Donald Trump is in the courtroom again, accused of 34 counts of falsifying business records.
“The People of the State of New York allege that Donald J. Trump repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal crimes that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election,” Bragg said in an announcement at the time. “Manhattan is home to the country’s most significant business market. We cannot allow New York businesses to manipulate their records to cover up criminal conduct. As the Statement of Facts describes, the trail of money and lies exposes a pattern that, the People allege, violates one of New York’s basic and fundamental business laws. As this office has done time and time again, we today uphold our solemn responsibility to ensure that everyone stands equal before the law.”
He’s guilty, guilty, guilty. Everyone knows it, but all it will take is one Trumpian idiot to get on the jury to get him off, and even if he is convicted, he’ll most likely get nothing worse than probation. Go ahead, talk about violations of basic and fundamental business laws — we know that the only real fundamental law is that if you’re rich enough, you’ll get away with it.
I’m not going to pay any attention to this trial. I don’t see the point.
I understand your feelings here, but I really think we SHOULD pay attention to this trial, especially to the prosecution’s case.
As Teri Kanefield summarizes here, this particular case against Trump (we still don’t know the actual crimes he is indicted for) is less than ironclad, and ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ is a high standard.
https://terikanefield.com/sex-lies-and-falsified-documents/
He’s a hit with juries so far 30 to zero jurors found against him. Sure he’ll only get a slap on the wrist but it’s going to be bloody fun watching the republicans trying to excuse it, especially if his grossness, salaciousness, and cowardice are a documented fact.
Also it makes me wonder what happens to DJT SPAC – he’s already been found to be a long-term fraudster and banned from doing business in New York – what’s his involvement with DJT? Oh, there is none, he just attached his name for “branding”? Lolcrater. The market is starting to correctly size that stock. It might be fun to buy a share when it hits $5 so I can listen in on shareholder calls, but it’ll probably be delisted by then.
“As this office has done time and time again, we today uphold our solemn responsibility to ensure that everyone stands equal before the law”
How they can say this without bursting into laughter I have nooooo idea!
I’ll be really, really glad when we don’t have to pay any attention to Trump, the gang of thieves around him, or the idiots supporting him. Hopefully that comes before I’m dead.
It will be more fun with the trial that includes the hush money to Stormy Daniels. I will enjoy watching the Republicans tying themselves in knots trying to find excuses for bonking a porn star while Melania was having Barron Trump.
They will of course try the christian forgiveness card… for a man that is incapable of remembering any passage of the bible. I am an atheist, but even I has memorised the odd verse.
Marcus Ranum @3:
Why would they try to excuse it? For Trump’s base, it seems to me, “his grossness, salaciousness, and cowardice” are features, not bugs.
robro @5:
My cancer seems to have returned, but I should make it past the election at least. We’ll see …
Isn’t this the first criminal trial tho’ so a) history and b) if he loses possible jail?
There’s always hope.. maybe?
I never get my hopes up, because nothing is going to happen to him regardless of the severity of his crimes.
—Richard K. Morgan
“Altered Carbon.”
Shakespeare had much to say about Trump:
“By the twitching of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.” Macbeth
“What black magician conjured up this fiend?” Richard III
“A most notable coward, an infinite and endless liar, an hourly promise breaker, the owner of not one good quality.” All’s Well that Ends Well
“I am sick when I do look upon thee.” A Midsummer Night’s Dream
“I’ll beat thee, but I would infect my hands.” Timon of Athens
“The rankest compound of villainous smell that ever offended nostril.” The Merry Wives of Windsor
“There’s no more faith in thee than in a stewed prune.” Henry IV
“Thy face is not worth sunburning.” Henry V
“Like the toad, ugly and venomous.” As You Like It
Thou art unfit for any place but hell.” Richard III
“Thou has no more brain than I have in mine elbows.” Troilus and Cressida
“Thy sin’s not accidental, but a trade.” Measure for Measure
“Thy tongue outvenoms all the worms of the Nile.” Cymbeline
“Would thou wert clean enough to spit upon.” Timon of Athens
“You have such a February face, so full of frost, of storm, and cloudiness.” Much Ado About Nothing.
It seems to me that the classified documents case is a much more serious threat to Trump. He’s looking at 20 years in jail in that case, and the evidence seems overwhelming.
Marcus Ranum @ #3 — Did you see or read about Chris Sununu’s remarks to George Stephanopoulos? They don’t care what he’s done, just like they didn’t care in 2016. Sununu and many mainstream Republicans want Trump in the White House so they can pass more tax cuts for the rich. While they are at it they might pass a national abortion ban to placate the religious quacks or call for a Constitutional Convention to enshrine their worst ideas about governance.
