so this business owner claims "when trump was president, my business thrived, with biden in office, I'm one step away from closing my doors". the president does not have that kind of influence on a small business. that's absurd to me. causation v correlation.
The judge presiding over former President Trump’s New York criminal trial notified his defense team on Friday of a comment on the court's public Facebook page that implies one of the jurors discussed the guilty verdict with family before the trial concluded.
Fox News obtained the letter Judge Juan Merchan shared with Trump defense attorneys and Manhattan prosecutors.
"'Today, the Court became aware of a comment that was posted on the Unified Court System's public Facebook page and which I now bring to your attention. In the comment, the user, ‘Michael Anderson,’ states:
"’My cousin is a juror and says Trump is getting convicted! Thank you folks for all your hard work!!!!’"
The comment was posted on May 29 "regarding oral arguments in the Fourth Department of the Appellate Division unrelated to this proceeding."
The profile for "Michael Anderson" has little publicly available information, but the user identifies himself as a "Transabled & professional sh-- poster."
A Trump campaign official told Fox News Digital they are "investigating the matter."
Al Baker, state OCA spokesperson, said Friday that "as appropriate, the Court informed the parties once it learned of this online content."
The post came a day before Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump had pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The six-week-long trial stemmed from charges brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
The judge presiding over former President Trump’s New York criminal trial notified his defense team on Friday of a comment on the court's public Facebook page that implies one of the jurors discussed the guilty verdict with family before the trial concluded.
Fox News obtained the letter Judge Juan Merchan shared with Trump defense attorneys and Manhattan prosecutors.
"'Today, the Court became aware of a comment that was posted on the Unified Court System's public Facebook page and which I now bring to your attention. In the comment, the user, ‘Michael Anderson,’ states:
"’My cousin is a juror and says Trump is getting convicted! Thank you folks for all your hard work!!!!’"
The comment was posted on May 29 "regarding oral arguments in the Fourth Department of the Appellate Division unrelated to this proceeding."
The profile for "Michael Anderson" has little publicly available information, but the user identifies himself as a "Transabled & professional sh-- poster."
A Trump campaign official told Fox News Digital they are "investigating the matter."
Al Baker, state OCA spokesperson, said Friday that "as appropriate, the Court informed the parties once it learned of this online content."
The post came a day before Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump had pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The six-week-long trial stemmed from charges brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Maybe, maybe not. Lots o hoops in that circus to jump through. What are the chances that Rodger Dodger Stoned had a cousin on the jury?
Judge who oversaw Trump hush money trial flags post on the court’s webpage claiming to know the verdict before it came down
CNN —
The judge who oversaw Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial in New York on Friday informed the former president’s defense team and prosecutors with the Manhattan district attorney’s office that a comment was posted on the New York State Unified Court Systems’ public Facebook page last week by a poster who claimed to be a cousin of a juror, saying that Trump would be convicted.
“My cousin is a juror and says Trump is getting convicted Thank you folks for all your hard work!!!!” read the comment.
It is not clear if there is any validity to the post. No evidence was provided to support the claim, and the jurors’ identities remain anonymous. A search of the poster’s Facebook page showed the poster described themself as “a professional sh*t poster,” among other things.
CNN has attempted to contact the poster.
Judge Juan Merchan said in a letter that the court had been made aware on Friday of the roughly week-old post, and that it was posted in response to a routine court system notice on May 29 about an unrelated matter. He did not ask the parties to take further action. The post is no longer visible on the court’s Facebook.
“As appropriate, the Court informed the parties once it learned of this online content,” Al Baker, a spokesperson for the court, said.
While Merchan informed the legal teams out of caution, the judge’s notice has no immediate effect on the case, according to CNN senior legal analyst and former state and federal prosecutor Elie Honig.
“The judge is being extra careful here to let the parties know any information that might give them the basis for a motion – there’s a long way though between this and any impact on the case,” Honig said. “First the judge would have to ascertain whether this is even true, and then if it is, whether there is any necessary legal remedy.”
