Goodbye America - Part III - The Trial And Its Aftermath

What about the Judge?  I've heard that the Judges are supposed to be assigned to cases on a rotating basis, yet somehow Judge Juan Merchan was assigned to Trump's case, as well as other Trump associates' cases.  Judge Merchan had donated, very small amounts, to Biden and progressive causes, which, it seems to me, a judge should avoid doing.  Apparently, the NY State Commission on Judicial Conduct, saw no conflict.  I disagree.  Merchan's daughter is the president of Authentic Campaigns, which does fundraising and advertising for Democrats.  And has done so for Biden and Adam Schiff.  Yet, with these appearances of a conflict, the Judge refused to recuse himself from the Trump case.

The Trump defense team wanted to call former Federal Election Commission Chairman, Bradley Smith, as an expert witness with regards to federal election campaign laws.  The Judge said they could call him as a witness, but would not be able to ask him anything about how to interpret those laws or how to apply them to this case.  What???  Exactly what would be the point in calling him as a witness, if he is not allowed to address the issue at hand.  There was no point, so the defense did not call him.  The D-MSMC made a big deal out of Trump saying he wasn't allowed to call Smith as a witness, when he was.  Okay, but the truth is Trump was effectively denied the right to call Smith as a witness, as he would not be allowed to ask him anything about the pertinent issues.  

DA Bragg was able to get Matthew Colangelo, holding the third highest position in the Biden DOJ (Acting Associate Attorney General) to lead the Trump prosecution.  I'm sure there was no coordination with Garland, and/or Biden, in Colangelo leaving such a high position.  Right?

I also heard that the defense team was not allowed to discuss the law in their closing argument.  What???  If that is true, that would be like a judge telling me I could write a trial brief on one of my cases, but I better not discuss the law.  

What about the Constitutional requirement of unanimity in the verdict?  Well, the jury did have to all agree about the falsification of records.  But that alleged crime was a misdemeanor and was barred by the statute of limitations.  It was revived only if the falsification was done in the furtherance of another crime.  And for that, the Judge gave the jury three options - violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act, violation of the tax laws and falsification of other business records.  On these later crimes, the Judge said there need NOT be unanimity in the decision.  Four jurors could pick violation of the tax laws, four could pick violation of the federal election law, and four could pick falsification of other records.  What???

In 2016, I would hear at Trump rallies shouts of "lock her up," a reference to Hillary Clinton.  Although Clinton obviously violated the law, I cringed at those shouts.  I simply did not like the idea of having one's political opponents locked up.  Thankfully, Trump made no effort to do so.  But that was then.  Now, I would like to see conservative DA's, in red states, prosecute Biden, Obama, the two Clintons, Pelosi, Schumer, Schiff and other Democrats.  And I would like to see the House immediately impeach Biden.

Allow me to explain.  Like many Republicans, I'm old school.  I've long had a belief in, and faith in, our institutions.  But even though the Founders set up the best system of government and justice, any system - no matter how good - depends on the good will of those in power.  Without that, the institutions are meaningless.  But I know Republicans.  They will not do what I suggest.  They will say they have to defend the institutions, even if the Democrats will not do so.  But that would be wrong.  

Biden and the Democrats are bullies.  They have repeatedly shown their disdain for our institutions and for historical precedents.  And you don't make a bully stop by doing nothing.  You have to fight a bully to get him to stop.  Therefore, Biden and the Democrats need to be fought, in the same manner that they are bullying Trump.  As I am not confident that the Republicans will fight back, I say Goodbye America.  You were great while you lasted.  Now, I find myself agreeing with a good friend when he refers to the Democrat Party as the Evil Party.  How else would I describe a party seeking to end the country in which I grew up.

Goodbye America, Part II - The Trump Verdict

To say that the Democrats have no respect for our institutions, no respect for our history, would be akin to saying that the sky is blue.  Time after time, Today's Democrats have broken historical precedents in order to stay in power.  Recall then Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) ripping up her copy of Trump's State of the Union address, with the whole world watching.  Recall Pelosi rushing a second Trump impeachment vote in January, 2021, without any evidentiary hearing first being held by the House Judiciary Committee.  No evidence needed.  Then, Pelosi had her made for primetime "Select January 6" committee, denying the House Minority Leader his right to appoint Republicans to the Committee.  Pelosi ended up appointing all the committee members.  These acts were unprecedented.

