Todd Blanche is now the Attorney General of the United States. He was Trump's personal defense lawyer who defended Trump in multiple criminal indictments, including the New York "hush money" trial, and he acted as his trusted personal counsel through various state and federal legal challenges.
It is highly unusual in modern U.S. history for a president to appoint his personal defense lawyer to serve as Attorney General. While presidents historically appointed close political allies or campaign managers, modern legal norms demand strict institutional separation between the President’s personal legal troubles and the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Blanche's appointment is a blatant conflict of interest. The Attorney General represents the United States and the American people, not the president as an individual. Can Trump's former personal defense lawyer face intense scrutiny over whether he can objectively oversee federal law enforcement, or if he will act as the president's private counsel?
For your information, here is a list of Trump attorneys who at one time worked for him and what happened to them as a result. Blanche is NOT in good company:
* Roy Cohn — Disbarred; dead
* Michael Cohen — Disbarred; pleaded guilty to tax, campaign and false-statement crimes
* Rudy Giuliani — Disbarred in NY and DC; $148M in defamation damages
* Alina Habba — Sanctioned $1M for frivolous litigation.
* Boris Epshteyn — Pending AZ criminal charges in fake-elector case.
* John Eastman — Disbarred in CA and suspended in DC; AZ criminal case pending.
* Kenneth Chesebro — Disbarred in NY; pleaded guilty in GA; WI case pending
* Sidney Powell — Pleaded guilty in GA.
* Jenna Ellis — Pleaded guilty in GA; suspended in CO; AZ criminal case pending.
* Jeffrey Clark — Facing criminal charges in AZ over fake-elector scheme.
* Christina Bobb — Facing AZ criminal charges over fake-elector scheme.
Total number of criminal convictions or disbarments among all of Ronald Reagan’s, George H. W. Bush’s, Bill Clinton’s, George W. Bush’s, Barack Obama’s, and Joe Biden’s lawyers:
0
Total number of criminal convictions or disbarments among Donald Trump’s lawyers:
Nine and counting
31 comments:
When a nation knowingly elects a criminal to the highest office in the land the nation should expect exactly what this nation is getting under trump. A criminal administration with an Attorney General who will out the president's personal criminal interests above the nation's and its people.
The noose is tightening and the criminality will only increase. This nation is becoming a Turd world sh*thole under trump. America's most corrupt and indecent president in its entire history.
will put the president's personal criminal interests above the nation's and its people.
Damn auto spell check on phone!
The best aspect of this post are all the lawyers who were convicted. There are some who should have been when they sold guns to a foreign country but that just didn't happen.
You mean this, Skud?:
”Attorney General Edwin Meese III did not sell the weapons himself, but rather publicly revealed in November 1986 that the Reagan administration had secretly sold arms to Iran and illegally diverted the proceeds to fund the Contra rebels in Nicaragua, leading to the Iran-Contra affair.
Attorney General Meese led the initial internal Justice Department inquiry that uncovered the diversion of funds.
The Operations:
National Security Council officials—most notably Lt. Col. Oliver North—facilitated the covert arms sales and financial transfers.
The Aftermath: The revelation led to multiple congressional investigations and independent counsel prosecutions.
Also in the aftermath Shaw... there were some pardons if I remember correctly.
As for Skud's illusion to I'm sure Fast and Furious, I wonder if he knows there were similar operations during the admin of GW Bush? Or that once the info from Fast and Furious, the Trump DOJ did not prosecute anyone? If a crime was committed, it should be investigated and the person or people charged, tried and found guilty or not. Then sentenced, or not.
That's how this works.
Like we did for Iran Contra... i mean before those convicted received pardons.
Ms. Shaw, I really meant the one who sold guns to Mexico that killed a border agent. Of course the president intervened and he was not prosecuted which confirms it pays to have influential friends. I do have a feeling you knew who I was referring to because you do not suffer from lapse of memory.
”No federal officials or Obama administration employees were found to have committed crimes, and consequently, none were criminally prosecuted regarding Operation Fast and Furious.
An exhaustive 19-month, 471-page independent investigation by Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz concluded that while the operation was deeply flawed and plagued by systemic failures, there was no evidence of criminal intent or a criminal cover-up by senior administration
No Criminal Charges Recommended: The Inspector General's report explicitly chose not to recommend criminal charges against any Department of Justice (DOJ) or Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) personnel.
Administrative Penalties: Instead of criminal prosecution, the report cited 14 federal employees for administrative and disciplinary action due to management failures.
Resignations and Departures: High-ranking personnel faced severe professional consequences rather than legal ones. For example, acting ATF Director Kenneth Melson retired immediately, and Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jason Weinstein resigned following the report's release.
