Trump, DOJ tangle over 'special master' to review seized Mar-a-Lago documents

 https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/09/trump-special-master-doj-mar-a-lago-documents-00056015

Prosecutors have said if she does not act by Thursday on their request to essentially carve out the potentially classified documents from the special master review, they plan to take their request to the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit. The Justice Department has also asked Cannon to lift the portion of her Monday order that temporarily bars investigators from reviewing documents that contain potential national-security secrets.

Mamzer

     Deuteronomy 23:3 לֹא־יָבֹ֥א מַמְזֵ֖ר בִּקְהַ֣ל יְהֹוָ֑ה גַּ֚ם דּ֣וֹר עֲשִׂירִ֔י לֹא־יָ֥בֹא ל֖וֹ בִּקְהַ֥ל יְהֹוָֽה׃ {ס}   

No one misbegotten shall be admitted into the congregation of יהוה; no descendant of such, even in the tenth generation, shall be admitted into the congregation of יהוה.

Kiddushin 71a:2

אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן לֵוִי כֶּסֶף מְטַהֵר מַמְזֵרִים שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר וַיֵּשֶׁב מְצָרֵף וּמְטַהֵר כֶּסֶף מַאי מַגִּישֵׁי מִנְחָה בִּצְדָקָה אָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק צְדָקָה עָשָׂה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עִם יִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁמִּשְׁפָּחָה שֶׁנִּטְמְעָה נִטְמְעָה

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi says: Money purifies mamzerim. Money causes rich mamzerim to become assimilated with Jews of unflawed lineage, since other families marry them despite their flawed lineage. In the future, God will not single them out as mamzerim, as it is stated: “And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver,” which teaches that money, i.e., silver, purifies them.

Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 23:3:1-2

לא יבא ממזר הואיל ונשרש בעבירה כמו כרת יפסל הוא וזרעו. ממזר שנולד ממי שהוא זר אצל אמו.

'לא יבא ממזר בקהל ה, “a bastard must not marry a Jewish woman;” seeing that he is a product of a union punishable by extinction of its seed, what point is there in such a male impregnating a Jewish woman with his seed? The definition of a mamzer from the root זר, alien, is someone whose mother was out of bounds to the male who had impregnated her.

Mishneh Torah, Forbidden Intercourse 15:7-13

מַמְזֵר מֻתָּר לִשָּׂא גִּיֹּרֶת. וְכֵן הַמַּמְזֶרֶת מֻתֶּרֶת לְגֵר. וְהַבָּנִים מִשְּׁנֵיהֶם מַמְזֵרִים שֶׁהַוָּלָד הוֹלֵךְ אַחַר הַפָּגוּם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דברים כג ג) "בִּקְהַל ה'" וּקְהַל גֵּרִים אֵינוֹ קָרוּי (דברים כג ג) "קְהַל ה'": גִּיֹּרֶת שֶׁנִּשֵּׂאת לְגֵר וְהוֹלִידוּ בֵּן אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁהוֹרָתוֹ וְלֵדָתוֹ בִּקְדֻשָּׁה הֲרֵי זֶה מֻתָּר בְּמַמְזֶרֶת. וְכֵן בֶּן בֶּן בְּנוֹ עַד שֶׁיִּשְׁתַּקַּע שֵׁם גֵּרוּתוֹ מִמֶּנּוּ וְלֹא יִוָּדַע שֶׁהוּא גֵּר וְאַחַר כָּךְ יֵאָסֵר בְּמַמְזֶרֶת. וְאֶחָד הַגֵּרִים וְאֶחָד הָעֲבָדִים מְשֻׁחְרָרִין דִּין אֶחָד לְכֻלָּן: …

7. A mamzer may marry a female convert and a female mamzer may marry a male convert, the offspring of both relationships are mamzerim. For the status of the offspring follows that of the blemished one. [The license for such a marriage is derived from] the verse: "[A mamzer shall not enter] God's congregation." (Deut. 23:3) The congregation of converts is not considered as "God's congregation." (ibid) 8. When a female convert marries a male convert and gives birth to a son, he is permitted to marry a female mamzer even though he was both conceived and born in holiness…

Chagigah 9a:5

רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן מְנַסְּיָיא אוֹמֵר: אֵיזֶהוּ מְעֻוּוֹת שֶׁאֵינוֹ יָכוֹל לְהִתָּקֵן? זֶה הַבָּא עַל הָעֶרְוָה וְהוֹלִיד מִמֶּנָּה מַמְזֵר. אִם תֹּאמַר בְּגוֹנֵב וְגוֹזֵל — יָכוֹל הוּא לְהַחְזִירוֹ, וִיתַקֵּן.

Rabbi Shimon ben Menasya says: Who is the crooked that cannot be made straight? This verse is referring to one who engaged in intercourse with a woman forbidden to him and fathered a mamzer with her. This individual is unable to rectify his sin, because the status of the illegitimate child is permanent. And if you say that it is referring to one who steals or robs, although he is crooked he can return what he stole and in this manner his sin will be rectified.

MESORAS RAV MOSHE

 https://mishpacha.com/mesoras-rav-moshe-rav-michel-shurkin-shares-an-insiders-view/

Another factor at work in every psak from Rav Moshe was his insistence on knowing all of the facts before ruling on a matter. He would quote from the Gra, who derived from two teachings of Chazal that it’s not enough for a rav to know the halachos in Shulchan Aruch clearly; he must also know the pertinent facts.

