2023: the year of "political" trials

So wrong

Add this to the damage Trump has done to this country.  There ought to be a provision in some of the charges for New York to recoup costs.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 04/01/2023:

Transgender Day of Visibility

The only true Christian attitude to take.

WTF happened to Matt Taibbi?

Jesus, Matt.   Blink twice if  you're being held hostage.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Jim Jordan being put in his place

(Not that he'll stay there.)

Bragg tells Jordan exactly why Jordan's demands to interfere with the Manhattan case against Trump are pure bullshit.

In part:

Congress has no warrant for interfering with individual criminal investigations—much less investigations conducted by a separate sovereign. See United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549, 561 (1995)

[...]

Moreover, your examination of the facts of a single criminal investigation, for the supposed purpose of determining whether any charges against Mr. Trump are warranted, is an improper and dangerous usurpation of the executive and judicial functions. See Trump v. Mazars USA, LLP, 140 S. Ct. 2019, 2032 (2020) (“Congress may not issue a subpoena for the purposes of ‘law enforcement’ because “those powers are assigned under our Constitution to the Executive and the Judiciary.”) [...] Even worse, based on your reportedly close collaboration with Mr. Trump in attacking this Office and the grand jury process,4 it appears you are acting more like criminal defense counsel trying to gather evidence for a client than a legislative body seeking to achieve a legitimate legislative objective

[...]

Like any other defendant, Mr. Trump is entitled to challenge these charges in court and avail himself of all processes and protections that New York State’s robust criminal procedure affords. What neither Mr. Trump nor Congress may do is interfere with the ordinary course of proceedings in New York State. Your first letter made an unprecedented request to the District Attorney for confidential information about the status of the state grand jury investigation—now indictment— of Mr. Trump. Your second letter asserts that, by failing to provide it, the District Attorney somehow failed to dispute your baseless and inflammatory allegations that our investigation is politically motivated. That conclusion is misleading and meritless. We did not engage in a point-by-point rebuttal of your letter because our Office is legally constrained in how it publicly discusses pending criminal proceedings, as prosecutorial offices are across the country and as you well know. That secrecy is critical to protecting the privacy of the target of any criminal investigation as well as the integrity of the independent grand jury’s proceedings.

[...]

The Committees’ initial rationale for its inquiry related to this Office’s use of federal funds. Over the last decade and a half, this Office has contributed to the federal fisc. Indeed, the DA’s Office has helped the Federal Government secure more than one billion dollars in asset forfeiture funds in the past 15 years. The DA’s Office receives only a small fraction of those forfeited funds.

Our review of the Office’s records reflect that, of the federal forfeiture money that the Office helped collect, approximately $5,000 was spent on expenses incurred relating to the investigation of Donald J. Trump or the Trump Organization. These expenses were incurred between October 2019 and August 2021. Most of those costs are attributed to the Supreme Court case, Trump v. Vance—subpoena-related litigation in which the DA’s Office prevailed and which led to the indictment and conviction of Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg and two Trump organizations. No expenses incurred relating to this matter have been paid from funds that the Office receives through federal grant programs.

So fuck off, Jim Jordan.

The letter in full.

If you will not withdraw your request, we reiterate our willingness to meet and confer with you or your staff about how we can accommodate your request without violating our obligations as prosecutors to protect the integrity of an ongoing criminal prosecution. We respectfully request that you provide us with a list of questions you wish to ask District Attorney Bragg and to describe the type of documents you think we could produce that would be relevant to your inquiry without violating New York grand jury secrecy rules or interfering with the criminal case now before a court. We trust you will make a good-faith effort to reach a negotiated resolution before taking the unprecedented and unconstitutional step of serving a subpoena on a district attorney for information related to an ongoing state criminal prosecution

I'm afraid Jordan is going to betray that trust.

What's good for the grifter

Aides to the former president moved aggressively on Thursday to capitalize politically on news that a Manhattan grand jury had charged Trump — using it to fill their fundraising coffers, mobilize loyalists and further solidify his hold on his base of supporters in the GOP presidential primary.

[...]

The Trump campaign’s pushback was swift. Just minutes after news broke that he was being indicted, the campaign sent out a statement from Trump calling the charges “Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history.”

It was followed by a fundraising appeal and then a deluge of statements from supporters rushing to Trump’s defense. [...] The campaign is also expected to appeal for small-dollar contributions on Facebook.

[...]

Operatives close to the campaign noted that it came just ahead of Friday’s end–of-first-quarter fundraising deadline, allowing Trump to increase his totals that would be revealed in a report to be filed next month.

[...]

