Assume Trump is convicted. The max sentence is 4 years. The crime is stealing the election by unlawful means. Doesn’t he have to go to jail for 30-60 days? People in NE get that sentence for a second DUI.
Trump’s lawyers better have emergency appellate motions ready to keep him out of jail.
"To a standing ovation, Senator John Fetterman removed his Harvard Crimson hood during commencement today in outrage over the rampant antisemitism here on campus. This is what true leadership looks like!"
I have a problem with the way they have constructed a felony out of including an “other crime” so I can’t even get to the question you’re asking, but I think you’re essentially pointing at my problem from the opposite direction.
The Stormy Daniels extortion trial is a perversion of justice. What I'd like to see the jury do to tell the prosecutor and the judge that they are done with that circus of a trial is:
- Write "Sod off, Swampy!" in Sharpy, diagonally on all of the sheets of the verdict sheets. Not fill in the individual charges.
- File into the jury box, give the bailiff the verdict sheets.
- Wait for the judge to open the sheets
- Walk out, with a chorus of "Sod off, Swampy!"
- Leave the court room.
- Tell the press "Sod off, Swampy!"
A perfect FU to the persecution and the Democrat Operative in a Black Robe.
My wife is watching the MSNBC "journalists." They are going on and on about how Trump blah, blah, blah. They can't admit that there was no crime, that the judge is biased and that the persecution has absolutely not proved its case.
MSNBC, 24/7 coverage of the noncrime of the century. If they didn't cover it, they'd have no viewers.
That RFK Jr / Confederate statue removal post got me thinking about how easy it was for the health authorities to silence Covid dissent.
I can't help thinking one (tear down statues of people we don't approve) contributed to the other (extreme covid measures). Even though, clearly, these two seemingly disparate things were not pushed by the same people. They both had crackdowns.
If we have the power to change the past, changing the future might feel even easier.
You have to feel very high and mighty to believe both could be forced on people. Again, one (statue tear down) may NOT have caused the other (Covid fascism), but I believe it might've contributed because the mindset needed is very similar. 'We are on the right side of history', yadi yada.
Shit got so ugly with Covid; it may be decades before the full story is widely known.
Lem @ 9:13: Word. Psychology is a unified field. When you mess with one part of it (here, our trust in our historical narrative and the statues which embody it) you mess with all of it, with emphasis on whatever else is in contention (here, our trust in a narrative of health, disease and who cares for us). See also Orwell.
So the opinions of the daughter of Judge Juan Merchan should prevent him from presiding over the hush-money case, according to Trump, but those of Samuel Alito's wife are fine — including flying dubious flags in their shared residence. Seems fair to me.
" So the opinions of the daughter of Judge Juan Merchan should prevent him from presiding over the hush-money case, according to Trump, but those of Samuel Alito's wife are fine — including flying dubious flags in their shared residence. Seems fair to me."
Judge Merchan said that as soon as the trial is over he will be going on a luxury vacation paid for by Harlan crow.
To think we may have been safer, when our number one worry was how many more nukes would we need in case of a nuclear attack from the Soviets. Cowboys and Indians, compared to what we can do to each other.
Mike of Snoqualmie said... My wife is watching the MSNBC "journalists." They are going on and on about how Trump blah, blah, blah. They can't admit that there was no crime, that the judge is biased, and that the persecution has absolutely not proved its case.
MSNBC, 24/7 coverage of the non-crime of the century. If they didn't cover it, they'd have no viewers.
The trial is now in the hands of 12 jurors, so Judge Merchan, MSNBC, and Fox News are no longer around to influence the determination of guilt on 34 criminal counts. Trump says that “Mother Teresa could not beat these charges,” without explaining why these charges would ever be brought against her. Of course, he already knows if he is guilty or not guilty.
Mr. Majestyk "What are the opinions of Samuel Alito's wife and how do you deduce them, Rich? From dubious flags? Why are they dubious?"
Please!
"In January 2021, the upside down American flag had become a banner for Donald Trump’s effort to block the peaceful transfer of power. Armed insurrectionists carried it into the U.S. Capitol on January 6. Eleven days later, even as National Guard troops still guarded the Capitol and the Supreme Court building itself, Justice Samuel Alito flew the insurrectionists’ flag outside his Virginia home.
This was far more than an act of indiscreet partisanship, troubling though that might have been. We’ve had those before, from Sandra Day O’Connor backing George W. Bush to Ruth Bader Ginsburg mocking Trump. Justices are human and sometimes they slip up.
No, this was not a gaffe. It was a senior government official hoisting the banner of a violent insurrectionist movement devoted to overturning a core constitutional principle."
I hope for a hung jury in the NYC but I think it's a hanging jury. I think they got their orders and they are the kind that take orders. That said, I think it's all going to seem very much a political persecution. A politician paid off a woman - that's what people are going to figure the "crime" as. "But why is he going to jail for that," they'll think. What about all the others? A fountain of filth will come spewing up. What about A, B, C, D and onto Z. Then, onto Chappaquiddick. Harvey Weinstein will be going free in the same courthouse. More filth. Hunter - free. Alec Baldwin - free. This is not an incomprehensible situation being enacted by distant politicians in DC. The only part that is hard to understand is why only Trump is being prosecuted and that isn't so very hard to understand either. Well, I may have to watch a slobberfest or hear about it, anyhow. But making Alvin Bragg the face of Dem justice is like making Dylan Mulvaney the face of Bud Lite.
