Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Edge-]

So how much can a lawsuit like this cost Rudi? This will give people some good idea.

The Texas attorney general’s office asked the Legislature for $43 million to pay the outside counsels for Google lawsuit.

Ah Republicans, using taxpayers as a blank check to fund their shady legal defenses since like...forever?

[cubby]

So how much can a lawsuit like this cost Rudi? This will give people some good idea of the kind of funding required for a lawsuit like this.

The Texas attorney general’s office asked the Legislature for $43 million to pay the outside counsels for Google lawsuit.

It will cost him millions - $5M+. And I'm not sure where he's going to find it. I don't know how wealthy he is personally, and I'm sure he made a bundle during the Trump Residency, as most of Trump's Crime Syndicate did, but I don't know if he personally has the resources. And it's unclear if the Trump Legal Fund would cover this - probably not, Trump doesn't even pay his own attorneys.

Assuming he loses, and the verdict is even in the 10's of millions, if he lives long enough and plays out the appeals process, he'll be bankrupt - and still owe millions, because typically judgments can't be discharged in bankruptcy court.

He's fucked. And this isn't the only suit coming down the pipeline against him.

[Edge-]

https://twitter.com/ProfBrianKalt/st...22185880727553

Well this is fun. One of the Constitutional Lawyers that Trump's team cites extensively is pretty unhappy that they're grossly misinterpreting his work and failing to cite it accurately, separately.

He points out that House Impeachment managers use his work too, he argued both sides of impeachment so there's a wealth of info for either argument. But they like, accurate cited him and didn't claim he was taking a position opposed to one he actually holds.

/popcorn

This is gonna be good.

[dextersmith]

Possibly punative, added to actual damages.

Giuliani is worth $45 million.

Dominion makes under that in a year, so $1.3 billion would be 25 years of revenue.

In this article Dominion says it already expects to lose $200 million in the next five years because of statements from Giuliani and Powell. Says an expert in the field:



If Giuliani's statements destroyed Dominion, and did so under false pretenses, asking for all the business Giuliani cost them seems fair. I guess Giuliani could take the FOX defense "everyone knows I'm not a credible source of information" but the problem was, he was speaking directly as Trump's lawyer at the time, and even if he didn't people actually believed him to the point of a murderous insurrection.

I suspect the other $1 billion and change is a "Don't fuck with us" sign wrapped around a sledgehammer. It's intended to be a blunt instrument, beating Giulian into a settlement. Dominion wants their name "cleared" from all this, and Giuliani admitting he was wrong, in public, does that. Giuliani doesn't even have the $200 million of losses Dominion says they'll lose, so even a modest judgement on the facts could ruin him forever. If it were my case, I'd offer Giuliani the chance to buy his way out of the lawsuit with a public admission he was wrong -- and a signed contract saying, that if Giuliani ever goes back on that apology, he forfeits $200 million before his will goes into effect. Giuliani works with Trump, he knows all about NDAs.

I don't know if any judge would ever rationally put a $1 billion judgement against Giuliani.

I also theorized earlier that Dominion is waiting for Giuliani to say "Trump made me do it". Trump might not have $1.3 billion either, but based on his loans coming due, even if he has it he can't spare it. The second Trump becomes a legal target in this, the price tag skyrockets. Trump's words and actions are a matter of objective public record. A judge could get to decide how much attacking democracy directly should cost. How much starting a murderous insurrection should cost. How much making the US into the laughingstock of the world, by standing on a pile of four hundred thousand dead Americans and claiming you won the election but it was stolen by voting machines, should cost. By having that judgement come before bankruptcy or Trump's will, it would not just bankrupt Trump personally but also his entire family, many of whom run businesses Trump props up, like Ivanka and Kushner.

We might actually find out which Trump values more: his family, or pretending he won the election.

I hope it gets there. I don't know that it will. Either way, Giuliani's good and fucked. He knows Trump won't bail him out, because he's no longer useful to Trump.

Yeah, Giuliani's finished as I can't imagine anyone wanting to work with him in any capacity after everything. Imagine a multimillionaire coming out broke and rekt after working with Trump.

Trump probably wouldn't care if he got caught up in it cause it would be just another bankruptcy.

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It will cost him millions - $5M+. And I'm not sure where he's going to find it. I don't know how wealthy he is personally, and I'm sure he made a bundle during the Trump Residency, as most of Trump's Crime Syndicate did, but I don't know if he personally has the resources. And it's unclear if the Trump Legal Fund would cover this - probably not, Trump doesn't even pay his own attorneys.

Assuming he loses, and the verdict is even in the 10's of millions, if he lives long enough and plays out the appeals process, he'll be bankrupt - and still owe millions, because typically judgments can't be discharged in bankruptcy court.

He's fucked. And this isn't the only suit coming down the pipeline against him.

