Columns, Politics

Could Trump Win By Losing? Sometimes ‘Nothing’ is ‘a Real Cool Hand’

Below is my column in the Hill on why Trump’s future may come down to the calendar rather than the evidence. This could get pretty twisted in the election season.

Here is the column:

Donald Trump was back in all caps this week, denouncing prosecutors, warning of “death and destruction” if he is arrested, and even posting a picture wielding a baseball bat menacingly near a headshot of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

After each tirade, many of us denounced the inflammatory rhetoric while others insisted the former president was becoming unhinged at the prospect of being arrested. As if to speed along that decline, others posted viral fake AI-generated pictures showing Trump being arrested. Then Trump shared his own AI-generated photo of praying.

The fact is that Trump is in his element: In the land of rage, the most enraged man is king.

If you surf cable shows, you will see pundits in virtual ecstasy as they prepare for the possibility of a Trump mug shot or perp walk. The level of excitement could prompt Pornhub to do its first live courthouse feed.

The end-is-near predictions may be more of a fetish than a fact, however. A new Harvard/Harris poll shows 59 percent of Americans think the indictment is politically motivated, and 67 percent think the Trump payment in question was a personal expense.

Some liberal legal analysts have denounced Attorney General Merrick Garland for not expediting criminal charges against Trump with “the 2024 election cycle” in mind. If that is the measure, Trump just might have a winning hand — regardless of what occurs in these cases.

Many analysts have already addressed the dubious legal basis of the reported Manhattan indictment. The Georgia investigation into election violations is stronger, but that is not saying much; absent new evidence, the case appears to rest on highly challengeable elements.

Then there is the most compelling threat to Trump — the special counsel investigation into documents he held at Mar-a-Lago. While the Jan. 6 part of the investigation looks like another dead letter, absent new evidence; however, the classified document controversy involves well-established claims of obstruction, and not just possession of classified material.

In the meantime, Trump is doing what he does best: bringing out the worst in people.

After Bragg previously stopped the effort to pursue Trump, two prosecutors in his offices — Carey R. Dunne and Mark F. Pomerantz — resigned in protest and fueled a public campaign to force Bragg to indict.

In Georgia, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis rode a wave of election support in pledging to get Trump. Then Emily Kohrs, the forewoman of a special grand jury convened by Willis, went public in a series of bizarre interviews on CNN and NBC, literally giggling in excitement about nailing Trump.

If Bragg made the New York proceedings look openly political, Willis and Kohrs made the Georgia proceedings look openly comical.

In Washington, the Justice Department is dealing with the mess created by President Biden, who publicly expressed revulsion at the very thought of Trump possessing classified documents at Mar-a-Lago: “How that could possibly happen. How one, anyone, could be that irresponsible.” That was before Biden was found to have classified documents going back more than a decade in various locations, including his garage in Delaware.

In the end, the calendar rather than the crimes may determine Trump’s future.

None of these cases is likely to be fully prosecuted before the 2024 presidential election, assuming they survive expected challenges. And even if Trump is convicted, that would not be a barrier to taking office. The Constitution limits qualification for the presidency to being at least 35 years old, a natural-born citizen, and a U.S. resident for at least 14 years.

Trump is unlikely to see the inside of a prison before the election. Even after the election, courts likely would allow appeals to be exhausted before ordering the arrest of a sitting president — and those appeals could take years.

On the federal charge, special counsel Jack Smith would have to finish his grand jury investigation and then convince Attorney General Garland to green-light criminal charges. He then may need to bring an indictment before the end of summer 2024, since Justice Department policy discourages filings that might affect an election. For the presidential election, that period would likely extend to August 2024.

If Smith cannot indict Trump before then, he would run into another long-standing Justice Department policy. The department has long maintained (in my view, incorrectly) that a sitting president cannot be indicted.

If Smith secured a conviction before the election, Trump could still stay on the ballot. Indeed, even if he were jailed, he still could be elected president. After all, Eugene Debs ran for president in 1920 on the Socialist ticket despite being in prison for violating the Espionage Act.

