TUESDAY, MAY 28, 2024
What deep disorder looks like: Personally, we don't think that Donald J. Trump did anything wrong with respect to Stormy Daniels.
With respect to a totally different matter, New York magazine's Margaret Hartmann reminds us of how deeply disordered this disordered man actually is.
There are many such examples, but Hartmann goes back to 2020 to recall a largely forgotten case. Headline included, her account of the remarkable episode starts like this:
The Time Trump Baselessly Accused Joe Scarborough of Murder
[...]
Back in 2020, Trump took some time out of his [Memorial Day] holiday weekend to not-so-subtly suggest that Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough murdered a staffer during his time as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
"Trump was alluding to the tragic death of Lori Klausutis, who was found dead in Scarborough’s Fort Walton Beach, Florida, congressional office in 2001," Hartmann says as she continues. "Trump first insinuated that Scarborough had something to do with it in this 2017 tweet."
There follows one of many social media posts in which Trump kept suggesting, insinuating and essentially claiming that Scarborough—referred to throughout as "Psycho Joe"—had actually murdered Klausutis.
By then, it had long been perfectly clear that no one murdered Klausutis. In the following passage, Hartmann quotes an AP fact-check about the staffer's accidental death, then provides additional background information:
As the AP explained at the time, there was no “unsolved mystery”:
"An autopsy revealed that Klausutis had an undiagnosed heart condition and a coroner concluded she passed out and hit her head as she fell. The coroner said the head injury caused the death, but she wasn’t struck by another person.
"The death occurred a month after Scarborough announced he was leaving office. Scarborough was in Washington when Klausutis died."
Klausutis was 28, happily married, and working as a constituent services coordinator in Scarborough’s office when she died. Local officials said from the start that there was nothing suspicious about her death. But the story still sparked wild rumors and speculation, years before Trump entered politics.
That last point is worth noting:
Donald J. Trump didn't invent the ugly, unsupportable claim that Scarborough was involved in Klausutis' death. But by 2020, he had come to hate his former friend, "so it makes sense that he eventually became the story’s most high-profile promoter," Hartmann sensibly notes.
Hartmann includes Trump's various posts about the need to "open up a long overdue Florida Cold Case against Psycho Joe Scarborough." By any normal standard, a person has to be profoundly disordered to behave as this sitting president did with respect to this long-settled matter.
For ourselves, we've long assumed that Trump is (some version of) severely "mentally ill." For better or worse, the mainstream press corps has agreed that this obvious possibility must never be discussed—not by them, and also not by (carefully selected) medical specialists.
We don't think Trump did anything wrong in paying Daniels the money she sought, thereby stopping her from inserting herself into the 2020 election. Also, he wasn't the person who started the wild speculations about Klausutis' tragic death.
He wasn't the one who started it, but his subsequent conduct was astonishing. In other incidents, he has seemed to be profoundly disordered again and again and again.
One other point may be worth noting. Hartmann notes a further fact about our nation's political culture as of the year 2001. We continue from the passage already posted:
Local officials said from the start that there was nothing suspicious about [Klausutis'] death. But the story still sparked wild rumors and speculation, years before Trump entered politics. In 2020, the Washington Post attributed this to the political and media climate at the time of Klausutis’s death:
"But Klausutis’s death occurred while the nation was caught up in speculation about the disappearance of Bureau of Prisons intern Chandra Levy and her ties to Rep. Gary Condit (D-Calif). Soon the stories merged in the public’s mind, with some labeling Scarborough the Republican Condit (who was never charged with any crime).
"Posts on such sites as Truthout and the liberal Daily Kos all but accused Scarborough of murder. Filmmaker Michael Moore talked about registering the domain name 'Joe Scarborough KilledHisIntern.com.' Rumors claimed her death had something to do with the 2000 election or 9/11 or that it had prompted Scarborough to resign from Congress two months afterward—although Scarborough had announced his resignation before her death."
Oof! Some elements of our own Blue America initially rose to flog the latest intern death pseudo-scandal.
Today, we're flogging the "porn star / hush money" scandal. Within our failing political culture, it's very, very, very hard to make matters of substance stick.
