Category: DOJ

DEFCON 1 – Trump to Receive Intel Briefings on Campaign Trail!

Michael Matheron1 Comment

“[N]o one inside the intelligence community is thrilled about briefing a person who is under indictment for mishandling classified information.”
Ken Dilanian, MSNBC, Chris Jansing Reports, March 8, 2024

And That’s an Understatement for the Ages, Mr. Dilanian

Since 1952, presidential candidates have received intel briefings and Trump’s are about to begin. Among the charges against the presumptive GOP-MAGA candidate in the so-called documents case is violating, not only the Presidential Records Act, but the Espionage Act. These intel briefings have never been provided to a candidate of either party who has been so clearly unworthy, and despite the tradition, Trump ought not be anywhere close to classified information.* At the least, if at all, he should be barred from intel briefings until he is the official GOP-MAGA candidate following the nomination convention when he will be the official party candidate, and that privilege I would only grudgingly allow.

* In fact, President Biden, in February 2021, barred Trump from receiving the intelligence briefings traditionally permitted for former presidents.

Trump will not be barred because of the established tradition, not for any statutory command to deliver these briefings. Tradition, though, has its limitations. In the case of the galactically irresponsible Trump. this tradition is unrelated to the danger involved in regard Trump who has his own tradition, that of oten revealing, at his pleasure, significant national security secrets. He has no compunctions whatever and appears to enjoy spilling the classified intelligence beans to anyone he hopes to impress. One of his obvious mega-flaws is a need to be both liked and to be viewed as a person in the know, a dangerous person in any position of importance.

Here are some of the known instances where he offered up secret intel during his presidency and after like M&Ms on Halloween night:

  1. Early in his term, he divulged to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador, intel about an Islamic State plot. “A Middle Eastern ally that closely guards its own secrets provided the information, which was considered so sensitive that American officials did not share it widely within the United States government or pass it on to other allies.”
  2. During Christmas season 2018, Trump visited Iraq’s Al Asad Airbase where he posted video on Twitter of several members of Seal Team Five in their camouflage and night-vision goggles, which, however, revealed their location and un-blurred faces.
  3. In August 2019, he learned in a classified briefing about an explosion at a space launch facility in Iran. He insisted on posting it on Twitter, but was strongly urged to not do so for national security reasons. He did so anyway, telling reporters “We had a photo and I released it, which I have the absolute right to do.” This incident also led to one of Trump’s more infamous and uninformed quotes, to intel staff, “I have declassification authority. I can do anything I want.”
  4. In 2023, then as citizen Trump, revealed to an Australian billionaire, Anthony Pratt, classified intel about American submarines, including nuclear warhead inventory and how closely they could maneuver to Russian submarines.

And these, serious enough, are just the national security failures that are known. It’s not hard to imagine what else he revealed in office, or out. Proving criminal responsibility is now Special Prosecutor Jack Smith’s job, yet the consistent Trump-caused delays in the documents case, often enabled by presiding Judge Aileen Cannon, may prevent a trial prior to the election. In fact, it’s becoming almost inevitable that voters will be denied knowing whether Trump has violated, with apparent impunity, many provisions of the Presidential Records Act and the Espionage Act.

So, Here’s an Idea! Let’s Freeze Him Out of National Security Briefings

Fortunately, presidential candidate briefings are not as complete and informative as briefings that President Biden receives. An ABC News article point out, candidate Trump would “receive an initial briefing from the office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and . . . can ask for a follow-up briefing on any topic. . . In the past, candidates have received no more than three briefings. This election season, [Trump] is expected to have two or three. The briefings become much more frequent and detailed once a candidate becomes the president-elect.” Nevertheless, Trump’s record does not qualify him to receive a single briefing.

As noted, he’s consistently revealed sensitive and top secret information. It’s a certainty that citizen Trump could not now obtain a security clearance. He’s a known national security threat. His financial needs for legal fees make him a candidate for any foreign power to manipulate in order to access, on the sly, national security information. Furthermore, he has not indicated that he even understands the need for secrecy in these matters or that he intends to act differently in the future. Psychologically, he has no compunctions about asserting himself, and does not think that the office of the presidency places any limits on his personal powers. He has a mind for espionage and would be an easy mark. A security clearance would be out of the question even though the candidate briefing tradition does not require one, a practice that needs to be modified.

