193 Comments

tRump simply doesn't give a shit about courtroom decorum, or trying not to displease judges, he KNOWS he's lost the business fraud case, he KNOWS he's lost (twice) in the E Jean Carroll defamation, but he also KNOWS that these courtroom histrionics play well with the MAGA set, attract loads of MSM and cablenews attention, and as well serve as fund-raising pegs.

That's his strategy, and he's sticking with it.

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Perhaps it will be his downfall. That would be poetic.

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One lives in hope.

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a fine of $2 Billion ought to command his attention

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It would get his attention, but he has NO self-control. Nothing will shut him down.

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There is one way but it will cost someone 20+ years to life.

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You have posted what a majority of us feel about this worthless POS.

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It's interesting that I'm finally seeing more ppl post this kind of thing.

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O for that chicken bone cheeseburger...

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I like that. It’s far more likely than the runaway steamroller I’m always wishing for.

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Donating Trump's fines to Southern Law Poverty Center ? Or other worthy cause he has offended?

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Well, some ought to go to Ms. Carroll for her pain and suffering from Trump's bullshittery but yes...I think that is a grand idea

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"Bullshittery". Well said . .

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She needs the money to hire bodyguards and security.

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Will it come to our having to create a special force...a mob squad?

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What would get Mr. Trump’s attention is no attention.

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That is what I think. He disappears from all media, name nor image ever referred to or mentioned henceforth. That would be the BEST!

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Trump has repeatedly demonstrated impulsivity & no self control. Only an idiot wants him near the nuclear codes...again!

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500 millions would suffice to send him into oblivion for a long time

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I watched a couple network news shows yesterday evening because weather and was shocked at the sanitized version of the E Jean Carroll case they presented. Never once mentioned how he had defamed her, that the case was only about the damages for defaming her, or that he previously was found liable of sexually assaulting her. It's merely a 'federal defamation case before heading to New Hampshire!' This is stenography, not journalism. FFS.

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That’s so frustrating.

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Only if you have time! This article implies that it could be very expensive for trump should he want to appeal this case. He would have to borrow enough to cover the required bond.

https://courtbondnow.com/bonding-procedures/appeal-bonds-101/

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It also might help explain why he currently seems very, very worried about this case given the courtroom antics. This is Carroll suing Trump personally. No corporation to fall back on.

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My career was as a surety lawyer. Sureties "lend" their credit and charge a premium to do so. The premium depends on the financial capabilities of the principal (the term used for the person asking for the bond). So if two people appeal $200K judgments they could pay very different premiums. The premium is non-refundable even if the principal wins on appeal.

Except in cases of really strong financials, sureties require individual indemnity of principal AND SPOUSE. Picture the scene where trump tries to tell Melania she has to sign. This is different from a bail bond--the underwriting is different because what is covered is real money, not just a promise not to flee. When most of the assets are held by a corporation, it too may have to agree to indemnify even if not directly involved in the judgement. And if the principal transfers assets when he loses, that's called fraudulent transfer and does no good. I had a case where the principal's assets suddenly turned out to be all in a trust for his kid. Sorry, Charlie.

Sureties eat it if the principal or indemnitors go BKO. Hence the size of the premium. Otherwise, judgment on the indemnity agreement lets the surety execute on whatever assets it can find. Wonder what they'd get for Mar A Lago.

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Thank you for your explanation. In your opinion then, it will indeed be very expensive, if not impossible at this point, for Trump to appeal the damages headed his way?

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Completely depends on whether some surety will take it on, and at what cost. Sometimes sureties get together and share pieces of the action. A lot will depend on what their reinsurance allows them to do. Given the current pending damage decision for defrauding banks, I'd think they would be a tad skeptical of whatever financial statements he produces in support of his request.

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Plenty of media are in the pockets of alt right fascists billionaires. Therefore they keep most damaging facts under the carpet.

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And if they are not in control of the Media, they are the advertising revenue of it.

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It’s sickening. I prefer to get my news from places like this. No longer even have access to network news since my cable cut. Don’t miss it at all.

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And this bull-headed attitude of Trump’s boldly demonstrates why he can never be POTUS again. He won’t take advice from anyone, no matter how serious the situation. It’s his way or nothing. He can never be trusted with the national security again. Ever!

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Jan 17Liked by Jay Kuo

I’m still troubled by what you described yesterday about the safety of judges, and now jurors. And I love the judge’s comment about her ruling being the end of discussion, not the beginning!!

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author

He laid it down for them well.

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Judge Kaplan has warned tRump today that if he doesn't stop his running commentary in a voice that can be overheard by the jury, he - tRump - would forfeit his right to appear at the trial. Since it's impossible for the mongrel to keep his gob shut, we may see a first here!

