Joe should just roll MG onto the SCOTUS and install someone as AG will prosecute ex- (and complicit current) R leadership.
Let's be sure we know the crime first, and that the individuals are specifically culpable under a statute. Otherwise we are just acting like a bunch of right wingers.
the CRIME is out there...eloquently stated and defined by LC.
Joe should just roll MG onto the SCOTUS and install someone as AG will prosecute ex- (and complicit current) R leadership.
Let's be sure we know the crime first, and that the individuals are specifically culpable under a statute. Otherwise we are just acting like a bunch of right wingers.
the CRIME is out there...eloquently stated and defined by LC.
NEW YORK (AP) — After a dozen years in office, one piece of unfinished business remains for Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. before he retires at the end of the month: Will the prosecutor known for his caution go out with a bang by bringing criminal charges against Donald Trump?
Vance, who has spent more than two years investigating the former president, has been coy about whether he’ll seek Trump’s indictment or leave the decision to the next district attorney, Alvin Bragg, a fellow Democrat who takes over Jan. 1.
“I really can’t talk about the Trump case, so I’m not going to talk about the Trump case,” Vance said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. “But I think it’s pretty clear that our investigation is active and ongoing.”
Vance, 67, has continued to pursue Trump over his business practices even as he’s packing up to leave the job he’s held since 2010.
After charging the Trump Organization and one of its executives with tax fraud last June, Vance convened a new grand jury that could potentially bring a fresh indictment in what could be a legacy-cementing moment. No former president has ever been charged with a crime.
But a rush to get the case done before Jan. 1 might also be out of character for a prosecutor who holds few news conferences, does few interviews and is known for a methodical approach.
While Vance is perhaps best known for overseeing Harvey Weinstein’s landmark #MeToo rape conviction last year, he’s also been criticized for hesitating to bring potentially risky cases involving the powerful.
In any event, Vance said he has no future political aspirations and little to gain by grabbing the spotlight.
“I’m not running for office again, so politically it’s meaningless to me,” he told The AP. “I have had no sense that politics has been involved in my mind or the mind of anyone in this office.”
Vance, the son of the late former U.S. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance Sr., presided over sizable change in the district attorney’s office, where he oversaw a staff of 500 lawyers with an annual budget of about $125 million.
Like other Democratic prosecutors in the city, he eased off of the iron-fisted approach to quality-of-life crimes that was once a hallmark of criminal justice in the city.
Vance ended most prosecutions for possessing and smoking marijuana and for jumping subway turnstiles, slashing the cases handled by his office by nearly 60% — though some activists said he didn’t go far enough.
He also re-examined cases involving wrongful convictions. Last month, Vance went to court to overturn the convictions of Muhammad Aziz and the late Khalil Islam, who he said had wrongfully spent years in prison for the 1965 assassination of civil rights leader Malcolm X.
Vance also made good on pledges to tackle cold cases, sending a man to prison in what had been one of the city’s most notorious unsolved crimes, the 1979 disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz.
Yet Vance has also battled criticisms that he had a two-tiered system of justice — one for everyday New Yorkers, another for the rich and famous.
His career-defining win last year in the Weinstein case came only after he declined a chance to pursue similar charges in 2015 after a model accused the movie mogul of groping her breast. Vance said there wasn't enough proof of a sexual assault.
In 2011, Vance dropped rape charges against the French financier Dominique Strauss-Kahn, then the head of the International Monetary Fund, because of concerns about the credibility of the accuser.
In 2016, his office struck a deal that let a prominent gynecologist accused of sexually abusing patients avoid prison — a case that has since been reopened in the face of public outcry.
Vance, speaking to the AP, said his office has prosecuted many people of “power and authority,” that his office has taken on thousands of sex crimes cases, and that he often defers to the expertise of his career sex crimes prosecutors on charging decisions.
Still, he acknowledged the criticism and outlined steps his office has taken, including bringing in an outside consultant to take a hard look at how its sex crimes bureau operates.
“To those folks who, who criticize our decisions, I would say that we I think we have learned a great deal from the #MeToo movement,” Vance said. “Of course we haven’t done perfectly and you’re going to make people unhappy in this job, just by the nature of the job and the decisions you make. That happens from time to time and it has happened to me from time to time. What I can simply commit to is that the efforts of our lawyers have always been to try to get the right result.”
Trump’s view on Vance is that he’s just another Democrat out to get him in a partisan “witch hunt.”
“New York is dying before our very eyes, and all the Democrat Prosecutors are focused on is how we can get and punish Donald Trump,” the former president said in his latest missive Wednesday.
The district attorney’s investigation, which initially began as an examination of hush-money payments paid to women on Trump’s behalf, has expanded into an inquiry into whether the president’s company misled lenders or tax authorities about the value of its properties.
