Trump has lost his capacity to control his fate with legal threats

Donald Trump returned to New York on Tuesday for the First-ever High-Secret-Judicial-Field-Leading Charges

But despite his bravura and talk by pundits that he will alchemize his legal problems into political gold, Monday was a dark day for Trump. He was returning to his old stomping ground in Manhattan under duress, to turn himself in on Tuesday over the first-ever criminal charges ever laid against an ex-president. Trump has long been a force of nature who rebels against constraints and has always been impossible for his staff to control. But now he will be subject to the dictates of a judge and the rules and conventions of the legal system, which will be far harder for him to disrupt and divert than the institutions of political accountability he has subverted.

And there are increasing signs that this new reality – which will come with hefty financial commitments in legal fees and locks on Trump’s calendar – could be multiplied at a time when he’s already facing the intense demands of another White House bid.

Trump also went to attack the other legal threats still percolating, including an investigation in Georgia into election interference, a DOJ investigation into his handling of classified documents post-presidency and an investigation by the New York attorney general into the Trump Organization.

Trump lashed out at Jack Smith, the DOJ’s special counsel, who is investigating Trump’s conduct in the handling of classified documents.

Trump’s former lawyer, Ty Cobb, told CNN’s Erin Burnett that the developments represent a serious turn in the case for the ex-president. We know the investigatory steps are under way and we haven’t seen the alleged results yet. I think they’re consequential.

Trump denies any wrongdoing in all of these investigations. He has described his behavior in Georgia as perfect. He denounced the sealed indictment in New York, where he faces more than 30 counts relating to business fraud, as an example of politicized justice.

On Monday, Trump returned to New York and made a big show of it. The snaking motorcade of black Secret Service SUVs to and from his private Boeing 757 in its sparkling new livery carried overtones of a presidential movement in a power play meant to send a message of strength.

After court Tuesday, he will return to his Mar-a-Lago resort and reclaim the media spotlight with a primetime speech he will likely use to proclaim his innocence, attack the New York case as political persecution and try to distract from the fact he will be a criminal defendant.

One criminal prosecution is enough. Trump has not been charged in any of the other cases, but a multi front defense in multiple cases would represent an extraordinary storm. And it would further disrupt the ex-president’s capacity to dictate his political schedule and control his destiny. Trump exploited his popularity with Republican voters when he was under scrutiny in the Russia investigation or impeachment, to undermine the accusations against him. Most GOP senators were aware that they would pay with their careers if they voted to convict him.

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 lawyers for Trump tried to wrest control of the court proceedings on Monday and argued against a CNN request to allow cameras into Tuesday’s hearing. The media outlets argued that the case was of such public interest that it should be broadcast. Trumps lawyers told the judge that he was inconsistent with the presumption of innocence, and that it would create a circus like atmosphere at the trial.

The irony of the ex-president complaining about being in the news was very rich. He would never have become president had it not been for the talent of his salesman. Trump built his “The Art of the Deal” mythology in New York by constantly providing fodder for the city’s ravenous tabloids with his famed celebrity feuds, colorful personal life and business hits and failures. The entire 2016 campaign and the single- term presidency were rife with scandal and lawlessness thanks to his often unchained, unintelligible, online posts.

When Donald Trump enters a New York courtroom on Tuesday, he’ll face a seasoned judge who is no stranger to the former president’s orbit: The acting New York Supreme Court Judge was Juan Merchan.

He presided over the Trump Organization tax fraud trial and sentenced Allen Weisselberg, a close friend of Trump, to prison.

Judge Merchan “was clear in signaling his judicial inclinations, which helped me tremendously in giving Mr. Weisselberg informed legal advice. Judge Merchan was always well-prepared, accessible, and – most importantly in the Weisselberg matter – a man of his word. Nicholas Gravante, the lawyer for Weisselberg in his plea, said via email that he was treated with honor and respect both inside and out of court.

