Author Topic: Sexual Abuser Donald Trump Indicted (Read 377695 times)

BarryCrocker · « **Reply #1920 on:** June 19, 2021, 02:02:55 am »

More confirmation that the GOP is 100% owned by Trump.

Conservative Christians jeer ‘traitor’ Pence for refusing to overturn election
> Former vice-president heckled at conference in Florida
> Pence makes only passing reference to deadly Capitol attack

Mike Pence, the former US vice-president, has been heckled as a “traitor” for his refusal to overturn last year’s election result during a speech to a gathering of religious conservatives.

Pence, who is widely seen as laying the groundwork for a White House run in 2024, had entered an auditorium in Orlando, Florida to a standing ovation on Friday. But a small group began shouted abuse including “traitor!” as he began a 28-minute speech. The dissenters were quickly escorted out by police.

Earlier, in a corridor outside the ballroom, an attendee named Rick Hurley, wearing a red “Make America great again” cap, also vented his frustration over Pence’s role in certifying Donald Trump’s defeat on 6 January amid false claims of voter fraud.

“We need to start fighting!” Hurley shouted at anyone who would listen. “We need to stop being so damned nice. What the hell’s going on? Why is Pence coming today? Donald Trump has his pen in his back still.”

Before being taken aside by police, he also remarked: “I’m ready to fight. I’m going to boo him off stage. I’ll take the bullet. I’ll walk to the front of the stage and look him in the eye and and say, ‘What are you doing here?’

In an interview, Hurley said he had been at the US Capitol on 6 January. “I want to know why Pence is here today.” he said. “He stabbed Donald Trump in the back and took the coins like Judas.”

But Ralph Reed, organiser of the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s annual Road to Majority conference, was at pains to give Pence a warm welcome and honor him as stalwart of the Christian conservative movement.

And the ex-vice president, who earlier this month admitted that he and his former boss may never “see eye to eye” on the events of 6 January, when some Trump supporters called for him to be hanged, did not dwell on that disagreement during his remarks.

He instead told the gathering: “Thank you for the privilege of serving as your vice-president with Donald Trump. It was the greatest honor of my life.”

Pence made only a passing reference to the deadly insurrection that implied an equivalence with racial justice protests and Joe Biden’s policies: “We’ve all been through a lot over the past year: a global pandemic, civil unrest, a divisive election, a tragic day in our nation’s Capitol, and a new administration intent on transforming our country.”

Since leaving office, Pence has bought a house in Indiana, announced plans for a podcast and signed a two-book deal for his memoir. Despite the anger of some Trump supporters, he is seen as a potential candidate for the Republican nomination for president in 2024.

His conference speech on Friday duly listed the Trump administration’s achievements – from supreme court appointments to coronavirus vaccines – and took aim at Biden for rapidly unravelling its legacy with “a tidal wave of leftwing policies”.

Pence quipped: “Democrats have been so busy advancing their liberal agenda, sometimes I feel like the left hand doesn’t know what the far left hand is doing.”

He went on to rail against “an explosion” of runaway spending, proposed tax increases, plans to cut military funding and the cancellation of construction on Trump’s signature border wall.

“Literally in five months, they turned the most secure border in the world into the worst border crisis in American history,” Pence said to applause. “You know, when I was vice-president, I visited our southern border. And yes, it’s past time for our current vice-president to go to the border, put our policies back into effect and end the Biden border crisis today.”

He also threw out false assertions to go after “culture war” targets currently in vogue in conservative media including “cancel culture” and “defund the police”.

Among them was critical race theory which, developed by academics starting in the 1970s, examines how racism embedded in law and institutions creates an uneven playing field for people of color in America. Numerous Republican controlled states have moved to ban it from being taught in schools.

Pence crudely misrepresented the intellectual tool by stating: “Instead of teaching all of our children to be proud of their country, critical race theory teaches children as young as kindergarten to be ashamed of their skin color. Critical race theory is racism, pure and simple – and it should be rejected by every American of every race.”

“The truth is it’s past time for America to discard the left wing reflex to see systemic racism across our nation. As my friend Senator Tim Scott says so well, America is not a racist country – America is the most just, noble and inclusive nation ever to exist on the face of the earth.”

In another wildly contentious claim, Pence said: “The United States military is the greatest force for good the world has ever known.”

