Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

SCOTUS: It’s not “bribery” unless it comes from the Bribery region of France. Otherwise, it’s merely “sparkling malfeasance”.

Shut up, hissy kitty!

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

The real work of an opposition party is to oppose.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

This chaos was totally avoidable.

Every decision we make has lots of baggage with it, known or unknown.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

The unpunished coup was a training exercise.

White supremacy is terrorism.

The desire to stay informed is directly at odds with the need to not be constantly enraged.

Since we are repeating ourselves, let me just say fuck that.

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

Hey hey, RFK, how many kids did you kill today?

No one could have predicted…

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

So fucking stupid, and still doing a tremendous amount of damage.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Request for a Meeting to Talk About the Logistics of Possibly Arresting Donald Trump, Depending on What the Secret Service Says

Request for a Meeting to Talk About the Logistics of Possibly Arresting Donald Trump, Depending on What the Secret Service Says

by | 161 Comments

This post is in: 

Progress!  Not exactly a huge Friday news dump, but I’ll take it!

https://twitter.com/MuellerSheWrote/status/1636855296495869952?s=20

Interesting that the Secret Service still has any credibility at all – after no (apparent) housecleaning after at least some of the Secret Service agents were shown to be corrupt in service to T****.

Seriously, though, it does seem like T**** will be indicted next week.

Step by step, inch by inch.

Dumb question for the lawyers.  Whenever someone is indicted, does that mean that they are necessarily arrested?

Oh, and very happy to see this from the International Criminal Court.

AMSTERDAM, March 17 (Reuters) – The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant on Friday against Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine.

The bold legal move will obligate the court’s 123 member states to arrest Putin and transfer him to The Hague for trial if he sets foot on their territory.

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

161Comments

  2. 2.

    dmsilev

    Given all the shit he’s done over all his life, the thought that what he might finally get indicted for is related to payoffs to a porn star is weird. Like Al Capone, only much more so.

  3. 3.

    ColoradoGuy

    Putin and T**** on St. Pat’s day! And the source of CV19 turns out to be international trade in a banned animal, hidden on a secret DNA database.

    Interesting that all three have to do with illicit activities, hidden from sight, with lotsamoney involved.

  7. 7.

    Ruckus

    @dmsilev:

    I’ll take whatever it takes to make it happen. He’s been a blight on humanity for over 7 decades.

    And BTW I vote for handcuffs. Behind the back. Someone wants to be a criminal, someone needs cuffs – behind the back.

  8. 8.

    Snarki, child of Loki

    Is DeSatan preparing to do a SWATing of TFG, in the hopes there’s a live-fire ‘oopsie’ that clears his way to the Presidency?

    “Eaten by alligators while trying to escape” would also be a good option.

  9. 9.

    Mike in NC

    In any other country a traitor like Trump would have been apprehended on January 7th, 2021. Yet he’s still walking around and raising millions from the deplorables. Sick.

  11. 11.

    kindness

    The luck of the Irish, eh?  Trump & Putin being sought for tribunals on the same day.  OK, just thought about wrt Trump.  Humor me some here

    @Snarki, child of Loki: Oh for a pic of that alligator with one of Trump’s legs sticking out it’s mouth.  We’d make that gator King For A Day!

  14. 14.

    cmorenc

    If trump is in florida, will desantis facilitate or resist extraditing trump to ny?  These are ny state charges.

  17. 17.

    CaseyL

    Any video of TFG being perp-walked will become the Most Viewed Video Ever.

    I alone may watch it a few hundred times.

  18. 18.

    karen marie

    @zhena gogolia:

    Peru made pretty short work of it.

    Peru’s president, Pedro Castillo, has been removed from office and detained on charges of “rebellion” after he announced he would shutter congress and install a “government of exception” – just hours before he was due to face an impeachment vote.

    The public prosecutor’s office confirmed late on Wednesday that Castillo had been arrested and charged with allegedly “breaching constitutional order”, after he was accused of an attempted coup and seen fleeing the presidential palace.

    Earlier in the day, the country’s national police tweeted that “former president” Castillo had been detained, shortly after congress voted to remove him.

     

    Honduras isn’t fucking around either.

    On February 15th, just 19 days after he left office as his country’s all-powerful president, Juan Orlando Hernández was arrested at his mansion in Tegucigalpa and taken away in handcuffs. The arrest was in response to an extradition request from prosecutors in New York who have charged him with taking part in a violent conspiracy to export 500 tonnes of cocaine to the United States since 2004.

    I’d continue but I’m too busy checking my pantry for champagne to put in the fridge.

  22. 22.

    Baud

    If the logistics meeting is next week, it might still be a while longer before the arrest happens.

  24. 24.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @CaseyL:

    Trump won’t being doing any perp walks & that’s fine. I don’t like “perp walks” anyway. He’ll have to be booked on charges that come his way, but he doesn’t necessarily have to be “arrested” in the colloquial sense. His attyss) will be contacted & his appearance will be arranged.

  25. 25.

    karen marie

    @Baud:  True, but suggesting that other countries don’t arrest their criminal politicians in a timely manner is not accurate.

  26. 26.

    Roger Moore

    @Snarki, child of Loki: ​
     

    Is DeSatan preparing to do a SWATing of TFG, in the hopes there’s a live-fire ‘oopsie’ that clears his way to the Presidency?

