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- [00:04]
A
Welcome to this episode of Sister sidebar with Barb McQuaid and me, Kimberly Atkinstore. If you have a question for us, please email us@sistersinlawoliticon.com or tag us on social media using the hashtag Sisters In Law. But you don't have to just type your questions. We want to hear your voice because your voice is important so you can send a voice note. And every week we play something voice memos that we receive and we answer your questions right here on Sister Sidebar so you can send that voice memo to Sisters in law@politicon.com before we get started, we are delighted to announce that we are doing some live shows. Denver, Colorado, we are coming to the Cervantes masterpiece on April 23rd. And in Atlanta, we will be at the buckhead theater on May 3rd. You can get your tickets at@politicon.com tour but get them fast because I don't know if you've heard, but our live shows sell out and you don't want to miss out on it. And we don't want to miss out seeing you in Atlanta and in Denver. So let's get started with these questions, shall we? Barb, let's start with a question for you from Cynthia in Minnesota. Joyce said with great confidence that the Senate would not confirm Todd Blanche if he I'm just wondering where she's finding her optimism on that, and I'm hoping there's some good news in there that I may be missing.
- [01:43]
B
Well, thanks, Cynthia. That is an interesting question. I know Joyce said that she thinks that the Senate would not confirm Todd Blanche. I'm not as certain as she is, but she does have a point. And there are a few things I think that are against Todd Blanche on the ledger. I mean, number one, he really became the face of the Epstein files. The rollout of that, making a declaration as far back as July that he thought no one else would be charged in the Epstein case. I think that if he were to come before the Senate for a confirmation hearing, we would hear an awful lot about the Epstein files. And I think that this is politically something Donald Trump very much wants to put behind him. And so I think that's part of the reason that we saw Pam Bondi get fired. And so I think that reason alone may be enough. He's got some other problematic things that he has done. I mean, for one, he has been responsible for the purge of many of the prosecutors and agents at the Department of Justice who worked on the Trump cases, who worked on the January 6th cases. He bragged to the CPAC conference just a couple of weeks ago that he had cleaned house and gotten rid of all of those people. And he also is someone who has declared war on the judiciary. And so I think some of those things make it very difficult. But nonetheless, I could see Donald Trump being pretty happy with him. To the extent Donald Trump is interested in prosecuting his political rivals. Todd Blanche was successful in his defense of Donald Trump in the Jack Smith special counsel cases. Don't forget, though, Todd Blanche was there at council table when Donald Trump was convicted of those 34 counts in Manhattan. So his record is a mixed bag. So I think I'm with Joyce on this one, but I guess we'll have to wait and see.
- [03:33]
A
Not only was he at the table, he was standing at all those press conferences that Trump would give afterwards, standing behind, looking like he wanted to fall through the floor anywhere but there.
- [03:43]
B
Yeah, the hostage video face.
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A
Yes.
- [03:48]
B
No kidding. Well, Kim, let me ask one of you. Here's a question that comes to us from Robert in Canada, who asks, how much will it take to finally impeach Donald Trump for the third time for his conduct as a president and the acts of his administration? Do you think the Republicans will ever get on board?
- [04:09]
A
Well, what will it take, Robert? The answer is simpler for me to say than it is to actually happen. It will take political will. I mean, I think that it's pretty clear. In our most recent podcast, we pointed out that just the war crimey social media posts alone is ample evidence that I think would support the finding that the president committed a high crime or misdemeanor as we've come to understand it. And there were even some members of Congress who said that that was a step too far. I mean, hello, Ron Johnson, who is not somebody who is known for criticizing at all, but it will actually take the political will to act in accordance to that. And do the Republicans currently in office have that? I don't think so. They haven't shown to have it at all. So that means that the political will will have to come from the American people when they go to the polls. I know people find that a dissatisfying answer, but I don't like that. I feel like people should remember that the power of our government, of our representative democracy lies with the people. The moment people throw their hands up in the air and say voting is not enough, that in itself damages our democracy. And I think at this time more than ever, people need to use and harness their power because there are systems so hard at work to take it away from them. This is not a time to give it up. So you have to let your elected officials know that you want accountability at the top of the executive branch and that that is the kind of political will that is necessary for something like an impeachment to happen.
- [05:59]
B
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- [06:33]
A
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- [07:19]
B
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- [07:57]
A
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- [09:22]
B
This is a great question, right? I mean, yes, it is. Artemis 2 is on its voyage, which has been really fun. I've enjoyed the space photos and I've enjoyed, you know, something other than ugly politics for a change. You know, actually human discovery. It's been enjoyable. But to answer your question, Caitlin, no one owns the moon. In fact, there are more than 100 signatories, including the United States, to the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which says that the moon is global commons, and that means it cannot be claimed by any country even if you show up, even if you plant a flag in it and, you know, the United States, even
- [10:04]
A
if you put a Trump Hotel on it. Yeah, right.
