Lady Justice – mackaycartoons

Thursday April 6, 2023

April 6, 2023 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday April 6, 2023

Trump: Fearless Defender, or Hollow Chocolate Easter Egg

March 22, 2023

As Easter weekend approaches, the US is facing a different kind of resurrection: the first criminal trial of a former president in history. Donald Trump, resembling a giant hollow chocolate Easter egg being cracked by Lady Justice, has pleaded not guilty to charges of falsifying business records and violating federal campaign finance law. The charges relate to a hush money payment of $130,000 made to porn star Stormy Daniels, who claims to have had an affair with Trump.

News: Trump’s Day of Martyrdom Didn’t Go Quite as He Expected

While Trump calls it a “fake case” and accuses Democrats of conspiracy to interfere with next year’s presidential election, prosecutors say it points to a pattern of suppressing potentially damaging stories. The charges, which carry a maximum of four years in prison, could prove to be a major distraction for the Republican front-runner and add a new layer of turmoil to his party’s primary.

November 10, 2022

The trial could begin as early as January 2024, just as primaries begin to select the party’s nominee for the presidential election. While a criminal conviction would not prevent Trump from either running for president or from reclaiming the Oval Office, the prolonged legal fight could prove to be a major distraction and add a new layer of turmoil to his party’s primary.

This is not the only legal battle Trump faces. He is also the focus of three other investigations, related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, the attack on the Capitol as it was certifying Joe Biden’s victory, and over the former president’s handling of classified documents after leaving the White House. As the legal battles continue to loom over him, Trump may claim he’s “fearlessly defending our nation”, but many are concerned that the country seems to be going to hell, as he once put it.

News: Trump remains the most popular Republican despite his indictment

July 23, 2022

Despite the charges against him, Trump remains a divisive figure in American politics, with a strong base of supporters who are fiercely loyal to him. However, the case against him has pulled the country into uncharted political territory, and many are watching to see how it will play out in the coming months and years.

As we approach the Easter weekend, a time of reflection and renewal, it seems fitting to consider the potential impact of this trial on the country’s political landscape. Will it bring about a renewed sense of justice and accountability, or will it deepen the divisions that have already fractured the nation? Only time will tell, but one thing is certain: the coming months are sure to be filled with uncertainty, as the US grapples with the aftermath of the Trump presidency and looks towards the future. (AI)

Tuesday February 13, 2018

February 12, 2018 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday February 13, 2018

Conservatives accuse Trudeau of ‘political interference’ for comments on Stanley acquittal

The federal Conservatives are accusing Justin Trudeau of “political interference” after the prime minister responded to the acquittal of a white farmer in the death of a young Indigenous man by saying the criminal justice system has to “do better.”

Trudeau made the comments after a jury in Battleford, Sask., Friday found Gerald Stanley not guilty of second-degree murder in the 2016 death of 22-year-old Colten Boushie, a resident of the Red Pheasant First Nation.

“I’m not going to comment on the process that led to this point today, but I am going to say we have come to this point as a country far too many times,” Trudeau said in California, where he was wrapping up a four-day trip to the U.S. “I know Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians alike know that we have to do better.”

Trudeau’s comments appeared to reflect concerns expressed by hundreds of Indigenous people who took to different sites across Canada on Saturday to protest what they described as injustice and a lack of fairness within the court system.

Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould and Indigenous Services Minister Jane Philpott, meanwhile, took to Twitter to express their support for Boushie’s family and assert the need for improvements.

“My thoughts are with the family of Colten Boushie tonight,” Wilson-Raybould wrote Friday. “I truly feel your pain and I hear all of your voices. As a country we can and must do better — I am committed to working every day to ensure justice for all Canadians.”

Many concerns have been raised about discrimination toward Indigenous People in the criminal justice system; retired Supreme Court judge Frank Iacobucci, for example, raised flags about a lack of Indigenous representation on juries in Ontario in 2013.

Iacobucci’s probe was launched after an inquest into the 2007 drowning death of a high school student in Thunder Bay, Ont., was stopped because of a lack of Indigenous people on the jury. (Source: Toronto Star)

Friday June 9, 2017

June 9, 2017 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday June 9, 2017

James Comey says it’s ‘not up to him’ to decide if Trump’s ‘disturbing behaviour’ was obstruction of justice

Former FBI Director James Comey said it was not up to him to determine whether Donald Trump behaviour was obstruction of justice.

April 21, 2017

“I don’t think it’s for me to say whether the conversation I had with the president was an effort to obstruct,” Mr Comey said during his testimony in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee, but added that Mr Trump’s behaviour was “concerning…and disturbing”.

Mr Comey, fired on 9 May, detailed in a written statement ahead of his ongoing testimony that Mr Trump said to him during a one-on-one White House dinner: “I need loyalty, I expect loyalty.”

The former FBI Director said his “common sense” said that it made him feel as if Mr Trump was “looking for something in exchange for granting my request to stay in the job” of FBI Director.

June 24, 2016

Mr Comey, a prosecutor himself, said that the determination of obstruction of justice should be left up to the Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller, who was appointed as an independent counsel in the investigation into the alleged ties between Mr Trump’s campaign team and Russia and the country’s possible interference with the 2016 US election.

The former Director’s comment today, however, may mean that Mr Trump’s possible obstruction of justice or possible collusion with Russian officials is also under the purview of Mr Mueller’s investigation.

Obstruction of justice is an impeachable offence but is a tricky legal issue because it has to do with Mr Trump’s actions rather than his intent or how Mr Trump’s actions made Mr Comey feel. As a lawyer, Mr Comey is aware of this and likely why he is leaving that determination up to Mr Mueller. (Source: The Independent)

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