I harbor no illusions about Trump, having heard for years his antics in news, on the billboards everywhere, incessantly, in New York all those years has left a lasting impression of yawning “so, what has Trump done now” along with “so what are they gonna do about Trumps crimes?”
This Federal indictment is the start of retribution for all of the crimes he committed against every small business owner, or individuals trying to make a living in unforgiving New York City “if you can make it here you can make it anywhere” state. Of course once Trump and Giuliani got together in the 1990’s it was as if Trump was in his glory..nothing he did from then on was a problem for then New York mayor Giuliani.
This is the start of the loosening of tension most of us have felt throughout this last 8 years this is a feeling of almost Relief that finally, someone is doing what needed to be done in the late 1980’s when Trump started his money laundering operation. Imprison this animal ASAP, he’s a tyrant, a cheater and he likely showed or copied classified documents to give to his foreign master Putin. Sure enough on last nights news Russian TV reported that Putin will help Trump to get out of these charges and reinstate him to the White House…bc he will totally ignore any of Putin’s war moves in respect of Ukraine, leaving Putin to swallow them and the rest of Europe for a new USSR. Horrors await Trump in prison. I hope…
Either he pays or we do. If back in power, he will invite Vlad to take over not only Ukraine but us as well. What do people think that smirk on Vlad’s face was all about in Helsinki?
If you remember what Christopher Steele wrote in his dossier, Trump was to cause chaos and division in USA, so Putin could expand throughout Europe unchallenged, to recreate USSR, annexing all that he wants. I had heard that Putin would then cede North America to Trump including Canada and Trump would share in the Rosneft Oil Co, along with Rex Tillerson of Exxon, Putin would drill for oil everywhere in northern Russia,Siberia, reclaim Alaska, and Northwest Territories. The newly open northern strait would be claimed by Russia. Putin wanted control of all natural resources, minerals, oil, diamonds, uranium…that was the plan as I understood it…America, Canada, Britain were collateral damage…
Jeri, many folks appear to have forgotten about trump'$ Helsinki meet up with Putin. Greg, you, I & and a number of other folks however, have not forgotten the little meet up. I'll always remember the look on Putin's face; a giddy school girl's expression after her first kiss, after trump & Putin had their private talk, with only an interpreter present. While trump's expression, bore the look of a bad school boy who'd been taken to the woodshed & knew he'd best bend to his master's will. One wonders how long trump's former presidency will continue to be " the gift that keeps on giving?" Or have we come to the end of the line & trump finally realizes it.
And I really have wondered what is in that casket buried in the Bedminster's back forty, that's supposed to be filled with Ivanna's remains. Nothing this crime family would attempt to pull off, if they could make a buck at it, would ever surprise me.
Thanks, Mary. It certainly seems to be the dam beginning the burst. Yesterday was such an anticlimax, though. No bail, no loss of passport, no travel restrictions, no meaningful lack of comms between him and Nauta, no gag order, and no cameras anywhere. Almost like it never happened.
With that said, it DID happen, and Jack Smith was there giving him the eye the whole time. SO: bring it on!
Again,you render me speechless..Harry Lyme indeed.I fear America will never be trusted again.We went from FDR.. wonderful Ally to our Friends,even Russia to this .. Baseball Card trader.He always was a hoarder..making inventories of ALL HIS STUFF..and his gross wife that had so many suitcases..they couldn't fit with all his Treasonous Memorabilia.Your description is perfectly expressed.But anyone who followed him knew this..He was like the Hermann Goering of Washington DC..Stealing appropriating all Americans treasure,not to mention Cash..I still contend that when he (and uninvited family)visited QE2 and saw her possessions,(unlimited wealth and oppulence he decided to stay in office and become King of America.Just a deadly Hoarder.👿ps..noneof the Billionaires can be sated.🤑
I hope you're sending everything you write about Huckster #1 to Jack Smith, in case he's missed any angle or opportunity. Also, Jack Smith gives me at least slim hope for humanity that, finally, one person apparently has the courage and brains to do something possibly effective about a monster so "gifted" at schmoozing, lying, threatening, and blackmailing that the rest of the world hasn't managed to end his reign of terror. That photo of our country's security secrets strewn across his floor is beyond disgusting. He's a salesman for sure and surely among devil's favorite purchases.