"For better or worse, the mainstream press corps has agreed that this obvious possibility must never be discussed—not by them, and also not by (carefully selected) medical specialists."
ReplyDeleteThis old canard again! We in comments have repeatedly linked to people who have discussed Trump's mental health. It is happening now with respect to his possible dementia.
And what does Somerby mean by "carefully selected," a phrase he always inserts? Who decides which professionals can talk about Trump's mental health in Somerby's mind?
And Somerby never explains what would be gained by exploring Trump's mental health. His main problems are personality disorders (narcissism, sociopathy), not health issues (schizophrenia, OCD, bipolar disorder) that can be regulated using medication.
Trump is obviously unfit to be president by virtue of his behavior, not some clinical diagnosis. People need to pay attention to his highly abnormal behavior and vote accordingly, not wait for some clinician to lock him up (why would institutionalizing Trump be any more palatable than prison to Somerby?).
But the press has discussed this a lot. Somerby's contention that it has not is a plain lie.
Trump spent last week lying about his crowd sizes, and then spent the weekend at a Nascar race where he faked being adored by a crowd that was actually ignoring him.
DeleteIt was a weird thing to observe.
Why is Trump so desperate? It suggests insider knowledge that his campaign is not doing well.
It sounds like Trump's staff works very hard to keep him jolly, because he is so unpleasant when angry and because their own prosperity depends on keeping him on the grift. If Trump were to stop his campaign none of his hangers-on would be able to continue collecting their checks and running their cons.So there is a massive conspiracy to keep Trump functioning at something approximating normal behavior, so that he will keep being happy and do what he needs to do to keep their entire enterprise afloat.
DeleteIf Trump decompensates then the entire fantasy falls apart for all of them, from Ivanka to Don Jr. and Lara and Eric, to Mike Johnson to the MAGAs and those selling bibles.
And to Putin...
DeleteBob claiming that it is absolutely unheard of for the the press to talk about Trump's metal problems is BS Bob has been called out on many times. It's rather Trumpian of Bob, surely he KNOWS that we know this is nonsense. But mental illness is the about the only excuse Bob has for Trump at this point (he used to shift thru Trump's Horse Poop to find a few mild disclaimers, as some still do, but that's a lot of work) and he is dishonest enough to say it again and again.
Delete"For ourselves, we've long assumed that Trump is (some version of) severely "mentally ill." For better or worse, the mainstream press corps has agreed that this obvious possibility must never be discussed—not by them, and also not by (carefully selected) medical specialists."
ReplyDeleteHold your horses, there Ken Burns. This doesn't mean it's OK for YOU to discuss it.
Bob probably does really believe this. So, why then does he spend his energy using every possible excuse to let Trump off the hook? We must put a total nutcase back in charge of Western Democracy, because he didn't really hurt Stormy Daniels. Only a well paid idiot woulld be arguing such vile slop.
Delete"For ourselves, we've long assumed that Trump is (some version of) severely "mentally ill."
ReplyDeleteBob Somerby
Why would Somerby criticize those who question the judgement of people who would elect someone who is severely mentally ill to be the President of the United States?
People elected Richard Nixon and he was a crook.
Deletethe "porn star / hush money" scandal.
ReplyDeleteAnd here I thought it was the “conspiracy/ campaign finance violation/ falsification of business records” prosecution (not “scandal”).
Somerby prefers to focus on the salacious aspects of the case, because noting Trump's illegalities would interfere with Somerby's broader project.
DeleteApparently, Trump voters can’t tell that Trump is severely mentally ill without carefully selected psychiatrists telling them. Wouldn’t they be embarrassed then for supporting him!
ReplyDeleteActuaries predict the future based on past events. Regardless of the wild things Trump has said, his actions as President were basically normal. He didn't start any wars. He didn't impose some new radical economic program. He didn't imprison his enemies. His behavior on Jan 6 was awful, but that doesn't negate 4 years of prudent, reasonable actions.
ReplyDeleteI don't recall previous President's sucking Putin's cock on the world stage before, fuckface.
DeleteThat tax cut for the wealthy wasn't normal. Neither were his tariffs.
