Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Kathranis]

I don't think it actually matters if document even was actually about Iran because the heart of the recording is it shows intent. And boy does it.

Not only intent but he makes the point himself that he didn't declassify them and can't declassify them now that he's not president.

He basically made the prosecution's case for them.

[postman1782]

I don't think it actually matters if document even was actually about Iran because the heart of the recording is it shows intent. And boy does it.

Well, if anything, I bet Jack Smith has already subpoenaed that reporter or the staffer that is on that tape to corroborate that he was showing classified documents. Either way, he is fucked.

[beanman12345]

Trump rants to women's group: 'They want to take away your washing machines and your dryers

"But they want to take it away," the presidential candidate continued. "They want to take away your washing machines and your dryers. They don't want to give you any water for the washing machine. Even though you have so much water, you don't know what the hell to do with it up here. It flows out into the ocean."

Vid: https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1673...400407040?s=20

Haha! This was at a woman's group, of course. Rants about about gas stoves then goes into his washing machine bit. . I'm sure this is some right wing rant about finding a more efficient washing machine that uses less water that has happened before. The best is "you have so much water up here, it flows into the ocean". I believe he said almost the same thing about Colorado river or whatever flowing into the ocean, which I believe this is always Trump doing his "did you know" part which is common sense.

And yet it was Trump who put tariffs on washer/dryer making them way more expensive for people to buy.

Always projection with GQP.

[s_bushido]

Either way, he is fucked.

I hate feeling like this needs an asterisk every time it gets said...

*He would be fucked if our legal system was even remotely equipped to deal with blatant corruption and hyper-partisan hackery.

Maybe I'm just feeling particularly cynical because that recent Legal Eagle video on the topic of sentencing for crimes like this practically ended with "well...the judge can decide to do whatever the hell they want, since these guidelines are basically just recommendations not rules." And we all know who this judge is.

[Captain N]

I hate feeling like this needs an asterisk every time it gets said...

*He would be fucked if our legal system was even remotely equipped to deal with blatant corruption and hyper-partisan hackery.

Not to mention if we actually punished wealthy people for committing crimes the same we we treat every other American. The corruption and the hyper-partisanship is just a feature to an already fucked up system.

[Breccia]

"Even though you have so much water, you don't know what the hell to do with it up here. It flows out into the ocean."

So...that's a mix of his famously poorly aged "tired of winning" and stupidity involving what he thinks is science.

Yep, that's him.

Let's keep this rolling:

1) Trump dismisses latest documents recording: ‘I’m a legitimate person’

I don’t know of any recordings that we should concerned with because I don’t do things wrong. I do things right. I’m a legitimate person

2) Sidney Powell appealed her sanctions for being Trump's lawyer. She lost.

[D]espite the haze of confusion, commotion and chaos counsel intentionally attempted to create by filing this lawsuit, one thing is perfectly clear: Plaintiffs’ attorneys have scorned their oath, flouted the rules and attempted to undermine the integrity of the judiciary along the way. As such, the court is duty-bound to grant the motions for sanctions.

-- the judge

More actions against her are on the way. She might be kraken under the pressure.

3) Trump countersues Carroll for defamation. Near as I can tell, the claim is based on "I was only found liable for sexual assault, not rape."

Now, at this point, we're all familiar with Trump's supporters supporting sexual assault. Some are even posters here who refuse to address the subject when directly and specifically asked, multiple times!

But, we're also all familiar with the four steps of defamation.

To prove prima facie defamation, a plaintiff must show four things: 1) a false statement purporting to be fact; 2) publication or communication of that statement to a third person; 3) fault amounting to at least negligence; and 4) damages, or some harm caused to the reputation of the person or entity who is the subject of the statement.

I don't think Trump will be able to prove damages. His polling numbers have not dropped from being indicted -- being found liable for sexual assault might get his supporters excited, but doesn't seem to have affected his standing or money negatively. Also, Trump will not be able to prove Carroll lied. She said he did in the first case, on the stand, under oath. Nobody else was in the room. Burden of proof is not leaning in his direction, because if it did, Trump would rape it.

4) Trump's own ambassador to Russia went on CNN -- yes, you know where this is going from that lead-in alone.

