Update: A couple of observations. One, from what I can see Trump supporters are either ignoring the indictments or assuming it’s all fake news. Not too surprising.
Two, I’m wondering if Trusty and Rowley, the two lawyers who resigned this morning, decided to resign when they received the text of the subpoena.
Update: Text of indicment here.
Update: The indictments are unsealed. (No paywall.) I don’t think the indictment itself is online yet, but I’ll post a link as soon as it is. I’m hearing the bobbleheads on MSNBC say that it says he did show classified documents to random people. Also,
When he left the White House in early 2021, Trump “caused scores of boxes, many of which contained classified documents to be transported to be transported to The Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, where he maintained his residence,” the indictment said, nothing that he was “not authorized to possess or retain those classified documents.”
Even though the club was not a secure facility for storing sensitive government secrets, Trump “stored his boxes containing classified documents in various locations at The Mar-a-Lago Club — including in a ballroom, a bathroom and shower, an office space, his bedroom, and a storage room,” the indictment charges.
Update: CNBC is reporting that two Trump lawyers, Jim Trusty and John Rowley, resigned from the documents case today. They aren’t saying why, except that now is a “logical time,” whatever that means. Trusty and Rowley were two of the three attorneys who met with Jack Smith earlier this week. Their joint statement:
“This morning we tendered our resignations as counsel to President Trump, and we will no longer represent him on either the indicted case or the January 6 investigation,” according to the joint statement from Jim Trusty and John Rowley.
Something happened. I’m guessing Trump threw a screaming fit at them, and they decided they didn’t have to take it any more.
^^^
Although the indictments are still sealed, Trump’s attorneys have blabbed a bit. According to Trump Attorney Jim Trusty, these charges are included:
An espionage act violation (18-USC-793) — Gathering, transmitting or losing defense information.
Also 18-USC-1519 — Destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in Federal investigations and bankruptcy.
Also 18-USC-1512 — Witness tampering / obstruction of an official proceeding.
Trusty also said there are “several obstruction-based-type charges and then false statement charges.”
There is speculation there could be additional indictments regarding the documents coming out of the Washington, D.C. grand jury. There could be two separate sets of charges and two separate trials, in other words. I’ll add to this post if I hear anything else.
Update: This is from CNN: Exclusive: Donald Trump admits on tape he didn’t declassify ‘secret information’. We already knew about this particular document, but there’s a new detail.
Former President Donald Trump acknowledged on tape in a 2021 meeting that he had retained “secret” military information that he had not declassified, according to a transcript of the audio recording obtained by CNN.
“As president, I could have declassified, but now I can’t,” Trump says, according to the transcript.
CNN obtained the transcript of a portion of the meeting where Trump is discussing a classified Pentagon document about attacking Iran. In the audio recording, which CNN previously reported was obtained by prosecutors, Trump says that he did not declassify the document he’s referencing, according to the transcript.
Update: WTF? ABC is reporting that bleeping Judge Aileen Cannon will oversee the case initially.
"There is speculation there could be additional indictments regarding the documents coming out of the Washington, D.C. grand jury. There could be two separate sets of charges and two separate trials, in other words"
Boy I sure hope so, according to ABC news Judge Eileen Cannon has been assigned the case in Florida. She did her best to trip up the initial investigation so I'm sure she'll be in overdrive to find a way to throw the whole thing out. I don't understand given her obvious misconduct in appointing a special master that DOJ would allow her to have the whole enchilada?
https://abcnews.go.com/US/judge-aileen-cannon-trump-appointee-initially-assigned-oversee/story?id=99956910
The first thing Cannon would do is allow Trump to delay the trial until hell freezes over. The last thing Cannon would do is let Trump off with a warning if convicted.
One wonders, if Smith split the assignment of charges between Fl and DC, based on jurisdiction, with an eye on Cannon possibly being assigned in FL. With his eggs in two baskets, the risk is reduced. If Trump gets Cannon in FL, look for Trump to move everything to Florida, but Smigh should have that gamed out. In terms of quality of representation, Trump has little-league players – Smith has assembled Avengers-quality prosecutors. If the publicly-reported evidence is there, Smith has the proof beyond any possible doubt by any cognitive human.
