91 Counts and Booked

The most recent, and perhaps last, Grand Jury brought forth its election abuse indictments in Georgia last week. This now counted some 91 charges levied against the former president in a series of local, state, and federal charges for actions he took before, during, and after his time in office. Eighteen other defendants joined him in the RICO charges that claimed a conspiracy in efforts to overturn the election, intimidate election workers, tamper with voting machines, change votes in Georgia, and create fake electors, among other offenses. The DA ordered all charged to appear at the Jail in Fulton County for booking.

Booking requires in-person fingerprinting and a mug shot. All 19 defendants showed up within the allotted time. The sheriff released the photos of each indicted person. Of course, the former president tried to capitalize on this event. He must have practiced before the mirror for weeks, so he could get his scowl just right! Later, saying he thought he looked like Churchill (in his dreams!) he monetized the event by selling $35 tee shirts with the photo and the slogan “Never surrender” on them. I cannot imagine ever wearing one of these shirts, or spending the money he charges for one. To me, the photo brought to mind the face a three-year-old child might make when thwarted; standing with crossed arms and stamping his foot. Each person was required to complete a form listing physical characteristics and weight. People I know were betting on his height and weight, but, as usual, he lied on this form as well, listing his height as 6’3” and his weight as 215; when he was booked earlier this year in Manhattan, his height was 6’2” and weight was 240. Facebook friends delighted in comparing fit football players in uniform with the same stats next to the not-so-svelte former president. Quite a difference, it seems! So, who knows about his stats? Usually, as people age, they lose height and gain weight if they are healthy. Someone listed his hair as strawberry blonde, so go figure! Do you remember that commercial-“hair color so real, only her hairdresser knows for sure?”

Elon Musk removed the former president’s Twitter ban that had been in place since January 6^th, so DJT showed up on the renamed platform called “X” with the mug shot photo, for his first reappearance there. I hope the Facebook bans continue.

Defendant Rudy Giuliani is said to be almost broke, is losing his law license, is being sued by a former employee and by the Georgia election workers, and is begging for DJT to pay his legal bills. There is supposed to be a benefit gala at Mar a Lago soon, to help him pay his bills. Since the debts are said to be in the millions, it won’t be easy to make the goal. It is sad to see the former high-flying mayor of New York in this situation, but he has only himself to blame.

Another defendant, supposedly the mastermind for the fake elector scheme, Kenneth Cheseboro, requested a speedy trial. This action separates him from the other 18. DA Wilis said fine. She would be ready to try all defendants on October 23^rd, perhaps catching him and his defense attorneys off guard. Sidney Powell is also requesting an early trial, so well see what happens as each defendant tries to jockey dates to their best advantage. Willis had voiced plans to try all defendants together, so what will shake out is at this point unclear.

Mark Meadows tried to delay booking until after his request to change the venue to federal court, but that was denied, so they booked him as ordered.

A hearing is scheduled for Monday about this request. He claims he was just performing his duties as Chief of Staff. Wilis countered we forbid campaign activities under the Hatch Act which he had to follow as a Federal employee. (Do you remember Kelli Ann Conway getting into trouble for violating the same act?) Anyway, the advantage of being tried in Federal Court means the proceedings will not be televised, even though the court would meet in Georgia. The Federal Court could also draw jurors from a wider pool that might have a more republican leaning population than Fulton County. The former president is also said to be considering this option. Political pundits think neither is likely to prevail in these changes. The former president, who loves the TV cameras, does not want the court camera anywhere near him.

Tomorrow is also the day when the Federal January 6^th trial date will be set. The special prosecutor, Jack Smith, asked for an early January date; the defendants team requested a laughable date in 2026. Thoughts are that the judge will lean closer to Smith’s request.

This last week also brought changes in the Classified documents case. The Mar-a-Lago IT employee, who had an attorney provided by his boss, testified before the grand jury earlier in the year. Subsequently, he received a target letter telling him he was likely to be indicted. After asking the court for a new attorney, he changed his testimony and was not charged. Smith now expects him to testify against his co-worker and his boss. (Does this remind you of Cassidy Hutchinson?)