The June indictments allege the Trump Organization and its CFO, Allen Weisselberg, evaded taxes on lucrative fringe benefits paid to executives. Prosecutors didn’t charge Trump, but they did note that he signed some checks at the center of the case.
Vance sought Trump’s personal tax records as part of the investigation, eventually winning them through a U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
Vance told the AP he only ever planned on serving two or three four-year terms — a relative cup of coffee compared with his predecessors Robert Morgenthau, who was in office for 34 years, until he was 90, and Frank Hogan, who stuck around for 31 years.
“I did not want to be D.A. forever and I wanted to have another chapter or two after I left this job,” Vance said.
In the process, he also avoided a potential primary fight with progressive Democrats who said his criminal justice reforms didn’t go far enough.
“In many ways, he’s sort of old school and to his credit, methodical,” New York Law School professor Rebecca Roiphe said. “He may not have been the best at managing public relations, and I don’t think he was the best at managing his office — making sure that his principles and policies and commitments made their way to every courtroom and to every D.A. — but I do think he’s a decent prosecutor who was trying to do the right thing in most of these situations.”
As D.A., Vance took an interest in global efforts to prevent cyberattacks, gun violence and sex trafficking — issues he says he wants to continue working on in the private sector after his retirement.
Vance has also used an $800 million slush fund bankrolled by Wall Street settlements to provide police officers with smartphones, build neighborhood gyms, and help reduce a national backlog in the testing of rape kits, an effort that brought him national attention and praise from “Law & Order: SVU” star Mariska Hargitay.
Vance assesses himself modestly, saying he took what was already “perhaps the greatest 20th century district attorney’s office in the country” and made it one of the greatest of the 21st century.
The next two weeks will show whether Vance is content with his legacy as it stands, or intends to take one more shot at rewriting his place in the history books.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Melania Trump emerges to launch new NFT platform meant to ‘inspire’ — and earn cash By Mary Jordan December 17 at 6:00 AM EST Former president Donald Trump once called bitcoin a scam that “competed against the dollar,” but on Thursday Melania Trump announced a new business venture embracing cryptocurrency and digital art. Trump is launching a platform to sell NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, as she makes her first public move since leaving the White House. She has mostly been out of the public view since she and her husband departed Washington nearly a year ago following the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, without attending Biden’s inauguration. [NFTs, explained] NFTs are unique digital assets such as images or audio recordings. Their ownership is stored on the blockchain — and they can be quite lucrative. Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady just offered NFTs that included digital ownership of his college resume and his old cleats. Around 16,000 NFTs were made available for Brady’s collection, each priced at $80. They sold out in minutes and grossed around $1.3 million. Other celebrities, including Paris Hilton and Justin Bieber, are also cashing in on this new platform that directly connects them to mass audiences. Trump’s first NFT offering is a watercolor depiction of her “cobalt blue eyes” called “Melania’s Vision.” She said it would provide “the collector with an amulet to inspire.” Each NFT will cost about $187. Next month, the former first lady said she will offer NFTs in a “a one-of-a-kind auction of historical importance” that will include “digital artwork, physical artwork, and a physical one-of-a-kind accessory.” She did not elaborate. Trump’s statement said “a portion of the proceeds” will assist “children aging out of the foster care system,” but her office did not respond to questions about how big that portion will be. “I imagine with that vague language her new venture will be certainly scrutinized,” said Katherine Jellison, a professor of history at Ohio University who has researched first ladies. For years, Donald Trump boasted about all the money he donated to charity, but it turned out he was not as generous as he claimed. Some money even went to his 2016 presidential campaign. In 2019, a New York judge ordered him to pay $2 million in damages for misusing funds from a tax-exempt charity. Melania Trump, 51, has often gone out of her way to say she is very different from her husband, 75. Yet her actions often show how alike the Trumps are. Many note that she has not distanced herself from her husband’s baseless claims that President Biden stole the election, and her new announcement struck many as a sign that she, like her husband, is very interested in making money and promoting a carefully curated image. “This new project in many ways says she is a true Trump,” Jellison said. “She is entrepreneurial and she wants to be center stage, in a way that she calls the shots.” Jellison said that while many people don’t pay any attention to what Melania Trump does these days, she continues to have passionate detractors and admirers. On social media, her new venture was instantly slammed as an inappropriate cash grab by some and praised as a clever way to raise money for children by others. “I am proud to announce my new NFT endeavor, which embodies my passion for the arts, and will support my ongoing commitment to children through my Be Best initiative,” Trump said in a statement. While in the White House, she launched that signature initiative aimed at improving children’s well-being. Its most memorable component was her call to end cyberbullying. While Trump urged kindness online, her husband regularly tweeted derogatory descriptions of people he didn’t like, calling them “dumb as a rock” and worse. The work of Marc Antonine Coulon, the French artist who created the “watercolor” of her eyes, frequently appears in top fashion magazines. Melania Trump was a model before she met Donald Trump. Her NFTs will be powered by Parler, the social media platform that has attracted many supporters of the former president after larger platforms began cracking down and removing users who posted in ways that violated their terms. While Donald Trump has been raising money in advance of a possible run for the presidency in 2024, Melania Trump has kept her usual low profile. But she recently surfaced a few times near Mar-a-Lago, their Palm Beach home, including to visit a local children’s charity. Jae Gnazzo, an NFT expert at the Blockchain Association, said one of the reasons NFTs are exploding in popularity is that they allow artists to directly reach a massive audience. Trump was quoted in Breitbart News saying she turned to NFTs because they are a platform without any interference from censors: “Since leaving the White House, I have envisioned creating a new platform where Freedom of Speech can flourish … My new NFT gallery, MelaniaTrump.com, uses the decentralized nature of Blockchain Technology, and gives a direct connection to people worldwide.”
