Curious thing about tRump counsel Todd Blanche...he showed a bit more competency and legal nous during the DC and MAL pre-trial hearings, where he's on Defendant tRump's team, but has completely capitulated to the inane and nonsensical demands of his client here, mainly because THIS case is in fact going to trial sooner than any of the others. I don't believe there are any remaining pre-trial appeals or motions left to the defense, and tRump WILL appear in court on 15 April, end of.
Small beer, but for the millions of us awaiting SOME form of accountability for years of criminal conduct by. the Orange Gobshite, this is welcome news indeed.
Can you imagine him sitting still and keeping his big mouth shut? I can’t. He ranted and raved at his civil trials where he wasn’t required to be in the courtroom, at a criminal trial he must attend every single day. He stormed out of civil trials twice. He’s going to end up manacled to the chair. I’m so very glad I am not a lawyer, especially HIS lawyer!
"Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, a global law firm established in 1792, serves a diverse client base, including many of the world's leading financial institutions and corporations in more than 50 countries. We have earned a reputation for crafting innovative business and financial solutions"
I am not a lawyer, but I suspect that his recent shenanigans In Judge Merchan's courtroom have totally torched his ability to ever become a partner in a simarlarly prestigious law firm again. That's if he doesn't do anything to get his law license yanked like so many of trump's other attorneys.
You are one of the best writers, and your analysis is right on.
One of the reasons "no intelligent lawyer would touch his cases" (or any other part of Orange-Hog's anatomy) is that Orange-SNOUT cannot PAY them.
Moreover, a seasoned attorney wants to enhance her reputation in the judicial world with sound legal arguments.
What Jay Kuo describes with the Judge shutting down the former Assistant United States Attorney turned Orange-Puke's DEFENSE counsel is nothing short of brutal humiliation in face of legal malpractice.
No one deserves legal malpractice on his side more than Orange-MALPRACTICE himself.
I do. Saul was clever but unethical. It was fun to watch him in action but Judge M would have seen right through him. And your idea of Alina-I-got-highlights in-my-hair-because-Donald-asked-me-to-Habba working out of a somewhat grubby hair salon is genius!
You’re giving yams a bad name. Not that that’s anything new to anyone who has suffered through overcooked, overly gooey sweet candied yams at Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving WAS my favorite holiday while I was allowed to go to my in-laws.
Now I cannot go, so it's just a day I spend alone with my dogs.
Before I was married, it was not a fun holiday. My mother would go berserk with the cooking process and scream at everyone in her frustration, until I pointed out to her that the reason that gas pressure was so low was that EVERYONE in Hoboken was cooking that day, so there was no gas pressure. I said, "Double or triple your time estimates." That worked.
Thanksgiving was okay when I was in the Navy -- they laid on a good spread in the galley.
Anyway, we never ate yams at Thanksgiving. HOwever, the Turkey, stuffing, and PUNKIN PIE was great.
You know, after seeing what the appeals court did to the Engoron judgment, and how tRump is gaining nearly a BILLION dollars in equity every two days of trading in his social media stock, I'm actually beginning to believe that he in fact DOES have a genius into making money at others expense, AND he's got the bulk of the state/fed court system bamboozled. Accountability? Crime DOESN'T pay? Got news for you, bro, he knows his marks, and its ALL of us...Jesus Christ almighty!
It's a meme stock, and the short-sellers are gonna have a ball with it. By the time he can actually sell any of it, it'll probably be trading at $0.37.
And yet, the Bloated Yam's lawyers, including the Bloated Yam himself, are convinced they are the most intelligent ones in the room, taking pride in themselves for their crazy cons and believing they are able to pull the wool over everyone's head. The bigger problem may not be their IQ (or lack thereof), but the fact that they have no moral or ethical compass and assume they can actually get away with their antics, disrespect and lies.
Yes, indeed! Let's hope that their HUBRIS will also be their fall from their "high monkey bar". I first wrote "fall from GRACE" - but most definitely NO Grace here. Then I wrote "high horse", but even that image conjured up way too much class for these clowns. So I settled on "high monkey bar".
But I respect those who do it when they are "defending the process."
We have to do it in my union with workers at disciplinary hearings, even though the union member is a total jerk. We tell them: "You better get your act together. We're just defending you today so that someone more worthy doesn't get railroaded."
