Roundup on the Trump indictment
(1) Even Mike Pence has mouthed words of criticism of the indictment:
“The unprecedented indictment of a former president of the United States on a campaign finance issue is an outrage,” Pence said on CNN. “And it appears to millions of Americans to be nothing more than a political prosecution that’s driven by a prosecutor who literally ran for office on a pledge to indict the former president.”
(2) Kevin McCarthy has plans:
House Republicans sent Bragg a letter last week demanding he answer questions about why he was pursuing criminal charges against the 45th president that were based on a seven-year-old financial transaction with porn actress Stormy Daniels and legal statutes that had expired…
“Alvin Bragg has irreparably damaged our country in an attempt to interfere in our Presidential election,” McCarthy said. “As he routinely frees violent criminals to terrorize the public, he weaponized our sacred system of justice against President Donald Trump. The American people will not tolerate this injustice, and the House of Representatives will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account.”
House members are quite limited in their ability to do much about it, however.
Harvard law professor and author Alan Dershowitz said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against former President Donald Trump is “bringing shame” to Bragg’s prestigious office…
“[Alvin Bragg and Letitia James’] campaign pledge was, ‘We promise you, if we get elected, we will get Trump by hook or by crook,'” Dershowitz said. “They didn’t know what crimes they would get before they set out first, to name the person, and then to rummage through the statute books, find some crimes, but they didn’t find any, so they made them up.”
And yet later in the same article Dershowitz is quoted as saying he’ll probably vote for Biden in 2024, because he’s in favor of gay marriage and the like. Does Dershowitz think Bragg did this on his own, and that it’s not typical of the travesty the entire left and the Democratic Party has made of Dershowitz’s beloved law?
(4) Robert Costello on where the case might be headed:
“Well, I think I got through to them, because [Monday] I understand they called back another witness by the name of David Pecker, who used to run the National Enquirer,” Costello, a former attorney for Michael Cohen, told host Greg Kelly.
The change in direction attempts to turn the focus of Bragg’s case off of a convicted felon Cohen and porn actor Stormy Daniels – who was paid for a non-disclosure agreement of an alleged affair that became public anyway. The case might be homing in on other allegations of a non-disclosure agreement with another woman Karen McDougal and Pecker.
Pecker allegedly paid for the rights to the salacious stories, designed to smear then-candidate Trump during the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign, only to not to print them.
“And what they’re investigating now is he bought a story involving the McDougal lady and then never published the story,” Costello continued to host Greg Kelly. “So, apparently, Mr. Pecker admitted with the federal authorities when he got a non-prosecution agreement that he should have filed with the Federal Election Commission, the FEC.
“But that doesn’t mean that Donald Trump should have filed something. The only way that Mr. Pecker would involve Donald Trump is if Donald Trump repaid that money, and I haven’t heard any allegation that he did.”
(5) And here’s Turley:
It is a big moment and it’s a chilling moment. The fact is that over months of investigation, we have not heard of other crimes…
…Donald Trump may be the first former president to be indicted, but if this is the standard, he won’t be the last. It’s going to obviously get very fierce in terms of the motions and the litigation ahead of us and obviously the politics.
(6) Glenn Greenwald:
Reading all the 2016 warnings from the Normalcy Guardians and self-professed Democracy Protectors about how there's literally nothing more corrupt or dangerous than craving the prosecution of your political opponent — especially for trivial crimes — is really quite something. pic.twitter.com/Nk3NarbVEp
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) March 30, 2023
(7) Possible grounds for dismissal of the case.
That the two most powerful legal officials in The Empire State both campaigned, in utterly brazen fashion, on directing all their efforts towards going after the Orange Whale, should be reason enough for any rational person, regardless of ideology or political party, to be thoroughly disgusted with this farcical spectacle, and both fully merit being disbarred for their completely unethical conduct since taking office. Had Zeldin been elected, his first act would have been to fire Bragg.
