As far as I can see he’s hedging his bets
Not really. His choices are:
1. You are guilty of tax evasion on a massive scale for decades; a federal crime that will put you away until you die.
2. Plead guilty and get a reduced sentence to your tax evasion. The guilty plea from the man in charge of finances of the Trump organisation will automatically mean fines for the company, he may well say something on the stand, but it's not the end of the world if he doesn't because well; he's admitted his guilt.
This suggests that he might be cooperating.
https://twitter.com/harrylitman/status/1560148174332764160
Even Rudy won't touch this one!
https://twitter.com/TristanSnell/status/1561824638396661760?t=aLZ1lISlnxG2hWf3SJ6qEg&s=19
That can't be true, surely?
Well, he will be the best lawyer. Biggly
That can’t be true, surely?
If I had a penny for everytime...
That can’t be true, surely?
The Guardian report implies he has a lawyer and the court document that story links to also names a specific lawyer.
I guess his cheque might have bounced though.
So the - heavily redacted - FBI raid affidavit will be released tomorrow. By midday Florida time, so no later than 5pm our time (I think). Should be interesting what it has to say and what is artfully concealed.
Meanwhile, reports that our Bureau friends found multiple instances of classified docs just lying around the gaff. As you do. Especially when you know that the feds (quite literally in this case) are crawling all over yo ass. What a gigantic, pus infected bell-end he really is
TruthSocial not paying its bills.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/trump-social-media-app-facing-financial-fallout
Trump hasn't paid his bills for years. Which may partly explain why the only lawyers who want to work for him appear happy to be 'paid with exposure'.
Also must be reassuring for Americans to note just how secure an environment Mar-a-lago was for 'above top secret' documents:
https://twitter.com/MikeSallah7/status/1563175012978159616
I'm guessing that the FBI and prosecutors are just doing this for laughs.
https://twitter.com/bradheath/status/1563197205858889730
I’m guessing that the FBI and prosecutors are just doing this for laughs.
I think they are doing to protect the identity of witnesses.
I think they are doing to protect the identity of witnesses.
Yes. One nutter has already tried to attack an FBI field office so they are going to be erring on the side of caution.
Trump being trolled by Jamie Foxx
https://twitter.com/dailyloud/status/1562811791838654464?s=21&t=JmopWZ5laiFAk155JjuYrg
BREAKING: Trump is representing HIMSELF, with no lawyer at all, in his case against the United States regarding the search of Mar-a-Lago and recovery of government records. The legal term is “pro se” - for himself. He could not find anyone to represent him.
1) I’m sure many people will be getting in the beers and chips ready for what could be highly entertaining, in a slow-motion car-crash sort of way.
2) Well, well, Qu’ell surprise!
BREAKING: Trump is representing HIMSELF, with no lawyer at all, in his case against the United States regarding the search of Mar-a-Lago and recovery of government records. The legal term is “pro se” – for himself. He could not find anyone to represent him
Oh my god you have no idea how much I want this to be true!!
it appears to not be true 🙁
PolitiFact | No, Trump is not representing himself in case against the US government
Where do I get tickets?
It's not true in that trump does have legal representation - but it's far from top drawer.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/courts/trumps-legal-battles-and-the-attorneys-who-represent
And this
Longtime confidants and advisers of Trump have grown extremely worried about Trump’s current stable of lawyers, noting that most of them have little to no experience in cases of this type, according to two people familiar with the internal discussions. People familiar with the search for legal help said the effort includes Susie Wiles, a close adviser to Trump, and attorney Christina Bobb, who was present at Mar-a-Lago during the search and signed for the list of documents taken. Former campaign adviser Boris Epshteyn is taking a prominent role, and former White House aide Kash Patel is advising informally. Patel is raising money for a “legal offense” fund by selling merchandise such as tank tops and beanies emblazoned with the logo “K$H.”
Bobb was previously a host on the far-right, pro-Trump television network One America News. Bobb’s prior legal experience at the federal level consists mainly of a handful of trademark infringement cases on behalf of CrossFit during a stint at a San Diego law firm. She did not respond to requests for comment. Trump’s other lawyer currently based in Florida is Lindsey Halligan, whose practice, according to a professional biography, focuses on insurance claims at residential and commercial properties. She was admitted to the Florida bar in 2014. A search of federal court records found no filings under her name. She did not respond to requests for comment. Trump is also being represented in the records dispute by Alina Habba, who leads a three-attorney firm with an office near Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, NJ. Her professional experience includes serving as general counsel to a parking garage company.
