gzt: That's a surprise. Presidents don't usually do pardons and commutations until the last few days of the presidency?

 

I'm as optimist.  Hopefully, the end is nigh - Trump is not a well man, mentally or physically.   😶

gzt: That's a surprise. Presidents don't usually do pardons and commutations until the last few days of the presidency?

The NY Times - Santos in His Own Words: Pleading for Mercy and Promising a Comeback

today

George Santos, the disgraced former congressman who was released from federal prison on Friday, has been a columnist for a Long Island paper ...

On July 29, Santos wrote his last column before heading to prison:
 

 

To my haters, I say: enjoy the silence. It won’t last. 
To my supporters: I carry your faith with me like armor. 
And to the rest of America: you haven’t seen the last of me.

 

This isn’t a goodbye. It’s an intermission.

 

On October 13, Santos asked the president for mercy :

 

Mr. President, I am not asking for sympathy. I am asking for fairness - for the chance to rebuild. I know I have made mistakes in my past. I have faced my share of consequences, and I take full responsibility for my actions. But no man, no matter his flaws, deserves to be lost in the system, forgotten and unseen, enduring punishment far beyond what justice requires.

 

Sir, I appeal to your sense of justice and humanity - the same qualities that have inspired millions of Americans to believe in you. I humbly ask that you consider the unusual pain and hardship of this environment and allow me the opportunity to return to my family, my friends, and my community. I want nothing more than to begin again - to contribute, to serve, and to rebuild my life from the ashes of my past.

 

Even if people can overlook his multitude of lies (some might say more than Trump bleats about on a daily basis), I think this guy's career in politics is basically finished.

quickymart:

 

Even if people can overlook his multitude of lies (some might say more than Trump bleats about on a daily basis), I think this guy's career in politics is basically finished.

 

Dream on. This guy has the survival skills of a cockroach.

Santos? He's not nearly as popular as Trump.

By commuting the least deserving Santos, 
Trump is sending a message to those he wants to break the law that he has the power to protect them. 

Especially important before midterms where he wants the kind of election process Putin has.

He also needs military and paramilitary to feel safe in cowering American people.

Prove he can protect you providing you do dictators will.

quickymart: Even if people can overlook his multitude of lies (some might say more than Trump bleats about on a daily basis), I think this guy's career in politics is basically finished.

That's a good point, maybe he has a cabinet position of some sort lined up for Santos.

I guess my point more was if he was in a situation where the public could vote for him (again), I think it's less likely he would win. But Trump giving him a job? That's probably more likely.

The Daily Beast - Prison Is Running Massive Ghislaine Maxwell Coverup for Trump

20 Oct 2025

Officials at the Bureau of Prisons have instituted a unique system for keeping absolutely every detail about Ghislaine Maxwell secret, a federal prison consultant revealed on the Daily Beast Podcast. ...

 

[Maxwell] was quietly transferred in August from a Federal Correctional Institution in Tallahassee, Florida, to a Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas, that is known for its comforts relative to other jails. ...

 

In September, Maxwell was spotted heading to yoga class.

 

The transfer came after Maxwell sat down for an hours-long interview with Trump-appointed Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, sending the rumor mill into overdrive about a possible deal struck with the administration.

 

The Washington Post - The 5-Minute Fix: Republicans’ effort to gerrymander North Carolina

today

Republican state senators in North Carolina* approved redrawing the state’s congressional map Tuesday in hopes of gaining another U.S. House seat ...

 

Under the state constitution Gov. Josh Stein (D) does not have the power to veto the measure, leaving Democrats with few options but to sue to try to stop the new map from taking effect.

 

Over the past two months, Republicans in Texas and Missouri redrew their maps at the behest of Trump, and other GOP-led states plan to follow suit soon.

 

*  North Carolina is already one of the most heavily gerrymandered states in the nation

The Independent - Melania Trump used as ‘window dressing’ in memecoin scam that caused millions in losses, lawsuit claims

22 Oct 2025

Two men behind a range of cryptocurrencies promoted by the likes of First Lady Melania Trump and Argentine President Javier Milei have been accused of engaging in fraud and exploiting “celebrity association and ‘borrowed fame’ to sell legitimacy to unsuspecting investors,” according to a new legal filing.

 

A federal class action lawsuit was brought against Benjamin Chow and Hayden Davis, co-founders of the crypto exchange Meteora and the venture capital firm Kelsier Labs, respectively ...

 

The latest version of the complaint, submitted to court on Tuesday, drags in the first lady, accusing Chow and Davis of pumping and dumping at least 15 crypto coins, one of which was $MELANIA.

 

The immediate response to the [$MELANIA] January launch was highly positive, with the coin's value increasing 12-fold to a peak of $1.6 billion, although it has reportedly since lost 95 percent* of its worth.

 

* Now priced at less than 10 cents:  😟

The grift never stops.

Reuters - King Charles strips brother Andrew of titles and his mansion

Summary

    Andrew stripped of all his royal titles
    King's brother forced out of his mansion
    Andrew faced growing scrutiny over ties to Epstein
    Charles made decision to protect monarchy

LONDON, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Britain's King Charles has stripped his younger brother Andrew of his title of prince and forced him out of his Windsor home, Buckingham Palace said on Thursday, seeking to distance the royals from him over his links to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. ...

 

Charles has now escalated his actions against Andrew by stripping him of all his titles, leaving him to be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.

 

The Buckingham Palace statement said a formal notice had now been served on Andrew to surrender the lease of his Royal Lodge mansion on the Windsor Estate, west of London, and he will move to alternative private accommodation on the Sandringham estate in eastern England.

 

This is an extraordinary punishment - unheard-of in the annals of the modern British royal family.

Randy Andy kaput.  😟