;)
The Conversation -- June 4, 2024
Alexander Ward of Politico: "There is 'every reason' for people in Israel to conclude their prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is prolonging the war against Hamas to stay in power, President Joe Biden said in a Time interview published Wednesday.... Asked whether Netanyahu wanted the war to continue for his own political self-preservation, Biden initially replied, 'I'm not going to comment on that.' But then he said: 'There is every reason for people to draw that conclusion.'... Biden also said that Israel made the 'mistake' of conducting a Gaza campaign in destructively similar ways to the U.S. invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.... Those are among the harshest comments Biden has leveled at Netanyahu since Israel's retaliation for Hamas' Oct. 7 attack. The interview with Biden, conducted on May 28, days before he called on Israel and Hamas's to broker a cease-fire, confirms the president no longer reserves his broadsides for private phone calls."
Zolan Kanno-Youngs & Hamed Aleaziz of the New York Times: "President Biden issued an executive order on Tuesday that temporarily prevents migrants from seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border when crossings surge, seeking to ease pressure on the country's immigration system and address a major concern among voters. The dramatic election-year move is the most restrictive border policy instituted by Mr. Biden, or any other modern Democrat, and echoes an effort in 2018 by ... Donald J. Trump to cut off migration that was blocked in federal court." Related story by same reporters linked earlier. The NBC News report is here.
Garland Finds His Inner Anger Translator. Glenn Thrush & Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, facing the prospect of a contempt vote in Congress, lashed out at House Republicans on Tuesday, accusing his critics of seeking to undermine the rule of law, peddling 'conspiracy theories' and spreading falsehoods. The usually mild-mannered Mr. Garland pushed back against the false accusation that the Justice Department was somehow behind the prosecution and subsequent conviction of ... Donald J. Trump on 34 felony counts.... The case was brought by Alvin L. Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, who as a local prosecutor is not under the control of Mr. Biden or his administration. 'That conspiracy theory is an attack on the judicial process itself,' Mr. Garland said in an opening statement to the House Judiciary Committee.... Mr. Garland told Republicans that [their attacks] were feeding 'heinous' threats against individual career agents and prosecutors. 'These attacks have not, and they will not, influence our decision making,' he said." The AP's report is here.
Jack Forrest of CNN: "Dr. Anthony Fauci said he sees a direct link between the rise in death threats made against him and his family and public figures connecting him to Covid-19 conspiracy theories, which he noted happened earlier Monday during a contentious House hearing about the government's response to the pandemic.... '... When you have performances like that unusual performance by Marjorie Taylor Greene in today's [Monday's] hearing, those are the kinds of things that drive up the death threats because there are a segment of the population out there that believe that kind of nonsense,' Fauci said."
New York Times reporters are liveblogging Hunter Biden's trial for illegally purchasing a handgun.
Amy Gardner of the Washington Post: "Oral arguments in ... Donald Trump's appeal of a decision to allow an Atlanta area district attorney to continue prosecuting an election interference case against him is now scheduled for Oct. 4, virtually ensuring that a trial will not begin before the presidential election a month later. The Georgia Court of Appeals announced Monday that arguments would take place in October in the case. Trump and eight co-defendants are seeking to reverse the trial judge's decision to keep Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis (D) and her office on the case despite their claims that she had engaged in an improper relationship with an outside attorney she had appointed to lead the investigation."
Patrick Marley of the Washington Post: "Wisconsin's attorney general filed charges Tuesday against a former aide and two attorneys who advised ... Donald Trump over a meeting of Republicans claiming to be the state's 2020 presidential electors even though Trump had lost the state. The charges are the first in Wisconsin related to the meeting of electors. Prosecutors have separately charged Republicans who were involved in similar efforts in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada and Georgia. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul (D) charged Trump campaign aide Michael Roman and attorneys Kenneth Chesebro and James Troupis with one felony count of forgery each, according to online court records. Copies of the criminal complaints were not immediately available." CNN's report is here.
