Is the GOP attempting to take over state investigtions and indictments?

[jnug]

Not as per the current standards of the Biden DOJ.
Unless of course we factor in the present Biden DOJ standards of politicizing law enforcement against political opponents, that is.

You mean the TRUMP/BARR DOJ

 

[Tangmo]

depends upon how they are framing it

They're already making it up as they go along.

Because it's the only way there is to frame it.

You certainly don't present anything that "depends" on anything at all. There's only what you said. Which is nothing.

 

[Tangmo]

Simple to me. Just as the US attorney general does when he's questioned by congress, so should the Manhattan DA answer.

"I am sorry congressman; we don't discuss ongoing investigations".

If Bragg were to sit down in that Gym of a hearing room each Republican will holler at him for 15 minutes of Maga notoriety.

Your point about non cooperation is well taken for sure but it means being absolute, ie, total non cooperation to include staying away from the Republican Kangaroo Committee under its Big Top. Not to give these malevolent Maga America Haters in the House the public platform they desperately seek to abuse totally and with finality. Rand Paul in his own Maga World is already talking today to lock him up.

We know what these wild boars will do if they get Bragg into a hearing room in front of 'em.

The worst thing for the Maga America Haters is for Bragg to continue where he is, doing what he's doing and let the haters hate among themselves and where they are. Just let 'em pass around among themselves all the rope they want. These are a gang of compulsive psychos who won't stop until they are stopped.

 

[The AntiDonald]

A. I'm not a Trumptard.

B. That Trump is unique is completely irrelevant. The law is still the same. And the fact remains that getting a conviction here on the misdemeanor is going to be tough enough let only getting it upgraded to a felony. It's a waste of time and resources, and can be used by real Trumptards to scream "witch hunt" if/when the actual actual substantive investigations lead to indictments.

I'll give you A. But you can't possibly claim B because you have no idea what actual charges the DA will bring, if any. I seriously doubt the DA would risk his entire career on a case he knows he will not be able to win. Use a little common sense. The DA has something.

 

[Gaius46]

I'll give you A. But you can't possibly claim B because you have no idea what actual charges the DA will bring, if any. I seriously doubt the DA would risk his entire career on a case he knows he will not be able to win. Use a little common sense. The DA has something.

Well Bragg could certainly have something beyond what's been publicized already. No way to know. But I stand by statement that if all he's got is falsification of business records charge he's wasted his time and given Trump a PR gift.

 

[Athanasius68]

You mean the TRUMP/BARR DOJ

I am not aware there is a Trump/Barr DOJ.

 

[Athanasius68]

Stop...not nearly the same thing. Another false equivalency.

This is true.
One is a Democratic Congress actually interfering in a criminal investigation.
The other is a Republican Congress talking about maybe interfering in a criminal investigation.

 

[Athanasius68]

Good luck attaching federal funds directly to an investigation by the Manhattan DA

Don't have to. Should the DA's office receive funds appropriated by Congress, it would be entirely appropriate for Congress to cut off those funds if they think its being used politicized law enforcement. They can play political games on the backs of New York taxpayers then.

 

[Athanasius68]

Was there anything in the J6 investigation and the report that was not the truth, NO. MAGA's hate it and the GYM Jordan is trying to make it seem so because he and the whole bunch of them are so afraid of their cult leader Trump. What a bunch of wimps they have all become.

That Mr. Trump incited the crowd to storm the building comes to mind.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

That is standard procedure for House Republicans -- avoid the obvious issue, change the subject, and target the tormentor. That is exactly what House Republicans are doing -- avoid Trump's involvement entirely and blame the prosecutor and the Democrats.

CNN reports, "Donald Trump’s Republican allies in the House are doing what the former president taught them to do – use government power to try to keep his legal threats at bay.

"After Trump warned he could be arrested, his allies have been using their new House majority to demand Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s testimony and seek to thwart his investigation relating to an alleged hush money payment to an adult film star before the 2016 election. It looks like an extraordinary attempt to influence an open grand jury investigation.

