Hard to know how to call this shot. On the one hand, the man may be a hero for doing this, because he gave us a peek into the corruption of Trump world, which is now in the process of being exposed. On the other hand, the leaking of the proffer tapes showing Jenna Ellis and Sidney Powell telling the truth about their former master, Donald Trump, on Tuesday does serve to intimidate witnesses and that hinders the wheels of justice. It was on that basis that Fani Willis asked for a protective order for the rest of the evidence. And then beyond that, Trump is always looking for any excuse to declare a mistrial and could this action provide that justification? Let’s go through it one step at a time. Meidas Touch:
Towards the end of the hearing, shortly after the attorney for Harrison Floyd adamantly denied press reports that he was the leaker, Misty Hampton’s lawyer Jonathan Miller confessed that it was him. He asserted that he had a first amendment right to disseminate the information to the public. The judge agreed that Georgia case law was thin on that point but did not agree that such a right necessarily took precedence over the ability of the prosecutors to protect their witnesses from threat and harassment.
The judge stated that he would be issuing a protective order by tomorrow. The most notorious video that was leaked was from Jenna Ellis, where she said that Trump aide Dan Scavino told her that he was going to refuse to relinquish power. Ellis has been the target of a great deal of scorn and ridicule from Trump supporters since the tape was leaked.
You might want to hit the link to Meidas Touch and listen to two clips of the lawyer explaining himself. I agree with his argument on transparency, but on the other hand, Fani Willis is right that witnesses have to feel safe and they won’t, if this kind of leaking goes on. What the lawyer did was wrong, but I do give him all credit for having the decency to confess and set the record straight. His actions are laudable, in that regard, and maybe other lawyers, faced with a similar quandary, can learn from him.
Now, can Trump manipulate this to his advantage? My gut reaction is no, because the proffer tapes, while intriguing, did not in fact state anything new. They merely acted to corroborate testimony that had been previously given before, or reports which journalists had previously published before.
That said, Trump tries anything at least once. So it would not surprise me one bit if in the near future, before the end of today, possibly, if he claims that this revelation of the proffer tapes and/or the subsequent confession of the lawyer who leaked them, somehow prejudices him.
In the past hour Trump has posted twice on Truth Social, and both are the usual, election interference and how he’s soaring in the polls. It could well be that he hasn’t gotten wind of this latest development.
We’ll be keeping an eye out, as always. But until some pundit shows up with some compelling reason that Trump can use this incident to his advantage, I would say that he’ll try but he’ll fail, and this will become another Perry Mason moment that didn’t quite swing the bat for him. That’s my prediction, at any rate.
YOU GET NOTHING! Willy Wonka.
Ms. Ellis had better watch her back. I can only imagine the magats have put a target on it. If they haven’t yet, former guy will make sure they do, likely before the week is out.
Is this leaking evidence or just telling the truth?
The delusional opportunistic manipulative bloviator will certainly try to bend the issue to advantage him, in one way or another. He’ll not achieve that goal, but in the process he’ll leave his message imprinted on the foreheads of his impressionable myopic clique of followers, as part of his overall evil and grifting game play – win at any cost. Not going to happen, Don Don. He’s so delusional he projects as burnt water and boiled toast, to garner twisted sympathy and advantage – he denies the peril and demise of his true reality.