With legal threats surrounding him, Trump is losing his ability to control his fate

Weisselberg’s Case for the Mishandling of the Trump Organization with a Special Counsel: Implications for the Jack Smith Investigation

The acting New York Supreme Court Judge sentenced Allen Weisselberg to prison and presided over the tax fraud trial of the Trump Organization.

A New York Times profile of the judge states that he grew up in the Jackson Heights neighborhood in Queens after moving to the United States at the age of six. He was the first in his family to go to college.

Attorneys who have appeared before him told CNN that he does not stand for delays or disruptions, and that he keeps control of his courtroom when his cases attract a lot of attention.

I tried a case in front of him before. He could be difficult to deal with. I don’t think it’s necessarily going to be something that’s going to change his ability to evaluate the facts and the law in this case,” Parlatore said.

Trump has created political storms, alternative realities, legal imbroglios and media stunts to tarnish institutions that have constrained his behavior. He will lose his ability when he goes before the court to answer a charge of making a false statement.

With the financial commitments in legal fees and the locked calendar that will come with this reality, there are increasing signs that Trump could face another White House bid at a time when he already faces intense demands.

That’s because the ex-president – the first to face criminal charges – also appears to face serious problems in a potentially more perilous case involving his alleged mishandling of secret documents being investigated by special counsel Jack Smith. The possibility of charges is increasing because the Justice Department is securing evidence about Trump handling classified documents.

Smith’s prosecutors have secured daily notes, texts, emails and photographs and are focused on cataloguing how Trump handled classified records around Mar-a-Lago and those who may have witnessed the former president with them, CNN’s Katelyn Polantz and Evan Perez reported Monday. The new details coincide with signs the Justice Department is taking steps consistent with the end of an investigation.

The developments represent a serious turn in the case for the ex-president according to Ty Cobb, who was Trump’s former lawyer. “We’ve known the investigatory steps were under way, we just haven’t known alleged results until today,” Cobb said. I believe they are highly consequential.

Trump is denying any wrongdoing in these investigations. He has described his behavior in Georgia as “perfect.” He lambasted the sealed indictment in New York, which he faces more than 30 counts related to business fraud, as an example of politicized justice.

Trump made a big show of returning to New York, ahead of his court appearance. A power play to send a message of strength was behind the motorcade of Secret Service SUVs that traveled from his private Boeing 757 to his home.

He will return to his Mar-a-Lago resort and speak to the media at night in hopes of convincing them he is not a criminal.

One criminal prosecution is enough. Trump has yet to be charged in any other cases, but a multiple-front defense would represent an extraordinary storm. And it would further disrupt the ex-president’s capacity to dictate his political schedule and control his destiny. When he was under scrutiny in the Russia investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller, or during his two impeachments, Trump exploited his huge popularity with Republican voters to discredit accusations against him. He pressured most GOP senators, who knew they would pay with their careers if they voted to convict him in an impeachment trial.

The situation is somewhat similar to the 2020 election, when the will of voters prevailed because Trump’s attempts to have votes thrown out and results changed foundered in multiple courts because of the fact-based standards of evidence and the law.

The Times Comes to a Decision: On the Role of the Media Circus in the Trump-Merchan Insight into the Correspondence

In a late-night ruling, Merchan turned down the request for broadcast cameras. Five still photographers will be allowed to take pictures of Trump and the courtroom before the hearing begins, however.

Trump thrives in a media circus. The difference, perhaps, in this case is that he fears being part of a media circus that he can no longer control.