Author: clearandpresentdanger

Let’s check in on America’s 1st Criminal Family

Eldest daughter in America’s 1st Criminal Family Wants Out of the Family

Ivanka Trump is notably not joining her father’s third bid for the White House, and sources tell the New York Post that she is simply tired of the drama that comes with being involved in national politics.

One source tells the Post in particular that Ivanka “hated all the criticism and the threats, and was unhappy about how a lot of their friends turned their back on them.”

The source added that Ivanka felt a third White House run would be “bad for her family… and negative in general in her circle of friends.”

Additionally, said the source, Ivanka “wants as normal a life as she can arrange for her and her family… she’s unhappy about becoming a political target.”

Ivanka Trump was often the target of attacks after her father employed her and husband Jared Kushner as advisers in his White House, despite the fact that neither of them had any experience in politics.

She and Kushner have since kept low political profiles since the end of Trump’s term, although Kushner has raised eyebrows by securing major investments from foreign countries such as Saudi Arabia, where he performed significant diplomatic work during his tenure in the Trump White House.

The far-right billionaire Mercer family were major funders of former President Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, but they apparently won’t be helping him out during his third run at the White House.

CNBC reports that “GOP megadonors Robert and Rebekah Mercer have no current plans to help… Trump’s 2024 campaign for the White House,” even though they were major players in his initial rise to power.

The two are apparently also cutting back their political giving all together, and they join several former major Trump funders as distancing themselves from his new presidential ambitions.

“Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman, Citadel CEO Ken Griffin, wealthy New York businessman Andy Sabin and billionaire Ronald Lauder are among the wealthy GOP donors opting against helping Trump’s latest campaign — at least during the Republican primary,” reports CNBC. “Some of the country’s wealthiest GOP donors do not believe Trump can win again, and have argued for a new face to represent their party in the race for president.”

Trump has been widely blamed for costing the Republican Party multiple winnable races in the 2022 midterms after several of his hand-picked candidates — including former Senate hopefuls Mehmet Oz and Blake Masters, as well as gubernatorial candidates Kari Lake and Tudor Dixon — went down in flames.

Godfather of America’s 1st Criminal Family Melts Down

On Friday morning, Donald Trump went on a multiple-post tirade on his struggling Truth Social platform complaining about how his Trump Organization is being persecuted in a Manhattan courtroom for using accounting scams to avoid paying taxes on income.

According to the Washington Post, longtime Trump financial executive Allen Weisselberg grew teary-eyed when describing the ways he illegally dodged taxes before his boss became president.

The report stated, “Weisselberg, testifying as a witness for the prosecution as part of a plea agreement, said on cross-examination that he was embarrassed by his conduct ‘more than you can imagine’ and that his actions betrayed the Trump family, for whom he had worked for a half-century. He is ‘practically’ family to the Trumps, he said,” before adding, “Weisselberg also testified that he was acting only for his own benefit — a position that could work against a conviction in the criminal tax fraud and conspiracy case against Donald Trump’s namesake company.”

The former president raged against the Manhattan DA on Truth Social, where he set up shop after being banned by Twitter.

“The D.A. case against two small Trump entities has fallen apart. Even the Media is saying so,” Trump asserted without providing any evidence. “There has never been a ‘Fringe Benefits’ case such as this brought before. Did a long time executive pay tax on the use of a company car, or a company apartment, or payments (not even taken by us as a tax deduction!) for the education of his grandchildren? For this, he gets handcuffs and jail? The highly paid accounting firm should have routinely picked these things up – we relied on them. VERY UNFAIR!”

In that vein, he continued, “Many people, perhaps most, don’t pay tax on the use of a company car or company apartment. Whether they know or not, that’s just the way it is. It’s called ‘standards and practices,’ referring, I presume, to the standards and practices of large numbers of people within the Country.”

He then added, “Out of fairness, it has a legal meaning. It should be a point in the Manhattan D.A. case. Did the former D.A. Pay tax on the use of his car? In the meantime, Violent Crime in New York has reached an ALL TIME HIGH!”

