The Conversation -- April 23, 2024

Today is another court day for our nation's No. 1 (alleged!) criminal. Here is the New York Times' liveblog of the proceedings:

Jonah Bromwich: "The lawyers and the judge left the courtroom almost immediately after the [morning's] session began.... The judge [returned to] the bench and says that two matters are now in the record.... It appears that the two matters were the two separate attempts that prosecutors have made to see Trump held in contempt of court. They say he's violated the gag order 10 times."

Bromwich: "A prosecutor, Christopher Conroy, begins to detail his team's argument on the gag order. He says each of the 10 Trump posts in question violated the order, and that eight of them were on Truth Social. Two were on his official campaign website."

Maggie Haberman: "Conroy says that these violations pose a very real 'threat' to the proceedings, having an 'undertow' effect on witnesses and making them afraid. The witnesses, he says, 'rightly fear being subject to similar vitriol.'"

Bromwich: "As expected, Conroy says Trump's attacks on Michael Cohen in the hallway outside the courtroom yesterday again violated the order. So that's 11 violations prosecutors say he committed."

Haberman: "Conroy is ticking through Trump's alleged gag order violations, including one in which he thanked Stormy Daniels's disgraced lawyer, Michael Avenatti, for criticizing Michael Cohen. Conroy also describes how Trump called Cohen and Daniels 'sleaze bags.'"

Bromwich: "And finally, Conroy says Trump violated the gag order when on Truth Social, he quoted the Fox News commentator Jesse Watters denigrating prospective jurors as 'undercover liberal activists.' Prosecutors have flagged this as the most serious of the violations and Conroy does so again, calling it 'very troubling.'"

Bromwich: "Todd Blanche, one of Trump's lawyers..., says Trump knows what the gag order allows him to do, and there was 'no willful violation' of it.... It's fascinating to see a lawyer for Trump try to separate out politics from legal proceedings.... The judge loses patience with Todd Blanche.... 'I'm asking the questions, OK,' he says. 'Im going to decide whether your client is in contempt or not, so please don't turn it around.'"

Haberman: "Todd Blanche says Trump is entitled to complain about 'two systems of justice.' 'There's two systems of justice in this courtroom? That's what you're saying?' Justice Merchan says."

Bromwich: "Justice Merchan has repeatedly pushed Todd Blanche to clarify his arguments, only to have Blanche deny that he is saying what he seems to be saying. Trump is very lucky that the jurors are not here for this. Merchan is really dressing down Blanche right now."

Jesse McKinley: "'You've presented nothing,' Merchan just said to Blanche, who has been presenting his argument for some 20 minutes. It's devastating for Blanche."

Bromwich: "As Blanche insists Trump is trying to follow with the rules, Merchan interrupts him. 'You're losing all credibility with the court,' he says.... This hearing, ostensibly about violations of a gag order, doubled as a complete onslaught on the Trump ethos. Justice Merchan clarified that politics infused everything that the former president does and insisted on hearing good faith arguments, and the truth, wherever possible. We knew this was going to be a big moment; it was even more revealing than expected."

[Marie: Sorry, for some reason, the reporters' remarks about Pecker keep disappearing! Really.]

Bromwich: “Joshua Steinglass, a prosecutor, resumes questioning David Pecker.... Pecker says that he’s had 'a great relationship with Mr. Trump over the years,' and that he launched a magazine with him called Trump Style.... He's ... coming across ... as a longtime fan, friend and ally of Trump.... Pecker is now describing what he calls his first meeting with Michael Cohen, in 2007. He says Trump introduced them at his office, and that he was told to route all communications to Trump through Cohen. But Steinglass then makes him clarify: That was his second meeting with Cohen, after meeting him years earlier at a bar mitzvah.... Steinglass asks Pecker about Hope Hicks, another intermediary for Trump."