See Trump attorney's admission about his office where FBI found classified docs

GOP Congressman Gives 1/6 Rioter Flag Flown Over Capitol, Calls Her 'Hero'

 https://www.newsweek.com/gop-congressman-gives-1-6-rioter-flag-flown-over-capitol-calls-her-hero-1741780

The congressman's decision to honor Gold following her release received criticism on social media. Responding to a photo of Gohmert presenting the American flag to Gold, Representative Adam Kinzinger, an Illinois Republican and a member of the House select committee investigating the Capitol riot tweeted on Saturday: "This is sick."

LOSERS TAKE ALL

 https://mishpacha.com/losers-take-all/

As January 6 approached, processions of horn-blaring pickup trucks began riding by his home, bearing MAGA flags and digital signs accusing him of vile crimes. Inside his home, his daughter Kacey was bedridden, terminally ill with liver failure. “She would get emotional and say, ‘What are they doing out there?’” he remembers. She died three weeks later.

So, I thank Rusty Bowers, a Mormon, for exemplifying a quintessentially Jewish idea — that it can be a high honor to be a loser, because there are noble things that are well worth losing over, indeed, even dying for.

US Supreme Court allows Yeshiva University to bar LGBTQ student club

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-supreme-court-blocks-ruling-requiring-yeshiva-university-recognize-lgbtq-club/

The US Supreme Court temporarily blocked a lower court’s ruling requiring Yeshiva University in New York City to recognize a campus LGBTQ pride group.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor granted an emergency request on Friday filed last week by the modern Orthodox university that cited its rights under the First Amendment, which protects the free exercise of religion. The university argued that such recognition would be contrary to its beliefs.

The decision puts on hold a ruling issued by a New York state judge in June that the school must recognize the group. It comes amid a lengthy legal battle between the university and an LGBTQ Pride Alliance Club hinging on whether the university is a religious or secular institution.

Israel Will Cover ‘Voice Surgery’ for Transgender People

 https://www.israeltoday.co.il/read/israel-will-cover-voice-surgery-for-transgender-people/

Biology can be a nuisance for transgender people. For instance, it is an inconvenient truth that biological males and females sound different, have different tones of voice.

Modern medicine can help with that, but it’s expensive. The State of Israel thinks its taxpayers should cover the cost.

Trump special master ruling ‘troubling,’ legal experts say

 https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/3633170-trump-special-master-ruling-troubling-legal-experts-say/

The ruling in favor of Trump by federal district court Judge Aileen Cannon has been a head-scratcher for many attorneys, who say the court left behind many unanswered questions while also blocking an unprecedented investigation of a former president.

“It does seem to reflect a fair amount of bending and stretching of the law in numerous different respects,” said Jeff Robbins, a former federal prosecutor and congressional investigative counsel.

U.S. reveals more classified records may be missing in Trump probe

 https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-prosecutors-seek-judges-ok-continue-reviewing-trump-documents-2022-09-08/

Former U.S. President Donald Trump's team may not have returned all the classified records removed from the White House at the end of his presidency even after an FBI search of his home, U.S. prosecutors warned on Thursday, calling it a potential national security risk that needs investigation.

That revelation came in a Justice Department court filing asking U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to let it continue reviewing about 100 classified records seized by the FBI at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate while it investigates whether classified documents were illegally removed from the White House and improperly stored there.

‘Deeply Problematic’: Experts Question Judge’s Intervention in Trump Inquiry

 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/05/us/trump-special-master-aileen-cannon.html

Judge Cannon, a Trump appointee who sits on the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Florida, also blocked federal prosecutors from further examining the seized materials for the investigation until the special master had completed a review.

In reaching that result, Judge Cannon took several steps that specialists said were vulnerable to being overturned if the government files an appeal, as most agreed was likely. Any appeal would be heard by the Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta, where Mr. Trump appointed six of its 11 active judges.

Republicans dodge national security implications of Trump having classified documents at Mar-a-Lago

 https://edition.cnn.com/2022/09/08/politics/republicans-trump-national-security-implications-classified-docs/index.html

The Mar-a-Lago drama placed Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio in a delicate spot between his fall reelection and his position as the top Republican on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. In an interview with NBC 6, a Miami TV station, he downplayed the entire affair by diminishing the seriousness of the Department of Justice's investigation.

"This is really, at its core, a storage argument that they are making," said Rubio, adding, "I don't think a fight over storage of documents is worthy of what they have done, which is a full scale raid."

DOJ appeals special master ruling in Trump documents probe

 https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/3634802-doj-appeals-special-master-ruling-in-trump-documents-probe/

The filing digs into District Judge Aileen Cannon’s logic on a number of areas, pointing to many of the same issues in a ruling legal scholars largely panned as troubling.

Donald Trump Rages as DOJ Appeals Special Master Decision

 https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-rages-doj-appeals-special-master-decision-1741317

"So now the FBI & Biden Department of 'Justice' leakers are going to spend Millions of Dollars, & vast amounts of Time & Energy, to appeal the Order on the 'Raid of Mar-a-Lago Document Hoax,' by a brilliant and courageous Judge whose words of wisdom rang true throughout our Nation, instead of fighting the record setting corruption and crime that is taking place right before their very eyes," Trump said in the post.