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It has happened at last – Trump indicted – politicalbetting.com
It has happened at last – Trump indicted – politicalbetting.com
Jack Smith: “The attack on our nation’s capital on Jan. 6 was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy…it was fueled by..lies by the defendant, targeted at the nation’s process of collecting, counting and certifying the results of the presidential election.” pic.twitter.com/86QjJ2bNRD
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Watched via King County Elections webcam as final voters at the voting center at KCE HQ cast their ballots. A couple minutes past 8pm HOWEVER they were already at the counter at that time, so good to go, provided their signatures on outside ballot envelop are validated; in WA elections EVERY returned ballot signature is checked.
Whether that sentiment resonates with the wider US electorate, on the other hand, is a question best left to the reader.
There is an uncanny amount of similarity between Jeremy Corbyn and Donald Trump, so perhaps like his British equivalent it will take a second electoral defeat in November next year to provide the stake through the heart that his form of politics so richly really needs.
Hopefully 6 January was the equivalent of Salisbury where the wider electorate saw his true colors [sic].
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-12362329/ANDREW-NEIL-Im-proud-TERF-join-JK-Rowling-line-gender-wars.html
A conviction on this charge would be punishable by up to five years in prison. Congress enacted this statute after the Civil War to go after white Southerners, including members of the Ku Klux Klan, who used terrorism to prevent formerly enslaved African Americans from voting. But in a series of 20th-century cases, the Supreme Court upheld an expanded application of the statute to election fraud conspiracies, like ballot box stuffing. Essentially, Mr. Trump, who baselessly said Mr. Biden's narrow victories in swing states like Georgia and Arizona were rigged, is himself accused of trying to rig the electoral outcome in those states in his favor.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/08/01/us/politics/trump-jan-6-indictment-2020-election-annotated.html
https://www.thedailybeast.com/six-things-we-learned-from-the-new-trump-indictment
https://twitter.com/vermontgmg/status/1686531761352609792?s=20
The Republican line - parroted by the House speaker - is that Biden has engineered the prosecution in some mysterious manner.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/08/01/trump-biden-2024-presidential-election-white-house-poll/
The Democrats have opened Pandoras box and this could go anywhere . THe US is screwed
It's a small charity that's mostly concerned itself with antisemitism on-line, which wrote a report that no-one read, that highlighted a bunch of Twitter posters who (they alleged) breached Twitter's own ToS, yet were still allowed to post.
This reminds me of the McLibel trial. If this goes to court, it's not going to be about the charity on trial, it's going to be about the accounts that they wrote about.
And I just don't see the defamation here: if the CCDH has a good faith reason for believing those Tweets were in contravention of the the ToS (and the hurdle is pretty high for proving they did not), then all that will happen is that Twitter will have drawn massive amounts of attention to a report that no-one would otherwise have ever heard of.
(The cynic would say that there's no intention of winning, merely of frightening other people off writing reports that Twitter find inconvenient.)
It was Donald J Trump who attempted to overthrow an election, not the Democrats.
But the combined effect of all this is to drag the US in to the gutter.
And, it's the Democrats fault that Donald Trump allegedly committed crimes?
You can call a "pox on both your houses" with some degree of accuracy. But to point to the Dems and say the ball is entirely in your court - as you are doing - is willfully blind.
Now, I really, really hate the idea that governments use their political power to pursue political opponents. (Like Trump and the IRS vs Comey, for example.) But at the same time, should your political position shield you from all legal liability?
What of the upcoming tax/wirefraud case in NY? Trump valued properties at one price for the tax authorities and another for mortgages. And this wasn't a 10% difference, it was a multiple. People go to jail for that kind of thing all the time. Should he not be prosecuted, solely because he was President?
The second part of that seems true.
Hounding Trump will achieve precisely nothing except to make him more popular with his supporters and make diviisions in US society deeper.
As for the legal guff, Hilary is still walking free and has never been near a court nd I dont think anyome seriously expects the Biden\Hunter mess to be investigated before an election.
(a) The Dems did pretty well at the midterms
(b) Trump has pretty ugly favorables
(c) most patients are reelected
Of course, this could all change in the event that Biden is not the democratic nominee, or if evidence comes out that Hunter was more than a junkie claiming influence he didn't have.
