The Price of Liberty is Eternal Vigilance
The Price of Liberty is Eternal Vigilance – Through Critical Thinking, (substack.com, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Not many people realize the Statue of Liberty has broken chains at her feet. Originally, the chains were going to be placed in her hand, but the tablet eventually replaced that idea. When the Statue’s unveiling celebration took place on October 28, 1886, women’s groups protested the self-congratulatory nature of the day, given that women were not allowed to vote. Making matters worse. Of the 2,500 guests, only two women were allowed to be present. Wives and other women watched from a nearby boat. The symbol of freedom is a woman, but the actual women were not free.
The Statue is the result of Édouard de Laboulaye, a French political activist and French sculptor Auguste Bartholdi. They both wanted to promote abolitionist ideals, so the chains were meant to show true liberty cannot be achieved when enslaving others.
Chains are symbols. Yes, they have been literal in the past, but today those chains are metaphoric. We still enslave when we take away or suppress rights, such as women’s rights over their own bodies, voters’ rights to equal access to vote, and a system of education that teaches children how to think critically so they can make independent choices. Give them facts, give them conflicting ideas, and give them the skills to determine the truth. The inability to think logically is a form of bondage. The refusal to think logically is proof of already being bound.
Think about that as you read today’s articles about attempts to lie, distort, and manipulate that would make Lady Liberty weep in shame.
If you follow the link, you may be able to read Kareem’s other words.
well, having spent a few years of my life trying to “teach people to think” anout simple non-political math. I am not optimistic.
especially when i see how much of the Left is only too willing to take away other people’s freedom freedom, or money, because that’s the only terms they can think in. no, the Right is no better, and from my point of view, worse. But I did not expect it from the people who talk about civil rights and teaching children to think critically.
noahpinion thinks it is throwing more money at the pentagon!
(100) Uh, guys, we really should think about spending more on defense (noahpinion.blog)
Noahpinion:
The United States is in big trouble militarily. That’s the upshot of a new RAND publication called “Inflection Point”:
Basically, the report says that the U.S. military’s technological superiority has mostly eroded, and to address that, we need to shift from projecting power to defending against attacks by other powers (i.e. China). RAND then gives a large number of concrete recommendations on how to change the U.S. military in order to do that. But transforming the military costs a lot of money; even if we don’t end up with a bigger military after the shift, getting from here to there will involve a lot of research, design, testing, and equipment purchasing.
But military modernization isn’t the only thing we need to spend money on. We also need to rebuild our defense-industrial base, which has atrophied since the Cold War ended. The Ukraine War has shown just how many missiles and shells get consumed in a modern war. To the U.S.’ surprise and dismay, we’ve found ourselves completely unable to keep up with the needed shell production. We’re ramping up, but only to a modest level, and even that will take years.
Administration officials and politicians on both sides of the aisle agree that the problem is dire. If we can’t even produce enough shells for Ukraine, trying to match Chinese output would be a hopeless endeavor …
(There’s always a sentiment somewhere in the punditocracy, that the most major function of the federal guv’mint is to provide for nat’l defense. Because while states should be concerned mostly about the welfare of their residents, the national guv’mint needs to concentrate on larger issues.)
Basically, the report says that the U.S. military’s technological superiority has mostly eroded, and to address that, we need to shift from projecting power to defending against attacks by other powers (i.e. China)….
[ Noah Smith has always been wildly antagonistic towards China, but evidently and distressingly that is just what this Administrator and Congress want to encourage. ]
Sorry:
“Administrator” should be Administration (White House or President or President Biden)….
The antagonistic approach of Congress and the Biden Administration to China is shocking and disheartening to me.
BEA National Income and Product Accounts
July 27, 2023
Defense spending was 55.6% of federal government consumption and investment in April through June 2023. *
$970.7 / $1,747.2 = 55.6%
Defense spending was 20.8% of all government consumption and investment in April through June 2023.
$970.7 / $4,684.1 = 20.7%
Defense spending was 3.6% of GDP in April through June 2023.
