Donald Trump in Hot Water

[MFS62]

He's already trying to monetize his mug shot, selling T-shirts with the picture and the words, "Never Surrender".
I wonder if the knuckle scraping mouth breathers who buy the shirt realize that the picture was taken after he surrendered to authorities.

Later

[metirish]

Apparently Trump sold Mar-a- Largp to Junior for over $400 million? Hugely inflated obviously, how is that possible?

[MFS62]

Apparently Trump sold Mar-a- Largp to Junior for over $400 million? Hugely inflated obviously, how is that possible?

A book transfer that keeps the property in the family and launders Saudi money.
A double grift for the price of one.
Later

[MFS62]

Woops!
“Yeah. If it was a normal person, honestly, Shannon, I could understand the concern. President Trump is not your average person,” Habba replied. “He’s incredibly intelligent and he knows the ropes. He also knows the facts because he lived them.”
“What is going to have to be prepped for? The truth?” Habba added. ”You don’t have to prep much when you’ve done nothing wrong, so that I’m not concerned with.”

There goes the "We'll need more time to prepare" argument or delaying his trial.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... ccf0&ei=38

And, if it hasn't been mentioned here before, anything one of his lawyers says can be used as evidence in court proceedings, like when he asks for a delay.

Later

[Benjamin Grimm]

"Incredibly intelligent".

[Lefty Specialist]

No lawyer in the world would EVER put Donald Trump on the stand, not even stupid lawyers. No prep is necessary for that reason, and that reason only.

The cross-examination would be vicious. The stuff of a prosecuting attorney's dreams.

[Edgy MD]

Alina Habba has worked for him before — and it's clear from the record that she has had bad outcomes for him before.

I don't write this as an insult to her, but rather as an observation of him, but I suspect her bust size is part of what has put her on his team. It also helps that her firm is based in Bedminster and she's a member of his club.

[Lefty Specialist]

Judge Chutkin in DC has set a date for trial- March 4th, 2023.

Considering Jack Smith asked for January 2nd and Trump's team ludicrously asked for April 2026, she went more than 90% in the direction of the prosecution.

This date is also one day before Super Tuesday, proving that she doesn't give a fnunft about the political schedule.

[batmagadanleadoff]

This date is also one day before Super Tuesday, proving that she doesn't give a fnunft about the political schedule.

She explicitly said that she doesn't give a flying fuck about the deranged psychopath's political schedule, which she referred to, dismissively in this context, as professional obligations.

[whippoorwill]

Is that 2024?

[MFS62]

Is that 2024?

Yes.
Later

[Edgy MD]

Vinny Gambini had, like, only a few days to prepare for the capital murder trial of his nephew and his nephew's companion.

[MFS62]

Vinny Gambini had, like, only a few days to prepare for the capital murder trial of his nephew and his nephew's companion.

Must have been a simpler case.
Were there any witnesses left alive to testify?

Later

[whippoorwill]

Is that 2024?

Yes.
Later

That just seems like a long time off…

[Lefty Specialist]

In the scheme of things, not really that long of a delay. I'm sure Trump's team will attempt to delay as much as they can but it's looking like Judge Chutkin will get this case rolling well before the election. Jury selection could take a while, though.

A random thought/nightmare- Lefty Jr could be a juror as he's a DC resident and registered voter. (Although he'd probably be outed as a rational Democrat in voir dire.)

[batmagadanleadoff]

A random thought/nightmare- Lefty Jr could be a juror as he's a DC resident and registered voter. (Although he'd probably be outed as a rational Democrat in voir dire.)

"Rational Democrat" (redundancy) describes most DC eligible jurors. And the defense can strike only so many potential jurors. Tough venue for the deranged psychopath.

[Lefty Specialist]

True, but his parents would sleep better if he were never called.

He himself has pledged to answer every question with 'Guilty'.

[batmagadanleadoff]

This date is also one day before Super Tuesday, proving that she doesn't give a fnunft about the political schedule.

She explicitly said that she doesn't give a flying fuck about the deranged psychopath's political schedule, which she referred to, dismissively in this context, as professional obligations.