Another thing that should give you hope is that the Republican party is imploding in the House, and they are jumping that sinking ship faster and faster. Who will be next is the plot twist that keeps us guessing and in what dramatic way will these cretins stick it to the rest of the "team?" We have Kevin McCarthy hissing fitting it out as he is removed from a seat 2 away from the presidency, and George Santos being voted out for his too blatant criminal way, and because he is not considered White or Cis-gender. We also have Buck of Colorado leaving, and his parting gift is being the first Republican to sign the Discharge petition to get Aid to Ukraine (big nose thumbing to Trump there, and to Lauren Boebert). Buck also has been giving television interviews where he is saying his fellow Republicans are a bunch of do nothings. We have Mike Gallagher leaving just at the date at which there can no longer be a special election to replace him, so his seat will be vacant until November. And, now Lisa Murkowski, not wanting to be the last to leave the sinking ship, is saying she does not know whether she will stay in the Republican party and is not going to vote for Trump, which Mitt Romney also has said in an interview that I recently saw. He said he might like his domestic policy but he does not like his foreign policy and even more so, he does not like his character because it is bad. So, even though they are all a bunch of self-serving snakes, they see that serving treacherous-treasonous-tantruming-traitorous-Trump is not in their cards. Since their votes are still secret and we have not succumbed to Russia style elections yet, who knows how many House members will be voting for Trump.
“Trump appeared angry today at a press conference after Judge Merchan set a date for the start of the election interference case. He blamed President Joe Biden for his legal troubles, although the case is in New York. He insisted that holding him accountable for his behavior is itself “election interference.” ‘
“In a statement, the Biden camp replied: “Donald Trump is weak and desperate—both as a man and a candidate for President…. His campaign can’t raise money, he is uninterested in campaigning outside his country club, and every time he opens his mouth, he pushes moderate and suburban voters away with his dangerous agenda.”
“America deserves better than a feeble, confused, and tired Donald Trump.”
Trump continues to insist that he is being prosecuted because he is running for office. It is precisely the opposite. He is running for office because he is being prosecuted.
There's a whole group of people that have not grasped that this is his ultimate end game. Brainwash the entire nation into believing there is a witch hunt against him, win the presidency, freeze or dismiss all litigation and then make himself a dictator so he can never be tried. I swear this could be a movie plot.
Is it too soon to start plans for a national holiday to mark Trumplestein's first day in prison? Thanks, Judge Merchan (and Jay for the detailed report).
As Stephen Colbert said, and I paraphrase: "Only Donald Trump could make April 15th a celebration!"
Remarkable reporting, Jay, and your insights are always valuable and valued. Thank you. We'll strap in for a rough ride in April-May. More power to the People and DA Alvin Bragg.
Thank you so much for this explanation, Jay. It gives me hope that some justice might be meted out. I’ll take whatever little bit of hope there is and celebrate. Thank you! 💙.
Trump has established his pattern of attacking the prosecution, whining over time and reiterating that he is entitled to special treatment. Well, Judges who don’t want to turn their courtrooms into a circus are keenly aware of the ploys by now. . . Some judges don’t consider themselves as a pawn for tRump Games.
So, why hasn’t the 11th Circuit caught on and removed the ESPIONAGE case from Toady Cannon? And why hasn’t Clarence Thomas been forced to recuse himself from the 11th Circuit? TREASON WEASELS EVERYWHERE, is why.
They need a motion to recuse first from Jack Smith. Judge Cannon, some argue, has opened that door. But will he file one? It’s a bit of a risk, and it’s not a slam dunk. The basis for it takes some explaining, and it takes a bit of a leap to realize that she is setting this whole thing up to let Trump skate.
Sadly, Trump will continue to get some level of special treatment in some venues. He was right about one thing: the system really is a corrupt swamp that needs to be drained, but of course he always deflected away from who put that swamp in place and who is really benefiting from it.
Given all of this, we'll have to take what we can get in terms of Trump finally getting his comeuppance. Judge Merchan is doing his part.
Personally, I'm ready to nominate Judge Merchan for sainthood! I really enjoy seeing someone--ANYONE!--stand up to that rotted pile of demented filth that purports to be a former President. I LOVED the reporting of part of the transcript--THANK YOU, Jay. This column was a delight!
He was never MY President and he did less than the bare minimum to function as a President...about his only achievement is the truly amazing number of lies he managed to tell.
"The Swamp" is a bureaucracy. It is staffed largely by well-intentioned, ethical, professional people doing a boring job day in and day out. Bureaucracies do not move quickly, particularly under the guidelines that have been set up to prevent them from jumping the tracks. We have learned that what the right wing is calling "the swamp" was actually the guard rails during the trump administration.
