Posts Tagged ‘FIFTH AMENDMENT’
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In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Military, Politics, Social commentary on July 16, 2026 at 12:10 am
On July 27, 2019, Olga Misik—a 17-year-old activist in the Russia of Vladimir Putin—joined thousands of people attending an unauthorized protest in Moscow against the bar on opposition activists competing for seats in the Duma (parliament) election against Putin’s lackeys.
Olga was sentenced on May 11, 2021, for vandalism. She received two years and two months of “restricted liberty.”
Prior to her sentencing, Misik read a prepared statement to the court. Among its passages:
“Someone said, “It’s impossible to be afraid if you know you’re right.” But Russia teaches us to always be afraid. A country that attempts to kill us every day, and if you’re not part of the system, you might as well be dead already.
“Of course I was at that protest. I don’t regret it and more so am proud of my actions. In reality, I had no choice. I had to do everything in my power, thus I have no right to regret it. And if I had the option to go back in time, I would do it again….
“I guess hope is insanity. But not doing something you believe in, just because everyone around you thinks it’s pointless, that is learned hopelessness. And better to be insane in your eyes than hopeless in my own….”
Olga Misik
On July 1, 2026, Air Force Major Jason Watson, dressed in full military uniform and holding a sign reading
stood on the steps of the United States Capitol Building. Speaking in a moderate, controlled voice, Watson laid out a damning indictment of the Trump administration:
“There are innumerable more impeachable offenses that I could cover:
—Denying congressional oversight of immigrant detention centers that look increasingly like CECOT.
—Suing media organizations, colleges, and law firms for billions of dollars while abusing executive branch agencies to extort settlements.
—Allowing a mega-donor to advertise products on the White House lawn.
Jason Watson
—Trading pardons for donations.
—Levying illegal tariffs.
—Weaponizing the Department of Justice against political adversaries while ignoring crimes committed by supporters and enablers.
—Attempting to reverse birthright citizenship through executive order.
“For all of these high crimes and misdemeanors, the President and Vice President must be impeached, convicted, and removed.”
Olga Misik compared her trial to that of Sophie Scholl, an anti-Nazi political activist executed by Nazi Germany.
“A fascist government never seems fascist from the inside. It seems like just some minuscule, inconsequential censorship and some targeted repression that will never reach you. I’m not the one on trial today. Today, you are deciding not my fate but yours, and you still have a chance to do the right thing….
“I am not promising victory tomorrow, the day after, in a year, or 10. But someday we will win, because love and youth always win. I can’t promise to make it there alive, but I really hope you live to see it.
“You know what I’m actually being tried for. For reading the constitution. For my political positions. For being named person of the year. For my principles. For my actions.
“The Nazi regime eventually crumbled, as will the fascist regime in Russia. I don’t know when it will happen, be it a week, a year, or decade, but I know that someday we will be victorious, because love and youth always prevail….
“Sophie Scholl’s last words before her execution were, ‘The sun still shines.’ Indeed, the sun still shines. I couldn’t see it out the window of the detention center, but I always knew it was there. And if now, in such dark times, we can turn to the light, then maybe victory isn’t so far after all.”
Continuing his speech on the Congressional steps, Jason Watson said:
“The constitutional impeachment process is our best pathway to restore fidelity to our Constitution….
“But Congress remains unconvinced of the urgency and necessity of honoring its oath. So we must persuade them with our unrelenting, uncompromising civil resistance. I am calling on average Americans everywhere to peacefully exercise your First Amendment rights every day until this administration is removed and our democratic republic is restored.
I believe in America. I believe in us.
Initially, Watson had been accompanied by the Texas Democratic Congressman Al Green, but when he left the area, police said he needed to stop his protest or be arrested. Protests are prohibited at the U.S. Capitol unless participants are accompanied by a member of Congress.
Watson refused, so Capitol Police arrested him for “Crowding, Obstructing and Incommoding.”
According to an Air Force spokesperson, Watson has received at least 19 awards and seven decorations during his 17-year career.
He could be court-martialed or face disciplinary measures under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
In his 1960 poem, “Conversation With an American Writer,” the Russian poet, Yevgeney Yevtushenko spoke for those Russians who had maintained their integrity in the face of Stalinist terror:
“You have courage,” they tell me.
It’s not true. I was never courageous.
I simply felt it unbecoming
to stoop to the cowardice of my colleagues.
In Russia—under Vladimir Putin—acting on moral courage is no small thing.
In the United States—under Donald Trump—acting on moral courage no small thing either.
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In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Military, Politics, Social commentary on July 15, 2026 at 12:40 am
On July 27, 2019, Olga Misik—a 17-year-old activist in the Russia of Vladimir Putin—joined thousands of people attending an unauthorized protest in Moscow against the bar on opposition activists competing for seats in the Duma (parliament) election against Putin’s lackeys.
