Summary

Special counsel Jack Smith dropped 44 federal charges against Donald Trump, citing DOJ policy that sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted.

The charges, including election interference and classified documents retention, could be refiled after Trump’s presidency.

Critics, including Rep. Dan Goldman and former Capitol officer Aquilino Gonell, decried the move as a miscarriage of justice, asserting it places Trump above the law.

Trump and allies celebrated the decision as a victory, with Vice President-elect JD Vance vowing to prevent similar prosecutions.

Democrats fear Trump will seek political retaliation, deepening national divisions.

203 points
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The United States is a fucking joke. The nation supposedly founded on the rejection of a king believes that one person is literally not subject to US law. I could not have more contempt for, or feel more shame about being an unwilling participant in the unprincipled hypocrisy of this absolute shit hole of a country.

Fuck the oligarchs that run this place. Fuck the fascist Republican Party. Fuck the cowardly Democrats. And fuck the moronic, fear-riddled people.

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34 points

That is the biggest and most obvious show of the corruption of the US American “justice” system. It was long known as the best “justice” money could buy, but this is open disregard of any legal principle.

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8 points

Well it’s still the best justice money can buy, just in a twisted, sinister kind of way and with a big emphasis on the money part

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19 points

The average lifespan of an empire is 250 years.

The USA is 248 years old.

These facts are unrelated and I don’t remember why I brought them up.

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18 points

Strictly speaking, it makes sense that you don’t ask the DOJ to prosecute their boss, considering if DOJ threw the case, he could not be prosecuted again later due to double jeopardy.

Instead, presidents are to be judged by Congress through impeachment, since Congress is supposed to be independent.

Does not really change anything since congress is too broken by partisan politics to do anything, but I just wanted to point out where the issue really is.

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4 points

Here here. Fuck the entire broken system that keeps people so visibly and obviously above any semblance of justice.

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182 points

If only we still had another month with a Dem president and his AG controlling the DOJ…

I mean a month is a short time, ideally we’d have had that the last four fucking years and had plenty of time to handle this.

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106 points

Fairly certain and it appears obvious the DOJ believes the president is totally immune.

Part of the reason we are not members of the ICC.

Part of the reason Dick Cheney is not in The Hague right now.

Fairly certain United States has been a fascist country since at least 1790

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53 points

Every single time someone tries to hold Trump accountable he claims it is a witch hunt.

Every single time the charges don’t stick because of intimidation or corrupt judges the public believes that it is a witch hunt just a little more and it is harder to get people to take it seriously.

This has happened so many times now that he has been able to win an election as a felon.

The DOJ knows that even if they successfully charge Trump now, his administration will get him out of it. Their only hope is to put it on pause and wait for an opportunity to actually hold him accountable. Because there is no way that can happen after he won an election.

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38 points
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that fat fuck’ll be long dead before any justice could ever be served. justice within the legal system, that is.

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25 points

Their only hope is to put it on pause and wait for an opportunity to actually hold him accountable.

it’s fucking over. he won the election, and he’s going to fucking pardon himself, die, or both before anyone holds anyone accountable.

he’s going to gut any functional part of the legal system and get no reprimand.

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21 points

Because there is no way that can happen after he won an election.

“A nation which can prefer disgrace to danger is prepared for a master, and deserves one.”

  • Alexander Hamilton
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8 points
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According to what I heard on youtube from US lawyers, the statuette of limitation will run out by the time Orange Goo finishes with his current term. Leading to no trial. There is no pausing.

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-15 points

I wouldn’t go that far back, or say we’ve been a fascist country for that long.

I put a lot of blame on Dems closing ranks for Bill back in the 90s.

The root of the argument is semantic: The President has testified that he did not touch Lewinsky sexually. Lewinsky’s testimony, and that of her friends and colleagues claim he did.

But the bottom line is whether this constitutes an impeachable offense. Again, Starr’s report claims there is ample evidence of Clinton lying under oath, and concealing evidence of his relationship with Lewinsky to begin impeachment proceedings. Lawyers for Clinton declared today that the President’s transgressions were “personal,” but do not constitute an impeachable offense.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/did-clinton-lie-under-oath/

Like, people still act like trump has some mastermind legal strategy when he’s just ripping off Bill by blurring the line between president and person.

At the end of the day for decades both parties have agreed that regardless of which one of them is in charge, no one gets any consequences from the others.

