Tuesday, October 31, 2023

The Trump Trials

 


Here come de judge!

1/26/24 Update to I

12/13/2023 Update to II (Civil Fraud case)

12/13/2023 Update to I (Carroll case)

12/11/23 Update to #IV

11/30/23 update to #II

11/4/23 update to # III.

(8.4-minute read)

            I don’t know how it’s going for others but I have a hard time keeping track all of the court cases involving Trump.  Trump has been indicted 4 times this year and is facing a total of 91 criminal counts.[1]  Others could still be indicted.

            All of the indictments are available online.  Links are provided in the various endnotes.  If it works out, I’ll add to this post as trial conditions warrant. 

Civil Cases

(I hesitate to use the word civil because Trump is rarely civil.)

I.                 E. Jean Carroll — v.— Donald J. Trump[2]

1/26/2024 The jury awarded E. Jean Carroll $83 million dollars in damages. Trump's lawyers will appeal the award.

12/13/2023 2nd Appeals court rejects Trump immunity defense.      

Trump lost.  There are 2 cases involving Carroll.  She won them both.

She won her first case against Trump in a juried trial.  The jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and awarded her $5 million for damages and defamation.[3] Even though Trump was unable to get his dick into her, Judge Kaplan said it was rape.  Due to a technicality of the law he was charged with “just” sexual abuse. 

Trump’s attorney Tacopina said, “He’s firm in his belief, as many people are, that he cannot get a fair trial in New York City based on the jury pool.” 

            Carroll also won her second case against Trump with a directed verdict by the judge since Trump the genius defamed her again in practically the same way.  The case is supposed to go before a jury in January just to determine damages.

            After the verdict Trump promptly sued the victim for saying she was raped rather than sexually abused.  His case was dismissed.

            Trump’s lawyers have filed appeals.  Trump has lost the overwhelming majority of his appeals.  I hesitate to say all because so many have been filed that it’s hard for mere mortals to keep track.  The MeidasTouch Network does an excellent job of tracking all the legal work taking place.  

II.              PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, by LETITIA JAMES, Attorney General of the State of New York –against– ALL the TRUMPS and ALL THE TRUMP BUSINESSES[4] (Just waaaay too many for me to type.)

AKA the Civil Fraud case.

12/13/2023 The case takes a 1 month hiatus.

11/30/23 The gag order that had been placed on Trump is upheld after some back and forthing in the courts.

            Trump lost.  All that’s being decided now is the amount of damages that will be paid

This is really a big case since it could effectively put Trump and his family out of business in New York state and cost him a few hundred million in back taxes and penalties.  James is asking for a minimum of $250 million.  This case was already decided in a directed verdict by Judge Engoron due to the overwhelming evidence of guilt.  The jury is only going to decide the amount of damages.  Trump now claims that he would rather have had a jury trial despite his earlier claims about not being able to get a fair jury in New York. 

Sometimes, it’s hard for Trump to know what to whine about first.  He has lawyers to help him prioritize.

III.            Civil Action No. 23-cv-02291-PAB

NORMA ANDERSON, MICHELLE PRIOLA, CLAUDINE CMARADA, KRISTA KAFER, KATHI WRIGHT, and CHRISTOPHER CASTILIAN, Petitioners, v. JENA GRISWOLD, in her official capacity as Colorado Secretary of State, and DONALD J. TRUMP, Respondents.[5]

AKA The 14th Amendment Case

             11/17/23 Update:  The judge ruled that Trump was a part of the insurrection but his name will stay on the ballot in Colorado.  The case has been appealed.

             11/4/23 Update:  Testimony is over.  Final arguments are to be presented 11/15/23

             The case is in progress.  Arguments are being presented.

            There’s a little bit of serendipity to this case.  The case was filed to remove Trump from the ballot in the 2024 election because he violated the 14th Amendment of the Constitution.  You know, when he tried to overthrow our government by calling for an insurrection so he could be el Presidente for life.  This case is supposed to take a week.  Then it will be appealed and appealed some more.

