Once again we gather together, friends, to ask the eternal question: Is Donald Trump really that stupid or does he think that we are? Or, could it be both?
Trump has taken a fascinating leap of faith forward in his interpretation of what redacted portions of the grand jury findings in Fulton County, Georgia, actually mean. It was decided on February 13 by Judge Robert McBurney, that the report’s introduction and conclusion, as well as section VIII, in which jurors outline concerns that some witnesses may have lied under oath, can be made public. Other parts of the report however, including charging recommendations, won’t be made public yet.
But apparently Trump didn’t get that memo. He’s off on a mad tangent now, that the redacted report which was released today is a “total exoneration” of him, because it doesn’t mention him by name. Whut?
He refers to himself six times in the third person in two sentences.
Um…Donald? We don’t know how to break this to you, but the finding of “no fraud” by the Grand Jury has to do with the fact that the Georgia elections ran perfectly and nobody stole the election down there, as you have so often opined. NOT that YOU were being found to have committed no fraud.
Again, can he be so stupid, or does he know what he’s trying to pull and figures it will fall under Lincoln’s fooling some of the people some of the time scenario? MSNBC:
If this argument sounds at all familiar, it’s because Trump has pushed the same line repeatedly. On Jan. 9, for example, the former president argued by way of his social media platform that while he leaned on Raffensperger, “nobody ‘hung up’ or was offended!”
On Jan. 24, Trump reiterated the line, asking, “[H]ow come not one person said, while on the call, that I acted inappropriately, or made a statement of protest at what I said, & then slammed down the phone.” He added that among the people on the line, there was “NO ADMONISHMENT at all.”
Even for Trump, this is awfully weird.
Just to briefly recap, Trump called Raffensperger on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2021, and told the Georgian he wanted someone to “find” enough votes to flip the state’s election results, even if that meant overturning the will of the voters. The then-president added, while pressuring Raffensperger, “[T]here’s nothing wrong with saying, you know, um, that you’ve recalculated.”
It’s this latter kind of commentary that Trump evidently believes has been found to show not only no fraud on his part but no attempt at fraud. Incredible but true.
But whatever Trumpty thinks now, the wheels of justice are still turning. CREW:
Below is a summary of the charges that the special purpose grand jury may recommend and an explanation of some of the legal issues likely to arise in the near future if Trump and others are charged. For a more complete understanding of these legal charges and the potential defenses that Donald Trump may raise, please see CREW’s report written with the Brookings Institution.
Possible Crimes
Election related crimes:
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Solicitation to commit election fraud (Ga. Code Ann. §21-2-604(a)); Intentional interference with performance of election duties (Ga. Code Ann. §21-2-597); Interference with primaries and elections (Ga. Code Ann. §21-2-566); and Conspiracy to commit election fraud (Ga. Code Ann. §21-2-603)
While the elements of these charges vary, the crux of each offense is that through conduct such as Trump’s call to the Secretary of State’s chief investigator Frances Watson, urging her to find fraud by departing from established audit procedures, his call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger demanding, and at times threatening, that he “find 11,780 votes,” and the orchestration of the fake electors scheme, Trump pressured Georgia officials to change the lawful outcome of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. The full extent of Trump’s actions before and after the election provides clear and consistent intent to solicit and pressure government officials to reverse the election results.
Non-election related crimes:
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Making false statements (Ga. Code Ann. § 16-10-20); Improperly influencing witnesses (Ga. Code Ann. § 16-10-93); Forgery in the first degree (Ga. Code Ann. 16-9-1); Criminal solicitation (Ga. Code Ann. § 16-4-7); False swearing (Ga. Code Ann. § 16-10-71)
Trump is alleged to have repeatedly lied about the 2020 election to Georgia officials and to have used that misleading conduct, as well as intimidation and threats, to push them to change the election outcome. Trump may have committed the crime of false statements and improperly influencing government officials when he repeatedly told Raffensperger that he won the election as well as when he listed numerous inaccuracies and falsehoods about the election. Because the documents signed by the fake electors included falsehoods about their role and authority in the 2020 election, they may have committed false swearing and forgery in the first degree. Moreover, Trump and his allies may have committed criminal solicitation when they solicited conduct from Georgia state officials to change the election results in Trump’s favor.
