Trump era: Fascist dawn, or road to liberation?

[Ruth]

A lawyer's perspective on Schiff's closing arguments. It's a bit like magic tricks or acting. Who knew?!

[aragorn]

Having watched a little bit of the proceedings by Trump's lawyers in the impeachment trial, I have to say that I'm quite impressed by their thoroughness, clarity, and fact based arguing. I think they have a smart strategy, where they started by 'setting the scene' presenting an overview, and then slowly narrowing down on the more specific details. It's all 'lawyer talk', of course and it can be boring for the 'average joe' to follow, but smartly they have inserts of video clips every now and then that brings the points home.

So far I think that the two ladies, Pam Bondi and Jane Raskin have been the most impressive ones. Bondi made a solid presentation showing how corrupt and shady the Bidens are, and Raskin made a rhetorically brilliant talk about the role of Giuliani. Comparing the presentation by these two ladies to e.g. Schiff's nonsensical ramblings, is like comparing adults to a 5-year old.

Here are two clips for those of you who haven't seen them yet:

Pam Bondi:

Jane Raskin

It's interesting, that YouTube doesn't allow me to share these videos by the usual 'Share' button.

[SummerLite]

I watched the opening statements On YouTube by the Republicans (2 hours) and was also very impressed with their presentation. An important point they presented was all the testimony from "witnesses" the Dems omitted from public view which indicated Trumps innocence. Now the big news is John Bolton may be called to testify. I don't see any reason to trust what he has to say. I'll get caught up on the defense of the president when I have the time since its worth listening to unlike the Dems who where ridiculous. zzzzzz, didn't bother to listen but for about 30 seconds which told me the whole story, unsurprising. .

[herondancer]

Nice that the best chunks of the proceedings are being made available on CSPAN without all the procedural rigormerole that makes these things so tedious. Cipollone had a corker of a wrap-up, with even a gentle nod to those Dems who would rather be out campaigning. Enjoy.

现在争论称目击者或没有,gins. Some have had it with impeachment. Others, like Giuliani, are chomping to testify. Personally I'd want to see everyone grilled on the stand, from Schiff, who IS a fact witness no matter how often he say he isn't, Ciaramella, Comey, Weissman, Rosenstein, Priestap, Ohr (both of 'em), Steele, Halper, Mifsud, Clapper, Brennan (especially!), the Bidens and the rest of that sorry lot. Trump's legal team would shred them. There wouldn't be enough popcorn!

But since it would drag everything out even longer, which again, is bad for the Dem presidential hopefuls, the behind the scenes pressure to wrap it up is probably enormous. Biden might actually start pulling ahead in the polls for real if he's left out there on his own for too long.

[aragorn]

Having watched yesterday some of the Q&A, I have to say that Patrick Philbin was just outstanding. He knew the facts, the law and the details in and out, and effectively shot down every issue that the Dem side brought up (they looked like complete amateurs compared to him). The following was one of the best moments:

[Voyageur]

Cipollone had a corker of a wrap-up, with even a gentle nod to those Dems who would rather be out campaigning. Enjoy.

Sure did.

That WH counsel, Cipollone, held up a big historical mirror for the Dems in the room, and some Dems in the room were likely featured as theyhid their heads. Can you not see people's sideways glance at them with their added expressions of hypocrisy. Smart play by counsel in these crazy 'house' games.

(with Butter) indeed.

[aragorn]

The Dems are pounding the points of how the trial is not fair without witnesses (e.g. Bolton) and about the President’s ‘blanket refusals’, and their histrionics are laughable. My guess is that their plan is twofold: 1) they are wishfully hoping that there’s enough pressure (from SM and the Fake News) to make senators to decide to hear more witnesses, wanting to prolong the process as long as possible (think Goebbels: when something is repeated long enough...) 2) after the probable acquittal, they together with their Fake News will claim loudly and visibly how the trial was not fair, and thus Trump is still guilty, hoping to persuade the people not to vote for him.

Schiff and others on his side are text book examples of psychopaths, who think they are smart when they are not, and who think that they can create their own reality by just saying so.

[aragorn]

It’s becoming obvious that the Dems are setting up the scene for option 2 in my previous post. In Pelosi’s latest presser, she said that (paraphrased) “Trump can’t be acquitted, because the ongoing trial is not a trial, since there are no witnesses”. I also just read, that she’s saying that she’s going to quit her post as speaker if Trump is acquitted.

This makes ‘perfect sense’: she can quit as a martyr, Trump willalwaysbe guilty (because the trial was unlawful), and she can finally drink her Martinis all day long, without the need to stay sober for those press conferences!

[herondancer]

For your viewing pleasure, the Dems wind up the Q&A. Make sure to watch all the vids, especially the one linked in the last article tweet!

Democrat circus doesn't disappoint: Schiff lapped by Nadler in race for last word in Q & A portion of Trump impeachment -- Sott.net

"Jerry. Jerry. Jerry!" House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff tried to stop House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler from having the last word in the question and answer portion of the Senate impeachment trial on Thursday. As Senators prepared to...

www.sott.net

[angelburst29]

Now Trump levels the playing field ... I sense, there will be a lot more toy soldiers hitting the dust?

