Trump supporters and conspiracy theory - Part 2

[Rick Plant]

E. Jean Carroll adds Trump's CNN comments to defamation case



E. Jean Carroll asked a civil court to consider comments former President Donald Trump made on CNN's town hall in an ongoing defamation lawsuit that is separate from the one settled on May 9.

In a filing Monday, she asked the court to consider the comments he made the day after she was awarded $5 million in damages.

"The proposed amendment also adds allegations concerning the verdict in Carroll II and Trump's public response to that verdict, which involved repeating on CNN the statements that Carroll II jury found to be defamatory, allegations that we believe are now directly relevant to the issue of punitive damages on the defamation claim in Carroll I," the filing said.

The $5 million damages were awarded on May 9 – Trump's legal team has filed an appeal. Monday’s filing involved a separate defamation lawsuit , filed before the one decided on May 9. It involves separate comments, but it has been delayed by appeals and arguments.

On May 10, Trump went on CNN and against called her account “fake” and a “made-up story.”

The defamation cases related to Carroll's claim that the former president raped her decades ago, and his denials, made in 2019. There was an extensive legal battle because Trump claimed he was president at the time and thus couldn't be sued.

The Justice Department said in Sept. 2020, when Trump was still president, that he acted in his official capacity. The Washington, D.C. Court of Appeals refused to get involved, remanding the case go back to Judge Kaplan to rule on the defamation.

That case now returns to Judge Kaplan, the same judge who presided over the May 9 decision.

"We are quite confident that will be affirmed, and then we'll be able to move forward with damages in that case. We don't even need a finding of liability because we already have it," Carroll's lawyer Robbie Kaplan, who is not related to the judge, explained to MSNBC's Rachel Maddow.

She explained that this case is the first instance of defamation, and the most recent verdict related to a second time that Trump defamed Carroll. For that reason, Robbie Kaplan thinks that the first case will yield a much higher dollar amount in damages because it was the first time Trump attacked Carroll. It was also the case in which Carroll linked the impact to her career and business.

Kaplan also explained to Maddow that she was working with other legal scholars to decide whether Trump could be sued a third time for breaking the defamation laws for what he said during the CNN Town Hall. She explained that there isn't a lot of case law around people continuously defaming the same person over and over again. Typically they stop after losing a lawsuit, she told Maddow.

Read More Here: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/04/nyregion/jean-carroll-sues-trump.html



Former White House lawyer predicts Donald Trump is going to jail



Former Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal thinks that Donald Trump is going to jail – and his thoughts are backed up by two of Trump's former lawyers.

Speaking to MSNBC's Katie Phang on Monday, Katyal addressed the recent revelations that Trump's lawyer Evan Corcoran kept about 50 pages of notes from the early days of the document scandal. Those notes are now exposing possible obstructions of justice when a subpoena for them was issued to the DOJ and FBI.

The documents piece of the DOJ probe is one that many legal experts believe has the potential to damage the former president.

Former Attorney General Bill Barr is among those who have said, "of the cases out there right now, the one I'd be most concerned about, if I were the president, is the Mar-a-Lago document case." He made the comments Thursday while speaking to CBS News' Catherine Herridge. Katyal agreed.

"I've thought for a long time this was the strongest potential criminal case against Donald Trump. And it gets stronger and stronger every day. It's always been clear and easy. And, you know, remember, we've always known that Trump had these highly sensitive documents long after he was subpoenaed. So, the current investigation is not as much about did he have the documents. They know Trump kept them. But [it's about] whether he knew he was doing something illegal when he kept them."

Katyal explained that it isn't unusual for a target to "play dumb" by saying things like, "I didn't know I was doing anything wrong." In the past, it's worked for Trump. But now, he said, things have changed.

"In this case, his own lawyers' notes show he needed to hand the documents over and that it looks like he was manipulating them, according to Hugo [Lowell's] phenomenal reporting. And if true, it makes the obstruction case, as you say, pretty easy," Katyal explained.

All of this points to the possibility that Trump could end up in jail, he said.

Phang asked about the piercing of attorney-client privilege, and Katyal explained that it's such a high threshold that "the judges have already determined it to be a crime."

The following steps, he said, are to uncover whether "it's Trump or someone else that the attorney-client privilege was pierced for, and I suspect there is one probably pretty answer to that question."

The comments from Katyal come on the heels of a piece by Aaron Blake in The Washington Post that cited Timothy Parlatore and Ty Cobb as two Trump lawyers that pointed to "the dissension and alienation that have plagued Trump’s legal effort for years."

Parlatore spoke out on CNN over the weekend, revealing a crisis among the Trump lawyers where they're effectively playing against each other rather than representing the client. He specifically cited long-time Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn as the source of a lot of problems.

Cobb took the comments a little further, saying Trump will "go to jail” for his role in the classified documents case. He also attacked the Trump legal team for their handling of the case.

"The real reason is that there are certain individuals that made defending the president much harder than it needed to be,” Parlatore told CNN. "In particular, there is one individual who works for him, Boris Epshteyn, who had really done everything he could to try to block us — to prevent us from doing what we could to defend the president.”

