Oh, the FSM smiled on me today:
Conservative author Dinesh D’Souza has been indicted on federal charges of violating campaign finance laws, the the U.S attorney in Manhattan announced on Thursday.
D’ Souza is accused of
“making illegal contributions to a United States Senate campaign in the names of others and causing false statements to be made to the Federal Election Commission in connection with those contributions.”
If I were a much better person than I am, I’d suppress the grin that seems to have pasted itself across my mug since I read that over at TPM.
Still smiling…
Image: William Hogarth, The Humours of an Election: Soliciting Votes, 1754
Cervantes
And I’d say it’s not wrong that you’re smiling, either.
(Go, Preet!)
Comrade Jake
Couldn’t have happened to a better D’ouchebag.
Elizabelle
I’m ready to go out and bang colanders together in the street.
Thank you, FSM.
I like the idea of Dinesh living in socialist government housing for a while. Clothing too.
WereBear
Whiny superior little shill.
Repack Rider
D’oh!
Comrade Jake
Couldn’t have Dinesh simply given the money to some PAC (or, for Chrissakes, form one of his own) and direct that the funds be used to support a particular candidate? This seems pretty Dense, even for Dinesh.
PsiFighter37
Lulz. I remember seeing this douchebag on Colbert when I went to his show live several years ago. Hope he enjoys his cell next to the Transvaginal Governor. Too bad neither of them are likely to go to federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison.
Elizabelle
TPM pic of Dinesh.
He’s got that face that’s looking for a fist.
Another favorite Balloon Juice German word, but even longer than schadenfreude.
lamh36
Wow…sometimes when Karma comes back to bite you in the azz, it bites HARD!
Oh and ya gotta love the whining already…lol.
@DRUDGE
They are going after the Obama critics with indictments. VA Gov. Now Dinesh D’souza. Holder unleashing the dogs…
Boo hoo, hoo Drudgy…we laugh as you cry in your cheerios.
pseudonymous in nc
And it earned Wendy Long 27% of the vote in the general election.
It also sounds like his now-ex-wife and his then-fiancée may have called in the feds.
dmsilev
@lamh36: Don’t forget that Obama had Andrew Breitbart whacked. It only _looked_ like a heart attack.
JPL
This is from the NY Times..
“Mr. D’Souza did not act with any corrupt or criminal intent whatsoever,” his lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, said in a statement. “He and the candidate have been friends since their college days, and at most, this was an act of misguided friendship by D’Souza.”
IOKIYR defense. On the other post, I thought it sounded like “The Godfather” defense but changed my mind.
Laertes
“No criminal intent” is gonna be a pretty tough sell. That’d work a whole lot better if he’d donated $20k himself, and then claimed to be surprised when told that that was over the limit.
The fact that he went to all that trouble to conceal the source of the donations is, on its face, pretty strong evidence that he knew about the limit.
Comrade Jake
An act of misguided friendship would have been to have donated over the limit, only to be informed it was against the law. Asking others to donate for you because you know you’ve reached your own legal limit is, well, simply called knowingly breaking the law.
JPL
@Laertes: Well if that won’t work, how about the dumb but loyal defense.
I see a plea bargain in his future.
Comrade Jake
@Laertes: great minds, natch.
maximiliano furtive, formerly known as dr. bloor
Translation: they have him by the short hairs, and we’re dancing as fast as we can to plead this down.
The Left is responsible for 9/11. Extramarital screwing. Campaign finance fraud. D’Fuckwad is basically an all-purpose asshole.
scav
D’Inchworm, D’inchworm, funneling the dollars-O!
You and your arithmetic, you may have gone too far.
D’Inchworm, D’inchworm, measuring too Long you were,
Seems to me you’d stop and think how laws apply to all.
poco
Woohoo! Hated that punk ever since I saw him debating Fish on Public TV. (Well, dislike Fish now, as well.)
