⭐Richard Fausset & Danny Hakim of the New York Times: “A judge in Georgia dismissed the last pending criminal prosecution against ... [Donald] Trump on Wednesday, effectively ending efforts to hold him criminally responsible for attempts to overturn the 2020 election. The president has now seen three criminal cases against him dissolve since he was re-elected last year. Charges were also dropped against Mr. Trump’s remaining co-defendants in the Georgia racketeering case, including Rudolph W. Giuliani, his former personal lawyer, and Mark Meadows, the former White House chief of staff.... A motion to end the prosecution was filed Wednesday morning by Pete Skandalakis, the executive director of the state’s nonpartisan prosecutor council. In his 22-page filing, Mr. Skandalakis, a career prosecutor who ran for office early in his career as a Democrat but later as a Republican, shredded the case originally brought by Fani T. Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, taking it apart charge by charge. He asserted that 'it is not illegal to question or challenge election results.'... He noted that the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling last year, which granted presidents 'absolute immunity' from criminal prosecution for acts within their constitutional authority, meant that it would take 'months, if not years' to litigate immunity issues in the Georgia courts — and that all of that would have to occur after Mr. Trump leaves office in 2029.” The AP's story is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Skandalakis is wrong in claiming that Trump merely "questioned" or "challenged" election results. He told a person of much lower political status than he to find him 11,700 votes and suggested to that person there would be criminal consequences if he didn't comply. Under those circumstances, many people would not have had the fortitude to stand up to Trump the way Brad Raffensperger did. Although election interference by a POTUS* is a fundamental affront to a democracy, I suppose Skandalakis might be right that spending years on a case against Trump is not a productive use of taxpayer resources. (On the other hand, I wouldn't disagree with any arguments in favor of chasing that old fart till he breathes his last breath.) Several years ago, before Trump even began to run for re-election in 2023, Akhilleus said he would never go to jail for any of his crimes. This settles it. Akhilleus was right.
Oh, Well. There's This. Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney of Politico: “A federal appeals court has upheld a penalty of nearly $1 million against ... Donald Trump and attorney Alina Habba, concluding they committed 'sanctionable conduct' by filing a frivolous lawsuit against Hillary Clinton and former FBI Director James Comey. 'Many of Trump’s and Habba’s legal arguments were indeed frivolous,' 11th Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge William Pryor Jr. wrote for a unanimous, three-judge panel, including Trump appointee Andrew Brasher and Biden appointee Embry Kidd. The Atlanta-based appeals court also rejected Trump’s bid to reinstate the 2022 lawsuit targeting Clinton, Comey and others over allegations about ties between Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and Russia.... And Pryor, a George W. Bush appointee, concluded that the district court judge who originally ruled against Trump had properly considered Trump’s 'pattern of misusing the courts' when deciding to sanction Trump and Habba. The ruling is the latest rejection of Trump’s legal crusade against his perceived adversaries....”
Gregory Svirnovskiy of Politico: “... Donald Trump lashed out at The New York Times for a story this week that pointed to his advanced age and a diminished White House schedule, extolling what he sees as his administration’s wins and accusing the publication of unfair coverage. '[T]he Radical Left Lunatics in the soon to fold New York Times did a hit piece on me that I am perhaps losing my Energy, despite facts that show the exact opposite,” he wrote Wednesday on Truth Social. 'They know this is wrong, as is almost every thing that they write about me, including election results, ALL PURPOSELY NEGATIVE.'... 'There will be a day when I run low on Energy, it happens to everyone, but with a PERFECT PHYSICAL EXAM AND A COMPREHENSIVE COGNITIVE TEST (“That was aced”) JUST RECENTLY TAKEN, it certainly is not now!' the president boasted on social media.” ~~~
~~~ Aaron Rupar on Bluesky: "Trump responds to a detailed report about his waning energy and propensity to sleep through on-camera events by calling the New York Times's Katie Rogers ugly." Thanks to akaWendy for the link. MB: Not that Rogers' appearance has anything whatsoever to do with Trump's physical and mental decline, but I did just look up images of Katie Rogers. As a former beauty pageant owner, Trump should know that in a beauty competition between Rogers and him, he wouldn't stand a chance. ~~~
~~~ Despite Trump's screeching objections, Paul Campos points out in LG&$ that the NYT story is "mealy-mouthed" and "more in the way of a whitewash than an actual investigation."
