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You are here: Home / Elections 2024 / Lock Him Up?

Lock Him Up?

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I was bored earlier and needed mindless entertainment, so I browsed free old movies on my streaming channels. I settled on “Two Weeks Notice,” starring Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock. It’s the fluffy rom-com I expected, but guess who makes a cameo? Convicted felon Donald Fucking Trump!

Goddamn. I knew the sumbitch was in one of the “Home Alone” films. I guess I need to print out a list of every movie he’s defiled with his vile presence so I can avoid them in the future.

***

The Hill published an article about Republican senators warning Judge Merchan not to sentence Trump to jail or house arrest. The list includes the batshit usual suspects (Baby Doc Paul, Cancun Cruz, etc.) as well as what passes for a “moderate” Republican these days, including Cornyn and Tillis.

All of the lackeys dutifully mouthed the “weaponized judiciary” lies. The idiotic Sen. Budd from NC provides a representative sample of the genre:

“But when you see the conviction and the rules that he instructed the jury with, it’s completely unfair, it’s unconstitutional, and I would put nothing past him at this point,” he said of Merchan.

Budd said a tough sentence “would only strengthen the resolve of the Americans to support President Trump.”

As if.

My completely uneducated guess is Merchan will not sentence Trump to jail or house arrest. Locking him up does raise legit issues since the convicted felon is (absurdly) one of two viable candidates for president.

I think the best we can hope for is that Merchan will craft a poetically just community service stint, such as making Trump spend 100 hours as a do-boy for election workers, who have a busy summer ahead of them. Not a public-facing role for Trump, obviously — make him schlep boxes and roll equipment around to support election logistics. Something like that.

Anyhoo, Jen Rubin, the most righteous of the Never Trumpers, says the situation demands jail time: (WaPo gift link)

Merchan should take into account that Trump has hurled threats and smears at witnesses, jurors and the judge (including his family). He also should consider the racist attacks and implicit threat of violence directed at Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. The felon who will stand before him has tried to intimidate witnesses and delegitimize the New York courts as corrupt. In continuing to incite his mob (that now threatens the safety of the anonymous jurors) and demean the courts as “rigged,” Trump does far more damage to the people of New York (not to mention the country) than he did with any single criminal act. The potential that New Yorkers will be less willing to serve as jurors after watching the vitriol unleashed on these 12 people could be among Trump’s most enduring injuries to the court system…

With other criminal cases against Trump delayed, Merchan alone has the responsibility for the foreseeable future to mete out punishment that is appropriate for Trump’s crimes and sufficient to protect the justice system. The voters ultimately will have to reject fascism at the ballot box, but at present Merchan must exercise his discretion in sentencing Trump to actual incarceration for at least a year to shelter the independent judiciary — judges, jurors and witnesses — threatened by this felon and his rhetoric. If he does not, he puts New Yorkers and the Constitution at risk.

She’s not wrong, but it ain’t gonna happen. The nation had its chance to shitcan the orange fart cloud forever in Impeachment II, but Senate Republicans chickened out. So here we are, and it’s up to wee the pipple.

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

129Comments

  2. 2.

    Jeffro

    I wouldn’t rule anything out, mostly because Rubin’s right: the witness intimidation attempts alone merit jail time, much less the gag order violations, attacks on the judge, and more.

    30 days in the slammer + 500 hours of community service.

    And I’m only negotiating upwards, not down, from there. ;)

  4. 4.

    rikyrah

    More reference from the right-wing decision yesterday that a PRIVATE VENTURE CAPITAL FUND can’t decide who they want to give their monies to:

     

    cookiet9292 (@cookiet9292) posted at 9:57 PM on Mon, Jun 03, 2024:
    This should be yet another warning to The Global Majority. Overturning the 1964 Civil Rights Act has always been the primary goal of the white nationalists. Overturn that, and they can 100% reinstitute ways that curtail our vote and every other civil right.
    (https://x.com/cookiet9292/status/1797824955486466470?t=XbhWXXO7ngNFq9UJE2HHNA&s=03)

  5. 5.

    rikyrah

    Anna (@itsafronomics) posted at 6:39 PM on Mon, Jun 03, 2024:
    A loud reminder that in 2021, Black women received less than 0.4% of venture capital in the U.S. This is why the Fearless Fund existed.

