A shocking dismissal of the Trump federal criminal case in Florida leaves many questions but ironically may provide a clear path to booting a terrible judge.
You/we certainly don’t have to strain ourselves to connect the dots. As a Nurse, I know that if I behave in a way to expose my profession to liability or even embarrassment, even outside of work hours, I could have my license suspended or even revoked. Me. An ordinary citizen. I am held to a higher standard.
But when trump**, a former prezident, is enabled by a justice system he rigged for the quid pro quo, courts in other countries take notice. America’s great “equal under the law”, indeed the foundation of the Rule of Law, is what we stand to lose.
trump**’s celebrity buffoonery is long past its Sell-by date. The documents case is too important and his appointed judges all know it, else why the rush to exoneration in time for the Elephant act under the (televised) Big Top?
Anger and frustration don’t begin to describe what I feel. I, an ordinary citizen, have only my one vote to try to keep my country intact.
Well said. Yes, you have your one vote. But whatever time you can eke out to get others to vote, by helping with registration or postcards or letters or phone banking, I think each of us can say we have more influence than our one vote!
Quick question: what organizations are you working with on sending postcards to voters in swing states? I’d like to do more to halo. Thanks in advance, Eric!
I’ve written them for Postcards to Swing States… over 1000 the last several years. Their messaging is backed up by data and the process is smooth and easy.
Been doing all of that. I donate monthly to Act Blue, Jay Kuo whose writings reach and teach so many people.
I’ve written and phoned. I’ve donated little extra bumps to Biden’s campaign, Leaders We Can Trust (for the younger people to be supported.)
What I can’t—-won’t!—-do is chip in to every Dem candidate from other states not my own. Hence, Act Blue, an umbrella organization.
Our elections are in deep trouble because our leadership can now be bought on the open market. The obstructionist Congress won Citizens United during Obama’s term opening our elections to the highest bidder. trump** and his team are not smart enough to have kept him out of jail these past 3+ years. Some obscenely wealthy person or group is buying up American intellectual property like a WalMart stock sell-off.
You can also try Hopium Chronicles - they’ve picked some key races where a little donation goes a long way and have the good chance of flipping the seat.
So feel you. I want to scream on a daily, hell, hourly basis. Writing post cards and sending Vote Forward letters ..action is the antidote to despair...but terrified the fix is in.
You have many votes -- your family, friends, business acquaintances, church, grocery clerks ... see where I'm heading? When each of them engages with their contacts, democratic votes bloom. This is known as exponential growth, in marketing terms.
My group is now up to 15. How big is yours? Be creative; you will be pleasantly surprised!
To Sheila Strand: I have way over 15. I am not despondent about only having my one vote. That vote joins the currents in a river. My one vote is referring to the foundation of a representative government “by the people”.
Except now corporation dollars count as votes! See where I’m heading? I do not have deep enough pockets to bleed out my income every election cycle.
We must, at some point, address the things wrong with our entire election process from Dark Money and super-PACs to the age issue, to gerrymandering and term limits. We need to stop making lifetime appointments especially when it gives so much future power to so few. I think election issues are more important than immigrant issues but it sure doesn’t play well on mainstream news.
I'm with you--I'm heartily sick of the "Trump and captive elephant act"--indeed, I've been heartily sick of Trump's bloviating, bullying bull manure since well before 2015. I absolutely loathed the phony baloney of The Apprentice. I do not want to see him assassinated; I'd much rather see him humiliated at the polls, and right now I'm doing everything I can to help in that worthwhile project. (I'm a volunteer ballot clerk for my town; I write postcards and although I can't really afford big donations, I do monthly small donations to Biden and ActBlue.)
The insurrection continues. Clarence Thomas communicates to Cannon how to dump the documents case on the last day of this session of the Supreme Court. As you pointed out, Thomas should have recused himself and Cannon should have ruled already. The timing - the first day of the Republican National Convention - is also very notable - more fodder for the cult - especially after the failed assassination attempt in PA. All attention is on Trump and his being “assailed” by the other.
“We the people” are denied any hearing for justice on stolen National Secrets.
And it would appear that “we the people” will also be denied any hearing on what the Georgia Grand Jury heard to indict Trump on Rico charges.
The selection of J.D. Vance was the most logical to carry on the mission on Project 2025 should Trump decline.
Welcome to what is looking to be a successful inside coup by a friend of Putin and oligarchs.
100% and now that the country is "focused" on the this assasination attempt I fear those who had started to pay attention have lost interest. Honestly I can't believe how many of my friends are pushing for "empathy for trump". I have no empathy for someone who has never shown empathy
yes, I've been hearing "the near death experience will make him a changed man, compassionate and understanding", the good thing tho, many have also said they'll wait and see if it does.
It’s not just Thomas advising Cannon. It’s Leonard Leo and his gang, also. See, this was their ultimate goal, string Jack and the American people along until we were getting real close, and then shut the whole thing down.
Watching the interaction Don Jr had with the reporter who asked him about deportations and family separations at the RNC convention reminded me how fond Don Jr seems to be of dexedrine to keep himself running at midnight.
The Nazis - especially the Luftwaffe pilots - ran on this "MAGA fuel". Pretty sure that's why today's GOP is all talk/no action on drug cartels - they'll never actually crack down (pun intended) on their suppliers.
