79 Comments

I just hope Cassidy has plenty of security. I admire her a lot, and she puts all of rump’s pathetic ass kissers to shame. If this information doesn’t take him down, we don’t have a Justice system. Or at least a fair one.

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Unbelievable Cassidy was in close contact with the worst guys in US history including Ted Cruz and others. I see a best seller in her future.

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TC, Do you think Gini Thomas told Meadows that tfg had the support of the Supreme Court? And that is why he was so adamantly hard pressed to get a delay at any and all costs? Obviously tfg has committed multiple felonies and seditious conspiracy, but to be that bold, brazen, and crazy, even for a malignant narcissist, he had to believe he had a full backstop waiting to anoint him king?

Does the Eastman Memo point to the a SCOTUS decision? Wouldn't this support the above?

If it did, what would it mean to prosecute tfg without prosecuting the Thomas's in seditious conspiracy?

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It certainly wouldn't surprise me to find this was true.

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Subpoena the Thomas's. When she pleads the 5th, then American will know the truth.

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Interesting question.

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Interesting thoughts Ted. You may have something here. It all seems to fit together.

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Yeah and that's pretty scary too! We know tfg is dumb, but I don't think he is that brazenly stupid to try to pull it off out of shear charisma, lying, and machismo. Right? He had to believe/know/get confirmation from inside the Supreme Court, that he had his appointee's in his corner, and the Thomas's are in someone else's pocket, who or what has been paying Ginni? Bret had how much debt that disappeared? And no one has told us who or what paid off Bret's huge debts. Ginni is constant contact with Meadows by personal cell phone all of Dec and in the lead up to Jan 6th. She and Meadows are there. So it should not be that hard for Garland to find evidence to the full conspiracy. Like TC says, we need a few more flys on the wall to come testify.

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And don’t forget, he always called them “his Supreme Court judges” and expected them to rule in his favor in the phony election fraud. I would love to see Ginni Thomas subpoenaed. And if I were Meadows I would start cooperating before he finds himself under the bus.

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I can see the "con", although, not being a conman, I can't explain it exactly. I think that is because it is structured like how we think of a terrorist cell. Very few know it all and all of it is compartmentalized. There are lies and assumptions, that are presented by those with more power, higher up, that has been taken as fact by underlings. Hungry for power, Jim Jordon seems especially susceptible to this kind of 'loose' organizational structure.

Its like one of those apprentice episodes. Applied Chaos Theory.

I see some assumptions by the actors and how they may have been played, as they played their part in the master plot. Nobody in the Plot knows what is true, only that 'everything is possible". Ginni Thomas introduces Eastman to Meadows. Ginni tells Meadows that tfg has the full backing of the Supreme Court, this could be only a little bit true. But it does keep the ball moving. Meadows brags to the tfg what Ginni told him. Meadows, exhausted, has some doubt, but presents it as a fact to support Eastman and placate an irrational boss in tfg. TFG gets Flynn back on board boasting he has the court. Flynn thinks, "Well if you have the SC, then I'm all in and I have the skill set, training, and experience to organize it" I think Flynn was running Stone as a cutout to the White Nationalist Groups ( Proud Boys, 3%'ers, Oath Keepers, etc). Rudy is putting pressure on the state legislatures, but so is Lindsay Graham, Ron Johnson, others, and everyone is under the impression the Supreme Court is behind them, and without, the plotter go all in. Just all work your part to get the false electors, get the DOJ to announce "irregularities" and we must "investigate". Get a delay to the Electoral Count Procedure. Everyone pressure Pence. Bring violence if all else fails. Pressure, heat, break Pence. "Just get the delay. That is all we need to get a ruling by SCOTUS."

Crazytown.

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I think you have it mapped out.

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It’s not that hard. But I wonder what % understand, care, or know how bad this is

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What if this IS true and STILL true: "Ginni tells Meadows that tfg has the full backing of the Supreme Court." Could SCOTUS overrule a lower court decision that tRump is guilty of an attempt to overthrow the government of the USA? Or will those 3 sweet robed christians forget how they got there?

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As heedless as they obviously are of public opinion, I think they would have to know that would really be "a bridge too far."

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You could not have written a script any better..it is amazing though that these Keystone Cops have meshed to gather for so long and not tripped over themselves (like the burglars at Watergate) sooner than this!

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Sure is! The clown train kept getting longer and more convoluted. I think you have laid it out very well. I guess my fear of clowns is justified after all!

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Yes... if Mark Meadows has any stomach lining still, it will be a miracle. And it seems that Lindsey has been other low profile lately!

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Yes, re: Bret K. I have about 3 or 4 players who rate around in my head and I frequently ask my husband, so, what happened to all of B.K.'s debts, or what's the deal with Matt Gaetz? or... I am an eternal optimist, but lately I was feeling bricks on my wings... now I'm flying again! This is got to be a most bizarre saga, and it just keeps getting better!

I don't want to kinds it but I think her may have rounded a pretty big corner!

