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You are here: Home / Politics / Trump Indictments / One Question Answered

One Question Answered

by WaterGirl|  August 15, 20234:37 pm| 124 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Politics, Trump Indictments

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pic.twitter.com/rp65Jj9jSb

— Andrew Weissmann (weissmann11 on Threads)🌻 (@AWeissmann_) August 15, 2023

A hundred more to go!

Open thread,

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Previous Post: « Long Strange Trips (Open Thread)
Next Post: Tuesday Evening Open Thread: Hustling McConnell Off, Stage Right »

Reader Interactions

124Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    August 15, 2023 at 4:40 pm

    Oh Ché.

  2. 2.

    Alison Rose

    August 15, 2023 at 4:42 pm

    I mean, it all sound logical to those of us with functioning brains. Which leaves out everyone in the Trump orbit and 99% of his supporters.

  3. 3.

    LAO

    August 15, 2023 at 4:44 pm

    @Alison Rose: I sort of, kind of hate that Fulton County “gave” something for the crazies to grab hold of. But then I remembered that the crazies don’t need anything to hold on to, which is why, of course, they are crazies.

  4. 4.

    sdhays

    August 15, 2023 at 4:44 pm

    A truly “fictitious” document would have had dummy names, random charges, and nonsense paragraphs. Hopefully they’ve learned that basic IT lesson now.

  5. 5.

    JerryBoBerry

    August 15, 2023 at 4:45 pm

    I have two questions.

    1. Who, of the 19, will be first to turn themselves in to the court?

    2. Who, of the 19, will be the first to turn state’s evidence to avoid conviction or reduce their sentence?

  6. 6.

    rikyrah

    August 15, 2023 at 4:48 pm

    The Biden Accomplishments Guy (on Threads) (@What46HasDone) posted at 5:50 AM on Tue, Aug 15, 2023:
    NEW: The White House has released a Fact Sheet with all of the different actions the federal government is taking in response to the aftermath of the Maui fires. https://t.co/0sPciiEUCA
    (https://twitter.com/What46HasDone/status/1691402079489654784?t=0yomfQG4XiuCClFvwbVXkQ&s=03)

  7. 7.

    Gin & Tonic

    August 15, 2023 at 4:48 pm

    @sdhays: Creating a suitable volume of usable but “dummy” data is a Hard Problem.

  8. 8.

    bbleh

    August 15, 2023 at 4:48 pm

    So it’s clearly a conspiracy followed by a coverup.  The only question is, how is Hunter Biden involved?

  9. 9.

    Yarrow

    August 15, 2023 at 4:48 pm

    It would be nice if this post said what the question was and what the answer is for people who are unable to use Twitter. At least some summary.

  10. 10.

    rikyrah

    August 15, 2023 at 4:49 pm

    rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) posted at 10:42 PM on Mon, Aug 14, 2023:
    Hey @trevian__kutti @realtrevian, remember when I met you and you were talking all of that trash about having a Sharpie that @realDonaldTrump used to sign a bill and you called @kanyewest in my presence? All of that BS just got your butt INDICTED by @FaniforDA. #WeTriedToTellYa https://t.co/pBCZTS1iUr
    (https://twitter.com/rolandsmartin/status/1691294167014531072?t=Vw39n59BhJ23uUzvP8dfWQ&s=03)

  11. 11.

    Alison Rose

    August 15, 2023 at 4:50 pm

    @LAO: Yep. Sigh.

  12. 12.

    rikyrah

    August 15, 2023 at 4:50 pm

    LOL

     

    Booker G. Washington (@TendentiousG) posted at 11:14 PM on Mon, Aug 14, 2023:
    Lindsey Graham snitched. And in the media playing like he didn’t. Mike Pence played that same game until the DOJ paid him a visit.
    (https://twitter.com/TendentiousG/status/1691302319776804864?t=brMAx8CuCzV-isXOD4Z1YA&s=03)

  13. 13.

    Jay

    August 15, 2023 at 4:50 pm

    @bbleh:

    Uh,….duh,…….. LAPTOP!!!!!!!!!

  14. 14.

    rikyrah

    August 15, 2023 at 4:51 pm

    President Kamala’s Hand (Again) (@myronjclifton) posted at 10:55 PM on Mon, Aug 14, 2023:
    Fani Willis using their full government names is a whole damn mood!
    (https://twitter.com/myronjclifton/status/1691297448927391745?t=7Zep4JGgLphepOodmr_mUQ&s=03)

  15. 15.

    Alison Rose

    August 15, 2023 at 4:51 pm

    @Yarrow: I believe the “question” was what was the deal with the fake indictment sheet that got out online and was then immediately taken down by the court. The tweet in the post is a more thorough statement from the court answering that question. It’s an image so not copy/pasteable, but basically they were doing a sort of test run of a system, but it accidentally got entered as a real docketing item or something.

