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A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

“Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.”

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

People are complicated. Love is not.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

The most dangerous place for a black man in America is in a white man’s imagination.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Consistently wrong since 2002

Museums are not America’s attic for its racist shit.

If you cannot answer whether trump lost the 2020 election, you are unfit for office.

It’s a good piece. click on over. but then come back!!

I am pretty sure these ‘journalists’ were not always such a bootlicking sycophants.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

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

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

Weird. Rome has an American Pope and America has a Russian President.

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Sometimes the world just tells you your cat is here.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

You are here: Home / Politics / Trump Indictments / Jack Smith Brief Released! (Mostly in Full, Names Redacted)

Jack Smith Brief Released! (Mostly in Full, Names Redacted)

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DC Indictment NewsLink to PDF

Not all that redacted, except for names.  So far, it seems like the whole story could be there, minus names.

h/t everyone i the previous thread!

NEW: Judge Chutkan has unsealed Jack Smith’s 165-page motion for presidential immunity! storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us…

[image or embed]

— Joshua J. Friedman (@joshuajfriedman.com) October 2, 2024 at 2:38 PM

.h/t Omnes for the BlueSky link.

Reader Interactions

190Comments

  3. 3.

    Balconesfault

    Republicans keep insisting that the federal government has no role in determining how States count their votes.

    Well, then by that logic the President had no official capacity to try to influence that process.

    Therefore, he was not acting in an official capacity, but rather as a private citizen when he tried to stick his nose in the business of various state counts. No immunity for that!

  7. 7.

    M31

    “I’m better looking than Harris”
    “I saved Obamacare”
    “I made insulin $35”
    “Everyone wanted Roe v Wade to go”
    “Jan 6 was an official act”

    Not so.

  12. 12.

    Scout211

    I am perusing news stories as they read and report.
    ABC has this quote from the fiking, which is a good summary of all the evidence:

    “Although the defendant was the incumbent President during the charged conspiracies, his scheme was fundamentally a private one.”

  17. 17.

    Bill Arnold

    @lowtechcyclist:

    I prefer “bullshit” myself, but to each their own.

    I once knew a very very intelligent conservative (small c) who would quietly ask rhetorically “Is that so?”.
    At that point, one knew that the other side had lost the argument and that there were high-quality receipts.

  19. 19.

    Scout211

    CNN

    Throughout the document, Smith argues that the actions Trump took to overturn the election were in his private capacity – as a candidate – rather than in his official capacity, as a president. That argument flows from the Supreme Court’s decision in July, which granted the former president sweeping immunity for official actions but left the door open for prosecutors to pursue Trump for unofficial steps he took.

    ”At its core, the defendant’s scheme was a private one,” prosecutors wrote in the motion. “He extensively used private actors and his campaign infrastructure to attempt to overturn the election results and operated in a private capacity as a candidate for office.”

    The filing has some redactions. It weaves together what prominent witnesses told a federal grand jury and the FBI about Trump, along with other never-before-disclosed evidence investigators gathered about the former president’s actions leading up to and on January 6, 2021.
    . . .

    “The executive branch,” prosecutors wrote, “has no authority or function to choose the next president.”
    That argument appeared designed for federal appeals courts, including the Supreme Court, that have placed a heavy emphasis in recent years on the historical understanding of the separation of powers.

    In other words, Smith is arguing that Trump’s effort to overturn the election was necessarily private because the Constitution gives a president no official authority for choosing his successor.

    “The defendant’s charged conduct directly contravenes these foundational principles,” the motion reads. “He sought to encroach on powers specifically assigned by the Constitution to other branches, to advance his own self-interest and perpetuate himself in power, contrary to the will of the people.”

  27. 27.

    Sister Golden Bear

    Via Norman Ornstein of Twitter:

    Here is the money quote from Trump, via Jack Smith filing. Warned there would be violence if he persisted with election sabotage, he wrote “Make them riot. Do it.” If John Roberts says that is official conduct, impeach and remove him.

  28. 28.

    Scout211

    @Anonymous At Work: Is there a “[Redacted], the Vice President” in there?

    There’s a “[redacted] The Vice President’s Chief of staff” on page 5

    “Pence, the defendant’s running mate” is on page 12, so I assume that means he’s not included in the conspiracy.

    ETA: As others have already posted.

  31. 31.

    Nukular Biskits

    I gotta wonder if some of the redactions are more a “Fuck you” to SCOTUS given how obvious it is who some/most of the players are.

    For example, on page 26:

    Throughout the post-election period, the defendant used Twitter to publicly attack Georgia Governor [P17-Redacted] with particular aggression.

  32. 32.

    Nora

    The detail is incredible.  When you read all the individuals who were doxxed by Trump’s people and had their lives threatened, you realize what thugs Trump and his people are.  How anyone could read this and think Trump could possibly have immunity, that  any of these actions are part of the president’s duties, is beyond me.

