Why Trump’s Indictment is an Absurd Abuse of Power


Armstrong Economics Blog/Rule of Law Re-Posted Apr 6, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Bragg has seriously exposed the core of real immoral prosecution practices that really have to stop. Let’s say you made one phone call and defrauded someone out of $100,000. You will be charged with (1) count of wire fraud. However, let’s say you had to call the person 34 times to get the same $100,000. The prosecutor will then charge you with 34 counts of wire fraud. Now let’s say the penalty is 5 years in prison. So if you called 34 times for the same amount of money,  the judge could then sentence you to 170 years claiming it is his “discretion” to run them all consecutively.

Bragg charged Trump with 34 criminal counts connected to the payment of $130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016 as part of a nondisclosure agreement that was intended to keep Daniels from exposing their 2006 affair. Those charges are all various counts of filing false business records in the first degree, which could carry a sentence of up to four years in prison per count. That’s a crime that is normally a misdemeanor that can ONLY be upgraded to a felony if the alleged fraud is meant to cover up another crime.

This is where the ABUSE of power becomes self-evident. The other crime, in this case, is a federal campaign finance violation for which Trump has NOT been charged and Bragg would have no jurisdiction to charge. The indictment claims that Trump allegedly committed the underlying fraud as part of an effort to boost his chances of winning the 2016 presidential election.

So, to put this in plain layman’s terms, he is effectively charging you for something like buying a bullet in NYC, that you used in Paris in some attempt to kill someone but you are not being charged with that because you cannot be in the United States.

It is an ABUSE of power to take a single incident and turn it into multiple crimes all because of multiple emails and phone calls. This is standard abuse that all prosecutors engage in to try to force people to plea for a reduced sentence or risk going to jail for life. The legal system in the United States is in NO WAY fair, equitable, or even constitutional. Our legal system is so corrupt, we make a Banana Republic look like the leader of freedom and liberty in the world.

.

This was our Forecast back for the 2016 election. Out of 4 models, 3 of the computer models forecast that Trump would win and one was tied. Our computer had also forecast that BREXIT would win against all odds. Trump would have won and just as the Democrats swear the 2020 elections were NOT rigged, then neither was 2016.

“His Kind” Is YOU !


Posted originally on the CTH on April 5, 2023 | Sundance

Now it’s Glen Youngkin.  Virginia Governor Youngkin said in a release on Tuesday that he will lead a Virginia delegation to Taipei City, Taiwan, Tokyo, and Seoul, South Korea, from April 24-29.

Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, John Bolton, Asa Hutchinson, Glen Youngkin… The Republican wing of the UniParty is throwing everything possible and pulling every level within their control, including last night’s outcome in Wisconsin, in order to retain the illusion of political parties as the source/solution within a nation collapsing.

None of what DC Democrats, Republicans, the RNC or DNC presents is true or real within the landscape of the conflict tearing our nation apart.  This is where the battle between pretending and reality is taking shape.  I am not sure how we get this message communicated when the communication networks are purchased as part of the fraud.

On the positive side, every day more people are becoming aware of their false assumptions.  Every day the social compact between citizens and elected officials is being scrutinized.  Every day more people are starting to realize everything they thought about the construct of government in the United States is something entirely different.

We send politicians to stop the madness of government, but nothing changes.  Why?

Washington DC is a Potemkin village.

We focus on the visible, but the constructs that impact us do not originate from the false facade.  There’s something behind that facade, and what we see is…. entirely… a facade.  That’s why sending the politicians doesn’t change the outcome.  To get to the core of the issue, we must first stop looking at the Potemkin village, and instead look behind it.

Legislation, rules, regulations and laws are not written by congress.  The paperwork comes from the assembly of legal and lobbyist foot soldiers on K-Street.  That’s where the ink is put to the paper, and the legislative outcomes first originate.  K-Street is where the corporations, multinationals and financial organizations control the process.

If the corporations behind the DC facade want to shift the money, they proactively write the rules, regulations and laws that steer the actual policy outcomes to their financial target or destination.  Their wealth expands, and they reward the participants, the politicians.

Most of the entry level politicians are oblivious to where the corporations have proactively moved; however, a few of the politicians -the leadership groups- know exactly where the destination of the legislative intent is going.  The latter are tenured in the power structure behind the facade.