If it were found to be true, it would not automatically be grounds for a mistrial, according to Honig.
The 12-person New York jury began its deliberations on May 29. The jurors sent two questions to the judge at the end of that court day: one asking to be read back portions of testimony from two key witnesses, David Pecker and Michael Cohen, and another requesting to rehear a portion of the judge’s instruction to the jury.
The requested testimonies and instructions were read back to them the next morning. Hours later, just after 4:30 p.m., the jury returned its verdict.
You can bet they're already investigating the hell out of this 'Michael Anderson' character. If it turns out Laughing Boy really does have a cousin who was on the jury, this is going to get very interesting, very quickly.
You can bet they're already investigating the hell out of this 'Michael Anderson' character. If it turns out Laughing Boy really does have a cousin who was on the jury, this is going to get very interesting, very quickly.
You can bet they're already investigating the hell out of this 'Michael Anderson' character. If it turns out Laughing Boy really does have a cousin who was on the jury, this is going to get very interesting, very quickly.
lol
Astonishing what counts as 'credible' these days. An anonymous guy on Facebook who describes himself as a 'shit-poster', posts a controversial statement, then deletes his post. I literally could have posted what "Michael Anderson" did myself and I'd have an equal amount of credibility.
'05 - TO, '06 - TO 1, '08 - NYC 1 & 2, '09 - TO, Chi 1 & 2, '10 - Buffalo, NYC 1 & 2, '11 - TO 1 & 2, Hamilton, '13 - Buffalo, Brooklyn 1 & 2, '15 - Global Citizen, '16 - TO 1 & 2, Chi 2
EV
Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
Sure, but there's no real evidence that this poster is 'real'. He calls himself a world class "shit-poster". It would also need to be proven that the comment created a real chance that the outcome would have been different. It will take testifying by the juror, who we don't even exists at this point since there is no proof the poster was the cousin of anyone in that room.
2-1 says the poster is actually MAGA and has no cousin on the jury.
Sure, but there's no real evidence that this poster is 'real'. He calls himself a world class "shit-poster". It would also need to be proven that the comment created a real chance that the outcome would have been different. It will take testifying by the juror, who we don't even exists at this point since there is no proof the poster was the cousin of anyone in that room.
2-1 says the poster is actually MAGA and has no cousin on the jury.
even so, they heard real time what they heard. had time to deliberate. asked for testimony, specific testimony and a specific read back of instructions.
analysis I've heard suggested one real possibility is they were confirming their feeling of guilt that first 4 1/2 of deliberation. 34 counts, unanimous. with 2 lawyers on the panel. and at leadt one juror saying they get most of their news from fox etc and the same or another saying they have truth social account.
now IF it was said and then posted before they received the case, there might be issue.
but they way it was done, on a court post of an unrelated matter ONLY , no news org , no fox, newsmaxx , onn etc. strongly suggests to me his self-description is true....
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
You can bet they're already investigating the hell out of this 'Michael Anderson' character. If it turns out Laughing Boy really does have a cousin who was on the jury, this is going to get very interesting, very quickly.
Why do you think it is so easy to dupe you people?
You can bet they're already investigating the hell out of this 'Michael Anderson' character. If it turns out Laughing Boy really does have a cousin who was on the jury, this is going to get very interesting, very quickly.
Why do you think it is so easy to dupe you people?
Republicans talking about Republicans: Where there's fire, there's nothing to see. Republicans talking about Democrats: Where there's a stick, there's fire.
'05 - TO, '06 - TO 1, '08 - NYC 1 & 2, '09 - TO, Chi 1 & 2, '10 - Buffalo, NYC 1 & 2, '11 - TO 1 & 2, Hamilton, '13 - Buffalo, Brooklyn 1 & 2, '15 - Global Citizen, '16 - TO 1 & 2, Chi 2
EV
Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
Wouldn't it all be so much simpler if you guys just found a candidate that could beat President Trump? I hear that Hillary and Gavin Newsom are both anxiously waiting in the wings! Ha ha ha!
