US Politics Thread 2021-24

[mapuc]

It didn't take long
"Trump will appeal guilty verdict in hush-hush case"

https://ekstrabladet-dk.translate.go..._x_tr_pto=wapp

Markus

[ET2SN]

One of the things that no one has thought about, yet.

Trump can no longer be briefed on anything classified as "Secret" or above.

Those Presidential Daily Briefing folders would be a snap to prepare. Just a newspaper and maybe the latest edition of People magazine.

[Rockstar]

Transpac ecommerce freighters on pause as US Customs checks every parcel

https://theloadstar.com/transpac-eco...-every-parcel/

By Alex Lennane 31/05/2024
The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency is inspecting every single ecommerce shipment coming from mainland China on freighters – leading to airport congestion, delays and the cancellation or suspension of some flights, according to sources.

“All freighters coming into LAX from mainland China, many of which are Shein and Temu, are going straight to Customs warehouses for full inspection,” said one source at LAX.

“And CBP is finding a lot of illegal stuff. There is fentanyl, drug-making equipment and misdeclarations of value to meet the de minimis threshold.”

The source added: “The US is finally cracking down on every shipment, and this is slowing things down a lot. The customs warehouse is packed full, and it’s causing a huge backlog of ecommerce.”

With estimates of 100 freighters a day carrying ecommerce into the US, perhaps 100 tons on each – there is a significant amount of cargo to check.

“The past few months have all been about new carriers coming in with more ecommerce,” said a source. “But we are now seeing these services suspended. We were, for example, expecting a five-times-a-week flight into Chicago, and that is on hold now.”

Another planned high-frequency flight into New York is also thought to have been paused.

One large forwarder confirmed that CBP are checking documentation and cargo descriptions “very closely”.

“It’s a sign that US Customs is trying to make it more difficult.”

One source named several freighter operators that were suspending flights. Shipments on flights from Hong Kong, according to sources, are not being checked, however, the US focusing on flights from the Chinese mainland.

A charter broker commented that the market was “really nervous”. Indeed, no one in the US air cargo industry wanted to go on the record – and the source said his Chinese customers were especially worried.

He said: “Temu has got a lot of capacity booked until the end of the year, and they’re starting to get very nervous about that.”

He added: “I’ve just received a note from our Chinese government guy that says ‘let us use an old Chinese saying. let the arrow fly a little, then we will know what happened’. They are really nervous, and just waiting to see what happens.”

At least one Chinese mainland carrier is thought to have halted freighters temporarily, to ensure that all shipments were fully checked at origin before going to the US, according to one source. Another said carriers such as CMA CGM Air Cargo, which was planning to begin flights from China to the US, would likely have to pause the launch slated for June. CMA CGM was approached for comment.

But sources said the US was unlikely to stop checking shipments any time soon, particularly following the discovery of fentanyl and drug-making equipment. Tighter security on the Mexican border has led drug smugglers to identify other routes – and air cargo is now one of them.

US Airforwarders Association executive director Brandon Fried told The Loadstar last month that the government’s focus on preventing the import of illegal drugs, or their chemical parts, could lead to 100% screening of all inbound shipments – which is effectively what is happening now.

He urged the government to find another method, warning that more screening would cause delays and congestion.

One ecommerce source said this was the real question for US air logistics now.

“Will [these illegal shipments] lead to additional screening measures for all inbound cargo? That is a good question.”

Fentanyl caused the death of 200 Americans every day in 2022 and over a quarter of a million have died from a fentanyl overdose since 2018. Fentanyl-type drugs reportedly caused the death of 100,000 Americans last year alone.

Check out The Loadstar’s ecommerce series, explaining the potential threats to air cargo, here.

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by ET2SN

One of the things that no one has thought about, yet.

Trump can no longer be briefed on anything classified as "Secret" or above.

Well he doesn't receive any briefings now, but once he formally is nominated by the GOP, he will start to receive some briefings, just like other candidates

[Platapus]

Of course, processes for dealing with a convicted felon president are, literally, unprecedented. Since this has not come up before, there are few case studies that can serve as a guide. Laws have not been written specifically addressing presidential felons.


Most of the rules and such deal with members of congress. It would be a safe assumption, but still an assumption, that the rules would not be more restrictive for an elected president.



What we do know


1. There is no prohibition on someone running for President nor being elected if they are a felon. It is left up to the people. Bottom line, if the people want to elect Trump, he will be elected.





