NY - Former President Donald Trump charged with 34 criminal counts of falsifying business records, Apr 2023

[Smelly Squirrel]

Trump's court drama sets up primary collision

Trump could be facing a criminal trial — maybe more than one — just as the presidential campaign heats up.

www.axios.com

Trump's next Manhattan court date is Dec. 4, and prosecutors asked the judge to set a trial in January — the month before the Iowa caucuses.

Trump's day in court as criminal defendant: What to know

Former President Donald Trump has been warned by the judge in his criminal case to avoid making comments that are inflammatory or could cause civil unrest. But Trump already has singled out the judge and the judge’s family and posted on his social media network on Wednesday that “The people” are...

apnews.com

Trump’s lawyers asked that it be pushed to the spring. The judge did not immediately set a date.

Notice he's not exercising his right to a speedy trial, and he's even asking it be delayed longer. If the case is so weak, I wonder why, hmmm.

 

[everybodhi]

Furious Trump fans rage at DA for ex-president's upcoming arrest

Stephanie Lu, a social worker who moved to New York from China 20 years ago, further warned that 'this is a very critical moment for our country.'

'I came here legally 20 years ago and I see it going down hill because the liberals are infiltrated with communist ideas,' she said. 'It is so dangerous.

'Today they can indict a former president because they think they can control us. They collaborated together. It's a one-party rule, and they do what they want.'

Lu vowed to 'fight for all my life to defend my country,' noting: 'I came from a communist country for freedom and now everything is gone.

'We won’t allow people to abuse their power it’s very evil,' she said, claiming 'If they can do this to Trump, they can do this to you too.'

This is crazy. Jmo.
In China she could be put in a prison doing hard labor, denied the right to travel, including out of the country, and have all her social media accounts shut down by the government for those statements, or even simply “disappeared”, forever.
But now that she’s obtained citizenship in a free country she can publicly criticize anyone the people elect and even claim they are all communists, deep state, satanic globalists, clones, and reptilians that are harvesting adrenochrome from the blood of children, with no fear of her rights being restricted by the elected government that she openly hates.

 

[ilovewings]

The problem includes the fact that two election laws are involved. One is New York State law 17-152 against promoting a candidacy through unlawful means. The other is the federal limit against campaign donations above $2,700.

In a nutshell: Trump created a false paper trail to hide facts from voters, and he did so in violation of those two election laws, which makes it a crime.

And-- Michael Cohen went to prison for this because he did the bidding of Trump---

 

[Ontario Mom]

I honestly have to ask, how does anyone support him?

RSBM

For many, many folks, Trump is the lesser of two evils. It really is that simple for many voters.
(I only know this because this is exactly what they say when the discussion comes up)

 

[Smelly Squirrel]

You don't understand my comment. The entire basis for the $130k payment was to make her claim "go away" and the NDA not to disclose it. I'm trying to determine if her her claim had any merit or was in fact a nuisance.

You said he paid her because she filed a lawsuit. There was no lawsuit at the time.

You may be the only person confused about whether they danced the horizontal mambo, when it's the easiest mystery ever.

 

[GRT]

The way I see it is .. Michael Cohen admitted his guilt in the matter. and paid the penalty. Because, as a lawyer, he knew they had the proof.
That proof leads back to DT (repayments) Repayments that were evidently fraudulently put through as business expenses.

I am not seeing any reason why Cohen paid for his crimes, and Trump gets a pass.

Yes, Cohen did plead guilty to campaign finance violations, but the FEC wasn't going to go after criminal charges. I posted the FEC letter here earlier.

Pleading doesn't indicate someone else committed a crime.

And Trump reimbursed Cohen in 2017, when he was already president and divested of control of the Trump Organization. So, while Cohen might have violated campaign finance, his attorney sent a letter (I posted that, too) saying Trump was unaware of the payment until later.

But, that's all beside the real issue, which is the charges Bragg listed are usually misdemeanors, and although Bragg is tolling the statute, that's not a standard move and likely won't stand.