Now, we have the unprecedented indictment and conviction of a former President of the United States.  What was Trump convicted for doing?  That's unclear.  Some possible misdemeanor offenses under New York law, regarding falsification of business records, could not be pursued because the time for pursing them had passed.  But Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg campaigned on getting Trump.  Of course, that is not the way the American system of justice is supposed to work.  We don't target an individual, and then go looking for some crime.  There is supposed to be probable cause that a crime has occurred, and then the system pursues those involved.  

 From my point of view, anyone who runs for positions of prosecutorial power, is violating their oath as an attorney when they target one individual.  Bragg should have been disbarred for doing so.  But he wasn't disciplined at all.  We also know that anyone else without the last name Trump would not have been prosecuted by Bragg.  Somehow, Bragg was able to resuscitate the untimely misdemeanor charges and even turn them into felonies, by alleging that Trump made those business entries in furtherance of an additional crime.  This, too, was an unprecedented use of this legal theory.  What were the possible other crimes?  Violation of state and federal campaign contribution laws, violation of tax laws, and falsification of other business records.   

Let's back up.  Recall when the Biden Administration sued the State of Texas, when Governor Abbott dared to attempt to enforce federal immigration laws?  Biden and AG Merrick Garland said only the federal government had the authority to enforce federal laws.  It didn't matter that the Feds were not actually enforcing the law, it was the principle upon which they relied.  Is it not odd, therefore, when a local DA, is attempting to enforce federal election laws, without so much as a peep out of Biden and Garland?   

Guess what Hillary Clinton's campaign was fined for doing?  They improperly listed expenses to Perkins Coie as legal expenses, when in fact some of the money paid to that firm was simply reimbursement for what the law firm paid to Fusion GPS for the opposition research/Steele dossier.  The Federal Election Commission fined the DNC and the Clinton campaign over $100,000 for misrepresenting their expenditures.  Wait a second - isn't that exactly what Trump was just prosecuted for and convicted of doing?  Yes.  Was Clinton prosecuted for doing the same thing?  Of course not.  Did the Federal Election Commission even fine Trump for what Bragg alleged?  No.  Then what is going on?

The answer is simple.  We have two systems of justice in this country.  And the Democrats, who have no respect for our institutions or for precedent, do not care.  I am always shocked when Democrats I know simply do not care about the two systems of justice.  Recall also that Hillary Clinton was guilty of exposing national security secrets on her personal email server.  FBI Director Comey told us that.  She violated the law.  Was she prosecuted for that?  Of course not.  Clinton destroyed possible evidence of her crimes, erasing 33,000 emails, and smashing her hardware devices.  Was she prosecuted for that?  Of course not.  And, if anyone dares to tell me that I am engaging in a case of whataboutism, that tells me that you no longer believe that lady justice should wear a blindfold.  It tells me that you believe we should decide who gets prosecuted based on their political affiliation.

If anyone had any doubt about the political nature of this trial, the stunt pulled by the Biden campaign this past Tuesday should have dissuaded you of that notion.  Michael Tyler, the Biden campaign's communication director, showed up outside the courthouse where the Trump trial was being held.  He brought with him the disgusting Robert DeNiro, along with two Capitol police officers, who were present at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.  

Here was DeNiro:  "If Trump returns to the White House, you can kiss these freedoms goodbye that we all take for granted."  Exactly what freedoms did DeNiro or anyone else lose because of Trump?  DeNiro:  "Trump wants to destroy not only the city but the country, and eventually, he could destroy the world."  Can we prosecute DeNiro for all those lies about Trump?  Was the Biden campaign trying to influence the jury by showing up outside the courthouse?  Can they be prosecuted for doing so?

Goodbye America, Part I - Some Background

(Caution.  To the extent that I still have readers who are Democrats, thank you.  Before you take offense at the point of this post, I hope you will read it through to the end.)  In my last post, I had expressed concern felt by many Jews as to whether the United States would continue to be the best country in the world, outside of Israel, for the Jewish people.  The reason was obvious.  The evil that was perpetrated by Hamas on October 7 was actually being supported by many people in America - on college campuses, by students and faculty and administrators, by school Board officials, by labor unions, by city councils and even in the US Congress.  It seemed as if evil was everywhere.  

I had previously written several posts about the threat posed by the Democratic Party to our democracy.  For a refresher, see the 4/19/18 post "Who Are The Real Threats To Our Democracy," the 10/17/21 post "The True Threat To Our Democracy - The Tyranny Of The Democrats," and the 12/31/22 post "New Year Reflections, Part I - Here Is The True Threat To Our Freedoms and Democracy."  I understand very well that the common line cited by all Democrats is that Trump/MAGA Republicans are an existential threat to our democracy.  But they always excuse the tactics used by their own party.  

