1/ #Trump's first criminal trial will start in NYC on March 25. Judge Juan Merchan denied Trump’s motions to dismiss the case Thursday. The trial should be over before the RNC & in time for the fedl case in the DC to be tried before the election if #SCOTUS acts expeditiously.
2/ Candidate Trump could be convicted felon Trump by the time of the convention. His lawyer Todd Blanche called for a continuance saying there would be 42 primaries & caucuses between March 1 & the expected end of trial & that the schedule amounted to election interference.
3/ Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo read the Judge an email he received from Blanche last May. Blanche wrote, “If we start the trial on March 25, although still disruptive to the campaign, it will minimize the disruption.” Busted.
4/ Judge Merchan made sure Blanche understood who was in control of the courtroom, admonishing him at one point to stop interrupting him. This should serve as a warning to Trump that this is a Judge who won’t put up with his shenanigans.
5/ Trump, like any other defendant who doesn’t go into custody pending trial, is on a bond, and he has to obey its conditions. If he violates them, his pre-trial release can be revoked and he could be taken into custody immediately. If Trump is smart, he won’t cross this Judge.
“We are pleased that the court denied the defense’s motion to dismiss,” DA Alvin Bragg said “We look forward to presenting our case in court on March 25, 2024.”
@GottaLaff For lawyer Blanche. One, it’s now primary season and your client will win the R nomination easily, even without showing up!! Two, election season does not start until after the two parties nominating conventions. So with a little luck your client will be a convicted felon X 2 plus an adjudicated sexual offender and business fraud!! #losertrump
As more court cases pile up, the amount of leniency shown Trump will reduce.
Before Trump, indicting or charging a former president was almost unthinkable. Until Trump got indicted twice, and charged 4 times.
Imprisoning a former president was unthinkable ... but the country seems to be coming around to the idea that maybe it's necessary, for punishment or prevention.
@elronxenu Plus, criminal (vs civil) judges are way less tolerant of Trump’s BS. He won’t get away with nearly as much as he does now in the courtroom.
But yes, it took awhile, but it’s starting to sink in that he’s nothing more than a fraud, a criminal.
@GottaLaff I can't help thinking that if anyone actually did delay these trials because 'they're going to disrupt the campaign' then we'll soon be seeing a boatload of car thieves, shoplifters, and other petty criminals declaring their candidacies in attempts to put off their own trials.
@GottaLaff I don't think any judge wants to take Trump into custody. I'd enjoy it, but I don't think anyone there wants to deal with all the Secret Service logistics and death threats.
Home arrest with an ankle bracelet, on the other hand, seems like a good option.
@GottaLaff it still blows my mind that they think his candidacy should take precedence over the justice system determining criminal guilt or innocence in an expeditious fashion. But then again, their whole point is to prevent that at all costs.