Trump lies

Debate aftermath

by Dave

Trump has lashed out at ABC and in particular the times they corrected him, for lies that went to the level of “pants on fire.” A lot of lies were told, and the moderators had to be very cautious in the few times they corrected Trump. The legal termination of live babies was obviously one lie that just went over the top and I was very glad the moderator caught it.

Trump said he will sue ABC. This is just another anger tantrum from Trump. The lawsuit will ultimately be dismissed.

Stay tuned,

Dave

RFK, Jr. – Can you do the hustle?

by Dave

Some things you just can’t make up! I wrote about RFJ, Jr. in 2023:

Robert Kennedy, Jr.

Everything I said then, is even more true. He is intelligent and intense, but somehow his brain got locked into giant conspiracy theories, mixed in with an attack on all vaccines. But, he fell into the deep sink hole of connecting dots that really don’t exist.

He should be with other climate activists, promoting a more green planet and working for our transition to renewable fuels. You won’t see RFK, Jr. at any Earth Day celebrations.

https://www.rescue.org/uk/article/12-climate-activists-inspiring-us-fight-climate-change

He’s busy podcasting deep state conspiracies. Here is an excerpt from his 2020 book. “The deep state is real… The real power behind the curtain is a conglomeration of corporations, coal, oil, chemical, steel, and pharmaceutical – recently joined by telecom, Big Tech/ Big Data.”

Wow. The “Big Everything Conspiracy.” Seem to work for Trump, who wants everyone to believe that the Biden administration can manipulate the FBI and Justice Department, and our entire legal system, including municipal and State district attorneys grand juries and trial juries, to indict him on election interference, illegal possession of classified documents, hush money payments and defamation.

RFK, Jr. can talk all he wants about how government caters to the corporate elites as long as it is confined to the Democrats. He can do the Steve Bannon hustle all he wants. Just keep repeating “Biden-Harris” as the culprits. Never the Republicans.
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Of course, Trump and the Republican Party is and has been in his prior term very supportive of the coal and oil industry. Trump’s cabinet was a gift to the fossil fuels industry. And of course, the cabinet couldn’t care less about carbon emissions, and tried to downplay the effects, like increased forest fires in California.

Trump’s first Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, had been the CEO of Exxon-Mobil for 10 years. Trump’s first Secretary of Energy was Rick Perry, who had been Governor of Texas for 15 years, who supported the US withdrawal from the Paris Climate Change Accords.

Energy Secretary Rick Perry (per the NY Times)

Energy secretary, Mr. Perry oversaw a sharp increase in the production of fossil fuels, particularly liquefied natural gas, and promoted it with a patriotic fervor — even dubbing the fossil fuel “freedom gas” and likening its export to Europe to the United States efforts to liberate the continent during World War II.

“The United States is again delivering a form of freedom to the European continent,” Mr. Perry told reporters in Brussels in May, according to Euractiv.com. “And rather than in the form of young American soldiers,” Mr. Perry said, “it’s in the form of liquefied natural gas.”

Rick Perry became entangled in the Ukraine scandal, and many feel this was the reason for his early departure from the Trump administration.

Ryan Zinke, Trump’s Secretary of Interior, is usually a champion of protected our national parks. Zinke went just opposite way, and wanted to shrink the size of some of the mid-western parks. Per Wikipedia,

In August 2018, Zinke said that “environmental terrorist groups” were to blame for the wildfires in California, and that they had “nothing to do with climate change”. Fire scientists and forestry experts rejected that claim, attributing the increasingly destructive wildfires to heat and drought caused by climate change.[134] Later that month, Zinke walked back some of his earlier remarks, acknowledging that climate change played a part in the fires.[135] He also said that preventing removal of dead trees has increased the amount of flammable material and hurt timber salvaging.[136]

Worse of all, came from the Environmental Protection Agency, under the leadership (attack dog) of Scott Pruitt, who was able to rolled back as many of the environmental programs as possible, including regulations designed to keep pesticides out of our drinking waters, in the name of cutting bureaucratic red tape and saving taxpayer money. The Biden administration restored many of these programs.

See NY Times article: The Trump Administration Rolled Back More Than 100 Environmental Rules. Here’s the Full List.

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RFK Jr. had his chance to work with climate change activists years ago. He latched onto the anti-vaxxers and their misinformation campaign, through the Children’s Health Defense organization.

Wikipedia states: Children’s Health Defense (CHD) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit activist group mainly known for anti-vaccine disinformation, and which has been called one of the main sources of misinformation on vaccines.

Children’s Health Defense

CHD is on track to sue more media organizations than Trump including Facebook, BBC, AP and Reuters for censorship of their views. Like Trump’s lawsuits, when they lose the case, they appeal the decision.

It is all part of the political hustle. I really feel badly for parents who bought into all RFK Jr. rhetoric and have not vaccinated their children. Right now, the parents in the embattled Gaza strip are begging for polio vaccines for their children. The polio virus is a monster, but the vaccine works.

Part of Harris’ campaign is “We are not going back!” She’s right.

