Author: Dave

What Rigged Elections look like

by Dave

Pictured above is an extremely brave woman. The photo is from the Associated Press. It may have been a photo from 2020, when massive protests broke out after the last rigged election. The flag with one red stripe, was used by Belarus before the only free and fair election in 1994.

Belarus declared independence from the Soviet Union in July 1990. Elections in 2001, 2006, 2010, 2015 and 2020 to reelect Alexander Lukashenko were completely fraudulent. This year will be on February 25, 2024 will be no different.

Per AP reporting: “President Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus for nearly 30 years, charged that the West will try to use ‘new triggers to destabilize the society’ after the Feb. 25 vote.” So, the autocratic leader of Belarus has to point to the West for all the discontent.

As Lukashenko has brutally suppressed human rights, including taking thousands of political prisoners, western countries imposed economic sanctions. His centralized economy has been a disaster.

Political parties must be registered in Belarus. They must support Alexander Lukashenko. I particularly like the name of one political party, The Republican Party of Labor and Justice, which will continue the support the injustices under Lukashenko.

Alexander Lukashenko has systematically destroyed democracy and human rights in Belarus. He has remained in power with the support of Russia. They may have declared independence from Russia nearly 30 years ago, but they grow more dependent on favorable treatment from Putin’s Russia every year. (see links on economic links to Russia)

So Lukashenko will win the election, not because he is popular with the electorate but he has outlawed the opposition parties and suppressed free expression. If mass demonstrations occur following the 2024 elections, it will be bloody.

I applaud the very brave and patriotic lady lifting the flag in defiance of Alexander Lukashenko.

Stay tuned,

Dave

Links:

AP: As Belarus votes in tightly controlled elections, its leader accuses the West of fueling unrest

Wikipedia: Belarus

Center for Eastern Studies: A crisis rather than a disaster. The Belarusian economy a year into Russia’s war against Ukraine

Wikipedia: Human Rights in Belarus

US State Department Travel Advisory

(Level 4: Do not travel, US Citizens advised to leave as of 2022).

The Biden-Ukraine Conspiracy Theory

by Dave

Today’s CNN Headline: Indicted ex-FBI informant told investigators he got Hunter Biden dirt from Russian intelligence officials

See link: Indicted ex-FBI informant told investigators he got Hunter Biden dirt from Russian intelligence officials

Wow, that’s a lot to unpack. This happened yesterday in a courthouse in Las Vegas, where Alexander Smirnov, the indicted informant was being held. The Special Counsel’s office wanted Alexander Smirnov held without bail. The Judge rejected this and released Smirnov with an ankle bracelet and restricted travel.

The Biden-Ukraine conspiracy was being kept alive in four places, Donald Trump’s campaign rallies, House of Representatives, Fox News and social media websites. It was just good fodder for Republicans who bought into the “Biden crime family” nonsense.

From Wikipedia’s website: Since early 2015 Hunter and his father Joe Biden have been the subjects of false and baseless claims of corrupt activities in a Biden–Ukraine conspiracy theory pushed by then-U.S. President Donald Trump and his allies.”

It was pushed by many Republicans, particularly chairmen of three House Committees. Representative James Comer, head of the House Oversight Committee really went on the attack:

“Unless U.S. Attorney Weiss investigates everyone involved in the Bidens’ fraud schemes and influence peddling, it will be clear President Biden’s DOJ is protecting Hunter Biden and the big guy,” Comer wrote, referencing the president as “the big guy.”

This conspiracy theory was permanently put to rest, with the arrest of Alexander Smirnov on February 14, 2024. He was an incredible con artist and was able to convince the FBI that he had some information of corruption worth listening to in the FBI offices of Pittsburgh. James Comer probably regrets he told the Special Counsel to dig deeper into the FBI investigation because the actions of Smirnov went from useless leads to criminal activity of lying and falsifying reports.

At the bail hearing, it was revealed that Smirnov had a US and an Israel passport, over 6 million dollars in liquid assets, and admitted to being in contact with Russian military intelligence officers, late last year.

As I will explain, the conspiracy promoted by Republicans died, but it spawned a whole new series of allegations of Russia’s attempt to hurt Biden’s campaign. Of course, this all is based on the statements of a lying FBI informant, which I am certain is being checked out by the FBI right now.

The false narrative: Hunter Biden secured a very high paying job working for Burisma energy company in Ukraine beginning 2014 at the same time that Biden was Vice President. The actual value of the contract varied, but it has been reported that some months, he made $50,000. It was alleged that VP Biden received a 5 million dollar bribe from Burisma, and in return was able to pressure the Ukrainian government to fire their general prosecutor, Vitor Shokin in March 2016, to stop an investigation of corruption within Burisma. It was also alleged that Hunter Biden also received a 5 million dollar bribe for his help.

******

Now the truth. There were no bribes. Not one penny ever exchanged hands between the president of Burisma, Mykola Zlochevsky, to either Hunter or Joe Biden for “favors.” This false narrative was at the foundation of Biden impeachment inquiry as launched in the House Oversight Committee, chaired by Representative James Comer. The House Judiciary Committee and the House Ways and Means committee were to be part of this inquiry.

It was an inquiry based on nothing. It was pure circus, put on for purposes of helping Republicans in the election. “It’s very clear that they’ve all been dupes to a Russian disinformation propaganda effort” says Rep. Jamie Raskin on Republicans falling for the claims made by the now-indicted “informant” with ties to foreign intelligence agencies.

Burisma paid Hunter Biden very well to be on the Board of Directors of Burisma from 2014 to 2019. Also, VP Biden stated that as a condition of loan guarantees to Ukraine, the Ukrainian government had to take steps to reduce corruption by replacing their general prosecutor, Vitor Shokin. Both the US and EU wanted Shokin fired as he was an ineffective in fighting corruption. Vitor Shokin was fired in March 2015.

