The War Is Not Over

Thomas Paine: American Philosopher, & Revolutionary

From 1776 through the formation of The Constitution I helped create America. Now I have returned to help save America. American Patriots must join together, speak out in free and open discussion to fight the “woke” anti-American mob, and further the cause of FREEDOM.

The 2024 Election

I had planned to save this essay until the final votes had been tabulated but it has now been 2-1/2 weeks since Election Day and some states are still counting.  We knew going in that “election officials” were not to be trusted, particularly in the seven “battleground” states (AZ, GA, MI, NC, NV, PA, and WI) where the presidential election would be decided.  I suspect that Obama’s 30,000+ member army of activists, a.k.a. “Organizing for Action”, are not only thoroughly entrenched in the federal bureaucracy, but also have infiltrated the key states by obtaining certification as “election officials”.  They are they operatives who clandestinely rig vote tabulations by programming the machines to switch votes, re-scanning selected ballots, stealing mail-in ballots, harvesting pre-fabricated phony ballots, and other methods.  Obama’s army certainly isn’t limited to a “ready-to-march” bunch of college kids and angry suburban women waiting for the next “mostly peaceful protest” to be announced.  They are working to advance Obama’s “fundamental transformation” of America communist agenda with utmost determination.

As it turned out, and I still can’t believe it, Trump’s MAGA movement was perhaps “too big to rig”.  Patriots, many of whom have been quietly waiting to come out of the woodwork, voted in great numbers in a total rejection of the Democrats record of failure on many fronts.  All the polls in the last few months, particularly after Kamala was inserted by coup, projected a razor-thin race that could be determined by a few thousand votes here and there.  Many pundits believe the polls were as phony as the Democrat ballots.  They were skewed and biased by “news organizations” (I use that term lightly) who had the incentives to discourage voter turn-out and make it seem like Harris had an excellent chance to win so that the Democrat rigging would go unnoticed and election denials would be unacceptable.  They had successfully stolen the 2020 election and they had every reason to believe they could do it again.

Here are some results of the presidential race per the latest available data

Image depicts the Electoral College vote and the popular vote totals of the presidential election as of 22 Nov 2024.  It is noteworthy that Trump’s popular vote margin was much higher on the morning of 6 Nov 2024.  Apparently, late counting of votes is almost exclusively Democrat votes. [1]

Speaking of Cheating

It’s amazing how vehemently the full spectrum of liberalism denies there is any “widespread” cheating In our elections, yet every time you turn around, you hear of another story, typically from a state that just happens to be one of the so-called “battleground” states. 

Here is one right here in Pennsylvania, close to where I live, that was in the news this week.  It has been featured on Fox News (where would we be without them?) and has been summarized by Breitbart in an article titled, “Bucks County Pennsylvania, Election Official Apologizes for Saying Court Precedent ‘Doesn’t Matter Anymore’”.

Essentially, the Bucks County Board of Commissioners Vice-Chair, Robert Harvie, Jr. and Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia, in a November 12 meeting, moved in a 2-1 vote to count 405 mis-dated, or undated, mail-in ballots, in bold defiance of the state Supreme Court.  Two days later, in a November 14 meeting, the day after the state announced a mandatory recount in the Senate race between incumbent Bob Casey (D) and Senator-Elect Dave McCormick (R) who held a lead of over 17,000 votes and had been declared the winner by the AP, the same two Commissioners moved to count provisional ballots missing required signatures, despite the State Supreme Court ruling that ballots missing signatures were not legitimate, Ellis-Marseglia openly stating that, “I think we all know that precedent by a court doesn’t matter anymore in this country, and people violate laws any time they want.”  The two Commissioners then voted to count the ballots over objections from the County legal counsel.

On Wednesday, November 20, the day the recount began, in front of an angry crowd, Ellis-Marseglia apologized for her previous comments, probably under advice that she could be prosecuted for several federal election crimes.

The point is, this is not an isolated incident.  Stories like this pop up all the time and it just shows how Democrats see themselves as immune from legal jeopardy.  They truly believe they are above the law because they get away with virtually anything they want.  We the Patriots need to stand up and be heard.  We the Patriots urge the Attorney General of the United States to hold these people accountable for every statute they violate.  The Trump administration has a clear mandate to clean up corruption everywhere it is found. [2]  

Gratitude to All Who Helped Preserve Our Republic

We the Patriots have good reason to celebrate Trump’s great victory as he was the last hope to save America from the destruction wreaked by Obama and his radical Marxist Democrat Party.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for seeing the light and getting out there to cast your ballot.  Every ballot counted (at least we hope so) towards preserving our republic, our American values, our culture, our institutions, and our freedoms.

We Have Won a Major Battle But The War is Not Over

The 2024 election was our Saratoga, our Trenton, a tremendous victory that may have turned the tide against seemingly insurmountable odds, but the war is not over.  The enemy is regrouping every day.  Obama is not going to disband his army and ride off into retirement.  His life-long hatred of America and everything she stands for has not been extinguished.  We have dealt him a serious blow but our resolve must be sustained.  This war against his communist agenda is in the early stages.  We must completely destroy the leadership and the direction of the Democrat Party.  Their Marxist ideology must be eradicated from American politics.

We must fight them at the ballot box at every opportunity, and in the meantime, we must ensure that the Department of Justice under the presumed direction of newly nominated Pam Bondi, former Attorney General for the state of Florida, is doing everything they can to prosecute the criminal elements of the Democrat Party.  No quarter.  No immunity.  No dead-end investigations that take years to recognize what we already know.

Obama’s army will be difficult to root out completely, but that is the task at hand.

It cannot be forgotten that radical Marxists adhere to the mantra “by any means necessary”.  There is nothing they wouldn’t do to gain, and retain power, because their ultimate goal is permanent one-party rule.

May the ghosts of our forefathers guide us in defeating the leviathan that has hijacked the federal bureaucracy.  Do not get complacent.  Stay committed to the cause.  Stay the course.  Yorktown is on the horizon.    

Comments welcomed.

FOOTNOTES

[1]  2024 Election Results ; Google ; as of 22 Nov 2024

2024 election results popular vote – Google Search

[2]  Breitbart News ; “Bucks County Pennsylvania, Election Official Apologizes for Saying Court Precedent ‘Doesn’t Matter Anymore’”.

wearebreitbart Instagram article

The Last Chance to Save America

Thomas Paine: American Philosopher, & Revolutionary

From 1776 through the formation of The Constitution I helped create America. Now I have returned to help save America. American Patriots must join together, speak out in free and open discussion to fight the “woke” anti-American mob, and further the cause of FREEDOM.

Where Are We Now ?

For the past seemingly endless months, we have witnessed the public political mud-slinging from both sides ad nauseum and are probably looking forward to Election Day 2024.  The good news is, we are in the final week.  The bad news is, one side is going to lose their collective minds over the results, whether the vote count is legitimate, or fraudulent.  With just days to go, we are being led to believe the race for President is a “toss up” and tension is building.

On one hand, we have polls compiled by numerous organizations that emphasize how close the race is in the seven battleground states (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin) showing a trend towards Trump whereby not long ago, he was trailing by a couple points. 

Current polling as of 29 October 2024: Real Clear Politics Average in the seven battleground states show Trump leading by narrow margins in six, and Harris with a slim margin in Michigan. [1]

On the other hand, none of those polls can be trusted.  In 2016 Hillary thought she was going to win comfortably.  I’m not sure the polls aren’t part of the propaganda being thrust on us with the full intention of deceiving the voting populace.  The point is, DON’T TRUST ANY POLL.  We the People cannot afford to get comfortable like Hillary did.  We MUST vote and we MUST vote AGAINST the Democrats and their Propaganda Media Complex.

On the Brink of History

We are now on the brink of history in American politics.  Either Trump will win despite tremendous headwinds generated by the Democrat machine with their well-entrenched weaponized federal bureaucracy, and their propaganda arm comprised of all the mainstream media outlets, or Harris will somehow prevail despite the overwhelming sentiment felt across the country in opposition to her failed co-administration with Joe Biden.

There is no denying the Biden-Harris record of complete failure, falling on the wrong side of virtually every issue, from the economy and inflation, to the border crisis, to the resulting soaring crime rate, to their disastrous foreign policy, to their unchecked corruption, and their relentless attacks on the Constitution in an effort to implement Obama’s “fundamental transformation” of America into a communist nation.  Democrats and their radical left-wing Marxist minions are literally destroying America, by design.  The only issue they poll favorably on is abortion, by appealing to women on their health care.  So, the Harris campaign has produced a slew of ads that blatantly lie about Trump’s position on abortion, expecting them to believe the ads, because they know that their voting base is too stupid to be aware of the facts.  The ads I’m referring to claim Trump will enact a nation-wide abortion ban.  That of course, is totally false as the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, essentially returning the abortion issue back to the states.  It is now in the hands of the people of each state to decide what types of abortion, if any, are acceptable.  The federal government has nothing to do with it.  Trump has nothing to do with it beyond his appointment of three SCOTUS judges who were part of the decision rendered during Biden’s administration.  Trump has even stated that he supports abortion on the three so-called “exceptions” of rape, incest, and the health of the mother. The voters that lose their minds on this issue should realize their fight is at the state level.

Every other issue is clearly in Trump’s wheelhouse.  So the Harris campaign has resorted to name-calling and pandering with false promises. 

When you witness the rallies each candidate holds, it’s pretty obvious the Trump campaign has generated a lot more enthusiasm just by the sheer numbers of attendees.  This past Sunday, he drew over 20,000 to his rally at Madison Square Garden in the heavily Democratic stronghold of New York City, with an estimated 50,000 more outside.  In contrast, Harris recently held a rally in Arizona attended by about 3,000 people and over 2,000 of them were bussed in from California.

Of course, I and most of you, are viewing this through a “red” lens, and feel the groundswell is in our favor, but it’s hard to ignore the simple logic and common sense that guides us in recognizing the much better choice.

If Harris comes out the other side of Election Day, or perhaps I should say Election Week, as the “winner”, there is going to be intense scrutiny of the vote totals, similar to 2020.  The left and the Propaganda Media Complex will vilify and ridicule all inquisitions as “election denial” just like last time, but we will have good reason to be skeptical.  After all, Harris was the most unpopular Vice President in history until four days after Biden’s disastrous debate with Trump on 27 June 2024.  That’s when the Democrat Party shifted into Plan B and ousted Biden in a coup to install Harris, who never earned a single vote, and was all of a sudden the media darling of the left.  By the time the smoke had cleared, she was the DNC nominee and the Democrats were calling Trump a “threat to our democracy”.  Hypocrisy on steroids.

President-Elect Harris would be an almost certain stolen election.  I still believe they stole the 2020 election for “basement” Joe, and I believe they stole several races in the 2022 mid-terms, so it’s not like they haven’t perfected it yet.  Trump may get 100,000,000 votes, but they will fabricate 105,000,000 phony ballots.  And that, my fellow Patriots, is my biggest fear.  I truly believe the only way Trump can win is by getting over 50% of all registered voters, AND making sure those votes are certified.  It would be nearly impossible to deny a majority of all registered voters.  But even then, you can be sure the Democrats would devise a scheme to delegitimize the vote.

The Last Chance to Save America

They always say “this is the most important election ever”, but in this case it’s true.  This is literally the last chance to save America from the throes of communism.  This is not a drill.

If you have been paying attention, you may have come to understand that our American values have been threatened by the emergence of Barack Hussein Obama.  In a campaign speech at Columbia, Missouri on the 30th of October 2008, Obama said, “we are five days away from the fundamental transformation of the United States”.  No one dared to ask what he meant by that.  As it turned out, he has been relentlessly chipping away at our freedoms, attacking the Constitution, and overwhelming our institutional systems using Saul Alinsky’s blueprint for creating a socialist state.  Obama was heavily influenced by Frank Marshall Davis, identified as an activist member of the Communist Party USA and tracked by the FBI in the 30’s and 40’s.  He was schooled under Islamic doctrines in Indonesia, worked as a community organizer under the Marxist playbook of Saul Alinsky.  He even branded his 30,000 member activist army “Organizing for Action”, a thinly veiled reference to Alinsky’s “Organization for Action”.  He is a master of deception, a highly-regarded stratagem of jihad.  You can read more about Obama in depth in my earlier blog posts, but suffice it to say here, he is the head of the snake, the mastermind behind everything that has transpired and everything happening today.  When the Democrat Party was in the planning stages of “how to steal elections”, you can be sure it was Obama who encouraged them and convinced them they could get away with it simply by running out the clock while being protected by the media.  He did it in 2012 with the Benghazi scandal just seven weeks before the election of 2012.  They pulled it off in 2020 and they are doing it again right now.  Democrats, as of this writing, are above the law.  If Trump can pull off the miracle, We the People should demand the end of their impunity.

Just yesterday in a virtual event Biden in referencing a comedian at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally who joked that Puerto Rico was a floating island of garbage, said, “the only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters”, essentially calling Trump’s supporters “garbage”.  They tried to spin the comment by claiming he meant the comedians’ fans, but that excuse doesn’t make sense.

In the lead up to the 2008 election, when Obama was a Senator running for his first term, he referred to Republicans as “clingers”, meaning they had been clinging to their guns, religion, and resentments against politicians who offered hollow promises.  He was the first to alienate half the country and it doesn’t appear to be a situation where he misspoke.  It was a deliberate attempt to divide the country that has continued to this day, following Alinsky’s blueprint outlined in his book Rules for Radicals.

Under The Ideology of Change, Alinsky wrote,

“The prerequisite for an ideology is possession of a basic truth. For example, a Marxist begins with his prime truth that all evils are caused by the exploitation of the proletariat by the capitalists. From this he logically proceeds to the revolution to end capitalism, then into the third stage of reorganization into a new social order or the dictatorship of the proletariat, and finally the last stage—the political paradise of communism.” [2]

Obama is so heavily invested in his agenda to convert America into a communist nation, it is impossible to overlook all the evidence.

We the People have suffered the consequences of America’s biggest mistake for far too long.  The choice is clear.  This is your last chance to save America.  Give him one more term and the “transformation” will be complete.  Failure is not an option.

It is literally Patriots vs. Marxists.

It is literally America vs. Communism.

“Fight fight fight”

  —  Donald J. Trump, Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024

Vote TRUMP for President 

IT IS TIME FOR THE GARBAGE TO TAKE OUT THE TRASH !

Comments welcomed.

FOOTNOTES

[1]  Top Battlegrounds – RCP Average

[2]  Alinsky, Saul D. ; Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals ;  Random House, New York, Vintage Books Edition, 1989 ; p. 25

Democrats Install Kamala by Crafty Coup

Thomas Paine: American Philosopher, & Revolutionary

From 1776 through the formation of The Constitution I helped create America. Now I have returned to help save America. American Patriots must join together, speak out in free and open discussion to fight the “woke” anti-American mob, and further the cause of FREEDOM.

Things Are Moving Quickly

July 13, 2024 – former President Donald Trump nearly assassinated at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.  As of this writing, it has been reported that the FBI scrubbed the roof 2 days after sealing off the crime scene, the shooter’s body has been cremated (within 10 days) and the story has been removed from the news cycle.  We may never know what happened.  See details HERE

July 21, 2024 – President Biden dropped out of the race.

In a virtual bloodless coup, Vice President Kamala Harris is immediately promoted by the Democrat Party and their Propaganda Media Complex as the heir apparent.

