I know that many of Trump’s followers fit the profile of cultists, and for years have considered a cult model to be the best framework for understanding the behavior of a very large percentage of his followers. Cannon’s behavior in her previous case doesn’t fit the model of a sober judge, nor of a judge concerned about the opinions of other legal professionals; but it does fit the model of a cultist who is using their power to protect the interests of the cult leader.
Cultists don’t have to pee on the bench. They can behave rationally, just with a different set of premises. My concern is that she doesn’t start from the position that “the law must be neutral,” but instead from the position that “Donald Trump must be protected from the Deep State.”
judge cannon may be a new judge without much experience, but the prosecution team is very good, experienced, and has gamed out all outcomes.
they can wait until she makes an odd ruling and then go for an appeal.
as of right now, as soon as the defendants are arraigned the clock ticks for 70 days (rare but possible). with in that time or the time mentioned at the arraignment, motions are made. depending on those motions and how they are ruled could give the opening to have things happen judge wise.
I certainly see this. We just have to look at the likes of trump himself, MTG, Boebert, Sarah Palin et al to see that there will not necessarily be any embarrassment or shame.
As much as I think the earlier decision was wrong (and as much as I enjoyed the opinion that overturned her) I don’t think her earlier ruling was as extreme as you postulate.
Here’s why:
There’s a hole in the law, at both the state and federal level. The rules say that the person who is the subject of a search can file a motion to request the return of things taken.
But, you can only file a motion in an open case. And the execution of a search warrant doesn’t result in an open case - it could lead to a criminal case, but that could be months from now, if ever.
So what do you, a private citizen, do to get your stuff back? You file a lawsuit. You sue the agency that took it.
And then, once that lawsuit is assigned to a judge, you file your motion for return of property.
Judge Cannon gets this motion. She decides, this is a novel issue - we’re dealing with a former president, and possibly stuff privileged according to specific presidential record act laws. The safest thing to do is to appoint a third party to review it all.
Does that sound like a cultist to you? She could have just said - nope, he’s president trump, he gets his stuff back. But she didn’t do that - she decided it would be wise to bring in somebody else to tell her what she should do.
Now, the 11th said, you don’t even have jurisdiction to hear this issue (hence, the hole in the law), and, even if you did, you would open a huge can of worms if you started letting criminal defendants demand the return of their stuff on the grounds you cited.
So she was wrong. And might be inclined to defer to the president.
But I’m not getting “she’s going to tank the case” vibes.
If you are a True Believer cultist, either Trump wins in 2024 or the USA will cease to exist in the next couple of years. In fact that is/will be the entire R party platform for 2024: Rs win or else it’s game over forever.
If you (i.e. Cannon) hold by those (crazy) beliefs, then bending the rules to give Trump a pass aren’t wrong; in fact acquitting Trump for any reason or no reason is your sacred duty in your sworn defense of the US Constitution.
If you succeed you’ll be a hero for life. If you fail, the USA will end. I know it’s a difficult and finely balanced decision, so don’t screw this up. [sarcasm]
And if they do, why won’t it be like Ginsburg and Scalia?
And if not, what about other Trump-era judges? Do they refuse to associate with each other?
If Biden is re-elected, there might not be as many of them. But I don’t see why Biden would be regarded as the 2024 front-runner.
Then there is a comment earlier in the thread about this being the trial of the century. If Trump is indicted for any variant on trying to steal the 2020 election, I think this official secrets stuff becomes secondary.
Even the New York case — covering up a hush payment to prevent voters from learning about a payoff shortly before the election — is more important to me.
Remember, Judge Cannon was a Federal Prosecutor. Generally, these are prestigious jobs requiring good academic and professional credentials. I’m sure you can find many examples of full blown MAGA idiots with similar credentials, but until she shows me evidence to the contrary (additional evidence if you prefer) I’ll remain hopeful that she will run a fair courtroom.
I don’t know if it’s even possible for them to do this. They can object to her rulings, and then when she tells them to go pound sand, there is no appeal. And if Trump gets off because of her odd rulings, that’s all folks. At least this is what I’ve been led to believe.
What I don’t understand is why Trump didn’t have his staff copy all of those papers electronically and save to thumb drives, the cloud, etc. I’m sure a few hardcore MAGA types would gloss over the Secret and Top Secret notifications to please their master.
Part of it may be that he want’s the documents in his tiny hands. And part may be that he wanted to wave them in front of others to show how important he is.
Another part may be that he is absolutely clueless about technology and never thought of that.
My understanding is that, other than using his phone to tweet/twuth/whatever, Trump doesn’t do things electronically. He doesn’t use email, and he still insists on hard copies of everything. I don’t know how much of this is just old-school habits, versus a conscious decision to not leave an electronic record of his shenanigans.
I’d say it probably 50-50. Trump was notorious for tearing up sheets of paper he no longer thought he needed, and most people speculate that this is because he doesn’t want any records kept. Makes it easier to lie if no one has a copy.
Well her hand will definitely be sore from all the high fives from other trumpist judges who agree with her. Not that every Trump appointed judge is a trumpist judge, but there’s 0% chance that she’s the only one.
Assuming Trump does win and the gloves come fully off, there won’t be any kind of judge except Trumpist judges real soon. Any other kind will be retired- or ex-judges.
do nauta and trump need to be separated during this trial. i thought co defendants could not be together. nauta is traveling around with trump. or does this only kick in after arraignment.