This isn't related to the post, but is something I read in one of the comments on Joyce Vance's blog: Democrat delegates are getting a whole load of calls from people who want to dump Joe Biden as nominee, but nothing much from people who want to keep him on. They really need to hear from the people who think differently. Please... if you think the party should still go with Joe Biden (as per Jay's excellent 'Be Practical, Not Problematic' post from a couple of weeks back) call or write your Democratic delegate and *say so*, so that they're not just hearing from the people who want to complain but also from the people who want their initial vote in the primaries to count. Jay, can you highlight this?
When was the comment written? Biden walked through the Trump shooting crisis awfully well, demonstrating quite clearly that he can manage fires. It spoke volumes. Also, the delegates are pledged to Biden. So it's still up to Joe.
Also, can we just have a forensics report on Trump's ear, please? It's a small ask. If that ear injury was the result of a blast from a high powered rifle, I'm Snow White.
You are not the first to suggest that this whole thing was staged. But the chilling part is if it was, they probably think killing a few bystanders is the cost of doing business.
Overall, I'm just interested in the answer to that specific question. I don't think these clowns are creative enough to stage something. But Trump is milking the ear thing, and it's likely it happened when he was tackled. They have the info on whether or not it was a bullet. Those kinds of forensics are rudimentary and were figured out in the hospital.
I agree. But did u notice that OJ said NOTHING about the poor bystanders who got seriously injured or died. Jeez, just a simple thank you for your support would have been in order.
All the concern is going to Trump's ear, which may or may not have been grazed (by glass?). In a closeup I saw of his red-stained ear, it was intact, with no visible signs of a laceration or even a small cut.
Anybody attending a Trump rally should now be made aware that they could be sacrificed for the sadonarcissist's ego.
Thank you. But aren’t the delegates already pledged? The would not be changing their vote unless 1 Biden were incapacitated or 2 if he released the delegates to vote for someone else -?
I'm sure all this will come out in good time. And I will grant you that such a close miss seems odd when the previous shots went very far afield. I'm also, as everybody, wondering about the shooter's motivation, and the incident was very convenient for Trump.
But all in all, for the time being, I go with the official version. Several reasons.
First, the photo of the bullet. It was a lucky shot (no pun intended), but is not implausible in an age of cameras shooting at a rapid pace, and at an event with a gazillion photographers around. And the photo has been confirmed to be authentic.
Second, for a while an alternate theory was that the ear injury could be from a glass fragment from a shattered teleprompter. But I've seen a picture taken after the shots were fired that showed the teleprompter intact.
So, while I'm curious about some things, it seems prudent to go with the official version.
The thing I'm most curious about ..... why/how was Trump allowed to stand up, head and torso totally exposed, yell incendiary words, fist pump and provide provocative photo ops, before there was any way any one could have known that the entire area had been secured, ie, there was only one shooter?
My understanding was that the all-clear was given fairly quickly. Even if not, Trump would likely have fought off the agents. So this part wasn't particularly surprising to me. One outlet (I think it was CNN) actually had a time-stamped transcript of the radio conversations of the agents that would corroborate this.
And once they communicated multiple times that “The shooter is down”, they wanted to get Trump off the stage as quickly as possible, ie get him to “The Tank”, where he would be safest. That seems perfectly reasonable to me, though I am by no means an expert on Secret Service protocol.
I too am a *little* surprised that Secret Service let him get his shoes AND pose with his fist up, but they were all around him, shielding him with their bodies, so it’s probably wise not to read too much into this….
Ultimately, it's the President, not the Secret Service, who decides once the split-second decisionmaking is over.
One thing that IMO didn't get enough attention is, why wasn't Trump wearing his shoes in the first place? Or how did he lose them?
There had been reports in the past that because of his increasing dementia, his shoes had to somehow be attached to the podium to keep him from falling, but I don't know if that's related here.
I agree with all this and I'm no conspiracy fan. I just think this one is a fairly simple answer. How was the ear injured? The tackle? The bullet? They have this information now.
Or maybe a nick from the diamond ring of one of those DEI entitled Secret Service women as she shoved his head down? Wonder if we'll ever know. I do agree that the shooting was real. It is the aftermath that has a lot of convenient dots we need to understand.
I was sure it was staged, at first. I figured they gave a MAGA clown fireworks, told him to set them off at a prescribed time, and he'd swipe his ear with something sharp, because that's exactly something he'd do. But when someone died, I quickly pivoted to the lone crazy gunman theory, and I'm sticking to that until I hear differently. But I also don't think he took a bullet to the ear and that he's milking this for everything he can. It is easy for them to disavow me of this notion. I don't think it is asking for much.
My almost-first reaction was Reichstag Fire (right after Dang. He Missed). But both fell quickly to the contemplation of what the actual evidence is It is pretty much a commonplace that we are ALL subject to the lure of conspiracy theories. The question is whether we have the insight (and guts) to resist them.
Yeah, how/why were his shoes off? Is he in the habit of giving speeches in his sock? It looked like he ducked after he grabbed his ear, not like the force knocked him out of his shoes. Not a conspiracy theory, it just seemed bizarre to me that his shoes weren't on his feet.
plus, as I've read, but have no facts, it is SOP to have a medical report after something as serious as this was. And that the medical report will fall under patient/doctor privilege, so Trump can erase the whole idea if he wants to.
I would expect that since he's a private citizen, his medical report falls within HIPAA guidelines. But there will also be a police report, which will include information about the injury. If I'm one of the few decent reporters left in the world (ProPublica, are you reading this?), I'd file a FOI Act request on this post-haste.
Respectfully, please use the adjective form “Democratic.” Republicans have used the noun “Democrat” in place of the adjective as a term of derision. I know that is not your intention.