Trump literally could run on a promise to self-pardon and then immediately negate any conviction. Indeed, that issue may prove the ultimate anti-establishment rallying point for him. Trump won in 2016 in part because many of his voters wanted to stick it to the media and political elites. So, a charge or conviction before the election could well turn that anti-establishment wave into a tsunami.

Of course, Trump could not pardon himself on a state conviction. Moreover, Georgia is one of only three states that do not give pardon authority to the governor; that authority rests with Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles. (Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican who has long been a target of Trump’s ire, may feel relieved to have his authority limited in this instance.) However, the state could push for changes to negate a conviction or prevent enforcement against a sitting president.

To most people, that may seem like an utter mess. For Donald Trump, it is an opportunity. Trump has always found advantage in chaos. That is why, if much of the public continues to view these legal cases as political prosecutions, Democrats may be handing Trump a winning hand.

A Washington Post columnist previously declared that Trump has nothing to offer in defense to federal charges. That may or may not be true, but “nothing” could prove a major “something” in an election year.

In the film, “Cool Hand Luke,” fellow prisoners asked Paul Newman’s character why he would continually raise the stakes in a poker game when he was holding nothing of value. His reply: “Sometimes nothing can be a real cool hand.”

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at The George Washington University. Follow him on Twitter @JonathanTurley.

256 thoughts on “Could Trump Win By Losing? Sometimes ‘Nothing’ is ‘a Real Cool Hand’”

  2. Since the invention of the DVR I’ve recorded the nightly local and national news broadcasts so that I would FF through them in 40 minutes instead of spending an hour watching mostly drug ads (except during Election Month). I added to that about six months ago FFing through anything to do with Markle and Sparkle, cutting my viewing time to 33 minutes. In the last week, I’ve FF’d through anything to do with Trump and I’m down to 25 minutes

  4. If it makes you feel better to say that ATS, copy it and say it over and over again. Boring, but what else is new.

  5. Trump is criticized for calling for “Justice for All” just as we who said “All Lives Matter” were attacked…..there is a message there folks…..just figure out who is doing the attacking of those who embrace the word “All”.

    1. No, he isn’t criticized for calling for Justice for All.

      He’s criticized for asking people to put their hands over their hearts, not for the National Anthem, but for the J6 choir singing their Justice for All song while video of the insurrection played behind him.

      1. The National Anthem was played in support of prisoners denied their Constitutional Rights. That is a pretty simple concept that ATS fails to understand. He only understands the riots during the summer by Antifa where Antifa burned cities and killed people. To ATS the riots were peaceful. ATS even defended violent rioters.

        We have heard ATS lie about J6 and praise a committee that was more of a Kangaroo court. What else can we say? ATS is a Stalinist with a rapid absorption of Maoism. We see this in most things he says. J6 defendants have not been treated appropriately, and many were arrested, They were denied their rights and even information that would potentially prove them innocent.

  6. “Donald Trump was back in all caps this week, denouncing prosecutors, warning of “death and destruction” if he is arrested, and even posting a picture wielding a baseball bat menacingly near a headshot of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. After each tirade, many of us denounced the inflammatory rhetoric …”

    But not enough people have denounced it, especially among Republicans. An exception: Adam Kinzinger, “A former President threatened “death and destruction” while posting a picture of himself with a bat, next to a government official who is investigating him. This is not normal, not ok, and there is NO excuse for any Republican to take a pass on commenting.”

    1. Note that Trump pulled his post with the offending pictures & walked back his comments afterwards on Friday after some certain people kicked his azz over it.

      We already have the Deep State beat, they are collapsing the last thing we need is violence or violent rhetoric!

      Ron DeSantis, who was that Bush guy with Karl Rove? Ron, if there’s a next time, pick better handlers. Trump should do the same.

      1. LOL – Who can buy it anymore when we saw the demonrats lock down every down town in the USA rioting and destroying….
        I know what you’re saying but pretending you’re good while you get crushed over and over again is not winning, and it’s known and in our face criminals crushing you.
        I am disappointed Trump pulled the pic and walked back comments. At some point we’re gonna have to face it.
        That point may have already passed.
        If you prove to be right I’ll make sure you get the I told you so then.

