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Post by mhbruin on Aug 15, 2023 8:42:49 GMT -8
For Halloween we dressed up as almonds. Everyone could tell we were nuts.
Previous Guy Promises to Bolster the Case Against Himself
In the wake of Donald Trump's fourth indictment in Georgia on charges related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election result, the former president took to Truth Social Tuesday declaring that he would provide an "Irrefutable REPORT on the Presidential Election Fraud."
"A Large, Complex, Detailed but Irrefutable REPORT on the Presidential Election Fraud which took place in Georgia is almost complete & will be presented by me at a major News Conference at 11:00 A.M. on Monday of next week in Bedminster, New Jersey," Trumpwrote on Tuesday.
"Based on the results of this CONCLUSIVE Report, all charges should be dropped against me & others - There will be a complete EXONERATION! They never went after those that Rigged the Election. They only went after those that fought to find the RIGGERS!" Trump declared.
Legal experts immediately scoffed at the notion that Trump would have such a report.
"A detailed and irrefutable report that he has been holding on to for 2.5 years and never presented in any court of law," national security attorney Bradley Moss tweeted.
"Former President Donald Trump is now arguing the new Georgia racketeering charges against him should be dropped by... making similar false claims of fraud in a way that got him indicted not 12 hours ago," tweeted journalist Stephen Fowler.
"Trump’s attempt to do a version of this in a Sept. 2021 letter to Brad Raffensperger is literally a charge in the indictment," tweeted legal analyst Kyle Cheney.
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 15, 2023 9:19:19 GMT -8
The Rare Trifecta. Is He Going for the Grand Slam?
The US chief of naval operations stepped down Monday, leaving an unprecedented three branches of the country's military without confirmed leaders due to a standoff with a single senator over Pentagon abortion policy.
Senator Tommy Tuberville, a Republican, is stalling the approval of more than 300 US military nominees to protest Defense Department efforts to assist troops who must travel to receive reproductive health care that is unavailable where they are stationed.
The officers selected to head the Army, Navy and Marine Corps are among the nominees Tuberville is keeping from being quickly approved by the Senate via unanimous consent.
Not Even Alabama Voters Approve
A majority of likely Alabama voters want Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) to drop his hold on military promotions, according to a new poll.
The poll, conducted by Public Policy Polling and commissioned by VoteVets, found that 58 percent of Alabama voters think Tuberville has “made his point” with his hold and that he should “now allow senior military promotions to move forward.”
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 15, 2023 9:21:36 GMT -8
Doing God's Work Previous Guys's Work
Former Donald Trump campaign lawyer Jenna Ellis is one of many attorneys who have been indicted due to their work on behalf of the twice-impeached former president, and on Tuesday morning she sought divine intervention to help her beat the rap.
Writing on Twitter, Ellis accused Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis of "criminalizing the practice of law" after the prosecutor indicted Ellis for her alleged role in trying to keep Trump illegally in power after he lost the 2020 election to President Joe Biden.
However, Ellis suggested that God Himself could soon play a role in her vindication.
"I am resolved to trust the Lord and I will simply continue to honor, praise, and serve Him," she added. "I deeply appreciate all of my friends who have reached out offering encouragement and support."
Ellis, who was formally censured by a judge in Colorado earlier this year after she admitted to making multiple false claims about fraud in the 2020 presidential election, was subsequently mocked by many of her Twitter followers for invoking God after being hit with criminal charges.
"I don’t know about you, but I plan to honor and to serve the Lord today by not engaging in any racketeering conspiracies," wrote attorney and longtime Trump critic George Conway in response.
"The Lord told you to disenfranchise millions of Black voters in Georgia?" replied former Clinton White House aide Keith Boykin incredulously.
And one anonymous Twitter user shredded Ellis for using her Christian faith as a shield for allegedly committing crimes.
"I must have missed that passage in the Bible that read: 'Give me your forgers, your ballot machine hackers; defeated narcissistic presidential candidates subverting democracy; illicit attorneys yearning for imprisonment,'" they wrote.
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 15, 2023 9:23:56 GMT -8
He's Going to Need to Raise a Lot of Money to Pay Everyone's Legal Bills
Now that he has been indicted in a sweeping racketeering probe by Fulton County prosecutor Fani Willis into efforts to overturn the result of the 2020 election, former President Donald Trump faces a unique threat.