Jonathan Edwards & Dan Diamond of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump has argued with the architect he handpicked to design a White House ballroom over the size of the project, reflecting a conflict between architectural norms and Trump’s grandiose aesthetic.... Trump’s desire to go big with the project has put him at odds with architect James McCrery II, the people said, who has counseled restraint over concerns the planned 90,000-square-foot addition could dwarf the 55,000-square-foot mansion in violation of a general architectural rule: don’t build an addition that overshadows the main building.... The renovation represents one of the largest changes to the White House in its 233-year history, and has yet to undergo any formal public review.” ~~~
~~~ Steve M.: "Maybe we should be pleased that Trump is micromanaging the design of his ballroom -- this monomania probably allows us to avoid a Trump monument building boom all over the country."
Today in Spycraft. Marcy Wheeler has some thoughts on the leaked phone call between Steve Witkoff “— whom Michael Weiss has dubbed 'Dim Philby' —” & Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s top foreign policy advisor. ~~~
~~~ Perhaps not realizing he was riffing on a derisive joke about himself, Trump told reporters on AF1 that the much maligned Russian appeasement plan is merely "a concept" of a plan.
Camilo Montoya-Galvez & Julia Ingram of CBS News: "The number of immigration detainees without criminal records who are held in federal detention centers after getting arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement has increased by over 2,000% since the start of the second Trump administration in January, according to official government data.... On Nov. 16, the government figures show, ICE was holding 65,135 people in detention facilities throughout the U.S., the highest level ever publicly reported by the agency, which was created in 2003 following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.... The official figures indicate that 30,986 – or 48% — of the ICE detainees in custody as of Nov. 16 lacked any criminal charges or convictions in the U.S. and were being held solely because of civil violations of U.S. immigration law. ICE calls them 'immigration violators.'" Emphasis added.
Washington Post: “Two National Guard members were shot just outside the White House complex in downtown Washington on Wednesday afternoon.... One of the guardsmen was in critical condition.... By 3 p.m., D.C. police said they had one suspect in custody. The shooting happened at the corner of 17th and H Streets NW, and three gunshot victims were transported to the hospital....” ~~~
~~~ Update. “Two West Virginia National Guard members were fatally shot just outside the White House complex in downtown Washington on Wednesday afternoon, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said on X.”
~~~ Update 2. Marie: Now, according to MS NOW, Gov. Morrisey is saying that the guardsmen are alive. ~~~
~~~ Update 3. Kash Patel said at a news conference aired live that the two guardsmen are "in critical condition." ~~~
~~~ Update 4. “The suspected shooter has been identified as an Afghan national who entered the United States in 2021 and at some point lived in Washington state, according to multiple people familiar with the investigation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information. Two of those people said the suspect was Rahmanullah Lakanwal.... Donald Trump, in a video address, called the D.C. shooting a 'crime against humanity.'... DHS Secretary Kristi L. Noem said on social media the suspect entered the United States on Sept. 8, 2021, through 'Operation Allies Welcome,' a program to resettle vulnerable Afghans, including those who assisted the United States, after the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops there and the resumption of Taliban rule in August that year. The suspect, who was also shot, was taken into custody, Jeffery Carroll, executive assistant chief with the D.C. police, told reporters at a news conference. He described the person as a 'lone gunman' who 'ambushed' the Guard members.... Trump, in his remarks, said he has directed 500 additional troops to be mobilized in Washington after the shooting.” MB: IOW, it appears Trump is doing what he can to exacerbate the situation.
Ann Marimow of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court on Wednesday deferred a decision about whether ... [Donald] Trump could remove the government’s top copyright official until after the justices resolved a pair of related cases testing the president’s power to fire independent regulators. The court’s order is a placeholder and means that Shira Perlmutter, the head of the U.S. Copyright Office, can remain in her role as an adviser to Congress at least until January. The order represents a rare departure from recent cases in which the conservative majority has allowed Mr. Trump to immediately remove agency leaders while litigation over their status continues in the lower courts.” The AP story is here.
~~~~~~~~~~
The Liar in Winter. Katie Rogers & Dylan Freedman of the New York Times: “Mr. Trump, 79, is the oldest person to be elected to the presidency, and he is aging.... Nearly a year into his second term, Americans see Mr. Trump less than they used to, according to a New York Times analysis of his schedule.... He ... keeps a shorter public schedule than he used to.... The number of Mr. Trump’s total official appearances has decreased by 39 percent.... Most of his public appearances fall between noon and 5 p.m., on average. And when he is in public, occasionally, his battery shows signs of wear.... [He dozes off during public meetings.] In September..., bruising on his hand, coupled with swollen ankles, caused observers on the internet to speculate wildly about his health.... For years, concerns and questions about Mr. Trump’s health have often been met with obfuscation or minimal explanation from the people around him.... Mr. Trump has long rambled in his speeches; during his 2024 campaign and in his second term, the meandering has often been noticeable.”