Moreover, he held this classified information in secret at his Mar A Lago and Westminster New Jersey homes in violation of the Presidential Records Act (PRA). Shockingly, he’s spoken of the PRA as having allowed him to take anything he wants. In plain words, the PRA forbids what Trump believes it permits. Attorney Joyce Vance recently wrote, “Trump insists he designated the documents as personal records under the PRA so his possession of them was authorised and he can’t be prosecuted for it. But he’s never been able to explain how the PRA trumps laws about handling classified and national defence [information]. It doesn’t.” In other words, the PRA does allow certain personal records to be retained by an outgoing president, like note for a memoir. As the National Archives explains:

“In 1978, Congress passed the Presidential Records Act (PRA), which states that any records created or received by the President as part of his constitutional, statutory, or ceremonial duties are the property of the United States government and will be managed by NARA at the end of the administration. The Presidential Records Act (PRA) changed the legal status of Presidential and Vice Presidential materials. Under the PRA, the official records of the President and his staff are owned by the United States, not by the President.” Emphasis in original.

Trump’s admitted openly to taking highly secret documents from the White House. He also has a track record of sharing national security information with others. The tradition allowing national security briefings for candidates must bow before a person so manifestly unreliable, dishonest, and irresponsible as Donald Trump. He must be denied intelligence briefings until, God forbid, he’s President-Elect. Perhaps President Biden will make it so as he did in the matter of briefings for former presidents.

Speaker Johnson, Laws Still Exist!

Michael Matheron2 Comments

Two weeks ago I wrote here that on December 5th Speaker of the House Mike Johnson had arguably committed the federal crime of obstruction of justice when he announced that the security videos of January 6, 2021 would be tampered with before releasing them to the public. As he said that day: “As you know, we have to blur some of the faces of persons who participated in the events of that day because we don’t want them to be retaliated against and to be charged by the DOJ, and to have other concerns and problems. [emphasis added] This appears to have violated 18 U.S.Code § 1501 §§ (c) which forbids alteration of, for example, videotapes with “the intent to impair the object’s integrity or availability for use in an official proceeding.”

What is it I deny doing, again?

Since my posting on the matter, Johnson’s Chief of Staff for Communications Raj Shah issued this essentially dishonest “clarification”, or in political jargon, a craven walk-back: “Faces are to be blurred from public viewing room footage to prevent all forms of retaliation against private citizens from any non-governmental actors. The Department of Justice already has access to raw footage from January 6, 2021.” This is a distinction without a difference because blurring faces may, in fact, hide the identity of a January 6th insurrectionists from viewers of the tapes who might be able to disclose their identities to law enforcement actors who are still investigating the attack. Arguably, this “obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding, or attempts to do so . . .”

Mike Johnson’s Eyes Blur When Reading Federal Laws

Johnson and cohorts, however, may have violated another federal criminal statute:


18 U.S.Code § 3 – Accessory after the fact

Whoever, knowing that an offense against the United States has been committed, receives, relieves, comforts or assists the offender in order to hinder or prevent his apprehension, trial or punishment, is an accessory after the fact.

Except as otherwise expressly provided by any Act of Congress, an accessory after the fact shall be imprisoned not more than one-half the maximum term of imprisonment or (notwithstanding section 3571) fined not more than one-half the maximum fine prescribed for the punishment of the principal, or both; or if the principal is punishable by life imprisonment or death, the accessory shall be imprisoned not more than 15 years.

His blurred faces caper, as he admitted above, was specifically designed to “hinder or prevent . . . apprehension, trial or punishment . . .”

Breaking News: MAGA World Shocked That Laws Still Exist!

Of course, neither of these laws will cause Johnson, and perhaps others, to be perp walked. DOJ will not touch this for obvious reasons. It’s unfortunate, though, that they will never even investigate just a tiny bit as a shot across MAGA’s row boat bow, a warning. The vast majority of MAGA folks, don’t truly recognize a primary fact: the laws of the United States still exist, they could look them up. Despite their self-congratulatory posture as permanent revolutionaries, they have not yet succeeded in bringing their own government to its knees, the government that their legislators swear to support and defend:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

So, Speaker Johnson and other MAGAs, like it or not, have to live in a world where laws still exist and cannot simply be created on the fly, for whatever purpose suits them. There’s a war to win first. And that’s a bit more difficult than merely believing you’ve already won.

