^^^ I love that! Makes me smile!

a twist, maybe

https://redstate.com/bonchie/2...ess-revealed-n718760

Monday’s surprise grand jury witness in the New York “hush-money” investigation into Donald Trump is Giuliani lawyer Robert Costello, a source familiar with the investigation confirmed to Insider.

Star prosecution witness Michael Cohen is also making himself available Monday, in case Manhattan prosecutors decide to call him before the grand jury to give rebuttal testimony, Cohen told Insider.

News that as many as two witnesses — Costello and Cohen — may now need to testify before the grand jury can vote provides new clues to the timing for any indictment.

Trump claims that Costello, who he calls a “highly-respected lawyer,” has “conclusive and irrefutable” proof that should put him in the clear. What that actually amounts to is anyone’s guess. Trump is obviously going to say that regardless, and the nature of Costello’s relationship with Trump’s orbit is going to complicate his credibility. But if he has documentation or something otherwise concrete, perhaps he could turn the entire grand jury on its head.

Besides, Michael Cohen is not without his own credibility issues, being a convicted felon and someone with an obvious ax to grind. The cornerstone of his claim will rest on the audio recording of Trump he provided showing the former president ordering the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels.

The grand jury meets on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The testimony alone on Monday will probably eat up all their time. Then they have to come back and begin deliberations (much like a regular jury) before voting on how to proceed. In other words, Tuesday probably won’t be the day all this gets settled, and we could see it drag out well into the end of the week, if not further.

everyone on the right should take a breath and wait this out. There is no sense in lashing out and giving the left the ammunition it wants. Let’s see what the vote on the indictment holds. Once all the facts are on the table, there’ll be time to figure out the next move.

Which Biden administration screwup is this intended to draw our attention away from?

These distractions are coming about twice a week now, and it's getting really hard to keep up.

quote:

Originally posted by sdy:
today in NYC at Trump Tower

video at

https://twitter.com/i/status/1637489725479985154

I hope a strong public showing of support for Donald Trump makes the DEMs understand that many see how corrupt and crooked they are.

The twatter folks are saying that video is actually from October 2020:
https://twitter.com/shawn_fara...5RNJox3wb4bNq0RK4_ug

Not sure what actually happened yesterday, but the 1st linked video is supposedly actually an older tweet...

quote:

Originally posted by Ironbutt:
Which Biden administration screwup is this intended to draw our attention away from?

These distractions are coming about twice a week now, and it's getting really hard to keep up.

I think it's just more about trying to bring down Trump. These people are obsessed with the idea.

Soros again…

“The Manhattan district attorney supposedly preparing to arrest Donald Trump for allegedly hiding hush-money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels received $1million from a political action committee funded by billionaire George Soros.

Alvin Bragg, who was elected Manhattan DA in November 2021, had been involved in numerous investigations into Trump and his family before being sworn in last year, even bragging he had sued Trump 'more than 100 times' while serving in the NY Attorney General's Office.

While campaigning to become the next Manhattan DA, he received more than $1million in support from the Color Of Change PAC, a racial justice group which receives funding from Soros, a Hungarian-born billionaire financier-turned American  mega donor.

Half of that money was clawed back by Color of Change after an unidentified woman made an unspecified allegation against him (Bragg told DailyMail.com at the time that he'd done nothing wrong). …”

DailyMail article:
https://mol.im/a/11878893

Last night, Chris Rock performed at the Kennedy Center to honor Adam Sandler, those in the audience included Nancy Pelosi and several members of Biden's administration. He has this to say in his routine:

quote:

”Are you guys really going to arrest Trump?” Rock said, according to a report from The Daily Mail. “Do you know this is only going to make him more popular? It’s like arresting Tupac. He’s just gonna sell more records. Are you stupid?”

https://www.breitbart.com/ente...ke-him-more-popular/

At this point, two things are apparent. First, there will be no arrest, if for no other reason there can be no arrest; DeSantis stands in the way. Secondly, there will probably be no indictment, because Donald Trump has lots of insider connections, which allowed him to get and leak news of what apparently was supposed to be an ambush. By doing so, and by sensationalizing this leak by saying he is going to be arrested, Donald Trump ruined the surprise party, and rather than the news media reacting to an indictment after the fact, the possibility of an indictment was spread all over the news and social media, with this potential action being widely condemned and characterized accurately for what it is- petty, desperate political partisanship.

