Trump Cover Up of His Dark Past takes New Twist with AG Lawsuit

0:00Michael Popok:Kris Mayes, the Arizona Attorney General who indicted a number of Donald Trump's inner circle following the 2020 election. She's back and she's threatening to sue Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, MAGA Mike Johnson, because he refuses to swear in Representative Adelita Grijalva. She was elected to her late father's seat 70 % in a special election. She represents 813 ,000 people in the congressional district number seven in Arizona. And she can't get sworn in because Mike Johnson claims, well, we're in a shutdown, trying to put pressure on the Democrats to have leverage during budget negotiations, obviously.

0:46Michael Popok:and because of the Epstein scandal. What's Epstein have to do about this? And what type of lawsuit would the attorney general of Arizona be able to bring in order to force Mike Johnson's hand to swear in Representative Grijalva? And we demand that now as well here on the Midas Dutch Network and Legal AF. Let's get to it. I'm Michael Popok. Chris Mays, amazing. She was the secretary of state and now attorney general for Arizona. She has the power now that the state has completed its canvassing on the special election and delivered a certificate from the governor to the Speaker of the House certifying Adelita Grijalva has been elected to her father's seat.

1:29Michael Popok:And now it's time for the swearing in. What's warping the decision making? It's not the shutdown. Although I think they're trying to get a little bit of leverage on the shutdown. It's because she, Representative Grijalva, has said aloud that she will proudly be the final signature on the discharge petition that's been circulated by Ro Khanna, a Democrat, and Tom Massey, a Republican. and the discharge petition would take out of a committee where it's been blocked by the Republicans a House resolution to the House floor to compel the Department of Justice and the Trump administration and all those others to release the damn Epstein files.

2:18Michael Popok:They needed 218 votes. She's the 218th vote. We already had another special election, see special elections matter, where a Democrat was the 217th vote. Now, nobody's buying, and I have the letter here that was sent by Chris Mays to Representative Johnson just yesterday. It's up on Legal AF Substack for you to read. I'll talk about the mandamus petition that she would file to get Representative Grijalva sworn in. and that's what this is all about it's about trying to exert pressure on the Democrats to extract something from them in the budget negotiations around the shutdown you like Representative Grijalva you know she may not be around much longer if we don't swear her in and sets dangerous precedent for the future four or five others have been sworn in during what's called the pro forma sessions pro forma sessions are being held right now to keep the lights on in Congress with the bare minimum of activity so that the president doesn't have a recess to start making crazy appointments.

3:26Michael Popok:Even MAGA Congress doesn't want that to happen. So they keep the lights on with these proformas. And you hear Speaker Johnson say, no, no, I'll swear in. It's just that we're shut down. He's sworn in other people during proforma sessions. He's sworn in two other representatives from Florida, particularly when they were in proforma sessions. So all of these ever-changing, shape-shifting positions of Mike Johnson isn't going over well. Let me read to you from the letter from Chris Mays, Attorney General of Arizona, in which she cites to our founding fathers, including James Madison and Alexander Hamilton.

4:07Michael Popok:On behalf of the state of Arizona, I demand that the Honorable Adelita Grijalva be sworn into office as the representative for Arizona's 7th Congressional District, representing 813 ,000 people that have no representation right now. Failing to seat Ms. Grijalva immediately or to otherwise provide a reasonable explanation as to when she will be seated will prompt legal action. That would be a writ of mandamus. We'll talk about that in a minute. The House of Representatives' uniquely democratic function makes frustrating the will of the voters in selecting the representative particularly egregious.

4:39Michael Popok:A member of the House of Representatives holds the only proportional and directly elected position in the federal government. citing to the Federalist Papers number 52 and 58, 65, 66, and 81. She goes on and reminds the Speaker of the House that Jimmy Petronas was elected to the Florida's 1st District. Randy Fine was elected to Florida's 6th District. They're Republicans. They were sworn in during pro forma sessions. In fact, let me take a break from the letter for a minute. Jim Jordan was interviewed by Caitlin Collins and got wrapped around his own axle about why she's not being sworn in. They can't even get their story straight because it's a lie.

5:27Michael Popok:Let's play Caitlin Collins versus Jim Jordan. Of House Republicans, you're here on Capitol Hill tonight. A lot of your colleagues are not because you're not in session. And Speaker Johnson has said he's not bringing you all back until there's an agreement to reopen the government. Is it clear to you why Speaker Johnson has not sworn in the new member Adelita Grijalva yet? Because we're not sessions typically done when we're all there it's a special thing the individual gives this gives a the new member gives a speech in front of congress sworn in by the speaker of the house i introduced by you know colleagues from their delegation that's how i've been here 19 years it's always been done that way so uh that's nothing out of the out of the ordinary the reason we're not here is because we've we've done our our work we've passed the bill that funds the government again at the levels chuck schumer agreed to and now he won't support it because he's again this debate is chuck schumer can pick common sense or he can pick the left and aoc right now he's picking the left and aoc after he picked common sense six months ago plain and simple and i think the american people understand that so you're saying because it's a pro forma session that's why yeah because there's like there's two people on the floor or you know whatever uh there's but normally it's done in front of the full house that new member in a special election gets uh i think in some ways a kind of a neat experience where they get to talk to the house their first day getting sworn in and that's happened every single time that i can recall with any new member elected in a special in the middle of a congressional session.

