#ClarenceThomas argued that the #SpecialCounsel’s office needs to be established by #Congress & confirmed by the #Senate. He said he tacked on his concurring opinion to the #immunity ruling to “highlight another way in which this prosecution may violate our constitutional structure.”
“If there is no #law establishing the office that the Special Counsel occupies, then he cannot proceed with this prosecution. A private citizen cannot criminally prosecute anyone, let alone a fmr President.”
Smith revealed new #photos in a filing that depict how haphazardly Trump stored #classified materials at his Florida property post-presidency, w/golf shirts stuffed into boxes alongside the sensitive materials, newspaper clippings & other mementos.
James Pearce, atty for #SpecialCounsel#JackSmith's office, faced questions…on how the investigation into Trump is funded…. Trump's attys have argued that the charges…should be dropped bc Smith was improperly appointed …& the funding…is unconstitutional.
Under persistent questioning from Judge Cannon, prosecutors declined to divulge details & seemed caught off-guard by the inquiries. At one point, Smith dpy James Pearce said he was “not authorized” to discuss the level of communication.
When Judge #AileenCannon presides over a hearing on Fri in #Trump’s #ClassifiedDocuments case, she will spend the day considering well-trod arguments about an arcane #legal issue in an unorthodox manner.
The issue that will be discussed…is a motion by the defense to dismiss the charges…on the grounds that #SpecialCounsel#JackSmith was improperly funded & appointed.
@Amoshias its a weird thing in #Florida (see below), but it was actually addressed by prosecution - the #SpecialCounsel's office said #Trump had created a situation w/ his public comments that couldn't wait the weekend to file.
Local Rule 88.9, says both parties must "meet & confer" before filing motions so the court & the parties' time is used efficiently.
"As we also tried to explain earlier, our judgment was that the situation your client has created necessitated a prompt request for relief that could not wait the weekend to file. We understand your position & represented to the court that you do not believe the government has engaged in adequate conferral here," #SpecialCounsel prosecutor David Harbach emailed Trump's attys.
#AileenCannon agreed w/ #Trump's attys 😱 & she said failure to comply w/requirements may result in sanctions.
In an angry court filing, #Trump’s lawyers pushed back hard against the request by the office of the #SpecialCounsel, #JackSmith, to revise Trump’s conditions of release by forbidding him to make any public comments that might endanger federal agents working on the prosecution.
Cross-examination of #MichaelCohen resumes, an opportunity for the defense to poke holes in his testimony & perhaps trip up or provoke the state’s key witness. The questioning of Cohen, #Trump’s fmr fixer, is the beginning of the end of Trump’s #criminal trial, which began April 15 & might conclude before Memorial Day weekend at this pace.
Justice #Merchan announces court will not be in session as usual next Wed, bc jurors won’t be free.
#Blanche, asks #MichaelCohen to clarify that he has met w/several sets of prosecutors & testimony about their conversations can be confusing. “Help the jury understand that,” he says. “There’s 2 separate prosecutors?”
Cohen confirms that he met w/both the #SpecialCounsel’s office in DC, during the #Russia investigation, & Manhattan federal prosecutors, where Blanche used to work.
Ridiculous that #AileenCannon says that there are "novel & difficult" #CIPA issues when her delays have meant the CIPA issues have barely been considered by the court. The only section of CIPA she has considered was §4, which is straightforward.
US District Court Judge #AileenCannon agreed Tuesday to end a long-running dispute w/prosecutors over whether government-agent witnesses in #Trump’s #ClassifiedDocuments#criminal#trial should be publicly identified in court filings.
Her order was the 2nd time this month she has criticized #DOJ lawyers while ruling mostly in their favor.
“Separately, to the extent the #SpecialCounsel demands an anticipatory finalization of #JuryInstructions prior to #trial, prior to a charge conference, & prior to the presentation of trial defenses & evidence, the Court declines that demand as unprecedented & unjust….“
Tues night, prosecutors told Judge #AileenCannon who is overseeing Trump’s #ClassifiedDocuments case that a “fundamentally flawed” order she had issued was causing #delays & asked her to quickly resolve a critical dispute about one of #Trump’s defenses — leaving them time to appeal if needed.
In their filing, prosecutors in #SpecialCounsel, #JackSmith’s office, all but begged Judge #AileenCannon to move the case along & make a binding decision about one of #Trump’s most brazen claims: that he cannot be prosecuted for having taken home a trove of #NationalSecurity docs after leaving office bc he transformed them into his own personal property under…the PRA.
The prosecutors derided that assertion as “not based on any facts,” adding that it was a “justification that was concocted more than a year after” #Trump left the WH.
“It would be pure fiction,” the prosecutors wrote, “to suggest that highly #ClassifiedDocuments created by members of the #intelligence community & #military & presented to the president of the United States during his term in office were ‘purely private.’”
The cases #Trump is facing charge him w/ #FalsifyingRecords to allegedly cover up a #HushMoney payment to an adult-film actress during the 2016 presidential election; mishandling #ClassifiedDocuments & #obstruction of government efforts to retrieve them; & #ElectionInterference in the 2020 presidential election. #LocalAuthorities brought 2 of the cases against Trump w/no evidence of coordination, & a #SpecialCounsel acting independently of the WH brought the 2 federal cases against him.
Lawyers for #Trump asked a judge on Tues night to pause a group of #civil lawsuits seeking to hold him accountable for the #violence at the Capitol on #Jan6, 2021, until after his #federal#criminal trial connected to the same events was over.
The request…to pause the civil cases was the latest example of Trump trying to pit his multiple #legal matters against one another in an effort to #delay them.
They said that in so doing, #Trump might reveal his strategy for defending himself against related #criminal charges brought against him by the #SpecialCounsel#JackSmith.
“Given the substantial overlap in factual & #legal allegations between these cases & the DC criminal case,” the lawyers wrote, there is “a substantial risk that proceeding in this matter now will expose the defense’s theory to the prosecution in advance of trial.”