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The United States would have been better off if Congress had voted for impeachment of Trump for his monstrous crime of attempting a violent overthrow of the government. But the Republicans declined to go along, so this indictment is some consolation. And the legal process that follows it will tie Trump up long enough for the nation to move on.

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Unfortunately, he can still run for President!!!

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Is hilarious recalling both Impeachments and the litany of things Rs/cons said both in defense of a not guilty plus all the floor speeches. The same since the current 4 criminal investigations as well as the multiple civil proceedings became public.

They all come down to:

- Only Rs/cons have the final say as to what is a required to impeach and convict a President .

- Only Rs/cons can lay out the criteria for civil and criminal investigations in local, state and federal jurisdiction.

Matches up with all the other onlys from them since Ike's final day in the White House.

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Should’ve Would’ve Could’ve must be our outcry. Maybe still, “What goes around, comes around.”.

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I don't know what boilerplate refers to, but a criminal was arrested in NY today. About time.

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Boilerplate is, as I understand it, is the standard stuff in all legal documents to ensure the proverbial i's are dotted and t's are crossed, legally speaking. Kind of a dumb statement by tRumpy's lawyer as it implies the indictment is airtight.

Like the other boilerplate: Thick rolled steel bolted together to withstand high heat and pressure. The image of TFG boiling in a human-made hell brings a smile to my face. And the best indications are yet to come.

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Thanks.

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Wow! "Mere boilerplate" sounds like an admission of guilt to me! If that's the best defense they can come up with, it's not looking good for Individual One.

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Lucian, we have this all wrong, not only is this all "boiler plate" but we did not know that Captain Bone Spurs was the "chosen one."

Congresswoman Empty Green told us that just like the late African leader and Jesus Christ, that Trump has been wronged and treated just like those two. Interesting. Then on Truth Social, to his 4 million followers, former president Trump reposted the claim that he is second only to Jesus. Wow, I did not know that-

Truth Social user @austinnegrete said: "Jesus is the Greatest. President @realDonaldTrump is the second greatest."

It isn't the first time that the former president's supporters have compared him to Jesus.

In 2019, Georgia Rep. Barry Loudermilk claimed Jesus was treated more fairly before his crucifixion than Trump was treated throughout his first impeachment.

"When Jesus was falsely accused of treason, Pontius Pilate gave Jesus the opportunity to face his accusers," said Loudermilk during a debate on the House floor, per TIME magazine. "During that sham trial, Pontius Pilate afforded more rights to Jesus than the Democrats have afforded this President in this process."

In the same year, The Washington Post reported that white, conservative evangelicals who approved of Trump's performance as president promoted the idea that he was heaven-sent.

Well Lucian, we are now in the presence of "the chosen one." Good to know.

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Where, oh where is my "laugh" emoji. I desperately need it for your post. Thank you.

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Here you go. Help yourself. 😉

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

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Thank you for this! I have read every newspaper and magazine coverage of today and only you liad out the actual facts as written and brought in Weisselberg, who is kay. As ever, we look to you for depth and context.

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Boilerplate because the Manhattan DA's Office has prosecuted hundreds of the same crimes. All needed is to fill in the specifics.

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Thanks for taking the trouble to clarify. It all just becomes babble when discussed on radio/tv.

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Boilerplate in the law is boilerplate for a reason, just as longstanding folk wisdom can be summarized by an apt proverb: it fits the situation.

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The indictment reads compellingly, stating facts. I'll look forward to Trump explaining how this elaborate scheme was not to influence the election but to "protect his family" considering the many prior allegations of similar episodes of sexual misconduct. How was this claim any different except for the upcoming election?

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Here is the question before us.

Even if he is found guilty will he still retain the rock ribbed loyalty of those 70 million who voted for him in 2020. I believe a case can be made this trial will have the effect of locking in and hardening his support among both the MAGA core and Republicans who will never vote for a Democrat.

We must be clear eyed about this. For millions of Americans we are no longer a nation of law or liberties. We are a nation of grievance and the aggrieved are going to rally around their liege whether he is a criminal or not. Perversely many who support him find his demeanor and boorish behavior admirable. A trial in which he is found guilty will only solidify their love for him. Remember this is a man who denigrates women, handicapped people and Gold Star families and gains strength like a succubus.

