Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Breccia]

Eventually they're gonna bankrupt their base if they keep this kind of grift going at this level.

Why? It hasn't caused any problem with ohhhhhhhh you said "base" not "case".

You could make the argument that removing the money from Trump's supporters and giving it to Trump is a solid plan, since they'll find themselves worse and worse off and just choose to blame Biden and the Democrats because they're blinded by hatred and rage. And because the tax cut for the rich didn't help them.

[Edge-]

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/thr...rce=reddit.com

PA county targeted for a Republican "audit" of the 2020 election beefs up security at their courthouse.

Why?

Because as we've seen across the country for the past 9 months, Republicans keep threatening to harm or kill election officials because they don't like how the results turned out.

[solinari6]

Why? It hasn't caused any problem with ohhhhhhhh you said "base" not "case".

You could make the argument that removing the money from Trump's supporters and giving it to Trump is a solid plan, since they'll find themselves worse and worse off and just choose to blame Biden and the Democrats because they're blinded by hatred and rage. And because the tax cut for the rich didn't help them.

I fine with them giving all their money to Trump instead of the RNC. Trump won't share that shit, and the RNC will have less to actually try to get their candidates installed.

[Breccia]

I fine with them giving all their money to Trump instead of the RNC. Trump won't share that shit, and the RNC will have less to actually try to get their candidates installed.

Also, Trump might actually get caught taking political donations and keeping them for himself. The RNC might take Russian NRA money, but at least they mostly spend on their own candidates. Trump is only interested in Trump. Seriously has his campaign spent on any candidate other than Trump? Ever?

[D Luniz]

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/thr...rce=reddit.com

PA county targeted for a Republican "audit" of the 2020 election beefs up security at their courthouse.

Why?

Because as we've seen across the country for the past 9 months, Republicans keep threatening to harm or kill election officials because they don't like how the results turned out.

or f they just refuse to do one of these "audits" because the costs afterward (replacing equipment, lawsuits, etc.) isn't something your average county of 200 acres of farmland to the human, is able to afford

- - - Updated - - -

Also, Trump might actually get caught taking political donations and keeping them for himself. The RNC might take Russian NRA money, but at least they mostly spend on their own candidates. Trump is only interested in Trump. Seriously has his campaign spent on any candidate other than Trump? Ever?

Depends, has he bribed any more GOP AGs with campaign donations when they started sniffing around the Trump org?

[Breccia]

The QAnon Shaman is trying to get a deal for a less serious charge, under the defense that he has all the mental illnesses.

Defense lawyer Albert Watkins said that officials at the federal Bureau of Prisons, or BOP, have diagnosed his client Jacob Chansley with transient schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and anxiety.

We've talked a lot about the Hannity defense, the legal claim that you're so deep into conspiracy theories that...

(checks posts)

Sorry, insanity defense. Well, that one actually has even more history. Remember, if you successfully "plead insanity" which has about the same drop rate as epic mounts (that's why it's called "Invisible") you don't get set free. You go to a mental facililty until you're deemed no longer a threat to yourself and others.

This...appears to be a variant of that. The QAnon Shaman's lawyers know full well that people are getting 1-2 years for a murderous insurrection, but also, couldn't plead insanity without some really hefty stuff that would take more than 1-2 years in a padded cell. So they're trying to split the difference. Perhaps they're holding the Hannity defense SHIT did it again, the insanity defense hostage? "Mr. AG, if you don't take this ridicululously unjust deal we're going to do what the lawyers in Se7en did and it'll somehow work."

Sorry, but this plea deal needs to fail. If the QAnon Shaman really is that completely insane, he should say that under oath with evidence, and get the help the public deserves to protect us from him. If he's not insane, he needs to go to prison. No fence-straddling.

Perhaps @cubby who by now is probably so bored of talking about it he can do it on autopilot, can discuss the merits of "holding the Hannity clause MOTHERFUCKER holding the insanity clause hostage"? Like, will this work on an experienced AG?

[Zan15]

Don't these people have jobs?

must be those people making thousands a day off unemployment Biden benefits...something.....something..... /s

- - - Updated - - -

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...-b1889388.html

Guess how much of the $75M that Trump and company raised to fight election fraud was actually spent on the election fraud lawsuits!

I'll give you time to think.



Did you guess $0? If so, you're a lucky winner! You win the same amount Trump spent so...also $0.

