Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Breccia]

I mean, that Kise guy is seemingly the smartest of the bunch. Got that $3 mill up front...Naturally Trump benches him for actually having scruples.

I was under the impression that Kise was less "benched" and more "being used for the upcoming, far worse crimes Trump committed". Kise isn't really into defending tax-evading businesses that I've seen, but he could be ready to keep the Jan 6th's findings and Georgia's election fraud from not only putting Trump in jail, but also keeping him out of office. But you don't send in your star relief pitcher when you're losing 12-0 in the 9th inning. Kise has experience dealing with SCOTUS and election-related cases, and Trump is objective guilty of federal theft. That $3 million isn't wasted...yet...it's just being spent elsewhere.

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There's no pardon coming from Georgia, either. That's one of the few states where the governor doesn't even have pardon power.

Hmm. Interesting. Well, we'll see what the GA investigation comes up with.

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My concern over him going to the SCOTUS is...the 11th Circuit is overseen by Thomas.

About that.

I've "made the rounds" and the consensus seems to be

Bottom line is that what Trump's arguing, for once, isn't completely nutso. It's merely pointless and stupid.

-- George Conway

While very few people think that Trump has much of a shot other than a longshot loophole here, this one section of this one article stands out:

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who oversees the 11th Circuit Court, issued an order giving the DOJ a week to respond to Trump's application, though he may refer the matter to the full court, legal experts say.

"A week is the amount of time you give when it's not really an emergency," tweeted Steve Vladeck, a Supreme Court expert at the University of Texas School of Law. "This delay doesn't help Trump. At all. It's a pretty big sign from Thomas that even *he* isn't in a hurry, which does not bode well for Trump's chances of getting the full Court to side with him."

Vladeck explained that Trump's appeal is "not *entirely* laughable" but is still "doomed to fail" and "unlikely to accomplish much even if it succeeds." Trump's request is "very modest," he wrote, meaning even if he wins the DOJ's probe would not be affected.

"Yes, this filing goes to Justice Thomas as Circuit Justice," he tweeted. "But for as cynical as I know many people have become, I don't see a universe in which he grants it by himself rather than allowing the full Court to resolve it. And even if he does, the full Court can overrule him."

It does go on from there, but they're all basically "don't hold your breath until you turn orange".

Former federal prosecutor Elie Honig told CNN it will be a "close call" if the court takes up the case. "The Supreme Court typically likes to stay out of messy, political disputes," he said.

Former FBI official Chuck Rosenberg told MSNBC that he doesn't see the Supreme Court overturning the 11th Circuit ruling, adding that Trump's appeal is very narrow and unlikely to affect the criminal probe.

"Probably in the end this isn't going to work out for Mr. Trump," he said.

Former federal prosecutor Joyce White Vance warned that the appeal could backfire on Trump.

"He could well find himself getting bench-slapped by the Supreme Court," she told MSNBC. "One of the real issues working not too far below the surface is that Judge Cannon herself really should not have entertained jurisdiction to hear this matter at all. DOJ has argued from the get-go that she lacks equitable jurisdiction. She made a very shaky finding in this regard. Now that entire ball of wax is sitting in the Supreme Court, and I don't think this will go well for Trump, even though this has been where he's wanted to be all along thinking the court would be favorable towards him."

[Gelannerai]

I was under the impression that Kise was less "benched" and more "being used for the upcoming, far worse crimes Trump committed". Kise isn't really into defending tax-evading businesses that I've seen, but he could be ready to keep the Jan 6th's findings and Georgia's election fraud from not only putting Trump in jail, but also keeping him out of office. But you don't send in your star relief pitcher when you're losing 12-0 in the 9th inning. Kise has experience dealing with SCOTUS and election-related cases, and Trump is objective guilty of federal theft. That $3 million isn't wasted...yet...it's just being spent elsewhere.

Entirely possible, though Don Lemon and a few of the other talking heads at CNN apparently think Trump wanted Kise to lie for him, and when he said “no” Trump sidelined him. That and apparently Kise wanted to take a more professional, less-combative approach with the DOJ and Trump wasn’t having it because attacking is all Trump knows.

