Below is my column in the Hill on the difficult schedule facing Special Counsel Jack Smith in the prosecution of former President Donald Trump. He is also facing a greater problem of public perception. While critics often speak hopefully of “Trump fatigue” among voters, prosecutors are dealing with a Justice fatigue. A new poll shows that less than a majority of citizens believe Trump was correctly charged. An ABC/Ipsos poll found that 48% of Americans think Trump was rightfully charged while 35% do not think he should have been indicted. Another 17% was unsure. Prosecutors were likely hoping for more than a plurality given the details of the indictment. Worse yet, according to the poll, 47% of Americans think the charges against Trump are politically motivated. These polls indicate that Smith is not exactly singing to an empty room . . . but it is far from full.
Here is the column:
In his public statement following the release of the 44-page indictment against former President Donald Trump, Special Counsel Jack Smith gave the rote declaration of ethical and nonpolitical conduct by his team. But one line stood out: “My office will seek a speedy trial on this matter.”
Smith is not just a man on a mission; he’s also a man on a deadline. Every criminal defendant is entitled to a speedy trial under the Sixth Amendment. Under the federal law, a speedy trial would start within roughly two months.
There is a reason Smith would love to see an August trial. If the litigation pushed the trial within a few months of the election, most judges would delay it until after Nov. 5, 2024. That would mean that Trump could avoid a conviction and, if elected, he could give himself a prospective pardon. That would mean that there would be no judgment against him.
Smith knows that the Sixth Amendment is designed to help defendants, not prosecutors. Moreover, defendants routinely waive their right to a speedy trial because they need time.
Trump needs time in a bad way, and his lawyers would be insane not to waive. In fact, Trump just lost two more lawyers on the day of the indictment’s release.
More importantly, this indictment is a heart attack on a plate. The team has much to do after the hyperventilation passes.
The problem for the defense is that it must run the table on all 37 counts. The government clearly count-stacked to maximize the chances of a conviction. With a 76-year-old client, the defense attorneys have to play a perfect game. Even one conviction on these counts could bring a sentence of 10 to 12 years.
Moreover, the indictment is full of legal jump-scares in the form of pictures and transcripts. Like most people, jurors are visual creatures. Pictures of potentially classified documents being stored next to the commode will leave a lasting impression.
Most damaging is the audiotape that is transcribed in the indictment. On the tape, Trump tells two individuals interviewing him for a book that he has a classified Department of Defense document regarding an attack on Iran. Trump admits that it is secret and “as president, I could have declassified, but now I can’t.”
This is damaging on various levels. For one thing, it contradicts his prior claims to have declassified all of the documents. It also suggests that the government has a motive for trial.
Although many pundits bizarrely claimed that Trump was intending to sell classified material, the government suggests a more straightforward motive: The documents were trophies for Trump. The indictment portrays him as bragging about his possession of the attack plan.
For almost two years, I have written that the most serious threat against Trump would come out of Mar-a-Lago. That torpedo has now hit. Trump’s team is fooling itself if it does not recognize that this has caused damage below the waterline.
All indictments tend to diminish with time and adversarial process. As of this writing, we have not heard yet from the defense on these allegations. However, the indictment is full of quotes from lawyers and others made under oath or to federal investigators. If false, either would be grounds for criminal charges.
It could also get worse. Trump’s aide, Walt Nauta, has also been charged. According to reports, the Justice Department pressured Nauta and his lawyer for him to flip as a government witness. Indeed, the defense has charged that prosecutor Jay Bratt suggested that the Justice Department might sink Nauta attorney Stanley Woodward’s application for a federal judgeship unless his client cooperates and changes his testimony.
This indictment is clearly designed to concentrate Nauta’s mind on cooperation. If he were to flip (as the person who allegedly moved or concealed these documents), Trump would face a potentially insurmountable case.
The problem for the Justice Department is that it has made itself unbelievable in the eyes of many in the public. After years of overt bias and targeting of Trump, polls show that the majority of Americans view the FBI as a politically compromised organization.
The use of this type of speaking or “talking” indictment is clearly directed more at the public than at the court or the defendant. The Justice Department usually prefers a bare-bones indictment, to withhold a full account of its evidence before it has to turn it over to the defense. Smith wanted to show the public that it can trust the government, despite its behavior over the last seven years, as shown most recently by the report of Special Counsel John Durham.
This is also the reason Smith turned this indictment into a virtual picture book for public consumption. The Justice Department has left little room for trust among many citizens, and Smith is hoping that these images can change that perspective.
But this indictment is likely to do better in the court of law than it does in the court of public opinion. Just as many have Trump fatigue, many also have DOJ fatigue. This is the third consecutive election in which Trump is being hounded by allegations of crimes. It was immediately preceded by a clear political prosecution in New York State. In other words, the DOJ may have long ago lost the room for this production.
That does not mean that Trump can face this deluge of 37 counts and come out dry. The odds favor the government in this type of case.
Yet the question is whether there will be a case to prosecute after November 2024. Indeed, whatever the merits of a self-pardon, Republican candidates are already indicating that they would also consider pardoning Trump themselves if they are elected.
That is why Trump may have a better chance running on this case than defending against it.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. You can follow him on Twitter @JonathanTurley.
I see nothing wrong with that, My wife abandoned Me with the; Landscaper, Pool Boy, The Country Club Parking Valet, and a Uber Driver. All with Wild – Abandonment !!! However, Dinner is always on the Table, the House & Grounds are well kept, the Chauffeur is on time, and my evening double high-ball of Tanqueray and Tonic is perfectly chilled. Now if the New York Times wants to report that, I guess that 1% of America would have no problem with it.