August 22, 2024 – Kamala Harris formally nominated as presidential candidate at Democratic National Convention.

August 27, 2024 – Special Prosecutor, Jack Smith, files revised indictment in response to Supreme Court decision of July 1st, which conferred absolute immunity of the President for official acts committed while in office. [1]

September 5, 2024 – Hunter Biden suddenly changes his plea to guilty in his tax evasion case in Los Angeles. [2] 

September 6, 2024 – Judge Merchan delays Trump’s sentencing hearing from September 18th to November 26th. [3]

September 10, 2024 – ABC “moderators” conduct a prosecution of Trump to aid Kamala Harris in the so-called Presidential Debate.

Let’s review.

The coup d’ ètat

In my previous post, I briefly described the circumstances surrounding Joe Biden’s sudden announcement that he was dropping out of the presidential race on Sunday the 21st of July.  His inner circle and the Propaganda Media Complex had been lying and covering up his dementia for years, and all it took was “one bad night” at the Presidential Debate on June 25th to convince the party elites that he had only a minimal chance to win re-election, or at least to make it look like he had won, for them to scramble into “Plan B”.  Whether it was Nancy Pelosi, as many have suggested, or their Supreme Leader, Barack Obama, who forced the issue, it was a virtual palace coup d’ ètat in the making.

And just like that, the party that has been warning Americans that Trump was a “threat to our democracy” disenfranchised 14 million Democrat voters who overwhelmingly supported him as their nominee and now they are telling you to vote for her to “save our democracy” after committing perhaps the most egregious violation of democratic election process in American history. 

It would be one thing if Biden had recently been diagnosed with a terminal disease, but his inner circle and many party elites knew of his dementia a long time ago and have been lying about it for years.  The closely guarded cover up has been perpetrated on the American people for virtually the entire time.  Optics is everything, and they needed a new candidate.  The first in line was his Vice President, Kamala Harris.  She was then regarded as the lowest rated VP in history with a “combined approval” rating of 38%.  [4]

Harris’ combined favorability includes the top two bars, “Very favorable” (16%) and “Somewhat favorable” (22%), just four days before Biden dropped out of the race.

The DNC machine was in desperation mode and they quickly shifted into damage control and an immediate overhaul.  Their problems were significant, but never underestimate the ability of the Democrat Party to fabricate an effective scheme.

Under advice and council from their Supreme Leader, no doubt, Barack Obama, they would just go ahead and replace Biden and not worry about any backlash.  The Propaganda Media Complex would take care of that.  The coup was “all systems go”.

Joe was gone and Kamala was in.  In a virtual roll call of party delegates conducted on August 2nd, 12 days after Biden’s announcement, Harris was formally chosen as the Democrat presumptive nominee.  The media blitz was in hyperdrive. 

The entire country will be bombarded 24/7 with campaign ads designed to make their low-information voters forget all about July and that one ‘bad night” in June.  They will actually expect all of us to forget Biden’s disastrous administration and fall in line with their vision moving “forward”.  The party that just destroyed democracy will try to make you think they are saving us from a dictatorial Trump so they can rule us instead.

The DNC Convention Pumps Up the Ticket

Just two weeks after being certified as the Democrat nominee, the DNC Convention took place in Chicago.  While tens of thousands of pro-Palestine protesters were marching in the streets outside, the Democrat Party was conducting their formal nomination process and riling up the delegates by bringing out the big guns, Bill and Hill, and the Obamas.  There were rumors of performances by Beyonce and Taylor Swift, which turned out to be false hype, much like the Harris – Walz ticket itself.

As expected, Harris gained a spike in media generated enthusiasm following her official nomination at the DNC Convention, and her 37-minute acceptance speech on the final night, August 22nd.

At some point, the “honeymoon” may end and the real world will be upon Democrat voters, so one would hope.

On the other hand, I’m pretty sure they don’t care or even need to worry about actually winning the election.  They have a plan for that too.  That’s an entirely separate argument that deserves a lengthy investigation.  Didn’t we go through this before?  Last time they just prosecuted their main leader.  Next time we might all be in legal jeopardy for daring to question their absolute rule.   

Jack Smith Chimes in with Revised Indictment

As you may be aware, the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) issued a ruling in the case Trump v. United States, whereby it was decided by a 6 – 3 majority that former Presidents can never be prosecuted for actions taken related to the “core” powers of their office, and that there is at least a presumptive immunity for broader “official” acts.  The decision effectively grants immunity to former President Trump against all charges related to his “official” acts, while leaving the door open for charges that can be restricted to his private conduct.

The decision, rendered on July 1, 2024, returns the case to the lower courts for re-evaluation to determine which of his alleged actions can be classified as “private”. [5]

On the heels of that decision, Special Prosecutor Jack Smith has revised his indictment accordingly wherein prosecutors did not drop any of the four original charges but simply “retooled” it and adjusted descriptions of how Trump attempted to subvert the 2020 election process. [6]

The reworked indictment infers that Trump had no constitutionally assigned duties regarding the post-election transfer of power, but defense lawyers argue he maintains the right to communicate with his Vice President, Mike Pence, until the successor President is inaugurated, as well as his ability to interact with the Justice Department.  The case is currently back in the courtroom of Judge Tanya Chutkan and undoubtedly will be delayed until after the November 5 election.  If Trump wins re-election, he will have the power to dismiss all federal proceedings against him.  

Hunter Biden Changes His Plea

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Hunter Biden was scheduled to appear in court in his tax evasion case on Thursday September 5.  In a complete surprise, he arrived to enter a guilty plea that precluded the trial entirely, just as jury selection was about to commence.  Essentially, in an effort to spare his family (wink, wink, Joe Biden) of being exposed about the details of their nefarious international business deals (bribery, influence peddling, and money laundering), he was suddenly confronted with the hammer- drop and entered what is known as an “open plea”, whereby a defendant pleads guilty to all the charges to avoid the trial, leaving his fate in the hands of the sentencing judge.

What brought about this sudden change of heart? 

Why wouldn’t his defense team negotiate a lenient deal rather than put him forward at the mercy of the court?

Fox News Legal Contributor and former Assistant U. S. Attorney, Andrew McCarthy has suggested it made no legal sense for Hunter’s lawyers to just stand up and declare that he was changing his plea to guilty.

The case is likely to result in a prison sentence when the hearing comes up on December 16, 2024.

Oh wait.  Why is that date important?

If the trial had gone on for some weeks, or longer, the verdict and sentencing hearing would likely be delayed until after January 20, 2025.  Isn’t that when Joe Biden leaves the White House?

Who in their right mind would want to bet me their last dollar that Hunter Biden does not get pardoned by daddy on his way out of the presidency?  Remember that time Quid Pro Joe said, “nobody fucks with the Bidens”?  

Judge Merchan Delays Sentencing

Judge Juan Merchan, a judge who clearly should have recused himself from the case The People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump, due to a conflict of interest whereby his daughter works as President of Authentic Campaigns, a fund raiser and media consultant for the Democrat Party [7], and was obviously biased in his conduct and rulings during the trial, has decided to delay Trump’s sentencing hearing from September 18th to November 26th to avoid the appearance of election interference.

Trump was convicted on May 30, 2024 by a jury selected from a dominant Democrat pool of 34 counts of falsifying business records in his “hush money” trial regarding reimbursements to his then lawyer Michael Cohen.  The case has been in limbo for several months after the Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity due to testimony from Hope Hicks and others that exposed what could be claimed as “privileged” information protected by the Constitution.

Many critics argue that the entire case was comprised of novel legal theory that interjected federal election laws into a twisted interpretation of perfectly legal non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).  Nevertheless, the Democrat-controlled Department of Justice under almost certain direction of President Biden, accused of prosecuting his political opponent, soviet style, now has the talking point narrative of labelling Trump as a “convicted felon”, which was the intended objective.

Merchan’s four-page letter reads, in part, “Adjourning decision on the motion and sentencing, if such is required, should dispel any suggestion that the Court will have issued and decision or imposed sentence either to give advantage to, or to create a disadvantage for, any political party and or any candidate for any office.”  The sentencing therefore is dependent on the outcome of the November election.  If Trump wins, the sentencing will not be necessary because the case will be dismissed.

The Rigged Debate

On Tuesday the 10th of September, former President Donald Trump squared up against Vice President Kamala Harris in the first, and likely only, presidential debate between those two, watched by over 67 million voters. 

Many are saying that ABC News Moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis, were obviously assisting Harris during the live debate, as they fact checked Trump at least 5 times and allowed her a “free pass” as she dished out 21 lies and misrepresentations (more on that in a moment) per Breitbart. [8]

Before the debate even started Muir issued the first lie of the night when he stated, “No topics or questions have been shared with the campaigns.” 

Getting to the actual debate, Muir set up the first question by saying the voters No. 1 issue is the economy and the cost of living, then asked Harris, “Do you believe Americans are better off than they were four years ago?”

Harris opened her dodged “answer” by saying, “So . . . I was raised as a middle- class kid and I’m actually the only person on this stage who has a plan that is about lifting up the middle class and working people of America . . . “

Never mind the fact that Trump has a well-defined economic plan and her plan includes government benefits such as more affordable housing for low and middle-class workers, paid by increasing taxes on wealthy Americans and corporations, just posted to her website a few days before the debate.  In other words, she thinks the government can just keep spending more money, a shout-out to the Inflation Reduction “Creation” Act of 2021 that she cast the deciding vote on, and follow Obama’s agenda of income redistribution.  Let’s not hold our collective breaths waiting for her magical formula to decrease housing costs during inflationary times.

From there the debate turned into an endless attack on Trump, much of which was completely false and neither moderator bothered to correct her or ask her any follow up questions.  She didn’t really answer any questions with substance or provide any clues to her well-guarded policies.

I knew she wouldn’t bomb as badly as Biden in the June debate, and had to admit on first reflection, that she presented herself fairly well while putting Trump on defense for much of the night.  But after sleeping on it, I began to realize Trump had some pointed moments, such as his closing statement when he asked, rhetorically, if you’re going to do all these wonderful things, why haven’t you done them already? (paraphrased) Initial polling indicates Harris delivered a stellar performance and the Propaganda Media Complex took the immediate opportunity to lavish praise on their newest darling.  But during the next day, her accompanying boost in favorability started to look as phony as the entire production when reports were made public that a survey of independent voters revealed 60% were leaning Trump, while only 30% leaned Harris, and rumors circulated that she was wearing audio earrings.

Left wing claims this has been debunked, but those earrings look identical to the Nova H1 Audio earrings.  Perhaps Kamala wouldn’t mind submitting the ones she wore for inspection.  If they are not Nova’s, she should be eager to prove they are not.

Among the live “fact-checks” that Linsey Davis cut Trump off with, she claimed that “there is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it is born”, but in fact, Minnesota’s new law, passed in 2023 and signed by Governor Tim Walz, not only permits abortion with “no limitations at any stage of pregnancy”, but also repealed the 1974 law that limited abortion, including the measure that protected born alive infants from being left to die.  It is factual that Minnesota law no longer requires that reasonable measures consistent with good medical practice be taken to preserve the life and health of the born alive infant.  Instead, only “care” is required, which the bill’s author described as “comfort” care (as opposed to lifesaving treatment).  The language applies to any babies born alive, not just those who survive abortion. [9]

Maybe the NBC explanation relies on the definition of the word “kill”, versus the very real option of neglect.  Trump did not offer any rebuttal as the moderator quickly turned to Harris for the next question.

On another occasion, David Muir quickly responded to Trump’s claim that crime had dramatically risen during the Biden administration by interrupting him with skewed FBI statistics that don’t include many large city data to say, “as you know, the FBI says overall violent crime is coming down in this country”, inferring that crime has decreased since Biden took office, then failed to allow him to defend his claim.  The very next day the Bureau of Justice Statistics released statistics that reveal true crime rates.

John R. Lott, Jr., President of the Crime Prevention Research Center, which tracks crime rates by surveying a quarter million people in 150,000 households, found that the FBI relies on state and local police department data, and that in 2020 97% of police departments were reporting crime data but by 2022 31% were not reporting at all and another 24% were reporting incomplete data.  Furthermore, the victimization data found that aggravated assaults fell by 24% under Trump while rising 55% under Biden; robbery, which fell by 6% under Trump, rose 63% under Biden; rape, which was flat under Trump, is up 42% under Biden. [10]

It’s not so much the “facts” that are disseminated by the Propaganda Media Complex, as it is a problem of acknowledging who is communicating those “facts” and what political advantage do they gain by skewing them?  That is why I often say it is not only the Democrat Party that must be destroyed, but also the power of the mainstream media.

When it comes to Harris’ many lies, she blurted them out as if she knew there would be no challenges.  Among the most egregious, easily debunked claims, she said:

  1. Trump said neo-Nazis in Charlottesville were “very fine people” – he never said that and it has been debunked by numerous outlets including the uber-liberal Snopes.
  2. Project 2025 is the Trump agenda – Trump has repeatedly stated he has nothing to do with it and hasn’t even read it.
  3. Trump said Putin “can do whatever the Hell he wants” – Trump never said that to Putin and to highlight her hypocrisy, Putin has done whatever he wanted to do, including invade Ukraine, during Biden’s term.
  4. Trump said that he “wants to be a dictator on day one” – Trump never said that.
  5. Trump said if he wasn’t elected there would be a “bloodbath”, implying he would start a civil war – entirely out of context.  Trump was referring to the auto industry in metaphoric terms if Mexico was to become a main supplier of Chinese-made cars exported into the United States, a devastating impact for U.S. automakers.

There are 16 other “whoppers” that Harris delivered, all designed to make the viewer think she was thoroughly researched, knowing ahead of time that the moderators would not dispute her claims.  This is how Democrats and their Praetorian Guard, the Propaganda Media Complex, disseminates misinformation, disinformation, and outright lies, with the full expectation that their own supporters and the low-information, disengaged voters will accept everything they say as gospel.  They don’t even care that opponents will attempt to dispel their claims because they know they can ridicule, vilify, shame and criticize all opposition as “conspiracy theory” hillbillies and deplorables.  When you control information, you control the social consciousness.

Comments welcomed.

FOOTNOTES

[1]  Tucker, E. & Durkin Richer, A. ; Feds File New Indictment in Trump J6 Case, Keeping Charges Intact but Narrowing Allegations ; AP ; August 27, 2024

https://apnews.com/article/trumpjack-smith-jan-6-186c874404912578e44d5781c8267e2d

[2]  Fitzpatrick, S., Gregorian, D., & Wall, K ; Hunter Biden Enters Guilty Plea in Federal Tax Case, Avoiding Trial ; NBC News ; September 5, 2024

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/hunter-biden-intends-plead-guilty-federal-tax-charges-rcna169621

[3]  Scannell, K., del Valle, L., & Herb, J. ; Judge Delays Trump’s Sentencing Until After the Election ; CNN ; September 7, 2024

https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/06/politics/judge-delays-trumps-sentencing/index.html

[4]  Favorability of Vice President Kamala Harris in the United States as of August 2024 ; Statista ; Updated August 17, 2024

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1172346/share-us-adults-favorable-opinion-kamala-harris

The “combined approval” rating is broken into two categories; very favorable at 16%, and somewhat favorable at 22%.