Akira MacKenzie @ 9
Another Richard Morgan fan!
Robro @ 12
I have some cautious optimism. Even if Gollum gets away with everything, the negative publicity will affect the un-decided voters. The pure cultists are not numerous enough to win.
And the orchs in charge of RNC have screwed up the finances. There is a beautiful level of Republican incompetence across the board while the election is 7 months away.
billseymour @ 7
I am sad to hear that your cancer might have returned. Good luck to you!
Oh I don’t know.
With someone normal in the dock this would indeed be kind of uninteresting.
Buuut we all know normality jumped ship many moons ago, gibbering and soiling itself. That fella is not normal in any way, shape or form, and unless his lawyers narcotize the beejebees out of him, some surreal moment is 100% assured.
Not a lawyer, but I read this is a criminal court, so not the place for self-entitled, deluded weirdness. We shall see.
@ 13
The other two novels were meh, but Altered Carbon was pretty good.
As for Shakespeare
The play’s the thing/Wherein I’ll catch the
conscience of theking.Hamlet
Narcissists are lacking in the conscience department, but a trial that reads like a script for a telenovela is going to be quite a show. He has tried everything to prevent this trial from happening because it’s going to be bad for him.
NY has the receipts on the fraud, but the cheating on your pregnant wife with a playboy playmate AND a porn star are definitely going to offend the conscience of some of his white rural christian base.
So far the judge has ruled that the defense cannot include the fact that Melania was pregnant, and scheduled a separate hearing on contempt charges. Trump fell asleep.
Tethys @ 16
Forget a telenovela, this seems like experimental literature written under the influence of heavy drugs. It is certainly not something expected to happen in real life.
The real thing to watch here is not the trial itself, but the fact that this is the first time in several years where there’s going to be extensive media attention on Trump that isn’t filtered by the Trump campaign. This is a chance to show just how bad his physical and mental decline has been- the news was talking about the trial at work today and the thing the reporters were focusing on was the fact that Trump seemed to have randomly drifted off to sleep in the middle of it. Showing that the lights are on but nobody’s home could do a lot more to hurt his campaign than a guilty verdict.
mizzi@14: thanks for the kind words; but I’m one of those fools who hasn’t been able to quit smoking yet, so I have no one but myself to blame.
@ ^ billseymour : Nicotine is highly addictive and the tabacoo compoaie sknow and still sell it. I’d blame them at least a bit too and best wishes.
@12. robro : “Chris Sununu’s remarks to George Stephanopoulos?
The ones in this interview? :
Source : https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/chris-sununu-stands-jan-6-criticism-trump-now/story?id=109205941
Seems to me the entire Repug party quakes in terror at the possible wrath of the very nasty Trump Kult.
@19. microraptor : ” Showing that the lights are on but nobody’s home could do a lot more to hurt his campaign than a guilty verdict.” Here’s hoping.
So far :
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-16/donald-trump-hush-money-trial-court-jury-selection/103704128
FWIW Stephen Colbert seems pretty hopeful here – a dozen minutes long total
Can Trump Get A Fair Trial In New York? | Tracking Truth Social’s Share Price | Data-Hungry AI (Stephen Colbert’s opening monologue.)
Okay maybe “hopeful” isn’t quite the word but still. Colbert certainly ahs been supplied witha lot of comedic material here and looks klike that’llbe continuing for months. Hopefully concluding before the election.
birgerjohansson: this is the trial with the hush money. The payment itself isn’t a legal issue, it’s how he funded it out of campaign funds and lied about that which is illegal.
Marcus Ranum: there’s many reasons to delist, but on price, it requires being below $1 for 7 months straight (after 30 days you get warned you have six months to fix it), or below $0.10 for ten days straight.
In order to get delisted at $5 they’d need to fail to issue filings, get caught doing a fraud, or something like that. And even then they’d normally get some time to fix the problem.
Crossposted from the infinite thread;
Felonious Monkey promptly ignores gag order
.https://youtube.com/watch?v=kOaRZx-o2fc
So, almost certain then?
To the contrary, I think it’s extremely unlikely it’ll be delisted before sinking below $5. The processes are just too slow. Witness the fact this current campaign finance case relates to events in 2016.
StevoR @ 21 — That’s the interview. Heather Cox Richardson highlighted in her newsletter recently as an example of just how far gone the GOP has become.