Wheels; Grinding

The fundraising prong of the [Special Counsel's] investigation is focused on money raised during the period between Nov. 3, 2020, and the end of Trump’s time in office on Jan. 20, 2o21, and prosecutors are said to be interested in whether anyone associated with the fundraising operation violated wire fraud laws which make it illegal to make false representations over email to swindle people out of money.
...
At least two grand juries in Washington are meeting every week about Trump and his advisers on multiple fronts, people familiar with the investigations said.

Betcha Cadet Bone Spurs didn't know that blatantly lying while fundraising constitutes wire fraud. "But I didn't know it was illegal" gets you nowhere.

Pass the popcorn, please.

Trump's Lawyers Seem to Either Have Been Lying Through Their Teeth or They Are Incompetent AF

It seems that the charges against the Defendant have been widely used before and that the DA is on solid ground by bringing them and there is nothing unusual in bringing felony charges in New York for payments to a third party that benefit a campaign.

Meanwhile, in act of monumental stupidity, the Prime Defendant is attacking the judge in his case, as well as the judge's family. That may be fine for raising funds from the pool of MAGA saps, but when it comes time to deciding pretrial motions, any decent judge can craft an opinion that supports how he desires to rule. So the Defendant may be unwittingly doing everything he can to get convicted, and his "legal team" likely knows that.

No Comment Needed

Heavy-Duty Hypocrisy

New York Judge Juan Merchan ruled on Monday night that a handful of photographers will be allowed to take pictures in the courtroom where former President Trump will be arraigned on Tuesday, but he will not allow video cameras, according to reports.

Merchan issued his ruling after Trump’s legal team argued against having cameras in the court room, saying that it would create a “circus-like” atmosphere.

Captain Chaos has been the Cief Clown of his own circus for years. For his lawyers now to argue against having a circus-like atmosphere is about as reality blind as it comes.

Meanwhile, in a tragic bit of hypocrisy:

The fugitive former aide to ex-Maryland Republican Gov. Larry Hogan was shot dead Monday night during a confrontation with federal authorities.

Roy McGrath’s death put an end to a three-week-long manhunt for him that began after he fled before the start of his trial for wire fraud, embezzlement, misconduct in office and improper use of state funds last month.
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“It’s an absolute tragedy, the loss of Roy McGrath’s life and the unfortunate events that have transpired over the past three weeks,” Joseph Murtha, McGrath’s attorney, told the Baltimore Banner.

“Roy McGrath never wavered about his innocence,” he added.

Innocent white men don't run.

Jabber, Jabber, Rar, Rar

One thing to keep in mind, as the various talking heads and Trumpy apologists run their mouth on the news shows this morning: They don't know shit about what's in the indictment. Two dozen charges, thirty charges, one felony, five felonies, they don't know shit.

Nobody does. I don't. You don't. The indictment is sealed and will be until the alleged perp is processed on Tuesday.

That sleazy mouthpiece of Trump's who is all over the various shows is really only talking to one person: Trump. Judges are not impressed or intimidated by lawyers, appearing on TV. Neither are prosecutors. Trump wants him on TV and so he is.

Maybe he was smart enough to get paid up front, for Trump has a well-earned reputation for stiffing his lawyers. Not my problem, though.

John Cole is Right: This is a Case of Self-Sabotage

The people who voted for him watched him shit on a gold star family, spew racist crap from the moment he announced, and all the other vile bullshit he did, and they were fucking A-OK with it. The “christians” who polished his knob for five years, holding prayer vigils, etc., none of those fucking phonies gave two shits about him banging a porn star while married.

Before the Iowa caucuses in 2016, Trump said that he could shoot someone in broad daylight and not lose any voters. The Access Hollywood tape of him saying that he would grab women by the pussy didn't hurt his campaign. The story that he walked into the contestants' dressing room for the Miss Teen USA beauty pagent and that he earlier said that he could walk into the dressing rooms for the Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants because he owned the pageants and he was "inspecting"; that didn't hurt him.

That he had schtupped a porn star soon after Wifey #3 birthed his youngest son would not have persuaded any of his supporters to sit it out. There would have been all sorts of nudging and winking about what a fat old stud he was. None of those inept poltroons running against him for the nomination would have been able to make any hay of it.

