January 6th legal proceedings and investigations megathread

[Farmlands]

Trump’s plan to use Judge Cannon to block Judge Chutkan and avoid trial

Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers see a major opportunity this week to use his criminal document mishandling case in Florida to create an impasse on his calendar for the two federal judges overseeing his major criminal cases.

Juggling his campaign and court calendar and playing his cases off one another is a key part of Trump’s legal strategy. The ultimate goal, his team has said openly, is to prevent Trump from being tried in federal court before voters cast their ballots in the 2024 general election.

A primary aim for Trump’s legal team, according to people familiar with the strategy, is to put the judge in DC overseeing the 2020 federal election obstruction case, Tanya Chutkan, in a position where she can’t start a trial before Election Day.

“Meaning, ice her,” said a person familiar with Trump’s trial schedule strategy. “Making it impossible for her to jam a trial down before the election, by things that are out of her control.”

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/26/politics/trump-judge-cannon-chutkan-trial-plan/index.html

For all the talk of Trump's defense team being dumber than a bag of bricks from people here and elsewhere, I think they've actually done reasonably well in their efforts to delay all of Trump's trials but the weaker New York one.

[emailking]

In the MAL hearing today, the government confirmed that the 60 day window before elections does not apply after indictment. We all know about these cases already, the whole point is not to prejudice somebody so close to the election.  He's already been prejudiced.

Could DOJ or the Chutkan decide anyway that this is a place they do not want to go? I guess so. But currently there is no law or policy (DOJ, the courts, or otherwise) that Trump cannot be facing trial for this right before or even on election day.

[emailking]

For all the talk of Trump's defense team being dumber than a bag of bricks from people here and elsewhere, I think they've actually done reasonably well in their efforts to delay all of Trump's trials but the weaker New York one.

Agreed. And I think the judge outsmarted them on that one. They thought March 25 was just a placeholder and they'd be able to move it at the hearing last month because of the other trials, and the judge was like, nope everything is delayed so no reason we can't just go ahead and use the placeholder and you already decided not to appeal the immunity issue so it's on. lol

[wbrocks67]

For all the talk of Trump's defense team being dumber than a bag of bricks from people here and elsewhere, I think they've actually done reasonably well in their efforts to delay all of Trump's trials but the weaker New York one.

Agreed. And I think the judge outsmarted them on that one. They thought March 25 was just a placeholder and they'd be able to move it at the hearing last month because of the other trials, and the judge was like, nope everything is delayed so no reason we can't just go ahead and use the placeholder and you already decided not to appeal the immunity issue so it's on. lol

I mean I think this is also a testament to how the judicial system can be easily gamed. Each presents its own issues - in J6, it shows how you can just keep appealing and then kick can to SC if you'd like. In GA, if you throw flimsy accusations out against the prosecutor, you can get it delayed. And in FL, if you have a sympathetic judge to your cause, you can get it delayed. A normal functioniong judicial system should not have let a lot of this happen.

[GeorgiaModerate]

It's worth remembering Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens.  He was up for reelection in 2008 and was indicted on July 29 of that year.  Stevens asserted his right to a speedy trial to clear his name before the election, but was found guilty on October 27 -- eight days before the election, which he narrowly lost.  The guilty verdict was later overturned due to prosecutorial misconduct.

[Progressive Pessimist]

For all the talk of Trump's defense team being dumber than a bag of bricks from people here and elsewhere, I think they've actually done reasonably well in their efforts to delay all of Trump's trials but the weaker New York one.

Agreed. And I think the judge outsmarted them on that one. They thought March 25 was just a placeholder and they'd be able to move it at the hearing last month because of the other trials, and the judge was like, nope everything is delayed so no reason we can't just go ahead and use the placeholder and you already decided not to appeal the immunity issue so it's on. lol

I mean I think this is also a testament to how the judicial system can be easily gamed. Each presents its own issues - in J6, it shows how you can just keep appealing and then kick can to SC if you'd like. In GA, if you throw flimsy accusations out against the prosecutor, you can get it delayed. And in FL, if you have a sympathetic judge to your cause, you can get it delayed. A normal functioniong judicial system should not have let a lot of this happen.

Trump's shamelessness proves to be the blacklight on our nation's institutions once again.

