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What the hell happened to Putin?

by Dave

Donald Trump exact words, “What the hell happened to him?” in response of Putin’s massive missile and drone attack on Ukraine, many of them targeting civilians in Kyiv.

Answer: Nothing. If anyone has been paying attention to Putin in the last, at least 15 years, his attack is absolutely consistent with his objective of total control of Ukraine. Trump’s former ambassador to Ukraine could have easily told him, but of course she quit, saying Trump just wanted to appease Putin. Ambassador Brink wrote: “I just came home to Michigan from three years in the toughest job of my life ― serving as the American Ambassador to Ukraine ― supporting our democratic ally against brutal, unprovoked aggression by Russia.” Excellent.

Trump considers himself master of the deal. His overblown ego constantly gets in the way of making proper decisions. Always up front, is appearances, or exactly how to support an image of someone who gets things done.

Getting really in the way is the MAGA rhetoric, which boils down to everyone in the world is taking advantage of us. China is ripping us off. The European Union is another hostile entity, design to undermine the US competitive advantage. So, Trump’s initial attack against Zelensky, as just another hustler, misusing billions of dollars of our assistance, is falling short of reality.

“One size fits all” is probably the best line, of the chief defect in Trump’s policies. See article below:

MAGA goes global: Trump’s plan for Europe

The Ukraine needs military and humanitarian aid, to survive. It is hard for Trump to see the bigger picture. His mind is still embedded in marketing and real estate deals, where the big fish triumph. But not by bombing!

Military assistance can in the short run, ruin a president’s popularity. We have no boots on the ground, but billions of dollars are needed to defend against Russia’s aggression. Trump can sound compassionate about “ending the bloodshed” but what he wants is to end the flow of billions of US dollars to defend Ukraine. The popularity of Truman and Bush, Jr sank as the Korean and Iraqi wars dragged on. Approval ratings of Truman and Bush dropped to record lows of 22 and 25%, respectively, according to Gallup polls.

“The worst kind of foreign commitments from Trump’s perspective are military alliances. They make no sense to him, as the US is bound to protect countries that are too weak to defend themselves. These “weakling” states, meanwhile, thrive and compete economically with their protector.” Trump’s transactional mindset, is that if we are backing a country to defend it, we ought to be getting something in return.

I was glad to see Ukraine and the US sign the minerals deal. It will survive as long as Ukraine and Zelensky survive. The continuation of military and humanitarian assistance is vital. But, this means a 180 turn for Trump and a simple understanding that Russia is the invader, and the best chance for Ukraine to survive, is with Zelensky. It means supporting a long defensive war until Putin realizes he can’t win, is in the best interests of the US.

Will Trump finally come to Ukraine’s side and work again with European democracies? It’s happened before. The stock market’s recent reaction to bold tariff’s announcements, is to cling to the “taco” belief, that Trump always chickens out.

Stay tuned,

Dave

 

Trump’s Canada Bashing and Lies to Justify Tariffs

by Dave

Wow! In Trump’s first term, Trump would miss no opportunity to brag about the USMCA (US, Mexico and Canada) that is a trade agreement he negotiated to replace NAFTA. He campaigned relentlessly on the idea that both Mexico and Canada were taking advantage of NAFTA, and he was able to negotiate a lot better agreement.

As usual, in his first term, Trump said: I’m going to renegotiate NAFTA, one of the worst trade deals ever signed in the history of our country.

This could be because it was signed by a Democrat, Bill Clinton. Trade agreements are very long documents covering many issues. From Wikipedia:

During his 2016 election campaign and presidency, Trump was highly critical of NAFTA (often times describing it as “perhaps the worst trade deal ever made”) while extolling USMCA as “a terrific deal for all of us”. The USMCA is very similar to NAFTA, carrying over many of the same provisions and making only modest, mostly cosmetic changes, and is expected to have only a minor economic effect. Former U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor, who oversaw the signing of NAFTA during the Bill Clinton administration, said, “It’s the original NAFTA.”

The last comment by Mickey Kantor is likely a bit exaggerated, as there were significant changes in the USMCA agreement as discussed in the Wikipedia post.

Trump’s Lies

So far I count 12 lies. More are probably coming. Historically, the US and Canada have been very good partners, working out our differences without a lot of political rhetoric and lies. All these lies were told by Trump since January 2025. Some lies are directed at President Biden as usual (lie # 4 and 12). Remember they are lies.

1 FALSE: Canadian public likes the idea of becoming the 51st state. Truth is the Canadian public overwhelmingly opposes.

2 FALSE: US trade deficit with Canada is $200 billion. Trump has also stated the deficit is around $250 billion (from Barron’s). Barron’s cites our deficit with Canada is $64 billion. CNN cites two deficit values, 36 billion and 71 billion, the lower figure is for goods and services, and the higher value is for goods alone. All these values are nowhere close to the values cited by Trump.

