Trump campaign chair in Kentucky pleads guilty to sex trafficking. Remember what I said yesterday?

JUST IN: Trump campaign chair in KY pleads guilty to sex trafficking of minors: 21 counts against 19 victims, to get 20 yrs in prison, “felony trafficking of a minor, felony inducing a minor to engage in sex, and a third count of giving alcohol to a minor”https://t.co/jlM9QpCzMS pic.twitter.com/1scCWud33F

— The Baxter Bean (@TheBaxterBean) February 9, 2018

 Courtesy of Kentucky.gov:  

Today, Attorney General Andy Beshear announced that former Campbell County District Judge Timothy Nolan has pleaded guilty to numerous felony charges, including human trafficking of adults, promoting human trafficking of minors and unlawful transaction with minors. 

As part of his plea agreement with prosecutors from Beshear’s Special Prosecutions Division, Nolan pleaded guilty to 21 counts against 19 victims and prosecutors’ recommended sentences totaling 20 years in prison. Nolan will remain in custody at the Campbell County Detention Center pending his sentencing March 29, 2018, at 9 a.m. 

Nolan, 71, of California, Ky., a former local school board member, was originally charged in a criminal complaint by the Campbell County Police Department for crimes that occurred between 2010 and 2017. That complaint alleged that Nolan committed human trafficking with a minor by subjecting a child under age 18 to engaging in commercial sexual activity. 

He was later indicted on 28 felony counts and two misdemeanor counts. 

“The punishment in this case does not undo the trauma inflicted on the victims, but it brings closure and some justice,” Beshear said. “I want to thank the Campbell County Police Department and our special prosecutions team for working this case.”

Remember yesterday when I said it appeared being a sexual predator was a prerequisite to work in the Trump White House?

Well apparently that goes for working on the campaign as well.

Michael Flynn has plead guilty to making false statements to the FBI about conversations with Russian ambassador. Can you say "plea deal?" Update!

NEWS: FLYNN will plead GUILTY to making false statements to the FBI about his conversations with KISLYAK pic.twitter.com/581L2ANkfH

— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) December 1, 2017

Courtesy of CNN: 

Special counsel Robert Mueller has charged former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn with "willfully and knowingly" making "false, fictitious and fraudulent statements" to the FBI regarding conversations with Russia's ambassador.

The charge against Flynn is the first in Mueller's probe that has reached someone in the Trump White House and is the latest sign that the special counsel's investigation is intensifying.

Flynn's lawyers have previously criticized media reports about his connection to the Russia investigation as peddling "unfounded allegations, outrageous claims of treason, and vicious innuendo directed against him." Flynn hasn't spoken publicly since his ouster in February. 

The charges mark yet another stunning downfall for Flynn, 58, a retired general who rose to the highest ranks of the Army over a three-decade career -- only to see him drummed out of the military by the Obama administration before unexpectedly rising again on the heels of Trump's election victory. 

It is pretty clear that Mueller has a lot more on Flynn, and Flynn's son, so this guilty plea would clearly indicate that a deal has been struck.

And that means Flynn had something very significant with which to make such a deal. 

This seems like an appropriate place to share this again. 

Reminder: Flynn chanted “lock her up” at the RNC, said “If I did a tenth, a tenth of what she did, I would be in jail.” pic.twitter.com/AQY79rlzhm

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) December 1, 2017

More popcorn anyone?

Update: Trump's initial response.

LATEST: Pres. Trump's initial response to news of Michael Flynn's plea was that he was not surprised Flynn lied to the FBI, given he lied to the White House, source tells @ABC. https://t.co/aiagnvIJDs

— ABC News (@ABC) December 1, 2017

Yeah, that may be his official response, but his unofficial one is more along the lines of "AAARRRGGHH!!!"

Former Trump Campaign Adviser George Papadopoulos admits to lying about secretly attempting to set up meeting between Russian operatives and the Trump campaign. Update!