The Democrats are bullies.  For some time it has been a party that is determined to stay in power at all costs.  A party that is determined to get its way on their policies at all costs.  Some do what they do for power.  Others have adopted the attitude that their cause is the just cause, and therefore the ends justify the means.  An example.  In 2012, Barack Obama was running for reelection against Mitt Romney.  Romney was probably one of the most honest politicians to ever run for president.  Harry Reid (D-NV) was the Senate Majority Leader.  From the Senate floor before the election, in August of 2012, Reid said:  "So the word is out that he (Romney) has not paid any taxes for ten years.  Let him prove that he has paid taxes, because he hasn't."

The claim was completely false, and Romney did prove it with his tax returns.  Besides, Reid should have had no way of obtaining Romney's tax returns, as the IRS does not release them to anyone (other than a court).  Was Reid prosecuted for his intentional misrepresentation, in an effort to get Obama reelected?  Of course not.  Years later, Reid was asked about being criticized for his falsehoods about Romney.  Did he have any regrets about his comments?  Reid:  "I don't regret that at all.  Romney didn't win, did he?"  There it is - the ends justify the means.  Keep Obama and the Democrats in power at all costs, no matter how outrageous the lie.  Reid alleged that Romney, a decent man, had committed multiple felonies by not paying taxes.  Just evil.    

In 2020, the Supreme Court was considering an abortion case.  Chuck Schumer (D-NY) was the Senate Minority Leader.  Attending a pro-abortion rally outside the Court, Schumer threatened two of the Justices.  "I want to tell you, Gorsuch, I want to tell you, Kavanaugh, you have released the whirlwind and you will pay the price - you won't know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions."  Of course, Democrats have continued to threaten the Court, as they are very unhappy with the conservative majority on the Court.  The ends justify the means.    

In 2016, Hillary Clinton hired a law firm, Perkins Coie, which in turn hired Fusion GPS, to obtain "opposition research" on Trump.  We know that the result was the fabricated Steele dossier.  Did the lack of verification for the information in that dossier prevent the Clinton campaign from using it during the campaign?  No, because the ends justify the means for these Democrats.  The Democrats continued to use that phony dossier in an effort to remove Trump from office.  Adam Schiff continually told the American people that he had evidence of Trump and Russian collusion.  Until he didn't.  Just evil.

In 2024, Democrats in various states came up with a new way to defeat Trump BEFORE the election.  "Let's just keep him off the ballot!"  The Democrats on the Colorado Supreme Court decided that was perfectly fine.  A state judge in Illinois agreed, as did the Maine Secretary of State.  All Democrats.  Why take a chance, when Trump appears to be quite popular and Biden does not.  The US Supreme Court, in a 9-0 decision, put a stop to that nonsense.  Imagine 50 states, with 50 different rules about who can run for president.  Just saying it makes the insanity of it apparent.  But, the ends justify the means for the Democrats.  This assault on our democracy, on our Republic, was just evil.   

Also in 2024, we have Biden's blatant attempt to buy the votes of younger people, many of whom are unhappy with his handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict.  Biden asserted that Republicans were trying to prevent him from his following through with his student loan forgiveness program.  But it wasn't Republicans.  It was the Supreme Court of the United States which told him he had no authority to do that.  But that has not stopped Biden.  Imagine if Trump, or any Republican, took actions that the Supreme Court ruled he could not do.  But for Biden and the Democrats, the ends justify the means.

We know that the Democrats open border policy is done with the expectation that the vast majority of those entering the country illegally will end up being Democratic voters.  How much do the Democrats care about violent criminals coming into the country?  How much do the Democrats care about all the drugs and fentanyl coming into the country?  How much do the Democrats care about the health and safety of the American people?  The answer to these questions is "not very much."  Because they are seeking to have permanent power.  They are seeking a one party system of government, with the Democrats always being that party in power.  A President's first, and most important, obligation is the protection of the American people.  Biden's willingness to forego that, in order to keep the Democrats in power, is just evil.

A Brief History of Antisemitism in America

(Note.  Much of the information in this post comes from an article by Seth Mandel in the May, 2024 edition of Commentary magazine.  Obviously, the personal history is mine.)  Unlike many of my fellow Jews on the left, who have long thought that we are still in the America of the 1930's and 1940's, I have often said that the United States is, outside of Israel, the best country in the world for the Jewish people.  However, recent events after October 7, have made many Jews of all political persuasions, express concern about whether the United States will continue to be that beacon of light.  For all people.  

