CNN: The Source With Kaitlan Collins: ‘John Dean Reacts To Donald Trump Asking SCOTUS To Weigh In On Immunity Ruling’

Posted on February 13, 2024 by FredSchneiderUS

CNN: John Dean Reacts to Donald Trump Asking SCOTUS To Weigh in On Immunity RulingSource:CNN– former Richard Nixon White House Counsel John Dean, talking about Defendant Don.

Source:The New Democrat

“Former Nixon White House counsel John Dean reacts to former President Donald Trump asking the Supreme Court to step into the dispute over whether he may claim immunity from prosecution.”

From CNN

“Nixon v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 731 (1982), was a US Supreme Court case that dealt with immunity from prosecution of government officials performing discretionary functions when their actions did not violate clearly-established law.

Arthur Ernest Fitzgerald filed a lawsuit against government officials that he had lost his position as a contractor for the US Air Force because of testimony made before Congress in 1968.[2] Among the people listed in the lawsuit was ex-President Richard Nixon, who argued that a president cannot be sued for actions taken while he is in office.[3]

The trial court and the appellate court rejected Nixon’s claim of immunity. The case was then appealed to the Supreme Court.

In a 5–4 decision, the Court ruled that the President is entitled to absolute immunity from legal liability for civil damages based on his official acts. The Court, however, emphasized that the President is not immune from criminal charges stemming from his official or unofficial acts while he is in office.[5]

The Court noted that a grant of absolute immunity to the President would not leave him with unfettered power. It stated that there were formal and informal checks on presidential action that did not apply with equal force to other executive officials.[6]

The Court observed that the President was subjected to constant scrutiny by the press and noted that vigilant oversight by Congress would also serve to deter presidential abuses of office and to make the threat of impeachment credible. It determined that other incentives to avoid presidential misconduct existed, including the desire to earn re-election, the need to maintain prestige as an element of presidential influence, and the traditional concern for his historical stature.[7]

The decision was clarified by Clinton v. Jones, in which the Court held that a President is subject to civil suits for actions committed before he assumes the presidency.”

From Wikipedia

With all due respect to Donald Trump’s Washington lawyers: they’re referencing the wrong case here and it’s not going to help them. The Supreme Court back in 1982 ruled that President’s are immune from prosecution and civil liability, from their official acts as President. They can’t be sued or prosecuted because of executive orders that they sign, treaties and trade deals that they sign, budgets that they propose, etc.

But Donald Trump is not being prosecuted for official actions that he took as President of the United States. He’s being prosecuted for alleged criminal actions that he took as candidate for reelection as President of the United States. Doing your job as President of the United States and campaigning for the presidency, are two different things.

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Jesse Dollemore: ‘CONFUSED DONALD TRUMP Accuses Taylor Swift of PERSONAL DISLOYALTY After Taking Credit for Her Success!!!’

Posted on February 12, 2024 by kireschneider

Jesse Dollemore: CONFUSED DONALD TRUMP Accuses Taylor Swift of PERSONAL DISLOYALTY After Taking Credit for Her Success!!!Source:Jesse Dollemore talking about Donald J. Trump’s obsession with Taylor Swift. Perhaps I don’t have to introduce Taylor Swift to anyone. I like to think my audience is not primarily comatose patients.

Source:The New Democrat

“Jesse talks about a bizarre yet typical post from Donald Trump about Taylor Swift on Truth Social in which he took credit for her wealth and success and also alleged her disloyalty to him if she indeed ends up supporting Joe Biden in the 2024 election.”

From Jesse Dollemore

Just to take Donald Trump’s Truth Social post first: Taylor Swift, Donald Trump called. He wants his money back that he says you owe him for your career. He needs that money to pay his legal bills and have money to spend, after he’s bankrupt in New York.

As far as MAGA freaking out over Taylor Swift: I get why they’re doing that, which I’ll explain later. But think about it, she everything that MAGA says they’re in favor of and support:

Taylor Swift represents everything that MAGA (which again actually stands for Mass Army of Gigantic Assholes) claims to be in favor. She represents everything that they are and the so-called real Americans, racially, ethnically, religiously, culturally, and regionally:

Taylor Swift is an Anglo-Saxon European-American.

