Can the rule of law hold its ground in the face of political turmoil? This episode of A World Gone Mad plunges into the affirming verdict of Steve Bannon's contempt conviction, a pivotal moment that cements the legal clout of congressional subpoenas. As Jeff Alan Wolf, I don't just stop there; I also take to the skies with news of Boeing 747s morphing into doomsday planes, emblematic of our vigilance in the nuclear age. The battleground shifts to Ukraine, where President Zelensky's response to a Russian assassination plot intertwines with the lifeline of military aid in this fraught conflict. Engage with me, challenge me, and make your voice heard through Buzzsprout's real-time comment feature as I confront these critical issues.
Let's not mince words; justice delayed can be justice denied, and nothing highlights this more than the tortuous path of legal proceedings against Donald Trump. In My Commentary I scrutinize the delays of 3 trials, and the ONLY Trial the solitary hush money trial likely to proceed before the upcoming election. These setbacks in Florida, Georgia, and Washington raise hard questions about accountability and societal norms, especially the messages being sent to younger generations about the repercussions of misconduct. Listen in, as I, Jeff Alan Wolf, dissect these developments and their far-reaching implications for our democracy and collective conscience.
Can the rule of law hold its ground in the face of political turmoil? This episode of A World Gone Mad plunges into the affirming verdict of Steve Bannon's contempt conviction, a pivotal moment that cements the legal clout of congressional subpoenas. As Jeff Alan Wolf, I don't just stop there; I also take to the skies with news of Boeing 747s morphing into doomsday planes, emblematic of our vigilance in the nuclear age. The battleground shifts to Ukraine, where President Zelensky's response to a Russian assassination plot intertwines with the lifeline of military aid in this fraught conflict. Engage with me, challenge me, and make your voice heard through Buzzsprout's real-time comment feature as I confront these critical issues.
Let's not mince words; justice delayed can be justice denied, and nothing highlights this more than the tortuous path of legal proceedings against Donald Trump. In My Commentary I scrutinize the delays of 3 trials, and the ONLY Trial the solitary hush money trial likely to proceed before the upcoming election. These setbacks in Florida, Georgia, and Washington raise hard questions about accountability and societal norms, especially the messages being sent to younger generations about the repercussions of misconduct. Listen in, as I, Jeff Alan Wolf, dissect these developments and their far-reaching implications for our democracy and collective conscience.
AWorldGoneMadPodcast@gmail.com
Speaker 1:
There is chaos in the world, can't you see? And we need to stand up and preserve our democracy. This is a world gone mad . This is a world gone mad. Mad, mad, mad, mad. And a big hello to all the listeners out there. You're listening to A World Gone Mad. I'm your host, Jeff Alan Wolf. This have season one, episode 16.
Speaker 1:
And to let everyone who's new here know what I do is, I comment on the national and world news and politics, give my thoughts, insights. You can disagree with me, you can agree with me. That's fine, as long as it's not sleeping in the back row there, or crickets. So let's get right to it. You know this. I'm very happy about this piece of news that I read, saw, heard, etc. Very happy about this piece of news that I read, saw, heard, etc.
Speaker 1:
Is having to do with subpoenas, and I am so pissed off in the last year when subpoenas by Congress are totally given the thumbs up, nose to the. You know, thumb to the nose and a finger in the ear telling people go, screw yourself, we're not following your subpoena, and that's especially from the Republicans, when the Democrats have filed a subpoena against someone they wanted to talk with. Now I want to state clearly if the Republicans send a subpoena out, you better damn well follow a subpoena. A subpoena is an important legal instrument and it needs to be taken seriously. Well, this happened last week. A federal appeals court upheld the contempt of Congress conviction of Steve Bannon, the ex-advisor to former President Donald Trump, who was found guilty after failing to comply with a subpoena from the House January 6th committee. Remember Steve Bannon? Steve Bannon's theory is throw crap out there, something will stick muddy up, the media make up stories, etc. Okay, that's the Steve Bannon I'm talking about Now. Bannon's conviction, which was now the DC courts or circuits. Affirmation of that conviction is a boost to Congress leverage in its efforts going forward to obtain cooperation in its investigations. The US DC Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously rejected several challenges by Bannon that's what they do. They do several appeals and made to the case about him not having to show up, including his claim that the trial court excluded evidence he should have been allowed to put before the jury in his defense. Uh-uh, you gotta show up and you were denied. And the contempt of Congress conviction for defying January 6th subpoena stands. Thank you, subpoenas still hold some power.