George Papadopoulos

Courtesy of NBC News: 

A former Trump campaign adviser struck a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller, secretly pleading guilty three weeks ago to lying to federal agents about his contacts with Kremlin-connected Russians. 

George Papadopoulos, who joined the Trump team in spring 2016 as an energy and foreign policy expert, communicated with a "campaign supervisor" during the campaign about his attempts to arrange a meeting with the Russians to discuss U.S.-Russia ties during a Trump presidency, according to court documents. 

The supervisor, who was not named in the documents, told him, "Great work." 

He relayed to the superviser that during his communications with Russian contacts, the Russians said they had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton and thousands of emails. 

Papadopoulos lied to the FBI about the timing and nature of the communications, officials said. 

"Through his false statements and omissions, defendant ... impeded the FBI's ongoing investigation into the existence of any links or coordination between individuals associated with the Campaign and the Russian government's efforts to interfere with the 2016 presidential election," prosecutors wrote.

And now the dominoes are all starting to fall.

Oh man you just know that Trump's orange tinged sphincter is locking up tight right now.

Update: This seems like pertinent information.

George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about contacts with an influential Russian. This is how it relates to the campaign. pic.twitter.com/iYFPGhq3Ve

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 30, 2017

Tsk, tsk, tsk, one should never lie to the FBI.

Makes me wonder who else lied, and when Mueller will pull the rug out from under them? 

Fox News asks its readers if they would even care if Trump were a crook? Wait, what?

Yeah, so what if I'm guilty? Does anybody even care?

Courtesy of Fox News:

WOULD YOU EVEN CARE IF HE WAS GUILTY? 

The stock market is up, unemployment is down and the economy seems to be picking up some steam. The streets are mostly safe, the nation is mostly secure and the world is mostly at peace. 

So does it matter to you whether or not the president is a crook? The answer for a lot of Americans may be no. 

Okay the first thing to point out is that all of the good things happening in the country right now due to President Obama's presidency, NOT Trump's.

Of the 43 bills that Trump has signed into law, NONE of them impact our economy or our security, with the exception of Russia sanctions bill that he was forced to sign against his will.

The article continues:

With the revelation that a grand jury is looking at evidence against members of President Trump’s 2016 campaign team, we move closer still to the possibility that someone could be in very big trouble. 

Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his squad are moving fast, and the likelihood that some charges will be brought can no longer be ignored. It is not hard to imagine a moment in the very near future where some associate of the president is in the dock, charged with misdeeds relating to Russian interference in the 2016 election. 

But, again, we ask: Would it matter to you?

The next part is a desperate and pathetic attempt to compare Trump's potential criminal activity involving Russia to Bill Clinton's blowjob. 

Because you know in the Right Wing rule book it clearly states, when under attack by the facts redirect to the Clintons.

Now the only possible reason I can come up with for anybody to write this article is because they know that Trump is in deep shit and they are pre-teaching their readers to completely ignore the evidence which proves that.

And do you know what? There IS indeed a segment of the population that will do just that.

But that is a very small, very poorly educated, segment of the population.

For the rest of us the answer to, "Would you even care if he was guilty?," is a resounding "You bet your ass we care!"

Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof has pleaded guilty to all state charges clearing the way for his execution.

Courtesy of CNN: 

Dylann Roof, who shot to death nine people in a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina, pleaded guilty Monday afternoon to all state charges in the killings. 

Roof was sentenced to death by a federal jury back in January for the June 2015 massacre at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.

The deal reached in the Charleston County Courthouse clears the way for his federal imprisonment, on death row, to begin. 

"This is the surest way to see that Dylann Roof is executed," said Scarlett A. Wilson, solicitor for the state's Ninth Judicial Circuit. "We hope that today truly will close a chapter for these victims." 

The deal means no state trial or sentencing phase will be necessary. 

Roof pleaded guilty to nine murder charges, three attempted murder charges, and one weapons charge. He was sentenced to nine consecutive life sentences and three consecutive 30-year sentences.