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Jan 17Liked by Jay Kuo

The orange one is throwing all in on the bet that he wins the next election, then he will tell all these judges to pound sand and not pay I dime. Yes, I know "he can't do that," or "he would have to win on appeal." Yeah, dictators don't normally follow those rules.

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It will test our system as never before.

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tRump is already testing the legal system like never before. No one has abused the court system like tRump. Can of ANYONE ELSE who could steal classified documents, plus conspire to incite an insurrection, be convicted of fraud and not be behind bars while awaiting trial?! He's being treated with WAY too much deference.

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Trump isn’t only receiving special treatment, the judge in his classified documents case is in his pocket. That’s the real problem-a judge putting her thumb firmly on the scales of justice.

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Is there any way for a court to continue to police a defendant's actions beyond the conclusion of trial? In other words, is there any way for the judge to declare that $XX amount of money will be added automatically to the judgment for each violation that takes place at a future time, like when Trump walks out of the courtroom and squawks to reporters AGAIN? Or would each subsequent violation have to be revisited in court? Or have I not given enough time for my caffeine to kick in this morning and I'm still dreaming? It seems to me there's a distinct possibility of infinite court time in the future for this same thing since he never shuts up.

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In a settlement agreement in a civil suit, a court could retain jurisdiction, e.g. But if a verdict is rendered, it is over the claims in the suit, so anything outside those claims would need to be relitigated. But as we’re seeing, the stakes go up and up.

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Perhaps community service, like donating all fines to Biden/Harris campaign and requiring a public apology for lying.

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I like the public apology part--it might even kill him to have to do that. (please, please) but I like the idea of the fines going to a non-profit legal defense org such as NLADA or maybe the legal aid department of the NAACP, or the ACLU.

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I don't think he's physically capable of uttering the words required for an apology, public or otherwise. The rest of his hair would probably fall out first.

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Thanks...that gave me a much needed laugh.

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It would be like watching the Fonz apologize. I was wuh-wuh-zhuu. But it would be highly entertaining to actually watch Trump attempt to publicly, verbally apologize. Nine of this "written" apology bs.

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I had the same thoughts

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That was my first thought too.

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Jan 17Liked by Jay Kuo

I had somehow forgotten he was already found guilty of sexual assault. That makes it even more infuriating and dumbfounding that he's still the GOP frontrunner or that there is ANY woman in this country that would still support him.

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"...even more infuriating and dumbfounding...", with accented stress on the DUMB.

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absolutely

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And all those running for president, including a woman, raised their hands to say they will support him even if Trump was convicted in criminal court along with this civil decision. Those who said no, Chris Christie & Asa Hutchinson, are gone! MAGA only wants scum, no candidate with honorable intentions allowed.

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Absolutely. It's disgusting on all levels.

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Wow, fictitious names for the jurors.

Hmm....I would like to be called "Lord of the Weasels."

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So be it!

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Careful - Weird Al has a day for weasels...

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Good...the man is hilarious.

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Jan 17Liked by Jay Kuo

I am haunted by the very idea that there are millions of people, and at least 60,000 Iowans, who want this criminal and thug to be president. Do they not have eyes or ears? Or heart or soul?

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I have to think this will be a case study of mass psychosis in future university curriculums, assuming we survive.

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Just as with any cult their perceptions are very warped. They truly do believe these are all lies, that Biden & his administration is after Trump, that Democrats from high places feast on babies and on & on it goes. How did Manson get young women to kill for him? It's no different than that really. Many of these people, (I live amongst them in Idaho) are willing to die for Trump and the MAGA cause. It's absolutely terrifying the mass scale of this particular cult following that wants to abolish the US, democracy and life as we know it.

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They're going on "faith" . . . Willful ignorance is only a starting point . .

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Jay, what is the process for actually getting him to fork over the cash? How many appeals, etc?

Same with Rudy. Will it take the Grim Reaper to finally shut these two up?

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I believe he already had to pay out of the first verdict. There are ways to force him to post bonds on appeal, too. Judgment collection is always an interesting and often frustrating chase; sometimes the bigger the verdict, the harder it is to collect anything.

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E.g., see Alex Jones and Sandy Hook suit.

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I did read somewhere else (probably another Substack post) that he had to put up a $5.5 Million bond to appeal the initial verdict. I had the same question about Giuliani, since he was already whining about bankruptcy . . .

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Rudy can't afford the bond - and the court has already permitted them to begin immediate collection. And his judgment is *giggle* NOT dischargeable in bankruptcy.

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Karma is mean, ain't she?!

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Thank you. I missed seeing that payout and he’s so slippery and obstreperous (among so many other things, spawn of satan), that I feared he’d avoid paying some how.

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Nope. E. Jean already has the first $5MM.