Taylor Swift is Protestant.

She’s from small town Pennsylvania and grew up in small town Tennessee. Taylor Swift is even a country singer.

Her parents are college educated and white-collar and earn a good living. But from the part of America, the so-called real America, that MAGA (which again is actually Mass Army of Gigantic Assholes) claims to be in favor of and who claim that’s the America that we’re losing and those are the Americans who will take back America.

Now to get to why MAGA actually hates Taylor Swift, even though again, she represents everything that they claim to be in favor of, the so-called forgotten Americans, the so-called silent majority, (to quote Richard Nixon) she’s not one of them politically.

Taylor represents the New America, which is a diverse America, an America that celebrates diversity at all levels and all kinds. An America that loves individual freedom, both economic and personal, that loves individualism and creativity. And, she also doesn’t love their cult leader Donald Trump. But more to the point: they’re freaking out about Taylor Swift with all her popularity, endorsing President Joe Biden, which they believe would cost their cult leader the presidency, again.

And the best thing that Jesse Dollemore said here is: don’t be loyal to people who don’t owe you anything. That says it perfectly.

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Real Time With Bill Maher: ‘New Rule: America, Love It Or Leave It’

Posted on February 12, 2024 by FredSchneiderUS

Real Time With Bill Maher: New Rule_ America, Love It Or Leave It _ Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)Source:Real Time With Bill Maher telling American leftists to grow up.

Source:The New Democrat

“America has big problems, but it doesn’t need quitters; it needs people who’ll stay and fix it.”

From Real Time With Bill Maher

I’ll take these Bill Maher stories one at a time.

The so-called Progressive whose running for the state House of Representatives in New Hampshire:

She said she needs to “get the fuck out of this country” (meaning America) even though she’s running for the state House of Representatives in New Hampshire. I guess she plans on campaigning and governing for New Hampshire, from Canada or oversees. I guess she would be an exiled state representative from New Hampshire.

I think her video and story speaks for itself. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. You don’t try to run for office in a country that you say, “you need to get the fuck out of” just like you don’t fly to Hawaii, to take your vacation in Puerto Rico. (Unless the pilot of your plane is blind, drunk, and high, all at the same time) You don’t drink beer, to give up alcohol. You don’t smoke pot to give up cigarettes. If America is the hellhole (to keep it clean) as you say it is, why are you saying you need to “get the fuck out of here” while you are running for office here? Are you on the run from the law and hope to get elected to something, so you can pardon yourself? Perhaps you read Donald Trump’s book on how to stay out of jail.

As far as Donald Trump saying that he’s committing a huge sacrifice by running for President of the United States: “hard to write that without laughing” If he moved to France tomorrow, which is a country that seems to think is better than America, millions of Americans would volunteer to pack his bags for him and give him a kick on the ass as he boards his plane to leave America for France. Not only that, but the Federal charges would be dismissed, just as long as he doesn’t run for President again and doesn’t come back.

But come on, most of the times that Donald Trump speaks about anything, especially relating to himself, he doesn’t even believe what he’s saying. The only reason he’s running for President again, is to stay out of prison. That’s literally the only reason why he’s running for President again. Along with locking up anyone whose ever worked against him the last 8 years.

And as far as the so-called left-wing or liberal celebrities who claim that America sucks so much and they’ll move, if Donald Trump is elected President again:

there’s no other place in the world where they would have it better than America. No other country where they would be as free, as rich, where the market for their brand of entertainment (if you want to call it entertainment) would be as big, as wealthy, as loyal to them, as America. And of course they already know all of this.

But when you are a professional celebrity, whether it’s Miley Cyrus, George Lopez, Alec Baldwin, or anyone else, it’s your personal popularity and your brand that you care about the most. And talking like a whacked-out, hate America leftist, sounds cool to young Americans. Even if no one actually believes you when you say anything. It’s sounding and looking cool, style over substance, is what counts in the world of pop and celebrity culture, including politics and social media. Not what you actually believe and who you actually are.

