Donald Trump

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ArmChairCivvy
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Re: Donald Trump

Post by ArmChairCivvy »

A topic of whirling dervishes, this one:

"White House counsel Pat Cipollone and another attorney who represented Trump in his first impeachment trial, Eric Herschmann, offered the grave warnings as Trump, his daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner listened. Other lawyers joined by telephone. They all told Trump he should not pardon himself, his family or any GOP lawmakers in a prospective manner unless he was prepared to list specific crimes."

Heh-he: what do you want to own up to? AS GUILTY. And the accomplices would/could still be convicted
Ever-lasting truths: Multi-year budgets/ planning by necessity have to address the painful questions; more often than not the Either-Or prevails over Both-And.
If everyone is thinking the same, then someone is not thinking (attributed to Patton)

SDL
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Re: Donald Trump

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Trump has also reportedly refused to pardon the numerous GOP house & senate members that have reached out to him to get pardons for unknown reasons... makes me think there's a lot of GOP facing serious issues VERY soon.

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ArmChairCivvy
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Re: Donald Trump

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SDL wrote:makes me think there's a lot of GOP facing serious issues VERY soon.
In Russia the challenger say that # the old man, huddled in the Kreml# is so afraid that the normal legal process cannot be followed
... will there be any (should it ever happen) free of such issues :?:
Ever-lasting truths: Multi-year budgets/ planning by necessity have to address the painful questions; more often than not the Either-Or prevails over Both-And.
If everyone is thinking the same, then someone is not thinking (attributed to Patton)

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Pseudo
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Re: Donald Trump

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ArmChairCivvy wrote:
SDL wrote:makes me think there's a lot of GOP facing serious issues VERY soon.
In Russia the challenger say that # the old man, huddled in the Kreml# is so afraid that the normal legal process cannot be followed
... will there be any (should it ever happen) free of such issues :?:
Indeed. No one tends to ask if Putin is so popular why he has to suppress his opponents and rig elections.

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ArmChairCivvy
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Re: Donald Trump

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This is not just so bad (been coming...)

But it is so xrtra bad,as
1 of course China used it as cover to crack down on HK (rioters in masks; and all that - they are all the same, including the elected lawmakers)
2 Russia has Navalny (to deal with)
3 and in minus 20 it is difficult to get the folks out on the streets of Belorussia; to be beaten up ... right there and then - or taken into the jail first
Ever-lasting truths: Multi-year budgets/ planning by necessity have to address the painful questions; more often than not the Either-Or prevails over Both-And.
If everyone is thinking the same, then someone is not thinking (attributed to Patton)

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ArmChairCivvy
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Re: Donald Trump

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An interesting development in the aftermath of the Capitol insurrection;
"Now many of the insurrectionists, facing a multitude of federal charges and lacking the protection of a presidential pardon, are changing their tune and laying the blame for their actions squarely at the former president's feet. It's an inconvenient development for Trump, who is not only staring down a looming Senate impeachment trial but also may face criminal liability for his actions."
... not sure you can claim just "to have followed orders" if not in a military command chain

The whole story https://uk.news.yahoo.com/lawyers-repre ... s-building
Ever-lasting truths: Multi-year budgets/ planning by necessity have to address the painful questions; more often than not the Either-Or prevails over Both-And.
If everyone is thinking the same, then someone is not thinking (attributed to Patton)

SDL
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Re: Donald Trump

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They're just bolstering the case against him.... good thing the trial is delayed to Feb, a little more time for people to uncover the true connections between Trump and the attack

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Pseudo
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Re: Donald Trump

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SDL wrote:They're just bolstering the case against him.... good thing the trial is delayed to Feb, a little more time for people to uncover the true connections between Trump and the attack
If I was the Democrats I'd give serious consideration to delaying the trial until next Spring because that will give enough time for pretty thorough investigation of the Trump administration's wrongdoings and it'll also mean that the outcome of the trial will be a recent memory for voters in the Midterm elections. That would present Republican's up for re-election with a bit of a dilemma, they can either risk losing swing voters by voting against conviction or risk losing whatever's left of the Trumpster base by voting to convict.