Oh Hillary, could you be a Pet and bring Me another high-ball please …..
Walt Nauta is also being arraigned today. I wonder if he will ultimately choose to plead out and cooperate.
If he’s smart he will. Otherwise trump will throw him under the bus.
Do you need another reason to despise the American Left? The New York Times wrote this about Cheryl Hines, the wife of RFK Jr.:
“After years of being able to distance yourself from your husband’s most problematic views, you now risk being seen as at least tacitly embracing them by standing by and smiling if he says things on the campaign trail that are demonstrably untrue.”
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/06/12/ny-times-targets-cheryl-hines-wife-of-robert-f-kennedy-normalizing-dangerous-ideas/
So, spouses of candidates of which the NYT disapproves, should abandon those candidates, at least in public when they are campaigning. Next there will be an article saying the children should abandon the bad candidates too.
I stopped reading the NYT. Although I do like the real estate section. A girl can dream.
It looks like the triggering mechanism here, or at least the purported one, is the willful non-compliance with the subpoena.
The harm done, the “threat to national security”, really isn’t what has the D.O.J.’s back up — so they imply.
The amount of time between the subpoena and the raid isn’t all that long compared to the time elapsed between Trump taking the documents and the subpoena being issued.
And I think a reasonable person is going to conclude that national security risk was far greater with regard to a hacked server than hard copy on an estate.
So, the harm appears to be irrelevant in all of this.
Rather, it is ineptitude vs. intent. I’m not necessarily disagreeing with it. There is a difference between ineptitude and intent. But that is what everyone is lasering in on. The harm to national security is a side issue.
It’s a little odd. The process crime, obstruction, is supposed to be an aggravating factor to the main crime — which in this case is possession of material deemed harmful to national security.
In this case, we are told to disregard the main issue and focus on the aggravating factor as the reason for a charge on Trump, and a pass for the others.
Democrat activists have control over all government agencies and the public education system, in cooperation with private social media companies, new organizations, and Hollywood. Google search algorithms are coded to bury search results helpful to conservatives and Republicans, and prioritize results helpful to Democrats and promoting their agenda.
To illustrate this coordination, one can see how the transgender movement filtered through every level of society with precise coordination. Within a few years, elementary school children were taught that boys were GI Joe, girls were Barbies, and if you were neither, you’re non-binary. They were taught that they would get extra love and attention if they declared they belonged to a different gender, and that there were no down sides to puberty blockers, cross sex hormones, mastectomies, or surgical castration and sex reassignment. Psychiatrists and psychologists would lose their license unless they automatically affirmed the gender dysphoria of a teenage girl, suddenly presenting, and obviously suffering from social contagion. Employees in public schools, and private companies, could be fired for not using someone’s preferred pronoun. Parents lost custody of children if they objected to changing their gender as minors. California just introduced a bill in which parents will be guilty of child abuse if they do not automatically affirm their child’s gender. Their kid could come home from school and decide their pronouns are “banana” and “rock”, and the parents would be convicted of child abuse if they don’t agree. Major investment firms required companies to promote the transgender movement, as well as DEI, which pressured corporations like Bud Light and Target to fall in line, regardless of their consumer base. The coordination was swift and shocking.
At the height of its power, this god machine targeted Donald Trump, initiating the “Get Trump” program. The media promoted one false story after another. Politicians abused their positions of authority to coordinate with the NSA and FBI to spy on, impeach, and prosecute Donald Trump. Joe Biden bragged about a quid pro quo with Ukraine, in which he got the prosecutor fired who was investigating Burisma, engaged in a Ukrainian bribery scheme with Joe and Hunter, and Donald Trump was impeached for inquiring about it. The Machine slow walked a minor investigation for Hunter Biden’s tax returns for 5 years, and it protected Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden from classified documents scandals. Hillary Clinton removed all communication chain of custody from the SOS’s closed system, had an illegal server in the bathroom of her home, through which classified documents were sent. This server was maintained by IT personnel without any clearance, and backed up to the Cloud. She lied about the existence of the server, and then later its contents. While under subpoena, she instructed her staff to destroy all devices, and wiped the server with BleachBit. Some classified documents were later recovered on the unsecured private laptop of aid Huma Abedin, in the possession of her convicted felon sex offender ex-husband, Anthony Weiner, who allegedly used the laptop to surf porn. During her tenure, Hillary Clinton was accused of a bribery scheme involving uranium mines in Ukraine, and for earning exorbitant fees for her and her husband giving speeches to foreign entities. Those fees dried up when she lost her presidential bid, making one wonder what exactly she was selling. Joe Biden kept boxes of classified documents, as well as records that belonged in the National Archives, in his garage, next to his Corvette, with the door frequently left open. More classified documents were kept in the private office of one of his homes. He also kept boxes of classified documents in his Think Tank, where political events directly related to the content of the boxes were discussed by myriad people without any clearance, some of whom had ties to China. In emails related to a bribery scheme, Hunter Biden’s emails showed direct knowledge, and in some cases, quotes and paraphrases, of classified information. There have been no armed FBI raids or charges levied against Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden. By contrast, Donald Trump removed documents from the White House, keeping them in a secured storage area in Mar-a-Lago. He consulted the FBI on proper security systems, and disclosed the location willingly. He argued through lawyers with the National Archives over which documents to which they were entitled, savoring souvenirs from office. When he delivered requested documents to the NA, some of them contained classified headings. As president, he had the power to declassify documents, a power that neither Hillary Clinton nor Joe Biden had at the time that they removed or transmitted classified information. He had the power to declassify any document he wished, though there is still the argument to be made that those documents belonged in NA or under specific security protocols. In total variance to its response to Biden and Clinton, the NA triggered the FBI, which triggered an armed raid on Mar-a-Lago, and the criminal charges we see today.
