US Politics

[Tracker]

14 minutes ago, iHeart said:

What does she know about Decorum?

Probably thinks it refers to a plan for interior design theme.

[Tracker]

'He’s gonna get charged': Experts predict Espionage Act violations for Trump after bombshell WaPo report

Citing a just-published Washington Post report, top legal experts are predicting the U.S. Dept. of Justice will charge Donald Trump, and those charges will include obstruction and violations of the Espionage Act.

The Washington Post Thursday afternoon reported the ex-president had classified documents unprotected in his Mar-a-Lago office, showed classified documents to people visiting his Mar-a-Lago office, and held a “dress rehearsal” for moving documents around even before receiving a DOJ subpoena, and before the FBI executed a search warrant to retrieve classified and top secret documents.
“Two of Donald Trump’s employees moved boxes of papers the day before FBI agents and a prosecutor visited the former president’s Florida home to retrieve classified documents in response to a subpoena — timing that investigators have come to view as suspicious and an indication of possible obstruction, according to people familiar with the matter,” The Washington Post report reads.

“Trump and his aides also allegedly carried out a ‘dress rehearsal’ for moving sensitive papers even before his office received the May 2022 subpoena, according to the people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a sensitive ongoing investigation.”

“Prosecutors in addition have gathered evidence indicating that Trump at times kept classified documents in his office in a place where they were visible and sometimes showed them to others, these people said.”

Ryan Goodman, an NYU School of Law professor of law, and international and national security law expert, pointed to that last sentence from the Post and wrote, “I expect this will result in Espionage Act charges. Dissemination is key.”

MSNBC anchor and legal contributor Katie Phang, responding to the Washington Post report, tweeted one word in all-caps: “OBSTRUCTION.”

But Goodman goes even further.

“The reported facts are now far beyond just an obstruction case,” he says. “Willfully disseminating to third parties is also easily distinguishable from Pence, Biden, other instances in which DOJ has declined to prosecute.”

Goodman adds: “Trump’s reported conduct of RETAINING classified documents is already more serious than average case in which Justice Department DOES indict. COMMUNICATING or TRANSMITTING classified documents to third parties is considered much more egregious.”

[bustamente]

It was a really really bad day for couple of Oath Keepers

[HardCoreBlue]

10 hours ago, bustamente said:

It was a really really bad day for couple of Oath Keepers

We need more of this no matter who you are to recalibrate the nonsense going on in this world of ours:

FAFO.

 

[Tracker]

Prosecutors Have Evidence that Trump Showed Classified Docs to Others

Espionage Act charges have been mentioned by a legal expert as prosecutors have gathered evidence that Trump sometimes showed classified documents to others and kept them in a place they were visible to others in his office.

In a damning and well documented report in the Washington Post, we learned today: “Prosecutors in addition have gathered evidence indicating that Trump at times kept classified documents in his office in a place where they were visible and sometimes showed them to others, these people said.

Taken together, the new details of the classified-documents investigation suggest a greater breadth and specificity to the instances of possible obstruction found by the FBI and Justice Department than has been previously reported.”

Even during his presidency when Trump treated Mar-a-Lago like a “Winter White House” he kept no visitor logs or other system of tracking visitors. Forbes has documented a few of the thousands of visitors through a compilation of photos shared and other means, showing a range from conspiracy theorists to former European Parliament member Nigel Farage , Ray J and the former general who pleaded guilty to lying to investigators Michael Flynn (not a great person to be seeing classified documents), Roger Stone who the government accused of undermining the Russia investigation by lying about his communications with Wikileaks, intimidating a witness, and more was found guilty of seven felony counts but later pardoned by Trump, and also in addition to the usual suspects of Republicans and conservative activists were the son of Brazil’s president Eduardo Bolsonaro and Lee Dong-sup, who was a member of South Korea’s parliament in 2018. Representatives from Brazil, South Korea and Russia – check.

The list is not comforting, especially from a man who made a “joke” about his bigger “red button” just last night.

Over this incredibly disturbing news, former Special Counsel for the Department of Defense and co-editor-in-chief of Just Security Ryan Goodman wrote, “I expect this will result in Espionage Act charges. Dissemination is key.”

https://www.politicususa.com/2023/05/25/prosecutors-have-evidence-that-trump-showed-classified-docs-to-others.html

[HardCoreBlue]

10 minutes ago, Tracker said:

Prosecutors Have Evidence that Trump Showed Classified Docs to Others

Espionage Act charges have been mentioned by a legal expert as prosecutors have gathered evidence that Trump sometimes showed classified documents to others and kept them in a place they were visible to others in his office.

In a damning and well documented report in the Washington Post, we learned today: “Prosecutors in addition have gathered evidence indicating that Trump at times kept classified documents in his office in a place where they were visible and sometimes showed them to others, these people said.

