The Conversation -- June 1, 2024
Aaron Boxerman of the New York Times: "A day after President Biden called on Israel and Hamas to reach a truce, declaring that it was 'time for this war to end,' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday reiterated that Israel would not agree to a permanent cease-fire in Gaza as long as Hamas still retains governing and military power. In his statement, Mr. Netanyahu did not explicitly endorse or reject a proposed cease-fire plan that Mr. Biden had laid out in an unusually detailed address on Friday. Two Israeli officials confirmed that Mr. Biden's proposal matched an Israeli cease-fire proposal that had been greenlit by Israel's war cabinet.... 'Israel's conditions for ending the war have not changed: the destruction of Hamas's military and governing capabilities, the freeing of all hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel,' Mr. Netanyahu's office said in the statement released on Saturday morning." ~~~
~~~ Here are President Biden's remarks, as delivered, regarding the Israel/Hamas peace plan. Via the White House. Includes his brief remarks, at the top, regarding the criminal conviction of Donald Trump.
National Crime Blotter
Maureen Dowd of the New York Times -- and her siblings -- have some thoughts about Trump's criminal conviction and his toadies' reactions to it. "The party of law and order evidently doesn't like any law it didn't order."
~~~ Watch to the end (or at least watch the end). Thanks to RAS for the link.
~~~~~~~~~~
Donald Trump was given every opportunity to defend himself. It was a state case, not a federal case. And it was heard by a jury of 12 citizens, 12 Americans, 12 people like you, like millions of Americans who've served on juries. This jury was chosen the same way every jury in America is chosen. There's a process that Donald Trump's attorney was part of. The jury heard five weeks of evidence -- five weeks. And after careful deliberation, the jury reached a unanimous verdict. They found Donald Trump guilty on all 34 felony counts. -- President Joe Biden, in remarks Friday ~~~
~~~ President Remarks on Convicted Felon. Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Biden took on his newly convicted opponent on Friday, declaring that a New York jury's guilty verdict against ... Donald J. Trump should be respected and denouncing efforts to undermine the justice system as 'reckless,' 'dangerous' and 'irresponsible.' Breaking his long silence over Mr. Trump's legal troubles, Mr. Biden directly and unambiguously characterized the putative Republican nominee as a lawbreaker whose conviction amounted to a victory for the rule of law. And he rejected assertions that the prosecution was a political witch hunt, noting that it was not a case brought by his own administration.... Mr. Biden focused on the orchestrated efforts by the former president and his allies to discredit the prosecution and the judgment of the jury by painting the process as a political persecution that supposedly treated Mr. Trump unfairly... 'Our justice system has endured for nearly 250 years, and it literally is the cornerstone of America. Our justice system ... should be respected, and we should never allow anyone to tear it down...." ~~~
Michael Gold & Matthew Haag of the New York Times: On Friday, Donald "Trump, in a rambling and misleading 33-minute speech, derided the trial as 'rigged' and made numerous false statements about what had taken place in court.... Mr. Trump, who said he would appeal the verdict, continued to attack people who testified against him in the seven-week trial, specifically his former fixer, Michael D. Cohen, the star witness for the prosecution. He also admitted that he had gotten 'very upset' with his lawyers. He called the judge, Juan M. Merchan, the 'devil.'" This was the pinned item in a liveblog, also linked yesterday. Here are a few of the reporters' observations:
Gold: "Trump starts by claiming that 'if they can do this to me, they can do this to everyone' and calls the prosecutors in his trial 'bad' and 'sick' people. Then he immediately retreats to his dark rhetoric on immigration.... Trump is now complaining about the gag order in the case, which he falsely attributed to President Biden.... The court, he says, 'is in total conjunction with the White House and the D.O.J.,' a claim for which there is no evidence[.]"
Jonah Bromwich: "Prosecutors had asked that Trump be placed under a gag order for the duration of the trial, so it is not totally unsurprising that the former president has seemed to violate it here, lashing out his former fixer, Michael Cohen.... But this could be dangerous for Trump, who still has to undergo sentencing, where a judge often takes a defendant's post-verdict conduct into account."
Benjamin Protess: "Trump claims that Michael Cohen got into legal trouble not because of his affiliation with the former president, but because of his own crimes. While it's true that Cohen pleaded guilty to personal financial crimes, he was also charged with his role in paying hush money for Trump. And federal prosecutors concluded that Cohen did so at Trump's direction."
