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Getbig Main Boards => Politics and Political Issues Board => Topic started by: OzmO on December 04, 2020, 02:16:10 PM
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Now that it's all but a forgone conclusion the Trump lost the election and will step down January 20th, how do you think he will compare to past presidents?
Was he the only president that lost the popular vote twice, got impeached, and was a 1 termer?
Did he accomplish anything good that we can all agree on?
How does he compare to other one termers?
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Now that it's all but a forgone conclusion the Trump lost the election and will step down January 20th, how do you think he will compare to past presidents?
Was he the only president that lost the popular vote twice, got impeached, and was a 1 termer?
Did he accomplish anything good that we can all agree on?
How does he compare to other one termers?
It is my hope that he will just fade away. It is not a hope that is likely to happen though.
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Now that it's all but a forgone conclusion the Trump lost the election and will step down January 20th, how do you think he will compare to past presidents?
Was he the only president that lost the popular vote twice, got impeached, and was a 1 termer?
Did he accomplish anything good that we can all agree on?
How does he compare to other one termers?
The way he has acted in defeat will be a permanent stain on his already horrible record
Once he is out of office I'm sure we'll just continue to discover more crimes, self dealing, unethical behaviour and of course he's facing civil and potentiallyh criminal charged in NYC
He will be a case study for when a fascist tried to take over our democracy
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Low unemployment, great stock market, no new wars, etc. No wonder the corrupt establishment hates him. The brainwashed sheeple will continue to repeat what their TV tells them to. Then when Biden ships the jobs back to his chinese financers, raises our taxes, passes sweeping gun control, sends our troops into some shithole in the middel east, etc, the brainwashed losers here on getbig will repeat that their TV told them it was all somehow Trumps fault.....pretty predictable going forward.
I also predict the mindless talking head dummycrat supporters here on getbig will attack me, call me a Trumptard, make up some wild accusations about Trump corruption, etc. :)
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It will depend on how Biden does in the next four years.
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Well, libtards thought George W Bush was Hitler or the devil incarnate and that no president could possibly be worse than him. Now they say nothing but nice things about him.
(https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/RmS3V0.arGlz73Vfs4kQdA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTYzNC4xOTY4OTExOTE3MDk4/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/9xGPXK1SrSOv8xoZ5aAutQ--~B/aD0zMDYwO3c9NDYzMjthcHBpZD15dGFjaHlvbg--/https://media.zenfs.com/en-us/usa_today_news_641/9b5f50f0d80884e1e5f339e705fb281b)
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Now that it's all but a forgone conclusion the Trump lost the election and will step down January 20th, how do you think he will compare to past presidents?
Was he the only president that lost the popular vote twice, got impeached, and was a 1 termer?
Did he accomplish anything good that we can all agree on?
How does he compare to other one termers?
President Donald Trump is the second greatest President in the history of the United States behind only Ronald Reagan.
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Just my opinion but if he isn't judged as one of the worst presidents ever in 20 years, America isn't the place I thought it was.
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Just my opinion but if he isn't judged as one of the worst presidents ever in 20 years, America isn't the place I thought it was.
I'm not sure what history will say. If the accomplishments are looked at on the basis of their own merit, it could show something other than what you're expecting. Half the stuff he did never got any press:
Making cruelty to animals a felony
Appointing the first openly gay cabinet member
Restored funding for black colleges
Then, pre- covid the stuff that's been mentioned + others:
Record economy
Record low unemployment across all races
Strengthened military
Prison reform
NAFTA reform
Oil exporter vs importer
Killed terrorists
Middle East peace agreements
Do you refute any of those things above?
There's a reason he picked up votes among minorities, and those who don't live on twitter 24/7.
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Just my opinion but if he isn't judged as one of the worst presidents ever in 20 years, America isn't the place I thought it was.
You just summed up Barack Obama.
Absolutely the worst President in the history of the United States and a lying hypocrite cocksukker to go along with that.
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Well, libtards thought George W Bush was Hitler or the devil incarnate and that no president could possibly be worse than him. Now they say nothing but nice things about him.
(https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/RmS3V0.arGlz73Vfs4kQdA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTYzNC4xOTY4OTExOTE3MDk4/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/9xGPXK1SrSOv8xoZ5aAutQ--~B/aD0zMDYwO3c9NDYzMjthcHBpZD15dGFjaHlvbg--/https://media.zenfs.com/en-us/usa_today_news_641/9b5f50f0d80884e1e5f339e705fb281b)
no one thought that, everyone thought he was an idiot marionette who was being who's strings were being manipulated by Dick Chaney.that's still the case
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no one thought that, everyone thought he was an idiot marionette who was being who's strings were being manipulated by Dick Chaney.that's still the case
No, now that he's gone woke like Arnold the libs love him.
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Low unemployment, great stock market, no new wars, etc. No wonder the corrupt establishment hates him. The brainwashed sheeple will continue to repeat what their TV tells them to. Then when Biden ships the jobs back to his chinese financers, raises our taxes, passes sweeping gun control, sends our troops into some shithole in the middel east, etc, the brainwashed losers here on getbig will repeat that their TV told them it was all somehow Trumps fault.....pretty predictable going forward.
