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NBA Clarifies Position On Charlotte All-Star Game, Commissioner Clarifies League Won’t Intervene

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‘The One Place Where I Know I Agree With the Governor Is That There’s Enormous Misunderstanding About This Law’ Says NBA Commissioner

The NBA Friday afternoon released a statement after Commissioner Adam Silver’s comments drew ire from those hoping the League would take action and move the 2017 All-Star game out of Charlotte, North Carolina.

“During a media availability earlier today following the NBA’s Board of Governors meeting, Commissioner Adam Silver clarified that the NBA remains deeply concerned about its ability to successfully host the 2017 All-Star Game in Charlotte, North Carolina, in light of recent legislation that discriminates against the LGBT community,” the statement reads, as Joe.My.God. reports.

“At no time did Adam affirm that the league would not move the All-Star Game; rather he stressed repeatedly that the legislation is problematic, that we feel it is best to engage with the community to work towards a solution, that change is needed and we are hopeful that it will occur.”

Except, not exactly.

During that media availability, Silver told reporters that at the board of governors meeting Friday, “There was no discussion of moving the All-Star game.” Which, of course, led most news outlets to report league owners wouldn’t even discuss moving the game, which is true.

But Silver’s other comments at the press conference are also of great concern.

“As an outsider to North Carolina right now, the one place where I know I agree with the governor is that there’s enormous misunderstanding about this law,” Silver told reporters, according to Sporting News and other outlets. The “misunderstanding” that exists exists because Gov. Pat McCrory and other Republicans are flat-out lying about what the Charlotte bill would have done, and about what HB2 does.

“I think when things settle down and legislators are together with the governor and are able to think through the implications of this law, the impact that it potentially can have on minority groups in their state, I think they will see clear to a change in the law. I’m hopeful they will.”

Perhaps, but right now there’s little hope of HB2 being repealed, which must happen. Republicans have dug themselves into a hole and refuse to climb up and out.

Silver didn’t stop there however. He’s advocating for a laissez-faire approach.

“By no means are we saying we’re stepping back,” he told reporters Friday.

EARLIER– NBA Commissioner: No Plans To Move All-Star Game Out Of North Carolina Despite Anti-LGBT Law

“The message is not that somehow the current state of affairs is OK for the league. Let me be clear: The current state of the law is problematic for the NBA in North Carolina. For the league office and our owners, I think the discussion was, how can we be most constructive in being part of a process that results in the kind of change that we think is necessary?”

“This notion that we set a deadline and then somehow we’re in the position to dictate to the community of North Carolina, ‘Change this or else,’ and then we were to say, ‘Fine, we’ll move on …’” Silver continued.

“We have a team that plays in Charlotte, North Carolina, and I’m not even sure what statement that would be making about that team. I think what’s next would be to say, ‘Should your team be playing in Charlotte, North Carolina?’ We have a playoff game there next week.”

Sporting News concludes that Commissioner Silver “repeatedly made clear his and the league’s position on the measure and expressed hope that change will come without an NBA ultimatum.”

In other words, they’ve stated their position, and that includes not putting any pressure on Tar Heel State lawmakers to make any change.

How is that leadership?

Meanwhile, ESPN’s Rachel Nichols (video above) takes NBA owners and Silver to task. 

“It’s beyond me that NBA owners didn’t even deem this worthy of discussion,” she says, noting Toronto officials were expecting $100 million in spending surrounding their All-Star game. “Or, maybe they do know, and they just don’t care to do more than issue a statement,” she observes.

 

Image of Adam Silver via Facebook 
Image of All-Star game logo via Wikimedia 

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BREAKING NEWS

Trump Lawyer’s ‘Critical Evidence’ Will Help DOJ Make Decision to Charge ‘Without Significant Delay’: Former Prosecutor

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Donald Trump‘s attorney Evan Corcoran, who allegedly directed another Trump attorney to draft the false statement claiming all classified and sensitive documents had been returned, has been ordered to testify before a grand jury and hand over documents and records to Special Counsel Jack Smith in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents criminal investigation.

Trump appealed U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell’s decision ordering Corcoran to testify and hand over documents, including handwritten notes. The Appeals Court in light speed mode, rejected Trump’s appeal.

Corcoran will be testifying before the grand jury on Friday, CNN reports.

RELATED: ‘National Security Implications’: Former DOJ Official Speculates on Ruling Ordering Trump Attorney to Hand Over Docs

One former top DOJ official, Brandon Van Grack, says the “Special Counsel is about to get access to the most critical evidence in the case. Should allow DOJ to make a charging decision without significant delay.”

He did not define what “without significant delay” means in terms of days, weeks, or months.

