Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

If you thought you’d already seen people saying the stupidest things possible on the internet, prepare yourselves.

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.

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

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

“That’s what the insurrection act is for!”

The new republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

…and a burning sense of injustice to juice the soul.

Elections aren’t won by handwringing, cowering, and/or bashing your own candidates.

I didn’t have alien invasion on my 2023 BINGO card.

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

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

President Biden is doing good where he can, and getting it done.

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

The frogs are rarely mistaken.

If you’re looking for someone who’s young and athletic, go watch a fucking movie.

Dead end MAGA boomers crying about Talyor Swift being a Dem is my kind of music. Turn it up.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

Consistently wrong since 2002

You are here: Home / Politics / Trump Indictments / It’s All Gonna Come Out

It’s All Gonna Come Out

by | 130 Comments

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I think we have just passed the tipping point on J6, the coup, everything.  It sure seems like the floodgates are opening, and it’s all gonna come out.

Does it seem that way to you?

I think they thought their bluff was going to continue to work, that they were really gonna get away with it,   Now that shit is getting real, they are turning on one another.  What is it about the Fulton County, GA case that it seems to have had this effect?  Or is it just timing, that it’s the 4th indictment, with possibly more to come?

What fun pieces of news about this have you heard today?  I have mostly had my nose to the grindstone today, so I would love to hear every juicy detail.

Short list of what I’ve heard: Mark Meadows was the ring-leader for J6, Employee #4 no longer has a Trump lawyer and has changed his tune, which screws Trump, Nauta and the cute guy whose name I can never remember.

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

130Comments

  2. 2.

    Jeffro

    Dam: BREAKING

    I just posted Rudy’s mugshot on my FB page with the following

    Seeing Rudy G’s mug shot from earlier today, I wonder if the reality of all of this is starting to sink in with the GOP – elected officials and voters alike???

    Oh well. It’s a great example of what happens when a party – especially its elected leaders – empowers an utterly unstable and corrupt crook, looks the other way for years, and pretends that ‘both sides’ are even remotely the same.

    I wouldn’t normally corrupt my page like that, but it reminds the low-info folks of what’s at stake and tweaks the SHIT out of the FoxBots.  And what can they say in response?  Joe Biden wasn’t on the Fulton County grand jury, nimrods!

    Anyway, it’s important to take a shot at breaking through the bubble once in a while!

  3. 3.

    Urza

    Fulton Country Georgia isn’t a Federal case.  They probably all figured if they were convicted in a federal case they’d get a pardon from the next Republican president, whoever that might be.  A state where the governor can’t easily pardon them and isn’t showing any inclination he would even if they went through the process means that reality is finally setting in, even if its just a little bit.

  6. 6.

    WaterGirl

    @Urza: In GA they can only pardon… something about 5 years.  Five years after they serve their time?  Five years in prison?  Something about 5 years.

    Pretty sure no prison in GA has ever been referred to as Club Fed.

  7. 7.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: This one?

    Not sure if anyone on BJ has picked up on this, but it appears that Yevgeny Prigozhin’s plane has crashed. Total accident most likely. I’m sure Putin had absolutely nothing to do with it.This is the MSNBC report I saw.​

    I alternate between Putin did it, Prigozhin faked his own death, and total coincidence.

  9. 9.

    BeautifulPlumage

    🎶 Fulton Prison Blues 🎶

    What fun pieces of news about this have you heard today?

  10. 10.

    Greg

    I think the realization that even a Trump victory in 2024 won’t get them pardons plays a part. Also, the Trump funded lawyer in the docs case who was willing to let a client face perjury charges to save Trump has also focused some attention.

  13. 13.

    waspuppet

    I’m not a lawyer, but I think it’s two things:

    First, Willis cast a wide net, which supposedly will slow down the trials but means there’s a lot of people without Trump-“paid” (lol) lawyers who will turn on each other.

