What does a TRUMP presidency look like?

[The Minsky Moment]

It's the old pull the pin on the hand grenade in the enclosed room negotiation trick.



Sometimes it seems like Trump read something about the madman theory of international politics and decided to improvise around it, without really understanding how it is supposed to work.  Of course, that isn't really possible.  Everyone knows Trump doesn't read.

[Zoupa]

Luigi Mangione infamously did it and it was heavily reported at the time, in a high profile and heavily reported story.  So people are probably copycatting that.

It says something about this latest generation of nutball assassins.  It used to be the trendy thing to do was leave a ranting manifesto.  But writing skills are so far down in the US that words and memes on casings are now the rage.

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/luigi-mangione-backpack-searched-without-warrant-1235480076/

'It's F-cking Him, One Hundred Percent,' Cop Said After Finding Bullets in Luigi Mangione's Backpack
At a suppression hearing about evidence found in Mangione's backpack during his McDonald's arrest, officers testified about searching his belongings without a warrant

By Lorena O'Neil

December 9, 2025

Tuesday, Dec. 9, marked one year after Luigi Mangione's 2024 arrest at an Altoona, Pennsylvania, McDonald's, and the defendant spent the day in New York State Supreme Court for his pretrial suppression hearings.

Mangione was initially arrested on charges of providing a fake New Jersey ID to police and having a 3D-printed gun and silencer without a permit. A McDonald's manager called 911 after a customer said they suspected Mangione of looking like the man who shot United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. (Mangione has pleaded not guilty to all charges.)

Mangione's defense team is claiming that the Altoona police violated his constitutional rights by illegally searching his backpack during his arrest and not reading him his Miranda rights early enough in the interrogation process. His attorneys hope to suppress evidence seized as well as comments Mangione made prior to his arrest, preventing it from being admitted into trial. On Tuesday, the fifth day of the suppression hearings, the court watched body-worn camera footage from Altoona police from the day of Mangione's arrest.

Officer Christy Wasser testified this week about her search of Mangione's backpack last December. (The court also heard from a Pennsylvania district attorney.) Wasser said she was afraid there was a bomb in Mangione's backpack, which is part of the reason she searched it. Wasser also said Altoona PD policy allows police to search property for "search incident to arrest."

Mangione's backpack was searched without a warrant, according to testimony.
manhattan district attorney's office
Body-worn camera footage from McDonald's shows Mangione being searched by three police officers while Wasser and Officer Stephen Fox go through his backpack nearby. Wasser testified she found "wet, grey underwear" and that when she unrolled the Hanes boxer briefs, inside was a gun magazine full of bullets. In the footage, she holds up the magazine and smiles. "It's fucking him, one hundred percent," Fox says. "It's fucking him."

The officers briefly continued searching Mangione's backpack — Fox testified that he was also concerned about explosives in the bag — before packing it up and heading toward the door. (Lead defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo later asked Wasser why she didn't clear the restaurant if she was worried about an explosive. Wasser responded that she would have if they'd found a bomb.) Police officers and supervisors got into a discussion at the door about whether or not they needed a search warrant to continue searching the bag. A few officers can be heard saying that because they know about the United Healthcare shooting, they should wait and let the FBI "do their thing," while Fox and other officers say that they can search it based on Altoona's "search incident to arrest" policy.

On the body-worn camera footage, Fox is shown placing a large McDonald's bag full of evidence, including Mangione's laptop, into the trunk of his SUV. Wasser takes the backpack with her. However, when Wasser gets to the Altoona precinct, 11 minutes after leaving the McDonald's, she has both the brown fast-food bag and the backpack.

Wasser testified that Fox was called back to the McDonald's, so she and Fox pulled over on the way to the precinct so he could give her the bag. She did not have her body-worn camera on after she left McDonald's until she parked at the precinct, nor did she have the camera on her police vehicle on. Fox turned off his body-worn camera when leaving the McDonald's, as well — he said the camera is not typically activated when he transports evidence or drives without a prisoner.

During cross-examination, Friedman Agnifilo accused Wasser of searching the backpack when they stopped on the side of the road. She asked whether Wasser opened it on camera to find the gun on the top of the bag because she'd already known it was there. Wasser repeatedly said this was "not accurate." Fox testified that the exchange took about 10 seconds, and at no time did anyone search the backpack.