Jon Huntsman Jr., who served as Washington’s main representative in Moscow between 2017 and 2019, was asked by CNN host Kaitlan Collins on Tuesday for his response to Trump’s assertion about being able to “solve this issue in just one day.” “Well I would begin to laugh out loud but that might embarrass me in front of your viewers,” Huntsman said, suppressing a chuckle. “I just think that’s just nonsense.” He went on to argue that Russia is a “singularly unique state that is tailor-made and molded” to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “autocratic style” and could face “almost unimaginable” consequences if Putin were removed. “So for an American leader to say ‘I can fix this thing in a day’ is absolutely ridiculous and does not comport with reality whatsoever,” Huntsman said.

Once again: Trump chose this person to be his ambassador to Russia.

5) Agent Smith is investigating Bedminster. Stay tuned.

Trump is in a lot of trouble. Juries hate defendants who keep changing their stories, and by my count, Trump has offered at least four different ones for the classified documents he stole. Everything else is just the consequences of his words and actions, stacked like boxes of stolen documents in a Mar-a-Lago bathroom.

[Breccia]

What is a "proffer agreement"?

Cornell Law, my usual go-to, has a lot to say, including:

Under existing federal law evidence of conduct and statements made in compromise negotiations is admissible in subsequent litigation between the parties. The second sentence of Rule 408 as submitted by the Supreme Court proposed to reverse that doctrine in the interest of further promoting non-judicial settlement of disputes. Some agencies of government expressed the view that the Court formulation was likely to impede rather than assist efforts to achieve settlement of disputes. For one thing, it is not always easy to tell when compromise negotiations begin, and informal dealings end. Also, parties dealing with government agencies would be reluctant to furnish factual information at preliminary meetings; they would wait until “compromise negotiations” began and thus hopefully effect an immunity for themselves with respect to the evidence supplied. In light of these considerations, the Committee recast the Rule so that admissions of liability or opinions given during compromise negotiations continue inadmissible, but evidence of unqualified factual assertions is admissible. The latter aspect of the Rule is drafted, however, so as to preserve other possible objections to the introduction of such evidence. The Committee intends no modification of current law whereby a party may protect himself from future use of his statements by couching them in hypothetical conditional form.

Well, that's too dense for me to chew through. Merriam-Webster calls it

a letter setting forth an agreement between a federal prosecutor and a person who is a subject of a criminal investigation stating that the subject will provide information to aid the investigation and that the information provided will not be used against the subject in the criminal proceeding

That might be a bit too simple. Let's split the difference. Here's the NYTimes from yesterday:

A proffer agreement is an understanding between prosecutors and people who are subjects of criminal investigations that can precede a formal cooperation deal. The subjects agree to provide useful information to the government, sometimes to tell their side of events, to stave off potential charges or to avoid testifying under subpoena before a grand jury. In exchange, prosecutors agree not to use those statements against them in future criminal proceedings unless it is determined they were lying.

"Hey Breccia, why are you talking about proffer agreements and citing a recent NYTimes article for no clear reason?"

Rudolph W. Giuliani, who served as former President Donald J. Trump’s personal lawyer, was interviewed last week by federal prosecutors investigating Mr. Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, people familiar with the matter said.

Because that happened.

The voluntary interview, which took place under what is known as a proffer agreement, was a significant development in the election interference investigation led by Jack Smith, the special counsel, and the latest indication that Mr. Smith and his team are actively seeking witnesses who might cooperate in the case.

The session with Mr. Giuliani, the people familiar with it said, touched on some of the most important aspects of the special counsel’s inquiry into the ways that Mr. Trump sought to maintain his grip on power after losing the election to Joseph R. Biden Jr.

Yeah, it goes on from there, I'll get to more in a bit, but...I'm not convinced anyone thinks Giuliani was the mastermind of anything. There's been some debate about whether or not Giuliani was actually Trump's lawyer or not, but there is no doubt he was involved.

"Is this a giant setup to an obvious 'Giuliani is leaking' joke? Because that's both bad and getting old."

No, I have a much worse joke coming. Anyhow, more info:

Prosecutors working for Mr. Smith asked Mr. Giuliani about a plan to create fake slates of pro-Trump electors in key swing states that were actually won by Mr. Biden, one person familiar with the matter said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing criminal investigation. They focused specifically on the role played in that effort by John Eastman, another lawyer who advised Mr. Trump about ways to stay in office after his defeat.

Mr. Giuliani also discussed Sidney Powell, a lawyer who was briefly tied to Mr. Trump’s campaign and who made baseless claims about a cabal of foreign actors hacking into voting machines to steal the election from Mr. Trump, the person said.

Ms. Powell, who was sanctioned by a federal judge for promoting conspiracy theories about the voting machines [EDITOR: See also my previous post on those sanctions being upheld] also took part in a meeting in the Oval Office in December 2020 during which Mr. Trump was presented with a brazen plan — opposed by Mr. Giuliani — to use the military to seize control of voting machines and rerun the election.

