So CNN has some brief blurbs about the special masters chosen by Trump and by the DOJ.
The DOJ choices make sense. Thomas Griffith has decisions on the record in favor of Trump but has since come out against the Big Lie, and so will probably rule fairly but will be difficult to portray as a Trump hater. Barbara Jones has been a special master in a number of cases and so it will be hard to argue that she can’t handle this one.
The Trump choices are a bit more confusing. Paul Huck Jr. is the sort of nominee I was expecting, Federalist lawyer with previous experience working for Trump, and so totally in the bag for him. But their other choice baffles me. Raymond Dearie, one of the judges Trump railed against for with “Carter Page witch hunt”? Why would he suggest this guy?
The only answer I can think of requires a bit more 5-dimensional chess type reasoning than I think Trump is capable of. It goes something like this. If Judge Cannon is in the bag for Trump then she will choose Griffith, he’ll disallow all the evidence and Trump will win. If she isn’t in the bag and chooses someone impartial than Trump is screwed from a legal standpoint, his only hope is win in the court of public opinion enough to either get a hung jury or scare his enemies into submission. So having the FISA boogeyman as the special master well aid his claims that its all part of a vast conspiracy against him, under the reasonable assumption that none of his base will bother to check who it was who actually nominated him to be on the case.
As I said this seems to be a more complicated plan then Trump usually comes up with, but I can’t think of any other reason for this second choice.
Trump taking the documents to Mar-a-lago would make me very suspicious of several layers of document security. I think it’s definitely a sign of endemic rot, as is usual with Trump. On the other hand, if I’m just some courier and the President doesn’t give back a document what am I supposed to do? There’s no sympathetic ear or backbone in that White House. They just let the baby have what he wants.
Two-three hours ago Trump flew into DC, unannounced and unscheduled, apparently still in his golf shoes, and he and his team have been unusually silent about why they are there.
Conspiracy twitter is blowing up and I am here for it!
Lawyer George Conway noted that it hasn’t been “golf weather” in the area lately. It’s scheduled to continue raining on Monday after drizzling most of Sunday. Conway explained: “It’s been arraigning — I mean, raining.”
It’s (unfortunately) probably not an indictment because they said they were only in the beginning stages of looking at this and Judge Loose Cannon has stalled investigation as far as the documents are concerned. Right?
Really hard to imagine what it could be. If it was for something halfway interesting or cool, he wouldn’t be able to shut up about it. If it were for something mundane, he’d try to promote it as something cool.
I want it to be an indictment SO BAD, but it’s probably just something really dumb and boring. Though the fact that he’s not blabbering about it makes me think it’s something embarrassing to him.
Trump is a blowhard right up to the time he is inescapably boxed in. Then he does things that seem out of character. They’re really not, because they’re still whatever is in his best interest.
Something like:
FBI: “Sir, we’re contacting you to let you know we have a warrant for your arrest on (fill-in-the-blank) charges here in Washington D.C. which we intend to execute tonight. You can come surrender yourself for arraignment immediately, or we can send some gents over to Mar-a-Lago to, umm, escort you here in the more customary way. Your choice.”
Trump: “Oh. Ok. Be right there.”
In fact, he would have likely surrendered to the FBI at Mar-a-Lago.
Fun to think about, anyway. We’ll learn soon enough.
(Fantasy land)
The Justice Dept. investigators have found iron clad evidence that Trump sold nuclear secrets to enemies of the United States. He is being arrested on very serious charges that carry life imprisonment.
(Reality)
He’s found some new way to fleece the rubes out of their cash