I also predict the mindless talking head dummycrat supporters here on getbig will attack me, call me a Trumptard, make up some wild accusations about Trump corruption, etc. :)
Hold on (and this is not an attack on you, it is just few things that are happening under Trump's watch. Whether good or bad remains to be seen).
Unemployment, December 2020 = 6.7%
October 2020, investors lost nearly $1.7 trillion as stock markets tumbled amid renewed concerns about the coronavirus spreading and pre-election jitters in the U.S.
No new wars - check - (Trump draws down troops) Under a draft order circulating at the Pentagon on Monday, the number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan would be halved from the current deployment of 4,500 troops. In Iraq, the Pentagon would trim force levels slightly below 3,000 troops.. And in Somalia, virtually all of the more than 700 troops conducting training and counterterrorism missions would leave.
When the United States pulled out of Iraq at the end of 2011, it left a vacuum that fostered the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Let's hope there won't be a repeat of this.
Etc. = current Covid stats 14,255,535 cases in the U.S. with 277,825 deaths. To be fair, these are not the worst Covid stats among 1st world countries. Belgium, Spain and Italy have more deaths per million. Belgium and Israel have a higher percentage of total Covid cases than the U.S.
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Hold on (and this is not an attack on you, it is just few things that are happening under Trump's watch. Whether good or bad remains to be seen).
Unemployment, December 2020 = 6.7%
October 2020, investors lost nearly $1.7 trillion as stock markets tumbled amid renewed concerns about the coronavirus spreading and pre-election jitters in the U.S.
No new wars - check - (Trump draws down troops) Under a draft order circulating at the Pentagon on Monday, the number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan would be halved from the current deployment of 4,500 troops. In Iraq, the Pentagon would trim force levels slightly below 3,000 troops.. And in Somalia, virtually all of the more than 700 troops conducting training and counterterrorism missions would leave.
When the United States pulled out of Iraq at the end of 2011, it left a vacuum that fostered the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Let's hope there won't be a repeat of this.
Etc. = current Covid stats 14,255,535 cases in the U.S. with 277,825 deaths. To be fair, these are not the worst Covid stats among 1st world countries. Belgium, Spain and Italy have more deaths per million. Belgium and Israel have a higher percentage of total Covid cases than the U.S.
The unemployment numbers are a direct reflection of your governors reactions to Chinavirus. No other time in history has the government forced or asked the general public to get tested for an illness. ::)
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The unemployment numbers are a direct reflection of your governors reactions to Chinavirus. No other time in history has the government forced or asked the general public to get tested for an illness. ::)
Common sense dictates that things that happened under Coronavirus (economy, unemployment) happened because of............Coronaviru s.
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Not a foregone conclusion at all. Too many signs of fraud everywhere. A hostile MSM, FBI, CIA etc. The election is either null and void or the illegal ballots are thrown out and Trump wins by a very comfortable margin.
But how will Trump rank? In my opinion he should rank up there as the best President ever. Shows you how out of touch the regressive left is. They think he is the worse ever when it is the complete opposite.
If you're a Chinese national then yes Trump is the worse ever, from their perspective. But if you're an American you have to be a fucking moron if you think an idiot like Beijing Biden is good news for the USA.
There's lots of morons in the USA apparently. Self hating cucks that now all of a sudden hate their nation, flag anthem. You gotta wonder how people are so easily brainwashed?!
Trump and the military should go medieval on the Deep State and take out all the top players in 1 week. Just fucking destroy and incinerate the bastards. MSM should be shutdown for anti USA propaganda. Just fuck them in as many ways as possible. I think it is time to oppress the regressive left!
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Hold on (and this is not an attack on you, it is just few things that are happening under Trump's watch. Whether good or bad remains to be seen).
Unemployment, December 2020 = 6.7%
October 2020, investors lost nearly $1.7 trillion as stock markets tumbled amid renewed concerns about the coronavirus spreading and pre-election jitters in the U.S.
No new wars - check - (Trump draws down troops) Under a draft order circulating at the Pentagon on Monday, the number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan would be halved from the current deployment of 4,500 troops. In Iraq, the Pentagon would trim force levels slightly below 3,000 troops.. And in Somalia, virtually all of the more than 700 troops conducting training and counterterrorism missions would leave.
When the United States pulled out of Iraq at the end of 2011, it left a vacuum that fostered the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Let's hope there won't be a repeat of this.
Etc. = current Covid stats 14,255,535 cases in the U.S. with 277,825 deaths. To be fair, these are not the worst Covid stats among 1st world countries. Belgium, Spain and Italy have more deaths per million. Belgium and Israel have a higher percentage of total Covid cases than the U.S.
under Gay Muslim/Pedo Biden those would of been 20 - 50 times worse.
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He will rank at the bottom. Due to his constant blatant lying, administration indictments and convictions, disconnect with reality and childish twitter tantrums.
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President Donald Trump is the second greatest President in the history of the United States.
America should be grateful that he has saved the country from the complete failure and incompetence of the Obama administration.