DeleteClinton and Bush both gave tax cuts to the wealthy IIRC
DeleteThe Biden Administration had kind words for the Butcher of Baghdad after his recent death.
Well you don't recall correctly, DiC.
DeleteThe 1993 Clinton tax increase raised the top two income tax rates to 36% and 39.6%, with the top rate hitting joint returns with incomes above $250,000 ($400,000 in 2012 dollars). In addition, it removed the cap on the 2.9% Medicare payroll tax, raised the corporate tax rate to 35% from 34%, increased the taxable portion of Social Security benefits, and imposed a 4.3 cent per gallon increase in transportation fuel taxes.
This shit is easy enough to check, Dickhead in Cal.
Diplomatic courtesy is expected from actual leaders as opposed to cretins like Trump.
DeleteSweet moobly goobly David. Trump's greatest accomplishment is exploding the deficit. He also recklessly tore up a bunch of international agreements so yay for being a two year old. Trump was a Covid train wreck. The only good thing about that was he ended up killing more horse paste no mask Republicans than non-idiot Democrats. Trump let Leonard Leo select extremist religious nutjob federalist society judges who lied at hearings and then took away a women's right to determine her best healthcare choices. These judges are working to destroy the administrative state, kneecapping the EPA, OSHA and other regulatory agencies. At a lower level a Leo judge has assured Trump's most obvious criminal activity will not be tried. Trump learned to hire only corrupt agency heads. Look at the turnover four years ago (and how many of them called Trump some variation of a fucking idiot) compared to Biden's stable cabinet. Trump promised to scuttle Obamacare and provide a better healthcare solution. Nothing. Promised infrastructure week his entire failed presidency. And accomplished nothing. Campaigning now Trump has promised to have federal employees sign a pledge to Trump. He has promised to intern and ship out 15 million folks. I could go on, but you know all this comrade.
Delete5:14 covered it pretty well and the fact checker for DIC’s tax claims gets kudos, it being the case now that almost anything the octogenarian actuary spews here can be assumed false. One more thing : 250 days at his resorts/golf courses in a single term.
DeleteI was tempted to respond to DIC's comment at 2:36 but it's such low lying fruit that I was afraid I would stir up a case of lumbago.
Delete"Personally, we don't think that Donald J. Trump did anything wrong with respect to Stormy Daniels."
ReplyDeleteI think Trump did several things wrong:
1. He lured her to have dinner with him by suggesting she might appear on his show, The Apprentice.
2. He spent their time discussing how porn stars avoid getting STDs, which is odd talk in mixed company, even with a porn star.
3. He was wearing a silk bathrobe (her description, could have been a dressing gown or smoking jacket) when she arrived.
4. She went to the bathroom and he assumed they would have sex by taking off his robe and sitting on the bed in his underwear, blocking her way out of the room.
5. He didn't use a condom during sex, despite having been told that porn stars are required to wear them at work.
6. He didn't provide dinner after the sex. In modern relationships, even a bachelor is expected to offer breakfast when a woman sleeps over. Trump expected her to dress and leave.
7. Trump had a staff member call her a week later and tell her she would not be appearing on the Apprentice show. If this were a quid pro quo, he welched on the deal. If it wasn't, he insulted her by reducing the sex to a transaction instead of mutually enjoyed recreational sex.
8. She said she didn't enjoy it and it was over quickly. That means Trump expended no effort to make the sex good for her and was selfish in bed.
All of these things are wrong. None of them are illegal. Perhaps Somerby meant to say he didn't see anything illegal about the hush money payment, as he said later? Here is what is illegal:
1. Stormy wanted to sell the story about her experience to the media and approached the National Enquirer and ABC, both of whom were interested. This was not illegal.
2. Trump sent goons to intimidate Stormy Daniels while she was in a parking lot with her small daughter. They frightened her to the point that she agreed to accept $130,000 in exchange for an NDA. This is extortion and is illegal but Daniels couldn't identify who had done it despite attempts to identify the person who approached her.
