The second day of alcoholic shitbrain Rudy Giuliani’s trial to determine the award to defamed Georgia mother-daughter election worker duo Ruby Freeman and Shae Moss got off to a rough start for the disgraced former New York City mayor on Tuesday as DC Circuit Judge Beryl Howell asked defense lawyer Joe Sibley what the fuck his client was thinking when he claimed “everything I said about” the two plaintiffs “is true. Of course I don’t regret it. I told the truth. They were engaged in changing votes” from the steps of the courthouse on Monday, Politico’s Kyle Cheney reports.

“I’m not sure how it’s reconcilable,” Sibley admitted to Howell when she asked why he told the jury that Freeman and Moss were “good people” but his asshole client said they’re criminals. “This has taken a bit of a toll on him. He’s almost 80 years old. I think he was sitting here all day at trial at his age,” Sibley told Howell, who wondered aloud if Captain 9/11 was going to be able to follow court orders when he has to take the stand and testify… as if there’s any chance he won’t owe tens of millions of dollars after the jury makes their determination on the award to the platiffs.

Senate conspiracy bot RonAnon.exe suffered an STDOUT ERROR at line 477 of its controller code on Tuesday as a query parameter “What do you make of Jack Smith doing this?” from Bartiromo.hag returned an invalid exception response of “Biden crime family” values from a different database.

Bureau of Labor Statistics: “The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.1 percent in November on a seasonally adjusted basis, after being unchanged in October, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 3.1 percent before seasonal adjustment. The index for shelter continued to rise in November, offsetting a decline in the gasoline index. The energy index fell 2.3 percent over the month as a 6.0-percent decline in the gasoline index more than offset increases in other energy component indexes.”

“The food index increased 0.2 percent in November, after rising 0.3 percent in October. The index for food at home increased 0.1 percent over the month and the index for food away from home rose 0.4 percent. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3 percent in November, after rising 0.2 percent in October. Indexes which increased in November include rent, owners’ equivalent rent, medical care, and motor vehicle insurance. The indexes for apparel, household furnishings and operations, communication, and recreation were among those that decreased over the month.”

WOW! WMUR in New Hampshire reports Republican Governor Chris Sununu will endorse Nikki Haley at some event in the Granite State later on Tuesday! That’s like seriously going to shake up the 2024 GOP presidential primary to a certain extent, right? Like it could really solidify and build from her double-digit support for a strong second in the state’s primary! Sucks for Asa Hutchinson!

Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith on Monday filed a motion informing the court of three tech expert witnesses he intends to call in disgraced former President Trump’s upcoming federal trial on conspiracy charges stemming from his failed post-2020 election coup attempt.

Each of the witnesses will testify on topics of cell phone location data and what not with the first and second concerning the movements of Trump’s fans from the Ellipse to the Capitol on January 6th, 2021 following the demented speech in which he incited them to attack Congress.

The third one however is a bit more interesting however, as Smith writes they have “knowledge, skill, experience, training, and education beyond the ordinary lay person regarding the analysis of cellular phone data, including the use of Twitter and other applications on cell phones. The Government expects that Expert 3 will testify that he/she: (1) extracted and processed data from the White House cell phones used by the defendant and one other individual (Individual 1), (2) reviewed and analyzed data on the defendant’s phone and on Individual 1’s phone, including analyzing images found on the phones and websites visited, (3) determined the usage of these phones throughout the post-election period, including on and around January 6, 2021, and (4) specifically identified the periods of time during which the defendant’s phone was unlocked and the Twitter application was open on January 6,” which is, uh, pretty fucking big if true that they got a phone that Trump used.

Ukraine’s state news on Monday released images purportedly showing the fresh corpse of a pro-Russian former MP who was gunned down in a Moscow park last week, the Telegraph reports.

Illia Kyva, a former opposition MP who last year was convicted in absentia of high treason and and sentenced to 14 years, had often filmed anti-Kyiv propaganda videos in the park. “This is a signal to all traitors and war criminals who have flipped to the enemy side,” a source in Ukraine’s SBU intelligence service told the Telegraph. “Remember: Russia will not protect you. As Vasyl Maliuk, head of the SBU, said earlier, death is the only prospect that awaits the enemies of Ukraine.”

Kyva, a regular guest on the Russian version of Fox News, was reportedly often seen with a security detail, but one way or another the Ukrainians caught him alone and ended his influencer career.

Regular Congressional GOP mouthpiece Punchbowl News experienced a brief liminal moment of journalistic independence on Tuesday, mixing the headline “Republicans pump brakes on impeachment inevitability” into its morning newsletter roundup for reasons unclear.

“The general consensus on Capitol Hill is that once Republicans vote to open an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden this week, it’s extremely likely the House will end up voting to impeach the president. The reasoning: It’s hard to imagine in this partisan era that House Republicans open such a probe and then conclude that Biden did nothing wrong. House GOP lawmakers, for their part, largely pushed back on that rationale Monday, saying it wasn’t accurate to assume Biden’s impeachment is inevitable,” they wrote, throwing in some quotes from House Republicans reluctant to take it to the next step… as of this point in time.

