The Reign of Trump

[Solauren]

Not that I don't think Trump is scum, but, I would actually be very surprised if Epstein ever had anything on Trump beyond what is known. (Epstein apparently had blackmail tapes on people, of them having sex with underaged victims Epstein has supplied.)

It's just Trump didn't need Epstein help him get laid, underaged or not.

Think about it. Trump had control over 3 beauty pageants. Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA: Trump owned the rights to these three pageants from 1996 until he sold them in 2015. He had lots of access to young woman, and should have had no problem figuring out which ones to approach, and then convincing them to fuck him in exchange for some sort of compensation.

And he had access to 'model' quality girls as young as 15.

And that's not counting employees at his various businesses. Or friends of his kids, etc.

He didn't need Epstein.


More then likely, the delay has been for his lawyers to go over everything, analyzing probably fall out, and preparing defenses/counters.

[LadyTevar]

Justice Department quietly replaced 'identical' Trump signatures on recent pardons

(snip quoted article)

Signatures being altered on pardons. Trump saying he didn't know someone that he had pardoned.

How many of these pardons really were signed by Trump ?

What happens if someone turns up proof that some of these pardons are forgeries ?

TBH, Trump's been yelling FIRE FIRE over Biden's "autopen", so I was wondering when people would see the smoking torch behind Trump's back.
So far, I've seen so many cases of Trump doing just what he accused others of, this was just one more "Cry Wolf".

Now. Signatures being altered should make the Pardons Inadmissible, imho. Redo paperwork from Start.

How many are really signed by Trump and not an intern with an Autopen? Would they count as Forgeries?
Those are DAMN GOOD QUESTIONS, and unfortunately we won't know for some time because Trump's Admin is gonna blow smoke and mirrors all over that shit to cover the mistakes made.
But, honestly? I'd not be surprised to find an intern rolling off signatures right and left as Certain Members of the Admin need it done, and Trump none the wiser. Like caretakers forging old lady's names to keep the Social Security Checks coming.

Will it ever come out? Maybe. If there's someone who is getting procescuted for some other crime and spills the beans to get a plea bargain. But I doubt all the corruption will come to light until and unless people go on trial -- which is a big QuestionMark if that ever will happen.
This isn't going to be Deep Throat and the Nixon Papers. This is going to take decades as historians try to dig through the ditches. And I am fully of the belief that Trump's Admin are destroying records daily to hide all they can.

[Solauren]

I have no doubt at all that people in the Trump administration are taking advantage of Trump being president.

I wouldn't be surprised if someone was selling the pardons, putting the money into crypto, transferring it a bunch of times, and using it for online purchases. That would be very difficult to trace and prove.

[bilateralrope]

TBH, Trump's been yelling FIRE FIRE over Biden's "autopen", so I was wondering when people would see the smoking torch behind Trump's back.
So far, I've seen so many cases of Trump doing just what he accused others of, this was just one more "Cry Wolf".

A common phrase I see is "every accusation is a confession"

Now. Signatures being altered should make the Pardons Inadmissible, imho. Redo paperwork from Start.

How many are really signed by Trump and not an intern with an Autopen? Would they count as Forgeries?
Those are DAMN GOOD QUESTIONS, and unfortunately we won't know for some time because Trump's Admin is gonna blow smoke and mirrors all over that shit to cover the mistakes made.
But, honestly? I'd not be surprised to find an intern rolling off signatures right and left as Certain Members of the Admin need it done, and Trump none the wiser. Like caretakers forging old lady's names to keep the Social Security Checks coming.

Will it ever come out? Maybe. If there's someone who is getting procescuted for some other crime and spills the beans to get a plea bargain. But I doubt all the corruption will come to light until and unless people go on trial -- which is a big QuestionMark if that ever will happen.
This isn't going to be Deep Throat and the Nixon Papers. This is going to take decades as historians try to dig through the ditches. And I am fully of the belief that Trump's Admin are destroying records daily to hide all they can.

If Trump authorised the pardon, it's probably valid. Even if he didn't sign it.

If he didn't authorise it, the pardon is a forgery.

The big mess is going to be all the uncertainty. I can see SCOTUS going one of two ways. The first is to declare all pardons valid unless someone can prove it was forged. The second is them taking the opportunity to be the final arbiter of all pardons.

[Solauren]

Maybe the pardon process needs to be changed so that it's prepared and witnesses by the US Attorney General?

