Flotsam and Jetsam - Trump Banned in NY, Fined a Third of a Billion Bucks

In what must be the most absurd legal case in "our democracy's" history, Judge Engoron, who, having decided the Trump organization was guilty of fraud in overvaluing various piece of realty in the process of getting loans prior to the actual trial, ruled that Trump was fined $355 million, and forbidden from doing business in NY state for three years, despite the fact that the loans were paid off on time, and the valuations came with a warning not to rely on them (which, of course, banks don't). His sons were also fined $4 million each, just for being related to their father. Kaelan Deese at WaEx, Trump and associates ordered to pay $364 million in civil business fraud case. Mary Chastain at LI, Trump Found Liable for $350 Million, Barred From Operating Businesses in NY for 3 Years "And yet, there were no victims and the banks were on Trump’s side along with anyone who has dealt with real estate." Capt. Ed at Hat Hair, Engoron Fines Trump $355M, Barred from Business in NY. As the Babylon Bee, just barely satire, notes Judge Orders Trump To Pay Whatever Amount It Takes To Bankrupt Campaign. Ace, Of Course: Soviet Judge Demands Trump Pay $355 Million for the Non-Crime of Not Defrauding Anybody. "Literally everyone up-estimates the value of their holdings when applying for a loan. New York State just decided this is illegal, and in fact a crime worth a $355 million penalty. Just kidding -- this rule will not be applied to anyone else. This is yet another Trump Only Law." Trump Jr. to Newsmax: N.Y. Ruling 'Absolute Insanity, Disgusting'. Matthew Whitaker to Newsmax: 'Ridiculous Judgment,' 'Ridiculous Judge'. "Whitaker expressed his disbelief at the judgment: "This is a complete miscarriage of justice, as you can imagine."" At Twitchy, Jonathan Turley Blasts Judge (and Letitia James) After HUGE Penalty Against Trump in NY Civil Case. 

What's the difference between @TheDemocrats and Putin? https://t.co/CQ4P6uvHw6

— The Rule 5 Texan (@Rule5Tweets) February 16, 2024

And down in Fulton County, Georgia, the story of Fani and Nathan goes on, and on. Fani, having done plenty of damage to herself and Nathan on Thursday, apparently reconsidered, and declined to reappear on Friday. At the Free Bacon, a video of the best hits from her testimony Pro Tips With Fani Willis. At Hat Hair, Fani Willis' Big Lie Exposed in Courtroom Humiliation. Capt. Ed, Follow the Cash: Did Willis Admit to Campaign Finance Violations? Plus: Fani Won't Testify. Ace,  Did Fani Willis Admit to Campaign Finance Abuses? Capt. Ed, Will McAfee Be Forced to Buy Fani's Cash Story? Hat Hair rephrases CNN, Willis Advisers Urged Her to Push Wade Out. Althouse, "For those who generally have faith in Willis, she was understandably enraged and gave a master class in how to defend oneself in a public setting." "For others, her protestations were over the top. Even so, the fact that there was even a hearing into Willis and whether she has a financial conflict of interest in the case was a windfall for Trump. Obviously, it would be an enormous boon for him if Willis or the entire Fulton County district attorney’s office is disqualified. But even if neither Willis nor her office is disqualified and her office is allowed to continue prosecuting this case, the damage done to the public’s perception of the case is incontrovertible...." From "Fani Willis just gave Donald Trump exactly what he wants/The fact that there was even a hearing into Willis' alleged financial conflict of interest is great news for defendant Trump" (MSNBC). That's MSNBC, take note." Glenn Greenwald@ggreenwald, "How someone reacts to the Fani Willis testimony yesterday is a litmus test for if they're a complete partisan hack. Anyone who denies that she clearly lied, could not respond to basic questions, acted inappropriately, and corrupted this prosecution is a mindless Dem partisan." Eddie Scarry at Da Fed, Fani Willis Is Daring You To Call Her ‘Angry’ Because Race Baiting Is All She Has Left. From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 02.15.24, Louder With Crowder: “This is epic”: MSNBC legal analyst declares Fani Willis’s case against Trump is “game over”, Twitchy: Fulton County DA Fani Willis Has Taken The Stand – Here Are Some, Uh, Highlights,LI,  Trump Georgia Case – DA Willis Loses Temper, Receives Warning From Judge in Explosive Testimony,  Power Line, Fani Takes the Stand [Updated], Da Fed, From Trump To Kennedy, Democrats Don’t Want To Let Anyone On The Ballot But Their Own Candidates,