Michael Birnbaum, et al., of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump projected optimism on Tuesday that negotiations to end Russia’s war in Ukraine were making progress, saying there were “only a few remaining points of disagreement” after a week of breakneck talks, but he said he would meet with the leaders of the warring countries only once they were in the final phases of a deal. The decision to push off a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dashed Kyiv’s hopes that the Ukrainian leader could use a one-on-one meeting with Trump in the coming days to reset the dynamic of negotiations that many Ukrainians feel have been tipped in Moscow’s favor.” ~~~
~~~ From Cheryl Rofer in LG&$: “... here is a link [to the transcript of the Oct. 14 phone call between Steve Witkof and Yuri Ushakov] that is said to be good for the next seven days.” “What does shine through,” Rofer writes, “is Witkoff’s intense ignorance and inability to envision a 'deal' that isn’t exactly like what he has negotiated in real estate.... Witkoff fails to understand that Russia has breached one of the most fundamental tenets that has kept a relative peace for 80 years: Nations do not take land from their neighbors just because they want to. He fails to understand that Putin sees this as a quasi-religious struggle.... The ignorance slops over on the reporters, too, who continue to call that shopping list a 'plan.' It’s a random set of points, at least some of which is clearly translated from the Russian.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Not that Trump understands what's going on. A couple of days ago, RAS learned that what was billed as "Trump's peace plan" -- the one he at first demanded Ukraine accept by Thursday -- appears to have been translated from Russian. Now this: ~~~
~~~ Bloomberg News, republished by the Japan Times: “U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, fresh from the triumph of the Gaza peace deal, held a phone call last month with a senior Kremlin official to suggest they work together on a similar plan for Ukraine — and that Vladimir Putin should raise it with Donald Trump. In an Oct. 14 phone call that lasted a little over five minutes, Witkoff advised Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s top foreign policy aide, on how the Russian leader should broach the issue with Trump. His guidance included suggestions on setting up a Trump-Putin call before Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s White House visit later that week and using the Gaza agreement as a way in.” MB: We already knew Trump was a veritable Russian asset. Now we know Witkoff, whom Donald Trump has made his chief negotiator for no discernible reason, is a literal asset. He is helping the leader of a major U.S. enemy manipulate the supposed U.S. leader. It's astounding. (Also linked yesterday.)
Maura Judkis of the Washington Post: Donald Trump spent the annual turkey pardoning ceremony boasting about his own accomplishments and disparaging his perceived enemies. The headline of Axios' report is "Trump hijacks turkey pardon with Biden, Pritzker jabs." MB: IMO, a lot of what he said was inappropriate not just for the occasion but also for his audience, which included little children. These turkey pardons are usually stupid, awkward events, but nobody has screwed one up quite like Trump screwed up yesterday's event. ~~~
Ken Bensinger & David Fahrenthold of the New York Times: “A full year after making a public pledge to do so..., [Donald] Trump has disclosed a list of donors who helped pay for his transition to power. The list of 46 individuals, released by the transition team, includes billionaires like Jeff Yass and Paul Singer as well as several supporters who went on to be appointees in the current administration.... Among those on the list are Linda McMahon and Howard Lutnick.... Steve Witkoff, Mr. Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, donated, as did Stanley Woodward Jr., the third-ranking official in the Justice Department [and] Dominick Gerace II, who was sworn in as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Ohio.... In total, the transition said it raised slightly more than $14 million, but did not specify how much each donor contributed. It said $13.7 million was spent on the transition effort....
“Late last year, Mr. Trump’s transition team refused to sign an agreement with the General Services Administration that would have required it to publish the names of its contributors and the amount of money they donated within 30 days of the inauguration in exchange for more than $7 million in federal funding and administrative support.... 'They claimed they were saving taxpayers money, but what they were doing was hiding the ball about who is buying the government,' said Max Stier ... of the nonpartisan nonprofit Partnership for Public Service....”
