The Leticia James lawsuit, happy as I am to see it, does more to confirm my cynical view...

[Silent3]

...of our so-called "justice" system than to improve it.

Look at how egregious Trump's criminality had to be before action was taken.

Look at how much Trump had to brazenly call attention to himself in order to be investigated - in James' own words, it was Michael Cohen's testimony in Congress that sparked the NYAG's investigation, despite that fact that Trump's cheating ways had been an open secret for decades.

Look at how much time and effort this took. Three years was spent putting together the case against the Trump organization. If the violations of law were so blatant and flagrant, it seems to me only the fear of failure in court, which is clearly far more acute when going against prominent people than the average citizen, would make people work so hard for so long to nail a case down so completely before daring to move forward.

Think of how much shit other rich and powerful people are getting away with if this is what it took to go after Trump. Think of how little capacity our legal system has to pursue wrongdoing among the elite when prosecutors are afraid to go after the elite without devoting an enormous portion of that capacity to each case.

Leticia James stated very clearly what she though about there being two tiers in our legal system, and how she wasn't going to let that inequality favor Trump.

That's a good and gratifying start. But it's also makes it clear that there is so much further to go.

[onecaliberal]

1. Ask every NY AG that served while this criminal was committing his crimes. It was well known.

Hell, even the banks knew.

[Silent3]

3. Yes, I'll love to know the answers there

Especially the very recent NY criminal investigation which was essentially put on ice... and we can only hope will be reignited now.

[onecaliberal]

5. The prosecutor resigned over it and said there was a mountain of evidence to convict.

The criminals protecting this piece of shit runs deep. The question is, why did they do it? What does the tick have on them?

[Celerity]

18. Alvin Bragg will likely do little or nothing. He showed his true colours already.

[Mr.Bill]

2. I tend to be cynical also,

and I agree with what you are saying.

[Uncle Joe]

4. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread Silent.

[llmart]

6. +1

I think a lot of us regular people believe that our justice system is the best, just as we were taught that our country was the best. I was very naive about the law and judges and attorneys, etc. Then I found myself in a courtroom several times and all my illusions about how the law worked flew out the window. My attorney was a very ethical and knowledgeable attorney and one time she said to me not to believe that all judges are smart or that all judges are ethical. That shocked me. I think I had some idea that attorneys weren't all ethical, but judges? I'm much older now and have worked in a law school and I know that there were a good number of students who did graduate that I questioned if they could tie their own shoes. I kid you not.

[Claustrum]

7. I don't believe most people actually believe our justice system is the best.

Most people believe that you would get away with a lot of things when you are rich and powerful, especially if you are white. But then, that's probably true in all countries around the world.

[llmart]

23. That's probably more true these days because of our access to a larger world of news and information

I was thinking more in terms of people my age who came of age in the post-WWII era and my own particular personal growth from a young adult to a not so naive senior citizen. But then, as a young person I saw the world through rose-colored glasses.

[czarjak]

8. The REAL smart ones just don't brag about the cheating.

[leftstreet]

9. DURec

[everyonematters]

10. The world is a screwed up place.

It is a never ending battle to to make it better. I choose not to give up. That's why I am involved in politics.

[Irish_Dem]

11. Trump has been a one man audit of the entire US gov't. And we failed it.

[Duppers]

14. Well, NY State gov't has stepped up to the plate.

And thankfully, AG James is going to hit this out of the park.
🤞

And we love that a black woman will be taking him down.

[Irish_Dem]

19. It is a step in the right direction. Time will tell how it plays out.

Doesn't instill a lot of confidence that the state of NY let Trump's crime spree go unchecked for decades.

[Duppers]

20. Absolutely true. nt

[wiggs]

12. OTOH, if you sell loose cigarettes on the street, you may get a death sentence. nt

[Duppers]

15. That was the first thing I thought of.

Equal justice?

[lindysalsagal]

13. Ok, you're right, but this had to start somewhere, and NY AG is probably a good place. The shell is

cracked. After that first crack, the damage is started, and it's easier for others to add to the cracks, rather than start the first one.

I just love that it was a black woman who the ape would probably insult for her looks, since she's not trying to sell herself as a model like his idiot wife.

[Duppers]

16. "Justice delayed

...is Justice denied."

But thankfully it's coming....finally.

[Silent3]

22. Unfortunately it'll never look like that

If for no other reason than logistics of Secret Service protection, Trump will at worst get house arrest for his crimes, no matter how badly he deserves to be treated like other criminals.

[Hortensis]

17. Look at directing your complaint to about our "so-called justice sytem," imo for shame.

You kind of forgot to include that it's THE PEOPLE who elected for their Manhattan DA a man now widely viewed as incompetent and uncommitted. At best. And many others down the decades who don't do their jobs ethically.

In this case, not an amorphous "justice system" you're supposedly "cynical" about, but a specific DA with a NAME that could be looked up. Many were shocked that this elected official refused to prosecute when there was very good reason to believe prosecutable crimes had been committed. For god's sake, tRump sold 40 floors of tRump Tower alone as 10 stories higher than they were, defrauding every buyer and lender. Not frivolous to his victims.

How about being shocked at those who complain about "the justice system" when they're supposed to be getting ready to vote for people who will use it correctly? Elections have consequences. And one guess WHO have the critically important job of electing honest, competent people who will do the job? Not elect someone who strokes our ideology by chanting pleasing catchphrases and lying about opponents, is a favored skin color, or promises vengeance for grievances -- but honorable, competent people who will do the job sworn to. There are plenty out there.

Feel free to repost about your cynicism regarding the "so-called" electorate who failed to do their job, although I'll go ahead and remind you now that they're extremely real, including those who abuse their power and betray their duty by refusing to even vote, much less vote ethically.

How's your voting? We all need to be taking NAMES, examining records, and proceeding responsibly from there.

[Silent3]

21. I didn't forget anything

Just because I don't mention something doesn't mean I forgot it.

I've often complained in other posts about the stupidity of our voting public. Smarter, more engaged voters, and less bigoted ones as well, would have given up on the current Republican part well before Trump was elected, and we certainly wouldn't be holding our collective breath wonder if Democrats can somehow break historical trends and hold onto the House in November.

Why call out "their Manhattan DA" in particular? The deficiencies of our legal system exist across the country, and are echoed in many other parts of the world too.