Below is my New York Post column on the unseemly scene in the courtroom of Judge Juan Merchan as prosecutors used porn star Stormy Daniels to present lurid details on her alleged tryst with former president Donald Trump. It was a dumpster fire that Judge Merchan watched burn for a full day and then said the jury may have to disregard much of what they saw and heard.
Here is the column:
Before the start of the Manhattan prosecution of former president Donald Trump, I characterized the case of District Attorney Alvin Bragg as based on a type of obscenity standard.
In a 1984 pornography case, Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart wrote “I shall not today attempt further to define [obscenity]. . . . But I know it when I see it.”
Bragg has refused to clearly define the crime that Trump was seeking to conceal when payments for a non-disclosure agreement were listed as a legal expense.
We would just know it when we saw it at trial.
We are still waiting, but this week, Bragg seems to be prosecuting an actual obscenity case.
The prosecution fought with Trump’s defense counsel to not only call porn star Stormy Daniels to the stand, but to ask her for lurid details on her alleged tryst with Trump.
The only assurance that they would make to Judge Juan Merchan was that they would “not go into details of genitalia.”
For Merchan, who has largely ruled against Trump on such motions, that was enough.
He allowed the prosecutors to get into the details of the affair despite the immateriality of the evidence to any criminal theory.
Neither the NDA nor the payment to Daniels is being contested.
It is also uncontested that Trump wanted to pay to get the story (and other stories, including untrue allegations) from being published.
The value of the testimony was entirely sensational and gratuitous, yet Merchan was fine with humiliating Trump.
Daniels’ testimony was a dumpster fire in the courtroom.
The most maddening moment for the defense came at the lunch break when Merchan stated, “I agree that it would have been better if some of these things had been left unsaid.”
He then denied a motion for a mistrial based on the testimony and blamed the defense for not objecting more.
That, of course, ignores the standing objection of the defense to Daniels even appearing, and specific objections to the broad scope allowed by the court.
This is precisely what the defense said would happen when the prosecutors only agreed to avoid “genitalia.”
There was no reason for Daniels to appear at all in the trial.
Even if he was adamant in allowing her, Merchan could have imposed a much more limited scope for her testimony.
He could also have enforced the limits that he did place on the testimony when it was being ignored by both the prosecutors and the witness.
Merchan said that he is considering a limiting instruction for the jury to ignore aspects of the testimony.
But that is little comfort for the defendant.
The court was told that this would happen, it happened, and now the court wants to ask the jury to pretend that it did not happen.
Merchan knows that there is no way for the jury to unhear the testimony.
More importantly, the prosecution knew that from the outset.
Daniels appeared eager to share the stories for the same reason that she was eager to sell her story. While she said that she “hates” Trump and wants him “held accountable,” Daniels is no victim.
She had an alleged tryst with Trump and then sought to cash in on the story.
It is a standard form of extortion of celebrities.
She later sought to cash in on the notoriety by appearing in strip clubs as part of a “Make America Horny Again” tour.
She is in her element in Merchan’s courtroom.
In New York, the relevance or credibility of witnesses like Daniels is largely immaterial.
This is a district that voted against Trump, 84.5% to 14.5%, in the 2020 presidential election.
New Yorkers elected a state attorney general, Letitia James, who ran on the pledge to bag Trump on something — without specifying any crime.
Bragg then indicted Trump without clearly defining any crime — a debate that continues among legal experts after two weeks of testimony.
This is entertainment for many in New York — as is the thrill of the possibility of his going to jail under Merchan’s poorly written and arguably unconstitutional gag order.
When it comes to a thrill kill trial, who better to call than Daniels?
After all, she has been treated as a heroine by many, even being given the key to the city of West Hollywood, California, on “Stormy Daniels Day.”
Well, it was Stormy Daniels Day in Judge Merchan’s courtroom this week, and it is a bit late for the court to express shock over her testimony.
It is not the witness, but the case that seems increasingly obscene.
You have a judge who should have recused himself given his daughter’s major role as a Democratic activist and fundraiser.
You have a gag order that is allowing a New York Supreme Court justice to regulate what the leading candidate for the presidency may say in an election on the weaponization of the legal system.
You have a lead prosecutor, Matthew Colangelo, who not only left the Biden Justice Department to revive this case, but once worked for the Democratic National Committee.
You have a case based on two dead misdemeanors shocked back into life by a still mysterious theory of an undefined crime.
In comparison, Daniels may be the only authentic part of the entire case in New York v. Trump.
Jonathan Turley is an attorney and professor at George Washington University Law School.
I don’t get why a lot of this garbage wasn’t cleared up by way of pre trial motions to knock out the indictment for stating no case or at least and in the alternative for particulars and full notice of the precise case/legal theory Trump has to meet. And I don’t understand whatever pre trial motions were made along these and any other lines, why they weren’t appealed. Same, I don’t understand why Merchan’s more outrageous rulings aren’t appealed, with the trial stayed during the appeal, on the theory his rulings comprise material repudiation of Trump’s rights and on the theory Merchan has shown bias against Trump and needs replacing, again with the trial stayed pending appeals. I’m not an American lawyer but have tried criminal cases in Ontario and have had a trial disrupted by these kinds of motions, one of which was appealed, albeit losing, to the Supreme Court of Canada. What am I missing?
Itzk,
All your observations were heard pre trial. Judge Merchan denied all motions to toss the case,
Just like he denied squashing access Hollywood story, that had nothing to do with accounting and ditto for Stormy Daniels
The Judge saw what happened in the Harvey Wiestien reversal of conviction, because witness were allowed that had nothing to do with the charges.
Merchan knows he will be overturned, but by then the election over.
The proceedings had a modicum of solemnity, until Stormy asked to be gagged ordered. That was completely inappropriate.
He gags Trump from saying anything but he allows this one-sided smut from a “porn actress” which may or may not have any basis in reality so the reporters can write about this salacious filth about a former US President and current US Presidential candidate front runner to embarrass and hurt his campaign thus directly influence the election by purposely allowing this junk case to proceed.
Its based on the trumped up allegations of a prosecutor who is a self professed political enemy of the defendant and two known liars, one being an opportunist and known perjurer and the other a pornography actress.
This is worse than anything that happened on Jan 6th, what they are doing they are doing they are doing to the entire country hiding behind the guise of legal authority from one group of leftist Trump haters from a single state to try to steal the election.
The judge should be disbarred, … or disrobed, …or whatever dis happens to a judge.
If this is the way the Democrat Party operates, they need an overhaul.
Is there not one Democrat that thinks this persecution of Donald Trump is wrong?
I’d sure like to hear from George Bush on the Trump persecution.
Are you all being spied on and blackmailed?
That’s Floyd Estovir asking if any Democrat believes the prosecutions of Trump are ‘wrong’. The answer is NO. After January 6th not a single Democrat feels any sympathy for Trump.
The answer is NO. After winning the Presidency in 2016, not a single Democrat feels any sympathy for Trump.
Fixed it for you.
Trump are ‘wrong’. The answer is NO. After January 6th
We got that. Absent any evidence of Jan 6, the need to invent some unrevealed crime, you are perfectly fine to corrupt the law to punish a Political adversary.
Admission is progress
Most real conservatives hate Trump with a passion. Trump isn’t a conservative and neither are you. You’re a nationalist populist. If it were 1960 you’d be an ardent George Wallace supporter.
“If it were 1960 you’d be an ardent George Wallace supporter.”
George Wallace was a Democrat.
ouch, that left a mark
Most real conservatives hate Trump
That’s such a lie. No Republican Presidential candidate has had a higher approval rating that Trump. Fact
Your assertion is based on what ever you think you need attempting to stay relevant. Fail
This whole endeavor makes me wonder, are the Jack’s, Jill’s and Joey’s down under celebrating this courts actions?
John Locke in ‘A Letter Concerning Toleration’:
“…But what if the magistrate believe that he has a right to make such laws, and that they are for the public good, and his subjects believe the contrary? Who shall be judge between them?”
continuing
“…There are two sorts of contests amongst men, the one managed by law, the other by force; and these are of that nature that where the one ends, the other always begins…”, “You will say, then, the magistrate being the stronger will have his will, and carry his point. Without doubt, but the question is not here concerning the doubtfulness of the event, but the rule of right.”
John Locke is the source of much delusion among good hearted conservatives and liberterians. Lay this charlatan aside. He was financed by a lordship and fabricated much of what he successfully passed off as philosophy. In that quote he appears to be plagiarizing something from Plato’s Republic, Thrasymachus to be exact. Man’s mind is no tabula rasa either. Just lay him aside. Here’s a reading list for conservatives who needs straightening out on politics
Plato
Carl Schmitt
Leo Strauss
Sal Sar
Logical fallacy of ad hominem attack
It attacks the messenger, because they lack the facts or intellectual heft to debate the subject
“Logical fallacy of ad hominem attack”
Good catch.
“Delusion, charlatan, financed by, fabricated, plagiarizing” — they’re all are sophomoric attempts to smear Locke. Such smears obviously add nothing to the intellectual discourse.