Pence closed a morning session that included Republican senators Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, all potential rivals for the 2024 nomination. Trump himself has not yet declared whether he will run or whether Pence would again be his running mate.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/18/mike-pence-conservative-christian-conference-heckled

surfer. Fuck you generator. · « **Reply #1921 on:** June 19, 2021, 02:46:25 am »

The above reminds me of this snippet from r/politics:

Worst part is, this all has already been so thoroughly studied that it is literally academic

Mayer, 1955

There was no need to. Nazism gave us some dreadful, fundamental things to think about—we were decent people—and kept us so busy with continuous changes and ‘crises’ and so fascinated, yes, fascinated, by the machinations of the ‘national enemies,’ without and within, that we had no time to think about these dreadful things that were growing, little by little, all around us. Unconsciously, I suppose, we were grateful. Who wants to think?

[...]"To live in this process is absolutely not to be able to notice it—please try to believe me—unless one has a much greater degree of political awareness, acuity, than most of us had ever had occasion to develop. Each step was so small, so inconsequential, so well explained or, on occasion, ‘regretted,’ that, unless one were detached from the whole process from the beginning, unless one understood what the whole thing was in principle, what all these ‘little measures’ that no ‘patriotic German’ could resent must some day lead to, one no more saw it developing from day to day than a farmer in his field sees the corn growing. One day it is over his head.

[...]But the one great shocking occasion, when tens or hundreds or thousands will join with you, never comes. That’s the difficulty. If the last and worst act of the whole regime had come immediately after the first and smallest, thousands, yes, millions would have been sufficiently shocked—if, let us say, the gassing of the Jews in ’43 had come immediately after the ‘German Firm’ stickers on the windows of non-Jewish shops in ’33. But of course this isn’t the way it happens. In between come all the hundreds of little steps, some of them imperceptible, each of them preparing you not to be shocked by the next.

[...]And one day, too late, your principles, if you were ever sensible of them, all rush in upon you.

[...]Suddenly it all comes down, all at once. You see what you are, what you have done, or, more accurately, what you haven’t done (for that was all that was required of most of us: that we do nothing)

________________________

The Republican party are fascists. They're the biggest threat to general well-being I've seen in my lifetime, as their influence and location acts as the precursor to the rise of their poison all over the world. Practically everything I'm seeing from them now, have seen for months and years, is based on a lie, racism, violence, foolishness, callousness, incompetency or opportunism.

They're now seeing that the opposition to their actions is feeble. The way forward isn't to work with them, it is to throw into jail every possible criminal in their ranks, bankrupt their resources, take away their platforms, turn them into pariahs, being a Trump republican should only ever cause you problems in a fair, healthy system. You stamp them out now or later you will have to kill your own citizens as they stand there pointing their weapons at you. And that's still being optimistic, worst case they'll take over the country while the Dems try for 'bipartisanship' with their would-be-killers.

Red Beret · « **Reply #1922 on:** June 19, 2021, 09:12:47 am »

Quote

“Democrats have been so busy advancing their liberal agenda, sometimes I feel like the left hand doesn’t know what the far left hand is doing.”

Got to admit, I chuckled at that.

Nobby Reserve · « **Reply #1923 on:** June 21, 2021, 04:47:01 pm »

Quote from: BarryCrocker on June 19, 2021, 02:02:55 am

the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s annual Road to Majority conference,

'Faith' and 'Freedom'... aren't they mutually exclusive?

Caligula? · « **Reply #1924 on:** June 22, 2021, 11:01:34 pm »

Quote

Biden’s Justice Dept may defend Trump in Capitol riot lawsuits

WASHINGTON, June 22 (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Donald Trump may have an unlikely ally to defend him against lawsuits alleging he incited the U.S. Capitol insurrection: President Joe Biden’s Justice Department.

The Biden administration paved the way for that possibility, say constitutional scholars and lawyers in the cases, by arguing in an unrelated defamation case against Trump that presidents enjoy sweeping immunity for their comments while in office - and the right to a defense by government lawyers. Biden’s Justice Department used that rationale in a surprise decision this month to continue defending Trump in a case filed by E. Jean Carroll, who contends Trump raped her 25 years ago and then lied about it while in office, defaming her.

That decision reaffirms the position the department took under the Trump administration. And it has profound implications for several ongoing lawsuits, including one filed by two U.S. Capitol Police officers seeking to hold Trump liable for injuries they suffered defending the building in the Jan. 6 attack.

Attorney Philip Andonian said he fears the Justice Department, under the same legal rationale, will also defend Trump in a case Andonian is pursuing on behalf of U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat. Swalwell alleges Trump incited the deadly Jan. 6 riot in an effort to stop Congress from performing its duty to certify Biden as the election winner. Andonian called the logic behind the department’s decision to defend Trump against Carroll’s defamation suit “alarming.”

The Justice Department appears to put no limits on immunity for speech by a sitting president on any matter considered “of public concern,” Andonian said.