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Michael Popok: ‘Donald Trump’s Lawyers Instantly WALK INTO Judge’s TRAP’

Posted on February 9, 2024 by kireschneider

Meidas Touch: Donald Trump’s Lawyers Instantly WALK INTO Judge’s TRAPSource:Meidas Touch– with a look at New York State Judge Arthur Engoron & perhaps Trump University law graduate Alina Habba.

Source:The New Democrat

“Alina Habba and her co counsel are teetering on the edge of an ethics charge and bar license complaint by Judge Engoron and their communication with the judge have only made matters worse. Michael Popok of Legal AF explains how Judge Engoron laid an ethical trap for Habba about allowing a lying witness and defendant in the NY Civil fraud case against Trump to take the stand, and how Habba stepped into it with both legs.”

From the Meidas Touch

As I wrote about Alina Habba back in November:

“Alina Habba is not really a trial lawyer. She can barely afford to do whatever she does as a lawyer right now. She’s more of a public relations lawyer, if anything at all, who makes her living trying her client’s cases on TV and on social media. But she’s officially Donald Trump’s civil lawyer right now because she’s about the best of what’s left to try to defend him, because of his own financial situation and all the evidence that’s against him right now, in multiple cases.

Perhaps one of the reasons right now that Alina Habba owes millions of dollars, is because her own client is not paying her. But she’s trying to work for him anyway, perhaps banking on the fact that defending a former President of the United States, would lead to clients who can and would pay her very well for her legal advice and actions in the future. But that career strategy is obviously not working out for her right now.”

From The New Democrat

Would it surprise me if Donald Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba put a perjurer on the witness stand, whether it is Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg or anyone else? Of course not. The only question is did she knowingly do that, or did she not even bother to do her homework when it came to her own damn witness’s testimony.

Alina Habba has already lost motions because she didn’t bother to read cases that she was referencing to help her client Donald Trump. As well as lose appeals because she didn’t even meet the deadline as far as when her appeal was supposed to be filed.

When it comes to Alina Habba, we’re not talking about William Kunstler or even Alan Dershowitz, when it comes to professional, high-caliber, high-end, trial lawyers in America. Not even Perry Mason, who of course is perhaps the most famous fictional trial lawyer in American history. Alina Habba like I mentioned a few weeks ago:

“Imagine you are watching some soap opera in the afternoon. Perhaps you are too sick to work that day and perhaps you are just vegging out on the couch or something, perhaps trying to watch the TV shows you simply don’t watch on a regular basis, or don’t have time to watch.

So after flipping around for a while, you find a soap opera and in that episode, the star of that show is on trial for their life. And Alina Habba is playing the defense lawyer and because it’s a soap opera, you see all of her courtroom antics and the judge whose trying to look like a professional lawyer (even on a soap opera) simply not having it and putting Alina in her place every time she pulls some courtroom stunt.

Or, imagine one of those trash/made up TV episodes (also known as reality TV) and this time one of the stars of the show is on trial for their life and the judge whose perhaps looking for fame themselves (perhaps a Lance Ito admirer) for some freakin reason, decides not to just allow cameras in their courtroom, but this so-called reality TV show to not just film in the courtroom, but to film their show in the courtroom. And Alina again playing the defense lawyer, because she not just has a guilty client, but she’s simply not a qualified, credible, defense trial lawyer, is playing the same games, even with the judge calling her out every time and putting her back in her place.

That’s the kind of lawyer Alina Habba is. If she didn’t have a legal license, she would be one of the best soap and so-called reality TV stars of the last 25 years. She has no business defending someone who actually needs quality, legal, counsel, right now, for the simple reasons that Donald Trump is literally fighting for his freedom and financial security right now and is obviously guilty of what he’s being charged with in every case that he’s facing.”