Stay calm, folks. I think we still got this.
Don't panic:
Recusal, voluntary or forced, is the likely outcome ??
What I know so far is that 34 +7 = 41, and that's a lot of felonies to have to knock down. Not to mention he's got some more felonies coming. Even Harry Houldini couldn't escape that many felonies. Good luck, Donnie!
Seems I've got to amend this comment. It turns out that there are 38 crimes being charged in the Mar-a-Lago case. The number 7 is just the types of crimes be charged —not the counts. I hear that Trump is going to be sharing the charges with Walt Nauta, so I don't know what the breakdown will be, but I can safely assume Trump is going to get the lion's share of the charges. By the time authorities get done with bringing chares against Trump I'm going to need a calculator to computer the final number of felonies lodged against him.
NEW: Trump Aide Seen Moving Boxes at Mar-a-Lago Indicted in Florida Case, Trump Freaks Out on Truth Social (msn.com)
I've heard that Smith chose Florida in part because it helps defuse Trump's / MAGA world's claim of unfairness. But really it's because cases can get delayed or overturned if the venue is wrong. Harry Litman says this is from the Constitution, which states a trial must be by one's peers, which has legally meant local folks.
About his attorneys resigning – there's always and only two ways Trump can play it: either listen to his lawyers (listen to reality) and let them get the best deal they can for him, given everything working against him, OR get his attorneys to lie and push MAGA BS in an attempt to put Trump above the law. So far Trump refuses to face reality and insists everyone lie for him, and so these guys bailed to save themselves. Unlike all the other fools who drank Trump's kool-aid.
It will be interesting to see if Aileen Cannon has learned anything this year, or if she's going to continue to keep digger her own hole. Litman said the worst thing that can happen is mis-trial not acquittal. He also said that it’s very unlike Trump will be in prison by Election Day – it takes too long for everything – including appeals – to play out.
I can't wait for the Georgia election charges to drop right on the tail of this later on this summer. A real 1-2-3 punch. Stay vigilant for the reaction though…
https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxjjgb/trump-supporters-are-threatening-civil-war
The Guardian has a photo of boxes of top secret records stored in a bathroom at MAL. Hollywood couldn’t come up with this.
"You have to flush 10 or 15 times."
The "true believer" of whom Eric Hoffer wrote, is having quite the hard time dealing with even the possibility of Trump's guilt. To do so would require them to come to grips with the mountain of lies they have accepted as reality. So too, they would certainly have to confront all the social discord they created while defending him. Doing so, they will need also to come to grips with who they are as a person, to accept their self has faulty judgement. It is an unfortunate risk one takes who opts to abandon a sane level of skepticism. The ongoing risk of a reality smackdown…the result of a mountain of fallacies collapsing upon you at once. It's like you lost Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy all on the same day.
“One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.”
Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
From the eeyore chronicals:
In 2020, Miami-Dade saw almost half a million voters choose you-know-who. All the defense needs to do is to get one of the true believers on the jury. "Hang Mike Pence" will be "Hang the Jury."
Remember, this is Florida.
On top of all of these extremely serious DOJ charges, Better Homes & Gardens may also charge tRUMP.
tRUMP's crime?
"Criminal Bad Taste in the 1st Degree."
The evidence?
The photo of the boxes stored in a bathroom at Merde-out-duh-Lardass.
The bathroom has a chandelier.
A CHANDELIER!
In a small bathroom.
The Romanovs were executed for less!
The departure of Trusty and Rowley, and the departure of another lawyer a week or so back is emblematic of the future of the documents case. Trump is hurting for lawyers so either they quit or they refused a demand that Trump made of them.
Cue in Meat Loaf: "I'd do anything for love but I won't do that!"