This week the Republicans held their first debate in Wisconsin. I did not watch it but caught snippets on the news. The New York Times reporters rated each candidate here. Of course, the former president, so far ahead in the polls, did not bother attending. He tried to counter-program with an interview with Tucker Carlson on YouTube, but it did not seem to matter. What a sorry bunch of presidential wannabes they are! When asked if DJT was convicted and was still the convention nominee, if they would support him, six said yes. (DeSantis raised his hand after looking around to see the consensus!) Asa Hutchinson and Chris Christie said no.

The eight people on the stage denied global climate change. They decried abortions at 38-40 weeks, which they claimed the Democratic Party supported. According to data reported by the Pew Research Center, in 2020, 53% of abortions were medication abortion, that is, patients took pills. This must occur in the first ten weeks.

93% of abortions occurred in the first trimester in 2020, 6% were between 14 and 20 weeks, with only 1% occurring later. Abortions performed in the later stages usually involved fetal abnormalities or pregnancy crises. The statements by candidates, Pence, and Scott, were lies. Nikki Haley acquitted herself well, but she has no hope of getting the Republican nod. DeSantis was not a factor, but discussed invading Mexico, to go after drug traffickers. He also bragged about dismissing duly elected Democratic District Attorneys who he felt were soft on crime. Vivek Ramaswamy, a 38-year-old tech entrepreneur, tried to out MAGA the MAGA crowd, saying he would not support Ukraine, and denying climate change; he said if elected and DJT was convicted, he would pardon him. He was called out by most of the others there. According to the Times, he was arrogant, obnoxious, and rude as he pandered to the base. Christie went after his attempt at channeling Barack Obama, with a line about a guy with a funny-sounding name. Sorry, Vivek, Barack did that line much better.

This weekend saw the 60^th Anniversary of the March on Washington led by Dr. King. Thousands came to town to continue to fight for many of the issues stressed back in 1963. Voting rights, legal rights, economic equality, adequate education, and jobs remain problems for many black and brown Americans 60 years later. But the dreams of that day have not gone away; it is up to all of us to do our best to right these wrongs and to continue to fight for justice. Sadly, the Supreme Court has done much to turn back gains made then. We need a Democratic Congress and President with the votes to make voting rights happen. Maybe that is also a dream, I don’t know.

Yesterday saw a 21-year-old white gunman outfitted in tactical gear, armed with semi-automatic weapons, and filled with hate, shoot three black residents minding their own business in Jacksonville, Florida. He then killed himself and left a hate-filled manifesto to explain his actions. He marked his guns with swastikas. Before attacking people at the Dollar General store, he tried to gain entry at a Black college (HBCU) but was turned away by security who called the police. Why do young people grow up with this ideology? I do not know. But I know it is time for society to say no more.

New reports say that white supremacists march frequently in Florida while spouting their hateful remarks. We have free speech; possibly those who believe otherwise need to speak out more. However, with the hysterical atmosphere that DeSantis’ authoritarian tactics have created in the state, I understand why some might be reluctant to come forward. It is a sad situation.

‘Til next week-Peace- I hope.

Disqualified?!

 

Not only was the former president indicted for multiple offenses under the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) by District Attorney Fani Willis in Atlanta last week, but many of those who aided and abetted his plots were as well. Thus, we now see Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Mark Meadows John Eastman, and others all charged under the conspiracy clause. The 100-page indictment included 19 defendants in total. The former president now has 91 felony counts charged against him over the last few months.

Prosecutor Willis indicated she wants to try all defendants together, as many of their cases overlap. But those in the know say this will most likely not happen. Some expect that the lesser defendants might plea bargain and have their cases resolved before the actual trial dates. Willis asked for a March trial date.

(Speaking of trial dates, attorneys for DJT requested a 2026 date for the trial of the former president’s attempts to overturn the 2022 election! They attempted to make the case that the document review would take that long. Jack Smith has reviewed the relevant documents in a few short months. He requested a trial date to begin in January 2024. The Judge, in this case, noted that continued misbehavior by the defendant would move the trial date up even closer.) Stay tuned!

