Trump and the Jan 6 investigation

[The Infidel]

Equality before the law, liberty within the law, nobody above the law.

That, in brief, is what the Rule of Law means. A lofty idea that we often fall short of, but still one we should and must strive for lest "Justice" become nothing more than a stamp of legitimization for the rich and powerful's whims. Trump getting convicted shows that in spite of neglect and despite wilful sabotage the machinery of society can still bloody work.

Zor

Yes! I want Trump to be treated like a poor, black man! It should be the same, right?

[Crazedwraith]

Can a convicted criminal run for president?

Yep. The only restrictions are being a natural born citizen, over 35 years of age and having resided in the US for 14 years.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Now come as many appeals as his legal team can find grounds for.

Their appeal filing will be interesting. Especially if Trump demands that they include bits that stand no chance.

It'll be interesting to see what grounds he'll file on and how much his legal team can keep him muzzled between now and then.

They've done a pitiful job so far, Trump seems determined to set a record for the number of times he can be held in contempt of court

[Solauren]

Hah, the only way you could keep Trump muzzled would be to put him into a medically induced coma, and then live stream it so people know anything that is posted/said as 'original' was not by him.

Of course, given what most of Trumps supporters are like, they'll claim it's not really Trump in the coma, but the real Trump fighting for them or some stupidity like that.

[Elfdart]

Can a convicted criminal run for president?

Yep. The only restrictions are being a natural born citizen, over 35 years of age and having resided in the US for 14 years.

Eugene Debs and Lyndon LaRouche ran for President while in prison.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Can a convicted criminal run for president?

Yep. The only restrictions are being a natural born citizen, over 35 years of age and having resided in the US for 14 years.

Eugene Debs and Lyndon LaRouche ran for President while in prison.

I would love to see Trump doing the same

[Eternal_Freedom]

Just imagine him doing a phone interview with Fox News only to be cut off by a prison guard saying "no, you've used your phone call, back to your cell."

[Elfdart]

Yep. The only restrictions are being a natural born citizen, over 35 years of age and having resided in the US for 14 years.

Eugene Debs and Lyndon LaRouche ran for President while in prison.

I would love to see Trump doing the same

Suppose the judge gives a suspended sentence, fine, deferred adjudication, community service or 60 days in jail -all plausible sentences for what Trump was convicted of.*

It might do him some good: Not only will he get to act like Dennis the Peasant ("Help! Help! I'm being repressed!"), but being locked up will do for him what Covid-19 did for Biden: Giving him fewer chances to say moronic shit. Trump's biggest enemy is his own big mouth.* Then he's back on the campaign trail by September more shameless and motivated than ever -and his mouth-breather fans will lap it up like pigs at a trough.

* Trump's hooligan behavior during the trial, as well as his groupies' bullfuckery (which included attacking the judge's daughter) could land him a much harsher sentence. I've seen judges lower the boom on people for much less idiotic behavior in a courtroom.

Just imagine him doing a phone interview with Fox News only to be cut off by a prison guard saying "no, you've used your phone call, back to your cell."

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Eugene Debs and Lyndon LaRouche ran for President while in prison.

I would love to see Trump doing the same

Suppose the judge gives a suspended sentence, fine, deferred adjudication, community service or 60 days in jail -all plausible sentences for what Trump was convicted of.*

It might do him some good: Not only will he get to act like Dennis the Peasant ("Help! Help! I'm being repressed!"), but being locked up will do for him what Covid-19 did for Biden: Giving him fewer chances to say moronic shit. Trump's biggest enemy is his own big mouth.* Then he's back on the campaign trail by September more shameless and motivated than ever -and his mouth-breather fans will lap it up like pigs at a trough.

* Trump's hooligan behavior during the trial, as well as his groupies' bullfuckery (which included attacking the judge's daughter) could land him a much harsher sentence. I've seen judges lower the boom on people for much less idiotic behavior in a courtroom.

Just imagine him doing a phone interview with Fox News only to be cut off by a prison guard saying "no, you've used your phone call, back to your cell."

Considering he was held in contempt a dozen times hopefully the sentence will reflect that

[Solauren]

Give him 1 year per charge, to be served concurrently.

There, he's gone.

[Ralin]

I'd settle for six weeks in jail as his rich person slap on the wrist. It would be the worst punishment he's endured in his adult life, drive home that the courts actually do have that sort of power over him and wouldn't even unfairly stop him from campaigning.

And it wouldn't be the nothing we all expect.

[Solauren]

I'd settle for six weeks in jail as his rich person slap on the wrist. It would be the worst punishment he's endured in his adult life, drive home that the courts actually do have that sort of power over him and wouldn't even unfairly stop him from campaigning.

And it wouldn't be the nothing we all expect.

