Leon Troutsky

By the way, the bribery issue is why I think that Trump has been so loud yelling “no quid pro quo” all the time. I think his lawyers told him that if prosecutors can establish a quid pro quo that he could be prosecuted for bribery. IOW, it might be about Trump’s legal culpability out of office more than an impeachment defense.

The entire game is convincing the American public that Trump’s actions warrant removal. Bribery is much simpler to explain than how abuse of power is a “high crime and misdemeanor”. Trump proposed a corrupt exchange with a foreign government — military aid (an official act) in exchange for helping his political campaign (a thing of personal value). That’s bribery as the Founders defined it. And it’s clearly impeachable because the Founders actually listed it as impeachable. I think it’s a much simpler argument to make.

Here’s a great Lawfare article about the original meaning of “bribery” and why meeting specific conditions of federal bribery statutes isn’t necessary for impeachment... https://www.lawfareblog.com/constitution-says-bribery-impeachable-what-does-mean ^^^Given all the evidence that’s come out showing a quid pro quo, I’m leaning towards thinking the Dems should have that as an article of impeachment. Also, it seems likely that Trump’s behavior COULD actually meet all the elements of federal bribery laws, but the Dems don’t need to prove that for impeachment.

Have you considered diapers?

The more I think about the Ukraine scandal, the more I think that one of the articles of impeachment should be bribery. Yes, federal bribery statutes set difficult standards for prosecutors to prove. However, the Constitution was written well before those laws, which means that the Founding Fathers weren’t talking about those statutes when they listed bribery in the Constitution. And from what I’ve been reading, it seems like Trump’s actions would absolutely fit into the Founders’ definition of soliciting a bribe or bribery more generally. So Dems wouldn’t have to prove each element of a federal law, but instead just demonstrate that Trump’s misbehavior fits bribery as the Founders understood it. There’s no indication that Dems are moving in that direction, but I think it’s something they should consider.

Also, this is why I’m so sensitive when people gratuitously dump on major newspapers. This story is an extremely important piece of investigative reporting by the New York Times. They reviewed over 10,000 court cases and interviewed hundreds of people to bring this story to print. And the scope of the problem they uncovered is incredible.

This should be a major scandal and grab national headlines for months. Unfortunately, it’ll probably go largely unnoticed... These Machines Can Put You in Jail. Don’t Trust Them. Alcohol breath tests, a linchpin of the criminal justice system, are often unreliable, a Times investigation found. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/03/business/drunk-driving-breathalyzer.html?action=click&module=Top Stories&pgtype=Homepage

Is that your blood alcohol level?????

I’ve found that bourbon mixed with bourbon and a splash of bourbon does the same thing, just a lot quicker. Plus, you wake up and don’t have any regrets about the night before that you can’t remember.

Or electronic forms of surveillance combined with sophisticated personnel decisions. The point is that the wall is a dumb and ineffective way to do border control.

Are we tired of all this winning yet? SAN DIEGO — Smuggling gangs in Mexico have repeatedly sawed through new sections of President Trump’s border wall in recent months by using commercially available power tools, opening gaps large enough for people and drug loads to pass through, according to U.S. agents and officials with knowledge of the damage. The breaches have been made using a popular cordless household tool known as a reciprocating saw that retails at hardware stores for as little as $100. When fitted with specialized blades, the saws can slice through one of the barrier’s steel-and-concrete bollards in a matter of minutes, according to the agents, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the barrier-defeating techniques.

By the way, for all of you coffee snobs, there are two coffees that you absolutely have to try. You can find either organic or (better) single origin coffee on Amazon for about $9.50 a pound, which is the same you pay for the Starbucks s***. Stick with single origin if you can find it and organic otherwise. Don’t buy something that isn’t one or the other. Those two are... Gayo Highland from Sumatra and Toraja coffee from Sulawesi. Easily two of the best coffees in the world. Edit: And the stuff I found on Amazon was very, very close to what I had locally in Indonesia. PM me if you want specific brands or recommendations.

I hear you. I’m just wish that Obama had done more along these lines to undercut the ISIS propaganda and I think that Trump’s message was the right one even if he’s the absolute worst messenger for it.

I know. I get it, truly. That’s the same reason why I’ve avoided visiting Aceh each of the 6 times I’ve gone to Indonesia. Well, that and there are sometimes travel restrictions for US citizens there. Having said that, a Christian couple that I know from Java visited Aceh two years ago and they enjoyed it greatly. They actually suggested that I visit myself, if I could get the appropriate visa. I’m tempted, especially since one of my all-time favorite coffees (Sumatra from Gayo Highland) is in that area. I don’t know. I’m thinking about it, but still not convinced.

You know, I actually think Trump should be praised for his comments about the last minutes of al Baghdadi. And I’m not very concerned that parts of his telling were inferences or exaggerations. One of the most dangerous things about ISIS is their ability to quickly radicalize people with their propaganda. And a big part of that propaganda is that their leaders are devout Muslims who will die bravely to defeat Islam’s enemies. The basic story Trump told was actually correct — he crawled into a hole/cave with two children to hide from US troops. And then he blew himself up when discovered. He did die a coward. Was he crying or whimpering? Does it matter? It’s not hard to imagine that he was. But at the very least, he crawled into a cave/hole like a dog and cowered trying to hide from his death. One of the best ways to undercut the ISIS propaganda is to show that their leaders don’t face death bravely, that they crawl in holes like cowards and dogs. They’ll ask their followers to face death bravely for their religion, but they themselves don’t believe enough in their cause to die like that. I think it’s very smart and effective to counter their propaganda by announcing this to the world and using it to undermine the ISIS propaganda. Let people around the world see that ISIS leaders are frauds and cowards and conmen. This is one of the few times that I think Trump actually did the right thing.

That ************** worked to gain power in Aceh...ACEH...with hardline Islamic policies and He didn’t think they took that **** seriously? I hate the Sharia law in Aceh (most Indonesians do, also) but I’m glad to see these hypocritical ***holes get what they deserve. One of the few canings in Aceh that I’ve read about and thought, “yeah, that seems fair to me.” Also, I’d bet $1,000 that he had hookers on call in Jakarta and Singapore.

I just watched the pilot of Godfather of Harlem. Great episode! I hope the rest of the season is this good.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/01/us/politics/beto-orourke-drops-out.html That’s a shame. I’m going to miss listening to Beta O’Rourke say nothing in two languages.

The actual job numbers are 128,000.

Is this what greatness looks like? US employers added 128,000 jobs in October, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its monthly jobs report.

Stop doxing me, bro!

A lot of those things are not actual crimes. Like the whole “treason” thing awhile back, you have to be careful declaring things that might not be based on facts. Nor is proving a crime necessary. Gross abuse of power is enough for impeachment.

I still wonder if this isn’t some attempt to get out of New York’s jurisdiction because of the state investigations into him and his family business.

Any chance this is related to criminal investigations of Trump Org. by the state of New York?

“It’s not a quid pro quo, it’s just that we won’t give you this if you won’t give us that.” In a closed-door deposition, the aide, Timothy Morrison, also said he had been told of a September call between Mr. Trump and the diplomat, Gordon D. Sondland. In that conversation, the president said he was not looking for a quid pro quo with Ukraine, but then went on to “insist” that the country’s president publicly announce investigations into Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his son and other Democrats.