Preet Bharara’s well publicized indictments are all great: Raj Rajaratnam, Rajat Gupta, (hedge fund cheaters) Devyani Khobragade (Indian Diplomat exploiting a maid) and now Dinesh Asshole.
But, I have to wonder, even when i agree with all these indictments, why are all Preet’s famous indictment ALL South Asians? I do see a pattern here. It may just be that given that Preet himself is south asian, he has better informants from that community…..
Francis
@PsiFighter37: Prison rape is neither funny nor something to be cheered for, no matter how despicable the guilty party. Punishment is the act of incarceration only. Physical and emotional violence form no part of any sentence, and especially not when it’s outsourced to another convict.
Nethead Jay
Totally with you on the smiling thing. You should probably go make and enjoy some delicious schadenfreude pie ;-)
Matt
I eagerly await the RW columns lamenting the “culture of criminality” amongst right-wing college professors. ;)
Lyme
The great thing is that there was just a press release today about a Dartmouth sponsored debate between him and Bill Ayres here at his alma mater. I think I will make some popcorn to see how Dartmouth PR handled this. Hahahaa
Villago Delenda Est
I want a perp walk in orange jumpsuits, but that doesn’t happen for these sorts of crimes.
scav
@Matt: Zmackly. “misguided friendship”? Affluenza plus Affectionenza. All the signs of a culture in full-moral break-down.
Lyme
The great thing is that there was just a press release today about a Dartmouth sponsored debate between him and Bill Ayres here at his alma mater. I think I will make some popcorn to see how Dartmouth PR handles this. Hahahaa
Villago Delenda Est
@Matt:
They’re thugs, I tell you! THUGS!
Suffern ACE
@Comrade Jake: probably one of those things where if you gave a million it would be free speech but ten grand is highly regulated.
trollhattan
Tisk, how colonial of us. I’m DiVerklempt.
Villago Delenda Est
@Comrade Jake:
This.
He reached his limit and sought a way to get around that limit, hoping he wouldn’t get caught doing it.
So sorry D’Dumbfuck. You’re busted.
jayboat
Damn, the force is strong with this one, Luke.
(smiling)
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
That guy is one of the consummate creeps in America today. I know that when he was a snotty little asswipe of a student at Dartmouth, he and some other shitsmear student–who might have been Laura Ingraham–wrote for some quasi-fascist school newspaper in which they outed gay students at Dartmouth. As far as I can tell, they did it just for the hell of it. Maybe they thought the filthy homo faggots deserved to have their secrets dragged out against their will. I don’t know. Whatever the excuse they sold themselves may have been, it’s pretty much all you need to know about him. If he had learned something later in life, that would be one thing. But he’s the same fucking weasel today that he ever was. Asshole.
Suffern ACE
@Villago Delenda Est: I heard he got engaged when he was still married to somebody else.
Villago Delenda Est
@lamh36:
We also piss in them.
Villago Delenda Est
I’m surprised that Noisemax is not all over this, whining and screaming and throwing a conniption, ala the vile creature that is Drudge.
Mike in NC
@maximiliano furtive, formerly known as dr. bloor: I read that name as Benjamin Barfman.
gene108
How fucking stupid do you have to be in this era of 501-3c organizations and SuperPAC’s to have to do this nickel and dime stuff about donating in other people’s names to support a candidate?
You figure a supposed policy “wonk” political talking head type guy would understand how to grift the system better than this.
What an idiot.
EDIT: He deserves a maximum sentence for being an idiot. The judge should be like, “you know, there are ways to legally support candidates with unlimited campaign contributions that cannot be traced back to the donors?…I mean why the fuck would be so stupid to not fill out some paperwork Colbert did as part of a bit on his show?…You clearly can afford a lawyer…”
BGinCHI
@Comrade Jake: Agreed. T’otal D’ickhead.
I love the Drudge headline about coming after all BO’s critics. Um, yeah dipshit, all of the ones who are breaking the law.
