All purpose news and politics thread part VI: This Is Not The Time For Posing

[Tendrin]

The DOJ stopped Mueller from investigating Trump. The NY AG won't be so constrained.

I don't disagree with you. I just think Popehat's coming from a place of cynicism towards what will actually come of this. I do not think Met's summary of 'it's an exaggeration' is appropriate based on the tweet.

There is only so much weight that can be amassed before the bough breaks, even for Trump. At this time, he is running out of tricks and shields to protect him. His defenses aren't as strong as they used to be, his allies are busy dealing with their own legal or political liabilities or walking away after being used by Trump as his sacrificial lambs. The only card he has left is the hope that Florida won't turn him over to NY. However, that is not something that has happened before or rarely happens ever. Even if it does, Trump will be trapped in Florida, unable to visit any of his other properties and that is something he can't do for long. Assuming that the next Gubernatorial race doesn't replace DeSantis with a Democrat. If that happens, Trump will find himself en route to New York real quick.

I mean, I hope you're right.

[worstblogever]

https://www.kansascity.com/news/poli...251512028.html

Oh.

Oh no.

WBE-EEEeeeeee....

[Mister Mets]

Um, if the statement is an official statement and as such is verbatim, word for word, coming from the NYS AG, then how can that be interpreted any way other than what the wording says? Isn't saying that it is an 'Exaggeration' like someone saying to you that they are going to the store to buy milk, then you say to someone else, 'oh, that's an exaggeration, he is not actually going to the store to buy milk'?


if you don't believe that this is the true statement coming from the NYS AG, then do you have another alternate statement coming from the NYS AG?

I'm saying this because I'm confused why anyone would question the statement unless they don't believe it to be real.

I don't think he's questioning the statement, just suggesting that it doesn't mean anything will come of it.

The response is exaggerated. It doesn't mean that criminal charges will be filed against Trump, let alone that he'll be convicted of anything.

[Tami]

New York attorney general adds 'criminal capacity' to probe of Trump Organization

(CNN)New York Attorney General Letitia James is joining the Manhattan district attorney's office in a criminal investigation of the Trump Organization, James' office said Tuesday.
The attorney general office's investigation into the Trump Organization, which has been underway since 2019, will also continue as an ongoing civil probe, but the office recently informed Trump Organization officials of the criminal component.

"We have informed the Trump Organization that our investigation into the organization is no longer purely civil in nature. We are now actively investigating the Trump Organization in a criminal capacity, along with the Manhattan DA," James' spokesman Fabien Levy told CNN. "We have no additional comment."

A lawyer for the Trump Organization declined to comment when reached by CNN.

James' office is working with Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance's Office, whose wide-sweeping probe into the Trump Organization has looked into whether the company misled lenders and insurance companies about the value of properties and whether it paid the appropriate taxes.

Vance's office is examining millions of pages of documents that include Trump's tax returns.

A person familiar with the investigation said a couple of investigators with the New York attorney general's office, who are steeped in knowledge about the Trump Organization, have joined the district attorney's team. A different person familiar with the matter said the New York attorney general is still conducting a civil investigation.

[numberthirty]

The DOJ stopped Mueller from investigating Trump. The NY AG won't be so constrained.

Sure.

That said, let's say they take their best run at prosecuting the most serious issues that they have as fully as they can.

What's that actually amount to?

Sure, there are versions of this where it sticks.

There's also at least a few where it hasn't. At least not really.

[BeastieRunner]

[QUOTE=worstblogever;5545415]

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Condolances man.

[worstblogever]

It's very telling that the response the folks who lean to the right in this thread have to Trump and the Trump Org being potentially criminally charged is, "Yeah, so we keep hearing, we'll believe it when they do something..."

But not in any way do they argue that he's not actually a criminal or the charges are false.

It's almost like they have no problem with the standard bearer of the GQP being a wanton felon.

[CaptainEurope]

I see one positive to the Supreme Court potentially reversing Roe v Wade: it forces the left to stay pissed and to mobilize, because that's how we win elections. We can't afford to relax yet, or the Evil will start making gains.

That's a very small positive compared to women bleeding to death in a back alley again.

[CaptainEurope]

Feds investigating alleged illegal donations to Collins’ re-election bid

That might explain why she seemed even more frail and nervous in recent interviews. Something keeping her up at night?

[CaptainEurope]

I think Popehat's suggestion is that nothing will come of it, just as nothing came of the Mueller investigation in terms of delivering on Trump's criminal culpabilities.

On the one hand, Trump is a (maybe) rich (sorta) white guy in the US with powerful friends.

On the other hand, he is really bad at things, full of hubris and mentally not all there anymore. Saying the quiet parts out loud way too often. I'd say this could go somewhere.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Kevin McCarthy Opposes Bipartisan Commission On Capitol Riot

The Republican Party doesn’t want an authoritative investigation of the attack incited by their own leader. Of course they don't. Qpublicans are scared shitless a light will be shined on their involvement in the 1/6 riot. Meanwhile....

**********

Chuck Schumer Dares GOP To Oppose Bill Forming Capitol Riot Commission

Republicans seem split on whether the commission should also look at violence related Black Lives Matter protests. Let's call a spade a spade: This doesn't have a damn thing to do with BLM. See comment above. Meanwhile....

**********

Can You Tell The Difference Between The Jan. 6 Riot And A Normal Day On Capitol Hill?

Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) can’t. Damn straight he can't!