Thanks, Colleen. I'm sick of the fact that Republicans have taken this term and managed to bring it into common usage. I belong to the Democratic Party, which it has been named since the beginning of its existence.
I second your encouragement to express your opinion. If you support Biden (or if you don't), making your voice heard is a good thing.
But I would also caution you not to ignore those calls from people who disagree with you (and make their voice heard). This 'whole load of calls' doesn't come out of nowhere; maybe it is time to consider that Biden really isn't the best choice any more.
You might think this is the time, but I couldn't possibly disagree more. Who is the miracle candidate you will sell to the American public in 100 days or so? Who? The miracle candidate who has not yet been seen (or voted on or vetted). Completely a whack job of an idea! And with what funds? Yours?
Biden is demonstrably leading, has demonstrably lead for 3.5 yrs, and will win if people support him, and heaven forbid, if the media supports him. And maybe? the media will come round if they see his support stay strong and grow.
I'm beyond annoyed with the supposed "Democrats" calling for Biden to step down. The simple truth is that they are a tiny minority in the "likely to vote Democratic in November" demographic.
Biden has not just shown that he's a strong leader over the last 3.5 years - he's shown that he's leading an administration that is highly competent and capable of delivering results that are good for America, including for the middle-class families that the Republicans have been sodomizing non-stop for over four decades.
Biden is also the only candidate who's already shown that HE CAN BEAT DONALD.
The "Biden can't do the job" narrative is simply a BIG FAT LIE, and we know who is behind it and why.
Whether you feel he truly isn't the best choice or not, changing horses at this point is almost a certain win for trump IMO. For all the BS trump has said and done the repugs are going to hold him up as their candidate, if we stray from Biden now I think it sends the message that he has done something way worse than trump. People will wonder what he's done, beyond the debate. If the repugs can hold strong to a felonous, vile, lying asshat then we should not cave and replace our candidate.
I've gone on YouTube & watched the full debate twice. Biden gave clear, concise, Detailed answers for the 1st 4-5 questions. While DT threw insults & lies. And answered No questions clearly, diverting to more lies or nonsense. That was NOT mentioned by the rabid media. As Biden continued to list accomplishments & future plans while dodging targeted taunts & triggers. He still stayed on track until the end of several long lists of answers where he ran out of steam & stumbled on his words. After the debate it was revealed that his cold was so severe that he was tested for covid & flu.
Democrats that panicked have handed the advantage to DT. It's time o STOP. If they still have concerns, Harris can step in eventually. But considering how Our President has taken control of his campaign, the naysayers need to
Stand Down.
Get back on board behind our Leader & end this nonsense by winning!
I've heard that when trump's mic was off he was yelling things at Biden. It's hard to concentrate on answers with someone screaming in your ear. Even someone young, it's distracting. Idk if that is true but if it is shame on the moderators for not stopping him
Trump WANTS to run against Biden, because he can win. Let's face it, Biden is just a barely marginal candidate. And that's been true before the debate, too.
Replacing Biden with Harris would be a nightmare for Trump.
That is one of the reasons the shooting was awfully convenient for Trump.
I've seen reports that she polls slightly better than Biden against Trump, however not so much that it's an obvious slam-dunk; at least not at this time.
We should be at least be reminding people calling for him to step aside that Kamala's already on the ballot and already next in line if Biden is unable to complete his term. Why risk the upheaval if the most likely alternative already part of the team?
"I've seen reports that she polls slightly better than Biden against Trump, however not so much that it's an obvious slam-dunk; at least not at this time."
And that's exactly the problem. This election shouldn't be a nailbiter; the D candidate should be a slam-dunk, win-by-a-landslide candidate.
Interesting thought to run with the VP as the center of the campaign. If Biden continues to refuse to step aside, that could be a viable option.
Oh the shooting was 100% convenient, suspiciously so. But I don't think trump can win against Biden. First and foremost, trump has yet to win a popular vote. I don't see people who didn't vote for him in 2020 changing their minds about him. And between J6, the charges, the trials, his ranting going completely off the rails he has not gained supporters, or not enough anyway. We are seeing that in his infamous rallies. More Republicans have come out against him than in 2020. I believe RFK will syphon off those R voters who refuse to vote trump and can't bring themselves to vote for a Dem. I also believe he will get more of the R than D votes because he is also batshit crazy. Sure there are those who are unsure of Biden but I don't see many of those going to the dark trumpian side either. Biden still has time to redeem himself, mostly you need to get rid of the negative press. His performance in the debate wasn't as bad as they are making it out.
You are making good points, but they are all points against Trump, not in favor of specifically Biden. Kamala Harris, or any other D candidate, would benefit from them the same way, and probably more, because a younger candidate can highlight Trump's signs of dementia.
Meanwhile, Biden has a lot of headwind that a fresh candidate wouldn't have. He already all but lost Michigan, for instance. And polls have consistently shown him to be generally weak (although I saw a lot of people post here who'd rather cancel their NYT subscription than read the writing on the wall).
Polls aren't telling of reality. Most people don't answer their phones. I personally have had 3 "political" calls on the past hour and didn't answer. So I don't go by polls. And trump just picked a running mate that's more extreme than he is.
Also the 3 biggest counties in MI trend blue. They are all you need to win the state
Well that horse has wo n and gone home. Democrats opened the bottle and the Genie can't be put back in. If they had kept this in house among the DNC,we would still have a chance to win... Now we have nothing and Americans will live in the Facist 2025 Project!!
They kept it in house; I'm sure these talks have been held privately since his poll numbers tanked, and since Gaza. After the debate, it couldn't be contained any more.