Can someone explain how it is the case that if Donald Trump, a private citizen, pays off someone with his own money to keep quiet about a sexual matter that is considered a campaign finance violation but when the state of Massachusetts pays someone taxpayer dollars to keep quiet about a sexual matter involving an elected member of the Massachusetts legislature that’s not considered a campaign contribution and is never reported on any public filing anywhere. That is, when a private individual pays hush money, its a crime. When the government pays hush money on behalf of a sitting members of the legislature, that’s completely fine.
https://www.masslive.com/politics/2018/03/rep_diana_dizoglio_blasts_hous.html
He falsified business records–misrepresented the payoff to Daniels as “attorney fees”. That is a misdemeanor–BUT when the motivation for the misrepresentation was to help his election chances by burying another story about him being a sexual predator–that is election interference, which, under NY law, elevates the falsification of business records to a felony. The Access Hollywood tape had just come out and Hope Hicks testified that the campaign took a serious hit from Trump bragging about assaulting women sexually. A second story of sexual misconduct might have doomed his candidacy–which is the reason for the payoff and the misrepresentation on his business records.
One must wonder…what about all the negative stories about Biden that were buried, or misrepresented, or outright censored, in order to influence the election for Biden….no? Where oh where are all those prosecutions? Oh, that’s right. It’s only a ‘crime’ when they accuse Republicans of it.
Remember Biden bragging about enjoying it when little kids rubbed up the hair on his legs when he was in the pool as a lifeguard? Creepy pedos talk like that, no?
btw, a “lifeguard” was Biden’s only real job before he starting sucking off the gubment tit (to benefit all the rest of his family too!) for the next 50 years.
Biden has not only been credibly accused of “assaulting” women – including staffers, abusing his “power over,” them, but he has been accused of indecent exposure in front of his female secret service detail, he allowed his pet dogs to bite & attack his secret service detail dozens of times, and on it goes.
It would be a step up if only Biden were accused of paying a stripper for sex. Trump remains head and shoulders above Biden in every way possible.
Biden is a scumbag politician and has always been a scumbag human being. The entire WORLD knows this. Why don’t you?
Swallowed the Kool aid didn’t you.
The reason Bragg cannot win this case is because there is no statutory right of the public to know every facet of one’s private life. Hence, there can be no violation of law in regard to a legal NDA. When Bragg et al. refer to the secrecy in which the NDA was transacted, and recorded, they forget that, far from being a sign of consciousness of guilt (THERE WAS NO GUILT ATTACHED TO THE NDA), the secrecy involved was intended to enhance the PRIVACY of the legal, NDA transaction. Trump has privacy rights. It’s not a crime to maintain privacy about whatever a free citizen wishes maintain privacy about.
I repeat, there is no statutory right of the public to know of matters which any US citizen wishes to keep private.
Hence, the very mention of election interference in regard to the NDA is utterly fatuous.
Bragg will not be able to make his felony stick. Whatever accounting irregularities or tax issues will have to be dealt with in isolation.
Keep repeating the same old blather. The FACT is that the STATE of NY CANNOT charge anyone with a FEDERAL crime under NY STATE law. Therefore, it is and never has been a legimate case. Duh.
OK. Listen closely.
You are correct. He paid Daniels with checks from a personal account. The problem is he then characterized the payment as a business expense. That is the crime of falsification of business records, with which he is charged.
This case is not about campaign finance violations. He is not charged with that.
We know, from testimony already given from Pecker, that the purpose of the pay off was to keep Daniels quiet so that she would not damage Trump’s chances in the election. That is the crime of conspiracy to commit election interference under NY law.
The allegation is that he committed the crimes of falsification of business records in furtherance of the conspiracy to commit election interference.
The case has absolutely nothing to do with campaign finance violations.
It is really very simple
characterized the payment as a business expense.
There is zero testimony supporting your lie.
His employee, Deborah Tarasoff, has already testified that she entered the payments into Trump’s business ledger.
Here is a summary of Tarasoff’s testimony from a liberal source:
“Multiple $35,000 checks signed by Donald Trump to Michael Cohen for a supposed monthly legal retainer payment were shown to jurors as Deborah Tarasoff testified this afternoon.
Prosecutor Christopher Conroy walked jurors through numerous 2017 financial documents that traced the payments to Cohen from Trump’s Revocable Trust and later from Trump’s personal account.
The documents include invoices from Cohen that were sent to Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg, requesting payment “pursuant to a retainer agreement.”
The monthly $35,000 payments were first inked by Weisselberg and either Eric Trump or Donald Trump Jr. and were paid through the revocable trust. Starting in April 2017, the checks began to be paid through “Mr. Trump’s personal account,” Tarasoff, an accounts payable supervisor at the Trump Organization, testified.”
https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/05/06/trump-hush-money-criminal-trial/big-reimbursement-to-cohen-00156254
It appears that Tarasoff and McConney, who made the booking entries, received invoices from Cohan, got approval from someone in the Trump organization, and then wrote checks to Cohen, booking the checks in the General Ledger, noting them as “legal expenses.”
In what way was the ledger falsified? It reflected checks written to Cohen pursuant to invoices for legal services. That is exactly what the Ledger should have reflected.
Of course, the claim is that the payments to Daniels were thus “hidden” on the Ledger. But what law says that there is a duty to reflect payments to a blackmailer on the internal records of a family trust or personal account? There is none. It is logically impossible, since the purpose of paying a blackmailer is to avoid the disclosure of embarrassing events. Victims of blackmail are not required to “confess” to their checkbook.
So, the next claim is that this arrangment hid “campaign expenditures” relating to the 2016 Presidential election from someone. This is not the business of a NYC prosecutor. Enforcement of federal campaign laws lie within the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal government. The FEC has already ruled that there was no campaign violation. But Bragg defenders may say that the federal campaign laws are not being “enforced” by Bragg but are merely being used to elevate the misdemeanor bookeeping charge into a felony. But this is still a form of enforcement. He must keep his hands off the subject matter, overtly or implictly.
This prosecution is an exercise in rhetoric. The prosecution and the judge think that if the words “falsification of business records” and “campaign financing violations” are used often enough, the jury will remember the words but not the actual facts of the case. Words are easy to remember. Lookng at facts and drawing conclusions is much more difficult.
edwardmahl
Thank you for bringing the receipts and shutting up this lie it was paid out of business accounts
The bookkeeper, Tarasoff was acting under the direction of The CPA, who was being informed by the CFO,
Note the absence of DJT, the person being charged.
Also note the CFO has not been called as a witness. The Prosecution will testify to the Jury that Weisselberg, never made a decision without being told by Trump. Judge Merchan will allow the prosecution to make the claim without evidence. Thats the way the entire case has been built. All outside the confines of the Law
he committed the crimes of falsification of business records in furtherance of the conspiracy to commit election interference.
That is not in the indictment. The prosecution needs a crime. Meaning the conviction of a crime. There. Is. NO. Crime.
Repeating this nonsense over and over and over again DOES NOT MAKE IT TRUE.
I keep responding to your lies.
Stop lying, and I’ll wont have anything to respond to.
“. . . in furtherance of the conspiracy to commit election interference.”
Where in the indictment is that charge?
Is that (fantasy) charge federal? If so, Bragg has no jurisdiction.
Is that (fantasy) charge state? If so, it does not apply to a federal election. And its statute of limitations also expired.
Anonymous – Trump did not pay Stormy Daniels directly. His lawyer negotiated an NDA with the woman blackmailing him. Trump paid the lawyer for the NDA and settlement.
What do you normally call payments for a legal document and the cost of the settlement, if not legal fees?
As to the question of election interference, would Trump have paid for the NDA if he had never run for president? Likely, yes. Trump had employed NDAs for many issues over the years, as have most businesses.
If Trump was a Bible thumping preacher, then news of an alleged affair could impact potential voters. In reality, Trump was divorced twice due to infidelity, and he was on tape in the infamous “Access Hollywood” hot mic, in which he bragged to Billy Bush about how female groupies let him do anything he wants. He bragged that he could kiss them immediately, or grab their private parts. The conversation clearly was about willing female fawners. Rock stars and professional athletes have similar conversations about their own groupies. It’s lewd, it’s vulgar, and I cannot imagine why women would marry a man with groupies, but nothing about it would have shocked anyone if it was The Rolling Stones talking. In no way would news of an alleged affair have shocked anyone. It’s ludicrous to claim that it would. The alleged one night stand occurred nearly 20 years ago. To claim that it was hot news for the election really cannot be taken seriously.
Unless Trump wanted to get divorced a third time, he would have tried to shut down stories about any alleged affairs or one night stands, even if he’d never run for office.
What outrages so many conservatives is how Democrats have made Republicans their Sin Eaters. Joe Biden interfered with the 2020 election by shutting down the Hunter Biden laptop story, colluding with media and the intelligence agencies. Polling showed that enough voters would don’t have voted for Biden if they knew the Hunter laptop story was real, that it would have changed the election results. But it’s not Joe Biden on trial for election interference. It’s Trump, for an alleged one night stand that occurred two decades ago.
KS: Well said.
“Sin Eaters”
Great metaphor. I learned a new expression. Thanks.
