I read the indictment, but all I can think of right now is that Judge Aileen Cannon will be the trial judge, it appears.
This is a very serious blow to the prosecution.
I have gone from giddy to extremely cynical and depressed at this news because to me, this assignment of judges was not as random as everyone seems to think, because there are 15 district judges in that court, and why she came up as the trial judge (everyone thinks she's temporary, but I don't believe it..) for the one trial that could send Donald Trump to prison is just a bit more than I can bear to think about.
Excuse me while I am being negative. I will see you all later. I've had my fill of Trump and the corruption that attaches to the man.
NO, she isn't "finalized" by any means - Cannon should, of course (1) recuse herself, if not, (2) higher federal court can reassign her, if not that, (3) any more bogus rulings from her are subject to appeal by the independent special counsel.
Thus, her role remains unclear, subject to future decisions and lawyering.
still, it certainly must strike everybody how "odd" it is that the very worst-case scenario we were all sort of dreading IS, in fact, the reality.
there is something about this that does, indeed, stink. it seems to be that, at best, it's going to cause some delay.
we don't, however, know when (or if) Smith is going to come up with other indictments between now and then. this case might be the easy, cut-and-dried one but if Smith has been as diligent in his 1/6 investigations as he was in these investigations (and there's no reason to think he hasn't been), the whole thing could change. and pretty radically.
and let's not forget that the Georgia indictment (which is even more in-our-faces than the case of the documents) is going to happen before very long, and that will also change things.
needless to say, the ugly core of TFF's loyalists is not going to shift at all. but that core is hardly sufficient to give him a win. this is assuming, of course, that there hasn't been some kind of evil manipulation going on in secret to fuck up the already foulball Electoral College.
my god...am I starting to sound like a Conspiracy Theorist?
I just read through the Wikipedia bio of Garrison, its account of the Clay Shaw trial and the reaction from critics is pure, unadulterated balderdash, see Garrison's proleptic rebuttals in the Playboy interview, and this:
And Kerry Thornley, ONLY an era like America in the 1960s could produce a character like him, he is more like an R. Crumb cartoon character than a real human being, in important senses of "real"!
{Claimed he was part of a genetic experiment by the Nazis or aliens or something, you have to read it for yourself as it's too preposterously incoherent for me to summarize}
This, from journalist Don Roses's weekly column this morning: "The case is rock-solid but there is one horrifying aspect:
The judge in the case—unless she is removed—is a rock-solid Trumpian who has been over-ruled twice by appeals courts. However, she has the ability under federal law to give a directed verdict of acquittal right after the prosecution presents its case, without hearing the defense or sending it to the jury. This ruling is not appealable!
NO, she isn't "finalized" by any means - Cannon should, of course (1) recuse herself, if not, (2) higher federal court can reassign her, if not that, (3) any more bogus rulings from her are subject to appeal by the independent special counsel.
Thus, her role remains unclear, subject to future decisions and lawyering.
Aileen Cannon is straight out of the school of soulless, stupid, useless humans that have crawled their rotten selves into a position with some power. Though I have no way of knowing what will happen, I have a bad feeling that we’re in for a repeat horrific performance from her. Doubtful that she would recuse herself. Equally doubtful that she gives one flying fuck what the press has to say about her. She’s a QAnon slimebag and will probably do everything she can to fuck things up yet again. I’m prepared to be more enraged than I am right now!
There's great power in well-channeled moral outrage, I think.
True story: in a "Theories of Justice" philosophy class years ago at the U. of Minnesota-Twin Cities, the class attendees and instructor, Gene Mason, were all of us well aware that sexual assault on campus was a terrible reality long "papered over," with all the usual "slut-shaming" and misplaced, callous treatment of the almost exclusively female victims by the almost exclusively male police officers taking their initial statements, doubling-down on their trauma, and perpetuating the problem. Effectively discouraging victims from daring to even report the crime in the first place.
This was on a day several months into the fall quarter, there was a fairly comfortable atmosphere established encouraging people to "vent" a bit about issues connected to justice in any relevant form, and I sort of went into a mini-tirade about the facts of this as just summarized --- ending with a statement to the effect of, "How can administration after administration keep failing to take this far more seriously? It just dehumanizes everyone in the whole system, while failing to deter the rapists!"
There was one of those shared, thoughtful silences, lasting for maybe ten to fifteen seconds, and then Professor Mason simply said, "Would anyone else like to express moral outrage?"
You probably "had to be there" to sense how perfectly that summed up what had just happened, as professors are prone to sometimes draw back timorously from very sensitive topics in a philosophy course, trying I suppose to retain some abstract, unstated commitment to an ideal of objectivity - when clearly, that would have been completely inept, even demeaning to me or anyone else who expressed that sense of outrage about the "culture of rape."
I love your sense of moral outrage. It's astonishing that it went on this way for so very very long. Almost every female I knew in the 50s and 60s were date raped in college and not a word was ever said by them because of all that outraged you about it.
I was never date raped, but I had to fight my way out of the football player's car one night in 1969 at a small northern Mn college. His parting words were "I had to make sure you really meant no."
Replying to own comment to append this about the late Professor Gene Mason....
"Born July 4, 1925 in Montevideo to Homer and Malinda Mason, he grew up in Northfield, where he graduated in 1943 as valedictorian of his high school class. He was drafted into the Army and was injured in Hürtgen Forest in 1944. He returned home to attend St. Olaf College, where he met his future wife Joan Overson. After graduating in 1948, Gene earned an MA from the University of Minnesota and a PhD in Philosophy from Harvard. His first teaching position was at Penn State. In 1957 he joined the Philosophy Department at the University of Minnesota, where he taught until his retirement in 2000, having served several years as chair. Gene was particularly interested in the philosophical writings of Søren Kierkegaard and Ludwig Wittgenstein, and in theories of justice and ethics, writing on moral and social issues and public policy. These interests dovetailed with his political engagement; he was active in the DFL and advocated for human rights. Gene and Joan were known for the gatherings they hosted, welcoming friends, colleagues, graduate students and visiting professors into their home. Gene learned carpentry from his father; in 1960 the two of them built an addition to the beloved family cabin on Lake Minnewaska. Gene was a wonderful father who took his children camping and hiking, imparted to them his love of nature, and taught them Zeno's paradox over dinner. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Joan; his children, John (Susan Davies) Austerlitz, NY; Chris (Ann), Baltimore MD; Karen (Matt Schaefer), Iowa City, IA; Martha Mason Miller, St. Paul; Tom, Nashville TN; his brother, Jim Mason, Starbuck; and grandchildren, Bronwyn, Kari, and Noah Davies-Mason; Elizabeth and Will Mason; Daniel Schaefer; and Erik, Chris, and Kai Miller. A memorial service will be held Monday, June 18, at 1:00 p.m. at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, 2136 Carter Ave., St. Paul. Memorials may be made to Doctors Without Borders, the Hong Kierkegaard Library (St. Olaf College) or the Iowa Women's Archives (University of Iowa).
And an academic clarification for understanding the nature of the Theories of Justice course, it was essentially "Rawls and his Critics," with assigned readings from his massively influential work A Theory of Justice, Michael J. Sandel's Liberalism and the Limits of Justice, Michael Walzer's Spheres of Justice, and others.
