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dontmeantobepoliticalbut · 1 year

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Donald Trump faces more than 30 counts related to business fraud in an indictment from a Manhattan grand jury, according to two sources familiar with the case -- the first time in American history that a current or former president has faced criminal charges.

Trump is expected to appear in court on Tuesday.

The indictment has been filed under seal and will be announced in the coming days. The charges are not publicly known at this time.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office has been investigating the former president in connection with his alleged role in a hush money payment scheme and cover-up involving adult film star Stormy Daniels that dates to the 2016 presidential election. Grand jury proceedings are secret, but a source familiar with the case told CNN that a witness gave about 30 minutes of testimony before it voted to indict Trump.

The decision is sure to send shockwaves across the country, pushing the American political system -- which has never seen one of its ex-leaders confronted with criminal charges, let alone while running again for president -- into uncharted waters.

Trump released a statement in response to the indictment claiming it was "Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history."

"I believe this Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden," the former president said. "The American people realize exactly what the Radical Left Democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it. So our Movement, and our Party -- united and strong -- will first defeat Alvin Bragg, and then we will defeat Joe Biden, and we are going to throw every last one of these Crooked Democrats out of office so we can MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

Trump was caught off guard by the grand jury's decision to indict him, according to a person who spoke directly with him. While the former president was bracing for an indictment last week, he began to believe news reports that a potential indictment was weeks -- or more -- away.

"Is this a shock today? Hell yes," the person said, speaking on a condition of anonymity as Trump's team calculated its response.

Bragg's office said it is in touch with Trump's lawyers.

"This evening we contacted Mr. Trump's attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan D.A.'s Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal," the district attorney's office said in a statement Thursday. "Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected."

The legal action against Trump jolts the 2024 presidential campaign into a new phase, as the former president has vowed to keep running in the face of criminal charges.

Trump has frequently called the various investigations surrounding him a "witch hunt," attempting to sway public opinion on them by casting himself as a victim of what he's claimed are political probes led by Democratic prosecutors. As the indictment reportedly neared, Trump urged his supporters to protest his arrest, echoing his calls to action following the 2020 election as he tried to overturn his loss to President Joe Biden.

Trump has long avoided legal consequences in his personal, professional and political lives. He has settled a number of private civil lawsuits through the years and paid his way out of disputes concerning the Trump Organization, his namesake company. As president, he was twice impeached by the Democratic-led House, but avoided conviction by the Senate.

In December, the Trump Organization was convicted on multiple charges of tax fraud, though Trump himself was not charged in that case.

Trump's Republican allies -- as well as his 2024 GOP rivals -- have condemned the Manhattan district attorney's office over the looming indictment, and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has vowed to launch an investigation into the matter.

GOP RALLIES TO TRUMP'S DEFENSE

Congressional Republicans quickly rallied to Trump's defense, attacking Bragg on Twitter and accusing the district attorney of a political witch hunt.

"Outrageous," tweeted House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio, one of the Republican committee chairmen who has demanded Bragg testify before Congress about the Trump investigation.

Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, called the indictment "completely unprecedented" and said it is "a catastrophic escalation in the weaponization of the justice system."

But at least one moderate Republican told CNN he trusted the legal system.

"I believe in the rule of law. I think we have checks and balances and I trust the system," said Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska.

"We have a judge. We have jurors. There is appeals. So I think in the end, justice will be done. If he's guilty it will show up. But if not, I think that will be shown too," Bacon told CNN.

INVESTIGATION BEGAN UNDER CY VANCE

Bragg's office had signaled as recently as early March that they were close to bringing charges against Trump after they invited the ex-president to testify before the grand jury probing the hush money scheme. Potential defendants in New York are required by law to be notified and invited to appear before a grand jury weighing charges. But Trump ultimately declined to appear before the panel.

The long-running investigation first began under Bragg's predecessor, Cy Vance, when Trump was in office. It relates to a $130,000 payment made by Trump's then-personal attorney Michael Cohen to Daniels in late October 2016, days before the 2016 presidential election, to silence her from going public about an alleged affair with Trump a decade earlier. Trump has denied the affair.

At issue in the investigation is the payment made to Daniels and the Trump Organization's reimbursement to Cohen.

According to court filings in Cohen's own federal prosecution, Trump Organization executives authorized payments to him totaling $420,000 to cover his original $130,000 payment and tax liabilities and reward him with a bonus. The Trump Organization noted the reimbursements as a legal expense in its internal books. Trump has denied knowledge of the payment.

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gwydionmisha · 9 months

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#Donald Trump #Cy Vance #News

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babeyterra · 11 months

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continue talking ab teen titans & music after reblogging that post:

- starfire is the biggest beyoncé RENAISSANCE fan ever and her favourite song is ALIEN SUPERSTAR (get it?) and also CUFF IT

- raven is the dedicated concert ticket buyer because although she absolutely despises the hassle of buying them and also attending she somehow has a natural gift for purchasing them all of them amazing seats and they always manage to get tix before their sold out when raven does it (this applies to anything that involves buying tickets cy and beast boy will forcibly beg raven to use their money to buy tickets for all sorts of events because they always screw it up)

- daily arguments about who controls the radio when the titans are in the car (cyborg usually wins because he’s always driving)

- the titans have a collaborative spotify playlist where they can each add songs and it’s the most random and chaotic playlist known to man. and it’s public for the entire world to witness.