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Hillary Clinton testified before Congress for close to 19 hours or thereaboots. Rodger Dodger Stoned just pleaded the 5th. How many does that make? Steve O, Mark Field of Weeds and a few others. Bunch of pussies.
Trump sues NY attorney general, seeking to end civil probe
By MICHAEL R. SISAK
54 mins ago
NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump sued New York Attorney General Letitia James on Monday, seeking to end her civil investigation into his business practices.
In the lawsuit, filed two weeks weeks after James requested that Trump sit for a Jan. 7 deposition, Trump alleges the investigation has violated his constitutional rights in a "thinly-veiled effort to publicly malign Trump and his associates."
“Her mission is guided solely by political animus and a desire to harass, intimidate, and retaliate against a private citizen who she views as a political opponent,” the former president's lawyers wrote in the suit.
Trump, a Republican, seeks a permanent injunction barring James, a Democrat, from investigating him and a declaratory judgment stating that she has violated his rights.
Messages seeking comment were left with James’ office and Trump's lawyers. News of the lawsuit filed in federal court in Albany was first reported by The New York Times.
James has spent more than two years looking at whether Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, misled banks or tax officials about the value of assets — inflating them to gain favorable loan terms or minimizing them to reap tax savings.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Trump sues NY attorney general, seeking to end civil probe
By MICHAEL R. SISAK
54 mins ago
NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump sued New York Attorney General Letitia James on Monday, seeking to end her civil investigation into his business practices.
In the lawsuit, filed two weeks weeks after James requested that Trump sit for a Jan. 7 deposition, Trump alleges the investigation has violated his constitutional rights in a "thinly-veiled effort to publicly malign Trump and his associates."
“Her mission is guided solely by political animus and a desire to harass, intimidate, and retaliate against a private citizen who she views as a political opponent,” the former president's lawyers wrote in the suit.
Trump, a Republican, seeks a permanent injunction barring James, a Democrat, from investigating him and a declaratory judgment stating that she has violated his rights.
Messages seeking comment were left with James’ office and Trump's lawyers. News of the lawsuit filed in federal court in Albany was first reported by The New York Times.
James has spent more than two years looking at whether Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, misled banks or tax officials about the value of assets — inflating them to gain favorable loan terms or minimizing them to reap tax savings.
continues....
has anybody SEEEN his record in the courts? this thing is dead on arrival. might even be laughed out of the court. not just the court. but the entire court building. like laughed the fuck out of the front door of the building and on to the street where it will blow away like a fart in the wind.
"You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry." - Lincoln
Trump sues NY attorney general, seeking to end civil probe
By MICHAEL R. SISAK
54 mins ago
NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump sued New York Attorney General Letitia James on Monday, seeking to end her civil investigation into his business practices.
In the lawsuit, filed two weeks weeks after James requested that Trump sit for a Jan. 7 deposition, Trump alleges the investigation has violated his constitutional rights in a "thinly-veiled effort to publicly malign Trump and his associates."
“Her mission is guided solely by political animus and a desire to harass, intimidate, and retaliate against a private citizen who she views as a political opponent,” the former president's lawyers wrote in the suit.
Trump, a Republican, seeks a permanent injunction barring James, a Democrat, from investigating him and a declaratory judgment stating that she has violated his rights.
Messages seeking comment were left with James’ office and Trump's lawyers. News of the lawsuit filed in federal court in Albany was first reported by The New York Times.