[Breccia]

CNN apparently think Trump wanted Kise to lie for him, and when he said “no” Trump sidelined him

I am not saying that's impossible. I'm just suggesting that, if you paid $3 million for someone while the rest of your lawyers were unpaid, you'd reserve him for the case which could literally carry a death penalty.

If Trump paid $3 million for a bench warmer, I will laugh myself sick being wrong.

[Edge-]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...uverify%20wall

Former President Donald Trump publicly said that one reason that the FBI found boxes of classified documents improperly stored at his Florida estate was that federal workers had packed up the White House after his 2020 defeat.

It wasn't his fault! The feds did it!

But documents obtained by Bloomberg News under a Freedom of Information Act request suggest a different story. More than 100 pages of emails and shipping lists between White House and transition staff and the US General Services Administration describe the minutiae of moving the Trump White House from Washington, DC, to Florida, down to how many rolls of bubble wrap and tape, all within a plan signed by then-Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.

One thing is clear: The boxes were packed when the movers got there.

While the records don’t specify what the boxes contained, they provide the most detailed account to date of how the GSA assisted the outgoing administration between January and September 2021.

Except that all the Feds did was move the already-packed boxes, they didn't actually do any of the packing.

So Trumps nonstop projectile vomiting of lies and trying to blame others for his own apparently criminal behavior continues.

[Breccia]

Except that all the Feds did was move the already-packed boxes, they didn't actually do any of the packing.

And add to that, Trump personally packed some of the boxes returned to NARA, and therefore, personally decided which he was keeping for himself. In 2022. That's not something he can blame the feds for.

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Trump loses in court again.

An appeals court on Wednesday granted a motion from the Department of Justice to fast-track its appeal in the special master case involving documents seized in the FBI's search at Mar-a-Lago.

"Having consulted with the Chief Judge, the appeal will be assigned to a special merits panel from the classified appeals log randomly selected by the Clerk," per the filing.

The 11th Circuit in the Wednesday filing also set the deadline for all briefs to be submitted to the court by Nov. 17.

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So we have a bunch of items from the Mar-a-Lago tossing for...some reason.

An inadvertently shared log of potentially privileged materials taken from Trump’s Florida home includes details of his calls as president, analyses of who should receive pardons and heaps of records tied to his many legal entanglements.

Now I did say, anything between Trump and his civilian non-WH lawyer can't be classified and the FBI will return it. Looks like they're doing their job.

But...let's see what else is in that pile, shall we?

Among the tranche of records at Trump’s home were communications about securing clemency for Rod Blagojevich, the former Democratic Illinois governor whose sentence was commuted by Trump after he was convicted for trying to sell the Senate seat vacated by former President Obama.

He also had “internal pardon packages[s],” or clemency requests, for individuals listed only as RN, IR, JC and MB.

Huh. Place your bets? I don't think Trump was about to pardon Jewelcrafting for being worthless in Shadowlands. Or did he spell Kushner's name wrong?

Those materials also included 35 pages of “The President’s Calls,” with the memo noting one from “Rudy,” which may have been from Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, “that does not appear, on its face, to be related to legal advice.”

Other items included folders labeled with NARA, an abbreviation for the National Archives and Records Administration, as well as a draft immigration policy.

The documents also included some printed emails, including a National Security Council email about the release of John Walker Lindh, an American who pleaded guilty to charges related to supporting the Taliban, and an email from the head baseball coach at the U.S. Air Force Academy to the White House.

“As such, virtually none of those materials appears to be privileged attorney-client communications or protected under the attorney work product doctrine,” the Justice Department wrote, determining that those records ought to be turned over to investigators.

The filter team did find:
-- paperwork for Trump's taxes...yeah, that thing he tried so hard to hide from everyone, he put next to criminal evidence, that alone tells you something
-- medical records (this is what Team Trump used as an excuse for this whole bullshit "special master" thing)
-- that letter from the doctor who said Trump was the healthiest human being who ever lived or who ever will
-- his lawsuit against his own niece
-- a Post-It that said "No". Yes, that's the entire quote.
-- Trump's letter of resignation from the SAG before they threw him out

All told, about 500 of the 200,000 pages might possibly be private, non-govt information. Or at least, that's the filter team's response, from the looks of things. the other 99+% is government property and its classified nature/Executive Privilege is, therefore, irrelevant.

