Aha - the greatest of all Republican legal minds chimes in … again … this is the greatest of Republican legal minds. Hell, bring back Ken Starr as well, I hear he’s looking for something to do.
Also, using El Quacko’s own words, we shouldn’t listen to Gonzales, as he’s obviously brown.
Now, why am I not surprised that Torture Boy himself, self-loathing Latino and all-around loathsome scumbag, has made an appearance? BTW, has anyone ever seen him and George Zimmerman in the same room together?
Looks like the majority of commenters are tearing Gonzales apart, calling him a war criminal, a moron, a disgrace, etc. etc. Good.
He does indeed have the right to a fair trial. So do you.
This presidential campaign is causing me to question Harvard University Law School’s criteria for admitting students. Gonzales, Cruz, etc.
By Gonzales’s reasoning, every black or hispanic person has a right to declare that they cannot get a fair hearing in the presence of a white judge or jury due to a “conflict of interest”…Way to go Alberto!
Defending your oppressors seems to be a hallmark of Republicans. Case in point: Log Cabin Republicans.
Wasn’t Alberto Gonzales disbarred or charged with some crime for his Bush-era shenanigans? Regardless, probably the worst and least competent AG EVER.
none of us should dismiss those concerns out of hand without carefully examining how a defendant in his position might perceive them
Actually, all of us (with working brains) should dismiss this conman’s “concerns” out-of-hand.
Why Is Donald Trump So Angry at Judge Gonzalo Curiel?
His (Trump’s) accusations against Curiel’s integrity are serious, the platform from which he hurls them is massive, and he seems unwilling to relent in making them. A growing chorus of American legal scholars from the left, right, and beyond says his remarks threaten the rule of law.
The real-estate businessman also has another problem: There’s no evidence whatsoever in the public record to support Trump’s claims about Curiel.
We’ll start at the beginning. Curiel is presiding over two separate class-action lawsuits about Trump University. One of them, Low v. Trump University, was filed in April 2010 under the name Markaeff v. Trump University. The other, Cohen v. Trump, was filed in October 2013. (A third case brought by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in 2013 is also under way in that state.) Trump is named as a defendant in both cases.
The plaintiffs in Low and Cohen portray Trump University as a basically fraudulent endeavor, one that promised Trump’s secrets to real-estate success but instead dispensed generic advice for tens of thousands of dollars. They’ve amassed a collection of evidence and testimony that seems to support their claims. Trump strongly denies the allegations and often cities numerous positive testimonials the seminars received from former customers of Trump University.
In his public remarks, Trump appears to make no distinction between Low and Cohen. But there are crucial differences between the two civil class-action lawsuits. The Low plaintiffs sued Trump University and Trump himself under various consumer-protection laws in California, Florida, and New York—a relatively standard class-action lawsuit.
Cohen, on the other hand, targets Trump through a provision of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, more commonly known as the RICO Act—the same statute federal prosecutors use to bring down mob bosses. In essence, Low accuses Trump University of engaging in fraudulent business practices, while Cohen frames Trump University itself as a criminal enterprise with Trump as the orchestrator of a racketeering scheme.
As you can imagine, Trump strongly opposes that characterization. In a motion for summary judgment in Cohen filed in March, he condemned the “pervasive abuse of civil RICO” that he says the case represents. “Indeed, if this case is allowed to proceed, it would represent an unprecedented and unprincipled expansion of civil RICO and transform virtually every alleged violation of consumer protection laws into a civil RICO claim,” Trump argued.
Beyond Curiel’s ethnicity, Trump’s most specific grievance against the judge is that he wrongly denied summary judgment in Trump’s favor. This assertion is only partially accurate. Trump asked Curiel for it separately in each case, filing the motion for Low in February 2015 and for Cohen in March 2016. The Cohen motion is still pending, with a hearing scheduled for July 18. Trump’s frustration likely springs from Curiel’s ruling against him last November on most of the Low summary-judgment motion.
Summary judgment is granted when both sides in a case agree on the facts. Under those circumstances, a jury trial becomes pointless since there aren’t any factual disputes for jurors to deliberate and resolve. The judge’s role when addressing a summary-judgment motion is to determine whether there are any factual disputes.
In Low, the plaintiffs’ case centers on three misrepresentations allegedly made to them by Trump and Trump University: “(1) Trump University was an accredited university; (2) students would be taught by real estate experts, professors and mentors hand-selected by Mr. Trump; and (3) students would receive one year of expert support and mentoring.”
When asking for summary judgment, Trump said he did not personally make these claims to the customers and never entered into any contracts with them. Therefore, he argues, he isn’t liable for them under state consumer-protection laws. The plaintiffs countered they were persuaded to purchase Trump University products by promotional videos featuring Trump and by print advertisements bearing his image and assertions about the program’s quality. Curiel denied the motion.
“Based on the foregoing, the Court concludes that Plaintiffs have raised a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether Mr. Trump can be personally liable for the alleged misrepresentations and misconduct,” Curiel wrote about one of Trump’s assertions. “For example, Plaintiffs have provided evidence that Mr. Trump reviewed and approved all advertisements. These advertisements included the alleged core misrepresentations, such as that Mr. Trump ‘hand-picked’ the instructors and mentors.”
This doesn’t mean Curiel sided with the plaintiffs on the facts of the case. It means that Curiel determined a factual dispute existed between Trump and the plaintiffs—nothing more, nothing less. He therefore denied summary judgment so a jury could weigh the evidence offered by each side and determine the facts of the case from it. Trump may not like Curiel’s decision, but it’s neither a surprising nor an egregious one.
This is hilarious, although I’m sure you were being serious.
One of the stupidest people alive, along with Carson and Palin.
It seems the Fascist Party is lining up defenders of their cause…Isn’t Gonzales one of those who sneered at Justice, during the Bush mess?
Alberto Gonzales…A guy who couldn’t get a job after he left the Bushies because no one would hire an incompetent, toady-ass, compromised POS like him. His legal advice isn’t worth the monumental pile of excrement it most assuredly grew out of. I see though, he’s looking for his next meal ticket from The Dumpster. Pathetic really.
How this man ever got a law degree is beyond me? If its that easy…maybe I should try.
Hey dumb shit, a fair trial has nothing to do with this heritage.
The kind of legal mind that makes you long for the days of Edwin Meese and John N. Mitchell.
Yes, Mr. Gonzales, I am sure all of those prisoners down in Guantanamo Bay want to hear about this so-called “right to a fair trial”.
I did actually think that he gotten in trouble for something. I guess I may be confusing ‘trouble’ for the fact that he became persona non grata after W left office and that he couldn’t find any firm that was interested in giving him the cushy big law job that is customary for ex-AGs.
Oh yah, the “I don’t remember…” guy.
Alberto, your final grade as the U. S. Attorney General still remains an “F” today!
The fact is, WACKO Donald J Trump is not entitled to “special justice”! After all, he has paid “$0.00” in taxes! On that note, he shouldn’t get anything!