April 24, 2024

"Now's the time to cut your losses": Former Trump prosecutor outlines potential "win-win situation"

"Now's the time to cut your losses": Former Trump prosecutor outlines potential "win-win situation"
"All you have to do is agree to be a regular citizen from now on and concentrate on your businesses"

By CHAUNCEY DEVEGA
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED APRIL 23, 2024 6:38AM (EDT)


(Salon) This is the second week of former president Donald Trump’s historic criminal trial in Manhattan for allegedly engaging in a hush-money scheme to conceal his adulterous relationship with adult film actress Stormy Daniels (legal scholar Norm Eisen has more accurately described this first trial as being about the crime of election interference).

....(snip)....

In an attempt to better understand what is likely to happen next in Donald Trump’s first criminal trial, the strategies the prosecution and defense will likely use, what would happen if a so-called “Trump sleeper agent” infiltrated the jury in order to rig the outcome, and why the corrupt ex-president should take a plea deal in exchange for agreeing to drop out of the 2024 election and leaving public life, I recently spoke with Kenneth McCallion. He is a former Justice Department prosecutor who also worked for the New York attorney general's office as a prosecutor on Trump-related racketeering cases. McCallion's books include the companion pieces "Profiles in Courage in the Trump Era" and "Profiles in Cowardice in the Trump Era," as well as "Treason & Betrayal: The Rise and Fall of Individual-1."

....(snip)....

One of the prospective jurors told reporters that seeing Donald Trump in court diminished him in her eyes. He didn’t have all the cameras and fanfare around him. He was just a regular person to her. Seeing him in that light surprised her. Is that a common response in your experience with organized crime figures for example?

I've had experiences where the head of organized crime families first walk into the courtroom with their chest outs and chin up like a mafia boss is supposed to act in real life or on TV. But when the evidence starts coming in, and the jurors know that the courtroom is quite secure, and there are marshals in the vicinity who are ready to pounce on anyone who might threaten the judge or jurors, then they start feeling more comfortable. The jurors focus on the evidence, not the man, and not the histrionics and theatrics of the courtroom. They have confidence in the system to keep them secure. The jurors also keep getting reminded of their obligations and the very unique position they are in to decide the facts of the case and render a guilty or not guilty verdict. As Trump's trial advances, the jurors are going to get much more comfortable and focused on their duties.

....(snip)....

How is the defense likely going to proceed?How is the defense likely going to proceed?

.....It's all very tough for Trump because he's in the middle of a presidential campaign. If this was just an organized crime case, there would come a point where he would clutch his chest like he was having a heart attack and needed to be rushed to the hospital. But that would hurt Trump's presidential campaign. The only way he can really save himself is to get a mistrial declared, or make a deal that Nixon’s vice president, Spiro Agnew, made to avoid doing prison time. He would have to agree to withdraw from politics and salvage what he can of his foundering businesses. But Trump is between a rock and a hard place, His ego will not let him to withdraw from the presidential campaign as part of a plea deal, and he can’t fake a health emergency would make him look old and feeble compared to President Biden. Trump really is in a tough spot. ...............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2024/04/23/nows-the-time-to-cut-your-losses-former-prosecutor-outlines-potential-win-win-situation/

April 23, 2024

"Now's the time to cut your losses": Former Trump prosecutor outlines potential "win-win situation"

"Now's the time to cut your losses": Former Trump prosecutor outlines potential "win-win situation"
"All you have to do is agree to be a regular citizen from now on and concentrate on your businesses"

By CHAUNCEY DEVEGA
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED APRIL 23, 2024 6:38AM (EDT)


(Salon) This is the second week of former president Donald Trump’s historic criminal trial in Manhattan for allegedly engaging in a hush-money scheme to conceal his adulterous relationship with adult film actress Stormy Daniels (legal scholar Norm Eisen has more accurately described this first trial as being about the crime of election interference).

....(snip)....

In an attempt to better understand what is likely to happen next in Donald Trump’s first criminal trial, the strategies the prosecution and defense will likely use, what would happen if a so-called “Trump sleeper agent” infiltrated the jury in order to rig the outcome, and why the corrupt ex-president should take a plea deal in exchange for agreeing to drop out of the 2024 election and leaving public life, I recently spoke with Kenneth McCallion. He is a former Justice Department prosecutor who also worked for the New York attorney general's office as a prosecutor on Trump-related racketeering cases. McCallion's books include the companion pieces "Profiles in Courage in the Trump Era" and "Profiles in Cowardice in the Trump Era," as well as "Treason & Betrayal: The Rise and Fall of Individual-1."