For me it is impossible to think about this case without feeling a real sense of loss. 

Not just over the lives that were lost in the shooting, though of course that's a large part of it, but also over the loss of this young man's life.

I work with troubled kids all of the time, and in all of them there is something worthy that you just have to identify and nurture in order to help them feel connected.

No person is simply evil, there is always something worth saving if only somebody recognizes that and makes the effort.

I have seen the worst kids become the best adults. It can happen.

For some reason Dylann Roof never had anybody to provide that guidance for him and because of that nine innocent people lost their lives. And one guilty one did as well.

Two of the people behind Bridgegate are found guilty of all charges. That sound you hear is Chris Christie's sphincter closing up.

Courtesy of TPM: 

A jury on Friday found two former allies of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) guilty on all federal charges in the high-profile Bridgegate case. 

Bridget Anne Kelly, Christie's former deputy chief of staff, and Bill Baroni, a former senior official at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, faced seven counts each of conspiracy and wire fraud for their alleged roles in orchestrating lane closures on the George Washington Bridge in September 2013 meant to create mass gridlock in the town of Fort Lee. 

Prosecutors and former Port Authority official David Wildstein, the admitted mastermind of the scheme, said the days-long traffic jam was meant to punish the town’s Democratic mayor for declining to back Christie’s re-election bid. Wildstein struck a plea deal for his own involvement in the plot. 

Bergen Record reporter Paul Berger said that Baroni kept a smile on his face as the verdict was read, while Kelly broke into tears.

Now you would think that news of this kind would cause Christie to have a cardiac, but instead he issued this statement.

BREAKING: .@GovChristie's statement to #Bridgegate verdicts. pic.twitter.com/bgkYbKdmra

— Matt Arco (@MatthewArco) November 4, 2016

Which seems little like whistling past the graveyard since Bridget Anne Kelly said in no uncertain terms that Christie knew about the George Washington Bridge closing a month before it happened.

Knowing this Christie must have the biggest balls in the world to think that he is going to get away scott free. 

Though for the life of me I cannot imagine where he keeps them.

Two more idiots from that Oregon standoff are pleading guilty. One of them was a Trump campaign official.

Courtesy of TPM:

Jerry DeLemus, a co-chair of Veterans for Trump in New Hampshire, is expected to plead guilty for his role in the 2014 militia standoff at the Bundy family's Nevada ranch, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported on Tuesday. 

In a court filing, Chief U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro said DeLemus has indicated he would change his plea on August 23 after signing a plea agreement. 

DeLemus, who had been listed as an alternate delegate for Donald Trump to the RNC weeks after his indictment, faces nine federal charges, including conspiracy to commit a crime against the country and threatening a federal law enforcement officer.

I have to say that I am constantly impressed with the character of the people who support Donald Trump. (I totally typed that with a straight face. You'll just have to take my word for it.)

DeLemus is not alone in striking a plea deal.

Courtesy of KGW:

A former Marine whose appearances in widely shared videos made him one of the most recognizable figures during the armed takeover of an Oregon wildlife refuge pleaded guilty Monday for his role in the weekslong standoff with authorities. 

Jon Ritzheimer, 32, admitted that he conspired with Ammon Bundy and others to prevent U.S. Interior Department employees from doing their jobs at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, and they did so by threats of force or intimidation. 

Prosecutors dropped two charges as part of a plea agreement - theft of government property and possessing a firearm on federal property. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Gabriel said prosecutors will recommend 2½ years in prison when the Arizona man is sentenced in May. Ritzheimer's attorney, Terri Wood, can argue for less.

You may remember Ritzheimer as the guy who made this cringe worthy/hysterical video before going to the Oregon wildlife refuge.

That video only gets funnier now that we know he caved like a little bitch in order to avoid a long prison sentence.

