There were definitely crimes committed, but one of the tough things about prosecuting a former president for his actions while in office is that it massively blurs the lines between different areas of jurisprudence. If he's guilty of dereliction of duty, should the remedy be a military court martial? A criminal charge? A civil suit by the government? An additional article of impeachment? Cracks in the law are where Donald has always operated, and done so very successfully.

No way DoJ doesn't indict. No way.

Amazing how much that sounds like

No way PUTIN invades.. No way...

:D

But we all can't be right all the time... :D

No kidding we can't be right all the time!

You'll recall,

Trump will be reelected! No way he loses to #BasementJoe!

Or here's kind of a lowlight for you,

Trump will win so many new black voters that I'll accept your wagers... ;D

Russia is dictating to Ukraine that Ukraine can't join NATO..

No, Ukraine should have freely made that decision all by itself, a long time ago, if it is interested in its own well-being/sovereignty/national identity and interests.

about double voting, the short answer is it depends on the state or states involved. voting and elections are powers that for the most part are still reserved to the states, so each state has its own rules.

https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/double-voting.aspx

i'm not yet certain if donald is one of those people, but i'd like to see what additional evidence the hearings present before considering it.

Once again... We have an accord.. :D

So, Biden's Handlers' goal was to choke off Russia's selling of oil to make Putin capitulate on Ukraine..

Russia is STILL selling the same amount of oil they were before, but due to Biden's Handlers' ineptitude, Putin is make MORE MONEY than ever before!!!

Not for long.

Infrastructure is the key:

Most of Russian oil and gas is exported via pipeline. In 2020 78% went to Europe with 22% split between Asia and everybody else. So naturally most of their pipelines run west to where the Deutschmarks are.

But now Europe has started weaning itself off Rooskie energy and there isn't nearly enough pipeline capacity going to Asia to just swing the production to India and China. And neither ocean nor railroad shipping can make up the difference.

But wait -- it gets worse for Putin!

It turns out that oil has to have somewhere to go from the well. Once Russia can't export all its production it's bottlenecked distribution system will back up. When that backup reaches the well they'll have to cap it off. Once capped it's capped for good and they'd essentially have to start over from scratch, re drill et al. Without Western expertise? Good luck, Vlad!

So yes, Vlad and the Saudis and your political bosses over at BigOil are making money right now. It won't last.

Just a little warmup for Elizabeth. Thanks for this opportunity Michale. Yeah, I watch the deep dive 45-90 minute videos about this stuff. Eat it up.

not at all. criminal charges should ABSOLUTELY be filed against MULTIPLE people.

i'm not yet certain if donald is one of those people, but i'd like to see what additional evidence the hearings present before considering it.

OK that was a little snarky.. :D

I just remembered.. I hate homework! :D hehehehe

Tell ya what... When my lovely wife gets home, we'll watch it together... I have the new Doctor Strange movie and a couple new episodes of OBI WAN KENOBI to watch.. :D

The OFFICIAL TIMELINE says different..

Trump admin was ready to deploy National Guard on Jan 6, Capitol Police timeline shows

I am not allowed links to support my claims, so you'll just have to find it for yourself..

The report IS from NBC which is FAR from a Trump friendly source..

The facts are clear... The Trump admin reached out but was rebuffed..

Irregardless of that fact, the simple fact is things are murky enough that NO CRIMINAL CHARGES should be filed..

Can we agree on that???

Andrew Gillum narrowly lost to Ron DeSantis in the 2018 Florida gubernatorial election

Whew!!!!

Looks like Florida dodged a bullet, eh??

We almost got THAT Democrat as our governor...

Whew!!!

[95-96] the only factual reference to trump suggesting increased capitol security was an offhanded comment on january 3rd, with no congressional leaders present. furthermore, the president does not need any congressional leader's consent to deploy the national guard. i.e. there's exactly zero evidence to support your defense.

[97] russia didn't dictate that ukraine can't join nato, ukraine decided based on nato's ho-hum support (on this i agree with you that biden blew the chance) that it couldn't achieve its objective and had to chart a different path.

