this article seems to suggest the ruling has effects that reach much further than I thought. I hope its true as I am enjoying the schadenfreude
Trump’s business empire could collapse ‘like falling dominoes’ after ruling
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/27/trump-new-york-real-estate-reaction-fraud
It would probably start with the sale of Trump’s most prestigious real estate assets, experts say, including Trump Tower in New York, golf courses and resorts around the US, and possibly his prized Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, if it is determined to be a business operation instead of his primary residential home.
Trump needs to find some more ex-wives to bury on golf courses, and fast.
At least we'll find out what Mar-a-Lago is really worth. Spoiler: Not over a billion bucks, like Trump claimed.
Mint!
A mahooosive kick in the bollocks for the Orange Shitgibbon. And then a kick in the bollocks for each of his dim witted kids. And hopefully purgatory for the whole ****ing Trump shower of shit.
Have a photo of him being kicked in the bollocks.
Cohen has taken to referring to Trump as ~" mandarin Mussolini" 🙂
Prosecution and defence both saying they need time to work through and understand the implications of the judge's decision.
I cannot see this covering assets which are not clearly and heavily linked to New York; anything beyond that would come under the doctrine of ultra vires.
In other news, trump's longshot attempt to get the insurrection judge to recuse herself has got a thumbs down from the judge.
So, all good.
There's so much shit going on in the world at the moment but, when I open up this thread, I'm suddenly much happier.
Please keep it up chaps and chapesses 😃
And the latest
"Trump suing ex-MI6 officer who alleged he was ‘compromised’ by Russian security service"
He is so going to regret that. all the evidence will come out in court and also it wrecks his defense of being too busy for the trials where he is defendant
I very much doubt Steele will back down
defence council
Counsel, FFS
First defendant pleads guilty in a plea deal in the Georgia election case.
First defendant in Trump Georgia election case pleads guilty
Scott Hall, an Atlanta-area bail bondsman, pleaded guilty to multiple criminal charges in the Georgia election interference case, becoming the first defendant in the Fulton county case to take a plea deal.Hall was charged in relation to the alleged breach of voting machine equipment in the wake of the 2020 election in Coffee county.
Hall pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor counts as part of a negotiated deal. He appeared before Judge Scott McAfee on Friday afternoon after reaching a plea agreement with prosecutors.
Addressing Hall, the judge asked:
You understand that you’re pleading guilty today because you believe there exists a factual basis that supports the plea, and you are pleading guilty because you are, in fact, guilty?
Hall replied:Yes sir.
Grauniad live blog thingy
Judge in Fulton County case has rejected appeal/request by Jeffrey Clark, former DoJ lawyer, to have his case removed to federal court - another longshot failure.
Will the plea deal Scott Hall has accepted lead to further deals? I think - and hope - so.
Hopefully in return for testimony against trump
Apart from the comedy value of the evidence having to be heard, if Steele can show in court Trump was compromised by Russia, that could be the best option for the MAGA loons to finally realise he wasn’t the messiah, just a very naughty boy.
I think some more low level defendants will flip like Hall, but it needs someone higher up to testify to really bring it crashing down.
that could be the best option for the MAGA loons to finally realise he wasn’t the messiah, just a very naughty boy.
Sorry, but they will believe he was building strategic relationships with the bad guys so he could control them. He was sacrificing small amounts of intel for the bigger picture. He was the best double agent the USA has ever had an Biden doesn't have the mental capacity or bravery for such amazing work.
Besides which, the real MAGA guys are already fully over to supporting Russia- calling for Ukraine to give up all captured land, demanding the end of support for Ukraine from the states, etc. If Trump does it, it's good and if Biden does it, it's bad so that means that opposing Russia is bad and that giving them secrets is patriotic.
So, the circus begins.
trump has confirmed he will be in court today (2nd Oct) when the case starts.
I would anticipate the opening statements from both sides will take 2 or 3 days so there will be a bit of a wait before trump or any of his family could be called to the stand.
Popcorn at the ready.
I bet he isn't - or doesn't go on the stand for sure because he will be torn apart as a witness.
I would love to see Trump take the stand against even a fairly competent prosecutor.