Which leaves Ryan Bundy, who recently got into a scuffle with the guards, and his brother Ammon Bundy, who is still fighting his incarceration, behind.

Seriously what did these idiots think was going to happen to them?

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the only Boston bombing suspect left alive, has been found guilty on all 30 counts.

Tsarnaev during his arrest.

Courtesy of the Boston Herald:  

Confessed murderer Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will now be the one pleading for his life after a federal jury took just 11 hours to find him guilty of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings and aftermath that left four dead and 260 maimed and injured. 

In a silent courtroom, a clerk read aloud the verdict finding Tsarnaev, 21, guilty of all 30 counts including conspiracy, use of a weapon of mass destruction and the murders of restaurant manager Krystle Marie Campbell, 29, Boston University graduate student Lingzi Lu, 23, and Martin Richard, 8 at the marathon finish line, as well as MIT Police Officer Sean Collier three days later. 

Tsarnaev swayed slightly on his feet, his head down, as the verdict was read and as the forewoman of the jury stared directly at him. He showed no reaction. 

The jury’s work is far from done. As early as next week, the same 12 deliberating jurors will reconvene for the start of Tsarnaev’s sentencing trial, where they will decide if he is to serve out his days behind bars or be ordered put to death.

This is the biggest story of the day, so it seems appropriate that we discuss it here.

I don't think there was ever any doubt that Tsarnaev would be convicted, the defense case that he was under the spell of his older brother simply never seemed viable to me. 

The next question of course is what is the proper punishment for his crimes?

Life in prison?

Or death?

Your thoughts?

The Feds would like to send conservative filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza to the big house for up to 16 months. Sounds a little light to me.

Courtesy of Raw Story:

The U.S. government wants conservative author and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza to be sentenced to as much as 16 months in prison, following his guilty plea to a campaign finance law violation. 

In a Wednesday court filing, federal prosecutors rejected defense arguments that D’Souza was “ashamed and contrite” about his crime, had “unequivocally accepted responsibility,” and deserved a sentence of probation with community service. 

D’Souza, 53, admitted in May to illegally reimbursing two “straw donors” who donated $10,000 each to the unsuccessful 2012 U.S. Senate campaign in New York of Wendy Long, a Republican he had known since attending Dartmouth College in the early 1980s. 

The government said a 10- to 16-month prison sentence was appropriate for D’Souza, and necessary to deter others from abusing the election process, including “well-heeled individuals who are tempted to use their money to help other candidates.” 

It also said D’Souza waited to “the last possible moment” prior to trial before admitting guilt, and then went on TV shows and the Internet to complain about being “selectively” targeted for prosecution, and having little choice but to plead guilty. 

“Based on the defendant’s own post-plea statements, the court should reject the defendant’s claims of contrition on the eve of sentencing,” prosecutors led by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in Manhattan said in the filing.

Wait, you mean going on Fox News and claiming you are being persecuted by the Federal government is NOT a good idea while also telling a judge that you were wrong and will accept full responsiblity?

Who knew?

Boy that Sarah Palin curse is a doozy, isn't it?

.@SarahPalinUSA WELL, I'VE GOT THE LOOKS AND SHE'S GOT THE BRAINS: 2,000 people coming to hear us in Phoenix today pic.twitter.com/8VhJ3C7d7W
— Dinesh D'Souza (@DineshDSouza) September 4, 2014

Juror: "Look George Zimmerman got away with murder."

Courtesy of The New York Times:  

The juror, known as Maddy and identified as Juror B29 in the courtroom, said that she and the others on the six-woman jury had no choice but to vote for an acquittal in the case because of Florida law and the evidence presented at the trial in Sanford, Fla. Mr. Zimmerman, 29, argued that he shot Mr. Martin, 17, who was unarmed, in self-defense. 

“You can’t put the man in jail even though in our hearts we felt he was guilty,” the juror said in an interview broadcast on ABC’s “World News” on Thursday. “But we had to grab our hearts and put it aside and look at the evidence.” 