[Ferguson97]

Trump’s plan to use Judge Cannon to block Judge Chutkan and avoid trial

Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers see a major opportunity this week to use his criminal document mishandling case in Florida to create an impasse on his calendar for the two federal judges overseeing his major criminal cases.

Juggling his campaign and court calendar and playing his cases off one another is a key part of Trump’s legal strategy. The ultimate goal, his team has said openly, is to prevent Trump from being tried in federal court before voters cast their ballots in the 2024 general election.

A primary aim for Trump’s legal team, according to people familiar with the strategy, is to put the judge in DC overseeing the 2020 federal election obstruction case, Tanya Chutkan, in a position where she can’t start a trial before Election Day.

“Meaning, ice her,” said a person familiar with Trump’s trial schedule strategy. “Making it impossible for her to jam a trial down before the election, by things that are out of her control.”

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/26/politics/trump-judge-cannon-chutkan-trial-plan/index.html

For all the talk of Trump's defense team being dumber than a bag of bricks from people here and elsewhere, I think they've actually done reasonably well in their efforts to delay all of Trump's trials but the weaker New York one.

It's the only strategy they have, because he's obviously guilty.

[Inmate Trump]

Trump’s plan to use Judge Cannon to block Judge Chutkan and avoid trial

Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers see a major opportunity this week to use his criminal document mishandling case in Florida to create an impasse on his calendar for the two federal judges overseeing his major criminal cases.

Juggling his campaign and court calendar and playing his cases off one another is a key part of Trump’s legal strategy. The ultimate goal, his team has said openly, is to prevent Trump from being tried in federal court before voters cast their ballots in the 2024 general election.

A primary aim for Trump’s legal team, according to people familiar with the strategy, is to put the judge in DC overseeing the 2020 federal election obstruction case, Tanya Chutkan, in a position where she can’t start a trial before Election Day.

“Meaning, ice her,” said a person familiar with Trump’s trial schedule strategy. “Making it impossible for her to jam a trial down before the election, by things that are out of her control.”

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/26/politics/trump-judge-cannon-chutkan-trial-plan/index.html

For all the talk of Trump's defense team being dumber than a bag of bricks from people here and elsewhere, I think they've actually done reasonably well in their efforts to delay all of Trump's trials but the weaker New York one.

It's the only strategy they have, because he's obviously guilty.

It's paying off. The Supreme Court may have killed the entire case, due to how far it's going to delay things now.

[emailking]

After yesterday, I doubt they killed the entire case. Smith made it clear there is no policy to keep a defendant off trial in the runup to the election. That means we'll probably get a verdict in this case before Inauguration Day. Of course if Trump is the one getting inaugurated, and he was convicted, he can try to pardon himself and we'll see how that goes. (I don't think the AG can just dismiss the case as many have said, it's up to the judge at that point whether to accept that recommendation or not.)

[politicallefty]

For all the talk of Trump's defense team being dumber than a bag of bricks from people here and elsewhere, I think they've actually done reasonably well in their efforts to delay all of Trump's trials but the weaker New York one.

Agreed. And I think the judge outsmarted them on that one. They thought March 25 was just a placeholder and they'd be able to move it at the hearing last month because of the other trials, and the judge was like, nope everything is delayed so no reason we can't just go ahead and use the placeholder and you already decided not to appeal the immunity issue so it's on. lol

I mean I think this is also a testament to how the judicial system can be easily gamed. Each presents its own issues - in J6, it shows how you can just keep appealing and then kick can to SC if you'd like. In GA, if you throw flimsy accusations out against the prosecutor, you can get it delayed. And in FL, if you have a sympathetic judge to your cause, you can get it delayed. A normal functioniong judicial system should not have let a lot of this happen.

When you have money. That's nothing new. As for delays, it's pathetic when otherwise fair judges fall for what's going on. I'm not surprised SCOTUS is on board with Trump's delay tactics (or Judge Cannon for that matter), but it's sad to see other judges fall for it.

[Tekken_Guy]

Trump’s plan to use Judge Cannon to block Judge Chutkan and avoid trial

Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers see a major opportunity this week to use his criminal document mishandling case in Florida to create an impasse on his calendar for the two federal judges overseeing his major criminal cases.

Juggling his campaign and court calendar and playing his cases off one another is a key part of Trump’s legal strategy. The ultimate goal, his team has said openly, is to prevent Trump from being tried in federal court before voters cast their ballots in the 2024 general election.