Our legal system is a whole different can of worms.
oh boy! TFG and his legal team are in heaps of trouble coming up a very prepared judge and those that had to wade through all those documents. Blanche was forced to admit the emails had not been reviewed, but still stated that they were evidence of prosecutorial misconduct?? That is going to hurt!
Thanks for this Jay, I needed to hear the details and no one does it better than you do; it's a bonus that the treason weasel and his lawyers got to squirm. But they have been pissing off Judges, with one notable exception, for months now, and nothing has really happened to him. Anyone else would have had their bail revoked (let's all remember that trump is out on bail), and locked up pending trial. We need look no further than the decision by the appeals court yesterday to see the special treatment he constantly receives.
Here's the problem, and I see this over and over and think it is part of Trump's strategy: They raise an issue and there are big headliness, and that is what people read. Later, it turns out that the issue was bogus, but there aren't big headlines on that. So, people who are inclined towards the Republicans (and even some folks in the middle) never get the retraction and believe what Trump and his gang originally alleged.
But, will that affect how people vote? My sister (retired like me) plays cards with other older women in Chicago and she has been appalled at all of the conspiracy nonsense these women believe, even though it has all been substantially debunked and disproved and/or there is no evidence for it whatsoever; for instance, the stuff they think is on Hunter Biden's laptop, the corruption they are sure Biden is guilty of, etc. Hopefully, once this goes to trial, there will still be headlines about what is alleged at trial by the prosecution and maybe a few people who support Trump will actually be a bit shocked to discover that he really did pay women to keep quiet about their "affairs" with him.
As the old saying goes, "A lie will travel halfway around the world before the truth has its boots on."
(expressed in various forms and often attributed to Churchill, Twain, Wilde, and others but apparently dating back to Jonathan Swift, and in its essence, to Virgil)
Lawyers have a duty to be candid with the court. It appears Blanche has failed in carrying out that duty and should be referred to the disciplinary authorities in New York for such action as is appropriate, including possible suspension from the bar.
Right. And, Elise Stefanik has such a complaint formatted and preloaded on her word processor. Alas, she only attacks Trump's opponents. But all lawyers practicing in NY are duty bound not to seek delay for delay's sake. Rule 3.2
Sure enough, Elise has filed another complaint. This one is against Jack Smith, who disrupted his life, came back to the continent, and agreed to investigate the facts of what Trump did and when he did it. (The horror! 😮)
He’s pissing off the judge because he wants the judge to react to the torrent of abuse, which Trump will then equate with bias. Not the first time that the domestic abuser’s playbook explains Trump’s “inexplicable” actions.
Will it work? Not in the actual legal sense. But that’s not the goal. He can’t win in the actual legal sense. He’s probably trying to taint the jury pool, and he’s definitely building his justification to tell his followers to ignore, and if “necessary” attack, any institution that doesn’t do what Trump wants.
Truly mind boggling and should scare everyone of us to stand up and pay attention when there were so many in late 2015 & 2016 that truly believed there was no way on earth the clown could be elected.
Great read and detailed information as usual. Thanks.
Question: WTF is wrong with the NYS appeals court? Why did they extend this bastard a lifeline and lower the bond for the SOB to appeal his civil fraud case? I believe we have reviewed and heard about this being an appeal he will more than likely lose. This delay tactics are known to every single judge in every jurisdiction in every corner of every courtroom in this nation. While he has a right to appeal, why are the courts facilitating the appeal? Why is everyone so f_cking afraid of this P.O.S? He is a blow hard. He has no facts. An empty suit, and all he does is make a lot of noise. He has produced nothing and torn this nation to pieces. He is Hitlarian in the truest natural sense of what that evokes.
This is a former president of the united states. Whether he is a con man and criminal or cult leader — be it sick, twisted, deranged, unhinged, delusional, senile or incompetent is all irrelevant. As a former president he should be held to the highest standards. That means that once caught — as he was in the civil fraud trial — he should have the ability to appeal to the maximum extent allowed by the courts, but the courts should not offer him any special privilege or provide him any help, quarter or protection — and by lowering his bond requirement that is exactly what they did. For a judicial system overwhelmed with frivolous lawsuits, appeals and litigious Americans out to file suit if someone farts in an elevator — Why? What is the legal rational to grant him this special privilege that neither you or I would have received had it been us?
As for pissing off Judge Merchan, this is not new. His lawyers have no case and no legal defense of any kind to present. All they have is bluster. They are a pure mirror reflection of their client. Contentess. Empty. No morals. No soul. Narcissistic. Buffoons. Everything Orange Adolf touches dies. Everything.