    Second, the specificity in the indictments about what happened to Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss. Even Trump and Rudy can’t claim they have a First Amendment right to do that. (Although they’ll probably try.)

  15. 15.

    BeautifulPlumage

    Both Meadows & Clark were denied stays in federal court, and DA Willis spanked their filings. Guess Jeffy has to put his pants on and get moving!

  16. 16.

    piratedan

    the other scuttlebutt alluded to was that Jack Smith supposedly has the SS J6 texts and e-mail histories with the OathKeepers leadership.  If so, it may shed some light on certain behaviors during the events that day and the depth of the planning that went on between the White House and Cosplay Coup Clan.

  17. 17.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    Now that shit is getting real, they are turning on one another. What is it about the Fulton County, GA case that it seems to have had this effect?

    One piece may be that here in the United States, for whatever reason, it may be easier to write off federal law enforcement as politically motivated.

  18. 18.

    steppy

    @WaterGirl: I’ll start you off with a linky:

    https://news.yahoo.com/secret-agents-were-contact-far-194848107.html

    A Secret Service agent told other agents that Rhodes had called him to inform him that the Oath Keepers planned to provide “security details” for a Trump visit to North Carolina. Their mission was to provide protection from “leftist” attacks.

    This agent admitted to other agents that he was an Oath Keeper himself. He described himself as an unofficial liaison with Oath Keepers (“inching toward official”).

    Fun, huh?

     

  19. 19.

    WaterGirl

  22. 22.

    KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager))

    Sh!t’s getting real for a group of folks who never thought the leopard-eating party could ever possibly eat their faces. Getting booked and fingerprinted in a very nasty jail, or having judges and DAs sneer at your attempts to stamp your little feets and demand that they recognize what an important person you are, will do that to you. I can just feel the cold sweat from here. There are not going to be 19 defendants in GA. There are already people trying to cut deals down there.

    There are MAGAts who will never ever ever break with their god. But just as sh!t is getting real for the defendants (and people who were going to be Federal defendants until they got independent lawyers), regular, non-MAGAt repubs are starting to get queasy. I don’t know if the break will come in time for another candidate for President, but I don’t think TFG is going to be going to make it to the stage in January 2025.

  24. 24.

    Delk

    The southwest suburban minister indicted with former President Donald Trump and 17 others last week on charges related to attempts to overthrow election results in Georgia has reached a bond agreement and plans to surrender to authorities on Friday.

    David Shestokas, an attorney representing Lee, said a bond agreement has been reached with Fulton County authorities, and Lee will turn himself in on Friday morning, the deadline for defendants to voluntarily surrender. Lee’s bond has been set at $75,000.

    But Shestokas said he still contends a $75,000 bond for Lee isn’t reasonable.

    “I think that’s an excessive bond. He’s a pastor. These are not folks that do things to get wealthy,” Shestokas said. “There’s no reason to believe he’s a flight risk. I advised them that he is not a wealthy man and wouldn’t be able to make bond.”

    Cue the theme from Baretta.

  25. 25.

    Frankensteinbeck

    Trump was paying for the attorneys in the previous cases.  Racketeering charges make that not really work this time.  Cannon’s not in charge, and the Georgia system made this case immediate and in everyone’s face.  Those became the last pebbles that started the avalanche, or at least made it visible to us.

  28. 28.

    Captain C

    What is it about the Fulton County, GA case that it seems to have had this effect?

    I think the taking of and publishing the mugshots is part of it; that’s a very real signifier of Criminal Trouble both in the general newsosphere and in police and detective and other such movies and shows.

    I wonder if TFG will give a smile and thumbs up at his.

  29. 29.

    Another Scott

    @KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager)): +1

    I’m reminded that most civil court cases settle about a minute before the trial starts.  The prospect of a result that one cannot control focuses the mind.

    Similarly, everyone indicted is madly looking around and figuring and trying to determine whether they can get a better deal now, or at some future date, or whether they can get any deal at all if someone else pleads first.