Thomas Edsall of the New York Times: “Donald Trump, well on his way to becoming the most corrupt president in American history, will almost certainly escape criminal prosecution after leaving office.... In large part, Trump owes his current insulation from potential prosecution to the 2024 Supreme Court decision Trump v. United States, which granted the president 'absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority.' ”
Greg Jaffe of the New York Times: “The six Democratic members of Congress who recorded a video informing troops that they could refuse illegal orders said on Tuesday that they were being investigated by the F.B.I. The group, made up of veterans of the military and the C.I.A., said the bureau had contacted the House and Senate sergeants-at-arms requesting interviews with them, though it is unclear what, if any, laws they might conceivably have violated with their video.... The investigation is part of a broader campaign by the Trump administration to seek retribution against the president’s perceived political enemies.... Legal experts have dismissed the investigations as a transparent attempt to seek vengeance with no grounding in the law.... It comes one day after the Pentagon said it was investigating Senator Mark Kelly, Democrat of Arizona, for his participation in the same video.... Mr. Kelly is the only member of the group being investigated by the Pentagon for a possible court martial.” Politico's story is here. An AP story is here.
Zach Montague of the New York Times: “Representative Eric Swalwell of California on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, claiming Mr. Pulte breached federal privacy laws by repeatedly disclosing documents intended to accuse prominent Democrats of mortgage fraud. Mr. Pulte referred Mr. Swalwell to the Justice Department for investigation after accusing him of mortgage fraud, an allegation Mr. Swalwell has denied. That accusation followed similar claims Mr. Pulte has made this year against New York’s attorney general, Letitia James; Senator Adam B. Schiff of California; and Lisa Cook, a Federal Reserve governor appointed by former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. All have denied wrongdoing and accused Mr. Pulte of weaponizing his access to federal mortgage documents in order to assist ... [Donald] Trump’s efforts to prosecute or otherwise take aim at political targets.”
Michael Schmidt of the New York Times assesses the status of Trump's retribution campaign: “Not limiting himself to pursuing his foes through the criminal justice system, [Donald Trump's] administration is using a whole-of-government approach to imposing some kind of penalty on his foes. Mr. Trump’s political appointees are harnessing a range of departments, obscure agencies and rarely used powers outside the Justice Department to inflict pain.... In the first few months of his administration, he used lawsuits, executive orders, withdrawal of security details and public intimidation against media companies, law firms and former officials whom he viewed as disloyal. By the summer, though, Mr. Trump ramped up the pressure on his Justice Department to indict his rivals like [former FBI Director James] Comey and [New York State AG Letitia] James, and Attorney General Pam Bondi quickly sought to comply. But Mr. Trump immediately ran into roadblocks.”
Dylan Wells & Hannah Knowles of the Washington Post: “Indiana Republican leaders said Tuesday that the state legislature would reconvene in December to consider redrawing the state’s congressional map, a reversal amid pressure from ... Donald Trump. State House Speaker Todd Huston (R) said the chamber’s Republicans will gavel in on Dec. 1 to consider 'all legislative business,' including 'redrawing the state’s congressional map.' Shortly after his announcement, state Senate president pro tempore Rodric Bray (R) said the Senate will reconvene on Dec. 8 to 'make a final decision … on any redistricting proposal sent from the House.' The decision marked a sharp a turnaround from earlier this month, when Bray said there were not enough votes to move forward with redrawing the map, 'and the Senate will not reconvene in December.'” An NBC News story is here.
Devon Lum, et al., of the New York Times: “The Trump administration made erroneous claims to the Supreme Court, mischaracterizing the responsiveness of local police and the actions of protesters in a filing asking the justices to sign off on the deployment of hundreds of National Guard troops to Chicago, a New York Times investigation found. The emergency request, filed by the solicitor general, D. John Sauer, which draws heavily from court declarations made by two Homeland Security officials, misstates what happened in the aftermath of a car crash and shooting on Oct. 4 in Chicago that involved Border Patrol agents....
“The filing claimed that [Chicago] police officers didn’t respond for more than an hour after the shooting, wrongly implying that the call took place just after [the shooting]..., when in fact it was two hours later. The filing also falsely suggested that the entire police department was told to stay away from the site. Additionally, it portrays protesters as aggressive throughout the day. The Times’s investigation found that Chicago officers responded to the shooting within seven minutes and were present at the ensuing protest. While at 12:30 p.m. one police district was ordered not to respond to the protest, other districts sent officers to the scene. The analysis also found that the protesters were peaceful for the first two hours, before a forceful federal response.... The Supreme Court will decide based on filings alone....”
Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney of Politico: “The Justice Department acknowledged Tuesday that it was Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem who decided to proceed with the deportation of 100 Venezuelan men to a notorious prison in El Salvador despite a judge’s order to keep them in U.S. custody. The disclosure came in response to demands by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg that the administration identify the officials involved in authorizing an unprecedented deportation operation in March that sent the men to a prison known for abusive treatment.... Noem’s call ensured that the deportees — rounded up and expelled with virtual no due process after ... Donald Trump invoked war powers to designate them as members of a transnational gang — would remain imprisoned in El Salvador under harsh conditions for months, until the U.S. helped broker a prisoner swap that resulted in all of the men being returned to Venezuela.”
Oh Dear. Tara Prindiville & Dennis Romero of NBC News: "Officials have detained the mother of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt's nephew amid the Trump administration's ramped-up immigration enforcement efforts, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to NBC News. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents took the woman into custody in Revere, Massachusetts, this month, the source said. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Bruna Caroline Ferreira is a 'criminal illegal alien from Brazil' who overstayed her tourist visa, which expired in June 1999. The woman has an arrest on suspicion of battery, the spokesperson said. It’s not clear how the case was resolved."
Rebecca Falconer of Axios: "The Trump administration is raising national parks' prices and adding fees for international tourists from next year in an 'America-first' initiative that'll see U.S. residents 'continue to enjoy affordable pricing,' the Interior Department announced Tuesday. The new fees ... [will] take effect from Jan. 1...."
Meagan Flynn, et al., of the Washington Post: “D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) will not seek reelection, a seismic decision in D.C. politics that will bring to a close more than a decade in leadership overseeing some of the city’s most booming times and also its most turbulent crises this century. In an interview Monday night with The Washington Post, Bowser, 53, said that 'we’ve accomplished what we set out to accomplish.' After securing one of her latest wins — a deal to build a new NFL stadium — she said she determined it was time to step aside.” An AP story is here.
~~~~~~~~~~
Brazil. Tom Phillips of the Guardian: “Brazil’s former president, Jair Bolsonaro, has been ordered to start serving his 27-year sentence in a 12 sq metre bedroom in a police base in the capital, Brasília, after his conviction for plotting a coup.” (MB: That's 129 sq. ft. So about 10 ft. x 13 ft. Definitely not palatial.)
35 comments:
This post is a republication of one I wrote in the wee hours this morning. For context, see the last several entries in yesterday's Comments thread.
Thanks, Akhilleus & RAS. I'm left-handed, so oftentimes when I get instructions, I have to reverse-think them. That is, if you tell me to do such-and-such with my right hand, I have to think right hand but do left hand. As a result, I often get things backwards. That's why the "explanation" that said I wasn't looking at what I thought I was looking at confused me. I just assumed I must be "seeing" something backwards.
I feel so much better!
Looks like it may be a Merry Christmas. Al Green plans to bring impeachment
articles forward against Donald Trump before holiday break.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DRc9TAsDQFG/
I'd think Edsall is likely right about the Pretender's free pair of skates the Supremes gave him, but only if the Supremes are also continue to turn their blind eyes of injustice toward the Emoluments Clause. The language of their presidential immunity decision was fudged of course but it's still pretty clear that unless accepting gifts from foreign governments is now a presidential duty the Emoluments Clause should remain a problem for the Grifter in Chief and his Supreme Enablers.
That is, unless "absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority ” is just a long-winded way of saying grift...
They ducked the issue the first time around by declaring the emoluments cases moot once the Pretender was out of office but someone has to be working on similar suits today. All they'd need is newspaper reports to support their case, so much of the Pretender's corruption is out in the open.
Tom Nichols, in The Atlantic, on Pete Hegseth's unfitness as secretary of defense Mark Kelly should be secretary of defense
"Kelly’s had some business ventures, but he’s a bit light on management experience. Still, he’d be a far better choice than Hegseth, who is now vying to snag the never-coveted title of Worst Secretary of Defense in Modern American History.
....
[Hegseth] is a dude-bro sporting some questionable tattoos, a creation of television who’s acting as if he won The Apprentice: The Nuclear-Weapons Season. He seems to believe that his job is hectoring young men about being fat and forcing Black men out of the military for having beards. He has no understanding of national strategy, and no real experience managing anything.
.....
Trump seems to like Hegseth, but the administration also seems to be taking care not to let Hegseth near anything breakable or dangerous."