$970.7 / $26,835.0 = 3.6%
* Billions of dollars
ltr:
I believe you attempted to link to National Income and Product Accounts. I fixed it. The model on how to do such manually is there. You do not have to add the rel=”nofollow ugc” part of it to the model. For some reason that part is automatically added by the system.
I believe you attempted to link to National Income and Product Accounts. I fixed it….
[ Excellent. Notice we are very near a trillion dollar annual defense budget, which is why I use this format.
The BEA site has been changed and I need to find out how to use a simplified reference address. A couple of colleagues have been unable to figure out how, so I will ask library reference.
Thank you, lots. ]
This works at AB and other sites:
Please note spaces are intentional.
i don’t know about larger issues. but it is hard to concentrate on the welfare of residents when there is always someone somewhere with big guns prowling on the outside think about takeing what you have, even if it’s only (as the Greeks discovered about the Persians) “our poverty.”
but maybe we could, you know, do both.
(I am going to post an op-ed from today’s Globe which is vaguely related to this.)
America has a loneliness epidemic. How about religious groups as part of the solution?
The surgeon general’s 80-page advisory mentions religion only once — as a factor in what exacerbates our isolation from one another.
Boston Globe – July 28, 2023
In May, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared loneliness an American epidemic. “Millions of people in America are struggling in the shadows,” he said, “and that’s not right.”
From small towns to big cities and everywhere in between, an epidemic of loneliness and isolation is sweeping across the United States. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy named this epidemic in his recent Advisory Report, which calls on groups across the country to come together to reweave the torn social fabric of America. Surprisingly, though, religion — which at one time served as the tie that bound our disparate communities together — appears just once in the 80-page report. And that one mention is part of a list of divisive topics that cause polarization between individuals and communities.
No longer the salve, faith is now the suspect.
Since Alexis de Tocqueville first expressed wonderment, in his 1835 book “Democracy in America,” at the centrality of church life in early American culture, religion has served as one of the chambers of America’s beating heart. The French historian could clearly see how religion contributed to America’s thriving economy, rich culture, and political life.
His words have continued to ring true, especially in times of national tragedy and generational transitions. Unfortunately, the surgeon general’s report fails to note the many times that religion has been a key asset in addressing national health challenges, taking instead a mostly deficit-based approach to religion’s role in the loneliness crisis. Yes, he does invite religious groups to play a part, but he sees their role as no more powerful than that of fitness centers.
Yet in the last two decades we have seen two profoundly important examples of faith networks leading national efforts to address significant health crises.
As the national director of National Baptist Convention’s HOPE Health Initiative, the Rev. Michael Minor mobilizes 31,000 churches around the country to take health- and wellness-related action for their communities and neighborhoods. Known lovingly as “the Southern pastor who banned fried chicken in his church,” Minor has a long history of using the power of the pulpit to address the crises he saw unfolding — whether diabetes, obesity, or lack of access to health care. He created a “No Fry Zone” in his church, set up a walking track around its perimeter, and used his local church network in Mississippi to be a major driver for Affordable Care Act enrollment.
And more recently, faith communities were vital in getting COVID-19 vaccinations into the arms of their parishioners and neighbors, many of whom were vaccine-hesitant or had barriers to access. The Rev. Rubén Ortiz, National Director of Esperanza, a faith-based nonprofit that works with Hispanic communities through education, economic development, and advocacy, was one of a number of outspoken faith leaders in Philadelphia who worked tirelessly to address the vaccine equity and access gaps in communities of color. Thanks to the All Faiths Vaccination Campaign and its 60 participating faith organizations, thousands of individuals around Philadelphia received the life-saving vaccine.
Religion can play a critical role in alleviating the loneliness epidemic. All that is required is that national leaders and faith communities reframe their thinking.
Our political leaders need to take stock of the assets that our nation’s faith communities offer. From new organizations that operate outside houses of worship to well established institutions, faith communities are composed of thick, trusting networks of purpose-driven people, eager to volunteer their time and talent. Many of them also come with large, welcoming buildings ready to house programs that allow neighbors to gather to combat isolation. Let them bring these resources to bear!
