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Francisco 2.0

Certifiably Surly
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Posts posted by Francisco 2.0

  1. And we are off:

     

    Matthew Colangelo, one of the prosecutors, stands up to deliver his side's opening statement.

     


    Colangelo is known for his writing, but he has very little experience in Manhattan criminal court — I’ve never heard him give an opening before. He begins by telling the jury that Trump lied “over and over and over” again by disguising business records.


    Colangelo is saying that Trump, Michael Cohen and David Pecker “formed” a conspiracy at a meeting early in the campaign to help Trump get elected.


    Colangelo tells the jurors that Cohen paid the porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to silence her story of a “sexual encounter” with Trump, in order to influence the presidential election. This story, that we’ve known for years, is finally being presented in full to a jury in a criminal case.

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  2. Oh, and this gem:

     

    The judge reads his ruling on the Sandoval hearing aloud. This determines what prosecutors can ask Trump about if he testifies. Justice Merchan says he will allow the prosecution to bring up six different determinations from four other cases, including his loss in the civil fraud trial earlier this year, in which Trump was found liable for conspiring to manipulate his net worth and penalized hundreds of millions of dollars.


    Justice Merchan will also let prosecutors ask about Trump’s attack on a law clerk in that case, in violation of a gag order.


    Prosecutors will also be allowed to ask Trump about having been found liable twice for defaming the writer E. Jean Carroll. But for now, Justice Merchan does not mention that Trump was also found liable for sexually abusing Carroll.

     

     

    Justice Merchan’s ruling has significantly increased the potential blowback Trump will face if he decides to take the stand and testify in his own defense. In the end, it’s his call and his alone to make. But the judge just handed the prosecution a fairly heavy legal cudgel to use against Trump if he does decide to testify.

    Kate Christobek
    April 22, 2024, 9:55 a.m. ET9 minutes ago
    9 minutes ago

    Trump shook his head several times as Justice Merchan read his ruling into the record.

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  3. I've got work to do today, so I can't keep spamming the thread with Times updates, but this one is poignant:

     

    Quote

    As his lawyers enter into the judge’s chambers to discuss the concerned juror, Trump sits alone at the defense table motionless, occasionally scanning the empty bench where the judge typically sits. It is a striking image for a person who is typically surrounded by so many people.

     

    If anything, Trump is alone in life, and has been for years.  This is just a microcosm of it.

     

    EDIT:  and the judge has returned

    Quote

    Justice Merchan returns to the stand, and says the juror will remain on the panel.

     

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  4. And so it begins:

    Quote

    Justice Merchan says court will break early today because an alternate juror has a medical issue. The judge also says a juror called saying they had concerns about being here. The juror is present but Merchan wants lawyers to speak with him or her in chambers.

     

    • Rage+1 1
  5. 4 minutes ago, BamaATL said:

    So today his first criminal trials starts, down the hall his bond is up for rejection, and later this week his ridiculous immunity claim will be heard at the Supreme Court.  It's a good day.  

     

     NY Times with the play by play:

     

    Donald J. Trump has entered the courtroom, striding in next to one of his lawyers, Todd Blanche. They’re followed by the rest of the defense team. Trump scans the room, brushes off the top of his chair and takes a seat.


    Maggie Haberman
    Trump spoke to the press in the hallway and excoriated the case. He ignored some of the questions he was asked, like, “Where’s Melania?”

     

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  6. 2 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

    Man.....that Geo Metro got the MPG, tho....can't argue with that!

    My ex-wife's uncle bought a Metro for his 30 mile one-way commute back in 95 or so.  It was a 3 cylinder, 5 speed with no A/C, no power options, etc

    He said it would get around 50 a gallon.  Of course, the thing barely weighed more than a go-kart, probably made 60 HP, had the barest minimum of safety equipment, and did I say it had no A/C?

  7. 1 hour ago, SydneyCarton said:

    But can’t they motion to vacate at any time?

    Here you go:

     

    Quote

    Under House Rule IX, a resolution declaring the office of Speaker of the United States House of Representatives vacant (informally referred to as a "motion to vacate") is considered privileged: once introduced on the floor by a member, the resolution must be put to a floor vote within two legislative days.

     

    Quote

    On March 22, 2024, Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Greene filed a resolution to remove Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House, after the latter put up for a vote a minibus spending bill opposed by a majority of the Republican Conference (thereby violating the Hastert convention). The resolution was non-privileged and did not trigger an immediate vote, due to Greene's decision to introduce it through regular channels rather than on the floor. Greene claimed the resolution was merely "a warning" and didn't commit to forcing a vote on it.[21][22][23] Members of the Democratic Caucus have suggested they would vote against vacating the office of Speaker if the House passes Ukraine aid, should the resolution be brought to a vote.[24] On April 16, Republican representative Thomas Massie added his signature to Greene's resolution.[25]

     

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  8. 17 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

    But this bill goes nowhere once she motions to vacate, right? 
     

