The Supreme Court has ruled Trump does not have absolute immunity as to the Manhattan DA's subpoena of 8 years of his tax records. (Opinion here). But, the Court ruled, he still has defenses:

In the case concerning the prosecutors’ subpoena, Chief Justice Roberts wrote that “no citizen, not even the president, is categorically above the common duty to produce evidence when called upon in a criminal proceeding.” He added that Mr. Trump may still raise objections to the scope and relevance of the subpoena.

In a second case (opinion here), the Court refused to order that Trummp's financial records must be turned over to congressional committees investigating Trump. There could be separation of powers issues. [More...]

The corona virus keeps breaking records. More than 50,000 cases a day in the U.S.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

TrumpVirus Update: Florida reached 9,000 new cases today, up from its 5,000 record a few days ago. It has ordered bars to close. Too little, too late, of course, just like Texas.

Unlike Birx who is thanking millenials for getting tested, I have no nice words for them. Faucio agrees they are the culprit, but is too nice to criticize them.

Will the 65 + age group ever be able to safely leave their homes, return to work, go to dinner in outdoor parking lot or hug their grandkids? Looks more and more like the answer is "No". Forever shut-ins. Remember when Trump said, open the schools, let all the teachers, except those over 70, return? That will probably be the new normal for all jobs and professions. Your accountant (plumber, electrician, lawyer, shop owner, chef, etc) is too old to safely be in public? Just hire or patronize a younger one.

In the meantime, MASK UP AMERICA and stay home if you can.

Tuned in to hear Mike Pence tell us all to pray.

Dr. Deborah Birk: Praise be due the millenials, who have come out for testing.

"We know know" who is most at risk: the elderly. (We knew that many moons ago.)

"We know who is dying": (We've always known that).

"We know" people on respirators will respond well to steroids.

A slide is playing on the right from NBC reminding us there are 125,0000 deaths.

We are most concerned about states with rising test positives and rising numbers of cases. She names them. [More...]

To all you Dads out there, I hope you have a wonderful day. If your Dad is still alive, don't forget to call him if he can get calls. If he's in jail or prison, send a card, welcome his collect call, and try to make his day a little brighter.

2.7 million children in the United States have a parent incarcerated.

[N]early twice as many black children (11.5 percent) have had a parent who lived with them go to jail or prison compared to white children (6 percent). And a child living in poverty is three times more likely (12.5 percent) to have experienced parental incarceration than a child whose household income is at least twice the federal poverty level (3.9 percent) (Murphey and Cooper 2015).

Seventeen years ago here on TalkLeft, I wrote about one specific child of the incarcerated --Chesa Boudin, the son of former Weatherground member Kathy Boudin. He had written an article for Salon in 2001, "I am the Son of Inmate 83A6158." He graduated from Yale and became a Rhodes scholar.

Where is Chesa today? First, he became a state public defender. In November, he ran for District Attorney of San Francisco, and won. He was sworn in in January.

Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for President, has resumed his campaign appearances. Today he made a speech in Philadelphia on the crisis facing America and Donald Trump's unacceptable and inadequate response.

“Donald Trump has turned this country into a battlefield riven by old resentments and fresh fears,” Mr. Biden said, speaking against a backdrop of American flags at Philadelphia’s City Hall. “Is this who we want to be? Is this what we want to pass on to our children and grandchildren? Fear, anger, finger pointing, rather than the pursuit of happiness? Incompetence and anxiety, self-absorption, selfishness?”

The country, Mr. Biden said, is “crying out for leadership.”

Indeed we are. But the country is also crying out for an end to police brutality, for equal justice and for the implementation of change now (not in January, 2021 or during the next four years of the next president's administration) that provides persons of color and the impovrished with equal economic opportunities.

I have my doubts that the man who spent 30 years in Congress passing some of the most draconian and oppressive criminal justice legislation of the century, which to this day results in arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement against minorities, is the right one to lead us out of the cess-pool Donald Trump has dumped us in.

I think Democrats need an angel to step in. Joe Biden's legislative record on crime alone warrants him giving serious consideration to withdrawing from the race. Why should we have to choose between bad and worst?

Time for a new open thread, here it is, all topics welcome.

If there is anyone that is viewed globally as a dumba** as much as Donald Trump, it can only be his adult children.

If you are interested in what his under-accommplished sons Donald Jr. and Eric said this week that has put them in the news, here it is.

Let the eye-rolling begin.

My half-written posts yesterday are about (1) [former Zambada-Garcia sicario] "El Chino Antrax" going missing while on supervised release in San Diego, (2) Paul Manafort's release, Michael Cohen's non-release (as of now), and the complex procedure and arbitrary decisions of BOP on medically challenged inmates' request for compassionate release and reduction of sentence to a term of home detention, and the disagreement among the federal district courts when reviewing BOP denials, on everything from jurisdiction and exhaustion of remedies to interpreting the statute and AG Memoranda and (3) the 50 BOP press releases each announcing the death of the an inmate who died of complications from COVID-19 while serving their sentence. All had prior medical conditions which put them at greater risk of serious injury or death from COVID-19.

I could have written three briefs in the time I've spent on these three posts, but they aren't finished. So in the meantime, here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

The Global Citizen concert yesterday honoring first responders and healthcare workers was excellent. Of course my favorite was the Rolling Stones. You can see all the excellent performances on You Tube (or at yesterday you could).

A big thanks to Lady Gaga who made it happen.

I am captivated by her microphone. Anyone know what kind it is?

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

On Rachel Maddow's show, Rachel Maddow asked Elizabeth Warren “If [Biden] asked you to be his runnng mate, would you say yes?”
Warren's one word answer: "Yes.”

Elizabeth is so much more ready for the job than someone like Stacy Abrams. I would not want Stacy Abrams as President if something happened to Biden after he was sworn in. There are three strong women Senators who ran against Biden. I think any one of them would be better than Biden, which means I would support any of the three over VP. Stacy Abrams, a former state legislator. It's not her time yet and I'd wouldn't feel safe. falling asleep at night knowing she was in control. Once she gets some sea legs, I might change my mind, but not this year.

Biden already has the Black vote. It's time for him to choose another segment of society: Not sure who that would be though..

Federal prosecutors and DOJ, under the control of Attorney General William Barr, unlike their state counterparts, are objecting to the release of many low level, non-violent inmates with serious health concerns and doing time in crowded jails in which other inmates and guards have already contracted coronavirus.

They don't always get their way, but still, their position is appalling.[More...}