Haberman: "Steinglass is now drilling down on the key meeting in what prosecutors say was a conspiracy -- an August 2015 gathering between Trump, Cohen and Pecker. 'I received a call from Michael Cohen telling me that the boss wanted to see me,' Pecker says."

Bromwich: "When he got there, he says, Cohen and Trump asked him what he and his magazines could do 'to help the campaign,' a quote that will be key to prosecutors' argument that the hush money payments were made to help Trump win the election."

Alan Feuer: "Recall that Blanche, in his opening statement, tried to convince the jury that Trump's relationship with Pecker was par for the course in the world of journalism. But a naked appeal by a political candidate to a magazine publisher 'to help the campaign' is not normal."

Bromwich: "As expected, Pecker is describing himself as the agent of 'catch-and-kill' schemes in which he or others would help Cohen suppress negative information about Trump, specifically negative information pertaining to 'women selling stories.'"

Haberman: "Pecker is asked if Bill and Hillary Clinton's names came up in the meeting.... Coverage of Hillary Clinton running for president that described Bill Clinton as 'a womanizer' was a big seller, he says. 'I was running the Hillary Clinton stories, I was running Hillary as an enabler for Bill Clinton, with respect to all the womanizing.'... Asked about Trump's reaction to the stories, Pecker says, 'he was pleased.'"

Bromwich: "Pecker repeats that 'writing positive stories about Mr. Trump and covering the election, and writing negative stories about his opponents' helped them both, increasing tabloid newsstand sales while benefitting the Trump campaign. Steinglass then makes him clarify that suppressing negative news about Trump only benefitted the candidate, not the tabloid. Pecker agrees."

Bromwich: "Now, we are discussing negative headlines attacking three of Trump's Republican opponents in 2016, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, which prosecutors argue illustrate the outcome of the agreement reached during the Trump Tower meeting. Pecker says that Cohen would feed him negative information and that The National Enquirer would 'embellish' and add onto it."

Kate Christobek: “Prosecutors just showed several examples of the negative headlines about Trump's opponents, Ted Cruz, Ben Carson and Marco Rubio.... Pecker said that after the Republican debates, Cohen would call him and direct him to focus the negative coverage on whichever candidate had been most successful onstage.”

Haberman: “Pecker is now being asked about being introduced to Steve Bannon, Trump's top strategist, in October 2016. He recalls Trump saying, 'I believe you and Steve would get along really well.'”

Bromwich: “[After a short break,] Pecker is now being asked about Dino Sajudin, a doorman who worked at a Trump building and looked to sell a story — which was apparently false — about Trump fathering a child out of wedlock.... Pecker says Cohen called him furiously denying that the child in question was Trump's, saying that he offered to take a DNA test and that because he was German-Irish and the woman was Hispanic, it was impossible for the child to be his.... Steinglass, the prosecutor, is asking Pecker why he paid so much for this story. 'I made the decision to buy the story because of the potential embarrassment it would have to the campaign and Mr. Trump,' Pecker responds.”

Bromwich: “[Steinglass] moves on immediately to the second catch-and-kill deal, which involved the former Playboy model Karen McDougal.... Pecker says he advised Trump to purchase McDougal’s story directly.... David Pecker tells the courtroom that he asked Dylan Howard, the former editor of The National Enquirer, to investigate Karen McDougal’s story and that he told Cohen he had done so. He seems to indicate his conversations with Cohen soon increased in frequency and the two men began to talk multiple times daily. Cohen said they should communicate over Signal, an encrypted app, which is often used for conversations that a person wants to keep private.”

Nate Schweber: “A day after Trump issued a call for more supporters to gather outside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse, the number reached its nadir. The number of identifiable Trump fans across the street in Collect Pond Park on Tuesday sank to the mid-single digits, after hovering at about a dozen for a week.”