Stay tuned,

Dave

Truth matters

by Dave

So many lies out there, it is getting difficult to list them. So I selected 4 big lies, dealing with job growth, fentanyl from Mexico, Russia invasion of Ukraine, and Harris’ role in stopping illegal immigration.

If you listen to Fox News, even for 5 minutes, in the evening hours, you will likely hear one of these lies, the most popular seems to be Harris was named border czar by Biden. Just didn’t happen.

1. TRUMP: “MASSIVE SCANDAL! The Harris-Biden Administration has been caught fraudulently manipulating Job Statistics to hide the true extent of the Economic Ruin they have inflicted upon America. New Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the Administration PADDED THE NUMBERS with an extra 818,000 Jobs that DO NOT EXIST, AND NEVER DID.” (Trump, Truth Social, Aug 21, then later at an event Aug. 22 in Cochise County, Arizona).

PANTS ON FIRE (Politifact): On Aug. 21, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics announced an annual “benchmarking” adjustment based on a sweep of state-based unemployment insurance data. This is considered more precise than the employer-based data the agency uses to assemble its closely watched monthly employment reports.

2. TRUMP: “We’re losing 300,000 people a year to fentanyl that comes through our border. We had it down to the lowest number and now it’s worse than it’s ever been.”

PANTS ON FIRE (Politifact): Trump’s figures appear to have no basis in fact. Government statistics show the number of drug overdose deaths per year is hovering around 100,000 to 110,000, with opioid-related deaths at about 81,000. Moreover, though the number of opioid deaths has risen since Trump left office, it’s incorrect to claim they were the “lowest” while he was president.

We will be following up this with a blog on the fentanyl epidemic. It is not being brought across the border by illegal immigrants, but by vehicles, legally crossing the border every day.

3. TRUMP: When ever asked about Ukraine, Trump goes into this rant about how it would never have happened if he was president. He has put the blame on Joe Biden and now on Kamala Harris.

Trump said in a speech in North Carolina: “Remember when Biden sent Kamala to Europe to stop the war in Ukraine. She met with Putin, and then three days later, he attacked. How did she do? Do you think she did a good job? She met with Putin to tell him, ‘Don’t do it.’ And three days later, he attacked; that’s when the attack started. Did you know that, General?”

FALSE (CNN Facts first): Harris has never met with Putin. In reality, she met with US allies, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, at the Munich Security Conference in the days before Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Putin was not at the conference.

“Frankly speaking, I cannot recall a single contact between President Putin and Mrs. Harris,” a Kremlin spokesperson said last month, according to a state-owned Russian news agency.

The Biden administration was still trying to deter an invasion of Ukraine at the time of Harris’ 2022 trip to the conference in Germany, but top administration officials, including President Joe Biden himself, made clear that they believed Putin was already moving toward invading. As Harris was on her way to Germany, Biden told reporters that he thought a Russian attack “will happen in the next several days.”

CNN reported on the day the Munich conference began that a senior administration official said Harris had three key objectives: “Focus on the ‘fast-changing’ situation on the ground, maintain full alignment with partners and send a clear message to Russia that the US prefers diplomacy but is ready in case of Russian aggression.”

The Munich conference was held from February 18 to February 20, 2022; Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

4. TRUMP: President Joe Biden appointed “Kamala Harris to be his border czar to deal with illegal immigration … Harris was put in charge of stopping illegal immigration.”

MOSTLY FALSE (Politifact) : I would have considered this either false or pants on fire, because Biden did not put VP Kamala Harris in charge of stopping illegal immigration at the border. There was never a “border czar” named by the President. Border security and management is the Homeland Security secretary’s responsibility. DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

In March 2021, President Joe Biden tasked Vice President Kamala Harris with working alongside officials in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras to address the issues driving people to leave those countries and come to the United States. The Biden-Harris administration said it would focus on five key issues: economic insecurity, corruption, human rights, criminal gang violence and gender-based violence.

Links:

Job Statistics: https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2024/aug/23/donald-trump/donald-trumps-pants-on-fire-claim-that-biden-harri/

Fentanyl deaths: https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2024/aug/16/donald-trump/trump-drastically-inflates-annual-fentanyl-death-n/

2022 Meeting with Putin: https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/21/politics/fact-check-trump-harris-putin-meeting-ukraine/index.html

Border czar: https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2024/jul/24/republican-national-committee-republican/border-czar-kamala-harris-assigned-to-tackle-imm

I do not want to make light of the real opioid epidemic in the US. Just the “facts” coming from Donald Trump are untrue. If you built a 2000 mile wall at the southern border, the flow of opioids would be the same.

Fentanyl, its precursors and equipment – such as pill presses – used to make the drug often times enters the U.S. through common trade pathways, such as air cargo and express courier. And, fentanyl is easy to hide, so often it is carried through at the ports of entry by cars.

The last three problems, the fentanyl pouring into the US from Mexico and China, Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and illegal immigrants from Mexico and Guatemala, are really global problems, and they require global solution.

