The US 2020 Presidential Election

[Monash]

Wish people would hold the Biden's to the same evidentiary standards they held rump too. Biden is actually in office and we have his son's laptop confirming Hunter was taking foreign money in part to hold for Joe Biden.

Z, lets face it. I think the issue with Trump is that his words and actions are more or less on the record. For good or ill (IMO mostly ill) he was and still is in the public's 'face'. Biden and his family are not Trump. For that matter few, if any people in US federal politics come close. Trump's problems with the law are more or less of his own making. He basically did what he wanted to do and said what he wants to say. Biden? More of a conventional politician. Trump's conduct while in office basically involved him painting a giant legal target on himslef. Biden hasn't done that, at least so far.

Hunter? well he's Hunter i.e. not President of the United States. To allege crimes against Biden you have to prove he was complicit in Hunters actions, which to date as far as I' am aware hasn't been proven. And that's assuming Hunter's actions were illegal to start with! Which again is an open question as of now.

The important this is that when I say this I'm applying exactly the same rules I would apply if the conduct in question related to you or I. If an adult son or daughter (or another close relative for that matter) committed a criminal act without my knowledge or involvement no way in hell would I countenance their conduct. Nor would I accept responsibility for it. So if evidence exists that Biden Senior was involved? No problem, go to town on his ass, he'll deserve it! Just like you or I would in the same circumstances. But until such time as that is proved?

[zraver]

The laptop contains admissions by Hunter that Joe aka "The Big Guy" is intimately involved and profiting. Some confirmed by Hunter's own business partners.

[TopHatter]

"News" on the Hunter Biden Front
When there is an important story in the world of politics, particularly national politics, we try to make sure to write something about it. However, there is an awful lot of news that is treated as "important," and is given coverage by many outlets, but is really what you might call "So what?" news. For example, several times in the last couple of weeks, one of the Trump offspring has shared their opinion on why Vladimir Putin didn't invade Ukraine while pops was president. These assessments are absolutely worthless, as they are 100% guaranteed to be self-aggrandizing spin, unsupported with evidence of any sort. And yet, every outlet seemed to have a "Donald Jr. Explains..." or an "Eric Trump Explains..." piece when those two held forth. Clearly, Trump hate-reading gets a lot of clicks.

Another story last week from this category involves First Son Hunter Biden. Recall that Biden, who definitely has a few skeletons in his closet, was at the center of a fairly vast conspiracy theory perpetuated, in particular, by Rudy Giuliani. He was slurred for drug abuse (true), and for tax evasion (possibly true; the investigation is ongoing), and for using his famous name and his famous connections (i.e., dad) to land some high-paying jobs in Ukraine. This may also be true (and who knows better about this trick than Rudy Giuliani?). However, the core claim—that the current president and then vice president pulled strings in Ukraine to land high-paying gigs for his son—is unsupported by any evidence whatsoever, and does not work, timeline-wise. Still, Giuliani persevered in making the claim, including asserting the existence of a broken laptop in a repair shop in Delaware that contained e-mails proving everything.

The New York Times has been keeping a close eye on Hunter Biden, which is fair enough, we guess, since they also kept a close eye on the progeny of Trump. And the paper's latest on the subject contains this passage:
.

People familiar with the investigation said prosecutors had examined emails between Mr. Biden, Mr. Archer and others about Burisma and other foreign business activity. Those emails were obtained by The New York Times from a cache of files that appears to have come from a laptop abandoned by Mr. Biden in a Delaware repair shop. The email and others in the cache were authenticated by people familiar with them and with the investigation.

In some of the emails, Mr. Biden displayed a familiarity with FARA, and a desire to avoid triggering it.

In other words: (1) Biden was concerned about his tax situation, (2) Biden was concerned about possibly violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act, and (3) there really was a laptop.

Right-wing media treated this as a development on par with the promulgation of the Watergate "smoking gun" tape, or the deciphering of the Rosetta Stone, or the splitting of the atom. The story was treated as proof of concept of two things: (1) that the "mainstream media" is shady, because the Times attempted to bury the revelation deep in the story, (2) that because the laptop exists, the claims about the Biden family are all true.