The juror also said that she felt sympathy for the Martin family. Of the charges against Mr. Zimmerman, she said, “The law couldn’t prove it.” 

“George Zimmerman — look, George Zimmerman got away with murder. But you can’t get away from God,” she told Robin Roberts, the “Good Morning America” anchor. “And at the end of the day, he’s going to have a lot of questions and answers he has to deal with.”

While I agree with this juror that Zimmerman got away with murder I disagree that there was not evidence which proved he was not fighting back in self defense.

Take a look at this Daily Kos post from June 9th:  

The DNA results show none of Zimmerman's DNA under Martin's fingernails: 

RESULTS Exhibit ME2: Fingernail scrapings represented as being from Trayvon Benjamin Martin “gave chemical indications for the presence of blood” 

ME 2A Right hand: “No DNA results foreign to Trayvon Benjamin Martin (ME-3) were found on Exhibit ME-2A” 

ME 2B Left hand: “No DNA results were obtained from Exhibit ME-2B 

The Jury will see the DNA report shows that none of Zimmerman's DNA was found on the cuffs/sleeves of Martin's hoodie. 

George Zimmerman told detectives (time 34:46 in video after the orange squiggle) that he had "blood all over [his] face and eyes." We know from pictures officer's took of Zimmerman moments after he killed Trayvon that Zimmerman did not really have blood covering his eyes. That said, if Trayvon had been punching Zimmerman in the nose 25 to 30 times, as Zimmerman claims, then some of Zimmerman's blood would be all over the cuff/sleeve of Trayvon Martins hoodie. 

Exhibit ME 12 Hoodie represented as being from Trayvon Martin 

Stain A: Partial DNA profile consistent with originating from a male individual and matches the DNA profile from Trayvon Benjamin Martin (ME-3).” 

Stain B: (cuff/sleeve regions of both arms) Failed to give chemical indications for the presence of blood 

Right cuff/lower sleeve: No DNA results foreign to Trayvon Martin were obtained from right cuff/lower sleeve 

Left cuff/lower sleeve: No DNA results foreign to Trayvon Martin were obtained from left cuff/lower sleeve 

ME 12 (stain B and general rubbing from cuff/sleeve regions of both arms) Failed to give chemical indications for the presence of blood 

Stain C: No DNA results were obtained.

George Zimmerman's entire defense was predicated on the lie that he was assaulted and in fear for his life. As far as I am concerned the only evidence to support his version are the scratches on his head, which have ALWAYS looked self inflicted to me, and his version of events, a version that he changed numerous times. 

If this juror had stood her ground Trayvon Martin just might have had justice served on his behalf. But sadly for him, and his family, and the NEXT victim of an unnecessary shooting due to "Stand Your Ground" laws, that did not happen.

Your hypocrisy fix for the day. Assemblyman who railed against the legalization of marijuana caught with, you guessed it, pot in his possession while speeding.

"What? Who doesn't smoke a little chronic before working on blocking the legalization of marijuana?"

Courtesy of LoHud.com:

Assemblyman Steve Katz has railed against illegal drugs and voted against the legalization of medical marijuana last year. 

In a mailing to constituents, the Yorktown Republican, who serves on the Assembly Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Committee, warned: “Our community has been stricken with an increase in drug use and drunk driving by our youngest citizens.” 

On Thursday morning, Katz was ticketed near Albany, accused of speeding and marijuana possession, state police said Friday. 

Katz, 59, who was first elected to the Assembly in 2010, was pulled over on the northbound Thruway in Coeymans for driving 80 mph in a 65 mph zone, police said. 

The state trooper noted the smell of marijuana when he approached Katz’s car, police said. Katz turned over a small bag of what appeared to be marijuana, state police spokeswoman Darcy Wells said. 

Katz was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and speeding and was issued an appearance ticket for Coeymans Court at 9 a.m. March 28. Katz was not taken into custody, police said, because he did not appear to be impaired.