The media needs to practice saying the word “Corruption.” That is the soul of the GOP.
kindness
Too bad he probably won’t get any jail time. If he does get convicted, they’ll slap his wrists with a fine. Maybe if they hit him with a felony he’ll lose his right to vote for a while and take any guns he has.
Comrade Jake
In times like these, I like to venture over to see what our good friends at FreeRepublic have to say:
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3114986/posts
Yep, sounds about right. Thanks, Obama!
Villago Delenda Est
@Elizabelle:
Backpfeifengesicht
Comrade Jake
@BGinCHI: not the media, DEMOCRATS. Democrats need to start preaching GOP and right-wing corruption.
jl
We need a matrix to keep all the GOPer VSP and politician indictments and convictions straight.
That kind of BJ feature would draw a lot of traffic, and help make this blog pay for itself.
Edit: And Cole could finally pay for professional cat ass shaving.
Roger Moore
@lamh36:
It’s always projection with these assholes. Always.
JPL
@Comrade Jake: hmmm For those of us who refuse to read the free republic can you let us know what it says?
Mike G
@BGinCHI:
I love the Drudge headline about coming after all BO’s critics. Um, yeah dipshit, all of the ones who are breaking the law.
These d’ouchebags got used to getting away with everything under the sleazy, politicized crony Bush Justice Department where nothing was too blatant to ignore if you were a Republican.
scav
@JPL:
helphelphelphelphelp
Villago Delenda Est
@Comrade Jake:
Agreed. You’ll never get the vermin of the Village to point this out…they’re up to their ready for tumbrels necks in the corruption themselves.
gnomedad
It’s D’Lightful, it’s D’Licious, it’s in-D’Ictment.
Villago Delenda Est
@scav:
The stupid. IT BURNS!
Jim Foolish Literalist
OT: early entry for headline of the year
Villago Delenda Est
@Jim Foolish Literalist:
What, the National Review winter cruise lost engine power, so they’re adrift?
jl
@lamh36: I worried about cries of politically motivated indictments and trials for corruption.
For about half a second.
But then I realized that you need to better more sophisticated class of criminal mind in the GOP that is capable of presenting something above and beyond an open and shut case.
Look at McD of VA: volunteering public employees to be a control group in his sugar daddy’s clinical trial, using the gubeneratoratorial mansion for a product launch party, and effing pulling the bottle snake oil pills out of his effing pocking and hawking them the VA dept of health at a meeting. I mean c’mon.
I had hopes for Christie the Thugghish Clown scandal, but if things keep going like they have last few days, that will be pretty open and shut too. At least for half a dozen of Christie’s inner circle, even if the big man himself can stay out of the courtroom.
Comrade Jake
I had no idea Variety.com was such a wing nut hangout. The comments on the article over there are worse than the Freepers.
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
@Comrade Jake:
I only had to read about five posts before reaching this gem:
Yeah, it’s so unfair that they arrested him for an alleged abuse. What the hell? Aren’t all indictments for “alleged” crimes? You aren’t guilty until they convict you, which comes after the trial, which comes after the arraignment, which comes after arrest, which comes after indictment. Ah, yeah, but I guess I forgot, conservatives should never have to answer for anything they do. Idiot.
BGinCHI
@Comrade Jake: Total agree. Populism plus anti-corruption plus inclusiveness. Win.
gbear
@BGinCHI:
I’ve heard that the president has threatened to fire all of the US attorneies who won’t proceed with political prosecutions that his administration requests.
Oh, wait. Wrong president…
Mike in NC
So, Cooch loses Virginia governorship that fawning media had him a slam-dunk for. Then future Vice President Bob McDonnell goes down in flames for sleazy corruption scandal. Lastly, longtime RNC hack Ed Gillespie makes fantasy noises about running for the US Senate.
Is the head of the VA GOP on Suicide Watch yet?
jl
@scav:
” That’s exactly where we’re at in this country. A man can be arrested and indicted for alleged abuses. If anyone believes we are anymore a free people, I have some swampland I’d like to sell them. ”
You need to understand the GOP mind. If you are arrested or indicted, then you are an Evil Doer who definitely did something, the only question is what will help most in the next election.