Test
wouldn't we all 🙂
I would love to see Trump take the stand against even a fairly competent prosecutor.
I agree.
But I also bet that he has every reason to not appear...
He is on the witness list so, if called, either testifies or invokes the 5th amendment.
If he takes the 5th the judge is allowed, in law, to assume an adverse inference from the refusal to answer questions.
Either way, he's stuffed.
tj - you're not a betting man but, if you were, my £10 says he will be in court today and if/when called to the stand he will testify.
tj – you’re not a betting man but,
I know for a fact he'll wager for pies.
I will wager for pies!
But I don't feel sure enough to bet on this one.
Edit : predicting what Trump will do is not easy 🙂
tj - you've lost the first part already as trump has arrived at court as has eric; no sign of donald jnr yet - probably snorting a line before making his entrance.
But will Trump take the stand or will he just sit their attempting to look menacing but actually looking constipated?
Any minimally competent lawyer will tell him to not take the stand. But then, they have probably been telling him to STFU on social media too. Every time he opens his mouth, he confesses to something illegal. I don't think he will take the stand, but I think he'll be so enraged by the trial that he'll just keep posting incriminating stuff on social media and the prosecution will present that as evidence.
So just watching the BBC News stuff - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-us-canada-66978988 - the post at 15:15 with the video clip. I'm clearly not paying as much attention as I should be but his remarks tell us he thinks this is the single greatest witch hunt ever but also that there is a racist attorney general...is that actually evenly remotely correct?
I have no doubt he will take the stand.
The complete trump story is, in his mind, about his wealth; it's how he defines himself.
He will not sit there meekly, invoking the 5th, knowing the judge is allowed to assume an adverse inference from a refusal to answer questions.
His very being is under threat.
I don't think Trump has a clue as to why he can't just make up numbers that suit at the time, and "do a deal" based on that. The idea that the numbers or valuations might have to based in some sort of shared reality is anathema to him. He 'knows' that person A might pay more, or be attracted if the value is less, than person B. To him that's just business, and he's always operated like that. He'll never accept any other worldview, regardless of what a judge tells him.
AIUI, he just confessed to undervaluing assets to cheat on his taxes.
https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1708846308058960274
"also that there is a racist attorney general…is that actually evenly remotely correct?"
No. Nothing at all behind that. He claims she is racist because he is white and she is black and she is prosecuting him.
Projection much?
Trump has also claimed the inflated valuations are correct because the Saudis would pay that much - ie admitting they will overpay for political favours.
dick - it's an open and shut fraud case where the judge has said it will be a bench trial so...you're guilty and we're here to assess damages (or disgorgement) and any other penalties the judge sees fit.
As for Fani Wilis being a racist - it's deeply insulting and designed to incite his supporters; trump dishes out insults as a matter of routine - he really cannot accept black women in positions of power so he resorts to behaving like a schoolchild in the playground.
Rick Rubin wrote a very interesting book about Trump and golf, and recounts the tale that when he interviewed Trump he (Rick) slowly went from the Chief Editor of the magazine (he's a columnist) all the way through boss of the magazine, to CEO of the organisation that owned of the magazine, and when Rick asked why, Trump just said, "It sounds better"
The bench judge has already found him guilty of fraud ( pretty much) this trial needs only to establish 2 things by my understanding - that the fraud was deliberate and how much the damages are going to be. That he overstated and understated his properties value depending on what he needed the valuation for is not a point of contention. its settled. It happened
https://twitter.com/Delavegalaw/status/1708816832356811218The bench judge has already found him guilty of fraud ( pretty much) this trial needs only to establish 2 things by my understanding – that the fraud was deliberate and how much the damages are going to be.
How do you define pedantry? 🙂
He might not even care about how much he loses in damages. If it's 100s of millions that's much less than he or his family could pull in if he makes president again. This is cheap advertising probably
I think he will for two reasons - this attacks his own self identity and also there is not much liquidity in his empire so he will have to sell assets to pay the disgorgement ( not damages 🙂 )
He might not even care about how much he loses in damages.
Oh, he cares. He nickels and dimes everything he can. His charity got shut down because of that. He has a long track record of not paying creditors, including contractors. He cares very much about having to pay money to other people.
