Jack Smith

Trump’s legal woes: The scheduling is clarified, sort of

by Dave

The art of a deal, is in true form. It is the art of delaying the start of four criminal trials until after the elections in November. If this were a game of bowling, four cases delayed to after the election would count as a strike.

The Jan 6 federal case start date of March 4 has been postponed indefinitely. The immunity case is in the Appellate court and Fischer is in the Supreme Court. The Fischer case is not directly tied to Trump’s court case, but the application of the Sarbanes-Oxley law, is the basis of two of the four counts against Trump. I expect these impediments will be gone before the end of the Supreme Court term in July.  

This clears the schedule for the Hush Money case to begin on March 20, 2024, so that pretty much fills up April. I don’t think Trump’s team can delay this one. So, one of the four pins are still standing.

So, all eyes turn to the Classified Documents case, to be held in Ft. Pierce, FL as the logical successor, with a start date of May 20, 2024. The charges are 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information. 

On February 2, 2024, the DOJ filed a 67-page brief stating that they had fully complied with discovery in the documents case. The first reporting of the DOJ filing is on Feb 2 at 10:30 pm by NBC news. The brief begins:

“The defendants have received substantial, timely, and thorough discovery in this case. By early September 2023, the Government had provided the defendants with over 1.28 million pages of unclassified discovery and all of the CCTV footage obtained in the investigation; since then, the Government has supplemented its production as necessary. This production not only complies with the Government’s constitutional and rule-based discovery obligations; it goes far beyond. The Government recognizes its discovery obligations, has complied with them, and will continue to do so. The defendants have nevertheless filed a lengthy motion to compel in which they seek abstract rulings on the scope of the prosecution team and various directives that the Government provide them with a range of additional material.”

Obvious, Trump’s team wants this case to start after the election. Can Trump’s team finagle delays in this case? Yes, if Judge Cannon makes a ruling in favor of Trump on discovery issues, then DOJ will appeal to the 11th Circuit. But it is abundantly clear from the brief, that Trump’s team has really opened the barn door on what could be relevant in this trial, including “selective prosecution.”  Discussion begins on page 37 of brief. 

“Defendants might suggest to the jury that they should be acquitted based on a theory of selective prosecution, that would plainly be inappropriate.”

Can Trump’s team finagle delays in this case? Yes, if Judge Cannon makes a ruling in favor of Trump on discovery issues, then DOJ appeals to the 11th Circuit. 

See link: Prosecutors hit back at Trump’s accusations of political bias in classified documents case

Judge Aileen Cannon has scheduled a hearing date of March 1, 2024 to review the start date of May 20, 2024. The Republican Party Convention would be July 15 -18, 2024. I am certain she doesn’t look forward in scheduling a trial as Trump is completing the primary campaign. 

Selective prosecution is not a defense in the courtroom, but is one to add to House Republican’s attack on Biden with impeachment, Rep. Jim Jordan’s committee investigating the weaponization of government, and the radical MAGA Republicans. Any trial, in any courtroom from now until election day, will be blamed on President Biden.

If Trump is elected, there will be no Special Counsel, and no prosecution of Trump for the January 6 attack or the Classified Document’s case. He can avoid the Georgia conspiracy trial, because he is the sitting president. So, now as an ex-president, he likely will lose the claim of immunity, but once president, he will not stand trial in Georgia. 

I said the scheduling has been clarified, as it looks like the Hush Money goes first. What should follow is any one of the remaining 3 cases. 

The Special Counsel’s brief asking Judge Cannon to reject the need for additional documents sought by Trump’s legal team is given below. I believe Trump lawyers may file a reply brief. I fear Trump’s lawyers are winning at the delay game.

Stay tuned,

Dave

aa-trumps-document-case-discovery-filingDownload

Quick updates on Trump’s Criminal Cases (Nov 13, 2023)

by Dave

Jan 6 election interference case: Trump’s legal team has asked the trial be televised. This is a non-starter as no federal criminal trial can be broadcast. Trial set to begin March 4. Gag order put on hold by Appeals court. The 3 judge panel will hear oral arguments Nov 20 on the gag order. March 4 is also super Tuesday Republican primary, where roughly 1/3 of all delegates are chosen.

Trump has filed for a dismissal of all charges. On Nov 5, the Special Prosecutors responded forcefully, as follows (from first sentence of arguments):

“Rather than challenging the indictment on its merits, the defendant’s motions (ECF Nos. 113 and 114) attack the indictment by mischaracterizing its allegations, raising inapposite hypotheticals, and advancing arguments that are long on rhetoric but short on law. Stripped of those distractions, the defendant’s statutory and constitutional claims are entirely meritless.”

Classified documents case: Still scheduled to begin May 20, 2024 in Ft. Pierce, FL. Judge Aileen Cannon, has ruled against moving the trial date to beyond November 2024. A meeting is scheduled for March 1, 2024 to reconsider the deadlines and Trump’s side can again argue that the start date is too soon.

GA Election Fraud conspiracy case: Right now (Nov 12), four guilty pleas have been accepted, so there are now 15 defendants in the case. As requirements of the plea agreements, each defendant must be willing to testify honestly for the prosecution. Note that the prosecution has indicated that they would like a March 4 trial start date, which coincides with the Jan 6 federal case in Washington.

As of November 6, defendant Harrison Floyd, a former Black Voices for Trump director, is requesting government agencies turn over 145,000 Fulton absentee ballots. Judge Scott McAfee will rule on Floyd’s request “in the coming days” according to news reports. Court observers expect more defendants to opt for plea deals in the coming weeks. Harrison Floyd might be one of them.

