The Conversation -- February 16, 2024
** Marie: Via MSNBC on-air, Judge Arthur Engoron's decision in the Trump Organization civil fraud case has just been posted. The penalty is more than $364 million in the aggregate. Donald Trump and the Trump Organization can't operate in New York for three years; Eric & Donald Jr. can't operate in new York for two years. They can't apply for loans in New York, either. it's a 92-page ruling. And don't forget he has a total of about $88 million in judgments against him in the E. Jean Carroll cases. The penalties are $355MM for Donald Trump, $4 each for Don Jr. & Eric, and $1MM for Allen Weisselberg. Including penalty an interest, that $355MM figure for Donald Trump's has been pushed up to $453MM+. ~~~
~~~ Jonah Bromwich & Ben Protess of the New York Times: "A New York judge on Friday handed Donald J. Trump a crushing defeat in his civil fraud case, finding the former president liable for conspiring to manipulate his net worth and ordering him to pay a penalty of nearly $355 million plus interest that could wipe out his entire stockpile of cash. The decision by Justice Arthur F. Engoron caps a chaotic, yearslong case in which New York's attorney general put Mr. Trump's fantastical claims of wealth on trial. With no jury, the power was in Justice Engoron's hands alone...: The judge delivered a sweeping array of punishments that threatens the former president's business empire as he simultaneously contends with four criminal prosecutions and seeks to regain the White House. Justice Engoron barred Mr. Trump for three years from serving in top roles at any New York company, including portions of his own Trump Organization. He also imposed a two-year ban on the former president's adult sons and ordered that they pay more than $4 million each. One of them, Eric Trump, is the company's de facto chief executive, and the ruling throws into doubt whether any member of the family can run the business in the near term. The judge also ordered that they pay substantial interest, pushing the penalty for the former president to $450 million, according to the attorney general, Letitia James." This is an update of an early story.~~~
~~~ The AP story, by Michael Sisak, is here. The AP also cites the $364MM figure. CNN has a liveblog on developments. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Trump said on the teevee that people will be moving out of New York because they're so upset by this verdict, and "There won't be a New York anymore." He's shocked, shocked he should be given a massive fine when he's "done a perfect job." In his ruling, Engoron wrote that a major reason for the penalty and requirement that the Trump Organization continue under "babysitters" after Trump is allowed to work in New York again was because Trump and the Trump children refused to acknowledge there bad acts & were unremorseful about them.
Richard Fausset, et al., of the New York Times: "Defense lawyers for Donald J. Trump and his co-defendants in Georgia found themselves frustrated in efforts to extract damaging information from a key witness [Terrence Bradley] on Friday, as they sought to disqualify the lead prosecutors in the election interference case.... Once he took the stand in the afternoon, he continued to assert attorney-client privilege over many matters.... After adjourning, Judge [Scott] McAfee said he would meet in private with Mr. Bradley and his attorney to discuss questions regarding attorney-client privilege and an accusation of sexual assault against Mr. Bradley while he worked with Mr. Wade. Mr. Bradley emphatically denied the allegation, and the judge did not allow further testimony about it from other witnesses.... The judge said he would then determine a date for lawyers to make their closing arguments on the conflict-of-interest question. It could happen late next week, or the following week, he said...." This is the pinned item in a liveblog. ~~~
Fausset: "Terrence Bradley, who the judge has called the star witness in this case, is still not here. Instead, we have another star of sorts: Former Gov. Roy Barnes of Georgia. Mr. Barnes is a moderate Democrat who served one term.... Barnes acknowledges publicly that Fani Willis ... approached him about prosecuting the Trump case.... The point of bringing Roy Barnes to the stand is to establish that Nathan Wade was not the first choice of Fani Willis ... to run the Trump prosecution. Barnes, a former governor of Georgia, testified that he met with Willis for an hour about taking on the case, but declined."
Fausset: "The judge notes that Terrence Bradley, one of the key witnesses subpoenaed by the defense, is now technically in violation of his subpoena for ghosting this hearing. His lawyer says he is at a medical appointment."
Fausset: "Fani Willis's father, John Floyd, is taking the stand. He was originally supposed to dial in via videoconference but is here in person."