[Edge-]

https://thehill.com/homenews/3675413...famation-case/

Trump wants CNN to "prove" that his "the big lie" is a big lie!

Which is more than a bit silly since we've had countless Republican investigations that have turned up no evidence of voter fraud, so it's already been proved.

Also, Trump hasn't proved his claims yet. He, much like Mikepillow Lindell continue to talk about all the evidence they have yet they've never once shared any of it.

If this wasn't so dangerous and pathetic it would actually be a lot more comical. And to think that a great many Republicans revere him as if he were divine.

[Breccia]

Trump wants CNN to "prove" that his "the big lie" is a big lie!

That's not how defamation works. Of course, as always, what Trump says when not under oath should be dismissed as worthless and handwaved.

[postman1782]

Marjorie Traitor Greene is planning on suing Twitter for banning her personal account. https://www.mediaite.com/politics/ma...-owed-damages/

She does know that Twitter isn't the government, right? I mean, she is, but they aren't, they can ban anyone and everyone for any reason or no reason at all.

[Breccia]

She does know that Twitter isn't the government, right?

“I’ve already talked to an attorney,” Greene announced. “I spoke with him last week, because I believe this is a complete violation of my freedom of speech.”

The lawyer should have said "no, it isn't". And the lawyer should have refused the case, knowing it would not succeed.

[Endus]

The lawyer should have said "no, it isn't". And the lawyer should have refused the case, knowing it would not succeed.

On the other hand, they can take a few thousand as a retainer, tell her they'll look into the circumstances, spend three weeks blowing that retainer in whatever way they want to, and then tell her she doesn't have a case.

[Breccia]

On the other hand, they can take a few thousand as a retainer, tell her they'll look into the circumstances, spend three weeks blowing that retainer in whatever way they want to, and then tell her she doesn't have a case.

I like that better!

[Gorsameth]

The lawyer should have said "no, it isn't". And the lawyer should have refused the case, knowing it would not succeed.

They lawyer did say No, almost guaranteed.
She is just continuing the time honoured tradition of publicly lying about what your lawyer said in private. I heard they just love it when you do that.

[postman1782]

The lawyer should have said "no, it isn't". And the lawyer should have refused the case, knowing it would not succeed.

I would take it, charge her top dollar, defend her half heartedly, and at the end of the trial, laugh at her because you know the case would have never succeeded in the first place.

[Breccia]

However, it seems too early to have fired him.

UPDATE: In a mild change, Kise is no longer going to start his own law firm, and instead joining an existing one.

In an announcement first shared with NBC News, the president’s newly hired lawyer, Chris Kise, has joined Continental. The firm has a stable of Trump loyalists with deep Florida GOP ties and attorneys who describe their mission as a legal antidote to “woke cancel culture” that they say has taken over “Big Law.”

Oh, wait, I hate to do this, but before we continue about the antidote to cancel culture, let's check in on Trump's lawsuit against CNN.

If the former president is hoping to see this litigation succeed, he should probably lower his expectations. A Washington Post analysis explained that the lawsuit is “riddled with factual errors and non sequiturs” and “leans heavily on random Twitter users.”

My MSNBC colleague Hayes Brown took a closer look at the specific claims raised by Trump’s lawyers and concluded, “All told, this is less a case of defamation and more a case of crying ‘they were mean to me.’”

The next question then becomes one of motivation: Why bother with this misguided case?

Part of the problem is with Trump’s twisted view of the First Amendment. The former president clearly has no use for a free press — he has echoed Stalin and literally described his own country’s independent news organizations as the “enemy of the people” — or the right of Americans to criticize those in positions of power.

Another dimension to this is the Republican’s not-so-subtle intimidation campaigns. As the Post’s analysis added, Trump “files frivolous lawsuits aimed at intimidating his critics,” and this case against CNN is obviously part of the larger pattern.