Wouldn't it all be so much simpler if you guys just found a candidate that could beat President Trump? I hear that Hillary and Gavin Newsom are both anxiously waiting in the wings! Ha ha ha!
Narrator- "The current Democratic candidate literally defeated Trump four years ago. Shecky and millions like him refuse to believe it happened."
Wouldn't it all be so much simpler if you guys just found a candidate that could beat President Trump? I hear that Hillary and Gavin Newsom are both anxiously waiting in the wings! Ha ha ha!
And this is what exemplifies what is wrong with ‘Murica. That tens of millions of ‘Muricans who would rather have a piece of shit POTUS in POOTWH because it’s the best the repub party can come up with, an abject failure of a human being. That they would rather live under authoritarianism than share with the “other”, despite how good things are under Brandon, despite everything they know, or probably don’t know due to ignorance, or just “owning the libs.” Fuck women, fuck immigrants, fuck the environment and most certainly fuck everyone who doesn’t look and pray like me. ‘Murica deserves everything it’s going to get and then some when POOTWH gets re-elected. And you, general you, thought the BLM and George Floyd unrest was bad?
Wouldn't it all be so much simpler if you guys just found a candidate that could beat President Trump? I hear that Hillary and Gavin Newsom are both anxiously waiting in the wings! Ha ha ha!
Hey genius,, he's not the president.
Wouldn't it be easier if you guys found an actual conservative who wasn't married 3x, bangs porn stars, pays them off and has 90 some felony indictments? The onus is on your party to be better.
Wouldn't it all be so much simpler if you guys just found a candidate that could beat President Trump? I hear that Hillary and Gavin Newsom are both anxiously waiting in the wings! Ha ha ha!
Narrator- "The current Democratic candidate literally defeated Trump four years ago. Shecky and millions like him refuse to believe it happened."
Oh, there's no doubt it really happened. And we're all suffering for it every day!
Wouldn't it all be so much simpler if you guys just found a candidate that could beat President Trump? I hear that Hillary and Gavin Newsom are both anxiously waiting in the wings! Ha ha ha!
Narrator- "The current Democratic candidate literally defeated Trump four years ago. Shecky and millions like him refuse to believe it happened."
Oh, there's no doubt it really happened. And we're all suffering for it every day!
272,000 jobs created last month. Low unemployment. Most of us are not suffering like we were four years ago.
But sorry to hear things are not going well for you, Sheck. Hang in there bud. Hopefully you can pull yourself up by the bootstraps.
Wouldn't it all be so much simpler if you guys just found a candidate that could beat President Trump? I hear that Hillary and Gavin Newsom are both anxiously waiting in the wings! Ha ha ha!
Narrator- "The current Democratic candidate literally defeated Trump four years ago. Shecky and millions like him refuse to believe it happened."
Oh, there's no doubt it really happened. And we're all suffering for it every day!
272,000 jobs created last month. Low unemployment. Most of us are not suffering like we were four years ago.
But sorry to hear things are not going well for you, Sheck. Hang in there bud. Hopefully you can pull yourself up by the bootstraps.
Wouldn't it all be so much simpler if you guys just found a candidate that could beat President Trump? I hear that Hillary and Gavin Newsom are both anxiously waiting in the wings! Ha ha ha!
And this is what exemplifies what is wrong with ‘Murica. That tens of millions of ‘Muricans who would rather have a piece of shit POTUS in POOTWH because it’s the best the repub party can come up with, an abject failure of a human being. That they would rather live under authoritarianism than share with the “other”, despite how good things are under Brandon, despite everything they know, or probably don’t know due to ignorance, or just “owning the libs.” Fuck women, fuck immigrants, fuck the environment and most certainly fuck everyone who doesn’t look and pray like me. ‘Murica deserves everything it’s going to get and then some when POOTWH gets re-elected. And you, general you, thought the BLM and George Floyd unrest was bad?