    Anna (@itsafronomics) posted at 6:48 PM on Mon, Jun 03, 2024:
    This is nuts because this conservative group likely knows the numbers. The overwhelming majority of VC dollars goes to white guys followed by white women and men of color.

    Acting like there aren’t 100 other avenues for these groups to get money is wild.
    https://t.co/hOdsFvg0dC
    (https://x.com/itsafronomics/status/1797777300458533302?t=97pcjn2CsTzhn88nVR8MUA&s=03)

  6. 6.

    Old School

    I go back and forth as to whether Trump will get jail time from this case.  It’ll be interesting to see what Merchan decides.

  7. 7.

    pat

    Yes but just imagine what happens if the threats to the judge and jury simply escalate.

  8. 8.

    SiubhanDuinne

    You’ll have to do some filtering — I do not like IMDb’s interface, not one little bit — but here’s a list of all his media appearances and other showbiz links (producer, etc.)

  11. 11.

    smith

    @Jeffro: I wouldn’t rule anything out, mostly because Rubin’s right: the witness intimidation attempts alone merit jail time, much less the gag order violations, attacks on the judge, and more.

    Not to mention his total lack of remorse, which I understand is a key criterion for deciding how hard to punish a convicted felon.

  12. 12.

    Jeffg166

    TFG would prefer jail time to physical labor. That might just kill him. Not that that would be a bad thing.

  13. 13.

    SFAW

    The voters ultimately will have to reject fascism at the ballot box

    How TF can they be expected to do that, when Sleepy Joe Brandon is OLD, and in fact is OLDER TODAY THAN HE WAS YESTERDAY?

  14. 14.

    B1naryS3rf

    There’s no fear at all in sentencing to jail.

    1.  Death threats are already baked in at this point – the MAGAt terrorists have no more leverage
    2.  He won’t serve until appeals are exhausted
    3.  More than fucking deserved given his conduct around the trial let alone the crimes themselves.

    Let the chips fall on his orange puke face.

  15. 15.

    John S.

    @smith:

    Lack of remorse would be one thing. Trump is literally reveling in the crime he committed while thumbing his nose at the justice system that found him guilty for it.

    That’s a lot worse than just “lack of remorse”.

  17. 17.

    Math Guy

    Sometimes offenders are given the option to serve their sentences on weekends. 30 days/2 days per weekend = 15 weekends spent in jail.

  18. 18.

    TBone

    I’m on Team Jen Rubin.  Anyplace that was good enough for Michael Cohen’s solitary confinement is good enough for Donald Jessica.  I don”t really care what the duration is. I just want equal justice before the law.

  19. 19.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @Jeffro:

    I wouldn’t rule anything out, mostly because Rubin’s right: the witness intimidation attempts alone merit jail time, much less the gag order violations, attacks on the judge, and more.
    30 days in the slammer + 500 hours of community service.
    And I’m only negotiating upwards, not down, from there. ;)

    I had to look up what the max could be: 4 years for each count up to a maximum of 20 years. Or probation.
    Given what’s transpired and his lengthy non-convicted criminal history, I’d start at the 20 year mark just to enjoy the fautrage of the right, then adjust downward…slightly.

  20. 20.

    Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony

    He does need to serve time AND do community service AND pay huge fines

    If nothing else, him serving time will have him spouting more offensive stuff to communities of color, like how they should all love him now that he’s a criminal like they all are. I want to see all his gains eroded.

  21. 21.

    E.

    I think I could be pretty satisfied with an appropriately crafted, iron-clad community-service program. Maybe evening intake at a homeless shelter? Something that a normie would feel good about doing and has a distinct social value, so it would be catastrophically humiliating to him.

  23. 23.

    Jeffro

    @Jackie: omg please DO accept the nomination from prison, orange toddler.  please!

    is ANYTHING registering with these people?

    this isn’t some movie or weird Netflix series, GOP: this is for real.  Your guy is crazy, broke, and heading for prison.  Not exactly the type I’d want in charge of our national security!

