Merrick Garland gets emotional about democracy during '60 Minutes' interview https://t.co/eaZZQLO0YL

— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 2, 2023

A federal judge on Monday set a May 6, 2024 start date for corrupt DINO New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez’s trial on extremely credible, open-and-shut charges he accepted bribes, CNBC reports.

California man Barack Obama Mandela has jumped into the race for the Republican nomination for the late Senator Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat, according to a listing on Ballotpedia.

Ummm, yeah this is real, or at least real enough. There’s a Barack Obama Mandela listed as an “inactive” member of the California State Bar. It would appear from some apparently self-published books that his real name is “Mark Charles Hardie,” and in 2014 the Times of Israel reported that Hardie, a Black convert to Judiasm, had legally changed his name in Israel to “Barack Obama,” writing that “his lawyer in the United States is working to have his name legally changed in the US to Barack Obama as well.” However “Mark Charles Hardie” still ran for president as a Democrat in 2016 under his original name, so we guess he finally got the paperwork done and added the “Mandela” after that. Republicans might as well try to nominate him. It could end up working out.

Fat former President Trump lost his shit during the lunch break on day one of his civil fraud trial in New York State on Monday, screaming that Judge Arthur Engoron “should be disbarred. This is a judge that should be out of office. This is a judge that some people say could be charged criminally for what he’s doing. He’s interfering with an election” before he went to McDonald’s.

Fresh off talking a big game of “It is going to be difficult for my Republican friends to keep calling President Biden feeble while he continues to take Speaker McCarthy’s lunch money in every negotiation” to a largely empty chamber and then not introducing a motion to vacate against the weak House leader, credibly suspected sex trafficker and statutory rapist Congressman Matt Gaetz told reporters he didn’t go through with it because “no one is in town. It’s Monday on a fly in day at noon. We’ll have more folks later today.” Sounds like bullshit because there’s an at least 48-hour period until the motion goes to the floor after it’s introduced. He could have done it if he wanted to.

Gaetz was coy about whether Trump was for or against the motion, only acknowledging that he had spoken to the Orange Allah, who was somewhat indisposed in NYC at the time of Gaetz’s speech.

A 22 year-old California man who suffered harassment, threats, and doxxing after falsely accused by far-right websites and Twitter users of being an undercover “fed” infiltrating a Neo-Nazi group on has filed a $1 million defamation lawsuit against LSD-brained billionaire edgelord Elon Musk for amplifying the claims in replies to the tweets, the Huffington Post reports.

The shitshow started earlier this year when the Portland-area Rose City Nationalists got into a brawl with the local Proud Boys while both were protesting an LGBT event, supposedly because the Proud Boys think the hardcore Neo-Nazi RCN were federal agents (and so do Republicans in Congress). During the fight a Proud Boy ripped the mask off of one of the RCN stormtroopers and a still of the footage made the rounds on Twitter. Some asshole then “identified” the RCN Nazi as California man Ben Brody, promptly making Brody’s life a living hell, despite the fact that he’s a Jewish college kid and produced his debit card statements showing he was in California on the day in question.

Of course Musk weighed in, writing that Brody was part of a “false flag situation,” earning him the complaint from Mark Bankston, the same lawyer who repped Sandy Hook families against Alex Jones. “Musk made these ridiculously false and damaging accusations based on a tweet he had seen from an anonymous far-right extremist Twitter account… After amplifying the claim for two days, Musk personally leveled these accusations against Ben Brody, and it has led to severe personal harassment and permanent damage to his reputation,” Bankston wrote.

Phil Waldron, a Trump-supporting former US Army colonel living in Texas who promoted a plan to declare a national emergency to halt the certification of ballots in the presidential election on January 6th, was in direct contact with Republicans in the Arizona state senate as they formed their plot to undermine the voters of the state, pushing senators to issue subpoenas to seize voting machines to perform an “audit,” the Arizona Republic reports.

Along with senate Republicans, Waldron also worked with Trump’s legal team and the Cyber Ninjas, the unqualified now-shuttered group the state GOP ultimately selected to undertake a hand recount, telling them what data they should seek information on absentee ballots, Dominion voting machines, computer server security logs and any associated domain names to try to throw doubt onto the final results.

Waldron’s text messages, obtained by the outlet, show that he was regularly in touch with Republican then-Senate President Karen Fann, urging her to push through legislation to seize the machines.  Waldron also exchanged hundreds of messages with Cyber Ninjas CEO Doug Logan.  For example:  “Hey, Phil, when you helped them with that subpoena, did you include the absentee ballot envelopes,” Logan asked in a March 5th, 2021, text. A July 14th, 2021 text read from Logan:  “I asked the Senate where that subpoena item came from and they said from you ;-).”

