You’ll all be happy to know that being a convicted felon doesn’t mean he won’t have access to classified information (though not top secret).
This brings up a larger topic: Now that Trump is a convicted felon, how will the rest of the world see him? Especially America’s allies?
He’s right when he says that the real decision will come from American voters in November, but if he thinks that the UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, etc. will respect him if he’s elected, then it’s my feeling that he’s got another think coming. How can any member of the world community respect a convicted felon? Worse, how are America’s allies supposed to respect a country that elects a convicted felon to the highest office in the land?
Agreed, but honestly, I doubt he has any respect abroad anyway. He’s always been an incompetent buffoon. Now he’s an incompetent buffoon with a criminal record.
I don’t think so. He’s been deposed enough times and knows how the game is played (and presumably these interviews are not as adversarial as a deposition, where every inconsistency can be cross-examined?). I mean I’m sure he won’t have the probation officer in tears crying for his full exoneration, but he’ll do a satisfactory job given sufficient coaching.
But he’s also made enumerable well recorded public statements that clearly show no remorse or contriteness. Can those be included in the report and used to counteract whatever he says in the interview?
Don’t forget that Trump has been ranting for months that he did nothing wrong and this is all unfair and only happening because the judge hates him. He did it again just a few hours ago. This ought to go over well at sentencing considering that a convict’s remorse and willingness to reform are major sentencing considerations.
Ouch!
In his morning rant he played that long running excuse of fear of a “perjury trap” for not testifying. Why, they could have even gotten George Washington with one of those.
If you’ve never perused conservative social media on a regular basis, you would be surprised at how prevalent this excuse is used and by how it is routinely accepted as a rationale for the world’s most opinionated refusing to appear under oath whenever possible.
per cnn:
President Joe Biden said that Donald Trump’s conviction in the hush money trial on Thursday reaffirmed “the American principle that no one is above the law.”
He said the jury was made up of regular Americans, “12 people like you,” who heard evidence and returned a unanimous verdict.
“This jury was chosen the same way every jury in America is chosen,” Biden said, adding that Trump’s lawyers were part of that process.
“After careful deliberation, the jury reached a unanimous verdict they found Donald Trump guilty on all 34 felony counts,” Biden said.
The president, who has not made direct comments about the guilty verdict since it was handed down yesterday, said Trump “was given every opportunity to defend himself.”
rc: i thought his remarks were very good. he went high with his comments.
also from cnn:
The Biden campaign blasted Donald Trump after the former president’s remarks from New York on Friday, following his conviction on 34 felony charges. In his speech, Trump attacked President Joe Biden, Judge Juan Merchan and his former attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen.
“America just witnessed a confused, desperate, and defeated Donald Trump ramble about his own personal grievances and lie about the American justice system, leaving anyone watching with one obvious conclusion: This man cannot be president of the United States,” Biden campaign communications director Michael Tyler said in a statement.
Tyler attacked Trump, saying he is “spiraling from his criminal convictions” and is “consumed by his own thirst for revenge and retribution.” Trying to draw a contrast with Biden, Tyler said Trump’s priority is not the American people.
The Biden campaign has engaged more with Trump’s Manhattan hush money trial since the jury announced its verdict yesterday evening, with Tyler saying in a statement Thursday night that the ballot box “is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office.”
But Biden — who was with family in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on Thursday to mark the ninth anniversary of his son Beau’s death — has yet to weigh in, apart from a short post to social media platform X urging supporters to donate to his campaign.
There’s some of our more outlandish politicians who I’d almost expect to go out and commit a few crimes, just to be seen as being Trump-like. There’s a large part of the country that really wants to elect a Trump-lite candidate.
It’s a world wide phenomenon.
And I’m not sure that “lite” is an absolute prerequisite.
- **How involved was Donald Trump in his defense strategy?
**Donald Trump was reportedly very involved in crafting his own defense strategy during his Manhattan hush money trial.
- **What specific role did Trump play during the trial?
**According to his attorney Todd Blanche, Trump actively participated in discussions regarding the selection of jurors and was involved in every decision made with his legal team.
- **Did Trump’s attorney view him as capable in these legal discussions?
**Yes, Todd Blanche referred to Trump as a “smart guy” and acknowledged that Trump knew what he was doing, even joking about wanting to be the litigator himself.
rc: i don’t believe trump was joking.
Sorry if I’m coming in late here, but could you elaborate, please?
Damn, son! 
Many people (that includes me) think that the Democratic party nominated the one candidate who could possibly lose to now-Convicted Felon Ex-President Donald Trump.
from:
Mary Trump Flags Most Ironic Consequence Of Uncle’s Trial Meltdowns (yahoo.com)
“The irony for him,” Mary Trump said on MSNBC, is that “if he behaved like a human being throughout this trial, I think that the risk of prison would have been fairly low.”
“But because of his egregious behavior,” she continued, “because he broke that gag order 11 times, because the judge had to make that ruling and because the judge deferred any significant punishment, I think the chances that he gets a prison term have increased exponentially.”
rc: i don’t believe i ever saw mary trump smile so much. she could not stop smiling last night. i’ve seen her on the last word a few times. she tends to be very serious and edging into dour.
But the plain fact is (and it was plain in 2016) that Hillary was well-equipped and well-prepared to be a perfectly cromulent President. You don’t even need the hindsight of the America-hating fuckstick years to see and acknowledge that. Failure to do so can best be attributed to malice and ill-intent for our country.
At any rate, I would like to know @Happy_Lendervedder 's response to a polite inquiry, provided he is still willing to provide one, in the wake of Thelma_Lou’s Pit thread.
Moderating: Please no relitigating Hillary Clinton in this thread. There are other threads for this including this one.
This topic was automatically opened after 11 minutes.
Trump keeps saying that the judge was\is ‘conflicted’. He hasn’t a clue what the word means.
Any idea what the hell he’s trying to say?
“Mr. Trump, conflicted means trying to decide what hooker to pay off first. That, I’m sure you understand. It has nothing to do with justice”