Ten News Items from The Contrarian

 

These Top 10 lists will be refreshed weekly and will have their own tab on the Contrarian homepage. Here’s our first one, followed as usual by my rundown of all of this week’s indispensable coverage in The Contrarian:

1. New York Attorney General Letitia James

Trump has had a long-running grudge against AG James and went so far as to post on social media what seemed to have been intended as a direct message to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi demanding James be prosecuted. The resulting bogus charges that James committed mortgage fraud were thrown out by a judge who determined that Trump’s handpicked crony Lindsey Halligan was not authorized to file the indictment. Then, when the DOJ tried to bring the case again this week, a grand jury reportedly refused to charge.

Next: Trump should give up, but he probably won’t. Expect another stab at a grand jury in weeks ahead.

2. Judge Hannah Dugan

The Trump administration is prosecuting Wisconsin state Judge Hannah Dugan for simply doing what jurists do every day: controlling her court. They claim that by excusing a defendant–who was an undocumented migrant–from her courtroom, she was attempting to hide him from federal officials, and thus interfering with their case against him. It’s hard to imagine any prior administration bringing this case–or the jury finding her guilty.

Next: The trial begins Dec. 15.

3. Former FBI Director James Comey

Comey is also a long-time target of Trump’s revenge, dating all the way to the end of the 2016 campaign when Comey announced that Democratic presidential nominee and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s emails weren’t worthy of further criminal investigation. Laughable claims that Comey perjured himself before Congress were brought by the same unauthorized prosecutor as in the James case, and tossed by the same judge (see item 1 above). The statute of limitations has run, so this one is bound for the graveyard.

Next: Despite its moribund nature, expect Trump to try to bring the case back from the dead. That will likely fail.

4. U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver

Trump went after McIver, a sitting member of Congress, for doing her constitutional duty: conducting congressional oversight. McIver tried to visit a detention center in her own district–and federal agents charged her with forcibly interfering with their work. The video shows her basically trying to de-escalate while agents ramped things up. It seems unlikely that a jury will fall for these preposterously overstated charges.

Next: The trial date is pending. Supplemental briefing on whether one of the three counts should be dismissed is due on Tuesday, December 9.

5. Union Leader David Huerta

Huerta, president of the Service Employees International Union California, was “part of a group that arrived…as federal officers arrested dozens of garment workers” on June 6 in Los Angeles. He was hit with a felony for allegedly interfering with the federal agents. Tellingly, prosecutors later downgraded it to a misdemeanor. Huerta pleaded not guilty, stating “These charges are baseless. They are an attempt to silence anyone who dares to speak out.” He has a point. (Note: my Democracy Defenders Fund colleagues and I are among the counsel team representing Huerta in this case).

Next: There will be a pretrial conference on January 6. The trial will begin on January 20th.

6. Former National Security Advisor John Bolton

Bolton, Trump’s former National Security Advisor, wrote a tell-all book about Trump’s deranged behavior during his first term–and has been charged with 18 counts of mishandling national defense information. Bolton’s book was cleared by former National Security Council career staff, but we don’t know as much about what’s going on under the hood here because much information relating to the case remains classified. We do know that Trump has spent years publicly seething about Bolton. This prosecution screams “selective and vindictive,” and Bolton’s lawyers will likely argue exactly that.

Next: Pre-trial proceedings are underway. In last week’s status conference, the Government indicated it might add new charges The Court also granted a joint request to toll the speedy trial clock until October 5, 2026.

7. U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff.

Schiff, a longtime Trump foe and impeachment manager, reportedly faces investigation for mortgage fraud—the same type of baseless claim Trump tried to use against James. Reports indicate prosecutors are hesitant to bring charges–presumably because the evidence just doesn’t measure up (also like with James). But, as this top 10 list demonstrates, bogus charges based on flimsy evidence have not stopped this regime from pursuing its perceived political enemies.

Next: With prosecutors dragging their feet, this one might not go the distance.

8. U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell

Swalwell is yet another Trump foe facing a dubious mortgage investigation. This one comes at the hands of Bill Pulte, Trump’s director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, who, in a very Trumpean move, allegedly used his position to illegally obtain Swalwell’s records–and decided to play prosecutor, referring the congressman to DOJ. Swalwell fought back with a lawsuit claiming Pulte violated his privacy rights. This attempt to use government access to settle political scores might end up backfiring, as it’s alleged Pulte overstepped substantially.

Next: Swalwell’s lawsuit against Pulte moves forward; the investigation into Swalwell? Not so much.

9. Former CIA Director John Brennan and Others

Brennan is another of Trump’s old first-term nemeses who’s facing criminal investigation for his role in the Russia investigation–which, to be clear, found that Russia did indeed tamper in the 2016 election on Trump’s behalf. Trump sycophant and suit jacket hater Rep. Jim Jordan referred Brennan to the DOJ for allegedly lying to Congress about the role the CIA played in that investigation, and, in November, a grand jury reportedly subpoenaed Brennan and others for records. There’s no there here.

Next: The investigation continues with grand jury activity in Florida.

10. Kilmar Abrego Garcia

Garcia was illegally deported to El Salvador’s most notorious prison after Immigration and Customs Enforcement violated a judge’s protective order. The Trump cabal later admitted it was an “administrative error“ (oops!), and a judge ordered him returned. Garcia reunited with his family in August, only for ICE to snatch him up again–after he was indicted by the administration for human smuggling. The courts have been sharply critical of the case, including stating that there is a “realistic likelihood” the prosecution is vindictive and allowing discovery on point. Garcia remains in custody while pleading not guilty.

Next: In the criminal case, the final pretrial conference is January 20, 2026 and the trial is scheduled to begin on January 27…

-The Contrarian