One cite with no extensive excerpts but only a summary sketch from wiki, in case anyone wandering into this seeks more info:
A Theory of Justice is a 1971 work of political philosophy and ethics by the philosopher John Rawls (1921–2002) in which the author attempts to provide a moral theory alternative to utilitarianism and that addresses the problem of distributive justice (the socially just distribution of goods in a society). The theory uses an updated form of Kantian philosophy and a variant form of conventional social contract theory. Rawls's theory of justice is fully a political theory of justice as opposed to other forms of justice discussed in other disciplines and contexts.
The resultant theory was challenged and refined several times in the decades following its original publication in 1971. A significant reappraisal was published in the 1985 essay "Justice as Fairness" and the 2001 book Justice as Fairness: A Restatement in which Rawls further developed his two central principles for his discussion of justice. Together, they dictate that society should be structured so that the greatest possible amount of liberty is given to its members, limited only by the notion that the liberty of any one member shall not infringe upon that of any other member. Secondly, inequalities – either social or economic – are only to be allowed if the worst off will be better off than they might be under an equal distribution. Finally, if there is such a beneficial inequality, this inequality should not make it harder for those without resources to occupy positions of power – for instance, public office.[1]
The critical literature on that book would fill Manhattan Island and spill over into into Long Island Sound at a spectacular height, it can't be overestimated in its impact over the decades.
does she actually believe the QAnon insanity? or are you saying that she might as well be?
she DID join the Federalist Society before she was out of school, so she was already buttering her bread on the correct side well before she passed whatever pathetic bar exam she was able to finesse.
I worry about a light sentence from puppet judge Cannon should the traitor be convicted. Is she the traitor’s poison pill insurance judge? This whole situation could have been handled much better if only GOP SENATORS had voted to convict traitor Don after his failed putsch. They enabled the most shameful treason in American history. Never forget.
I think she will recuse. The spotlight on her is going to be so intense. She is also in a position to start pissing off 65% or more of the US population if she starts getting all Trumpy with this.
I truly doubt that. She is bought and paid for. She will perform as expected if she is the judge. I hope she can be removed. The whole thing stinks to high heaven.
My Navy Attack Squadron had missions to fulfill should we go to war with USSR or Communist China: it was called SIOP, Single Integrated Operational Plan (Nuke war plan of attack). Everyone in my squadron thought that they were basically Kamikazee missions.
As the junior officer in my squadron I was sent to San Diego for the Registered Publications Officer---the guy responsible for all Confidential, Secret, Top Secret, and Top Secret ESI (Extremely Sensitive Information) stuff. You screw up, you went to military prison. People's lives were ruined because they mishandled this stuff---it was drop dead serious in those days.
The stuff Trump kept is TS-ESI. He, and many of his staff, should go to prison for his breeches of security.
One would have to have been in the military and involved in Top Secret things to know how Trump really acted in a criminal and traitorous way. To intelligence people this is drop dead serious stuff.
Yet another reason why the IC doesn’t much care for TFG. Well, that and the sudden cluster of deaths in the sigint quarter in the year following the inauguration.
I still don't understand why Bedminster wasn't searched since there is evidence boxes were loaded on a plane and moved when Trump decamped to his summer residence. Did he not pick the documents he wanted that were most useful to him? How many documents are still floating around he could still access and utilize? I read the indictment through and it is very detailed, documented and thorough - except for lack of searching trump's other properties which could very well be harboring documents detrimental to national security.
Saved as ace-in-sleeve to play if this try fails, who knows? Best be satisfied with what's already discovered and deployed, Trump is definitely on the road to Supermax, and any bogus rulings by Judge Aileen Cannon, if she does not recuse herself, are subject to appeal to higher courts. She might also be assigned to other cases by the court, due to the appointment by Trump and her egregiously BOGUS rulings in the Special Master disaster.
Trusty, one of his lawyers, agreed to search so they didn't need to. The DOJ is aware there are documents there. I believe he had worked with Merrick Garland, so he was "trusted."
Donald Trump definitely "knows from lawless." I liked the language throughout that is Mr. T.'s trademark. I.e., "Trumpian dangle."
My first response today was also Larry Tribe's: Great regret and sadness that such a man could somehow be a United States president. He really is, and always was, devoid of integrity, dignity, intellectual capability, a sense of service, and really, knowledge about anything. I'd give anything to know what his loudmouth, defensive sons have to say about the tape recordings we've heard so far.
Along with the regret and sadness, I feel, what, foreboding? about that "somehow" -- because so many tens of millions of my countryfolk voted for him twice, and would do so again.
Michael Beschloss, an historian, believes such a thing is possible. (I do not.) He said it would have been useful if Gerry Ford had not been in such a hurry to pardon Nixon. He believes even a few days behind bars might've scared the bejesus out of Trump. An interesting idea, certainly.
Yeah, at least the only U.S. president from our home state of Iowa, Herbert Hoover, was a serious humanitarian and diplomat, very confused and dogmatic about handling a "crisis of market capitalism," but orders of magnitude more compassionate and intellectually gifted than Trump...not that difficult, if you can read at a middle school level with a good grasp of meaning, I realize! *****
Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933. He was a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Great Depression in the United States. A self-made man who became rich as a mining engineer, Hoover led the Commission for Relief in Belgium, served as the director of the U.S. Food Administration, and served as the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.
Hoover was born to a Quaker family in West Branch, Iowa, but he grew up in Oregon. He was one of the first graduates of the new Stanford University in 1895. He took a position with a London-based mining company working in Australia and China. He rapidly became a wealthy mining engineer. In 1914 at the outbreak of World War I, he organized and headed the Commission for Relief in Belgium, an international relief organization that provided food to occupied Belgium. When the U.S. entered the war in 1917, President Woodrow Wilson appointed Hoover to lead the Food Administration. He became famous as his country's "food czar". After the war, Hoover led the American Relief Administration, which provided food to the starving millions in Central and Eastern Europe, especially Russia. Hoover's wartime service made him a favorite of many progressives, and he unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination in the 1920 presidential election.
Yes, some of the deep core of those Quaker values perhaps never entirely left him, on the other hand, reading further there's some very typical white racism of that era expressed in policy choices for which he advocated. He did move from being dogmatically anti-labor and opposed to the 8-hour day & minimum wage "because" unfair to the employers (!?) to, years later, accepting both as valid and necessary goals. So he was "of his time," complicated in that sense.
I felt the same way when Bush beat Kerry in 2004. I could not believe that many people seemingly forgot about being misled by WMDs in Iraq. My sadness about this, and I think Trump will be forced to drop out, is the number of people standing behind him. That to me is soul-crushing.
Almost nothing is moving the needle. The only conclusion I reach is that these people are true believers. They think that the country is beyond redeemable and is in need of rebuilding. They see Trump as the instigator, but the savior is yet to come. That will be a very bad person, indeed.
I will actually be up in Michigan this summer. I could ride my bike to Metro Beach on Lake St. Clair growing up. Roseville. My Aunt lives on the canals around St. John's Marsh, and has a pontoon boat we'll take out on Lake St. Clair. Will also be in Petoskey for a few nights.
My parents used to have a little cabin and five acres around Mio. I went to Northern Michigan University for a while after high school and eventually graduated from Wayne State.
You are too kind about the baby fascist jerks who are behind him. They are, for the most part, bigots, gun nuts, and fools who apparently are ignorant re his lost lawsuits, forced monetary damages, and the general revulsion on the part of smart, honest people.