Taken together, the new details of the classified-documents investigation suggest a greater breadth and specificity to the instances of possible obstruction found by the FBI and Justice Department than has been previously reported.”

Even during his presidency when Trump treated Mar-a-Lago like a “Winter White House” he kept no visitor logs or other system of tracking visitors. Forbes has documented a few of the thousands of visitors through a compilation of photos shared and other means, showing a range from conspiracy theorists to former European Parliament member Nigel Farage , Ray J and the former general who pleaded guilty to lying to investigators Michael Flynn (not a great person to be seeing classified documents), Roger Stone who the government accused of undermining the Russia investigation by lying about his communications with Wikileaks, intimidating a witness, and more was found guilty of seven felony counts but later pardoned by Trump, and also in addition to the usual suspects of Republicans and conservative activists were the son of Brazil’s president Eduardo Bolsonaro and Lee Dong-sup, who was a member of South Korea’s parliament in 2018. Representatives from Brazil, South Korea and Russia – check.

The list is not comforting, especially from a man who made a “joke” about his bigger “red button” just last night.

Over this incredibly disturbing news, former Special Counsel for the Department of Defense and co-editor-in-chief of Just Security Ryan Goodman wrote, “I expect this will result in Espionage Act charges. Dissemination is key.”

https://www.politicususa.com/2023/05/25/prosecutors-have-evidence-that-trump-showed-classified-docs-to-others.html

He's literally insane with Barron waiting in the wings.

 

[Tracker]

Ohio bill protects 'conservatives' from democracy

We should thank Jerry Cirino. It’s not every day that a Republican says the quiet part out loud – that when it comes to free speech, the point is not liberty for all, but liberty for some Republicans to say what they want, to force the rest of us to listen and, critically, to prevent the rest of us from talking back.

The Ohio state senator spoke after the Ohio Senate passed legislation last week that, according to the Ohio Capital Journal, “focuses on what Republicans call ‘free speech,’ banning public universities in Ohio from having ‘bias’ in the classroom and limiting what ‘controversial topics’ can and can’t be taught.”

The goal, reportedly, is creating “safe spaces” for “conservatives” on campus.

Cirino, who sponsored the bill, said it frees people “from the pressure to agree with a single ideological perspective, which dominates our campuses today.”

Cirino shouldn’t have said that.

He should have said what a fellow Republican said.

State Representative Josh Williams told local TV reporters that he believes that “conservatives feel discriminated against on campus.” He cited his experience at the University of Toledo’s law school. “If you had an opposing view, you would just call that individual a fascist, a Nazi, as a way of quashing their speech and making their comments and their positions irrelevant,” he said.

We’re used to hearing about discrimination, but Cirino didn’t do that.

Instead, Cirino said that Senate 83 would, if enacted into state law, liberate “conservatives” from “the pressure to agree” with – well, it doesn’t matter.

What matters is that conservatives feel pressured. What matters is that this feeling, to these conservatives, constitutes an infringement on their rights and liberties. What matters is that these infringements demand action, even though such action will infringe someone's rights and liberties. Free speech for everyone isn’t the point. The point is ensuring that conservatives feel free.

[HardCoreBlue]

The current norm:

I’m not accusing you of this, I’m just asking questions.

Translation:

Through a variety of communication modes, I can say and do anything I want to seed doubt and discord to generate a lot of revenue for a small group of people with little repercussions.

[Tracker]

The case against a DC police lieutenant accused of helping Proud Boys is growing increasingly 'terrifying'

On Friday, May 19, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Lt. Shane Lamond had been indicted on four federal criminal charges: one for obstruction of justice, three for making false statements. DOJ prosecutors allege that Lamond shared police information with Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and tipped him off about a case against him: the one in which he was arrested for his part in burning a Black Lives Matter sign that had been stolen from an African-American church in late 2020.

Lamond's arrest follows Tarrio's conviction in a separate case. Tarrio, along with three other members of the Proud Boys, was found guilty of seditious conspiracy for his role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol Building.
In an article published on May 26, Politico's Michael Schaffer emphasizes that the allegations against Lamond are especially troubling in light of his position in the MPD.

"The indicted officer is not some random beat cop," Schaffer notes. "A 24-year veteran of the department, Lamond led the Intelligence Branch of the department’s Homeland Security unit until last year, when he was suspended after coming under investigation. That investigation culminated in a May 19 obstruction of justice indictment for allegedly lying to investigators who were looking into the relationship with Tarrio…. According to prosecutors, Lamond and Tarrio communicated 500 times beginning in 2019, often via chummy exchanges."

Michael Fanone, a former MPD officer who was violently attacked by Donald Trump supporters inside the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021, has been sounding the alarm about far-right extremists working for police departments.