It doesn’t take a telepath to sense the agony within Trump lawyer Chris Kise’s mind as his demented client rambles endlessly about how his “brand” should’ve been included on the financial statement because that’s what makes Mar-a-Lago worth “50 to 100 times” more than what Palm Beach County, Florida tax officials had valued it at… which Trump thinks the judge simply made up.

Minutes earlier, just before entering the courthouse, the fat bastard continued his rant in a Truth Social post, writing “JUST ARRIVED AT THE COURTHOUSE TO FIGHT A CORRUPT & RACIST ATTORNEY GENERAL, AND A ROGUE, OUT OF CONTROL, TRUMP HATING JUDGE, WHO REFUSES TO FOLLOW THE APPELLATE COURT DECISION WHICH KNOKS OUT 80% OF THIS SHAM CASE. THIS IS THE CONTINUATION OF THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!” Let’s hope for an uncontrolled outburst from him in the courtroom today.

In a stunning development, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas did something ethical:  he recused himself from a case in which he had an obvious conflict of interest.  The Supreme Court just issued a notice that it was denying an effort by Trump lawyer John Eastman to suppress information taken from Eastman’s phone to be used in prosecutions against him, Kyle Cheney of Politico reports.

This is landmark:  not the decision, but the recusal.  This is the first case involving a January 6th defendant in which Thomas recused, something legal experts had urged Thomas to do because his corrupt wife Ginni was a key player in the effort to disenfranchise American voters in 2020 and reinstall Trump in the White House.

Ginni Thomas spent months trying to get Republicans on state and federal levels to throw out the results, citing conspiracy theories and promoting ideas like Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton and others she disliked were going to be imprisoned at Gitmo on prison barges.  Legal pundits have said it’s unethical for Clarence Thomas to hear any January 6th cases given the fact that his wife was involved in the plot, including texting Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to get his help.

ELECTION INTERFERENCE! pic.twitter.com/iKTqXktHsK

— Jason Miller (@JasonMillerinDC) October 2, 2023

Pro-choice deadbeat dad Trump advisor Jason Miller on Monday declared the southbound FDR Drive to be election interference in a tweet angrily denouncing the major artery running along the eastern side of Manhattan in New York City. It’s not clear why the 45th president’s longtime campaign lieutenant was so angry at the road, especially considering the lighter-than-usual traffic apparent in his video, but he’s been in politics for decades so who are we to question him?

According to a new book by journalist Michael Lewis, disgraced and indicted former crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried at one point put out a feeler to disgraced and indicted former President Trump to name his price for a bribe to stay out of the 2024 election – to which Donald’s minions came back with $5 billion. The back-and-forth kept going right up until FTX imploded in November 2022 and Bankman-Fried became Bankrupt-Fried, per Lewis.

So-called “moderate” House Republicans are entertaining a plan to get Dems on board with saving titular Speaker Kevin McCarthy by revising the chamber’s rules to remove the motion to vacate plus some other changes to the process of how bills get to the floor, an inchoate proposal that’s already being met with a “Yeah, fucking right” by Dems who plainly want more concessions, CNN reports.

“The Democrats are going to stick together and be a showcase of unity and teamwork compared to the chaos and division on the GOP side,” Congressman Jamie Raskin told CNN. “Fundamentally, pro-Trump Republicans have got to solve the problems that pro-Trump Republicans create. We can’t be their babysitters.” Another Dem said “Do we want to purchase ownership in the outcome of Congress’ actions in the next several months when we’d have responsibility but not control?”

Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is telling Dems to stay vague on what they want until later in the week when the drama plays out with the expected motion to vacate against McCarthy. There will be a 48 hour period after the motion in which they’ll be able to put together a list of demands.

…since the AP reports it went to Doctors Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman, whose research led to the development of the COVID-19 vaccines, we’re pretty sure Donald is going to throw a fit and demand he get credit for it too since he “saved 100 million lives” by not getting in the way of the vax.

Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom is expected to name Laphonza Butler, to fill the seat left vacant by the death of long-time Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, who passed away Friday at the age of 90, Politico reports.  As the president of EMILY’S List, Butler was a major fundraiser for primarily Democratic candidates who advance the causes of women’s rights and reproductive liberty.

The New York State civil trial brought by NY Attorney General Letitia James against ersatz billionaire and indicted felon Donald Trump for falsifying records to financial benefit himself will open on Monday, and there’s a lot on the line for the former president–perhaps jeopardizing something more important to Trump than a potential jail term.

Regardless of the outcome, the trial will disclose all of Trump’s businesses’ financial dealings and will likely expose not just fraud, but also the fact that Trump has far less wealth than he portrays.  That’s something Trump cannot allow to happen.  He cannot allow anything that puts a chink in his personae’s armor that may make his minions doubt him.  And the public finding out Trump inflated his financials like he overstates everything would be extremely embarrassing.