  7. What pronouns will Dennis’s handlers (George Soros), Biden’s handlers and the MSM use in describing the Left wing, Democrat assassin who murdered 6 Christians, 3 of whom were age 9? This is a shiite show that Florida Governor Rob DeSantis can rightly lay at the feet of the Democrats when campaigning for President. Blame Testosterone “gender affirming hormones” for the freak that it produced. This mess belongs to Democrats

    “Nashville school shooter Audrey Hale identified as transgender and had detailed manifesto to attack Christian academy”
    https://nypost.com/2023/03/27/nashville-school-shooter-audrey-hale-identified-as-transgender-and-had-detailed-manifesto-to-attack-christian-academy/

    “Drake said police are looking into whether Hale’s identity as a trans person played a role in the deadly shooting, with investigators coming up with theories based on their findings.”

    Ya think?

    This is what society gets when testosterone is disrupted freely under the mantra of “affirming hormones”. When bodybuilders do it, the Left crucifies them for being toxic males

    2. The vast majority of mass murderers are cis.
      Ya think that plays a role in their deadly shootings?

      1. What an idiot. The vast majority of people are cis so of course they are more likely to be cis. Supposedly you are supposed to have a STEM education. It is time you demonstrated that.

  8. OT,
    So, Rolling Fork, Mississippi was hit by a F4 tornado with wind speeds ranging from 166 to 200 mph. Reporting has at least 23 dead.
    Will if Rolling Fork, Mississippi was “Red,” and voted for Trump in 2020, will Biden visit the town? Or ignore it like he did East Palestine, OH?
    What about that Pete guy?
    Place your bets!

  9. As a Texan (and someone who just read the excellent selection “Waco” by Jeff Guinn) I watched the Trump rally in the aforementioned city with great interest. I found his remarks to be classic “Trump” but without too much firepower. The audience seemed subdued, and perhaps Jan. 6 and subsequent demonization of the overall crowd caused many to choose to stay home.

        1. Vote Fraud & Media Fraud & as Dr Robert Epstein explained Google/Apple Microsoft AI search Fraud, etc., & his failure to kiss Fm Rep Dr Ron Paul & his supporters Azz & that he has to fix that type stuff or we’ll be gone way before Nov 2024!

          And if it’s not Trump who is it???

        2. If the Democrats succeed in their fraud in 2024, that might happen. Fraud can turn elections and we saw that in 2020.

          1. Currently I don’t think we even get close to another election in 2024.

            I’ve heard/read plenty. The American Hating Trash, Biden/Dims/Rinos/Fed Reserve/Treasury/DC & other Bureaucratics/ Court System & the rest of the Traitors have sold out us Citizen’s USC & triggered a currency & supply chain collapse. Further there are now sources?, saying those above Idiots believe they can uses a tightly control Nuke Phk’in War in the Next 2 to 3 weeks! Read that Again!

            Does it happen, I don’t know anything other the John Bolton, Victory Nuland & the rest of those War Mongering Idiots at the Rand Corp & elsewhere think they can just bluff their way their Mess to Victory.

            But I have trained my German Shepherds to leave my Easter Bunnies alone. lol:)

            As far as Trump, things should have already been done & most all those J6 people & shouldn’t be sitting in a DC Gulag!!! But even Prof Turley seems Blind & Deaf to what is really happening.

    2. Trump’s Waco rally celebrated his connection to the criminals who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6: “Ladies & gentlemen, please rise & place your hand over your heart for the number one song..Justice for All, featuring President Donald J. Trump and the J6 choir,” while video of J6 violence played in the background.