😶
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/08/01/bank-monzo-jeremy-hunt-refused-account-tories-evil/
“Staff at the bank which refused to give the Chancellor an account described the Conservatives as “evil” and celebrated Tory election losses, The Telegraph can reveal.
“Employees at Monzo, the challenger bank with more than seven million customers, also said Sir Jacob Rees Mogg, the Tory grandee, “could do the human race a favour” by leaving politics and called Harry Potter author JK Rowling “vile”.
“Amid a backlash over the “debanking scandal”, Jeremy Hunt revealed last month he had his application for an account with the lender rejected before he was appointed Chancellor.
“Monzo was also criticised last week after it emerged that it had told Gina Miller, the anti-Brexit campaigner, that it would close her political party’s account.”
And there seems rather good indications that he broken the law on a few occasions - some seriously.
Do you really want presidents (or PMs) to be above the law?
Like, for example, the hush money case.
At the same time, not all the offences are minor.
That's his attitude, certainly, and that's what's got him into trouble.
Nobody is 'hounding' him, they're enforcing the multiple laws he's deliberately broken for his own gain.
He was a dinosaur then and still a dinosaur now.
But they do come across as a bit Trumpite otherwise.
This is simply bad politics. Not that we can be sanctimonious about it we'll bury the crap in a public enquiry which has at least the advantage of stopping things getting overheated. But our PMs are effectively above the law.
As for Obama and Biden, yes, they broke confidentiality, as did Clinton. It demonstrates they are very arrogant and make mistakes. Trump has done the same. However, we are currently talking about him being indicted for an attempted coup which only failed because Trump is as stupid as he's nasty. Do you honestly think that is comparable to sending emails on the wrong server and lying about it?
(Incidentally if the justice system in America were fully partisan and controlled by politicians why would Trump not have used it to lock up Clinton and Biden? It's worth remembering one of the things he is accused of doing is indeed making criminal allegations against Biden. Oddly, none of them led to an indictment.)
That matter alone says what a poor position the Dems have, Worse now that the principle has been established if Trump were to win the election he can quite happily clear out the DoJ, pack it with his place men like Giuliani and lock up who he pleases as the Dems arent exactly choirboys.
And for the record I think that would be a total bag of shit too,
It is absorbing Ukraine’s attacks. Which essentially go nowhere. It counter attacks in the north and east. There is absolutely no sign of Russia “running out of missiles and drones” - it sent dozens last night and this morning. It is obviously getting new supplies
It is strangling Ukraine’s economy by bombarding the Black Sea coast. It is grinding down the Ukrainian army which has much more limited manpower than Russia
I don’t want to be pessimistic. I want Ukraine to win. But right now in Ukraine it *feels* bad
The average person in England buys only seven single-use plastic bags a year, less than a fifth of the number before the charge was introduced.
A 5p charge was brought in eight years ago for supermarkets, then doubled to 10p and expanded to cover small retailers.
The number of single-use plastic bags sold has plummeted from 2.1 billion in 2016-2017 to 406 million in the most recent financial year.
Tesco and Waitrose sold no single-use plastic bags last year. All the other big supermarkets had drops in the sale of plastic bags, apart from Sainsbury’s, which had an increase of 2.7 on the year before.
While the largest share of plastic bags were once sold by the main retailers — Asda, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, the Co-op, Waitrose and Morrisons — the picture has changed and most are now sold at smaller shops.
A third of plastic bags sold last year were through the main retailers, down from more than half in 2016-2017.
As a result, supermarkets sold just two bags per person in England last year. The figure rises to seven when all retailers are factored in but it is a long way from the 38 in 2016-2017.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/uk-supermarket-plastic-carrier-bag-charge-fee-drop-usage-2023-lpgjwd83v
And nobody denies that many public figures have broken document retention laws. The difference is that - when called up on it - they've handed papers back and said "my bad". Trump lied about and then instructed people to destroy evidence.
That's perversion of the course of justice, and that's a pretty serious crime everywhere. (And it's also one that appears to be relatively well documented.)
I hate the idea that people are prosecuted for political reasons, whether Clinton or Trump or whoever. But at the same time, having been President can't give you an unlimited shield to allow you to break the law.
Her husband was, in case you've forgotten, impeached for his crimes although he wasn't in the end convicted.
Whether it’s an actual change in the behaviour of politicians, or whether it’s simply that the now find out more about what they’re really like, is a difficult call to make.