I still feel like this is a distraction from having to beat him at the ballot box....that being said, it IS entertaining watching him and his lawyers flail around haplessly. These shenanigans play well to his base, but, they don't play well with the law. Let's see what else he's got for slimy tricks to get out of this one.
It's interesting. I agree the thinking-person's takeaway from all the Shitweasel Shenanigans in court is to believe Bloated Yam-bone will eventually hang himself. However, given his poor campaign fundraising performance and reduced ability to do ad-buys or hold a load of rallies (which cost actual money that must be paid), he really does believe that all his horse-arse bloviating outside of courts, interviews on FauxNews/Newsmax/OAN or on his Lies Social platform are all he's got. And because his Kool-Aid Kult base is hardwired to his mouth like the second person in a human caterpillar, he still gets his messages out. Of course MSM's continued both-sides'ing of everything allows his festering lies to get air time, still sucks all the air out of every news day. Meantime, the guy who is actually performing quite well as President gets very little notice. Blue voters know, red voters don't care, but independents and uncommitted voters continue to miss Biden's good works. Quite sickening, actually.
"...hold a load of rallies (which cost actual money that must be paid)..." I don't know about that - there were a LOT of complaints of non-payment from vendors and venues last time around. He is, and always has been, a deadbeat. I've wondered for awhile just how much longer he'll be allowed to get away with it, and the piper may be looking to get paid at last.
Unless he has finally paid up very recently, he still owes NM a bunch of money for the rally he held in Albuquerque yrs ago. They would mention it on the nightly news every so often
No distractions allowed! We must keep our eye on the ball. We must get out the Democrats and convince the Independents to vote blue up and down the ballot.
We are however, allowed some popcorn moments. April 15 will be such a day. Tho I assume that is the start of jury selection which will take a while.
The Bloated Yam hires these lousy lawyers because no intelligent lawyer would touch his cases.
That's one of the few things that gives me hope in this otherwise depressing year.
Curious thing about tRump counsel Todd Blanche...he showed a bit more competency and legal nous during the DC and MAL pre-trial hearings, where he's on Defendant tRump's team, but has completely capitulated to the inane and nonsensical demands of his client here, mainly because THIS case is in fact going to trial sooner than any of the others. I don't believe there are any remaining pre-trial appeals or motions left to the defense, and tRump WILL appear in court on 15 April, end of.
Small beer, but for the millions of us awaiting SOME form of accountability for years of criminal conduct by. the Orange Gobshite, this is welcome news indeed.
Can you imagine him sitting still and keeping his big mouth shut? I can’t. He ranted and raved at his civil trials where he wasn’t required to be in the courtroom, at a criminal trial he must attend every single day. He stormed out of civil trials twice. He’s going to end up manacled to the chair. I’m so very glad I am not a lawyer, especially HIS lawyer!
Just another Bloated Yam mouthpiece who will fall on his posterior.
He shouldn't sweat it...when the Bloated Yam regains power, this guy will replace some US Attorney.
"Curious thing about tRump counsel Todd Blanche...he showed a bit more competency and legal nous during the DC and MAL pre-trial hearing..."
According to his LinkedIn profile (https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddblanche/), prior to going out on his own so that he could represent Trump, Todd Blanche was a partner at a VERY respectable Wall Street law firm - https://www.linkedin.com/company/cadwalader-wickersham-&-taft-llp/
"Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, a global law firm established in 1792, serves a diverse client base, including many of the world's leading financial institutions and corporations in more than 50 countries. We have earned a reputation for crafting innovative business and financial solutions"
I am not a lawyer, but I suspect that his recent shenanigans In Judge Merchan's courtroom have totally torched his ability to ever become a partner in a simarlarly prestigious law firm again. That's if he doesn't do anything to get his law license yanked like so many of trump's other attorneys.
Kiwiwriter47: You state this exactly right.
You are one of the best writers, and your analysis is right on.
One of the reasons "no intelligent lawyer would touch his cases" (or any other part of Orange-Hog's anatomy) is that Orange-SNOUT cannot PAY them.
Moreover, a seasoned attorney wants to enhance her reputation in the judicial world with sound legal arguments.
What Jay Kuo describes with the Judge shutting down the former Assistant United States Attorney turned Orange-Puke's DEFENSE counsel is nothing short of brutal humiliation in face of legal malpractice.
No one deserves legal malpractice on his side more than Orange-MALPRACTICE himself.
