In my last post, I talked about the trial, and now we visit some of the tribulations (plus some bright spots; keep reading!).
The Defense Rests.
The defense in the hush-money trial called only two witnesses, which isn't unusual in itself. The main witness was contemptuous brat Robert Costello, attorney and former federal prosecutor. The jury had to have come away with a poor opinion of Costello, who openly sighed heavily and muttered "jeez" when the judge sustained objections. Judge Juan Merchan had to dress him down, both in front of the jury and once the courtroom was cleared. Costello did not help T****'s case in the least.
No, the other defense witness was not the defendant. After boasting numerous times that he will "absolutely" testify, he did not.
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| Nick Anderson |
The other witness was David Sitko, a paralegal in T****'s lawyer's firm, who introduced a phone chart into evidence.
It's important to note that the defense does not have to call a lot of witnesses, and often don't. In our system, it is the prosecution who has the burden of proof. The defense doesn't have to prove anything.
The court is dark until after the long Memorial Day weekend. Closing arguments will begin on Tuesday, and afterwards, the jury will start their deliberations.
Will he be convicted?
Only 12 people know for sure. And it only takes one holdout for a hung jury.
Pundits have said that the prosecution put on a good case. If you want to read an in-depth look at the ins and outs of how the jury may be feeling in this case and what they need to convict T****, here's a piece by former federal white-collar crime prosecutor Erin Aulov, writing in Politico.
Faux News
Just a little tidbit on the coverage by T****'s wannabe Pravda. Faux News, as would be expected, is spinning the trial coverage by carefully curating the content – and not much of it. Politico calls it a "brown-out" of news. Those who watch only Faux News will get only what The Supreme Leader wants them to get. And that is much of the problem today.
The Classified Documents Case
I have no words that don't include "^#$%*&@" about &%*@# Judge Aileen "Loose" Cannon!
First, after numerous delays over the last months, Judge Cannon postponed the documents case "indefinitely." Ummmm.... does that mean it's canceled? Because that's how it feels. We know that justice delayed is justice denied. Especially with what she said next.
Last week the judge expressed concern that the jury wouldn't be able to understand the case. “Real people have to decide these issues,” Cannon said.
As a real person, I find that offensive. What happened to the idea that thoughtful, attentive citizens can and do synthesize complex information, deliberate with each other, and come to a conclusion? It's the very basis of our justice system!
Step down, Judge Cannon. Right now. Any judge who has contempt for their jury does not belong on the bench overseeing the case. End of story.
Bedtime Reading
There were more documents found in T****'s bedroom four months after the raid on Mar-a-Lago. And not only that, an adviser from his Save America PAC had scanned the contents of the box where the documents were held and kept the files on her personal laptop.
But Hillary's emails!
The Supreme(ly Corrupt) Court of the United States
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| I love that Ann Telnaes and I independently came up with the same-ish description of SCOTUS |
I have pretty much lost any shred of confidence in the United States Supreme Court that was still within me. The body is so corrupt it is sickening.
You remember that Judge Clarence Thomas behaves in highly unethical ways, taking bribes in the form of lavish vacations. You know his wife Ginni actually helped to try to overturn the 2020 election results in Arizona. And yet he won't recuse himself from cases involving January 6. Instead of even a tiny wisp of contrition, Thomas has called the criticism of him and Ginni "nastiness" and "lies."
Now, Justice Samuel Alito...
In front of his home shortly after January 6, the United States flag was being flown upside down. At the time, the inverted flag was being used by January 6 sympathizers to show solidarity in the "Stop the Steal" movement. His neighbors photographed the flag and complained.
It finally reached the public last week, and Alito has thrown his wife, Martha-Ann, under the bus for the flag, saying that it was she who flew it, and it was after a feud with a neighbor who displayed a "FUCK TRUMP" sign placard in their yard.
In an emailed response, Justice Alito wrote, "I had no involvement whatsoever in the flying of the flag. It was briefly placed by Mrs. Alito in response to a neighbor’s use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard signs."
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| Mark Fiore |
Note that Alito didn't say that he didn't know about it nor that he objected to it. Whatever scenario you choose to believe, it was not an action befitting a Supreme Court justice. Or his wife.
In any case, Martha-Ann has owned up to it, explaining it as "an international sign of distress." To be honest, I have used the same symbol as the favicon for this blog since I started it in January, 2017. I may normally be able to give her a pass. Given that just a few days before, the flag was known to be used by insurrectionists though? And given the next flag incident reported?