Trump couldn't get a job at a shopping mall. Thanks to RAS for the lead: ~~~

Donald Trump Has Been Asking, “Are You Better Off Than You Were Four Years Ago?” Let's Check. Top News in the NYT, April 23, 2020: “The official who led the federal agency involved in developing a coronavirus vaccine said on Wednesday that he was removed from his post after he pressed for rigorous vetting of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug embraced by President Trump as a coronavirus treatment, and that the administration had put 'politics and cronyism ahead of science.'... In a scorching statement, Dr. [Rick] Bright ... assailed the leadership at the health department, saying he was pressured to direct money toward hydroxychloroquine, one of several 'potentially dangerous drugs promoted by those with political connections' and repeatedly described by the president as a potential 'game changer' in the fight against the virus.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

News from the Trump Trials

Jonah Bromwich & Ben Protess of the New York Times : “Manhattan prosecutors delivered a raw recounting of Donald J. Trump’s seamy past on Monday as they debuted their case against him to jurors, the nation and the world, reducing the former president to a co-conspirator in a plot to cover up three sex scandals that threatened his 2016 election win. Their opening statement was a pivotal moment in the first prosecution of an American president, a sweeping synopsis of the case against Mr. Trump, who watched from the defense table, occasionally shaking his head. Moments later, Mr. Trump’s lawyer delivered his own opening, beginning with the simple claim that 'President Trump is innocent.'... The former president lied 'over and over and over' again, [prosecutor Matthew] Colangelo emphatically said, casting him as a conniving criminal. But Mr. Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche sought to undercut the prosecution’s lofty rhetoric with a more innocuous distillation of the case: a 'business records violation.' He called it 'just 34 pieces of paper.'” (Also linked yesterday.)

If you're interested in the nitty-gritty, the New York court systems plans to publish daily transcripts of the Trump trial proceedings "online and publicly available before the end of the next business day." Links to the daily transcripts will be on this page. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Marie: I know the transcript of Monday's proceedings was published Monday evening, but I'll be damned if I can see the link to it.

Here's the New York Times' liveblog of Monday's proceedings in the Trump trial. The Times' liveblogs usually include some pretty frank appraisals of the subject at hand. MB: If you don't have access to the Times, you can check out yesterday's Conversation, where I posted quite a few of the reporters' entries. ~~~

     ~~~ David Bauder of the AP: "Trump’s hush money trial is illustrating the potency of live blogs as a news tool — by necessity."

     ~~~ Apparently the answer to that question was yes. ~~~

Jonathan Alter of the New York Times: “In the prosecution’s opening statement, Matthew Colangelo outlined what his team calls the August 2015 'Trump Tower conspiracy' hatched by Trump, Michael Cohen and David Pecker, boss of The National Enquirer.... Colangelo previewed a large amount of evidence that will corroborate Cohen’s testimony about the falsified business records (including handwritten notes) that will most likely be damaging to Trump.... Todd Blanche, Trump’s lead attorney, seemed to be setting up a defense partly based on Trump not wanting the Stormy Daniels story made public in order to protect his family. But Cohen and others are expected to testify that Trump tried to avoid paying the hush money on the theory that it wouldn’t matter if the story came out after the election. So much for shielding Melania.... By insisting that Trump is completely innocent, his lawyers have made it harder for the jury to convict him of just misdemeanors, not felonies. But it will be a few weeks before the jury understands all of that.” (Also linked yesterday.)

Marie: Once you've read the various bits of commentary on the 2016 Trump case, the prospects for Trump look bad, and it's my guess that Trump himself has made his prospects worse. For instance, Blanche's assertion that Trump "is innocent" is odd. The defense does not have to prove that the defendant is innocent, only that the prosecution has not proved he's guilty. The defense also doesn't have to prove that Trump is -- ha ha! -- "distinguished." All of the jurors know he's a former president*, and Blanche's assetion that Trump has "earned" the honorific is at odds with the tawdry behavior and corrupt actions of which he is accused in this case. Blanche didn't have to characterize one of New York City's loudest & proudest womanizers as "a family man," a family man whose family, BTW, has not come to the courtroom to support him and who has been successfully sued for sexual assault. I don't think Blanche and his team chose the Trump defense; I think it comes from the lying SOS who claims, "I did nothing wrong."