Perhaps at long last, the Teflon billionaire who once bragged he could get away with shooting someone in broad daylight on Fifth Avenue in New York City may now find that his misdeeds have caught up with him. We can only hope that some of these charges will be borne out and they will convict him of multiple felonies.

But, the Constitution does not prohibit a felon from becoming president, did you realize that? And I know, our judicial system presumes innocence until conviction. But, if one looks at the charges, how could he not be convicted? And defense attorneys will tell you it just takes one contrary juror to find him innocent. If every juror stands by their oaths to be impartial, as far as I can see, he should be convicted everywhere! But, as they say, time will tell.

I was also pleased to see that those who went after the two Black women poll workers, Ruby Freeman, and her daughter Shaye Moss, were included in the charges. Not only Giuliani and DJT but also those who attempted to threaten and intimidate them directly were charged.

Mark Meadows, the chief of staff who refused to testify before the January 6^th House Committee but shared his emails, was charged with election interference. It was thought that he was cooperating with the DOJ investigation by Jack Smith since he was not named as an unindicted co-conspirator in that case, however, his attempts to enter rooms where recounts were taking place and participation in the infamous call to Secretary Raffensperger, may have sealed his fate. Meadows immediately tried to ask for the case to be removed from state courts to Federal Courts as he said he was doing his White House job. However, none of his White House duties required him to monitor campaign or election activities.

Also indicted in Georgia was attorney Kenneth Cheseboro from Wisconsin, I think. He received an appointment to the DOJ after the election and was the supposed brain behind the “fake electors” schemes. According to the ABA Law Journal, earlier, he had collaborated with John Eastman to end birthright citizenship. Some say he was behind the letter that Jeffrey Clark wanted to send to the states as an attempt to delay the vote certifications. Someone uncovered video footage recently, which showed Cheseboro among the rioting crowds at the Capitol. Once he made millions in the Bitcoin market and became a conservative, Cheseboro moved to Puerto Rico, where he now lives. He was once a student and researcher for Professor Laurence Tribe (see below) but according to Tribe, Cheseboro has misinterpreted his writings in recent communications to make it appear that Tribe supported his theories. Some also think that he is one of the five unindicted co-conspirators in Jack Smith’s case against the former president.

But, many scholars are pointing to an article recently published that may do what trials cannot do, disqualify DJT from any Federal office.

In a new article for The Atlantic,  and quoted by Yahoo here: ‘retired former federal judge J. Michael Luttig and top legal scholar Laurence Tribe make the case that the Constitution includes a provision that disqualifies Donald Trump from holding public office again. Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment is also known as the “disqualification clause.” It’s only two sentences long but it could doom Trump’s bid to return to the White House. The disqualification clause “forbids the former president from holding the office of the presidency again because of his conduct in and around January 6, 2021,” says Judge Luttig. And as Tribe points out, it’s not a sanction against an individual. “The framers of the 14th Amendment took great care not to treat this as a punishment … Nobody has a right to be president without meeting the qualifications.”

Judge Luttig and Professor Tribe are both knowledgeable regarding Constitutional law. In fact, Vice President Pence consulted the Judge in the days before January 6^th when the then-president was attempting to get Pence to delay the Certifying Vote for the 2020 Election in Congress. Professor Tribe taught some of the Supreme Court Judges when they were at Harvard College. He is known throughout the country as a student and interpreter of the Constitution. They write:

“The historically unprecedented federal and state indictments of former President Donald Trump have prompted many to ask whether his conviction pursuant to any or all of these indictments would be either necessary or sufficient to deny him the office of the presidency in 2024.

Having thought long and deeply about the text, history, and purpose of the Fourteenth Amendment’s disqualification clause for much of our professional careers, both of us concluded some years ago that, in fact, a conviction would be beside the point. The disqualification clause operates independently of any such criminal proceedings and, indeed, also independently of impeachment proceedings and of congressional legislation. The clause was designed to operate directly and immediately upon those who betray their oaths to the Constitution, whether by taking up arms to overturn our government or by waging war on our government by attempting to overturn a presidential election through a bloodless coup.”