....(snip)....

One of the prospective jurors told reporters that seeing Donald Trump in court diminished him in her eyes. He didn’t have all the cameras and fanfare around him. He was just a regular person to her. Seeing him in that light surprised her. Is that a common response in your experience with organized crime figures for example?

I've had experiences where the head of organized crime families first walk into the courtroom with their chest outs and chin up like a mafia boss is supposed to act in real life or on TV. But when the evidence starts coming in, and the jurors know that the courtroom is quite secure, and there are marshals in the vicinity who are ready to pounce on anyone who might threaten the judge or jurors, then they start feeling more comfortable. The jurors focus on the evidence, not the man, and not the histrionics and theatrics of the courtroom. They have confidence in the system to keep them secure. The jurors also keep getting reminded of their obligations and the very unique position they are in to decide the facts of the case and render a guilty or not guilty verdict. As Trump's trial advances, the jurors are going to get much more comfortable and focused on their duties.

....(snip)....

How is the defense likely going to proceed?How is the defense likely going to proceed?

.....It's all very tough for Trump because he's in the middle of a presidential campaign. If this was just an organized crime case, there would come a point where he would clutch his chest like he was having a heart attack and needed to be rushed to the hospital. But that would hurt Trump's presidential campaign. The only way he can really save himself is to get a mistrial declared, or make a deal that Nixon’s vice president, Spiro Agnew, made to avoid doing prison time. He would have to agree to withdraw from politics and salvage what he can of his foundering businesses. But Trump is between a rock and a hard place, His ego will not let him to withdraw from the presidential campaign as part of a plea deal, and he can’t fake a health emergency would make him look old and feeble compared to President Biden. Trump really is in a tough spot. ...............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2024/04/23/nows-the-time-to-cut-your-losses-former-prosecutor-outlines-potential-win-win-situation/

April 23, 2024

Trump's humiliation deepens: In court, he can't hide from his tabloid roots

Trump's humiliation deepens: In court, he can't hide from his tabloid roots
If there was a hell, Trump's punishment would be a trial where people tell the truth about him all day

By AMANDA MARCOTTE
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED APRIL 23, 2024 6:00AM (EDT)


(Salon) While it falls far short of the punishment he deserves, there was no small amount of satisfaction from reports that Donald Trump had to spend much of the first week of his first criminal trial quietly taking it as mean tweets about him were read aloud in court. For hours at a time, potential jurors in his New York "hush-money" trial were interviewed to determine if they could judge Trump with an open mind. In the process, both past social media posts and in-the-moment honest opinions were made public. Trump is such a famous narcissist he literally has a woman who follows him around with a wireless printer to keep him in a steady supply of online praise. Hearing what people outside of the paid shills have to say was, all reports suggest, very upsetting for the former president. He glowered and eventually tried to leave the courtroom so quickly that he had to be told to sit down by the judge.

....(snip)....

While the outcome of the trial remains weeks away, the process of being a criminal defendant has already stripped Trump of most of the trappings he uses to prop up his delusions of nobility. He has to sit still and do what he's told, which he whines about ad nauseum when he's outside of court. He keeps reportedly falling asleep and believable rumors suggest the smell of him is hard to bear.

On Monday, the humiliations continued to pile on Trump with opening arguments and the first witness, former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker. Even in this truncated day of court, the picture painted of Trump was not the regal leader of his fantasies, but who he actually is: A sleazy poseur who belongs to the world of trashy tabloids and scheming hucksters. The whole thing is a harsh reminder, to his face, that Trump is more suited to wallowing in the gutter than sitting on a throne.

....(snip)....