I am puzzled, as apparently lots of others are, about Aileen Cannon being assigned to this case. The Southern District of Florida is serious about randomly assigning judges. There has even been litigation about it before, so the Clerk's office is very careful. Either this was sheer luck--like drawing to an inside straight and getting the card you need--or this is some kind of temporary assignment for some obscure reason and another judge will take over shortly. This said, if I were Judge Cannon, I would want out of this as fast as I could recuse. If she takes the case and cuts Trump a lot of slack, the prosecution will move to recuse, and the press will crucify her. If she goes by the book to show how fair she can be, the MAGA folks will be protesting outside her house. It's a no-win situation.
It is possibly akin to a football coach having completely figured out the upcoming opponent's offense and/or defensive schemes, their set plays, even the "gadget plays" they prefer, such as the infamous "Bumerooski" or "Fumblerooski" -
n American football, the fumblerooski is a trick play in which the football is intentionally and stealthily placed on the ground (fumbled) by an offensive player, usually the quarterback. The offensive team then attempts to distract and confuse the defense by pretending that a ball carrier is running in one direction while another offensive player retrieves the ball from the turf and runs in a different direction, hoping to gain significant yardage before the defense realizes which player is actually carrying the football.
The fumblerooski traces its roots back to deceptive plays from the early days of football, and the infrequent usage of the play and its variations in the modern game often draws much fan and media attention. The NCAA banned the original version of the play following the 1992 season.[1] In the NFL, the play has been considered an "intentional forward fumble" for many years, which would make the play an incomplete pass, but a version in which the quarterback places the ball behind him is still legal.[2]
Thanks, Lucian, for lifting up the detail and filling in. He thought he could stiff-arm the whole government. What an ego and what ignorance. If the lawyers keep mouthing off about "lawless searches" and other such lies, will they be held liable in some way (I suppose state bar associations could the put into action.....) One can hope that Rudy and the rest of the grifters/liars/creeps get their "just rewards" at some point. Onward. A big "bravo" to Smith for the indictment and his brief appearance today...
I wish I had waited for you to do this for me. It is remarkable reading this and knowing that The Former Guy was making his own lawyers certify his lies. He is such a scumbag. Aileen Cannon can delay this forever, or behave as poorly as she has in the past during jury selection, or with the information at trial. They’ve got to get another judge. She’s already had her hand slapped for disregarding the rule of law in Trump’s favor.
No, no, Lucian, I DO "have to read it," savoring the resounding resonance, the poetry
of 793 (e), and what that means for the Ex-President Trumpanzee!
18 U.S. Code § 793 - Gathering, transmitting or losing defense information
*****
(e)Whoever having unauthorized possession of, access to, or control over any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, or note relating to the national defense, or information relating to the national defense which information the possessor has reason to believe could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation, willfully communicates, delivers, transmits or causes to be communicated, delivered, or transmitted, or attempts to communicate, deliver, transmit or cause to be communicated, delivered, or transmitted the same to any person not entitled to receive it, or willfully retains the same and fails to deliver it to the officer or employee of the United States entitled to receive it; or {ETC. ETC.} cutting to the finish, we read the looming payoff for Donald J. Trump, aka Herr Gropenfuehrer, aka Vladonald Trumpskiy, aka the Mango Mussolini, and various other aliases bestowed upon him by the righteously indignant, long suffering citizenry of the USA :
"Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.
(g)If two or more persons conspire to violate any of the foregoing provisions of this section, and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each of the parties to such conspiracy shall be subject to the punishment provided for the offense which is the object of such conspiracy.
(h)
(1)Any person convicted of a violation of this section shall forfeit to the United States, irrespective of any provision of State law, any property constituting, or derived from, any proceeds the person obtained, directly or indirectly, from any foreign government, or any faction or party or military or naval force within a foreign country, whether recognized or unrecognized by the United States, as the result of such violation. For the purposes of this subsection, the term “State” includes a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States."
*****
There's more, but this is more than enough for now, sufficient unto the day, they say, is the evil thereof, but also the condign retribution, the well earned karmic slapdown, smackdown, hit the road you jack around scoundrel, go hence, get outta town, a prison cell beckons you on the journey, to your rightful, frightful hell.
And the answer is "no," I am stone cold sober, drinking nothing stronger than French press coffee, having this that and the other things to do myself, tomorrow. Being just exuberantly, even giddily joyous at this crucial step in finally rendering to Trump, his due.
I thanked the person who used it years ago, told him or her that I was gonna steal that, too good not to use judiciously as possible from time to time. Trump inspires such disgust, it's worrisome that I cannot even work up a scintilla of a particle of "compassion" for that vicious nitwit, and I really don't feel ashamed about that, sorry/not sorry.
Truth, Donald J. has record of being vicious, and as for `nitwit,' "Shall I compare him to a pestilential day?" etc. etc. Nitwit is arguably slightly more subjective, since he could be deploying a kind of conniving chicanery which uses blustering bombast as a way of generating confusion in rational observers, but appeals to his fellow nitwits, but that becomes such a tangled level of feigning and bad faith, we would need entire rotating teams of highly skilled psychologists and mental health experts to figure it out...
Wait, I forgot about this, and I even own and read the book, fairly closely at that, cross-referencing to a copy of the DSM-IV that I "inherited" from a Hennepin County social worker, then in the Dept. of Volunteer Services, as she was retiring and giving away various books.
Mental health professionals and others make the case that Donald Trump is mentally ill, dangerous, or both.
Editor Lee (Law and Psychiatry/Yale School of Medicine) asked for and received submissions for this book within a three-week period, and several of them show signs of being written in haste. Many of the contributors are leading psychologists or psychiatrists; others include journalist Gail Sheehy, Tony Schwartz, the co-author of Trump’s The Art of the Deal, and attorney and “political junkie” James A. Herb, who filed a petition in the Palm Beach County Circuit Court to determine Trump’s mental incapacity in October 2016, “based on the fact that Trump’s apparent lack of mental capacity to function could impact me and possibly the whole world.” The volume is aimed strictly at demonstrating that Trump shouldn’t be in office (admittedly a view held by tens of millions of other Americans) and that a panel of mental health professionals should be established to determine his lack of fitness. At the heart of many of the essays is the increasingly controversial 1973 “Goldwater rule” implemented by the American Psychiatric Association, which states that psychiatrists shouldn’t diagnose public figures without personally examining them. Also frequently cited is the Tarasoff decision made by California in 1976, which states that psychiatrists should speak out when they know that “an individual is dangerous to another person or persons.” Some of the essays border on self-parody: one author argues seriously that “post-Trump stress disorder” ought to be considered “as serious as PTSD.” Read collectively, the essays become repetitious: the contributors lean on the same definitions of narcissism and paranoia and cite the same tweets and passages from speeches, most of which will already be familiar to readers.
As with most anti-Trump books, this one will shore up the opinions of those already convinced of his lack of fitness for the job but won’t change the minds of his supporters, the vast majority of whom won’t read it.
So happens if the jury finds him guilty, but then instead of going to the Supermax, he’s fined $250,000, which he will then pay from his ‘legal defense’ PAC?
There's already a satirical headline under a suitably sleazy photo of Trump, with some predictable grift like "I was unfairly indicted by the crazy Democrats who want to destroy our beloved country, send me money immediately to save America!"
