O/T:- Betting odds for US Election [The USA Politics Thread]

[Chicken Balti Pie]

I see that Special Council, Jack Smith, has dropped all charges against Donald Trump with regards to 6th January. What a waste of time and money.

Either Smith didn't have a strong enough case or the whole thing was purely political.

Or impossible to get a prosecution. What's the point in going forward when he can just apparently pardon himself and get off Scott free

[SmiffyPie]

As I mentioned before.
"Jack Smith, the special prosecutor who brought the criminal case against Trump, had asked to have the charges dropped, citing a Justice Department policy that bans the prosecution of a sitting president.

Judge Tanya Chutkan dismissed the case "without prejudice", meaning the charges could be refiled after Trump finishes his second term."

[Lullapie]

As some one has pointed out there is a historical precedent not to prosecute a sitting president. Also the charges have been dropped without prejudice which means the case can be picked up again when he gets back into office.

The charges are all garbage but you are reading too much into it.

Correct. The DoJ has definitely said that the charges could be resurrected, but it's highly unlikely as there's too many variables:

1. Statute of Limitation
2. The next US government actually being a Democrat one
3. Trump pardoning himself
4. The new administration strengthening the law to prevent past Presidents being indicted

[SmiffyPie]

I appreciate we are merely onlookers but the US are (whether we like it or not) the leaders of the free world and all that entails, and Trump has turned it into a cesspool.

[Lullapie]

Or impossible to get a prosecution. What's the point in going forward when he can just apparently pardon himself and get off Scott free

You either believe in the US Justice System that there were grounds initially to prosecute Trump, or you don't believe in it, by thinking that the charges were purely political.

If you believe in it, you can't pick and choose what suits your case.

Those of us that had to listen to the vitriol about the charges knew that when Trump won, the charges would be dismissed.

I understand that no legal system is perfect. However, I believe that the whole thing was political and was just another attempt by the establishment to prevent Trump from winning. Unfortunately, it contributed to the devasting defeat that the establishment experienced at the election.

The people have spoken.

[SmiffyPie]

The people have spoken.

[Lullapie]

I appreciate we are merely onlookers but the US are (whether we like it or not) the leaders of the free world and all that entails, and Trump has turned it into a cesspool.

He made a few mistakes with his administration first time around but he is a very clever bloke. He isn't making the same mistakes again. He was undermined by the US Civil Service from 2016 and so this time he is getting rid of career Civil Servants, who have never had a job in the real world and bringing in people he can trust.

He is trying to resurrect a meritocracy rather than the technocracy that is currently in place. He's not alone, many countries are moving that way - not the UK though, but many other countries are.

You should rise through the ranks on your ability, not because you have the 'right' name, or went to the 'right' university, or progress through term of service.

This is how the word is upside down. To me, from a working class family, I want the ability to better myself. A technocracy prevents that. A technocracy enforces a form of caste system, that you can't rise through.

As an aside, good news out of the Middle East as a ceasefire is on the horizon. Nothing to do with the fact that the political onus has changed since the US election in the Middle East, I'm sure.

Hamas will have to cede many of the things that they have insisted on and territory lost, but they have been abandoned by many of their supporters in the Middle East since the US election.

[Lullapie]

So, you don't believe in democracy? Or only if it suits you?

[Mud Pie]

Those of us that had to listen to the vitriol about the charges knew that when Trump won, the charges would be dismissed.

I'm so sorry, I just assumed that you were eating up all the Trump/Putin talking points because you were mad, I had no idea you are being forced to listen to them. My sympathies.

[SmiffyPie]

So, you don't believe in democracy? Or only if it suits you?

No, I believe in Democracy and really do respect the election results (as you say, the people have spoken) I just had a chuckle because that's what so many people have said about Brexit (which I voted for and in hindsight wish I hadn't).