Despite Trump trying to tell reporters this trial is going "very well," reports from inside the courtroom are that he was seething. No surprise there. Prior to this, Trump spent all day, every day inside a bubble, surrounded by flatterers and sycophants, always ready to tell him that he's a mighty man who definitely doesn't weigh an ounce over 215 and wins every golf game with ease. Now he's spending his days in a dingy courtroom, staying silent while other people talk about his real self: A pathetic figure who pressures reluctant women into sex, and then runs to his seedy friends and barrel-scraping employees to bail him out of trouble. If there was a hell, Trump's punishment would be to look into a mirror for all of eternity. Having to hear people tell the truth about him for hours a day is as close as we're going to get on the mortal plane. .............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2024/04/23/humiliation-deepens-in-court-he-cant-hide-from-his-tabloid-roots/

April 22, 2024

Your guide to 2024 NFL draft in Detroit: Registration, map, parking, things to do and more

Your guide to 2024 NFL draft in Detroit: Registration, map, parking, things to do and more
Are you going to the 2024 NFL draft on April 25-27 in downtown Detroit? Here's everything to know, including registration, parking, transportation, draft parties and things to do in Detroit.

Jalen Williams
Christina Hall
Andrea May Sahouri

(Detroit Free Press) The NFL world descends up Detroit this week, just months after the Detroit Lions earned their first playoff wins in decades and made an incredible run to the NFC championship game.

The 2024 NFL draft is in downtown Detroit this Thursday through Saturday. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to be there, with fans of all 32 teams looking to celebrate their teams' draft picks near the stage at Campus Martius and checking out the NFL Fan Experience at Hart Plaza.



....(snip)....

Where is the 2024 NFL draft?

The 2024 NFL draft is in Detroit, spanning from Campus Martius to Hart Plaza in downtown with additional events in Beacon Park, Capitol Park, Grand Circus Park, Harmonie Park, and along Woodward Avenue. Here's how Detroit got the NFL draft.



....(snip)....

2024 NFL draft schedule of events, parties

.....Activities include a Pro Football Hall of Fame exhibit and an autograph signing opportunity with current and former NFL players, as well as a 40-yard dash, vertical jump, deep throw accuracy challenges, and more. There will also be a collection of Detroit-based food trucks for participants who attend. ..............(more)

https://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2024/04/22/nfl-draft-detroit-2024-sign-up-tickets-parking-parties/73409313007/

April 22, 2024

"The alternate reality Trump lives in is crumbling" with first criminal trial: ex federal prosecutor

"The alternate reality Trump lives in is crumbling" with first criminal trial: ex federal prosecutor
"I think that Donald Trump is probably trying to get himself thrown into prison"

By CHAUNCEY DEVEGA
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED APRIL 22, 2024 6:42AM (EDT)


(Salon) With a jury now impaneled, Donald Trump’s hush-money trial can finally begin in earnest. The outcome of the trial will impact not just Trump’s freedom but the outcome of the 2024 election and the future of the country’s democracy.

....(snip)....

In an attempt to better understand what is likely to happen next in Trump’s first criminal trial such as how the prosecution and defense are going to proceed and what the larger strategy may be behind Trump’s acting out in court (Trump is likely attempting to get thrown in prison as a way of rallying his followers as a fake martyr), I recently spoke with Kenneth McCallion. He is a former Justice Department prosecutor who also worked for the New York attorney general's office as a prosecutor on Trump-related racketeering cases.

Trump’s first criminal trial has finally begun. Where are we with the so-called “walls closing in” on Donald Trump?

The alternate reality Trump lives in is crumbling. You can see it in his facial expressions and behavior. Donald Trump has been forced to partially subdue himself, which is not his natural instinct. He is not wired in such a way as to be able to remain quiet as a litany of accusations and evidence against him are presented. For example, the Sandoval hearing, which reviewed the numerous areas where the prosecution will seek to cross-examine Trump if he takes the stand, was very damning. It laid out not only the criminal and ethics charges against him in this case, but also the charges against him over the span of the last decade or two.

How does someone like a mobster or politician or businessman like Donald Trump – who is also of course a former president – react to hearing the charges read against them in court?