He made his bed, now he has to lie in it. Several people are saying all he had to do is return them and nothing more would have been said. I wonder if the intelligence people responsible for presenting these documents to the president had any misgivings at the time. Of course I'm sure they never guessed he'd be so irresponsible, but they were essentially putting national security secrets in the hands of a seven year old child.
"Ours is not to wonder why . . ." So many people seem to have had misgivings, but they only acknowledged them in public after they were gone. If the intelligence people, or any of the military people, had had misgivings, what could they have done about it at the time? Go to a supervisor and say "I have a very bad feeling about the president, and I don't think we should show him these docs"? I'm sure as hell glad it wasn't me.
Of course, Susanna, They had no choice. The president has o be fully informed on all matters of national security. No on would ave the power to change that even if he showed signs of mental instability, I suppose there are rules in place if he had a complere mental breakdown, I was just saying I wonder if anyone did have concerns My understanding is that he never read them anyway, that he would ask the agent for a summary of the content.
At some point during the 45 administration, we born-again policy wonks learned about the 25th Amendment, specifically its Section 4 contingency about what can happen when "the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office." I gather that the possibility was discussed at the upper echelons, but as more and more info comes out about just how "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office" Trump was almost from day 1, I wonder just how bad things have to get before Section 4 kicks in.
Section 4 puts this power or prerogative in the hands of "the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide." Being a realist (most of the time), I realize that virtually all presidents will have surrounded themselves with a VP and cabinet officers who are highly unlikely to act on this unless the president starts frothing at the mouth and biting people. So the fact that Section 4 came up at all is a sign of just how bad things were.
Very interesting, Susanna, I was wondering what official procedures might exist for such an event.. Reminds me a bit of the predicament of Captain Queeg in The Caine Mutiny where a junior officer takes over command of the ship when Queeg shows severe incometance during a storm that threatens to sink the ship. This after display severe paranoia over missing strawberries..
Oh, yes, that 's right, shee-rah. Speaking of Jan 6 I heard on CNN today that the thought is they won't prosecute Trump on that. It seems to me they would have a strong case with just the Jan 6 committee's testimony plus all the evidence collected since. And what about the fake elector's scheme? It would be a shame if Trump got away with that not to mention the other's involved. I hope it's not true.
I read it too - basically it's the screenplay for a gnarly remake of "All the President's Men"..... And I'd guess there are more classified documents at Bedminster as well - someone should be digging up those (or even Ivana's casket - it was reported to be very heavy).....
I have a hard time believing that, there is no way in hell that he would ever be able to access anything in that coffin ⚰️, without a lot of help, it’s on a golf course, if he put anything in it, he must have done it with the notion that it was gone forever.
I do hope to see him in prison in my lifetime. He has done irreparable harm but also helped expose the dark side of human nature here in our country. President Obama's election brought a lot of people out from under rocks and Dump welcomed them. I am so sad. I want to see our country and people repaired, redeemed, reparations paid. I hope I will. The country was never great for everyone, just white people. I guess what I mean is, I would like to see it repaired for everyone to what some of us believed and thought had been experienced in what, the '50's? It's really mostly a myth. Sorry, I am rambling. Dump's indictment has been so long coming and is delightfully overwhelming.
The elation of seeing all of his crimes writ large and the very real possibility of the monster finally being held to account is indescribable I felt this huge black cloud lifting from my life. Then I heard the name Aileen Cannon. I’m not surprised that this entire thread is taken up over anxiety that she could do what she did before gum up to the works and sabotage this whole thing. But do remember she was held to account and removed and all of her rulings reversed. I think we need to count on the DOJ here I’ve read that she will be gone. I don’t understand why it went to her in the first place, and I don’t wanna jump to conspiracy theories too quickly. But after a lot of reading, and thinking, I believe that she will not last because she was previously shown to have bias. I don’t think Jack Smith who has been beyond scrupulous up till now who has I have to admit surprised me. I was very skeptical it just seemed to be going on too long. Anyway, I don’t think he’d allow all of his work to be undone by a woman of such pathetic credentials, which could pretty much be summed up by she’s QAnon and has kissed trumps fat ass. The indictment is stunning the photos tell the tale in a stark and damning way. What’s really grotesque is the continuing support he has from the GOP the only one who has called it for what it is is Mitt Romney
Thank you for saying what has been coursing through my brain for over a day. I know we’re going to be treated to many more twists and turns in this never ending soap opera featuring *Rump. He has once again captured the media spotlight to the exclusion of just about everything else. It’s exhausting.
I know! For a brief, shining moment I thought, 8 years of my life this POS has invaded my soul, every news story, fear, and now he's so much worse than we'd imagined. Then, Aileen Cannon. I've made the conscious decision to assume Smith is not going to let that happen, because this time it's toxic. And I, too, am burned to a crisp and cannot let him do this to me anymore. Please don't let it get to you. It will be a longer road, but he'll pay.
I read the indictment, but all I can think of right now is that Judge Aileen Cannon will be the trial judge, it appears.
This is a very serious blow to the prosecution.
I have gone from giddy to extremely cynical and depressed at this news because to me, this assignment of judges was not as random as everyone seems to think, because there are 15 district judges in that court, and why she came up as the trial judge (everyone thinks she's temporary, but I don't believe it..) for the one trial that could send Donald Trump to prison is just a bit more than I can bear to think about.
Excuse me while I am being negative. I will see you all later. I've had my fill of Trump and the corruption that attaches to the man.
"Everything Donald Trump touches, dies."
NO, she isn't "finalized" by any means - Cannon should, of course (1) recuse herself, if not, (2) higher federal court can reassign her, if not that, (3) any more bogus rulings from her are subject to appeal by the independent special counsel.
Thus, her role remains unclear, subject to future decisions and lawyering.
still, it certainly must strike everybody how "odd" it is that the very worst-case scenario we were all sort of dreading IS, in fact, the reality.
there is something about this that does, indeed, stink. it seems to be that, at best, it's going to cause some delay.
we don't, however, know when (or if) Smith is going to come up with other indictments between now and then. this case might be the easy, cut-and-dried one but if Smith has been as diligent in his 1/6 investigations as he was in these investigations (and there's no reason to think he hasn't been), the whole thing could change. and pretty radically.
and let's not forget that the Georgia indictment (which is even more in-our-faces than the case of the documents) is going to happen before very long, and that will also change things.
needless to say, the ugly core of TFF's loyalists is not going to shift at all. but that core is hardly sufficient to give him a win. this is assuming, of course, that there hasn't been some kind of evil manipulation going on in secret to fuck up the already foulball Electoral College.
my god...am I starting to sound like a Conspiracy Theorist?
Unfortunately for the country, this was a conspiracy.
I just read through the Wikipedia bio of Garrison, its account of the Clay Shaw trial and the reaction from critics is pure, unadulterated balderdash, see Garrison's proleptic rebuttals in the Playboy interview, and this:
www.kennedysandking.com/john-f-kennedy-articles/jim-garrison-the-beat-goes-on
www.kennedysandking.com/john-f-kennedy-articles/sylvia-meagher-and-clay-shaw-vs-jim-garrison
And Kerry Thornley, ONLY an era like America in the 1960s could produce a character like him, he is more like an R. Crumb cartoon character than a real human being, in important senses of "real"!