3 FALSE: Canada is one of the world’s highest-tariff countries. It is actually low in global rankings.

4 FALSE: Canada hiked its dairy tariffs during the Biden administration. Tariffs haven’t changed since Trump’s first presidency.

5 FALSE: President Donald Trump claims that Canada has been “ripping us off for years” with a 250% tariff on U.S. dairy products. (Yahoo Finance) . “It is accurate that Canada imposes a tariff of approximately 250% on U.S. exports of certain dairy products into Canada. However, that tariff would only apply if we were able to reach and exceed the quota on U.S. dairy exports agreed to under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.” (Yahoo Finance- Link provided below). This is the trade agreement that Trump boasted as a “terrific deal for all of us.”

6 FALSE: Canada generally doesn’t “take” US agricultural exports. Canada is the world’s second-biggest buyer of those exports.

7 FALSE: Canada prohibits US banks. Truth is that more than a dozen US banks are operating in Canada today. Barrons and CNN consider this is a lie. “American banks are not allowed to do business in Canada,” Trump said in a social media post last month.

8 FALSE: Canada is “constantly surrounded” by Chinese and Russian ships. In fact, a smattering of Russian and Chinese military ships and jets, as well as Chinese research vessels viewed with suspicion by Canada and the US, have been occasionally spotted in recent years in the vicinity of the US state of Alaska – and have been monitored or intercepted by the Canadian and US militaries.

9 FALSE: Outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was using the ongoing tariff battle to run again for prime minister. The truth is Trudeau clearly wasn’t running.

10 FALSE: Canada spends less than 1% of gross domestic product on defense. Truth is NATO figures showed it was an estimated 1.37% last year.

11 FALSE: Trump has claimed that Canada gets 95 percent of its “product” from the United States. Trump is talking about foreign imports. US accounts for 62%. About 76% of goods exported from Canada go to the US.

12 FALSE: Trump claims massive entry of illegal immigrants and vast quantities of fentanyl from Canada. He does this by lumping Mexico and Canada together as if together, they are causing unemployment, crime and drug addiction. So, while this has nothing directly tied to tariffs, I guess the point Trump is making is that we have to start hating Canada and problems they caused, to justify the tariffs.

But consider the absurdity of it all, when we levy tariffs against a country, which has very little to do with our fentanyl epidemic or illegal immigration. Exactly, how do Canadian leaders roll back tariffs?

I guess for those who hate foreigners and blame all problems on them, this lie works. As researched by Factcheck.org, the two countries are very different. For example, in December 2024, apprehensions from Canada was 510 illegals, as compared to with 47,326 illegals from Mexico. So the split between the two countries is 99:1.

This lie about Canadians bringing in vast quantities of fentanyl is closely tied to another lie from Trump, that the fentanyl addictions accounted for 300,000 deaths in the US in 2024. Usually, this lie is tied to a political statement that Biden and the liberals did nothing about the illegal drug trafficking.

So, there is a long series of lies to correct. And I have to back up a bit. First, fentanyl is the narcotic of choice for drug smugglers because it is so concentrated, that a very small amount can cause an overdone. It is well documented that fentanyl is not carried over our border with Mexico by illegal immigrants. It is brought into the US by legal US citizens who hide the drug in their cars or trucks. It can come in by boats and planes. Sometimes, the express mail services are used to send fentanyl or pre-cursors.

Second, there were 74,000 deaths attributed to synthetic opioids (generally fentanyl) in 2024. The good news that during the Biden administration, fentanyl deaths were on the decline. Yet, it had nothing to do with Democrats or Biden administration, but with the discovery of the antagonist drug, naxolene, which helps saves addicts when they overdose.

This obviously is way off the topic of Canadian tariffs, but it is standard for Trump to jump from one lie to another, in connecting the dots that don’t exist. I can usually spot a couple lies as soon as he starts his rants. With this list of 12 lies, you can watch Trump talk and catch his favorite lies.

Trump is weakening our country and our economy, by playing to radical isolationist sentiment rather than building on good working relations with our neighbors. The region including Canada, Mexico, and the United States is one of the world’s largest free trade zones,with a population of more than 510 million people and an economy of $30.997 trillion in nominal GDP — nearly 30 percent of the global economy, and the largest of any trade bloc in the world. (Wikipedia- see first link) At the same time, he is violating the USMCA agreement, that his administration negotiated in this first term as president.

