“The
future of American democracy will turn on the trials of Donald Trump and the
political turmoil that will surround them.”- Gideon Rachman, The Financial Times, ‘Trump and American democracy’s
time of trial',
Traitor Trump, within hours of this post, will face his third arraignment, now having amassed 78 felonies in 3 different indictments. One aspect of the new indictment is that even some in the media are unable to comprehend why Special counsel Jack Smith didn't go for the "jugular" and indict Trump on insurrection charges. The editors of The Wall Street Journal, for example, scribbled this in yesterday's lead editorial:
There is no evidence tying Mr. Trump to the Oath Keepers or Proud Boys who planned to, and did, breach the U.S. Capitol that day…
Mr. Trump is also not charged with encouraging an “insurrection,” which is the word and charge leveled by the press corps and Democrats.
But though serious legal eagles all agree that would have been the ideal charge for this traitor, given it was effectively an act of inciting domestic terror to attempt to preserve his power, i.e.
They also knew that given trial time constraints it would be the most difficult to prove in our justice system which provides so many 'outs' based on a perp's "intention". Hence, Special Counsel Smith took the most pragmatic route instead, by nailing down 4 of the easiest to grasp charges: 3 based on conspiracy, i.e. to deny voters (mainly in 7 swing states) having their votes counted using fraud (based on fake electors) and one on obstruction of justice. So Mr. Smith, appreciating the likely delaying tactics of Trump's reprobate lawyers, knew he had to make his case as basic and straightforward as feasible.
Still, the four-count, 45-page indictment of Traitor Trump is a bellwether and indication of how deeply Americans are committed to preserving their democracy and the right to vote, or whether they treat it as an overly costly luxury that no longer holds appeal or is worth fighting for. Do they regard Biden’s age as a deal breaker to vote for him next year – thereby giving traitor Trump one more bite at democracy’s “apple” to destroy it? Or do they wake up, smell the coffee and grasp Biden may be the only way out of this nightmare? (If the trials are delayed until after the election.)
Are they more aroused by inflation, and the economy (despite the fact Biden has done more to improve things than the last 3 Dem presidents) or will they finally begin to think rationally and understand Trump is the greatest threat? Will they be outraged that Trump attempted to negate their votes in 7 battleground states, or as Chris Hayes put it Tuesday night "Commit armed electoral robbery" - or give him a pass?
All of these questions are in play as we move into what may be the most volatile and consequential election year in U.S. history. Indeed, one Slate contributor (see link below) has described it as "the most important case in American history". I do not believe he is exaggerating given our democracy is on the line. And no, that's not being "histrionic". Anyone who believes so isn't paying attention.
Trump now stands accused — not by political opponents "weaponizing the DOJ" as the daft House Repukes claim - of trying to obliterate our democracy. Nor by ‘left’ -woke opinion columnists as their MAGA minions insist. But accused by a duly constituted grand jury of ordinary citizens that has heard the evidence against him. As the indictment spells out, Trump tried to commit a crime against democracy. The country and its voters were his intended victims. Can he be allowed to walk away from that, or will he be held accountable? The indictment's (Sec. 54b) spelling out of the fake elector's scheme is instructive:
The Fraudulent Elector Memo suggested that the Defendant’s electors in six purportedly “contested” states (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin) should meet and mimic as best as possible the actions of the legitimate Biden electors, and that on January 6, the Vice President should open and count the fraudulent votes, setting up a fake controversy that would derail the proper certification of Biden as president-elect.
Basically, this grifting traitor (who uses each indictment to fuel his campaign fund raising) is charged with
engaging in numerous “unlawful means of discounting legitimate votes and
subverting the election results,” in what prosecutors say amounted to three
separate criminal conspiracies: i)to obstruct the business of government in
conducting the election; (ii) to obstruct the official proceeding of Congress in
counting and certifying the electoral college results; and (iii) to violate the
rights of all Americans to have their votes counted.
The indictment further states:
“Each of these conspiracies — which built on the widespread mistrust the defendant was creating through pervasive and destabilizing lies about election fraud — targeted a bedrock function of the United States federal government: the nation’s process of collecting, counting and certifying the results of the presidential election,”
In the words of some columnists: “It is
terrible, tragic even, that it has come to this. The very idea of bringing
criminal charges against a former president and current presidential candidate is appalling.”