    It’s an amusing thought, but SWATing someone who has a Secret Service escort is unlikely to achieve the desired effect.

  27. 27.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @HumboldtBlue: There’s a great quote about how stupid it would be for Trump to defy this, in that article, but I can’t seem to copy/paste it.

  28. 28.

    smith

    Unlikely he’ll be cuffed or perp-walked, but he will be photographed. How long will it take for his mug shots to be leaked? I see many creative poster opportunities.

  32. 32.

    karen marie

    @Alison Rose:   I want video from the courtroom when he’s asked to enter his plea.  I want to see the flopsweat on that motherfucker as he stands in front of a judge.

  36. 36.

    HumboldtBlue

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    This one?

    He’s repeatedly attacked the Manhattan investigation over the years and was found in contempt of court for refusing to comply with subpoenas in a different case brought by the New York State Attorney General’s office. It’s easy to imagine him defying the legal process and remaining home at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
    “It would just be, in my opinion, like the epitome of stupid,” Bachner said. “But I do agree that Trump has at times certainly exhibited conduct that many of us would characterize as stupid.”
    If Trump doesn’t show up voluntarily, he’ll be extradited. While the nuances of extradition may slightly differ between states, there’s no legal way to defy it entirely. Interstate extradition is required by Article 4, Section 2 of the US Constitution. Forcing an extradition process also means Trump could spend hours or days in jail as the process plays out.
    “The indictment and the charges are not going to go away,” Tamara Holder, a Florida-based attorney and legal commentator, told Insider. “This is an early stage of a criminal proceeding, and it’s very important that you present yourself to the court early on as somebody who’s going to fight the case and not fight the extradition.”

  38. 38.

    Aussie Sheila

    @sdhays: But not in any recognisable democracy. Prosecuting former leaders in accordance with  the law is not unique. See France, for example. It’s just that sometimes, some usaians mistake a President for a monarch.

  43. 43.

    karen marie

    @Alison Rose:   First, she’s trash.  It’s too late for her reputation to recover from her association.  Second, I don’t see her divorcing him when she’ll get more as his widow, even if his nasty kids try to play games with the estate.  She lives separately from him even if they reside on the same property.  Why would she fuck with what’s been working?

  48. 48.

    SpaceUnit

    Maybe they’ll accidentally bang his head on the roof of the squad car before they haul him away.

    Just like he suggested.

  51. 51.

    Jeffro

    Bottle of bubbly in the garage fridge (where it has lain for far, far too long): check

    Special “Dirty F**ker” t-shirt with trump’s scowling face on it (courtesy of singer Dave Hause), clean, pressed, and on top of the dresser, ready for action: Check

    Liberal leave policy/excuse note/well-rehearsed fake cough if necessary ready at a moment’s notice: CHECK!!!1!

    I might have a hard time sleeping tonight…Braggmas is coming!  And you know what comes after Braggmas, right?  Willismas!!  And after THAT (cue ominous sound effect): SMITHMAS!!!

  53. 53.

    Baud

    @Jeffro:

    Liberal leave policy/excuse note/well-rehearsed fake cough if necessary ready at a moment’s notice: CHECK!!!1!

     
    LOL.

    “Sorry, boss. Can’t come in. I’ve got shit-eating grin syndrome. Highly contagious.”

  54. 54.

    bbleh

    Okay to be serious, *IF* this happens, and I admit this makes it look suddenly much more likely, then I’d guess it will be done very discreetly, surrendering voluntarily, brought in through some secure basement entrance, no cuffs or perp walk or anything.

    BUT, there will have to be a booking and a mug shot.  And that mug shot will be … the shot seen ’round the world!™

  55. 55.

    Jeffro

    @CaseyL:Any video of TFG being perp-walked will become the Most Viewed Video Ever.

    Between that, SB LVII highlights, and the occasional concert video, I may never get up from my computer again.

  56. 56.

    Hkedi

    So what are the odds that Trump tries to flee to another country without an extradition treaty with the USA?   Of course that would probably mean he would have to slip or suborn his SS detail….

    Edit:  BONUS!  if he does flee the country, where do you think he lands up?

  58. 58.

    Jeffro

    @SpaceUnit: I had forgotten that gem!

     

    “When you see these thugs being thrown into the back of a paddy wagon, you just seen them thrown in, rough. Please don’t be too nice,’” trump said.

  60. 60.

    HumboldtBlue

    @Gin & Tonic:

    This is… wow! Purdue is a good team, but FDU have had their number. Jersey gave us St. Peter’s last year, now they give us Teaneck’s FDU.

  61. 61.

    Alison Rose

    @Hkedi: Well, his mom was from Scotland, but they hate him there. Other than russia, I don’t know what country would want him. Where was it that he did the weird glowing-orb-groping thing?

  65. 65.

    Jeffro

    OT but for the epicurious: if you wanna make the Red Hen rigatoni that the Bidens dared to double-order a week ago, here’s the recipe.

    (Note: recipe does not include a note to “serve to one person and only one person per table…or else”)

  66. 66.

    prostratedragon

    As I said, Purdue was pretty brittle. FDU played very well, and congratulations to them. (Think I just saw the wife of Purdue’s coach conceding the point.)

  67. 67.