James has spent more than two years looking at whether Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, misled banks or tax officials about the value of assets — inflating them to gain favorable loan terms or minimizing them to reap tax savings.
continues....
has anybody SEEEN his record in the courts? this thing is dead on arrival. might even be laughed out of the court. not just the court. but the entire court building. like laughed the fuck out of the front door of the building and on to the street where it will blow away like a fart in the wind.
A permanent injunction against an AG to prevent her from investigating him or his businesses. So in other words he wants permanent and perpetual immunity from the state of NY so long as she is in office, since everyone rolls up to her. What a joke!
Trump sues NY attorney general, seeking to end civil probe
By MICHAEL R. SISAK
54 mins ago
NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump sued New York Attorney General Letitia James on Monday, seeking to end her civil investigation into his business practices.
In the lawsuit, filed two weeks weeks after James requested that Trump sit for a Jan. 7 deposition, Trump alleges the investigation has violated his constitutional rights in a "thinly-veiled effort to publicly malign Trump and his associates."
“Her mission is guided solely by political animus and a desire to harass, intimidate, and retaliate against a private citizen who she views as a political opponent,” the former president's lawyers wrote in the suit.
Trump, a Republican, seeks a permanent injunction barring James, a Democrat, from investigating him and a declaratory judgment stating that she has violated his rights.
Messages seeking comment were left with James’ office and Trump's lawyers. News of the lawsuit filed in federal court in Albany was first reported by The New York Times.
James has spent more than two years looking at whether Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, misled banks or tax officials about the value of assets — inflating them to gain favorable loan terms or minimizing them to reap tax savings.
continues....
has anybody SEEEN his record in the courts? this thing is dead on arrival. might even be laughed out of the court. not just the court. but the entire court building. like laughed the fuck out of the front door of the building and on to the street where it will blow away like a fart in the wind.
A permanent injunction against an AG to prevent her from investigating him or his businesses. So in other words he wants permanent and perpetual immunity from the state of NY so long as she is in office, since everyone rolls up to her. What a joke!
this is kinda like how he would randomly tweet "PRESIDENTIAL HARRASSMENT!!!!" just to complain and throw another tantrum.
"You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry." - Lincoln
It’s always been about running out the clock, wearing down the opposition and delay, delay, delay. Steve O welcomes 100 years of POOTWHism, otherwise known as the Fourth Reich.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Trump just got booed here in Texas for telling his supporters he got the booster.
It seems like the Q portion of America came out against all ways to address the pandemic in order to be loyal to Trump. And now it seems that their loyalty to spreading the virus has actually surpassed their loyalty to Trump. It's crazy. Trump used to be the cult leader. Now it seems to be a cult without a leader.
1995 Milwaukee 1998 Alpine, Alpine 2003 Albany, Boston, Boston, Boston 2004 Boston, Boston 2006 Hartford, St. Paul (Petty), St. Paul (Petty) 2011 Alpine, Alpine 2013 Wrigley 2014 St. Paul 2016 Fenway, Fenway, Wrigley, Wrigley 2018 Missoula, Wrigley, Wrigley 2021 Asbury Park 2022 St Louis 2023 Austin, Austin
Trump just got booed here in Texas for telling his supporters he got the booster.
It seems like the Q portion of America came out against all ways to address the pandemic in order to be loyal to Trump. And now it seems that their loyalty to spreading the virus has actually surpassed their loyalty to Trump. It's crazy. Trump used to be the cult leader. Now it seems to be a cult without a leader.
so, does that make them harmless without direction or dangerous because they're unpredictable?
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Trump just got booed here in Texas for telling his supporters he got the booster.
It seems like the Q portion of America came out against all ways to address the pandemic in order to be loyal to Trump. And now it seems that their loyalty to spreading the virus has actually surpassed their loyalty to Trump. It's crazy. Trump used to be the cult leader. Now it seems to be a cult without a leader.
I think it gets back to the chicken and egg thing here. I have always believed that Trump simply parrots the craziest things he hears. That the base actually leads him. In this case, he has left the reservation a bit though.
Him saying what he did about the vaccine and the booster, even in his own arrogant, selfless, egotistical way, was probably the best thing he's done in the last six years. Extremely low bar though. Like the bar is a centimeter off the ground. Biden being able to mention that yesterday hopefully will help a little.
Him saying what he did about the vaccine and the booster, even in his own arrogant, selfless, egotistical way, was probably the best thing he's done in the last six years. Extremely low bar though. Like the bar is a centimeter off the ground. Biden being able to mention that yesterday hopefully will help a little.
but remember....he would not/has not done a PSA regarding the vaccine.