Stay tuned,

Dave

Links:

Wikipedia, US-Mexico-Canada-Agreement (USMCA)

Factcheck.org: Illegal Immigration and Fentanyl at the U.S. Northern and Southwest Borders
By D’Angelo Gore

Yahoo Finance: Does Canada Really Have A 250% Tariff In Place On US Dairy Products Imported Into Canada? Here Are The Facts

CNN: Fact check: Nine Trump false claims about Canada

Barrons: Fact-check: Trump’s Claims About Canada

Retaliatory Tariffs in Trade Wars

by Dave

I call it the return shot. The US declares tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China exports. They all react with tariffs against US exports. That’s retaliation. It is so predictable. Now, Trump sees this, and declares that there will be added US retaliation tariffs. So, just guess what happens next. A second full round of pain for all.

“Tariffs are actually, we’ve had a lot of experience with them. They’re an act of war, to some degree,” Buffett said in an interview with CBS News that aired on Sunday.

Warren Buffet is 94 years old, and an incredibly successful investor, with a net worth of 160 billion dollars. Most economists are with Buffet. Countries react as if they are attacked. Not much is accomplished.

And as I wrote in my last posting, Trump’s whole basis for tariffs is a lie, that we are making our trading partners pay for their unfair trading practices. The tariffs are past to consumers. So, it is inflationary to us and our trading partners.

When asked about tariffs’ impact on inflation, the 94-year-old Berkshire Hathaway chairman was blunt: “Over time, they are a tax on goods. I mean, the Tooth Fairy doesn’t pay ’em!” He added economists should always ask, “And then what?”

The “… then what?” is more of the same, more pain and unfortunately, from Donald Trump, a whole series of lies.

Stay tuned,

Dave

Tariffs = Trade Wars = Inflation

by Dave

This posting is very timely. The Dow Jones futures have dropped 1.2% this morning, after Trump announced plans to levy tariffs on imported goods from Canada, Mexico and China. It is a very good indication that investors are fearful of the impact of tariffs.

Almost immediately, Canada, Mexico and China will be enacting retaliatory tariffs on US exporters making it more difficult for the US to compete abroad. Tariffs are based on protectionism, or simply to keep the US industries profitable against unfair competitive practices by other countries.

Trump’s Big Lie

Trump lie is that we are making China, Mexico and China pay the tariffs. The companies that import foreign goods must pay the tariffs. The companies paying the tariffs will pass this additional cost to the consumer. Thus, the cost of many goods will go up.

In the article below it is stated, ” Trump has said that tariffs “are paid mostly by China,” rather than by Americans.” And then goes on to explain that this is untrue, as tariffs are paid by US consumers. 

What are tariffs? Here’s everything you need to know about the import duties.

Inflation to rise

Increases in inflation will hurt most Americans. The cost of buying a home will rise as the lumber to build homes will increase. The loans for homes will be more expensive. Fewer houses will be built. Cost of gas will increase, as the cost of imported oil increases. So, consumer spending will be more for staples (food and gas) and much less for discretionary spending (vacations and luxury goods).

Typically, the Fed tries to bring inflation down, by increasing interest rates they charge banks. This becomes difficult in a slowing US economy. The right solution is to drop the tariffs, because they are bad for our economy and consumers. For a variety of reasons, including Trump’s ego, this is unlikely to happen.

Stay tuned,

Dave

Russia wants Trump to win

by Dave

Russia not only wants Trump to win, they are helping him.

Russia wants Trump to win, for two simple reasons – Ukraine and NATO. Trump has said repeatedly that he will end the war in Ukraine in a single day. Of course, he won’t, but what he can do, is withdraw our military support. Expert suggest Russia will not take over Ukraine over immediately, but will fortify the occupied territory. A massive attack on Kyiv will be several years later.

NATO operates under a mutual defense agreement, that any attack on any member state, is an attack on all member states. In February, Trump suggested he would encourage Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” to any country that was “delinquent” because it had “failed to pay” its dues. This would make Putin very happy.

Russia is using cyberspace warfare to influence our election to help Trump’s campaign.

From Wikipedia:

“Officials from the ODNI [Office of Director of National Intelligence] and FBI have outlined Russia’s use of generative artificial intelligence to denigrate Harris with doctored and fake text, images, video, and audio content and outlined efforts to promote divisive content to spread anti-Americanism. Officials have assessed that Russia is attempting to fool unwitting Americans into spreading its messages and is imitating websites of established media and using human commentators to increase traffic towards those sites, which have content generated by artificial intelligence.”

The Department of Justice shut down 32 faked Russian websites, and Kremlin officials have either been sanctioned or indicted. Unlike Brussels’ reliance on new digital rules, Washington fell back on decades-old laws, including arcane trademark rules, to root out the attempted interference and hold individuals to account, immediately, for their role in the clandestine activity.

