Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Edge-]

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...pert-rcna84661

U.S. taxpayer money that was "misused" by former Architect of the Capitol Brett Blanton was repaid to the federal government by withholding the amount from his final paycheck, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa., said on Tuesday.

In a letter shared by Grassley, ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, Acting Architect of the Capitol Chere Rexroat said in April that about $12,500 was withheld from Blanton's final paycheck after he didn't cooperate and repay the money himself. The remaining amount, about $1,400, was contributed by an insurance company.

"When dealing with trillions of dollars in government spending, a dozen-or-so thousand can seem like an insignificant amount. However, this amount would be important to a family struggling to make ends meet in a time of record inflation and price hikes," Grassley said in remarks on the Senate floor.

The GOP senator recounted a report by the inspector general that found that Blanton had engaged in "unauthorized vehicle use, misrepresentation as a law enforcement officer, ethics violations, and lastly appropriations violations." Blanton had driven more than 29,000 miles using government vehicles instead of the allotted roughly 10,000 miles, the report said.

"In total, the Inspector General identified $13,926 of inappropriate costs associated with Blanton’s use of government vehicles," Grassley said Tuesday.

Grassley noted that he had sent a letter to Blanton in February asking when he would repay the money.

"As of today, more than two months later, he’s failed to respond to my inquiry and my staff’s attempts to contact him," Grassley said. "He also has made no effort to repay the money he owes the American people."

As a result, Rexroat said that more than $12,500 was withheld from Blanton's final payment and was returned to the Treasury.

Blanton did not immediately return a request for comment.

In mid-February, President Joe Biden fired Blanton as the architect of the Capitol after the inspector general's report revealed that he had abused his authority and misused taxpayer money in his role overseeing the Capitol complex. Rexroat has since served in an interim capacity.

Blanton could be removed only by the president because the architect of the Capitol is a presidential appointee confirmed by the Senate. Blanton was nominated to a 10-year term by former President Donald Trump; he started the job in January 2020.

Trump, or those in his orbit/whom he appoints, and stealing money/refusing to pay it back. Name a more iconic duo.

Imagine getting a pretty cushy 10-year job with great job security and pissing it away in 2 years. Truly, Only The Best People.

[zEmini]

The dumber and brainwashed parts of my family and co-workers keep telling me "Biden is jsut as bad" or "everyone does bad things" and "we need a asshole" when presented with all the shit Trump or Desantis has done. I just need a better response then opening up my reddit app and reading the headlines. I just can't anymore

[Paranoid Android]

The Durham report is damning evidence of the rot in our government. No party, no politician should weaponize government to go after political opponents.

There must be consequences or this will never end.

From Nikki Haley. She I hope read the conclusion so there is no other conclusion is she is spreading false information. Not even doing the twist of truth that politics usually was but just flat out lies.

Just read the replies on her account. While I didn't vet all for who is troll or bot there are people in here who think they know what's going on and her tweet is correct. Once more they do the "both sides", gubbbbbbement bad posts.

My brain just hurts. Much like this tweet and the Comer shit the right just makes shit up or says "eff the truth" and goes with a narrative. This is all to cast doubt to the ill informed so called Independents each party has to get. This is for these idiots to do the "both sides' and then get distracted that a marginalized group is the real threat or there is some real socialist movement here in the US.

- - - Updated - - -

The dumber and brainwashed parts of my family and co-workers keep telling me "Biden is jsut as bad" or "everyone does bad things" and "we need a asshole" when presented with all the shit Trump or Desantis has done. I just need a better response then opening up my reddit app and reading the headlines. I just can't anymore

Yes. Was typing, posting before your comment. It's all to get people who don't engage in politics and show up to vote every 2 or 4 years and think "both sides" are bad then vote on some ill informed topic. It's dangerous and idk how you educate people who don't engage or read the false and truth(s).

[Edge-]

"we need a asshole"

I do hope your response is to start acting like an asshole and then ask what the fuck their problem is when they act offended and hurt.

[Templar 331]

The dumber and brainwashed parts of my family and co-workers keep telling me "Biden is jsut as bad" or "everyone does bad things" and "we need a asshole" when presented with all the shit Trump or Desantis has done. I just need a better response then opening up my reddit app and reading the headlines. I just can't anymore

I spent 3 hours with an engineer (I work on the railroad) who would not STFU once he found out I voted for Biden and an atheist. Constantly asking stupid and leading questions that went no where. Kept preaching his religion to me and saying I was wrong. Would not show me the respect for my beliefs I was trying to show for his. In the end there wasn't any mutual understanding, it was nothing but a jerk off session for him.