It's the Tuesday after the Monday after the Thursday Donald Trump became a convicted felon, so the late-night comedy gang was on high alert: ~~~
~~~ Here's Stephen Colbert, who polled his audience to find out if -- as Trump asserted -- "the public" wouldn't stand for Trump's being sent to prison.
~~~ Here's Jimmy Kimmel, explaining climate change to Donald Trump with a bathtub analogy.
~~~ Here's Jon Stewart, wanting to protect Magadonians from the harsh glare of reality.
~~~ Here's Jimmy Fallon: "They were going to put him in an orange jump suit, but it felt redundant."
~~~ And here's Seth Meyers, who joins the others in wondering why Trump is pretending he never said, "Lock her up." MB: BTW, the most pathetic part of Trump's lie about never saying "lock her up" is that, as part of his exposition on his feelings about jailing Hillary Clinton, he said, "And then this happened to me." No, Donald, this is not something that happened to you. You committed the crimes. And now maybe the judge will lock you up. And, yes, we the public will stand for it.
Gotta love New York. Here, after the guilty verdict, a NY deli is offering this new sandwich pic.twitter.com/zTmsVqMbrL
— Joshua D. Zimmerman (@jzimme6084) June 2, 2024
~~~ Thanks to Akhilleus for the link.
Maureen Dowd of the New York Times: "I don't need a black robe to hand down a judgment on the Supreme Court. It's corrupt, rotten and hurting America.... It is in the hands of a cabal of religious and far-right zealots, including a couple of ethical scofflaws with MAGA wives. Chief Justice John Roberts, who dreamed of being remembered as a great unifier of the court, is refusing to rein in Justices Alito and Clarence Thomas, who are thumbing their noses at the public and their own oaths to dispense fair and impartial justice."
~~~~~~~~~~
Hamed Aleaziz & Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "President Biden is expected to sign an executive order on Tuesday allowing him to temporarily seal the U.S. border with Mexico to migrants when crossings surge, a move that would suspend longtime protections for asylum seekers in the United States.... The restrictions would kick in once the number of illegal crossings exceeds 2,500 in a day, according to several people who have been briefed on the order. Daily totals already exceed that number, which means that Mr. Biden's executive order could go into effect immediately. The border would re-open to asylum seekers if the number of crossings stays below 1,500 for a certain period of time...." The AP's report is here.
No Good Deeds Go Unpunished. Benjamin Mueller & Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "Dr. Anthony S. Fauci ... on Monday forcefully denied Republican allegations that he sought to cover up the possibility that the pandemic originated in a laboratory, calling the accusation 'absolutely false and simply preposterous.' In a tense appearance before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, Dr. Fauci read out an email from February 2020 in which he encouraged a scientist worried about the possibility of a lab leak to report his concerns to the F.B.I. 'It is inconceivable that anyone who reads this email could conclude that I was trying to cover up the possibility of a laboratory leak,' Dr. Fauci testified.... In half a million pages of documents and more than 100 hours of closed-door testimony, [Republicans on] the panel has so far found nothing linking the 83-year-old immunologist to the beginnings of the Covid outbreak in China. But the panel has turned up emails suggesting that Dr. Fauci's former aides were trying to evade public records laws at the medical research agency he ran for 38 years until his retirement in December 2022." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Colby Hall of Mediaite: "Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was reprimanded by the GOP committee chair after she refused to refer to Anthony Fauci as a doctor as an insult to his work during Covid-19.... [Greene's largely baseless attacks on Dr. Fauci elicited] a series of points of order and calls for decorum from largely Democratic members of the subcommittee, and Dr. Brad Wenstrup, the Republican chair of the hearing, repeated inserting himself to reprimand Greene, who continued to hector Fauci before ending her time by calling for his imprisonment." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "Old conspiracy theories never die. They just fade into the congressional record. Last fall, Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), chairman of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, made an incendiary public accusation that, 'according to information gathered by the select subcommittee,' Anthony Fauci 'was escorted into Central Intelligence Agency Headquarters -- without a record of entry -- and participated in the analysis to "influence" the agency's review' to say that covid-19 did not originate from a lab leak.... Another Republican on the panel, Rep. Richard McCormick (Ga.) declared definitively: 'We now know that Fauci had a secret meeting with the CIA.' The subcommittee came up with no evidence to support the claim ... and nothing to challenge Fauci's testimony that he hadn't been to the CIA in 20 years. Appearing before the panel in a public hearing on Monday, Fauci ... ridiculed the idea that 'I was parachuted into the CIA like Jason Bourne and told the CIA that they should really not be talking about a lab leak.'" Read on.