The Justice Department declined to comment on whether it would use the same argument as a basis for intervening in the other lawsuits Trump faces. The White House did not respond to a request for comment but has previously said it had no role in the department’s decision on whether to defend Trump in the Carroll case or others.

Trump faces more than a dozen active investigations and lawsuits involving a wide range of matters, including sexual misconduct allegations, financial disputes and government probes into his business dealings and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. But the Justice Department’s assertion of presidential immunity in the Carroll case would only be relevant to other cases involving his statements or actions while in office.

The Justice Department laid out its rationale for defending Trump in a June 7 brief in the Carroll case. After Carroll, a former magazine writer, wrote in 2019 that Trump raped her, Trump - while in office - accused her of lying and said he’d never met her. Carroll is among about two dozen women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct. The brief argues that Trump, like any president, is covered by federal laws, including the Westfall Act, that protect federal employees from being sued for actions taken as part of their jobs.

Although Trump’s remarks were “without question unnecessary and inappropriate,” the brief said, he was acting within the scope of his office when he made them. “Elected officials can – and often must – address allegations that inspire doubt about their suitability for office,” the argument says. “Speaking to the public and the press on matters of public concern is undoubtedly part of an elected official’s job.”

‘TITANIC’ LEGAL BLUNDER

One prominent constitutional scholar characterized the department’s position in the Carroll case as a blunder that will be difficult to undo.

“It would be very difficult for the Justice Department to change course now,” said Laurence Tribe, a Harvard University constitutional law professor and a frequent critic of Trump. “The Titanic is aimed at the iceberg.”

Tribe and other critics of the department’s position say it fails to draw obvious distinctions between a president's official conduct and matters that clearly fall outside the duties of the office. When a president says or does something illegal, they say, it does not warrant a taxpayer-financed defense by government lawyers.

Tribe served as a legal adviser for the House of Representatives’ second impeachment of Trump, in which the former president was accused - but eventually acquitted - of trying to overturn legitimate election results to retain presidential power. Tribe said it would be “outrageous” for the department to defend Trump against the lawsuits related to the U.S. Capitol riots “on the basis that fomenting a violent insurrection, as charged in those suits, fell within the president’s job description.”

Trump has denied any responsibility for the violence at the Capitol. His lawyers have said he was making political arguments, protected by the First Amendment, and not inciting people to riot.

Jesse Binnall - a private lawyer defending Trump in the Capitol Police case, the Swalwell case and at least two other ongoing suits - declined to comment on whether he will seek the department's intervention on Trump's behalf in any of those matters. Such a request would require the Justice Department to take an official position.

Binnall has echoed the Justice Department's immunity argument in briefs filed for some of those cases, but he so far has not directly requested that the department intervene in any of them.

If the Justice Department does end up defending Trump in any of the other cases pending against him, he still would be able to retain his private counsel, allowing him to protect his own interests if they diverge from those of the government.

‘MATTERS OF PUBLIC CONCERN’

While Trump was president, the Justice Department argued in the Carroll case that federal law gave him a “broad grant of immunity” against her lawsuit, adding that he was protected because he spoke about her in his role as president. A federal district court rejected that position in October, and the department filed an appeal in the waning days of Trump’s presidency. If the Justice Department wins on appeal, that would effectively end Carroll’s case against Trump.

Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta A. Kaplan, said it was “shocking” that the department would maintain the same argument under U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, who was appointed by Biden after the appeal was filed.

In testimony before Congress, Garland defended the position by saying the department had a duty to follow the law rather than to protect any administration. “Sometimes it means we have to make a decision about the law that we never would have made and that we strongly disagree with as a matter of policy,” he said.

The Justice Department’s appeal in the Carroll case is pending before the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The outcome could have implications for at least four other federal lawsuits pending against Trump. Three of them seek to hold Trump liable for remarks in a speech on Jan. 6 shortly before the Capitol riots. They include the case filed by injured Capitol Police officers, as well as the cases filed by Representative Swalwell and U.S. Representative Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat. Thompson alleges that Trump violated federal law by inciting his supporters to block Congress from executing its official duties.

The fourth case was filed by the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization, an advocacy group for low-income people. The lawsuit claims Trump disenfranchised Black voters by trying overturn the results in Detroit, a majority Black city, after the 2020 election.

Andonian, the lawyer in Congressman Swalwell's suit against Trump, said he fully expects that Trump’s lawyers now will adopt the Justice Department's reasoning to argue that the former president was speaking on “matters of public concern” in his Jan. 6 speech. Trump that day continued his false claims that the election had been stolen from him through voter fraud; assailed Vice President Mike Pence for refusing to stop Congress from certifying Biden’s win; and called for his supporters to march to the Capitol.

