Jester Politics News Roundup For February 16, 2024

The political persectution of Trump, a story that would make Stalin green with envy.  There has been so much coming out this week that it’s hard to know where to start, so I guess I’ll just dive in:

 

Election Interference Case

 

This case was brought by Special Council Jack Smith in the federal District Court for the District of Columbia (DC) and involves four charges relating to election interference.  I think the charges brought are at best a real stretch and were brought in nothing more than an effort to get a quick conviction ahead of the November elections.  I believe a conviction on these charges would be overturned on appeal, but by the time it could be appealed, the damage to Trump’s reelection bid would have been done.  However, things have not been going as Smith planned.  And now there’s a new twist – Special Counsel Jack Smith may not be Special anything.

Currently there is a question before the Supreme Court involving the timing of Trump’s DC trial and whether he has Presidential immunity.  The case against Trump was brought by Special Prosecutor Jack Smith, who was appointed by the current U.S. Attorney General Merick Garland.  None of this is shocking, what is shocking and potentially earth shattering is an amicus brief filed by former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese and law professors Steven Calabresi and Gary Lawson.

 

An amicus brief is a brief filed by a non-party offering information and legal argument to the Supreme Court on issues they are interested in, but which may not have been covered by the parties to the litigation.  This is not unusual; in fact, it is common.  What is unusual is that Meese and company are arguing that Special Counsel Jack Smith was unlawfully appointed and therefore, he has no standing (authority) to bring this case against Trump. If Meese is correct, then not only must Smith be removed from the case, but the case must be dismissed because he had no authority to bring it in the first place.

 

I’ve read the amicus brief and though I’ve not had time to research it in depth, I do believe Meese has an argument. However, I won’t have an opinion on how strong his argument is until I do more research. We plan on discussing this, among other things, on Jester Politics’ Tuesday 8 pm (MT) spaces.

 

This case has been placed on indefinite hold pending the ruling of the Supreme Court decision. 

The Classified Documents Case.

This is the only case against Trump that has not been brought in NYC or DC, and the only one I believe has any merit whatsoever.  However, it was also brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith and has more than a few problems, including:

 

  • Jack Smith brought this case as Special Counsel. If the Supreme Court finds he was unlawfully appointed to that position, then he will be removed as Special Prosecutor.  Of more import this case, as well as the election interference case pending in DC will have to be dismissed because Smith would not have had the authority to bring either;
  • Trump is arguing he had declassification authority and declassified the documents he retained;
  • Selective prosecution. Clinton, Biden, and Pence all had classified information in their possession, and none were prosecuted.  From what I have read, the documents Clinton and Biden had in their possession were as sensitive, if not more so, than the ones’ Trump had in his possession and were maintained in a much less secure manner then the Trump documents were.  Clinton had documents electronically stored on an unsecure private server in her home and Biden had highly classified paper documents scattered over several locations, including stacked in a box in his garage.

The judge in this case has scheduled the trial for May 2024, but has indicated she may move the trial date back. Currently, there are a significant number of pre-trial motions she is wading through.

The Georgia’s State RICO case against Trump

 

To be honest, this is a dumpster fire of incompetence.  RICO cases, whether federal or state, are complex cases requiring sharp attorneys with experience in complex litigation in general and RICO law in particular.  In this case the lead attorney not only lacks those requirements but is also incompetent.

 

Nathan Wade was hired by District Attorney Fani Willis to be lead prosecutor and has been paid $654,000 since January 2022.  This most likely makes him the highest paid prosecutor in Georgia.  Additionally, his law partner has been paid another $126,000 for his work with Fulton County prosecutors. 

 

Prior to being hired to prosecute this complex RICO case against a former President, Wade’s legal experience was limited to defending misdemeanors, sitting as a municipal judge – who hears misdemeanor cases, and for a period of time prosecuting misdemeanors.  The rest of his legal career seems to be limited to being a plaintiff’s attorney representing people involved in car accidents.  Nothing in his resume qualifies him to be lead on this case, and certainly not to be paid $654,000 in two years.