{Claimed he was part of a genetic experiment by the Nazis or aliens or something, you have to read it for yourself as it's too preposterously incoherent for me to summarize}
www.kennedysandking.com/john-f-kennedy-articles/kerry-thornley-a-new-look-part-1
This, from journalist Don Roses's weekly column this morning: "The case is rock-solid but there is one horrifying aspect:
The judge in the case—unless she is removed—is a rock-solid Trumpian who has been over-ruled twice by appeals courts. However, she has the ability under federal law to give a directed verdict of acquittal right after the prosecution presents its case, without hearing the defense or sending it to the jury. This ruling is not appealable!
Rose isn't a lawyer, so should we believe him?
NO, she isn't "finalized" by any means - Cannon should, of course (1) recuse herself, if not, (2) higher federal court can reassign her, if not that, (3) any more bogus rulings from her are subject to appeal by the independent special counsel.
Thus, her role remains unclear, subject to future decisions and lawyering.
That fact was depressing as hell...!
Read my reply, or search terms are "Is Judge Cannon definitely judge in Trump's case?" or similar.
Aileen Cannon is straight out of the school of soulless, stupid, useless humans that have crawled their rotten selves into a position with some power. Though I have no way of knowing what will happen, I have a bad feeling that we’re in for a repeat horrific performance from her. Doubtful that she would recuse herself. Equally doubtful that she gives one flying fuck what the press has to say about her. She’s a QAnon slimebag and will probably do everything she can to fuck things up yet again. I’m prepared to be more enraged than I am right now!
There's great power in well-channeled moral outrage, I think.
True story: in a "Theories of Justice" philosophy class years ago at the U. of Minnesota-Twin Cities, the class attendees and instructor, Gene Mason, were all of us well aware that sexual assault on campus was a terrible reality long "papered over," with all the usual "slut-shaming" and misplaced, callous treatment of the almost exclusively female victims by the almost exclusively male police officers taking their initial statements, doubling-down on their trauma, and perpetuating the problem. Effectively discouraging victims from daring to even report the crime in the first place.
This was on a day several months into the fall quarter, there was a fairly comfortable atmosphere established encouraging people to "vent" a bit about issues connected to justice in any relevant form, and I sort of went into a mini-tirade about the facts of this as just summarized --- ending with a statement to the effect of, "How can administration after administration keep failing to take this far more seriously? It just dehumanizes everyone in the whole system, while failing to deter the rapists!"
There was one of those shared, thoughtful silences, lasting for maybe ten to fifteen seconds, and then Professor Mason simply said, "Would anyone else like to express moral outrage?"
You probably "had to be there" to sense how perfectly that summed up what had just happened, as professors are prone to sometimes draw back timorously from very sensitive topics in a philosophy course, trying I suppose to retain some abstract, unstated commitment to an ideal of objectivity - when clearly, that would have been completely inept, even demeaning to me or anyone else who expressed that sense of outrage about the "culture of rape."
I love your sense of moral outrage. It's astonishing that it went on this way for so very very long. Almost every female I knew in the 50s and 60s were date raped in college and not a word was ever said by them because of all that outraged you about it.
I was never date raped, but I had to fight my way out of the football player's car one night in 1969 at a small northern Mn college. His parting words were "I had to make sure you really meant no."
Replying to own comment to append this about the late Professor Gene Mason....
"Born July 4, 1925 in Montevideo to Homer and Malinda Mason, he grew up in Northfield, where he graduated in 1943 as valedictorian of his high school class. He was drafted into the Army and was injured in Hürtgen Forest in 1944. He returned home to attend St. Olaf College, where he met his future wife Joan Overson. After graduating in 1948, Gene earned an MA from the University of Minnesota and a PhD in Philosophy from Harvard. His first teaching position was at Penn State. In 1957 he joined the Philosophy Department at the University of Minnesota, where he taught until his retirement in 2000, having served several years as chair. Gene was particularly interested in the philosophical writings of Søren Kierkegaard and Ludwig Wittgenstein, and in theories of justice and ethics, writing on moral and social issues and public policy. These interests dovetailed with his political engagement; he was active in the DFL and advocated for human rights. Gene and Joan were known for the gatherings they hosted, welcoming friends, colleagues, graduate students and visiting professors into their home. Gene learned carpentry from his father; in 1960 the two of them built an addition to the beloved family cabin on Lake Minnewaska. Gene was a wonderful father who took his children camping and hiking, imparted to them his love of nature, and taught them Zeno's paradox over dinner. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Joan; his children, John (Susan Davies) Austerlitz, NY; Chris (Ann), Baltimore MD; Karen (Matt Schaefer), Iowa City, IA; Martha Mason Miller, St. Paul; Tom, Nashville TN; his brother, Jim Mason, Starbuck; and grandchildren, Bronwyn, Kari, and Noah Davies-Mason; Elizabeth and Will Mason; Daniel Schaefer; and Erik, Chris, and Kai Miller. A memorial service will be held Monday, June 18, at 1:00 p.m. at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, 2136 Carter Ave., St. Paul. Memorials may be made to Doctors Without Borders, the Hong Kierkegaard Library (St. Olaf College) or the Iowa Women's Archives (University of Iowa).
www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/homer-mason-obituary?id=20763209
And an academic clarification for understanding the nature of the Theories of Justice course, it was essentially "Rawls and his Critics," with assigned readings from his massively influential work A Theory of Justice, Michael J. Sandel's Liberalism and the Limits of Justice, Michael Walzer's Spheres of Justice, and others.
One cite with no extensive excerpts but only a summary sketch from wiki, in case anyone wandering into this seeks more info:
A Theory of Justice is a 1971 work of political philosophy and ethics by the philosopher John Rawls (1921–2002) in which the author attempts to provide a moral theory alternative to utilitarianism and that addresses the problem of distributive justice (the socially just distribution of goods in a society). The theory uses an updated form of Kantian philosophy and a variant form of conventional social contract theory. Rawls's theory of justice is fully a political theory of justice as opposed to other forms of justice discussed in other disciplines and contexts.
The resultant theory was challenged and refined several times in the decades following its original publication in 1971. A significant reappraisal was published in the 1985 essay "Justice as Fairness" and the 2001 book Justice as Fairness: A Restatement in which Rawls further developed his two central principles for his discussion of justice. Together, they dictate that society should be structured so that the greatest possible amount of liberty is given to its members, limited only by the notion that the liberty of any one member shall not infringe upon that of any other member. Secondly, inequalities – either social or economic – are only to be allowed if the worst off will be better off than they might be under an equal distribution. Finally, if there is such a beneficial inequality, this inequality should not make it harder for those without resources to occupy positions of power – for instance, public office.[1]
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Theory_of_Justice
The critical literature on that book would fill Manhattan Island and spill over into into Long Island Sound at a spectacular height, it can't be overestimated in its impact over the decades.
does she actually believe the QAnon insanity? or are you saying that she might as well be?
she DID join the Federalist Society before she was out of school, so she was already buttering her bread on the correct side well before she passed whatever pathetic bar exam she was able to finesse.
I worry about a light sentence from puppet judge Cannon should the traitor be convicted. Is she the traitor’s poison pill insurance judge? This whole situation could have been handled much better if only GOP SENATORS had voted to convict traitor Don after his failed putsch. They enabled the most shameful treason in American history. Never forget.