Stay tuned,

Dave

John Kelly and Stefanie Grisham tell of the uncaring personality of Trump

by Dave

Trump loves Trump more than anything else. Those who worked in the White House have witnessed this narcissistic personality up close.

General John Kelly served as Donald Trump’s White House Chief of Staff from 2017 to 2019. Prior to this position, he was the Secretary of Homeland Security. He was easily confirmed, with a vote of 88-11, showing bipartisan support for Kelly. At the time, he was a retired US Marine Corp General, with an outstanding record. A short bio is given in the following Wikipedia link: John F. Kelly . In 2020, Kelly was quoted in an Atlantic article as follows:

“A person that thinks those who defend their country in uniform, or are shot down or seriously wounded in combat, or spend years being tortured as POWs are all ‘suckers’ because ‘there is nothing in it for them,'” Kelly said of Trump. “A person that did not want to be seen in the presence of military amputees because ‘it doesn’t look good for me.’ A person who demonstrated open contempt for a Gold Star family — for all Gold Star families — on TV during the 2016 campaign, and rants that our most precious heroes who gave their lives in America’s defense are ‘losers’ and wouldn’t visit their graves in France.”

See link: NBC News, Oct 2023, John Kelly confirms Trump privately disparaged U.S. service members and veterans

During the 2024 Biden-Trump debate, Trump denied making these statements.

Yesterday, another close ally of Trump, Stephanie Grisham, former White House Press Secretary, addressed the Democratic National Convention in support of candidate Kamala Harris. She was in many ways, Trump’s “defender/explainer” typically on Fox News and the conservative online website, Washington Examiner. See her bio from Wikipedia.

Her short presentation at the DNC last night, was from someone who had been in the room when the cameras were not rolling.

Stephanie Grisham, former WH Press Secretary

Selected quotes: “Behind closed doors, Trump mocks his supporters. He calls them basement dwellers.” Obviously, he knew he appealed to naïve or poorly informed voters, who would accept his lies.

“On a hospital visit when people were dying in the ICU, he was mad the cameras were not watching him.”

“He has no empathy, no morals and no fidelity to the truth.”

“Kamala Harris … has my vote.”

Just days prior to Grisham’s few minutes at the podium, Trump really did show his lack of empathy in his comments on the Medal of Honor:

Trump said the civilian award [Medal of Freedom] is “actually much better because everyone [who] gets the Congressional Medal of Honor, they’re soldiers. They’re either in very bad shape because they’ve been hit so many times by bullets, or they’re dead.” Speaking about Miriam Adelson, Trump said: “She gets it, and she’s a healthy, beautiful woman, and they’re rated equal, but she got the Presidential Medal of Freedom.”

Mariam Adelson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2018. She and her husband were the largest donors of Trump throughout his presidency; they provided the largest donation to his 2016 campaign, his presidential inauguration, his defense fund against the Mueller investigation into Russian interference and the 2020 campaign.

Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), the largest veterans advocacy group in the U.S., criticized the statement on Friday. VFW National Commander Al Lipphardt said: “These asinine comments not only diminish the significance of our nation’s highest award for valor, but also crassly characterized the sacrifices of those who have risked their lives above and beyond the call of duty.”

So, you don’t have to accept John Kelly or Stephie Grisham statements. Trump has already confirmed his lack of empathy. His dishonesty is firmly established as fact checkers are tallying up his lies per minute everytime he speaks at a rally.

Representative Crockett added a bit of levity to the ceremonies, in her comparison of Harris’ and Trump’s resumes, as if the electorate had to decide which one to hire.

Representative Crockett

“Kamala Harris has a resume, Donald Trump has a rap sheet.”

And in 2024, MAGA means “Make attorneys get attorneys” with a long list of Trump’s legal advisors are being disbarred or have been indicted. Steve Bannon (not an attorney) goes on trial in September. And Donald Trump will be sentenced in September after the jury found him guilty in the hush money case. His sentence will likely be suspended pending an appeal.

Trump is not fit to be the next President of the United States. Kamala Harris is.

Stay tuned,

Dave

Trump rally, North Carolina, August 14

by Dave

I happened upon Fox News, which announced that Trump was having a rally, yesterday, and the announcer was in North Carolina to follow Trump’s rally. She said his speech would be helped by a “terrifying” CPI report that had just been issued. It was weird, because the stock market was up that day.

They told me to talk about this. (Yes my handlers)

Trump went on stage, with his usually claims of how terrible the economy and only he could fix it. But, it was pretty weird intro:

“They say it’s the most important subject. I’m not sure it is, but they say it is the most important.”

So, he’s basically telling his audience the substance of his talk they can take it or leave it. Just go with the big theme, chant USA at every pause and everything will be ok.

Inflation

The “terrifying” CPI report on inflation was in fact, pretty good with a drop of 0.1% to 2.9%, which many analysts were suggesting that the Fed would cut rates, very slightly in September. Trump focused on the motor vehicle insurance index, which has increased by 19% over the last year.

