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Old Pal's avatar

It's a shame Garland didn't move faster, but really in 2021 or 2022 who could have predicted Eileen Cannon, the SCOTUS immunity ruling, and the possibility that Americans would actually re-elect this guy after everything. The person who deserves all the blame for Trump 2 is Mitch McConnell. He shut down the second impeachment based on a totally bogus interpretation of the Constitution. And he knew it was bogus.

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Hank Napkin's avatar

STIGMATA! END TIMES!1 STIGMATA!!!

"...in fact, Donny’s left hand recently appeared to have a hole in it."

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Hank Napkin's avatar

WOULD HE EVEN NOTICE?

"In the wake of a devastating report about the president's declining health, including inside accounts of Trump's purported hearing loss..."

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Edith Prickly's avatar

He’s spent his entire life not listening to anybody, so yes, why would he notice?

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Hank Napkin's avatar

To quote Your Favorite President, “Huh?”

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Joe Schmoe, Troublemaker's avatar

"We would also add that they all have the credibility of guys selling Rolexes from the inner pocket of a trenchcoat outside of a bar."🫡🥰

When I lived in The City (NYC) over two decades ago I was approached similarly multiple times, typically the spelling changed, tho: Rollex, Rolexx, you get the idea...😉

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Hank Napkin's avatar

"Each morning I cover my fantastically white body -- so beautiful -- in my own blend of oil. Crude. Whale. Some stuff from the fryer. What I'm sayin' is I'm a slippery bastard!" -- Codename : Shambles

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Whale Chowder's avatar

HEY!

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Hank Napkin's avatar

Favorite Black Adder joke: "Thick as a whale omelet."

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Skunk Formerly Known As Stoner's avatar

The SCOTUS six are guilty of obstruction of justice for their role in delaying Trump’s trial. But I don’t think they could have let him off the hook if it had gone to trial. The evidence was and is so overwhelmingly damning that they knew he was guilty and knew he would be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt if it went to trial. They couldn’t have overturned that on appeal; too much would be clear by then. So their only play was delay, delay, delay, which they did, to obstruct justice.

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DemoCat's avatar
1hEdited

Jim Jordan has always been a meathead. But what did he actually expect to happen here? He thought he could gotcha a man whose life and career will be defined by his aborted prosecution of Donald Trump? “You were forced to prosecute Donald Trump when Joe Biden weaponized the DOJ and went after his political opponent. Do you agree that weaponizing the DOJ is bad, yes or no?”

Smith was always going to defend the integrity of his work, the basis for the charges against Trump and his confidence that had Trump himself not aborted the prosecution, Smith would have prevailed and Trump would have been convicted. It just TOOK TOO LONG.

Garland will have to live out his remaining golden years knowing he was beaten and denied by the GOP twice. He was charged with perhaps the greatest responsibility to protect American democracy in our history, and he failed. There is no rational, sensible, legally plausible way that Trump should have been permitted access to the United States government again after what he did. The correct outcome was plainly visible. The path to justice and accountability was there. The deadline was 4 years, but realistically 2-3 years to complete the process before the election year. Failure to see that through wasn’t an option. Garland surely has a family and grandkids or maybe nieces and nephews. The future was at stake and the failure to hold Trump accountable has come with dire consequences. This entire cruel timeline and all the pain and suffering to the millions of people affected by Trump’s policies is the result. I’m sure Garland’s version is different and he copes the best he can.

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Kira Thomsen-Cheek's avatar

Perfectly put. Cogent. Unsparing. And I for one hope to FUCK that Garland is in agonies of self-doubt and recrimination every single sucking remaining day of his worthless, mealy-mouthed little life.

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Virgin Monk Boy's avatar

This is the quiet part Republicans hoped would stay buried under holiday hangovers.

Smith didn’t editorialize. He just kept pointing back to the same inconvenient source. Trump himself.

The most damning thing here isn’t drama or tone. It’s how boringly procedural the truth sounds once the spin runs out.

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Oy!'s avatar

So Jim Jordan's New Year's Eve Jack Smith data dump worked - I don't see any stories on the NYTimes, the Guardian or any of the usual news sites I visit. It's all so "last week" . . .

But maybe with the Jan 6th anniversary coming up, Jack Smith's deposition will get some replay?

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DemoCat's avatar

“It was the greatest failure of federal law enforcement in American history, and we and the rest of the world will all be paying for it for the rest of our lives.“

I’m sure entire books will be written about the delay in bringing charges and the failure to adjudicate Trump’s culpability for J6 and The Big Lie. After all that’s happened, knowing what we know now, I’m not so sure Trump winning a second term in 2020 wouldn’t have been better in the long run. Biden achieved a great deal in the first couple years of his term, and his decisive victory was what we all desperately needed in 2020. But if we knew it would be a respite, and that Trump would somehow survive all his indictments and the fall from “grace” (he never had any grace) to come back far more vindictive, unrestrained and 4 years older, would we flip the script and have him finishing his second term in 2024 and America having a new start sooner?

I’m sure it’s insane. He lost Bigly in ‘20 and should have lost again in ‘24 if life was fair or even rational. But here we are, and it’s all bad.

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Denise Donaldson's avatar

I personally think he DID lose last November. But Elon's hacker posse fixed it.