[81] start anytime you like, but by this time tomorrow i expect your homework to be complete, young man.

He refused to do his job as YOU saw his job to be..

Just like Odumbo didn't do his job as *I* saw Odumbo's job to be..

But THAT is a far cry from actually planning and orchestrating the riot, which *I* thought was what ya'all were accusing President Trump of..

Imagine my relief when I realized that ya'all HADN'T gone off the deep end..

That it was just a misunderstanding.. :D

freedom!

What freedom??

Russia is dictating to Ukraine that Ukraine can't join NATO..

How is that "freedom"??

Boy, it's a good thing for Pelosi that she nixed ALL questions about HER involvement, eh??

Lucky break for her...

Great... We have an accord...

President Trump is guilty for not responding forcefully enough to riots..

Just like Odumbo is with the BLM and AntiFa riots..

So, we won't see any more of this talk that President Trump planned the riots and started the riots and all that BS, right???

That President Trump's SOLE "guilt" is his lack of response to the riots..

And, since it's been established as FACT that President Trump offered to deploy the National Guard and was rebuffed....???

The sole charge of dereliction of duty is proven false..

On that we agree..

Once it became clear that Putin was deathly afraid of fighting NATO, Biden's Handlers should have pushed an ALL IN response..

freedom!

Fair enough... Morally, I know where ya'all stand..

But, since we're talking about the 6JC, we can stick with the LEGALLY....

So, you would agree that President Trump has no LEGAL culpability for the riot planning or riot starting or anything..

Your beef, LEGALLY, is SOLELY based on President Trump's response to the riot..

A response, as I pointed out, is nearly identical to Odumbo's response to the BLM and AntiFa riots..

he may not be legally guilty of inciting the violence,

That's all I wanted to know.. :D

We have an accord... :D

i don't think he's conceded self-determination, i think he just soured on NATO because they weren't being particularly helpful. (or perhaps to show the world that russia would keep fighting for domination even after their professed goal for starting the conflict had already been addressed.)

That's why it's always best to QUOTE the comment you are responding to..

This eliminates the confusion.. :D

that's my position on donald's LEGAL (or perhaps constitutional) culpability. he refused to do his job, full stop.

i think he's MORALLY culpable for a lot more, because he was incredibly irresponsible in the ways he tried to overturn the election and the ways he revved up his supporters, some of whom he should by virtue of his office have known to be violent terrorists. he may not be legally guilty of inciting the violence, but he was, as james comey once said of hillary's email server, "extremely careless."

JL

An epiphany-esque event..

Weigantians concede that President Trump is NOT GUILTY of planning or orchestrating or causing the riot..

At worst, according to Democrats and Trump/America haters, President Trump was derelict in his duties...

I disagree, but Dereliction Of Duty is a far FAR cry from treason...

We have common ground.. :D

Ukraine is not prolonging the war, Russia is.

It takes 2 to tango...

Or, in this case, tangle...

If Zelensky has already conceded the right of self-determination, what the hell is he prolonging the fighting for???

Pride?? Ego???

Too late.. :D

Sure.. Do you agree with JL that President Trump is NOT GUILTY of planning or orchestrating the 6 Jan riot??

That, AT WORST, President Trump is like Odumbo and simply did not deploy protection to lessen the effects of the riot??

Is that your position as well??

It's too soon to know how the conflict will end. My hope is that Ukraine eventually holds a line and it's able to secure its borders.

But WHICH borders??

The Pre-2014 borders??

The Pre-Feb 2022 borders??

The current borders???

THAT is the question...

Ah, do you want me to answer that? Heh.

I think you would really like the Shawshank Redemption, even the ending. And, that's all I'm gonna say about that.

So... You concede that President Trump is not guilty of planning or orchestrating the 6 Jan riot..

At worst, according to your own claims, President Trump is guilty of not responding forcefully enough to respond to the riot...

Is that an accurate assessment of your position???