No, They Did Not Bring the Receipts. Jacqueline Alemany, et al., of the Washington Post: "More than 300 House lawmakers were reimbursed at least $5.2 million for food and lodging while on official business in Washington last year under a new, taxpayer funded program that does not require them to provide receipts. The program, which kicked off last year after a House panel passed it with bipartisan support, was intended to make it easier for lawmakers to cover the cost of maintaining separate homes in D.C. and their home districts. But critics argue that its reliance on the honor system and lack of transparent record-keeping makes it ripe for abuse." MB: No kidding. ~~~
~~~ The Reality Chex Challenge: Guess which member of Congress took the most in supposed reimbursement expenses out of your pocket. Answer, courtesy of the Washington Post, at the bottom of the page.
National Crime Blotter
Shocking News! Trump Is Bent! ~~~
~~~ ** Mob Boss at Work. Robert Faturechi, et al., of ProPublica: "Nine witnesses in the criminal cases against ... Donald Trump have received significant financial benefits, including large raises from his campaign, severance packages, new jobs, and a grant of shares and cash from Trump's media company. The benefits have flowed from Trump's businesses and campaign committees, according to a ProPublica analysis of public disclosures, court records and securities filings. One campaign aide had his average monthly pay double, from $26,000 to $53,500. Another employee [Allen Weisselberg] got a $2 million severance package barring him from voluntarily cooperating with law enforcement. And one of the campaign's top officials had her daughter hired onto the campaign staff, where she is now the fourth-highest-paid employee. These pay increases and other benefits often came at delicate moments in the legal proceedings against Trump. One aide who was given a plum position on the board of Trump's social media company, for example, got the seat after he was subpoenaed but before he testified.... To prove witness tampering, prosecutors would need to show that perks or punishments were intended to influence testimony." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Trump Threatens ProPublica. Sarah Rumpf of Mediaite: "ProPublica .. got a cease-and-desist letter from Trump attorney David Warrington, demanding that the article [linked above] not be published and warning if ProPublica and its reporters 'continue their reckless campaign of defamation, President Trump will evaluate all legal remedies.'" (Also linked yesterday.)
Republicans Tacitly Acknowledge Trump Is Guilty. Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post urges Trump to withdraw from the presidential race, which of course he won't, even though back before 2015, any candidate for public office who had been convicted of crimes would have withdrawn from consideration. "It seemed to me that somebody would tell Trump to walk away. After all, chin-stroking pundits and hand-wringing Democrats have been advising President Biden to step aside -- for the apparently unforgivable crime of living to 81.... [None did, BUT] There is one thing that I have not heard Trump's overcaffeinated defenders claim: He didn't do it. I haven't heard one Republican official argue that Trump did not sleep with a porn star four months after his wife Melania gave birth to their son Barron; that he did not have [Stormy] Daniels paid to keep quiet about the tryst; that he did not cause his company's books to be falsified to hide the payment; or that he did not buy Daniels's silence because he worried her story would hurt his chances of winning the election."
Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post: "The jury foreperson in the Manhattan criminal trial convicting ... Donald Trump had barely finished reciting 'guilty' as to each of 34 felony counts when the newly convicted felon and virtually an entire political party began trashing the verdict -- and, implicitly, the 12 jurors and judge.... The MAGA crowd has moved from attempting to delegitimize an election to attempting to delegitimize the judicial system -- from defaming election workers to defaming jurors. In keeping with other fascist movements, the MAGA cult attempts to undermine every institution and person resisting its authoritarian leader.... As the nation's chief executive, sworn to uphold the rule of law, [President] Biden properly stood up for the rule of law and defended jury service.... Meanwhile, Democrats must denounce the MAGA movement's coordinated assault on the rule of law.... It also might behoove America’s chief prosecutor, Attorney General Merrick Garland, to condemn those vilifying judges and juries." (Also linked yesterday.)
Oh, guess what? State and federal investigators are still probing the fake electors scheme (the Detroit News story Rachel Maddow highlights is firewalled):
Another Far-Right Crook. Kevin Breuninger of CNBC: "The chief financial officer of conservative global news outlet The Epoch Times has been arrested and charged with leading a yearslong scheme to launder at least $67 million in illicit funds, federal prosecutors said Monday. The scheme -- which involved cryptocurrency, tens of thousands of prepaid debit cards, fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance benefits and stolen personal information -- fueled a massive increase in The Epoch Times' reported annual revenue, prosecutors alleged. Weidong 'Bill' Guan, 61, is charged in U.S. District Court in lower Manhattan with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and two counts of bank fraud. Guan was arrested Sunday morning, and pleaded not guilty on Monday afternoon before a federal magistrate judge in Manhattan, according to a court notice. He was released on a $3 million personal recognizance bond, and his travel is restricted to parts of New York and New Jersey, among other restrictions." ~~~
~~~ Ken Bensinger & Charles Homans of the New York Times: "In recent years the [Epoch Times] transformed itself into a prominent supporter of Donald J. Trump and his allies on the right.... During the 2016 election, the publication embraced Mr. Trump's candidacy, in the hope that as president he would bring down the Communist Party, former Epoch Times staff members told The New York Times in 2020. After Mr. Trump's victory, the news organization served as an enthusiastic supporter, amplifying the administration's messaging and establishing itself as a prominent outlet on the right. It also became a prominent spreader of right-wing conspiracy theories, particularly on social media, and especially on Facebook.... In January, Ron Johnson, the Republican senator from Wisconsin, hosted a screening of 'The Real Story of January 6,' a film produced by The Epoch Times's streaming platform that promotes a variety of right-wing conspiracy theories about the 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol."
Presidential Race
Marie: Hard to tell a National Crime Blotter story from a Presidential Race story, innit?
Ryan Brooks of NBC News: "President Joe Biden called ... Donald Trump a 'convicted felon' who 'snapped' after the 2020 election at a campaign event Monday. 'For the first time in American history, a former president that is a convicted felon is now seeking the office of the presidency,' Biden told the crowd at the fundraising event in Greenwich, Connecticut. 'But as disturbing as that is, more damaging is the all-out assault Donald Trump is making on the American system of justice.'"
Part of Trump's Election Strategy: Terrorize Voters. Assert that "there will be riots in the streets" if Trump doesn't win the November election, scaring voters into voting for him to avoid civil unrest. Rachel Maddow elaborates, pointing out that "there isn't a civil war"; rather Trump is "targeting specific people to try to cow all of us":
~~~ Here Are Some of Those "Specific People." Ryan Reilly of NBC News: "The addresses and phone numbers of former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen's family members were posted to a doxxing website after ... Donald Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts in connection with a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election.... Trump supporters tried to dox jurors last week after his conviction, and they also targeted prosecutors and the judge in the case with threats." Cohen testified against Trump in the case. ~~~
~~~ Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: Donald Trump "continues to not-at-all-subtly raise the specter of unrest and violence as a political bargaining chip. The most recent example: In his first interview since being convicted on 34 felony counts in Manhattan, Trump this past weekend addressed the possibility of being imprisoned or put under house arrest by saying, 'I'm not sure the public would stand for it.' 'I think it would be tough for the public to take,' Trump told Fox News. 'You know, at a certain point, there's a breaking point.'... [This was] merely the latest in a long line of suggestive comments. The context is key, and the track record is unmistakable.... The problem is that we've seen how supporters can take his comments as a call to action. (And Trump's comments, crucially, almost never come with an admonition to stay peaceful.)" ~~~
~~~ Marie: AND there's the rub. Trump is both inviting violence and threatening violence. The only way to prevent widespread violence is to give him what he wants when he wants it.
