So what’s going to happen tomorrow? Trump is supposed to report to the federal courthouse in Miami for a 3 pm EST hearing. I am hearing on MSNBC that Judge Aileen M. Cannon will not oversee the hearing. Normally a criminal defendant would be fingerprinted, handcuffed, and photographed before such a hearing, but Trump may get a waiver on that. It’s not clear if Trump will be allowed to speak or asked to enter a plea. After the hearing Trump is expected to fly to New Jersey and delivery remarks from his golf club in Bedminster at 8:15.
Trump faces a lawyer shortage, especially lawyers admitted to the Florida bar and admitted to practice in the Southern District of Florida, There are reports some criminal defense attorneys contacted by Trump’s team have turned the job down already. One suspects they aren’t going to get the crème de la crème of available attorneys.
Trump supporters on social media and elsewhere are vowing war.
Escalating violent rhetoric in online forums, coupled with defiant statements from the former president and his political allies, have put law enforcement officials on alert for potential disruptions ahead of Trump’s court appearance. He is facing a 37-count federal indictment, 31 of which allege he willfully kept classified documents in his possession after leaving the White House. …
… Trump, during a radio interview with longtime adviser Roger Stone on Sunday afternoon, repeated his call for protests. For his part, Stone — who helped mobilize the protest movement that drew thousands to the nation’s capital on Jan. 6, 2021 — encouraged demonstrators to remain peaceful, civil and legal.
But Trump’s supporters have at times alluded to potential violence — including Kari Lake, a Republican from Arizona, who has planned a rally in support of Trump at a hotel in Palm Beach, Fla., on Monday night. During a conference of Georgia Republicans on Saturday, Lake suggested Trump’s prosecution could be met with violence, noting that she and other supporters are members of the National Rifle Association.
“If you want to get to President Trump, you’re going to have to go through me, and you’re going to have to go through 75 million Americans just like me,” Lake said, drawing roaring cheers and a standing ovation. Earlier in her speech, she called the indictment “illegitimate” and told the audience, “We’re at war, people — we’re at war.” …
… Still, calls for street action were scarce, and no nationally coordinated response appeared to emerge over the weekend from Trump’s fragmented base.
See also ‘I Want Blood’: Heavily-Armed Trump Supporters Say They’ll Protest Trump’s Indictment by David Gilbert at Vice and A Cold Civil War Is Upon Us by David Kurtz at TPM.
So we’ll see if there’s much of a mob tomorrow. Local law enforcement will be ready, I’m sure. (But if it gets out of hand, would DeSantis call the National Guard? Probably not.) Let’s hope that counter-protesters who might be there avoid confrontation with the MAGAs. Or else just stay home. If there is violence, let it be on the heads of MAGAs.
Also today, Trump vowed on social media that if he is re-elected, he will direct a special counsel to “go after” Joe Biden and his family. The concept of an independent judiciary continues to elude him.
In other news: Tucker Carlson started a video news show on Twitter. Fox News sent him a cease-and-desist letter. “Fox is continuing to pay Carlson, and maintains that his contract keeps his content exclusive to Fox through Dec. 31, 2024,” it says at Axios.
"So we’ll see if there’s much of a mob tomorrow"
We'll see hopefully it's not a shit show, but unlike NY Florida is an permitless carry state, so I'd wager we'll see magat's dressed in battle gear wearing red white and blue masks carrying AR's? I don't want to see it but I really think we are going to experience some serious violence at some point during this process. Seems like he may face at least two more indictments (J6 conspiracy in DC and trying to steal the election in GA) before this is all over. Maybe not, who knows, maybe these morons will come to their senses and think about the serious jail time many of the J6 assholes are doing right now? I don't interact with many GQP's anymore but the few I do (lifetime republicans) think this is all bullshit, a witch hunt so who knows what the hardcore magat's have in mind?
Yes, but I think you can also say that us here in reality, not TV land, have jobs that we have to show up at and have bills, that if go unpaid, will have consequences. So where do all these folks that have the time to devote to making things great NOW come from? An gang of off-the-clock car salesmen and retirees from Tampa and beyond? An army of fifty-something wannabe bikers with a loan against their 401k to fund their own and their god-king's rowdy behavior? Perhaps this is an opportunity to see if the TV bites back, but make the boat payment and don't give up on the day job, … and turn the channel to a non-foxy and more enriching show is my recommendation to the magas.
Applying Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, Let's talk about Trump grief…
Finally, Acceptance. One way or another.
Heard over the weekend, the 3 populations/reactions within the Republican Party
He will do his worst. Let us do our best.
