Trump on Trial

I guess E. Jean Carroll has to go through a new trial afterall.  But she should win the $10 million without any problem.

Trump will pay her with campaign funds.

FEC will charge him with Stormy Daniels campaign violations again.

Because the man never learns.

Rachel had a special "Bag Man" bonus podcast yesterday, featuring the three Baltimore federal prosecutors who charged Spiro Agnew with extortion and kept him from ascending to the presidency when Nixon went down.

She asked them what happens if Trump is on trial, or acquitted, or even found guilty before the 2024 election.

They were not very reassuring. "Despair" is the word they used. Trump would have the power to make his charges (or conviction) go "poof," and there's not much anyone anywhere could do about it.

After that, the man would have no governor on him.

Third Indictment just handed down. This is the big one. Conspiracy to obstruct the election.

Devastating indictment. Hope it works it’s way through the courts before the election.

If found guilty—and the evidence is clear—I hope the 14th Amendment is invoked, denying Trump the right to run.

That’ll leave the GOP in chaos of course.

Jen Psaki says Biden could pardon Trump. If there’s s plea agreement that involves not running, I could see it happening.

Would it be enough?

I don’t know.

Donald Trump would avoid jail. Four indictments of him would go “poof.”

Donald Trump would get to keep the close to a billion dollars from his PAC.

This option would be a slam dunk for Trump and his lawyers.

Biden would see it as “healing,” the way Gerald Ford felt pardoning Nixon was best for the country.

Biden could even step down, leaving the presidency to Kamala Harris to make his own hands sound cleaner.

Expect the unexpected.

If this goes to trial, Trump will lose. If he loses, he will go to jail.

Trump gets $1B and stays out of jail?  Hell yes he’d agree to that.

Biden could make the two federal indictments disappear. Could he poof the state indictments in Florida and New York?  Not so clear. Certainly not without the state DAs’ tacit approval.

Would they?

Laugh out loud. You can't make this shit up.

Quote :

Do the charges mean Trump can’t run for president? If convicted, can he be blocked from holding office?

No. The US constitution does not bar those convicted of a crime from running for president.

There could be a pathway to blocking him, however, through the constitution’s 14th amendment. That provision says that someone cannot hold office if they have taken an oath to the United States, as Trump did when he was inaugurated, and engage in “insurrection or rebellion” against the country. There’s likely to be a flurry of separate civil lawsuits in state courts seeking to disqualify Trump on that basis. Some activists have already begun a push to disqualify Trump in Georgia, Colorado, Oregon, Nevada and California.

So maybe, if enough STATES bar him from holding federal office, he could be denied the electoral votes needed to secure his election? He could win the popular vote and still be disbarred from office because not enough electors would vote for him?

That would be novel.

Trump’s arraignment is a circus on every channel. For somebody who feels “all publicity is good publicity” he must be giddy with excitement.

I’m sure he thinks he’ll never see the inside of a courthouse and he’s probably right.

I do not believe Trump understands the concept of humility. I do not think he recognizes authority.

Therefore, when Judge Upadhyaya cautioned him against speaking out about the trial, trying to influence his jury pool or disparage his interlocutors, I'm pretty sure Donald John just nodded and pretended to understand.

It would not surprise me AT ALL therefore if he crosses the judge's line, and by all that is holy that should end him up in custody awaiting trial.

THAT might be the only thing that gets through his thick skull.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-boasts-he-needs-one-more-indictment-to-close-out-this-election_n_64cda326e4b0334ad27595ce

So, put aside the boasting about federal indictments.  Put aside the casual dismissal of possibly spending the rest of his life in jail from 73 federal felony counts.

Why—oh why—is the Republican Party of Alabama hosting defendant Trump as their featured speaker?

This whole thing is corrupt from top to bottom.

Quote :

In a sign of that defiance, his campaign released an online ad Friday attacking Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, who led the investigation that resulted in Trump’s latest charges and a separate case where he’s charged with mishandling classified documents.
The ad, which is expected to start airing on television next week, also attacks Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who has charged Trump in a hush money case, and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is believed to be close to filing charges in her investigation into efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.

If this doesn't land his fat ass in jail, there is no justice and the law has no teeth.  He'll be acquitted or pardoned and he'll be the last president the US ever has.

Trump should have been arrested on January 7th.

You know, the Justice Department has been EXCEEDINGLY careful, PAINFULLY careful to move slowly and neutrally toward the Trump indictment. The argument that faster prosecution would've risked violence in the streets makes sense, from one point of view.

But from another, it just exacerbated the situation. After 2-1/2 years of consequence-free fomenting, now Trump and his minions feel absolute freedom to threaten Justice Department officials, judges, attorneys general and anyone branded "disloyal" with the most heinous acts of violence.

I agree with Officer Dunn.

For months the press have been reporting that Republicans "would like someone to take Trump out of the race" but they're too scared to say so out loud.  That career Republicans are horrified by what he's become, but cannot speak out against him in public.

Well, it seems this latest federal indictment is the lifeline they've been waiting to have thrown to them.

Bill Barr says he'll testify against Trump.

Mike Pence says he'll testify against Trump.

Mark Meadows is probably already cooperating.

This is all fine-and-good but it ignores one central fact: Donald Trump has vowed to continue running even if on trial, even if convicted, even if in jail. Somebody's gonna need to bell the cat and invoke the 14th Amendment.

T.H.A.I.J.

NoCoPilot wrote:

Somebody's gonna need to bell the cat and invoke the 14th Amendment.

I had an absolutely brilliant idea this morning.

I was listening to the podcast "Prosecuting Donald Trump" by Andrew Weissman and Mary McCord.  They were discussing the difficulties of getting a fair trial during a presidential election cycle, one in which the defendant is also a candidate.

But wait.  The defendant's right to a swift and fair trial is guaranteed under the Constitution.  There is no "right to run for President" in the Constitution.

One of the federal judges (specifically Judge Chutkan) should rule that Trump has to stand trial, and if he can't run for president without interfering with the trial, then it is his candidacy that must step aside.  At least while he's on trial.

If he's innocent, let a jury of his peers decide the case.  Once his trials are over and he is acquitted, he'll be free to run for president again, in 2028.

He DOES NOT have a right under the Constitution to short circuit the legal process by running for president, possibly winning, and then pardoning himself.  That is not enshrined in the Constitution.

He's so sure he's innocent?  Let him prove it in court.

These are novel circumstances, never encountered before, and I'm sure the Judge's ruling would be challenged all the way up to the Supreme Court.  That would take time, possibly until after the 2024 election.  That works too.

And I suspect, even this highly-partisan, lowly-legal Supreme Court would have to side with the defendant's right to a speedy trial over his desire to run for president so he can pardon himself.

The Federalist Society has turned on Trump. This could be outcome-determinative.

FINALLY one of the Republican candidates is saying the truth out loud. We'll see if it catches on.

WHOA. Ten indictments in the Georgia Grand Jury. That’s massive.

No word yet what’s in them.

Or how many defendants there are. Supposed to be made public within three hours.

It’s nine PM in Georgia. Late night.

RICO charges in Georgia carry a minimum five year (maximum 20 years) sentence. Could be all confinement, all suspended, or any combination of the two.

WHOA. Brian Kemp and Georgia’s Republican Congress just passed a law giving themselves the power to remove District Attorneys.

Fani Willis in the crosshairs.