__________________

Doesn't give a flying fuck ...

It appears that Judge Tanya Chutkan down in Washington is determined to run a trial, not a circus, and that she also is determined that she has no intention of allowing either side to decide when the trial will begin. From The New York Times:

The decision by Judge Tanya S. Chutkan to start the trial on March 4 amounted to an early victory for prosecutors, who had asked for Jan. 2. But it potentially brought the proceeding into conflict with the three other trials that Mr. Trump is facing, underscoring the extraordinary complexities of his legal situation and the intersection of the prosecutions with his campaign to return to the White House. The district attorney in Fulton County, Ga., has proposed taking Mr. Trump to trial on charges of tampering with the election in that state on March 4 as well. Another case, in Manhattan, in which Mr. Trump has been accused of more than 30 felonies connected to hush-money payments to a porn actress in the run-up the 2016 election, has been scheduled to go to trial on March 25. And if the trial in Washington lasts more than 11 weeks, it could bump up against Mr. Trump’s other federal trial, on charges of illegally retaining classified documents after he left office and obstructing the government’s efforts to retrieve them. That trial is scheduled to begin in Florida in late May.

To which Judge Chutkan replied— tough luck, pal. Your calendar of crime and grifting is not my concern, and neither is your political campaign. Chutkan emphasized that she would treat Trump, in her courtroom, like any other defendant, and would not give him any “more or less deference.”

[***]

And she said his political schedule as he campaigns to regain the White House would not factor into her decisions. She compared him to a professional athlete facing criminal charges, saying it would be “inappropriate” to schedule a trial around that athlete’s schedule. “Setting a trial date does not depend and should not depend on the defendant’s personal and professional obligations,” Chutkan said. “Mr. Trump, like any defendant, will have to make the trial date work regardless of his schedule.”

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/p ... tion-case/

That's the way the real world works. A Federal fucking criminal trial takes precedence over anything else and everything else.

[MFS62]

Has the transcript of Mark Meadows' testimony he provided yesterday been released yet?
MSNBC said it should be soon.

Later

[Edgy MD]

“What a spectacular mess,” The Wall Street Journal wrote. “Mr. Trump made himself legally vulnerable with his terrible behavior, but the timing of the 2020 election case is the Justice Department’s doing. Special counsel Jack Smith finally moved to secure an indictment two and a half years after the alleged conduct and less than six months before the 2024 primaries begin.”

Special Counsel Smith was appointed November 18, 2022. He was out of the country at the time and unable to return due to having been hit by a car while cycling. He nonetheless began his work immediately from The Netherlands, and returned to the US in early January, when he was able to travel. On June 8, 2023, he indicted the former president, along with several co-defendents, for their alleged roles in retaining and handling classified documents that they had no business having. On August 1, he indicted President Trump, along with six co-defendents, for their alleged roles in the assault on Congress.

So that two-and-a-half-years figure is total nonsense.

It must be awful to be trying to publish a newspaper in 2023, getting up every morning and knowing how completely in the bag you are.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Was that quote from an opinion column or a news article?

[Edgy MD]

Well, I hope they aren't so far gone that they'd open a paragraph with "What a spectacular mess ..." in a news story.

It's an Op-Ed under the "Staff" byline.

[MFS62]

Meanwhile, back in his New York case, a judge just ruled that the banks who loaned him money during his property evaluation machinations will have to turn their records over to the court.

Companies that did business with the Trump Organization as it allegedly inflated the value of the company can't magically hide documents showing their ties to Trump.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/judge-art ... e?ref=home

Later

[Lefty Specialist]

This is going to be interesting. The banks and insurance companies are long-time co-conspirators with the Trump Org.

[Edgy MD]

ABC reporting that efforts are picking up steam in key states to keep him off the ballot in both the primary and general elections.

Many outlets have been cynical about such actions, but I think they expected that the challenge would come from citizen lawsuits. If election officials and state cabinet offices are leading the way, it could put the power, resources, and authority of the states behind the action, therefore providing a more meaningful bit of clout for the courts, and forcing the former president's campaign to make their case.