The Trump Presidency - how I stopped worrying and learned to love the Hair

^Yes corruption seems to be the core of his brand.

This aligns very well with the post-teaparty/Trump-purged GOP, which is currently at work with the impeachment. Imagine a criminal case where the court allows no witnesses to be heard, no new documentation to be presented to the court, not even the defendant will be allowed to be questioned, and the head of the jury publicly states that he has colluded with the defendant to acquit the defendant of all charges.
 
Well, the defendant doesn't have to be questioned in a trial; it's everyone's Constitutional right under the 5th Amendment.

No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.
 
Well, the defendant doesn't have to be questioned in a trial; it's everyone's Constitutional right under the 5th Amendment.

His ego will want to tell the world exactly how innocent, perfect, great, and cunning he is. It is a good thing that he has people to keep him from doing that.
 
Well, the defendant doesn't have to be questioned in a trial; it's everyone's Constitutional right under the 5th Amendment.
Yes, the defendant has the right to remain silent, but will have to be present at the trial. Allowing a trial to be held without the defendant present is the exception rather than the rule, unless the trial is for a minor offence or a misdemeanor. At least, that is what it's like here.

Also, refusing to testify never reflects positively on the defendant. To me, that screams guilty.

His ego will want to tell the world exactly how innocent, perfect, great, and cunning he is. It is a good thing that he has people to keep him from doing that.
I disagree. Having him testify on live television, for hours, would demonstrate to everyone his inability to answer questions coherently. There is a reason why his legal team both here and with the Mueller investigation, got him out of testifying, as he would certainly produce an endless rant of lies.
 
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I disagree with you on that last part. We can't take a fundamental right and turn it against a person, no matter the circumstance. Although fictional, I think that Star Trek: The Next Generation covered this idea very well in my favorite episode "The Drumhead" - and it's this exchange that makes the episode top my list.


His ego will want to tell the world exactly how innocent, perfect, great, and cunning he is. It is a good thing that he has people to keep him from doing that.
You mean like boasting about concealing all the evidence?

Hang on on a second.... in 3....2...yup, there it is. https://www.rollingstone.com/politi...ce-we-have-all-the-material-they-dont-941140/

Trump Brags About Concealing Impeachment Evidence: ‘We Have All the Material, They Don’t’

President Trump said he’s happy with the way the impeachment trial is going thus far because his administration has not released “materials” that would hurt his cause.

“When we released that conversation all hell broke out with the Democrats,” Trump said. “Because they said, ‘Wait a minute, this is much different than [what Adam Schiff] told us.’ ”

The president continued, “So, we’re doing very well. I got to watch [the impeachment trial] enough. I thought our team did a very good job. But honestly, we have all the material. They don’t have the material.”

Trump made the stark admission while attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

When asked about the impeachment trial, Trump initially spoke about what he usually refers to as the “perfect call” with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. In that phone conversation, on July 25, 2019, Trump reportedly asked Zelensky to investigate the Bidens eight times.

The Trump administration has exerted executive privilege while ignoring subpoenas for documents and have directed individuals not to respond to subpoena requests since the beginning of the impeachment process. For comparison, the Clinton administration turned over more than 90,000 pages of documents and material during its impeachment.

Usually, the Trump administration either refuses to explain their stonewalling or excuses their lack of cooperation away by bashing the investigation, calling it illegitimate or a witch hunt. But here, rather astonishingly, Trump seems to be flatly admitting to withholding evidence.
 
I disagree with you on that last part. We can't take a fundamental right and turn it against a person, no matter the circumstance.
Well, it's regarded as a risky strategy. It was recently unsuccessfully used in high profile a murder trial before a district court here last year, the defendant then replaced her lawyer for the appeals trial and abandoned the silence strategy. However, she was still found guilty by the court of appeals, and will have to serve Norway's most severe punishment: 21 years detention.

Also, the general consensus over here among criminal lawyers is that you never advise your client to remain silent, as that never impresses judges, both professional and laymen judges. Because they are then left to consider the present evidence. I know of several cases where the defendants testimony played a significant role in clearing the defendant or securing a more lenient sentence.
 
To summarize the GOP response: (sticking fingers in ears) LALALALALALA!!!

https://lawandcrime.com/awkward/21-...s-reportedly-left-room-during-schiffs-speech/
-of-gop-senators-reportedly-left-room-du

’21 Empty Seats’: More Than One-Third of GOP Senators Reportedly Left Room During Schiff’s Speech

A large bloc of Republican Senators reportedly skipped large portions of Wednesday’s impeachment trial, flouting Senate rules requiring them to remain in their seats at all times during the proceedings, according to journalist Michael McAuliff.