I do hope your response is to start acting like an asshole and then ask what the fuck their problem is when they act offended and hurt.

No, that is what they want you to do. They want to feel justified when you turn their shit back on them. That is why they show no respect for anything. They have none. Best to just not engage. Don't get me wrong, I would love to do what you said. But in the end all you'll be doing is looking like the strawman they keep building us up as.

[Edge-]

No, that is what they want you to do. They want to feel justified when you turn their shit back on them. That is why they show no respect for anything. They have none. Best to just not engage. Don't get me wrong, I would love to do what you said. But in the end all you'll be doing is looking like the strawman they keep building us up as.

I do this all the time for the, "I like a guy that says it like it is." crowd when in reality they like someone that reinforces their beliefs and views and get extremely upset whenever someone gives them a brutal truth that they don't like.

Like that time Biden said, "If you have big family gatherings during covid people will die." and the "WE LIKE A STRAIGHT SHOOTER CROWD" cried and cried and cried and cried and cried and cried and cried that Mean Joe (not Greene) said they were risking killing grandma : ( : ( : (

[Breccia]

Once again, it's not a good day to be Donald Trump.

1) He filed a motion to have the Fulton grand jury report just thrown out. One, we've all read it. Two, the legal grounds were "it makes me look bad".

No, really.

Naturally the DA wrote a response detailing why Trump's requests were horseshit.

For one, Trump claimed the entire process was unConstitutional but never said how.

For two,

They seek to ‘restrain’ a criminal investigation before any charges are filed or even sought; they ask that the judicial system place them above and apart from the common administration of the criminal law; and they do so by raising arguments for which they have no standing, or which they failed to timely join, or which they have already failed, or which have no basis in law at all

For three, one of his legal reasons was "someone tweeted a political cartoon once". No, really. Once.

For four, this has been ongoing for years and Trump is only speaking up now.

By his own estimation, Mr. Trump has been at the center of an investigation which has progressed for over two years, but only now is he moving for the prosecutor’s disqualification

And following that, for five, Trump is claiming that, because he's the center of this whole thing, and the grand jury report would therefore damage him, therefore it's bad therefore illegal. Thing is, Trump isn't a named defendant. And Georgia laws...most laws?...don't allow you to jump into another person's civil or criminal trial, because the results of that trial make you look bad.

The Movants only arrive at an injury to themselves through a daisy chain of cause and effect: if other parties could articulate individualized injuries to themselves, this could affect the administration of the grand jury or the creation of its final report. If the final report is affected, it is possible that individuals named in the report could be affected. If the Movants are among the individuals named in the report, then their due process rights could possibly be injured. The individualized injury requirement prevents exactly this kind of attenuation.

"So, was that Trump admitting he was about to be arrested?"

No, I think that was Trump concerned about his image and ego. Trump may be incapable of understanding his words and actions have consequence.

Trump apparently asked for a bunch of other stuff, like a new judge, new DA, probably a pony. He had no legal basis for any of it, at least, based on this well-written response by DA Willis. Team Trump is expected to ask the judge for time to respond to this response, which is them basically saying "our first filing was basically us just yelling really loud, and now we'd like to stall while finding anything at all to back these claims which it looks like we just made up".

"Don't these lawyers realize they're in danger if they keep doing whatever Trump asks, especially the stuff that has no legal standing?"

Funny you should say that.

2) Timothy Parlatore, an attorney for Donald Trump who played a key role in the Mar-a-Lago documents investigation and once testified before the grand jury, is leaving Trump’s legal team, two sources familiar with the exit tell CNN.

“It’s been an incredible honor to serve and work through interesting legal issues. My departure was a personal choice and does not reflect upon the case, as I believe strongly the (Justice Department) team is engaging in misconduct to pursue an investigation of conduct that is not criminal,” Parlatore said in a statement to CNN.

Parlatore’s exit is notable given he was the attorney who organized searches for additional classified documents last year at Trump Tower, Trump’s properties in Bedminster, Mar-a-Lago, an office in Palm Beach and a Florida storage unit.

He also testified before the grand jury as Trump’s team and the Justice Department were embroiled in a dispute in which the Justice Department unsuccessfully sought to hold Trump in contempt for failing to hand over all classified documents after receiving a subpoena in May 2022.