****

The Oversight Committee which overlooks the truth and looks for scandal for political purposes

Devon Archer had worked with Hunter Biden in Ukraine, so he was subpoenaed by the Oversight committee. He denied there was any bribes, but Representative Comer took statements out of context, to imply that there was a working relations between Hunter and Joe Biden, when Biden was Vice President. On occasion, Hunter Biden had his father say hello and exchange pleasantries with contacts. Hunter Biden was to appear in a closed door committee hearing. He wanted to appear in an open session so his testimony would not be cherry picked, as was the case with Devon Archer.

Representative Chuck Grassley released a unverified FBI form, called a FD 1023, which contained Alexander Smirnov’s fabricated story of bribery between Hunter Biden and Ukraine officials on July 20, 2023. Smirnov detailed a meeting he attended in Vienna with Burisma’s president, Mykola Zlochevsky, in which Zlochevsky stated he paid 5 million dollars to Hunter Biden and other 5 million dollars to “the big guy.” The FBI released the form to Grassley after he threaten to hold the FBI in contempt of Congress.

Grassley releases internal FBI document about unverified Biden bribery allegations

More documentation on events that just not happen. The FBI did everything possible to stop the release of this misinformation by Congress and interfering with a legitimate investigation. Prior to the release of the FD 1023, an arrested associates of Rudy Giuliani, Lev Parnas, testified that there was no bribe, and Giuliani became very upset on hearing this news and told Parnas not to tell anyone.

Every bit of information supporting bribery just seemed to be falling apart, but Republicans didn’t care. The conspiracy was already told many times on Fox News, particularly that Biden was taking bribes from an Ukrainian business as Vice President. The bribery scheme was promoted more than 80 times by Sean Hannity on Fox News. As we just learned, it may just be he was promoting Russian propaganda. Still too early in the new investigation. See links below.

A final twist is Hunter Biden, through his lawyers, is stating that a factor why his plea deal fell apart, what because of the false reports from the FBI informant. Seems like a long shot and he may lose on this issue. The judge ultimately rejected the deal, and had no information about false reports from the FBI.

This is a very fast evolving story, so I can only report today’s news.

What’s next

On February 14, 2024, FBI informant Alexander Smirnov was indicted for lying to the FBI and creating false reports on multiple occasions. At his bond hearing, it was stated by prosecutors that he was a flight risk and had 6 million dollars in liquid assets. He was released with an ankle bracelet and restricted in his movements. I am certain at this point, he is being carefully monitored and protected so he is available for trial. (This isn’t Russia).

The FBI and Justice Department are doing their job. Hunter Biden will go on trial for falsifying a gun purchase form and tax related charges. There will likely be more information on Alexander Smirnov. The indictment states he was never in direct contact with Mykola Zlochevsky and all contacts were well after the period when Joe Biden was not Vice President.

The Impeachment inquiry of Joe Biden by the House Committee on Oversight should “pack up their tents and go home” as Jamie Raskin suggests, because the circus is over. I agree. The House Republicans control the committees, and will not have open hearings that show they were duped and likely promoted Russian propaganda to help Donald Trump.

Republicans likely will try to salvage the inquiry, from what is left. The only way the full story will be revealed, is after the election, if Democrats can take back the House. Sean Hannity and Donald Trump will not apologize for spreading fake news. Only in my dreams.

I suspect there may be more charges against Alexander Smirnov and others as the FBI follows the money trail. The Special Counsel David Weiss investigation just widened into the framing of Hunter and Joe Biden, based on fraudulent reports and possibly involving Russian agents (GRU ?).

That’s something that James Comer really didn’t see coming when he implored Weiss to broaden his investigation.

Stay tuned,

Dave

Links:

Facts first, Ouster of Vitor Shokin

CNN Link: House Republicans seek to downplay FBI informant charges that undermine Biden impeachment inquiry

I don’t have an exact date on this summary. The Republicans control the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, so this was prepared by Democrats sometime after July 2023.

fact-sheet-re-firing-of-viktor-shokinDownload

Democracies at risk

by Dave

Ukraine is fighting a war that experts thought they could never win. The Russian military is so much more superior. The reason for the attack is easy: Vladimir Putin. And with the murder of Alexei Navalny, while he was prisoner in Russia, the whole world sees what a monster Putin is.

I posted about how Chechnya had lost its independence to Russia through a corrupt and repressive leader, Ramzan Kadyrov and is today subservient to Moscow.

The US commitment to Ukraine should be rock solid. Unfortunately, the Republican party which used to be the most vocal against the expansion of totalitarian extremists, like Putin, are frustrating the military aid package. Our support for NATO should also be beyond question.

Putin will not be satisfied with just Ukraine. I posted about the inroads to Moldova and Transnistria, by Russia. And, there will be more. Belarus is another example of a country under Russian control. They had no problem of allowing their country to be the staging ground for the initial attack on Ukraine.

Putin is joined by other power hungry dictators around the globe. It may not be same form as the repressive communist regimes of Stalin and Khrushchev in Russia’s past, but they are equally repressive and can not tolerate any dissent. Chechnya President Kadyrov arrests not only dissenters but in 2022, he arrested approximately 50 family members as well. Kadyrov sent his military to fight with Russia. Why? Just to show his loyalty to Putin. Thousands of Chechen soldiers died in the initial attack of Kyiv. In return, Kadyrov became a rich man.