Camera footage also entered into evidence included Wasser's search of the backpack at the Altoona precinct. She moves the backpack to the hallway outside of Mangione's view after she is seen finding the gun. Wasser is shown going through the backpack with other police officers as they try to determine what would be helpful "evidentiary information" for the New York City case.

Throughout the day, prosecutor Joel Seidemann referred to Thompson's murder as an "execution" and the red notebook found in Mangione's backpack as a "manifesto," which the defense repeatedly objected to. Another objection from Friedman Agnifilo came when the prosecution entered a handwritten paper into evidence and said that on the front and back were notes of Mangione's "possible escape routes."

The handwritten notes included a Dec. 5 checklist with to-do items including "change hat," "buy black shoes (white stripes too distinctive)," and "pluck eyebrows." Thompson was killed on Dec. 4. On the back of this paper, there was a note to check Pittsburgh red-eyes, ideally to Columbus or [Cincinnati] with a reminder to "get off early."

"Keep momentum, FBI slower overnight," reads the note. It also reads, "Check reports for current situation." On the bottom of the note are hand-drawn maps of Pennsylvania and Ohio with cities marked on them.

When Fox took the stand, he, like the previous police officers, said he'd received information about the UHC shooting from watching Fox News. Fox characterized Thompson's death as both a "violent act of cowardice that targeted a defenseless human being" and a "clear, targeted assassination of an individual in the hierarchy of health care."

Friedman Agnifilo later pointed out to Fox that he spoke extremely rapidly while reading Mangione his Miranda rights — "Would it surprise you that you said 98 words in 15 seconds?" — and said he did not end by asking Mangione, "Keeping all these rights in mind, do you wish to speak with me?"

"Instead, what you did is you assured him that he wasn't in custody," said Friedman Agnifilo. "The reason you did that is because you thought he had a better chance of getting him to say something to you, isn't it?" Fox responded that wasn't true. On camera, Mangione shakes his head no when asked if he wants to talk to police, but Fox claimed he "didn't take his little head shake there as a no" which is why he asked Mangione why he had a fake ID. At this point, Mangione states he is invoking his right to remain silent. Soon after, he is frisked and cuffed.

While testifying, Fox claimed that when he escorted Mangione out of his Pennsylvania arraignment, Mangione looked at all of the press and public at the hearing and said, "All these people here for a mass murderer, wild."

It was unclear who Fox was claiming Mangione called a mass murderer. The comments Mangione made were not shown on any camera footage and were based solely on Fox's testimony. The defense asked Fox why these alleged comments weren't caught on his body-worn camera from that day. Fox said his camera had died by the time that happened, as it was late at night following Mangione's arraignment. (There were other pieces of his conversation with Mangione that were recorded, including the suspect expressing concern for the McDonald's employee who called 911.)

Fox testified that during the non-recorded part of the conversation, Mangione tripped and Fox apologized for forgetting he was shackled on his ankles. He says Mangione responded, "It's OK, I'm going to have to get used to it."

Question for the lawyers about the part I bolded: doesn't that screw up the chain of custody for evidence?

[Razgovory]

What the fuck is going on.

Daily show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5QGzYFjVaU

[Josquius]

Question for the lawyers about the part I bolded: doesn't that screw up the chain of custody for evidence?

The searching without a warrant part too.

Though these days  rules don't matter anymore do they.

[HisMajestyBOB]

Depends on if you think this Supreme Court will uphold legal precedent.

[grumbler]

Do the police need to have a search warrant under those circumstances (searching possessions incident to an arrest)?

[crazy canuck]

Luigi Mangione infamously did it and it was heavily reported at the time, in a high profile and heavily reported story.  So people are probably copycatting that.

It says something about this latest generation of nutball assassins.  It used to be the trendy thing to do was leave a ranting manifesto.  But writing skills are so far down in the US that words and memes on casings are now the rage.

