Some predicted jury selection in the ex-president’s trial would take two weeks. Thanks to the civic-mindedness of ordinary Americans, it took three days.
I have to say this is a ridiculous case, that never should have been brought. That said, I do trust the Americans on the jury to make the right decision (not guilty, in my opinion.) I have been on lots of juries and everyone ALWAYS treated their responsibilities with the utmost seriousness and respect. It is an amazing right we have, that the government can't put you away without a jury of your peers agreeing. At heart most people are good and will do the right thing. Here's hoping that continues in this case...
Hilarious that they link this propaganda piece in the email this morning. That, along with an Axios article about Trump not being called to the stand. Even TFP has a terminal case of the TDS. Zero real press on the Trump case from this outfit is very telling.
How quickly the Left forgets to use the word "alleged" when referring to Mr. Trump. They just assume he is guilty. Mr. Nocera tips his hand in his first paragraph. He writes, the payment "was meant to keep their tryst from damaging his 2016 election prospects." Not "alleged tryst," but read "actual tryst." Mr. Trump denies it, and Daniels never substantiated her claim. But we should believe Daniels and her attorney, Michael Avenatti. After all, he is a paragon of virtue. It's not like he would defraud anyone, would he? Oh, wait, yes, I see here that poor Michael was disbarred and sent to federal prison for fraud.
The thing is, people have a tendency to see what they want to see. Nocera saw what he wanted to see, as someone who wants to believe that this is a real trial with a real crime with justice really at stake. The facts of the matter are these: Mr. Trump directly or indirectly paid Daniels hush money. That is not a crime. It happens all the time. And paying hush money is not an admission of guilt. I am an insurance claims adjuster. We settle claims all the time without an admission of liability or guilt. Some of these we call nuisance claims. There is no merit to the claim, but it will cost more to defend it than to pay it. Here's $10K, now go away! Insurance companies do it all the time, and it is not a crime. But Mr. Nocera has made up his mind already, and so he sees a polluted, well maybe biased is more polite, jury pool as American justice in action. Why does the theme from the Three Stooges suddenly come to mind: Three blind mice. Three blind mice.
It takes real character - far more than just clarity of thought - to stand alone against eleven peers determined to "teach a lesson". Many people are so certain Trump is a crook that for them his actual culpability in this particular case is largely irrelevant. Most, I would say. Their view is usually that - even if these particular charges are absurd - he's certainly guilty of *something* and on that basis deserves conviction and jail.
The formatting from my original doesn’t carry over for some reason. And the indent/tab function doesn’t work when drafting in Substack. I’ll admit that these issues could easily be operator error, but suffice it to say that I’m cognizant of the problem, and your correction is well-taken. Appreciate the support, as well n
Nocera’s hilarious celebration of how fair-minded New Yorkers are is a sterling piece of propaganda.
Do you truly not understand how many of your subscribers will vote for Trump?
And why? When your own platform has been relentlessly critiquing Biden’s foolishness, you’ve added fuel to the fire against the Democrats.
And yet you dismiss both Trump and RFK as a charlatan and and a kook respectively.
You can’t have it both ways; if you’re going to dirty yourself in partisan causes -which you do - then choose a side. Don’t act as if you’re too pure for any of these imperfect candidates.
Encouraging, indeed, if true. It doesn't seem that unlikely to me. But, given the left's illiberal turn, one has to be a little skeptical. The vanguard of the left has openly proclaimed its rejection of ideas like objectivity and impartial justice. In fact it has proclaimed such ideas to be "white supremacy." This totalitarian view also holds that political goals trump (as it were) all others, and should be infused into every aspect of life. I guarantee that many on the intellectual left, and among their activist foot soldiers, think would be permissible (perhaps obligatory) to conceal ones biases with the aim of voting to convict, no matter what.
I doubt that such ideas, in their full form, have actually taken hold in the average Democrat...but I also expect that they *are* in the mix somewhere, in some form.
It took 3 days, because there is the sitting judge who has trampled on the defendant's rights from the git-go. You are the perfect example of one who is shown but will not see.
And it is ironic that you got to see from a closed screen camera, but we, the people, did not.
It's like saying the people who sold refreshments to the January 5th rioters were great entrepreneurs. I don't know these jurors. From what I have read, Judge Merchan the partisan prosecutors who ran on getting Trump and the amen corner of journalist gleefully cheering for Trump to be lynched, and I guess you represent a tremendous danger to our country.
So like the great majority of Americans, even ones like me who dislike Trump and never voted for him, I know this partisan lawfare that has been unleashed against him is unAmerican and incredibly dangerous to our Democracy. Shame on you for not.
"the deep sincerity in tone" "thoughtful pauses and hesitant responses, as if they were trying to be absolutely sure" ... oh give me a break - these are NPR-dependent Upper East/West side NY-ers, channeling the "deeply sincere" tone of NPR news, oh so thoughtful, oh so serious, oh so educated, oh so unaccented - a tone you can recognize after a few seconds - OK, this is NPR on the radio! Oh my god .. it just grabs you in here, doesn't it? Deep down? The sincerity, as it is oozing?
We won't know until the Verdict is delivered. Fair minded people, even ones who dislike Trump like myself find this a trumped (small t) up charge and nothing more than election interference.
I have to say this is a ridiculous case, that never should have been brought. That said, I do trust the Americans on the jury to make the right decision (not guilty, in my opinion.) I have been on lots of juries and everyone ALWAYS treated their responsibilities with the utmost seriousness and respect. It is an amazing right we have, that the government can't put you away without a jury of your peers agreeing. At heart most people are good and will do the right thing. Here's hoping that continues in this case...