Thank you. After the last few days, any doubts or hesitations I had about Smith are gone. He knows a lot more than I do, I'm sure...but who knows, maybe he does.
If you don't think Trump was going to use those documents, to generate money by everything from eBay to Putin you haven't been watching or listening. The tread running through Trump and Trump's family past and present is bright red and toxic. The difference between Clinton and Trump is the difference between muddled and malicious. Good and evil. He realized that rich white politicians don't hold rich white politicians accountable especially if you overwhelm the system with a constant stream of criminal activity. Republicans making excuses are not defenders but accomplices.
The Republicans with their "weaponization of DOJ" bullshit are creating a dangerous environment in the country. They are basically a New Confederacy at this point.
I really hope you read "A Fever in the Heartland". Everything that is happening now, happened 100 years ago in 1923 Indiana. But it was scarier then than it is now, in my opinion, because now there are more of us than of them. Every page is a horror and a revelation. Cal sent me an excerpt to read and I happened to be traveling through Indiana when he sent it.
Mary Trump was on with Lawrence O'Donnell last night (June 12th). In response to a question that Andrew Weismann asked, she said that the whole family is transactional, and that the only thing that matters to them is money. The obvious, yet not explicitly stated context was that Trump was, as Greg points out, selling the information.
On another note with respect to the mess Trump has created for our country (not unlike the messes he made in virtually everything he did in business), if the case in Florida goes south (pardon the pun) because of Judge Aileen Cannon, the person who should bear the blame isn't Jack Smith, but Merrick Garland. Had Garland better used the many months time he had after the insurrection to build a case, and present it to a DC Grand Jury, it's almost a certainty that a true bill would have resulted. Trump would have been indicted for seditious conspiracy before he was a candidate, eliminating that problem. And most importantly, there would have been no possibility of a venue issue, since the case would have been prosecuted in DC. Ergo no Aileen Cannon.
Excellent point. One wonders how badly Cannon can muck this up. On the other hand, this is only the first -- and not nearly the last -- indictment handed down. There's a J6 one coming in DC, where the judge won't be nearly as favorable. And it may well be that there will be a superseding indictment here, if it is proved that Trump sold secrets.
I'm not with the "Garland has done nothing" crowd, because he clearly has, but I think he's not good at his job, and we would have been better served with somebody else. His lack of urgency and lack of communication skills are bad.
Excellent piece, Greg! But I continue to give 100% approval rating to Garland. He walked into a DOJ peppered with tRump and Barr plants, and had to clean up and rebuild the, institution at the same time he set up the J6 investigation. The death of the Unabomber this past weekend is a reminder of Garland's keen and patient (not a "lack of urgency") successful investigations of that case and the Oklahoma City bomber. It had to be done right. tRump will be al caponed (at Bedminster?!)
The downside for people like us, who can see exactly what is and has been going on, is that we get impatient. I'm not a lawyer but I know Orange. And he knows every dirty trick in the book. Garland has to anticipate every trick Orange will pull out of his bag - remember he learned from one of the most DESPICABLE humans to walk the Earth - Roy Cohn.
Gail, you are spot on there, respect to Roy Cohn. He was a pretty despicable human being and trump learned at his knee, He seemed to have an array of bad actors, like Cohn & Stone; who were willing to enable & share their wicked outlook on life/ business/ politics with him. But trump already had a head start; given the family he was born into.
Finally, finally...I've been waiting for anyone to state the obvious about that picture of the materials strewn about and the illogical coincidences of everything that went down at Bedminster that summer. Seems like everything that happens in FL stays in NJ.
The media's unwillingness to treat/see Trump as the mob figure he's always been is his Kryptonite. Jersey peeps have understood his motives since the '80s.
Agreed. No cuffs, no mugshot, no taken into jail, no bail / own recognizance, no travel restrictions, no gag order, and no cameras in the place. Like it never happened.
The way I see it, this was done so that down the road - 1 month, 1 year, 50 years? - the "witch hunt" aspect of this will be eliminated. We all know that the further away we get from this, the clearer things become. It's hard to see something that is too close to your face but when you pull away, it becomes clearer. By the way, I take great offense to his use of the idea of a "witch hunt" - he has no idea what that actually feels like.