Section 3, 14th Amendment

Now that a fat old man living at a golf resort in Florida has announced he wants to be President, it’s a good time to remember Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.

“No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.”

 

Meanwhile, let’s check in with the New York Post with the minor headline “FLORIDA MAN MAKES ANNOUNCEMENT.”

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The NYPost article was buried on page 26.  “Trump also served as 45th President.”

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Jan 6 Committee sets a trap, Trump jumps into it

On Nov. 11, to absolutely no one’s surprise, Donald Trump sued the House Jan. 6 select committee to avoid having to testify or provide documents in response to its subpoena. That was just the latest chapter in Trump’s long history of deploying lawsuits to stall — this time as the clock runs out on the current Democratic majority in Congress and its Jan. 6 committee.

Little matter: The committee has already won the war.

From the outset, the committee chaired by Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi — with the starring role played by Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming — had a threefold mission. First, to uncover facts and issues that would help the American people understand what led to the Jan. 6 insurrection and who was responsible, in order to shape a response through the democratic process. Second, to frame legislative proposals aimed at preventing a recurrence of that travesty.

As part of the legislative branch, the committee was never a route to initiate a criminal case against Donald Trump. But to the extent it established facts that could aid a potential prosecution, the committee’s third and quite collateral function was to make the evidence available to prosecutors for their independent consideration.

Missions accomplished, on all counts

The committee’s subpoena of Oct. 26 invited Trump to tell his story under oath. The committee surely knew the former president would decline the invitation. After all, he took the Fifth Amendment 450 times on Aug. 10 when deposed in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ civil case against the Trump Organization.

This is not a man who has a story of innocence to tell, at least not under oath. So the committee’s latest win is to have that fact confirmed yet again by Trump’s Nov. 11 court filing, where the obvious aim is to avoid testifying until the committee’s clock runs out.

Whether Trump was subpoenaed in May 2021 or October 2022, he was never going to give any substantive testimony. If he had been subpoenaed last year, he would have delayed, by fair means or foul. If actually required to testify, he would have taken the Fifth.

The committee understood from the start that it made little sense to waste time litigating with Trump about a subpoena that would eventually yield nothing. It was far better for the panel to spend its limited resources and ever-shortening lifespan building the case of Trump’s guilt to present to the American people. There would be time enough at the end to subpoena him and show America that under no circumstances would he testify under oath.

It is important to focus on the committee’s central triumph, not this last minor chapter. For weeks this summer, its hearings riveted the country and the media. The public was offered a coherent narrative laid out in hearing after hearing. It proved Trump’s central role in inciting the Jan. 6 violence, his serial attempts to overturn the Constitution, first bloodlessly and then through violence, and his admissions to aides that he had lost the election he falsely claimed to have won. Brazenly, it was that false claim that he used to inflame the mob on the morning of Jan. 6.

The committee’s powerful case became an important backdrop to last week’s surprising midterms. Testimony before the committee demonstrated to any fair-minded person that Donald Trump was the central actor in the conspiracy to end our democracy. That was on the ballot and so was he. Democracy won. Trump lost.

The legal arguments in Trump’s Nov. 11 lawsuit to avoid testifying are feeble.

Trump’s lawsuit against the Jan. 6 committee is a rehash of already-rejected legal claims, and filing it in Florida is the same nonsensical gamesmanship that worked for him in September.

The fact that Trump filed the suit in Florida reflects the same legal gamesmanship that worked for him in September. There Judge Aileen Cannon, whom Trump appointed, ended up handling his suit over the classified documents he improperly held at Mar-a-Lago after the end of his term. Even the conservative 11th Circuit Court of Appeals swiftly reversed Cannon’s most egregious rulings.

No lawyer reading Trump’s latest court filing could miss the rehash of already rejected legal claims about his purported executive privilege or the committee’s alleged lack of legal authority.