I share your fear and your disbelief that Cannon was assigned this case randomly.
I have that same sinking feeling.
The DOJ can appeal her appointment to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. As we know, they are not her fans.
THANK YOU…THANK YOU…THANK YOU!!
I think she will recuse. The spotlight on her is going to be so intense. She is also in a position to start pissing off 65% or more of the US population if she starts getting all Trumpy with this.
No. No worries. She will be forced to recuse by the 11th circuit.
If Cannon does end up being the trial judge it would not surprise me at all if even she sees the light after she becomes aware of the evidence.
I truly doubt that. She is bought and paid for. She will perform as expected if she is the judge. I hope she can be removed. The whole thing stinks to high heaven.
No way that will EVER happen! She's an evil, vicious piece of morally worthless human garbage, just like all the t-Rump ass-kissers!
I mean, I'm inclined to think Garland arranged it to sandbag the case. But that's because I think Garland is a secret MAGAT.
My Navy Attack Squadron had missions to fulfill should we go to war with USSR or Communist China: it was called SIOP, Single Integrated Operational Plan (Nuke war plan of attack). Everyone in my squadron thought that they were basically Kamikazee missions.
As the junior officer in my squadron I was sent to San Diego for the Registered Publications Officer---the guy responsible for all Confidential, Secret, Top Secret, and Top Secret ESI (Extremely Sensitive Information) stuff. You screw up, you went to military prison. People's lives were ruined because they mishandled this stuff---it was drop dead serious in those days.
The stuff Trump kept is TS-ESI. He, and many of his staff, should go to prison for his breeches of security.
One would have to have been in the military and involved in Top Secret things to know how Trump really acted in a criminal and traitorous way. To intelligence people this is drop dead serious stuff.
Yet another reason why the IC doesn’t much care for TFG. Well, that and the sudden cluster of deaths in the sigint quarter in the year following the inauguration.
Typo, brain fart: that’s HUMINT.
I still don't understand why Bedminster wasn't searched since there is evidence boxes were loaded on a plane and moved when Trump decamped to his summer residence. Did he not pick the documents he wanted that were most useful to him? How many documents are still floating around he could still access and utilize? I read the indictment through and it is very detailed, documented and thorough - except for lack of searching trump's other properties which could very well be harboring documents detrimental to national security.
Saved as ace-in-sleeve to play if this try fails, who knows? Best be satisfied with what's already discovered and deployed, Trump is definitely on the road to Supermax, and any bogus rulings by Judge Aileen Cannon, if she does not recuse herself, are subject to appeal to higher courts. She might also be assigned to other cases by the court, due to the appointment by Trump and her egregiously BOGUS rulings in the Special Master disaster.
Keep in mind the SC may have evidence those boxes/contents were returned to Mar-A-Lago when Trump left Bedminster.
Think "mine, mine, they're all mine". They were not shipped rather loaded on the aircraft w/Trump. Think "mine, nine, they're all mine."
Trusty, one of his lawyers, agreed to search so they didn't need to. The DOJ is aware there are documents there. I believe he had worked with Merrick Garland, so he was "trusted."
Donald Trump definitely "knows from lawless." I liked the language throughout that is Mr. T.'s trademark. I.e., "Trumpian dangle."
My first response today was also Larry Tribe's: Great regret and sadness that such a man could somehow be a United States president. He really is, and always was, devoid of integrity, dignity, intellectual capability, a sense of service, and really, knowledge about anything. I'd give anything to know what his loudmouth, defensive sons have to say about the tape recordings we've heard so far.
Along with the regret and sadness, I feel, what, foreboding? about that "somehow" -- because so many tens of millions of my countryfolk voted for him twice, and would do so again.
Michael Beschloss, an historian, believes such a thing is possible. (I do not.) He said it would have been useful if Gerry Ford had not been in such a hurry to pardon Nixon. He believes even a few days behind bars might've scared the bejesus out of Trump. An interesting idea, certainly.
Yes:
www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-indictment-violence-the-donald-mass-killing-1234768146/
www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/read-donald-trump-indictment-mar-a-lago-documents-1234767989/
His motto is, “What’s in it for me?” not service to the country or patriotism.
In 4 years as president can you or anyone recall a speech by Trump that wasn't about trump?
He railed at the Democrats. But you’re right, it’s always about him.
Lawrence Tribe’s disdain was palpable.
Yeah, at least the only U.S. president from our home state of Iowa, Herbert Hoover, was a serious humanitarian and diplomat, very confused and dogmatic about handling a "crisis of market capitalism," but orders of magnitude more compassionate and intellectually gifted than Trump...not that difficult, if you can read at a middle school level with a good grasp of meaning, I realize! *****
Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933. He was a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Great Depression in the United States. A self-made man who became rich as a mining engineer, Hoover led the Commission for Relief in Belgium, served as the director of the U.S. Food Administration, and served as the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.
Hoover was born to a Quaker family in West Branch, Iowa, but he grew up in Oregon. He was one of the first graduates of the new Stanford University in 1895. He took a position with a London-based mining company working in Australia and China. He rapidly became a wealthy mining engineer. In 1914 at the outbreak of World War I, he organized and headed the Commission for Relief in Belgium, an international relief organization that provided food to occupied Belgium. When the U.S. entered the war in 1917, President Woodrow Wilson appointed Hoover to lead the Food Administration. He became famous as his country's "food czar". After the war, Hoover led the American Relief Administration, which provided food to the starving millions in Central and Eastern Europe, especially Russia. Hoover's wartime service made him a favorite of many progressives, and he unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination in the 1920 presidential election.
*****
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Hoover
Wow. Did not know this other, compassionate, diplomatic side to Hoover! Thank You.
Yes, some of the deep core of those Quaker values perhaps never entirely left him, on the other hand, reading further there's some very typical white racism of that era expressed in policy choices for which he advocated. He did move from being dogmatically anti-labor and opposed to the 8-hour day & minimum wage "because" unfair to the employers (!?) to, years later, accepting both as valid and necessary goals. So he was "of his time," complicated in that sense.
I felt the same way when Bush beat Kerry in 2004. I could not believe that many people seemingly forgot about being misled by WMDs in Iraq. My sadness about this, and I think Trump will be forced to drop out, is the number of people standing behind him. That to me is soul-crushing.
Almost nothing is moving the needle. The only conclusion I reach is that these people are true believers. They think that the country is beyond redeemable and is in need of rebuilding. They see Trump as the instigator, but the savior is yet to come. That will be a very bad person, indeed.
Locally I am seeing the needle move from tRump - to, oh "that nice James Jordan" and " What do you think of McCarthy. He seems real smart."
Lovely. I'm born and raised in Macomb County.
Lake St. Clair!
I will actually be up in Michigan this summer. I could ride my bike to Metro Beach on Lake St. Clair growing up. Roseville. My Aunt lives on the canals around St. John's Marsh, and has a pontoon boat we'll take out on Lake St. Clair. Will also be in Petoskey for a few nights.
My parents used to have a little cabin and five acres around Mio. I went to Northern Michigan University for a while after high school and eventually graduated from Wayne State.
Happy Travels!!
Honey, where do you live?!
Red Grand Traverse County.
Cherry Festival.
You are too kind about the baby fascist jerks who are behind him. They are, for the most part, bigots, gun nuts, and fools who apparently are ignorant re his lost lawsuits, forced monetary damages, and the general revulsion on the part of smart, honest people.