We can’t count on those groups holding each other accountable. Voters need to hold at least one party to a higher standard, or literally no one is ever going to be held accountable.

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6 points

Until we have a different electoral system there is no way to hold a party accountable without losing an election.

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33 points

If only the AG didn’t waste 3 years before filing charges.

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23 points

How about 2.5 years in which everyone held off because they didn’t want to step on the FBI’s toes, and it turned out that they weren’t doing anything?

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16 points
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This is just like Obama giving Bush and Cheney a pass for war crimes and starting a war based on complete lies.

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9 points

Yep. None of this is new, it’s the same song and dance.

I’ve criticized both parties for acting like voters have the memory of goldfish, but it’s getting harder and harder to argue they’re wrong.

People don’t remember the shit they literally lived thru already.

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That’s almost insulting to goldfishes.

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11 points

You’re talking about a criminal case, what does a month do for you? At every turn, Trump has consistently tried to delay the process. It has nothing to do with the DOJ or AG, they are working the system to intentionally delay everything until now. Why proceed either, he’s going to be president in two months.

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18 points

He’s making a facetious point about the huge quantities of time Merrick Garland had to waste to create this outcome.

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1 point
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“they are working the system to intentionally delay everything until now.”

If only every criminal defendant could afford to do the same…

–It would probably be a moot point because it would be legislated away as a legal strategy by the same officials that were previously dragging their feet for Trump.

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5 points

The Russia/Republican propaganda has been too strong to make anything stick. If you try to arrest Trump while he has enough followers to win an election then you’ll get a mob like Jan 6th storming whatever prison he’s held in.

It’s not as simple as you’re trying to make it sound.

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41 points

Give me a break. These charges could have been pursued on day one, in Washington DC.

The administration sat on their hands.

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-13 points
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Why do you think they “sat on their hands”? Do you think they are conspiring to help Trump? Do you think your internet armchair analysis of the situation is better that the entire DOJ and they just aren’t as smart as you?

Or is it the obvious answer that Trump has been able to get away with corruption time and time again due to Russian/republicans? And their control of our government and justice system? And the DOJ knows that if they try to prosecute Trump and the charges don’t stick that they won’t get another try.

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11 points

Sounds to me like a perfect recipe to round up and arrest a bunch of traitors to American principles. Was the thought trump would just shut up and quietly go away if we kept biding time or he lost another election. What, if anything, about trumps character would make anyone think that. 100% the government just dropped the ball on this. They won with trump in the opposition and wanted to time it well enough to win again and have him divide and weaken the republicans.

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178 points

sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted.

The charges, including election interference

🤡

Election interference is legal if you do it so well you win.

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10 points

This is honestly the biggest joke of them all.

Get ready for way, way more election interference.

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5 points

In fairness, that’s election interference over the last election. It just took a whole cycle to conclude that he definitely did do it. There’s no way he did it this time though right? Right?

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2 points

No one could possibly be that daring that they’d do it and win, lose, then do it again to win again?

Second time must have been legit.

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4 points

If it prosper, none dare call it treason.

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111 points

Wow I’m so shocked

Had 4 years to sort this and out the fucker in jail for treason and decided to dick around doing fuck all til a few months before the election.

Biden has the blood of 100,000 on his hands and the death of democracy in his lap. That’s his legacy.

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46 points

Once again, Biden sticking to “policies” and “traditions” that are not law and facilitating terrible outcomes for the USA

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13 points

Personally, I think the administration dragged its heels because it was stupid enough to want to run against Trump again. After all, if they had the bogeyman incarnate to run against, they could move to the right and still be second worst. And second worst wins elections, right?

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5 points

Agreed. They still think being not trump is the easiest way to power since single identity politics is losing its charm.

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1 point

Don’t tell me the whole democrats campaign was reduced to ORANGE MAN BAD, UPDOOTS TO THE LEFT

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72 points

Democrats fear Trump will seek political retaliation, deepening national divisions.

No, it’s not a fear. It’s an acknowledgement of exactly what he has said he will do:

Trump has said repeatedly he will seek political retaliation, deepening national divisions.

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23 points

This feels like a joke from Portal

“Test subjects fear I will kill them with turrets and fry whatever is left, even if it’s still alive. Mostly because of my plans to kill them with turrets and fry whatever is left even if it’s still alive.” - GlaDOS probably

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