Trump supporters and conspiracy theory - Part 2

[Rick Plant]

New recordings of Trump revealed in classified papers investigation, documents show

Under the terms of a protective order issued last week by Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, Mr Trump is barred from viewing the evidence against him outside the presence of his attorneys



Federal prosecutors have given former president Donald Trump’s legal team access to much of the unclassified evidence against him, including multiple recordings of Mr Trump made during interviews of him since the end of his presidency.

Attorneys working under the supervision of Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith revealed the existence of the recordings in a late Wednesday court filing which detailed what has been turned over to Mr Trump’s lawyers thus far as part of the legally-mandated “discovery” process, in which the government reveals what evidence it intends to use against a criminal defendant at trial.

Specifically, the document says the government has turned over copies of “any written or recorded statements” made by Mr Trump or his co-defendant, Walt Nauta.

Prosecutors said that category of evidence includes multiple “interviews” of Mr Trump by “non-governmental entities,” such as the 21 July 2021 interview referenced in the indictment of the ex-president.

During that interview, Mr Trump spoke to two people who were assisting his ex-chief of staff, Mark Meadows, with the writing of a book about his former administration, and discussed a document which the ex-president claimed to be a war plan for attacking a foreign country. At the time, Mr Trump described the document as “secret information” and noted that he was not able to declassify it because he was no longer president.

The batch of documents provided to Mr Trump’s defence team also includes transcripts of testimony given by witnesses to grand juries in Washington, DC and Florida during the government’s investigation into his alleged mishandling of national defence information, as well as other materials obtained by the government by way of subpoenas and search warrants, such as surveillance footage from his Mar-a-Lago property.

Prosecutors wrote that the tranche of evidence made available to the ex-president’s attorneys “includes the grand jury testimony of witnesses who will testify for the government at the trial of this case”.

Under the terms of a protective order issued last week by Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, Mr Trump is barred from viewing the evidence against him outside the presence of his attorneys.

The order states that Mr Trump “shall only have access to Discovery Materials under the direct supervision of Defense Counsel or a member of Defense Counsel’s staff,” and prohibited either of them from retaining copies of the materials themselves or taking any notes with them after viewing any of the materials.

The protective order and the restrictions it places upon Mr Trump are meant in part to prevent him from directing his followers to harass any witnesses against him or any FBI or DOJ personnel involved in the case.

Magistrate Judge Reinhart also ordered that the discovery materials be kept only by Mr Trump’s legal team and stored securely on premises controlled by them.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-news-recordings-fbi-documents-b2362382.html



Former federal prosecutor predicts Trump will be tempted to tamper with evidence and witnesses now



The Justice Department turned over all of the evidence that it has collected against former President Donald Trump regarding his refusal to turn over government documents he took upon leaving the White House. Today is the day that former U.S. Attorney Glenn Kirschner predicts Trump will want to start tampering with evidence.

Speaking on MSNBC's "Deadline White House" on Thursday, the panel cracked jokes about the all-caps rants that have surfaced on Trump's social media site.

Kirschner told Nicolle Wallace that there are some risks to giving the information to Trump, and it's one of the reasons that there was a protective order put in place. That doesn't mean that Trump won't try to fumble his way through witness tampering.

"You know, it's a small consolation if Donald Trump were to tamper with a witness to the detriment of the case and of the witness, yeah, it might be great; the judge might be able to hold him accountable, hold him in contempt, fine him, and possibly even incarcerate him, but the damage has been done," said Kirschner. "At this point you can only confine a man for but one life, and look at all the charges that are pending against Donald Trump. But, you know, if Donald Trump was ever inspired to tamper with witnesses, Nicolle, I have a feeling that will be at its zenith when he reads those grand jury transcripts."

He noted that there are people who are inclined to say one thing when they're in front of Trump and something else when they're in front of a grand jury and under oath.

"And these, we believe, are Donald Trump's own attorneys; they are close associates, heck, they may be cabinet members and family members," said Kirschner. "So, I think this will be a real eye-opening moment for Donald Trump when he starts poring through these grand jury transcripts and he sees what all of these people have testified about regarding his misconduct."

