Author: Andrew Bradford

Proud progressive journalist and political adviser living behind enemy lines in Red America.

Categories
Crime Donald Trump Elections

Trump’s Advisers Believe He’ll Be Found Guilty In Hush Money Trial And It Will Sink His Campaign

With opening arguments beginning this morning in the hush money trial of former president Donald Trump, some of his top advisers have decided that a guilty verdict is a done deal. And they fear such a result would doom the fading chance Trump has of winning in the November election.

Maggie Haberman of the New York Times notes that there’s a sense of impending doom hanging over the Trump inner circle, if only because the ex-president is stuck in court for the next several weeks and therefore unable to effectively campaign.

Additionally, comments from prospective jurors make it painfully clear for Trump’s top advisers that a mistrial is not likely to happen because the evidence against Trump is overwhelming and he’s not a very sympathetic figure.

“Some of those opinions have been negative, with one potential juror made to read aloud her old social media posts blasting him as a sociopath and an egomaniac. The only times he has smiled have been when prospective jurors have referred to work of his that they have liked.

Haberman adds, “Many in Mr. Trump’s broader orbit are pessimistic about the case ending in a hung jury or a mistrial, and they see an outright acquittal as virtually impossible. They are bracing for him to be convicted, not because they cede the legal grounds, but because they think jurors in overwhelmingly Democratic Manhattan will be against the polarizing former president.”

Even if by some miracle Trump is found not guilty or somehow manages to skate on the charges against him, just the fact that he has to endure such a public humiliation could lead key voting blocs such as independents to write him off completely.

“… the shared sense among many of his advisers is that the process may damage him as much as a guilty verdict. The process, they believe, is its own punishment.”

Of course, the only person to blame for the current situation Trump finds himself in is Donald Trump. He allegedly committed the crimes he’s on trial for and should be treated the same as any defendant: Presumed innocent but punished if found guilty.

Categories
Congress Fox News GOP

WATCH: Fox Host Maria Bartiromo Accuses MT Greene Of ‘Creating Chaos’ In Congress

Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo chastized Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) for “creating chaos” in Congress when Greene appeared on “Sunday Morning Futures,” suggesting that she had no actual plan for how to oust Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA).

Bartiromo began by asking Greene, “You’re getting criticized on the left, on the right, in the media … a lot of people are criticizing you. And the reason that they are is because they’re saying that you’re creating drama during this election year. How is this leading to reelecting President Trump? How is this leading to the American people believing that the Republicans can govern? People are saying, ‘Look, she’s creating chaos. She’s making the entire party look like it’s disrupted.’ Your reaction and response to those criticisms?”

“Those that are calling this drama are the very people that are responsible for the drama that the American people are having to live through every single day,” Greene replied. “Those on the left, those on the right, the uniparty that’s in control of our government are the ones that have inflicted the American people with nearly $35 trillion in debt, ripped our border wide open.”

Greene said those criticizing her weren’t actually Americans.

“Yeah, those that are calling this drama are the very people that are responsible for the drama that the American people are having to live through every single day. Speaker Johnson refuses to use his power as Speaker of the House to do any type of negotiating to secure the southern border and stop the madness in our country.”

“The people criticizing me are not the American people,” she added. “The American people agree with me, and I’ve talked to them, and I’ve seen it all over. They are outraged.”

That led Bartiromo to inquire of Greene, “OK Congresswoman, you wanted Mike Johnson out,” Bartiromo said. “What is your alternative plan?”

“Our plan is this: We have to give the American people a reason to trust us and fight for us. The American people are supporting President Trump to be the next President of the United States because they’ve seen him in action. He fought against the Democrat agenda. He put America first. They desperately want him to lead this country again because they trust him and they know he will do that.

“Mike Johnson has betrayed America. He’s betrayed Republican voters. Under his leadership, he’s passed the Democrat agenda, passed the Biden administration’s policies, and fully funded them. We’re going to fight in Congress to do everything we can to stop this type of uniparty leadership. Mike Johnson’s speakership is over. He needs to do the right thing to resign and allow us to move forward in a controlled process. If he doesn’t do so, he will be vacated.”

The Fox host pushed back at Greene.

“With all due respect, you didn’t give me a plan for the speaker’s role,” Bartiromo said. “And again, does this mean you are going to file that motion at some point?”

Greene: “It’s coming, regardless of what Mike Johnson decides to do. And we have three more Republicans joining us for the special elections coming up very soon. So people need to know this can happen.”

Like all of the extreme right-wing bomb-throwers in Congress, Marjorie Taylor Greene has no actual ideas, no plans, and no understanding of how to govern. She just wants to promote herself and kiss Trump’s fat ass every chance she gets. She’s a cancer on the Congress and this country.

Categories
Crime Donald Trump Elections

Trump Is Said To Be Furious Over Reports That He Keeps Falling Asleep In Court

As he continues to rail against the fact that he’s on trial for crimes he allegedly committed to keep evidence of his affair with Stormy Daniels secret during the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump is also becoming furious over reports that he can’t manage to stay awake during the New York hush money proceedings.