"And the many other misrepresentations that he and others have made on his behalf with regard to his possession of classified documents,” Cobb said, also appearing on CNN. "So, I think this is — I think this obstruction case is a tight case. And, yes, I do think he’ll go to jail on it."

Last month, Cobb went so far as to describe Smith's case as a "slam dunk."

Watch:

Former Trump lawyer may be 'waving a red flag' that he wants to cooperate with DOJ: legal expert



During an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance reacted to former Donald Trump lawyer Timothy Parlatore coming clean about why he recently quit and says there appears to be a "turf war" among members of the former president's legal team that does not bode well for their client.

Over the weekend, Paraltore admitted that he left over disagreements and legal infighting and pointed the finger at longtime Trump associate Boris Epshteyn for slapping aside legal strategies.

As the New York Times reported, "Parlatore described how Mr. Epshteyn had hindered him and other lawyers from getting information to Mr. Trump, leaving the former president’s legal team at a disadvantage in dealing with the Justice Department, which is scrutinizing Mr. Trump’s handling of classified documents after leaving office and his efforts to remain in office after losing the 2020 election."

Asked what is going on by "Morning Joe" regular Johnathan Lemire, Vance suggested a plea deal may be in the works.

"It's almost as though there's a turf war going on here among the lawyers," she began. "You know, often, when you see a lawyer leave a legal team that might signify that there's a plea deal in the works or that there's some legal reason behind the change. Here, it looks like a pure turf battle. But when Paraltore goes out and reveals this sort of information, it's almost as though he's pointing a finger at Boris Epshteyn and including him in the group of people involved in obstructing justice in this situation."

"We don't usually see lawyers come out and make statements like this after they leave a legal team," she later added. "You know, it's CYA, it's maybe waving a red flag at the Justice Department and saying he would like to come back and testify in a grand jury. I think that would make it the third time for him."

"You know, Trump's lawyers don't seem to believe that when people say 'everything Trump touches dies,' that it includes the lawyers," she quipped. "But clearly, it does. Because they've put themselves at risk in a number of different ways."

"And so, we see lawyers leave and have to worry about whether they're next," she elaborated. "I don't think I've ever seen a situation where so many lawyers, Boris Epshteyn, John Eastman, are all invoked as part of possible criminal activity."

Watch:

[Rick Plant]

Don't forget about the upcoming DOJ and Fulton County, Georgia indictments against Criminal Donald. 


Trump's N.Y. criminal trial will begin in March 2024, halfway through presidential primaries

During a hearing before Judge Juan Merchan, the former president acknowledged he'd reviewed a protective order barring him from disclosing certain evidence.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-appear-ny-criminal-case-first-time-arraignment-rcna85589


Trump instructed to obey court rules ahead of Manhattan criminal trial
https://www.npr.org/2023/05/23/1177644144/trump-stormy-daniels-judge-new-york-hush-money-case-carroll


Trump makes video appearance in New York criminal case, trial date tentatively set for late March
https://abc7ny.com/donald-trump-court-indictment-manhattan-da-alvin-braggs/13288917/


Trump news – live: Trump shows frustration in court as hush money criminal trial set amid 2024 primaries
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-news-today-court-live-b2344072.html

[Rick Plant]

Trump's big mouth is getting him into 'deeper trouble' and could get him incarcerated: legal expert

Donald Trump cannot help himself when it comes to making inflammatory comments about his own legal jeopardy, and former Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Jeremy Saland argued on Tuesday that could send him to jail.

Appearing on CNN, Saland said that Trump's habit of incriminating himself in public statements -- as well as his attacks on judges, prosecutors, and witnesses -- was coming back to haunt him.

"His words [are] getting him deeper and deeper in trouble," he argued. "Ultimately this is going to catch up to him. He's got Georgia, the city of New York, now he has the federal probe that's been ongoing, just one on top of the other. The more he does this, and the more he uses his words without his counsel... he will find himself in deeper trouble legally. I would not be shocked ultimately if he does end up incarcerated, which is something I would not have thought months ago."

Saland was then asked why he now thought jail time for Trump was more likely than not.

"So many different things that are developing that are really significant crimes," he replied, and in particular pointed to evidence piling up against Trump in the Mar-a-Lago documents case that could easily get him slapped with felony charges.

Watch:

[Rick Plant]

Donald Trump just posted a letter that his attorneys have sent to Attorney General Merrick Garland, asking for an emergency meeting to discuss the “injustices” the DOJ is carrying out. Trump’s lawyers must be expecting Trump to be indicted by Jack Smith within the week.

This is the letter that Trump posted publicly this evening:



Trump’s team also got the Wall Street Journal to publish an article this evening acknowledging that Trump is likely about to be indicted by Jack Smith in the classified documents case, but spinning it as a good thing for Trump because he’ll be able to fundraise off it.

Trump’s lawyers wouldn’t *know* his indictment is imminent, unless Jack Smith has informed them about it. Which is possible.

It’s also possible Trump’s lawyers are just guessing. But they have such a front row seat to this case, it would be a well educated guess.