In contrast, her approval ratings were 11% somewhat unfavorable, 44% very unfavorable, and 7% “don’t know”, as of July 17, 2024, just 4 days before Biden’s announcement.

By August 17, just 2 days before the DNC convention, her numbers had improved to 27% very favorable, 19% somewhat favorable, 7% somewhat unfavorable, 40% very unfavorable, and 6% don’t know.

[5]  Howe, A. ; Justices Rule Trump Has Some Immunity from Prosecution ; SCOTUS Blog ; July 1, 2024

[6]  Sneed, T., Rabinowitz, H., Cohen, M., Polantz, K., & Collinson, S ; Special Counsel Files Reworked Indictment Against Donald Trump in January 6 Case ;

CNN ; August 27, 2024

https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/27/politics/trump-superseding-indictment-january-6/index.html

[7]  Cohen, M., Breaking Down Trump’s Attacks on the Daughter of the Judge in his New York Hush-Money Trial ; CNN ; April 7, 2024

https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/06/politics/trump-judge-daughter-attacks-explainer/index.html

[8]  Mastrangelo, A. ; 21 False Claims & Hoaxes by Kamala Harris That ABC’s Debate Moderators Did Not Fact Check ; Breitbart News ; September 11, 2024 

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/09/10/21-kamala-harris-false-claims-hoaxes-that-debate-moderators-did-not-fact-check

[9]  Stark, P. ; Let’s Check the Facts: MCCL’s New Ad and the Truth About Abortion in Minnesota ; mccl.org ; April 26, 2024

https://www.mccl.org/post/let-s-check-the-facts-mccl-s-new-ad-and-the-truth-about-abortion-in-minnesota

[10]  Dinan, S. ; Data Backs Up Trump on Crime Increase, Violence Up Under Biden-Harris Administration ; The Washington Times ; September 12, 2024

https://search.app/21Ti5y9BZMkGWgPo8

Nine Days in July

Thomas Paine: American Philosopher, & Revolutionary

From 1776 through the formation of The Constitution I helped create America. Now I have returned to help save America. American Patriots must join together, speak out in free and open discussion to fight the “woke” anti-American mob, and further the cause of FREEDOM.

Two Events

We have just witnessed an extraordinary sequence of events in American history that transpired over the course of nine days, from Saturday the 13th through Sunday the 21st of July 2024.  In that brief period we watched the near assassination of former President Donald J. Trump on live television and barely a week later, incumbent President Joseph R. Biden dropped out of the race under pressure from high-ranking members of his own party and the national media.

What was behind both of those happenings remains unclear amid a plethora of unanswered questions.

The Assassination Attempt on Trump

At 6:11 PM on a hot afternoon on the fairgrounds of the Butler Farm Show in Butler Township Pennsylvania, a 20 year old loner from Bethel Park, a suburb south of Pittsburgh, fired eight shots from the rooftop of the AGR building with intent to assassinate the former President who was just a few minutes into his speech at a campaign rally.  The first shot grazed the upper part of Trump’s right ear just milliseconds after he turned his head.  Trump had turned to his right, facing he gunman, and had turned his head further towards his right shoulder, seconds earlier and then turned his head back straight just as the shooter, identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, squeezed his trigger.  If Trump had not returned his head forward at that critical moment, he would have suffered a kill shot.  The AR-15 recovered on the roof after a Secret Service sniper killed the shooter had been purchased legally by the gunman’s father and fires a 5.56 NATO bullet that leaves the barrel at 3,251 feet per second.  The distance from the shooter’s position to the podium where Trump was speaking was estimated at 130 yards, meaning the projectile would have travelled that distance in less than 1/8th of a second.  Some say it was divine intervention that saved Trump’s life, that God wasn’t finished with him yet.

Butler Farm Show fairgrounds showing locations of vicims and AGR building where Thomas Matthew Crooks fired eight shots in assassination attempt.

The AGR building complex where Crooks ascended to the rooftop had a clear line of sight to the stage but was for some reason, not included in the “interior perimeter” by the Secret Service advance assessment team.  Typically the Secret Service is advised of the upcoming campaign schedule and performs a site survey of the proposed venue, then coordinates security with state and local authorities.  The Secret Service has acknowledged they are responsible for the overall security procedures but left the AGR building in the hands of local police.  The Butler Township Police have stated they assigned 1/3rd of their total force to the event but they were only tasked with traffic control.  Clearly, a building that close to the stage with an open line of sight should have been deemed a serious threat and manned by Secret Service Agents. 

After several critical seconds while Secret Service counter-sniper teams zeroed in on Crooks, taking him out with a head shot from the roof of a small building behind the stage, the agents covering Trump were told the shooter was down, he told them he was OK, rose to his feet, raised his right fist in defiance and shouted “fight, fight, fight” with blood streaming down his cheek.  Then the Secret Service Agents rushed him to a waiting government SUV not knowing whether another threat was lurking and he was whisked away.

Iconic image captured by photojournalist Evan Vucci shows Trump standing tall with raised fist in front of a large American flag.

But not all was fine and dandy that Saturday evening.  There were two gunshot victims in serious condition rushed to the hospital and one man fatally shot in the head as he bravely covered his wife and daughters in the grandstands beyond Trump.  Corey Comperatore, a 50 year old former fire chief of the Buffalo Township Fire Department was the fatality.  The two other victims were 74 year old James Copenhaver and 57 year old David Dutch.  They are both now in stable condition and expected to survive their serious wounds.  

Two days later the Republican National Convention convened in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and though Trump was not scheduled to make his nomination speech until Thursday night the 25th, he showed up each night with his freshly bandaged ear in a show of strength.  The convention was a rousing success, energizing the Republican Party in support of the man who narrowly escaped certain death.

Biden Throws in the Towel Under Pressure

By the time the RNC Convention wrapped up Democrat Party elites were openly calling for Joe Biden to terminate his campaign.  What brought that on?

It had become abundantly clear that Biden’s mental acuity has been severely diminished with his disastrous presidential debate performance on 27 June.  During that 90 minute exposè he looked like a deer in the headlights and often seemed to be incapable of gathering his thoughts.  The Democrats tried to cover for him, brushing it off as a “bad night”, and putting on a phony face for two weeks leading up to the RNC Convention as Biden defiantly stated he was their best bet to defeat Trump, but the damage had been done and even the extremely biased Propaganda Media Complex was turning on him.  It wasn’t long before congressional leaders were hopping on the bandwagon.  On Wednesday 17 July Biden tested positive for COVID while campaigning in Nevada.  He looked very weak navigating the short stairway of Air Force One en route to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware for recuperation.  Going into the weekend of 19 July, rumors were circulating that Biden was about to drop out and Sunday afternoon at about 1:46 PM it was announced via a letter posted to X, formerly Twitter,

also announcing that he was endorsing his Vice President, Kamala Harris, to receive his pledged delegates as the nominee of the Democrat Party.  It was not what he wanted to do, but intense pressure from allies within his own party forced the issue in a virtual palace coup d’ ètat.

And just like that, the party that has been warning Americans that Trump was a “threat to our democracy” has just disenfranchised 14 million Democrat voters who overwhelmingly supported him as their nominee and declared that they should replace him with a puppet of their choosing.  It would be one thing if Biden had recently been diagnosed with a terminal disease, but his inner circle and many party elites knew of his dementia a long time ago and have been lying about it for years.  The closely guarded cover up has been perpetrated on the American people for virtually the entire time.  Then they proceeded to rig the primary system and scam their own voters.  Now that his polling numbers don’t look so promising, they have no further use for him and a new face that received exactly zero votes, must be installed.  If that’s not a threat to our democracy, what is? It might be Harris, but don’t be shocked if they trot out somebody else at the convention, which opens on 19 August in Chicago.  Who do we know that rose from oblivion in Chicago and coincidently failed to endorse Kamala Harris?  Who better to stand in the spotlight as he pulls the strings of power to complete his “fundamental transformation” of America into a communist nation than Michelle Obama?  The media would be giddy with excitement and proclaim her as the savior of the Democrat Party.  The entire country would be bombarded 24/7 with campaign ads designed to make their low-information voters forget all about July and that one ‘bad night” June.  They will actually expect all of us to forget Biden’s disastrous administration and fall in line with their vision moving “forward”.  The party that just destroyed democracy will try to make you think they are saving us from a dictatorial Trump so they can rule us instead.

The Investigation

It had been nine days in July when we saw the attempted assassination of former President Donald J. Trump and the formal ending of incumbent President Joe Biden’s campaign, but many questions remain unresolved and it will take some time to complete several ongoing investigations.

The Secret Service has been reviewing the specific planning and execution of the Butler event that was an admitted catastrophic failure.  The Director of the service, Kimberly Cheatle, was subpoenaed to testify before the House Oversight Committee on Monday 22 July where she was grilled by members of both parties, looked as if she was withholding information, and coerced to resign before appearing again the next day.

United States Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testifies before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee during a hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on July 22 in Washington, D.C.

Christopher Wray, Director of the FBI appeared before Congress on Wednesday 24 July and appeared to be honest and forthcoming but suspicions of a cover up linger on the minds of many Americans. Due to some very puzzling open questions:

WHY was the AGR building left unguarded ?

WHY was there no response to the man on the roof with a rifle threat for 20 minutes after he was seen?

WHY was Trump allowed to take the stage despite the identified threat ?

WHAT communications are contained on Crooks’ cell phone ?

For now, I’m still in the “lone wolf’ camp but every shred of evidence must be analyzed for connections and any detail could persuade me that a conspiracy has been committed.  We the People demand answers and complete transparency.

Comments welcomed.

RETURN TO : Democrats Install Kamala by Crafty Coup

Monumental SCOTUS Immunity Decision

Thomas Paine: American Philosopher, & Revolutionary

From 1776 through the formation of The Constitution I helped create America. Now I have returned to help save America. American Patriots must join together, speak out in free and open discussion to fight the “woke” anti-American mob, and further the cause of FREEDOM.

The Federal Case Against Trump

On August 1, 2023, a federal grand jury indicted former President Donald J. Trump him on four counts for conduct that occurred during his Presidency following the November 2020 election.

The following is a summary of the allegations, written from the perspective of federal prosecutors.  It should be recognized that some of the language is presumptive, particularly in reference to terms such as “false claims”, “fraudulent electors”, and “false certificates”.  In real time, those actions were likely taken under circumstances in which the President had legitimate concerns.  

The indictment alleged that after losing that election, Trump conspired to overturn it by spreading knowingly false claims of election fraud to obstruct the collecting, counting, and certifying of the election results. According to the indictment, Trump advanced his goal through five primary means.

First, he and his co-conspirators “used knowingly false claims of election fraud to get state legislators and election officials to . . . change electoral votes for [Trump’s] opponent, Joseph R. Biden, Jr., to electoral votes for [Trump].” [1]

Second, Trump and his co-conspirators “organized fraudulent slates of electors in seven targeted states” and “caused these fraudulent electors to transmit their false certificates to the Vice President and other government officials to be counted at the certification proceeding on January 6.” [2]

In 1876, there was a disputed presidential election whereby Rutherford B. Hayes, the Republican Gov. of Ohio, won 165 electoral votes, but lost the popular vote to New York Gov. Samuel Tilden, who had secured 184 electoral votes.  However, those were the results of the initial count and there were 20 electoral votes unresolved from Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Oregon.  Those 20 disputed electoral votes were presented to Congress by each party as “alternate” slates of electors from the respective four states.  There was no claim by the losing Democrat Party that they were “fake” electors.   Both slates were simply submitted to Congress for consideration.  To address the issue, Congress established an Electoral Commission which awarded all 20 disputed votes to Hayes, who became POTUS 19 by a single electoral vote.  So, despite precedent regarding the exact same circumstances, somehow when Trump attempts to ensure a free and fair election, in his official capacity as the sitting President, submitting an “alternate” slate of electors is construed as a crime, according to the Democrat Party and their advocates in the Propaganda Media Complex.

Third, Trump and his co-conspirators attempted to use the Justice Department “to conduct sham election crime investigations and to send a letter to the targeted states that falsely claimed that the Justice Department had identified significant concerns that may have impacted the election outcome.” [3] 

As President, it is entirely within his constitutional authority to communicate and coordinate with the Department of Justice, part of the Executive branch.

Fourth, Trump and his co-conspirators attempted to persuade “the Vice President to use his ceremonial role at the January 6 certification proceeding to fraudulently alter the election results.”  And when that failed, on the morning of January 6, they “repeated knowingly false claims of election fraud to gathered supporters, falsely told them that the Vice President had the authority to and might alter the election results, and directed them to the Capitol to obstruct the certification proceeding.” [4] 

The President has every right to communicate and direct his Vice President.  It is the prosecution’s assertion that the election results were legitimate and that Trump’s claims were “false”.  On January 6th 2021, he did NOT “knowingly” repeat “false claims” as he had evidence of over 1,000 independent affiants who swore under penalty of perjury that they witnessed massive voter fraud.  At that time he had every reason to question those vote results and it is entirely within the scope of his authority to ensure that elections are free and fair.  Nor did he direct his supporters to obstruct the certification proceeding.

Fifth, when “a large and angry crowd . . . violently attacked the Capitol and halted the proceeding,” Trump and his coconspirators “exploited the disruption by redoubling efforts to levy false claims of election fraud and convince Members of Congress to further delay the certification.” [5] 

There are a lot of conflicting accounts related to events at the Capitol on January 6th.  We saw videos of Trump supporters being escorted into the building by Capitol Police. We saw videos of anarchists breaking windows.  We saw videos of Trump supporters sitting in “official” chairs.  But there are multiple reports of Antifa and FBI operatives coercing the more “violent” behaviors in leadership roles.  Despite media and DNC claims of death on the scene, the only casualty was the killing of an unarmed 14-year Air Force veteran by the Capitol Police officer who was never charged.  Also, Trump offered to provide 10,000 National Guard troops ahead of time, but Nancy Pelosi declined the offer. And I have always wondered why the joint session needed to “run for cover”, or even delay their meeting, as it is almost certainly a secure room in which they were meeting.  It almost reeks of a government setup. 

Based on this alleged conduct, the indictment charged Trump with (1) conspiracy to defraud the United States in violation of 18 U. S. C. §371, (2) conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding in violation of §1512(k), (3) obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding in violation of §1512(c)(2), §2, and (4) conspiracy against rights in violation of §241.1 [f]

Let’s examine those statutes.

18 U. S. C. §371 – Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud United States

If two or more persons conspire either to commit any offense against the United States, or to defraud the United States, or any agency thereof in any manner or for any purpose, and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

If, however, the offense, the commission of which is the object of the conspiracy, is a misdemeanor only, the punishment for such conspiracy shall not exceed the maximum punishment provided for such misdemeanor.  [6]

§1512(k) – Tampering with a witness, victim, or informant

(k) Whoever conspires to commit any offense under this section shall be subject to the same penalties as those prescribed for the offense the commission of which was the object of the conspiracy.