3. Trump refused to pay the $130K and instead delayed in the hope of waiting until after the election and then refusing to pay. Stormy's lawyer told Trump he would lose the story to ABC if he didn't make the promised payment so Michael Cohen paid the money at Trump's direction. This is unethical but not illegal.
4. Stormy signed the NDA and an additional statement saying that no sex had occurred (she later recanted this and went to court to vacate the NDA). This was not illegal.
5. Trump arranged to repay the $130K to Cohen out of his personal business funds, plus a bonus of $50K and grossing up (to compensate for taxes paid on the $130K which was reported as income to Cohen), noted as legal expenses). Recording this as legal expenses constituted falsifying business records, which was a misdemeanor for Trump's New York business.
6. Trump did not report the payment to the FEC as an in-kind donation to his campaign. It was a donation because the payment to Daniels was made by Cohen/Trump to benefit his election efforts and prevent damage to his election chances that would have occurred after release of the Access Hollywood tape. This was illegal.
7. The recording of the payments to Cohen as legal services meant Trump's business would have taken a business deduction on them, which would have lowered his corporate taxes. That is tax fraud and is illegal.
8. Trump has lied about much of this, lied about whether he had sex with Stormy, and is continuing to lie in his extra-court statements on social media. This is defamation and is illegal. The court statements about Daniels, Cohen and others violate the trial gag order, which is contempt of court and illegal.
Cont.
DeleteSo, Trump has done a lot of illegal things in connection with sleeping with and then hushing up Stormy Daniels. Apparently, none of this matters to Somerby. He perhaps thinks that women, even famous ones, should be used like kleenex and then discarded. He perhaps thinks all is fair in campaigns and rules don't need to be followed when trying to win -- that is a very Republican idea. Mainly, I think Somerby believes that women shouldn't be able to inconvenience men with their expectations of being treated like human beings, people who matter. Men should be allowed to kiss and tell (as Trump has done, even with women he never slept with) whereas women should just quietly disappear and not bother men once they are done with them.
Few women will have any sympathy for Somerby's attitude, which may be why Somerby never married, but they will also despise Trump for his behavior and not vote for him, when they find out what he did. That's why this case has been important, no matter how the verdict goes. All of those women can now know what Trump is really like -- information they should have had back in 2016 before voting. Things were different in 2020, partly due to a shift in women's voting patterns. This trial will remind women of who exactly they are going to the polls to decide on. On a personal level, Trump is a sleaze who shouldn't represent our nation among other world leaders.
Then there is a married man fucking a porn star weeks after his wife gave birth to a son ( whom, like all his children, he would have nothing to do with parenting beyond writing checks) and not telling her about it. OK with Bob, perhaps not his wife. I recall the nonsense about Morning Joe well, what Bob knows and doesn’t tell you is that it was retaliatory, Joe signed off on a lot of garbage being slung about Bill Clinton killing people. Bob knows this, but won’t tell you.
DeleteSomerby brings up the Scarborough accusations in order to imply that those false statements are equivalent to the accusations against Trump now in this Stormy Daniels case.
ReplyDeleteThe main difference is that Scarborough was innocent whereas Trump did sleep with Stormy, did pay her for an NDA (as he does with many of his staff members and women on his campaign), did falsify business records and did fail to report the hush money as a campaign expense and may have misreported expenses to underpay taxes.
Somerby's tendency to juxtapose things he wants to be considered similar or equivalent leads to ridiculous comparisons that he perhaps hopes will be subconsciously accepted without close examination.
What Trump did to Scarborough was wrong and grossly unfair to Joe. Today's prosecution of Trump is not wrong and earned (not unfair) and hopefully will result in a guilty verdict so that Trump can finally start paying for his misdeeds. And that is entirely different, even if Somerby presents them side-by-side to hint they are comparable.
ReplyDelete"the ugly, unsupportable claim that Scarborough was involved in Klausutis' death"
Hmm. As one blogger I read often says: anything is possible. Even if all good decent shape-shifting alien Reptiloids say that Scarborough has nothing to do with it.
What do your carefully selected forensic pathologists say about how Scarborough faked the autopsy results?
DeleteYeah, you've got me, Soros-bot: faking an autopsy is the rocket science. Impossible to do. Reptiloid fact-checkers say so.
