Trump charged

[jason_c]

Hi Jason,

The idea that those in/with power are above the law is exactly how a Banana Republic operates. Do you believe that if Trump was re-elected, the 'impeach Biden' calls would stop? The MAGA favourite 'lock them up' chants? Trumps platform for 2016 was heavily invested in threats to 'lock up' Hillary Clinton, it's a favoured crowd pleaser and key tactic of his.

From the outside, it appears to me that if America wants to move away from hateful partisanship, Trump has no place in politics. Of course, large parts of America don't want to move away, but if the preferred candidate has been prosecuted, it's no less than what that candidate and his followers want to be able to do themselves.

Politics has always been a shady occupation, but the current conduct, the language, the personal attacks, it's a new low for a democratic nation. Trump is undoubtedly to blame for much of it, but the self serving cowards in the Republican Party who value their own career over the constitution they have vowed to uphold, who dare not speak out, are really to blame. They facilitated this madness for the chance to get in power and it's now bigger than they are. Trumps not an elected official of any sort, but he still pulls the strings. That's your Banana Republic.

Trump and his crowd chanting 'lock her up' is a long way from actually locking Hillary up. I view the chant as a political rally equivalent of meme, or sh**posting. Impeachment is largely a political measure voted on by Congress. It's a tool of last resort by one of the three branches of government. I understand the danger of someone being above the law. However, we are talking about very limited instances here of people being above the law. I just think as a rule it's more dangerous to lock someone up on dubious charges when that person is the main opposition force to the party or individual in power. Btw I notice Imran Khan has today been sentenced to three years in prison. Bolsonaro has been barred from running for public office in Brazil. Nigel Farage is having his bank accounts closed and all sorts of rights infringed. The tendency for elites to go after populists by both fair means and foul is noteworthy.

I take on board what you say about Trump having no place in US politics. However, I would say the consequences will be worse if Trump is taken out of the game by legal persecution. I would make one tentative prediction which I hope is not viewed as a threat; all bets are off when it comes to the reaction of Trump supporters if he spends a single day behind bars on what they see as dubious charges.

[String]

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/aug/04/donald-trump-courtroom-jurors-truth-indictment

[Al Bundy's Eyes]

He should not be raked over the legal coals full stop. And yes, this implies an almost blasphemous argument that certain people are above the law. When it comes to political opponents they ought to be off limits when it comes to anything that smacks of political/legal persecution. Just as I would be against prosecuting, say, Gavin Newsom if there was a Republican President. It's all a bit banana republic. If in doubt it's best not to jail your most likely opponent at the next Presidential election.

Hi Jason,

The idea that those in/with power are above the law is exactly how a Banana Republic operates. Do you believe that if Trump was re-elected, the 'impeach Biden' calls would stop? The MAGA favourite 'lock them up' chants? Trumps platform for 2016 was heavily invested in threats to 'lock up' Hillary Clinton, it's a favoured crowd pleaser and key tactic of his.

From the outside, it appears to me that if America wants to move away from hateful partisanship, Trump has no place in politics. Of course, large parts of America don't want to move away, but if the preferred candidate has been prosecuted, it's no less than what that candidate and his followers want to be able to do themselves.

Politics has always been a shady occupation, but the current conduct, the language, the personal attacks, it's a new low for a democratic nation. Trump is undoubtedly to blame for much of it, but the self serving cowards in the Republican Party who value their own career over the constitution they have vowed to uphold, who dare not speak out, are really to blame. They facilitated this madness for the chance to get in power and it's now bigger than they are. Trumps not an elected official of any sort, but he still pulls the strings. That's your Banana Republic.

[Fiver]

He should not be raked over the legal coals full stop. And yes, this implies an almost blasphemous argument that certain people are above the law. When it comes to political opponents they ought to be off limits when it comes to anything that smacks of political/legal persecution.

So you condemned Donald Trump and his followers for chanting "Lock Her Up!"? Or do only Republican candidates get to be above the law?

[Pcdunn]

https://www.cnn.com/

Wimpy Trump suggested that the Supreme Court intercede in his legal battles. He really has no idea how things work.

[jason_c]

Let's be honest, the timing does not matter for this lame argument to be made regardless.

If the charges had been brought a year ago, it would have been to influence the midterms. had the charges been brought in a year's time, the accusation would have been "he has been charged to influence the elections". As it happens, the charges have been brought now, but the trials will be during the election year.