True. But, that kinda misses the point. Which was to say that they are getting just enough help to ensure that the war is prolonged and no more.

Why doesn't the US and its NATO allies want total victory for Ukraine?

All that "proves" is that President Trump had the authority..

It's ALSO a fact that President OFFERRED National Guard Troops and Democrat leadership refused them..

It's not any proof that President Trump orchestrated the 6 Jan riot..

Fact: he chose not to use his authority to send help, even after hearing that Congress was besieged and the police were undermanned.

Again, he offered the help.. Democrats refused..

It's STILL not PROOF that President Trump orchestrated the riot..

The rest of these hearings are just the why and how, but at the heart of it is just those two things; Donald had a duty as president and refused to do it.

Not factually accurate.. President Trump offered the troops.. Democrat leadership refused to deploy the troops..

Even if what you say is factually accurate, it's NOT a crime..

And it's NOT proof that President Trump orchestrated or caused the riots..

If THAT were proof, then Odumbo is guilty of all the BLM and AntiFa riots under his watch...

Thank you for proving my point for me..

President Trump is completely and 1000% INNOCENT of all accusations..

that should be on your bucket list. one of the greatest movies of all time.

Never saw it...

Is it legal to vote in 2 primary elections??

Meaning, could a Democrat vote in the Democrat Primary, then change their registration and then vote in a GOP Primary???

Or would that be like voting twice in a regular election??

Yunno.. Illegal as hell...

You've heard the term, sacrifical lamb ... well, I'm still wondering how Ukraine is feeling about being the sacrifical lamb in this US/NATO versus Russia and friends war ...

[63] freedom!

[64] it ain't the altar of weakening Russia, it's the altar of freedom! I'm quite certain most Ukrainian people know and accept that sacrifice because they value their freedom. Why don't you?

Andy: how can you be so obtuse?
Norton: what did you call me?

Until 2014, Ukraine WAS the most corrupt country in Europe, and was nearly a vassal state to Russia. The population rebelled against Russian influence and has made a real effort to clean up its system. To them, ceding to Russian influence is to be denying their own national sovereignty.

Ukraine still ranks very high on the corruption list. And, that problem has become even harder to tackle under conditions of war.

Ukraine doesn't have to 'cede' to Russian influence. And, in future, it shouldn't be taking any, ah, advice it gets from the US at face value, either.

Ukraine needs to better assert itself and act in its own best interests. Prolonging this war is not a great path forward.

It's too soon to know how the conflict will end. My hope is that Ukraine eventually holds a line and it's able to secure its borders.

Fact: Donald had all the authority in the universe to send troops to protect the capitol from the riot.

Fact: he chose not to use his authority to send help, even after hearing that Congress was besieged and the police were undermanned.

The rest of these hearings are just the why and how, but at the heart of it is just those two things; Donald had a duty as president and refused to do it.

I don't wish to waste any more time on foolish analogies.

I would like to know, though, how you see this war working out for Ukraine, in terms of its fight to retain its identity and sovereignty and clean up the corruption, not to mention dealing with the very serious problem it has with its practice of integrating right-wing extemists like the Azov regiment into the Ukrainian military and other institutions.

Says the guy who encourages me to post original rants and then whines and cries when I do..

Are you effin' kidding me!!?? :D

@m you blockquoted (yet another) looong passage.

Why didn't you credit whatever right-wing site you lifted it from?

Bad form! If you didn't write it and then you quote it you should attribute the source. If it's something interesting it'd be lovely if you provided the link to the article so people like me can check out the source. C'mon man.

I did 'fill in the blanks' ... right here in this thread! Did you miss it?

That reads less like a carefully reasoned dismissal of an argument than an excuse not to address it. If the facts of the hypothetical scenario don't read like apples to apples yet, fill in the blanks so they do.