DeleteAdjectives like reptiloid don't explain anything.
DeleteRight on, 3:03. Now go grab your gun and save a few girls being trafficked at a pizza place in DC. They're in the basement.
DeleteLol. Weirdo Mao never met a conspiracy theory he didn't like.
DeleteThis is a really important post by Spocko at Digby's blog:
ReplyDeletehttps://digbysblog.net/2024/05/28/celebrate-trumps-guilty-verdict-by-destroying-the-teflon-don-myth-then-keep-fighting/
It suggests that when Trump is convicted, the media will not acknowledge the confirmation of Trump's crimes but will immediately focus on Trump's appeal.
Spocko suggests that Democrats do not promote our own victories or advance our own cause for fear of upsetting a violent right wing that engages in MAGA threats, stalking, swatting, and physical attacks on those targeted by Trump.
The refusal of judge Cannon to impose a gag order to protect the FBI (falsely accused by the right of attempting to assassinate Trump during their Mar a Lago document search) is an example of the political violence and intimidation being encouraged by Trump and the Republicans. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Trump in unison promoted that bogus meme that the FBI tried to kill Trump. These tactics on the right are blatant and orchestrated and we on the left have allowed them to continue because we are unwilling to make a fuss about them.
Doxing of jurors is one tactic applied to those trying Trump but also to poll workers and government employees during the past election. It is akin to the threats made here by right wing commenters who don't care a fig for discussing Somerby's topics but only attack the other commenters, insisting that we must use a nym so that we can be threatened in the same manner as other MAGA targets, who have done nothing more than their jobs.
Spocko says we shouldn't allow these tactics to deter us from our own political expression, campaigning and voting. I agree, but also extend that to our day-to-day activities. I am not going to coddle Republicans out of fear that some MAGA nut will vandalize my house (as I've seen happen in my neighborhood). And I am certainly not going to stop saying what I want here, just because Pied Piper or Cecelia or Hector or Dogface (or any of the new names these operatives will adopt) doesn't like what I say about their messenger, Somerby.
And when Trump is convicted, I am going to drink champagne, gloat, and have no concern for the feefees whose job is to suppress the speech of Democrats on a supposedly liberal blog.
The thing that impresses me about these cranks still howling about "falsely accused by the right of attempting to assassinate Trump during their Mar a Lago document search" is the deep state attempted the assassination in Florida while Trump was in New Jersey. I mean, come on man. Lose the cult!
Delete3:48 - Inspiring! What a brave little anon you are! Hiding behind anonymity, you can call me any name you want! You can even libel me as a right-wing operative -- with total impunity!
DeleteAnd you don't have to worry about the "threats" you imagine I have made to suppress your speech or vandalize your house! Plus, you can even pretend that you're a hero to the cause! Bravo!
Pied Piper a "Right-wing operative"?
DeleteI haven't seen him on "Meet the Press" or in the New York Times opinion pages, have you?
So, the entire case was not manufactured for political purposes to get Trump but "Spocko" is excitedly advocating different ways to exploit its outcome for political purposes to get Trump.
DeleteWho's the leader of the club that's made for you and me? M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E Hey there, Hi there, Ho there! You're as welcome as can be! M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E Mickey Mouse! (Donald Duck!) Mickey Mouse! (Donald Duck!) Forever let us hold our banner high, high, high, high! Come along and sing a song and join the jamboree! M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E Mickey Mouse Club! Mickey Mouse Club! We'll have fun We'll meet new faces We'll do things and we'll go places All around the world we're marching!
Pp, you use the anonymity of the anons to call them whatever you want, so you are no better than anyone else, except you never talk about anything here.
Delete@8:24 — The difference is that Trump committed those crimes, the Dems didn’t manufacture them. We are entitled to use them because a criminal shouldn’t be reelected.
DeleteLet me know how that works out for you.
DeleteThe trial is a sham not just because the charges themselves are a joke, but because it allows Trump to continue avoiding legitimate scrutiny and hold himself out as some persecuted martyr figure.
DeleteThen why was Cohen in jail?