And every day that Biden wastes is one day that brings us closer to the nightmare.
Thank you for providing some legal history behind the issue.
I have been vacillating between naming Justice Cannon as "Alien" or "Loose." What I most decidedly and profoundly DO NOT want is "Supreme Court Justice" Cannon.
The image of a judge in the popular mind is of a calm, rational, and detached person who is better at teasing apart an issue in coming to a logical and irrational conclusion. In our time, that illusion has been dispelled almost completely.
In this particular instance, Justice Thomas passed the basketball to Justice Cannon, who went up for the dunk. That she has in fact just submitted her résumé to a second Trump administration for a position of high preferment would be difficult to dispute. I cannot imagine her getting through a Senate confirmation hearing, but then I could not imagine Kavanaugh or Barrett either. Under an expanded executive who knows what might be possible?
To believe that Cannon did this on her own, without prompting and security cover from Clarence T, is to be gullible in my view. Whether you call it quid pro quo or sometging else, I think she is on a path that has been laid out for her, and she's just trusting her sources - the highest sources in the court system. I hope there is some realistic way to interrupt this process, but my cynical self says there may not.
I would love for a patriotic American inside Heritage or in the court or someone to just get fed up and spill the tea on all of this. She is definitely not doing any of this on her own.
It seems to me that if one were to follow Cannon's reasoning, then no actions on anything that is statutorily authorized should take place anywhere, anytime. Congress would pass laws that would simply never be implemented. I guess to a Republican these days, that sounds like a plan.
I agree and would add that when Roberts gutting Section 5 of the voting rights act, he punted it to a Congress that he knew was paralyzed and could not act. The same would happen here with the Special Counsel.
Apparently her ruling also states that this applies only to this case, so I’m curious what effect if any that has on how this will be viewed in appeal. Is that a way for her to try to set up protective cover or is this a real blunder on her part, making it more obviously biased for Trump?
I wonder how many of the MAGAts in Congress are still wearing their AR 15 pins proudly? That's a tidbit I'd like to see reporters press in Congress. But llike with his bout of Covid, Agent Orange has learned nothing from a brush with death.
Having followed all the Independent and Special Counsel litigation since Watergate, I agree with your analysis and conclusions. The irony is that she didn't wait 'til she had a sitting jury so that jeopardy attached, which would have killed the case forever. That tells me she really wanted her exit sooner rather than later.
One of the lawyers on msnbc keeps saying that Cannon is more likely "inexperienced" rather than vindictive, which I think is extremely generous. But what she did in this case shows that she's about as bright as the man she serves.
Having repeatedly seen the arguments about the risk that she could hold it until jeopardy attached and then dismiss it with prejudice, it was very surprising.
An appeal will stall the case and if Trump wins could be dropped by the next administration. Also, there’s the possibility that Cannon could be affirmed by a Supreme Court that’s full of surprises and doesn’t much care about counting precedents. To me the better course is reassigning the case to the Senate confirmed US Attorney in south Florida. While he would have to obtain a fresh indictment that would only take a few weeks and could get the case back on track, leaving Cannon’s opinion an outlier to be ignored.
We need an understanding that for this corrupt, compromised Supreme Court, shuffling papers and motions won’t cut it. Can you imagine if Trump’s elected and the documents case never tried? How about making the Jan 6 case prosecution documentation public, all of it? We’re sleepwalking into a dictatorship.
You/we certainly don’t have to strain ourselves to connect the dots. As a Nurse, I know that if I behave in a way to expose my profession to liability or even embarrassment, even outside of work hours, I could have my license suspended or even revoked. Me. An ordinary citizen. I am held to a higher standard.
But when trump**, a former prezident, is enabled by a justice system he rigged for the quid pro quo, courts in other countries take notice. America’s great “equal under the law”, indeed the foundation of the Rule of Law, is what we stand to lose.
trump**’s celebrity buffoonery is long past its Sell-by date. The documents case is too important and his appointed judges all know it, else why the rush to exoneration in time for the Elephant act under the (televised) Big Top?
Anger and frustration don’t begin to describe what I feel. I, an ordinary citizen, have only my one vote to try to keep my country intact.
And the world is watching.
Well said. Yes, you have your one vote. But whatever time you can eke out to get others to vote, by helping with registration or postcards or letters or phone banking, I think each of us can say we have more influence than our one vote!
Quick question: what organizations are you working with on sending postcards to voters in swing states? I’d like to do more to halo. Thanks in advance, Eric!
I’ve written them for Postcards to Swing States… over 1000 the last several years. Their messaging is backed up by data and the process is smooth and easy.
We are working with Postcards to Swing States. Vote Forward also does letter-writing campaigns.
Also bluewavepostcards.org
My local Indivisible group writes postcards. Check with yours.
Been doing all of that. I donate monthly to Act Blue, Jay Kuo whose writings reach and teach so many people.
I’ve written and phoned. I’ve donated little extra bumps to Biden’s campaign, Leaders We Can Trust (for the younger people to be supported.)
What I can’t—-won’t!—-do is chip in to every Dem candidate from other states not my own. Hence, Act Blue, an umbrella organization.
Our elections are in deep trouble because our leadership can now be bought on the open market. The obstructionist Congress won Citizens United during Obama’s term opening our elections to the highest bidder. trump** and his team are not smart enough to have kept him out of jail these past 3+ years. Some obscenely wealthy person or group is buying up American intellectual property like a WalMart stock sell-off.