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You ever flew through or into Asia? You once occupied while flying, one day may be the very place from where the United States nuclear weapons arsenal is controlled. Let me explain. And the reason is because five Boeing 747 passenger jets, once operated by the South Korean flag carrier Korean Air, have been purchased by the Sierra Nevada Corporation, now the contractor for the replacements for the US Air Force's current fleet of strategic command and control military aircraft, more commonly known as doomsday planes. These planes are known as the E-4B Night Watch.
Speaker 1:
The doomsday planes are basically designed to be command and control centers for the US military in the event of a national emergency that sees command facilities on the ground destroyed or incapacitated, such as in a nuclear war. Can you see the commercial for this? That's dark humor. Hey, fly our planes in case of disaster, you'll be safe above the fallout. Sorry, that's where my mind went. Anyways, they could become what answers, or rather amounts to a pentagon in the sky, taking aboard the US President, the Secretary of Defense, members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, among more than 100 other people. I wonder who those 100 people will be. Can you see the fight on that, with the ability to control US forces worldwide from the aircraft? According to an Air Force fact sheet on the E-4B and just to understand the significance of this. The Doomsday Planes are built to withstand the effects of an electromagnetic pulse, the burst of energy released by a nuclear explosion that can disrupt and permanently damage electrical components and entire systems within most critical infrastructure sectors and impact large-scale infrastructure. At least one doomsday plane is on alert 24-7 at a US military base somewhere in the world. The Air Force says Just want to let the listeners know that there's a new feature.
Speaker 1:
By the way, if you listen to my podcast through the Buzzsprout link that you either receive through me or someone else who saw it online right now, buzzsprout added this additional feature that during the show you could stop the podcast and comment immediately. So that's kind of cool. You don't have to go to an email, you don't have to go offline, et cetera. Whatever you know in front of your computer, write it down. So during the podcast, if you're using the Buzzsprout link, stop, look below. You'll see comment and you can leave a comment directly right there. I think it's kind of a cool feature. Hopefully you'll see comment and you can leave a comment directly right there. I think it's kind of a cool feature. Hopefully you'll use it. So Ukraine.
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Ukraine, we all know for those that are following, is in a very tenuous and devastating situation, with Putin running rampant all over. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky this past week dismissed the head of the agency responsible for his protection. Get this after two of its officers were detained over an alleged assassination plot against him. According to more information, it was basically surmised or found out through sources they don't go into details that this was a Russian plot to assassinate Zelensky. The two colonels in the UDO were accused of carrying out subversive activities against Ukraine in exchange for financial compensation. So terrible situation, president Zelensky's in waiting for the military weaponry that the bipartisan, finally the bill that was put through to get them weapons. So we're hoping that this could be resolved and moved forward where Ukraine can get an upper hand on Russia, because this is a dangerous situation not only for that country and the president, but for the world at large. Situation not only for that country and the president, but for the world at large.
Speaker 1:
And if that wasn't dangerous enough, as you know, israel if you're not following wants to go into Rafah and a major offensive into there. President Joe Biden's decision this week to make public his ultimatum that a major Israeli offensive in the city of Rafah would result in a shut-off of some US weapons did not come easily or lightly. It came after multiple rounds of phone calls with Prime Minister Netanyahu, starting in mid-February, urging him to reconsider his plans to invade the densely populated city in southern Gaza Hours and hours of back and forth meetings. This is another tenuous situation that could explode even worse. So, all over the world we got conflagrations going on and it does affect America. For those who don't think so, go more into it, read more details about it.
Speaker 1:
And finally, the two-ton elephant in the room. Let me recap a little on the hush money trial against Donald Trump that's ongoing the past couple of weeks and, if you remember, most analysts have stated that this is one of the weakest trials or cases they think against Donald Trump of the four pending against him. So what we know? They brought Stormy Daniels to the stand and the aide to Donald Trump to the stand and basically where we're at right now, going into this new week, it's entirely possible that the prosecution will rest by the end of this following week. That's what the attorney Steinglass says. He wants to bring in two more witnesses. One is Michael Cohn and the other remains to be named, could be another boring A to cross the T's and dot the I's. They don't know, they haven't stated. We're going to find out shortly.
Speaker 1:
A couple of quick takeaways from what I saw. The prosecuting attorney was told by the judge, judge Merton, that they need other people to not talk about the case either. In other words, donald Trump has a gag order on him and we're talking about Michael Cohen. Prosecutors told the judge they've repeatedly asked their witnesses not just Cohn to not talk about the case. And, of course, michael Cohn in the last couple of weeks back was seen wearing a T-shirt with Donald Trump behind bars. He talks to the media about the case. It's kind of like dude, stop talking, sit in the background on a pending case, otherwise you look just as bad as Donald doing the same thing.