Jacob Sullum at Reason, Alvin Bragg Is Trying To Punish Trump for Something That Is Not a Crime. "The essence of the case, the Manhattan D.A. says, is that Trump "corrupt[ed] a presidential election" by concealing embarrassing information." Capt. Ed, "It doesn't help that Bragg spun this into nearly three dozen charges for what was essentially one action. Bragg went way out of his way to overcharge, perhaps as a result of a reaction to a staff revolt when Bragg first declined to pursue Cy Vance's probe. It looks more like a PR stunt than a prosecutable case, and always has."

Matt Margolis at PJM, DEVASTATING: Key Excerpts From Tony Bobulinski’s Testimony. Ace, House Learns of Bank Account Used to Funnel Money to Joe Biden. "Hmmm...  Let's see how CNN is covering this story: Former Biden family business associate recycles unproven allegations to House panels Ah. Of course. Carry on as usual. I can't wait until all of you are on welfare." Hat Hair's KT, WHCA Scorches White House Legal Counsel's Complaints That Reporters Aren't Covering for Biden. From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 02.15.24, Da Fed, Tony Bobulinski Flames Jamie Raskin For ‘Assassination Of Character’ Post-House Interview.

NewsMax cites Gallup: Chances of Biden Reelection Bleak If Numbers Don't Change. Peggy Noonan at WSJ cited at Hat Hair, Dems Too Resigned to 'Ruth Bader Biden'. At Althouse, "It will also be a chance for her to prove herself on the world stage in an election year in which her running mate, President Biden, faces questions about his age." ""While no one in the White House would say this too openly, Ms. Harris’s challenge in the campaign is to demonstrate that she is up to the job so that voters will not worry about re-electing an 81-year-old president who would be 86 at the end of a second term." From this NYT front-page piece." Hat Hair's Dave Strom says Democrats are Very Unhappy With Biden Border Crisis. Nick Arama at RedState sees Biden Goes Blank, Gets Confused About American Hostages, Makes Despicable Comment on Smirnov Case and  Biden Speech in East Palestine Show Priorities — Residents, Protesters Tell Him 'Too Little, Too Late'. Spencer Brown at TownHall, What Just Happened? Biden Totally Freezes Up While Attacking Republicans During Speech. The Right Scoop sees Joe Biden to visit East Palestine today and residents are NOT happy about it. Capt. Ed comments "This is so transparently about Biden rather than the people of East Palestine, OH that it's amazing that the White House is even trying it. It's chutzpah on a grand scale."

Hat Hair's Beege Welborn has a #Bidenomics Update: Inflation Hot, Housing Starts Not, Retail Sales Go Splot! WSJ projects Slow Growth Is Ahead Unless Government Gets Out of the Way "The rise of regulatory activism and the adoption of multilateral edicts may hold America back." Politico, White House expands plans to cancel student debt. How many divisions does Justice Roberts have?

Vic Hughes at Am Think thinks Trump has an Achilles heel, and he needs to cover it. Covid. Capt. Ed,  "If this were a real problem, though, why didn't Republican voters go with DeSantis instead? It's not as though DeSantis didn't make this argument in the primaries. He did so repeatedly, and the GOP base simply didn't care." And Democrats are so much worse. Bloomberg says Haley Risks Humiliation at Home Despite a Flood of Spending. It's already baked in. ABC, hears Sen. Joe Manchin announce he won't run for president in 2024, "I will not be seeking a third-party run," Manchin said." But Mary Chastain finds Manchin being coy, Sen. Manchin Says He Won’t Launch a Third-Party Presidential Run. "Manchin says this on his “listening tour.” He could still change his mind." Capt. Ed, "I never thought he would. But he's been able to get himself on a lot of TV shows in the meantime, no?"