            Ultimately, even if it’s won by the petitioners, it will only matter if Trump is removed from the ballot in swing states.  I don’t see much chance of this being decided by 2024 especially if the Trump Supremes end up being involved.

            It would be kind of poetic if this little case filed by some regular people ended up being so important. 

Criminal Cases

            Where to begin?  I’ll start off with Special Counsel Jack Smith filing in Washington D. C. since it deals with the January 6, 2021 Trump coup attempt.

IV.            UNITED STATES OF AMERICA V. DONALD J. TRUMP[6]

 AKA The January 6 Case

 2/6/2024 Update.  The DC Court of Appeals denied that former President Trump does NOT have Presidential immunity. Their decision can be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States. The 3 judge decision was unanimous.

12/11/23 Update.  Special Counsel Jack Smith asked the Supreme Court to decide if former President Trump has immunity from prosecution. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.  The Supreme Court declined to hear the case pending a ruling from the appeals court.

            The trial is set to begin March 4th, 2024.[7] 

            Keep in mind that the current MAGA Rep. Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, was one of the key plotters to overturn the free and fair election that Trump lost.  Yes, MAGA Mike was one of the coup plotters.  There’s a surprise.  He has not been charged.  Yet.

            How funny that would be to see the MAGA Mike charged in 2024?  MAGA loves felons.  Speaking of felons,

V.              STATE OF GEORGIA v. DONALD J. TRUMP[8] (List of all those charged.)

 AKA the Election Interference RICO Case

            Trial dates for the remaining defendants have not yet been established.

            Trump, Meadows, Giuliani, Clark and Eastman are the big fish in this case.  There are 41 counts total charged against all 19 defendants with 13 of them being charged to Trump.

            The judge in Georgia has so far been fast and efficient.  In this case 3 lawyers have pled guilty so far and it’s reported that 6 more defendants are involved in plea agreements.  Powell, Chesebro and Ellis are the lawyers that pled guilty so far along with a non-lawyer named Hall[9].  Trump’s lawyers.  You know, when the people working for you start copping pleas it’s time to get real worried.

            Trump used a bail bondsman to post his bail of $200,000.[10]  It’s worth noting that Trump agreed to his terms for being released on bail.[11]  He had to agree in all of the cases where he is out on bail.

            The problem for Trump in Georgia is that he’s charged with state crimes and can’t be pardoned by any President should he be found guilty.  A President can only pardon federal crimes.  It’ll be the Georgia MAGA governor that pardons all the convicted seditionists in his state.

VI.            THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA V. DONALD J. TRUMP, WALTINE NAUTA, and CARLOS DE OLIVEIRA[12]

AKA Classified Documents Case

            The trial date is May 20th, 2024.[13] 

            This is the longest running case mainly due to Judge Cannon’s inept handling of basic legal proceedings.  Cannon has already been overturned on appeal.  As a veteran that handled Top Secret information, I am appalled at Trump’s handling of some of our nation’s sensitive information.  The original indictment is sourced in this endnote.[14] 

            Trump’s defense in this so far has been to repeatedly admit that he did the crimes as charged.  He has provided information that the prosecution can use because he just can’t shut up about the case. 

VII.          THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK V. DONALD J. TRUMP[15] 

AKA The Manhattan Hush Money Case

            The trial date is March 25th, 2024.[16]

            Trump is looking at 34 felony counts in this case.  These charges are from before Trump became President.  As a sitting President he wasn’t charged.  This is the case where Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen pled guilty and served time.  Again, it’s not a good thing when Trump’s lawyer opted for a plea deal rather than go to trial. 

Right now, the case is on the back burner as Letitia James pursues her civil case.  I don’t look for anything to happen with Bragg until this case wraps up.  Bragg won’t wait on all the appeals that will surely follow.