  33. 33.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Chris:

    “Pull the other one.  It’s got bells on.”

    I’ve used that one from time to time, it’s a good one. :-)

  34. 34.

    H.E.Wolf

    @Nora: ​How anyone could read this and think Trump could possibly have immunity, that any of these actions are part of the president’s duties, is beyond me.

     Upton Sinclair — ‘It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.’

  35. 35.

    cain

    @Nora:

    SCOTUS should be very careful because they would then be green lighting political violence as an “official act”. That would seen by some elements as a reason to go full civil war.

  36. 36.

    Belafon

    @Nora: The Scotus-6 aren’t giving Trump immunity because he’s innocent. They’re giving him immunity because he’s not finished with their work.

  37. 37.

    Nora

    @cain: ​
      Given the details about people’s being harassed and threatened (in at least one case by a person who was obviously armed), it seems obvious that saying inciting that kind of behavior is an official act for which a person can’t be held liable is horrendously incendiary.

  38. 38.

    dr. bloor

    Can’t wait for the Times to ignore this because it doesn’t involve a server or emails.  Or a Democrat.  Or a woman.

  39. 39.

    Trollhattan

    “Only room for one of us here, buddy.”

    October 2, 2024 at 4:33 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard

    “At least three women are claiming to have had romantic relationships with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in just the last year, as he pursued a long-shot bid for the presidency,” Mediaite reports.

    “People close to Kennedy now fear the revelation of those alleged relationships could jeopardize his standing in Donald Trump’s orbit, particularly as the former president and 2024 Republican nominee fights to win over suburban women.”

    NOW they’re worrying how their dog ways look?

  41. 41.

    eclare

    @Trollhattan:

    Whoa!  And again, I don’t get the appeal.  Nuzzi is way too young to remember Camelot.  He is crazy, the dead bear, the whale head, comparing a vaccine mandate to Nazi Germany…what’s the word I’m looking for?  Weird.

  43. 43.

    Captain C

    @Trollhattan:

    “People close to Kennedy now fear the revelation of those alleged relationships could jeopardize his standing in Donald Trump’s orbit

    TCFG:  “Why wasn’t he sharing them with me?!?  What kind of loyalty is that?”

  44. 44.

    Kent

    This stuff is great.  But I’m not sure it fundamentally changes anything about this race.   Everyone in the country already knows who Trump is and what he represents.  And we all watched 1/6 on live TV with our own eyes.

    I still think Harris has to gut it over the finish line in a turnout election.  Because none of the MAGA faithful are going to pay this any attention.  And if the still support Trump at this point, nothing here is going to change their minds.

  46. 46.

    Jeffro

    File under: “obvious, but at least they’re noting it for the normies”

    JD Vance is a Dangerous Shape-Shifter(!) 

    (could have been published at any point in the last decade, but hey…)

    The more interesting move was Vance’s effort to present himself as a person with a gut understanding of the desperation felt by women confronting unwanted pregnancies. He invoked a person “very dear” to him who had an abortion and later confided in him that “she felt like if she hadn’t had that abortion, that it would have destroyed her life because she was in an abusive relationship.”

    The logical takeaway here would be to recognize the fundamental cruelty of requiring a woman to bear a child in such circumstances. Not Vance. He wants to eliminate women’s choice under the guise of offering them choice. “There’s so much that we can do on the public policy front just to give women more options.” Except, of course, the option to decide for themselves — as though a child tax credit here or some housing assistance there would do the trick. Vance’s position offers the gauzy illusion of empathy and understanding.

    Vance is very good at mouthing the words, especially ones that sound close to what Democrats are saying.  It’s why we need an actual media in this country: tell us what they did, or do, or will do…NOT what they say.

  47. 47.

    Jeffro

    @Jeffro:

    In Vance’s airbrushed, jujitsu-ed reality, Trump “said that on Jan. 6, the protesters ought to protest peacefully. And on Jan. 20, what happened? Joe Biden became the president. Donald Trump left the White House.”

    I am pretty sure that was the point at which I threw the remote control.

    The actual “threat to democracy,” he claimed, “is the threat of censorship,” in particular, that “Kamala Harris is engaged in censorship at an industrial scale. She did it during covid, she’s done it over a number of other issues. And that, to me, is a much bigger threat to democracy than what Donald Trump said when he said that protesters should peacefully protest on Jan. 6.”

    Vance wasn’t in the Senate yet on Jan. 6, 2021, but you might have thought he managed to catch some of the insurrection on TV. His capacity to make this claim with a straight face is astonishing.

    And so, Vance’s Oscar-worthy debate performance ought to be alarming, not reassuring. He is Trump with a brain, a strategy and the discipline to execute it. Trump has only one move — to counterpunch. Vance’s repertoire is more expansive. He can be silken smooth and at least superficially appealing, while Trump has a single note, bombastic.

