AWRM
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
The Arrest of Donald Trump #179625
03/18/2023 02:27 PM
03/18/2023 02:27 PM
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 23,182
Tulsa
airforce Online content OP
Administrator
airforce  Online Content OP
Administrator
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 23,182
Tulsa
Donald trump says he will be arrested on Tuesday. And his attorney says Trump will surrender when he is criminally charged. trump says this charge is politically motivated. And while I don't agree with him on much, he's right.

Quote
Former President Donald Trump will surrender to law enforcement officials if he is indicted by a Manhattan grand jury in connection with a $130,000 hush money payment he allegedly made to porn actress Stormy Daniels, according to Trump’s attorney.

The remarks from attorney Joseph Tacopina come in response to a report from NBC News that said federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies were analyzing security assessments and making plans to prepare for the possibility that Trump will be indicted as early as next week.

Fox News reported that the Manhattan District Attorney’s office asked for a meeting with law enforcement officials to “discuss logistics for some time next week, which would mean that they are anticipating an indictment next week.”

Tacopina told the New York Daily News that if Trump is indicted, “there won’t be a standoff at Mar-a-Lago with Secret Service and the Manhattan DA’s office.”

Tacopina later told CNBC that they “will follow normal procedures if it gets to that point.”

The New York Times reported earlier this week that it would be highly unlikely at this point for prosecutors to not seek an indictment given the amount of relevant witnesses questioned in front of the grand jury and the offer they made to Trump to come in and testify in front of the jury.

The case involves an alleged payment that former Trump attorney Michael Cohen admits he made to Daniels during the presidential race to keep quiet about an alleged 2006 tryst between Trump and Daniels. Cohen pleaded guilty to related charges and served time in prison.

Although non-disclosure agreements are legal, the potential problem for Trump centers around how his company reimbursed Cohen. The payment was listed as a legal expense and the company cited a retainer agreement with Cohen. The retainer agreement did not exist and the reimbursement was not related to any legal services from Cohen, thus setting up a potential misdemeanor criminal charge of falsifying business records. The report said that Trump personally signed several of the checks to Cohen while he was serving as president.

Prosecutors can elevate the misdemeanor to a felony if they can prove that Trump’s “‘intent to defraud’ included an intent to commit or conceal a second crime.”

Prosecutors argue that the second crime is that the $130,000 hush payment was an improper donation to the Trump campaign because the money was used to stop a story for the purpose of benefiting his presidential campaign.


Onward and upward,
airforce

Re: The Arrest of Donald Trump [Re: airforce] #179627
03/18/2023 02:41 PM
03/18/2023 02:41 PM
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 3,290
Tyler County, TX
T
Texas Resistance Offline
Senior Member
Texas Resistance  Offline
Senior Member
T
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 3,290
Tyler County, TX
Elon Musk @elonmusk Replying to @thevivafrei
If this happens, Trump will be re-elected in a landslide victory
6:21 AM · Mar 18, 2023 7.2M Views
Source

Amazing Revelation of President Trump in the Bible!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl7p4f7NKXI


www.TexasMilitia.Info Seek out and join a lawful Militia or form one in your area. If you wish to remain Free you will have to fight for it...because the traitors will give us no choice in the matter--William Cooper
Re: The Arrest of Donald Trump [Re: airforce] #179628
03/18/2023 03:02 PM
03/18/2023 03:02 PM
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 19,451
A 059 Btn 16 FF MSC
ConSigCor Offline
Senior Member
ConSigCor  Offline
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 19,451
A 059 Btn 16 FF MSC
Name one president that hasn't screwed around. Who cares. This is nothing but political theater aka democratic bullshit.


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: The Arrest of Donald Trump [Re: ConSigCor] #179629
03/18/2023 05:23 PM
03/18/2023 05:23 PM
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 23,182
Tulsa
airforce Online content OP
Administrator
airforce  Online Content OP
Administrator
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 23,182
Tulsa
Originally Posted by ConSigCor
Name one president that hasn't screwed around....


John Adams. There are several things I don't like about the Rotund One too, but he had principles and he stuck to them. And it sure didn't make him popular.

