Slow Walk to Fascism

on TikTok, you should. Danielle Moody underscore is my name on there? And I do a video. And when I do a video, people oftentimes in the comments section are like, when the fuck is Donald Trump going to be indicted? When the fuck is Donald Trump going to be arrested?

How were we going to pretend that we are a nation of laws when it is evident that if you have the right melanin or lack thereof, if you have the right bank account with the right amount of zeros or can lie about it, and if you have connections to power, then the laws don't apply to you. How do we expect to continue in this way, when we know that members of the Republican Party should absolutely have been indicted and be in jail by now and have

had a trial. That we know that there is a mount everest's worth of criminal offenses that Donald Trump has committed. But because he was a former president of the United States, and also the only reason why he ran to be president of the United States wasn't because he gave a fuck about this country or had any ideas about how

to usher us into the future. It was a cover, right, like everything else in his life was a fucking cover, because so long as he was president of the United States, he would have access to pertinent information that he could sell to the highest fucking bidder, hence enter in classified informations or the empty folders that once read classified, and that he knew that he would be able to weaponize to the Department of Justice to go after his enemies

or protect his quote unquote friends. We know all of this, right, but yet Donald Trump continues to walk free. There are only two people, two women, black women, who are the ones that are standing between Donald Trump and either bankruptcy are possibly criminal charges, and that is Fannie Willis in Georgia,

and Tish James in New York. So coming up, I am in conversation one again with Adrian Lawrence, who is the host of the Young Turks is Overruled and the author of Staying in the Game, the playbook for beating workplace sexual Harassment, and Adrian I will get into a conversation about where we actually think all of this is headed. Because friends, you know, you know that we talk every week with our friend Glenn Kirshner, who walks us through and unpacks a lot of the bullshit that we see.

And you know that Glenn, like Adrian, is very even minded, right, Like these are attorneys, they understand the rule of law. They are measured right in terms of their approach to things. But in this conversation with Adrian and past conversations with Glenn,

they too are reaching their limit for bullshit. They too are getting to a place where it's like, how much more evidence do we need to see before us before we recognize that the only reason that Trump isn't in prison right now, the only reason why we haven't seen a series of indictments is out of political fear. How will it look? And my question is why aren't they asking or concerned about how their in action actually looks,

because I really don't care anymore about these investigations. I mean, I appreciate the fact that Tish James has been extraordinarily diligent. And why is that, Well, we can add race, and we can add gender to the reasons why her and Fannie Willis need to make sure that every fucking t is crossed and every eye is dotted, because we know that their work is going to be examined under a level of scrutiny that no white man would ever be under.

But so where is the white man that actually does wield all of the power of the justice system in this fucking country paging Merrit Garland. I'm so sick and tired of hearing about how Merritt Garland is, you know, a more conservative prosecutor, that he's more timid in this, that and the other thing. And I keep asking myself, why the fuck out of all of the people that could have been chosen for Attorney General that Joe Biden could have chosen, why was it him? Why was it

this man that slow walks every goddamn thing? Because I feel if we had had a Sally Yates, right, if you would have brought back, you know, any number of ages that had served under previous administrations that we would have seen indictments by now, and not because those people are reckless right in terms of how they work, but that they are certain that the longer this takes, the more that Americans lose faith in our systems, which is what the Republican Party and Donald Trump want because if

you lose faith in agencies, if you lose faith in systems, right then you begin to detach. And what happens during that time then you say, well, we need a strong man in order to fix this, and in walks fascism, in walks a dictatorship. That's what they're banking on. So this slow walk is serving no one, is serving no one, not in this country where the temperature is at a fucking boiling point and doesn't show any signs of stopping

anytime soon. So I get into this conversation with Adrian Lawrence, host of Overruled on The Young Turk's network, about how she thinks this series of lawsuits are going to end up for Trump and company. That conversation is coming up next. Get a behind the scenes look at Comedy Central's The Daily show Beyond the Scenes, an original podcast from The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Every week, host Roy Wood Junior goes deeper with the notable guests and experts from

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you get your podcast. New episodes every Tuesday. The Damage Report with John Idarola is one of the most popular shows on the TYT Network that serves as your daily breakdown of the genuine threats and challenges facing our country and world. These days, we're confronted with an overwhelming sea

