The Crane Pool Forum

Trump is conflicted right now. He's raising oodles of money that he does NOT have to use for a political campaign. That's money the rubes are shoving straight into his pocket. Once he becomes a candidate, he's going to have to play by different rules (not that he won't try to bend or break those rules).

On the other hand, he feels he needs the protection of being a presidential candidate to be able to paint everything as a political witch hunt. It inoculates him from everything in the eyes of his base, even espionage.

It also has done a pretty good job inoculating him from legal consequences.

Damn, when I see this thread has a new post, I get irrationally excited.

Lefty Specialist wrote: ↑Thu Aug 18, 2022 7:12 pm Trump is conflicted right now. He's raising oodles of money that he does NOT have to use for a political campaign. That's money the rubes are shoving straight into his pocket. Once he becomes a candidate, he's going to have to play by different rules (not that he won't try to bend or break those rules).

On the other hand, he feels he needs the protection of being a presidential candidate to be able to paint everything as a political witch hunt. It inoculates him from everything in the eyes of his base, even espionage.

he's already breaking/broken those rules. A lot of the money he "Raises" even when he was "campaigning" was for personal profit. I mean, a lot/most of them skirt that line anyway. He just doesn't even pay attention because it's just one of those things no one calls him on.

Investigations into Vince McMahon reveal that his payments to then-Citizen Trump for appearances at WWE events came in the form of donations to the future-ex-president's bogus charity.

Trump isn't the only one making money off the trump name.
There are two stores in Myrtle Beach SC selling trump themed merchandise. (Yahoo reprint of an article from the Insider. I couldn't find that link)

I visited a Donald Trump Superstore called Keep on Trumpin' in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Co-owner Richard Kligman said business has been booming since he opened the shop in March 2022.
The space was filled to the brim with everything from graphic T-shirts to talking Trump figurines.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/visited-trum ... 03222.html
Later

Business is booming. Wow, is that a sign of the Apocalypse.

Myrtle Beach mostly gives me the creeps.

Recreation, ocean and good food -- not creepy.

Your creepy mileage may vary.

They've got a lot of great miniature golf. I'll certainly give 'em that.

Myrtle Beach and Charleston, on opposite ends of coastal South Carolina, are also on opposite ends of the city spectrum. Very different towns despite being in the same state and <100 miles apart.

We've been to Myrtle Beach several times. But I don't think we're going back to the Grand Strand.
We liked Charleston and may go back there.

Later

If it would lead to the ex-president's prosecution, I would move to Myrtle.

Edgy MD wrote: ↑Sat Aug 20, 2022 11:05 am If it would lead to the ex-president's prosecution, I would move to Myrtle.

I'd happily become Merrick Garland's pool boy. Anything to keep the water hot.

Charleston vs Myrtle Beach
Old South vs New
History vs miniature golf
Fort Sumpter vs hometown of Vanna White

South Carolina was a slavery state, the first Confederate state, the first state to secede from the Union. But Charleston, SC, for at least the last 20 years, has been and is, a liberal city, leaning blue and Democratic.

The Judge ordered the (redacted) affidavit that led to the search of Mira Lago to be released by tomorrow afternoon.
I'm ok with redactions, as long as it says things like:
Military spying technology 3 boxes - witnessed by name 1,Lawyer name2, Trump family member name 3, FBI agent name 4 and NSA intelligence officer name 5.
CIA treason case files and agent names- witnessed by agents named 1, 2, 3 and Trump attorney name 4
Nuclear weapon plans and placements - witnessed by generals 1,2,3 and Admirals 1,2.
Trump financial records that support tax evasion - signed by trump and accountants 1,2,3

You know. Name the crimes and redact the perps , accomplices and witnesses.

Later

Well, that's not very illuminating.

This article from The Hill goes into more detail:
https://thehill.com/policy/national-sec ... residence/

The affidavit indicates that among the 184 documents were 25 that contained top secret information, including those gained from “clandestine human sources,” information prohibited from being shared with foreign governments, and information obtained by monitoring “foreign communications signals.”
The 28-page affidavit contains numerous redactions but indicates authorities believed “evidence, contraband, fruits of crime, or other items illegally possessed” would be found at Mar-a-Lago.
Entirely redacted is a provision explaining why the government believed additional “classified [national defense information]” would be found on the premises.

Later

Not exactly the headline you ever want to see if you're Trump. Or a patriotic American.

What's not clear to me is if this demonstrates his recklessness or a more active malice.

Edgy MD wrote: ↑Sat Aug 27, 2022 1:32 pm What's not clear to me is if this demonstrates his recklessness or a more active malice.

With that piece of shit, always assume the worst, the most evil, the most corrupt motives.

I can assume anything. I want to convict him, though.

Y'know what would be fun?
If there's some kind of trial/hearing/whatever and one or more of the FBI/DOJ'ers who were part of the raid get called to testify. Then after they talk about the basic facts of what they found and where and how, etc., the lawyers ask if they've got anything else to add. "Yes", one of them replies, "that's one ugly-ass, tacky looking crib he's got there".


THAT, maybe more than anything else, might cause Donny's head to explode.

Edgy MD wrote: ↑Sat Aug 27, 2022 5:08 pm I can assume anything. I want to convict him, though.

Me too. But I strongly doubt he'll ever get convicted. And if he's ever convicted of anything in Georgia, the Republican Governor will pardon him and commute his sentence. Same thing in the Federal Government, unless the Dems expect to hold onto the White House forever, or at least until Trump dies.

Also, National Security expert Frank Figliuzzi opined on MSNBC yesterday that the documents Trump was holding at Mar-a-Lago might be so sensitive that they could never come to light because of the grave risks that would come from exposing those documents. Which means that Trump might never even get indicted no matter how bulletproof the case against him is for the improper handling of those documents. Figliuzzi said that in his decades long career, he's seen several cases like that where spies were caught red-handed improperly possessing top secret docs but had to essentially be let go because the government couldn't go to trial with their case, which would necessitate making public those sensitive documents at issue.

If so, this scumbag is like the luckiest fuck that ever was.

Where would he be jailed anyways, if it ever came to that? He'd still have 24 hour Secret Service protection, even in prison. And he'd still be allowed to run for office, most likely. What a circus that would be.

With respect, I'm not taking Frank Fuglizzi on CNBC as the last word on this.

There are all sorts of things in the way of a conviction and/or incarceration. I don't care. I refuse to be hopeless.