SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

TRUMP SURVIVES – FROM POLITICO:   Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance has indicated he does not currently plan to charge the Trump Organization with crimes related to allegations of "hush money" payments and real estate value manipulations, according to a personal lawyer for Donald Trump.  Ronald Fischetti, a New York attorney who represents the former president, said on Monday that in a meeting last week, he asked Vance’s team for details on charges they were considering.  According to Fischetti, members of Vance’s team said they were considering bringing charges against the Trump Organization and its individual employees related to alleged failures to pay taxes on corporate benefits and perks. It has been widely reported that those perks included cars and apartments, and appear to only involve a small number of executives.  “We asked, ‘Is there anything else?’” Fischetti told POLITICO. “They said ‘No.’”  “It’s crazy that that’s all they had,” he added.  Another failed investigation of Donald Trump.  Once again the Treasury has been accessed to fund a probe that, if this report is accurate, will result in only slap-on-the-wrist charges against some people, if that.  No president has been as badly abused by the investigative process than  Mr. Trump.  He is owed an apology from someone, but will never get it.

MORE INSANITY – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:   White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Monday defended the “peaceful protest” of Olympic hammer thrower Gwen Berry, who on Saturday turned away from the US flag while the national anthem played and covered her head with her T-shirt that read, “Activist Athlete.”  Berry said she was “pissed” to hear “The Star-Spangled Banner” after winning a bronze medal at the US Olympic Track & Field Team Trials.  “I haven’t spoken to the president specifically about this, but I know he’s incredibly proud to be an American and has great respect for the anthem and all that it represents, especially for our men and women serving in uniform all around the world,” Psaki said at her daily press briefing.  Psaki added: “He would also say, of course, that part of that pride in our country means recognizing there are moments where we are — as a country, haven’t lived up to our highest ideals. And it means respecting the rights of people granted to them in the Constitution to peacefully protest.”  We're all for peaceful protest, but there is a right time and a right place. Olympic athletes are seen as representing the United States.  Engaging in a protest against the American flag while on the podium is selfish, mean-spirited, and self-indulgent.  Protest on your own time. 

June 28, 2021