§1512(c)(2) – Tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant

(c)  Whoever corruptly—

     (2) otherwise obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding, or attempts to do so,  [7]

§2 – Principals

  • Whoever commits an offense against the United States, abets, counsels, commands, induces or procures its commission, is punishable as a principal.  [8]

§241.1 [f] – Conspiracy against rights

If two or more persons conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or because of his having so exercised the same; or

If two or more persons go in disguise on the highway, or on the premises of another, with intent to prevent or hinder his free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege so secured—  [9]

The Supreme Court Issues Landmark Decision in Trump v. United States

On July 1, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issued their decision in Trump v. United States that dealt with the question of presidential immunity for alleged criminal acts committed while a sitting President was in office.  It is a monumental decision in that SCOTUS has declared that any President has absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions he may have taken while in office that fall within the sphere of his ambit, or purview, as official duties granted by the Constitution.  In their Opinion, written by Chief Justice Roberts, they meticulously distinguished the difference between absolute and presumptive immunities, and repeatedly stressed that the President is not protected from acts determined to be “unofficial”.

The Supreme Court acted fairly, they acted properly in their interpretation of the Constitution, and they acted with the highest possible degree of integrity.  The reaction from the uber-liberal media and prominent Democrats was despicable.  You can be sure that under the next Democrat administration there will be a push to pack the Supreme Court with as many liberal judges as necessary to swing the balance of power in their favor so they can dominate all three branches of government under an iron fist.  For now, the Supreme Court is the last firewall between our constitutional republic and communism.

The result of their decision, an outline of which I have provided under “Opinion of the Court”, is that the case brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith is remanded to the lower courts because their prosecution made no distinction between “official” and “unofficial” acts and the Supreme Court is not a court of first review.

Opinion of the Court

Full Disclosure:  Most of the text below is copied directly from the Opinion written by SCOTUS.  It is not all quoted due to the many sets of quotation marks within.  All footnotes are provided to quickly access the pertinent pages.  I’ve added my own comments to certain sections.  My remarks in this segment are italicized.

The first eight pages of this pdf document [10] is the syllabus of key points rendered in the Opinion, which provides more detail.  The court concluded the syllabus portion of their decision by writing:

“Enduring separation of powers principles guide our decision in this case. The President enjoys no immunity for his unofficial acts, and not everything the President does is official. The President is not above the law. But under our system of separated powers, the President may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers, and he is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for his official acts. That immunity applies equally to all occupants of the Oval Office.” [11]

 “We conclude that the separation of powers principles explicated in our precedent necessitate at least a presumptive immunity from criminal prosecution for a President’s acts within the outer perimeter of his official responsibility. Such an immunity is required to safeguard the independence and effective functioning of the Executive Branch, and to enable the President to carry out his constitutional duties without undue caution.  At a minimum, the President must therefore be immune from prosecution for an official act unless the Government can show that applying a criminal prohibition to that act would pose no “dangers of intrusion on the authority and functions of the Executive Branch.” [12]

In other words, no President can be expected to act unencumbered if he needs to be consulted on legal jeopardy, particularly when dealing with matters requiring grave decisions.

No President should be subject to prosecution for decisions that may result in grave consequences, and must therefore have some protection against legal jeopardy that might encumber decisions regarding grave matters.  He must be free to act swiftly when necessary in order to uphold his oath of office to preserve and protect the citizenry.

“As for a President’s unofficial acts, there is no immunity . . .

The separation of powers does not bar a prosecution predicated on the President’s unofficial acts.” [13]

Here, the Court clearly decides that the President is not protected for “unofficial” acts, or acts committed beyond the scope of his constitutional authorities.

For example, the President can’t order the assassination of his primary political rival and expect to be immune from prosecution for obvious criminality.

The office of the presidency does not entitle the President to act as a King, or Dictator, as you likely heard many prominent Democrats and their Propaganda Media Complex talking heads crying about.  They are either lying or have obviously not read the Opinion in an effort to fear-monger the voters.  They actually expect you to believe everything they say without question.  And as usual, they all portray this using the exact same catch phrases, as if a memo was dispatched from central command.  This particular clause of the decision is clearly explained on page 4 of the syllabus.  Were they all so lazy and ignorant enough to not bother reading the first 4 pages before pontificating on its ramifications?  These reprobates need to be held to account.  Perhaps somebody should organize a campaign to boycott advertisers of the mainstream media and demand a return to legitimate journalism.  We the People want fair and balanced news, not propaganda designed to secure the permanent power structure of one political party.

“Determining whether a former President is entitled to immunity from a particular prosecution requires applying the principles we have laid out to his conduct at issue. The first step is to distinguish his official from unofficial actions. In this case, however, no court has thus far considered how to draw that distinction, in general or with respect to the conduct alleged in particular. Despite the unprecedented nature of this case, and the very significant constitutional questions that it raises, the lower courts rendered their decisions on a highly expedited basis. Because those courts categorically rejected any form of Presidential immunity, they did not analyze the conduct alleged in the indictment to decide which of it should be categorized as official and which unofficial.”  [14]

This is where SCOTUS is essentially reprimanding the lower courts for hastily prosecuting this case while failing to consider constitutional provisions or existing case law and laying the groundwork for their decision to remand back to the lower courts for thorough analysis.  The mere fact that the D.C. Circuit expedited this case in an attempt to convict Trump before the November election is further evidence that this case is politically motivated and arguably depicts election interference, an act that redirects criminality on those who brought the case. 

“Certain allegations—such as those involving Trump’s discussions with the Acting Attorney General—are readily categorized in light of the nature of the President’s official relationship to the office held by that individual. Other allegations—such as those involving Trump’s interactions with the Vice President, state officials, and certain private parties, and his comments to the general public—present more difficult questions. Although we identify several considerations pertinent to classifying those allegations and determining whether they are subject to immunity, that analysis ultimately is best left to the lower courts to perform in the first instance.”  [15]

I would strongly argue that the President’s communications with his Vice President and state officials is certainly within the “outer perimeter” of his official responsibility to ensure elections are free and fair.  I can’t see any way that could be disputed. 

“In dividing official from unofficial conduct, courts may not inquire into the President’s motives. Such an inquiry would risk exposing even the most obvious instances of official conduct to judicial examination on the mere allegation of improper purpose, thereby intruding on the Article II interests that immunity seeks to protect. Indeed, “[i]t would seriously cripple the proper and effective administration of public affairs as entrusted to the executive branch of the government” [16]

Here, the court is saying that once it has been determined the alleged act falls within the scope of the President’s authority, motive cannot be considered further.  The investigation is over.

“The indictment broadly alleges that Trump and his coconspirators sought to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election.   It charges that they conspired to obstruct the January 6 congressional proceeding at which electoral votes are counted and certified, and the winner of the election is certified as President-elect.  As part of this conspiracy, Trump and his co-conspirators allegedly attempted to leverage the Justice Department’s power and authority to convince certain States to replace their legitimate electors with Trump’s fraudulent slates of electors.” [17]

My only comment with this particular statement is that SCOTUS misrepresents Trump’s attempt to submit “alternate” slate of electors, as was previously done in the election of 1876.  They were not “fraudulent” slates.

“Trump and his co-conspirators initiated with state legislators and election officials in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin regarding those States’ certification of electors.” [18]

“And the President cannot be prosecuted for conduct within his exclusive constitutional authority.  Trump is therefore absolutely immune from prosecution for the alleged conduct involving his discussions with Justice Department officials.” [19]

In reference to Trump’s communications with his acting Attorney General, he is absolutely immune from prosecution and any inquiry regarding alleged motive.  I would argue, the same absolute immunity applies with respect to his communications with his Vice President and any state officials, such as the Georgia Secretary of State.

“The indictment’s allegations that Trump attempted to pressure the Vice President to take particular acts in connection with his role at the certification proceeding thus involve official conduct, and Trump is at least presumptively immune from prosecution for such conduct.” [20]

Here, the Court guides the lower courts future considerations by classifying all of Trump’s communications with the Vice President as actions that are at least presumptively immune.

“Trump and his co-conspirators initiated with state legislators and election officials in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin regarding those States’ certification of electors.” [21]

As I said above, the 5 states mentioned here were merely attempting to submit “alternate” slates of electors as the states of Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Oregon did in the election of 1876.  Those 20 electoral votes were all awarded to Rutherford B. Hayes and elected him as the 19th President by a single vote.  That could not have happened if those “alternate” slates had not been permitted to be submitted to the joint session of Congress.

Again, I argue the President has not only the right, but the duty, to ensure that elections are free and fair, and is entitled to communicate with state election officials.

The indictment alleges that Trump attempted to convince officials in those states to examine their election results and procedures and when they refused to alter their processes, he coerced them to submit “false certificates”, or “fraudulent” slates to the Vice President.  This is where I might suggest those state officials may not have had enough time to effectively audit every single vote to determine its validity and it would have been prudent to submit the “alternate” slates in case further examination revealed massive fraud.  In other words, delay the certification pending state audits.

The Supreme Court has remanded, the case, with guidance, back down to the “lower courts” for consideration of the distinction between official and unofficial actions allegedly committed by former President Trump in reference to his constitutional authority, something the District Court and the D.C. Circuit Court had hastily disregarded.  The reasoning is that SCOTUS is a court of final review and that prescribed analysis is best left to a court of first review.  In other words, SCOTUS has determined that the lower court(s) must first make determinations that correlate certain allegations to unofficial acts, then subject to appeal, before coming back to the Supreme Court.  

The SCOTUS Decision in Fischer

On the June 30, 2024 broadcast of Life, Liberty and Levin, host Mark Levin mentioned that Special Counsel Jack Smith was applying a creative legal theory to the Trump case in manipulating the interpretation of U.S. Code §1512, which is cited by Smith in two of the four federal charges against Trump.  Those charges relate to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, a federal law that established regulations and auditing requirements for public companies.  The law was passed in response to corporate scandals and the bursting of the dot-com bubble, and was created to protect shareholders, employees, and the public from fraudulent financial practices and accounting errors.  It has nothing to do with the so-called “insurrection” of January 6th, and should be dropped entirely.  That leaves sections 371 and 241.

As defined in the segment titled “The Federal Case Against Trump”, the 371 statute reads, in part, “to defraud the United States, or any agency thereof in any manner or for any purpose . . . “

WHAT?  This statute was intended to address fraud committed by federal contractors.  I still don’t know how it’s applicable to Trump.

As defined in the segment titled “The Federal Case Against Trump”, the 241 statute reads, in part, “If two or more persons conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution . . . “  This statute was enacted in 1948 to protect the civil rights and prevent intimidation of black voters by the Ku Klux Klan.  It’s a pretty shaky charge to bring against Trump.

This case concerns the prosecution of petitioner Joseph Fischer for his conduct on January 6, 2021. That day, both Houses of Congress convened in a joint session to certify the votes in the 2020 Presidential election. While they did so, a crowd of supporters of then-President Donald Trump gathered outside the Capitol. As set forth in the criminal complaint against Fischer, some of the crowd eventually “forced entry” into the building, “breaking windows,” and “assaulting members of the U. S. Capitol Police.”  This breach of the Capitol caused Members of Congress to evacuate the Chambers and delayed the certification process. The complaint alleges that Fischer was one of those who invaded the building.

On Friday, June 28, 2024, the Supreme Court rendered a decision in Fischer v. United States, in which they cited 18 U.S. Code §1512(c)(1), wherein it states,  

(c)  Whoever corruptly—

     (1) alters, destroys, mutilates, or conceals a record, document, or other object, or attempts to do so, with the intent to impair the object’s integrity or availability for use in an official proceeding; or (§1512(c)(2)as shown above) [22]

Judge Walker of the D.C. Circuit Court read the element of the statute – “corruptly” – as requiring a defendant to act with “an intent to procure an unlawful benefit.”

Chief Justice Roberts opinion [23] opens thusly;

“The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 imposes criminal liability on anyone who corruptly ‘alters, destroys, mutilates, or conceals a record, document, or other object, or attempts to do so, with the intent to impair the object’s integrity or availability for use in an official proceeding.’ 18 U. S. C. §1512(c)(1). The next subsection extends that prohibition to anyone who ‘otherwise obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding, or attempts to do so.’ §1512(c)(2). We consider whether this ‘otherwise’ clause should be read in light of the limited reach of the specific provision that precedes it.” [24]

“Prior to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Section 1512 imposed criminal liability on anyone who ‘knowingly uses intimidation or physical force, threatens, or corruptly persuades another person’ to, among other things, shred documents. 18 U. S. C. §1512(b)(2)(B) (2000 ed.). But the Enron accounting scandal revealed a loophole: Although Enron’s ‘outside auditor, Arthur Andersen LLP, had systematically destroyed potentially incriminating documents,’ the statute curiously failed to impos[e] liability on a person who destroys records himself.  As a result, prosecutors had to prove that higher-ups at Enron and Arthur Andersen persuaded someone else to shred documents rather than the more obvious theory that someone who shreds documents is liable for doing so.  The parties agree that to plug this loophole, Congress enacted Section 1512(c)—the provision at issue here—as part of the broader Sarbanes-Oxley Act. It would be peculiar to conclude that in closing the Enron gap, Congress actually hid away in the second part of the third subsection of Section 1512 a catchall provision that reaches far beyond the document shredding and similar scenarios that prompted the legislation in the first place. The better conclusion is that subsection (c)(2) was designed by Congress to capture other forms of evidence and other means of impairing its integrity or availability beyond those Congress specified in (c)(1).” [25] 

In Count Three, the only count now before us, the Government charged Fischer with violating 18 U. S. C. §1512(c)(2). Fischer moved to dismiss that count, arguing that the provision criminalizes only attempts to impair the availability or integrity of evidence. The District Court granted his motion in relevant part. It concluded that the scope of Section 1512(c)(2) is limited by subsection (c)(1) and therefore requires the defendant to “‘have taken some action with respect to a document, record, or other object.’”

The Court thus decided:

To prove a violation of Section 1512(c)(2), the Government must establish that the defendant impaired the availability or integrity for use in an official proceeding of records, documents, objects, or as we earlier explained, other things used in the proceeding, or attempted to do so. See supra, at 9. The judgment of the D. C. Circuit is therefore vacated, and the case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. On remand, the D. C. Circuit may assess the sufficiency of Count Three of Fischer’s indictment in light of our interpretation of Section 1512(c)(2). [26]

Wherein the Justice Department is citing 18 U. S. C. §1512(c)(2) in the Fischer case, they are citing Trump for violating 18 U. S. C. §1512(c)(1), making the Fischer  decision relevant to Trump’s case.  Neither on January 6th, nor in the New York case, did Trump “impair the availability or integrity of evidence”.  It is arguable that he personally obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding on January 6th, but the happenings in and around the Capitol were actions of other actors, some of whom may not have been true Trump supporters.  And when the transcript of his speech that morning is reviewed, it is clear that he urged the crowd to “peacefully and patriotically” march down to the Capitol.  He clearly did not incite a riot, or engage in any sedition, or insurrection, or the federal indictment would have included those charges.

The Status in the Four Jurisdictions

In New York – Trump was convicted on May 30, 2024 of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment reimbursement to his lawyer, who was the star witness against him. 

In January 2017, Trump, Weisselberg and Cohen (Lawyer A) agree the lawyer would be paid the $420,000 (previously paid by Cohen) through 12 monthly payments of $35,000 over the course of 2017, according to court documents. Cohen (Lawyer A) was to send an invoice to the Trump Org each month falsely requesting a payment of $35,000 for legal services rendered. Cohen (Lawyer A) does not have a retainer agreement with Trump or the Trump Organization, according to prosecutors.

However, paying the woman for her silence is NOT a crime.  The alleged crime was “falsifying” the accounting ledgers by classifying the payments as “legal expenses” to conceal the criminal conduct of the “scheme to boost his election chances.” [27]

Election interference is covered by federal statutes.