You can also try Hopium Chronicles - they’ve picked some key races where a little donation goes a long way and have the good chance of flipping the seat.
So feel you. I want to scream on a daily, hell, hourly basis. Writing post cards and sending Vote Forward letters ..action is the antidote to despair...but terrified the fix is in.
trump**’s celebrity buffoonery--sums up his entire "political" career and his way of doing business
Pleased to see someone else qualifying Trump** with a couple of astericks. My practice since 2021.
You have many votes -- your family, friends, business acquaintances, church, grocery clerks ... see where I'm heading? When each of them engages with their contacts, democratic votes bloom. This is known as exponential growth, in marketing terms.
My group is now up to 15. How big is yours? Be creative; you will be pleasantly surprised!
To Sheila Strand: I have way over 15. I am not despondent about only having my one vote. That vote joins the currents in a river. My one vote is referring to the foundation of a representative government “by the people”.
Except now corporation dollars count as votes! See where I’m heading? I do not have deep enough pockets to bleed out my income every election cycle.
We must, at some point, address the things wrong with our entire election process from Dark Money and super-PACs to the age issue, to gerrymandering and term limits. We need to stop making lifetime appointments especially when it gives so much future power to so few. I think election issues are more important than immigrant issues but it sure doesn’t play well on mainstream news.
Agree with everything! Thanks ... and let's go!
I'm with you--I'm heartily sick of the "Trump and captive elephant act"--indeed, I've been heartily sick of Trump's bloviating, bullying bull manure since well before 2015. I absolutely loathed the phony baloney of The Apprentice. I do not want to see him assassinated; I'd much rather see him humiliated at the polls, and right now I'm doing everything I can to help in that worthwhile project. (I'm a volunteer ballot clerk for my town; I write postcards and although I can't really afford big donations, I do monthly small donations to Biden and ActBlue.)
The insurrection continues. Clarence Thomas communicates to Cannon how to dump the documents case on the last day of this session of the Supreme Court. As you pointed out, Thomas should have recused himself and Cannon should have ruled already. The timing - the first day of the Republican National Convention - is also very notable - more fodder for the cult - especially after the failed assassination attempt in PA. All attention is on Trump and his being “assailed” by the other.
“We the people” are denied any hearing for justice on stolen National Secrets.
And it would appear that “we the people” will also be denied any hearing on what the Georgia Grand Jury heard to indict Trump on Rico charges.
The selection of J.D. Vance was the most logical to carry on the mission on Project 2025 should Trump decline.
Welcome to what is looking to be a successful inside coup by a friend of Putin and oligarchs.
Project 2025 is already underway.
100% and now that the country is "focused" on the this assasination attempt I fear those who had started to pay attention have lost interest. Honestly I can't believe how many of my friends are pushing for "empathy for trump". I have no empathy for someone who has never shown empathy
NEVER HAVE SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL!
Amen!
yes, I've been hearing "the near death experience will make him a changed man, compassionate and understanding", the good thing tho, many have also said they'll wait and see if it does.
He has already gone back to ranting and targeting Biden, he doesn't have it in him to be compassionate and understanding
So far, "compassionate and understanding' seems to revolve around "God Saved Me....to be your retribution, amongst other things. Same old same old.
Yup, latest chapter added to the book of grift
I think I'd counter "Oooh have empathy for trump" with either "he's reaping what he's sown" or "close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades".
Has been since Reagan!
Absolutely it is. Terrifying.
It’s not just Thomas advising Cannon. It’s Leonard Leo and his gang, also. See, this was their ultimate goal, string Jack and the American people along until we were getting real close, and then shut the whole thing down.
"Loose" Cannon with the assist from "Uncle" Thomas.
Don't you mean Uncle TOM?
In the tank for the Orange Felon from Day One, and never bothered to disguise it.
Btw, loved the "Come on, Aileen" reference, Dexy!
Watching the interaction Don Jr had with the reporter who asked him about deportations and family separations at the RNC convention reminded me how fond Don Jr seems to be of dexedrine to keep himself running at midnight.
The Nazis - especially the Luftwaffe pilots - ran on this "MAGA fuel". Pretty sure that's why today's GOP is all talk/no action on drug cartels - they'll never actually crack down (pun intended) on their suppliers.
This isn't related to the post, but is something I read in one of the comments on Joyce Vance's blog: Democrat delegates are getting a whole load of calls from people who want to dump Joe Biden as nominee, but nothing much from people who want to keep him on. They really need to hear from the people who think differently. Please... if you think the party should still go with Joe Biden (as per Jay's excellent 'Be Practical, Not Problematic' post from a couple of weeks back) call or write your Democratic delegate and *say so*, so that they're not just hearing from the people who want to complain but also from the people who want their initial vote in the primaries to count. Jay, can you highlight this?
When was the comment written? Biden walked through the Trump shooting crisis awfully well, demonstrating quite clearly that he can manage fires. It spoke volumes. Also, the delegates are pledged to Biden. So it's still up to Joe.
Also, can we just have a forensics report on Trump's ear, please? It's a small ask. If that ear injury was the result of a blast from a high powered rifle, I'm Snow White.
You are not the first to suggest that this whole thing was staged. But the chilling part is if it was, they probably think killing a few bystanders is the cost of doing business.
Overall, I'm just interested in the answer to that specific question. I don't think these clowns are creative enough to stage something. But Trump is milking the ear thing, and it's likely it happened when he was tackled. They have the info on whether or not it was a bullet. Those kinds of forensics are rudimentary and were figured out in the hospital.
