The Biggest Loser

JohnInCarolina

http://twitter.com/ianbassin/status/1731717702891470867?s=20

JohnInCarolina

http://twitter.com/TheRickWilson/status/1731915212524007616?s=20

lousubcap

"Steve Bannon and Kash Patel claimed that former President Donald Trump is “dead serious” about exacting revenge on his enemies if he wins the election, and warned the media “we’re going to come after you, whether it’s criminally or civilly. This is why we’re tyrannical, this is why we’re dictators.” The comments were made in an episode of Bannon’s “War Room” podcast, where the two Trump allies vowed to prosecute members of the media who “lied” about the 2020 Presidential election results. “We will go out and find the conspirators — not just in government, but in the media,” Patel told Bannon. Sarah Fortinsky reports for The Hill.

Former President Donald Trump said yesterday that if re-elected, he would not be a dictator “except for Day One.” The comment was made in a town hall with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, and when pressed for a second time on whether he will disavow taking retributive action against his enemies, Trump said, “I want to close the border and I want to drill, drill, drill.”  Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing reports for POLITICO. 

Georgia prosecutors added Mike Pence as one of the witnesses who could be called to testify in the election subversion case against Trump, according to sources familiar with the sealed court documents. Pence, who appeared before a federal grand jury as part of special counsel Jack Smith’s probe into Trump, has not been yet considered a significant part of criminal proceedings. The witness lists have not been made public, and sources say they include upward of 150 names. Pence has signaled a willingness to testify, noting the “profound” First Amendment issues that will be litigated in the case. Zachary Cohen, Nick Valencia, and Jason Morris report for CNN."

lousubcap

"In a legal settlement yesterday, the 10 Republicans who signed paperwork falsely claiming Donald Trump won Wisconsin in 2020 agreed to a series of concessions including: withdrawing their filing, acknowledging President Biden won the presidency and that their false certificates were used to “improperly overturn” the election, and not to serve as presidential electors in 2024 or in any election where former President Donald Trump is on the ballot. They also committed to “cooperate fully” with the federal criminal prosecution. The civil settlement marks the first occasion pro-Trump electors have agreed not to repeat their actions in the next election and revoke their documents. Republicans in two other states are facing criminal charges for falsely claiming to be presidential electors; investigations are continuing in three additional states. No money is being exchanged as part of the civil settlement. Patrick Marley reports for the Washington Post."

lousubcap

Seven Reasons a Second Trump Term Would Be Dangerous

Julian Zelizer, CNN December 8, 2023

https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/07/opinions/trump-second-term-dangerous-zelizer/index.html

lousubcap

Trump gag order partly upheld

An appeals court upheld and refined parts of a gag order in the federal case into 2020 election interference, barring former President Trump from any statements "made with the intent to materially interfere with, or to cause others to materially interfere with" the course of the case.

The court removed special counsel Jack Smith from the list of court staff protected under the gag order, broadening Trump's ability to criticize the prosecutor.

Edit: the link works-

JohnInCarolina

http://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1733976929722581335?s=20

lousubcap

And CHEETO is scared $hitless since he cannot control the proceedings. 

JohnInCarolina

http://twitter.com/glennkirschner2/status/1734272986859946022?s=20

fishlessman

so we are relying on this  supreme court having common sense....sounds like a plan

lousubcap

Here's a link to the above mentioned article:

Special counsel goes directly to Supreme Court to resolve whether Trump has immunity from prosecution

https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/11/politics/special-counsel-trump-jack-smith/index.html?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

JohnInCarolina

fishlessman said:

so we are relying on this  supreme court having common sense....sounds like a plan

I think the point is simply to force them to make a ruling one way or the other, sooner rather than later.

fishlessman

JohnInCarolina said:

fishlessman said:

so we are relying on this  supreme court having common sense....sounds like a plan

I think the point is simply to force them to make a ruling one way or the other, sooner rather than later.

either way and people will think the court is fixed. if it were me, i would toss it back to the lower court. we will see

JohnInCarolina

fishlessman said:

JohnInCarolina said:

fishlessman said:

so we are relying on this  supreme court having common sense....sounds like a plan

I think the point is simply to force them to make a ruling one way or the other, sooner rather than later.

either way and people will think the court is fixed. if it were me, i would toss it back to the lower court. we will see

When the overwhelming majority of the court are conservatives - if they rule against Trump - why would people think it’s fixed?   

Legume

If it were me @courtlessman

or is it @lawlessman?

fishlessman

JohnInCarolina said:

fishlessman said:

JohnInCarolina said:

fishlessman said:

so we are relying on this  supreme court having common sense....sounds like a plan

I think the point is simply to force them to make a ruling one way or the other, sooner rather than later.

either way and people will think the court is fixed. if it were me, i would toss it back to the lower court. we will see

When the overwhelming majority of the court are conservatives - if they rule against Trump - why would people think it’s fixed?   

everything that goes wrong for magas is fixed.  seems to be a rule. if they rule for trump, how would that work out.....well burning down dc might not be a bad thing.