DeleteYes, it’s very shrewd of Trump to steal top secret docs, refuse to give them back, attempt to overthrow an election, just so he can play the martyr. Genius.
DeleteHe's not a martyr because of those things. He's able to play the martyr because the charges in this case are a joke and it is obvious to everyone in the world that entire case was manufactured for political purposes.
DeleteSorry. I get that you're too dumb and partisan to see it right now. Just like you were too dumb and partisan to see the Ukraine war was always going to be a debacle that they would lose. But that's what you get for being a partisan idiot!
He can play the martyr, because Republican voters crave his bigotry. That's it. There is nothing more to it, and there never will be.
DeleteSay what you will about Republicans making a tiny-handed rapist out to be martyr, but you can't say it isn't on-brand.
DeleteAnd he proves his partisan dumbness right on schedule!
DeleteIt's wild how Spocko and this idiot and Digby and all the other clowns in the clown car do everything they can conceivably do to help Trump get re-elected. I don't get it.
DeleteAnonymouse 3:48pm, go lie down, you’ll look better.
DeleteAnd now Cecelia weighs in with another turd.
DeleteAnonymouse 10:20pm, I don’t mind you weighing in with me and you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself.
DeleteRussia, if you're listening, make Right-wingers understand there is more to law and order than just cops shooting unarmed black men.
DeleteAnonymouse 10:34pm, .75 cents, at the most. You’re a week away from your gummies.
DeleteAgain, 10:39 pulls a bunch of words out of a hat, types them up, and pats herself on the back for being clever.
DeleteCecelia,
DeleteWe are discussing the tiny-handed rapist's criminality. I appreciate you providing us the smartest, most well-thought-out economic idea that right has ever had, but let's save your post at 10:39 for when we discuss the economy.
So sad little Ukraine was toppled by mighty Russia in three days; comrade asshole.
DeleteTrump has in recent weeks said the Courthouse is in lockdown, and that President Biden sent the FBI to kill him in Florida. Such things, if Bob mentions them, are examples of why the Press should not use the word “lie” about Trump’s statements. After all, the poor man is mentally ill.
ReplyDeleteThough I have used millions of word-salads already to spam Somerby's blog, I still have millions more word-salads in my vast storage spaces. I sniff my fingers.
ReplyDeleteI am Corby.
You’re a real piece of work, dingbat.
DeleteBob says Trump did nothing wrong and the case cannot be understood. Translation: he didn’t do it and so what if he did.
ReplyDeleteHe didn’t do WHAT? There is no crime there.
DeleteIf you still don't know what the charges against Trump are, should you really be talking about it publicly?
DeleteThe term "Psycho Joe" shows why people shouldn't use mental health labels to malign those they dislike.
ReplyDeleteDershowitz, a Trump opponent, compared the trial to Josef Stalin and Lavrentiy Beria, the long-time NKVD police chief (1899-1953). Beria is quoted as saying, "Show me the man and I'll find the crime." Many thousands of innocent Russians lost their lives after Beria found a crime to charge them with. According to Dershowitz, that's exactly what the NY prosecutor and judge are doing here.
ReplyDeleteI am seriously depressed that the US has degenerated into Stalinist Russia in this important area of crime and justice. I am a little heartened that a few Trump opponents, like Dershowitz and Bob, can see how dreadful a precedent this trial is. Whether or not Trump is convicted, this is a tragedy for our country.
I am not optimistic that our justice system can recover. That is, political prosecutions may become the norm going forward.
What do you expect? Dershowitz is a MAGA like Giuliani.
DeleteDavid,
DeleteDo you believe someone shouldn't be charged with a crime if they run for elective office. If so why? If not, why not?
"A Trump opponent." Well, you can pretty much count on everything after that being BS. Dim Dersh has been carrying water for the Don for years.
DeleteFair question @9:25. IMO nobody should be charged with a crime when they didn't commit a crime. Unfortunately, in our current complex legal system it's easy to get an innocent person indicted and often not hard to get such a person convicted. A friend of mine Ron Ferguson was convicted when the prosecutors pressured a witness to give perjured testimony. Fortunately the conviction was set aside, when it was proved that the witness was not present at the meeting where the crime was supposedly committed.
