Two imperiled cases of liberty presented . One, Trump faces consequences of ruining documents, the other as Ukraine could have its reactor destroyed
First off the block for discussion is how Donald Trump, is ONCE again, presenting himself as the VICTIM: I have ZERO sympathy for his upcoming travails. He did it to HIMSELF Whereas in the case of Ukraine, the loss of liberty, and possible death of 3 million people is due to RUSSIA attacking the largest nuclear reactor in Europe. For the record, the two situations are completely OPPOSITE
quote
While McCarthy may want to hold a public hearing of Garland and demand documents, what the Republicans might ultimately end up doing is drawing additional attention to what Trump stole or attempted to destroy.
"I think the thing that I found the most remarkable and I think it's really worth people really taking a step back, is this does mean the attorney general of the United States did not trust the former president to simply produce the documents voluntarily pursuant to a subpoena," said Weissmann. "And it was necessary to go via search warrant. Normally, you think that if you order a subpoena to any reputable person they will produce documents. When you issue and obtain a search warrant, it is because you do not trust that the person will actually produce the documents. That means if they had to have evidence of that that led Merrick Garland to take this step. It was bold but certainly approved by the courts."
end of quote'
This is how to speak the saddest tiny violin music I have ever heard.
** POINT IS THAT THIS LOSS OF LIBERTY IS DUE TO TRUMP REFUSING TO ACCEPT THAT THE RULES OF CONDUCT ALSO APPLY to HIM , Hear that tiny violin wail for DONNIE **
Compare that self made disaster with the disaster being forced on Ukraine by the Russian Federation as to the largest nuclear power plant in Europe
quote
Ukraine, which said?Russian shelling hit?the Soviet-era site Friday and Saturday, has called for the plant to be demilitarized.
The Russian attacks damaged several buildings, put one reactor offline and raised the threat of radiation leaks and fires, according to Energoatom, Ukraine’s national energy company.
The Russian Defense Ministry said it was Ukrainian artillery that hit the plant, damaging a high-voltage power line that served the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.
NBC News has not verified the claims of either side.
Either way, political figures around the world have warned of the higher threat of disaster, and 54,000 people were without power as a result of the shelling, Energoatom's head said Saturday.
end of quote
In the case of DONNIE, ONE person, HIMSELF would be , ahem inconvenienced due to his legendary whatever you want to call it: HE DID THIS TO HIMSELF and may lose his liberty due to it
In the case of Ukraine,
quote
Ukrainian lawmakers have?speculated?that as many as 3 million people could die and that 51 million more could be otherwise affected by radiation in a serious incident involving the Zaporizhzhia plant.
end of quote
In the case of Ukraine, up to 3 million dead, a loss of liberty and worse for up to 51 million people and all of it imposed from OUTSIDE
Keep in mind that any loss of LIBERTY on the part of Trump was done all by HIMSELF. It is created by HIM and not imposed.
quote
August 08, 2022
?????
Photos: Shutterstock
Former Justice Department prosecutor Andrew Weissmann, who worked on special counsel Robert Mueller's team, explained on MSNBC that if he was advising a client facing what former President Donald Trump is, there would be a strong warning.
"If I were Donald Trump's lawyer right now, thank God I'm not, I would be advising my client to be telling [their] family, 'I am looking at jail time, and we should make plans accordingly.'"
After House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) threatened Attorney General Merrick Garland, Weissmann said that he should just keep his head down and keep doing his job.
"That is such a palpably false statement, the comment from Mr. McCarthy that he is seen enough," said Weissmann. "One of the things that none of us has seen is the warrant, an application to the court. It's very important to remember this was not a break-in, this was not a raid, this was not the attorney general of the United States deciding willy-nilly on his own that he was going to do the search. A court had to approve the search here based on, as you point out Lawrence, evidence. The evidence had to show that there was probable cause of a crime. That is the way our judicial system works, and that is what happened here."
While McCarthy may want to hold a public hearing of Garland and demand documents, what the Republicans might ultimately end up doing is drawing additional attention to what Trump stole or attempted to destroy.
"I think the thing that I found the most remarkable and I think it's really worth people really taking a step back, is this does mean the attorney general of the United States did not trust the former president to simply produce the documents voluntarily pursuant to a subpoena," said Weissmann. "And it was necessary to go via search warrant. Normally, you think that if you order a subpoena to any reputable person they will produce documents. When you issue and obtain a search warrant, it is because you do not trust that the person will actually produce the documents. That means if they had to have evidence of that that led Merrick Garland to take this step. It was bold but certainly approved by the courts."