Barry Oblowjob will go down in history as the worst President in the history of the United States. Even more incompetent than Jimmy Carter.
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President Donald Trump is the second greatest President in the history of the United States.
America should be grateful that he has saved the country from the complete failure and incompetence of the Obama administration.
Barry Oblowjob will go down in history as the worst President in the history of the United States. Even more incompetent than Jimmy Carter.
Obama will go down as a two term president who won the popular vote both times, had 0 of his administration cabinet indicted and jailed, who pulled the economy out of the ditch where Dubya left and handed it to a man child who promptly crashed it and spent 4 years whining about everything around him like some kind of insecure autistic piss ant.
Trump's biggest accomplishment was finding people dumber than he was to believe in him and his lies.
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Obama will go down as a two term president who won the popular vote both times, had 0 of his administration cabinet indicted and jailed, who pulled the economy out of the ditch where Dubya left and handed it to a man child who promptly crashed it and spent 4 years whining about everything around him like some kind of insecure autistic piss ant.
Trump's biggest accomplishment was finding people dumber than he was to believe in him and his lies.
Obama will go down as "meh".
Groundbreaking, young, dynamic, etc to start, largely didn't accomplish much, especially in relation to his hype.
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Well, libtards thought George W Bush was Hitler or the devil incarnate and that no president could possibly be worse than him. Now they say nothing but nice things about him.
(https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/RmS3V0.arGlz73Vfs4kQdA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTYzNC4xOTY4OTExOTE3MDk4/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/9xGPXK1SrSOv8xoZ5aAutQ--~B/aD0zMDYwO3c9NDYzMjthcHBpZD15dGFjaHlvbg--/https://media.zenfs.com/en-us/usa_today_news_641/9b5f50f0d80884e1e5f339e705fb281b)
Bush was still a disaster (multiple terrorist attacks on his watch, lied us into wars so his buddie could profit, blew up the deficit giving tax cuts to the wealthy, etc..)
Given all that at least we knew that Bush was a traitor which we can't say about the soon to be former occupant of the White House
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A rap sheet for a former president
If Trump is prosecuted, obstruction of justice, bribery and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. could be among the charges.
By Barbara McQuade and
Joyce White Vance
Oct. 16, 2020 at 12:15 p.m. EDT
The next attorney general of the United States faces two daunting decisions: whether to investigate possible criminal conduct by a former president and members of his administration, and if so, whether to file charges.
The Justice Manual directs federal prosecutors to bring charges if they believe that an offense has been committed, if the admissible evidence is enough “to obtain and sustain a conviction,” and if prosecution will serve a substantial federal interest.
The reckoning
It will be up to the attorney general to decide whether filing criminal charges against
(Nishant Choksi for The Washington Post)
Donald Trump and his aides best serves justice, but public reporting suggests there is evidence that could support such charges. State prosecutors also may have evidence of illegal conduct. The statute of limitations for most federal offenses is five years. That means crimes that occurred as far back as 2016 could be charged until their anniversary date in 2021. Older offenses may also be charged if the conduct was part of an ongoing conspiracy — for instance, if a coverup continued within the five-year period covered by the statute. Trump has engaged in other deplorable conduct that probably does not amount to criminal activity. Hiding accurate information about the coronavirus epidemic, for example, may have contributed to the deaths of Americans, but the causal connection is probably too tenuous to charge him with crimes such as negligent homicide or manslaughter. Some say Trump’s conduct toward Russia is treason — including his silence following reporting about Russian bounties on U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan — but this is a nonstarter. Conduct cannot amount to treason unless a person provides aid and comfort to an enemy with whom our nation is engaged in armed conflict.
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Here are categories of possible crimes that prosecutors could consider — what the rap sheet of an ex-president might look like.
Obstruction of justice
The gist of this crime is impeding an investigation for a corrupt purpose. Special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of possible links between the Trump campaign and Russian interference in the 2016 election developed evidence of 10 instances when Trump was
involved in obstruction. In at least four of those instances, Mueller laid out evidence sufficient to prove each element of the offense: Trump’s efforts to limit Mueller’s investigation to future elections; to dissuade his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, from cooperating with prosecutors; to fire Mueller; and to cover up the attempt to fire Mueller. It is not necessary to show that any underlying crime was committed to establish obstruction of justice. Intentional interference in an investigator’s work is crime enough.
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Although some critics dismiss obstruction of justice as “mere process crimes,” prosecutors consider this a serious offense because it goes to the heart of the criminal justice system’s truth-finding mission.
Why a Biden White House should stay out of the way
False statements and perjury also fall within the obstruction family. During Mueller’s investigation, Trump refused to submit to an in-person interview but agreed to answer written questions. A less-redacted version of Mueller’s report released this summer revealed that the special counsel examined whether Trump lied in his written answers when he denied he had advance knowledge of the release of stolen emails by WikiLeaks, which is inconsistent with other evidence.
Family members and associates of Trump are suspected of committing perjury, or lying under oath, at congressional hearings. Lawmakers have pointed to discrepancies between the testimony of certain witnesses and the testimony of Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, Stephen Bannon and Erik Prince.