Unfortunately for our Biden-true believers, paying extortion money is not a crime and it's not a campaign expense. If it was a campaign expense, then blackmail victims could run for office and use campaign donations to pay off their blackmailers instead of using the campaign donations to run the campaign.
Maybe for our Biden-true believers would be happy if those repayment checks were labeled as legal/blackmail entries.
No crime in paying blackmail (Strike One!), no crime in using private funds to pay said blackmail (Strike Two!), no crime in recording a Non Disclosure Agreement as a legal expense because said NDA is a legal document created by a lawyer (Strike Three!).
DA Bragg and Judge Merchan, both Democrat Operatives, strike out.
Mike of Snoqualmie said... The Stormy Daniels extortion trial is a perversion of justice. What I'd like to see the jury do to tell the prosecutor and the judge that they are done with that circus of a trial is:
- Write "Sod off, Swampy!" in Sharpy, diagonally on all of the sheets of the verdict sheets.
Do Americans say "sod off?" Yes, but it's pronounced “sawed off”, and refers to someone of very short stature. Brits use "sod off" as an invective reference to ejaculation.
But if this trial is somehow an extortion and a perversion of justice why didn't Whimpy Don swear on the bible and tell the world his side of the story instead of wasting 50 hours of his lawyers flailing and failing to provide any proof of his innocence? The jurors certainly cannot be expected to care more about his going to jail than he does.
I don't know who you are quoting, Mutaman, but no matter. The leaps of logic are absurd.
First, January 6 was not an insurrection. You don't try to violently take over a nation by coming to the Capitol Building unarmed and following others through doors opened by the Capitol Police. You mention "armed insurrectionists." Who exactly was armed, how many of them were there, and what were they armed with? As far as I know, the only shots fired were fired by the Capitol Police. Some "insurrection."
Second, flying the flag upside down has long been a symbol of the nation being in distress. I think we can all agree, no matter who you voted for, that the nation was in distress after January 6.
Third, that some protesters may have carried upside down flags doesn't mean that, from then on, everyone who flies an upside down flag supports a violent overthrow of the government (which, as explained, was not even realistically attempted on January 6). To conclude otherwise is just as silly as concluding that because a few racists flashed the "OK" sign, the "OK" sign is now a symbol of white supremacy. It's nonsense.
They are not "true believers," they are pushing talking points because they want their side to be in power, to have power over your life, to take away your gas car, your gas fireplace, to send your kids off to fight Russians and Chinese people on the other side of the world, to tax you by printing money until your paycheck is worthless, while they promise to tax the rich, which somehow never happens. They don't believe this crap, they are not morons... well, maybe except one of them...
"I have a problem with the way they have constructed a felony out of including an “other crime” so I can’t even get to the question you’re asking, but I think you’re essentially pointing at my problem from the opposite direction."
Fraudulent business records were created in New York at the direction of Donald Trump for the express purpose of engaging in General Election fraud. I think Althouse's "problem" was long ago raised in a defense motion to dismiss which was denied by the court. I also think she is being deliberately obtuse.
"Second, flying the flag upside down has long been a symbol of the nation being in distress. I think we can all agree, no matter who you voted for, that the nation was in distress after January 6."
We were taught in our first day of law school that a judge should not even show the appearance of bias. Even if i assumed your rather frivolous position that Alito was flying the flag because he thought that the nation was "in distress", it is still an appearance of bias warranting recusal. Back in the day, conservative Justice John Harlan wouldn't even vote while he sat on the court lest it indicated some bias. I have a buddy who is a NY Supreme Court Justice who won't even let me buy him a beer. Alito is a fool.
If it’s only one guy standing up for Trump, the case for Trump is doomed.
Depends on the guy.
I was on a jury in 2004. Case turned out to be as bogus as this one. But, the prosecution was skilled and defense had poor understanding of some facts bearing on the case and was ignorant of others.
If I had been more candid about my knowledge of issues being weighed, I wouldn't have survived the selection process. I had no opinion about guilt or innocence at that point. The case interested me and I thought my knowledge might be useful in arriving at a proper outcome.
My fellow jurors all voted guilty (as I suspected they would). For some reason, they had wanted me to be foreman. I had declined as I believed I had a better chance of swaying them if I was not viewed as "The Man".
So, I began by agreeing with everyone in principle but, noting the severity of the likely punishment, I asked my peers to help me better understand a few points before adding my vote. It took about two hours for the others to convince themselves that my doubts were also their doubts. NOT GUILTY!
The scary part is that it maybe easier to convict someone (Trump even easier) of a non-crime, than an actual crime.
Basically, the judge told the jury, ‘you have my permission to let your imagination be your guide’.
It’s the part in movies when the camera pans over to a screen without the actors because the speculation goes that Hollywood, with all its talent, cannot match anything as scary as the audience imaginings.
“Good luck. We are all counting on you”. - Airplane (1980)
Behold the impartiality of MSNBC: Andrew Weissmann: "With respect to Judge Merchan, I have like a man crush on him. He is such a great judge. If you looked in a dictionary for judicial temperament, that's what you would get."
TDS is one helluva drug.
Greg Price
@greg_price11
This guy was the lead prosecutor on the Mueller investigation...
"Second, flying the flag upside down has long been a symbol of the nation being in distress. I think we can all agree, no matter who you voted for, that the nation was in distress after January 6."