Fanone, now a CNN contributor, told Politico, "I think that most law enforcement agencies in this country are scrambling to maintain the officers they have and recruit new ones to replace the hundreds that they've lost. The last thing that they're worried about is coming up with a comprehensive screening process for domestic extremism.”

Schaffer warns that "the idea of even a small number of domestic extremists" being on the MPD "ought to be terrifying."

https://www.alternet.org/proud-boys-2660668562/

[Mark F]

Obama "homeland security" (has that disturbing authoritarian ring) department warned years ago that the right wing were the greatest terror threat.

report was dismissed as an outrage and shouted down by the right wing media, Republicans and others.

Powell   memorandum was the blueprint.  Right wing read it, and  followed it precisely.

and it worked.  brilliantly conceived and executed.

People should read it. it echoes right here in this forum.

"Powell identified the judiciary as one of the most important arenas for business activism. His suggestions led to the swift formation of dozens of corporate-funded legal foundations, many of which succeeded in using strategic litigation and distorted constitutional doctrines to overturn regulations on public health and the environment. The U.S. Chamber and its allies in particular have waged a multi-decade attack on the rights of victims of corporate crime and abuse. Perhaps the most infamous example of how corporate power has been advanced through the strategies seeded by Powell is last year’s Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which opened the floodgates to unlimited corporate contributions to influence elections."

greenpeace analysis.

Edited May 27, 2023 by Mark F

[Tracker]

Prosecutors tell Trump they have a recording of him and a witness: report

Prosecutors in Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial have notified the ex-president’s attorneys they have a recording of him and a witness. The notification comes in the form of an automatic discovery form, CBS News reports, which “describes the nature of the charges against a defendant and a broad overview of the evidence that prosecutors will present at Trump’s preliminary hearing or at trial.”

CBS reports prosecutors have handed the recording over to Trump’s legal team.

It’s not known who the witness is, nor are any details known publicly about what the conversation entails, or even if it is just audio or if it includes video.

[bustamente]

Texas GOP controlled House impeach their AG, suspended immediately awaiting trial by the State Senate

[JCon]

39 minutes ago, bustamente said:

Texas GOP controlled House impeach their AG, suspended immediately awaiting trial by the State Senate

The AG who settled a $3M harassment lawsuit against him, who asked the legislature to pay for it? To which the very obviously drunk speaker of the house denied him? 

Today's GOP! 

Edited May 27, 2023 by JCon

[bustamente]

3 minutes ago, JCon said:

The AG who settled a $3M harassment lawsuit against him, who asked the legislature to pay for it? To which the very obviously drunk speaker of the house denied him? 

Today's GOP! 

The guy is the poster child for corruption forget impeachment guy should be in jail

[bustamente]

Apparently there are some really really stupid people that thought that Trump bucks were real. 

 

 

Edited May 28, 2023 by bustamente

[Tracker]

2 hours ago, bustamente said:

Apparently there are some really really stupid people that thought that Trump bucks were real. 

 

 

The Texas AG who is now impeached and awaiting trial had his office festooned with pictures of him with Trump. Perhaps they could share a cell to consummate their relationship.

[Tracker]

'Beyond hypocritical': Charlie Kirk’s recent Pastors Summit was funded by a 'registered sex offender'

Right-wing host and Turning Point USA Chief Executive Officer Charlie Kirk' second-annual Pastors Summit, held in Nashville, Tennessee, was sponsored by "a registered sex offender," Rolling Stone reports.

Rolling Stone notes Kirk has been outspoken amid conservative-led criticism of Target for selling transgender-inclusive youth apparel, alleging the corporation shows "support for grooming kids."
The publication reports:

Rolling Stone has learned that one of the TPUSA summit's corporate sponsors is a Christian fashion company that is led by a registered sex offender, Shawn Bergstrand, who served time in federal prison for attempted 'coercion and enticement' after trying to persuade 'a minor female” to 'engage in sexual activity.'

CEO if Rightside Up — a "Christian 'lifestyle apparel' company" — Bergstrand is "a registered sex offender in North Dakota," after being "convicted in 2014 for attempted 'coercion and enticement.'"

Per Rolling Stone, "a redacted indictment shows" the CEO "was originally charged with attempting to 'entice and coerce a minor female … to engage in prostitution and sexual activity,'" and "despite facing a maximum of 20 years in jail," he "received a sentence of one year in prison, and five years of supervised release."

[iHeart]

https://www.tmz.com/2023/05/28/biden-debt-limit-deal-reached-gop-bill-congress

would it be too much to hope for Biden to intervene in the WGA strike?

[JCon]

7 hours ago, Tracker said:

'Beyond hypocritical': Charlie Kirk’s recent Pastors Summit was funded by a 'registered sex offender'

Right-wing host and Turning Point USA Chief Executive Officer Charlie Kirk' second-annual Pastors Summit, held in Nashville, Tennessee, was sponsored by "a registered sex offender," Rolling Stone reports.