Remember the Thomas Nine !! (10/02/2018) The Golden Age is 2 months away. And guess what….. you’re gonna love it! (teskeinc 11.19.24)
1998: Noblesville; 2003: Noblesville; 2009: EV Nashville, Chicago, Chicago 2010: St Louis, Columbus, Noblesville; 2011: EV Chicago, East Troy, East Troy 2013: London ON, Wrigley; 2014: Cincy, St Louis, Moline (NO CODE) 2016: Lexington, Wrigley #1; 2018: Wrigley, Wrigley, Boston, Boston 2020: Oakland, Oakland:2021: EV Ohana, Ohana, Ohana, Ohana 2022: Oakland, Oakland, Nashville, Louisville; 2023: Chicago, Chicago, Noblesville 2024: Noblesville, Wrigley, Wrigley, Ohana, Ohana; 2025: Pitt1, Pitt2
Him saying what he did about the vaccine and the booster, even in his own arrogant, selfless, egotistical way, was probably the best thing he's done in the last six years. Extremely low bar though. Like the bar is a centimeter off the ground. Biden being able to mention that yesterday hopefully will help a little.
but remember....he would not/has not done a PSA regarding the vaccine.
A PSA from Trump would not make a bit of difference. The ones that have sworn off this vaccine are willing to lose their job over it. They will not take a vaccine because Trump told them to.
Trump has been very clear, multiple times, that he supports this vaccine and recommends people take it.
Him saying what he did about the vaccine and the booster, even in his own arrogant, selfless, egotistical way, was probably the best thing he's done in the last six years. Extremely low bar though. Like the bar is a centimeter off the ground. Biden being able to mention that yesterday hopefully will help a little.
but remember....he would not/has not done a PSA regarding the vaccine.
A PSA from Trump would not make a bit of difference. The ones that have sworn off this vaccine are willing to lose their job over it. They will not take a vaccine because Trump told them to.
Trump has been very clear, multiple times, that he supports this vaccine and recommends people take it.
Disagree...it would help
Remember the Thomas Nine !! (10/02/2018) The Golden Age is 2 months away. And guess what….. you’re gonna love it! (teskeinc 11.19.24)
1998: Noblesville; 2003: Noblesville; 2009: EV Nashville, Chicago, Chicago 2010: St Louis, Columbus, Noblesville; 2011: EV Chicago, East Troy, East Troy 2013: London ON, Wrigley; 2014: Cincy, St Louis, Moline (NO CODE) 2016: Lexington, Wrigley #1; 2018: Wrigley, Wrigley, Boston, Boston 2020: Oakland, Oakland:2021: EV Ohana, Ohana, Ohana, Ohana 2022: Oakland, Oakland, Nashville, Louisville; 2023: Chicago, Chicago, Noblesville 2024: Noblesville, Wrigley, Wrigley, Ohana, Ohana; 2025: Pitt1, Pitt2
Him saying what he did about the vaccine and the booster, even in his own arrogant, selfless, egotistical way, was probably the best thing he's done in the last six years. Extremely low bar though. Like the bar is a centimeter off the ground. Biden being able to mention that yesterday hopefully will help a little.
but remember....he would not/has not done a PSA regarding the vaccine.
A PSA from Trump would not make a bit of difference. The ones that have sworn off this vaccine are willing to lose their job over it. They will not take a vaccine because Trump told them to.
Trump has been very clear, multiple times, that he supports this vaccine and recommends people take it.
Disagree...it would help
Yeah and Trump has not been very clear on pretty much anything during this pandemic. If he had been since day 1, we most certainly would not have suffered as much.
Him saying what he did about the vaccine and the booster, even in his own arrogant, selfless, egotistical way, was probably the best thing he's done in the last six years. Extremely low bar though. Like the bar is a centimeter off the ground. Biden being able to mention that yesterday hopefully will help a little.
but remember....he would not/has not done a PSA regarding the vaccine.
A PSA from Trump would not make a bit of difference. The ones that have sworn off this vaccine are willing to lose their job over it. They will not take a vaccine because Trump told them to.
Trump has been very clear, multiple times, that he supports this vaccine and recommends people take it.
I would have to agree with you at this point. I think, had he done a PSA in the beginning, not trying to play both sides of "it's your choice". He should have been hammering it home, early and often. But he didn't. But if he did now, it wouldn't make a lick of difference.
"Oh Canada...you're beautiful when you're drunk" -EV 8/14/93
Him saying what he did about the vaccine and the booster, even in his own arrogant, selfless, egotistical way, was probably the best thing he's done in the last six years. Extremely low bar though. Like the bar is a centimeter off the ground. Biden being able to mention that yesterday hopefully will help a little.
but remember....he would not/has not done a PSA regarding the vaccine.