  16. 16.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    August 15, 2023 at 4:52 pm

    @rikyrah: Hmm, Biden has specific, enumerated actions he’s taking in Maui, but Fox News asserts he’s doing “nothing.” Who to believe? How to know?

    ETA: Most statements of absoluteness (everything/nothing all/none), in my experience, turn out not to be true. Is that what categorical statements are?

  17. 17.

    rikyrah

    August 15, 2023 at 4:52 pm

    Tricia Cotham betrayed North Carolina (@Needle_of_Arya) posted at 9:22 AM on Tue, Aug 15, 2023:
    So, who’s gonna tell Ari Member that calling a Black woman “overly aggressive,” when he would never say such a thing about a white man doing the very same thing, arises from the repetition of racist stereotypes about the “angry Black woman?” https://t.co/N8pMq4RC3z
    (https://twitter.com/Needle_of_Arya/status/1691455430210580480?t=f37leXsVBUpS4Tvx0pGpcQ&s=03)

  18. 18.

    Gin & Tonic

    August 15, 2023 at 4:52 pm

    OT, but I see Charles McGonigal has pleaded guilty. Good.

  19. 19.

    Old School

    August 15, 2023 at 4:54 pm

    @Yarrow:

    It would be nice if this post said what the question was and what the answer is for people who are unable to use Twitter. At least some summary.

    Q: What was up with the early grand jury document that was quickly pulled?

    A: It was a test document.

  20. 20.

    Jay

    August 15, 2023 at 4:54 pm

    @Yarrow:

    The question was, “Were the Fulton County Documents that leaked last night real?”

    The answer is “no, it was a dummy document created to set up the formatting and structure of what would be the real Indictements that got leaked or misposted”.

  21. 21.

    WaterGirl

    August 15, 2023 at 4:54 pm

    @Yarrow: Good point, sorry!  Thanks for the nice reminder.

    The short story is that for a few minutes it appeared that a document related to the pending indictment was posted yesterday when it shouldn’t have been posted, and there was a question about whether the document was real, how/why it was posted, why it was taken down, etc.

    It was the subject of much speculation on Balloon Juice.

    This letter explains the how, the why, and the what, of what happened.

    Here’s an image of the letter.  You should be able to make it bigger if you click on it.

    One Question Answered

  22. 22.

    Baud

    August 15, 2023 at 4:55 pm

    @Gin & Tonic:

    👍

  23. 23.

    zhena gogolia

    August 15, 2023 at 4:56 pm

    @Yarrow: I’m unable to use twitter, but I could see the tweet when I clicked on it.

  24. 24.

    Tony Jay

    August 15, 2023 at 4:57 pm

    Leaked? By the Press? Without confirming it’s validity? As if that could ever happen!

    No, clearly this was a set of top secret instructions sent to the Fulton Country Gestapo by the corrupt Witch Hunter General (we all know who he is) detailing the illegal and baseless accusations that were to be thrown against President Trump and his unstoppable grassroots campaign. These instructions were leaked by a brave patriot who was obviously arrested and killed by the Fulton County Gestapo before their body was disposed of, most likely by urban street gangs affiliated to Fani ‘Hannibal’ Willis. We know this must be the case because of the lengths the F.S.G. has gone to in order to make all record of their existence disappear! Ché Bono!!

    I hope this clears up any lingering confusion.

  25. 25.

    WaterGirl

    August 15, 2023 at 4:57 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: Let’s hope he doesn’t get a sweetheart deal.

  26. 26.

    NotMax

    August 15, 2023 at 5:01 pm

    @Yarrow

    Been encountering the same shrouded perplexity regarding tweets here for years and years (yes, pre-X too). Offhand I’d estimate 80 to 90 per cent of tweets encountered here make little to no sense as they appear on this end.

    Shrug my shoulders and roll with it, scroll on by, and maybe pick up a clue later on in the thread. Or not, as the case may be.
    ;)

  27. 27.

    Scout211

    August 15, 2023 at 5:02 pm

    They are starting to investigate one of the unindicted co-conspirators. Link

    A state agency is moving ahead with plans that will determine whether Lt. Gov. Burt Jones faces criminal charges as part of a scheme to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.

    Jones is one of 30 people who prosecutors said participated in a conspiracy to overturn the election but were not charged in a Fulton County indictment released late Monday. But Jones may yet face charges, and his fate will rest with a special prosecutor who will determine whether further investigation is needed.

    Pete Skandalakis, executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia, said he has reviewed the Fulton County indictment and hopes to appoint a special prosecutor to consider Jones’ actions soon.

  28. 28.

    MattF

    August 15, 2023 at 5:02 pm

    WaPo reports that there is a judge for the Trump trial (gift link).

  29. 29.

    Kirk

    August 15, 2023 at 5:03 pm

    @Jay:

    “no, it was a dummy document created to set up the formatting and structure of what would be the real Indictements that got leaked or misposted”

    The press has release access and did not wait for confirmation thus publishing the test as fact.