Misik was released after the protest in 2019, but she later found herself facing charges related to a protest in 2020.
Olga was sentenced on May 11, 2021, for vandalism. She received two years and two months of “restricted liberty,” which amounted to home confinement, including a curfew that required her to be inside her house from 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Prior to her sentencing, Misik read a prepared statement to the court. Among its passages:
“Every night I wake from the smallest of sounds. I keep imagining footsteps in the hallway. Panic washes over me from the sound of the gravel crunching under the wheels of cars outside my window.
“I feel like all of the fear accumulated over the past nine months is most concentrated in this exact moment, in my final statement, because public speaking scares me more than the sentencing. My heart is racing at 151 beats per minute, and it feels as though it could explode any second now….”
On July 1, 2026, Air Force Major Jason Watson, dressed in full military uniform and holding a sign reading IMPEACH CONVICT REMOVE stood on the steps of the United States Capitol.
Speaking in a moderate, controlled voice, Watson laid out a damning indictment of the crimes thus far committed by the Trump administration:
“For the past 18 months, we the people have allowed the highest levels of the executive branch of the federal government to violate our Constitution and their oaths to it with impunity.
“When the president of the United States orders military action against foreign countries absent an emergency scenario, where American interests are under imminent dire threat as was done with Venezuela, Cuba and Iran, that’s an unconstitutional usurpation of Congress’s authority and a violation of the War Powers Clause.
Donald Trump
“These violations resulted in the deaths of 13 service members and injuries of hundreds more. For this, the president and vice president must be impeached, convicted and removed.
“When the President of the United States grants an unelected mega-donor sweeping authority to shut down large swaths of our federal government, along with unrestricted access to our government databases, that is an unconstitutional circumvention of Congress’s advice-and-consent authority under the Appointments Clause and Congress’s power of the purse under the Appropriations Clause.
“These violations exposed every American’s sensitive personal data to leaks and exploitation, illegally terminated tens of thousands of federal civil servants, crippled support for Americans needing medical care and disaster preparedness, and—most tragically—resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of the world’s most impoverished people through the inhumane, abrupt cessation of U.S. aid.
“For this, the President and Vice President must be impeached, convicted, and removed.
Continuing her courtroom statement, Olga Misik said:
“I wasn’t scared when they put me in the detention center….My own fate was the last thing on my mind. It is very strange, maybe some sort of coping mechanism, but in those days I wasn’t afraid once….
“I was worried and stressed about how things would play out, but unafraid. The night was beautiful. I was aware that it could be my last one in freedom, and yet that did not scare me.
“However, after the search, for the past nine months, I have been scared constantly. Ever since the night in the detention center, I haven’t been able to get a good night’s sleep once.”
Continuing his speech on the Congressional steps, Jason Watson said:
“When the President of the United States directs the Department of Homeland Security to deny hundreds of people due process before illegally detaining them and sending them to a foreign prison notorious for human rights abuses, that is a violation of our Fifth and Eighth Amendment rights….
“For this, the President and Vice President must be impeached, convicted, and removed.
“When the President of the United States sponsors violence against the American people engaged in their constitutional right to peacefully assemble and protest, that is a violation of our First Amendment rights.
ICE victim Renee Good
CBP victim Alex Pretti
“Pastors praying for DHS agents were violently attacked without provocation. A legal observer lost an eye after being struck by a so-called non-lethal round fired by an ICE agent.
“A woman [Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother and poet] attempting to follow chaotic and contradictory DHS instructions was fatally shot.
“A subdued man [Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs] who posed no threat was fatally shot after having his firearm removed.
“There are innumerable more impeachable offenses that I could cover: denying congressional oversight of immigrant detention centers that look increasingly like CECOT; suing media organizations, colleges, and law firms for billions of dollars while abusing executive branch agencies to extort settlements; allowing a mega-donor to advertise products on the White House lawn; trading pardons for donations; levying illegal tariffs; weaponizing the Department of Justice against political adversaries while ignoring crimes committed by supporters and enablers; and attempting to reverse birthright citizenship through executive order.”
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In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Military, Politics, Social commentary on July 14, 2026 at 12:10 am
“I just read her final speech. And you know what? I felt ashamed,” Andrei Chvanov, from Tatarstan, wrote on Facebook.
He was referring to Olga MisIk, a 17-year-old activist in the Russia of President Vladimir Putin.
“Because my threshold of fear is much lower….She holds strong, jokes, writes, and is 100 percent sure that she is right. And she is right. She sees the truth. And she is not afraid. Not many people in our country have such a gift.”
On July 27, 2019, Misik was among thousands of people attending an unauthorized protest in Moscow against the bar on opposition activists competing for seats in the Duma (parliament) election against Putin’s lackeys.
