Steve Bannon

Trump’s fraud trial and coming court trials in 2024

by Dave

Ivanka Trump was the prosecution’s last witness. Legal experts are saying that her testimony allowed prosecutors to introduce important documents into evidence.

The defense is now able to present witnesses to show that the fraud was minor or excusable in some manner. It will be far less dramatic. Trump’s legal defense witnesses will likely show that the bank executives were pleased to make the loans and that they were repaid on time. Some of this may be immaterial. Since the judge has already ruled that fraud was committed, it no longer is a trial about guilt or innocence, but about the extent of the punishment.

It is estimated that the defense will rest on December 15 and closing arguments by Dec 22, 2023. It has been reported that there are Then there are closing arguments in the following week. Prosecutors have asked the judge to exclude some of the witnesses as not relevant to the case, which makes sense as the case is not about whether fraud was committed. The judge has already ruled on this.

I expect the judge to rule in January 2024. There will definitely be an appeal by Trump’s legal team. I guess the big issue is whether the ruling, including the control of assets in New York State, can be stayed (put aside) until the Appellate court rules.

— What’s coming up in 2024?

The team of reporters from the various networks will stick around as more court cases are coming down the road. The civil defamation case by E. Jean Carroll is scheduled to begin January 15, 2024, which is just about adding 10 million dollars to her award.

There are four criminal cases against Trump, all of which could start before election day. The first two cases are the January 6 election obstruction case, March 4, in Washington and the hush money case (also known as the Stormy Daniels case) scheduled to begin March 25 in NYC. The other two cases documents case in Ft. Pierce, FL and GA interference case likely start dates are after May, 2024. Right now, Trump’s lawyers are trying to push back the documents case to a date after the election.

Three other non- Trump trials are set for 2024. The really big court case will be Senator Bob Menendez and his wife Nadine trial on accepting bribes to influence foreign policy, which is scheduled to begin on May 6, 2024. Three other accomplices were charged. For everyone who thought the Justice Department was just targeting corrupt Republicans, this one will clearly show that there are corrupt politicians in both parties. It is certain that pictures of Bob’s stack of gold bars and his Mercedes will be offered into evidence.

On May 28, 2024, Steve Bannon will go on trial for stealing from the “We build the Wall” fund. Steve Bannon was pardon by Trump on federal charges which I found extremely hypocritical. Bannon was stealing from the most ardent Trump supporters, willing to support his “charitable organization” to privately fund the building of a wall between the US and Mexico. So, scamming Trump’s supporters is ok, right? I uploaded a couple posts on Steve Bannon, and his accomplices in this scam. I don’t expect the trial will last long.

Almost I almost forgot Rep. George Santos trial, which in scheduled for September 2024. Santos is accused of stealing people’s identities and making charges on his own donors’ credit cards without their authorization, lying to the FEC and, by extension, the public about the financial state of his campaign. Santos is accused of falsely inflating the campaign’s reported receipts with non-existent loans and contributions. He is so, so guilty, it is laughable to think he is a representative.

A familiar refrain is “I am completely innocent” which then turns into “We will win on appeal.” I know that every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. But I can express my opinion which is “The bigger they are, the harder they fall.” Well, I think 2024 should be game over for Donald, Steve, Bob, George and assorted accomplices. This is really how you drain the swamp! But things don’t always work out that way.

Stay tuned,

Dave

Sidney Powell and Steve Bannon: Push and Push Back

by Dave

You can say pretty much what you want when you are talking to friends. But at a higher level, particularly on Social Media and cable news programs, you can be sued. In court, you can be disbarred if you go to far.

Sidney Powell is an attorney who is being sued by Dominion voting machines for making outlandish and false claims about their equipment. Her claims were repeated in many court filings, on Fox News and even in front of the President on December 18, 2020.

