Trump supporters and conspiracy theory - Part 2

[Rick Plant]

Trump’s danger is on display in multiple Manhattan courts
https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/trump-manhattan-da-protective-order-rcna81541

[Rick Plant]

Jack Smith appears poised to nail Trump with 'a series of wire fraud charges': former prosecutor



Reacting to a New York Times report that investigators working for special counsel Jack Smith are focusing on evidence of wire fraud related to Donald Trump's 2020 presidential election loss, former prosecutor Glenn Kirschner suggested a conspiracy indictment might be forthcoming that encompasses those charges.

Speaking with MSNBC's "The Saturday Show" host Jonathan Capehart, the former prosecutor claimed such charges were hinted at by a California judge last year.

According to the Times, "Led by the special counsel Jack Smith, prosecutors are trying to determine whether Mr. Trump and his aides violated federal wire fraud statutes as they raised as much as $250 million through a political action committee by saying they needed the money to fight to reverse election fraud even though they had been told repeatedly that there was no evidence to back up those fraud claims."

The report added, "In the past several months, prosecutors have issued multiple batches of subpoenas in a wide-ranging effort to understand Save America, which was set up shortly after the election as Mr. Trump’s main fund-raising entity."

Asked where Smith and his investigators are headed, Kirschner replied, "Wire fraud is the stock and trade of the federal prosecutors. If you use the wires, it's an old-time term, it used to mean the TV, the radio, the telephone -- now it's the internet -- as part of a scheme to defraud others out of their money."

"Now would Donald Trump would ever do something like that?" he sarcastically asked.

"Those are fairly easy charges to prove," he continued. "So I have a feeling, you can see a series of wire fraud charges in what I would predict would be the larger charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States."

"Because. remember Jonathan, a federal judge in California [Judge David O. Carter] ruled previously there was enough evidence or preponderance of the evidence that Donald Trump committed the crime of conspiracy to defraud the United States," he concluded.

Watch:

[Rick Plant]

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has already completed her criminal case against Donald Trump (and his associates) with her special grand jury, and probably only needs a day or two of regular grand jury time to go through the formality of bring those indictments. Yet Willis is now pointing to not bringing her indictments until at least mid July. The question is why.

Yes, some of the fake electors in Georgia are now doing immunity deals. But is that alone enough to explain why a probe that’s essentially been indictment-ready since February is going to wait until July?

When Mike Pence testified to Jack Smith’s DOJ grand jury on Thursday – potentially the final witness to testify in that case – it pointed to Smith potentially indicting Donald Trump rather soon. It made me wonder if this was why Fani Willis was holding off. If the Feds are this close to indicting Trump, perhaps Willis has decided to wait until after.

But now we’re getting another piece of the puzzle. On Friday, new reporting from the New York Times suggested that Jack Smith has Donald Trump and some of his associates nailed on wire fraud charges in addition to everything else. Specifically, they committed fraud when they raised a quarter billion dollars by claiming the 2020 election was stolen when they knew it wasn’t.

Legal expert Anna Bower of Lawfare sees this as a potential connection between the federal and state probes against Trump. She tweeted this: “Federal wire fraud can be a predicate act under Georgia’s RICO law.” What jumps off the page for me is that we’ve seen numerous media reports about Fani Willis looking to indict Trump under RICO.

In other words, Fani Willis could be waiting for Jack Smith to indict Donald Trump for federal wire fraud, so she can use that as a basis for bringing state level RICO charges. Of course this in turn would seemingly point to a level of coordination between Smith and Willis that hasn’t been reported. The bottom line is that the list of criminal charges against Trump is getting longer and more complex – which is the last thing he needs.

[Rick Plant]

Trump's embrace of Jan. 6 rioters could be 'very damaging' evidence against him: ex-prosecutor



Former president Donald Trump's decision to continue supporting convicted rioters is putting himself at additional risk of criminal liability for his actions surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, attempted insurrection, according to a former U.S. attorney.