"In fact, the House GOP appears to be using the exact same tactic they accuse the Biden administration, Bragg and any other investigators on Trump’s trail of employing – weaponizing the powers of government to advance a partisan political end."

Fox News reports, "Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office has issued a statement after top House Republicans demanded that Bragg testify to Congress on a possible indictment of former President Donald Trump.

"We will not be intimidated by attempts to undermine the justice process, nor will we let baseless accusations deter us from fairly applying the law," a spokesperson for Bragg’s office told Fox News Digital.

"A grand jury will reconvene on Wednesday to continue to weigh charges against former President Donald Trump in connection with the Manhattan district attorney's probe into the 2016 hush payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels," ABC.

Wednesday? Trump had it wrong again, but his campaign coffer grew because he played his rural base for suckers.

The forum's Republicans remain totally silent about all this. Apparently, they are incapable of responding.

 

[Athanasius68]

So if someone violates the law and he is from the other party and you indicte him it is political, really?

No. It depends upon how others in that same situation are being treated.

 

[Athanasius68]

You are listening to too much conservative media. Bragg did not try to turn "felonies into misdemeanors" as you put it. Here is the original guidance so you can judge for yourself - you'll have to look up the actual offenses to get details but you know learning is hard work as opposed to being spoon-fed bullshit.

https://www.manhattanda.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Day-One-Letter-Policies-1.03.2022.pdf

As to turning "misdemeanors into felonies" NY law allows falisification of business records to be upgraded to an E felony when the falsification is used to cover up a crime. That is completely appropriate

So you link the orders from Mr. Bragg to his subordinates to not prosecute crime to prove what exactly?

 

[Athanasius68]

Thx for reading my post and your reply.

Unfortunately you missed the whole of it however.

I'm not arguing state's rights in the meaning of the former Confederacy. I'm stating the fact that in the USA the state is the basic unit of government. You get a driver's license you go to your state not Washington. You vote in your state not in Washington. You get a divorce you don't go to Washington. And so on and so on.

And so on. The state being the basic unit of government in the United States. Each state even has its own Army and Air Force commanded by the governor.

It's all very basic that has nothing to do with situational ethics or pet political bents. It's state, federal, local. There's nothing in what I'm saying about slavery, racism, secession.

My post discussed a state judiciary, in New York. I mentioned the 10th amendment that right wingers have never understood or comprehended. The proof is in your post. In other words your post makes a lousy pudding.

I understood your post.
The point still stands.

 

[Athanasius68]

More relevant, does it meet the standards in the state of New York?

How about the standards of Mr. Bragg?

 

[Mach]

The issue is politicized investigations.
Its not clear why progressives would wish this to be a "thing" in this country.

Every POTUS and their administration is put under the microscope, it's part of the process, and it's healthy, if there is significant smoke, if it is done by the appropriate body in an appropriate manner.

There has been no indictment, but the initial investigation into this occurred after the story was broke my investigative journalists.

Finding out that a POTUS did something illegal is a pretty big story, they do it for cred/money/it's their job, it's not just politics.

Remember, this broke because Cohen denied paying it, then Stormy sued him and brought the receipts
But then of course Cohen and Trump were denying everything which looked obvious.

So this resulting from Trump committing crimes with Cohen, in an effort to hide an affair, and according to DOJ, to help him in the election.

How did you think this investigation got started?

Do you normally falsify business records to hide a hush money payment for an affair you had, and get them to sign an NDA?
Do you typically do this as you are running for political office, presumably to help bury the story so it doesn't hurt your election chances?

 

[Mach]

Kind of hard to see otherwise with Mr. Bragg, who has spent his term in office turning felonies into misdemeanors, suddenly decides to try to turn misdemeanors into felonies.
Apparently, even the NY TIMES is expressing some concerns with this.

They used the same law against Democratic presidential nominee John Edwards.
Equal opportunity right? So not political, right?

 

[Gaius46]

So you link the orders from Mr. Bragg to his subordinates to not prosecute crime to prove what exactly?

So you didn't read it did you.