- [10:07]
B
Yeah, that's right. But we planted a flag. But you know who else has? Russia has planted a flag, China has planted a flag, India has planted a flag. And even though they do, it has no legal meaning whatsoever for legal ownership. You know, how you can, like, buy a star and buy, you know, a plot on the moon? None of that is. Is legal. None of those things are legally binding. And so I think that as people start talking about colonizing the moon or extracting minerals from the moon, I think we might have to consider what those treaties say. But for the moment, in 1967, 100 countries agree that the moon is for the benefit of all humanity. Isn't that a quaint notion?
- [10:52]
A
It is. Let's hope that that holds up better than, like, the international rules of war and such.
- [11:00]
B
Well, let's play one for you, Kim. Here's a question that was recorded by
- [11:05]
A
Bill in florida in Childs vs Salazar. SCOTUS found that free speech was infringed upon by a law preventing conversion therapy to minors. But free speech isn't always talking. It can be actions like flag burning. So would gender affirming hormone therapy for Minors be considered free speech by healthcare provider? That is a great question, Bill. So you are correct that Child's v. Salazar was a free speech case and found that people who want to give talk therapy, that is conversion therapy, basically trying to convince a patient that they should be a gender identity or orientation other than they feel that they are, that that is protected by the First Amendment. I, I just, I even every time I say this case, I just find it so outrageous. But that's the Supreme Court. Now, when we come to gender affirming care, I think for a lot of reasons that it won't work the way that you were talking about. For starters, burning a flag in itself is an expression, right? It's, it's no one's job or profession to burn a flag. In that sense, you're doing it in order to make a statement, whereas prescribing some sort of medical or therapy care is not doing it to make a statement. You're supposed to be doing it under the Hippocratic oath as a healthcare professional in order to aid your patient. So I mean, then again, that's why I thought that Child's v. Salazar was wrongly decided. But that is basically a big difference between the two. Also in the Supreme Court case, U.S. v. Scrometti, if you recall, the Supreme Court said it's perfectly okay to ban for states to ban allowing gender affirming hormone care to minors, that that did not violate the Constitution's equal protection clause. I doubt they would have come to that conclusion if prescribing hormone therapy was protected by the First Amendment. So I think the Supreme Court has already indirectly answered that question. So I think if anyone brings a challenge, a First Amendment challenge in that way, if it will get slapped down out of the gate. So again, I really do like that everybody is trying to think about the Constitution, how it works, and maybe craft some unique arguments that may work. But I just think based on the Supreme Court precedent that we have that's pretty fresh from the last year or so, that that would preclude that kind of. Did you know Fast Growing Trees is America's largest and most trusted online nursery with thousands of trees and plants and over 2 million happy customers. I am among them. We have wonderful shrubbery out front that is from Fast Growing Trees. And I've had beautiful houseplants from them too. They have all the plants your yard or home needs, including fruit trees, privacy trees, flowering trees, shrubs, houseplants, all grown with care and guaranteed to arrive healthy. It's like your local nursery, but anywhere you live with 1600 plus varieties of trees and plants. That's more than you'll find at your local nursery or your plant shop.
- [14:38]
B
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A
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B
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- [17:14]
A
Barb we have a question from you from Janelle who asks, what is the supposed basis for investigating Cassidy Hutchinson how long after the fact can people be investigated by the DOJ in cases like this?
- [17:29]
B
Yeah. This is an interesting question. You know, Cassidy Hutchinson, we all probably remember, was an aide to Mark Meadows when he was the Chief of Staff at the White House. And during the investigations. It was in 2022, I believe, that she testified before the committee that was investigating the attack on the U.S. capitol. And during that time, she testified about some things that she'd observed, some things she had overheard, things that might include hearsay, which is permissible at a congressional hearing, may not have been permissible in a trial, but about things that, you know, she observed that day and heard in her role as an aide to Mark Meadows. So there's reporting that is out in the New York Times that based on sources of four people familiar with the investigation, that she is now being investigated for lying to Congress. And what's unusual about this is that the investigation is being run out of the Civil Rights Division. Normally, the Civil Rights Division looks into cases like police misconduct or hate crimes or other violations of civil rights. But according to the reporting, this is something that would ordinarily land in the office of the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, where the conduct took place, where Jeanine Pirro has had a tough time securing convictions. Right. She couldn't get a grand jury against the members of Congress who made the video correctly stating that military members have a duty to refuse to carry out an illegal law. So instead, Harmeet Dhillon, who is the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division and has been very on board with President Trump's agenda, appears to have landed this case. The conduct occurred in 2022. The statute of limitations is five years. So until June of 2027, this case is fair game. But, you know, the idea that there is evidence that she lied, I don't know that we've ever seen any evidence that she lied. It may be that what she testified to, what she said she heard from other people, ultimately turned out to be inaccurate. But that doesn't really mean that what she said there was then and there false, which you have to show she knew and intended to lie at the time she made that statement. So strikes me as yet another example of Donald Trump's revenge tour. But it seems that in Harmeet Dillon at the Civil Rights Division, the president has someone willing and maybe able to try to bring these charges.