Today, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson Obstructed Justice

Michael Matheron2 Comments

“As you know, we have to blur some of the faces of persons who participated in the events of that day because we don’t want them to be retaliated against and to be charged by the DOJ, and to have other concerns and problems. So, that’s a slow process to get it done; we’re working steadily on it. We’ve hired additional personnel to do that But all of those tapes ultimately will be out so everybody can see them and draw their own conclusions.”
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, December 5, 2022

He then went on in his self-gratifying gloria Dei moment to say: “[This] will provide millions of Americans, criminal defendants, public interest organizations, and the media an ability to see for themselves what happened that day, rather than having to rely upon the interpretation of a small group of government officials.” One might add, for him, since he forgot to, that this will also obstruct the ability of investigators to identify suspects in the January 6th insurrection.

He also forgot to add, “This also violates federal law.”

Title 18 of the United States Code contains the laws regarding obstruction of justice within its 20 provisions. To protect documentary evidence, its §1501, subsection (c) reads:

(c) Whoever corruptly—
(1) alters, destroys, mutilates, or conceals a record, document, or other object, or attempts to do so, with the intent to impair the object’s integrity or availability for use in an official proceeding; or
(2) otherwise obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding, or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.

Mike Johnson is so full of hubris and theocratic fervor that he doesn’t seem to recognize that federal law still exists. Like most MAGAites he believes that his actions are part of a revolution and therefore legal in, perhaps, God’s eyes. But Johnson and the insurrectionists of January 6th (and many others) do not understand that they need to WIN the political civil war we’re now waging to impose their laws on the nation. For now, they still must operate under the laws that exist, not the ones they plan.

Fabulist George Santos to Run for New York Senate!

Michael Matheron1 Comment

“In some way, I think we all bring things on ourselves, right? Would I have not said certain things, would I have done things differently? Absolutely. I’m an adult and I’m mature enough to acknowledge that.”
Appearance today on FOX News before the expulsion vote

Cancelled!

The fate of George Santos is sealed, as in the closing of a coffin. The House voted this morning to place Santos to rest.

Today’s expulsion vote ›

AnswerDemocratsDem.RepublicansRep.TotalBar chart of total votes
Yes206105311
No2112114
Present202
That’s significantly more than the two-thirds majority to expel him, in fact, it’s nearly three-fourths of the members voting.

Source: Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives

By any measure his political burial would bring others up short, they’d seek a hiding place far underground, literally in a cave. Nonetheless, we know that Santos has a few praiseworthy qualities: he lies with verve, he plays the victim with bravura, and he’s a guy who is so outrageous that the betting here at They Will Say ANYTHING! is that he will somehow rise from the cold, cold ground, and soon. Expulsion was not, perhaps, a stake through the heart.

Just two weeks ago he told us that if expelled from the House, he’d run for the Senate and we believe him; we’re that gullible and in need of stuff to write about. Nevertheless, he spoke to us this afternoon about his Senate master plan, and to us it appears doable, especially given the political state of play these days.

Earlier today Mr. Santos told reporters after the expulsion vote: “It’s over. … They just set a dangerous new precedent for themselves,” apparently hinting that he’d be back to haunt them. “Yes,” he told us, and swore us to “secrecy” that we obviously define differently than most news outlets. In any event, “My plan is to haunt them from the Senate as of 2025, after I clear up the 20 some odd criminal indictments that Biden is persecuting me with. I’ve got a long list of House members that I can throw under the bus and DOJ will not want my accusations made public. So, it should take about a week to weasel out of the wrongful indictments, and then I’m free as a bird!”

That’s Fabulist, Not Psychotic Fibber!

But, it occurred to us that, yes, he could do that, but how would that help his proposed Senate bid? We observed, “Voters have short memories, indeed, but a few days might be pushing it, Mr. Santos.” He chastened us.

