Georgia grand jury investigating Trump returns indictments

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

For all the celebration in this thread ("Trump associates are pleading guilty!!!"  "The evidence must have been devestating!!!" "WE're getting real progress" etc) ... I assumed she was now a felon

She actually pleaded guilty to some misdemeanors. Calm down dudes

 This long sprawling criminal trial would cost her a ton of money in legal fees: even Trump is relying on donations from his supporters to cover his legal fees. She's facing all kinds of civil lawsuits from people like Dominion (which she might lose or have to settle); so she needs her money.

This plea was likely more of an effort for her to get this done, save some time & money, and move on. Because believe it or not, many people in the criminal justice system plea guilty just to get it over with, not because of actual guilt

https://twitter.com/Techno_Fog/status/1715010423282429965

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

“alleged”

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Nothingburger

Yes and no.  Let’s assume all this is true for a moment and tbf, it sounds like this was filed by a pretty well-respected lawyer rather than one of the clowns Trump normally hires (although he also has a real lawyer in Georgia) and Willis hasn’t exactly denied the allegations.  The RICO case is still almost certainly not in any jeopardy and even in the unlikely event that some charges do end up getting tossed, it would only be those against Mr. Roman as he’s the only one you could credibly argue was prejudiced by all this.  Then again, Judge Mr. X would be leaning toward tossing the charges against Mr. Roman (although, again, I doubt this happens) pending arguments from the State, so maybe he caught a lucky break.

What is far more likely is that Willis, Wade, and maybe (but not a given like the other two) the entire Fulton County District Attorney’s office get conflicted out of the Roman case (which almost certainly gets tried separately) and a special prosecutor is appointed.  I don’t think Willis or her office get conflicted out on the rest of the case because unless I missed anything, there are no allegations of anything that would have prejudiced or created a conflict regarding any defendants other than Michael Roman.  An embarrassing unforced error for sure, but unlikely to be a game changer or anything to worry too much about unless you think Michael Roman is mission-critical.  

Of course, if it turns out not to be true or is unsupported then that’s moot.  My question is, assuming this is true, how did Mr. Roman’s attorney gain access to sealed divorce records.  If Mr. Roman’s lawyer sought an unredacted copy of sealed records from Mr. Wade’s wife/ex or her attorney (or worse, got a courthouse employee to leak her an unredacted copy), then that’s obviously a serious potential ethics violation by Mr. Roman’s attorney.  

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

I suspect the entire case will be thrown out

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Yeah this is objectively bad. Not a "nothingburger" at all. It shouldn't derail the actual case, which I always thought was perhaps the strongest against Trump (I mean he's literally on tape telling Raffensperger to "find" him votes), but will give Trump plenty of ammo to attack the prosecution politically. Not good.

His end goal has always been to win the public opinion battle, not the courtroom battle. I don't think it's a stretch to say the odds have tipped towards him on that front.

I mean, how much does that really matter when you’re spending at least the next few years in prison

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Yeah this is objectively bad. Not a "nothingburger" at all. It shouldn't derail the actual case, which I always thought was perhaps the strongest against Trump (I mean he's literally on tape telling Raffensperger to "find" him votes), but will give Trump plenty of ammo to attack the prosecution politically. Not good.

His end goal has always been to win the public opinion battle, not the courtroom battle. I don't think it's a stretch to say the odds have tipped towards him on that front.

I mean, how much does that really matter when you’re spending at least the next few years in prison

Everything. His primary purpose for running for president again, in addition to Roth unbridled narcissism and a virulent streak of revenge, is to be able to dismiss all counts against him the minute he's elected. He may have trouble doing so in state courts, but being elected president will go a long way towards shielding him even there I'm sure

He’ll be a broke, failed presidential candidate come 2025 with nothing awaiting him but prison time.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Realistically I think Trump gets a bunch of pardons if he loses. Whether he accepts them is a different matter, but I always suspected Biden might just want to move on at that point and Trump accepting guilt or rejecting a pardon = finality.

For all it pleases red avatars the argument that an 80 year old former president should serve time in prison was always optically problematic and a deal whereby he agrees to go away ideal. He might be ready to take that deal post loss.

There is no universe where this happens nor should it

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/01/22/trump-jan-6-trial-polls-00136688

Just as I predicted. Willis was hoping for an August trial, which was unrealistic. With the accusations against her and no wanting to appear interfering with the election, the Georgia case probably won't go to trial before the election

They’re wrong about the Georgia case.  August is not unrealistic and the idea that the allegations against Willis will “upend the case” is doesn’t pass the laugh test.  I mean, it’s just silly and the product of either ignorance by the author of the article or dishonest doomerism.  It’s entirely possible the Georgia stuff gets kicked to after the election, but if so, this won’t be why.  And it’s also entirely possible that it will go ahead before the election.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/25/politics/fulton-county-subpoenas-willis-wade-election-subversion/index.html

Willis, Wade and others expected to be subpoenaed for hearing on Fulton County DA affair allegations

A current and former law partner to Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor leading the 2020 election subversion case in Georgia, have been told to expect a subpoena to testify at a hearing next month on whether he and the district attorney who brought the case should be disqualified over their alleged affair and financial ties, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN.

The district attorney, Fani Willis, also is expected to be subpoenaed, sources say, and possibly others in her office.
...

