Trump Indicted!

[Gori the Grey]

It's hilarious that he might find a way to pay his fine for over-valuing properties from an over-valued stock.

The dude is just, like, fractal fraud.

 

[EvaDK]

But we know Trump is just gonna say that a TS user is worth 50 times more than a Twitter user, because it has his name on it!

 

[Gori the Grey]

Many people are saying 100 times more.

 

[EvaDK]

MY TRUTH SOCIAL IS WORTH...

 

[Birdjaguar]

Currently, DJT stock (Truth social) is the most shorted stock in the market. for those who don't know, "Shorting stock" is a process that bets on the price of the stock falling. When the price falls, the short sellers will make money.

Short Selling Basics

Short sellers enable the markets to function smoothly by providing liquidity and also serve as a restraining influence on investors’ over-exuberance.

www.investopedia.com

"But short sellers enable the markets to function smoothly by providing liquidity, and they can serve as a restraining influence on investors’ over-exuberance. Excessive optimism often drives stocks up to lofty levels, especially at market peaks—dotcoms and technology stocks in the late 1990s, for example, and on a lesser scale, commodity and energy stocks from 2003 to 2007. Short selling acts as a reality check that can eventually limit the rise of stocks being bid up to ridiculous levels during times of excessive exuberance."

 

[EvaDK]

Short sellers are predators lurking the savannah for potentially injured prey. They have no 'noble intentions' to course correct investor over-exuberance, I think. They're in the game to make short term profits.

 

[Gori the Grey]

Shorting is the absolute right thing to do here; the only trick is timing when the crash will come.

I wonder how the shorters are settling on that.

 

[Moriarte]

Over decades and centuries markets only go up. It is an uphill battle for any short seller, eventually most of them go down in flames. I can name a few billionaire short sellers (Michael Burry, Bill Ackman, David Einhorn, George Soros, John Paulson, Jim Chanos), yet it is a very small club of very capable individuals. Sometimes, some of them are hilariously wrong at their market predictions. (Michael Burry and Nvidia shorts last year - this is as epic of a fail as his correct guess of mortgage market collapse) It is known fact that celebrity short sellers play the market both ways, it is unclear how much of their success can be attributed to shorts and how much of it is due to market's long term tendencies to appreciate in value, boosting their "long" positions; and how much of it is new client inflow. Stanley Druckenmiller admitted in an interview to Bloomberg not so long ago that most of his short deals over the years went so tragic he can't make himself go back in time and check in the books how much he actually lost shorting stocks, so he sort of erases these deals from memory. It is also a difficult game on account of only being allowed to use borrowed funds for short deals. (One has to borrow stocks before shorting, then one pays % for borrowing services - no way around that one) So, on top of making a profit a short trader uses borrowed funds at current 6% annual, which should be deducted from profit. Uphill battle.

It is a mechanism that stems from the reality of big hedge funds, banks, brokerages holding piles of dormant stock. So they lease the stock out to make a penny in addition to pennies they make on each transaction. Some say shorting is anti-social, others see it as correctional mechanism to market's extended stretches of exuberance. The discussion goes on. It's transactional profit, that we know for sure.

If they short Trump into oblivion before election, and they can, since Trump is small fish in the pool of trillions of market capitalisations, well... then he is going to have one difficult election. I think it's a misstep on his part to expose himself to hostile capital in the way he did, going IPO and all, just before critical turning point on his path. He may have convinced himself that his superpowers and charisma will enable him to attract capital from followers, that could be true. But it is equally true that his enemies in Silicon Valley command far greater capital and can squeeze him at will now, through things like short selling.

 

[Core Imposter]

Maybe so but I am going to get in a little just because adding Wallfare to Lawfare is just disgusting.

On the other front, immunity, looks like some limited immunity has to be declared but how the heck they are going to figure that out is beyond me. Certainly, possible that there will have to be additional hearings to determine if Trump can claim immunity on part of the charges. Given the enormity of potential future chaos and the probability that the ability of the chief executive to function in the best interests of the country will be hampered if the President has to parse the threat of criminal prosecution in every decision it is likely, or at least very possible, that the immunity issue will bleed over into the next session of the court and may indeed need addition Congressional action before any prosecution of Trump or other former president.

The likelihood of a Smith trial before the election has dwindled.