The point caddy made by initially positing this scenario is that you're not fully considering where Ukraine and its president are coming from. Until 2014, Ukraine WAS the most corrupt country in Europe, and was nearly a vassal state to Russia. The population rebelled against Russian influence and has made a real effort to clean up its system. There's more at stake to them than treaties or ideological conflict. To them, ceding to Russian influence is to be denying their own national sovereignty.

Show me the FACTS that prove President Trump is responsible for ANY of it..

You can't because none exist..

Will you just keep reposting my Ukraine comments or do you have something useful to add?

Okay, let hijack yet another column.

Excuse you, Board Mother.

You continue to pal around with Comment Spammer Michale and then you say something stupid like this?

Are you effing kidding me?

No, it is not germane. Not in the least. You can't just leave out all of the pertinent facts and expect to be taken seriously.

ukraine ... does have a national identity to protect, and the russian attack proves beyond any shadow of a doubt that their desire to be part of NATO was justified.

I disagree. And, I don't understand how you can be so certain that Ukraine's desire to be part of NATO has been justified by current events. I see it in quite another light.

Unfortunately, we will never know - beyond a shadow of a doubt or otherwise - if this war could have been avoided or if Ukraine could have rectified the situation on the ground as it stood post-2014 if Zelensky had opened serious discussions with Russia and recinded its desire to be a part of NATO. Because, president Biden and his NATO allies made quite sure that we would never know by insisting that Ukrainian membership in NATO was OFF of the negotiating table right from get-go.

First, let me be clear. Of course, Ukraine has a national identity to protect.

Ukraine also has neighbours and a long history with them to consider. Going along with US dreams of NATO expansion right up to the front door of Russia, a few hundred miles from Moscow, was most decidedly NOT the way to go about protecting that identity. And, in the end, dreams of being a part of NATO (something that the US and its NATO allies, if they are honest about it, would admit is not likely to ever happen, anyways) resulted in a devastating war that is currently in the process of destroying the country with all of the horrors of war, killing civilians and completely upending the lives of Ukrainian citizens who are left and who have already fled.

My assertion is that the US push for NATO expansion has proven to have been screwed up from the start.

I was once a big supporter of expanding NATO during the heady days of the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union. You may be surprised to learn that I was even postulating at one point the idea of including a democratic Russia in NATO! Well, if Russia was ever considering that possibility, it didn't last long. But, that's a whole other discussion - perhaps a whole other blog!

it's a fictional scenario, and it's germane precisely because russia does NOT recognize ukraine's national identity and sovereignty.

Your Canadian analogy is not only silly - it's wholly non-serious and therefore makes no point.

There would only be grounds for discussion concerning that analogy if Canada decided to pull out of NATO and align strategically and defensively with Russia. A notion not entirely illogical, given the geography.

zelenskiy did not permanently withdraw ukraine from consideration for nato, he said he had to give up that aspiration.

His exact words were:

“Ukraine is not a member of Nato. We understand that. We have heard for years that the doors were open, but we also heard that we could not join. It’s a truth and it must be recognised,”

my guess is that it was also offered in the hopes that russia might limit their objectives as a result, and stop trying to attack the entire country.

not having planned it isn't the same as not being responsible for it. and it's not a farce, it's a factual narrative. nothing they're presenting is false or fabricated.

(unlike the claim that donald "offered" troops on january 3rd or that anyone in congress refused said offer, both of which are demonstrably false.)

And yet, Zelensky discarded that desire to join NATO when he needed that desire most..

And once that desire to join NATO was so casually cast aside, what was there left to fight for??

Beyond Zelensky's pride and ego, that is??

So, you concede that President Trump is NOT responsible and the whole 6JC is a farce..

Cool.. :D

The salient similarity is that, in Cardassian trials, GUILT is already predetermined.. Just like the 6JC...

the point is not to ignore the facts on the ground. of course the annexation of BC to the US is silly, that's the point. canada has its own national identity, which the US respects, and therefore has no need of any external alliance to protect it from US invasion.

ukraine, quite obviously, doesn't have those advantages. but it does have a national identity to protect, and the russian attack proves beyond any shadow of a doubt that their desire to be part of NATO was justified.