But lost in the media mix is that Trump is not a normal presidential candidate or a normal former president. He is-was abnormal to the core and never should have been elected in the first place. The Founders, indeed, were clear on what manner of man merited the highest office. In Issue #58 of The Federalist, for example, one reads:
"The process of election (by state electors) affords a moral certainty that the office of President shall never fall to the lot of any man who is not to an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications...It will not be too strong to say that there will be a constant probability of seeing the station filled by characters pre-eminent for ability and virtue."
But this standard was destroyed when Trump was elected and the Electoral College failed to block his ascension. All this in the wake of support from Russian bots on social media, as well as hackers (embedded in Russian troll farms) who also managed to interfere and tweak ballots in key states in 2016. In addition, in 2016 GOP voters themselves were incited by reckless passions driven by Trump at his rallies to upend our normal governance and embodied in this image:
James Madison in Federalist #10 best articulated that perverse dynamic:
"citizens - whether amounting to a minority or majority of the whole - are united and actuated by a common impulse of passion (to cast their votes) adverse to the rights of other citizens or the permanent and aggregate interests of the community".
Since then the GOP has ceased to be a normal political party but has mutated into an authoritarian
personality cult with Trump as its demigod. Yet in much of the press it’s still treated – like Trump
himself – as totally normal. All of which could have dire results for the U.S.
if the trials – especially for the Jan 6th case – are postponed
until after next year’s election.
Then add on to the abnormality of the Trump legal
team itself. The Trump team’s response to the indictment rose to the maniacal and
deranged, complaining that “the lawlessness of these persecutions of
President Trump and his supporters is reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the 1930s.”
HOW reminiscent? Do these jackwads even know what went on in
Nazi Germany? I do, having spoken (in May, 1985) with actual Germans - including members of the Hitler Youth and
Wehrmacht – alive at the time.
Want to KNOW about Nazi Germany's REAL History?
The odious Trump team's comparisons to Nazi Germany is based on an idiotic interpretation of the indictments, saying they are against Trump's "free speech". But as former federal prosecutor Chuck Rosenberg noted on NBC News last night, no one has the free speech to entice people into Ponzi schemes, or distribute or hide classified documents, or create fraudulent fake electors to displace actual electors. And it is the latter that Jack Smith has hung on Trump. Hence, the crime, the felony is not about any speech but conduct - fraudulent conduct to disenfranchise millions of voters in 7 states (Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin)
Past efforts to hold Traitor Trump accountable for the January 6th insurrection violence and his broader election subversion have fallen short. But that’s not really surprising. Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller, in the spring of 2019, punted at the last moment and allowed then AG Bill Barr to rewrite the script using a bogus summary of Mueller’s report, e.g.
Barr Gives Trump A "Get Out Of Jail Free" Card.
Thereby allowing the meme of the “Russia Hoax” to be spawned. Then in January 2021, the 2nd impeachment for inciting the insurrection fell short - by which I mean having this pestilence permanently removed from ever threatening the country again. The problem? The necessary 60 vote threshold was not attained in the Senate to remove him permanently.
Unlike Donald Trump’s first two indictments, the traitor's third set of criminal charges stands out as the first major legal effort to hold him accountable for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Pro-democracy experts welcomed the indictment, announced on Tuesday by the office of special counsel Jack Smith, as a victory for the rule of law that could help fortify America’s election systems in the face of ongoing threats from Trump and his allies. Because make no mistake if voters are stupid enough to put this imp back into power again he will never leave, see e.g.
Let’s get to cases, namely that three hallmarks are at the basis of any successful democracy:1) All candidates, leaders, parties and voters agree that they will respect the outcome of whatever election, 2) Nobody is above the law, not even a president or former president, 3) Verdicts in courts of law must be respected and not denigrated as “weaponization” of justice.
All Trump’s and Repukes efforts to absolve him of wrongdoing and fight back hinge on rejecting (3). Make no mistake here: If Trump’s behavior is allowed to stand, if it is not called out for the crime that it appears to be, the message to future presidents seeking to retain power at all costs would be: The coast is clear. Do what you need to remain in office. You can get away with murder in the middle of Fifth Avenue, and insurrection in the very halls of democracy.
Or as Chris Hayes put it during the MSNBC roundtable discussion of the latest indictment Tuesday night: "If what Trump did to try to overturn our election and democracy isn't illegal, then nothing is."
So, "Let justice be done though the heavens fall" to use the words of New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison in the trial of JFK assassination conspirator Clay Shaw back in 1969.
