Trump supporters and conspiracy theory - Part 2

[Rick Plant]

Jack Smith may be trying to prove Trump tampered with Mar-a-Lago security footage: legal expert



According to new reporting from CNN, special counsel Jack Smith is now investigating the Trump Organization's handling of security footage from former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, as part of the criminal probe into troves of highly classified documents that were found illegally being stored on the premises — and that longtime Trump security aide Matthew Calamari and his son are a key focus.

Speaking to CNN's Pamela Brown, NYU professor Ryan Goodman argued this is a key indication Smith thinks the footage Trump's legal team handed over previously may have been doctored or otherwise interfered with.

"The special counsel is looking at the handling of surveillance footage that was turned over under subpoena," said Brown. "How significant is this development."

"It's highly significant if the special counsel has reason to think that the surveillance video was tampered with," said Goodman. "It's very significant in two respects. One, this is a case about obstruction, which would be 'obstruction on steroids' if people tampered with the surveillance that the Department of Justice specifically subpoenaed in order to find out what had happened to the classified documents. And the second is that it would be a very serious aggravating factor pointing the Justice Department to indictment under the Espionage Act if, indeed, it included this kind of level of obstruction, of any tampering with the video surveillance. And would also mean that more than one person was involved. That's another aggravating factor that the Department of Justice would have to take into account."

"We played that sound of Trump telling Sean Hannity a few weeks ago, quote, 'I gave them tapes of storage areas, I wasn't holding anything back,'" said Brown. "CNN has reported that the security camera footage that was turned over showed a Mar-a-Lago staff member moving boxes from a storage room with a Trump aide ... what do you think, do you think there's more footage that Trump doesn't want out there."

"That's an open question," said Goodman. "The footage they provided was only of a certain date range. They only keep surveillance video footage for a specific period of time. It also sounds as though the special counsel wants to hear about how people like Walter, who's caught on the video, and the Calamaris may have been discussing it. Moving the boxes out after they received the subpoena and the direction to keep the boxes in the storage room, really important for the Justice Department to know about those conversations entail."

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[Rick Plant]

Judge tosses Donald Trump's lawsuit against New York Times

A New York judge on Wednesday has tossed a lawsuit Donald Trump filed against The New York Times, The Daily Beast reports.

Trump’s 2021 lawsuit alleged a “insidious plot” between the newspaper and his niece, Mary Trump, to obtain his private tax records for a 2018 Pulitzer-winning article.

New York Supreme Court Justice Robert R. Reed in his ruling filed Wednesday afternoon wrote that the claims “fail as a matter of constitutional law” and determined that the NYT’s reporting was “the very core of protected First Amendment activity.”

CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy obtained a statement from a New York Times spokesperson that said: "The New York Times is pleased with the judge's decision today. It is an important precedent reaffirming that the press is protected when it engages in routine newsgathering to obtain information of vital importance to the public."

Donald Trump's lawsuit concerning Mary Trump has yet to be ruled on.

Read More Here: https://www.thedailybeast.com/judge-tosses-trumps-lawsuit-against-ny-times-orders-him-to-pay-legal-fees



Special counsel investigating Trump Org's handling of Mar-a-Lago security tapes: report

Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith is now investigating how the Trump Organization handled surveillance tapes from his Mar-a-Lago country club as part of the probe into classified documents illegally stashed on the property, reported CNN on Wednesday.

"The handling of the footage, and how employees within the Trump Organization responded to the Justice Department’s demand for it, have prompted a new round of grand jury subpoenas to top Trump employees in the last few weeks, the sources told CNN," reported Katelyn Polantz and Paula Reid. "Longtime Trump Organization executives Matthew Calamari Sr. and his son Matthew Calamari Jr. are expected to appear Thursday before the grand jury investigating possible mishandling of classified documents brought to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, sources said. Prosecutors are expected to ask them about the handling of the surveillance footage and Trump employees’ conversations following the subpoena, according to the sources."