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/luigi-mangione-backpack-searched-without-warrant-1235480076/

'It's F-cking Him, One Hundred Percent,' Cop Said After Finding Bullets in Luigi Mangione's Backpack
At a suppression hearing about evidence found in Mangione's backpack during his McDonald's arrest, officers testified about searching his belongings without a warrant

By Lorena O'Neil

December 9, 2025

Tuesday, Dec. 9, marked one year after Luigi Mangione's 2024 arrest at an Altoona, Pennsylvania, McDonald's, and the defendant spent the day in New York State Supreme Court for his pretrial suppression hearings.

Mangione was initially arrested on charges of providing a fake New Jersey ID to police and having a 3D-printed gun and silencer without a permit. A McDonald's manager called 911 after a customer said they suspected Mangione of looking like the man who shot United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. (Mangione has pleaded not guilty to all charges.)

Mangione's defense team is claiming that the Altoona police violated his constitutional rights by illegally searching his backpack during his arrest and not reading him his Miranda rights early enough in the interrogation process. His attorneys hope to suppress evidence seized as well as comments Mangione made prior to his arrest, preventing it from being admitted into trial. On Tuesday, the fifth day of the suppression hearings, the court watched body-worn camera footage from Altoona police from the day of Mangione's arrest.

Officer Christy Wasser testified this week about her search of Mangione's backpack last December. (The court also heard from a Pennsylvania district attorney.) Wasser said she was afraid there was a bomb in Mangione's backpack, which is part of the reason she searched it. Wasser also said Altoona PD policy allows police to search property for "search incident to arrest."

Mangione's backpack was searched without a warrant, according to testimony.
manhattan district attorney's office
Body-worn camera footage from McDonald's shows Mangione being searched by three police officers while Wasser and Officer Stephen Fox go through his backpack nearby. Wasser testified she found "wet, grey underwear" and that when she unrolled the Hanes boxer briefs, inside was a gun magazine full of bullets. In the footage, she holds up the magazine and smiles. "It's fucking him, one hundred percent," Fox says. "It's fucking him."

The officers briefly continued searching Mangione's backpack — Fox testified that he was also concerned about explosives in the bag — before packing it up and heading toward the door. (Lead defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo later asked Wasser why she didn't clear the restaurant if she was worried about an explosive. Wasser responded that she would have if they'd found a bomb.) Police officers and supervisors got into a discussion at the door about whether or not they needed a search warrant to continue searching the bag. A few officers can be heard saying that because they know about the United Healthcare shooting, they should wait and let the FBI "do their thing," while Fox and other officers say that they can search it based on Altoona's "search incident to arrest" policy.

On the body-worn camera footage, Fox is shown placing a large McDonald's bag full of evidence, including Mangione's laptop, into the trunk of his SUV. Wasser takes the backpack with her. However, when Wasser gets to the Altoona precinct, 11 minutes after leaving the McDonald's, she has both the brown fast-food bag and the backpack.

Wasser testified that Fox was called back to the McDonald's, so she and Fox pulled over on the way to the precinct so he could give her the bag. She did not have her body-worn camera on after she left McDonald's until she parked at the precinct, nor did she have the camera on her police vehicle on. Fox turned off his body-worn camera when leaving the McDonald's, as well — he said the camera is not typically activated when he transports evidence or drives without a prisoner.

During cross-examination, Friedman Agnifilo accused Wasser of searching the backpack when they stopped on the side of the road. She asked whether Wasser opened it on camera to find the gun on the top of the bag because she'd already known it was there. Wasser repeatedly said this was "not accurate." Fox testified that the exchange took about 10 seconds, and at no time did anyone search the backpack.

Camera footage also entered into evidence included Wasser's search of the backpack at the Altoona precinct. She moves the backpack to the hallway outside of Mangione's view after she is seen finding the gun. Wasser is shown going through the backpack with other police officers as they try to determine what would be helpful "evidentiary information" for the New York City case.

Throughout the day, prosecutor Joel Seidemann referred to Thompson's murder as an "execution" and the red notebook found in Mangione's backpack as a "manifesto," which the defense repeatedly objected to. Another objection from Friedman Agnifilo came when the prosecution entered a handwritten paper into evidence and said that on the front and back were notes of Mangione's "possible escape routes."

The handwritten notes included a Dec. 5 checklist with to-do items including "change hat," "buy black shoes (white stripes too distinctive)," and "pluck eyebrows." Thompson was killed on Dec. 4. On the back of this paper, there was a note to check Pittsburgh red-eyes, ideally to Columbus or [Cincinnati] with a reminder to "get off early."