We were taught in our first day of law school that a judge should not even show the appearance of bias. Even if i assumed your rather frivolous position that Alito was flying the flag because he thought that the nation was "in distress", it is still an appearance of bias warranting recusal. Back in the day, conservative Justice John Harlan wouldn't even vote while he sat on the court lest it indicated some bias. I have a buddy who is a NY Supreme Court Justice who won't even let me buy him a beer. Alito is a fool.
5/30/24, 12:32 AM
Funny that!! RBG was the most biased Judge on the court and I NEVER heard you once complain about HER biases...EVER!!!
Five hours of talking sounds like what you would need to dismantle rules of evidence, reasonable doubt, in exchange for the new dispensation of Diversity Equity and Inclusion.
If you doubt me then tell me what the heck did the prosecutor talk about for so long?
If there was General Election Fraud by hiding certain information about a candidate, then every candidate everywhere would be liable. They all tailor their campaigns to communicate the highlights and hide the lowlights. Further, if it was fraud, you’d have to prove the so-called fraud had an impact on the election, no? In Trump’s case, his history with women was well known, and enough people voted for him that he won in 2016 anyway. There is no compelling case of election fraud here.
Hillary hid the scope of her corruption during that election. Was that fraud? Or did we all know she was corrupt? She lost the electoral, but would’ve lost the total vote count, as well.
Joe hid Hunters laptop, and this was very pertinent info for the voters to know about. And it was new! No one had an understanding of the depth of his corruption at that point. And something like 10-12% of voters would’ve not voted for him had they known. That proves that fraud was impactful to the 2020.
So my point is that fraud can not reasonably be the second crime without full details of how it was actually impactful on the election.
On further reflection, I guess there’s more than one way to look at the stories about Martha-Ann Alito.
One way is she’s the spouse of, and very possibly influential over, a Supreme Court justice, using their home to convey political messages, and that’s news. The other way is that she’s a banal neighborhood dingbat. Every neighborhood (and family) has one. Is it news when Uncle Wayne goes on a Thanksgiving rant? Is it news when Great Aunt Claudia yells at the neighbors for celebrating Lunar New Year?
Now, Virginia Thomas using her high-level access and influence to promote a conspiracy to interfere with election results is absolutely news, particularly when her husband is ruling on related cases. But how much is Martha-Ann Alito being a cranky old Karen news?
I guess this NYT story has softened my view on WaPo’s decision not to run the story earlier, at least a bit. Mrs. Alito comes off as Facebook-addled and entitled but Justice Alito doesn’t particularly. He does plenty of stuff on the record on his own. So I don’t strongly object to stories about a SCOTUS justice’s spouse flying spicy political flags, but as I think about it, I wouldn’t want it to distract from the absolute wealth of more important public data about Alito being a thin-skinned, entitled, result-oriented totalitarian ideologue.
The Alitos, the Neighborhood Clash and the Upside-Down Flag https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/28/us/justice-alito-neighbors-stop-steal-flag.html?unlocked_article_code=1.v00.oQdY.5McJbqG3pQ93&smid=url-share
"Basically, the judge told the jury, ‘you have my permission to let your imagination be your guide’."
Like when the E Jeane Carrol judge told the jury that even an "unwanted peck on the cheek" counts as sexual assault, and then claimed that he had been judged to be guilty of rape when the jury explicitly did not find that to be true.
If we used Mutaman's standards of prosecution and guilt on Joe Biden, he would be serving life in prison right now for defrauding the American people of a non corrupt presidency, and here we are engaged in a war on behalf of the billionaires who paid so much money into his family's bank accounts, with which he commingles funds, and family which picks up many of his expenses.
Why do Joe and Jill Biden have 20 shell corporations, some of which have received payments from people Hunter met while on a trip on Air Force Two to China, the only purpose of these shell corporations seems to be to move payments around in a way that is intended to be impossible to follow? Isn't that fraud? Denying the American public the right to know that he received these payments? Claiming that he released his tax returns, when he never released any returns for these shell corporations?
Rich said: "The other way is that she’s a banal neighborhood dingbat." (Martha-Ann Alito)
From Miranda Devine: "Turns out the Alitos have some very unpleasant neighbors.
The 35-year-old BLM activist daughter of a retired PBS executive who lives down the road decided to move into her mother’s house with her boyfriend and their “pandemic puppy” in 2020 and then proceeded to torment the Alitos.
Her campaign of harassment included picketing their house with signs saying, “Abort SCOTUS,” “Fascist Alito” and “Alito was @ Jan 6,” plastering her mother’s front yard (near a school) with political signs like “F–K Trump,” “Trump Is a Fascist” and “You Are Complicit.” One day the daughter, or her boyfriend, called Mrs. Alito a “c–t.” (NYPost)
“What are the opinions of Samuel Alito's wife and how do you deduce them, Rich? From dubious flags? Why are they dubious?”
Rich:
We are speaking about a specific case that Merchan is currently presiding over. What specific case currently before the court would you like Alito to recuse himself from?
And were you ok with RBG sitting in cases involving Planned Parenthood when she had previously served as their General Counsel?
Reading the comments, I'll note that we have gone from it is impossible to have voter fraud that affected the outcome of an election to calling an NDA invoiced as a legal offense felony election fraud.
Mutaman said... I have a buddy who is a NY Supreme Court Justice who won't even let me buy him a beer.
You should get the hint that like the women who refuse your offer to buy a drink, he doesn't want you to hang around either. I take it recognizing clues has never come easy to you.
Can you imagine any jury rooting through the sodden mess that Bragg and Marchon have handed them and arriving at a legitimate verdict based on the law (the real law I mean) and the facts? There are some pretty smart people on this forum, including a retired constitutional law professor and several lawyers, and we can’t figure out half of it. I know I can’t.