Jonathan: I don’t know where to start with your spurious claims about DJT’s trial before Justice Merchan. But I’ll try.
First, calling Stormy Daniels to testify was important. Why” Because DJT still denies he had sex with her. Daniels was there to rebut DJT’s false claims. Had DJT just admitted the obvious Daniels’ testimony would have been obviated. Someone is lying and it will be up to the jury to decide who is credible. And since it is highly unlikely DJT will testify the jury will likely believe the former porn actress.
Second, Trump’s crimes were “clearly” laid out in DA Bragg’s indictment. You apparently never read it. Committing business fraud in furtherance of a conspiracy to affect the outcome of an election is election interference and a felony under NY’s election laws.
Third, the reason Justice Merchan denied DJT’s request for a mistrial is pretty simply. DJT’s attorneys never raised one objection during Daniels’ testimony. Asking for a mistrial now is like trying to close the barn door after the horses have already fled.
Fourth, Daniels was not engaged in the “extortion of celebrities”. She didn’t tell DJT: “Unless you pay me a lot of money I will spill my guts!”. It was DJT who made the offer, through Michael Cohen, and that offer came with an NDA. Hardly any kind of extortion. DJT didn’t feel he was the victim of extortion. In fact, DJT said after his win in November he didn’t see why he should pay Daniels anything since he was the President. Who would care?
Fifth, you falsely claim “the relevance or credibility of witnesses like Daniels is largely immaterial” because you say NY is largely Democratic. That statement shows how little you respect you have for the jury system. Jurors can weigh the testimony of witnesses and decide for themselves who is or is not credible. And it his nothing to do with party affiliation. Besides, there are two other reasons your argument makes no sense. First, DJT committed his alleged crimes in NY. He probably should have chosen a different location—outside of NY–for his tryst with Daniels. Second, DJT accepted the 12 jurors and 6 alternates. He and you can hardly complain now about the composition of the jury. It’s all sour grapes!
Sixith, and finally, you claim Justice Merchan’s gag order was “poorly written and arguably unconstitutional”. No again. The gag order was very precise about what DJT could say about witnesses, jurors and family members of court personnel. But Merchan gave DJT wide latitude to criticize him or the prosecutors. The gag order was upheld by the NY Appellate Division as not a violation of DJT’s constitutional rights.
I think we now why you continue to defend DJT. It’s paying dividends. On his way out of the courthouse yesterday DJT told the assembled press the trial was a “disaster” for the prosecution and then said: “I recommend you read Jonathan Turley…Allen Dershowitz…Mark Levin—very talented people who call this trial a disgrace”. This is about the second or third time DJT has mentioned you by name. Unfortunately for you the jury won’t get to read your many columns providing arm-chair opinions in defense of DJT. They will only consider the facts and the evidence–something missing from your narratives!
“Committing business fraud in furtherance of a conspiracy to affect the outcome of an election is election interference and a felony under NY’s election laws.”
Lunatic, He paid an extortionist, that is all that he did.
Your society is being demolished and yet here you are siding with your own destruction. SMH
Please don’t.
Please go away and hide until November 6th.
You’ll be much happier – much more sanguine.
‘his alleged crimes’
just like the alleged ‘holes’ you think you’re poking
while ‘doing your job’
1)Not in the indictment value of relevance? = 0
Strike One
2)felony under NY’s election laws.
Only applies to candidates running for State of Local positions
Strike Two
3).DJT’s attorneys never raised one objection during Daniels’ testimony.
That’s just a bald faced lie.
Strike Three
4) Thats just meaningless filler. has nothing to do with the case before the court
Foul ball
5) Your opinion is worthless
foul ball
6) No again. The gag order was very precise about what DJT could say about witnesses,
Wrong. no one is surprised. The gag order was ONLY on the defendant. No one has seen that before.
Trial Judges gag orders are allowed, to protect the integrity of the trial. Once the trial is in session, the
Judge, Defense and Prosecution can set the jury straight on anything that infringes on evidence.
Prior restraint violates the Constitution
Strike Four
They will only consider the facts and the evidence–something missing from your narratives!
Something we are still waiting for. Not a single fact has been presented to advance the charges
as laid out in the Indictment.
embarressinly weak and ignorant.
Dennis we are 12 days into a trial for the indicted crime of a CPA labeling an Invoice from a lawyer as a legal expense. We are yet to hear any evidence to elevate the Actions of the CPA to a crime.
1st of all Trump NEVER signed an NDA!! Only Daniel’s & Cohen did !! Second of all she DID lie on the stand about BUYING a home the information is out there and she is hiding her money behind using her own child to do so!!
LOL.
Let’s make it easy for you to understand despite your long-winded statement bordering on chronic TSD.
First, Trump is not charged with having sex, so no rebuttal by Stormy is not necessary. (Also note that sex between two consenting adults is not a crime. Ever.)
Second, the alleged falsification of business records is a NY state charge. However, the alleged election interference is a federal charge. Bragg has no juridiction over federal matters at all. You understand the difference between FEDERAL and STATE right?
There, simplified it for you.
“Because DJT still denies he had sex with her.”
It’s a new day. That means there’s a new “crime” Trump’s being charged with. Today, the “crime” is that Trump allegedly denies having had sex with Daniels. That alleged denial is what makes Daniels’ testimony material.
The Left is adept at fabricating reality and “crimes.”
‘I slept with a pretty girl, and I was married at the time.’ That is a far cry from ‘racist’, ‘rapist’, or any other piece of crap anyone cares to throw out. ‘Regular’ people do much worse, every day. If the hammer does not come down on this, our courts are done. Coffee burns will seem like a halcyon memory. Dis-GUSTING. All of it. We used to write chalk on the sidewalk against kids we didn’t like – this is the limit, and history will not be kind to these people. Blowj**by Clinton is laughing his ass off, and for old school liberals, so is JFK, the original Insem*nator in Chief. Tragic. Can we recover? I honestly don not know, but the modern dems are the cause, 1000%. And into infinity. A medal for Pelosi, my a**. This has just . . . fuuuuuuu****k. I got nothing left.
Stormy did not try to extort Trump. She tried to profit off a portion of her life by selling the story to the National Enquirer. The National Enquirer, instead of paying for and publishing the story, decided to help Trump cover up the story by sending her to Michael Cohen. The Enquirer gave up profit, so Trump could kill the story. Daniels only asked Trump for money once the Enquirer pushed her into the lap of Trump. Trump requested that the Enquirer send potentially damning stories to him, so that he could take care of them. Trump requested to be extorted, I guess.
Funny, Michael Avenatti claims knowledge that both Daniels and her first attorney, Keith Davidson, DID try to extort money from Donald Trump, and that both perjured themselves on the subject in testimony at this trial. Daniels would presumably have confided in Avenatti as her lawyer, and Avenatti would presumably have had access to any related paperwork in her possession, including documents by or about Davidson. It would seem that Avenatti was in a position to have the knowledge which he claims. You however, claim the opposite. So, kndly divulge to us exactly how you became a more authoratative source for information about Daniels’ previous conduct than her former attorney. You will have to excuse me if I don’t hold my breath while waiting (although holding one’s breath in the presence of your opinions does seem, on balance, to be prudent conduct).
Do you have a crime buried in all that mind reading?
“HE PUT HIS HANDS DOWN MY SKIRT, HE WENT DOWN AND THEN HE WENT UP.”
TARA READE
Last we heard Tara Reade was a deadbeat evicted from multiple homes.
You would be too if FJB put his wrinkled hands down your pants.
No one believed Tara Reade. She’s been a lifelong loser. Daniels is a big success by comparison.
Au contraire!
Everyone knows the truth – including the witnesses to her contemporary complaints.
Slut shaming
Yep Keeping it classy
I don’t even know where to start here. 1. “lurid details”–Daniels did NOT disclose any actually “lurid” details, like the Yeti pubes or his unusually small member. She DID describe what happened to her–that she did not go to his bungalow with any intention other than to discuss being on “The Apprentice”. Trump tried to pull a Hugh Hefner by coming to the door in silk pajamas, and when she came out of the restroom, he had stripped down to boxers and a t-shirt. She wondered how she could have misread the situation and said she blacked out briefly while staring at the ceiling during the time he was doing what he did. The details Daniels provided are very relevant to prove that the incident did happen–the place–celebrity golf tournament in which she was representing Wicked Entertainment, the time, and his comment that he and Melania did not share bedrroms. The payoff came just AFTER the Access Hollywood tape hit the airwaves. Hope Hicks testified that Trump’s campaign took a hit with the release of that tape. So, if there had been another story about a woman claiming Trump took advantage of her, that might kill his candidacy altogether. Stormy testified that she WANTED the NDA because she believed that would protect her and her family. This was after she was stalked at an airport by a man who threatened to kill her and her daughter. Also, if anyone was going to profit financially from her ordeal, why shouldn’t it be her? That is NOT extortion. One important detail–no condom wa used–what if Stormy had gotten pregnant–does anyone doubt that an abortion would have been done? Trump was 60; she was 27, he was bigger than she and he had a bodyguard outside the door. This is why Daniels’ testimony is material. Another aside–tremendous similarity between E. Jean Carroll’s story and Stormy’s–both misread Trump, who took advantage of both of them.