  30. 30.

    Roger Moore

    August 15, 2023 at 5:04 pm

    @sdhays:

    A truly fictitious document would say “Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet…”

  31. 31.

    Ken

    August 15, 2023 at 5:06 pm

    @LAO: Yes, that’s the bright side about this mess-up with the document system. Without it we’d be listening to endless nonsense about margins, kerning, and gold fringe on flags.

    I’m sure it’s out there anyway, but it’s largely being ignored since there’s something real (albeit just as meaningless) pulling focus.

  32. 32.

    p.a.

    August 15, 2023 at 5:06 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: Let’s see if press reports mention he was the head of the tRump-Russia 2016 Whitewash Investigation.

    Vegas odds are hahaha no!

  33. 33.

    bbleh

    August 15, 2023 at 5:07 pm

    @Tony Jay: on the contrary, it raises more questions than it answers!  Just what exactly IS the role of Hunter Biden?  Is HE the one who’s been having a secret affair with Fani Willis?  And WHERE did this “Ché” Alexander come from, and what is her connection to the Cuban COMMUNIST Che Guevara?  And perhaps most importantly, where is the “dog that didn’t bark”:  how is this connected to George Soros and the Jewish space lasers?!?

  34. 34.

    Scout211

    August 15, 2023 at 5:08 pm

    Elon is throttling sites that he doesn’t like.
    Elon Musk’s X Delays Access to Specific News and Competitor Websites: Report

    Elon Musk’s social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, has implemented timed delays on traffic to sites critical of its practices and its owner, a Washington Post investigation found.

    The Post reports that a five second delay has been implemented for users who click on shortened links to sites including the New York Times and Facebook — both have attracted Musk’s ire.

  35. 35.

    MattF

    August 15, 2023 at 5:12 pm

    @Scout211: And Musk imagines that the formerly-known-as-Twitter site will be used and trusted for personal financial transactions. Gobsmacking.

  36. 36.

    Jay

    August 15, 2023 at 5:13 pm

    Nitter.net is still down.

  37. 37.

    M31

    August 15, 2023 at 5:15 pm

    unindicted co-conspiritors? in THIS economy?

  38. 38.

    Brachiator

    August 15, 2023 at 5:15 pm

    @The Kropenhagen Interpretation:

    Hmm, Biden has specific, enumerated actions he’s taking in Maui, but Fox News asserts he’s doing “nothing.” Who to believe? How to know?

    I also presume that there is a FEMA disaster process that automatically begins, so that Biden himself does not have to do anything.

    But I also saw some headline that I immediately ignored where Trump was claiming that Biden was not doing anything about Maui or whatever he was doing was wrong, or some other Fox News nonsense.

    It is unfortunate that right wing idiots have to try to score cheap points off disasters, but this is where we are.

  39. 39.

    way2blue

    August 15, 2023 at 5:17 pm

    I am a legal neophyte, but can I presume that the sharing of discovery goes both ways?  i.e., The prosecution shares the documents they’ve accumulated with Trump’s legal team.  Will his lawyers also be required to turn over any items they think might exonerate Trump?  With a similar ‘do-not-blab’ to the public proviso?

  40. 40.

    WaterGirl

    August 15, 2023 at 5:18 pm

    @MattF: Is that the newbie judge just appointed bu the gov (in January) who is on the ballot in November for retainment?

    Good luck threading that needle!  Maybe a miracle will occur and he will be a Trump judge who believes in the rule of law.

  41. 41.

    MattF

    August 15, 2023 at 5:19 pm

    @WaterGirl: I think so. I imagine that he’ll have ample opportunity to demonstrate bias in the next few months. We shall see.

  42. 42.

    NotMax

    August 15, 2023 at 5:21 pm

    OT. Maui update.

    As a community service to aid those affected by the wildfires, the Hawaii State Bar Association is hosting a FREE legal hotline to provide legal assistance to the residents of Maui and the Big Island and any others adversely affected.

    Attorneys will be available to answer questions regarding document replacement, insurance claims process, landlord-tenant matters and other issues.

  43. 43.

    bbleh

    August 15, 2023 at 5:26 pm

    @Ken: sounds like a law firm.  “Margins and Kerning, may I help you?

    Or maybe a stationer.  Margins and Kerning, purveyors of the finest parchment, vellum, and quills.  Since 1385.

  44. 44.

    smith

    August 15, 2023 at 5:31 pm

    @Ken: OK, but watching last night as they were setting up for Fani’s press briefing, I noticed when they carried in the flag, it did have gold fringe. However, I can’t remember if that makes it real or not.

  45. 45.

    cain

    August 15, 2023 at 5:32 pm

    @Scout211: Free Speech absolutist can’t help but fucking with free speech.

  46. 46.