The defense has to prove only that Trump knew nothing about the unlawful acts that Cohen, Pecker and others engaged in. But if it's true -- as the prosecution has asserted and will have to demonstrate -- that participants in the skullduggery "took notes on the criminal conspiracy," only jury nullification will save Trump. And Justice Merchan already has warned the jury against that. Besides, when Trump himself is dissing and endangering the jury -- and some of them will find out about that -- they don't have a lot of incentive to help him out. 

Jonathan Swan, et al., of the New York Times: “Mr. Trump has portrayed his legal jeopardy as a threat to America itself, and he has suggested that the country would not put up with it. But the streets around the courthouse on Monday were chaos-free — well-patrolled and relatively quiet. As his motorcade made its way to the courthouse, the few Trump supporters gathered in the park were outnumbered by Trump detractors, who waved signs about his alleged liaison with a porn star.... Shortly after 7 a.m., he posted on his social media website that 'America Loving Protesters should be allowed to protest at the front steps of Courthouses' and he followed this lament with a call for his supporters to 'GO OUT AND PEACEFULLY PROTEST. RALLY BEHIND MAGA. SAVE OUR COUNTRY!'... Mr. Trump had made no secret of the fact that he wanted a circus to accompany his trial.” MB: I do wonder why the Trumpettes & their ilk have not followed Trump to town to play a part in what has turned out to be barely a one-ring circus. Maybe it's because you can't set up a camper in Manhattan (as far as I know). (Also linked yesterday.)

Lachlan Cartwright in the New York Times Magazine (April 3) describes what went down at the National Enquirer, where he was an editor of "catch-and-kill" stories. Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd: ~~~

Matthew Haag of the New York Times : “The New York attorney general’s office and representatives for Donald J. Trump agreed in court on Monday to slightly modify the terms of a $175 million bond posted by the former president in his civil fraud case after the state questioned the qualifications of the company that provided it and sought to have it rejected. The deal will keep the bond largely unchanged, with the $175 million in cash that Mr. Trump deposited as collateral remaining in a money-market account, while adding new terms stipulating that the $175 million must remain as cash, and not be transferred into mutual funds, for example. The two sides also agreed to give the California firm that provided the bond, Knight Specialty Insurance Company, exclusive control over the money-market account.” (Also linked yesterday.) 