Wall Street was not terrified. Actually they were pretty happy. The Dow Jones advanced 245 points or 0.61%, and it may be another good day today (Aug 15) based on the futures market. Are they missing something, Donald?

I haven’t really parsed through his speech. In an earlier Trump-Musk interview, Trump said, “I think we have the worst inflation we’ve had in 100 years. They say it’s 48 years, I don’t believe it,” he told Musk. Certainly not today, but in June 2022, inflation hit 9.1%. it was the highest since 1980. The real story is how fast inflation has dropped since then, as the current CPI is 2.9%. The Fed basically withdrew the stimulus required during the Covid-19 years and it worked.

This is typical politics. You hammer at your opponent when things are going bad, and zero credit, when things are improving.

Link: Fact check: Trump made at least 20 false claims in his conversation with Elon Musk

This stuff on inflation is pure Trumpism- if I can tell a small lie, how about an even bigger one. You will hear both Trump and J.D. Vance use the word “fake” a lot, when they are making up things!

We’re being ripped off big time and I am your savior

“Former president Donald Trump on Wednesday appeared to open the door to significantly expanding his plans to impose sweeping new tariffs if he returns to office, suggesting an escalation in proposals that many experts already see as likely to cause a global trade war.” Washington Post, Aug 15. This is an excerpt from a full story.

“We’re going to have 10 to 20 percent tariffs on foreign countries that have been ripping us off for years,” Trump said Wednesday. “We’re going to charge them 10 to 20 percent to come in and take advantage of our country.”

Nobody likes to be ripped off, so it is a great one liner. Unfortunately, when we increase tariffs on imports, foreign governments retaliate with equal hikes on the purchase of US goods. The real net result is that tariffs are passed on to consumer, so everyone is paying more in the US and abroad. This depresses economic activity worldwide, and inflation increases.

A lot of what he said, was actually pretty scary and would undermine the recent efforts to reduce inflation. Hopefully, in this case, he doesn’t actually follow through with what he’s proposing.

What doesn’t work – cutting taxes again for wealthy Americans

Deficits occur when the outflow exceeds inflows. Republicans used to remind us of this and running a high deficit will increase interest rates (I am a particular fan of Paul Ryan who really understood this).

“Trump also renewed his call to eliminate taxes seniors pay on their Social Security benefits. He didn’t explain how the plan would work, but critics say it would cost more than a trillion dollars and exhaust federal programs faster.”

See link: Trump’s Social Security tax break could make 2 fragile safety nets even weaker

Hopefully, this will not be enacted. Those retirees whose Social Security benefits are very low, pay little or not taxes. So this benefits the rich at the expense of weakening the safety nets

Healthcare Reform

Obamacare was passed in January 2014, and ever since, Republicans have vowed to repeal it, and replace it with a better program. They almost succeeded in eliminating it. The Supreme Court ruled the law was constitutional. This would have been a massive step backwards for people who needed medical insurance.

So, Trump is finally backing off on this issue. His comments: “We’ll keep it. It stinks. It’s not good. If we can do something better, we’re going to do something with it,” he said at his rally in Asheville, North Carolina.

Illegal Immigration – and old lies

Always a hot topic. Trump always claim that during his time, he got 400 miles of wall built. Actually, only 47 miles of new security fencing was built. Another 33 miles of secondary security fencing was constructed. The vast majority of the 452 miles is repairing or replacing existing structures at the border that had been built by previous US administrations. We share a 2,000 mile border with Mexico.

Trump also attacked Harris as the “border czar.” This is a lie. The responsibility for border security was always with the Department of Homeland Security. Harris was asked to negotiate with Central American leaders on ways to stem the huge surge of migrants from economically depressed areas in their countries. This is an incredibly important to reducing illegal immigration.

Name Calling- old style Trump

We have heard it before with “Sleepy Joe” and “Crooked Joe.” But, neither of these labels will work with Kamala Harris. Nothing partisan, as his nicknames for Republicans are equally abusive, as there is “Lying Ted” for Ted Cruz, “Meatball Ron” for Ron DeSantis (an ethnic slur on his mother’s Italian heritage), “birdbrain” for Nikki Haley and “Mr. Magoo” for former AG Jeff Sessions. See list at the end.

“You know why she hasn’t done an interview? She’s not smart. She’s not intelligent. And we’ve gone through enough of that with this guy, Crooked Joe,” Trump said, using the nickname he often uses for Biden.

Ok, she’s not smart and also she’s not intelligent. Well, it’s a lot better than Mr. Magoo, Meatball Ron, Birdbrain or Lying Ted.

List of Trump’s nicknames: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nicknames_used_by_Donald_Trump

I am still totally amazed at how many people have internet access and will not fact check statements made by Trump.

Stay tuned,

Dave

Hush Money Trial to begin, other court case issues to be resolved slowly

by Dave

On April 15, the Hush Money case begins. Finally Trump’s delay schemes got him only an extra 20 days. I’m glad. Could end in mid June. The judge will not put up with other ways to delay this case. My prediction – Trump will be sentenced to jail time, but this will be stayed pending his appeal. The other cases have definitely gotten bogged down.