I really don’t like the idea of trying to find reasons to put your opponents in jail, that’s really not how these things should work in a democracy. It’s plain as day that if Trump wins, he won’t stop until Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, and Hillary Clinton, are all in jail too. Then the next time a Democrat wins, he’ll pardon the incarcerated Democrats then try and put Trump and associates in jail, and so on.
Someone needs to be the adult in the room, and take a step back. No idea who it might be though, and no idea when.
You clearly rate Trumps abilities much higher than me. J6 was incompetent policing.
A coup is when a bunch of blokes in tanks turn up in your capital and shut down government and take control of the media. See Russia last month of Niger this.
A big bag of wind sulking that he lost is not a coup. Indeed if there is one thing we saw from Trumps presidency its that hes not very good at organising and coups take a lot of organising.
“For the last two months, as Ukrainian troops have tried to break through Russian defenses in a broad counteroffensive to seize back occupied terrain in southern Ukraine, their units have run into dense minefields and heavy Russian artillery fire and drone attacks.
“Each mile is a bloody fight as the counteroffensive has progressed painfully slowly, with units coming up against dug-in Russian defenses and taking heavy casualties. Troops spearheading the offensive have breached the first line of defense in areas in recent days, potentially opening the way for a deeper assault.
“Positioned close to the front lines, the stabilization points, temporary medical posts where patients are stabilized for onward evacuation, have been receiving a constant inflow of soldiers wounded in the fighting. The numbers have been “colossal,” said a medic from the center where the three men from the 110th Brigade were treated.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/02/world/europe/ukraine-war-casualties-wounded.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Colossal? Ukraine cannot afford “colossal”
And if you find it (a) funny and (b) irrelevant I'm afraid that tells us all we need to know about your political sympathies and why you don't want Trump indicted.
A little less than half the electorate so hate the ruling liberal democratic elite that they are happy to destroy democracy to be rid of it. Trump is the first politician to offer them that possibility.
They really don't care what he has done. He's their man and they will be back him until the hated elite is destroyed, or he is.
In many other areas it is admirable - The Athletic is great for sport, it has interesting columnists, for a Brit subscriber it is an absurd bargain at 50p a week
And its foreign coverage is exemplary. Better than any British paper I think. Because, for a start, it can afford it: the NYT makes big money and it can send dedicated correspondents
I trust it on Ukraine. The latest signs are not good
Russia is bleeding Ukraine white. Grinding it down
When the fighting is over, Ukraine can look forward to $1trn of international goodwill, and Russia can look forward to $1trn of international sanctions. All those who have left Russia, the wealth creators, well they’re not coming back either.
I think the Trump thing is very difficult. 'damned if you do, damned if you don't'. You either add fuel to his narrative of conspiracy, or tolerate his most outrageous abuses to try and hold the system together.
The risk is the strategy doesn't work. We get Trump, despite the prosecutions. And then what? It seems to me that this is a likely outcome.
As for Trump using the justice system, well as you say nobody got convicted. But I dont agree with that either , someone somewhere has to put the genie back in the bottle it just wont be either of the two presidential candidates.
So where does this go. Stalemate while the west ships in more arms and hope for a breakthrough ? Peace negotiations and some compromise ?
Ideally we would all like a swift Ukrainian win and Russia to replace Putin with someone less malign. That seems increasingly unlikely.
As for supporting Trump I dont, but nor do I swallow the spin from Biden. Biden and Trump are both bad candidates and like 7 in 10 americans I would rather that wasnt the choice before the electorate,
And given that Ukraine is now “on the offensive” there’s a good chance Ukraine is now losing more men than Russia, day by day
Look at the ages of these Ukrainian soldiers in the NYT report
““Around 10 rockets from a grenade launcher landed nearby,” the soldier, Batya, 51, said, describing the attack on their position. Still reeling from a concussion, he said he had grabbed a medical kit and run out to help the wounded. He came across the first wounded soldier, Vorchun (Grumpy), in the nearest bunker and bandaged his face and hands, and then found his friend Shuravi, 57, who had been dragged into a trench with a chest injury, he said.”
We mess around with virtue signalling sanctions and seizing yachts, though I can't think of a single instance of them stopping a determined dictatorship.
It is an absolute disgrace that, eighteen months into this war, the Ukrainians STILL don't have modern jets or long range missiles. Or even enough shells.
