Update no.1133

 Update from the Sunland

No.1133

25.9.23 – 1.10.23

Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

 

To all,

 

ERRATUM:

I misspoke in Update no.1132. The asteroid Adophis is NOT in the asteroid belt. The astronomical object is in a shifting orbit around the sun at roughly the same distance as Earth. OSIRIS-REx-APEX spacecraft is on a flight profile to intercept the asteroid Apophis four months after its close encounter with Earth on Friday, 13.April.2029.

Also, I further misspoke regarding the Menendez indictment 23-cr-00490 (2023) [1132]. Bob Menendez was NOT found not guilty, acquitted or exonerated in the 2016 trial as he claims today {see: United States v. Menendez [USDC NJ case 1:15-cr-00155 (2015)]}. The judge declared a mistrial due to a hung jury, which is a long way from acquittal. It only takes only one juror to stand in the way of conviction beyond a reasonable doubt. We shall see how this coming trial goes.

 

The follow-up news items:

-- The New York business fraud case—New York v. Trump, et al [NYSCEF Index No. 452564/2022] [1080]—against [the person who shall no longer be named] and his children is now scheduled to begin on Monday after a couple of judicial setbacks for the family and organization. The appeals court temporary stay was lifted allowing the trial to proceed. Far worse, Judge Arthur F. Engoron of the New York Supreme Court 1^st Judicial District, the trial judge in the New York case issued a serious ruling on pretrial motions denying the defendants’ motion for summary judgment. Judge Engoron also went through a broad summary of the evidence and ordered the trial to proceed and confiscated the business certificates on three of his major New York County properties, with those properties being placed in receivership pending the outcome of the trial. Worse for you know who, the judge observed that [the person who shall no longer be named] and his organization had likely overvalued his New York County properties [listed defendants] by US$2.2B, thus defrauding banks and insurance companies. Judge Engoron declared that the organization valuation construct was “a fantasy world, not the real world.” Fantasy world, indeed! The judge’s sanctioning of the legal team is small compared to their fees, but significant nonetheless.

I reviewed the original indictment in Update no.1080. It is important to note an important missing defendant in Judge Engoron’s recent order. The defendants in the judge’s Thursday order are:

-- Donald J. Trump, 

-- Donald Trump Jr, 

-- Eric Trump,

-- Allen Weisselberg [tried, convicted, and imprisoned for three months for tax evasion; released in April (for now)], 

-- Jeffrey McConney, 

-- The Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, 

-- The Trump Organization, Inc., 

-- Trump Organization LLC, 

-- DJT Holdings LLC, 

-- DJT Holdings Managing Member,

-- Trump Endeavor 12 LLC, 

-- 401 North Wabash Venture LLC, 

-- Trump Old Post Office LLC, 

-- 40 Wall Street LLC, 

-- Seven Springs LLC,

Of particular note, Ivana Marie ‘Ivanka’ Trump has been removed from the latest order [1080], which may suggest she has made a separate deal with the prosecutors to presumably testify against the other defendants; if true, that would be a very interesting twist in this sordid story.

Based on the contents of Judge Engoron’s order, this trial does not bode well for [the person who shall no longer be named] and his progeny (less his once favorite daughter). I suspect this trial will not take long given the mass of evidence in the prosecutor’s hands.

Just a simple reminder, the New York case is a civil (not criminal) case. While there may be significant penalties impose, e.g., confiscation of the properties and fines, prison time is not likely.

-- On Friday, the first of the 19 defendants in the Georgia election interference case—Georgia v. Trump {+18 others}[GA FCSpC 23SC188947 (2023)] [1127]—changed his plea. Scott Graham Hall changed his plea to “Guilty,” and reportedly agreed to testify against the other defendants in the case. There will likely be more as the reality of prison sinks in. One legal expert expects half of the defendants to cop a plea to avoid prison or to reduce their potential prison time.

 

I must note here that despite the vice walls of justice continuing to inexorably close in on [the person who shall no longer be named] and his paper, smoke & mirrors ‘empire,’ his prophetic statement of 23.January.2016, is still surprisingly holding true. “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters, OK? It's, like, incredible.” [1112] It is looking more and more likely that he will eventually become a convicted felon, but that is ‘no-never-mind’ to those who have bought and swallowed his worthless snake-oil elixir. He has bilked his believers into giving him millions of dollars, and he is such an accomplished grifter, those believers continue to gladly give him more money. According to nearly all polls, the conman holds onto a substantial lead over all his primary contenders. As each day passes, it looks more and more likely that he will win the Republican nomination. If so, the next salient question is how many of the rest of us will vote in the general election next year? He is not the nominee, yet, and whether he can win in a general election is yet to be determined.