2. If he is elected president, the official action would be that his sentence would be held "in abeyance", which is a legal term for temporarily suspended.



3. No state charges or action can interfere with the elected president from performing his duties while in office.



4. Regardless of any court action concerning handling of classified information, by the virtue of being elected by the people, a president would have the same security accesses that other presidents have.


When it comes to presidents, the intent was that the people can be trusted to vote for the right person (stop laughing!!)



As an aside, odds are that Trump will be able to vote in November.


He is a resident of Florida and Florida law states that a convicted felon in another state will have the same voting restrictions as the felon would have in the state of conviction.



In New York, a felon is only disenfranchised if they are sent to prison and that disenfranchisement ends when they leave prison. A felon in NY who is given a suspended sentence, or no prison time can still vote in NY and therefore, can vote in Florida.



Will Trump get prison time? Unknown


Normally first offenders for these sets of crimes are not given a prison term. However, the number of convictions (34) counts against him. Also judges are influenced by the convict's conduct and whether they accept responsibilities. Trump's conduct may count against him. Claiming that the judicial system and court are corrupt is not helping him.



I think it is extremely doubtful that he will serve any years in prison. It is possible that he may be given a token "one day and one hour" sentence to serve as an example.


But like everything connected with this and other upcoming cases, we are in unprecedented territory.



People can opine on what can or can not happen, but I don't think anyone is in a position to credibly predict what will happen.



We live in interesting times.

[mapuc]

Then I must have remembered wrong, 'cause during my research about felony running for President I found something interesting it was around 1896 where some prison ran for Presidency he got Ca 9 %.

Markus

[Buddahaid]

Originally Posted by August

You got the conviction you were hoping for. How you gonna feel when it helps him win the election?

How are you going to feel when you're proved just as wrong about that as you were about the trial?

Originally Posted by August

And why should he? Defendants only testify when it looks like they might lose and that doesn't seem to be the case with such a weak and flawed prosecution as your side has put on here.

[Skybird]

Hate, lie and fanatism as political obligation? Why not even as a civil duty? Our ancestors made experience with that over here, and in many other countries. It works wonders regarding overthrowing an existing political order. Any order.



https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ck77xpkr0x8o

[August]

Originally Posted by Buddahaid

How are you going to feel when you're proved just as wrong about that as you were about the trial?

I was wrong about the trials outcome because I expected justice to actually prevail. Silly me, obviously the fix was in. Like I have said before, your side is willing to do anything to stay in power and I fully expect that if Trump ever sees the inside of a New York prison he'll be getting Epstein's old cell.

[Rockstar]

Originally Posted by August

I was wrong about the trials outcome because I expected justice to actually prevail. Silly me, obviously the fix was in. Like I have said before, your side is willing to do anything to stay in power and I fully expect that if Trump ever sees the inside of a New York prison he'll be getting Epstein's old cell.

There’s always the appeal which you know they will do. Having pulled jury duty myself more than few times in my life. Lawyer theatrics, 10 years of media frenzy, political shenanigans can sway a juries opinion more than facts can sometimes.

CNN Senior Legal Analyst Describes How The Trump Conviction Was A Political Hit Job

1. "The judge donated money... in plain violation of a rule prohibiting New York judges from making political donations—to a pro-Biden, anti-Trump political operation."

2. Alvin Bragg boasted on the campaign trail in an overwhelmingly Democrat county, “It is a fact that I have sued Trump over 100 times.”

3. "Most importantly, the DA’s charges against Trump push the outer boundaries of the law and due process."

4. "The charges against Trump are obscure, and nearly entirely unprecedented. In fact, no state prosecutor — in New York, or Wyoming, or anywhere — has ever charged federal election laws as a direct or predicate state crime, against anyone, for anything. None. Ever."

5. The DA inflated misdemeanors past the statute of limitations and "electroshocked them back to life" by alleging the falsification of business records was committed 'with intent to commit another crime.'

6. "Inexcusably, the DA refused to specify what those unlawful means actually were — and the judge declined to force them to pony up — until right before closing arguments. So much for the constitutional obligation to provide notice to the defendant of the accusations against him in advance of trial."

7. "In these key respects, the charges against Trump aren’t just unusual. They’re bespoke, seemingly crafted individually for the former president and nobody else."