 

[Birdjaguar]

All the court has to do is deny Trump's appeal without any specific ruling. That would retain the status quo we have had for 250+ years.

 

[Core Imposter]

All the court has to do is deny Trump's appeal without any specific ruling. That would retain the status quo we have had for 250+ years.

And yet the Supreme Court will conduct a hearing on it in April. Still, doing essentially nothing more than that is definitely in the range of outcomes.

I feel a certainty that our republic would be much better off with a doctrine that protects the office of the presidency. One might feel sure that this particular president is a scoundrel and that prosecuting him is righteous, but that leaves the door open for a righteous president facing a spurious prosecution later. And there are other remedies.

Best outcome would have a narrow path that allows prosecution on a Federal level (only) but having one, or worse, more prosecutions in the midst of a presidential election is intolerable. If this travesty is not stopped it will become a regular feature of our national politics. Or usher in even worse scenarios.

The Supreme Court has the responsibility of charting a path that is appropriate for dealing with both angelic and demonic executives without judging the character or behavior of the one in question. It is a much more sober and solemn portfolio than just dealing with Trump.

 

[Birdjaguar]

And yet the Supreme Court will conduct a hearing on it in April. Still, doing essentially nothing more than that is definitely in the range of outcomes.

I feel a certainty that our republic would be much better off with a doctrine that protects the office of the presidency. One might feel sure that this particular president is a scoundrel and that prosecuting him is righteous, but that leaves the door open for a righteous president facing a spurious prosecution later. And there are other remedies.

Best outcome would have a narrow path that allows prosecution on a Federal level (only) but having one, or worse, more prosecutions in the midst of a presidential election is intolerable. If this travesty is not stopped it will become a regular feature of our national politics. Or usher in even worse scenarios.

The Supreme Court has the responsibility of charting a path that is appropriate for dealing with both angelic and demonic executives without judging the character or behavior of the one in question. It is a much more sober and solemn portfolio than just dealing with Trump.

Do you approve of how Mitch McConnell manipulated the confirmation of Justices? First he said that it was too close to an election to confirm one and then he said it was just fine to confirm one in the months before one. Both were in the middle of presidential campaigns.

So can a President order a political opponent murdered by Seal Team 6 (an official act) and not be prosecuted?

 

[Gori the Grey]

but that leaves the door open for a righteous president facing a spurious prosecution later

History tells us it does not. A president had to rise to Trump levels of illegality for the justice system to check him. Somehow 46 previous presidents were able to do their presidenting, without once complaining that they were hamstrung by being expected to follow the laws.

If this travesty is not stopped it will become a regular feature of our national politics.

It will never occur again in our lifetime. Rs will try, but grand juries will stop them.

Trump really is uniquely criminal in the history of our presidency.

 

[Lexicus]

Somehow 46 previous presidents were able to do their presidenting, without once complaining that they were hamstrung by being expected to follow the laws.

Nixon.

 

[Gori the Grey]

43

Math is hard.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Both Nixon and Trump were Republican presidents who wanted to be Kings.

 

[Remorseless1]

The idea that any president,or indeed any elected official, would enjoy immunity from criminal prosecution while in office is antithetical to the US system of justice and the rule of law. There is nothing in the Constitution that gives anyone in government broad immunity from criminal prosecution. Zero. The only mention of "immunity" is where Congress members cannot be charged in connection what they say while performing their legislative duties at the Capitol. That's it.

The only reason Tricky Dick Nixon wasn't prosecuted is that President Ford pardoned him shortly after Ford took office in the wake of Nixon's resignation.

 

[Core Imposter]

Both Nixon and Trump were Republican presidents who wanted to be Kings.

And Lincoln, who was king among the lawless.

Many are blinded by rage and partisan blinders.

1	What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus; What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
	Oh! precious is the flow That makes me white as snow; No other fount I know, Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
2	For my cleansing this I see— Nothing but the blood of Jesus! For my pardon this my plea— Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
3	Nothing can my sin erase Nothing but the blood of Jesus! Naught of works, ’tis all of grace— Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
4	This is all my hope and peace— Nothing but the blood of Jesus! This is all my righteousness— Nothing but the blood of Jesus!

 

[Gori the Grey]

One can believe that salvation is through Christ alone and still see, discuss, lament and (the authorities that are charged with it) try and punish Trump's criminal behavior.

 

[Birdjaguar]

@Core Imposter You didn't answer my two questions.