Danny Hakim: "Floyd described his daughter's house getting doxed, with people showing up outside at 5:30 a.m. 'cursing and yelling' the 'b-word' and the 'n-word.'... Floyd says, 'I've always told my daughter, you keep six months worth of cash, always.' And he says he gave his daughter her first cash box."
Fausset: "Keeping large amounts of cash around is 'a Black thing,' Fani Willis's father, John Floyd, says. Willis, the district attorney, has said that she paid Nathan Wade back for trips that they took together in cash."
Hakim: "Under questioning from Donald Trump's lawyer, Steve Sadow, Fani Willis's father says, 'I just found out when other folks found out' that his daughter had dated the special prosecutor, Nathan Wade."
Fausset: "The judge says that the crime-fraud exception does not apply, and now we're back to questioning of Terrence Bradley about what he knows regarding the relationship between his former client and partner, Natha Wade, and ... Fani Willis."
Hakim: "Terrence Bradley has been on the stand for some time now, but thus far the defense has not been able to draw anything out of him undercutting the assertions of Fani Willis and Nathan Wade about the timeline of their relationship."
Fausset: "Much of today's drama, such as it is, will occur off-camera. The judge has said he is going to review two text messages from Terrence Bradley, the witness currently on the stand, to determine whether the texts [between defense lawyer Ashleigh Merchant & him] should remain under wraps due to attorney-client privilege."
Fausset: "Anna Cross with the district attorney's office establishes that Terrence Bradley left Nathan Wade's firm after an accusation that Bradley committed a sexual assault. Bradley emphatically denies the allegation.... The prosecution establishing that Bradley had been the subject of a sexual assault allegation at his former law firm is an effort to raise questions about why he might reveal information damaging to Nathan Wade, his former partner."
Edward-Isaac Dovere of CNN: "West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin announced Friday that he will not mount a 2024 campaign for president.... Manchin has been on a national listening tour as he weighed jumping in as a third-party presidential candidate, potentially on the No Labels ticket. He has criticized President Joe Biden for being too liberal but also said that he would refuse to be part of any effort that would help Donald Trump return to the White House."
Anton Troianovski & Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Biden said that there was 'no doubt' that President Vladimir V. Putin's government was behind the death of Aleksei A. Navalny, the outspoken dissident who Russian authorities said had died at a remote Arctic prison on Friday.... President Biden praised Mr. Navalny's activism and his courage in returning to Russia after being poisoned in 2020. 'Even in prison, he was a powerful voice for the truth,' Mr. Biden said. He also repeated denunciations of ... Donald J. Trump, who said recently that he would 'encourage' Russia to attack NATO allies that do not spend enough on their militaries, calling Mr. Trump's comments 'dangerous' and 'outrageous.'" This is the pinned item in a liveblog about Navalny's apparent death. ~~~
~~~ ** Andrew Kramer & Valerie Hopkins of the New York Times: "Aleksei A. Navalny, an anticorruption activist who for more than a decade led the political opposition in President Vladimir V. Putin's Russia, died Friday in a prison inside the Arctic Circle, according to Russian authorities. His death was announced by Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service, which said that Mr. Navalny, 47, lost consciousness on Friday after taking a walk in the prison where he was moved late last year. He was last seen on Thursday, when he had appeared in a court hearing via video link, smiling behind the bars of a cell and making jokes. Leonid Volkov, Navalny's longtime chief of staff, said he was not yet ready to accept the news that Mr. Navalny was dead. 'We have no reason to believe state propaganda,' Volkov wrote on the social platform X. 'If this is true, then it's not "Navalny died," but "Putin killed Navalny," and only that. But I don't trust them one penny.'" Politico's story is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Shall we ask reprehensible Tucker Carlson how nice Russian prisons are? Now that Putin has murdered Russia's leading dissident, I do wonder if TuKKKer will be floating any more videos about how much better Russia is than the U.S. Marveling over the low prices in a fake Moscow grocery store (story linked below), TuKKKer said, "... you start to realize that ideology maybe doesn't matter as much as you thought, corruption." "Ideolology" tends to matter quite a lot, TuKKKums, when it permits the state to murder you for protesting and other exercises of free speech.