Wallace said that the only real comparison that Americans have to something like this with Trump is when former White House counsel Don McGahn spoke to special counsel Robert Mueller. He was fired after Trump realized just how long McGahn spent with Mueller's team. This might be a different matter.

New York Times reporter Katie Benner said that she'll be looking into who some of the witnesses were that aren't already known. She also said that McGahn was someone she thought of as well when she saw just how many witnesses the special counsel spoke to.

"There's going to be things Donald Trump and his team sees that are evidence that the special counsel has gathered that has really nothing to do with whether or not people have betrayed him on purpose but simply because of the team around him, the people around him, and Donald Trump himself, were really not careful when they spoke about these documents, when they moved these documents around, when they took pictures of them and texted them to one another," Benner said.

She explained that she thinks it will ultimately be the part that truly hurts Trump the most.

"There was so much documentation and so much talk about these documents among so many people," she concluded. "It was just not a well-kept secret he had them. It's incredible this special counsel's office was able to seek out all this information."

Watch:

[Rick Plant]

Trump talks about classified documents on audio recordings: Sources | ABCNL

ABC News’ Pierre Thomas details reported audio recordings of Donald Trump discussing classified documents and what they could mean for investigators.

Watch:

Everyone is ready for Trump's criminal trial — except Trump: legal expert

Everyone is preparing to move forward with former President Donald Trump's trial for Espionage Act charges — except the former president himself, said former federal prosecutor Elie Honig on CNN Thursday.

Honig's analysis came amid a discussion of how prosecutors have revealed new recordings of Trump as part of the evidence submitted ahead of the trial.

"Does this signal anything to you about a timeline for the trial?" asked anchor Jake Tapper.

"Well, Jake, it tells me that everyone's pushing, except for Donald Trump, for a quick trial," said Honig. "Prosecutors have begun to turn over vast amounts of discovery. They've said they're ready within 70 days. The judge has set a tentative trial date, which is unlikely to hold, for August."

The main "X factor," Honig continued, is Trump himself.

"He's the defendant," said Honig. "He's the one who has the right to file motions to — to prep. So two of the three necessary parties are on board. We'll see if Donald Trump goes along with that. We suspect he's going to want to slow things down."

Watch:

[Rick Plant]

Trump’s ‘prison nightmare’ comes to life: Convicts in similar cases go to prison
https://www.msnbc.com/the-beat-with-ari/watch/trump-s-prison-nightmare-comes-to-life-convicts-in-similar-cases-go-to-prison-184190533925

Trump’s TV confessions pave path to prison: Jack Smith sends Trump his own interviews in new filing
https://www.msnbc.com/the-beat-with-ari/watch/trump-s-tv-confessions-pave-path-to-prison-jack-smith-sends-trump-his-own-interviews-in-new-filing-184190021804


Trump’s Fox News interview was a defense attorney’s nightmare

The former president offered a confusing, and likely damaging, defense of his latest indictment.



In a tense Fox News interview on Monday, former President Donald Trump offered a confusing defense in response to his recent indictment, touting his right to keep sensitive documents and effectively admitting that he held onto them even after he was supposed to return them. Trump’s interview follows a 37-count indictment that’s centered on his decision to take classified national security documents after leaving the White House, for which he was arraigned in court in Miami last week.

“I have every right to have those boxes,” Trump told Fox News host Bret Baier as part of their conversation, while claiming that these documents were “declassified,” a point the indictment rebuts. “This is purely a Presidential Records Act. This is not a criminal thing.”

Trump’s statements, many of which were meandering and difficult to follow, both provided a muddled defense, and may have offered fodder to reinforce some of the charges against him. By acknowledging that he had the documents in his possession and that he had reasons for not returning them promptly, Trump’s statements corroborated allegations he’s charged with regarding mishandling these materials.


1) Trump explained why he didn’t hand documents over to National Archives

Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1670917466036269057

At one point, Baier asks Trump directly why he didn’t give sensitive documents back to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and Trump notes that it’s because he wanted to remove personal belongings and because he was “busy.”

“Why not just hand them over then?” Baier asked.

“Because I had boxes. I want to go through the boxes and get all my personal things out,” Trump said. “I don’t want to hand that over to NARA yet. And I was very busy, as you’ve sort of seen.”

