured Treasury Department, that he controls, his captured Internal Revenue Service, that he controls, his captured private lawyers that he controls to enter into a fody settlement to create a fund under his control away from congressional oversight. And now we've got in breaking news, a new hero. We got a resignation of the top treasury official, Brian Morrissey. He's the general counsel or was of the Treasury Department handpicked by Donald Trump, had served in the first Trump administration of the Department of Justice, had been a partner in a law firm that I worked for called Sidley Austin out of Chicago who clerked for Clarence Thomas. And he apparently has some gravitas, some cojones because he's quit moments after the settlement was announced in response to it, in protest to it. The timing suggests. Yes, I'm Michael Popoff. You've got great timing. You're on the Midas Dutch network in Legal af. Let's get down and update you about a pot shot taken by Judge Williams and as she departs the case. I don't think it went far enough, but certainly was her attempt to lay the groundwork for a future lawsuit. I want to talk about the the memo given by Todd Blanche to the Treasury Department to set up the fund. And what I think is really strange about it and the part where I think Judge Williams is not going to be happy is that they continue to use. Here's the first page of the settlement agreement which they did not have to add the lawsuit. They could have just said it's a settlement, but they had a lawsuit. So they put the style or the caption of the case, I think this is again, them using the federal court and the imprimatur of the federal process that she should do something about. I'll talk about that in a moment. Let's start from the at the resignation, Brian Morrissey, not my politics, but certainly a fine lawyer. Worked in the Department of Justice in the first Trump administration, clerked for Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court, worked at Sidley in Austin, was handpicked by Donald Trump to be the head of the Treasury Department's legal department. Right. One that would sign off on this. And we know from other reporting that there was a lot of hand wringing and a lot of head in hands about Donald Trump corrupting his doj, IRS and Treasury Department to settle with him. That was the problem that Judge Williams in Miami federal court had. Where are the adversary parties here? You control everything. It's Trump v. Trump. Well, then you can't have a legitimate lawsuit. And if there's not a legitimate lawsuit, get out of my courtroom. She was about to toss the case. She ordered the Trump side to issue and submit briefs about how she even had jurisdiction, how this was a legitimate federal case. Because if this isn't an imminent real lawsuit, if it's just a piece of paper, then what are you settling then under the statutes that allow the Department of Justice to settle and compromise, they're inapplicable. That was her argument. But wouldn't you know it? Just before they had to file the brief with her, and she had already gotten guidance from three outside lawyers that she asked for. They settle the case and file a notice of voluntary dismissal with prejudice in her courtroom. They don't attach the settlement agreement. They just say, we're out, Judge. You know, there's been no answer filed and we don't need your permission and we're going to dismiss, which is true under Rule 41. With one caveat. There were a lot of protests internally against the settlement because it didn't pass the straight face test, nor the legal test, including being I'm sure they consider that it violates the domestic or presidential emoluments clause, an emolument in the Constitution based on the time is anything of value, right. A gift, a bonus, a commission, anything above the president's salary that he gets, economic or non economic as from a state or from the United States. In this case, the United States violates the emolument clause. That's what the lawsuit that's coming out of this fact pattern is going to allege. So Brian Morrissey is like I'm out. I don't want to be associated with that settlement fund for the anti victim weaponization fund. And then I read the settlement agreement which we'll post on Legal AF substack for you to read. And it talks about in the recitals again, not telling the truth about the lawsuit that was filed in front of Judge Williams. It says there was a civil lawsuit that was filed on January 29, 2026 that President Trump also submitted. Oh listen to this made up facts nobody ever heard about recital section 2, paragraph A. Counsel for plaintiffs, that's Trump's per private counsel have indicated that but for this settlement they would intend to amend their complaint, including in order to likely add a putative class claim. How are you going to add a putative class claim to a suit that the judge is about to dismiss? Right. And they don't mention that the judge, by her orders, was about to dismiss this lawsuit. There's nothing to amend when your suit is filed in bad faith. Judge Williams and the federal court Getting Used Again as a Pawn if a genie gave me wishes, I would use at least one of them to wish for my cat Chanel to live forever. But since genies don't exist as far as I know, I feed my cat Smalls. Smalls is fresh human grade cat food that does so much more than just feed your cat. It helps them live a full, healthy life. Most cat food out there is made with meat byproducts, cheap fillers and artificial ingredients. Basically stuff that isn't great for your cat. Big Pet food does this because it's cheaper to make, but what they save on cost your cat pays for with their health. Smalls is different. Their fresh recipes are made with at least 80% animal protein and they are gently cooked to retain all their nutrients and flavor. They never add fillers or artificial ingredients and their food is so healthy they that 88% of cat parents say that after feeding Smalls, their cats have better digestion, a softer and shinier coat, and more energy to play because it's actually good for cats. Your cat's health and longevity starts with what they eat. Try smalls and get 60% off