Two private domestic corporations, completely unaffiliated with the constructs of constitutional government, known as the RNC and DNC, require membership in order to participate in the pretense of American democracy.  The same financial entities that fund the K-Street operation, fund the private political clubs.

We The People, voters, are engaging in their construct to send ‘representatives’ into a political construct that is a facade.  The financial entities on K-Street, those who position wealth and generate the rules to maintain it, are the same financial entities that fund the mechanisms of the two private corporations (RNC/DNC).

The United States system of government is now operating to maintain this construct of common benefit.

The institutions within our government are now operating with the primary purpose of maintaining this system.  Maintaining the Potemkin village is their first line of defense, to stop any larger awakening from recognizing the futility of sending ‘representatives‘ into the woodchipper.

All of the institutions we discuss are mission-focused on preserving the system as described.  The intelligence community, the federal police, the federal courts and every institution and subsidiary agency within this construct now operate to preserve the DC system.  A system where the core of the originating activity does not take place in the Potemkin village of our focus.

The two political parties, two private corporations, funded by the multinationals and financial interests, are intended to keep us focused on the village.  As long as we focus on the false front, the system can operate as designed.  The financial institutions behind the village retain and hold the power; the politicians -many unwittingly- fulfill their role, and the bread and circuses are maintained.   This is the baseline for what comes next.

In 2016 we disrupted the system.  We threw an anvil into the woodchipper when we nominated then elected, Donald J. Trump.

His kind” is you!

Trump didn’t come with the private club approvals.  The private RNC corporation, meaning the people within it who control the operations of it, was not okay with the non-approved member getting the 2016 nomination.   The multinationals and financial donor institutions who control the RNC corporation were furious.

The DC corporations who are at the epicenter of the power structure in Washington DC, did not and do not approve.

The woodchipper could not handle the anvil we threw in it.

Immediately, all of the mechanisms of the system, a system entirely designed to defend and protect itself, were laser focused on removing that anvil.

This battle is not an issue about political parties. The same interests that are funding Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley or even Glen Younkin are not focused on political parties.

The multinationals, billionaire donors, corporate constructs and Wall Street financiers are not concerned about political parties. Their issue of priority is self-preservation of a system, this system – built and exploited upon the backs of American workers, created to keep We The People within controllable boundaries, while preserving their status.

This fight, within the American system of government, is not an issue of political parties. The same people funding Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley or Glen Youngkin will just as quickly support California Governor Gavin Newsom or Former U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice in the general election of 2024.

Their unified opposition, the only person they cannot permit to succeed, is the one person who threatens the system they seek to preserve. That person is Donald John Trump.

Removing Donald Trump from the equation is not about political battles between parties. Removing Donald Trump from the equation is mitigating the existential threat he represents because his specific policies and outlooks are focused on America First.

President Trump represents the interests of the American people; that makes him dangerous to Big Club’s life of affluence, influence and control.

Republicans and Democrats cannot permit Trump to succeed, but the powers these interests use to achieve their goals are derived from We The People.

We can change the dynamic.  They can be defeated if we withdraw our consent.

NATO Promotes WW3 with Finland’s Membership


Blog/War

Posted Apr 5, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Spread the love

Finland has officially become the 31st member of NATO. “Finland has today become a member of the defense alliance NATO. The era of military non-alignment in our history has come to an end. A new era begins,” Finland’s President Sauli Niinistö mistakenly celebrated. It is clear that Finland does not understand Russia’s motives for the war in Ukraine.

Finland shares an 832-mile border with Russia, doubling the size of NATO’s borders with Russia. Russia is now surrounded, backed into a corner. Russia’s national security is in jeopardy, and will not choose flight over fight. This is precisely what Russia had been arguing against for years. Finland was not under threat of attack from Russia and did not need global military protection, nor did it need to spend a portion of its GDP to push forward the war effort.

“Finland’s membership is not targeted against anyone. Nor does it change the foundations or objectives of Finland’s foreign and security policy. Finland is a stable and predictable Nordic country that seeks peaceful resolution of disputes,” the new president also stated. Russia certainly did not see this as a neutral act. “We will strengthen our military capabilities in the west and northwest if NATO members deploy forces and equipment on Finnish territory,” Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko warned. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow will prepare “counter-measures to ensure our own security, both tactically and strategically.”