    Consequences, and deadlines, focus the mind…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  33. 33.

    Brachiator

    @Delk:

    But Shestokas said he still contends a $75,000 bond for Lee isn’t reasonable.

    Conservatives have been criticizing DA’s who want to get rid of cash bail. Conservatives say it goes soft on crime.

    Wonder what some may think about it now.

  35. 35.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Baud: seconded

    I’m not sure what this means, or how it affects his co-defendants? Is this a move toward a deal or a shove in the general direction of a bus?

    Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney
    JUST IN: Ken CHESEBRO has filed a demand for a speedy trial in Fulton County. Read it here:

    Joyce Alene @JoyceWhiteVance 5h
    A little Georgia criminal procedure here: Georgia defendants can make what’s called a speedy trial act request, forcing the prosecutor to try them within two grand jury terms, or roughly before the end of the year in this case

    ETA: Chris Hayes just quoted a lawyer as saying this is “a bomb thrown into the case”

  36. 36.

    WaterGirl

    From Kyle Cheney’s twitter:

    NEW: Fani Willis makes her most detailed argument yet about the rationale behind charging Mark MEADOWS, emphasizing that he’s charged with trying to affect the outcome of the election — a prohibited activity for federal officials.

    Link to PDF

    We little people at the University had to be very careful about not violating the Hatch Act.  Nice to see it being put to good use here.  To someone part of the administration who held fucking campaign events in the whitehouse.

  37. 37.

    EmanG

    Holy shit! I just found out how hard it is to stream/watch the jv debate tonight. It’s almost like someone isn’t interested in the 2nd tier’s views on things.

  38. 38.

    Mike in NC

    Waiting for Jack Smith to indict a bunch of Republican congressmen and senators who backed the coup. Most of the Freedumb Caucus would be included.

  39. 39.

    Roger Moore

    Now that shit is getting real, they are turning on one another. What is it about the Fulton County, GA case that it seems to have had this effect?

    I’d guess the key is that they are really in position to turn on each other. The previous indictments have just been about Trump or Trump and a handful of close confidantes. Trump has mostly managed to keep everyone in line and clamming up. The GA indictment includes a whole bunch of people, some of whom basically don’t know each other. How much hold does Trump really have on a bunch of Georgia randos, especially if he can’t bribe their silence by paying for their defense?

  41. 41.

    kalakal

    @WaterGirl: Oh that’s marvellous.

    I am so looking forward to the Leopards Eating Peoples Faces Party eating the Leopards Eating Peoples Faces Party

  43. 43.

    Raven

    @WaterGirl: In 1975 we were driving to the Keys from CU when we crashed the van in Atlanta and I broke my back. We had a gun (I know, I know) and some weed and I clearly remember thinking “ I don’t care if I die but I don’t want to go to jail in Georgia “!

  44. 44.

    WaterGirl

    @Mike in NC: I was thinking about that today, wondering if any of them are getting nervous.

    They say if you want a deal, you have to give them something about someone higher up the food chain than you are.  They’ve already got Trump, etc, but I would think a Senator or someone from the House would bring a pretty penny in a deal, metaphorically speaking.

  45. 45.

    LAO

    @Captain C: I think there is something to your comment. I’ve spent many years in both federal and state court, putting aside the issue of pardon power, there’s a much different vibe in state court. It’s grittier and more jarring than federal court. It’s a totally different experience, I know this might not make sense but state court lacks the gravitas and dignity of federal court. It’s a truly humbling experience for defendants and their lawyers.

  47. 47.

    MattF

    I think people are reflecting on how someone who started with a Trump-paid lawyer changed their plea when they got a real lawyer. ‘Do I really want to sacrifice five-to-ten years in a Georgia prison to make TFG’s case? Maybe not!’

  49. 49.