It is pretty obvious why Finland desperately wanted to be part of NATO as it shares a 830 mile long border with Russia. They also closed their border to Russia because of the illegal border crossing. Finland accused Russia of purposely transporting migrants to the Finnish border (see links at end). There is nothing Russia would like better than Russian community within Finland, as a pretext to attack Finland. I am very glad to see Finland a part of NATO.

The Esequibo dispute alarmed me. The build up along the border of Venezuela alarmed me, and I posted about the potential of an invasion of Guyana along their border. The Madura regime can’t stand to see the democratic state of Guyana prosper as their economy goes down the tubes.

Any where around the world there is instability, you will find Russia or their foreign military intelligence agents (“the GRU”). This includes the US, with intelligence agents focused on cyberattacks. Fortunately, the Department of Justice cooperates with agencies around the world and was able in 2020 to arrest six GRU agents. (see link at end)

So, every day, democracies around the world are under attack. Our democratic institutions are fine, but we can not live in isolation. If there is any take away from World War II, it is that global problems require global solutions. The death of the Putin’s critic Alexei Navalny who dared to expose him is tragic and demonstrates Putin’s brutality. The complete surrender of Chechnya to Russia is real. The Ukrainians are the real heroes. As a result of their resistance to the Russian invasion, approximately 125,000 Ukrainians have died.

I admire the Majority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer standing up on the Senate floor, with a photo of Alexei Navalny, and pleading with the House Speaker Mike Johnson to pass the Ukraine military and humanitarian aid bill.

Donald Trump has been attacking NATO. His latest remarks on Alexei Navalny are reprehensible and undercut his legacy. On the other hand, Donald Trump has invested millions to buy the best lawyers so he doesn’t have to answer the charges leveled against him. It didn’t work in the business fraud case, and his luck is running out. I share Nikki Haley’s disgust at what he said, comparing himself to Navalny.

This is not a Republican verses Democrat issue. It is an American issue and what we support. It is the right of nations to be secure in their own borders. It is the right of millions to chose their government and enjoy basic human liberties such as freedom of speech, the right to assembly and to run for political office.

Democracies are under attack, and we must be part of the defense, here and abroad. Support Ukraine!

Stay tuned,

Dave

Links:

Wikipedia, Alexei Navalny

Department of Justice: Six Russian GRU Officers Charged in Connection with Worldwide Deployment of Destructive Malware and Other Disruptive Actions in Cyberspace

ABC News: Trump uses brief comment on Navalny’s death to claim his own political persecution

Opinion from “The Hill”, Press: Honor Navalny, pass the Ukraine aid bill

Closure of Russia-Finland Border Heralds End of Pragmatic Cooperation

I mention prior blogs on Moldova: https://newsandviews.net/2023/02/24/moldova-and-transnistria/

and Chechnya: https://newsandviews.net/2022/04/11/ramzan-kadyrov-russias-well-paid-puppet-leader-in-chechnya/

Use the search box to find more.

Esequibo Dispute: A frightening situation between Guyana and Venezuela

by Dave

In May 2015, Exxon-Mobil discovered oil offshore Guyana with the drilling and testing of Liza-1 well. Guyana was a Dutch colony from 1667-1815, then a British colony until independence in 1966.  But, the Liza-1 well in the Stabroek block changed Guyana forever, with the prospect of billions pouring into Guyana. Exxon has a 45% interest in the block, Hess oil has a 30% interest and CNOOC has 25% interest. Guyana now has approximately 11 billion barrel equivalent of known oil resources. It is the fourth wealthiest country in the Americans on a per capita basis, with US, Canada and the Bahamas ranked as #1, 2 and 3.

A 630 mile Esequibo river divides Guyana into east and west sections. There are different spellings for this river including Essequibo river. Venezuela claims all land on the west side of the river which would include 15.8% of the population and approximately two-thirds of Guyana. 

The border disputes has been going on for decades. Venezuela appears to be preparing for an attack. Exxon has stated that all their wells are located very south of the disputed Eastern territorial waters claimed by Venezuela. See link below:

Venezuela defends military buildup

Per link above, “Guyana has taken the issue to the World Court in the Netherlands for a definitive ruling, while Venezuela has said it prefers direct bilateral talks as the way forward. On Friday, the Venezuelan defense ministry accused Guyana of threatening the St. Vincent agreement by irresponsible actions and media deception, maintaining that the ’Essequibo is ours.'”

The hostile rhetoric from Venezuela’s Defense minister, Vladimir Padrino, is coupled with increased expansion of military bases along the Guyana-Venezuela border, in violation of agreements signed in December 2023.  See the very detailed recent reporting from the Center for Strategic International Studies, which includes satellite photos detailing the buildup of bases and equipment.

CSIS Link

At the same time, Exxon-Mobil are continuing field development projects, aimed at boosting oil production to 1.2 million barrels of oil per day by 2027 approximately double current production rates. These are deep water wells, which will produce to large FPSO’s or Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessels. By 2027, current development plans call for seven vessels. This means no tank farms located onshore, making any attack of oil facilities themselves much more difficult as it would be observable from the sky.

My guess is Venezuela sees an initial ground assault, which puts them close to Georgetown, the capital.

See link below:

Exxon Mobil starts production through Payara FPSO offshore Guyana

The potential of an invasion by Venezuela is high. The pretext will be the government of Guyana, is illegally contracting with Exxon-Mobil, a US company, to steal Venezuela’s oil. 

Definitely scary stuff.  I’m worried Venezuela may find backers to fund its invasion, like Cuba or even worse, Russia.

Stay tuned,

Dave

Ukraine aid and tougher border security

by Dave

“We still need to secure America’s borders before sending another dime overseas,” Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah wrote in a post on X.