For all intents and purposes, this appears to be a political move. The problem is, it's also one that opens Pandora's Box to other little prosecuting attorneys around the country who decide they want to target someone who made a mistake on a mortgage application or their income tax return.

Trump isn't even expected back in court until December.

My guess is that Bragg is trying to make a name for himself. Maybe he wants to run for a bigger office one day. At any rate, I really do see this as one more nothingburger thrown at Trump.

Worst of all, it will likely get him elected again.

 

[ilovewings]

This is crazy. Jmo.
In China she could be put in a prison doing hard labor, denied the right to travel, including out of the country, and have all her social media accounts shut down by the government for those statements, or even simply “disappeared”.
But now that she’s obtained citizenship in a free country she can publicly criticize anyone the people elect and even claim they are all communists, deep state, satanic globalists, clones, and reptilians that are harvesting adrenochrome from the blood of children with no fear of the elected government that she openly hates restricting her rights.

she seems to have it backwards: the abuse of power belongs to Mr. Trump

 

[ilovewings]

RSBM

For many, many folks, Trump is the lesser of two evils. It really is that simple for many voters.
(I only know this because this is exactly what they say when the discussion comes up)

I think it is much more than that: his supporters act in a cultish way about him, some comparing him to Jesus Christ- Maybe for some of his supporters it is the lesser of two evils, but for many it seems to be they worship him: it astounds me!!!

 

[cady]

Even if the "felonies" don't fly, he is still guilty of the misdemeanors and is rightfully being prosecuted. It will be interesting to see how long the judge will tolerate his ranting and lies to his cultists about the various players in this case, after all, there is no bottom to his disparagement of anyone that he feels is picking on him. How long before he outright incites violence against them? JMO

 

[CoverMeCagney]

I think it is much more than that: his supporters act in a cultish way about him, some comparing him to Jesus Christ- Maybe for some of his supporters it is the lesser of two evils, but for many it seems to be they worship him: it astounds me!!!

I must say I was bemused / amused by the fact people actually paid to log into that phone call announcement thing he did. Never in a million billion years would a Brit pay good money to listen to Boris wittering on

 

[ilovewings]

Even if the "felonies" don't fly, he is still guilty of the misdemeanors and is rightfully being prosecuted. It will be interesting to see how long the judge will tolerate his ranting and lies to his cultists about the various players in this case, after all, there is no bottom to his disparagement of anyone that he feels is picking on him. How long before he outright incites violence against them? JMO

I too wonder how much this judge is going to put up with- if it was anybody else mouthing off in that manner they would already be in jail!

That said, I don't like that this case was brought at this time. It isn't to say that Trump is not guilty of the allegations, but the other 3 cases are much more significant and carry with it prison time. This case to me is pretty weak- to the point Bragg has to really stretch to get this case to a felony. It really is a misdemeanor. This case, such as it is, gives Trump victim status and gives him lots of talking points, like why did they bring the case so many years later? The DOJ (read an article) is upset that Bragg brought this case at this time.

Sometimes you can win the battle and lose the war. The war are three other cases where Trump could be nailed and sent off to prison. Even though the New York case carries prison time it is unlikely that would occur.

 

[Imvp2]

You said he paid her because she filed a lawsuit. There was no lawsuit at the time.

You may be the only person confused about whether they danced the horizontal mambo, when it's the easiest mystery ever.

You're correct. She made allegations and public claims. I finally found an article about the genesis of all of this. In order for it to "go away" money was paid to her and she signed a NDA.
Were her allegations and claims substantive? Or were they about a photo taken with Trump at an event and her capitalizing on it ? I thought there would be texts or notes or phone records or? Something other than that one photo?

 

[Ontario Mom]

I think it is much more than that: his supporters act in a cultish way about him, some comparing him to Jesus Christ- Maybe for some of his supporters it is the lesser of two evils, but for many it seems to be they worship him: it astounds me!!!

Thankfully, I've never met anyone that voted for him that sickeningly compares him to Jesus.
Anyone that does, needs their head examined.