I think Uncledad is right – some MAGAs will show up at the bldg with a show of arms. There will be counter-protesters, I hope. With signs. The cops will outnumber both sides and will keep them apart. Most of the MAGAs do not want a shooting war with the cops with cameras recording exactly who did what because if you're a MAGA and you shoot at cops, even if you think you're only shooting back, you – not the cops – will go to jail for years. Judges are like that about shooting at cops.
The recent sentencings of major figures with the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers will also inhibit the MAGAs. Trump has put out conflicting messages about a show of force – an implied message that this is war in a retweet on Truth Social and an explicit message for being peaceful in an interview with Roger Stone. So Trump has figured out that with a J6 trial lurking in the background, he can't openly request bloodshed.
Forgive me if I get the terminology wrong but, in my case at the charging hearing in DC the judge decided I would be released without bail, I would be on house arrest, and I'd have to report on Monday in Tampa the be fitted with an ankle bracelet and surrender my passport (also Monday.) Exactly a month later, at the arraignment, the formal charges were read and a plea was entered and motions were made. So I'm watching for motions by the prosecution at this hearing re Trump's mobility. I don't expect house arrest but DOJ might ask for Trump's passport and request that he report exactly where he is and where he's going with an expressed warning that an ankle bracelet with his name awaits if he can't comply. He won't comply.
(I wore an ankle bracelet for a year. It's annoying but not torture. Trump will believe that DOJ is using it to listen to every conversation. Paranoia is its own form of punishment.)
The opening moves by each side, tomorrow and in a month, will reveal how the game will be played. I expect the prosecution to give Trump a lot of rope so he can hang himself. DOJ will bend over backwards NOT to interfere with Trump's campaign or freedom of speech. Anybody other than Trump would be behind bars without bail for what he did. The smart move for Cannon would be to recuse herself. If she does not the experts predict DOJ will request it in a motion and appeal to her bosses in GA if she does not. The 11th (if I remember right) slapped her down hard for the biased decisions she made on the documents. (Special master, if you forgot.) It's likely she won't be a factor. I HOPE that in the hearing next month, the judge (not Cannon) sets the agenda for pre-trial motions (3 or 4 months) with the warning the deadline is firm. Trump's plan will be to delay – the 11th circuit is notorious for a "rocket docket." It's not a venue friendly to frivolous delays. It will be a dream-come-true if the judge warns Trump to get his act together on lawyers – he lost three this month on the MAL case. I'd like if the judge says the schedule he/she sets will not be changed if/because Trump can't keep lawyers. Pay for a back-up set of lawyers if you need to but Trump (as a "really rich" guy by his own description) has an advantage most defendants do not. So Trump won't be able to delay going to trial by rotating through lawyers.
Also of note: the US Constitution guarantees a speedy trial – it doesn't guarantee a slow trial. In a federal case, that's defined by statute: "every person charged with a crime shall be brought to trial within 90 days of arrest if the crime charged is a misdemeanor, or within 175 days of arrest if the crime charged is a felony."
In practice, both sides often agree to "toll the clock" – that is, delay the 175 days by mutual consent with the judge's approval. If the prosecution objects to excessive attempts to stop the clock on the 175 days, I think the judge will decide. Again, if the reputation of the 11th is true, a request to "toll the clock" for 90 days for some BS excuse might be granted…. for 30 days.
Ninety-seven percent of federal criminal cases are settled without a trial. This one obviously falls in the three percent. Judges usually press both sides to make a deal and (not said explicitly) not waste the judge's time with an unnecessary trial. I hope we get a judge who lays down deadlines and tells both sides – ready or not – this is no joke. Make these submissions by this day, replies by the opposition by this day, and appeals to decisions on motions will not change the trial date. If you aren't ready… oh, well. That gives the other side the advantage.
In my very limited experience, this is how federal judges work.
I have read that Trump plans to demand a delay in each trial on the basis that having to attend a trial limits Trump's freedom of speech during the campaign season. I think the citizens have a right to a verdict BEFORE the election because selecting a president is damned important.
"I think Uncledad is right"
What are you smoking? Hopefully it's just a street parade! Though it's going to be a catastrophe eventually.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY1QjMDlMCc&list=RDFY1QjMDlMCc&start_radio=1
There's a delicious feeling of schadenfreude I got when I read that FOX "news" sent tYUCKer KKKarlson a STFU & desist notice.
UNTIL THE END OF 2024!!!!!
ROTFLMAO!!!
I knew you'd get a kick out of that.
For the first time in history council will request immunity from prosecution before speaking to the court on his behalf. Council also may request a psychological evaluation, ordered by the court, to determine if they are mentally competent enough to try to aid in his defense. No capable attorney would do otherwise.