    HumboldtBlue

    @HinTN:

    Actually, a second. U Maryland Baltimore County was a 16-seed who knocked off Virginia at No.1 in 2018. Last year it was 15-seed St. Peter’s that had a great run and our family loved it cuz mom was a Jersey City native.

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Old Fairly Ridiculous.

    Indeed.

    @Jeffro:

    Except for fennel pollen, that’s pretty much my recipe. What the fuck is fennel pollen?

  69. 69.

    Sure Lurkalot

    Part of me wishes the fuckhead would flee, never to step foot in the US again. He doesn’t give a rat’s ass about this country and he and his evil spawn should all relocate to Saudi Arabia or Russia or whoever will abide their putrid presence.

  70. 70.

    Frank Wilhoit

    1. There are a few situations — very few — where it actually makes sense to telegraph the punch.  Is this one?
    2. Trump has a stunt double, who stood in for him on several occasions — notably the press footage of “Trump” leaving the White House to go to Walter Reed during the pandemic.  The only way to tell them apart is that Trump has very pronounced curvature of the upper spine and the double does not.
  71. 71.

    Another Scott

    @smith: Aren’t mug shots public records?  Why would they need to be “leaked”?

    I expect the press to have the mug shots within a few hours, at most.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  72. 72.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Frank Wilhoit:

    There are a few situations — very few — where it actually makes sense to telegraph the punch. Is this one?

    I am guessing this is one of the situations where it is legally necessary to telegraph the punch.  You cannot arrest a former president without going through his Secret Security detail.  That means he knows it’s coming ahead of time.

  73. 73.

    Amir Khalid

    @Aussie Sheila:

    Here in Malaysia, we have one former PM doing 12 years and still being tried on more charges. And we have another former PM just charged last week with taking bribes and laundering money. But the Barisan Nasional had to be booted from power for that to happen.

  74. 74.

    dmsilev

    @HumboldtBlue: Thankfully, the Post food writers have you covered:

    If you want to get the full restaurant experience of the dish, I highly recommend springing for the fennel pollen, which is most readily available online. It comes from the same plant as the dried seeds and fresh bulbs but is harvested from the blossoms that form on the fennel fronds. “It is a unique flavor profile” that channels the Mediterranean, Friedman says, lending depth generated by a blend of savory and floral notes. If you get a jar, he recommends using it in salad dressings and spice rubs for roasted meat, fish and vegetables.

    Sounds like a nice enough pasta dish, but I’m not sure I’d spring for the jar of pollen just for that.

  75. 75.

    RaflW

    @Baud: True. But he’s not living in, say, a Florianópolis, BR, faux-mediterranean hamburger joint with outrageous service charges and lots of tatty weddings.
    (I doubt Florianópolis has such a distasteful and gauche establishment – just pointing out that Jair and Don are housemates because the former knows he’s extremely not welcome to meddle in Brazilian politics while on her soil.)

  76. 76.

    Wapiti

    @HumboldtBlue: I have some volunteer fennel. They have a lot of flowers in season, and one can put a paper bag over the flowers and tap them a bit to knock the pollen loose.

    I used the pollen once in some dish with fennel, but frankly didn’t notice any different flavor.

  77. 77.

    cain

    @CaseyL: Ironically, it will likely be Fox News that will get all the ratings – liberals watching Fox news have their mind blown and angry Trumper’s going there to hear what Russian propaganda to repeat.

    Trump will out himself as a messiah under duress and will call for his people to rise up and elect him president even if he is in jail.

    The stupid fucker will likely win the primary beating all the other GOP candidates while still in jail.

  79. 79.

    Captain C

    @Hkedi:

    So what are the odds that Trump tries to flee to another country without an extradition treaty with the USA?   Of course that would probably mean he would have to slip or suborn his SS detail….

    Edit:  BONUS!  if he does flee the country, where do you think he lands up?

    Or do we wind up with an O.J. Simpson-style chase with TFG on his golf cart?

  81. 81.

    Ihop

    I remember Jim traficant’s mugshot. He had to remove his toupee. Is it too much to ask that the orangefuckbag must reveal himself, truly and utterly?

    It won’t change much, Roy cohn taught him to fight everyone, and he and his will…

    But, fuck that rancid fucking crapbag.

  82. 82.

    WaterGirl

    @Jeffro: Seriously? That’s a thing?  That couples can’t both order the same dish?  what’s that about and who gives a fuck what other people order?

    Is this worse than the arugula?  And didn’t Obama order the wrong drink once?

  85. 85.

    japa21

    And in regard to the tournament, there are no perfect brackets remaining on the ESPN tournament.

  86. 86.

    RaflW

    @Alison Rose: The House of Saud has certainly invested several billion into his son-in-law. Wouldn’t they be hospitable?

    The cynic in me thinks the Saudis ordered upwards of 100 brand new Boeing 787s for their two Kingdom-owned airlines this past week as a shitty manipulation to be sure their special relationship with the US on, uhhh, other matters doesn’t sour too much.

  87. 87.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @cain:

    The stupid fucker will likely win the primary beating all the other GOP candidates while still in jail.

    He can’t campaign in jail.  No rallies.  No debates.  Very few interviews.  No makeup, and Trump really, really depends on makeup.  A candidate does not live on PAC ad spending alone.