The Machine is out to destroy Trump, and it is very likely that it will succeed. If only one of the counts sticks, then Trump could spend the last years of his life in federal prison, while Hillary Clinton, and Joe Biden, who demonstrably did far worse, enjoy their freedom and riches, made off the backs of pay-to-play schemes. The presumably Democrat judge and jury in the case won’t decide whether Joe Biden or Hillary Clinton did worse, or if the government is prosecuting based on politics. All it has to decide is if Donald Trump had classified documents in his possession, which he failed to turn over or contrived to retain. Since Trump declassified documents verbally, he’ll have no proof, and there is plenty of evidence that the documents were in his possession, and that he resisted turning them over.
We are in a single party state at this time. With the news media acting as Democrat Pravda, running PR and interference for Democrats and propaganda against Republicans, it’s doubtful a Republican or Libertarian would ever win the White House again, and even if he or she could, that president would be helpless in the face of the Democrat god machine running nearly every aspect of life in America today.
Good analysis, Karen, but also disconcerting and disgusting!
HEAR!! HEAR!! Karen, that was an excellent summary!!
Karen: nothing you say is factually true.
Tulsi Gabbard tweet today:
“Trump indictment undermines democracy because if a law is going to be enforced, it should be enforced equally and fairly across the board. The selective use of govt institutions and law enforcement to go after political or personal opponents, undermines the very essence of the rule of law, which is the foundation for our democracy.”
In 2016, the DOJ began investigating Trump, a man they hate, in an effort to find any crimes he may have committed.
These investigations have been ongoing, non-stop, for seven years.
Now, in 2023, just months from the start of the GOP primary season, prosecutors up and down the East Coast are filing charges against Trump.
Trump, of course, is the leading contender for the GOP nomination.
Beware Democrat and Republican authoritarians, your day of reckoning is drawing nigh.
A legal and peaceful reckoning but a reckoning nonetheless.
coastal: How can a “coastal” person be so coolly rational and impartially observational? oxymoronic.
(that was intended as a compliment)
This is the template by which Democrats will run all future political campaigns. Whenever a strong Republican or Libertarian candidate offers, within months of the election, they will be accused of being a Russian spy, or someone will claim he stood by the Solo cups at a party where sexual assaults occurred. Democrat activist former intelligence officials will claim there’s credible evidence for espionage, where it doesn’t exist, will claim evidence of crimes by the Democrat opponents are Russian misinformation when they are true, and psychiatrists will diagnose the conservative candidates they’ve never met with a plethora of mental illnesses. After they lose the election, when it will all come out as false, Democrats will say, “It’s in the past. What difference does it make?” Activists in the DOJ and FBI will either slow walk or bury criminal investigations on Democrat presidents until they’re out of office, or claim no reasonable prosecutor would ever bring charges. Then they will reset the game for the next election.
Karen, it is just a variation of the template the Dems use to smear appointees to the SCOTUS. Think Thomas and Kavanaugh.
Turley: “if elected, he [Trump] could give himself a prospective pardon. That would mean that there would be no judgment against him.”
+++
Expect even more wicked and shameless attempts to corrupt the vote than we have seen before. They will be desperate to stop President Trump.
Meanwhile, the indictment seems to have made his base even stronger.
The administrative state, particularly the DOJ and its many parts, needs to be broken in pieces and scattered throughout the country. Maybe put the new FBI building in Guam. They are too corrupt and too close and too threatening to Congress and everyone else in the country.
Young,
There I was thinking of Attu, Adak, Shemya, Kaktovik, or some really cold, windy, really…really….really isolated place.
Guam is too nice and warm…and has Sun Shine most of the time instead of rain, fog, sleet, snow, ice….and nothing else.
Why did the FBI Redact the information about the Burisma Executive who offered and paid Millions to Joe and Hunter Biden and not mention that information to the Oversight Committees.
Now we know that is a 17 Audio Tapes, the video of Biden bragging about getting the Ukraine Prosecutor fired, photos of Devon Archer playing golf with Joe and Hunter, 170 SARS Reports, the Deposition of one of the business partners who identified Joe as the “Big Guy”, all of the information on the Laptop….and now the upcoming Deposition of Devon Archer (wait till you see how poor his memory is….) and still no Special Counsel.
What does it take folks?
Look at the many investigations of Trump especially the Russia Collusion investigation which had NO evidence of any kind to warrant an investigation at all….yet the FBI was hot on that case…..but crickets when it comes to the Bidens.
Why?
The Feebs are busier than Cats covering Poop!
Why?
It is time for Congress to start playing hard ball.
Even the Senate cannot ignore what is going on as one third of them are up for re-election in 2024…..all of the House is….and of course that Chair in the Oval Office beckons.
Ralph, here’s another question: why did Comer not reveal this once he saw the redaction?
According to Grassley, a version Comer reviewed did not have that redaction. But the version that the entire committee was given to review did have the redaction. Why did Comer allow Wray to get away with this?