    Roger Moore

    @WaterGirl:

    They say if you want a deal, you have to give them something about someone higher up the food chain than you are. They’ve already got Trump,

    Not really.  They’ve indicted Trump, but they sure as heck haven’t convicted him.  There’s still plenty of room to negotiate if you have the goods that will greatly increase the chances of a conviction.

  50. 50.

    cmorenc

    What if Meadows or Clark fail to show up by Friday, but turn up instead in Florida.  Would DeSantis try to block or refuse to honor a Georgia extradition request?  Even if Florida governors technically lack power to block an extradition to another state – he has so many politically potent tentacles across Florida government institutions, he may still be able to throw sand in the gears.

    Consider also that when red states with extreme anti-abortion laws and officials try to come after a resident who fled to another state eg California to have an abortion, California may be put to the issue of whether and how to block the extradition.  So the potential for DeSantis to attempt to resist extraditing Meadows is more complicated than it first seems.

  52. 52.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @LAO: Yeah, federal court is marble corridors, dark paneled conference rooms, and spotless courtrooms.  State court is … not.

  53. 53.

    LAO

    @Omnes Omnibus: So true. Did you read the DOJ response on the Garcia hearing? I think Woodward may have crossed an ethical line – he didn’t oppose the hearing in DC and he knew exactly what the actual (not potential) conflict was. He NEVER should have opposed the hearing in Fla. I’m gobsmacked.

  57. 57.

    Raven

    @WaterGirl: Nah, my ex tossed the weed after trying to give it to bystanders (we were in an African-American neighborhood and they smelled a rat!) I don’t think the cops even looked close enough to find the piece. We were quite a sight if memory serves!

  59. 59.

    Captain C

    @WaterGirl: You know, there’s a bleepload of flights into Atlanta, plus his (Meadows’) claimed residence is less than a 2 1/2 hour drive from his declared residence.  I’m sure he can get someone or some institution to comp a ride in a nice car if he’s there.

    Even if he’s in D.C. (which I’m guessing also applies to Clark), let’s see ( * checks flights * ), if he has to report in by 12:30, let’s say you want a safety margin so arrive at Hartsfield-Jackson by 9:30 there are several nonstop, first class options that morning for under 700 clams roundtrip; if he wants to get in the night before he has 3 first class nonstop options under 600 bucks (and spread all over the day) and numerous others under $700.

    Cry me a river, dudes.

  67. 67.

    Raven

    @WaterGirl: Remind me to tell you about the “incident “ the night before my first wedding when I ended up being represented by John Hirschfeld!

  69. 69.

    LAO

    @Baud: I was very disappointed when I did my first arrangement in night court. The experience did not live up to the hype.

  72. 72.

    Mallard Filmore

    @WaterGirl: “Mark Meadows’ federal appeals for a stay in their RICO arrests have been denied.”

    The “I was just a coffee boy” excuse didn’t work?

  76. 76.

    LAO

    @WaterGirl: I missed that. I would have just agreed with you. Just promise me (and frankly, it can be a lie) that Andrew Weissman isn’t the legal eagle you’re referring too. 😉

  80. 80.

    Scout211

    They are now indicting and booking the planners, but they are still arresting the doers. They finally arrested  Shield Grampy

    🤣 That nickname just makes me laugh.

    WASHINGTON — A Capitol rioter known to online sleuths as “Shield Grampy” — a reference to his age and his use of a police shield during the battle at the lower west tunnel on Jan. 6 — has been arrested by the FBI, according to court documents.

    Anthony Mastanduno, who was no. 397 on the FBI’s Capitol Violence website, was charged with a variety of federal crimes, including assaulting law enforcement. The FBI said he used a stolen police shield to assault officers as well as a baton and a blue pole.

  82. 82.

    wjca

    @Jeffro:

     I wonder if the reality of all of this is starting to sink in with the GOP – elected officials and voters alike???

    I think that it’s the fact that there are so many other people** getting booked.  If/when it was just Trump in the dock, they could convince themselves that it was somehow all politically motivated.  But the parade of mug shots changes the dynamic.