Andonian and other attorneys argue there’s a legal distinction between Trump’s attacks on Carroll and his incendiary speeches seeking to reverse his election loss.

Ben Berwick, a lawyer representing the Capitol police officers, said that Trump’s appearance at the Jan. 6 gathering just before the Capitol insurrection amounted to a “campaign rally” unrelated to his official duties. That’s a different setting, he said, than the presidential news conference where Trump made the statements about Carroll.

“He is effectively acting as a candidate,” Berwick said. “He has no official role in the certification of electoral votes.”

Joseph Sellers, an attorney representing Congressman Thompson in his suit against Trump, concurred that Trump had stepped well beyond the cover of presidential immunity.

“I don’t think anyone would think it’s within the scope of the president’s legitimate duties to encourage people to interfere with the functioning of another branch of government,” Sellers said. “He was promoting an insurrection and a riot.”

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/bidens-justice-dept-may-defend-trump-capitol-riot-lawsuits-2021-06-22/

John C · « **Reply #1925 on:** June 23, 2021, 08:17:45 am »

^^^
That's just a poor opinion article, the two subjects are completely different and the DOJ has not commented at all.

Red Beret · « **Reply #1926 on:** June 23, 2021, 10:05:15 am »

Trump ordered his DoJ to investigate SNL and other late night show comedians to try and get them to stop making fun of him.

Thin orange skinned little cretin.

stara · « **Reply #1927 on:** June 23, 2021, 10:27:37 am »

An OathKeeper is cooperating and will get WITSEC ...
https://twitter.com/ericgarland/status/1407533717812387841
[img]

BarryCrocker · « **Reply #1928 on:** June 23, 2021, 10:38:57 am »

Quote from: stara on June 23, 2021, 10:27:37 am

An OathKeeper is cooperating and will get WITSEC ...
https://twitter.com/ericgarland/status/1407533717812387841
[img]

Fucker Carlson is hoping it's Andrew McCabe.

jambutty · « **Reply #1929 on:** June 23, 2021, 05:15:54 pm »

NBC News
Michigan Republicans eviscerate Trump voter fraud claims in scathing report
Allan Smith 28 mins ago

The report is the product of an eight-month inquiry and concludes there was no basis or evidence to support the Trump's repeated claims that the election results failed to reflect the will of the voters.

"As is often the case, the truth is not as attractive or as immediately desirable as the lies and the lies contain elements of truth," State Sen. Ed McBroom, the Republican chairman of the committee that investigated the election, said in a statement that accompanied the report. "We must all remember: 'extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof' and 'claiming to find something extraordinary requires first eliminating the ordinary.'"

The report, which was supported by every Republican on the committee, was clear: "This Committee found no evidence of widespread or systematic fraud in Michigan’s prosecution of the 2020 election."

Biden won Michigan by 154,000 votes, a 3 percentage point victory over Trump. The election results had already been affirmed by court rulings, state canvassers and an earlier audits completed by the Michigan Secretary of State. .

McBroom said he feels confident the state's results were accurate following his review. He continues to offer support for Republican-led voting law changes. McBroom said many of the claims of malfeasance were the result of "a misunderstanding or an outright deception."

"Also, sources must lose credibility when it is shown they promote falsehoods, even more when they never take accountability for those falsehoods," he said. "At this point, I feel confident to assert the results of the Michigan election are accurately represented by the certified and audited results."

The report singled out the false claims of fraud in Antrim County, a small county in the norther part of the state where human error by election officials initially led to results showing Biden winning the county. The error was quickly corrected, and the certified results showed a substantial Trump victory there. But the rectified error has fueled false claims of fraud in the state.

"The committee recommends the Attorney General consider investigating those who have been utilizing misleading and false information about Antrim County to raise money or publicity for their own ends," the report said, adding, "The many hours of testimony before the committee showed these claims are unjustified and unfair to the people of Antrim County and the state of Michigan."

In his statement, McBroom said: "All compelling theories that sprang forth from the rumors surrounding Antrim County are diminished so significantly as for it to be a complete waste of time to consider them further."

Trump-backers have alleged that the election technology utilized by elections officials there may have changed votes or otherwise incorrectly processed the results. Those claims have contributed to a push from some on the far-right to conduct an Arizona-style partisan ballot review in the state.

"Most of the rigorous debate over additional audits comes from fears surrounding the technology used and its vulnerabilities as allegedly demonstrated in Antrim County," McBroom said. "Without any evidence to validate those fears, another audit, a so-called forensic audit, is not justifiable."

