Next Monday, April 15, Donald Trump will report to the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse to stand trial. According to the official summary released this week by Judge Juan Merchan, the case involves allegations that "Donald Trump falsified business records to conceal an agreement with others to unlawfully influence the 2016 presidential election." Specifically, the case will center around Trump's alleged efforts to conceal "payments…intended to reimburse Michael Cohen for money he paid to Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, in the weeks before the presidential election to prevent her from publicly revealing details about a past sexual encounter with Donald Trump." It will be the first time that a former president has been criminally prosecuted.
Have times changed so much that we consider it "so last century" when a candidate steps down from a presidential race because we learn that he cheated on his wife and had an affair [Gary Hart 1972]? Is it now fine with The Washington Post and The New York Times for presidential candidates to cheat on their wives? Do we now think that the Stormy Daniels coverup is old news and therefor boring? Bottom line: does the way Trump treats women as objects for sexual pleasure or disregards them as beling below his standard and thus unworthy of respect as our current national standard?
His view of women affects the way our culture deals with women's issues. Most women are now standing up against this Trumpian position with their votes when it comes to their bodies and abortion rights.
The editorial boards of our most powerful newspapers would be wise to wake up!
"In a February 16, 2024, piece published by Slate, former federal prosecutor Robert Katzberg called the case "far less significant than the criminality alleged" in other cases ..."
And yet, someone went to prison for these criminal acts. That the crimes pale in comparison to trying to overthrow the election is a meaningless distinction, at least as far as Michael Cohen is concerned.
I love the lines by so called 'legal experts' who are basically saying: "Sure, trump definitely broke the law and continues to break the law, but you can't get him on a case like this. He's too good at crime." - sorry what? If it broke the law, throw it in prison.
Only guilty people fight to stay out of court. He’s lived his corrupt life thinking he’s a mafia don and untouchable, he could have continued criming his way untouched until he pulled off the greatest con job of becoming president and robbing the citizens of money to raise the deficit by 7 trillion. The money he charged USSS to rent golf carts and rooms at his roach and bedbug infested gaudy golf clubs, the charges to use those clubs every weekend for events, use of the Air Force and AF1 to fly back and forth to his Mara Lardo. I think George Conway tracked the costs and by early 2020 it was 118 million. I think if he’d had the chance he’d have robbed the treasury to pay off his loans. It’s past his jail time as Jimmy Kimmel said, him and his entire corrupt grifting family needs to be remanded to Gitmo for the rest of their lives for the destruction to our democracy they’ve done. Oh BTW I hear he hates summers and fall in Florida so Gitmo would be so fitting while he sweeps sand from his cell, no internet, no McDonald’s, no golf and if any of his insurrectionists boats for Trump try to breach Gitmo they’ll be a nice bunch of army men with big guns waiting.
My guess is they will find him guilty, although I doubt he will see any jail time or pay any fines as he probably has the option to appeal it until the cows come home.
The time to have brought these charges would have been during his presidential run or after he entered office, as the federal government had the legal obligation to do so... despite the confusion that would have ensued.
Compared to the chaos created during his presidency and all the damages to the country and the world, the lawsuit back then would have seemed a 6 month flash in the pan and we wouldn't be where we are today...and where we have found ourselves over the last 8 years. They didn't seem to have any issue with trashing Hillary's campaign?
Lest we forget all the gov't. shutdowns, lost time and effort of Congress being distracted from the nations business the last 8 years, corporate malfeasance, Corporate tax giveaway, Covid disaster, Ukraine, Gaza, THE INSURRECTION, (yeah that's kind of a biggy I would think, deserving of capitalization) along with double digit criminal indictments...Why is this man still wandering around please? Really...I am seriously looking for the answers...anyone?
If I am correct, he has 30+ felony indictments and 80+ criminal charges pending (or not pending) so I guess that's not too many. I think that might be a record for the Guinness book?
And unlike any other US citizen, hasn't spent a night in jail, or been deported, and/or been found to be mentally incompetent to be a public official and inadequate to hold office, despite the fact that he thought a good way to change the direction of a hurricane would be to explode a nuclear weapon to divert its path? Please people...this is the former President of these United States!
I love how in your telling of the story, David Pecker takes a stand against paying another woman for a catch and kill story. Oh, Mr. Pecker must be a principled guy! He is as dirty as the bottom of my shoes. And his manipulation of his news stories during the 2016 campaigns is disgraceful.
Here's a task for you, Judd: make a list of the terrible things ALL candidates except Dump, got into while they were still running for president - according to David Pecker. Love child? Orgy photos? Embezzlement? Secret chronic illnesses? Et cetera.
Then, let's open the 30-year old trove of secrets Pecker has on Dump. Fun!!!
It's never the deed, but the cover up! Michael Cohen and Weisselberg both went to jail for the then president's game of deceit. I don't look for a trial to begin soon, as the sham lawyers will pull every trick in the book to delay - their go-to tactics on ALL 88 indictments against the Don! I keep hoping this house of cards falls down soon, and Trump is trumped by the LAW!
Think where we are. Mainstream media like WaPo, and distinguished Fordham law professors, opining that this particular criminal case against a former president of the United States isn't all that "compelling" compared to the others. Talk about normalizing.
I appreciate your writings/opinions so very much. I like to share them, but when there is an image of the great Orange one, I refrain. (Petty? Yes, I know.)
It would be wonderful if you could provide images that are pertinent to your articles without using TFG's image.