Onward and upward,
airforce

Re: The Arrest of Donald Trump [Re: airforce] #179636
03/19/2023 03:05 PM
03/19/2023 03:05 PM
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 1,537
Omaha Nebraska
Huskerpatriot Online content
Senior Member
Huskerpatriot  Online Content
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 1,537
Omaha Nebraska
What I don’t get is… what exactly is the difference between a “non-disclosure agreement” (NDA) and “hush money”? One is common place in corporate America as well as many court settlements… the other is apparently suspicious, deplorable and highly illegal… for the life of me I can’t tell the difference. The only difference I can tell is a highly subjective determination of whether one wants to excuse/justify an individual/organization’s behaviors or if one wants to vilifying and portray their actions in a negative light.


"Government at its best is a necessary evil, and at its worst, an intolerable one."
 Thomas Paine (from "Common Sense" 1776)
Re: The Arrest of Donald Trump [Re: Huskerpatriot] #179637
03/19/2023 03:46 PM
03/19/2023 03:46 PM
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 23,182
Tulsa
airforce Online content OP
Administrator
airforce  Online Content OP
Administrator
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 23,182
Tulsa
Originally Posted by Huskerpatriot
...what exactly is the difference between a “non-disclosure agreement” (NDA) and “hush money”? ...


Nothing, really. Both are illegal when they are used to cover up a crime. Remember when Bill Clinton paid Paula Jones $850,000, in exchange for her agreement to drop her appeal? And still maintained he did nothing wrong?

Onward and upward,
airforce

Re: The Arrest of Donald Trump [Re: airforce] #179638
03/19/2023 04:38 PM
03/19/2023 04:38 PM
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 19,451
A 059 Btn 16 FF MSC
ConSigCor Offline
Senior Member
ConSigCor  Offline
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 19,451
A 059 Btn 16 FF MSC
And the democrats said what's the big deal? when Bill did it.


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: The Arrest of Donald Trump [Re: airforce] #179639
03/19/2023 05:46 PM
03/19/2023 05:46 PM
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 1,537
Omaha Nebraska
Huskerpatriot Online content
Senior Member
Huskerpatriot  Online Content
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 1,537
Omaha Nebraska
Illegal when used to cover up a crime?

So when a company “settles out of court” and pays the claimants a huge settlement and in part they agree to remain silent so that the company’s crimes stay off the books making it harder for others to sue… this happens all the time oftentimes with the court’s cooperation and on times to silence whistleblowers with dirt on the government itself. Unethical, yes. Illegal, no.


"Government at its best is a necessary evil, and at its worst, an intolerable one."
 Thomas Paine (from "Common Sense" 1776)
Re: The Arrest of Donald Trump [Re: airforce] #179640
03/19/2023 05:51 PM
03/19/2023 05:51 PM
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 23,182
Tulsa
airforce Online content OP
Administrator
airforce  Online Content OP
Administrator
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 23,182
Tulsa
Here's an interesting theory I just heard from one of those talking heads on Fox. The indictment if Trump is a plot by the Democrats to [i]ensure[/b] Trump is the GOP nominee, because they feel he would be easier for Biden to beat than Desantis (or anyone else, for that matter). I don't believe it, for a couple reasons. But the main one is, I just don't think anyone in the DNC is that smart.

Still, it's interesting. I'm wondering if the Desantis team floated that theory themselves?

Onward and upward,
airforce

Re: The Arrest of Donald Trump [Re: airforce] #179641
03/20/2023 01:31 PM
03/20/2023 01:31 PM
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 23,182
Tulsa
airforce Online content OP
Administrator
airforce  Online Content OP
Administrator
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 23,182
Tulsa
A New York arrest would be a gift for Trump.

Quote
Many observers expect New York authorities to arrest former President Donald Trump this week. It's hard to imagine this being anything but a boon for Trump, who is running for president again.

Decisions about whether to bring criminal charges against a politician or authority figure certainly shouldn't hinge on whether it will help or hurt the person's political fortunes. But it's tough to see why Trump opponents would actually be cheering for this arrest.

As it stands, the Republican establishment and electorate both seem much more enamored with the thought of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as their party's future than with the continuance of a Trump-helmed GOP. But Trump's arrest could boost his claims of unfair persecution in a way that Trump supporters find sympathetic, compelling conservative officials to rally around him and delegitimizing future attempts to prosecute Trump for more serious offenses. And for what? The expected charges in this case—falsifying business records—will hardly lead to major punishment even if Trump is convicted.

And setting all politics aside, the charges are pretty weak.

