[GT] US election - It's 2020, what could possibly go wrong?

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

Thankfully the decision to prosecute will be Merrick Garland's and not Biden's, so we do not need to worry about what Biden and his advisors think. The Attorney General is not the personal attorney of the President's therefore there is not a solicitor-client relationship where the AG has to take instructions from the President.

Did anyone tell Bill Barr that?

[CliffFletcher]

Keeping Trump in the news will only fuel him and his movement. It's incredible how many people still don't realize this.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Keeping Trump in the news will only fuel him and his movement. The fact people still don't realize this is incredible.

You realize how stupid that sounds as a reason not to prosecute him if you replace "Trump" with any other cult leader, right?

Here, I'll show you:

Keeping Manson in the news will only fuel him and his movement. The fact people still don't realize this is incredible.

Sounds pretty dumb, right?

EDIT: Fully aware that the scale is different here, but it's a very short-sighted and dangerous precedent to set.

[driveway]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

This law professor who literally wrote a book about demagogues warns it would be a really bad idea to prosecute Trump. But hey, what does he know about it.

Spoiler!

Edit: Anyway, it's a moot point. Biden and his advisors aren't stupid enough to turn the first two years of his administration into a ####ing circus with Trump as the main attraction.

I generally agree with this take, but I think it’s entirely possible to thread the needle of both punishing Trump and not completely overwhelming the Democratic agenda: let New York handle it.

The Democrats should take the position that New York began its investigations first, they should get the chance to prosecute first, and the feds will politely wait their turn in line. There’s no way the trial and appeal process would take less than 2-3 years, meanwhile the Democrats get on with the business of running the country.

[stazzy33]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

He's back and more valium'd up than ever.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1347334804052844550

Through and through he has shown he is a coward, from the pretaped message yesterday, to another one today, and sending the press sec to deliver a White House update. He's never been able to stand up and look Americans in the face, like a real president would.

[The Yen Man]

That address feels like a Trump deepfake lol. Like his handlers drugged him, and just deep faked the video to satisfy the masses. I was almost expecting him to break into a Backstreet Boys song at the end there.

[nfotiu]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

That address feels like a Trump deepfake lol. Like his handlers drugged him, and just deep faked the video to satisfy the masses. I was almost expecting him to break into a Backstreet Boys song at the end there.

It did have a captured soldier saying the enemy is great vibe. There were weird, unnecessary camera cuts too.

[afc wimbledon]

what they should do is bring charges against him and then when he tries to claim his pardon demand he elocute to his guilt in order that the pardon apply, let him admit guilt to all of it and then he can bugger off to Turkey or the like to live out his last few years

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Keeping Trump in the news will only fuel him and his movement. It's incredible how many people still don't realize this.

Maybe that law prof will tell should be Supreme Court Justice and soon to be Attorney Général so that he can consider that when he uses his prosecutorial discretion. I am sure it will be high on his list of valid considerations.

[Wormius]

How long would arguments take regarding whether he has the power to pardon himself? Sounds like the Supreme Court would be pouring over the wording of it.

Seems like it would be most effective to get him pushed out now and eliminate that possibility. Not like Pence is going to pardon him now.

[nfotiu]

Which federal crimes would be be charged with? So much of his illegal activity is so wishy-washy and grey. Lots of attempted illegal things, but him and his team were not really competent enough to pull it off. If they're going to prosecute him, it better be something they can win for sure. The things he's done that have had the most consequences, like his handling of the pandemic, are probably not criminal.

[MissTeeks]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1347363319590563841

[Maritime Q-Scout]

Originally Posted by MissTeeks

https://twitter.com/user/status/1347363319590563841

I'm sure she thought she was re-signing.

[flames_fan_down_under]

Convenient timing for these spineless cowards to all of sudden find their moral compass.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

That address feels like a Trump deepfake lol. Like his handlers drugged him, and just deep faked the video to satisfy the masses. I was almost expecting him to break into a Backstreet Boys song at the end there.

I think they used morph cuts to make the jump cuts smoother, presumably as was suggested he went off script and they needed to put him in line.

Spoiler!

Start at 22 seconds in.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by afc wimbledon

what they should do is bring charges against him and then when he tries to claim his pardon demand he elocute to his guilt in order that the pardon apply, let him admit guilt to all of it and then he can bugger off to Turkey or the like to live out his last few years

That’s not a thing.

The idea that a pardon is an admission of guilt is certainly disputed by legal scholars.

The relevant cases are Bardick vs United States and Wilson vs United States

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burd..._United_States

The Supreme Court ruled in Burdick that a pardon carries "an imputation of guilt, acceptance a confession of it"[2]

People take this one line and run with it like it has meaning as a global concept along with Ford as using it to justify his pardoning of Nixon. The statement in Burdick was not binding precedent it was a dicta discussing the difference between immunity and a Pardon and outside of losing the ability to plead the fifth has no real meaning.

Now there are certainly legal scholars that would argue that Burdick does mean it’s an admission of guilt but it certainly isn’t settled.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by flames_fan_down_under

Convenient timing for these spineless cowards to all of sudden find their moral compass.

This is actually the most dangerous time to resign. If you stayed this long you have a duty to be a adult in the room next time he goes nuts.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Originally Posted by rubecube

You realize how stupid that sounds as a reason not to prosecute him if you replace "Trump" with any other cult leader, right?

Here, I'll show you:



Sounds pretty dumb, right?

EDIT: Fully aware that the scale is different here, but it's a very short-sighted and dangerous precedent to set.

Actually the stupid part to me is the suggestion that a trial is what will keep Trump in the news. As if somehow he's not the biggest egomaniac, attention maniac, and general maniac alive. As if Trump won't be tweeting borderline seditious things to draw attention to himself for the remainder of his life. And as if the media isn't going to be looking to pump up everything Trump as the boredom of the Biden Administration pushes them to pump up ratings somehow.

No, it'll be a trial that makes sure Trump stays in the news. Without a trial he'll just fade away. Ok....

[nfotiu]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Actually the stupid part to me is the suggestion that a trial is what will keep Trump in the news. As if somehow he's not the biggest egomaniac, attention maniac, and general maniac alive. As if Trump won't be tweeting borderline seditious things to draw attention to himself for the remainder of his life. And as if the media isn't going to be looking to pump up everything Trump as the boredom of the Biden Administration pushes them to pump up ratings somehow.

No, it'll be a trial that makes sure Trump stays in the news. Right.

We don't have to pay attention to him any more. When the president is tweeting outrageous things, the news/late show host/etc have to cover him. Now that he has no real power, it doesn't really matter what he says. I don't think he's going to last long on Twitter either.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Flashpoint

I love seeing the jump cuts where he clearly went off the rails and his handlers had to corral him back to the teleprompter.

I also love how this will play with the QAnon crowd. "oh no, the dear leader has been replaced!"

Finally - this video is probably the "deal" he struck to avoid federal prosecution after he leaves office.

Yeah, you can definitely tell that someone was pulling his strings there. He looked like he actually loathed reading that script and was about the blow a gasket at any moment. I am guessing that took multiple takes.

They probably told him that if he doesn't do some damage control, there would be an attempt to remove him.

Side question, what is actually involved in issuing a pardon? Is it good enough for him to just say it in front of witnesses, or is there a formal written process that has to be sealed and delivered somewhere? Because if there is actually a formal process that requires others working with him, it would be really funny if he has no staff left to help him pardon himself when it comes to that.