Finland has not aligned with other military powers in nearly 80 years. US Neocon Anthony Blinken was foaming at the mouth for this partnership to take place. Finland’s people were safe and uninvolved in this proxy war before Tuesday. Everyone cheering that Finland has joined “the good guys” fails to realize this directly escalates the conflict to new proportions. What started as a land dispute between two neighboring countries has overtaken the world, and all leaders are willing to risk the lives of their people to “win” this war. Ukraine is now loudly voicing its desire to join NATO, which would guarantee a full-scale world war. The chess players are aligning their players, and it is only a matter of time before mass destruction takes place that changes the world as we know it.

The Blacklash against Indicting Trump Maybe Greater Than Anyone Thinks


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted Apr 4, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT #1: Mr. Armstrong,
As I watched the media coverage of Trump’s arraignment, not guilty plea, and release of the indictment with the charges I’ve concluded as you have been arguing that we have crossed the rubicon. The 34 counts of the indictment to my legally untrained mind read as the criminalization of standard politics. What political campaign doesn’t include hiring people to look out for potentially negative press and seeking to limit the candidate’s exposure? By this indictment’s standard, pretty much every political campaign is a criminal enterprise. This is insane. I’ve generally been more libertarian-leaning in my politics and didn’t vote for Trump and even I can see this is a joke. I’ll be voting for him if we get an election in 2024. Unfortunately for the rest of us it isn’t funny and essentially seals the fate of the nation going into 2027-28 as you’ve indicated. Thanks for keeping us informed during these tumultuous times.
All the best from East Texas,
Greg

COMMENT #2: Good evening Mr. Martin,

As I’m watching this Trump shitshow on live french tv I’m wondering…

It seems that he got out to free, waiting for the trial that won’t take place before the next election.
Can he still run for presidency?
If yes, the fact that he is not in jail, does this mean that the deep state has no choice but to go to war as soon as possible ?

By the way, the French minister of defense announced today that the limit age to be on the reserve army is now 70 years old… that alone is telling a lot !

Despite all this news, the cac40 and Dax are almost at their ath. It is a mystery for I was expecting the capital to go to the US already…

I wish you and your team the best! Keep up the amazing work for this is the only light at the end of the tunnel, and it is not a fret train this time 😉

Regards,

Adem

REPLY: I can’t even count all the emails coming one. Many are from those who never voted for Trump and all say that they would now vote for him in 2024. I myself must admit that I had thought Trump had gone past the “Best by Date” but instead of this hurting Trump, it seems to be boosting his support. When I look at the computer and even just the chart patterns, we can easily see that the Democrats are in a major decline and they have not even reached the Downtrend Line where as the Republicans have broken through.

Even the Arrays showed an important Directional Change in 2023. This indictment of Trump is outrageous and it will backfire on the Democrats according to the computer – NOT my personal opinion.

Ukrainian Refugees in Munich – A Real Crisis


Armstrong Economics Blog/Civil Unrest Re-Posted Apr 4, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: Hi Martin,

I live in a commute in Munich in a nice neighborhood, I pay around 700 EUR rent for the smallest room, but we have a garden – and live with a few Ukrainians. They are very nice, seem like reasonable folks.
What I’m worried about though is the refugee system we have in place here in Bavaria. I wanted to move to another room, but I couldn’t: was kind of too expensive, 800 EUR/month. Guess who took it, another Ukrainian – of course, the state is paying it (“Arbeitsamt”). The crazy thing is that I’m having trouble with inflation and because I additionally have to pay taxes so that Ukrainians can live in the most luxurious room of the house for more than a year already. I would have no problem supporting them for a few months. But the thing is, a year has passed and they don’t even bother to search for work. They just go to German classes a few times a week. And spend most of the day talking and chilling in the kitchen. All of that while Munich is desperately searching for labour.

I also heard from sources, that they don’t really seem to be interested to work. A contact of mine offered them work, but they told him they can’t, as they are too busy learning German. Which I don’t understand, I see them all the time having fun in our kitchen. They don’t even really seem to learn German, one of them can’t say more than “Guten Tag” after one year of German classes…
Additionally, it seems like they are getting money from the state for leisure. As far as I have seen, they already went more often for traveling this past year through Europe than me. What I don’t understand, they also seem to be traveling back and forth to Ukraine to visit friends and family. I don’t get it, I thought that country was at war.
All in all, I think it’s good to help refugees. But when I have to suffer so that I can pay them to rent the best rooms in the house, while they have fun and are chilling in the kitchen, travel around Europe, even go visit their family in Ukraine while at war, and all that for more than a year, then the system doesn’t seem to be very fair to me, something doesn’t add up.
Best,