      1. DIRTY COPS, DIRTY MEDIA… REVEALED: Undercover Police Helped Steal Police Riot Shields and Passed Through Broken Glass Doors on Jan. 6
        by Jim Hoft Mar. 27, 2023 9:30 am220 Comments

        https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/03/dirty-cops-dirty-media-revealed-undercover-police-helped-steal-police-riot-shields-and-passed-through-broken-glass-doors-on-jan-6/

        ****

        Fed-Surrection Update: Rotten FBI Agents Even Befriended J6 Protester and Tried to Convince Him to Create or Use Molotov Cocktails
        by Jim Hoft Mar. 25, 2023 10:29 pm263 Comments

        https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/03/fed-surrection-update-rotten-fbi-agents-even-befriended-j6-protester-and-tried-to-convince-him-to-create-or-use-molotov-cocktails/

  10. Jonathan: On other news fronts Elon Musk’s world is in turmoil. He desperately needs money to shore up Twitter. He still can’t get major advertisers to return to the platform. To compensate Musk just told high-profile and prolific users, like William Shatner, they would now have to pay for the the blue check mark. So the very people Musk needs to attract other users are basically saying “No thanks”.

    And Musk, like Donald Trump, is hunting for a “leaker”–the person who posted online parts of the Twitter code, the basis for the whole operation. The culprit? Probably a disgruntled former Twitter employee who Musk unceremoniously fired. What goes around comes around!

    But there is more bad news. Elon now admits Twitter is worth less than half what he paid originally. But Musk has a plan. After cutting the Twitter staff from 7,500 to 1,300 Musk is telling the remaining employees they are “highly regarded” and he is offering them stock grants. The great benefactor. This comes after Musk told employees the company was about 4 months from running out of money. Now Musk refers to Twitter as an “inverse startup”. Does anyone think Twitter employees will be excited by stock grants? It appears Twitter will soon resemble Trump’s Truth Social! If I were a Twitter employee I would be preparing my resume!

    Finally, the Biden administration is looking into Musk’s purchase of Twitter over national security concerns. Why? Because Musk got a lot of the money for the purchase from foreign investors (just like Jared Kushner) that could have access to Twitter user data. Among the investors is Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. Why might the Saudis be interested in Twitter user data? Could it be to find out who are the vocal critics of the Saudi Kingdom? And we know what happened to Jamal Khoshoggi–the vocal critic of bin Salman. But some on this blog say “Don’t underestimate Musk’s abilities. He will make it work”. To this I respond: “Chumps are born every day!”

    1. Dennis, sincere question for you:

      Now that the shooter has been ID’d in Nashville, who shot and killed 3 children and 3 adults, and identified as “Audrey Hale” (formerly Andrew) a trans Male to Female, will your George Soros handlers and friends at the MSM (but I repeat myself), use the perps preferred pronouns? Yes or no? PS: It does not matter if you are a biologist

      1. Was it a “Hate Crime” by another Ahole Doc that put him, the shooter, on Pfizer’s SSRI Bat Sh*t Crazy Pills????

      2. You claim that the shooter is male to female trans, and the Anonymous who posted at 6:28 PM says the shooter is female to male trans. You two can’t even sort out basic facts.

        1. ATS is concentrating on a potential bit of confusion early on. Take note, ATS doesn’t give a shite about the 3 children and 3 adults killed. He is looking for trivial errors. Everyone watch your commas. ATS is prowling the neighborhood.

          1. ATS is like this Trans school shooter: full of drugs and confused about their identity and their purpose in life

            “Transgender school shooter, 28, who killed three nine year-old students and three adults including head of school at Nashville academy she used to attend”

            https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11909129/PICTURED-Transgender-school-shooter-28-killed-three-nine-year-old-students-three-adults.html

            “Hale was born female, but a LinkedIn profile believed to be hers uses he/him pronouns, suggesting Hale was living as a man”

            Testosterone pumped Trans murderer. None of this is surprising considering when athletes use roids, the Left goes nuts with judgments and denunciations.

            Waiting for Democrats to admit that the Trans movement is evil …..just like abortion.

      3. Dennis isn’t concerned with such deaths. He is more worried about a baseball bat held by Joe Clark [Lean on Me], then he is about these deaths. Dennis’s brain malfunctions. He sees death in the baseball bat held by Joe Clark and woman’s rights in the trans.

        I’m waiting for more lies and misquotes from Dennis.

    2. ” He desperately needs money to shore up Twitter.”

      Musk has the money and likely will succeed, along with making a handsome profit.

      “William Shatner, they would now have to pay for the the blue check mark. So the very people Musk needs to attract other users are basically saying “No thanks”.”