His team is preparing for a circus. One Trump adviser compared the expected press frenzy of Trump going to Manhattan for the arraignment to “O.J. Simpson on steroids,” with television networks potentially launching helicopter coverage to dramatically follow Trump from his Florida estate to his plane at Palm Beach International Airport, and then from LaGuardia Airport to lower Manhattan.

  Politico

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 01:15 pm:

UPDATE 08:46 pm:  Over $4 million so far.

In other DOJ lawsuit news...

Still doesn't have the best advisers

The indictment that the Manhattan grand jury issued for former President Trump caught both him and his advisers by surprise when it was approved Thursday, multiple outlets reported.

The Washington Post reported that Trump had started becoming cautiously optimistic about the future of the case looking into a hush-money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels, and his advisers told him that any possible indictment would take some time if it was issued at all.

[...]

People familiar with conversations between Trump aides and the former president told the Post that some aides started telling Trump he would not be indicted.

  The Hill

Who are these people? Everybody else believed it was coming.

The indictment was issued just after reports indicated that the grand jury would not hear additional evidence in the Trump case this week and was set to take a previously scheduled break until late April.

[...]

Two people familiar with the matter told the Post that some of Trump’s attorneys were preparing to take a few days off and were not expecting new developments on the case for several weeks.

So sad.  Now all they have to do is get him to keep his mouth shut.*

Stop laughing.

UPDATE 11:09 am:

Shortly after 5pm on Thursday, his 2024 campaign advisers learned from a New York Times alert that Trump had been indicted, catching them off guard in part because they assumed they would hear about it first from the Trump lawyers, who had themselves assumed they would confidentially hear it first from prosecutors.

Though Trump had indicated that he expected to be one of the first people to be told if he was charged in the hush money case, the sources said, when the news actually arrived, Trump appears to have been one of the very last people to find out.

  Guardian

Sad!

Sure.  Why not ask the Secret Service?  They've been expecting and preparing for this for a long time.  At LEAST since last  Tuesday when Trump bleated that he was going to be arrested on that day.

The time they needed was to allow as many Trump supporters as possible to make arrangements to be in Manhattan when it happens.  And perhaps so the orange godking can say that THIS was the Tuesday he was talking about.

UPDATE 11:48 am:

"they need time to find a copy of that movie ‘Dumbo Drop’ (i think) about transporting an elephant via helicopter. "

h/t Sheila 

*UPDATE 11:55 am:  He's got a whole weekend to hang himself.  He just got started.

UPDATE 04/01/2023:

I wouldn't be at all surprised if the judge puts a gag order on him, but I WOULD be surprised if they put him in jail.

UPDATE 04/03/2023:

UPDATE 04/09/2023:  As we already knew...

Appearing on MSNBC on Saturday afternoon, the Washington Post's Carol Leonnig said reports that the Secret Service asked for a delay before handing Donald Trump over to the Manhattan court system was something cooked up by the former president's lawyers.

  Raw Story

Is this the stupidest talking point they have?

It's already you and me.  It's about time justice started going to the top of the criminal ladder.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 08:26 am:  Oh, lord.  Should have seen this coming.

And, appropriately, "it's the Jews"...

UPDATE 01:12 pm:

It would not surprise me in the least if David Pecker has a little something on Lindsey Graham locked away in that safe where he keeps Donald Trump's secrets.

UPDATE 04/01/2023:

Six former A.M.I. employees told me that Pecker routinely makes catch-and-kill arrangements like the one reached with [Playmate Karen] McDougal. [...] Jerry George, a former A.M.I. senior editor who worked at the company for more than twenty-five years, told me [...] that Pecker protected Trump. “Pecker really considered him a friend,” George told me. “We never printed a word about Trump without his approval.”

[...]

“In theory, you would think that Trump has all the power in that relationship, but in fact Pecker has the power—he has the power to run these stories. He knows where the bodies are buried.” [according to Maxine Page, who worked at A.M.I.]

  New Yorker

Can we buy mugs?

All that's missing is the thumbs up.

This works, too.

Historic.

And if Nixon had faced criminal charges for his crimes  (or Bush at the Hague), we might never have gotten to the point where we're in danger of losing our democracy and where one party is in thrall to a would-be dictator.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 12:46 pm:  And it begins...

UPDATE 04/15/2023:

What a difference a day makes

March 29

March 30

You could almost believe he knew the day before that they were going to vote the next day.*

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 07:44 am:

*Reporting is that they thought he was going to get a few extra weeks, and that some aides were even telling him that the Grand Jury wasn't going to indict.

Trump to surrender next week

The Manhattan district attorney’s office asked for Donald Trump to surrender on Friday following a grand jury’s vote to indict the former president.

