Well, folks the news today includes Trump and his lawyers getting a new batch of discovery from Jack Smith’s team down in FL. It includes video surveillance which according to this article indicates Team Trump will be able to quickly (the lawyers – not Trump who probably hasn’t paid attention to “little people”) determine who Employees #4 and #5 in the superseding indictment are. Not to mention other lower level folks who suddenly are keeping low profile, have been missing work (because they’ve been off chatting with Jack Smith’s people?) lately and who could see who was doing what on the key dates that are part of the charges Trump, Nauta and now De Oliveira.
His lawyers will tell, then beg and plead for Trump not to react but this is Donald Trump. One of the things we know so well about him is how much he LOVES the tag-line that kept his second rate TV show on the air all those years – YOU”RE FIRED! It won’t matter to him that those who have cooperated, instead of committing crimes and lying to protect him simply told the truth. In Trump’s mind that’s the ultimate betrayal – someone putting THEIR interests (in staying out of prison) over his. Trump simply won’t be able to contain himself.
He WILL fire those people.
At best (from a legal standpoint) he’ll order someone else to do it, someone too afraid of him to refuse. But like Nixon and the infamous Saturday Night Massacre even if Trump has to go through a couple of people he’ll find his Robert Bork who will do the deed.
It will be a pure retaliation of firing people for obeying the law. Granted, I’m not a lawyer but it seems like a pretty clear case of wrongful termination to me. Add in that sure as hell Trump will also doxx those he fires because of all this and they should have a nice lawsuit. Even better, it gives powerful new evidence Smith can use as evidence of just how guilty Trump is. I just hope those who stand to collect don’t get too greedy, and take a nice settlement while Trump still has enough cash flow to make a halfway decent payout.
I wrote last night about what the dynamic at Mar A Lago (and I guess Bedminster too) must be like now. Suspicion. Paranoia. Buttholes puckered. Lots of dirty looks. People wondering who has rolled on Trump (and his co-defendants), who can roll on THEM (and whether they already have!), or whether it’s time for them to do to others before others do to them. My oh my it must be just delightful to be working in such a warm environment. Ok, so that warmth doesn’t include warm fuzzies but rather a pot coming to boil. With people realizing THEY are in that pot.
But the point is that Trump will, if he hasn’t already flip the hell out. He will want heads on a platter so to speak. Again, the only question in my mind is will he listen to his lawyers for a change and at least farm out the job of firing these DISLOYAL TRAITORS (to him, Trump) or demand they have to stand before them so he can play TV host Trump again and say “You’re Fired.” Only in a much more shall we say “colorful” way.
Even money on that I think. But the firings, and then the lawsuits are a coming. Of that much we can be sure.
He’s a private business. He doesn’t even need a reason to fire anyone. Here in MT, private industry needs nothing in the way of a reason to fire someone. MT is called an “at will” state which is what gives businesses everything they want and nothing for employees (and trust me, there are no protections for employees in private industry in MT). Now, in public employment it’s different somewhat, but a business can do what they want in this state. Of course, firing people for shitty reasons (disability, gender, etc.) will get the business a black eye and bad press–and yes, if you’re a business you sure as all get out don’t want bad press.
Your ” … the dynamic at Mar A Lago (and I guess Bedminster too) … Suspicion. Paranoia. Buttholes puckered. Lots of dirty looks … who has rolled on Trump (and his co-defendants) … oh my … Trump will, if he hasn’t already flip the hell out…” Reads like a mad-man loosing grip; a delusional king in a house of marked cards; plays the victim; blames others. So, we have a narcissist confronted by and facing the truth – doesn’t want to; a narcissist revengefully acting out, using wrongful dismissals – shouldn’t happen; a narcissist being paranoid due to in-house silent whispers and back stabbing – can’t possibly happen; a narcissist promoting and securing a psychologically damaging work environment – knows no other way. There’s clearly something quite Shakespearian in this delicious, pathetic, destructive melodrama, isn’t there. Sadly it’s real, and it has real consequences. The narcissistic architect, author and owner of this toxic injurious melodrama will soon be heeled and contained for his history of unlawful and illegal shadowboxing, pugnacious and traumatising misdeeds.
Could put them on paid leave, I guess, just to get them away from more evidence, but then that wouldn’t be trump. He will fire them somehow, and I’m sure he would put contracts on their heads if he could. The interesting thing about this workplace dynamic, besides the side-eyes and sullen expressions, will be the race to flip. Now that Mr. Creosote’s loyal soldiers see which way the wind is blowing, it won’t be long before they dump their paid-for attorneys and spill their guts.
IANAL, but even in “At-Will” and “Right-to-Work” states, there are limits. Federal laws on discrimination apply, for instance. Not sure about refusing an illegal instruction. But it’ll be fun finding out.
I was coming in to comment on the “wrongful termination” bit and Florida is an “at-will” state, meaning employers CAN fire people without cause.
There ARE limits, of course, but the major problem with bringing “wrongful termination” in an “at-will” state is that the terminated individual has to prove his case.
One FL lawyer at an “Employee Advocacy” law firm has the following exceptions against wrongful termination:
1. Discrimination (age, sex, religion, ethnicity, pregnancy, disability)–but you, as the terminated employee, have to prove your firing was based on discrimination. Also, this applies to your reporting or objecting to discriminatory practices or refusing to being forced to participate in discrimination.
2. Making a worker’s compensation claim.
3. Taking certain forms of leave (bereavement, caring for a sick family member). A major caveat is how long you’ve worked as well as how many employees the company has (50 or more is covered by the Federal FMLA law)
4. Demanding overtime pay.
5. Testifying against an employer. (This seems it mainly covers testimony forced under subpoena rather than voluntarily testifying against an employer–obviously if you file a suit against your employer, people would likely wonder why you’re objecting to being fired.)
6. Breach of contract. If you have a contract with specific terms and you haven’t violated them, you can’t just be fired. (Then again, it’s on you as the employee to read that contract for any loopholes before signing. If you signed and there’s some loophole that allows you to accept being fired for saying “This job is so boring” and you signed the contract then you say “This job is so boring,” you probably can be fired.)
(Above info gleaned from https://www.ballmanfirm.com/wrongful-termination-under-florida-law.html )
Trump is famous for his use of NDAs – Non-Disclosure Agreements. Being Trump and cheap when it comes to legal stuff they are (so I’ve seen reported) prety boilerplate for most of his employees and as is the case with many employers overly broad making it difficult to enforce them in court. Of course, to fight it out in court means getting a lawyer willing to do it and most average folks can’t get a GOOD lawyer willing to invest the time/resources in a contingency case against someone like Trump. Even the hack lawyers he’s had over the decades can drag this kind of thing out. So there’s that.
However, the one sure way to pierce an NDA is to force someone to testify under subpoena. If you recall Trump associates have we are told requested they be subpoenad so they can when Trump blows up do the “I didn’t have a choice” routine. And tell him they didn’t really say anything anyway. Sometimes that’s true but sometimes not BUT in the latter instance by the time Trump would find out they figure they’ll be safe from him.
I’m quite sure before any testimony was taken the employees in question were issued a subpoena. In part to make it clear the kind of sh*t they were in if they didn’t tell the truth but also to cover their butts if and when what’s taken place happened. Their testimony/evidence got used against Trump. So yes, if he terminates them their lawyer can introduce the subpoena into evidence and neuter any claim by Trump’s lawyers about “cause” as in violating their NDA.