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for this kind of thing, I highly recommend Seth Abramson's Substack, in which he examines exactly these questions in super-granular detail.

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Thank you David!

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you're very welcome, Ted. you're going to be amazed at the extent to which he's analyzed every bit of exactly what you want to know about...sometimes, it even feels like too much. he's that thorough and, as a criminal lawyer, is very good at assembling evidence and making his case.

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Love this. As a girl I grew up around the Philly mob. As a young woman I worked for a lawyer who represented those mob guys. The stuff that came out their mouths while I sat there taking notes, sheesh. Having that experience, it's always amused me that people call Orange Cheeto a mobster. He wouldn't have lasted 10 minutes; they had a ruthless code of conduct, you earned your way to the top, and if you opened your mouth about anything-they'd find your body a couple months later.

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I was shocked and chilled by the vary scenarios you were TC. He KNEW they were armed … the Commander In Chief of our military KNEW there was an anti democracy armed militia and HE WANTED TO BE WITH THEM. How did that fly under the media? They weren’t armed! (We heard) They were just protesting. What a tinderbox… what would have happened if he never called them off? Who would step up and call our military to the defense?

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But just think of the optics: Tfg leading his faithful 'patriots' in the fight for his Presidency and to roust those "enemies of the state" out of their cushy offices. I can just see him imagining himself as Rambo--like the disgusting photoshopped images of his ugly mug on Rambo's ripped bod. (gag).

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What a picture. Gag, indeed. Though I’m sure that is the vision of grandeur that danced in the Manchurian Canteloupes tiny mind.

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"Manchurian Canteloupe" Hah...that gave me a chuckle! Thank you!

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it's not as if the media had enough to run with...this is essentially a cult that knows it's a cult enough to keep the relevant secrets.

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I hope Cassidy has plenty of security also. Life has certainly changed for her. Perhaps her politics as well. What a realization as a young person that the gop is full of folks intent on crashing democracy. I learned that years ago. But there she was right in the room.

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...and personally cleaning catsup off a wall. No hearsay evidence there. Just the facts. She was amazing and so very brave. She was "disgusted" - 25 years old and DISGUSTED by those she worked for and supported.

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Three flies on the wall just turned out to have names, for history and with hope for the future. Great!

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I wonder what is going through Garland's head this afternoon?

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I know what i hope is going through his head.

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Kudos to these flies on the wall!!!

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Given trump’s propensity for eating fast food garbage, why does he need to eat it off plates? Paper bags and paper boxes are more his speed, no need for broken crockery that way…

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it's funny...I had the same thought as soon as I heard it.

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Highly discomforting testimony. Funny at times, but always scary. I sure hope this breaks through the reflexive both-siderism of the press.

Also, TC, a fine essay. Just damn good word-smithing.

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Yes, TC! You are a great beacon!

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Flattery will get you *everywhere* Cynthia. :-)

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After the hearings I went to the gym with four thoughts.

1. We already knew he was a baby. Babies throw their food around. Break out the "baby Trump in diapers" balloons! So juvenile and with no consideration for all the people who have to clean up his mess.

2. The assault in the Beast( great name for his car) shows the ever dangerous behavior of an entitled, abusive bully when he is thwarted.

A sociopathic man who should never, ever have any kind of power over other people. Engle deserves a medal for hazardous duty.

3. The level of foreknowledge of the plans for violence on Jan.6 was substantial and at the highest levels of government--those who aided and abetted, those who grew increasingly worried, those who appeared incredibly nonchalant even in the midst of the invasion( Meadows), and those who kept warning. Which makes me wonder even more that knowing all this was coming down Why- Why-Why was the defense left to the easily overwhelmed Capitol police?

4. Trump must have been filling his diaper this afternoon!

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😹😂

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yes, when I heard it, I envisioned him in a gigantic high chair. actually, that's not a bad idea for a political cartoon. too bad my skill level stopped at stick figures.

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Thank you, Sailor.

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I was listening to the hearings while running an errand. I was stunned to hear that he actually threw a plate of food at the wall (got catsup on the wall, surprise surprise). That fuckknuckle was the president. I’m still stunned.

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there would never have been any dijon mustard on his plate..that's for sure

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really, until today, the narrative (which was offered in more than one of the books that were rushed out at the end of the administration) was that TFF "improvised" the lines in his speech about marching to the capital. and people were satisfied with that. now it turns out that all of that was bullshit cover. today certainly did feel like there was something very akin to the Butterfield moment. the only problem is that if the other guys (Cipillone, Meadows et al) don't decide to break ranks to save their asses, it can still be dismissed as hearsay. or at least that's my understanding. it's pretty obvious that TFF is pretty fucking scared right about now. it sure might have put the kibosh on his 2024 run. which creates the scary idea that the party just might shift to DeSantis, who might just prove to be a worse disaster, at least policy-wise. he's that much smarter. once again, I recommend that New Yorker profile in last week's issue.