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The Rudy situation is a bit different because he bona fide doesn't have the money. Rudy will be left poor for the rest of his life. Trump has a lot of assets. With a judgement in hand, she can walk into any bank where he has an account and tell them "transfer the money to my account". Or she can put a lien on any of his properties and have them auctioned off. She can do the same with his jet, cars, whatever he owns.

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The liens are going to be interesting. There will soon be a verdict and judgment in favor of the state of New York, possibly for hundreds of millions. It may be a rush to get liens!

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I hope these trials cost him billions. The only thing that will shut him up is the Grim Reaper. He has had a comment on nearly any and everything for decades, even when nobody cared what he thought. He was always gossip fodder for the NY tabloids. He had a big feud going on with Rosie O'Donald for several years.

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Considering his skin color, gives new meaning the words “gold rush” 😂

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OMG I hadn't thought of that!

Hoo, boy - I foresee much betting action over who gets which, how much, and when! Gotta go start handicapping the prop bets... and stock up on popcorn.

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Very much so. One thing I would be worried about is him sending his goons to interfere when the new owner takes possession.

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Can the people who are awarded damages take money out of the accounts where he sends the donations from his followers?

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His jet? Would anyone really want to collect on a grime coated and infested used Boeing 757? I wondered when he jetted into Des Moines over the weekend, how exactly did that go when most commercial flights were cancelled by weather and takeoffs and landings prohibited by visibility. Who maintains his 757 and do they ever get paid? TFG may not be the only loose screws and bolts onboard.

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Auctioning off his golf courses to an abused children's charity?

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Many in Britain are anxiously awaiting news that he's gotta cough up Turnberry. That would return it to the Open rota, which would make many there very, very happy.

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There is a process where Carroll's lawyers obtain a Judgement against him for the damages. My understanding is that this is not a creditor and cannot be wiped away in a bankruptcy filing. But I'm not the lawyer.

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There is NO amount of money that can shut him up. Might I suggest stuffing his mouth with dirty rags?

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Wrap duct tape around his pie hole and maybe "accidently" cover his nostrils, too.

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Like the song says - "Silence is golden, but duct tape is silver" . . .

https://genius.com/Against-all-authority-silence-is-golden-but-duct-tape-is-silver-lyrics

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Used Depends please.

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Has DJT actually paid any money at all while the appeals, delays, new trials and stalling continue? I thought some good faith escrow but don’t know? Attorney fees are likely in arrears, etc.

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E. Jean's $5MM is already in pocket.

Gonna be some really creative accounting coming...

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💕💕💕💕💕💕

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Jan 17Liked by Jay Kuo

Excellent synopsis. I always appreciate how you boil things down to the relevant information. Many thanks.

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author

I spend a good amount of time collecting up the information and seeing how it all fits together into categories. I think it’s why I love the NYT puzzle game “Connections” so much!

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The time and effort you spend on your work is obvious. I too gather info to see how it fits together but I need to let it percolate for a few days before it sorts out and the pieces fall into place. With how fast news changes I am often playing catch-up. Your work helps me avoid that.

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Jay, more power to you, I simply CANNOT

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And yet nothing is being done to stop him like, say, actual jail time.

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He faces significant jail time, probably for the balance of his life, in the other cases. So I respectfully disagree that nothing is being done to stop him.

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Sorry, until that actually happens I see him getting preferential treatment over and over again where anyone else would have been thrown in jail the first time it happened. If nothing is being done, in the moment, then I do not hold out much hope for him suffering ANY repercussions for his actions.

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exactly

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I hope this verdict is YUGE!!! E. Jean Carroll is a heroine!

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"... the statements were false, or he made them with reckless disregard as to whether they were true or false." This seems to be his M.O.

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When all the Trump litigation is finally over, will there be any kind of charitable funding mechanism to help civil and criminal attorneys cope with the massive loss of income?

Or is this not a problem since he's such a deadbeat that many essentially work for him pro bono?

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LOL, any lawyer who would work for this career criminal and pathological liar deserves to NOT get paid. You cannot possess one iota of self-respect and agree to work for DT.

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Lol how can I argue that point? 🤔

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I recall that one of his lawyers insisted on a very large prepayment, several million dollars. And a few weeks later, Trump fired him.

Now that's what I call smart lawyering.

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It's just Ludacris that he is walking around free.

* Misspelling on purpose and an inside joke re: a former Kuo post

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Did everybody forget when he said in an interview that he can "just grab them by the p×$$y"!?! That quote should be played every time this trial is mentioned. He told us who he is. It sickens me.

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“That’s it. In my courtroom, when a ruling is made, that’s the end, not the beginning, of the argument.”

Translation: SIT DOWN AND SHUT THE FUCK UP WITH THAT BULLSHIT.

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