The Supreme Court knows they control the timing of the federal January 6 trial with the presidential immunity case and they don’t seem anxious to fast track this case. The court traditionally releases the most controversial decision at the end of the term, so it could be decided from June to early July. Almost every legal expert expects Trump to lose on this one.

Trump lawyers are filing dozens of pre-trial motions in the Classified Documents case. The Special Counsel suggested a July start date, while Trump’s team hopes to push this off to next year, obviously in hopes that Trump would win the Presidency. The Special Counsel is especially concerned that Judge Cannon will allow the list of witnesses to be made public before trial. Also they object to needless hearings related to dismissal of the case.

They [Trump’s lawyers] want the judge to hold a hearing to force the government to produce evidence of what they say is a “selective and vindictive” prosecution. Prosecutors say no such evidence exists and that it would be unprecedented to grant a hearing in the matter.

See link: Trump’s trial over classified documents in Florida could start as soon as this summer

Many legal experts, are critical of Judge Cannon’s decisions, saying they are not legally sound and result in complicating and delaying the trial. See link below:

Salon: “Very, very troubling”: Ex-judges worry Judge Cannon’s pro-Trump rulings “clearly suggest bias”

The Special Counsel can appeal a wrong decision, but this can take months.

There are both legal and practical aspects in some court decisions. I can understand the practical aspects a lot easier. I stated from a practical perspective, the voters decide elections, not the courts. So, I was glad the Supreme Court decided in Trump’s favor on the disqualification case.

The second one happened yesterday, with the bond in the civil business fraud case being lowered to 175 million from 464 million dollars, and giving Trump an extra 10 days to secure the bond. The appellate court did not explain their reasoning, but since the entire case is under review by the appellate court, it seemed unnecessary to force liquidation of Trump’s assets at this point. I was glad because Trump could not whine about how they [the DA’s office] were stealing his hotels.

So, New York Appellate Court was nice to Trump on the bond issue. Didn’t help, as he made some comments about how terrible NY was treating him, as follows:

Fact check: Trump tells ‘mind-bogglingly nonsensical’ story about the New York Stock Exchange

Now, once the Appellate Court rules, then it is a new ball game. Trump must pay up or his assets can be liquidated. And if it comes to this, it is going to be slow and messy.

The Georgia case is also going slow, as Judge McAfee tossed out 6 charges, as not being fully explained in legal terms. DA Willis can file briefs to get the charges restored. No trial date has been scheduled.

Stay tuned,

Dave

Trump Legal Issues Update including Calendar Wars

by Dave

The big question is what comes after the Hush Money case. I call this “calendar wars.” I really tried to adhere to the axiom, “Everything should be made as simple as possible but not simpler” often attributed to Einstein.

— Calendar Wars

The Hush Money trial starts March 25 and may go through mid-May, which would allow another criminal trial to begin. It is unclear which one – Documents or Jan 6 case. Trump’s team would like both delayed to post-November, but they could opt to accept a pre-election start date for the Documents case so they can push the more damaging Jan 6 case to after the election. For political purposes, always the less embarrassing case goes first. The Jan 6 case could be put on hold by the Supreme Court.

It is also been suggested by commentators that Judge Cannon might be more lenient to Trump’s delaying tactics with frivolous motions than Judge Chutkan. It looks hopeless that the Georgia trial case will start prior to 2025. But, we shall see.

Hush Money Case: There will be a lot of commentary connected with this trial. Republicans will certainly down play this case, claiming it should be a misdemeanor charge, rather than a felony.

Prosecutors have asked Judge Juan Merchan to order a partial gag order barring Trump from making or directing others to make public statements about potential witnesses, prospective jurors and members of the prosecution team and their families other than District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Trump can blast away at DA Bragg all he wants and has already made a lot of false statements. See link below:

CNN Fact check: Trump makes false and evidence-free claims at Manhattan courthouse

DA Alvin Bragg has described the case in terms of 2016 election interference, which I believe is correct. The secret payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal were done, so his election prospects wouldn’t be hurt by knowledge of these affairs. His reported sexual encounter with Stormy Daniels (Stefanie Clifford) was just one time. He suggested to her, that she could be on his show, “Celebrity Apprentice” but this never happened. She claims he tried to keep the affair alive but she rejected this. The affair with Karen McDougal lasted 9 months.

There has been a lot of contentious issues of who should be allowed to testify and what evidence is material to this case. Donald Trump will absolutely appeal any conviction and these pre-trial motions will be a part of his appeal. See link:

Link: Trump seeks to block Stormy Daniels, Michael Cohen from testifying at NY hush money trial

Jan 6 Case: Trump’s ex-presidential immunity case is now pending in the Supreme Court. What his lawyers want, is to put a hold on the start of the January 6 election obstruction trial. The Special Counsel urges the Supreme Court to either allow the Appellate court ruling to stand, and begin trial as soon as possible or to hear the case on a highly expediated schedule.