“I’m not new to this. I have, for some time now, been celebrated by the media as a fabulist, an honorific title. Long gone is the term liar. No, I’m a Pied Piper of tales of grandeur, a Don Quixote tilting at windmills, a public hypnotist, one endowed with even more powers than a mere psychotic liar and fraud. I’m beloved now, beloved, like C.S Lewis or J.R. Tolkien. Everybody likes a good fairy tale and I’m the very best.”

We could not agree more. Call us fabulists, but we’re betting on Santos! That’s Senator Santos.

And Jesus Wept: Trump Has Plans for His Third Presidential Term

Michael Matheron1 Comment

I don’t know how I missed this when it occurred six weeks ago, must’ve been running for Speaker of the House, was very very hard pressed . . . In any event, I missed the news that Trump is planning to run for president a third time! Give a listen to the CNN clip to the left. I’ll wait.

Here’s the Fun Part . . . ?

Here’s the fun part where Trump said: “That means that if I win [in 2024] and someone wants to run against me [for president, in 2028] I call my Attorney General and I say listen, indict him! ‘Well he hasn’t done anything wrong that we know of.’ ‘I don’t know, indict him on income tax evasion, you’ll figure it out,'”

Where to start? First, Trump is precluded from running for president a third time by the 22nd Amendment, a trifle in Trump’s stable-genius-head, but critically important to the rest of us non-MAGAs.

Section 1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this Article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.

Section 2. This Article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states within seven years from the date of its submission to the states by the Congress.

So, what else is (potentially) wrong with his plans to order indictments against presumably all his political campaign opponents, his 2028 opponents? Here’s a good summary of the state of play from a Trump era 2019 Fordham Law Review article summary:

Suppose the president sought to serve as prosecutor-in-chief, telling prosecutors when to initiate or dismiss criminal charges in individual cases and making other discretionary decisions that are normally reserved to trained professionals familiar with the facts, law, and traditions of the U.S. Department of Justice. To what extent may prosecutors follow the president’s direction? In recent presidential administrations, the president has respected prosecutorial independence; while making policy decisions, the president deferred to the Attorney General and subordinate federal prosecutors to conduct individual criminal cases. In a recent article, we argued that this is as it should be because the president has no constitutional or statutory authority to control federal criminal prosecutions.

“In politics, an absurdity is not a handicap.” – Napoleon Bonaparte

If you mentally noted with a bit of fear when I used the parenthetical “(potentially)” to modify the “wrong” of Trump’s plan to order indictments left and right, well, you were right. The question is somewhat up for grabs. Although there is no federal law or directly applicable constitutional provision forbidding a president to meddle, specifically, to order “indictments against political campaign contenders,” the foundational principle of separation of powers strongly militates against Trump’s confident assertions.  A president can consult, advise, or instruct the AG to pursue investigations of illegal activities he perceives to be present. The AG can comply, persuade the president otherwise, or flat out refuse. Also, a president can fire the AG for refusing to carry out his priorities, for insubordination or for no reason at all, although political consequences might be severe for a president who did so.

To be realistic – though, Heaven forfend! – should Trump be elected president in 2024, as he explicitly assumes, the question may become another “instructional moment” for his utterly vapid and intentionally uneducated self. You see, such plans to go after political opponents in the lead up to the 2028 election would immediately run afoul of the fact that he’d be ineligible to run again, per the 22nd Amendment. Seems obvious to all, eh? Well, Trump is a black swan, an event so utterly unlikely, that anything ludicrous might happen, as it has for his entire life. Don’t rely on reasonable arguments; rely on active in-the-streets resistance, should the event arise.

BREAKING: Mark Meadows Gets Immunity from Prosecution in January 6th Case!

