Daniel R. Alonso

My new article in the @NYSBA Bar Journal explores the federal and New York systems for fighting public corruption. "Although it is generally 'easier'to prosecute public corruption in federal court rather than state court, it is certainly not easy."

It is legitimately a tragedy that the 250th anniversary of this country's birth will be presided over by a president who is EVERYTHING the founders warned us against -- a partisan demagogue who fundamentally loathes the separation of powers and denies election results he dislikes

A man spends 50 years teaching at MIT. He knows his time is running out. So he records one last lecture — everything he knows, distilled into a single hour. He died 5 months later. This is that lecture. The most important hour you'll watch this week. 👇 Bookmark it for later

Ooooh, are we sharing fables? I got one for you. So, there's this frog that enters public service, presumably for the right reasons. He spends years as a district judge, then gets elected to the state supreme court, then attorney general of that state. Wouldn't you know it, that frog makes his way up to the U.S. Senate and gets reelected a few times. He seems to have a great path ahead. Well, along comes this scorpion who's running for president and saying outright: if you don't support me, I'm gonna sting you. The supposedly wise frog warns everyone else about the scorpion, tells them this scorpion is bad news, tells them this scorpion is gonna sting them with no regard for their support. Alas, the scorpion is elected anyway, and the frog, despite knowing the scorpion is going to sting, keeps supporting the scorpion. The frog, once wise, spends a decade defending the scorpion stinging others even though the frog knows there's a damn good chance he's gonna get stung himself because the scorpion doesn't do loyalty. The frog, you see, is too chickenshit to speak out against the scorpion and decides to just wait out the scorpion's time. He's okay with others getting stung, though. He figures if he can appeal to the scorpion's ego and support him, he'll evade the eventual sting. So, he spends years pandering to the scorpion and looking the other way while others get stung. And after a while, he figures he's gonna make it out okay. Well, along comes this other frog who panders even harder. A truly corrupt and nasty frog. No integrity at all. Seems to have no soul. And the frog thinks: there ain't no way the scorpion is gonna favor this other frog. I've bent over backwards for the scorpion. I've been loyal. This other frog is ugly as sin. No one likes the other frog. The scorpion ain't gonna choose him over me, right? The frog is now neck-deep in delusion. He thinks the way to get out of this pickle is to pander to the scorpion even harder. He even tries to get a highway named after the scorpion. Well... it didn't work. One day, the scorpion thanked the frog for his loyalty and then repeatedly stung him into oblivion. Stung him over and over. Seemed to enjoy it, honestly. I think I read that in Aesop's or somewhere.

#BREAKING: Psaki: “…I have to start tonight with a story that in any other administration, would be grounds for opening an impeachment inquiry, because today ProPublica reported that the White House intervened to get a $620 million deal for a company tied to President Trump’s adult son @DonaldJTrumpJr…the deal in question involved a startup focused on rare earth magnet production called Vulcan Elements and last Summer, Don Jr’s venture capital firm took an undisclosed stake in that company, and wouldn’t you know…three months later, the Pentagon announced that it was giving Vulcan Elements a $620 million loan.”🙄🤦‍♀️

These days I’m at a loss for words. The new corruption scandal is just bananas. Trump has been using inside information to trade stocks and make millions. And the scale of the trading is just mind blowing. Here’s what we know.

This is what Trump's done to the people's house: A third of it is rubble. Another third is a cage match. What a metaphor.

One of the reasons I spend more time criticizing the Right than the Left is that the Right keeps evoking honorable people (Reagan) and good ideas (conservatism) in defense of dishonorable people, gross conduct, and terrible ideas.

This is just so mindblowingly corrupt. And there's something new like this almost every day. The corruption is beyond staggering. It's bottomless.

@hnejr Dismissal versus trial is not the topic at hand. If you can’t understand the juxtaposition of what the guy said and what the criticism was, I can’t help you any further. BTW, I was a prosecutor for 18 years and I don’t constantly wave it around to show that I must be right.

@DanielRAlonso I did listen and that’s not what he was saying or Ship was contesting. Ship was a federal prosecutor for more than 20 years. He knows about pretrial disclosure. What happened to the whole indictment will be dismissed on motion as insufficient?

It’s bad form to call someone dumb, so I won’t. But anyone who actually *listened* to what MacFarlane said would have heard him say “they go to trial Oct. 21 if the calendar holds up, the DOJ is going to have to show some of its cards in that case.” He didn’t say that would happen at arraignment, so criticizing him as “dumb” had no basis.

I don't really need to say this but imagine the reaction on the right if Bill Clinton's DoJ opened this kind of investigation into Paula Jones.

That’s not laughable (assuming knowing & willful lying) - but there’s just no predication on this record to make opening an investigation worth anyone’s while who didn’t have a vindictive motive (or boss). (Also, it was not *solely* funded by the group - it was indeed a contingent fee case, with the group paying some of the expenses).

@DanielRAlonso @shipwreckedcrew explain how her potentially lying under oath about her case being solely funded by political mega donor is "laughable"

Re an investigation of E. Jean Carroll: She testified in a deposition -- under penalty of perjury -- that no third parties were funding her lawsuit against Trump. A civil deposition can -- itself -- be introduced as evidence in a trial. That's why the "Oath" is significant -- it's the same oath that a witness in trial before a jury swears to. Suppose the investigation uncovers via a grand jury subpoena or other process dozens of text messages or emails back and forth between Carroll and Reid Hoffman in the days or weeks in the time frame of the deposition discussing the money he was giving her to pay her attorneys. Maybe there was an understanding expressed that she would not confirm that fact in the deposition. Worth DOJ looking into? Or does perjury and a fraud on the court mean nothing?

They will certainly have to turn over discovery before trial, which even the esteemed experienced former prosecutor knows. But listen to what he said on the video: if the trial schedule holds, the DOJ will have to present some evidence. That’s not only not remotely dumb, it’s 100% correct.

@DanielRAlonso I don’t think it’s nearly as clear as you think it is. I think Ship is right that he’s suggesting that they will have to present some evidence before trial.

He said MacFarlane was dumb because arraignments are simple affairs that don’t typically involve much exposition on facts - that’s true as far as it goes. But MacFarlane did *not* say that DOJ would have to present facts at *arraignment* - he was clearly referring to the Oct 21 *trial*, where facts of course do come out. To call MacFarlane “dumb” had zero basis in anything. If I were MacFarlane, I’d look for an apology.

@DanielRAlonso Having read both Ship’s comment and your response, where is he wrong? MacFarlane pretty clearly suggesting that there would need to be some public disclosures required by DOJ. So the question is when?

It’s worth asking the question federal prosecutors in Chicago now must answer: Do the facts outlined above suggest inadvertence and good faith, or an intentional falsehood in order to disguise malice toward Trump? FIN.

@delecto4pierre Except what this one said was 100% correct.

Experts on any cable channel equals one of two things: total idiot (designed to make all Republicans/or opposing side, look dumb) or total liar (designed to spread false information to support a constructed narrative) that’s it - no other reason.

Donald Trump: "The Secretary of War Pete Hegseth…He loves war." American troops and their families deserve a Defense Secretary that works to prevent war, not one who relishes in it.

Next targets : the jurors who found Trump liable?

Yep. For the umpteenth time - Donald Trump singlehandedly fucked up the economy.👇

"I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity." - General Dwight D. Eisenhower "I am tired and sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine." - General William Tecumseh Sherman