Faith communities can answer by opening their eyes, ears, hearts and doors. There is not one village, town, or city where people aren’t suffering from loneliness; while some of them regularly attend services, the majority do not. Look for them. Engage them. Serve them. Point your community’s greatest resources — its people and the care in their hearts — to your community’s greatest needs, and witness how healing happens. Don’t wait for them to come to you.
We are in the midst of interwoven epidemics, and the surgeon general is right to call our attention to loneliness in particular. His recommendations are sound and sorely needed; but we would miss the opportunity to save countless more lives if we ignore the faith communities that have been on the front lines of national health crises for generations.
While this epidemic of loneliness is unprecedented, our approach to solving it doesn’t have to be.
(Not being a believer myself, I can only hope that those of you who are will take this to heart.)
Globe: From small towns to big cities and everywhere in between, an epidemic of loneliness and isolation is sweeping across the United States. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy named this epidemic in his recent Advisory Report, which calls on groups across the country to come together to reweave the torn social fabric of America. …
I think I would call it an epidemic of ‘selfishness’, epitomized by Donald Trump.
Energized by a notion of diminishing ‘whiteness’ in the land. perhaps.
Somehow we have got to get over this.
The Statue of Liberty is always meant to remind us all that America at its best is a Melting Pot of all races, colors, creeds, beliefs that all need to respect and tolerate.
But in the meantime, mean spirited people seem to believe they are thinking quite logically, and are willing to not do this, rather to concentrate on their own needs first & foremost.
Dobbs
it’s good of you to report this in this dangerous place. trouble is that a lot of “religious” people have ben seduced into a religion of hate. and a lot of “not a believer” believers have joined them there.
i am not much of a “believer in” anything, but I have seen what “religion” can do by way of “curing” loneliness…and even stupidity when done right, as it often is.
still, seeking religon as a kind of “health center” or social club is missing the point. Even Lao Tse recognized you can’t achieve enlightenment by trying. though, as a believer once pointed out to me, it’s a good place to start.
America has a selfishness problem, epitomized by Donald Trump and his supporters.
and the liberal left has no selfishness problem demanding “the rich” pay for their (left liberal) retirement instead of paying an extra dollar a week for it themselves.
because if a man has fifty dollars in his pocket and i only have five it is only fair that he pays ten times more for a loaf of bread than i do.
or, we could have little clubs of people making only, say, about sixty thousand a year, standing outside grocery stores. then when they see someone who makes, say, oh, two hundred thousand, we could mob him and make him pay for our groceries.
why make him pay for ten of us instead of only three of us… well that would be a “flat” tax proportional to his income, and that would not be “progressive” and therefore it would be regressive, and we can’t have that.
yes, it’s amazing there was no selfishness in America before Trump.
Except for people like my self-employed daughter who doesn’t make that much having to pay ‘the extra dollar a week’ (as if) twice, FICA increases don’t matter that much. I still don’t believe it will accomplish much, but maybe that’s just me.
The selfishness is on the part of people who, with their wealth, do not actually need so much money. They are just greedy. And selfish.
Ironically, it is very possible to be extremely wealthy and not be greedy or selfish at all. How about that?
Dobbs
yes, it is just you. and some very dishonest people keeping people like you who can’t do arithmetic believing that paying for your own basic retirement can’t work.
and it’s not an “extra” dollar. it’s what that basic retirement will cost, whether paid for by ss or by some other financial device. My daughter is self employed too, at a not very high level of income. She prefers that to workig at a meaningless job for an employer. But she also understands the arithmetic of paying for her own retirement, understands the advantages of Social Security (security mostly), and doesn’t expect someone else to pay for her groceries, and doesn’t whine that she is getting cheated when she finds out the not-self employed have half their retirement paid for by their boss [who takes it out of their pay].
(By the way, the Statue of Liberty sits in NYC harbor, in fine view from where my son lived for many years. I’ve seen it from afar, never up close. So I have no particular sense of where those chains are, or why they might have been. But the statue remains a hugely potent symbol, as it should.)