Michael Matheron1 Comment

NOTE: On the emailed version of this post the link to the ABC News article below does not work. Here is the link you may copy and paste: https://abcnews-go-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/abcnews.go.com/amp/US/chief-staff-mark-meadows-granted-immunity-tells-special/story?amp_gsa=1&amp_js_v=a9&id=104231281&usqp=mq331AQIUAKwASCAAgM%3D#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=16981870020037&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fabcnews.go.com%2FUS%2Fchief-staff-mark-meadows-granted-immunity-tells-special%2Fstory%3Fid%3D104231281

In a stunning move, former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has accepted an immunity from prosecution deal from Jack Smith, the chief prosecutor for the January 6th case, ABC News reported just minutes ago. Meadows’ role in the attempt to steal the 2020 election and in the January 6th insurrection was at the highest level since he had daily contact with Trump and coordinated plans and actions with other accused co-conspirators. As you’ll see in the ABC News article cited above, Trump will have great difficulty claiming that he “barely knew” Mr. Meadows. . . but this has not deterred him before; nevertheless, perhaps the gag order will.

More here as this develops.

Jim Jordan: Is He Crazed and Indictable Enough to Wield the Speaker’s Gavel?

Michael Matheron2 Comments
He’s nuts, but I’m clinically nuts!

Two days ago, Rep. Jim Jordan, the shirtsleeve Ohio congressloon, was picked by the GOP conference as their Speaker of the House nominee. Considering how many votes he needs to become Speaker, his victory over surprise challenger Georgia’s Rep. Austin Scott was anemic: 124-81. Apparently, Scott was too moderate for the majority of the seething GOP conference who prefer Jordan’s undisputed “bad boy” approach to Scott’s more backbench persona, even though he’s a consistent Trump enabler and wants a national ban on abortion, same-sex marriage, and democracy in general. Austin’s pretty crazy; Jordan’s clinically insane. On the issues there’s little crazy space between them. In the mental stability event, they’re a dead heat. Nonetheless, the GOP in the 118th Congress prefers demonstrable insanity and consistent firebrand.

How then to explain the 81 votes Scott won? As we’ve seen, it wasn’t about the crazy. Perhaps, though, those 81 pro Scott voters were desperately looking for someone who is not a future criminal defendant. Under House GOP rules, if Jordan were Speaker he’d have to step aside, thereby causing embarrassment all around. This is a GOP that has embarrassed itself at every turn, and for some who are only moderately deranged, enough is enough.

And, truly, Jordan is a risky Speaker’s choice. First, he might fall afoul of Jack Smith’s January 6th expedition. Second, he’s also involved – though not directly yet – in an ongoing class action civil lawsuit against Ohio State University for its alleged role in covering up sexual misconduct by a sports doctor. Members of the wrestling team allege they alerted then assistant coach Jordan of the doctor’s misconduct which they maintain Jordan did nothing to prevent or report. Some of the 296 athlete plaintiffs have settled with the university, but as for the wrestling team, Jordan remains a deposition subpoena candidate. As we’ve seen, he’s immoderately weak in communication skills; imagine the deposition: “I have no memories of the years in question due to my buzzing-in-my-head disability.”

As another option, was Scott’s loss due to his lack of possible civil or criminal liability? The obvious solution to this perceived disability would have been to vote, en masse, for Jordan. But 81 GOP kooks voted for him. Nonetheless, it’s a long settled fact that the GOP conference, has at least 81 members too addle-brained to recognize this. So it’s possible their nay vote on Scott was to punish him for lack of a respectable criminal or civil portfolio.

He needs to up his game to emerge as a party leader. Surely, he ought to speak with the oft indicted Congressloon George Santos who knows all manner of schemes that are criminal adventures both utterly insipid and easily discovered. He could also cross the aisle and take the much indicted Democratic Senator Bob Menendez to lunch; his crime spree might suggest some avenues for Scott to consider. Congressman Scott, there is still a path to Speaker of the House, go crazier and get yourself quickly indicted, and soon.

Congresscrook George Santos in Line to Chair House Financial Services Committee “If the Money is Right”

Michael Matheron1 Comment

“I Can Be Had, Retail, Not Wholesale”

Yes, I’d do it, but not for the money they pay me now. No way, Jose . . . .

Speaker Pro Tem Patrick McHenry is strongly considering Rep. George Santos to fill his Chairman’s slot on the House Financial Services Committee, according to various Santos spokespersons who requested anonymity. “This is part of a program initiated by Speaker Pro Tem McHenry to assist those GOP congresspersons who are actively being persecuted by the Johnson-Carter-Clinton-Obama-Biden weaponized Department of InJustice,” Santos spokespersons asserted.

