YankeeTarheel wrote: Sat Sep 16, 2023 9:25 am

highdesert wrote: Sat Sep 16, 2023 8:53 am

sikacz wrote: Fri Sep 15, 2023 9:33 pm

featureless wrote: Fri Sep 15, 2023 9:03 pm

Tribalism is alive and well in both parties. In large part why we are doomed.

Ding ding! Both of y’all are right.

Yup, the tribes are very strong. Titillating sex affairs that Republicans bashed Clinton for, while Democrats supported him; Democrats bashed Trump, while Republicans supported him. If Don, Jr or any of the other Trumps are taking illegal drugs, they're not admitting to it in an autobio. There are no "angel tribes" or "devil tribes", it's situational ethics that depends on which party they support.

Sorry, not the same thing. Clinton wasn't running for reelection when Paula Jones sued him for harassment. What happened? He was Governor, asked her for sex, she said no, he said OK, and it had ZERO impact on her career--and he offered a fair settlement (when she rejected it, her lawyers quit). Then Monica Lewinsky was involved in a totally consensual affair with no promises, which is why when Clinton denied it under oath, it didn't meet the standard for perjury because it wasn't material--Jones was about harassment, not consent. It wasn't even relevant to the Jones case but Ken Starr had zilch on WhiteWater and was desperate to get SOMETHING on Clinton.

OTOH, When it came to Stormy Daniels, she was clearly whoring herself because TOS promised he'd get her on his TV show, and, of course, being TOS, he stiffed her (no pun intended)--she wasn't paid! But then he ILLEGALLY paid her to shut up during an election for which his lawyer, Michael Cohen, went to prison. And, of course, he LOST his rape/sexual assault suit that E.Jean Carroll filed-- "Not my type" yet confused her with Marla Maples, his second wife. Tall, Cool, Blonde: Not his "type"? All 3 of his wives are that.

And there's one other factor: Bill Clinton hasn't been President of the USA since Jan 2001--22 1/2 years. Trump is a current candidate.

highdesert wrote: Sat Sep 16, 2023 10:18 am

YankeeTarheel wrote: Sat Sep 16, 2023 9:25 am

highdesert wrote: Sat Sep 16, 2023 8:53 am

sikacz wrote: Fri Sep 15, 2023 9:33 pm
Ding ding! Both of y’all are right.

Yup, the tribes are very strong. Titillating sex affairs that Republicans bashed Clinton for, while Democrats supported him; Democrats bashed Trump, while Republicans supported him. If Don, Jr or any of the other Trumps are taking illegal drugs, they're not admitting to it in an autobio. There are no "angel tribes" or "devil tribes", it's situational ethics that depends on which party they support.

Sorry, not the same thing. Clinton wasn't running for reelection when Paula Jones sued him for harassment. What happened? He was Governor, asked her for sex, she said no, he said OK, and it had ZERO impact on her career--and he offered a fair settlement (when she rejected it, her lawyers quit). Then Monica Lewinsky was involved in a totally consensual affair with no promises, which is why when Clinton denied it under oath, it didn't meet the standard for perjury because it wasn't material--Jones was about harassment, not consent. It wasn't even relevant to the Jones case but Ken Starr had zilch on WhiteWater and was desperate to get SOMETHING on Clinton.

OTOH, When it came to Stormy Daniels, she was clearly whoring herself because TOS promised he'd get her on his TV show, and, of course, being TOS, he stiffed her (no pun intended)--she wasn't paid! But then he ILLEGALLY paid her to shut up during an election for which his lawyer, Michael Cohen, went to prison. And, of course, he LOST his rape/sexual assault suit that E.Jean Carroll filed-- "Not my type" yet confused her with Marla Maples, his second wife. Tall, Cool, Blonde: Not his "type"? All 3 of his wives are that.

And there's one other factor: Bill Clinton hasn't been President of the USA since Jan 2001--22 1/2 years. Trump is a current candidate.

Titillating sex affairs and I have not doubt there was Republican money behind Paula Jones' lawsuit against Clinton in 1994 and probably Democratic money behind Stormy Daniels law suits. And Trump's prosecution in NYC for paying hush money to Daniels by Dem DA Alvin Bragg looks very political. It's why people ignore the political and media hype surrounding these sex scandals. Consensual sex by adults or affairs by married couples who happen to be politicians, the media is all over them and their political opponents become holier than thou.

CDFingers wrote: Sat Sep 16, 2023 7:20 pm It appears he lied about being a drug user/addict.