Yes…I understand that Mark Meadows helped pack up some of those documents. I also thought Walt Nauta was assisting Trump also in the WH…we will see how all shakes out. Smith is going to push to get this espionage case out of the way, information set out in this particular indictment is but a small part of what Smith has to present in this espionage case.
Waiting until Jan 6/21 trial comes about, this is the one that needs to have Fox News called as a witness, if Smith doesn’t take advantage of the fact Fox News aided Trump, the thousands of insurrectionists, by keeping the “Blatant lies of a stolen election, Green Bay Sweep” as their main topic in most of their news shows…
Once Smith has the J/6 documents filed at court(if he hasn’t already filed, then sealed) I’m almost positive that Smartmatic v Fox News case will have be decided. This decision and their previous settlement with Dominion, can be used as evidence, in that Fox and social media aided in the gathering of witnesses to culminate in all of the disasters that followed.
I harbor no illusions about Trump, having heard for years his antics in news, on the billboards everywhere, incessantly, in New York all those years has left a lasting impression of yawning “so, what has Trump done now” along with “so what are they gonna do about Trumps crimes?”
This Federal indictment is the start of retribution for all of the crimes he committed against every small business owner, or individuals trying to make a living in unforgiving New York City “if you can make it here you can make it anywhere” state. Of course once Trump and Giuliani got together in the 1990’s it was as if Trump was in his glory..nothing he did from then on was a problem for then New York mayor Giuliani.
This is the start of the loosening of tension most of us have felt throughout this last 8 years this is a feeling of almost Relief that finally, someone is doing what needed to be done in the late 1980’s when Trump started his money laundering operation. Imprison this animal ASAP, he’s a tyrant, a cheater and he likely showed or copied classified documents to give to his foreign master Putin. Sure enough on last nights news Russian TV reported that Putin will help Trump to get out of these charges and reinstate him to the White House…bc he will totally ignore any of Putin’s war moves in respect of Ukraine, leaving Putin to swallow them and the rest of Europe for a new USSR. Horrors await Trump in prison. I hope…
Either he pays or we do. If back in power, he will invite Vlad to take over not only Ukraine but us as well. What do people think that smirk on Vlad’s face was all about in Helsinki?
If you remember what Christopher Steele wrote in his dossier, Trump was to cause chaos and division in USA, so Putin could expand throughout Europe unchallenged, to recreate USSR, annexing all that he wants. I had heard that Putin would then cede North America to Trump including Canada and Trump would share in the Rosneft Oil Co, along with Rex Tillerson of Exxon, Putin would drill for oil everywhere in northern Russia,Siberia, reclaim Alaska, and Northwest Territories. The newly open northern strait would be claimed by Russia. Putin wanted control of all natural resources, minerals, oil, diamonds, uranium…that was the plan as I understood it…America, Canada, Britain were collateral damage…
Not that climate change accelerates the melting of all those glaciers, making it easier to drill in the Arctic.
Horrific!
If the turnout at the courthouse yesterday was any indication, I don't think we have to worry much about his candidacy.
Drop a couple three 0's off that "expected 50,000 protestors".
Could it be that the magates didn't show up in droves because they were at work, thanks to Joe Biden's initiatives?!
Yes!
Jeri, many folks appear to have forgotten about trump'$ Helsinki meet up with Putin. Greg, you, I & and a number of other folks however, have not forgotten the little meet up. I'll always remember the look on Putin's face; a giddy school girl's expression after her first kiss, after trump & Putin had their private talk, with only an interpreter present. While trump's expression, bore the look of a bad school boy who'd been taken to the woodshed & knew he'd best bend to his master's will. One wonders how long trump's former presidency will continue to be " the gift that keeps on giving?" Or have we come to the end of the line & trump finally realizes it.
And I really have wondered what is in that casket buried in the Bedminster's back forty, that's supposed to be filled with Ivanna's remains. Nothing this crime family would attempt to pull off, if they could make a buck at it, would ever surprise me.
Agree with every word
Thanks, Mary. It certainly seems to be the dam beginning the burst. Yesterday was such an anticlimax, though. No bail, no loss of passport, no travel restrictions, no meaningful lack of comms between him and Nauta, no gag order, and no cameras anywhere. Almost like it never happened.
