Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Resurgo]

Because NYState has basically all of Trump's taxes, listings, and loan records, this is almost assuredly an open and shut case. Trump's best move here is to beg for a settlement, which (a) he'd rather die than do, no I'm not exaggerating by much, (b) I don't think it'd be taken without Trump out of the drivers' seat.

Didn’t they already try to settle?
https://abcnews.go.com/US/ny-attorne...ry?id=89974947

Or was that for a different matter? Starting to have too many suits for me to keep track…

[Breccia]

Didn’t they already try to settle?

They did, and I would bet like actual dinner-at-a-steakhouse money that the offer did not include the Trump family stepping down.

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Edit: I just read Weisselberg is named in this lawsuit.

That is new information to me, thanks. I suspect (guessing) that Weaselberg, having plead guilty to fraud, is also being forced out of Trump Org. But you're almost certainly correct: they could easily sue him directly, or put him back on the stand with his own testimony already in evidence.

[Edge-]

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/m...-phone-hardees

Lindell filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department on Tuesday claiming that his First, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights had all been violated when FBI agents executed a search warrant for his phone on Sept. 13 at a Hardee’s in Mankato, Minnesota.

Why stop at just four rights? Why not list them all!

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https://twitter.com/NikkiMcR/status/1572634209608683520



"Peekaboo"

His nicknames really have gone downhill. I think it all started when he tried to come up with Nancy Pelosi and ended up with, "And now Nancy Pelosi, or Nancy...as I call her."

https://twitter.com/bubbaprog/status...77677788463104

Really, since this brainfart it's all gone to shit : (

[Breccia]

His nicknames really have gone downhill.

Also, big surprise, he's lying.

Violent crime in NY is basically level.

And claiming the banks/insurers were fully paid is a bad idea, because it's likely he told loangivers one value and insurers another. One of them was ripped off.

[solinari6]

"Peekaboo"

His nicknames really have gone downhill.

Is that a reference to her headlights in the conference? LOL

[Spectral]

Violent crime in NY is basically level.

Level relative to when? The most up to date state and city data from NY that I can find is on the state's criminal justice site here. The delta from 2020 to 2021 isn't large (although it is positive), but 2020 saw a huge spike, with state and city murder totals jumping almost 50%. Calling that "level" seems like a poor interpretation of the data - "plateaued" would be more fitting.

[Breccia]

The most up to date state and city data from NY that I can find

Well someone didn't click the link I cited in the post he replied to. And are you really trying to decide which synonym for "flat thing" is the best to use here? Because that just means you're agreeing that Trump lied. Not the own-goal I expected, but whatever.

[Zan15]

https://www.businessinsider.com/mar-...n-notes-2022-9

Trump lawyers claim classified documents seized from Mar-a-Lago may be privileged because they contain handwritten notes



So, if I write my name on my kilo of coke with a note to my lawyer, they can't cease or use the evidence against me because it's attorney client privilege!!!

[Spectral]

Well someone didn't click the link I cited in the post he replied to. And are you really trying to decide which synonym for "flat thing" is the best to use here? Because that just means you're agreeing that Trump lied. Not the own-goal I expected, but whatever.

I clicked it, then decided that I wanted to actually see the data over the past decade than wade through cherrypicked, well ackshually opinion writing.

Factually, New York has a much higher murder rate than when James took her position as AG. I'm not familiar enough with her prosecutorial approach to speak to whether she holds any blame for that, but the murder rate certainly hasn't been "flat", unless you're really going to insist that the relevant delta to look at is 2020 to 2021. No reasonable person could describe the change in murder rate between 2019 (when James took her office) to the present as a success.

[Breccia]

Trump lawyers claim classified documents seized from Mar-a-Lago may be privileged because they contain handwritten notes

Yeah, like we said earlier, this is why a filter or taint team exists. That said, it's still largely irrelevant in this case. He's still not getting them back.

