Zorro
Zorro's JournalHere's What to Expect Next From Donald Trump, the First Indicted Ex-U.S. President
Hint: Hes going to act like a maniac and incite his followerssome of whom may get violent.Now that a Manhattan grand jury has reportedly indicted former President Donald Trump, ending his half-century of successfully escaping law enforcement, here are three things you can count on.
Trumps support among Republicans will rise, at least for a while.
Trump will surrender to avoid the risk of pre-trial detention and be fingerprinted, mug shotted and, perhaps, put in handcuffs while his Secret Service detail watches.
Trump will continue riling up the most deranged and fanatical MAGA elements for the final battle to put him back in the White House.
That last point will prove to be an important test of both Trumps influence and the effectiveness of our Justice Department in discouraging more violence by Trumps most deranged followers.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/what-to-expect-next-from-donald-trump-first-indicted-ex-us-president
Inside Trump's Risky Plan to Fight the Stormy Daniels Hush-Money Case
Donald Trumps lawyers are already building out his legal defense. But the strategy hinges on an assumption that may not be true.Finally faced with an actual criminal indictment, former President Donald Trump is settling on a familiarif contradictorydefense strategy: Blame his previous lawyer, and say he would have done it anyway.
Theres just one problem: The indictment might be more sprawling than just the Stormy Daniels hush money payments that Trumps team has claimed it was expecting for months.
On Thursday, a Manhattan grand jury indicted Trumpsomething he immediately characterized as Political Persecution and Election Interference.
The historic move capped a years-long local investigation involving those secret payments to silence a porn star from outing their sexual affair and potentially tanking his 2016 presidential campaign. While new reporting suggests that the Daniels case may not represent the full scope of chargesreportedly running more than 30 countsthat particular item largely hinges on the account of a less than reliable narrator.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-trumps-risky-plan-to-fight-the-stormy-daniels-hush-money-case
Adam Schiff: The GOP's Control of the House Adds 'New Danger' to Trump Case
Rep. Adam Schiff saw some ominous warning signs after Trump was indicted on Thursday.When news broke on Thursday that former President Donald Trump was criminally indicted in Manhattan, congressional Republicansas theyve done countless times beforeimmediately declared they would leverage their power to defend him.
Im directing relevant committees to immediately investigate if federal funds are being used to subvert our democracy, tweeted Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), by interfering in elections with politically motivated prosecutions. Days before the indictment, GOP chairmen signaled they would demand the testimony of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Key lawmakers also quickly declared they would retaliate against Democrats. Hunter Biden: Call your lawyers, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) tweeted after the indictment news broke.
Few officials are more familiar with the GOP playbook than Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who made his name as perhaps Trumps most dedicated foe in Congress.
In an interview on Friday with The Daily Beast, Schiff said McCarthy and GOP lawmakers plan to run interference for Trump in response to the indictment are very true to form.
But Schiff argued a key difference this time aroundas Trump makes grim history as first U.S. president to ever face criminal chargesis that Republicans wield real power to disrupt the proceedings to hold him accountable.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/adam-schiff-house-gop-control-adds-new-danger-to-trump-case
The GOP made a devil's bargain with Trump; the bill is coming due.
Nearly seven years ago, the GOP made what many party officials privately called a devils bargain with Donald Trump. The bill just came due.
Its not possible yet to assess the strength of Manhattan Dist. Atty. Alvin Braggs case against Trump. The investigation was known to involve hush money payments to a porn star to cover up an alleged affair, but its full dimensions and the precise charges on which a New York grand jury indicted the former president Thursday afternoon remain under seal and may not be known until his arraignment, scheduled for Tuesday.
Nor is there much point in trying to guess the impact on a general election that remains more than 19 months and perhaps several indictments in the future.
But what is clear is that Republicans now face what may be a worst-case scenario: For at least some time, the front-runner for their nomination will be campaigning while facing criminal charges. Thats likely to strengthen him in the eyes of a significant share of the partys voters even as a majority of Americans view it as disqualifying.