  89. 89.

    SpaceUnit

    I was just reading about this on NBC’s website, and they’re oddly vague about the possible charges.  The story references hush money but not any specific statute or crime.

    Any lawyers here who might suggest what the actual charges might be?

  92. 92.

    Alison Rose

    @WaterGirl: Yeah, apparently a bunch of people got all up in their feelings about how gauche it was for them to order the same dish. This is what counts as a scandal under Biden, I guess.

  93. 93.

    dmsilev

    @WaterGirl: Some writer for the Post tried to make it a thing. Clickbait, basically; there were several thousand, mostly negative, comments on the article when I looked.

  94. 94.

    Jeffro

    @HumboldtBlue:Except for fennel pollen, that’s pretty much my recipe. What the fuck is fennel pollen?

    It appears to be bullshit…er excuse me, there actually IS such a thing,…but you can just grind fennel seeds to get most of the same flavor effect.

    Nickel bet says that’s what Red Hen does, and they just wave a teeny-tiny vial of *actual* fennel pollen over each dish, for funsies.

  95. 95.

    Jeffro

    @Frankensteinbeck:You cannot arrest a former president without going through his Secret Security detail.

    Whole new frontiers of discovery with the orange clown – isn’t it amazing!  Paying off porn stars to keep quiet about their affairs, trying to bribe our allies into ginning up fake dirt on presidential rivals, and before we’re done, a whole “how to” manual on arresting former POTUSs.

    Truly the gift that keeps on grifting giving, eh GOP?

  96. 96.

    HumboldtBlue

    @SpaceUnit:

    Ultimately, from what my dumbass can divine, the charges will be coincident with the James investigation. This provides some insight.

    Cohen previously pleaded guilty to a federal criminal campaign charge related to making the payment to Daniels, which he has said Trump directed him to do to avoid harming his chances of winning the White House in 2016.

    That crime is the hinge of what could be the prosecution of Trump in state Criminal Court in Manhattan.

    Companies are barred by New York state law from misclassifying the nature of expenses, such as, theoretically, calling the reimbursement to Cohen for the Daniels payment “legal expenses.”

    Violating that law can result in a misdemeanor charge. But that can be raised to a felony if the misstatement is done to cover up another crime.

  97. 97.

    Jeffro

    @Steeplejack: that’s good!

    The “BYEDON” people (‘bye, Don’ – get it?) who I ordered my 2020 shirt from need to get a whole new line out.

    All in orange, of course, with just his ugly mug looking out from behind bars printed on the front.

    Or one with Uncle Joe pulling down his aviators so he can wink from his Corvette.

  98. 98.

    Jeffro

    @WaterGirl: AR’s got you in a sec…

    @Alison Rose: …thanks!

    For what it’s worth, it was fun office and dinner-table talk for a day or two.  The Fro family is 50/50 on this: me and Froette always try something new and split dishes; Mrs. Fro and Fro Jr rarely stray from favorite dishes (if it’s a place we’ve been before) or their usual favored types of food (if it’s a new place).

    Fro Jr. has had chicken – and only chicken – so many different ways that he really is kind of an authority on the subject, LOL.

  103. 103.

    RaflW

    My partner and I have a whole schtick we do called “You got the better entrée.” If, say, I went for a walk in the morning in the rain because I read the forecast and believed it would rain all day, and BF waits and tah-dah the sun comes out for his walk, I’ll ruefully say “Ahh, you got the better entrée.”

    It’s all predicated on some relatively early dating experiences in restaurants and us ordering different things and having decidedly mixed results from the kitchens. These days, if we are both tempted by the same thing, we typically just go for it, or if there’s a close runner-up, we’ll agree to order one of each and share.

  104. 104.

    Matt McIrvin

    Crap, if Putin ever gets deposed he’s going to flee to the United States, isn’t he?

  105. 105.

    Snarki, child of Loki

    Trump could try fleeing to Russia, where Putin would give him a tour of scenic Moscow balconies, and find out whether Trump is truly a “flight risk”.

  106. 106.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Frank Wilhoit:

    The audience for this leak is not Trump himself

    You asked about whether it made sense to telegraph the punch.  Trump is the person receiving the punch, the only person for whom that metaphor is relevant.  Does it make sense to let the audience know what move you’re about to use?  Way, way more vague and circumstantial question.  Since Trump will know, they probably don’t want him to leak the information his way, whatever lying chaos monkey way that would turn out to be.

  107. 107.

    lurker

    This has probably been covered sufficiently, but for those wondering about an arrest – Whenever a criminal defendant starts the court process, typically with an initial hearing where a plea is expected, there is some sort of arrest/booking process involved.  It might be a day or two before it, depending on exact circumstances, but part of what the fourth amendment requires is that you appear before a magistrate (basically a judge) within about 48 hours or being arrested.  That is where the idea in a lot of cop shows that they have to cut someone loose after holding them for a day or so comes into play.  The standards are a little loosey-goosey, but a defendant with a good and aggressive lawyer can get any defendant out within hours of an arrest during the day in a major metro area and at least sometime the next day for a truly after-hours arrest.

     

    Here, you have a bunch of extra layers of protocol to deal with, mainly due to the presence of the secret service.  So yeah, he would go through some sort of booking process, but the secret service is not going to let this be a public spectacle which would invite someone to take a shot at their protectee.

