Flotsam and Jetsam - Trump Jury Being Chosen in NY

The trial of President Trump on trumped up charges (essentially putting the wrong label on payment to Stormy Daniels in his own checkbook) proceeds apace. Jury selection has begun, and 6 or 7 jurors have been selected, of 12 jurors and 6 alternates. Ace wakes up and notices Soros DA Alvin Bragg's Election Interference Prosecution Begins; Conflict-of-Interest Judge Tells Trump He Must Be In Court, Every Day, In the Height of Campaign Season, or Be Arrested. "America is lost. There is no "America" left to save.  Lee Zeldin at NYPo accuses  Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg of launching a Trump show trial Instead of fighting crime. Jazz Shaw at Hat Hair has a Poll: Few Americans Believe Trump Acted Illegally in 'Hush Money' Case. Breitbart cites Jonathan Turley: Trump’s New York Hush Money Case Is ‘Absurd.’ PJMs Matt Margolis notes Even CNN's Legal Analyst Destroys Bragg's Case Against Trump for its 'Weakness'. From Da Caller, Alan Dershowitz Reveals One Motion He Believes Trump’s Lawyers Must File ‘Immediately’ “I would hope Trump’s lawyers bring a mandamus right now, at the very least, let Trump out of the courtroom, let him campaign,” Dershowitz told Fox Business host Larry Kudlow. “If he makes a decision that he would like to waive the right to be there, there is nothing in the Constitution which gives the prosecution the right to keep him there. It is only a defendant’s right.” Newt Gingrich has an essay on The American People vs. Judicial Corruption. Roger Kimball at Da Spec thinks The Trump trial is a precursor to how a republic ends, "Not with a bang, but a perversion of the law." From Breitbart again, Tim Scott: ‘Prejudiced’ Trump Trial an ‘Injustice’ Driving Black Voters to GOP, They Want ‘Fair Justice System’  Sasha Stone at Free Thinking,  The Lawfare made me a Trump supporter. "The Grifters are red-pilling Americans by the day..."  Brad Smith at Da Fed thinks Trump’s Strongest New York Defense Has Nothing To Do With Alvin Bragg Or Judge Merchan. "There is one big problem with this theory: The payments to Daniels were not campaign payments." 

At the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 04.16.24 (Afternoon Edition) Twitchy  Alvin Bragg Seeks To Punish Trump For Violating Unconstitutional Gag Order. Kaelen Deese at WaEx reports on the Trump trial: Judge sets April 23 hearing for Trump alleged gag order violation. Jason Cohen at Da Caller, ‘Frustrating’: Fox News Legal Analyst Rips Judge For Gagging Trump But Not ‘Known Liar’ Michael Cohen. Ace, Corrupt Leftwing Soros DA Alvin Bragg Threatens Trump With 30 Days of Jail Time If He Exercises His Right, as a Candidate for President, to Criticize His Hyperpoliticized Unjust Prosecution. "Consider that Trump's political candidacy depends on him refuting this absurd prosecution as corrupt and partisan -- and George Soros' catspaw Alvin Bragg threatens to throw Trump in jail if Trump dares to dispute this Democrat war-by-other-means prosecution."

According to Matt Vespa at TownHall, Jury Selection for Trump's Hush Money Trial Is a Total Trainwreck

There’s a number of the jurors that we have social media posts for that are very much contrary” to what they said while they were being asked if they could be impartial, Blanche told the judge, and he sought to have them struck for cause. 
He noted one potential juror had posted a video from the day where Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 election. In the video, the woman says, “I have to get in the car and spread the honking cheers. There’s an actual dance party on 96th Street.”

Trump's lawyers contended the video would have been referring to an anti-Trump rally. The woman had denied taking part in any rally or campaign events during her initial round of questioning. Called in for individual questioning, she said it was a "celebratory moment" in the city and that she could be impartial. After chiding Trump for his behavior towards her, Merchan said he found her "credible" and refused to strike her for cause.