Linking a border security bill to Ukraine aid sounded like a good selling point.  Both were popular bills among both parties in Congress. The bill also contained billions of dollars in humanitarian aid to Ukraine and Israel. The Republicans insisted on one bill with both Ukraine aid and border security provisions. 

A bipartisan committee set at work, to make this happen. It took four months of negotiations between Republicans and Democrats before the final bill was ready.

All agreed that this bill would make security at the southern border much stronger. The military aid to Ukraine is absolutely essential to defending Ukraine from its invasion from Russia. The Russians are ready for a long war, and we must be part of the support for a free and independent Ukraine. As long as they are willing to fight, and lose their own citizens to defend Ukraine, we must support them.

Senator Krysten Sinema, from Arizona, summed it so well:

Finally, it seemed we had the opportunity to solve the nightmare my state has lived for over 40 years,” she said, scolding Republicans for using the border for “campaign photo ops” but rejecting the chance to enact law. “Turns out they want all talk and no action,” she said. “It turns out border security is not a risk to our national security. It’s just a talking point for the election.”

In particular, it was Donald Trump. It was not going to look good if President Biden signed into law a bill that would toughen the border security, give aid to those suffering in Gaza and help Ukraine to defend its country.

So, to keep the issue of border security alive during the next 12 months to help Trump win, Republicans are willing to let the crisis continue. The majority leader, Senator Chuck Schumer, argued that Republicans tanked the bill to meet Trump’s demands for “chaos” at the border before the election.

Do not vote for Trump. Please. The Senators were elected to do what is best for the country. The Democrats voted for tougher border security, and it is the Republicans who are simply playing political games. I exclude from this group of Republicans, just 4 great Senators, James Lankford, OK, Susan Collins, MA, Lisa Markowski, AK, and Mitt Romney, UT. 

Stay tuned,

Dave

Trump’s legal woes: The scheduling is clarified, sort of

by Dave

The art of a deal, is in true form. It is the art of delaying the start of four criminal trials until after the elections in November. If this were a game of bowling, four cases delayed to after the election would count as a strike.

The Jan 6 federal case start date of March 4 has been postponed indefinitely. The immunity case is in the Appellate court and Fischer is in the Supreme Court. The Fischer case is not directly tied to Trump’s court case, but the application of the Sarbanes-Oxley law, is the basis of two of the four counts against Trump. I expect these impediments will be gone before the end of the Supreme Court term in July.  

This clears the schedule for the Hush Money case to begin on March 20, 2024, so that pretty much fills up April. I don’t think Trump’s team can delay this one. So, one of the four pins are still standing.

So, all eyes turn to the Classified Documents case, to be held in Ft. Pierce, FL as the logical successor, with a start date of May 20, 2024. The charges are 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information. 

On February 2, 2024, the DOJ filed a 67-page brief stating that they had fully complied with discovery in the documents case. The first reporting of the DOJ filing is on Feb 2 at 10:30 pm by NBC news. The brief begins:

“The defendants have received substantial, timely, and thorough discovery in this case. By early September 2023, the Government had provided the defendants with over 1.28 million pages of unclassified discovery and all of the CCTV footage obtained in the investigation; since then, the Government has supplemented its production as necessary. This production not only complies with the Government’s constitutional and rule-based discovery obligations; it goes far beyond. The Government recognizes its discovery obligations, has complied with them, and will continue to do so. The defendants have nevertheless filed a lengthy motion to compel in which they seek abstract rulings on the scope of the prosecution team and various directives that the Government provide them with a range of additional material.”

Obvious, Trump’s team wants this case to start after the election. Can Trump’s team finagle delays in this case? Yes, if Judge Cannon makes a ruling in favor of Trump on discovery issues, then DOJ will appeal to the 11th Circuit. But it is abundantly clear from the brief, that Trump’s team has really opened the barn door on what could be relevant in this trial, including “selective prosecution.”  Discussion begins on page 37 of brief. 

“Defendants might suggest to the jury that they should be acquitted based on a theory of selective prosecution, that would plainly be inappropriate.”

Can Trump’s team finagle delays in this case? Yes, if Judge Cannon makes a ruling in favor of Trump on discovery issues, then DOJ appeals to the 11th Circuit. 

See link: Prosecutors hit back at Trump’s accusations of political bias in classified documents case

Judge Aileen Cannon has scheduled a hearing date of March 1, 2024 to review the start date of May 20, 2024. The Republican Party Convention would be July 15 -18, 2024. I am certain she doesn’t look forward in scheduling a trial as Trump is completing the primary campaign. 

Selective prosecution is not a defense in the courtroom, but is one to add to House Republican’s attack on Biden with impeachment, Rep. Jim Jordan’s committee investigating the weaponization of government, and the radical MAGA Republicans. Any trial, in any courtroom from now until election day, will be blamed on President Biden.

If Trump is elected, there will be no Special Counsel, and no prosecution of Trump for the January 6 attack or the Classified Document’s case. He can avoid the Georgia conspiracy trial, because he is the sitting president. So, now as an ex-president, he likely will lose the claim of immunity, but once president, he will not stand trial in Georgia. 

I said the scheduling has been clarified, as it looks like the Hush Money goes first. What should follow is any one of the remaining 3 cases. 

The Special Counsel’s brief asking Judge Cannon to reject the need for additional documents sought by Trump’s legal team is given below. I believe Trump lawyers may file a reply brief. I fear Trump’s lawyers are winning at the delay game.

