Have you ever criticized Trump here? It's not a hard question to answer. Why do you keep dodging it?

Gift article from the Washington Post about how the continued GOP defense of Trump is going to cost the party. — Quixodian

I have a subscription to the WaPo. A couple of things that editorial doesn't mention: yes, gen-z'ers are coming of age to vote. The problem is: they won't. Young people don't vote in numbers that compare to older voters. This was discussed back when Trump was originally elected with regard to millennials.

The other thing that writer doesn't seem to notice is how much power Trump still has, after everything that's happened. It's not that all Republicans are crazy. It's that the crazy ones have all the power right now.

There's nothing controversial about any of this. If people who don't want Trump don't get out and vote, he'll have a second term

It's not that all Republicans are crazy. It's that the crazy ones have all the power right now. — frank

I agree, but I hope and believe that they are going to end up loosing. They are alienating millions of mainstream voters with their extremist ideology and conspiracy theories. They did poorly in Nov 22 and I think they’re going to do even worse next year.

I think they’re going to do even worse next year. — Quixodian

I hope so. We'll see.

I didn’t like when he said he was going to ban certain vaping products. Have you ever applauded him here?

I wanted him to successfully go after China, we almost had a DACA-for-border-funding deal, the Covid vaccine was a legendary accomplishment.

Do you think the DOJ is an independent agency of the US government — NOS4A2

No. But as I said, there's no evidence the DOJ is being influenced by Biden as Republicans allege.

Whereas https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/15/us/politics/trump-indictment-justice-department.html

When Donald J. Trump responded to his latest indictment by promising to appoint a special prosecutor if he’s re-elected to “go after” President Biden and his family, he signaled that a second Trump term would fully jettison the post-Watergate norm of Justice Department independence.

“I will appoint a real special prosecutor to go after the most corrupt president in the history of the United States of America, Joe Biden, and the entire Biden crime family,” Mr. Trump said at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., on Tuesday night after his arraignment earlier that day in Miami. “I will totally obliterate the Deep State.”

Such a hypocrite.

If memory serves, Trump fired Barr because he refused to investigate political rivals, and because he disputed claims of widespread voter fraud, speaking of a weaponized DOJ. Trump simply failed at it. He also failed to drain the swamp. No reason to think a second term would be any different. Can’t teach a fat old bad dog new tricks.

No. But as I said, there's no evidence the DOJ is being influenced by Biden as Republicans allege. — Relativist

I don't agree. The plea deal that fell apart was a sweetheart deal. It looks bad.

I don't agree. The plea deal that fell apart was a sweetheart deal. It looks bad. — RogueAI

What's the evidence Joe Biden had anything to do with it?

What's the evidence Joe Biden had anything to do with it? — Relativist

No evidence, except it's his son and his son is getting preferential treatment from the justice department. It looks bad.

It’s not true that DoJ is soft-peddling Hunter Biden. There’ve been numerous OPs in the US media to the contrary, that were Hunter Biden NOT the President’s son, none of the investigations would have happened at all. And furthermore that the DA that handled the investigation was a Trump appointee and stated unequivocally that there was no political interference in the case.

Trump fired Barr — praxis

Barr resigned before he was fired (although he might well have been fired had he not resigned).

And furthermore that the DA that handled the investigation was a Trump appointee and stated unequivocally that there was no political interference in the case. — Quixodian

And there are two whistleblowers who stated under oath that there was.

"IRS supervisory special agent Greg Shapley, and a second agent, Joe Ziegler, claimed there was what Shapley called in testimony a pattern of “slow-walking investigative steps” into Hunter Biden, including during the Trump administration in the months before the 2020 election that Joe Biden won."
https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-irs-justice-department-congress-republicans-32d9f33fb0d05c483d76926504d45bef

Also:

“I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled,” according to testimony the whistleblower gave to Congress, which quotes from texts that are allegedly from Hunter Biden to the CEO of a Chinese fund management company.

