"This was a more righteous case than a lot of people gave it credit for. And it has played an important role in a broader effort by multiple jurisdictions to use the criminal law as a democracy-protective instrument against Trump."
-Benjamin Wittes https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/thoughts-on-donald-trump-s-conviction
#BenjaminWittes, editor in chief of #Lawfare and a Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at the #BrookingsInstitution, writes an excellent assessment of the NYC criminal trial and its political repercussions.
"...We were told by a great many pundits that the case was weak. This was false. The evidence was voluminous. It was powerfully corroborative. It was diverse. The case was quite strong..."
tldr: He was working on the Jan 6 investigation from the day he got there but was roadblocked by trump lackeys in the DOJ and FBI and had to overcome all of it to get things moving.
Yes, and it is normal to indict and punish a former public official, even if (s)he has been Consul or president. This is how it has been since the times of the Roman Republic. France, for instance, has had no qualms doing so.
I thought yesterday that it would be good for the US public to be educated (for the most part) or reminded of these essential lessons of history.
"Equal Justice Under Law" means just that ANYONE can and will be...
Latest reminder that the Trump stolen-classified-documents case judge is effectively a member of the defense team:
"Judge Pushes Back Critical Filing Deadline in Trump Documents Case
"Judge Aileen M. Cannon did not immediately set a new date, but the delay increases the chance that the trial will not happen before the November election."
Here is hoping Donald Trump drains the Republican party dry.
RNC funds downhill elections.
Can't do that if he takes it for legal fees.
No money for state and local pro Trump candidates means less ads,signs,campaign events.
I hope he takes every last dime they generate through donor dinners , town halls,etc.
MAGA
Make Assholes Go Away. #2024election #republicans #TrumpTrials
Another stupid #rightwing talking point has gone to hell. Remember when the wing-nuts lost their minds over their own claim that #JudgeMerchan was stopping #Trump from attending Barron's high school graduation? Yeah, well that never happened, and today Judge Merchan made clear that Trump can, in fact, attend the event. But, Trump hasn't attended any of his kids' graduations, so it wouldn't surprise me if he ends up golfing that day.
#GagOrders#TrumpTrials I was accused of being argumentative today because I corrected a point of law in someone’s post. There’s very few conversations I get involved with because I get it that sometimes people are just expressing their intense emotions. EX: FASCISM!! But whenever I see a point of law being discussed that is wrong or misleading, I’m going to jump in for a couple of reasons. The offended person can block me, its OK. Short thread 1/5
#GagOrders#TrumpTrials One- so few Americans know or understand our legal system I think its important to help with their civic education. Two, we have readers who are not Americans and they may be baffled by how our system works. And finally, to help reduce the possibility of misinformation. Gag orders have come up quite a bit in the Trump cases so I’m going to say something about that. 2/5
#GagOrders#TrumpTrials
Gag orders although not routinely put in place are not that rare, particularly in high profile cases. Both lawyers and defendants can have their speech restricted. You may recall when the judge in the RICO case when ruling against the defendants request to have Willis removed said he would at some point consider a motion for a gag against Willis because of the speech she made at the church on MLK Jr. day. So, even lawyers have speech restricted. 3/5
#GagOrders#TrumpTrials In some cases like Trump’s, the defendant’s speech is restricted and violations can lead to fines and possibly a short imprisonment as Merchan pointed out. Sometimes despite warning defendants and/or their lawyers will violate the gag order. This will lead to another Order to Show Cause hearing. You’ll see that on Thursday when Merchan returns to the DA’s motion from last week. Repeated violations can lead to incarceration. 4/5
#GagOrders#TrumpTrials Repeated violations can help demonstrate that the defendant intends to violate the speech restraints. The violations do not in any way relieve the prosecutor of his burden to prove all of the elements of the crimes in the indictment beyond a reasonable doubt. Nor, are they proof of the guilt or innocence of the defendant in the underlying case. Its not Trump’s case obviously, but you can be guilty of contempt and also not guilty of the crimes you were charged with. 5/5
This is what happens when the constant stream of horseshit Trump is used to spewing is subject to a gag order.
I wouldn't stand too close. #TrumpTrial #TrumpTrials #Trump
My insomnia is so terrible I'm thinking of running for office, illegally paying off a woman I had sex with in order to influence an election, and then lying about it, getting indicted, and standing trial, just so I can get some fucking sleep. #TrumpTrials #Trump
Thanks so much for these threads on #trumptrial Your work is invaluable in keeping me & so many others informed. I might add I think you are instrumental in saving democracy.
It's hard to overstate how precarious our hold on our system of government is.
Maybe what we are seeing is that the Founders, as brilliant as they were, couldn't conceive of a true Kakistocracy; that their conception of a system of checks and balances wasn't enough. #TrumpTrials
> The Republican electors who submitted votes falsely asserting that former President Trump won Arizona in 2020 have been indicted along with several Trump allies,
> Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Trump's former personal attorney Rudy Giuliani were among seven other unnamed defendants
Let’s just let this sink in for a moment. Yes, this is #Trump acting like he’s a financial guru that Japan would be lucky to get advice from, and calling #PresidentBiden “Crooked Joe” once again, while he’s literally on trial for financial fraud. It’s a bit like a man on death row giving a TED talk about how to successfully get away with murder.