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your personality. Collaborate and participate in fun activities like voting for the Garbage Person of the Week and much more. Listen to the Damage Report on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcast. If you like what you hear, be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode. Folks, I am very happy to welcome back to woke af Daily Adrian Lawrence, who is the host of The Young

Turk's Overruled and an attorney extraordinaire. Adrian, you, like me, have been in the tweets with regard to every new Day delivers us yet another Trump lawsuit delivers us more legal news that I'm sure has Morilago looked like it was made out of Heinz ketchup with the amount that is being own against the wall there. Last week was

a huge week. We had Tiss James in New York laying out for not only New Yorkers but the country the fact that she believes that the Trumps run essentially a crime organization and that they've been defrauding the public for a well over a decade. You have more news with regard to Judge Derry, the Special Master, who was chosen by the Trump attorneys and agreed to by the Department of Justice, who is not playing games with Donald Trump.

He is no Judge Cannon. Then you had decisions coming from the Eleventh Circuit Court, who also like Judge Derry, Republicans three, you know, three out of two out of the three that were appointed to hear the case, our Trump appointees, who basically said that Judge Cannon doesn't really know what she's doing to my legal interpretation, because I don't have a law degree, I just watch Law and Order, Adrian help us make sense of all of this legal nonsense.

I don't even know where to begin. I guess let's start with the Special Master and go from there. All right, Well, thank you so much for having me, Danielle. Yes, I very much understand kind of the feeling of where do I start. Given how many lawsuits and potential criminal actions are pending against Donald Trump, there is a lot going on when it comes to the Special Master. I think that Donald Trump and his legal team didn't necessarily anticipate that Judge Derry would be as on point as he is.

He may have been a Reagan appointee, but he has been on the bench for a very long time, and he is not going to mess up his legacy doing anything like Judge Eileen Cannon did down in Florida when she granted the request of a special Master. I mean, let me ask you, this did Judge Eileen Cannon. Her decisions, even her written fee back, seem to have Donald Trump in a whole different level and space in terms of the eyes of the law. She was concerned about his

reputational damage. She was concerned essentially with the decision to have a special master. That frankly, I guess maybe the FBI and the Department of Justice were lying and may have planted evidence as unsubstantiated from the Trump team. This is just you know, rhetoric out in the Twitter verse which Donald Trump can't be on. So in truth, social I guess what do you make of Judge Cannon's decisions and how we got essentially to this place with Judge

Jury and with the Eleventh Circuit. So I can say this when it comes to being a judge, I clerk for a judge of the Chief Judge of the DC Court of Appeals right out of law school, so I have an inside look on how judges operate and how they do business. And that was a very fortunate experience that I had. I also do know that Judge Eilan Cannon also clerked for an appellate court judge of the

A Circuit. She is no dummy. She is extremely smart and able to apply the law and applying the facts and coming out with something that should recognize our legal system and respect precedent. Where she went in this opinion is completely and totally out of pocket, and I think just about every legal analyst has said that, and now we have the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals saying that

on record. You have to wonder what is going on here, because generally, if a judge post an opinion that doesn't go the way you think, at least the path that they got there would be one that is somewhat somewhat substantiated by the facts, by the analysis. In this case, Judge Eilan Cannon, I do not know where she was going, but where she ended up it's completely incongruent. It really does make you wonder if this is why judges need to be peached at the federal level in order to

be booted out of off the bench. And that is something that I think needs to be considered in this situation. Because it is completely and totally unfathomable that Eileen Cannon, who was appointed by Trump, would have come to this conclusion as a jurist of the court and had any sense our semblance of justice. It's completely and totally not possible. So I really do hope that the powers that be are doing whatever they need to do to take a good look at this individual and whether they are fit

to serve. You know, that's such a good question that you bring up, because one, I'm very leery of these lifetime appointments that we appoint somebody at the age of thirty five, forty five, fifty five, and literally this is going to be the last job that they have that somehow they literally are above the law, They sit above the rest of us, and there is no way, I mean other outside of I guess Adrian like launching an investigation.

