Timeline
Abandon All Logic, Ye Who Enter
It was shocking, it was without legal precedent it was the Supreme Court dominated by MAGA conservatives who abandoned all logic to support Trump’s Hail Mary pass of “absolute executive immunity.”
For three hours the MAGA majority on the Supreme Court discarded any pretense of jurisprudence and instead went down a dark rabbit hole of rightwing conspiracy theories and bizarre hypotheticals to avoid discussing the Constitution, legal precedent, or Trump's attempted coup. Michael Dreeben, speaking for the Government, correctly pointed out that "There is no immunity that is in the Constitution unless this court creates it today." Instead Justice Kavanaugh proudly stated that "I’m not concerned about the here and now" and Justice Alito declared that he didn’t want to talk about the “particular facts.”
Unindicted Co-Conspirator 1
An Arizona grand jury indictment identifies Donald Trump as Unindicted Co-Conspirator 1: “A former president of the United States who spread false claims of election fraud following the 2020 election.”
Arizona has become the fourth state to indict multiple defendants in a wide ranging conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election. The 18 indicted individuals include the fake electors who signed false affidavits as well as seven top Trump associates including Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani, and John Eastman, who were the architects of the fake elector plot. Also indicted is attorney Chiristina Bobb who led efforts to promote Trump's false conspiracy theories about the 2020 election on national media and was recently appointed by the RNC to head their newly formed “election integrity division."
Trump Jury Selected
The wild first week of Trump's New York criminal trial produced a full Jury, accusations of Jury tampering, and a man setting himself on fire outside the courthouse.
It only took one week to select 12 jurists and 6 alternatives in Trump’s NY criminal hush money trial. Apparently the strain of hearing average New Yorkers describe their often unflattering opinions of Trump was too much for the former President, who has been accused of violating the gag order to prevent jury tampering. At one point, the Judge felt the need to admonish Trump’s bad behavior saying, “I will not have any jurors intimidated in this courtroom.”
Not with a Bang, But a Nap
Despite the salacious nature of the President and the Porn Star, a weary Donald Trump was caught dozing off on the first day of his historic criminal trial.
Donald Trump is the first American president to be tried in criminal court. Trump spent millions of his supporters' money in a failed attempt to avoid criminal prosecution by filing frivolous motions, dubious appeals, and spreading unsubstantiated deep state conspiracy theories. And after all his late night attacks and rants in ALL CAPS on his fake social media platform, the visibly exhausted former president set off a "Sleepy Don" meme firestorm when he was caught dozing at his own criminal trial.
A Political Loser
Donald Trump knows abortion is a loser for Republicans in a general election, but he cannot afford to lose his Evangelical base.
Trump reversing his position on a national abortion ban is yet another election lie. After taking credit for overturning Roe v. Wade and teasing his support for a national abortion ban, Trump is now trying to appease general election voters without losing support from his Evangelical base. Attorneys inside the anti-abortion movement have already published plans for a national abortion ban. One such attorney told an Atlantic reporter “It’s obviously a political loser, so just keep your mouth shut. Say you oppose a federal ban, and see if that works.”
Fundamentally Flawed Legal Premise
Donald Trump selling bibles should be a joke, except it speaks directly to his Evangelical base that embraces Trump as the savior of White Christian Nationalism.
Two days after expanding Trump's gag order to include family members of the court, the judge overseeing the hush money case denied Trump's attempt to delay the trial, saying the timing raised “real questions about the sincerity and actual purpose of the motion.” Meanwhile, the prosecutor in the classified documents case threatens to appeal to higher court for Judge Aileen Cannon's strange legal decisions and delays that give credence to Trump's “fundamentally flawed legal premise.”
Prejudice, Nativism, and White Supremacy
Donald Trump selling bibles should be a joke, except it speaks directly to his Evangelical base that embraces Trump as the savior of White Christian Nationalism.
For Holy Week, Donald Trump unveiled his latest scam, selling "God Bless the USA" bibles for $59.99. Not only is this highly offensive to many Christians but it fits the classic American Trope of the unsavory Bible salesman who uses religion as a scam. Liz Cheney called out Trump's hypocrisy, telling him, "instead of selling Bibles, you should probably buy one. And read it, including Exodus 20:14"—Thou shalt not commit adultery. Historian Jemar Tisby writes that Trump selling bibles appeals to White Christian Nationalism "historically tied to prejudice, nativism and white supremacy."