I just can't wait to see what happens to that legal genius, Alina Habba.
She'll be like "Better Call Saul," with an office in a hair salon.
When this is all over, if ever, NBC News will hire Habba as a legal analyst.
Oh, yes....of course.
Or a reality show contestant. "The Bloated Yam's Legal Apprentices."
Maybe Boebert will hire Habba to wait tables in the dive bar she's going to open after she lloses her seat.
Michael G: Exactly!
And, I hope and pray, there will be a similar firestorm against NBC if they do so. But *maybe* once burned, twice shy (by NBC muckety-mucks)?
I wouldn’t worry too much about it. I think they learned their lesson.
Thank you for enjoying my second cup of morning coffee humor.
Hilarious image to get out of my mind.
Just steal it...as Milton Berle said, "Great artists steal. Bad artists borrow."
Be a great artist.
Ooooh ouch! Except Saul was actually clever.
Yeah, but you see what I'm getting at.
I do. Saul was clever but unethical. It was fun to watch him in action but Judge M would have seen right through him. And your idea of Alina-I-got-highlights in-my-hair-because-Donald-asked-me-to-Habba working out of a somewhat grubby hair salon is genius!
Bob Odenkirk is one of our great comedians.
I think he got his start on SNL.
Personally I hope the judge shoves the book up his arse and lights it on fire but oh I'm sorry were you eating? My bad.
That should take care of the Bloated Yam's burning ambitions....
Bloated Yam! 🤣
My wife came up with that, and I use it.
Some jerk on Facebook yelled at me for "fat-shaming" him.
I told him to buzz off.
Not a fan of fat-shaming, even for him, but I had assumed that bloated was a description of his ego, not his size.
He deserves it.
And I’m not crazy about anyone attaching “orange” to Trumputin’s name. Orange is a GOOD color, and very necessary (feeble attempt at humor).
You’re giving yams a bad name. Not that that’s anything new to anyone who has suffered through overcooked, overly gooey sweet candied yams at Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving WAS my favorite holiday while I was allowed to go to my in-laws.
Now I cannot go, so it's just a day I spend alone with my dogs.
Before I was married, it was not a fun holiday. My mother would go berserk with the cooking process and scream at everyone in her frustration, until I pointed out to her that the reason that gas pressure was so low was that EVERYONE in Hoboken was cooking that day, so there was no gas pressure. I said, "Double or triple your time estimates." That worked.
Thanksgiving was okay when I was in the Navy -- they laid on a good spread in the galley.
Anyway, we never ate yams at Thanksgiving. HOwever, the Turkey, stuffing, and PUNKIN PIE was great.
I’m a stuffing guy myself.
Me too.
My favorite candied yam recipe uses orange marmalade rather than the usual brown sugar and marshmallows.
Oooooo. I make a really mean peach/orange marmalade that I've used as a glaze on fish. I'm seeing other possibilities now. Thanks for this.
omg, Michael G....thanks for the huge chuckle over the inevitable Thanksgiving yam casserole.
The Bloated Yam has no shame.
You know, after seeing what the appeals court did to the Engoron judgment, and how tRump is gaining nearly a BILLION dollars in equity every two days of trading in his social media stock, I'm actually beginning to believe that he in fact DOES have a genius into making money at others expense, AND he's got the bulk of the state/fed court system bamboozled. Accountability? Crime DOESN'T pay? Got news for you, bro, he knows his marks, and its ALL of us...Jesus Christ almighty!
It's a meme stock, and the short-sellers are gonna have a ball with it. By the time he can actually sell any of it, it'll probably be trading at $0.37.
We can only hope!
And yet, the Bloated Yam's lawyers, including the Bloated Yam himself, are convinced they are the most intelligent ones in the room, taking pride in themselves for their crazy cons and believing they are able to pull the wool over everyone's head. The bigger problem may not be their IQ (or lack thereof), but the fact that they have no moral or ethical compass and assume they can actually get away with their antics, disrespect and lies.
The word is called "hubris."
It affects ALL dictators and their flunkies.
Yes, indeed! Let's hope that their HUBRIS will also be their fall from their "high monkey bar". I first wrote "fall from GRACE" - but most definitely NO Grace here. Then I wrote "high horse", but even that image conjured up way too much class for these clowns. So I settled on "high monkey bar".
I hope so...bear in mind, if the Bloated Yam DOES wind up in hell, he'll be in good company.
He'll spend so much time shaking hands and making deals, he'll have no time to realize he's suffering.
