Tag archive: Stephanie Clifford

stormy trial sketch

Trump Trial #1 Begins

The first of Donald Trump’s four pending criminal trials began on Monday, 15 April 2024, with jury selection.  Perhaps not coincidentally, it was also Tax Day, and without doubt, the ordeal of Trump on trial will be taxing for us all.  Trump kicked off the event with a series of his trademark untruths as he bloviated to reporters before entering the Manhattan courtroom for his trial’s appointed start time of 9:30 AM EDT.  The former president characterized the proceedings as “persecution,” “an attack on a political opponent,” and “an assault on America,” averring that “every legal scholar says this case is nonsense” and an “outrage.”

None of that is true, but Trump did state one accurate fact:  “Nothing like this has ever happened before, there’s never been anything like it.”  Indeed, this is the first criminal prosecution of a former US president and current presidential candidate in history.  Congrats, Donnie!  You’ve just set two new records!

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Trump Trial #1: Date Set

The Trump legal team’s final gambit to derail the Stormy Daniels hush money case failed on Thursday, 15 February 2024, when Judge Juan Merchan rejected a motion to dismiss, reaffirming the trial date already set for 25 March.  The case involves election interference, in the paying of hush money to Stephanie Clifford, AKA porn star Stormy Daniels, and to Playboy model Karen McDougal, to cover up sexual liaisons with Trump, just before the November 2016 presidential election.  Trump, via his lawyer Michael Cohen, allegedly used campaign funds to buy Daniels’ silence, while American Media fronted the cash for McDougal.  Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg was the first to bring criminal charges against the former president, nearly a year ago, and will now be the first (but certainly not the last) to attempt to bring Trump to justice.

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March Madness, Asteroid Style

March 2023 was hopping with activity, from US bank closures and mass protests in Israeli streets, to yet another record-setting development in the Donald Trump saga.  Pluto dipped its tootsies into Aquarius for the first time in a quarter millennium, and whenever an outer planet makes a major ingress the energy flux is palpable.  Aquarius is the Sign of the marketplace, and modern commerce wouldn’t get very far without a healthy banking system; it’s also related to rebellion and protest, as well as the concept of fairness and equal treatment, where not even a former President is above the law.

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Catching Up With Old Friends: Alec Baldwin Charged, Donald Trump’s Stormy Weather

They say karma is a bitch, and that may be especially true now, with asteroid Karma in a protracted conjunction with Pluto.  Evildoers beware!  For two months, from mid-January through mid-March 2023, this powerhouse duo will be out for payback, settling old accounts and teeing up retribution via devastating transformation of circumstances.  Karma is the principle of being called to account for prior bad acts, while Pluto counts among the denizens of its bailiwick things like sex and scandal, criminality and resurrection.  Two souls currently dealing with the resurrection of past transgressions, and the high probability that the time has come to pay for them, are actor Alec Baldwin and former US president Donald Trump. 

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Donald Trump’s 2018 Solar Return: The Shit Hits the Fan

If Donald Trump maintains his grasp on the US presidency for the duration of his upcoming solar year, then he will likely complete his first term in office. He may even win reelection. But looking ahead at the year on tap, that’s a huge “if”. This appears to be the pivotal year for Trump, the one that decides how the remainder of his life unfolds.

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Trumping Trump: Legal Nemeses Mueller & Avenatti

There are two principal sources to which Trump Resisters look for relief from the malaise, corruption and chaos which is the current administration: Special Counsel Robert Mueller, leading the FBI investigation into Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential campaign; and lawyer Michael Avenatti, representing adult film star Stormy Daniels, with two civil lawsuits against the president. The two men could not be more different, but both present significant dangers to the completion of the Trump presidency.

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