Well, we are after all talking about a Trump personal lawyer. Who I should add LOST in court up New York representing Trump. You’d think Trump would be done with him. However Trump, for reasons I can’t comprehend appointed Emil Bove to the second highest job at the DOJ which will be even more the Trump DOJ than it was before. It’s unusual for someone in Bove’s job to appear in court. Of course, it’s unusual for DOJ to insist on dropping a slam dunk case, and THEN having the judge say ‘Hold on – I’m not rubber stamping THIS motion and the government will appear before me and convince me why I should grant their motion.’ If you know anything at all about the case against Adams you know a Trump appointed U.S. Attorney resigned in protest rather than file the dismissal motion. As did others at SDNY. And some at DOJ too. Maybe ole Emil thought he had the stature to intimidate the judge. He didn’t. Worse, he admitted taking part in an abuse of power that constitutes obstruction of justice, while under oath!
For those pressed for time, or who only want cliff notes this short article from Raw Story contains the main takeaway. Explaining things on MSNBC’s Morning Joe a legal pundit had the whole panel laughing over Bove’s boneheaded legal argument that did not serve either himself, Adams or TRUMP well during the much anticipated hearing. The legal pundit spoke to Bove appearing himself, which again is pretty extraordinary. On the other hand Bove was the driving force at DOJ on this matter. Perhaps that’s why the judge pressed Bove on whether the dismissal amounted to a Quid Pro Quo to ‘advance Trump’s anti-immigrant arguments in New York City.’ Bove’s brain housing group seems to have gone into ‘vapor lock’ before emitting a response that can best be described as a brain fart. Or to be more blunt brain ‘shart’:
“It was the right thing to do, though, because he broke it he owns it –– this is his baby,” he elaborated. “And in court he said that there was no quid pro quo, he said that under oath. But then his reason for the dismissal of the charges sure sounded like a quid pro quo. He essentially said ‘It’s not a quid pro quo, your honor, we just gave Eric Adams something exchange for something.'”
Now, I’m not a lawyer. I’m just someone who’s best friend back in my hometown was a lawyer and who I spent a lot of time with. As a result I learned how to read legal stuff but would never consider myself an actual lawyer. We do have a couple of writers here on Politizoom who DO have legal training however I think they’d agree that after, under oath telling the judge there was no Quid Pro Quo Bove went on to describe that an agreement was reached between Trump and Adams to as he put it ‘exchange something for something.” I already knew what the term meant but for fun typed a search query and first up was this from Copilot Answer: “Quid pro quo is a Latin phrase that means “something for something”. It refers to an exchange of goods, services, or other benefits between two parties, where one transfer is contingent upon the other.”
So what happened is Trump’s lawyer stated under oath there was no Quid Pro Quo and then told the judge what happened was the very definition of one! Oh if only there were cameras allowed in federal courtrooms! I’ll bet Bove went into court expecting to intimidate judge Ho. Trump probably had him all pumped up like it would be some pro wrestling spectacle with Bove body slamming the judge. Things seem to have played out rather differently. It seems the judge wasn’t the least bit intimidated and under his questioning it was BOVE who folded like a cheap lawn chair! UNDER OATH. Sadly I doubt much will happen to Bove for lying on the record in open court to a federal judge. Trump would just pardon him after all so there’s no point in the judge bothering.
Again, while it would be unusual to do so this or any judge is not bound to grant a prosecution’s request to dismiss a case any more than they are bound to accept the terms of any plea deal in criminal court or settlement in civil court. In this case, unless I’m misinformed the judge can have a special prosecutor and team named to go ahead and prosecute the case. It’s worth remembering there was a meeting in DC (I can’t remember if it was at the WH or DOJ) where discussion of filing a motion to dismiss was discussed and there were differences of opinion. Some took notes, which were gathered up (seized is probably more like it) when the meeting was done. However they are official records and destroying them would be a crime. Trump could pardon the lawyer(s) who did it but not stop them from facing consequences with the state Bar that issued their license to practice law!
Being aware of all that judge Ho specifically ordered DOJ to produce those notes. Clearly he’s not playing games and was going to need some serious convincing to grant the government’s request to dismiss the case. I’m guessing what he read in those notes and the rest of DOJ’s pre-hearing filing is what led him to press Bove the way he did. And Bove, melted down under the pressure. How many times can he FAIL Trump and still get kept around? I just don’t get it.
As for Adams, if the judge decides to have outside prosecutors appointed he’s screwed three ways to Sunday. He can forget about a pardon from Trump. He’ll go to prison, and who knows? He might find himself “Epsteined” and that will be that. Trump’s war against his home city which he resents with a white-hot rage for not treating him like “The GREATEST New Yorker EVER!” will continue. Meanwhile, although state law allows a New York Governor to fire any mayor it’s never happened in the state’s history. However Gov. Hochul, who could use a boost in her own ratings would meet with considerable approval if she were to fire Adams. Reportedly she’s seriously looking into doing so.
This is a story that has developed legs. Strong ones. It’s not going away, and if as I suspect Adams wind up going on trial Team Trump is going to be major distracted at a time when with the full scope of DOGE actions takes hold, inflation continues to rise and maybe a government shutdown over the budget it’s a mess that was avoidable. And yes, at least some MAGAs will wonder why the hell Trump has gone out of his way to help some ‘liberal BLACK mayor’ as their own lives are falling apart. They know damn well there are plenty of cities where ICE can be doing what they want on deportations.
Counting on Trump to grease the floor in front of him with smashed bottles of ketchup and falling down isn’t exactly the best thing we can hope for but it’s something. I’ll take him being a victim of his own stupidity over him showing focus and discipline and listening to WISE heads that get an audience with him. People who actually ‘know sh*t’ who I’m sure tried to tell him to just leave the Adams thing alone and focus more on other cities for his immigration crackdown and deportations. However I’ll take what I can get and hope we can exploit this kind of Trumpian incompetence.
#1 Adams is going to prison no matter what if he wants to trust Trump’s ‘without prejudice’ case dismissal.
#2 It takes years to get a removal from the bar to practice law. Just look at Rudy Colludy, John Eastman and Jeffrey Clark’s who had his law license suspended.
And people today wonder why it’s actually a good thing to understand Latin . . .
It helps understanding Harry Potter books much better.
“Trump would just pardon him after all so there’s no point in the judge bothering.”
No, it means something. It means it’s on the record that he broke the law and the only reason is ass isn’t in jail is because he managed to get a pardon from “Mr. Big.”
I have much respect for Judge Dale Ho. Several years ago I attended several days of the trial after Kansas’ Attorney General Kris Kobach tried to force people registering to vote to show their birth certificate. Thousands of people were denied the right to vote. Dale Ho was the lead attorney for the ACLU and did a magnificent job of shredding Kobach’s witnesses. Kobach led his own Defense, very poorly. Not only did the Judge rule against him but also required him to get remedial education on how to present evidence. Remember when Kobach was the head of Trump’s Voter Integrity Project in 2017? It got scrapped after that trial.
What’s the King got to say? He’s now God and the Law. Better check with him.