What would be the pathway to finding out exactly why Judge Cannon would make these decisions in the way that she did. And usually when you appeal to the higher court, they don't smack up the lower court's decision. They find a way to be very thoughtful in terms of how they are deciding. But with the Eleventh Circuit Court. They

didn't do that with Judge Cannon. They were very blatant, without you needing a law degree in terms of the language that they used, that they didn't understand her decision making process and were concerned about it. Yeah. Absolutely, they were not necessarily deferential or kind. They kicked her in

her teeth, and for good reason. The fact is that the law, the facts, it was not supported here and how Cannon came to the conclusion she came to it makes it definitely, without a doubt, seemed to appear that she was, let's say, she was derelict of her duty to be an impersonal artiker of the law and decided to find any which avenue she could uplift Donald Trump. And given the circumstances, given that Donald Trump appointed her,

it is extraordinarily problematic. And it does make a number of members of the judiciary look also potentially problematic because they were Trump appointees. And so I think it was very strong for the Eleventh Circuit to come together in their procurium decision as an anonymous all three or anonymous as in they're all operating together. Excuse me, but having all three judges two being Trump appointed judges. You've noted

one being a democratic appointed judges. They all have different philosophies, they all have different outlooks, they have different politics, but they all managed to come together to say Eileen Cannon's opinion is junk. And that's exactly what they needed to do, because it is the truth, it is facts. And if we continue to have a judiciary that does not respect precedent or the law, what we're going to have is an all out fascist system, and that's exactly what we

want to avoid. You know, it is really terrifying because I was honestly crossing my fingers and toes when we knew that this decision was going to be kicked up to the eleventh Circuit because I'm just like Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell installed over three hundred federal judges across this country in his short four year term, and so

these are all lifetime appointments. And you brought up, you know, Judge Deary caring about his legacy, and like you said, you have insight because you could clerk for judges like I guess I want to ask you this, do they really care about their legacy? What are you? What is your opinion of how our courts are kind of stacked at this moment, and are these people thinking further than about who appointed that. Yeah, I think it really depends

on the individual. Are they an individual of character and integrity, because I think those people they do care and they also care about the law. And we are seeing a number of Republicans take that stance because they know the difference between democracy and fascism and they do not want to enter the world of fascism. They want to win fair, shall we say, or at least win with minimal intervention

when it comes to unfairness. And then there are people completely on the other side who they just wanted to be elevated, to have a federal appointment, be able to serve for life. So essentially it makes it very difficult to get rid of them, and they're going to abuse their positions of power and hopefully and their eyes be able to pommel horse it into something else that might be very lucrative and helpful for them. I think that the problem with this whole situation is that now we

have a judiciary that's wholly undermined. We have a Supreme Court that's been backed up by illegitimate judges, and so a lot of our country, a lot of our nation really does not feel that justice and democracy is something that is capable of being produced at this time, given

the members of j Judiciary like Eileen Cannon. Does it really does our public opinion, Adrian, though, really matter when it comes to the Supreme Court and our feelings about what it is that they're doing, you know, justice John Roberts said, you know, you may not like what it is that how it is that we're deciding the you know, our decisions, but that doesn't mean that we're illegitimate. And I said, well, that's not the reason why the public

thinks that you're illegitimate. It isn't because we don't like the decisions that are coming out. We're saying that you're throwing out precedent. And if precedent doesn't matter, then what does so does public opinion in the grand scheme of where we are right now? I just saw CNN will be doing a huge report on the Supreme Court and calling it supreme power. Does it matter what we think? I'd like to think it matters, but to some extent,

and I guess to a large extent, it doesn't. You know, they saw clearly, the justices saw that they have Congress behind them, as Congress quickly stepped up to provided added protection for the justices after the dab's opinion reversing Roe v. Wade came out, and they feel like they are impenetrable. They sit up on this mount and they make these rulings despite being oftentimes out of touch with society and

with individual's needs. The thing that a lot of members of the GOP and the right would say is that this is exactly how they felt when it was Roe v. Wade or Miranda v. Arizona, when you had things coming out of the court and Earl Warren being the chief judge at the time, reversing a lot of inequities and essentially throwing precedent to the wind because he was doing what was right under the law and also what further in advance our society and truly reflected it. And those

advancements in societal change were great for our country. But then you saw a lot of people, particularly white people, responding in very adverse ways, particularly to brown b bored and whatnot, in the end ending up with deterioration of our educational system. So it's very difficult to say that

what the public thinks necessarily matters. But I can tell you that what the oppressed think should matter, because those are the people that the justices should be looking to protect the most, because their voices are often the ones that are muddled and that are quieted. And so there are justices up there who recognize that, and they're actually applying the law, and they're following the steps, and they're