Well, you are correct about one thing. President Donald Trump is definitely going to be re-elected.
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
Wouldn't it all be so much simpler if you guys just found a candidate that could beat President Trump? I hear that Hillary and Gavin Newsom are both anxiously waiting in the wings! Ha ha ha!
Narrator- "The current Democratic candidate literally defeated Trump four years ago. Shecky and millions like him refuse to believe it happened."
Oh, there's no doubt it really happened. And we're all suffering for it every day!
272,000 jobs created last month. Low unemployment. Most of us are not suffering like we were four years ago.
But sorry to hear things are not going well for you, Sheck. Hang in there bud. Hopefully you can pull yourself up by the bootstraps.
🤣🤣🤣
And here’s the thing, while everyone seems to be pissing and moaning about inflation, which has come down from 9+ % points to 2% or so, average wages are up 4.1%, unemployment below 5%, etc. the economic numbers for airport travel, travel and leisure, dining out, are all in great growth numbers. So either it’s “inflation” or it’s Hunter’s laptop and the “other.”
Wouldn't it all be so much simpler if you guys just found a candidate that could beat President Trump? I hear that Hillary and Gavin Newsom are both anxiously waiting in the wings! Ha ha ha!
And this is what exemplifies what is wrong with ‘Murica. That tens of millions of ‘Muricans who would rather have a piece of shit POTUS in POOTWH because it’s the best the repub party can come up with, an abject failure of a human being. That they would rather live under authoritarianism than share with the “other”, despite how good things are under Brandon, despite everything they know, or probably don’t know due to ignorance, or just “owning the libs.” Fuck women, fuck immigrants, fuck the environment and most certainly fuck everyone who doesn’t look and pray like me. ‘Murica deserves everything it’s going to get and then some when POOTWH gets re-elected. And you, general you, thought the BLM and George Floyd unrest was bad?
Well, you are correct about one thing. President Donald Trump is definitely going to be re-elected.
Your posts give you away, you should have said, “former President POOTWH is going to be re-elected.” You don’t think he lost.
"Most of us are not suffering like we were four years ago." Ha ha ha! Dude, you are delusional.
What’s delusional is believing in POOTWH’s grotesquere of continuing Ronny Raygun’s trickle down economics and believing it’s going to transform your rural, small town into a shangra la of wealth and prosperity. From Letter From An American:
But supply-side economics never produced the results its supporters promised. What it did do was move money out of the hands of ordinary Americans into the hands of the very wealthy. Economists estimate that between 1981 and 2021, more than $50 trillion dollars moved from the bottom 90% of Americans to the top 1%.
So, if I did my maths properly, that means that during this time approximately 3,300,000 ‘Muricans, received approximately $166,000,000 each, give or take. I know how I did during those years personally, both in wages and retirement benefits, as well as stock market earnings, and oddly enough, I always, without fail, did better under dem administrations and congresses. Weird, I know.
These people aren’t going away when POOTWH goes away. And, careful what you wish for Scheck.
A battle-tested D.C. bureaucrat and self-described Christian nationalist is drawing up detailed plans for a sweeping expansion of presidential power in a second Trump administration. Russ Vought, who served as the former president’sbudget chief, calls his political strategy for razing long-standing guardrails “radical constitutionalism.”
He has helped craft proposals for Donald Trump to deploy the military to quash civil unrest, seize more control over the Justice Department and assert the power to withhold congressional appropriations — and that’s just on Trump’s first day back in office.
Vought, 48, is poised to steer this agenda from an influential perch in the White House, potentially as Trump’s chief of staff, according to some people involved in discussions about a second term who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations.
Since Trump left office, Vought has led the Center for Renewing America, part of a network of conservative advocacy groups staffed by former and potentially future Trump administration officials. Vought’s rise is a reminder that if Trump is reelected, he has said he will surround himself with loyalists eager to carry out his wishes, even if they violate traditional norms against executive overreach.