     

    As to booking photos being public records, not sure that is uniform from one jurisdiction to the next.  Booking photos get released in all sorts of circumstances where they need not have been public records – the police might release them as part of an attempt to apprehend someone for a different crime, even though the photos were not otherwise something that the public had a right to see.

  109. 109.

    lurker

    @RaflW: knew someone who went through a relationship where the gf tended to order well and the bf often chose poorly, resulting in the bf regularly wanting to share her entree, and occasionally causing problems along the lines of the gf not getting enough to eat.  seemed like an interesting and odd problem to have.

     

    for myself, I tend to wait to see what others order and try not to duplicate.  I also often make my kids try my food (they are teens) and get some real resentment at times.  Along the lines of ‘I ordered what I wanted, you eat your food’ where my response is something like ‘you get to try a bite so you know whether you might want it some other time.’

  110. 110.

    lurker

    @Alison Rose: university of Idaho could use the publicity … they could have Putin as a visiting scholar of some sort, or at least a guest lecturer, probably one who never took any questions.

  112. 112.

    Alison Rose

    @lurker: Does he even speak English? I’m honestly not sure. Maybe he would lecture through an interpreter who would then “edit” any student questions into something more appealing to him.

  115. 115.

    MisterForkbeard

    @lurker: My wife tends to like my dishes more (and always has) but she also doesn’t like sharing food.

    So it works out, I guess.

  116. 116.

    Hkedi [Kang T. Q.]

    @Snarki, child of Loki: Well eventually yes.  But I’m sure Putin would stick him in front of the english version of RT to stir up unrest in the US until Trump outlives his usefulness one way or another.

  118. 118.

    Suzanne

    @lurker: knew someone who went through a relationship where the gf tended to order well and the bf often chose poorly, resulting in the bf regularly wanting to share her entree, and occasionally causing problems along the lines of the gf not getting enough to eat.  seemed like an interesting and odd problem to have.

    For much of my dating life, I was vegetarian. I dated a couple of dudes who were disappointed to learn that when we went to a restaurant the first time. I’ve met some people who say that they don’t want to date vegetarians because they want to share food at restaurants. I always objected on two grounds. The first being why do you feel pre-entitlement to my food? Even if I did eat meat…. Eat your own food. And the second is that it never seems to dawn on some people that they can eat vegetables it’s allowed.

  119. 119.

    Mai Naem mobile

    I have a feeling the judge in Texas is going to presenta ruling to restrict/abolish the abortion pill when the TFG stuff goes down because all eyes will ofcourse be on TFG.

  120. 120.

    Soprano2

    @Hkedi: He won’t do that because he thinks he hasn’t done anything wrong; fleeing would be admitting he was guilty.

  121. 121.

    Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg

    @RaflW:

    I order what I want. She orders what she wants. We might share a bite (as in “you’d love this) but generally don’t pick each others plates.

    Only exception is dessert – I tend to want it, but she hates my choices, makes me order what she wants so she can “have a bite” – and  it makes the whole dessert thing terrible for me, LOL.

  122. 122.

    Mai Naem mobile

    I would love a perp walk but I think you’re playing into TFG’s hands with that with his stupid victim games. You probably wind up his fans who aren’t the most stable people in the world even more.

  124. 124.

    Roberto el oso

    @Soprano2: You’re probably right about his thinking, but there’s another scenario in which he triples down on the idea that he’s being persecuted and decides to go into exile, a la De Gaulle (although someone would have to explain the analogy to him). He would then send back messages to his ‘resistance’ forces via Truth Social, just like BBC’s ‘London Calling’ program during WWII … so, truly the 2nd time as farce.

  125. 125.

    Gravenstone

    I think this is all calculated to cause Trump to stroke out mid-rant about all the “unfairness” of the “witch hunt” of (insert endless stream of self-aggrandizing adjectives here). As long as it happens on camera, I say bring it on!

  128. 128.

    Carlo Graziani

    @karen marie:

    True, but suggesting that other countries don’t arrest their criminal politicians in a timely manner is not accurate.

    I think that the useful distinction here is “legal process.” I know how frustrating it has been for everyone to wait for Manhattan DA, and NY AG, and Fulton County, and DOJ to get to this point, and how little faith went around that any of it would matter. But when those slow-grinding wheels of Justice start yanking him in by his tie, there is a lot more credibility to the notion that it is a process that brought him down, rather than a change in the political winds.

    And ultimately, it is vitally important for our nation’s survival that this should be the case. We are a nation of laws. We need a reason to love this country despite its failings, and that is it.

  129. 129.

    ...now I try to be amused

    @Snarki, child of Loki:

    Trump could try fleeing to Russia, where Putin would give him a tour of scenic Moscow balconies, and find out whether Trump is truly a “flight risk”.

    Like Monty Python’s ‘Arold the Clever Sheep, Trump would not so much fly as plummet.

  131. 131.

    Carlo Graziani

    @HumboldtBlue:

    Except for fennel pollen, that’s pretty much my recipe. What the fuck is fennel pollen?

    As it happens, I have some in my pantry. It’s extremely expensive, but, as Jimmy Buffet says, “A little dab’ll do ya.” It’s intended to solve the problem that wild fennel, a grass frond weed which grows uncontrolled by Sicilian highways, and which is an essential ingredient in classic porchetta (Italian whole, deboned pig roast) is essentially unobtainable in the US. I use it in pork roasts, weeping at the expense, but YOLO.