  24. 24.

    rikyrah

    Jasmine Crockett’s Anger Translator (@Needle_of_Arya) posted at 11:37 PM on Mon, Jun 03, 2024:
    In practice, what these recent appeals court rulings mean is that WM can give venture capital only to other WM but that’s never racist against against minorities, but if minorities try to help one another within their own social networks that’s somehow “racist” against whites.
    (https://x.com/Needle_of_Arya/status/1797850092323701040?t=MGFeh1wu4sp1_1YitNUUpQ&s=03)

  25. 25.

    smith

    I think a jail sentence stayed pending appeal would be perfect. It makes it so the Goobers can’t scream that he’s being prevented from campaigning, it signals that yes, this is a serious offense that requires a serious consequence, and, best of all, there are reports that he is absolutely terrified of being jailed. Having that possibility looming on the horizon could complete the process of his ongoing mental breakdown.

    I have to add that I never thought that I’d advocate hounding an elderly demented person into a total breakdown, but here we are. Existential threats come in a variety of forms, and have to be met as they come.

  29. 29.

    Betty Cracker

    Good for him:

    President Biden, asked whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was prolonging the war in Gaza in an effort to hold on to office, said that he believes “there is every reason for people to draw that conclusion,” lending his voice to something many in his administration have been saying privately for months.

  30. 30.

    Prescott Cactus

    I’d like a 2 or 3 day jail sentence. Let’s not forget the contempt charges that are possible for post trial stupidity, so another day or 2. That’s all.

    Just to hear him whine.

  31. 31.

    TBone

    @smith: now add in the timing of the extra $$$ and benefits the witnesses under Dotard’s employ got before, during, and after(?) his felony trial.  Is the Judge allowed to use HIS common sense, as well as the jurors are?

    ETA:  Thanks again to ProPublica!

  36. 36.

    Baud

    but guess who makes a cameo? Convicted felon Donald Fucking Trump!

    I also have found it remarkable, and not in a good way, how much he was a presence in media/entertainment background before 2016.

  37. 37.

    Jinchi

    I guess I need to print out a list of every movie he’s defiled with his vile presence so I can avoid them in the future.

    He was also in one of the Sex and the City episodes where one of the main characters flirts with him and he’s described as one of New York’s most eligible or some other nonsense.

    I think he made it a part of the contract if anyone wanted to film at one of his locations.

  38. 38.

    Miss Bianca

    @rikyrah: this shit just makes me want to fucking scream.

    As if Jim Crow and legacy admittance to colleges hadn’t been affirmative action for white (mostly) men for hundreds of fucking YEARS!

  39. 39.

    MattF

    Well, Martha Stewart spent five months in prison… so first-time, white-collar, yadda yadda isn’t determinative. Yes, it would be fun to watch RWNJ heads exploding in unison, but putting crazy people in jail for their craziness is a bad idea. Sentence him to medication and a year of therapy.

  40. 40.

    cope

    I have read a couple of items online about a pre-sentencing interview Trump has to participate in that will be used to help determine his sentence and how it might not go so well for him to be in a one-on-one conversation.  Of course, now I can’t find any links but imagining such an interview can be fun.

  41. 41.

    Jeffro

    @Baud: I also have found it remarkable, and not in a good way, how much he was a presence in media/entertainment background before 2016.

    yup

    he has been name-checked in plenty of songs, too – usually by rappers, but even in “In The Heights” musical (2007, by Lin-Manuel Miranda no less) they talk about being rich and “on the links with Donald Trump”  – barf

    (by the time they cut a film version in 2021, Miranda had it changed to Tiger Woods =

     

    “When I wrote it,” Miranda told Variety, “he was an avatar for the Monopoly man. He was just, like, a famous rich person. Then when time moves on and he becomes the stain on American democracy, you change the lyric. Time made a fool of that lyric, and so we changed it.”

  42. 42.

    smith

    @TBone: IANAL, but I’m guessing that since none of those witnesses testified at Merchan’s trial, he probably wouldn’t be able to take anything like that into account.

  43. 43.

    Elizabelle

    @Jeffro:

    30 days in the slammer + 500 hours of community service.

    And I’m only negotiating upwards, not down, from there. ;)

    I’m there.  This convict’s actions interfered in a free and fair election.

    Weekends in jail does not do it for me.

    We got here partly because Trump, and white collar criminals like him, face no real penalties and can run out the clock.  Enough.

    Why should he be treated more gently than Michael Cohen, who has shown genuine remorse and who served his sentence without whining?