Heavily-armed riot police—wielding shields, batons and helmets—stood behind her. As if oblivious to their presence, Olga sat cross-legged in the middle of the street.
She pulled out her copy of Russia’s 1993 constitution and began reading from it.
Olga Misik
“I read four sections,” she said in a later interview with the BBC. “An article talking about the right to peacefully protest, an article saying that everyone can take part in elections, has the right to freedom of speech and that the people’s will and power are the most important thing for the country.
“The situation in Russia is currently extremely unstable. The authorities are clearly getting very scared if they are consolidating armed forces from different parts of the country to chase peaceful protesters. And people’s mentality has changed, as I can see.”
Olga left the scene after the reading, but was later arrested on her way to a metro station. She was among more than 1,000 protesters arrested as a result of the rally. She had been detained four times in the past three months. She said she was peacefully protesting each time.
Misik was released after the protest in 2019, but she later faced charges related to a protest in 2020.
Although she is in no way biologically related to United States Air Force Major Jason Watson, in spirit they could easily be sister and brother.
Jason Watson
On July 1, 2026, Watson, dressed in full military uniform and holding a sign reading
IMPEACH
CONVICT
REMOVE
stood on the steps of the United States Capitol, where protests are prohibited unless participants are accompanied by a member of Congress. Speaking in a moderate, controlled voice, Watson laid out a damning indictment of the crimes thus far committed by the Trump administration:
“My name is Jason Watson. I’m an active-duty major in the United States Air Force. However, who I am is immaterial. In the grand scheme of things, I’m just a nobody. What matters far more than who I am is what I have to say and the price I’m willing to pay to say it.
“I, Jason Paul Watson, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. That I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same.
“That I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I’m about to enter. So help me God.
“I first swore this oath over 20 years ago upon entering basic cadet training at the United States Air Force Academy in late June of 2005. I’ve repeated it many times over since then. The oath of office means everything to me. It is foundational to our system of governance in the United States.
“The oath ensures that officials of our government owe allegiance not to any individual or political party, but to our Constitution and the democratic republic it represents.”
According to the Moscow Times, Olga and two friends were accused of vandalism after police said they hung a banner supporting Putin arch-foe Alexi Navalny and other political prisoners on a government building.
In addition, said the indictment, they “splashed red paint on a security booth outside the Prosecutor General’s Office building in August 2020.”
Vladimir Putin
Misik wrote on social media that she was dragged out of her home by police after the 2020 protest.
Olga was sentenced on May 11, 2021, for vandalism. She received two years and two months of “restricted liberty,” which amounted to home confinement, including a curfew that required her to be inside her house from 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Her two friends received similar sentences.
Prior to her sentencing, Misik read a prepared statement to the court. Among its most moving passages:
“People often asked, ‘Aren’t I scared?’ More commonly outside the country than in Russia, because they don’t get the reality of life in Russia. They don’t understand the knock on the door in the middle of the night, the arrests and imprisonment without reason or cause.
“They don’t realize that the feeling of despair is passed on to us through our mothers’ milk. And that that feeling of despair causes any semblance of fear to atrophy, infecting us with learned hopelessness. What use is fear if you have no say in your future?
“However, after the search, for the past nine months, I have been scared constantly. Ever since the night in the detention center, I haven’t been able to get a good night’s sleep once.”
2016 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, ABC NEWS, ADOLF HITLER, AL CAPONE, ALTERNET, AMERICABLOG, AP, BABY BOOMER RESISTANCE, BARACK OBAMA, BBC, BLOOMBERG NEWS, BUZZFEED, CBS NEWS, CNN, COVID-19, CROOKS AND LIARS, DAILY KOS, DONALD TRUMP, FBI, FIFTH AMENDMENT, FIVETHIRTYEIGHT, HARPER’S MAGAZINE, HILLARY CLINTON, HUFFINGTON POST, LETITIA JAMES, LIBEL, MEDIA MATTERS, MEIN KAMPF (BOOK), MOTHER JONES, MOVEON, MSNBC, NAZI GERMANY, NBC NEWS, NEW REPUBLIC, NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE, NEW YORK TIMES V. SULLIVAN, NEWSDAY, NEWSWEEK, NPR, PBS NEWSHOUR, POLITICO, POLITICUSUSA, RAW STORY, REUTERS, RUSSIA, SALON, SEATTLE TIMES, SLATE, TALKING POINTS MEMO, THE ATLANTIC, THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, THE DAILY BEAST, THE DAILY BLOG, THE GUARDIAN, THE HILL, THE HUFFINGTON POST, THE INTERCEPT, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, THE NATION, THE NEW REPUBLIC, THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE NEW YORKER, THE SS, THE VILLAGE VOICE, THE WASHINGTON POST, THINKPROGRESS, THIRD REICH, TIME, TREASON, TRUMP FOUNDATION, TRUMP TOWER MEETING, TRUMP UNIVERSITY, TRUTHDIG, TRUTHOUT, TWITTER, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT, UPI, USA TODAY, VLADIMIR PUTIN
In Business, History, Law, Medical, Politics, Social commentary on June 21, 2024 at 12:05 am
On October 3, 2022, former President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit against CNN for defamation.