Top Officials Cleared of Wrongdoing
Attorney General Eric Holder: The investigation cleared Holder of designing the tactics or participating in a cover-up. It concluded he had no prior knowledge of the controversial "gun-walking" tactics before they became public.
President Barack Obama: No evidence connected President Obama to the creation or implementation of the operation.”
One thing some people miss...
Appointing personal favorites to Cabinet positions has a long history in the US. Even including the DOJ, as evidenced by JFK's appointment of his brother RFK.
It was an ethical lapse and we as a country corrected that in 1967 with the Federal Anti-Nepotism Act. Then, Nixon had in place as DOJ, his former campaign manager, John Mitchell, who chose politics over the law.
He was followed by Richard Kleindienst who sadly also chose loyalty to Nixon over an open investigation into what happened.
Then both new DOJ Elliott Richardson and Deputy DOJ William Ruckelshaus were ordered by Nixon to fire Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox. Famously, they both resigned. Finally Nixon got the man he thought he wanted, and needed in conservative legal darling Robert Bork and Cox was sent packing. Bork would go on to appoint Leon Jaworski, keep the office of the Special Prosecutor fully funded and the investigations continued.
Bork believed his actions saved the DOJ.
After the Watergate Scandal, the Levi Reforms were put in place to immediately insulate the DOJ from the politics of the White House, stopping the very type of political meddling we saw in the Nixon Administration. Following that, Congress passed a series of bipartisan laws meant to permanently rein in those executive abuses.
And until the current Trump Admin, those rules and laws were mostly followed by successive administrations.
So, as most sentient beings can see, yes, the Kennedy Admin erred. Congress fixed that. Then the Nixon Admin erred. Congress and the DOJ fixed that. Then the Trump Admin erred, and MAGA claimed "whataboutism", citing Kennedy.
As opposed to dealing with the facts.
Whenever I post a subject concerning Trump and his behavior or that of his administration, both skud and -FJ/JoeConservative/Thersites bring up past, already litigated subjects related to previous Democratic administrations.
-FJ did this on Dave Miller's post on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool subject by inserting comments about the J6, and essentially hijacking the post.
And skud is doing it here by bringing up the already litigated "Fast & Furious" subject, when this post is about Trump's newly appointed AG and Trump's previous attorneys' poor records as honest lawyers.
Instead of addressing the subject, giving their opinions ON THE SUBJECT, they change the subject and use "whataboutisms."
This behavior is a classic rhetorical tactic known as whataboutism, a form of the tu quoque (appeal to hypocrisy) fallacy designed to deflect criticism by shifting focus to an opponent's alleged misdeeds.
tu quoque Latin for "you too or you also" or in this context, "whataboutism."
I posted about Trump's previous lawyers' misdeeds and felonies, and skud reached back to the Obama administration and "Fast & Furious," which had been litigated, and therefore, not relevant to this post.
Holding administrations accountable is important regardless of the political party. However, changing the subject to a different administration doesn't address or change the facts of the specific issue being discussed in this post.
The merry-go-round that skudsie and the MAGA crowd of many faced trolls love.to ride on.
Barack Obama's wing-man. Only failed passes are sexual assault. Successful one's are always "lovely". Democrat's don't file charges against their own. But they always file them against Republicans.
We bring the up because Democrats always set the precedent.
Not talking to you skud but about you. No response is necessary as I know you'll just say what you think will get me off of your back.
I do wonder if skud can stay on topic. I've been reading their posts for more than a minute and unless the topic is one of their pet beliefs I've yet to see them stay on target. This post is classic skud. Also makes me believe that even though they aren't a registered MAGA they sure do present a MAGA shape.
When WeThePeople are on the other side of this mess there will be another set of legislation to prevent this exact situation from happening only I would love to see something a bit more proactive, meaning agencies charged with independent oversight and funded with monies untouchable by any of the branches of the Federal Government. Living through these times are too stressful for those already on the edge.
Dave M. already covered the fact that JFK should NOT have appointed his brother as AG, and that legislation was passed so that it would never happen again.
Robert Kennedy was NEVER JFK's personal lawyer. He never defended JFK in a criminal case in a court of law like Blanche did for Trump.
And since you believe every accusation is a precedence set by Democrats, read this:
Richard Nixon's first attorney general, John N. Mitchell, was also his close personal friend, law partner, and campaign manager.
Using the Kennedy brothers as an example is risible, when Nixon appointed his close personal friend and law partner as AG, who went to prison for his part in the Watergate scandal that cost Nixon his presidency.
No more whataboutism on this.
Apparently, you're unable to defend Trump's failures in choosing honest lawyers to work for him, so you insert another "whataboutism" to deflect from those failures.
