Trump gets gagged, McCarthy gets booted. What's next in Trumpworld?

Jack Smith is strongly against televising Trump's trial. Obviously he has his reasons but either Trump talks bollocks in the courtroom or he talks different bollocks outside.

Engoron gave up trying to stop Trump fillisbustering in NYAG fraud trial, I suspect to avoid giving defence ammunition for an appeal. But Trump rambling served it's purpose as he only had to testify for one day (anyone know why?) so he managed to avoid direct answers without actually invoking the 5th Amendment.

In a criminal trial, is there any constraint on how long a defendant can be questioned on the stand? If not, he either has to answer succinctly, plead the 5th, or spend weeks giving a rally speech in the courtroom. I assume Smith wants to avoid the last option.

I don't see how Chutkan can control him unless she's willing to use Contempt of court against him, and send him to Time Out in a holding cell

Not allowing broadcast would allow Trump to spread all sorts of lies about what happend & there wouldn't be video evidence to contrary. Justice must be seen to be done.

Much as I loathe the toad, Trump has a right to fundraise & even have free speech (within limits).

I think it should be broadcast. Ordinary people can't get in the room, or not more than a handful.

as much as I want to watch the trial, I think not having it broadcast would be the right thing. t* would only use it for fundraising stirring up his supporters.

plus someone who really really want to be there can go to the courthouse in person.

Got this from Axios Sunday Sneak Peek email, re Trump wanting his trial to be televised:

• "The prosecution wishes to continue this travesty in darkness. [Former] President Trump calls for sunlight," defense attorneys John Lauro and Todd Blanche wrote in a legal filing.

An interesting article

"It’s now clearer than ever that Trump, if elected, will use the federal government to go after his political rivals and critics, even deploying the military toward that end. His allies are hatching plans to invoke the Insurrection Act on day one.
The US then “would resemble a banana republic”, a University of Virginia law professor told the Washington Post when it revealed these schemes. Almost as troubling, two New York Times stories outlined Trump’s autocratic plans to put loyal lawyers in key posts and limit the independence of federal agencies.
The press generally is not doing an adequate job of communicating those realities.
Instead, journalists have emphasized Joe Biden’s age and Trump’s “freewheeling” style. They blame the public’s attitudes on “polarization”, as if they themselves have no role. And, of course, they make the election about the horse race – rather than what would happen a few lengths after the finish line.
Here’s what must be hammered home: Trump cannot be re-elected if you want the United States to be a place where elections decide outcomes, where voting rights matter, and where politicians don’t baselessly prosecute their adversaries."

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/nov/09/trump-president-democracy-threat-media-journalism?CMP=share_btn_tw

Well as a few Republicans are starting to mutter, maybe democracy isn't the best way forwards.

@SequentialAnalyst yes to Ohio legalizing marijuana.

I got the impression somewhere that was the minimum.

I was wondering how those elections went, having heard about them on Business Matters in the wee small hours (GMT) 2 days ago. Such brilliant news!

I haven't checked whether Ohio went for legalising dope cannabis though?

Never thought I’d be in agreement with MTG on anything!

Maybe he has redeeming qualities I’m not aware of!

Meanwhile MTG wants Johnson gone as speaker ....

Ivanka Trump asked to defer testimony because of "hardship" of travelling to New York during the week cos of her school age kids.
But she managed to find time for professional hair and makeup this morning

In other good news, many of my “small town America” friends are reporting great results in local elections, school boards, library funding etc. They’re all really pleased this morning.

There is this saying about "If you're a Republican you can't win a primary without Trump, but you can't win an election with him."

How many of the people he has endorsed have won their elections, and how many of them have lost them? Is it even near a fifty-fifty split, by now?

I haven’t checked this morning, but things were looking very positive last night in Ohio, Kentucky and Virginia.

Andy Beshear reelected as a Governor in Kentucky.

Abortion rights guaranteed in Ohio.

Democrats took the state senate in Virginia and were competitive in the house (that wasn’t decided before bedtime!)

Elvis Presley’s Cousin bringing a strong challenge for Governor of Mississippi.

The young people turned out in droves to vote which did my heart good!!

This is a bit of a relief for me, as a fully paid-up feminist from the Sixties. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/07/abortion-ohio-kentucky-virginia-elecitons/

Such a blatant lie - how on earth can anyone with brains want this idiot for President again? I don't understand the Trumpers' psyche.

She looks his type. Seeing her on CNN, I thought he might well have picked her for her looks (at least partly). There used to be a book with advice on how to marry a millionaire [sic] back when millions were millions "Look the part. Go to places where millionaires hang out. Take it from there. The end."

I found this Bannon-ism very typical but still worth paying attention to, from Jonathan Karl's new book:

Karl relates that days before he was indicted in the Daniels case, in which Trump is accused of making illegal payments to an adult movie star to cover up an alleged affair, his former senior adviser in the White House Steve Bannon mused that Trump could turn his legal plight to political advantage. “This week, Trump could lock down the nomination if he played his cards right,” Karl says Bannon told him. “‘They’re crucifying me,’ you know, ‘I’m a martyr.’ All that. You get everybody so riled up that they just say, ‘Fuck it. I hate Trump, but we’ve got to stand up against this.’”

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/nov/07/trump-trial-date-todd-blanche-jonathan-karl-book

How often do we see the play: "Come on everybody, you might not like X, but you have to stand against this injustice."

I mean, obviously this is a rallying cry that can occur naturally sometimes.

But I've spotted it in action a ridiculous amount since Bannon acquired power. It's validating to have him actually admit this is his playbook.

Habba's father is a prominent Christo - fascist.
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree

Alina’s professional life seems lively, even discounting the Trump connection.

On July 19, 2022, Habba was sued by a former employee Na'Syia Drayton who claimed Habba repeatedly sang inappropriate gangster rap and hip hop music in the office while using the N word, made racist comments, and referred to New York's attorney general Letitia James as '"that Black bitch."[33][34] The lawsuit was settled out of court in September 2022.