Yes, 'I took a shard of glass to Save You" lacks a certain je ne sais quoi
:-)
Another thing. From what I could see, he ducked; he didn't fall like as a result of a bullet.
I don’t think there was *ever* a question about that! Secret Service was saying “Get down! Get down!” repeatedly and that’s what he did.
No doubt that the thought of some people "willing" to sacrifice their lives for him delights Trump no end!
I agree. But did u notice that OJ said NOTHING about the poor bystanders who got seriously injured or died. Jeez, just a simple thank you for your support would have been in order.
All the concern is going to Trump's ear, which may or may not have been grazed (by glass?). In a closeup I saw of his red-stained ear, it was intact, with no visible signs of a laceration or even a small cut.
Anybody attending a Trump rally should now be made aware that they could be sacrificed for the sadonarcissist's ego.
A comment on her post titled The Week Ahead 6/15. Has the DNC phone number to call in and voice support.
Thanks for that info. I’ve been looking for it!
DNC 202-863-8000
Hakeem Jeffries DC Offfice: 202-225-5936
Thank you. But aren’t the delegates already pledged? The would not be changing their vote unless 1 Biden were incapacitated or 2 if he released the delegates to vote for someone else -?
I'm sure all this will come out in good time. And I will grant you that such a close miss seems odd when the previous shots went very far afield. I'm also, as everybody, wondering about the shooter's motivation, and the incident was very convenient for Trump.
But all in all, for the time being, I go with the official version. Several reasons.
First, the photo of the bullet. It was a lucky shot (no pun intended), but is not implausible in an age of cameras shooting at a rapid pace, and at an event with a gazillion photographers around. And the photo has been confirmed to be authentic.
Second, for a while an alternate theory was that the ear injury could be from a glass fragment from a shattered teleprompter. But I've seen a picture taken after the shots were fired that showed the teleprompter intact.
So, while I'm curious about some things, it seems prudent to go with the official version.
The thing I'm most curious about ..... why/how was Trump allowed to stand up, head and torso totally exposed, yell incendiary words, fist pump and provide provocative photo ops, before there was any way any one could have known that the entire area had been secured, ie, there was only one shooter?
My understanding was that the all-clear was given fairly quickly. Even if not, Trump would likely have fought off the agents. So this part wasn't particularly surprising to me. One outlet (I think it was CNN) actually had a time-stamped transcript of the radio conversations of the agents that would corroborate this.
And once they communicated multiple times that “The shooter is down”, they wanted to get Trump off the stage as quickly as possible, ie get him to “The Tank”, where he would be safest. That seems perfectly reasonable to me, though I am by no means an expert on Secret Service protocol.
I too am a *little* surprised that Secret Service let him get his shoes AND pose with his fist up, but they were all around him, shielding him with their bodies, so it’s probably wise not to read too much into this….
Ultimately, it's the President, not the Secret Service, who decides once the split-second decisionmaking is over.
One thing that IMO didn't get enough attention is, why wasn't Trump wearing his shoes in the first place? Or how did he lose them?
There had been reports in the past that because of his increasing dementia, his shoes had to somehow be attached to the podium to keep him from falling, but I don't know if that's related here.
Because he's a sociopathic moron?
I agree with all this and I'm no conspiracy fan. I just think this one is a fairly simple answer. How was the ear injured? The tackle? The bullet? They have this information now.
Or maybe a nick from the diamond ring of one of those DEI entitled Secret Service women as she shoved his head down? Wonder if we'll ever know. I do agree that the shooting was real. It is the aftermath that has a lot of convenient dots we need to understand.
I was sure it was staged, at first. I figured they gave a MAGA clown fireworks, told him to set them off at a prescribed time, and he'd swipe his ear with something sharp, because that's exactly something he'd do. But when someone died, I quickly pivoted to the lone crazy gunman theory, and I'm sticking to that until I hear differently. But I also don't think he took a bullet to the ear and that he's milking this for everything he can. It is easy for them to disavow me of this notion. I don't think it is asking for much.
My almost-first reaction was Reichstag Fire (right after Dang. He Missed). But both fell quickly to the contemplation of what the actual evidence is It is pretty much a commonplace that we are ALL subject to the lure of conspiracy theories. The question is whether we have the insight (and guts) to resist them.
but the shoe thing!
Yeah, how/why were his shoes off? Is he in the habit of giving speeches in his sock? It looked like he ducked after he grabbed his ear, not like the force knocked him out of his shoes. Not a conspiracy theory, it just seemed bizarre to me that his shoes weren't on his feet.
It might have something to do with him having balance problems due to his dementia.
plus, as I've read, but have no facts, it is SOP to have a medical report after something as serious as this was. And that the medical report will fall under patient/doctor privilege, so Trump can erase the whole idea if he wants to.
I would expect that since he's a private citizen, his medical report falls within HIPAA guidelines. But there will also be a police report, which will include information about the injury. If I'm one of the few decent reporters left in the world (ProPublica, are you reading this?), I'd file a FOI Act request on this post-haste.
Yes! My thoughts EXACTLY! Thank you, Charles. (May I call you Charles?)
You can call me whatever you wish, as long as it isn't obscene. :-)
😆 never obscene.
Respectfully, please use the adjective form “Democratic.” Republicans have used the noun “Democrat” in place of the adjective as a term of derision. I know that is not your intention.
Thanks.
Thanks, Colleen. I'm sick of the fact that Republicans have taken this term and managed to bring it into common usage. I belong to the Democratic Party, which it has been named since the beginning of its existence.
