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Linda Weide's avatar

I have understood from the gitgo that Trump's goals as president are to rob the population blind and grift from everyone that he can. He is successful in that. Look at the 20 or 40 billion given to Milei to help him win again in Argentina. I suspect that the AfD of Germany is making all these visits to the US at Trump and other Republican invitation to get funding that they would not be allowed to get in Germany without reporting it. He is running the US as a criminal enterprise.

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Mary Moody's avatar

The new American Mob!

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celeste k.'s avatar

Another reason to safeguard our elections and use the voice our Constitution gives us - our vote. If those Senators think they deserve to fleece us for investigating what led to an attempt to overthrow our government, they are mistaken. And trump is mistaken as well. And if Americans don't line up in droves to vote and get rid of them, replace them in Congress, then we'll have no one to blame but ourselves. This BS will continue until half the country is homeless, hungry and powerless.

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B. Wells's avatar

Well expressed ! Thanx.

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Katy Bolger's avatar

If I was teaching this to a room of high school students it would sound absurd. We are deep in the muck at present but ten years from now, this story will be jaw dropping or wiped from history, depending on the outcome of the resistance against this filthy, crooked, unAmerican administration and all of the parasites sucking off the sour teet of a corrupt government.

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NubbyShober's avatar

Not in a Red state. The textbooks there are all Administration-compliant, and Heritage-Foundation-approved. In addition to learning about all the job skills enslaved Americans were once so fortunate to receive, school kids can also learn about the wonders of Cryptocurrency, and how the Trump Crime Family fully deserves the several billion dollars they've so far managed to grift from the taxpayers. MAGA!

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Johan's avatar

The farce of justice.

Flynn pled guilty under oath, admitted the facts, and now stands to be rewarded with millions in taxpayer money for his loyalty to Trump. And Trump himself is openly maneuvering to pay himself out of the public treasury. That’s not law, that’s grift institutionalized.

In my last piece, No One Deserves This: Free Will & Cruelty, I wrote about how systems of justice get twisted into instruments of retribution and spectacle. What we’re seeing here is the same behavioral pattern: mercy and accountability replaced by loyalty payouts, cruelty reframed as authority, and the illusion of law used to mask corruption.

Thank you for writing!

I’m fascinated by human behavior and write about these things…the farce of justice, the weaponization of institutions, the behavioral mechanics of power. This isn’t just about Flynn or Trump; it’s about how authoritarian regimes hollow out law until it becomes nothing but a stage for grift.

And naming that farce is the first step toward resisting it.

—Johan

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B. Wells's avatar

Thank you for your writing, too. Excellent.

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Peter's avatar

Trump will order Blondi to settle with Flynn and any of the Senate co-conspirators who are craven enough to sue. They will be awarded whatever the maximum award is. 10 - 50% of that award will be kicked back to Trump. Not to the "library". Not to the "ballroom". Trump. It will go directly into his pocket just as the soldiers always kick up to the capos and the don.

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Joseph Mangano's avatar

Don't like the rules? Just rewrite them or wait long enough for the next person in charge to provide you a more favorable outcome. What's that? These new rules materially benefit you? How strange!

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Katy Bolger's avatar

We are all, here in Judd's comments, a choir singing our tune. Show this column to a normal MAGA with at least a high school education. Judd's is clear writing of a handful of stories easily understood by an 18-year-old with an average IQ, and what would they think? I am curious how, if given the truth (in trump's world aka pravda), a Trump supporter would defend these corruptions, these money grabbing actions by, not only the president's closest supporters, but the president himself, to grab our money, our hard earned and voluntarily given through taxation to the government, could they see the corruption? Without any prompting, would they say, "hey, that's messed up."

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David Shible's avatar

I disagree. They will shrug their shoulders and proclaim that Trump is their guy. They call any corruption fake news or that Jan 6 hostages deserve compensation. That is how a cult of personalities works.

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B. Wells's avatar

Why don’t you do the asking? In your neighborhood or community organization ?

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Mike McCabe's avatar

This is what authoritarians do and that is why dumbass has admired Putin, Erdogan and others. He sees principled people as weak and is so morally bankrupt that he could never consider doing a good deed for someone else without expecting to be rewarded for it.

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Martin Solomon's avatar

So we are paying taxes for the Trump

Administration to take our money, spend

It on things we do not agree to like creating an ICE army of gestapo troops and paying for his jumbo jet remodeling or Kristi Noem’s private luxury jets. At the same time he is taking our tax dollars and giving them away to his supplicants and putting the money in his own pocket. Sounds to me like it’s time for a taxpayer revolt.

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JenneJ's avatar

Yes Martin, we are. It's also important to remember that when a Democrat is president, the Republican's feel the same way about government programs implemented to support things they don't agree with, like student loan forgiveness, or Medicaid to able bodied people, and green energy. The Democrats also give cushy positions to their friends and kickbacks to their supporters. I would like to withhold tax dollars to protest against ALL of it, but there is no way to do that without going to prison for tax evasion. If you find a way, please let me know.

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Katie Galvin's avatar

I am so sickened by this criminal enterprise. Great reporting thank you

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mark's avatar

The king of pigs calls SOOEY and the hogs come running to feed at the trough. Time to send these little piggies to market!!

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Brenda's avatar

Most corrupt government ever!!!

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Susan Guyaux's avatar

If you are an exhausted American, raise your hand. It’s endless and repugnant…the constant grift, the senseless word vomiting, and continued misery inflicted on his “Democratic enemies “ is wearing us down. But! We must continue resisting and fighting back! Find a governmental office and run for it! Just do it! And VOTE BLUE!

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B. Wells's avatar

And talk to your neighbors!

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Adam's avatar

GOP = Grifting On the People!

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Jim Carmichael's avatar

Thank you for your eagle eyes! The grift and graft is so fast and furious that no one else has noticed it. If we don’t go broke, it will be a miracle.

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Adam's avatar

We're probably broke already and don't know it yet.

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Jim Carmichael's avatar

Exactly what I figure . . .

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Adam's avatar
Nov 17Edited

Unfortuntately we are still flying blind with the current maladministration.

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Robert's avatar

Katy, well said… Judd reporting so truly needed but on whose ears will it fall …

Wake Up America!

Your freedom is being sold!

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Joe Weicher's avatar

Recovering lawyer here. What still surprises me, and it shouldn’t at this point, is all the lawyers who eagerly participate in these charades. When I was sworn in, I took an oath to, among other things, uphold the constitution, conduct myself with honor and truth, etc. Do they still do that?

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