      The reason some may not buy the blue check mark is more political. The value of Twitter for many of the users is more than ~$100. In fact, the future will likely bring more types of check marks and higher prices for those using Twitter the most. Your business experience seems limited to selling Lemonade as a child and losing money.

      “is hunting for a “leaker”

      Yes, your friends and people like you do not have an aversion to theft and breaking contracts. They do not understand confidentiality. When going to a professional like a doctor, people might have to stay away from your type.

      “Elon now admits Twitter is worth less than half what he paid originally.”

      It was worth less when he bought it. So is Meta. Do you have no understanding of business matters?

      “offering them stock grants.”

      That is a popular way of obtaining loyalty and is quite common. I know a few multimillionaires who had stock grants. Do you bother to read the business section, or are you limited to the comics?

      “Does anyone think Twitter employees will be excited by stock grants? “

      Yes. Did you ever see the home the secretary for the founder of McDonald’s owns? She was paid mostly in stock grants because the owner didn’t have enough revenue to pay her. Her home is worth many tens of millions. You should check out how people got rich, though that won’t help your financial situation.”

      “Why? Because Musk got a lot of the money for the purchase from foreign investors .

      Don’t you know foreign investors invest heavily in the US? Are you that ignorant? We need to worry more about Biden taking money without providing value. If undressed, that will show corruption. Jarad Kushner provides value. You sound ignorant. It’s an investment firm, and the Saudis are a part of it. They are there to make money and can remove their assets if Jared doesn’t produce. There is little difference between that firm and other investment firms. They have been investigated and must follow the regulations in common for all firms with that description. I hope this explanation will make you sound less foolish in the future.

      “And we know what happened to Jamal Khashoggi”

      Many suspect death by suicide is similar. The difference is that Khashoggi was considered a terrorist by some and a threat to the Saudi regime. If some theorists are right about Clinton, we are seeing more of the same. You show love toward totalitarianism, so you shouldn’t complain.

  11. Pornhub…………..interrupt regular programming?

    We can’t have that.

  12. After the debacle of 2020 and the aftermath, a great majority of this country has finally come to understand that our government needs a gigantic overhaul.
    And it won’t be easy.

  13. “The fact is that Trump is in his element: In the land of rage, the most enraged man is king.”
    ************************************
    And there are some lands that if you aren’t enraged by what’s going on against your liberty, you’re simply not paying attention.

    “Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one; for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries by a government, which we might expect in a country without government, our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer.”
    ~Thomas Paine, Common Sense

    1. mespo,,,,,,,,,,,you are, in a sense, the bard wrangler of the blog…..always scooping up wonderful quotes of prose, writings, quotes, etc. and placing them here for all to enjoy!

  14. OT

    “DIGITAL BLACKFACE” is the latest “outrage” promoted as part of the incessant Chinese/Russian propaganda, indoctrination and brainwashing campaign directed at milquetoast communists (liberals, progressives, socialists, democrats, RINOs, AINOs) with no will of their own, and who maintain contrived, phantom guilt complexes in America as ideological weapons.

  15. Jonathan: The conversation about Trump running in 2024 has become even more bizarre. Does anyone really think Trump could win? Does anyone really think Trump could even get the nomination? Trump is toxic–even at Fox. Recent polls show more than 6 in 10 Americans don’t want Trump to run. His campaign stop in Waco was a dud. Most GOP voters want Trump-ism without Trump.

    While GOP voters think the Bragg case over the hush payments to Stormy Daniels is a “political witch hunt” and Trump will play the “victim” card, they understand the possible indictments coming out of Georgia and the Jack Smith investigation will pose the greatest obstacle for Trump running next year. If Trump is indicted in either of those two cases does anyone really think, other than die-hard MAGA supporters, that the Trumpster could be a viable candidate?

    But some on this blog cling to the thought Trump will beat the odds. He will prove everyone wrong. And you have emboldened them with this column by giving them some red meat: “Democrats may be handing Trump a winning hand”. Really? Do you really think Trump could be re-elected with only the support of the MAGA crowd? Who would vote for a guy who has been criminally indicted, and if convicted, promises he will give himself “self-pardons”?

