U.S. Electile Dementia paralytica 2020

[Dr Sardonicus]

I think that Richard Hopkins may be a Grade-A dupe, manipulated by pros at the propaganda game. If so, I hope they suffer for it.

From reading about Richard Hopkins' ballot-tampering allegations, it seems to me that he was likely put up to signing on to them by Project Veritas. Its founder James O'Keefe is now claiming that Hopkins' recantation was obtained by investigators pressing him to sign "a document he did not understand." He could have been told this by Mr. Hopkins, of course.

But O'Keefe claims to have recordings of the interview that led to Hopkins's recantation.

If Mr. Hopkins "didn't understand" the recantation he was signing, it begs the question of whether he understood the original affidavit he was signing, or the legal implications if he didn't actually witness what it said he witnessed. If Project Veritas or Mr. O'Keefe personally talked him into signing it regardless, I believe that would qualify as "subornation of perjury," a felony.

Then, there is the matter of the GoFundMe page. Suppose that the whole premise for raising the money -- that Mr. Hopkins was an honest whistleblower under threat of retribution -- was known to be false by whoever created it, because, say, they duped him into signing an affidavit to a fairy tale. Perhaps whoever put up the page would be liable to a charge of wire fraud, also a felony.

[tServo]

Originally Posted by Uncwilly

While in office, the only way to charge the prez is impeachment. Once out of office, other charges can happen. However, the Prez can wave the magic pardon wand on the way out the door and make all of that go away. However, the pardon wand does not work on impeachment.

His pardon is for federal crimes, not state crimes. The state of New York is chomping at the bit for him to leave office. Remember, New York was his base of business operations and they have been investigating him for years wrt financial shenanigans such as tax evasion and a host of other felonies.

I predict he may try to hide out at his Florida fuhrerbunker Mar-a-Lago thinking he won't be extridated to NY. If that fails, he will probably bolt out of the country.
Who knows? Maybe he will seek asylum in Russia with his pal Putin.

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by tServo

I predict he may try to hide out at his Florida fuhrerbunker Mar-a-Lago thinking he won't be extridated to NY. If that fails, he will probably bolt out of the country.
Who knows? Maybe he will seek asylum in Russia with his pal Putin.

Sounds reasonably likely.

Maybe he and Edward Snowden will be roomies.

[kladner]

Don't discount his bromance with MBS. Saudi Arabia might be more soothing to his ego than Russia.

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by kladner

Don't discount his bromance with MBS. Saudi Arabia might be more soothing to his ego than Russia.

Hmm, well, maybe you're on to something.

They did take in Idi Amin, after all.

[Dr Sardonicus]

According to this Erie Times-News story,

Hopkins' allegations, though, were already beginning to fall apart before news broke that he had recanted his statement.

The Erie Times-News on Tuesday morning reviewed 129 mail-in ballot envelopes that were postmarked Nov. 3 but arrived at the Erie County Board of Elections after Election Day.

Of those 129 ballots, only two postmarked Nov. 3 were processed through the Erie facility, the Times-News discovered in its review, which was conducted in the presence of Erie County Board of Elections Chairman Carl Anderson and others.

EDIT: It seems that Mr. Hopkins wore a wire at his interview, and the recording has been posted on line. And according to this WAPO story,

Audio recording shows Pa. postal worker recanting ballot-tampering claim

Hopkins also repeatedly expressed regret for signing the initial affidavit because it overstated what he knew and witnessed, according to the recording.

He told agents the affidavit was written by Project Veritas.

He said he was not fully aware of its contents because he was in "so much shock I wasn’t paying that much attention to what they were telling me."

As the kid said near the end of Animal House, "Thank you, God!"

[xilman]

Originally Posted by Dr Sardonicus

Hmm, well, maybe you're on to something.

They did take in Idi Amin, after all.

[Dr Sardonicus]

Can Trump win with 'fantasy' electors bid? State GOP says no

Republican leaders in four critical states won by President-elect Joe Biden say they won't participate in a legally dubious scheme to flip their state's electors to vote for President Donald Trump. Their comments effectively shut down a half-baked plot some Republicans floated as a last chance to keep Trump in the White House.

State GOP lawmakers in Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin have all said they would not intervene in the selection of electors, who ultimately cast the votes that secure a candidate's victory. Such a move would violate state law and a vote of the people, several noted.

"I do not see, short of finding some type of fraud — which I haven't heard of anything — I don't see us in any serious way addressing a change in electors," said Rusty Bowers, Arizona's Republican House speaker, who says he's been inundated with emails pleading for the legislature to intervene. "They are mandated by statute to choose according to the vote of the people."

The idea loosely involves GOP-controlled legislatures dismissing Biden's popular vote wins in their states and opting to select Trump electors. While the endgame was unclear, it appeared to hinge on the expectation that a conservative-leaning Supreme Court would settle any dispute over the move.

Still, it has been promoted by Trump allies, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and is an example of misleading information and false claims fueling skepticism among Trump supporters about the integrity of the vote.
<snip>

[rogue]

Originally Posted by Dr Sardonicus

Can Trump win with 'fantasy' electors bid? State GOP says no

This implies to me a significant disconnect between Washington DC and the states. Whereas the state Republicans are accepting the outcome, the ones in DCD are not. I find it interesting that Trump wants to get rid of the "deep state" in Washington, but it appears that he has created one of his own.

[retina]

From his behaviour I get the impression that if Trump could, he would change the law(s) to simply declare himself the winner of all elections regardless of the vote, and allow himself to stay in office perpetually.

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by retina

From his behaviour I get the impression that if Trump could, he would change the law(s) to simply declare himself the winner of all elections regardless of the vote, and allow himself to stay in office perpetually.

He could make the declaration anyway, though it would not change the laws. I have already expressed my concern that he might try to use the military to make such a declaration stick notwithstanding.

My guess (or forlorn hope) is that, should he try, a whole lot of members of the Armed Forces would be refusing to obey criminal orders. They're only obligated to obey lawful orders.

The toadies recently placed in top positions wouldn't care, of course.