393 posts tagged with potus45.
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The Deliberation
After days of testimony and a marathon closing argument from the prosecution, the jury for the Trump hush-money trial begins its second day of deliberations. They have requested a replay of not only some of the crucial testimony, but at least a portion of the hour-long instructions Justice Merchan provided. The specific crime Trump is charged with turns out to be fairly complex, and Lawfare has an explainer.
The hush money trial: background and timeline
The first criminal trial of a former US president is set to begin on April 15. Attorney Teri Kanefield lays out the timeline of events and provides extensive background, with a special focus on Michael Cohen. [more inside]
Trump Indictment #2: Justice Boogaloo
TRUMP INDICTED
Trump in panic mode as he braces for likely charges
Manhattan district attorney expected to file criminal charges against ex-president for payment to adult film star in 2016. [Guardian] Donald Trump is bracing for his most legally perilous week since he left the White House, with the Manhattan district attorney likely to bring criminal charges against him over his role in paying hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels, as he huddled this weekend to strategize his legal and political responses.
The former US president has posted in all-caps on his Truth Social platform that he expected to be “ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK” and called for his supporters to engage in protests – an ominous echo of his tweets urging protests in the lead-up to the January 6 US Capitol attack. [more inside]
’This is serious. It’s going to be really bad.'
'The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021' Peter Baker and Susan Glasser's book (review, review) doesn't drop until Tuesday. But a lot of media outlets have advance copies. [more inside]
"We were having lunch at Bono's house."
Jared Kushner's 'Breaking History' (NYT, archive.org) is a soulless and very selective memoir [more inside]
Pence Quid Pro Quo
Pence rebukes Trump: ‘I had no right to overturn the election’ — After Trump said at a recent rally that he’s considering pardons for those arrested for involvement in the Jan. 6 riots, Pence described it as a “dark day.”, Meridith McGraw, POLITICO, 02/04/2022: In a speech to the conservative Federalist Society on Friday, former Vice President Mike Pence rebuked his one time boss, Donald Trump, decrying the notion that he could have overturned the election results on the 45th president’s behalf. [more inside]
Reflections on Jan. 6
Trump’s Next Coup Has Already Begun: January 6 was practice. Donald Trump’s GOP is much better positioned to subvert the next election. [more inside]
Failing to Treat a Malevolent Force
Opinion: The bombshell about Trump testing positive also implicates the Trump family, Greg Sargent, Washington Post, 12/2/2021. The Trump family has long treated rules and laws as nuisances that are only for the little people. And the news [*] that Donald Trump tested positive for covid-19 before the first 2020 presidential debate shows that this tendency may be even more depraved and malevolent than you thought. *Trump tested positive for coronavirus before first debate with Biden, three former aides say… six days before he was hospitalized for covid-19 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center., WaPo, 12/1/2021.
“The things we do for the orange Jesus”
Bloodshed (Over thirty Washington Post reporters and contributors provide the most detailed accounting of January 6 yet published, 10/31/21.)
Filling The Void: MAGA After MAGA
Victor Berger IV, master video troubadour of our troubled digital age, microexpression microscoper and air horn tooter to the stars [previouslies 1234] has teamed up with VICE News to ask the pressing question: “MAGA Icons: Where Are They Now and Are They OK?” [slyt 28'41"]
"The Capitol Police were very friendly, hugging and kissing"
Could Trump Be The 1st U.S. President Charged With A Criminal Offense?
...but if Trump did commit crimes of some sort, even if they're kind of, you know, sort of ordinary business crimes, if he did, it's important that there not be a culture of impunity in this country, that there needs to be a message sent that there are consequences, no matter how rich and important you are, if you break the law, and that that message is more important almost than anything else when it comes to protecting democracy.Could Trump Be The 1st U.S. President Charged With A Criminal Offense? [more inside]
"Let me tell you this right now, Donald J. Trump ain't going anywhere."
The Conservative Political Action Conference, better known as CPAC, wraps up today with the first post-presidential speech from Donald Trump. [more inside]
"This is the end of the road for the President."
Trump Hotel Employees Dish on Catering to Right Wing Elites
Trump Hotel Employees Reveal What It Was Really Like Catering to the Right Wing Elite
IMPOTUSx2 only visited one DC restaurant during his tenure: the steakhouse in his own hotel.