A PSA from Trump would not make a bit of difference. The ones that have sworn off this vaccine are willing to lose their job over it. They will not take a vaccine because Trump told them to.
Trump has been very clear, multiple times, that he supports this vaccine and recommends people take it.
Yes, he has 'promoted it' in his own ham fisted way. If he said.. look, you're being lied to. Stop reading conspiracies, stop listening to Bannon on the radio, stop listening to Joe Rogan. Listen to me, "your favorite president" when I tell you to take it, it's safe and effective.
Maybe something like that would work. But the sort of off the cuff thing isn't getting it done. But he doesn't want to do what I suggest because he leverages those channels for his lies.
Comments
https://news.yahoo.com/liz-cheney-might-onto-something-211720612.html
NEW YORK (AP) — After a dozen years in office, one piece of unfinished business remains for Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. before he retires at the end of the month: Will the prosecutor known for his caution go out with a bang by bringing criminal charges against Donald Trump?
Vance, who has spent more than two years investigating the former president, has been coy about whether he’ll seek Trump’s indictment or leave the decision to the next district attorney, Alvin Bragg, a fellow Democrat who takes over Jan. 1.
“I really can’t talk about the Trump case, so I’m not going to talk about the Trump case,” Vance said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. “But I think it’s pretty clear that our investigation is active and ongoing.”
Vance, 67, has continued to pursue Trump over his business practices even as he’s packing up to leave the job he’s held since 2010.
After charging the Trump Organization and one of its executives with tax fraud last June, Vance convened a new grand jury that could potentially bring a fresh indictment in what could be a legacy-cementing moment. No former president has ever been charged with a crime.
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But a rush to get the case done before Jan. 1 might also be out of character for a prosecutor who holds few news conferences, does few interviews and is known for a methodical approach.
While Vance is perhaps best known for overseeing Harvey Weinstein’s landmark #MeToo rape conviction last year, he’s also been criticized for hesitating to bring potentially risky cases involving the powerful.
In any event, Vance said he has no future political aspirations and little to gain by grabbing the spotlight.
“I’m not running for office again, so politically it’s meaningless to me,” he told The AP. “I have had no sense that politics has been involved in my mind or the mind of anyone in this office.”
Vance, the son of the late former U.S. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance Sr., presided over sizable change in the district attorney’s office, where he oversaw a staff of 500 lawyers with an annual budget of about $125 million.
Like other Democratic prosecutors in the city, he eased off of the iron-fisted approach to quality-of-life crimes that was once a hallmark of criminal justice in the city.
Vance ended most prosecutions for possessing and smoking marijuana and for jumping subway turnstiles, slashing the cases handled by his office by nearly 60% — though some activists said he didn’t go far enough.
He also re-examined cases involving wrongful convictions. Last month, Vance went to court to overturn the convictions of Muhammad Aziz and the late Khalil Islam, who he said had wrongfully spent years in prison for the 1965 assassination of civil rights leader Malcolm X.
Vance also made good on pledges to tackle cold cases, sending a man to prison in what had been one of the city’s most notorious unsolved crimes, the 1979 disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz.
Yet Vance has also battled criticisms that he had a two-tiered system of justice — one for everyday New Yorkers, another for the rich and famous.
His career-defining win last year in the Weinstein case came only after he declined a chance to pursue similar charges in 2015 after a model accused the movie mogul of groping her breast. Vance said there wasn't enough proof of a sexual assault.
In 2011, Vance dropped rape charges against the French financier Dominique Strauss-Kahn, then the head of the International Monetary Fund, because of concerns about the credibility of the accuser.
Vance investigated Trump’s two eldest children over potential fraud in a hotel project a decade ago, but declined to bring charges.
In 2016, his office struck a deal that let a prominent gynecologist accused of sexually abusing patients avoid prison — a case that has since been reopened in the face of public outcry.
Vance, speaking to the AP, said his office has prosecuted many people of “power and authority,” that his office has taken on thousands of sex crimes cases, and that he often defers to the expertise of his career sex crimes prosecutors on charging decisions.
Still, he acknowledged the criticism and outlined steps his office has taken, including bringing in an outside consultant to take a hard look at how its sex crimes bureau operates.
“To those folks who, who criticize our decisions, I would say that we I think we have learned a great deal from the #MeToo movement,” Vance said. “Of course we haven’t done perfectly and you’re going to make people unhappy in this job, just by the nature of the job and the decisions you make. That happens from time to time and it has happened to me from time to time. What I can simply commit to is that the efforts of our lawyers have always been to try to get the right result.”
Trump’s view on Vance is that he’s just another Democrat out to get him in a partisan “witch hunt.”
“New York is dying before our very eyes, and all the Democrat Prosecutors are focused on is how we can get and punish Donald Trump,” the former president said in his latest missive Wednesday.
