Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

Republicans in disarray!

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Prediction: the GOP will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

I was promised a recession.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

Americans barely caring about Afghanistan is so last month.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

Bark louder, little dog.

The GOP couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

A Senator Walker would be an insult to the state and the nation.

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

You cannot shame the shameless.

The republican caucus is already covering themselves with something, and it’s not glory.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

“More of this”, i said to the dog.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Don’t You Be So Crude and Feckless

Don’t You Be So Crude and Feckless

by | 112 Comments

This post is in: 

Not to jump the gun, but maybe, just maybe, he’ll die in jail:

Federal agents executed a search warrant Wednesday at the Manhattan apartment of Rudy Giuliani, advancing a criminal investigation by federal prosecutors that has been underway for months, according to a person familiar with the matter. […]

It is unusual for prosecutors to execute a search warrant on a lawyer, although Manhattan federal prosecutors have done so before, most notably in recent years against another former lawyer for Trump, Michael Cohen.

That last sentence is a nice touch on the part of CNN.

ETA: This is a great point:

Reader Interactions

112Comments

  3. 3.

    Old School

    So this has to do with Ukraine?

    Edit: Clicking through the CNN articles, yes.

    Prosecutors are exploring the theory that Giuliani may have been engaged in undisclosed foreign lobbying for Ukrainian officials when he sought the ouster of the US ambassador and an investigation into the Bidens for his own personal benefit at the same time he was pursuing those efforts as Trump’s attorney, the people said.

  5. 5.

    trollhattan

    He been drinkin’ brew for breakfast.

    He’s so egotistical and detached from reality the next Fox appearance will be epic.

  7. 7.

    Four Seasons Total Landscaping mistermix

    @Old School: I burned a Times click to get more context:

    The investigation of Mr. Giuliani grew out of a case against two Soviet-born men who aided his mission in Ukraine to unearth damaging information about Mr. Biden and his son Hunter, who was on the board of a Ukrainian energy company. The prosecutors charged the two men, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, with unrelated crimes in late 2019 and a trial is scheduled for October.
    While investigating Mr. Giuliani, prosecutors have examined, among other things, his potential business dealings in Ukraine and his role in pushing the Trump administration to oust the American ambassador to Ukraine, which was the subject of testimony at Mr. Trump’s first impeachment trial.
    As he was pressuring Ukrainian officials to investigate the Bidens, Mr. Giuliani became fixated on removing the ambassador, Marie L. Yovanovitch, whom he saw as an obstacle to those efforts. At the urging of Mr. Giuliani and other Republicans, Mr. Trump ultimately ousted Ms. Yovanovitch.
    As part of the investigation into Mr. Giuliani, the prosecutors have explored whether he was working not only for Mr. Trump, but also for Ukrainian officials or businesses who wanted the ambassador to be dismissed for their own reasons, according to people briefed on the matter.

    Under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, it is a federal crime to try to influence or lobby the United States government at the request or direction of a foreign official without disclosing it to the Justice Department.

    https://www.justice.gov/nsd-fara/recent-cases is a fun read. Manafort got the max, 60 months, on a FARA conviction.

  8. 8.

    Mike in NC

    MSNBC right now: Feds Raid Giuliani Apt As Part Of Ukraine Probe

    Lock his ass up. Also seeing report of Trump Jr lying under oath.

  9. 9.

    germy

    Short story prompt:

    A thin line of black perspiration slides down Rudy’s forehead and drips onto his cellphone while he thinks of something to say.

  13. 13.

    Andrew

    His kid thinks he can be governor of New York.

    The delusional apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

  15. 15.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    restated from below….

     

    @koreandad
    Replying to
    @NatashaBertrand
    I’m sure they didn’t find a toothbrush
    12:07 PM · Apr 28, 2021·Twitter for Android

  16. 16.

    germy

    Nice thing about Billy Barr running interference to protect Rudy Giuliani for so long, I guess, is that NOW those devices will have proof of Rudy "colluding" with Jan 6 insurrectionists.

    — emptywheel (@emptywheel) April 28, 2021

  17. 17.

    Another Scott

    Here’s hoping justice is served on Rudy and all the rest.  Good and hard.

    In other news, ….

    As Gen. [Michael] Collins orbited the moon he was alone in the universe for 48 minutes out of 60. He wrote: "I am now truly alone and absolutely alone from any known life. I am it."

    But he later wrote of joy at the arousal of his senses. It was close to "exultation." https://t.co/fJ8pbocjUF

    — Richard M. Nixon (@dick_nixon) April 28, 2021

    An excellent remembrance thread.