“The Justice Department’s message is clear,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland in announcing the indictments. “We have no tolerance for attempts by authoritarian regimes to exploit our democratic system of government.”

Links: Politico, Sept 25, 2024 The Real Way to Fight Russian Disinformation

Link: Russian interference in the 2024 United States elections

On September 17, Microsoft reported that Russian operatives had intensified attacks against Kamala Harris by creating videos highlighting “outlandish conspiracy theories” aimed at stoking racial and political divisions. Mentioned videos that had been viewed millions of times included a fake video of a Harris supporter attacking an attendee at a Trump rally and another staged video that falsely claimed Harris had paralyzed a young girl in a hit-and-run accident in 2011. The video was promoted through a fake website masquerading as a local San Francisco media outlet.

More efforts by Russia to help Trump win the election can be found in the Wikipedia link.

The extreme right wing of the Republican Party, seems to accept Putin’s interference, as long as it is against Democrats, and in particular Kamala Harris. It is not only unethical, it is illegal.

Stay tuned,

Dave

Nicaragua – and the authoritarian Ortega-Murillo regime

by Dave

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend” Ancient proverb

It was in the news recently, that Nicaragua has recognized Afghanistan, run by the Taliban. Their ambassador is Michael Campbell. It was announced by their Vice President, Rosario Murillo. The only other country to appoint an ambassador to Afghanistan is China.

It was weird. For all it’s human rights violations, Nicaragua is highly supportive of women’s rights, while Afghanistan under the Taliban with their autocratic, radical islamic edicts ignores women’s rights. First, Afghanistan:

Among the dozens of gender-based decrees imposed by the Taliban emir, Hibatullah Akhundzada, some of the most damaging have been edicts banning women and girls from attending public secondary schools and universities. Women have also been impeded from working for the UN and NGOs [Non Government Agencies], while other rulings have blocked them from going to parks, public baths, gyms and beauty salons.

Every year that goes by, young women are deprived of basic education. Compare this with Nicaragua (from Wikipedia):

When it comes to gender equality in Latin America, Nicaragua ranks high amongst the other countries in the region.[1] When it came to global rankings regarding gender equality, the World Economic Forum ranked Nicaragua at number twelve in 2015, while in 2016 it ranked tenth, and in 2017 the country ranked sixth.[1] Nicaragua was amongst the many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which aimed to promote women’s rights.[2]

The announcement was not made by Daniel Ortega, but his wife Rosario Murillo, who was elected vice president in 2017. Many suspect she is running the show right now.

See link: Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega establishes diplomatic ties with the Taliban

The link below from El Pais, gives further insight on the communality of these two very different countries, which is the goal of absolute control of the populace. In Nicaragua, the continuance of Ortega-Murillo will depend on the full repression of any dissent. So, in both Afghanistan and Nicaragua, the people can hear only what the government wants them to hear. The reality on the ground is very different.

See link: A ‘tropicalized Taliban regime’ and a family succession plan underway: Ortega and Murillo radicalize repression in Nicaragua

President Daniel Ortega has ruled Nicaragua since 2006. He is 78 years old. As explained in the above link, “All signs indicate that Laureano Ortega Murillo, the opera-loving son of the presidential couple, is next in line.”

I think we’ve seen this before. Or at least similar in North Korea, as Kim Jung II died in 2011, and his son, Kim Jung Un became president for life.

Per Wikipedia:

Since Daniel Ortega’s election in 2006, liberal democratic norms and individual rights in practice have deteriorated. Parties other than the ruling FSLN have been repressed through arbitrary arrest and detention of opposition candidates and activists. Most government jobs de facto require membership in the FSLN. Opposition media has been repressed through arrests of journalists and seizure of broadcasting and printing materials.

On Aug 22, Nicaragua again went totally counter their best interest (or at least the interest of their people) and closed the US Chamber of Commerce and 150 other organizations.

Per link below: “On Monday, Ortega decreed that 1,500 organizations, mostly religious and including churches, be closed. Officially, the government said they had not correctly reported their financial statements to the government.”

Another excellent quote from this new story: “They’re shooting themselves in the foot with a shotgun,” he said, noting that the government is reducing public spending and now will lose the jobs those organizations created.

See link: Nicaragua closes US Chamber of Commerce and 150 other organizations

I would call it, self inflected wounds, to shut down organizations which really give assistance to the needy, plus improve the economy in general. Agricultural trade, mainly coffee, and tourism drives the Nicaraguan economy. So, shutting down these organization which help develop the country at a local level, makes no sense, unless the aim is to control everything (and everybody) from Managua.