The relevant phrase is:

“No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”

Two conservative scholars, William Baude, and Michael Stokes Paulsen, both members of the Federalist Society, also spoke out recently to support the clause mentioned above and said:

“The bottom line is that Donald Trump both “engaged in” “insurrection or rebellion” and gave “aid or comfort” to others engaging in such conduct, within the original meaning of those terms as employed in Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment. If the public record is accurate, the case is not even close. He is no longer eligible to the office of Presidency, or any other state or federal office covered by the Constitution.”

Our government must take this action. This clause does not make clear just who the enforcer should be. The states could be the deciders in their decisions on whether to place the name of the disgraced president on the ballot. If each Secretary of State decided that DJT had violated his solemn oath and taken actions against the United States, they could disallow his petitions to be on the ballot. Does our country have the will to do this? What might be the reaction from the members of the MAGA cult? Would we have another coup attempt?

Of course, the candidate could petition this to the Supreme Court. With luck, those members will remember they once took an oath also and decide the case as the Constitution demands.

2024 promises to be a roller coaster of a year!

Don’t get down and out about all of these things. Try to trust our Department of Justice and juries.

If all else cannot improve your mood, go see Barbie! It is a funny, campy film that showcases female empowerment and much more–Enjoy! There are many reasons it has grossed more than a Billion dollars worldwide!

“Til next week-Peace!”

 

Ohio Says Nope!

The Ohio State Fair ended a few days ago. Visitors could watch pig races, go for camel rides, and marvel at the Butter Cow! They could visit the animal pens, attend the awards ceremonies, or hear concerts from several well-known musical acts. Both adults and children could visit the Midway rides and the sideshows. They could choose among those with sleight of hands acts, perhaps, or throw the baseball at a target to win a stuffed animal.

As we are seeing this week at the nearby Iowa State Fair, politicking is a major part of these fairs. Most state officeholders will be attending. In an early caucus state such as Iowa, national candidates also make appearances.

But, back to Ohio, shortly after the State Fair ended, voters throughout the state cast ballots on a state-wide referendum called Question 1. A yes vote would increase the percentage of votes required to pass a referendum to 60% from the current 50%. A No vote would keep the percentage at its current level. Despite the state legislature deciding last year to no longer hold August votes, due to usually low turnout and little interest, the secretary of state and others thought it might be a good idea this year. Voters had successfully petitioned to put on the November election ballot, a measure enshrining abortion rights into the State Constitution. This came after the state instituted strict changes with a six-week abortion ban following the Supreme Court anti-abortion Dobbs decision. That petition would have required only a simple majority vote to pass. The Republican legislature supported the summer vote, thinking this would be the easiest way to sneak it past the voting public. If it passed, that would have required the Fall referendum to get 60% approval. (The Kansas abortion foes tried the same maneuver last year and lost resoundingly.)

However, it turns out the Ohio voters are smarter than the state officials thought; they showed up for early voting and election day voting in droves. National interests prioritized this vote and millions of dollars poured into the state from supporters of both sides. Ballotpedia estimated that over 32.5 million dollars supported these campaigns by the end. Eight out of ten dollars came from out of state, with national persuasion attempts from each side. Television campaigns, yard signs, text messages, and mail campaigns implored each side to turn out and support their causes.

President Biden lost Ohio in 2020 by a margin of 8 percentage points. In a hard-fought campaign, Republican candidate JD Vance won over Democrat Tim Ryan for a Democratic Senate seat by approximately 7 percentage points. As a result, Republicans felt that there was a good likelihood that voters would support Question 1 in this Republican state.

But hold on, the voters seemed to say. In many cases, they had been to the State Fair, and they recognized a deceptive ploy for what it was. They saw the bait and switch used and knew they would not win that teddy bear in the baseball throw. Nor were they going to be tricked into staying home on what was being portrayed as a simple procedural vote. (Nothing to see here folks–pay no attention to the man behind the curtain…as they say in The Wizard of Oz.)

Unfortunately, the secretary of state was recorded saying the quiet part out loud–that the question was really about abortion and making it harder for the abortion amendment to pass.

According to the New York Times, people saw through these tactics.