There seems to be a disturbing number of people who are evidently OK with all this.
Of course this case should be dismissed outright. But sadly I expect that there’s no shortage of corrupt and derranged Manhattan judges who are more than willing to completely destroy any semblence of the law and precendence in order to get Trump. The derrangement of our system is very deep and very wide. It goes all the way to the top and all the way to the bottom.
In my legal opinion, this NY case must be dismissed by the judge on the basis of the statute of limitations and that NY courts don’t enforce federal law.
And I stand by my prediction that Trump will be indicted in GA and DC. Trump must be destroyed by the Left.
https://spectator.org/trump-indicted-the-corruption-of-justice/
The deep state vs America. Big Brother is real and here.
“Over and over — and over and over — one example after another of power-drunk government officials abusing their power — weaponizing their power — has surfaced. And it is clearly no coincidence that all of this has happened since outsider Donald Trump rose to political success with his 2016 election to the presidency.”
…
“We’re witnessing the death of the rule of law in America. Suddenly, Greenwald’s words from eight years ago sound more prescient than hyperbolic. We are closer to a totalitarian state than a democratic republic.”
According to the Daily Mail, the judge is already chosen and one who is already quite biased…no surprise.
And also, Megan McCain has an article which I agree…there’s a dark future ahead with the real prospect, even more than before, of real political violence. Not sure what to think at this point….the Ds are obviously trying to provoke such violence in order to declare martial law and a complete takeover. Yet, it’s becoming clear there may be no other path to take. Scary times.
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2023/03/levin-america-you-are-looking-tyranny-in-the-face-right-now.php
“What happens when those tasked with enforcing the law are the biggest thugs of all?
This is not a rhetorical question. It is now obvious that the federal government has become hopelessly corrupt. A deliberate campaign to weaponize government agencies against political foes began during the Obama administration and accelerated when President Joe Biden took office.”
physics guy wrote: “Ds are obviously trying to provoke such violence in order to declare martial law and a complete takeover. Yet, it’s becoming clear there may be no other path to take. Scary times.”
Agree 100%.
The deliberate provocation of violence is evil.
Real political violence is already occurring. The TN and KY legislatures were shut down by rioters. Federal judges are not allowed to give speeches, and conservative or pro-life groups are not allowed to host guests or hold events on campuses across the country without being attacked.
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2023/03/a-rubicon-is-crossed.php
“But I do know that today is an evil day in America’s history. The Democrats are behaving like a party from a pre-Enlightenment, pre-constitutional era. Seeing themselves in the driver’s seat, they are making a naked grab for totalitarian power across a broad range of issues and institutions. Indicting a former president on frivolous grounds is shocking, but it is of a piece with the strategies Democrats are following in Washington and across the country.”
Evil day. Yes, Mr. Hinderaker, evil is the appropriate term.
When has Trump declared or shown that he is against gay marriage? Didn’t he have the first openly gay cabinet Secretary?(I might be wrong on that) But I can’t remember any time he spoke out against gay people. I am having trouble with people who can’t see that Biden is wrecking the country inside and out.
So very sacred as to have been allowed annihilation in the span of a mere two generations.
spit
The indictment is under seal. Given Costello’s remarks like “ The case might be homing in on other allegations of a non-disclosure agreement with another woman Karen McDougal and Pecker” — I believe that Bragg is uncorking the argument that Trump ran a fraudulent “criminal enterprise” as a former DA of the Southern District wrote in his book in the “slam dunk” case to prosecute Trump.
SEE MORE HERE
https://nypost.com/2023/02/03/ex-prosecutor-likens-trump-to-mob-boss-john-gotti-in-book/
Kate, yes that sort of violence has been with us now for years. I’m also thinking of the threats and protests outside the SCOTUS homes.