[Ralin]

Not that I don't think Trump is scum, but, I would actually be very surprised if Epstein ever had anything on Trump beyond what is known. (Epstein apparently had blackmail tapes on people, of them having sex with underaged victims Epstein has supplied.)

It's just Trump didn't need Epstein help him get laid, underaged or not.

Think about it. Trump had control over 3 beauty pageants. Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA: Trump owned the rights to these three pageants from 1996 until he sold them in 2015. He had lots of access to young woman, and should have had no problem figuring out which ones to approach, and then convincing them to fuck him in exchange for some sort of compensation.

And he had access to 'model' quality girls as young as 15.

And that's not counting employees at his various businesses. Or friends of his kids, etc.

He didn't need Epstein.


More then likely, the delay has been for his lawyers to go over everything, analyzing probably fall out, and preparing defenses/counters.

Do you seriously think Trump is someone with the restraint and good sense to not rape any underage girls on Pedophile Island because he has plenty of underage girls to rape back at home where it's safer?

[Solauren]

Do you seriously think Trump is someone with the restraint and good sense to not rape any underage girls on Pedophile Island because he has plenty of underage girls to rape back at home where it's safer?

Trump as he is now? No. Absolutely not.

Trump as he 10 years ago and younger? Yes.

[Ralin]

I feel like a person with those traits probably would not visit Pedophile Island in the first place

But who knows? Maybe Epstein also had a great lunch buffet there.

[Solauren]

It's also entirely possible that the island was used for more then his 'underaged sex honeypot trap'.

More then likely, Epstein used it for alot of other things, including stays from people where he didn't try to 'bait them', or anything, if only to establish the island as safe.

Then, eventually, as individuals started getting to comfortable with it, maybe get a little tipsy, bam! Sex tape of them with a 15 year old that looked 19.

[Ralin]

They got their on a jet called the Lolita Express.

By all accounts Epstein wasn't exactly subtle about it.

[Ralin]

Also consider: Trump and Epstein were to all appearances pals. Trump liked him. He liked hanging out with him. He saw him as a kindred spirit. He went out of his way to draw and write personalized birthday cards for the man. Most of the people in those circles could be reasonably said to have access to other, safer to rape children back home. Reading between the lines I think it wasn't just about the sex or the power for them. I think the social aspect of the child rape was a big part of the appeal.

[Solauren]

Possible, but I find it unlikely.

Really, Trump strikes me as wanting direct control over his victims (i.e they work for him in someway), versus them being under someone elses control.

Which explains him wanting to be President....

[wautd]

After already decimating foreign tourism to the US, the Trump regime now tries to do the final death blow against tourism.
As if a potential stay in an ICE detention center wasn't inviting enough. At this rate I'd rather visit North Korea then The United States of East Russia

US could ask foreign tourists for five-year social media history before entry

Tourists from dozens of countries including the UK could be asked to provide a five-year social media history as a condition of entry to the United States, under a new proposal unveiled by American officials.

The new condition would affect people from dozens of countries who are eligible to visit the US for 90 days without a visa, as long as they have filled out an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) form.

Since returning to the White House in January, President Donald Trump has moved to toughen US borders more generally - citing national security as a key reason.

Analysts say the new plan could pose an obstacle to potential visitors, or harm their digital rights.

The US expects a major influx of foreign tourists next year, as it hosts the men's football World Cup alongside Canada and Mexico, and for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

The proposal document was filed by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), of which the agency is part.

US media reported that it appeared in the Federal Register, which is the official journal of the US government. The BBC has asked DHS for comment.

The proposal says "the data element will require ESTA applicants to provide their social media from the last 5 years", without giving further details of which specific information will be required.

The existing ESTA requires a comparatively limited amount of information from travellers, as well as a one-off payment of $40 (£30). It is accessible to citizens of about 40 countries - including the UK, Ireland, France, Australia and Japan - and allows them to visit the US multiple times during a two-year period.

As well as the collection of social media information, the new document proposes the gathering of an applicant's telephone numbers and email addresses used over the last five and 10 years respectively, and more information about their family members.

The text cites an executive order from Trump in January, titled "Protecting the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats".


I guess it's all part of new National Security Strategy, declaring war on European liberal democracies and America's former allies. Far right europeans and Russian trolls still welcome though

[LadyTevar]

YEAH! Let's totally kill Tourist BEFORE THE FIFA-APPROVED SOCCER TOURNMENTS. BRILLIANT PLAN

[bilateralrope]

That might be one way to prevent ICE from kicking off a riot during the World Cup.