In addition to facing 34 felony charges in connection with his alleged hush money scheme leading up to the 2016 election, Trump is facing investigations elsewhere that might lead to more criminal charges. One of those investigations is into Trump's actions surrounding the actions of Jan. 6, when rioters stormed the Capitol building.

Trump is giving prosecutors more evidence against him in that case by continuing to heap praise upon rioters who have been convicted of crimes, according to Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. Most recently, Trump reportedly met with convicted January 6 Capitol rioter Micki Larson-Olson in New Hampshire, praising her and giving her a hug before signing her backpack.

McQuade, speaking on MSNBC on Friday night, said situations like that could be "very damaging as evidence against" Trump, should there be a trial on his conduct.

"It's the reason that prosecutors pay very close attention to everything people say, and it's the reason defense attorneys tell their clients to keep their mouths shut," McQuade said to host Ali Velshi. "But when your client is Donald Trump, it seems that he is physically incapable of that."

Watch:

Trump lawyer Tacopina fell 'into a trap' during E. Jean Carroll cross-examination: legal expert



Appearing on MSNBC's "The Katie Phang Show" on Saturday morning, former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance claimed that the E. Jean Carroll rape and defamation trial is not going well for Donald Trump and that his attorney, Joe Tacopina is not helping matters.

Speaking with the host, Vance said that the former president's attorney stepped into a familiar "trap" when questioning an assualt victim and it likely did not play well with the jury.

Asked by host Phang where the case is headed, Vance explained, "Well, the problem that defense lawyers have on cross-examination in a case like this, Katie, is that even though it's not a criminal rape prosecution, the civil case nears the same sorts of issues."

"The defense lawyer has to do two things: he's got to make the victim's story not credible in the eyes of the jury and there is got to be some effort to diminish the victim's credibility," she continued. "Frankly, from what we've been able to see, of course, there are no cameras in the courtroom, but we're reading the printouts of what's going on."

"He doesn't really seem to touch Carroll," she suggested. "She's a very determined, a very fierce witness. Her story is consistent, and there is no real inroads he makes there."

"He falls into this other trap that the defense lawyers have to be wary of in an assault case," she added. "By going on the attack against Carroll he runs the risk of making her credibility stronger, of putting the jury on her side and willing to listen to her testimony. That looks to be how the trial is going at this moment."

Watch:

[Rick Plant]

Trump's lawyers handed Jack Smith a 'roadmap' to their Mar-a-Lago defense strategy: legal expert



During an appearance on MSNBC's "The Katie Phang Show" a former prosecutor claimed Donald Trump's lawyers have inadvertently tipped off special counsel Jack Smith to their defense strategy should charges be filed over the stolen documents recovered by the FBI at Mar-a-Lago.

Reacting to a report that Trump attorneys sent a letter to House Intelligence Committee chairman Mike Turner (R-OH) asking the GOP-led House take over the federal investigation into the document, Charles Coleman Jr. noted the letter included how they view their client's innocence which would give Smith's office a heads-up of how to present their case.

"Is this Trump setting up his legal defense for an imminent indictment from Jack Smith?" host Phang prompted.

"I would think so," Coleman replied. "I think they are trying to basically stave off the notion of an indictment with a last-ditch effort to try and make a homerun, if you will, to avoid Jack Smith moving forward in front of a grand jury and indicting him."

"I think it is very interesting though from a lawyer's perspective to see them lay out their entire defense basically before this is even happened," he added. "It is right there. So if you are looking at that, and you are thinking about how you are going to prosecute this case, you have just given Jack Smith a roadmap into what you do need to cover during the grand jury presentation to make sure, not only that you are able to get an indictment, but then how you are going to structure your prosecution."

"It will be interesting to see, moving forward, if he is indicted for this, which I do believe he will be, how that impacts Jack Smith's presentation of the case and, ultimately, their theory of how they move forward," he added.