He still would have won the nomination. It woudn't have mattered. And I believe that he knew that at the time. After all, he had cheated on his first wife with the woman who became his second wife. He cheated on his second wife with the woman who became his third wife. Everybody knew that. One would have to be an utter fool to believe that he hadn't cheated on his third wife.

So why did he pay off the porn star and then try to hush up the fact of the payment? The only rationale that makes sense to me is that he did it to keep the affair secret from Melania. She was super hacked-off when the news broke about the hush-money payoff five years ago and reports are that she is still angry.

Anyhoo, my suspicion is that, for all of the bleating and braying about Trump being persecuted that is being spewed by his army of ass-kissers and hummer-givers (looking at you, Lindsey Graham), that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is a smart and savvy lawyer and, given whom his grand jury has indicted, that this case would not have been brought if there wasn't some seriously solid basis for the charges.

Well. Well. Well.

Indictment one of three.

A lawyer for Donald Trump said Thursday he’s been told that the former president has been indicted in New York on charges involving payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter.
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Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing and has attacked the investigation, was expected to surrender to authorities next week, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss a matter that remained under seal.

Now commence the fun and games.

Watch Out For Stupid People Doing Stupid Things This Upcoming Week

Donald Trump said he expects to be arrested Tuesday and called on supporters to protest as a New York grand jury investigates hush money payments to women who alleged sexual encounters with the former president. There is no evidence, however, that prosecutors have made any formal outreach to him.

Let's be clear about one thing: When the TOFF demands that his supporters "protest", he's talking about violence. He also went on a screed about George Soros, which is his dog-whistle for blaming the Jews.

"Arrested"? As if. They only arrest people who don't turn themselves in. He doesn't have the guts to face the consequences of doing that.

A word to the wise: be prepared for some disruptions from his army of wet-brained supporters.

ETA: His mouthpieces are denying any knowledge of inpending charges. And the Second-Most Hated Man in Politics Today is standing with the man who wanted him killed.

Get Back to Me When It Happens

Law enforcement officials in New York are making security preparations for the possibility that former President Donald Trump could be indicted in the coming weeks and appear in a Manhattan courtroom in an investigation examining hush money paid to women who alleged sexual encounters with him, four law enforcement officials said Friday.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Teflon Don. It's all smoke, mirrors and bullshit until they drag him before a judge.

Not Holding My Breath for the Perp-Walk

Former President Donald Trump has been invited to testify before a New York grand jury that has been investigating hush money payments made on his behalf during his 2016 presidential campaign, according to one of his lawyers.

Why is this significant, you may ask. This is why:

In New York, potential defendants have the right to answer questions in the grand jury before they are indicted, but they rarely testify, and Mr. Trump is likely to decline the offer.

Teflon Don has conducted his entire "business" career as though he was in danger of being indicted. He's basically a gutless crime boss. But I'm not holding my breath that he'll finally be brought to justice.

Trump Coughs It Up, Again

President Trump has paid $2 million to eight charities as part of a settlement in which the president admitted he misused funds raised by the Donald J. Trump Foundation to promote his presidential bid and pay off business debts, the New York State attorney general said on Tuesday.

At this point in time, only a Kool-aid-drinking Trumpanzee can maintain the fiction that Trump isn't a crook, a venal con man. It's also kind of delicious that Trump's adult spawn had to undergo compulsory training in not stealing from charities.

This isn't the first time that Trump has had to cough up a large amount of cash because of his criminality.

If any of this crap had been proven against the Clintons (as in "legal proceedings", not "Alex Jones grade conspiracy droolings"), the Right Wing Noise Machine would have been calling for public executions. But with Trump, the Right is silent. Because they are willing to close their eyes to proven evil and to actions that strike at the base of their own morals, as long as it suits their purposes.

That's not just deplorable. It is despicable.

Also, questions for Republicans.
The comment section, of course, is open to the usual whataboutists.

All In All, It's Just Another Brick in the Wall; Trump Ed.

New Jersey prosecutors have collected evidence that supervisors at President Trump’s Garden State golf club may have committed federal immigration crimes — and the FBI as well as special counsel Robert Mueller have played part in the inquiry, the Daily News has learned.

It wasn't just that they hired aliens who could not work in this country illegally, it's that they provided them with the forged papers so they could work.

So, (1) what did Trump know and when did he know it?

(2) Where is he going to get the workers for his golf clubs if his wall gets built?

The managers should remember the Rat Rule: The first one to talk spends the least amount of time in the joint.