2. Bragg HAS clearly defined what crime Trump is charged with–Turley knows this. An indictment must be specific.
3. Standing objection–Turley knows this won’t fly. An attorney must object immediately and move to strike objectionable testimony or the objection is WAIVED. Judge Merchan said he wondered why Trump’s attorney didn’t object. That’s why an appeal won’t fly, either.
4. The prosecutor did NOT ignore the lmiits of Judge Merchan’s order–Daniels gave more detail than what was asked–which is why the defense counsel should have objected and moved to strike. The prosecutor did not ELICIT the testimony that went beyond the judge’s order. Judge Merchan explained this as the reason for refusing the motion for mistrial. Maybe Trump’s lawyers failed to object deliberately–thinkingit would get them a mistrial. They were wrong.
5. Trump is NOT the “leading candidate”.
Turley’s attacks on the Judge and his daughter are shameful. Judge Merchan has been fair and measured.
Come on, gigi, even you must not believe the things you write.
Getting paid to lie. Maybe you are a lawyer. Or journalist, or politician.
Sure sounds like you’re a big fan of Trump, though. You know every detail!
Gigi, if these are Turley’s ‘attacks’, what do you call what you do to him everyday?
Telling him he’s wrong all the time. That you know what he really thinks, or should think.
Do you say it’s ‘poking holes’? Maybe he’s just ‘poking holes’, then, too. Like you!
Gigi,
Aparently you did not read Turleys article.
First she did not testify at all to ANYTHING relevant to this case.
Nor could she – by her own admissions and by the prosecutors claims for her as a witness – she does not KNOW anything about the actual case.
Whether YOU like it or not – this case has NOTHING to do with Whether Daniels and Trump had a dalliance at some Golf Event.
An assertion that Daniels own testimony severely undermined.
The core problem with Daniels testimony is that she insinuated TWO new criminal allegations into the proceding.
She tried to parrot E. Jean Carrol’s rape allegation, and she made a separate claim that some unknown person tried to intimidate her at the behest of Trump.
Neither of these are charged.
It may be hard for you to understand – but you can not indict, charge and try someone for a minor documents misdemeanor and then in court claim that they committed a rape.
That is Why Trump’s attorney’s asked for a Mistrial. That is why Merchan is going to have to work impossibly hard to avoid having the case completely tossed by the apealate courts.
We are 13 days into this trial. We have had almost no testimony at all about the Crime that Trump is actually charged with.
It is not just Daniels testimoney that must be struck. It is nearly all the testimony in this case.
If you want to prosecute Trump for Rape – charge him with Rape.
If you want to prosecute Trump with election law violations – charge him with those.
But this case was not brought on those charges.
As a point of law, the charges Trump faces had to be dismissed before the case started.
Bragg’s legal theory is that the actual charges Trump is being tried for, remain alive and felonies because they were to cover up an UNSPECIFIED felony. There is no other Felony specified in the indictment. There is none in the charge. Prior to the start of this trial
no one knew what the other felony was. In his opening Micheal Colangelo revealed for the first time that it was a violation of a NY Law that makes it a crime to unlawfully try to influence an election. But That just kicks the can. We now have a statute of limitations barred misdemeanor, kicked to a felony because it obscures an until recently unspecified crime, that itself requires a third crime that is still unspecified.
The constitution – the entire western criminal justice system going back atleast to the Magna Carte requires that those brought to court are TOLD before the trial what crimes they are alleged to have committed.
Trump has not been charged with rape.
He has not been charged with threatening violence against Daniels.
He has not been charged with Federal Election Law violations.
He has not been charged with violating the NY State law against unlawfully trying to influence an election.
But those are the things he is being tried for.
John Say, For Your Edification
Vattel was in the British Colonies in America in 1762.
John Jay and George Washington used Vattel’s “natural born citizen” not Blackstone’s “natural born subject” – the sole and only reference to “natural born citizen” from 1762 to 1789 existed in Vattel’s Law of Nations, which is quoted in Article 1, Section 8.
The Reception of Vattel’s Law of Nations in the
American Colonies: From James Otis and John
Adams to the Declaration of Independence
William Ossipow and Dominik Gerber*
ABSTRACT
The treatise of the Swiss philosopher and jurist Emer de Vattel, The Law of Nations (1758), is well known in the United States and has attracted sustained scholarly attention. Against the widespread assumption that the reception of The Law of Nations in America only started in 1775, this article establishes that Vattel’s treatise was available on American soil already in 1762. This finding paves the way for inquiry into Vattel’s intellectual authority in the revolutionary context from the early pamphleteers to the Declaration of Independence. Following a reception-based methodology that facilitates robust inferences from patterns of intertextuality, this study aims to make up for the gap in Vattel’s historiography regarding the crucial period between 1762 and 1776. New England, and the Boston area in particular, turn out to be the hotbeds of Vattel’s reception. A special emphasis is put on the central role of John Adams as a transmitter of Vattel’s thought in the colonial discourse in spring 1776. In the great political documents of this time, most of which were written by Adams or by patriots close to him, such as Richard Henry Lee, a recurrent argument, called the Vattel-Adams argument, was put forth, forging a claim on the loss of royal protection into a justification of secession. The present study demonstrates that this rationalization bears unmistakably Vattelian marks. Furthermore, considering Thomas Jefferson’s mastery of intertextual practice, it is argued that the first, second, and fifth paragraphs of the Declaration can be robustly shown to contain both immediately Vattelian hypotext and Lockean hypotext mediated by Vattel. Beyond its objective of uncovering a hitherto neglected aspect of the revolution’s intellectual underpinnings, this study offers a new perspective on the intertextual complexity and density that characterize the political documents of the revolutionary era.
Gigi, Trump is obviously a good, Christian family man widely supported by evangelicals. He even got the Dobbs decision protecting babies. Do you honestly think Trump would fool around with a ‘porn star’?? The who trial is a lie!
Anonymous: you might want to check out the Chris Matthews tape from years ago, as well as the reasons behind his first 2 divorces–infidelity. He impregnated Marla Maples while married to Ivana, and Tiffany was born before their wedding. He also was unfaithful to Marla. Then, there’s the Access Hollywood tape, in which, in his own recorded words, he describes his perceived entitlement to kiss and fondle women he finds attractive. So, yes, I honestly think Trump would nail any woman he found attractive, whether she wanted it or not. And, I definitely know that Trump is anything but “a good, Christian family man”. He panders to Evangelicals, and he nominated Federalist Society judges that he knew would overturn Roe (even though they lied about this to get onto the SCOTUS) to court support from Evangelicals. He will do anything to get what he wants–power–or sex with a woman. This is obvious to most honest people.
+100
Daniels was a lousy witness. I would not venture as to whether the Jury took her credibly or not.
But she DID serve one very important purpose. She assured that Stormy Daniels will profit enormously for this in the future – Especially if Trump is re-elected.
Daniels did an excellent job of self promotion – which was her purpose.
The problem with her testimony is NOT with Daniels. She is free to tell her story however she wants.
But testimony in court must be relevant to the case being tried.
NONE of Daniels testimony was.
Personally, I do not think she was even close to credible. She contradicted herself repeatedly. She further claimed to have told numerous people – often contradicting her own prior statements, as well as the public statements of those people.
Trump’s attorney’s could spend a week calling witnesses to discredit her – though I doubt they will do so. They have already damaged Daniels credibility enough. Better still they have damaged the judge and prosecutors credibility.
As Turley pointed out – Trump’s lawyers have objected FROM THE START to Daniels testimony. They have objected that it was not relevant, and that it would be predjuicial in ways having nothing to do with the allegations in this trial. And they SPECIFICALLY objected to Daniels testimony immediately prior to her testifying – demanding that Merchan limit the scope of her testimony to what was relevant to this trial.
Merchan refused – that was a MAJOR judicial error. Daniels testimony subsequently went off the rails. She was a prosecution witness.
The prosecutor and the Judge were obligated to keep her in line. Trump’s attorny’s had already begged the court to preclude her as a witness, or to limit her testimony to what was relevant. The prosecutor and the judge FAILED to do so.
I fully understand What Daniels was up to. And she got exactly what she wanted. She will profit significantly from this in the future.
She has struck gold. Those like you are going to pay over and over top hear her story for years to come. Like Carrols it gets embellished with each telling.
In certain ways she has given Trump what he wants. This trial is over. Merchan may not grant a mistrial – but it is over nonetheless.
If Trump is convicted – and I think that is LESS likely because of Daniels – she was NOT a good witness, and worse she requires the Jury to confront their OWN biases. Daniels admitted that she hates Trump and wants him to go to jail. And the defense has made an excellent argument that she does so, so that she can avoid paying the half a million that she owes Trump because SHE Sued Trump for defamation and lost, and then appealed and lost and owes Trump over a half a million in legal fees.
To be clear – I LIKE Daniels. I think she was brilliant. I think she turned her testimony into a wonderfull feat of self promotion.
She USED the judge and she USED the prosecutor, and she USED Trump. I suspect that even Trump is secretly proud of how she played this.