IMPOTUSx2 only visited one DC restaurant during his tenure: the steakhouse in his own hotel.
... when the star appeared, you had to stick to the script. A “Standard Operating Procedure” document, recently obtained by Washingtonian, outlined step by step exactly what to do and what to say anytime Trump dined at BLT Prime, the hotel restaurant.[more inside]
Lancet Report Shines Klieg Light on Health Harms of Trump Era
New report details devastating impact of the Trump administration's health-harming policies, calls for sweeping reforms; roughly 40% of the USA’s coronavirus deaths could have been prevented. [more inside]
Impeachment Trial Begins
"The Senate impeachment trial of former President Trump begins with arguments and a vote on the constitutionality of the trial. Opening arguments from the House impeachment managers and the former president’s defense team are expected to follow." Impeachment managers will seek to prove that his actions directly incited the insurrection. Charges related to the events of 1/6/21 are being filed against participants in the siege.
77 Days: Trump’s Campaign to Subvert the Election
...Thursday the 12th was the day Mr. Trump’s flimsy, long-shot legal effort to reverse his loss turned into something else entirely — an extralegal campaign to subvert the election, rooted in a lie so convincing to some of his most devoted followers that it made the deadly Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol almost inevitable.77 Days: Trump’s Campaign to Subvert the Election [NYT]
...In coming days, a presidential transition like no other will be dissected when he stands trial in the Senate on an impeachment charge of “incitement of insurrection.” Yet his lie of an election stolen by corrupt and evil forces lives on in a divided America.
Will There Be a Trump Presidential Library? Don’t Count On It
Will There Be a Trump Presidential Library? Don’t Count On It (Politico): "It’s not because he doesn’t read books (presidential libraries aren’t that kind of library), and not because his presidency ended in a shocking insurrection at the U.S. Capitol fanned by Trump himself, resulting in a second impeachment. Other presidents have stepped down in borderline disgrace—Richard Nixon resigned; Herbert Hoover lost in a landslide, blamed for the Great Depression—and still got their libraries. Trump likely won’t even manage to build a private library, such as the one Nixon finally created for himself. Or the “center” for which Barack Obama has had great difficulty even breaking ground, which will lack a government presence, a research facility, or archives. Presidential libraries are complicated. And if you understand how they work—and how Trump himself works—it’s nearly impossible to imagine him actually pulling it off." Related: National Archives launches website for Trump Presidential Library (Politico); Trump to flee Washington and seek rehabilitation in a MAGA oasis: Florida (The Washington Post)
Capitol Green Zone: Washington D.C. Prepares for Inauguration
It’s been over a week since the storming of the U.S. Capitol by Republican domestic terrorists. The National Guard has bivouacked around the Capitol in order to maintain security. President Donald Trump has been impeached for a record second time. And there are reports that federal officials are investigating congressional collusion with the insurrectionists.
A plan to rescue America - President-Elect Biden's Coronavirus response
Following on from two weeks of violent sedition, and the historic second impeachment of the current resident, Joe Biden yesterday laid out his administration's $1.9tn American Rescue Plan in a televised address.
Coverage links, and some others from prior megathread inside. [more inside]
The Wages of Sedition: Speaker Pelosi will impeach Trump a second time
The storming of the U.S. Capitol has resulted in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi setting a hard deadline for moving forward with a 2nd impeachment of Donald Trump. Meanwhile, many of the insurrectionists caught on film are now under arrest. And the GOP has shifted from attacking the election to asking for everyone to move on and embrace unity.
Corporate Censorship of a Would-Be Autocrat
After Trump's coup attempt, Twitter has finally kicked the president off rather than give him a stern time out. Apple has threatened to pull Parler from the App store, and Google has already followed through. Despite Trump actually being the government (with a press office), and all of these being private companies, should tech have so much power to censor communication? Does deplatforming work on a whole ideology rather than an individual? [more inside]
The day after the morning after: Trump won't attend inauguration
After telling his followers to storm the Capitol, President Trump releases a video seemingly admitting to losing, and then tells his base he won't be attending President-Elect Joe Biden's inauguration.