Later today Trump
will appear in a D.C. (not a FLA) court
before Judge Tanya S. Chutkan on charges of conspiring to subvert
American democracy. This will not be a
cakewalk for the maggot, as he still hopes to render the documents case in Ft.
Pierce, Florida where his own appointee (Aileen Cannon) sits on the bench. Nor will it be the first time she has dealt
with high-profile questions related to Mr. Trump’s attempts to stay in power
after losing the 2020 election.
Nearly two
years ago, Judge Chutkan rejected Mr. Trump's efforts to prevent his White
House records from being given to the House committee investigating his actions
leading up to and during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by his
supporters — delivering a swift and sharp rebuke about the limits of his
ability as former president to invoke executive privilege.
“Presidents are not kings,” she wrote, “and plaintiff is not president.” So genuine justice should be meted out to this unapologetic, bombastic reprobate. My main concern is that his domestic terror MAGA apes may try to threaten her or go overboard in their defense of their master.
This is why a
speedy reckoning is needed, not only for Judge Chutkin but the nation as well. But if justice isn't swift and sure, well....let the heavens fall...on Trump and his despicable cohort.
See Also:
by Thom Hartmann | August 3, 2023 - 6:10am | permalink
Excerpt:
Every day that goes by, even with yesterday’s newest indictment, looks more and more like Donald Trump will be the GOP’s standard bearer in 2024. After all, his popularity stood at 44 percent when NY DA Alvin Bragg indicted him; it then rose to 49 percent when he was indicted in the documents crime; following his conviction for raping E. Jean Caroll it rose to 54 percent among Republicans.
But even if he’s not the candidate, Republican primary voters will demand a candidate with the same affection for Putin and other dictators; the same disdain for racial, religious, and gender minorities; the same abusive attitude toward women and girls; the same faux embrace of Confederate and hillbilly values and hatred of city-dwellers and college graduates; the same cavalier attitude toward guns and fossil fuels.
There’s also the growing possibility that Trump or another MAGA Republican could win the White House. Yesterday, both the New York Times and CNN reported on polls showing that Trump and Biden are right now at a dead heat.
And:
by Amanda Marcotte | August 1, 2023 - 7:44am | permalink
Excerpt:
We didn't get the fresh new round of Donald Trump indictments many were waiting for last week. But late Thursday, special prosecutor Jack Smith did drop a fascinating new document: an indictment, which supersedes the previous one, in the case against Trump for stealing classified documents and refusing to give them back to the federal government. The new charges stem from one of the many alleged attempts Trump made to either hide documents or hide that he had stolen them. The government is accusing the former president of ordering staff to shuffle documents around in hopes to evade federal authorities.
And:
Trump trial: Jan. 6 charges will be the most important case in U.S. history. (slate.com)
And:
by Robert Reich | August 4, 2023 - 7:54am | permalink
— from Robert Reich's Substack
THE KEY DATE TO KEEP IN MIND is January 20, 2025. Trump’s main legal defense will be to stall the start of any trial until after that date.
He’ll argue that it is impossible for him to get a fair trial as the leading Republican candidate for president.
If U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan rejects Trump’s motion to delay, his lawyers will appeal her decision to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. If the D.C. Court of Appeals rejects the motion, he’ll appeal to the Supreme Court.
Given the makeup of the current Supreme Court, a majority of the justices are likely to go along with Trump’s argument and stay the commencement of the case until the next president is sworn in. (They will not recuse themselves.)
And:
Trump’s election lies and the Republicans who corrected him
And:
D.C. prepares for Trump’s return, as a criminal defendant
And:
by Heather Digby Parton | August 3, 2023 - 7:11am | permalink
During the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump repeatedly said that the electoral process was rigged. After losing the Iowa primary caucus he declared that Sen. Ted Cruz had stolen it and tweeted, "based on the fraud committed by Senator Ted Cruz during the Iowa caucus, either a new election should take place or Cruz results nullified." That was just the beginning. Throughout the general election campaign, he refused to say if he would accept the results, even in a televised presidential debate in October. He finally told his followers that he would accept the vote count — but only if he won — and they responded with rapturous adulation. Even when he won the Electoral College he refused to accept the popular vote results and formed a commission to prove that the numbers were fraudulent. (It came up empty, of course.)
So, it was no surprise that he spent most of the 2020 election casting aspersions on mail-in voting and planting the suspicion that the election was going to be stolen from him.
And:
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