领英推荐
End of quote
Where Ukraine faces Russian deliberate destruction of its main nuclear reactor which would lead to massive loss of life and catastrophe
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russia-ukraine-war-nuclear-disaster-fears-zaporizhzhia-plant-rcna41959
Fears of nuclear catastrophe grow after attacks on power plant in Ukraine
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for international inspectors to be given access to the Russian-controlled site, saying, “Any attack to a nuclear plant is a suicidal thing.”
Aug. 8, 2022, 9:47 AM EDT?/?Updated?Aug. 8, 2022, 11:26 AM EDT
By?Patrick Smith?and?Josh Lederman
KYIV, Ukraine — The prospect of a?nuclear catastrophe?spurred growing international alarm Monday after?shelling hit a Russian-controlled power plant?in?Ukraine?that is?almost twice the size of Chernobyl.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for international inspectors to be given access to the sprawling nuclear site as fears of a disaster grew after the weekend strikes left the plant damaged but still operational.
“Any attack to a nuclear plant is a suicidal thing,” he said Monday in Tokyo after a ceremony in Hiroshima to commemorate the 77th anniversary of the world’s first atomic bombing.
Russia and Ukraine have traded accusations over who is responsible for attacks on the plant, which is the largest in Europe.
Ukraine, which said?Russian shelling hit?the Soviet-era site Friday and Saturday, has called for the plant to be demilitarized.
The Russian attacks damaged several buildings, put one reactor offline and raised the threat of radiation leaks and fires, according to Energoatom, Ukraine’s national energy company.
The Russian Defense Ministry said it was Ukrainian artillery that hit the plant, damaging a high-voltage power line that served the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.
NBC News has not verified the claims of either side.
Either way, political figures around the world have warned of the higher threat of disaster, and 54,000 people were without power as a result of the shelling, Energoatom's head said Saturday.
The plant is in Zaporizhzhia, an area of southeastern Ukraine that Russian forces seized in the early stages of the war and may now be?in the sights of a Ukrainian counteroffensive.
AUG. 7, 202201:52
Petro Kotin, the head of Energoatom, has called for Russian forces to withdraw and hand over control to a team of peacekeepers.
"What we need is for Russia to just release Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and make some type of no-military zone around it,"?he said Saturday, adding that while the plant was stable, radiation levels “could increase at any moment.” He warned that there was a?real risk of a “nuclear catastrophe” and a “radiation catastrophe” because huge amounts of spent nuclear material could be hit by rockets.
Energoatom alleged Monday that Russian forces had placed mines in the power plant and warned that further fighting could trigger a huge disaster.
The company cited Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s intelligence division, who told NBC News that Ukraine has evidence Russian forces mined the site. He said Ukrainian intelligence had been observing Russian soldiers transporting explosives and ammunition on the complex since the day they took it over.
Moscow has yet to respond to the accusation. NBC News has asked the Kremlin for a response.
Russia has denied shelling the plant, instead accusing Ukraine’s 44th Artillery Brigade of launching attacks from the nearby town of Marganets. Ukraine was responsible for “a new act of nuclear terrorism,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement, according to the state-owned RIA Novosti news agency.
The nuclear reactor complex was operating in "normal mode," Yevgeniy Balitsky, the Russian-installed head of the local administration, said Monday, according to the Russian news agency Interfax. Later, the Defense Ministry said the high-voltage line had been damaged, causing a power surge and forcing staff members to reduce output from two of the site's six reactors to "prevent disruption."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the shelling was “extremely dangerous” in his daily call with reporters Monday, adding, “We expect the countries that have absolute influence on the Ukrainian leadership to use this influence in order to rule out the continuation of such shelling.”
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week that he was "deeply concerned" by Russian forces’ takeover of the plant.
"There are credible reports," he said, "that Russia is using this plant as the equivalent of a human shield, but a nuclear shield in the sense that it’s firing on Ukrainians from around the plant, and of course the Ukrainians cannot and will not fire back lest there be a terrible accident involving a nuclear plant.”
Russian forces?seized the plant?in March, just over a week after the invasion began, but it is still run by its Ukrainian staff. Around 500 Russian soldiers and 50 military vehicles are at the plant, Energoatom said.
The 1986 disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant near the northern Ukrainian city of Pripyat is considered the worst on record. It required the evacuation of more than 100,000 people living within nearly 19 miles, and the resulting radiation was detected across Europe. Officially, fewer than 50 people died as a direct result of Chernobyl, a figure that scientists and environmental groups vigorously contest.
Ukrainian lawmakers have?speculated?that as many as 3 million people could die and that 51 million more could be otherwise affected by radiation in a serious incident involving the Zaporizhzhia plant.
Josh Lederman reported from Kyiv, and Patrick Smith reported from London.
end of quote
Andrew Beckwith, PhD