If they convict, it will be because they want to. Just that. End of story.
This isn’t justice. Anyone who says it is is a liar.
Blogger Rich said... So the opinions of the daughter of Judge Juan Merchan should prevent him from presiding over the hush-money case
No. It is the fact that the daughter is monetizing those opinions as her means of living that creates a conflict of interest.
Using your argument, Judge Merchan should have recused himself because his wife worked for Letitia James. Even then, there is a lot less there for Justice Alito to recuse himself. Do you have evidence that Mrs. Alito financially benefitted from "Stop the Steal" or worked for them. I think you are skipping many steps to make bad assumptions.
Trump didn't pay "hush money." Michael Cohen paid blackmail in late October 2016. Stormy Daniels threatened Cohen that she'd start flapping her gums about a supposed one-night stand she had with DJT unless Cohen paid her to shut up. That's the crime. Extortion.
Alvin Bragg and Juan Merchan have taken Stormy's crime of extortion and perverted it to a crime of some nebulous "election fraud" and business records fraud.
PERVERSION of justice is the real crime being litigated in this trial. The Federal civil rights trial after the completion will be explosive. Neither Bragg nor Merchan will survive that trial. Neither will the City of New York, the State, the DCNC, nor Joe "Bribe me!" Biden. I see $2B judgement against all of the conspirators. It'll be glorious.
As usual our usual suspects are furiously masterbating at the prospect of Trump being found guilty. Careful, kids, you don't want to injure yourselves.
The corruption willfully displayed by Democrats and their operatives in the media does not bode well for this nation. Unhappy people spreading and inflicting their misery on any in their path.
What can one expect from the sort of people who prioritize the ability to murder their own children?
Is the supposed second crime violation of NY election law or Federal election law. Or is it a pickum.
The NY law is a misdemeanor and has a two year statute of limitations, which of course has run out.
If it’s the Federal law, NY has no jurisdiction as this is reserved for the DOJ. And of course there’s the issue the Machon would not allow expert testimony on this point. Only HE would explain the law to the jury. (Kind of reminds you of Fauci)
So what’s going on here. I remain confused. (Not really. I know exactly what’s going on here.
Since people are noting it, let me correct the auto-correct: "Reading the comments, I'll note that we have gone from it is impossible to have voter fraud that affected the outcome of an election to calling an NDA invoiced as a legal expense felony election fraud."
In November 2020, a few hours after the US presidential election had been called for Joe Biden, Virginia Thomas, wife of Clarence Thomas, justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, sent a bizarre text to Donald Trump’s chief of staff, her old friend Mark Meadows. It read: “Biden crime family & ballot fraud co-conspirators (elected officials, bureaucrats, social media censorship mongers, fake stream media reporters, etc) are being arrested & detained for ballot fraud right now & over coming days & will be living in barges off GITMO [Guantánamo Bay] to face military tribunals for sedition”. ~ FT
One might widen the gaze and say that in the ever-increasing greatly expanded information space, there are going to be wacko neighborhoods, places infused with the black magic of dark conspiracy.
One question might be whether or not the plutocracy is using their money as Supreme Court sanctioned free speech to overthrow a democracy supposedly based on free speech? The opening anecdote about Virginia Thomas raises disturbing questions. We now know who her husband works for. Who does she work for?
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৭০টি মন্তব্য:
It's been a beautiful Spring of sunrises
This is the best explanation I have seen about the saying “red sky at morning, sailor take warning….”
https://www.loc.gov/everyday-mysteries/meteorology-climatology/item/is-the-old-adage-red-sky-at-night-sailors-delight-red-sky-in-morning-sailors-warning-true-or-is-it-just-an-old-wives-tale/
Assume Trump is convicted. The max sentence is 4 years. The crime is stealing the election by unlawful means. Doesn’t he have to go to jail for 30-60 days? People in NE get that sentence for a second DUI.
Trump’s lawyers better have emergency appellate motions ready to keep him out of jail.
I continue to be amazed by Sen. John Fetterman:
"To a standing ovation, Senator John Fetterman removed his Harvard Crimson hood during commencement today in outrage over the rampant antisemitism here on campus. This is what true leadership looks like!"
Source:
https://x.com/ShabbosK/status/1795908003775869157?t=d69BUrXW9g1tYIJ0asrd0w&s=19
Link: Shabbos Kestenbaum @ShabbosK
From Marco Rubio:
“Judge in Trump case in NYC just told jury they don’t have to unanimously agree on which crime was committed as long as they all at least pick one
And that among the crimes the can pick from are ones Trump WASN’T EVEN CHARGED WITH!!!”
Isn’t this (among other egregious errors) an automatic reversal on appeal if convicted?
It seems that there are many more of these no-brainer mistakes that were made by a corrupt judge.
What say you, AA?
Mutaman, Rich, Howard, and the other lefties seconds after the verdict (if guilty) is read...
"Mutaman, Rich, Howard, and the other lefties seconds after the verdict (if guilty) is read..."
So... same as every night, then?
Althouse has made her opinion clear. She is enraged by the trial, as any one who believes in a just and liberal society would.
Exquisite pics!
Saltload to the Merchan derrière would be appropriate. Repeat as needed.
Time travel grammar - Big Bang Theory
“ What say you, AA?”
I have a problem with the way they have constructed a felony out of including an “other crime” so I can’t even get to the question you’re asking, but I think you’re essentially pointing at my problem from the opposite direction.