The district attorney’s investigation, which initially began as an examination of hush-money payments paid to women on Trump’s behalf, has expanded into an inquiry into whether the president’s company misled lenders or tax authorities about the value of its properties.
The June indictments allege the Trump Organization and its CFO, Allen Weisselberg, evaded taxes on lucrative fringe benefits paid to executives. Prosecutors didn’t charge Trump, but they did note that he signed some checks at the center of the case.
Vance sought Trump’s personal tax records as part of the investigation, eventually winning them through a U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
Shortly after the court decision, he announced he wouldn’t seek reelection.
Vance told the AP he only ever planned on serving two or three four-year terms — a relative cup of coffee compared with his predecessors Robert Morgenthau, who was in office for 34 years, until he was 90, and Frank Hogan, who stuck around for 31 years.
“I did not want to be D.A. forever and I wanted to have another chapter or two after I left this job,” Vance said.
In the process, he also avoided a potential primary fight with progressive Democrats who said his criminal justice reforms didn’t go far enough.
“In many ways, he’s sort of old school and to his credit, methodical,” New York Law School professor Rebecca Roiphe said. “He may not have been the best at managing public relations, and I don’t think he was the best at managing his office — making sure that his principles and policies and commitments made their way to every courtroom and to every D.A. — but I do think he’s a decent prosecutor who was trying to do the right thing in most of these situations.”
As D.A., Vance took an interest in global efforts to prevent cyberattacks, gun violence and sex trafficking — issues he says he wants to continue working on in the private sector after his retirement.
Vance has also used an $800 million slush fund bankrolled by Wall Street settlements to provide police officers with smartphones, build neighborhood gyms, and help reduce a national backlog in the testing of rape kits, an effort that brought him national attention and praise from “Law & Order: SVU” star Mariska Hargitay.
Vance assesses himself modestly, saying he took what was already “perhaps the greatest 20th century district attorney’s office in the country” and made it one of the greatest of the 21st century.
The next two weeks will show whether Vance is content with his legacy as it stands, or intends to take one more shot at rewriting his place in the history books.
___
Follow Michael Sisak on Twitter at twitter.com/mikesisak
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
By Mary Jordan
December 17 at 6:00 AM EST
Former president Donald Trump once called bitcoin a scam that “competed against the dollar,” but on Thursday Melania Trump announced a new business venture embracing cryptocurrency and digital art.
Trump is launching a platform to sell NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, as she makes her first public move since leaving the White House. She has mostly been out of the public view since she and her husband departed Washington nearly a year ago following the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, without attending Biden’s inauguration.
[NFTs, explained]
NFTs are unique digital assets such as images or audio recordings. Their ownership is stored on the blockchain — and they can be quite lucrative.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady just offered NFTs that included digital ownership of his college resume and his old cleats. Around 16,000 NFTs were made available for Brady’s collection, each priced at $80. They sold out in minutes and grossed around $1.3 million. Other celebrities, including Paris Hilton and Justin Bieber, are also cashing in on this new platform that directly connects them to mass audiences.
Trump’s first NFT offering is a watercolor depiction of her “cobalt blue eyes” called “Melania’s Vision.” She said it would provide “the collector with an amulet to inspire.” Each NFT will cost about $187.
Next month, the former first lady said she will offer NFTs in a “a one-of-a-kind auction of historical importance” that will include “digital artwork, physical artwork, and a physical one-of-a-kind accessory.” She did not elaborate.
Trump’s statement said “a portion of the proceeds” will assist “children aging out of the foster care system,” but her office did not respond to questions about how big that portion will be.
“I imagine with that vague language her new venture will be certainly scrutinized,” said Katherine Jellison, a professor of history at Ohio University who has researched first ladies.
For years, Donald Trump boasted about all the money he donated to charity, but it turned out he was not as generous as he claimed. Some money even went to his 2016 presidential campaign. In 2019, a New York judge ordered him to pay $2 million in damages for misusing funds from a tax-exempt charity.
Melania Trump, 51, has often gone out of her way to say she is very different from her husband, 75.
Yet her actions often show how alike the Trumps are. Many note that she has not distanced herself from her husband’s baseless claims that President Biden stole the election, and her new announcement struck many as a sign that she, like her husband, is very interested in making money and promoting a carefully curated image.
“This new project in many ways says she is a true Trump,” Jellison said. “She is entrepreneurial and she wants to be center stage, in a way that she calls the shots.”
Jellison said that while many people don’t pay any attention to what Melania Trump does these days, she continues to have passionate detractors and admirers. On social media, her new venture was instantly slammed as an inappropriate cash grab by some and praised as a clever way to raise money for children by others.