A few days later, the news came that at the Alito vacation home, the "Appeal to Heaven" flag had been flying on at least a few occasions between July and September, 2023. This flag has also been used by the Stop the Steal people. This flag has a history from the Revolutionary War, but has been coopted by the January 6 insurrectionists and Christian Nationalists.
All this behavior is outrageous, and there is nothing we can do about it. Dozens of members of Congress have written a letter to Alito asking that he recuse himself from overseeing January 6 cases. There has been no response.
Two U.S. Senators have asked Chief Justice John Roberts for a meeting, hoping that he can help handle the situation. The non-partisan group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) also wrote a letter to Chief Justice Roberts asking him to intervene. Will he? Probably not.
Truly, Alito and Thomas have no obligation to recuse themselves. They have no obligation to be impartial. They have no obligation to rule on laws based on the U.S. Constitution. None of them do. They can do whatever they want. There is no one to censure them, remove them, or anything else.
Well, that's not entirely true. The U.S. Congress does have the power to impeach a justice of the Supreme Court, and in fact in 1804, one was impeached. He was acquitted by the Senate in 1805.
The problem with SCOTUS is that though there are loose ethical guidelines for the nine members – finally, as of November 13, 2023, 234 years after the body was established – there is no overseeing body nor any consequences for committing ethics violations. There is no mechanism for recusal, let alone censure, removal, or any consequence at all for their actions. SCOTUS can literally do anything they want to do, without answering for it, for the rest of their lives. And they do.
Sadly, until the fascists are out of the Capitol building, there is no chance of having them remove one of their own from the high court by impeachment. And if a justice were to die today, they would surely block another nomination like they did with Merrick Garland.
It's so sad for me to realize that the members of the Supreme Court are not the highest, most ethical, and most thoughtful legal minds in the land. They are simply lackeys. Fully one third of them were appointed by the one man who is the most dangerous person that has ever been in power in the White House. A fourth one – Clarence Thomas – is one of the most corrupt, disgusting judges ever known in the United States, and another – Samual Alito – is falling close behind on that dubious honor.
It's really disheartening. You can't get rid of of the shit on your shoe. I can live with odious members of Congress, because they can be removed by motivated voters. Well, that's not entirely true. The Supreme Court has also endorsed GOP gerrymandering this week.
It is dismaying.
The Pollyanna in me whispers in my ear that the political climate continually pendulates, and it will swing back to the left eventually. But what if our democracy fails completely before that?
SHUSH, Devilanna!
This is the Supreme Court's Big Decision season
SCOTUS tends to make major, news-worthy decisions at the end of the term, and we're upon it. Here are a few of their recent impactful decisions.
A couple SCOTUS bright spots
- The Court allowed Louisiana to create two majority-black congressional districts. The issue may be revisited in the future.
- The Court prevented a threat to the Consumer Protection Agency. A couple of businesses asserted that the agency should not be funded, but SCOTUS ruled that its funding through the Federal Reserve is ok. This is good news for American consumers. It's an important agency, looking after us as consumers.
There are big Supreme Court decisions coming in the next few weeks. Among them:
- The abortion medication mifepristone has been under direct attack. Just this week, Louisiana added the medication to its controlled substances list, effectively labeling this safe medication "dangerous." SCOTUS is considering whether to restrict access to this safe and effective medication. Any guesses how they will rule?
- The strict abortion restrictions in some states have collided with physician's responsibilities to save lives, and SCOTUS is set to decide if emergency room physicians are required to perform an abortion in a life-threatening situation.
- T****'s absolute presidential immunity claim will be decided, which will impact the cases against him that charge him with crimes while he was still president. I have no faith that they will do the right thing.
- Hundreds of January 6 insurrectionists were charged with obstructing an official proceeding, and there is a challenge to the legality of this charge. SCOTUS will decide if those convictions shall stand. This decision will also impact charges against their Supreme Leader.
- There are decisions on guns coming too. Questions before the Supreme Court:
- Shall people with protective orders granted against them have their access to guns restricted?
- Will a federal ban on bump stocks stand?
There are other cases yet to be decided as well. The Washington Post is keeping track of decisions. And you can always find the latest on SCOTUSblog.
Now, which one is drug-addled?
After years of calling him "Sleepy Joe" and "Slow Joe" while questioning his mental fitness, and saying Biden "can't put two sentences together," T**** has had to about-face. Biden was on fire during the State of the Union Address and T**** has said, "I don’t want him coming in like the State of the Union." Of course you don't! He'll blow you out of the water!
Now, T**** is calling for a drug test for Biden before the debate. He must have gotten something to increase his mental acuity!
