As I landed at La Guardia this afternoon, I saw the Trump 757 being fueled up for wheels-up to start barn-storming events over the next few days. But what’s going on here in NYC is truly appalling.
First – a few assumptions: Those of you that hate .. absolutely hate .. Trump will celebrate when he is convicted probably sometime next week. If he’s not, it will be a miracle, frankly. Many of you think Trump is a threat to democracy, yet there is absolutely zero proof of that, except what you’ve been told by countless commentators and the current administration and congressional democrats. I would say to many of you his: Last time I asked why you hated him – the exact reason with substantiated facts – and I heard nothing. Nada. Zilch. No surprise. Most of you hate him because you’ve been told he’s going to strip away rights, and he’s going to never leave, and he’s going to (fill in the blank). And the abortion argument – he has stated, on the record, that the issue should remain with the states, and he totally supports that. No national ban. But you don’t hear that. You hear he’s going to send women to concentration camps if they seek abortions. Wow.
One last thing: As I’ve stated many, many times – he’s not my first choice in the GOP. But he is the presumptive candidate. And where we are now, domestically and in the world, is far more perilous than ever. So many on my friend list live in a bubble that have no clue what happens in the world. For the last 25 years I’ve worked with corporations and governments all over the world – and they have perspectives that fly in the face of what most of us believe to be true.
But let’s focus back on NYC for a few minutes:
Now we learn, through congressional testimony 2 weeks ago, Robert Costello (very storied attorney and former federal prosecutor) had piles of evidence for the Trump case. Consider this:
- He was asked for that evidence by the Bragg DA office in NYC. He gave them over 200 emails with Michael Cohen. They clearly exonerated Trump. Two were taken out of context if used alone. Bragg took those two and did not share the others with the grand jury, when seeking the indictment. To be clear – Bragg is required to share both sides since NO defense is allowed in the grand jury. He willfully did not.
- Bragg’s office knew that Cohen committed Grand Larceny ($60K theft) against the Trump organization – and it was revealed in court 2 days ago by the defense – and Bragg totally ignored it.
- When Costello was called to testify in the Trump case this week, the judge shut him down, did not let him present his evidence, and even threatened to hold him in contempt and throw him out of the courtroom! Seriously – GO LOOK. He did not allow the defense to present evidence that Bragg purposely avoided and suppressed.
But it gets better. Before Costello was called, the defense called the Chair of the FEC (Federal Elections Commission) to explain that no crime was committed, and exactly why. He actually IS the expert. The judge did NOT allow that particular testimony! This goes directly to refuting expert “claims” by the prosecution! So, the jury has only been told he broke the law – with zero opportunity to refute it by the defense.
But wait – it gets even BETTER! When the defense started their case, the judge cleared all the press out of the courtroom! They weren’t allowed in any longer!
To be even more crystal clear: There is no possible way the judge will let this jury leave without a conviction. If they are hung, he’ll send them back to the room. If they’re still hung, he’ll talk to them directly. He will not let them go.
This is so bad that even Bill Maher is calling it out. He’s even showing up on Gutfeld’s program as a guest last night. This is so bad that CNN’s Fareed Zakariah is calling this trial out as totally political. This trial is being held by a non-recusing judge whose daughter is a significant democratic operative with big donors. The case is being tried in a district where 9 out of 10 voted against Trump in 2020. But no change in venue was allowed. And by my count (based on GOP and Dem legal scholars), there are at least 70 grounds for reversal or vacating on appeal – it’s that lopsided and bad. But they want the “felon” label on his head, with no chance for appeal prior to November.
And now, today, unsealed records show the DOJ authorized the use of deadly force on the Mir-A-Lago raid!! Seriously? Against whom? The US Secret Service? Didn’t use that for Biden’s records, but they were scattered across too many properties.
I’d ask everyone to look again at exactly who is threatening what, and what extremes they are willing to take to stay in control. And after that I don’t think a single one of us will change our minds from what we already want to believe. But the final point to remember: This always comes around. Twist the law into knots (Trump indictments, border non-enforcement, big-city DAs downgrading felonies by the thousands – literally), and eventually it’ll happen to someone you like. And then the cries of “lawfare” and “unjust” will suddenly mean something, right?