  48. 48.

    West of the Rockies

    @eclare:

    He is objectively gross.  That horrible voice (yes, not his fault), asymmetrical face, dead eyes… yuck.

  50. 50.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Kent: The MAGA faithful don’t really matter. Just like Jackals don’t really matter.  Our opinions are fixed.

  51. 51.

    WaterGirl

  54. 54.

    WaterGirl

    @WaterGirl:

    A small sampling…

    “Although the defendant was the incumbent President during the charged conspiracies, his scheme was fundamentally a private one.

    Working with a team of private co-conspirators, the defendant acted as a candidate when he pursued multiple criminal means to disrupt, through fraud and deceit, the government function by which votes are collected and counted—a function in which the defendant, as President, had no official role”.

    “His efforts included lying to state officials in order to induce them to ignore true vote counts; manufacturing fraudulent electoral votes in the targeted states”

    “Privately the defendant told advisors…he would simply declare victory before all the ballots were counted and any winner was declared.” “The evidence demonstrates that the defendant knew his fraud claims were false…”

  56. 56.

    Hoodie

    @Jeffro: He’s Trump without the mass appeal.  Part of Trump’s draw is his crudeness.  Vance’s debate skills would win over country club Republicans, but not the goobers that Trump brings to the party.  He’s just another variation on Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Tom Cotton and the other Ivy League assholes populating the GOP bench.   There’s a reason that they have been reluctant to cut Trump loose, they can’t replace his show business appeal.   The other guys are all fake populists the base can see right through.

  57. 57.

    lamh47

    @Jackie: Was just saying to someone,Oooh…so the October surprise is gonna be on Trump…cause these Jack Smith documents just released!!!!! Baby I need more lawyers I know to tell me what’s what!

  61. 61.

    Hoodie

    @Kent: Probably too complicated and too late unless the media gets a hard on about it.  If they did, it might be worth a point or so, but I don’t see a lot of undecideds going “that’s it!” over this.  It might marginally add to the general distaste for Trump’s chaos and the desire to move on from it.

  62. 62.

    prostratedragon

    I like this from the joemygod post:

    Smith says he plans to prove at trial that Trump and his alies made up claims about noncitizen voters out of whole cloth. pic.twitter.com/QLk25YmlQk

    Very relevant!

  63. 63.

    lamh47

    @Kent: Ah, but it’s NOT the maga-ites that this effects.

    It’s that 3-4% of GOP or voters who really do not like the Jan 6 rioting and Trump refusing to say he lost in 2020. Also those folks who really don’t like the way essentially he was willing string up his own VP…

    Those folks are the ones who will read this filing and might make them more likely to either vote against him or for Harris or just abstain from POTUS vote

  64. 64.

    Old School

    Counterpoint:  It’s a witch hunt.

    The release of this falsehood-ridden, Unconstitutional, J6 brief immediately following Tim Walz’s disastrous Debate performance, and 33 days before the Most Important Election in the History of our Country, is another obvious attempt by the Harris-Biden regime to undermine and Weaponize American Democracy, and INTERFERE IN THE 2024 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. Deranged Jack Smith, the hand picked Prosecutor of the Harris-Biden DOJ, and Washington, D.C. based Radical Left Democrats, are HELL BENT on continuing to Weaponize the Justice Department in an attempt to cling to power. “TRUMP” is dominating the Election cycle, leading in the Polls, and the Radical Democrats throughout the Deep State are totally “freaking out.” This entire case is a Partisan, Unconstitutional, Witch Hunt, that should be dismissed, entirely, just like the Florida case was dismissed!

    WHETHER NOW THE FULLY DEBUNKED RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA, IRAN, IRAN, IRAN, UKRAINE, UKRAINE, UKRAINE, 51 INTELLIGENCE AGENTS, SPYING ON MY CAMPAIGN, IMPEACHMENT HOAX NUMBER ONE, IMPEACHMENT HOAX NUMBER TWO, OR ANY OF THE OTHER SCAMS, THIS ILLEGAL ACTION TAKEN BY THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT, INCLUDING THEIR RAID ON MAR-A-LAGO FOR A CASE THAT WAS DISMISSED, WILL END JUST LIKE ALL OF THE OTHERS – WITH COMPLETE VICTORY FOR “PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP.” MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

  66. 66.

    BlueGuitarist

     

    @Scout211:
    typo: fiking=filing

    I thought you were going for
    “this filing is fucking awesome” and now you’re saying

    Not so.

  67. 67.

    Princess

    @Jeffro: Vance is not helped in this “peacefulprotest” Jan. 6 lie by the fact that Jack Smith this very day describes Trump as encouraging the protesters to riot. Encouraging the rioters to riot, I should say.