He has many co-defendants – many of whom are not wealthy and face financial destruction from their indictments. That gives them huge incentive to flip on him to save themselves, Salon reported.
Legal experts say that the risk to Trump is very real, according to the website's analysis Tuesday.
New York University law professor Melissa Murray wrote on X, "Given the 5-year min for RICO, lots of opportunities for folks to flip and cooperate," referring to the prison sentence that could accompany a guilty verdict.
Former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti agreed, posting, "Unlike Trump, the other defendants aren’t wealthy. They aren’t raising money from donors to pay their legal bills. Most people have their lives turned upside down by an indictment, and plead guilty to avoid ruin.
Will they Be Flipping Like Pancakes?
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 15, 2023 9:27:22 GMT -8
There are Junk Fees and Then There are Junk Fees
An elderly couple have said they were "horrified" after being charged £110 by Ryanair to print their tickets at the airport.
Ruth and Peter Jaffe told the BBC they had to pay airport check-in fees after mistakenly downloading their return tickets instead of their outgoing ones.
It sparked a flurry of social media complaints about the airline's fees.
Ryanair said the fees were in line with its policy, as the couple had failed to check-in online for the correct flight.
But consumer rights expert Martyn James said the couple's experience had "touched a nerve" as many other people have also been hit by unexpected charges.
"£110 for 2 pieces of paper which took 1 minute. Shame on you," she told the budget airline.
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 15, 2023 9:29:04 GMT -8
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 15, 2023 9:36:10 GMT -8
British Banks Don't Want Muslim MoneyTwo months ago, the Cordoba Foundation, a British think tank, was organising a forum in central London about political tensions in Tunisia. But when trying to settle invoices, its efforts to pay for the event failed. “Multiple attempts to pay the venue provider and suppliers kept declining while payments from donors into our NatWest account kept being rejected,” said Anas Altikriti, head of the group. “All of a sudden, we realised our business accounts had been shut. There was no notice or explanation whatsoever.” He said the bank didn’t send him any letters, and when he called NatWest, he was told his customer representative did not have the authority to disclose details, only the fact that the account had been closed. Several weeks later, there was more bad news for the think tank, which aims to bridge gaps of understanding between the Muslim world and the West. Altikriti was informed that his foundation’s business and personal accounts at the Royal Bank of Scotland, which is owned by the NatWest Group, were also being closed. Once again, the bank failed to provide detailed reasons. Recent research has found that banks in the United Kingdom are closing up to 1,000 accounts a day. Banks call this “de-risking”, a term that usually means rejecting people, businesses and organisations deemed financially or legally risky. Sometimes, accounts are shuttered if the holder could cause reputational damage to the bank. “Yes, we [Muslims] have been targeted, absolutely, … but it goes beyond us,” he said. Fadi Itani, head of the of Muslim Charities Forum in London, told Al Jazeera that at least 50 organisations have faced bank closures. Like Nigel Farage, British Muslims say they are being ‘de-banked’
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 15, 2023 9:37:16 GMT -8
What Do Ya Know? There Are Criminal Attorneys in Florida
Carlos De Oliveira, the Mar-a-Lago property manager charged in the Trump classified documents case, pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Florida federal court.
De Oliveira and his attorney, Donnie Murrell, entered the plea at around 10 a.m. ET in the Fort Pierce courthouse. Murrell waived a formal reading of the indictment that charged his client as well as former President Donald Trump and Trump aide Walt Nauta with the alleged mishandling of classified government documents.
Magistrate Judge Shaniek Maynard wished De Oliveira "good luck."
De Oliveira, 56, was unable to enter a plea in late July and last week because he was unable to find a Florida-based lawyer. Nauta had pleaded not guilty after his arraignment also was postponed twice because he couldn't find a local attorney.
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 15, 2023 9:38:01 GMT -8
Live By RICO. Die By RICO
While working as a federal prosecutor in New York in the 1980s, Rudy Giuliani was hailed for his innovative use of racketeering laws against the mob.
Now he's facing a similar charge — violation of Georgia's RICO (Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act — for allegedly taking part in a conspiracy with then-President Donald Trump and others in a bid to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.