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Re: Donald Trump

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that would be a good call.... but i think they want to get it done and dusted, then move on to their plans

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Re: Donald Trump

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SDL wrote:that would be a good call.... but i think they want to get it done and dusted, then move on to their plans
That's a perfectly understandable instinct, but a conviction would rely on Mitch McConnell delivering seventeen votes from his caucus which means that Schumer has to keep him onside. Give McConnell's historical behaviour during a Democratic presidency he'll do whatever he can to obstruct and disrupt the Democrat's legislative agenda. My expectation is that McConnell will use the leverage that having to deliver seventeen votes for a conviction gives him to draw out proceedings in order to disrupt the Biden administration's early legislative agenda as much as possible. IMHO, the only way to avoid that is to kick the trial in to next year where the incentive for McConnell will be to get it over and done with as quickly as possible and try to avoid as much damage to GOP electoral prospects in November as he can manage.

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ArmChairCivvy
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Re: Donald Trump

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The New Yorker of today summarises well how we got here:
" a Faustian deal for all those judges.” Since 2017, McConnell has played an oversized role in helping Trump install more than two hundred conservative federal judges, including three Supreme Court Justices.

For four years, McConnell and others in the establishment wing of the Republican Party embraced the conceit that they could temper Trump’s behavior, exploit his popularity, and ignore the racist, violent, and corrupt forces he unleashed. Ornstein observed that McConnell, in a cynical bargain, “used Trump to accomplish his goals of packing the courts and getting tax cuts.” (Since 2016, the top corporate tax rate has been nearly halved, to twenty-one per cent.) In exchange for these gifts to the Party’s corporate backers, McConnell stayed largely silent"

Later there's an opinion that the GOP establishment would have been fine with Trump usurping democracy - had it been looking as succeeding?
- we will see, when the Senate trial starts
- how to rub Trump off from history, when there are two wings of the party to hold together?
Ever-lasting truths: Multi-year budgets/ planning by necessity have to address the painful questions; more often than not the Either-Or prevails over Both-And.
If everyone is thinking the same, then someone is not thinking (attributed to Patton)

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Pseudo
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Re: Donald Trump

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ArmChairCivvy wrote:Later there's an opinion that the GOP establishment would have been fine with Trump usurping democracy - had it been looking as succeeding?
- we will see, when the Senate trial starts
- how to rub Trump off from history, when there are two wings of the party to hold together?
I'll be very surprised if the senate votes to convict. Seventeen Republican senators would need to vote to convict him and now that the ten Republicans in the House that voted to impeach are now facing what looks like being difficult primaries as a direct result isn't exactly going to encourage Republican senators to stick their necks out.

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ArmChairCivvy
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Re: Donald Trump

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So far GOP leadership has stayed in the saddle, but the Senate trial is the moment coming up in this piccie https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=ht ... ce=sh/x/im
Ever-lasting truths: Multi-year budgets/ planning by necessity have to address the painful questions; more often than not the Either-Or prevails over Both-And.
If everyone is thinking the same, then someone is not thinking (attributed to Patton)

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ArmChairCivvy
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Re: Donald Trump

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The Guardian has picked up where Trump's "children"
... You are special; I love you crowd
will go next:

" “For all their similarities, Nixon and Trump clearly are very different men. For one thing, Nixon was smart.”

Sarah Sanders is tipped to run for Arkansas governor, according to multiple reports. Trump’s former chief spokesperson and one of his closest aides, Sanders left the White House in 2019 to return to her home state, and plans to launch her bid for office later today.