Jill Colvin of the AP: "Donald Trump's campaign and the Republican National Committee say they raised $141 million in May, a massive fundraising haul that includes tens of millions of dollars raised in the aftermath of his guilty verdict in his criminal hush money trial. Trump's campaign is not required to publicly disclose its fundraising to the Federal Election Commission until later this month. But its decision to release the numbers early underscores how it sees the wave of contributions as evidence that last Thursday's verdict has energized the former president's supporters and as a sign that it will not hobble his efforts to return to the White House."
David Smith of the Guardian: Dutch professor Henk De Berg has written a comparative study of the political techniques of Donald Trump and Adolf Hitler: "... De Berg compares and contrasts Hitler and Trump as political performance artists and how they connect with their respective audiences.... Above all, De Berg argues, Hitler and Trump were and are political performance artists who speak only vaguely about policies -- Make Germany/America great again -- but know how to draw attention using jokes, insults and extreme language.... Along with its headline-grabbing potential, the extremist language also plays well with many voters.... Many such voters are ready to blame a scapegoat, 'the other'.... Trump's incoherent, meandering and zigzagging mode of speech adds to the effect. '... this vague way of tying all these people together actually gives different sections of the electorate different things they can identify with...'." De Berg credits Hitler with coming up with the big lie [große Lüge], a lie so outrageous that no one would tell it unless it were true. He warns that there is "method in Trump's madness: the buffoonery, chaos and word salad speeches may be more calculated than they appear." Thanks to RAS for the link.
Dumber Speaks. Ed Mazza of the Huffington Post: "Eric Trump, son of Donald Trump, claimed his father's conviction on 34 felony charges last week is making 'certain segments' of the population more likely to vote for him. 'For the first time, they realize that the system's coming down, that he's the victim, he's the victim that oftentimes some of their communities were,' he told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday. 'You see them swinging. Look at the African American vote, right? That's swinging over to Donald Trump in spades.'" MB: Many commentators recoiled at Eric's invocation of the racial slur "spades." I'm also wondering about that "swinging over." All they, like, swinging over on jungle vines? (Also linked yesterday.)
~~~~~~~~~~
Laura Meckler & Michelle Boorstein of the Washington Post: "Billions in taxpayer dollars are being used to pay tuition at religious schools throughout the country, as state voucher programs expand dramatically and the line separating public education and religion fades. School vouchers can be used at almost any private school, but the vast majority of the money is being directed to religious schools, according to a Washington Post examination of the nation's largest voucher programs. Vouchers, government money that covers education costs for families outside the public schools, vary by state but offer up to $16,000 per student per year, and in many cases fully cover the cost of tuition at private schools." See also Akhilleus' commentary on the Holy Grift in yesterday's thread. (Also linked yesterday.)
