My birthday is later this month. I know what I want. Pretty please, at the Aug. 28 hearing where it’s already been stated a trial date will be set can I get an early Christmas present? And, can you guess what that might be? Yep, a big shiny Trump Trial in DC on the January 6 charges! Or even a kinda belated Christmas present as in it starting just after the holidays, say on January 6, 2024. Just to twist the proverbial knife in Trump’s gut!
Anyway, lawyers from both sides of a case whether criminal or civil sometimes engage in a bit of snark or outright sarcasm. Sometimes just in front of the judge and anyone sitting in the gallery for whatever reason but sometimes in front of a jury. Happens every day. Sometimes the judge admonishes or even slaps them down and sometimes not. But it’s common as mud, or Trump lying everyday. What prosecutors in particular don’t do is get into major trolling. Especially federal prosecutors. It’s just not how they roll and they’d probably get encouraged to “move on to a more suitable for you to work” place to practice law. Still sometimes they should.
So, since as those how know me know I sometimes have weird fantasies I came up with one this evening regarding what the prosecution should do in DC later this month. Todays’ arraignment was fairly quick and normal but there were a couple of quirks. One was a bit of a stern talking to from the Magistrate judge to Trump and the defense about following rules regarding witness tampering, intimidation and so on. The other? Well it seems that the judge who will preside over the case had a communication with the Magistrate judge to have everyone back in court on the 28th. AND that a trial date would be best. The prosecution has seven days to offer thoughts on how long it will take to present their case and when they will be ready to go and the defense has seven to respond to it. And on the 28th they will all get together and the judge will set a trial date.
Well… You can imagine how Team Trump reacted. Multiple times they whined that there was no possible way they could even begin to respond to the prosecution’s proposal, much less in seven days. Or for who knows how long past the 28th. And were basically told tough noogies. Judge Chutkin will see you on the 28th and if you’re not ready that’s your problem but a trial date is going to be set. Naturally we will spend the rest of August with Team Trump and RWNJ media (and frankly too much of mainstream media too) talking about “millions of pages of discovery.” I call bullsh&t because from the time the indictment was released it was clear Smith’s team used the work of the January 6 Committee as the foundation for building their case.
Oh, they’ve developed more since they had tools Congress did not. The could compel testimony and obtain documents that Congress couldn’t. However, the important thing to remember is that the J6 Committee has already provided the lion’s share of the discover in this case. To the American public! Which just so happens to include Trump and every lawyer working for him. It’s been out there for what, a year and a half? So, knowing we were headed for likely indictment of Trump for January 6 related stuff his lawyers never bothered to read the Committee’s report or start going through all that supporting stuff? Yes, there was a lot but again it’s been a LONG time that it’s been available to them.
Once upon a time judge Chutkin was a defense lawyer and by all accounts a damned good one. She’s also known as being a no-nonsense judge and I rather doubt she’ll be impressed with a team of lawyers a recent financial statement from Trump’s PAC show have already been paid upwards of 1.5 million each claiming they couldn’t be bothered to prepare for what we all thought was coming.
Yes, there might well be changes with some witnesses between what they said to the J6 Committee and what they said to the grand jury. And EVERY SINGLE ONE will be highlighted by the prosecutors. I don’t know about you but to me it seems like this is doing the defense’s job for them as much as it is prosecutors being ready to deal with defense cross exam about the changes. The point is that the defense won’t have to figure this out on their own. The prosecution has already done it for them.
In the same vein, there’s the evidence from the grand jury that was obtained on given issues from different witnesses because unlike the J6 Committee the grand jury had subpoena power to compel testimony and document production. Again, it will be a case of point by point of Smith’s team being able to provide a right freaking there side-b-by-side of what witnesses would say/provide to Congress and what they HAD to say/provide to the grand jury. So Trump’s lawyers won’t have to spend countless billable hours reading through every freaking thing to sort out the wheat from the chaff.
Finally, I imagine that as was the case in FL the prosecution had things ready to start handing over right away, even before a judicial order to begin the discovery process. Including and especially an “order of proof” which is indicating what they intend to present at trial and at what point during the proceedings. My understanding is that usually that’s something that happens much closer to trial but Smith isn’t dicking around. He wouldn’t have asked for indictments either in FL or DC unless his people were ready to go. AND he’s confident enough in his case to say “Here. Here’s exactly what we are going to to. Good luck dealing with it cause we’ve got your guy dead-to-rights. Read it and weep. Hope you got your money upfront!”
So yes, there will be plenty of new stuff the defense will get and surely in some cases pucker up over. And probably draw straws over who has to tell Trump about this or that piece of new bad news.