Jonathan Swan: "Trump claims, implausibly, that he never thought of Michael Cohen as a fixer. He says he thought of him purely as a lawyer. In reality, Trump assigned Cohen to do many jobs that had nothing to do with lawyering, such as threatening contractors and trying to rig an online CNBC poll to make Trump seem more popular than he really was."
Maggie Haberman: "Trump is now doing a sweeping rejection of all investigations into him, including the investigation into his efforts to thwart the transfer of power after he lost the 2020 election."
Gold: "Trump is now falling back on very familiar territory: his screed against migrants who are crossing the border illegally, who he broadly depicts as criminals, mentally ill people and terrorists. Border authorities have said most of those crossing are families fleeing poverty or conflict."
Bromwich: "Trump seemed to be seeking to draw a connection between his points about migrants and the judge in his case. Justice Merchan was born in Colombia but raised in Queens, the same borough as Trump."
Swan: "We're now in the phase of the speech when Trump is falsely claiming that kids can't have Little League games any more because undocumented immigrants are setting up too many tents."
Gold: "After 33 minutes, Trump walks away without answering questions from the dozens of reporters here."
Reid Epstein: "Michael Tyler, a spokesman for President Biden's campaign, said that Trump's remarks today showed that he was 'confused, desperate, and defeated' following his felony conviction. 'Trump is consumed by his own thirst for revenge and retribution,' Tyler said. 'He thinks this election is about him. But it's not. It's about the American people: lowering their costs, protecting their freedoms, defending their democracy.'"
[MB re: the gag order: Some on-air commentators have noted that Justice Merchan has not lifted the gag order, so it is still in effect. Trump himself seems to think he is still subject to the gag order because during his fake press conference, when he defamed Michael Cohen, Trump said he could not say Cohen's name because he was under a gag order. Trump then described Cohen without uttering his name, leaving no doubt about who he was disparaging, just as a bratty eight-year-old might do after his mom told him not to say bad things about the neighbor's kid.]
Daniel Dale of CNN: "... Donald Trump said he was going to hold a 'press conference' on Friday in the wake of his Thursday conviction in Manhattan on felony charges of falsifying business records. Instead, Trump delivered a rambling monologue that was filled with false claims on subjects ranging from the Manhattan trial to immigration to tax policy. Here is a fact check of some of the inaccurate or unsubstantiated claims he made." Read on.
Philip Nieto of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump claimed witnesses in his hush money trial were 'literally crucified' following his criminal conviction by a New York jury.... [Trump said,] 'You saw what happened to some of the witnesses that were on our side. They were literally crucified by this man [i.e., Justice Merchan] who looks like an angel. But he's really a devil.'" MB: Even though I oppose capital punishment, I would like to have seen those crucifictions Judge Merchan ordered. Definitely need cameras in the courtroom. (Also linked yesterday.)
Bad. Republicans Attack U.S. Justice System. Mary Jalonick of the AP: "Republican lawmakers reacted with immediate fury on Thursday as a New York jury convicted ... Donald Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business records to influence the 2016 election, speaking out with near unanimity in questioning the legitimacy of the trial and how it was conducted. House Speaker Mike Johnson said it was a 'shameful day in American history' and the charges were 'purely political.' Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance said the verdict was a 'disgrace to the judicial system.' And Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, the No. 2 House Republican, said that the decision was 'a defeat for Americans who believe in the critical legal tenet that justice is blind.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Stephen Neukam of Axios: "A top Trump advisor warned Maryland Republican Larry Hogan that his Senate campaign in the state is over after the state's former governor told voters to 'respect the verdict.'... Former President Trump initially planned to refrain from attacking Hogan, despite their strained past.... [But] Hogan's call to respect the rule of law seems to have incensed at least one top Trump advisor. 'You just ended your campaign,' said Chris LaCivita, a senior Trump advisor, on X in response to Hogan's comments." MB: Chris Hayes noted last night that Hogan released the tweet during the half-hour or so that the court had notified the public that the jury had reached a verdict but before the jury announced the verdict; that is, Hogan didn't know what the verdict was when he urged people to respect whatever the jury concluded. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Andrew Egger, in the Bulwark, reports more right-wing responses to the verdict.