From The New Democrat 

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Michael Smerconish: Robert Hur On President Joe Biden

Posted on February 9, 2024 by FredSchneiderUS

Michael Smerconish: Elderly Man With Poor MemorySource:Michael Smerconish talking about Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report on President Joe Biden.

Source:The New Democrat

“Elderly man with poor memory”

From Michael Smerconish

“Special counsel Hur’s report found Biden “willfully” retained and shared classified materials on military and foreign policy in Afghanistan as a private citizen, but criminal charges were not warranted.”

From Michael Smerconish

“Robert Kyoung Hur (born 1973)[2] is an American lawyer who served as the United States Attorney for the District of Maryland from 2018 to 2021. Previously, he also served as the Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General with the U.S. Department of Justice.”

After law school, Hur was a law clerk for Judge Alex Kozinski of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 2001 to 2002, then for Chief Justice William Rehnquist of the Supreme Court from 2002 to 2003.[2]

He then served as Special Assistant and Counsel to Christopher A. Wray, then Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. From 2007 to 2014, he served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Maryland, where he prosecuted gang violence, drug trafficking and firearms offenses, and white-collar crimes. He was formerly a partner with King & Spalding in Washington, D.C., where his practice focused on government investigations and complex litigation.

Hur rejoined the Department of Justice as Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General, a top aide to Rod Rosenstein after Rosenstein became Deputy Attorney General. He was a liaison to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.[5]

On November 1, 2017, Hur was nominated by President Donald Trump to be the next United States Attorney for the District of Maryland.[6] On March 22, 2018, his nomination was reported out of committee by voice vote.[7] He was confirmed by voice vote later the same day.[8] He was sworn in on April 9, 2018.[9]

Appointment of Robert K. Hur as Special Counsel
On February 3, 2021, Hur announced his resignation, effective February 15.[10] Following his departure from the U.S. Attorney position, Hur became a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Gibson Dunn, a national law firm.

On January 12, 2023, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Hur to oversee the United States Department of Justice’s investigation into President Joe Biden’s alleged mishandling of classified documents during his time as vice president.[12]

Garland notified Congress on February 7, 2024 that Hur had concluded his investigation, and no charges were recommended.[13][14] As part of this investigation, Hur found Biden “willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen.”

From Wikipedia

First of all, I’m not going to play the MAGA game of what about and say something like: :”Oh yeah! What about all the time Donald Trump made a fool of himself and all the negative reports about him? How come Michael Smerconish is not talking about that?”

Smerconish did say that the best case and the case where Donald Trump has no defense for himself, is the classified documents case and he said that on his show today. But, we only have Robert Hur’s word on this and we only have his report.

Robert Hur who just happens to be a career Republican lawyer, including someone who just recently worked in President Donald Trump’s Justice Department. Release the transcripts of the interviews that Mr. Hur did of President Biden and I’ll give them more credibility. Till then, we just have a the word of a career Republican lawyer, going after a Democratic President.

I mean if Eric Holder was assigned by Attorney General William Barr back in let’s say 2020, as special counsel investigating something that might be going on with President Trump, would even center-right Republicans, not just MAGA Republicans, automatically take the word of Eric Holder, after he released a report arguing that Donald Trump is an old man, whose basically mentally incompetent at this point, with no third-party and no evidence to back it up, other than his own word? Of course not. That’s just where we are politically as a country.

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Robert Hur as Special Counsel in the classified documents case, involving former Vice President Joe Biden’s mishandling of classified documents, from back in 2017. He’s not a psychologist or a psychiatrist. He wasn’t assigned to give a report on the mental competency of the President of the United States.

Also, between the two major party presidential candidates, the two aging Baby Boomers running for President, only one of them is currently under indictment for mishandling of classified information. Do you you want to guess who that person is? Perhaps you are just waking up from a coma, coming back from a long vacation from Planet Mars, or some other place. Not even Robert Hur recommended that President Biden be indicted for his mishandling of classified documents.

Having said all this, just because I and other voters can see this report for what it is, doesn’t mean people who don’t follow government and politics as closely as myself, especially Independent voters who don’t do this for a living will, simply because they don’t have the time or interest. And yeah, this report doesn’t make Joe Biden look very good. But, this is not an October surprise.

