Trump charged in D.C. for Jan 6th Efforts to Overturn the 2020 Election

[Pommer]

Jack Smith, the special counsel prosecuting former President Donald J. Trump on charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election, asked the Supreme Court on Monday to rule on Mr. Trump’s argument that he is immune from prosecution.

The request was unusual in two ways: Mr. Smith asked the justices to rule before an appeals court acted, and he urged them to move with exceptional speed.

“This case presents a fundamental question at the heart of our democracy: whether a former president is absolutely immune from federal prosecution for crimes committed while in office or is constitutionally protected from federal prosecution when he has been impeached but not convicted before the criminal proceedings begin,” Mr. Smith wrote.

“It is of imperative public importance that respondent’s claims of immunity be resolved by this court and that respondent’s trial proceed as promptly as possible if his claim of immunity is rejected,” Mr. Smith wrote.

He asked the court to use certiorari before judgment, an unusual procedure to leapfrog the appeals court. It is typically used in cases involving national crises, like President Richard M. Nixon’s refusal to turn over tape recordings to a special prosecutor.

As in the Nixon case, Mr. Smith wrote, “the circumstances warrant expedited proceedings.” He added, “The public importance of the issues, the imminence of the scheduled trial date, and the need for a prompt and final resolution of respondent’s immunity claims counsel in favor of this court’s expedited review at this time.”

Special Counsel Asks Supreme Court to Decide if Trump Is Immune From Prosecution

The special counsel, Jack Smith, urged the justices to move with exceptional speed, and they quickly agreed to fast-track the first phase of the case.

www.nytimes.com

Cutting to the chase, oh my!

 

[wing2000]

The court responded Monday, within hours after Jack Smith's petition:

The Supreme Court said Monday it will consider special counsel Jack Smith’s request to fast-track consideration of Donald Trump’s claim he is immune from prosecution for alleged election obstruction in 2020 — intensifying the legal jockeying over whether Trump’s criminal trial in D.C. will stay on schedule for early next year.


The decision by the nation’s highest court doesn’t mean that the justices will definitely short-circuit the typical appeals process, but it means they are going to hear arguments from both sides about whether they should act quickly. Trump’s lawyers were told to file briefs on the issue by Dec. 20.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/12/11/trump-immunity-supreme-court-jan-6-special-counsel/

 

[essentialsaltes]

Special counsel reveals plans to use Trump’s phone data at trial​

Jack Smith indicated that he plans to call an expert witness who extracted and reviewed data copied from Trump’s phone.

In a court filing Monday, Smith indicated that he plans to call an expert witness who extracted and reviewed data copied from Trump’s phone, as well as a phone used by another unidentified individual in Trump’s orbit.

The expert will describe to jurors “the usage of these phones throughout the post-election period, including on and around January 6, 2021,” when a mob of Trump supporters attacked the Capitol after Trump urged them to fight to “stop the steal.” The expert’s review also included “analyzing images found on the phones and websites visited.”

 

[essentialsaltes]

[Trump] was ordered to take down the doxxing post of Allison Greenfield that lied she was Schumer's girlfriend

On Oct. 3, 2023, the second day of his civil fraud trial, Trump attached a screenshot of that post to his own social media website Truth Social, with a message falsely labeling Greenfield the “girlfriend” of Schumer. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to delete the “untrue” and “disparaging” post, leading to an unprecedented gag order against a former U.S. president. It remains unclear how Trump learned about @JudicialProtest’s social media account or why he decided to share it with an audience of millions. As of Wednesday, the @JudicialProtest account was followed by Trump’s campaign spokesman Jason Miller, who attended the former president’s civil fraud trial.

An investigation by the Messenger has found that 40-year-old Wisconsin resident Brock Fredin — the man behind the @JudicialProtest account on X, the website formerly known as Twitter — has a prolific history of civil and criminal litigation over his harassment of women that echoes his attacks on Greenfield. Fredin has been hit with 50-year restraining orders barring him from contacting three women, and he has been criminally convicted multiple times for violating two of those orders. He is currently under criminal investigation for more suspected restraining order violations and possible stalking.

Sounds deplorable!

 

[USincognito]

On Oct. 3, 2023, the second day of his civil fraud trial, Trump attached a screenshot of that post to his own social media website Truth Social, with a message falsely labeling Greenfield the “girlfriend” of Schumer. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to delete the “untrue” and “disparaging” post, leading to an unprecedented gag order against a former U.S. president. It remains unclear how Trump learned about @JudicialProtest’s social media account or why he decided to share it with an audience of millions. As of Wednesday, the @JudicialProtest account was followed by Trump’s campaign spokesman Jason Miller, who attended the former president’s civil fraud trial.

An investigation by the Messenger has found that 40-year-old Wisconsin resident Brock Fredin — the man behind the @JudicialProtest account on X, the website formerly known as Twitter — has a prolific history of civil and criminal litigation over his harassment of women that echoes his attacks on Greenfield. Fredin has been hit with 50-year restraining orders barring him from contacting three women, and he has been criminally convicted multiple times for violating two of those orders. He is currently under criminal investigation for more suspected restraining order violations and possible stalking.

Sounds deplorable!

Sounds exactly like someone who would wind up in Donald's Project 2025 cabinet.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Trump throws Putin under the bus.

 

[wing2000]

The court has denied the governments request for an immediate ruling:


The Supreme Court on Friday said it will not fast-track consideration of Donald Trump’s claim that he has immunity from prosecution for actions he took as president, a question crucial to whether he can be put on trial for plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

The court’s one-sentence order, from which there were no noted dissents, means a federal appeals court in Washington will be the first to review a district judge’s ruling earlier this month rejecting Trump’s claim of immunity. Arguments are scheduled for Jan. 9. The timing of a decision — and a likely appeal to the Supreme Court after that — could delay Trump’s criminal trial in Washington, D.C., now scheduled to begin March 4.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/12/22/supreme-court-trump-immunity-expedition-denied/

 

[wing2000]

Appeals Court rejects Trumps bid to lift the gag order:

The full federal appeals court in Washington on Tuesday rejected former President Donald J. Trump’s bid to lift a gag order imposed on him in the criminal case in which he stands accused of trying to subvert the results of the 2020 election.

The terse ruling, issued on behalf of the 11 judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, leaves Mr. Trump with only the option of appealing to the Supreme Court if he wants to keep fighting the gag order, which restricts his ability to publicly criticize certain people involved in the legal proceeding.

Full Appeals Court Spurns Request by Trump to End Gag Order in Election Case

The former president now has one option left if he wants to keep fighting the order: appealing to the Supreme Court.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Ana the Ist]

Trump throws Putin under the bus.

View attachment 340669

Yeesh...that a thin line to walk. Jack is going to need something significant.

He had the full resources of the government?

Well clearly the FBI sat on certain stories and evidence that was true while misinformation was being spread...and the spread of that misinformation is a case pretty much every judge has agreed not only happened but will be decided by the SCOTUS this year...

Smith has to be really careful.

He has to argue...successfully...that not only did Trump know he was spreading misinformation, but that despite much of the government doing the same behind his back, he somehow had the full resources of the government? Or that it's wrong when the Trump campaign does it after an election....but not when the Biden campaign does it before an election?

I mean...obviously he doesn't have to defend the Biden administration....someone else does...but he's going to make it really hard for them to succeed in doing so.