Eventually they're gonna bankrupt their base if they keep this kind of grift going at this level.

When 2024 rolls around and republican fund raisers wonder where all those small donations went and why none of these poor Q's have no more money to give.....

[PhaelixWW]

We've talked a lot about the Hannity defense, the legal claim that you're so deep into conspiracy theories that...

(checks posts)

Sorry, insanity defense.

Meh. Po-tay-to, po-tah-to.

[cubby]

The QAnon Shaman is trying to get a deal for a less serious charge, under the defense that he has all the mental illnesses.



We've talked a lot about the Hannity defense, the legal claim that you're so deep into conspiracy theories that...

(checks posts)

Sorry, insanity defense. Well, that one actually has even more history. Remember, if you successfully "plead insanity" which has about the same drop rate as epic mounts (that's why it's called "Invisible") you don't get set free. You go to a mental facililty until you're deemed no longer a threat to yourself and others.

This...appears to be a variant of that. The QAnon Shaman's lawyers know full well that people are getting 1-2 years for a murderous insurrection, but also, couldn't plead insanity without some really hefty stuff that would take more than 1-2 years in a padded cell. So they're trying to split the difference. Perhaps they're holding the Hannity defense SHIT did it again, the insanity defense hostage? "Mr. AG, if you don't take this ridicululously unjust deal we're going to do what the lawyers in Se7en did and it'll somehow work."

Sorry, but this plea deal needs to fail. If the QAnon Shaman really is that completely insane, he should say that under oath with evidence, and get the help the public deserves to protect us from him. If he's not insane, he needs to go to prison. No fence-straddling.

Perhaps @cubby who by now is probably so bored of talking about it he can do it on autopilot, can discuss the merits of "holding the Hannity clause MOTHERFUCKER holding the insanity clause hostage"? Like, will this work on an experienced AG?

The insanity defense gets a LOT of limelight from television, but it rarely succeeds in a real court of law. I'm not surprised that the QNon Shaman is going for the mental illness defense and begging for a plea deal. And it might actually work, to some extent, especially if he has the financial backing to bring on the top-end defense attorneys and a couple of good psychiatrists.

The mental illness defense is an affirmative defense, meaning you have to assert it and demonstrate it, with the burden of proof falling on the defense to prove (this is separate from the prosecution proving guilt). It essentially works as an admission of guilt, while at the same time not being responsible for the effects, because of an on going and severe mental illness. For federal crimes, the statute reads as follows:

AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE - It is an affirmative defense under any Federal statute that, at the time of the commission of the acts constituting the offense, the defendant, as a result of a severe mental disease or defect, was unable to appreciate the nature and quality or the wrongfulness of his acts. Mental disease or defect does not otherwise constitute a defense.

The standard of proof can vary, with the highest being "beyond a reasonable doubt". The jury essentially gets an extra job by evaluating the "sanity" of the defendant.

So it's going to get VERY complicated, except for the Prosecutors, who know what's going on but can be powerless to stop the process. And we're not even addressing the public outcry and pearl clutching that the GQP will do when the "Dem's prosecute mental illness rather than help those in need".

This is another perfect example of the GQP attacking democracy and then twisting the rules they attacked to keep themselves out of consequences.

[beanman12345]

The insanity defense gets a LOT of limelight from television, but it rarely succeeds in a real court of law. I'm not surprised that the QNon Shaman is going for the mental illness defense and begging for a plea deal. And it might actually work, to some extent, especially if he has the financial backing to bring on the top-end defense attorneys and a couple of good psychiatrists.

The mental illness defense is an affirmative defense, meaning you have to assert it and demonstrate it, with the burden of proof falling on the defense to prove (this is separate from the prosecution proving guilt). It essentially works as an admission of guilt, while at the same time not being responsible for the effects, because of an on going and severe mental illness. For federal crimes, the statute reads as follows:

The standard of proof can vary, with the highest being "beyond a reasonable doubt". The jury essentially gets an extra job by evaluating the "sanity" of the defendant.

So it's going to get VERY complicated, except for the Prosecutors, who know what's going on but can be powerless to stop the process. And we're not even addressing the public outcry and pearl clutching that the GQP will do when the "Dem's prosecute mental illness rather than help those in need".

This is another perfect example of the GQP attacking democracy and then twisting the rules they attacked to keep themselves out of consequences.