Parlatore appeared before the grand jury for roughly seven hours in December.

“They repeatedly tried to ask me about my conversations with Trump, which is totally outside the scope of what I was there for,” Parlatore said in March.

Parlatore recently co-authored a letter to House Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner asking Congress to tell the Justice Department to step aside because they believe the intelligence community should conduct the investigation into what happened with the classified documents.

I think we all know why this is happening. Parlatore cannot represent Trump if they are both accused of the same crime. Or, if one of them testifies against the other.

3) Trump Claims Credit for All Abortion Bans

He probably felt he had to do that, because DeSantis directly and specifically pointed out that his own state has an abortion ban that Trump specifically and directly called "too harsh".

He has to do what he has to do. If you look at what DeSantis did, a lot of people don't even know if he knew what he was doing. But he signed six weeks, and many people within the pro-life movement feel that that was too harsh.

-- Trump

Asked about that remark, DeSantis said the legislation he signed is something that “probably 99% of pro-lifers support.”

The governor noted that Trump had dodged on whether he would back that bill.

“As a Florida resident, you know, he didn’t give an answer about, ‘Would you have signed the heartbeat bill that Florida did, that had all the exceptions that people talk about?’” he said.

“The Legislature put it in, I signed the bill, I was proud to do it,” DeSantis said, adding, “He won’t answer whether he would sign it or not.”

4) Bolton: I believe foreign leaders think Trump is a laughing fool

That one's a video, but the headline is accurate.

"You sure are quoting a lot of CNN."

I mean, the town hall was excrement, but they do still publish actual journalism.

"...are you dumping all your CNN points be--"

5) Is there no safe beer for conservatives in America to drink right now?!

First, Bud Light sent a few beers to a transgender influencer in early April. Then, Miller Lite ran an ad celebrating female brewers and offering up a lighthearted mea culpa over all the beer ads over the years featuring women in bikinis. Actually, the Miller Lite thing happened before the Bud Light thing, back in March for Women’s History Month, but most people didn’t see the Miller Lite thing before now. So now some on the right are mad about both of these major beer brands over what they see as selling out and taking progressive positions in supporting trans people and women.

It’s not like beers are totally progressive now though, either. The customers these campaigns were aimed at might be upset to notice that Bud Light parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev hasn’t exactly stuck to its guns on Dylan Mulvaney, the trans influencer in question, and neither company’s political donations are super aligned with left-leaning causes.

It’s almost like beer companies do not have a consistent, coherent set of morals and values consumers should look to for cues on what to buy. The same goes for all companies, for that matter. Corporations are not your friends, let alone your political allies.

I honestly can't remember the last time a beer company posted, say, a dude with a gun or pickup truck or farm or something and me and my fellow "librul elites" stopped drinking that beer because of that commercial. I remember stopping drinking Bud and Miller because they didn't taste good, but that's different.

So, yeah. Not only is Trump losing every case in court and apparently some elections, his followers can't even cry into their beers anymore.

Trump, of course, never could. He doesn't drink. His vices cost $5 million and/or divorce proceedings.

[PrimiOne]

Corporations are not your friends, let alone your political allies..

Can I point out the complete schizophrenia of the conservative movement that once was rooted in the neo-con ideals and the idolatry of the God Market and now are transitioning into "Evil corps" while at the same time pointing and yelling "Communism!!!" to everyone around them?

Jesus-christ it should be really hard to live when everyone is conspiring against you but I do wonder where this "Listen to no one but me. Trust no one but me" song comes from....

[Myradin]

Can I point out the complete schizophrenia of the conservative movement that once was rooted in the neo-con ideals and the idolatry of the God Market and now are transitioning into "Evil corps" while at the same time pointing and yelling "Communism!!!" to everyone around them?

Jesus-christ it should be really hard to live when everyone is conspiring against you but I do wonder where this "Listen to no one but me. Trust no one but me" song comes from....

The problem (for them) is corporations have no reason to stick to republican ideals. Its just like the so-called 'war on christmas'. Corporations realize there's a market out there that isn't just straight white christians, and thus want to be welcoming and inclusive to all groups because well...money.

Corporations love republicans for their low regulations and taxes, but thats all the common ground they have.

[Breccia]

Can I point out the complete schizophrenia of the conservative movement

Corporations love republicans for their low regulations and taxes, but thats all the common ground they have.