    RIP.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  18. 18.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    “But I got rid of the Italian mob at the behest of the Russian mob, but I didn’t know it was worse, so……..”

  20. 20.

    Mary G

    NYT: Under Trump, senior political appointees in the Justice Department repeatedly sought to block such a warrant, slowing the investigation. After Merrick Garland was confirmed, the Justice Department lifted its objection to the search. https://t.co/mJl7HeQSUL— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) April 28, 2021

  24. 24.

    dmsilev

    @Mary G: I was glad to learn that the landscaping company managed to make bank on their unexpected fame, by selling T-shirts and similar.

  25. 25.

    Nicole

    Hey, remember when Queen Elizabeth knighted him?

    I was going to say that she should have taken her lead from us NYC’ers, who, when he tried to stay on as Mayor past his term, told him to get stuffed, but then again, NYC’ers were also the ones dumb and racist enough to elect him twice.

  26. 26.

    Jeffro

    If anyone’s interested, the current Fox News dot com homepage is the closest it’ll ever come to looking like a real news organization.  Rudy is the top story(!), followed by the Andrew Brown video and related issues, a slam on President Biden’s ‘cradle to grave’ soshulism or something, and then a tribute to astronaut Michael Collins, wrapping up with something dumb about Wheel of Fortune.

    So not actual ‘news’ news, but pretty close.  Stopped clocks and all that…

  28. 28.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Mike in NC: I haven’t seen anything on the Don Jr perjury aspect. Can you give a link?

    @Mary G: Interesting. I’m curious if the DOJ unblocked this after Biden took over, or after Garland took over. If the 2nd, that means Trump’s political DOJ minions continued to have a lot of power for some time into the Biden Administration.

  29. 29.

    Gravenstone

    @germy: Rudy believed he was invulnerable…

    And then his protection was voted out of office, without leaving him a pardon first. Poor fucker…

  34. 34.

    germy

    Perhaps I’m selfish, but I am worried how this story may interrupt my weekly enjoyment of Giuliani’s Common Sense podcast. Not sure how I will spend my free time if it is yanked.

    — Melinda Hudspeth (@HudspethMelinda) April 28, 2021

  35. 35.

    Jeffro

    @Baud: he’s continuing to troll Rudy by tweeting pics of G-men breaking down apartment doors

    L to the Ooooooooo L

  36. 36.

    germy

    If the search of Giuliani's electronics is about Ukraine, it is also possible, if not likely, that there will be evidence of his illegal collusion with New York FBI agents in 2016 that probably cost Clinton the election– and thus cost hundreds of thousands of lives to Covid.

    — Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) April 28, 2021

  38. 38.

    cain

    I hope “America’s Mayor” rolls on everything he’s done to get some clemency. Offer it so that he can burn Trump and other GOP people. I want to see him confess everything in regards to the Big Lie and all the other shit he’s done.

    Of course, Fox is talking about Hunter Biden again – lol – yo, that boat has long sailed you fucks.

  39. 39.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @germy: I’m sure he hired smart lawyers and accountants back in his post-9/11 heyday , but I’ve always thought that the books of Giuliani and Associates would be a true political crime treasure trove

  40. 40.

    wenchacha

    Here is hoping ol’ Rudy is as good at wiping his electronics as he is at choosing sites from which to make major announcements.

    He has had sufficient time to hide at least some tracks, but maybe his ego prevented it?

  42. 42.

    Wyatt Salamanca

    Rudy Ghouliani took great pleasure in staging perp walks for high profile criminal suspects.  I can’t wait to see this rotten bastard get his own perp walk.

  43. 43.

    Kay

    concerning his activities in Ukraine

    I always have to remind myself they did all this category of criming to stop Joe Biden.

    Which is just so great :)

  44. 44.

    Baud

    @Jeffro:

    He’s awesome.  I hope he doesn’t have any dirty secrets, because I don’t want to end up disappointed in my man-crush.

  45. 45.

    Another Scott

    It would be perfect if Sacha Baron Cohen had somehow been present at the raid/serving of the warrant.

    “She’s too old for you. Take me!!”

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  46. 46.

    Wyatt Salamanca

    @wenchacha:

    Here is hoping ol’ Rudy is as good at wiping his electronics as he is at choosing sites from which to make major announcements.

    Rudy couldn’t find his own ass with both hands, a map, and a GPS device.  He’s stone cold stupid.

  47. 47.

