The Lawrence O’Donnell Factor: Will the Trump Jury Exercise Blind Justice or Willful Blindness? May 24, 2024 1/2

Below is my column on Fox.com on the closure of the government and defense cases in the Trump trial. It is clear that the government is going to achieve its objective in avoiding a direct verdict and giving this matter to the jury, which it hopes that the paucity of direct evidence of a crime will be overcome with an abundance of hostility to Donald Trump. As I previously have written,I am still hopeful that these jurors will vindicate the New York legal system with at least a hung jury. In the end, we will see if a Manhattan jury will exercise blind justice or willful blindness.

Here is the column:

With closing arguments scheduled for Tuesday, May 28, the prosecution of former President Donald Trump will finally head to a jury. Judge Juan Merchan has refused every opportunity to bring an end to this politically manufactured prosecution.Now it will be up to 12 New Yorkers to do what neitherthe court nor the prosecutors were willing to do:adhere to the rule of lawregardless of the identity of the defendant.

Merchan has allowed the government to bring back into life a dead misdemeanor and convert it into 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. To accomplish this legal regeneration, Manhattan District AttorneyAlvin Bragg has vaguely referenced a variety of crimesthat Trump allegedly was trying to conceal through the business record violations.

The problem is that he has left the secondary crime mired in uncertainty to the point that experts on various networks are still debating what the underlying theory is in the case.

Indeed, Bragg is expected to finally state with clarity what he is alleging … at the closing arguments of the case.

In the meantime, theprosecution is pushing to make it easier for the jury to convict. First, they havevaguely referenced a variety of possible offensesfrom tax to election violations. Bragg initially laid out four possible predicate crimes. It is down to three – a tax crime and violations of state or federal election law. (Pick a crime any crime!)

Merchan has ruled that the 00jury does not have to agree on what crimes were being covered up so the jury could literally have three different views of what happened in the case and still convict Trump.==

Prosecutors are also seeking to effectively shorten the playing field byallowing the jurors to convict on a lower standard of prooffor the key term in using “unlawful means.” The defense wants the jury instructed that it must find that such use of “unlawful means” was done with willful intent.

The prosecutors do not want to use that higher standard. For the defense, it is effectively reducing the field to the end zone to make it easier for the prosecution to score.

In the last few days, the Bragg strategy has come into sharper focus in one respect. Bragg is not counting on the evidence or the law.He is counting on the jury.Call it the Lawrence O’Donnell factor.

After Michael Cohen imploded on the stand in the trial, even experts and hosts on MSNBC and CNN stated that his admissions and contradictions were devastating. Cohen is not only accused of committing perjury in his testimony, buthe matter-of-factly detailed how he stole tens of thousands of dollarsfrom the Trump organization.

After being disbarred and convicted as a serial perjurer,Cohen waited for the statute of limitations to run on larcenyto admit that he stole as much as $50,000 by pocketing money intended for a contractor.

Liberal commentators acknowledged the fact that Cohen had committed a far more serious offense than the converted misdemeanor against Trump (but was never charged). Yet,one figure stepped forward to assure the public that all was well.…

https://jonathanturley.org/2024/05/24/the-lawrence-odonnell-factor-will-the-trump-jury-exercise-blind-justice-or-willful-blindness/

>>20918460

2/2

MSNBC host O’Donnell said that he watched the testimony and that Cohen did wonderfully. Keep in mind that Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche asked Cohen point blank: “So you stole from the Trump organization, right?” Cohen answered unequivocably: “Yes, sir.”

O’Donnell, however, rushed outside todeclare that Cohen was merely acquiring a bonusthat he thought that he deserved as a type of “self-help”:

“Cohen [was trying] to rebalance the bonus he thought he deserved. And it still came out as less than the bonus he thought he deserved and the bonus he had gotten the year before.”

In other words,he first determined that his employer should pay him moreand then elected to lie to his employer and steal the money. It is akin to New Jersey Democrat Sen. BobMenendez claiming, in his nearby trial, that the gold bars and cash found in his home were just his effort to secure a well-deserved bonus for his public service.

O’Donnell was widely mocked for his galactic spin. However, he reflects the greatest danger for the Trump team. O’Donnell was showing a type of willful blindness; a refusal to acknowledge even the most shocking disclosures in the trial.

Some of the jurors admitted that MSNBC is one on their news sources and they exhibit the same all-consuming O’Donnell obsession with Trump. If so, they could listen to contradiction to contradiction and simply not recognize them like the MSNBC host. For some, Cohen could burst into flames on the stand but their eyes will not move from the person behind the defense table.

Many viewers have been raised in an echo chamber of news coverage where they avoid opposing facts on both the left and the right. They actively tailor their news to fulfill a narrative or viewpoint.A jury of O’Donnell’s peers would convict Trumpeven if theAngel Gabriel appeared at trialas a defense character witness.