I am puzzled, as apparently lots of others are, about Aileen Cannon being assigned to this case. The Southern District of Florida is serious about randomly assigning judges. There has even been litigation about it before, so the Clerk's office is very careful. Either this was sheer luck--like drawing to an inside straight and getting the card you need--or this is some kind of temporary assignment for some obscure reason and another judge will take over shortly. This said, if I were Judge Cannon, I would want out of this as fast as I could recuse. If she takes the case and cuts Trump a lot of slack, the prosecution will move to recuse, and the press will crucify her. If she goes by the book to show how fair she can be, the MAGA folks will be protesting outside her house. It's a no-win situation.
See my reply above about DOJ ability to appeal her appointment to 11th Circuit, where she has *no* fans.
Very astute and concise!
"Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart's name also appears on the summons, ABC News reported."
He approved the search warrant for Mar-a-Lago.
Could be the district is giving her an opportunity to clear her name, or giving them the bona fides to fire her.
Besides the couple of obvious reasons for the indictment being charged in Florida i think Smith is settling a trap.
Going to be interesting
Would you please elaborate on what you mean by Smith setting a trap. Does this have anything to do with Judge Loose Cannon? Thanks!
Jack Smith looks like an avenging angel in one of his photos. I hope he is, for our country's sake.
Thats my guess
It is possibly akin to a football coach having completely figured out the upcoming opponent's offense and/or defensive schemes, their set plays, even the "gadget plays" they prefer, such as the infamous "Bumerooski" or "Fumblerooski" -
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fumblerooski
n American football, the fumblerooski is a trick play in which the football is intentionally and stealthily placed on the ground (fumbled) by an offensive player, usually the quarterback. The offensive team then attempts to distract and confuse the defense by pretending that a ball carrier is running in one direction while another offensive player retrieves the ball from the turf and runs in a different direction, hoping to gain significant yardage before the defense realizes which player is actually carrying the football.
The fumblerooski traces its roots back to deceptive plays from the early days of football, and the infrequent usage of the play and its variations in the modern game often draws much fan and media attention. The NCAA banned the original version of the play following the 1992 season.[1] In the NFL, the play has been considered an "intentional forward fumble" for many years, which would make the play an incomplete pass, but a version in which the quarterback places the ball behind him is still legal.[2]
Wow. Thanks, Richard.
Oh yeah, he’s got this. A good chess player looks many moves ahead.
Thanks, Lucian, for lifting up the detail and filling in. He thought he could stiff-arm the whole government. What an ego and what ignorance. If the lawyers keep mouthing off about "lawless searches" and other such lies, will they be held liable in some way (I suppose state bar associations could the put into action.....) One can hope that Rudy and the rest of the grifters/liars/creeps get their "just rewards" at some point. Onward. A big "bravo" to Smith for the indictment and his brief appearance today...
Given that there are still a lot of boxes of documents unaccounted for, I am hoping that this is the tip of the iceberg.
Thanks for your reporting on this, LKTIV.
I wish I had waited for you to do this for me. It is remarkable reading this and knowing that The Former Guy was making his own lawyers certify his lies. He is such a scumbag. Aileen Cannon can delay this forever, or behave as poorly as she has in the past during jury selection, or with the information at trial. They’ve got to get another judge. She’s already had her hand slapped for disregarding the rule of law in Trump’s favor.
Suspect that tRumper's funders are jumping ship now, and Cannon might be switching her allegiance to another local thug.
No, no, Lucian, I DO "have to read it," savoring the resounding resonance, the poetry
of 793 (e), and what that means for the Ex-President Trumpanzee!
18 U.S. Code § 793 - Gathering, transmitting or losing defense information
*****
(e)Whoever having unauthorized possession of, access to, or control over any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, or note relating to the national defense, or information relating to the national defense which information the possessor has reason to believe could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation, willfully communicates, delivers, transmits or causes to be communicated, delivered, or transmitted, or attempts to communicate, deliver, transmit or cause to be communicated, delivered, or transmitted the same to any person not entitled to receive it, or willfully retains the same and fails to deliver it to the officer or employee of the United States entitled to receive it; or {ETC. ETC.} cutting to the finish, we read the looming payoff for Donald J. Trump, aka Herr Gropenfuehrer, aka Vladonald Trumpskiy, aka the Mango Mussolini, and various other aliases bestowed upon him by the righteously indignant, long suffering citizenry of the USA :
"Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.
(g)If two or more persons conspire to violate any of the foregoing provisions of this section, and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each of the parties to such conspiracy shall be subject to the punishment provided for the offense which is the object of such conspiracy.
(h)
(1)Any person convicted of a violation of this section shall forfeit to the United States, irrespective of any provision of State law, any property constituting, or derived from, any proceeds the person obtained, directly or indirectly, from any foreign government, or any faction or party or military or naval force within a foreign country, whether recognized or unrecognized by the United States, as the result of such violation. For the purposes of this subsection, the term “State” includes a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States."
*****
There's more, but this is more than enough for now, sufficient unto the day, they say, is the evil thereof, but also the condign retribution, the well earned karmic slapdown, smackdown, hit the road you jack around scoundrel, go hence, get outta town, a prison cell beckons you on the journey, to your rightful, frightful hell.
And the answer is "no," I am stone cold sober, drinking nothing stronger than French press coffee, having this that and the other things to do myself, tomorrow. Being just exuberantly, even giddily joyous at this crucial step in finally rendering to Trump, his due.
Thanks for the new nickname to add to my list (Vladonald Trumpsky). I already have the other two.
I thanked the person who used it years ago, told him or her that I was gonna steal that, too good not to use judiciously as possible from time to time. Trump inspires such disgust, it's worrisome that I cannot even work up a scintilla of a particle of "compassion" for that vicious nitwit, and I really don't feel ashamed about that, sorry/not sorry.
"vicious nitwit"-- excellent
Truth, Donald J. has record of being vicious, and as for `nitwit,' "Shall I compare him to a pestilential day?" etc. etc. Nitwit is arguably slightly more subjective, since he could be deploying a kind of conniving chicanery which uses blustering bombast as a way of generating confusion in rational observers, but appeals to his fellow nitwits, but that becomes such a tangled level of feigning and bad faith, we would need entire rotating teams of highly skilled psychologists and mental health experts to figure it out...
Wait, I forgot about this, and I even own and read the book, fairly closely at that, cross-referencing to a copy of the DSM-IV that I "inherited" from a Hennepin County social worker, then in the Dept. of Volunteer Services, as she was retiring and giving away various books.
www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/bandy-x-lee/the-dangerous-case-of-donald-trump/
Mental health professionals and others make the case that Donald Trump is mentally ill, dangerous, or both.