But let’s not overlook this Bloomberg report, which highlighted one of the most important angles:

Less than 24 hours after filing suit against CNN, former President Donald Trump is asking his supporters to donate to his cause. “I am SUING the Corrupt News Network (CNN) for DEFAMING and SLANDERING my name,” the potential 2024 presidential candidate said in a fund raising email Tuesday that encouraged supporters to contribute $5 or more. “Remember, when they come after ME, they are really coming after YOU.”

If this approach sounds at all familiar, it’s not your imagination: Last year, Trump filed a foolish lawsuit against Facebook and Twitter. Within hours of announcing the doomed case, Trump’s political action committee used it as the basis for an appeal to donors.

These frivolous lawsuits are barely lawsuits at all. They’re fundraising gimmicks from a politician who’s a little too eager to separate his followers from their money.

Huh. So it's a cash grab, but still, an attempt to cow people into agreeing with him. Sorry, Continental, you were saying? Something about being against cancel culture?

Kise, a former solicitor general for Florida who also was attorney for the gubernatorial transition teams of both Govs. Ron DeSantis and Rick Scott, who's now a U.S. senator, said Continental has “exceptional firepower” to represent Trump and other clients, including conservative figures and causes.

As a South Florida-based firm, Continental is well-positioned for the court fight — and possible criminal charges — related to the trove of highly sensitive records the FBI says it seized Aug. 8 from Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach.

Continental's other attorneys include Carlos Trujillo, Trump’s former ambassador to the Organization of American States, who served in the Florida House; Richard Corcoran, DeSantis’ former state education commissioner and a past state House speaker; Paul Hawkes, a former Florida First District Court of Appeal judge in Tallahassee; and Jesus M. Suarez, a former chair of the Republican National Lawyers Association and a DeSantis appointee on a judicial nominating commission.

Suarez said the...

Hold on, something's not quite right.

Carlos Trujillo

Jesus M. Suarez

(looks up bio and pictures)

Huh...didn't realize Trump was so desperate for help, that he's hiring people bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.

Suarez said the firm was happy to fill the void left by firms that wouldn't represent Trump or others like him.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to represent conservatives who were shunned by Big Law,” he said. “The fact that there’s a segment of the legal establishment that won’t represent a former president of the United States because they disagree with his political views is antithetical to the practice of law.”

Oh, I see. Law firms don't want to represent Trump, because they don't like his political stance. Not, for example, the fact that he doesn't pay people. Or never listens to legal advice. Or that he's already gotten more lawyers under investigation/disbarred/arrested than I've ever met. Or that he's objectively guilty.

Well, these lawyers have experience in this sort of thing, and Kise did negotiate a contract first. Trump's other lawyers might have gotten in trouble, but I'm sure the people in Continental will be fine. Unless they kill John Wick's dog.

[cubby]

UPDATE: In a mild change, Kise is no longer going to start his own law firm, and instead joining an existing one.

Joining another firm says to me that he isn't getting that $3MM paycheck. But at this point it's a total guess. He might also need the resources of an existing law firm to adequately represent such a complicated criminal case.

Huh...didn't realize Trump was so desperate for help, that he's hiring people bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.

I see what you did there....

Oh, I see. Law firms don't want to represent Trump, because they don't like his political stance. Not, for example, the fact that he doesn't pay people. Or never listens to legal advice. Or that he's already gotten more lawyers under investigation/disbarred/arrested than I've ever met. Or that he's objectively guilty.

Suarez said the firm was happy to fill the void left by firms that wouldn't represent Trump or others like him.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to represent conservatives who were shunned by Big Law,” he said. “The fact that there’s a segment of the legal establishment that won’t represent a former president of the United States because they disagree with his political views is antithetical to the practice of law.”

Actually, not getting paid is antithetical to the practice of law.

[DarkTZeratul]

They lawyer did say No, almost guaranteed.
She is just continuing the time honoured tradition of publicly lying about what your lawyer said in private. I heard they just love it when you do that.

Technically, all she said was that she spoke to her lawyer. She didn't say anything about her lawyer's reply.

[Edge-]

https://www.politico.com/newsletters...-deal-00060603

@Breccia have you talked about how Elon Musk is unintentionally destroying CyberTrump 2077?

