.jpg)
After the shootings at a recruitment office in Tennessee earlier in the week, Cleburne responded as you would expect Cleburne to respond.
- The plea is actually 5 years deferred adjudication probation, 30 days in the Dallas County jail as a condition of that probation, and restitution of $115,000.
- Bur I'm not sure the last time I saw a DA's official press release about a plea deal include an insert from the defense lawyer. That had to be part of the plea bargain.
- The Wall Street Journal reported last night that in 2003 "Ghislaine Maxwell was preparing a special gift to mark the occasion [of Epstein's 50th birthday]. She turned to Epstein’s family and friends. One of them was Donald Trump. Maxwell collected letters from Trump and dozens of Epstein’s other associates for a 2003 birthday album."
- "The letter bearing Trump’s name, which was reviewed by the Journal, is bawdy—like others in the album. It contains several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker. A pair of small arcs denotes the woman’s breasts, and the future president’s signature is a squiggly 'Donald' below her waist, mimicking pubic hair."
- "May every day be another wonderful secret." Put that on a throw pillow.
- Trump's response to the story last night, a call to release a small fraction of the Epstein files, had a lot of qualifiers with "pertinent" doing a lot of heavy lifting. Man, he is really bent out of shape about this. But the best media manipulator in all of politics has misplayed this whole thing in a shocking way.
- I don't understand why Trump has chosen the word "hoax" to deal with this scandal. Elon doesn't either.
- But in the end, this new revelation will be a big bag of nothing. The old video of Trump and Epstein ogling at women seems far more damaging -- and that didn't move the needle at all. And if the "grab 'em by the P" video didn't hurt him, this certainly won't.
- Israel continues its haphazard killing of civilians in Gaza. And I'm not buying that it "deeply regrets" anything.
- It was not a "total obliteration", but the news cycle for the story is long gone.
- Say what?
- Ten to 15 years ago I would never have dreamed this guy would become mainstream for Fox Sports.
- Legal nerdy stuff: A felon in possession of a firearm case tried in Jack County, and prosecuted by the local DA's office, was affirmed on appeal yesterday. It's not legally significant, but two facts got my attention: (1) the defendant had a scope on his rifle that was capable of recording audio and video -- that sure didn't help him, and (2) the defendant's lawyer on appeal listed his address as being in Florida.
- Lauren Whitener Clock: 6 years and 13 days.
