Dear John

Dear John,             Tuesday, 8th October, 2024 

It is always splendid to receive an email from you, old fellow. When I was teaching at the British School of Bucharest, I used to get twenty or thirty emails every morning. It used to drive me mad! “Oh Lord, deliver us from email…”

As I think I may have mentioned to you, Peter and I have made a bet that Trump will go to jail as a result of the hush money case. Now I am not sure that I really understand how the American criminal justice system works. My guess is that if the Police think that someone has done something a bit naughty, then that person is charged and put on trial. After the trial is over and the defendant has been found guilty, then of course he or she can appeal to a higher court. However, in order for the higher court to take up the appeal, then there has to be some grounds for appeal court to consider, such as new evidence that was not available at the time of the trial or misconduct on the part of the trial judge.

Trump has already been found guilty twice, of libel and defamation (in the E. Jean Carroll case) and then in the falsification of business records in the New York hush money case. That was the one involving the porn star Stormy Daniels. In both cases, the evidence of Trump's guilty was overwhelming, so it looks as though his appeals have no chance of being successful.

In the much more serious election subversion case, the Supreme Court (which is packed with Republican judges) threw a spanner in the works by ruling that a President of the United States of America has immunity for "official acts". Although this has delayed the case, it has not completely derailed it. Election subversion is really treason. In many countries, the crime of treason carries the death penalty, never mind a spell in jail! Anyway, Jack Smith, the special prosecutor, has re-worked the indictment, so that it cuts out any "official acts" nonsense. Trying to start a coup or a revolution against the government cannot be considered an "official act"!  

I reckon that Judge Merchan will hand down the sentence in the hush money case, as soon as the election is over and Trump has lost. If Trump wins the election, then of course he could order the Department of Justice to stop the federal cases against him. However, a president does not have the authority to stop court cases in individual states, so in theory he could still be locked up! But will Merchan put Trump behind bars? Yes, he probably will because Trump did not just do it once. He did it thirty-four times! These crimes show a level of pride, arrogance and a contempt for the Law that must deserve a jail sentence.

I reckon that Kamala will win the American Presidential election. This J.D. Vance character is very slick and crafty, but you just cannot trust anything he says. Tim Walz comes over as a genuine and likeable person. 

I am sending you a more readable version of the Daily Mail article. It has already been reprinted here in Bulgaria. Even though it has my name on it, I did not actually write it. It was based on a long conversation over the Internet and some pieces from my blog. I have suggested to Katrina, the freelance journalist who cobbled it together, that she should try to sell the article to any and every publication that might print it. Before she does that, however, she ought to tidy it up a bit, as there are quite a few mistakes in it. 

For a start, there is a photo of a house and it is supposed to be our house, but it isn't our house at all! It belongs to a lady called Wendy. Yes, it is true that there is some good skiing here in Bulgaria and they had the Winter Olympics here about twenty years ago. However, I myself have ever been skiing and the article says that I have. My dear wife described skiing as an expensive way to break your leg! I thought that was quite a good description, rather like the one I heard about ocean yachting: “Tearing up twenty pound notes in a cold shower”!

I find it a bit strange that such a song-and-dance is being made about the winter fuel payments for pensioners, as I do not recall anyone making a fuss when the retirement age was put up to 66. I am sure that soon the retirement age will soon be going up to 67 and then 68! While I must confess that I had high hopes for the new Labour government, Starmer and his friends do not seem to have got off to a good start. Some parts of the media really seem to have it in for them. Have they already forgotten the absurdities of Boris Johnson, Brexit and Liz Truss?

Best wishes from Bulgaria,

Simon

Peter driving Vincent's tractor