Bribery
Asking for a thing of value in exchange for the performance of an official act violates the federal bribery statute. When Trump threatened to withhold military aid from Ukraine in 2019, he was arguably doing just that. The evidence at his impeachment trial included
Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asking for a “favor” in the form of finding dirt on a political opponent, Joe Biden. A witness at the impeachment inquiry testified that announcing an investigation that could implicate Biden was a quid pro quo for receiving the military aid. Although the Senate acquitted Trump in his impeachment trial, the Fifth Amendment’s double jeopardy clause should not bar criminal charges, because Trump did not face a loss of liberty over impeachment but rather loss of the presidency.
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Trump also uses his properties to generate revenue from parties doing business with the government, which could justify a bribery investigation. Recent reporting indicates that lobbyists and foreign government officials pay to get into the Trump International Hotel in Washington and the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida to obtain access to Trump. If the president rewarded those spending money at his hotels and resorts with favorable official decisions in office, he could be criminally liable.
Conspiracy to defraud the United States
This occurs when individuals agree to obstruct the work of a federal agency. If members
of the Trump administration sabotaged the U.S. Postal Service to influence the outcome of the 2020 election, this charge could be considered for anyone who conspired to achieve the illegal objective, even those who took no personal action. This way, the law can reach people who give illegal orders as well as those who carry them out.
Campaign finance violations
In August 2018, Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to making illegal contributions to Trump’s presidential campaign to buy the silence of adult-film star Stormy Daniels, who claimed she had had an affair with Trump. According to the government’s sentencing memo, Cohen set up a shell corporation to make a $130,000 payment to prevent Daniels from making public statements that would harm Trump’s candidacy. As stated in court documents in Cohen’s case, the payments assisted the campaign by preventing the publication of negative stories about candidate Trump that
might influence the election. His payment exceeded the legal limit of $2,700 for campaign contributions and violated the law prohibiting corporate contributions. The government stated that Cohen “acted in coordination with and at the direction of Individual-1” — identified as someone who ran “an ultimately successful campaign for President of the United States.” It appears that the Justice Department has already reached the conclusion that there is sufficient evidence to charge Trump.
Pre-presidency crimes
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. has stated in public documents that the subpoenas he served to obtain Trump’s tax and financial records are part of an investigation into possible crimes committed before Trump became president. Cohen testified before Congress that Trump would alter statements of his wealth and assets to suit his purposes. When seeking a loan to buy the Buffalo Bills, for example, Trump overstated his
net worth to boost the appearance of his creditworthiness, Cohen said. On his tax returns, according to Cohen, Trump would understate the value of his assets to lower his tax bill. Potential crimes include bank, insurance and tax fraud; money laundering; and preparing false business records.
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Similar allegations led a court to order Trump’s son Eric to appear for a deposition in a civil investigation brought by the New York attorney general. The deposition occurred Oct. 5. Among the topics reportedly probed was a $21 million deduction taken by the elder Trump on a property known as Seven Springs, outside New York City. The deduction was claimed because Trump donated an easement on the forest surrounding the retreat to a public land trust for conservation purposes. Some have questioned the appraisal of the property as sketchy. While those proceedings are civil in nature, they may further illuminate any criminal conduct in the business practices of Trump and the Trump Organization.
Hatch Act violations
The Hatch Act prohibits federal employees from engaging in certain political activities. The idea is to keep governance separate from campaigning and to protect workers from
being intimidated into supporting a particular candidate as a condition of their employment. While the president is not bound by the Hatch Act, it is a crime for him to command or coerce others to violate the law. Criminal violations of the Hatch Act are punishable by up to three years in prison.
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When Trump schedules campaign events at the White House, as he has recently, he is commanding federal employees to violate the Hatch Act by setting up the room, admitting the guests or otherwise performing tasks to support the event. When the president spoke from the White House at the Republican National Convention and recognized uniformed Border Patrol agents who were in attendance, he arguably was soliciting or conspiring with them to violate the Hatch Act.
Crimes for another day?
In his report, Mueller avoided accusing Trump of a crime because Justice Department policy prohibited him from filing charges against a sitting president. Mueller reasoned that making the accusation when no trial could occur would deprive Trump of the opportunity to defend himself in court. He made clear, however, that his report was intended to “preserve the evidence” obtained in his investigation because “a President does not have immunity after he leaves office.”
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Biden has said he would leave the business of the Justice Department to his attorney general. So it would fall to a future attorney general to decide whether to accept Mueller’s invitation to investigate and charge the 45th president with crimes. Charging a former president is fraught. We do not want to become a country where presidents are routinely charged after they leave office with crimes stemming from policy decisions, but we also do not want to be a country where a president can commit crimes with impunity, knowing he will not be held accountable.
Twitter: @barbmcquade
@JoyceWhiteVance
Read more from Outlook:
The country can’t recover from Trump’s presidency unless he’s held accountable
Let history, not partisans, prosecute Trump
This is not normal
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Updated October 16, 2020
Election 2020: What to know
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In the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll, Democratic nominee Joe Biden leads President Trump, with 54 percent of likely voters favoring him vs. 42 percent for Trump.
