Thanks Croesos. AFZ and you are both right. The lack of explanation is deeply troubling on such an important case. Actually on any case. Justice has not been seen to be done.
Now he is selling Bibles to cover his legal bills. “Happy Holy Week! Let’s Make America Pray Again. As we lead into Good Friday and Easter, I encourage you to get a copy of the God Bless the USA Bible,” Trump wrote, directing his supporters to a website selling the book for $59.99.
Nausea? You're complaining about nausea? You had it easy ... my recent surgery wounds were jiggered about by uncontrolled and hysterical laughter. You couldn't make it up ....
I look forward to the Tory Party's fund-raising best seller, 'An Ethical Guide to Daily L iving' by ones Boris Johnson, Cruella Braverman (et al).
I screwed up the courage to look at their website. It states that no money goes to Trump's presidential campaign, but it appears that he will benefit financially by licensing his name and image.
IS ANY OF THE MONEY FROM THIS BIBLE GOING TO THE DONALD J. TRUMP CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT?
No, GodBlessTheUSABible.com is not political and has nothing to do with any political campaign. GodBlessTheUSABible.com is not owned, managed or controlled by Donald J. Trump, The Trump Organization, CIC Ventures LLC or any of their respective principals or affiliates.
GodBlessTheUSABible.com uses Donald J. Trump’s name, likeness and image under paid license from CIC Ventures LLC, which license may be terminated or revoked according to its terms.
Perhaps there was an announcement in court along the lines that the court had decided upon the order and would make that, with reasons to follow. I don't know about the practice in any US court, but in a case such as this it would not be all that uncommon here.
I screwed up the courage to look at their website. It states that no money goes to Trump's presidential campaign, but it appears that he will benefit financially by licensing his name and image.
IS ANY OF THE MONEY FROM THIS BIBLE GOING TO THE DONALD J. TRUMP CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT?
No, GodBlessTheUSABible.com is not political and has nothing to do with any political campaign. GodBlessTheUSABible.com is not owned, managed or controlled by Donald J. Trump, The Trump Organization, CIC Ventures LLC or any of their respective principals or affiliates.
GodBlessTheUSABible.com uses Donald J. Trump’s name, likeness and image under paid license from CIC Ventures LLC, which license may be terminated or revoked according to its terms.
I smell a rat.
I wonder how much is going to a certain legal defence fund?
I screwed up the courage to look at their website. It states that no money goes to Trump's presidential campaign, but it appears that he will benefit financially by licensing his name and image.
IS ANY OF THE MONEY FROM THIS BIBLE GOING TO THE DONALD J. TRUMP CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT?
No, GodBlessTheUSABible.com is not political and has nothing to do with any political campaign. GodBlessTheUSABible.com is not owned, managed or controlled by Donald J. Trump, The Trump Organization, CIC Ventures LLC or any of their respective principals or affiliates.
GodBlessTheUSABible.com uses Donald J. Trump’s name, likeness and image under paid license from CIC Ventures LLC, which license may be terminated or revoked according to its terms.
I smell a rat.
I wonder how much is going to a certain legal defence fund?
Some digging needed here, me thinks.
So, ten minutes on the internet tells me that "CIC Ventures LLC" is a strange little corporation set up by a couple of Trump associates. Apparently it has the rights to Trump images and can licence them. This is the same company that was marketing the ridiculous Trump trading cards. It's address just happens to be on Trump's Golf Course.
I'm intrigued as to how much of the $60 price goes on royalties to various endorsers. I've checked, you can get a KJV copy of the bible from Amazon for $5 and a copy of the Constitution / Declaration of Independence in paperback for less than two bucks. So, even if we're being generous, the price of this - um - publication should be around $10. Where's the other 50 going? Presumably a decent chunk goes to Lee Greenwood.
I also found out that the original intention to put the Bible with this song God Bless the USA and the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence in a single volume had planned to use the NIV translation. Hodder&Stoughton who own the NIV Copyright would not agree to let them.
Whether Trump gets a flat fee or a proportion of sales is a matter of speculation but some money will find its way to him from this.
Well, all the money he is earning is going to his legal problems. None is going to his campaign. Moreover, all the money the Republican National Committee is collecting also goes to trump. Means little to go down ballot. Means Republicans are going to suffer this Novemeber.
I believe that is truly what worries the Supreme Court, Even hard-right justices, for if one doesn't think that there was an Insurrection they are simply engaging in a variation of this argument.
It was better explained on legal YouTube channels. Trump doesn't have the cash and would need to sell real estate to get it, likely at a low price. In the event he wins the appeal he would have lost the real estate and could not automatically buy it vack at the same price. This is an irreparable harm so he got a reduced bond requirement.