The measure passed resoundingly with a 57% to 43% margin. In this sleepy summer election, voters turned out and cast over 2.8 million votes. That was way above the 2022 primary election voter tally of 1.66 million votes. One voter told a reporter: “This was one of the lowest, below-the-belt actions I’ve seen in politics ever.”

Kelly Hall, a leader for the “NO” vote, noted that the voters saw the campaign as a power grab by the legislature. She added, “Voters know what’s up when they are asked to vote their rights away.”

The voters also rejected other negative provisions on the ballot. One would have required petitioners to collect signatures on their petitions from every county in the state, doubling the current requirement. Another would have refused timely signature corrections that are currently allowed.

The supporters widely expect that the referendum will pass and allow Ohioans to again have access to the reproductive health services they are used to receiving.

Starting with the mid-summer vote in Kansas last year and continuing through court actions, those states that imposed strict laws against abortion access are seeing courts and voters speak out. Voters in Kentucky and Montana joined Kansas in supporting abortion rights in their states. Voters in Wisconsin elected a Judge for the Supreme Court who supported abortion rights, overturning a previous hostile bench majority. Nevada, Maryland, Colorado, and New York are looking forward to measures passing that would make reproductive rights part of the state constitution. Efforts are underway in several other states for referendums to be on the ballot in 2024.

Several states that imposed six-week bans are now in court trying to defend their laws. According to the Washington Post, nearly one in three women, ages 15-44, live in states where abortion is banned or mostly banned.

In Texas, recently, several women who had traumatic or high-risk pregnancies testified about the effects the Texas six-week ban and threats of fines or jail for providers had on their lives and health. They denied some women timely care when they were carrying a non-viable fetus. One mother had to carry to term a fetus that had only a partial skull and brain and stopped breathing shortly after delivery.. Delayed care led to infections in some patients who had miscarriages. The judge called the law ambiguous, making it difficult for women to receive necessary care in emergent situations.

She banned the state from enforcing its punitive measures in cases after six weeks where a patient’s life or health could be endangered by an emergent medical condition. The state is appealing. Florida has also reported similar situations; its six-week ban is paused presently, so the 15-week period is still in place.

Have the zealots in the Republican party overplayed their hands by rushing to pass heart-beat or conception-limiting laws? Arkansas went against the will of its populace and imposed strict petition requirements for any ballot measures, similar to those attempted in Ohio. Other red states are trying to pass similar restrictions. Ohioans are lucky that they already had their signatures collected before the stunt happened in their state, or they, too, would have been unlucky.

Democrats see abortion as an issue they can carry into the 2024 elections and seem somewhat surprised that it continues to be a hot-button issue, as described by CNN, especially for women and independent voters. Voters continue to support access to reproductive services in national polls with 64% disapproving of the Dobbs decision. As the economy improves, “Bidenomics” gets more underway, and inflation slows down to almost normal levels, Republicans have few issues to run on.

Despite the Special Prosecutor appointed this week in the Hunter Biden case, that alone is not enough of a significant issue. It should not lend itself to both sides, “isms’, no matter what the right-wing media thinks. Late taxes, and a gun permit violation (not China money or Ukrainian deals) vs. three, possibly four Federal/state indictments for conspiracy, false electors, intimidation, voter fraud, withholding classified documents, attempts to obstruct, etc.? Get serious out there! There should be no comparisons.

Of course, there are still those subjected to the MAGA cult. They continue to believe the lies still told by the former president. I hope that the warnings given this week, by the judge hearing his case, find their target and mute his responses. His speeches targeted Jack Smith, the special prosecutor, Fanni Willis, in Atlanta; he also suggested he could not get a fair trial in DC. The only official figure not castigated seems to be his hand-picked judge in Florida, Eileen Cannon. Because of his example, most public figures in opposition have received threats and are now under Marshall's protection. Last week, in Utah, federal officials killed a man who resisted arrest, after they came to question his threats against the president, vice president, the attorney general, and others. The crazies are out there and DJT knows how to push their buttons.

While we go forward, rumors abound that the Atlanta grand jury will give the DA her indictments in the coming days. Like many others, I await those decisions.