HAHAHAH
What about owners of social media site? Any hubris there?
No, pundits and consultants have an advantage.
If their theory or plan goes right, they're geniuses.
If their theory or plan goes wrong, then "You didn't understand the theory or follow the plan."
Either way, they'll send us their bill...
OMG, the bloated Yam. I love that!!!
and you are right.. who in their right mind would commit professional suicide by defending such a terrible person. it must be an awful job.
Yes, it is an awful job.
But I respect those who do it when they are "defending the process."
We have to do it in my union with workers at disciplinary hearings, even though the union member is a total jerk. We tell them: "You better get your act together. We're just defending you today so that someone more worthy doesn't get railroaded."
Another thing that should give you hope is that the Republican party is imploding in the House, and they are jumping that sinking ship faster and faster. Who will be next is the plot twist that keeps us guessing and in what dramatic way will these cretins stick it to the rest of the "team?" We have Kevin McCarthy hissing fitting it out as he is removed from a seat 2 away from the presidency, and George Santos being voted out for his too blatant criminal way, and because he is not considered White or Cis-gender. We also have Buck of Colorado leaving, and his parting gift is being the first Republican to sign the Discharge petition to get Aid to Ukraine (big nose thumbing to Trump there, and to Lauren Boebert). Buck also has been giving television interviews where he is saying his fellow Republicans are a bunch of do nothings. We have Mike Gallagher leaving just at the date at which there can no longer be a special election to replace him, so his seat will be vacant until November. And, now Lisa Murkowski, not wanting to be the last to leave the sinking ship, is saying she does not know whether she will stay in the Republican party and is not going to vote for Trump, which Mitt Romney also has said in an interview that I recently saw. He said he might like his domestic policy but he does not like his foreign policy and even more so, he does not like his character because it is bad. So, even though they are all a bunch of self-serving snakes, they see that serving treacherous-treasonous-tantruming-traitorous-Trump is not in their cards. Since their votes are still secret and we have not succumbed to Russia style elections yet, who knows how many House members will be voting for Trump.
Nicely said.
I am hoping that more rats flee the GOP House ship, so that Hakeem Jefferies is handed the gavel in an immaculate accession.
Now, don't those 5 Ts flow nicely? I smiled when I saw your use of 'traitorous'.
Heather Cox Richardson 3/25/2024
“Trump appeared angry today at a press conference after Judge Merchan set a date for the start of the election interference case. He blamed President Joe Biden for his legal troubles, although the case is in New York. He insisted that holding him accountable for his behavior is itself “election interference.” ‘
“In a statement, the Biden camp replied: “Donald Trump is weak and desperate—both as a man and a candidate for President…. His campaign can’t raise money, he is uninterested in campaigning outside his country club, and every time he opens his mouth, he pushes moderate and suburban voters away with his dangerous agenda.”
“America deserves better than a feeble, confused, and tired Donald Trump.”
And not to leave out this HCR brilliant nugget:
"For his part, as he faced cases in two different New York courts, Trump's focus today was on the rule of law. He does not appear to be a fan of it."
- Heather Cox Richardson 3/25/2024
HCR, Jay and Joyce Vance’s Civil Discourse are my favorites on here!
But Robert Hubbell's Today's Edition is also an essential daily read, for a somewhat broader review of events.
Me too!!
Mine too!
Trump continues to insist that he is being prosecuted because he is running for office. It is precisely the opposite. He is running for office because he is being prosecuted.
There's a whole group of people that have not grasped that this is his ultimate end game. Brainwash the entire nation into believing there is a witch hunt against him, win the presidency, freeze or dismiss all litigation and then make himself a dictator so he can never be tried. I swear this could be a movie plot.
Is it too soon to start plans for a national holiday to mark Trumplestein's first day in prison? Thanks, Judge Merchan (and Jay for the detailed report).
As Stephen Colbert said, and I paraphrase: "Only Donald Trump could make April 15th a celebration!"
Remarkable reporting, Jay, and your insights are always valuable and valued. Thank you. We'll strap in for a rough ride in April-May. More power to the People and DA Alvin Bragg.
What next? The dog ate the defense's homework?
LOL!
Thank you so much for this explanation, Jay. It gives me hope that some justice might be meted out. I’ll take whatever little bit of hope there is and celebrate. Thank you! 💙.
Trump has established his pattern of attacking the prosecution, whining over time and reiterating that he is entitled to special treatment. Well, Judges who don’t want to turn their courtrooms into a circus are keenly aware of the ploys by now. . . Some judges don’t consider themselves as a pawn for tRump Games.