doing exactly what they should do. Shout out to sodomyor But the rest of them are up there feeding their egos, really pushing toward this society that is not reflective of what the people want, and they are willing to trample and basardize precedent to get there, you know, just staying with the Supreme Court for one moment. Jinny Thomas is the wife of Clarence Thomas. As many people know, I've

spoken about her at nauseam on this show. Um. She is getting ready or supposed to testify before the January sixth committee. Somebody made a really interesting point the other day and said, I don't know the name of any other Supreme Court justices spouse. I've never known the names of any Supreme Court justices, spouses or partners. Is Clarence Thomas and Jinny Thomas in your mind? Are they do?

Are we to believe that they there is some type of separation inside of their of their household, that Jinny Thomas isn't being treated with deference because of being part of the Washington elite like it's Clarence. Are we just supposed to believe that Clarence Thomas didn't need to recuse himself from cases? Like what do you make of this

saga inside of the Supreme Court with the Thomas's. Yes, the situation with the Thomas's, I think, in large part is contributing to the undermining of the court and its legitimacy. Without a doubt, there is no separation. Get out of here. It's like, that's why it's husband and wife. And that's also why the law recognizes a marital privilege. So the things that you say to your spouse, you don't have to testify against them. They are protected because of the

sanctity of that relationship. So you can't tell me that as a couple, Jenny and Clarence Thomas are not out here sharing scorecards, sharing Intel's contacts, people that they know and also being able to open various doors for each other to advance their agenda of creating a society that is not reflective of the one in which the vast majority of people in the United States seek out and by virtue of the fact that they are still being

treated with kid gloves. That Jenny Thomas is being invited to Congress as those who were invited to brunch is also part of the problem, because we are supposed to be a society where everyone is treated fair and equally. In what we had was an attempt at a coup to completely overthrow our government, and this woman clearly played a role in that. So to treat her like again you're inviting her to brunch, that speaks to the fact

that we have injustice built into our system. And it also undermines what our members of Congress and the one six committees say is they're imperative to get to the truth, the thought that they need to adhere to some sense of decency and decorum, and to give her the respect she deserves because she's the wife of a Supreme Court justice. Get out of here, m M. I couldn't have said

about it myself, you know, Adrian. It is not lost on me that the two people who are out front potentially holding Donald Trump accountable, whether it be his crimes of fraud, whether it be him trying to undermine the election, are two extraordinary black women. It is. It is not lost on me that is Fannie Willis and Tish James that are out there that are holding this wealthy, white,

privileged man trying to hold him accountable. What do you make of how they are being perceived in the media about how they have been driving force each of their individual investigations. How has that been landing for you, and how do you think that it's landing with the public. So I would say when it comes to members of the GOP and the far right, of course it's massogyn

no war for days. They're going after both Willis and James in any way possible that undermines their work or makes them seem like they are not being impartial or not following or abiding by or pursuing justice in the law.

But at the same time as well, I am actually seeing, as I would see based on being a member of the media and illegal analysts, they're not getting hit as hard as say Kamala Harris is getting hit when it comes to m you are in the media in general, it does seem that our society does appreciate the work

that they're doing. But at the same time, it reminds me of a lot of kind of the unfairness and inequities that befall us Black women our society, where it's all left up to us, it's all on our backs, where there are so few of us in positions of power to hold even these white men accountable. There are so many other wealthy white men in positions of power

who could have done something long ago. There's even one right now that could do something, named Merritt Garland, Yet it seems that he is sitting on his hands time and time again, or wants to approach it with kitty gloves. Yet it's always seems to be these black women who are out here sticking their neck outs and facing a lot of the hate, the slander, and I do not doubt that the Magomenians are not threatening them, or going after them, or putting them in situations where their families,

lives and what not are threatened. Yet they are still expected to pursue justice despite the fact that society is literally structured to hold them down and to keep them down, you know, just finally on this one point, you know, there is somebody else who could be doing more heavy lifting and is currently not, and that is Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan DA who had a truckload of evidence that was left to him by Sivance and hadn't and hasn't decided to pursue that in any real way, so much

so that two of his prosecutors, you know, quit. What do you make of that? I, of course I don't have any concrete evidence. I did read those prosecutors letters, and it was really interesting how all of a sudden Brad got put into office and then hey, they kind of seemed to drop the case, even though there was so much meat there and there was so much substance

in terms of going after the law. It almost seems like somebody got bought out to a certain extent, right, And that's what it's conveyed to me, and that we should not be trusting a person in that position. And so I think that that's kind of the hope of Trump and co. In order to see who they can get into these positions of power who are willing to look the other way or to act like this is something we need to drop, which is why Trump and co.