Worse. Jonathan Nicholson of the Huffington Post: "Eight Republican senators said Friday they would try to slow down the Senate's business in response to the verdict.... 'The White House has made a mockery of the rule of law and fundamentally altered our politics in un-American ways. As a Senate Republican conference we are unwilling to aid and abet this White House in its project to tear this country apart,' said the eight senators in a letter. Signatories included Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah), J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.)." ~~~
~~~ Marie: This is remarkably nonsensical. No one in the federal government had any control over what a Manhattan D.A. and a Manhattan jury did. A normal senator would blame Donald Trump for breaking the law and embarrassing their party by paying off a porn star to cover up a one-night stand with her in order to win the 2016 election; instead, these ridiculous senators pout and stamp their baby feet and blame "corrupt Democrats." Or something.
Worst. Friends in High Places. Andrew Solender of Axios: "House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) called for the U.S. Supreme Court to 'step in' to overturn the guilty verdict against former President Trump in his New York hush money trial.... 'I think that the Justices on the court -- I know many of them personally -- I think they are deeply concerned about that, as we are. So I think they'll set this straight,' the Louisiana Republican added.... 'It's going to take a while ... this will be overturned, guys, there's no question about it....'" MB: So forget the entire U.S. criminal justice system. Abandon all of it. Rather, Mike Johnson's "friends" will find an excuse to erase the verdict. Gare-an-teed. There's no appeal to actual justice or accountability here. It's all about who ya know.
Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump's campaign announced on Friday evening that he had raised nearly $53 million in the 24 hours after his felony conviction, shattering online records for Republicans and raking in enough cash to help him close what has been a substantial financial gap with President Biden.... It would nearly match, in a single day, the $58 million that Mr. Trump's main fund-raising arm raised online in the last six months of 2023, according to federal records."
Brian Beutler has some thoughts on Trump's conviction. Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)
Marie: I have no idea* what caused Donald Trump to decide to turn on Michael Cohen. But it was one of the biggest miscalculations of his ignominious career. It dwarfs the Trump "University" grift and other Trump scams. Cohen was a thug who would have continued to serve Trump. But Trump abandoned Cohen, so Cohen turned on Trump. Cohen met with investigators from the Manhattan D.A.'s office at least 20 times, providing the D.A. with the basic framework of the criminal case against Trump. And it was Cohen's Congressional testimony that caused New York Attorney General Letitia James to open an investigation into Trump's business practices. That investigation resulted in civil fraud charges and eventually a judgment against the Trump Organization in the amount of $454 million, plus other penalties. That is to say, if not for Michael Cohen, Trump might not yet be a convicted criminal and he would likely be half-a-billion dollars richer. ~~~
~~~ *Update: Cohen said on MSNBC yesterday that Trump dumped on him because Trump figured he could get away with the hush-money payoff by placing all the blame on Cohen. This makes sense because Trump would not have known at the time that investigators would find evidence that Trump had engineered the conspiracy to quash Stormy Daniels' story.
Donie O'Sullivan & Sean Lyngaas of CNN: "On online forums that have previously been linked to mass shootings, people are threatening violence and attempting to publicly identify the 12 New York jurors who on Thursday decided to convict ... Donald Trump. The calls for retribution began immediately after the verdict was announced. Experts who track online extremism told CNN the volume of violent rhetoric in the last 24 hours is as high as it was after the FBI's search of Trump's Mar-a-Lago property in August 2022.... Overnight..., anonymous internet users on sites that are known havens of hate and harassment began sharing names, home addresses and other personal information belonging to people they say might have been members of the jury, a practice known as doxxing."
Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "Federal prosecutors tried for a second time on Friday to ask the judge overseeing ... Donald J. Trump's classified documents case to bar him from making any statements that might endanger F.B.I. agents involved in the proceeding. The move by the prosecutors came three days after the judge, Aileen M. Cannon, denied their initial request to keep Mr. Trump from attacking the agents on the procedural grounds that they had failed to properly inform Mr. Trump's lawyers about their intentions. The dispute ... began about 10 days ago when Mr. Trump falsely claimed on social media that the F.B.I. had authorized agents to kill him during their August 2022 search of Mar-a-Lago.... The motion prosecutors filed on Friday was nearly identical to their initial submission. It included [a] statement from Mr. Trump's lawyers that Judge Cannon had asked for...."