DeleteIt's even worse to prosecute a candidate from the out of power party. In that direction lies Stalinism. Law are complicated, almost anyone might be found to have committed some crime, if investigators dig deep enough.
I think an out of power Presidential candidate should not be charged with a crime under dubious circumstances. Although I think Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton committed felonies while President, I think the country is better off that they weren't prosecuted for their crimes. It's conceivable that Hunter Biden may have taken bribes that influenced the policies of his father. That might be conspiracy to accept bribes. But I would not like to see Joe Biden go to prison or even prosecuted.
David,
DeleteI know two things about the law.
1) You can indict a ham sandwich.
2) Hunter Biden is not a ham sandwich.
When did financial fraud become a crime?
DeleteTrump is not an innocent person.
DeleteBill Clinton did not commit felonies. That is a lie.
Delete"I think an out of power presidential candidate should not be charged with a crime under dubious circumstances."
DeleteCompletely agree. Now let's wrap this trial up and get on with the other two, in which there is very strong evidence of criminal activity.
"Dershowitz, a Trump opponent,"
Delete!!??!
QiB - Dershowitz says he will vote against Trump. I believe him
Deleteunamused I agree that there is clear proof that Trump knowingly kept classified material in his home
DeleteThe crime that I am referring to is the refusal to turn over highly classified documents after 3 requests, which apparently included lying to his lawyers, and instructing his employees, caught on tape, to move boxes of them around in an unsecured environment to avoid their discovery. "Knowingly keeping classified material in his home" is an understatement that I assume is purposeful. You would like to focus on what you consider to be the unfairness of this current trial, all the while admitting that there is proof that Trump is guilty of an activity that experts consider appallingly inappropriate. Criminal activity. But go ahead and bemoan the fact that he is being tried for a campaign finance crime relating to his porn star hush money.
DeleteEpstein, Von Bulow, Hannity, Simpson and Trump.
Delete"I'll take five abject losers that Alan Dershowitz gravitated to, for 100"
Incidentally, if we were living under your imaginary Stalin- esque regime, DIC, Donald Trump would be in the same position as numerous of those stolen classified docs. Nowhere to be found. That he is, instead, a citizen free spew lies and foment anger publically would be an insult to your credibility, if you hadn't already shredded that here.
DeleteJudge Aileen Cannon is shielding Trump from justice in the classified-documents case.
DeleteUnamused -- Apparently my comment was unclear. I was agreeing with you that Trump had committed crimes related to the classified documents.
Delete@7:56 The delay is the fault of the prosecution.
judge is delaying the trial because there are legal issues that need to clarified. It seems as though the prosecution may have mishandled some of the evidence.
unamused - "free to spew lies" is nasty way to describe Freedom of Speech.
DeleteA prosecutor tried to take away Trump's Freedom of Speech. Fortunately Federal Judge Aileen Cannon on Tuesday rejected special counsel Jack Smith’s request for a gag order against Donald Trump in the classified documents case, saying that prosecutors’ efforts to confer with the defendant was “wholly lacking in substance and professional courtesy.”
Liberals used to support free speech. Now not so much.
The judge delayed the trial on multiple occasions, most recently INDEFINITELY,specifically citing the “defendants right to due process”. And no, you do not get to spew lies outside a courtroom that puts individuals and a trial at risk. Your nonsense about the prosecution delaying the trial is part of a firmly imbedded misrepresentation of easily accessed facts. I am not going to play the role of Quaker in the Basement here and site specific references. Rather, and more to the point, I will call you out as a consistently lying troll who has no regard for the truth.
DeleteI am a shape-shifting alien Reptiloid, and I am outraged.
DeleteYou are a bot, and you're outrageous.
Delete"Liberals used to support free speech. Now not so much."
DeleteFrom the river to the sea, David.
@9:20 Here's a lucid discussion of gag orders from Yale Law School. https://law.yale.edu/mfia/case-disclosed/when-silence-isnt-golden-how-gag-orders-can-evade-first-amendment-protections
DeleteGag order are generally for the purpose of protecting the defendant's right to a fair trial. It's unusual for a judge to impose a gag order on the defendant.