Seeking $475 million in punitive damages, he charged the network with conducting a “campaign of libel and slander” against him.
Trump claimed that CNN had used its influence to defeat him politically.
“As a part of its concerted effort to tilt the political balance to the left, CNN has tried to taint the Plaintiff with a series of ever-more scandalous, false, and defamatory labels of ‘racist,’ ‘Russian lackey,’ ‘insurrectionist,’ and ultimately ‘Hitler,'” the lawsuit claimed.
The lawsuit focused largely on CNN’s use of the term, “The Big Lie,” to describe Trump’s false claims that widespread voter fraud cost him the 2020 Presidential election.
The phrase dates from Adolf Hitler’s use of it in his autobiography, Mein Kampf: People “more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods.”
Trump’s lawsuit claimed “The Big Lie” had been used in referring to him more than 7,700 times on CNN since January, 2021.
In addition, the lawsuit cited instances where CNN compared Trump to Hitler. In a January, 2022 report, Fareed Zakaria provided footage of Germany’s dictator.
On July 28, 2023, a federal judge in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, threw out Trump’s defamation lawsuit.
U.S. Judge Raag Singhal, who was nominated by Trump in 2019, said CNN’s words were opinion, not fact, and therefore could not be the subject of a defamation claim.
“CNN’s statements while repugnant, were not, as a matter of law, defamatory,” wrote Singhal. “Being ‘Hitler-like’ is not a verifiable statement of fact that would support a defamation claim.”
Trump, in fact, had zero chance of winning his lawsuit.
First: Donald Trump is a public figure—arguably the most public figure in the world. Plaintiffs who are public figures or government officials must prove themselves victims of actual malice to collect damages.
In the landmark case, New York Times v. Sullivan (1964) the Supreme Court declared that actual malice occurs when a statement is made “with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not.”
This is a more stringent standard than private citizens have to meet, which is negligence.
Donald Trump
Second: Truth is an absolute defense against libel (unless the plaintiff is suing for invasion of privacy). And Trump’s history as a liar, criminal and traitor has been thoroughly established.
Liar:
- He created the lie that Barack Obama—whose birth certificate states unequivocally that he was born in Hawaii—was not an American citizen. The reason: To de-legitimize Obama as a Presidential candidate and President.
- Throughout 2020, he repeatedly lied about the dangers of COVID-19—attacking medical experts who urged citizens to mask up and social distance. As a result, by the time he left office, 400,000 Americans had died of COVID.
Criminal:
- He has been forced to shut down his Trump Foundation and forced to pay more than $2 million in court-ordered damages to eight different charities for illegally misusing charitable funds at the Foundation for political purposes.
- He was also forced to close his unaccredited Trump University for scamming its students. He had promised to teach them “the secrets of success” in the real estate industry—then delivered nothing. In 2016, a federal court approved a $25 million settlement with many of those students.
Traitor:
- On July 9, 2016, high-ranking members of his Presidential campaign met at Trump Tower with at least two lobbyists who had ties to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. The reason: To obtain “dirt” on Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
- On July 27, 2016, Trump said at a press conference in Doral, Florida: “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you are able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing [from Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s computer]. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.”
These incidents were nothing less than treason—inviting a foreign power, hostile to the United States, to interfere in its Presidential election.
Third—and perhaps the most important of all: In a libel suit, the plaintiff must answer—under oath—all questions put to him by the defendant’s attorneys.
Trump, better than anyone, knows the depths of his own criminality. Just as Al Capone knew his notoriety for evil would make it impossible for him to win a libel suit, so does Trump.
On August 10, 2022, he invoked his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination nearly 450 times during a deposition at the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James, in its probe into the Trump Organization’s business practices.
And during April-May, 2024 trial for paying hush-money to porn “star” Stormy Daniels, he refused to take the witness stand.
If he refused to testify as a litigant in a libel suit, the suit would be dismissed by the judge.
So why did he file a defamation suit against CNN?
Money—not by winning an impossible lawsuit, but by raising it from his gullible and Fascistic followers.
He could claim “The court system is rigged against me.” And know that his Stormtrumper army would gladly empty their pockets—to pay his ever-mounting legal expenses.