  44. 44.

    Dog Mom

    At the sentencing hearing, is he given the opportunity to give a statement?  Or will he be questioned by the Judge?

  45. 45.

    Ishiyama

    4 years prison, no stay on appeal – we are talking about multiple felonies and a defiant criminal. Treat him like the rest of us! “fiat justitia ruat caelum.”

  46. 46.

    Ohio Mom

    @E.: Why do you want to punish the people signing into a homeless shelter? They deserve to be treated with respect and kindness, something I can not see Trump supplying.

    I don’t mean to pick on you. Any community-facing service is going to be equally problematic.

    I don’t know what the answer is. Whatever the judge comes up with doesn’t really matter, as has already been pointed out, Trump will appeal and who knows how long that will drag things out.

    Well, it will matter as far as the public relations implications, it will be spun by both sides. But that shouldn’t be the judge’s concern.

  47. 47.

    sdhays

    I don’t like “X is never going to happen” (unless it’s something that literally will never happen, like unicorns flying out of Trump’s ass). I feel like I hear and read that all of the time, and it’s just not true, for good and ill. “Trump will never try to stay in power even if he loses the election” and “Trump will never be convicted of any of his crimes” are both things that were the “common wisdom” until events proved them clearly false. Saying something’s impossible when it’s not impossible (and, really, the odds are mirky at this point) can create cynicism and complacency.

    His crime warrants jail time, especially since the potential fines are capped at ridiculously low levels for a man of his wealth. That’s the only thing to say at this point. We’ll see if Merchan agrees, but trying to predict his decision, especially since he hasn’t even made it yet, is a fool’s errand.

    /end rant

  48. 48.

    Elizabelle

    Both Martha Stewart and Malcolm X learned a lot from their prison sentences.

    Why deny this chump that opportunity?

  49. 49.

    Jeffro

    @Elizabelle: Why should he be treated more gently than Michael Cohen, who has shown genuine remorse and who served his sentence without whining?

    amen!

    also, the whole “jailing a former president would be unprecedented” thing in the snooze media has GOT to GO

    Everything about this clown is unprecedented.

    Did we ever have a president so unqualified for the job?

    One who had thousands of lawsuits against him?

    One with such a record of failure?

    One so willing to set American against American, and so willing to embrace intimidation and violence?

    One so OBVIOUSLY owned by hostile foreign powers?

    All of it was unprecedented (and for good reason!)

    Parties usually police their own candidates, at least to some degree.  The GOP gave up on that completely  – which was ALSO unprecedented! – in the hopes of keeping this country’s age-old caste order IN order.  Oh well, sucks to be them.

    I don’t care about “unprecedented“.  Off to the slammer, Donnie!

  50. 50.

    Elizabelle

    @sdhays:  I agree with you. It normalizes everything.

    He was never gonna be convicted on all 34 counts.  And yet …

  51. 51.

    TBone

    @smith: SOME of those very witnesses testified at the Merchan trial!

    Nine witnesses in the criminal cases against former President Donald Trump have received significant financial benefits, including large raises from his campaign, severance packages, new jobs, and a grant of shares and cash from Trump’s media company.

    Trump Witnesses Have Received Financial Benefits From Trump Businesses, Campaign — ProPublic

    ETA I am wrong, never mind!  BRAIN FART

    Weisselberg is the only one but he didn’t cave

  52. 52.

    Elizabelle

    @Jeffro:  Yes!

    We will never reach peak pundit, but it is a sickness, is it not?  All the spin.  No wonder people tune out.

  53. 53.

    Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony

    @Ohio Mom:

    Any community-facing service is going to be equally problematic.

    Agree. That’s why he should be stocking shelves at a food bank, picking up trash, stuffing envelopes, painting over graffiti, etc. He will see being any kind of a laborer as an exercise in humiliation.

  54. 54.

    Chris

    Goddamn. I knew the sumbitch was in one of the “Home Alone” films. I guess I need to print out a list of every movie he’s defiled with his vile presence so I can avoid them in the future.

    The best Trump appearance is the one in which he doesn’t technically appear: Back To The Future 2, where Alternate!1985 Biff Tannen is 100% modeled on Donald Trump.