But her success at gaining personal benefit from this trial, has nothing at all do do with the error of the prosecutor and the court in allowing her to testify at all.
She was free prior to late 2016 when she signed the NDA to tell anyone she wanted her story. She was free after early 2017 when the NDA was dropped to tell anyone her story.
No one has denied that Daniels has not been free almost all the time from 2006 when this allegedly occured to “tell her story”.
But she does not get to decide what is relevant to this trial. And yet she gamed the prosecutor and the judge and got what she wanted.
Bully for her.
But she has also done Trump a huge favor at the same time.
It is highly unlikely her testimony went well with the Jury. There are more than enough contradictions in various versions of her story for the jury to decide that this alleged fling never happened.
She has pour gasoline on the Defenses claim that this was just a common shakedown of the wealthy, celebrities, and politicians that occurs all the time, and does not even have anything to do with the truth of the allegations.
The prosecution has been trying to claim that there was something unusual about what occured with Trump.
Instead they have brought right out into the open an entire cottage industry that shakes down the wealthy, politicians and celebrities.
The more commonplace the Trump story is the weaker Braggs already fatally weak case gets.
Separately by alleging a possible rape, and by alleging criminal threats of violence, she has added more fuel to the grounds for an appelate court to quickly dismiss this case.
And finally she has mad Merchan particularly look like a fool publicly. And he knows it.
He has been exposed as going out of his way to rig this case, and he is well passed changing that perception.
Gigi,
first there exist no independent corroboration that any of what Daniels testified to ever happened – beyond that she met Trump at a Golf outing Trying to get onto the Apprentice.
She testified that a number of people were aware that she went to Trump’s hotel room. Yet no one has ever corroborated that and many have denied that. People that she claims to have TOLD at the time, deny that she ever said any of this.
You have fixated on Daniels testimony – which has numerous important self contradictions, as if it is biblicaly inerrant.
Daniels testified that she has made her living todate enticing men. Something she is perfectly free to do.
But it requires an incredible amount of self delusion to beleive that she EVER goes to anyone’s hotel room without understanding that THAT PERSON might be expecting sex. When you sell Coffee, people expect Coffee.
Does Daniels have the right to seek a role on the celebrity apprentice without having to perform sex to get it. Absolutely.
But the claim that she went to ANYONE’s hotel room oblivious to the possibilty they might want sex is ludicrously stupid.
Do you have any doubt that skilfully fending off sexual advances is a significant part of Daniels life ?
There are many many other contradictions in her testimony. She was running this ludicrous line that she had to get the NDA with Trump for her own safety while simultaneously testifying that she had to get her story out to the public for her own safety.
On a could of occaisions she assert both claims concurrently.
Regardless, Both can not be true.
Regardless, I do not need to dismember Daniels testimony – as I noted Trump’s attorney’s could spend a week on that.
But I do not think they will. They damaged her testimony significantly on Cross yesterday and may pile on a bit more tomorow, but my guess
is that Trump’s attorney’s have accomplished what they needed to, and will not waste a week destroying Daniels.
Even the MSM press stories last night showed that the Daniels testimony was a dumpster fire, that harmed Bragg’s case.
That is what Trump needed. Not dismantling Daniels bit by bit.
Regardless, my point is “Why do you beleive Daniels” ?
Do you have independent corroboration of anything she said ?
Can anyone put her in the Hotel room with Trump ?
Your fixated on silk pajama’s when you have not even established that Daniels got into Trump’s hotel room.
To be clear – I am not attacking Daniels here – I think she is likely lying for her own benefit under circumstances that she will get away with it.
I think she KNEW that before she got on the stand. This is a court that is allowing convicted perjurer Micheal Cohen to testify.
Daniels knew before she took the stand that she could say whatever she wanted,
and she said what will give her the most oportunities in the future.
I commend her for that. She used Bragg, she used Merchan, and she is using you – Good for her. I bet Trump is secretly proud.
“2. Bragg HAS clearly defined what crime Trump is charged with–Turley knows this. An indictment must be specific.”
It must, and the trial is limited to the evidence of the crime alleged in the indictment.
It is day 13 of the trial and there has been about 5 minutes of testimony that had anything to do with the indictiment.
Not a thing that Daniels testified to had a thing to do with the indictment or charges.
Trump paid Daniels and she testified to the facts leading up to the crime. She’s the reason Trump committed the crime of falsifying the documents. Therefore her testimony is material.
“Therefore her testimony is material.”
BS.
That there was an NDA and payments to Daniels is *not* in dispute.
“3. Standing objection–Turley knows this won’t fly. An attorney must object immediately and move to strike objectionable testimony or the objection is WAIVED. Judge Merchan said he wondered why Trump’s attorney didn’t object. That’s why an appeal won’t fly, either.”
False.
Merchan is not wondering. Merchan was rope-a-doped AGAIN into consequential judicial error and is now trying to blame Trump’s attorneys.
Merchan is likely to do everything in his power to bring this before a jury.
But if he gets a guilty verdict, everyone knows this will be overturned on appeal. The only question is how quickly.
“4. The prosecutor did NOT ignore the lmiits of Judge Merchan’s order”
Gigi – Merchan removed the jury from the court and laid into the prosecution. YOU may be stupid. But Merchan is not.
Merchan Screwed up. He is now blaming everyone else.
He has a huge problem. If he does not declare a mistrial – he amplifies Trump’s claim that he is biased.
If he does grant a mistrial – this is over.
If this were a normal case – a mistrial would be triviallly granted.
We are 13 days into the trial. The prosecution has not only not made their case – 95% of the testimony has nothing to do with the case.
But worse still and the reason a mistrial MUST be granted is that the Jury has heard testimony of a long list of crimes that Trump was not charged for. That is precisely why the Weinstein case was tossed, except that in the Weinstein case the testimony presented of other crimes was atleast pattern evidence. Weinstein was charge with sexual abuse and the prosecution put on the testimony of victims that Weinstein was not charged with.
In this case the prosecution is trying a federal election violation – that Trump is not charged with.
A state election law violations that Trump is not charged with.
They have just presented a witness who has alleged rape,
as well as violent threats.
All over a misdemeanor alleging that paying lawyers is NOT legal expenses, if a part of what they are paid for is to get an NDA.
This is a classic Mistrial. The Jury has heard an allegation of rape against the defendant in a minor statute of limitations barred misdemeanor case.
You can not allow testimony that the defendant might have committed murder at a jaywalking hearing.
Judge Merchan has had problems because he has allowed the prosecution to present evidence that is far afeild of the charges from the start.
But Daniels went way over the top.
Merchan can try to blame the defense – but this was elicited on direct.
He can try to blame the prosecutors – but he gave them great latitude.
Ultimately the Fault is his. And he knows it.
The question is what will he do.
I doubt he grants a mistrial.
But he is required to.
“5. Trump is NOT the “leading candidate”.
Both RCP and 538 – the most important poll agregators have Trump ahead of Biden and have for over 6 months.
That is pretty much the defininition of “leading candidate”
Biden’s favorability is lower than Trump’s
It is the lowest recorded for a president.
No president has won reelection with a favorability rating 10- pts higher than this at this time.
Trump’s favorability in May 2020 was 10 pts higher than this.
Trump is THE LEADING CANDIDATE.
“Turley’s attacks on the Judge and his daughter are shameful. ”
What has Trump said about them that is not True ?
”
Merchan’s daughter IS profiting from a favorable outcome of this trial.
The rules of judicial conduct REQUIRE Merchan to recuse.
He has not.
That is corrupt.
He has also been screwing up this trial by the numbers.
He has allowed the prosecution to go far afield of the charges.
And now because he allowed a witness who had nothing to contribute to proving the charges and gave her great latitude,
he has screwed up and is required to grant a mistrial – which he is unlikely to do.
You do not seem to understand – if you can not accuse someone of rigging an election in a trial over misreporting an expense.
You most certainly can not accuse the defendant of Rape.
This is not a close call Gigi.
If as you claim Merchan is honest – the prosecution would have been confined to the four corners of the charges long ago.
and you would not have this circus.
“ Merchan’s daughter IS profiting from a favorable outcome of this trial.”
How?
What does she get out of it? In order for Merchan to recuse according to the rules there must be clear evidence of what you claim. Just saying “she’s profiting” is not enough.
“ He has also been screwing up this trial by the numbers.
He has allowed the prosecution to go far afield of the charges.
And now because he allowed a witness who had nothing to contribute to proving the charges and gave her great latitude,
he has screwed up and is required to grant a mistrial – which he is unlikely to do.”
What has he done to screw up the trial? Do you have anything to back up that assertion besides ‘just saying’?
It seems you don’t really understand the rules. I have not seen anything you said backed up by specific rules or statutes prohibiting what you say is not allowed or wrong.
Google it. Unless you like your head stuck in the sand…or somewhere else.
It sounds like Stormy is retelling stories based on what actually happened over decades with hundreds of Hollywood starlet wannabe’s who met Harvey Weinstein in his hotel suite.
Stormy be making sh*t up.
Gigi — Judge Merchan is the SHAMEFUL one in this scenario. Hands down.
Lol. You must be smoking the strong stuff…or is it the crack talking?