How to vote: Find out the rules in your state. Some states have already started sending out mail ballots; see how to make sure yours counts. Absentee and mail ballots are two terms for the same thing, mostly used interchangeably. Barring a landslide, we may not have a result in the presidential election on Nov. 3. Are you running into voting problems? Let us know.
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1.2k Comments
Barbara McQuade
Barbara McQuade is a law professor at the University of Michigan Law School and the former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan.Follow
Joyce White Vance
Joyce White Vance, a former U.S. attorney in Alabama, is a professor at the University of Alabama School of Law.Follow
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A rap sheet for a former president
If Trump is prosecuted, obstruction of justice, bribery and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. could be among the charges.
By Barbara McQuade and
Joyce White Vance
Oct. 16, 2020 at 12:15 p.m. EDT
The next attorney general of the United States faces two daunting decisions: whether to investigate possible criminal conduct by a former president and members of his administration, and if so, whether to file charges.
The Justice Manual directs federal prosecutors to bring charges if they believe that an offense has been committed, if the admissible evidence is enough “to obtain and sustain a conviction,” and if prosecution will serve a substantial federal interest.
The reckoning
It will be up to the attorney general to decide whether filing criminal charges against
(Nishant Choksi for The Washington Post)
Donald Trump and his aides best serves justice, but public reporting suggests there is evidence that could support such charges. State prosecutors also may have evidence of illegal conduct. The statute of limitations for most federal offenses is five years. That means crimes that occurred as far back as 2016 could be charged until their anniversary date in 2021. Older offenses may also be charged if the conduct was part of an ongoing conspiracy — for instance, if a coverup continued within the five-year period covered by the statute. Trump has engaged in other deplorable conduct that probably does not amount to criminal activity. Hiding accurate information about the coronavirus epidemic, for example, may have contributed to the deaths of Americans, but the causal connection is probably too tenuous to charge him with crimes such as negligent homicide or manslaughter. Some say Trump’s conduct toward Russia is treason — including his silence following reporting about Russian bounties on U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan — but this is a nonstarter. Conduct cannot amount to treason unless a person provides aid and comfort to an enemy with whom our nation is engaged in armed conflict.
AD
Here are categories of possible crimes that prosecutors could consider — what the rap sheet of an ex-president might look like.
Obstruction of justice
The gist of this crime is impeding an investigation for a corrupt purpose. Special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of possible links between the Trump campaign and Russian interference in the 2016 election developed evidence of 10 instances when Trump was
involved in obstruction. In at least four of those instances, Mueller laid out evidence sufficient to prove each element of the offense: Trump’s efforts to limit Mueller’s investigation to future elections; to dissuade his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, from cooperating with prosecutors; to fire Mueller; and to cover up the attempt to fire Mueller. It is not necessary to show that any underlying crime was committed to establish obstruction of justice. Intentional interference in an investigator’s work is crime enough.
AD
Although some critics dismiss obstruction of justice as “mere process crimes,” prosecutors consider this a serious offense because it goes to the heart of the criminal justice system’s truth-finding mission.
Why a Biden White House should stay out of the way
False statements and perjury also fall within the obstruction family. During Mueller’s investigation, Trump refused to submit to an in-person interview but agreed to answer written questions. A less-redacted version of Mueller’s report released this summer revealed that the special counsel examined whether Trump lied in his written answers when he denied he had advance knowledge of the release of stolen emails by WikiLeaks, which is inconsistent with other evidence.
Family members and associates of Trump are suspected of committing perjury, or lying under oath, at congressional hearings. Lawmakers have pointed to discrepancies between the testimony of certain witnesses and the testimony of Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, Stephen Bannon and Erik Prince.
Bribery
Asking for a thing of value in exchange for the performance of an official act violates the federal bribery statute. When Trump threatened to withhold military aid from Ukraine in 2019, he was arguably doing just that. The evidence at his impeachment trial included
Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asking for a “favor” in the form of finding dirt on a political opponent, Joe Biden. A witness at the impeachment inquiry testified that announcing an investigation that could implicate Biden was a quid pro quo for receiving the military aid. Although the Senate acquitted Trump in his impeachment trial, the Fifth Amendment’s double jeopardy clause should not bar criminal charges, because Trump did not face a loss of liberty over impeachment but rather loss of the presidency.
AD
Trump also uses his properties to generate revenue from parties doing business with the government, which could justify a bribery investigation. Recent reporting indicates that lobbyists and foreign government officials pay to get into the Trump International Hotel in Washington and the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida to obtain access to Trump. If the president rewarded those spending money at his hotels and resorts with favorable official decisions in office, he could be criminally liable.
Conspiracy to defraud the United States
This occurs when individuals agree to obstruct the work of a federal agency. If members
of the Trump administration sabotaged the U.S. Postal Service to influence the outcome of the 2020 election, this charge could be considered for anyone who conspired to achieve the illegal objective, even those who took no personal action. This way, the law can reach people who give illegal orders as well as those who carry them out.