Threatening, Inflammatory, Denigrating
To avoid criminal and civil legal accountability, Trump has spent over $100 million donated by his supporters to his Save America and MAGA PACs, only to use that money for his legal strategy of lies, attacks and delays.
Donald Trump's legal strategy is to delay his criminal trials past the election with an avalanche of motions based on unsubstantiated claims of political persecution, dubious constitutional theories, and personal attacks against judges, prosecutors, court personnel, and their families. Pushing Trump's lies of election fraud, some of his attorneys are now facing legal repercussions, including pleading guilty in Georgia and facing disbarment for conspiring with President Trump to "disrupt the electoral count." The Manhattan criminal trial Judge had enough of Trump's attacks and issued a gag order writing that Trump's “extrajudicial statements went far beyond defending himself" and are “threatening, inflammatory, denigrating.”
See You All on the 15th
At the 11th hour, an appeals court threw Trump a lifeline by reducing his business fraud bond by almost $300 million, but then minutes later a second court rejected Trump's attempt to delay his criminal hush money trial scheduled to start on April 15.
You win some and lose some. On the very last day that Trump was required to post a nearly half-billion dollar bond for business fraud, the appeals court granted him a 10-day extension and lowered his bond by 68%. But before Trump could celebrate his surprising legal victory, a second court denied Trump's attempt to delay his criminal hush money trial just "because he’s running for president." An irritated Judge Merchan rejected Trump's questionable legal arguments saying, “It’s odd that we’re even here" and "See you all on the 15th."
Russia and Russian Agents
Rudy Guiliani's former associate calls out Trump and GOP leaders for knowingly spreading Russian propaganda and “pushing a false narrative" about President Biden.
The House Oversight Committee hearing to impeach President Biden dissolved into chaos when Guiliani's former associate called out Republicans saying, "The American people have been lied to, by Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani and various cohorts of individuals in government and media positions." Lev Parnes named individual GOP congressional leaders for spreading Russian "falsehoods to serve their own interests, knowing it would undermine the strength of our nation." Parnes added, "The only information ever pushed on the Bidens and Ukraine has come from one source and one source only: Russia and Russian agents."
Trump Judges "Split the Baby"
To avoid the perception of bias, judges have allowed Trump to delay justice with frivolous motions and make unsubstantiated accusations against his prosecutors.
In the Georgia RICO case Trump-appointed Judge Aileen Cannon tossed some of the charges on technical grounds, despite there being "ample evidence." She also denied a motion to disqualify DA Fani Willis for "lack of evidence," but then criticized her for the "appearance" of misconduct. In the Florida classified documents case, the Judge ruled against Trump's frivolous claims that the law is unconstitutionally vague, but strangely said Trump's arguments warrant “serious consideration.” She has also failed to rule on Trump's outrageous claims of absolute immunity that have indefinitely delayed his election interference trial. Trump has effectively delayed criminal accountability by exploiting judges fearful of appearing biased and therefore willing to legally "split the baby" for Trump.
Make the RNC White Again
Trump's purge at the RNC has been described as an "absolute bloodbath" and "a harbinger of things to come" of how Trump is planning to take over the federal government.
Just days after Trump successfully installed his daughter-in-law as co-chair of the RNC, the new leadership gutted the existing staff and leadership to make room for Trump loyalists. Former Trump lawyer Christina Bobb has been hired to lead the RNC's new deceptively named "election integrity division'' described by Democratic election lawyer Marc Eliasas as "an all out assault on voting rights and free and fair elections." The RNC also closed their minority outreach program in what one insider labelled “Make the RNC White Again.”
Exploiting Rape for Political Purposes
Senator Katie Britt's lying about a child human trafficking victim during the GOP response to the State of the Union is a new low for Republican women who exploit sexual violence.
Women leaders in the GOP are routinely using the threat of sexual violence to scare voters, while defending Donald Trump and the hateful policies that attack women. They call educators defending transgender youth "groomers" and accuse abortion and IVF healthcare professionals of being sex traffickers who traffic in human embryos. Activist Karla Jacinto Romero, who blasted Senator Katie Britt for lying about her rape, said Britt was "using my story and distorting it for political purposes."
The Hypocrisy of Rightwing Judges
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against states' rights, forcing Trump back on the Colorado ballot on the VERY SAME DAY that Trump's election interference trial was scheduled to start, but instead has been indefinitely delayed by the same Court.
