[View as a Twitter thread] First, some background on RICO. Prosecutors were finding it hard to bring down mobs partly because bosses had ways to insulate themselves. They could only try mob-related crimes individually. RICO (Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Law) was passed in 1970. RICO lets prosecutors take down the entire organization, and makes …
Trump claims he plans to cut off federal funding, at least in part, to colleges that do not protect views across the political spectrum. To make his point, he called Hayden Williams, a conservative activist, onto the stage. Williams alleges that he was punched at the University of California Berkeley when he tried to express a conservative …
[View as a Twitter thread] I finished Masha Gessen’s stunning book, The Future is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia, and I am left with two distinct thoughts. First: I see why Putin methods work on America’s far right wing. Second: I see why Putin’s methods are unlikely to succeed in the U.S 1/ By “succeed” …
[View as a Twitter thread] In light of Cohen’s testimony in Congress last week, I updated my general crimes page. I also put a red star next to the crimes in which Trump himself is implicated. The page is here. That’s the page where I keep track of possible crimes committed by Trump, his family, and …
These are two separate questions: (1) can a sitting president be indicted, and (2) can a sitting president be put on trial. Spoiler: Probably yes, and probably no. Let’s start with the first question. There is nothing in the Constitution that says a president can’t be indicted. On the other hand, the Constitution offers a …
Can a Sitting President be Indicted and Put on Trial? Read More »
[View as a Twitter Thread] I am going to answer this question because I believe it is sincere, and because I think the question goes to the heart of the problem: By problem I mean this: How it was that “her emails” sank so deeply into the public consciousness that a large percentage of the …
Simple Lies are Easier to Spread than Complex Truths Read More »
[View here as a Twitter thread] Michael Cohen, in his riveting testimony Wednesday before the House Committee on Oversight, illustrated how Trump’s Cult of Leadership operates. The classic definition of a leadership cult comes from Robert O. Paxton: 1/ In a leadership cult the followers look for a strong authority (always male) culminating in a …
Michael Cohen, the GOP, and the Cult of Leadership Read More »
Before Cohen’s hearing, I posted a thread on Twitter outlining possible crimes in which Cohen implicated Trump in his written statement. Here is an updated account after the hearing. Cohen’s written statement is here. The C-SPAN recording of the hearing is here. Crimes in red. First Crime: Campaign finance violation (and/ or aiding and abetting …
[View as a Twitter thread] Graham says that the checks Trump signed reimbursing Cohen for hush money shows that Trump didn’t think he was doing anything wrong because “People don’t write checks” if they think it’s a crime. I don’t believe Lindsey Graham expects anyone to actually believe his argument. He knows it’s absurd and …
[View here as a Twitter thread] Absorbing Michael Cohen’s hearing yesterday and reading MAGA commentary, I’m struck by the deep and destructive levels of cynicism in the GOP and America’s far right wing. GOP cynicism, it seems to me, explains much of what we are seeing. 1/ As Michael Cohen outlined numerous crimes and instances …