TNP notices Judge Blocks Orthodox Jews, Who Overwhelmingly Back Trump, from Trial Jury. “Orthodox Jews to be excluded from [Manhattan District Attorney Alvin] Bragg’s jury pool. The NYC demographic group most strongly supportive of Trump is the orthodox Jewish community,” Schneider posted on X. “So, no surprise that the very biased judge in Bragg’s case scheduled the trial to include Fridays instead of Wednesdays. Very unusual, but understandable since this switch will necessarily exclude all orthodox Jews from the jury pool. Democrat operatives are very clever.” At Althouse, "A first in the jury selection process: a man who says he read 'The Art of the Deal' and..." "... two other books published by Trump. Trump responds with a chuckle and an approving nod." From "Live Updates: Search Continues for First Juror in Trump’s Criminal Trial/Some prospective jurors, when questioned individually, said that they had realized they might have trouble being fair and impartial. Dozens have already been dismissed" (NYT)." At Da Caller, ‘I Hate Him’: Ex-Trump Attorney Tells CNN Irish Woman Who Went Off About Trump Not A ‘Dangerous Juror’. 

Breitbart, Judge May Force Trump to Skip Son Barron’s High School Graduation. Hat Hair's KT, Will Donald Trump Miss Barron's High School Graduation? Sundance at CTH, New York Partisan Judge Merchan Will Not Allow President Trump to Attend Son’s Graduation Ceremony. 

At Da Caller, ‘That’s An Interesting Point’: Fox Host Harris Faulkner Amazed By Guest’s ‘Ruby Red Slipper’ Defense Of Trump  “If I went online right now and I wanted to buy a pair of glittery, ruby red slippers on Amazon, I could get them for maybe 30 or 40 dollars. But if I wanted to get the ones owned by Dorothy in ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ they’re, I believe, currently valued at about four or five million dollars. That is to me a perfect picture of how subjective valuation is of assets. How much is someone willing to pay for something, and it typically depends on who or what that thing belonged to.” Josh Blackmun at the Volokh Conspiracy  notes Special Counsel Jack Smith Responds to Blackman-Tillman "No matter how you slice it, Smith cannot exercise the powers he purports to exercise." Also from Da Caller, ‘Rather Despicable’: John Eastman Speaks Out After Bank Of America, USAA Shut Down His Accounts. His line of social credit was refused. JTN, Ex-Trump advisor purged from federal elections board after left-wing pressure campaign, emails show. "“I do find it ironic that a group that supposedly promotes ‘free speech for people’ organized a campaign to make sure that the opinions and views of people like me are not heard,” Mitchell said."

Jazz Shaw wonders Will Trump's Criminal Trials Matter in November?

At PJM Stephen Kruiser quips Joe Biden Wants to Know Where His Legos Are and If WWIII Will Help Him Win Michigan,  Nothing Is Going to Bump Jill Biden From the Elder Abuse Train  and Kevin Downey says The Founding Fathers' Fears Are Coming True, and the Damage Is Intentional.AMP, NFL Superstar Aaron Rodgers Hints at Belief in President Joe Biden’s Double Body Conspiracy Theory. If there was a body double he wouldn't have so many embarrassing gaffs. Twitchy kids, President Biden Packs Them In at His Campaign Stop in His Hometown of Scranton. Nick Arama at RedState on another day ending in "y", Biden's Pic With Kids Sets People Talking, As He Tells Another Bizarre Story and Lie About the Race.