“But according to the indictment, you then tell this aide to move to other locations after telling your lawyers to say you’ve fully complied with the subpoena when you hadn’t,” Baier asked.

“But before I send boxes over, I have to take all of my things out,” Trump argued. “These boxes were interspersed with all sorts of things, golf shirts, clothing, pants, shoes, there were many things.”

These statements are significant because, as some legal experts have noted, they indicate that Trump knew he was holding on to information he was asked to return. That admission, ultimately, could be used to show that Trump was aware of what he was doing and involved in the retention of the documents.

“Trump confessed to personally going through the boxes and had no explanation for why classified records from those boxes wound up in his personal desk,” national security attorney Bradley Moss told Newsweek. “He placed himself at the scene of the retention and obstruction. This is the stuff of nightmares for a defense attorney.”


2) Trump claims he did not refer to confidential Iran document in recording

Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1670919463837769729

In the recording described in the indictment, Trump allegedly mentioned having sensitive information about attack plans on Iran in a meeting with a book publisher. According to the transcript, Trump describes a document that’s “secret” and “highly confidential.”

But in the Monday interview, Trump denied referring to or having a classified document, seemingly directly contradicting his own words in the recording. He emphasized that the materials he referenced in the recording included other content, like news clippings.

“There was no document,” Trump claimed. “That was a massive amount of papers and everything else talking about Iran and other things. And it may have been held up or may not, but that was not a document. I didn’t have a document per se. There was nothing to declassify. These were newspaper stories, magazine stories, and articles.”


3) Trump addresses critics from his own administration

Baier put Trump on the spot about attacks he’s faced from his own Cabinet members and questions about how he’d even staff the White House if he’s elected.

“Your Vice President Mike Pence is running against you, your Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, she’s running against you, your former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he’s not supporting you, you mention National Security Advisor John Bolton, he’s not supporting you either. You mentioned Attorney General Bill Barr, says you shouldn’t be president again, calls you the consummate narcissist and troubled man,” said Baier, going on to list other officials Trump has criticized. “So why did you hire all of them in the first place?”

“I hired 10 to one that were fantastic. We had a great economy, we had phenomenal people in charge of the economy, we had phenomenal people in the military. … I’m not a fan of certain of the television people,” Trump noted. “For every one you say, I had 10 that love us.”

Baier’s question points to the awkward situation Trump now finds himself in, with multiple former administration officials and allies now challenging him in the 2024 Republican primary. It’s an unusual scenario in which several former members of his own team, like Pence, have become some of his most vocal critics.


4) Trump doubles down on 2020 election lies

In response to a question about how he could win over independent women voters who may be turned off by his legal baggage, Trump leaned into his election lies further by once again suggesting that he won in 2020, a claim that’s been repeatedly disproven.

“First of all, I won in 2020 by a lot,” Trump said, suggesting that there was “cheating” on the other side.

“You lost the 2020 election,” Baier responded.

“You take a look at all of the stuffed ballots, take a look at all of the things, including things like the 51 intelligence agents,” Trump said.

“There were recounts in all of the swing states, there was not significant widespread fraud,” Baier noted. “There were investigations of widespread corruption, there was not a sense of that. There were lawsuits, more than 50 of them by your lawyers, some in front of judges that you appointed, that came out with no evidence.”

This exchange highlighted how Trump has continued to refuse to move on from the 2020 election fraud claims even as many Republicans have been eager for a fresh start after election denialism proved to be a losing message in many midterm races.


Trump’s interview comments may actually hurt his case

Legal experts have concluded that Trump’s comments could prove damaging for him when the case goes to trial, something that could happen as soon as later this year. Not only did his statements fail to offer a coherent defense of his actions, but parts of the interview have the potential to strengthen the prosecution’s case since they speak to concerns that he actively took documents and prevented authorities from recovering them.

“He essentially admitted to obstruction of justice and said the reason he did it was that he needed to go through them,” Barbara McQuade, a former US attorney, said on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. “This evidence, this recording is very likely to be played before a jury trial.” Trump’s 2024 rival Chris Christie echoed this point in a CBS News interview on Tuesday, suggesting that Trump admitted to “obstruction of justice” in his conversation with Baier when he said he took more time to review the documents.