Only if it's before the campaign, and in solitary confinement. Books are allowed, but not writing material.
And I want his every utterance recorded for 'leaking' to the press the entire time he is in there.

[Gamerzone]

Will he sit in jail now? It says here that white-collar crimes are more severe sometimes than the usual crimes. Ergo, he must sit in jail. Right?

[Raw Shark]

Will he sit in jail now? It says here that white-collar crimes are more severe sometimes than the usual crimes. Ergo, he must sit in jail. Right?

If the pedophile he appointed to be attorney general gets confirmed, I think the definition of, "Must sit in jail," might get a rapid face-lift.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Judge grants prosecutor's request to dismiss Trump's 2020 election interference case

A judge has granted the prosecutor's request to dismiss the case accusing President-elect Donald Trump of plotting to overturn the 2020 election.

Special counsel Jack Smith put forward the request on Monday, which represented the end of the federal effort against the former president following his election victory this month.

Justice Department prosecutors cited the longstanding department guidance that a sitting president cannot be prosecuted.

Prosecutors said the department’s position is that “the Constitution requires that this case be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated.”

“That prohibition is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Government stands fully behind,” the prosecutors wrote in Monday’s court filing.

The decision was expected after Smith's team began assessing how to wind down both the 2020 election interference case and the separate classified documents case against Trump.

"I persevered, against all odds, and WON," Trump said in a post on Truth Social, his social media website.

He also said that "these cases, like all of the other cases I have been forced to go through, are empty and lawless, and should never have been brought."

Trump previously cast both cases as politically motivated and vowed to fire Smith as soon as he takes office in January.

In dismissing the case, US District Judge Tanya Chutkan acknowledged prosecutors' request to do so "without prejudice," raising the possibility that they could try to bring charges against Trump when his term is over.

That is "consistent with the Government's understanding that the immunity afforded to a sitting President is temporary, expiring when they leave office," she wrote.

But such a move may be barred by the statute of limitations and Trump may also try to pardon himself while in office.

The US Supreme Court in July ruled for the first time that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution, and sent the case back to US District Judge Chutkan to determine which allegations in the indictment, if any, could proceed to trial.

The case was beginning to pick up steam in the weeks leading up to this year’s election.

Smith’s team in October filed a lengthy brief laying out new evidence they planned to use against him at trial, accusing him of “resorting to crimes” in an increasingly desperate effort to overturn the will of voters after he lost to President Joe Biden.

Talk about locking the stable door after the horse has bolted.

[Ralin]

"I persevered, against all odds, and WON," Trump said in a post on Truth Social, his social media website

That you did, Mister Trump. That you did.

[bilateralrope]

I wonder how much of the evidence the DOJ collected will still exist when Trump leaves office.


But there is an interesting detail in the classified documents case: It was only dropped against Trump. The co-defendants are still facing charges.

Jack Smith drops appeal against Trump in classified documents case

Jordan Rubin
Tue, November 26, 2024 at 10:42 AM GMT+13

Special counsel Jack Smith moved to dismiss his appeal seeking to revive the classified documents case against Donald Trump, effectively ending the federal prosecutions against the president-elect.

Smith’s filing to the federal appeals court followed his motion earlier on Monday to dismiss the federal election interference case in Washington, D.C., due to Justice Department policy against charging and prosecuting sitting presidents. That same reasoning led Smith to tell the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals he is moving to dismiss the appeal as to Trump but not as to his two co-defendants in the case.

“The appeal concerning the other two defendants will continue because, unlike defendant Trump, no principle of temporary immunity applies to them,” Smith wrote.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon previously dismissed the case on the grounds that Smith was unlawfully appointed.

It’s understandable that Smith wouldn’t drop the appeal against the co-defendants if the reason he dropped it against Trump is DOJ policy that doesn’t apply to people who aren’t or won’t be president. But it’s difficult to see the case proceeding much further against those other two defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, who have pleaded not guilty. DOJ lawyers in the Trump administration could move to withdraw the appeal against them and Trump could pardon them.

The case proceeding while Trump is in office would mean the continued litigation of a case in which the sitting president (who also pleaded not guilty) is at the center of an allegedly criminal scheme to illegally retain national defense information and obstruct justice.

That dynamic could unfold in the Georgia state election interference case, one of Trump’s two state cases whose fates are unclear because presidents can’t make them go away like federal cases. Trump is the only defendant in the New York case where he was found guilty at trial and it’s unclear whether he will be sentenced before he takes office. But he has many co-defendants in the Georgia case, which is currently on a pretrial appeal but could further proceed against them while Trump is in office.

I've heard that Jack Smith can't release his report while any of his cases are ongoing and I doubt that Trump's DOJ will ever make it public. So I think he's just planning to get another of Judge Cannon's rulings overturned before dropping this case. Just to make sure nobody tries to use it as a precedent in the future. Then release his report before the inauguration.