Update from the Sunland
No.1108
3.4.23 – 9.4.23
Blog version: http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/
To all,
The follow-up news items:
-- We crossed the Rubicon last week with the issuance of Indictment-71543-23 dated: 4.April.2023 [1107], by District Attorney Alvin Leonard Bragg Jr. of New York County in the case of New York v. Trump. As required by a negotiated agreement, Trump surrendered, and was arrested and arraigned. He plead not guilty. The indictment was unsealed and made public and lists 34 counts of exactly the same charge for a series of invoices, vouchers, and checks dated 14.February.2017 to 5.December.2017—Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree. Each specified count as a standalone charge is a misdemeanor. These misdemeanors become felonies if they are carried out to support greater felonious crimes. The indictment was accompanied by a Statement of Facts document that detailed the facts behind the charging counts but does not yet articulate the greater crimes, yet those crimes are implied.
The indictment is really thin and bare bones. The indictment document did not indicate what underlying crime Tiny intended to commit that would raise the listed misdemeanor crimes to the felonious level. The Statement of Facts documents clearly establishes ‘probable cause’ but exceeding the ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ threshold may be more problematic. Bragg charged Tiny. Now the prosecutors must convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt to convict him and send him to prison.
This case is complicated by a number of ancillary factors, not least of which are the facts that Bragg’s predecessor and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York declined to charge Tiny based on these facts. Further, Bragg declared publicly during his election campaign that he would charge Tiny leaving a stain of bias that the MAGA bunch are exploiting to full advantage. The indictment does not give me sufficient information to support prosecution for felonious crimes. We must wait for more information to be made public during the Motions and Preliminary Hearing stages, if not the trial itself.
At his arraignment, [the person who shall no longer be named] stated his plea to all 34 counts—not guilty (of course). Presiding judge, acting Justice in the Supreme Court of New York, New York County, Judge Juan Manuel Merchan chose not to issue a gag order and decided to release the defendant on his own recognizance without bail. To my surprise, Judge Merchan allowed the defendant to leave New York and return to Florida (in hopes that he will return for trial). Once again, true to form, [the person who shall no longer be named] chose to taut the presiding judge in New York v. Trump. He was warned at his arraignment to not comment publicly on the prosecutors, the judge, or the proceedings. At his evening grifter speech back at Mar-a-Lago, the BIC did precisely what he was warned not to do. He is virtually demanding the judge take action to issue a ‘gag’ order to a presidential candidate in a political campaign. We shall see how this plays out. The next in-person court appearance for 45POTUS is scheduled for the 4th of December, two months prior to the official beginning of the 2024 presidential election campaign, for the judge to rule on the expected motions in the case.
Although not yet part of the official legal proceedings, I see the seeds of what may become additional charges of fraud, obstruction of justice, witness tampering, tax evasion, and contempt of court.
In closing this particular item for the Update, I offer the following two, interesting and challenging articles.
“Donald Trump’s indicted. But in Kansas, we’ve got a bigger problem with democracy | Opinion”
by Dion Lefler
Kansas City Star
Published: Tue, April 4, 2023 at 2:12 PM MST
https://www.yahoo.com/news/donald-trump-indicted-kansas-ve-211205745.html
The issues illuminated by Lefler are far broader and pervasive than Kansas. We could change the state in question to any other fBICP-controlled state legislature.
and
“Indictment of Donald Trump. He Had It Coming – The indictment of Donald Trump was long overdue. In a constitutional democracy, nobody can stand above the law.”
A Commentary by Roland Nelles
Der Spiegel
Published: 31.03.2023, 10.58 Uhr
From my perspective, the opinions from Kansas and Germany reflect collateral damage done by Tiny in his quest to squeeze the grift for every drop of money he can get from the true believers in his snake-oil elixir. We gotta hand it to the guy, he has found resonance.
I often quote E.J. Montini in this forum since his opinions on things often align with mine. I usually agree with his reasoning and opinion. Here is a Montini opinion with which I categorically, absolutely and emphatically disagree.
“President Joe Biden should pardon Donald Trump – Opinion: I am not naive enough to believe that a pardon would – in any way – begin the process of healing or mend our broken fences. But it's still the right thing to do.”
By E.J. Montini
Arizona Republic
Published: 8:36 a.m. MT April 6, 2023 | Updated 10:59 a.m. MT April 6. 2023
President Ford was dead wrong in 1974, and E.J. Montini is wrong in 2023. A presidential pardon of criminal conduct places political convenience over the rule of law. Yes, I do agree that a president of the United States brought low by prosecution and punishment before the bar of justice is embarrassing, disappointing, regrettable, and otherwise stains the history of this once grand republic. However, those men chose to break the law. No one forced them to do so. Both Nixon and Tiny broke multiple laws. Both presidents undoubtedly believe they were above the law. In Tiny’s case, perhaps he is just ignorant of the law, but common law is well established—ignorance of the law is no excuse {Blackstone: 4-2.27 (1769)} [1055]. We must endure the embarrassment of a former president being brought to justice. Nixon did not deserve the presidential pardon he received. Tiny most assuredly does not deserve a presidential pardon now. I hope, pray, and expect President Biden is strong and wise enough to recognize the reality and the necessity of fulfilling justice for a criminal former president. History, justice, and the rule of law are too bloody important. Presidents should be held to a higher standard of compliance, not a lower one.