Henry Rogers at Da Caller reports Jim Jordan, James Comer Send Final Warning To Merrick Garland Before Contempt Proceedings

Ace, Biden Again Expands Amnesty to An Additional 1.2 Million Illegals, On No Authority But His Own Kingly Might, "Scumbag traitor and catspaw to foreign billionaires." At Breitbart, Joe Biden’s Parole Pipeline Imports Over 950,000 Foreign Nationals to U.S., Exceeding Population of South Dakota. From NewsMax, DHS Monitoring 617K Migrants With Criminal Records. At Front Page Byron York looks at The Reality of Migrant Crime, "A catastrophic - and lethal - mess." PM claims Soros-linked NGO distributes flyers in Mexico telling illegal immigrants to 'vote for President Biden': report

“You do not need documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote." PJM's Kevin Downey hears Rumors Claim NGOs in Mexico Are Encouraging Illegals to Vote for Biden, but "PJ Media is unable to confirm at this time whether the NGO was responsible for the flyers or an outside group produced them. Once we have confirmation, we will report on the details."

At Da Caller, ‘That’s A Joke’: Biden’s Demand For More Border Agent Funding Misses The Point, Former CBP Commissioner Says. They already have plenty of open slots, but no takers. Tristan Justice at Da Fed, reports a Colorado County Sues State For Banning Local Enforcement Of Immigration Laws. PM, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer seeks $8 MILLION in state funds for illegal immigrants' legal fees, "The proposal states that "growing the state’s population is a key factor in boosting the economy and building shared prosperity across the state." At Da Signal, Speaker Johnson to Put Democrats on Record With Vote on Proof of Citizenship to Vote. 

From Breitbart again, an NYT Poll: 4% of Voters Say Biden’s Economy Is ‘Excellent’; 52% Say ‘Poor’. At the Peacock, Fed Chair Powell says there has been a ‘lack of further progress’ this year on inflation. From JTN,  a Report: Biden has taken over 200 actions against US oil. "Within a week of being in office, Biden issued additional moratoriums on new oil and gas leases on public lands or in offshore waters and imposed new regulations related to permitting and leasing practices, which were tied up in the courts for years." 

At NewsMax, Biden Wants Ukraine to Stop Attacking Russian Refineries, Here's Why. To keep the price of gas down for the election. Victor Joecks thinks Biden Puts 'Death to America' Crowd Over Israel.

Hat Hair's KT sees Trump Nostalgia Is Real and It's Spectacular and Katie Couric to Bill Maher: Trump Support Comes From 'Anti-Intellectualism' and Class Resentment. Da Caller,  Bill Maher Slams Media’s Coverage Of Trump Supporters To Katie Couric’s Face: ‘The People Loved Him’  and Voters Look Back Fondly At Trump Presidency As 2024 Election Nears: POLL. At Da Fetched, Michael Moore Gives Democrats a Reality Check: ‘Trump Is Going to Win’. Trending Politics sees Liberals Lose Their Minds After Travis Kelce Likes Pro-Trump Instagram Post. But what does Taylor Swift say? Althouse,  The shocking realization that Jack and Diane voted for Trump. Wall Street Silver@WallStreetSilv "Just In: John Cougar Mellencamp ends show early in a rage because the audience didn’t want to hear him give a lecture about his support of Joe Biden." Also. Well, it's obvious why but I doubt if David Frum comes out and says it. "I was halfway through the headline when I wrote the post title. I'm reading "Why Biden Should Not Debate Trump/The networks want their show, but to give the challenger equal status on a TV stage would be a dire normalization of his attempted coup" by David Frum (in The Atlantic).

At Hat Hair Capt. Ed thinks it's Too Fun to Check (Again): Did Trump 'Emissaries' Offer RFK Jr the VP Slot? and KT reports Nikki Haley Lands a New Gig "Nikki Haley has joined the Hudson Institute. The Hudson Institute is a conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. It is known for focusing on international affairs and national security." Leah Barkoukis at TownHall sees that Mike Pence Has a New Job, too. "Nearly six months after ending his Republican presidential campaign, former Vice President Mike Pence landed a new teaching job at Grove City College in Pennsylvania." 

Jazz Shaw sees Maine Votes to Gut the Constitution. "Maine will become the latest to join a multistate effort to elect the president by popular vote with the Democratic governor’s announcement Monday that she’s letting the proposal become law without her signature."