Minnesota. You Might Think These Defendants Are Guilty. AP: "A juror was dismissed Monday after reporting that a woman dropped a bag of $120,000 in cash at her home and offered her more money if she would vote to acquit seven people charged with stealing more than $40 million from a program meant to feed children during the pandemic.... These seven are the first of 70 defendants expected to go to trial in a conspiracy that cost taxpayers $250 million. Eighteen others have pleaded guilty, and authorities said they recovered about $50 million in one of the nation’s largest pandemic-related fraud cases.... The 23-year-old juror said she immediately turned over the bag of cash to police. She said a woman left it with her father-in-law Sunday with the message that she'd get another bag of cash if she voted to acquit, according to a report in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.... Before allowing the trial to continue with more closing arguments on Monday, U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel questioned the remaining 17 jurors and alternates, and none reported any unauthorized contact. Brasel decided to sequester the jury for the rest of the proceeding as a precaution."
New Jersey Senate Race. Really, Bob? Gregory Krieg & Eric Bradner of CNN: "Indicted Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey is expected to file for reelection as an independent, two sources familiar with the matter said Monday. His decision to file as an independent, first reported by The New Jersey Globe, comes the day before a New Jersey primary in which three Democrats and four Republicans are vying for their parties' nominations for the seat he currently holds. Menendez, who is facing federal corruption charges and is currently on trial in New York City, had announced in March that he would not run for a fourth full term as a Democrat, but left open the possibility of an independent bid if exonerated. He faces a Tuesday deadline to file as an independent." (Also linked yesterday.) The story has been updated to reflect the fact that Menendez did file for re-election. ~~~
~~~ Obviously. Tracey Tully of the New York Times: "The specter of Mr. Menendez, 70, trying to mount a comeback campaign raises the possibility of a splintered Democratic vote in November's election, creating a wider lane for the Republican nominee at a time when Democrats are struggling to retain their narrow majority in the Senate."
Texas. Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post: "The Texas Republican party has gone off the deep end.... Just a few of the platform's planks: that the Bible should be taught in public schools.... That noncitizens who are legal residents of this country should be deported if they are arrested for participating in a protest that turns violent. That name changes to military bases should be reversed to 'publicly honor the southern heroes.' That doctors who perform abortions should be charged with homicide. That the United States should withdraw from the United Nations and that the international organization should be removed from U.S. soil. Then there is this audaciously undemocratic provision: To be elected to state office, a candidate must win not only a majority of votes, but also more than half of Texas's 254 counties.... This system would effectively mean Democrats -- who, as it is, haven't won a statewide office since 1994 -- would be shut out forever." (Also linked yesterday.)
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India. The New York Times is liveblogging election results. Pinned item: "Early results in India's general election on Tuesday suggested a surprising setback for the two-term prime minister, Narendra Modi, who was on a narrower course to secure another five years in office than exit polls had forecast. Mr. Modi's party appeared likely to lose a significant number of seats in Parliament, meaning it would need to rely on smaller parties in its coalition to form a government. It would be the first election since 2014 in which Mr. Modi, India's most powerful leader in decades, did not lead his party to an absolute majority on its own."
Israel/Palestine, et al.
The New York Times updates of developments Tuesday in the Israel/Hamas war are here. More news linked below. (Also linked yesterday.)
Steve Hendrix & John Hudson of the Washington Post: "Eight months into Israel's war in Gaza, a string of standoffs, schisms and ultimatums have brought Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's emergency war cabinet to the brink of collapse and raised the prospect that his own coalition could follow, possibly leading to new elections. Externally, the embattled prime minister is under growing pressure from the public to bring home Israel's remaining hostages and from the Biden administration to reach a cease-fire agreement with Hamas. Within his unity government, formed less than a week after the deadly militant attacks on Oct. 7, he is contending with rebellions by allies and opponents alike. Conservative hard-liners openly pledged over the weekend to pull out of the government if Netanyahu agrees to the deal that President Biden promoted Friday as 'an Israeli proposal.'"
The New York Times updates of developments Monday in the Israel/Hamas war are here. More news linked below. (Also linked yesterday.)
Answer to the Reality Chex Challenge: WashPo: "Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), the program's overall top spender, was reimbursed for nearly $30,000 in lodging expenses and more than $10,000 for food in 2023."