That's pretty much it. Now, to give them as much credit as I'm willing to stomach, I have no problem with people boycotting a product over a political stance. They'd hardly be the first, although buying Keurigs just to smash them might have been. But when they spent so much time and effort to get corporations a voice, and that voice sometimes says "women, interracial couples and LBGT are still human beings and we're going to treat them as such" and their fragile snowflake widdle feewings are hurt, it gives me joy that the First Amendment doesn't specifically say "you're only allowed to voice opinions the losing party agrees with".

- - - Updated - - -

And looks like there's one more.

Trump expected to testify under oath again

"Why are you still farming CNN points?"

I'm not, I have plenty. But if FOX News wants to be the one pointing out Trump's massive pile of issues, who am I to stop them? FAIR AND BALLANCED Y'ALL

A discovery hearing is set in federal court in Miami Wednesday in the former president's $500 million lawsuit against his former lawyer, Michael Cohen. Sources say that Trump is expected to be subpoenaed to testify in the case, and that as the plaintiff he cannot legally avoid giving a deposition.

Considering what this case is about -- Cohen saying things about the crimes he committed both for and with Trump -- his testimony under oath will address exactly that issue.

But even with that headline, FOX News admits it may not come to pass. Because Trump's lawyers are horrible.

Cohen's side has moved to dismiss the case, claiming that the former president's "retaliatory conduct has been petty and mean spirited," that his lawsuit has passed the statute of limitations. In addition, Cohen attorney Danya Perry argued that Mr. Cohen's personal statements are protected speech and do not violate any purported confidentiality agreement because they deal with Trump's reputation and not confidential business matters of the Trump Organization, which employed Cohen.

"It is a mystery in what way Mr. Trump's reputation could possibly have suffered. Mr. Trump's ignominy is globally known and had been well before Mr. Cohen published his book. It is the product of decades of Mr. Trump's own actions, which he has thrust onto a global stage for all to see," said the court document.

Cohen also accuses his former Boss of using the courts as a weapon, as he has often been accused of doing by filling numerous lawsuits.

"You capitalized 'boss'."

No. I didn't. That's just FOX News portraying Trump.

"How many times do we have to see Donald abuse the legal system out of retaliation, witness tampering or obstruction of justice?" Cohen told Fox News "If this deposition follows in the footsteps of his E. Jean Carroll videotaped deposition, I am certain that he will be equally pathetic and disingenuous in his responses."

Earlier this year Trump and his lawyers were fined $1 million by a judge who accused the Trump team of using the courts to file frivolous lawsuits for political purposes. U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks of the Southern District of Florida ruled that Trump engaged in "abusive litigation tactics."

"Frivolous lawsuits should not be used as a vehicle for fundraising or fodder for rallies or social media," he wrote. "Mr. Trump is using the courts as a stage set for political theater and grievance. This behavior interferes with the ability of the judiciary to perform its constitutional duty."

"That's a FOX News article?"

I mean, he and Murdoch aren't BFF's anymore.

"I'm sure he'll be fine as long as he gets one of his own judges."

The judge is an Obama appointee.

"Oh."

And African-American.

"Uh oh."

And gay.

"Fuck. Trump is screwed."

If the judge interprets the law as written, yes. But that's hardly new or different.

Now, ideally for me, would be Trump to sit under oath and lie about something Cohen can prove is true. I mean...duh.

I am also interested in the excuses Trump will make to not go to a Miami court. He's just down the street.

FOX News also points out the two are already due to face off twice. Cohen is suing for legal fees that, yeah hope you're sitting down for this massive surprise, Trump didn't pay.

Actually, I suppose in retrospect it's possible Parleratore also left because he wasn't being paid. Based on Trump's long history, it fits.

[Poopymonster]

That's pretty much it. Now, to give them as much credit as I'm willing to stomach, I have no problem with people boycotting a product over a political stance. They'd hardly be the first, although buying Keurigs just to smash them might have been. But when they spent so much time and effort to get corporations a voice, and that voice sometimes says "women, interracial couples and LBGT are still human beings and we're going to treat them as such" and their fragile snowflake widdle feewings are hurt, it gives me joy that the First Amendment doesn't specifically say "you're only allowed to voice opinions the losing party agrees with".

- - - Updated - - -

And looks like there's one more.

Trump expected to testify under oath again

"Why are you still farming CNN points?"