The more interesting question is why not mortgage-related real estate to get the cash; the answer is its already leveraged and he doesn't have enough equity remaining. Plus many banks forthwith want to deal with him any more.
He's still going to lise, it will just take longer.
I believe that is truly what worries the Supreme Court, Even hard-right justices, for if one doesn't think that there was an Insurrection they are simply engaging in a variation of this argument.
The more interesting question is why not mortgage-related real estate to get the cash; the answer is its already leveraged and he doesn't have enough equity remaining. Plus many banks forthwith want to deal with him any more.
Given that Trump has to come up with this bond because a court ruled he had systematically and fraudulently mis-valued his real estate holdings in order to get bank loans, this question would seem to be self-answering, even if Trump were not highly leveraged.
I believe that is truly what worries the Supreme Court, Even hard-right justices, for if one doesn't think that there was an Insurrection they are simply engaging in a variation of this argument.
It was better explained on legal YouTube channels. Trump doesn't have the cash and would need to sell real estate to get it, likely at a low price. In the event he wins the appeal he would have lost the real estate and could not automatically buy it vack at the same price. This is an irreparable harm so he got a reduced bond requirement.
The more interesting question is why not mortgage-related real estate to get the cash; the answer is its already leveraged and he doesn't have enough equity remaining. Plus many banks forthwith want to deal with him any more.
He's still going to lise, it will just take longer.
That is a cogent argument. I am happy to be corrected but I don't think that was the reasoning given by the court.
It was better explained on legal YouTube channels. Trump doesn't have the cash and would need to sell real estate to get it, likely at a low price. In the event he wins the appeal he would have lost the real estate and could not automatically buy it vack at the same price. This is an irreparable harm so he got a reduced bond requirement.
It's interesting what the US justice system defines as "irreparable harm." In a lot of states you can have your home or your car seized and auctioned off by the cops if they even suspect it's being used for drug dealing. No need for a warrant or arrest, they just take your stuff. Or, if you're carrying a large amount of cash, the police can seize that because they think you might buy drugs with it.
It doesn't even have to be you doing the illegal activity in the car or the house. Here's an example of a lady whose car was seized twice because her ex-boyfriend was doing crimes in it.
Needless to say, most of the people whose houses or cars are seized don't have multiple commercial properties in midtown Manhattan. The house or car that was taken is usually their only one, so to take it away seems a lot like irreparable harm to me. I'm reminded of the parable about the old man whose single lamb was taken and killed for a sacrifice by his neighbor who had a whole flock.
As for irreparable loss, yes, we see it a lot with our poor people. Had a guy have a paranoid attack and get hospitalized, leaving his car parked in a spot that it couldn't stay in all the time he was involuntarily confined--so of course they towed it, and he couldn't afford to buy it back at (fine) plus 100$ a day storage, so there he was with no transport and how was he to get to work? Assuming he still had a job...
Indeed I always tell people if they have a family member arrested, first before anything else get the keys and remove the car from storage. The cost per day is bank-breaking. It is usually the last thing anyone thinks about.
Former President Donald Trump posted a $175 million bond Monday to stop collection of a half-billion dollar judgment in the civil fraud case against him, preventing state authorities from seizing his assets while he appeals the verdict.
Trump’s posting of the bond comes after a panel of appellate judges last week ruled that he could post a bond in a significantly smaller amount than the $454 million he owes as a result of the verdict. That decision came after Trump’s lawyers said he lacked the cash to cover the full amount of the penalty and had been rejected by dozens of insurance companies for a bond for the full amount.
According to a court filing, the $175 million bond he and the other defendants posted Monday was provided by Los Angeles-based Knight Insurance Group. The filing didn’t specify which assets Trump used as collateral for the bond.
Knight’s president, Amit Shah, didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking information about the collateral.
That's not a bet I'd be willing to take, but I'm not running a big insurance company.
Looks like his “play long” tactics will further delay the Georgia and the classified documents cases. For someone who thinks the judicial system is unfair to him he sure knows how to play delay. With a bit of help from Judge Cannon of course.
So there was a bit of a problem with the $175 million "bond" offered for Trump's liability in his civil fraud suit. Daily Beast has the details (via Yahoo):
The little-known insurance company that rescued Donald Trump by providing a last-minute $175 million bank fraud bond isn’t just unlicensed in New York; it hasn’t even been vetted by a voluntary state entity that would verify it meets minimum “eligibility standards” to prove financial stability.
Perhaps even more troubling, the legal document from Knight Specialty Insurance Company doesn’t actually promise it will pay the money if the former president loses his $464 million bank fraud case on appeal. Instead, it says Trump will pay, negating the whole point of an insurance company guarantee, according to three legal and bond experts who reviewed the contract for The Daily Beast.