The statements from Trump’s interview could ultimately be used in court to bolster prosecutor’s claims that Trump both kept classified documents and failed to comply with a federal subpoena for them. “Statements of this kind are generally admissible at trial,” George Washington University law attorney Jonathan Turley posted on Twitter.

https://www.vox.com/politics/2023/6/20/23767291/trump-bret-baier-fox-news-indictment-documents

[Rick Plant]

Donnie is now at 47% approval with Republican voters. He was previously at 53%.

In 2016, he had 96% support in the Republican party. So, Donnie has lost nearly half of his support in the GOP.   


Trump drops below 50 per cent among GOP voters in new CNN poll following second indictment

Donald Trump's grasp over the GOP primary base appears to be slipping after the news of his second criminal indictment broke this month.

Mr Trump earned the support of 47 per cent of likely GOP primary voters in the poll, down from 53 per cent in the same survey taken a month earlier. His drop in support comes as roughly seven in 10 Americans say that politics played a role in his second prosecution, according to CNN.

And possibly most worryingly for him, nearly a quarter of GOP voters now say that they would not support him under any circumstances. His overall favourability is dropping among right-leaning voters too, now down to 67 per cent. Just over half, 55 per cent, of all Americans believe that Mr Trump acted illegally in regards to his retention of documents including classified materials from the White House, further outlining the steep climb he will face with independent voters this time around.

Roughly six in 10 Americans say that the indictment was, all things considered, a good idea. And nearly one-third of Republicans who say they support Mr DeSantis or one of Mr Trump’s other rivals agree that the former president likely committed a crime.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-poll-indictments-cnn-june-b2361825.html



Trump’s legal team handed over tapes to Jack Smith as MAGA loyalists turn on each other

Donald Trump's legal team handed over tapes of the former president’s interviews to special counsel Jack Smith as part of the investigation into the classified documents he held onto after leaving office, it has emerged.

In a court filing on Wednesday, federal prosecutors began turning over evidence to Mr Trump’s legal team as the case against him heads to trial. The filing reveals that investigators collected recordings of the former president giving multiple interviews. Sources told CNN those recordings were initially given to federal prosecutors by Mr Trump’s own team.

The revelation comes as the former president urged Congress on Thursday to investigate the multiple investigations into him.

“Congress will hopefully now look at the ever continuing Witch Hunts and ELECTION INTERFERENCE against me on perfectly legal Boxes,” he wrote on Truth Social after the House Judiciary Committee heard testimony from former special counsel John Durham, who investigated the FBI’s probe into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Meanwhile, there appears to be trouble in MAGA-world as Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert traded blows on the House floor and former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis mocked Kari Lake for “couch-surfing” at Mar-a-Lago.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-classified-documents-latest-news-today-b2362775.html



Trump Melts Down as DOJ Turns Over Evidence It Plans to Use Against Him

The former president is pleading for Congress to intervene now that he's learned what the government has on him



DONALD TRUMP FIRED off a series of desperate pleas on Truth Social, including multiple appeals to Congress to bail him out, hours after news broke that the Justice Department had turned over the first batch of evidence it plans to use against him. The former president was indicted earlier this month on charges related to his handling of classified material after leaving the White House.

“CONGRESS, PLEASE INVESTIGATE THE POLITICAL WITCH HUNTS AGAINST ME CURRENTLY BEING BROUGHT BY THE CORRUPT DOJ AND FBI, WHO ARE TOTALLY OUT OF CONTROL,” Trump wrote Thursday morning.

The former president also dusted off the idea that the DOJ framed him by planting the classified material at Mar-a-Lago — despite the fact that he’s claimed repeatedly that he somehow declassified the material before bringing it to Florida himself. “Congress will hopefully now look at the ever continuing Witch Hunts and ELECTION INTERFERENCE against me on perfectly legal Boxes, where I have no doubt that information is being secretly ‘planted’ by the scoundrels in charge,” he wrote in another post before griping about his other legal woes.