Democrats have faced criminal charges and internal party discipline for breaking laws, though criminal charges in the U.S. are filed by executive branch prosecutors (the Department of Justice or state attorneys general) rather than political parties themselves.
Bob Menendez, the longtime Democratic U.S. Senator from New Jersey was indicted, prosecuted by the Justice Department, and found guilty on federal corruption and bribery counts. The first federal corruption trial under the Obama administration, and the second indictment, trial and conviction under the Biden administration.
Your devotion to criticizing all things to do with the Democratic Party has skewed your thinking, because, as shown here, the official record shows that your claim is not correct.
Again, you didn't comment on the facts of this post, but instead erroneously claim that the Democrats do not bring charges against their own, only against GOPers, which is NOT true.
You don't have a State AG, GOTS? They sue the Feds like crazy.
What does your comment have to do with my post?
To be fair Shaw, it wasn't a whataboutism. Actually I'm not sure what point our many named troll was trying to make. I'd say they missed the point of the post but they'd have to acknowledge the point exists first.
A thought I forgot to mention in my comment is under the current administration the DOJ no longer possesses the presumption of regularity, meaning any credibility they held with the courts in this country is gone, kaput. That just blows my mind like we have measles again after eradicating it kind of blown away.
WeThePeople have so much work to do. It will take decades to rebuild what our commander in chief aka Operation Fart in a Cart destroyed. Well, he did have help so there is that.
Ms. Shaw, It is not about trump being trump it is more about the way you believe the squeaky clean DSC wears halos. The DSC will win the majority in both the house and the senate for one reason and that is trump. The DSC has done nothing except tie every republican to trump and with that they have done a good job.
Obama intervened to pull holder out of the fire, biden gave his entire family immunity for anything illegal they have done or will do, joe K let a girl die and the dems covered it up yet you always come to their defense and this is what I am pointing out. You seem to believe I am a trump supporter and MAGA. Do I want to see America Great , yes, do I support trump, no. You are entitled to your beliefs. You also believe the DSC is pure and honest, not true but again you are entitled to your belief.
Grey, Good Morning, I would feel remiss if I didn't acknowledge Grey.
Why won't -FJ let us know who won the 2020 election?
Probably for the same reason Blanche still denies the results, saying there’s a “ton of evidence” the 2020 presidential election was rigged against Trump. Yes, the rot clots around the top.
So far the MAGA "ton of evidence" weighs less than a microgram.
The ONLY reason these deniers parrot Trump's Big Lie is because of their authoritarian follower personalities.
"Cuz we SAY so", is the "ton of evidence" to these fascists. And if we disagree and call them out for the liars they are it means we "hate America", amirite?
And of course their Felonious Fuhrer never lies and nobody questions the Fuhrer, as demonstrated by the 20th Century spiritual forefathers of MAGA.
It's almost as if there's a MAGA DEI for Jews and Blacks to become neo-Nazis.
Progress, amirite?
Happy Friday All! What's in the news?
After numerous news agencies reported low morale, ship maintenance issues, attempted suicides and more on the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Gulf, President Trump said those things are not happening when asked about them. Then when asked about the long deployment, over 9 months, completely obliterating the maintenance schedule, Trump said the deployment has not been long enough.
One after the cyclospora outbreak, the Trump Admin has finally decided to send someone to the potential ground zero.
And, in a troubling sign for the economy, inflation is down and retail sales also are down.
But hey, we've got half of the Washington monuments under reconstruction.
Oh yeah... and the commie socialists!
As society grapples to other the other, all in the pursuit of accomplishing superiority over others, the ideal of a classless egalitarian fully democratic society is further away from reality than ever.
Dave, If he keeps this insanity up he may have gas prices equal to biden. Can anyone supply a reasonable explanation on why we attacked iran and what is our ultimate plan. I do realize the war is almost over because iran really wants a deal but that seems to be a repeat of the last six months. When was the last time we we understood the mentality of the middle east and came out on the winning side.
Just because iran murdered 33000 of their own people is not a reason for us to get involved.
Reason for America's war of choice and aggression against Iran:
1) Empire building and sustain the profits of the MIC capitalists.
2) Prop up the ego of the nation's prolific malignant narcissist trump.
3) To do the bidding of the genocidal Zionist state of hate, death, and destruction, Israel.
4) To keep the ignorant American Zionist Christian Nationalists happy.
Skud... I sat with an oil exec the other day on a flight. Wonderful conversation. Bottom line, the price of oil mostly fluctuates on the global market and the price is set in dollars. Presidents have little leverage over the market he said. They react to real world issues and market pressure.
Now, that's what us libs said during the Biden Admin when the global pandemic drove up the price of crude. But guys like refused that logic and blamed it all on Biden.
So here we are. I'm on record numerous times, on this site, saying exactly what that oil exec said. But if MAGA supporters want to blame to oil price run up in the pandemic on Biden, what can I say.