It does not matter when the charges are brought, this exact same accusation against the DoJ/Speial Counsel would be made anyways.

I would like to go a step further. DoJ should just ignore the fact that htere is an election. The judges should set the trials when they see fitr and not when an electikn is taking place. Otherwise, I can evade a trila simply by running for office.

It's another example of a 2-tier justice system. One rule for Joe Average, another rule for rich politicians. I'm sick of it.

And the trial should be televised. So that Donald Trump can't lie about it afterwards.

Agree that the trial(s) should be televised. The most important trials in modern American history deserve the sunlight of live television. We can't have the US Republic totter in the shadows.

[Ms Diddles]

And the trial should be televised. So that Donald Trump can't lie about it afterwards.

Oh! That wouldn't stop him!

It was when he lied about the size of the crowd at his inauguration compared to Obama's that I realised how utterly delusional he was.

[Svensson]

I should have also pointed out the suspicious nature of the timing of these charges. It's almost certainly no coincidence that they come just six months or so before the primary campaign kicks off. All these charges just in time to fill the media cycle during election year. More evidence the authorities are not playing with a straight bat in regards to the prosecution of Donald Trump.

Of course just because I cannot produce a memo from the Whitehouse to the DoJ and various DA's calling for Trump to be raked over the legal coals during election year posters on here will call it all an unfounded conspiracy theory.

Let's be honest, the timing does not matter for this lame argument to be made regardless.

If the charges had been brought a year ago, it would have been to influence the midterms. had the charges been brought in a year's time, the accusation would have been "he has been charged to influence the elections". As it happens, the charges have been brought now, but the trials will be during the election year.

It does not matter when the charges are brought, this exact same accusation against the DoJ/Speial Counsel would be made anyways.

I would like to go a step further. DoJ should just ignore the fact that htere is an election. The judges should set the trials when they see fitr and not when an electikn is taking place. Otherwise, I can evade a trila simply by running for office.

It's another example of a 2-tier justice system. One rule for Joe Average, another rule for rich politicians. I'm sick of it.

And the trial should be televised. So that Donald Trump can't lie about it afterwards.

[Svensson]

Svensson, I'm going to assume you simply misspoke here. Hunter could no longer sell 'the illusion of access' after 2016? Hunter's illegitimate daughter has an 'illusion of access' to Joe Biden. However, Hunter definitely did have access to Joe. This, I think, is not in any doubt.

Not misspoken at all. I am referencing Devon Archer here, James Comer's own witness:

https://www.axios.com/2023/07/31/devon-archer-testify-hunter-biden

Yes, Hunter did have acces to his father but the suggesting that this acces was for sale to others was, according to Archer, an illusion.

[String]

No one is above the law.

[jason_c]

So when do you think he should be ‘raked over the legal coals’?
If Mr Trump doesn’t want to be prosecuted he shouldn’t break the law.
"Justice delayed is justice denied"

He should not be raked over the legal coals full stop. And yes, this implies an almost blasphemous argument that certain people are above the law. When it comes to political opponents they ought to be off limits when it comes to anything that smacks of political/legal persecution. Just as I would be against prosecuting, say, Gavin Newsom if there was a Republican President. It's all a bit banana republic. If in doubt it's best not to jail your most likely opponent at the next Presidential election.

[String]

So when do you think he should be ‘raked over the legal coals’?
If Mr Trump doesn’t want to be prosecuted he shouldn’t break the law.
"Justice delayed is justice denied"

[jason_c]

100% correct. This is what these people do becasue it is unforunately legal. Why is it legal? Because they can shape the legislation to make it legal. It is a sorry state of affairs and I believe that pretty much EVERYBODY does it. So the systems needs to be changed but it's not going to be changed by trying to pin it on one person and while others go to Washington PRECISELY to get a share of that gravy train. Yes, Hunter Biden's income dried up after 2016 becasue he could no longer sell the illusion of access. Go figure. What do you thik Jeb Bush is doing these days? Or how much money did Kushner and Ivanka make SINCE 2016? As I said, it's all pretty depressing.... However, this does not show that Joe Biden has broken the law because his son is running around with his pants around his ankles.



Yes and no. All of the above is correct but trump was not charged for the hush money payments, he was charged for falsifying business records in order to facilitate the hush-money payments. This is also a correction to my comment above.