A primary aim for Trump’s legal team, according to people familiar with the strategy, is to put the judge in DC overseeing the 2020 federal election obstruction case, Tanya Chutkan, in a position where she can’t start a trial before Election Day.

“Meaning, ice her,” said a person familiar with Trump’s trial schedule strategy. “Making it impossible for her to jam a trial down before the election, by things that are out of her control.”

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/26/politics/trump-judge-cannon-chutkan-trial-plan/index.html

For all the talk of Trump's defense team being dumber than a bag of bricks from people here and elsewhere, I think they've actually done reasonably well in their efforts to delay all of Trump's trials but the weaker New York one.

It's the only strategy they have, because he's obviously guilty.

It's paying off. The Supreme Court may have killed the entire case, due to how far it's going to delay things now.

That renders the strategy with Cannon moot though. With DC and GA off the calendar I wonder if Trump wants to go to trial in FL so he can get acquitted before the election.

[2016]

Trump’s plan to use Judge Cannon to block Judge Chutkan and avoid trial

Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers see a major opportunity this week to use his criminal document mishandling case in Florida to create an impasse on his calendar for the two federal judges overseeing his major criminal cases.

Juggling his campaign and court calendar and playing his cases off one another is a key part of Trump’s legal strategy. The ultimate goal, his team has said openly, is to prevent Trump from being tried in federal court before voters cast their ballots in the 2024 general election.

A primary aim for Trump’s legal team, according to people familiar with the strategy, is to put the judge in DC overseeing the 2020 federal election obstruction case, Tanya Chutkan, in a position where she can’t start a trial before Election Day.

“Meaning, ice her,” said a person familiar with Trump’s trial schedule strategy. “Making it impossible for her to jam a trial down before the election, by things that are out of her control.”

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/26/politics/trump-judge-cannon-chutkan-trial-plan/index.html

For all the talk of Trump's defense team being dumber than a bag of bricks from people here and elsewhere, I think they've actually done reasonably well in their efforts to delay all of Trump's trials but the weaker New York one.

It's the only strategy they have, because he's obviously guilty.

It's paying off. The Supreme Court may have killed the entire case, due to how far it's going to delay things now.

That renders the strategy with Cannon moot though. With DC and GA off the calendar I wonder if Trump wants to go to trial in FL so he can get acquitted before the election.

DC is not off the Calendar.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Trump’s plan to use Judge Cannon to block Judge Chutkan and avoid trial

Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers see a major opportunity this week to use his criminal document mishandling case in Florida to create an impasse on his calendar for the two federal judges overseeing his major criminal cases.

Juggling his campaign and court calendar and playing his cases off one another is a key part of Trump’s legal strategy. The ultimate goal, his team has said openly, is to prevent Trump from being tried in federal court before voters cast their ballots in the 2024 general election.

A primary aim for Trump’s legal team, according to people familiar with the strategy, is to put the judge in DC overseeing the 2020 federal election obstruction case, Tanya Chutkan, in a position where she can’t start a trial before Election Day.

“Meaning, ice her,” said a person familiar with Trump’s trial schedule strategy. “Making it impossible for her to jam a trial down before the election, by things that are out of her control.”

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/26/politics/trump-judge-cannon-chutkan-trial-plan/index.html

For all the talk of Trump's defense team being dumber than a bag of bricks from people here and elsewhere, I think they've actually done reasonably well in their efforts to delay all of Trump's trials but the weaker New York one.

It's the only strategy they have, because he's obviously guilty.

It's paying off. The Supreme Court may have killed the entire case, due to how far it's going to delay things now.

That renders the strategy with Cannon moot though. With DC and GA off the calendar I wonder if Trump wants to go to trial in FL so he can get acquitted before the election.

DC is not off the Calendar.

Neither is Georgia.

[emailking]

DC I believe is off the calendar in there is no scheduled trial date (it was today before it was removed). However, it absolutely could still happen this year.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

Trump’s plan to use Judge Cannon to block Judge Chutkan and avoid trial

Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers see a major opportunity this week to use his criminal document mishandling case in Florida to create an impasse on his calendar for the two federal judges overseeing his major criminal cases.

Juggling his campaign and court calendar and playing his cases off one another is a key part of Trump’s legal strategy. The ultimate goal, his team has said openly, is to prevent Trump from being tried in federal court before voters cast their ballots in the 2024 general election.

