Tornado Alley (PROG)

[fuagf]

Trump's 'good person' defence could affect jurors in Manafort trial

"The latest in the Paul Manafort trial"

Weighing in on active trial is highly unusual move for sitting president – one legal expert says: ‘He shouldn’t have done it’

VIDEO

Sabrina Siddiqui in Washington
@SabrinaSiddiqui

Sat 18 Aug 2018 21.09 EDT

[...]

“It’s incredibly unusual and perhaps unprecedented that a president would weigh in like this during a criminal investigation that’s actually gone past the indictment stage and is now at the jury deliberation stage,” said Greg Brower, who until April was the FBI’s top congressional liaison.

Susan Low Bloch, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center, said Trump simply “shouldn’t have done it”.

“It’s potentially impactful if the jury hears it or heard it,” she said. “It’s not surprising to say most presidents wouldn’t have done that. But that’s a comment that seems to apply to almost everything [Trump] does. He doesn’t abide by any rules.”

In a later email to the Guardian, Christopher Slobogin, professor of criminal law at Vanderbilt Law School, said: “Because presidents have so much influence, they generally do not, and in my opinion should not, comment on a case that has gone to the jury room. Whether or not he intends it, Trump’s comments have the potential to corrupt jury deliberations.”

Trump has defended Manafort before. On the first day of testimony in court, the president tweeted that his former aide was being treated worse than Al Capone...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/aug/18/trump-manafort-trial-jurors-sequestered

From inside that one, a welcome to the Trump White House traffic stop.

The biggest Trump resignations and firings so far

[Heh, this names/why list was picked up in the c/p.]

Scott Pruitt
Couldn't hide forever in his sound-proof booth
Rex Tillerson
Found out on the toilet via a tweet
Hope Hicks
Told too many "white lies"
Sebastian Gorka
Tried to pass off his firing as a resignation
Steve Bannon
"It was great" – Trump
Anthony Scaramucci
He came, he mooched, he got fired
Reince Priebus
"I am proud of him!" — Trump
Sean Spicer
Misspoke for too many
James Comey
Didn't investigate enough email servers
Michael Flynn
Told too many lies

[LOL, you've seen the row of moving ducks people shoot at
carnivals. See the people above move by. Spicer rocks it.]

Sam Morris and Francisco Navas
Last updated Thursday 5 July 2018

The Trump presidency will be remembered for many things, but some of those who served it may prove tricky to recall. The former reality TV star has hired and fired staffers faster than he could ever jettison contestants on The Apprentice. High-profile appointees to august posts traditionally filled for years have struggled to stay for more than a couple of months – sometimes even days – before being fired or resigning.

By our count, Trump has overseen 38 high-profile departures in a blizzard of indecision and turmoil that would be hard for even the sharpest White House-watcher to recall. So here's a living document, designed to help you keep pace.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2018/jul/05/donald-trump-firings-resignations-white-house-full-list-latest