- beast boy has a spotify playlist of songs he wants to learn on the guitar (alot of vance joy, james arthur, billie ellish, ed sheeran, bruno mars & some lewis capaldi type songs)

- robin went through a secret shakira phase (that’s he’s lowkey still in) and he listens to her on his headphones when training/working out

- every titan is a fan of at least 3 taylor swift songs (because taylor has music for everyone idc)

- robin plays his saved tiktok sounds and walks around his room acting out (beast boy does this aswell occasionally)

- raven has an instrumental playlist dedicated to her meditation & also like sounds (white noise, the ocean idk things like that for relaxation) she also has a reading playlist

- terra has apparently never heard of headphones and just plays her music out loud whilst doing errands around the tower

#teen titans #headcanons #teen titans headcanons #beast boy #raven #robin #cyborg #starfire #terra #tara markov #victor stone #dick grayson #garfield logan #koriand'r #raven roth #ttg #babeyterrasmusic #taylor swift

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mojave-pete · 27 days

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Judge Juan Merchan is totally compromised, and should be removed from this TRUMP Non-Case immediately. His Daughter, Loren, is a Rabid Trump Hater, who has admitted to having conversations with her father about me, and yet he gagged me. She works for Crooked Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Adam “Shifty” Schiff, and other Radical Leftists who Campaign on “Getting Trump,” and fundraise off the “Biden Indictments” - including this Witch Hunt, which her father “presides” over, a TOTAL Conflict - and attacking Biden’s Political Opponent through the Courts. Former D.A. Cy Vance refused to bring this case, as did all Federal Agencies, including “Elections.”

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evangelinewriting · 1 year

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— ABOUT;

Hello! I'm Evangeline, but you can call me Evan for short. I'm 32, and non-binary, and I use she/her and they/them pronouns, with very little preference. I'm autistic, and I have adhd and chronic pain.

I'm primarily a romance author, and though I'm still somewhat new to the genre, I already love it. I'm hoping that tumblr will help keep my writing on track, and help me reach new readers as well as find even more authors for me to read.

I currently have two works in progress, summaries of which you'll find below the cut. Both will eventually be posted on patreon and then wattpad.

— VARIOUS LINKS;

about || wips || twitter || wattpad || archive of our own || gaming twitter || gaming tumblr

— WORKS IN PROGRESS;

soul to keep.

When Cyrus meets the mysterious owner of Club Styx, he doesn't expect the immediate, almost electric attraction he feels. Neither does he expect her to lay claim to him as payment for his father's gambling debts. As he falls deeper under her spell, he finds that there's more to Harley Hudson than he ever knew - and more to himself than he ever dreamed.

They say the gods are dead. Harley knows better. She has dreamed of them ever since she was a child, dreamed of her former life as Hades, god of death, ruler of the underworld. And she knows she's worth more than the mortal life she's born into. So she claws her way up in the world, her memories guiding her.

One thing is missing, however, and that is her Persephone, her god of spring. And when she finds him, she's never going to let him go. She finds him in Cyrus Prescott. But Cy doesn't remember; doesn't dream of a time before, when they were more than human.

As Harley introduces him to a world he never imagined, Cyrus is plagued by dreams. Dreams of spring.

sucker punch.

When the mysterious and wealthy Valentine Vance buys off her debt, Audrey ends up owing him everything. But she's no damsel in distress, and Audrey is going to make Val work for every inch. Audrey is a fighter.

Once an up-and-coming boxing star, she loses everything when loan sharks come for her and her father. Facing the threat of the mafia, she offers the only thing she has to save them - her skill in the ring. Now she fights underground for their amusement, each match sinking her more and more into debt.

Valentine is a millionaire.

The son of old money, he's set to inherit billions. But he yearns for excitement, seeking one risk after another. When he visits an underground fighting match at the invitation of an illicit friend, he meets a talented boxer and feels an immediate attraction.

What else is there to do but pay her debt off?

But Audrey is no wallflower. In fact, she's nothing like any woman he's ever met before. And soon, Valentine finds himself in over his head.

Especially when his conservative grandfather walks in on the two of them fighting, and is certain that they're actually dating.

#writeblr #writeblr intro #writeblr introduction #wip intro #writers of tumblr #wip #wip introduction #amwriting #mine.#evan said.#wip: soul to keep #wip: sucker punch

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offender42085 · 2 years

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Post 703

James Rackover, New York inmate 18A4669, born 1991, incarceration intake in 2018 at age 27, scheduled for release 07/16/2045

Murder, Hindering Prosecution, Concealment of a Corpse

Also know as James Beaudoin, Florida inmate L81529, incarcerated at age 21 in 2012 for 16 months, discharged 07/12/2013; Convicted of.a Burglary offence from 2009.

A Manhattan playboy was sentenced to consecutive maximum prison terms for slicing a man's throat and dumping his body in a shallow New Jersey Grave after a night of partying in 2016.

James Rackover, 27, was sentenced to 28 and 2/3 years-to-life in prison in Manhattan Supreme Court for the murder of Joseph Comunale.

Before delivering his sentence, the Judge berated Rackover and said he was deserving the maximum penalty available. “This is precisely the rare kind of case that maximum consecutive sentences are reserved for, and no other lesser sentence would make much sense,' the Judge said.