A primary aim for Trump’s legal team, according to people familiar with the strategy, is to put the judge in DC overseeing the 2020 federal election obstruction case, Tanya Chutkan, in a position where she can’t start a trial before Election Day.

“Meaning, ice her,” said a person familiar with Trump’s trial schedule strategy. “Making it impossible for her to jam a trial down before the election, by things that are out of her control.”

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/26/politics/trump-judge-cannon-chutkan-trial-plan/index.html

For all the talk of Trump's defense team being dumber than a bag of bricks from people here and elsewhere, I think they've actually done reasonably well in their efforts to delay all of Trump's trials but the weaker New York one.

It's the only strategy they have, because he's obviously guilty.

It's paying off. The Supreme Court may have killed the entire case, due to how far it's going to delay things now.

That renders the strategy with Cannon moot though. With DC and GA off the calendar I wonder if Trump wants to go to trial in FL so he can get acquitted before the election.

There’s no way Trump is getting acquited in the FL case.
He’s ironclad no-brainer open-and-shut guilty in that one.  He might get a hung jury just due to some rogue juror.  But you’re never going to get a jury to unanimously agree to just nullify for no legal reason.

[Tekken_Guy]

Trump’s plan to use Judge Cannon to block Judge Chutkan and avoid trial

Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers see a major opportunity this week to use his criminal document mishandling case in Florida to create an impasse on his calendar for the two federal judges overseeing his major criminal cases.

Juggling his campaign and court calendar and playing his cases off one another is a key part of Trump’s legal strategy. The ultimate goal, his team has said openly, is to prevent Trump from being tried in federal court before voters cast their ballots in the 2024 general election.

A primary aim for Trump’s legal team, according to people familiar with the strategy, is to put the judge in DC overseeing the 2020 federal election obstruction case, Tanya Chutkan, in a position where she can’t start a trial before Election Day.

“Meaning, ice her,” said a person familiar with Trump’s trial schedule strategy. “Making it impossible for her to jam a trial down before the election, by things that are out of her control.”

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/26/politics/trump-judge-cannon-chutkan-trial-plan/index.html

For all the talk of Trump's defense team being dumber than a bag of bricks from people here and elsewhere, I think they've actually done reasonably well in their efforts to delay all of Trump's trials but the weaker New York one.

It's the only strategy they have, because he's obviously guilty.

It's paying off. The Supreme Court may have killed the entire case, due to how far it's going to delay things now.

That renders the strategy with Cannon moot though. With DC and GA off the calendar I wonder if Trump wants to go to trial in FL so he can get acquitted before the election.

There’s no way Trump is getting acquited in the FL case.
He’s ironclad no-brainer open-and-shut guilty in that one.  He might get a hung jury just due to some rogue juror.  But you’re never going to get a jury to unanimously agree to just nullify for no legal reason.

OK maybe she dismissed them right at the end of the election for October surprise?

[Ljube]

Trump’s plan to use Judge Cannon to block Judge Chutkan and avoid trial

Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers see a major opportunity this week to use his criminal document mishandling case in Florida to create an impasse on his calendar for the two federal judges overseeing his major criminal cases.

Juggling his campaign and court calendar and playing his cases off one another is a key part of Trump’s legal strategy. The ultimate goal, his team has said openly, is to prevent Trump from being tried in federal court before voters cast their ballots in the 2024 general election.

A primary aim for Trump’s legal team, according to people familiar with the strategy, is to put the judge in DC overseeing the 2020 federal election obstruction case, Tanya Chutkan, in a position where she can’t start a trial before Election Day.

“Meaning, ice her,” said a person familiar with Trump’s trial schedule strategy. “Making it impossible for her to jam a trial down before the election, by things that are out of her control.”

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/26/politics/trump-judge-cannon-chutkan-trial-plan/index.html

For all the talk of Trump's defense team being dumber than a bag of bricks from people here and elsewhere, I think they've actually done reasonably well in their efforts to delay all of Trump's trials but the weaker New York one.

It's the only strategy they have, because he's obviously guilty.

It's paying off. The Supreme Court may have killed the entire case, due to how far it's going to delay things now.

That renders the strategy with Cannon moot though. With DC and GA off the calendar I wonder if Trump wants to go to trial in FL so he can get acquitted before the election.

