More than five years after the story broke, Fuckface von Clownstick will be charged with crimes related to the payoff to Stormy Daniels. CBS News has confirmed the news with a lawyer for the former guy.
Dear Leader is not happy.
Within minutes of the news breaking, [he] posted a lengthy statement on his Truth Social account, which appeared to have been written in advance. The ex-president described the indictment as "political persecution and election interference" and suggested it would help him win the 2024 presidential election.
If it helps his popularity, then he should welcome a downpour of indictments!
Update (March 31): CNN reports there are 34 counts in the indictment. The speculation is that it includes more than just the Daniels case.
Heather Digby Parton agrees that this probably does help win the nomination.
It may have been possible for someone to challenge Trump unless he was indicted at which point the whole party has to circle the wagons to defend him. That's how perverse the Republican Party has become.
Update (April 4): The Biggest Loser pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg:
Under New York state law, it is a felony to falsify business records with intent to defraud and intent to conceal another crime. That is exactly what this case is about. Thirty-four false statements made to cover up other crimes. These are felony crimes in New York no matter who you are.
May this only be the beginning.
This case is about fraud, but Amanda Marcotte points out that "how men treat women tells you a great deal about their character".
[O]ne sure thing we all knew about [Fuckface] was that he didn't believe a woman had a right to say "no" to him. Over the next four years, he proved that this entitled attitude was not limited to sex or women. Trump doesn't think anyone has a right to say "no" to him. Not the president of Ukraine. Not various public officials he leaned on to break the law. And, ultimately, not the American people.
When voters told [him] they preferred Joe Biden, he treated voters like he does a woman who declines his sexual attention. He tried to force himself on the country anyway.
Update (April 5): Areeba Shah reports that claiming false legal expenses on a tax return may be the crime that nails Fuckface. Shah quotes John Kaley and Catherine Ross.
Lying to affect an election would be extraordinarily difficult to prove. Every politician and every statement would come under scrutiny. It would become a war among the political parties with few survivors. False documents are much easier. It's either true or false.
The state tax violation is a more straightforward and easier case to make. It is implied in the statement of facts – particularly [regarding] the payments to Cohen reflecting a joint intent that he falsely report the reimbursement as income and providing him with funds to cover that cost. It should not matter that Cohen paid money in. He filed a false tax return.
Update (July 5): I forgot to note here that Dear Leader became the first former president to be indicted in federal court last month. And there's so much more to come.
Special counsel Jack Smith hasn't been resting on his laurels since he dropped 37 federal charges on [Fuckface]. Smith is also probing [The Defendant's] role in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and his reported attempts to overturn the 2020 election results. That effort appears to be homing in on two areas in particular: the effort to have "fake electors" try to cast Electoral College votes for [the loser] and the fundraising effort that raked in boatloads of cash in the weeks after the election.
Update (August 1): It's the Big One:
The final nails are being put in the coffin and [Fuckface] is trapped inside. [He] can bang away all he wants, but he is not getting out of this one. All of his crimes have been "unforced errors" brought on by his inflated ego and monumental hubris. He has been doing this his whole life, and always managed to a Houdini-like escape. But justice has finally caught up with him, and if he doesn't realize this, he will very soon.
Update (August 2): Nick Visser lists seven key points in the indictment:
1. [The Defendant] knew his claims were false but spread them anyway to create an "intense national atmosphere of mistrust and anger".
2. The indictment identifies six co-conspirators.
3. People in [The Defendant's] orbit repeatedly told him there was no evidence of voter fraud.
4. [The Defendant] acknowledged claims about election fraud and voting machines pushed by a co-conspirator sounded "crazy".
5. [The Defendant] pressured the Justice Department to support him and threatened to remove those who refused to go along with his plan.
6. [Vice President] Pence's notes helped the special counsel craft his case.
7. [The Defendant] waited and watched on TV as his supporters stormed the Capitol.
I'd like to add that the fake electors scheme was still being pursued even after Congress reconvened following the attack on the Capitol.
Update (August 6): In case we forgot who we're dealing with, this the Defendant's post after his arraignment for the latest indictment:
IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I’M COMING AFTER YOU.
Update (August 14): Thirteen more counts in Georgia for a total of 91. And there are 18 co-defendants.
[T]hey knowingly and willfully joined conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favor of [Fuckface]. That conspiracy contained common plan and purpose to commit two or more acts of racketeering activity in Fulton County, Georgia, elsewhere in the State of Georgia, and in other states.
David Badash quotes the New York Times:
The indictment laid out eight ways the 'enterprise' obstructed the election: by lying to the Georgia state legislature, by lying to state officials, by creating fake pro-Trump electors, by harassing election workers, by soliciting Justice Department officials, by soliciting Vice President Mike Pence, by breaching voting machines and by engaging in a cover up.
Update (August 15): Liz Skalka and Daniel Marans list eight key points in the Georgia indictment:
[The First Defendant] had lots of help in his quest to undo Biden's win, prosecutors allege.
The indictment isn't limited to only what prosecutors contend happened in Georgia.
It cites the election workers who received death threats after [the First Defendant] shared a story falsely accusing them of election fraud.
[The First Defendant's] tweets are in there.
The numbers were all bullshit.
[John] Eastman allegedly admitted that he knew his plan violated the law.
Lying is a big part of the conspiracy theory allegedly led by [the First Defendant] — but not all of it.
Some of the alleged crimes continued well into Biden's presidency.
Also, Jacob Fischler has compiled a timeline for all the criminal activities and legal actions.
Update (August 17): Amanda Marcotte responds to the ususal Republican whining.
If you actually reads Fani Willis' indictment, or even a decent summary, it becomes clear that she's charging these people with "organized crime" because, well, they conspired with each other to commit a big crime, which is pretty much the definition.
[I]t's so aggravating to hear Republicans disingenuously accuse Democrats of "criminalizing politics." Oh, hell no. [Dear Leader] did that, when he made it clear that being a loyal Republican means being ready and willing to commit crimes for the boss, or at least to dishonor yourself by pretending you were looking the other way and didn't see anything.