District Attorney Cy Vance in a statement: 'James Rackover committed a brutal and unconscionable crime when he killed Joey Comunale and abandoned him at a makeshift gravesite in New Jersey.'

'The judge's sentence of 28 and 2/3 years-to-life in prison — the maximum permitted by state law — was the only appropriate sentence to address the pain and loss that Joey's murder inflicted on the Comunale family,' Vance added

'I think it sends a message to the other two defendants,' Pat Comunale told reporters after the verdict. 'The judge made the right decision.'

Also convicted were Larry Dilione (New York inmate 19A0591, sentenced to 23 years; and Max Gemma -- described as receiving a “sweetheart deal” of 6 months in county jail for Hindering Prosecution.

Rackover, Comunale and his friend Larry Dillione had been at Rackover's Upper East Side apartment after a night of drug-fueled partying.

The pair met Comunale at a Greenwich Village nightclub and the trio had returned to Rackover's home but got in a fight in an apparent row over cigarettes.

Other reports indicated at the time that it was because Comunale had rejected their sexual advances.

Comunale, a Hofstra graduate, was stabbed multiple times, strangled and beaten.

His body was found in a shallow grave in Oceanport, New Jersey, after being burned.

Police were led to Rackover and Dilione after reviewing surveillance cameras which picked up Rackover's car. His EZ Pass also showed him traveling through tolls which led to the site.

They first threw the body out the window of Rackover's 2nd floor apartment and left it in a garbage bag outside the building but thought better of their plan, drove it to New Jersey, set it on fire and buried it.

Rackover's defense was that it was Dillione who beat Comunale to death and that he only helped him dispose of the body the next day in New Jersey.

A jury convicted him of second degree murder, hindering prosecution and concealment of a human corpse.

The jury was also shown evidence including the bloody clothes he was wearing on the day of the attack.

The attack, Dilione said, happened after a fight over cigarettes.

Claiming that he was responsible only for punching the young man, Dilione told a court in March how he watched Rackover stab him once the fight got out of hand.

'I turned around and that's when I saw the knife being pulled out of Joey's head,' he said.

Dilione claimed that the fight started when Comunale accused him of taking free alcohol and drugs from him and Rackover without paying his way.

He allegedly said: 'James is bringing cocaine, I've got cigarettes, what the f*** are you bringing to the table.'

It was previously reported the fight was over Comunale rejecting the pair and their sexual advances.

Furious, he lunged at him and began beating him, he said.

'I said, 'I'll take the blame,' but he said 'Look at my hands,' and they were covered in blood. At that point [Rackover] started to strangle him,' he said.

He had been arrested multiple times for burglary, armed robbery, and drug possession before Comunale's death.

At some stage afterwards, he met Jeffery Rackover, and moved to New York City where they each held apartments in the same building.

'Jeffrey never had children, he developed a relationship with this young man and introduced him to his family,' private detective Bo Dietl, a friend of 30 years, told DailyMail.com in 2016.

'Jimmy was a troubled young man and Jeffrey hoped to get him back on his feet.'

Jeffrey, whose A-list clients include Oprah Winfrey, Jennifer Lopez and Melania Trump, even got James a job at Willis Towers Watson insurance company along with his own apartment.

'Jeffrey was on the 32nd floor and James on the fourth floor,' said Dietl.

'They first met, I believe, at a health club about three-and-a-half years ago.

'Jimmy moved into the apartment about a year ago. Jimmy changed his name to James Rackover because Jeffrey liked this kid so much.'

Comunale's father claimed 57-year-old Jeffrey provided cleaning supplies to Rackover and claimed the pair were in a sexual relationship.

The lawsuit also says that Jeffrey let Rackover borrow his Mercedes-Benz to dispose of the victim's dismembered remains on the Jersey Shore.

Jeffrey's lawyer John Rosenberg has denied the claims in the lawsuit and said that the suit was 'grasping at straws'

Editor Note:

At some point after discharge from prison in Florida, he moved to New York and became connected with Jeffery Rackover, celebrity jeweller. Beaudoin at that point began to go by Rackover, He is listed on NY DOC records under Rackover.

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grits-galraisedinthesouth · 1 year

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Merry Christmas Colangelo & Pomerantz

"First Cyrus 'Cy' Vance Jr (DA) has Mark Pomarantz (Special Assistant DA/Authr People vs Donald Trump author/Hillary's Attorney) and Dunne cracking the whip on him, then Schumer and Preetinder 'Preet' Singh Bhahara (US Attorney SDNY) show up at his Birthday in October to spank him - Matt Colangelo in December threatening to break his kneecaps- then the leaks and more leaks until he gives in with Cy Vance's garbage case. Uh....this won't be a swell time. This guy is going to find out Soros doesn't pay court costs or keep you out of prison. This in one pile of dog stuff he's going to be sorry he jumped into. Trump will be after his backside too. This man had better lawyer up."

Exclusive: Jim Jordan Subpoenas Manhattan Prosecutor Who Resigned over Suspended Trump Probe April 6, 2023

House Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) escalated Republicans’ investigation into the Manhattan district attorney’s indictment of former President Donald Trump by subpoenaing a prosecutor on Thursday who resigned from the office last year over the district attorney’s initial reluctance to pursue Trump’s case.

Jordan’s subpoena, reviewed by Breitbart News, directs Mark Pomerantz, who resigned from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office in February 2022, to appear before the committee for a deposition on April 20.