    While you admit Jack Smith’s investigation of the Mar-a-Lago matter “involves well-established claims of obstruction” you try to offer Trump a life-line defense. You say Biden “was found to have classified documents going back more than a decade…”. The two cases are not comparable and you know that. Do you think a judge would find your claim a viable defense? A judge would laugh that argument out of court!

    If Trump were convicted and jailed during the 2024 election cycle you say Trump “could still be elected president”. While technically true under the Constitution, do you really think the average GOP voter is going to vote for a jailed felon on Nov. 5, 2024? Your column has gone from the bizarre to the nether world!

    1. The winner of the plurality is generally the winner in Republican primaries, and yes, Trump is likely to be the plurality winner in those primaries. So right now, he is the most likely to get the GOP nomination. But hopefully he will be beaten in the general election.

      2. Anonymous: At first I thought you were the other “Anonymous” until I read the last sentence. That can’t be the crazy “Anonymous”! Donald Trump is every Democrat’s wet dream. But who else can the GOP come up with? Outside Florida and few other states DeSantis doesn’t appear to have national appeal. That’s leaves maybe Pence or Christie. Despite his age Biden would probably beat Trump again. Unless the progressive wing convinces the Democratic establishment it needs a younger candidate. In any case, Trump’s probable indictment during the height of the 2024 election will bring an end to his viability as a candidate.

        1. The crazy Anonymous also posts under the name S. Meyer. I’m definitely not him. Trump says he’ll run from prison, so I don’t expect an indictment to stop him from campaigning, and I think he’s priming his fans to become even more violent than they were on J6 when he loses again.

          1. “The crazy Anonymous also posts under the name S. Meyer. I’m definitely not him. “

            You are not him, but you are definitely crazy. Moreover you aren’t always correct in your identification of S Meyer. He is leagues ahead of you and your stupidity. You will never catch up. Not with the lousy reputation you have.

        2. I knew it, I knew it! Not only is Donald Trump in your heads, he’s also in your pants!

    2. “Does anyone really think Trump could win?”

      Considering the number of people who believe Trump will win, your comment is stupid.

      “Does anyone really think Trump could even get the nomination?”

      This is doubling down on stupidity. From Rasmussen, “Most Voters Expect Biden-Trump Rematch in 2024Tuesday, March 21, 2023, Nearly two-thirds of voters think the 2024 election will probably pit President Joe Biden in another contest against former President Donald Trump.”

      Despite all the press, you remain ignorant.

      “Most GOP voters want Trump-ism without Trump.”

      Almost all polls show Trump way ahead of any other candidate. It makes your statement sound pretty stupid.

      “If Trump is indicted in either of those two cases does anyone really think, other than die-hard MAGA supporters, that the Trumpster could be a viable candidate?”

      Yes, Many do. Your eyes and ears are only open to selective reports. That is the height of ignorance.

      ” by giving them some red meat: “Democrats may be handing Trump a winning hand”

      Turley’s observation is succinct and well thought out.

      “Really? Do you really think Trump could be re-elected with only the support of the MAGA crowd?”

      Do you know what the MAGA crowd is? No. Do you know what the letters stand for? You should but you are unable to integrate that with everything else. That requires more than you have.

      “Who would vote for a guy who has been criminally indicted, and if convicted, promises he will give himself “self-pardons”?“

      People who desire sanity. That probably leaves you out.

      ” You say Biden “was found to have classified documents going back more than a decade…”

      Biden was found with such documents, lots of them, and you are right, comparing a President to a Vice President is wrong concerning what they can do. Biden didn’t have the lee-way of Trump. You don’t know that because you are ignorant of the law.

      “the average GOP voter is going to vote for a jailed felon on Nov. 5, 2024?”

      Though you bet your intelligence on goofy things like this, Trump will not be a fellow. GOP voters are smarter than you and your leftist friends who voted in Fetterman and also voted for another who thought Guam, an island, would tip over if too many troops occupied it. The only question in my mind is if you have as much knowledge as these two people.

      I hope Turley continues with this blog exposing the most ignorant people I have ever had written contact with.