Most experts predict that Trump is destined to lose the case, so the issue is whether he can delay it to after the election. So far, no decision. Conservatives on the bench can hand Trump a victory, simply by taking up the case, and then pushing it to the next term to be decided. The three liberals probably have heard enough on this subject, and would be ready to rule against Trump immediately.

Documents case: Pre-trial motions keep going back and forth. Judge Cannon ordered documents unsealed so Trump’s team could know potential witnesses that could be called by the prosecution. Smith request a reconsideration of the order, and he may file an appeal if Cannon doesn’t reverse herself. Legal experts have generally sided with the prosecution, as it gives Trump’s team time to find ways of intimidating witnesses. Trump is well known for his attacks on just about everyone involved in a case against him.

Trump also filed a lengthy “motion to dismiss” brief, and Cannon wants separate briefs for each issue. The Rolling Stone’s lyric, “Makes a grown man cry” is probably resonating in the Smith’s office as Judge Cannon seems reluctant to rule against Trump. Presidential immunity is part of the motion to dismiss, and I’m thinking it is the quickest way to put the whole trial on hold. As discussed in “Calendar Wars” a lengthy hold on the Documents case could disadvantage Trump, as the more damaging January 6 case becomes the likely successor to the Hush Money case.

Judge Cannon has scheduled a hearing on March 1 to review delays in the trial date. The Special Counsel would like the trial to begin on May 20, 2024, but legal experts suggest this date is unrealistic.

Link: The Trump Docket: Jack Smith and Mar-a-Lago judge set for major showdown over protecting witnesses in documents case

Georgia Election Interference Case: We will know soon if DA Fani Willis affair with Nathan Wade will end in her disqualification. The entire conspiracy case disappears at this point! Just as I was ready to post this, Judge McAfee ordered Terrence Bradley, who was Nathan Wade’s partner and divorce lawyer, to answer additional questions, ruling that attorney-client privileges do not extend as far as he allowed before in the hearing.

Michael Roman and several other co-defendants in Trump’s election case are seeking Willis’ disqualification from the case on the grounds that she benefited financially from a “personal, romantic relationship” with Wade, who she hired for the case.

Judge has scheduled a hearing on March 1 on the Willis/Wade romance. I am hoping this does not derail the case.

No date has been set for conspiracy trial. It will be televised and a bit of a circus with all the lawyers defending 15 defendants. For this reason, I believe the Jan 6 federal case is, with the sole focus on obstruction of justice and interference in election proceedings by Trump, is still the most damaging. If Trump gets re-elected, the January 6 case will be sure be dismissed but the Georgia case will continue.

This sums up the four criminal cases. In related cases, Trump needs to come up with bond for the civil cases, which have been appealed. This is a very fluid story of what is possible. There’s the Colorado Disqualification case in the Supreme Court, which may rule in Trump’s favor. I would like this, as voters not judges, need to decide elections.

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

The New York State Case Begins

by Dave

When something works, there is a tendency to repeat it. It looked to Trump like over valuations really worked. It is a fact that as he was making money, so were his companies and the banks. A win-win.

To Trump, image is everything. “I look better if I’m worth $10 billion than if I’m worth $4 billion,” he once said, disputing his ranking on the Forbes billionaires list. (a quote from the New York Times)

Multiple fraudulent claims extract a heavy penalty in New York State. This is why Trump’s business is in so much trouble.

Donald Trump has already bashed New York Attorney General Letitia James, calling her racist, and Judge Arthur Engoron as deranged. He has referred to the AG as biased and corrupt. This is pare for the course.

See AP ink: Who is Arthur Engoron?

More to come.

Stay tuned,

Dave

Lawsuits against Trump and his businesses

by Dave

There are two civil cases and four criminal cases against Trump.

See link: What are the legal cases against Trump?

On May 9, 2023, Trump was found guilty of defamation of E. Jean Carroll (Civil case) by falsely denying he sexually assaulted her and ordered to pay 5 million dollars. He continued the attack on her character after the verdict, and she asked that the judgement be raised to 10 million dollars. Trump is appealing the case.

Of all the six cases, the E. Jean Carroll case is probably the least of his worries, because it only involves money and 5 to 10 million dollars to Trump is no big deal. But, losing is a big deal to Trump.

The next civil case against Trump is from the New York State Attorney General, Letitia James, and it concerns business fraud in New York State committed by misrepresenting the value of property to lenders (high valuations) and tax authorities (low valuations). It is due to go to trial in October 2023, and the defendants in this case also include the Trump organization, Eric Trump, Donald Jr. and Ivanka. AG James seeks to permanently bar the Trumps from doing business in New York State, and for defendants to pay 250 million dollars.

Now, come the four “biggies” which should keep the Donald up at night because they are criminal and could send Trump to prison for years. He is due in court on June 13, 2023 to be arraigned on 37 counts in the Mar-a-Lago documents case. This is an evolving story and everyone is guessing of when the trial will take place. The case is being prosecuted by the Special Counsel, Jack Smith, who recently announced the grand jury indictment. It is likely Trump’s lawyers will ask for more time to prepare for a defense. The trial will take place in Florida.