In a cover letter accompanying the subpoena, Jordan said his committee had legislative reasons to demand Pomerantz’s testimony.

“Congress has a specific and manifestly important interest in preventing politically motivated prosecutions of current and former Presidents by elected state and local prosecutors, particularly in jurisdictions—like New York County—where the prosecutor is popularly elected and trial-level judges lack life tenure,” Jordan wrote.

Pomerantz, a former special assistant assigned to the years-long Trump case, exited the Manhattan district attorney’s office right after Bragg took over. The move became a public affair when his resignation letter appeared in the New York Times last March.

Pomerantz wrote in the letter to Bragg that he believed Trump was “guilty of numerous felony violations” related to his financial statements and that he was

quitting because he thought Bragg’s decision at the time to “indefinitely” suspend the investigation into Trump was “misguided.”

Jordan observed, based on the resignation letter, that Pomerantz had “prejudged the results” of the investigation and that his critical words of Bragg seemingly sparked the district attorney to openly declare that the Trump investigation was “far from over.”

In November 2022, one week after Trump announced he was running for president again, the Times reported that Bragg had revived the Trump investigation and had zeroed in on a hush money scheme involving porn star Stormy Daniels and Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen.

“For Mr. Bragg, the hush-money developments suggest the first signs of progress since he took office at the beginning of the year, when he balked at indicting Mr. Trump in connection with his business practices,” the outlet reported at the time.

Pomerantz later went on to publish a book about the matter, called People vs. Donald Trump: An Inside Account, in which Pomerantz discussed internal concerns people had about the investigation and worries about the credibility of Cohen, a convicted felon.

“You describe your eagerness to investigate President Trump, writing that you were ‘delighted’ to join an unpaid group of lawyers advising on the Trump investigations, and joking that salary negotiations had gone ‘great’ because you would have paid to join the investigation,” Jordan wrote of the book.

He added that Pomerantz “frivolously” compared Trump to John Gotti, a notorious New York City mob boss, and described him as a “malignant narcissist.”

“The depth of your personal animosity towards him is apparent in your writing,” Jordan concluded.

The subpoena marks Republicans’ strongest move yet in its investigation of the New York County’s indictment of Trump amid questions from some about Congress’s authority to probe open state-level criminal matters.

It comes after Jordanfirst contacted Pomerantz on March 22 seeking his testimony, as well as documents and communication related to the Trump investigation.

Jordan in his subpoena cover letter referenced correspondence on March 25 from Bragg to Pomerantz, which Breitbart News has reviewed, in which Bragg instructed Pomerantz, a private citizen, not to provide Congress with any materials relevant to Pomerantz’s work at the district attorney’s office.

Pomerantz then told the committee on March 27 that he would be complying with Bragg’s instructions rather than Jordan’s requests.🙄

Jordan contended Thursday, however, that Pomerantz is “uniquely situated” to provide insight to the Judiciary Committee and that

he has “no basis to decline to testify” given he has already made detailed accounts of his work on the Trump probe widely public.

EXCLUSIVE: House Judiciary Expands Investigation Into Manhattan DA Over Trump Indictment April 7, 2023

The Federalist: The House Judiciary Committee is expanding its investigation into the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office over last week’s unprecedented indictment of former President Donald Trump.

On Friday, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, sent a letter to Manhattan DA Senior Counsel Matthew Colangelo, shared with The Federalist, requesting a transcribed interview.

According to the New York Times in December, Colangelo was hired four months ago to “jump start” Bragg’s Trump investigations after years spent going after the former president at both the Department of Justice and the New York attorney general’s office.

“Given your history of working for law-enforcement entities that are pursuing President Trump and the public reporting surrounding your decision to work for the New York County District Attorney’s Office, we request your cooperation with our oversight in your personal capacity,” Jordan wrote.

Trump pled not guilty at the historic arraignment Tuesday against a 34-count felony indictment carrying a maximum 136-year prison sentence. The charges stem from 2016 hush-money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels in a case prosecutors previously declined to pursue.

The weak nature of the case has led a dozen liberal law professors and Trump antagonists to call the prosecution a dead end.

The House Judiciary chairman reminded Colangelo of Congress’s authority to probe the Manhattan DA’s office after Bragg has spent weeks resisting lawmakers’ oversight requests. Fox News reported Wednesday the back and forth has led the Committee to consider issuing formal subpoenas for Bragg’s office. On Thursday, lawmakers pulled the trigger on a subpoena for Mark Pomerantz, a former prosecutor under Bragg who resigned last year over slow progress on efforts to arrest Trump.

Jordan revealed on Fox News Monday that Bragg conceded to lawmakers his office used federal funds in the Manhattan DA’s Trump investigation.

“The Committee may therefore consider legislation to enhance reporting requirements concerning the use of federal forfeiture funds and/or to prohibit the use of federal forfeiture funds to investigate a current or former President or presidential candidate,” Jordan wrote in the letter to Colangelo.

The committee is demanding Colangelo hand over documents related to his hiring and sit down for a formal interview. Colangelo was given until April 21 to provide lawmakers with a schedule of availability.

While the Manhattan DA’s office braces for aggressive oversight from House Republicans, members of Bragg’s staff deleted online profiles. The “Meet Our Team” page was also scrubbed from Bragg’s website.