It also means he won't just walk free, that he'll just go to a high security mental hospital, and depending on which he goes to, might or might not be worse than an actual prison, and actually possibly for longer than an actual prison.

[Ursus]

https://apnews.com/article/barrack-t...a7c463198a5b0b


Yo, was anybody working for Trump not an unregistered foreign agent?

Update on this guy, he's reached a deal with prosecutors (the same prosecutors who before deemed him a flight risk) to release him from jail on a $250 million bond (secured by $5 million in cash) while he's awaiting trial.

Being rich has some nice perks.

[solinari6]

Update on this guy, he's reached a deal with prosecutors (the same prosecutors who before deemed him a flight risk) to release him from jail on a $250 million bond (secured by $5 million in cash) while he's awaiting trial.

Being rich has some nice perks.

At least he's getting an ankle bracelet and being monitored though. so PROBABLY won't be able to escape the country.

[beanman12345]

At least he's getting an ankle bracelet and being monitored though. so PROBABLY won't be able to escape the country.

We'll see if UAE risks it for this guy. I'm guessing they won't, but who knows in this day and age.

[Edge-]

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-...ambit-n1274846

Republicans once again give up the game, this time on forensic audits. Texas has proposed new legislation to allow the governor, Lt. governor or the House Speaker to choose a third party for an audit. The bill limits how many counties can be audited to the 13 biggest counties with populations all over 415K.

Also know as the "primarily Democratic" counties. Why stop at 13? Because the 14-20th largest counties all voted for Trump. Curious.

When the author of the bill was asked about a statewide audit, he argued it was too time consuming and expensive and drooped this gem -

"What's the point? I mean, all the small counties are red."

Ah yes, they're not a concern because they're red. Why is the Republican color red again? That sounds a lot like communism to me!

[bladeXcrasher]

My pillow guy finally produced the fraud evidence, lol.

[Elegiac]

My pillow guy finally produced the fraud evidence, lol.

Top comment:

Britney Spears can't eat food, use the restroom or ovulate without petitioning the court. Yet Mike Lindell gets to continue running his company and going on any medium that can stomach him, and he gets to start his own "TV" channel.

Fair enough.

We live in a society.

[Breccia]

My pillow guy finally produced the fraud evidence, lol.

So...someone showed him a rolling scroll of random-ass numbers and said "this is the proof of fraud"

Well.

1) Why hasn't this been turned over to a court of law yet?
2) It's going to be very hard to disprove...that, because it's random garbage, so that $5 million is probably safe.
3) If this was true, wouldn't he be revealing voter info live and on the air? Yeah it'd be hacked info, but it'd still need to tie a vote to a name.
4) I know computer code maybe 2/10 up to 3/10 if it happens to be an older language. Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaybe if I had a clear stillshot, I could at least identify what he's showing. I can't do that. I am having trouble finding an in-focus screentshot to actually read that. MR is showing a copy of a copy and it's too blurry to use. Apparently, I'm not alone. This was as big as I could blow it up and I found multiple sites saying it was too blurry, some claiming that was the point, since it's useless garbage.
5) Near as I can tell, Brannon Howe Live is Mike Lindell's own website. It is not a real TV show or a real YouTube channel. He has a site, but I'm not giving him the dignity of a link. YouTube already pulled down pretty much everything he touched, so if this was posted there, it'd be reported and removed.

This is...this is beyond sad. This is through pathetic and halfway out the other side. Dominion is watching this right now and saying "we are going to win that court case, this fuckwit is submitting evidence against him directly to the public".

[Edge-]

https://twitter.com/RepSwalwell/stat...10612759171072

After having smeared the wife of Rep. Eric Swalwell and caused her to be the target of harassment and death threats, Tucker Carlson is apparently very upset that Eric Swalwell will will not pick up the phone or return his calls.

And I guess thinks further insulting Swalwell is the best tactic to get him to pick up the phone.

[Breccia]

FOX News slams NSA for spying on Carlson and leaking the info.

"Whoa! The NSA admitted it?"

No. A group called The Record --

"...the newspaper out of Hackensack, NJ?"

No. The Record is also known as therecord.media and apparently is some kind of cybersecurity site. They're not very popular -- Media Bias Fact Check, for example, hasn't heard of them.

Anyhow, this The Record group, whoever they are, claims they have --

"What's with this 'claimed' business? I thought you liked unnamed sources."