~~~~~~~~~~
Marie: I will be away almost all morning. The Georgia hearing on the Willis-Wade affair continues at 9:00 am ET. The hearing was aired live yesterday on both CNN & MSNBC, so I imagine it will air today, too. Also Justice Arthur Engoron is expected to release his verdict on any penalties he will require the Trump Organization to pay as a result of the fraud finding against the Trump company.
In today's news, we feature right-wing dudes trying to deflect responsibility for their fake crusades: Rep. Jim Comer (R-Ky.) blaming the FBI for his fake Biden impeachment inquiry; violent insurrectionists blaming that nice Donald Trump for calling them to Washington to stop the Electoral College count; and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis blaming "bad actors" for the book ban he championed.
Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The White House clashed with the Justice Department in the run-up to the release of a special counsel report last week about President Biden's handling of classified information, previously undisclosed correspondence shows. The letters, obtained by The New York Times, show that a top Justice Department official rejected complaints from Mr. Biden's lawyers about disparaging comments in the report regarding the president. The lawyers wrote to Attorney General Merrick B. Garland the day before he released the report by the special counsel, Robert K. Hur. They raised objections to passages in the report in which Mr. Hur suggested that Mr. Biden's memory was failing and questioned some of his actions, even though the special counsel had found no basis to prosecute the president. The lawyers said Mr. Hur's comments 'openly, obviously and blatantly violate department policy and practice,' the letters show.... Bradley Weinsheimer -- the department's senior career official, or nonpolitical appointee, who deals with ethics complaints or appeals of department decisions -- wrote back rejecting their criticism. He insisted that the comments in the report 'fall well within the department's standards for public release.'" Politico's story is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: I watched a good deal of Fani Willis' testimony yesterday. She seems like an intelligent, 50-ish woman in full possesion of her mental faculties. Even though she no doubt had studied the charges against her in a case where dates of events are crucial, there were a whole lotta recent dates and events she could not recall. I don't think she was lying or covering up; it appeared she just didn't know. A lot of people -- myself included -- do not track events by dates. You probably remember the year you were graduated from high school, but that's because you have long identified yourself with the "Class of '85" or whatever. But you may not remember what year you took a cruise, even if it was only five years ago. I also hear sharp TV personalities constantly misspeaking; one referred the other day to "Jack Trump" when she meant "Jack Smith." The speaker wasn't confused or forgetful; she's human. Robert Hur, no doubt having watched way too much Fox Teevee, had a preconceived notion that Joe Biden was an old man with no idea of what was going on around him; every time Biden misspoke or forgot a date confirmed Hur's bias.
** Jim Comer's Impeachment Dreams Blow Up. Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "The special counsel investigating Hunter Biden has charged a former F.B.I. informant with fabricating claims that President Biden and his son each sought $5 million bribes from a Ukrainian company -- a stinging setback for Republicans who cited the allegations in their push to impeach the president. The longtime informant, Alexander Smirnov, 43, is accused of falsely telling the F.B.I. that Hunter Biden, then a paid board member of the energy giant Burisma, demanded the money to protect the company from an investigation by the country's prosecutor general at the time. The explosive story, which seemed to back up unsubstantiated Republican claims of a 'Biden crime family,' turned out to be a brazen lie, according to a 37-page indictment unsealed late Thursday in a California federal court, brought by the special counsel, David C. Weiss....
