Thursday, January 22, 2009

barry and biden meet privately with SCOTUS

January 14, 2009

[I know I'm a little tardy in posting things but my fellow citizens have abandoned me...for good it seems.]

barry and biden had a cozy chat with the Supreme Court judges on Jan 14th. Judge Alito was absent - reason not given. Conflict of interest would be a good place to start.

aHear about it on the news? Read it in the paper? See the photo op?

Me neither. I found out about it from TONY MAURO at the Blog of Legal Times. It was described it as "courtesy call" as part of a pre-inaugural tradition - the last time being 1992 - and lasted about an hour. Evidently the invitation was sent out Dec 5th - one wonders why their visit was so delayed? Kinda hard to see the defendant(s) in chambers, I guess. And the presidential battery went out of their way to avoid being seen by anyone. Had they wanted the press they would no doubt have made what Roger Simon calls "stagecraft". A presidency of stagecraft he said. Can't put it much better than that. Stagecraft and documentary-worthy presidential re-creations.

Ever know barry to pass up a photo op? A constitutional lawyer not getting his picture with the Supreme Court Justices for all to see? The first black president of the Harvard Law Review not making a production out of it?

It was a "matter of security". And, curiouser and curiouser, they were not alone. Present were Jeff Minear, counselor to Chief Justice Roberts, Gregory Craig, barry's soon to be White House counsel and Alan Hoffman, Biden's deputy chief of staff.

Why the need for lawyers? A sightseeing tour? Autographs maybe?

I honestly don't know how in a legal sense the Justices could talk with them in camera so to speak when cases against them were still being considered (however truthfully) in front of them. Does someone keep a record of their chat or perhaps proceedings? Berg's conference was on the 16th and Lightfoot on the 23rd. How is that not a conflict of interest? It may very well explain Justice Alito's absence. One thing I did notice - barry's mood lightened last week. Must help knowing the Chief Justice isn't going to rule against you.

If the Justices asked them formal questions - is the public able to know? This whole thing stinks. Obamahoax is a step closer to a More Perfect Union...Chicago style.

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