    Alison Rose

    August 15, 2023 at 5:34 pm

    @bbleh:

    Margins and Kerning, purveyors of the finest parchment, vellum, and quills.  Since 1385.

    I can totally picture this place and now I want it to be real.

  47. 47.

    RaflW

    August 15, 2023 at 5:34 pm

    @The Kropenhagen Interpretation: Patiently explaining to people that there are limits to what FEMA can do in the most heavily impacted areas until recovery efforts, searching for the missing, are declared complete is apparently far, far too much for Fox “reporters” and “editors/producers” to do.

    No, we have to complain bitterly — and falsely — that nothing is happening. Of course, if the Admin called off the recovery efforts, then Fox would say “Biden is abandoning families that just want closure” or equally as horrid and bullshitty things.

    It did sound like officials are warning that the intensity of the fire may make some identification and recovery very difficult. I cannot imagine the anguish for surviving family members.

    Meanwhile, actual news orgs do manage to report some things without inappropriate bias (NBC):

    Biden said he’s spoken with Gov. Josh Green multiple times and almost 500 federal personnel have been deployed to the state. He said that he and first lady Jill Biden will travel to Hawaii as soon as possible, but don’t want to disrupt rescue and recovery efforts.

    “In the meantime, you always hear this phrase and I’ve done so many disasters in my career. It’s almost hollow…’our thoughts and prayers with the people’…not just our prayers, every asset, every asset they need will be there for them. And we will be there as long as it takes, as long as it takes.”

  48. 48.

    smith

    August 15, 2023 at 5:35 pm

    @Brachiator: If he’s not on Maui throwing paper towels at the homeless it doesn’t count.

  49. 49.

    Baud

    August 15, 2023 at 5:35 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    Kemp doesn’t like Trump, so if this judge is like Kemp, he might play it straight.

    Also, who votes on his retention? If it’s Fulton County, that may help the prosecution.

  50. 50.

    Roger Moore

    August 15, 2023 at 5:36 pm

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Creating a suitable volume of usable but “dummy” data is a Hard Problem.

    It’s a domain-specific problem.  Every field has “dummy” data that looks different from every other field.  I actually wrote a paper that wound up being cited mostly because it incidentally included a good way of making dummy data for my field.  People didn’t care about that other stuff, but a convenient way of making dummy data has a lot of applications.

    It turns out we have two sets of data that come from completely different sources that we compare to each other: instrument data and protein sequences.  It’s possible to take protein sequences and use them to create a highly idealized version of instrument data that can then be compared against the real data.  Creating good looking fake data, complete with noise and all the other problems real data has was basically impossible.  It turned out it was just about as good to compare real data against fake sequences, which were very easy to create.

  51. 51.

    bbleh

    August 15, 2023 at 5:38 pm

    @Alison Rose: I love stationery stores.  Always have, even as a kid.  It’s kinda weird.

  52. 52.

    smith

    August 15, 2023 at 5:39 pm

    @Baud: My concern is that he has so little experience as a judge. How did it happen in two of the most momentous trials in our history we drew two judges so new to the judging business?

  53. 53.

    cain

    August 15, 2023 at 5:39 pm

    @RaflW:

    At least they aren’t spouting that Hawaii isn’t a real state or even American.

  54. 54.

    RaflW

    August 15, 2023 at 5:40 pm

    @Brachiator: Oh, it’s not just RW outlets, it’s also the FTFNYT (oh, oops, might be the same thing nowdays, ehh Sulzy?). They had a web frontpage item up yesterday morning complaining that the Feds weren’t doing enough.

    I have n doubt that people in crisis are asking for as much help as possible, and that some of the processes likely seem too complicated, but geez, this situation is shockingly difficult and no human institution can just flip a switch and do everything.

  55. 55.

    NotMax

    August 15, 2023 at 5:40 pm

    How blundering and inept are Crimey Crimeface’s lawyers? In their motion for recusal of Judge Marchand in the NY case, they include as a stated argument that the judge’s political contributions “raise the appearance of impartiality.”

    You read that right.

  56. 56.

    cain

    August 15, 2023 at 5:40 pm

    @smith: hey president of ukraine was a comedian, has no experience in war – and here he is.

  57. 57.

    dnfree

    August 15, 2023 at 5:40 pm

    In case anyone wants to be reminded how weird it is to follow politics so closely, a Facebook friend just posted “Fani Willis is my new favorite woman in law.”  One of the replies is “Is that Bruce’s daughter?  What show is she on?”

  58. 58.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    August 15, 2023 at 5:40 pm

    From the FTFNYT:

    President Biden’s relative silence on the [Maui] fires drew criticism from Republicans. Officials are working to start formally identifying the dead.

    Biden quietly getting the job done instead of counter-productively making himself the center of attention, the horror…

  59. 59.

    cain

    August 15, 2023 at 5:41 pm

    @RaflW: The whole point is to bruise the president and weaken him to make the race more interesting? who knows.