The expected indictment stems from money that Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016. The money was intended to keep her quiet about a past Daniels-Trump tryst.

In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to paying Daniels $130,000 at Trump's direction "for the principal purpose of influencing the election." This counted as an excessive contribution to the Trump presidential campaign. (Individual donors are permitted to give only relatively small amounts to a candidate each election cycle. There was a $2,700 limit in 2016, though its since been raised to $3,300.) Meanwhile, Trump admitted to reimbursing Cohen for this payment, using his own (not campaign) money. It was "a simple private transaction," said Trump, seeming to believe this made everything legal.

And indeed, experts have been divided over whether this payment counted as a criminal act, a campaign finance law violation, or nothing. As Reason's Jacob Sullum points out, "there is nothing inherently illegal about that payment."
The theory underlying the case against Cohen was that he paid the money to influence the 2016 presidential election—but the money could just as well have been "to avoiding personal embarrassment for Trump or [to spare] Melania Trump's feelings."

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) investigated the matter as a possible violation of election law, but eventually decided not to pursue it.

Now, around seven years after Cohen paid Daniels, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is pursuing criminal charges against Trump. This time, the case rests on whether Trump falsified business records and with what intent.

In court, Cohen said that Trump's company had "falsely accounted" for the reimbursement payments he received, calling them legal expenses and citing a retainer agreement that didn't exist. Cohen has also claimed that Trump knew about this deception.

"In New York, falsifying business records can amount to a crime, albeit a misdemeanor," notes The New York Times. "To elevate the crime to a felony charge, Mr. Bragg's prosecutors must show that Mr. Trump's 'intent to defraud' included an intent to commit or conceal a second crime. In this case, that second crime could be a violation of New York State election law."

But proving that Trump intentionally violated campaign finance rules is hard, considering Trump's statements that he thought the personal payment was just a private transaction. The lack of evidence that Trump "knowingly and willingly" flouted election law seems to be why a federal case was never pursued. (It's also unclear how New York election law would cover a violation of federal limits on campaign contributions.)


"Even if Mr. Trump is indicted, convicting him or sending him to prison will be challenging," comments the Times. "For one thing, Mr. Trump's lawyers are sure to attack Mr. Cohen's credibility by citing his criminal record. The case against the former president also likely hinges on an untested and therefore risky legal theory involving a complex interplay of laws. Combining the falsifying business records charge with a violation of state election law would be a novel legal theory for any criminal case, let alone one against the former president."

The idea that New York prosecutors will somehow succeed in showing what the FEC and other federal authorities couldn't is suspect. They're also running up against statute-of-limitations constraints. "In New York, misdemeanors have to be prosecuted within two years, and Class E felonies have to be prosecuted within five years," writes Sullum, who points out that the "legal expenses" payments to Cohen were made sometime in 2017. "Prosecutors would have to cite records that were falsified more recently, which maybe they can do, but to what end?"

Considering all of this, prosecuting Trump now would basically be an exercise in chest-thumping to score some political points, not a pure effort to see that justice is served. Which means that Trump's claims of a politics-based persecution could, in this instance, be right.


I think the theory that all this is to help Trump beat Desantis is looking pretty good.

Onward and upward,
airforce

Re: The Arrest of Donald Trump [Re: airforce] #179642
03/20/2023 07:18 PM
03/20/2023 07:18 PM
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 23,182
Tulsa
airforce Online content OP
Administrator
airforce  Online Content OP
Administrator
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 23,182
Tulsa
The NYPD is setting up cameras and barricades outside the Manhattan courthouse.

This is going to be interesting.

Onward and upward,
airforce

Re: The Arrest of Donald Trump [Re: airforce] #179644
03/20/2023 10:46 PM
03/20/2023 10:46 PM
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 19,451
A 059 Btn 16 FF MSC
ConSigCor Offline
Senior Member
ConSigCor  Offline
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 19,451
A 059 Btn 16 FF MSC
Trump is Emanuel Goldstein and the party demands everyone must attend the daily 2 minute hate. Anyone who doesn't hate Goldstein is an enemy of the state.