"In May last year, Representative James R. Comer of Kentucky, the Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, threatened to hold the bureau&'s director, Christopher A. Wray, in contempt if he did not disclose some details [of Smirnov's tall tale]. Mr. Comer, in a statement released after the charges against Mr. Smirnov became public, took no responsibility for spreading a claim that prosecutors suggested was a smear intended to hurt Mr. Biden politically. Instead, he blamed bureau officials for privately telling the committee their 'source was credible and trusted, had worked with the F.B.I. for over a decade and had been paid six figures.' But F.B.I. officials did not seem to think much of Mr. Smirnov's allegations from the start.... In 2020, they concluded that his claims did not merit continued investigation, and told senior Trump administration officials in the Justice Department of that decision, prosecutors wrote." The AP's story is here. CNN's report is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Chris Hayes said on MSNBC last night that Sean Hannity featured Smirnov's story on his little teevee show at Fox 85 times, often in long monologues implicating "the Bidens." ~~~
~~~ "A Tissue of Lies Built on Conspiracy Theories." Mychael Schnell of the Hill: "Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) is calling on House Republicans to end their impeachment inquiry into President Biden following the indictment of the FBI informant at the center of the conference's allegations that the president accepted a bribe. The statement from Raskin -- the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee --came shortly after the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced charges against Alexander Smirnov, 43, based on accusations that he made up claims regarding Biden. 'In a detailed indictment, Special Counsel David Weiss -- who was appointed by former President Donald Trump -- has demonstrated how key evidence at the heart of House Republicans' impeachment inquiry is based on a lie,' Raskin said. 'Special Counsel Weiss's investigation is just the most recent to debunk the Ukraine-Burisma conspiracy theory at the heart of this fraudulent impeachment inquiry.... It is an undeniable fact that Republicans' allegations against President Biden have always been a tissue of lies built on conspiracy theories, and I formally call on Speaker Johnson, Chairman Comer, and House Republicans to stop promoting this nonsense and end their doomed impeachment inquiry.'..."
Abigail Hauslohner & Marianna Sotomayor of the Washington Post: "Ukraine's supporters on both sides of the fractured House are exploring how they could force a vote to unlock billions of dollars in aid for Kyiv, potentially by sidestepping Republican leaders who have refused to act on a measure that funds several national security imperatives.... [House Speaker Mike] Johnson (R-La.) has rejected the Senate bill outright but to date has offered little clarity on the path forward."
MTG Misbehaves in Another House Hearing. Zachary Leeman of Mediaite: "Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) declared at a House hearing on Covid vaccines that she has a 'PhD in recognizing bullshit' in a rant that included no questions for the witness to whom it was directed. Greene honed [homed!] in on Dr. Peter Marks, the director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) at the Food and Drug Administration, and his support of vaccines, especially for young children.... Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) immediately apologized to the room over Greene's lengthy comments and vaccine criticisms."
The Trials of Trump & the Trump Gang
Danny Hakim, et al., of the New York Times: "A case charging ... Donald J. Trump and his allies with trying to subvert the 2020 election results in Georgia took a detour on Thursday into the details of the prosecutors' romantic and financial lives -- their sleeping arrangements, vacations and private bank accounts -- in an unusual and highly contentious hearing. Lawyers for Mr. Trump and his co-defendants have argued that the Fulton County district attorney, Fani T. Willis, and the special prosecutor she hired to manage the case, Nathan J. Wade, should be disqualified from the case because their romantic and financial entanglements had created a conflict of interest. Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade forcefully rejected those accusations in testimony on Thursday, with Ms. Willis accusing the defense lawyers of spreading 'lies.'... Ms. Willis took the stand after her former friend, Robin Bryant-Yeartie, testified that Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade began a romantic relationship in 2019, before Ms. Willis hired him in November 2021. Ms. Bryant-Yeartie said that it was still going on when she and Ms. Willis last spoke in 2022, just before they had a falling out.... But Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade both testified that their romance began in early 2022, after Ms. Willis had hired him as a special prosecutor, and well after they had first met, at a judicial conference in 2019." More details in yesterday's Conversation. Politico's account is here. ~~~
~~~ Marshall Cohen & others at CNN discuss some "takeaways from the hearing that was at times jaw-dropping, awkward and strikingly personal."
Jonah Bromwich, et al., of the New York Times: "Two presidential campaigns ago, Donald J. Trump faced a brewing sex scandal that threatened to derail his bid for the White House. On Thursday, a New York judge ensured that the very same scandal will loom over Mr. Trump's latest run for president, scheduling for March 25 a trial that could jeopardize his campaign -- and his freedom. The judge, Juan M. Merchan, rejected Mr. Trump's bid to throw out the Manhattan district attorney's criminal charges against him that stem from a hush-money payment to a porn star in 2016. By setting a trial date for next month, Justice Merchan cleared the way for the first prosecution of a former American president in the nation's history, ensuring that Mr. Trump will face at least one jury before Election Day. The ruling is a crucial victory for the district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg." More details in yesterday's Conversation.