With that said, it DID happen, and Jack Smith was there giving him the eye the whole time. SO: bring it on!
That was a mistake, Trump won’t get that he’s in trouble until they take his passport away…he’s just that obtuse
It also gives him more opportunities to make more mistakes!
Analphabetic, I love it. Thanks
It's the perfect insult word, because even the extremely literate have to look it up. : )
I looked it up! Thank you Professor Olear!
Again,you render me speechless..Harry Lyme indeed.I fear America will never be trusted again.We went from FDR.. wonderful Ally to our Friends,even Russia to this .. Baseball Card trader.He always was a hoarder..making inventories of ALL HIS STUFF..and his gross wife that had so many suitcases..they couldn't fit with all his Treasonous Memorabilia.Your description is perfectly expressed.But anyone who followed him knew this..He was like the Hermann Goering of Washington DC..Stealing appropriating all Americans treasure,not to mention Cash..I still contend that when he (and uninvited family)visited QE2 and saw her possessions,(unlimited wealth and oppulence he decided to stay in office and become King of America.Just a deadly Hoarder.👿ps..noneof the Billionaires can be sated.🤑
He often leaves me speechless
[speechless]
Thanks, Katie. Yes, the erosion of trust with our allies is an underreported consequence of Trump's carelessness. It's just all so awful.
A shower full of secrets. #TraitorTrump
Godspeed, Special Counsel Jack Smith ⚖️ #AboveTheLaw no more.
Ah yes, that obscured-by-clouds Pink Floyd track...
Lord, do you have his number…. 100%
Thank you!
And there’s trouble right here in River City.
Trouble with a capital T and that's the same as T and that stands for TREASON.
Don't we hang traitors in this country anymore?
I hope you're sending everything you write about Huckster #1 to Jack Smith, in case he's missed any angle or opportunity. Also, Jack Smith gives me at least slim hope for humanity that, finally, one person apparently has the courage and brains to do something possibly effective about a monster so "gifted" at schmoozing, lying, threatening, and blackmailing that the rest of the world hasn't managed to end his reign of terror. That photo of our country's security secrets strewn across his floor is beyond disgusting. He's a salesman for sure and surely among devil's favorite purchases.
Thank you. After the last few days, any doubts or hesitations I had about Smith are gone. He knows a lot more than I do, I'm sure...but who knows, maybe he does.
If you don't think Trump was going to use those documents, to generate money by everything from eBay to Putin you haven't been watching or listening. The tread running through Trump and Trump's family past and present is bright red and toxic. The difference between Clinton and Trump is the difference between muddled and malicious. Good and evil. He realized that rich white politicians don't hold rich white politicians accountable especially if you overwhelm the system with a constant stream of criminal activity. Republicans making excuses are not defenders but accomplices.
The Republicans with their "weaponization of DOJ" bullshit are creating a dangerous environment in the country. They are basically a New Confederacy at this point.
Yup.
I really hope you read "A Fever in the Heartland". Everything that is happening now, happened 100 years ago in 1923 Indiana. But it was scarier then than it is now, in my opinion, because now there are more of us than of them. Every page is a horror and a revelation. Cal sent me an excerpt to read and I happened to be traveling through Indiana when he sent it.
Mary Trump was on with Lawrence O'Donnell last night (June 12th). In response to a question that Andrew Weismann asked, she said that the whole family is transactional, and that the only thing that matters to them is money. The obvious, yet not explicitly stated context was that Trump was, as Greg points out, selling the information.
On another note with respect to the mess Trump has created for our country (not unlike the messes he made in virtually everything he did in business), if the case in Florida goes south (pardon the pun) because of Judge Aileen Cannon, the person who should bear the blame isn't Jack Smith, but Merrick Garland. Had Garland better used the many months time he had after the insurrection to build a case, and present it to a DC Grand Jury, it's almost a certainty that a true bill would have resulted. Trump would have been indicted for seditious conspiracy before he was a candidate, eliminating that problem. And most importantly, there would have been no possibility of a venue issue, since the case would have been prosecuted in DC. Ergo no Aileen Cannon.
Excellent point. One wonders how badly Cannon can muck this up. On the other hand, this is only the first -- and not nearly the last -- indictment handed down. There's a J6 one coming in DC, where the judge won't be nearly as favorable. And it may well be that there will be a superseding indictment here, if it is proved that Trump sold secrets.
