Donald Trump in Hot Water

[kcmets]

It was inevitable that Cannon would be slammed with a shut-up.

Now she can slither back under the rock and look cronies in the eye
and declare she tried to be a good soldier (snake) but was silenced.

[MFS62]

Here is more detail from the Circuit Court response to Judge Cannon:(from a Daily Beast article)

the 11th Circuit basically held that the DOJ had already satisfied the most important element of an eventual prosecution under the Espionage Act (18 USC Section 793(d).

Here’s what Section 793(d) states:

"Whoever, lawfully having possession of [a document] relating to the national defense which information the possessor had reason to believe could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation…willfully retains the same and fails to deliver it on demand to the officer or employee of the United States entitled to receive it" violates the Espionage Act and "shall be…imprisoned not more than ten years" for each document willfully retained.

Yesterday, the 11th Circuit held:

The documents at issue contain information “the unauthorized disclosure of which reasonably could be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security."

The 11th Circuit almost certainly selected that parallel language to provide Judge Cannon and Trump a message: the former president does not have any legal defense to an indictment for violation of the Espionage Act. If he is indicted, the indictment will not be dismissed. If he is convicted, the conviction will not be overturned.

In short, so long as the documents were properly marked as classified in the first place, Trump is screwed.
My favorite line was: " "shall be…imprisoned not more than ten years" for each document willfully retained.

Later

[Benjamin Grimm]

Not less than ten years would be better.

[Edgy MD]

By the way, I had a dream last week that I was some sort of federal agent and I arrested former President Trump.

The downside is that, in the course of trying to evade prosecution, he was somehow responsible for the death of one of my fellow agents, as well as a young boy. In movie fashion, I made a point of cuffing him with the fallen agent's cuffs.

Back in the real world, Sandy Berger, national security advisor during the Clinton administration, took classified (not top secret) documents from the National Archives on more than one occasion, folding them into his clothes, leaving the building, and ditching the docs (which were presumably embarrassing for him) under a trailer for later retrieval.

That's pretty sneaky and bad, and I was kind of rooting for him to get jailed, but he got off with a fine, probation, and 100 hours of community service. So I'm not thinking jail over the documents is a slam-dunk under any circumstances.

[MFS62]

Not less than ten years would be better.

But it is per document.
And there are 100 documents.
We can only hope. (or dream)
Later

[Edgy MD]

Times reporting that ex-President Trump attempted to offer the National Archives a trade of the federal documents illegally in his possession in exchange for supposed documents in the Archives collection that would help establish that the 2016 investigation into ties between his campaign and Russian malefactors interfering in our election was all a "hoax."

I don't know how many statutes are violated when you try to shake down the federal government by holding federal property hostage, but I would guess it's at least a few.

[metsmarathon]

jeez, he shoulda went public with them while he was in office, no?

[Edgy MD]

Supreme Court, without dissent, has rejected quisling Senator Lindsey Graham's petition to block Georgia's grand jury subpoena for him to testify.

[batmagadanleadoff]

I don't know anything about that stuff. I was in the olive oil business with his father, Vito Corleone. That's all I know. They said they'd make me a nice deal so I told the prosecutors whatever they wanted to hear.

NY's supposed star-witness in the big fraud case against the Trump Org., Allen Weisselberg, pulls a Frank Pentangeli right out of The Godfather Part II and cops to everything.

Star Witness in the Trump Org Trial Tries to Take the Fall

Excerpt:

Disgraced Trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg was nearly brought to tears on Thursday during his testimony at the company’s criminal trial, where he admitted to betraying the former president’s family and putting them at legal risk by dodging taxes and fudging the books.

And yet, he remains loyal.

Despite his plea deal with prosecutors to become their star witness, Weisselberg has made himself a fall guy. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, which has been frustratedly building a case against former President Donald Trump by trying to flip his lieutenants, has hit a wall.

Weisselberg spent his second day on the witness stand absorbing all the blame, saying he alone rearranged his pay and benefits to avoid taxes, blowing holes in the DA’s theory that the company as a whole engaged in tax fraud.

“It was my own personal greed that led to this,” he said in his gravelly voice.

Weisselberg is giving both sides what they want, agreeing to every question asked of him by prosecutors and company defense lawyers. As a result, jurors are seeing what appears to be a remorseful executive who committed crimes—all on his own.

In the morning, Weisselberg acknowledged how he avoided paying some of his taxes by diverting it into untaxed luxury apartment rent, utilities, and a parking garage worth more than $100,000 a year.

“I was guilty of those crimes,” he said.

Then in the afternoon, Weisselberg clarified that he did all of that on his own—and if anyone knew about what was going on, it was only his underling, company controller Jeffrey S. McConney, who conveniently has already struck an immunity deal with the DA’s office. Weisselberg insisted that the scheme operated criminally without the knowledge of Donald Trump or the offspring he appointed as executives there: Don Jr., Ivanka, and Eric Trump.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/star-witn ... l?ref=home

[Edgy MD]

The Justice Department is announcing this afternoon that the Mar a Lago documents probe as well as the January 6 probe are being turned over to an independent counsel.

Probably the right move, but I expect it will serve to push back any outcomes by several months.