Campaign finance violations
In August 2018, Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to making illegal contributions to Trump’s presidential campaign to buy the silence of adult-film star Stormy Daniels, who claimed she had had an affair with Trump. According to the government’s sentencing memo, Cohen set up a shell corporation to make a $130,000 payment to prevent Daniels from making public statements that would harm Trump’s candidacy. As stated in court documents in Cohen’s case, the payments assisted the campaign by preventing the publication of negative stories about candidate Trump that
might influence the election. His payment exceeded the legal limit of $2,700 for campaign contributions and violated the law prohibiting corporate contributions. The government stated that Cohen “acted in coordination with and at the direction of Individual-1” — identified as someone who ran “an ultimately successful campaign for President of the United States.” It appears that the Justice Department has already reached the conclusion that there is sufficient evidence to charge Trump.
Pre-presidency crimes
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. has stated in public documents that the subpoenas he served to obtain Trump’s tax and financial records are part of an investigation into possible crimes committed before Trump became president. Cohen testified before Congress that Trump would alter statements of his wealth and assets to suit his purposes. When seeking a loan to buy the Buffalo Bills, for example, Trump overstated his
net worth to boost the appearance of his creditworthiness, Cohen said. On his tax returns, according to Cohen, Trump would understate the value of his assets to lower his tax bill. Potential crimes include bank, insurance and tax fraud; money laundering; and preparing false business records.
AD
Similar allegations led a court to order Trump’s son Eric to appear for a deposition in a civil investigation brought by the New York attorney general. The deposition occurred Oct. 5. Among the topics reportedly probed was a $21 million deduction taken by the elder Trump on a property known as Seven Springs, outside New York City. The deduction was claimed because Trump donated an easement on the forest surrounding the retreat to a public land trust for conservation purposes. Some have questioned the appraisal of the property as sketchy. While those proceedings are civil in nature, they may further illuminate any criminal conduct in the business practices of Trump and the Trump Organization.
Hatch Act violations
The Hatch Act prohibits federal employees from engaging in certain political activities. The idea is to keep governance separate from campaigning and to protect workers from
being intimidated into supporting a particular candidate as a condition of their employment. While the president is not bound by the Hatch Act, it is a crime for him to command or coerce others to violate the law. Criminal violations of the Hatch Act are punishable by up to three years in prison.
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When Trump schedules campaign events at the White House, as he has recently, he is commanding federal employees to violate the Hatch Act by setting up the room, admitting the guests or otherwise performing tasks to support the event. When the president spoke from the White House at the Republican National Convention and recognized uniformed Border Patrol agents who were in attendance, he arguably was soliciting or conspiring with them to violate the Hatch Act.
Crimes for another day?
In his report, Mueller avoided accusing Trump of a crime because Justice Department policy prohibited him from filing charges against a sitting president. Mueller reasoned that making the accusation when no trial could occur would deprive Trump of the opportunity to defend himself in court. He made clear, however, that his report was intended to “preserve the evidence” obtained in his investigation because “a President does not have immunity after he leaves office.”
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Biden has said he would leave the business of the Justice Department to his attorney general. So it would fall to a future attorney general to decide whether to accept Mueller’s invitation to investigate and charge the 45th president with crimes. Charging a former president is fraught. We do not want to become a country where presidents are routinely charged after they leave office with crimes stemming from policy decisions, but we also do not want to be a country where a president can commit crimes with impunity, knowing he will not be held accountable.
Twitter: @barbmcquade
@JoyceWhiteVance
Read more from Outlook:
The country can’t recover from Trump’s presidency unless he’s held accountable
Let history, not partisans, prosecute Trump
This is not normal
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Updated October 16, 2020
Election 2020: What to know
Follow live updates on the election here.
In the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll, Democratic nominee Joe Biden leads President Trump, with 54 percent of likely voters favoring him vs. 42 percent for Trump.
How to vote: Find out the rules in your state. Some states have already started sending out mail ballots; see how to make sure yours counts. Absentee and mail ballots are two terms for the same thing, mostly used interchangeably. Barring a landslide, we may not have a result in the presidential election on Nov. 3. Are you running into voting problems? Let us know.
Electoral college map: Who actually votes, and who do they vote for? Explore how shifts in turnout and voting patterns for key demographic groups could affect the presidential race.
Policy: Where Biden and Trump stand on key issues defining the election.
Battlegrounds: These are the 50 political states of America. Dive into Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Florida, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Arizona, Georgia, Texas and Ohio, and sign up for The Trailer and get more states, plus more news and insight from the trail, in your inbox three days a week.
Coming up: Trump and Biden are scheduled to debate one more time this fall; here’s what to know about the 2020 presidential debates.
1.2k Comments
Barbara McQuade
Barbara McQuade is a law professor at the University of Michigan Law School and the former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan.Follow
Joyce White Vance
Joyce White Vance, a former U.S. attorney in Alabama, is a professor at the University of Alabama School of Law.Follow
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Most ReadOpinions
1
Opinion
A miserable end to a miserable presidency
2
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The pandemic was already testing me. Then a man covered in Nazi tattoos showed up in my ER.