"Self Defense"
"US justice department memo about boat strikes diverges from Trump narrative
Exclusive: Officials frame strikes as self-defense against violence, without naming aggressor, while Trump claims they’re to stop US overdose deaths"
Educating the Children
"Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath recently met with a top official from Turning Point USA to discuss creating chapters of the conservative youth organization in all of the state’s high schools, days before Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick promised $1 million in campaign funds to help bring the project to life. The meeting between Morath and Turning Point USA Senior Director Josh Thifault took place on Nov. 3 in Austin, according to records obtained by The Texas Tribune."
Safety
Mandates
"Senate Republicans in January plan to criticize requirements for safety technology, such as automatic emergency braking and alarms to remind drivers that a child is in the back seat, arguing they unnecessarily drive up the cost of cars."
Once again Republicans show how pro-child they are by helping overworked and stressed parents get some time away from their little ones. When Republicans see a problem they do the work to make sure it stays a problem.
Throw momma from the train.
"United Health wants its ‘swagger back’.
How? By dropping a million seniors from Medicare Advantage
Why? America's largest insurer wants to improve its profit margins, medical costs are skyrocketing because the GOP cut Medicaid and ACA subsidies."
Dropping one million seniors - article.
Republican healthcare is good business for gravediggers. Gives them their swagger back.
@RAS & @Akhilleus: Nyhan wrote to tell me he agrees that the photo is not a mirror image. He is deleting his post.
Kelly's medals are in the right place and in the correct order.
That is all.
Marie,
That's good. Crowd sourcing fact checking only works if people pay attention to the facts. Said by someone who didn't pay proper attention.
Hegseth is still an idiot though.
Mac and Cheese
"The baked dish is one of the US's most popular foods, but its rise can likely be traced back to an enslaved Black chef who worked for Thomas Jefferson."
Criminals
"Election denier Tina Peters to remain in state prison despite Trump admin pardon scheme"
As seen on Bluesky. T****'s response to the NYC story? Katie Rogers is ugly
Yeah, Dylan didn't get a presidential rating on his looks. The weak loser always has to take shots at the women questioning him.
"Georgia Prosecutor Drops 2020 Charges Against Trump
The special prosecutor assigned [appointed by himself] to determine the fate of President Donald Trump’s historic Georgia indictment has decided not to pursue the case any further. In a motion on Wednesday, Pete Skandalakis, executive director of The Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, filed a motion in Fulton County Superior Court, requesting the charges brought against Trump and his GOP allies be dropped."
Election interference is not a crime in the United States, unless Democrats try to do it some time in the future.
Marie,
That's pretty cool that Nyhan not only got back with you but acted on your input. You have the POWER!
RAS,
Don't worry about that post. Your initial idea was to demonstrate Drunk Pete's essential unfitness to be a reasonable adult (never mind SecDef) and you succeeded (not that it's very difficult to do, but daily reminders are necessary).
Wendy,
Good point in the article you linked, that Mark Kelly would make a much better Secretary of Defense than the drunken lout in there now.
Patrick,
Thanks for the clarification on the medals. I figured if anyone would know the real deal, it would be you.
And one other thing before we leave this latest stupid chapter in the reign of Don's Dipso Douchebag...
People at the top matter, whether it's the coach of a team, managing editor of a newspaper, general manager of a TV station, principal of an elementary school, CEO of a giant multinational corporation, managing director of a bank, or the heads of a household. Likely the Pentagon hasn't collapsed because there are a whole bunch of honorable and experienced officers handling the day to day operations of the various branches of the military in spite of the lunacy from the corner office.
But morale matters. I've seen morale among as few as 60 employees tank within a few weeks because some idiot was put in charge of the operation. Conversely, I've seen how great it is to work under a boss who knows what's going on, is dependable, supportive, and gives everyone a common goal to work towards.
If the people under the boss can't trust that she knows her ass from her elbow and see that she's off doing batshit crazy stuff when everyone just wants some clear direction, the place falls apart pretty quickly. Oh, work gets done. But it's not fun and it can make people anxious and angry. Work gets done, but pretty soon, people are just doing the bare minimum, or worse, just giving up.
I'm sure the Pentagon has plenty of great people who are keeping the ship afloat, but when you see the boss wondering if his makeup is okay, calling generals and admirals from all around the planet to stop what they're doing so they can be part of the Drunk Pete Show, firing experienced people because they're the wrong color or wrong gender, and going off on crazy tangents about medals, it cant help but affect morale, and a drop in morale means a reduction in readiness. And this is happening in all branches of government now, not just at the Pentagon. Making America less safe, less smart, and far less capable. The Trump Way.