Stay tuned,

Dave

aa-trumps-document-case-discovery-filingDownload

More plots and subplots to Trump’s legal woes

by Dave

The Georgia case is all about election interference. It was messy at the start, with so many defendants. Chances of success seemed to improve as four defendants decided to accept plea bargains and testify for the the prosecution.   It just got worse with the accusation that District Attorney Fani Willis had a romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, a private lawyer who has received over $600,000 in preparation for this case.  The Republican controlled Senate could not be more pleased to attack Willis, and on Friday approved a special committee to investigate Willis. See links:

Politico: A Reality Check on the Fani Willis Scandal, Is Trump’s Georgia prosecution about to get derailed?

Fox News: Georgia Senate approves special committee to investigate Fani Willis misconduct allegations

Will this be a fair investigation? Oh please, this is an election year, and there’s nothing more the senators would like to do is get rid of DA Willis. You can expect a very aggressive response as she has done in the past when legislators try to interfere with judicial proceedings. Impeachments are political processes, and normal rules of admissible evidence are gone. The charge of an affair is made by Nathan Wade’s wife in a divorce proceeding.

—-

Next subplot arose when Smartmatic, a vendor of voting systems, filed a lawsuit against One American News (OAN), for defamation. In April 2023, Dominion settled their defamation case with Fox News for $787 million dollars. Dominion has helped Smartmatic with their lawsuit, by handing over thousands of pages of documents. In support of discovery against OAN, Smartmatic claimed in a filing that OAN Pro-Trump network OAN execs may have ‘engaged in criminal activities’ while promoting 2020 election lies. It is too early to tell if there is any real substance to this claim. See link below:

CNN: Pro-Trump network OAN execs may have ‘engaged in criminal activities’ while promoting 2020 election lies

I note that Smartmatic is suing Fox for 2.7 billion dollars, for defamation. I’m not sure how much they’ll try to sue for against OAN. OAN has stated that these allegations are baseless.

___

Legal experts expect Trump’s business fraud case to conclude this week. The judge has already concluded that the overvaluations of Trump’s properties constituted fraud, so the trial was to determine the penalty. It is going to be more than 370 million dollars. It was speculated by Bloomberg, that following this court decision, the IRS will likely be looking at the evidence in the case, for tax fraud issues. We shall see.

—

The presidential immunity case is in the Appellate court and a opinion could be issued any day. Trump’s lawyers see this as a chance to push back the Jan 6 federal case, beyond March, 2024. Most legal experts suggest the case will have to be re-scheduled. Legal experts also suggest that if Trump loses and appeals this case to the Supreme Court, they might not take it up. It would help prosecutors keep a trial date before the election.

—

The Colorado disqualification case and the Fischer case will be heard by the Supreme Court. I have posted before on the Colorado case, as I believe as a practical matter, Donald Trump should be on the ballot in both the primary and general election as it is vital that the president is elected by the people. However, what seems right and practical is not how the Supreme Court decides issues. The Colorado Supreme Court ruled in favor of taking Trump off the ballot, and the Supreme Court will decide if this judgement was contrary to law. Other states will likely follow Maine’s example and keep the status quo, until the Supreme Court rules.

The Fischer case will decide if prosecutors went too far in applying a law that was used to convict over 300 rioters of obstructing an official proceeding. It is the same law that prosecutors used in indicting Trump on 2 of the 4 counts of the Jan 6 criminal federal case to be tried in Washington.

Scotus Blog: Court to weigh in on scope of law used in Jan. 6 prosecutions

A lot will be decided soon. A lot will be appealed.

Stay tuned,

Dave

Donald Trump is a Hypocrite on First Amendment Rights

by Dave

Donald Trump is angry as he claims the government has taken away his right to speak. It didn’t. A jury in Manhattan court found Trump guilty of libel in a private civil lawsuit on January 26, 2024. Of course, he will appeal the case. The plaintiff, E. Jean Carroll, will not receive anything until all appeals are exhausted. 

Donald Trump has sued a long list of individuals and organizations for defamation, and has lost just about every case. He knows better than anyone else, how tough it is to win a defamation case. But, he seems to like suing, if for no other reason, as a means of revenge to people who criticize him. Honestly, it seems always to backfire on him!

“We are going to take a strong look at our country’s libel laws, so that when somebody says something that is false and defamatory about someone, that person will have meaningful recourse in our courts,” Mr. Trump said during a public portion of a cabinet meeting in the White House. (New York Times, January 10, 2018)

“We want fairness,” the president said. “Can’t say things that are false, knowingly false, and be able to smile as money pours into your bank account. We are going to take a very, very strong look at that, and I think what the American people want to see is fairness.” 

No legislation was ever proposed.  Any legislation would have been opposed by civil liberties groups. As a plaintiff in these lawsuits, Trump really could not care about civil liberties. It was all about revenge and it failed almost every time.

Trump sued the internet news site, Buzzfeed for publishing the Steele dossier. Trump sued Fusion GPS for paying for the investigation. Trump also sued Hillary Clinton and many others in 2022, alleging “a malicious conspiracy to disseminate patently false and injurious information about Donald J. Trump and his campaign, all in the hope of destroying his life, his political career, and rigging the 2016 Presidential Election in favor of Hillary Clinton.” All these lawsuits were dismissed. The 2022 lawsuit was dismissed and the Judge awarded nearly one million dollars to all the defendants who had to defend themselves against Trump’s political lawsuit.

Trump sued the New York Times and the reporters over a 2018 investigation into his finances and taxes that was based in part on confidential tax records. The Times easily won the case because the information of true. Then on January 12, 2024, the Judge ordered Trump to pay the Times and three of its reporters nearly $400,000 to cover their legal costs.

However, when Trump is sued for the dissemination of false and injurious statements, then he loves the First Amendment. This is why Donald Trump is a hypocrite. You just can’t have it both ways! He lost as a plaintiff attacking the New York Times on January 12, 2024 and then big time loss as Trump was a defendant with a 83.4 million dollar judgement on January 26, 2024.