It is the ultimate jury instruction not from the court but from the community. With jurors “back in the world” for six days and going to holiday cookouts and events, they will likely hear much of that social judgment and the need to “rebalance” the political ledger through this case.

https://jonathanturley.org/2024/05/24/the-lawrence-odonnell-factor-will-the-trump-jury-exercise-blind-justice-or-willful-blindness/

(Anons say some prayers for the juror that God gives them the objectieve reasoning and justice to handle this lawfully)

26 May, 2024 10:06

US strike on Russian targets would be ‘start of world war’ – Medvedev

The former president’s warning comes after Poland said Washington would hit Russian targets if Moscow were to use nukes in Ukraine

Any US attack on Russian targets in Ukraine would automatically trigger a world war, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has warned.

The official, who currently serves as Deputy Chair of Russia’s Security Council, made the remarks after Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski claimedWashington had threatened to conduct such a strike should Russia use nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, Medvedev suggested that Sikorski “apparently, has decided to scare his masters.” He noted that Washington, unlike Warsaw, has so far refrained from making any such threats publicly “because they are more cautious” than the Poles.

“Americans hitting our targets means starting a world war,and a Foreign Minister, even of a country like Poland, should understand that,”Medvedev added.

The former Russian president also cited remarks made by Polish President Andrzej Duda last month, when he said his country would be willing to host US nuclear weapons if offered such an opportunity under NATO’s sharing mechanism.Medvedev warnedthat in case of a nuclear confrontation “Warsaw won’t be left out, and will surely get its share of radioactive ash,” asking if this is the outcome the Polish leadership really wants.

On Saturday, in an interview with the Guardian newspaper, Sikorski expressed skepticism regarding a hypothetical Russian nuclear strike in Ukraine.

“The Americans have told the Russians that if you explode a nuke, even if it doesn’t kill anybody, we will hit all your targets [positions] in Ukraine with conventional weapons, we’ll destroy all of them,” he claimed, describing the presumed warning as a “credible threat.” The Polish diplomat alleged that China and India have also warned Russia against a nuclear escalation.

The minister also suggested that Ukraine’s Western backers should allow Kiev to use their weapons to strike military targets on Russian territory as “apart from not using nuclear weapons, [Moscow] does not limit itself much.”

According to Sikorski, the EU should not be afraid to escalate the situation, and should not impose limits on itself regarding the Ukraine conflict, so that Moscow is left guessing what the next step will be.

While the US and its allies have on several occasions accused Moscow of nuclear saber-rattling, President Vladimir Putin insisted in March that at no point during the Ukraine conflict has Russia considered using such weapons. Around the same time, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stressed that Russia’s nuclear doctrine envisages theuse of weapons of mass destruction only “if something threatens the existence of our country,” echoing a previous statement by the head of state. The official also described the deterrent as a “farewell weapon.”

During his annual address to the Federal Assembly in late February, Putin warned would-be aggressors that the nuclear arsenal was in a state of “complete readiness for guaranteed deployment.”

Earlier this month, the Russian leader ordered an exercise in the use of tactical nuclear weapons in the Southern Military District, which borders Ukraine. According to statements by the Foreign and Defense Ministries, the exercises were meant as a warning to the US and its allies, following escalatory rhetoric from the West.

https://www.rt.com/russia/598254-medvedev-us-strike-targets-polish/

26 May, 2024 13:13

No country can survive conflict with Russia alone – Zelensky

Ukraine’s leader urges the world to unite against Moscow

(Zelensky reveals the obvious, they could never win a war against Russia, now he wants WWIII to cover up for lies and failure, and theft. Zelensky is losing support drastically with the West, his own people don’t believe he should be in power, so he wants countries to use his bully tactics. He will be taken out of his position soon, his desperation is accelerating)

Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has urged the global community to work together against Russia, stressing that no nation can single-handedly survive a war with Moscow.

In an interview with Central Asian media outlets on Saturday, Zelensky said the goal should be to ensure that President Vladimir Putin “thinks about his survival and his security,” and that “the Russians think about how they can avoid losing the independence of their country – without threatening them – simply by showing how united the world is, how strong it is.”

Such unity is needed because “no one can survive a full-scale war with the Russians on its own,” the Ukrainian leader stated, as quoted by the Kazakh online magazine Vlast.

"We were alone, we were on our own” when Russia launched its military operation against Ukraine in February 2022, Zelensky claimed. “But then we agreed with our partners on some sort of sanctions, some sort of weapons and other things,” he said, referring to the support provided by the West since the start of the conflict.

Even Beijing “must protect Ukraine because we were attacked,” as “China says that territorial integrity must be respected,” the politician argued.

Beijing has maintained a policy of neutrality on the Ukraine conflict, while consistently calling for a political settlement that would respect the interests of all sides. The Chinese authorities have blamed the hostilities on NATO’s eastward expansion, rebuffed Western calls to impose sanctions on Russia, and opted to boost trade with its neighbor.