So, Nicaragua in many ways will follow the model of Afghanistan, Cuba, Belarus, Iran, Russia , North Korea and China, which are designed to help only the rulers, or the party in charge, not the people.

Stay tuned,

Dave

The Hush Money case and 3 others

by Dave

The sentencing of Donald Trump in the hush money case will occur on September 18, 2024. He was originally scheduled to be sentenced on July 11, 2024. This was put off until September 18 after the Supreme Court ruled on Presidential Immunity. The charges against him are falsification of business records, and Judge Merchan could sentence him to prison time for these offenses. But, immediately after sentencing, Trump’s lawyers will appeal and ask for a stay while the appeal is pending. It is expected that the Judge will grant the stay, so nothing will happen until after the election.

See link: https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-prison-felony-hush-money-conviction-experts-split/story?id=111059073

Judge Aileen Cannon granted a pre-trial motion on July 15, 2024 and dismissed the Classified Documents case. She opined that prosecutor Jack Smith had been unlawfully appointed. AG Merrick Garland definitely disagrees, and will appeal the decision.

See link: https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/15/politics/classified-documents-case-trump-dismissed-aileen-cannon

I will add, that much of Judge Cannon’s order to dismiss, was based on a concurring opinion by Judge Thomas in the Presidential immunity case. But, Judge Thomas was not commenting on the decision to grant partial immunity or any issues raised by either the Justice Department or Trump. What he wrote about was the legality of the special counsel office, and it wasn’t the proper way the Supreme Court is supposed to act. They are supposed to wait for cases to come before them, not render an opinion on an issue, yet to be heard by the court.

The other federal criminal case, is the January 6 election interference case. The Supreme Court’s decision granting Presidential immunity to official acts, did not dismiss the case, but certainly pushed back the timetable. A hearing is scheduled on September 5 concerning the charges and admissibility of evidence based on the Supreme Courts decision.

See link: https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/08/politics/special-counsel-trump-election-case-delay/index.html

The last case, is the Georgia election obstruction case, is based on RICO statutes. News of AG Willis and Attorney Wade’s relationship and subsequent hearings resulted in Attorney Wade’s being forced to resign. It wasn’t exactly what Trump and the other plaintiffs wanted, so the decision has been appealed. A decision is not expected until next year, and then this decision could be appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court. So, it is definitely stalled out way beyond the election.

See link: https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-fani-willis-georgia-election-indictment-cd810f67a76dc4c64ec3ee64749bf897

So, Trump’s team with the help of conservatives on the Supreme Court and a biased Judge Cannon (in my opinion), the final judgements will wait until after the election. Should Donald Trump win the election, in short order, he will close down the special counsel’s office, and the pending federal charges will simply disappear.

I don’t want to see this happen. Everyone is treated equally under the law. No exceptions.

Stay tuned,

Dave

Make America Worse than ever before

by Dave

Trump has attacked NATO, which without it, Ukraine would have long been taken over by Russia. He has attacked climate change, and withdrew our participation in the Paris Accords, in which we can take a leadership role in reducing the world’s dependence on non-renewable resources. He sees climate change as a hoax. He will gut the IRA, which will be a huge setback for Biden’s initiatives to reduce CO2 emissions.

He and the Trump organization have no respect for the law. He claims the charges against him are baseless. But, every time he goes to court he loses. It is because prosecutors can present irrefutable evidence. He loses on appeal.

His dishonesty is astounding. I don’t think any one can tell more lies in a single rant than Trump. On his social media site, in front of a courthouse or at his rallies, it’s non-stop falsehoods. He is detached from truth.

In the coming months, I will make the case why Trump must not be our next president. Your comments, even to the contrary will be posted. If there is a particular issue for the 2024 election you would like me to explore further, please let me know.

Stay tuned,

Dave

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.

Trump and Judge Chutkan’s Gag order

by Dave

Judge Chutkan will preside over Trump’s January 6 criminal trial, scheduled to begin on March 4, 2024. The special counsel indictment explained Trump was charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, witness tampering, conspiracy against the rights of citizens, and obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding. The trial will be held in Washington. It will not be televised.

Last week, Judge Chutkan imposed a gag order, then a few day later, temporarily paused it, as Trump’s team argued for more time to appeal the gag order. The ACLU filed an amicus curiae (meaning friend of the court) brief arguing the gag order was vague and too broad. Special Counsel filed a brief for immediately re-imposing the gag order.

The trial is 3 months away, so all this is pre-trial motions. So, Judge Chutkan better order some extra strong glasses and coffee as the documents snowball!