Like it or not we are stuck with TFG and more shamefully approximately 45% of us who want him in charge. That is the scariest part of this saga.

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We have known it's an irrational cult of personality for several years at the least. They aren't going away, except as mortality claims them, or some form of incapacity, and neither are we, subject to the same caveats.

Fasten your seatbelts, the bumpiest part of the roller-coaster ride into the heart of Trump's cult and their propensity for violence is, arguably, yet to come.

January 6 as a practice run, and with all that video footage of the Capitol's recesses and tunnels Kevin McCarthy gave to Tucker Carlson, the most fanatical of the cultists may try again.

Ashli Babbit was shot and killed in justifiable self-defense and defense of others, which allows the use of deadly force as a last resort, as she led part of the mob. The Trump cult has turned her into a martyr. Trump records a pseudo-patriotic musical pastiche with the January 6 Choir. The far right-wing fanatics in the Trump cult style them as "political prisoners," unjustly incarcerated and/or convicted. Make up your own list: the fact is there are a multitude of what these nitwits think are "signs and omens" that herald the Last Days and then the Rapture.

Completely bonkers, and in a theo-fascist tradition that has plenty of predecessors.

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"Trump records a pseudo-patriotic musical pastiche with the January 6 Choir "

Much like yt-southern Lost Causers did after losing the illegal and unjust War of Yankee Aggression. Or in the alternative, what Trump thought the British chaps did after losing the DC airport during the American Revolutionary War of 1812. And not to worry, there are already tryouts for con cronner choir ensembles for the Last Days, End Days and the Rapture

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LOL

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"Boilerplate" sounds like part of a vessel designed to hold someone who's in a lot of hot water. In this case the XXXL lardo version.

Thank you LT

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I’m more interested in how they intend to get tRump to STFU and not use this to incite more violence.

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Gag order, enforced under a sliding scale of penalties that rapidly accelerate?

Maybe Governor DeSantis will get to draw a line in the sand around Mar-a-Lago and holler, "I will not extradite!" He would at least love the photo op.

This is just beginning, relax and hope, or work, or donate, or volunteer, or knock on doors, or sign up volunteers, aiming for the best possible outcome under the circumstances.

The Ukrainians could provide us all a good example, that kind of guts and determination never goes out of fashion when tyrants show up with invading armies.

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We just watched a documentary re: WWII Jewish pilot and townsmen in Amsterdam who, to this day, remember their bravery with gratitude… so compare that with today’s Repug traitorous PIGS . And that pig-faced MTG, those whoring, corrupt ass hats on the payroll of Fascists billionaire tax evaders…. I just can’t …

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He fucked around. He found out.

Thank you, DA Bragg.

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Thank you for your excellent, crystal clear coverage.

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I still find it difficult to believe there will be a jury in New York that will convict *Rump on these charges, certainly not on all of them. And what is the punishment if it’s only on one count?

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It will be a very careful jury selection, and for good reason, and the evidence of his felonies will be clearly laid out. It will be the simple matter of following the law. Oddly, I think if anything it would be harder to find NY jurors who wouldn't want to see His Orangeness convicted, but there are a lot of apolitical people out there who don't follow the news like us junkies. They will hear the evidence, and they will decide. The die is cast.

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I take your point about *Rump not having any friends in NYC. He hasn’t begun his usual tactics of delay, deflect, distort, appeal, appeal, appeal, and I suspect he’ll try for a change in venue. It would have to be in the state somewhere. Every time he loses in court he’ll use it as validation of his victimhood, He’ll whine to his cult and the media, which will report his every fetid utterance down to the last syllable. This show is going to have long run, IMO.

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TFG would ask for Staten Island where he has more supporters. Even the “home team” Queens, is not as reliable.

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He'll be a convicted felon for the rest of his miserable existence.

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As an ex-New Yorker – and still and always one at heart – I believe you couldn't find a better jury pool ready to see his obvious crimes and find him guilty on many counts. We loathed and laughed at him back in the '80s. The way he later abandoned the city only ginned up further contempt for the Orange Doofus. He's toast in that town he so wanted to be the toast of.

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I hear republicans like Smerconish claiming that this is unprecedented. That they would be more comfortable if there had been a conviction on a similar crime by a non political figure.

That is typically backwards Republican thinking.

No other person submitted false business record while running for high political office.

Trump is unique in his criminality.

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