I did not know this:
Since people seem to have missed this one, unsealed in the Smith filing:
-Trump used a burner phone, routed through a foreign country to contact Michigan house speaker.
-He tried to pressure the speaker in this off book call.
-Speaker McCarthy knew about the burner phone line.
-The phone showed up as “Spam Risk Egypt” on caller ID.
If the President thought his attempt to overturn the election and forge elector documents were legitimate “official acts” why was he using an insecure, foreign routed burner phone for these calls?
Receipts—i.e., testimony from Michigan's house speaker—are here.
I remember this coming up, back then. "spam risk Egypt" ? yeah, I remember that. The bastard commits so many crimes, so fast, we can't keep track of them all. We need a division of the DOJ just for his goddamn crimes.
Found it (via duckduckgo): https://www.facebook.com/MI2Dems/posts/528362899321698/
Original Detroit Free Press article: https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2022/12/28/mike-shirkey-jan-6-deposition-trump-2020-election/69760155007/
'Spam risk Egypt'
When the call came, Chatfield reportedly explained, the phone would indicate it was "spam risk Egypt."
That means it's the president, Shirkey remembers Chatfield explaining.
The speaker said Trump wanted the legislative leaders to join him at the White House. They didn't know exactly why, Shirkey said.
"Spam risk Egypt" popped up on Shirkey's phone a little after 6 p.m. on Nov. 18, 2020. It was a Wednesday, about two weeks after the election, in which Biden received about 154,000 more votes in Michigan than Trump.
Trump was cordial but to the point on the roughly four-minute call, Shirkey said. He introduced himself and asked whether Shirkey and "some of your buddies" wanted to come to the White House. While Shirkey says the president didn't expressly explain the purpose of the meeting, Trump did mention his concerns about alleged election fraud in the state and asked Shirkey whether lawmakers were investigating.
WOW Israel is sure fire click bait!!!!
None of it matters, if the Press in general isn't screaming but remaining silent and the weakest of federal law enforcement agencies in the country, namely Congress, is the only active prosecution with any chance of bringing justice...
"Speaker McCarthy "
It is not McCarthy. It is the Speaker of Michigan House at the time, Lee Chatfield.
https://eu.freep.com/story/news/politics/2022/12/28/mike-shirkey-jan-6-deposition-trump-2020-election/69760155007/
That's not contradicting the article: McCarthy, while Speaker, knew about this.
Without denying that this is ethically far worse thanoh, I don't know, spinning up an off-books email server, is this illegal in itself?
If part of a chain of actions in furtherance of another crime, it's positively rancid, but is it an attempt to run around the record-keeping rules of the presidency, and therefore illegal in itself?
It probably isn't illegal but it sure as heck shows consciousness of guilt on his part.
Because of the Supreme Court’s decision indicating Trump is immune on any “official” act during his Presidency, Smith has to show that his attempts to subvert the election weren’t “official” acts. So if it was an official act why was he using a burner phone instead of an official one? So the use of the phone isn’t illegal on its own, but using it in this context is evidence Trump wasn’t making the call as an official act of his Presidency and thus not immune from prosecution.
At least that’s my take on this.
IANAL. Bingo! My take also. I can only hope this plays into the public.
Better expressed as the trap Smith wants it to be:
If it was an official act, he broke the law by using the phone.
If it wasn't an official act, he has no immunity for it.
Heads I win, tails you lose.
Except that Trump has demonstrated the remarkable gift of escaping even such water tight setups.
The Supremos ruling is insane, but even considering that there's no official role of the president in the administration of elections.
They will probably make one up just like they made up the concept of immunity.
why was he using a burner phone?
Because he is a fucking criminal, and thought (or his lawyers thought) what he was doing may be a criminal act. If he wins, he will all but certain to avoid any penalties for all his criminal acts, with a helping hand from SCOTUS.
Can't wait for his pro fascist rally tonight at MSG!
+1
Why anyone expect a career criminal to not act like a criminal?
Being the cheap bastard he is, probably bought it second-hand off of Bob Menendez.
May have got a heap of them from the Egyptian government. They are very friendly.
https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/news/press-releases/oversight-democrats-launch-investigation-allegations-trump-doj-covered-10
Then how did the Michigan Speaker of the House know to answer 'spam risk Egypt'?
Do you recognize my voice, Mandrake?
That's what came up on the Speaker's phone's C
aller ID when tЯump called him, not how the Speaker answered.
Yes, but someone must have told him to expect a call from Trump that identified itself like that.
"When the call came, Chatfield reportedly explained, the phone would indicate it was "spam risk Egypt."" "That means it's the president, Shirkey remembers Chatfield explaining."
President Spam Risk. Never was a moniker more richly deserved.
"If the President does it, it's spam!" Reichard Noxious, 2024.
Hey, it's the FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY! Everything old is new again!
It would be so great if
(1) he lost the election, and
(2) he is successfully prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and held accountable.
(2) isn't even possible without (1) as a prerequisite, and even with (1), is nowhere near a sure thing.
Nonsense!
Clearly Trump was using his presidential power to protect and defend the Constitution. Aware of the Deep State's conspiracy to throw the election to Biden, he had a duty to warn the Michigan's Speaker of the House about the plot.
/s
Sorry, Kevin, your impeccable logic in that question means absolutely nothing. What matters is not YOUR ability to reason, but rather Chief Justice Roberts' ability to feign "reasoning". And he's quite good at it.
Roberts will change it from Trump has immunity for all official acts to Trump has immunity for all things he thinks are official acts.