"Michigan’s already completed post-election audit and risk-limiting audit are also far more substantive than Arizona’s standard audit," he added. "However, I am keeping a close eye on the legislatively-initiated forensic audit in Arizona and will continue to ask questions regarding other election issues I feel are not settled."

State Sen. Jeff Irwin, the committee's lone Democrat, voted against adopting the report because it endorses Republican-sponsored voting legislation introduced in the state, The Detroit Free Press reported.

Voter fraud in U.S. elections is exceedingly rare. Soon after last fall's election, Trump's then-top cybersecurity official said it was "the most secure in American history," while then-Attorney General William Barr said the Justice Department found no evidence of widespread malfeasance.

Last month, Trump targeted Michigan Senate Republicans for not doing enough to substantiate his baseless fraud claims.

"Has the Michigan State Senate started their review of the Fraudulent Presidential Election of 2020 yet, or are they about to start?" he said. "If not, they should be run out of office."

Last week, a small group of pro-Trump activists gathered outside the Michigan Capitol to demand an Arizona-style ballot review. At that rally, supporters blessed boxes containing affidavits and prayed for elected officials to see the fraud they believe happened. This week, the Cheboygan County Board of Commissioners advanced a request to the state Bureau of Elections to audit their 2020 election results.

That comes amid a backdrop of other pro-Trump activists and lawmakers pushing for ballot reviews similar to Arizona's and visiting the site of that audit in Maricopa County.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/michigan-republicans-eviscerate-trump-voter-fraud-claims-in-scathing-report/ar-AALmky8?li=BBnb7Kz

Caligula? · « **Reply #1930 on:** June 23, 2021, 06:52:34 pm »

Quote from: John C on June 23, 2021, 08:17:45 am

^^^
That's just a poor opinion article, the two subjects are completely different and the DOJ has not commented at all.

They've set a precedent and it seems as though Presidents and indeed former President are going to be forever untouchable. At least on a federal level.

dalarr · « **Reply #1931 on:** June 24, 2021, 06:36:59 am »

Quote from: jambutty on June 23, 2021, 05:15:54 pm

NBC News
Michigan Republicans eviscerate Trump voter fraud claims in scathing report
Allan Smith 28 mins ago

This is so depressing. It took the State Dept. eight months to investigate and prove that Trump and his cabal lied. Meanwhile, everyone has moved on and hundreds, if not thousands of new lies have been made since. It’s a good example of the up-hill battle the Democrats are fighting. You can add to that that a large proportion of the Republican voters doesn’t care about evidence and truth anyway.

jambutty · « **Reply #1932 on:** June 24, 2021, 06:54:14 pm »

A little good news.

ABC 7 New York
Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani suspended from practicing law in New York
Eyewitness News 1 hr ago

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is now suspended from practicing law in New York.

A committee with The Supreme Court of the State of New York, Appellate Division, First Judicial Department said that Giuliani "communicated demonstrably false and misleading statements to courts, lawmakers and the public at large in his capacity as lawyer for former President Donald J. Trump and the Trump campaign in connection with Trump's failed effort at reelection in 2020."

The document went on to say, "These false statements were made to improperly bolster respondent's narrative that due to widespread voter fraud, victory in the 2020 United States presidential election was stolen from his client. We conclude that the respondent's conduct immediately threatens the public interest and warrants interim suspension from the practice of law, pending further proceedings before the Attorney Grievance Committee (sometimes AGC or Committee).

The Court then laid out what Giuliani is no longer permitted to do in the state of New York. "It is further Ordered that respondent is commanded to desist and refrain from the practice of law in any form, either as principal or agent, clerk or employee of another; that respondent is forbidden to appear as an attorney or counselor-at-law before any court, judge, justice, board or commission or other public authority; that respondent is forbidden to give another an opinion as to the law or its application or advice in relation thereto, all effective the date hereof, until such time as disciplinary matters pending before the Committee have been concluded and until further order of this Court."

The suspension is temporary and pending the outcome of a formal disciplinary hearing.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/former-nyc-mayor-rudy-giuliani-suspended-from-practicing-law-in-new-york/ar-AALoFW0?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531

leroy · « **Reply #1933 on:** June 25, 2021, 06:10:53 am »

Would be nice to see a similar result for the other morons who did the same.

John C · « **Reply #1934 on:** June 25, 2021, 10:09:18 am »

The judgement against Rudy really is damning. He's absolutely disgraced in his profession and as an individual.
Hopefully it impacts on his son running for Governor also.

Nobby Reserve · « **Reply #1935 on:** June 25, 2021, 10:41:24 am »

Quote from: jambutty on June 24, 2021, 06:54:14 pm

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is now suspended from practicing law in New York.