  68. 68.

    Hoodie

    @Belafon: They’re keeping their options open.  They gave him room to get elected, but also left themselves with enough discretion to let him go down the drain if he’s no longer useful.  Everyone is expendable.  If Trump loses, I could see them saying “sorry, those aren’t official acts.”  After all, they wouldn’t want to give an incoming Dem president a bunch of immunity to, say, fuck with them.

  70. 70.

    Jeffro

    @Hoodie: I agree with you, but at this point, given the North Korea-like impenetrability of the FauxBubble and dark money donors (both foreign and domestic) propping up the whole operation and clearly buying the support of most of the national media, the GOP could cough up a wad of phlegm and it would start at 43-44% nationally.

  76. 76.

    Scout211

    This all feels like déjà vu to me. But not every voter sat through every minute of the entire J6 hearings, like many jackals here did.  I know I did.  Plus, that was ancient history to many voters.  And with Fox News and Republican pols in Washington rewriting history, it’s a welcome reminder right now. Especially since SCOTIS and loose Cannon are providing cover for Trump’s criminal conspiracy.

    October surprise? Maybe.

  77. 77.

    Hoodie

    @Jeffro: The problem is that all these ambitious fuckers would be lining up for the job and undercut each other.  Collectively, they’re a black hole of anti-charisma.   The GOP’s best bet will be someone like Kemp, not an Ivy League dipshit like Vance.

  78. 78.

    HumboldtBlue

    @TBone: ​ 

    I wish that fuck’s head would explode. If there is one person I will slap if I meet them in person, it’s that vile lizard.

  80. 80.

    lamh47

    @lamh47: One thing that IS coming out the debate is the last part where Vance wouldn’t even said Chump lost the election in 2020!

  81. 81.

    Dangerman

    Life’s Lessons (Abridged Version)

    • Golden Rule
    • Don’t nominate a dishonest piece of shit for President
    • Always tip your server well
  82. 82.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @Kent: The content of the details per se is not the point, though. Whether these new revelations impact the election or not almost entirely depends on whether the press decides to breathlessly cover  them as new revelations that are bad for Trump. And they do it again the next day. And then the next. And the next. THAT is all that matters. And we have almost no control of that, other than to talk it up on our social media outlets or similar.

  83. 83.

    eclare

    @Hoodie:

    I definitely see Kemp running in 2028.  I disagree with all of his policies of course, but at least he seems to be a “normal” Republican so far.  I think he could be hard to beat.

  84. 84.

    Jeffro

    @Hoodie: totally agree about the plethora of anti-charisma types on the right.  If it’s Vance, Cotton, Mace, Greene, etc in the crab bucket, then I’m rooting for the bucket.  (Or perhaps rooting for the bucket to be launched into the sun?)

    Kemp would be a great choice for them, but the base (and most of their elected officials, frankly) are FauxBubble zombies, conditioned to blame any and every thing on ‘the other’ (brown people, women, LGBTQ folks).  Kemp would have to tell them they’re wrong…or at least, point out that they’ve been losing elections for years with that message.  Meanwhile, Vance, Cotton, etc will still be out there, saying that trumpov and his hate were right, they were just betrayed by squishes like Kemp, Duncan, Romney, etc.

    I don’t have a lot of faith that Kemp wins that argument in the GOP.  But we’ll see.  It will depend on what their handful of multi-billionaire donors decide to do.

  87. 87.

    MisterForkbeard

    I’m a big fan of the part where Pence has to be put in protective custody and whisked away because Trump’s rioters are trying to kill him, and staffers run to tell Trump that.

    Trump just says “So what?” and goes back to watching fox and twitter

  89. 89.

    Jeffro

    btw I see that the Post has already changed Marcus’ column’s title from “JD Vance, Dangerous Shape-Shifter” to “The Dangerous Brilliance of JD Vance”

    sigh

  92. 92.

    Kent

    @Omnes Omnibus: Right.

    It’s going to be a turnout election not one based on persuasive argument.   I feel good about our chances because the Trumpers just seem lower energy and listless this time around compared to previous elections.  But maybe that is just here in SW Washington.

    We are a month out and I’m not seeing Trump signs, Trump parades, or pretty much anything Trump.  And this is an almost perfectly purple county and district that has been 50/50 or close to it  since 2016.  This time in 2020 we were being annoyed by endless long Trump parades and a bazillion trucks with Trump flags on them, giant over-the-top lawn displaces, and all that.  I see none of that today.

  93. 93.

    MazeDancer

    Tim Walz set up JD Smooth perfectly last night.

    Because, today, Mike Pence is helping bury both Trump and JD.

    Trump knew he lost.

    And Mike Pence’s ask for his book advance just doubled.

  94. 94.

