J6 Indictment Still Coming, Fulton County Barricades As Trump Cries ‘Don’t Trust the Fake News’

Donald Trump is telling you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It is his final and most essential command. This edict came over Truth Social earlier today, as two things were happening simultaneously: Trump’s lawyers met with lawyers at the Department of Justice and the barricades began going up around the courthouse in Fulton County. Uh oh, spaghettios.

I’m sure Jack Smith will give that the weight and consideration it deserves. pic.twitter.com/pLefvqE3Sg

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) July 27, 2023

A reporter at Politico, Josh Gerstein, just tweeted (or “exed”) that no indictments were returned today and none were expected. But, as Scarlett O’Hara pointed out, tomorrow is another day.

Here’s what’s happening in Georgia.

Barricades erected outside the Fulton County courthouse now. Looks like preparation for some big legal news… pic.twitter.com/3QOccQOMnf

— Charles Bethea (@charlesbethea) July 27, 2023

So here’s the state of play: it is possible that Trump could have two indictments coming one right after the other, from both Jack Smith and Fani Willis. The only thing that happened this morning when Trump’s lawyers met with the DOJ is that they weren’t given any indication of the timing of the indictment, not that there was no indictment coming, as Trump would have you believe. CNN:

A meeting between Donald Trump’s defense lawyers and special counsel Jack Smith has concluded without the former president’s team getting any guidance about timing of a possible indictment, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN.

Since receiving a letter from Smith indicating he’s a target of the investigation earlier this month, Trump had argued against a meeting between his attorneys and Smith’s team because the former president believed the indictment was already a done deal, two sources familiar with his thinking said. […]

Trump’s political and legal strategy has been to delay any possible trials – including until potentially after the 2024 election – and to put the Justice Department in an uncomfortable position where they are pursuing a prosecution of President Joe Biden’s chief 2024 rival even as primary voters are beginning to have their say.

Every day they can push back the handing up of an indictment is a day that pushes back an ultimate trial date.

That’s true enough. So maybe Jack Smith will delay a bit longer, as he continues to get his ducks in a row. But Fani Willis appears to be moving along on track. It was announced some time ago that late July, early August would be the time that she could issue an indictment and here we are with the barricades. This has been the slowest criminal investigation of Trump but as the Daily Beast points out “The slowest of the many criminal investigations into Donald Trump could prove the most consequential—and imminent.” Trump knows this. That’s why he’s freaking out and saying don’t believe what you see and hear.

And there’s another sign of how soon the ax will fall: Trump’s growing desperation. In recent weeks, the former president keeps trying to make last-minute attempts to trash an explosive-yet-secret final report by a Fulton County special purpose grand jury last year that recommended Willis seek criminal indictments against all those who tried to meddle in Georgia’s elections.

The list is certain to include the former president—evident by his repeated attempts to scuttle the report. Although all nine justices on Georgia’s Supreme Court rejected Trump’s request to shut down the investigation earlier this month, Trump’s lawyers revised their lawsuit to disqualify Willis by resorting to personal attacks that accuse her of using the Trump case to seek re-election—prompting the region’s chief judge last week to recuse every single judge in the county and kick it to a neighboring one.

At this point, whatever delay is holding back prosecutors appears to be directly related to Trump’s remorseful associates. In April, the former president’s fake electors started ratting each other out, according to the DA’s court filings.

If anything, the wait has actually strengthened her case.

Earlier this year, the Department of Justice made a decisive move when its lawyers took the formal stance that Trump was acting far outside the bounds of a president’s duties when he tried to cling to power after losing the election—a policy position that essentially strips him of any immunity claim he could try in, say, this Atlanta case.

And so, the countdown is on.

Yes, indeed it is. I fully expect Trump to issue more edicts to MAGA to not listen to anybody but him and to stay close to Truth Social.

Speaking of Truth Social, you may recall Truth Social’s SPAC partner had until July 24 to get its records in order and resubmitted to the SEC, or be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. I’ve been looking for news on that and will share it when I find it. Point being, Trump’s mouthpiece may be headed for the same place as Trump himself, the rear view mirror.

In all events, this is a very hot summer. Especially if you are an overweight orange man in a red cap.