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2023/07/20/trump-campaign-presidential-power-grab-2024-election/70430661007/
That does not mean that the stuff Trump has been doing should be ignored.
"But our PMs are effectively above the law."
Tell that to Boris about the party and cake...
The point is he *tried* to use the justice system to nobble his opponents and he failed because what happened wasn't ultimately significant enough to secure an indictment so the lawyers concerned told him 'no.' Had Clinton not handed over her email server, however belatedly and reluctantly, it might have been different. But that was not his call. Just as this is not Biden's. Or anyone in the government.
What's happening now is they *are* indicting him for multiple crimes he has not only committed but is repeatedly doubling down on.
And if you genuinely think January 6th was bad policing, you are profoundly ignorant of what happened. Again, read the indictment. How would 'bad policing,' for example, have led to a crowd gathering at Trump's urging that wanted to lynch the Vice President?
And if you don't think that, well...
I'm looking forward to it, but not the flights. I hate flying.
Also my first time to Italy.
The various ways you can get ghosts in the machine.
https://twitter.com/DrPhiltill/status/1686389982884499458
Having worked a little with RF systems, I support this thread.
Where the line is drawn when that happens is pretty much up to Biden and how much support he wants to or can sustain in Congress.
It's going to be fairly hot as well, so my plan to climb Vesuvius might not happen...
@Sandpit is right that the Ukrainians have no desire to cede an inch of territory to the Russians. The trouble is Ukraine is simply running out of soldiers. If the men dying in the trenches are in their 50s - even late 50s - that is BAD
I fear an exhausted Ukraine will be forced to agree a truce over the winter which may then extend for many months or years as both sides regroup. Russia will keep most of what it’s got - Russify it - and count it as a bloody victory
It ain’t pretty. But that’s my guess
And he has been accused of it not directly after the event when logically the state would lock up a real and present danger, but just before an election and by a partisan justice system. You draw one conclusion I draw another.
As for the policing issue London regulary gets trashed by people who shout down with the govt but these are riots not coups. And our police despite their critics handle them quite well. And just to wind you up even further J6 wasnt even a decent riot, I grew up in Ulster so I know what a riot looks like there were no petrol bombs, no stones no tear gas. Because all of those thinsg would have required organisation and hard work and Trump is too chaotic .
I don't bet much on American politics because it is too bonkers to predict. It would be fun if it didn't matter, but it does.
Ukraine have had to work their way through multiple lines of Russian defences with little air cover. We have expected them to deliver quick results in the way the US have in previous engagements but without air superiority.
Ukraine is making slow but steady progress and there are early signs that they may be in a position to make a breakthrough. Until now a lot of the focus has been on degrading Russian logistics as has been seen with bridge destructions and targeting of ammo dumps.
It may be me being optimistic but I think Ukraine will be in an improved position in a month's time.
The 'stalemate' argument is *not* an argument for peace, in the medium or long term.
Even last autumn's gains by Ukraine occurred after a lot of preparation and fighting, especially Kherson.
However I’m talking short-medium term and in that context I am not optimistic. Russia is gonna hold on to what it’s got - Ukraine does not have the manpower or firepower to take it back. Attack is so much harder than defence, especially with limited forces
I hope the brave Ukrainians embarrass me and prove me stupidly wrong
And yes, before the habitual Russophobes start giving their balls a tug, this and more goes on in Russian Federation too.
The countries that back Ukraine are unlikely to support an endless war.
His son has been charged with crimes - having faced more Congressional investigation than any private citizen in the last couple of decades -and is currently having his plea deal reviewed by a Republican appointed judge.
Unlike various members of Trump's family, he's never held any position in the administration.
Your both sides-ism is feeble.
All those saying they're as bad as each other will never admit how important Biden has been to helping Ukraine fend off Putin. And they’ll blame France and Germany when Trump scales US involvement back.
But the blame game won’t change the facts on the ground. Without substantial and continued US aid, Ukraine will be on the back foot very quickly. That will have massive implications for all of us, while emboldening China in East Asia generally and with regards to Taiwan specifically.
The MoD generally adopts a positive attitude to the Ukrainian cause. Here is its latest map of the front lines. This does not scream “imminent pivotal breakthrough” to me
Of course that blogger upthread might be right and Ukraine is doing much better than this under the radar. Let’s hope so