This fraudulent trail is a multi pronged weapon to interfere with the 2024 presidential election.
The trial keeps Trump off the campaign trail, giving an edge to enfeebled, befuddled, incompetent Joe Biden. Joe Biden cannot defend his mental decline, his policies, or his record. Under his stewardship, he allowed 10 million illegal immigrants, including terrorists, into the country. For example, an ISIS terrorist was allowed to roam the country for a year. The price of gas, groceries, and utilities are far higher than during Trump’s tenure. He drained US oil reserves to artificially, temporarily, lower the gas prices that his anti-fossil-fuel policies jacked up. Under his leadership, bad global actors were emboldened. Hamas raped, mutilated, and pillaged Jews in a genocidal rampage on October 7, a date that will live in infamy. Mass rapist Hamas kidnapped American citizens, and Joe Biden has done nothing to retrieve them. Instead, he has actively interfered with Israel crushing Hamas and rescuing the captives in Rafah, the last stronghold. Joe Biden has encouraged Hamas by accepting their fraudulent fatality numbers, and publicly condemning Israel’s war on genocidal antisemitic terrorism. Russia invaded Ukraine, and is still trying to annex the country. China is preparing to seize Taiwan. Terrorists have fired on American military and American shipping interests. Joe Biden has abandoned American citizens in every single conflict, beginning with the total route in Afghanistan that led to the dead of 13 service members in a single day, and left around 9,000 Americans to fend for themselves. (https://www.risch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2022/2/bombshell-report-biden-admin-left-9k-americans-in-afghanistan-originally-claimed-150) He abandoned Americans in Haiti, Gaza, Israel, Afghanistan, and Ukraine. Typically, Biden’s State Department will issue an advisory that a country has become unsafe, and flights are canceled, but Americans should try to make their own way through dangerous streets to try to figure out their own escape. Under Joe Biden, genocidal antisemitic protests and riots have broken out across America, especially in universities, where they threaten, harass, and assault Jewish students. Biden cannot defend this, so his supporters have kept Trump off the campaign trail.
The judge allowed porn star Stormy Daniels to talk in detail about a one night stand with Trump, real or imagined, often changing details from previous accounts. There was no legal reason for her testimony. It was entirely designed as smut to damage Trump with independents and evangelicals. The same Democrat Party responsible for the proliferation of drag queen story hours and drag shows, and pride parades that are often hyper sexualized in the presence of children, as well as sexually explicit books in elementary and middle school libraries, also expects the US to take a Puritanical approach to allegations of Trump’s marital infidelity.
It also provides an opportunity to jail Trump on false charges. It is not illegal to have a one night stand. It is not illegal to offer an NDA in exchange for remuneration. An NDA is a legal document, and a legal expense. Even if Stormy Daniels’ accusations are true, Trump committed no crime. None of that will matter to a NYC jury. The hatred against Trump in Deep Blue NYC is overwhelming. It is impossible for Trump to get a fair trial. As activists have shown in the past, truth and facts don’t matter in the quest to “get Trump.” A NYC jury may simply ignore all exonerating evidence, and convict Trump simply because they can. Similar, a NYC jury found Trump guilty not of rape, but of sexual abuse, in a civil trial in which the only evidence presented was basically E Jean Carroll herself telling her friends that he did. It’s circular evidence. Carroll herself described the encounter as her meeting Trump, offering to go into a dressing room with a man she’d just met, get naked, and model lingerie for him, laughing the entire time. When he allegedly tried to have sex with the laughing woman who had just offered to get naked, she pushed him away, so he left. For that allegation, based on the comments she told her friends, Trump was ordered to may Carroll millions of dollars, while Democrats falsely claimed he’d been found guilty of rape.
This abuse of power is exactly what got Trump the nomination for Republican presidential candidate. Republicans voters are so outraged at Democrats creating a Single Party State, that they voted for Trump in the primaries as a show of support. It may get Trump re-elected. The false accusations will certainly fuel Democrat hysteria and “election denial” if Trump gets into the White House.
Ludicrously, people like Maxine Waters, who encouraged Democrat mobs to attack Republicans, cops, and white people, claim that Trump’s election would lead to mobs of white people assaulting blacks. She warns that a Trump presidency would be dystopia, ignoring that when Trump was president, everyone’s life was safer, less expensive, and better overall. We were better off under Trump. Israel and Jewish Americans were better off under Trump. Black and Latino people were better off under Trump, with low unemployment and better standard of living.
Indeed, the “fraudulent trail” [sic] was the one Karl Marx led Abraham Lincoln, his communist administration, and his communist successors down, taking America and its Constitution down with it.
To wit,
“These capitalists generally act harmoniously and in concert, to fleece the people.”
– Abraham Lincoln, from his first speech as an Illinois state legislator, 1837
_________________________________________________________________________________
“Everyone now is more or less a Socialist.”
– Charles Dana, managing editor of the New York Tribune, and Lincoln’s assistant secretary of war, 1848
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“The goal of Socialism is Communism.”
– Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
_________________________
“The workingmen of Europe (i.e. communists)…consider it an earnest of the epoch to come that it fell to the lot of Abraham Lincoln, the single-minded son of the working class, to lead his country through…the RECONSTRUCTION OF A SOCIAL WORLD.”
– Karl Marx and the First International Workingmen’s Association to Lincoln, 1864
Karen S: you live a pretend MAGA universe where reality is irrelevant. We have inflation due to Trump–his mishandling of COVID, trade war with China, country shut down for 2 years, shortages of computer chips and consumer goods, economy in shambles. That’s what Biden got handed and he turned it around, got passed the Infrastructure Act, COVID Relief Act, CHIPS Act, and other legislation. You say Biden has done nothing to get the hostages released? You either made this up or your don’t know, but either way, you are wrong. And, it’s not Biden’s fault that Hamas attacked Israel–in fact, we warned them the attack was coming and Netanyahu did nothing. The Hamas attack was in retaliation for Israel taking over the West Bank and moving in 700K Israelis, and for rounding up thousands of Palestinians and imprisoning them, some without any charges being filed. Israel cannot “crush” Hamas–many of their leaders have fled to other countries, but even if it could, the abusive conditions inflicted by Israel on Palestine that brought about Hamas remain and another group will arise to take its place. Israel has announced plans to “annex” even more of Palestinian territory. Close to 40,000 Palestinians have been killed–the majority of whom are women and children, and children are starving to death and dying of thirst, all while Israel won’t allow in aid and continues bombing, even though Hamaas is not retaliating. The UN has condemned Israel for taking the West Bank and has called the unnecessary and vindictive killing and starving of Palestinians “genocide”. There won’t be peace over there until Israel gets out of Palestinian territory and allows the Palestinian people to have their own government–the 2-state solution. Netanyahu refuses. it’s clear to any one with eyes that what Israel is doing is vindictive–not defensive–and that’s wrong. Most of the casualties are women and children. Rebuilding places for people to live will take decades.
The United States is NOT going to invade Palestine to free hostages–that would be stupid and would start an all-out war. Anyway, it would probably result in hostages getting killed. Many of them might have already been killed by Israel’s relentless bombing, cutting off water and food. Hamas is willing to talk terms. Israeil tells Palestinians to go south and then starts bombing in the south. You claim that campus protests are “genocidal” and “antisemitic”–uh, Karen S.–name at least ONE Jew who was killed in a campus protest. The protests are over Israel’s genocidal abuse of Palestinians–opposing killing and starving tens of thousands of people is not anti-semitism–a large number of Jews agree, including in Israel. No one is attacking Judaism by speaking out against Israel’s abuse of Palestinians.
Trump is on trial for FALSIFICATION OF BUSINESS RECORDS. Paying a woman for an NDA is not “attorney fees”. He misrepresented the payoff as attorney fees to cover up another incident of sexually predatory abuse of women right after the Access Hollywood tape became public. When the motivation for falifying business records is to help win an election, it is election interference, and the falsification becomes a felony under NY law–that’s what Trump is charged with.
Gigi, whether you pay an attorney to prepare a trust, articles of incorporation, or an NDA, it is legal fees.
There is no category on tax filings for paying a woman blackmailing you to sign an NDA, which she then violated. He didn’t falsify anything. That is why the feds did not open a case. There was no crime.
Stormy Daniels hates Trump, and she has made her living for years based off an alleged one night stand with Trump. She’s admitted to changing her story, and for refusing to comply with a court order to pay Trump’s attorney’s fees of $500,000. That’s your star witness.
Whether Donald Trump had sex with her is immaterial to the election, just as JFK’s philandering was immaterial to his presidency. It is a matter between Donald and Melania Trump.
If you claim that paying off a woman who threatened to expose a one night stand is election interference, as if voters didn’t know he’d been divorced twice already for infidelity, then what would you call the Biden Campaign colluding with the media and the intelligence community to knowingly, falsely claim that Hunter Biden’s laptop was Russian misinformation? Did Joe Biden falsify records when he paid people for that work?
Speaking of falsifying business records, that laptop started investigators down the road to untangling all the shell companies that the Biden family used to launder money from foreign actors like China, in Joe Biden’s pay-to-play scheme.