Previous Cases

            I’m going to cover a couple of previous cases just to illustrate that Trump along with his family and others have been found guilty by our system of justice.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, by BARBARA D. UNDERWOOD, Attorney General of the State of New York, Index No. Petitioner, -against- DONALD J. TRUMP, DONALD J. TRUMP JR., IVANKA TRUMP, ERIC F. TR and THE DONALD J TRUMP FOUNDATION[17] 

            Trump lost.  New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood won her case against the Trump Foundation “charity”.[18]  Trump and his kids didn’t do a very good job handling charity money.  Trump used charity money for his 2016 campaign, to pay legal fees, to purchase sports memorabilia and a portrait of himself.  The Trump Foundation was fined $2 million dollars and the money was divided among 8 charities.  Then the charity was dissolved.  Trump had to admit to wrongdoing.  (BTW Trump said that he would never settle the case.)

            AG Underwood, an appointee to the position, did not seek the office and Letitia James became AG in the next election.[19]  That’s why James’ name is seen on the settlement obtained but not the initial filing.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, Plaintiff, v. 58th PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURAL COMMITTEE et al.,[20]

Trump lost.  In this CIVIL case the inaugural committee for Trump used funds to overpay Trump for using his properties.  Trump seems to be talented in finding ways to grift money in situations where other people’s money is involved.  They settled for $750,000.[21] 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK -against- THE TRUMP CORPORATION, d/b/a THE TRUMP ORGANIZATION, TRUMP PAYROLL CORP., d/b/a THE TRUMP ORGANIZATION, ALLEN WEISSELBERG[22] 

            Trump lost.  In this case Allen Weisselberg ended up taking the rap for 15 felonies and serving time.  The company was fined 1.6 million dollars for committing 17 felonies.  That was the maximum fine possible.  Juan Merchan was the judge in this case. 

PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK v TRUMP ENTREPENEUR[23] 

            Trump lost.  The Trump University scam cost Trump a cool $25 million.[24]  Trump said that he would never settle this one either.

            There were 3 cases against Trump University.[25]  All 3 were combined and settled in one judgement.  What is worth noting about these cases is the people scammed were working people looking for ways to better themselves.

Election denial cases.

Litigation in the 2020 Election 

            Trump and company LOST them all. 

            Okay, there were 60 lawsuits about the election, trying to overturn the results.  The reference at the end of this sentence provides an excellent breakdown of the suits filed with a few examples and their results.[26]  There is also a Wikipedia page that provides extensive information with a lot of sourcing available.[27] 

            Election deniers are reality deniers.  In the simplest possible terms, the reality of all these cases is that evidence of enough voter fraud to overturn the elections was, is and remains non-existent.  To this day Trump and his election deniers including the MAGA Speaker of the House talk about having evidence of massive fraud.  They don’t have it.  They never had it.  What they have is lies. 

            You cannot both believe in our system of government and reject all of our Constitutional institutions and branches of government are dishonest and corrupt.  The corruption and dishonesty are the MAGA movement trying to overturn our form of government. 

They are traitors to our nation and history.


[1] https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/where-the-criminal-cases-against-trump-stand

[2] https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca2/20-3977/20-3977-2023-04-21.html

[4] https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/read-text-attorney-general-letitia-james-lawsuit-trump-children-compan-rcna48774

[5] https://www.courts.state.co.us/userfiles/file/Court_Probation/02nd_Judicial_District/Denver_District_Court/Cases%20of%20Interest/Order%20from%20US%20Dist%20Court%20remanding%20case%20back%20to%20Denver%20District%20Court.pdf

[6] https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/read-full-the-indictment-against-trump-for-his-efforts-to-overturn-the-2020-election

[7] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-trial-dates-republican-presidential-primary-calendar/

[9] https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/bail-bondsman-scott-hall-takes-plea-deal-in-georgia-election-interference-case

[10] https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-uses-bail-bondsman-georgia-alarm-bells-finances-1822417