Why Trump Is So Hard to Beat
NY Times – Nate Cohn – July 31
In the half century of modern presidential primaries, no candidate who led his or her nearest rival by at least 20 points at this stage has ever lost a party nomination.
Today, Donald J. Trump’s lead over Ron DeSantis is nearly twice as large: 37 points, according to a New York Times/Siena College poll of the likely Republican primary electorate released Monday morning. …
But even if it might be a mistake to call Mr. Trump “inevitable,” the Times/Siena data suggests that he commands a seemingly unshakable base of loyal supporters, representing more than one-third of the Republican electorate. Alone, their support is not enough for Mr. Trump to win the primary. But it is large enough to make him extremely hard to defeat — perhaps every bit as hard as the historical record suggests.
Here’s what we know about the depth of the support — and opposition — to Mr. Trump from our poll, and why it’s so hard to beat the former president.
The MAGA base, defined
It’s populist. It’s conservative. It’s blue collar. It’s convinced the nation is on the verge of catastrophe. And it’s exceptionally loyal to Donald Trump.
As defined here, members of Mr. Trump’s MAGA base represent 37 percent of the Republican electorate. They “strongly” support him in the Republican primary and have a “very favorable” view of him.
The MAGA base doesn’t support Mr. Trump in spite of his flaws. It supports him because it doesn’t seem to believe he has flaws.
Zero percent — not a single one of the 319 respondents in this MAGA category — said he had committed serious federal crimes. A mere 2 percent said he “did something wrong” in his handling of classified documents. More than 90 percent said Republicans needed to stand behind him in the face of the investigations. …
(Of course, the question will remain for now, does the other 3/4 of the electorate – or is it 2/3 – go along with this?)
(Does it matter if they don’t?)
CNN: The fateful clash between former President Donald Trump’s legal imbroglio and the 2024 election is deepening amid new signs his GOP poll-topping campaign is partly designed to bankroll his defense and beat criminal charges.
News that Trump’s leadership PAC, which raises most of its money from small-dollar donations, has spent more than $40 million on attorneys’ fees for himself and associates emerged as he tightens his grip on the GOP race – a New York Times/Siena College poll released Monday finds Trump with a monumental advantage over the rest of the GOP pack – and ramps up claims that President Joe Biden wants him arrested so he can’t pull off a stunning White House comeback. …
After Paying Lawyers, Trump’s PAC Is Nearly Broke
NY Times – July 31
Former President Donald J. Trump’s political action committee, which began last year with $105 million, now has less than $4 million left in its account after paying tens of millions of dollars in legal fees for Mr. Trump and his associates.
The dwindling cash reserves in Mr. Trump’s PAC, called Save America, have fallen to such levels that the group has made the highly unusual request of a $60 million refund of a donation it had previously sent to a pro-Trump super PAC. This money had been intended for television commercials to help Mr. Trump’s candidacy, but as he is the dominant front-runner for the Republican nomination in 2024, his most immediate problems appear to be legal, not political.
The super PAC, which is called Make America Great Again Inc., has already sent back $12.25 million to the group paying Mr. Trump’s legal bills, according to federal records — a sum nearly as large as the $13.1 million the super PAC raised from donors in the first half of 2023. Those donations included $1 million from the father of his son-in-law, Charles Kushner, whom Mr. Trump pardoned for federal crimes in his final days as president, and $100,000 from a candidate seeking Mr. Trump’s endorsement.
The extraordinary shift of money from the super PAC to Mr. Trump’s political committee, described in federal campaign filings as a refund, is believed to be larger than any other refund on record in the history of federal campaigns. …
2024 Presidential Election Map
270toWin
According to these folks, Dems are reasonably certain of 241 electoral votes next year, and the GOP of 235. Five states only are ‘in play’: GA, AZ, PA, WI & NV. If the GOP wins both GA & AZ, and either PA or WI, then they win the presidency. Assuming they are right about the other 235 EVs. It would appear NV doesn’t matter, alas.