No change there, then.

dalarr · « **Reply #1936 on:** June 27, 2021, 10:18:48 am »

Quote from: John C on June 25, 2021, 10:09:18 am

Hopefully it impacts on his son running for Governor also.

Why is it that these leeches always have some useless offspring that can continue their legacy? It’s like the nobility of Medieval Europe. Trump, Falwell etc. It’s not a nice thing to say but some people shouldn’t reproduce, it would be better for mankind if they didn’t.

Buggy Eyes Alfredo · « **Reply #1937 on:** June 27, 2021, 05:36:13 pm »

To a rally in Ohio.

"We may have to win it a third time. It is possible."

Zlen · « **Reply #1938 on:** June 27, 2021, 05:56:02 pm »

That doesn’t even remotely make sense.
In any case, he’ll be stirring up violence as the charges against his organisation start rolling in. It’s what he always does - deflect through scandals and shit stirring.

WhereAngelsPlay · « **Reply #1939 on:** June 28, 2021, 03:21:42 pm »

Caligula? · « **Reply #1940 on:** June 29, 2021, 02:29:01 am »

Quote from: John C on June 25, 2021, 10:09:18 am

The judgement against Rudy really is damning. He's absolutely disgraced in his profession and as an individual.
Hopefully it impacts on his son running for Governor also.

His son doesn't have a prayer regardless

John C · « **Reply #1941 on:** June 29, 2021, 08:14:54 pm »

It shows how radicalised the right are when Bill Barr, who should be investigated for many issues when he was AG is being called a phoney by Trump.
They are all out of their fucking minds.

Red Beret · « **Reply #1942 on:** June 30, 2021, 06:42:42 am »

<a href="https://youtube.com/v/QGIyIhNXHz8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://youtube.com/v/QGIyIhNXHz8</a>

Colbert talks briefly about Pelosi's plan for a 1/6 commission.

Ray K · « **Reply #1943 on:** June 30, 2021, 08:22:00 pm »

War criminal from the previous Republican Administration Donald Rumsfeld has died age 88.

One of the times that I wish I believed in an afterlife, as he'd be on the expressway to hell right about now.

Caligula? · « **Reply #1944 on:** June 30, 2021, 08:56:06 pm »

Quote from: Ray K on June 30, 2021, 08:22:00 pm

War criminal from the previous Republican Administration Donald Rumsfeld has died age 88.

One of the times that I wish I believed in an afterlife, as he'd be on the expressway to hell right about now.

I wonder how many deaths one can attribute to him. The real number will never truly be known.

ShakaHislop · « **Reply #1945 on:** June 30, 2021, 09:17:17 pm »

Quote

Bill Cosby's 2018 sexual-assault conviction was thrown out by Pennsylvania's highest court on Wednesday, and Cosby was released from prison shortly after. The ruling was the product of a deal Cosby had made with a district attorney in which the prosecutor promised Cosby he wouldn't be charged in a case involving Andrea Constand, a former Temple University employee who accused Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting her in 2004.

That former prosecutor — then Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor — made headlines this year when he represented then President Donald Trump in his second Senate impeachment trial.

https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-cosby-set-free-deal-made-trump-impeachment-lawyer-2021-6?r=US&IR=T

Red Beret · « **Reply #1946 on:** June 30, 2021, 10:48:46 pm »

Quote from: ShakaHislop on June 30, 2021, 09:17:17 pm

https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-cosby-set-free-deal-made-trump-impeachment-lawyer-2021-6?r=US&IR=T

fucking gobshite. Doesn't sound too dissimilar to the deal Epstein cut in Florida.

Zeb · « **Reply #1947 on:** July 1, 2021, 02:47:21 am »

"A Manhattan grand jury indicted the Trump Org & Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg today. The charges are expected to be unsealed on Thursday, people familiar with the matter told CNN."

CNN's Jim Sciutto. https://twitter.com/jimsciutto/status/1410407355624402946

See whether the expectation that Weisselberg will talk rather than do time, especially with no prospect of a pardon heh, plays out.

oldfordie · « **Reply #1948 on:** July 1, 2021, 03:04:08 am »

Quote from: Zeb on July 1, 2021, 02:47:21 am

"A Manhattan grand jury indicted the Trump Org & Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg today. The charges are expected to be unsealed on Thursday, people familiar with the matter told CNN."

CNN's Jim Sciutto. https://twitter.com/jimsciutto/status/1410407355624402946

See whether the expectation that Weisselberg will talk rather than do time, especially with no prospect of a pardon heh, plays out.