See my comment on paragraph one.

Svensson, I'm going to assume you simply misspoke here. Hunter could no longer sell 'the illusion of access' after 2016? Hunter's illegitimate daughter has an 'illusion of access' to Joe Biden. However, Hunter definitely did have access to Joe. This, I think, is not in any doubt.

[jason_c]

I should have also pointed out the suspicious nature of the timing of these charges. It's almost certainly no coincidence that they come just six months or so before the primary campaign kicks off. All these charges just in time to fill the media cycle during election year. More evidence the authorities are not playing with a straight bat in regards to the prosecution of Donald Trump.

Of course just because I cannot produce a memo from the Whitehouse to the DoJ and various DA's calling for Trump to be raked over the legal coals during election year posters on here will call it all an unfounded conspiracy theory.

[jason_c]

again, you really need to expect more from your sources.

1. Tax evasion
=> He was charged with it and he plead guilty.
2. unlawfully owning a gun
=> Again, he was charged with it and again, he plead guilty.
3. various charges with sex workers
=> What is the allegation here in relation to Hunter Biden? Which law has been broken? I tell you who likely broke laws with sex workers, it was Donald Trump for paying them off as an undeclared campaign expenditure.
4. Failing to register as a foreign agent.
=> Fine. there are many experts who say that Hunter Biden's foreign lobbying qualifies for a need to register as a foreign agent. I am als waiting for Donald Trump and Jared Kushner to register as foreign agents seeing as they are in the pockets of the a foreign power (Saudi Arabia). Trump for his LIV golf involvement, Kushner for his 2 Billion investment fund.

In the end, you have to realise that no one cares abut Hunter Biden. He is a private citizen and not a government employee with security clearances. I am perfectly happy for the judical process to play out as it should.



And what part does he play in all of this? We have star-witness Gal Luft who is a fugitive from the FBI since November 2022. His allegation is that he had heard from someone else that Joe Biden had received money but it is unclear for what and that audio recordings of some kind exist. You donlt have to be Albert Einstein to realise that this is basically on-par with the pee-tape allegation. Someone heard something from someone else for which no proof exists.

Then there is star-witness Devon Archer, a former mate of Hunter Biden who just testified that " Joe Biden discussed ‘nothing’ important with Hunter Biden business associates,"

Finally, there are the two IRS employees who state that they felt obstructed in thier investigation of Hunter Biden and that the Judge David Weiss was influenced by in 2020 when the DoJ was under Bill Barr's (and therefore Donald Trump's) leadership. The Judge David Weiss however stated in writing that he was not under any pressure and offered to come and testify himself to congress.

So it seems to me that The republicans have a really hard time to actually nail down what Joe Biden's exact involvement really is. they had the laptop and various witnesses and dick-picks for 3 years now and we are still waiting for any actual proof of any actual crime. Like we are still waiting for any actual proof of any actual voter-fraud at a scale that would have changed the outcome of the 2020 (or any other) election.

Please, let's stick to facts here and not Foxnews fever-dreams. The lack of evidence is not proof of evidence itself, it is very often proof that there is no evidence (no more, no less). So let's allow all judicial processes run thier course based on the available evidence. I believe that this is pretty uncontroversial.

Cheers.

Hunter Biden is a private citizen? Sorry, but I disagree. The fact that he is Joe's son makes him more than just another private citizen. Hunter travelled on official trips with Joe as VP. One photo-op showing Hunter alongside Joe getting off Air Force 2 in China looks particularly suspicious. It's as an official endorsement from Joe as you can get. You think Hunter travelled with Joe on AF2 to China just for a leisurely break? Or, was this official VP trip used to aid Hunter's business interests?

As far as nailing Joe down on this I suspect the best play here is for a slow drip of Biden corruption news. Trump supporters should want Joe as the 24 nominee. I think he is probably a weaker candidate now than Newsom. Weaker that is in the light of what the news cycle will be for the next 18 months; Trump legal battles, continued allegations against Biden, and a weaponised DoJ, FBI & IRS. For Trump it is the 2016 campaign against Hillary all over again. He knows how to play this game. Trump, above all else, is a political mud wrestler. The best play against Trump is to ignore him. Keeping him off twitter, starving him of all publicity. That option for Dems is now off the table.