Judge Scott McAfee expressed concerns that the courtroom for the trial of 15 defendants is not large enough. He wants the trial to be as open as possible, which includes allowing the media to televise the proceedings.

Hush money case, which is still scheduled to begin March 25. Judge Juan Merchan has said he is open to reschedule this case and will hold a conference with attorneys in February 2024 on start dates. This is a criminal case, and Donald Trump is required to be present.

Scheduling these four court cases isn’t easy. The Hush Money case might be the shortest, and ready for trial, but the judge might hold off until the other cases are done.

Other court cases:

Minnesota Supreme Court refused to consider denying Donald Trump from running in the primaries. The suit is based on the Fourteenth Amendment, Section 3 which bars any candidate who has engaged in insurrection from holding office. The Court based their decision on the fact that primaries are a means of deciding the party’s candidate, not an election to a government position. I support this decision, because the outcome would be very undemocratic. Elections must be decided by the voters.

Those who wish to bar Donald Trump from the Minnesota, will have a second chance after he is on the ballot. A similar court case in proceeding in Colorado.

Stay tuned,

Dave

Lawsuits against Trump and his businesses

by Dave

There are two civil cases and four criminal cases against Trump.

See link: What are the legal cases against Trump?

On May 9, 2023, Trump was found guilty of defamation of E. Jean Carroll (Civil case) by falsely denying he sexually assaulted her and ordered to pay 5 million dollars. He continued the attack on her character after the verdict, and she asked that the judgement be raised to 10 million dollars. Trump is appealing the case.

Of all the six cases, the E. Jean Carroll case is probably the least of his worries, because it only involves money and 5 to 10 million dollars to Trump is no big deal. But, losing is a big deal to Trump.

The next civil case against Trump is from the New York State Attorney General, Letitia James, and it concerns business fraud in New York State committed by misrepresenting the value of property to lenders (high valuations) and tax authorities (low valuations). It is due to go to trial in October 2023, and the defendants in this case also include the Trump organization, Eric Trump, Donald Jr. and Ivanka. AG James seeks to permanently bar the Trumps from doing business in New York State, and for defendants to pay 250 million dollars.

Now, come the four “biggies” which should keep the Donald up at night because they are criminal and could send Trump to prison for years. He is due in court on June 13, 2023 to be arraigned on 37 counts in the Mar-a-Lago documents case. This is an evolving story and everyone is guessing of when the trial will take place. The case is being prosecuted by the Special Counsel, Jack Smith, who recently announced the grand jury indictment. It is likely Trump’s lawyers will ask for more time to prepare for a defense. The trial will take place in Florida.

Special Counsel Jack Smith is also investigating the possible criminal activities of Donald Trump in relation to the riot in the Capitol on January 6 and events following the attack. It is expected he will bring charges against Trump and others later this year.

Criminal charges against Trump for election interference in Georgia are expected by Fulton county district attorney Fani Willis, between July 11 to September 1, 2023. A grand jury has completed its work, but the details have not yet been revealed. See link above for details on this case.

Trump has been indicted in the Stormy Daniels Hush Money scandal and a trial is set to begin on March 24, 2023. The prosecutor will be Alvin Braggs, Manhattan district attorney.

All totaled 6 cases, of which I would think the two cases from Special Counsel and the one from Fulton County, GA have the highest potential for Trump to do some serious time in jail.

One last one on my list is an investigation of the deal to create Truth Social using a SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company), namely Digital World. The investigation is being done by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Agency. I don’t know if this is a criminal or civil case. A few details are given on the link below:

Link: Donald Trump’s Legal Issues

It will be hard to keep track of all these cases. Trials will be held in New York and Florida and most likely Georgia and Washington, DC. Trump and his lawyers will be busy.

Donald Trump may be his own worse enemy. This was clearly the case in the “Mar-a-Lago” Documents indictment, where his case is based largely on his statements, text message and photos from his staff. This evidence is very difficult to refute.

In the United States, the wheels of justice turn slowly. This is necessary to protect the innocent. Following an indictment, in general, Trump is quick to announce that he will win in court. Following a guilty verdict, Trump usually announces that he will appeal to a higher court. And of course, after that beg for a pardon if the next president is Republican.

Elizabeth Holmes is another billionaire judged by a jury in January 2022 to have broken the law, by falsifying results from her novel blood testing equipment. She was able to delay for 17 months the time until she reports to prison for her 11 year sentence. As a mother of two, I believe she will only serve a fraction of the time. The judge stated at sentencing:

“I suppose we step back and we look at this, and we think, what is the pathology of fraud? Is it the inability or the refusal to accept responsibility or express contrition in any way? Now, perhaps that is the cautionary tale that will go forward from this case.”

Trump will not accept responsibility. He will blame the Justice Department and the FBI. He will not likely mention that he appointed Christopher Wray as Director of the FBI. And of course, attack the judge presiding over his trial, who is also a Trump appointee.

Rich people can generally find the best lawyers money can buy. Case in point, Jeffrey Epstein who brought in famed attorney Alan Dershowitz to plea bargain his case in 2008 and got a “sweetheart deal” for abuse of underage girls.

No sweetheart deals for Donald Trump. His guilt or innocence will depend on the evidence.

Two important principles should be remembered. One is nobody is above the law. The second is until someone is found guilty in a court of law, they are presumed innocent.

Stay tuned,

Dave