[Edge-]

Factually, New York has a much higher murder rate than when James took her position as AG. I'm not familiar enough with her prosecutorial approach to speak to whether she holds any blame for that, but the murder rate certainly hasn't been "flat", unless you're really going to insist that the relevant delta to look at is 2020 to 2021. No reasonable person could describe the change in murder rate between 2019 (when James took her office) to the present as a success.

An increase that seems to largely mirror the national increase in violent crime. So more likely attributable to changing national trends than anything done at the state level.

And per the link, it shows that the "spike" is more in media coverage of shootings and violent crime than in the crimes themselves. Still well below the numbers from the 80's/90's.

[cubby]

And they're doing that without Weaselberg. Well, not directly, at least. Apparently, NY pointed out that Weaselberg spent year after year inflating Trump's properties' prices because Trump said they weren't bigly enough. So he added several billion dollars of Fake Value. The term for this is "fraud". And Weaselberg has at least plead guilty to it, just didn't say Trump ordered the hit.

I would not be surprised if Trump's violent minions got word to Weaselberg through his lawyer or children that if Weaselberg does turn states evidence against Trump, they'll lash out against Weaselberg's family. So Weaselberg takes one for the "team" and Trump stays clear of that land mine.

NYState is asking for $250 million, which should be easy to mathematically prove is what they owe in taxes. I guess Trump could say "no no, the properties really aren't worth more value, we just lied to our lenders" which...okay yeah, that's suicide. No, they can't do that.

*ahem*

But.

NYState is also seeking an injunction against any Trump leading a business in New York State. Not a shutdown, just Trump has to hand Trump Org to someone who is not Trump.

Because NYState has basically all of Trump's taxes, listings, and loan records, this is almost assuredly an open and shut case. Trump's best move here is to beg for a settlement, which (a) he'd rather die than do, no I'm not exaggerating by much, (b) I don't think it'd be taken without Trump out of the drivers' seat.

Maybe he should just retire. Clearly, being a failed businessman isn't working for him.

While Trump is, by all accounts, a failed businessman, so far he's succeeded in gaining money, fame, followers, and managed to get elected Resident. And it's still not certain he will face the consequences of his actions.

[Breccia]

New York has a much higher murder rate than when James took her position as AG.

I see you're desperately trying to protect Trump. I tell you what, I'll give you an hour to look at violent crime and murders in Florida for the same stretch of time. Hint: they also went up. If you fail to call out Florida's AG by name for letting it get that bad, you've self-identified as a hypocrite.

Also, I see you still haven't actually checked the source I cited. NYC has a lower rate than Florida.

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And it's still not certain he will face the consequences of his actions.

No, but it's not certain that if you fire 100 bullets at a target you'll hit them. I still wouldn't run out in front of your target. Trump is surrounded and his situation is easily the worst he's ever been in. Escaping would be a miracle of Pulp Fiction levels.

[cubby]

No, but it's not certain that if you fire 100 bullets at a target you'll hit them. I still wouldn't run out in front of your target. Trump is surrounded and his situation is easily the worst he's ever been in. Escaping would be a miracle of Pulp Fiction levels.

If anyone were able to run in front of that target, and not get hit, it would be Trump. He's spent his entire life breaking laws and getting away with little to no consequences. I would like to think that he's finally found his wall (lol), but I'm still only cautiously optimistic about him being indicted, much less facing jail time.

The jury issue is still my biggest concern.

[Breccia]

If anyone were able to run in front of that target, and not get hit, it would be Trump.

Valid. Still, we know even he's scared because he's posting in all-caps again. Have you seen what the rabid fanbase is trying to do, deflecting to the NY AG? It means even they know he's fucked.

[Edge-]

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...-b2171717.html

Trump apparently needs an, "Emotional support caddy".

Donald Trump has reportedly tasked an aide with following him around and giving “positive reinforcement” amid an unprecedented assault of criminal and civil investigations into his conduct both as president and private citizen.

The revelation was made by The New York Times’s Maggie Haberman, one of the most well-sourced reporters in Trumpworld. Ms Haberman has remained on the Trump beat since the ex-president left office and set up court in Florida at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

She previously reported that the president was telling supporters at the resort throughout 2021 that he would be “reinstated” as president, while continuing to espouse his false claims about the 2020 election.

