I am always sketchy in criminal trials of translating too much of what we've heard into 'they definitely have killer evidence". But this case always seemed so open and shut. He was caught red handed with the stuff. He tried not to give it back. That is two crimes right there. He also appears to have left unauthorised people access it, which escalates into much worse territory Obviously anyone else would be looking at decades in prison
I suggest it would useful for an actual big indictment and eventual criminal trial to start a new thread Especially I'd request in post 1 of the thread there is an index of good follows, podcasts, substackers for the trial so we can refer to them and people can find them without us having to link to them everytime. Also a link to the indictment and anything else - as these resources are useful. Just off the top of my head, the following are really good on Trump crimes Preet Bharara - former US Attorney for SDNY, knows procedure/strategy etc like the back of his hand Ken White - very high quality legal analysis Lawfare - ditto if you really like to get in the weeds Marcy Wheeler - independent journalist with encyclopaedic knowledge of the cases Andrew Weissman - ex Mueller team line prosecutor who is often on TV Just Security Opening Arguments Meiselas / Legal AF (these guys are lawyers but this is more YES BOI! type coverage) Strict Scrutiny / Leah Litman Resistance Twitter. Yes if Mueller She Wrote is your bag, i do think she does a reasonable job of reporting what is going on in an accessible way Who have i missed? If you post more, I will edit this post with the names, then start a new thread
So far we think 7 crimes are charged. Note - there may be more counts than this. e.g the hoarding of stolen documents is over 100 docs but they likely will only charge some of them Trump has not seen the indictment yet, but Jim Trusty says that based on the summons, there are seven crimes charged: 18 USC 793(e): hoarding (and possibly disseminating) stolen classified documents 18 USC 1512(k): conspiracy to obstruct justice 18 USC 1512(b)(2)(a): inducing someone to withhold testimony (possibly asking Nauta to withhold testimony, or setting Evan Corcoran up to make incorrect statements) 18 USC 1512(c)(1): concealing a document (possibly altering surveillance video) 18 USC 1519: concealing a document (probably for hiding docs from Evan Corcoran) 18 USC 1001(a)(1): concealing a material fact (possibly false statements to NARA and DOJ) 18 USC 1001(a)(2): false statement https://www.emptywheel.net/2023/06/...inally-believe-this-is-an-espionage-act-case/
Any decent lawyer is always loathe to speak without reading the actual thing being cited (the indictment) but this feels bigger and more expansive than what i was expecting ... The obstruction/conspiracy charges really set out a theory that trump didn't just steal the stuff - he was intentionally trying to keep stolen war plans etc I think it is not so much the job of Jack Smith to say why he did that, but simply that such conduct is alarming
Worth noting that Mueller found ample evidence of obstruction, but because of the DOJ rule that you can't indict a sitting President, that charge was not made.
I'm curious about Meadows. For such a Trumpy sycophant to turn coats, Jack must really have the goods.
Good article from Josh Marshall at Talkingpointsmemo.com At the risk of stating the obvious, when we put this together with what we are seeing unfold in the electoral realm, we should be expecting 2024 to bring us an extremely uncommon presidential rematch (1956 was the last time) and a totally unprecedented campaign in which the major nominee of one party is running under federal indictment and possibly on trial. This doesn’t include the active indictments and trial in New York State or the potential one in Georgia, which still seems quite likely. To answer your question, no: I don’t think any of these charges change the equation in terms of Trump’s likelihood to be the Republican nominee. The facts revealed in the indictments would have to be dramatically more damning than the ones we know. Let’s be honest, he stole a bunch of classified documents after launching a failed coup. https://talkingpointsmemo.com/newsletter/vol-2-no-17-the-target-letter-is-trump-toast
When's the Georgia indictment dropping? Have the mf'er on tape asking election officials to "find him" votes. That one should've dropped a year ago.
JFC hope it's only for initial proceedings https://www.google.com/amp/s/abcnews.go.com/amp/US/judge-aileen-cannon-trump-appointee-initially-assigned-oversee/story?id=99956910
There's a rule in business and working in nonprofits about never making a suggestion if you're not willing to be the one to carry it through. Just saying.
The GQP is always creating fake stories about Socialists running the country. Trump should have to run for the presidency from jail like a real Socialist did, Eugene Debs.
I agree that the facts laid out in indictments probably won't reduce Trump's support much among GOP voters. I think that actual trial processes could generate some fatigue among non-diehards, though - depending on what kind of witness testimony we get.
Maybe this would turn his supporters towards supporting some gun control. Hah. With humor like that I'm going to keep my day job.
Moron mob boss: NEWS w/ @PaulaReidCNN: Trump acknowledged on tape in 2021 meeting he retained "secret" information he had not declassified, according to a transcript of the recording obtained by CNN."As president, I could have declassified, but now I can't," Trump says https://t.co/Z33zZ6ELzA— Jeremy Herb (@jeremyherb) June 9, 2023
Yeah, apologies if it's already been discussed or the video even posted above, but former AG "I ran interference for years" Barr said in a recent interview that this document stuff is a mess of Cheeto's own making, noting he was given a couple of opportunities to comply/return but wouldn't do it.
It’ll be interesting to see who does show up. It’s really nice of them to hold the “show” in Florida and have a judge who was picked by Trump. This is going to be interesting and I don’t mean in a good way.
This is what it’ll all come down to. Will they or Trumps judge have the nerve. On Friday, ABC News reported that proceedings in the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump for appear to have been initially assigned to Aileen Cannon — the same Trump-appointed judge who tried to block the FBI from reviewing documents seized from Mar-a-Lago, only to be smacked down by the Court of Appeals.