I'm not, I have plenty. But if FOX News wants to be the one pointing out Trump's massive pile of issues, who am I to stop them? FAIR AND BALLANCED Y'ALL



Considering what this case is about -- Cohen saying things about the crimes he committed both for and with Trump -- his testimony under oath will address exactly that issue.

But even with that headline, FOX News admits it may not come to pass. Because Trump's lawyers are horrible.



"You capitalized 'boss'."

No. I didn't. That's just FOX News portraying Trump.



"That's a FOX News article?"

I mean, he and Murdoch aren't BFF's anymore.

"I'm sure he'll be fine as long as he gets one of his own judges."

The judge is an Obama appointee.

"Oh."

And African-American.

"Uh oh."

And gay.

"Fuck. Trump is screwed."

If the judge interprets the law as written, yes. But that's hardly new or different.

Now, ideally for me, would be Trump to sit under oath and lie about something Cohen can prove is true. I mean...duh.

I am also interested in the excuses Trump will make to not go to a Miami court. He's just down the street.

FOX News also points out the two are already due to face off twice. Cohen is suing for legal fees that, yeah hope you're sitting down for this massive surprise, Trump didn't pay.

Actually, I suppose in retrospect it's possible Parleratore also left because he wasn't being paid. Based on Trump's long history, it fits.

*question*
OBJECTION YOUR HONOR!
Judge: On what grounds counselor?
The minute my client opens his mouth, we're fucked. Utterly and completely.
Judge: Most likely. But out of morbid curiosity, let's see what he has to say.

[Breccia]

*question*
OBJECTION YOUR HONOR!
Judge: On what grounds counselor?
The minute my client opens his mouth, we're fucked. Utterly and completely.
Judge: Most likely. But out of morbid curiosity, let's see what he has to say.

First, this sounds a lot like what we saw in the Carroll case. It's funny, because it's on record as being true.

Secondly, I love that this isn't even possible. Apparently if you sue for defamation, you are required to take the stand in your own case. If anything, I'm wondering why he's allowed to just give a deposition again. You'd think something like this would require cross examination.

[Paranoid Android]

https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/...390530048?s=20

Thank Donald!!

We was dodgy on this question lately and once more he don't give a shit about abortion rights. He was transactional in that you appoint these judges we get behind you. All Federalists judges he never picked them.

Yet now he is owing the shit out of this. To me the only thing that can maybe save the Dems is having their rights taking away on choice of their body. Having choice as we know by national and state polls that Pro-Choice is very popular. Laws have been shot down and only reason we have laws now is conservatives saying "eff the voters" and passing laws.

Keep running and talking about this Donald. Thanks!

[DarkTZeratul]

Willing to kill babies "even into their 9th month, and beyond"? What the absolute fuck?

[Edge-]

https://www.azcentral.com/story/opin...l/70229275007/

I'll share here since she's a potential VP pick apparently, but Kari Lake's lawsuit over her 2020 election loss is not going well. The court case started today and...yeah -

Kari Lake on Wednesday opened her (second) trial challenging the 2022 election ... with a complete and total fizzle.

Her attorney, Kurt Olsen, told the judge he’d be presenting evidence that Maricopa County didn’t verify the voter signatures on “hundreds of thousands” of early ballots, instead hiring signature reviewers who just went through the motions while the county looked on.

“This isn’t a question of not doing it well enough,” he told judge. “They’re simply not doing signature verification.”

Then Olson called his first witness: A “whistleblower” who proceeded to annihilate Lake’s case.

Jacqueline Onigkeit, who worked as a level one reviewer during last year’s election, spent more than an hour explaining the lengths to which county went to verify signatures -- the weeklong training of workers, the two shifts of level one reviewers, three levels of signature review, the admonition to get it right.

“They (supervisors) told us, ‘You need to be very cautious. You need to pay attention to what you’re doing and remember that whatever you reject or approve, you can be called in to testify,” Onigkeit testified.

As a witness for the defense, Onigkeit was dynamite. The problem is, she was supposed to be the star witness for Lake.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson made it clear what Lake needs to do to win this, her second try at booting Gov. Katie Hobbs out of office.

“The Court can – and does – hold Plaintiff to her counsels’ representation of the scope of her claim at Trial, that no signature verification was conducted,” he wrote, in a ruling issued Tuesday.

No signature verification.

Two hours in and this trial is already over. Or it should be.