Van Grack served at Main Justice for eleven years, including as a lead prosecutor in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, and later, as the Chief of the DOJ’s Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) Unit.

“The announcement from a panel of three judges in the appeals court – less than a day after Trump sought to put Corcoran’s testimony on hold – adds momentum to the special counsel investigation as it seeks to secure evidence that could make or break a federal criminal case against Trump,” CNN explains. “The Justice Department has successfully argued in court that prosecutors have enough evidence that Trump’s interactions with the lawyer were part of a possible crime that they can pierce the confidentiality of the conversations between the two.”

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BREAKING NEWS

‘National Security Implications’: Former DOJ Official Speculates on Ruling Ordering Trump Attorney to Hand Over Docs

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A former top Dept. of Justice official says a federal judge’s expedited ruling ordering an attorney for Donald Trump to testify against his client before a grand jury and hand over documents very well may be related to “national security.”

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that DOJ Special Counsel Jack Smith had successfully made the case Donald Trump may have committed a crime, via his attorneys, in his classified documents case. That finding allowed her to invoke the crime-fraud exception, and order Trump attorney Evan Corcoran to testify before the grand jury investigating the ex-president’s unlawful retention and refusal to return hundreds of classified documents.

Former FBI General Counsel Andrew Weissmann, who also worked for Special Counsel Robert Mueller and headed the DOJ’s Criminal Fraud Section, Wednesday afternoon on MSNBC said it’s possible Judge Howell’s expedited decisions were related to national security.

Tuesday night Judge Howell ordered DOJ to provide information by 6:00 AM Wednesday.

READ MORE: Jim Jordan’s Attack on Manhattan DA Will ‘Backfire’ and Allow Democrats to Expose Coordination With Trump: Columnist

Trump appealed Howell’s ruling, and Wednesday afternoon the Appeals Court denied his appeal related to the documents, Politico reports.

“I’ve never seen anything that quick. It’s very hard to know why. I have to say, to me, when I think about what can be a plausible reason– and this is pure speculation – is that there must be something in the papers that gave the judges concern about national security implications, because it’s such a short timeframe.”

“The reason this is a bombshell is you could end up with Evan Corcoran as a key, fundamental witness against Donald Trump in an obstruction of justice case and a false statements case,” Weissmann adds.

According to Politico, Wednesday’s appeals court ruling “effectively permits the Justice Department to circumvent Trump’s attorney-client privilege after a lower-court judge found that the documents likely contain evidence of a crime.”

NEW: Trump Lawyer’s ‘Critical Evidence’ Will Help DOJ Make Decision to Charge ‘Without Significant Delay’: Former Prosecutor

 

This article was updated to correctly spell Andrew Weissmann’s last name.

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RIGHT WING EXTREMISM

Trump Appeals After Judge Agrees With Special Counsel on Crime-Fraud Exception and Requires His Attorney to Testify

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Donald Trump’s attorneys have appealed a ruling that requires one of his lawyers to testify before a grand jury investigating his unlawful removal, retention, and refusal to return classified documents from the White House.

Attorneys for the Special Counsel “said there is evidence of a deliberate effort not to turn over all the material covered by the subpoena,” The Washington Post reports, citing people familiar with the matter.

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell had reportedly agreed with Special Counsel Smith that there is sufficient evidence proving Donald Trump may have committed a crime via his attorneys, and ruled his attorney must testify before a grand jury. The ruling, which was not made public, was handed down Friday night, NBC News reported Wednesday afternoon.

Judge Howell “ruled in favor of applying the ‘crime fraud’ exception to Trump’s attorney-client privilege and ordered Trump lawyer Evan Corcoran to testify before the federal grand jury.”

READ MORE: ‘On Standby’: Experts Say Manhattan Hush Money Grand Jury Delay ‘Not All That Surprising’

Trump’s attorneys have already appealed the ruling.

“People familiar with the matter said an appeals panel has already begun reviewing the decision, after Trump’s lawyers appealed,” The Washington Post adds. “The extraordinarily quick timeline suggests that the judges — all nominated by Democratic presidents — intend to rule swiftly.”

Trump could take his case all the way to the Supreme Court, but The Post says it’s “not clear he would have a much better chance of success there.”

According to an NBC News report from October, Corcoran directed another Trump attorney, Christina Bobb, to sign the letter claiming a thorough search of Mar-a-Lago had been made and all classified or “sensitive” documents had been returned. That was proven untrue after federal agents, executing a search warrant, recovered hundreds of documents with classified markings.

NEW: ‘National Security Implications’: Former DOJ Official Speculates on Ruling Ordering Trump Attorney to Hand Over Docs

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