Nate Hochman at Am Spec predicts There Will Be No George Floyd 2.0 "The Left might pine for a 2020 redux. But they shouldn’t hold their breath." Capt. Ed comments "Mainly, though, the media chose its subject poorly. The body-cam footage exposed how badly they had manipulated the reporting around the Dexter Reed shooting and made clear that he initiated the use of deadly force. Had it not been for that video, the MSM may well have succeeded in inciting riots around the country ... again.  And they'll still look for George Floyd 2.0, too ... even if they have to make it up."

Matt Vespa, Justice Gorsuch Lays Waste to the Biden Administration's Argument for Jail Sentences. Matt Margolis, Justice Gorsuch Throws Shade at Jamaal Bowman During J6 Hearing, and It’s Glorious. Althouse, "The Supreme Court seemed wary... of letting prosecutors use a federal obstruction law to charge hundreds of rioters involved in the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021...." "Mr. Trump’s case did not come up at the argument, which was largely focused on trying to make sense of a statute that all concerned agreed was not a model of clarity. But the justices’ questions also considered the gravity of the assault and whether prosecutors have been stretching the law to reach members of the mob responsible for the attack. Justice Clarence Thomas, who returned to the bench after an unexplained absence on Monday, asked whether the government was engaging in a kind of selective prosecution. 'There have been many violent protests that have interfered with proceedings,' he said. 'Has the government applied this provision to other protests?'..." Adam Liptak reports in the NYT." Ace, Supreme Court Hears Huge Case About Government's Expansive Reading of the Law; Have Claimed That Hundreds of J6 Protesters, and Trump Himself, Broke Law by "Obstructing" Counting of Votes. "Another made-up Trump Only legal doctrine. Conservatives appear "skeptical" of the government's claim that this law -- which forbids the destruction or alteration of official documents -- can be stretched and twisted to cover protesters objecting to a rigged election."

Sundance at CTH posts an amazing video, Mike Garcia Tells FBI Director Chris Wray His Agency Has Ideologically Inverted and Now Represents the USA Equivalent of The Soviet Secret Police. Ron Wright at Am Think thinks The Deep State’s Accelerating Attacks On Trump Show A Consciousness Of Guilt. Ace, Oh no! Senior "intelligence" officials threaten to resign if the man they staged a coup against wins the presidency! At WaEx, Cassidy Hutchinson’s corrected testimony on Trump and Jan. 6 released by House GOP. 

Joseph A. Wulfsohn@JosephWulfsohn "NPR suspends @uberliner for taking his concerns about newsroom partisanship public as its new CEO has gone viral over the past several days for her trove of old posts filled with liberal activism and woke ideology." Capt. Ed, No Unapproved Thoughts Considered: NPR Retaliates Against Whistleblower. Althouse cites NPR, "NPR has formally punished Uri Berliner, the senior editor who publicly argued a week ago that the network had 'lost America's trust' by..." "... approaching news stories with a rigidly progressive mindset. Berliner's five-day suspension without pay, which began last Friday, has not been previously reported. Yet the public radio network is grappling in other ways with the fallout from Berliner's essay for the online news site The Free Press.... In an interview...." From "NPR suspends veteran editor as it grapples with his public criticism" (NPR)." Stacey Matthews at LI Longtime NPR Editor Who Documented Their Liberal Bias Suspended Without Pay, Threatened With Termination. Stave Hayward at Power Line, says NPR Goes Full Gulag. John Sexton at Hat Hair has still More of Katherine Maher's Far-Left Tweets. At Insty, #JOURNALISM: "Matt Taibbi: New York Times, NPR Bury the Lede in Defense of Katherine Maher. “It’s true Maher was not working in journalism when she posted the controversial messages. In fact, she’s never worked in journalism, which is very obviously the bigger problem when examining someone’s fitness to run a public news network with over 1000 member stations."  Take a look at Ace's The Morning Rant: Minimalist Edition. Last word from the Babylon Bee, Journalist At NPR Suspended, Leading To Shocking Discovery There Was A Journalist At NPR.