JL

They haven't presented any relevant facts that prove that President Trump master-minded the 6 Jan riot...

well i could have told you that. donald couldn't mastermind a two year old's birthday party, nevermind an insurgent coup attempt.

While that is factually accurate, the salient similarity between the 6JC and Cardassian trials is not the torture/death result..

except for THAT, mrs. lincoln...

She was factually accurate the first time... :^/

Democrats Are So Silly

Who knew that Dolph Lungren was more of a scientist than Bill Nye... :D

DOLPH LUNGREN vs BILL NYE

hehehehehe

Which means, it's up to Biden's Handlers to do the smart thing...

Oh gods, we're doomed!!

Russia is STILL selling the same amount of oil they were before, but due to Biden's Handlers' ineptitude, Putin is make MORE MONEY than ever before!!!

It's funny... Biden's Handlers' moves were supposed to inflict pain on Putin and Russia..

But we Americans are the ones feeling all the pain and Putin and Russia are actually BETTER OFF than they were before..

Typical Democrat Keystone Kops maneuver :eyeroll:

While that is factually accurate, the salient similarity between the 6JC and Cardassian trials is not the torture/death result..

The salient similarity is that, in Cardassian trials, GUILT is already predetermined..

In that respect, the 6JC and Cardassian are IDENTICAL..

"I...DENTICAL"
-Jim Trotter III, MY COUSIN VINNY

Oh, that's easy...

They haven't presented any relevant facts that prove that President Trump master-minded the 6 Jan riot...

NONE... ZERO.... ZILCH.... NADA....

It's all been nothing but rumor, innuendo, hearsay and outright BS...

And *I* produced 2 facts that PROVE President Trump didn't.. :D

So I am way ahead of the Cardassian-esque 6JC.... :D

But that simply drove oil per barrel prices HIGHER and India and China were more than happy to pick up the slack in sales..

Result???

Russia is STILL selling the same amount of oil they were before, but due to Biden's Handlers' ineptitude, Putin is make MORE MONEY than ever before!!!

Biden's Handlers are obviously morons... :eyeroll:

Netanyahu prepares for a comeback in Israel’s next elections

It's gonna be great to welcome BiBi home again.. :D

Which is EXACTLY what Democrats are trying to do to President Trump's political career..

Democrats are trying to kill it..

Democrats ARE Cardassians..

One only has to watch the episode TRIBUNAL to see the facts that prove the 6JC and a Cardassian are identical...

There are many reasons why your cardassian analogy doesn't hold water, but the main one is that there are no actual punishments. The only way one could possibly get punished by a Congressional committee hearing is if they refused to show up.

Let's take the Ukraine stuff elsewhere where it isn't completely off topic!

Amazing how much that sounds like

"No way PUTIN invades.. No way..."

:D

hehehehehehe I know, I know, I give you grief about it..

But we all can't be right all the time... :D

But the simple fact is, there is no way the DOJ will indict...

Irregardless of the fact that there is no factual EVIDENCE beyond rumor, innuendo, hearsay and outright BS brought about by Trump/America hate, the simple fact is that setting THIS kind of precedent will definitely come back and bite the Democrats on the arse...

We're already going to see monthly impeachments of Joe Biden because Democrats set the precedent that impeachments are to settle political scores...

NOW Democrats are going to set the precedent that the DOJ is going to indict SOLELY to settle political scores??

I just don't think Democrats could be THAT stoopid and THAT short sighted..

But hay.. I could be wrong about that... It IS a definite possibility that Democrats COULD be that stoopid and short sighted...

I mean, Garland's DOJ has already PROVEN it's nothing but a Democrat toadie by not prosecting Democrat protesters who are obviously and blatantly breaking federal law by protesting at SCOTUS Justices' residencies...

So, Garland has already sullied the required independence of the Department Of Justice..

So, yea.. It IS possible that Garland will simply throw the DOJ's reputation into the gutter and pursue unprove and non factual criminality SOLELY to settle a political score...