To Trump haters, Judge Chutkan’s gag order seemed wonderful. Yet, this is a country where we don’t silence people for disseminating views we don’t like. Actually, Trump still retains most of his rights to free speech in these court cases. He can attack the whole trial as a witch hunt and political. The DOJ is fair game. He just can not target court staff, prosecutors and potential witnesses. See the Judge’s order below:

The Court therefore ordered that:
All interested parties in this matter, including the parties and their counsel, are prohibited from making any public statements, or directing others to make any public statements, that target (1) the Special Counsel prosecuting this case or his staff; (2) defense counsel or their staff; (3) any of this court’s staff or other supporting personnel; or (4) any reasonably foreseeable witness or the substance of their testimony.

Trump’s legal team will argue Judge Chutkan’s gag order is unconstitutional. The ACLU has sided with Trump in a filing to the court, alleging the gag order is both too vague and too broad. They argue because the order is too vague, Trump would not know if he has violated the order until too late. The ACLU brief took issue with the word “target” as too imprecise.

There is incredible irony of the ACLU defending Trump’s free speech rights as he has attacked everyone else’s right to freedom of speech or the press. He sued CNN for libel and slander and asked for 475 million dollars. In July 2023, this case was dismissed. And he launched another lawsuit against the New York Times, for their article on his finances. It was dismissed in May 3, 2023 and Trump has to pay the legal fees of the New York Times. Trump obviously abused his right to free speech, as he was found guilty of defamation in the E. Jean Carroll case and ordered to pay 5 million dollars in damages. A second trial will be held in January to determine if 10 million dollar more should be added to the damages.

So, I believe the ACLU had to hold their noses and stick to their principles in siding with Trump. They began the brief, stating:

“Former President, and now Defendant, Donald Trump has said many things. Much that he has said has been patently false and has caused great harm to countless individuals, as well as to the Republic itself. Some of his words and actions have led him to this criminal indictment, which alleges grave wrongdoing in contempt of the peaceful transition of power.”

OK, I would have been satisfied with just calling him a habitual liar. But they go on:

“But Trump retains a First Amendment right to speak, and the rest of us retain a right to hear what he as to say.”

An outstanding point. Restricting someone’s freedom of speech is depriving the public of a right to hear his views. And that is a core principle of democracy. Autocratic governments find ways to limit free speech, particularly over the internet or on cable news.

Yet, the Judge must ensure impartial administration of justice. The gag order is applied to all parties, including prosecutors, the defendant and the defense counsel. A fair trial means maintaining the right of prosecutors to present evidence and and the right of the defendant to demonstrate his innocence.

In this case, it is a balancing act of a rights to carefully crafted gag order. Otherwise, Donald Trump may use the power of social media, including Truth Social which he owns and cable news stations and millions of radical supporters to sufficiently intimidate witnesses and alter the outcome of the trial.

Link:

aclu-briefDownload

Stay tuned,

Dave

This is the response by Special Counsel Jack Smith

trumps-big-mouthDownload

Trump’s Court Cases

by Dave

There are 4 criminal and 2 civil court cases in which Donald Trump has been charged. I found Wikipedia is doing an excellent job of providing updates on these cases, so I provided Wikipedia links to all the criminal cases in the webpage to the right of this blog.

I will rely on Wikipedia to keep up with events. With each ruling against Trump in the pre-trial phase or during the trial, Trump’s legal team files appeals. These appeals have not stopped or seriously delayed these cases from moving forward.

In addition to the news of the day, there is a lot of commentary. I do not need to add to this, except to say I have faith in the judicial system, and the defendants have abundant resources to defend themselves.

Stay tuned,

Dave

Then along came Bob…

by Dave

The Republicans were accusing the Biden administration of unequal justice, and their narrative I’m sure was convincing to some. And then Democratic Senator Bob Menendez was indicted, along with his wife Nadine, and three New Jersey businessmen from New Jersey on a years-long bribery scheme. The charges alleges that Bob Menendez used his position as Senator to pressure US Department of Agriculture to protect a monopoly to Wael Hana by Egypt in exchange for money. These are very serious criminal charges.

This is why I like the no nonsense attitude of Christopher Wray of the FBI and AG Merrick Garland. The term “law and order” is used too flippantly. What I feel, is with effective law enforcement of all crimes, then trust in our institutions is strengthen. At least it should.

“The FBI has made investigating public corruption a top priority since our founding — nothing has changed. The alleged conduct in this conspiracy damages the public’s faith in our system of government and brings undue scorn to the honest and dedicated public servants who carry out their duties on a daily basis. To those inclined to use the status of their public office for personal benefit, or those willing to provide bribes in an attempt to gain influence from a public official, the FBI will ensure that you face the consequences in the criminal justice system for your underhanded dealings.”

The above was stated by FBI Assistant Director in Charge, Jack Smith. Every honest Senator or Congressional representative suffers when others can be bought out with gold bars.