Trump’s claim based on the separation of powers is particularly hypocritical, coming from a former president who sought, according to compelling evidence, to corrupt and undermine the legislative branch’s constitutionally assigned authority to certify the winner of a presidential election.

The stark fact that Trump is a former president dilutes his claim. The committee’s letter accompanying the subpoena tellingly quoted President Theodore Roosevelt during his own congressional testimony after leaving office: “An ex-President is merely a citizen of the United States, like any other citizen, and it is his plain duty to try to help this committee or respond to its invitation.”

That is simply common sense. As is the bottom line: If Trump had something to say that might be helpful to his own cause, he wouldn’t be ducking his duty to come forward. He has already lost with the committee, just as he lost last Tuesday with American voters.

And in Arizona, the last election denier bites the dust!!!

Katie Hobbs, Arizona’s Democratic election chief who built a national profile by standing up to false claims about the 2020 presidential election, has won the state’s race for governor.

The Associated Press, NBC News and CNN called the race for Hobbs shortly after 7 p.m. Monday, following a nail-biter week of election returns that highlighted the competitiveness of politics in the state.

“Democracy is worth the wait,” Hobbs posted on social media before issuing a statement thanking her family, volunteers and staff for their work.

“This was not just about an election — it was about moving this state forward and facing the challenges of our generation,” the statement read, ending: “Let’s get to work.”

Late-in-the-race polling showed her Republican opponent Kari Lake, the former television news anchor, with the momentum as Nov. 8 neared. Instead, voters offered a stunning rebuke of Lake, who was one of the nation’s most prominent election deniers.

It’s not all Trump’s fault . . .

In the wake of Republicans having their “red wave” become a mere ripple in a blue stream all the blame for the GOP failure seems  to come to rest on one major cause: Donald Trump.

For example: “A red wave of criticism crashes into Donald Trump after midterm losses,” says the Washington Post, quoting current Republicans about how Trump’s endorsements and his poorly-attended ranting, raving “rallies” didn’t help. The Guardian goes with “Republicans have someone to blame for their disappointing result: Donald Trump.” And Fox Business quotes former Trump adviser Mercedes Schlapp  saying that Republicans were being too hasty to blame Trump.

The problem, of course, is that blaming Trump is bullshit.

Oh, sure, Donald Trump always has and always will suck the hair off donkey balls if he thinks it can get him some attention, devotion, and most of all — cash. His ego is a black hole of need, and those who venture to stick their toes in are always sucked in and sucked dry.

But Trump didn’t force any of candidates to suck his dick.

They all had a chance to bail on him after the January 6 insurrection, but they didn’t. They went along with whatever lies he wanted to tell. They went along for the ride, like the ass kissers they are, nourishing their ambitions from his free-floating rants.

Republicans are to blame for Republicans fucking up the midterms.

However, the real problem isn’t that Republican politicians suck. No, the actual blame belongs with their voters, as it always has. You don’t get off the hook because you supported absolute garbage candidates like Blake Masters or Lee Zeldin or Kari Lake or Dr. Oz.

No — listen up, Republican voters:  Fuck you for being so gullible, so simple, so hateful that you’d rather put Doug Mastriano or “Dr.” Oz in office than voting for  someone who actually gives a shit about your problems.  You idiot children think the problems are  critical race theory and drag queens.  You dumbasses believe whatever Fox “news” and other assholes tell you.  I mean — kids claiming they’re cats and shitting in litter boxes? Goddamn, how do you look yourself in the mirror and not laugh at how dumb and debased you are for believing things like that. Join reality or go live on Dumbass Island, unvaxxed and uneducated.

So when Republicans look for someone to blame for the “red wave” that didn’t happen, you have only yourselves to blame — all Trump did was to recognize just how ignorant and gullible you are.  

Will “my Kevin” slink down to Mar-A-Lago to kiss Trump’s ass?