If that Manhattan DA could have been the one to announce this, of course there would have been an uproar, but with the way this has unfolded, the public is now primed and whatever the DA decides has now itself become a reaction, rather than the action.

Really, beautifully played by Donald Trump.

He is the Teflon Don!
Hahaha, he’s going to get more votes than before…..of course no where near bidens count. The man got more than Obozo! Hahaha, go figure,
huh?

The best they’ve got is cohen, a proven liar. Hahaha.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:

Really, beautifully played by Donald Trump.

Great assessment, and I agree. Since he announced the leak, he still has the strut of a man with no worries. If this is a game of poker, Trump is sitting on a damn good hand right now, cool as a cucumber.

Here is yet another consequence of Trump getting ahead of this crook-loving asshole DA.

House Judiciary Committee demands Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg testify about possible Trump indictment

quote:

The House Judiciary Committee is demanding that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg testify before Congress in the wake of his "unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority," as he reportedly considers indicting former President Trump on charges related to alleged hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016.

Given all of this, I think the only way this guy will actually indict Trump is if he is getting outside pressure to do this and/or he feels that he has no choice but to move forward with it because he would end up looking like a bigger phony that he does already, if he backed out of it now.

He might be able to make a statement to the effect that the leak was false and there are no plans to indict Donald Trump, but too many people, both inside and outside of his office, know the truth.

Warner Bros. really need to do something with this shit show. I’d be better than Wile E. Coyote chasing the road runner.

Or maybe a whole pile of Keystone Cops chasing Bugs Bunny.

FWIW today I was online, and listening to a program (faith program, no politics per se) and it was mentioned that one organization is calling for prayer at 6:00 p.m. your respective time zone, for Mr. Trump and the nation.

https://www.foxnews.com/politi...ual-option-off-table

Law enforcement officials met behind closed doors Monday to discuss the logistics of arraigning former President Trump following his possible indictment over hush-money payments made on his behalf during the 2016 presidential campaign.

A law enforcement source told Fox News Monday that the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and different branches of law enforcement discussed the logistics of closing down streets and putting lights up with generators, extra barriers and extra police.

The source said law enforcement does not expect the former president to be arraigned until next week as the Manhattan grand jury – which has been meeting secretly to hear evidence for weeks – has another witness on Wednesday. A virtual option was apparently ruled out as the DA is opposed to it. However, another source familiar with the discussions regarding the handling of a possible Trump indictment, said that a virtual arraignment for the former president was never seriously considered.

The source told Fox News that law enforcement is concerned about safety. If the former president does come up to Manhattan, there will be a major police presence and the area will get shut down.

quote:

Given all of this, I think the only way this guy will actually indict Trump is if he is getting outside pressure to do this and/or he feels that he has no choice but to move forward with it because he would end up looking like a bigger phony that he does already, if he backed out of it now.

Alvin Bragg ran on "getting Trump"...
But he shouldn't do it. It's not a good case.

Robert Costello Describes His Grand jury Testimony Today, and it Might Just Change the Direction of Alvin Bragg

This is what news and information is supposed to be all about.

In this interview, former Michael Cohen lawyer, Robert Costello, deconstructs the entire premise of the key witness Alvin Bragg is using to target President Trump. Costello states in the interview that he just delivered two hours of grand jury testimony in Manhattan specifically against the interests of the prosecution Alvin Bragg is attempting to construct.

Michael Cohen previously waived attorney-client privilege with Robert Costello, during his effort to get out of legal trouble during his federal case. This waiver permits Robert Costello to discuss the entire background of his former representation with Michael Cohen. WATCH:



https://theconservativetreehou...n-bragg/#more-244530

Does anyone have any clue on what they could arrest him on in relation to Stormy?

