Rain and some wind this early-evening Monday here in California’s Central valley — some heavy downpour last night but just a few sprinkles most of today; was somewhat dense earlier this afternoon but didn’t last long.
Rain in California nowadays is as scarce as the T-Rump being prosecuted/convicted for being a criminal asshole.

In context and in the same neck-of-the-woods, a major mark for any sort of T-Rump accountability came today from Judge David Carter of the US District Court for the Central District of California — took action way out here on the Left Coast to rattle DC quarters.
Obvious “corruptly” T-Rump and his noodle lackey John Eastman tried to subvert the 2020 election results:

A federal judge described Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election as "a coup in search of a legal theory" https://t.co/HrJc6fmL0b

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 28, 2022

Details via BuzzFeed News this afternoon:

The judge concluded that one document — a memo sent to Eastman laying out a plan to convince former vice president Mike Pence to reject electors in key states that President Joe Biden had won — was covered by the “crime-fraud exception” to a lawyer’s privilege over their records.
That memo was directly related to the alleged criminal scheme that the committee had laid out, Carter held. He held that the committee was entitled to an additional 100 documents that weren’t privileged, and sided with Eastman when it came to 10 records.

“Dr. Eastman and President Trump launched a campaign to overturn a democratic election, an action unprecedented in American history. Their campaign was not confined to the ivory tower — it was a coup in search of a legal theory. The plan spurred violent attacks on the seat of our nation’s government, led to the deaths of several law enforcement officers, and deepened public distrust in our political process,” the judge wrote.
…
“More than a year after the attack on our Capitol, the public is still searching for accountability. This case cannot provide it,” Carter wrote.
“The Court is tasked only with deciding a dispute over a handful of emails. This is not a criminal prosecution; this is not even a civil liability suit. At most, this case is a warning about the dangers of ‘legal theories’ gone wrong, the powerful abusing public platforms, and desperation to win at all costs. If Dr. Eastman and President Trump’s plan had worked, it would have permanently ended the peaceful transition of power, undermining American democracy and the Constitution. If the country does not commit to investigating and pursuing accountability for those responsible, the Court fears January 6 will repeat itself.”
…
“The illegality of the plan was obvious. Our nation was founded on the peaceful transition of power, epitomized by George Washington laying down his sword to make way for democratic elections. Ignoring this history, President Trump vigorously campaigned for the Vice President to single-handedly determine the results of the 2020 election,” Carter wrote.

Ultimately, the judge identified one document out of the remaining 11 that related to the crimes the committee had identified and that Eastman would have to turn over: a draft memo that had been written for Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and forwarded to Eastman that laid out the case for Pence rejecting electors from states where Trump was contesting Biden’s wins.
“This may have been the first time members of President Trump’s team transformed a legal interpretation of the Electoral Count Act into a day-by-day plan of action. The draft memo pushed a strategy that knowingly violated the Electoral Count Act, and Dr. Eastman’s later memos closely track its analysis and proposal,” Carter wrote.

Although Carter’s ruling is in a civil case and not criminal — supposedly the bar is higher for the level of prosecution in a criminal case — it will hopefully heap pressure on AG Merrick Garland and the DOJ to get off their asses and get to kicking T-Rump down the road to jail. Or at least disclose something is going on with a shitload of “corruptly” criminal/illegal workings under the T-Rump.
Philip Bump at The Washington Post, also this afternoon, notes Judge Carter also fragged the obvious in the infamous call between T-Rump and Brad Raffensperger in January 2021:

“President Trump’s repeated pleas for Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger clearly demonstrate that his justification was not to investigate fraud, but to win the election,” Carter wrote in his opinion.
He quoted Trump: “So what are we going to do here, folks? I only need 11,000 votes. Fellas, I need 11,000 votes. Give me a break.”

“Taken together, this evidence demonstrates that President Trump likely knew the electoral count plan had no factual justification,” Carter continued.

In other words, Trump let the veil drop. He wasn’t concerned that fraud might have occurred and that the will of the voters was lost. He was simply worried about getting those votes he needed — and wanted the Republican secretary of state to play ball. This is a corrupt intent. This is dishonest.

“The illegality of the plan was obvious,” Carter wrote of the obstruction allegation. “… President Trump vigorously campaigned for the Vice President to single-handedly determine the results of the 2020 election. As Vice President Pence stated, ‘no Vice President in American history has ever asserted such authority.’ Every American — and certainly the President of the United States — knows that in a democracy, leaders are elected, not installed. With a plan this ‘BOLD’” — quoting Eastman — “President Trump knowingly tried to subvert this fundamental principle.”

‘Lock Him Up! Lock Him Up!’
Only it could be so. And know it like these boys:

Fevered but alive and once again here we are…

(Illustration out front: Pablo Picasso’s ‘Seated Pierrot,’ found here).