So, why hasn’t the 11th Circuit caught on and removed the ESPIONAGE case from Toady Cannon? And why hasn’t Clarence Thomas been forced to recuse himself from the 11th Circuit? TREASON WEASELS EVERYWHERE, is why.
They need a motion to recuse first from Jack Smith. Judge Cannon, some argue, has opened that door. But will he file one? It’s a bit of a risk, and it’s not a slam dunk. The basis for it takes some explaining, and it takes a bit of a leap to realize that she is setting this whole thing up to let Trump skate.
Sadly, Trump will continue to get some level of special treatment in some venues. He was right about one thing: the system really is a corrupt swamp that needs to be drained, but of course he always deflected away from who put that swamp in place and who is really benefiting from it.
Given all of this, we'll have to take what we can get in terms of Trump finally getting his comeuppance. Judge Merchan is doing his part.
Personally, I'm ready to nominate Judge Merchan for sainthood! I really enjoy seeing someone--ANYONE!--stand up to that rotted pile of demented filth that purports to be a former President. I LOVED the reporting of part of the transcript--THANK YOU, Jay. This column was a delight!
He was never MY President and he did less than the bare minimum to function as a President...about his only achievement is the truly amazing number of lies he managed to tell.
"The Swamp" is a bureaucracy. It is staffed largely by well-intentioned, ethical, professional people doing a boring job day in and day out. Bureaucracies do not move quickly, particularly under the guidelines that have been set up to prevent them from jumping the tracks. We have learned that what the right wing is calling "the swamp" was actually the guard rails during the trump administration.
Our legal system is a whole different can of worms.
oh boy! TFG and his legal team are in heaps of trouble coming up a very prepared judge and those that had to wade through all those documents. Blanche was forced to admit the emails had not been reviewed, but still stated that they were evidence of prosecutorial misconduct?? That is going to hurt!
Let the record show:
The Judge and the Prosecutor read the 100,000 plus documents, which by definition had to be tedious and deadly dull.
The Defense whined.
Thanks for this Jay, I needed to hear the details and no one does it better than you do; it's a bonus that the treason weasel and his lawyers got to squirm. But they have been pissing off Judges, with one notable exception, for months now, and nothing has really happened to him. Anyone else would have had their bail revoked (let's all remember that trump is out on bail), and locked up pending trial. We need look no further than the decision by the appeals court yesterday to see the special treatment he constantly receives.
Here's the problem, and I see this over and over and think it is part of Trump's strategy: They raise an issue and there are big headliness, and that is what people read. Later, it turns out that the issue was bogus, but there aren't big headlines on that. So, people who are inclined towards the Republicans (and even some folks in the middle) never get the retraction and believe what Trump and his gang originally alleged.
The good thing is, this is going to be decided within a court room, not the court of public opinion, and all the spin in the world won’t change that.
But, will that affect how people vote? My sister (retired like me) plays cards with other older women in Chicago and she has been appalled at all of the conspiracy nonsense these women believe, even though it has all been substantially debunked and disproved and/or there is no evidence for it whatsoever; for instance, the stuff they think is on Hunter Biden's laptop, the corruption they are sure Biden is guilty of, etc. Hopefully, once this goes to trial, there will still be headlines about what is alleged at trial by the prosecution and maybe a few people who support Trump will actually be a bit shocked to discover that he really did pay women to keep quiet about their "affairs" with him.
As the old saying goes, "A lie will travel halfway around the world before the truth has its boots on."
(expressed in various forms and often attributed to Churchill, Twain, Wilde, and others but apparently dating back to Jonathan Swift, and in its essence, to Virgil)
Good point. And once again we come down to the Lame Stream Media (formerly known as Main Street Media) doing what it can to help trump win.
Lame Stream Media. 👍 I’ll have to remember that one.
Lawyers have a duty to be candid with the court. It appears Blanche has failed in carrying out that duty and should be referred to the disciplinary authorities in New York for such action as is appropriate, including possible suspension from the bar.
Right. And, Elise Stefanik has such a complaint formatted and preloaded on her word processor. Alas, she only attacks Trump's opponents. But all lawyers practicing in NY are duty bound not to seek delay for delay's sake. Rule 3.2
Sure enough, Elise has filed another complaint. This one is against Jack Smith, who disrupted his life, came back to the continent, and agreed to investigate the facts of what Trump did and when he did it. (The horror! 😮)
Yet facts are stubborn things, Elise. Grow up.
