Media outlets might get to refer to him as “convicted felon and Presidential candidate” if he runs.
If convicted he might not be able to vote for himself in Florida. Irony!
He had to hear Bragg refer to him exclusively not by his name but as “The Defendant”. It may not seem like a big deal but a tough pill to swallow for a pathological narcissist.
It opens up a new possibility for all the other AGs and DAs going after him for his various grifts: he’s not immune from facing at least the initial consequences of indictment.
And look, today he had to violate two rules of his demonic former mentor, Roy Cohn: he was taken into custody and he had to appear in a courtroom where he had no control over the situation. That’s something that’s never happened to him before and for a lifelong crook like him it has to sting.
Yes, we’d all like to see him in an orange jumpsuit. But I’ll take what I can get from a justice system that’s flawed but that also hasn’t yet been completely undermined by the fascists.
So far it’s been a good week all around for anti-fascists. Wisconsin now has a supreme court that might declare its anti-choice law unconstitutional and put an end to gerrymandering, and Finland joined NATO.
Well, maybe falsifying business records isn’t a crime in the eyes of the MAGAts. They always seemed fine with their Glorious Leader (and life-long grifter) bragging that he could get away with shooting someone on 5th Avenue.
I’m not sure how Republicans can still call themselves the “party of law and order” with a straight face.
IANAL. Just approaching it logically, there seem to be a lot of flaws.
First, it seems to be based largely on Mark Pomerantz’s book. Pomerantz seems to have a beef with Bragg. Anything he writes or says about this case should be taken with a truckload of salt.
Second, the primary concern seems to be whether the term “crime” refers to a state crime or federal crime. That concern would seem to be a red herring. It is of course possible to commit a state crime while trying to cover up a federal crime or vice-versa. Since the statute just refers to “crime” then the simplest (and best) interpretation is that it refers to a crime at any level. If the legislature had wanted to specify a particular jurisdiction, they had ample opportunity to do so.
Third, the article questions whether any such federal crime occurred, to base the felony distinction for the business fraud charges upon. This is the wrong question, since it is essentially unknowable. What matters is the defendent’s actions and intentions. The fact is that the defendent treated it as a crime to be covered up. From Cohen’s public testimony in 2017-18, T**** knew it was a violation of campaign finance laws because Cohen as an attorney told him so. Much like with obstruction of justice, the confirmed presence of an underlying crime is unnecessary; the cover up is the crime. In fact, the felony aspect of the NY business fraud statute reads very much like obstruction itself. The law has to give leeway to the prosecution about the underlying crime because obstruction is so effective at obscuring the nature of the crime itself.
Finally, everyone who’s worked for a large US corporation has probably taken the seemingly unending financial compliance trainings that cover this behavior. As a corporate officer, T**** is held to the standard of having to know the laws that govern corporate financial compliance and reporting. He is presumed to know them and has had to sign documents confirming that knowledge and responsibility. He cannot legally claim to be unaware of them - he specifically asked to be held to them when he formed his company.
ETA: Oh, and the statute of limitations! If an exception should ever be made, this is the case! T**** was president by the time this came to light and was literally untouchable by the State of New York. That 4 years of guaranteed freedom from prosecution might as well not exist when it comes to SoL.
I agree it’s unlikely he’ll get a lot of time if convicted on these particular charges. That said, any accountability he receives is a benefit to society. That’s the point of it all to me…
Him facing even a sliver of accountability is a victory. As the narcissist he is, it hurts him emotionally to his core. And more importantly, it hurts his con game and provides a crack in his appeal to his cult base. He no longer appears to be such an invulnerable winner.
And it will likely stop him from committing other crimes. If only because other people will help him less. When they see him actually face some accountability, they will be less likely to think they’ll be protected by being near him. And they’ll know that, being less famous and protected by politics than him, they are more likely to actually do time.
I followed a video link from the covers thread on BB and, in the right-hand list of recommendations was F"*& No’s Live with Cucker T.
For the first time in my life, I watched that drivel.
He tried to boysplain that it was only one charge (crime) repeated 34 times.
Firstly, it’s still a bloody crime.
Secondly, I am gobsmacked he’s able to move a fork to his mouth.
(Actually, I’m aware he’s not stupid, just fucking evil).
what i hadn’t realized – ( not watching the video ) – is that ■■■■■ tried to pay off not only daniels, but also karen mcdougal, and a random doorman. the doorman got $30,000 because of a rumored child from another affair.
so definitely not just one crime. a pattern of crime. ( and that tends to raise the amount of time people have to serve when convicted. )
yeah, it’s interesting. he had people sign a non-disclosure agreement. quite an end run around the law if nobody is permitted to talk about it during the statute of limitation.