So, I guess from their point of view, arrest and trial on mere allegations and evidence is a suspicious way to administer the justice system.
Villago Delenda Est
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.):
This is the Ed Meese legal theory of guilt: If you’re indicted for something, you must be guilty.
Unless, of course, you’re Ed Meese.
LanceThruster
He was only placing traffic cones.
BGinCHI
@jl: Surprised by the law, apparently.
Rich people are always aghast when shit applies to them.
Comrade Jake
WHY HASN’T OBAMA EVER BEEN INDICTED FOR THAT LOAN HE GIT FROM TONY REZKO?!?!?
Suffern ACE
@scav: we’re heading down the slippery slope where the police can question witnesses simply for being at a crime scene.
Villago Delenda Est
@Suffern ACE:
Well, look at it this way. WTF are any of these people doing at a crime scene? Why, they are INVOLVED in whatever crime was committed at that scene.
Lock them up forever in a dungeon. If they weren’t guilty, they wouldn’t have been there.
Kay
@gene108:
I think they do it because it makes them more important and influential and connected, like a “rainmaker”. He can RAISE 20,000.
That’s what it ended up being about in the Tom Noe case in Ohio, where he was trying to impress Bush II with his fundraising abilities when he was actually reimbursing the “donors”.
In a way you’re more of a big savvy player if it’s not your money, if you have people you can call who will donate.
TooManyJens
@jl: I was just going to say this. We’re talking about authoritarian followers who believe that if a person is arrested or indicted or, you know, beaten by cops, that person must have done something wrong. So of course to indict one of their own, who by definition is a Good Guy and can’t have done anything wrong, is an outrage.
scav
@jl: Mmmm, sudden random thought. Would they be totally on-board with police out on the financial streets constantly, stopping and frisking any and all potential overly friendly yet potentially misguided political donors for cash on their persons yet not in their name that might potentially be used in an inappropriate fashion? I hear it deters crime.
TOP123
Dinesh D’Douza ’83, Wendy Long ’82, and Kirsten Gillibrand ’88. That’s a lot of D’mouth 80’s era grads in one news story.
jl
@TooManyJens: Yes, that is one of the points I was trying to make.
As I said, it is a lucky thing that all the recent scandals involve at least one set of GOPers who unquestionably did straight up corrupt BS that cannot be denied. Whether they result in a conviction or not is why we have trials, but there is no question about the existence of good reason for serious criminal investigations.
Who was the Democrat representative who hid his crooked cash in the freezer, disguised as frozen pound cake or whatever? He looks like genius criminal mastermind compared to McD, D’Souza and at least some of Christie’s henchpeople.
Ash Can
This is the same guy who brought his girlfriend to some right-wing confab while he was still married, then made some noises about not thinking anyone would care when he was called on his bullshit. This is someone who lacks the intelligence of the average cinder block.
BGinCHI
@TOP123: Dartmouth was my safe school.
jl
@Ash Can:
” This is someone who lacks the intelligence of the average cinder block. ”
Well, he has been a popular conservative TV pundit, so… it fits.
Mike in NC
@Villago Delenda Est: Cannibal rats might feast on the corpse of dessicated Sarah Palin, but then again cannibal rats might have higher standards.
Jeffro
@BGinCHI: Copyright that for t-shirt purposes…
Baud
I predict the Roberts Court will invalidate campaign contribution limits in the 2016 case of D’Souza v. United States.
Petorado
Proof once again that election fraud does not come from minorities without proper ID, but from rich folks trying to cheat the system with their money.
srv
And Mark Steyn doesn’t understand why the DC court won’t dismiss a defamation suit against him because he accused a scientist of committing fraud and likened him to Jerry Sandusky. And then opined that all his judges needed help with hygiene.
Because the 1st Ammendment means no consequences.
Petorado
@Baud: I can see it now, Dinesh’s charge of making more than $10,000 of contributions in the names of others was actually a cappella free speech.