Rolling Stone notes Kirk has been outspoken amid conservative-led criticism of Target for selling transgender-inclusive youth apparel, alleging the corporation shows "support for grooming kids."
The publication reports:

Rolling Stone has learned that one of the TPUSA summit's corporate sponsors is a Christian fashion company that is led by a registered sex offender, Shawn Bergstrand, who served time in federal prison for attempted 'coercion and enticement' after trying to persuade 'a minor female” to 'engage in sexual activity.'

CEO if Rightside Up — a "Christian 'lifestyle apparel' company" — Bergstrand is "a registered sex offender in North Dakota," after being "convicted in 2014 for attempted 'coercion and enticement.'"

Per Rolling Stone, "a redacted indictment shows" the CEO "was originally charged with attempting to 'entice and coerce a minor female … to engage in prostitution and sexual activity,'" and "despite facing a maximum of 20 years in jail," he "received a sentence of one year in prison, and five years of supervised release."

Every accusation is a confession. Same here in Canada. Every time you here someone complain about "woke" or " grooming", you should probably check their hard drives. 

[Mark F]

11 hours ago, JCon said:

Every accusation is a confession. Same here in Canada. Every time you here someone complain about "woke" or " grooming", you should probably check their hard drives. 

"hard drive"  n ew euphemism😀.

wealthy old men, powerful men, and religious fundamentalists (all faiths) seem to be generally obsessed by sexuality.

eg:  Falwell junior. The Mahatma. Clinton.

Edited May 29, 2023 by Mark F

[HardCoreBlue]

 

Taken from a story by John Bacon, USA Today:

Florida mom who challenged Amanda Gorman poem and other books says she only read parts of the material.

Salinas told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency she complained about Gorman's poem and the books because they did not support the curriculum. Gorman, 25, was the first person named the National Youth Poet Laureate. 

“I’m not an expert,” Salinas said. “I’m not a reader. I’m not a book person. I’m a mom involved in my children’s education.”

 

The continued and relentless dumbing down of our species in full view.

 

[17to85]

44 minutes ago, HardCoreBlue said:

I’m not a reader. I’m not a book person.

The irony is she could solve her own problems there..

[Mark F]

good article New York Times about corporate profit, greed.

The comments are worth reading as much as the aericle.

"The prices of oil, transportation, food ingredients and other raw materials have fallen in recent months as the shocks stemming from the pandemic and the war in Ukraine have faded. Yet many big businesses have continued raising prices at a rapid clip.

Some of the world’s biggest companies have said they do not plan to change course and will continue increasing prices or keep them at elevated levels for the foreseeable future.

That strategy has cushioned corporate profits. And it could keep inflation robust, contributing to the very pressures used to justify surging prices."

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/30/business/economy/inflation-companies-profits-higher-prices.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Edited May 30, 2023 by Mark F

[17to85]

1 hour ago, Mark F said:

good article New York Times about corporate profit, greed.

The comments are worth reading as much as the aericle.

"The prices of oil, transportation, food ingredients and other raw materials have fallen in recent months as the shocks stemming from the pandemic and the war in Ukraine have faded. Yet many big businesses have continued raising prices at a rapid clip.

Some of the world’s biggest companies have said they do not plan to change course and will continue increasing prices or keep them at elevated levels for the foreseeable future.

That strategy has cushioned corporate profits. And it could keep inflation robust, contributing to the very pressures used to justify surging prices."

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/30/business/economy/inflation-companies-profits-higher-prices.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Better raise interest rates so regular folk can't afford these prices. That will teach these corporations 

[Tracker]

BREAKING: Trump’s chances of going to prison skyrocket as The Guardian drops bombshell on Trump, reveals that, “Donald Trump’s lawyer tasked with searching for classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after the justice department issued a subpoena told associates that he was waved off from searching the former president’s office, where the FBI later found the most sensitive materials anywhere on the property.”

But it gets even worse for Trump…

The Guardian continues: “The lawyer found 38 classified documents in the storage room. He then asked whether he should search anywhere else but was steered away, he told associates. The lawyer never searched Trump’s office and told prosecutors that the 38 papers were the extent of the material at Mar-a-Lago.

The assertion that there were no classified documents in Trump’s office or elsewhere proved to be wrong when the FBI retrieved 101 classified documents months afterwards, including from the office, which was found to be where the most highly classified documents had been located.

The lawyer previously unreported account, as relayed to the Guardian by two people familiar with the matter, suggests he was materially misled as the special counsel Jack Smith examines whether his incomplete search was actually a ploy by Trump to retain classified documents.”

This is DEVASTATING for Trump. It shows not just criminal intent, but consciousness of guilt — two legal elements that are sure to doom Trump once Special Counsel Jack Smith criminally charges him for stealing highly classified documents — and then lying about to federal investigators.