Buckle down, Dems. Don’t less this happen.
note that none of georgia, Arizona, pennsylvania, or wisconsin are “small states” with electoral college advantage.
No ‘electoral college advantage’ for small states.
Well, you might say the 21 largest states (by population) with 310 EVs, do NOT have such advantages. Oddly enough, many if not most are Blue states.
And the 29 smallest do have them, and are mostly Red sates.
That’s why we have presidential elections where all too often, the popular vote goes one way & the electoral vote goes the other. Be ready for that next year.
Should have said No ‘electoral college advantage’ for non-small states.
Defense spending is left to the federal guv’mint because they are entirely responsible for national defense. With some weird exceptions, as in Florida recently and perhaps Texas now & then. States of course look after themselves, with pleas for federal assistance when needed, for disaster relief & such.
The GOP, which started off holding the Union together 150 or so years ago, used to take this very seriously. Not so much these days, since becoming infused with states-rights agita coming oddly enough from southern Dem influences originating with founding fathers from Virginia back in the day.
I ask myself, what were the GOP folks celebrating on Lincoln Day out in Iowa the other day?
“What were the GOP folks celebrating on Lincoln Day out in Iowa the other day?”
Y’know, as one who was raised as a Republican, I grew up with tremendous respect for Lincoln and his achievements. And was very chary about Dems & liberalism.
Eventually I saw ‘the error of my ways.’ It was a revelation.
I understand that surreptitiously the GOP became THE states rights party that Thomas Jefferson & friends trumpeted for the South, and that in so doing they gave up the right to sharing any historical space with Abe Lincoln. So when they still try to lay some claim to that part of US history, I am considerably taken aback.
“I would not be Slave, so I would not be a Master.”
But, giving up any claim to Lincoln’s legacy is THEIR problem, and they have to live with it.
Probably celebrating the fact that people like you believe that the founding fathers were complicit in making America “founded on racism.”
the “war” between the haves and have-nots is eternal. it crosses party lines from time to time depending on which of the haves tell the best lies to the have-nots.
The modern GOP obviously has nothing in common with Lincoln. Just as the modern Democrats as well as the modern GOP have nothing in common with Jefferson.
“What’s in a name?” Apparently, for some people, everything.
You will not admit that ‘states rights’ is really all about slaves as property, property not having any rights to speak of, how the spirit of that persists to this day across some of this country.
It’s also why, thanks to FDR, the Dems took over Lincoln’s mantle, and the GOP took over Jefferson Davis’s.
The modern GOP has much in common with the darker side of Tom Jefferson.
Washinton Post – just in
Trump indicted for efforts of former president Donald Trump and others to overturn the results of the 2020 election
A grand jury investigating the efforts of former president Donald Trump and others to overturn the results of the 2020 election has returned an indictment, though the document remained under seal and it was not immediately clear who was charged, or with what alleged crimes.
Trump’s legal team was notified Tuesday that the former president had been indicted, according to a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the indictment had not yet been made public.
A spokesman for the former president, Steven Cheung, accused the current administration of trying to interfere with the 2024 election by targeting the current GOP frontrunner.
About 5 p.m., reporters observed a prosecutor with special counsel Jack Smith’s office and the foreperson of a grand jury that has been active for many months examining the events surrounding Jan. 6 deliver the indictment to a magistrate judge in federal court in Washington, D.C. …
You misspelled for! Fixed it.
The heading should really be
Trump indicted for (his and others efforts) to overturn the results of the 2020 election
where?
In the Washington Post, it’s
Trump charged in probe of Jan. 6, efforts to overturn 2020 election
A grand jury indicted former president Donald Trump on Tuesday for a raft of alleged crimes in his brazen efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s election victory — the latest legal and political aftershock stemming from the riot at the U.S. Capitol 2½ years ago.
The four-count, 45-page indictment accuses Trump, who is again running for president, of conspiring to defraud the United States, conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding, attempting to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiring against people’s civil right to have their vote counted. The maximum potential sentence on the most serious charge is 20 years in prison.