Zelensky was also asked if he was concerned about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statement earlier this week that in Moscow’s view the Ukrainian leader’s legitimacy has “expired.”

Zelensky’s five-year term as Ukrainian President ended on Monday after he refused to stage a new election, citing martial law imposed due to the conflict.

”They don’t concern me much at all,” he replied. “These statements by the illegitimate president of Russia regarding the legitimacy of the president of Ukraine are, frankly speaking, boring and uninteresting.”

Putin won a fifth term in office in March, claiming 87.28% of the vote amid a record turnout of over 77%.

Zelensky argued that anybody who knows how to read laws can swiftly confirm that his continued stay in power is legal. “The Ukrainians know their Constitution, they know the law,” he added.

Russia’s PresidentVladimir Putin said last month that attempts by the US and its allies to isolate Russia have failed, and pledged to “expand pragmatic, equal, mutually beneficial, partnership relations with friendly countries in Eurasia, Africa and Latin America.”

According to the president, unlike the European elites, “who aren’t pursuing policies that are beneficial for their peoples,” there are many citizens on the continent who support Russia’s stance.

(This guy has so many excuses for his lies and failure, it’s not going over well)

https://www.rt.com/russia/598255-ukraine-zelensky-china-putin/

26 May, 2024 07:50

Russian jamming rendering much US-supplied weaponry ineffective – WaPo

Kiev has had to stop using some American arms due to Moscow’s electronic warfare capabilities, Ukrainian officials have said

Many US-made munitions that rely on satellite guidance have failed to withstand Russia’s jamming technology after being supplied to Kiev, the Washington Post reported on Friday.

The Ukrainian armed forces have had to stop using some of those armaments altogether because of Russia’s extensive electronic warfare capabilities, the paper said.

The affected munitions includeExcalibur GPS-guided artillery shells, rockets for HIMARS multiple rocket launch systems and JDAM aircraft-dropped bombs, the report read.

The US completely ceased deliveries of Excalibur shells half a year ago after Ukraine reported that they had been rendered ineffective, unnamed Ukrainian officials told WaPo.

The paper said that it had also reviewed an internal assessment by Kiev, according to which the success rate of the munitions fell to just 10% within several months. “The Excalibur technology in existing versions has lost its potential,” the document read, adding that the encounter with Russian jamming has disproved its reputation as a “one shot, one target” weapon.

The HIMARS system used to make headlines after being provided to Kiev in 2022, butthe next year “everything ended: the Russians deployed electronic warfare, disabled satellite signals, and HIMARS became completely ineffective,” a senior Ukrainian military official complained. Because of this, Kiev had to resort to deploying the “very expensive shell” against lower-priority targets, he said.

The success rate of JDAMs also dropped significantly just weeks after they were first provided to Kiev in February 2023 astheir “non-resistance” to jamming was revealed, the Ukrainian assessment stressed. During that period, theUS-made bombs were missing their targets by between 200 meters and 1.2km=, it said.

The Ukrainian officials told WaPo that getting the needed adjustments to the “failing weaponry” has been difficult due to “an overly bureaucratic process” in Washington. However, in the case of JDAMs, the manufacturer was able to provide a patch and the munitions are still being used by Kiev, according to the sources.

On Saturday,Russia’s President Vladimir Putin saidthat since the start of the conflict between Moscow and Kiev in February 2022, theproduction of electronic warfare equipment has increased 15-fold in the country.

Russia has warned repeatedly that deliveries of weapons systems to Kiev by the US and its allies will not prevent Moscow from achieving its military goals, adding that it will merely prolong the fighting and could increase the risk of a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO. According to officials in Moscow, the provision of arms, the sharing of intelligence, and the training of Ukrainian troops means that Western nations have already become de-facto parties to the conflict.

(This report is a reflection on how inferior American and Western weapons are inferior. Americans should more concerned with these reports because our weapons industry seem to be a failure.)

https://www.rt.com/news/598251-ukraine-himars-us-jamming/

That’s it? That’s all he has to offer? RFKjr has very few solutions

https://www.rt.com/news/598230-us-candidate-kennedy-assange-monument-hero/

>>20918721

Agreed, Pompeo is seemingly more dangerous. He actually believes he is a religious person. But he loves war and money

>>20918813

She’s planning a coup against Trump at the convention to try to force him to take her on as VP.

Burgum will be VP

>>20918839

Even if he gets the Libertarian vote its only 3% of the election, based on Trump’s speech last night, he won over quite a few that were against him. He also said you can Nominate me or just vote for me. He gave them a choice because he knew they wouldn’t nominate him. RFKjr will only hurt Bidan. Many were upset that Joe thought so little if them he wouldn’t even show up.

Buttttt that would have been the funniest thing to ever see