The Conversation -- August 7, 2023
The defense in the Trump coup indictment has submitted its response to the prosecutors' protective order proposal. I'll get up a story when one is published. The response is apparently a cantankerous delay tactic.
Another Loss for the Biggest Loser. Kara Scannell of CNN: "A federal judge has dismissed Donald Trump's counter defamation lawsuit against E. Jean Carroll, dealing another legal blow to the former president. In an order Monday, Judge Lewis Kaplan said that Trump had not proven that Carroll's statements on CNN the day after the jury awarded her $5 million after finding that Trump sexually abused Carroll and defamed her were false or 'not at least substantially true,' which is the legal standard. Trump sued Carroll in June based on her response to questions posed on CNN. Carroll was asked about the verdict finding Trump sexually abused Carroll, but did not rape her as defined under New York law and as she alleged. Carroll said, 'Oh, yes he did.'"
** BUT. Trump's Best Gal Puts Two Thumbs on the Scale. Josh Fiallo of the Daily Beast, via Yahoo! News: "More questions were asked of Judge Aileen Cannon's fitness to preside over Donald Trump's high-profile classified documents case on Monday after the South Florida federal judge rejected special counsel Jack Smith's bid to preserve 'grand jury secrecy' through sealed filings. In her ruling, Cannon questioned the 'legal propriety' of Smith using an 'out-of-district grand jury to continue to investigate and/or to seek post-indictment hearings.' She demanded that Smith explain [by Aug. 22] why prosecutors are doing this.... While much of the Mar-a-Lago docs case is being handled out of Cannon's district, a portion of the grand jury work ahead of Trump's indictment was done by a D.C. grand jury, which Cannon appeared perplexed by. Former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance wrote online that Cannon's latest order 'may tee up the issue of her fitness on this case.' Andrew Weissmann, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney, suggested the same -- writing that Cannon's order is 'off base.' 'Judge Cannon clearly shows her ignorance (bias? both?); the obstruction crimes that were investigated are charges that could have been brought in [Florida] or in DC and thus could be investigated in either district,' he wrote on Twitter. 'And there was conduct that is alleged to have occurred outside [Florida].'
In a separate blow to Smith, Cannon also removed two filings by prosecutors -- about defense attorney Stanley Woodward's potential conflicts of interest -- from the record entirely. Prosecutors had asked for a so-called Garcia hearing to alert Woodward's clients of the potential conflicts of interest, so they filed a motion in hopes they could do so while keeping information off the public record. Cannon shot down that request, however, writing that prosecutors didn't do enough to explain why the meeting needed to be kept under wraps." ~~~
~~~ Marie: The chief judge for the district should just remove & replace Cannon. A high-profile trial in which a former POTUS* is a defendant should not be used as a training exercise for a judge-intern. There may be some inexperienced judges who could intellectually and emotionally handle the burdens of such an historic trial; Judgette Aileen is not one of them. The world is watching and Judge Barbie Aileen is embarrassing the U.S. judicial system.
John Eastman Is in a Bind. Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Attorney John Eastman, an architect of Donald Trump's last-ditch efforts to subvert the 2020 election, is asking a California judge to postpone disbarment proceedings lodged against him, saying he's increasingly concerned he's about to be criminally charged by special counsel Jack Smith.... [Eastman's attorney Randall] Miller said the growing concern about criminal charges might prompt Eastman to assert his Fifth Amendment rights during disbarment proceedings.... But invoking the Fifth Amendment in the disbarment proceedings would jeopardize Eastman's ability to defend his law license, his lawyers wrote.... Eastman's bar discipline trial began in June -- and he had even testified for several hours without asserting his Fifth Amendment rights. But it was postponed to late August after the proceedings ran longer than the initially anticipated two weeks."
News Flash!! Stop the Presses! More than 1,000 Days After Election, DeSantis Admits Biden Is President! Nicholas Nehamas & Alexandra Berzon of the New York Times: "Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida clearly stated in a new interview that Donald J. Trump lost the 2020 election, diverging from the orthodoxy of most Republican voters as the former president's struggling G.O.P. rivals test out new lines of attack against him. 'Of course he lost,' Mr. DeSantis said in an interview with NBC News published on Monday. 'Joe Biden's the president.'... For years, [DeSantis] dodged direct answers to questions about whether he believed the contest was stolen, and during the 2022 midterms, he campaigned for election deniers." The NBC News story is here.
