Hush Money and Election Interference Take the Lead
Listen to this articleThe climate crisis is the number one existential threat to mankind … and our attention is on the Manhattan courthouse where the ex-president is standing trial for election interference when he paid a porn star hush money to keep quiet about a sexual encounter many years ago (2006).I’ve tried to ignore it at times, either walking with the pups or taking in some streaming services on the TV.
(Tim Forkes)
The trial is on the 15th floor of the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse at 100 Centre Street, NYC, NY 10013 where TriBeCa, Chinatown and Little Italy meet. I didn’t just dox the courthouse. The address and floor number are readily available to anyone with the Google machine on their phones, tablets and computers.
Not until I looked up the building on Google maps did I realize just how densely populated New York City is. There are some green spaces near the courthouse, which must be a great respite for the denizens living or working in the area, especially in the summer months.
On Monday, May 20 — when I started writing this — the prosecution was winding up their case with more from former Trump fixer/attorney Michael Cohen. The former Trump confidant went to prison for the lies he told to law enforcement, the courts and congress. And he told those lies to protect himself and his boss at the time, the ex-president Donald J. Trump.
For the better part of ten years Cohen wanted to be a loyal Trump employee/acolyte until the ex-president didn’t reach out to save Cohen from prosecution. We can say Cohen had a Road to Damascus moment.
My opinion of Cohen softened quite a bit when I saw him enter the federal courthouse in Manhattan to learn of his sentence for nine criminal charges. His family was with him, including his daughter Samantha who was using a crutch with her right arm, while her father, Michael, gently held her left arm.
entering federal courthouse for his sentencing in 2018
screenshot from https://youtu.be/rZ2FU-sJFAw?si=ksdSGJCViducuoq2
It couldn’t have felt good for anyone in that family, but I saw some compassion and empathy in that moment — good or bad, Cohen’s family stood by him.
Compare that to the current Trump trial. His second son Eric sometimes shows up in court, but that family standing by “The Donald” through good times and bad … not at all.
As Trump’s fixer, Michael Cohen was a belligerent dick to people that were opposed to Trump. He was the successor to Roy Cohn, Donald Trump]s original fixer, even though Cohn had been stripped of his law license. Both Cohen and Cohn were horrible and rotten SOB’s, but in ne short span of a few seconds I saw a side of Michael Cohen that changed how I saw the man.
Cohen got what he deserved, three years in federal prison and a $50k fine. He only served 13-plus months behind bars and about the same amount of time in home confinement. He probably deserved much more. But, as we know, we have a tiered justice/legal system. Caucasian white collar criminals fare much better than people of color who commit street crimes, with and without firearms. Except for Bernie Madoff. He died in prison at the age of 82. Good riddance.
Apparently some people say Cohen can still be a prick. I don’t doubt it. Most of us, maybe even all of us, don’t change every aspect of our personality when we have life changing epiphanies. Still, Michael Cohen is a real, true family man.
Probably the funniest part of this New York bromance, with a few women in the mix, are the GOP MAGA faithful who show up to support the ex-president, sitting in the front rows as guests of Donald Trump.
When I covered concerts for a living (and albums/CDs) the major concert acts like Van Halen, David Lee Roth, Rush, Bon Jovi, Springsteen, Grateful Dead, Yes, Neil Young and a few others I can’t remember, would save the first few rows for VIP friends, contest winners and news organizations who were there to get some concert photos and write reviews (people like me). Apparently that works in American courtrooms as well.
Well, Trump may not have had family with him in the courtroom (Tuesday May 21 Don. Jr showed up), he did have his cadre of boot lickers from congress and other MAGA Cult circles. Most of the men wore the same suit and tie Trump wore: the muted blue suit with a red tie. They’re not just ass kissing, boot lickers, they are sucking Trump’s balls to boot.
Most of them, maybe all of them, hope to be picked as Trump’s running mate so the more vigorously one defends their lord and master the better the chance of joining the ticket. The list includes Andy Ogles, Anna Paulina Luna, Eli Crane, Andy Biggs, Ralph Norman, Diana Harshbarger, Michael Cloud, Bob Good, Vivek Ganapathy Ramaswamy (will anyone ask him to produce his long form birth certificate?), Rick Scott (The Medicare/Medicaid cheat), Mike Johnson, pedophile Matt Gaetz, failed restauranteur and (second dumbest Rep in Congress, not to mention exhibitionist pervert) Lauren Boebert, The Beach Blonde, Bad Built, Butch Body Marjorie Taylor Greene (Props to Texas Dem. Jasmine Crockett for that description of Greene), Bob Good, J.D. Vance of Ohio — who couldn’t flip-flop fast enough to suck up to Trump — and a bunch of others I can’t recall.
The Trump Cult in the House of Representatives can’t get any legislation for the good of the people passed, but they have time to suck up to their lord and master in New York City.
Tuesday, after Memorial Day, the court will be back in session for jury instructions and closing arguments — and then the jurors will get together and decide the guilt or innocence of the ex-president (and traitor) Donald J. Trump.
One more thing to note: the best thing to happen in Congress in a long, long time: Texas Democratic Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett’s smack down of Georgia MAGA Cult Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene — after Greene tried to insult both Crockett and New York Democrat Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Pretty soon the phrase “Bleach blonde, bad built butch body” will be copyrighted by Jasmine Crockett so expect to see it on t-shirts and other paraphernalia as well as maybe a billboard or two in Greene’s congressional district, the Georgia 14th. And, in case Crockett hasn’t thought of the billboards yet, I’ll pass this along to her congressional office to suggest it.
Tim Forkes started as a writer on a small alternative newspaper in Milwaukee called the Crazy Shepherd. Writing about entertainment, he had the opportunity to speak with many people in show business, from the very famous to the people struggling to find an audience. In 1992 Tim moved to San Diego, CA and pursued other interests, but remained a freelance writer. Upon arrival in Southern California he was struck by how the elected government officials and business were so intertwined, far more so than he had witnessed in Wisconsin. His interest in entertainment began to wane and the business of politics took its place. He had always been interested in politics, his mother had been a Democratic Party official in Milwaukee, WI, so he sat down to dinner with many of Wisconsin’s greatest political names of the 20th Century: William Proxmire and Clem Zablocki chief among them. As a Marine Corps veteran, Tim has a great interest in veteran affairs, primarily as they relate to the men and women serving and their families. As far as Tim is concerned, the military-industrial complex has enough support. How the men and women who serve are treated is reprehensible, while in the military and especially once they become veterans. Tim would like to help change that.