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Another key takeaway Allen Weisselberg. Have you heard the name? If you have, you know. If not, he is the CFO of Donald Trump's organization or basically, was in charge of Donald Trump's organization. He's sitting in prison now on tax evasion. He's 76 years old and the question is why isn't he brought to the stand? He knows everything. He knows where the bodies are buried, so to speak.
Speaker 1:
Problem doesn't seem like the prosecution wants him to testify. He could be a hostile witness. I'll explain why the defense doesn't want him to come to the stand because he could hurt their client, donald Trump. The obvious reason why the defense doesn't want him to show up is because he has too much information to hurt Donald. The reason why the prosecutors don't want him to talk is because Weisselberg signed a non-disclosure agreement and he's going to get several million dollars from Trump as long as he doesn't disparage Trump or the Trump organization. In other words, shut your mouth and don't talk about me or say anything bad. Therefore, he's sitting in prison and he's not talking. He's not really cooperating with the government.
Speaker 1:
Now, if the prosecutors bring him to court, he could be a hostile witness. So here's what Judge Merchan suggested. He said bring Allen Weisselberg in to take the stand outside of the ears and eyes of the jury and see what he has to say. In other words, defense there, the judge there, prosecutors there, no jury. Bring him in. So that's remaining to find out which way this is going to go. This is very intriguing, and either he doesn't show up at all or they do a trial in front of the judge just to see how he leans.
Speaker 1:
He could plead the fifth. He could be pissed that he's sitting in prison, basically for Trump, like Michael Cohen was, and decide screw this, I'm going to take Donald on and tell everything I know we don't know. This remains to be seen this week. You'll hear this one day after. This podcast will be one day after the courtroom trial starts again. So keep an eyes and ears out on this one, guys. So where do we stand? The prosecutors said they're probably going to end their trial. They're going to rest this week.
Speaker 1:
Two more witnesses, the defense, all analysts are pointing at it. It looks like the defense's defense is the following they're leaning towards pinning this whole hush money trial on Michael Cohen and Weisselberg, claiming that Trump didn't know anything about this and it was their scheme, which is ridiculous because Donald micromanages money. So here's the other key, though the aide who is directly associated with Donald in the White House who a day or two before in her testimony, said Donald looked at everything, he was on top of everything, etc. Well, the defense attorney, susan Necklace, got her to basically say the opposite, which to me is very problematical and a big red flag. She changed her answers from the day before to sometimes Donald is distracted when he signs checks or is on the phone or people walking in the room. So that's creating reasonable doubt, which scares the crap out of me, that this is going to be a trial where Donald gets off. I think it's ridiculous, because Donald would not sign nine checks. I believe it's eight or nine. $130,000 each, $180,000 each, something like that. A ridiculous amount to Michael Conan. Not know what he's signing, we'll see, but that's where the defense is, that's where the prosecution is. On the hush money trial, john Dean from Watergate the famous Watergate trial basically stated two days ago that he thinks this is a very powerful case. That remains to be seen.
Speaker 1:
To me, I want to talk about two quick things before I take a short break. Don't forget, we have our Facebook group, a World Gone Mad Podcast A World Gone Mad Podcast. You can sign up to a rapidly growing group. We've only been around three weeks with this for the podcast and we already have a lot of members joining every day. Do that Also, don't forget, you can leave a comment if you're on the Buzzsprout app listening to the show. And when I come back, I'm going to give my commentary on why I think Trump's political fate likely won't just be decided by the courts at all. I'll explain more right after this short break.
Speaker 1:
This is A World Gone Mad. I'm Jeff Allen Wolf. Come right back, I'm not going anywhere. We'll go from there. You're listening to A World Gone Mad, thank you, and you could reach me by sending me an email, and the email is aworldgonemadpodcast. Aworldgonemadpodcast. At gmailcom. Leave your first name in the email, your age, your location, where you're listening to us, from what app, etc. And any comments you have. Also, don't forget to hit subscribe. That way I can let you know when the new episode goes online. It's automatic and it's free. Also, if you can review, rate, rank the show on the app you're listening from, that helps me tremendously. I thank you for listening, whether you just joined us for the first time or have been listening for a while, I appreciate that. And now back to the show. This is a world on fire. This is a world on fire and I am back. We have trouble, folks Right here in River City, with a capital T and that rhymes with P and that stands for political turmoil, with all the trials supposedly slated against Donald Trump.