Of course, if the Times really was shady, they wouldn't have included the information at all. The reason it only got passing notice is that it was only tangentially related to the story. The basic point was that Biden is still under investigation; the laptop e-mails are just one part of the evidence being used against him. Meanwhile, Hunter Biden conceded long ago that the laptop in question might well have been real. But just because it exists, and just because it was the rare laptop that had e-mails on it, does not mean that the whole Giuliani-fueled conspiracy is true. In fact, the only thing that really matters is whether or not Joe Biden is implicated in bad behavior, since he is an officeholder and Hunter is not. And it remains the case that there is zero evidence of misconduct on the President's part.

The alleged conspiracy/scandal got very little attention outside of right-wing media, and we were inclined to let it pass as well, since it's really "So what?" news until such time that Hunter Biden is convicted of something (and even then, he's a private citizen, so...). However, Senate Republicans are licking their chops, and are fantasizing about what they will do if they regain control of the upper chamber. And high up on the list are investigations of Hunter Biden and Anthony Fauci. Biden is no more worthy of a Senate probe than Fauci is, but the number of "the laptop is real!" stories being run by right-wing media will serve to justify Senate Republicans' claim that their investigation is VERY IMPORTANT. So, we pass the Hunter Biden news along, despite our "So what?" response.
________

[DOR]

Anyone who thinks President Biden -- not his family currently holding high office, because there aren't any, but POTUS himself -- should be held to the same standards as He Who Should Not Be Named needs to remember what those standards are … moral, ethical, and spiritual.

Any thinking person knows there is no comparison between 45 and 46.
Anyone who doesn't recognize that is delusional.

[TopHatter]

Anyone who thinks President Biden -- not his family currently holding high office, because there aren't any, but POTUS himself -- should be held to the same standards as He Who Should Not Be Named needs to remember what those standards are … moral, ethical, and spiritual.

Any thinking person knows there is no comparison between 45 and 46.
Anyone who doesn't recognize that is delusional.

It's a cult, pure and simple. Also a massive amount of projection: Accuse the other side of that which you are guilty of.

Personally I think that if Hunter Biden did something illegal, he should investigated thoroughly and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, with no protection based on who his father is. Funny enough, that's exactly what's happened and Joe Biden even made it a point to retain the Trump-era investigator, keeping him on the job investigating his son.

Everything about the above sentence^^ is the exact opposite of what occured during Trump's presidency and continues to occur to this day: Massive obstruction of justice, stonewalling and pleading the Fifth (which is something "only the Mob does", according to Donald Trump

I'm still waiting for Trump's apologists to show me where Biden or anyone in his family argued all the up to the Supreme Court that that they're above the law, like Trump has done.

That's the giant steaming pile of shit in the room: Trump has repeatedly claimed and argued all the way to the highest court of the land that he's immune from any investigation, above the law, and his cult, "the party of law and order", wants to pretend that never happened. Surfgun liked to call it "Democrat talking points", as I recall.

[Albany Rifles]

Not sure where else to put this so I figured here would do.

Rat jumping from ship is told not so fast!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...0de_story.html

Trump aide Manafort removed from plane for revoked passport


By Associated Press
Today at 10:59 a.m. EDTFILE - In this May 23, 2018, photo, Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, leaves the Federal District Court after a hearing in Washington. Manafort was removed from a plane at Miami International Airport before it took off for Dubai because he carried a revoked passport. Miami-Dade police confirmed Wednesday, March 23, 2022, that Manafort was removed from the Emirates Airline flight without incident on Sunday night. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Former Trump adviser Paul Manafort was removed from a plane at Miami International Airport before it took off for Dubai because he carried a revoked passport, officials said Wednesday.

Miami-Dade Police Detective Alvaro Zabaleta confirmed that Manafort was removed from the Emirates Airline flight without incident Sunday night but directed further questions to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. That agency did not immediately respond to an email Wednesday seeking comment.
A lawyer who has represented Manafort did not immediately return a call and email seeking comment Wednesday.

Manafort, 72, led former President Donald Trump’s campaign for several months during the 2016 presidential race but was ousted in August of that year after revelations about his business dealings in Ukraine.

He was later indicted on a broad array of financial crimes as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. He was convicted by a jury in August 2018 and later pleaded guilty in federal court in Washington.


In May 2020, Manafort was released from a low-security prison where he was serving a more than seven-year federal sentence amid concerns about the coronavirus. Although Manafort had not served long enough to be eligible for release under the guidelines, the Bureau of Prisons decided to free him because of his age and health vulnerabilities, a person familiar with the matter has said. Trump pardoned Manafort in December 2020.