6:43But a couple months ago, he swore in Jimmy Petronas and Randy Fine in a pro forma session. I actually didn't even know that when they were sworn in. But I always remember when it happens, the delegation's up front and that person is sworn in. Do you think it has anything to do with the discharge petition and that she could be the 218th signature for the Jeffrey Epstein files? I think it's to make the clear point, we have voted to fund the government at levels all the Democrats supported and they now won't support it because they're bringing up an issue that frankly was not even part of the campaign last year.

7:16I don't remember anyone saying, oh my goodness, we got to deal with the enhanced premium tax credit in Obamacare. And if we don't, it wasn't even part of the campaign last year.

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8:52Michael Popok:You and your staff, according to this letter from Chris Mays as a prerequisite to filing the lawsuit, you and your staff have provided ever-shifting, unsatisfactory, and sometimes absurd stories as to why Ms. Grijalva has not been sworn in. In a particularly worrisome comment, an aide connected with the swearing-in and admission made an admission to the ongoing budget fight, suggesting that the House is trying to use Arizona's constitutional right to representation in the House as a bargaining chip. You know, when you make threats like, well, if Chuck Schumer would just reopen the government, you know, we'd be able to swear in.

9:25Michael Popok:That sounds like you got a, you know, you got a deal to make, if you will. Arizona's right to a full delegation and the right of the residents of Congressional District 7 to representation from the person they recently voted for are not up for debate. We thus demand that Ms. Grijalva be immediately sworn into office and admitted to her rightful seat. Should you fail such assurances, we will be forced to seek judicial relief to protect Arizona and the residents of the 7th Congressional District. Representative-elect Grijalva has even taken to the hallways of Congress, marching on Mike Johnson's office.

9:58Michael Popok:Let's show that clip.

10:25Michael Popok:Now, what's going to happen in the courts here at the intersection of law and politics? Chris Mays, who's not shy about going to court, not shy about prosecuting people in Donald Trump's personal life, files what we call a complaint for mandamus or a writ of mandamus. A mandamus is to get an official, an elected official or some sort of other officer, force them to do their job, their statutory job. He's got a job to do. It's to swear in on a Bible or not on a Bible, Representative Gehova. That's it. It's a ministerial act. There's no other function that they have to do. They can do it while the lights are on for the pro forma sessions.

11:04Michael Popok:There's no excuses around it. And that's what the lawsuit will say, that he should be compelled to hold a session immediately and swear her in to take her rightful seat, representing 813 ,000 people of the 7th Congressional district in Arizona. That's it. It's a relatively straightforward case. You file it in federal court. You can file it in Arizona, although I would file it in Washington. Makes it harder for Mike Johnson to argue there's no jurisdiction over him. You get a good federal judge. You get an order of mandamus. You do an order to show cause or a preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order or an emergency application.

11:46Michael Popok:And you get all this done. I don't know when this shutdown is going to end. Could go 30 days. Democrats are rightly playing hardball in order to win concessions from the Republicans to open the government around health care. Not health care for illegal immigrants and pedophiles. Health care for everyday Americans. We're talking about 30 and 40 million Americans who will lose health care and lose Obamacare as a cover. It will just be a nation where there's literally the haves and the have-nots. You either have health insurance because your employer gives it to you or you can afford it. Or you go to emergency rooms as a last resort and you die early.

12:23Michael Popok:Infant mortality rates go up. Mortality rates go up. People die early from preventable illnesses and conditions and diseases. And that's the world that people apparently have voted for when they voted for Donald Trump. I just don't think they voted for that. So we'll continue to follow. Arizona's Attorney General, Chris Mays, and her threat turned into a lawsuit against Speaker of the House to get Representative Grijalva sworn in. Swear Grijalva in now. Then she'll be the 218th signature on the discharge petition, and it'll go to a House vote about the release of the Epstein scandal cover-up files.

13:03Michael Popok:I'll leave you on this. In my neck of the woods and in court, when a person refuses to produce documents like Donald Trump has refused and ordered his people not to produce documents related to Epstein. You are allowed to make an inference, an adverse inference, that what's in those files is bad for the party that's withholding the documents. That's what you would be told in court as a member of the jury, and that's what we should assume as American voters, that things are really bad and awful for Donald Trump in those files. I don't know what's in those files. Photos of Donald Trump with young girls, disgusting emails back and forth between Donald Trump and Epstein financial relationships tied to girls and that island we have to make those inferences because Donald Trump has not produced the documents that's how it works in a court of law that's how it works here on Midas Dutch and Legal AF so until my next report come on over to Legal AF Substack help us there you can become a paid member get some amazing content including this Arizona letter that I just read from and Legal AF, the YouTube channel.

14:09Michael Popok:So until my next report, I'm Michael Popak.

14:11Kris Mayes:Can't get your fill of Legal AF? Me neither. That's why we formed the Legal AF Substack. Every time we mention something in a hot take, whether it's a court filing or a oral argument, come over to the Substack. You'll find the court filing and the oral argument there, including a daily roundup that I do called, wait for it, Morning AF. What else? All the other contributors from Legal AF are there as well. We got some new reporting. We got interviews. We got ad-free versions of the podcast and hot takes. Wear legal AF on Substack. Come over now to free subscribe. Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile.

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