Olsen, in his opening statement, told Thompson that signature reviewers were clicking through images of comparison signatures “as fast as they could tap the keyboard.”

As a result, he said, more than 274,000 ballots were approved in less than three seconds each.

Then he showed a video of a guy who appears to be doing just that.

It might have been an impressive visual -- except for the fact that Deputy County Attorney Tom Liddy told the judge the guy was pulled from the job for not doing the job.

That just bolstered the county's case that it was taking signature verification seriously.

As Lake's "whistleblower" bolstered the county's case.

Onigkeit told Thompson that signature reviewers were “bombarded” with ballots the day after the election but that they were repeatedly warned about moving too quickly.

Any signatures they rejected were kicked up to level two reviewers who would sometimes kick them back for a second look. But even then, she said, there was no pressure on level one reviewers to accept those signatures. Meanwhile, there was a third level of people auditing their work.

“I don’t know who worked level 3,” she testified. “I just know we were informed … that we were being audited every day and if we were approving too many signatures or rejecting too many signatures we’d be called into an office and talked to and if it happened again, we’d be let go.”

Onigkeit said she was diligent in doing the work.

“I was very focused on verifying signatures and making sure the signatures matched,” she said.

As blockbusters go, Kari Lake is halfway there.

If you count the “bust” part.

Conservatives suck at this so fuckin much.

[Breccia]

Kari Lake's lawsuit over her 2020 election loss is not going well.

"Oh no! Anyway..." meme goes here.

AZCentral seems to have more than one article on the topic.

The first witness in the opening day of former gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake’s trial, in which the Republican alleges Maricopa County didn’t verify signatures on ballots, was a woman who spent days verifying signatures.

“Your focus was on quality of signatures, not the quantity of signatures, is that correct?” Deputy County Attorney Jack O’Connor asked the woman, Jacqueline Onigkeit, who sat in the witness stand of a wood paneled courtroom in Mesa.

“That is correct,” Onigkeit said.

As a reminder, all of Trump's claims in court have been shut down except...hold on.

(re-reads article)

All of Lake's claims have been shut down except one.

In mid-February, the Arizona Court of Appeals rejected Lake’s assertions, concluding she presented no evidence that voters whose ballots were unreadable by tabulators at polling places were not able to vote.

The state Supreme Court declined March 22 to hear nearly all of Lake’s appeal, saying there was no evidence to support her claim that more than 35,000 ballots were added to vote totals. Earlier this month, the court sanctioned Lake’s lawyers $2,000 for making false statements when saying more than 35,000 ballots had been improperly added to the total count.

And the one that's left shouldn't be, she missed the deadline. She got a second chance she neither earned nor deserves.

[Nymrohd]

Keep running and talking about this Donald. Thanks!

Did he just thank himself?

[Breccia]

Did he just thank himself?

You act like this is the first time. Or even the tenth.

[The Stormbringer]

You act like this is the first time. Or even the tenth.

This probably isn't even the millionth. I'm sure he passed that mark when he was in his 50s.

[Breccia]

CNN reports that--

"Fucking seriously?"

Look, people still go to them with leaks and I think they're trying to crawl out of the hole. Besides, it's an exclusive. CNN reports that Trump knew that "declassify with telepathy" was false.

And a grave many other things.

In a May 16 letter obtained by CNN, acting Archivist Debra Steidel Wall writes to Trump, “The 16 records in question all reflect communications involving close presidential advisers, some of them directed to you personally, concerning whether, why, and how you should declassify certain classified records.”

The 16 presidential records, which were subpoenaed earlier this year, may provide critical evidence establishing the former president’s awareness of the declassification process, a key part of the criminal investigation into Trump’s mishandling of classified documents.

According to the letter, Trump tried to block the special counsel from accessing the 16 records by asserting a claim of “constitutionally based privilege.” But in her letter, Wall rejects that claim, stating that the special counsel’s office has represented that it “is prepared to demonstrate with specificity to a court, why it is likely that the 16 records contain evidence that would be important to the grand jury’s investigation.”

Related Article: Facts First: Fact-checking Trump’s CNN town hall in New Hampshire

Yeah, no, try facts second. You missed the boat on that one, but I appreciate that you're trying to swim.

The special counsel also told the Archives that the evidence is “not practically available from another source.”

The letter goes on to state that the records will be handed over on May 24, 2023 “unless prohibited by an intervening court order.”