If this report, or something like this, regardless of the credibility of it, came out against Joe Biden in October, that would be a major problem for him, even if he has a clear lead over Donald Trump at that point. And perhaps the former President is now a two-time convicted felon and not just one-time and not only the economy is booming, but now most Americans are feeling that boom, unlike now. But it’s still February and we still have a long way to go.

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Mark Russell: Jerry Falwell vs Teletubbies (1998)

Posted on February 8, 2024 by kireschneider

Mark Russell_ Jerry Falwell vs Teletubbies (1998)Source:Mark Russell giving Reverend Jerry Falwell a lesson on Teletubbies. Well, when you are short on material, why not Teletubbies & Jerry Falwell.

Source:The New Democrat

“Mark Russell remarks on Jerry Falwell calling Tinky-Winky (the purple Teletubbie) a homosexual. God must love comedians, otherwise we wouldn’t have televangelists.”

From Mark Russell

Have the you ever noticed that people who not just claim to have the highest, moral standards and values, but believe it’s their God given duty to lecture the rest of the country, about the need for high, moral, standards and values, are really just closeted assholes and dicks, as well as prudes, who are stuck in an 1880s (not 1950s time warp, mentally and culturally). (And in some cases open about being assholes and dicks) People who have way too much free time on their hands and feel the need to spread their own, made up, personal, gospel, on how to be an asshole and dick in America.

That’s how I feel about Reverend Jerry Falwell and the rest of the so-called Christian Right in America (as they were called back in the 1990s) even though there’e really not much that’s very Christian about them.

I’m sure there are plenty of good, moral, even honest preachers in America, even fundamentalist preachers in America. But when you make it your life’s mission, to wipe out an entire sexuality, that only represents maybe 10% of the country, that has no effect on the rest of the country, (except for hardcore, fundamentalist, zealot, assholes and dicks) it’s time for you to look in the mirror and look at yourself.

When there’s so much real immorality going on not just in America, but around the world dealing with burglary, rape, murder, bigotry, unjustifiable violence, I think it might be time for people (meaning these hardcore, fundamentalist, prudes, who call themselves preachers) to look in mirror and and give themselves a self-examination to see if everything is right about themselves, when it comes to their own personal morality and values.

Before people make bold claims that people are going to Hell (a place where these so-called preachers help create) simply because they are attracted to people of the same gender, or have more in common with the other gender when it comes to their personality and way of the life, then their own gender, these so-called preachers should look at themselves first to see if everything with them, is right with God.

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The Daily Show: ‘Jon Stewart On America’s Gun Problem & Dystopic Present’

Posted on February 8, 2024 by FredSchneiderUS

The Daily Show: Jon Stewart on America’s Gun Problem & Dystopic PresentSource:The Daily Show back with Jon Stewart.

Source:The New Democrat

“Jon Stewart questions why America can’t seem to address its very real gun problem and why conservatives are so against bans on assault weapons.”

From The Daily Show

Jon Stewart is now 60 years old and yet he sounds like one of those New-Left, change the world hippies, from the late 1960s, who thought they could do and accomplish anything and believed that government could solve any problem known to man and perhaps even solve problems that no one has even heard of. Even though Jon Stewart is not even old enough to remember and understand that movement from back then, at least when it was going on.

Stewart is arguing that government can do this, that, the other thing, and something else after that, and all our gun-related problems would be solved overnight, or overtime. Our form of government simply doesn’t work that way. We’re not that idealistic, that majoritarian, that partisan, at least in the sense that one political party can tend to pass major reforms all by themselves.

We are supposed to get wiser, more experienced, more realistic, as we get older. Not believe that hatred and bigotry will simply disappear, if you are simply nice to everybody. Or that war will disappear, if you simply stop attacking people and you don’t even defend yourself when you are under attack. As we get older, we tend to drink less alcohol, smoke less pot (well, most of us anyway) and are better able to keep both feet on Planet Earth. Or at least in America, which I know at times can seem like another planet all to itself.