JohnInCarolina

fishlessman said:

JohnInCarolina said:

fishlessman said:

JohnInCarolina said:

fishlessman said:

so we are relying on this  supreme court having common sense....sounds like a plan

I think the point is simply to force them to make a ruling one way or the other, sooner rather than later.

either way and people will think the court is fixed. if it were me, i would toss it back to the lower court. we will see

When the overwhelming majority of the court are conservatives - if they rule against Trump - why would people think it’s fixed?   

everything that goes wrong for magas is fixed.  seems to be a rule.

That is true, but let’s be clear that MAGAs don’t live in the real world.  

Anyway the SC accepted to hear the case right away.  I guess we’ll all just have to wait and see how they decide this one.

fishlessman

now if trump gets his way, the judges side with him, he becomes president......maybe adds another conservative judge snl has become lame compared to the political circus

Legume

I don't think anyone should want a president that has absolute immunity, especially now that extremism is in fashion.

JohnInCarolina

http://twitter.com/kaitlancollins/status/1734611667311644942?s=20

Legume

I'm sure there are a ton of people that will believe this too.

HeavyG

https://twitter.com/GretaGrace20/status/1733991760945111343?s=20

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1733979444010774800?s=20

lousubcap

A New York appeals court declined to strike down a gag order imposed on former President Trump that bars him from attacking court staff for the duration of his financial fraud case.

The gag order, put in place in October, bars Trump and his attorneys from making remarks about Judge Arthur Engoron’s court staff following the former president chastising one of his clerks by falsely calling her the “girlfriend” of Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

The New York Supreme Court, a trial court that is not the state’s highest court, upheld Engoron’s gag order, finding it did not unlawfully restrict Trump’s speech.

“Here, the gravity of potential harm is small, given that the Gag Order is narrow, limited to prohibiting solely statements regarding the court’s staff,” the court wrote in its opinion.

Engoron said his staff has been “inundated” with threats following Trump’s comments. He later expanded the order to include Trump’s attorneys, after they questioned his passing of notes to communicate with his staff.

“My law clerks are public servants who are performing their job in the manner in which I request,” he wrote in the order. “This includes providing legal authority and opinions, as well as responding to questions I pose to them. Plainly, defenders are not entitled to the confidential communications among me and my court staff.”

lousubcap

"Former President Trump said on Saturday that immigrants coming to the United States are “poisoning the blood of our country.” That’s what they’ve done. They poison mental institutions and prisons all over the world, not just in South America, not just to three or four countries that we think about, but all over the world,” Trump said, adding that he “think[s] the real number is 15, 16 million people into our country.” Trump also posted on his Truth Social site in an all-caps post saying, “illegal immigration is poisoning the blood of our nation.” The term ‘blood poisoning’ was used by Hitler in his “Mein Kampf” manifesto, which the Biden campaign remarked on, saying “Donald Trump channeled his role models as he parroted Adolf Hitler, praised Kim Jong Un, and quoted Vladimir Putin while running for president on a promise to rule as a dictator and threaten American democracy.” Ginger Gibson reports for NBC News."

lousubcap

Food for thought and somewhat related to the above:

Back in 2017, 27 psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health professionals concluded in The Dangerous Case of Donald Trumpthat Trump’s mental health posed a “clear and present danger” to the nation. 

Members of Trump’s own Cabinet — horrified by the January 6, 2021, violence at the Capitol and Trump's lack of urgency in stopping it — discussed whether to invoke the the 25th Amendment to remove him from office due to mental incompetence.

If Biden’s age is fair game, why aren’t Trump’s age and apparent mental decline?

lousubcap

This just in:

Appeals court rejects Meadows bid to move Georgia election case to federal court

https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4366260-appeals-court-rejects-meadows-georgia-election-charges-federal-court/?email=dd294cf2aa830e38ac73761bb083db8a331ad6df&emaila=18ef3a9b5c0145ffffb137da176e4b62&emailb=bd7105ec6726d92e4d8a722bb54636a5c7d880e28c74730477aae05864595e03&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=12.18 ER

lousubcap

New York Judge Engoron —  who is presiding over former President Trump’s civil fraud trial —  questioned yesterday the credibility of NYU Accounting Professor Eli Bartov, Trump’s defense witness, and suggested his testimony was influenced by his almost $900,000 fee. “Bartov is a tenured professor, but all that his testimony proves is that for a million or so dollars, some experts will say whatever you want them to say,” Engoron wrote in the three-page ruling. Kevin Breugninger reports for CNBC. 

Trump’s attorneys asked yesterday for the Georgia 2020 election criminal racketeering case to be dismissed ahead of trial on First Amendment grounds, arguing the allegations involved “core political speech.” The First Amendment argument is one of many expected pretrial defenses Trump will seek to rely on. Zach Schonfeld reports for The Hill.

JohnInCarolina

http://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1737247893726109940?s=20

YukonRon

WAY TO GO COLORADO!

Botch

That was the best effing news I've heard in months, maybe years!  
No idea whether an overall ruling at the SC level will be better, or worse.  If they decide to "push it back to the states" (totally wrong IMNSHO) that's going to be very dangerous for state SC justices, they won't/can't have near as much protection from the gun-wielding, fascist cult as the fed-level judges do (and look how much danger they, and election volunteers, are under already!).  
 
Still, I'm smiling a lot tonight, and happier than I've been in awhile.