But lawyers for Trump rebuffed the request saying that the Secret Service, which provides security detail for the former president, needed more time to prepare.

[...]

Trump is expected to surrender to the Manhattan D.A.’s office, but Tacopina said that no precise date had been set for it. Ultimately the Secret Service will have to coordinate the conditions of the surrender with court officials and the New York Police Department.

[...]

Though it is not believed that Trump will resist arrest, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — a likely 2024 primary opponent to Trump — said on Twitter Thursday that his state would “not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue” with Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan D.A.
  Politico

Eyeroll.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Finland will join NATO

Turkey’s parliament has approved a bill to allow Finland to join Nato, clearing the way for Helsinki to join the western defence alliance as war rages in Ukraine.

The Turkish parliament was the last among the 30 members of the alliance to ratify Finland’s membership, after Hungary’s legislature approved a similar bill this week.

  Guardian

UPDATE 04/04/2023:  Finland is in.

And in the bad news...

O'Connor is out of Texas and has already been at it overturning the provision for transgender care stating it "violates the religious freedom of Christian providers."

UPDATE 03/31/2023:

At long last

More to come.  The indictment is under seal so we don't know the charges yet.

A grand jury tasked with investigating hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels has voted to indict former President Donald Trump, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

[...]

Trump's team had no immediate comment on the news of the indictment Thursday.

  NBC

Check Trump's "Truth Social".

[New York City] once again ramped up security measures on Thursday in anticipation for possible action from the grand jury.

UPDATE 05:42 pm:

Also, just a week or so ago, he was reportedly telling people he was looking forward to being indicted and planning what pose to use for his mugshot.

His "Statement"   He's calling the indictment "election interference."  A reason he announced as early as he did, I'm sure.

UPDATE 06:27 pm:

Then can Jack Smith have the campaign finance violations and attempts to interfere in an election?

Yeah, the merch sales are going to be through the roof.

UPDATE 08:49 pm:

UPDATE 03/31/2023:

A twist in the Weisselberg story

It  all just gets more and more convoluted.  Somebody wants us to believe it wasn't Weisselberg who fired the Trump Organization attorneys.

The Trump Organization has suddenly switched the attorney representing its jailed former chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, after some folks in Trumpworld expressed concerns he was too willing to play ball with the Manhattan District Attorney.

[...]

[A]ccording to two people familiar with the situation who spoke with The Daily Beast on the condition of anonymity, [New York City lawyer Nicholas] Gravante wasn’t “Trumpy” enough to keep onboard.

Gravante, one of the city’s top criminal defense lawyers, aggressively advocated for Weisselberg last year and played a key role in securing a plea deal that helped the Trump Organization executive avoid a long sentence in state prison—by testifying at the tax fraud trial of the Trump Corporation and Trump Payroll Corporation.

[...]

According to a source familiar with the dispute, Trump associates were bitter about Gravante’s decision to have Weisselberg meet with Manhattan prosecutors to prepare his testimony for that trial, a move they saw as being too friendly with law enforcement. This source added that Trump Organization lawyers were bothered by that arrangement and convinced Eric Trump—the Trump son who is now the executive vice president of the Trump Organization—to cut Weisselberg’s lawyer loose.

[...]

Susan Necheles, a defense attorney who represented the Trump Organization at that trial, countered that version of events as “completely wrong.”

“Nick made sure that Weisselberg cooperated with both the defense and the prosecution and Weisselberg’s testimony at trial was extremely helpful to the defense and hurt the prosecution,” Necheles said. “Mr. Weisselberg’s decision to change lawyers was entirely his own, a decision which I understand Mr. Weisselberg made in consultation with his family after the conclusion of the trial.”

Five people who spoke to The Daily Beast did confirm that Weisselberg is now being represented by defense lawyer Seth L. Rosenberg, who previously spent time running the rackets bureau at the very same DA’s office that is now investigating the case.

[...]

Weisselberg got immunity from the feds for discussing his role, so local prosecutors can’t threaten him with criminal charges for the Stormy Daniels affair.

But Bragg’s prosecutors are trying to get him to talk anyway.

According to two people familiar with the situation and one law enforcement source, prosecutors in recent weeks have discussed applying additional pressure to Weisselberg, who is currently behind bars in the dreaded New York City jail at Rikers Island until at least April.

Investigators are looking into the possibility of pursuing a second criminal case against Weisselberg, this time accusing him of insurance fraud.

[...]

“Weisselberg’s representations to Zurich’s underwriter… were false,” the lawsuit states. “The Trump Organization did not retain any professional appraisal firm to prepare any of the valuations used for the statements; instead, the valuations were prepared by Trump Organization personnel, contrary to what Zurich’s underwriter was expressly told and believed.”