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Reader Comments (14)
Dana Milbank is very much worth the read if only for his comment on the medical expertise of the committee's chair.
My wife and I LedOL.
What poseurs those R's are.
Calling out the liars
"The other day on CNN, prominent Never Trump lawyer George Conway did something you rarely see in Washington. He dressed down a GOP commentator for lying his ass off about Donald Trump—and then, right on the air, he asked why CNN was paying this Republican to spread lies on Trump’s behalf. We think this episode illustrates a deep problem with the media’s handling of pro-Trump propaganda."
I did not guess Wormface Gaetz as the biggest spender of our money, but only because there are TOO MANY to weed out!
GQP: Grifters-R-Us
Was listening to BBC Newshour while walking, and from what was said about Indian elections, Modi is trumpier than Dumpsterfire. Hate speech is common against Muslims (there were several speeches taken down by X etc) but the spokesperson insisted that these things, some by the "information minister," were said by individuals, not the government, and it was okay to interpret them anyway one wants. The BBC guy said dryly: Very kind of you...
I guess it is okay for "official" people to assume that everyone listening to either Dumpster or Modi is an idiot...
" Don't let MAGA theatrics fool you: Donald Trump's 34 felony convictions are not helping him
If getting convicted of crimes is so goshdarned awesome for Trump, then why are his allies doing everything in their power to delay Trump's other criminal trials? If a guilty verdict is such a boon to Trump, you'd think the six corrupt Republicans on the Supreme Court would be eager for the January 6 trial, instead of dragging their feet on releasing a decision on presidential immunity that will likely push the trial until after the election. If Judge Aileen Cannon believed a conviction would boost the man who appointed her to the federal bench, you can bet the classified documents trial would have happened already. Instead, she's indefinitely delayed it. If felonies give Trump such an edge in the polls, Republicans in Georgia would be rushing forward with the RICO case there, instead of filing frivolous motions against District Attorney Fani Willis to keep the case from trial.
Trump trial in Manhattan really benefitted him is by keeping him off the campaign trail. Whenever he speaks publicly, the lies and rants are startling, even to people who follow politics closely and are aware that Trump's already low levels of coherence have fallen through the floor. Beyond just the rabid MAGA base, a lot of Trump's polling support comes from people who just aren't paying much attention, and have no idea what Trump is sounding like these days."
I guessed either Gaetz or MTG, two despicable grifters. It’s likely Gaetz spent a lot on hotel rooms where he took underage girls for “interviews”.
This is good:
Special menu item! Trump sandwich!
Akhilleus,
Should I be ashamed to admit it if I had the same thought about those Gaetz hotel rooms? \
I’m Here in America, we are faced with contemplating the possibility of a Soviet style, ideologically locked up government, run by a narcissistic dictator. But in certain countries in Eastern Europe, authoritarianism is not theoretical.
“As I sat across a table from a minister in the Bulgarian government in his office in Sofia, he shook his head and then held it in his hands. ‘I can’t believe it. It is impossible,’ he said. ‘It [a second Trump administration] would be a disaster. How can Americans not see that?’”
The problem is, too many people think it would be great.
Not in Europe.
“The view the Bulgarian minister and others expressed to me was that a Trump win would result in a redrawing of the map of Europe in ways that would enable and embolden Vladimir Putin while simultaneously weakening the NATO alliance. Indeed, a Trump win would amount to nothing less than an undoing of many of the gains that came to the West through winning the Cold War and of many of the most important achievements forged in the wake of World War II.
This view is based not only on Trump’s public statements and actions while in office and since but also on a European perception of the Russian threat that is much more sweeping and menacing than most Americans and many of our leaders in Washington seem to grasp.”
They ain’t kidding.
Ken,
You’re just acknowledging reality. Depravity is just as much a requirement for gold star membership in the Party of Traitors as an affinity for lying, and a hatred of democracy,
Akhilleus,
Yeah, real it might be, but the little Catholic boy in me still sometimes reacts squeamishly to depravity.