    Kent

    @Hoodie: Probably too complicated and too late unless the media gets a hard on about it.  If they did, it might be worth a point or so, but I don’t see a lot of undecideds going “that’s it!” over this.  It might marginally add to the general distaste for Trump’s chaos and the desire to move on from it.

    Oh, I think it’s a good thing and part of the drip drip drip.   But even actually getting CONVICTED of 34 felonies doesn’t seem to budge much in this race.  So while this is all good, it doesn’t get anyone off the hook from the long hard 30+ day slog that is still in front of us and the likely nail-biter that is coming.

    I would much rather be in Harris’ position than Trump’s at this point.  But I don’t think Trump is ever going to be put down by some silver bullet.   Just hard work like in 2020.

  95. 95.

    zhena gogolia

    @Kent: We were just saying the same thing. Blue state but purple town, and in 2016 there were a lot of Trump flags and signs, including right in our immediate neighborhood. This year, nothing in our neighborhood, and I think I’ve seen one flag and one sign (which at first I thought was a Harris-Walz sign because it was dark-blue with white lettering, weird).

    Oh, and our sign has been up for a while and no one has stolen or vandalized it.

  97. 97.

    Kent

    @zhena gogolia: I haven’t noticed a single damn Trump parade anywhere in the country.  Are they still a thing?   Here in SW Washington I ran into some that were literally 5 miles long in 2020.

  99. 99.

    zhena gogolia

    @Kent: We didn’t have that in CT, at least as far as I noticed. I wonder if Betty Cracker has noticed any difference in FL.

    I wish the polls reflected it, but I really feel less rabid enthusiasm for DJT this time.

  100. 100.

    Kelly

    @Kent: Here in the foothills east of Salem it looks to me like we have the usual number of Trump displays but the displays are more elaborate. 2016 my precinct voted 74% Trump, 2020 70% Trump. It would do my heart good to see a big decline in Trump votes around here but won’t matter for Oregon’s EVs.

  106. 106.

    lamh47

    Even just the parts being reported by the media now on the Pence of it all, it’s crazy to me that Pence refuses to even endorse Harris/Walz even knowing what Chump is capable of and how literally Chump et al were perfectly fine hanging him out for the J6 crew…smh

  107. 107.

    zhena gogolia

    Got my flu shot today, having a glass of wine, and trying to inject hopium into my veins. I’ve started waking up at 3:00 AM the way I did through the entire Trump reign. Not happy about it.

  108. 108.

    karen marie

    @Trollhattan:   I’m sorry, what is there in any of Trump’s background that would make Kennedy think having three or four affairs in the last year is disqualifying to work for Trump?

  109. 109.

    Kent

    @Kelly: I live in Clark County WA (Vancouver and rural burbs further out).

    Hillary won here 92, 757 to 92,441 so 0.1% and basically a tie.

    Biden won 140,324 to 126,303 so about 5 percentage points.

    Basically seems like a bellweather for the country.   Both 2016 and 2020 I saw tons more Trump stuff around here.  Cars completely done up in Trump craziness waiting at the bus stop in front of our house and that kind of thing.   So far, nothing except a few meager Trump signs in front of obvious retiree houses with their RVs in front.

    But I’m not kidding myself into thinking this election will be anything but close.  Been burned way too many times to ever be complacent.

  113. 113.

    karen marie

    @prostratedragon:   As I was walking my dog a short while ago, I was thinking about the debate – specifically the claim that Vance made – and that Individual-1 makes all the time – that “illegals are stealing all the jerbs.”

    If this were even remotely true, why do they never talk about the companies that are hiring these illegals?

    Federal law requires that:

    Employers Must
    Verify the identity and employment authorization of each person hired after Nov. 6, 1986. For employment in the Commonwealth of the Mariana Islands (CNMI), this verification requirement applies to persons hired after Nov. 27, 2009.
    Complete and retain Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, for each employee who is required to complete the form.

     

    I’ve never heard that Individual-1 or Vance have any plan for enforcement of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.

  114. 114.

    Melancholy Jaques

    @Sister Golden Bear:

    Here is the money quote from Trump, via Jack Smith filing. Warned there would be violence if he persisted with election sabotage, he wrote “Make them riot. Do it.”

    FTFNYT: Sure, but it’s not like he had an email server in his house or anything really serious.

  119. 119.

    Melancholy Jaques

    @Kent:

    It’s going to be a turnout election not one based on persuasive argument.   I feel good about our chances because the Trumpers just seem lower energy and listless this time around compared to previous elections.

    I agree and feel the same as you do. He is not more popular than he was four years ago.

    We have to work hard to get our people out. Nothing else matters.

  120. 120.

    Kelly

    @Kent: My biggest hope is lack of enthusiasm for Trump holds down R turnout and Janelle Bynum recaptures the 5th CD. Chavez-Deremer won by 2.1% in 2022.