“The attack on our nation’s Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy,” special counsel Jack Smith told reporters after the indictment was filed. “It was fueled by lies, lies by the defendant.” …
In the NY Times it’s
Jan. 6 Riot Was ‘Fueled by Lies’ From Trump, Special Counsel Says
or maybe
Trump Indictment News: Former President Charged in 2020 Election Investigation
(It’s breaking news with frequent updates.)
Former President Donald J. Trump was charged with four counts in connection with his efforts to subvert the will of voters in 2020. “Despite having lost, the defendant was determined to remain in power,” prosecutors wrote. …
The special counsel accused Trump of taking part in three conspiracies.
Four takeaways from the indictment.
The five ways Trump and six co-conspirators tried to carry out an election scheme.
(The last is perhaps the most interesting.)
Donald J. Trump did not act alone.
The indictment unveiled on Tuesday accused Mr. Trump of enlisting six co-conspirators in “his criminal efforts to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election and retain power.”
It outlined five distinct ways in which Mr. Trump and his co-conspirators carried out the “unlawful” scheme to overturn the election results, including organizing a false slate of electors in seven swing states that Mr. Trump lost to Joseph R. Biden. Those states included Wisconsin, Nevada and Georgia, where a local prosecutor is also scrutinizing the fake slate of electors.
According to the indictment, Mr. Trump and his co-conspirators also used false claims of election fraud to spur state lawmakers into action to “subvert the legitimate” results of the election.
“On the pretext of baseless fraud claims, the Defendant pushed officials in certain states to ignore the popular vote; disenfranchise millions of voters; dismiss legitimate electors; and ultimately, cause the ascertainment of and voting by illegitimate electors in favor of the Defendant,” the indictment said.
Mr. Trump and his co-conspirators also tried to use “the power and authority” of the Justice Department to conduct “sham election crime investigations” and fuel lies about the election. They also pressured Vice President Mike Pence to delay the certification of the election on Jan. 6, essentially seeking to enlist him in the conspiracy. (When he resisted, Mr. Trump at one point chided Mr. Pence for being “too honest.”)
Finally, according to the indictment, Mr. Trump and some of his co-conspirators stoked tension during the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The co-conspirators “exploited the disruption by redoubling efforts to levy false claims of election fraud,” the indictment said.
Although the special counsel Jack Smith did not announce charges against any of the co-conspirators — nor are they named in the indictment — he could still be investigating their role in the plot to overturn the election results. …
(The names of the 6 co-conspirators were inferred by the NY Times in a separate article.)
Mr. Trump had six co-conspirators, according to the indictment.
NY Times – August 1
The indictment does not name the co-conspirators but the descriptions of them appear to match up with a number of people who were central to the investigation into election tampering conducted by prosecutors working for Mr. Smith. Among those people central to the inquiry were Rudolph W. Giuliani, a lawyer who oversaw Mr. Trump’s attempts to claim the election was marred by widespread fraud; John Eastman, a law professor who provided the legal basis to overturn the election by manipulating the count of electors to the Electoral College; Sidney Powell, a lawyer who pushed Mr. Trump to use the military to seize voting machines and rerun the election; Jeffrey Clark, a Justice Department official at the time; and Kenneth Chesebro and James Troupis, lawyers who helped flesh out the plan to use fake electors pledged to Mr. Trump in states that were won by President Biden.
ABC News: Who are the ‘co-conspirators’?