See link: Senator Robert Menendez, His Wife, And Three New Jersey Businessmen Charged With Bribery Offenses

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the FBI and DOJ have been “weaponized” against conservatives. He said that, if elected, he’d fire FBI Director Chris Wray on day one in May 27, 2023. Well, then along came Bob …

FBI Director Christopher Wray is a life long Republican and a member of the conservative Federalist Society. But, he has adhered to the Justice Department’s core principle of equal justice for all. There are huge challenges ahead in criminal enforcement, with increasing cybercrimes, supported or accepted by the regimes of North Korea, Russia, Iran and China. We face enormous challenges in illegal drug trafficking. The same tactics of search warrants and the use of informants will be critical in arresting groups involved in these activities.

I have listen the FBI Director testify in Congressional hearings. Republicans seemed to hate the idea that Donald Trump’s home in Florida was subject to a legal search warrant. They did not object to the use of search warrant for Bob Menendez and his wife. I liked Wray’s responses.

With Biden, you will have a good director in charge of the FBI, and a president who lets the FBI investigate crime, regardless of political party. With Trump or DeSantis, it will be the end to equal justice.

It’s not law and order. It’s investigation and criminal prosecution for all that break the law, then comes respect for the integrity of our institutions.

Stay tuned,

Dave

Trump’s Legal Problems – October 4, 2023

by Dave

Trump showed up for part of the third day of the New York State civil trial. He is now under a gag order not to make disparaging comments about court employees or their families. I predict two big former employees will be testifying next week, first Allen Weiselberg, who was Trump’s Chief Financial Officer, and Michael Cohen, who was Trump’s attorney.

Trump has blasted the whole case as unfair, to put it mildly, without a jury to evaluate all the facts. However, legal experts have laid the blame, partly on Trump’s lawyers, who did not object a non-jury trial.

See Link: “Mind-blowing”: Legal experts warn that lawyer’s incredible “screw-up” is “very ominous” for Trump

I’m not sure they would have succeeded, because they would have to argue for special circumstances exist to allow for a jury trial.

Trump’s attorney Alina Habba adds a bit of drama, but she is not winning any points with the judge:

You Tube video (4.4 minutes) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLS80Vxe59U . Fallon Cousins is not a lawyer, but a progressive commentator.

Will Trump testify? He said he wants to, but his lawyers will likely suggest to him that he has more to lose than gain. If he testifies and makes false statements, he can be charged with perjury.

In January, E. Jean Carroll defamation case II will begin. Carroll is seeking an additional 10 million dollars in her suit.

Now on to the heavy hitters- the criminal cases which are Hush Money, Georgia Conspiracy, Classified Documents and January 6 Federal Case, with prosecutors Bragg, Willis, Smith and Smith, respectively.

Hush Money Case: Trump’s lawyers filed for a motion to dismiss of all charges (summary judgement). The case is scheduled for trial in March 2024 in Manhattan. I believe the motion to dismiss will fail.

Georgia Conspiracy: Recent ruling, favorable to the prosecution, have help this case. Both Sidney Powell and Ken Cheseboro have requested a speedy trial. The judge set their trial to begin on October 23, 2023. What they did not want, was to be tried together, and they lost their bids for separate trials.

Others have tried unsuccessfully to have their cases moved to federal court. It was widely anticipated that Donald Trump would also file for removal to federal court. Trump did not file for removal and decided to remain with the others in Georgia.

Then, prosecutors have accepted a plea deal for Scott Hall, one of the defendants, in exchange for his testimony, which likely will be very damaging to Sidney Powell’s case. Additional defendants might to get similar plea deals, which allow them to avoid jail time. Legal experts consider that AG Willis just has too many defendants to try at the same time, so it is to her advantage to offer plea deals, if the defendants can help her case. So, as I count, the large group of conspirators, is now down to 16, down from 19 before.

Classified Documents: Trial to begin May 2024. Judge will have to make some contentious rulings on rules regarding the inspection of classified documents. With the back and forth of motions, this could impact the trial start date. Trump’s lawyers want this case to be held after the presidential elections, and prosecutors are insisting on the May 2024 start date. At issue are rules established in the Classified Information Procedures Act or CIPA. The judge might just push back the start date.

Federal January 6 Case: Trial date to begin March 4, 2024. Trump lost in a bid to delay until April 2026. Just in case you’ve forgotten the charges: The special counsel indictment explained Trump was charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, witness tampering, conspiracy against the rights of citizens, and obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding. This will be televised, and the timing, just before Superbowl couldn’t be worse.