    I would cancel my subscription if I were you all.

  60. 60.

    bbleh

    August 15, 2023 at 5:41 pm

    @Baud: You know Kemp doesn’t like Trump but Fani told me that the judge doesn’t really like Kemp cuz of that fight their friends had over that legislative district last year?  And you know Geoff likes Kemp but hates Trump, and I heard he might actually be going out with Fani, or maybe Jack, and I’m like OMG …

  61. 61.

    NotMax

    August 15, 2023 at 5:42 pm

    @smith

    Dolt 45 would throw cans of SPAM.

  62. 62.

    WaterGirl

    August 15, 2023 at 5:43 pm

    @Baud: That was my hope, too, re: retention.  No idea if it’s a statewide vote, but I imagine it is.

  63. 63.

    MattF

    August 15, 2023 at 5:43 pm

    @NotMax: A case of accidentally saying what you meant.

  64. 64.

    Yarrow

    August 15, 2023 at 5:45 pm

    @WaterGirl:  Thank you and thank you everyone else.

  65. 65.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    August 15, 2023 at 5:46 pm

    @RaflW: Biden:

    “In the meantime, you always hear this phrase and I’ve done so many disasters in my career. It’s almost hollow…’our thoughts and prayers with the people’…not just our prayers, every asset, every asset they need will be there for them. And we will be there as long as it takes, as long as it takes.”

    Biden laying out out the difference between taking action and jumping in front of a camera.

  66. 66.

    wjca

    August 15, 2023 at 5:46 pm

    @WaterGirl: Since he’s a state, not Federal, judge, he can’t qualify as a “Trump judge.”

    I don’t know about the competence track record of judges first appointed by Kemp.  Can’t be as awful as Trump’s nominees.  But beyond that, no info.

  67. 67.

    Baud

    August 15, 2023 at 5:48 pm

    @The Kropenhagen Interpretation:

    Did the NYT actually examine past silences to determine that Biden has been relatively silent?

  68. 68.

    Alison Rose

    August 15, 2023 at 5:48 pm

    @bbleh: Me too!! I used to love going with my mom to this one store, which I can’t recall the name of, when she would be picking up supplies for her office and getting me stuff for school. Usually things I did not really need, but I didn’t care. I remember having a specific love for those squishy triangular things you’d slide onto a pen or pencil to make holding them more comfortable.

  69. 69.

    Yarrow

    August 15, 2023 at 5:48 pm

    @zhena gogolia:  Some people are not able to see Twitter when at work. When the post it nothing but a tweet it’s nice to have a little context.

    @NotMax: I don’t mind tweets when there’s context. But a post that just says, “One question answered” and you have to click through to a tweet to figure out even what it’s relating to, let alone the question and answer, is not great.

  70. 70.

    Roger Moore

    August 15, 2023 at 5:49 pm

    @MattF:

    And Musk imagines that the formerly-known-as-Twitter site will be used and trusted for personal financial transactions.

    I doubt he would understand there might be a connection between the site being used to carry out his personal vendettas and whether or not people trust it with their financial data.  He knows he’s right, so how could anyone else have a problem with it?

  71. 71.

    Yarrow

    August 15, 2023 at 5:51 pm

    @dnfree:

    What show is she on?”

    She’s on this great new show called, “Tick tock, motherfuckers!” where she plays a kickass district attorney in Atlanta who brings traitorous old white men and their accomplices to account. Be prepared for lots of RICO!

  72. 72.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    August 15, 2023 at 5:51 pm

    @Baud: I mean he hasn’t tossed a single roll of paper towels yet…an airhorn…make it a party.

  73. 73.

    MattF

    August 15, 2023 at 5:51 pm

    @smith: He’s got quite a bit of experience as a prosecutor:

    McAfee has worked off and on in the public realm for more than a decade, including eight years as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Justice Department in the Northern District of Georgia, where he prosecuted drug trafficking organizations, fraud and illegal firearms possession, according to a March 2021 news releasefrom Kemp’s office. McAfee also worked on the state level as an assistant district attorney in Fulton County, where he handled many felony cases, from armed robbery to murder, the news release said.

  74. 74.

    cope

    August 15, 2023 at 5:54 pm

    @Yarrow: Seconded. I’ll just keep scrolling down through the responses to suss it out.

  75. 75.

    RaflW

    August 15, 2023 at 5:54 pm

    @Kirk: The obvious, though regrettable, response is to remove that access, since at least some member(s) of the press could not conform to standards which would require embargoing that info until the release is public.

    I get the idea that it can be helpful to the press to have advance access so that, in more routine cases, they can be doing the reporting work that would allow them to go live on TV or press publish on their web site when the official release occurs.

    Some combo of reporters, editors, and whoever else in one or more chains of command at news outlets abused that system, and very well should have f**ked that up for themselves and their colleagues for a good chunk of time going forward.