Special Counsel Jack Smith is also investigating the possible criminal activities of Donald Trump in relation to the riot in the Capitol on January 6 and events following the attack. It is expected he will bring charges against Trump and others later this year.

Criminal charges against Trump for election interference in Georgia are expected by Fulton county district attorney Fani Willis, between July 11 to September 1, 2023. A grand jury has completed its work, but the details have not yet been revealed. See link above for details on this case.

Trump has been indicted in the Stormy Daniels Hush Money scandal and a trial is set to begin on March 24, 2023. The prosecutor will be Alvin Braggs, Manhattan district attorney.

All totaled 6 cases, of which I would think the two cases from Special Counsel and the one from Fulton County, GA have the highest potential for Trump to do some serious time in jail.

One last one on my list is an investigation of the deal to create Truth Social using a SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company), namely Digital World. The investigation is being done by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Agency. I don’t know if this is a criminal or civil case. A few details are given on the link below:

Link: Donald Trump’s Legal Issues

It will be hard to keep track of all these cases. Trials will be held in New York and Florida and most likely Georgia and Washington, DC. Trump and his lawyers will be busy.

Donald Trump may be his own worse enemy. This was clearly the case in the “Mar-a-Lago” Documents indictment, where his case is based largely on his statements, text message and photos from his staff. This evidence is very difficult to refute.

In the United States, the wheels of justice turn slowly. This is necessary to protect the innocent. Following an indictment, in general, Trump is quick to announce that he will win in court. Following a guilty verdict, Trump usually announces that he will appeal to a higher court. And of course, after that beg for a pardon if the next president is Republican.

Elizabeth Holmes is another billionaire judged by a jury in January 2022 to have broken the law, by falsifying results from her novel blood testing equipment. She was able to delay for 17 months the time until she reports to prison for her 11 year sentence. As a mother of two, I believe she will only serve a fraction of the time. The judge stated at sentencing:

“I suppose we step back and we look at this, and we think, what is the pathology of fraud? Is it the inability or the refusal to accept responsibility or express contrition in any way? Now, perhaps that is the cautionary tale that will go forward from this case.”

Trump will not accept responsibility. He will blame the Justice Department and the FBI. He will not likely mention that he appointed Christopher Wray as Director of the FBI. And of course, attack the judge presiding over his trial, who is also a Trump appointee.

Rich people can generally find the best lawyers money can buy. Case in point, Jeffrey Epstein who brought in famed attorney Alan Dershowitz to plea bargain his case in 2008 and got a “sweetheart deal” for abuse of underage girls.

No sweetheart deals for Donald Trump. His guilt or innocence will depend on the evidence.

Two important principles should be remembered. One is nobody is above the law. The second is until someone is found guilty in a court of law, they are presumed innocent.

Stay tuned,

Dave

Alina Habba problem

by Dave

On October 24, 2022, Alina Habba joined MAGA, Inc. Per Bloomberg News:

“One of former President Donald Trump’s top lawyers has taken on a role as senior adviser for his new political action committee, pressing his MAGA message even as she defends him in a series of high-stakes lawsuits.  Alina Habba, who represents Trump in the suit filed by New York’s attorney general over his asset valuations, has joined the MAGA Inc. team as it spends millions on ads to support Trump’s endorsed candidates in key midterm races.”

The above screenshot of Alina Habba is from NewsMax, where she was being interviewed by Sean Spicer. Sean Spicer has written several books since leaving the White House, all of which I assume are very favorable to Trump. She has an office close to Trump’s golf course and resort in Bedminister, NJ. Very convenient.

Link: Wikipedia, Alina Habba

Attorney Habba filed a civil lawsuit for Donald Trump and on January 19, 2023, Judge Middlebrooks ordered sanctions against Trump and Habba totaling $938,000. In my last posting, I summarized many of the Judge’s comments. They were not kind to Ms. Habba. Thus, Alina Habba got her 15 minutes of fame, appearing on Fox News, sending Twitter messages, etc. And for Donald Trump, it’s just another day at the office, or really running for President.

In the week that followed, two lawsuits against NY Attorney General Letitia James as filed by Alina Habba were withdrawn. Why? First, I assume that these lawsuits had zero chance of winning in court, because Trump would never allow a lawsuit that even had a one in a million chance of winning, to be withdrawn. It wasn’t every going to great news coverage, because it would remind people that AG James is suing Trump for a hefty 250 million dollars and her case is proceeding well.

Link: Trump drops appeal, ending legal fight against New York Attorney General Letitia James

Attorney Habba is worried about being disbarred, plain and simple. Sean Hannity isn’t about to invite her back to explain why she lost in court. Neither will Sean Spicer at NewsMax. When her conspiracy case got so obliterated by Judge Middlebrooks, there isn’t much to say unless you want to blame the entire legal system. They tend to be interested in facts over allegations. Trump can go on, and blame it all on the judge.