Alan Feuer of the New York Times: “In late November 2021, as officials at the National Archives were trying to persuade ... Donald J. Trump to return a trove of records he had taken from the White House when he left office, one of Mr. Trump’s associates advised him in the sharpest terms possible to give the materials back, newly unsealed documents show. 'Whatever you have, give everything back — let them come here and get everything,' the unnamed associate told Mr. Trump, according to an interview the person gave the F.B.I. 'Don’t give them a noble reason to indict you, because they will.'... A summary of the associate’s interview with federal agents was among nearly 400 pages of investigative records that were unsealed on Monday by the judge overseeing Mr. Trump’s classified documents case. The associate’s identity was redacted from the summary.... [He is referred to as 'Person 16' in the unsealed records.] Person 16 also suggested that some of Mr. Trump’s children had been enlisted in the task of persuading him to return the presidential records to the archives.” ~~~

~~~ Tierney Sneed & Holmes Lybrand of CNN: “Plasmic Echo – a name that could conceivably work for 1970s rock band or could describe the supernatural goo left behind by the ghosts chased in the movie 'Ghostbusters' – appears to be the code name for the FBI investigation into the mishandling of classified documents from the Trump White House. The name was revealed in unredacted court filings published on Monday in the special counsel’s criminal case against ... Donald Trump. A case file included in the documents is marked with the case ID '[Redacted] PLASMIC ECHO; Mishandling of Classified or National Defense Information.'” MB: The name seems a little too cool to be attached to the Frumpy Old Man who was the subject of the operation.

Amanda Seitz of the AP: “The medical records of women will be shielded from criminal investigations if they cross state lines to seek an abortion where it is legal, under a new rule that the Biden administration finalized Monday. The regulation, which is intended to protect women who live in states where abortion is illegal from prosecution, is almost certain to face legal challenges from anti-abortion advocates and criticism from abortion-rights advocates that it does not go far enough. 'No one should have their medical records used against them, their doctor or their loved one just because they sought or received lawful reproductive health care,' Jennifer Klein, the director of the White House Gender Policy Council, told reporters on Monday.”

Peter Baker of the New York Times: “The House passage of a landmark $95 billion foreign aid package gives [President] Biden much-needed momentum at a time when his credibility and American leadership have been questioned on the world stage. For months, the president has vowed unstinting support for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan without being able to deliver on Capitol Hill. Now, at last, he has planeloads of artillery rounds, air defense missiles and other munitions to back up his words. 'This was a historic win for President Biden and for America’s global leadership,' Senator Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland, said in an interview.”

Patrick Svitek & Marianna Sotomayor of the Washington Post notice that House Republicans can't just get along with each other: “Since eight Republicans voted with all Democrats to oust then-speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), more pragmatic Republicans have become irate at the 'no' bloc of the conference and encouraged GOP leadership to punish those members.”

Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: “A majority of the Supreme Court appeared inclined on Monday to uphold a series of local ordinances that allowed a small Oregon city to ban homeless people from sleeping or camping in public spaces. The justices seemed split along ideological lines in the case, which has sweeping implications for how the country deals with a growing homelessness crisis. In a lengthy and, at times, fiery argument that lasted almost two and a half hours, questioning from the justices reflected the complexity of the homelessness debate.... The conservative majority appeared sympathetic to arguments by the city of Grants Pass, Ore., that homelessness is a complicated issue best handled by local lawmakers and communities, not judges. The liberal justices strongly resisted that notion.”

Alan Blinder of the New York Times: “Less than a week after the arrests of more than 100 protesters at Columbia, administrators at some of the country’s most influential universities were struggling, and largely failing, to calm campuses torn by the conflict in Gaza and Israel. During the turmoil on Monday, which coincided with the start of Passover, protesters called on their universities to become less financially tied to Israel and its arms suppliers. Many Jewish students agonized anew over some protests and chants that veered into antisemitism, and feared again for their safety. Some faculty members denounced clampdowns on peaceful protests and warned that academia’s mission to promote open debate felt imperiled. Alumni and donors raged. And from Congress, there were calls for the resignation of Columbia’s president, Nemat Shafik, from some of the same lawmakers Dr. Shafik tried to pacify last week with words and tactics that inflamed her own campus.” ~~~