Minutes after he was found guilty of falsifying business records to steal an election, the Orange Monster was flapping around wildly like an obese non-swimmer who had fallen in the deep end of the pool, screaming for help.
One of his “Save my fat ass”flares was sent to the Supreme Court with orders to reverse his guilty verdict. Like many, I thought (for about the 10,000th time) “This idiot has no idea how things work. The Supreme Court cannot just jump in and rescue this crook, especially not in time for the election.”
You agree? Well, Think again.
“But will the justices step in to nullify the one Trump criminal trial that was tried to conviction before the election? And can the Court’s Republican majority intervene fast enough to throw out the conviction before voters cast their ballots this fall?…The answer to this question should be ‘no.’ Under the rules that apply to criminal defendants who are not named Donald Trump, two state-level appeals courts should review Trump’s conviction before the justices could intervene. Both of those courts would ordinarily take months or longer to review a criminal appeal.
To toss out Trump’s conviction before the election, the Court would have to take such extraordinary procedural liberties that this outcome is probably unlikely. But it’s also not possible to rule it out entirely. Not that long ago, it seemed unthinkable that the Court would give serious thought to Trump’s argument that he is immune from prosecution for his attempt to overthrow the 2020 election. At oral argument in that case, however, most of the justices appeared eager to rule that former presidents have, at least, some immunity from criminal prosecution.
The Roberts Court also has a history of embracing legal arguments that were widely viewed as risible by the legal community after those arguments were adopted by the Republican Party. So, with a wide range of elected Republicans now calling for Trump’s conviction to be tossed out, there is a real risk that the GOP-appointed justices will leap on this bandwagon.”
The court of Little Johnny and the Six Dwarfs has so debased itself in the name of undeserved and illegal ideological victory that it is quickly making the previously considered Worst Court, the Taney edition, look like a combination of Solon, Solomon, Justitia, and Themis.
Put nothing past these scurrilous crooks. If there is no legal way to do this, they’ll adopt an illegal way and dare everyone to do anything about it.
Ken,
Unfortunately, for Catholic kids like us, we’ve seen depravity right in our own church. But, it makes easier to see it in government.
"Patriot Party"
"RNC website featured image of Ho Chi Minh City instead of Milwaukee
The Republican National Convention (RNC) is set to be held in Milwaukee on July 15; however, the convention’s website featured a banner image of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam for several months."
Good thing that the Republicans aren't worrying about running the country cause they can't even do the little things right.
"How A Luxury Trip For Trump Judges Doomed The Federal Mask Mandate
Buried in the April 2022 ruling that struck down the Biden administration’s mask mandate was a section that was unusual for a court decision.
The outcome itself was far from surprising. Places all over the country were dropping local mask requirements, and the judge hearing this case — a challenge to the federal mandate to mask on planes and other public transportation — was a conservative Trump appointee, U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle for the Middle District of Florida. Mizelle ruled that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s mask requirement overstepped the agency’s legal authority.
What was eye-catching was her explanation of why. In her ruling, Mizelle wrote she had consulted the Corpus of Historical American English, an academic search engine that returns examples of how words and phrases are used in select historical texts. Mizelle searched “sanitation,” a crucial word in the 1944 statute that authorizes the CDC to issue disease-prevention rules, and found it generally was used to describe the act of making something clean. “Wearing a mask,” she wrote, “cleans nothing.”
Just weeks before she issued the ruling, Mizelle had discreetly attended an all-expenses-paid luxury trip from a conservative group whose primary mission is to persuade more federal judges to adopt the use of corpus linguistics. For five days, Mizelle and more than a dozen other federal judges listened to the leading proponents of corpus linguistics in the comfort of The Greenbrier, an ostentatious resort spread out over 11,000 acres of West Virginia hillside."