In August 2021, a Michigan federal judge formally sanctioned Powell, Lin Wood, and seven other pro-Trump lawyers for their suit seeking to overturn Trump’s election loss. The judge determined the nine attorneys had participated in “a historic and profound abuse of the judicial process” by filing baseless and frivolous lawsuits in order to undermine public confidence in the democratic process. The judge ordered them to pay Michigan and Detroit for their expenses in defending against the lawsuit. The court also referred Powell and the other lawyers to state disciplinary authorities for possible disbarment for ethics violations.

Her legal problems are continuing. On January 8, 2021, Dominion sued Sidney Powell and for defamation and asked for over $1.3 billion in damages. On August 11, 2021, the courts denied a motion to dismiss, so their lawsuit case will move forward.

Wikipedia: Sidney Powell

Dominion Systems: Legal Updates

Insider: Trump Campaign Purges Conspiracy Theorist Attorney, Sidney Powell

She is a very bright and well educated attorney, with excellent experience both as a prosecutor and defense lawyer. She began her career as an assistant US attorney in the Western District of Texas, and lead many prominent cases. She began her legal career as one of the youngest federal prosecutors in the US, at the age of 23. (Biography provided in Wikipedia link.)

How was it, that she could not see the push back in the form of lawsuits coming? On November 22, 2020, Attorneys Jenna Ellis and Rudy Giuliani announced that Sidney Powell was not part of the Trump’s campaign legal team, as her claims of voter fraud became more extreme. Somehow, the fraud extended to Hugo Chavez, who had been dead for seven year. I could only think that as she ascended to the rarefied air, of being on the legal team to the Trump Campaign and sought after by all the conservative broadcaster, she just couldn’t put limits on what she claimed, which morphed rapidly into an immense international conspiracy, and all the judges who ruled against her were corrupt.

There are so many others who will be held accountable for their actions in 2020. Steve Bannon trial for ignoring a subpoena from the January 6 committee began yesterday. I believe this time, Steve Bannon will be found guilty.

Steve Bannon is a political agitator who knows how to promote his view on social media and the conservative news stations. He was either fired or pressured to resign from the White House on August 18, 2017, a week after the attack on the Charlottesville Unite to Right march by white supremist groups. Trump put out a statement that in effect put blame on both sides for the violence.

In August 2020, Bannon and three others were arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering in connection to the We Build the Wall campaign. The defendants allegedly enriched themselves, despite promising that all contributions would go to building a wall. Bannon pleaded not guilty and was pardoned by Trump before his trial date.

I believe Bannon will be a case of the real push back coming in 2023, in relation to the planning of January 6 attack on the Capital. We shall see.

Wikipedia: Steve Bannon

Stay tuned,

David Lord

Stone’s arrest and the electronic trail

by Dave

I figured this one out soon after Roger Stone was arrested.  Stone’s value to the Mueller investigation was what was on his cellphones, computers, tablets, etc. That’s why 29 FBI agents stormed his house.  They didn’t want him, they wanted his electronic gear.  They didn’t want a single thumb drive or hard disk to get destroyed.   Roger Stone says he would have turned himself if asked, but not before scrubbing clean his residences.

Being 100% clean is tough for Roger Stone, given his long history of deceit and trickery.    Mueller will likely have a treasure trove of bits and pieces.  Big question is how does this all fit into the investigation.

When cellphones first came out, criminals had the upper hand.  No one could tap a cellphone like a landline phone.  But things really have changed,  as the hard drive within a cellphone is loaded with potential incriminating information.  It will take time for FBI digital forensic experts to know exactly what the search warrant of electronic gear will yield.   Julian Sanchez nailed it on this one.   Stone can’t flip on Trump because he’s got zero credibility.

Mueller is going after the Russian hack,  Wikileaks and Republican campaign officials connections.    I don’t know if Mueller will be able to connect all the dots, but I suspect both Trump and Steve Bannon are feeling the heat turned up.   I don’t believe anyone  directly involved in  Trump’s 2016 campaign has been charged with conspiracy with Russian agents,   Well not yet.

Stay tuned,

Dave

Links:

Julian Sanchez Opinion as published in the New York Times, Jan 26, 2019.

Mueller’s Real Target in the Roger Stone Indictment