  121. 121.

    Weftage

    @karen marie:

    For the same reason that when women are accused of having “slept their way to the top,” the men who presumably cooperated with them are never subjected to the same opprobrium. The class who assume they have a divine right to rule are to get all of the credit, none of the blame.

  123. 123.

    Melancholy Jaques

    @SatanicPanic:

    was that Trump or someone else? I wasn’t clear on that

    I was quoting from the quote cited above from Norm Ornstein. I checked the court filing. The quote is not accurate. I apologize for the confusion.

    The quotes “Make ’em riot” and “Do it” are attributed to a redacted person identified as P5 and described as “a Campaign employee, agent, and co-conspirator of the defendant.” We need to figure out who that is.

  124. 124.

    The Audacity of Krope

    @Melancholy Jaques: The quotes “Make ’em riot” and “Do it” are attributed to a redacted person identified as P5 and described as “a Campaign employee, agent, and co-conspirator of the defendant.” We need to figure out who that is.

    For now, knowing that is the behavior of the company Trump keeps us enough for me.

  126. 126.

    Scout211

    The intrepid reporters from an esteemed national news source has posted their thoughts about last night’s debate:

    NEW YORK—Cursing under his breath at yet another round of inapt debate answers from the vice presidential candidate, venture capitalist Peter Thiel reportedly rushed onstage Tuesday to restart a glitching J.D. Vance during a commercial break. “Seriously? For what I paid for this thing, it should work flawlessly,” said the billionaire investor, striding confidently past moderator Norah O’Donnell to insert a paperclip into Vance’s ear and initiate a hard reset that might stop the short-circuiting candidate from repeating the phrase “girls of menstruating age” in response to a question on inflation. “Shit, I probably just need to wipe its memory banks clean. I’ll have to re-upload all the anti-pornography tirades, but it’s better than spending the evening on edge worried about another malfunction. Probably some kind of Russian malware got installed, honestly.” At press time, Thiel was seen rapidly paging through Vance’s instruction manual as the politician sparked up and said the word “inseminate” in an increasingly high-pitched voice.

    Can you guess the news source?

     

    ETA:

    It’s The Onion

  130. 130.

    West of the Rockies

    @Kent:

    I’ve not seen or heard of Trump truck rallies this election. In 2020 there were multiple such rallies here in Chico, CA.  So far, I’ve seen maybe 6 Trump signs in town.

    Are the stupid boat regattas still a thing? I agree, Trump fatigue is real, even among the GOP.

  131. 131.

    The Audacity of Krope

    @SW: “I was told there would be no fact checking”

    They basically didn’t. hat they did was provide factual context with all of their questions.

    It’s a fine line, one not well regarded by those without much diligence around facts.

    That moment was probably the closest to the platonic ideal of a fact check. Still, they challenged Walz factually as well, on such weighty matters as decades old travel itineraries.

  137. 137.

    Gvg

    @lamh47: What I want is for the never trumpers to become never GOP who didn’t denounce the stolen election lies and the January 6th insurrection. I want them to turn against the rest of the weasels, especially the actual conspirators still in office that possibly weren’t really known. I want the bureaucrats and the few military scum involved gone too.

  139. 139.

    Baud

    Via reddit, I actually urge caution before accepting this because it’s pretty outrageous even for the NYT.

    New York Times columnist caught pre-loading a debate performance oped piece a full week before the VP debate

  146. 146.

    Princess

    @Baud: Oooo, I see it’s Douthat. Seems not implausible given that they’re both the same kind of crazy Catholic.

  147. 147.

    TBone

    @SatanicPanic: I think so too
    “When a colleague at the TFC Center told [redacted] ‘We think [a batch of votes heavily in Biden’s favor is right, [redacted] responded, “find a reason it isnt,” “give me options to file litigation,” and “even if itbis [sic],” the filing reads.
    “When the colleague suggested that there was about to be unrest reminiscent of the Brooks Brothers Riot, a violent effort to stop the vote count in Florida after the 2000 presidential election, [redacted] responded, ‘Make them riot’ and ‘Do it!!!'”

  151. 151.

    Captain C

    @Trollhattan:

    “At least three women are claiming to have had romantic relationships with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in just the last year,

    He’s a Kavorka Man (warning, TV Tropes link).

    The polar opposite of the Casanova Wannabe and the Handsome Lech, this character has a long list of conquests and can bend any woman to his will — even though there’s absolutely nothing attractive about him. In fact, he’s a sleaze and/or looks like a baboon and/or treats women like garbage. Sensible, self-respecting women may scoff, but if so, he’ll pull a clever come-on line on them or practice his patented stare on them and they’ll be suckered in just enough to be proven wrong.

  154. 154.

    Another Scott

    @SatanicPanic: I’m pretty sure CC1 is Rudy.