  16. It’s open season on past presidents.

    Certainly, Obama has committed crimes a plenty.
    _______________________________________

    “Prompted by Peggy Noonan’s claim in The Wall Street Journal that “we are in the midst of the worst Washington scandal since Watergate,” Andrew Sullivan steps forward to defend Pres. Obama’s honor. “Can she actually believe this?,” he asks incredulously. “Has this president broken the law, lied under oath, or authorized war crimes? Has he traded arms for hostages with Iran? Has he knowingly sent his cabinet out to tell lies about his sex life? Has he sat by idly as an American city was destroyed by a hurricane? Has he started a war with no planning for an occupation? Has he started a war based on a lie, and destroyed the US’ credibility and moral standing while he was at it, leaving nothing but a smoldering and now rekindled civil sectarian war?”

    Yes, President Obama has broken the law on multiple occasions. Despite clearly stating, in a 2008 questionnaire, that the commander-in-chief is not lawfully empowered to ignore treaties duly ratified by the Senate, Obama has willfully failed to enforce the torture treaty, signed by Ronald Reagan and duly ratified by the Senate, that compels him to investigate and prosecute torture. As Sullivan put it earlier this year, “what Obama and Holder have done (or rather not done) is illegal.”

    – Atlantic
    _______

    Larry Sinclair stated that Obama smoked crack cocaine, had homosexual relations with him and implied that Obama had homosexual relations with a “Donald Young” who was murdered on Dec. 23, 2007, and was the openly gay choir director for Reverend Wright’s Trinity United Church of Christ.
    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    “We are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America.”

    – Barack Obama
    ______________

    “We will stop him.”

    – Peter Strzok to FBI paramour Lisa Page
    ___________________________________

    “[Obama] wants to know everything we’re doing.”

    – Lisa Page to FBI paramour Peter Strzok
    ___________________________________

    “I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy’s office — that there’s no way he gets elected — but I’m afraid we can’t take that risk It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before 40.”

    – Peter Strzok to FBI parmour Lisa Page
    _________________________________

    “People on the 7th floor to include Director are fired up about this [Trump] server.”

    – Bill Priestap

  17. Trump wasn’t the first to post a baseball bat scene. Some didn’t like the optics.

    It was a black man. “NJ Principal Joe Clark” who used a baseball bat at Paterson, NJ Eastside High School.

    1. Thank you for setting the record straight. Trump often uses imagery previously used. It seems our arguments forgot history and that makes Trump’s picture with a bat very acceptable.

      1. S. Meyer: So Trump using a baseball bat to smash in the head of Alvin Bragg is “very acceptable”? And I suppose a death threat against Bragg from a Trump supporter is also “very acceptable”? Even if that threat were carried out?

        The New York Post, owned by Murdock, has had it with the Trumpster. In an editorial the paper called out Trump over his threats of “death & destruction” if he is indicted. The editorial board wrote: “He hasn’t changed in the slightest. There is no shame…Time and time again, Trump’s responses have been unhinged…and self defeating… Trump is not trying to make America a better place” but just seeking “revenge”. And this comes from Rupert Murdock who stood behind Trump for 4 years–who was his main cheerleader! So why have you refused to wake up from your stupor? 000,.I guess, for you, a guy who threatens violence deserves to be the next president. Well, at least we know where you stand!

        1. Uncle Biden gives testimony

          A preacher came along and shot them full of sass. He made me look bad in front of my DOJ men. The preacher whipped some. Damn right he did. What does this preacher look like? Trump!

        2. Dennis, along with having problems with the truth, you have the same with imagery. No, you cannot change the meaning of such images. Bragg is a bully. People must stand up to bullies and their followers, such as you. The picture of Joe Clark should have put a bit of common sense into your head, but that seems impossible.

          “And I suppose a death threat against Bragg from a Trump supporter is also “very acceptable”?

          We do not know who did that, but here you go again, concluding without the facts. How do you know someone from the violent left wasn’t responsible? We don’t, but we have plenty of pictures of the violent left killing, burning, and destroying cities. That is something you find no problem with. You conclude while lacking facts. That is typical of you since you are a source empty of facts and lies.