The judge added that Mr. Trump’s use of the courts had helped to undermine the public’s confidence in them. “A continuing pattern of misuse of the courts by Mr. Trump and his lawyers undermines the rule of law, portrays judges as partisans and diverts resources from those who have suffered actual legal harm,”

The four lawyers which were initially sanctioned by Judge Middlebrooks are: Alina Habba, Michael T. Madaio, Peter Ticktin and Jamie Alan Sasson, were assessed $50,000 penalties, plus $16,000 to cover the legal fees paid by one of the defendants. I believe these sanctions are being appealed.

More on Habba’s law firm:

Link from Nov 2021: Trump turns to small N.J. law firm for latest lawsuits

One of the other lawyers sanctioned by Judge Middlebrooks is Peter Ticktin, whose law office is in Deerfield Beach, Florida. Tinkin is 76 years old, and was a classmate of Donald Trump at the New York Military Academy. See link:

Link from Daily Beast: Trump’s New Lawyer Has Been Fawning Over Him Since High School

Peter Ticktin even wrote a book documenting his love of Trump: What Makes Trump Tick: My Years with Donald Trump from New York Military Academy to the Present.

Finally, I can understand how those in the legal profession are tempted to use their power of persuasion to enter into politics. I mean they have years of experience in advocacy and oratory. The difference in court, you have opposing counsel, always there to check your facts And of course, a judge to examine both sides of an issue.

There are discipline ethic boards for attorneys, such as Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman and perhaps Alina Habba, who went way too far, for their clients.

Stay tuned,

Dave

Trump’s insulting names for people and organizations

by Dave

Wikipedia compiled a list. See link:

List of nicknames used by Donald Trump

It is a long list, and contains many Republicans as well as Democrats. Frequently, they are related to being corrupt or dishonest. What is interesting is that none of the people called corrupt, have ever been charged with a crime.

Then, there’s the lazy or low energy names, and the most famous is Sleepy Joe, for Joe Biden. He’s got a long list of nicknames for Biden, including the “Corrupt Joe.”

The Trump organization has already been found guilty of corruption. Steve Bannon is free on bond at present, as his conviction is being appealed. Roger Stone received a full pardon from Trump on December 23, 2020, but I think he’ll be back in court in connection with the January 6 violence.

The list is long, and way down at the bottom, are his insults to new organizations, which he attacked as corrupt, and offering the public “fake news.” No nicknames for the the truly corrupt and ultra right wing organization, Infowars, headed by Alex Jones. Awards to victims from the defamation cases total more than 1.4 billion dollars and Jones has filed for bankruptcy. Similarly, no insulting names for Fox News which is being sued by Dominion Voting Systems, for their commentators who constantly attacked the reliability of their equipment without evidence. This was real fake news.

I congratulate Wikipedia and the great service they do. Just before posting this blog, I wanted to discuss the recent success with nuclear fusion, and of course, my first reference was Wikipedia.

So, let me close with a nickname of my own: “Amazing Wikipedia.” It is their fund raising time, and you can make a donation from their website.

Stay tuned,

Dave

Trump Finance and Documents Lawsuits

by Dave

This is just a quick update.

Finance Civil Lawsuit, September 21, 2022. NY Attorney General Letitia James filed a civil lawsuit against Donald Trump and his three children (Eric, Ivanka and Donald, Jr) alleging a long series of highly inflated estimates of the asset values of properties owned by the Trump Organization. The inflated estimates were used to in general to obtain loans. Other false estimates were provided to insurance companies to show the Trump organization had sufficient asset to guarantee repayment of the loans. The AG explained the basis of the charges at a press conference on September 21, 2022.

The lawsuit is provided below.

NY AG _Financial ComplaintDownload

As many excellent summaries of the civil lawsuit have been posted on the internet, I will not summarize the complaint, except to say it is 222 pages long, with 838 numbered paragraphs. I note the complaint provided below, is user friendly, as one can click on any of the items in the table of contents, and it will go directly to the specific paragraph. Page 213 is the “Prayer for Relief” which is way the Attorney General would like to rule against defendants. This is all up to the courts.

According to Politico:

“James’ suit relies on a special statute for repeat instances of alleged violations of the law, stemming from real estate transactions. She is also filing a criminal referral to federal prosecutors in Manhattan and a separate tax fraud referral to the IRS for the same underlying allegations.”

See Link: Trump, company and family members sued by New York AG over alleged fraud scheme

The legal pundits have indicated that it may be more than a year before this goes to trial. With so many alleged violations, if this is a trial by jury, it will be a brutal ordeal for jurors. And the criminal investigations will continue, and these can result in jail sentences for Donald Trump and gang.

In the meantime, I wonder if anyone would loan money to Trump?

The Mar-a-Lago Documents case

The Appellate Court moved at lightening speed to allow DOJ access to 100 classified documents. It is likely that Trump’s lawyer will ask the full panel of the Appellate Court to review the decision and stay the decision of the 3-judge panel while under appeal. I think this will happen quickly.

Stay tuned,

Dave