Also, why didn’t even one Republican on the committee simply copy the document in longhand on paper and then publish it? This is not a classified document.
Trump is such a moron that he is trashing DeSantis, the one guy that has a chance to actually pardon him in 2024. This is the level of stupidity and childishness that Trump has.
Sad Trump Says He Was Just A Few Document Boxes Away From Building Really Cool Fort
https://babylonbee.com/news/sad-trump-says-he-was-just-a-few-document-boxes-away-from-building-really-cool-fort
Ann Coulter called it right a year ago when it was learned Trump kept classified documents at Mar-a-lago to brag to others. I got slammed hard by some on here but here we are, showing Coulter was right.
The FBI Wing of BLM
COLUMN August 18, 2022 by Ann Coulter
Yes, it was asinine for the FBI to stage a raid on Mar-a-Lago when we all know the only documents Trump wanted were his letters and photos with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. (North Korea has nukes. See? “Nuclear documents.”) Trump needs those for his scrapbook, to accompany the photos of him with Kim Kardashian, Mark Zuckerberg and Sean Hannity. Still, the raid isn’t going to affect your life. It barely affected Trump’s. He was golfing in New Jersey at the time.
You want to be mad at the FBI? This is why you should be angry. Rather than fight crime, the agency has turned itself into the wingman for “Defund the Police.” That could get you and your family killed.
https://anncoulter.com/2022/08/18/the-fbi-wing-of-blm/
No–what could get me and my family killed is if the classified information stolen by Trump got into the wrong hands and thwarted our surveillance of enemies who might be plotting one sort of mischief after another–like another 911, or taking our our electrical grid, taking out commercial flights, attacking our rail system, or hacking key computers…or things we can’t even think of. Worst of all, is the damage to America’s reputation and the distrust our allies might develop if Trump gets away with this.
And, contrary to Ann Coulter: “we [DON’T] all know…” anything about why Trump stole classified information, what he planned to do with the documents, or what he HAS done with them. What we DO know is that he has virtually NO conscience, that there is nothing too outrageous for him to do or say, that he’s not a patriot, that he has NO altruistic tendencies and that he would not hesitate to sell or leverage the information he stole if it benefitted him. We also know he’s constantly in debt, and that he is cozy with the Saudis who loaned money to Jared Kushner.
No–what could get me and my family killed….
The bigger question is: if you were killed, who on Earth would run your numerous other sock puppet accounts?!?!
The classification headings and descriptions of the 31 documents in the indictment show she was wrong.
Those are just the documents retrieved when the search warrant was executed–what about the others that Trump stole and held onto for months and months, and then returned? How many of them could have been copied? What were their contents?
44 USC 2205
Hullbobby,
DeSantis has about Zero Chance of winning. Certain areas in the US he won’t be able to gain enough support, like the North East.
He was bought up by the Bush NeoCons. His handlers/funders put him in as a ringer to harm both him & Trump.
He’s shown he’s not ready for prime time. He should have declined to running when his poll numbers took a hit when he made some untimely tone deaf comments around the phony NYC case against Trump.
He came to Tulsa Ok last weekend & there was about as much security/staff as there was people in hearing him speak. 150-200 people out of around a 1 million +/-
I received an invite, but I’m no long interested in him this.
I’m not wanting to trash him hard, but currently Trump is the only one that has chance to win up against all these Commie/Fascist rigged system even though Trump is flawed.
Where IS DeSantis?? Hiding with Mitch today??
as a 15 year US Naval Officer veteran who fought in Iraq with the SEALS and Army Rangers, and governed Florida under worse enemy fire (the Feds) than anyone else during COVID, and grew Florida to be a Republican bastion, it is likely DeSantis is kicking butts and taking names
Then there are blowhards like you
Where the hell is that NeoCon China B itch McConnell & his/Bushs’ Forever Wars? Where was DeSantis today?
Maybe before losing any more control of your common sense just maybe you should personal thank DJT for not starting any new senseless wars in the world like Ukraine, sending Nuke Materials there & also thank him for stepping in for Desantis behalf & saving his azz in his 1st run for Gov.. DeSantis was out of luck & losing bad to another pedo/drug addict type like Hunter Biden until Trump stepped in & got that boy’s azz out of the dirt in a rough & winning as the new Gov..
In these uncertain times we find ourselves living through a consequential turning point in the history of the American Republic. One that leaves it open to question whether or not the rule of law may any longer be credible. Unless the law is applied consistently without favor to all who have violated it the same and not just selectively to a few persons targeted purely and only for political purposes, the legitimacy of those charged with enforcing it is rendered improbable, if not altogether unattainable.
No less a liberal than Glenn Greenwald has done well to put into context both the federal indictment and several prior historically similar cases that make it clear this is yet another case of an all too powerful political establishment serving strictly to thwart a Donald Trump presidency. The video begins at the 8 minute mark and it is at the 11 minute mark when Greenwald begins his analysis of the questions of Trump’s unknown “motive”, his innocuous “bureaucratic oversight”, and the DOJ’s flagrant “hypocrisy.”
https://rumble.com/v2t5day-system-update-show-96.html
Ron A. Hoffman: Nice.
OT,
Foreign national who allegedly bribed Joe, Hunter Biden has recordings of them
“These recordings were allegedly kept as a sort of insurance policy for the foreign national in case he got into a tight spot,” Grassley said.
https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/grassley-foreign-national-who-allegedly-bribed-joe-hunter-biden-has-recordings-them
How to watch live coverage of Trump’s arraignment on federal charges in Miami
Cameras are not allowed in the courtroom for Trump’s arraignment, which is standard for federal court proceedings. CBS News will provide in-depth coverage and analysis from correspondents and expert guests beginning at 2 p.m. ET.