Going to be interesting to see whether Weisselbergs sons are brought up. a heavy fine won't turn Weisselberg but his sons facing criminal charges and a possible prison sentence is something he must fear already.
I don't think Manhattan would go after Trump for 3 yrs just to bring tax evasion charges which carry a fine of a $100 k or so, they would come out of it looking petty and vindictive.

Zeb · « **Reply #1949 on:** July 1, 2021, 02:11:22 pm »

Quote from: oldfordie on July 1, 2021, 03:04:08 am

Going to be interesting to see whether Weisselbergs sons are brought up. a heavy fine won't turn Weisselberg but his sons facing criminal charges and a possible prison sentence is something he must fear already.
I don't think Manhattan would go after Trump for 3 yrs just to bring tax evasion charges which carry a fine of a $100 k or so, they would come out of it looking petty and vindictive.

Weisselberg's former daughter-in-law has been touring the tv studios saying that the main charge they're building towards is going to be something like fraud because they've evidence that money for the inauguration vanished into the Trumps' pockets directly and Weisselberg is implicated in it. It does fit the reporting going back but how true it is from that source another thing altogether.

KurtVerbose · « **Reply #1950 on:** July 1, 2021, 09:23:36 pm »

What's interesting is the internal reporting spreadsheet referred to in the indictment. Where did that come from? My guess is Jeffery McConney, the Comptroller.

Caligula? · « **Reply #1951 on:** July 1, 2021, 09:38:44 pm »

Quote from: Zeb on July 1, 2021, 02:47:21 am

"A Manhattan grand jury indicted the Trump Org & Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg today. The charges are expected to be unsealed on Thursday, people familiar with the matter told CNN."

CNN's Jim Sciutto. https://twitter.com/jimsciutto/status/1410407355624402946

See whether the expectation that Weisselberg will talk rather than do time, especially with no prospect of a pardon heh, plays out.

How long before he comes out with this at one of his rallies? "I never even met the guy. He may have done some work with the Organization but he was like a really, really low-level guy and I never knew what he was doing. That's what happens with these organizations, you have people doing all kinds of different things."

And you know what? It would probably be enough to keep him out of prison as well.

oldfordie · « **Reply #1952 on:** July 1, 2021, 09:59:57 pm »

Quote from: Zeb on July 1, 2021, 02:11:22 pm

Weisselberg's former daughter-in-law has been touring the tv studios saying that the main charge they're building towards is going to be something like fraud because they've evidence that money for the inauguration vanished into the Trumps' pockets directly and Weisselberg is implicated in it. It does fit the reporting going back but how true it is from that source another thing altogether.

Yeah, I think what needs to be remembered is this Grand Jury is still ongoing right up to November so this is only the beginning as a lot more evidence has to be heard.
I know Weisselbergs ex daughter in law was talking about Trumps org paying for the kids education, the school had it's records subpeonad a few months back, she was also talking about people not getting wage rises, a luxery flat rent free was given to her and Weisselbergs son, not sure if Trumps comitted any offence as i assume it's up to the person receiving the perks to declare them in their tax returns but it's the leverage over Weisselberg they want, tell us what you know otherwise your sons are off to prison for tax evasion.
Think Trump spent twice as much on his inauguration than Obama did yet Trumps was smaller. he was ripping off the government within hours of becoming President. am sure he looked for different ways of doing it and it's hard to keep up on all his scams, I know he switched his inauguration reception to Trump tower leaving the reception which had already been planed somewhere else empty.
He then charged everyone a fortune to stay at Trump Tower, all paid for by the inauguration fund.
Imagine he charged a fortune to hold the reception at Trump tower as well, all paid by inauguration fund, no wonder he spent twice as much as Biden for a smaller reception.
I know Trumps daughter may have dropped herself in it denying she had even heard of Weisselberg but I imagine nothing will come of it.

jambutty · « **Reply #1953 on:** July 2, 2021, 12:03:18 pm »

I believe this investigation will show the audacity, mendacity and fuckacity that the Trump Misorganisation has concocted since His rise.

This font of boundless energy, narcissism, bombast and brilliance, shows how a schlock PT Barnum can develop a schlock business empire, then through the media become an influencer, then a cultural icon.

It started with his coupling with Roy Cohn, who studied at the ~~crotch~~ feet of J Edgar.

A filth dossier on anyone in power and a working relationship with organised crime is a sure way to achieve and maintain political control.

What will hopefully make us all laugh will be forthcoming comedic stories of His petulance, small mindedness and pathologically antisocial exploits.

More disturbing and hopefully damaging, will be accounts of His cruelty.

Perhaps one day we can find a way to cancel President Scumbag.