Dave Strom at Hat Hair, The Censorship Regime Hates Us. "I have to say that I am a bit proud of this: I appear to be the author most demonetized by Big Tech here at HotAir.  Guess who comes in second? My good friend Beege.  I wish I could say that this is down solely to our presenting a grave political threat to the regime, but the answer is simpler: we write the most on Climate Change, COVID, and Alphabet ideology. Those are the hottest of the hot-button issues for the establishment. "

Stacy McCain  says Let’s Play ‘Spot the Missing Word’. Democrat.

Bob Spencer at Front Page reports the ‘Death to America’ Mayor Insists That ‘Dearborn is a City of Proud Americans’ "Who is convinced?" From the College Fix, Former Cornell student pleads guilty to threatening to shoot Jewish students. Hat Hair's KT calls it Unprecedented: USC's Antisemitic Valedictorian Banned from Delivering Speech. From the Free Bacon, Anti-Semitic Incidents on College Campuses Surged 320 Percent Last Year, ADL Finds. "Columbia found to have highest number of incidents among schools tracked." Capt. Ed adds "Academia unleashed this wave of bigotry and hatred. They had plenty of opportunities to disincentivize such attacks, but instead either did nothing or came to the defense of those perpetrating these actions." Also at the Free Bacon, Left-Wing Dark Money Behemoth Behind Bail Fund for 'Free Palestine' Bridge Blockers "Community Justice Exchange, part of the Soros-funded Tides Center, solicits legal defense donations for arrested protesters." Herr Professor Jacobson at LI, Sen. Tom Cotton to people stuck behind “pro-Hamas” road blockades: “take matters into your own hands to get them out of the way” "The real answer, of course, is for law enforcement and judges to do their jobs. Arrest them, charge them, and don’t release them except on substantial bail with conduct conditions. That’s not going to happen in any blue state, just like it never happened with the BLM riots in 2020." Capt. Ed, "The answer to the question in the headline is "nope, home fry." First off, this is called assault and battery. LEOs can use force to detain someone, but they'll arrest you for doing the same thing (and "citizen's arrest" does not come with qualified immunity). More to the point, these protesters are practicing passive resistance, but other protesters may be one hell of a lot less passive when you put your hands on them. This is bad advice, and Cotton should rethink it. But eventually this is going to start brawls unless police start enforcing the law and prosecuting those who break it. Florida has a head start on that. "

James Nault at LI, Harvard Medical “Expert” Disqualified in Federal Court Case Due to “Overwhelming” and “Misleading” Plagiarism "“he repeatedly outright refused to acknowledge the long swaths of his report that quote other work verbatim without any quotation marks at all—instead stubbornly insisting that he cited over 1,100 references, as if that resolves the attribution issue (it does not)”

Jazz Shaw is jazzed that SCOTUS Upholds Ban on Trans Procedures in Idaho. PM, BREAKING: US Supreme Court allows Idaho to ban child sex changes pending appeal. "The court ruled 6-3, with the court’s three liberal justices saying the law should have remained blocked in its entirety." Ace, As the Rest of the Civilized Nations Wake Up to the Horrors of "Gender Affirming Care" for Minors, Kansas' AWFL Governor Vetoes a Bill To Forbid It. "The Cass Report rubbished all the fake "research" that trans zealots have been pushing to justify the mass-conversion of kids to trans perma-patients. (Why bill people for Forever Psychiatric Treatment when you can bill them for Forever Surgeries as well?) Even the British Medical Journal, a hotbed of fashionable leftwing anti-science, is now forced to admit what has been obvious to everyone but the NPC cowards for ten years. Citations and footnotes admitted."

Front Page, has the Video: Christian Couple Denied Foster Care License. "Can you guess why?" At Da Wire, Court Set To Hear Arguments Over Release Of Covenant Shooter’s Manifesto. Here’s What You Need To Know. 

The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: Home For Tax Day up for your digital amusement at The Other McCain.