“I can defend an inquiry. I can’t defend impeachment right now,” says “moderate” Don Bacon. “If we don’t have the receipts, that should constrain what the House does [on impeachment],” says South Dakotan Dusty Johnson. “I’m sure there’s some people that would just as soon skip this part, but I don’t know that that’s a foregone conclusion,” said other “moderate” Dan Newhouse.

Florida man arrested for allegedly refusing to pay for 'Waffle House' tattoo https://t.co/1ZGMn0L7i7

— Fox News (@FoxNews) December 12, 2023

Apparently unfamiliar with the purpose of punitive damages, Rudy Giuliani’s lawyer told a federal jury in Washington, DC that making the former New York mayor pay millions to two Fulton County election workers he’s been found liable of defaming would amount to a “death penalty,” the Daily Beast reports.

Joseph Sibley, Giuliani’s attorney, told the jury the $15- to $48 million award sought by Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss is excessive. “If you award them what they are asking for, it will be the end of Mr. Giuliani,” he claimed.  Regardless of the money awarded to the Georgia mother and daughter, it will be part of a long list of civil damages, penalties, and criminal fines Giuliani can expect.  Giuliani is rumored to already be significantly in debt and recently had to put his prized Manhattan apartment on the market.  (The apartment is still on the market at $6.1 million, a reduction of its $6.5 million initial asking price in August.)

For months after the FBI seized government documents stored at Purgatory’s waiting room in Florida, CNN reports that Donald Trump and other members of his staff reached out to a former Mar-a-Lago employee who later became a key witness in Jack Smith’s investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents, CNN reports.

One of the Mar-a-Lago employees who helped move the boxes of documents, the unnamed man quit his job at the club to pursue a new opportunity three months after the August 2022 FBI search.  Trump and the man’s former boss, Mar-a-Lago property manager and Trump co-defendant Carlos De Oliveira, repeatedly contacted the man in the following months, offering him invitations to events and complimentary tickets to golf tournaments.

In early 2023, the man correctly determined he needed legal representation, and despite De Oliveira urging him to seek Trump’s financial help and access to Trump’s legal team, the man opted for an independent lawyer, and ultimately cooperated with the Special Counsel’s office.  The same realization happened to another former Mar-a-Lago employee, Yuscil Taveras, the site’s IT manager, who became a cooperating witness after ditching Trump-paid counsel.

Far right Virginia Congressman Bob Good was elected to serve as the next chairman of the House Freedom Caucasians, CNN’s Melanie Zanona reports citing two sources. Good, a former Liberty University wrestler whose successful primary challenge against incumbent Republican Denver Riggleman in 2020 centered on Riggleman having officiated a wedding ceremony for two male staffers, is controversial even within the white nationalist heart of darkness caucus in the House GOP, as prior to the leadership contest on Monday Freedom Caucasians board member Warren Davidson resigned over from his post in protest of their endorsement of Good.

Giving Democrats another policy platform for 2024, the Republican Texas Supreme Court overruled a lower court and denied Kate Cox the legal authority to get an abortion even though the two-time mother’s fetus developed a fatal diagnosis that ensures death in vitro or shortly after birth, per the New York Times.

Made up entirely of Republican appointees, the Texas Supreme Court decision encapsulates the GOP attitude that women have no right to control their bodies.  The decision would have meant that Cox–whose lawyers said she fled the state to obtain the needed medical care–would have had to have a cesarian section, a procedure that increases the likelihood of complication given the patient’s medical history.

Having had its last three attempts to tie Joe Biden to corrupt money transfers dissolve faster than the Wicked Witch in a steam room, the House GOP leadership intends to bring to the floor on Wednesday a vote to formalize the impeachment investigation into the President, Reuters reports.

It’s going to be an interesting bill introduction, given the GOP claims against Biden started with a claim that the family took an illegal $10 million payment from Ukraine and has now devolved into tracking three car payments Hunter paid his father.  But when your conference is run by Marjorie Taylor Greene and you have no pertinent policies on which to base a 2024 campaign, a “Seinfeld”-esque investigation into nothing is what you produce.

Court documents show that the various entities personified by George Santos is in negotiations for a plea deal with federal prosecutors, according to CNN.  Recently expelled from the House for a variety of things but primarily for being an embarrassment, Santos is expected to appear for a status hearing in federal court in Long Island on Tuesday, during which the parties are expected to request another status hearing in 30 days–a sign that they expect an agreement by the follow-up date.  Santos told a local media outlet “a plea is not off the table obviously at this point. But we just don’t know that yet,” adding when asked if he was afraid of going to jail, “I think everyone should be afraid of going to jail; it’s not a pretty place, and I definitely want to work very hard to avoid that as much as possible.”

The House Freedom Caucus board’s recommendation that second-term Virginia Republican Bob Good–who was a college wrestler at Liberty University which makes one wonder if the Caucus has a fetish for grapplers–take over as chair didn’t sit well with some.  Board member Warren Davidson of Ohio to submit his resignation from the Board, saying Good is a bad choice because, Davidson feels, Good’s strongarm tactics won’t lead to success.