    Some of these are quite transparent – like P16 is Arizona Gov Doug Ducey, GA Gov Kemp is P17, P26 is the GA Attorney General, P29 and P30 are Wandrea “Shaye” Moss and her mother Ruby Freeman, etc.

    (What’s her name, that relentlessly thorough woman blogger with her own site with an avatar of a young girl with 1776, who moved to Ireland?) is probably identifying everyone now…

    It won’t be as easy to figure out the footnotes, but I assume people are working on it.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  157. 157.

    Maxim

    @Another Scott: As I noted upthread, I have a list that I found online, but I don’t know who compiled it. It should at least make a good starting point, though.

    Whoops, I assumed that someone else would have commented in the meantime. Sorry about that.

  158. 158.

    Jackie

    Welp, who’s next in line?

    “New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, the elected official who would replace Mayor Eric Adams if he resigns, accepted political contributions from a businessman who is accused of orchestrating illegal donations to Adams,” the Washington Post reports.

  162. 162.

    Jackie

    @Baud: Maybe, but the microscope is out, closely examining everyone for the breath of a scandal or perceived scandal.

  163. 163.

    Gravenstone

    @Sister Golden Bear: Not sure where Ornstein is getting that from. Reading the other link you provided, it looks like that particular quote was from a Trump flunky (identified as P5) who was trying to wreak havoc in Detroit during the ballot count.

  164. 164.

    eclare

    @Baud:

    I saw a tweet saying an op-ed was filed before the debate ended, but that’s a lot different than a whole week.

  167. 167.

    Captain C

    @WaterGirl: Going to be interesting to see how the Shitty Six try to get him out of this one, and also how sanctimonious and self-righteous Clarence, Sam, and Dred Scott Roberts get in their own defense.

  169. 169.

    TS

    @TBone:

    Always the “right to rule” party who will never accept any decisions that go against them. So much for the party of law and order.

  170. 170.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @Melancholy Jaques: Found this very extensive list on Twitter, although I don’t know if these are all verified.

    CC3 Sidney Powell Trump lawyer
    CC1 Rudy Guiliani
    CC2 John Eastman. Trump lawyer
    CC4 Jeffery Clark DOJ Official
    CCS Kenneth Chesebro Drafted fake elector memos
    CC6 Christina Bobb
    P1 Steve Bannon
    P2 – Bill Stepien Campaign Manager
    P3 Justin Clark Deputy Campaign Manager P4 Jason Miller Senior Campaign Advisor
    P5 Michael Roman Campaign staffer -disrupting vote counts
    P6 Roger Stone Longtime Trump advisor
    P7 Mark Meadows White House Chief of Staff
    P8 Mark Short Pence Chief of staff
    P10 Joseph DiGenova Lawyer
    P9 – Greg Jacob White House Lawyer
    P11 Victoria Toensing Lawyer
    P12 Jenna Ellis Trump Lawyer
    P13 Jared Kushner Trump’s son-in-law
    P14- Ivanka Trump Trump’s daughter
    P15 Assistant to the President and Director of Oval Office Operations Nicholas F. Luna
    P16 Arizona Gov Doug Ducey
    P17 Brian Kemp Georgia Governor
    P18 Rusty Bowers AZ House Speaker
    P19 Liz Harrington Campaign spokesperson
    P20 Kory Langhofer Bowers lawyer
    P21 Mark Meadows White House Chief of Staff
    P22 Brad Raffensperger Georgia Secretary of State
    P23 Cleta Mitchell Trump’s lawyer
    P24 Jacki Pick presented misleading footage
    P25 Gabriel Sterling GA official
    P26 Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr
    P27 U.S. Senator David Perdue
    P28 U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler
    P29 Ruby Freeman GA election worker falsely accused
    P30 Shaye Moss GA election worker- Freeman’s daughter
    P31 Kurt Hilbert Trump’s lawyer in GA
    P32 Ray Smith III Trump’s lawyer in Trump v. Kemp
    P33 Brad Raffensperger GA Secretary of State
    P34 Ryan Germany GA Deputy Secretary of State
    P35 Alex Kaufman Raffensperger’s general counsel
    P36 Robert Cheeley Trump lawyer on GA call
    P37 Mike Shirkey MI Senate Majority Leader
    P38 Lee Chatfield MI House Speaker
    P41 Scott Gragson NV operative assisting in MI
    P42 Molly Michael Trump’s executive assistant
    P43 Justin Riemer RNC Chief Counsel
    P44 Sophia Lai RNC spokesperson
    P45 Dan Scavino P46 Bernie Kerik Trump’s social media director PA Republican Party Chair
    P39 RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel
    P47 Al Schmidt Philadelphia City Commissioner
    P48 Michael Coudrey – Pro-Trump online figure
    P49 Brian Hagedorn – WI Supreme Court Justice
    P50 – Chris Krebs – CISA Director
    P51 – Tucker Carlson – Fox News host
    P52 – William Barp – Attorney General
    P53 – Kelli Ward – AZ GOP Chair, fake elector scheme
    P54 – Hannah Salem – Trump campaign staffer
    P55 – Boris Epshteyn – Trump advisor
    P56 – Cleta Mitchell – Trump lawyer
    P57 – Lou Barletta – Former Congressman, PA elector
    P58 – Greg Jacob – Pence’s Counsel
    P59 – Pat Cipollone – White House counsel
    P60 – Kayleigh McEnany – WH Press Secretary
    P61 – Karen Fann – AZ Senate President
    P62 – Ken Paxton – TX Attorney General
    P63 – Eric Schmitt – MO Attorney General
    P64 – Caroline Wren – Jan 6 rally organizer
    P65 – Julie Fancelli – Jan 6 rally funder
    P66 – Dustin Stockton – Jan 6 rally organizer
    P67 – Shealah Craighead – WH photographer
    P68 – Raheem Kassam – Conservative commentator
    P69 – Peter Navarro – WH trade advisor
    P70 – Jenna Ellis – Trump lawyer
    P71 – Eric Herschmann – Deputy WH Counsel
    P72 – Pam Bondi – Trump Campaign advisor
    P73 – Dan Scavino – WH staffer
    P74 – Rudy Giuliani – Trump’s lawyer
    P75 – Unknown
    P76 – Sidney Powell – Trump’s lawyer