~~~ Stephanie Saul of the New York Times: “The [Columbia U]niversity senate is expected to vote, possibly as early as Wednesday, on a resolution censuring [university president Nemat] Shafik, a reaction to her testimony before Congress and the arrests of more than 100 student protesters. A draft of the resolution, circulated Monday, accused Dr. Shafik of violating 'the fundamental requirements of academic freedom,' ignoring faculty governance and staging an 'unprecedented assault on student rights.' The resolution is expected to be introduced by two members of the 111-seat senate. It specifically states that the resolution is not a call for Dr. Shafik’s resignation, but the resolution also calls for the censure of other university officials, including Claire Shipman and David Greenwald, the chairs of Columbia’s board of trustees.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Minnesota. Legislator by Day, Cat Burglar by Night. Steve Karnowski of the AP: “A state senator and former broadcast meteorologist was arrested on suspicion of burglary early Monday in the northwestern Minnesota city of Detroit Lakes, police said. Democratic Sen. Nicole Mitchell, 49, of Woodbury, was being held in the Becker County Jail on suspicion of first-degree burglary.... Mitchell worked as a meteorologist with the U.S. military and for KSTP-TV and Minnesota Public Radio before she was elected to the Senate in 2022 from a suburban St. Paul district. She still serves as lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard, commanding a weather unit, her official profile says. She worked for The Weather Channel earlier in her career, her profile says. Dispatchers received a 911 call at 4:45 a.m. from a homeowner about 'an active burglary in process at her residence,' [Detroit Lakes Police Chief Steve] Todd said in an interview. Officers searched the home and arrested Mitchell, Todd said.” 

~~~~~~~~~~

Israel/Palestine, et al. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Tuesday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: “The U.S. State Department said in a new report that the conflict between Israel and Hamas 'continues to raise deeply troubling concerns for human rights,' pointing to alleged violations in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, and citing reports of war crimes committed by Israel, Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups. A separate, independent report looking into the embattled U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees found that Israel has not substantiated claims that significant numbers of the agency’s employees have ties to militant groups.... U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said at a news conference that Hamas has 'moved the goal posts' on hostage talks. After Iran and Israel exchanged attacks, Miller said the militant group’s leaders appear to have made 'the determination that they might get the full-scale regional war they were hoping for, and so have not agreed to a very significant proposal that was on the table.'” ~~~

     ~~~ CNN's live updates for Tuesday are here. The New York Times' live updates are here.

Comments

[Akhilleus]

According to Fatty’s lawyers, his style of “influencing an election”, fraudulent schemes to deceive the public, then covering them up by illegally falsifying business records, is called “democracy”.

Oh. I get it. So that would be like saying stabbing someone in the chest is just a form of cardio-thoracic surgery.

Bank robbery could be called “wealth management”.

A stolen car is just a “previously owned vehicle”.

Insurrection is just “influencing an election”.

Got it.

[Ken Winkes]

Funny how confused we are. Can't even tell the difference between a person and a country. The Pretender is certainly confused, seeing no difference between his fate and that of the nation. I get that. He's a stupid narcissist.

But the press? Also in the habit of confusing the leadership, whether D or R, with the fate of the nation. The infrastructure and foreign aid bills are wins for Biden? Well, kinda. But they were really wins for entire countries, and ascribing those victories or their counterparts to one person is politics simplified to stupid.

And we have enough stupidity, on both sides of aisle. Wish the press were not so eager to spread more.

[Akhilleus]

The contention that Fatty had no idea what was going on between Pecker and Michael Cohen is ludicrous. Trump is famously micromanagerial. No one in the Trump Crime Family moves without authorization from Don Snoreleone, on pain of expulsion from the royal presence.

Numerous sources report that Pecker’s editors ran National Enquirer cover stories by him for his approval, including stories attacking his rivals. His influence is everywhere.

Why do you think so many of his ventures have failed miserably? Had he been a hands off boss who laid out general guidelines and expectations then stepped back and allowed experienced, competent managers to go to work, he might actually be a real billionaire instead of a scrounging loser pretending to be a wealthy tycoon.