What is coming down the pipeline?

[D Luniz]

*snip*

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Once again, it's time to play Guess the Speaker! The subject is Trump.



That's Trump ally and former campaign aide Miller, about why Trump is happier since being banned from Twitter -- something he fought against and said was a bad decision by Twitter, just so we're clear.

Miller probably should have added "In fact, forget the blackjack!"

so happy that he's pony expressing insults (probably written on postit notes in sharpie) to people to post using their twitter accounts

[Rasulis]

It will cost him millions - $5M+. And I'm not sure where he's going to find it. I don't know how wealthy he is personally, and I'm sure he made a bundle during the Trump Residency, as most of Trump's Crime Syndicate did, but I don't know if he personally has the resources. And it's unclear if the Trump Legal Fund would cover this - probably not, Trump doesn't even pay his own attorneys.

Assuming he loses, and the verdict is even in the 10's of millions, if he lives long enough and plays out the appeals process, he'll be bankrupt - and still owe millions, because typically judgments can't be discharged in bankruptcy court.

He's fucked. And this isn't the only suit coming down the pipeline against him.

Isn't he facing two lawsuits? One from Smartmatic and one from Dominion?

[D Luniz]

Isn't he facing two lawsuits? One from Smartmatic and one from Dominion?

yup
smartmatic has him, with Dobbs and 3 others for 2.7 bill
Edit:found it
Smartmatic files $2.7 billion defamation suit against Fox News over election fraud claims
Fox News Media hosts Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro were named, along with lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell.

[cubby]

What is coming down the pipeline?

The DoJ hasn't even begin investigating the activities of the previous administration. And since Senator Elizabeth Warren is still alive, it will happen (and because the DoJ still cares about justice). So all the shenanigans that the Trump Crime Family and their co-conspirator lawyers were involved in.

[dextersmith]

Isn't he facing two lawsuits? One from Smartmatic and one from Dominion?

Who knew it costs so much to be a minion for Trump?

[Paranoid Android]

Can’t make this shit up... grifting to the end:

Trump Hotel in D.C. Hikes up Price for Significant QAnon Date of March 4
https://www.newsweek.com/qanon-trump...-march-1567489

Can you milk sheep? Cause Trump sure the hell is milking every single one of them.

[Magical Mudcrab]

https://www.chicagotribune.com/colum...wjy-story.html

Good silly op-ed about how DEMONcrats are totes infecting Republicans with covid. The Republicans that "proudly" decide to ignore all medical advise and treat the virus as a hoax, at least.

Of course it's them demonrats who are making Republicans sick. As we all know, the more you test, the more cases that are found. If America stopped testing, I bet 100% of the people who have COVID would never have had a COVID diagnosis. #ProveMeWrong

[Breccia]

Trump probably wouldn't care if he got caught up in it cause it would be just another bankruptcy.

This one would be different. Trump's businesses went bankrupt six times, but Trump personally never did. However, if such a lawsuit was filed and had any chance of success, there'd be one main beneficiary:

Deutsche Bank.

Trump personally guaranteed hundreds of millions in loans. In the past, he's been floated an extension or two. If a loan comes due, and Trump's being sued, the banks will not kick the can down the road. They'll take the money -- or, if Trump can't pay, they'll take things Trump actually likes.

NYState would also make their move, because if Trump loses all his money, he can't pay the back taxes he owes either.

Bankruptcy isn't a get-out-of-lawsuit card, it might actually be worse. In bankruptcy, other people decide who you pay, and how much. You get to sit and wait until they're done carving your life's work out into parcels and give them to other people.

Make no mistake, Dominion wants Giuliani to turn on Trump -- accidentally under oath because he's a gibbering idiot, or on purpose to save his hide. That gives them free reign to not only reflect the damages they suffered onto Trump, but start a chain reaction that destroys him in public.

[Edge-]

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features...p-from-office/



So impeaching Trump isn't just more popular than not impeaching him, it's majority popular.

[Benggaul]

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features...p-from-office/

So impeaching Trump isn't just more popular than not impeaching him, it's majority popular.

I know it's semantics, but it's important: he's already been impeached (twice). This was for removal/conviction.

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Monday's short report:

87,031 new cases is about 41k fewer than last Monday and continues the trend of big drops from the previous week.

1,489 deaths is about 400 fewer than last Monday and brings the total to 476,405. We're closing in on a half million deaths and those whose negligence led to most of them will likely never truly be held accountable. Meanwhile I'm sure the GOP is chomping at the bit to start another distracting Benghazi investigation. Or they're too busy dying from COVID-19 after denying it's been a problem for the past year.

Related news:

U.S. COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations log biggest weekly drops since pandemic started--This is fantastic news and the drop in hospitalizations is particularly important.