It looks like two wins for the ex-president today.

[Centerfield]

I don't know anything about that stuff. I was in the olive oil business with his father, Vito Corleone. That's all I know. They said they'd make me a nice deal so I told the prosecutors whatever they wanted to hear.

NY's supposed star-witness in the big fraud case against the Trump Org., Allen Weisselberg, pulls a Frank Pentangeli right out of The Godfather Part II and cops to everything.

Star Witness in the Trump Org Trial Tries to Take the Fall

Excerpt:

Disgraced Trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg was nearly brought to tears on Thursday during his testimony at the company’s criminal trial, where he admitted to betraying the former president’s family and putting them at legal risk by dodging taxes and fudging the books.

And yet, he remains loyal.

Despite his plea deal with prosecutors to become their star witness, Weisselberg has made himself a fall guy. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, which has been frustratedly building a case against former President Donald Trump by trying to flip his lieutenants, has hit a wall.

Weisselberg spent his second day on the witness stand absorbing all the blame, saying he alone rearranged his pay and benefits to avoid taxes, blowing holes in the DA’s theory that the company as a whole engaged in tax fraud.

“It was my own personal greed that led to this,” he said in his gravelly voice.

Weisselberg is giving both sides what they want, agreeing to every question asked of him by prosecutors and company defense lawyers. As a result, jurors are seeing what appears to be a remorseful executive who committed crimes—all on his own.

In the morning, Weisselberg acknowledged how he avoided paying some of his taxes by diverting it into untaxed luxury apartment rent, utilities, and a parking garage worth more than $100,000 a year.

“I was guilty of those crimes,” he said.

Then in the afternoon, Weisselberg clarified that he did all of that on his own—and if anyone knew about what was going on, it was only his underling, company controller Jeffrey S. McConney, who conveniently has already struck an immunity deal with the DA’s office. Weisselberg insisted that the scheme operated criminally without the knowledge of Donald Trump or the offspring he appointed as executives there: Don Jr., Ivanka, and Eric Trump.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/star-witn ... l?ref=home

Wow. Wonder what Trump has on him. Crazy.

[Edgy MD]

He doesn't necessarily have to have anything on him. He has Roger Stone on his side, and Stone tried to flip a witness by threatening to kill his dog.

[MFS62]

Once the DA had to ask to have him treated as a hostile witness, this was the only outcome I was expecting.
As a DA, I would then ask, "If this was your, and only your doing, how do we have Donald Trump's signature on so many documents?"
Weisselberg's testimony is not the only evidence they have.

I read that because so much evidence has already been submitted and reviewed (by the Trump lawyers), the naming of an independent counsel will only push back things one or two weeks. I hope that's true.
From the Yahoo article"

“Given the work to date, and Mr. Smith's prosecutorial experience, I am confident that this appointment will not slow the completion of these investigations,” Garland said.

Later

[kcmets]

Trump's hot water has frozen and he's gonna skate away while whistling zip-a-
dee-doo-dah-zip-a-dee-ay out his orange asshole.

Can't take much more.

[whippoorwill]

On my way to work this morning I saw a Trump/Pence sign (yes still up) and I vaguely wondered who he’d pick as a running mate this time and immediately my mind said Oz.
So we’d all have to put up with him, not just me.

[batmagadanleadoff]

The Justice Department is announcing this afternoon that the Mar a Lago documents probe as well as the January 6 probe are being turned over to an independent counsel.

Probably the right move, but I expect it will serve to push back any outcomes by several months.

It looks like two wins for the ex-president today.

Probably NOT the right move. But reminder to myself: If I'm ever under serious suspicion of committing a serious crime, I should run for President,

[TransMonk]

I do wish Garland had more spine on this, but I guess we’ll continue this bullshit dance for a while longer (maybe forever?). The cable news channels must be over the moon.

[Lefty Specialist]

I was pissed about this at first, but on further reflection......nah, I'm still pissed.

Garland is so overly concerned about appearances, when he's going to be hauled in front of the House Judiciary Committee as soon as the crazies take over anyway. I really wish Biden had nominated a take-no-prisoners kind of Attorney General, instead of Casper Milquetoast.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Let's stick with the Pentangeli/Godfather analogies. So if this were The Godfather, Garland would be out.

We need a war-time consigliere.

[MFS62]

Let's stick with the Pentangeli/Godfather analogies. So if this were The Godfather, Garland would be out.

We need a war-time consigliere.

Democrats playing too nice again.
They need another vicious, tenacious fu**er like Bill Barr.

Later

[Edgy MD]

Well, Smith's last gig was prosecuting war crimes, so ... .

[MFS62]

Trump Organization found guilty on all counts.
Later

[batmagadanleadoff]

Trump Organization found guilty on all counts.
Later

Yeah. Now it'll have to pay a $1.6M fine. I'm sure the family will now be ruined and have to live in the streets.

[MFS62]

Trump Organization found guilty on all counts.
Later

Yeah. Now it'll have to pay a $1.6M fine. I'm sure the family will now be ruined and have to live in the streets.

This is the civil case. Now the IRS will come after him and his slimy brood in criminal court.

Later

[Edgy MD]

A conviction is good.