Ellie Houghtaling of the New Republic, republished by Yahoo! News: "Judge Aileen Cannon isn't buying Donald Trump's newest delay tactic in the classified documents case. On Thursday, Cannon, a Trump-appointed judge, shot down the GOP front-runner's latest effort to postpone pretrial deadlines, instead opting to keep that date set on February 22. But the ruling comes with an exception -- noting that she'll still consider measures filed at the eleventh hour if the legal teams can prove they're necessary."
Kyle Cheney & Josh Gerstein of Politico: "Donald Trump is passing up the chance to add a fourth case to a trio of Trump-related appeals already stacked up at the Supreme Court. Trump elected not to ask the justices to reverse a federal appeals court ruling issued in December rejectin his claim that presidents have absolute immunity from being sued for actions taken while they are in office.... For now, that means a Washington, D.C., appeals court ruling that found Trump could be sued for his role in stoking the violence on Jan. 6 will stand. The unanimous ruling of the three-judge panel, which included a Trump-nominated judge, concluded that Trump's remarks to supporters on Jan. 6 appeared to be delivered in his capacity as a candidate for reelection -- not in his official capacity as president."
The President* Made Me Do It. Brandi Buchman of Law & Crime: "A new assessment of public records by a federal watchdog group [-- Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington --] has found that approximately 210 defendants charged with crimes connected to Jan. 6 directly expressed that they only came to Washington, D.C., or joined in on the violence at the U.S. Capitol because they were incited by ... Donald Trump and heeding his call."
Christine Hauser of the New York Times: "A Massachusetts man has been arrested and charged with participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, after investigators said he had recorded a video on his way there, predicting 'mayhem, chaos and pandemonium' in order to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The man, Thomas J. Method, 57, of Framingham, Mass., has been charged with obstruction of an official proceeding, which is a felony, according to federal prosecutors. He also faces misdemeanor charges.... Mr. Method was arrested on Wednesday in Framingham.... The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia is prosecuting the case."
Jesse McKinley & Liset Cruz of the New York Times: "Lawyers for New York State concluded their case against the National Rifle Association on Thursday, bringing an end to a closely watched civil showdown that accused leaders of the nation's most prominent gun rights group of financial misconduct and corruption. Over the last six weeks, lawyers for New York's attorney general, Letitia James, have outlined a case that paints the N.R.A. as a mismanaged organization.... Monica Connell, representing the attorney general's office, began her closing arguments on Thursday by comparing the defendants to children who grabbed cookies from a jar and were 'caught with crumbs on their face and on their shirt.' Central to the case has been the state's depiction of the group's former longtime leader, Wayne LaPierre, as a lavish spender who used N.R.A. funds to pay for private jets, luxury vacations, and the occasional spin on a superyacht."
Declan Hardy of Politico: "The Securities and Exchange Commission has signed off on one of the last outstanding hurdles to a more than two-year-old planned merger to take [Donald Trump's] media venture public, according to the companies behind the deal, Trump Media & Technology Group and Digital World Acquisition Corp.... The deal could inject some $300 million into the company, which operates Trump's social media bullhorn, Truth Social. And Trump himself will gain a major stake in the company.... Shares in Digital World Acquisition Corp., or DWAC, skyrocketed more than 25 percent on the news Thursday. Since the beginning, the planned union has been mired in regulatory issues, market volatility and looming deadlines that have posed existential threats to the deal."
Marie: Oh Noes! Elon Musk & Matt Taibbi broke up nearly a year ago, and I'm just finding out. Charlie Nash of Mediaite reports. over the cheap prices in a fake Moscow grocery store (story linked below), TuKKKer
Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Charlie Nash of Mediaite: "Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) condemned Tucker Carlson on Thursday for making a video gushing over a Russian grocery store, remarking, 'The Soviets had a term for people like Tucker: useful idiots.' During his controversial trip to Moscow to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin, Carlson filmed a short video at a Russian grocery store, where he praised the prices and quality of produce. After walking through the store and highlighting the products, Carlson revealed that a weekly shop with similar products in the U.S. would cost around $300 more." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Is TuKKKer really so naive as not to realize that Putin's handlers took him to a few nice places set up to impress visiting VIPs, or does he know the score and is making these videos about Marvelous Moscow to fool Americans?
