“The question of a former president’s #criminal#immunity presents grave constitutional questions that strike at the heart of the separation of power,” the brief said.
#Legal experts said #Trump was unlikely to prevail but added that how & when #SCOTUS rejects his arguments will effectively determine whether & when Trump’s #trial, which had been scheduled to start March 4, will proceed.
When #SCOTUS agreed to hear the case last month, it set what it called an expedited schedule. But it was not particularly fast, culminating in oral arguments some 7 wks later, on Apr 25. That #delay represented a significant victory for #Trump.
Even if the court then moves w/considerable speed [not bloody likely] & issues a categorical decision against Trump w/in a month, the #trial would most likely not start until at least the fall, well into the heart of the presidential campaign.
US District Judge #AileenCannon’s ultimatum Mon night came as a surprise twist in what could have been a simple order; one merely asking federal prosecutors & Trump’s lawyers for proposed #JuryInstructions at the upcoming #trial.
But as she has done repeatedly, #Cannon used this otherwise innocuous #legal step as yet another way to swing the case wildly in favor of the man who appointed her while he was president.
Trump argues that as a fmr president he has #immunity, & that the case is politically motivated, while #SpecialCounsel#JackSmith …has some choice language for those claims: “woefully short of the requirements … no evidence whatsoever … frivolous … so lacking in merit … no support in constitutional text, separation of powers principles, history, or logic.”
#JackSmith’s team is due to face off w/ #Trump’s lawyers on Thurs in Judge #AileenCannon’s #Florida courtroom over 2 of Trump’s dismissal motions. Expect, at a minimum, several days of hearings before the #trial, giving more opportunity to see how Cannon, a relatively new & inexperienced judge, is handling this high-profile matter.
Menendez's #Senate seat will be contested in the Nov 5 election, & multiple NJ #Democrats are vying to replace him. The chamber is divided 50-50 between Dems & #Republicans, w/ VP #KamalaHarris able to cast tie-breaking votes for the Dems.
#BobMenendez, his wife Nadine Menendez, & businessmen Wael Hana & Fred Daibes are set to go on #trial on May 6. Nadine #Menendez, Hana & Daibes have also pleaded not guilty.
The charges, returned by a grand jury in #Manhattan, come just 2 months before Mr. Menendez, Ms. Menendez & 2 New Jersey businessmen are scheduled for #trial.
“Rishi Sunak’s appalling and authoritarian comments over protesters – calling them ‘extremists‘ and saying the UK is heading towards ‘mob rule‘ – appears to now be reflected in England’s justice system. This is because a Crown Court judge, Judge Silas Reid, has now threatened a jury with criminal charges during the trial of five Extinction Rebellion protesters.”
Weisselberg, 76, surrendered to the Manhattan prosecutor’s office earlier Mon & entered state court in #handcuffs, wearing a mask, before pleading #guilty to 5 counts of #perjury.
long 🧵 from Matthew Seligman on possible #Trump#DC#trial timelines
(1) As long as the #SCOTUS rejects Trump’s #immunity claim by the end of this Term in June, Trump’s trial should start before #Election Day.
(2) Whether the trial ends before ElectionDay depends on 3 factors:
(i) exactly when the #SupremeCourt issues its decision;
(ii) whether Judge #Chutkan compresses the pre-trial schedule; &
(iii) how long the trial takes.
(ii) #Chutkan indicated that she won’t set deadlines assuming #Trump has prepared his defense during the stay. Whether that means she won’t compress at all the 88 days of pretrial prep that were remaining when the stay was imposed - unknown.
(iii) The parties have estimated the #trial will take 8 - 12 wks. Some, like Andrew Weissmann, have speculated that #SpecialCounsel#JackSmith might attempt to simplify his case to shorten the trial. Whether that is possible also remains to be seen.
Either way, #Trump’s DC #trial would be underway in the months b4 #Election Day & the case would head to the #jury shortly b4 or after ElectionDay.
The analysis assumes #SCOTUS affirms the DC Circuit's holding-that there is no absolute #immunity for presidential conduct, even if such conduct is w/in the outer perimeter of his ofcl duties.
A more complicated holding that requires fact-finding on remand could delay proceedings further, especially if there’s a subsequent 2nd interlocutory appeal.
The #DOJ advises Judge #AileenCannon that the "60-day rule" does NOT apply in #Trump's case as he has already been #indicted & the case is already being litigated.
So, no reason to delay taking him to #trial, even w/ #election in Nov.
Important note: the 60-day rule is NOT a #law it is just internal DOJ guidance. The policy is regarding making new allegations shortly before an election when a person can’t have a trial to argue them.
While #Trump & his co-defendants have urged the court to put off the #trial until after the #2024election, they also suggested in a #court filing of their own that the trial could start on either Aug 12 or Sept 9, 2024.
Trump is attending Fri's hearing in Fort Pierce, about 60 miles north of his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach.
U.S. District Court Judge #AileenCannon, who Trump appointed to the federal bench, is overseeing the documents case from her courtroom.
#TheMetalDogArticleList #cbsnews
At lyrics trial, Don Henley recounts making Eagles classic "Hotel California" and says he was not a "drug-filled zombie"
Don Henley was asked about the writing of "Hotel California" and also about his past cocaine use - retorting that he was no "drug-filled zombie."
“There comes a point,” Justice Felix Frankfurter wrote in 1949, “where this court should not be ignorant as judges of what we know as men.”
The #SupremeCourt’s decision on Wed to schedule arguments in April to consider #Trump’s argument that he is #immune from prosecution seemed colored by the lack of that #perspective.
#SCOTUS set a plausibly expedited schedule for considering a question of significant #constitutional moment, one that would ordinarily be resolved by the justices in a definitive opinion.
But the court’s order appeared to ignore… the looming #election that makes #Trump’s #trial on charges that he had plotted to overturn the 2020 election a race against time. The schedule the court set could make it hard, if not impossible, to complete Trump’s trial before the #2024election.
In Taking Up #Trump’s #Immunity Claim, #SCOTUS Bolstered His #Delay Strategy
By scheduling a hearing for late April on TFG’s assertion that he cannot be prosecuted for his actions in office, the justices increased the chances that he will not face #trial by #Election Day
But w/each #delay, the odds increase that #voters will not get a chance to hear the #evidence that #Trump sought to subvert the last election before they decide whether to back him in the current one.
…The question of when the #trial will ultimately happen is complicated by Judge #Chutkan’s insistence that #Trump not lose any time to prepare for the proceeding while the pause in the case remains in effect. She has suggested in #court papers that, in the spirit of fairness, TFG should have an extra day to prepare for every 1 lost to the stay.
Chutkan froze the #ElectionInterference case on Dec 13. That means, if she sticks to her decision, she owes Trump an additional 82 days of prep time —
time — equivalent to the period between Dec 13 & the originally scheduled trial date of Mar 4. If #SCOTUS renders a ruling on the #immunity decision in June & preparations for the #trial start up again immediately, the extra 82 days could push a trial date into Sept.
At that point, the #GeneralElection campaign would be in full swing — & there would be no guarantee that the trial could be completed by #Election Day.
Jack Smith's team signals it will take Trump to trial in October if necessary (youtu.be)
Jack Smith's team signals it will take Trump to trial in October if necessary