Ken,
Not sure the Supines give a flying donut hole about the Emoluments clause. Look, they completely ignored an essential Constitutional rule in the 14th Amendment, allowing a convicted felon to run for office. The Emoluments clause, I think, is looked on more like a stop sign on a side street. Plenty of drivers roll through that sign because they can see there's no other cars in sight. Most presidents (all?) have largely abided by this clause because, one, most aren't crooks, and two, it looks bad to be collecting hugely expensive gifts from sources looking for favors from the White House, which creates problems affecting things they want to do. Fatty doesn't give a shit about any of that. He does whatever he wants and I'm guessing the Supines won't care either. Same with the Hatch Act. Plenty of Fat Hitler peons have engaged in the sort of political activity the Hatch Act was put in place to prevent. There are just so many laws, rules, customs, and statutes broken, probably on an hourly basis by this Reich, it's hard to keep up.
I keep telling myself I am wasting my breath and toxifying myself by the persisting hatred I reserve for the Idiot In Chief. But I go on hating him. I should spare myself and share with others. This guy in Georgia, I hate him and I don't even know his name, really. There are so many toadies who devote themselves to being handmaids and handgentlemen for Stinky that I know they have no self-regard or capacity for thinking, so if anything happens to them, it really doesn't matter. I will henceforth comment on nincompoops as much as I do the Chief Dumbass. Or more. Is Tina Peters next? I hate the entire state of Texas, as there are too many toadies to give special hatred to. (Of course there are some good people there, but they are vastly too far away from the gibbering fools in the executive branch of TX government to help or worry about. Sorry, Jasmine and Betto and others-- please relocate.
Of course, this method of saving myself is not working. I still have volcanic streams of rage to devote to the so-called Presidunce who calls women names when he doesn't like their questions, and apparently knows not what a zero he is in the looks and smarts departments. I'll take Pritzker any day and twice on Sunday. He is a smart, pleasant guy and knows how to skewer the Loser In Chief.
Ooopsie daisy-- forgot to close a parenthesis. I get caught up in too many phrases banging together...
Wait...I just noticed that the Tom Edsall article about Fatty corruption says that Trump "is on his way to becoming the most corrupt president in history". O
Again with the happy fingers....
So..to continue....
"On his way"? Seriously? the off ramp for "Most Corrupt President" is hundred miles in the rear view. He passed that exit six months ago. He's heading for Most Corrupt Human Being in History territory.
Oh, and you can add Biggest Asshole as well, to Fatty's many accomplishments. As Marie points out, he's using the turkey pardon event to lay out the usual litany of grievances and lies, none of which are appropriate for the little kiddies who are just there to see the turkeys and get ready for Thanksgiving. But no...Sorry kids, you thought you were here for a fun event? Fuck that. Listen to this...blah, blah, blah, blah...Jesus Christ. But recall, if you will, that at a Boy Scout Jamboree some time ago, Fatty used the event, attended by young kids and their parents, to describe in detail some salacious goings on with one of his douchebag billionaire buddies and some bimbos on his yacht. Might as well get them all a subscription to Penthouse. "Appropriate" for Trump doesn't exist.
Westcoastman,
I guess it's my age, or maybe my musical tastes, but when I see the name "Al Green", I immediately think of this guy. But if we're talking about impeaching the Orange Monster, I guess both Al Greens would say let's stay together and get it done.
Reading about how the mother of Tokyo Rose Garden's nephew has been vacuumed up by Fatty's ICE goons, I wonder two things.
First, will she pull strings to get this woman released, and second, will she just let her hang.
She's kind of an asshole on both counts, but I'd have more respect for her if she went out of her way to help the mother of her nephew, especially if she isn't some kind of criminal. It sounds like she has nothing to do with this woman, but if she cares at all about her nephew and if he cares about his mom, and Tokyo Rose Garden just lets ICE boot her, she's an even bigger asshole.
Akhilleus,
The fact that people have been (lying?) telling the media that Karoline's nephew's mom is a criminal who has never had her son living with her makes me think that Karoline is more likely to ask Noem to send her to El Salvador than to lift a finger to actually help the woman out. The best case for the mom is probably for Leavitt to do nothing. But if the brother or she has any bad blood with the ex then it could be really terrible to have a connection to someone who has access to both Noem and Stephen Miller.
Living in the past.