I think what Stewart is really taking about here, is why won’t the right-wing, (if not Far-Right) especially the rural and small town right-wing in America, the MAGA movement and to a certain extent Libertarians of all culture, regional, racial, and ethnic backgrounds, why won’t these folks come to their senses about guns and the need for gun reform in America.

If you think about it, Southern-Anglo-Saxon, rural Americans, have really been losing ever since the end of the Civil War. They no longer own or run America and are shrinking as a percentage of America. This is no longer even the 1950s, let alone the 1850s, when America was completely dominated by Americans of English and other Northern European stock. And they think they’re losing America and see guns as they’re last hope to try to keep what’s left of the America that they grew up with, who their ancestors created. And they’re not going down without a fight, And so far they’re winning.

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Jesse Dollemore: ‘Stephen Miller LOSES CONTROL in Interview About Donald Trump’s ABSOLUTE IMMUNITY!!!’

Posted on February 7, 2024 by kireschneider

Jesse Dollemore: Stephen Miller LOSES CONTROL in Interview About Trump's ABSOLUTE IMMUNITY!!!Source:Jesse Dollemore talking about MAGA propagandist Stephen Miller.

Source:The New Democrat

“Jesse talks about another unhinged moment from Trump lapdog Stephen Miller, who appeared on Sean Spicer’s show to scream and yell conspiracies about Donald Trump’s expected loss in court related to his claim of absolute immunity.”

From Jesse Dollemore

To talk about what Jesse Dollemore is saying here: what Stephen Miller is basically saying here as well as his fellow MAGA (which actually stands for Mass Army of Gigantic Assholes) army members of convicted criminals and escaped mental patients, (perhaps illegal aliens from other planets) is that Donald Trump has presidential immunity from criminal prosecution. And not just from crimes committed while as President, but if you look at his latest brief in the classified documents case, they’re now arguing that Donald Trump has former presidential immunity from criminal prosecution, for crimes committed since he left the office.

MAGA is actually arguing that Donald Trump has lifetime immunity from all criminal prosecutions, but Joe Biden, even though he’s the current President and if were to lose in November, (and if that happens, God, if you exist, please save America) would be the former President a year from now, does not.

So according to the Mass Army of Gigantic Assholes (also known as MAGA) Donald Trump can’t be arrested and tried for anything that he has ever done while as President, or since he was kicked out of office by the American voters since he’s left the presidency. But that Joe Biden could even be arrested tomorrow for jaywalking, even as President of the United States. And they base that argument on (if you want to call it on an argument) … If you ever have an answer for that, please let me know.

If Donald Trump and his MAGA cult were ever honest, really, about anything relating to their cult devotion to Donald Trump, they would just throw out all this garbage (to keep it clean) and just come out and say that Donald Trump can’t be tried and arrested for anything, simply because he’s Donald Trump. And anyone whose not a Trump supporter, could be tried and arrested for not just jaywalking, but running a stop sign on their bicycle. But if Donald Trump and his MAGA cult were honest, there would be peace in Israel and Palestine right now and poverty and cancer would both disappear tomorrow.

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Michael Smerconish: Tucker Carlson & Vladimir Putin

Posted on February 7, 2024 by FredSchneiderUS

Michael Smerconish: A Man is Judged by His Deeds, Not by His WordsSource:Michael Smerconish talking about Vladimir Putin & Tucker Carlson. Perhaps you can tell for yourself which one is which.

Source:The New Democrat

“A man is judged by his deeds, not by his words.”

From Michael Smerconish

Michael Smerconish and TC Scornavachi talking about whether Smerconish would interview President Vladimir Putin, the dictator of the Russian Federation. And Smerconish saying he would do it. He defended that by saying he’s interviewed a lot of controversial people in the past, like Bill Cosby, Bill O’Reilly, Kari Lake, etc. And this is how TC Scornvachi, who is the producer of this show responded:

“But isn’t there a difference between politicians or personalities who have controversial views or have done something possibly criminal, versus a world dictator whose like killing people? I’m just asking.”