I would hate to be an un-armed and un-trained Democrat if that happens though, I can tell you that...

If i had any quibble it was that I felt former Prosecutor Adam Schiff "lead" the witnesses entirely too much, especially early on when he had State officials -- perfectly capable of speaking for themselves, I would think. He may get away with in the Court of Public Opinion but never in a Court of Law.

Exactly..

It's a Cardassian court, pure and simple..

The Prosecution and the "defense" (which is really just another prosecutor) work together to create a narrative that the defendant is guilty...

This isn't a "fact finding" mission.. It's a Cardassian court pursuing a pre-determined finding of GUILTY...

And it's SOLELY designed to take down President Trump and prevent him from running again in 2024..

That is *ALL* the 6JC is..

I am glad you see that as well..

Democrats = Cardassians

And boy do they love their hot fish juice...

But they are becoming a power-house of the electorate..

The biggest political earthquake of the year was the recall of Uber-Democrat Chesa Boudin...

And asian Americans were at the forefront of that effort...

Democrats are losing asian Americans hand over fist...

This is fact....

Democrat approval is down across the board.. Even with black Americans..

But it's asian and hispanic Americans that Democrats are losing ground the fastest...

And that losing is going to continue right up until the November elections..

Because let's face it.. Democrats are a cult of failure..

#1 President Trump offered to deploy the national guard...
Democrat leadership refused.

#2 President Trump told his supporters to march PEACEFULLY on the Capitol.

The FACTS prove President Trump's complete and utter innocence of ANY of the claims of the Cardassian-esque 6JC show trial...

They are making President Trump STRONGER with his own supporters..

And when the Cardassians (Democrats) fail AGAIN, just like they failed with their bogus impeachments and failed with their Russia Collusion Delusion, they are making MORE President Trump supporters...

The Democrats are ALL about failure.. JUST LIKE Cardassians..

And every time Democrats fail, they make President Trump stronger...

Witnesses are not cross-examined... There is no advocacy of ANY other theory but the one theory that Democrats and their Trump/America hating GOP 'useful idiots' want to concoct..

Jean Luc, you asked before how I could POSSIBLY compare the 6JC show trial to a Cardassian trial.

Because they are BOTH exactly the same..

In Cardassian trials, the prosecutor and the defense work TOGETHER to make the State's case without *ANY* consideration for the facts.. The defendant has already been found guilty and the entire proceeding (both in a Cardassian trial and in the 6JC) is simply designed to get the defendant to co-operate in his own demise...

That is EXACTLY what is happening with the 6JC....

Which simply PROVES beyond ANY doubt that a Cardassian "trial" and the 6JC are identical..

Don't take my word for it..

Watch the episode TRIBUNAL (Season 2 Episode 25) for yourself and you'll see..

Democrats = Cardassians

Dem ‘show trial’ undermines case against Trump

To Democrats, they’re still just “deplorables.”

Hillary Clinton’s infamous slur of Donald Trump’s supporters in 2016 likely played a role in the election outcome. Six years later, it’s worth asking if her party has learned anything about why Trump beat her and why he retains such a vast following.

To judge by the January 6 hearings, the answer is no, hell no. Were they wiser, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her henchmen would have realized a kangaroo court treatment of the Capitol riot would not be persuasive because it would not be trusted by nearly half the country.

Her ignorance is America’s loss. Many of the gritty details the investigation panel has presented would have wider impact if the members were not so one-sided. But because they are, the proceedings smack of another partisan exercise, a Trump Impeachment, Act 3.

Democrats just DON'T get it...

In their hysteria to take down President Trump, Democrats simply don't get how it's that EXACT hysteria that is turning REAL patriotic Americans against the Democrats...

Does ANYONE here honestly and truly believe that the 6JC will accomplish it's goal of putting President Trump in jail and preventing President Trump from running again in 2024...

Does ANYONE here honestly believe that??

Speak up...

Let's see if Occasional Cortex makes good on her threat to oppose the bill... :D