Dan Mangan & Anthony Cusumano of CNBC: "The Florida federal judge overseeing the criminal classified documents case against ... Donald Trump has been the target of more than 1,000 complaints in just one week this month raising allegations of her handling of the case, a top appeals court judge revealed in an order. The complaints against Judge Aileen Cannon have come to light amid renewed criticism by some legal observers and Trump opponents that she is slow-walking the criminal case against the former president to ensure it does not go to trial before the presidential election. 'Many of the complaints' against Cannon filed with the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals 'request that the Chief Circuit Judge remove her from the classified-documents case and reassign the case to a different judge,' Chief Judge William Pryor wrote in a May 22 order posted on the appeal court's website.... Pryor, in his May 22 order..., wrote that he 'has considered and dismissed four of those orchestrated complaints as merits-related and as based on allegations lacking sufficient evidence to raise an inference that misconduct has occurred.' He also wrote that neither he nor the appeals court's Judicial Council has the authority to remove Cannon from the case under the Rules for Judicial-Conduct and Judicial-Disability Proceedings."
Keith Alexander of the Washington Post: "The D.C. board that oversees attorney discipline recommended Friday that Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor and personal attorney to ... Donald Trump, not be allowed to practice law in the nation's capital. The decision by the D.C. Board on Professional Responsibility followed lengthy hearings in 2022 and follow-up court filings last year in which a law licensing discipline committee determined that Giuliani violated the terms of his license to practice law in the nation's capital when he filed a lawsuit in Pennsylvania trying to block certification of the results in the 2020 presidential election."
Tracey Tully & Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: "In May 2019, a top official in the U.S. Department of Agriculture got a call on his cellphone from Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey. The conversation was brief, the senator was curt, and the message was clear: 'Stop interfering with my constituent.' Ted A. McKinney, then the under secretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs, testified about the exchange on Friday during the third week of Mr. Menendez's bribery trial in Federal District Court in Manhattan.... At the time of the call, Mr. McKinney and others at the U.S.D.A. had been publicly sounding the alarm about a deal Egypt had brokered that granted a halal meat monopoly to a New Jersey startup run by Wael Hana, a longtime friend of the senator's wife, Nadine Menendez.... It was the first time that jurors had heard directly from a witness who attributed conduct to the senator that is central to the government's claim in an indictment that alleges a sprawling bribery conspiracy: that Mr. Menendez was willing to flex his political muscle to win favorable treatment for allies.... Mr. Menendez, in a brief comment to reporters outside the courthouse, said, 'You wait for the cross and you'll find the truth.'"
Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "The Navys former second-highest-ranking officer and commander of naval forces for Europe and Africa was arrested Friday on federal bribery charges for allegedly awarding a sole-source contract to a company in 2021 in exchange for a $500,000-a-year job and stock options, the Justice Department announced. Retired four-star Adm. Robert P. Burke, 62, of Coconut Creek, Fla., faces the prospect of becoming only the second U.S. admiral to be found guilty of committing a federal crime while on active duty, after he was arrested on a five-count indictment returned Thursday in U.S. District Court in Washington. Burke was arrested with Yongchul 'Charlie' Kim, 50, and Meghan Messenger, 47, founders of the New York-based technology services firm Next Jump, prosecutors announced." CNN's report is here.
Presidential Race. Chris Cameron of the New York Times: "The Ohio General Assembly has passed a legislative fix that ensures President Biden will be on the state's ballot in November, averting a crisis that had been brewing for weeks over what is typically a minor procedural issue. The secretary of state in Ohio, a Republican, had said that he planned to exclude Mr. Biden from the ballot because the president would not be officially nominated by his party until after a state deadline for certifying presidential nominees.... The General Assembly resolved the issue by passing a bill that pushes back the deadline to accommodate the date of the Democratic nominating convention. Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, is expected to sign the bill over the weekend, pending a legal review, according to a spokesman.... Mr. DeWine [had] ... called a special legislative session to fix the problem, saying that legislators had failed 'to take action on this urgent matter.'"