 

After all the drama of the last few weeks and consistent with the factionalism gripping this country’s political system, Congress waited until the last possible minute to keep the federal government working. It took that long for Speaker McCarthy to give up on his Freedom Caucus tormentors, compromise with Democrats, and agree to at least a continuing resolution. On Saturday, Congress passed and the president signed the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2024 and Other Extensions Act that extends the funding for federal agencies at the levels provided in PL 117-328, signed into law on 29.December.2022. The new law extends funding 45 days, to 17.November.2023. So, Congress kicked the can down the road a little. The appropriations crisis has not been averted; it has only been postponed. I want to think positive, but mixed in with all the necessary appropriations work, the MAGA bunch led for the moment by Representative ‘Matt’ Gaetz of Florida is threatening to oust Speaker McCarthy, the impeachment investigation of President Biden, and the myriad legal troubles of the former president. So, the next month and a half are quite likely to be very rocky and confusing.

Of course, as with every compromise, you win some, you lose some. The continuing resolution does not include further funding to support Ukraine in their defense of their country nor the Border Patrol. Those appropriations will be dealt with in subsequent legislation, so they say. Thus, we get a less than six-week reprieve on this obscenity of abuse, but another round is coming and likely to be more complicated before we get anything resembling proper appropriations. These are the times in which we live—a handful of far-right radicals hold the entire system hostage.

While Congress struggled to get the continuing resolution done on Saturday, Representative Jamaal Anthony Bowman of New York, a Democrat, decided to pull a fire alarm in the Capitol building. He claims it was by accident. It is not clear why he would do so, since he wound up voting for the continuing resolution. Why delay the vote? But, I highly doubt his explanation. All fire alarms, even in the Capitol building, are fire-engine red with FIRE in big bold letters.

All the shenanigans and drama aside, at least we have a six-week reprieve before we do this again.

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1132:

Comment to the Blog:

“I gladly note the safe return of the Sample Return Capsule from OSIRIS-Rex. As with most great achievements, less drama makes for more success.

“Our national well-being has fallen into the hands of a few power-mad radicals. How sad.

“I agree that our generation needs retirement. We’ve done more harm than good.

“Senator Menendez’s crimes are better documented and more serious legally than Al Franken’s offenses were, but Menendez is a far better tool for the Democratic National Committee, so he doesn’t get pushed out so readily. I’ll state that Menendez was not acquitted in his last trial; that was a hung jury. Not the same.

“I have a practical, rather than moral, take on your British friend’s question. ‘Is the human race really fit to live on this beautiful green planet?’ We shall see. Evolution applies to us as well as others.”

My response to the Blog:

Good point. There was very little drama with the OSIRIS-REx mission beyond the sheer magnitude of the accomplishment. I look forward to reading more about what they found on Bennu.

How sad, indeed! The surviving Republicans can break the grip those far-right radicals have on the party by working with and finding compromise with the Democrats and Independents. The MAGA bunch must be returned to their marginalized status; they have always been present in American society, but they have far too much (disproportionate) influence today because of the structure of our political system and tribalism that has consumed our politics for the last few decades.

Yes, we have . . . far more damage than good. Let us move on.

Franken was never indicted, and the details in the 23-cr-00490 indictment against Menendez are very well documented and compelling. I am not so sure of your DNC tool claim, but perhaps we will learn more in the judicial process. Yes, you are quite correct; Menendez was NOT acquitted at trial. I misspoke. It was indeed a hung jury, and the prosecution chose not to re-try Menendez; a hung jury is definitely not acquittal.

Good point. Evolution applies to us all. Future generations shall make that judgment, but the likes of Gaetz, Biggs, Gosar, Greene, Boepert, et al, do not bode well for the species.

 . . . Round two:

“I follow sexual harassment/assault/abuse issues closely, so I noted when Al Franken was so unceremoniously removed almost instantly upon being accused. I’d already noticed that Franken was well to the left of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Apparently, so had they. Menendez, meanwhile, has played along and became the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Apparently, the DNC is less interested in his criminal corruption than they were in Franken being accused (not indicted or investigated) of sexual harassment.”

 . . . my response to round two:

First, from the public evidence I have seen, I think Franken was railroaded into a raw deal; he was not given due process. That said, I also think there are a whole lot of assumptions behind your statement that cannot be substantiated without comprehensive investigation and due process in a court of law. Franken may have been denied justice, and Menendez may have escaped justice in his 2016 trial for corruption; however, reading the current indictment, I suspect he will not be so lucky this time around. We shall see.

 . . . Round three:

“Feel free to do the research, Cap. I can't support my point to an academic standard without doing so, but I'm reasonably sure I remember Franken's fall clearly. Menendez escaped not only legal justice in 2016 but also the usual consequences levied by Congress and other social institutions. Franken didn't. We shall see what happens next.”

 . . . my response to round three:

I see insufficient evidence to justify diverting my available capacity from my other writing. In this situation, I cannot support my intellectual position to an academic standard either. Yes, we shall see what happens next, but from what I have seen so far, Menendez is not likely to escape this one . . . and rightly so.

 

Another contribution:

“Cap-good day once again. How right you are none of us wish to think we’re getting older but my God we are and it cannot be denied. However comma-that will not stop me settling down after dinner with a glass of something and reading the Blog. And then the unwanted slumbering sensation will persevere! But not until bedtime will it be successful.”

My reply:

Whatever you chose to do last night, I trust you enjoyed yourself with the pleasures of life as well as a refreshing sleep.

Yes, indeedie. Autumn is here. The seasonal change is another sign of progress.

 

My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)