Michael Smerconish: “I’m not on team Putin. I’m not on any of those teams. I’m on team Independent and critical thinking.”

I swear that Michael Smerconish is a walking, human, bulletin board, for himself. He goes out-of-his-way to try to convince people that he’s not a Democrat, or a Republican, Liberal, Conservative, etc. I believe generally when people go out-of-their-way to try to convince people that they are something, or believe something, they think that it’s not obvious enough. And maybe the message is not getting out enough. Or maybe they’re not as they advertise themselves.

Would I interview Vladimir Putin? My answer would be conditionally. I would go in with the questions that I want to ask him and the points I would make and tell the President this is what I want to talk to you about. And if he tried to veto that, I would say no. The man is evil as far as I’m concern and deserves to be held accountable for that.

As far as Tucker Carlson interviewing Vladimir Putin: Tucker is on team MAGA and whatever the Russian version of this far-right, nationalist movement of culture warriors and right-wing militants, who perhaps have all done time in prison (like now) or in mental hospitals. Who think they’re losing their country and it’s time to take it back. Or, Tucker could be on Team Tucker and believes this is how he stays in business by going all in on this right-wing culture war propaganda.

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Ben Meiselas: ‘Appeals Court FINALLY REJECTS Donald Trump’s Immunity in POWERFUL ORDER’

Posted on February 6, 2024 by kireschneider

Meidas Touch: Appeals Court FINALLY REJECTS Donald Trump’s Immunity in POWERFUL ORDERSource:Meidas Touch– left to right: U.S. Federal Judge Florence Y. Pan & Defendant Don.

Source:The New Democrat

“MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on the ruling by the DC Circuit Court of Appeals denying Donald Trump’s claim to absolute presidential immunity.”

From the Meidas Touch

From what my colleague Fred Schneider wrote:

“Temidayo Aganga-Williams talking about Donald Trump’s lawyer John Sauer: “I think he’s really making the argument for Jack Smith. This is exactly what Jack Smith has been worrying about: are we a country of president’s, or a country of king’s? And I think what Trump’s lawyer effectively argued is that we are a country of king’s.That the President can act as he wants, as he chooses, that we can have violence. You know, we had violence on January 6, he’s saying that the President could take it a lot further. Himself could direct that violence openly using official government sources and that’s fine. He establishes how dangerous this presidential immunity argument is.”

I think pretty much everyone whose not in the MAGA movement in America, (which is about 70% of the country) has predicted that Donald Trump would not lose his presidential immunity claim at the appeals court.

I think the only question here is how big of a loss would it be. Would it be 2-1, with perhaps Judge Karen Henderson voting no and expressing a strong dissent to the decision. Would she vote no, but without giving an official dissent to the decision. Or would it be a strong 3-0 decision against the former President, with a strong, unified opinion against the former President’s immunity claim, giving the Supreme Court some cover here and raising the possibility that they wouldn’t even take Donald Trump’s appeal here, because no new ground had been raised here and they know he would definitely lose. But perhaps the Trump’s Justices don’t want to make that official decision against him.

Based on Judge Henderson’s questioning of Donald Trump’s lawyer John Sauer, I think we’re looking at a strong 3-0 decision against the former President (not former King) and they’ll have a strong, unified opinion against the former President’s presidential immunity claim. But as I keep saying, I’m not a lawyer.

Just to correct the record on something that John Sauer said: his client Donald J. Trump, is not being prosecuted for official acts that he did when he was President. He’s being prosecuted for criminal acts that Special Counsel Jack Smith believed he committed when he was President. As well as criminal acts that Jack Smith believes he committed since leaving the presidency.”

From The New Democrat 

“Michael Popok: “The Judge’s aren’t buying the impeachment argument (Donald Trump’s double jeopardy claim) and are troubled whether they even have jurisdiction as far as if they can’t even rule on this yet. I’ll just wrap it up this way, Ben. They are going to as we think, they are going to rule against Donald Trump. I think it will be 3-0. I don’t think it will go back to Judge Chutkan for anything. And I think the loser will have to take an emergency writ up to the Supreme Court.”