Lisa Rein of the Washington Post: "The Social Security Administration's inspector general is resigning after five tumultuous years capped by a new draft report by an independent watchdog group that found she tried to obstruct the largest of multiple investigations into her office. Gail Ennis, a Trump administration appointee who took office in January 2019, announced her departure in an email to her staff of 500 early Friday. Bipartisan pressure had been building in Congress for President Biden to fire her after reports of falling productivity and morale, complaints of whistleblower retaliation and blowback from her handling of an anti-fraud program run by her office...."
Lauren Irwin of the Hill: "West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a conservative Democrat, officially filed as an independent Friday. 'My commitment to do everything I can to bring out country together has led me to register as an independent with no party affiliation,' Manchin posted on the social platform X. Manchin announced in November that he wouldn't be running for reelection this year, after serving in the Senate since 2010. Before coming to Congress, he served as the governor of West Virginia from 2005-10.... Manchin did not say what he plans to do after he leaves office at the end of this term.... The West Virginia senator, 76, had long toyed with the idea of a possible third-party bid for the White House but ruled it out this cycle...." (Also linked yesterday.) The Washington Post's story is here.
Andrew Gumbel of the Guardian: "Neighbors of Samuel Alito and his wife described how a disagreement over political lawn signs put up in the wake of the 2020 presidential election quickly devolved into 'unhinged behavior towards a complete stranger' by the supreme court justice's wife.... Then a large black car, part of the Alitos' security detail, started parking in front of [Emily Baden's] mother's house instead of theirs.... Baden and her husband both say that the security detail's car showed up in front of her mother's house again two weeks ago, after the New York Times broke the story about an upside-down American flag hanging on the Alitos' flagpole.... 'I couldn't say who was in the car because of the tinted glass, and nobody ever said anything. I took it as a general threat,' [Emily Baden] said. 'The message was, we could do terrible things to you, and nobody would be able to do anything about it. When it comes to justices at the supreme court, they make the laws, but the laws don't apply to them.'"
Michael Levenson of the New York Times: "Marian Robinson, Michelle Obama's mother and a linchpin of the Obama family who moved into the White House and provided stability and care for the family's two young daughters during a tumultuous time in Washington, died on Friday. She was 86. Her death was announced in a statement by Ms. Obama, former President Barack Obama and other members of the family." (Also linked yesterday.)
~~~~~~~~~~
Texas v. Women. Kate Zernicke of the New York Times: "The Texas Supreme Court on Friday unanimously rejected a challenge to the state's strict abortion ban, ruling against a group of 22 women and abortion providers who sought to expand the exceptions for medical emergencies under the law. While the challenge will continue in trial court, the state's attorney general, Ken Paxton, would almost certainly appeal any loss there, and the high court's decision Friday made clear that he would ultimately prevail.... While the case revolves around the question of what counts as an exception -- unlike other lawsuits, it did not seek to overturn a state ban -- it has changed the political debate around abortion by underscoring the potentially devastating medical consequences of abortion bans even for women who were not seeking to end unwanted pregnancies."
~~~~~~~~~~
Israel/Palestine, et al.
Aamer Madhani & Darlene Superville of the AP: "President Joe Biden said Friday that Hamas is 'no longer capable' of carrying out another large-scale attack on Israel as he urged Israelis and Hamas to come to a deal to release remaining hostages for an extended cease-fire. Biden addressed the nearly 8-month-old Israel-Hamas war as the Israeli military confirmed on Friday that its forces are now operating in central parts of Rafah in its expanding offensive in the southern Gaza city. 'This is truly a decisive moment,' Biden said as he spoke of a three-phase deal that Israeli officials have offered Hamas. 'Israel has made their proposal. Hamas says it wants a cease-fire. This deal is an opportunity to prove whether they really mean it.'" (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here. ~~~
~~~ The New York Times' live updates of developments Friday in the Israel/Hamas war are here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Annie Karni of the New York Times: "The top four congressional leaders formally invited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Friday to address a joint meeting of Congress, in a show of bipartisan unity that masked a fraught behind-the-scenes debate over receiving him. The invitation, which set no date, came amid deep political divides in the United States over the war between Israel and Hamas, which has intensified after Israel's recent attacks in Rafah. Speaker Mike Johnson had been pressing to issue the invitation for weeks, seeking to hug Mr. Netanyahu closer.... Even before the invitation went out on Friday afternoon, the prospect of Mr. Netanyahu's visit to the Capitol had divided Democrats."