What: Former President Donald Trump appears in court for his arraignment on federal charges
Date: Tuesday, June 13, 2023
Time: CBS News live coverage begins at 2 p.m. ET; 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝟑 𝐩.𝐦. 𝐄𝐓
Location: Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. U.S. Courthouse in Miami, Florida
On TV: CBS television stations (
Online stream: Live on CBS News in the video player above and on your mobile or streaming device
Link: https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/live-coverage-trump-arraignment-miami-court-federal-indictment/
OT, this is Biden’s defining moment for his presidency,
Transgender “Influencers” Posed Topless Outside White House During Pride Event
https://summit.news/2023/06/13/video-transgender-influencers-posed-topless-outside-white-house-during-pride-event/
Upstate! Ha, -as in raw, naked… pandering.
-And to a group whose proportional representation in society is soooo far less than the disproportionate political and media attention they are grabbing.
–And the White House displacing the American Flag, -instead placing the Pride Flag in the center, and moving the American flag to the side, did you see that story?
Lin,
The American flag story, yep saw it.
Just goes to blatantly display what a disgrace this admin is.
The whole world is laughing at us.
IF the “whole world is laughing at us” it’s because we allow a narcissisitc pig who surrounds himself with American flags (as if he has a clue what patriotism is) who: 1. was found liable for sexually assaulting a woman; 2. who was voted out of office but keeps lying about a nonexistent “landslide victory” being stolen by a “rigged election” 3. who stole classified documents; but yet, runs free (any other regular citizen, which is what Trump is, would have been behind bars a long time ago, and rightfully so), continues to lie, fund raises, accuses our law enforcement and DOJ of pursuing him for political reasons and falsely accuses everyone else of crimes as a diversion against his misdeeds. Query: you Trumpsters just love to calculate things, so calculate this for me: how many felony convictions and how many years of prison time have people OTHER THAN Trump been convicted of and/or sentenced for as a result of acting at his direction and/or on his behalf? I’m counting Michael Cohen, the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, the accountant, the other J6 defendants–all of them– and Walt Nauta might also be added to this list. And why? All of this for the sake of the massive ego of a malignant narcissist who brought America to the brink of an economic depression and made a pandemic much worse than it had to be all because he has no leadership skills whatsoever. Then, ask yourself what is more disgraceful: transgender people posing in front of the White House–people who were not directed or invited to do so, or this ludicrious fat pig with a bad comb-over– running free despite a massive quantum of evidence of his crimes, continuing to cause trouble, pitting Americans against one another, attacking the FBI, DOJ, and constantly lying. And, you wonder why there are Baby Trump balloons and Trump on the toilet balloons displayed in Europe.
The level of delusion of trump supporters is off the charts.
You have far too many facts for trumpers to deal with. Their minds have been clouded and no list of facts surrounding what trump has done will change their mind. Sad, very sad. Trump has zero chance of winning in 2024, He gets half the Repo vote, none of the Demo or independent vote. But hey, why let facts get in the way of misogynistic racist, homophobic thoughts.
You could at least try and time your sock puppet responses to your own comments by a few hours to appear legit
The flag wasn’t displaced. It was flying above the WH just as it always is. Of course, the photos you likely focused on cropped that out.
You are looking at the wrong picture.
No, I was looking at the photo with the US flag on its staff above the WH and then three flags (2 US flags, 1 pride flag) hung underneath, not on staffs. I’m pointing out that your photo likely cropped out the US flag that was flying from its usual staff above the WH.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/white-house-pride-flag-display/
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/was-a-pride-flag-hung-between-american-flags-at-the-white-house/ar-AA1csy09
Upstate Farmer:
What is really horrifying is the National wide coordination to provide sexualized LGBTQ content to young children. It’s not a one-off for events promoted as “family friendly” to have gay or transgender sex scenes. I saw video of a “family friendly” pride parade, in which a gay man was pinioned in the back of a truck, wearing a string thong, and a man whipped his bare buttocks while he writhed in ecstasy. In front of kids. I’ve seen video of “family friendly” drag queen events, with young kids present, in which participants simulated sex. I’ve confirmed that there are books in school libraries that portray pedophilia in a positive light, and describe sex scenes between minors, and between adults and minors. It’s outrageous. The Democrat Party has thrown its full support behind this movement.
This isn’t about tolerance for adult entertainment, like RuPaul’s popular “Drag Race.” This is about forcing LGBTQ sex scenes and topics on children. It’s insane. Parents have dug in their heels, with groups like the Armenians in Glendale putting up serious resistance. Any parent who brings their child to an event where there’s sexual scenes should have their motives questioned.
Karen S.
Well said.
I read the article about the Armenian parents protesting and then getting into fights with the antifa groups that showed up.
And now some lawmakers in CA want to pass a law allowing children to be taken away from their parents if the parents do not affirm their child’s gender?
Insane.
ABC news ran a puff piece about some woman who’s 3 year old, yes, THREE YEARS OLD! says the child claims she is transgender. Again, THREE YEARS OLD!
Insane.
Upstate, at 3 years old, a child doesn’t differentiate between imagination and reality. They also believe just about anything an adult tells them. If a 3 year old learned in preschool that unless you are an uber stereotype, you’re either the opposite gender, or non binary, they are going to believe it.