    Putting it in a tomato-sausage sauce is imbecilic. Grinding fennel seed would be competely adequate, and I’d bet that the addition of fennel pollen would not be discernible in a blind taste test. That chef has his head up his ass.

  132. 132.

    Another Scott

    Meanwhile, … France24.com:

    Widespread rejection of French President Emmanuel Macron’s planned pension overhaul was a key factor in his failure to win a parliamentary majority following his re-election last year. His decision to ram through his deeply unpopular reform, without a vote, turns an already festering dispute into a political and institutional crisis.

    At the height of Thursday’s extraordinary political drama, shortly after the government announced it would force through its contentious pension reform amid a huge fracas in parliament, protesters began to converge on the sprawling Place de la Concorde in central Paris, a mere bridge away from the heavily guarded National Assembly.

    […]

    “When you have millions of people out in the streets protesting for weeks, it’s unfathomable that a government should feel entitled to use the 49.3,” he said, referring to the special measure used by the government to bypass parliament, named after Article 49.3 of the French Constitution.

    “It’s a constitutional putsch,” George added. “It cannot pass, it must not pass!”

    […]

    “A vote in the National Assembly was the government’s only chance of securing a measure of legitimacy for its reform,” she said as police began clearing Place de la Concorde. “Now it has a full-blown crisis on its hands.”

    Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne’s minority government is hardly the first to use Article 49.3, which has been triggered 100 times since 1962. Seldom, however, has it been used to ram through a reform of such scope and so vehemently rejected by the public.

    At the heart of the pension overhaul is a contentious plan to raise the country’s minimum retirement age from 62 to 64 and stiffen requirements for a full pension, which the government says is required to balance the books amid shifting demographics.

    Unions, however, say the proposed measures are profoundly unfair, primarily affecting low-skilled workers who start their careers early and have physically draining jobs, as well as women with discontinuous careers. They have called for a ninth day of mass strikes and protests next Thursday, invigorated by the widespread shock and anger that followed the government’s move to bypass parliament.

    “This reform is outrageous, punishing women and the working class, and denying the hardship of those who have the toughest jobs,” said Neiva Cardante, whose parents – a bricklayer and a cleaner – “are among those who stand to lose most”.

    The perceived inequity of Macron’s pension reform has touched a raw nerve in a country that has the word “égalité” (equality) enshrined in its motto. Talk of its unfairness has been a key driver of the mass protests that brought millions to the streets in cities, towns and villages across the country, drawing from well beyond the ranks of the left.

    Polls have consistently shown that more than two thirds of the country oppose the government’s plans. A broad majority of the French has also expressed support for strikes that have disrupted schools, public transport and rubbish collection, burying the streets of Paris – the world’s most visited city – under stinking piles of trash.

    […]

    Antoine Bristielle, a public opinion expert at the Fondation Jean-Jaures think tank, said enacting such an important law without a parliamentary vote would further antagonise the country and deepen anti-Macron sentiment, with memories of the Yellow Vest insurgency still vivid. He pointed to an Ifop poll this week showing that roughly eight out of 10 people opposed legislating in this way, including a majority of voters who backed Macron in the first round of last year’s presidential election.

    “The 49.3 is perceived as a symbol of brutality, with the potential to erode support both for the government and democratic institutions,” he said, adding that surveys had revealed increasing resentment of governments perceived as ignoring the public.

    “People cannot understand why a bill that is so overwhelmingly rejected by voters would be forced through anyway,” Bristielle explained. “This disconnect between legislators and the popular will is no longer acceptable. Voters are no longer content with delegating power for five years.”

    […]

    I guess Macron is going to learn the hard way that he’s not king.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  133. 133.

    Ken

    @Jeffro: I realize that recipe link is to the Post, and on-line at that, but one of my pet peeves is recipe sites where I have to scroll through four pages of the writer chattering about nothing in particular, intermixed with random video ads, before I get to the ingredients and instructions.

    (Another peeve is that a lot of sites copy one another’s recipes. The chatter may be to hide that.)

  135. 135.

    different-church-lady

    @Ken: “Hi! I’m Ashley. A mom and a neurosurgeon who loves to bake tasty non-organic treats for her local group of…”

  136. 136.

    Steeplejack

    @Ken:

    Four lines down from the first paragraph of that Post article is a “Jump to the recipe” link.

    Some sites are good about that, some aren’t.

  140. 140.

    Another Scott

    Reading the ol’ three-fingers pudding story I am reminded that there is no precedent, none whatsoever, for a prospective GOP nominee who performs well in Florida yet withers on the national stage due to a lack of charisma and inability to withstand relentless assaults from Trump. pic.twitter.com/s1TbwdFYb6

    — Adam Jentleson (@AJentleson) March 17, 2023

    Oh, yeah. Him. Kinda forgot about him.

    ;-)

    (via nycsouthpaw)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  141. 141.

    lurker

    @ExpatchadPutin has become Stalin, the destroyer of worlds:Very cool fact about your uncle.

     

    have a close relative who graduated from UI and is very conservative, although not a magat.  my sense from relatives still in Idaho is that there are plenty of conservative students and alumni.