That rumour became reality as the former president has now made that very demand repeatedly on his Truth Social platform amid new reports that the FBI (under his watch) warned social media platforms about foreign attempts to spread disinformation during the election season.

“As Trump has been out of office over the last 20 [months], a rotating cast of aides has been tasked with following him around the golf course at the club he's at and giving him positive reinforcement from Twitter and wherever else they find it on the web, per [people] told of the practice,” the Times correspondent tweeted.

[gondrin]

Lindell, on his quest to try and make a copy of everything else that someone else has made and call it My something, cannot find or retain people to sell stuff on his new platform, MyStore. At least he cannot use MySpace, that was already taken and was a precursor to Facebook.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/comp...edcb1283a521c9

Mike Lindell says vendors are bailing on his MyStore platform because they don't want to be associated with an FBI investigation

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell told Insider on Tuesday that four entrepreneurs whose businesses were set to be listed on his MyStore e-commerce platform have pulled out of the plan.

Speaking to Insider, Lindell said that after the FBI seized his phone at a Hardee's drive-thru last week, at least four businesses have told him that they "don't want to deal" with his MyStore platform.

"You know, they don't want to have the connection of the FBI. The FBI scares them," Lindell said of the vendors.

"They don't want to get canceled, you know?" he added.

Lindell did not name the entrepreneurs but said they had "really good" products, adding that he had inked deals with them that have since fallen through. The businessman told Insider that he was also informed over the last week that a "private lender" had rescinded "two to three million dollars" worth of support for one of the four businesses that were angling to sell products on the MyStore platform.

"This money was already earmarked for one of these vendors, one of these entrepreneurs, so that they would have enough products and be listed up on MyStore," Lindell said. "And then they (the lenders) canceled the loan because they found out it was linked to MyStore. It's very sad."

MyStore was started in April 2021 as Lindell's "patriotic" answer to Amazon. The store now lists a gamut of products, including the Lindell-backed MyCoffee, a range of ground coffee with the businessman's face emblazoned on the packaging.

The MyStore pull-out is not the first time Lindell has run into issues with financial institutions and collaborators due to pushing former President Donald Trump's baseless claims of election fraud.

In February, one of Lindell's banks cut ties with him, citing him as a "reputation risk," after he was subpoenaed by the January 6 House select committee for his phone records.

In June, Lindell accused Walmart, MyPillow's biggest distributor, of "canceling" him and pulling his pillows from their stores.

Lindell told Insider last week that the phone seizure was linked to an investigation into Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, a pro-Trump Colorado election official accused of facilitating an election-data leak.

On Tuesday, the businessman filed a lawsuit against the FBI and the Department of Justice for seizing his phone and accused the authorities of violating his constitutional rights.

Represented by a legal team that includes conservative lawyer Alan Dershowitz, Lindell's suit claims the FBI violated his "First, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendment" rights. He is also demanding that his cell phone be returned and that any information obtained from his phone by the FBI or DOJ not be released.

Separately, Lindell told Insider on Tuesday that he had been having trouble accessing his cash and wiring money to his businesses without his phone.

"I can't do money wires," Lindell said, telling Insider that the codes he needed were all on the phone that was seized. "They took the files that were in there, and it really crippled me with work."

[Edge-]

I'm still impressed that he runs his entire business empire off his phone, with no backups or anything else.

[Levelfive]

11th circuit grants DOJ its stay. Link to the full decision that forecloses numerous specious arguments that have been raised in this very thread: https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/stat...gVEDPe54iiakCg

ETA: Even so, the 11th circuit still sucks.

[Edge-]

11th circuit grants DOJ its stay. Link to the full decision that forecloses numerous specious arguments that have been raised in this very thread: https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/stat...gVEDPe54iiakCg

ETA: Even so, the 11th circuit still sucks.

TLDR for this seems to be: DoJ can continue using classified documents as part of their criminal investigation. Cannon had previously ruled they could not.

And just for nothing: 2 of the 3 judges that ruled on this are Trump appointees.