Kids that age also pretend to have imaginary friends, or that they are tigers, dinosaurs, princesses, or fairies. It is utter madness to select one of those pretend identities and proclaim to the world that it’s real.
These poor kids. I thank God that my son is 13 now. In just the past few years, this transgender movement has blown up, pushing the ideology on young children, which resulted in an absolute skyrocketing rate of kids suddenly identifying as having gender dysphoria.
Future generations are going to take a dim view of parents getting their minor children chemically or surgically castrated, or having mastectomies of healthy breasts in teen girls. Already, lawsuits are beginning. The stories of detransitioners are heartbreaking. There is a strong theme of social contagion. Kids are especially vulnerable to jumping onto bad ideas to gain friends or attention, after Covid shut down a couple of years of their lives, in some states. Many detransitioners have said they had absolutely no history of questioning their gender. They got the idea by exploring chat groups, and suddenly finding themselves with an outpouring of attention and support, with total strangers declaring that if they feel uncomfortable with puberty changes, that they don’t fit in, or don’t know what kind of person they want to be, they must be transgender. With psychiatrists threatened with the loss of their license to practice unless they automatically affirm, these kids and teens have no chance. No one is going to tell them no, or wait, or question this moment based entirely on stereotypes, unless it’s their parents. Those parents are up against schools, and in some cases, custody battles, where a refusal to affirm can lose custody of kids. For instance, Jeff Younger is trying to save his son James from getting castrated by his ex-wife. When James is at his father’s house, he is happily a boy. His mother claims James wants to dress in girl clothes and change genders at her house. She successfully had Jeff’s custody revoked.
The demonic left and their lily-white assault on justice, their strained belief they are polyglots of the law, is truly humorous and fitful at the same time. Funny in the sense they think the public doesn’t see the evil of the actions, and frightful that there are those around that will follow them off the cliff in desperation to destroy one man. Again, I ask hasn’t the cafeteria at the Justice Department run out of Ham Sandwiches yet?
Let’s assume that a White cop decides to give breathalyzer tests only to Black drivers. And let’s assume that cop ends up arresting many Black drivers whose blood alcohol content is clearly over the legal limit, say, 0.12%.
Every one of those arrests will be thrown out of court, either at the outset or on appeal.
It won’t matter if what the drivers did was illegal. The court will focus on the fact that what the cop did was illegal.
The Constitution does not allow cops to target and investigate Americans they hate in an effort to find any crimes they may have committed.
re: mountain ridge
As I understand it. When the National Archives or National Security Archives let’s cleared government officials borrow top secret documents, it’s not just just a box of papers stuffed into a box. There are likely catalog ID numbers on every single page to make sure the documents get returned.
So after Trump is no longer in office, the archive agency finds out they are missing some documents. That’s called “Probable Cause” for a 4th Amendment search. Instead of taking legal action, the archive agency simply asked him politely.
The archive agency then politely asked Trump to return the stolen property (multiple times). Trump lied about it every time. If he had returned the documents, there would be no criminal indictment today.
Since probable cause existed, the Executive Branch agency – following the 4th Amendment – applied to the Judicial Branch courts for a search & seizure warrant to search Mar A Lago.
Seems like it was precisely by the book, except they gave Trump an opportunity to avoid legal action – which he reneged on.
As I understand it. When the National Archives or National Security Archives let’s cleared government officials borrow top secret documents, it’s not just just a box of papers stuffed into a box. There are likely catalog ID numbers on every single page to make sure the documents get returned.
Except the Govt did not assist the departing President with preparing the contents for shipment out of the White House.
The first time in 40 years, the President was NOT assisted in organizing his papers. So the cataloguing you speak of, never happened.
According to your logic, the warrant was in fact a fishing expedition, in search of a crime
re: Iowan2
If you read the link above in Turley’s article (44 page indictment). The actual court document says in addition to newspaper clippings and photos, there were also TOP SECRET stamped documents. I think it is highly likely that those documents had catalog ID numbers when they were stamped classified. When the final audit was done, a clerk at the archives likely discovered them missing.
The other post compared it to a cop only ticketing black drivers or “unequal enforcement” which is unconstitutional. If the court document is correct, this was driven by missing classified documents discovered by the archiving agency. Probable Cause under the 4th Amendment not political-profiling.
Do agree with you, there should be a system in place to prevent former presidents from packing those documents into the moving truck headed home.
Reagan: thank you. Oh, and Trump has a NEW lie he’s floating today: the FBI PLANTED the stolen documents. After all, according to Turley, Trump has gotten his supporters to distrust the FBI anhd DOJ, so why not come up with yet another lie to deflect away from his crimes? Your post shoots this theory down very nicely. Let’s see, how many lies has Trump told about ths? 1. They’re mine because they’re covered by the Presidential Records Act, which allows me to take them; (no they aren’t, and no he can’t–he was told this before he stole them); 2. I mentally declassified them; (not possible, and not true) 3. they were packed by the GSA, and I didn’t know anything about there being classified documents packed in my boxes; (Trump was present and directed the packing of the boxes) 4. I returned all of them; (disproven) 5. we were “negotiating” with the NARA about what had to be returned when the FBI went out and got a search warrant and “raided” my home (another lie–Trump just flat-out refused to return the documents after returning some of them and after being subpoenaed, and left the NARA and FBI with no choice other than to get a search warrant). He also moved the boxes around and shuffled the contents among various boxes, in an effort to avoid returning the documents. Walt Nauta helped him. We still don’t know who might have taken, viewed and/or copied the documents. Today, it turns out that there was a copy machine nearby where some of the documents were kept at MAL, so we may never know the extent to which sources and methods were compromised. Who knows who might have done a little reading while on the toilet at MAL. Let’s just hope some of our assets and allies don’t end up getting killed because of this. AND, our allies have to wonder about just how secure the US will be with handling highly classified information down the road–this could compromise our relations with our allies and hamper united efforts to thwart common enemies. THAT’s how serious this is. And why? Because of the massive ego of Donald J. Trump. There’s just no defense to this.