    ** Not just flunkies like Nauta, but “serious people”, “important people”, professionals.

  83. 83.

    WaterGirl

    @LAO: I read it in the car while I was waiting to pick my friend up at the car place.  I was in the car for maybe 7 minutes, and I maybe had time to look at Jack Smith’s twitter and Harry Litman.  I think maybe it was Harry.

    What is your opinion of Weissman?  His dragging of Merrick Garland pisses me off, but other than that I don’t have a strong opinion.

    edit: I have a vague recollection that you thought he was an arrogant instructor in law school?

  86. 86.

    The Pale Scot

    @Captain C:

    That’s not a mugshot. No height ruler behind him, no ID number at the bottom of the picture. It’s not going to get real for these people until they are bending over at intake to let a CO examine their butthole

  87. 87.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @LAO:

    I did my first arrangement in night court. The experience did not live up to the hype.

    Selma Diamond season, Florence Halop or Marsha Warfield?

  88. 88.

    The Pale Scot

    @Another Scott:

    determine whether they can get a better deal now, or at some future date, or whether they can get any deal at all if someone else pleads first.

    Lenny Briscoe, ” The deal goes to whoever talks first, your buddy is down the hall spilling his guts right now,”

  91. 91.

    M31

    I love how all those smug magats left the Capitol in shambles and thought they got away with it and are now living in fear, thinking every doorbell is the feds coming to take them in.

    wait your turn, motherfuckers, it’s coming

    hahahahaha

  93. 93.

    LAO

    @Omnes Omnibus: 🤣

     

    @WaterGirl: Short version: when I was a baby associate, AW was chief of the criminal division in the EDNY. He hated my firm and one of the partners. He stepped in to try a very stupid mob case against my boss (I was the second seat). He was pretty condescending to me, which was annoying but whatever. In the middle of trial, the defendant absconded to Costa Rica, he sent agents to my apartment building to intimidate and interrogate me. It was super fun.

    ETA: he’s a total prick. He didn’t send agents to my boss’ house.

  97. 97.

    Roger Moore

    @HumboldtBlue:

    They’ve got America’s mayor up there?

    Sweet Jesus, I despise that term.

    I think the “America’s mayor” thing fits pretty well: he put his national ambitions above the city that elected him.  That’s not the way his fans want to think about it, but it’s totally valid.

  98. 98.

    Ken

    @Greg: Also, the Trump funded lawyer in the docs case who was willing to let a client face perjury charges to save Trump has also focused some attention.

    Wasn’t there a Trump-funded lawyer in the Georgia case who didn’t bother to tell the clients that the DA was offering a deal?

  99. 99.

    WaterGirl

    @LAO:

    he sent agents to my apartment building to intimidate and interrogate me. It was super fun.

    Guessing you don’t get over that in a hurry.

    edit:

    ETA: he’s a total prick. He didn’t send agents to my boss’ house.

    That’s a total dick move.

  100. 100.

    M31

    @WaterGirl: I think some wag on Twitxter or here said something like “If you are in line at the Fulton County Courthouse, STAY IN LINE!”

    hahahahahah

  103. 103.

    Captain C

    @Another Scott:

    I’m reminded that most civil court cases settle about a minute before the trial starts.  The prospect of a result that one cannot control focuses the mind.

    The one jury I was empaneled on was an injury case that had dragged on for about four years.  The next morning (i.e. start of trial), we waited an hour, and then the judge called in to tell us that the parties had finally settled, but that our service was not in vain as the reality of an impending trial had gotten them to finally find a middle ground.  He was so sincere that none of us (6 plus 2 alternates) wanted to (or did) tell him that we were just relieved to be out of there.  Since I had the rest of the day off, I went for Chinese food for lunch and then spent the afternoon at the NY Transit Museum.

  105. 105.