 

That’s enough to raise eyebrows, but there’s more.

 

There is credible testimony that Fulton County DA Fani Willis and Wade have been involved in a romantic relationship dating back to 2019, and that Wade used some of the funds paid to him by Willis’ office to take her on lavish trips. Willis claims she reimbursed Wade but has no receipts because she claims to have paid him back in cash. 

 

If the judge believes that Wade paid for Willis’ trips and was not reimbursed, then he has no option but to remove her due to conflict of interest.  There is also the possibility of criminal charges being brought against both and both being referred to the Georgia State Bar for attorney discipline.  I have no idea how the judge is going to come down on this, but the hearing is starting to look not so good for Fani.

 

Ms. Willis wearing her dress backwards is the least of her problems.  We will be discussing this in Jester’s Spaces on Tuesday also.

Trump’s NYC Fraud Case

 

In what can only be described as a kangaroo court, New York Judge Arthur Engoron found Trump, several of his entities, and several of his family members guilty of civil fraud in a case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James.  He imposed a $350 million dollar fine and other penalties.

 

Trump’s attorney has stated they are appealing and hopefully the NY Appeals Court will inject some sanity into the state’s judicial system.  I am cautiously optimistic that the Appeal Court will overturn the case or remand for a new trial.  However, even if they do, I must wonder if this judge and the AG have not inflected a major wound on NY.  Every business in the state must be considering whether they want to stay in NY and risk falling on the wrong side of the political machine where they could be subjected to show trial justice and huge fines.  It would make more sense for them to pack their bags and head to states with warmer weather and a fair judiciary. 

 

With the rising crime, increasing number of illegal immigrants, and now this it makes you wonder if the 1981 movie Escape From NY was fiction or a prophecy.

 

Jean Carroll’s defamation case against Trump

Another civil case brought against Trump in NY City, well to be accurate, a case heard by the federal court in the Southern District of New York which is pretty much NY City and surrounding area.  In this case the jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million dollars for defamatory statements he allegedly made.  Again, Trump is appealing this case and I think he stands a pretty good shot at having it overturned or at the very least the damages awarded significantly reduced.

 

I am not sure how the jury came up with the $83.3 million, but it has no basis in reality and I believe violates the 14th Amendment’s due process clause because it is grossly excessive. (see: BMW of North America, Inc. v. Gore, 517 U.S. 559 (1996)).

 

Jean Carroll’s Sexual Assault Case Against Trump

This is a case in which Trump was found to have sexually assaulted Carroll in 1995 or 1996.  The first time Carroll came forward with this allegation was in a book she wrote in 2019 – 23 or 24 years after she claims she was sexually assaulted by Trump.  Trump insists not only that it did not happen, but that he does not even know Carroll.  The jury found Trump sexually assaulted her and awarded her $5 million.  This case is on appeal.  I think it is notable that this case was also heard in federal court – the Southern District of NY.

 

Regardless of what you think about Trump, these six cases have to convince any thinking person that the we are beyond lawfare and are well into political persecution of political opponents.

A day late and a dollar short.  More than a year after the train disaster, Biden makes his way to East Palestine, Ohio for a campaign photo-op.  He was received as he deserved.  Best sign award goes to the little girl with the sign reading “Don’t Sniff Me.”

 

A couple of days ago I came across a video of The President of Argentina, Javier Milei flying commercial and greeting and taking selfies with the passengers.  That is what leadership looks like.  Yes, I know the President of the U.S. cannot fly commercial for several reasons, but he can do a number of things that shows his concern for those he’s supposed to lead.  The problem for Biden is, these acts must be real and from the heart, not photo-ops scripted to get votes.  Biden and those in his administration don’t understand this, instead they are more concerned about their political future than the future of Americans and so they see everything as a photo-op.   

 

I see Amazon is getting ready for the next pandemic, otherwise known as ELECTION 2024.

 

No wonder people don’t take our public health officials seriously: Trans health secretary Rachel Levine claims climate change ‘disproportionately effects’ mental and physical wellbeing of black Americans.