In the 1930's, Jews were often not welcome in many institutions.  The elite universities put quotas on the number of Jewish students who would be admitted each year.  Restrictive covenants in deeds to houses not only forbade the sale of those properties to blacks, but often to Jews as well.  Country clubs and other private clubs barred Jews from joining.  Mandel reports that "the student body at Columbia's College of Physicians went from 50 percent Jewish to 6 percent, the latter number soon becoming the new average at medical schools."  

My very first job as a new attorney was at a primarily Jewish law firm, Rose Klein & Marias.  The firm started when Victor Rose, in 1936, opened his law office.  Alfred Klein joined him in 1940, and then Eugene Marias joined in 1946.  When I joined the firm in January, 1978, Gene Marias was already considered one of, if not the most, preeminent attorney representing injured workers in California workers compensation claims.  The firm also handled personal injury cases, as well as labor law.  Insurance companies defending workers compensation claims were, back when the firm started, not particularly interested in having Jewish attorneys represent them.  

I still remember, very shortly after I joined the firm, Gene Marias coming into my office and asking me to get up from my desk and walk over to the window with him.  Putting his arm around me, he pointed to the building across the street and asked me if I knew what it was.  I had no idea.  He explained that it was a private club, with membership being by invitation only.  As a young attorney, he received a call from the club advising him that someone had suggested him for membership.  He replied:  "do you know that I'm Jewish?"  The caller simply said "thank you," and then hung up.  Gene's reaction to that call is not printable here.  

Similarly, when Jews were barred from country clubs, they started their own.  Of note is Hillcrest Country Club in West Los Angeles.  When I was interviewing for my first legal job, I recall the attorney at one firm asking me what kind of name was my last name, and where my family came from.  I could tell immediately what he was getting at.  But Jews have never considered themselves to be "victims."  If they needed to work harder, they did.  If they needed to set up their own law firms and businesses and private clubs, they did.  

But today feels different.  It is no longer either the subtle, or even blatant antisemitism of the past.  Today, it is outright Jew hatred.  At an Oakland City Council meeting, one speaker claimed that "Israel murdered their own people on October 7."  Another said that "the notion that this was a massacre of Jews is a fabricated narrative."  I'm guessing that these people do not believe the Holocaust was a real event.  But now they are out there in public.  And, of course, we see signs, and hear chants, of "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free."  That phrase calls for the elimination of the one Jewish state in the world.    

Today, cities and school districts are passing resolutions in support of the Palestinians.  But, by ignoring the atrocities committed on October 7, these entities are actually supporting Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.  Mandel reports that the Massachusetts Teachers Association planned a curriculum "around 'Israel and Occupied Palestine.'"  It also passed a resolution asking the President to "stop funding and sending weapons in support of the Netanyahu government's genocidal war on the Palestinian people in Gaza."  What about the genocidal acts by Hamas on 10/7?  What about the expressed intentions of Hamas to continue to commit atrocities, such as those committed on 10/7, over and over and over again.

It is important that everyone understand this point by Mandel:  "...it must be stressed that these are public bodies and public schools giving Jew-baiting the imprimatur of the government."  My college alma mater, Rutgers, has proven to be one of the worst of the Jew-hating universities.  Rutgers is the state university of New Jersey.  The Rutgers president was called to testify before Congress, along with the chancellor of UCLA and the president of Northwestern.  The pro-Hamas crowd at Rutgers made 10 demands of the university, before they would agree to dismantle their encampment.  The president agreed to eight, and said the university would consider the other two.  Spineless administrators usually prefer appeasement as a course of action.  

According to Mandel, one Rutgers professor, having tenure no less, gave a lecture in which she asserted that "Israel harvests Palestinian organs."  There is almost no lie that Jew-haters will not tell.  A week or two ago I saw a Rutgers student on one of the cable news shows.  He said the pro-Hamas encampment had signs saying "Fuck the Jews."  It is outrageous that the university would permit such signs to be displayed longer than the time it would take to remove them.  UCLA, my law school alma mater, has been another offender.  Mandel reports that the medical school "required its students to attend a lecture at which the speaker, masked and with her shoulders wrapped in a kaffiyeh, led the class in chants of "Free, free Palestine!"  

According to Mandel, the UC Berkeley Law School has been sued for civil rights violations.  The suit alleges that "no fewer than 23 Berkeley Law student organizations have enacted policies to discriminate against and exclude Jewish students, faculty, and scholars."  Some student groups, per Mandel, require applicants to support the BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) movement against Israel.  Some will not accept any speaker unless they "repudiate Zionism."  Antisemitism today is often disguised as anti-Zionism.  Yet, Zionism is nothing other than the belief that the Jewish people are entitled to have their own homeland, their historic homeland.  And, Berkeley is a public university.  