All the reimbursements were made after Trump was inaugurated.

The New York state laws cited in the indictment are thoroughly reviewed in my previous post.  You can see my analysis HERE

Judge Juan Merchan has a conflict of interest because his daughter works for a Democratic consulting firm that donated to the Biden campaign in 2020, though he refused to recuse himself.

On July 1, 2024, Trump’s legal team requests Judge Merchan to throw out the conviction on the grounds that the jury saw evidence that should have been protected by presidential immunity, citing the SCOTUS decision.

Judge Merchan has delayed the previously scheduled sentencing hearing from July 11 to September 18, 2024 pending further review.

In Georgia – District Attorney Fani Willis was scheduled for a review by the Fulton County Board of Ethics for conflict of interest in that she may have benefitted financially through her romantic involvement with a prosecutor she hired to assist her in the case.  On March 7, 2024, Fulton County punted their review saying she was not a county employee, but a state constitutional officer and referred any review to the Georgia State Ethics Commission.

That prosecutor, Nathan Wade, stepped down from his position under an ultimatum issued by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott MacAfee.  The case is currently being reviewed by the Georgia Court of Appeals in consideration of filings by Trump and 8 co-defendants who have moved to disqualify Willis.  Arguments are tentatively scheduled to begin on October 4, 2024, with rulings not expected until mid-March 2025. 

The SCOTUS immunity decision casts further doubt on the case because Trump, as President, had every right to communicate with state employees and inquire about election integrity, and certainly falls within the scope of his “official” duties to ensure the election was free and fair.  His call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger asking him (perhaps rhetorically) to “find 11,780 votes” is asserted by prosecutors to be the most damning evidence.  There is no proof that Trump was demanding Raffensberger to manufacture phony ballots.  The context of the call is extremely important in that it may show Trump’s quote to simply be a wish.

Furthermore, election interference falls under the jurisprudence of federal courts.

In Washington D.C. – On Aug. 1, 2023, former President Donald Trump was indicted by a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C. on four counts related to alleged attempts to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Trump faces four felony charges in the D.C. election “subversion” case.  The charges are those specified under the heading “The Opinion of the Court” above.

In early February of this year, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkin pushed back the March 4 trial date, awaiting a ruling from the Supreme Court on Trump’s petition claiming presidential immunity. 

As we now know, SCOTUS has issued an Opinion in this case. (see “Opinion of the Court” above)

In Florida –

Judge Aileen Cannon is meticulously reviewing pre-trial motions, including Trump’s legal team questioning the authority of Special Counsel Jack Smith that may be in violation of the Appointments Clause of the Constitution. The Constitution does allow the appointment of “inferior” officers by the President alone, by the heads of departments, or by the judiciary, so I believe Smith’s appointment may be constitutional, having been appointed by the Attorney General.  However, she has several other motions to consider and has declined to be rushed to trial by Smith.

Where Do We Go From Here ?

Due to these two Supreme Court decisions, all four cases brought against former President Donald J. Trump are essentially “tied up in court” and there is virtually no chance that any of them will proceed to trial before the November election.  Even the New York “hush money” trial that convicted Trump of filing false business records is in limbo. 

The entire strategy of the Democrat Party has seemed to backfire.  Their plan was to “get Trump” by any means necessary in order to prevent him from having any chance to regain the White House.  They concocted a scheme to encumber him by creatively interpreting several statutes, as defined above, and slamming him with lawfare in four different jurisdictions, all in an effort to keep him off the campaign trial and potentially imprison him.  But shockingly, Trump’s numbers in the polls were immediately boosted following the verdict in New York and Biden sank even lower than he was before.  However, their lawfare game is not over. Trump still faces some headwinds that need to be argued in the lower courts and potentially return to the Supreme Court.

The good news for the Democrats, is that the SCOTUS immunity decision is probably more beneficial for them than it is for Trump, because Trump’s actions are far less egregious than the actual crimes committed by Biden and his puppet-master, Barack Obama. They should be dancing in the streets because it probably exonerates them from several charges.  Instead, all we hear is a bunch of activist talking heads melting down on CNN, MSLSD, ABC, NBC, CBS, and all the rest of the phony journalists in the Propaganda Media Complex.  Their hatred of Trump is on full display.  Can you imagine the outrage they will portray when the next Attorney General indicts Obama for treason and Biden for bribery, money laundering, and other potential crimes ? 

For some time now, Democrat messages have been warning their idiotic followers that the Trump administration will conduct a revenge campaign against his adversaries, but it won’t be revenge, it will be JUSTICE.  He has already proven he was forgiving by not urging the indictment of Hillary but after what they’ve done to him, they will deserve being prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.  We the People DEMAND JUSTICE!

Comments welcomed.

FOOTNOTES

[1]  Supreme Court of the United States ; Opinion of the Court ; Donald J. Trump, Petitioner v. United States ; on Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ; July 1, 2024 ; considering the scope of a President’s immunity from criminal prosecution ; Pp 1-2

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/23-939_e2pg.pdf

[2]  ibid., Opinion of the Court, p. 2 

[3]  ibid., Opinion of the Court, p. 2 

[4]  ibid., Opinion of the Court, p. 2 

[5]  ibid., Opinion of the Court, p. 2 

[6]  18 U.S. Code §371 ; Cornell Law School ; Legal Information Institute

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/371

[7]  18 U.S. Code §1512 ; Cornell Law School ; Legal Information Institute

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1512

[8]  18 U.S. Code §2 ; Cornell Law School ; Legal Information Institute

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2

[9]  18 U.S. Code §241 ; Cornell Law School ; Legal Information Institute 

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/241

[10]  Trump v. United States ; Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ; Case No. 23-939 ; Argued April 25, 2024 – Decided July 1, 2024 ; full text, 119 pages

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/23-939_e2pg.pdf

[11]  ibid. ; syllabus, p. 8, section (e)      

[12]  ibid. ; Opinion of the Court, p. 14 

[13]  ibid. ; Opinion of the Court, p. 15 

[14]  ibid. ; Opinion of the Court, p. 16 

[15]  ibid. ; Opinion of the Court, p. 17 

[16]  ibid. ; Opinion of the Court, p. 18 

[17]  ibid. ; Opinion of the Court, p. 18 

[18]  ibid. ; Opinion of the Court, p. 25 

[19]  ibid. ; Opinion of the Court, p. 21 

[20]  ibid. ; Opinion of the Court, p. 23 

[21]  ibid. ; Opinion of the Court, p. 25 

[22]  18 U.S. Code §1512 ; Cornell Law School ; Legal Information Institute

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1512

[23]  Supreme Court of the United States ; Opinion of the Court ; Joseph W. Fischer, Petitioner v. United States ; on Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ; Case No. 55-72 ; Argued April 16, 2024 – Decided June 28, 2024 ; full text, 43 pages

considering the applicability of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act with respect to the actions of petitioner on January 6 ; Pp 1-2

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/23-5572_l6hn.pdf

[24]  ibid. ; Opinion of the Court, p. 1

[25]  ibid. ; Opinion of the Court, Pp. 9-10

[26]  ibid. ; Opinion of the Court, p. 16

[27]  Katersky, A. & Charalambous, P. ; Timeline: Manhattan DA’s Stormy Daniels Hush Money Case Against Donald Trump ; ABC News ; July 2, 2024 ;

Under dateline: April 4, 2023

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/timeline-manhattan-district-attorney-case-donald-trump/story?id=98389444

The People of the State of New York v. Trump

Thomas Paine: American Philosopher, & Revolutionary

From 1776 through the formation of The Constitution I helped create America. Now I have returned to help save America. American Patriots must join together, speak out in free and open discussion to fight the “woke” anti-American mob, and further the cause of FREEDOM.

The Basics and the Background

Those who are reading this post are certainly aware that former President Donald J. Trump has been indicted and charged in a criminal trial in New York City.  The basics are that New York County District Attorney for Manhattan, Alvin Bragg, who dedicated part of his campaign as a promise to prosecute Trump, charged Trump with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.  Bragg launched his campaign for Manhattan DA in June 2019, shortly before outgoing DA Cyrus Vance Jr. began proceedings against Trump.  In July 2020 the Supreme Court ruled that Trump was not immune from a subpoena issued by Vance but New York officials did not receive the subpoenaed documents until February 2021 and a criminal investigation was launched in May.  Bragg was elected in November 2021 saying he would continue Vance’s investigation and hold Trump accountable.  But Vance’s investigation was focused on Trump’s financial statements and whether he had committed fraud by overstating the value of his assets in documents submitted to banks and insurance companies in order to secure more favorable terms.

That investigation morphed into a civil case known as New York v. Trump, brought by State Attorney General Letitia James, who also campaigned on a promise to “get Trump” and charged Trump with fraudulently misrepresenting his property values to potential lenders and tax officials.  New York assessed the value of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate at $18 million, a ludicrous estimate that wouldn’t even purchase the ground it sat on if it was a vacant lot.  Furthermore, Bank officials testified that all agreements were entered into mutually after the banks did their own due diligence all loans were repaid with interest.  That is, there were no victims and everyone made their anticipated money from the deals.  The entire case was baseless.

Nevertheless, presiding judge Arthur Engoron ordered the defendants (Trump, his three eldest children, Donald Jr. Ivanka, and Eric, CFO Allen Weisselberg, Controller Jeffrey McConney, and ten companies) to disgorge a total of $364 million.  That judgment has been appealed and legal arguments are expected to take place no sooner than September 2024.

All of a sudden Bragg was in search of something else he could charge Trump with, so he concocted a novel legal theory centered on the notion that Trump had somehow attempted to influence the 2016 election by paying Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about their alleged sexual encounter.  It was a case brought against a target in search of a crime, which reverses the application of American jurisprudence.

The prosecution alleged that Trump mislabeled, or “falsely recorded” repayments to his Attorney, Michael Cohen, as “legal expenses” in the general ledger, rather than reimbursements to Cohen, who paid Daniels from his own loan proceeds to secure the nondisclosure agreement.  Cohen testified he made the payment on his own to shield Trump’s wife, Melania, from embarrassment.

From that simple accounting entry, multiplied 34 times, Bragg made the leap of reclassifying those ledger entries, misdemeanors by New York state law, which had expired the statute of limitations, as felony violations of federal election laws by concealing the Daniels story from the voting public in order to aid his chances of a presidential victory. 

However, the New York District Attorney had no jurisdiction to bring such  charges.  If Trump was to be indicted for violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, that would be a federal case.

But this kangaroo court show trial wasn’t about justice.  It was about weaponizing the justice system to persecute a political rival in what has been termed “lawfare”.

The Nitty Gritty of the Criminal Charges Against Trump

Of the four high profile“lawfare” cases against former President Donald Trump, the so-called “hush money” payment to porn star Stephanie Clifford, aka Stormy Daniels, brought in New York DA Bragg, was the first to go to trial.

The trial began on April 15, 2024, in New York Superior Court before Judge Juan Merchan, following an indictment by a grand jury filed March 30, 2023. 

The indictment charged Trump with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, New York Penal Law §175.10 [1], described as “A person is guilty of falsifying business records in the first degree when he commits the crime of falsifying business records in the second degree, and when his intent to defraud includes an intent to commit another crime or to aid or conceal the commission thereof.”  Falsifying business records in the first degree is a class E felony, the lowest in severity, of five classes. [2]  Critical to application of this law is the meaning of “intent to defraud”. 

In this case, the prosecutors alleged that Trump committed the act of falsifying the business records with the intent to hide another crime, the second crime being a violation of New York Election Code § 17-152: Conspiracy to promote or prevent election.

“Any two or more persons who conspire to promote or prevent election of any person to a public office by unlawful means and which conspiracy is acted upon by one or more of the parties thereto, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.” [3]

The way I interpret that is the state is alleging that Trump falsified business records in the second degree (whatever that is), and did so with the intent to commit the second crime of promoting his own candidacy by “unlawful means”.  Bragg essentially charged Trump under a felony statute that required proof beyond a reasonable doubt that he did so with the intent to commit the misdemeanor of promoting his own electability by one, or more, of the following “unlawful means”:

  1. Violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act otherwise known as FECA;
  2. The falsification of other business records; or
  3. Violation of tax laws. [4]

FECA violations would seem to be “off the table” because the Department of Justice holds jurisdiction over all federal crimes, and the DOJ would be the proper avenue of prosecution.  In effect, Bragg is claiming the reimbursements were campaign contributions but the New York District Attorney had no jurisdiction to bring such a charge.  If Trump was to be indicted for violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, that would be a federal case.

On tax law violations, Merchan describes any fraudulent information or false statement related to a material matter on a tax return as “unlawful” regardless of whether it resulted in a tax underpayment.  Not much to look at there, so apparently, the “unlawful means relate to falsification of business records, the notation of Trump’s reimbursements as “legal expenses”.

Each count in the indictment relates to a specific business document, bearing dates that range from February 14 through December 5, 2017, a period during which Trump was President.  Collectively, they are known as “hush money” payments, listed as “legal expenses” payable to Michael Cohen, including:

  • 11 for invoices from Michael Cohen

  •   9 for general ledger entries for Donald J. Trump

  •   9 for checks from Donald J. Trump

  •   3 for general ledger entries for the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust

  •   2 for checks from the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust [5]

The “false entries” in the business records cited by prosecutors was the $130,000 in payments by Trump to his personal Attorney, Michael Cohen, for reimbursement of funds paid by Cohen himself, as testified in earlier proceedings, to Stormy Daniels, in exchange for her silence leading up to the 2016 election.  Trump classified those payments as “legal expenses”. 

The Judge’s Instructions to the Jury

New York State Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan provided detailed instructions to the jury following the closing arguments from both parties.  While much of the Instructions appear to be standard legalese, some Legal Analysts have described portions of the instructions as difficult to understand by a lawyer, let alone a lay person.  I’ve cited the full document in pdf format for anyone who wishes to review the pertinent sections.

According to the jury instructions provided by Judge Merchan, “intent means conscious objective or purpose.  Thus a person acts with intent to defraud when his or her conscious objective or purpose is to do so.”  That sounds like word salad from Kamala Harris, but Merchan continues, “Intent does not require premeditation.  In other words, intent does not require advance planning.  Nor is it necessary that the intent be in a person’s mind for any particular period of time.  The intent can be formed, and need only exist, at the very moment the person engages in prohibited conduct or acts to cause the prohibited result, and not at any earlier time.” [6]  OK, so intent can be spontaneous.  Then it gets “muddy”.

In the next section, Merchan writes, “In order to prove an intent to defraud, the People need not prove that the defendant acted with the intent to defraud any particular person or entity.  A general intent to defraud any person or entity suffices.” [7]  What?  So who or what exactly was Trump “intending” to defraud?

This is where the election enters the discussion.  I get it, and most people do.  Trump allegedly thought he was paying Stormy Daniels under the terms of a Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA), in exchange for her not publicizing her alleged sexual encounter that could potentially damage his candidacy.  According to Bragg’s interpretation, and Merchan’s instructions, that met the requirements of a violation of New York election law, claiming Trump was promoting his chances at the ballot box by unlawful means.  Is that defrauding the voting public?  NDAs are perfectly legal documents and they are utilized quite frequently.  But it seems odd that the judge was telling the jury that the state did not need to prove Trump had any intent to defraud the voters.  I guess they were supposed to make the connection on their own that the mere existence of the payment implied intent to defraud.