There’s no way Trump is getting acquited in the FL case.
He’s ironclad no-brainer open-and-shut guilty in that one.  He might get a hung jury just due to some rogue juror.  But you’re never going to get a jury to unanimously agree to just nullify for no legal reason.

OK maybe she dismissed them right at the end of the election for October surprise?

This is a great idea. If she really wants to help Trump, the best way to do it would be to schedule the trial for Aug 12 and then dismiss the case in late October. That would insulate Trump from the Jan 6 case.

[emailking]

While I guess she can do that, with the goal of increasing his election chances, we should note the dismissal can be appealed and would likely be overturned and then the 11th circuit would surely assign the case to someone else at that point. So if Trump wins, it then comes down to whether a self pardon will be upheld by the courts or whether his DOJ can convince the new judge to drop the charges.

[Ljube]

While I guess she can do that, with the goal of increasing his election chances, we should note the dismissal can be appealed and would likely be overturned and then the 11th circuit would surely assign the case to someone else at that point. So if Trump wins, it then comes down to whether a self pardon will be upheld by the courts or whether his DOJ can convince the new judge to drop the charges.

He will self-pardon for sure. You can bet on it.

[President Johnson]

While I guess she can do that, with the goal of increasing his election chances, we should note the dismissal can be appealed and would likely be overturned and then the 11th circuit would surely assign the case to someone else at that point. So if Trump wins, it then comes down to whether a self pardon will be upheld by the courts or whether his DOJ can convince the new judge to drop the charges.

He will self-pardon for sure. You can bet on it.

Yes, though the cleanest way for a pardon would be to invoke the 25th Amendment for an hour, let the vice president acting as president sign a pardon declaration, and then resume presidential powers. I haven't read this somewhere yet, but that just makes sense to me.

[Ljube]

While I guess she can do that, with the goal of increasing his election chances, we should note the dismissal can be appealed and would likely be overturned and then the 11th circuit would surely assign the case to someone else at that point. So if Trump wins, it then comes down to whether a self pardon will be upheld by the courts or whether his DOJ can convince the new judge to drop the charges.

He will self-pardon for sure. You can bet on it.

Yes, though the cleanest way for a pardon would be to invoke the 25th Amendment for an hour, let the vice president acting as president sign a pardon declaration, and then resume presidential powers. I haven't read this somewhere yet, but that just makes sense to me.

Another brilliant idea.

[emailking]

Seems legally dubious but we'll see (maybe).

[GeorgiaModerate]

The question of whether a President can self-pardon is unsettled, for the obvious reason that no President has ever tried it.  Nixon had his DoJ's Office of Legal Counsel prepare an opinion on the question (gee, I wonder why) and their conclusion was that the President could not pardon himself, but they did raise the 25A scenario mentioned above.  The summary:

Under the fundamental rule that no one may be a judge in his own case, the President cannot pardon himself.

If under the Twenty-Fifth Amendment the President declared that he was temporarily unable to perform the duties of the office, the Vice President would become Acting President and as such could pardon the President. Thereafter the President could either resign or resume the duties of his office.

Although as a general matter Congress cannot enact amnesty or pardoning legislation, because to do so would interfere with the pardoning power vested expressly in the President by the Constitution, it could be argued that a congressional pardon granted to the President would not interfere with the President’s pardoning power because that power does not extend to the President himself.

You can read the full opinion at https://www.justice.gov/file/20856/download.

In practice, I don't doubt that Trump would attempt to self-pardon if he's elected again, and the issue would then need to be settled by SCOTUS.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

If Fani Willis isn’t disqualified, is there a possibility she could try to pare down her trial to hold it later this year?  My understanding is that the charges there carry a mandatory minimum prison sentence that Trump couldn’t be pardoned from, and would have to begin serving even if the case is on appeal.

[GeorgiaModerate]

If Fani Willis isn’t disqualified, is there a possibility she could try to pare down her trial to hold it later this year?  My understanding is that the charges there carry a mandatory minimum prison sentence that Trump couldn’t be pardoned from, and would have to begin serving even if the case is on appeal.

Mostly right. The RICO charges carry a 5-year minimum sentence, but this doesn’t guarantee 5 years behind bars. Judges have discretion to suspend or substitute probation for all or part of it. And the governor has no pardon power; it was taken away due to a corrupt pardon-selling governor in the 1940s. It would require a constitutional amendment to change that, which has zero percent chance of happening.