Marco Rubio floundered when asked about challenge from Ivanka Trump this weekend. The former president’s daughter is reportedly considering a run for Senate in Florida, after she bought a house in Miami."
Ever-lasting truths: Multi-year budgets/ planning by necessity have to address the painful questions; more often than not the Either-Or prevails over Both-And.
If everyone is thinking the same, then someone is not thinking (attributed to Patton)

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Pseudo
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Re: Donald Trump

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ArmChairCivvy wrote:Marco Rubio floundered when asked about challenge from Ivanka Trump this weekend. The former president’s daughter is reportedly considering a run for Senate in Florida, after she bought a house in Miami."
If Ivanka mounts a primary challenge to Rubio it'll be an absolute gift to Democrats. All things being equal, I'm also faily confident about Warnock retaining his seat in Georgia given that Stacy Abrams will be running for governor and I'd feel similarly about Mark Kelly's prospects in Arizona if Cindy McCain could be persuaded to run for governor there as a Democrat.

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ArmChairCivvy
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Re: Donald Trump

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Just one of the legal troubles:

"Palm Beach’s town manager Kirk Blouin told HuffPost that its lawyer is reviewing whether the former POTUS can remain at the club permanently.

In 1993, Mr Trump was beset with financial problems with his casinos and millions in upkeep required at Mar-a-Lago, which was then his private home, so agreed to a “special exception use” permit that allowed him to convert the estate into a social club.

The agreement laid out that it could only include 10 guest accommodations, where people stayed no longer than a week, no more than three times a year, a requirement the president repeatedly flouted before and during his presidency.

He also signed a deal with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a private historical preservation organization, that “forever” forfeited rights to use Mar-a-Lago for “any purpose other than club use.”
Ever-lasting truths: Multi-year budgets/ planning by necessity have to address the painful questions; more often than not the Either-Or prevails over Both-And.
If everyone is thinking the same, then someone is not thinking (attributed to Patton)

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ArmChairCivvy
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Re: Donald Trump

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Looks like I will need to read The Guardian:
" Russia has been cultivating Trump as an asset for 40 years, former KGB spy says

Yuri Shvets told The Guardian that the KGB had identified Trump as a potential asset as far back as the 1980s."
Ever-lasting truths: Multi-year budgets/ planning by necessity have to address the painful questions; more often than not the Either-Or prevails over Both-And.
If everyone is thinking the same, then someone is not thinking (attributed to Patton)

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Pseudo
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Re: Donald Trump

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ArmChairCivvy wrote:Looks like I will need to read The Guardian:
" Russia has been cultivating Trump as an asset for 40 years, former KGB spy says

Yuri Shvets told The Guardian that the KGB had identified Trump as a potential asset as far back as the 1980s."
I read that elsewhere and it's all about a book the guy has written and the way that it's described in the couple of articles I've read makes the purported connection seem to be based on some pretty thin stuff. Though I suppose that I'd have to read the book to find out if that's really the case.

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ArmChairCivvy
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Re: Donald Trump

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CNN White Hse Correspondent on Twitter:
Kaitlan Collins
@kaitlancollins
·
4h
"A third attorney, Josh Howard, who was also recently added to Trump's defense team, has also left, I'm told. Trump wanted the attorneys to argue there was mass election fraud and it was stolen from him rather than focus on proposed arguments about constitutionality."

The true count is 5 (2 of those that have left were never officially confirmed)
... Trump doesn't want his lawyers to focus on :shock: the "legal stuff"
Ever-lasting truths: Multi-year budgets/ planning by necessity have to address the painful questions; more often than not the Either-Or prevails over Both-And.
If everyone is thinking the same, then someone is not thinking (attributed to Patton)

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Pseudo
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Re: Donald Trump

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ArmChairCivvy wrote:CNN White Hse Correspondent on Twitter:
Kaitlan Collins
@kaitlancollins
·
4h
"A third attorney, Josh Howard, who was also recently added to Trump's defense team, has also left, I'm told. Trump wanted the attorneys to argue there was mass election fraud and it was stolen from him rather than focus on proposed arguments about constitutionality."