    Kay

    Trump should issue “a statement”

    I love the powerlessness of the statements. Like, that you have to “issue” one basically means you can’t do anything else :)

  48. 48.

    MisterForkbeard

    @germy: Oh, that’s interesting. I’m curious if that’s ‘wrong enough’ to get charged with perjury or making false statements.

    Basically, 4 years after the events in question he kept saying he had no involvement with things he had some involvement with. He could probably make an argument that he was just unintentionally wrong in his deposition, or that he didn’t rate what he did as “involvement”.

    The sort of stuff I would normally expect white collar criminals to get away with.

  50. 50.

    Kay

    Trump’s statements remind me of Michael in The Office declaring bankruptcy.

    “I declare bankruptcy”.

  52. 52.

    Fester Addams

    @wenchacha: Here is hoping ol’ Rudy is as good at wiping his electronics as he is at choosing sites from which to make major announcements.

    Well, he is a self-certified cybersecurity expert.  Even still, making digital communications go completely away can be very difficult.

  54. 54.

    Spanky

    @cain:

    I hope “America’s Mayor” rolls on everything he’s done to get some clemency.

    Not a chance. Arrogance stupidity is a hell of a drug.

  55. 55.

    hueyplong

    @wenchacha: Here is hoping ol’ Rudy is as good at wiping his electronics as he is at choosing sites from which to make major announcements.

    Surely we all assume he’s going to butt-wipe it.

  58. 58.

    Another Scott

    @hueyplong:

    Rudy should have used Red Vault!!1

    Red Vault Server and Storage of Pyongyang does not comply with search warrants of any foreign potentate, president, emir or king. Red Vault Server and Storage is guaranteed by the Korean Ministry of Technology. Accept no substitutes.

    Sponsored message.— DPRK News Service (@DPRK_News) April 28, 2021

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  60. 60.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    It would be irresponsible to speculate that Michael Cohen found a loophole in Judy Giuliani’s pre-nup and DNR and she filled up the back of her Range Rover with old receipts and drove them down to the SDNY offices on her way to meet with her literary agent

  61. 61.

    hueyplong

    @Another Scott: Ha ha, the tweeter who goes by the name of Mueller She Wrote says that it wouldn’t be surprising if genius Rudy deleted items to the trash bin but neglected to delete them from that, thereby earning himself an obstruction charge.

    Even a luddite like myself can chuckle at that.

  69. 69.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Baud: the third and most-recent ex Mrs Giuliani, became famous as Judith Nathan when, if memory serves, Rudi tried to move her into Gracie Mansion while the second (future ex) Mrs Giuliani and their school-aged children were still living there. Looks like the Rudi-Judi divorce was finalized in 2019

  72. 72.

    MisterForkbeard

    @hueyplong: Well, the trash bin empties itself after a period of time so this probably won’t trip him up too badly. Unless he went on a deletion spree in the last 30 days (which is the default value)

  75. 75.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @MisterForkbeard: If the 2nd, that means Trump’s political DOJ minions continued to have a lot of power for some time into the Biden Administration.

    It ain’t necessarily so. I’d conjecture that Preznit Uncle Joe left it the AG’s call so the Far Wrong couldn’t credibly screech about a vendetta. Not that they still won’t, but they got nothing to stand on.

    I’d love to see some judge sentence the elder Julie-Annie to a month…to be served with ziptied hands in the trunk of a vintage Coupe de Ville at the bottom of the East River. Only fitting for America’s Goombah…

  78. 78.

    Gin & Tonic

    Parnas and Fruman always struck me as the sort of guys who have an instinctual understanding of which side the bread is buttered on. If they haven’t been singing since Day 1, they’ve most certainly been singing their lungs out since about November 4 of last year.

  81. 81.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @debbie:

    Mr. Giuliani’s lawyer, Robert J. Costello, called the searches unnecessary because his client had offered to answer prosecutors’s questions, except those regarding Mr. Giuliani’s privileged communications with the former president.
    “What they did today was legal thuggery,” Mr. Costello said. “Why would you do this to anyone, let alone someone who was the associate attorney general, United States attorney, the mayor of New York City and the personal lawyer to the 45th president of the United States.”

    not a name I recognize

    if our Manhattan criminal defense attorney Jackal is lurking, maybe s/he’ll fill us in

  84. 84.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: “The searches are completely unjustified because my client offered to maybe answer some questions, possibly” is about the worst fucking defense I can think of.

    You know the thing about how As hire Bs, Bs hire Cs, and so on? What kind of lawyer does a F-grade lawyer like Rudy hire?

  86. 86.