Manafort’s removal was first reported by the website Knewz.com.

___

The name of U.S. Customs and Border Protection has been corrected in this stor

y.

[DOR]

Not sure where else to put this so I figured here would do.

Rat jumping from ship is told not so fast!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...0de_story.html

y.

Something curious here.
Passengers are not required, by US Immigration, to show a passport before boarding an international flight; I've done it myself.
The airline is responsible for ensuring that passengers are legally entitled to land at the destination, and so may require such documentation.

I don't see why US officials would be involved in removing anyone from a departing flight because of a passport issue.

[Albany Rifles]

Something curious here.
Passengers are not required, by US Immigration, to show a passport before boarding an international flight; I've done it myself.
The airline is responsible for ensuring that passengers are legally entitled to land at the destination, and so may require such documentation.

I don't see why US officials would be involved in removing anyone from a departing flight because of a passport issue.

It has been awhile since I travelled internationally but I had to show my passport when I was checking a bag. It may just have been the airline I was on.

[DOR]

It has been awhile since I travelled internationally but I had to show my passport when I was checking a bag. It may just have been the airline I was on.

From the US, that is purely an airline matter.
You didn't show your passport to a US Immigration Officer, correct?

[Ironduke]

Something curious here.
Passengers are not required, by US Immigration, to show a passport before boarding an international flight; I've done it myself.
The airline is responsible for ensuring that passengers are legally entitled to land at the destination, and so may require such documentation.

I don't see why US officials would be involved in removing anyone from a departing flight because of a passport issue.

Maybe someone in the flight crew who doesn't like him recognized him, and requested to local authorities he be removed.

[DOR]

Maybe someone in the flight crew who doesn't like him recognized him, and requested to local authorities he be removed.

Highly unlikely, but humorous.

[Albany Rifles]

From the US, that is purely an airline matter.
You didn't show your passport to a US Immigration Officer, correct?

Been awhile...last was in 2017.

But you may be correct.

[DOR]

I danced with immigration enough times to know how it works.

When I lost my passport in the US, and needed to get back to Hong Kong, I went to the Cathay Pacific desk at the airport (that's when I discovered it was missing) and explained the situation. As a permanent resident in HK, they had no problem walking me through TSA – which normally would look at your documents – and letting me fly to HK. Picked up a new US passport a few days later at the consulate.

[TopHatter]

Trial date set in defamation suit against Fox News over U.S. election claims

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An April 2023 jury trial has been scheduled in Dominion Voting Systems Inc's $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit accusing Fox News of trying to boost its ratings by falsely claiming the voting machine company rigged the 2020 U.S. presidential election against former President Donald Trump.

In a short written order issued on Friday, Delaware state court judge Eric Davis said he was scheduling Denver-based Dominion's lawsuit for trial on April 17, 2023. Fox, part of Fox Corp, had asked Owens for a trial date in early 2024.

Owens set aside five weeks for the trial, which could be the first of several involving baseless claims made by a variety of news outlets and individuals about Dominion's technology. Dominion filed its lawsuit against Fox News in March 2021.

People associated with Trump's campaign, including lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, floated conspiracy theories that Dominion rigged vote totals in the weeks after the Nov. 3, 2020, election in which Democrat Joe Biden defeated Republican Trump.

Dominion has filed defamation lawsuits against several Trump allies, including Giuliani and Powell, as well as conservative television networks Newsmax and One America News. Another election technology firm at the center of conspiracy theories, Smartmatic, has filed similar lawsuits.

The defendants have said they were commenting on matters of public concern and their remarks are free speech protected by the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment.

Davis in December ruled against a Fox News request that he dismiss Dominion's lawsuit. Owens wrote in his ruling that it was "reasonably conceivable" that Dominion has a viable defamation claim, and allowed the company to continue to seek documents and witness testimony from Fox.

Fox News representatives have called Dominion's lawsuit "baseless" and have said the network remains committed to defending itself.

"As we have maintained, FOX News, along with every single news organization across the country, vigorously covered the breaking news surrounding the unprecedented 2020 election, providing full context of every story with in-depth reporting and clear-cut analysis," a Fox spokesperson said in December.

Fox News and Dominion representatives did not immediately reply to requests for comment on Tuesday.
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[Albany Rifles]

Discovery is going to be fun....