~~~~~~~~~~
Florida. About Those Book Bans -- Not My Fault. Sky Palma of the Raw Story: "Florida Governor Ron DeSantis says bad faith actors are politicizing the state law that monitors what type of content is appropriate in school books -- and he wants to limit the ability of the public to challenge the literature, the Herald-Tribune reported. DeSantis said some schools are misinterpreting state laws and he is directing state education officials to 'prohibit bad actors in school leadership positions from intentionally depriving students of an education by politicizing the book review process.'" ~~~
~~~ In That Same Presser. Christopher Wiggins of the Advocate: "A moment of levity, albeit revealing, occurred when DeSantis was questioned about his appearance: 'Governor DeSantis, you have spoken out against the "woke" agenda of gender fluidity and also come out against gender-affirming care. So I was hoping you could square your opposition to [gender affirming care] and people choosing their own gender identity with your frequent wearing of lifts and you hoping to choose your own height identity,' a reporter asked. The question, met with laughter, was briskly dismissed by DeSantis, who replied, 'Nice try, next!' while awkwardly moving his head in a way that critics have pointed out appears to be a bobble he does when he's uncomfortable."
~~~~~~~~~~
Israel/Palestine, et al. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Friday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected international pressure on a peace plan and underlined his opposition to a Palestinian state, a key part of the long-term plan being worked on by the United States and its Middle East partners. The U.N. Human Rights Office criticized what it said appeared to be 'a pattern of attacks' by Israel against hospitals in Gaza after Israeli forces raided Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis.... At Nasser Hospital, four patients in intensive care died from lack of oxygen during a total power outage Thursday, the Gaza Health Ministry said, a day after the Israel Defense Forces' raid. Hazem Bahlool, a doctor at the hospital, said at 7 a.m. local time that the facility had been without water or electricity for more than three hours. Footage and satellite imagery obtained by The Post show that Egypt is clearing off and building a wall around a plot of land along its border with the Gaza Strip, amid fears of an Israeli offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. That plan is straining Israel's most important alliances, including its 40-year peace accord with Egypt." ~~~
~~~ CNN's live updates for Friday are here. The New York Times' live updates are here.
News Lede
CNN: "Two teenagers in custody in connection with the deadly shooting during the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl rally were charged Thursday, according to Missouri court officials. The Office of the Juvenile Officer said the juveniles face gun-related and resisting arrest charges. They added that they are currently detained in secure detention at the Juvenile Detention Center. 'It is anticipated that additional charges are expected in the future as the investigation by the Kansas City Police Department continues,' the Office of the Juvenile Officer said in a statement."
Share Article
Reader Comments (18)
Allies of the donald are discussing plans to have him deliver the
response to President Biden's State of the Union address on Mar 7.
I would even tune in to that. I like a good comedy show. Wonder if
there will be subtitles.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-world-former-
president-deliver-gop-state-union-response-rcna138979
@Forrest Morris: Yes, there will be subtitles. Unfortunately, the Trump team is providing them. So when Trump reads from the teleprompter and says, "President Obama schlurred its whales," the subtitles will translate: "President Biden slurred his words."
Useful Idiots as Far as the Eye Can See
Besides TuKKUms, that is, who clearly has never been to a Publix. There’s no Publix near where we live, but if we’re on vacation and there’s one nearby, my wife knows where I’ll be going to pick up milk and bread, and whatever else we need. It’s grocery heaven. I feel like John Belushi in “Blues Brothers” as he and Dan Ackroyd continue their high speed getaway being chased by a phalanx of cop cars through a Chicago mall. “Wow” he says, “This place has everything.”
I’m guessing poor TuKKKuns has a servant or two go grocery shopping while he stays at home and dreams up new authoritarian-racist bullshit. Reminds me of Poppy Bush who, during his re-election campaign, was buttonholed by reporters who tested his reg’lar guy cred by asking him the price of a gallon of milk. Poppy, who had probably not set foot in a grocery store in 20 years, flunked.