The disciples just refuse to acknowledge the problem here because of conditioning by alt-right media–the issue isn’t being in possession of classified material–Clinton, Pence and Biden all had been; rather, the issue is refusing to return the documents, despite multiple polite and very deferential efforts (which no one else would have gotten), lying about returning them, mishandling of the documents, discussing the contents with people who didn’t have security clearances and obstruction of justice. These are the issues that Trump was indicted for, and why Pence, Biden and HIllary aren’t guilty of any crimes–they all cooperated and returned the documents. In fact, when this issue with Trump arose, Biden directed a search of the documents he took from his time in office, and when some (very outdated) documents with classified markings were found, he immediately contacted the FBI and arranged for them to retrieve them. Pence also cooperated without any hesitation. Hillary destroyed her hard drive and took steops to prevent hackers from obtaining the information. This is how patriotic and altruistic people behave. Trump is neither.
there were also TOP SECRET stamped documents. I think it is highly likely that those documents had catalog ID numbers when they were stamped classified. When the final audit was done, a clerk at the archives likely discovered them missing.
First off, Trump declassified everything. Ignoring that bit, how did Biden and Pence end up with actuall classified documents if they are numbered and catalogued? Same for Obama's classified documents he still has
You have a talking point. It's not borne out by evidence.
Trump is on tape saying that he didn’t declassify everything.
You only know what the corrupt, RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA!!! DoJ tells you. They have had to lie for 7 years going after Trump. Only those blinded by politics believe anything coming out of this Document negotiation pissing match
“Trump is on tape saying that he didn’t declassify everything.”
ATS, you say a lot of things and most of those things aren’t true. One has to consider context when it comes to Trump.
Nope, the evidence is still admissible as long as the cop did not do anything wrong in that specific case.
cluless Sammy returns
Jack Smith’ is proof that the DOJ has a sense of Humor, “One Law for all Americans” is the funniest thing to come out of the mouth of any Biden Admin official to date.
Trump’s crime is the same crime Assange committed, embarassing the powerful.
If this was about Justice they’d fly Trump to the Hague to stand trial for the war crimes he has boasted about committing.
This is really a message to all of America’s Billionaires letting them know that they had best get with the program or they will pay the price.
” “One Law for all Americans” ” lol 🤣
Most Americans – silent majority – probably view Jack Smith as a good man without political bias and the room is very full.
The DOJ has much room for improvement and there are valid reasons many voters distrust these institutions but it seems Trump is being treated better than most criminal defendants.
To the best of my knowledge, Jack Smith picked a Trump friendly court in South Florida to hear the case with a Trump friendly judge (appointed by Trump). Smith could have chosen a much more biased court if he were trying to sway the case against Trump.
As for the January 6 Coup attempt. Over 60 federal judges agreed Trump lost the election to Biden. Many of those judges that ruled Trump lost, were Trump appointed judges.
You can criticize DOJ for many things but they seem to be giving Trump better treatment than most defendants. Recently in Florida a former Lt. Colonel was sent to prison for doing lesser crimes than Trump is accused of perpetrating.
Trump apologists might want to remember the “Lock her up!” bumper stickers or how they treated Obama. In the Obama witch-hunt, Republicans attacked Obama’s Christian preacher. When that didn’t stick, they then called Obama a Muslim. When that didn’t work they then invented the “Kenyan Witch Doctor” defamation.
Trump has been treated better than any previous leader.
In the wake of the loud outcry from the left over the selection of the Trump-friendly judge, she was replaced.
As for the January 6 Coup attempt. Over 60 federal judges agreed Trump lost the election to Biden. Many of those judges that ruled Trump lost, were Trump appointed judges.
That’s a lie. Not a single judge sat in judgement of the evidence. Each Judge refuse to hear the case for a handful of technical issues.
Silent Majority here.
Based off of Smith’s selection of deputy, I would question Smith’s integrity,
Federal prosecutor in Trump probe reprimanded in earlier case for secretly recording defense lawyer
https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/all-things-trump/prosecutor-trump-indictment-was-once-reprimanded-secretly
Dennis McIntyre: Gee, I must’ve missed it. Please point out the sentences where the good professor “erroneously claim[ed] a ‘majority’ of Americans don’t trust the FBI or oppose the criminal prosecution of Donald Trump.”
I’ve become quite jaded/nonplussed with all this focused activity against Trump. Of course, he’s apparently no hero with respect to obstructing the recovery of documents. But the sandbagging/dismissal/or convolution of investigations regarding Hillary and the Bidens and others mutes the effect. (I noted yesterday that Joe Biden had knowingly retained Kathy Chung to sort, remove, and move around countless boxes of documents, the contents of several still unknown. Chung was part of the team “sanctioned for withholding and even destroying key documents in the federal case that sought sensitive records from a central figure in the so-called Chinagate” matter.https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2023/06/08/key_player_in_biden_documents_removal_was_caught_up_in_bill_clinton-era_chinagate_scandal_897961.html
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-classified-documents-house-oversight-committee-kathy-chung-testimony/)
There are those who constantly cry out that arguments such as this constitute “whataboutism.” To that, I respond that there is a more piercing and pertinent platitude that trumps “whataboutism.” –It’s called, “what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.”