Further, on the same page, Merchan wrote, “For the crime of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, the intent to defraud must include an intent to commit another crime or to aid or conceal the commission thereof.  Under our law, although the People must prove an intent to commit another crime or to aid or conceal the commission thereof, they need not prove that the other crime was in fact committed, aided, or concealed.” [8] 

Got it?  So, to consider whether the law should even be applied, the state must conclude there was an intent to commit a second crime, or to conceal the commission of the underlying first crime.  And, the state is not required to prove that “other” (second) crime was actually committed or the first crime was concealed.  So, if the state can’t prove a second crime was committed, or even whether the first crime was actually concealed, what have they proved?  Not a damn thing, right?

In reference to New York Election Code § 17-152, Merchan instructed the jury that “Although you must conclude unanimously that the defendant conspired to promote or prevent the election of any person to a public office by unlawful means, you need not be unanimous as to what those unlawful means were.” [9]

In other words, some jurors might think Trump was guilty of violating FECA only, while other jurors may have thought Trump was only guilty of falsifying business records, and it was not necessary that all jurors agreed.  

The Payback Will be Well Deserved

Remember that time when Hillary Clinton concocted the phony Russia collusion accusations against Trump leading up to the 2016 election?  She not only tried to pass off the false story to smear Trump’s name, but her campaign funded the entire “opposition research” and used it to encourage the Justice Department to appoint Special Counsel Robert Mueller to investigate it, at taxpayer expense, for two years, before Mueller reported there was no evidence of any Russian interference in Trump’s unexpected victory.  Mueller’s investigation focused on three points; Russian interference in the election, Trump associates and their connection to Russian officials (espionage), and obstruction of justice.  Her own campaign manager admitted she personally approved the plan to leak the allegations to the press in 2016.  And that was acknowledged by the extremely biased CNN. [10]

When you think about it, why would Putin want to see Trump in the White House rather than Hillary, who looked like an easy pushover when she brought out a giant red “reset” button to appease Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov? 

If Bragg is able to classify the “legal expense” of reimbursing his lawyer for a nondisclosure agreement, as intent to commit the conspiracy of promoting his own election by falsifying business records, then certainly Hillary Clinton’s Russia collusion hoax could be considered as an effort to influence the 2016 election, and all expenses incurred in that smear campaign qualify as campaign contributions.  She’s guilty of multiple felonies. 

The same can be expected for President Biden, as soon as he is removed from the White House.  The only thing that could save him from prosecution is death in office.  After his lawfare campaign against his chief political opponent, he has set a dangerous precedent, one which should haunt his every waking hour (if he is even cognizant enough to realize it).  Indicting Trump on what will prove to be phantom charges in four different jurisdictions, after trials and appeals have run their course, will give Trump every right to prosecute Biden for election interference that was far more egregious than anything he was accused of.  The Democrats are spreading fear to the voting public that Trump will exact revenge on his tormentors, in order to paint him as an evil vindictive man.  In truth, it will be more like justice, than revenge.

While we are in “roundup” mode, it would also be advisable to indict Tony Blinkin and the 51 intelligence officials who signed a letter claiming the Hunter Biden laptop was Russian disinformation, when the FBI had possession of it as early as December 2019 and knew it was real.  Then they repeatedly contacted and coerced social media companies to squash the story in order to protect the Biden candidacy leading up to the 2020 election.  If that’s not “election interference”, what is?

Comments welcomed.

Return to Monumental SCOTUS Decision

FOOTNOTES

[1]  People v. DJT Jury Instructions and Charges FINAL 5-23-24.pdf ; Post- Summation Instructions ; p. 27

https://www.nycourts.gov/LegacyPDFS/press/PDFs/People%20v.%20DJT%20Jury%20Instructions%20and%20Charges%20FINAL%205-23-24.pdf

[2]  Justia U.S. Law ; NY Penal Law § 175.10

https://law.justia.com/codes/new-york/2022/pen/part-3/title-k/article-175/175-10/#:~:text=A%20person%20is%20guilty%20of,or%20conceal%20the%20commission%20thereof

[3]  People v. DJT Jury Instructions and Charges FINAL 5-23-24.pdf ; Post- Summation Instructions ; p. 30

https://www.nycourts.gov/LegacyPDFS/press/PDFs/People%20v.%20DJT%20Jury%20Instructions%20and%20Charges%20FINAL%205-23-24.pdf

wherein Merchan cites    

New York State Senate;  Legislation, The Laws of New York, Chapter 17

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/ELN/17-152

[4]  ibid. ; p. 31     

[5]  Prosecution of Donald Trump in New York ; Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosecution_of_Donald_Trump_in_New_York

[6]  People v. DJT Jury Instructions and Charges FINAL 5-23-24.pdf ; Post- Summation Instructions ; p. 28

https://www.nycourts.gov/LegacyPDFS/press/PDFs/People%20v.%20DJT%20Jury%20Instructions%20and%20Charges%20FINAL%205-23-24.pdf

[7]  ibid. ; p. 29   

[8]  ibid. ; p. 29     

[9]  ibid. ; p. 31     

[10]  Cohen, M. ; Hillary Clinton Personally Approved Plan to Share Trump-Russia Allegation with the Press in 2016, Campaign Manager Says ; Cnn ; May 20, 2022

https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/20/politics/hillary-clinton-robby-mook-fbi/index.html

Voter Registration Rolls Under Scrutiny

Thomas Paine: American Philosopher, & Revolutionary

From 1776 through the formation of The Constitution I helped create America. Now I have returned to help save America. American Patriots must join together, speak out in free and open discussion to fight the “woke” anti-American mob, and further the cause of FREEDOM.

Far-Right Activists Urging States to Maintain Voter Registration Lists

In a recent article published by NBC News, which as we all know is a charter member of the Propaganda Media Complex (PMC), they inform us that so-called “far right” activist groups networked across 24 states have developed a program named EagleAI (pronounced Eagle EYE) that is a database of voter rolls that purportedly flags registrations that may be suspect for scrutiny for such things as names that appear on the Social Security Death Index, or duplicity of names registered in multiple districts.  It’s good to hear that somebody is trying to minimize voter fraud.  Any effort to make sure all votes are legitimate has my full support.

Of course the very first sentence of the article describes this network as “far right activists, some of whom falsely believe the 2020 election was stolen”. [1]  

As though NBC had conducted a thorough investigation into over 1,000 independent claims of voter fraud spread across multiple states.  If you recall the aftermath of the election, there were more than 1,000 Affidavits filed under penalty of perjury by independent witnesses who observed irregularities in the swing states.  Those claims were quickly denied by the Democrat Party and “debunked” by the PMC.  I don’t recall any thorough 2 year investigations by Special Counsels like those appointed to frame President Trump.  Those allegations and cursory reviews by Democrat-selected judges were “decided” virtually overnight.  So NBC News has determined immediately that the far right activists falsely believe the election was stolen, basically with no investigation at all.  They couldn’t possibly have come to that conclusion instantly.

So We the People are supposed to believe the word of the DNC, proven liars, and ignore the testimony of 1,000 INDEPENDENT affiants.  How can they say there is “no evidence” of widespread voter fraud, when they don’t even listen to the witnesses, or investigate it at all?

According to NBC, one of the activists emailed a top Florida election official with a list of about 10,000 names that should be reviewed and the state official forwarded the list to county supervisors.  The state official, identified as Maria Matthews, couldn’t say how the list was generated or what sources may have produced it, only that the “concerned citizen” who sent her the email was Dan Helm, whom NBC described as “a longtime Florid-based activist who has made unfounded voter fraud claims across the state”.

The EagleAI program was launched in 2023 by a retired doctor and used by a group founded by former Trump election lawyer, Cleta Mitchell, who was an unindicted co-conspirator in the Georgia case that has charged Trump with attempting to overthrow the 2020 election.  Mitchell was quoted as saying, “the left will hate this”, in reference to the EagleAI program.

Wesley Wilcox, Supervisor of Elections in Marion County, Florida said that “95% of the records identified in his county were records that his office has already identified for voter roll maintenance . . . ”  So, the EagleAI program must be getting fairly reliable data if it’s about 95% accurate, right?

Matthews, the Director of the Florida Division of Elections, assured all interested parties that the state does not take action to change a voter’s record, or remove any voter from the rolls without first exercising due diligence to determine “credible and reliable” information exists to warrant any action.

Far Left Activists Trying to Prevent Voter Registration Lists From Being Maintained

But left wing activists never miss an opportunity to ridicule anything that tries to question the authority of the Democrat Party.  No matter how credible the allegations of voter fraud may be, or how justifiable efforts are to ensure that the integrity of our voting system is secure, left wing activists will attempt to caste a nefarious shadow over the claims.  As soon as any far left activist catches wind of a story, they jump into action and formulate a media strategy to attack the story.  Among the first to respond is the multistate voting rights group All Voting is Local Action.  They sent a letter to Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd asking him to tell local officials to “disregard” the 10,000 name list and encourage counties to “not perform list maintenance based on unreliable and unreviewed data”.  They also want a state elections investigation office to refrain from making any communicationsthat could be perceived as “improper or threatening”.

By who?  Presumably the far left wing activists?  The Democrat Party?

The All Voting is Local Action letter was co-signed by the NAACP, Common Cause Florida, the Legal Defense Fund, and the Advancement Project.  They are all far left advocacy groups who state they are fighting the same thing.  The Common Cause mission statement says, in part, “that every eligible voter can have a say”.  We the People don’t disagree with that, as long as they are eligible.  When you open the main page of the Legal Defense Fund, you are immediately prompted to donate to their organization, without being able to see what they are about, but they are essentially a racial justice advocacy organization founded in 1940 by Thurgood Marshall.  As for the Advancement Project, they are a politically liberal American nonprofit organization that focuses on racial justice issues. [2]  In other words, all of these groups could be characterized as one and the same.  There is no diversity among their goals.

Brad Ashwell, Florida State Director for All Voting is Local Action, told NBC News that “it is a voter suppression technique and can bog down the machinery of elections at critical points”.  The DNC apparently doesn’t have any problem of “bogging down the machinery” on Election Night by reporting water leaks, power outages, and the like to give “officials” time to rescan enough Democrat ballots to “win” elections.

The Solution

The “far right” groups also have a presence in the seven swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.  Good!  It’s long past due that someone is trying to ensure that every eligible vote counts, and every ineligible vote is thrown out.  There is only one way to conduct free and fair elections, and that is to mandate state-issued voter ID cards with unique identification numbers/codes.  Any voter who moves out of state must surrender his/her voter ID card from the previous state before being issued a new card and the number would stay with the voter for life.  Any voter who moves “in state” could vote using his/her state-issued card but the number would prevent casting multiple ballots when that number has already been used.

Ask any Democrat voter why they object to Voter ID and wait for their pre-programmed response.  I’d wager if you surveyed 10 people, six of the answers would be the same, and the other four are too stupid to remember what they were supposed to say.

Comments welcomed.

FOOTNOTES

[1]  Dixon, M. & Timm, J. ; Florida is Using a Fraud-Hunting Tool Used by the Right to Look for Voters to Remove from the Rolls ; NBC News ; May 26, 2024

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/florida-eagleai-fraud-hunting-tool-right-voters-rcna153841

[2]  Advancement Project ; Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advancement_Project

The REAL Threat to Democracy 

Thomas Paine: American Philosopher, & Revolutionary

From 1776 through the formation of The Constitution I helped create America. Now I have returned to help save America. American Patriots must join together, speak out in free and open discussion to fight the “woke” anti-American mob, and further the cause of FREEDOM.

Lexington and Concord

On this, the 249th anniversary of the “shot heard round the world” on Lexington Green in Massachusetts, it is appropriate to appreciate what those 70 brave Minute Men militia led by Captain John Parker, did to send a message to British commanders.

The original “stand your ground” monument on Lexington Green

These were not men who thought kindly of tyranny and oppression.  They had had just about enough and they were willing to literally put their lives on the line to fight for the freedom they sought.  They faced the most powerful military in the world and stood tall against it.

British troops, about 800 strong had marched out of Boston the night before on a mission to seize weapons and gun powder stored in the nearby town of Concord and capture Patriot leaders John Hancock and Sam Adams, who were staying at the Hancock-Clarke House just up the road from Lexington Green.  Fortunately, for the American revolutionaries, Paul Revere and William Dawes had been dispatched by Dr. Joseph Warren, who had caught wind of the British expedition, and warned them of the approaching British regulars, allowing them to escape northwards to Burlington, out of harms way.  But eight Minute Men lay dead on Lexington Green and another two were felled in the skirmish at North Bridge over Concord River, where the British lost three men before retreating back to Boston. 

A Minute Man reenactor at North Bridge, Concord

By the time they came back down what is now known as Battle Road towards Lexington, Dr. Warren and Captain Parker had gathered thousands of Minute Men along the route to Boston, ambushing the column from all angles for the next 12 miles.  At the end of the day, there were 73 British killed in action and many more wounded.  The Americans suffered 49 dead.  [1]

It was “go time”.

When Warren’s mother saw him later that day, she urged him to never put himself in such danger again.  Warren replied, “Now is no time for any of America’s children to shrink from any hazard.  I will set her free or die.”

Fifty-nine days later, he was killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill. 

That being said, why do I mention this little episode from the American Revolution?

Because I know there are Patriots who will view this and feel the same way.

The Warning and the Caviat

There are millions of Americans who are totally fed up with the direction Marxist communists are taking this country.  Many of them are military vets and members of groups who consider themselves armed militia.  Please be advised that no matter how angry you are and how justifiable your ambitions may be, it would be foolish to directly confront the active U.S. military commanded by the very political leader you might hope to supplant.  Any armed revolution would be disastrous.  There are alternative methods to restore our republic without committing suicide. One such method is to speak the truth about every aspect of Marxist ideology currently being installed by Obama’s communist agenda, whether he can be directly implicated, or carried out by his political puppets and his activist army.  Patriots must unite behind the cause to save America and the best way I see at this time is to inform them of what is really going on and convince as many people as possible to vote against this Marxist, anti-American regime.  Remember, it was Obama himself who proclaimed at a campaign rally in Columbia, Missouri on October 30th 2008 that, “We are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America.”  No one asked what he meant, but now it is clear, his “fundamental transformation” was to convert America to communism.

His legacy cannot be allowed to happen.

I am openly calling for every Patriot to speak out, but you must be cautious in what you say and make sure you don’t cross the line into unprotected speech.  To that end, I urge you to be aware of the extremely important Supreme Court decision in Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969).

Essentially, a Ku Klux Klan leader was convicted of violating an Ohio law that “prohibited public speech that was deemed as promoting illegal conduct”.  After going through the appeals process, SCOTUS overturned the verdict under the principle that speech was protected as long as it did not call for “immediate unlawful action”.  In the Brandenburg case, there was no proposal for anyone to commit illegal activity.  There was no imminent danger to any individual, public safety or the community at large.  His speech, though it may have been construed as “hateful”, was perfectly legal, and protected under the First Amendment.

For example, though it is protected speech to advocate overthrowing the government, it would be unprotected, and subject to prosecution, if you named a rally point and a time to assemble to forcibly enact a plan to do so.