    I always found it revealing of something that even all the way back in 1989, long before The Simpsons made the “President Trump” joke, everybody knew exactly what an utter scumbag he was, to the point that a popular movie could make the satire and have it pass without comment and without offending anybody.

  56. 56.

    WereBear

    I like the “Weekends at Rikers” plan. Or Tuesday/Wednesdays if I’m feeling mellow.

    Let him campaign like a Mook, a schmuck, an ordinary guy.

  57. 57.

    waspuppet

    I’m not a lawyer, but aren’t contrition and likelihood of reoffending major factors in sentencing? And hasn’t Trump shown 0 and 100 percent of those, respectively?

  58. 58.

    sdhays

    @Chris: Heh, Alternate 1985 Biff seems like a better businessman than the Real Donald Trump. If 2015 Donald Trump gave 1955 Donald Trump a book of racing “history”, Donnie would still go bankrupt.

  59. 59.

    Spanky

    So at this point, NOT sentencing him to jail will only further embolden the right wing senators and house members to further try to influence/intimidate judges and, of course, juries.

    Lock him the fuck up.

  60. 60.

    Chris

    @rikyrah:

    Using the 1866 Civil Rights Act from the Reconstruction era — originally designed to protect Black people from racial discrimination in contracts — against Black women in 2024 is disgusting.

    Shades of the way the Supreme Court, for half a century and change after Reconstruction, refused to enforce the Reconstruction amendments to protect the rights of black voters/citizens, but dreamed up a completely alternative interpretation in which the real purpose of these amendments was to protect the privileges of robber-barons against their unruly workers.  (Among whom a disproportionately represented share of the population would have been, yes, black people).

  65. 65.

    TBone

    @smith: whatever works, at this point.  We’re way past the point where anything with a shred of decency or deference should be contemplated.

  67. 67.

    jimmiraybob

    I say that he be granted the special title of Unified Reichsführer and taken to the Unified Reichsführerbunker – deactivated ICBM silo – where he is given ultimate command to wage the final glorious MAGA war against the communist-fascist demoncrats. A Nintendo controller and video feed of him launching missiles against sanctuary cities and migrant caravans should keep him busy. The videos could be aired on Fox and Newsmax.

    Damn, why aren’t I a screenwriter?

  68. 68.

    smith

    @TBone: Weisselberg didn’t cave and didn’t testify.

    On the other hand, other than Weisselberg’s, the only payoffs ProPublica was able to pinpoint were those paid out of campaign funds, which have to be publicly reported. They did not have access to payment info to any potential witnesses who were/are employed by Trump Org. Some of those did testify in this trial, but if they’d been paid off it certainly didn’t help him.

  70. 70.

    Raoul Paste

    Any jail time will be appealed, as noted earlier.  And maybe just as well— You don’t want Trump sitting in a cell with his ghost writer cranking out his version of Mein Kampf.  /s

  71. 71.

    TBone

    @smith: even so, the payoffs are illegal, so I’m right back to “Can Judge Merchan infer, using his common sense, as the jurors were instructed to do?”  Attempted homicide is a crime.

    In the end, it doesn’t really matter, there is enough blatant violation of gag order and contempt stuff to nail him.

  72. 72.

    JaySinWA

    I can’t see community service from Donald as being anything but a disservice to the community.

    The accommodations that would have to be provided and the lack of physical capabilities or useful skills would make him a net drain on any event he was part of (with the possible exception of dunk tank target)

    Jail for more than a day or so at a time would be interesting in dealing with his medications. I could see home detention in his New York facilities with internet access cut as something that might be viable

    ETA I see

    @Ohio Mom:

    and others beat me to it while I was typing.

  73. 73.

    Kosh III

    ” Locking him up does raise legit issues since the convicted felon is (absurdly) one of two viable candidates for president.”

    In 1920 Eugene V Debs, Socialist Party candidate was in federal prison. He campaigned by letters etc. He got 915,000 votes.

    I want the felonious pussy grabber to serve on weekends picking up trash along highways.

  74. 74.

    jonas

    I guess I need to print out a list of every movie he’s defiled with his vile presence so I can avoid them in the future.

    I forget which director it was — maybe Chris Columbus — who stated that if you wanted to film at one of Trump’s properties back in the day, particularly the Plaza, you had to grant him a cameo. You can’t say the guy didn’t understand self-promotion. It may be all he’s ever understood.