While you’re salivating over Trump possibly going to prison for having a one night stand with a porn star nearly 20 years ago, and paying her for an NDA, you’re ignoring the shell companies Joe Biden used to launder the money he received when he sold political favors overseas.
You also disagreed about the genocidal nature of the antisemitic protests going on at college campuses across America, brought to us by the antisemitic Left. These protestors were quite literally calling for genocide of the Jews. They called for the “Intifada”, which was a violent uprising that targets Jewish civilians, called for the cleansing of Jews “from the river to the sea,” they praised Hamas, said October 7 should happen again, and called out for al-Qassam to kill Jewish students. Literally, the entire purpose of the protests was to call for the destruction of Israel and genocide of the Jews.
I told you years ago, under your other moniker, that the Left was antisemitic. You denied it. The antisemitism of the Left has exploded to the point that Jews are afraid to walk in NYC and most college campuses. The denial of people like you allowed this antisemitism to become normalized. See no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil will not change reality.
There is no “Palestine” to invade. There has never been a nation of Palestine. There is no Palestinian language, culture, or dress. Yasser Arafat began to promote calling Arabs Palestinians, to claim that it was some sort of unique homeland, as an excuse to to kill the Jews. The Romans renamed Judea Palestine to punish Jews who rebelled against Roman imperialism. Palestine was only a region, however, under the Roman and later Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Turks ruled it. Just like the borders and nation names of Europe has changed, even in our own lifetimes, as the result of wars and dynastic changes, so the ME has been redrawn many times. When the Ottoman Empire backed the wrong war, and fell, the empire was divided, as all empires before have been. Unless you feel like restoring the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, or the Holy Roman Empire, then you need to accept that empires fall. Since the Arabs refused to accept a Jewish nation, most of the land set aside in the British Mandate to recreate Israel was given to the Muslims to appease them, in the formation of Jordan, and part of Syria and Lebanon. Thus, there already is an Arab Palestine, made from about 85% of what was supposed to be Israel. If Arabs don’t want to live in Jewish Israel, then they have more land to choose from in the Arab part of Palestine.
If the US had shown up October 8, with a massive military show, Hamas would have surrendered, and given up the surviving hostages. Instead, Americans have likely been raped and tortured for 7 months, because Joe Biden abandoned them. Hamas seizing Americans was an act of war. You don’t appease terrorists by showing fear. You prevent future terrorist attacks by teaching Hamas to be afraid of angering the US. If our military went door to door, and inch by inch down those tunnels, the hopelessness of kidnapping and raping Americans would have become clear to the most stupid observer. Instead, Joe Biden gave Hamas hope by actively interfering in Israel’s war on terror.
Also, during war in Israel, there is a joint cabinet comprised of the current PM and opposition. This is not Netanyahu’s war.
Finally, Israel is only about 290 by 80 miles in size. It already lost 85% of its land to the Arabs at the time of its formation. It has offered land for peace more than 5 times, and been rebuffed, because every single Palestinian organization in power has demanded death to Jews and the annihilation of Israel. Israel gave the West Bank to Palestinian control, and they used it as a terror base. Israel gave Gaza to the Palestinians, and the world funneled over a billion dollars in aid and supplies, and Palestinians turned it into a terror base. That’s the point. They want Israel destroyed, and all the Jews dead. Every square inch of land they get is used as a platform from which to kill more Jews.
The seething hatred of Jews on display in the US, Canada, and Europe, is exactly why a refuge in Israel was created in the first place. It was an answer to the global diaspora.
Wow. Unless this IS your job you need to get a real one. Only an idiot would try to make Trump the reason for computer chip & consumer goods shortages. Trump didn’t tell the companies making the chips how many to make, nor did he ever have control of the global distribution of consumer goods.
And inflation? LOL 🤣
Have you looked out your window lately & seen what havoc Biden’s ridiculous runaway inflation is causing to the price of groceries & mortgage rates? Be serious. 🤡
Whoops. “Trial”, not “trail”. A typo in the first line, no less.
All Stormy Daniels wanted was a Perl Necklace and she got more than she bargained for …
[Urban Dictionary: pearl necklace – https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=pearl%20necklace%5D
Man, it’s get’en hot out here today,
Time to take it to the Top – ZZ Top
And all Donny wanted to do was the Tube Snake Boogie …
Now they got’Em Under Pressure
Stormy can dish it out all she wants, because she messing with a Rough Boy
And one for the Ladies – Oh yeah We’ll be back!
Every attack coming from the left is eventually proved to be a lie
https://www.declassified.live/p/the-dojs-doctored-crime-scene-photo
Only in corrupt NY could you make Trump look like a sympathic figure. I did not think it was possible.
This is yet another example of Democrat activists abusing their positions of power to interfere in an election. President Trump is on trial for allegedly having a one night stand nearly 20 years ago. We are expected to believe that paying off a woman blackmailing him for this alleged encounter was somehow election interference. Trump has been divorced multiple times over infidelity.
Democrats would have you believe that Republican voters would be shocked, shocked I tell you, that twice-divorcedDonald Trump might have been unfaithful, to the point that they would not have voted for him. While claiming that denying the results of an election is treason for Republicans, Democrats claim that the 2016 election was illegitimate because voters did not know that Donald Trump might have been unfaithful with Stormy Daniels.
Democrats also want you to believe that it was not election interference for Hilary Clinton to pay a disgraced British spy to fabricate accusations that Trump was working for Russia ahead of the 2016 election, or for the Biden campaign to coordinate with the intelligence community and the media to falsely dismiss the Hunter Biden Laptop outlining Biden’s corruption as Russian disinformation ahead of the 2020 election.
We are to believe that charges against Trump for mishandling classified information are valid, while ignoring Joe Biden’s mishandling of classified information is also perfectly valid. President Trump had the right to declassify any document he chose. He consulted with the FBI on security for storing these documents while his attorneys argued through proper legal channels with the NA over which documents must be turned over for archive. As Senator and Vice President, Joe Biden stole classified documents he had no right to declassify, showed it to his drug addict son, stored some in boxes at various residences and in his unsecured garage, and gave some to the Chinese funded Penn Biden Center.
Harrumphing over this obvious abuse of power changes nothing. Conservatives slept at the wheel while Democrat activists took control of all three letter government agencies, public schools, public universities, Hollywood, and most of the media. They control the narrative, the education of our youth, the justice system, and the bureaucracy.
President Trump is on trial for allegedly having a one night stand nearly 20 years ago
Karen with all do respect, even the corrupt Bragg, and DNC consulted Colangelo, only found an obscure accounting issue to indict.
I like most all your stuff. But it is important the hold the extreme leftists to their own set of fact and not let phony narratives seep into discussions.
1. Trump is NOT President, and will not be again–because he continues lying about losing in 2020 and started an insurrection and stole classified documents, he does not deserve the honorific title. Stop calling him “President”. 2. Daniels was approached by Cohen–not the other way around. She WANTED the NDA to protect herself and her daughter after getting a death threat by a thug at an airport. 3. It’s not infidelity that the Trump campaign was trying to hide–Trump is proud of that (see his interview with Chris Matthews)–it was his predatory abuse of women. In addition to Daniels, there was E. Jean Carroll and over 20 other women who had similar stories–those are just the ones who came forward. It is well-known that sexual predators have numerous victims and that many don’t come forward, especially if the perpetrator is famous or wealthy because they don’t want to go through the abuse Carroll and Daniels are going through. The Access Hollywood tape supports their stories. By his own recorded admissions, the tape confirms that he believes himself entitled to kiss women and even grab women by their privates if he finds them “beautiful”. And, yes, it DOES matter to women, including Republican women, that someone who deigns to be the leader of the free world is a sexual predator. 4. Democrats claim the 2016 election was illegitimate because the Trump campaign colluded with Russian hackers to spread lies about Hillary Clinton. A REPUBLICAN Senate Intelligence Committee investigation proves this. 5. Joe Biden didn’t STEAL anything–after it was discovered that Trump had stolen classified documents and lied about returning them and also lied about declassifying them, both Biden and Pence went through their files and self-reported that they had inadvertently were in possession of such documents, which were immediate returned. Declassification is a process that creates a paper trail. There is NO such trail for the documents Trump deliberately stole and refused to return.
Her own lawyer testified that he approached cohen and she also said she was shopping the story
Has trump and his acolytes been checked?
https://www.alternet.org/rfk-jr-brain-parasite/
HOW LOW WILL AMERICA GO?
LET’S ASK GEORGE WASHINGTON, THOMAS JEFFERSON, JOHN ADAMS, JAMES MADISON, BEN FRANKLIN, JOHN JAY, SAM ADAMS, ALEXANDER HAMILTON, RICHARD HENRY LEE ET AL.
Are Brotha Bragg and Seengyor “Juan Valdez” Merchan being paid for using this American Court and District for the “Biden For President” campaign?
This is a brilliant Banana Republic strategy by commensurate denizens of such.
Which way is Port-au-Prince?
Bonjou, Kamarads!
I appreciate the give and take between “wiseoldlawyer” and “iowan2”. This is how the planform should be used, instead of slinging filthy names and mud at each other.