3
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Two cheers for the Never Trump conservatives
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It might not be so simple for Trump to pardon his children and Giuliani
&t=29s
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no one thought that, everyone thought he was an idiot marionette who was being who's strings were being manipulated by Dick Chaney.that's still the case
Really? No one?
From January 20, 2001 to January 19, 2009—those would be the Bush years—the left was awash with celebrities comparing President George W. Bush to Hitler.
https://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/doug-heye/2011/10/06/celebs-should-avoid-the-hitler-president-comparison-be-it-bush-or-obama
Why Bush, Blair should be charged with war crimes
https://www.cnn.com/2013/03/19/opinion/iraq-war-bush-blair/index.html
Bush rejects accusations of racism over Katrina
reuters.com/article/us-bush-book-katrina/bush-rejects-accusations-of-racism-over-katrina-idUSTRE6A25N820101103
Venezuela President says Bush is 'the devil'
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/venezuela-president-says-bush-is-the-devil-1.796999
And yet, less than a decade after he departed from the White House, Bush has turned his overwhelming unpopularity around. One CNN poll found that six in 10 Americans have a favorable view of the 43rd president. Another poll found that a majority of Democrats now have a favorable opinion of Bush. Bush even went viral after a meme circulated with his image, captioned “miss me yet?” People have even come around to Bush’s bumbling public persona — though previously mocked for his perceived ape-like intelligence and ridiculed for his “Bushisms,” people have revamped this image as one of humorous sweet innocence. Much of the sudden burst in pro-Bush sentiment is intertwined with criticism of Trump’s own governing style.
https://nyunews.com/opinion/2020/05/05/george-bush-rehabilitation/
(https://i.insider.com/5df3a536fd9db20c242f41a2?width=1136&format=jpeg)
(https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/news/2017/03/03/bush3_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bqe62h_1Y3s_iL2wPgiZHb7PII6usAzn2u37UDx65f2Gk.jpg)
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Obama will go down as a two term president who won the popular vote both times, had 0 of his administration cabinet indicted and jailed, who pulled the economy out of the ditch where Dubya left and handed it to a man child who promptly crashed it and spent 4 years whining about everything around him like some kind of insecure autistic piss ant.
Trump's biggest accomplishment was finding people dumber than he was to believe in him and his lies.
You've said some dumb shit, but this takes the cake!
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You've said some dumb shit, but this takes the cake!
Still crying huh?
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Still crying huh?
Buckle up Nancy, I have 4 more years to catch up to you. :-*
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The unemployment numbers are a direct reflection of your governors reactions to Chinavirus. No other time in history has the government forced or asked the general public to get tested for an illness. ::)
Oregon's governor Brown technically the only governor who is mine as well as all the other Oregonians. Her reaction the Covid has been responsive, measured and cautious. Many Oregonians don't like the restrictions but for the most part people are following them.
California governor Newsom enacted one of the earliest and strictest orders to stay at home on March 19th.
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He will rank at the bottom. Due to his constant blatant lying, administration indictments and convictions, disconnect with reality and childish twitter tantrums.
Yes. And he will be discussed ad nauseam both by those who supported him and those who didn't.
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Buckle up Nancy, I have 4 more years to catch up to you. :-*
And it is shaping up to look like you plan to use every minute of your life for the next four years pissing and moaning about Trump's losing the 2020 election.
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And it is shaping up to look like you plan to use every minute of your life for the next four years pissing and moaning about Trump's losing the 2020 election.
He will go about his life as normal, bitching occasionally, but not dumping friends for their political beliefs, not spendings countless hours on social media, not having to take "timeouts" for mental health, not spending time hanging on every word Biden says, not making up fake things to feel better, and giving credit where it's due.
In other words, he'll behave exactly the opposite the way the left TDS inflicted folks did, because he's normal.
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Oregon's governor Brown technically the only governor who is mine as well as all the other Oregonians. Her reaction the Covid has been responsive, measured and cautious. Many Oregonians don't like the restrictions but for the most part people are following them.
California governor Newsom enacted one of the earliest and strictest orders to stay at home on March 19th.
Yes and we're now on our 3rd? 4th? "lockdown" What a joke. People killing themselves daily because the government is fucking us all over.
He will go about his life as normal, bitching occasionally, but not dumping friends for their political beliefs, not spendings countless hours on social media, not having to take "timeouts" for mental health, not spending time hanging on every word Biden says, not making up fake things to feel better, and giving credit where it's due.
In other words, he'll behave exactly the opposite the way the left TDS inflicted folks did, because he's normal.
Fortunately I don't know any idiots Biden supporters in real life so I'll have to come to getbig to antagonize the weak minded, brainwashed, pedo supporters that voted for Pedo Joe and Kuntmala. :D
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And it is shaping up to look like you plan to use every minute of your life for the next four years pissing and moaning about Trump's losing the 2020 election.
Just like he did the eight years under Obama.
Polls today show that Biden is more popular at this point that Trump ever was in his entire Presidency.
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Obama will go down as a two term president who won the popular vote both times, had 0 of his administration cabinet indicted and jailed, who pulled the economy out of the ditch where Dubya left and handed it to a man child who promptly crashed it and spent 4 years whining about everything around him like some kind of insecure autistic piss ant.
