Television is the battleground upon which our country’s next civil war will be fought, apparently. We see before us all the signs. All of Donald Trump’s lawyers, not just Alina Habba, are up there talking batshit crazy things about the law. Things that they KNOW are not true. Why are they doing this? I’ll give you my assessment: they are doing this because they believe that image is all that matters. They believe that people are stupid (and we did, this country did, vote in Donald Trump in 2016, so I have to concede that point, they have cause to believe we’re stupid) and so they can say whatever they want and people will believe it. That is one thing Trump taught us, is that people are gullible to an incredible extent.
So going forward from that premise, not only are Trump’s lawyers committed to lying their asses off on right-wing media, but so is the entire Republican party. I’m sure you’ve heard Mike Johnson, who proclaims he is a constitutional lawyer, start this today. He’s talking about going to the Supreme Court and inferring he has spoken to justices already.
Mike Johnson on the Trump verdict: I do believe the Supreme Court should step in…I think that the Justices on the Court – I know many of them personally – I think they are deeply concerned about that, as we are. So I think they'll set this straight… pic.twitter.com/gp3qWR0BJX
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) May 31, 2024
HOW? Would somebody please tell me how the Supreme Court is going to have any impact on a state court criminal ruling? This is the fantasy that the GOP and Trump’s lawyers are putting on right-wing media. Here it is again.
Missing from this is any explanation about how she takes an appeal straight from a state trial court to the U.S. Supreme Court. I’m interested in hearing her analysis on that. https://t.co/tSw9dsXKaC
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) May 31, 2024
As I said here in an earlier piece, only the state courts can decide an issue of state laws or the state constitution. The Supreme Court determines issues concerning federal laws or the U.S. Constitution. So far as I know, unless there are issues in the Trump trial which concern either federal laws or the Constitution, the appellate court in New York state is the final destination for Trump’s case.
And how are they even going to get there? J.D. Vance was spouting off today about “all kinds of reversible errors” but he failed to mention one. He’s no dummy. Neither is Todd Blanche. Neither, for that matter, are Johnson or Habba, where something this basic is concerned. They’re talking the same kind of drivel that Mike Lindell does. The only difference is I haven’t heard any of them say it will be a 9-0 verdict. Yet. That may happen tomorrow.
"If we can go right to the Supreme Court, that's what we're gonna do" — Trump lawyer Todd Blanche on Trump's appeal pic.twitter.com/xAcvJclqvr
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 1, 2024
There, ladies and gentlemen, you have heard the Speaker of the House talk incoherent fantasy, backed up by Trump’s lawyer who lost her last case to the tune of $91 million, vowing to appeal that from here to kingdom come and nothing has happened, then you get former white-shoe law firm law partner, Todd Blanche, who just lost a 34-0 criminal case for Trump — and they’re all, by God, going to take the case to the Supreme Court. Here’s an analysis by two lawyers who debunk this idiocy.
Yes, Eli Honig’s graphic is how it works. Now the second lawyer spoke of “not seeing” a “compelling” federal issue. I don’t see ANY! And believe me, IF there was an issue of federal law or the Constitution in the Trump hush money trial, you would be hearing about it. It’s not there.
This is merely a formal rebuttal by CNN to the idiocy put forth on Fox News. This is all bullshit. There isn’t going to be an appeal of this case unless somebody finds a reversible error. And right now it looks like the only errors made in this case were made by Todd Blanche — including saying how terrific the jury was, right before they delivered the guilty verdict.
This is all entertainment and smoke and mirrors. But a lot of people, certainly anybody who listens to Fox News and the rest of the right-wing media lie-o-sphere, is going to believe this is real. It’s not real.
And to be honest, I don’t have a lot of patience with CNN. CNN could have had somebody definitively say what we said here, first step, find a reversible error to get the appeals process started, and then if there is zero issue of federal laws or the Constitution, stop talking about the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is no more an avenue of redress in this hush money case than the world court at the Hague or Judge Judy’s court. It isn’t real.
But this is the world we live in, pure Tower of Babel madness. This is what happens when news and information turn into entertainment, with beautiful people on the screen talking about nonsense for big bucks. And this is also what happens when politics becomes a form of entertainment. America invented television and it might be the Frankenstein’s monster that kills us.
Well they could appeal on the grounds of an incompetent lawyer I suppose (but not to SCOTUS), but Blanche won’t take THAT route. Don John will probably find a less incompetent lawyer (if he can find one)
Oh and btw, the US did NOT invent television – it was the Germans and the Brits (indepedently)
Ahem. Apparently rudy is helping out. That would take care of that finding a less competent lawyer thing.
They cannot appeal using presidential immunity since the offense occurred before he was president. And he can’t pardon himself for a state crime. His best hope is to.wait until.after sentencing and have the appeals court overturn the sentence as out if line for the crime.
CNN has lost their touch for sure!
Goebbels and Hitler are in HELL being tortured by the knowledge if only they had the tools the nazis have today they would have conquered Europe and then the western world. No one in either side of my family tolerated lying…it was considered a worse offense than whatever you did to start with. Now we willingly pay people to lie to us. B E A UTIFUL!
I rememeber growing up and you are right Scott, LYING was the worst one could do. Man did I get smacked if I lied about ANYTHING!
Some kind of stupid man–more than regular magat stupid. Amazingly stupendously fucking stupid.
I get why fux airs this shit-airing shit is what they do-I cannot figure out cnn’s angle. Lose whatever audience they have left? I mean, let’s face it, one does not go to cnn if you want actual news as opposed to shit served up by fux. very strange.
Criminal cases can get there by going up the appeals ladder in the state. Think of all those cases regarding whether capital punishment is “Cruel and Unusual.” Not all cases which get sent to the Supreme Court, however, are accepted. I know there is some kind of emergency process, but I don’t know what it actually skip. Blanche said “If” which suggests that he is in doubt whether it’s possible. If it just depends on the whim of the Court, I would expect the Court to accept this one, but I could well be wrong.
The Court has “original jurisdiction” over any legal dispute between states. The State of Washington bars any “convicted felon” from running for public office in that state, unless the conviction “has been overturned.” Maybe he could find a state willing to fight Washington over that. I grant it’s unlikely. But while these people are crazy, they are also creative. I don’t expect it, but I can’t exclude it.