The former Trump associate was told that if he hadn’t already been promised a five-month sentence, he would have handed him a much greater sentence.

Trump attorney Timothy Parlatore said during an interview Friday on CNN that Merchan was “not easy” on him when he tried a case before him, but echoed that the judge likely will be fair.

A New York Times profile of the judge shows that he was raised in Queens and migrated to the US at the age of 6. He was the first in his family to go to college. He obtained his law degree from a school other than a university.

Merchan launched his legal career in 1994 as an assistant district attorney in the trial division in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. He worked on cases in Long Island in the state attorney general’s office. In 2006, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, then a Republican, appointed Merchan to Family Court in the Bronx, and Democratic Gov. David Paterson appointed him to the New York State Court of Claims in 2009 — the same year he began serving as an acting New York Supreme Court Judge.

The G.O.P. Sensitive to the Analogy of Donald Trump’s Plight with the Law and to the Politics from the Inside Out

Every member of the G.O.P will have to think about this uncomfortable reality. Again. Because, if Mr. Trump’s prime-time, post-arraignment remarks on Tuesday were any indication, this is going to be a central theme of his third presidential run — one that promises to relegate everyone else in the party, including those considering a 2024 run themselves, to being minor players in this latest, tawdriest season of “The Trump Show.”

Get ready for more magic. The investigations are going to distract Mr. Trump and eat into his time as legal troubles heat up. His entire campaign is likely to be an extended whine about his ongoing martyrdom that will force other Republicans to defend him. And they won’t really have any choice as he whips his devoted followers into a frenzy over his persecution — and, of course, by extension, theirs.

That is certainly what we have seen happening. Republicans have been lining up to trash the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg. Lauren Boebert compared the indictment of Mr. Trump to the actions of Mussolini and Hitler. One might have expected more from Gov. Ron DeSantis in regard to his vow to refuse to help extradite Mr. Trump, as he is considered the greatest threat to Mr. Trump’s ambitions. Weak, Ron. Very weak.

Former President Donald Trump condemned the criminal charges he faced in New York Tuesday night, saying to a crowd of supporters that “the only crime that I have committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it.”

In court Tuesday, instead of a rejoinder from Trump, it was his recently hired lawyer, Todd Blanche, who did the talking. He stated that Trump was very upset, and felt there was a grave injustice happening with him being in this courtroom.

“If you need to, speak to your client and remind them to refrain from making statements that are likely to inciting civil unrest, or violence, or anything of the sorts,” Merchan said. “Please refrain from making comments or engaging in conduct that has the potential to incite violence, create civil unrest, or jeopardize the safety or well-being of any individuals.”

Donald Trump lashes out against Old Tactics After arraignment Hearing: The New York case, and the risk ahead for DeSantis

After he was able to fly away from New York and return to Florida, the former president reverted to being a bad guy.

He called two other prosecutors, who are or have investigated him and who are Black, “racist.” Trump’s called Bragg that, too, and an “animal.” Bragg is also Black.

Trump may actually be able to continue to convince his base he’s done nothing wrong — or that they should be OK with what he might have done — but it’s hard to see how, in that kind of environment, Trump adds voters.

That means one could be taking place right in the middle of the Republican presidential primary. Right now, Trump is the clear front-runner for the GOP nomination. But that would mean a strong possibility of Republicans backing someone with pending criminal charges to advance to a general election.

At this point, Republicans seem perfectly OK with that. Eight in 10 Republicans approve of Trump, and three-quarters of them think he should be the next president.

Not a single person in one of Sarah Longwell’s focus groups said they would cast a ballot for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over Trump.

Ironically, Trump’s numbers have improved with the GOP since Trump rang the alarm of a potential arrest. He’s boxed out GOP presidential opponents, who are scared of offending the base, especially since even more anti-Trump Republicans, like Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, are criticizing the New York case. According to his campaign, Trump has raised more than $7 million since the indictment.