2016 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, ABC NEWS, ADOLF HITLER, AL CAPONE, ALTERNET, AMERICABLOG, AP, BABY BOOMER RESISTANCE, BARACK OBAMA, BBC, BLOOMBERG NEWS, BUZZFEED, CBS NEWS, CNN, COVID-19, CROOKS AND LIARS, DAILY KOS, DONALD TRUMP, FBI, FIFTH AMENDMENT, FIVETHIRTYEIGHT, HARPER’S MAGAZINE, HILLARY CLINTON, HUFFINGTON POST, LETITIA JAMES, LIBEL, MEDIA MATTERS, MEIN KAMPF (BOOK), MOTHER JONES, MOVEON, MSNBC, NAZI GERMANY, NBC NEWS, NEW REPUBLIC, NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE, NEW YORK TIMES V. SULLIVAN, NEWSDAY, NEWSWEEK, NPR, PBS NEWSHOUR, POLITICO, POLITICUSUSA, RAW STORY, REUTERS, RUSSIA, SALON, SEATTLE TIMES, SLATE, TALKING POINTS MEMO, THE ATLANTIC, THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, THE DAILY BEAST, THE DAILY BLOG, THE GUARDIAN, THE HILL, THE HUFFINGTON POST, THE INTERCEPT, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, THE NATION, THE NEW REPUBLIC, THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE NEW YORKER, THE SS, THE VILLAGE VOICE, THE WASHINGTON POST, THINKPROGRESS, THIRD REICH, TIME, TREASON, TRUMP FOUNDATION, TRUMP TOWER MEETING, TRUMP UNIVERSITY, TRUTHDIG, TRUTHOUT, TWITTER, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT, UPI, USA TODAY, VLADIMIR PUTIN
In Business, History, Law, Medical, Politics, Social commentary on March 20, 2023 at 12:13 am
On October 3, 2022, former President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit against CNN for defamation.
Seeking $475 million in punitive damages, he charged the network with conducting a “campaign of libel and slander” against him.
Trump is claiming that CNN had used its influence to defeat him politically.
“As a part of its concerted effort to tilt the political balance to the left, CNN has tried to taint the Plaintiff with a series of ever-more scandalous, false, and defamatory labels of ‘racist,’ ‘Russian lackey,’ ‘insurrectionist,’ and ultimately ‘Hitler,'” the lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit focuses largely on CNN’s use of the term, “The Big Lie,” to describe Trump’s false claims that widespread voter fraud cost him the 2020 Presidential election.
The phrase dates from Adolf Hitler’s use of it in his autobiography, Mein Kampf: People “more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods.”
Trump’s lawsuit claims “The Big Lie” has been used in referring to him more than 7,700 times on CNN since January, 2021.
In addition, the lawsuit cites instances where CNN compared Trump to Hitler. In a January, 2022 report, Fareed Zakaria provided footage of Germany’s dictator.
So what are his odds of winning? Far less than your own of finding loose change in sofa cushions.
First: Donald Trump is a public figure—arguably the most public figure in the world. Plaintiffs who are public figures or government officials must prove themselves victims of actual malice to collect damages.
In the landmark case, New York Times v. Sullivan (1964) the Supreme Court declared that actual malice occurs when a statement is made “with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not.”
This is a more stringent standard than private citizens have to meet, which is negligence.
Second: Truth is an absolute defense against libel (unless the plaintiff is suing for invasion of privacy). And Trump’s history as a liar, criminal and traitor has been thoroughly established.
Liar:
- He created the lie that Barack Obama—whose birth certificate states unequivocally that he was born in Hawaii—was not an American citizen. The reason: To de-legitimize Obama as a Presidential candidate and President.
- Throughout 2020, he repeatedly lied about the dangers of COVID-19—attacking medical experts who urged citizens to mask up and social distance. As a result, by the time he left office, 400,000 Americans had died of COVID.
Donald Trump
Criminal:
- He has been forced to shut down his Trump Foundation and forced to pay more than $2 million in court-ordered damages to eight different charities for illegally misusing charitable funds at the Foundation for political purposes.
- He was also forced to close his unaccredited Trump University for scamming its students. He had promised to teach them “the secrets of success” in the real estate industry—then delivered nothing. In 2016, a federal court approved a $25 million settlement with many of those students.
Traitor:
- On July 9, 2016, high-ranking members of his Presidential campaign met at Trump Tower with at least two lobbyists who had ties to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. The reason: To obtain “dirt” on Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
- On July 27, 2016, Trump said at a press conference in Doral, Florida: “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you are able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing [from Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s computer]. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.”
These incidents were nothing less than treason—inviting a foreign power, hostile to the United States, to interfere in its Presidential election.
Third—and perhaps the most important of all: In a libel suit, the plaintiff must answer—under oath—all questions put to him by the defendant’s attorneys.
Trump, better than anyone, knows the depths of his own criminality. Just as Al Capone knew his notoriety for evil would make it impossible for him to win a libel suit, so does Trump.
On August 10, 2022, he invoked his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination nearly 450 times during a deposition at the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James, in its probe into the Trump Organization’s business practices.