    Roger Moore

    @WaterGirl:

    You’re not paranoid if they’re really out to get you.

    That’s not really true.  Yes, even paranoid people have enemies- acting paranoid is a great way to make enemies if you don’t already have some- but that doesn’t mean all the enemies they imagine are real.

  108. 108.

    smith

    @Ken: Wasn’t there a Trump-funded lawyer in the Georgia case who didn’t bother to tell the clients that the DA was offering a deal?

    I think she was funded by the state GQP, but it’s pretty clear who she was really trying to protect.

  109. 109.

    The Pale Scot

    @wjca:

    I wonder if the reality of all of this is starting to sink in with the GOP – elected officials and voters alike???

    Krabs in the bucket are looking around realizing that the only way out of the bucket is to beat down the other krabs. And they know either way their lives as they know it are gone.

  110. 110.

    LAO

    @WaterGirl: I loved my doorman though, he made the agents wait in the lobby for me to get home. And I wouldn’t let them upstairs. In hindsight, it was pretty funny.

    The defendant was a horrible guy, his wife lost her house and was convicted of lying to federal agents. It was a shitshow. The first and last time, I had a client runaway.

  113. 113.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @Ken: Wasn’t there a Trump-funded lawyer in the Georgia case who didn’t bother to tell the clients that the DA was offering a deal?

    Yes, and some flipped upon the belated news.

  115. 115.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @WaterGirl: Was it something like 3 million?  (That number may be totally wrong.)

    How many official/unofficial hours are spent texting by a typical SS member on an average day?

    @Omnes Omnibus: You’re right. The Republicans did us a favor waiting until they were so degraded by ideology that their leaders can’t tie they’re shoes.

  116. 116.

    WaterGirl

    @LAO:

    his wife lost her house and was convicted of lying to federal agents

    So the guy never came back and left his wife to take all the heat?  Stand-up guy!  I’ll bet she regretted lying for him.

  117. 117.

    LAO

    @WaterGirl: I took them to a diner across the street. They were the case agents so I knew them and had been dealing with them for months. I could tell they were uncomfortable but i was vocally pissed. It was so unprofessional and they knew it.

  119. 119.

    Kenneth Fair

    @Delk: In my (limited) experience, a bond costs around 10% of the face amount. So it’s not like the pastor is putting up $75,000 of his own money.

  120. 120.

    LAO

    @WaterGirl: oh no. They caught him. He fought extradition while in a real shithole of jail. He was brought back 2 years later and at sentencing I asked that he be given credit for the horrendous jail conditions in Costa Rica.

    the district judge, turned to the court report, shook his head and leaned over the bench and to me “you got some set of balls on you” and then maxed the defendant out. Fun fact: we had to go back for resentencing after I won an appeal in the 2d circuit. We got the same sentence. The defendant died in custody before completing his sentence.

  124. 124.

    Ksmiami

    If I could hazard a guess: the tapes are mondo incriminating so… yeah, they’re gonna betray eachother.

  126. 126.

    Greg

    @Ken: I don’t think it has gotten that far in Georgia. I know the Document case had a witness change his story when he was no longer represented by a Trump attorney. That attorney was repping 2 possible targets. He was letting one perjure himself to protect the other. When the witness was told that he was a target of perjury charges by a public defender, he changed his testimony, and we got the superceding indictment.

  127. 127.

    DaBunny42

    @Omnes Omnibus: Ft Moore to William and Mary? My son want to W&M and then trained at Moore (it was Benning when he got there, Moore by the time he finished Ranger training).

  129. 129.

    Ruckus

    @Captain C:

    I lived in a CA county that had 1/4 million residents for 6 yrs. I was called to jury service 4 times. I served on 2 cases, got excused once and had to sit in the courthouse 5 days on the other one. I’ve served jury service 3 time in LA county, next week makes 4. This is the first time that we call in the day before to see if we need to show up. So no more sitting in a jury waiting room for 5 days to find out we never get called.

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