💙
I second your encouragement to express your opinion. If you support Biden (or if you don't), making your voice heard is a good thing.
But I would also caution you not to ignore those calls from people who disagree with you (and make their voice heard). This 'whole load of calls' doesn't come out of nowhere; maybe it is time to consider that Biden really isn't the best choice any more.
You might think this is the time, but I couldn't possibly disagree more. Who is the miracle candidate you will sell to the American public in 100 days or so? Who? The miracle candidate who has not yet been seen (or voted on or vetted). Completely a whack job of an idea! And with what funds? Yours?
Biden is demonstrably leading, has demonstrably lead for 3.5 yrs, and will win if people support him, and heaven forbid, if the media supports him. And maybe? the media will come round if they see his support stay strong and grow.
I'm beyond annoyed with the supposed "Democrats" calling for Biden to step down. The simple truth is that they are a tiny minority in the "likely to vote Democratic in November" demographic.
Biden has not just shown that he's a strong leader over the last 3.5 years - he's shown that he's leading an administration that is highly competent and capable of delivering results that are good for America, including for the middle-class families that the Republicans have been sodomizing non-stop for over four decades.
Biden is also the only candidate who's already shown that HE CAN BEAT DONALD.
The "Biden can't do the job" narrative is simply a BIG FAT LIE, and we know who is behind it and why.
YES!
I wish I could Like your post more than once.
Whether you feel he truly isn't the best choice or not, changing horses at this point is almost a certain win for trump IMO. For all the BS trump has said and done the repugs are going to hold him up as their candidate, if we stray from Biden now I think it sends the message that he has done something way worse than trump. People will wonder what he's done, beyond the debate. If the repugs can hold strong to a felonous, vile, lying asshat then we should not cave and replace our candidate.
I've gone on YouTube & watched the full debate twice. Biden gave clear, concise, Detailed answers for the 1st 4-5 questions. While DT threw insults & lies. And answered No questions clearly, diverting to more lies or nonsense. That was NOT mentioned by the rabid media. As Biden continued to list accomplishments & future plans while dodging targeted taunts & triggers. He still stayed on track until the end of several long lists of answers where he ran out of steam & stumbled on his words. After the debate it was revealed that his cold was so severe that he was tested for covid & flu.
Democrats that panicked have handed the advantage to DT. It's time o STOP. If they still have concerns, Harris can step in eventually. But considering how Our President has taken control of his campaign, the naysayers need to
Stand Down.
Get back on board behind our Leader & end this nonsense by winning!
I've heard that when trump's mic was off he was yelling things at Biden. It's hard to concentrate on answers with someone screaming in your ear. Even someone young, it's distracting. Idk if that is true but if it is shame on the moderators for not stopping him
Finally someone else who gets the timing!!
Trump WANTS to run against Biden, because he can win. Let's face it, Biden is just a barely marginal candidate. And that's been true before the debate, too.
Replacing Biden with Harris would be a nightmare for Trump.
That is one of the reasons the shooting was awfully convenient for Trump.
I've seen reports that she polls slightly better than Biden against Trump, however not so much that it's an obvious slam-dunk; at least not at this time.
We should be at least be reminding people calling for him to step aside that Kamala's already on the ballot and already next in line if Biden is unable to complete his term. Why risk the upheaval if the most likely alternative already part of the team?
"I've seen reports that she polls slightly better than Biden against Trump, however not so much that it's an obvious slam-dunk; at least not at this time."
And that's exactly the problem. This election shouldn't be a nailbiter; the D candidate should be a slam-dunk, win-by-a-landslide candidate.
Interesting thought to run with the VP as the center of the campaign. If Biden continues to refuse to step aside, that could be a viable option.
Particularly now that she's running against whatshisface.
Oh the shooting was 100% convenient, suspiciously so. But I don't think trump can win against Biden. First and foremost, trump has yet to win a popular vote. I don't see people who didn't vote for him in 2020 changing their minds about him. And between J6, the charges, the trials, his ranting going completely off the rails he has not gained supporters, or not enough anyway. We are seeing that in his infamous rallies. More Republicans have come out against him than in 2020. I believe RFK will syphon off those R voters who refuse to vote trump and can't bring themselves to vote for a Dem. I also believe he will get more of the R than D votes because he is also batshit crazy. Sure there are those who are unsure of Biden but I don't see many of those going to the dark trumpian side either. Biden still has time to redeem himself, mostly you need to get rid of the negative press. His performance in the debate wasn't as bad as they are making it out.
You are making good points, but they are all points against Trump, not in favor of specifically Biden. Kamala Harris, or any other D candidate, would benefit from them the same way, and probably more, because a younger candidate can highlight Trump's signs of dementia.
Meanwhile, Biden has a lot of headwind that a fresh candidate wouldn't have. He already all but lost Michigan, for instance. And polls have consistently shown him to be generally weak (although I saw a lot of people post here who'd rather cancel their NYT subscription than read the writing on the wall).
Polls aren't telling of reality. Most people don't answer their phones. I personally have had 3 "political" calls on the past hour and didn't answer. So I don't go by polls. And trump just picked a running mate that's more extreme than he is.
Also the 3 biggest counties in MI trend blue. They are all you need to win the state
These calls may be generated by bots and trolls
Conspiracy theory much?
Well that horse has wo n and gone home. Democrats opened the bottle and the Genie can't be put back in. If they had kept this in house among the DNC,we would still have a chance to win... Now we have nothing and Americans will live in the Facist 2025 Project!!
Actually, we have a candidate that can beat Trump.