The morning after insurrection
After the first breach of the US Capitol in over 200 years, America is coming to terms with this being driven by the exiting President, rather than an invading power. Continuation of the prior thread. [more inside]
Mob breaches Capitol, spurring lockdown
U.S. Capitol is on lockdown as protesters clash with police and breach the building; D.C. mayor imposes curfew.
Just find 11,780 votes
“The people of Georgia are angry,” POTUS said in audio obtained by The Washington Post (Law & Crime). “The people in the country are angry. And there’s nothing wrong with saying that you’ve recalculated.” He asserted he won the state of Georgia, and he repeated baseless conspiracy theories regarding widespread voter fraud as well as sabotage. “All I want to do is this,” Trump said on the audio. “I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state.”
Audio and transcript via CNN. [more inside]
The _Best_ People slash hamburger
While President Trump takes a break from getting as many people off Federal Death Row as possible (not in the good way) he is busy fueling the corruption train pardoning or commuting the sentences of many close associates, family members and hangers on. Yesterday he issued pardons for such deserving persons as former campaign aide George Papadopoulos; former US congressmen Duncan Hunter and Chris Collins; and four Blackwater/Xe employees convicted of participation in a civilian massacre in Iraq. Today he added another 26 pardons, including for longtime ally Roger Stone, former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner's father, Charles.
It's Official
The G.S.A. Administrator Has Told Biden the Administration Is Ready to Begin the Transition. Read the letter.
"Why would you tell me to read a book about poor people?"
Ivanka Trump was my Best Friend. (SLVanity Fair)
The People v. Donald J. Trump
The criminal case against him is already in the works — and it could go to trial sooner than you think. To assess the odds that he will end up on trial, and how the proceedings would unfold, I spoke with some of the country’s top prosecutors, defense attorneys, and legal scholars. For the past four years, they have been weighing the case against Trump: the evidence already gathered, the witnesses prepared to testify, the political and constitutional issues involved in prosecuting an ex-president. Once he leaves office, they agree, there is good reason to think Trump will face criminal charges. [more inside]
The Donald John Trump Presidential Library
The Donald John Trump Presidential Library An excellent satire that expertly melds truth, the whole truth, and a great sense of humour.
U.S. Election Day
It's Election Day in United States. Some 95 million people have voted early. For people voting today or helping voters: the Election Protection Hotline is run by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and partner organizations and has staff available to help in several languages. If someone has a problem voting, call 866-OUR-VOTE. [more inside]
ONE DAY MORE
"One Day More!" from the Les Misérables 10th Anniversary Concert at London's Royal Albert Hall, 8th October 1995.
Note: official results will not be confirmed for an uncertain, but finite, number of days more
Note: official results will not be confirmed for an uncertain, but finite, number of days more
So many eggs
“It’s a pain in the [posterior] having those guys down there."
Ballrooms, Carriages, and Luxury Cottages During Trump's Term, Millions of Government and GOP Dollars Have Flowed to His Properties (WaPo)
Debate 2: Now With Muting!
Here's the CNN livestream, go to it, you crazy kids.
Leading scientific publications issue unprecedented editorials
Breaking with long apolitical traditions, The Lancet, Science, Scientific American, New England Journal of Medicine and Nature have published editorials critical of the Trump administration.
"Like a MAGA-themed Cheers"
The Swamp that Trump Built A businessman-president transplanted favor-seeking in Washington to his family's hotels and resorts--and earned millions as a gatekeeper to his own administration (the latest in an ongoing NYT investigation) (previously)
Trump Tests Positive for the Coronavirus
Yes indeed, Trump tests positive for the Coronavirus
The “October surprise” is here
Trump and first lady Melania test positive for coronavirus
The president’s infection means he will need to cancel in-person events in the coming weeks
El presidente Donald Trump y la primera dama dan positivo por covid-19 y se ponen en cuarentena
Jetzt kommt es auf Trumps Immunsystem an
The “October surprise” is here
Trump and first lady Melania test positive for coronavirus
The president’s infection means he will need to cancel in-person events in the coming weeks
El presidente Donald Trump y la primera dama dan positivo por covid-19 y se ponen en cuarentena
Jetzt kommt es auf Trumps Immunsystem an
surely this
Long-Concealed Records Show Trump’s Chronic Losses and Years of Tax Avoidance [NY Times]. Donald J. Trump paid $750 in federal income taxes the year he won the presidency. In his first year in the White House, he paid another $750. [more inside]
Failing State
The Election That Could Break America: "There is a cohort of close observers of our presidential elections, scholars and lawyers and political strategists, who find themselves in the uneasy position of intelligence analysts in the months before 9/11. As November 3 approaches, their screens are blinking red, alight with warnings that the political system does not know how to absorb. They see the obvious signs that we all see, but they also know subtle things that most of us do not. Something dangerous has hove into view, and the nation is lurching into its path." Longread article from the coming issue of The Atlantic spins out the signs and scenarios, including the potential for state legislatures to end-run the Electoral College. [more inside]
Trump, on Feb. 7: You just breathe the air and that's how it's passed.
