Letter: Trial Shows Trump's Character

Letter to the Editor08:00PM / Friday, May 17, 2024Print Story | Email Story

To the Editor:

The trial of Donald Trump in Manhattan might seem like a matter of legal technicalities, but I think it's really important in another way. It has shown us clearly the character of Trump and the Republican party he now dominates.

He denies that he had sex with Stormy Daniels, even when this obvious lie hurts his case and has little to do with the charges against him. He demands that others show their loyalty by repeating his lies, as Michael Cohen did for years. His ego is so brittle that he has an aide who prints out favorable stories about him to keep him occupied and calm while in court.

Meanwhile, a parade of Republican elected officials, keen to fluff their leader, have left their jobs in Washington to drop in and pronounce their disdain for the trial and the court.

In 2015, Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said, "If the Republicans nominate Trump for President he will destroy the Republican Party and we will have deserved it!" Although Graham has since joined the Trump sycophants, nine years ago he was prophetic.

The party has become a shameless cult engaged in undermining our constitutional principles. It will only begin to heal if it loses in November.

Jim Mahon
Williamstown, Mass.

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Williamstown Select Board Plans Off-Camera Evaluation of Town Manager

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
05:24AM / Friday, October 09, 2026

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Select Board plans to take extraordinary measures to avoid having its discussion of the town manager's performance recorded by the town's Public, Educational and Government cameras.

At its Sept. 28 meeting, the board decided to hold a special meeting in a room not covered by WilliNet cameras to complete its annual evaluation process of Town Manager Robert Menicocci.

Chair Peter Beck said that while the evaluation is "absolutely" to be conducted in an open meeting, the board could follow a process similar to the off site, unrecorded meetings that past Select Boards have characterized as "retreats," a term not contemplated by or included in the commonwealth's Open Meeting Law.

The current board met on June 29 for what it characterized as a "planning session" where no formal votes were taken. That meeting was held outside of Town Hall, at the new fire station on Main Street, in a room equipped with audio and video recording equipment that the Select Board chose not to use.

At the Sept. 28 meeting, one board member indicated that an unrecorded meeting was preferable to discuss the annual evaluation of the one town employee supervised by the board.

"I'd like to do it without all the Willinet stuff," Stephanie Boyd said in a discussion toward the end of a two-hour meeting. "I think it's more conducive to conversation."

With the board expected to meet just once in October — its "regular" meeting date coincides with Indigenous Peoples Day on Oct. 12 — Beck suggested that the panel could find a date for a special meeting, suggesting the third Monday of the month, Oct. 19.

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