“Just counted 21 empty seats on the GOP side of the Senate, 2 on the Dem side, a couple hours into [Adam] Schiff’s presentation. Some are just stretching their legs, but most are not in the chamber. Some of them have been out of there for a while,” McAuliff said.

That means more than one-third of 53 Republican senators tasked with deciding the president’s fate all missed the same segment of the historic trial. Among those absent from the action “for a long time” were Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Bill Cassidy (R-La), and Jim Risch (R-Idaho).
 
Trump removes protections for streams and wetlands, allows dumping of pollutants directly into water ways. I swear, this guy is like a cartoon villain.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/22/climate/trump-environment-water.html?emc=rss&partner=rss

In impeachment news, has anyone seen the "coverage" on Fox News? To get around the ban on airing the proceedings themselves, Fox is just showing video and letting their presenters create spin in real-time. They have the hearings in a picture-in-picture but unlike their previous spin of showing only GOP arguments out of context and in the best possible light, the entire day was dedicated to the prosecution's opening arguments. There's no GOP "side" yet, so they just didn't play the audio.
 
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Trump removes protections for streams and wetlands, allows dumping of pollutants directly into water ways. I swear, this guy is like a cartoon villain.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/22/climate/trump-environment-water.html?emc=rss&partner=rss
Besides his "transactional" (aka. corrupt) governing style, this is also a part of the Trump brand: He has an endless love for everything that is either polluting, out of date, unhealthy, or a combination of all. This can be traced back to the fact that his campaign is propped up by special interests who makes a fortune from polluting. So much for "draining the swamp", in fact he has drained the swamp of it's water, the only problem is that he then proceeded to fill it up with toxic waste.
 
I am quite intrigued what the defense will be after listening to the last two days of step by step, blow by blow, statement of facts.... how do you contest that what has been done was wrong and deserves some admonishment. I heard on Fox a Senator say "its not about removing the president its about removing senators in vulnerable seats" which is to say oh we know hes guilty but all this does its communicate it to voters?
 
I am quite intrigued what the defense will be after listening to the last two days of step by step, blow by blow, statement of facts.... how do you contest that what has been done was wrong and deserves some admonishment. I heard on Fox a Senator say "its not about removing the president its about removing senators in vulnerable seats" which is to say oh we know hes guilty but all this does its communicate it to voters?

Here it is:



So, the excuses, err ah, defenses are,

there is not enough proof to show impropriety.

There was no law broken, so it is not impeachable.

Presidents have the right to withhold funds.

We don't see anything wrong in the evidence(nevermind they aren't watching).

And, there isn't enough time to go through the process to get the information to see the process through.

Rinse and repeat...
 
Pettifogging: Supreme Court Justice was asked by tattling Senator Susan Collins to admonish Chairman Nadler for saying “voting for a cover-up”. Apparently this was too much for her sensibilities. She must be so scared to go back to being an everyday citizen.
 
The news has moved on to the impeachment, but the Soleimani murder is still resonating in the Middle East.

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-...val-of-US-military-forces/7411579868399/?sl=1

Millions rally in Iraq to demand removal of U.S. military forces

Millions of Iraqi citizens gathered for a mass demonstration in the capital Baghdad on Friday to demand the withdrawal of all U.S. forces, which have now been in Iraq on some level for nearly 20 years.

The "million man" protest march was organized by a top Shiite cleric and supported by Iranian-backed militia groups.

Sayed Sadiq al-Hashemi, head of the Iraqi Center for Studies, said more than 2.5 million people turned out for Friday's rally.

Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr urged followers this week to join the protest as a show of opposition to the U.S. military presence.

Al-Sadr called Friday for all U.S. bases in Iraq to be shut down and the closure of Iraqi airspace to American warplanes and surveillance aircraft. He also warned that U.S. refusal to leave would lead Iraqi leaders to view the U.S. military as an occupying force.

Earlier this month, Iraqi Parliament passed a resolution in a bid to expel all foreign forces after a U.S. airstrike killed a top Iranian military commander and a deputy. In retaliation, Tehran launched missile attacks at two U.S.-held bases in Iraq.

U.S. forces arrived in Iraq in 2003 and stayed there in large numbers until the operational phase of the Iraq War ended in late 2011. American troops, however, have remained in the Middle Eastern nation in much smaller numbers for the past nine years.

The Pentagon sent 3,000 troops to Middle East this month after a Dec. 31 attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, which occurred three days before the U.S. airstrike killed commander Qassem Soleimani and set off a new wave of hostilities.

The embassy attack was blamed in part on the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia group, which was also present in Friday's march.

The government of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has not yet ordered the withdrawal of U.S. forces in Iraq.
 
 
"But mah ratings!" - Trump
 
"But mah ratings!" - Trump


I think he is worried about the polls that show the public want evidence and witnesses. Without the big spotlight, his message isn't getting repeated as effectively.
 
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