The classified document probe is one of two major cases involving former President Donald Trump that Smith is overseeing, the other being the investigation into the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

"The footage has been a part of the Justice Department’s investigation into possible mishandling of classified records at the Florida beach club after Trump left the presidency and possible obstruction of justice. No charges have been brought in the case, and Trump has denied any wrongdoing," said the report. "CNN has previously reported the footage captured Walt Nauta, an aide close to the ex-president, Nauta and another Mar-a-Lago employee moving boxes containing documents out of a storage closet."

"The Calamaris are among several witnesses expected to testify in Smith’s investigation on Thursday, sources said," the report continued. "Prosecutors have previously brought in lower-level Trump employees for questioning about the surveillance footage, including how it may have been handled in response to the subpoena for it and if it could have been tampered with, two sources told CNN this week."

Trump has fiercely resisted the investigation, claiming he had a right to take the documents. However, he has also justified his actions by boasting that Mar-a-Lago is a "highly secured facility." In reality, the country club has seen numerous security breaches, including by nationals from hostile foreign powers.

Read More Here: https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/03/politics/maralago-footage-trump-special-counsel-calamari/index.html



Beyond insane': Another billionaire donor drops Trump over election lies

A Georgia billionaire who was one of the state’s biggest financial backers of Donald Trump has dropped the former president over election fraud lies, according to a leaked recording.

Tommy Bagwell announced his decision at a closed-door RNC donor retreat in Nashville, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.

The recording was first aired by activist Lauren Windsor.

“I want to, unfortunately, say something that’s probably not very popular in this crowd,” Cummings, a former poultry magnate, said, according to the AJC.

“So, to keep you from throwing things at me, I figure I’d say it.”

He went on to call election denial claims “beyond insane.”

“One of the worst things you can do in this stuff is start repeating and promoting stuff that absolutely just didn’t happen. And Georgia’s election was pretty damn clean,” he said.

“Everything, especially that Mr. Trump promoted that I heard, was roundly and convincingly debunked.”

He pointed out that he had given a fortune to Trump, then added: “Not anymore.”

The meeting was attended by Trump attorney Cleta Mitchell, the AJC reported. She responded by repeating the election fraud conspiracies.

“There are problems in Fulton County,” she said. “There are problems in DeKalb County. And we know what they are now,” she said to applause. “I just want to prepare for those before 2024.”

Read More Here: https://www.ajc.com/politics/politics-blog/the-jolt-georgia-megadonor-tells-trump-attorney-election-was-clean/3PQ5RH7SWRFPDI2S45RZSZ7ZKQ/



Pence meeting shows Jack Smith is pursuing a different approach than Robert Mueller



In an unusual move, January 6 special counsel Jack Smith sat in on the grand jury testimony of former Vice President Mike Pence — testimony that was the culmination of months of back-and-forth legal wrangling over whether the Justice Department had the constitutional authority to compel Pence in the first place.

Speaking to CNN's "The Situation Room" on Wednesday, former prosecutor Shan Wu outlined how this represents a huge difference between the approaches of Smith and former special counsel Robert Mueller, who oversaw the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

"What does it suggest to you, that Jack Smith actually sat in during the grand jury testimony?" asked anchor Wolf Blitzer

"Besides the historic nature ... from a prosecutorial and defense counsel, it signals it's active and operational," said Wu. "Very rare for a leader to be personally sitting there in the grand jury room during that testimony. And I think it signals that he's — it's a very vigorous style of leadership. I mean, it's a little bit of a contrast to the approach we saw in the Mueller investigation, where, from what we understand and what I personally saw, Mueller himself did not participate in most of the interviews leading through his staff. Mueller coming from being the head of the FBI for many years, very large institution. Different place in his career than Smith, who was very much coming to this from being an operational prosecutor. So I think we're seeing a contrast in those styles."

"Do you think Jack Smith will continue his role in other key testimony going forward?" Blitzer pressed him.