“This is not common… the only reason this would be done is to limit the liability to the surety,” said N. Alex Hanley, an expert in how companies appeal enormous judgments.
How is this in any way a "bond"? This is just a piece of paper that says Donald Trump will pay you if he loses. I've never heard of a "bond" where the issuer isn't "jointly and severally liable", to borrow the lingo.
Just like federal regulators require financial institutions to have sufficient reserves in case of a run on the banks, New York law limits how much money state-regulated surety companies can post on a single bond to 10 percent of a firm’s total “capital and surplus.” However, a court filing by the company on Thursday showed that Knight Specialty only has $138 million in “surplus,” vastly exceeding the government-set cap because the Trump bond alone makes up 127 percent of the company’s reserves.
“Based on the financial statement provided, Knight Specialty is providing a bond that is one-third of its total assets and greater than its surplus, which is incomprehensible for a carrier to underwrite,” said Vullo, who was previously the superintendent of New York’s DFS.
In subsequent court filings, the AG’s office immediately questioned whether Knight Specialty was even good for the money. The law enforcement agency said it “takes exception to the sufficiency of the surety,” noting that Knight Specialty is trying to operate “without a certificate of qualification.”
I can see why the judge balked at accepting it. We'll see what happens next, but offering an allegedly fraudulent bond to cover the cost of your fines for financial fraud is very on-brand for Trump.
I think that Trump could get competent people to work for him once upon a time. However he stiffed them for their fees and now they won't work for him anymore.
Baring any last minute intervention, the criminal case of Donald J Trump for allegedly paying hush money to keep Stormy Daniels quite in the run up to the 2016 election will start Monday. No doubt, Trump's defense team will take a wrecking ball to Michael Cohen who is the government's lead witness. But another strategy might be to get the judge to allow Trump to be found guilty on misdemeanor charges. See the story in Politico.
But another strategy might be to get the judge to allow Trump to be found guilty on misdemeanor charges. See the story in Politico.
I’m not at all sure why the writers at Politico think asking the judge to instruct the jury on lesser included offenses in order to give the jury an option that still allows them to say “guilty” but that’s not as bad for Trump is “unorthodox” and “unusual.” It’s neither in my experience.
I only caught snippets of the court reports today. Two things that I noted were on Friday Trump had warned there would be a mass demonstation at the courthouse today and to expect trouble. Well, that was a dog that did not bark. Reports were there was just a handful of supporters there. Some were interviewed. None appeared to be from Manhattan. The other report that caught my attention was that the old man kept knodding off during the arguments today. I also understand about 90 perspective jurors were brought in today. Half of them were excused because they said they could not give a fair assessment of the case.
today was mainly about juror selection, which is going to take a while, it looks like. If there were arguments, it was about some of the many efforts Trump is making to delay the trial again and again and again, the latest being some foolery about getting the judge to recuse himself on the grounds that his daughter did work for Democrats... I understand the judge pushed that aside, saying they needed to not keep the potential jurors waiting.
I may be way off beam here, but reading how many potential jurors excused themselves, could there be a concern about possible retribution should the jurors decide against the defendant? Or is it more likely that people have other commitments and are unwilling to commit a large chunk of time to a trial?
I may be way off beam here, but reading how many potential jurors excused themselves, . . . .
Potential jurors do not excuse themselves. They are excused by the court, generally either because it doesn’t appear they can be impartial or because serving on the jury would work a particular hardship (for example, employment-wise or they’re caring for an elderly or sick relative).
I don't understand Trump's claim that this trial is an attack on America. Does he think every married American male cheats on his wife and has to pay hush money to his other women? Is he right?
The BBC report says that the first group of 96 potential jurors were asked to raise their hands if they considered they could not be impartial, and the judge dismissed them. Questioning of the remainder by attorneys then began to decide on impartially. Apparently, more than 500 prospective jurors were at the courthouse for the trial
Apparently the Defendant in Chief decided that the first day of his criminal trial was nap time.
Haberman: Trump appeared to be asleep. His head would fall down… He didn’t pay attention to a note his lawyer passed him. His jaw kept falling on his chest and his mouth kept going slack.
I don't understand Trump's claim that this trial is an attack on America. Does he think every married American male cheats on his wife and has to pay hush money to his other women? Is he right?
Comments
Now he is selling Bibles to cover his legal bills. “Happy Holy Week! Let’s Make America Pray Again. As we lead into Good Friday and Easter, I encourage you to get a copy of the God Bless the USA Bible,” Trump wrote, directing his supporters to a website selling the book for $59.99.