"The time for war has not yet come, but it will come and that soon, and when it does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Gen. T.J. Jackson, March 1861
Re: The Arrest of Donald Trump [Re: airforce] #179645
03/20/2023 11:22 PM
03/20/2023 11:22 PM
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 23,182
Tulsa
airforce Online content OP
Administrator
airforce  Online Content OP
Administrator
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 23,182
Tulsa
Someone's been reading "1984." laugh

Onward and upward,
airforce

Re: The Arrest of Donald Trump [Re: airforce] #179647
03/22/2023 01:57 PM
03/22/2023 01:57 PM
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 23,182
Tulsa
airforce Online content OP
Administrator
airforce  Online Content OP
Administrator
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 23,182
Tulsa
That Trump indictment may not happen at all. If true, that would be remarkable. There are 23 jurors on a grand jury and, to secure an indictment, all that is needed is for twelve of them to conclude there is at least a 51% chance that Trump committed a crime. That's not a very high bar.

Onward and upward,
airforce

Re: The Arrest of Donald Trump [Re: airforce] #179650
03/23/2023 12:57 PM
03/23/2023 12:57 PM
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 23,182
Tulsa
airforce Online content OP
Administrator
airforce  Online Content OP
Administrator
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 23,182
Tulsa
A Monmouth poll shows Trump continuing to gain in the GOP presidential primary, with Trump now leading DeSantis 41% to 27%. If this criminal case was supposed to knock Trump out of the race, it has failed spectacularly.

On the other hand if it was to ensure Trump is the GOP nominee...

[Linked Image]

Onward and upward,
airforce

Re: The Arrest of Donald Trump [Re: airforce] #179652
03/24/2023 01:53 PM
03/24/2023 01:53 PM
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 23,182
Tulsa
airforce Online content OP
Administrator
airforce  Online Content OP
Administrator
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 23,182
Tulsa
It's looking like Trump won't be indicted. As much as The Donald was looking forward to that perp walk, it's looking like it might not happen at all.

Quote
The left was practically salivating at the thought of Trump getting indicted and arrested, but just as quickly as the hype started, it seems to be fizzling out. It looks like their dreams of seeing him in handcuffs are slipping away faster than a greased pig at a rodeo. At this point, I dare say that it looks like it won’t happen at all.

That’s right. No indictment. No handcuffs. No perp walk. The radical left has been yearning for this moment for years. And for a few days, it seemed like that wish might finally come true. However, it now appears to be just another chapter in a never-ending fantasy that always falls short of becoming a reality.

The first hint that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s indictment of Trump was going sour was when former Michael Cohen legal advisor Robert Costello appeared as a surprise witness on Monday. Trump touted Costello’s testimony as conclusive and irrefutable evidence of his innocence. And he may not have been exaggerating.

It sure does look like Costello’s testimony, along with the evidence he presented — a five-year-old letter from Michael Cohen’s attorney affirming that Cohen made the payment to Stormy Daniels alone and that Trump had no role in reimbursing him — had a significant impact on Bragg’s case against Trump. This impact was so substantial that the Manhattan grand jury did not assemble on Wednesday, and while they did meet on Thursday, they did not hear the case involving Trump, postponing the alleged indictment to at least next week.

However, it remains doubtful that the indictment will occur at all. In fact, the Daily Mail reported on Wednesday that there is speculation that the prosecutors have been unsuccessful in persuading the jury to accept that Trump is guilty of a crime.

“They are having trouble convincing the jury to swallow the case. It’s a weak case and has caused divisions in the DA’s office,” a source allegedly told the outlet. “Other reports suggested the DA’s office could be contemplating a change of strategy. The grand jury meets on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, but postponements are not unusual and jurors are warned to expect last-minute changes. Either way, it leaves the nation with a cliffhanger.”

Legal experts from both sides of the political aisle have highlighted the frailty of Bragg’s case. Bragg was most certainly aware of this fact, too. Perhaps he didn’t care because he was too eager to become a hero to the radical left and advance his career. Or maybe his Trump Derangement Syndrome blinded him to the fact that he had a weak case. Ironically, the only person who stands to benefit from this situation is Trump.

The anticipation of an imminent indictment in New York has led to a surge in donations for Trump. According to reports, his campaign raked in $1.5 million in the three days after Trump announced on Truth Social that he expected to be arrested on Tuesday.

Anything can happen, of course, but I’m confident that Bragg’s case blew up in his face and the case that the left thought would be Trump’s downfall only made him stronger.


Onward and upward,
airforce


.
©>
©All information posted on this site is the private property of the individual author and AWRM.net and may not be reproduced without permission. © 2001-2020 AWRM.net All Rights Reserved.
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.6.1.1