‘Til next week-Peace!

I'm Coming After You!

After all the news about the latest indictments of the former president this week, I was startled to see his all-caps pronouncement on Friday that "If you come after me, then I am coming after you!"

This absolutely defied the judge's admonition at his arraignment to not threaten or tamper with any witnesses who testified before the Grand Jury. Consequently, his lawyers must appear in court on Monday to discuss his threats. Some have said that he is already in contempt of the conditions of his bail, but many are wondering just how much defiance this judge will allow him. (I cannot decide whether this threat sounds like playground bullies or bad gangster movies!)

Special prosecutor Jack Smith asked the judge for a protective order: as quoted from USA Today:  "As Donald Trump made more threats against opponents in the wake of a third indictment, special counsel Jack Smith asked a judge late Friday for a protective order against the ex-president, seeking to prevent him from publicizing evidence from witnesses."

Dan Balz, the veteran Washington Post columnist, wrote about this spectacle this week.

He commented that the 2024 campaign will be unlike any other, as everything will be shadowed by the former president and his legal battles. It will be more about the past than the future, even though campaigns traditionally offer visions for positive ideas and try to be uplifting.

He further says: "Trump, the apostle of grievance and victimhood, promises the opposite. The 2024 campaign cycle has barely begun, but Americans already have been subjected to an endless loop of revelations, commentary and now criminal indictments involving Trump's actions.

This campaign will be about the past for another reason. Trump wants to take the country back if elected to a second term — back to the attacks on government institutions with even more fervor than in his first term, back to the divisiveness that marked his tenure from 2017 to 2021. He has said that he will be his followers' retribution. There's nothing forward-looking in that pledge.”

After further discussion on traditional campaign issues such as the economy, inflation, and Bidenomics, which will be part of the speeches seen on the stump, Balz additionally discusses the threats to democracy which underline all other aspects this year. He says:

"Never in modern times in this country has a campaign been waged around such elemental questions about threats to democratic institutions and questions about the judicial system. That is the defining agenda for 2024, no matter on which side of the divide voters stand and regardless of other traditional issues that will be talked about over the next 15 months."

 

Former prosecutor Randall Eliason discusses the indictments brought by Jack Smith as brilliant in a New York Times opinion article:

"The lead charge, conspiracy under 18 U.S.C. 371, is a go-to charge for federal prosecutors. Count 1 charges a conspiracy to defraud the United States by obstructing and defeating the lawful counting of votes and certification of the election. Conspiracy is the perfect vehicle for describing a complex criminal scheme and identifying all the actors and everything they did."

Along with this charge to further discuss the conspiracy, the Special Prosecutor included 6 unindicted co-conspirators. CBS News tentatively identified these as Attorney Rudy Giuliani, Attorney John Eastman, Attorney Sidney Powell, Attorney Jeffrey Clark, Attorney Kenneth Chesbro, and a political consultant, not yet identified.

"Counts 2 and 3 are conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and obstruction of a proceeding, under 18 U.S.C. Section 1512. Prosecutors have successfully used this statute to charge hundreds of the Jan. 6 Capitol rioters, including members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, with disrupting the joint congressional proceeding to certify the election results."

The judge, Tanya Chutkan, selected to hear this case has already tangled with the president about the privacy of his documents, claiming at one point "that a president is not a King," when she permitted the January 6^th committee access to some presidential records. She has sentenced many January 6^th defendants to jail, with some receiving even harsher sentences than requested by prosecutors. President Obama nominated her, a black female immigrant from Jamaica, who previously served as a public defender, in 2014. The Senate approved Chutkan unanimously then.

 

"Count 4 is a civil rights violation under 18 U.S.C. Section 241. That statute makes it a crime to “injure, oppress, threaten or intimidate" any people in their exercise and enjoyment of rights guaranteed by the Constitution or laws. Based on the same evidence, this charge alleges that Mr. Trump and others conspired to injure one or more people by depriving them of their right to have their votes counted."