Not to be outdone, the Arizona wing of the fBICP continues to press their intention of suppressing, discouraging, alienating, and intimidating voters in the state. Please read:
“Senate passes an(other) election conspiracy bill. We are saved – Opinion: The Arizona Senate passes another bill aimed at countering an election conspiracy that exists only in their fevered imaginations. Now can we move on to real problems?”
by Laurie Roberts
Arizona Republic
Published: 2:16 p.m. MT April 5, 2023 | Updated 1:03 p.m. MT April 6. 2023
As Ms. Roberts noted, “House Bill 2308 would bar the secretary of state from overseeing elections in which he (or she) is on the ballot. Never mind that it’s the counties that actually run elections in Arizona.
“It’s worth noting that this sudden glaring conflict of interest was never a concern when Republican secretaries of state were on the ballot, either running for reelection or for governor.”
Her observation exactly summarizes the reality of what we face across the entire country. That group—the fBICP, the MAGA bunch, and all the other consumers of Tiny’s snake-oil elixir—is dead set on using their waning legislative power to impose their will on anyone and everyone they can . . . while they can. Like ihr Anführer, the law, rules, guidelines, precedent, and history apply to all the other foolish lemmings like you and me; they do not apply to them. Like the Nazis of a bygone era, they are the law. They decide what the law is, and who it applies to. Not them!
It is up to us—We, the People—to overcome the consumers of his snake-oil elixir and vote them all into the oblivion they deserve. We must vote!
In yet another ignoble action by the fBICP, this time in Tennessee, State Representatives Justin Shea Bautista-Jones, 27, of Nashville and Justin J. Pearson, 29, of Memphis, the two youngest members of the Tennessee Legislature, both having dark skin pigmentation, were expelled from the House, with vote tallies of 72-25 and 69-26, respectively, while Representative Gloria Johnson, 60, of Knoxville, a woman with light skin pigmentation, was spared by one vote, with a vote tally of 65-30. What was their offense to deserve expulsion? The answer: those two young bucks and the white woman had the audacity speak out on the House floor for gun control legislation in the wake of the Nashville Covenant School shooting. So much for speech and debate in fBICP-controlled legislatures.
I urge both Jones and Pearson to run in the special election to reclaim their seats in the legislature. The three protesters were not violent. They did not injure anyone. Freedom of speech is freedom of speech; either we have it, or we do not. What the fBICP did to Jones, Pearson, and Johnson was wrong, but they do not care. The law does not apply to the fBICP.
Comments and contributions from Update no.1107:
Comment to the Blog:
“The issue with Israel, as you mentioned, is worldwide. That’s what scares me.
“One symptom of the decline of democracy is winning candidates such as Tuberville. I could add many others to a list of such buffoons.
“I’m more concerned with the legal process around Tiny than people talking about him. Assuming he actually surrenders, will the judge impound his passport? That seems a minimal precaution. A wise judge might deny bail due to the flight risk. Bullies are always cowards.
“Ultimately, election laws matter more than bombast.”
My response to the Blog:
You are not alone. Authoritarian forces are gaining traction in numerous former democracies. Perhaps Putin & Xi are correct.
Spot on, again. The list of those buffoons continues to grow—Santos, Greene, Cruz, Hawley, Gaetz, Jordan, Boebert, Tuberville, Graham, Gosar, Biggs, et al . . . both chambers are infected. A former noble political party is deeply infested. And, We, the People, elected these bozos; what does that say about us?
Once again, you are not alone. I would be surprised if he does not surrender given all the falderal surrounding his movement. We shall know later today. I sure hope the judge impounds his passport and perhaps even his jet. I will be a little surprised if he allows Tiny to leave the state. Would he allow you or me to leave the state if we were charged with the same crimes? Bullies are indeed cowards, and Tiny was the Bully-in-Chief and wants to be again.
Your last statement cannot be overemphasized or overstated. That is also why I try to illuminate these voting suppression laws where we find them. I do not expect AZ SB 1695 to become law since Governor Hobbs will likely veto the bill if it makes it that far to her desk.
My very best wishes to all. Take care of yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Cap :-)
2 comments:
Happy Monday, Cap,
I also see Tiny as a flight risk, but all of this is still “justice delayed is justice denied”. Also, no gag order yet. I agree that the US has a far broader issue than Tiny, and I see it as more important.
Mr. Montini is wrong for exactly the reasons you give.
It’s not only Arizona and Tennessee. It’s all the States, although they’re not getting results in all of them yet.
Have a good day,
Calvin
Good morning to you, Calvin,
I searched for but have not yet found whether Judge Merchan impounded Tiny’s passport. I sure hope he did, but I have found no indication either way. An opinion article speculated whether he would return to New York for the hearings and trial. You are, of course, quite correct . . . “justice delayed is justice denied.” Yes, precisely, Tiny is only a symptom like Nixon, and we must deal with his transgressions in accordance with and to the fullest extent of the law, not so much to punish Tiny and his minions, but for history, for the future. We must never again be asked to endure the abomination of his misbehavior.
Given Montini’s opinions on a wide variety of other topics, I was surprised, if not shocked, to read his opinion advocating for a pardon of [the person who shall no longer be named]. Regardless, these things are not within the sphere of our control.
Quite so. The phenomenon is endemic especially in states dominated (for now) by the fBICP MAGA bunch. We must be ever vigilant, and we must encourage everyone around us to vote.
Have a great day. Take care and enjoy.
Cheers,
Cap
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