Are pushing for this delay, delay, delay tactic and all of their cases again hoping that there is going to be a changeup in power on who's pursuing things. Fortunately, with Latisha James, there has not been that change up at the Attorney general level. But when it comes to the Manhattan Dah, my god, I don't know that there is going to be any justice or semblance of it there. And to the extent that there is, I think it will be because he'll have absolutely no other choice whatsoever.

It's either prosecute or your corruption is going to be put on full display. You know, I feel that I felt the same way, and I felt that, you know, Tish James in her press conference in her referrals saying that she was referring both to the IRS and to you, the Department of Justice into these places that basically she said, I did all your homework for you. I've done all the work. I've crossed all the teas and dotted all the eyes, and so maybe you just take this here

folder and open it and open up and invest. So much so that Alvin Bragg had to make a statement on social media that said that he is continuing with the investigation into Trump and Trump organization, and I'm like, oh, is that right? Final question for you, Adrian, is this again myriad of lawsuits against Donald Trump? There are so many it is honestly hard for me to keep track of what we are talking about when we are talking about it, because it seems like every week brings another suit.

In your professional opinion, knowing who we are dealing with and what system we are dealing within, do you believe that we will see Donald Trump and company indicted or is this just all really good media spin and press and eventually it will go the way of all of his other cases, which is nowhere all right, So I don't know necessarily if we are going to see an indictment.

I know that the basis for it is there. I still think that our society, largely our government, is playing by these rules of decorum and gentlemen's agreements when it comes to white men who are wealthy and powerful and also keeping a president above the law. I think that that is something that is important to them, even though they speak otherwise, because you know, if they are going to take down one wealthy privilege, very powerful white man, then they can do it to the rest of them.

And so our society is too much invested in seeing certain individuals not face accountability. So I do see this as more of a charade. But I do think that the best chances of the takedown would probably be James, largely in part because she could hit it where business happens and where matters, and also in New York, where a lot of people do not respect nor care for him, and so you're more likely to get a jury who is not going to apply but actually hold him accountable.

And if you shut him down to the point where any banks who do business in New York, which would be every major bank and every general bank, and he cannot open up or take any more loans out, I think that that would be the death nail for him, even beyond any kind of criminal indictment. You know, I think that you're right, because I mean, right now, what is she looking at Roughly two hundred and fifty million dollars in damages, and we don't even know if Donald

Trump is worth that. We will find out, but we don't even know if he's worth that. So if she does have the ability, even if it is not to put him in prison, but to put him into bankruptcy, to wipe out his financial capabilities. I think that that will go a long way. We will just see him then go back to panhandling his constituents. But what else

is new? And if you don't think Milania won't be up and out of here the moment he broke broke, please girl, please, I think all his kids will be out of here the moment the moment daddy is broke broke. Where where you think they're going to be? Oh? Yeah, already? Put what picking out her witness protection name. I'm sure I swear it. Her and her little boo and the kids. They will flip flip. I believe it. I honestly, I

believe it. I think the two I think the two sons are too stupid, but I believe, I absolutely believe that she has been setting up her exit for quite for quite some time. Yeah, I believe it too. Adrian Lawrence, host of the Young Turks, over ruled. Thank you so much for making the time to make sense of the legal nonsense that we find ourselves in in this country. Much appreciated. Please do come back again soon. Thank you. That is it for me, Dear friends on Woke app

as always, Power to the people and to all the people. Power, get woke and stay woke as fuck. Get a behind the scenes look at Comedy Central's The Daily Show on Beyond the Scenes, an original podcast from The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Every week, host Roy Wood Junior goes deeper with the notable guests and experts from the Emmy Award winning series. Together, they use comedy to tackle current topics from gentrification to gun laws and take a closer

look at how and why these topics matter. Listen to Beyond the Scenes from The Daily Show with Trevor Noah on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. New episodes every Tuesday.