Editor Lee (Law and Psychiatry/Yale School of Medicine) asked for and received submissions for this book within a three-week period, and several of them show signs of being written in haste. Many of the contributors are leading psychologists or psychiatrists; others include journalist Gail Sheehy, Tony Schwartz, the co-author of Trump’s The Art of the Deal, and attorney and “political junkie” James A. Herb, who filed a petition in the Palm Beach County Circuit Court to determine Trump’s mental incapacity in October 2016, “based on the fact that Trump’s apparent lack of mental capacity to function could impact me and possibly the whole world.” The volume is aimed strictly at demonstrating that Trump shouldn’t be in office (admittedly a view held by tens of millions of other Americans) and that a panel of mental health professionals should be established to determine his lack of fitness. At the heart of many of the essays is the increasingly controversial 1973 “Goldwater rule” implemented by the American Psychiatric Association, which states that psychiatrists shouldn’t diagnose public figures without personally examining them. Also frequently cited is the Tarasoff decision made by California in 1976, which states that psychiatrists should speak out when they know that “an individual is dangerous to another person or persons.” Some of the essays border on self-parody: one author argues seriously that “post-Trump stress disorder” ought to be considered “as serious as PTSD.” Read collectively, the essays become repetitious: the contributors lean on the same definitions of narcissism and paranoia and cite the same tweets and passages from speeches, most of which will already be familiar to readers.
As with most anti-Trump books, this one will shore up the opinions of those already convinced of his lack of fitness for the job but won’t change the minds of his supporters, the vast majority of whom won’t read it.
Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-17945-6
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Dunne/St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2017
Thank you for all the legal explanations and interpretations. It’s good to have someone with your expertise on this site.
2nd that emotion shee-rah!
So happens if the jury finds him guilty, but then instead of going to the Supermax, he’s fined $250,000, which he will then pay from his ‘legal defense’ PAC?
There's already a satirical headline under a suitably sleazy photo of Trump, with some predictable grift like "I was unfairly indicted by the crazy Democrats who want to destroy our beloved country, send me money immediately to save America!"
😆😆😆
He made his bed, now he has to lie in it. Several people are saying all he had to do is return them and nothing more would have been said. I wonder if the intelligence people responsible for presenting these documents to the president had any misgivings at the time. Of course I'm sure they never guessed he'd be so irresponsible, but they were essentially putting national security secrets in the hands of a seven year old child.
"Ours is not to wonder why . . ." So many people seem to have had misgivings, but they only acknowledged them in public after they were gone. If the intelligence people, or any of the military people, had had misgivings, what could they have done about it at the time? Go to a supervisor and say "I have a very bad feeling about the president, and I don't think we should show him these docs"? I'm sure as hell glad it wasn't me.
Of course, Susanna, They had no choice. The president has o be fully informed on all matters of national security. No on would ave the power to change that even if he showed signs of mental instability, I suppose there are rules in place if he had a complere mental breakdown, I was just saying I wonder if anyone did have concerns My understanding is that he never read them anyway, that he would ask the agent for a summary of the content.
At some point during the 45 administration, we born-again policy wonks learned about the 25th Amendment, specifically its Section 4 contingency about what can happen when "the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office." I gather that the possibility was discussed at the upper echelons, but as more and more info comes out about just how "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office" Trump was almost from day 1, I wonder just how bad things have to get before Section 4 kicks in.
Section 4 puts this power or prerogative in the hands of "the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide." Being a realist (most of the time), I realize that virtually all presidents will have surrounded themselves with a VP and cabinet officers who are highly unlikely to act on this unless the president starts frothing at the mouth and biting people. So the fact that Section 4 came up at all is a sign of just how bad things were.
Very interesting, Susanna, I was wondering what official procedures might exist for such an event.. Reminds me a bit of the predicament of Captain Queeg in The Caine Mutiny where a junior officer takes over command of the ship when Queeg shows severe incometance during a storm that threatens to sink the ship. This after display severe paranoia over missing strawberries..
After January 6 I remember folks talking about the 14th Amendment clause re insurrection.
Oh, yes, that 's right, shee-rah. Speaking of Jan 6 I heard on CNN today that the thought is they won't prosecute Trump on that. It seems to me they would have a strong case with just the Jan 6 committee's testimony plus all the evidence collected since. And what about the fake elector's scheme? It would be a shame if Trump got away with that not to mention the other's involved. I hope it's not true.
I read it too - basically it's the screenplay for a gnarly remake of "All the President's Men"..... And I'd guess there are more classified documents at Bedminster as well - someone should be digging up those (or even Ivana's casket - it was reported to be very heavy).....
And how come Ivana’s casket was so heavy?
She isnt in it!
No, it’s full of documents and maybe some cash thrown in.
Gold bars, recovered by Trump's buddies connected to the Third Reich's looted billions?
It's astounding that even a hypothetical involving a former American president this sordid is not completely absurd, because Trump.
I have a hard time believing that, there is no way in hell that he would ever be able to access anything in that coffin ⚰️, without a lot of help, it’s on a golf course, if he put anything in it, he must have done it with the notion that it was gone forever.
I disagree. He has gardeners and a backhoe. (not referring to Melanie but the mechanical kind).
And more valets in the wings.
I do hope to see him in prison in my lifetime. He has done irreparable harm but also helped expose the dark side of human nature here in our country. President Obama's election brought a lot of people out from under rocks and Dump welcomed them. I am so sad. I want to see our country and people repaired, redeemed, reparations paid. I hope I will. The country was never great for everyone, just white people. I guess what I mean is, I would like to see it repaired for everyone to what some of us believed and thought had been experienced in what, the '50's? It's really mostly a myth. Sorry, I am rambling. Dump's indictment has been so long coming and is delightfully overwhelming.
The judge will be monitored and any bias toward Trump will get her censored. She must realize her career is at risk.
That Trump so casually moved boxes is either rank stupidity or brazen scorn toward the rules much like a sullen brat.
He’s always gotten away with all the illegal crap he’s committed in his life, so he feels he’s above the law, and nothing bad will ever happen to him.
Yes! although you must mean "censured," I add in the spirit of the longtime Guardian commenter, "Unashamed Pedant"!
Good one. Where is my "laugh" emoji?
The elation of seeing all of his crimes writ large and the very real possibility of the monster finally being held to account is indescribable I felt this huge black cloud lifting from my life. Then I heard the name Aileen Cannon. I’m not surprised that this entire thread is taken up over anxiety that she could do what she did before gum up to the works and sabotage this whole thing. But do remember she was held to account and removed and all of her rulings reversed. I think we need to count on the DOJ here I’ve read that she will be gone. I don’t understand why it went to her in the first place, and I don’t wanna jump to conspiracy theories too quickly. But after a lot of reading, and thinking, I believe that she will not last because she was previously shown to have bias. I don’t think Jack Smith who has been beyond scrupulous up till now who has I have to admit surprised me. I was very skeptical it just seemed to be going on too long. Anyway, I don’t think he’d allow all of his work to be undone by a woman of such pathetic credentials, which could pretty much be summed up by she’s QAnon and has kissed trumps fat ass. The indictment is stunning the photos tell the tale in a stark and damning way. What’s really grotesque is the continuing support he has from the GOP the only one who has called it for what it is is Mitt Romney
Thank you for saying what has been coursing through my brain for over a day. I know we’re going to be treated to many more twists and turns in this never ending soap opera featuring *Rump. He has once again captured the media spotlight to the exclusion of just about everything else. It’s exhausting.
I know! For a brief, shining moment I thought, 8 years of my life this POS has invaded my soul, every news story, fear, and now he's so much worse than we'd imagined. Then, Aileen Cannon. I've made the conscious decision to assume Smith is not going to let that happen, because this time it's toxic. And I, too, am burned to a crisp and cannot let him do this to me anymore. Please don't let it get to you. It will be a longer road, but he'll pay.
Chris Christie and Liz Cheney have also condemned Fat Ass.