The Stormy Daniels extortion trial is a perversion of justice. What I'd like to see the jury do to tell the prosecutor and the judge that they are done with that circus of a trial is:
- Write "Sod off, Swampy!" in Sharpy, diagonally on all of the sheets of the verdict sheets. Not fill in the individual charges.
- File into the jury box, give the bailiff the verdict sheets.
- Wait for the judge to open the sheets
- Walk out, with a chorus of "Sod off, Swampy!"
- Leave the court room.
- Tell the press "Sod off, Swampy!"
A perfect FU to the persecution and the Democrat Operative in a Black Robe.
Hung verdict
That would never happen, unfortunately.
My wife is watching the MSNBC "journalists." They are going on and on about how Trump blah, blah, blah. They can't admit that there was no crime, that the judge is biased and that the persecution has absolutely not proved its case.
MSNBC, 24/7 coverage of the noncrime of the century. If they didn't cover it, they'd have no viewers.
That RFK Jr / Confederate statue removal post got me thinking about how easy it was for the health authorities to silence Covid dissent.
I can't help thinking one (tear down statues of people we don't approve) contributed to the other (extreme covid measures). Even though, clearly, these two seemingly disparate things were not pushed by the same people. They both had crackdowns.
If we have the power to change the past, changing the future might feel even easier.
You have to feel very high and mighty to believe both could be forced on people. Again, one (statue tear down) may NOT have caused the other (Covid fascism), but I believe it might've contributed because the mindset needed is very similar. 'We are on the right side of history', yadi yada.
Shit got so ugly with Covid; it may be decades before the full story is widely known.
“Instead of saying, ‘You get more money when this patient’s healthy,’ we said, ‘You get more money when they die.’”
Lem @ 9:13: Word. Psychology is a unified field. When you mess with one part of it (here, our trust in our historical narrative and the statues which embody it) you mess with all of it, with emphasis on whatever else is in contention (here, our trust in a narrative of health, disease and who cares for us). See also Orwell.
It is Orwellian.
Genesis also comes to mind… the part that says ‘our eyes will be open and we shall be like God’
God help us.
So the opinions of the daughter of Judge Juan Merchan should prevent him from presiding over the hush-money case, according to Trump, but those of Samuel Alito's wife are fine — including flying dubious flags in their shared residence. Seems fair to me.
What are the opinions of Samuel Alito's wife and how do you deduce them, Rich? From dubious flags? Why are they dubious?
Rich said...
" So the opinions of the daughter of Judge Juan Merchan should prevent him from presiding over the hush-money case, according to Trump, but those of Samuel Alito's wife are fine — including flying dubious flags in their shared residence. Seems fair to me."
Judge Merchan said that as soon as the trial is over he will be going on a luxury vacation paid for by Harlan crow.
To think we may have been safer, when our number one worry was how many more nukes would we need in case of a nuclear attack from the Soviets. Cowboys and Indians, compared to what we can do to each other.
Wait. Maybe Cowboys and Indians is not the best example… ☺️
Mike of Snoqualmie said...
My wife is watching the MSNBC "journalists." They are going on and on about how Trump blah, blah, blah. They can't admit that there was no crime, that the judge is biased, and that the persecution has absolutely not proved its case.
MSNBC, 24/7 coverage of the non-crime of the century. If they didn't cover it, they'd have no viewers.
The trial is now in the hands of 12 jurors, so Judge Merchan, MSNBC, and Fox News are no longer around to influence the determination of guilt on 34 criminal counts. Trump says that “Mother Teresa could not beat these charges,” without explaining why these charges would ever be brought against her. Of course, he already knows if he is guilty or not guilty.
Mr. Majestyk
"What are the opinions of Samuel Alito's wife and how do you deduce them, Rich? From dubious flags? Why are they dubious?"
Please!
"In January 2021, the upside down American flag had become a banner for Donald Trump’s effort to block the peaceful transfer of power. Armed insurrectionists carried it into the U.S. Capitol on January 6. Eleven days later, even as National Guard troops still guarded the Capitol and the Supreme Court building itself, Justice Samuel Alito flew the insurrectionists’ flag outside his Virginia home.
This was far more than an act of indiscreet partisanship, troubling though that might have been. We’ve had those before, from Sandra Day O’Connor backing George W. Bush to Ruth Bader Ginsburg mocking Trump. Justices are human and sometimes they slip up.
No, this was not a gaffe. It was a senior government official hoisting the banner of a violent insurrectionist movement devoted to overturning a core constitutional principle."
By Cowboys and Indians I meant the game little boys used to play back when the high toxicity of the game was the last thing it would occur to anybody.
I hope for a hung jury in the NYC but I think it's a hanging jury. I think they got their orders and they are the kind that take orders. That said, I think it's all going to seem very much a political persecution. A politician paid off a woman - that's what people are going to figure the "crime" as. "But why is he going to jail for that," they'll think. What about all the others? A fountain of filth will come spewing up. What about A, B, C, D and onto Z. Then, onto Chappaquiddick. Harvey Weinstein will be going free in the same courthouse. More filth. Hunter - free. Alec Baldwin - free. This is not an incomprehensible situation being enacted by distant politicians in DC. The only part that is hard to understand is why only Trump is being prosecuted and that isn't so very hard to understand either. Well, I may have to watch a slobberfest or hear about it, anyhow. But making Alvin Bragg the face of Dem justice is like making Dylan Mulvaney the face of Bud Lite.