    Thats now their only pkay. Delay this by vacating. Have to assume the dems are ready in lock step to save the gavel?

     

    https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2024/04/19/mike-johnsons-coalition-government-00153280?nname=playbook&nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf-5f46b7bd0000&nrid=0000014e-f0fd-dd93-ad7f-f8fde5bf0000&nlid=630318

     

    Quote

    Johnson’s coalition with the Democrats will have to hold through three more tests.

    • One will come today when the rule is before the full House and will require bipartisan support.
    • The next will come on Saturday when the four component pieces of the aid package are scheduled for votes. 
    • And then the final test of this experiment in bipartisanship will come at some point later when Democrats will be asked to help Johnson thwart a motion-to-vacate resolution.

     

     

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  9. 4 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

    Unless I misheard it, these are the ones voting no:

    • Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY)
    • Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) 
    • Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) 

    Wonder if they join Three Toes in going after Johnson.

     

    You heard correctly.  And there's this:

     

    Quote

    9-3, Dems on House Rules Committee join six Republicans to send rule — governing parameters of the floor debate on the foreign aid package — to the floor. Three Rs on the committee: Ralph Norman, Chip Roy and Thomas Massie voted against it. Typically rules go along straight party lines — and virtually always do in committee. This Congress has changed that. Amid major GOP divisions, Dems supplying the votes to get aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan through the House. The rule allows for the separate aid bills to be tied together as one package (worth $95B) that will be sent to the Senate

     

     

  10. 2 minutes ago, Js1 said:

     

    Saturday Night Live Snl GIF by The Lonely Island

     

    Woooo boy:

    https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/04/18/congress/hfc-on-alert-00153097

     

    Quote

    During a Wednesday meeting with the speaker and the Republican Main Street group, members of that more establishment-minded bloc pitched Johnson on two changes, according to two other Republicans familiar with the matter. The first would remove Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) from the Rules panel — ending an effective conservative stranglehold on the pivotal panel that preps bills for floor debate. 

    “There were a number of members who told him that he should not allow malcontents to serve on the Rules Committee,” Main Street Chair Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) told POLITICO afterwards.

     

    Quote

    The second proposed change by Main Street members was to raise the threshold required for majority-party members to force a vote on ousting a speaker from its current number of one. Members of that group argued that McCarthy’s offers to the right — giveaways that ultimately helped end his term as speaker — are handcuffing Johnson.

    Notably, Main Street members did not specifically propose that Johnson make those changes as part of debate on the foreign aid bill — but just urged to move as quickly as possible. Even so, the very idea infuriated conservatives, who vowed it would backfire if Johnson pursued them.

     

    Quote

    “Talking about changing the threshold to the motion to vacate [the speakership] is likely to induce the motion to vacate,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.).

    Gaetz, who is not a Freedom Caucus member, later joined several members of the group in a heated floor exchange with the speaker, during which the Floridian said “we did not get the answer that we wanted" about the changes Johnson might entertain.

    Greene put it more bluntly: "Mike Johnson owes our entire conference a meeting. And if he wants to change the motion to vacate he needs to come before the Republican Conference that elected him and tell us of his intentions and tell us what this rule change … is going to be.”

     

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  11. 1 minute ago, Sbbruin said:

    If the Republican Party wants to try to restore some semblance of functionality, they need to oust this bitch a la Santos.  She's such a maroon.

     

    Good luck with that.  Unless she's committed fraud on some level, convicted or something...she's gonna be a lifer.

    Just wait until a 2nd Trump administration, where she is elevated to Secretary of State or some shit like that.

     

    • Like 2
  12. In looking at this photo:

    83763525-13316825-image-a-112_1713374922

     

    What's going to happen, warranty wise, when it rains on these vehicles, birds shit on them, etc?  Tesla has already explicitly warned against this kind of thing:

    https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/cybertruck/en_us/GUID-65384C1F-86F2-44E8-A8BC-8A12E7E00A40.html

     

    Quote

    Cleaning the Exterior


    To prevent damage to the exterior, immediately remove corrosive substances (such as grease, oil, bird droppings, tree resin, dead insects, tar spots, road salt, industrial fallout, etc.). Do not wait until Cybertruck is due for a complete wash. If necessary, use denatured alcohol to remove tar spots and stubborn grease stains, then immediately wash the area with water and a mild, non-detergent soap to remove the alcohol.

     

     

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