J

REPLY: I am getting emails from all over describing the same problem. First, it was the pretend Syrian Refugees. The government even paid for them to take vacations. It just seems that we have the MOST unqualified people in governments everywhere. In France, it is merely the extension of the Yellow Vests, not simply about pensions. We see turmoil in Canada, and even in Britain. These countries treat their own people like slaves. The Biden Administration only wants to raise taxes on Americans to pay for funding the entire Ukrainian government paying all salaries of government workers and their pensions! Why would Zelensky ever want to seek peace if the money stopped flowing as a consequence?

We seem to be building into what the computer has been forecasting – a major wave of Civil Unrest on a global scale in the West.

Mark Levin, “They are Going to Make a Martyr for Liberty Out of Donald Trump”


Posted originally on the CTH on April 4, 2023 | Sundance

President Trump drew attention to this segment on his Truth Social account. {Direct Rumble Link} I’m glad he did.

Mark Levin had some good points and some righteous anger to highlight during his appearance on Sean Hannity.  Even if you are Old Yeller averse like me, you might like to see his perspective on the Trump indictment.  WATCH:  

Finland Officially Joins NATO Creating the Largest NATO Land Border Directly Attached to Russia


Posted originally on the CTH on April 4, 2023 | Sundance 

CONTEXT:  There is no currently visible outcome where the Build Back Better collective western global alliance energy policy can succeed without escalating to a direct NATO war against Russia.

The economic outcomes of the BBB agenda are currently being felt via western, energy driven, supply side inflation.  The monetary countermeasures to that inflationary damage, raising central bank interest rates, creates instability in finance and subsequent banking collapse.

Simultaneous to the ‘western’ central bank intervention, the BRICS alliance members are withdrawing from dollar dependency as a trade mechanism.  When all those unneeded dollars return home, the dollar value collapses – and all western economies attached to the dollar as a trade currency collapse along with it.

The Western bankers need a war to generate the industrial economic activity that uses the returning dollars.  Unless and until the dollar is digitized, there is no currently visible outcome where the Build Back Better agenda is not dependent on an expanded war with Russia.

(Via Axios) – Finland became the 31st member of NATO on Tuesday — a once-unthinkable step that significantly changes the security landscape in Europe.

Why it matters: Finland’s membership more than doubles NATO’s borders with Russia and formally ends Helsinki’s decades of official nonalignment. It’s also a blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin who, in launching the Russian invasion of Ukraine, vowed to block the alliance’s eastward expansion. It’s the alliance’s ninth enlargement since its founding in 1949.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg sent a message to Moscow while officially welcoming Finland into the alliance: “President Putin wanted to slam NATO’s door shut. Today we showed the world that he failed, that aggression and intimidation do not work. Instead of less NATO, he has achieved the opposite: more NATO. And our door remains firmly open.”

Finland President Sauli Niinistö said it was a “great day for Finland” but also an important day for the security and the stability of the alliance.

[…] Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov earlier Tuesday called Finland’s NATO accession an “encroachment on Russia’s security” that would require Russia to take unspecified countermeasures.

Putin had previously said that Russia had no “territorial differences” with Finland or Sweden, so it was “up to them” whether they joined — but Russia would respond to any deployments of NATO military units or infrastructure to their territories.

The Russian embassy in Sweden issued an even more pointed warning last week, saying on Facebook that any “new members of the enemy block will become a legitimate target” of “Russia’s retaliatory measures,” including those of military nature. (read more)

The Trump Indictment Is Even More Silly Than Anyone Imagined….


Posted originally on the CTH on April 4, 2023 | Sundance 

Some, generally those who recognize a historic context within the moment of its manifest, will say that President Donald Trump carries an anointing – a protection that keeps harm from his purpose.

Others, mainly those who pontificate punditry while exclaiming, “the beginning of the end” and “the walls are closing in”, will likely gnash their horrible teeth and declare the bad man Trump is coated in Teflon. Albeit with a slowly lessening voice, while becoming even smaller than they were.

The indictment of Donald J. Trump IS HERE and the “statement of facts” IS HERE.  The situation, as it is represented within the text, is even more laughable than we could have imagined.  It is no wonder why the FEC, DOJ and Mueller Teams took a pass on the allegations.  The entire legal construct collapses on its face.