“I am concerned that our group often relies too much on power (available primarily due to the narrow majority) and too little on influence with and among our colleagues. This approach is not a strong foundation for future success,” Davidson said in his resignation letter. “For me these concerns culminate with the Board’s recommendation that Bob Good serve as the next Chairman of the House Freedom Caucus. I ask that we consider how to best increase our influence while preserving our power to move policy in the right direction. I strongly feel that Bob Good as Chairman will impair that objective.”

CNN talking head Steve Vladek reports that the Supreme Court has accepted the motion by Special Counsel Jack Smith requesting it consider the Trump immunity argument in an expedited fashion.  Response due:  December 20th.  To be clear:  this is not SCOTUS committing to quickly take up the case; this is the Court saying it will quickly take up the question of whether it should take up the case.

“I am stepping down from all roles with Project Veritas and Project Veritas Action – effective immediately,” Hannah Giles, the pretend-hooker-turned conservative activist who worked with James O’Keefe on various scams, posted as she resigned from her post leading the spiraling, scandal-plagued group after O’Keefe’s ouster.  “Though I had high hopes when I joined the organizations, I stepped into an unsalvageable mess – one wrought with strong evidence of past illegality and past financial improprieties. Once such evidence was discovered, I brought the information to the appropriate law enforcement agencies. Thank you[.]”

Project Veritas and O’Keefe are under continuing scrutiny for their roles in trafficking a book purported to be Joe Biden’s daughter’s diary, but one that passed through so many hands it is no longer viable evidence of anything.  Not evidence of anything, that is, except its own theft, to which two people pleaded guilty last year after having sold the stolen goods to Project Veritas for $40,000.

“Fake News writer Peter ‘Obama’ Baker of the Failing New York Times (READERSHIP & SUBSCRIPTIONS WAY DOWN FROM THE GOOD OL’ TRUMP YEARS!), whose claim to fame is that, ‘he will never write anything good about the GREAT job President Trump did,’ just wrote, in a major, front page story, that I want to be a Dictator, but doesn’t mention it was said in a joking manner, and completed with ‘but only for a day, because I’m going to close the Border, and DRILL, DRILL, DRILL,’ a much different attitude and meaning!” writes fat former President Trump on Truth Social.

Put this together with Maggie Haberman telling CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that the fat fuck’s campaign knows the democracy thing is “a trouble spot” and “a concern to voters,” his minions freaking out over who leaked to Axios that Melania wants Tucker Carlson to be vice president, Kevin McCarthy saying “he’s gotta stop,” and then that large-headed asshole freaking out last month you can see how the MAGA Reich just miiiiiight finally be realizing they’re going too far with this batshittery.

In related news, Team Orange also freaked out over Jack Smith going to the Supreme Court to expedite Donald’s “presidential immunity” appeal in the DC case, writing “There is absolutely no reason to rush this sham to trial except to injure President Trump and tens of millions of his supporters. President Trump will continue to fight for Justice and oppose these authoritarian tactics,” among other transparent panic over Smith possibly spoking their delay tactics.

Federal authorities charged a New Hampshire man for threatening to kill Republican used car salesman and presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and executing a mass murder at one of his rallies, the Washington Post reports. In a series of text messages responding to mass texts from the campaign to local Ramaswamians to hype an upcoming local gig, 30-year-old Tyler Anderson of Dover responded, “Great, another opportunity for me to blow his brains out!” and “I’m going to kill everyone who attends.”

The same man also threatened the life of another unnamed candidate, texting, “Fantastic, now I know where to go so I can blow that [person’s] head off.”  Anderson admitted to sending the texts to Ramaswamy’s campaign and said he sent similar messages to other campaigns instead of the more traditional “STOP.”  He now faces up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three additional years of supervised release.

“I’m grateful to the people on the front lines who work hard every day to make sure people like me and other Americans are kept safe,” Ramaswamy told reporters in New Hampshire adding, “I think that we are very well protected,” and stopping before he went into a tirade about how those federal agencies that protected him were responsible for the attacks on 9/11 or somesuch nonsense.

A new Public Policy Polling survey finds just 29 percent of voters in 17 Congressional districts won by Joe Biden in 2020 and then a Republican in 2022 saying House Republicans should move forward with impeachment even if no evidence is uncovered in their “inquiry,” with the rest opposed.

More respondents, 44 percent, said they’ll be less likely to vote for their representative in 2024 if they vote to authorize the impeachment inquiry versus 24 percent who said more likely.

In an example of very good question crafting, Public Policy Polling asked “A month ago, House Speaker Mike Johnson said there was no evidence for an impeachment of President Biden. After meeting with Donald Trump, he called for a vote on an impeachment inquiry. Johnson was one of the chief architects of Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election in the courts. Do you trust Speaker Mike Johnson to be fair in this impeachment inquiry, or not?” finding only 30 percent saying they still thought Johnson could be “fair” to 54 percent correctly saying no.

NBC’s Sahil Kapur reports the Republicans are going to try to vote on Thursday to formalize the impeachment inquiry and, assuming all Democrats show up, can only afford three no votes.