“There is a F-35 missile-armed weapon being piloted by Jack Smith with [Attorney General] Merrick Garland as his wingman in D.C. that’s going to get off the ground soon in the Mar-a-Lago obstruction case that will make this look like a water pistol,” former Trump White House lawyer Ty Cobb told CNN Tuesday of the New York case — and the potential danger ahead for Trump.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2023/04/05/1168113684/donald-trump-lashes-out-resorting-to-old-tactics-after-arraignment-hearing

Trump is Defying the Judge with his Preferred Judge, whose Daughter Worked for Kamala Harris, and Biden-Harris 2020 Campaign

And that’s what he needs to do because over the last three election cycles, his brand has proven toxic in competitive states and districts — the precise places Republicans need to win to take back the White House.

“I have a Trump-hating judge with the Trump-hating wife and family, whose daughter worked for Kamala Harris,” Trump said during a speech at Mar-a-Lago Tuesday evening.

During Tuesday’s arraignment, prosecutors provided the judge with a packet of Trump’s social media posts, raising concerns about veiled threats he made, including posting a story that showed a photo of Trump with a baseball bat next to Bragg.

The complete prosecution’s case will have to be turned over to the defense. Prosecutors don’t want it to be seen because they know that Trump will use public opinion as a way to win his case in a court. The integrity of proceedings can get dicey there, which is what they are trying to accomplish with a protective order.

Elie Honig, a former prosecutor and CNN senior legal analyst, said Trump’s comments Tuesday evening indicated he was openly defying the judge with his rhetoric.

While Trump makes similar attacks against the prosecutors investigating him, he has a different approach to his case where the judge is presiding.

The work of the daughter of Trump for the campaigns of Biden and Harris was criticized by the president and his allies.

The Biden- Harris 2020 campaign is listed on the Authentic Campaigns website, as well as Harris’s own unsuccessful presidential primary campaign. Federal campaign finance records show payments to the firm in 2020 from the Biden campaign and 2019 from the Harris primary campaign.

The right-wing media had captured a picture of the Director of Digital Persuasion on theLinkedIn page and listed her as having worked for Harris in his primary campaign.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/05/politics/trump-criminal-case-whats-next/index.html

Correspondence to “The High-Energy Investigation into the South Side of the Black Hole,” a New York District Attorney’s Office official said

“That’s a relevant fact here,” Tacopina said. It is not an attack against the judge or his family. No one is suggesting that anything should happen to the judge or his family, and President Trump’s comments did not in any way, shape or form.”

The political connections of Merchan’s daughter do nothing to disqualify him as a judge in the case, said CNN legal analyst Karen Friedman Agnifilo, a former chief assistant district attorney in the Manhattan district attorney’s office.

“What does Biden have to do with any of this? It is his daughter. You can’t regulate your family members. I think it is not close to a conflict.

Prosecutors specifically said they want to prohibit Trump from posting any discovery materials to social media or sharing them with third parties, such as journalists. They said that they planned to allow Trump to review some sensitive materials only with his lawyers.

Merchan set the next hearing date in the case for December 4, nearly eight months away. Before that date, he set an August 8 deadline for Trump’s lawyers to file motions in the case, such as an attempt to get the charges dismissed or reduced to misdemeanors.

“I understand what you are saying,” Merchan said. I think that is reasonable. There is no discovery you have received. It isn’t easy to predict if you’ll be ready for trial in January. The message I want to convey is that we would like to move ahead as quickly as possible.

Trump said, of the case being led by Atlanta District Attorney Fani Willis, that she is “doing everything in her power to indict me over an absolutely perfect phone call, even more perfect than the one I made with the president of Ukraine.”

After condemning the New York Attorney General’s investigation into the Trump Organization, Trump went on to say that she was a candidate for the presidency. I will get him. This was her campaign. I didn’t run for office. I will get him. He said that she was called Letitia James.

Toward the end of his speech, Trump returned to criticize the district attorney and the charges against him.