He’s pissing off the judge because he wants the judge to react to the torrent of abuse, which Trump will then equate with bias. Not the first time that the domestic abuser’s playbook explains Trump’s “inexplicable” actions.
Will it work? Not in the actual legal sense. But that’s not the goal. He can’t win in the actual legal sense. He’s probably trying to taint the jury pool, and he’s definitely building his justification to tell his followers to ignore, and if “necessary” attack, any institution that doesn’t do what Trump wants.
Hard to believe he was once the Leader of the Free World, with access to the Nuclear Codes.
Truly mind boggling and should scare everyone of us to stand up and pay attention when there were so many in late 2015 & 2016 that truly believed there was no way on earth the clown could be elected.
“Blanche, his face matching his name…”. 😂😂😂. Oh how I enjoyed reading this. Mr. Blanche is not the sharpest knife in the drawer!! Thank you Jay!
Great read and detailed information as usual. Thanks.
Question: WTF is wrong with the NYS appeals court? Why did they extend this bastard a lifeline and lower the bond for the SOB to appeal his civil fraud case? I believe we have reviewed and heard about this being an appeal he will more than likely lose. This delay tactics are known to every single judge in every jurisdiction in every corner of every courtroom in this nation. While he has a right to appeal, why are the courts facilitating the appeal? Why is everyone so f_cking afraid of this P.O.S? He is a blow hard. He has no facts. An empty suit, and all he does is make a lot of noise. He has produced nothing and torn this nation to pieces. He is Hitlarian in the truest natural sense of what that evokes.
This is a former president of the united states. Whether he is a con man and criminal or cult leader — be it sick, twisted, deranged, unhinged, delusional, senile or incompetent is all irrelevant. As a former president he should be held to the highest standards. That means that once caught — as he was in the civil fraud trial — he should have the ability to appeal to the maximum extent allowed by the courts, but the courts should not offer him any special privilege or provide him any help, quarter or protection — and by lowering his bond requirement that is exactly what they did. For a judicial system overwhelmed with frivolous lawsuits, appeals and litigious Americans out to file suit if someone farts in an elevator — Why? What is the legal rational to grant him this special privilege that neither you or I would have received had it been us?
As for pissing off Judge Merchan, this is not new. His lawyers have no case and no legal defense of any kind to present. All they have is bluster. They are a pure mirror reflection of their client. Contentess. Empty. No morals. No soul. Narcissistic. Buffoons. Everything Orange Adolf touches dies. Everything.
I still feel like this is a distraction from having to beat him at the ballot box....that being said, it IS entertaining watching him and his lawyers flail around haplessly. These shenanigans play well to his base, but, they don't play well with the law. Let's see what else he's got for slimy tricks to get out of this one.
It's interesting. I agree the thinking-person's takeaway from all the Shitweasel Shenanigans in court is to believe Bloated Yam-bone will eventually hang himself. However, given his poor campaign fundraising performance and reduced ability to do ad-buys or hold a load of rallies (which cost actual money that must be paid), he really does believe that all his horse-arse bloviating outside of courts, interviews on FauxNews/Newsmax/OAN or on his Lies Social platform are all he's got. And because his Kool-Aid Kult base is hardwired to his mouth like the second person in a human caterpillar, he still gets his messages out. Of course MSM's continued both-sides'ing of everything allows his festering lies to get air time, still sucks all the air out of every news day. Meantime, the guy who is actually performing quite well as President gets very little notice. Blue voters know, red voters don't care, but independents and uncommitted voters continue to miss Biden's good works. Quite sickening, actually.
"...hold a load of rallies (which cost actual money that must be paid)..." I don't know about that - there were a LOT of complaints of non-payment from vendors and venues last time around. He is, and always has been, a deadbeat. I've wondered for awhile just how much longer he'll be allowed to get away with it, and the piper may be looking to get paid at last.
Unless he has finally paid up very recently, he still owes NM a bunch of money for the rally he held in Albuquerque yrs ago. They would mention it on the nightly news every so often
No distractions allowed! We must keep our eye on the ball. We must get out the Democrats and convince the Independents to vote blue up and down the ballot.
We are however, allowed some popcorn moments. April 15 will be such a day. Tho I assume that is the start of jury selection which will take a while.
I'd volunteer as tribute to sit on that Jury. Alas, I'm in upstate NY. 💙
Me too! I can be impartial! Or at least can fake it! 😂😂😂😂
It looks like Blanche certainly toed the line of perjury. Good thing Judge Merchan sees right through that gobbledygook.