Suffern ACE
@srv: @srv: oh please let’s make sure the judge gets a copy.
Baud
It’s delightful, it’s delicious, it’s de-lovely, it’s D’Souza.
Villago Delenda Est
@srv:
Here’s hoping that Dr. Mann’s suit drives Steyn to the curb.
Which, upon reflection, is a move up for Steyn.
BillinGlendaleCA
@jl:
And get his car out of the farmer’s field.
Villago Delenda Est
More Noisemax idiocy:
IRS Hunts Hollywood’s Secret Conservatives
Probably not because they’re “conservative” but they’re using 501(c)3 for political purposes and to avoid being held responsible for those actions.
Oh, yeah, the closeted “conservatives” offered up as examples of “secret conservatives” are Gary Sinese, Kelsey Grammer, and Jon Voight, loud and proud wingtards, all.
Gin & Tonic
@Jim Foolish Literalist: Um, is that a good thing or a bad thing?
Suffern ACE
@Villago Delenda Est: what. Those guys are conservatives? They keep such low profiles.
jl
@Villago Delenda Est:
Kelsey Grammer might be involved in sketchy stuff?
Now, that is a crazy idea. I mean, you’d sooner see Justin Bieber up on drunk driving!
Edit: to be sure no ill intentions. I am a big fan of Grammer’s acting, but he himself in real life is about as crazy sketchy as any in show biz.
Edit: even as crazy and sketchy as some liberal actors!
Jim Foolish Literalist
@Gin & Tonic: I don’t judge. But it’s the best headline we’re gonna see till there are zombies or a captured Sasquatsch
Aimai
@srv: oh my god that is priceless.
Jim Foolish Literalist
@jl: an recovering junkie with a record of stripper fucking surpassed only by Charlie Sheen who made about a hundred million dollars playing the gay-vaguest character since Uncle Arthur has now aligned himself with the party of “Family Values”. I wonder if he’ll do a fund-raiser for David Vitter
Ripley
@Francis: Lighten up, um, Francis.
jl
@Jim Foolish Literalist: Grammer has seen The Horror first hand, and can testify luridly to the faithful. And from what I have seen of him in news, can just say whatever works for him at the moment without a care in the world, so that fits too. A very good match. I would not want the guy on my side politically (Edit: got enough problems with guys like Penn and similar), from what I’ve read about him in the news.
TOP123
@BGinCHI: Haha. Our river is nice, though. Well, my mother wanted me to go to U Chicago or Swarthmore, but I wanted the fresh outdoors… And didn’t realize how much of that time would actually be spent drinking Milwaukee’s Best…
TOP, D’about a decade after Kirsten NY(D)
jl
Canada is behind the deserted cruise ship infested with cannibal rats horror.
Time has come to do something about Canada. It’s clearly gone rogue.
Cannibal Rat-Infested Ghost Ship Headed For The UK?
http://screen.yahoo.com/broken-news-daily/rat-infested-ghost-ship-headed-224503964.html
bago
http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2014/01/23/seattle-police-confirm-person-of-interest-in-neighbours-arson-case-musab-mohamed-masmari
Man from Benghazi attempts to burn down gay club on nye
BGinCHI
@TOP123: Any chance you know one Jason Jones?
Jim Foolish Literalist
Is this about Lindsey Graham?
BGinCHI
@Jim Foolish Literalist: Everyone knows his favorite sandwich is a gay club on rye.
jl
@Jim Foolish Literalist: Or Issa. More of a pattern there.
El Caganer
@Villago Delenda Est: Interesting choice of word, considering its etymology. I think what I D’islike the most about D’Souza is the smarmy piety.
mai naem
I am stealing a comment from TPM – D’inny D’Douchebag dines on his own dung. D’oh!! – this made me laugh. And, DinDin does happen to have the most punchable face evah!