    However, the idea that the gem of the mountains would invite Putin was merely a play on the earlier comment about him being invited to Moscow.  I doubt there are more than a handful of nominal institutions of higher learning that would go in that direction in the US at this point, and the few that might are likely full-blown rightwing schools (e.g. Liberty, Bob Jones, Hillsdale [?]) rather than anything with a shred of credibility.

  144. 144.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Soprano2:

    He won’t do that because he thinks he hasn’t done anything wrong

    But he does believe that people are persecuted and prosecuted because of personal hate that has nothing to do with the crimes they’re accused of.  It’s his primary worldview, in fact.  He believes his own actions are perfect.  That won’t stop him from fleeing.

    A compulsive need to scream about how he’s being unfairly persecuted might.

  145. 145.

    Steeplejack

    @different-church-lady:

    The physical magazines may be gone, but we live in a golden age of recipe and technique content on the Web. And the demonstrations on YouTube!

    There’s a lot of crap out there, but a lot of everything is crap. Finding the good stuff can take effort, but it’s out there. And there’s a ton of it.

  146. 146.

    hotshoe

    @dmsilev:

     

    @Carlo Graziani:

    not sure I understand why “wild fennel” would be unobtainable in the US. Grows everywhere around here, invasive.

    Foeniculum vulgare (not the selected variety with the crunchy base which people cut up sort of like celery) — the tall feathery frondy plant, yellow flower umbels, native to the Mediterranean coast. Super easy to grow from seed, will out-compete other plants in dry soil and hot weather.

    If anyone is dying to have fennel pollen, let me know; I can try the trick of catching some in a paper bag. Later this summer when it flowers …

    I’m sure folks use fresh leaves for seasoning; I’ve tasted sprigs from the yard several times but have never been inclined to cook with the green stuff. I collect a few tablespoons of seeds in autumn before the finches get ’em all.

  147. 147.

    Carlo Graziani

    @hotshoe: Holy shit. Where do you live?

    I actually make porchetta about once per year, and the fresh fronds (“finocchio selvatico”) are precisely the key ingredient that is available in Italy, and which I cannot buy or bribe for in the Chicago area. They are supposed to be laid densely on the inside of the deboned pig (with salt, pepper, and garlic) before it is sewn and tied up. This cannot be done with pollen, lest the porchetta (Italian street food) come out at a cost exceeding Waygu beef.

  149. 149.

    hotshoe

    @Carlo Graziani:

    NorCal ranch country. Well, it’s true that NorCal is famous for its Mediterranean climate, so it’s not really surprising that fennel literally grows wild here. Probably arrived here with Serra’s missionaries centuries ago.

    Sorry I can’t send you any green leaves — I would have to invite myself for dinner and promise to bring some in my luggage — just not suitable for mailing across country :(

    It looks to me as if you can grow fennel on a balcony or in a backyard garden pretty much anywhere with some sun, starting from seed. As you probably know, the plant has a tall narrow shape — and it’s tap-rooted — so I expect it would fit into any little corner of space or a deep but not wide container. It pops up in our garden in the most unexpected places.

    Natively it’s quite perennial — sets seed and dies back to the root — but it wouldn’t matter if you couldn’t keep it overwinter — start again next spring. Even in Cali, we won’t have fresh fronds all winter long.

    Good luck if you decide to give it a try this year :)

  150. 150.

    hotshoe

    @hotshoe:

    University of Illinois says “prefer a full sun location [6-7 hours sunlight per day]. Herb fennel is best direct sown in the garden in the spring after frost is past. It does not transplant well”

  151. 151.

    HumboldtBlue

    @hotshoe:

    This is why we read this blog.

    Foeniculum vulgare (not the selected variety with the crunchy base which people cut up sort of like celery) — the tall feathery frondy plant, yellow flower umbels, native to the Mediterranean coast. Super easy to grow from seed, will out-compete other plants in dry soil and hot weather.

    If anyone is dying to have fennel pollen, let me know; I can try the trick of catching some in a paper bag. Later this summer when it flowers …

  152. 152.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Hkedi: Edit: BONUS! if he does flee the country, where do you think he lands up?

    Puerto Rico.  This is Trump we are talking about.

  153. 153.

    Aussie Sheila

    @Amir Khalid: Yes I read about the Malaysian charges in our Press at the time. A miracle that they bothered with reporting on one of our nearest neighbours. France and Italy have also prosecuted leaders. I just don’t understand why so many usaians consider every other polity to be undemocratic, not up to snuff or otherwise unable to deal with their issues of internal corruption without turning into authoritarian hellholes.
    The political corruption in the US is pretty ubiquitous, and unfortunately has a bipartisan aspect to it which means that it is pretty widely tolerated. Nixon’s pardon was a harbinger. No Australian Prime Minister has the power to pardon any miscreant. The monarch may still be able to do so, but it simply wouldn’t happen over the objections of a democratically elected government.

    Just indict this crim already, and treat him like any other person. A country ‘of laws not men’ would have done something about him a long time ago.

  154. 154.

    Aussie Sheila

    @Carlo Graziani: Do you think no other democracy considers itself a nation of laws? For FS. In no other real democracy would such a brazen attempt at a coup have taken place, and in no other democracy would it take over two years and counting, to bring such a miscreant to justice. The delays do not prove the superiority of US justice. Quite the opposite.