If you had and if you had actually comprehended what you read you'd see that he ordered his subordinates to use their discretion to charge certain non-violent crimes as lesser felonies or misdemeanors, to seek diversions where appropriate, to stop prosecuting very low level things - like marijuana possession which NY was in the process of legalizing anyway.

All that, as the cover memo states is a response to studies that have shown that longer jail sentences for non violent crimes don't have an impact on recidivism and that diversion programs are much more successful in that regard and that Rikers Island - NYC's main pretrial detention facility - is severely overcrowded and can't hold any more people who are awaiting trail and can't make bail.

The only remotely controversial guidance was to downgrade robberies to burglaries where there was no real chance of harm to the victim which most people read as, for example, if a guy robbed someone with an unloaded or non-functional gun.

There is absolutely nothing in there about not prosecuting or downgrading serious felonies or violent crimes.

 

[noonereal]

THe GOP in congress is trying to stop the investigtion and indictement of Trump in New York by intimidation of the DA there. They are attempting to force him to answer their questions in a congressional hearing, but that is not the only way he GOP is trying to stop investigations of trump at the state level. In Georgia the GOP controlled legislature and the GOP governor are passing a law that would allow the legislature to remove any prosecuter they wished who was following an investigtion they did not like. The first one of course will be the prosecuter investigating Trump. THis law could and probably will be a road map for other GOP controlled states. Both of these actions by the GOP in congress and at the state level seems to violate everything to do with the seperation between the branches of government and seems to point out how much total controlTrump has over the GOP and how willing they are to do the worst possible things for our country to support and protect him.

The GOP just can't stop itself from attempting to take over the country with Trump as their "strong man."

Yep, America will never be the same. MAGA is ending democracy as it has been for 250 years.
All for a man with orange skin, a woman's hair style and sick sick sick mind.

 

[911Sparky]

The issue is politicized investigations.
Its not clear why progressives would wish this to be a "thing" in this country.

By politicized investigations, do you mean any investigation of trump? Or is it any investigation of a Republican? Maybe you should tell trump not to commit crimes, then there would be no need for these investigations.

 

[911Sparky]

A state rights progressives!
Truly, their legal theories are situational in nature.

A small government conservative pleased with congress interfering in a state prosecution.
Yes, legal theories can be situational.

 

[Athanasius68]

A small government conservative pleased with congress interfering in a state prosecution.
Yes, legal theories can be situational.

Didn't say i was pleased with it.

 

[Athanasius68]

By politicized investigations, do you mean any investigation of trump? Or is it any investigation of a Republican? Maybe you should tell trump not to commit crimes, then there would be no need for these investigations.

I mean investigations on political opponents using standards not being applied to others.

 

[911Sparky]

Don't have to. Should the DA's office receive funds appropriated by Congress, it would be entirely appropriate for Congress to cut off those funds if they think its being used politicized law enforcement. They can play political games on the backs of New York taxpayers then.

Good luck sliding that one past a Democratic senate.

 

[Athanasius68]

to seek diversions where appropriate

So you didn't read it did you.

If you had and if you had actually comprehended what you read you'd see that he ordered his subordinates to use their discretion to charge certain non-violent crimes as lesser felonies or misdemeanors,
which is what i said

, to stop prosecuting very low level things

But not misdemeanors against certain people, eh?

All that, as the cover memo states is a response to studies that have shown that longer jail sentences for non violent crimes don't have an impact on recidivism and that diversion programs are much more successful in that regard and that Rikers Island - NYC's main pretrial detention facility - is severely overcrowded and can't hold any more people who are awaiting trail and can't make bail.

The only remotely controversial guidance was to downgrade robberies to burglaries where there was no real chance of harm to the victim which most people read as, for example, if a guy robbed someone with an unloaded or non-functional gun.

There is absolutely nothing in there about not prosecuting or downgrading serious felonies or violent crimes.

Again-- your argument is what I said. Bragg directed his subordinates to avoid prosecution.
And now he is going full bore against a political opponent.
Its not real clear how that can be denied.

 

[911Sparky]

Didn't say i was pleased with it.

Depends on the "situation" right?