Hilarious that they link this propaganda piece in the email this morning. That, along with an Axios article about Trump not being called to the stand. Even TFP has a terminal case of the TDS. Zero real press on the Trump case from this outfit is very telling.
Nocera seems unable to read or comprehend newsprint. Daniels has written, submitted and admitted in court that she never had sex with Trump.
Seems like Nocera, like the jury surely will, has found Trump guilty on hearsay.
The man's bias is so blatant that it not his petticoat that is showing, but his knickers.
Wow. Total meltdown on this thread.
Must be the real TDS in action.
How quickly the Left forgets to use the word "alleged" when referring to Mr. Trump. They just assume he is guilty. Mr. Nocera tips his hand in his first paragraph. He writes, the payment "was meant to keep their tryst from damaging his 2016 election prospects." Not "alleged tryst," but read "actual tryst." Mr. Trump denies it, and Daniels never substantiated her claim. But we should believe Daniels and her attorney, Michael Avenatti. After all, he is a paragon of virtue. It's not like he would defraud anyone, would he? Oh, wait, yes, I see here that poor Michael was disbarred and sent to federal prison for fraud.
The thing is, people have a tendency to see what they want to see. Nocera saw what he wanted to see, as someone who wants to believe that this is a real trial with a real crime with justice really at stake. The facts of the matter are these: Mr. Trump directly or indirectly paid Daniels hush money. That is not a crime. It happens all the time. And paying hush money is not an admission of guilt. I am an insurance claims adjuster. We settle claims all the time without an admission of liability or guilt. Some of these we call nuisance claims. There is no merit to the claim, but it will cost more to defend it than to pay it. Here's $10K, now go away! Insurance companies do it all the time, and it is not a crime. But Mr. Nocera has made up his mind already, and so he sees a polluted, well maybe biased is more polite, jury pool as American justice in action. Why does the theme from the Three Stooges suddenly come to mind: Three blind mice. Three blind mice.
Most people will go along to get along.
It takes real character - far more than just clarity of thought - to stand alone against eleven peers determined to "teach a lesson". Many people are so certain Trump is a crook that for them his actual culpability in this particular case is largely irrelevant. Most, I would say. Their view is usually that - even if these particular charges are absurd - he's certainly guilty of *something* and on that basis deserves conviction and jail.
The formatting from my original doesn’t carry over for some reason. And the indent/tab function doesn’t work when drafting in Substack. I’ll admit that these issues could easily be operator error, but suffice it to say that I’m cognizant of the problem, and your correction is well-taken. Appreciate the support, as well n
A lovely piece. Delighted to see Nocera on board at the Free Press.
Bari, stop. Just stop.
Nocera’s hilarious celebration of how fair-minded New Yorkers are is a sterling piece of propaganda.
Do you truly not understand how many of your subscribers will vote for Trump?
And why? When your own platform has been relentlessly critiquing Biden’s foolishness, you’ve added fuel to the fire against the Democrats.
And yet you dismiss both Trump and RFK as a charlatan and and a kook respectively.
You can’t have it both ways; if you’re going to dirty yourself in partisan causes -which you do - then choose a side. Don’t act as if you’re too pure for any of these imperfect candidates.
Most of you are proudly simping for Trump, right?
TRUST me on this: Bari Weiss is ashamed that you people are her most ardent fans.
Encouraging, indeed, if true. It doesn't seem that unlikely to me. But, given the left's illiberal turn, one has to be a little skeptical. The vanguard of the left has openly proclaimed its rejection of ideas like objectivity and impartial justice. In fact it has proclaimed such ideas to be "white supremacy." This totalitarian view also holds that political goals trump (as it were) all others, and should be infused into every aspect of life. I guarantee that many on the intellectual left, and among their activist foot soldiers, think would be permissible (perhaps obligatory) to conceal ones biases with the aim of voting to convict, no matter what.
I doubt that such ideas, in their full form, have actually taken hold in the average Democrat...but I also expect that they *are* in the mix somewhere, in some form.
Walter Duranty would be proud of this reporting on the Soviet Show Trial going on in Manhattan.
It took 3 days, because there is the sitting judge who has trampled on the defendant's rights from the git-go. You are the perfect example of one who is shown but will not see.
And it is ironic that you got to see from a closed screen camera, but we, the people, did not.
It's like saying the people who sold refreshments to the January 5th rioters were great entrepreneurs. I don't know these jurors. From what I have read, Judge Merchan the partisan prosecutors who ran on getting Trump and the amen corner of journalist gleefully cheering for Trump to be lynched, and I guess you represent a tremendous danger to our country.
So like the great majority of Americans, even ones like me who dislike Trump and never voted for him, I know this partisan lawfare that has been unleashed against him is unAmerican and incredibly dangerous to our Democracy. Shame on you for not.
"the deep sincerity in tone" "thoughtful pauses and hesitant responses, as if they were trying to be absolutely sure" ... oh give me a break - these are NPR-dependent Upper East/West side NY-ers, channeling the "deeply sincere" tone of NPR news, oh so thoughtful, oh so serious, oh so educated, oh so unaccented - a tone you can recognize after a few seconds - OK, this is NPR on the radio! Oh my god .. it just grabs you in here, doesn't it? Deep down? The sincerity, as it is oozing?
We won't know until the Verdict is delivered. Fair minded people, even ones who dislike Trump like myself find this a trumped (small t) up charge and nothing more than election interference.