After Trump attacked the courts and prosecutors, Judge Chutkan ordered a partial gag order, limiting what Trump could say about prosecutors, potential witnesses and others. Trump’s lawyers argued against this, and a hearing is set for October 16. Gag orders for both prosecutors and defendants are necessary at times, particularly so jurors and witnesses are not inadvertently intimidated by what is said in public.

That’s a wrap. I forgot Steve Bannon “Build the Wall” fraud case starts in May 28, 2024 in Manhattan, so court reporters will go back to Judge Juan Merchan courtroom, following the Hush Money case. Bannon was pardoned by Trump but they were able to file criminal charges against him under NY State law.

And of course, Rudy Giuliani’s lawsuit against Joe Biden for referring to him as a Russian pawn. Wasn’t Rudy Giuliani practically broke? Don’t think this one has legs.

Stay tuned,

Dave

Trump’s Seven Springs Property

by Dave

The 213-acre Seven Springs property in Bedford, NY was bought by Donald Trump for 7.5 million dollars, in 1995 and belongs to the Trump Organization. The property lies about one hour drive outside of New York City, in Westchester county, close to Connecticut. This image is from the Trump’s organization website, and the mansion is truly opulent. At 7.5 million dollars, many consider this a real bargain.

See link from the Trump organization website:

https://www.trump.com/estates

The interior of the Seven Springs mansion is also stunning. It is also immaculate because no one lives there. Trump hasn’t visited the property in over four years. I’m certain there is a staff, keeping the place immaculate. He wanted this property as an investment, but every time he tried to develop the property, he ran into opposition.

It was used initially as a family get away location, where Donald and his family could get away during the hot summer months. His sons remember the property as children, where Donald Trump would have them do chores on the property and learn a bit about construction.

Trump wanted to build a golf course at Seven Springs and spent 9 years (I think 2005 to 2013) getting this approved. However, one little problem emerged, namely the golf course lawn would need fertilizer to be kept nice and green for the golfers. And the unspent fertilizer would run off into the Byram Lake, causing pollution. It’s a very common problem, as fertilizer is high in nitrates, and excessive vegetation will starve fish and other marine life of oxygen. The lake is used to supply drinking water to Mount Kisco and so real health issues were involved. So, this might explain why Trump deep down hates environmentalists. They stopped his golf course plans.

The property lies within 3 townships, Bedford, New Castle and North Castle, and residents vigorously protested the golf course on the basis of increased traffic and environmental issues. So by 2013, Trump gave up on the idea of the grand 18-hole golf course, and looked to subdivide the property and build houses on the property. More permits, more protests. Nothing really panned out.

In February 2019, Donald Trump’s lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, testified under oath in the Congressional Oversight Committee, accusing Donald Trump of inflating the value of his properties, to enhance his ability to secure loans. In his testimony, he specifically stated that the Seven Springs property had been valued at a whopping 291 million dollars. In his book in 2020, entitled Disloyal, he named other properties which the Trump organization would double or triple the value, in a very cavalier manner.

In March 2021, the Associated Press published a well researched article on the “sleepy NY estate” like a sleepy dog that you do not dare to disturb. The undevelopable property found a way to make money for Trump anyway, by making an arrangement with the state, not to develop it, and be paid for environmental conservation. Imagine that! The Donald who wanted to become rich by building another golf course, and pollute Lake Byram was now an environmentalist. Well a greedy and dishonest environmentalist who knew how to work the system was what he was.

AP Article: Claimed value of sleepy NY estate could come to haunt Trump

There is more irony to this story. Donald Trump who claims to love his country so much, he wraps himself up in the American flag, was bilking millions from the government (and tax payers) with the conservation payments based on highly exagerrated property evaluation.

Axiom exposed the wide ranging valuation issues in September 2021.

Link: Key takeaways from New York AG’s lawsuit against Trump

It seems Eric Trump was really the one negotiating and approving these deals. The charges against Donald Trump are very long (222 pages). Everything is over appraised, apartment buildings, hotels and golf courses. A total of 23 properties are involved. See links at the end of this posting.

The court case begins on October 2, 2023 and is scheduled to go four months. It is a witch hunt in a sense that the skeletons of the Trump’s shady business deals are coming out of the closet. Actually, there is a warehouse full of skeletons. I pity the jury, who must go through all this, but it will prove again that Donald Trump and his sons have little respect for the law.

I suspect the IRS and the Justice Department will be closely following this case, and they have the authority to bring criminal charges against Donald Trump and likely Eric Trump as well. It still baffles me how Trump receives millions of dollars in contributions to defend his illegal actions, which in this case, hurt the taxpayers. Not the way to make America great.

Stay tuned,

Dave

Summary of Charges

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Lawsuit Filed by New York State Attorney General Office

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