He would not be allowed to do so as a litigant in a libel suit.
Moreover, he has a history of threatening to file lawsuits—and then failing to do so.
During the 2016 Presidential campaign, at least 12 women publicly accused him of sexually inappropriate behavior—if not assault.
Trump’s reaction: “All of these liars will be sued after the election is over.”
Six years later, he has not filed a single lawsuit for defamation.
So why has he filed a defamation suit against CNN?
Money—not by winning an impossible lawsuit, but by raising it from his gullible and Fascistic followers.
He will claim—once again—that he’s being persecuted and that “they’re not coming after me, they’re coming after you.”
And his millions of media-hating followers will gladly pony up money they will never see again.
If he loses the lawsuit—or pulls out of it—he will claim he’s the victim of “the deep-state establishment.”
And ask his followers for even more money—which they’ll cough up.
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In Business, History, Law, Medical, Politics, Social commentary on November 2, 2022 at 12:14 am
On October 3, former President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit against CNN for defamation.
Seeking $475 million in punitive damages, he charged the network with conducting a “campaign of libel and slander” against him.
Trump is claiming that CNN had used its influence to defeat him politically.
“As a part of its concerted effort to tilt the political balance to the left, CNN has tried to taint the Plaintiff with a series of ever-more scandalous, false, and defamatory labels of ‘racist,’ ‘Russian lackey,’ ‘insurrectionist,’ and ultimately ‘Hitler,'” the lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit focuses largely on CNN’s use of the term, “The Big Lie,” to describe Trump’s false claims that widespread voter fraud cost him the 2020 Presidential election.
The phrase dates from Adolf Hitler’s use of it in his autobiography, Mein Kampf: People “more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods.”
Trump’s lawsuit claims “The Big Lie” has been used in referring to him more than 7,700 times on CNN since January, 2021.
In addition, the lawsuit cites instances where CNN compared Trump to Hitler. In a January, 2022 report, Fareed Zakaria provided footage of Germany’s dictator.
So what are his odds of winning? Far less than your own of finding loose change in sofa cushions.
First: Donald Trump is a public figure—arguably the most public figure in the world. Plaintiffs who are public figures or government officials must prove themselves victims of actual malice to collect damages.
In the landmark case, New York Times v. Sullivan (1964) the Supreme Court declared that actual malice occurs when a statement is made “with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not.”
This is a more stringent standard than private citizens have to meet, which is negligence.
Second: Truth is an absolute defense against libel (unless the plaintiff is suing for invasion of privacy). And Trump’s history as a liar, criminal and traitor has been thoroughly established.
Liar:
- He created the lie that Barack Obama—whose birth certificate states unequivocally that he was born in Hawaii—was not an American citizen. The reason: To de-legitimize Obama as a Presidential candidate and President.
- Throughout 2020, he repeatedly lied about the dangers of COVID-19—attacking medical experts who urged citizens to mask up and social distance. As a result, by the time he left office, 400,000 Americans had died of COVID.
Donald Trump
Criminal:
- He has been forced to shut down his Trump Foundation and forced to pay more than $2 million in court-ordered damages to eight different charities for illegally misusing charitable funds at the Foundation for political purposes.
- He was also forced to close his unaccredited Trump University for scamming its students. He had promised to teach them “the secrets of success” in the real estate industry—then delivered nothing. In 2016, a federal court approved a $25 million settlement with many of those students.
Traitor:
- On July 9, 2016, high-ranking members of his Presidential campaign met at Trump Tower with at least two lobbyists who had ties to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. The reason: To obtain “dirt” on Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
- On July 27, 2016, Trump said at a press conference in Doral, Florida: “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you are able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing [from Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s computer]. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.”
These incidents were nothing less than treason—inviting a foreign power, hostile to the United States, to interfere in its Presidential election.
Third—and perhaps the most important of all: In a libel suit, the plaintiff must answer—under oath—all questions put to him by the defendant’s attorneys.
Trump, better than anyone, knows the depths of his own criminality. Just as Al Capone knew his notoriety for evil would make it impossible for him to win a libel suit, so does Trump.
On August 10, he invoked his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination nearly 450 times during a deposition at the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James, in its probe into the Trump Organization’s business practices.
He would not be allowed to do so as a litigant in a libel suit.
Moreover, he has a history of threatening to file lawsuits—and then failing to do so.
During the 2016 Presidential campaign, at least 12 women publicly accused him of sexually inappropriate behavior—if not assault.
Trump’s reaction: “All of these liars will be sued after the election is over.”
Six years later, he has not filed a single lawsuit for defamation.
So why has he filed a defamation suit against CNN?
Money—not by winning an impossible lawsuit, but by raising it from his gullible and Fascistic followers.
He will claim—once again—that he’s being persecuted and that “they’re not coming after me, they’re coming after you.”