Based on information in the indictment and publicly available information, five of the co-conspirators have been identified by ABC News to likely be the following individuals:
Co-Conspirator 1: Rudy Giuliani
The indictment describes this conspirator as “an attorney who was willing to spread knowingly false claims and pursue strategies that the Defendant’s 2020 re-election campaign attorneys would not.” …
Co-Conspirator 2: John Eastman
The indictment describes this conspirator as “an attorney who devised and attempted to implement a strategy to leverage the Vice President’s ceremonial role overseeing the certification proceeding to obstruct the certification of the presidential election.” …
Co-Conspirator 3: Sidney Powell
The indictment describes this co-conspirator as “an attorney whose unfounded claims of election fraud the Defendant privately acknowledged to others sounded “crazy.” It continues: “Nonetheless, the Defendant embraced and publicly amplified Co-Conspirator 3’s disinformation,” the indictment continues. …
Co-Conspirator 4: Jeffrey Clark
The indictment describes this co-conspirator as “a Justice Department official who worked on civil matters and who, with the Defendant, attempted to use the Justice Department to open sham election crime investigations and influence state legislatures with knowingly false claims of election fraud.” …
Co-Conspirator 5: Kenneth Chesebro
The indictment describes this co-conspirator as “an attorney who assisted in devising and attempting to implement a plan to submit fraudulent slates of presidential electors to obstruct the certification proceeding.” …
Co-Conspirator 6: Unknown
The indictment identifies Co-Conspirator 6 as “a political consultant who helped implement a plan to submit fraudulent slates of presidential electors to obstruct the certification proceeding.”
ABC News has not yet confirmed this individual’s identity.
Messages Point to Identity of Co-Conspirator 6 in Trump Indictment
NY Times – just in
The indictment of former President Donald J. Trump in connection with his efforts to retain power after his 2020 election loss left a number of unanswered questions, among them: Who is Co-Conspirator 6?
The indictment asserted that six people aided Mr. Trump’s schemes to remain in office. It did not name any of them, but most were reasonably easy to identify through details contained in the indictment, like Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former New York mayor and lawyer for Mr. Trump (Co-Conspirator 1), and John Eastman, the lawyer behind the idea that Vice President Mike Pence could block or delay certification of Mr. Trump’s loss on Jan. 6 (Co-Conspirator 2).
Co-Conspirator 6 was more of a mystery. Identified by the indictment as “a political consultant who helped implement a plan to submit fraudulent slates of presidential electors to obstruct the certification proceeding,” the person could have been a number of figures in Mr. Trump’s orbit.
But a close look at the indictment and a review of messages among people working with Mr. Trump’s team provides a strong clue. An email from December 2020 from Boris Epshteyn, a strategic adviser to the Trump campaign in 2020, to Mr. Giuliani matches a description in the indictment of an interaction between Co-Conspirator 6 and Mr. Giuliani, whose lawyer has confirmed that he is Co-Conspirator 1. …
Prosecutors may be aiming for quick Trump trial by not naming alleged conspirators, experts say
Associated Press – 8:05 p.m.
By not naming or charging six alleged co-conspirators in the indictment of former President Donald Trump, federal prosecutors may be signaling their desire to expeditiously put the Republican presidential front-runner on trial for seeking to overturn the 2020 election.
More defendants mean more defense lawyers, and more legal motions and more delays, according to legal scholars and former prosecutors. Such a large cast of defendants would make it extremely difficult for Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith to get Trump in front of a jury before the final stretch in the 2024 campaign, the experts said. …
Six ‘co-conspirators,’ all unnamed and all uncharged, are left in limbo, for now
New York Times – 9:23 p.m.
By the time Jack Smith, the special counsel, was brought in to oversee the investigation of former President Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election, the inquiry had already focused for months on a group of lawyers close to Trump.
Many showed up as subjects of interest in a seemingly unending flurry of subpoenas issued by a grand jury sitting in the case. Some were household names, others less familiar. Among them were Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Jeffrey Clark, Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell.
On Tuesday, most of these same lawyers showed up again — albeit unnamed — as Trump’s co-conspirators in a federal indictment accusing him of a wide-ranging plot to remain in office despite having lost the election.
The appearance of the lawyers at the center of the case suggests how important prosecutors judged them to be to the conspiracy to execute what one federal judge who considered some of the evidence called “a coup in search of a legal theory.”
The lawyers’ placement at the heart of the plot while remaining uncharged — for now — raised questions about why Smith chose to bring the indictment with Trump as the sole defendant. …
Some legal experts theorized on Wednesday that by indicting Trump alone, Smith might be seeking to streamline and expedite the case before the 2024 election. If the co-conspirators were indicted, that would almost certainly slow down the process, potentially with the other defendants filing motions and seeking to splinter their cases from Trump’s. …
Historians say new Trump indictment is more consequential than previous ones
Washington Post – 3:06 p.m.