your cat's first order plus free shipping and free treats for life when you go to smalls.com legal AF Listen to this one last time. That's 60% off your first order plus free shipping and free treats for life. When you head to smalls.com legal af and then it talks about the. That the case has been closed, but they skipped the part about Judge Williams questioning the legitimacy of the case. Uh, and then, of course, we have the order. Let me read to you from. Let's switch gears and go to Judge Williams also in the last 24 hours in her order closing the case. Here's the potshot she takes now. I agree that she had no choice but to dismiss the case and close the case under Rule 41 of the Civil of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, just because of the. The tactics used by Trump gives him the right to dismiss. She still has inherent authority over the administration of justice in her courtroom. And if I were her, especially now having seen the settlement agreement, I would do an order to show cause. I would have done it before she issued her order. Maybe she amends her order and says, I've now seen the settlement agreement. I see you're using my case. I see you reference my case and the attempt to amend my case when you knew or should have known that I'm about to dismiss the case. I want all the lawyers in here, I want fact finding and go into a fact finding order to show cause about whether sanctions should be issued. But here's her parting shot, which I think will help the plaintiffs against this settlement in a future federal lawsuit, I'm sure that will be filed this week. Because the notice does not reference any settlement or include a stipulation of settlement, says Judge Williams on the bottom of page two, there is no settlement of record. Additionally, defendants of federal agencies represented by the Department of Justice, which has an independent obligation to uphold the public strong interest in knowing about the conduct of its government and, and expenditures of its resources and the fair administration of justice, neither submitted any settlement documents nor filed any documents ensuring. Right. Ensuring that a settlement was appropriate where there was an outstanding question as to whether an actual case or controversy existed. That's the ticket. That's the little bit of a stab there by the judge that will be picked up, I'm sure, along with the outline of the framework of the lawsuit that was created by 93 members of Congress who yesterday filed an amicus brief request and their brief arguing violation of the emoluments clause, violation of all the statutes related to DOJ's ability to settle cases, that Judge Williams comment ends up baked into a future lawsuit, I assure you. But I, you know, I really wanted to focus on, you know, not so much the direction. And we have, of course, the memo that's now come out from Todd Blanch, you know, as you know, and the IRS chief financial officer and lawyers for Donald Trump, including one that operates out of a Mailbox USA in Boca Raton, Florida. Right. But I wanted to focus on Brian Morrissey because there needs to be more Brian Morrissey and they got to do something before settlements come out, like become whistleblowers. So that's why the courage here is not as great as somebody like a, as somebody like Erez Ruveni, who left the Department of Justice after they abused and continued to abuse Kilmer Abrego Garcia. And he came out with, with a 30 page whistleblower statement. You know, we need that before, not after. But I appreciate Brian Morrissey's pangs of guilt, twinges of guilt that led him to depart the Trump administration, which is lawless and rogue. I'll continue to follow it here for Midas Touch and Legal. I have come over to legal. I have YouTube channel. Will you hit the subscribe button? You might think you're subscribed, but you're not. Hit that button. Help us continue to grow our pro democracy channel over there. 12 new videos every day and at the intersection of law and politics. See me tonight on the Intersection Podcast, the Webby Award winning Intersection podcast, 8pm Eastern Time. It's live on the Midas Touch Network. Until my next report, this is Michael. Can't get your fill of Legal af. Me neither. That's why we form the Legal AF substack every time we mention something in a hot take, whether it's a court filing or a oral argument, come over to the substack. You'll find the court filing and the oral argument there, including a daily roundup that I do called wait for it Morning AF. What else? All the other contributors from LigaOf are there as well. We got some new reporting, we got interviews, we got ad free versions of the podcast and hot takes where Legal AF on Substack. Come over now to free subscribe
- [13:16]
C
Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same Premium Wireless for $15 a month plan that I've been enjoying. It's not just for celebrities. So do like I did and have one of your assistant's assistants switch you to Mint Mobile today. I'm told it's super easy to do@mintmobile.com
- [13:33]
B
Switch upfront payment of $45 for 3 month plan equivalent to $15 per month required intro rate first 3 months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra fee full terms@mintmobile.com when it's time to scale your business it's time for Shopify. Get everything you need to grow the way you want. Like all the way. Stack more sales with the best converting checkout on the planet. Track your cha chings from every channel right in one spot and turn real time reporting into big time opportunities. Take your business to a whole new level. Switch to Shopify. Start your free trial today ready or not. Summer is coming and Wayfair's Memorial Day clearance is on now right now through May 25th. Get up to 70% off everything home at Wayfair plus start score amazing doorbuster deals all sale long and surprise flash deals on Memorial Day. We're talking thousands of products at every style and budget. Now is the time to save big on must haves for your patio, backyard and beyond. These savings won't last so don't wait. Shop Wayfair's Memorial Day Clearance now through May 25th Wayfair Every style, every home.