Today is Wednesday, January 19, 2022. As you might have gathered, this space was empty last night. I certainly didn’t foretell that a computer specialist would be working over my computer to make sure that a virus protection program was properly installed after my unfortunate encounter with a loaded message sent to me on Sunday by a friend who “tagged” me in a picture produced some bizarre changes in my iMac. Instead of being tagged in a picture, I was tagged for a virus, it seems. So this person who was recommended by my cat sitter, “Laurie,” came to our house before 6 and stayed until about 10:40 p.m. He did not resolve the problem with the software provided by McAfee since everyone had gone home when we called them after 9. Don’t ask me what he did after that time. Elliot took refuge in the bedroom while I stayed with the specialist, “Emanuel.” Elliot came out of the bedroom eventually and offered Emanuel a cup of black coffee. When Emanuel left, he promised to return today. He said he would call the technicians at McAfee today and outline the situation for them.

After Emanuel left, I was so wired that I stayed up until about 3 a.m. I also tackled the virus application once more and clicked on some screens, and voila, I got the “Risk” screen to disappear from the McAfee home screen. I exulted over the issue being finally resolved. I couldn’t tell you what I did to get the program to work, however – but I know I did something right. I aimed to call Emanuel sometime on Wednesday with the exciting news.

Even though Emanuel did return today, he spent only less than an hour reviewing the program situation. Elliot provided another cup of black coffee for him to drink. By around 6:20, he was out the door. We did call the customer service number at McAfee once more and the woman at the other end mentioned that they have my computer registered and that the program I successfully downloaded is a legitimate one. Emanuel turned on a “full scan” procedure and I left it on after he departed.

Enough of my computer woes. So the big news today is the Supreme Court’s rejection of the Orange Menace’s baseless claim to assert executive privilege to block the House Select Committee investigating his insurrection on January 6 from accessing a trove of records created by Dumpf’s White House. So it would look as if the jig is up for the former “president.” This man has been trying to block the committee from getting his files since the deadly date of January 6. But now, he’s run out of options – finally. He must give up these records to the committee posthaste.

This breaking news is covered in an online Politico article by Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney in “Supreme Court rejects Trump’s bid to shield records from Jan. 6 committee.”

This “ruling opens up a trove of documents to congressional investigators who have sought them to determine Dumpf’s actions and mindset in the weeks leading up to the January 6 attack, as well as what he did as his supporters were rioting at the Capitol.”

Among the documents sought by the committee are speech drafts, call and visitor logs, handwritten notes, and other files previously kept by senior Dumpf aides like Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, adviser Stephen Miller, Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, and White House Associate Counsel Patrick Philbin.

The former president had attempted to block access to more than 750 records that the National Archives, which house the former president’s records, determined were relevant to the January 6 committee’s inquiry.

The only Supreme Court justice that disagreed with the ruling was Clarence Thomas, unsurprisingly. The ruling was 8 to 1.

In hailing the ruling, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), who is the chair of the January 6 committee, and vice chair Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), said tonight that the Dumpf’s records are actually being given over to the panel right now. This could result in Dumpf going stark white in fear!

Thompson said, “The Supreme Court’s actions tonight is a victory for the rule of law and American democracy. The Select Committee has already begun to receive records that the former President had hoped to keep hidden and we look forward to additional productions regarding this important information.” I believe this ruling is a major victory for the American people since maybe very soon we will know what really led to that day’s events.

In another blow to the former demagogue, the New York Attorney General Letitia James has uncovered “significant evidence” of fraud within the Trump Organization. Two strikes against the blowhard! James also asked a court late last night to compel Donald Trump, Donald Trump, Jr., and Ivanka Trump to testify under oath, saying that her office’s investigation has uncovered such massive fraud in his sprawling empire.

This second piece of bad news for the former president is contained in a Daily Beast online article written by Jose Pagliery, Pilar Melendez, Blake Montgomery, and Harry Siegel in “New York Attorney General: ‘Significant Evidence’ of Trump Organization Fraud.”

According to James, some of those fraudulent actions included misleading asset valuations on multiple properties to obtain economic benefits, including loans, insurance coverage, and tax deductions conducted over a span of many years. Heck, we heard about this in 2019 during testimony that Dumpf’s consigliere Michael Cohen gave to Congress. During his explosive testimony, Cohen said Dumpf’s annual financial claims inflated the values of the former president’s assets in order to obtain favorable loans and insurance coverage – while also deflating the value of some of his other assets to lower real estate taxes owed. Could you imagine if any of us ever did this on our financial forms? We would be hoisted into prison lickety-split. Why should someone like Dumpf not be subject to the same laws like everyone is purportedly subjected to? It’s just ain’t fair.

The only Dumpf to testify in the ongoing case was son Eric Trump who invoked the Fifth Amendment “repeatedly” to avoid testifying as to the valuations of multiple Trump Organization properties. Like he had anything to hide!

One of those inflated assets even included the Orange One’s actual apartment in Trump Tower which was valued at $327 million by his company, “based on the apartment having 30,000 square feet of space multiplied by a certain price per square foot.” But in 2017, the apartment shrank to its actual size of just over 10,000 square feet (oh, poor Donald!) and its valuation decreased commensurately to $116.8 million. When asked about this discrepancy, Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg, who has been indicted last summer on tax fraud charges, conceded that this amounted to a $200 million overstatement, “give or take.”

Oh, the legitimate President gave a two-hour press conference today on the anniversary of his first year in office. He parried questions from the sublime to the ridiculous, as this one from a quack questioner from the conservative news outlet Newsmax, who asked what Biden would say to the many Americans who question his cognitive ability. Biden shredded the correspondent’s query with a curt answer befitting the disgraceful nature of the question. At one point, Biden revealed his stupefaction over how repugnicans have lined up in opposition to all of his legislative agenda.

Anyway, it’s getting late here. Also, the night ended badly for democracy as the Senate voted not to change our filibuster rules. The vote was 48 yes to 52 nay. As expected, those Democratic traitors, Sinema and Manchin, voted alongside their repugnican colleagues, to keep the filibuster. What’s the next step?

Stay safe and be well.