I don’t know if it’s true or not. I heard some of the women jurors wore masks 😷.
If it’s only one guy standing up for Trump, the case for Trump is doomed.
But if it’s two or three guys standing up for Trump, there’s a chance the jury will hang.
Unfortunately for our Biden-true believers, paying extortion money is not a crime and it's not a campaign expense. If it was a campaign expense, then blackmail victims could run for office and use campaign donations to pay off their blackmailers instead of using the campaign donations to run the campaign.
Maybe for our Biden-true believers would be happy if those repayment checks were labeled as legal/blackmail entries.
No crime in paying blackmail (Strike One!), no crime in using private funds to pay said blackmail (Strike Two!), no crime in recording a Non Disclosure Agreement as a legal expense because said NDA is a legal document created by a lawyer (Strike Three!).
DA Bragg and Judge Merchan, both Democrat Operatives, strike out.
Mike of Snoqualmie said...
The Stormy Daniels extortion trial is a perversion of justice. What I'd like to see the jury do to tell the prosecutor and the judge that they are done with that circus of a trial is:
- Write "Sod off, Swampy!" in Sharpy, diagonally on all of the sheets of the verdict sheets.
Do Americans say "sod off?"
Yes, but it's pronounced “sawed off”, and refers to someone of very short stature. Brits use "sod off" as an invective reference to ejaculation.
But if this trial is somehow an extortion and a perversion of justice why didn't Whimpy Don swear on the bible and tell the world his side of the story instead of wasting 50 hours of his lawyers flailing and failing to provide any proof of his innocence? The jurors certainly cannot be expected to care more about his going to jail than he does.
I don't know who you are quoting, Mutaman, but no matter. The leaps of logic are absurd.
First, January 6 was not an insurrection. You don't try to violently take over a nation by coming to the Capitol Building unarmed and following others through doors opened by the Capitol Police. You mention "armed insurrectionists." Who exactly was armed, how many of them were there, and what were they armed with? As far as I know, the only shots fired were fired by the Capitol Police. Some "insurrection."
Second, flying the flag upside down has long been a symbol of the nation being in distress. I think we can all agree, no matter who you voted for, that the nation was in distress after January 6.
Third, that some protesters may have carried upside down flags doesn't mean that, from then on, everyone who flies an upside down flag supports a violent overthrow of the government (which, as explained, was not even realistically attempted on January 6). To conclude otherwise is just as silly as concluding that because a few racists flashed the "OK" sign, the "OK" sign is now a symbol of white supremacy. It's nonsense.
The choice we face is between sleazy and sleazier.
If we had an honest press, Joe Biden would be sleaziest.
"Unfortunately for our Biden-true believers,"
They are not "true believers," they are pushing talking points because they want their side to be in power, to have power over your life, to take away your gas car, your gas fireplace, to send your kids off to fight Russians and Chinese people on the other side of the world, to tax you by printing money until your paycheck is worthless, while they promise to tax the rich, which somehow never happens. They don't believe this crap, they are not morons... well, maybe except one of them...
They are just hoping that other people will believe it.
Blogger Ann Althouse said...
"I have a problem with the way they have constructed a felony out of including an “other crime” so I can’t even get to the question you’re asking, but I think you’re essentially pointing at my problem from the opposite direction."
Fraudulent business records were created in New York at the direction of Donald Trump for the express purpose of engaging in General Election fraud. I think Althouse's "problem" was long ago raised in a defense motion to dismiss which was denied by the court. I also think she is being deliberately obtuse.
Mr. Majestyk said...
"Second, flying the flag upside down has long been a symbol of the nation being in distress. I think we can all agree, no matter who you voted for, that the nation was in distress after January 6."
We were taught in our first day of law school that a judge should not even show the appearance of bias. Even if i assumed your rather frivolous position that Alito was flying the flag because he thought that the nation was "in distress", it is still an appearance of bias warranting recusal.
Back in the day, conservative Justice John Harlan wouldn't even vote while he sat on the court lest it indicated some bias. I have a buddy who is a NY Supreme Court Justice who won't even let me buy him a beer.
Alito is a fool.
If it’s only one guy standing up for Trump, the case for Trump is doomed.
Depends on the guy.
I was on a jury in 2004. Case turned out to be as bogus as this one. But, the prosecution was skilled and defense had poor understanding of some facts bearing on the case and was ignorant of others.
If I had been more candid about my knowledge of issues being weighed, I wouldn't have survived the selection process. I had no opinion about guilt or innocence at that point. The case interested me and I thought my knowledge might be useful in arriving at a proper outcome.
My fellow jurors all voted guilty (as I suspected they would). For some reason, they had wanted me to be foreman. I had declined as I believed I had a better chance of swaying them if I was not viewed as "The Man".
So, I began by agreeing with everyone in principle but, noting the severity of the likely punishment, I asked my peers to help me better understand a few points before adding my vote. It took about two hours for the others to convince themselves that my doubts were also their doubts. NOT GUILTY!
The scary part is that it maybe easier to convict someone (Trump even easier) of a non-crime, than an actual crime.
Basically, the judge told the jury, ‘you have my permission to let your imagination be your guide’.
It’s the part in movies when the camera pans over to a screen without the actors because the speculation goes that Hollywood, with all its talent, cannot match anything as scary as the audience imaginings.
“Good luck. We are all counting on you”. - Airplane (1980)
Eric Abbenante
@EricAbbenante
Behold the impartiality of MSNBC:
Andrew Weissmann: "With respect to Judge Merchan, I have like a man crush on him. He is such a great judge. If you looked in a dictionary for judicial temperament, that's what you would get."