"Keep momentum, FBI slower overnight," reads the note. It also reads, "Check reports for current situation." On the bottom of the note are hand-drawn maps of Pennsylvania and Ohio with cities marked on them.

When Fox took the stand, he, like the previous police officers, said he'd received information about the UHC shooting from watching Fox News. Fox characterized Thompson's death as both a "violent act of cowardice that targeted a defenseless human being" and a "clear, targeted assassination of an individual in the hierarchy of health care."

Friedman Agnifilo later pointed out to Fox that he spoke extremely rapidly while reading Mangione his Miranda rights — "Would it surprise you that you said 98 words in 15 seconds?" — and said he did not end by asking Mangione, "Keeping all these rights in mind, do you wish to speak with me?"

"Instead, what you did is you assured him that he wasn't in custody," said Friedman Agnifilo. "The reason you did that is because you thought he had a better chance of getting him to say something to you, isn't it?" Fox responded that wasn't true. On camera, Mangione shakes his head no when asked if he wants to talk to police, but Fox claimed he "didn't take his little head shake there as a no" which is why he asked Mangione why he had a fake ID. At this point, Mangione states he is invoking his right to remain silent. Soon after, he is frisked and cuffed.

While testifying, Fox claimed that when he escorted Mangione out of his Pennsylvania arraignment, Mangione looked at all of the press and public at the hearing and said, "All these people here for a mass murderer, wild."

It was unclear who Fox was claiming Mangione called a mass murderer. The comments Mangione made were not shown on any camera footage and were based solely on Fox's testimony. The defense asked Fox why these alleged comments weren't caught on his body-worn camera from that day. Fox said his camera had died by the time that happened, as it was late at night following Mangione's arraignment. (There were other pieces of his conversation with Mangione that were recorded, including the suspect expressing concern for the McDonald's employee who called 911.)

Fox testified that during the non-recorded part of the conversation, Mangione tripped and Fox apologized for forgetting he was shackled on his ankles. He says Mangione responded, "It's OK, I'm going to have to get used to it."

Question for the lawyers about the part I bolded: doesn't that screw up the chain of custody for evidence?

I'm not sure why it would. The issue seems to be what happened while it was passing through the chain of custody.

[The Minsky Moment]

There appears to be a continuous chain of custody.  The concept existed well before there was regular use of body cameras.

[crazy canuck]

A senator describing the impact Trump's trade war with Canada is having on Washington State.

Our American friends here will be happy to know that my younger son went to Buffalo to watch the football game on the weekend with a group of friends, and they warmly welcomed by the Buffalo fans sitting by them in the stands.

There were many apologies for the "Cheeto in Chief"

[OttoVonBismarck]

Posted by DoD. Interesting flag on the helmet there. Gilead is closer by the day.

The fact that there are still American Jews supporting Trump is powerful evidence falsifying the stereotype of Jewish intellectual achievement.

There isn't much choice. You can support the "West" which wants to destroy Israel and all Jews and promote Islamism and slavery for all Christians and Jews alike, or you can support a dumb as fuck tyrannical idiot who halfway wants to push back on that, undermined by how he corruptly loves a bunch of Muslim oil sheikhs. It's not exactly a good situation for anyone other than people who want to see Islam come to dominate the world.

[Josquius]

Posted by DoD. Interesting flag on the helmet there. Gilead is closer by the day.

The fact that there are still American Jews supporting Trump is powerful evidence falsifying the stereotype of Jewish intellectual achievement.

There isn't much choice. You can support the "West" which wants to destroy Israel and all Jews and promote Islamism and slavery for all Christians and Jews alike, or you can support a dumb as fuck tyrannical idiot who halfway wants to push back on that, undermined by how he corruptly loves a bunch of Muslim oil sheikhs. It's not exactly a good situation for anyone other than people who want to see Islam come to dominate the world.

The west wants to destroy all Jews? Since when?
Even destroy Israel.... A bit of a ridiculous over reaction to the actual position most are taking of "Israel... You know we support you but.... Could you maybe tone down the genocide a smidge?"

[HVC]

See raz, this is what happens when you spend too much time on Facebook