The Police State

We are in a time when anything you say, can and will be held against you.  Though he was eventually exonerated, Brandenburg was damaged by the prosecution and it took five years for his case to be overturned.  It could be argued that Donald Trump’s “hush money” trial in New York right now is on very shaky legal grounds, but Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg doesn’t care about whether the Supreme Court could overturn his successful conviction in a biased courtroom.  His only objective is to apply maximum damage to the Trump campaign.  Once Trump’s reputation is damaged in the eyes of the voters and the 2024 election is over, it’s too late.

There is yet another reason to avoid such controversy.  And that is the “surveillance state”.  In case you missed it, on the 13th of November 2023, Democrat New York Governor, Kathy Hochul, announced that the state would “ramp up surveillance efforts of social media accounts and that law enforcement will take proactive measures, including contacting people on suspicion of using ‘hate speech’.” [2] 

Hochul offered assurance that New Yorkers could “feel safe” about their personal security due to the state’s social media analysis unit, which has ramped up its monitoring of sites to catch incitement to violence, and direct threats to others.  In other words, everyone should be thankful that the state is watching the entire spectrum of social media platforms looking for speech that some undefined expert analyst may deem threatening, under the guise of “safety”.  As Benjamin Franklin once said, “Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

Perhaps Gov. Hochul should be made aware of the “Brandenburg test” because any person they decide to harass could cite the 1969 Supreme Court decision as a defense and the taxpayers of New York will have funded another pea-brained virtue signal.

So to all you federal agencies (and we know you’re watching) who may catch wind of this, or anyone’s speech deemed “hateful”, or offensive to your undefined “standards”, be advised of the Brandenburg defense.

Again, to remind all Patriots, the “surveillance state” is real and it is fully operational.  Everything you post on Facebook, or tweet on X, is captured and recorded by a fascist regime that will do anything to remain in power.  The proof is ongoing in New York City right now, as a judge who donated to the Democrat Party refuses to recuse himself for obvious conflict of interest, reviews potential jurors from a 90% Democrat district who have been coached to lie on their questionnaires by a former Asst. U.S. Attorney, in a case brought by a D.A. who fabricated felony charges out of misdemeanors that had expired statutes of limitations, and a State Attorney General who promised to “get Trump” as her campaign platform.  In other words, he is being railroaded like the express trains to Auschwitz.  A complete travesty of American justice.

If they decide they want to come after “hate speech” from dissidents, you may have a strong defense in Brandenburg, but it won’t matter after they bankrupt you and destroy your life.  We the People are undoubtedly already on their watch list of “domestic terrorists”.  And the actual fascists call MAGA Republicans a threat to our democracy, while their Propaganda Media Complex trumpets the mantra.

The Cause

Much as it was for the Minute Men of 1775 and all Patriots who rallied to the cause throughout the American Revolution, it has come to the point that we must recognize our way of life is in serious jeopardy.  The enemy is the Democrat Party and all that it stands for.  They must be totally crushed to save our republic.  We watched Donald Trump shock the world in 2016 by defeating Hillary Clinton, the presumptive heir to Obama’s legacy, and how the left denied his legitimacy because they felt they were entitled to rule.

We know they were willing to do anything to regain power, including stealing elections.  There is nothing they won’t do to keep it.

We the People may rest only when their legitimacy is completely destroyed.  We don’t need to see it collapse entirely, but their communist agenda cannot stand.  Until the DNC reforms their Marxist, anti-American platform, they must be critically attacked from every angle, exposed for every unconstitutional maneuver they make, and voted against at every opportunity. 

Speak out. 

Make the silent majority the moral majority.

Stay the course.

COMMENTS ALWAYS WELCOME

FOOTNOTES

[1]  Lexington and Concord: The Shot Heard ‘Round the World ;American Battlefield Trust

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/lexington-and-concord-shot-heard-round-world

[2]  Standing for Freedom Center Staff ; New York Announces it Will Take Citizen Surveillance and Censorship to the Next Level ; November 17, 2023

The Georgia Racketeering Case Against Trump

Thomas Paine: American Philosopher, & Revolutionary

From 1776 through the formation of The Constitution I helped create America. Now I have returned to help save America. American Patriots must join together, speak out in free and open discussion to fight the “woke” anti-American mob, and further the cause of FREEDOM.

The Basics of Georgia’s Indictment Against Trump

For those who haven’t closely followed the case of The State of Georgia v. Donald J. Trump et al, brought by Fulton County Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis, be advised that a grand jury formally indicted the former President and 18 co-defendants on August 14, 2021, with charges that violate Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute, alleging that all of the co-defendants “knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome” of the 2020 election.  Some defendants have also been charged with forty additional counts from other allegations, varying from; plotting to create pro-Trump slates of fake electors, to illegally accessing voting systems in search of fraudulent votes, to Trump himself calling Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensberger, asking him to “find 11,780 votes”, which would have swung the state’s electors in Trump’s favor.  Bear in mind, the text of Trump’s call to Raffensberger was, “What I want to do is this. I just want to find, uh, 11,780 votes, which is one more than (the 11,799-vote margin of defeat) we have, because we won the state.”  [1] 

The statement itself is not proof that Trump was demanding Raffensberger to “find” votes for Trump by hook or by crook.  It could easily be construed as a request for Raffensberger to consider potential fraud.  But as is the norm for the Democrat Party and their Propaganda Media Complex, the context of the statement is omitted to spin a sinister effort by their opposition.  Needless to say, if the political parties were reversed, everything would have been “hunky-dorry” and there wouldn’t even be a case against any Democrat.  But we’re dealing with Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) and Orange Man must be vilified at every opportunity.  Trump himself was facing 13 separate counts, three of which have been dropped by Fulton County Superior Court Judge, Scott McAfee.  He now faces ten counts, the RICO charge, four counts of making false statements, two counts of filing false documents, two counts of forgery, and one count of impersonating a public officer.  Among the charges alleged by prosecutors, the Trump team is accused of attempting to coerce the Georgia state legislature to appoint alternate electors for Trump in case pending litigation in Pennsylvania determined that fraud had been discovered in that state.  Such a procedure is perfectly legal and has been employed before in other jurisdictions following other elections, namely in Hawaii, when John F. Kennedy disputed the 1960 election results.  Kennedy prevailed in a recount that was court-ordered after the results were audited twice and certified by Acting Governor James Kealoha.  The third recount was ordered on December 19, 1960, by Judge Ronald B. Jamieson, which was completed by December 28th, showing a Kennedy victory by 115 votes, and Jamieson then ordered the alternate slate of Democratic electors to be validly appointed.  Governor William F. Quinn certified the Democratic slate on January 4, 1961 and the state air-mailed the new certificate to Congress notifying them of the change.  Allegedly, the Georgia “Certificate of Ascertainment” was deemed a false statement because it did not follow language guidelines that specified it as an alternate slate that would only be valid pending external litigation.  Apparently, only Democrats are allowed to question election results.  

Four of the defendants have pled guilty to some of the charges and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.  The other 15 defendants have pled “not guilty” and are currently awaiting the outcome of decisions related to pretrial motions, which have brought the case into the limelight.  

Pretrial Motions

As a prerequisite to any impending trials, Judge McAfee has been dealing with several pretrial motions, to which he set a deadline of December 1, 2023.  Among those:

August 19, 2023 – Mark Meadows, White House Chief of Staff, charged with one count, the RICO count, submitted a motion to have the case dismissed entirely, based on the fact that the President must be provided close, confidential advice and assistance ensconced in federal law for nearly 100 years.  It also argues Meadows is immune under the First Amendment and the 14th Amendment, prohibiting charges that are “unconstitutionally vague”.

September 2023 – District Judge Steve C. Jones denied a motion by five defendants to move the case to federal court in an effort to “widen the jury pool”.  Fulton County is heavily Democratic.

October 5, 2023 – Judge McAfee denies campaign attorney, Sidney Powell’s motion to dismiss charges against her and three co-defendants in a breach of Coffee County voting equipment whereby she sent two operatives to copy data recorded by Dominion Voting systems machines.  The motion argued that there was no attempt to break in to the system because they were authorized by Coffee County and escorted by employees of the independent data forensics firm SullivanStrickler.  McAfee said he had “no authority to do that so close to her trial”.  What?

October 11, 2023 – Powell and Trump attorney Kenneth Chesebro, through their lawyers, argued that the alternate Trump electors could not be impersonating public officers because they were indeed public officers themselves under federal law.  Therefore, no conspiracy existed.  McAfee declined to dismiss the charges, saying they were not “defective”.

January 8, 2024 – Trump’s lead lawyer, Steven Sadow, submitted a motion for all criminal charges against him be dismissed due to presidential immunity, arguing that the acts described in the indictment are “at the heart of his official responsibilities as President”.

District Attorney’s Office Takes the Stand

Also on January 8, 2024, Mike Roman’s attorney, filed a motion alleging that Fani Willis and Nathan Wade, whom she had hired as a special prosecutor in November 2021, had been conducting a romantic relationship that dated back to 2019, asserting that Willis vacationed with Wade, and thereby profited from his hiring at a lucrative salary, forming a conflict of interest.  This is where the case gets “juicy” and places the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office in serious jeopardy of its own credibility.

On February 15, 2024, Wade was called to testify on his relationship with DA Willis.  The legal team for the defendants questioned him about his alleged affair with Ms. Willis and when it began.  He repeatedly stated there was a romantic relationship but it didn’t begin until sometime in early 2022, after he was hired by Ms. Willis as a special prosecutor.  He was also questioned about a series of vacations the two had taken together in Mexico and the Caribbean, which he claimed were charged on his credit card, but reimbursed by Ms. Willis for her share in cash.  He could not produce any receipts or deposit slips for thousands of dollars spent on these elaborate vacations.

Prior to Wade’s testimony, the defense called Robin Yeartie to the stand, who testified under oath remotely that she was a close friend of Willis’ and had been a co-worker during the time frame when it is alleged that Willis and Wade were dating.  Ms. Yeartie was adamant that she had witnessed the two “hugging and kissing” before Wade was hired in November 2021.

Fulton County Georgia District Attorney, Fani Willis, takes the witness stand to testify of her relationship with Special Prosecutor, Nathan Wade, amid allegations of a conflict of interest and the “appearance of impropriety”.

Thursday, February 15, 2024

When Wade was dismissed from the stand, Willis stormed into the courtroom and told her DA’s office attorneys to put her on the stand.  She put on a performance for the cameras acting defiant and in near contempt of court.  She called the bundled papers detailing the motion requested by the defendants a pack of lies and reminded everyone that she was not on trial, but it was the Trump co-defendants who were on trial.  When questioned by the defense, she basically echoed Wades claims that the relationship had not begun until after Wade was hired and that she had always reimbursed Wade for her share of the vacation expenses, including airfare, with cash that she habitually kept laying around in her house.  When asked about her typical cash holdings, she replied, “on a bad day it might be $1,500, on a good day, it might be $15,000.”  Attorney Ashleigh Merchant probed her for the source of the cash, to which Willis replied she would typically take some extra cash when she was at the grocery store, but she didn’t have any receipts of any transactions, no bank records, and no statements of any kind.  OK, so if we go to the grocery store you frequent and subpoena the video surveillance footage of dates and times you were there to observe your “cash back” transactions, that would prove you’re telling the truth, right?  And if we go to your house right now, you can show us your cash box, right?  In other words, how much credibility would you assign to Willis and Wade?

McAfee Weighs In

On March 1, 2024, the cameras were back on in Judge McAfee’s Fulton County courtroom and he announced he would make a decision on whether to dismiss Fani Willis from the case within two weeks.  True to form, McAfee made his decision on Friday the 15th of March, wherein he ruled that Willis had a choice.  If she wanted to remain on the case and prosecute the co-defendants in Fulton County, she would have to fire Wade.  Wade resigned that afternoon.

On Wednesday the 20th of March, McAfee granted Trump and eight of his co-defendants permission to appeal, issuing a “certificate of immediate review”, which placed the case before the State Court of Appeals.  His ruling allows the State Court 45 days to decide whether to hear the appeal once it is filed.  Defense attorneys have 10 days to file the appeal. [2]

Democrat Lawfare 101

Full disclosure: McAfee contributed to the campaign of Willis and Fulton County I heavily Democratic.  It’s virtually certain that Trump could never get a fair trial in that jurisdiction.  There are other allegations that Willis’ office sent representatives to the White House and met with high ranking administration officials.  The Georgia case is just one of four jurisdictions in which Trump is facing legal challenges, all of them unprecedented.  Never in American history, has a former President been indicted for anything.  Of course no one is above the law, and any former President who breaks the law should be prosecuted, like an ordinary citizen.  But these alleged charges happened while Trump was in office which brings strong immunity claims.  A President must have clear consciousness to make difficult decisions at times and cannot be encumbered by concerns for his own legal jeopardy.  Apparently, Trump’s pleas for immunity have been ignored as well, and all four of the jurisdictions have the appearance of being coordinated by a politicized Justice Department determined to keep Trump from reentering the White House through this years’ election.  It is extraordinary that so many people have been influenced by the Propaganda Media Complex to accept the notion that all of this is normal and justified, when it is in fact, pure fascism to censor and eliminate your political opposition, particularly by any means necessary based on flimsy, or nonexistent evidence.

Almost in unison, you see high-ranking Democrats proclaiming that Trump must go down “to save our democracy”, while it is they who threaten the very soul of America.  Biden likes to shout that Trump would be on a mission of retribution and revenge if he gets elected.  It won’t be a revenge tour.  It will be a justice tour.  We the People can only hope that Trump proves “no one is above the law”, not even Democrats.

COMMENTS ALWAYS WELCOME

FOOTNOTES

[1]  Georgia Election Racketeering Prosecution ; Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_election_racketeering_prosecution

[2]  Alexander, B., Gile, C., & Gregorian, D. ; Georgia Judge Gives Trump Permission to Appeal Order Keeping DA Fani Willis on Election Interference Case ; NBC News ; March 20, 2024

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/georgia-judge-gives-trump-permission-appeal-order-keeping-da-fani-will-rcna144265

Biden v. Texas

Thomas Paine: American Philosopher, & Revolutionary

From 1776 through the formation of The Constitution I helped create America. Now I have returned to help save America. American Patriots must join together, speak out in free and open discussion to fight the “woke” anti-American mob, and further the cause of FREEDOM.

The Immigration Crisis

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past three years, you’re well aware that we have an immigration crisis taking place on our southern border.  On Biden’s first day in office, he reversed former President Trump’s policies that had reduced illegal immigration, sending a signal to the entire world that our border was now wide open for anyone who wanted to wade across the Rio Grande, no strings attached. 

Under Trump, migrants who had been crossing the border, were detained and processed under Title 42, temporarily replacing Title 8.

Title 42 is part of the Public Health Service Act of 1944 and was codified to help prevent the spread of communicable diseases in the U. S. President Trump activated it in March 2020 to combat COVID 19, and it was to remain in effect until it expired on 11 May 2023, during the Biden administration.

On that day, DHS Secy. Alejandro Mayorkas said, “Starting at midnight, people who arrive at our southern border will be subject to our immigration enforcement authorities under Title Eight of the United States Code.”  Right now, he is undergoing impeachment hearings in the House for lying to Congress repeatedly, claiming the border was secure, and failure to enforce Title 8.  There is zero chance he will be removed from office because the Democrat-controlled Senate will save his job, and even if he was, Biden could just nominate another puppet.