Trump’s indictment last week drew immediate condemnation from House Republicans and the former president’s rivals in the 2024 primary but has been met with silence by Senate GOP Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

#Matthew Colangelo #Mark Pomerantz #merry chrisis #alvin bragg is a dirty cop #nyc #sdny #lawfare #obama is scum #biden is obama's puppet #revenge #free trump #get trump

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blaqsbi · 6 days

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Post: #ProfessorBlackTruth #MoT #PBT #AntiBlackTerrorism #Jordan #Neely...

#ProfessorBlackTruth #MoT #PBT #AntiBlackTerrorism #Jordan #Neely #WhiteSupremacy #Daniel #Penny #Murder #Chokehold #Lynching #Police #Marines #Haiti #Brutalization #Alvin #Bragg #Cy #Vance #Ken #Thompson #Manhattan #District #Attorney #DA #Manslaughter #AmbushKilling #SoftTarget #Eric #Adams #Kathy #Hochul #NY #NewYork #NYC #Subway #FTrain #WhiteMedia #Racism #Lies #Distortion #Propaganda #Hypocrisy #Newsweek #Kaitlin #Lewis #VictimBlaming #WeaselWords #Innuendo #Passengers #Transit #Police #NYPost #David #Propper #Joe #Tacopino #Joseph #Tacopina #Trump #Lawyer #Shyster #Rape #Jean #Carroll #Police #Abner #Louima #Joran #VanDerSloot #Natalee #Holloway #John #Gotti #Italian #League #Football #Club #Soccer #Spal #Roma #Rupert #Murdoch #Grace #Jabbari #Jonathan #Majors #Creed #Priya #Chaudhry #Disney #George #Zimmerman #Darren #Wilson #Daniel #Cicciaro #Regular #Irregular #Forces #Miya #Ponsetto #SoHo #Karen #Amy #Cooper #Peter #Liang #AntiBlackRacism #Trayvon #Martin #Michael #Brown Breonna #Taylor #Kenneth #Walker #Aaron #John #White #LongIsland #Keyon #Harrold #Christian #Cooper #PowerTools #PersonalSafety #SelfDefense #Practice #Reparations #Tangibles #CutTheCheck https://www.blaqsbi.com/4XJ7

#ProfessorBlackTruth #MoT #PBT #AntiBlackTerrorism #Jordan

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unidentifiable-body · 4 months

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YOU GET IT

it’s so weird not being able to immediately reach out to someone when i miss them like . “oh i wonder how cy is d- oh. wait” FUCK MAN. \o/

hah. Trying to get my hands on a walkman is like trying to dig for gold with a fucking spatula nowadays. my dad got me one on my birthday once. told me "Now you dont have to listen to my old man music anymore!", hah. -Vance.

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mongowheelie · 8 months

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'Agent of chaos': Prosecutor who investigated Trump shows how judges can shut him down - Raw Story - Celebrating 19 Years of Independent Journalism

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contemplatingtrumpiness · 9 months

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MSNBC: 'Extremely volatile situation': Trump could put himself in jail before a prosecutor does

#donald trump #contemplatingtrumpiness #trumpiness #maga #trump #45 #indicted

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bobnitido · 1 year

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Stanford’s David Sklansky on Charges Against Former President Trump

On April 4, Donald Trump traveled to New York for a historic court appearance to hear 34 felony counts brought against him by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg. It marked the first time that a president—former or sitting—has been charged with a crime. And while the world watches as this former president navigates campaigning for the nation’s highest office as he defends himself in court, it’s clear we are in a watershed moment. Here, Stanford Law Professor David A. Sklansky discusses the charges brought against Trump.

Which of the charges are the most serious and why?

All 34 counts of the indictment are for the same alleged crime: falsifying business records. That’s a felony in New York when it’s done to facilitate or conceal another crime, which Bragg’s office says was the case here. There are 34 counts because they relate to 34 different documents, all of which the prosecutors say were designed to cover up payments that Trump made to his former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, to compensate Cohen for hush money he gave to Stormy Daniels.

It’s a hush money case but done just before the 2016 election. Can you talk about the election aspects of this case given the timing of the payment? Alvin L. Bragg also released a “statement of facts” document today outlining a larger scheme by Trump to hide important facts during the 2016 election campaign.

The election aspects of the case have to do with the fact that the payments were allegedly made to Daniels to keep the lid on a story that Trump was worried could endanger his campaign for the presidency. And yes, Bragg’s office filed a statement of facts along with the indictment, alleging that the payments were part of a broader scheme to pay off people with stories damaging to Trump, and to hide the nature of the payments.

Bragg’s case has been called novel, with the charges appearing to hinge on a novel application of the law. Can you talk about that?

One question the indictment raises has to with the nature of the other crime, or crimes, that the falsified records were allegedly designed to facilitate or conceal. What were those other crimes, precisely? The prosecutors have said that they included federal caps on campaign spending, as well as tax laws. The campaign spending part is the novel part of the case, because there don’t seem to be other examples of federal crimes being used as a predicate for a felony violation of New York’s prohibition on falsifying business documents. Trump’s lawyers will likely argue—among many other things—that the New York statute doesn’t sweep that broadly.

How strong is Bragg’s case?

It’s hard to say. The indictment isn’t evidence; it is just a set of charges. The strength of the case will depend on how strong Bragg’s evidence is.