The true count is 5 (2 of those that have left were never officially confirmed)
... Trump doesn't want his lawyers to focus on :shock: the "legal stuff"
There's no way that there are seventeen Republican senators who are prepared to vote to convict so whatever his defence is he'll be acquitted, in which case he might as well use the opportunity to pander to his base and keep them riled up.

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ArmChairCivvy
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Re: Donald Trump

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Pseudo wrote:he might as well use the opportunity to pander to his base and keep them riled up.
No doubt he would try to do that (and keep the king maker role within GOP), but with a trial giving a good glimpse into "all" of hos wrong-doings would make him less saleable to anyone else than that base
- some of whom will have plenty of time to follow all the detail from behind the bars
Ever-lasting truths: Multi-year budgets/ planning by necessity have to address the painful questions; more often than not the Either-Or prevails over Both-And.
If everyone is thinking the same, then someone is not thinking (attributed to Patton)

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Re: Donald Trump

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ArmChairCivvy wrote:
Pseudo wrote:he might as well use the opportunity to pander to his base and keep them riled up.
No doubt he would try to do that (and keep the king maker role within GOP), but with a trial giving a good glimpse into "all" of hos wrong-doings would make him less saleable to anyone else than that base
- some of whom will have plenty of time to follow all the detail from behind the bars
I have no doubt that his base will dismiss any evidence brought in the senate trial as fakery by cannibalistic paedophile liberals or some such. Also, Trump doesn't need to be a saleable prospect for the presidential nomination in 2024. He just needs to control enough of the Republican base to threaten Republican electoral prospects. As long as he can do that I think that the GOP have few options except to protect him and pander to him.

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Re: Donald Trump

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And there's this one more 'little' thing https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa- ... SKBN29X33L
coming on 10 Feb
Ever-lasting truths: Multi-year budgets/ planning by necessity have to address the painful questions; more often than not the Either-Or prevails over Both-And.
If everyone is thinking the same, then someone is not thinking (attributed to Patton)

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Pseudo
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Re: Donald Trump

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ArmChairCivvy wrote:And there's this one more 'little' thing https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa- ... SKBN29X33L
coming on 10 Feb
The Georgia one is quite fun because one of the ways he definitely appears to have broken the law is by asking Raffensperger to find him too few votes. He asked Raffensperger to find him the ~12,000 votes that would just squeak him a win in the state, but he claimed that he won the state by 400,000 votes. It turns out that asking an official to falsify vote counts is illegal and since both Trump and Raffensperger know that the ~12,000 figure is false it's illegal. But if Trump had asked Raffensperger to find him the 400,000 votes that he claimed to have won by he'd have had the defence that he didn't believe the figure to be false.

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Re: Donald Trump

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There couldn't be a better way for Trump to throw a spanner (or a golf club) in the works than his soon to start Senate trial. Of the 23 nominations to be confirmed, there are only 6 that are officially in place:
Antony Blinken as secretary of state
Janet Yellen as treasury secretary
Lloyd Austin as secretary of defense
Avril Haines as director of national intelligence
plus Homeland Security and also transportation.

At least the foreign policy and national security apparatus will not be in the same sort of danger of short circuiting as was the case in the last months of the previous Administration.
EDIT on this aspect, Reuters notes that
" Pentagon purges advisory boards after flurry of Trump end-of-term appointees
- several hundred appointees of their posts on Pentagon advisory boards, a number of whom took office at the end of President Donald Trump's administration, two U.S. officials said on Tuesday."

In the end, it will be the Southern District Court that will get our modern-day Al Capone
- though I hope that history won't repeat itself as Al was allowed to serve his sentence in :crazy: his mansion
Ever-lasting truths: Multi-year budgets/ planning by necessity have to address the painful questions; more often than not the Either-Or prevails over Both-And.
If everyone is thinking the same, then someone is not thinking (attributed to Patton)

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