Speaker 1:
Remember this huge wall of legal obstacles that stood between Donald Trump and his return to the White House. Well, it's looking like tiny little speed bumps. Prosecutors, with the four cases from Georgia to Florida, to Washington DC, are discovering that bringing these criminal charges against the former president is a lot easier than getting them actually to trial. Now, while these four cases have diverted Trump from the campaign trail and it's evident from his speeches that he does and his tweets it's prompted him to vote an even greater share of his mental energy to his courtroom. Adversaries, or perceived adversaries from his point of view. Adversaries or perceived adversaries from his point of view. However, the wave of prosecutions that seemed destined to deliver the kind of blow or accountability that Trump's investigators promised, that devastating blow to Trump's presidential prospects, that has kept his detractors going since the cases were announced with great fanfare over a five-month span last year. It doesn't seem to have any power anymore. It's like a whimper at this point, and that's because Trump has benefited enormously from a pileup of postponements.
Speaker 1:
After a pair of delays this past week Georgia and Florida the most likely scenario this year is that the only trial that Trump will face before the election, which is ongoing right now, is the Manhattan hush money case. That's it, which many lawyers view as the least serious of the four in terms of the severity of the alleged wrongdoing and the prospect of prison time. And if that comes to pass, well, that teaching moment that we were all hoping for for Donald Trump, a public airing of his gravest misdeeds that would convince some path or swath of Trump supporters to rule out supporting him. That's not going to happen. We're not getting you there at this point with the hush money trial.
Speaker 1:
Here's a quote from University of Baltimore law professor Kimberly Well, a former assistant US attorney. She basically stated I do think people had too high hopes for these cases to take the place of grassroots organization and self-education and voting rights and getting people to the polls and basically having a more fundamental and a real conversation about what we are facing now in under 200 days. I just thought courts were the last thing standing. You know this broader legal threat against Trump is vanishing as the former president is being forced to report to the New York City court for most weekdays for the hush money trial, that case in which he's accused of falsifying business records. You know that's huge people. That's historic in its own right a former president under indictment and facing a trial, and Manhattan prosecutors have framed the allegations as a form of election interference.
Speaker 1:
However, in the span of less than 24 hours this past week, trump's chances of facing any other trials in the next six months have diminished further. This past Tuesday evening, the Trump-appointed judge in Florida overseeing his prosecution on charges of hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate, obstructing the federal investigation into them, postponed that trial indefinitely, citing a slew of pending motions she didn't get to and special procedures related to handling of classified evidence in court. And then the next get-out-of-jail card for Donald. Well, this past Wednesday morning, the Georgia Court of Appeals agreed to take up the ex-president's bid to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis from proceeding with her case, charging Trump with leading a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 presidential election in that state. That move likely means months more delay in that case, where no trial date has been set for Trump or his 14 co-defendants.
Speaker 1:
But wait. Then comes the fourth and arguably most serious case against Donald Trump the federal charges in Washington for conspiring to derail the peaceful transfer of power to Joe Biden. That case had been scheduled to go to trial two months ago, but it, too, has been put on hold indefinitely. The Supreme Court froze the proceedings in the trial court by agreeing to hear Trump's appeal claiming presidential immunity. Oral arguments last month signaled that justices may order the trial judge, tanya Chutkan, to conduct a painstaking and time-consuming review of the charges and evidence before conducting any trial. A decision from the Supreme Court may not come until the end of this June. If the justices don't kill the case against Trump entirely, it may limp along as the lower courts wrestle with how to apply whatsoever any type of immunity the justices decide former presidents enjoy, and even if the case is ready to proceed to trial by late summer or fall, it's unclear whether Judge Chutkin and Obama appointee would contemplate holding a trial for Trump in the nation's capital at the height of the presidential campaign, while Trump is seeking to win back the White House.
Speaker 1:
One thing important to note this frustration with the slow pace of court action in all the Trump cases has prompted some liberal commentators to seize on the possibility that, with the clock running out before the election, judge Chutkan might hold a wide-ranging evidentiary hearing with witnesses who could publicly air Trump's varied efforts to append the 2020 election. The formal purpose of such a hearing would be for the judge to consider whether those efforts were related to his presidential duties or done in service of personal or political ends, but unfortunately for some critics, it might also be the only chance at public accountability before voters head to the polls. Former US Attorney Joyce Vance said on MSNBC. It delays the trial on the one hand, but on the other hand that could be the opportunity for some of the government's evidence, the meticulous work that special counsel Jack Smith did in front of the grand jury. That could soon become something that Americans are conversant with. We have an opportunity to see more of the evidence against Donald Trump. One would hope so.
