"The Voice of the New Due Process Army" ————– Musings on Events in U.S. Immigration Court, Immigration Law, Sports, and Other Random Topics by Retired United States Immigration Judge (Arlington, Virginia) and former Chairman of the Board of Immigration Appeals Paul Wickham Schmidt. To see my complete professional bio, just click on the link below.
It’s been an emotional week for people who love Jeff Sessions, assuming such people exist. On the one hand, Donald Trump fired Sessions the day after the election in favor of an unqualified loyalist who used to sit on the board of a hilariously fraudulent patent marketing company. On the other hand, once Sessions skulks back to Alabama, Kate McKinnon will have no further reason to play him on Saturday Night Live, which will probably be good for his reputation. But there was no way SNL would let a walking caricature like Sessions leave the national stage without a kick in the ass on his way to the wings, so McKinnon glued on her Jeff Sessions ears this week for what might be the very last time:
Sketches like this one, in which one celebrity caricature after another marches in, does his or her thing, then leaves, almost always suffer from a lack of momentum. The payoff here, the surprise appearance of Robert De Niro as Robert Mueller, is no substitute for rising action, not least because De Niro’s performance isn’t exactly worthy of Taxi Driver. Some of the individual jokes are hilarious—see, e.g., Sessions’ mug-within-a-mug—but as a whole, the sketch feels like one damn thing after another, for much, much too long. In that sense, it brilliantly captures the essence of the Trump administration, with or without Jefferson Beauregard Sessions. Best of luck to the cast member who has to squeeze into a bald cap to play Matthew Whitaker next week.
Kids in cages, weeping parents, families separated, refugees turned away, African-Americans brutalized by the police, domestic violence victims sent back to torture by their abusers, minority voters suppressed, prisons overflowing with minor offenders, American youth denied opportunities and threatened with removal, scientific evidence ignored, intentionally clogged courts, open season on the LGBTQ community, vigorous defense of hate speech (but not the right to protest), glorification of bias masquerading as “religion,” judges turned into border agents in robes, judges and lawyers publicly dissed, un-prosecuted corruption in government, rampant gun violence mostly generated by disgruntled White guys, journalists attacked, bogus efforts to keep migrants from knowing their rights, lies to Congress — Man-o-Man, this Dude was just a barrel of laughs and good times! Unless, of course, you were one of the millions of men, women, and children in America who was permanently damaged or traumatized by his racist scofflaw approach to “justice” and his failure to enforce the Constitutional rights due to everyone in America. Not exactly “Janet Reno’s Dance Party!”
I’m betting that when the time comes that our poor nation finally is relieved of Gonzo’s “services” as AG, unlike the late Janet Reno he won’t be showing up for any live appearances on SNL. Perhaps, he’ll be out on bond awaiting trial. At least he’s smart enough to hire “Chuckie” Cooper as his mouthpiece rather than “The Fixer!”
One of the most depressing things I’ve seen recently is folks from Alabama — some of them so-called “Christians” — defending “Ayatollah Roy” and indicating an intent to vote for this truly horrible individual whose candidacy mocks Christian values, American ideals, and the very foundations of our democracy.
Philip Lacovara and Lawrence Robbins write in the Washington Post:
“Attorney General Jeff Sessions made a seemingly false statement under oath during his confirmation hearing. Admittedly, not every potential perjury case gets prosecuted, and Sessions may well have defenses to such a charge. But as lawyers at the Justice Department and attorneys in private practice who have represented individuals accused in such cases, we can state with assurance: Federal prosecutors have brought charges in cases involving far more trivial misstatements and situations far less consequential than whether a nominee to be the nation’s chief law enforcement officer misled fellow senators during his confirmation hearings.
. . . .
Certainly there is precedent for a prosecution in this context. Part of the fallout from Watergate included the special prosecutor’s investigation of Richard Kleindienst, who had resigned from his position as attorney general, for alleged false statements during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Kleindienst was asked whether the White House had interfered with a Justice Department antitrust action against the International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation. He stated, “I was not interfered with by anybody at the White House” — but President Nixon and one of his top aides had each called Kleindienst regarding the case. Kleindienst pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge for “refus[ing] and fail[ing] to answer accurately and fully” questions at a congressional hearing.
Those facts left no room for any colorable defense on the “knowledge” issue. But when Justice Department officials decide whether to bring a case against Sessions — or, more appropriately, when an independent counsel is appointed and resolves that question — this must be done against the backdrop of other perjury cases that the department has chosen over the years to bring. And the department has prosecuted individuals who advanced defenses very similar to Sessions’s arguments here, often where there was far less at stake.”
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Read the full piece at the link:
And, Here’s Kate McKinnon as Jeff Sessions on SNL from Saturday, March 4:
“So, President Donald Trump is supposedly upset that a woman played his White House press secretary on “Saturday Night Live” last weekend.
Politico is reporting that seeing Sean Spicer depicted by a thunderous Melissa McCarthy bothered the president so much, particularly because he “doesn’t like his people to look weak.” Spicer himself said that he thought McCarthy “could dial back” the impression. The impression clearly bothered them both.
As a result, people have been excitedly starting to call for more women to play the men in Trump’s administration, hoping to further injure the president’s always sensitive ego, and maybe cause some behind-the-scenes drama.
Rosie O’Donnell, a longtime critic of the president, has already said she would be willing to play Trump adviser Steve Bannon if called upon by Lorne Michaels. To which we say: Why stop there? It’s time for “SNL” to throw the entire administration into a gigantic hissy fit by having women play them all.
To help out the people over at “SNL,” we decided to do a bit of the casting work for them, just so they can think about it. Look, “SNL” can do what it wants. But if what it wants is to create an existential crisis at the White House, it should do this.”
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Check out the full story (with pictures) at the link to see who Strachan would cast as whom. Talk about going viral on Sunday morning!
“The [SNL spoof] performance apparently left such an impression that Spicer himself commented on it.
While at the Super Bowl on Sunday, Spicer talked to “Extra” and told them he received an onslaught of text messages after the sketch aired. He told the publication that though he thought that McCarthy “could dial back” a bit, he found the show to be really “funny.”
Spicer elaborated by saying McCarthy “needs to slow down on the gum chewing; way too many pieces in there.” Overall, Spicer’s response is a vast departure from how the rest of the administration ― namely Trump ― has been reacting to political sketches on “SNL.”
It seems the notorious gum-chewer can take a joke.”
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After watching this skit, my wife Cathy said to me “I’ll bet even Sean Spicer will laugh at that one.” Of course she was right!
“Alternate facts” or not, Spicer recognizes sizes one essential truth — only very significant people get parodied on SNL. Good for him!
For those who haven’t seen the SNL clip, go to the HuffPost link above and follow the other links to the complete skit, starring Melissa McCarthy as SS. The late Janet Reno’s unfailingly positive and good humored reaction to SNL’s “Janet Reno’s Dance Party” routine was one of the things I’ll remember most about her as not only a good Attorney General but a very genuine human being.
Can’t survive in Washington, particularly if you’re working in the filed of immigration, without a sense of humor. I wish President Trump would figure that one out and “get with the program.”