What Trump does control, are some current world conditions, like the closed Strait, which can impact prices.
I asked that exec about "drill, baby drill" another claim we hear from MAGA folks who want lover energy prices. Here's what he said. "Drill, baby drill" is useless. Because we do not have refining capacity in the US to process more petroleum. We're not building the new refineries we need.
So essentially, neither Biden or Trump can directly change the oil market, and as such, prices in the US. But their global policies can affect those markets substantially.
One president dealt with a worldwide pandemic, the likes of which we had not seen since 1917. Those other started a war upending the largest concentration of oil markets in the world.
One president had no choice. The other chose badly.
And so, here we are.
BTW, just as a side note, oil and energy production during the pandemic and Biden Admin surged in the US to historic levels, so spare us the "what about the Keystone Pipeline" dodge.
skud: "...,it is more about the way you believe the squeaky clean DSC wears halos."
I have NEVER written anything that approaches that statement from you. Ever.
Here you are putting words that I've never expressed or thought in my mouth and mind. Why, why,, why do you do that?
skud: "joe K let a girl die and the dems covered it up yet you always come to their defense and this is what I am pointing out."
Who the hell is "joe K?" what what did "...the dems" cover up?
You're pointing out NOTHING, skud, because I've NEVER expressed or written anything approaching what you claim.
skud: "You also believe the DSC is pure and honest, not true but again you are entitled to your belief."
You are hallucinating. I strongly suggest you find out what it is that compels you to come here and make completely wrong statements about what I think (you can read my mind?), believe, and what I've written here.
You're making all of that up. Something must have bothered you yesterday or today, of which I had no part, and yet you felt the need to come here and write untrue things about what I think, believe, and have written here.
An unkind person would call that lying. I'll just say you're upset about something so you decided to come here and make up stories about me.
That's not nice.
And I will not publish any more malarkey you leave in the comments.
Dave, Like anything prices are all about supply and demand. Biden limited supply with restrictions, trump with a war. Biden restricted travel to bring prices down, trump makes false statements to ease tension. Trump wants to deport all persons from South America so now we have Mexico retaliating against the US with lettuce so we are being attacked on all sides.
It is madness on all sides.
BTW one of the larger refineries shut down because of government interference and the same state demands they reformulate gas twice a year which restricts production and increase costs.
The truth: Maintaining control of the status quo, which allows for market manipulation by the the capitalist class that directly benefits the selfish self interests of the capitalist elite is, and always has been, the motive force behind US governmental, economic, and social policy.
Skud... It's interesting the situation regarding refineries in CA. As I spoke with that oild exec, from West Texas and Louisiana, we talked about refineries, closures, capacity, etc.
He had plenty of opportunities to speak to the California "closings"... and he said nothing about government interference. Maybe you have more insight than he does. IDK.
You know me, I'm less of a binary guy with issues than you seem to be. Everything I've read on the sibject seems to point to a mix of typical CA regulations AND market fluctuations/changes. Which the guy on the plane acknowledged in the shift from petro to LNG/Propane in many markets.
I guess both things can be true at the same time.
I know CA has tough regulations, sometimes too tough for companies to navigate. But in this instance, to state one or the other is the reason seems to be overstating the case.
Dave, I have no special insight just what is published. California is a very difficult state to do any business in.
Major oil refineries in California—such as the Phillips 66 plant in Los Angeles and the Valero facility in Benicia—have closed or announced shutdowns due to a combination of high regulatory compliance costs, strict environmental standards, a long-term decline in local crude oil production, and shifting corporate profitability
Skud... CA is a very difficult state to do business in. CA has been a leader in environmental rules and laws for decades.
In the 1960's on many days we could not see the mountains less than 10 miles from my house. We averaged 175 bad smog days a year. Business knew what they were doing, but they did not care because they were making money. The technology to do better was there, but they chose not to and actively opposed clean air regulations. In fact, every single regulation designed to improve air quality for Californians and as a result, Americans, had to forced on those companies and litigated in court.
As a result, the same area now sees only about 30 bad days a year and even those "bad" days are not as bad as before.
This is all part of the heavy regulated state that CA is. As a result, all across the US, people breathe cleaner air than their ancestors ever did.
Are there regulations that go over the top in CA? Sure there are. But all across the US refineries operate cleaner because of CA. Cars get better mileage and thus, pollute less, because of CA. Cars emit less toxic emissions because of CA.
More efficient appliances, less diesel emissions and soon, zero emission vehicles are all a result of the heavily regulated California.
Maybe if companies were people forward and instituted change for public good, we'd need fewer regulations. But people have shown frequently they are only willing to do the right thing, when they are forced.
So what do we do?
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