    Accountability, MFers.

  76. 76.

    cope

    August 15, 2023 at 5:55 pm

    @Alison Rose: Thank you.

  77. 77.

    WaterGirl

    August 15, 2023 at 6:02 pm

    @wjca: That’s fair.  I stand corrected.

  78. 78.

    Brachiator

    August 15, 2023 at 6:04 pm

    @NotMax:

    @smith

    Dolt 45 would throw cans of SPAM.

    I don’t think that Trump even knows what SPAM is.

  79. 79.

    Ken

    August 15, 2023 at 6:07 pm

    @Alison Rose: You’re picturing something out of Dickens, I’m guessing? Or maybe a hint of Rowling, given the parchment and quills.

  80. 80.

    UncleEbeneezer

    August 15, 2023 at 6:09 pm

    Another reason the “Merrick is a punk” allegations fall flat for me… you see how long these other indictments took? GA was actually way before January 6th or the document stuff. And it took this long to indict him.

    EXACTLY!!

    It took Fani Willis 1,015 days to investigate and indict Trump.

    Merrick Garland did it in only 874!

    That’s about three months faster. And yet everyone assumes Garland wasted time, but nobody says that about Willis. And that’s not a knock on Fani. The truth of the matter is that justice takes time for several, legit reasons and much/most of what happened won’t be public knowledge for quite some time. We don/won’t know the full story any time soon.

    And even with the reports from anonymous sources that DOJ was hesitant to do this or that, we have no idea if they are true, or if there is more to those situations that we aren’t privy to seeing.

    DOJ literally CAN’T respond to tell their side until after the trial, verdict and appeals processes are all completed.

  81. 81.

    smith

    August 15, 2023 at 6:10 pm

    @Brachiator: Bet he’d love it with ketchup.

  82. 82.

    Geminid

    August 15, 2023 at 6:12 pm

    @MattF: Yes, Judge McAfee looks like a much more experienced trial lawyer than Judge Cannon, and not an idealogue.

  83. 83.

    JPL

    August 15, 2023 at 6:12 pm

    @WaterGirl:  It should be Fulton cty    from nyt
    The landmark racketeering case in Atlanta against former President Donald J. Trump and others has been assigned to Scott F. McAfee, a recently appointed Fulton County Superior Court judge who was once supervised by the district attorney overseeing the case.
    Judge McAfee, 34, rose quickly in Georgia’s legal world after graduating from law school a decade ago, and one of his first jobs was in the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office. There, he handled early stages of felony cases before being promoted to the complex trial division. The division was led at the time by Fani T. Willis, the prosecutor overseeing the Trump case, according to a former district attorney and another lawyer who worked in the office at the time.
    LINK     It’s a gift link from the nyt

  84. 84.

    JaySinWA

    August 15, 2023 at 6:13 pm

    @dnfree: …, a Facebook friend just posted “Fani Willis is my new favorite woman in law.”  One of the replies is “Is that Bruce’s daughter?  What show is she on?”

    See “Law” a new mini-series starring Fani Willis, Georgia RICO, and an ensemble cast of villains large and small, coming to your television next spring

    ETA  @Yarrow: beat me with their version.

  85. 85.

    Brachiator

    August 15, 2023 at 6:15 pm

    @bbleh:

    I love stationery stores.  Always have, even as a kid.  It’s kinda weird.

    Do stationery stores even exist anymore?

    But I know exactly what you mean. There were a couple that I would often visit, looking for note paper, pens and mechanical pencils.

  86. 86.

    Alison Rose

    August 15, 2023 at 6:17 pm

    @Ken: Dickens, yes. Rowling? No. The TERF can fuck off into the sun.

  87. 87.

    Rebel’s Dad

    August 15, 2023 at 6:18 pm

    Is the NM thread dead?

  88. 88.

    Alison Rose

    August 15, 2023 at 6:18 pm

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    It took Fani Willis 1,015 days to investigate and indict Trump.

    Merrick Garland did it in only 874!

    This is a good point.

  89. 89.

    JPL

    August 15, 2023 at 6:18 pm

    @Geminid:  Most who worked under Fani, respect her.     I think he plays it straight.   Republicans who are not MAGA blame trump for the loss of two Senate seats.

    btw   A friend, thinks Kemp is positioning himself to be VP if trump falters and another candidate is chosen.  At least that is the rumor mill.

  90. 90.

    zhena gogolia

    August 15, 2023 at 6:19 pm

    @JaySinWA: I like Georgia Rico!

    ETA: I think she played Don Draper’s third secretary on Mad Men.

  91. 91.

    zhena gogolia

    August 15, 2023 at 6:20 pm

    @Alison Rose: Haha, I had a feeling that would get a response.

  92. 92.