Minnesota. Anna Betts of the New York Times: "A judge in Minneapolis has sentenced Tou Thao, a former police officer who held back bystanders as other officers restrained George Floyd, to four years and nine months in state prison. In May, Mr. Thao was found guilty of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in Mr. Floyd's killing. This is the final sentencing in the killing of Mr. Floyd." CNN's report is here.
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What's Bugging Marie Today?
Pundits, including legal experts, all of whom say judges have to treat Donald Trump's First Amendment rights as more precious and expansive than yours and mine because he is running for president* and we're not. Bull. Donald Trump is running largely because becoming president* is his only viable assurance he won't do hard time. Not only that, he has known since before he decided to run for president* that he was likely to be indicted for at least one of his many (alleged!) crimes. Trump does not have a right to run for president*. It's a choice. And with that choice, as his lawyers surely advised him, come the responsibilities of a defendant who is lucky enough to get out on bail. That of course includes carefully following any restrictions imposed by bail agreements. I realize that if Trump was forced to zip his lip over the course of his campaign, he would be a more attractive candidate. But even knowing this, I think that if he cannot STFU, a judge or judges should revoke his bail.
In Defense of Trump & the Trumpalumpas
Why, It Was Merely an "Aspirational" Coup! Luke Broadwater & Maggie Astor of the New York Times: "Appearing on five television networks Sunday morning, a lawyer for ... Donald J. Trump [-- John F. Lauro --] argued that his actions in the effort to overturn the 2020 election fell short of crimes and were merely 'aspirational.'... Mr. Lauro appeared in interviews on CNN, ABC, Fox, NBC and CBS. He endeavored to defend Mr. Trump, including against evidence that, as president, he pressured his vice president, Mike Pence, to reject legitimate votes for Joseph R. Biden Jr. in favor of false electors pledged to Mr. Trump. 'What President Trump didn't do is direct Vice President Pence to do anything,' Mr. Lauro said on CNN's 'State of the Union.' 'He asked him in an aspirational way.'... On NBC's 'Meet the Press,' [Mr. Lauro addressed Mr. Trump's threatening Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger with criminal repercussions if he didn't 'find' enough votes to overturn the state's result.] 'That was an aspirational ask,' Mr. Lauro said....
"[In a social media post,] Mr. Trump attacked [Rep. Nancy] Pelosi, the former House speaker, who recently said that the former president had seemed like 'a scared puppy' before his arraignment. 'She is a sick & demented psycho who will someday live in HELL!' Mr. Trump wrote." MB: As if the Pelosi family has not suffered enough as a result of Trump's personal attacks on former Speaker Pelosi. See also Akhilleus' and Ken W.'s comments at the end of yesterday's thread. The Shogun story is right on point. ~~~
~~~ Marie: it appears Lauro went into "full Ginsburg" mode and admitted on every major Sunday TV news show that Trump is guilty of all charges in the new indictment. A coup does not have to succeed -- that is, it may be merely "aspirational" -- to be both unlawful and unconstitutional. In fact, here's how it works, as Josh Marshall of TPM laid out in an essay also linked here yesterday: if a coup is successful -- i.e., not just "aspirational" -- the victorious coup plotters form the new government and institute their own rules. If the coup is only aspirational (as so far, every coup attempt in this country has been), the coup plotters go to jail or worse. When your best defense is "our revolutionary conspiracy failed," you don't have a defense.