My only guess could be exceeding campaign contributions limits? I thought that candidates could self contribute as much as they want? Not filling out a reimbursement form or something to repay his lawyer? I don't understand what the possible charge could be.

It's just like when a grocery store pays someone off who fell in the store. It's cheaper to pay them $30k to go away, so they do.

The gist:

Stormy is just a side item on this buffet.

1. Trump apparently had Cohen on retainer for various business related duties.
2. Stormy's lawyer approached Cohen and told him she was going to "tell her story".
3. I'm not clear if it was with or without Trumps knowledge, Cohen ends up "negotiating" a NDA (non disclosure agreement) with Stormy's lawyer, and they "agree" on a price of $130k.
4. Cohen takes out a HELOC (home equity line of credit) and pays Stormy's lawyer, who then pays Stormy. Not sure what the lawyers cut was. Cohen claims he used the HELOC because he didn't want his wife to know about the payment.
5. At some point, Trump either already knowing about the above or not, repays Cohen.
6. The story of the payment got out somewhere along the line regardless of the NDA. I'm sure if I dug around I could find when.


The rub:
1. The FEC (Federal Election Commission) and the Federal SDNY (Southern District of NY) both reviewed the above and didn't find anything they could fine(FEC) or prosecute (SDNY) for regarding this case.
2. Cohen made the Stormy payment with HIS money. Trump paid Cohen with HIS money, not campaign funds.
3. Alvin Bragg (New York County District Attorney) now says the payment was hush money, as opposed to an NDA, and is essentially an in kind campaign contribution so it should have been paid by the campaign.
4. If Trump had used campaign money, it would have likely been an FEC violation. Bragg says since he didn't it's a violation of NY state law.
5. Additionally, Bragg is trying to "elevate" what would have normally been a misdemeanor offense and beyond the statute of limitations, to a FELONY. The Felony is probably also past the statute of limitations.

I'm not 100% on all of the above, just what I glean from what I've heard.

Quite the hot mess...


Edit:
Just announced that Trump will be indicted tomorrow, and arraigned next week.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ne...tification&ci=555714

^^^ So you are also unsure of what crime they could arrest him on as well? If this is considered campaign contribution instead of personal matter, did he exceed the amount he's allowed to contribute to his own campaign?

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:
^^^ So you are also unsure of what crime they could arrest him on as well? If this is considered campaign contribution instead of personal matter, did he exceed the amount he's allowed to contribute to his own campaign?

It's a mis-allocation of funds, Trump classified it as a legal expense(he was repaying his lawyer), Bragg says it's a campaign expense. It's not about the contribution limits. It's a paperwork/white collar charge.

Bragg says it's a "falsification" of business records and possibly a conspiracy charge:
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/175.10

Most of what you're asking is here:
https://www.nbcnews.com/politi...indictment-rcna75594

quote:

Originally posted by stoic-one:

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:
^^^ So you are also unsure of what crime they could arrest him on as well? If this is considered campaign contribution instead of personal matter, did he exceed the amount he's allowed to contribute to his own campaign?

It's a mis-allocation of funds, Trump classified it as a legal expense(he was repaying his lawyer), Bragg says it's a campaign expense. It's not about the contribution limits. It's a paperwork/white collar charge.

Bragg says it's a "falsification" of business records and possibly a conspiracy charge:
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/175.10

Most of what you're asking is here:
https://www.nbcnews.com/politi...indictment-rcna75594

So he tried to defraud himself in order to evade campaign finance laws?

Or he didn't have an active agreement for Michael Cohen to act on his behalf/at his discretion? Or that Trump didn't write RE Stormy on the memo on the check?

I'm still missing the actual crime. Companies pay annoyances to go away when it's cheaper than fighting it out in court. Individuals do it as well. Companies do it on behalf of their employees/board members. Nothing here seems out of the ordinary here to me.