To be clear, this letter will have zero impact on anything. It’s not even a stall tactic. Trump’s lawyers are doing this just so they can say to Trump that they did *something* to fight back. Even though this isn’t anything.

[Rick Plant]

Jack Smith has essentially completed his Trump classified documents probe, according to a new WSJ article that’s written entirely from Trump’s lawyers’ point of view and is pretty clearly sourced to them.

Even they’re admitting Trump is likely about to be indicted.

Since this article is pretty clearly coming from Trump’s lawyers, they don’t know for certain what Smith is doing. But they do have a front row seat in terms of witnesses having testified and such.

What’s remarkable is that this WSJ article is Trump’s lawyers’ best attempt at spinning the whole thing positively for them, and the best they could come up with it the narrative that Trump will be indicted and it’ll be good for his fundraising. THIS is their best spin.

In other words, Trump’s lawyers expect him to be indicted any day now, and they’re trying to get out ahead of it.

They don’t *know* Jack Smith’s timeline, unless he’s informed them. But they clearly have a pretty good idea that it’s about to happen.

To be clear, if Trump’s lawyers thought there were *any* chance he weren’t being indicted, they’d be leaking that he was off the hook, in the hope they’d end up being proven right, so they could look smart for it.

This is surrender.

Special Counsel Is Wrapping Up Trump Mar-a-Lago Probe
Some Trump associates anticipate an indictment and raising funds off it
https://www.wsj.com/articles/special-counsel-is-wrapping-up-trump-mar-a-lago-probe-99cd2517

[Rick Plant]

Donald Trump just posted a letter that his attorneys have sent to Attorney General Merrick Garland, asking for an emergency meeting to discuss the “injustices” the DOJ is carrying out. Trump’s lawyers must be expecting Trump to be indicted by Jack Smith within the week.

This is the letter that Trump posted publicly this evening:



Trump’s team also got the Wall Street Journal to publish an article this evening acknowledging that Trump is likely about to be indicted by Jack Smith in the classified documents case, but spinning it as a good thing for Trump because he’ll be able to fundraise off it.

Trump’s lawyers wouldn’t *know* his indictment is imminent, unless Jack Smith has informed them about it. Which is possible.

It’s also possible Trump’s lawyers are just guessing. But they have such a front row seat to this case, it would be a well educated guess.

To be clear, this letter will have zero impact on anything. It’s not even a stall tactic. Trump’s lawyers are doing this just so they can say to Trump that they did *something* to fight back. Even though this isn’t anything.

Merrick Garland has declined Trump’s attorneys’ request tonight for an emergency meeting. Garland’s office said to the media that “Jack Smith is running this investigation.” No surprise here. Garland appointed Smith to indict Trump, and now he’s simply letting Smith do his job.

Donald Trump can cc as many “Representatives of Congress” as he wants. There is literally nothing they can to do prevent, delay, or sabotage Jack Smith’s indictment. Trump is simply desperate and begging for help from people who can’t give it to him. Donnie knows he's finished and headed to prison for his many crimes he committed. 

[Rick Plant]

It turns out Jack Smith has Donald Trump nailed all the way back to 2017.

Based on the grand jury testimony that DOJ Special Counsel Jack Smith has recently pulled off against Donald Trump, it’s pretty clear that Smith is close to criminally indicting Trump in relation to his classified documents scandal and January 6th. There has also been reporting that Smith is targeting Trump for wire fraud in relation to post-2020 fundraising. Now it turns out Smith has cast a much broader net.

Jack Smith has also subpoenaed the financial records of the Trump Organization’s business deals with seven foreign nations dating back to 2017, according to the New York Times. While this reporting is new, the subpoena is not. The Times says that the subpoena was issued at some unspecified time in the past.

This is yet another instance of Jack Smith investigating some aspect of Donald Trump’s crime spree and nailing him on it, and then the media and the public only find out about it after the fact. By now Smith has surely found what he was looking for. And given that Smith was apparently looking to tie Trump’s international business deals to the decisions he made as President, Trump should be very worried that Smith is looking to bring down every inch of Trump’s house of cards.

As always, keep in mind that Jack Smith – like every other prosecutor out there – knows how to read a calendar. He understands that he has to bring his charges against Trump (or at least the first round of charges) with enough time to hold a trial and get Trump convicted and imprisoned before we even get to the heart of the 2024 election cycle. Trump has a handful of legal tools at his disposal for delaying the start of any criminal trial, but those are finite in number, and a seasoned prosecutor like Smith will have also factored that into his timeframe.

So while it may feel as if Jack Smith just keeps expanding his criminal probe into new areas of Donald Trump’s life, in reality these “new” angles of investigation happened awhile back. As tends to happen in any pre-indictment criminal probe, particularly a federal one, we tend to learn about various details long after they’ve played out. Smith’s case is clearly well ahead of where the media’s reporting on Smith’s case is, because Smith is carrying out his case as secretly as possible. But once Smith indicts Trump, get ready for a floodgate of information to open about just how broad this probe has been all along.