[worstblogever]

On this date in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, as well as 2020, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day published profiles about Missouri State Senator Paul Wieland, a front-line soldier in the GOP’s “War on Women” that since taking office in 2010, has gone out of his way to try and find ways to undermine the Affordable Care Act, particularly that medical insurance policies can often cover the cost of contraceptive coverage for women. He personally filed a lawsuit against the federal government in 2013 to make sure that he, a good Catholic, wasn’t paying for any potential contraceptives for his daughter on his insurance plan, referring to birth control pills as “abortion inducing drugs” that were “intrinsically evil”. The courts dismissed Wieland’s case as frivolous, not realizing his stunt would do little to deter him. After the Burwell v. Hobby Lobby ruling, Wieland immediately filed another lawsuit against the government, which also got laughed out of court. Paul Wieland also files dimwitted legislation to prevent the implantation of Sharia Law in Missouri, or to prevent the sinister United Nations Agenda 21 treaty. Heck, he’s even voted for efforts to nullify federal firearms laws, drug test welfare recipients, stricter Voter ID laws (to combat the statistically non-existent problem of in-person voter fraud), ag-gag laws to prevent any oversight against livestock farmers, and voted for SJR 39, a special little bill to prohibit any state employee from being penalized for declining to participate in same-sex marriage ceremonies.

In November of 2015, after a series of highly publicized racist incidents at the University of Missouri that school president Tim Wolfe refused to act upon, and in some instances, Wolfe himself dug the hole deeper by chastising protesters, the Missouri Tigers Football Team threatened to boycott games unless Wolfe was fired. Wolfe resigned, and it seemed like that was that. Except, it wasn’t for Paul Wieland, who just couldn’t stomach any kind of improvement in race relations, apparently, on those terms, and needed to go after someone as retribution, choosing Gary Pinkel, the now former head coach of the team, who approved of his players’ choice. Here’s where it gets more grotesque… Coach Pinkel had resigned to seek treatment for lymphoma, and the university had bought out the remainder of his contract so he could do so and for his fifteen year loyal tenure in turning around the football team, they also offered him a job as an ambassador of the athletic department. Well, in true “smaller government” interests, Wieland began to publicly criticize the school for these moves, apparently finding less of a problem with a school president who created an environment of permissive racism to a beloved coach for supporting his players through a hard decision.

Paul Wieland was pursuing a second term in office in 2018, even with a Blue Wave crashing upon the GOP across the country, and while Missouri Republicans are also scrambling and in damage control over the scandal surrounding Gov. Eric Greitens, Wieland still managed to get re-elected with 58% of the vote. He is finishing up his last few years in office continuing to obsess about birth control to the extent that he’s sabotaging other legislation to the chagrin of his own party, including creating amendments that jeopardize the state’s Medicaid funding to try and stop any of the budget to going towards contraceptives.

Paul Wieland will be term-limited in the Missouri State Senate in 2022, but could still run for some other office, including the Missouri House of Representatives, where he still have two terms of eligibility. We’re hoping his fanatical quest against birth control ends next year, though.

[Mister Mets]

That might explain why she seemed even more frail and nervous in recent interviews. Something keeping her up at night?

The article does say there's no indication that Collins or anyone on her team was aware of any of the funneling towards the Super-PAC.

The total spending in the race was $185 million ($112 million from Super PACs), so this funneling represented less than a thousandth of that.

https://www.pressherald.com/2020/11/...e-race-in-u-s/

[CSTowle]

It's very telling that the response the folks who lean to the right in this thread have to Trump and the Trump Org being potentially criminally charged is, "Yeah, so we keep hearing, we'll believe it when they do something..."

But not in any way do they argue that he's not actually a criminal or the charges are false.

It's almost like they have no problem with the standard bearer of the GQP being a wanton felon.

I lean so far to the left I get complaints from many in the center. I still think, whatever else you want to say about Donald Trump (and I'd probably agree with most of it), he's a good con man and good con men know how to skip out on trouble. Maybe that means he's able to hire lawyers who can get him off. Maybe he has to stay out of New York altogether (maybe that's why he moved to Florida in the first place). Maybe he even has to leave the country. But I too am skeptical he's ever in handcuffs or fined in any meaningful way that prevents him from being him. That may be cynical, but history has taught us that logic and norms don't apply to him. If it happens, great. Unless and until that happens though I'm going to assume he gets off, somehow, and ends up running again if for no other reason than to collect money and attention. My hope is we have some peace and quiet for another year or so before he starts up again, but that might be hoping for too much.

[worstblogever]

I lean so far to the left I get complaints from many in the center. I still think, whatever else you want to say about Donald Trump (and I'd probably agree with most of it), he's a good con man and good con men know how to skip out on trouble. Maybe that means he's able to hire lawyers who can get him off. Maybe he has to stay out of New York altogether (maybe that's why he moved to Florida in the first place). Maybe he even has to leave the country. But I too am skeptical he's ever in handcuffs or fined in any meaningful way that prevents him from being him. That may be cynical, but history has taught us that logic and norms don't apply to him. If it happens, great. Unless and until that happens though I'm going to assume he gets off, somehow, and ends up running again if for no other reason than to collect money and attention. My hope is we have some peace and quiet for another year or so before he starts up again, but that might be hoping for too much.

I mostly agree, but then I remember his lawyers were Michael Cohen, Rudy Giuliani, and Joe & Victoria Toesing. Like... they're not lawyers who can get him off... the only reason no one said anything sooner is... he's a rich white guy, so look the other way.

When you're a tinpot dictator trying to reach/hold/coup-steal the seat of power in the country, people aren't going to mind their business about your obviously crooked business.