The Trump Presidency, Season 2

[Cindy Claveau]

Judge disqualifies US attorney in New York, tosses Letitia James subpoenas

U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield, appointed by President Barack Obama, wrote in a 24-page opinion that John Sarcone III has been unlawfully serving as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York.

“When the Executive branch of government skirts restraints put in place by Congress and then uses that power to subject political adversaries to criminal investigations,” she wrote, “it acts without lawful authority.”

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

Manbaby in whining mode: "We must win the mid terms otherwise they'll impeach me."

 

[Free]

I can't say they'd be wrong to do this.

Danish forces will ‘shoot first and ask questions later’ if Greenland is invaded amid US threats

Danish troops will immediately respond to any invasion of Greenland with force, the country’s defence ministry warned as the US continues to weigh up military intervention to annex the territory.

The ministry told Danish outlet Berlingske that soldiers would be required to counter any foreign invasion without awaiting orders under the military’s rules of engagement.

It said a Cold War-era rule requiring troops to “immediately take up the fight” if attacked remains in force as European leaders contend with how to respond to Donald Trump’s repeated threats to seize the island.

 

[Cristiano]

 

[Free]

It feels wrong for me to applaud Germany's deployment, and yet...

 

[Free]

Where Trump’s Imperialism Could Strike Next - The American Prospect

Greenland, Colombia, Cuba, Iran … all are at risk from an unchecked president.

prospect.org

It’s ludicrous for Trump to mount a takeover of Greenland; current defense treaties already allow the U.S. broad latitude to install defense materiel and personnel on the island. And U.S. companies could almost certainly have a crack at the rare earth minerals Greenland has, too, through ordinary business contracts. But that doesn’t suit what [David Silbey, a professor of history at Cornell University specializing in military history and defense policy] sees as Trump’s desire to dominate the Western Hemisphere through acquisition.

“I think he’s also realizing that he’s a lot less constrained in foreign policy than he is in domestic policy,” Silbey said. “The courts have, in a limited way and tentatively, been constraining him a bit at home; there’s very few countries that can do that to the United States abroad. And so suddenly Trump is running rampant and enjoying himself.”

 

[detrius]

"Equipped with an attack jet squadron" and "helicopters (plural)"?

Cool, I didn't know we had an aircraft carrier.

 

[Cristiano]

It feels wrong for me to applaud Germany's deployment, and yet...

 

[Cindy Claveau]

Key point from a nerd: the US carriers are massive because they were all built on the model of WW2 with the expanse of the Pacific requiring their employment. They needed more planes with longer ranges.

Greenland is a very different scenario and range isn't nearly the issue it was 70 years ago.

 

[Casey Pelous]

So. The day has come when we wake up to find NATO nations lining up to protect a NATO member from another NATO member.

J.F.C.

 

[Cindy Claveau]

it says much that there is a lot of speculation that Trump is only bluffing to see how much he can get with no risk.

I hope he pulls back a bloody stump.

 

[Cindy Claveau]

Smithsonian Quietly Scrubs Embarrassing Info Under Trump Portrait

One quick point of order for the folks back in the corner: Trump has been impeached 2 times. Despite a lack of conviction from the spineless R toadies , there's nothing he can do to remove that.

He is an already-twice-impeached President and he will now be impeached again after the mid terms. This time, it had better stick.

A Dem congress needs to rewrite the rules under which a President can be removed.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

Daily Mail reports that Trump ordered special forces commanders to create a plan for the invasion of Greenland, and so far the miliary officials refused to do so being this an illegal order.

British diplomats believe that Trump is also motivated by a desire to distract American voters from the performance of the US economy before the mid-term elections later this year, after which he could lose control of Congress to the Democrats.

But such a dramatic move would put him at odds with Sir Keir Starmer and would effectively lead to the collapse of Nato.

According to the sources, the President has asked the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) to prepare the invasion plan, but it is being resisted by the joint chiefs of staff on the grounds that it would be illegal - and would not be supported by Congress.

One source said: 'They have tried to distract Trump by talking about less controversial measures, such as intercepting Russian 'ghost' ships - a clandestine network of hundreds of vessels operated by Moscow to evade Western sanctions - or launching a strike on Iran.'

Diplomats have war-gamed what they describe as an 'escalatory scenario' under which Trump uses force or 'political coercion' to sever Greenland's links to Denmark.

One diplomatic cable describes the 'worst-case' scenario as leading to 'the destruction of Nato from the inside'.

It adds: 'Some European officials suspect this is the real aim of the hardline MAGA faction around Trump. Since Congress would not allow Trump to exit Nato, occupying Greenland could force the Europeans to abandon Nato. If Trump wants to end Nato, this might be the most convenient way to do it.'

A diplomatic source said: 'The generals think Trump's Greenland plan is crazy and illegal. So they are trying to deflect him with other major military operations. They say it's like dealing with a five-year-old'.

Trump 'orders US army chiefs to draw up plan to invade Greenland'

Donald Trump has ordered his special forces commanders to draw up a plan for the invasion of Greenland - but is being resisted by senior military figures, The Mail on Sunday has learned.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Casey Pelous]

Daily Mail reports that Trump ordered special forces commanders to create a plan for the invasion of Greenland, and so far the miliary officials refused to do so being this an illegal order...

I don't doubt they're trying like hell to deflect him from this insanity, but I do doubt the Daily Mail having it right that they have refused to create a plan. I can't see how an order to create a plan constitutes an illegal order -- those folks wargame all sorts of plans all the time. It's their job.

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

US Fed chair Jerome Powell under criminal investigation

Jerome Powell said he believed the investigation was due to Donald Trump's anger over the Fed's refusal to cut interest rates.

www.bbc.com

Hey look... Trump shamelessly making up charges against his enemies. In this case, Trump needs a scapegoat for him tanking the economy.

 

[Essence Lumin]

A Dem congress needs to rewrite the rules under which a President can be removed.

it is part of the constitution which requires a 2/3 vote in both house and senate for starters.

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

it is part of the constitution which requires a 2/3 vote in both house and senate for starters.

Yes. This isn't something a dem congress can just decide to do. An amendment to the constitution on the subject is not realistically happening. And if they did make it easier to remove a President, that would later be weaponized against democrats. Very hard to save a democracy from itself...

 

[Cindy Claveau]

Yes. This isn't something a dem congress can just decide to do. An amendment to the constitution on the subject is not realistically happening. And if they did make it easier to remove a President, that would later be weaponized against democrats. Very hard to save a democracy from itself...

I'm thinking IF the Dems can manage a super-majority somehow (?), the equation will change immediately. Or else enough Repubs grow a spine and join us to impeach and remove.

It may be hard to do for a reason, but I think we've amassed more than enough justification.

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

It may be hard to do for a reason, but I think we've amassed more than enough justification.

There are mountains of justification! That's not the hard part. Nixon was impeached for a tiny fraction of what Trump did. The hard part is the votes.

 

[Katheryne Helendale]

There are mountains of justification! That's not the hard part. Nixon was impeached for a tiny fraction of what Trump did. The hard part is the votes.

The hard part is breaking through the cult among our congresscritters so that they'll do the right thing.