After years of motions to dismiss the case, the Trump Organization, Donald Trump and many of his corporate officers, including his two oldest sons, will face trial.  They’re charged with defrauding banks, insurance companies, the government and others by manipulating the stated values of Trump companies to either increase potential credit or decrease tax liability.  Though it’s not a criminal trial, granted, it’s still one fraught with risks for The Donald.

Fed up with his nihilism, a group of Republican House members are reportedly crafting a motion to expel Florida Republican Congressman and man who should be barred from Chuck E. Cheese’s nationwide Matt Gaetz if the ongoing Ethics Committee probe finds him culpable for various misdeeds, according to the Daily Beast.

Although a Justice Department investigation ended without Gaetz being charged–reportedly because the key witness in the case, Gaetz’s buddy Joel Greenberg, is an unreliable and unlikeable witness because he’s a child sex trafficker–the Ethics Committee has a lower threshold for guilt, and it has the duty to try to maintain some standards among House members.  One Republican member told Fox, “No one can stand him at this point. A smart guy without morals.”  (Greenberg is currently serving an 11-year prison sentence for various charges including abuse of his public office to theft, stalking, sex trafficking, cryptocurrency fraud, and fraud.)

Republican Arkansas Governor and woman who took offense when someone pointed out she wore excessive eye makeup Sarah Huckleberry Slanders is under scrutiny after an independent reporter discovered she commissioned a custom $19,000 podium for an upcoming trip to Europe.  And even though the daughter of former governor and sanctimonious child groomer Mike Huckabee ran on being a fiscal responsible leader, that’s not even the worst of it.

According to the Arkansas Times, muckraker Matt Campbell of the Blue Hog Report asked through a state FOIA request for information regarding the purchase made from an out-of-state vendor, Beckett Events in Virginia.  The receipt shows a cost of $18,475 for the podium, pluse a 3% surcharge ($554.25) for credit card processing.  On the receipt is a handwritten now:  “To be reimbursed” initialed  by what appears to be “LH.”  The money was paid by taxpayer money, but after the controversary arose, the state Republican Party said it would reimburse the state for the funds.

A lawyer for the unnamed whistleblower who apparently tipped off Campbell of the purchase alleges that the receipt has been altered or tampered with, apparently with the notation that the amount will be reimbursed.  It’s unlikely that such a note would be handwritten on an official receipt; the state uses other forms to arrange such transactions.  The note was likely added to lessen the public relations impact of the Republican governor buying a decorative piece for more than the cost of a new compact car. 

“Will Congressman Jamal Bowman be prosecuted and imprisoned for very dangerously pulling and setting off the main fire alarm system in order to stop a Congressional vote that was going on in DC. His egregious act is covered on tape, a horrible display of nerve and criminality. It was a very dangerous ‘Obstruction of an Official Proceeding,’ the same as used against our J-6 prisoners. Actually, his act may have been worse. HE MUST SUFFER THEIR SAME FATE. WHEN WILL HIS TRIAL BEGIN???” writes fat former President Trump in a Truth Social post on Sunday.

About ten days ago, federal prosecutors in New York unsealed an indictment against Dem New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez accusing him of having accepted cash, a Mercedes, and gold bars from some Egyptian nationals and their associates who were sought to influence the then-chair of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, in his decisions with regard to US foreign aid to Egypt.

It’s simple enough to grasp that this was money and favors rendered with the expectation Menendez would direct US taxpayer funds to Egypt in sums far greater than the bribes. “Among other actions, MENENDEZ provided sensitive US Government information and took other steps that secretly aided the Government of Egypt” and “as the Chairman or the Ranking Member of the SFRC, possessed substantial influence over foreign military sales,” the indictment literally says.

Which is to say nobody should expect Nancy Mace to be the one laying out a similar case in the impeachment articles against Joe Biden (if House Republicans even get as far as writing them). The clip above is, to our knowledge, the first time Maria Bartiromo asked the question “Have you been able to identify specific policy decisions Joe Biden made that he was paid for?” or similar. Why a state media propagandist like Bartiromo would “go rogue” and ask such a direct and simple question that (as far as we know) she’s avoided for years we don’t know, but we might guess that she was just as pissed and disappointed as many House GOP members and staffers were after that clusterfuck of an “impeachment inquiry” hearing on Thursday. Mace of course whiffs it, claiming her only job is to look at the alleged maze of LLCs the Hunter Biden and his uncle (not President or Vice President Joe Biden) used to launder their proceeds from the sale of fake access and influence.

So yeah, they don’t have shit. Mace of course would be strangling the Fox News bookers with a belt for taking too long to get her on if she had even a rumor of a policy concession for the “bribery.”

“There are not moderates in the Republican party. There are just different degrees of fealty to Donald Trump. But it starts with a lot of fealty and goes to extreme fealty… We saw them run around the House like a Roomba until they found a door that Democrats opened” – New York Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday morning.