.....Donald Trump is in a different psychological space, and a much more tenuous one. Trump is presenting himself to his followers as a victim, someone being persecuted. He obviously wants the world to remember and think of him as strong and resolute, and basically a good guy despite his personal peccadilloes. So, that self-image and definition of himself, which has been the basis for his popularity among many millions of Americans, is now being challenged. Moreover, Trump is in a setting that he cannot control. The judge and the legal process now have control over him. That is extremely frustrating for Trump. He's been stripped of his power. His diehard MAGA followers are still with him. But the optics of Trump in court are not playing well outside that die-hard group. To those people who are not in the MAGA movement, Trump looks like a mighty man who has fallen hard and will continue in a downward spiral. ...............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2024/04/22/the-alternate-reality-lives-in-is-crumbling-with-first-criminal-trial-ex-prosecutor/

April 22, 2024

Marjorie Taylor Greene's "space lasers" show how the GOP gets away with escalating violence

Marjorie Taylor Greene's "space lasers" show how the GOP gets away with escalating violence
From Kari Lake's "strap on a Glock" to the Supreme Court coddling Capitol rioters, GOP threat levels are growing

By AMANDA MARCOTTE
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED APRIL 22, 2024 6:00AM (EDT)


(Salon) Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene sure knows how to get the attention she craves by saying something incredibly stupid.

"I’ve previously voted to fund space lasers for Israel’s defense," she tweeted Wednesday, demanding that the U.S. put this imaginary tech up for "defense for our border."

....(snip)....

Greene can be touchy when mocked about "Jewish space lasers." But she also knows that the best way to get her message out is to frame it in the dumbest terms possible. That ensures that the press covers it and liberals re-post it, while also engaging the MAGA audience that rushes forward to defend her from liberal "elites" making fun of her. (I call this the "stupid-victim cycle." ) Most of the time, this is a win-win situation. Her followers get to feel victimized, news websites get some easy traffic, and liberals get more evidence to build the case that the GOP is beyond redemption. But in this case, what got overlooked was deeply troubling: Greene is encouraging the cold-blooded killing of asylum seekers, many of whom are children.

In case that's not obvious, let me spell it out: Setting aside the factual errors, what Greene is saying is that tech used to shoot down drones and missiles should now be aimed at refugees who are entering the United States, to make use of their legal right to seek asylum. Now, the U.S. government will not do this, at least under President Joe Biden. It's both evil and violates all sorts of international law. But Greene's rhetoric is still dangerous. She's normalizing the idea of mass murdering unarmed civilians, and encouraging her supporters to enact the violence if the government won't.

....(snip)....

But of course, it is a threat. It's not even a subtle one. Whether it's the due process of the justice system or the ballot-counting process of elections, Lake is consistent: If MAGA gets an outcome they don't like, they should try to force their will through violence. As these above examples show, she's not an outlier in the Republican Party. It's become routine in the GOP to speak positively of violence against innocent and unarmed people, for the "crime" of simply not bending to their will. ................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2024/04/22/marjorie-taylor-greenes-space-lasers-show-how-the-gets-away-with-escalating-violence/

April 20, 2024

We Are Already Defying the Supreme Court

We Are Already Defying the Supreme Court
The risks of calling on politicians to push back against the court must be weighed against the present reality of a malign judicial dictatorship.

Ryan Doerfler and Samuel Moyn


(Dissent) The idea of disregarding the U.S. Supreme Court—simply ignoring its decisions—has become a flash point. “Americans will not tolerate defiance of the institution and the rule of law,” remarked one conservative law professor, irate about the possibility that President Joe Biden or other political officials might engage in such behavior. Who has defied the Supreme Court in the past? If leading examples include Andrew Jackson the ethnic cleansing populist or George Wallace the Southern segregationist, the answer has to be: no one good.

Recently, when two left-leaning professors, Aaron Belkin and Mark Tushnet, called for a modest and partial form of disobedience in response to the mounting damage of Supreme Court precedents, conservatives rained opprobrium on them. Disregarding a judgment of the Supreme Court is “a fast track to tyranny,” if not “thuggery” pure and simple, the right raged. The rule of law depends on compliance with the justices’ commands.

....(snip)....

Opposition to the Supreme Court has occurred in myriad forms. Feigning horror at the idea is a con, and a pernicious one at that. To pretend like there aren’t multiple styles of noncompliance gives the impression that resistance is beyond the pale. This, in turn, prevents us from seeing how noncompliance has already escalated, and from grasping lucidly the possibility and the stakes of taking it further.

....(snip)....