Rolling Stone reports that while Trump has tried to paint himself as some sort of martyr, he clearly doesn’t like playing that role when it comes to his demeanor in court.

“I’m very proud to be here,” he told reporters before heading into court on Monday, calling the proceedings an “assault on America” that his presence, presumably, would serve to expose. “I’m very honored to be here,” the former president added.

Trump hasn’t been taking to martyrdom very well behind the scenes, though, three sources with knowledge of the matter tell Rolling Stone. He has privately raged over everything from reports that he can’t stop dozing off, to how the court sketch artist is rendering him, to late-night talk show hosts joking about his legal troubles. The former president is reaching levels of fury over the judicial process and all it entails that are “maxed out, even for him,” says one source who has had to personally endure Trump’s recent rantings about his trial.

In particular, the disgraced ex-president is said to be most upset with Maggie Haberman of the New York Times, who has begun counting how often he seems to nod off in court.

“He appeared to be asleep,” Haberman reported. “He didn’t pay attention to a note his lawyer passed him. His jaw kept falling on his chest, and his mouth kept going slack.”

On Friday, as Trump’s team was angrily denying Donald had been dozing off, Haberman again reported that he appeared to be asleep.

“His eyes were closed for extended periods and his head dropped down twice.”

And then there are the courtroom sketches, many of which Trump sees as unflattering, which is par for the course considering that he’s a malignant narcissist.

Trump has also privately asked people close to him if they agree that the courtroom sketch-artist must be out to get him, two of the sources say. Trump has critiqued the sketches of him that have circulated in the media this week, and insisted some of the images were likely drawn to make fun of him. One such sketch captured Trump snoozing, with his eyes closed and head tilted.

They’re all out to get me! Yep, that does indeed sound like the Donald Trump we’ve all grown to know and loathe over the years.

Stephanie Grisham, Trump’s former White House press secretary, says it’s all about control with her former boss, and now he has none.

“This entire experience must be beyond uncomfortable for him, not just the fact that it dives into such personal details, but he has absolutely no control for probably the first time since he was a young child.”

Categories
Crime Donald Trump Religion Social Media WTF?!

Franklin Graham Shredded On Social Media After Siding With Trump In Hush Money Trial

Evangelist Franklin Graham inserted himself right into the middle of former president Donald Trump’s current trial in New York by suggesting that every American should pray for the disgraced ex-head of state.

On Twitter, Graham posted, “Pray for former President [Trump]. His enemies want to do everything they can to destroy him, to put him in jail, or to drag out this trial to prevent him from campaigning. I’m not telling you to vote for him—I’m asking you to pray for him.”

That didn’t sit well with many on social media, and they let Graham know it.

Categories
Crime Donald Trump

Alvin Bragg Has A ‘Very Compelling’ Piece Of Evidence To Destroy Trump’s Defense: Former Prosecutor

One of the main defenses that will be employed by attorneys for former president Donald Trump in his Manhattan hush money trial is to suggest that the disgraced ex-president had no idea his former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, had paid off Stormy Daniels to buy her silence on the affair she allegedly had with Trump.

But that defense can easily be torn to shreds by District Attorney Alvin Bragg, according to former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann.

Weissmann was a guest on MSNBC yesterday, and he told host Ari Melber that all Bragg has to do is to lay out the evidence which shows there’s absolutely no way Trump couldn’t have known what Cohen was doing.

“I think here, one of the things that you’re going to hear about, is first, Donald Trump’s management style,” Weissmann explained. “We’re not talking about a person who is running Exxon, who had hundreds of thousands of people working for him. This is a small family business with somebody who is, I think by all accounts, very hands-on and very focused on the details.”

Also, Weismann noted, Trump wrote the checks in question.

“So you’re going to see checks that he signed, and I think that in itself is going to be very compelling evidence, because he reimbursed Michael Cohen for the hush money payments, is what you’re going to hear. But it wasn’t on a one to one basis. Because they had to say, oh, these are legal fees, that meant that Michael Cohen was going to have to pay taxes on them. So instead of reimbursing Michael Cohen $130,000, he had to true up the amount so that Michael Cohen would actually get the full $130,000. You wouldn’t need to do that if these were actually legal fees. This is not how this would work. So, and as you pointed out, there are a lot of prior inconsistent statements and you’ll hear from the prosecution about, look, if this was an innocent scheme, why is his story changing so much over time?”

Weissmann concluded, “So I think those are all of the kinds of things you’ll hear to undermine an exalted CEO, I didn’t know what David Pecker and Michael Cohen were doing at the ground level.”

Trump has no real defense for what he did regarding Daniels. He was desperate to keep the affair secret, knowing that if news of it broke in the midst of his 2016 bid for the White House, his chances of winning would be doomed.

But if it can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump did indeed know about the payments, then he’s guilty not only of falsifying business records to hide his actions, but also of election interference, which could land him in a New York prison for several years.