The problem with the 'it's still early' line from non-Trump Republicans

[Arlette]

Good luck with that.

K. Run your scenario by me. How is that all just gonna go away for Trump? Tell me. Educate me

 

[Rawley]

K. Run your scenario by me. How is that all just gonna go away for Trump? Tell me. Educate me

How much of the defense's evidence and arguments have you reviewed?

 

[Arlette]

How much of the defense's evidence and arguments have you reviewed?

Obviously none.

 

[Rawley]

Obviously none.

QED But you have him spending the rest of his life in prison.

 

[DigitalDrifter]

As long as Trump remains the the likely nominee, I'm fully prepared for four more years of senile Joe.

 

[Arlette]

QED But you have him spending the rest of his life in prison.

Yup. It's a solid case and I don't know what possible defense Trump can have for keeping those documents.

 

[Rawley]

Yup. It's a solid case and I don't know what possible defense Trump can have for keeping those documents.

They were declassified.
The law allows him to keep them for a period of five years.
Selective prosecution

Just off the top of my head.

 

[Billy000]

“But while Trump is the driver of the party agenda and rhetoric, he has been effective at still presenting himself in opposition to the party’s traditional power centers. He’s managed to preserve the idea that he is the voice of the outsider right, in part by successfully reframing his criminal indictments and investigations into his actions as establishment efforts to hold him at bay. He is the guy who will tear it all down … despite having been in a position to do so before and not doing it (as Christie noted at another point in his interview Sunday).

That’s DeSantis’s challenge. His candidacy was originally theorized by observers as a way to consolidate the anti-Trump vote, but that’s a vote that Trump has been effective at marginalizing as pro-establishment. So instead DeSantis is trying to run to Trump’s right, as a challenger to a front-runner that DeSantis is trying to frame as insufficiently right-wing. It’s a tough argument to make, particularly when Trump is so effectively driving the issues upon which primary voters are focused.

It’s not just that we’re early in the primary cycle — which we are — that matters. It’s also the composition of that cycle, who’s in, and what they represent. In 2008 and 2016, Clinton was challenged by outsiders who framed her as insufficiently responsive to the more liberal wing of the party. In 2016, Trump convinced Republicans that he was a vehicle for the dismantling of a party they disliked.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/07/10/desantis-trump-christie-gop/

And there’s this:

‘“We’re totally undecided,” said Blanks, 52 years old, as she and her husband neared their car, completing a 4-mile loop. She voted for Donald Trump twice before and thinks the former president can return to Washington “with a sledgehammer,” despite thinking DeSantis could attract more independent voters in a general election.

Six weeks after launching his campaign, DeSantis has stalled.’

DeSantis Campaign Stalls as He Tries to Court Trump’s GOP Fans and Foes Alike

The Florida governor’s support is flat in national and early-state polling.

www.wsj.com

DeSantis therefore has two problems – failing to portray Trump as insufficiently right-wing and being perceived by Republican primary voters as part of the ‘establishment’ Trump would dismantle “with a sledgehammer.”

Trump is good at commanding the debate stage by use of his shameless interrupting and senseless bullying. Republican voters love that shit. They never matured past the 8th grade so they need a moron like that that sticks out. Policy takes a back seat to one liners. Republicans are pathetic like that.

Luckily Trump’s style doesn’t work in a general election.

 

[Arlette]

They were declassified.
The law allows him to keep them for a period of five years.
Selective prosecution

Just off the top of my head.

They were not. That's a fact

Nobody is allowed to keep classified documents for five years. That's bullshit.
The "they are picking on me" defense. Trump could have avoided all that by just giving the stuff back but that's water under the bridge by now. It's more like Trump forced their hand by his actions than a "selective prosecution".

 

[Rawley]

They were not. That's a fact

Nobody is allowed to keep classified documents for five years. That's bullshit.

Whether or not the President can or cannot pursuant to the PRA has never been litigated, has it?

