Should the Justice Department indict Trump?

[ciao_yall]

This is a really good article about Kevin McCarthy and Donald Trump that reminded me of y'all.

TLDR: Kevin kissed up to Trump, and now he's caught between a rock and a hard place.

Let me know if it's behind a paywall and I'll send you a pdf.

[Sun_Worshiper]

Bumping this in light of possible (likely?) indictment coming out of NY this week.

[lightning]

I'm so friggin' tired of hearing about possible this and possible that, imminent this and imminent that, looming this and looming that . . .

Just charge the guy, already.

[ciao_yall]

Turns out the whole thing was Trump chumming the media. Apparently the grand jury hasn't even voted whether or not to indict.

Cancel red alert, move along, nothing to see here.

[Sun_Worshiper]

Turns out the whole thing was Trump chumming the media. Apparently the grand jury hasn't even voted whether or not to indict.

Cancel red alert, move along, nothing to see here.

I don't know about "nothing to see." Trump jumped the gun by announcing he would be indicted on Tuesday specifically, but the general consensus in the media is that indictment is very likely in the coming days and all the relevant parties are reportedly planning the logistics for how Trump will be processed.

[Wahoo Redux]

Anybody see the deep fake AI-engineered photos of Trump's "arrest?"

They are hilarious.

[Kron3007]

I'm so friggin' tired of hearing about possible this and possible that, imminent this and imminent that, looming this and looming that . . .

Just charge the guy, already.

Yes, I agree. It is impossible to predict the outcome of either action.  Further, deciding whether to charge someone based on the political fallout only proves the point and makes the problems worse.  What should happen, is the DOJ or whoever) should evaluate the evidence and if they have sufficient proof that a crime was committed and could potentially prosecute, that is what should happen. 

The irony is that people are worried that his followers will think it is all political, so the proposed solution is to not charge him for political reasons?  Doesn't this just prove the point to some degree?that the justice system is influenced by political considerations?  This decision, and the department of Justice, should be completely separate from politics, end of story.

[jimbogumbo]

https://www.axios.com/2023/03/30/trump-indicted-manhattan-grand-jury-criminal

[lightning]

https://www.axios.com/2023/03/30/trump-indicted-manhattan-grand-jury-criminal

That's nice. But, Georgia. For the luv of Allah. Georgia, please. Get moving.

[Sun_Worshiper]

https://www.axios.com/2023/03/30/trump-indicted-manhattan-grand-jury-criminal

Dun dun dun....

This appears to be the weakest of the various cases against Trump and the one that can most easily be chalked up to partisanship. Still, bad news for Trump imo, despite some claims floating around that this will help him politically.

[Ruralguy]

I don't think its really the weakest, considering that a co-conspirator was already put in prison for this crime. It may be the one with the least impact either way.

I agree that Georgia is probably the strongest case, at least on what we know.

Now don't get me wrong here, I think Trump was responsible for 1/06 , but nailing him for anything specific may be extremely difficult. In that sense, 1/06, though the highest impact, may actually be the weakest case.

[dismalist]

From the Babylon Bee about 12 days ago:

Manhattan DA Announces Plan To Get Trump Elected In 2024

https://babylonbee.com/news/manhattan-da-announces-plan-to-get-trump-elected-in-2024

[Sun_Worshiper]

I don't think its really the weakest, considering that a co-conspirator was already put in prison for this crime. It may be the one with the least impact either way.

I agree that Georgia is probably the strongest case, at least on what we know.

Now don't get me wrong here, I think Trump was responsible for 1/06 , but nailing him for anything specific may be extremely difficult. In that sense, 1/06, though the highest impact, may actually be the weakest case.

Maybe so on the bolded. I agree that Georgia is the strongest case, based on what we know.

From the Babylon Bee about 12 days ago:

Manhattan DA Announces Plan To Get Trump Elected In 2024

https://babylonbee.com/news/manhattan-da-announces-plan-to-get-trump-elected-in-2024

Funny (sort of), but in all seriousness it is hard to see how getting indicted for paying hush money to a porn star helps Trump win the election in 2024.

[Parasaurolophus]

Funny (sort of), but in all seriousness it is hard to see how getting indicted for paying hush money to a porn star helps Trump win the election in 2024.

"Democrats are so scared of me, they're throwing the kitchen sink at me. I didn't pay her any money. My lawyer, Michael [Cohen], did. I just paid his bill, then took advantage of tax law to deduct the expense. Which is legal, by the way."

I don't know that it wins him legions of new fans or anything, but I don't see it hurting him. It plays into the Republic persecution fantasy, and gives them feels for scaring the shit out of Democrats with their guy. That's all attractive to them. But they're going to line up behind him (again) once he wins the nomination anyway, so it's kind of irrelevant.

[Kron3007]

Funny (sort of), but in all seriousness it is hard to see how getting indicted for paying hush money to a porn star helps Trump win the election in 2024.

"Democrats are so scared of me, they're throwing the kitchen sink at me. I didn't pay her any money. My lawyer, Michael [Cohen], did. I just paid his bill, then took advantage of tax law to deduct the expense. Which is legal, by the way."

I don't know that it wins him legions of new fans or anything, but I don't see it hurting him. It plays into the Republic persecution fantasy, and gives them feels for scaring the shit out of Democrats with their guy. That's all attractive to them. But they're going to line up behind him (again) once he wins the nomination anyway, so it's kind of irrelevant.

Well, they will rally behind him regardless, but I can see how this type of thing will help fire them up.  For this election, I don't think the key will be to convince people to vote differently as it is pretty polarized.  What will be more important is who can encourage their base to get out and actually vote, and that is where this type of thing could have an impact.  Hopefully, it can also encourage the other side to get out and vote so stop him.

Regardless, these assumptions should not factor into the decision to charge him or not.  The impact of this is far too unpredictable, but more importantly,  the justice system should be independent of politics.