Rema Rahman of the Hill: "Former President Trump on Sunday said his legal team will ask for a recusal of the judge overseeing his case on federal charges related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election as well as a venue change, reiterating that he cannot get a fair trial in Washington, D.C. 'There is no way I can get a fair trial with the judge "assigned" to the ridiculous freedom of speech/fair elections case. Everybody knows this, and so does she!' Trump wrote on Truth Social.... Trump once again also went after special counsel Jack Smith.... 'Deranged Jack Smith ... could have brought this [Biden] "opponent" case years ago, but chose to wait and bring it right in the middle of my election campaign. No way!!! I hope you are watching America,' Trump wrote." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
What Trump Does While out on Bail. First, there was the general threat to every anti-Trumper in the world plus numerous people just doing their jobs: "IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I'M COMING AFTER YOU!" Then, there are these remarks, made about a likely witness against him: ~~~
~~~ Craig Howie of Politico: "Donald Trump hit back at Mike Pence on Saturday.... 'WOW, it's finally happened!' Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Saturday. 'Liddle' Mike Pence, a man who was about to be ousted as Governor Indiana until I came along and made him V.P., has gone to the Dark Side.... I never told a newly embolded ... Pence to put me above the Constitution, or that Mike was "too honest.? He's delusional, and now he wants to show he's a tough guy,' Trump added.'... Pence defended certifying the 2020 election for Joe Biden in response to jeers and insults from a crowd of Trump supporters outside a campaign event in New Hampshire on Friday." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Tim Reid & Kanishka Singh of Reuters: "Asked on Sunday on CBS's 'Face the Nation' if he would be a witness against [Donald] Trump if the [insurrection] case goes to trial, [Mike] Pence said he had 'no plans' to testify but did not rule it out." (Also linked yesterday.)
You Could Get Tossed in Jail for Looking Like a Criminal -- Especially if You're Black. Kashmir Hill of the New York Times: Porcha Woodruff of Detroit, who was eight months pregnant at the time of her arrest [for robbery & carjacking], "is the sixth person to report being falsely accused of a crime as a result of facial recognition technology used by police to match an unknown offender's face to a photo in a database. All six people have been Black; Ms. Woodruff is the first woman to report it happening to her. It is the third case involving the Detroit Police Department, which runs, on average, 125 facial recognition searches a year, almost entirely on Black men.... Gary Wells, a psychology professor who has studied the reliability of eyewitness identifications, said pairing facial recognition technology with an eyewitness identification should not be the basis for charging someone with a crime.... [Surveillance video showed that] the woman involved in the carjacking had not been visibly pregnant...." Ms. Woodruff required medical treatment for dehydration following her release from jail. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Alabama, Where a Coup Can Still Succeed. Meridith Edwards & Rachel Clarke of CNN: "Patrick Braxton accomplished something no Black man in his Alabama town had done in its 166-year history: he became mayor. He told CNN he ran for office in 2020 to serve the fewer than 300 residents of Newbern, to connect them to help if they didn't have enough food or to spread information on staying healthy in the Covid pandemic. And when there were no other declared candidates, he won by default. But within weeks of his win, and before he got to take his oath of office, Braxton says he was dethroned in a secret scheme orchestrated by the former leadership.... His opponents 'set in action a plan to thwart a majority Black City Council from taking office and to effectively prevent the first Black Mayor from exercising the duties and power of his new job,' according to a lawsuit filed by Braxton and the four residents he named as his council. The lawsuit alleges the locks on the town hall were changed so Braxton could not get in, adding he was denied access to the post office box used for official mail, and a local bank would not let him see the town accounts."
California. Eduardo Medina of the New York Times: "A Southern California judge was arrested on Thursday in connection with the killing of his wife, whom police officers found dead from a gunshot wound inside the couple's Anaheim home, the authorities said on Friday. The judge, Jeffrey Ferguson, 72, of the Orange County Superior Court, was booked into the Anaheim Police Department's detention facility on Thursday and held on $1 million bail, the police said. He posted bail on Friday and has been released, according to Orange County Sheriff's Department records." MB: Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think if you or I were arrested for shooting dead a spouse or partner, we would be released on bail. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
California. Gigantic Serial House Burglar & Vandal Nabbed in South Lake Tahoe, Gets Off Easy. Lauren McCarthy of the New York Times: "One of the most prolific thieves in the South Lake Tahoe, Calif., area was 'safely immobilized' by tranquilizer dart and apprehended Friday morning, according to state officials: a 400-pound black bear that the public had come to know as Hank the Tank. The captured bear was responsible for at least 21 DNA-confirmed home break-ins and extensive property damage in Tahoe Keys dating back to early 2022, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said in a news release. The bear will be transported to an animal sanctuary in Colorado this week."
