(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Meanwhile in Manhattan..... [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-08-14 I am absolutely on the liberal end of the left, I am to the left of much of the Democratic party, probably to the left of a portion of DK readers in fact. However, I was a Republican up to about 20 or so years ago (meaning people can change). : ) Why do I mention any of this? Because, while I am a staunch liberal, I still have a strong “law and order” core that initially, and incorrectly, led me to the Republican party in my younger years. In fact, it was only when I started to see the hypocrisy of the Republicans coupled with the injustice of minorities that I started my movement to the left. I really believe in right and wrong and that the rule of law must be applied equally to all. Knowing far too often, POC take the brunt of undue punishment for seemingly trivial criminal activity (based on laws that were often originally enacted to specifically punish them in the first place), and that the rich, often white, usually “men”, don’t face nearly the same scrutiny is extremely frustrating to me. This leads me to my point here… the law is the law and either we change the law or it must be upheld equally for all citizens. While I don’t claim to be a lawyer and I am not confident about the legal ins and outs, I AM confident that too many MSM types are discounting the events in Manhattan far too quickly. I believe the narrative stated that “this case is a stretch” and the DA is reaching, this has developed into mainstream thinking. But I think that’s incorrect. If I were to guess, a lot of the negative talk about this case stems from the fact that many of us feel like Trump should be facing more serious charges related to his financial dealings (can you say money laundering in polite upper-crust company?) but this is the case we have so we should support Bragg’s efforts because again, the law is the law. Bragg feels he can prove laws were broken and brought a 34 COUNT felony incitement against Trump because of it. I know I wouldn’t want to face 34 felony counts, I don’t think anyone would so I don’t know why people think this case is a walk in the park for Trump. It’s only a walk in the park if we gauge it on the same curve we gauge everything related to Trump on, but in the real world, this case will have consequences for Trump that would terrify many of us (and I think it’s doing the same to him as well). I haven’t been following all the details here… which goes back to my point that many people are treating this case as a sideshow. I admit that the other cases against Trump are more serious from a pure criminality standpoint. But at the same time, the law is the law and it only points to the normalization of lawlessness during the Trump years. At any other time in our modern history, a president being charged with 34 felonies would be an absolute bombshell, now this case isn’t even showing up on the radar. Anyway, from the little I have read about this, apparently, Trump was trying to get this case kicked over to federal court with the expectation that it would delay things, his obvious go-to strategy, and that he would dismiss it when he wins the next election (as if…). The federal judge hearing that motion wasn’t buying it. And as yet another example of a Republican facing unintended consequences for failing to think in advance before lunging into traffic to catch a moving car, it appears that Federal judge Hellerstein has just put a lot of validity in the Manhattan DA’s case. The more significant findings in Hellerstein’s July 19 order, however, relate to the way he stated, in no uncertain terms, that the DA’s case is solid—and that Trump can’t hide behind the presidential seal. As it turns out, paying off a porn star like Stormy Daniels (privately known as Stephanie Clifford) isn’t a president’s job. “Whatever the standard, and whether it is high or low, Trump fails to satisfy it,” Hellerstein wrote. “Trump has not explained how hiring and making payments to a personal attorney to handle personal affairs carries out a constitutional duty. Reimbursing Cohen for advancing hush money to Stephanie Clifford cannot be considered the performance of a constitutional duty. “Falsifying business records to hide such reimbursement, and to transform the reimbursement into a business expense for Trump and income to Cohen, likewise does not relate to a presidential duty. Trump is not immune from the People’s prosecution in New York Supreme Court.” This case is real, the charges are not nearly as big of a reach as many would like us to believe and the case will head to trial in early ‘24. Also, in the judge’s findings, it appears that he slightly lowered the bar that Manhattan prosecutors have to meet? But in kicking the case back to state court, Hellerstein went much further than just saying that federal laws here don’t preempt New York state laws. He actually emphasized that the DA doesn’t even need to prove the underlying crimes that bump it up to felony status—like tax dodging or election fraud. No, this case in NY isn’t as big, but I contend it’s just as important to hold a powerful, rich white man accountable in this case as it is in any other. No one is above the law and if laws were broken, it is imperative that we show the average American there are consequences. Failure to do so will only lower our trust in institutions which only helps the fascists. So if anyone tells you that the NY case is weak or it doesn’t matter, you can tell them that the rule of law always matters and a federal judge doesn’t agree that this case is weak. I think we are going to find out either way by early 2024. You can read more here on the Daily Beast. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/8/14/2187139/-Meanwhile-in-Manhattan Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/