“We are living in a post-Constitutional time,” Vought wrote in a seminal 2022 essay, which argued that the left has corrupted the nation’s laws and institutions. Last week, after a jury convicted Trump of falsifying business records, Vought tweeted: “Do not tell me that we are living under the Constitution.”
Vought aims to harness what he calls the “woke and weaponized” bureaucracy that stymied the former president by stocking federal agencies with hardcore disciples who would wage culture wars on abortion and immigration. The proposals championed by Vought and other Trump allies to fundamentally reset the balance of power would represent a historic shift — one they see as a needed corrective.
“The president has to be able to drive the bureaucracy instead of being trapped by it,” said Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker who led the GOP’s 1994 takeover of Congress.
Vought did not respond to interview requests and a detailed list of questions from The Washington Post. This account of his plans for Trump’s potential first day back in office and the rest of a second term comes from interviews with people involved in the planning, a review of Vought’s public remarks and writings, and Center for Renewing America correspondence obtained by The Post.
The Trump campaign has distanced itself from the extensive planning. Campaign managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita said in a statement, “Unless a message is coming directly from President Trump or an authorized member of his campaign team, no aspect of future presidential staffing or policy announcements should be deemed official.”
But in a sign of Vought’s status as a key adviser, Trump and the Republican National Committee last month named him policy director for the 2024 platform committee — giving him a chance to push a party that did not adopt a platform in 2020 further to the right. Trump personally blessed Vought’s agenda at a Mar-a-Lago fundraiser for his group and saidVought would “do a great job in continuing our quest to make America great again.”
Some of Vought’srecommendations, such as bucking the Justice Department’s tradition of political independence, have long percolated in the conservative movement. But he is taking a harder line — and seeking to empower a presidential nominee who has openly vowed “retribution,” alarming some fellow conservatives who recall fighting against big government alongside Vought long before Trump’s election.
“I am concerned that he is willing to embrace an ends-justify-the-means mentality,” said Marc Short, formerly chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, who has said he won’t endorse Trump. Vought, Short added, is embracing “tactics of growing government and using the levers of power in the federal bureaucracy to fight our political opponents.”
Vought’s long career as a staffer in Congress and at federal agencies has made him an asset to Project 2025, an initiative led by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, to lay the groundwork for a second Trump term. Vought wrote the chapter on the executive office of the president in Project 2025’s 920-page blueprint, and he is developing its playbook for the first 180 days, according to the people involved in the effort.
“We’re going to plant the flags now,” Vought told Trump’s former strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, on his far-right podcast. “It becomes a new governing consensus of the Republican Party.”
From fiscal hawk to MAGA warrior
Vought was raised in Trumbull, Conn., the son of an electrician and a teacher and the youngest of seven children. Brought up in what he has characterized as a “very strong, Bible-preaching, Bible-teaching church,” he attended Christian camps every summer. He received a bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College, an evangelical Christian school in Illinois, and headed to Capitol Hill near the end of the Clinton administration.
Comments
https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/06/politics/video/undecided-women-voters-georgia-trump-hush-money-trial-digvid-ac360
www.headstonesband.com
NY v. Trump: Judge reveals Facebook post implying juror discussed guilty verdict before trial concluded
Trump was found guilty on all counts
The judge presiding over former President Trump’s New York criminal trial notified his defense team on Friday of a comment on the court's public Facebook page that implies one of the jurors discussed the guilty verdict with family before the trial concluded.
Fox News obtained the letter Judge Juan Merchan shared with Trump defense attorneys and Manhattan prosecutors.
"'Today, the Court became aware of a comment that was posted on the Unified Court System's public Facebook page and which I now bring to your attention. In the comment, the user, ‘Michael Anderson,’ states:
"’My cousin is a juror and says Trump is getting convicted! Thank you folks for all your hard work!!!!’"