If you have information that is true, you have a right to say it, and the forum doesn’t matter. That’s freedom of speech. His fraud case is expected to conclude soon, and it is all about Trump’s dishonesty.

In March 2024, Trump will be back in court, with the charge will be that he approved payment to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougall to keep them silent during the 2016 election. He used campaign funds to keep them silent. As the evidence will show, it’s not dirty politics; it is criminal. And it absolutely runs counter to the rights of individuals to speak in public, about what they witnessed and know is true.

Trump can’t blame the government. He did this to himself.

I predict Trump will lose again in March 2024. And he will lose this presidential immunity case, now in the Appellate court. Candidate Trump is both incredibly dishonest and a hypocrite.

Stay tuned,

Dave 

PS: Almost forgot to include Trump’s attack on Marvin Ruffman, in 1990, who correctly predicted the downfall of Trump’s eighth wonder of the world, the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. You can search for this blog. It is a pattern of insults and bullying that goes back decades. 

Nine Top Officials who will never work for Trump again.

by Dave

The top positions in any administration are carefully selected. These key positions include Vice President, National Security Adviser, Attorney General, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of State, Secretary of Homeland Security, White House Chief of Staff and others. In crisis and strategy sessions, these are people “in the room.” Very few of his close associates would work with him again.

John Bolton, Trump’s National Security Adviser 2018- 2019, who worked in the White House, coordinating with the intelligence agency in formulating policy during crises.

Trump has this impression that foreign leaders, especially adversaries, hold him in high regard, that he’s got a good relationship with Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jung Un. In fact, the exact opposite is true. I have been in those rooms with him when he’s met with those leaders, I believe they think he is a laughing fool.” (quoted in Atlantic Journal, Jan/Feb 2024)

“In a second Trump term, we’d almost certainly withdraw from NATO.” (The Hill)

Mike Pence, Trump’s Vice President

Anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president of the United States … President Trump demanded that I choose between him and the Constitution. 

General James Mattis, Secretary of Defense

He is more dangerous than anyone could ever imagine.

John Kelly, Secretary of Homeland Security and White House Chief of Staff

The depths of his dishonesty is just astonishing to me… He is the most flawed person I have ever met in my life.

H.R. McMasters, National Security Advisor

President Trump and other officials repeatedly compromised our principles in pursuit of partisan advantage and personal gain.

Bill Barr, Attorney General

He will always put his own interests and gratifying his own ego, ahead of everything else, including the country’s interest.

Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State

His understanding of global events, his understanding of global history, his understanding of U.S. history was really very limited.

Mark Esper, Secretary of Defense

He puts himself before country. His actions are all about him and not about the country.

Richard Spencer, Secretary of the Navy

The President has very little understanding of what it means to be in the military, to fight ethically or to be governed by a uniform set of rules and practices.

The above quotes are from The Atlantic Journal Jan/Feb 2024, except for the Bolton comment based on an interview on the Hill. Bill Barr told Trump flat out Trump’s claims that he won the election where bullshit, and made a public announcement in December 2020, before leaving office.

Just as I was getting set to hit the publish button, when Donald Trump said this about his opponent on Truth Social:

“Nikki “Birdbrain” Haley is very bad for the Republican Party and, indeed, our Country. Her False Statements, Derogatory Comments, and Humiliating Public Loss, is demeaning to True American Patriots. Her anger should be aimed at her Third Rate Political Consultants and, more importantly, Crooked Joe Biden and those that are destroying our Country – NOT THE PEOPLE WHO WILL SAVE IT,”

Remember that Nikki Haley was appointed by Trump as the US Ambassador to the United Nations, and left on good terms with Trump. ”Trump heaped praise on Haley, declaring she was ‘special to me’ at the Oval Office meeting where her resignation was announced, emphasizing that she was not leaving on bad terms.” (Wikipedia, summarizing a news article)

And then Trump was in again in true form, in testifying in court on Thursday, where the jury had already concluded that sexually assault did take place (but not rape), in the E. Jean Carroll case. He could not limit himself to restrictions imposed by the judge.

“Unhinged” seems a very apt description. Self centered and dishonest also come to mind. Finally, Trump is trying to disrupt the ongoing discussion of how to get both Ukraine funding and tougher policies on illegal immigration, which also includes more funding. 

So Trump chaos is now in Washington, as he is in Manhattan. 

Stay tuned,

Dave

They have Nothing!

by Dave

Donald Trump’s business fraud case will come to a conclusion at the end of January. The District Attorney has asked for 370 million dollars in penalties.

Trump and his lawyers have lashed out at prosecutors as follows

In his opening statement when the trial started in October, Trump attorney Christopher Kise said: “There was no intent to defraud, there was no illegality, there was no default, there was no breach, there was no reliance from the banks, there were no unjust profits, and there were no victims.”

Similarly, Trump has said, “They don’t have any facts. They don’t have any evidence against us.”

According to factcheck.org (not sure if Trump supporters are interested in the truth):

  • Trump said his former personal attorney Michael Cohen “took back everything he said in court” leaving the state with no case against him. Cohen testified that Trump never specifically told him to inflate asset values, but he said Trump “speaks like a mob boss” and “tells you what he wants without specifically telling you.”
  • The former president claimed that he had “won this case already” in an appeals court. He has not. The appeals court has allowed the case to proceed.
  • Trump accused President Joe Biden of setting up “every one” of his civil and criminal cases — a claim that is not backed by evidence.
  • He also claimed without support that the New York attorney general’s visits to the White House in 2022 and 2023 were part of “a conspiracy” against Trump.