Two days after his acquittal, Trump ousts two star impeachment witnesses

President Donald Trump's administration on Fridayousted the two witnesses who provided the most damaging testimony during his impeachment investigation: Army Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman and Ambassador Gordon Sondland.

U.S. Ambassador to EU Sondland says Trump intends to recall him from his post

U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, who testified in President Donald Trump's impeachment inquiry, said on Friday that Trump intends to recall him from his post.

[bjorb]

Not the most energetic State of the Union Adress ever hold, thanks to the Democrats. But telling nonetheless.

Democrats REFUSE To Applaud American Prosperity at the 2020 State of the Union Address.

It all feels so pathetic, “let’s not clap for him!” and “I’ll rip his speech up!” While they are consistently looking to each other for confirmation and support. Sore and sad individuals. The nonstop impeachment proceedings must have worn them out.

[SummerLite]

Bongino gives his take on the State of the Union address pointing out 3 acts of political genius. Appealing to Black and Latino voters and the one I find particularly interesting, setting up Pelosi for a melt down! According to his insiders, its known Pelosi has a volcanic temper that explodes at the smallest slight, (like Hillary). Trump deliberately didn't shake her hand knowing she wouldn't be able to handle it and then she proceeded to be discombobulated, on camera for the rest of the speech resulting in tearing up the speech. If correct a brilliant move and well done! At 22:13 he describes.

[SummerLite]

Bombards body language mainly concerning Pelosi. Interesting footage before speech begins and commentary on Pelosi and Schumer's high stress levels resulting in speaking to oneself. At 16:55 very bizarre footage of Chuck Schumer telling an invisible person to get out of his chair.

[angelburst29]

Switzerland said on Tuesday it was probing reports that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and the German BND spy service used a Swiss firm's encryption technology to crack other nations' top-secret messages.

Swiss investigate report that firm helped CIA break codes

The company, called Crypto AG, sold code-making equipment to Iran, Latin American nations, India, Pakistan and dozens of other countries. The technology was modified to let the CIA and Germany’s BND break codes,the Washington Post reported along with German and Swiss broadcasters ZDF and SRF.

The reports cite a classified CIA history to underpin the allegations, some of which date back at least to 1992, when one of Crypto’s employees was arrested and held in Iran for nine months as a suspected spy.

At the time, the company called reports that it was a secret asset of Western intelligence agencies “an unbelievable conspiracy theory,” according to a report in German magazine Focus detailing a 1994 book on the subject.

After being told late last year of fresh research about the company, the Swiss government in January appointed a former Swiss Supreme Court judge to scrutinize Crypto’s activities “to investigate and clarify the facts of the matter”, the defense ministry said in a statement.

“The events under discussion date back to 1945and are difficult to reconstruct and interpret in the present day context,” it added.

Judge Niklaus Oberholzer is due to report back by the end of June, after which the Swiss cabinet will be briefed.

报道称至少四个国家——以色列,Sweden, Britain and neutral Switzerland — knew of the operation, known as “Operation Rubicon”, or were in on some of the secrets it unearthed.

According to one document attributed to the CIA history of the operation, the U.S. spy agency and its West German counterparts overcame cultural differences and divergent interests “again and again, to fashion the most profitable intelligence venture of the Cold War”.

The company was liquidated in 2018.A successor company, Crypto International, owned by Swedish national Andreas Linde, said on its website the story was “distressing”. The company was now under new ownership and had no connections to the CIA or German spy agency, it said.

The Post said another successor company, CyOne Security, also denied any involvement with foreign intelligence agencies.

Attorney General William Barr accuses Chinese Military for hacking Equifax - Chinese Government denies the claim.

U.S. charges four Chinese military hackers in 2017 Equifax breach
The United States has charged four Chinese military hackers in the 2017 breach of the Equifax credit reporting agency that affected nearly 150 million American citizens, Attorney General William Barr said on Monday.

China denies engaging in cyber theft following U.S. indictments on Equifax case
China's foreign ministry said on Tuesday the Chinese government and the military do not engage or participate in the theft of trade secrets through the internet. Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters during a daily briefing that China is also a victim of U.S. cyber theft, surveillance and monitoring and said Beijing demands the United States stop such acts.

Federal Prosecutors recommend 7-9 years for Roger Stone - Trump steps in - U.S. Justice Department will seek shorter sentence.

U.S. DOJ to seek lighter prison term for Trump adviser Stone: reports
The U.S. Department of Justice will seek a shorter prison sentence for Roger Stone,a convicted associate of President Donald Trump,than the 7 to 9 years recommended by federal prosecutors,media outlets reported on Tuesday, hours after Trump tweeted that it was unfair.

Under pressure from Trump, U.S. seeks shorter sentence for his adviser Stone
Under pressure from President Donald Trump, the U.S. Justice Department on Tuesdayabruptly moved to seek a shorter prison sentencefor veteran Republican operative and long-time Trump adviser and friend Roger Stone,与所有四个检察官戒烟after the highly unusual reversal.

[Ruth]

Tim Pool is becoming increasingly worried about a major escalation of federal law enforcement to sanctuary cities.