The "they are picking on me" defense. Trump could have avoided all that by just giving the stuff back but that's water under the bridge by now. It's more like Trump forced their hand by his actions than a "selective prosecution".

Seems like a strong defense.

 

[Arlette]

Whether or not the President can or cannot pursuant to the PRA has never been litigated, has it?

Seems like a strong defense.

It has not. The person to litigate such nonsense would be Roodles Giuliani or Lin Wood. Both without licenses now if my memory is correct.

 

[Rawley]

It has not. The person to litigate such nonsense would be Roodles Giuliani or Lin Wood. Both without licenses now if my memory is correct.

Seems like he has some very able counsel.

Did you know that before Trump NARA took possession of every President's classified docs and stored them in a secure facility where the President asked them to? And that NARA told Trump go fuck yourself, you're on your own.

DocumentCloud

www.documentcloud.org

 

[Arlette]

Seems like he has some very able counsel.

Did you know that before Trump NARA took possession of every President's classified docs and stored them in a secure facility where the President asked them to? And that NARA told Trump go fuck yourself, you're on your own.

DocumentCloud

www.documentcloud.org

I know he got a subpoena ordering him to return the stuff he took off with. Litigate that.

 

[Rawley]

I know he got a subpoena ordering him to return the stuff he took off with. Litigate that.

Sure. Comes back to the selective prosecution defense. Four weeks after Trump voluntarily retured boxes of documents, the FBI opened a criminal investigation, refered it to the DOJ who opened a Grand Jury invvestigation which issued the subpeona. Hillary - bupkis. Biden - bupkis.

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

DeSantis is too timid

He has to run on Trump lost 2020 and will lose again in 2024
He needs to run on the Trump indictments being excessive but Trumps own actions caused them.
He needs to run on Trump caused Jan 6 with his stolen election lies
He needs to run on Biden is OLD and Trump is just as old

Trump is as much of a racist and bigot as DeSantis, so that’s not a reason for Republicans to abandon Trump.

And DeSantis is perceived to be part of the ‘establishment’; DeSantis can play culture warrior and lie about ‘woke’ all he wants – it’s about burning the Washington edifice to the ground and purging the Party of ‘RINOs, something only Trump can do.

 

[Arlette]

Sure. Comes back to the selective prosecution defense. Four weeks after Trump voluntarily retured boxes of documents, the FBI opened a criminal investigation, refered it to the DOJ who opened a Grand Jury invvestigation which issued the subpeona. Hillary - bupkis. Biden - bupkis.

Selective prosecution means there's at least one other person that did the exact same thing and was not prosecuted. It's not a defense that would work for Trump. Nobody did anything like what Trump did before.

 

[miketx]

DeSantis is counting on Trump going to prison before 2024. He's a lawyer so he's making a pretty good bet.

DeSantis is trying to out-asshole Trump (a hard thing to do), so when Trump is taken out of the running He'll be the only alternative for the MAGGOTS.

He'll probably stop being such an enormous asshole before the general election 'cause he knows that independents won't be as attracted to his asshole stink like they are to Trump's.

You're an idiot.

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

Trump will get the nomination because the GOP base of deplorables approve of his goal as president - get revenge for all the injustices that were inflicted on him.

Correct – and get revenge on Republicans who opposed him.

The GOP is about vengeance, revenge, getting even, playing the victim, and destroying political enemies – something Republicans believe DeSantis is incapable of.

 

[JWBooth]

Does it matter if it's Trump or Desantis? You Democrats get the shaft either way.are gonna steal it anyway

Fixed it.

 

[Rawley]

Selective prosecution means there's at least one other person that did the exact same thing and was not prosecuted. It's not a defense that would work for Trump. Nobody did anything like what Trump did before.

Arguably, what Hillary did was quite worse. But both Hillary and Biden took classified docs and kept them in their homes and other places they shouldn't have been.