As you’ve no doubt heard by now, Donald Trump was charged on Tuesday with an astonishing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. As The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman reported, not only did the ex-president look “very unhappy as he walked into the courtroom,” but he appeared “as angry” as he did after the Access Hollywood tape went public in October 2016. Why might Trump not have cartwheeled into the courtroom with a huge grin on his face, snapping his fingers, and blowing air kisses to the cameras? For one thing, Tuesday marked what was, effectively, the first time he had ever been truly held accountable for anything in his life. For another? He’s facing more than 100 years in prison. Not really the kind of thing that makes you want to break out the jazz hands!
Reuters and others report that should Trump be found guilty of all 34 class E felonies, he could be sentenced to up to 136 years in prison—which, as one former president might tell you, is an incredibly yuge number of years. While a conviction is not a sure thing, and a sympathetic judge could go for the lower end of the sentencing guidelines, Trump, who is 76 years old, would obviously die in prison if he were to get the maximum time behind bars. Which that same former president we referenced two sentances ago would definitely dub “SAD!!”
If you’re wondering: Only four states in America allow conjugal visits with one’s spouse, and New York is one of them.
As Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg said on Tuesday, the government’s case against Trump is not “just about one payment.” In addition to the $130,000 paid to Stormy Daniels in 2016, the DA’s office cited multiple instances of Trump engaging in “catch and kill“ schemes to bury damaging stories about him that were subsequently concealed through false business entries. Those included $150,000 to Playboy model Karen McDougal, who claimed to have had an affair with Trump, and $30,000 to a New York doorman who’d claimed to have knowledge of a child Trump had out of wedlock. The ex-president has pleaded not guilty to all 34 charges.
Trump, whose campaign has raised $7 million over the last several days, is expected to speak at Mar-a-Lago at 8:15 p.m. tonight. It’s not exactly clear what he’ll say, but in the hours and days since the news of his indictment broke, he’s decried the hush money probe as a “witch hunt,” a “political persecution,” and evidence that the US is a “THIRD WORLD COUNTRY.” He’s also continued his attacks on Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg; leveled new offensives against the judge presiding over his case; and asked “Where’s Hunter,” i.e. Joe Biden’s son—an obsession of both the GOP and 45th president, which led to the latter’s first impeachment. So he’ll presumably hit on at least some of the aforementioned, in addition to telling his followers “they’re coming after you.” Hopefully, he won’t suggest that people should engage in violence on his behalf, though that may be too much to ask.
Report: Ivanka Trump “privately” showed support to her father days before his arrest, because she knows public support would be social suicide
As Ivanka Trump has made abundantly clear, she wants nothing to do with her father’s 2024 campaign, or his seedy little hush money crimes—in public. After all, they’re not great for her brand or social standing, which took a severe hit in early 2021 and does not yet appear to have recovered. That’s why you won’t see the former first daughter participating in his quest to earn a second stint in the White House, or hysterically decrying the whopping 34 felony charges against him by the Manhattan district attorney’s office, or, like, vowing to get revenge on the people who have hurt him, as we assume her older brother will be doing shortly. But if you thought Ivanka had well and truly excised her dad from her life, or that keeping her distance was anything more than a PR exercise, we regret to inform you that you thought wrong.
Page Six reports that the former first daughter and presidential adviser visited Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday, two days before he surrendered to the authorities in New York to be charged with nearly three dozen felony counts stemming from his 2016 hush money payment to adult-film star Stormy Daniels. As the outlet put it, “The move…marked a seeming display of support for him privately,” which we assume is the only kind of support she wants to show him at the moment. After the news of his indictment broke last week, Ivanka said in a statement posted to her Instagram Stories—that’s right, not even a grid post!—“I love my father, and I love my country. Today, I am pained for both. I appreciate the voices across the political spectrum expressing support and concern.” The remarks stood in extremely stark contrast to those of her brother Donald Trump Jr., who likened his father’s indictment to the murder of tens of millions of people. Even Ivanka’s husband, Jared Kushner, offered more robust support for his father-in-law, saying last week of the indictment, “I think that it shows, obviously, the fear that the Democrats have of Trump and the political strength that he has.”
Speaking of familial responses to Trump’s plight, late last month, ahead of a grand jury voting to indict him, we learned that Melania Trump reportedly has no sympathy for her husband, whom she is still pissed at for his alleged affair with Stormy Daniels, which the porn star claimed took place shortly after Melania gave birth. (Trump has denied the affair, but has acknowledged the hush money payments.) While it’s not clear how the former first lady feels now that her spouse is facing more than 100 years in prison, it should be noted that she did not show up with him at the Manhattan courthouse on Tuesday.
Is it possible she had plans in Palm Beach she simply couldn’t get out of, and, in fact, will “support him” no matter what? Sure! Is it also possible that, like millions of people around the world, she hates his guts? Also yes!
Hey, remember when conservatives said Barack Obama besmirched the Oval Office by wearing a tan suit?