David Alan Sklansky, Professor of Law

We’re about to get into the 2024 presidential campaign. Will that factor into this case?

It’s hard to see how that could be avoided. But how it winds up playing out is harder to predict.

How does National Inquirer publisher David Pecker play into this?

Bragg’s office alleges that Pecker and his company, American Media, helped broker the deal with Stormy Daniels, as well as payoffs to other people with stories damaging to Trump.

Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and so called “fixer,” pleaded guilty to criminal tax evasion and campaign finance violations related to the same payments. Cohen said Trump instructed him to pay to Stormy Daniels and Karen MacDougal and he spent time in prison for those crimes. Does his conviction on this matter when looking at charges against Trump today?

Cohen is likely to be a key witness against Trump. The fact that he himself pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to these payments could boost his credibility with the jury. But it’s also conceivable that a jury could wind up thinking that Cohen is just trying to spread the blame around.

Former DA Cy Vance said that he was asked by the DOJ not to pursue a case against Trump when charges were brought against Cohen. Does this indicate weakness in Bragg’s case? Or is it a larger issue of politicization of the DOJ?

Vance said that federal prosecutors in Manhattan asked him to hold off pursuing this case, in deference to their own investigation. That doesn’t suggest that the case was weak; on the contrary, it suggests that federal prosecutors thought the case was sufficiently strong, and sufficiently important, that they wanted to pursue it themselves. The bigger question is why DOJ didn’t wind up charging Trump—why their investigation of the payoff schemes stopped with Michael Cohen. That may in fact reflect concerns about the strength of the case against Trump, but it may also reflect politicization of DOJ under Trump.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I think it’s important to hold off final judgment on these charges until they are litigated in court. Like anyone else, Trump is entitled under the law to the presumption of innocence. But the prosecutor’s office also enjoys a presumption of regularity in its proceedings. The Constitution prohibits selective prosecution: singling out a defendant for prosecution for impermissible reasons such as race, religion, or political affiliation. But the burden is on a defendant to prove selective prosecution, and it takes evidence that the prosecutors chose not to pursue similar charges against other, similarly situated defendants. Bragg’s office will need to present its evidence against Trump in court, and if Trump’s lawyers think he has unconstitutionally been singled out for prosecution, they will need to present evidence of that in court, too. The point of a trial, and of legal proceedings in general, is precisely to resolve factual disputes with reason and evidence, not with bare allegations.

David Alan Sklansky is the Stanley Morrison Professor of Law and Faculty Co-Director of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center. His most recent book is “A Pattern of Violence: How the Law Classifies Crimes and What It Means for Justice” (Harvard University Press, 2021).

from Legal Aggregate – Stanford Law School https://law.stanford.edu/2023/04/05/stanfords-david-sklansky-on-charges-against-former-president-trump/

source https://bobnitido.wordpress.com/2023/04/05/stanfords-david-sklansky-on-charges-against-former-president-trump/

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cyarskj1899 · 1 year

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REPORTED OPINION

BROKE DONNY’S DONNYBROOK: The RNC just gave Trump some legal news HE WILL HATE

Tara Dublin

Tara is a reported opinion columnist at Occupy Democrats. She's…

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Republican National Committee Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel dropped her middle name because Donald Trump hates Mitt Romney. She also testified to the January 6th Committee that she promised Trump the RNC would help him overturn the results of the 2020 election, all while happily footing his endless legal bills thanks to the endless influx of grifted MAGA money.

Instead of going to prison for abetting treason to the United States, Ronna has somehow remained free to be defiantly loyal to Trump during the Biden administration. But apparently, even Ms. MAGA Mean Girl has reached her limit with funding Trump’s life.

Ronna told CNN on Sunday that the RNC “cannot pay” Trump’s legal bills if he announces a bid for the White House in 2024. MUAHAHAHAHA.

Anyone who knows anything about Trump’s life of living off of other people’s money knows this is going to be the biggest Sophie’s Choice of his miserable life.

Which will he want more, someone paying his lawyers for him because he can’t, or paying to fund his campaign so he can keep getting the public adulation he feeds off of like an unholy orange succubus?

The MSM really needs to quit asking that question. I don’t care what facts Ronna Romney or any other MAGA moron doesn’t like, the truth is the truth. The elections you lose are as equally valid as the ones you win, PERIOD.

The RNC’s executive committee confirmed last year it was paying for certain legal fees “that relate to politically motivated legal proceedings waged against Trump,” and in recent months the committee has funded Trump’s defense against probes launched by former Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

But the RNC isn’t Trump’s eternal personal piggy bank. We have the Ronna Romney receipts on camera, so when they try to walk this back to pay for Trump’s bills AND campaign, we can show her.

Not that Ronna cares about any truths, but I still like using their own words against them whenever possible.

“We cannot pay legal bills for any candidate that’s announced. So these are bills that came from the Letitia James lawsuit that started while he was president,” McDaniel said. “It was voted on by our executive committee for our former president, that this was a politically motivated investigation and that’s what it’s been.”

I’ll be enjoying that schadenfreude for a while, along with that whole “Trump is announcing on November 14th” thing that might just be another distraction from his unavoidable appearance before the January 6th Committee by that date.

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Tara Dublin is a woefully underappreciated and unrepresented writer currently shopping a super cool novel that has nothing to do with politics while also fighting fascism on the daily.