[11] https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-bond-agreement-read-bail-conditions-1821580

[12] Florida Superseding Indictment:  https://d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net/static/2023/07/gov.uscourts.flsd_.648652.85.0_2.pdf

[13] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-trial-dates-republican-presidential-primary-calendar/

[14] Original Florida Indictment:  https://d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net/static/2023/06/trump-indictment.pdf

[15] Hush Money Indictment:  https://d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net/static/2023/04/Donald-J.-Trump-SOF.pdf

[16] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-trial-dates-republican-presidential-primary-calendar/

[17] https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/court_stamped_petition.pdf

[19] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Underwood

[20] https://oag.dc.gov/sites/default/files/2022-02/2020CA000488B-ReconOrder.pdf

[21] https://oag.dc.gov/sites/default/files/2022-05/Consent%20Mot.%20Settlement%20Order.pdf

[23] https://www.nycourts.gov/Reporter/pdfs/2014/2014_30305.pdf

[24] https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/federal-court-approves-25-million-trump-university-settlement-n845181

[25] https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=9dd7c8cd-e215-4e69-8337-2bffec14d885

[26] https://judicature.duke.edu/articles/2020-election-litigation-the-courts-held/

[27] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-election_lawsuits_related_to_the_2020_U.S._presidential_election


Posted by Keith Thomas at

Thursday, October 26, 2023

MAGA Party Time!

(3.5-minute read.)

MAGA Brand

            On the twenty fifth day of the tenth month of the two thousandth and twenty third year of our lord the Republican Party officially died.  It is now the MAGA Party.  They really should rename it that.

            There’s a Kevin Costner series called Yellowstone.  In it Costner’s character is the patriarchal head of a family ranch.  In an ongoing story line different characters would get an actual “Y” brand burned into their chest just like cattle are branded in order to belong to the in group.  This would be perfect for the Trump world.

            How about it MAGA Heads?  Brand yourself for Trump to show your allegiance!  Make your commitment!  Burn the letter onto your body.  Trump LOVES branding his property and showing people what’s his!  Imagine how good it would make him feel with people showing him his brand cauterized on their body. 

MAGAT!

Who is?

In case you’re wondering who MAGA Rep. Mike Johnson is, according to MAGA Rep. Elise Stefanik, a man of deep faith.  If you haven’t heard Stefanik’s nomination speech it’s here.  The Christian faith was referenced several times as well.  She also said that Johnson is a “…deeply respected constitutional lawyer…”, meaning he led the charge to overturn the vote of the people.  This next part is where there is significant eyebrow raise.  According to Stefanik Johnson is “…a friend to all and an enemy to none.  Mike is strong, tough and fair and above all Mike is kind.” 

Whoa budette!  Let’s call a halt right there!  Kind?  Mike is kind?!  Are we talking about the same Mike Johnson?  MAGA Rep. Johnson is virulently anti-gay.[1]  Virulently.[2]  He wants homosexuality criminalized just like in the good ‘ol days.  He’s worried that allowing same sex marriage will lead to people being able to marry their pets.[3]  Yes.  You read that right.

            According to Johnson, “This is a free country, but we don’t give special protections for every person’s bizarre choices.”  I agree with this statement of his in regard to his bizarre life choices including but not limited to his wanting to impose his MAGA crackpot religious beliefs on others.  Remember he’s a constitutional lawyer so he knows what he’s talking about. 

Except he doesn’t.

Pro tip

When evangelical is used in the descriptor of someone, crazy follows.  Big crazy.