    JaySinWA

    August 15, 2023 at 6:22 pm

    @Brachiator:I don’t think that Trump even knows what SPAM is.

    Maybe not, but his campaign makes a lot of it.

  93. 93.

    Frank Wilhoit

    August 15, 2023 at 6:27 pm

    @Alison Rose: ​
     Of course at its founding it would have been Courthand, Margins, and Kerning.

  94. 94.

    Geminid

    August 15, 2023 at 6:30 pm

    @JPL: I think Kemp won’t bite on a chance to be a VP candidate’s. Next year isn’t that great an opportunity for Republicans unless there is a serious recession, and that looks like an unlikely prospect.

    Kemp should run in 2028, with two terms as a successful governor under his belt.

  95. 95.

    Manyakitty

    August 15, 2023 at 6:32 pm

    @cain: I refuse to even click on the links to that rag.

  96. 96.

    LAO

    August 15, 2023 at 6:32 pm

    @way2blue: if someone already answered, please ignore. While I don’t know the specifics evidence rules in Georgia, but generally the defense is obligated to provide reciprocal discovery, ie. evidence it intends to rely on at trial and statements of defense witnesses.

  97. 97.

    Geminid

    August 15, 2023 at 6:34 pm

    Next year, a Republican candidate other than Trump will be in an invidious position. Die hard Trumpers will resent him, while the non-trump world will still identify him with Trump and the radical Republican base. It will be a no-win proposition.

  98. 98.

    MisterForkbeard

    August 15, 2023 at 6:37 pm

    @WaterGirl: What got me about was that conservatives were screaming about how the DOJ leaked the charges before they were ever voted on. They even did that this morning and I saw it again this afternoon.

    It never made any sense at all, since the charges in the ‘leaked’ doc were very different from what was actually charged.

  99. 99.

    UncleEbeneezer

    August 15, 2023 at 6:38 pm

    @Alison Rose: I just finished the horror novel Tell Me I’m Worthless by Trans author Alison Rumfitt.  Really enjoyed it but it was A LOT!  As one reviewer noted: it pretty much needs every trigger warning imaginable.  Anyways, as it deals with Transphobia and Fascism as the main evil forces in the novel, there’s mentions of an unnamed “popular children’s author” who is very big in the TERF scene, lol.

  100. 100.

    Frank Wilhoit

    August 15, 2023 at 6:38 pm

    @UncleEbeneezer: ​
      Giuliani himself, 40 years ago, was the source for, and the beneficiary of, a breathless, fawning “book” (Den of Thieves), about how he supposedly rolled up the Milken/Boesky gang. I wonder whether that kind of thing is still done.

  101. 101.

    Tony Jay

    August 15, 2023 at 6:43 pm

    @bbleh:

    on the contrary, it raises more questions than it answers!  Just what exactly IS the role of Hunter Biden?

    Exactly! Thankfully valued 8-Chan content deliverer CusterWouldaWon1876 has taken on these puzzles and unlocked the enigma for us!

    “Stand to, Troopers. Infodump fly-by. Hunter spent the 2010s being trained in Societal Chaos Theory at a ChiCom complex deep inside The Ukraine by Strasserite Neo-Nazis funded by Soros. The plan was to insert him into Killary’s regime as deputy-director of Electoral Security once she replaced The O, but The President’s surprise victory forced him to follow Plan B – become a moneyman for the criminal wing of The Deep State, shuttling drug/prostitution assets between Blue Cities and Ukrainian banks. That’s where he met Foxy Honey Brown, the Atlanta-based child-smuggler who he would help avoid justice after Trump’s FBI cracked down on the Cartels. She re-emerged as Fani (get it? Antifa ni####) Willis and was placed in charge of Georgia’s pro-Democrat Gang/Party legal liaison office. She would recruit Fidel ‘The Apache’ Alexander from MS-13 and together they would mastermind the campaign of blackmail, intimidation and election interference that stole up to half a million votes from The President’s winning margin in November 2020.”

      how is this connected to George Soros and the Jewish space lasers?!?

    Via wires! Hang on, I’ll check.

    Yes, wires!

  102. 102.

    Miki

    August 15, 2023 at 6:43 pm

    @bbleh: ❤❤❤❤❤

  103. 103.

    LAO

    August 15, 2023 at 6:44 pm

    @Frank Wilhoit: useless fun fact, my dad is in Den of Thieves. And no, he wasn’t prosecuted but boy did he hate Rudy.

  104. 104.

    AWOL

    August 15, 2023 at 6:45 pm

    @rikyrah: He’s an asshole, but I heard he shaved his ‘ari Member.

  105. 105.

    Manyakitty

    August 15, 2023 at 6:47 pm

    @Tony Jay: had to scroll up and check, but I knew that was you. 👍

  106. 106.

    Tony Jay

    August 15, 2023 at 6:55 pm

    @Manyakitty:

    I’m nothing if not predictable. Next, I set it to music! 8-)

  107. 107.