CDFingers

YankeeTarheel wrote: Sun Sep 17, 2023 12:02 am And Donnie, Jr, a coke addict, didn't lie on his application?
People lie on their applications for gun permits all the time. If it's only selectively enforced against a political opponent or their relatives, that's not Justice.

sikacz wrote: Sun Sep 17, 2023 2:09 am

YankeeTarheel wrote: Sun Sep 17, 2023 12:02 am And Donnie, Jr, a coke addict, didn't lie on his application?
People lie on their applications for gun permits all the time. If it's only selectively enforced against a political opponent or their relatives, that's not Justice.

Really?

At issue is when Biden answered “no” on the sixth question on the form when purchasing a gun Oct. 12, 2018: “Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?” In a guidance document for the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), ATF has emphasized drug use within the past year could trigger the prohibition on Form 4473. “An inference of current use or possession may be drawn from evidence of a recent use or possession of a controlled substance or a pattern of use or possession that reasonably covers the present time,” the document said. “The ATF has determined that the present time is represented by the time frame of within the past 12 months.”

Biden had been discharged five years earlier from the Navy Reserve for drug use. According to a memoir published in 2021, he was actively using crack cocaine in the year he bought the gun. In the spring of 2018, “I drove my rental to the Chateau Marmont, in West Hollywood, where I checked into a bungalow and by 4 a.m. had smoked every crumb of crack I’d brought,” Biden wrote in “Beautiful Things.” In the fall of that year, he returned east in an effort to clean up but failed so badly, he writes, that his parents staged an intervention and insisted he go to a rehab center. Biden said he only walked into the lobby of the center and immediately called an Uber to take him to a hotel for two days. While everyone “thought I was safe and sound at the center, I sat in my room and smoked the crack I’d tucked away in my traveling bag,” he said.

About two weeks after the purchase of the gun, Biden’s then-girlfriend, Hallie, his brother’s widow, threw the .38 revolver into a trash can behind a grocery store across the street from a high school. “I think she believes I was gonna kill myself,” Biden told police, according to the police report obtained by Politico. The gun went missing but was later recovered and no charges were filed.

sikacz wrote: Sun Sep 17, 2023 2:09 am

YankeeTarheel wrote: Sun Sep 17, 2023 12:02 am And Donnie, Jr, a coke addict, didn't lie on his application?
People lie on their applications for gun permits all the time. If it's only selectively enforced against a political opponent or their relatives, that's not Justice.

Really?

“Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?” A user or person addicted to illegal drugs, including marijuana, must disclose their use or addiction on Form 4473.

CDFingers wrote: Sun Sep 17, 2023 6:45 am

sikacz wrote: Sun Sep 17, 2023 2:09 am

YankeeTarheel wrote: Sun Sep 17, 2023 12:02 am And Donnie, Jr, a coke addict, didn't lie on his application?
People lie on their applications for gun permits all the time. If it's only selectively enforced against a political opponent or their relatives, that's not Justice.

Really?

I'm pretty sure that if a purchaser said they were addicted to drugs they would be denied. Even a lowly landscaper or mayor of a small town. Let's say the person lied but posted a pic on faceplace of holding a gun while using drugs.>knock knock< Not something anyone should risk. (two meanings)

CDFingers

A judge has denied a request by President Joe Biden's son, Hunter, to appear remotely via video to face federal gun charges. He will be arraigned in person at a Delaware federal court on 3 October on three criminal counts, of possessing a gun while he was an illegal drug user and lying to buy it. Hunter Biden's lawyers have said he will plead not guilty. If convicted, the 53-year-old could face up to 25 years in prison.

In a two-page court filing on Tuesday, Mr Biden's attorney Abbe Lowell had asked for his client to enter his not guilty plea via video conference as it would "minimize an unnecessary burden on government resources and the disruption" from a Secret Service detail accompanying him. This was not a case of the president's son "seeking any special treatment", he wrote.

But Magistrate Judge Christopher Burke denied the request in a court order on Wednesday, noting that government prosecutors had already opposed it. Appearing in person would "emphasize the integrity and solemnity of a federal criminal proceeding", he said. Judge Burke added that the criminal charges against Mr Biden "are new and were not addressed at his prior hearing" in relation to a plea agreement.

YankeeTarheel wrote: Sun Sep 17, 2023 12:32 pm ...Besides, a question that asks if you use ILLEGAL drugs should be deemed a 5th Amendment violation against forced self-incrimination, something police and prosecutors spend their careers trying to bypass...

The Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution "No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."

Hunter Biden on Tuesday sued former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, his companies, and another attorney over alleged violations of computer fraud and data access related to a laptop computer Biden is said to have left at a Delaware repair shop. “Defendants are among those who have been primarily responsible for what has been described as the ‘total annihilation’ of Plaintiff’s digital privacy,” Biden’s suit in Los Angeles federal court says. “They also are among those who have been primarily responsible for the ‘total annihilation’ of Plaintiff’s data.” Giuliani delivered information allegedly gleaned from Biden’s laptop to The New York Post, a right-wing newspaper, in October 2020, a month before the election between Trump and Joe Biden.

