The Trump Administration Is on a Losing Streak in Federal Courts

The hilarious knockabout farce Sandwich Guy vs. the World, presented onstage in Washington by noted impresario Jeanine Pirro, went to barely comprehending jury on Wednesday. But not before there were closing arguments that owed more to Abbott and Costello than to Marbury v. Madison. And on Thursday, the eagerly anticipated final act played out. From CBS News:

The acquittal of the man, Sean Dunn, comes after federal prosecutors failed to secure a felony indictment against him from a grand jury in Washington in the immediate aftermath of the incident. He instead faced a federal misdemeanor assault charge for allegedly assaulting, resisting, opposing, impeding, intimidating and interfering with a federal officer.

The alleged victim did himself no favors on the stand.

To laughs from the crowded courtroom, Lairmore said he “could feel it through his ballistic vest” and it “exploded all over” him. He said he “could smell the onions and mustard” on his uniform, and even had an onion string hanging by his police radio later that night. The fast-food mustard, he said, stained his shirt.

The jury obviously then applied the ancient legal principle “Num hic homo locutur? Quando es prandium?” (“Is this guy kidding? When’s lunch?”) and delivered its inevitable verdict.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the district, Lindsey Halligan continues to struggle in her effort to try real cases by prosecuting James Comey for ... something. The judge is somehow protecting his last nerve to prevent Halligan from jumping on it. From The Washington Post:

U.S. Magistrate Judge William E. Fitzpatrick described the Justice Department’s handling of Comey’s prosecution as “highly unusual” and ordered its attorneys to hand over a raft of potential evidence by the end of the day Thursday. That material includes full transcripts of U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan’s September presentation to the grand jury that indicted Comey on counts of making false statements and obstructing a congressional proceeding.

“This is not a typical case,” Fitzpatrick said. “Right now, we’re in a bit of a feeling of indict first and investigate second.” The judge delivered that rebuke near the end of a largely procedural hearing as the Justice Department prepares its case for a trial expected early next year. Comey’s attorneys have denied the allegations against him and moved to have the charges dismissed, arguing they were brought in response to improper demands from President Donald Trump that the Justice Department target his longtime foe.

A mark, that will surely leave.

Meanwhile, the administration’s losing streak in federal court rolls on. From WTTW:

Ellis ruled that there was ample evidence that federal agents had violated Chicagoans’ First Amendment rights to free speech and free assembly to protest what the Trump administration calls “Operation Midway Blitz” while also impermissibly preventing the free exercise of religion by targeting members of the clergy with force. “The use of force shocks the conscience,” Ellis said. “This conduct shows no sign of stopping.”

Ellis repeatedly said that federal agents, including Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino, lied about the threat posed by protesters and their conduct on the streets of Chicago. Federal agents “indiscriminately” fired tear gas at Chicagoans, tackled them, beat them, struck them with pepper balls and pointed weapons at them. “I find the government’s evidence to be simply not credible,” Ellis said.

For my money, the government itself is not credible. But that’s just me.