The comment was posted on May 29 "regarding oral arguments in the Fourth Department of the Appellate Division unrelated to this proceeding."
The profile for "Michael Anderson" has little publicly available information, but the user identifies himself as a "Transabled & professional sh-- poster."
A Trump campaign official told Fox News Digital they are "investigating the matter."
Al Baker, state OCA spokesperson, said Friday that "as appropriate, the Court informed the parties once it learned of this online content."
The post came a day before Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump had pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The six-week-long trial stemmed from charges brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
Judge who oversaw Trump hush money trial flags post on the court’s webpage claiming to know the verdict before it came down
The judge who oversaw Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial in New York on Friday informed the former president’s defense team and prosecutors with the Manhattan district attorney’s office that a comment was posted on the New York State Unified Court Systems’ public Facebook page last week by a poster who claimed to be a cousin of a juror, saying that Trump would be convicted.
“My cousin is a juror and says Trump is getting convicted Thank you folks for all your hard work!!!!” read the comment.
It is not clear if there is any validity to the post. No evidence was provided to support the claim, and the jurors’ identities remain anonymous. A search of the poster’s Facebook page showed the poster described themself as “a professional sh*t poster,” among other things.
CNN has attempted to contact the poster.
Judge Juan Merchan said in a letter that the court had been made aware on Friday of the roughly week-old post, and that it was posted in response to a routine court system notice on May 29 about an unrelated matter. He did not ask the parties to take further action. The post is no longer visible on the court’s Facebook.
“As appropriate, the Court informed the parties once it learned of this online content,” Al Baker, a spokesperson for the court, said.
While Merchan informed the legal teams out of caution, the judge’s notice has no immediate effect on the case, according to CNN senior legal analyst and former state and federal prosecutor Elie Honig.
“The judge is being extra careful here to let the parties know any information that might give them the basis for a motion – there’s a long way though between this and any impact on the case,” Honig said. “First the judge would have to ascertain whether this is even true, and then if it is, whether there is any necessary legal remedy.”
If it were found to be true, it would not automatically be grounds for a mistrial, according to Honig.
The 12-person New York jury began its deliberations on May 29. The jurors sent two questions to the judge at the end of that court day: one asking to be read back portions of testimony from two key witnesses, David Pecker and Michael Cohen, and another requesting to rehear a portion of the judge’s instruction to the jury.
The requested testimonies and instructions were read back to them the next morning. Hours later, just after 4:30 p.m., the jury returned its verdict.
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
EV
Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
2-1 says the poster is actually MAGA and has no cousin on the jury.
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
Republicans talking about Democrats: Where there's a stick, there's fire.
EV
Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
Narrator--"Because of this fake bullshit, Shecky and millions just like him would refuse to believe the conviction was legitimate..."
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
Wouldn't it be easier if you guys found an actual conservative who wasn't married 3x, bangs porn stars, pays them off and has 90 some felony indictments? The onus is on your party to be better.
But sorry to hear things are not going well for you, Sheck. Hang in there bud. Hopefully you can pull yourself up by the bootstraps.
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
Like I’ve said, you’re watching a slow swirl.
Your posts give you away, you should have said, “former President POOTWH is going to be re-elected.” You don’t think he lost.
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
But supply-side economics never produced the results its supporters promised. What it did do was move money out of the hands of ordinary Americans into the hands of the very wealthy. Economists estimate that between 1981 and 2021, more than $50 trillion dollars moved from the bottom 90% of Americans to the top 1%.
So, if I did my maths properly, that means that during this time approximately 3,300,000 ‘Muricans, received approximately $166,000,000 each, give or take. I know how I did during those years personally, both in wages and retirement benefits, as well as stock market earnings, and oddly enough, I always, without fail, did better under dem administrations and congresses. Weird, I know.