BruceFromOhio
Well, now, doesn’t that just shave the cat’s ass.
pseudonymous in nc
It’s actually a sign that D’Sleaza is pretty low on the wingnut welfare hierarchy these days that he couldn’t use the usual
money-launderingeducational funding mechanisms available to those higher up.Elizabelle
@BruceFromOhio:
I do love that expression.
I see it being useful in future life.
Elizabelle
@BruceFromOhio:
I do love that expression.
I see it being useful in future life.
Ken
@jl:
William Jefferson. And you’re right, hiding the cash showed he knew he’d be prosecuted if it was found. The way some of these guys act nowadays, it’s like they think the Justice Department would just wink and say, “Oh, since it’s you, Mr. D’Souza…”
Wonder how they got that idea?
mai naem
Now, DinDin can make a movie/mockumentary about Preet Bharara going after Wall Street criminals because of his anti-colonial attitude and how he’s a commie pinko who just wants to bring down the world’s most successful capitalists.
I am thinking the ex-wife reported him. Apparently it’s not an amicable divorce since the ex worked in GOP politics. The scumball probably tried to screw her financially during the divorce and he probably thought she was going to the meek little woman who wouldn’t do anything.
PaulW
If Drudge thinks this is Obama going after his enemies, why is Fox Not-News still broadcasting? FCC or FBI could be shutting that network down over questionable advertising rates or something…
mclaren
Is it possible? Could there be a God after all?
Nahhhhhhhhhh…this is just a setup for Ed Meese’s successful presidential run in 2016. After which he’ll pardon Dinesh and appoint him ambassador to India.
burnspbesq
@JPL:
Chelsea Manning got 35 years in the brig for a misguided act of friendship. Let’s see who on the right really believes in equal justice under law, and who’s a poseur.
burnspbesq
@poco:
A lot of white folks went down in the insider trading scandals. They mostly pled out to avoid paying for a trial they had no chance of winning.
burnspbesq
I find it deliciously ironic that he was bundling for a Dartmouth friend who was running against another Dartmouth alum (Gillibrand). One wonders what her reaction was when she heard about this.
danielx
Every so often one gets to do the backstroke through a river of schadenfreude, and this appears to be one of those occasions. And as I understand it, there are a lot of people doing time who “…did not act with any corrupt or criminal intent whatsoever.” Besides, this is the fuckin’ US Atty’s office for the Southern District of New York, which is like Cooperstown for US attorneys. If they didn’t think they had ol’ Dinesh with a good grip on his courting tackle, they wouldn’t have filed charges. One could almost feel sorry for the poor sonofabitch; if he never does a day of time or pays a penny in fines he’ll have to spend a metric shit ton of money for attorney fees. Plus – not so small added grief – he’s going to be pissing blood, figuratively speaking, and sweating blood every time the phone rings or the mail shows up for the next three years or so.
In other news, the Koch Bros (who have spent FSM knows how many multiples of Dinesh’s contribution towards political influence) are never ever going to be charged with anything whatsoever. Which is where they differ from what they would likely call a wog – they can afford to pay attorneys to tell them how to spend their money to do what they want to do, whereas D’Souza made a fairly transparent effort towards evading the law, which is not at all the same thing. If he’d had the Kochs’ legal resources, nobody would know nuffin’ about any campaign contributions to any friend of his.
burnspbesq
@mclaren:
Yes, there is a God, She sees what you’re doing, and She doesn’t approve.
SRW1
Can somebody explain how, given the background of Dinesh D’Souza, it is possible that Backpfeifengesicht is a German word?
FSM works in mysterious ways.
AxelFoley
Wow, first Christie, then McDonnell, then Walker, and now D’Souza.
Oh, this has been a good week. A very good week.
AxelFoley
@Comrade Jake:
I see what you d’id.
Higgs Boson's Mate
“They’re treating him like a criminal just because he broke the law.”
Bob h
Maybe it is true that Gov. Cuomo is driving conservatives out of NY.
Jay in Oregon
@scav:
Oh the horror, of being arrested and brought up on charges without a court determining your guilt beforehand!
Fucking due process, how does it work!?