[bilateralrope]

US seizes oil tanker off Venezuela as Caracas condemns 'act of piracy'

6 hours ago

Kayla EpsteinandIone Wells,São Paulo

US forces have seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, marking a sharp escalation in Washington's pressure campaign against Nicolás Maduro's government.

Speaking at the White House on Wednesday, President Donald Trump said the tanker was "the largest one ever seized".

Footage released by the US government showed armed soldiers boarding the vessel, which Attorney General Pam Bondi said was used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran.

Caracas swiftly denounced the action, calling it an act of "international piracy". Earlier, President Nicolás Maduro declared that Venezuela would never become an "oil colony".

The Trump administration accuses Venezuela of funnelling narcotics into the US and has intensified its efforts to isolate President Maduro in recent months.

Venezuela - home to some of the world's largest proven oil reserves - has, in turn, accused Washington of seeking to steal its resources.

Brent crude prices inched higher on Wednesday as news of the seizure stoked short-term supply concerns. Analysts warn the move could threaten shippers and further disrupt Venezuela's oil exports.

On Thursday, the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin had spoken with Maduro and reassured him of Moscow's support "in the face of growing external pressure".

Bondi, who leads the US Department of Justice, said the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and the US Coast Guard co-ordinated the seizure.

"For multiple years, the oil tanker has been sanctioned by the United States due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations," the nation's top prosecutor wrote on X.

Footage shared by Bondi showed a military helicopter hovering over a large ship, and troops descending on to the deck using ropes. Uniformed men were seen in the clip moving about the ship with guns drawn.

A senior military official told the BBC's US partner CBS that the helicopters used in the operation launched from the USS Gerald Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier, which was sent to the Caribbean last month.

It involved two helicopters, 10 Coast Guard members and 10 Marines, as well as special forces.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth was aware of the operation, and the Trump administration was considering more actions like this, a source told CBS.

When asked by reporters what the US would do with the oil on the tanker, Trump said: "We keep it, I guess... I assume we're going to keep the oil."

Maritime risk company Vanguard Tech identified the vessel as the Skipper and said it believed the ship had been "spoofing" its position - or broadcasting a false location - for a long time.

BBC Verify has since confirmed that the vessel in the footage released by the Department of Homeland Security is the Skipper.

The US treasury department sanctioned the Skipper in 2022, CBS reported, for alleged involvement in oil smuggling that generated revenue for Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force.

BBC Verify also located this tanker on MarineTraffic, which shows it was sailing under the flag of Guyana when its position was last updated two days ago.

A statement from Guyana's Maritime Administration Department on Wednesday evening, however, said that the Skipper was "falsely flying the Guyana Flag as it is not registered in Guyana."

The Skipper's port of call log shows it called in Iran, Iraq, and the UAE from 30 June to 9 July this year. Its most recent stop, according to MarineTraffic, was at Soroosh port in Iran on 9 July.

That does not mean that it has not called at multiple other ports since then.

MarineTraffic shows it was last near Iran in mid-September before arriving off the coast of Guyana at the end of October and making minimal further movement since then. This data may be partial or incorrect because of spoofing.

MarineTraffic lists the beneficial owner and operator as Nigeria-based Thomarose Global Ventures Ltd and it lists the registered owner as Marshall Islands-based Triton Navigation Corp.

The Venezuelan government issued a statement denouncing the seizure as a "grave international crime".

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello called the US "murderers, thieves, pirates".

He referred to Pirates of the Caribbean, but said that while that film's lead character Jack Sparrow was a "hero", he believed "these guys are high seas criminals, buccaneers".

Cabello said this was how the US had "started wars all over the world".

Speaking at a rally earlier on Wednesday, Maduro had a message for Americans opposed to war with Venezuela. It came in the form of a 1988 hit song.

"To American citizens who are against the war, I respond with a very famous song: Don't worry, be happy," Maduro said in Spanish before singing along to the lyrics of the 1988 hit.

"Not war, be happy. Not, not crazy war, not, be happy."

It's unclear if Maduro knew about the seizure of the tanker before this rally.

In recent days, the US has ramped up its military presence in the Caribbean Sea, which borders Venezuela to the north.

The build-up involves thousands of troops and the USS Gerald Ford being positioned within striking distance of Venezuela, BBC Verify reported.

The move has sparked speculation about the potential for some kind of military action.

Since September, the US has conducted at least 22 strikes on boats in the region that the Trump administration says are smuggling drugs. At least 80 people have died in these attacks.

Looks like Trump wants to bring back piracy.