Donald Trump: Classic or Dud?

Judge Chutkan issued a partial gag order in the Jan 6 case restricting Trump from making or reposting comments that attack the prosecutors, the court, or any witnesses.

I'm sure that'll hold for approximately 15 minutes

ok?

You might be surprised -- the official statement is, notably and hilariously, venting in terms that absolutely fit the contours of the order as Chutkan specified:

“Today’s decision is an absolute abomination and another partisan knife stuck in the heart of our Democracy by Crooked Joe Biden, who was granted the right to muzzle his political opponent, the leading candidate for the Presidency in 2024, and the most popular political leader in America, President Donald J. Trump. President Trump will continue to fight for our Constitution, the American people’s right to support him, and to keep our country free of the chains of weaponized and targeted law enforcement.”

No mention of Smith, the court, etc. but as Chutkan specifically allowed for, venting re Biden and the general situation perfectly fine. (Again, how long this lasts, who knows.)

trump has plenty of practice at making his thoughts perfectly visible even though they're swaddled inside a cocoon of vagueness and apparent ambiguity.

Oh sure! And one suspects that all sides understand this.

He may continue to stick to the order, he may not. If he doesn't, it's not as if the judge will just throw up her hands in frustration and let it happen. We need to drop this self-defeatist fantasy that he is absolutely invulnerable to any consequences when he's been on a losing streak since 2020.

We need to drop this self-defeatist fantasy that he is absolutely invulnerable to any consequences

I think you're reading much more into the past few posts than what they said.

Not necessarily a response to anything specific on here, just the general vibe that the Judge's actions and various other things aren't punitive enough or that nothing will ever change or there's never any consequences. It wasn't aimed at anything you or Ned said.

The speech is rapidly deteriorating as the show goes on. pic.twitter.com/5fQylo4VmD

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) October 17, 2023

last time I saw something like this it was a news anchor having a stroke on live TV

yeah that is very odd

can't wait til this fucker drops dead on stage

I don't have an ounce of sympathy for him but man his dad's political career appears to have wrecked his life. during the 2016 RNC I remember him giving a speech and thinking he was actually a pretty decent speaker who came off fairly sharp. like in a "oh fuck, this one's gonna get into politics too" sort of way. but every year he's gotten progressively worse and every time I've seen him lately he's just looked extremely unwell. even his dad still looks like he's sometimes having fun but Jr. comes off like one of those dudes from the end of Boogie Nights. and he keeps going after Hunter too, constantly describing him as a guy who meets the exact description as the man in the mirror

DJTJ's Car/Life Crash

when you step back its a pretty amazing story they really flew too close to the sun

funny detail jared kushner off to the side collecting billions of dollars in kicksbacks from the saudis while the trump boys are in court having their businesses shut down and so forth

constantly describing him as a guy who meets the exact description as the man in the mirror

point of order: Hunter's dad actually loves him

"Honomership!"

https://loveincorporated.blob.core.windows.net/contentimages/gallery/6a3228a0-8ff3-4c1e-b46c-573e739fd46e-lead-florida-trump-jr-roundel.jpg

Built completely out of cocaine bricks.

that's why it's best advice to have a couple beers before the interview, not four Jack & Cokes

so funny seeing him angrily losing it at the press conference about the Mar-a-Lago valuation "it's probably the most expensive property in the world" "it could be worth billions.."etc etc... From what I can gather it was zoned as a club to stave off bankruptcy and has scores of rich members who have paid a quarter of a million in subs. So really, he barely even owns it. Nothing new here - just me discovering this stuff for the first time.

yeah they were all circling much smaller nearby properties that sold for insane prices but just forgetting to mention that its zoned as a club and is in fact a club

maybe you could get it rezoned put up a some mansions but even then it would be worth maybe a few hundred million tops not a billion, and it would cost a lot to get there

so funny seeing him angrily losing it at the press conference about the Mar-a-Lago valuation "it's probably the most expensive property in the world" "it could be worth billions.."

even funnier considering he's literally on trial for exaggerating the value of his properties

Escaping from one shark tank into a different shark tank

i can't believe he said that he would go to jail to save democracy and that its actually a true statement! inadvertently, but still...

uh oh, bad news for our guy

BREAKING: Sidney POWELL is in Fulton County court right now pleading guilty.

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) October 19, 2023

She might be crazy, but apparently not all dumb.

oh dear, one of the nutjob true believers has flipped

Under a deal announced Thursday in Fulton County Superior Court, she will receive six years probation and pay a $6,000 fine.

Release the checkbook

I wonder what the terms of the probation are? She seems to have done a better job staying mum than my pillow guy, maybe I'm looking in the wrong places.

she had agreed to testify in future proceedings

Lol @ Neanderthal

Perhaps she can go into the landscaping business

I'd presume there might be a domino effect of other rather shook indicted retrobates turning witness now. I heard in RICO cases the ones that get in early get the best deals (free pizzas!), and once this starts there is no stopping it.

Powell got a Starbucks card too.

The Maestro told her to say she'd take it.

is she still on the hook for the dominion libel/defamation case?

I don't believe that case was addressed as part of the plea agreement

No, it's separate. Like Trump, lots of separate lawsuits going on.

so crazy that you can get probation for trying to overthrow the government. america, what a country!

I’m assuming she don’t just flip, she did like a triple back flip

Didn’t, not don’t

so crazy that you can get probation for trying to overthrow the government. america, what a country!

― scott seward, Thursday, October 19, 2023 10:50 AM (nine minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

its a victimless crime

pretty sure Fani Willis would not recommend such a sentence unless she got the goods from Powell

Powell could also be disbarred as a result of the plea.

I certainly hope so!

I'd presume there might be a domino effect of other rather shook indicted retrobates turning witness now. I heard in RICO cases the ones that get in early get the best deals (free pizzas!), and once this starts there is no stopping it.

― vodkaitamin effrtvescent (calzino), Thursday, October 19, 2023 9:29 AM (fifty-one minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

right I thought this is why you charge as many people as you can with RICO, if you get a few plea deals it makes it a lot easier to charge the primary conspirators

yeah I think the idea is to get the more minor players to flip upwards against the big dogs of the conspiracy and it seems to be working

so now Powell is obligated to also cooperate with Jack Smith in the classified documents case if he wants to use her.

Yes to all the above, though it's less the classified docs case -- I don't think she had anything to do with that? -- and more the J6 case in DC.

Per the NYT:

She was also fined $6,000 and agreed to pay $2,700 restitution to the state of Georgia, as well as write an apology letter to its citizens.

Prosecutors said in court that Ms. Powell had given them a recorded statement on Wednesday as part of her plea deal. She has agreed to testify against any of the 17 remaining defendants. Ms. Powell has also agreed to turn over documents in her possession related to the case.

So yeah, Willis would not have agreed to anything in court without that statement already in hand, that's for sure.