    They illustrate the capacity of the wealthy and well connected to avoid consequences that would be swift and dire for the poor and socially powerless.

  156. 156.

    TriassicSands

    Warrant issued for Putin’s arrest, but what two countries immediately come to mind when someone asks which countries don’t recognized the ICC. Yep, the U.S. and Russia. With our perfect justice system — we only occasionally execute innocent people — we don’t need an international organization butting into our affairs. That’s for lesser countries, not the women-are-second-class-citizens US of A, or the trans people don’t exist America. With the largest prison population in the world, we’re good to go. And Russia. Good ol’ freedom loving Mother Russia. They’re laying down the law in Ukraine and have no need of the ICC.If Trump actually is indicted and stands trial, how likely is it that the jury won’t include at least one MAGAzealot who wouldn’t vote to convict Trump if Trump murdered a Democrat right in front of his or her.eyes?

  157. 157.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Aussie Sheila:

    They illustrate the capacity of the wealthy and well connected to avoid consequences that would be swift and dire for the poor and socially powerless.

    True, but not to the extent you imply, and your descriptions suggest you don’t understand why.

    First, the system is slow at every level.  It takes forever for a homeless person with a public defender who shot someone dead on camera to be tried. Second, if you can afford even a minimum of decent legal representation, way below ‘rich and powerful’, multiply that, because you can’t be strong-armed into a conviction that is questionably legal.  It took years for some of the actual boots on the ground invaders of the Capitol building to be prosecuted, although it did happen and hundreds have been convicted.  These people are not ‘rich and powerful’, and it’s an open and shut case.

    But third, and most of all, unless a crime is direct and you did it physically yourself, any crime, it’s really honking hard to convict.  The standard of evidence is high.  Trump didn’t say “And then you trample the guards, break into the Capitol, and hang Pence for betraying me.”  Even if he did, you have to prove he wasn’t just bullshit running his mouth, because people do that all the time.  All the time.  Our laws are constructed to not convict people for bullshit running their mouth, which means it’s really, really hard to convict Trump for Jan 6th, which means an arrest before the vast, time-consuming evidence gathering is done will not happen.

    Does this unfairly protect the rich and powerful?  Yes.  They commit the kind of crimes it’s hard to prosecute.  To some extent that disparity is deliberate.  The law, in its wisdom and fairness, prohibits rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges.

    And frankly, we don’t have much experience with crimes of the type Trump committed.  They tend to go back to the 1800s, when the legal system was much different.  Our political system is designed so it’s really, really hard to overturn an election, so nobody tries hard.  Note that Trump failed.  Failed at every level.  If the Capitol hadn’t been so lightly defended, the mob would never have broken in, and his in-the-system attempts died pathetic deaths.  Nobody beats their head against that brick wall, and prosecuting a crime there is so little precedent for is hard.

    Oh, and we have two legal systems that work side by side, civil and criminal, which prosecute different things, with different standards of evidence, at different speeds.  Three if you count state vs federal.  Some civil stuff can be prosecuted faster, unless the criminal can afford to bury the crime in paperwork like Trump can.  The punishments for those crimes are more ‘pay a fine’, and the rich can afford that.  Usually.  But sometimes they get screwed, too.

    Judge this legal system however you may, but understand how deeply it’s baked in, and that it’s not just “We don’t prosecute the rich and powerful.”

  158. 158.

    AM in NC

    @Another Scott: Should be an interesting trip when hubby, kids and I head to Paris in early April for a spring break trip.  It’ll be the first trip to Europe for all of them, and looks like they will get quite an experience.

  160. 160.

    BellyCat

    @Frankensteinbeck: The punishments for those crimes are more ‘pay a fine’, and the rich can afford that.

    Family Court (Civil) is an exception. An earning spouse who is represented can easily emotionally (if not financially) destroy a dependent spouse unable to afford representation through a significantly imbalanced custody order, trivially easy in matters of discretion. When narratives differ, Judges believe attorneys more than a pro se party in virtually all circumstances.

    In Pennsylvania, a bill to establish equal custody as the default in divorce, with cause required to be cited for any other arrangement, sponsored by 18 legislators from both sides of the aisle, never even made it out of committee.

    Why? The American Bar Association opposed it. Reason: Extended custody battles often ensue. And these battles, which tear divorcing families entirely to shreds, make a LOT of money for family law attorneys. 

    The fact that innocent and voiceless young children are being irreparably harmed when their Liberty Interest to equal parental nurture is denied is seemingly irrelevant.

  161. 161.

    Chris T.

    @Ihop:

    I remember Jim traficant’s mugshot. He had to remove his toupee. Is it too much to ask that the orangefuckbag must reveal himself, truly and utterly?

    That stuff on Trump’s head is his hair. It looks weird—it is weird—because he’s had surgery to mess with his scalp, so that the bald area is on the side, not the top. People look at it and see “combover” and look closer for the comb-over on the top, and it’s not there. It’s on the side! That’s the trick, and that’s why it looks like he has a combover and his hair goes the wrong direction: because he does and it does.

    (He takes finasteride and/or dutasteride to keep the side hair that’s on the top. If he got sufficiently bald, the trick would stop working.)

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