If Trump wins the nomination, the partys fate could be lashed to the outcome of a criminal trial. If he loses, the indictment will give him every incentive to once again cry foul and denounce whoever beat him.
https://www.latimes.com/politics/newsletter/2023-03-31/the-gop-made-a-devils-bargain-with-trump-the-bill-is-coming-due-essential-politics
The Republican Party has degenerated into nothing more than a refuge of cowards, criminals, and traitors. And they should be talked about using those very same terms.
DeSantis teases 'more to come' on latest twist in Disney battle: 'You ain't seen nothing yet'
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday teased future, unspecified action against Disney after the entertainment giant appeared to thwart his attempts at a takeover of its special governing powers.
Theres a lot of little back-and-forths going on now with the state taking control, but rest assured, you know, you aint seen nothing yet, the Republican governor told a crowd in Smyrna, Georgia. Theres more to come in that regard.
The comments come a day after DeSantis allies on the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board the body that oversees the land in and around Disneys Orlando-area theme parks unveiled that the company had quietly reached an agreement with the outgoing board that turned over most of its governing powers to Disney. The new board hired outside legal counsel as it weighs its options to claw back its authority.
Yet, DeSantis on Thursday continued to claim victory over Disney in a dispute that first began last year when the company vowed to help overturn a new law that limited the instruction of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools. DeSantis responded by vowing to strip the company of its longstanding power to tax, borrow and build infrastructure projects in Central Florida in an area known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District.
I dont know that its the appropriate use of shareholder resources to be shilling for gender ideology in kindergarten, but nevertheless, thats what they decided to do, DeSantis said.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/30/politics/desantis-disney-battle/index.html
DeSantis is a despicable POS.
Here's what Gov. DeSantis did on Donald Trump and Andrew Warren
In his remarks, the governor essentially flips everything hes previously pontificated about fighting crime.Gov. Ron DeSantis often invokes his executive creed that prosecutors cannot and must not fail to charge crimes in their jurisdictions because lawlessness and anarchy will ensue.
To buttress his resolve about prosecuting all violations of the law, DeSantis summarily removed Hillsborough Countys Andrew Warren a twice-elected state attorney and the chief law enforcement authority in a judicial circuit because the prosecutor signed a letter about not prosecuting violations of a future law (being considered by the Legislature) limiting abortions and its providers. The law is the law (or would be the law). No prosecutor can refuse to enforce it for policy or political reasons.
Now comes a Manhattan grand jury, acting just like the local grand juries that convene and make charging decisions every week in Floridas 20 judicial circuits, and reportedly votes to indict Donald Trump on dozens of felony charges relating to his payment of hush money to a porn star with whom he is said to have had an affair. The indictment, confirmed by the Manhattan District Attorneys office, remains under seal, likely until the defendant makes his initial appearance and is arraigned on the charges in a New York state court.
Because the defendant is now a resident of Florida, the issue of how and when he would make his first court appearance in New York quickly percolated to the top of the what if list. What happens if the defendant fights interstate extradition became an instant bullet point of commentary.
We didnt have to wait long for DeSantis, prosecutor prodder, to provide an answer that essentially flips everything hes previously pontificated about fighting crime. DeSantis, within hours of the news of the New York indictment, summarily announced on Twitter that he would not assist in the extradition of the defendant (former President Donald Trump). His social media declaration of not enforcing the interstate compact governing extraditions when he hasnt even seen the charging document is its own indictment of the governor.
https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/2023/03/31/heres-what-gov-desantis-did-donald-trump-andrew-warren-column/
Sarasota shelter for migrant children caught in DeSantis battle against immigration policy
The Dream Center in Sarasota is caught in the middle of the political battle between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and President Joe Biden's Administration over federal immigration policy.