Ukraine, et al. Edward Wong of the New York Times: "Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken left open the possibility on Friday that President Biden could allow Ukraine to use U.S.-made weapons to strike at a broader array of targets inside Russia, going beyond attacks he has approved on launch sites the Russians are using for their current assault on the Kharkiv area. 'Going forward, we'll continue to do what we've been doing, which is: As necessary, adapt and adjust,' Mr. Blinken said at a news conference in Prague at the end of a two-day meeting of top diplomats from member nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Mr. Blinken was responding to a reporter's question on whether the United States might give permission for Ukraine to use U.S.-made weapons to strike deeper into Russia. The phrase 'adapt and adjust' is one that Mr. Blinken used in a news conference on Wednesday in Chisinau, Moldova, to suggest that Mr. Biden was about to make a major policy shift and grant Ukraine permission to use the weapons to strike in Russia...."
News Lede
New York Times: "Darryl Hickman, who worked with top directors as a child actor in the 1940s, shifted to television roles in the '50s, and succeeded Robert Morse as the star of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway musical 'How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying' in the early '60s, died on May 22 at his home in Montecito, Calif. He was 92."
Share Article
Reader Comments (11)
I would hope Bible Mike's appeal to the Supremes would fall on deaf ears, but there are too many reasons (at least two) to believe that it will not.
What a mess we've created for ourselves. Or, more properly, what the R's and a Constitution that favors minority government have given us.
Although they remain a minority, the crooks are still in charge.
From Newsweek: Florida Governor DeSantis took steps to calm the fears of MAGA Floridians that Trump would be unable to vote this election. https://www.newsweek.com/ron-desantis-speaks-donald-trump-voting-rights-1907063
Can you say "Double Standard?"
Raw Story
"Convicted felon Trump could be banned from nearly 40 countries: report
While he prepares to appeal and awaits his sentencing on July 11 — Trump could be banned from entering 37 countries including Canada and the U.K.
These countries maintain strictures that prohibit people with criminal records from crossing into their borders."
Trump's going to need a lot of exceptions. Say pretty please can I come in. He could technically get banned from his Scottish golf course. And it would be illegal for him to cross the border into Mexico.
West Point
"Obama To Receive 2024 Sylvanus Thayer Award
Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States, will receive the 2024 Sylvanus Thayer Award from the West Point Association of Graduates. Obama will be the fifth U.S. president [first Democrat] to receive the Thayer Award during its 67-year history."
"Kansas Constitution does not include a right to vote, state Supreme Court majority says"
Julia Ioffe via Balloon Juice
“Everybody’s Mad At Biden
As the war in Gaza drags into its eighth month, and as the Palestinian death toll mounts and their suffering continues to flood social media, and as Israeli hostages return as bodies rather than living people, Joe Biden and his national security team are continuing to try to thread a seemingly impossible policy needle: How do you maintain America’s traditional support for Israel while reining in the Netanyahu government’s prosecution of a war that, even according to the State Department, has likely violated international law? And how do you do all this while mollifying your domestic critics, both on the left and the right, on an issue that has become one of the most polarizing in a generation?
The answer, according to multiple administration officials and people close to the president’s national security team, seems to be: You can’t."
Courtesy of my brother. What happens if you elect an alleged criminal/felon:
https://x.com/lawrencehurley/status/1796646677702492329
@Elizabeth
Thanks.
But I'd guess a CONVICTED felon is ok. We have dozens of senators and congress critters saying it is.
A friend sent me an interview piece in the "failing New York Times" today-- as usual, they went around interviewing angry Dump fans. The things they said were pretty much hard to believe. These people would be pitiful if it weren't so important to take them seriously. The things they said about democracy and Democrats are horrendous. They are absolutely on another planet. I won't recommend the piece as I got it from someone else and I don't have the inclination to support anything the FNYT prints. So where are the interviews from Democrats and others? Not there. It took me all morning and a walk along the Conestoga River with the dog and daughter to recover from the drivel and lies I read. I am utterly terrified. These voters are sincere and dumb and deluded as dirt. They can send us down a drain from which the country won't recover. I also read the Rude Pundit and tried to celebrate as he recommended (plus it was my birthday yesterday--) but man, I am quivering... It will take a lot of chocolate cake to rebuild up my positivity about the court system, which I felt really good about until this morning--
He fought the law
Jimmy Kimmel on the Orange Turd