 

[Smelly Squirrel]

You're correct. She made allegations and public claims. I finally found an article about the genesis of all of this. In order for it to "go away" money was paid to her and she signed a NDA.
Were her allegations and claims substantive? Or were they about a photo taken with Trump at an event and her capitalizing on it ? I thought there would be texts or notes or phone records or? Something other than that one photo?

Yet he still paid. Too bad you weren't advising him at the time, you could have saved him the $130K.

 

[PommyMommy]

A little louder...

APR 4, 2023

Trump charged with hush-money scheme to boost 2016 election chances

Former President Donald Trump was charged on Tuesday with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a historic case over allegations he orchestrated hush-money payments to two women before the 2016 U.S. election to suppress publication of their sexual encounters with him.

www.reuters.com

Former President Donald Trump was charged on Tuesday with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records ...

[...]

Prosecutor Chris Conroy said: "The defendant Donald J. Trump falsified New York business records in order to conceal an illegal conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 presidential election and other violations of election laws."

While falsifying business records in New York on its own is a misdemeanor punishable by no more than one year in prison, it is elevated to a felony punishable by up to four years when done to advance or conceal another crime, such as election law violations.

[...]

"Under New York state law, it is a felony to falsify business records with intent to defraud and intent to conceal another crime. That is exactly what this case is about - 34 false statements made to cover up other crimes," Bragg said.

 

[GRT]

Notice he's not exercising his right to a speedy trial, and he's even asking it be delayed longer. If the case is so weak, I wonder why, hmmm. View attachment 413097

That's standard practice, I think. He'll probably also file for dismissal.

 

[GRT]

Even if the "felonies" don't fly, he is still guilty of the misdemeanors and is rightfully being prosecuted. It will be interesting to see how long the judge will tolerate his ranting and lies to his cultists about the various players in this case, after all, there is no bottom to his disparagement of anyone that he feels is picking on him. How long before he outright incites violence against them? JMO

Only if he's convicted. That's how our justice system works. And, if he is, he'll pay his fines and go his way.

The FEC opted not to pursue fines and I think that's going to play a role.

That said, if he intentionally did something illegal, he should be held accountable. I just don't think this is going to fly.

 

[cady]

I too wonder how much this judge is going to put up with- if it was anybody else mouthing off in that manner they would already be in jail!

That said, I don't like that this case was brought at this time. It isn't to say that Trump is not guilty of the allegations, but the other 3 cases are much more significant and carry with it prison time. This case to me is pretty weak- to the point Bragg has to really stretch to get this case to a felony. It really is a misdemeanor. This case, such as it is, gives Trump victim status and gives him lots of talking points, like why did they bring the case so many years later? The DOJ (read an article) is upset that Bragg brought this case at this time.

Sometimes you can win the battle and lose the war. The war are three other cases where Trump could be nailed and sent off to prison. Even though the New York case carries prison time it is unlikely that would occur.

I doubt that he will do prison time for any of the cases. He probably, if convicted of any of them, will be sentenced to home confinement which would work out great for him if he decided to live at Bedminster where he has a golf course right there... My hope is that he will be convicted and held accountable for his crimes. I don't care if he gets prison time or not. JUST GET OUT OF OUR LIVES!! lol JMO

 

[Smelly Squirrel]

That's standard practice, I think.

The party with a bad case wants to extend the time.

He'll probably also file for dismissal.

That is standard for everyone, it means nothing.

 

[everybodhi]

You're correct. She made allegations and public claims. I finally found an article about the genesis of all of this. In order for it to "go away" money was paid to her and she signed a NDA.
Were her allegations and claims substantive? Or were they about a photo taken with Trump at an event and her capitalizing on it ? I thought there would be texts or notes or phone records or? Something other than that one photo?

Maybe she will describe his mushroom under oath.
It wouldn’t be the first time such a description of a POTUS member was used as proof, or lack of, intimacy.
There is precedent.
Paula Jones lost credibility due to her an anatomical description of Bill Clinton, including her drawing under deposition, that was disputed under sworn testimony by three doctors who did examinations.