This was Trump’s face while sitting in the New York courtroom today.
Clearly, he’s about to explode. I so wish someone would have snuck up behind him and popped a balloon. And then during a break Trump found some television cameras and declared that Judge Engoron should be disbarred. “This is a judge that should be out of office,” he said. “This is a judge that some people say could be charged criminally for what he’s doing.” Yeah, insulting the judge always helps you at trial.
I take it from this CNBC news story that Trump’s lawyers will say the banks who loaned the money made a profit, so there was no fraud. We’ll see how that goes.
I’ve been visiting my family in Brooklyn all weekend and got behind. So Congress managed to put off the shutdown until November. Matt “Son of Chucky” Gaetz immediately began a coup against Kevin McCarthy. But today Josh Marshall wrote,
There are already almost certainly fanciful threats circulating in right-wing media that Republicans will try to expel Gaetz from Congress if the long-simmering ethics investigation into his druggie, teen-dating past finds evidence of wrongdoing. This report started at Fox and got picked up in the New York Post, Daily Mail, et. al. More significant, very few of the hardliners Gaetz will need are coming to his banner. As far as I can tell only Rep. Eli Crane of Arizona has suggested he might be on board.
Don’t hold your breath thinking that Republicans are going to expel Matt Gaetz. That’s BS fed to pliant press. But the attack articles in the right-wing press confirms what is true, which is that a lot of Republicans are seriously pissed at Gaetz for his central role in their latest highwire debacle.
Lots of people have lots of advice about what House Democrats ought to do if McCarthy’s speakership comes up for another vote. I am not one of those people. But if you have any good ideas, trot ’em out.
Margorie Taylor Greene is bragging that she, personally, took Ukraine funding out of the CR.
70% of our budget is passed in our appropriations bills, and we had a BIG win in our defense bill last week.
I was able to get all of the aid to Ukraine taken out so that we can focus on OUR military, our borders, and put America First.
A majority of the majority voted AGAINST… pic.twitter.com/N4GQcDU9Wa
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene?? (@RepMTG) October 2, 2023
Max Boot at WaPo is beside himself and calling for a Ukraine funding bill be brought to the House floor immediately. I have no idea what the chances are that will happen.
Gavin Newsom appointed Laphonza Butler, president of EMILY’S List, to fill Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat for the remainder of the term. Butler is known as being a powerhouse fundraiser who also has long-standing ties to organized labor.
"rump’s lawyers will say the banks who loaned the money made a profit, so there was no fraud. We’ll see how that goes"
So it's ok to commit a crime as long as the bank gets it's seed money? So I could say take out a loan and buy $10,000 worth of cocaine, cut it sell, pay back the bank and that would be legal? Last time I checked selling coke is just as illegal as committing fraud, so good luck with that! He knows he's screwed but his ego just won't allow it!
I thought the judge found there was fraud and the trial is about the damages that the State of New York can obtain.
I called my congresswoman and talked to a staff member about McCarthy'a removal. He can be saved by a few Dems but why? Because his replacement will be worse?
Why not nominate a Republican with known integrity? Liz Cheney. She's opposed to the coup attempt and knows the details including who in the House was and is complicit.
So the impeachment inquiry would end unless there is proof of crimes. Gym Jordan would be sidelined.
I think Liz would protect aid to Ukraine. And I think she'd try to move conservative legislation but she'd need D votes. So she'd pitch middle-of-the-road ideas like border aid coupled with passing the Dream Act. Just my opinion.
But there's no doubt she'd bench the Trompists and try to get stuff done on a bipartisan basis.
Darn good idea. and it's legal.
Liz Cheney is no longer a member of Congress.
She doesn't have to be, in order to be Speaker. The Constitution doesn't say it has to be a member or give any other guidance…it simply says that the House shall elect a Speaker.
I laughed at: Trumps lawyers claiming what he did was alright because the banks profited. What if his loans didn't make money? That's why banks have elaborate loan guidelines, which requires being honest. Very desperate and stupid argument from Trump's lawyers.
Mostly what I'm hearing from Dems is there's no way they'd vote to help McCarthy. But I suspect that's a feint, an opening negotiation position. In reality they'll help if they can get something from the deal. I also hear them say: follow the leader, in other words Hakkim Jeffries. Whatever Hakkim decides, that's how they'll roll.
Here's another data point: 130 Republican voted for the 45-day funding bill, 90 voted against. The MAGA crowd is in the minority. There's enough Republicans who, like McCarthy "are conservative but want to get things done".
I almost think removing the money for Ukraine – of all things – was done to silence MTG. It was the kind of sweetner that silenced the most obnoxious critic, and yet should be easy to pass separately, after the money spigot was turned to keep the government running. Would love to know how / why exactly this was chosen.
tRUMP looks like the button on the shirt of a grossly fat mans belly, fighting a losing battle to stay buttoned, right before it's ready to take someone's eye out when it finally takes orbit from the strain!
TRUMP be ready to pop!!!
Btw: Gaetz as "Son of Chucky" = ROTFLMAO PERFECT!!!!!
It's hilarious that Trump has been vilifying the judge – the person who will decide Trump's fate. It's not a jury trial. Very Stable Genius.
What's funny is that it's not a jury trial because Trump's lawyer forgot to ask for a jury trial. It's hard to overstate how incompetent Trump's people are. The judge explained in his opening statement WHY it's not a jury trial.
Want a punch line? Trump sued Cohen for $500 Million and will likely withdraw the suit later this week because Trump can't sit in a required deposition without perjuring himself or taking the 5th for nine hours. And you have to stop and think to appreciate the irony of not being able to sit through a deposition of a case YOU brought. A case where you can't answer questions about the specifics without implicating yourself in a crime.
And yes, it will come up in the trial that Trump could not answer questions from Cohen's lawyers, had to abort the suit he brought and (I predict) pay all the costs of Cohen's lawyers as a penalty for bringing a frivolous suit.
Since delay is a major goal of Trump's legal team, they might have wanted a bench trial. That way, they can appeal each of the judge's factual findings and potentially have a factual finding reversed and remanded, while a jury's factual findings cannot be reversed by the appellate court.
I saw a meme on FB from "Occupy Democrats" proposing Liz Cheney for Speaker of the House. So I'm not the only lunatic who sees some value in the idea. It's gotta get traction in the House with Democrats who won't immediately see how this deflates the Trump balloon, or won't want to see Trump undone unless they do it.
But the meme suggests to me that the idea will get consideration.
Well, look at the brightside, with every indictment and every determination that Trump is a liar and a fraud his pole numbers go up, so at this rate he should be a shoe-in to win the presidency. Some guys got all the luck.
I remember several years back where Rachel Maddow did an expose on Trump's property at Seven Springs. The numbers she tossed around exposing Trump's blatant fraud where staggering. I thought at the time that he had to convicted for fraud, but nothing was said about for years. I'm so glad that his fraud has finally caught up with him. I hope he gets destroyed financially. There has been so many extremely incriminating stories over the years where it seemed he would get away with his crimes.
Now I'm starting to get a good feeling that this bag of shit, draft dodging fraudster is going to get whats coming to him as they pull back the curtain.
The wonderful irony here is that he could have kept on getting away with his frauds for years – if he hadn't decided to run for president and expose himself to all that scrutiny.