MAGA Rep. Johnson’s crazy anti about other things too.  He was a part of the MAGA coup attempt to overturn the election by not certifying the electoral vote that Biden won.[4]  Since he’s a part of the MAGA Putin wing he opposed aid to Ukraine.[5]  He’s brown noser that sucks up to the immoral rapist Trump every chance he gets.[6]  According to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) he was a spokesperson for the Alliance Defending Freedom a hate group.[7]  MAGA heads want the freedom to take away freedom from others.  Let me see, oh yes, he wants to cut Social Security and Medicaid.[8]  (When MAGA talks about debt and reform they mean cuts.)  Doesn’t believe that humans are causing climate change.[9]  Wants to eliminate the Department of Education.[10]  Johnson’s also opposed to unions and wants a national right to work (for less.) law.[11]  Look this list could go on and on.  You get the drift. 

MAGA Rep. Johnson is perfect for MAGA.

Moderates Unite!

            What happened to the supposedly moderate Republicans that objected to MAGA Rep Jim Jordan being Speaker because he was too extreme?  They caved.  They were always going to cave.  There isn’t any way that the MAGA Party was going to support a moderate.[12]  MAGA Jesus wouldn’t let them.  So what did “moderate” MAGA Reps do?  They unanimously voted to support a MAGA Rep. that is more extreme than Jordan.  You know why?  They lacked the courage of their convictions. If they were truly interested in doing what was best for the country they would have worked with the Democrats and voted for Feffries.  Their comments were just blow.  NO backbone.  What’s funny is that they will get primaried anyway by MAGA because they aren’t MAGA enough. 

They put the MAGA Party first.


[1] Johnson anti-gay:  https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-kfile/134049583/

[2] Johnson:  https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-mike-johnson-2005/134051395/

[3] Johnson on pet marriage:  https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-kfile/134019997/

[4] https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/01/07/us/elections/electoral-college-biden-objectors.html

[5] https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2022145

[6] Suck up tweet to the loser:  https://twitter.com/SpeakerJohnson/status/1325176210666770434?lang=en

[7] https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/alliance-defending-freedom

[8] Cuts:  https://twitter.com/ProjectLincoln/status/1717215075734335698

[9] https://www.shreveporttimes.com/videos/news/2017/05/31/u.s.-rep.-mike-johnson-and-climate-change/102355868/

[10] https://mikejohnson.house.gov/uploadedfiles/conservative_playbook.pdf

[11] Ibid

[12] https://www.thedailybeast.com/republicans-gasped-during-reps-confrontation-with-tom-emmer-report

Posted by Keith Thomas at

Monday, October 23, 2023

Dysfunction Junction

 


(1.5-minute read)

Wilding[1]

            Okay, the Gang of 8 had their fun but I fully expect that MAGA Republicans will choose a Speaker this week.[2]  For one thing it’s hard to maintain the level of ineptness at governing that they have exhibited so far.  If nothing else just to end the daily drubbing that they are receiving from all sectors of society including MAGA Republicans and what I call legacy Republicans (Old school).[3]  I admit that it’s possible that they have depths of ignorance that they haven’t reached yet.

            I’m still shocked that 25 Republicans managed to find enough backbone to stand up to the threats, intimidation and bullying and vote against coup plotter Jordan. 

            Of the 9 candidates currently seeking the House Speaker position only 2 voted to accept the will of the people.[4]  Just two.  That breakdown is close to representative of the MAGA Republican Party and overall support for just going ahead and burning it all down. 

That’s the governing they do best.

It’s the Dems fault!

            Dodging responsibility for their actions is one of the talents of MAGA Republicans as they follow the footsteps of their sexual abusing leader Trump and blame Democrats for ousting McCarthy.[5]  Then the dastardly Dems caused more problems by not voting for insurrectionist Republican candidates that supported overthrowing our nation.  Crazy!

            The Democrat candidate Representative Hakeem Jeffries has pulled more votes for Speaker than the Republican candidates put forward.[6]  Jeffries certainly seems to be more popular than their MAGA candidates.  BUT MAGA Republicans aren’t interested in compromise as they search for just the right combination of fanatical extremism crazy coupled with duplicity and a touch of inquisitiony behavior. 

And Jesus.