Digital World Acquisition Corp. and Trump Media & Technology Group are having a rough month.

The blank-check company trying to merge with former President Donald Trump’s latest venture has seen its stock plunge 30 percent since the start of September. Shareholders have yet to come out with enough support for giving the companies another year to close the deal. And the Wall Street investors who had committed to putting $1 billion into the combined company have started to walk away, with several recently telling POLITICO the deal was no longer worth it.

This is the bad news we already know, but there are new wrinkles thanks to Elon Musk seemingly forced into buying Twitter because he made a meme-offer.

The Tesla CEO’s reversal on buying Twitter for $44 billion has thrown officials across Washington, the banks who were originally planning to provide financing for the deal and just about everyone else for a loop, including Digital World and Trump Media. That is because Trump Media’s signature product is Truth Social, the conservative social media app that acts today as Trump’s only online bullhorn following his banishment from platforms, including Twitter.

Truth Social has struggled on its own to generate much traction beyond the conservative pundits, one-time Trump administration officials and other supporters of the former president who populate the platform today. But Musk’s light-touch vision for Twitter — based on less moderation and more free speech — threatens to further undercut Truth Social, even if Trump does eschew an invitation back to Twitter.

Investors seemed to recognize as much following the initial reports that Musk and Twitter were back on. Digital World shares fell more than 5 percent during trading Tuesday. The stock only ticked up 0.3 percent Wednesday.

All I have to say to this is -

[Breccia]

have you talked about how Elon Musk is unintentionally destroying CyberTrump 2077?

At length, but not recently.

I'm guessing, at this point, Musk will struggle and lose the court case and still not want to pay $44 billion, so he'll pay the cash-out escape clause. I've seen only a few updates, such as Elon's text messages which included "It's my responsibility to tell you that it's not helping me make Twitter better in the current context" to Musk, and Musk saying in public he plans to honor the deal while the court case has not even blinked -- what Musk says off the stand has no legal bearing. Reuters reports the case is slightly delayed but it has not stopped.

In terms of Trump, yes, there are articles saying that DWAC took yet another hit. They recovered about one-fifth of that hit today, but are still down around his ankles *cough* around $17 and change, waaaaaaaaaaaaay the fuck down from their starting "value" and homing in on the $10 price of death.

Trump, as always, is just sitting back and watching the thing he says he wants to do well, fail. I know, like he does with all his other companies. A question I hadn't seen before is "Why doesn't Trump push the DWAC board to a vote?" and the answer, of course, is laziness and apathy. Despite how much pride he takes on his name, he's not actually into effort. He's too busy not suing CNN and not suing Haberman.

So yes, there's developments. None of them are good for Trump. It's understandable, I wouldn't want to directly finance a traitor or a felon, either.

[Edge-]

https://www.rollingstone.com/politic...bi-1234606476/

Now Trump apparently thinks that the National Archives is filled with "DEEP STATE LIBS" and, reportedly, wants to purge the agency, more or less.

Jesus christ on a fucking stick, the absolute micrometer thin skin of these delicate snowflakes is pathetic. Truly pathetic.

[Breccia]

Elon Musk seemingly forced into buying Twitter because he made a meme-offer.

UPDATE: Musk calls for a stay in the trial, on the grounds that he's super serial about buying Twitter this time, yoo gaiz!

The response from the judge should be "then do it already".

UPDATE UPDATE: Jude orders a stay, until Oct 28th. If Musk does not buy by then, then...he'll ask for another extension and get it, I guess?

Twitter is not thrilled.

Now, on the eve of trial, Defendants declare they intend to close after all. ‘Trust us,’ they say, ‘we mean it this time,’ and so they ask to be relieved from a reckoning on the merits. Defendants’ proposal is an invitation to further mischief and delay.”

Again, I do not trust Musk's recent seeming change of heart. I think his every move since making the offer has driven down the stock price, and therefore, buying now would be a massive overpay. I'm still pretty damn sure Musk has no intention of buying and will both default to the escape clause, but also, try to haggle that down.

I'm more than a little surprised a Delaware court is putting up with this shit. It must be the same thing Cannon did with Trump: special treatment because he's famous.