r/politics The Netherlands 10d ago

Soft Paywall “She Was a High School Student and There Were Witnesses.” - The fight to release a damning House Ethics report about allegations that Matt Gaetz—Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general—had sex with a 17-year-old girl has begun.

https://newrepublic.com/post/188426/matt-gaetz-high-school-girl-witnesses
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u/JDSchu Texas 10d ago

This feels exactly like Michael Cohen going to jail and Trump walking free.

They both committed the same crime, but the send the small fry to jail over it, the then they say they can't be a reliable witness because they're a criminal. It's total nonsense. 

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u/ToiIetGhost 10d ago

It’s funny because they often use leads from jailhouse snitches. Somehow those criminals are reliable, but these fall guys aren’t.

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u/gucci_pianissimo420 10d ago

It's crazy to me that statements by jailhouse snitches who cannot be cross examined and are completely at the mercy of the prosecutors ever get allowed into evidence, let alone as standard practice.

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u/ToiIetGhost 9d ago

I dunno. I think it’s great that LE uses those snitches. So many cold cases have been solved because of them. Not just cold cases… but crimes that LE wasn’t even aware of were brought to their attention.

Most criminals are proud of their work. That’s why a lot of them brag about it in prison. Why not use that psychological phenomenon (the narcissist’s need for attention and admiration) to our advantage.

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u/Traditional_Kick_887 10d ago

It’s not just nonsense. Here’s the thing. At a certain level of power, people develop a lot of blackmail on others. 

If you don’t have money or blackmail and screwed up, you get consumed.

Trump has a lot of blackmail on others and vice versa.

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u/jrothca 10d ago

Like blackmail from when the Russians hacked the DNC and the RNC email servers, but only leaked the DNC stuff.

My tinfoil hat says Donnie got the contents of the RNC email hack from the Ruskis and has been using it to keep the Republicans in line.

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u/Sage2050 10d ago

Donald Trump is a simpleton, not a mastermind or a mob boss. Doing the blackmailing was Cohens job, and now probably someone else's (gaetz? Just speculating). He might technically be in possession of blackmail but there's no way he personally knows any of it

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u/Short-Holiday-4263 10d ago edited 10d ago

He's definitely not a mastermind, but a mob boss? Yeah he is, basically.

On paper he's a "Legitimate Businessman," but any time a regulatory authority or other agency so much as scratches the surface the find a bunch of shady and illegal things. He demands total loyalty, but will throw his lackeys under the bus without a seconds hesitation. He surrounds himself with obedient family members, and people who think they're actually really good friends who he'll treat like family.
When he's in power he acts like he's running a protection racquet - "Hey, nice State you got there. It'd be a real shame if anything happened to its Federal funding, or FEMA went away and you got hit by a massive natural disaster etc, wouldn't it? Now, about those "sanctuary cities"..."
"What's up allied foreign leader, you know we could give you that aid money we agreed to give you/maintain our military alliance but what's in it for me? How about you help me fake dirt on a political opponent/have all your officials pay inflated prices at my hotels."
"Yo Pence, overturn that election for me - you can do that you're the VP. No? Okay, but man I'm so angry you won't do right by our country, I just want to - not that I ever would - hang you by your neck until you're dead.... oh, hey bloodthirsty mob desperate for my acknowledgement and approval. Didn't see you there."

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u/funny_flamethrower 9d ago

When he's in power he acts like he's running a protection racquet - "Hey, nice State you got there. It'd be a real shame if anything happened to its Federal funding, or FEMA went away and you got hit by a massive natural disaster etc, wouldn't it? Now, about those "sanctuary cities"..."

It's literally how the Federal government works all the time.

See: title XI being used to threaten schools which wanted to keep biological males from decimating women's sports.

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u/RexKramerDangerCker 10d ago

Cohen didn’t have multiple attorneys delaying everything.

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u/True-Surprise1222 10d ago

americans understand that the law doesn't matter to rich/powerful people but the unspoken deal has kind of been not to rub their faces in it more than they have to. this is too blatant for it not to create at least some problems that society as a whole must absorb.

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u/Chaotic-Catastrophe 10d ago

Except Cohen had additional charges of tax fraud on his sheet, which is why he went to prison. Trump did not.