Lin,
Well said.
Lin, I agree. Regardless of its merits, this case is being brought only for political reasons.
I do not understand why the House Republicans do not now launch impeachment proceedings against Biden, for both his unlawful retention of classified documents and his decades of influence peddling/protection racket/acceptance of bribes. There is probable cause to do so. It is the only way a real investigation of these matters will occur while Biden is in office. That is the way to ensure that what is good for the goose is good for the gander.
Daniel: Interesting that yesterday, such articles of impeachment were actually introduced by a House Republican, https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/gop-rep-ogles-introduces-impeachment-articles-against-biden-harris/ar-AA1csAaS
I looked it it, but seems to me like PREMATURE political and retaliatory political posturing, constituting milquetoast, -as most allegations/articles therein are still lacking conclusory findings and are simply accusatory in nature. Of course, the reason there is a lack of conclusory findings to support impeachment is because of what I said; i.e., sandbagging/dismissal/or convolution of investigations. Thanks for your thoughts.
I saw that too. It looks silly. The first step needs to be an authorisation to the Judiciary Committee to commence an impeachment investigation. That committee should then staff up with capable lawyers and get to work. They should use subpoena power to the full and promptly enforce any delinquency. Unlike the Democrats, the Republicans seem incapable of acting decisively and effectively.
“conclusory” — I don’t think that word means what you think it means.
If Trump gets these cases delayed until early ’25, which would not be unreasonable, considering GOP primary season starts in seven months, and he gets re-elected, under federal law he will be able to pardon himself.
Because at least half of America believes the charges against Trump are politically driven, it would not be a surprise to see a large portion of Americans support a self-pardon.
In the future, Democrat prosecutors should remember not to file charges against a leading GOP presidential candidate—in this case, after seven years of various get-Trump investigations—so close to the election.
There is no provision in federal law for a president to pardon themselves. It is amazing how much “law” commentators on this page make up.
The pardon power is in the Constitution and it is not limited.
Here’s what ThoughtCO says about this, quoting Jonathan Turley:
“Presidents are granted the authority to issue pardons in Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution.
The clause reads:
“The President … shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.”
Take note of two key phrases in that clause. The first keyphrase limits the use of pardons “for offenses against the United States.” The second key phrase states that a president can’t issue a pardon “in cases of impeachment.”
Those two caveats in the Constitution place some limitations on the president’s power to pardon. The bottom line is that if a president commits a “high crime or misdemeanor” and is impeached, he can’t pardon himself. He also cannot pardon himself in private civil and state criminal cases. His authority extends only to federal charges.
Take note of the word “grant.” Typically, the word means one person gives something to another. Under that meaning, a president can give someone else a pardon, but not himself.
Yes, the President Can Pardon Himself
Some scholars argue that the president can pardon himself in some circumstances because – and this is a key point – the Constitution does not explicitly prohibit it. That is considered by some to be the strongest argument that a president has the authority to pardon himself.
In 1974, as President Richard M. Nixon was facing certain impeachment, he explored the idea of issuing a pardon to himself and then resigning. Nixon’s lawyers prepared a memo stating such a move would be legal. The president decided against a pardon, which would have been politically disastrous, but resigned anyway.
He was later pardoned by President Gerald Ford. “Although I respected the tenet that no man should be above the law, public policy demanded that I put Nixon-and Watergate-behind us as quickly as possible,” Ford said.
In addition, the U.S Supreme Court has ruled that a president can issue pardon even before charges have been filed. The high court stated that pardon power “extends to every offense known to the law, and may be exercised at any time after its commission, either before legal proceedings are taken or during their pendency, or after conviction and judgment.”
No, the President Can’t Pardon Himself
Most scholars argue, however, that presidents cannot pardon themselves. More to the point, even if they were, such a move would be incredibly risky and likely to ignite a constitutional crisis in the United States.
Jonathan Turley, a professor of public interest law at George Washington University, wrote in The Washington Post:
“Such an act would make the White House look like the Bada Bing Club. After a self-pardon, Trump could wipe out the Islamic State, trigger an economic golden age and solve global warming with a carbon-eating border wall — and no one would notice. He would simply go down in history as the man who not only pardoned his family members but himself.”
Michigan State University law professor Brian C. Kalt, writing in his 1997 paper “Pardon Me: The Constitutional Case Against Presidential Self-Pardons,” stated that a presidential self-pardon would not hold up in court.
“An attempted self-pardon would likely undermine the public’s confidence in the presidency and the Constitution. A potential meltdown of such magnitude would be no time to begin legalistic discussion; the political facts of the moment would distort our considered legal judgment. Looking at the question from a cooler vantage point, the intent of the Framers, the words and themes of the Constitution they created, and the wisdom of the judges that have interpreted it all point to the same conclusion: Presidents cannot pardon themselves.”
The courts would likely follow the principle stated by James Madison in the Federalist Papers. “No man,” Madison wrote, “is allowed to be a judge in his own cause, because his interest would certainly bias his judgment, and, not improbably, corrupt his integrity.””