"He may," said Wu. "I think it probably depends on the individual witness whether he would be there or not. But I think his mere presence signals he has a very hands-on role in directing the operation. The caution, not always good to have the top person be too hands-on. You might compare [special counsel John] Durham's efforts of leading the investigation, but there are very different kinds of prosecutors. I think this signals he has a steady and active hand on the controls."

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[Rick Plant]

The Proud Boys were just found guilty of seditious conspiracy. Donald Trump will be found guilty of the same.   

[Rick Plant]

Proud Boys verdicts 'should' make Jan. 6 charges against Trump more likely: ex-prosecutor



The decisions handed down against some members of the Proud Boys for their participation in the attempted insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, "should" affect whether authorities charge former president Donald Trump for his role, a former prosecutor said.

Attorney Elie Honig of Lowenstein Sandler LLP, a former New Jersey and federal prosecutor, was a guest on CNN on Thursday when the panel was discussing how four Proud Boys members were found guilty of seditious conspiracy. The host, Jake Tapper, said it seems like those who were convicted thought that they were doing what they were doing "in service of Donald Trump."

"They heard him say stand back and stand by," Tapper said. "Will this verdict make it more likely, do you think, that the Justice Department will charge Trump for his role in the insurrection?"

Responding to Tapper, Honig said: "I think it should, but I'm not so sure that it will," Honig said. "First of all, these verdicts are a statement; they are proof of concept. Now for the third time we see that the DOJ is fully capable of charging seditious conspiracy and getting convictions."

Honig added that the "model" prosecutors used, could inform a Trump prosecution.

"Also if you look at the way they didn't have one smoking gun. Instead what they did, was they put together all the evidence, testimony, and documents showing that there was talk of revolution insurrection and that they had a plan to go to the Capitol and stay in coordination," he added. "So you can see how that model could be used against Donald Trump and others."

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[Rick Plant]

The fact that Trump didn’t walk with the J6 mob doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be charged: ex-FBI counsel



The Justice Department won a huge case on Thursday after charing five members of the Proud Boys militia with seditious conspiracy. Each of the four leaders were found guilty, while the lower-level "soldier" was found not guilty.

According to Andrew Weissmann, former FBI general counsel and top prosecutor for special counsel Robert Mueller's team, the next step from the militia groups is to look at those organizing the conspiracy and that means former President Donald Trump.

There's a huge domestic terrorism problem in this country," Weissmann explained. "This is a really difficult and important case for DOJ to have brought and to have won. And I think that's what you're going to hear about [from Merrick Garland]. But to your point, there's been such a call-and-response relationship to groups like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers and others with the former president that everyone is going to be thinking, 'Okay, you've gotten not just foot soldiers, not just their leaders such as the leader of the Proud Boys, but what about the actual leader of what happened on January 6th?' ... And I think for [special counsel] Jack Smith, it's not that this is evidence, it really makes it that much more important for him, if he can get the proof that they should be charging — yes. I mean, you do not, sort of, omit the leader of an organization. So he has got to be feeling that pressure now."

"A second component of that is that you don't have to be present," Weissmann continued. "You don't have to be the person pulling the trigger, going into the bank and doing the robbery. If you were the mastermind, you're just as responsible. This is just like in a mob case. The boss of the family is not collecting the money and threatening people and doing all of this leg work. Obviously, Jack Smith knows that well, but it's very useful to see that jurors have no problem with that. ... And it's not like the former president didn't want to be present on that day. There were other people, as is so often the case with him, who prevented the worst. It's bad enough, what he did, but you had other people preventing it from being worse. He was planning to be there! And leading them at the scene. But that's no reason not to be able to charge him."

After Garland's press conference about the conviction, Weissann said that folks should not assume that if there is no "connective tissue" between the Proud Boys and Trump that he can't be charged.

"I don't think that's going to happen. I think he is going to be charged," Weissmann explained.

