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I think this is the article I was referring to: https://www.newyorker.com/news/swamp-chronicles/is-fraud-part-of-the-trump-organizations-business-model

Interesting. Several years ago there was an article in the New Yorker about Trump's "business empire" if you want to dignify what looked more like a conglomeration of grifts than an actual business. I'll see if I can track it down.

I've never seen any article anywere to suggest that. Is there something you can link to or is this just a thought of yours?

Influential? So he supported all the major funding bills that Congress has enacted? That's news to me.

I'd give this report more credence if it wasn't appearing only in the mirror, the sun, and metro. I hope it's so, but it seems too good to be true.

A sentence like this is obvous bloviation. "The problem is that this anti-Trumpery has been going on relentlessly for 6+ years with high visibility and prejudice to the point that even some Democrats seem not trust their own government agencies now. " What percentage of Democrats. In a country with 10's of millions of them, what does "some Democrats" signify?

Here once again, for your benefit, is the definition of socialism: a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole. https://www.google.com/search?q=definition+of+socialism&oq=definition+of+so&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j69i59.7682j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Did you actually read the article? It doesn't say what you apparently think it does. Here's the conclusion "So now, the Labour party is less socialist. “Social democrats” are usually how more centrist left wing politicians in western democracies are described – and how most Labour MPs would identify. But Corbyn and his allies often use the description: “democratic socialist”." And given that the author of the piece includes the NHS, minimum wage, and progressive taxation as socialistic, even his tepid clams are suspect. Or maybe he believes that most UK citizens are socialist?

I don't think it suggests that he intended to monetize them. It's important to keep in mind that Trump is not entirely rational, to put it weakly. He is consumed with rage over his election loss. I mean, it's been 21 months and he still won't shut up about it.

Fox News has the Republicans and Democrats tied in the popular vote for Congress. But everyone knowns they're basically radical leftists. "With midterm elections three months away, voters are split on their generic ballot preference (the Democratic candidate in their House district vs. the Republican candidate) at 41% apiece. Of the 70% saying the next generation will be worse off, those voters break for the GOP by 14 points. The 25% who say life will be better favor the Democrat by 34." https://www.foxnews.com/official-polls/fox-news-poll-record-70-say-life-will-worse-next-generation

If you mean that the article didn't touch on the implications, you're correct. Otherwise not. It really depends on the terms of the plea. Maybe Weisselberg is just pleading guilty without trading his plea in exchange for a reduction or mitigation of sentence. Or maybe he's agreed to plead guilty in exchange for incriminating information against Trump and/or other parties. And in return he will benefit. Who knows?

You sure about that? "The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit endorsed that view in a 2020 decision, saying that “declassification, even by the President, must follow established procedures.” In that case, the appeals court denied an effort by the New York Times to obtain documents about a covert Central Intelligence Agency operation in Syria. The newspaper had argued then-President Trump declassified the program by tweeting about it and making other public comments." https://www.wsj.com/articles/fbi-search-of-mar-a-lago-achieved-doj-top-priority-get-the-documents-11660512503#:~:text=The U.S. Court,making other public comments.

Less than 30%? No wonder so many Trump supporters think he won. https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president-biden-job-approval-7320.html

If Trump was divulging such information, and I don't think he was, it would more likely be because of coercion. That intelligence services had something on him. But I doubt it.

Thanks for the correction. Now that Trump is no longer president, executive privilege wouldn't apply to what this translator heard. In fact, I think Biden would have a duty to find out what it was that Trump said to Putin and vice versa.

Well, I guess if you mean that the Ukrainians fear the re-election of Trump, you have point.

Given that Trump's business consists mainly of real estate pass through corporations, and real estate and pass through corporations were especially favored by his 2017 tax bill, let's not get too carried away by his alleged generosity. Trump Says G.O.P. Tax Bill Wouldn’t Benefit Him. That’s Not True. “Commercial real estate came out essentially unscathed,” said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the American Action Forum, a conservative advocacy group. Real estate developers “didn’t lose anything they care about,” and they got even more breaks, like a shorter depreciation schedule in the Senate tax bill, Mr. Holtz-Eakin pointed out... “Lower pass-through rates and the repeal of the alternative minimum tax — those two alone are so hugely beneficial to Trump that I have trouble imagining any way that he wouldn’t come out ahead,” said Steve Wamhoff, senior fellow for federal tax policy at the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/30/business/trump-benefit-tax-cuts.html

I think you'll find that despite the mountains of evidence to the contrary, there are members who entirely agree with Trump on that matter.

Trump had better opportunities before. For instance when he met with Putin in Helsinki (remember those Halcyon days before Finland aspired to join NATO) and arranged to have a meeting with him without any advisers being present. Nor even a State Dept. translator.

Melania Trump used newfound leverage to redo prenup after election win, new book says When the first lady stayed in N.Y. after inauguration, she said it was for Barron's schooling. But there's more to it. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/melania-trump-used-newfound-leverage-redo-prenup-after-election-win-n1230471

Well, the odds are that the Republicans will control the House for the next term, so it's unlikely that the committee will still be investigating the events of Jan 6.

No. Only House members on the committee can ask questions of witnesses.

Let's not get carried away. Try to remember that, on the emotional level, we're dealing with an angry resentful child. I think it's far more likely that Trump held on to that stuff because he couldn't accept that he lost the election and it was his way of trolling the Biden administration.

For those who might need a literal translation of the Thai name, het khee khwai, for the psilocybin mushroom, it translates to water buffalo dung mushroom.

You mean that he's a supporter of Sinn Fein, the party that won the more seats in Northern Ireland's Assembly than any other party? Or are you still beleaguered by memories of The Troubles which are now a thing of the past thanks in large part to the efforts of Bill Clinton?