And his millions of media-hating followers will gladly pony up money they will never see again.
If he loses the lawsuit—or pulls out of it—he will claim he’s the victim of “the deep-state establishment.”
And ask his followers for even more money—which they’ll cough up.
ABC NEWS, ARREST, CBS NEWS, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, CIVIL RIGHTS, CNN, CONFESSION, DECEPTION, FACEBOOK, FALSE EMPATHY, FIFTH AMENDMENT, FINGERPRINTS, GOOD COP/BAD COP, INTERROGATION, MIRANDA VS. ARIZONA, NBC NEWS, POLICE, RAPE, THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, THE DENVER POST, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, THE WASHINGTON POST, TWITTER, U.S. SUPREME COURT, UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT, UNITED STATES V. RUSSELL, USA TODAY
In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Politics, Social commentary on October 20, 2016 at 12:30 am
Ever heard of “polygraph by copier”? If you haven’t, here’s how it works:
A detective loads three sheets of paper into a Xerox machine.
“Truth” has been typed onto the first sheet.
“Truth” has been typed onto the seond sheet.
“Lie” has been typed onto the third sheet. Then a criminal suspect is led into the room and told to put his hand against the side of the machine.
“What is your name?” asks the detective.
The suspect gives it.
The detective hits the copy button, and a page comes out: “Truth.”
“Where do you live?” asks the detective.
The suspect gives an address, the detective again hits the copy button, and a second page appears: “Truth.”
Then comes the bonus question: “Did you or did you not kill Big Jim Tate on the evening of….?”
The suspect answers.
The detective presses the copy button one last time, and the sheet appears: “Lie.”
“Well, well, well, you lying little bastard,” says the detective.
Convinced that the police have found some mysterious way to peer into the darkest recesses of his criminality, the suspect “gives it up” and makes a full confession.
Yes, contrary to what many believe, police can legally use deceit to obtain a confession.
In 1973, the Supreme Court ruled, in United States v. Russell: “Nor will the mere fact of deceit defeat a prosecution, for there are circumstances when the use of deceit is the only practicable law enforcement technique available.”
In that case, the Court narrowly upheld a conviction for methamphetamine production even though the defendant had argued entrapment.
So what types of interrogative deceit might a police officer use to develop admissible evidence of a suspect’s guilt?
The general rule is that deception can be used so long as it’s not likely to cause an innocent person to commit a crime or confess to a crime that s/he didn’t commit.
Click here: The Lawful Use of Deception – Article – POLICE Magazine
Consider the following examples:
- A detective is interviewing a suspect in a rape case. “Oh, that girl,” he says, thus implying that the victim was a slut and had it coming. The suspect, thinking he’s dealing with a sympathetic listener, starts bragging about his latest conquest–only to learn, too late, that his listener isn’t so simpatico after all.
- “We found your prints on the gun”–or on any number of other surfaces. Actually, there are few good places on a pistol to leave prints. And those that are left can be smeared. The same goes for other surfaces. But if a suspect can be led to believe the cops have his prints, a confession is often forthcoming.
- A police officer is interrogating a suspect in a murder case. “He came at you, didn’t he?” asks the cop. The suspect, who murdered the victim in cold blood, thinks he has an escape route. “Yeah, he came at me”–this confirming that, yes, he did kill the deceased.
- “Your partner just gave you up” is a favorite police tactic when there is more than one suspect involved. If one suspect can be made to “flip–turn–against the other, the case is essentially wrapped up.
- Interrogating a bank robbery suspect, a cop might say: “We know you didn’t do the shooting, that you were only the wheelman.” This implies that the penalty for driving the getaway car is far less than that for killing someone during a robbery. In fact, criminal law allows every member of the conspiracy to be charged as a principal.
- “I don’t give a damn what you did,” says the detective. “Just tell me why you did it.” For some suspects, this offers a cathartic release, a chance to justify their guilt.
- The “good cop/bad cop” routine is known to everyone who has ever seen a police drama. Yet it continues to yield results so often it continues to be routinely used. “Look, I believe you,” says the “good” cop, “but my partner’s a real asshole. Just tell me what happened so we can clear this up and you can go.”
- “So,” says the detective, “why do you think the police believe you did it?” “I have no idea,” says the suspect, confident that he isn’t giving up anything that might come back to haunt him. “Well,” says the cop, “I guess you’ll just have to make something up.” Make something up sounds easy, but is actually a trap. The suspect may end up giving away details that could incriminate him–or lying so brazenly that his lies can be used against him.
So: Is there a best way to deal with police who suspect you of a crime?
Yes, there is: Refuse to say anything and ask for permission to call a lawyer.
That’s what the Supreme Court laid out in Miranda vs. Arizona (1966): “You have the right to remain silent….”