The situation sheds light on how the department has implemented, and potentially bungled, directives under Gov. Ron DeSantis to deny licenses to organizations that accept federal contracts to house unaccompanied immigrant children who cross the Southwest U.S. border illegally and seek to be resettled in Florida.
Lutheran Services Florida Inc., the Tampa-based nonprofit that operates the Dream Center, filed a claim in January against the Florida Department of Children and Families after the department denied the shelter its license because it accepts federal contracts to house unaccompanied immigrant children.
The case, which was scheduled for a hearing on Tuesday, was postponed after both Lutheran Services Florida and DCF indicated they are working on a settlement agreement.
https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/politics/2023/03/31/florida-governor-ron-desantis-immigration-sarasota-shelter-caught-middle-feud-unaccompanied-minors/70055438007/
DeSantis' campaign of hate continues while he ignores dealing intelligently with Florida's homeowner insurance crisis.
The GOP response to Trump is one hell of an indictment
Its no surprise that House Republicans leaped to Donald Trumps defense after news of his indictment broke late Thursday. What was striking, though, was how many elected GOP officials now sound like Trump.
Political Persecution, Trump alleged in his statement.
Political persecution, parroted Reps. Diana Harshbarger (Tenn.), Josh Brecheen (Okla.), Claudia Tenney (N.Y.), and Paul Gosar (Ariz.).
Blatant Election Interference, Trump announced.
This is unprecedented election interference, echoed GOP conference chair Elise Stefanik (N.Y.).
An attempt to interfere in our Presidential election, echoed House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (Calif.).
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/03/31/house-gop-debates-public-urination/
Bragg's office accuses House Republicans of 'unlawful political interference'
Source: Washington Post
The office of New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Friday urged House Republicans to withdraw a demand for information on its case against former president Donald Trump, again rebuffing what it characterized as unlawful political interference in an ongoing criminal case.
In a letter to the three committee chairmen who are pressing for documents and testimony about Trumps case, Leslie B. Dubeck, the general counsel for Braggs office, chastised them for choosing to collaborate with the former president, who is now under indictment. A Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Trump on Thursday after hearing evidence about alleged hush-money payments from Trump to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign.
As of Friday morning, the indictment with specific charges against Trump remains sealed. On his Truth Social platform, Trump has kept up a steady stream of attacks on Bragg in all-caps posts and condemned the indictment.
As you are no doubt aware, former President Trump has directed harsh invective against District Attorney Bragg and threatened on social media that his arrest or indictment in New York may unleash death & destruction, Dubeck wrote.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/03/31/trump-house-gop-alvin-bragg/
Tucker Carlson, other Fox pundits call for protests of Trump charges
Conservative commentators, presenting the indictment as political oppression, predicted unrestFox News hosts and other conservative commentators fulminated Thursday night against the indictment of Donald Trump, portraying it as an act of political repression, calling for protests and predicting unrest.
It almost feels theyre pushing the population to react, said Fox prime-time host Tucker Carlson, referring vaguely to Democrats. We think theyre demoralized and passive, lets see if they really are. At what point do we conclude theyre doing this in order to produce a reaction?
Carlsons guest, former ESPN personality Jason Whitlock, struck a similar tone: They are agitating for unrest. That is the only way to interpret this, he said, before seeming to call for some kind of response: Im ready for whatevers next. And I hope every other man out there watching this show, I hope youre ready for whatevers next. If thats what they want, lets get to it.
Carlsons 8 p.m. show offered some of the most fiery talk on a heated night of conservative reaction to a New York grand jurys decision to indict Trump after hearing evidence about hush money paid to an adult-film star during his 2016 race for president. Former Fox host Glenn Beck visited the show to predict the country would be at war by 2025; the indictments intent, he warned was to inflame this country so that an unnamed entity could close the cage on those who react.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2023/03/30/trump-indict-fox-tucker/
Profile Information
Gender: MaleHometown: America's Finest City
Current location: District 48
Member since: 2001
Number of posts: 15,749