TDS is one helluva drug.
Greg Price
@greg_price11
This guy was the lead prosecutor on the Mueller investigation...
https://x.com/i/status/1795918975651414099
Mutaman said...
Mr. Majestyk said...
"Second, flying the flag upside down has long been a symbol of the nation being in distress. I think we can all agree, no matter who you voted for, that the nation was in distress after January 6."
We were taught in our first day of law school that a judge should not even show the appearance of bias. Even if i assumed your rather frivolous position that Alito was flying the flag because he thought that the nation was "in distress", it is still an appearance of bias warranting recusal.
Back in the day, conservative Justice John Harlan wouldn't even vote while he sat on the court lest it indicated some bias. I have a buddy who is a NY Supreme Court Justice who won't even let me buy him a beer.
Alito is a fool.
5/30/24, 12:32 AM
Funny that!! RBG was the most biased Judge on the court and I NEVER heard you once complain about HER biases...EVER!!!
I think it's a mistake to blame Alito for the actions of his Karen wife. He's is being punished enough just being married to the harridan.
Five hours of talking sounds like what you would need to dismantle rules of evidence, reasonable doubt, in exchange for the new dispensation of Diversity Equity and Inclusion.
If you doubt me then tell me what the heck did the prosecutor talk about for so long?
I wasn’t there.
Did I leave out presumption of innocence?
Did the judge even say those words?
So many questions.
If there was General Election Fraud by hiding certain information about a candidate, then every candidate everywhere would be liable. They all tailor their campaigns to communicate the highlights and hide the lowlights. Further, if it was fraud, you’d have to prove the so-called fraud had an impact on the election, no? In Trump’s case, his history with women was well known, and enough people voted for him that he won in 2016 anyway. There is no compelling case of election fraud here.
Hillary hid the scope of her corruption during that election. Was that fraud? Or did we all know she was corrupt? She lost the electoral, but would’ve lost the total vote count, as well.
Joe hid Hunters laptop, and this was very pertinent info for the voters to know about. And it was new! No one had an understanding of the depth of his corruption at that point. And something like 10-12% of voters would’ve not voted for him had they known. That proves that fraud was impactful to the 2020.
So my point is that fraud can not reasonably be the second crime without full details of how it was actually impactful on the election.
…proves that Biden’s fraud was impactful…
On further reflection, I guess there’s more than one way to look at the stories about Martha-Ann Alito.
One way is she’s the spouse of, and very possibly influential over, a Supreme Court justice, using their home to convey political messages, and that’s news. The other way is that she’s a banal neighborhood dingbat. Every neighborhood (and family) has one. Is it news when Uncle Wayne goes on a Thanksgiving rant? Is it news when Great Aunt Claudia yells at the neighbors for celebrating Lunar New Year?
Now, Virginia Thomas using her high-level access and influence to promote a conspiracy to interfere with election results is absolutely news, particularly when her husband is ruling on related cases. But how much is Martha-Ann Alito being a cranky old Karen news?
I guess this NYT story has softened my view on WaPo’s decision not to run the story earlier, at least a bit. Mrs. Alito comes off as Facebook-addled and entitled but Justice Alito doesn’t particularly. He does plenty of stuff on the record on his own. So I don’t strongly object to stories about a SCOTUS justice’s spouse flying spicy political flags, but as I think about it, I wouldn’t want it to distract from the absolute wealth of more important public data about Alito being a thin-skinned, entitled, result-oriented totalitarian ideologue.
The Alitos, the Neighborhood Clash and the Upside-Down Flag
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/28/us/justice-alito-neighbors-stop-steal-flag.html?unlocked_article_code=1.v00.oQdY.5McJbqG3pQ93&smid=url-share
"Basically, the judge told the jury, ‘you have my permission to let your imagination be your guide’."
Like when the E Jeane Carrol judge told the jury that even an "unwanted peck on the cheek" counts as sexual assault, and then claimed that he had been judged to be guilty of rape when the jury explicitly did not find that to be true.
If we used Mutaman's standards of prosecution and guilt on Joe Biden, he would be serving life in prison right now for defrauding the American people of a non corrupt presidency, and here we are engaged in a war on behalf of the billionaires who paid so much money into his family's bank accounts, with which he commingles funds, and family which picks up many of his expenses.
Why do Joe and Jill Biden have 20 shell corporations, some of which have received payments from people Hunter met while on a trip on Air Force Two to China, the only purpose of these shell corporations seems to be to move payments around in a way that is intended to be impossible to follow? Isn't that fraud? Denying the American public the right to know that he received these payments? Claiming that he released his tax returns, when he never released any returns for these shell corporations?
Rich said: "The other way is that she’s a banal neighborhood dingbat." (Martha-Ann Alito)
From Miranda Devine: "Turns out the Alitos have some very unpleasant neighbors.
The 35-year-old BLM activist daughter of a retired PBS executive who lives down the road decided to move into her mother’s house with her boyfriend and their “pandemic puppy” in 2020 and then proceeded to torment the Alitos.
Her campaign of harassment included picketing their house with signs saying, “Abort SCOTUS,” “Fascist Alito” and “Alito was @ Jan 6,” plastering her mother’s front yard (near a school) with political signs like “F–K Trump,” “Trump Is a Fascist” and “You Are Complicit.” One day the daughter, or her boyfriend, called Mrs. Alito a “c–t.” (NYPost)
Thanks for playing Rich
The crime, BTW, is not registering under the foreign agents act.