“I am proud to announce my new NFT endeavor, which embodies my passion for the arts, and will support my ongoing commitment to children through my Be Best initiative,” Trump said in a statement.
While in the White House, she launched that signature initiative aimed at improving children’s well-being. Its most memorable component was her call to end cyberbullying. While Trump urged kindness online, her husband regularly tweeted derogatory descriptions of people he didn’t like, calling them “dumb as a rock” and worse.
The work of Marc Antonine Coulon, the French artist who created the “watercolor” of her eyes, frequently appears in top fashion magazines. Melania Trump was a model before she met Donald Trump.
Her NFTs will be powered by Parler, the social media platform that has attracted many supporters of the former president after larger platforms began cracking down and removing users who posted in ways that violated their terms.
While Donald Trump has been raising money in advance of a possible run for the presidency in 2024, Melania Trump has kept her usual low profile. But she recently surfaced a few times near Mar-a-Lago, their Palm Beach home, including to visit a local children’s charity.
Jae Gnazzo, an NFT expert at the Blockchain Association, said one of the reasons NFTs are exploding in popularity is that they allow artists to directly reach a massive audience.
Trump was quoted in Breitbart News saying she turned to NFTs because they are a platform without any interference from censors: “Since leaving the White House, I have envisioned creating a new platform where Freedom of Speech can flourish … My new NFT gallery, MelaniaTrump.com, uses the decentralized nature of Blockchain Technology, and gives a direct connection to people worldwide.”
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
”Only the guilty plea the 5th.”
Suckers.
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump sued New York Attorney General Letitia James on Monday, seeking to end her civil investigation into his business practices.
In the lawsuit, filed two weeks weeks after James requested that Trump sit for a Jan. 7 deposition, Trump alleges the investigation has violated his constitutional rights in a "thinly-veiled effort to publicly malign Trump and his associates."
“Her mission is guided solely by political animus and a desire to harass, intimidate, and retaliate against a private citizen who she views as a political opponent,” the former president's lawyers wrote in the suit.
Trump, a Republican, seeks a permanent injunction barring James, a Democrat, from investigating him and a declaratory judgment stating that she has violated his rights.
Messages seeking comment were left with James’ office and Trump's lawyers. News of the lawsuit filed in federal court in Albany was first reported by The New York Times.
James has spent more than two years looking at whether Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, misled banks or tax officials about the value of assets — inflating them to gain favorable loan terms or minimizing them to reap tax savings.
continues....
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Good fucking luck, stupid.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
There are no kings inside the gates of eden
2013 Wrigley 2014 St. Paul 2016 Fenway, Fenway, Wrigley, Wrigley 2018 Missoula, Wrigley, Wrigley 2021 Asbury Park 2022 St Louis 2023 Austin, Austin
so, does that make them harmless without direction or dangerous because they're unpredictable?
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
The Golden Age is 2 months away. And guess what….. you’re gonna love it! (teskeinc 11.19.24)
1998: Noblesville; 2003: Noblesville; 2009: EV Nashville, Chicago, Chicago
2010: St Louis, Columbus, Noblesville; 2011: EV Chicago, East Troy, East Troy
2013: London ON, Wrigley; 2014: Cincy, St Louis, Moline (NO CODE)
2016: Lexington, Wrigley #1; 2018: Wrigley, Wrigley, Boston, Boston
2020: Oakland, Oakland: 2021: EV Ohana, Ohana, Ohana, Ohana
2022: Oakland, Oakland, Nashville, Louisville; 2023: Chicago, Chicago, Noblesville
2024: Noblesville, Wrigley, Wrigley, Ohana, Ohana; 2025: Pitt1, Pitt2
The Golden Age is 2 months away. And guess what….. you’re gonna love it! (teskeinc 11.19.24)
1998: Noblesville; 2003: Noblesville; 2009: EV Nashville, Chicago, Chicago
2010: St Louis, Columbus, Noblesville; 2011: EV Chicago, East Troy, East Troy
2013: London ON, Wrigley; 2014: Cincy, St Louis, Moline (NO CODE)
2016: Lexington, Wrigley #1; 2018: Wrigley, Wrigley, Boston, Boston
2020: Oakland, Oakland: 2021: EV Ohana, Ohana, Ohana, Ohana
2022: Oakland, Oakland, Nashville, Louisville; 2023: Chicago, Chicago, Noblesville
2024: Noblesville, Wrigley, Wrigley, Ohana, Ohana; 2025: Pitt1, Pitt2
-EV 8/14/93
Maybe something like that would work. But the sort of off the cuff thing isn't getting it done. But he doesn't want to do what I suggest because he leverages those channels for his lies.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©