Section 241 initially was used against the Ku Klux Klan when it tried to intimidate black voters from voting in many parts of the country. This count alleges that by trying to usurp the proper certification of the electoral count and also by trying to further delay certifying and undercut that effort with fake electors, the former president, and his minions conspired to defraud the American voters.

 

Many have said this will be the trial of the century and that our democracy is at stake here. I agree. Despite the defenders of the former president who claim that he could do whatever he wished when he was president and that the indictment stifles his right to free speech, the counts do not mention his speech, but clearly define a conspiracy to overturn the election by multiple attempts. It acknowledges that some attempts were by legal means, such as challenges to individual voters. Others, such as the call to Georgia election officials such as Mr. Raffensberger, asking him to find the number of voters that could turn the state to a win for him, were illegal attempts to circumvent the will of the people.

 

As reported by the Daily Beast, the former president took to his 'Truth Social account' and called to have the trial moved to West Virginia, called the judge, a nightmare judge, and castigated Jack Smith as demented for charging him in a free speech case. I would not be surprised if the judge did not soon tell him he could no longer use social media or try some other type of gag order. DJT is truly walking a fine line and daring the judge to do anything about it. He has not quite realized that as a criminal defendant, he may have some privileges as a former president, but not so many as he might wish. (Apparently, he was furious that at the arraignment they addressed him as Mr., but not as Mr. President, he reportedly threw a tantrum on his plane ride home.)

Ruth Marcus had an excellent opinion column in the Washington Post recently, where she wrote the former president after conspiring to subvert the Constitution, is now trying to wrap himself in it and claim free speech.

She further states:

"But Trump is not being prosecuted for his repeated lies about a stolen election. He is being prosecuted for the efforts he made, the actions he took to operationalize that contention and prevent the clear will of the voters from being realized, or what the indictment calls "unlawful means of discounting legitimate votes and subverting the election results."

Just because words are involved in the commission of these alleged crimes does not mean that prosecuting Trump violates his First Amendment rights. The protections of the First Amendment are strong and capacious, but they are not unlimited.”

She quotes remarks on this issue by Congressman Jamie Raskin, who served on the Impeachment and January 6^th committees.

"The heart of our jurisprudence with respect to the First Amendment is the difference between regulating speech and regulating conduct," Rep. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Md.), once a constitutional law professor, told me. "Everything charged in the indictment involves criminal conduct by Donald Trump and not the mere expression of political views. If Donald Trump wanted to say that the joint session organizing the peaceful transfer of power was a fraud and a charade, he had every right to say that. But he had no right to actually obstruct the proceeding."

On the TV news channels, the former president's legal defenders are trying the case on the airwaves. Each day there seems to be a fresh line of defense. Free speech one day, presidential rights on another, a genuine belief in election fraud on another; despite multiple staff telling him he lost fairly, without fraud.

It seems they are trotting each one out to see which appears to poll higher in public opinion. Public opinion will not convince a judge, nor a serious jury. The saying goes that his lawyers just have to convince one juror. But it is telling to note that similar charges were considered before a special jury in Atlanta by the Fulton County DA Lewis and were agreed to by that jury. That DA is expects to announce the current grand jury findings as early as this week.

 

In my opinion, this man should never have been elected. DJT does not understand or respect democracy. He appears to have trampled on our laws and plans to do worse by exacting revenge should he ever gain power again. And, he has announced plans to destroy the structures that have held our democracy in place since the days of the Founding Fathers. He cannot be elected again. The Republican Party, so cowed by his threats to run candidates against those who speak out, continues to be silent.

Heather Cox Richardson commented on the arraignment this week (August 3, 2023) and quoted Professor Timothy Snyder:

"Yale history professor Timothy Snyder noted: “That Trump will be tried for his coup attempt is not a violation of his rights. It is a fulfillment of his rights. It is the grace of the American Republic. In other systems, when your coup attempt fails, what follows is not a trial." While Trump has tried to whip up his supporters to fight for him, only a few turned out today to protest the proceedings, likely in part because the prosecutions of January 6 rioters have shown there are serious consequences for such actions."

Life goes on. The former president continues to rant in anger. The justice system continues to prosecute those who act against our laws.

“Til next week-Peace!