Ben Meiselas thinks that the Washington appeals court will rule against Donald Trump on jurisdiction grounds. Meaning that the appeals court doesn’t think they should be ruling on this case, until Donald Trump is convicted.

Ben Meiselas then goes on to talk about President Richard Nixon in 1974, who resigned the presidency before he could get impeached and convicted by Congress. Well, that goes to one of Donald Trump’s arguments having to do with double jeopardy, since the former President was impeached, but then acquitted by Congress back in 2021.

But then Meiselas also mentions that President Gerald Ford pardoned President Nixon after Nixon was already out of office, in September of 1974. But if any President has presidential immunity from prosecution while as President, why wold any President ever have to be pardoned for anything at all?

I think this is very simple. Donald Trump and his lawyers don’t have any constitutional or legal case, for why their client should be immune for anything while as President, or as a former President. They might as well just argue that Donald Trump is immune from civil litigation or prosecution, simply because he’s Donald Trump. Because that’s the quality (if you want to call it that) of their arguments right now.”

From The New Democrat

“Just to go back to what George Conway said: “GEORGE CONWAY, CONSERVATIVE LAWYER: Well, the short answer is what they were doing there, was taking a bad argument, their immunity argument, and conflating it with another bad argument, which is something based upon the impeachment judgment clause, and mixing them all together, in the hope of getting a stronger argument.

And what happened was the Trump attorney, Sauer, set a trap for himself that Judge Pan just completely, completely closed off. And she was — it was an intellectual tour de force by Judge Pan. Not only did she highlight the extreme nature of their position that a president might not be prosecutable, for assassinating political rivals, she did something else.”

To put this very simply: Donald Trump’s legal team doesn’t have a case. Yesterday in court, Donald Trump’s lawyers were trying to swim up stream, with just one arm and a leg. And that arm and leg was probably broken, just like their arguments and whatever case that they tried to argue in court yesterday.

Donald Trump is an American citizen just like everyone else. And like with everyone else, when there’s strong evidence that just didn’t break the law, but broke multiple laws, but just didn’t break multiple laws, but committed multiple felonies, even while as President of the United States, under Federal law and according to the U.S. Constitution as it relates to the rule of law and equal justice under law, you are supposed to be prosecuted.

If Donald Trump actually thinks that he’s innocent, or he knows he is guilty, but he thinks he can beat the case anyway, (perhaps simply because he’s Donald J. Trump) he gets prosecuted and has his day in court. And of course he can always plead guilty, or cooperate with the prosecutors to get a lighter sentence. But you don’t walk away from all of this simply because you were President of the United States, or your crimes were committed while you were President of the United States. Because that would be inconsistent with our system of rule of law, equal justice under law, and checks and balances.”

From The New Democrat

From what my colleague Fred Schneider wrote today:

“At risk of putting this in real, dramatic terms: this is what every American (Democrat, Republican, Independent, Liberal, Conservative) who believes in the rule of law, equal justice, equal rights, the U.S. Constitution, has been waiting for.

Which is that the Federal Appeals Court simply not just state the obvious here, that no American is above the law, including the President of the United States, but the former President of the United States is not above the law and once he leaves office, can be tried for crimes that go beyond his duties as President, but could also be tried for crimes that he may have committed, once he leaves the presidency.

As the appeals court ruled: Donald Trump is now citizen Trump, with the same rights and responsibilities as every other American citizen.”

From The New Democrat

I really don’t have anything to add to what Fred Schneider already wrote on The New Democrat today. I think he nailed it. (I’m admitting bias here) But I agree with Ben Meiselas that the appeals court was going for a knockout blow. They put everything on the line as far as what Donald Trump, or any other former President, or current President, does not enjoy any other rights and responsibilities that every other American citizen doesn’t already have. And they wanted their decision to be clear, be well-argued, that no President is above the law in the United States of America, so the Supreme Court wouldn’t need to take up this case.

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