The charge carries a minimum five-year prison sentence and a maximum sentence of 20 years.
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 15, 2023 9:53:13 GMT -8
The Kids Have a Win Protecting the World They Will Have to Live in
In 1972, after a century of mining, ranching, and farming had taken a toll on Montana, voters in that state added to their constitution an amendment saying that “[t]he state and each person shall maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations,” and that the state legislature must make rules to prevent the degradation of the environment.
In March 2020 the nonprofit public interest law firm Our Children’s Trust filed a lawsuit on behalf of sixteen young Montana residents, arguing that the state’s support for coal, oil, and gas violated their constitutional rights because it created the pollution fueling climate change, thus depriving them of their right to a healthy environment. They pointed to a Montana law forbidding the state and its agents from taking the impact of greenhouse gas emissions or climate change into consideration in their environmental reviews, as well as the state’s fossil fuel–based state energy policy.
Today, U.S. District Court Judge Kathy Seeley found for the young Montana residents, agreeing that they have “experienced past and ongoing injuries resulting from the State’s failure to consider [greenhouse gas emissions] and climate change, including injuries to their physical and mental health, homes and property, recreational, spiritual, and aesthetic interests, tribal and cultural traditions, economic security, and happiness.” She found that their “injuries will grow increasingly severe and irreversible without science-based actions to address climate change.”
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 15, 2023 9:56:15 GMT -8
Here Comes the Judge! Here Comes the Judge!
The face of the Fulton County RICO indictment of Donald Trump and 18 alleged co-conspirators shows that the Judge assigned to the case is the Honorable Scott McAfee. According to his LinkedIn page and consistent with the Fulton County Superior Court website, he has been on the bench since February 2023. He is a 2013 graduate of the University of Georgia Law School, and a 2010 graduate of Emory University, majoring in Political Science and Music.
All of Judge McAfee’s professional experience appears to be as a prosecutor — an ADA in Barrow County, a Senior ADA in Fulton County, an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Georgia (where Atlanta is located), and Inspector General of the State of Georgia, appointed by Governor Brian Kemp in 2021. From a press release, it appears he was appointed to the bench by Gov. Kemp, and from his campaign website, it appears he is running for election in 2024.
I don’t practice in Georgia, and I know nothing about Judge McAfee, so what follows is just my speculation. He has a strong law-and-order background. He must be a Republican and is a favorite of Gov. Kemp, who is himself no fan of Donald Trump. Judge McAfee is running for election in a heavily Democratic County. That creates a strong incentive to conduct fair and even-handed proceedings. What worries me is that he is he is about 35 years old, has been a lawyer for only 10 years, and a judge for all of 7 months. He’s about to be under a nationwide microscope, just like Judges Cannon, Chutkan and Marchan. I wish him strength, fortitude, wisdom, patience and good judgment.
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 15, 2023 9:59:45 GMT -8
It Will Be Deicded By a Vote ... By 12 of His Peers
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 15, 2023 10:03:10 GMT -8
From Incitement to Indictment
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 15, 2023 10:04:30 GMT -8
In Interesting Development
Russia’s central bank made a big interest rate hike Tuesday, an emergency move designed to fight inflation and strengthen the ruble after the country’s currency reached its lowest value since early in the war with Ukraine.
The ruble has lost more than a third of its value since the beginning of the year as Moscow increases military spending and Western sanctions weigh on its income from energy shipments. The flagging currency does not mean the Russian economy is in freefall — though it is facing challenges, including rising prices for households and businesses, according to analysts who study Russia.
The central bank hiked its key rate 3.5 percentage points to 12% after announcing a meeting of its board of directors a day earlier as the ruble declined.
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 15, 2023 10:09:55 GMT -8
Here's One Way to Solve the Unemployment ProblemChinese officials announced Tuesday that they would temporarily stop publishing the youth unemployment rate, which has reached record highs in recent months, saying the way it is calculated needs refinement. Youth unemployment is just one of the problems facing China, the world’s second-largest economy after the United States, as it recovers more slowly than expected from three years of pandemic isolation. The urban unemployment rate for people ages 16 to 24 has ratcheted up steadily from month to month this year, hitting a record 21.3% in June — four times the overall jobless figure. Here's Another Way
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