Saturday, April 1, 2023

INDICTMENT! Yeah, Baby!

It ain't no April Fool!

Somebody finally had the cajones to bring an indictment against the former president*, and that was a Manhattan grand jury who voted Thursday to indict on charges sought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. 

It's an historical event. No other former or sitting president has been charged with a crime. 

Da Facts
At least 12 (a majority of the 23 members of the Grand Jury) citizens of New York City believed there was sufficient evidence to bring charges against former NYC resident, Orange Julius Caesar.

There may be around 30 (!) charges stemming from the hush-money payment of $130,000 made to Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, an adult-film actress and one-time sexual partner of the before-he-was-a-candidate. As you recall, Individual 1 "allegedly" laundered the payments from his business to his attorney and "fixer" Michael Cohen, who paid off Ms. Clifford during the 2016 election campaign. The payment was made days before the November 8, 2016 election. 

Though the hush-money itself is not illegal, the crime comes from the fact that the payment was routed from his business to his lawyer and in was in conjunction with a campaign, made for the purpose of covering up material facts during the pursuit of his 2016 campaign for president. 

The exact charges are sealed until the first court appearance on Tuesday, April 4. 

LSR's Takes
It's not great for him. It's both great and not great for the country. It's an extension of a very dark period in our history, having a criminal in the highest office in the land. But finally, consequences are coming! This is very good. It demonstrates that as a nation, we continue to assert that no one is above the law, including a person who happened to hold the office of president. Especially a person who held the office of president. 

If we don't enforce the law and bring charges against those who break them, what are laws for?

I'm convinced he only announced his candidacy early because he knew charges would be brought. His candidacy would serve to complicate prosecution, and bonus! he could claim political persecution, thus riling up his base, easing another grift. He doesn't want to be president. His motivation is not power, it's picking the pockets of feckless Americans who hang on his every racist, misogynistic, violent word. 

This case surrounds the least egregious of his myriad crimes. I think there is a danger of numbing the populace to his misdeeds and ironically making the next indictment, either of his tax fraud (NY State), conspiracy to interfere with an election (Georgia),  his conspiracy to commit sedition (Feds), or his illegal mishandling of classified documents (Feds) more ho-hum.

On the other hand, maybe the same will be done with his followers. Will they fatigue with their "donations to defense fund" and their energy to get out and protest/maim/destroy/intimidate/kill by the time other charges are filed?  I wonder if the various prosecuting attorneys collaborated as to which charges to bring first and when. I don't know enough about lawyer stuff. Would that be a thing when various charges from various jurisdictions are being investigated at the same time? 

It won't be a fast process, that's for sure. The Bloat of Many Colors knows how to work the system. And work it some more. Motions on top of motions will be filed, dragging the case out well into the campaign season.

What's Next?
Surrender
He is expected to surrender to authorities (how sweet the words) on Tuesday. He will be fingerprinted and mug-shotted before appearing before a judge for arraignment. Wooo-hoooo! I wish we could see that! Most likely it will all be away from cameras. It is anticipated that the intake and the court appearance will be done quietly, out of view. Mug shots, though, are public record. Can't wait for that one to hit the meme store! 

Undoubtedly he would like to create a spectacle with handcuffs and a perp walk. As scared as he probably is (and I hope he is very scared), he surely wants to milk the moment for all the victimhood possible. Common sense and secret service will no doubt prevail over that nonsense.

The charges will be presented and he will stand in front of a judge to be arraigned, at which time he will enter a plea. If he does not enter into a plea agreement – and why would he, if the spectacle of a prolonged case will whip up his base into a delicious frappe of pitchforks and checkbooks?  – a trial date will be set. 

Oooooh how sweet the news cycle!

Hand-wringing
GOP elected officials and other surrogates will be crying and feigning outrage. FAUX News talking heads will be spinning the facts how they feel will play best to their audience. It's already started, from the milder reaction from Ivanka to the not-at-all-veiled call for violence from F*cker Carlson.

Ivanka Instagrammed: "I love my father, and I love my country. Today, I am pained for both. I appreciate the voices across the political spectrum expressing support and concern."

There was an audible gasp over at FAUX News:


Marge tweeted:


Mr. Brows-in-Perpetual-Furrow stayed on-brand with his incitement to violence in his throw-away-but-not-really line about assault rifles:

Fund-Raising
Even a couple weeks ago, when he truth-socialed that he was going to be "arrested on Tuesday," it was just one of his many grifts. After the indictment came down, he rushed to put ads on Facebook to squeeze his boomer supporters and separate each of them from $47 with an "OFFICIAL ELECTION DEFENSE FUND" plea. 

Violence?
Before the indictment, SCROTUS overtly called for violence and has launched racist attacks on the Black D.A. Alvin Bragg who has been investigating him.

Just after midnight on March 24, he warned about "death and destruction" if an indictment came down. He truth-socialed, 
What kind of person can charge another person, in this case a former President of the United States, who got more votes than any sitting President in history, and leading candidate (by far!) for the Republican Party nomination, with a Crime, when it is known by all that NO Crime has been committed, & also known that potential death & destruction in such a false charge could be catastrophic for our Country?
Read more from WaPo.

Last week, he called Bragg a "degenerate psychopath" and posted a photo of himself with a baseball bat to Bragg's head. I won't show that here. He also called Bragg a "Soros-backed animal" and has called Bragg "racist."

His minions have followed his lead. Bragg has been inundated with racist taunts and threats of violence. It shouldn't be dangerous to do your civic duty in the United States. 

Cartoons!
Yay for our nation's journalist artists who encapsulate our situation and give us a bit of comic relief with a few strokes of a pen. And for the meme makers, who shall inherit the earth.

Ann Telnaes

Chris Riddell

John Deering


R.J. Matson




Clay Bennett







 


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