[1] https://www.thefreedictionary.com/wilding

[2] https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/03/politics/republicans-vote-remove-mccarthy-house-speaker/index.html

[3] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/21/jim-jordan-house-speaker-republicans-dysfunction

[4] https://www.yahoo.com/news/9-republicans-running-house-speaker-133116299.html

[5] https://www.huffpost.com/entry/gop-politicians-pundits-blame-democrats-mccarthy_n_651c9cabe4b077bb2645c990

[6] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/17/us/hakeem-jeffries-house-speaker.html

Posted by Keith Thomas at

Criminaling

 

(3-minute read)

Lets make a deal!

            The early accomplices get the best deals.  Trump lawyer Sidney Powell pled guilty in Georgia.[1]  She cut a deal that gives her a small fine and 6 years’ probation for her guilty plea to several misdemeanors as well as cooperating with the Prosecution of the others that are charged.  That includes Trump, Meadows and Guliani.  She agreed with the Judge’s statement that they had enough on her to convict.  Evidently, she didn’t like the prospect or odds of her losing and getting sentenced to prison for 5 to 20.  Expect more people taking deals in the coming months.

            Powell’s the second person of those charged in Georgia to cop a plea.  A guy by the name of Scott Hall was the first to make a deal.[2]  He also got probation along with a small fine.  Hall only got 5 years’ probation.  His role in the coup attempt was smaller.  She’s the first one from Trump’s inner circle to take a plea that we know of.  It looks like Meadows has flipped at the federal level.  Oops!  Then along came Chesebro, another of Trump’s lawyers copping a plea, this time to a single felony charge. 

They know where the bodies are buried.

Roll the dice.

            If the rest of those charged aren’t sweating, they really aren’t paying attention.  LAWYERS are pleading guilty.  Powell as well as Chesebro agreed to turn over any evidence as a part of their deal as did Hall.  At this point they are just adding to the pile of evidence that the Georgia prosecutor already has.  It’s no wonder that the Georgia MAGA Republican legislators are trying to figure out a way to obstruct justice and remove the prosecutor.[3]  They are evidently afraid that she has the goods on those charged and can deliver guilty verdicts.

            The MAGA intimidation machine is hard at work in Georgia as well as the United States House of Representatives and around the nation.  Death threats are being made against prosecutors along with their families.  Every once in a while, one of these anonymous warriors gets found and pays the price in the judicial system.  It’s easy for people to get caught up in the fascists’ agenda, especially when they were already predisposed to think that way.

Their behavior is criminal.

Kid Gloves

            Campaigning for any office doesn’t provide any citizen with special legal status.  At least in theory it isn’t supposed to.  Then along came Ritchie Rich Trump.  Can you imagine a person of color or poor person getting away with threatening anyone in the justice system let alone the judges and prosecutors?  So far Trump is being handled with kid gloves benefiting his extra special white privilege. 

Meanwhile people of color are getting killed in traffic stops.  

            Felons of America Unite!  Run for President!  

Trump believes that he should be left alone since he’s campaigning for President.  Trump’s campaigning to keep from going to jail.  He’s campaigning because he knows he’s guilty.  He wouldn’t be traveling and having scheduling problems if he hadn’t criminaled in so many different places, i.e. Washinton DC, Georgia, Florida, and states yet to be determined.[4]

When President, Trump was advised by various attorneys that he was breaking the law and could be charged.  Trump simply put himself above the law because he was President and decided the law didn’t apply to him.  The majority of Republicans in Congress supported his imperial claim.  In the Trump States of America …

Trump thinks he is the law.

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/19/us/sidney-powell-guilty-plea-trump-georgia.html

[2] https://www.reuters.com/legal/trump-ally-scott-hall-agrees-plea-deal-georgia-elections-case-2023-09-29/

[3] https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/trump-georgia-fani-willis-republicans-removal-rcna102770

[4] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/22/trump-fake-elector-scheme-case-tracker

Posted by Keith Thomas at
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