In the 1930's and after, Jews would often change their last names, in order to have them sound more Americanized.  In order to fit in.  Today, Jews are also hiding their Jewish identity in public.  They avoid any outward use of obvious Jewish clothing (such as a yarmulke) and symbols (such as the Star of David).  So, the question is - is America back where it was nearly 100 years ago?  Will America continue to be the best country for the Jewish people, outside of Israel?    

Mandel:  "It is monstrous that even in the America of 2024, Jews must fight for the rights and recognition that others can take for granted."  

(It seems that I continue to face criticism for being so vocal, some would say obsessed with "politics."  After October 7, most of my posts have been about Israel, and the war with Hamas, and the rising antisemitism in this country.  Here is a quote by Rabbi Abraham Kook, that explains my admitted compulsion after 10/7 to speak out on behalf of Israel and the Jewish people:  "I don't speak because I have the power to speak; I speak because I don't have the luxury to remain silent."  As far as I am concerned, no Jew should currently feel that they have the luxury to remain silent.)  

President Joe Biden's America

No, this post is not about the anywhere from 8 to 10 million people who have entered the country illegally during Biden's term in office.  People who the Democrats expect to vote Democrat.  Nor is this post about Biden's buying votes with his student loan forgiveness, having forgiven over $20 billion in loans just this year.  Biden:  "I will never stop working to cancel student debt - no matter how many times Republican elected officials try to stop us."  Actually, it was the Supreme Court of the United States that told him he had no legal authority to cancel student debt.  But that has not deterred him.

This post is not about the horribly tragic exit from Afghanistan, orchestrated by Biden.  It is not about Russia invading Ukraine under his watch (as also happened under Obama).  It is not about Hamas attacking Israel under his watch (as also happened under Obama).  It is not even about the withholding of weaponry from Israel in the middle of Israel's war with Hamas.  Nor is it about his Administration telling Israel to get of Gaza.  Even though Israel is trying to find the hostages, including the Americans, still being held by Hamas.

No, this post is about how Biden views the United States of America.  In his commencement address to the graduating students at Morehouse College (one of the HBCU colleges), Biden painted a dark picture of America.  Biden:  "You started college just as George Floyd was murdered and there was a reckoning on race.  It's natural to wonder if democracy you hear about actually works for you.  What is democracy if Black men are being killed in the street?"

Why in the world did George Floyd have to come up.  He was a convicted criminal.  Biden was speaking to a group of accomplished young men.  That wasn't George Floyd.  As Jason Riley wrote in a 5/22/24 Op-Ed in the WSJ:  "...using a convicted felon and drug addict as a poster child for black men in this country is deeply insulting."  It is.  But it also reminiscent of Biden's racist comment in 2020, on the radio show of Charlamagne tha G-d:  "if you have a problem figuring out whether to vote for me or Trump, then you ain't black."  That's Biden, essentially calling anyone who might vote for Trump an "Uncle Tom."  A race traitor.  It is, and was, grotesque.  

But, in Biden's America, people are not individuals, they are part of groups.  More importantly, they are part of voting blocs.  Biden tells this graduating group that "Black men are being killed in the street."  Yes, the criminal George Floyd was killed in the street.  But, to the extent Black men are being killed in the street, it is overwhelmingly by other Black men.  It is not because of "white supremacy."  

Biden:  "What is democracy if a trail of broken promises still leave Black - Black communities behind?  What is democracy if you have to be 10 times better than anyone else to get a fair shot?"  What a depressing speech.  I have long held that any leader who says, or even suggests, to young people that  society is stacked against them, whether based on their race or anything else, is evil, and is speaking evil.  Here was a better message:  "...your generation is uniquely poised for success unlike any generation of African-Americans that came before it."  That was actually Barack Obama, who also told the then graduating students at Morehouse that they should not use any racism or discrimination as a crutch.  

Biden:  "And most of all, what does it mean, as we've heard before, to be a Black man who loves his country even if it doesn't love him back in equal measure?"  Wasn't Biden the one who promised in his inaugural address to be a unifying president?  Wasn't that the entire focus of that speech?  Well, if the country hates Black America (clearly the inference one could draw), then would it not be reasonable for Black men to hate the country?  Just a detestable speech.  But think about it.  Think about what it says about how the President of the United States views the country he leads.   

I cannot help but to feel bad for those graduating students, and their families, for having to listen to that speech.  It is generally understood that college commencement addresses are to be uplifting, meant to encourage young people as they are about to enter the working world, or go on to earn advanced degrees.  This is yet another occasion when Biden failed to say the right things.  But, it does tell us a whole lot about Biden's America.