5 votes

Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of July 19

Automatically posted
Tags: usa, politics, recurring.weekly

This thread is posted weekly - please try to post all relevant US political content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Extremely significant events may warrant a separate topic, but almost all should be posted in here.

This is an inherently political thread; please try to avoid antagonistic arguments and bickering matches. Comment threads that devolve into unproductive arguments may be removed so that the overall topic is able to continue.

4 comments

  1. [3]
    AugustusFerdinand
    Link
    Not sure if this should be it's own post or not, so I'll just dump it here: Capitol rioter who walked on Senate floor on Jan 6 sentenced to 8 months in prison in first felony sentencing from the...

    Not sure if this should be it's own post or not, so I'll just dump it here:

    Capitol rioter who walked on Senate floor on Jan 6 sentenced to 8 months in prison in first felony sentencing from the attack

    A Florida crane operator who walked onto the Senate floor during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol has been sentenced to eight months in federal prison and two years of supervised release.

    Paul Hodgkins' sentencing is the first in a felony case stemming from the deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters. It is viewed as a potential bellwether for how other Capitol defendants charged with similar offenses are likely to be treated.

    Hodgkins pleaded guilty last month to a single count of obstructing an official proceeding. On Jan. 6, he marched from then-President Donald Trump's rally near the White House to the Capitol, where he walked inside and onto the floor of the Senate while carrying a red "Trump 2020" flag.

    5 votes
    1. spit-evil-olive-tips
      Link Parent
      Tommy Chong: backstory: compare that to:

      sentenced to eight months in federal prison

      Tommy Chong:

      Damn, I got 9 months for selling bongs.

      backstory:

      While Chong argued for community service and home detention at his sentencing, the district judge, Arthur J. Schwab, denied his requests and sentenced him to 9 months in federal prison, a fine of $20,000, forfeiture of $103,514, and the loss of all merchandise seized during the raid of his business.

      compare that to:

      In Hodgkins' case, the sentencing guidelines range was calculated at 15 to 21 months. Hodgkins' attorney, Patrick Leduc, asked the court for no prison time. The Justice Department, in contrast, recommended 18 months, in part to send a strong deterrent signal to anyone pondering a future assault on the country's democratic institutions.

      5 votes
    2. FishFingus
      Link Parent
      Another thoughtful video from BeauTFC on this, and comparisons to other people's longer sentences.

      Another thoughtful video from BeauTFC on this, and comparisons to other people's longer sentences.

  2. Kuromantis
    Link
    Biden and Schumer working fast to confirm judges and counter Trump's reshaping of the federal bench

    Biden and Schumer working fast to confirm judges and counter Trump's reshaping of the federal bench

    President Joe Biden and the Democrat-led Senate are working quickly to appoint judges from a broad range of backgrounds to the federal bench as they counter Republican efforts to reshape the bench over the previous four years.

    The push comes after former President Donald Trump, working with then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, appointed more than 200 federal judges and three Supreme Court justices during his term. Federal judges are appointed for life and serve long after a president leaves office.

    Six months into Biden's presidency, eight of his judicial nominees have been confirmed. That is more than any other president at the same point in the last 50 years.

    While the administration has moved quickly to get judges nominated to lower court seats to meet Schumer's call for balance in the judiciary, there's one major appointment Biden still hasn't had the opportunity to make: a Supreme Court seat.

    There have been no Supreme Court vacancies for Biden to fill, but anticipation is building over whether Justice Stephen Breyer will step down and give Democrats the chance to replace him while they still hold a majority in the Senate. Breyer recently told CNN he has not decided when he will retire, despite mounting pressure from Democrats.

    2 votes