They kept it in house; I'm sure these talks have been held privately since his poll numbers tanked, and since Gaza. After the debate, it couldn't be contained any more.
And every day that Biden wastes is one day that brings us closer to the nightmare.
I called the DNC and Hakeem Jeffries today and told him to tell his members to knock it off..
Pardon my ignorance, but how do I learn who my delegate is?
Excellent article, Jay. Great thinking.
Thank you for providing some legal history behind the issue.
I have been vacillating between naming Justice Cannon as "Alien" or "Loose." What I most decidedly and profoundly DO NOT want is "Supreme Court Justice" Cannon.
The image of a judge in the popular mind is of a calm, rational, and detached person who is better at teasing apart an issue in coming to a logical and irrational conclusion. In our time, that illusion has been dispelled almost completely.
In this particular instance, Justice Thomas passed the basketball to Justice Cannon, who went up for the dunk. That she has in fact just submitted her résumé to a second Trump administration for a position of high preferment would be difficult to dispute. I cannot imagine her getting through a Senate confirmation hearing, but then I could not imagine Kavanaugh or Barrett either. Under an expanded executive who knows what might be possible?
To believe that Cannon did this on her own, without prompting and security cover from Clarence T, is to be gullible in my view. Whether you call it quid pro quo or sometging else, I think she is on a path that has been laid out for her, and she's just trusting her sources - the highest sources in the court system. I hope there is some realistic way to interrupt this process, but my cynical self says there may not.
It's not Uncle Tom. I believe it's the Heritage Foundation authoring her opinions. Somebody with access needs to check her financial statements.
And her husband’s financial statements as well.
Thinking the same.
I would love for a patriotic American inside Heritage or in the court or someone to just get fed up and spill the tea on all of this. She is definitely not doing any of this on her own.
Formerly, a legal "canon" was a generally accepted principle or criterion.
Now, a legal "Cannon" will be the act of completely ignoring a generally accepted principle or criterion.
It seems to me that if one were to follow Cannon's reasoning, then no actions on anything that is statutorily authorized should take place anywhere, anytime. Congress would pass laws that would simply never be implemented. I guess to a Republican these days, that sounds like a plan.
I agree and would add that when Roberts gutting Section 5 of the voting rights act, he punted it to a Congress that he knew was paralyzed and could not act. The same would happen here with the Special Counsel.
Apparently her ruling also states that this applies only to this case, so I’m curious what effect if any that has on how this will be viewed in appeal. Is that a way for her to try to set up protective cover or is this a real blunder on her part, making it more obviously biased for Trump?
If the Supreme Court agreed with her, that ruling would have immediate effect no matter where there was a special counsel appointed.
What this does is to leave open appointing a special counsel to look at Biden or other dems.
I wonder how many of the MAGAts in Congress are still wearing their AR 15 pins proudly? That's a tidbit I'd like to see reporters press in Congress. But llike with his bout of Covid, Agent Orange has learned nothing from a brush with death.
Great question.
And will our “press” even dare to ask ANY of these traitors about their pins and their votes?
No.
Apparently they are raffling off AR 15 at the republican convention
Not alone removed from the case: impeached. ( please give a Democtatic Congress )
Alas, unless we get 67 Dems in the Senate, this is a pipe-dream.
She might be a judge for a long time.
It gets worse. Should Trump win in November (and I wouldn't bet against it now) he will certainly elevate her to the SCOTUS.
Nightmare fuel!
It won't matter becuase he will disband and imprison anyone who goes against him .He has stated that.
Just let out a deep breath after reading this Jay. Seriously cried yesterday.
same
Having followed all the Independent and Special Counsel litigation since Watergate, I agree with your analysis and conclusions. The irony is that she didn't wait 'til she had a sitting jury so that jeopardy attached, which would have killed the case forever. That tells me she really wanted her exit sooner rather than later.
Or that she really didn’t think it through properly. Shocking.
One of the lawyers on msnbc keeps saying that Cannon is more likely "inexperienced" rather than vindictive, which I think is extremely generous. But what she did in this case shows that she's about as bright as the man she serves.
Having repeatedly seen the arguments about the risk that she could hold it until jeopardy attached and then dismiss it with prejudice, it was very surprising.
Following this,”logic” shouldn’t the case against Hunter Biden be dismissed as well? That was a special counsel too.
yep... but it won't. All of these rulings have the cover your ass clause that make it clear they are carved out for one person and one person only
An appeal will stall the case and if Trump wins could be dropped by the next administration. Also, there’s the possibility that Cannon could be affirmed by a Supreme Court that’s full of surprises and doesn’t much care about counting precedents. To me the better course is reassigning the case to the Senate confirmed US Attorney in south Florida. While he would have to obtain a fresh indictment that would only take a few weeks and could get the case back on track, leaving Cannon’s opinion an outlier to be ignored.
And if that were to happen, it would be sent to Cannon again to be the trial judge. We need her off this case in whatever form it takes.
Unless deeming Smith as improperly assigned means evidence developed by his team is considered tainted and can't be used. That could be a problem.
We need a war time consigliere.
Merrick Garland isn’t it.
We need an understanding that for this corrupt, compromised Supreme Court, shuffling papers and motions won’t cut it. Can you imagine if Trump’s elected and the documents case never tried? How about making the Jan 6 case prosecution documentation public, all of it? We’re sleepwalking into a dictatorship.
I'm close to convincing myself that at least part of tRump's motivation for seeking a second term goes beyond avoiding prison time...
...he's scheming to get "his" papers back.