Look, I trust that even FOX News would think twice about making up a source out of thin air. (Maybe individual hosts might, but not the business that could get sued or shut down for doing that) I don't know who The Record is, so yes, I'm being skeptical. If some random person here said "I'm an award-winning physicist" I'd find that suspicious, too. It's not like The Record is claiming they have the world's best turkey no-beans chili, they're claiming they have NSA sources. There's a difference.

Anyhow, FOX News is choosing to take them seriously, despite previous FOX News hosts saying anonymous sources were fake. Here's one from May, for fuck's sake. So they're being hypocrites too. And while I'm a random nameless asshole, they're at least claiming to be news. Their hypocrisy is part of the story.

But FOX News chose to believe them when they said

An examination by the spy agency, prompted by congressional inquiries, found that the Fox News host’s communications were not targeted — as the NSA has previously stated publicly — nor intercepted through so-called “incidental collection,” where the U.S. government sometimes obtains the emails or phone calls of Americans in contact with a foreign target under surveillance, according to these people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Correspondence between intelligence agencies and oversight authorities are conducted through classified means.

Instead, the nation’s top electronic spy agency found that Carlson was mentioned in communications between third parties and his name was subsequently revealed through “unmasking,” a process in which relevant government officials can request the identities of American citizens in intelligence reports to be divulged provided there is an official reason, such as helping them make sense of the intelligence documents they are reviewing.

"So even FOX News isn't buying that Carlson was spied on."

Well, by this criticism and by their citing of that article, they are no longer allowed to push that angle.

"So because The Record has barely any info at all -- and none that backs up Carlson -- for all we know, even if these sources really are honest NSA agents, they could have heard one Russian spy telling another Russian spy that they watched Carlson last night."

Yes.

"What did FOX News say about Trump going after journalists' personal info?"

To be fair, they weren't a fan of that. But, yes, FOX News is still feigning outrage over little to nothing, and also, have now admitted Carlson wasn't spied upon.

[Benggaul]

Friday's report:

67,485 new cases; over 24k more than last Friday.

Top 5:

Fucked Florida (over 13k according to worldometers).
California: 9,506 new cases; 46 deaths
Texas: 7,019 new cases; 54 deaths
Louisiana: 3,127 new cases; 11 deaths
Missouri: 2,865 new cases; still not reporting deaths

Florida continues cementing their reputation. The rest of the nation also continues dealing with an influx of new cases mostly among the unvaccinated. New England remains the most vaccinated region of the country and, incidentally, is seeing way fewer new cases per capita in general. New York, for example, is the 4th most populous state in the country but is behind states like Louisiana, Georgia and Missouri in terms of new cases. 13 states--primarily in the South--are now listed as "High" risk. 12 states have higher than 10% positivity and, again, they're primarily the South with the lowest vaccination rates. California's positivity rate of 4.1% is definitely higher than it was mere days ago, but still puts them above average in the nation as a whole. Most of their woes are coming, as per usual, from the population density (and, despite the fact the state always goes Blue, huge number of GQP/Trumpers/anti-vaxx/anti-mask dipshits).

428 deaths is well over 100 more than last Friday and brings the total to 626,658. We're still a far cry from the thousands dead per day we were seeing at the start of the year and I remain optimistic we can avoid getting that high again. Florida posted a death total of 148, nearly 3 times as many as 2nd highest Texas with 54. DeathSantis might start worrying about his 2024 hopes if he keeps killing off the people most likely to vote for him.

Related news:

Family says conservative radio host has changed his tune on vaccines after he was hospitalized with Covid-19--Gosh it sure is amazing how many cult members are flip-flopping on vaccinations lately. This isn't anything new. We've posted articles about Trumpers on their deathbeds begging for the vaccine and being told it's too late. Some of them will learn from their mistakes; others will never be able to.

St. Louis requires masks for everyone amid rising Covid-19 cases--Considering Missouri has been spiking for, what, at least a month now? Good for them for doing it eventually, I guess, but this is more a case of "too little, too late" than "better late than never".

Alabama's GOP Gov. Kay Ivey draws fire after saying it's 'time to start blaming the unvaccinated' for her state's COVID spike--She is once again citing the "common sense" defense here after failing to protect her constituents. A person can be smart; "people" are by and large blithering idiots en masse (see: Trump rallies).

Stay safe, folks.