I doubt if the DoJ or the Fulton County DA or Letitia James are even slightly concerned by the quality of the legal opposition.
leffeboy - looking at the 'quality' of trump's legal representation you should be using a double smiley emoji
Good point. I'm amazed that anyone would work for him given his history of not paying
I doubt if the DoJ or the Fulton County DA or Letitia James are even slightly concerned by the quality of the legal opposition
OMG that looks so good!!!
Some names that should be written clearly on a sheet of paper and placed in front of Agent Orange:
Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning, Reality Winner, Julian Assange, General James Cartwright, David Petraeus, Jonathan Pollard.
All had secret documents or access to them and broke the law regarding those documents. Nobody is beyond the law, regardless of what they think.
shermer - yes; online politics section of Vanity Fair website.
Will post link later.
Amazing, thanks!
shermer - here you go...
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/08/donald-trump-lawyer-problems-classified-documents-raid
Trump might be the first recipient of the grand chelem for violating every section of the U.S. criminal code.
https://twitter.com/Popehat/status/1564296472211759104
He's really sounding totally deranged. He already did to be fair, but I've known angry toddlers more rational than Trump.
Combined with the accidentally deleting all their text messages from Jan 6, this does not reflect well on the Secret Service.
https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/1564430677638103041
this does not reflect well on the Secret Service.
The MAGA crowd are painting the DOJ and FBI as enemies of the people - legitimising them as targets. Secret Service agents who testify will be seen as turncoats and traitors. I wouldn't be surprised if these are actions of self preservation rather than collusion.
I wouldn’t be surprised if these are actions of self preservation rather than collusion.
No, from what I've seen, the Secret Service, FBI, military, and law enforcement in general are full of MAGA people.
The latest Economist podcast "Checks and Balance" has an excellent summary of the road that the USA is heading down: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1RUnZmi4P6WjYFZ5pe9hSB?si=29295f6346aa4c66
Also, if this is self preservation, what is stopping him being slapped with a court order to testify? He can always plead the 5th, so I am not sure what resigning from the Secret Service gets him.
I wouldn’t be surprised if these are actions of self preservation rather than collusion.
Nah for a subset of the secret service agents it does look like they went full trumpist.
I am not sure what resigning from the Secret Service gets him.
A private sector job working for a wealthy Trump admirer with a much bigger salary and free legal services, as long as he keeps his mouth shut.
One of the problems with the U.S. government is that anyone associated with a scandal has to hire a lawyer just to advise them on how to not get caught up in things they had no control over. And, as the old joke goes, even the lawyers need lawyers. The legal fees can bankrupt an innocent person who just happened to be the room when someone else committed a crime. I suspect he took a private sector job so that he could raise money to pay the inevitable legal fees. I also think he's probably not very innocent so will really need a good lawyer.
Rick ★ ™ - Beto For Texas!
@RickChapterTwo
· Aug 29
So the Republicans are saying that when Trump is arrested, which he will be, there will be fighting in the streets.
There will be dancing in the streets for us Democrats, so it seems like it’s gonna be just a different version of West Side Story.
It's like a really bad version of one of those crass TV shows.
We've had 'I'm a celeb in the 'jungle', get me out of here!'
Now we have ..I got voted out, but I should still be in charge.. heheh
Bwahahahaha
I love this byline from the article linked above.
there’s no mechanism in the U.S. Constitution for a losing incumbent president to be reinstated in the White House
Amazing, you'd have thought the founding fathers would have been all over a process to reinstate a president that has demonstrably lost the vote. The man is truly sub-Johnson.
So the Republicans are saying that when Trump is arrested, which he will be, there will be fighting in the streets.
So, let's suppose there's a tiny, weeny sliver of truth in that statement, anyone care to speculate what happens next? After the lack-lustre response by law enforcement during the Jan 6th insurrection, will the Democrats send in the SWAT teams to violently slap down any nonsense?
anyone care to speculate what happens next?
A) Lots of 'lawyers' will be hired. Not all of them will be paid.
B)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-6273345 1">Truth Social banned from Google Play Store per the Beeb...
(Though that probably doesn't preclude use of a browser on an Android phone)
