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Opening Arguments

OA241: Is This The C-Hook That Could Send PG&E To Prison??

Opening Arguments

Opening Arguments Media LLC

Law, Opinion, Politics, News, Liberal, Legal, Supremecourt, Harvard, Atheist

4.33.7K Ratings

🗓️ 4 January 2019

⏱️ 81 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Today's episode takes a deep dive into the potential criminal liability for Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) in connection with the 2018 California Wildfires and the c-hook that just might be the linchpin to the whole thing.  Are people going to prison?  Listen and find out!

We begin by celebrating a brand-new holiday:  Oversight Day, with the inauguration of Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House.  We talk about funding, job postings, and how they all relate to Yodel Mountain.

After that it's time to get deep -- and we mean deep -- into PG&E's latest court filing, what it has to do with a 2010 explosion and a 2016 order, and what really caused the California Camp Fire.  Along the way you'll learn about obstruction of justice (again!), the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act (really!), and how a corporation can have an "abandoned and malignant heart."

Then we end with an all new Thomas Takes The Bar Exam #108 about interstate car collectors-slash-thieves.   As always, 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. Your Oversight Day goodies include (a) this fabulous Savannah Guthrie interview with Speaker Pelosi; (b) this equally fabulous Twitter chain from Paul Krugman; (c) the House operations budget for 2019; (d) the Axios story on Republicans seeking to hire investigative counsel; and (e) the screenshot of the jobs posting.
  2. PG&E filings include (a) the PGE Superseding indictment; (b) the jury verdict; (c) the Sentencing and probationary conditions entered by the court; (d) the Court's Nov. 27, 2018 written questions about the wildfires; (e) the Court's supplemental order seeking an amicus from the California Attorney General's office; (f) the answers filed by PGE - PGE Answers, the US Attorneys' Office, and the California AG; and finally, the PGE written Report - Exhibit A that contains the information discussed on the show.

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And email us at openarguments@gmail.com

 

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

The first refugee ever elected to Congress.

0:07.0

The machinery of democracy should work for everyone everywhere, not just in certain places

0:25.5

and not just on a certain day.

0:30.5

Power sees nothing without a demand.

0:32.5

It never has and it never will.

0:34.5

We still have to be willing to show up every single day and demand our seed at the table.

0:42.5

So f**king proud of you guys!

0:48.5

Welcome to Opening Arguments, the podcast that pairs an inquisitive interviewer with a real-life lawyer.

0:59.5

This podcast is sponsored by the Law Offices of P.A.

1:02.5

Antitourers LLC for Entertainment purposes is not intended as legal advice and does not form an attorney-client relationship.

1:08.5

Don't take legal advice from a podcast.

1:18.5

Hello and welcome to Opening Arguments.

1:19.5

This is episode 241.

1:21.5

I'm your host Thomas Smith.

1:23.5

That over there is one P Andrew Esquire Torres as well as going to say.

1:28.5

But that would be wrong.

1:30.5

P Andrew Torres Esquire, how are you doing?

1:33.5

I was great until you botched my name like that.

1:37.5

I'll recover.

1:38.5

We've only done this together for two and a half years.

1:42.5

Why would you know my name?

1:44.5

You're such a lawyer to me that I forgot whether or not the Esquire was in your name like you were named destined or whether.

...

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