- [20:16]
A
And it's terrible, because even in the end, if they prove, if these charges prove to not be upheld, she still has to go through this litigation. It's still that. I think that's the point. The point is to terrorize people and to try to intimidate them. And it will certainly prove. It will certainly serve that purpose.
- [20:35]
B
Yeah. And, you know, it does cause other people to think twice. Right. That, oh, I could go testify truthfully about what happened. Nothing bad will happen to me. Well, look at what happened to Cassidy Hutchinson. She had to hire a lawyer. She went through all of the stress, the resources, the distraction. So you're absolutely right. And it's an absolute abuse of power. And it's, you know, if there is no basis for this, it's also an ethical violation. Well, our last question comes to us from Britt, who asks, at what point can striking workers be fired? Does it depend on whether they are in a union? Is scabbing legal? Kim, what do you think? You and I are Detroit Daughters of Detroit. Yes.
- [21:13]
A
I love that you use stabbing as a verb. Yeah. So it's funny. So I have particular expertise in this because the first law firm that I interned at when I was a law student was in Detroit, and it was a labor law firm on the labor side, on the union side. So I learned a thing or two about striking and what one can do and what cannot. So this is governed by the National Labor Relations act. And under that act, unionized employees have the right to strike for economic reasons. Whether they are protesting their low wages or working conditions that make it difficult for them to make that living, they are legally protected to strike in order to demand better terms that protect their ability to make a living. There are exceptions to this. For example, public employees are exempted from the nlra. So in many states, it is, under state law, illegal, for example, for teachers to strike because they're public employees or for police officers or other people to strike. That depends on the state law, because they are exempt from the nlra. But if you are protected and you are engaging in a protected activity, you cannot be fired for engaging into that activity. But a company may hire temporary employees to fill your position during the course of that strike, but they have to, once that strike is over, give you your job back. So there are protections. So, yes, scabbing. I still love that. That's a verb. Scabbing is not illegal in itself, but the attempt to make permanent the temporary employees that are hired during a strike after that strike is over can be a violation of the nlra. Like one of my. There are so many rules and regulations that are under this, and it can be quite technical. Like, one of the jobs that I had when I was intern at this firm was to look up the regulations because one of the clients of the firm was, was actively striking at the time. And so I had to look up the regulations of how far an inflatable rat had to be from, like, egresses from a building. And I would look it up and then I would go with like one of those, you know, like those measuring tape and like, make sure that the inflatable rat was 30ft away from the, you know, walkway.
- [23:45]
B
Oh, too funny.
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A
Like, I was like, deeply entrenched in the law of striking workers, but yeah, so I have a little bit of history there, but that's a great question.
- [24:00]
B
Well, thank you for listening to Sister Sidebar with Kimberly at and me, Barb McQuait. Keep sending us your great questions for next week's show. We love them. And if you send in a voice memo, we might just play your question during our next episode. We hope to see you at our live shows in Denver, Colorado at the Cervantes Masterpiece on April 23, and in Atlanta, Georgia at the Buckhead Theater on May 3. Tickets are available at Politicon.com so make sure you get them before they sell out. Follow Sisters Sidebar and sistersinlaw wherever you listen. And please give us a five star review. It really helps others to find the show. And please show some love to this week's sponsors, Bole and Branch and Fast Growing Trees. The links are in the show notes. Please support them because they make this podcast possible. Don't forget to pick up SistersInLawmerch and other goodies@politicon.com merch and see you every week on Wednesdays and Saturdays for new episodes of Sisters in Law and Sisters. Sidebar. See you next week with another episode, Sisters Sidebar. Are we finally done? I feel like we've been at this for days.
- [25:24]
A
What was that meme? It's been 84 years.
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B
My gosh.
- [25:36]
A
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- [25:51]
C
Hey, sweetie. Your mother showed me this Carvana thing for selling the car. I'm gonna give it a try. Wish me luck. Me again. I put in the license plate. It gave me an offer. Unbelievable. Okay, I accepted the offer. They're picking it up Tuesday from the driveway. I haven't even left my chair. It's done. The car is gone. I'm holding a check Anyway, Carvana, give it a whirl. Love ya.
- [26:14]
B
So good you'll want to leave a voicemail about it.
- [26:16]
A
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