Historians and legal scholars say the new indictment, brought by federal special prosecutor Jack Smith, is fundamentally more consequential than the earlier ones, which are related to hush money paid to an adult-film actress and the mishandling of classified documents.
While those are serious allegations, Tuesday’s indictment accuses a former president of the United States with attempting to subvert the democracy upon which the nation rests.
“This gets right to the question of how elections work, how power is transferred peacefully,” said Jon Grinspan, a curator of political history at the National Museum of American History. “This is really a question about the functioning of American democracy.”
Laurence Tribe, a Harvard University legal scholar, said, “The crimes indicted are an order of magnitude beyond anything that has been committed against this country by any American citizen, let alone a former president.”
“This is essentially an indictment for an attempt to overturn the Republic and its most crucial process of preserving democratic governance, the process of peaceful and lawful transition of power,” said Tribe …
‘Peaceful transition of power’ is no doubt a very important part of the American political system, if not the most important one.
This is hard to reconcile with Trump’s notion of being the perennial Bad Boy of American politics. But his supporters are very energized by this this attitude of his.
Georgia Trump Investigation Grand Jurors Hear Hours of Testimony in Election Interference Case
NY Times – August 14
A grand jury in Atlanta began hearing evidence on Monday in a Georgia prosecutor’s investigation of Donald J. Trump and some of his former advisers, whose efforts to overturn the state’s 2020 election could result in a criminal indictment — the fourth against the former president.
For two and a half years, prosecutors in Fulton County, Ga., have been investigating whether Mr. Trump and his allies broke state laws in their bid to keep him in power. Nearly 20 people are known to have been told that they could face charges as a result of the investigation. …
The investigation led by Fani T. Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, focused on five actions taken by Mr. Trump or his allies in the weeks after Election Day, when Joseph R. Biden Jr. narrowly won Georgia. Those actions include phone calls that Mr. Trump made to pressure state officials to overturn the result, as well as harassment of local election workers by Trump supporters, false claims of ballot fraud, a plan by Trump allies to create a slate of bogus electors and a data breach at an elections office in rural Coffee County, Ga. …
A grand jury in Atlanta began hearing evidence on Monday …
NY Times – August 14
A grand jury in Atlanta began hearing evidence on Monday in a Georgia prosecutor’s investigation of Donald J. Trump and some of his former advisers, whose efforts to overturn the state’s 2020 election could result in a criminal indictment — the fourth against the former president. …
Catch up on the many cases against Mr. Trump.
Fun Facts about Georgia.
The entire GA congressional delegation, senators & congressmen, are Democrats,
The majorities in both houses of the GA state legislature are Democratic.
Otherwise, GA has been considered a very Red state, that happened to go with Biden in 2020.
270towin.com
Nope. The above is (mostly) wrong, of course.
The two US Senators are Dems.
In the US House, 9 are GOP, 5 are Dems.
Both house of the GA legislature are firmly under GOP control.
What Kemp and Raffensperger were responding to…
The Hill: Report on Monday will result in ‘complete exoneration’
Former President Trump said Tuesday that he plans to present new evidence of 2020 “presidential election fraud” in Georgia that, he claimed, will completely exonerate him and others charged in the sprawling indictment unveiled Monday night.
In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump said he would present his “large, complex, detailed, but irrefutable” report at a press conference in Bedminster, N.J., next Monday.
“A Large, Complex, Detailed but Irrefutable REPORT on the Presidential Election Fraud which took place in Georgia is almost complete & will be presented by me at a major News Conference at 11:00 A.M. on Monday of next week in Bedminster, New Jersey,” he said.
“Based on the results of this CONCLUSIVE Report, all charges should be dropped against me & others — There will be a complete EXONERATION! They never went after those that Rigged the Election,” Trump continued. “They only went after those that fought to find the RIGGERS!”
From the NY Times…