Trump's biggest accomplishment was finding people dumber than he was to believe in him and his lies.
Absolutely not.
Bullshit and revisionist history.
The Oblowjob Administration politicized government institutions to the point that it put the entire rule of law at risk. If there were any justice left in the deep state and DOJ the entire Oblowjob cabal would be imprisoned for a very very long time.
The scandals under the Oblowjob Administration were worse than even Bill Clinton, the only difference was that the MSM protected the useless community organizer from any type of criticism.
History will show that President Donald Trump is the greatest President or second greatest President in the history of the United States.
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Trump 1st on policies and getting things done, worst on tactfulness - but with a corrupted MSM etc who can blame him.
Gay Muslim worst ever, and most corrupted, also one of the worst world leaders to ever exist. And to linger around like a petrified offensive odor, just adds to his complete failure.
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Absolutely not.
Bullshit and revisionist history.
The Oblowjob Administration politicized government institutions to the point that it put the entire rule of law at risk. If there were any justice left in the deep state and DOJ the entire Oblowjob cabal would be imprisoned for a very very long time.
The scandals under the Oblowjob Administration were worse than even Bill Clinton, the only difference was that the MSM protected the useless community organizer from any type of criticism.
History will show that President Donald Trump is the greatest President or second greatest President in the history of the United States.
Pretty sure you have evidence, proof and can link indictments to these "scandals". I'll wait.
History will show that the only dumber than Trump is his supporters. Of course, we don't have to wait for history to tell us that, we can all see it today.
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Pretty sure you have evidence, proof and can link indictments to these "scandals". I'll wait.
History will show that the only dumber than Trump is his supporters. Of course, we don't have to wait for history to tell us that, we can all see it today.
Other than KenyaCare and trannies in bathrooms what did gayfag bama do?
Trump policy wise was great. His personality offended many for sure and not disputing that.
But no wars, no new taxes, no new abortions like ghettofagbamacare, etc.
Clinton, GWB, Ofagget (His legacy is pure trash and he is druggie racist pos), can't say that.
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Where will Trump rank?
Under Warren G Harding and Herbert Hoover...
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Pretty sure you have evidence, proof and can link indictments to these "scandals". I'll wait.
History will show that the only dumber than Trump is his supporters. Of course, we don't have to wait for history to tell us that, we can all see it today.
Fast & Furious
Benghazi
Obamacare
Fake Russian collusion
Cash to the Iranian Mullahs
Drone strike lies
Spying on U.S. citizens lies
Politicizing the IRS against conservative groups
Hillary email server
General Flynn entrapment
Mueller Investigation hoax
I can keep going...but you’re really not intelligent enough to comprehend.
It is laughable that 50% of the people in the United States get their opinion told to them by a couple of cock munchers on CNN.
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He will go about his life as normal, bitching occasionally, but not dumping friends for their political beliefs, not spendings countless hours on social media, not having to take "timeouts" for mental health, not spending time hanging on every word Biden says, not making up fake things to feel better, and giving credit where it's due.
In other words, he'll behave exactly the opposite the way the left TDS inflicted folks did, because he's normal.
If Trump is normal, thank goodness that I'm not.
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Yes and we're now on our 3rd? 4th? "lockdown" What a joke. People killing themselves daily because the government is fucking us all over.
Fortunately I don't know any idiots Biden supporters in real life so I'll have to come to getbig to antagonize the weak minded, brainwashed, pedo supporters that voted for Pedo Joe and Kuntmala. :D
Yeah....It is tough times alright in terms of lock downs. Just read today that California's are the most restrictive. Everyone I know is tired of it, but doing what they have to anyway. Perhaps if more folks wore masks, we wouldn't be revisiting lock downs and restrictions over and over again.
I bet some of the people you know did vote for Biden. They're not interested in having your insults thrown in their way, so they avoid talking politics when they are around you.
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Yeah....It is tough times alright in terms of lock downs. Just read today that California's are the most restrictive. Everyone I know is tired of it, but doing what they have to anyway. Perhaps if more folks wore masks, we wouldn't be revisiting lock downs and restrictions over and over again.
I bet some of the people you know did vote for Biden. They're not interested in having your insults thrown in their way, so they avoid talking politics when they are around you.
We've been wearing masks for 15 days to slow the spread 9 months now, why haven't they worked yet? Oh this time for sure, right?
I actually do know one lesbian that voted for Biden, we had quite the civil conversation and to each of her points I had a counter point and she conceded that she just didn't like Trump. So another one of your stupid, dumbshit theories shot down. :)
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We've been wearing masks for 15 days to slow the spread 9 months now, why haven't they worked yet? Oh this time for sure, right?
I actually do know one lesbian that voted for Biden, we had quite the civil conversation and to each of her points I had a counter point and she conceded that she just didn't like Trump. So another one of your stupid, dumbshit theories shot down. :)
The lesbian didn’t have Cher, Miley Cyrus, Chrissy Tiegen, Alyssa Milano or Joy Behar there to tell her what her opinion was.