Any lawyer who will keep working for Trump is a whore, so what was so depraved or objectionable they'd part ways with Trump (and the money)? The clue is Trump's MO – always attack your accuser. It worked well for Trump in civil litigation when Trump was always punching down – facing a litigant who did not have Trump's deep pockets.
Trump took to antagonize the judges who would not cater to Trump – for being Mexican, or for being "Trump Haters." Trump's gone after the prosecutors for being black or for being " Never Trumpers." The vitriol spewed at Jack Smith has been ugly.
I'd guess that Trump will make the trial about Jack Smith, not the evidence, witnesses or charges. See if the narrative changes to " We can't have a fair trial until the investigation into the prosecutor and A/G is complete." Am I dreaming? Trump's statement today re the departing lawyers… " they were up against a very dishonest, corrupt, evil, and 'sick' group of people, the likes of which has not been seen before."
I think Trump told his lawyers that they had to couple the media appearances with accusations about Smith and…. fill in the blanks. Trump has an open sewer for a mind and plenty of money to hire women to make false accusations. The BASIS of Trump's reply to the indictment will be totally fraudulent personal attacks.
Problem: any lawyer who can read knows that Trump lies can get you sued, disbarred and sent to prison. They KNOW they are trying to cover for what they KNOW Trump asked other lawyers to say and do. I'm guessing they declined. For that, they had to go. Or other Trump lawyers might find spines or integrity. But they also know too much, so they will be well paid to stay silent.
None of this would be more than a footnote except, Trump needs real lawyers, lots of them, and Trump is directing a scorched-earth strategy that will destroy some, if not all, the careers of the lawyers who accept the orders.
Side note: the Florida federal courts are known for a "Rocket Docket", moving cases quickly to trial. I'm not confident that Trump will be able to create a series of delays by flushing lawyers as an excuse to restart the clock, especially if Trump is calling the shots in his defense, creating the turnover.
Could be they got fired for refusing to obey his demands (or quit because they refused to obey his commands). Could also be that they demanded a LARGE amount of money upfront to continue to represent him (since we all know how he stiffs people) and when he refused, they said "See, ya!".
It's going to be a long, long haul, I'm afraid. Cannon can refuse to admit critical evidence, which the DoJ will appeal and almost certainly win, but that will create a delay…and then she can do it again, with the same results.
Running out the clock is a win for Trump – especially if the legislatures in enough red and (especially) swing states are able to rewrite their laws to give them the power to overturn the results of the elections and put him back in power. Being back in office will shield him from any further prosecution while he consolidates his power and reconstructs the government and justice department with his supporters.
I am ever so slightly hopeful (or, as I once heard someone say "nauseously hopeful") that justice will finally prevail…but I also have my very sincere doubts. The GQP party Magats have established themselves in a very, very powerful position to get what they want…and have developed a very sophisticated approach to using our own laws and the constitution against us in our efforts to stop them.
Aileen Cannon? Talk about a loose cannon!
There is no more perfect illustration of the republican's mantra "piss on national security" than this document.
After her blatant and obvious attempts to tip the scales of justice in favor of Trump, Cannon might not be able to do the same thing again without making it plain her only role is sabotaging the case. She’s already been embarrased once. Smith et al though are no mopes and appear to know what they're doing. If Cannon ain't careful in playing it straight, given her own past experience helping Trump play a "legal" shell game with document evidence to corrupt and hinder the case, she may find herself moving from the bench to the defendants table, right along side Trump.
I just read the indictment, good Saturday morning read, two cups of coffee! Seems like Stump is fucked! I'm not sure how he gets out of this, the last few pages are the penalty sheet, asshole is facing 10 years for willful retention (31 counts), 20 years for conspiracy to obstruct, (1 count), 20 years for withholding a document (1 count), 20 years for corruptly concealing a document (1 count), 5 years for scheme to conceal (1 count) and 5 years for false statements (1 count). If my math is correct that looks like 80 years in the clink (assuming the 31 counts of willful retention are counted as one charge so it could be the year 2103 before Stump gets out. Gee I wonder how he slept last night!
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJtpc5e5ans">Worried Mind!</a>