What I’m worried about is not so much the violence from the left, but what happens when they finally push the right too far. At some point, there’s going to be a reaction and when it happens all hell is going to break loose. I can envision a scenario where there’s an issue similar to the Trump indictment that has infuriated the right and there’s conservative demonstrations like the Tea Party. Only this time they are met with Antifa, and the conservative demonstrators also come armed and react when the Antifa starts throwing Molotov cocktails etc. Perfect excuse for Biden et al to send in the loyal troops to take out those “MAGA terrorists” as he’s reminded us so many times. It’s coming.
Dershowitz has to say he’ll vote for Biden-otherwise he loses any/all credibility as a Trump supporter. Not to mention the woke would probably go out of their way to hurt him and his family if they think he’s no longer a leftist at all. What he does in a closed voting booth without a black panther watching over his shoulder may be a different thing altogether.
Dear Wash Post,
Democracy dies when Democrats strangle it to death.
richard grenell was dni which is cabinet level, and of higher relevance than buttigeg, needless to say more confidence,
we have seen how they murdered trump supporters (black neidermeyer may have been incompetent but he was willful, the proud boys arose as a self defense force against antifa, as with the social revolutionaries and the okrana, they certainly had informants in the organization, the fact caused the judge to suspend the jury trial,
A lot of GOP and other Conservatives are relying on turnabout and that “we’ll get our turn.” Does the Left behave in any way that makes you think they fear losing power?
I voted for Trump, am hugely impressed by his foreign policy achievements, and I’ll always be grateful for what he did. But he should have had Hillary Clinton frog-marched into federal court on national security & related charges the day he took the oath of office.
Does the Left behave in any way that makes you think they fear losing power? –Keto
As the resident optimist, I would argue that this fanatical grasping for more power at the expense of moral and constitutional credibility is based on exactly that fear, as well as the understandable inclination to keep doing what seems to be working until it doesn’t.
Democrats and progressives were happy believing they would painlessly, inevitably achieve overwhelming political power by sheer demographics and their presumed moral high ground. Just keep boiling the frog and everything will be fine.
Trump and MAGA shocked them right down to their toes. They must stop Trump and his successors By Any Means Necessary.
That’s what we are seeing.
The present agitation does seem to be attempting to incite right wing violence.
And I stand by my prediction that Trump will be indicted in GA and DC. Trump must be destroyed by the Left.
The GA grand jury forewoman’s celebrity tour on left wing media should have ended that. NY and DC are venues where no Republican can get a fair trial. That kid who was slimed by CNN was well advised to take his case out of DC.
I can envision a scenario where there’s an issue similar to the Trump indictment that has infuriated the right and there’s conservative demonstrations like the Tea Party. Only this time they are met with Antifa, and the conservative demonstrators also come armed and react when the Antifa starts throwing Molotov cocktails etc. Perfect excuse for Biden et al to send in the loyal troops to take out those “MAGA terrorists” as he’s reminded us so many times. It’s coming.
–physicsguy
Agreed. Top-level Democrats are hoping to provoke exactly this response and their brainwashed followers will go along.
My local rag repeats many of the falsehoods and suppositions about Trump and his guilt. Such provable slanderous lies posing as journalism.
If the case is dismissed or he’s found not guilty (as he should), what lies will they tell then? Are there enough fair-minded, middle of the road voters in this country to create a massive anti-Democrat vote in 2024? I guess we’ll see.
I still say Democrats and the left are leaking support among American citizens on a daily basis and it matters.
In the longer run I still say we win, but the price may be high. Not Civil War high, I hope.
The world, not just the US, looks pretty fragile now. A reckoning, a serous global crisis is also coming, which could well bring us back to basics and make all this defund-the-police, America-is-racist, trans-lives-matters agenda look like a delusional distraction.
Dear god, this. I held off posting on this because it makes me incandescently angry. Enraged. About as much as the capitulation in Afghanistan, if not moreso. Certainly more than the invasions of Ukraine. I wish the guilty parties for this nonsense would neck themselves and take themselves out of the Republic’s misery, but they aren’t going to do that.
