Worth Knowing, Probably Not Quite Threadworthy 3/11

[SVPete]

Fani Willis can’t fight $17M bill in Trump prosecution, judge says

https://www.ajc.com/news/2026/03/fani-willis-cant-fight-17m-bill-in-trump-prosecution-judge-says/

The Atlanta judge overseeing the scuttled 2020 election interference case against President Donald Trump and others has barred Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from fighting their request for almost $17 million in defense costs.

Willis was disqualified from the case before it was dismissed in November under a replacement prosecutor, allowing Trump and most of his co-defendants to seek attorney fees through a new Georgia law written with the case in mind.

On Monday afternoon, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee denied Willis’ request to be allowed back into the case to argue against the defendants’ attempt to get their costs reimbursed through her office.

McAfee granted Fulton County’s separate bid to intervene in the case, acknowledging it “provides the overwhelming source of funding for the daily functioning” of Willis’ office and doesn’t want it stripped of cash.

One aspect of lawfare, besides the obvious risk of conviction, is making process punishment. Lawfare forces the target to expend time and money defending himself/herself from frivolous/malicious prosecution. The new Georgia law places the financial burden of defending oneself from frivolous/malicious prosecution onto the malicious prosecutor.

This decision does not leave the Fulton County DA's office unrepresented in arguing against the reimbursement, which the article notes, just (IMO) unable to make a circus out of what should be a serious, sobering for would-be lawfare-prosecutions, proceeding.

[enslaved1]

Two protesters charged on first day of Queensland’s ‘from the river to the sea’ ban

Google

Two pro-Palestinian protesters have been charged with violating contentious new Queensland hate-speech laws, with one of them allegedly saying the banned phrase “from the river to the sea”.

The arrests occurred at a small protest march which started outside the state parliament building on Wednesday, just hours after the new laws, passed by parliament last week, went into effect.

Under the act, a person can be jailed for up to two years for saying a banned phrase – including “from the river to the sea” and “globalise the intifada” – if doing so would cause “menace, harassment, or offence”.

Disagree with what is said, but support the right to say it.  Especially in these cases because getting arrested just feeds their self-righteousness. 

[SVPete]

Kash Patel Reviewing Investigations Into Trump and Allies, Assembling a Criminal Case.

https://thenationalpulse.com/2026/03/10/kash-patel-reviewing-investigations-into-trump-and-allies-assembling-a-criminal-case/

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel is leading an internal review of federal investigations targeting President Donald J. Trump and his allies. The review covers nearly a decade of counterintelligence activity, including operations Crossfire Hurricane, Round River, Plasmic Echo, and Arctic Frost. Some of these investigations relied on controversial surveillance methods and weak or disputed justifications.

According to whistleblowers and current or former FBI officials assisting the review, Patel’s team has examined internal communications, investigative files, and intelligence records that point to investigations being politically motivated. Some probes reportedly focused on Trump campaign advisers as well as journalists and members of Congress, with investigators accused of using authorities typically reserved for counterterrorism cases.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said criminal liability could arise if federal officials intentionally violated constitutional rights. “The Department of Justice is at the heart of considering these issues right now,” she said.

“I would say all of those things are on the table for lawyers and DOJ officials and others who conspired with them at the state level, state prosecutors, state police and so forth, who conspired to violate civil rights, and it could also include executive branch officials from the first administration who knowingly conspired and orchestrated a violation of federal civil rights,” Dhillon added.