The Fulton County judge overseeing the criminal case against former President Donald Trump and his allies called for the hearing to address claims from one of Trump’s co-defendants that Willis and Wade have a conflict of interest. Citing financial statements turned up in Wade’s current divorce proceeding, lawyers for Trump’s co-defendant, Mike Roman, argue that Willis financially benefited when Wade took her on lavish vacations after she hired him as special prosecutor.

No surprise, won’t amount to anything though regarding the case

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

https://nypost.com/2024/01/25/news/trump-lawyers-move-to-dismiss-fani-willis/

Trump lawyers move to dismiss DA Fani Willis from election fraud case, accusing her of ‘racial prejudice

Lawyers defending Trump against the 13 felony counts [claim] DA Fani Willis has made “extrajudicial public statements falsely and intentionally injecting race into this case.”
…
Willis … made a speech at a historically black church Martin Luther King Jr. celebration in which she claimed her critics were attacking her and Wade because they are people of color.
…
Trump’s lawyers referenced the speech in court filings Thursday, saying she had “violated her special responsibilities of a prosecutor under the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct.”

“Her attempt to foment racial animus and prejudice against the defendants in order to divert and deflect attention away from her alleged improprieties calls out for the sanctions of dismissal and disqualification,” Steve Sadow, lead defense counsel for President Trump in the Georgia case, wrote.

LMAO this is dumb as

You don’t think a DA’s labeling defendants as racist can  poison the jury pool ?

Trump is a racist

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

https://nypost.com/2024/02/09/news/fani-willis-accused-of-lying-about-relationship-timeline-with-trump-prosecutor-nathan-wade-bombshell-court-filing/

 New court filing. There are two witnesses who can testify that Wade and Fani began their affair before 2022 - meaning Fani lied in her prior court filing. The witnesses are Terrence Bradley (Wade’s former law partner) and Robin Yeartie (a DA employee who once lived with Fani)

https://twitter.com/beecherdenys/status/1756118590674112834

It’s 2024, having sex and dating are two very different things.

Edit: Semantics not withstanding though, Fani Willis seems like she messed up big time and not being completely forthright now is going to get her removed from the case.

Yep:

https://twitter.com/asfleischman/status/1756114020552122633

If true, it would be a basis for an ethics complaint, but none of this prejudiced the defendants in any way.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

https://nypost.com/2024/02/09/news/fani-willis-accused-of-lying-about-relationship-timeline-with-trump-prosecutor-nathan-wade-bombshell-court-filing/

 New court filing. There are two witnesses who can testify that Wade and Fani began their affair before 2022 - meaning Fani lied in her prior court filing. The witnesses are Terrence Bradley (Wade’s former law partner) and Robin Yeartie (a DA employee who once lived with Fani)

https://twitter.com/beecherdenys/status/1756118590674112834

It’s 2024, having sex and dating are two very different things.

Edit: Semantics not withstanding though, Fani Willis seems like she messed up big time and not being completely forthright now is going to get her removed from the case.

Yep:

https://twitter.com/asfleischman/status/1756114020552122633

If true, it would be a basis for an ethics complaint, but none of this prejudiced the defendants in any way.

https://twitter.com/ASFleischman/status/1756309509197250854
And none of this prejudiced the defendants in any way?! It's sure as sh*t now absolutely prejudicial atp if they lied in their filings about the start date of their relationship being before or after Wade's appointment to this case because literally the entire point of proving that underlying assertion is that, if it's true that the start date was before, then that constitutes blatant circumstantial evidence of her rewarding him for the relationship & providing him with further incentive to continue prosecuting in exchange for continued income to him that'd then partially flow to Willis by virtue of the relationship & his gratitude to her for his job. That's personal reward flowing directly to Willis predicated directly upon the case's outcome.

Agree to disagree

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Seems like it would have been better to apologize and step aside out of an abundance of caution to preserve the integrity of the case.

I don’t think the case is in any danger of being tossed from what we’ve seen so far.  The question here is whether Willis and her office stay on.  But it would’ve been better to not appoint Wade and be honest in the court filings.  However, some people need to punch themselves in the face four or five times before they realize it hurts.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Let's wait and see how it goes.  They've done a pretty good job disputing the key witness.  I'm going to back off my earlier statement slightly and say that there's some chance Willis gets removed from the case (rather than a high chance).  Unless there are some bombshells still to come, I could see the judge reprimanding Willis for poor judgment but not removing her.  But removal is certainly still on the table.

Agree 100%, as is a multi-count ethics complaint to the Georgia Bar.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Lol this is from a reporter from the notorious “bothsides” The Hill.

https://twitter.com/niallstanage/status/1758228489491152970?s=46

Not a ton to worry about if that’s what they’re saying.

That was true about an hour ago, things have taken a worse turn lately, but she is probably going to survive.

But my god, this is a terrible day for Wade. She is throwing him under the bus hard after he had a brutal time earlier.

She’s still doing well enough that I doubt she gets kicked off the case.  Wade though…woof. 

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Looks nearly assured now that Trump's current NYC trial will be the only one to go forward before election day.   

Not really.  The 1/6 one could still happen before the election depending on what the Supreme Court does as could this one.  The only one that definitely won’t happen before then is the Classified Documents case.