Be Not Proud: Four of the right wing Proud Boys, including their former chairman Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, and three other leaders of theextremist group were found guilty yesterday of seditious conspiracy in the January 6^th insurrection after the jury deliberated for seven days.

 It was a split decision. One member, Dominic Pezzola, was acquitted of seditious conspiracy. It was the third win for the Justice Department in three seditious conspiracy trials stemming from the January 6^th attempt to take over the Capitol and reverse the results of the 2020 election.

  Tarrio had said on a social media posting before that trial that, “If the worst happens … we’re standing on principle.” 

  The three trials and convictions for right wing militia members open the remote possibility for the indictment of Donald Trump, who called his followers to the Capitol that day. In the meantime, sentencing for Tarrio and the three others is scheduled for August. 

Ask E. Jean: Both E. Jean Carroll and Donald Trump’s lawyers rested yesterday in the former advice columnist’s rape and defamation lawsuit against the former president.

  The Trump side did not present a defense and Trump was never in court. But the judge gave Trump until Sunday to say whether he would appear because Trump, while visiting his golf courses in Scotland, said he  would “probably attend” the trial and “go back and … confront” Carroll. 

  Part of the case is that Trump has criticized Carroll’s appearance and said she’s “not my type,” as if to say he would have raped her if she was. Carroll is a former beauty queen.

Poor Judgement: In continuing revelations about Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of gifts from Texas Billionaire Harlan Crow, ProPublica reports that Crow paid the $6,000 a month private school tuition for Thomas’s grandnephew, whom he had been raising as his own child.

  Thomas took legal custody of the child when he was six, so the tuition would have been his financial responsibility. Thomas did not report the gift of tuition, just as he did not report Crow paying for hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of luxury travel, or that Crow bought Thomas’ mother’s house and let her continue to live in it. 

  Crow has also donated much of the budget of a political group founded by Thomas’ wife, which paid her a $120,000 salary.

  The Supreme Court seems to have little or no code of ethics. Chief Justice John Roberts leaves it up to the “judgement” of the justices.

The Music Plays: A federal jury found that singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran did not crib Marvin Gaye’s classic “Let’s Get It On” for his 2014 hit “Thinking Out Loud.” It was the music industry’s biggest copyright case in years, and Sheeran said he would quit the business if he lost.

The Spin Rack: The Flint Community School District in Michigan has banned all students from using backpacks, even transparent ones, for fear that the kids can carry guns. They will be able to carry clear plastic bags with a limited inventory of school and personal items. — The North Carolina Senate agreed with its House and approved a ban on most abortions after 12 weeks. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper says he’ll veto the bill, but the Republicans probably have the votes to override. Copper called the ban “oppressive.” — A 21-year old man who was recently kicked out of the University of California at Davis has been arrested and charged with the fatal stabbing of two men and the critical wounding of a young woman near the campus. Carlos Dominguez was arrested carrying a large knife believed to be the weapon. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to sign a bill that prohibits transgender children from receiving gender-affirming care, including puberty-blocking hormones and sex-reassignment surgeries. The law authorizes judges to temporarily remove a child from their home if they receive gender-affirming treatments. 

Below the Fold: The editorial staff of The Rooney Report will be out of WIFI range through the weekend. We’ll be back Tuesday morning … maybe.

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