    I did like how Smith included a tweet with a half-dozen redacted name. Needless to say, it didn’t take long for people to find the original tweet and match the redaction codes to names.

  171. 171.

    Jackie

    My question: Is TCFG overspending trying to buy votes? ……….

    OR is he too broke to buy votes?🤔

    🤞🏻🤞🏻  🤞🏻🤞🏻

  172. 172.

    Captain C

    @Hoodie:

    There’s a reason that they have been reluctant to cut Trump loose, they can’t replace his show business appeal.

    I think the importance of TCFG’s stint as a ‘reality’ TV star playing himself as a successful hard-ass businessman (when he’s in fact a lazy sybarite who inherited and squandered a fortune) and his time in the WWE is often underestimated when it comes to trying to explain his persistent appeal to a nontrivial percentage of potential voters.

  175. 175.

    WaterGirl

    OT, but from Worker Power just now:

    We have some amazing news. This morning, a national leader in political forecasting and poll analysis, Cook Political, released a new poll showing Kamala Harris LEADING Donald Trump by 2 points in Arizona!

  176. 176.

    Jackie

    @Sister Golden Bear: Oh crap!🤦🏼‍♀️  Here’s what I forgot to post!

    Donald Trump’s campaign spent more than it raised for the second month in a row as the Republican nominee struggles to keep pace with Democrat Kamala Harris’ robust fundraising operation,” Bloomberg reports.

    In my lousy defense, between all the  Jack Smith news and watching MLB postseason playoffs…

  180. 180.

    zhena gogolia

    Will this miserable excuse for a human being ever face any consequences for his myriad crimes?

  181. 181.

    JoyceH

    @Captain C: Voting for entertainers is a real coin toss, isn’t it? Americans voted for a reality TV Star and we got… that thing. Ukrainians voted for a comedian and sitcom star and they got Winston Churchill.

  182. 182.

    K-Mo

    Hmmm so it turns out that Trump really didn’t transfer power peacefully? Whoah that’s not what JD said. Somebody ought to check on whether or not Trump really saved Obamacare.

  184. 184.

    Another Scott

    @Sister Golden Bear: Thanks for the list.

    I do wonder, though, if Jack and the Judge decided to do this redaction puzzle to increase interest in the filing.  I mean, some of the redactions are comical – like the one about Kemp (redacting his name, but not a case name in the same sentence – Trump v. Kemp ) – or explicit titles but redacting the name (Senators from Georgia @xxx and @yyy), etc….

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  186. 186.

    Ruckus

    @Kent:

    And if they still support Trump at this point, nothing here is going to change their minds.

    This. Absofuckinglutely. Their minds believe in him, in his bullshit, in his stupidity, in his lies, in his derangement. They believe that he can do no wrong. Even as he proves over and over that he can and does every damn day.

  187. 187.

    wjca

    @West of the Rockies: That horrible voice (yes, not his fault), asymmetrical face, dead eyes… yuck.

    Some of us have seriously asymmetric faces thanks to forces beyond our control.  I’ve had mine since I was an infant. Add that to “not his fault” — unless there’s actual evidence it’s due to action on his part.

    EDT Compared to mine, his is invisible.  (Basically, I’ve got a line of bone the size of my index finger along the outside of my lower jaw on one side.  Impossible to miss.)

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