OA227: Brian Frosh Takes On Matthew Whitaker & More! (Patreon)

Today's Rapid Response Friday takes a deep dive into the recent lawsuit filed (actually, amended) by Maryland's ace Attorney General, Brian Frosh, challenging the appointment of Matthew Whitaker as Acting Attorney General.

We begin, however, with an Andrew Was Right (and Wrong, sadly) roundup of a bunch of issues:  (1) whether the midterm elections were a "Blue Wave" (they were); (2) the formation of a new breakaway conservative legal group; (3) Jeff Flake's efforts to protect Robert Mueller; (4) Whitaker's recusal status; and (5) the election of Kyrsten Sinema to the U.S. Senate in Arizona.  Phew!

After that, it's time for the deep dive into Maryland's ACA lawsuit that.. somehow morphed into a judicial request to determine that Matthew Whitaker cannot be the Attorney General?  How is that even possible??  We explain it all... and along the way, we let you know what arguments the State of Maryland has raised that the next Attorney General should be Rod Rosenstein instead.  It's a fascinating lawsuit, and you'll even get a brief discussion of the "canon of constitutional avoidance." (!!)

After that, we (briefly) discuss the California wildfires in light of.. SEC disclosure requirements??!?  Hey, that's why you listen, right?

Finally, we end with an all new Thomas Takes The Bar Exam #101 on SPACE LAW, involving deadbeat Ewoks and Lando Calrissian.  (No, really.)  You'll have to listen and find out!  And, of course, if you'd like to play along with us, just retweet our episode on Twitter or share it on Facebook along with your guess and the #TTTBE hashtag.  We'll release the answer on next Tuesday's episode along with our favorite entry!

Appearances

None!  If you'd like to have either of us as a guest on your show, drop us an email at openarguments@gmail.com.

Show Notes & Links

1. Click here to read 538's "Yes, It Was a Blue Wave" article.
2. Here is the announcement of the formation of the "Checks and Balances" legal society.
3. Lawfare has filed a FOIA request for all documentation regarding Whitaker's ethics advice and potential recusal.
4. Click here to read Maryland's motion for preliminary injunction; here to read the Flood memorandum that contains Trump's likely responses; and here to read the court's scheduling order.
5. Finally, click here to read the SEC's guidelines on when to file a form 8-K, and here to read the 8-K filed by PG&E.

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