See Factcheck.org: Trump Distorts the Facts About His New York Civil Trial

I disagree that fraud is a victimless crime. The banks and insurers rely on information provided by others, and what keeps the system honest, is that frequently overstating the value of assets with the intent to mislead financial institutions is criminal fraud. If fraud is not prosecuted, then all the honest people seeking loans on actual assets are hurt.  Trump wants to put himself and his businesses above the law.

Trump is consistently dishonest about everything. Trump will immediately move to appeal the verdict at the end of January. He will of course blame the Department of Justice and President Biden, for everything, when this case was completely in the hands of New York State prosecutors. Per Factcheck.org:

… Biden has no control over state-level prosecutors who have brought cases against Trump in Manhattan and Georgia. Also, James, the New York attorney general, began investigating Trump’s company for fraud in March 2019 — long before Biden was president.

With this level of dishonesty, I wonder how people can support his candidacy. Really, you don’t put crooks into public office.

Stay tuned,

Dave

Dave Avatar

Trial of Impeachment and Criminal Trials

by Dave

In the Appellate Court during oral arguments, Trump’s lawyer argued that because he was acquitted in the impeachment trial, as ex-president, he retained immunity for all criminal acts conducted as president. 

Senate Minority leader disagreed with this in February 13, 2021. In fact, what McConnell said, was that Trump, as a private citizen, would be held responsible for criminal acts conducted as president. It was a good argument for Trump that impeachment was only for removing current office holders.  Between January 6 and 20, there were only 14 days, not enough time for impeachment.  

Trump apparently wants it both ways. Can’t get me with impeachment, because there isn’t enough time, and can’t get me later, in court, because I wasn’t removed by impeachment, so I keep my immunity for all acts during the presidency. It is absurd.

Richard Nixon resigned and accepted a pardon, because he would have been convicted with obstructing justice.  Nixon was a lawyer before entering politics and understood the law.

See link: Read McConnell’s remarks on the Senate floor following Trump’s acquittal

Excerpts from a speech by McConnell on February 13, 2021:

“Impeachment, conviction, and removal are a specific intra-governmental safety valve. It is not the criminal justice system, where individual accountability is the paramount goal. Indeed, Justice Story specifically reminded that while former officials were not eligible for impeachment or conviction, they were ‘still liable to be tried and punished in the ordinary tribunals of justice.’

We have a criminal justice system in this country. We have civil litigation. And former Presidents are not immune from being held accountable by either one.

McConnell spared no wording in condemning Trump’s actions (or inactions):

There is no question that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day. The people who stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their President. And their having that belief was a foreseeable consequence of the growing crescendo of false statements, conspiracy theories, and reckless hyperbole which the defeated President kept shouting into the largest megaphone on planet Earth.

Stay tuned,

Dave

Quick Updates: Presidential Immunity hearing and Business Fraud Case

by Dave

In the Appellate Court in Washington, DC, January 9 was an historical moment as Trump lawyer, John Sauer argued that an ex-president had absolute immunity to any criminal acts that occurred during his presidency. The consensus of experts in this area suggested that the hearing did not go well, and the Appellate Court will likely rule against him. Neither Trump nor the Special Prosecutor have advocated the “offramp” option, that is leaving the immunity claim to after the trial. This argument was filed as a amicus (friend of the court) brief.

I think if oral arguments did anything, it was to close off the offramp. At least I hope so. Thank God for this! Trump will appeal all judgments against him, whether it is this case, the documents case or the Georgia conspiracy case, which will be particularly messy. 

Lawfare report by Anna Bower: Trump and Smith, Reunited at the DC Circuit

Superb reporting by Ms. Bower from inside the courtroom, particularly noted for bits of humor sprinkled into a very serious matter. The bottom line is that there is no legal precedent for absolute immunity, and granting Trump’s claim would be a massive increase in presidential power. 

If the Supreme Court opts to take up this case, the six conservative judges will likely not come to Trump’s rescue, as they are loathed to construct new ex-presidential rights. They openly criticize the liberals on the bench as acting like legislators and expanding rights beyond the plain meaning and historical context of the law. 

The argument made by Trump’s lawyers is that he maintains immunity, because the House acquitted him of wrongdoing in the January 6 violence. At that time, Mitch McConnell remarked that the House was not clearing him of wrongdoing, as he could still face criminal charges since he was out of office. Now, ironically, his defense is turned around, and the argument is that the House did clear him, so he can’t face criminal charges.

The Special Counsel, Jack Smith, is probably very focused on the calendar and delay tactics right now. Smith lost in his attempt to skip over the Appellate court, and immediately be heard in the Supreme Court.  Court observers note that it is virtually impossible for the trial to begin on March 4, 2024. 

__

Then yesterday January 11, 2024, the business fraud civil case was all abuzz as it was time for closing arguments. A hasty attempt to allow Donald Trump to speak fell through, as there was no agreement to restrain Trump from a return to the campaign rhetoric. Closing arguments are supposed to be directed at the judge, in a last attempt to go easy on Trump and his boys, Donald, Jr. and Eric. Trump’s three lawyers gave a normal summation of the case, arguing that there was no real harm done by the occasional overvaluation.

The judge finally let Trump have his say, and it is unlikely anything Trump said was within bounds for the case. Trump stated what was out of bounds was the entire case against him. His five minute rant likely will be completely ignored by the judge.

Link: Donald Trump defies judge, gives courtroom speech on tense final day of New York civil fraud trial

The state is seeking 370 million dollars. I think they’ll win and Trump will appeal. The judge will submit his written decision near the end of January.