The rich are not like you and me. Poppy, I’ll admit, was too busy running the CIA, fucking things up in Congress, and then doing VP type stuff, so I guess trips for milk and bread were out. TuKKK doesn’t have those excuses. He’s just a regular idiot, easily gaslighted by Putin’s trolls. One has to wonder, is he really that stupid? Or is he just a sniveling, dictator loving creep doing his own gaslighting of his viewers? Moron or traitor. You make the call.
But…I digress.
Back to the rest of the Useful Idiots. Ya know…the MSM.
Following the release of the Hur hurl, aka the Garland sponsored Biden hit job, the media, like a rabid pack of Pavlov’s dogs, bayed incessantly at the Trumpy moon. Reporter Judd Legum collated their usual horserace nonsense., manufacturing a political crisis out of the opinions of a political hack totally unqualified to make assessments about Biden’s cognitive state.
“But while Hur's views about Biden's memory were worth mentioning, the media instead treated Hur's amateur medical judgments as a political crisis for Biden and an existential threat to his reelection campaign. But the actual threat to Biden's political prospects is the deluge of negative media coverage based on Hur's conjecture.”
Between them, the Times, WaPo, and WSJ went into a frenzied binge of “But his memory!” stories, over 80 in just four days. Eighty fucking stories!!
“Overall, The New York Times published 30 stories about Biden's alleged memory issues between February 7 and February 10. Over those four days, the story was covered by 24 reporters (some of whom filed multiple stories), four opinion columnists, and the New York Times Editorial Board.”
Only one story—ONE—written by health reporter Gina Kolata, pointed out that Hur has zero qualifications for making judgments about anyone’s mental capacity, never mind droning on about it for hundreds of pages.
It was a hit job. The Useful Idiots couldn’t get their heads out of “Disaster for Biden!” mode long enough to see it.
The Post was even worse:
“The paper produced 33 articles featuring Hur's opinions about Biden's memory from February 7 to February 10. Headlines include: ‘Special counsel report paints scathing picture of Biden’s memory,’ ‘‘Hair on fire’: Democratic worries grow over claims about Biden’s memory lapses,’ and ‘Republicans call for 25th Amendment to be invoked.’ The articles described Hur's report as a ‘devastating picture of [Biden's] mental agility,’ ‘a devastating portrait of an 81-year-old president,’ and ‘damning.’
Just one of the Washington Post's 33 articles noted that Hur's opinions about Biden were baseless. That piece, written by health reporters, noted that ‘the cognitive abilities of Biden… can’t be evaluated based on anecdotal memory lapses.’ Instead, "[f]ormal evaluations are needed to truly assess someone’s brain health.’ Those evaluations would not focus on ‘memory lapses,’ which ‘at any age are surprisingly normal and, for most people, aren’t a signal of mental decline.’”
Yeah, and like that. It’s like the guy at the end of the bar criticizing Anthony Fauci for telling people that drinking bleach to ward off Covid is not a good idea. “Whada he know? Trump sez it works. Ya don’t need no med’cal degree to see that.”
And then there’s Jon Stewart.
I don’t even know what to say about that stupidity. Oh, wait. Yes I do.
Don’t do it again.
Why? It’s not funny. And it helps what can be absolutely described without the slightest sliver of hyperbole as the forces of evil. Making fun of Biden’s age is an easy, lazy thing to do. But at this point, all you’re doing is helping Trump. PoT lickspittles are climbing over one another to see who will chair the Committee to Fuck Biden About His Age in the GQP owned House. They’re gonna run with this until November. The Times and the Post and the WSJ and every rag that pretends to cover politics will do the same.
They don’t need Jon Stewart throwing out more easy jokes when the future of the country—of democracy itself—is at stake.
Find something else to make fun of.
Is Biden’s age an issue? Sure. But so is insurrection. So are the stuttering mumbling bullshit crazy ass things Trump says every day. So is telling Putin to invade NATO countries at will. So is rape. So is fraud. So is a promised dictatorship.
The Times published a piece the other day asking whether Biden’s age is more of a political disaster than Trump’s 91 felony charges.
What.the.fuck.
But this is how it’s going to go from now on.
And if Trump steals another election, they’ll all say “Ooohhh!! How did this happen!!??”
Perdition awaits for all useful idiots.