  76. 76.

    smith

    @TBone: It’s not been established that they were illegal, just highly suspicious. Also note, that it’s been known for years that he pays the legal expenses of a lot of potential witnesses against him, which to me seems even more suspicious, but no one has acted on that.

  77. 77.

    Eolirin

    @smith: Now that Trump Org has a financial observer, wouldn’t their ability to do that kind of pay off be visible to NYS, and something that could potentially be blocked even? Leaving the campaign as the only direct line of access?

    Granted there can be other ways to launder money to potential witnesses. The web of rich people with a vested interest in boosting Trump is quite large.

  78. 78.

    Scout211

    @smith: I think a jail sentence stayed pending appeal would be perfect. It makes it so the Goobers can’t scream that he’s being prevented from campaigning, it signals that yes, this is a serious offense that requires a serious consequence, and, best of all, there are reports that he is absolutely terrified of being jailed.

    That’s my prediction.  Something like 30 days in jail or work furlough in lieu of jail time.  Team Trump files the appeal immediately and then he is out on his own recognizance while the appeal drags on and maybe ends up at SCOTUS.

  79. 79.

    smith

    @Eolirin: I’m guessing it would be available to the monitor, but I don’t know of any route by which that information would either be made public or channeled to judges or prosecutors in his other cases. But, IANAL.

  80. 80.

    jonas

    @Raoul Paste: ​
     

    You don’t want Trump sitting in a cell with his ghost writer cranking out his version of Mein Kampf.

    It would be titled “My Interminable, P*ssy-Ass Bitch Whining” by Donald Trump.

  81. 81.

    jimmiraybob

    @smith: ​
      “It’s not been established that they were illegal, just highly suspicious. ”
    Given the well-established Republican legal principle of “where there’s smoke there’s fire,” isn’t this enough proof of guilt?

  82. 82.

    smith

    @jimmiraybob: They’re so good at this, there doesn’t even need to be smoke. Just imagining a fire is enough to make it true beyond a reasonable doubt.

    Unfortunately, we have not been blessed with their talents.

  83. 83.

    Scout211

    The media seems to have had some fun showing a montage of Trump saying “lock her up” even though he denied it on Fox and Friends.

    The sad thing is his narcissism plus cognitive decline makes it entirely probable that he thinks he remembers it accurately.  I’m sure his protective minions and emotional support printer and printed papers have protected him from seeing the numerous clips of him saying “lock her up.”

    LOL, autocorrect suggested “love” her up.  As if!! 🤣

  84. 84.

    Geminid

    @Baud: They voted for the last one back in December. When the debate went late, Aryeh Deri and his Shas MKs signed a paper saying “We vote yes” and left the meeting room at midnight.

    But Hamas has yet to accept the draft. They are under intense public pressure to do so, with the G-7 countries and 5 Arab Foreign calling on Hamas to accept the ceasefire terms. The private pressure could be more intense. Many Arab leaders never liked Hamas to begin with, and now they are past fed up.

  85. 85.

    Philbert

    @Scout211: yup, my guess too for likely.

    But how about some instant jail for contempt, can’t the judge do that? Weekends, whatever, but some 2 nights in a row in a cell.

  87. 87.

    Melancholy Jaques

    @Jeffro:

    I feel we got tired of saying that the only reason he won in 2016 was deeply rooted misogyny and racism. The political media refuses to acknowledge those things exist, let alone how large and persistent they are.

    I don’t think it can be said often enough. It has to be the thing historians associate with his election.

  88. 88.

    eclare

    TCFG also has a cameo in SATC, which pisses me off to no end.  Although it makes more sense than TCFG being in Two Weeks Notice, at least he does live in NYC and was a big deal in the past.

  90. 90.

    Chris

    @sdhays:

    Biff Tannen was still a guy who grew up middle class in a small town, and thus would have had to make some ever-so-slight effort to hoist himself to billionaire position.  Trump just had to coast on the fact that he was born rich to keep being bailed out for all of his fuckups.

    So yeah, even the harshest caricatures end up underselling what a living breathing facepalm he is.

  92. 92.

    Two rabbits

    Is it possible to file a victim’s statement with the court?

