Bonus! What happens when the bad guys' deposition goes terribly wrong (for them)
Maybe you saw the deliciously embarrassing depositions of the right-wing idiots brought in to cancel government grants going to anything gay. In the videos, these guys come off as totally unprepared, and rather ridiculous. But ... what happens now? Do these depositions actually DO anything? Well, when I watched them, I was struck by the similarity to the homophobic depositions from many years ago, when the Prop 8 proponents were forced to explain why they wanted to ban gay marriage in California. It didn't go well for them! And it might be cause for some optimism about the current lawsuit.
Backup link to the bonus video: https://youtu.be/mI-nJbUnNuk
Comments (10)
I think one of my favorite parts of the CA trial was when the lawyers questioned one of the leading proponents of Prop 8 about their position on polygamy. The guy basically said it was okay so long as it was One Man marrying One Woman, even if it was multiple times. Yeah, that really didn't go well for him.
When you said "Whimsical and capricious", I literally heard Martin Short as Jack Frost in my head saying "Did you just call me 'Skillful and Delicious'?"
A deposition is sworn testimony made under the penalty of perjury before an officer of the court (the court reporter, who is also the person taking down the testimony). It takes place in the phase of litigation called discovery. Each party, plaintiff(s) and defendant(s) lawyers are required to be given notice to attend and must be present and participate in representation of their client before the deposition can proceed. The person being deposed may be a party to the lawsuit, a witness, a designated expert, etc. Deposition testimony can be, and quite often is, used in trial proceedings if the deposed person is called to testify personally in open court before the judge and jury as a way of bolstering an argument, or to impeach a witness in the event the deposition testimony can be demonstrated as erroneous or falsified. Deposition testimony is not always trivial.
Did the DOGE boys (? men?) have a lawyer present? Doesn't seem like it. I have given a deposition and my lawyer (well, my company's lawyer) repeatedly had to stop and remind me that it was NOT my job to help the opposition lawyers to actually UNDERSTAND rather complex/technical issues. Just answer the questions that were asking and no more. Took a bit but I did (finally) get it. I understand the wonton privilege on display in both situations, but I suspect the DOGE defense will hinge on them enacting the jobs they were asked: remove funds for LGBTQIA+, women's, racial, et al. research. IANAL but I wonder if, like in so many areas we are discovering with this admin, that the decisions are ALLOWED to be what we think of as capricious, as much of our federal agencies are given wide latitude. And they will also argue that they didn't CUT anything, but 'simply' set them aside for "further review." Not to mention "just doing my job." So I'm not sure there will be any civil or criminal penalties for these guys BUT prospective employers should be on the lookout for them trying to (re) enter the workforce (unless Musk keeps them on payroll?)
Weirdly, they definitely do have a lawyer present! You can hear an off-camera "objection" every now and then. (But because a judge is not present, the rules for objections during a deposition are a little different, and there are only a limited number of circumstances where a witness can refuse to answer.) As far as the decisions being allowed go ... I don't have any insider knowledge of the strategy here, but I have a feeling it might not be so much about proving what these individuals were doing, but at showing a pattern of policy from their bosses -- which is to say, the US government, which is of course constrained by the US Constitution. If, for example, a court finds that with these cuts the government violated due process or equal protection, that would certainly be a matter that could be remedied. I doubt that this trial will result in any penalties for the witnesses.
Love the Capital Hillbillies shirt!
Haha thank you, I was just commenting to James that I have t-shirts that are probably older than some of my viewers
Idiots tend to give themselves away by behaving idiotically
Fascinating. Some people just can't shut their mouths
And we love to see it (when it is our enemies)