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DeSantis is definitely smarter than tfg--much smarter than he looks, certainly. But does he have that conman superpower that tfg has relied on his entire life--a combination of charisma (I admit, I'VE never been able to see it, but clearly it's there) and complete & unabashed bullshit. Drump loved his audience, probably for the applause and adulation--but still, it was a (sick) form of love and his audience loved him back

I don't believe DeSantis has that superpower. He has donors and he has supporters, surely...but I somehow doubt DeSantis has the power to create the cult of personality that tfg did. Thank goodness.

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If DeSantis runs, after Trump gets whacked (not necessarily literally), all anyone will hyave to do to tar him with Trump's brush is replay that ad he did just before the election in 2018 where he used his infant son to make a trump commercial.

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I hope you're right, and he's overreaching. based on that New Yorker profile (and Remnick's interview online with Dexter Filkins, who wrote the article), he's extremely vulnerable to flattery and is very, very impatient. thing is, the motherfucker's only 43.

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I know...plenty of time to learn to be more patient and more subtle about his impatient ambition. But yeah... his relative youth is a factor in his favor.

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I'm terrified of De Santis...I was hoping that there'd be so much baggage in Trumpworld that maybe some of the sheep wouldn't fall for DeSantis.

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I still have to read that (right after this!)

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https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/the-myth-at-the-heart-of-the-praying-bremerton-coach-case/

The SCOTUS is “morally flexible” and sugar coating their distasteful rulings. Where are the guardrails?

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OH! No Guardrails : "The problem is that the only part of the phrase “short, private, personal prayer” that is accurate to what was going on in Bremerton in the fall of 2015 is “prayer.”

Excellent article SAH. Thank You.

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Thanks. Shared.

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From your mouth to God's ears TC. possibly God can convince Merrick Garland, nothing else has.

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Actually, I think the DOJ is more on the job than thought. There's an old old rule, which became an old, old rule because it's so, so true: When you strike the king, you MUST kill him.

The only thing that would be an order of magnitude worse than not charging Trump would be charging him and not making it stick.

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“If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.”

― Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince

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Yes.

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Hello Allen. Your blog was very informative. Thank you. I tried to comment but was rejected. Boo who! I'm worried about what the story will be this fall when the Western countries can't let their people freeze. I have always leaned in your direction with the thought that the West will bale. Thoughts on the energy issue? The 'no fly zone' way back then hasn't left my brain. Salud! 💙💛

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No idea why it would not let you comment. I am hoping with the influx of weapons from USA etc, and the constant diminishing of Russian military that by the end of September Russia will be on the run. Also by then the need for Russian gas will have diminished a fair bit. We shall see. A NATO enforced no-fly zone is unworkable without dragging NATO into the war though Russia may do that for us. Anti-aircraft protection will help a great deal and a dozen F-16s would really help

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Thanks Allen. You spelled it out.

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It helped me feel better watching Biden's press conference today on NATO.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1655573944811308&id=100069123883596

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True enough but when he has testified against himself on national television a conviction would seem almost to be a foregone conclusion. Jury selection, on the other hand, could be a serious challenge, especially if the traitor has competent legal advice.

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yeah, the jury selection thing (premature, I know, but we can dream) is something I think about a LOT. one fan of TFF and it's a hung jury. and we KNOW TFF admires and emulates Mafia-type goons. and he DOES know their shit a bit more intimately than if he's just watched "The Godfather" and a few Scorsese movies.

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Interloper, here. Not trying him would be the worst thing. Start the process very soon. We are better off dealing with the violence now than when the Senate, House and presidency are in Republican hands or when they've got two out of three. We need several leaders to do what Biden isn't doing .

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Fern, Biden is essentially powerless in this process, not being TFF. I really do think that the right people are certainly on it.

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Biden has not come up with a strategy designed to characterize the Republican Party/Trumpist Party for what it is -- a pack of leeches -- parasitic predators -- stealing our wealth for themselves -- stealing our rights -- destroying earth -- killing us with gun violence and unaffordable drug costs -- Dickensian -- Medieval. Come on David -- where are the truth tellers? Who is telling our story? 'Biden is essentially powerless'!! Do you believe that? We don't have the writers, the directors, the art directors, the performers, the plain folks to show the dark reality of the Republican Party?

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Agree, TC. Garland et al are doing this right, and part of that tactic is to not show your hand.

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yeah...I'm getting a little impatient with some friends who keep hollering about how Garland needs to arrest TFF like, last week or something. based on what I've heard from various federal prosecutors (mostly podcasts of course), they have a really high conviction rate because they don't move until they have as close to an airtight case as possible. insane though it may seem, the actual evidence of serious, intentional criminality is still insufficient, although Ms. Hutchinson DID provide about as close to a Butterfield moment as we've seen thus far. and the expected attempts to discredit her are pretty pathetic. but I'm worried about her, although if something bad happened, there wouldn't be any doubt about where to look.

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Her security detail better NOT be the Secret Service.

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He's going on vacation.

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Why am I not surprised?

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Come on, WHY?

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The answer is unsuitable for a civil conversation.

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