Trump Indicted in Miami on 7 Charges in Documents Case

[Sonic Youth]

Also breaking... After a five year investigation by a Trump appointed prosecutor, Hunter Biden the criminal scourge will finally be charged: One count of illegally possessing a firearm, and two counts of failing to file his taxes.... on time.

Illegal firearm possession is not cool, but one of my earliest real-time political memories is Republicans outraged over their hero Bernie Goetz being convicted of illegal possession of a firearm. I guess it's a crime that falls in and out of fashion. Anyway, the Biden crime family has now been contained, Hunter will probably never see a day of jailtime, and Republicans now have a Robert Mueller of their own.

[Big Magilla]

Breaking news: Trial has been set to begin in less than two months on August 14, 2023.

[danfrank]

Footnote: Ted Kaczynski, I see, has died. Does anyone doubt that, today, his Twitter account would have hundreds of thousands of Republican followers?

Earth continues its purge.

As for the rest of your post, I agree with it all except I have my doubts about the cowardly Repubs ever paying the big price. Though on a different scale, it reminds me of all the cowardly Dems who wouldn’t support same-sex marriage until there was a tipping point (Joe Biden still gets huge credit for putting a huge thumb on that scale). If there’s a tipping point where Trump gets thrown overboard, it can’t come soon enough. Even if Trump gets convicted of all the charges he’s currently facing I don’t know if that’s enough to tip it. It might take something like evidence that he gave classified security information to the Saudis to do it. I’m hoping for the next Woodward-Bernstein to uncover something even the most jaded politicians can’t defend.

[Sabin]

Mister Tee wrote
This refusal to accept small payment will, I believe, open them to far larger payment down the line. No, I don't know when that moment is coming. But I think it's inevitable, as their demographic (however slowly, and poorly-apportioned among states) diminishes, while People Who Accept the 21st Century grow in numbers. It's a matter of how much (perhaps literal) blood is shed in the process.

I was thinking about this when I saw this poll this past week.

https://news.gallup.com/poll/506636/sex ... -high.aspx

"Should same sex marriage be recognized by the law as valid?"
71% of Americans say yes. 49% of Republicans say yes. That's insane to me that we live in a country where basically half of registered Republicans (maybe more with margin of error) support same-sex marriage. 41% of voters who attend church weekly support it. And yet, 27 congressional Republicans voted for the Respect for Marriage Act and 164 voted against it (22 abstaining). Add in the abstaining and that's 12% support. Leave them out and that's 14%. That's not where the voters are at. That's not where America is at.

I have no idea what is going to happen with Trump, with 2024, with fill in the blank. But we are almost a quarter century into the twenty-first, a certain demographic is being dragged kicking and screaming, and they're all in one political party that can only win by old rules and fuckery.

[Mister Tee]

So, a few thoughts, beyond the obvious oh-my-fucking-god:

I actually read the full indictment (my first), and it's a combo hilarious/appalling. Slovenly and criminal is a really amazing package. There's truly no defense for it in the real world.

Which, unfortunately, brings us to today's elected Republicans, who long ago decided to largely abandon that real world for the Fox-verse, but have, till now, managed to straddle the two places enough to placate their non-crazy voters. I wonder if that's possible, at this point. The only way to respond to this rationally is the Mitt Romney route -- or, at weakest, the Lisa Murkowski "guilty till proven innocent, but this is bad" formulation. Most of the GOPers who've spoken (granted, it's the weekend; many have simply avoided cameras) have instead chosen to double down. It's Biden/Hillary/Hunter/what-about/weaponization/we-need-revolution all the way.

The worst part of this is not the lunatics -- MTG, that rep the other day who apparently signaled the Proud Boys in tweets -- but the Republicans-who-know-better. They very much understand how bad this is, and fervently wish for Trump to be vanished. But they refuse to pay the price, big or small, to make that happen. The only way they'll accept it is as win-win for them: have the justice system purge Trump from society, but in a way that leaves them the option of claiming evil Democrats did it unfairly. This refusal to accept small payment will, I believe, open them to far larger payment down the line. No, I don't know when that moment is coming. But I think it's inevitable, as their demographic (however slowly, and poorly-apportioned among states) diminishes, while People Who Accept the 21st Century grow in numbers. It's a matter of how much (perhaps literal) blood is shed in the process.

You could actually find this sad -- that people have such a sunk cost in delusional behavior that they're forced to live a pose in which they don't believe. But it's made things too scary for me to have a drop of sympathy.

Meantime, this may be just the beginning. Jack Smith's ferocity here suggests to me he'll be equally strong on January 6th matters. And everything points to Georgia being just as strong, come August. We're in for a wild ride.

Footnote: Ted Kaczynski, I see, has died. Does anyone doubt that, today, his Twitter account would have hundreds of thousands of Republican followers?

[danfrank]

To complete what's been an overall good day, Reagan Interior Secretary James Watt died also died. As someone tweeted, "Pallbearers To Be A Black, A Woman, Two Jews And A Cripple" -- a joke for old people with good memories.

I do remember that quote from Watt. He was quite the peach, that guy. Sonic commented on Watt’s death in the Pat Robertson thread. Earth is dumping some particularly big turds this week.

[Big Magilla]

And then there's this from Rupert Murdoch's New York Post of all things:

The 45th president stored boxes containing the documents throughout his property, including “a ballroom, a bathroom and shower, an office space, his bedroom, and a storage room,” according to a 49-page indictment filed in Miami federal court Thursday.

Trump also wasn’t shy about showing off the material, according to prosecutors, who cited a recorded July 2021 meeting at which the ex-president reportedly displayed a “plan of attack” against Iran prepared by Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Weeks later, the indictment alleges, Trump showed a representative of his political action committee a “classified map related to a military operation” — admonishing the person not to get too close and admitting he shouldn’t be showing it off.

[Big Magilla]

Still don't know if they have a smoking gun, i.e. something along the lines of his sharing or trying to sell the information to Russia, which could be what it takes to shut up his ignorant defenders.

From the N.Y. Times:

The 49-page indictment, containing 38 counts and seven separate charges, gave the clearest picture yet of the files that Mr. Trump took with him when he left the White House. It said he had illegally kept documents concerning “United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack; and plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack.”

“The unauthorized disclosure of these classified documents could put at risk the national security of the United States, foreign relations, the safety of the United States military, and human sources and the continued viability of sensitive intelligence collections methods,” the indictment said.

The indictment described Mr. Trump as willfully hanging onto documents that were called by some aides “his papers.” It detailed how Mr. Trump suggested to one of his lawyers that it was possible to tell prosecutors that “we don’t have anything here” after a grand jury subpoena had been issued for all remaining classified material in his possession.

“I don’t want anybody looking through my boxes, I really don’t,” Mr. Trump also told the lawyer during that meeting, according to the indictment.

[Mister Tee]

The details of the indictment are absolute wowser.

[Big Magilla]

Changed title of thread from 7 counts to 7 charges as each charge could contain multiple counts each one of which could result in an 8-year criminal sentence.

[Mister Tee]

I've been too busy dancing across my apartment to comment here.

Good start. Keep it going.

Twitter exchange:

Mark Levin: Trump is 76. If he's convicted, he'll die in jail.
David Simon: Don't threaten me with a good time.

To complete what's been an overall good day, Reagan Interior Secretary James Watt died also died. As someone tweeted, "Pallbearers To Be A Black, A Woman, Two Jews And A Cripple" -- a joke for old people with good memories.

[Big Magilla]

Story here:

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/06/08 ... -documents