[...]

Manhattan DA investigators are now dangling that over Weisselberg’s head, adding additional stress to his final weeks at Rikers, according to two sources.

  Yahoo

Disney turns the tables

Taking a cue from Republican legislatures.

Board members picked by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to oversee the governance of Walt Disney World said Wednesday that their Disney-controlled predecessors pulled a fast one on them by passing restrictive covenants that strip the new board of many of its powers.

[...]

The five supervisors were appointed by the Republican governor to the board after the Florida Legislature overhauled Disney's government in retaliation for the entertainment giant publicly opposing so-called "Don't Say Gay" legislation that bars instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade, as well as lessons deemed not age-appropriate.

[...]

The new supervisors replaced a board that had been controlled by Disney during the previous 55 years that the government operated as the Reedy Creek Improvement District. The new board members held their first meeting earlier this month and said they found out about the agreement after their appointments.

"We're going to have to deal with it and correct it," board member Brian Aungst said Wednesday. "It's a subversion of the will of the voters and the Legislature and the governor. It completely circumvents the authority of this board to govern."

  Florida

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Just waiting for the Dominion case to go to trial

The jury won't be out long.  About 30 seconds or so.

"There's no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election or of major problems with Dominion's systems."

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

They got to Weisselberg

He's obviously not wanting more time at Rikers.

Sources are telling WNBC that Allen Weisselberg, the former CFO of the Trump Organization, has fired his Trump Org lawyers.

  Raw Story

That's what Cassidy Hutchinson did before flipping to the January 6 Committee to tell the truth. (She originally had a Trump-funded lawyer.)

Last month, the New York Times reported that the Manhattan prosecutor's office was pondering whether to file new charges against Weisselberg for fraud.

[...]

Weisselberg is serving a five-month sentence in a Rikers Island jail, known for being one of the most violent in America.

[...]

"It's a big deal. That could potentially explain the delay."

[...]

Grand juries are secret, so it's also possible that they have voted to indict and it simply hasn't made its way to Trump yet. It's assumed the information will be leaked by Trump when it happens, because the district attorney can't legally reveal any information from the grand jury.

Well, well, well.

Cue a Trump tirade.  Weisselberg was no more than a coffee boy.

UPDATE 11:20 am:  A twist in the story.

Oh, FFS

The Manhattan grand jury investigating hush money paid on Donald Trump’s behalf is scheduled to consider other matters next week before taking a previously scheduled two-week hiatus, a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday. That means a vote on whether or not to indict the former president likely wouldn't come until late April at the earliest.

The break, which was scheduled in advance when the panel was convened in January, coincides with Passover, Easter and spring break for the New York City public school system.

  MSN

So all that whining about Bragg's case not being big enough to be the first to go ahead against Trump was wasted if Fani Willis - or even Jack Smith - steps in while the Manhattan Grand Jury is taking a break.

I think he may be reading a little too much into the break.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 03/30/2023:

Sources are telling WNBC that Allen Weisselberg, the former CFO of the Trump Organization, has fired his Trump Org lawyers.

  Raw Story

That's what Cassidy Hutchinson did before flipping to the January 6 Committee to tell the truth. (She originally had a Trump-funded lawyer.)

Can't wait to see the next Trump tirade.

UPDATE 03/30/2023:  Last minute indictment before the break.  

The world in 2023

The year we jumped the shark.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

What a puke this woman is

Pay attention to the terms she emphasises.

I have a solution to the GOP resistance to gun control.  And I'm 100% certain it would work, and maybe the ONLY thing that will:  have a bunch of black and Muslim men buy AR-15s and walk around with them in open carry states.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 03:54 pm:   Also despicable...

Next time someone whines "America First"...

Opinion polls consistently report that Americans believe foreign aid is in the range of 25 percent of the federal budget. When asked how much it should be, they say about 10 percent. In fact, at $39.2 billion for fiscal year 2019, foreign assistance is less than 1 percent of the federal budget.

[...]

There is a broad international commitment that wealthy countries should provide annually 0.7 percent of GNP to assist poor countries. Five countries (Norway, Sweden, Luxembourg, Denmark, and the U.K.) exceed that benchmark. The average for all wealthy nations is around 0.4 percent. The U.S. ranks near the bottom at below 0.2 percent.

  Brookings Institute

Check out other myths about American foreign aid in that article.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Was waiting for this

Now that it's affecting the church people, it's time to do something.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

It'll be interesting to see who has the bigger lobbying influence: the NRA or the evangelists.

UPDATE 09:03 am:  Totally despicable...

Who's politicizing a tragedy?