So it seems like Giuliani, who again couldn't mastermind ordering a bagel and schmear, is fully aware of his role as middle management and has been given the opportunity to direct blame where it belongs: Trump and the people working directly with Trump. From the looks of the article, he chose the latter.

"Is the worse joke 'let's get kraken'?"

No.

The person said that prosecutors further asked Mr. Giuliani about the scene at the Willard Hotel days before the attack on the Capitol. Mr. Giuliani and a group of close Trump advisers — among them, Mr. Eastman, Mr. Trump’s former chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon and Mr. Trump’s current adviser Boris Epshteyn — had gathered at the hotel, near the White House, to discuss strategies before a violent mob stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, disrupting the certification of Mr. Biden’s victory over Mr. Trump.

The article goes on from there, including that a previous proffer with another different fake election member could have led prosecutors to Giuliani next, discusses things like grand juries, etc.

Look, we all know Trump either is a mafia boss, or acts as if he is. It makes sense for prosecutors going after his many crimes to treat him the way he wants to be treated. His underlings turning on him and/or each other is pretty standard, and the second Giuliani realized he was in the cross-hairs for--

"Was the joke about his hair?"

Okay fuck it, fine, here's the joke: what's the slang term for "proffer agreement"?



"Queen for a day".

[Edge-]

https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/29/inves...ing/index.html

Federal prosecutors arrested three investors on Thursday on insider trading charges related to a deal to take former President Donald Trump’s media business public.

According to the indictment, the three individuals together made more than $22 million in illegal profits in October 2021 by purchasing shares in Digital World Acquisition Corporation after secretly learning about the blank-check firm’s plan to buy Truth Social owner Trump Media & Technology Group.

The value of the securities they purchased went up sharply once the Trump deal was announced, prosecutors say. The defendants and individuals they tipped off then sold their securities for a significant profit, according to prosecutors.

The three men charged in the indictment are Michael Shvartsman, Gerald Shvartsman and Bruce Garelick, who served as a director on Digital World’s board of directors. All three have surrendered to authorities and are expected to appear in federal court in Miami later Thursday, a law enforcement official said.

Boy, who could have ever guessed that DWAC officials might have been doing a little bit of insider trading around the proposed SPAC deal?

How's that going btw, has anyone checked in on it especially in light of reports that Trump is eager to return to Twitter?

[Breccia]

How's that going btw, has anyone checked in on it especially in light of reports that Trump is eager to return to Twitter?

It's been quiet, but with good reason. Wanna guess how much the stock price dropped with your announcement?

It didn't.

DWAC stock price is so low, that it being part of a (highly-predicted) insider trading felony did nothing to its value. It's been forwarding its mail to $13 for months now, with no signs of moving back into its old price.

I've seen only three stories worth noting about Truth Social since May. Well, until this one.

One, that it went up after Trump got indicted.

Two, that pretty much every expert said "that's a knee-jerk reaction, bet against the stock"

And three, the one linked above which I think is the only one I actually cited when it dropped, an article basically saying "hey, remember Truth Social and DWAC? Yeah, nothing's been happening with it, maybe Rumble will make a lower offer knowing DWAC is going to tank".

There has been no movement, and in this context, no movement is bad. DWAC has failed every vote they've had, and are doing nothing but bleeding money while waiting for federal agencies to tear the deal apart. They keep missing required fiscal reports. Like you said, not even Trump wants to be there. I suppose it's possible the deal will still happen, but for the life of me I don't see why it would.

I don't know if Trump will even pretend to fight for the deal. It would not surprise me at all if he sold most of his shares immediately, cashing out like they were NFTs of his face painted over Rambo's body. A lot of people suggested that such was the plan -- Trump put no effort into Truth Social ever, and he needed monehy. If so, this is yet another public Trump failure.

Forbes says the people arrested could get 100 years each. Considering the context of the charges -- being able to illegally sneak in and buy $3 million at $10/share and sell at $90 or $100 per share -- I think the high prison sentences they're facing will be reduced to something more, erm, "rich and white". They'll probably plead out, probably sobbing and begging for mercy on the grounds that they really want all that money.

Then the buyout will continue on its doomed path. Nothing in this story makes the merger more likely to happen, which was "not very likely at all".

[Edge-]

He still worked at Fox? I guess they have plenty of their own welfare cases, still.