Have times changed so much that we consider it "so last century" when a candidate steps down from a presidential race because we learn that he cheated on his wife and had an affair [Gary Hart 1972]? Is it now fine with The Washington Post and The New York Times for presidential candidates to cheat on their wives? Do we now think that the Stormy Daniels coverup is old news and therefor boring? Bottom line: does the way Trump treats women as objects for sexual pleasure or disregards them as beling below his standard and thus unworthy of respect as our current national standard?
His view of women affects the way our culture deals with women's issues. Most women are now standing up against this Trumpian position with their votes when it comes to their bodies and abortion rights.
The editorial boards of our most powerful newspapers would be wise to wake up!
"In a February 16, 2024, piece published by Slate, former federal prosecutor Robert Katzberg called the case "far less significant than the criminality alleged" in other cases ..."
And yet, someone went to prison for these criminal acts. That the crimes pale in comparison to trying to overthrow the election is a meaningless distinction, at least as far as Michael Cohen is concerned.
Thank you for this clear and compelling summary of Bragg's case, Judd. Let's hope that justice will be done.
And here we are.
If this happened to someone other than tRUMP, would we be waiting some 7+ years for this outcome?
Excellent Judd:
The test to start will be jury selection.
Will one or more jurors ‘leave their MAGA hat in the car’ as happened with the Manafort juror? We’ll see.
That such a large number of people worship this piece of garbage is baffling and sad.
I love the lines by so called 'legal experts' who are basically saying: "Sure, trump definitely broke the law and continues to break the law, but you can't get him on a case like this. He's too good at crime." - sorry what? If it broke the law, throw it in prison.
Only guilty people fight to stay out of court. He’s lived his corrupt life thinking he’s a mafia don and untouchable, he could have continued criming his way untouched until he pulled off the greatest con job of becoming president and robbing the citizens of money to raise the deficit by 7 trillion. The money he charged USSS to rent golf carts and rooms at his roach and bedbug infested gaudy golf clubs, the charges to use those clubs every weekend for events, use of the Air Force and AF1 to fly back and forth to his Mara Lardo. I think George Conway tracked the costs and by early 2020 it was 118 million. I think if he’d had the chance he’d have robbed the treasury to pay off his loans. It’s past his jail time as Jimmy Kimmel said, him and his entire corrupt grifting family needs to be remanded to Gitmo for the rest of their lives for the destruction to our democracy they’ve done. Oh BTW I hear he hates summers and fall in Florida so Gitmo would be so fitting while he sweeps sand from his cell, no internet, no McDonald’s, no golf and if any of his insurrectionists boats for Trump try to breach Gitmo they’ll be a nice bunch of army men with big guns waiting.
My guess is they will find him guilty, although I doubt he will see any jail time or pay any fines as he probably has the option to appeal it until the cows come home.
The time to have brought these charges would have been during his presidential run or after he entered office, as the federal government had the legal obligation to do so... despite the confusion that would have ensued.
Compared to the chaos created during his presidency and all the damages to the country and the world, the lawsuit back then would have seemed a 6 month flash in the pan and we wouldn't be where we are today...and where we have found ourselves over the last 8 years. They didn't seem to have any issue with trashing Hillary's campaign?
Lest we forget all the gov't. shutdowns, lost time and effort of Congress being distracted from the nations business the last 8 years, corporate malfeasance, Corporate tax giveaway, Covid disaster, Ukraine, Gaza, THE INSURRECTION, (yeah that's kind of a biggy I would think, deserving of capitalization) along with double digit criminal indictments...Why is this man still wandering around please? Really...I am seriously looking for the answers...anyone?
If I am correct, he has 30+ felony indictments and 80+ criminal charges pending (or not pending) so I guess that's not too many. I think that might be a record for the Guinness book?
And unlike any other US citizen, hasn't spent a night in jail, or been deported, and/or been found to be mentally incompetent to be a public official and inadequate to hold office, despite the fact that he thought a good way to change the direction of a hurricane would be to explode a nuclear weapon to divert its path? Please people...this is the former President of these United States!
Yeah that's normal and reasonably intelligent?
Great clear article that nicely lays out the facts. Thank you.
I love how in your telling of the story, David Pecker takes a stand against paying another woman for a catch and kill story. Oh, Mr. Pecker must be a principled guy! He is as dirty as the bottom of my shoes. And his manipulation of his news stories during the 2016 campaigns is disgraceful.
Here's a task for you, Judd: make a list of the terrible things ALL candidates except Dump, got into while they were still running for president - according to David Pecker. Love child? Orgy photos? Embezzlement? Secret chronic illnesses? Et cetera.
Then, let's open the 30-year old trove of secrets Pecker has on Dump. Fun!!!
It's never the deed, but the cover up! Michael Cohen and Weisselberg both went to jail for the then president's game of deceit. I don't look for a trial to begin soon, as the sham lawyers will pull every trick in the book to delay - their go-to tactics on ALL 88 indictments against the Don! I keep hoping this house of cards falls down soon, and Trump is trumped by the LAW!
Think where we are. Mainstream media like WaPo, and distinguished Fordham law professors, opining that this particular criminal case against a former president of the United States isn't all that "compelling" compared to the others. Talk about normalizing.
NOTHING compares to trumpolini’s crimes. NOTHING AND NO ONE! To compare him to anyone else is to normalize a psychotic, deluded, seditionist, rapist.
I appreciate your writings/opinions so very much. I like to share them, but when there is an image of the great Orange one, I refrain. (Petty? Yes, I know.)
It would be wonderful if you could provide images that are pertinent to your articles without using TFG's image.
His pen was mightier than his sword.