THE TRIAL!
Here, we are, making history again!
Today starts the first-ever criminal trial of a former president. Jury selection started this morning in the Manhattan trial for the 34 felony counts that SCROTUS is accused of. You may recall that the indictment came down in late March, 2023. We're finally seeing the wheels of justice shift into gear. Let's get this party started!
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| Dave Granlund |
The Case
Hair Führer paid $130,000 to former porn star Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, to keep her quiet about a sexual dalliance they shared. That in itself is not illegal, BUT! then-candidate TЯUMP had his lawyer Michael Cohen make the payments to her in a series of personal checks.
Subsequently, Drumpf repaid Cohen from his business accounts. He falsified his business records, indicating that the repayments to Cohen were for "legal fees." The falsification of the records is the illegal bit, and in themselves, they are misdemeanors. The charges rise to felony status when the falsifications are in conjunction with covering up another crime.
Voldemoron did not want Stormy Daniels talking about the affair in the days leading up to the 2016 election, and because the hush payment was made in conjunction with his presidential campaign, theres's the stink of campaign interference. And that's a crime.
He is facing 34 charges in total; 11 counts for false invoices, 11 for false checks and check stubs, and 12 for false general ledger entries. If you've been living under a rock for the past years, Mar-a-Lardo has pled not guilty and now he's sitting at the defense table in a courtroom in Manhattan.
There's a tangential piece to the case: the "catch and kill" scheme regarding another affair with and payoffs to Karen MacDougal. We shall see how they tie that in. Ms. MacDougal is listed as a witness, as is National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, who is at the center of the catch and kill scheme. Ooohhhh all the salaciousness!
Other witnesses are Stormy Daniels herself and Scooby-Coup's former attorney Michael Cohen, who has already served time for his part in this scheme. Cohen has credibility issues, but given that he has the documents and that he was convicted and jailed for his part in this scheme, he will be an important part of the trial. Over the weekend, the Tangerine Palpatine truth-socialed (yes, despite a gag order), "Has disgraced attorney and felon Michael Cohen been prosecuted for LYING?"
Indeed he has. But as Sister Resister Anne noted, "What is felon for the goose is felon for the big fat gander."
(Any bets on consequences for violating the gag order?)
The Trial
The trial started today with jury selection. The questionnaire that will be provided to the prospective jurors was released last week. You can read the 42 questions here. You'll see questions about affiliations with any pro- or anti-Trump organizations, including organizations such as the Proud Boys. There are questions about experience reading certain books and general feelings about the Covfefool that would interfere with the ability to be a fair and impartial juror. Can they even find 18 unicorn "impartial jurors"?!
The pool of potential jurors currently numbers about 500 residents of Manhattan. It could take weeks to whittle them down to a 12 jurors and up to six alternates.
One hundred jurors at a time will appear in Judge Merchan's courtroom to be questioned by the attorneys. The selection process is not allowed to be recorded, but a few journalists will be allowed in the courtroom to witness the process. The jury will remain anonymous.
A Nation Ruled by Laws
The Mango Mussolini is being afforded all the rights and due process as any other criminal defendant. This fact flies in the face of his protestations of victimhood and witch hunt and blah blah blah. He is being treated under the law like any other U.S. citizen. Let's remember that.
Other Stuff
There's a lot that has happened that I haven't written about.
- He is selling $60 "God Bless the USA" Bibles. What the actual Eff?!
- He installed in daughter-in-law Lara as head of the
RepublicanMAGA National Committee.
- The rest of the cases have been stalled by motions and other delay tactics. It's likely no other trial will get started before the election.
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| Clay Bennett |
- Arizona rolled back the clock to 1864 with the Arizona supreme court's reinstatement of a total abortion ban from those days.
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A Bunch o' Memes
It's been a long time since I've written here. I had prepared a meme post regarding Katie Britt's beyond-weird barefoot-in-the-kitchen GOP response to Biden's State of the Union Address last month, but never I published, so here they are as a way of catching up.
And the brilliant Scarlett Johansson with this on SNL:
And Cartoons!
Don Poorleone could not come up with his bond money for the civil fraud trial in New York, despite his boasts that he is worth "billions." The judge let him off with paying less than half the amount he owed. I was hoping that D.A. Leticia James would be able to move toward seizing property. Darn it!
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| Ricardo Caté |
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| Bruce Plante |
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| Dave Whamond |
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| Pat Byrnes |
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| RJ Matson |
Your Daily LSR Plea
Register to vote. Get others to register. Campaign. Write postcards. Attend rallies and protests. Because the cartoon below is too close to be satire. We must act. RESIST!
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