The message continues: “Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand. And now means tonight.” The message goes onto say, “I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction. I am sitting here waiting for the call with my father.”
https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/28/politics/hunter-biden-joe-biden-2017-text-message/index.html

No evidence, except it's his son and his son is getting preferential treatment from the justice department. It looks bad. — RogueAI

Is it truly a sweatheart deal? It's hard to find objective analysis. GOP still claims Hillary should have been indicted, although the evidence shows she was treated the same as others.

You referenced the whistleblowers:

And there are two whistleblowers who stated under oath that there was. — RogueAI

And yet, David Weiss disputes their claims. They could be giving their honest perceptions, but may not have an accurate understanding.

The alleged quote from Hunter claiming to be sitting next to his dad may, or may not, be accurate (Hunter's lawyers have denied it). But assuming Hunter actually said it, it only implicates Joe if Hunter was telling the truth (which is questionable). Finally, it has nothing to do with the plea deal, but it is something that needs to be investigated.

We’ll if you rake up a thousand tons of muck it’s bound to contain a few turds. Far more important than, you know, governing.

And furthermore….

I think Biden's done a good job governing, but even liberal outlets are starting to question some things.

"NBC News hasn’t corroborated this reporting, but Lowell’s confirmation, as reported by Business Insider, that Biden knew some of his buyers is, in and of itself, alarming. It raises the possibility that buyers could use his art as a way to buy political influence or favors through his connections to the president."
https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/hunter-biden-art-sales-democrat-donor-identity-rcna96411

This constant drip drip of shady activities is making it harder for Democrats to draw a contrast to Trump's rampant corruption.

This constant drip drip of shady activities is making it harder for Democrats to draw a contrast to Trump's rampant corruption. — RogueAI

Hunter Biden's activities are an embarrasment for Biden, no question about that. The right-wing activitists in the Republican Party are spending millions of dollars trying to rake up muck on Hunter Biden, purely and simply as revenge and whataboutism. Many of their alleged witnesses can't be located, and at least one is under international arrest warrant. Meanwhile let's not forget (even though everyone constantly appears to forget) the Jan 6th insurrection and commission, the attempts to pester election officials and workers into actually overthrowing election results, the stealing and mistreatment of highly classified nuclear warfare secrets, and the other litany of lies and cheating, as opposed to the possibly nefarious activities of a wayward and troublesome son. Mountains and molehills.

I agree completely. Nepotism pales in comparison to insurrection. But it's like George Carlin said: "'Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that". This Hunter Biden crap will make the average voter think "a pox on all your houses" and they'll draw a moral equivalency between Trump and Biden, and there goes a huge advantage Democrats have. I'm almost thinking Biden should step aside, but there's no way this country will elect a black woman as president.

True. It is really unfortunate that this matter is bubbling away, although I'm personally convinced on the basis of material to date that Joe Biden is completely unimpeachable, and that he hasn't been induced into anything improper by his son. I also would like to see an alternative democratic candidate but I don't at this time, and I'm still reasonably confident that Biden can both win and govern for a second term.

Back to Trump - I think it's pretty clear there are going to be both Jan 6th (Federal) and Georgia (State) indictments issued in the next month, by which time Trump will be under an enormous number of indictments many of which carry long jail terms. I'm hoping that it will simply become obvious by end this year/early 2024 that it is completely impractical, apart from anything else, for him to actually be the Republican presidential candidate. Heck, one of the Republican speakers at Iowa said that Trump is only running to keep himself out of prison - he was booed for it, but he still said it!

Back to Trump - I think it's pretty clear there are going to be both Jan 6th (Federal) and Georgia (State) indictments issued in the next month, by which time Trump will be under an enormous number of indictments many of which carry long jail terms. I'm hoping that it will simply become obvious by end this year/early 2024 that it is completely impractical, apart from anything else, for him to actually be the Republican presidential candidate. Heck, one of the Republican speakers at Iowa said that Trump is only running to keep himself out of prison - he was booed for it, but he still said it! — Quixodian

Most Republican voters are in denial about Trump's crimes - there's no other explanation for his current polling. More indictments won't change that. I think Will Hurd is right that Trump is running to stay out of prison, so the number of indictments won't matter.