Watch:

[Rick Plant]

World leaders can't stand Criminal Donald.


'Great to be home': Trump shunned by nation's leader after arriving in Scotland



A senior Scottish official has made it clear he has no plans to involve himself with former President Donald Trump's visit to the nation this week, reported The Independent.

"Asked last week if he will meet Mr. Trump, who has made controversial statements about Muslims in the past, First Minister Humza Yousaf said: 'I would find it difficult, I have to say, to meet with him without raising the significance of concerns I have of the remarks that he’s made in the past,'" the newspaper reported.

The First Minister is the head of the Scottish government.

Trump arrived in Scotland Monday to golf resorts he owns in Turnberry and Aberdeen in Scotland, and at Doonbeg in Ireland.

"It's great to be home," he said on arrival, the Independent reported.

The Turnberry resort was a source of controversy during his presidency after it was revealed the U.S. Air Force paid Trump's business to lodge crews on the property dozens of times. The Air Force investigated these payments and concluded they were legal.

According to BBC News, "Mr Trump, who is running for the White House again in 2024, is visiting Scotland as a private individual. It is understood there is no requirement on the Scottish or UK governments to pay for special security."

All of this comes as Trump faces a series of legal fights at home, including criminal charges in Manhattan over business fraud surrounding his alleged $130,000 hush payment to an adult film star, and the civil rape case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll, which began last week.

Read More Here: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/trump-scotland-golf-lawsuits-aberdeen-b2330090.html



Trump loses it in tense exchange with NBC reporter amid press gaggle on ex-president's plane: report



Former President Donald Trump during a press gaggle aboard his plane after his Waco, Texas rally in March blew up at NBC News reporter Vaughn Hillyard, according audio obtained by Vanity Fair.

Hillyard reportedly asked Trump if he was “frustrated” about Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation over alleged hush money payments to Stormy Daniels.

The probe led to a 34-count felony indictment days later.

Hillyard was questioning Trump over his Truth Social posts in which the former president had warned of “potential death and destruction” if he was indicted, and when Hillyard asked Trump for his version of events the former president said. “I don’t want to talk to you.”

In response to another question from Hillyard Trump replied: “Do you hear me? You’re not a nice guy,” Trump said.

“I don’t want to talk to you.” Hillyard tried to ask another question. “Do you hear me? You’re not a nice guy,” Trump said, turning to take a question from another reporter.

Trump lost it after Hillyard tried to ask another question.

“Alright, let’s go, get him out of here,” Trump said. “Outta here. Outta here.”

According to Vanity Fair’s reporting: “Trump then picked up one of the phones recording the gaggle and asked, ‘Whose is this?’ Hillyard replied that it was his. Trump picked up another phone and asked the same question. “That one’s mine too,” Hillyard said. The former president tossed both phones out of his sight, onto the seat next to him; the thud of one of the phones hitting a surface can be heard in the recording.”

Listen Here: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/05/trump-2024-gaggle

[Rick Plant]

Donald Trump seems to go through stages of grief when it comes to the criminal investigations into him.

First he ignores them.

Then he downplayed them.

Then he tries to claim that the prosecutor is going to drop the case.

Then he launches personal attacks on the prosecutor and the prosecutor’s family.

And finally, he claims that the prosecutor is going to illegal lengths in order to make the case against him.

That last part always amounts to a confession from Trump. If a criminal probe reaches a point where the only argument Trump has left is it the prove itself is somehow unfair or illegal, and Trump is no longer even trying to claim that he’s going to beat it, then he’s tacitly, admitting that he’s nailed.

That’s where Donald Trump now is with DOJ special counsel Jack Smith’s criminal probe. Trump is now whining on his social media site that Smith is somehow violating his first amendment rights by targeting him for wire fraud. This is almost hilarious. Trump is admitting that Jack Smith has him nailed, and all that Trump can do at this point is whine about it.