From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 02.15.24, The Geller Report: Nazi Collaborator George Soros Buying Second-Largest Chain of Radio Stations, Hundreds of American Radio Stations Ahead of 2024 Election. Stephen Kruiser, sees a possible Election Year Surprise — Radio Soros Is Going to Commie Up the Airwaves  

Ace, Republican Representative Accuses House Intel Committee Head Mike Turner of Recklessly Pushing RUSSIAN Panic Porn Just to Stampede Americans Into Supporting His Corrupt Ukraine Aid Package. "Get. These. People. Out. Of. Congress."

At Racket, Matt Taibbi and associates, WMD, Part II: CIA "Cooked The Intelligence" To Hide That Russia Favored Clinton, Not Trump In 2016 and Why Even Democrats Should Care About the “Cooked Intelligence” Russiagate Scandal "The last time we let "sexed up" intelligence guide policy, we were led to war in Iraq. The 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment caused America to declare war on itself." Matt Vespa at TownHall, Here Are the Trump-Russia Docs the Intelligence Community Tried to Keep Hidden. From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 02.15.24, at Da Fed,  Did Our Intelligence Agencies Suggest The Russia Hoax To Hillary Clinton’s Campaign?  From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 02.16.24, Don Surber: No outrage, no readers "The media failed to do its job on Obama's FBI spying on The Donald."

From Campus Reform, Harvard pro-Palestine group posts bizarre 'dear Zionists' Valentine's message. 

Dave Strom notes Demand For Trans Treatments Overwhelming Minnesota Clinics and cites a WPATH Expert: Many Surgeons Performing Transgender Surgery Are Amateurs. Meg Brock@MegEBrock "On Complications of Vaginoplasty: “Complications can be pretty bad for vaginoplasty and the most-dreaded complication is to perforate the rectum while you are dissecting the vaginal cavity,” Dr. Alex Laungani." Althouse, "More of our children want to explore, learn about, challenge, change, or move inside and outside the bounds of masculinity and femininity." ""Many kids seem to get that with increased access to an evolving gender spectrum, more people can experience more joy. In the trans community, I’ve heard this idea described as 'genderful.'" Said Joji Florence, founder of the proposed Miss Major Middle charter school, quoted in "Proposed NYC ‘trans’ and ‘queer’ charter school would encourage 9-year-olds to ‘explore their gender’: ‘Indoctrinating’" (NY Post). Tom Knighton, they may suck at teaching the 3 R's But at least they can teach your kids about sexual identity. "teachers are tripping over themselves to make sure the kids can get access to books showing how to perform oral on a same sex partner, so they’ve got that going for them. They can’t read the text, but they can at least look at the pictures." From Spiked, The Maoist cruelty behind the trans crusade. "The ousting of a 90-year-old charity worker for querying preferred pronouns is a new low for woke." From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 02.16.24, Louder With Crowder: “I don’t feel mature enough to see any man’s p****”: Students forced to confront school board over woke “inclusive” bathroom policy. 

At the PI, Bud Light Hasn’t ‘Done A Good Job’ In Attempted Comeback, Ex-Anheuser-Busch Exec Says. Capt. Ed says "All they needed to do was apologize, in a clear and specific manner. And that wouldn't be so much for the Dylan Mulvaney can but for the public remarks by marketing exec Alissa Heinerscheid that insulted Bud Light drinkers for enjoying Bud Light's previous "fratty" advertising. They couldn't bring themselves to apologize, and that's why their customers don't like or trust them any longer. It's not rocket science."

The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: Saturday Night Squeezebox Serenade up on time at The Other McCain.