[Poopymonster]

Not particularly Trump-related, but it doesn't need its own thread, and I didn't want to revive the Tucker thread... but Geraldo has also gone from Fox.

Not entirely sure why he chose to add a video to this, but he certainly could have done better lol

Nazi Lesbian Biker Nuns and the men who love them, next on Geraldo.
The shit TV that we never wanted, but in hindsight we probably deserve.
I wanna know the "whys" there "wherefores" and "whatdidhesayunderoathinthealmostonebilliondollarcourtcase."

[Edge-]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...ce=reddit_wall

A “standing order” that former President Donald Trump has claimed authorized him to instantly declassify documents removed from the Oval Office could not be found by either the Justice Department or Office of Director of National Intelligence.

The disclosure by the agencies was made in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed last August by Bloomberg News, which sued ODNI and the Justice Department’s national security division for a copy of Trump’s so-called standing order — if one existed.

Trump insisted that he had such a declassification order after the FBI found top secret materials at his Mar-a-Lago home last year. He has since been charged in the case by Special Counsel Jack Smith, making him the first former president to face federal allegations of criminal conduct.

Last month, in a court filing, government attorneys asserted to Bloomberg News that they could neither confirm nor deny whether the agencies had such a document, citing the ongoing criminal investigations against Trump.

Damn, that was super duper unexpected! I thought Trump really pulled a fast one on the whole US government!

[Breccia]

Damn, that was super duper unexpected!

"I created a rule that says I can do whatever I want without paperwork."
"Where is the rule?"
"There's no paperwork. That's the proof I did it."

Unrelated: Trump's attempt to throw out Carroll's defamation suit was rejected. No word on his countersuit, Melania Trump is selling '1776' NFTs she claims will benefit poor children, the--

"Didn't she do that before?"

Um...(shuffles notes)...yes, in Sept 2022 she did NFT Christmas Ornaments. So I guess--

"Hold on a second, those two articles have the same fucking video in them! And they're nine months apart! Even FOX News is just admitting this is recycled content!"

Um...also, Trump seems more and more confused about the situation he finds himself in by the hour.

Trump’s lawyers told him he was on the cusp of a federal indictment in the classified-documents case. But the former president still wanted “my documents” and “my boxes” back, asking some of his lawyers if they could get them from the federal government, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter and two other people briefed on it.

It’s one of many such conversations Trump has had over the past few months, the sources say. In these conversations, Trump also claimed it was “illegal” that he could no longer have the documents seized in the Mar-a-Lago raid. Those materials, Trump insisted, belonged to “me.” Trump has also asked if there are any other possible legal maneuvers or court filings they could try to accomplish this that they hadn’t thought of yet.

[beanman12345]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...ce=reddit_wall



Damn, that was super duper unexpected! I thought Trump really pulled a fast one on the whole US government!

"could not be found," lol I'm just sitting here imagining them actually looking.

[postman1782]

https://nypost.com/2023/06/29/trump-...-serves-china/
https://www.rawstory.com/donald-trump-2662051626/
https://therightscoop.com/uh-oh-repo...lobbying-firm/

You know Trump is fucked when even Rupert Murdoch is allowing this to be posted.

Susie Wiles, works for a Chinese lobbying firm, and Trump's 2024 election campaign. She needs to be arrested or turned to testify against Trump, otherwise, I hope she enjoys jail.

[Shadowferal]

https://nypost.com/2023/06/29/trump-...-serves-china/ https://www.rawstory.com/donald-trump-2662051626/ https://therightscoop.com/uh-oh-repo...lobbying-firm/ You know Trump is fucked when even Rupert Murdoch is allowing this to be posted. Susie Wiles, works for a Chinese lobbying firm, and Trump's 2024 election campaign. She needs to be arrested or turned to testify against Trump, otherwise, I hope she enjoys jail.

Almost smells like treason.
Now if they can nail down any sort of "deliberately..."

[postman1782]

Almost smells like treason.
Now if they can nail down any sort of "deliberately..."

The tape of him showing her classified Iran attack plans, is deliberately.

[Shadowferal]

The tape of him showing her classified Iran attack plans, is deliberately.

But did he know what she was?

[postman1782]

But did he know what she was?

I would hope so, since he hired her. But I guarantee he's a moron and doesn't care.

[Resurgo]

Oh I can't wait to see what piles up...
DoJ prepared for more charges as insider trading scheme uncovered at Trump Media SPAC

Might be related to this...
Might be related to something else...

With everything that's in the works, trump and his lawyers might be looking at over 100 charges before the year is out!