    I wouldn’t think so, seems like they would be buried.    I have to ask, I’ve been traumatized!

  93. 93.

    trnc

    Budd said a tough sentence “would only strengthen the resolve of the Americans to support President Trump.”

    Great! Several republicans have said the same thing, so Merchan’s sentencing statement can include something like, “This prison sentence appears to satisfy the demands of Justice called for by the defendant’s lack of remorse, but it also apparently does no damage to his campaign. Bailiff, please take the defendant into custody.”

  94. 94.

    EarthWindFire

    @rikyrah: But, but….ORIGINALISM!!! Yeah, right. Only original thing they want is white Christianist men having the first, last, and only word.

  95. 95.

    eclare

    @jonas:

    I just checked.  The season of SATC where TCFG had a cameo was the season the show filmed some scenes at The Plaza.

  96. 96.

    trnc

    @Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony: ​
     

    He does need to serve time AND do community service AND pay huge fines

    “Democrats Say Trump Isn’t Helping Our Most Vulnerable. Now He’s Proving Them Wrong.”
    NYT on DT’s first day of community service, probably

  97. 97.

    Jeffro

    @jimmiraybob: A Nintendo controller and video feed of him launching missiles against sanctuary cities and migrant caravans should keep him busy.

    See, that right there is where it goes off the rails/doesn’t work: that’s too much work for His Orangeness

  98. 98.

    trnc

    @Jeffro:

     omg please DO accept the nomination from prison, orange toddler.  please!

    is ANYTHING registering with these people?

    this isn’t some movie or weird Netflix series, GOP: this is for real.

    It could be the documentary bookend to Zelenskyy’s “Servant Of The People.”

  100. 100.

    trnc

    @Ohio Mom: Whatever the judge comes up with doesn’t really matter, as has already been pointed out, Trump will appeal and who knows how long that will drag things out.

    IIUC:

    Merchan could sentence him to prison and set a bond that would allow him to remain out during the appeal. So, my question is, can DT meet the bond requirement? He’s already in deep to EJC, and I’m not even sure what the status of that one is at this point.

  101. 101.

    Betty

    @Jeffro: This was Adam Schiff’s line in today’s House Judiciary Committee hearing with Merrick Garland. It’s all unprecedented.

  103. 103.

    Geminid

    @Baud: Qatar is Hamas’s main Arab sponsor and hosts its civilian leadership, and they have in part acted as Hamas’s attorney in this matter. So it was important that its Foreign Minister joined the Foreign Ministers ofEgypt, Jordan, the Emirates and Saudi Arabia in a joint statement calling for acceptance by Hamas.

    Turkiye also has aligned with Hamas, and President Erdogan has supported Hamas with his typical bombast, but he doesn’t want this war to continue. The only nations who do are Iran and Russia.

  104. 104.

    SomeRandomGuy

    My completely uneducated guess is Merchan will not sentence Trump to jail or house arrest. Locking him up does raise legit issues since the convicted felon is (absurdly) one of two viable candidates for president.

    What’s legitimate about the issues? We don’t ask common criminals about their hobbies before jailing them; I don’t care if they’re building model train sets, or running for President, and yes, jail terms *do* interfere, but, as we oldsters could sing, “don’t do the crime, if you can’t do the time”.

    I’m convinced the fucker doesn’t even deserve house arrest, especially so he can’t charge rent to the secret service agents. Let the bureau of prisons get any rent for the secret service (and make sure they have a lot of fun activities that “The Donald” can watch from his cell).

  105. 105.

    Baud

    @Geminid:

    My guess is that those supporters are more interested in their role as power players than any sympathy for Hamas or even Palestinians generally.  But I don’t know.

  106. 106.

    Geminid

    @Baud: I think that those Arab leaders care about the Palestinians, but they care even more about a having a quiet and stable neighborhood. The I/P conflict has held the region back for generations now and the Arabs want it resolved. But they have to get this war settled now.

  107. 107.

    Baud

    @Geminid:

     care even more about a having a quiet and stable neighborhood.

     
    Don’t we all?

    But they have to get this war settled now.

    Don’t we all!

  108. 108.

    Geminid

    @Geminid:

     

    @Jeffro: My friend Joan just sent me a bulletin from Indivisible Charlottesville. They’re meeting at 3:15 tomorrow afternoon to stage a protest against Rep. Greene. Sign making materials provided.

