Letters to the Editor

Edited and compiled by Jim Buckley

Smiling Judge Engoron.

New York’s Queen of Hearts Witch Hunt

Brent Zepke’s piece on the Alice in Wonderland “trial” held in New York City that ended up delivering former President Donald Trump a whopping $355 million fine and banishment (for three years) from doing business in New York created an entertaining spate of letters, some of which we have printed below. The takeaway from this “trial” is to understand that it wasn’t held to ascertain President Trump’s guilt or innocence of certain charges. No, his guilt was pre-determined by “judge” Arthur Engoron days before the proceedings began.

Here then is the gist of the Santa Barbara Current conversation that ensued:

Aligned Against Trump

What’s going on here? Trump is the first President to be dragged through the courts during an election season, while Biden is the first sitting President to be declared legally incompetent to stand trial for taking state secrets home while he was Vice President. It’s as if all our government’s institutions are aligned against Trump. The Silent War continues…

DL Dawson

(Editor’s note: Well, yes, pretty much the entire government apparatus has chosen sides, and it’s not Trump’s. – J.B.)

Judicial Misconduct

The outrageous Trump indictments and trials remind me that voting has consequences. New York voters chose Attorney General Letitia James. Like elsewhere, there’s a decline in voter participation. Why? Is voter decline political or structural? Do voters have a sense our vote matters? Know enough to cast a vote? Is there excitement about candidate choices (beyond being for or against President Trump)? Is known election fraud and CIA interference a turnoff?

Montecito93108

(Editor’s note: I don’t have an answer, but voting participation has declined significantly in many now all-blue states. Resignation has perhaps taken over the opposition’s mindset. – J.B.)

Thanks, But Why Bother Voting?

Hey, Zepke, thanks for this explanation but I still don’t understand how a summary judgement can be leveled against a defendant without due process. Isn’t this prevented by the 5th, 7th, and 14th Amendments of the Constitution?

With unaccountable mass mail-in voting and aggregation techniques, it is most likely that your vote has already been tabulated for whomever the Democrats wish to win in any particular election. Auto fill? Why bother? Who is to check? They have even made questioning the integrity of the electoral system a crime punishable by lawfare and prison time.

These are dark times.

Eric Gordon

No Record, No Trial

Eric, I also do not understand. The Motion to Dismiss is used when the "four corners of the pleadings" (legalese meaning considering the entire document) does not even allege a "cause of action upon which relief can be granted." Before a trial begins, the 'record" is empty, as materials exchanged during discovery do not become part of the "record" until a party makes a motion to admit, and the judge accepts it, during the trial. In effect, Judge Engoron made a ruling based on an empty record.

Brent Zepke

Avoiding Incarceration

Great summary. This is a corrupt to the core narcissist judge. How about the judge in Ventura that let the woman go that stabbed her boyfriend in the face over a hundred times, killing him. Glad it wasn't my son or I 'd be incarcerated now. Loving the SB Current!

Helene Bidwell

(Editor’s note: I’m with you Helene, certainly glad it wasn’t my son either. – J.B.)

Trump Haters’ Factual Disconnect

Judge Engoron is probably a relatively reasonable man in most respects. Yet his clear bias or outright hatred of Donald Trump could be argued is irrational. Did Engoron personally suffer in any way due to the policies of Trump? Certainly not. Why then is he intent on punishing Trump financially? Why are others trying to put Trump in jail? Why are still others trying to keep Trump off the ballot in order to deny Americans a choice in the upcoming election?

There is a group insanity to the hatred of Trump which cannot be explained by the consequences of Trump policies. Just ask any Trump hater what policy of Trump was damaging to them personally or for the country. “He says Nazis are nice people.” “He is a dictator.” “He is a threat to democracy.” “He incited an insurrection.” There are many more and they all have two things in common. They are untrue and they have been repeated by the media so many times that the intellectually lazy among us believe them to be true. 

Jeff Barton

Lots of Mischief in 2020

I’d sure like to know whether Trump actually won the last election since the question hasn’t been adjudicated in any court of law for lack of standing. There are many good reasons to believe there was a lot of mischief in that election, and if you seriously believe that Biden got more votes than Obama, you have zero credibility.

C Schmidt

She Goes ALL-CAPS for Biden

Schmidt, you’re an a-hole! How could Biden POSSIBLY HAVE CHEATED……? Why don’t you tell how?

Of all the crazy Republican theories, THIS IS NEW! 

Watch my lips: BIDEN WON BECAUSE HE GOT MORE ELECTORAL VOTES THAN YOUR FELLOW A-HOLE. SIMPLE AS THAT. THE REPUBLICANS TRIED EVERY WHICH WAY…..BRIBING PHONE CALLS, PHONEY ELECTORAL VOTERS..…AND MORE. That is why Giuliani and all the other Trump lawyers got penalized, bit lying and trying to bribe. NOT BIDEN.

Schmidt….Whoever you are, you’re a nut case. If you are still questioning after the 60 Courts who told Trump he had lost…..you’re stupid as well.

Don’t bother answering….this is a waste of my time and intelligence.

What are you….12 years old? Grow up and do the research.

Nancy Freeman

Disagreeing Without Being Disagreeable

You don’t seriously think I care one whit what someone like you thinks of me, now do you? But I do love seeing that famous tolerance you Lefties always preach but never practice, demonstrated. You don’t get to tell me when or to whom to respond, either.

Every trope you’ve raised has been answered by others on this forum, more than once. The fact that you fail at reading comprehension and cling to your discredited beliefs sort of points to you being 12, or stupid. People like you can’t disagree without being disagreeable. I think it’s because you know your arguments are so weak.

C Schmidt

Reflection of Community Values

Nancy, It's fine and encouraged to disagree here, but refrain from knee-jerk ideological-based responses. Use evidence. Debate objectively. You have intelligence, so use it. As in my response to your comment above. Judges are appointed in many cases: appointed by elected officials with their own political agenda. Such as SCOTUS. Judges are also elected themselves, reflecting the community's values, including Jim Crow values. Recall the Mississippi judge and jury in the lynching-murder case of Emmett Till.

Celeste Barber

Democrat Talking Points

The lady in fact babbles tired and discredited Democrat operative talking points. Bots online on other websites also keep raising the exact same – almost word for word – discredited talking points. 

Who is feeding someone this same list? It is to copycat, so it belies any original or independent thinking. Orangeman bad, and you are a bad person for supporting him. Yada, yada, yada. Ad nauseam.

J. Livingston

(Editor’s note: There’s much more in the Comments section under retired lawyer Brent Zepke’s New York Style Witch Hunt, so for more entertaining back-and-forth, please help yourself to the full discourse. – J.B.)