With all that as my windup, here’s what I’d love to have go down when the defense tries to complain it will take AT LEAST a year just to go through discover and who knows how much time after that to argue pretrial motions:
Your honor, the prosecution acknowledges there is a considerable amount of discovery in this case. However, most of it has been available to the defense since since the January 6 Committee published its report and made available its exhibits and supporting evidence. Albeit with a small number of redactions every American has been able to see it. To study it. To make notes. Even form questions they’d like answers to.
Is the defense, who have long known they would one day be hear in this setting seriously trying to tell you they have only just decided to start looking at all that? Because while the prosecution does in fact have a fair amount of additional evidence the bulk of what the defense is today telling you they have to go through has been available to them for a year and a half! So, when I stand here and listen to them I can’t help but think of the character Stan from South Park tilting his head to the side and saying “Really? REALLY?”
Furthermore your honor the prosecution has already provided specific instances of testimony/evidence that witnesses refused to provide to Congress but did provide to the grand jury. It’s all put together in each instance piece by piece, right there together so the defense doesn’t have to go digging around to try and match up what was long available to them with what we learned as the grand jury proceedings progressed.
And yes, to be fair there are witnesses who either weren’t called or refused to appear before Congress. Still, it’s hard to see how a few hours, or even a day or two of completely new testimony from not that many witnesses places an onerous burden on the defense.
I’d also like to remind the court of something. Back when then citizen Trump first began running to be President he bragged about his wealth. He used terms like “I’m really, really rich.” He bragged he was so rich he’d self fund his campaign even if it cost a billion dollars. It’s a matter of public record he didn’t spend his own money on his first campaign or even his re-election campaign. In fact, over and over again he boasted about how much money he was raising, citing as proof he was more popular than any candidate ever. Then after his loss in 2020 was declared he formed a PAC to raise money for legal expenses. In fact he’s had more than one PAC. Just what his net worth is we can’t be sure since unlike every President and candidate since Nixon – yes even Richard Nixon released his taxes – MISTER Trump has refused to release his own. Still, Forbes is pretty good at estimating net worth and still says that while he was never worth the ten billion (imagine at his point the steam coming out of Trump’s ears!) he used to talk about he’s at least worth a few billion. And filings show well over a hundred million raised for legal fees.
Yes, he can account for much of that having been spent but again the prosecution notes Mister Trump’s bragging about his wealth and fundraising abilities. In fact, it’s a matter of record that state Republican Parties are going broke because people are sending money to Mister Trump instead.
Law firms hire “drones” every year right out of law school to do research, to pore through due diligence in corporate matters or discovery in criminal cases and flag anything that higher ups might want to look at. It seems reasonable to the prosecution that Mister Trump has the assets and the supporters in conservative circles that practice law to hire enough such people to within a month go through every bit of discovery if they so choose, instead of concentrating their efforts on what we’ve already told them will be introduced as trial! Unless he’s broke Mister Trump can hire all the young attorneys and paralegals he needs to go through discovery. Finally, given that their are entire law schools devoted to training conservative lawyers there are hundreds of law students Mister Trump can surely call on to help, and perhaps for say a semester’s tuition cost. Again, surely he can afford it.
So your honor, the prosecution sees no reason why if this hasn’t already stared then it can’t begin within days. And that by the end of September the main defense team will have had a chance to go through what we have already told them will be presented at trial, but combed through EVERYTHING looking for something, anything they might try to trick-bag the court with via some motion for delay.
The prosecution is ready to proceed before the end of this year and there is NO reason the defense can’t be as well. Unless their goal is to delay the trial until after next year’s election in the hopes Mister Trump will again become President Trump and interfere with the administration of justice by shutting down any investigations and trials of himself or his associates.
Then the person who said all that or something like it should look over at the defense table with a “I f**king DARE to you try and argue with THAT!” look.
Well, I did warn you I have weird fantasies sometimes.
Just a note but as Jan 6, 2024 is a Saturday, I doubt the case would start on that date.
First thing I looked at. lol
That is not a weird fantasy.
You don’t suppose Trump** WANTS them not to read through discovery because he wants to get a new trial on the grounds of (I forget the term exactly) inadequate defense?
I can’t imagine any lawyer going along with that, but….
I hope that the time to trial and then a guilty verdict is short enough that, following the verdict, appeals can be made that because the 14th Amendment holds that “no person shall … hold any office … who shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same”, and since DJT has been convicted, he cannot be allowed to be on the ballot for President or any other office, because the pathway to holding that office is through the ballot. IANAL, but I hope a conviction in this case will fulfill the requirements for invoking the 14th.