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[Rick Plant]

Kari Lake's lawyers slapped with $2,000 sanction for pushing election conspiracy theories in court



Lawyers for failed pro-Trump Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake have been hit with sanctions by the Supreme Court of Arizona for pushing a conspiracy theory that 35,000 extra ballots were added to the voting rolls of Maricopa County, reported The Arizona Republic on Thursday.

"Attorneys for Gov. Katie Hobbs and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, both Democrats, sought sanctions against Lake for bringing what they called a frivolous and unfounded lawsuit," reported Stacey Barchenger. "The order signed by Chief Justice Robert Brutinel declined to award Hobbs and Fontes their attorneys fees and said Lake's lawyers must pay $2,000 to the court clerk for repeatedly claiming it was an 'undisputed fact' that 35,563 ballots were added to the results at Maricopa County’s third-party ballot processor, Runbeck Election Services. Hobbs, Fontes and Maricopa County all disputed the claim."

"Even after the Supreme Court itself said Lake did not show evidence to prove ballots were added, her attorneys Bryan Blehm and Kurt Olsen made the claim again in an April court filing," said the report. "'Sometimes campaigns and their attendant hyperbole spill over into legal challenges,' the Arizona Supreme Court order reads. 'But once a contest enters the judicial arena, rules of attorney ethics apply.' Those rules build confidence in the judicial system, the court said, noting that sanctions can deter lawyers from making false statements in the future."

An earlier court decision allows Lake's team to continue on with another trial reviewing her baseless claims about the election. "We respectfully disagree with the court's holding, but look forward to presenting our case at trial," said Olsen in an email to The Republic.

Lake has refused to concede her election loss, pushing a variety of false and unsubstantiated allegations of misconduct in Maricopa County.

She has subsequently faced a criminal referral filed by the Secretary of State's office, after she showed what appeared to be images of real voter signatures in a rant about election integrity on social media, which would be a violation of Arizona state law.

Read More Here: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2023/05/04/ariz-supreme-court-hits-lake-attorney-with-sanctions-on-election-suit/70177506007/

[Rick Plant]

Can prosecutors use the Proud Boys to get to Roger Stone — and Trump?



This week, members of the far-right "Western Chauvinist" group the Proud Boys were convicted of seditious conspiracy for their role in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol — a massive victory for federal prosecutors, who also recently won a similar case against the militia group the Oath Keepers.

But this could just be getting started. According to New York University law professor Ryan Goodman on CNN Thursday, these cases could be used to go after former President Donald Trump, using his associate Roger Stone as an intermediate step.

"This hopefully sets up much stronger deterrent against the both anti-government extremists, in the case of the Oath Keepers, and the white supremacist paramilitary groups, in the case of the Proud Boys, that the Justice Department will be able to bring formidable charges against them, like seditious conspiracy," said Goodman.

"And they've already brought over 600 cases," said anchor Pamela Brown. "Prosecutors in this case described the Proud Boys as Donald Trump's army that was willing to do whatever it took to keep him in power. We also know that the chairman, Enrique Tarrio, had ties to Roger Stone. What could this mean for possible charges against Trump? What would prosecutors need to show?"

"So, there is this big question about whether or not prosecutors will be able to connect Trump to the violent assault on the Capitol," said Goodman. "I think there's a lot of information that they'll be able to connect to other efforts to overturn the election, pressure on Mike Pence, et cetera, but this is the key one, and we should recall that the January 6th Select Committee in the House made a criminal referral to the Justice Department, saying they had sufficient evidence that called for at least an investigation as to whether or not President Trump aided and abetted an insurrection. The fact that we have this verdict is important as a foundation to that kind of a claim. Once again, if there were an acquittal in the case, that would just go away. It would not really be on the table. It is on the table."

"So, the question is, in part, what you asked with Roger Stone: is there enough connective tissue?" Goodman continued. "Will they be able to connect dots if there are dots to be connected? Because Roger Stone is deeply involved with the Proud Boys. He even swore an oath to the Proud Boys, according to the January 6th committee.

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