If I had concocted this sentence, I’d declare victory and go on vacation, too, before anyone could ask me what it meant.
“A man too incapable of being held accountable for mishandling classified information is certainly unfit for the Oval Office.”
Speaker Mike Johnson in today’s Milbank column.
Must be lawyer talk. Or maybe, Akhilleus, just. an idiot, not useful at all.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/02/16/mike-johnson-house-speaker-border-security-ukraine/
Today’s Olbermann: Bradley Weinsheimer originally appointed to DoJ by Dumbya and named to present, non-partisan post under The Donaldo. The NYT left that part out.
Garland needs to go. The fact that he and his leadership thinks the Hur hit job was appropriate says it all. The coward couldn't even put his name on the knife he stuck in Biden's back.
So Loose Cannon rejected Fatty’s latest delay tactic? Big deal. Don’t be fooled. It was too stupid to be considered and Cannon figured, with all the outrageous favors she has conferred on the Orange Mumbling Monster, that she might be successfully removed were she to accede to a demand to further delay a trial, especially when the “legal” argument floated by Trump was “Because I want it.”
She wants to hang around long enough to figure a way to find Fatty completely innocent, or barring that, find a less stupid reason to drag this out until November.
You cannot trust a single one of these people.
RAS,
Right you are. For a time, I thought Garland was just a doofus in way over his head, afraid of his own shadow. But this Hur debacle demonstrates ineptitude that rises to the level of criminal incompetence. Pink slip this fucking guy. Most people try to avoid banana peels when out for their morning constitutional. Garland heads right for them. Get him out before the next pratfall.
Ken,
I can’t read the Post story you link. What’s the context? Is Bible Mike referring to Biden!!??? He can’t be talking about the guy who holds his monkey leash, unless he realized that the commandment about lying isn’t optional.
Mkj,
Gee. What a surprise. And to top it off, a guy appointed by the Decider, a deserter who lied us into a war that’s still going on, in an ethics oversight job. Might as well put Wayne LaPierre in charge of gun control.
Can’t trust any of these traitors.
Akhilleus,
See? You didn't have to read it. You got it on the first guess.
The context? Many House R's response to the Dem win in NY. Just before they left town to hole up and strategize, I presume.
Am wondering how many lives have to be ruined before Fatso gets removed from any position of responsibility. Today I just could not listen to the GA gestapo grill Fani's father. Too bad Fatty doesn't shoot off his mouth against Putin-- there would likely be windows and Arctic Circle prisons waiting for him.. Putin is persistent and patient. It was only a matter of time before he devoured his opposition, and Fatso Lickspittle wouldn't even see him coming. There are so many rogue enemies in the world. Too bad the MSM and DOD are devoted to featuring them. So disgusting.
"Keeping large amounts of cash around is a black thing."
Must be true. Just checked and I have $12.00 on hand, so I'm not black.
The only time I can remember using cash is when a prescription
costs less than $5.00 and the drug store won't take a card for it.
Forrest,
I too charge nearly everything. However, I keep a hundred hidden on my person, and a few thousand cash and gold coins in a home safe.
"Just because you’re paranoid, doesn’t mean they’re not after you.”
~ Joseph Heller
Poor Pretender!
Seems everybody's picking on him.
He soon might have as much reason to be paranoid (thanks, D) as I have been since he came on the political scene.
@Forrest Morris: I believe that's a logical syllogistic fallacy, but I leave it to a logician to be more specific and/or correct me.
D,
What? You mean you don’t use the Menendez trick of hiding gold bars in the sock drawer? I keep mine with the sweaters.
Please to not be saying glorious leader Czar Vlad has killed Navalny. Navalny given so good treatment. Torture only three days a week, fingernails allowed to grow back after pulling out. Special diet! Not prison rat guts like in gulags. Nyet! Farm raised rats only! Rat pudding, rat stew, and special for Navalny…rat borscht, with side of eggs boiled in novichok. What problem? Comrade TuKKKer just here to be telling American crybaby liberals how wonderful is all things Russian. And Comrade Donaldovich Trumpskyev be telling go ahead and invade Poland, or maybe Finland. He put feet up and eat popcorn. Navalny probably kill himself, make Putin look bad. Such bad guy.