When the defendant is also a Presidential candidate, a gag order interferes with his campaign.
Do you believe the excuse that criticisms by the defendant is putting people's lives at risk? Freedom of Speech means that we're allowed to criticize others.
Earthlings' "free speech" idea is stupid and harmful. And outrageous. No good decent shape-shifting Reptiloid would entertain it. Ever.
DeleteHow on earth will Donald J Chickenshit ever be able to campaign for the Presidency of the United States of America if he is prevented from attacking and defaming the daughter of the judge in his state felony trial in NY? If we prevent this punk coward from instigating his tribe of cult fans to harass the judge's daughter how will the public ever know who to vote for?
DeleteYou're a real horse's ass, David.
It's unusual for a defendant to be attacking the family members of the judge. Nothing about the vile nature of Donald Trump, and the people of low character who defend him, that is very typical. That the Republican Party chooses to have a mental case who has nothing to is in trouble with the law as their candidate has nothing to do with gag orders, the nature of which Trump has (surprise!) lied about. "Freedom of Speech" contains certain exceptions, and a gag order, in this perfectly sensible case, is one of them.
DeleteA much more interesting question to ponder is why the cowardly Trump won't testify in his own defense, but can't stop flapping his lying gums when he is not under oath.
@10:54 Much of what Trump said about Judge daughter is true. CNN wrote
Delete"It’s true that Loren Merchan has served as president of Authentic Campaigns, a firm that does digital campaign work like online fundraising, mobile messaging and web design. They work with Democratic political candidates, including some of Trump’s most outspoken opponents.
"The firm has scrubbed references to her on its site, so it’s not entirely clear if she is still in this role at the company. Merchan wrote in an August ruling that his daughter was still the company’s president and chief operating officer at that time.
"Furthermore, a screenshot purporting to be from Loren Merchan’s LinkedIn said she was the director of digital persuasion for now-Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign. The screenshot was captured last year by right-wing outlets before her LinkedIn page was made private."
https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/06/politics/trump-judge-daughter-attacks-explainer/index.html
The Swamp and any of its creatures can not be mentioned, under any circumstances. We shape-shifting alien Reptilians will not allow it.
DeleteEven if some of Trump's statements about Ms. Merchan are exaggerated or inaccurate, what's the justification for the gag order? Do these criticisms really put her life in danger? Of course not.
DeleteThere are valid reasons to suspect that the judge might be influenced by his daughter. A ruling said that's not enough grounds to disqualify the judge. But, shouldn't Trump have the right to complain about it?
Agree with David in the sense that the Right-wing snowflakes who follow Trump's lead are to be laughed at and mocked, not feared.
Delete"There are valid reasons to suspect that the judge might be influenced by his daughter..
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Unlike, Supreme Court Justices who aren't influenced the slightest by the women they chose to spend the rest of their lives with.
David, tell me more about recusal. LOL.
Is there anyone saying Sam Alito leaked the "Dobbs" decision BECAUSE his wife told him to do so, instead of Alito just doing it under his own accord?
Delete3 of the 9 justices sitting on the SC literally worked for George Bush's presidential campaign and or Bush's Florida recount fight. One member was employed by Ken Starr as a political hack to sniff Clinton's cock and look up Hillary's skirt, Beer-Bong Brett. And David the Troll has his panties in a wad because Judge Merchan donated $35 to Biden's campaign by buying a T-shirt.
DeleteNo Republican should ever be prosecuted.
ReplyDeleteDIC: " 'free to spew lies' is nasty way to describe Freedom of Speech." Currently Trump is spewing the lie that Biden sent an FBI hit team to Mara Lago. This is dangerous rhetoric that places law enforcement, whose identities may not be protected, at risk. Such right wing rhetoric and the hatred it promotes is why Dr. Fauci has needed secret service protection to walk in the park with his wife. Similarly, lies about Sandy Hook resulted in death threats to grieving families. Yelling fire in a crowded theatre is not protected speech. Your argument is simple minded and gives a dangerous carte blanche to hate speech, incidentally.
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