Investigative journalist, author, and an associate editor of the Washington Post, Bob Woodward spoke with President Trump 18 times over the course of December 2019 to July 2020. Woodward recorded these interviews, and WaPo reports "Woodward book: Trump says he knew coronavirus was ‘deadly’ and worse than the flu while intentionally misleading Americans.". [more inside]
"A Lot of Money Was Spent When Voters Weren't Paying Attention."
How Trump's Billion-Dollar Campaign Lost Its Cash Advantage (SLNYT) In which the Trump campaign makes a $1 million ad buy in Washington, DC, spends $6 million for 'donor mementos,' and pays $4 million to Trump-owned businesses, $21 million in legal fees, and $39 million to consulting firms linked to former campaign manager Brad Parscale. [more inside]
Louis DeJoy Accused of Massive Campaign Finance Fraud
Trump's wolf, Louis DeJoy, assigned to guard the USPS hen house, has been accused of campaign finance fraud.
“Louis was a national fundraiser for the Republican Party. He asked employees for money. We gave him the money, and then he reciprocated by giving us big bonuses,” said David Young, DeJoy’s longtime director of human resources, who had access to payroll records at New Breed from the late 1990s to 2013 and is now retired. “When we got our bonuses, let’s just say they were bigger, they exceeded expectations — and that covered the tax and everything else.”
Nobody on Planet Earth has better Health than Me
Pulitzer Prize-winning author and correspondent from the NY Times Michael S. Schmidt writes in his new book, "in the hours leading up to Trump's trip to [Walter Reed] hospital [last November], word went out in the West Wing for the vice president to be on standby to take over the powers of the presidency temporarily if Trump had to undergo a procedure that would have required him to be anesthetized.”
Don Winslow has claimed, based on three anonymous sources, that Trump had a series of mini-strokes.
Today, Trump claims on Twitter that it's all Fake News.
Needless to say, it's starting to be reported on from the left and right.
What do you, the viewers at home, think?
"Look at What I Did"
Kellyanne Conway will step down from her role as White House counselor (previously, she was Donald Trump's third campaign manager, following Paul Manafort and Corey Lewandowski) at the end of this month to spend more time with her family (she promises 'less drama, more mama'). Her husband, DC lawyer George Conway, will step away from his role in the Lincoln Project (previously). He added that he'll continue to support the project 'passionately.' These announcements came as good news to at least one person--daughter Claudia Conway, 15, who announced yesterday that she was seeking emancipation from her parents. Kellyanne, George, and Claudia all mentioned taking a break from social media.
The COVID-45 Fall
In the United States, the coronavirus has killed more than 170,000 people and caused over 5.5 million confirmed infections, with deaths rising by more than 1,000 a day on average. As schools reopen, Reuters reports on increasing concerns about children and the coronavirus, Ed Yong describes how long-haulers are redefining COVID-19, and The Guardian reports millions of Americans are scraping by. As noted by Democratic VP nominee Kamala Harris in her 2020 DNC speech, "while this virus touches us all, let's be honest, it is not an equal opportunity offender. Black, Latino and Indigenous people are suffering and dying disproportionately. This is not a coincidence. It is the effect of structural racism." Politico reports Trump continues to insist his adminstration has "done a great job" handling the coronavirus, while the U.S. record is among the worst in the world. [more inside]