That’s the preferred method for Mafia hitmen–and accused police officers. Any cop who finds himself under investigation by his department’s Internal Affairs unit automatically shuts up–and calls his lawyer, supplied by the police union.
Any other response–even if you’re innocent–may well result in a lengthy prison sentence.
Bureaucracybuster's Blog 
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STANDING UP TO TYRANTS–IN RUSSIA AND AMERICA: PART THREE (END)
In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Military, Politics, Social commentary on July 16, 2026 at 12:10 amOn July 27, 2019, Olga Misik—a 17-year-old activist in the Russia of Vladimir Putin—joined thousands of people attending an unauthorized protest in Moscow against the bar on opposition activists competing for seats in the Duma (parliament) election against Putin’s lackeys.
Olga was sentenced on May 11, 2021, for vandalism. She received two years and two months of “restricted liberty.”
Prior to her sentencing, Misik read a prepared statement to the court. Among its passages:
“Someone said, “It’s impossible to be afraid if you know you’re right.” But Russia teaches us to always be afraid. A country that attempts to kill us every day, and if you’re not part of the system, you might as well be dead already.
“Of course I was at that protest. I don’t regret it and more so am proud of my actions. In reality, I had no choice. I had to do everything in my power, thus I have no right to regret it. And if I had the option to go back in time, I would do it again….
“I guess hope is insanity. But not doing something you believe in, just because everyone around you thinks it’s pointless, that is learned hopelessness. And better to be insane in your eyes than hopeless in my own….”
Olga Misik
On July 1, 2026, Air Force Major Jason Watson, dressed in full military uniform and holding a sign reading
IMPEACH
CONVICT
REMOVE
stood on the steps of the United States Capitol Building. Speaking in a moderate, controlled voice, Watson laid out a damning indictment of the Trump administration:
“There are innumerable more impeachable offenses that I could cover:
—Denying congressional oversight of immigrant detention centers that look increasingly like CECOT.
—Suing media organizations, colleges, and law firms for billions of dollars while abusing executive branch agencies to extort settlements.
—Allowing a mega-donor to advertise products on the White House lawn.
Jason Watson
—Trading pardons for donations.
—Levying illegal tariffs.
—Weaponizing the Department of Justice against political adversaries while ignoring crimes committed by supporters and enablers.
—Attempting to reverse birthright citizenship through executive order.
“For all of these high crimes and misdemeanors, the President and Vice President must be impeached, convicted, and removed.”
Olga Misik compared her trial to that of Sophie Scholl, an anti-Nazi political activist executed by Nazi Germany.
“A fascist government never seems fascist from the inside. It seems like just some minuscule, inconsequential censorship and some targeted repression that will never reach you. I’m not the one on trial today. Today, you are deciding not my fate but yours, and you still have a chance to do the right thing….
“I am not promising victory tomorrow, the day after, in a year, or 10. But someday we will win, because love and youth always win. I can’t promise to make it there alive, but I really hope you live to see it.
“You know what I’m actually being tried for. For reading the constitution. For my political positions. For being named person of the year. For my principles. For my actions.
“The Nazi regime eventually crumbled, as will the fascist regime in Russia. I don’t know when it will happen, be it a week, a year, or decade, but I know that someday we will be victorious, because love and youth always prevail….
“Sophie Scholl’s last words before her execution were, ‘The sun still shines.’ Indeed, the sun still shines. I couldn’t see it out the window of the detention center, but I always knew it was there. And if now, in such dark times, we can turn to the light, then maybe victory isn’t so far after all.”
Continuing his speech on the Congressional steps, Jason Watson said:
“The constitutional impeachment process is our best pathway to restore fidelity to our Constitution….
“But Congress remains unconvinced of the urgency and necessity of honoring its oath. So we must persuade them with our unrelenting, uncompromising civil resistance. I am calling on average Americans everywhere to peacefully exercise your First Amendment rights every day until this administration is removed and our democratic republic is restored.
I believe in America. I believe in us.
Initially, Watson had been accompanied by the Texas Democratic Congressman Al Green, but when he left the area, police said he needed to stop his protest or be arrested. Protests are prohibited at the U.S. Capitol unless participants are accompanied by a member of Congress.
Watson refused, so Capitol Police arrested him for “Crowding, Obstructing and Incommoding.”
According to an Air Force spokesperson, Watson has received at least 19 awards and seven decorations during his 17-year career.
He could be court-martialed or face disciplinary measures under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
In his 1960 poem, “Conversation With an American Writer,” the Russian poet, Yevgeney Yevtushenko spoke for those Russians who had maintained their integrity in the face of Stalinist terror:
“You have courage,” they tell me.
It’s not true. I was never courageous.
I simply felt it unbecoming
to stoop to the cowardice of my colleagues.
In Russia—under Vladimir Putin—acting on moral courage is no small thing.
In the United States—under Donald Trump—acting on moral courage no small thing either.
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