8. "The Manhattan DA’s employees reportedly have called this the “Zombie Case” because of various legal infirmities, including its bizarre charging mechanism. But it’s better characterized as the Frankenstein Case, cobbled together with ill-fitting parts into an ugly, awkward, but more-or-less functioning contraption that just might ultimately turn on its creator."

[Buddahaid]

Originally Posted by Rockstar

There’s always the appeal which you know they will do. Having pulled jury duty myself more than few times in my life. Lawyer theatrics, 10 years of media frenzy, political shenanigans can sway a juries opinion more than facts can sometimes.

CNN Senior Legal Analyst Describes How The Trump Conviction Was A Political Hit Job

1. "The judge donated money... in plain violation of a rule prohibiting New York judges from making political donations—to a pro-Biden, anti-Trump political operation."

2. Alvin Bragg boasted on the campaign trail in an overwhelmingly Democrat county, “It is a fact that I have sued Trump over 100 times.”

3. "Most importantly, the DA’s charges against Trump push the outer boundaries of the law and due process."

4. "The charges against Trump are obscure, and nearly entirely unprecedented. In fact, no state prosecutor — in New York, or Wyoming, or anywhere — has ever charged federal election laws as a direct or predicate state crime, against anyone, for anything. None. Ever."

5. The DA inflated misdemeanors past the statute of limitations and "electroshocked them back to life" by alleging the falsification of business records was committed 'with intent to commit another crime.'

6. "Inexcusably, the DA refused to specify what those unlawful means actually were — and the judge declined to force them to pony up — until right before closing arguments. So much for the constitutional obligation to provide notice to the defendant of the accusations against him in advance of trial."

7. "In these key respects, the charges against Trump aren’t just unusual. They’re bespoke, seemingly crafted individually for the former president and nobody else."

8. "The Manhattan DA’s employees reportedly have called this the “Zombie Case” because of various legal infirmities, including its bizarre charging mechanism. But it’s better characterized as the Frankenstein Case, cobbled together with ill-fitting parts into an ugly, awkward, but more-or-less functioning contraption that just might ultimately turn on its creator."

Right, just ignore the evidence and testimony that proved the case and go with conjecture and rainbow dreams of MAGA Karens.

[Rockstar]

Originally Posted by Buddahaid

Right, just ignore the evidence and testimony that proved the case and go with conjecture and rainbow dreams of MAGA Karens.

Do enlighten us tell us this evidence,

In fact I’ll even wager that after appeal you will once again be wrong as you and others have been for the last 7 or so years.

[ET2SN]

Originally Posted by Rockstar

There’s always the appeal which you know they will do. Having pulled jury duty myself more than few times in my life. Lawyer theatrics, 10 years of media frenzy, political shenanigans can sway a juries opinion more than facts can sometimes.

CNN Senior Legal Analyst Describes How The Trump Conviction Was A Political Hit Job

1. "The judge donated money... in plain violation of a rule prohibiting New York judges from making political donations—to a pro-Biden, anti-Trump political operation."

2. Alvin Bragg boasted on the campaign trail in an overwhelmingly Democrat county, “It is a fact that I have sued Trump over 100 times.”

3. "Most importantly, the DA’s charges against Trump push the outer boundaries of the law and due process."

4. "The charges against Trump are obscure, and nearly entirely unprecedented. In fact, no state prosecutor — in New York, or Wyoming, or anywhere — has ever charged federal election laws as a direct or predicate state crime, against anyone, for anything. None. Ever."

5. The DA inflated misdemeanors past the statute of limitations and "electroshocked them back to life" by alleging the falsification of business records was committed 'with intent to commit another crime.'

6. "Inexcusably, the DA refused to specify what those unlawful means actually were — and the judge declined to force them to pony up — until right before closing arguments. So much for the constitutional obligation to provide notice to the defendant of the accusations against him in advance of trial."

7. "In these key respects, the charges against Trump aren’t just unusual. They’re bespoke, seemingly crafted individually for the former president and nobody else."

8. "The Manhattan DA’s employees reportedly have called this the “Zombie Case” because of various legal infirmities, including its bizarre charging mechanism. But it’s better characterized as the Frankenstein Case, cobbled together with ill-fitting parts into an ugly, awkward, but more-or-less functioning contraption that just might ultimately turn on its creator."

9. He was found guilty on 34 charges by an impartial jury.

[Reece]

Impartial jury!! Says who?

[August]

Originally Posted by Reece

Impartial jury!! Says who?

About as impartial as a southern state jury from the 1950's would be to a black defendant.