“What are the opinions of Samuel Alito's wife and how do you deduce them, Rich? From dubious flags? Why are they dubious?”
Rich:
We are speaking about a specific case that Merchan is currently presiding over. What specific case currently before the court would you like Alito to recuse himself from?
And were you ok with RBG sitting in cases involving Planned Parenthood when she had previously served as their General Counsel?
Just wondering.
Reading the comments, I'll note that we have gone from it is impossible to have voter fraud that affected the outcome of an election to calling an NDA invoiced as a legal offense felony election fraud.
Mutaman said...
I have a buddy who is a NY Supreme Court Justice who won't even let me buy him a beer.
You should get the hint that like the women who refuse your offer to buy a drink, he doesn't want you to hang around either. I take it recognizing clues has never come easy to you.
Taking a cue from Bud Light, Cracker Barrel went all woke. Stock price April 2021 $175, price today $45.
https://hotair.com/tree-hugging-sister/2024/05/29/i-did-not-know-cracker-barrel-had-totally-bought-the-woke-rainbow-n3789229
Trump’s crime? He’s running for president… again.
Can you imagine any jury rooting through the sodden mess that Bragg and Marchon have handed them and arriving at a legitimate verdict based on the law (the real law I mean) and the facts? There are some pretty smart people on this forum, including a retired constitutional law professor and several lawyers, and we can’t figure out half of it. I know I can’t.
If they convict, it will be because they want to. Just that. End of story.
This isn’t justice. Anyone who says it is is a liar.
Leland @ 6:42. X ♾️ to the 45th power.
Blogger Rich said...
So the opinions of the daughter of Judge Juan Merchan should prevent him from presiding over the hush-money case
No. It is the fact that the daughter is monetizing those opinions as her means of living that creates a conflict of interest.
Using your argument, Judge Merchan should have recused himself because his wife worked for Letitia James. Even then, there is a lot less there for Justice Alito to recuse himself. Do you have evidence that Mrs. Alito financially benefitted from "Stop the Steal" or worked for them. I think you are skipping many steps to make bad assumptions.
Trump didn't pay "hush money." Michael Cohen paid blackmail in late October 2016. Stormy Daniels threatened Cohen that she'd start flapping her gums about a supposed one-night stand she had with DJT unless Cohen paid her to shut up. That's the crime. Extortion.
Alvin Bragg and Juan Merchan have taken Stormy's crime of extortion and perverted it to a crime of some nebulous "election fraud" and business records fraud.
PERVERSION of justice is the real crime being litigated in this trial. The Federal civil rights trial after the completion will be explosive. Neither Bragg nor Merchan will survive that trial. Neither will the City of New York, the State, the DCNC, nor Joe "Bribe me!" Biden. I see $2B judgement against all of the conspirators. It'll be glorious.
Is no one going to not this from gadfly:
50 hours of his lawyers flailing and failing to provide any proof of his innocence
Then again, what's the point?
Leland @6:43, exactly.
Oh, for heaven's sake. Pre-coffee fingers. Leland at 6:42, and "note," not "not."
Did Gadfly really say that?
I’m shocked
The first and last picutre have character. They draw you in. Nice composition.
As usual our usual suspects are furiously masterbating at the prospect of Trump being found guilty. Careful, kids, you don't want to injure yourselves.
The corruption willfully displayed by Democrats and their operatives in the media does not bode well for this nation. Unhappy people spreading and inflicting their misery on any in their path.
What can one expect from the sort of people who prioritize the ability to murder their own children?
Just ran across this on Powerline:
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2024/05/choose-one-from-column-a.php?tsize=large
Is the supposed second crime violation of NY election law or Federal election law. Or is it a pickum.
The NY law is a misdemeanor and has a two year statute of limitations, which of course has run out.
If it’s the Federal law, NY has no jurisdiction as this is reserved for the DOJ. And of course there’s the issue the Machon would not allow expert testimony on this point. Only HE would explain the law to the jury. (Kind of reminds you of Fauci)
So what’s going on here. I remain confused. (Not really. I know exactly what’s going on here.
'Yes, but it's pronounced “sawed off”, and refers to someone of very short stature. Brits use "sod off" as an invective reference to ejaculation.'
This is wrong.
Here is the derivation of "Sod off, Swampy."
Since people are noting it, let me correct the auto-correct:
"Reading the comments, I'll note that we have gone from it is impossible to have voter fraud that affected the outcome of an election to calling an NDA invoiced as a legal expense felony election fraud."
Now do Virginia Thomas…
In November 2020, a few hours after the US presidential election had been called for Joe Biden, Virginia Thomas, wife of Clarence Thomas, justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, sent a bizarre text to Donald Trump’s chief of staff, her old friend Mark Meadows. It read: “Biden crime family & ballot fraud co-conspirators (elected officials, bureaucrats, social media censorship mongers, fake stream media reporters, etc) are being arrested & detained for ballot fraud right now & over coming days & will be living in barges off GITMO [Guantánamo Bay] to face military tribunals for sedition”.
~ FT
One might widen the gaze and say that in the ever-increasing greatly expanded information space, there are going to be wacko neighborhoods, places infused with the black magic of dark conspiracy.
One question might be whether or not the plutocracy is using their money as Supreme Court sanctioned free speech to overthrow a democracy supposedly based on free speech? The opening anecdote about Virginia Thomas raises disturbing questions. We now know who her husband works for. Who does she work for?
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