A Pivotal Week For 5 Trump Cases
This could turn out to be a pivotal week in the four criminal cases and one civil case facing former President Donald Trump.
Here’s a recap of where these cases stand.
The Special Counsel January 6 Case
We are headed for a showdown at the Supreme Court in the most consequential case facing Trump – the criminal charges arising from his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and to incite the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
Trump has claimed he is entitled to absolute immunity from any criminal charges for actions he took while President. This claim was rejected by the federal district court, which stayed pre-trial proceedings pending appeals. Last week, a three-judge appeals panel of the D.C. Circuit unanimously ruled that Trump’s claims were, in essence, meritless.
We already know that delay is page one of Trump’s legal playbook. So it was no surprise when, on Monday, Trump asked the Supreme Court to extend the stay while he appeals.
Special Counsel Jack Smith, who was given a week to answer Trump’s motion, filed his response without delay – just 48 hours later.
Smith asked the Court to reject Trump’s appeal and return the case to the district court to proceed to trial. But if the Court does take the appeal, Smith called for a very speedy timeline for the Court to decide the matter.
There is no merit to Trump’s immunity claim. The real issue is whether the Justices will decide the matter in time for a trial to take place before the November election.
The Supreme Court has acted quickly in the past when circumstances call for it.
Circumstances call for it here.
Americans have a right to know whether or not Trump is a convicted felon before they vote in November. It’s in the Supreme Court’s hands to make this happen or not.
The New York 2016 Election Interference/Hush Money Case
Pending in New York state court is a criminal case that alleges Trump paid hush money to keep adult entertainer Stormy Daniels silent about their relationship in order to prevent it from becoming public in the closing weeks of the 2016 presidential election. That information likely would have impacted the outcome of the election.
Today, Judge Juan Merchan announced that Trump’s trial in the case will begin on March 25 making this the first criminal trial that Trump is expected to face – although Trump will no doubt continue to try to delay it.
Trump has been charged with 34 felony counts of business fraud in his effort to interfere with the 2016 election. While it has been overshadowed by the other cases, this is an extremely important case.
The Georgia Election Interference Case
A hearing began today, and will continue tomorrow, in Georgia on a motion filed by defendants in the criminal conspiracy case alleging that Trump and others interfered with the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
The motion asks for the disqualification of Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis for conflicts of interest based on her relationship with Nathan Wade, who she hired to manage the trial and with whom she had a romantic relationship.
The issue dominating the hearing is whether their relationship started before or after Wade was hired, since both Willis and Wade have said it began after.
The judge indicated that he might have to disqualify Willis based on the circumstances surrounding the relationship. If he does, he would likely disqualify the office she leads and assign the case to another D.A.’s office.
If this happens, it would raise serious questions about whether the case will ever get to trial.
The Special Counsel’s Mar-a-Lago Documents Case
The evidence is powerful and seems irrefutable in the criminal case that Trump took classified documents from the White House, stored them at Mar-a-Lago, and refused to return them.
Based on the evidence, it should be an open-and-shut case.
But, Judge Aileen Cannon has shown apparent bias in favor of Trump. Her improper rulings in the case have already been reversed twice by conservative three-judge panels of the 11th Circuit.
This week Judge Cannon is holding closed-door sessions to determine who can have access to the classified documents at issue for purposes of the trial.
The trial is scheduled to begin on May 24 but the results of these hearings and other efforts by Trump to delay the case could push it past the November election. If that happens and Trump is elected President, he would order the Justice Department to drop the case.
The New York Civil Fraud Case
There are indications that Judge Arthur Engoron will issue a decision tomorrow imposing penalties in New York state’s civil lawsuit that Trump and the Trump Organization falsely inflated the value of Trump’s holdings to receive loans and other financial benefits.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has requested penalties of $370 million as well as a request to prohibit Trump and his organization from doing business in New York.
Engoron has already ruled that Trump and his executives engaged in fraud; his ruling on penalties could be a significant blow to Trump’s wealth and business empire.
Trump, the expected Republican presidential nominee, may well be running out of time in his efforts to delay the cases pending against him until after the November election.
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Fred’s Weekly Note appears on Thursdays in Wertheimer’s Political Report, a Democracy 21 newsletter. Read this week’s and other recent newsletters here. And, subscribe for free here and receive your copy each week via email.
