Biden had classified documents just like Trump. Trump was President and had authority to declassify. Biden did not.
Let that sink in.
Just because thereās no charge for dissemination doesnāt mean it didnāt occur, or that the prosecutors donāt suspect it. Do we even know what the universe of documents was? Did we get them all back? Was there some agreement to allow the Saudis to āgo to the bathroomā in exchange for something, a billion dollar investment for example?
I donāt feel like Iām being conspiratorial here, just playing probabilities. Excusing him as just a serial hoarder, or not smart enough to know what to retain is being unwisely charitable given everything we know about him.
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Not sure where to put this so Iāll do so here. I donāt often read opinion pieces but did read this one. The tone sure seems optimistic. Whatās the truth on the ground since many of you are in and around Houston? Curious since much of the foster care work Iāve done for the last couple of decades has morphed into transitional care work for at-risk young adults that teeter on the edge of homelessness frequently.
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Iām not excusing him, Iām just reacting to the laws that the indictment said were broken. Those laws he could have taken care of by saying yeah, big mistake, here are the documents. Thatās what everybody else seems to have done, from Hilary to Pence to Biden. Instead he doubles down. They donāt need anything more than that to find a crime, and why he forced the issue is just baffling.
Kris is on the boards of the Houston Housing Authority and the Coalition for the Homeless. Mayor Turner has done a fantastic job leading the charge to get people off the streets, and I think that article is pretty much right. I once had a conversation about homelessness with the mayor, and it really stuck with me. The gist of what he said was that there was always going to be a permanent homeless population in Houston, and in Houston that numberās about 4000 people. Those 4000 represent unsolvable reasons, including mental illness, paranoia about any sort of rules, and just plain preferring the streets. Now mind, 4000 is a fraction of the cityās former numbers, and a fraction of what other cities currently face, but how Houston dealt with homelessness really is the national model.
As an aside, those guys with signs at the intersections may or may not be homeless.
ETA: The coalition for the homeless currently estimates the number of unsheltered in Harris County to be a bit more than 1700 people.
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Or a 2 billion dollar investment, like they gave Jared.
I have some suggestions for his defense.
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Trump should defend himself, but refuse to take the stand. Heās always been his best advocateāas long as he doesnāt have to tell the truth.
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He should plead guilty. Itās rigged anyway. Just get it over with and set up the campaign HQ from prison.
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He should try the insanity defense. Thatās some of that six dimensional chess shit, or whatever.
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It took me some time to recognize it is parody. Itās getting harder all the time.
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With Cannon on the bench there is absolutely no way in hell this goes to a verdict, let alone a conviction.
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She is presiding over the arraignment, but it donāt think that means she gets the trial itself automatically.
I believe whether she handles the rest of the trial is still TBD.
Iām not sure thereās any downside to letting Trump get on the stand and lie. He could always claim the no one should believe him anyway.
There is no downside for Trump in lying his ass off. It increases his wealth and reputation. Why would he NOT lie.
I think Smith is smart enough to be ready for her if she is appointed to the trial.
She was reversed hard, twice, by the very conservative 11th circuit on her previous rulings in this case. Heāll box her in and then get her removed if she fucks around.
Donāt forget: ETTD remains undefeated to date.
There has been much handwringing about Smith bringing this case in Florida, potentially falling under the hammer of Judge Cannon. But there are a couple of things to note here.
Firstly, Smith has charged only the crimes that happened entirely in Florida. The illegal retention and the shenanigans thereafter that form the basis for these charges were all at MAL. Those charges had to be brought in Florida, he had no option.
Secondly, lots of opinions - from Bill Barr to people who stayed at a Holiday Inn - have discussed Trumpās actions here as slam dunk criminality. Itās the low hanging fruit that should be easy to prove regardless of whether the judge has a thumb on the scale.
This all makes sense to me.
But, further, what weāre missing here is what isā¦ummmā¦missing. The actual theft of the documents happened in DC; the White House specifically. Where are those charges? The theory I have seen is that theyāre up Smithās sleeve.
The theft involved numerous people, including Mark Meadows who we know to have flipped in return for a plea bargain. Smith will have to charge innumerable people under a conspiracy for the thievery. That takes longer to prepare.
So Smith, hearing the clock ticking loudly as it runs down to the next election, has pulled the trigger on the crimes that are the easiest and fastest to bring to denouement. By avoiding combining these charges with others and trying to bring them all in DC, he avoids the time consuming jurisdiction fight that you know Trump would wage to delay the proceedings.
Donāt forget that Smith has been on this only for about 6 months. He will bring the balance of the document charges in DC. And there is still Jan 6, and Georgia, and the already charged felonies in NYC. By this time next year, Trump will likely be defending hundreds of felony charges in at least 4 different courts.
I wasnāt ever any kind of litigator, but I canāt imagine that he would bring one suit in Florida and another in DC on closely related matters and not have the suits consolidated. My guess is that if he brought it anywhere but Florida there would be a venue dispute, and bringing it in Florida bypasses procedural shenanigans. In the words of Lord Nelson (as passed down to us by Captain Aubrey), go right at 'em.
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Well to be convicted of a crime, you have to commit a crime. So, if thereās any justice system at all, this will be a very short case.
The crooked media is blowing it out of proportion. Perfect example is the picture they keep showing of the box of āclassified documentsā thatās spilled over. They are newspapers and pictures from Trumpās presidency. Last time I checked, newspapers and pictures of a President are not classified. However, the crooked media will cry that this is the biggest crime in the world since thatās what Democrats want to hear. Itās nothing but a distraction since the truth is coming out about Joe āpedoā Obiden and his dead beat sonās crooked dealings in Ukraine/China.
