Daniel Rodriguez (photo, left), 40, of Fontana, California, is the rioter who tased Officer Michael Fanone in the neck during the Jan. 6 riot. A federal judge sentenced him to 12½ years in prison on Wednesday, June 21, 2023, CNN reported here. Prosecutors characterized Rodri[...]
Archive for the ‘Donald Trump’ Category
John Eastman’s disbarment hearing begins
He’s the Trump lawyer behind the fake electors scheme and author of the so-called “coup memo” (details here). That got him fired from a teaching job at a Colorado law school; and now the state bar of California, where he’s licensed and has a practice, is seeking to disbar him[...]
Three of a kind
Demagogues have more in common with each other than us. America’s Trump, Britain’s Boris Johnson, and Italy’s Berlusconi aren’t carbon copies of each other, but they do bear a strong resemblance. For one thing, they lie a lot; and they’ll subvert the rule of law “[...]
Miami Cuban restaurant photo-op was classic Trump
Trump went straight from his Mar-a-Lago documents case arraignment in a Miami federal courthouse to a Cuban-cuisine restaurant called the Versailles, where he called out, “Food for everyone!” On their own dime, it turned out, because Trump left before anyone could order. He himself ate [...]
Nikki Haley says she’ll pardon Trump
Nikki Haley, who’s running for president, says if she’s elected she’ll pardon Trump for his classified documents crimes (see story here). “When you look at a pardon, the issue is less about guilt, and more about what’s good for the country,” Haley said. Right. From that persp[...]
Nobody’s safe from MAGA mobs
A strange, but predictable, scene unfolded outside the Miami courthouse where Donald Trump was arraigned in the Mar-a-Lago documents case on Tuesday, June 13, 2023. As Miami Mayor Francis Suarez pushed his way through pro-Trump demonstrators, catcalls rang out: “We’ve got a swamp monster[...]
The strange case of Mr. Pho
Nghia Pho (photo, left), a software developer, went to work for the NSA in 2005. Mr. Pho held security clearances, and received training in the handling of classified materials. In a press release here, the Department of Justice said, “The privilege of working for the U.S. Intelligence Community r[...]
The GOP’s moral disease
A Huffington Post article on Monday, June 13, 2023 (read it here), summed it up: “Despite all the criminal accusations and investigations, Trump remains the Republican front-runner for the 2024 presidential nomination.” To be fair, Trump has only been found civilly liable for sexual assa[...]
It’s a trap!
They’re not coming for Trump, they’re coming for you. That’s the message Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) is sending out to his fellow rightwing fanatics ahead of Trump’s arraignment in a Miami federal court. In a press release (here), he claims, “This latest DOJ persecution a[...]
What’s at stake in Trump’s trial
Now that he’s been indicted, Trump is entitled to a presumption of innocence, and a fair trial. Those are bedrock principles of the U.S. legal system. Trump “has a lot at stake” in the case, a New York Times writer says. “He could, in theory, go to prison for years.” Bu[...]