At an event to discuss property-tax exemptions with seniors at Yorktown Town Hall, Katz read from a prepared statement to reporters, calling the incident “unfortunate.” 

“First, I will not let this incident impede my public service and my calls for real mandate relief, a better economic climate and better services for those in need in New York,” Katz’s statement read. “This should not overshadow the work I have done over the years for the public and my constituency. I am confident that once the facts are presented that this will quickly be put to rest.”

Yes this should not overshadow the "work" he has done. After all who DOESN'T expect their Republican politicians to be giant hypocrites these days?

You know, you almost can't parody these guys anymore. They keep beating us to it!

Convicted domestic terrorist Schaeffer Cox fires attorney and blames him for not fooling the jury into believing that he was not guilty, guilty, guilty.

Courtesy of Alaska Dispatch:

Attorney Nelson Traverso filed a motion with the court Monday asking to withdraw from the case, stating his client was extremely unhappy with the job he'd performed. No aspect of Traverso's role in Cox’s defense was up to par, according to the motion. Cox was found guilty on the most serious charge, conspiracy to commit murder, and he faces up to life in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for September. 

According to Traverso, Cox complained about how Traverso presented the case, conducted direct and cross examinations during trial, used exhibits, decided which witnesses to call and what arguments to make. In a move not usual for defendants who fail to beat the rap, Cox now claims he received "ineffective assistance of counsel" -- a legal term referring to whether Cox's constitutionally-mandated right to competent legal representation was met. The standard has two prongs: was the attorney competent, and if not, was the attorney's poor work directly responsible for the trial's outcome? 

Such claims are difficult to prove, and rarely successful. 

During the verdicts, Cox reacted with disbelief as the guilty verdicts piled up. "The prosecution withheld evidence from you guys," he at one point shouted to the jury. He took his own notes throughout the trial, and could be seen whispering -- sometimes with looks of anger and dissatisfaction -- into his attorney's ear. 

I agree, I also think that Cox had poor representation, I mean whose stupid idea was it to put Shaeffer himself on the stand?

Oh right, it was HIS idea! 

You know as much as I enjoy watching Schaeffer Cox crying like a little prison bitch on the witness stand, I would suggest that he stop while he is behind. We don't have the death penalty in Alaska, but if Cox manages to get a retrial (Which of course he won't), and decided to represent himself yet again, he just might screw it up badly enough for Alaska to reestablish one for the first time since 1957.

It is time the little jerk recognized the fact that he was only a legend in his own mind, and that, in the words of Bobby Fuller, he "fought the law, and the law won."

Ted Stevens is found guilty! That is guilty, guilty, guilty!

A jury has found U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens guilty of all seven counts of lying on his financial disclosure forms.

It is the highest-profile felony conviction in a sweeping four-year federal investigation into corruption in Alaska politics, and a rare conviction by a jury of a sitting U.S. senator.

As the verdict on the first count was read, Stevens slumped slightly. When the second count was read, his lawyer, Brendan Sullivan, reached over and put his arm around Stevens' shoulders.

Jurors found that Stevens willfully filed false financial disclosure forms that hid such gifts as the renovations that doubled his home in size. Those gifts, valued at as much as $250,000 over seven years, came mostly from his former friend Bill Allen, the star prosecution witness in Stevens' trial and the former owner of Veco Corp.

This all but means that the Senate race is over, and that we will definitely have a Democrat representing Alaska in Washington.

This is a huge deal in Alaska politics. Conventional wisdom had it that NOBODY could defeat Ted Stevens, but with this decision he is damaged beyond repair.

I still cannot help but wish that he would have simply resigned and held onto a little dignity. I would not have begrudged him that, But it was time for him to leave and if this was the only way that could have been achieved, then so be it.

Don Young's heart rate must be through the roof today. He knows he is next on the chopping block. And can Sarah Palin be far behind?

Alaska, where justice has recently made a triumphant return!