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Reader Comments (9)
At his arraignment, Fatty was told to shut his mouth, not to threaten anyone or try to disclose information that his defense might see in discovery.
Within 24 hours, he was back threatening everyone, including the judge. I’m sure being read the riot act by a woman of color didn’t sit well with his KKK genes, so he probably thinks he can ignore those very necessary admonitions.
The judge should lower the boom on this ignorant fat fuck. No other defendant would be allowed to get away with this shit. Neither should he.
It seems pretty clear that Trump is now, and will continue to play to his base in hopes of riling up some Second Amendment “assistance”. He’s got nothing else right now besides threats of violence.
And this bullshit about how he can’t get a fair trial in DC? Did anyone hear him complaining about the likely jury of Trumpbots down in Florida in his stolen documents trial?
He’ll continue to flap his lips. And the judge should slap him with a gag order followed by incarceration until the trial if they doesn’t take. Think his lawyers will demand a three year wait for his day in court if his fat fascist ass is in the hoosegow all that time?
“Don’t take”. Otto is hitting the sauce again. And pretty early too!
It’s been well established that logic, critical thinking, or, well, any form of thinking that’s not firmly in the categories of Deranged or Terminally Stupid, are not a strong suit of traitors, a fact I point out when listening to the Orange Monster whine about how awful America is…going to hell and whatever other 5th grade imprecations he can dream up, and how he will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Should that be again again?
Soooo…did he already make America great? And then what happened? Oh yeah, he lost the election, staged a coup, then ran off to Marred a Lardo with stolen secret documents. And what? America became instantly ungreat? The second Joe Biden was sworn in?
What kind of making/fixing is that? If you hired a guy to fix your clunky water heater and the thing started spraying geysers around before the guy even pulled out of the driveway, would you be calling him back again? Fuck no! You’d stop the check and go on Facebook or Twitter (X?) to badmouth that loser and caveat emptor the crap out of him.
So, if the Fat Fascist had “fixed” the country, how is it that we’re all in hell so quickly? Maybe it wasn’t “fixed” fixed? Oh…but he’ll fix it again, right? Or again again. More bullshit. Remember how he promised that all crime would cease minutes after he was inaugurated? (Oh, except for him…his criming was just going into high gear). And…he could stop the war on Ukraine in one day…Do these people just like being taken for patsies?
Not that I give a shit about the traitors, but I’ve yet to see a single media outlet point out this yuuuge discrepancy. I guess if someone actually did say anything about it there’d be an instant torrent of “what aboutisms” whining about how Biden hasn’t cured cancer yet and can’t keep his dog from biting people.
Logic, schmogic.
And about this “aspirational” canard…watch out, kids, here comes the PoT manure truck. Again again.
If “aspirational” was a good excuse, prisons would be emptied overnight. “I aspired to steal that car, but I didn’t actually do it. Can I go now?”
Here again, these guys are playing to the Trump base, already determined to be Deranged and/or Terminally Stupid.
Re aspirational: Without lawyers and real estate agents, would euphemisms even exist?
Reminds me of my favorite scene from "History of the World Part I": Bea Arthur as a clerk at the unemployment office asking a gladiator, "Did you kill this week?" "No." "Did you TRY to kill this week?"
Essentially, the lawyer is offering incompetence as an affirmative defense. "Hey, he's harmless!"
"Do these people just like being taken for patsies?"
Yes.
@Akhilleus: While your hypothesis that Trump's campaign slogan should be "Make America Great Again Again," it assumes an acronym not necessarily in evidence. What if MAGA didn't stand for "Make American Great Again," after all?
@Patrick's comment suggests to me that what Trump really meant by MAGA -- and the basic assumption of all of his campaign presentations and fundraising scams -- is the proven premise that his base is really Masochists, Asses, Goobers & Airheads. (And those are the polite descriptors.)
From what I’ve read about the recent movie, I’ll take Judge Barbie any day?
@NiskyGuy: Yes, I was thinking of posting a picture of Judge Barbie, but I too read that Movie Barbie is a feminist, and that is way too much of an upgrade for Trumpette Judge Aileen.