If this is true, it’s just another example of how Traitor Tot could f*ck up a one car funeral. And speaking of funerals, a quick joke. What’s five miles long and goes two miles an hour. An Irish funeral with only one set of jumper cables.
Look, we all know that the sole strategy for the Trump defense team is to delay, delay, delay every judicial proceeding until after the November election, where his pipe dream is that he wins and makes all of this pesky legal sh*t go away.
Therefore, it was no big surprise when his first criminal Mar-A-Lago co-defendant Walt Nauta burned through two extensions on his arraignment due to his inability to obtain local counsel to appear in court with him. Media pundits immediately laughed it off as the first of myriad Trump attempts to push the trial back until after the election. This didn’t jibe for me, since Judge Aileen Cannon set a May trial date, so such early delays we ren’t likely to have an impact on the trial date.
But now Trump’s second criminal co-defendant, his Mar-A-Lago property maintenance manager Carlos De Olivera, appeared before the traffic court judge Cannon in federal court, and is on his second arraignment delay for the same reason. What do I always say? Once is an accident, twice is a habit. Especially when you consider that according to MSNBC there are some 2,999 qualified criminal defense attorneys in southern Florida. What’s the problem?
How about this? Trump is not a generous employer, especially for mid level sh*t kickers like Nauta and De Olivera. They’re lucky to have a pot to piss in. In fact, one of De Olivera’s relatives complained to the media that he barely had enough to survive on, forget about expensive legal costs. These are not men of means.
But. But. But! The media is already reporting that Traitor Tot is paying the legal fees for his co-defendants to make sure that they toe the acceptable legal line. Mainly keep Trump out of the Crossbar Hilton. Except it turns out that he isn’t. At least not in the way you’d expect.
When these sorry bastards show up at a criminal defense attorneys office, hat in hand for a consultation, they’re asked how they’re planning on paying for their defense? And apparently these poor bozos are handing over a business card, and explaining that their legal fees are being paid by their employer, former President Donald J Trump, since he got them into this mosh pit in the first place.
DEFCON-1! Trump is a longtime resident of southern Florida, and most if not all southern Florida lawyers are as aware as New York lawyers of his propensity for stiffing his legal fees if he doesn’t get the result he wants. Reporting shows that Trump’s own lawyers in Florida and Dc negotiated $1 million retainers, rechargeable at $350,000 in order to represent him. Why would Florida lawyers with more than 12 functioning brain cells want to take on Nauta and De Olivera on a wing and a prayer?
So, while Trump may not personally be delaying the Florida criminal proceedings, he’s doing so by reputation, while local Florida attorneys contact the Trump directly in order to negotiate guaranteed forms of payment for services rendered. You know, the old saying is that A winner never cheats, and a cheater never wins. Well, Traitor Tot sure seems to be turning that old saying on its head.
why hasn’t a dem operator offered to pay for the lawyer for both?
Was doing research on the Court Listener website. Seems Carlos DeOliveria has now two lawyers, one of whom is “for trial purposes only.” So DeOliveria is good to go for this coming Tuesday’s arraignment.
What I’m wondering is why the Court didn’t simply do ITS duty and “appoint” a properly credentialed counselor for Nauta and de Oliveira at their first appearances? I mean, there are poor and indigent defendants facing criminal charges all the time, all over this country, and yet THEY typically have someone representing them in court.
And, maybe we’ve all been lied to by all the legal/crime drama shows and movies all these years, but those criminal defendants usually appear in the court with a public aid lawyer AT THEIR ARRAIGNMENTS. And, of course, there’s always pro se representation (when the person chooses to represent themselves) which, if it’s permitted for a trial (and, again, in the movies and TV shows, the judge usually advises the defendant to at least have court-provided legal support if/when they insist on representing themselves), then it should be allowed for the person to make his official plea to the court.
I specifically remember this coming up with legal pundits during the Walt Nauta saga. Lawyers with knowledge of how things work in that jurisdiction say it’s not uncommon for a judge handling an arraignment to “pause” the case and have their clerk put in a call to the public defender’s office to send someone to the courtroom. A PD is assigned, gets his/her fanny to that courtroom and stands there with the defendant and a plea is entered and the case is bound over for trial. Whether that PD will continue to represent the client is dealt with AFTER the formal arraignment is done. But arraignments are a pro forma process and absent a fight over bail or some a-hole criminal defense lawyer demanding a formal reading of the entire indictment (almost never happens and the LAST thing Trump would have wanted is having reporters talking about all that was being read into the record on live TV outside as his arraignment was taking place. Or with one of his co-defendants) it takes ten minutes or so. Fifteen tops. Odds are the local counsel won’t have jack to do with the actual defense anyway. Trump’s lead lawyer will be calling the shots for them all. It’s not supposed to be like that but we all KNOW that’s exactly how it will work. Unless Nauta or DeOliveira suddenly snap out of their cult-trance and realize they’d better get their own damned lawyer who is independent of Team Trump, someone that will put THEM and THEIR interests first instead of sacrificing them to protect Trump.
I was both surprised and disappointed after Nauta’s first failed arraignment the judge didn’t have a local public defender standing by when little Walt came back for the second attempt at arraignment. But he got away with the effing games. With this NEW guy the magistrate judge should goddam well have been prepared at the first appearance. And for damned sure when the “I’m sorry your honor I just can’t find someone” bullsh*t came up the judge should have been ready with “That’s ok Mr. DeOliveiros – I’ve got someone right here to handle your arraignment and then call the PD up to “file their appearance” and get the process done.
Maybe someone should be digging into that magistrate’s (or his family’s) bank records!
in Florida, defendants have to pay at least something for public defenders. if you make more than 409 per week you don’t qualify, you have to get your own lawyer and make payment arrangements. less than that and you have to pay something. at least that’s how it used to be.
How typical of Florida to have a system that increases costs and reduces justice.
So typical.of FL. $21,000 a year hardly pays for rent and food. But you are expected to pony up for a lawyer?
Public defenders are usually right out of law school.with too.many cases to.handle and no one to investigate.
We have the best.justice money can buy.
I did not think these guys were lying. My thought was that attorneys just didn’t want to deal with these guys and depend on trump to pay the bills. Either that or they just didn’t want to get involved in this loser cluster-f*ck. Anyone paying attention realizes trump is guilty as f*ck and that the sh*t is going to flow downhill and cover these two putzes. Who wants to take on loser cases if you don’t have to?