In the statement of facts, District Attorney Alvin Bragg says Donald Trump intended to, “influence the 2016 presidential election by identifying and purchasing negative information about him to suppress its publication and benefit the Defendant’s electoral prospects. In order to execute the unlawful scheme, the participants violated election laws and made and caused false entries in the business records of various entities in New York“… However, you will note one key element missing, the statute he supposedly violated.

What is this federal election law Bragg speaks of?

Every single one of the 34 stacked counts are contingent upon some federal violation of election law that the FEC and DOJ refused to pursue.  Yet, nothing is cited.

The courts have already determined that campaign funds can be used to avoid potentially embarrassing personal information (John Edwards case).  Using personal funds, or campaign funds to avoid potentially embarrassing information, is not a campaign finance violation.

But wait, it gets better…. or worse, if you dislike Trump.

Every single one of the 34 instances when business records were “falsified” to conceal payments to Trump legal counsel, Michael Cohen, happened between February 2017 and October 2017.   Guess what President Trump was NOT doing within the Trump organization in 2017, running it!

When Donald J. Trump won the November 2016 presidential election, he subsequently divested from the Trump organization, handing over control to Eric Trump and the company officers and directors.

Throughout 2017, presumably when these false business records (they are not) were created, President Donald J. Trump was not directing any accounting, disbursements or business record keeping within the organization.

(Via CNN) – The text of the 19-page letter reads: “I, Donald J. Trump, hereby resign from each and every office and position I hold” in more than 400 entities listed on the following pages.

The letter is signed by Trump and dated January 19, the day before he was sworn in.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters Monday that Trump’s two adult sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, are “fully in charge of the company.”

At a press conference January 11, Trump pledged to transfer his business holdings to a trust run by the sons. He refused to sell his ownership stake, a step that many ethics lawyers say is critical to avoid conflicts of interest. (read more)

RSBN Livestream From New York City


Posted originally on the CTH on April 4, 2023 | Sundance 

RSBN broadcast team LIVE from New York City as President Donald J. Trump is expected to surrender himself to New York prosecutors after being indicted by a grand jury last week. Protests against and rallies in support of Trump are expected and RSBN will bring you wall-to-wall coverage of the entire day’s events. {Direct Rumble Link}

There is also a Reuters Link below

Manhattan DA Office Leaks Details of Trump Indictment and Process to Media


Posted originally on the CTH on April 3, 2023 | Sundance 

President Trump is not happy as Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has leaked the details of the Trump indictment as well as process details for what will take place tomorrow in New York City. [Truth Social Link]

The DA office leaks went to Michael Isikoff at Yahoo News:

New York – Donald Trump will be placed under arrest on Tuesday and informed that he has been charged with 34 felony counts for falsification of business records, according to a source who has been briefed on the procedures for the arraignment of the former president.

A New York City police arrest report summarizing the charges against Trump will then be prepared and entered into the court system before he is led into a courtroom to be formally arraigned on the charges, none of which are misdemeanors.

But, the source said, Trump will not be put in handcuffs, placed in a jail cell or subjected to a mug shot — typical procedures even for white-collar defendants until a judge has weighed in on pretrial conditions. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office, which has been consulting with the Secret Service and New York City court officials, concluded there was no reason to subject the former president to handcuffs or a mug shot.

The stated reason for handcuffing defendants is that they might be a flight risk or a threat to the district attorney or court personnel, neither of which was judged to be relevant to the handling of a former president protected at all times by a phalanx of Secret Service agents.

The charge of falsification of business records can be prosecuted in New York state as a misdemeanor. But Bragg’s office bumped up all the charges to Class E felonies — the lowest level of felonies in the New York state penal code — on the grounds that the conduct was intended to conceal another underlying crime, according to the source.

Under the New York State penal code, a conviction for the Class E felony of falsifying business records can result in a prison term of up to four years. But as a practical matter, that seems extremely unlikely. “No one gets jail time for that as a first offender,” said a New York law enforcement official.

The evidence for the underlying crime that escalated Trump’s alleged misdemeanors to felonies is still not clear and won’t be until the indictment is unsealed on Tuesday. But it is believed to relate to the payment of $130,000 in hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels during the closing weeks of the 2016 election to conceal an extramarital encounter with Trump.  (read more)