But what enrages me on top of that is the falling HYPOCRISY. Of Pelosi and Bragg (oh what a fitting name for this scum!) blathering about how nobody is above justice when they live lives dependent on the assumption that they and their ilk are. Of condemning Republican elected representatives for seeking more information on the case as they are legally allowed and as their duties demand.
It leads to seething, burning rage and utter disillusionment. Frogmarching Hillary and her ilk to court is the least that should have been done. I can think of similar for the city fathers and electoral officials of Baltimore and Milwaukee, to say nothing of the hives of scum in Arizona.
And to all those Not-Trumpers: I hope you all realize what this means. You don’t have to like Trump. You don’t have to support him to run for President again. But they are coming for all of us, so you need to support him on this. And frankly even if Trump had been guilty of what he was charged here (which is nonsense) this is still nakedly political abuse and the statute of limitations was gone.
Time to stand in the way.
Turtler: “But what enrages me on top of that is the falling HYPOCRISY. Of Pelosi and Bragg (oh what a fitting name for this scum!) blathering about how nobody is above justice when they live lives dependent on the assumption that they and their ilk are. Of condemning Republican elected representatives for seeking more information.”
IT’S gaslighting hypocrisy that’s COMPLETELY GALLING.
}}} It is a big moment and it’s a chilling moment. The fact is that over months of investigation, we have not heard of other crimes…
If this is the New Standard, it seems very likely that we can find a red-state AG who can indict not just the current PotUS, but a literally HUGE number of his family members and associates…? Not on stuff while HE is in office, but when he was the Veep and the four intervening years…
[The following is sarcasm.]
Dear Vladimir Putin, The President of Russia,
We’re sorry, but us American reporters JUST won’t pay much attention to you, and your tiny, little war, nowadays!
You see, the Americans who LUST after exciting news, are gonna follow the Don Trump vs. [the famous woman who dresses like a bimbo in the porn films], Stormy Daniels, story- for years!!
Now those two…THAT’S a story that we can sell like mad, for the next two years, or even LONGER!
I mean, a blondie, snarky, trash talking, wishy-washy, “hot tramp”, arguing on TV…with a red-haired, rich, grumpy guy, that looks like your mean old…history teacher, well THIS story could keep us in the high ratings past 2026!
You + your Ukraine war, a war in a [country] that the US barely knows about- well THAT story hardly gets a look,…in our “find-the-fast-and-fun-stuff-on-the-internet age”.
I mean, the “Trumpy”, versus “Stormy” story, will sell better in The US than: Pizza Hut, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels, Chuck E. Cheese’s, and the tasty…Good Humor Ice cream!
This story is so Cool!
I’m sorry, Mr. Putin, I hate to say it…, but you + your war story are just a dud.
It’s just the nature of the hot news business.
I’m so sorry buddy…
…but you just don’t [know] how to market yourself well.
See you at the coffee + doughnut bar, at the Moscow…ex-Mcdonalds!,
Buh-bye!
The AP apparently confirms my impression stated about at 2:14 with a NYPost LINK. The indictment is along the lines of something like “criminal enterprise,” alleging systematic fraud, deception, and other elements on display in the Trump Organization trial. In fact, there is likelihood that the same trial judge will oversee this new trial.
“Former President Donald Trump is facing multiple charges of ***falsifying business records***: including at least one felony offense, in the indictment handed down by a Manhattan grand jury, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Friday. …”
https://apnews.com/article/trump-indictment-new-york-hush-money-election-488c76cf92269e2c258d5203a6e981a1
According to Legal Insurrection, Trump’s arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon:
https://legalinsurrection.com/2023/03/trump-scheduled-to-be-arraigned-at-215-p-m-on-tuesday/
Bragg has a supremely punchable face, doesn’t he?
the times, conveniently leaked the secret service route from maralago to gotham, another abetter of treason,
I’m pretty sure this DJT indictment is ALL about the “lock her up” chants during the 2016 campaign. More to come.