“From the start of the investigation into Donald Trump’s mishandling of #ClassifiedDocuments, U.S. District Judge #AileenCannon has seemed inclined to act in favor of the president who appointed her. Now, Cannon might be poised to issue her most audacious ruling yet, on #Trump’s far-fetched bid to have the #indictment#dismissed on the grounds that special counsel #JackSmith’s appointment is constitutionally invalid.
Perhaps, in the end, #AileenCannon won’t take the plunge & kill the case. (Such a ruling shouldn’t jeopardize the #ElectionInterference case pending in Washington.) But at this point, after months of vacillating between slow-walking the case & issuing rulings favorable to #Trump, Cannon can’t be underestimated.
The gag order, issued by Judge Juan #Merchan in the #criminal case against Trump, remains in effect.
Separately, Trump has asked Merchan to terminate the gag order ahead of his sentencing scheduled for July. Trump was convicted of 34 counts of business #fraud relating to #HushMoney payments to adult film star #StormyDaniels.
#Trump has 30 days to file a motion for leave to appeal, which is another avenue by which the court could end up hearing the case. Once that motion is filed, the court will again make a decision on whether to hear the case.
In their filing w/the appeals court, Trump’s attorneys argued that the case presents “substantial constitutional questions of the highest importance.”
“This #GagOrder restricts President#Trump’s core political speech on matters of central importance at the height of his Presidential campaign, where he is the leading candidate, & thus it violates the fundamental right of every American voter to hear from the leading candidate for President on matters of enormous public importance,” his attorneys wrote. [the order doesn’t apply to a political opponent or any political policies]
#Trump’s lawyers said that the case still presents substantial constitutional questions even though the trial has ended, adding that the #GagOrder does not include a set termination date.
If the Court of Appeals did find the gag order unconstitutional, Trump’s attorneys wrote it would “undermine the justification” for the fines Trump received for his violations.
#Trump’s lawyers said that the case still presents substantial constitutional questions even though the trial has ended, adding that the #GagOrder does not include a set termination date.
If the Court of Appeals did find the gag order unconstitutional, Trump’s attorneys wrote it would “undermine the justification” for the fines Trump received for his violations.
A total of 51 Trump allies, & #Trump himself, are now facing charges in 5 states related to #ElectionInterference; a number of others have either pleaded guilty or reached cooperation agreements.
#Trump, seeking to show unity, to meet w/ #GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill
Trump plans to return to Washington on Thurs to meet w/congressional #Republicans near the #US Capitol, as the GOP tries to present a united front & coalesce around a #policy agenda [ha!] heading into the Nov #elections.
The trip will be #Trump’s 1st meeting w/ #GOP lawmakers since a jury found him #guilty on all 34 #felony counts of falsifying business records in his #NewYork#ElectionInterference case, making him the 1st fmr #POTUS convicted of a #crime. Since the historic guilty verdict, however, #Republicans have largely fallen in line behind Trump, as he & President #Biden continue to be locked in a tight race.
It will also be Trump’s 1st public visit to Capitol Hill since the #Jan6, 2021, #insurrection…
#Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, including his actions leading up to & during the #Jan6#insurrection, are at the heart of federal charges against him.
Asked Wed if he had spoken to Trump about committing to a peaceful transfer of power, #House Speaker #MikeJohnson (R-LA) said “of course [Trump] respects that, & we all do.” 🤦🏼♀️
'Georgia Is Our Laboratory': Inside Trump's Plan to Rig 2024
Team #Trump sees #Georgia as 'a road map' for putting Trump's heads-I-win-tails-you-lose philosophy of #elections into practice
The Peach State is unique—it's the sole battleground state in which the #Republican Party has total #control over the levers of #power: a trifecta in state #House, #Senate, & governorship
But ever since President #Biden's inauguration, #conservative activists & policymakers in #Georgia have tried to bypass #Raffensperger & worked diligently to turn Trump's heads-I-win-tails-you-lose philosophy of #elections into public #policy.
As #Trump has continued to lie that the #2020election was "stolen" & "rigged", Trump & his supporters have been making concrete, step-by-step progress in shaping electoral processes to his benefit.
#POTUS#Biden said Thurs he would not #pardon his son, if convicted.
Biden said “yes” when asked in an ABC interview if he would rule out pardoning Hunter Biden…. Biden also said yes when the interviewer asked if he would accept the trial’s outcome.
The president has said for months that he would not pardon his son.
“I’ve been very clear — the president is not going to pardon his son,” WH press sec Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters in Dec.
Hunter Biden is accused of making false statements in filling out paperwork to purchase a gun in 2018. The max sentence for the most serious charge is 10yrs in prison.
Hunter’s trial is unfolding days after #Trump was convicted of all counts in his #FalsifiedBusinessRecords 2016 #ElectionInterference trial in #NewYork.
Trump has vocally criticized the trial as “rigged”….
"He's trying to undermine it" #POTUS said re Trump. “He got a fair trial. The jury spoke."
The GA Court of Appeals on Wed ordered a halt to the proceedings in the election interference case against Trump & 8 co-defendants pending the outcome of their appeal seeking to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney #FaniWillis.
The order, issued by the full appeals court, means the case against #Trump & his co-defendants, accusing them of a #criminal#conspiracy to try to overturn his defeat in the state, will almost certainly not be scheduled for trial before the fall #election or even the new year. It remains unclear if the case against the 6 remaining co-defendants who did not sign onto the appeal will proceed.
#StephenMiller, a fmr snr adviser to #Trump [& pure concentrated evil] who still helps guide his thinking on policy, blared out a directive on #FoxNews after a jury found Trump #guilty of falsifying financial records to cover up… his 2016 [#ElectionInterference]. Miller posed a series of questions to Republicans at every level, including local DAs.
Manhattan DA #AlvinBragg will have an opportunity to say whether his office would oppose the revocation of the #GagOrder before the judge rules. His spox declined to comment Tues. In seeking the order in the first place, prosecutors cited examples of how #Trump’s rhetoric routinely inspires #threats of #violence & #harassment by his followers.
The case has been frozen… since early Dec as a series of courts in Washington have considered an expansive & novel (BS) claim he has raised in his own defense: that he is #immune to all of the charges in the #indictment because he claims they arose from ofcl acts as president.
#Trump & 18 of his allies were indicted in #FultonCounty, GA, last Aug, in a #RICO case. The case was brought by the DA #FaniWillis.
But the #racketeering case is unlikely to go to trial this yr. Part of the delay stems from an affair between Willis & the atty she hired to run the case, Nathan Wade. Defense claimed it created a conflict of interest.
Judge McAfee, held many hearings on the topic & decided not to disqualify Willis, if Wade stepped down; he did.
"Nine witnesses in the criminal cases against former President Donald Trump have received significant financial benefits, including large raises from his campaign, severance packages, new jobs, and a grant of shares and cash from Trump’s media company."
~ Robert Faturechi, Justin Elliott and Alex Mierjeski
"The benefits have flowed from Trump’s businesses and campaign committees, according to a ProPublica analysis of public disclosures, court records and securities filings. One campaign aide had his average monthly pay double, from $26,000 to $53,500. Another employee got a $2 million severance package barring him from voluntarily cooperating with law enforcement."