Trumps policies also included building the wall, increased border security funding, zero tolerance for migrants caught illegally crossing by returning them to Mexico, ending the diversity visa lottery, banning immigration from 7 predominately Muslim countries that harbored terrorists, restricting family-based immigration, and expediting asylum procedures.  When Biden reversed all that, the cartels started coaching migrants to claim asylum.

Chart 1:  This graph shows how quickly illegal immigrant encounters escalated as soon as Biden took office in January 2021 (the red dots on the graph).  Notice the last month data was available shown here is Nov 2022, and compare that to the numbers shown below for the previous five months.

It is also noteworthy that in April 2020, almost all encounters were of Mexican nationals and by November 2022, there were an estimated 129,090 encounters from “other countries” (62.6% of the total), excluding Mexico (23.5%) and the Northern Triangle (13.9%). [1]   

Chart 2:  Fiscal Years 2021 (beginning Oct 2020) through 2023 plus Q1 of 2024, showing the rapid escalation in illegal immigrant encounters since Biden took office on 20 January 2020 (the red line separates Trump and Biden).

In Biden’s first full month in office, encounters increased 29% and February 2021 was the only month during Biden’s term with fewer than 150,000 encounters, other than June 2023 (144,556). [2]    

You will see below under The New Immigration Bill that the Democrats are proposing 150,000 immigrants per month.

The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) estimates for encounters at the southwest border since August 2023, by month, were 232,963 (Aug), 269,735 (Sep), 240,981(Oct), 242,407 (Nov), 302034 (Dec), the latest figures available.  The Democrats will tell you 150,000 is an improvement, cutting down on illegal crossings.  Similar to how they say gas prices are declining because $4 is cheaper than $5, even though it was $3 before they launched their war on American energy.

And those are just the known immigrants.  There have been another estimated 1.5 to 2 million “got-aways” during the past few years who preferred not to meet immigration officials.  Those are the ones everybody should be concerned about. 

According to Tom Homan, former Acting Director of the U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement under President Trump from 30 January 2017 to 29 June 2018, those illegals actually paid more money to the cartels to cross undetected for a reason; they didn’t want to be fingerprinted, they didn’t want to get a notice to appear before an immigration judge, they didn’t want to be profiled.  They are the bad guys who probably have bad intentions.  They are the criminals, the drug mules, the gang members, and the human traffickers.

Those illegals who cross and turn themselves in can get across the river for a cheaper rate than the “got-aways”.

It only took 19 foreign nationals to carry out the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  Imagine what 2 million unknowns could do.  One tenth of one percent is 2,000 individuals.

It’s not a question of whether anything bad is going to happen.  It’s only a question of when, and where?

Existing Immigration Laws

Despite the repeated misrepresentations you hear from high-ranking Democrats and their Propaganda Media Complex, who echo the mantra “our immigration system is broken”, as if there is nothing we can do about the influx of illegals, and that they need “comprehensive immigration reform”, the truth is we already have immigration laws.  They simply aren’t being enforced.  That fact alone, raises a whole host of serious questions, as in:

Doesn’t the Constitution mandate in Article II, Section III that the President shall “take care that the laws be faithfully executed”? 

Isn’t it part of the Presidential Oath of Office to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States”?

The answer to those two questions is “YES”

Why doesn’t this President enforce existing immigration laws?

There seems to be an agenda behind that policy.  One that encourages illegal immigration for a purpose.  Many suspect that purpose is to import sympathetic voters who will support the Democrat Party, “paying” Democrats back for the generous handouts they have been given. 

In fact, illegal immigrants have been given financial incentives to come here, all paid by the good old American taxpayer.

In case you missed it, Illegals are now receiving emergency Medicaid, free treatment at hospital emergency rooms, school meal programs, and other federal assistance.

After meeting a five year residency requirement, illegals can qualify for Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) status, which makes them eligible for additional federal programs such as Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance (CHIP), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP, or food stamps), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), the last two are essentially guaranteed incomes.

On top of that, many states have programs that pay benefits to illegal immigrants immediately, such as California’s CalFresh Food Assistance Program and their Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI).  Governor Newsom (D-CA) is currently pushing for totally free health insurance for 700,000 illegals.  What would he do if 10,000,000 show up?  Maybe all the illegals should be sent to California.

According to the National Immigration Forum, “documented and undocumented immigrants pay more into public benefit programs than they take out”.  The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy claims undocumented immigrants contribute an estimated $11.74 billion to state and local economies each year. [3]

The date of that two-page paper is 2018, obviously during the Trump administration when immigration was in check.  It’s a much bigger problem now.

Perhaps we should consider a more recent report from the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) [4], wherein they found that the net cost of illegal immigration for the United States, at the federal, state, and local levels, was at least $150.7 billion.  That’s net cost, as in after being offset by collected taxes.  FAIR calculated that number by subtracting tax revenues ($32 billion) from the gross negative economic impact ($182 billion).  That averages out to an estimated $957 per year for each American taxpayer.  Those numbers are quite different from the above referenced National Immigration Forum of 2018, and the influx of illegals has grown exponentially this past year, making it even worse.

FAIR estimates that there were at least 15.5 million illegal immigrants in the United States at the beginning of 2022.

Actually, the Biden administration is breaking immigration laws every day, thereby violating Article II, Section III and his oath of office.

The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 is contained in Title 8 of the United States Code (U.S.C.) covering “Aliens and Nationality”.  Below is a partial list of the provisions in Title II of the Act, titled Immigration, as may be amended. [5]

8 U. S. Code § 1181 – Admission of immigrants into the United States

8 U. S. Code § 1157 – Annul admission of refugees and admission of emergency situation refugees

8 U. S. Code § 1158 – Asylum

8 U. S. Code § 1182 – Inadmissible aliens

8 U. S. Code § 1226 – Apprehension and detention of aliens

8 U. S. Code § 1226a – Mandatory detention of suspected terrorists; habeas corpus; judicial review

8 U. S. Code § 1227 – Deportable aliens

8 U. S. Code § 1229a – Removal proceedings

8 U. S. Code § 1230 – Records of admission

8 U. S. Code § 1302 – Registration of aliens

8 U. S. Code § 1321 – Prevention of unauthorized landing of aliens

These are just a few of the myriad of provisions in INA 1952, Title II of the Act.  Obviously, I don’t have the time or space to thoroughly cover the definitions of all of these statutes, so I have listed the above in case anyone wishes to click the links and investigate on their own.

There have been subsequent laws passed to supplement and partially alter INA 1952, most notably:

The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act, which abolished the national-origins quota system defined in the 1952 act, and replaced it with a system whereby immigrants could be admitted based on their relationship to a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident family member or U.S. employer.  The new law provided for a cap of 120,000 on the total number permanent residents who may be admitted from the Western Hemisphere.  That doesn’t mean all immigrants.

The Refugee Act of 1980, which established a new statutory system for processing and admitting refugees from overseas as well as asylum seekers physically present at U.S. borders or in the country.  It further defined “refugee” as any person outside that person’s country of nationality who is unable or unwilling to return to that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or particular opinion.

The illegal immigrants crossing our southern border today have been coached to plead asylum, whether their claim is justified, or not.

The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 created two legalization programs; one to allow unauthorized aliens who have lived in the U. S. since 1982 to “regularize” their status; the other permits people who have worked at least 90 days in certain agricultural jobs to apply for permanent status.  Under these programs, about 2.7 million immigrants eventually became lawful permanent residents.

The 1990 Immigration Act raised legal admissions to 50% above the pre-IRCA level, mainly concerning employment-based immigrants.  It also terminated the discretion of sentencing judges in granting relief from deportation orders for criminal offenders, i.e., made it harder for criminals to avoid deportation.

The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA) added new crimes to the definition of aggravated felony and established an “expedited removal” procedure for arriving noncitizens who border officials suspect of lacking proper entry documentation, or committing identity fraud.  Another measure to tighten up the system.

The new immigration reforms proposed don’t tighten up the system.  They just codify a way to allow a much larger influx of immigrants and probably hidden somewhere in clauses on “page 6,341” (i.e., buried), defines an easy way for them to become legal permanent residents, with voting rights.

The New Immigration Bill

At this writing, the Senate has crafted a new bill they are touting as immigration reform with some bilateral support from the Republican side of the aisle.  We don’t know what’s in it because it hasn’t been released. 

The first question that comes to mind is why not

Is there something they don’t want the full body of the Senate, or the House, to be able to scrutinize?

Maybe the sponsors don’t want to give the rest of Congress time to digest the full meaning of the bill and all its potential ramifications. 

Maybe they don’t want the political pundits to have time to examine it and publicize its negative impact on American citizens.  In any case, the bill should be released for public review and comment.  The fact that they don’t puts this bill, and every other one that is kept secret until it’s too late, in “shady” territory.

To make matters worse, reportedly it’s linked to additional funding for the Ukraine war.  WHY?

Democrats don’t want to close the border.  They can use it as a political weapon.  That’s right. 

Follow the thinking:

Democrats know the basic elements of the immigration law are not acceptable to the Republican majority in the House.  Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has publicly stated the Senate bill, based on the leaked rough details, is “dead on arrival” in the House.

Their plan is to attach another funding package to Ukraine, knowing it won’t pass the House because of the major objections to the elements in the immigration reforms.

Remember, it’s an election year.  So, actually knowing the bill won’t pass, the Democrats figure they can blame the Republicans for failure to pass immigration reform that essentially guarantees the massive influx of illegal immigrants will continue as it is right now.  And all those illegals, receiving federal and state benefits are highly likely to become Democrat voters.  As a bonus, they can blame the Republicans for not sending “critical” aid to Ukraine.

You’re not supposed to realize that all of this has been caused by the Democrats in the first place, and their Propaganda Media Complex will remind you of that constantly.  You know the border crisis was directly caused by Biden’s policies, right?  And it’s because of his projected weakness that Putin invaded the Ukraine in February 2022.  Under Trump, the Russians, the Chinese, the Iranians, the North Koreans, and everyone else, was kept in check.

The only “details” we have been made privy to in the immigration reforms are that the daily influx shall not exceed 5,000 immigrants, and that the President will have the authority to shut down the border when it reaches that threshold.

Wait a minute while I do a little math.  5,000 per day equals about 150,000 per month and 1.8 million per year.

The Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1952, allowed 50,000 immigrants per year.  So this bill proposes 36 times that quota.

The Democrats claim it would never get to 5,000 and would slow down to “only” 4,000 per day.  Biden claims if he gets this deal, he will shut down the border that day.  Do you really believe any of that?  Remember, he also said he never spoke to Hunter about his business.  You are ordered to forget all that testimony from Hunter’s business partners and all those taped phone conversations.  That didn’t happen.  No one f***s with the Bidens.  Not even the law.

So I say, kudos to the Republican leadership in the House and every Representative who is vehemently opposed to this new immigration reform package.  It simply normalizes a massive influx of illegal immigrants from all over the world, most of whom we know absolutely nothing about, what they may have done in their native land, or what they are capable of here.  Not to mention the enormous cost to the American taxpayer and the excessive burdens placed on our infrastructure.  No matter what the Democrats and their media militia say, we don’t need another 1.8 million illegal immigrants coming here to threaten America in many potential ways.

As far as the aid package to Ukraine, bring it up in a stand-alone bill.  In fact, stop attaching unrelated legislation altogether.  Make every piece of legislation a stand-alone bill.  That’s the only way it can be fairly assessed.

Oh, I almost forgot.  How else are these charlatans supposed to piggy-back unpopular, nefarious legislation, onto worthy causes?

Biden Issues Ultimatum as Texas Enforces Their Own Border

On the 18th of December 2023, Governor Greg Abbott of Texas signed into law a bill that authorized state authorities to arrest and detain illegal immigrants anywhere in the state.  It is slated to take effect on 5 March 2024.  In the meantime, Texas has been augmenting and beefing up existing coils of razor wire at the border to deter illegal crossings.  Within hours of Abbott’s signing ceremony, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed suit to challenge the new law, formally known as SB4, alleging the state is “grasping control over immigration from the federal government and depriving people subject to that system of all the federal rights and due process that Congress provided to them, including the rights to contest removal and seek asylum.” [6]

The White House has responded through spokesperson Angelo Fernandez Hernandez that, “the federal government, not individual states, is charged with determining how and when to remove noncitizens for violating immigration laws.”

Both of those statements are true, however, as Gov. Abbott has clearly stated, the federal government has failed to protect the citizens of not only Texas, but the entire country, by not enforcing existing immigration laws, and has therefore neglected its constitutional duties.

Abbott wrote an apparent open letter, presumably addressing the Executive Branch in general, in which he outlines his position on the border.  You can read the one page letter by clicking the link in FOOTNOTE [7]  

On Monday 22 January 2024, the U. S. Supreme Court issued an order by a 5-4 vote, that federal agents should be granted access to the Shelby State Park near Eagle Pass to cut razor wire installed by Texas’ Department of Public Safety.  That order merely vacated a lower court ruling that barred the federal agents from cutting the wire until the case plays out in court.  Ultimately, the Supreme Court will need to decide whether the federal government is solely responsible for all immigration enforcement or states have the right to defend their own borders.  In the following days, Texas has refused access to the feds.  Biden gave Texas a 24 hour ultimatum to permit CBP agents to begin cutting the razor wire.  That deadline has come and gone and Biden has done nothing.  He’s actually on record as saying, “I’ve done all I can do” in terms of overall border security, and this new bill “would give me, as President, a new emergency authority to shut down the border when it becomes overwhelmed.”  

NEWS FLASH:  Hey Joe, you don’t need that authority.  You already have it.  And the border is already overwhelmed.

Put those zingers in the same category as “I never spoke to my son about his business dealings”.  In five minutes he could reinstate the policies Trump put in place to secure the border.  The same policies he reversed on his first day in office.  In my opinion, Biden will never admit that Trump’s policies worked.  Apparently, he has taken the advice of his former boss, Obama.  Just deceive them with lies and run out the clock.  He’s good at that.

Normally, I would say that federal law supersedes state law but this case bears further examination because the federal government is derelict in their obligations to the matter.  Stay tuned.  It could get interesting real soon.

COMMENTS ALWAYS WELCOME

FOOTNOTES

[1]  Gramlich, J. ; Monthly Encounters with Migrants at U.S.-Mexico Border Remain Near Record Highs ; Pew Research Center ; January 13, 2023 

[2]  Southwest Land Border Encounters ;U. S. Customs and Border Protection ; Last modified 26, January 2024  

https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/southwest-land-border-encounters

[3]  Fact Sheet: Immigrants and Public Benefits ; National Immigration Forum ; 2018

https://immigrationforum.org

[4]  The Fiscal Burden of Illegal Immigration on United States Taxpayers ; Federation for American Immigration Reform ; March 8, 2023

[5]  United States Citizenship and Immigration Services ; U. S. Department of Homeland Security ; Immigration and Nationality Act

https://www.uscis.gov/laws-and-policy/legislation/immigration-and-nationality-act

[6]  Montoya-Galvez, C. ; Texas Immigration Law Known as SB4, Allowing State to Arrest Migrants, signed by Gov. Greg Abbott ; CBS News ; December 19, 2023

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-immigration-law-sb4-signed-greg-abbott/

[7]  Letter from Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas ; addressed presumably to the Executive Branch of the Federal Government ; January 24, 2024

https://gov.texas.gov/uploads/files/press/Border_Statement_1.24.2024.pdf