Mary Trump Explains Quandary, Hush $$$ Case Beyond Pardon Power

You remember how in Macbeth the wicked protagonist thought that he was safe because there was no way Birnam Wood could come to Dunsinane? I mean, how’s a forest gonna uproot and come strolling towards a castle, right? C’mon. Likewise, the wicked protagonist who would be America’s king forever, Donald Trump, believes that his legal cases can never catch up with him. All he needs to do is have his lawyers stall and then he’ll get them all dismissed when he gets back into office and takes over the DOJ.

Except that there’s a problem with two of them: the two state cases, namely the Georgia racketeering case and the New York hush money case. These are state cases and therefore beyond federal pardon power. Trump’s gotten lucky in Georgia. He’s managed to stall the hell out of things down there, although last we knew, Fani Willis had every intention of setting a trial date this summer. So that could pose a real hassle for Trump if it happened that close to the November election.

But with respect to the hush money case, it’s already too late. Birnam Wood has come to Dunsinane. The judge set April 15 as the trial date, 21 days from today and there isn’t a damn thing that Donald can do about it. Niece Mary explains what this means for her crazy uncle.

Prosecutors have told the court they will “need 15 to 17 days at minimum to present their case,” and an outcome will follow when the defense rests and closing arguments are delivered. Judge Merchan has already made it clear he won’t tolerate any unnecessary delays.

What this really means is that today’s decision made it more likely that we will get a criminal verdict before the 2024 election, and possibly with a few months to spare. 

Let me repeat that: Donald could be found guilty of a crime in a court of law before the election.

Why does this matter?

Up to 53% of key swing state voters say they would refuse to vote for Donald if he were convicted of a criminal offense. That number is even higher, 55%, if he receives a prison sentence. And that’s just one poll. 

A recent POLITICO Magazine/Ipsos poll found that “by a more than 2-1 margin, respondents said that a conviction would make them less likely to support [Donald]…Notably, more than a third of independents said it would reduce their likelihood to support [Donald].” […]

So of course while the media will tell you Donald won today, after the news, he actually faces a better chance of being a convicted criminal facing jail time before the election. That in turn, makes it significantly less likely for him to win.

Plus, New York State is one step closer to being made whole if they can secure that $175 million bond. That is, if Donald even has that much.

I’ll take that news.

Back to the other New York case, the Trump Organization fraud case, yes, now Trump can appeal the case. The bond that was deliberated today and which he says he will post in ten days gives him that right. But having the right to do something and the ability to do it are two very different things.

Trump doesn’t have forever to appeal. He filed his Notice Of Appeal timely and now he’s got the bond so his right to appeal is preserved. But if he’s ordered the court transcripts and/or hired a lawyer, I haven’t heard about it and you know that there are reporters whose job it is to monitor the court system for precisely these developments. Trump and his legal cases are the big news stories on any given day.

Mary Trump goes on to say that Trump’s “defense attorneys insulted and infuriated the judge,” which indeed they did. Now here’s where all this is going:

1. Mid-April the trial starts;
2. The trial could go a couple of months;
3. In fact, it might go all the way to mid-July, which would bring it up to the GOP convention in Milwaukee;
4. Or, it could conclude before the GOP convention and then Trump walks into the convention to accept the nomination as a convicted criminal.

How’s that going to look? And don’t think for one single, solitary moment that all these scenarios have not been gamed out. That is why Trump vowed to “appeal” the court date. He cannot. And now things are going to get very, very interesting.