Follow her on Twitter @taradublinrocks.

Editor’s note: This is an opinion column that solely reflects the opinions of the author.

Tara Dublin

Tara is a reported opinion columnist at Occupy Democrats. She's a woefully underappreciated and unrepresented writer currently shopping for a super cool novel that has nothing to do with politics while also fighting fascism on a daily. Follow her on Twitter @taradublinrocks

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Tara Dublin‌‌

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valentineforlemonandcherry · 2 years

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It’s 1 AM and I just finished Light and Dark. Honestly, I put off for about a year because I didn’t want it to end. Let me tell you something, it was soooo good.

First off, I love her friendship with Em. Secondly, the love interests were well developed. I have a softer spot for Cy than James, which is why chapter 22 hurt… a lot. But it’s okay because I just pretend like it didn’t happen. The epilogue for Cy and the reading was absolutely perfect! I did read James’ AU chapters. Remember how I asked about Sirius seeing James and the reading going at it at the Potter house? Well you told me you had something planned in the future and it DID NOT disappoint! If you ever decide to do something like this for James and Sirius, I’ll be first in line to read.

Honestly, you’re my favorite author on here. I’ve read the Charlie/Oliver and Remus/Rowan/Tristan (love Rowan and Tristen so much btw. What is it with you and OCs that make me fan girl a little too hard?) stories. Sorry I always forget tittles, but I love them too. Thank you so much for the amazing writing! I can’t wait to read more :)

-🦭

Hello hello! Ah, this is so lovely. I remember receiving some of my first messages from you, close to the start of Light & Dark. Thank you for sticking with it and finishing it. It's truly wonderful to hear that you liked it right up to the end. I honestly had a hard time finishing it because there were so many things I wanted to show, but ultimately, I think it came together okay.

I want to respond to your individual comments, but I also want to avoid potential spoilers and not annoy anyone with a huge (really, huge), rambling block of text, so it'll be under this cut:

First - Emmeline Vance! Yes, I saw Em as this understated, but very confident person, even as just a first-year. And then here you were, this slightly stand-offish, unsure person, with your arms crossed across your chest and a somewhat confused and profoundly displeased expression on your face all the time. You drew together because both of you had this quiet, tough energy. Also, it didn't really show up in this story because Emmeline realized you were struggling during the years the story takes place and was very gentle with you, but I imagined Emmeline as having Sirius-level recklessness and biting sarcasm, except with more of a forward-thinking brain and less of a need for dramatic flair - so truly, a force to behold. An amazing friend - hence, why your and Cyrille's daughter is named after her.

(Also, I mentioned it only a couple times, but in Light & Dark, I thought two of your other friends, Amelia and Hestia, fell in love and dated at Hogwarts. The same night you reunited with Cyrille on the Astronomy Tower, Amelia and Hestia played some drinking-and-kissing game in the Hufflepuff common room (where you were supposed to be) and realized they were just as compatible as lovers as they were friends.)

Second - Yeah, Chapter 22 was... I put a warning up because I didn't want anyone to have any bad feelings while reading the story. However, I think sometimes we fantasize about 'bad-boy-or-girl/dominant/experienced' tropes (which, why not?) without acknowledging the flip side of that. Physically, having a sexually experienced partner means just that - if this is a new relationship and that person is already sexually experienced, then they obviously had those experiences at some point with someone else.

With Cyrille Lestrange, it's especially dark. Cyrille's ability to dominate you and his incredibly mesmerizing aura, which you might find as attractive features, came from his 'training' to seduce someone whilst maintaining total control over the situation, ultimately to persuade that person to give whatever is needed. Fortunately, with you/Reader, Cyrille is slowly able to let go of that aspect (which is why in Part 19, he confesses to you that he doesn't know how to be intimate without putting on a mask, and why Cyrille always affectionately thinks of you as his true dominant, since with you, he finally feels free and light-hearted and gets to be emotionally vulnerable with you when the two of you are together.)

It's not just Cyrille. I almost always think there is a flip side. For example, in my head, Remus Lupin's gentle and humble traits might draw you in, but they arise partly from his lack of self-esteem, which might play a key factor in pushing you away. Sirius Black's roguish charm and confidence might attract you to him, but they come partly from his independent upbringing (not having anyone to care for him), so those aspects will likely go hand-in-hand with his shutting you out and with his more reckless behavior.

Also, Chapter 22 is a slight reminder that we see the story from your/Reader's perspective. Part of the later chapters (hopefully) contain these flashes of realization where you suddenly comprehend what other characters were thinking at a prior point in time. For example, the James A/U is meant to highlight what he was personally struggling with back when the two of you first broke up (i.e. the significance of 'choice' over instinct). And Chapter 22 shows flashes of what Cyrille had to endure to, as he believes, 'save the people around him.' It is also a very, very slight parallel to what Cyrille may have felt when, after you lost your memory, you started to date James. Obviously, there are huge differences - for one, you didn't know about your link to Cyrille and you were genuinely happy with James and your actions had no consequences beyond Cyrille's suffering; whereas Cyrille is obviously thinking about you and is totally miserable and is enabling this terrible regime of Voldemort. But for me, the point was not to take character traits and perspectives for granted. I always meant to include Chapter 22 in the story, but at the end of the day, it is upsetting and disgusting. I hope it didn't upset you too much!