A drug test? Hmmmm.... to quote Sister Resister Anne, "What's good for the goose is good for the big fat gander." Leave your cocaine at home this time, you orange turd.
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| Walt Handelsman |
I like this take from Dana Milbank at The Washington Post. Biden is being given something to suddenly cure him and his mental feebleness? Maybe the GOP should market the magical elixir. A lot of us could use it!
Meanwhile, T**** continues to be confused and rambling, mixing up words and sounds like he has done so often over the years. Recent examples:
- "The late, great Hannibal Lecter. He's a wonderful man," he said about the fictional serial killer of the movie Silence of the Lambs (or Lamb, if you're T****).
- He called Jimmy Carter "Jimmy Conners." (Hey, listen up, you scum. Keep my president's name out of your fucking mouth. )
- He mixed up Biden and Obama again, talking about the war in Ukraine: "Shortly after we win the presidency, I will have the horrible war between Russia and Ukraine settled. I know them both very well, and we will restore peace through strength. Get that war settled. It’s a bad war. And Putin has so little respect for Obama that he’s starting to throw around the nuclear word. You heard that. Nuclear. He’s starting to talk nuclear weapons today."
- Calling the United States the "United Stage."
- All the noises! And more noises!
- And whatever this is.
I've written extensively about his disordered speech and language, observing from a speech-language pathologist's eyes and ears. You can revisit those posts here.
Candidate Fascist Cheeto
Mixed-up language isn't the only concern. There is plenty of ugly, dangerous language that hasn't gone away. Last week, a campaign ad was posted on T****'s Truth Falsehood Social account, touting the wonderful things that will happen with a win. One of the things? "Industrial strength significantly increased ... driven by the creation of a unified Reich." The words were subtly-but-not-subtly readable on the screen. Why is this ok with anyone?
The dangerous misinformation continues, too. T**** has contorted the FBI's standard language on every search warrant – language that was included on the Mar-a-Lago search warrant as well as the one on Biden's home, as well as every search warrant the FBI serves. The language that is included is meant to limit the use of deadly force, but T**** has mischaracterized the language into, "Crooked Joe Biden’s DOJ, in their illegal and UnConstitutional Raid of Mar-a-Lago, AUTHORIZED THE FBI TO USE DEADLY (LETHAL) FORCE!" and that President Biden is "locked & loaded and ready to take me out.”
Special Prosecutor Jack Smith has requested a new gag order limiting T****'s misinformation, saying that it is dangerous to FBI agents.
T**** and his allies are setting the stage for contesting the November 2024 election results. He is using the same tactics as before: vilifying mail-in voting, setting up suspicion for illegal voting by immigrants, portraying Democrats as cheaters.
It's worrisome. But I'm still hopeful that it will all be ok in November. I try not to borrow trouble. Let's stay positive and do the work now, and we can deal with what comes then.
Arizona Election Interference Case
T**** is an unindicted co-conspirator in the case, which brings charges against those who would subvert the election results in Arizona. A group of 18 conspirators have been indicted. Many of the usual suspects are among them, including John Eastman, Mark Meadows, and Rudy Giuliani.
The Arizona authorities had been having difficulty locating the clown Giuliani. Then the fool posted a tweet (BTW, what do we call tweets now anyway? Xclamations? Or what?) taunting the Arizona authorities. The tweet pictured him at his 80th birthday party, and he wrote, "If Arizona authorities can't find me by tomorrow morning: 1. They must dismiss the indictment; 2. They must concede they can't count votes."
The District Attorney:
Besides the tweeted taunt, Giuliani was live-streaming his birthday festivities. It was easy for the district attorney's office to track him down at his party and serve him cake and ice cream. No, silly! They served him an indictment and a summons to appear (he has since pleaded not guilty).
bleach blonde bad built butch body
Want a new hero? Try Rep. Jasmine Crockett from Texas. Her clap-back to racist Empty Gee (MTG; Marjorie Taylor Green) was one for the books! Watch below.
It's important to realize firstly, the importance of pushing back on the gross GOP and their stupid antics. "When they go low, we go high" doesn't always work. Sorry, Michelle. Sometimes you gotta get in the mud, too.
Secondly, it's important to understand the racism of the precipitating remark by Empty Gee about Ms. Crockett's eyelashes. We can't let shit like this stand. Don't let it stand in Congress, don't let it stand on the bus or the street corner.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett is a rock star.
And finally, he's back!
After being on tour, our boy has returned to making videos!
"In the face of impossible odds, people who love this country can change it." – Barack Obama
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