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DemoCat's avatar

I hate to think I’ve become no better than the wingers howling about 7 million phantom votes being cast for Biden in 2020, but I’m willing to admit I don’t trust our voting system anymore, not since what the GOP did in 2020 and in response to it. Biden won in a landslide, from a popular vote perspective. He won a very close battle in the electoral college in the swing states. Those states’ results were scrutinized and recounted carefully. I believe GA, PA and AZ all had audits by republicans, and all confirmed Biden’s victory or found even more votes for Biden, in AZ case. But because of the Big Lie, Trump and the GOP used the false pretext of fraud to justify their own manipulation before 2024. They certainly used open tactics like gerrymandering and clearing voter rolls and trying to make voting harder, but I’m willing to accept the possibility that Musk and powerful people like him used technology to put their thumbs on the scale. Throughout history the integrity of voting has been questioned, and the usual way to overcome it is with an overwhelming, resounding win. Even with gop fuckery, if everyone votes there is no way the gop wins. Sadly, it takes something as awful as this current era to get voters to wake up again and vote.

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Runfastandwin's avatar

yeah fuck him. he could've told us all this last year when it would have made a difference. I award him no points in fact I dock him two touchdowns.

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Skunk Formerly Known As Stoner's avatar

Smith? He did tell us. I remember even if you don’t. Perhaps you should blame the press for failing to cover it more widely.

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Sherry's avatar

How in the hell did Jordan get elected? He has to be the dumbest person in congress to not see how the wind even blows. Apparently he suffers from poor reading comprehension if he thought that Smiths report ever once exonerated rump.

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Denise Donaldson's avatar

Jordan's district is completely gerrymandered to include only rural, very red communities in Ohio.

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Zyxomma's avatar

Ta, Marcie. That was not incredible, it was all too fucking credible. Gym Jordan should not be in Congress, or anywhere near power of any sort. And just to be unserious for a moment, the man to Jack Smith's right (I'm assuming that's his attorney) could be played in the movie by Kyle MacLachlan. Happy New Year again, and good day, beloved Wonketteers. It was lovely seeing so many beautiful faces yesterday. We love and appreciate you all and we bless us all with love, health, peace, and grace.

Please, please stay safe. Wear a mask or two, wash your hands, sanitize when you cannot wash and let the sanitizer dry completely, stop touching your face, take Vitamin D, get a booster shot six months after your last, and catch up on any other vaccinations you need, avoid indoor and crowded outdoor gatherings and when you must meet, remove masks only to eat, drink, and take quick photos, and stay the fuck away from me and everyone with whom you do not share a roof. Do this because you love yourself, and because I love you, too. Do this in memory of dear departed family and friends like Forever 27 Treg and heroic Tony, Holly's pilot friend, among nearly eight million dead worldwide. Do this to honor the nurses and other frontline medical personnel (we love and appreciate you, Medicos of Wonkette), particularly ICU Hera Mrs Land Shark RN. Be kind, especially to yourself, and please stay safe.

Slava Ukraini. 🌻🇺🇦💙💛

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helenasgarden's avatar

Jack Smith reminds me of a razor sharp sword of Damocles. Or the next step after tumbrels.

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SethTriggs's avatar

Well, I know it's great to say that the pricktator got away with it because of Merrick Garland, but honestly the "Official Immunity" gift and Loose Cannon are way bigger factors. It was clear in *2024* that Smith had the pricktator dead to rights. I think downplaying that fact and that Americans gladly voted for the felon over the law-abiding lady despite knowing that he's a felon is the bigger thing to think about.

Keep in mind, the election was AFTER the pricktator was convicted of 34 felonies in a SEPARATE case. He's already been banned from operating charities in my state. Americans knew all this. People need to understand why the pricktator was voted for; he was voted to smash the minorities that many Americans hate...even if they are parts of minority groups themselves.

And again I say this not as a fan of Garland because IMO he should've been gone for the Robert Hur screwjob. But definitely should not be gone or blamed for this.

You have a case like THIS against someone as entrenched and powerful as the pricktator you have to cross every T and dot every I. And you have to make it absolutely unimpeachable. This is exactly why they had to go outside the law with both Loose Cannon and "official immunity." Know how I know this? Look what fucking happened to Fani Willis. She brought the case quickly and oh, look the acolytes found some bullshit that would never work for anyone not the champion of the unreconstructed. And what did people, even on this site do? They started berating HER.

We know how this works. If you are a Democrat, you bring the case RIGHT. We even see what happens with Letitia James, who has multiple Ws against the pricktator yet he escapes real consequences.

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Denise Donaldson's avatar

Well, Fani Willis did commit a major stupidity that gave the appearance of impropriety. As much as I wanted to see her nail that POS, my heart just sank when news came out of her affair with the prosecutor she appointed.

As for Garland, there's being meticulously careful, which was essential, and there's moving glacially, which could be translated as slow-walking. I fault him for cowardice.

And I don't accept the premise that the blob got enough votes to win. Not without help from Elon's crew of hackers.

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Runfastandwin's avatar

there is no RIGHT way to bring a case any more. given FOUR YEARS Biden did fuck all.

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Zyxomma's avatar

Yes. We had our honeymoon on the Outer Banks of NC. When we went food shopping and the like, we had to drive past a sign that said, "I'm voting for the convicted felon." Under the sign was an Israeli flag, and I'm all but certain that was not a Jewish household.

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Oy!'s avatar

Who is the guy questioning Jack Smith? I'm looking in the transcript and it looks like all the inquisitors' names are redacted. What's up with that??

For the COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY:

⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️, CHIEF CLERK

⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️, GENERAL COUNSEL

⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR AND COUNSEL

⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️, DEPUTY GENERAL COUNSEL

⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️, PROFESSIONAL STAFF MEMBER

⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️, CLERK

⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️, DIGITAL DIRECTOR

⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️,CHIEF COUNSEL FOR OVERSIGHT

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Schmannity's avatar

They must fear swatting by their own

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