The Post then published a story based on that data, which suggested that President Biden may have attended a meeting with a representative of a Ukrainian company that employed Hunter. Claims that President Biden was involved in his son’s allegedly corrupt business dealings, which are in part based on information from the laptop, are the focus of an impeachment inquiry into the Democratic president by GOP-run House committees. Hunter Biden’s lawsuit in Los Angeles federal court also names as a defendant Robert Costello, an attorney and former federal prosecutor who previously represented Giuliani. The suit says, “For the past many months and even years, Defendants have dedicated an extraordinary amount of time and energy toward looking for, hacking into, tampering with, manipulating, copying, disseminating, and generally obsessing over data that they were given that was taken or stolen from Plaintiff’s devices or storage platforms, including what Defendants claim to have obtained from Plaintiff’s alleged ‘laptop’ computer.”

The suit also says Biden’s data was “manipulated, altered and damaged” before it was copied and sent to Giuliani and Costello. And it accuses them of being involved in “further alterations and damage to the data” that currently is unknown to Biden. In a footnote, the suit says, “This is not an admission by Plaintiff that [Delaware computer repair shop owner] John Paul Mac Isaac (or others) in fact possessed any particular laptop containing electronically stored data belonging to” Biden. “Rather, Plaintiff simply acknowledges that at some point, Mac Isaac obtained electronically stored data, some of which belonged to Plaintiff,” the footnote goes on to say.

Hunter Biden was indicted in Delaware federal court this month on several criminal charges related to his purchase and possession of a handgun while being a user of illegal drugs. He previously was charged with two counts of failure to pay federal income taxes in 2017 and 2018. Last week, Biden sued the IRS for what he alleges is the “unlawful disclosure of Mr. Biden’s confidential tax return information” by IRS agents who revealed that information to the media to embarrass him.

NonServiam wrote: Thu Sep 28, 2023 1:54 pm There was no laptop, it was an external drive. There is no verifiable chain of custody of this "evidence," and, as the article states, data had been altered and manipulated.

If they had anything real, and concrete, they would've moved on it by now.

Thousands of emails purportedly from the laptop computer of Hunter Biden, President Biden’s son, are authentic communications that can be verified through cryptographic signatures from Google and other technology companies, say two security experts who examined the data at the request of The Washington Post. The verifiable emails are a small fraction of 217 gigabytes of data provided to The Post on a portable hard drive by Republican activist Jack Maxey. He said the contents of the portable drive originated from Hunter Biden’s MacBook Pro, which Hunter reportedly dropped off at a computer repair shop in Wilmington, Del., in April 2019 and never reclaimed.

The vast majority of the data — and most of the nearly 129,000 emails it contained — could not be verified by either of the two security experts who reviewed the data for The Post. Neither found clear evidence of tampering in their examinations, but some of the records that might have helped verify contents were not available for analysis, they said. The Post was able in some instances to find documents from other sources that matched content on the laptop that the experts were not able to assess. Among the reasons for the inconclusive findings was sloppy handling of the data, which damaged some records. The experts found the data had been repeatedly accessed and copied by people other than Hunter Biden over nearly three years. The MacBook itself is now in the hands of the FBI, which is investigating whether Hunter Biden properly reported income from business dealings. Most of the data obtained by The Post lacks cryptographic features that would help experts make a reliable determination of authenticity, especially in a case where the original computer and its hard drive are not available for forensic examination. Other factors, such as emails that were only partially downloaded, also stymied the security experts’ efforts to verify content.

CDFingers wrote: Fri Sep 29, 2023 8:26 am Those items were stolen and went through a polluted chain of custody. Is schumtz.

CDFingers

The president’s son, Hunter Biden, has arrived at the federal courthouse in Delaware to be placed under arrest and enter a plea on charges related to a gun purchase he made in 2018. Following today’s arraignment, Biden is expected to be processed and released. Hunter Biden was charged last month with three counts including allegedly making false statements on a federal form when buying the gun. Prosecutors say he failed to disclose his use of illicit drugs at the time of the purchase and owned the weapon as a prohibited person.

In September, the magistrate judge overseeing Tuesday’s hearing ordered Hunter Biden to appear in person for his arraignment, noting that he should be treated the same as other defendants appearing before the court. Hunter Biden, Judge Christopher J. Burke wrote, “should not receive special treatment in this matter – absent some unusual circumstance, he should be treated just as would any other defendant in our Court. Any other defendant would be required to attend his or her initial appearance in person. So too here.”