Then, it will be on to the next, which is E. Jean Carroll defamation lawsuit, Part II, which is centered on defamatory statements Trump made immediately after being found guilty of defamation, scheduled to start January 16. Also, on deck is the Hush Money case, scheduled for March 20. So, note to court reporters, look for extended stay options in Manhattan. 

Stay tuned,

Dave

Trump’s Court Cases Trackers

by Dave

I have created a new page which has several links to excellent Trump Court Case summaries. They contain just the plain facts.  They are updated regularly. Please let me know if I should include other similar sites. I do not want sites with commentary.

It may seem to some that prosecutors are some how conspired to stop him from running for president.  At least, this is the perspective that Trump would like you to believe. Also, he would like everyone to believe that he is totally innocent of all charges. Finally, even if some violations of the law were committed, then if they were committed during his presidency, then he is immune from prosecution.

None of the above claims are true. Prosecutors have taken a number of steps to avoid unjustly alleging violations of the law against Donald Trump and others. This includes convening grand juries to review the evidence of the alleged crime. The judges in these cases can dismiss all charges against defendants, after a review of a summary dismissal request. This occurred when all charges were dismissed against Ivanka Trump in the NY civil business fraud case. 

The judge in each case is responsible for scheduling of court start dates. Trump has tried hard to push back each of the court start dates to after the election, based on the time needed to prepare for the case. The pre-trial motions take time to review, and generally Trump appeals unfavorable decisions, further delaying the processes. If the charges were so blatantly false, wouldn’t he want a trial right away?

Finally, the issue of Presidential immunity will be up to the courts to decide. An unfavorable decision from the appellate court could be taken up on appeal to the Supreme Court, further delaying the start of the federal case of January 6 election interference, past the March 4 start date.

As I complete this post, the pre-trial motions just keep coming. Mark Meadows, former Trump’s chief of staff, requested the Appellate Court reconsider his appeal “en banc” (by the entire bench) to have his case moved to federal court. If they do not grant his request, he can ask the Supreme Court to hear his case. The Georgia conspiracy trial has not yet been scheduled. 

Stay tuned,

Dave

2024 The year of historical trials and court decisions

by Dave

Some people try to associate court trials with other things they are familiar with and it is usually a disaster. Court cases are not like the movies. They can go on for months. It is also not a ballgame. It doesn’t end in nine innings.. Decisions are appealed.

The public knows who they like and dislike, and believes the accused should either be set free or in jail for the rest of their lives. The Republican politicians went years claiming Hillary Clinton had committed all sorts of crimes. But, finally, one Democrat has been charged with profiting from his high position, Senator Bob Menendez. His wife has also been charged. 

Hunter Biden and Steve Bannon will go on trial unless either can cut a plea agreement. These trials will be headline news, because of their close association with President Biden and Donald Trump. In both cases, there has been zero evidence these actions involved either Biden or Trump. Both will have the best lawyers money can buy, but the evidence against them will make or break their cases.

And then of course there is Trump and his two civil cases and four criminal ones. I have written extensively about this and there are many Trump legal problems trackers out there. The final conclusion of the civil case against Trump and his organization for the overvaluation of properties will end quietly, as the judge will simply file the judgment in late January and Trump will appeal. 

The disqualification issue must be decided by the Supreme Court. This case and the immunity case will be historical landmark cases. I think only 3 of the 4 criminal cases will likely be tried in 2024, with the Georgia conspiracy case, starting either late 2024 or early 2025. The Supreme Court has a number of highly contentious cases, of which I’ve commented on the abortion pill.

An independent judicial system is one. of the cherished rights of all Americans. If someone has been unjustly accused, the appropriate place to seek justice is the courtroom, not on social media or cable news stations.

So in sum, the system is working as it is intended. The appeal process is an additional check that ensures convictions are in accordance with the law and the rights of individuals are protected.  

Republican members of Congress should not be involved in any of these cases. They should not attempt to tilt the balance of justice against Hunter Biden or in favor of Donald Trump. By their meddling in trials, through their power to subpoena, they are hindering our system of justice.

I fear a re-election of Donald Trump and his disrespect for the judiciary will severely damage our judiciary system. His use of pardons for political purposes would be an attack on the sacred right of justice for all, that comes from  a conscientious and independent judiciary system. Might makes right approach whether by Congress or the President brings us one step closer to tyranny.

What will work, is an informed public who understands the judiciary has a very independent role vital to our system of government. 

Wishing the best of all in 2024,

Dave,

Presidential Immunity Case and Upcoming Trials

by Dave

My prediction : Donald Trump will lose the immunity case now in the Appellate Court. I also believe his lawyers know this. It is a delaying tactic, as Trump will appeal the case to the Supreme Court. And the Jan 6 Election Interference case may be pushed back to past the November elections. It is a real possibility.

So, does anything the Appellate Court matter if it will end up in the Supreme Court eventually? Perhaps not as I believe the Appellate Court will likely just repeat what the trial court Judge Chutkan already said in her opinion.

The Supreme Court could hand Trump a major blow, by refusing to hear the case. They could do major damage to Trump by simply not putting the trial on hold while they are considering the case.  This would allow trial to go forward on March 4, and would push back the start of the Hush Money case. 

The conspiracy case looks like it will begin after the elections. If Trump is elected, he can’t stop either the hush money trial or the Jan 6 conspiracy case because these are municipal and state criminal cases. 

He will be doing everything he can to get rid of Attorney General Fani Willis in Georgia, and District Attorney Alvin Bragg in Manhattan in these cases.r

The wheels of justice turn slowly but in the right direction at least for now. It is important that Donald Trump not be re-elected, so the process can be completed. No one gets a free “Get out of jail card.” in this country. Let the courts hear the evidence and decide based on the law and facts of each case.

Stay tuned,

Dave