A source close to Trump’s legal team told CNN that Trump has received several letters like this from the Archives over the course of the investigation.

Trump’s team may challenge this in court, this person said, but claimed in the past the Archives has handed over documents before the Trump team has had a chance to challenge the release in court.

Jim Trusty, an attorney for Trump in the classified documents case, told CNN that the former president relied on constitutional authority to take the documents to Mar-a-Lago.

“At the end of his presidency, he relied on the constitutional authority as commander-in-chief, which is to take documents and take them to Mar-a-Lago while still president as he was at the time, and to effectively declassify and personalize them,” Trusty told CNN’s Sara Sidner of the former president. “He talked about declassifying them, but he didn’t need to.”

Last year, after the FBI seized classified and top secret documents from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump and his allies claimed that Trump had a “standing order” to declassify documents he took from the Oval Office to the White House residence.

But 18 former top Trump administration officials said they never heard any such order issued during their time working for Trump, telling CNN that the claim was “ludicrous” “ridiculous,” and a “complete fiction.”

In the CNN town hall last week, Trump misrepresented the Presidential Records Act, falsely claiming that--

Man, you can smell the desperation just wafting off CNN. Yes, Trump falsely claimed. Yes, CNN basically sat back and watched it happen.

So, yeah. Trump intentionally stole the documents, that prove he stole the documents. He was informed on how to declassify and just didn't do it. And has since claimed he did everything correctly, despite being specifically and directly told by the people who handle exactly that, no, he didn't.

We've been over the concept of criminal intent plenty of times. First of all, I don't know that it would have mattered in this case. Trump did not pack up those boxes of documents by accident. We know that because his response, when asked nicely to return them and given proof they weren't his, was to hide them and lie about it. This remains in stark contrast to Biden, who basically said "Whoops, I found this under the sofa cushions, sorry about that." He is guilty either way, it might have affected sentencing, tops. And "I didn't read the memos" is as poor an excuse as "I thought the octagonal sign with STOP on it was green". Second of all, Smith now has proof of intent. The FBI has the 16 records that prove Trump knew he couldn't just declassify things with telepathy and then take them.

And everyone knows it.

But former Trump White House lawyer Ty Cobb told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Wednesday that the latest CNN reporting surrounding the National Archives was a sign that Smith was taking steps that could signal he may soon move against Trump.

“I think this is ‘i’ dotting and ‘t’ crossing. I think that this case is ready to go,” Cobb said.

“The simple fact is there is a process … and (Trump) totally ignored that and believes that the mere fact he took them declassifies (the documents). That is not the law.”

"Another CNN article?"

Yeah, and it's crawling slightly faster. Regardless, Ty Cobb going on CNN to say "Trump done fucked up" while twirling that magnificent moustache is proving a point. That knife is more than twisted, it's sprained.

Smith moving against Trump is going to be brutal, but only if it happens. Mueller, Smith, and Garland have all demonstrated restraint and the standard rule about not prosecuting someone who's running, but 2023 isn't really a campaign year. Otherwise, why not just declare you're running for President every Nov 10th and be covered forever?

The NYTimes reports that Georgia may be ready to make its decision by August. This article is extensive. Willis is not fucking around.

Trump declared Sept 2015, so an August indictment would not be against someone effectively running, only someone who declared he was then sat around the house "tweeting" about his governor.

While I've described the Mar-a-Lago raid as the starter's pistol, it could still draw blood -- blanks can hurt or even kill at close range. Trump could be facing Espionage Act charges, but is more likely facing obstruction of justice. And it seems unlikely that any judge other than a Trump cultist will say "the criminal acts Trump committed when thrown out of the White House, cannot be prosecuted when he tries to get back in".

We now know that Trump wasn't just wrong about telepathy, but he knew he was wrong and kept lying about it for years. We now know there's proof of this about to be handed over to Smith. And we know Smith has a timeline. Meanwhile, Trump gains in the polls against people who aren't running, possibly leading to a situation where the GOP's only candidate is hauled off in handcuffs to three different courthouses. Oh, right, he appealled the Carroll decision. Four different courthouses.

Guaranteed? Of course not. But name literally anyone else in the last 100 years trying to get into the WH while facing charges from two states, a special federal prosecutor, and of course the civil sexual assault "conviction".

The Republican Party has spoken up about their priorities. Why it's saving one soon-to-be felon over helping the country is beyond me, but then, I'm not a Trump supporter. Both my brain and my dick still work.