Although he'd have no formal power to call off the State indictments, he'd have an excuse to get the trial postponed while he's in office - and meanwhile, pressure the state to drop the charges.

I think the situation is that Trump and Fox and other media have created a separate reality which is disconnected from the facts. It is Guy Debord’s ‘Society of the Spectacle’ made flesh. Trump has created a structure where for those under his spell, facts are what he says they are.

“Republicans are high class … but they have to be a little more lower class.” — Trump

Indictment

Conspiracy to Defraud the United States
Conspiracy to Obstruct an Official Proceeding
Obstruction of and Attempt to Obstruct an Official Proceeding
Conspiracy Against Rights

:cool: 3 down and 1 to go in 2023 ...

The timeline of MAGA Loser #1's legal reckoning for his 2016-2023 crime spree (excluding potentially ruinous civil lawsuits) is taking a definite shape:

1. NYC felony indictment
31Mar23 :up:
"34 counts of Business Documents Fraud Crealing and/or Covering-up Felonies", etc

https://apnews.com/article/trump-indictment-full-document-640043319549?utm_source=homepage&utm_medium=RelatedStories&utm_campaign=position_02
2. Miami, Federal indictment
8Jun23 :up:
re: 37 counts "Mishandling Documents, Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice, Violating Espionage Act, Making False Statements to Federal Authorities, Witness Tampering" etc

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/08/donald-trump-charged-retention-classified-documents

9Jun23 Federal indictment unsealed ...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/09/trump-indictment-unsealed-pdf-text-criminal-charges

[ ... ] — 180 Proof

2.1 Miami, Federal Superceding Indictment (1), 27Jul23 :up:
+3 felony charges (+1 Espionage (32), +2 Obstruction), etc
+ new exhibit – "Iran war plan" documents (audio, July 2021)

*

3. Washington, DC, Federal indictment
1Aug23 :up:
re: 4 counts
• Conspiracy to Defraud the U.S.;
• Conspiracy to Obstruct an Official Proceeding;
• Obstruction of and attempt to Obstruct an Official Proceeding;
• Conspiracy Against Rights

1Aug23 Federal Indictment unsealed ...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/01/trump-indictment-full-text-2020-election-jan-6

https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-indictment-jack-smith-2020-election-4b351abf?mod=mhp

“Today’s indictment serves as an important reminder: Anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president of the United States,” — Joe Biden

Special Counsel Jack Smith said in a statement that the insurrection on January 6 was an “unprecedented assault” on democracy.

The prosecutor spoke following the indictment of former President Donald Trump in relation to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election.

Mr Smith said the indictment “sets forth the crimes charged in detail. I encourage everyone to read it in full”.

“The attack on our nation's capitol on January 6, 2021, was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy,” he added. “As described in the indictment, it was fueled by lies. Lies by the defendant targeted at obstructing a bedrock function of the US government – the nation's process of collecting, counting and certifying the results of the presidential election.”

“The men and women of law enforcement who defended the US Capitol on January 6 are heroes. They are patriots and they're the very best of us,” the special counsel said. “They did not just defend a building or the people sheltering in it, they put their lives on the line to defend who we are as a country and as a people.”

How Trump can even be considered a Presidential candidate beggars belief.

More fake word crimes levied from a political DOJ towards the regime’s biggest opponent. What’s new?

I wish you fucking foreigners would leave the US politics to we Americans. The argument that what happens here effects the whole world and that justifies your interest is baloney. What happens in Russia and China is just as important but you guys don't spend nearly as much time on that.

It's kind of pathetic. You hate us but you can't shake your obsession. Let's drop the big one now. We'll save Australia - wouldn't want to hurt no kangaroos.