Republicans are blaming Donald Trump for anointing wacky candidates and then using campaign rallies to promote his upcoming presidential announcement. Republican lawmakers privately say those self-indulgent rallies cost them Senate and House seats because many normal Republicans and independents have had their fill of Trump and his crazy train.

The third time should be the charm. Since winning in 2016, Trump helped Republicans lose the House in 2018 and lose the White House and the Senate after the 2020 elections. Now he seems to have rescued Democrats from the traditional midterm shellacking — Republicans are barely within reach of a House majority and have lost the Senate.

Trump is poison for the Republican party.

Polls showed that even many people unhappy with Joe Biden voted Democratic, a sign that Trump fatigue has finally set in. It’s so bad, the Murdoch empire has turned on its former fair-haired boy.

This moment feels reminiscent of Jan. 6 and its immediate aftermath.

  • Republicans go crazy on Trump, say “enough is enough,” as Lindsey Graham did at that juncture, and act as if they’re ready to toss him aside.
  • But it didn’t take long for “my Kevin,” as Trump called McCarthy, to make a groveling pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago where “my Kevin” kissed Trump’s ass.

What will Miss Lindsey Graham and “My Kevin” do this time?  Has either of them sprouted a pair of testicles?  I doubt it.

Republican Senator Hawley says “destroy” the GOP, replace it with something new

Republican infighting escalated on Saturday after Democrats were projected winners of the U.S. Senate following the 2022 midterms.

It started before the polls even closed on election day, with Donald Trump attacking Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell on Fox News.

And it escalated further on Saturday after Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto triumphed over Republican Adam Laxalt in Nevada, securing control of the U.S. Senate.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) declared the time of death at 9:39 eastern on Saturday night.

“The old party is dead. Time to bury it,” Hawley posted to social media.

“Build something new,” he suggested.

The Republican Party, also known as the Grand Old Party (GOP), was founded 168 years ago in 1854.

Democrats win Arizona, Trump opens his mouth and bullshit pours out

Just hours after Arizona Republican Party Senate nominee Blake Masters was declared the loser in his bid to unseat Sen. Mark Kelly (D), Donald Trump raged on his Truth Social media platform that there needs to be a do-over election.

Kelly’s win, with the U.S. Senate seats in Nevada and Georgia still to be decided, appears to lock up Democratic control of the chamber and the Masters’ loss is another blow to the former president who threw his whole-hearted support behind the GOP nominee.

With that in mind — on the evening before his youngest daughter’s wedding at Mar-a-Lago — Trump accused election officials in Arizona of being idiots and of being “corrupt” despite the fact that many of them are Republicans.

“Idiot, and possibly corrupt, officials have lost control of the tainted Election in Arizona,” he wrote. “MACHINES BROKEN IN REPUBLICAN AREAS. A NEW ELECTION MUST BE CALLED FOR IMMEDIATELY!”

Democrats win control of the Senate!!!! Tell me again about that “red wave”??? ROTFLMAO!!!!

The predicted and muchly ballyhooed “mid-term red wave” turned out to be nothing more and a few extra splashes in a bathtub!!!

As of 10:00 PM EST, Satruday, Nov 12, Democrats now control the US Senate 50-49 and with a victory by Senator Warnock in  Georgia on Dec 6, the margin will be D-51, R-49.

Meanwhile, the House is still in play with Democrats needing 14 seats to retain control, Republicans needing 7 seats to win.

So — what does this mean?

  • Republicans will not be able to reverse the Biden legislative victories of the past two years.
  • Inflation, gas prices, and the like will be back to normal by 2024, giving Democrats a huge boost in the Nov 2024 election.
  • The Republican Party is in disarray — trashed at the polls, sniping and backstabbing, trying to rid themselves of the stink of Trump.
  • If the House goes to the Republicans, they can pass all the bills of impeachment they wish, the moves will die quickly in the Senate.

The Republican Party tied itself to Donald Trump, not realizing that everything Trump touches DIES.