Trump’s indictment is damning, with the DOJ alleging that the former president knowingly took classified documents to Mar-a-Lago, stored them in unsecure locations, and then conspired to lie to authorities about what he was hoarding while suggesting the material should be destroyed. The indictment also outlines a recording it obtained featuring Trump bragging about having a “secret” plan against Iran

The evidence the DOJ turned over on Wednesday includes more recordings of the former president, described as “interviews” recorded with his consent. It’s unclear what is on the additional tapes. The evidence also includes grand-jury witness testimony — which means Trump now knows who testified against him and what they said — as well as material obtained through subpoenas.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-melts-down-doj-mar-a-lago-evidence-1234776019/



Trump team handed over tapes of interviews to special counsel, sources say

CNN — Donald Trump’s legal team turned over multiple recordings of the former president’s interviews with members of the media and book authors to federal prosecutors during their investigation, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Special counsel Jack Smith disclosed in a court filing Wednesday that investigators had more tapes of interviews with Trump conducted by non-government entities and recorded with his consent but did not say what the tapes said or how they were obtained.

The new reporting provides more insight into how the special counsel conducted its investigation and what kinds of evidence it has. Prosecutors are required to turn over all of the evidence they have collected to Trump’s defense team, even if it is not going to be used in the case at trial.

The special counsel previously revealed it obtained audio of an interview Trump gave at Bedminster for Mark Meadows’ memoir in which the special counsel says Trump shared classified information with visitors and aides.

Among the materials prosecutors have obtained during the investigation are recordings Trump’s legal team handed over earlier this year, in response to an early 2023 subpoena requesting all information related to General Mark Milley, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff.

According to two sources, the additional recordings, some made with authors sympathetic to the former president, include mentions of Milley but do not show Trump discussing any classified material.

Sources familiar with the investigation told CNN the Trump team does not believe the additional recordings are as incriminating as the recording referenced in the indictment unsealed this month. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

That recording, of a meeting at his Bedminster club in July 2021, captures a few-minute segment where the Trump discusses a classified document and suggests he was showing it to others in the room. That recording, first reported by CNN, is described in the 37-count indictment, and prosecutors included quotes from the transcript such as, “This is secret information. Look, look at this … See as president I could have declassified it.”

Prosecutors also obtained multiple recordings from at least one other source, including a version of the Bedminster tape.

During the summer of 2021, sources said multiple people were making recordings of Trump as he held conversations with journalists and biographers.

After the special counsel’s team had secured the Bedminster meeting audio, which is set to play a significant role in the case against Trump, prosecutors specifically demanded any additional audio or video recordings that captured discussions Trump had about certain topics, such as Milley and American military capabilities.

The recordings turned over by Trump were in response to that subpoena.

Trump’s team and the special counsel’s office declined to comment.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/22/politics/trump-tapes-special-counsel-evidence/index.html

[Rick Plant]

This is the 'single most important' piece of evidence in Trump indictment, according to CNN legal analyst
https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2023/06/22/trump-recordings-jack-smith-sot-reid-honig-lead-vpx.cnn


Georgia court summons new grand jury pool that could hear case against Trump

Grand jury summons have gone out in Georgia in connection with a case against Donald Trump, according to news reports.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis will show the evidence in her 2020 election investigation to a grand jury "in the coming months," according to a report from 11 Alive.

"If you live in Fulton and you’ve recently received a jury summons, there’s a chance you could be picked to hear the case against former President Donald Trump and his allies," according to the report. "Willis' findings will be presented to jurors during the upcoming court term that runs from July 11 to Sept. 1. They will decide who — if anyone — will be indicted for criminally interfering in the state's 2020 presidential election."

Fulton County Superior and State Court Jury Manager Amy von Kelsch reportedly confirmed to 11Alive that "jury summonses for that term were sent. It's unclear exactly how many were sent out."

“I think they are going to try and get a bigger pool," said Danny Porter a former Gwinnett County District Attorney. I think they are going to need more as people figure out that this might be the Trump grand jury and all that may entail.”

Read More Here: https://www.11alive.com/article/news/special-reports/ga-trump-investigation/fulton-county-jury-summons-donald-trump/85-feb1c205-92d5-4be3-abc5-925b8be87311



'Display of strength': ex-federal prosecutor says Jack Smith is showing Trump how good his case is

Jack Smith's most recent filing the criminal case against Trump is a "surprising" one and it demonstrates that the prosecutor is attempting to show the former president exactly what he's in for at trial, according to a former federal prosecutor.