While Biden and other institutionalists remain committed to the narrative of compliance, that commitment has proven vulnerable in recent months to popular and especially electoral pressure. In the weeks leading up to the Supreme Court’s student loan decision, for example, activists, along with progressive elected officials like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley, insisted that Biden have a backup plan ready to implement in the event of an adverse decision. Advocates demanded that Biden and his team act “swiftly and boldly,” in contrast to the administration’s lethargic reaction to Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Within hours of the ruling, the president delivered his response, calling the court’s decision a “mistake” —one that made him “a little bit angry”—and insisting that the “fight” for debt cancellation was “not over.” To the surprise of many, he added that his Department of Education would pursue cancellation immediately using different statutory authority. The president clarified that this “new path” was “consistent” with the Supreme Court’s decision. Amid other rhetorical escalations, Biden drew praise from several progressives for “refusing to acquiesce” to this most recent judicial power grab. ...........................(more)

https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/we-are-already-defying-the-supreme-court/

April 20, 2024

Man pops open beer during police encounter because it was 'cold' and he wanted to drink it

PORT ORANGE, Fla. - Many believe it's a crime to let a beer warm up, and one Florida man wasn't taking any chances, even as police surrounded him with guns drawn during an investigation into gunfire, body camera video showed.

Brett McPeek, 32, found himself behind bars on multiple charges after he allegedly began firing shots near Port Orange police officers following a fight he had with a neighbor. Before his arrest, though, he shared his desire to crack open a beer.

According to the Port Orange Police Department, on Tuesday night, officers responded to a neighborhood after McPeek and his neighbor got into a disturbance and one threatened the other neighbor with a gun.

....(snip)....

"Stay right there," a police officer could be heard telling McPeek, with guns drawn. "I'm cracking this beer, OK? I'm not going to bother you," McPeek responds. "This beer is cold sir and I want to drink it." ..............(more)

https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/florida-man-pops-open-beer-during-police-encounter-because-it-was-cold-and-he-wanted-to-drink-it-see-video

April 20, 2024

Following the UAW's wins against the Detroit Three, Tenn. Volkswagen workers vote to join the union

(Michigan Advance) After the United Auto Workers (UAW) won big contracts last year resulting from its stand-up strike against the Detroit Three — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — President Shawn Fain vowed that the union would take that momentum into organizing foreign auto companies in the U.S. On Friday night, the UAW scored its first victory with Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tenn., voting to join the UAW, the the National Labor Relations Board confirmed.

That marks the first time that southern autoworkers outside of the Detroit Three have won an organizing drive. According to the union, the vote was 73% in favor and 27% against.

“This election is big,” said Kelcey Smith, a worker in the paint department at Volkswagen. “People in high places told us good things can’t happen here in Chattanooga. They told us this isn’t the time to stand up, this isn’t the place. But we did stand up and we won. This is the time; this is the place. Southern workers are ready to stand up and win a better life.”

President Joe Biden, who walked a Michigan picket line in September in support of the UAW strike against the Detroit Three, sent out his congratulation Friday night for the “historic vote.” .....................(more)

https://michiganadvance.com/2024/04/20/following-the-uaws-wins-against-the-detroit-three-tenn-volkswagen-workers-vote-to-join-the-union/

April 19, 2024

Biden's FTC is fighting corporate greed after D.C. looked away for decades

Biden's FTC is fighting corporate greed after D.C. looked away for decades | Opinion

Jen McKernan
Guest columnist


(Detroit Free Press) One of the things I find most frustrating about making the economy better for working people is how easy it is to point fingers, and how hard it is to find solutions. It’s especially easy with something like the economy, because the economy is complicated, and complicated things are hard to wrangle.

....(snip)....

One of the things I find most frustrating about making the economy better for working people is how easy it is to point fingers, and how hard it is to find solutions. It’s especially easy with something like the economy, because the economy is complicated, and complicated things are hard to wrangle.

....(snip)....

It's hard to sell voters on the benefits of corporate greed. So instead, the Reagan Administration just stopped enforcing the law, repackaging it as "deregulation" and "smaller government." You can read about it in a 1980 memo called "Throttling Back on Antitrust: A Practical Proposal for Deregulation."

The practical proposal for deregulation, thought up by two professors at the University of Chicago and sent to an economist on Reagan’s transition team, was basically to remind Reagan that laws are only as good as the people who enforce them. So, Reagan appointed a bunch of people who wouldn’t enforce the antitrust laws, or the laws that limit corporate mergers and monopolies. .............(more)

https://www.freep.com/story/opinion/contributors/2024/04/19/bidens-ftc-corporate-greed-reagan-monopolies-deregulation/73372258007/