I'm not with the "Garland has done nothing" crowd, because he clearly has, but I think he's not good at his job, and we would have been better served with somebody else. His lack of urgency and lack of communication skills are bad.
Excellent piece, Greg! But I continue to give 100% approval rating to Garland. He walked into a DOJ peppered with tRump and Barr plants, and had to clean up and rebuild the, institution at the same time he set up the J6 investigation. The death of the Unabomber this past weekend is a reminder of Garland's keen and patient (not a "lack of urgency") successful investigations of that case and the Oklahoma City bomber. It had to be done right. tRump will be al caponed (at Bedminster?!)
The downside for people like us, who can see exactly what is and has been going on, is that we get impatient. I'm not a lawyer but I know Orange. And he knows every dirty trick in the book. Garland has to anticipate every trick Orange will pull out of his bag - remember he learned from one of the most DESPICABLE humans to walk the Earth - Roy Cohn.
Gail, you are spot on there, respect to Roy Cohn. He was a pretty despicable human being and trump learned at his knee, He seemed to have an array of bad actors, like Cohn & Stone; who were willing to enable & share their wicked outlook on life/ business/ politics with him. But trump already had a head start; given the family he was born into.
...which is why Putin was so giddy when he got elected. Yes, such a useful idiot. Allegedly!
Exactly. "Allegedly," in this particular case, is almost a punchline. Of course he did it.
Why haven't trump's other properties been searched?
Excellent question. Maybe they (a few) have in the dark?
I think so, yes.
I assume they have.
Finally, finally...I've been waiting for anyone to state the obvious about that picture of the materials strewn about and the illogical coincidences of everything that went down at Bedminster that summer. Seems like everything that happens in FL stays in NJ.
Ha! Well put. We have to discuss motive, and his motive is obvious.
The media's unwillingness to treat/see Trump as the mob figure he's always been is his Kryptonite. Jersey peeps have understood his motives since the '80s.
Spot on.
Thanks!
Who gets a Summons for charges like this rather than an Arrest Warrant? They're still treating djt with the softest of kid gloves and it's nauseating
Agreed. No cuffs, no mugshot, no taken into jail, no bail / own recognizance, no travel restrictions, no gag order, and no cameras in the place. Like it never happened.
It galls me
The way I see it, this was done so that down the road - 1 month, 1 year, 50 years? - the "witch hunt" aspect of this will be eliminated. We all know that the further away we get from this, the clearer things become. It's hard to see something that is too close to your face but when you pull away, it becomes clearer. By the way, I take great offense to his use of the idea of a "witch hunt" - he has no idea what that actually feels like.
The Clintons know all too well about the "Witch Hunt"
"...as someone with the attention span of a spooked kitten..." - belly laugh!
Dennis Miller once said someone had the attention span of "a ferret on a double espresso," but that was decades ago when he was still funny...
Yes, he used to be so funny. So sad that was taken from us.
I am also curious as to who chose the documents to take from the White House and who packed them into those frumpy boxes destined for the Gold Palace.
Exactly Gail! We’re missing a rather large point in the boxes story.
Yes, I hope that comes out during the trial. I am sure they determined that during the investigation.
Yes…I understand that Mark Meadows helped pack up some of those documents. I also thought Walt Nauta was assisting Trump also in the WH…we will see how all shakes out. Smith is going to push to get this espionage case out of the way, information set out in this particular indictment is but a small part of what Smith has to present in this espionage case.
Waiting until Jan 6/21 trial comes about, this is the one that needs to have Fox News called as a witness, if Smith doesn’t take advantage of the fact Fox News aided Trump, the thousands of insurrectionists, by keeping the “Blatant lies of a stolen election, Green Bay Sweep” as their main topic in most of their news shows…
Once Smith has the J/6 documents filed at court(if he hasn’t already filed, then sealed) I’m almost positive that Smartmatic v Fox News case will have be decided. This decision and their previous settlement with Dominion, can be used as evidence, in that Fox and social media aided in the gathering of witnesses to culminate in all of the disasters that followed.
I hope that happens and it all ties together, as it should. That makes the narrative easier for folks to see.
Thank you for explaining this. You've inspired a new surge of hope!
Another good question.