Speaker Pro Tem McHenry himself angrily commented, “Such talk is absolute nonsense!” Nonetheless, reporters unanimously refused to believe him and chose to credit Santos spokespersons because, as an AP reporter put it,

“Santos has nothing to lose by telling the truth this time, he knows a rebound opportunity, and, frankly it makes sense, 118th Congress sense. Mr. Santos understands financial matters and has been credited with the most creative financial transactions in modern finance. Just read his indictment collection. Think Milken, Madoff, and Trump. Breathtaking.”

“He’s Utterly Likeable in a 118th Congress Way

“It’s true,” an anonymous McHenry staffer reluctantly admitted, “He even monetized a veteran’s sick dog! Something genius there. So pragmatic, especially when desperately needed and wanted money. He even used donors’ credit cards, with their implicit assent, to purchase the snazzy apparel he’s known for. My God, he made up out of whole cloth fake loans that somehow through financial legerdemain to eventually show up in his campaign coffers as actual spending money. God knows how he did it. All things considered, he may well be among the hallmarks of this Republican Congress. As hateful as he is, as despicable as he is, he’s got pizazz, and pizazz is money in the bank.”

Indicted on Bribery Charges, Democratic Senator Bob Menendez Enters Unusual Plea

Michael Matheron1 Comment

Yesterday, Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and his wife Nadine were indicted on three federal charges of accepting bribes. The bulk of these were to assist securing Egyptian foreign aid which, as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Menendez was well placed to influence. Gifts included cash, gold bars, payments towards a home mortgage and gifts from three New Jersey businessmen.

The senator wasted no time in seeking out reporters:

I haven’t got a clue . . . . . . . .

“These charges are a complete surprise. I categorically deny they are not a complete surprise. In fact, I plan to enter a plea today and I plead that I know nothing about all of this, you’ll have to ask my wife. She alone will know the facts. I have little to do with household matters.

For example, I hear that hundreds of thousands of cash dollars were found in our home. Well, I only wish I had known that. I could have used some of that. With the small weekly allowance Nadine provides I owe half the Senate lunch money and bus fares! Today I borrowed $15 for lunch from the cheapskate Rand Paul, of all people. Believe me, Nadine and I have a lot to discuss when I get home tonight, like where’d she meet all those Egyptians? I do wish her well, however, and will stand by her side all the way to sentencing. I’ll have more to say after she’s arrested. Thank you.”

In these days of rampant corruption it is refreshing to encounter complete transparency. Good luck, Senator Menendez!

Breaking: Trump Indicted Again, Will Join Senator Ted Cruz in Cancun, Mexico, Pronto

Michael Matheron2 Comments

Donald Trump was indicted for violations of three federal conspiracy laws, and for deprivation of citizens’ rights to have their votes honestly recorded and counted. Moreover, appearing among the charges was one of his favorite pastimes: obstruction of justice. (Indictment .pdf) This adds to his already impressive indictment collection, today’s indictment is number three. More to follow is likely, especially that indictment that’s been stewing in Georgia and all signs point toward September. Unprecedented in our history was his first indictment of a former president. Trump is an innovator, though, he wants to establish a record that no future president will overturn, even an energetic one.

But we can report tonight that he’s already in the sky, off to join Ted Cruz in Cancun. Ted, of course, has been in Mexico to avoid a martial arts challenge by Barbie who he criticized for having a controversial map of Asia in her blockbuster movie. This he called Chinese communist propaganda, thus the dust up, thus the skedaddle to Cancun. See our coverage. Trump, also facing a thumping by federal prosecutors, decided to join in, bringing his two daughters Ivanka and Mercedes who apparently were hungry for mind boggling 120 degree heat in Cancun.

Trump, through one of his last unindicted spokespersons, explained, “This so-called skedaddle was to please my two daughters who say it’s been a long-term dream for us three to spend time together. There is no time scheduled for our return, but we certainly will return for my inauguration in January 2025. So, as the Mexicans say, ‘sayonara’ until then.”

Ted Cruz had no comment primarily due to his refusal to come out of his hotel room.