While I am here, I would like to say, this trial has been silly from the get-go. The Left has tried for so long to bring Mr. Trump down and have not succeeded. They need to give it up.
Thanks, I would really like to understand this.
The left will not stop once Trump is gone.
Trump just exposed them.
Hillary’s Russia Hoax, Pelosi’s sham impeachments, J6 Fedsurrection, targeting Trump lawyers for disbarment, even prison, FBI targeting school board parents, FBI arresting pro-life activists, Israel, Jews, Christians, churches being attacked, Businesses colluding with government to ‘de-platform,’ censor, and “de-banking” those with the wrong political “ideology,” FBI targeting “MAGA extremists” which means anyone that displays patriotism, American flag, Christian “nationalism” or conservative political values…..
The left will never stop. They are coming for America…for you, for us…
This is not just about Trump.
Do you not see this?
How is it a Russia Hoax when Russia tried to interfere with the election?
How is it a Russia Hoax when Don Jr., Jared, and Paul Manafort met with Russians promising Russian Government help with dirt on Hillary?
How is it a Russia Hoax when Paul Manafort sent inside campaign info over the course of weeks to a Russian spy?
How is it a Russia Hoax when George Papadopoulos bragged that a Russian was offering Russian government help?
How is it a Russia Hoax when Roger Stone was having back channel conversations with a Russian Government Hacker?
How is it a Russia Hoax when Don told his son Don Jr. to lie about the meeting he had with Russians at Trump Tower?
How is it a Russia Hoax when Don was in discussions about a Trump Moscow Hotel while the campaign was ongoing?
How is it a Russia Hoax when Don fired the man investigating potential ties to Russia?
All of those things I stated above are factual. There is no evidence that the Don colluded with Russians, but his son took a meeting to discuss colluding, his campaign manager was colluding with a Russian, and the Don tried to stop every investigation.
Give it a rest. The govt corruption is exposed. Crossfire Hurricane NEVER had any predicated.
“How is it a Russia Hoax when Russia tried to interfere with the election?”
They did ? You mean those stupid FB adds for Sanders ?
Did you see one ? Do you know anyone who has ?
“How is it a Russia Hoax when Don Jr., Jared, and Paul Manafort met with Russians promising Russian Government help with dirt on Hillary?”
A meeting with a russian lawyer about an adoption law ?
Absolutely Trump wanted Dirt on Hillary. Hillary also wanted Dirt on Trump. The difference is when Hillary did not find any dirt, she hired a russian to MAKE IT UP – that is called a HOAX, and then she sold it to the FBI.
That is actually illegal election interferance.
“How is it a Russia Hoax when Paul Manafort sent inside campaign info over the course of weeks to a Russian spy?”
Manafort provided polling information to someone who worked for him, prior to joining the Trump campaign.
Unknow to Manafort that person MIGHT be a source for Russia AND is almost certainly a source fro the US State department.
Regardless, MAnafort did not knowingly give toilet paper to a russian spy. And he did not give anyone anything they could not find on Real Clear Politics or 538.com/
“How is it a Russia Hoax when George Papadopoulos bragged that a Russian was offering Russian government help?”
Totally False. Please familiarize yourself with the Facts.
Papdoulis is ALLEGED to have Bragged about the Wikileaks emails. But the FACT is that claim is FALSE – the alleged source of the claim – the Austrailian ambassador denied it.
“How is it a Russia Hoax when Roger Stone was having back channel conversations with a Russian Government Hacker?”
Again False. Stone allegedly had a back chanel to Wikilweaks – NOT a Russian hacker. Regardless the FACT is that Stone had no back channel at all.
“How is it a Russia Hoax when Don told his son Don Jr. to lie about the meeting he had with Russians at Trump Tower?”
Again false.
“How is it a Russia Hoax when Don was in discussions about a Trump Moscow Hotel while the campaign was ongoing?”
Again False. This would be ludicrously stupid – even if the underlying claim was True.
Trump did seek to build a Trump tower Moscow starting after the Moscow Miss Universe pagent.
That is what global real estate magnates do.
That deal never went anywhere and by 2016 it was dead. Micheal Cohen on his own made an inconsequential effort to revive it in early 2016 and failed.
If Putin as left wing nuts claim favored Trump – construction on Trump Tower Moscow would have started in 2013.
“How is it a Russia Hoax when Don fired the man investigating potential ties to Russia?”
Where do you get this nonsense. Presumably you mean Comey.
God forbid you should make a claim with enough facts to evaluate.
Regardless, Crossfire Huricane was dead by Jan 4, 2017. The FBI was supposed to close it based on its own rules after an interview with Danchenko revealed that the last allegations in support of Russian collusion were a HOAX.
The investigation was not officially closed until after the Interview of Flynn – because Strzok Begged the person closing the case to keep it open a few more days.
As to Comey – we have an FBI director who tried to blackmail and incoming president with the bogus Pee Tape.
Of course he was fired.
“James Comey, the seventh director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), was fired by U.S. President Donald Trump on May 9, 2017.”
That is 5 months after Crossfire Huricane was supposed to be closed, and 4 months after it was.
“All of those things I stated above are factual. ”
Pretty much universally NO.
All those “facts” are spin.
Just to be clear -Konstantin Kilimnik is a private person who is ALLEGEDLY involved with both Russian intelligence and US intelligence. Who is Paid by US government funded IRI and who like Manafort works as a political consultant.
Russia “tried to interfere with the election.”
Did they? And? So? How about China, etc? How about Mark Zuckerburg’s meddling? How about Google’s censorship meddling?
As if “America” does not regularly “interfere” in foreign elections?
Correct, there is NO evidence of Trump “collusion with Russians” to interfere in the election.
There is a TON of evidence that it was Democrats and Hillary Clinton campaign “colluded” with “Russians” and “others” to “interfere in the U.S. election”.
First Hillary and the DNC “rigged” the Democrat primaries and screwed Bernie and every Bernie voter.
Then Hillary campaign and DNC went on to “collude” with “foreign actors” in their efforts to “interfere in” and “influence” the U.S. election.
Did Hillary campaign pay millions for the Steele dossier in order to “get dirt on Trump” and then illegally launder that “campaign expense” through Perkins Coie for which she was later fined, but should have been prosecuted? Yes.
Was that made-up dossier bullshlt used to smear Trump and “interfere in the election”? Yes.
Was that bullshlt, made up, salacious dossier illegally and improperly leaked to the media by then FBI director Comey with the intention of “interfering in the election”? Yes.
Did the Obama/Biden DOJ/FBI illegally spy on Trump’s campaign in order to “interfere in the election”? Yes.
Did the Obama/Biden DOJ/FBI hatch an “insurance policy” plan to sabotage Trump’s campaign and presidency? Yes.
Did Rep. Adam Schiff take a phone call from Russians who told Schiff they had “dirt on Trump” and “naked Trump photos” and Schiff took the call seriously, made arrangements to get more info, etc. Only later to find out it was a prank call? Yes. But Rep. Schiff sure wanted to find out what “dirt those Russians had on Trump.”
Did Rep. Adam Schiff constantly LIE about “evidence” he has on Trump? Yes.
Did Schiff and Pelosi, etc. all go on cable TV and LIE about Trump, Putin and Russia every day for years? Yes.
Did MSNBC, CNN and the rest of the fake news media lie to their viewers every night for four years about Russia Russia Russia? Yes.
On and on this debunking can go….
To sum up: Russia “collusion” was a DEMOCRAT Hoax full of lies and actual criminality by Hillary, by the Obama/Biden administration, by Democrat politicians, by the Fake News media — all thrust onto the country for YEARS, for the sole purpose of “interfering in the election” and “sabotaging Trump’s ability to govern his entire four years as president.”
“FDR and His Women”
“… she was deeply wounded to discover that Franklin had been having an affair with her secretary, Lucy Mercer.”
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“SLICK WILLY”
“Clinton pays Paula Jones $850,000”
Associated Press
Wed 13 Jan 1999 13.15 EST
“WASHINGTON (AP) – Paula Jones is awaiting the arrival of an $850,000 cheque from President Clinton, bringing an official end to the four-year saga spurred by her allegations of sexual harassment.”
_______________
Bill Clinton as enabled by Hillary Clinton
1. Eileen Wellstone (1969) Allegation: Sexual assault
2. Anonymous female student at Yale University (1972) Allegation: Sexual assault
3. Anonymous female student at the University of Arkansas (1974) Allegation: Sexual assault
4. Anonymous female lawyer (1977) Allegation: Sexual assault
5. Juanita Broaddrick (1978) Allegation: Rape
6. Carolyn Moffet (1979) Allegation: Sexual assault
7. Elizabeth Ward (1983) Allegation: Unclear
8. Sally Perdue (1983) Allegation: Unclear
9. Paula Jones (1991) Allegation: Sexual harassment
10. Sandra Allen James (1991) Allegation: Sexual assault
11. Christy Zercher (1992) Allegation: Sexual assault
12. Kathleen Willey (1993) Allegation: Sexual assault
So Clinton and Trump are rapists, what is your point?
Clinton is a rapist.
Trump is a candidate disproving false claims.