Popcorn.

oldfordie · « **Reply #1954 on:** July 2, 2021, 12:48:21 pm »

A lot of different opinions on Weisselbergs indictment. some are saying the charges will not result in a prison sentence so there's no real pressure on Weisselberg to flip. I maybe biased but I agree with one legal expert who says the Indictment raises many large Federal income tax crimes which carry 30yr+ prison sentences, he reckons the words Federal is brought up 30 times in the indictment, the pressure is on Garland to step in.

Michael Cohen mentioned McConney in his evidence to Senate when asked who has information on Trumps corrupt organization. he is supposed to be number 3 in the Trump organization, he was subpoenaed to give evidence in the Grand Jury which indicted Weisselberg, anyone subpoenaed in a grand jury is given immunity from prosecution which I think can only mean McConney has already flipped.
·
11h
CNN confirming this https://twitter.com/Pervaizistan/status/1410745495710887937?s=20
Quote Tweet
Scott Stedman
@ScottMStedman
· 15h
Word on the street is that McConney is unindicted co-conspirator #1. What that means is that he is very likely cooperating with Vance or else he would've been charged.
McConney was the Trump Org Controller for 30+ years.

Red Beret · « **Reply #1955 on:** July 2, 2021, 12:54:04 pm »

Hopefully this is a situation where you flip one and the dominoes start falling as they all scramble to save themselves.

Aren't they after Weisselberg's son? I imagine these charges are the first step of increasing pressure to get him to flip.

oldfordie · « **Reply #1956 on:** July 2, 2021, 01:19:45 pm »

Quote from: Red Berry on July 2, 2021, 12:54:04 pm

Hopefully this is a situation where you flip one and the dominoes start falling as they all scramble to save themselves.

Aren't they after Weisselberg's son? I imagine these charges are the first step of increasing pressure to get him to flip.

Yep. Weisselbergs ex daughter in law had boxes full of documents.
Am certainly not clued up on how the US justice system works so maybe ive got things wrong but I can't understand why some people think they mustn't have much on Trump if this is all they could come up with after 3 yrs of investigations.
The Grand Jury is still running and may run into 2022. a trial doesn't go straight into the nitty gritty, (Trump) they are proving the way Trump and his executives abuse the system, they will hopefully move on to all the tax fraud etc etc we heard so much about over the coming months.

Zeb · « **Reply #1957 on:** July 2, 2021, 03:06:26 pm »

Kurt Eichenwald (investigative journalist who used to be on NYT etc.) reckons that the real sting of these charges is hidden in the 12th of them. The charge that the Trump Org has been fiddling its books. According to him, if Trump Org etc. are found guilty of that then it sets off a chain reaction because the whole thing is built on debt and the debt is in the form of loans and the loans have covenants which say that the loan is called in if the books are fiddled. And even if not called in then it means there's no refinancing when they become due because no-one will take a punt on a company which fiddles its books. He believes it could result in the largest real estate bankruptcy in US history if the charges are proven.

edit: I can words sometimes

oldfordie · « **Reply #1958 on:** July 2, 2021, 04:26:17 pm »

Quote from: Zeb on July 2, 2021, 03:06:26 pm

Kurt Eichenwald (investigative journalist who used to be on NYT etc.) reckons that the real sting of these charges is hidden in the 12th of them. The charge that the Trump Org has been fiddling its books. According to him, if Trump Org etc. are found guilty of that then it sets off a chain reaction because the whole thing is built on debt and the debt is in the form of loans and the loans have covenants which say that the loan is called in if the books are fiddled. And even if not called in then it means there's no refinancing when they become due because no-one will take a punt on a company which fiddles its books. He believes it could result in the largest real estate bankruptcy in US history if the charges are proven.

edit: I can words sometimes

May well happen but imo it's not the justice we want, it will just confirm the Witch Hunt calls from Trump. even more people will feel sorry for him for being persecuted. it would probably split the country more and make things worse politically. doubt it would be the end of Trump either.

BarryCrocker · « **Reply #1959 on:** July 3, 2021, 01:29:17 am »

Quote from: Zeb on July 1, 2021, 02:47:21 am

"A Manhattan grand jury indicted the Trump Org & Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg today. The charges are expected to be unsealed on Thursday, people familiar with the matter told CNN."

CNN's Jim Sciutto. https://twitter.com/jimsciutto/status/1410407355624402946

See whether the expectation that Weisselberg will talk rather than do time, especially with no prospect of a pardon heh, plays out.

Nothing to really see here. It's tax evasion at the end of the day. He'll cop a massive fine and a possible few months in a 5-Star prison or on home detention.

Prosecutors said this enabled Weisselberg, who has worked for Trump for about 48 years, to evade roughly $900,000 in taxes and collect $133,000 in refunds he did not deserve.