    Cameron

    @MisterForkbeard:  I would have gone with Sidney Powell.  For me, “you didn’t really believe all that shit I was talking, did you?” has to be the greatest defense of all time.

  87. 87.

    Ken

    @germy: Nice.  You should consider entering the Bulwer-Lytton contest.  I am quite fond of the 1983 winner, by Gail Cain:

    The camel died quite suddenly on the second day, and Selena fretted sulkily and, buffing her already impeccable nails—not for the first time since the journey began—pondered snidely if this would dissolve into a vignette of minor inconveniences like all the other holidays spent with Basil.

  88. 88.

    JPL

    Victoria Toensing also had a search warrant executed on her hom

     

    Who is going to squeal first?

  92. 92.

    Ken

    @germy: “I never met Mr. X.”

    “Here are the pictures of you together, that you took and posted to your Facebook account, with the note ‘Great to be here with Mr. X, plotting the overthrow of the US government!'”

  93. 93.

    Keith P.

    From Redstate: We saw a lot of questionable action from federal authorities under the Obama Administration, including the targeting of people associated with the Trump campaign.

    They conveniently left out the part about more Trump campaign people targeted by authorities during the Trump Administration, too

  96. 96.

    Ken

    @germy: the feds executed the Giuliani search warrant on *two* locations: His Upper East Side apartment and a Park Avenue office building.

    I see the writers resisted the temptation to go for the obvious joke “His Upper East Side apartment, and that of his mistress.”

  97. 97.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Andrew C Laufer, Esq @lauferlaw 8m
    I was recently told by a source the following: “While the Giuliani raids are huge, a much bigger deal is the raid on Victoria Toensing’s home….That’s the one to watch.”

    I don’t know who Mr Laufer is, much less his source, so… FWIW

  99. 99.

    Jinchi

    @wenchacha: ​
     

    Here is hoping ol’ Rudy is as good at wiping his electronics as he is at choosing sites from which to make major announcements.

    I expect damning evidence against Rudy will ultimately be found on Hunter Biden’s laptop.

  101. 101.

    Bill Arnold

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:
    From the nytimes piece[1]:

    F.B.I. agents on Wednesday morning also executed a search warrant at the Washington-area home of Victoria Toensing, a lawyer close to Mr. Giuliani who had dealings with several Ukrainians involved in seeking negative information on the Bidens, according to people with knowledge of that warrant, which sought her phone.
    Ms. Toensing, a former federal prosecutor and senior Justice Department official, has also represented Dmitry Firtash, a Ukrainian oligarch under indictment in the United States whose help Mr. Giuliani sought.

    Federal Investigators Search Rudy Giuliani’s Apartment and Office – Prosecutors obtained the search warrants as part of an investigation into whether Mr. Giuliani broke lobbying laws as President Trump’s personal lawyer.

    (cookie remover plugin will reset the NYTimes counter with one click.)

  102. 102.

    Jinchi

    @Another Scott: ​

    As Gen. [Michael] Collins orbited the moon he was alone in the universe for 48 minutes out of 60. He wrote: “I am now truly alone and absolutely alone from any known life. I am it.”

    Like many astronauts, Mike Collins returned from his voyage with an extreme sense of the fragility of Earth and our need to take care of it.​

  105. 105.

    trollhattan

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    legal thuggery,” Mr. Costello said.

    What, I wonder, are Mr. Costello’s views of knockless warrants served in the middle of the night by cops in ninja outfits, body armor, guns drawn? Are those thuggery if the target isn’t the attorney of the 45th president?

  107. 107.

    hueyplong

    @trollhattan: His “legal thuggery” is what we call pounding the table.  It’s what you do when you don’t have anything else.

    [Either that or an AA was one of the agents who executed the warrant.  In FoxWorld, no white person can ever be a thug.]

  109. 109.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @hueyplong: Deleting items from the trash can doesn’t actually erase them. In reality, it just tells the computer that space on the storage device that was occupied by the deleted files is now available, and can be overwritten by new files.

    Depending on various factors, especially time, deleted files (or fragments thereof) can be recovered. And I’d assume that the FBI’s computer forensic geeks are very, very good at doing so.

  110. 110.

    Woodrow/asim

    @Sister Golden Bear: Seconded. As a former tech support person, I used to have a disk of undelete tools, just to save the hash of people who deleted some report for their boss.
    Recovering deleted files has been around for a very long time, and I agree that the FBI will have the best tools to-hand for that job.​

  112. 112.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    HOLY FUCK!

    Michael Collins passed away (Apollo 11 astronaut).

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