Letters to Bette: They Call Her General
Letters to Bette: They Call Her General
Retired IRS criminal investigator Martin Sheil offers us a new hero, Elizabeth Prelogar, and a ray of hope, in this Letters to Bette ‘op-ed’
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I often send retired IRS criminal investigator Martin Sheil Joyce Vance’s Civil Discourse, as she helps us follow the plots with her sharp legal eye. Marty, who follows the money and relays his findings to the Bette Dangerous community, was inspired by a pair of Vance’s recents posts and a bit of digging that he did post-Bette’s Very Marty Happy Hour last Tuesday.
Here is the latest Letter to Bette/Op-Ed from Marty on his new hero, Elizabeth Prelogar:
They Call Her ‘General’
Hey Heidi,
One of the main side shows in the Donald Trump legal circus - the so-called Mar-a-Lago documents case - stars Judge Aileen Cannon as the main clown in an ongoing clown show of pretrial motions masquerading as written briefs, opinions and/or rulings. This masquerade portrays Judge Cannon as just another Trump loyalist in robes - but no one is laughing or is even a little bit entertained.
Trump's favorite lawyer of old - Roy Cohn - attorney to the Mob - once famously said when approaching a court case - "Don't tell me what the law is - tell me who the Judge is."
Indeed!
Trump appointed Cannon to the bench, and it is becoming apparent that he is now harvesting the seed he planted during his former Presidential term.
Many talking legal heads have been stupefied by recent written judicial actions taken by Clown Cannon and have exhibited great concern about the course of this case. Joyce Vance for one, has suggested several courses of action that I endorse including seeking a Writ of Mandamus, Motion Limine, other Appeals, and finally Recusal of Cannon from further adjudicating the Mar-a-Lago saga.
At least one of the above considered actions by the Special Counsel would require the approval of the Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar. Should any of these actions prove successful for the Prosecution it almost goes without saying that the Trump legal team would appeal, and likely up to the Supreme Court should the 11th Circuit disappoint. It should be pointed out that the U.S. Solicitor General would be shepherding the government's Appellate response, and that is a good thing. Let me tell you why.
After last Taco Tuesday's din din (aka Bette’s Very Marty Happy Hour ) I was a little wound up and started channel surfing. I stumbled upon CSPAN which was replaying Oral arguments before SCOTUS with regard to Moore v U.S. - which is the Wealth Tax case that I have previously addressed with concerns about Justice Alito being financially groomed by a wealthy Hedge Fund Dude who had already benefitted from an earlier favorable ruling by SCOTUS, wherein the Supremes ruled against Argentina in favor of the Hedge Fund Guy who Alito claims he did not know was involved...
Anyhoo - I have expressed grave concerns about the fate of the wealth tax case before SCOTUS. My concerns have now been very much ameliorated upon witnessing the Government's superlative performance before SCOTUS in Oral arguments.
Why - you no doubt are asking once again.
The attorney representing the U.S. before SCOTUS in the Moore case was the current Solicitor General - Elizabeth Prelogar.
Ms. Prelogar provided one of the most stunningly superlative legal advocacy arguments in favor of the constitutionality of the Wealth tax that I have ever had the pleasure of witnessing.
Prelogar's grasp of arcane tax law minutia was startling as she responded in rapid fire to the machine gun like pacing of questions thrown up at her by the Supremes. It is beyond rare for me to witness pretty much anyone with more than a passing superficial knowledge of Tax law. But Prelogar really got down into the weeds and even into the roots of the weeds and the history of the roots of the weeds of esoteric Tax law ponderings and case law.
Prelogar had such conservative Federalist Society/Libertarian Justices as Gorsuch and Kavanaugh eating out of her hand and politely requesting her guidance in charting a future decision of momentous importance to our government and our country.
So why the buildup here?
Simply put.
Prelogar is the most brilliant lawyer I have ever encountered.
Prelogar is the current Solicitor General of the U.S.
Prelogar is the person that Jack Smith would first have to go to in order to obtain approval for a Writ of Mandamus application to the 11th Circuit to remove Federal District Court Judge Aileen Cannon from the Trump Mar-a-Lago Documents case.
I am confident if it comes to that - requesting Mandamus is a really big deal and rarely approved - Prelogar will weigh in and provide guidance to Smith's Mandamus request - and that would be a really good thing.
Should this mess ever ascend to SCOTUS, I shudder and am haunted by the Conservative Justice 6-3 majority currently presiding and can vaguely hear in the distance Judge Cannon vocalizing in pale imitation of Madonna's greatest work prodding at Alito's guilt trip and reminding Trump of her loyalty and possible future considerations -
"Don't cry for me Argentina
I never left you
I kept my promise
Don't keep your distance."
The above is a scenario where Special Counsel Jack Smith is going to need all the help he can get, and I feel good about one possible legal friend in particular ...
They call her General.
marty
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(Below, our Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar; and Martin Sheil, photo courtesy Cathy Sheil)