I look forward to the Tory Party's fund-raising best seller, 'An Ethical Guide to Daily L iving' by ones Boris Johnson, Cruella Braverman (et al).
(besides which - it's tacky).
I smell a rat.
I wonder how much is going to a certain legal defence fund?
Some digging needed here, me thinks.
So, ten minutes on the internet tells me that "CIC Ventures LLC" is a strange little corporation set up by a couple of Trump associates. Apparently it has the rights to Trump images and can licence them. This is the same company that was marketing the ridiculous Trump trading cards. It's address just happens to be on Trump's Golf Course.
I'm intrigued as to how much of the $60 price goes on royalties to various endorsers. I've checked, you can get a KJV copy of the bible from Amazon for $5 and a copy of the Constitution / Declaration of Independence in paperback for less than two bucks. So, even if we're being generous, the price of this - um - publication should be around $10. Where's the other 50 going? Presumably a decent chunk goes to Lee Greenwood.
I also found out that the original intention to put the Bible with this song God Bless the USA and the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence in a single volume had planned to use the NIV translation. Hodder&Stoughton who own the NIV Copyright would not agree to let them.
Whether Trump gets a flat fee or a proportion of sales is a matter of speculation but some money will find its way to him from this.
AFZ
Having a very interesting debate on the relative badness of “tacky” and “blasphemy” here—not sure which wins…
Blasphemy is venal, tacky blasphemy is mortal?
Admittedly most things involving Trump seem pretty venal.
It was better explained on legal YouTube channels. Trump doesn't have the cash and would need to sell real estate to get it, likely at a low price. In the event he wins the appeal he would have lost the real estate and could not automatically buy it vack at the same price. This is an irreparable harm so he got a reduced bond requirement.
The more interesting question is why not mortgage-related real estate to get the cash; the answer is its already leveraged and he doesn't have enough equity remaining. Plus many banks forthwith want to deal with him any more.
He's still going to lise, it will just take longer.
I'm pretty sure that quote is from you, not me.
Given that Trump has to come up with this bond because a court ruled he had systematically and fraudulently mis-valued his real estate holdings in order to get bank loans, this question would seem to be self-answering, even if Trump were not highly leveraged.
I think you're right @Lamb Chopped, the gold sneakers are tacky.
It could have been even worse though - thank goodness for copyright.
That is a cogent argument. I am happy to be corrected but I don't think that was the reasoning given by the court.
AFZ
It's interesting what the US justice system defines as "irreparable harm." In a lot of states you can have your home or your car seized and auctioned off by the cops if they even suspect it's being used for drug dealing. No need for a warrant or arrest, they just take your stuff. Or, if you're carrying a large amount of cash, the police can seize that because they think you might buy drugs with it.
It doesn't even have to be you doing the illegal activity in the car or the house. Here's an example of a lady whose car was seized twice because her ex-boyfriend was doing crimes in it.
Needless to say, most of the people whose houses or cars are seized don't have multiple commercial properties in midtown Manhattan. The house or car that was taken is usually their only one, so to take it away seems a lot like irreparable harm to me. I'm reminded of the parable about the old man whose single lamb was taken and killed for a sacrifice by his neighbor who had a whole flock.
I think it may be a typo for ‘lose’.
Edited to correct a typo — ironically!
As for irreparable loss, yes, we see it a lot with our poor people. Had a guy have a paranoid attack and get hospitalized, leaving his car parked in a spot that it couldn't stay in all the time he was involuntarily confined--so of course they towed it, and he couldn't afford to buy it back at (fine) plus 100$ a day storage, so there he was with no transport and how was he to get to work? Assuming he still had a job...
Lord, have mercy.
That's not a bet I'd be willing to take, but I'm not running a big insurance company.
Donald Trump has only had three wives (that we know of). He has, however, had five children (assuming no false paternity) with these three wives.
How is this in any way a "bond"? This is just a piece of paper that says Donald Trump will pay you if he loses. I've never heard of a "bond" where the issuer isn't "jointly and severally liable", to borrow the lingo.
I can see why the judge balked at accepting it. We'll see what happens next, but offering an allegedly fraudulent bond to cover the cost of your fines for financial fraud is very on-brand for Trump.
Why do emperors with no clothes get such support?
Let's not think too deeply on that.....
May the house of cards start coming down.
If he were a ship, I would be looking for a way to get off it.
today was mainly about juror selection, which is going to take a while, it looks like. If there were arguments, it was about some of the many efforts Trump is making to delay the trial again and again and again, the latest being some foolery about getting the judge to recuse himself on the grounds that his daughter did work for Democrats... I understand the judge pushed that aside, saying they needed to not keep the potential jurors waiting.
AFAICT, Trump thinks he IS America.