  109. 109.

    SomeRandomGuy

    @B1naryS3rf: WTF makes you think he’ll be permitted to remain free while on appeal? What, do you think Gabriel wasn’t doing time, while asking the courts for the right to have an attorney?

  110. 110.

    ...now I try to be amused

    “Nothing changes until rich white men go to jail.” — John Rogers

  111. 111.

    zhena gogolia

    I hate that movie because I don’t like jokes about diarrhea. Never seen Bridesmaids and never will.

  112. 112.

    SomeRandomGuy

    @Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony: Why is everyone forgetting the long stint on probation? I want that fucker to have to be told “I’m sorry, Mr. Trump, but I have to watch you pee in the cup, or it doesn’t count; now, do you have a legitimate prescription for this Adderall? I don’t trust his Ronald Jackson; sounds like a real pill-mill guy. OH! The CONGRESSMAN. Well… that settles things! You have one week to get a real doctor to write you a ‘scrip, okay?”

  114. 114.

    gratuitous

    I think the country and its system of governance is durable enough to survive the incarceration of Donald J. (for jailbird) Trump. Put me in Camp Fiat Justitia Ruat Caelum.

  115. 115.

    Jeffro

    @Geminid: that’s fine if they want to protest MTG – tell Joan & Co to make sure they’re hydrated!  it’s muggy out there

    I might stop by and see if I can get a hold of a reporter…

    reporter: “Excuse me sir, are you part of this protest against MTG?”

    me: “well…in fairness to her…I feel like my whole life has been one long protest against ignorant howler monkeys in positions of power, and she just kind of wandered into that frame only a couple of years ago…so I guess that’s a ‘yes’…hey by the way, did you know trump is a convicted felon?”

  116. 116.

    SomeRandomGuy

    @cope: He can take a voluntary pre-sentencing interview with a parole officer. Per Maha at mahablog.com, he’s expected to blow it off.

    This actually delights me a bit. Any normal human being would take advantage to try to be embarrassed and ashamed, and how, if they’re put on probation, Gov. Hochul herself will soon see the wisdom of probation, for such a repentant, compliant, probationer.

    Any normal human being would do that. Would Trump? No… he’s going to continue to insist it was all rigged. He has to – he can’t stand in front of the whole world and say he is small, and wrong, and deserves punishment, but will show true gratitude for leniency.

  117. 117.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Spanky: ​
     

    So at this point, NOT sentencing him to jail will only further embolden the right wing senators and house members to further try to influence/intimidate judges and, of course, juries.

    Lock him the fuck up.

    Hell yeah.

    I’d be OK if the NYS and Federal prison systems worked out a deal so that Donnie could serve his sentence in a Club Fed. It may be less brutal, but it’s still incarceration. You can’t leave, you have to be in your cell the same time every night, you’re stuck with what they want to feed you, and your visits and phone calls and internet use are still very limited.

    No one should be above the law. Starting with this guy. Lock. Him. Up.

  119. 119.

    Tony G

    @pat: Fascist thugs are going to act like fascist thugs no matter what happens.  Attempting to appease fascist thugs has never worked in the past, and it should not be done now.  Fortunately, most of the people who support Trump are cowards who are too lazy to get off their sofas unless they need another beer or more Cheetos.

  120. 120.

    RSA

    @Jeffg166:  TFG would prefer jail time to physical labor.

    I think TFG’s sloth would be doing battle with his germaphobia. It’s hard to say which would come out on top.

  123. 123.

    Manyakitty

    @Jeffro: he also ruined Northern Exposure (mentioned twice) and Golden Girls (mentioned at least twice). He’s like an evil Zelig.

  128. 128.

    H-Bob

    Merchan should sentence Trump to wearing an ankle bracelet monitor.  It will allow him to campaign but it will be a constant reminder that he is a felon!

  129. 129.

    What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?

    @Snarki, child of Loki: Yes! Hadn’t seen it in years but watched it a few months back and wife and I groaned in disgust when he appeared on screen. Had totally forgotten his cameo. I remembered Billy Zane and of course David Bowie but Donald just wasn’t memorable enough. That movie is hilarious but that tainted the experience of rewatching it.

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