Fat Hitler is helping relaunch Rush Hour franchise with alleged creep director, who just directed Melanie's documentary, with aging stars. Jackie Chan is 71 and Chris Tucker hasn't headlined a movie since the last Rush Hour nearly two decades ago.
Fat Hitler on pace to spend nearly half a billion ($450m) tax payer dollars on golf trips.
"Taxpayers have now shelled out nearly $71 million for President Donald Trump’s golf hobby since he retook office in January, with his second-term total on pace to break $300 million, according to a HuffPost analysis.
His visit to his course adjacent to the Palm Beach County jail Wednesday was on his 16th trip to his Mar-a-Lago country club home four miles away. Each of those trips cost $3.4 million in travel and security expenses.
If he makes just two more trips to Mar-a-Lago in December — he made four in November, including the one over Halloween weekend — his golf expenses will top $75 million in 2025. On that pace, he would exceed $300 million over this four-year term. In contrast, he spent $151.5 million of taxpayer money in golf-related travel and security expenses during his first term."
In The Atlantic, Anne Applebaum asks What Is Steve Witkoff Trying to Do?
"Witkoff has no previous diplomatic experience, so perhaps he is naive. He spent many years in New York real estate, at a time when Russians were spending fortunes on property, so perhaps he feels gratitude. Maybe he’s helping Russia win because he has “the deepest respect for President Putin,” as he told Ushakov, and admires his brutality. Maybe he, or others in the White House entourage, have business interests tied to Russia—or hope to. In addition to discussing “peace,” Witkoff has also been, according to the document made public last week, talking with the Russians about American investments “in the areas of energy, natural resources, infrastructure, artificial intelligence, data centers, rare earth metal extraction projects in the Arctic.”
Whatever the reason, Witkoff is prolonging the conflict. He is not promoting peace."
Any Republican shutting down investigations into Trump and his associates is automatically suspect in my view. Find one actual Democrat to look at the evidence and charges that can honestly look the American people in the eye and say that there is no case here. Every freaking time a high ranking Democrat is investigated for anything as serious as a parking ticket a Republican gets appointed to lead the investigation. And many times we get bullshit prosecutions that get shot down by the juries. When a Republican gets accused of wrong doing they appoint a Republican to look into it. And then they don't find crimes of it most of the time. This loser could not find one single non MAGA lawyer in all of the state of Georgia to assess this case? Not one? And I'm sure he will tell us he tried really really hard. The fact that Skandalakis is a long time Republican, even as the media wants to play up that his job title says "non partisan" or that he once claimed to be a Democrat in a far away time, that appointed himself and then released not just a "nothing to see here" statement, but a "this should not have ever been brought" statement makes this look like the fix was in.
This administration is full of weird and miserable people.
"JD Vance Tells Soldiers That They’re “Full Of Shit” For Saying They Like Eating Turkey On Thanksgiving Day"
JD admits that he is a shit cook and that Christmas is less special because of all the foreigners who also celebrate it. All these losers have so many things seriously wrong with them. Including not being able to relate to other human beings. Probably why empathy is so foreign to them.
RAS,
There's a reason I call it the Party of Traitors. The fix is ALWAYS in. They will never hold Trump accountable for anything, anything. He is not only the most corrupt president* in history, he is also the most proficient and indefatigable criminal to ever hold court in the White House. He is a rapist, a liar, a con man, a racist, a white supremacist, and a greedy pig. And the equally (if not more so) corrupt Supine Court handed him a magic wand to wave whenever inconvenient laws or investigations interfere with his corruption. The fix is ALWAYS in.
Yes, RAS and Ak: I would tell anyone attempting to marry a repugnican that it might be better to jump off a dock into a cold sea that do that. Those people have been born without empathy, without responsibility, without scruples, without intelligence, without anything that makes a person more of a humaitarian. The fact that the idiot in the VP chair says people don't eat turkey doesn't know the amount of turkey that IS consumed every day is not because he is on some golden throne with his master somewhere-- he is just plain stupid. Why say things like that? I love seeing that he adheres to the directive "always wear logoed regalia so the rubes know who you are"-- that is only a step below the puppy killer. These people cannot exist in an ordinary, joy-filled world. The only thing they enjoy is spending our money. Seriously.
Okay. My days as a proofreader are obviously over. Most apologies to all of you.
Not only upside down, bur ass backwards:
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/26/us-demands-peace-deal-before-security-guarantees-for-ukraine-00670210
Post a Comment