Trump's offensive against Jack Smith takes an incoherent turn

[LetMyPeopleVote]

My law school did not cover the concept of personally attacking the family members of a prosecutor as a viable legal strategy. According to my kids, I took the bar exam back when they used stone tablets or blue books. I doubt that this strategy is a good idea in the real world

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trumps-offensive-jack-smith-takes-incoherent-turn-rcna58998?cid=sm_npd_ms_tw_ma

But as last week progressed, Trump’s specific interest in Smith grew. On Thanksgiving, for example, the former president didn’t deliver holiday well-wishes to Americans, but he did use his social media platform to condemn the special counsel as “a Radical Left Prosecutor, who is totally controlled by Eric Holder and Obama.”

Referring to the two threads of the Justice Department’s ongoing criminal investigations, the Republican added that he “did nothing wrong on Jan 6th (Peacefully & Patrioticly), or with Documents (Check out past presidents).”

In reality, none of this made any sense — though I do appreciate the irony of Trump struggling to spell “patriotically” — but it didn’t stop him from adding a day later that “Trump Hater Jack Smith ... should never be allowed to work on anything having to do with me because of his and his family’s anger, hatred, and bias.”.....

Yesterday, the former president even raised concerns about the special counsel’s name:

“Jack Smith (nice, soft name, isn’t it?), is a political hit man, who is totally compromised, and shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near our already highly WEAPONIZED & CORRUPT ‘Justice’ Department and FBI, which are stuffed with, and listening to, Radical Left ‘MONSTERS,’ who will cause difficulties for our Country the likes of which we have not seen before. By the way, OBAMA SPIED ON MY CAMPAIGN (and got caught!), & what about the MASSIVE Joe & Hunter BIDEN CORRUPTION (Evidence already in!)?”

.....But stepping back, his tirades seem to reflect something more important than his routine lying: Trump seems scared. The former president is scrambling in the hopes of trying to discredit a highly respected career prosecutor, and he apparently believes hysterical online tantrums will do the trick.

TFG is clearly scared and acting out. I wonder how TFG's attorneys feel about this strategy. Maybe the law shools that TFG's attorneys attended covered this tactic

[Scrivener7]

1. He really does seem quite hysterical about Smith, doesn't he? Interesting.

[Walleye]

5. He can't even think of a nickname

[elleng]

2. Blue books for me too.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

6. Two of my children are members of the bar

They tease me about having to get my bar results by post card in the mail.

[rsdsharp]

19. Me too. I coulda chosen stone tablets?

[Warpy]

32. Essay questions in nursing school, yeah, you bet

They need to bring those or something like them back. Nothing forces a bit of thought like trying to put something coherent down to answer an essay question.

[Shrike47]

36. Blue books here, too. You mean they don't use them any more?

I used to impress the law clerks by researching case law without using a computer. Progress has made my law school class on researching obsolete.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

39. Everyone takes the exam on laptops

There are special testing programs that lock the laptop to be solely a word processor for the exam

[lees1975]

3. It's not exactly coherent to take pot shots at a special prosecutor.

That doesn't seem like a very logical or effective way to avoid justice.

Have we come to that point where we just take insanity in Trump for granted, as par for the course? It seems so.

[Whiskeytide]

24. He's not trying to avoid Justice. He only wants to taint it. n/t

[calimary]

40. I think his priority is always to avoid justice AND to taint it at the same time.

If you can crap on the face of justice, then you’ve weakened it and messed with its ability to nail you. Added bonus: if you’ve messed with its ability to mail you, you’ve compromised its ability to go after anybody else with any credibility.

[Walleye]

4. He was better off on Twitter. He could only use 280 characters to incriminate himself

[MyOwnPeace]

28. Too funny!!!

I see what you did there - and you are SO right!!!!

[Marcuse]

7. He only needs one MAGA juror.

[emulatorloo]

10. Who will be eliminated during the Jury Selection process.

[Tree Lady]

14. I am thinking they would lie

And say they are not.

[emulatorloo]

16. And the DOJ prosecutors would expose their lies.

Seems like They are pretty good at their jobs.

[Tree Lady]

17. I guess they could check social media

For all possible jury candidates.

[emulatorloo]

21. Somebody could slip through I guess, but like their hero Trump, they are easily triggered.

Imagine having to deal with their rants during Jury deliberations!

[Volaris]

38. There's less chance of a Maga juror in dc...

When the 11th is done with ripping into judge cannon, I feel like the documents case will get thrown to the DC circuit (where all archives cases are supposed to be to begin with), and that by itself will lessen the possibility of some Maga asshole hanging a jury.

[emulatorloo]

8. Smith is scaring the hell out of him. It is finally getting real for Donald Trump.

Thanks for the article, Steve Benen is a wonderful writer.

[chriscan64]

9. He will have "Obama spied on my campaign!" on his tombstone.

Along with all the other greatest hits. The bottom will say "Continued on Next Tombstone" or "See Other Side".

[emulatorloo]

12. Lol

Love “see other side.”

[Wounded Bear]

15. "Obama spied on my campaign and stored the data on Hunter Biden's laptop"...

[emulatorloo]

22. 'On a Radical Left Extremist Hard Drive manufactured by the Communist Seagate Corporation."

[underpants]

23. 😆

[Wounded Bear]

11. Standard trump tactics, except...

this ain't some local property judge in the Bronx. Federal prosecutors are harder to intimidate.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

13. Trump is going downhill fast without guidance. Attacking the Special Counsel is a gigantic mistake.

Link to tweet

[Emrys]

26. Last legal conference at Trump Tower

[MyOwnPeace]

30. But he HAS guidance!

It just turns out that they got their law degree from Trump University!!!!!

[Blue Owl]

18. Musings of a fat, frightened fuck

[oldtime dfl_er]

20. GOD I AM SO SICK OF THIS LITTLE TYRANT

I'm so sick of him and his stupid rants. Why can't he just go away!!!!!!

[Joinfortmill]

25. I'm loving this.

[gab13by13]

27. He is scared shitless of Jack Smith

and if indicted it makes a difference if the trial is in D.C. or Florida.

[littlemissmartypants]

29. Anger is fear in translation. This is a fundamental tenet of psychological science.

It applies for tfg and any other angry person. Angry = fearful.

❤️ pants

[H2O Man]

31. Recommended.

I learned while engaging in the sport of boxing how to "smell" fear in an opponent. This could be before a fight, at the weigh-in. It coud be when one entered the ring, waiting for introductions and the referee's instructions. Or it might be during the fight when they were getting tired, and I'd pull them in and say "you are in trouble now" before landing a hard combination. I could smell fear like a guard dog confronting a thief.

Trump is afraid. His lawyers have told him that Smith's appointment is bad news. When he heard that Rosenstein had appointed Mueller, Trump expressed his fear. The lawyers then reassured him that they had a strategy to protect him. This is different. First, he has a lower quality legal team. Second, he is being investigated for things that his team cannot cover up.

I anticipate numerous future, equally unfocused, splatterings from brief psychotic episodes.

[rubbersole]

33. I'll melt the butter for the popcorn 🍿.

[gab13by13]

34. Well said,

Also, Trump never was a tough guy, it's why he surrounds himself and caters to "tough guys." Tough guys in quotes.

[thenelm1]

35. TFG and incoherent kinda go hand in hand... /nt

[SWBTATTReg]

37. All I'll say is that this guy has dealt w/ the mafia, and worse (war crimes in Europe etc.)...

tRUMP is such a pathetic fool.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

41. Trump makes HUGE miscalculation against special counsel