The only things those who are pushing to mutilate children in the name of “gender affirming care” are accomplishing is mutilating children, destroying kids’ lives, and creating future litigation that will make the tobacco litigation look like chump change: “Top Canadian surgeon unwittingly reveals TRUTH about sex-change ops: Unearthed video lifts the lid on ill-trained doctors, dying appendages and ‘dreaded complications.”  I truly hope there is a special place in Hell for those who lead children down this path.

 

When I first started practicing law an old lawyer who I greatly respected told me “If someone must go to jail, let it be your client.”  His meaning was never do illegal things to get a client off, or you stand a good chance of sharing a cell with a none too friendly dude.  I’m thinking Nicole Fegan did not get this advice: Young Thug trial lawyer Nicole Fegan is arrested on gang charges.”  The only difference is if convicted Ms. Fegan will be sharing a cell with a dudette and not a dude.

 

On the upside, the Fulton County District Attorney’s office – the same gang that is prosecuting Trump is prosecuting Ms. Fegan.  If their trial lawyers are as bad as their boss, the likelihood of Ms. Fegan being convicted is slim.

 

 

If it was not true, it would be funny: Between the United States and Russia, one country just arbitrarily seized the assets of an oligarch opposed to the regime, and is trying to jail him. The other country is Russia

 

 

A good education is important so young adults will have the ability to decide if they want to live a life of excitement and become a legend in every dive bar in the nation, or spend their lives doing things like studying “Seduction in Moth Pheromones.”  If you want to know my druthers, well you can find me in the dive bar…

 

 

The good news is SF brings back 8th-grade algebra, admits ‘equity math’ failedThe bad news?  This is California so it took them 10 years to figure out it was a mistake removing algebra from schools in the name of equity and now it’s going to take them three more years to get algebra back in all 8th grade classes.

 

It’s almost like our education “experts” are mostly morons…

6 thoughts on “Jester Politics News Roundup For February 16, 2024”

  1. Oh man, this was a great read! Thank you. I do have questions:
    1. Regarding Engoron, Fani Willis and Letitia James-
    a. How long and to what depth will they be permitted to remain in their positions after exhibiting such disregard for the judicial system of the USA?
    b. Who has the authority to start the disbarment, prosecutorial, firing process given that their entire offices are corrupt and incompetent?
    c. Judge Engoron? I don’t even know what questions to start with regarding this man.
    1. Will he really be permitted to keep his bench?
    2. Who has the authority to start the removal process of a judge?
    3. Who has the authority to require that a judge be evaluated for mental health disorders and personality disorders?
    d. If Jack Smith was appointed unlawfully, we are only just now learning this is a potential problem!
    e. It bothers me that there is not statute of limitations on crime. Even serious crimes like rape, should have a limitation. After so many years, with no evidence, IMO, it is a disservice.
    f. Given that airports are highly controlled, they would be a great place for a president or candidate to meet and greet citizens. People are on limited time to connect which would prevent crowds, there would be no ruckus inside the security gate, in an airport such as DFW, most of the socioeconomic population of the US is represented.
    g. EDU experts are morons!

    I will conclude with two words to describe the unfortunate predicament of the US in these times-Gordian Knot. Unfortunately, it seems to rest entirely on one, reliable and durable, sword named Donald Trump! God bless him for caring enough about our precious country that he is able and willing to take the Knot on. May others continue to rise and support DJT and the cause.

    Thank you for a super article. I so appreciate your writing style!

    Jenny

  2. PS-How does treason work? To me, a citizen is either faithful to the USA or is not. All these people, IMO, have committed treason. I think I am probably wrong on that, but why? Treason should be black and white. Maybe an essay for another time but I was thinking about it concerning these corrupt officials.

    Jenny

  3. Look forward to this Tuesday Jester Politics Space! Should be a good one. I will share my ever lowering expectations of justice then.

    “That’s the difference between governments and individuals. Governments don’t care, individuals do.”
    Mark Twain

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