    Manyakitty

    August 15, 2023 at 6:57 pm

    @Tony Jay: excellent

  108. 108.

    smith

    August 15, 2023 at 7:00 pm

    @MisterForkbeard: I just looked. The formatting in the “fictitious” document is very different from that in the final indictment, but it appears to me that the charges against TFG are the same.

    What I don’t understand is by what rationale this leak could make any difference. It couldn’t have influenced the grand jury’s decisions, since they were already in session when it was posted and taken down. I would be amazed if they were allowed to use phones during their session, so how would they know? As far as I can tell, they voted at the end of the session without finding out about the leak.

    I also don’t see how it could influence any prospective trial jurors, either, since, as I said, the charges against TFG in both docs were the same.

  109. 109.

    bbleh

    August 15, 2023 at 7:02 pm

    @Tony Jay: ok well I was kinda cheating on that one.  George Soros and the Jewish Space Lasers is actually a retro-techno band.  Think Kraftwerk only in Hasidic garb.

  110. 110.

    JaySinWA

    August 15, 2023 at 7:06 pm

    Where is Georgia’s AG Chris Carr in this? Wouldn’t this generally be in his purview? It seems odd coming from a county DA for a case this large. I understand the indictment took great pains to tie specific actions to Fulton county and that was necessary for them to have jurisdiction.

    Is the AG implicated in any way?

  111. 111.

    sab

    August 15, 2023 at 7:06 pm

    @LAO: My ex had a close friend who was head of DEA in Minnesota and had worked with Rudy at some point in his career and utterly despised him.

  112. 112.

    Tony Jay

    August 15, 2023 at 7:11 pm

    @bbleh:

    Think Kraftwerk only in Hasidic garb

    Pastes the above into Pornhub search bar.
    Raises eyebrow.
    Raises other eyebrow.
    Pours a stiff drink.
    Locks the door.

  113. 113.

    Timill

    August 15, 2023 at 7:11 pm

    @Rebel’s Dad: It’s just resting…

  114. 114.

    prostratedragon

    August 15, 2023 at 7:21 pm

    Well now, it so happens that the 2nd worldwide Stationery Store Day was Aug. 2.
    (After a bus ride) There were a couple of stores I used to like in Chicago, habing first gone to them with my mother. Sorry to say that I can’t recall either name yet; they’re long gone.

  115. 115.

    Chief Oshkosh

    August 15, 2023 at 7:29 pm

    @p.a.: Yep. ABC “World News Tonight” with David GoodHair provided absolutely NO CONTEXT for why it’s news that this retired FBI agent pled to…something.

  116. 116.

    bbleh

    August 15, 2023 at 7:34 pm

    @prostratedragon: I’ve seen a few in major cities recently, but they appear mostly to be like cards (LOTS of those) and crafts stuff and desks where you order wedding invitations.  The old ones were what I guess you’d call “office supply” stores — everything from the chairs to the pencils — and they smelled like cool paper.  But now I suppose all that is done online.  About the only place I still get a whiff of it is in the “office” section of, like, Super Walmarts.  Alas, sic transit and all that.

  117. 117.

    Ken

    August 15, 2023 at 7:36 pm

    @JPL: Scott F. McAfee, a recently appointed Fulton County Superior Court judge who was once supervised by the district attorney overseeing the case.

    Prediction: Trump will try to force the judge to recuse on this basis.

    Second prediction: The judge will not be amused.

  118. 118.

    LAO

    August 15, 2023 at 7:44 pm

    @sab: He is a real grade A dick.

  119. 119.

    NotMax

    August 15, 2023 at 8:10 pm

    @bbleh

    Or Hebraic Devo?

    Are We Not Mensch?
    :)

  120. 120.

    Roger Moore

    August 15, 2023 at 8:28 pm

    @bbleh:

    The old ones were what I guess you’d call “office supply” stores — everything from the chairs to the pencils — and they smelled like cool paper.

    That style of place mostly got bought up or run out of business by the big chains like Office Depot and Staples.

  121. 121.

    bbleh

    August 15, 2023 at 8:42 pm

    @Roger Moore: … which smell like copiers and overheating fluorescents and sweaty underpaid stock clerks.

    Blech.

  122. 122.

    prostratedragon

    August 15, 2023 at 8:56 pm

    @bbleh:  And so vast you no longer get that cozy feeling og being surrounded by good stuff.

  123. 123.

    gene108

    August 15, 2023 at 9:12 pm

    The tongue bath Johnathan Martin gave McConnell as a “Russia hawk” is such bullshit.

    Moscow Mitch opposes Russia, unless they interfere in an American presidential election on behalf of the Republican candidate.

    Edit: Wrong thread

  124. 124.

    kalakal

    August 15, 2023 at 9:25 pm

    @Tony Jay: You’re getting worryingly good at this 😀

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