Judge to the sleepy El Chapo jury yesterday (via Emily Palmer at NY Times):

Today the judge admonished the jury in El Chapo’s case. “I know there is a lot of testimony to listen to,” he said. “Without singling anyone out, sometimes I look over and wonder if you’re as focused as you should be.”

Palmer also says there are problems with the translation:

The translation in El Chapo’s trial has been faulty. Large shipments of cocaine have been described as small, cocaine has been delivered to coasts it actually came from, people with the same first name have been credited with things they did not do.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

The Special Counsel's office has filed its Sentencing Memorandum for Michael Flynn. The memo recommends Flynn be spared a sentence of incarceration due to his timely plea, his years of service to the military, and his cooperation.

Mueller's office also filed a sealed supplement, outlining his cooperation and asking for a downward departure from his sentencing range because of it.
In the Sentencing Memo, Team Mueller writes:

The defendant’s record of military and public service distinguish him from every other person who has been charged as part the SCO’s investigation.

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Former President George H.W. Bush has died at age 94.

This may be the longest obituary I can recall (I didn't finish reading it) but the Times has probably been working on it for years. It mentions that his son, GW, put out a call for eulogies in 2013. It's also mostly a puff piece.

In the spirit of refraining from negative comments on the occasion of one's death, I have finally thought of something to praise about the former President: He refused to endorse Donald Trump.

Condolences to the Bush family.

No, of course Donald Trump didn't answer all Robert Mueller's questions -- and of course he weaseled out of orally answering questions, notwithstanding the interview had been all set up. The Associated Press has all the details in Inside Trump’s refusal to testify in the Mueller probe.

A key breakthrough occurred earlier this fall when Mueller’s team said it would accept written answers on Russian election interference and collusion. The concession ensured that Mueller would get at least some on-the-record response from Trump. Prosecutors tabled questions about obstruction, reserving the right to return to that area later.

This sounds like he just capitulated to Trump's demands. I think Mueller should have at least insisted on one or the other: Either a live interview just on the Russia collusion issue or written questions to also encompass obstruction of justice -- both as to the firing of James Comey and his knowledge of Don Jr.'s meeting with the Russian lawyer and her associates at Trump Tower to get dirt on Hillary. [More..]

Don't forget to listen live to Arlo Guthrie at noon when radio stations across the country play the full 18 (or 22) minute version of "Alice's Restaurant." If you can't find a station, here's Boulder's KBCO.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! What's on your menu and who are you spending the day with. This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Arturo, Hector, Alfredo and Carlos Beltran-Leyva

Imprisoned cartel leader Hector Beltran-Levya has died of a heart attack at 56.

Hector Beltran-Leyva was arrested in 2014. Since 2016, he has been imprisoned at Altiplano. He faced a lot of charges in Mexico and two Indictments in the U.S. Here is the Mexican Government's official announcement.

The incident took place at about 15:07, when the chief of prison security reported Beltran Leyva had severe pain in the left chest, so immediately the federal center doctors gave him first aid under the protocols.

When he did not recover, the prison moved him to the Adolfo Lopez Mateos Hospital in Toluca where he died after receiving treatment in the emergency room. [More...]

The New York Times examines whether Jared and Ivanka are "good for Jews." Shorter version: It depends which Jews you ask. The Orthodox Jews love them and Reform Jews hate Trump and criticize them.

The deep schism that exists between the two groups is expanding, and the Chabad-Lubavitch, the Orthodox Hasidic group that Jared and Ivanka are members of, is experiencing rapid growth, while membership in liberal Reform synagogues has dropped substantially. The Times reports:

One in five American Jews now describes themselves as having no religion and identifying as Jews based only on ancestry, ethnicity or culture, according to Pew. By contrast, in the 1950s, 93 percent of American Jews identified as Jews based on religion.

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Journalist Jamal Khashoggi may have secretly gotten married in the U.S. last June.

The Washington Post reports a CIA assessment of Khashoggi's murder led the agency to conclude the Crown Prince ordered it.

The CIA assessment relies in part on a phone call that was intercepted by Intelligence between the Crown Prince's brother, who is the Saudi Ambassador to the U.S., and Khashoggi. Apparently, the Ambassador told Khashoggi it was safe to go pick up the documents for his marriage at the Embassy. [More...]

Here is the press release from Saudi Arabia with its findings on its investigation into the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The Washington Post reports:

[T]he prosecutor said Khashoggi was given a lethal injection by Saudi agents who had orders only to bring him to Saudi Arabia through persuasion or, if necessary, with force. His body was then dismembered, carried out of the consulate and disposed of by a Turkish contact, the prosecutor said. He offered no indication of where Khashoggi’s remains could be found.

The Treasury Department has announced sanctions on 17 Saudis. Saudi Arabia has said it will seek the death penalty for 5 of those charged in Khashoggi's murder. Neither country has placed any blame on the Crown Prince, notwithstanding: [More..]

Federal prosecutors representing the U.S. in the trial of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman are absolutely livid over the partial opening statement Tuesday by El Chapo defense lawyer Jeffrey Lichtman. Late last night they filed a motion to strike it in its entirety. (Case 1:09-cr-00466,Doc. 444, filed 11/14/18, available here)

The Government's motion has enough direct quotes to get a pretty good idea of what Lichtman said that got them so riled up. The question is: Was Lichtman's statement improper, or did the Government get caught flat-footed (or blind-slided, as they would say on Survivor)?

• “This is a case that will require you to throw out much of what you were taught to believe in about the way Government’s work and how they behave, governments in South and Central American and Mexico and even the United States. This is a case which will require you to open your minds to the possibility that government officials at the very highest level can be bribed, can conspire to commit horrible crimes; that American law enforcement agents can also be crooked . . . .” Tr. at 576:21-24.

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I'd like to stay online and blog all day, but I have too much work to do. Here's a new open thread for you, all topics welcome.

Donald Trump has followed through with his threat to limit asylum through executive action. Here is the Proclamation he issued today.

I am similarly acting to suspend, for a limited period, the entry of certain aliens in order to address the problem of large numbers of aliens traveling through Mexico to enter our country unlawfully or without proper documentation. I am tailoring the suspension to channel these aliens to ports of entry, so that, if they enter the United States, they do so in an orderly and controlled manner instead of unlawfully.

Under this suspension, aliens entering through the southern border, even those without proper documentation, may, consistent with this proclamation, avail themselves of our asylum system, provided that they properly present themselves for inspection at a port of entry.

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