Questions Of The Day (Politics)

[Wile E. Coyote]

Trump really just needed to keep quiet. This happened in 1995 or 1996 so was outside of statue of limitations for a criminal case. His problems really stem from him being taped engaging in what he defended as locker-room talk about his previous behaviour

[Mick Harper]

It is not the courts' job to allow simple anti-Trump prejudice to allow people to prance out with tens of million of his dollars just because he's an arsehole. They say 'only in America' but here it's more a case of 'only in New York'.

[Wile E. Coyote]

Seems to Wiley that in most courts, if you are previously found to have defamed someone with damages awarded against you, then, if you go and do it again, then heavy punitive damages are always likely to follow........you are expected to respect the court's decision until your appeal is heard rather than just ignore it.

She has now been awarded eight times what she was originally asking, as he keeps doing it. So they keep upping his punishment. Not sure this is so different to anywhere else?

[Mick Harper]

You write as though she is the innocent in all this. Whatever happened thirty years ago it would be difficult to argue that, having waited all this time, she just wanted her day in court to exorcise her demons and excoriate her nemesis. She did it for the money, pure and simple. I don't blame her for that, a gal's gotta do what a gal's gotta do.

But don't ask me to accept eighty-three million is about right. If he'd chopped both her arms and legs off she wouldn't have got more.

[Grant]

Carroll can't remember the day, month or year that the rape happened. She clearly didn't tell any friends because they can't help her remember either.

In any other court, in any other country, the case would have been dismissed.

[Mick Harper]

I sometimes fantasise that something similar happens to me. I prolong as much as possible, but do not seriously contest, the case. The court will find against me and when it comes to the 'how much damages' stage I will point out that I haven't got a bean and the plaintiff will be stuck with all the legal bills.

[Wile E. Coyote]

Trump is going the way of Assange.

God-like figure to supporters. Love social media, publicity. Multiple affairs with women. Convinced that the courts and judges are against them. Never accept that they can be in the wrong. Do everything possible to politicise their cases, even when some complaints, eg rape, were not political. Convinced they are the victims of witchhunt. Do everthing possible to launch technical appeals. Multiple conspiracy theories.

Net result: both are now tied down in lengthy court cases that will last for ever.

If they had only stuck to the simple and obvious defences and respected the process, they would have done better. Alex Salmond being a case in point.

[Mick Harper]

[Wile E. Coyote]

Salmond was found not guilty on 12 charges, and not proven on one of sexual assault with intent to rape; one sexual assault charge was previously withdrawn by the Crown. As fas as Wiley can see he has now moved on.

Trump has been found liable for battery (not rape) and defamation, to the tune of $85 million dollars following a lawsuit. Assange never faced rape charges and they were finally dropped after he initially hid in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. However, he served 50 weeks in Belmarsh for breaching his original arrest warrant.

Clearly the trial, and avoidance of trial, tactics of each varied. The outcome does seem better for Salmond. None have been proven guilty of rape.

[Mick Harper]

OK, all fair enough. I was referring more to the stage of their respective careers:

* Salmond was semi-retired (or maybe was retired by the SNP).
* Assange was, arguably, on the cusp of great things and then threw it all away by either assaulting women or not contesting that he assaulted women.
* For Trump, it's all in a day's work.

Oddly, they were all successful in their strategies insofar as none of them served time for (probably) assaulting women.

[Mick Harper]

The DUP shocked and surprised me by agreeing to come back into government under the armalites of Sinn Fein. How remarkably thoughtful of them. I really didn't think they had it in them.

But what's this? It all depends on the British government agreeing to their demands about trading arrangements and passing the necessary legislation. Well, guys, you've been discussing this very subject for the last two years so what changed? Um... nothing. Don't watch this space.

[Mick Harper]

Kill her!

Gordon McBennett, Scottish Covid-sufferers are on the warpath against li'l missy Sturgeon. Never mind she had no discernible effect on Scottish Covid rates. Never mind if she had, we don't know whether it was for the better or the worse. They are even outraged because she didn't have a day off during the pandemic. "Nor did we," they yelped. "Kill her."

Anything else? Yes, she deleted WhatsApp messages. We were told over and over again that all government people were told over and over again to delete their WhatsApp messages because they were too insecure. "But make a record of the significant ones," they were told. "I made a record of the significant ones," Nicola said. "Kill her," everybody said.

Anything else? Crocodile tears. Um, not proven. Kill her anyway just to be on the safe side.

[Wile E. Coyote]

The one that amused Wiley was her need to purchase a £18.00 burner phone from Currys as the country was going into lockdown. Wiley would have done exactly the same, I just wouldn't have put it on my expenses........

[Mick Harper]

Am I missing something? They're clearing the schedules because Charles has (what sounds like) non-fatal cancer. Personally, I would have given it a coupla minutes at the end. Or even slapped an informal D-notice on for privacy purposes. Not that I'm particularly complaining. It's rather sweet.

[Mick Harper]

Cyril Ramaphosa has just delivered his annual State of the Nation address. "Getting worse," he said while the plate was being passed round the congregation.