(NewYork City District Attorney Alvin Bragg makes a point about his Drag. Image AP)
In all the other excitement, this important bit of the chaos was sidelined as the new week opened. It was not hard to peel the layers back in urgency, since it began with the threat of regional war in the Middle East.
Throw Tax Day atop the pile of necessary action, the other less-urgent developments are still unfolding in their parts of what has inelegantly been described as the ‘Kalorama Klown Show.’
It is an ironic but fitting term. The first “K-Word” in the phrase refers to a DC neighborhood near the White House that is filled with distinguished estates overlooking Rock Creek Park. It is home to some of DC’s chicest addresses, ranging from diplomatic homes and embassies to Mediterranean, Colonial and Georgian-revival mansions.
Like the residents of those grand homes, we were on edge last night. Word was that the Israelis were marshalling forces to respond to the big Iranian missile attack. The dimensions of the response were unclear, and on rising this morning, a quick scan of the ‘news’ determined nothing happened in the hours of darkness.
So, maybe, there is momentary peace on that front this morning, though of course events are still unfolding. That limited good news may be as good as it gets., since the next layers of national malaise are colliding with extraordinary local developments.
What might those be? The one on top is the remarkable legal struggle over the players in this latest edition of our electoral cycle. It is historic in scope, since it appears to be the work of a city District Attorney to functionally insert his office into a national election.
Alvin Bragg is the name of the individual at the heart of it. part of a coordinated legal campaign of interlocking local actions with the direct intent of interfering with a national campaign.
There has been a series of laughable legal litigations, of which this current “Hush Money” case is nothing short of sordid and intended to take the accused off his campaign plan. Here on The Patio, we call this part of the election cycle “The Bragg Drag.
Bragg is running one of four deliberately-coordinated actions by local civic officials against participants in national- hell, international- affairs. Three others have faltered. This one has not, at least not yet.
In brief, DJT became the first former U.S. President to stand criminal trial on Monday when he appeared in a local Manhattan court. He is facing charges stemming from a payment to a porn star about an alleged relationship never proven nor brought to trial. Instead, it appears to be a case of extortion amicably settled with private funds on the eve of an election.
These perfectly legal actions are called “Non-disclosure Agreements,” or “NDAs,” for short. We took a Patio Poll, and most of us have signed a variety of them in the course of our careers. Were any illegal? Not according to our Legal Section, but that is simply where the money and litigation stream begins these days.
General Mike Flynn, once our Director at the Defense Intelligence Agency and later National Security Advisor to President Trump could walk us through how the legacy of a distinguished career turned into a defense against bankruptcy and public humiliation. The resources of a single man and his family against the unlimited legal assets of the most powerful nation on earth.
A documentary film has been released about the matter, and reports are that it is ranked Number One on Amazon sales in this unsettled week. We hope the General can get enough cash to save his mortgage- or marriage, but it demonstrates how this new system of justice is working.
That can be contained in a one-sentence summary: “A New York DA has circumvented an expired local misdemeanor offense by conflating it with uncharged Federal offenses clearly beyond his jurisdiction and wildly inflated to become charges of more than three dozen felony offenses, all of which appear to have been coordinated with the White House.”
All that used to be something considered to be “against the law.” But we no longer know exactly what that is. Trump has been threatened with jail time if he is not in the courtroom each day for a proceeding that could go on through the end of May or early June. You can imagine the impact on a busy campaign schedule.
Will it provide justice? There was laughter around the circle on the Patio. That aspect is not part of what the Kalorama show is about. So, on this day we will put it back in the scandal stack and see how it plays out through this coming chaotic summer.
For planning, there is speculation that a properly selected jury in this matter could produce a guilty verdict in which the Judge could direct immediate confinement, even if the verdict is likely to be immediately overturned on appeal. You can imagine the power contained in the images of that. And since images, not the law, are what is at stake, it only adds to the entertainment of the circus in progress. We will try to keep you posted!
– Vic
Copyright 2024 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com