RICO crimes:
- Georgia’s RICO Act (Ga. Code Ann. § 16-14-1 et seq.)
The Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act recognizes that if violations of individual criminal statutes by a single person are bad, an enterprise that repeatedly violates the law is worse and should be subject to additional sanction.
To be charged, the law requires a “pattern” of misconduct as shown by violations of two or more specified crimes, including the false statements or improper influence crimes mentioned above. Experts believe that RICO charges are a very real possibility for Trump based upon his repeated calls to election officials, false statements, and alleged coordinated attempts to provide fraudulent electoral certificates.
Trump lives in a world of his own creation, but mark my words, before too long somebody will set him straight on what that redacted report really said and he’ll be back to throwing things at the walls. He’s not out of the woods yet and again, even somebody as imbecilic as he is, ought to know that.
Anyone who has heard him speak knows this Trump screed sounds just like
Boris Epshteyn
His statements remind me of the Seinfeld episode where Elaine gets roped into a mistaken date with Jimmy, who always referred to himself in the third person. Later, when George ate spicey chicken he did the same. “George likes spicey chicken.”
Scott thinks Donald is a career criminal and traitor who belongs in the penitentiary. Scott will also accept Donald being shot by a firing squad since Donald believes in firing squads. That would be justice given how many people he’s responsible for killing and that he violated the highest trust in the land. If Donald gets what he deserves, Scott is going to party until the sun comes up! That would make Scott believe justice isn’t dead in America. Scott can’t wait!!!!
With the incredible mountain of evidence revealing trump’s multiple crimes in Georgia if he isn’t indicted I will no longer believe he ever will be. Garland is such a terrible disappointment, I believe he will never indict traitor trump for anything. He is a pathetic joke and should have been fired a long time ago.
Slippery Donald, HAS to be handled with extreme care, his actions are so bizarre that he may escape punishment by showing his demented condition, releasing him from criminal punishment and sending him to a mental hospital instead … in his case, a Hilton Hotel with locked doors …
Garland is faced with the crime of the century, he will be attacked for ANY decision he may make … Handing the case to special prosecution takes the load off his own desk, making his decisions from a background of legal experience at the highest levels …
We had better get the popcorn ready, and Trump needs to lay in a sufficient supply of ketchup. He is going to need a lot of that.
Proof that someone else wrote his statement (and still got it wrong): “admonishment” has too.!any syllables for Fat Donnie. He is undoubtedly quoting a lawyer who tried to explain it to him and he completely missed the point that “no admonishment” or hang ups doesn’t mean “no crimes.” Especially when the person screeching at v you is the outgoing president and DR facto.leader of your party.
“de facto”
trump simply turns ANYTHING going on into a positive, no matter what the reality is. That way he can claim all is well & he is ‘winning’. He is delusional, but that is his only means to stay above anything happening to him – he has done that his whole life – he learnt that from some preacher/positive thinking guy in NYC many years ago, so he’s stuck in that mode no matter what is going on. When reality hits he will probably fall apart completely but until then he just keeps doubling down on his version of the facts !
Uh, no one hung up on you because you were still the president of the country at the time and that’s just not done, even when you suggest they commit a crime for you! No, they just let you keep talking and recording what you say so they would have a record of it all for the investigation that would surely come. No one agrees with you. No one encourages you. They just let you ramble on, and record! It’s called CYA! Oh look! Donnie is wearing his dunce cap again! So appropriate!
Garland should remember that it was the GOP that f*cked him out of the Supreme Court appointment he was set to receive and that Donnie here has appointed 3 S C Justices instead of him Payback time Mr. Garland what’s the holdup?