Wild Super Bowl celebrations prompt COVID super-spreader worries--Aaaaand then we come crashing back to a reality that is filled with fucking braindead dipshits. Fuck Florida.

Stay safe, folks.

[beanman12345]

If the timeline meshes up, Ron Wright was on his deathbed in the ICU at the very moment his staffers were sending out that tweet, so...

Yes, death cultists.

Wonder if they'll Hermain Cain his account.

[Edge-]

Wild Super Bowl celebrations prompt COVID super-spreader worries--Aaaaand then we come crashing back to a reality that is filled with fucking braindead dipshits. Fuck Florida.

Stay safe, folks.

What makes me most upset is that these folks will probably spread it well beyond FL. And the folks responsible for shit like this like Ron DeSantis show up to the superbowl, unmasked, because he's gotta be able to drink a beer, bro.

The wrong people are catching covid.

[Benggaul]

Wonder if they'll Hermain Cain his account.

You have no idea how tempted I was to create a GhostofRonWhite account to essentially do that, but I felt it would be in poor taste and we usually leave that sort of thing to their side.

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What makes me most upset is that these folks will probably spread it well beyond FL. And the folks responsible for shit like this like Ron DeSantis show up to the superbowl, unmasked, because he's gotta be able to drink a beer, bro.

The wrong people are catching covid.

Yep. The numbers from Florida have always been unreliable, but I'll be watching for mini-explosions around the country in a week.

[Elegiac]

Wonder if they'll Hermain Cain his account.

[dextersmith]

This one would be different. Trump's businesses went bankrupt six times, but Trump personally never did. However, if such a lawsuit was filed and had any chance of success, there'd be one main beneficiary:

Deutsche Bank.

Trump personally guaranteed hundreds of millions in loans. In the past, he's been floated an extension or two. If a loan comes due, and Trump's being sued, the banks will not kick the can down the road. They'll take the money -- or, if Trump can't pay, they'll take things Trump actually likes.

NYState would also make their move, because if Trump loses all his money, he can't pay the back taxes he owes either.

Bankruptcy isn't a get-out-of-lawsuit card, it might actually be worse. In bankruptcy, other people decide who you pay, and how much. You get to sit and wait until they're done carving your life's work out into parcels and give them to other people.

Make no mistake, Dominion wants Giuliani to turn on Trump -- accidentally under oath because he's a gibbering idiot, or on purpose to save his hide. That gives them free reign to not only reflect the damages they suffered onto Trump, but start a chain reaction that destroys him in public.

Can they take his property in bankruptcy? I thought they were assets of his businesses for loophole purposes. I remember there was a huge property that wasn't Mar-a-Lago, that his family stayed at a lot, and it was problematic because he declared it a rental place to reduce taxes despite never renting it out.

[Breccia]

Can they take his property in bankruptcy? I thought they were assets of his businesses for loophole purposes

His share of said businesses is an asset, and they can take that. This would therefore strip him of the properties for even less than they're worth.

Remember, banks aren't charities. They didn't let Trump personally guarantee a loan, if they knew Trump could not pay it back. There are all kinds of loopholes, true, but when you get a loan from a bank, you sign a contract, and they can/will enforce it. Deutsche Bank knows Trump has assets and partial ownership of assets. They also know he can't just give them to Donnie Dum-Dum Jr and shrug, saying "well I guess I'm broke...until you look the other way". Those people didn't get where they were playing fair, but they also didn't get where they were by giving billions to idiots and getting nothing in return.

If dodging loans with bankruptcy was that easy, everyone would do it (and therefore the rules would change). Imagine if I borrowed $1000 in cash secured with a $1000 computer. I give the cash to @cubby and also the computer, go back to the bank and say "Well I can't pay you". Not only would they take me to court to get the money by completely legal means, I suspect I'd be criminally liable for fraud for giving away the collateral. If @cubby knew what I was doing, he'd be an accomplice, so odds are he'd give the money and/or computer back or he's in trouble too.

Trump had six businesses that lost a ton of value and they could not pay their creditors. He was partial owner, but he didn't sign the contracts on his behalf, but his companies'. That's closer to the loophole you asked about. But as long as Trump has assets, especially the ones Deutsche Bank told him not to give away or sell, he can't just walk away from this one and claim poverty. Nor can he simply hide it under the rug and hope for the best.

If, for example, Deutsche Bank comes to reclaim the loan and Trump declares bankruptcy, the courts will decide who gets what share of Trump's owned businesses. If he tries to defraud a bank, Deutsche Bank will bring him up on charges, and still get their money from his family and businesses. People who give out loans aren't typically forgiving sorts that will say "Well, I guess we don't get that billion back, womp-womp" and shrug. They say "you owe us that billion, and if necessary, we'll get it from your grandchildren, now open wide we're going for those fillings".