It’s all the extra, stupid shit injected directly by him into projects, including the sneakiness, the shorting others, the corner cutting, back stabbing, narcissistic crap that deep sixed so many of his businesses. No. Nobody does anything without his say so. He got into the White House because of Comey, Putin, a supine press, and Clinton’s mistakes in not taking seriously enough the confluence of all those factors.

But what he has been good at has been making sure others take the blame—and the fall—for his crooked machinations. That’s why I’m far from even beginning to believe he’ll be found guilty here.

Is he guilty? One hundred percent. No question. Will he be FOUND guilty?

The jury, as they say, has yet to be heard from.

[Akhilleus]

Eyeing the most recent courtroom sketches of Sleepy Don, I’ve noticed what looks like a new style of bird’s nest on top of the Orange noggin. It’s weird. I mean weirder than usual, and that’s saying something.

The new flat top do makes the Fat Fascist look like like this guy, Flat Top, one of the nastier bad guys from the Dick Tracy line up of crooks and criminals he routinely went after.

We could use him about now…

[Akhilleus]

And here’s Moscow Margie, barking mad, as usual, screeching that Democrats want Trump dead. Dead!

They want to put him in jail…FOR LIFE! They want someone to KILL HIM!!! in prison. Aieeee!

Well, which is it? Prison for life, or murdered?

I don’t want him murdered. No way. If he goes to prison, I want him to live a long time behind bars. He’s already nuts. A few years in the slammer and he’ll be crazier than a shithouse rat. Almost as crazy as MTG!

But seriously, folks.

First. He ain’t goin’ to prison. Christ, he may not even be found guilty. But if he is, he won’t go to prison. He might get a couple weeks of house arrest, but that’s it.

But never let reality intrude into the demented daydreams of kooks like Moscow Marge.

Unless….hmmm…could this be a form of Qanon wishful thinking? “With Donnie gone, the knuckleheads will need someone else to lead them to the gates of hell. Might as well be me!”

[RAS]

Trump “Couldn’t Get A Job At A Local Mall”

[RAS]

How will Subway survive if their employees can now be sandwich artisans at Jimmy John's for an extra quarter an hour?

"US agency poised to ban worker 'noncompete' agreements

The FTC, Democrats and worker advocates who support the rule say it is necessary to rein in the increasingly common practice of requiring workers to sign so-called "noncompete" agreements, even in lower-paying service industries such as fast food and retail.
Major business groups representing an array of industries have criticized the proposal, saying noncompetes are a crucial way for companies to protect trade secrets and that they promote competitiveness.

In proposing the rule last year, the FTC estimated that it could increase workers' earnings by nearly $300 billion, opens new tab per year and would improve the job opportunities of 30 million Americans."

[ForrestMorris]

Donald's new 'hairdo' looks a lot like what I used to brush out of my
furry dog and pile on the floor.
Little did I know I could have sold that and made a fortune, or not.

[Akhilleus]

After reading about the opening arguments for the defense, a couple of things seem clear. First, this claim of total innocence on Trump’s part. At one time, a sort of defense for Fatty keeping his (very quick) dalliance with Stormy Daniels secret was to “protect” his wife (ie keep her in the dark about his fucking around while she was pregnant) from hurtful knowledge.

But that’s not good enough now. Now…it never happened. No sex, no p——y grabbing on the side, no adultery. Zero. (Which coincidentally, was the grade Stormy assigned Fatty’s sexual prowess and general attractiveness). Why? He’s not being charged with screwing a porn star, and it’s not illegal to do so, no matter how morally and ethically opprobrious. He’s INNOCENT, dammit.

First, consider why he tried to hide this affair back in 2016. It was an election strategy to hide his assholism from voters. Now, here in 2024, it’s the same thing. He’s STILL trying to gaslight voters. This isn’t a defense strategy, it’s an election strategy. There’s no way he’s going to admit in open court—on the record—that he was doing the horizontal tango with a porn star.

He likely feels that he’ll sleaze out of this jam the way he always has and he has no intention (Otto tried to make that “infection”, which might have been a concern back then. Oh…not for him…for her. He’s a nasty thing) of going on the record with anything else that can be used against him. The scams never end.

The other thing, both funny, and sad, is how his attorney made a point of referring to him as “president” Trump, and going on about how he “earned that title” and blah, blah, blah…

More sycophantic blather to kiss ass? Yeah, that’s part of it.

The real message however is a not so subtle sign to the MAGAts that Trump IS STILL president*, and would be in the White House this minute, smiting their enemies, caging brown babies, and pressing the Diet Coke button had the election not been unconstitutionally stolen from him (and them).

It also works as a campaign strategy.

The scams never end.

(Neither do some infections. Ewww…)

[Bobby Lee]

Just a thought. There are kids just entering law school this year who will experienced and respected jurists when Trumps appeals wind to an end.

[RAS]

"Happy Disinfectant Injection Day"