Speaker 1:
While this mini hearing would air some of the details of what Trump was trying to do, it's not the same as an actual trial and personally for me, I can't speak for you, the listener, but hopefully you're feeling the same thing. I'm disgusted. I was hyped up not to see Donald put in prison or not put in prison. I was hyped up that any wrongdoing Donald committed would actually take place in a courtroom. With all of these four trials and as we stand now, we have three indefinitely on hold, one going on with the hush money trial, and who knows what impact that's going to have in the rest of this week. Even if he's found guilty or if he is, does he face any prison time?
Speaker 1:
I'm fearful and I'm concerned, and I'm fearful and I'm concerned and I'm upset that in this country, for me, right and wrong used to be so clear and we are now at the point where, with Donald, we can't get accountability. Or, as they say, the teaching moment to say you can't do that accountability. Or, as they say, the teaching moment to say you can't do that. And, what's even more disturbing, children, younger people see hey, this guy gets away with all of this stuff. Why do I have to pay taxes? Why do I have to listen to my parents? Why do I have to go to school? That may sound trite to you, the listener, but we're getting away from right and wrong. There's no gray area on certain things. Right and wrong is distinct. You cheat, you lie, you steal, you try to take away an election. You go to jail for that. You don't get treated special with iron fist and velvet gloves and go there. There, mr Donald, we're going to overlook certain things. You have to have some accountability. We used to have checks and balances and those checks and balances went by the wayside when subpoenas weren't being listened to from Congress. Okay, well, we have the courts. Courts are delaying trials Okay, well, we have the Supreme Court, well, delaying trials. Okay well, we have the Supreme Court. Well, the Supreme Court is voting on Donald's immunity plea whether presidents are immune. What the hell happened? Where are the checks and balances We've got.
Speaker 1:
One side of this country thinks this is funny. I'm on TikTok to promote my podcast. This is funny. I'm on TikTok to promote my podcast and I've got people attacking me and saying the stupidest things about liberals and Democrats and how we have no brains and they're going to vote for Trump and they're in love with Trump and Trump can do no wrong and Trump 24. And one quote for me that really got me on TikTok MAGA forever, donald Trump president. Forever. We've lost our way, people, and I don't see a way back. Not in my generation, maybe not in your children's lifetime.
Speaker 1:
Something needs to be done. There has to be a smoking gun, a legal smoking gun against Donald and there has to be trials against Donald and if he's guilty, put him away, if he's innocent, let him off. But to delay trials and say we're not even going to look at those trials and the Republican side supporting this person if this was Obama, if this was Carter, if this was any Democrat in the White House for me, I'd go no, no, no, no can't do that. You did these things wrong. I don't want you as my nominee for president.
Speaker 1:
But the Republicans don't do that. They can't take a stand and say this guy is wrong. We will not support him. They love this type of garbage and they want a dictator. And they don't get. They're going to lose their social security. They're going to lose the Department of Education. They're going to lose the Department of Environmental Protections, consumer advocacy. They don't get that. This man is not for them. This man doesn't have a rat's behind for you people who support Donald. He's in it for himself, he's in it to make money, he's in it to be empowered because it strokes his ego, and he's in it to stay out of prison.
Speaker 1:
And I'm concerned and I'm deeply worried that we're down to the voting in the 2024 election and I don't know how that's going to go. And people are sending me polls saying look at the polls, biden's ahead, hillary was supposed to be Donald, and look what happened. So I'm concerned, everyone, and I'm sorry. I don't want to be disillusioning or have a disillusionment in my mind and convey it to you, but I am deeply concerned concerned and I don't see a way out, and I see these MAGA supporters putting him in a power again and causing chaos in the world. Is that what we want, really?
Speaker 1:
So I put a question to you, the listeners do you care? Does this bother you? Or are you just going to listen to the podcast and go? Yeah, let's go out and vote and go to the rallies and rah, rah, rah and siss, boom bah. Do you care? Why don't you let me know how much do you care? Does anything bother you about what's going on? That's my question to you. Do you care? You have an email to reach me. You have a phone number to reach me. If you're using the Buzzsprout app, you can leave a comment, and we have a Facebook group, a World Gone Mad Podcast on Facebook. Join, become a part of a movement that's growing. I'd like to hear from you. I really would love to hear from you. I'm going to be back next week with another episode. I'm your host, jeff Allen Wolfe, and until next week, stay hopeful. There is chaos in the world, can't you see? And we need to stand up and preserve our democracy. This is a world gone mad. This is a world gone mad, mad, mad, mad.