Evangelical Christians and rightwing politicians have made appointing ultra-conservative judges the tip of the spear in their culture war against American multicultural democracy. Resulting in state and federal judges who routinely ignore the law and decades of precedent in order to make politically motivated rulings that attack our fundamental constitutional and legal protections. Today, the hypocrisy of the Supreme Court is further exposed when they fast tracked overturning Colorado's ruling that Trump violated the Insurrection Act, but indefinitely delayed his federal criminal prosecution for the very same crime.
Breathless Horror and Disgust
In the same way Dr. Frankenstein's monster turned against his creator, Mitch McConnell is defeated by the anti-government, christian nationalist movement he helped create.
Mitch McConnell cynically empowered a rightwing Evangelical movement to push through corporate tax cuts and appoint fundamentalist judges to overturn decades of legal protections. After the January 6th Insurrection, McConnell lacked the courage to convict Trump and instead called on the legal system to prosecute him. In the ultimate tragic irony, on the very same day McConnell publicly surrenders his leadership to Trump's MAGA movement, the Supreme Court—that he helped create—indefinitely delays Trump's criminal trial! Victor Frankenstein's words on seeing his creation, "the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.”
Putin's Pawn
Despite Trump comparing his investigations to Navalny's assassination, he still can't seem to connect the dots on why Putin is to blame.
On the 2016 campaign trail, Trump foreshadowed his fondness for Russia. Eight years later, he has come out advocating for closer ties with Moscow by doubling down on his anti-NATO, pro-Putin rhetoric. He can't seem to make himself criticize Putin because of his admiration for authoritarian leaders; despite comparing himself to a victim of authoritarian rule and censorship.
Trump's Pathological Fraud
Trump is fined $355 Million and banned from doing business for 3 years for "repeatedly falsified business records with the intent to defraud."
In his 92 page blistering ruling against Trump and his co-defendants, Judge Arthur Engoron writes, “In order to borrow more and at lower rates, defendants submitted blatantly false financial data to the accountants, resulting in fraudulent financial statements. When confronted at trial with the statements, defendants’ fact and expert witnesses simply denied reality, and defendants failed to accept responsibility or to impose internal controls to prevent future recurrences.” The Judge said of Trump and his co-defendants that “their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological.”
False Derogatory Information
The heart of the House Republicans' case to impeach President Biden is based on an informant arrested for lying to the FBI and fabricating a story about the Bidens' taking bribes from a Ukrainian oligarch.
Republicans and right wing media are desperate to indict President Biden to distract voters from Donald Trump's multiple criminal and civil legal problems. Unfortunately, their star witness against Biden has just been arrested by the FBI. The 37 page indictment charges Alexander Smirnov for making false statements and creating a false and fictitious record. "Despite repeated admonishments that he must provide truthful information to the FBI and that he must not fabricate evidence, the Defendant provided false derogatory information.”
Dumb, Dangerous, and Un-American
Donald Trump has a long history praising authoritarian dictators and criticizing democratic countries. Now, he's threatening to let Russia attack our NATO allies.
Recently, Trump has been pressuring Republican lawmakers to block the bipartisan Senate foreign aid packet that includes military support for Ukraine. Trump also bragged at a rally that he threatened our NATO allies telling them if "You didn’t pay. You’re delinquent," and that he would “encourage [Russia] to do whatever the hell they want.” President Biden blasted Trump for viewing our NATO defensive alliance as a “protection racket.” Biden said that no US president “has ever bowed down to a Russian dictator,” and called Trump’s actions “dumb”, “dangerous” and “un-American”
Shameful, Criminal, Violent
Donald Trump finally admits that January 6 was an insurrection, but tries to blame Nancy Pelosi.
For two hours the Supreme Court ignored the central issue that the Colorado Courts determined that Donald Trump was disqualified for holding public office for inciting an insurrection. When Trump's attorney was finally asked if January 6 was an insurrection he admitted that, “the events were shameful, criminal, violent," but refused to call it an insurrection. Trump, who previously called January 6 a "beautiful day", strangely contradicted his attorney immediately after the hearing when he told the press “I think it was an insurrection caused by Nancy Pelosi." For the record, Trump told his rallied supporters to "fight like hell" just before they stormed the Capitol chanting "Hang Mike Pence."