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
A battle-tested D.C. bureaucrat and self-described Christian nationalist is drawing up detailed plans for a sweeping expansion of presidential power in a second Trump administration. Russ Vought, who served as the former president’sbudget chief, calls his political strategy for razing long-standing guardrails “radical constitutionalism.”
He has helped craft proposals for Donald Trump to deploy the military to quash civil unrest, seize more control over the Justice Department and assert the power to withhold congressional appropriations — and that’s just on Trump’s first day back in office.
Vought, 48, is poised to steer this agenda from an influential perch in the White House, potentially as Trump’s chief of staff, according to some people involved in discussions about a second term who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations.
Since Trump left office, Vought has led the Center for Renewing America, part of a network of conservative advocacy groups staffed by former and potentially future Trump administration officials. Vought’s rise is a reminder that if Trump is reelected, he has said he will surround himself with loyalists eager to carry out his wishes, even if they violate traditional norms against executive overreach.
“We are living in a post-Constitutional time,” Vought wrote in a seminal 2022 essay, which argued that the left has corrupted the nation’s laws and institutions. Last week, after a jury convicted Trump of falsifying business records, Vought tweeted: “Do not tell me that we are living under the Constitution.”
Vought aims to harness what he calls the “woke and weaponized” bureaucracy that stymied the former president by stocking federal agencies with hardcore disciples who would wage culture wars on abortion and immigration. The proposals championed by Vought and other Trump allies to fundamentally reset the balance of power would represent a historic shift — one they see as a needed corrective.
“The president has to be able to drive the bureaucracy instead of being trapped by it,” said Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker who led the GOP’s 1994 takeover of Congress.
Vought did not respond to interview requests and a detailed list of questions from The Washington Post. This account of his plans for Trump’s potential first day back in office and the rest of a second term comes from interviews with people involved in the planning, a review of Vought’s public remarks and writings, and Center for Renewing America correspondence obtained by The Post.
The Trump campaign has distanced itself from the extensive planning. Campaign managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita said in a statement, “Unless a message is coming directly from President Trump or an authorized member of his campaign team, no aspect of future presidential staffing or policy announcements should be deemed official.”
But in a sign of Vought’s status as a key adviser, Trump and the Republican National Committee last month named him policy director for the 2024 platform committee — giving him a chance to push a party that did not adopt a platform in 2020 further to the right. Trump personally blessed Vought’s agenda at a Mar-a-Lago fundraiser for his group and saidVought would “do a great job in continuing our quest to make America great again.”
Some of Vought’srecommendations, such as bucking the Justice Department’s tradition of political independence, have long percolated in the conservative movement. But he is taking a harder line — and seeking to empower a presidential nominee who has openly vowed “retribution,” alarming some fellow conservatives who recall fighting against big government alongside Vought long before Trump’s election.
“I am concerned that he is willing to embrace an ends-justify-the-means mentality,” said Marc Short, formerly chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, who has said he won’t endorse Trump. Vought, Short added, is embracing “tactics of growing government and using the levers of power in the federal bureaucracy to fight our political opponents.”
Vought’s long career as a staffer in Congress and at federal agencies has made him an asset to Project 2025, an initiative led by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, to lay the groundwork for a second Trump term. Vought wrote the chapter on the executive office of the president in Project 2025’s 920-page blueprint, and he is developing its playbook for the first 180 days, according to the people involved in the effort.
“We’re going to plant the flags now,” Vought told Trump’s former strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, on his far-right podcast. “It becomes a new governing consensus of the Republican Party.”
From fiscal hawk to MAGA warrior
Vought was raised in Trumbull, Conn., the son of an electrician and a teacher and the youngest of seven children. Brought up in what he has characterized as a “very strong, Bible-preaching, Bible-teaching church,” he attended Christian camps every summer. He received a bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College, an evangelical Christian school in Illinois, and headed to Capitol Hill near the end of the Clinton administration.
Continues
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/06/08/russ-vought-trump-second-term-radical-constitutional/
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©