          Murdolk is not the judge of right and wrong. Neither are the editorials, but they prove that the NY Post presents both sides, unlike the Washington Post and the NYT. That means people would be better off reading the NY Post than the other two.

          If Trump does something violent, let me know. It is your type that causes death and destruction. Stupidity causes that type of activity.

        3. Dennis – It is a fair comment that Trump has gone off the rails in his comments about Bragg and others pursuing him via the legal sytem. On the other hand, if you had the entire Democratic Party, the Deep State and the MSM persecuting you for 6 years, even you might go off the rails.

  18. Turley: you are such a total phony. Here’s an actual FACT: we haven’t seen an indictment or charges yet, much less any EVIDENCE, but Turley claims: “The end-is-near predictions may be more of a fetish than a fact, however. A new Harvard/Harris poll shows 59 percent of Americans think the indictment is politically motivated, and 67 percent think the Trump payment in question was a personal expense.” WHAT indictment? Where’s the evidence, such as documentation and witness testimony, to support the notion that the Stormy Daniels payoff could have been a personal expense? What you are really reporting is the efficacy of the lie machine of right-wing pro-Trump media and the success of the tactic of getting out in front of adverse things before they happen, which is exactly what the hog you are paid to defend did with his lie about imminent arrest–which had the added bonus of raising $1.5 million. Trump is also a grifter. It’s the same thing his pal, Billy Barr, tried to do when he lied about the findings of the Mueller investigation before the report was issued. It’s not possible to have a VALID opinion about prosecutorial motivations based on evidence one hasn’t seen yet, but Turley’s not paid to be either fair or reasonable–he’s paid to carry water–the Fox spin is that the indictment, if it comes, is absolutely politically motivated and that the payoff came from personal funds, even though it was reported as a campaign expense as attorney fees, which is a lie, of course.

    Here’s one big fat thing Turley overlooks in his breathless efforts to support alt-right media spin: the majority American people do not like or trust the pig, never did, and wouldn’t vote for him, and this was even before he trashed our economy, decimated our public health, insulted our allies, set the stage for the disasterous withdrawal from Afghanistan, started a trade war with China and fomented an insurrection by lying about losing in 2020. He never got even a 50% approval rating, and every poll in 2020 predicted the loss that happened. The issue isn’t “the calendar”–it’s the fact that Trump isn’t fit to be the leader of the free world. He just can’t stop lying, is virtually incompetent even as to running his own businesses that rely on loan after loan just to stay open, and is nothing but a fat gasbag with a massive ego that depends on praise, adulation and attention. Most Americans see him for what he really is–someone not fit to be our President. That’s just for starters, not even taking into account that he calls our service men and women “suckers” and “losers”, drove the national debt to record levels with massive tax cuts for the wealthy, and deregulated industry…the list of failures goes on and on. No one who doesn’t respect our military deserves to be called “Commander in Chief”, especially one who faked bone spurs to dodge the draft.

    Oh, and as usual on the assignment sheet is digs at non-pro-Trump media.

    1. So then, you really do love Trump and hope he wins the next election 🤔

  19. Dear Prof Turley,

    I come here for the torts .. . but the tarts ain’t bad neither. *if Trump is re-elected, he should appoint you his spokesperson.

    Remember, when Cool Hand Luke made his daring-doo escapes he always told the guard he “was shaking the bush, boss”. Likewise, the cunning Trump monkey Apostle is shaking the bush now too, boss. .. and the media stars are falling like coconuts, swimming pools and everything.

    Trump ain’t no fool, at least, and he smells blood in the water.

    *it’s the economy stupid .. . no one in their right mind is better off today.

  20. “In the meantime, Trump is doing what he does best: bringing out the worst in people.” What isn’t considered is that Trump’s public and political persona is an act. He deliberately provokes people for two reasons: To see how they will react (for good or bad) and to gain publicity. It is a source of amazement to me that for 7 years the media has not been able to see through this. They take seriously everything he says! Trump is trolling EVERYBODY for the simple reason that you can’t see inside the hive until you stir it up. There are multiple levels of corruption in DC, and Trump is probing all of them.

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