Also, I shouldn't say this, but I love that you had a softer spot for Cyrille. I can imagine him somewhere out there, smirking and softly stroking your hair, so utterly pleased that he's definitely won his Angel back over from that 'uncivilized, messy-haired, stupidly-proud-Gryffindor, can't-control-his-own-damn-mouth-long-enough-to-say-hello, how-dare-he-look-at-another-girl-when-he-has-you, never-deserved-you-anyways prick.'

Third - the Sirius and James chapter! I had that saved for ages. It never fit into the original story (because I felt like it was too much insecurity and drama when combined with the main issue of Lily-James-you), and I was so excited to finally share it with everybody. I have lots of ideas about Sirius, as well as about all of the inter-Marauders dynamics. I hope I'll eventually get to share them here.

Fourth - Rowan Scamander and Tristan Graves. Ah, thank you for saying this! I get so nervous with featuring OCs. I see their personalities and histories so clearly in my mind, but I never know if it comes through correctly in the actual story. I don't want to say too much on these characters because Foxtail & Wolfsbane is still in-progress and they both continue to be involved in the story, but my initial conception of each of them was something like the following:

Rowan is the Golden Child, and he initially takes to this position very easily - not only smart, but witty; not only popular, but kind. However, the older he grows, the more his parents' fame and his bright aura wear on him as everyone's expectations of who he should be start to suffocate him. Because, the truth is that while Rowan inherited many qualities from his parents, he doesn't naturally have either of his parent's gentleness, which is part of what they're famous for. He doesn't have his father's awkwardness or love of creatures or his mother's understanding nature and sense of deep duty. Instead, he has his own sense of adventure and intense personality. But whenever he acts like himself and lets his ambitions show, he seems to disappoint people. So, not only is he expected to be perfect, but he's expected to perform perfectly as though it was nothing, and to follow his parents' footsteps and even have their personalities as though it all comes naturally to him. Thus, he stays this beautiful, bright, charismatic young man, but a certain edge starts to grow in his fierce soul as he realizes that fame is a cage and the only reward is power, but never peace.

Tristan is, in some ways, Rowan's reverse. He initially comes off far too authoritative and independent (seemingly ordering people around without listening to their views) and basically like some arrogant prodigy who only ever has master-servant relationships (e.g., having Susana as a 'maid' or telling Cas that she can't love him or keeping you prisoner in the United States). Then, you learn about his past - how he was caught between his parents, the Obscurial, and an entire team of Aurors, and how he only survived because both of his parents died for him. But just when you are about to garner some sympathy for him, instead of being grateful, Tristan blatantly shows that he hates any comparison to his father and swears that unlike his father, he won't die for just one lame, undeserving person, which is a shocking way to talk about a parent who loved you and died to protect you.

Only then, it all starts to unravel: Tristan only kept you with him in the United States to figure out if you were telling the truth about the Nine-Tailed Fox and that you weren't alleged with Voldemort and to keep you safe from all of the Aurors who wanted to kill you because they thought you were an Obscurial. He willingly let you go once he knew you were telling the truth and that you could take care of yourself. Tristan saved Susana from being sentenced to death merely because she was Grindelwald's secret daughter and he uses his knowledge of ancient metal magic to curb her power at her request, because Susana inherited Grindelwald's dark and destructive bent in magic. Tristan only told Cas not to love him because he knew he had the shard of Obscurial locked away in his soul and as his depression grew, he felt it growing stronger in his soul, and he was afraid to hurt Cas. (There was a storyline I originally sketched out where Tristan had a prior childhood crush, Mary Jauncey, whom he hurt badly and ultimately lost when Tristan first discovered the Obscurial had gone into his body by the Obscurial bursting out of him when he got angry, but I took it out. The importance of that was that it became a deep trauma for Tristan, in addition to his parents' death. There are hints of the loss of Mary Jauncey in the first few chapters where Tristan appears; that's what the passages of Hades and Persephone were about - Tristan is Hades, Mary is Persephone, only in the real world, they can never reach each other. Even magic cannot bring myth to life; only myth is myth. The Nine-Tailed Fox, as a mythical creature herself, senses this desire and pain in Tristan.) Tristan also believed that Cas was MCUSA's greatest asset, and when he overheard other Aurors talking behind her back and saying that she only ranked high because of her relationship with him, he became furious and tried to put some distance between the two of them, at least until she established herself among the Aurors, which Tristan knew would not take long. The sum of this is supposed to be confusing - Tristan says he doesn't want to be like his father, that he would never sacrifice himself for a single individual and yet he has, time and time again - for Susana, for Cas, for you - and then, finally, you learn that when Tristan talks about that lame, undeserving person, he meant himself, as a little kid whose parents sacrificed themselves for him. Tristan believes that no matter how many people he helps, it could never amount to the potential his parents had for helping people, and for that reason, he wishes that he had died instead and that his parents could be alive in his stead. When the Nine-Tailed Fox helps him to find forgiveness in himself (through you), that wound in his soul becomes healed enough that the Obscurial is forced out of him. That's his arc up until now (Part 26).

Finally, and most importantly - Thank you very much for leaving such sweet messages and giving my stories all this attention and love. ♥ I hope this wasn't too long; I just want to make sure I'm reciprocating your good energy. Cheers!

#anon #but not really because seal!#ask #light and dark #foxtail and wolfsbane

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