Former U.S. attorney Joyce Vance, who spent 25 years as a federal prosecutor, appeared Thursday evening on "The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle," where Vance was asked what stands out to her about Smith's most recent filing. The filing provided evidence Trump would be faced with at Trial, including interviews with his associates.

Vance called the brief "a surprising filing."

"Prosecutors usually wait until they receive a request for discovery from defendants before they begin to turn over information. So it looks to me like a display of strength by Smith," she said. "He wants Trump to see precisely how good the case against him is."

Vance further noted that prosecutors "aren't required to turn over witnesses statements until after they actually have testified at trial."

"The practice is, as a practical matter, to turn those statements over a little bit and in advance of the trial, maybe a couple of weeks to get the defendant time to prepare," she added. "But this is Smith's move out at the gates: here are all of my statements and witnesses that will testify to at trial. It is really designed to show defense how good his case is."

When asked why Smith wouldn't just surprise Trump at trial, Vance explained that you can't do that in our system.

"In the federal system, there is no such thing as trial by surprise. Prosecutors are obligated to turn over the bulk of their evidence. There is a legitimate question of timing. What is unusual here that they front loaded the turnover. There is a lot to be said for putting on displays of strength of your case to a defendant, and to a defendant like Trump who never faced accountability before, this is going to lead to a real moment with his lawyers, where they will have to level with him about what he is facing, if he chooses to go ahead."

Watch:

[Rick Plant]

Morning Joe delivers bad news to Trump should the Florida jury find him guilty on just one charge

On Friday morning, MSNBC "Morning Joe" co-host Joe Scarborough warned Donald Trump he is taking a massive gamble if he thinks a Florida jury will not find him guilty of even one of the 37 charges he is facing from the Department of Justice -- particularly those involving the Espionage Act.

Referencing conservative attorney -- and Trump defender -- Jonathan Turley admitting special counsel Jack Smith appears to have an exceedingly strong case related to stolen government documents recovered from Mar-a-Lago, the MSNBC host cautioned the former president that he could find himself in prison for the rest of his life.

Following a discussion with "Morning Joe" regular John Heilemann that Trump's legal problems will wear him down as he tries to run for re-election, Scarborough stated the former president would be smarter to work out a plea deal to avoid jail time.

"You look at the dozens of indictments he already has against him, who knows how many more dozens of indictments will be coming in the coming months," the MSNBC host suggested.

"One, if one of them stuck, if just one of them stick, as Turley said, that's a life sentence for Donald Trump," he added. "And that's what he's carrying around every day as well -- that's what he is carrying."

"I mean, do you think -- I mean, maybe there will be jury nullification, who knows?" he elaborated. "Will there be jury nullification for let's say the one count of stealing nuclear secrets? Just one count is, in effect, a life sentence for him."

Watch:

[Rick Plant]

US special counsel seeks delay to start of Trump documents trial until December

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith on Friday asked a federal judge to delay the start of former President Donald Trump's trial on charges of willful retention of classified government records and obstruction of justice until Dec. 11, a court filing showed.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon set an initial trial date of Aug. 14.

But Smith, in the filing, said the Aug. 14 date "would deny counsel for the defendant or the attorney for the Government the reasonable time necessary for effective preparation."

Trump, who is seeking the Republican nomination for president for the 2024 election, was arraigned in federal court in Miami last week, during which he pleaded not guilty to charges he unlawfully kept national security documents when he left office and lied to officials who sought to recover them.

The case will need to proceed under a strict and meticulous set of rules set forth in a law known as the Classified Information Procedures Act, which aims to protect classified evidence and manage how such records can be disclosed.

In the filing, Smith said the start of the trial should be delayed so Trump's lawyers have time to get security clearances to review classified documents.

Smith laid out a schedule in the lead up to the proposed Dec. 11 start of jury selection, including a Sept. 5 deadline for all defense discovery requests.

He said Trump's lawyers do not oppose scrapping the Aug. 14 trial start date but he anticipates they will file a motion opposing the prosecution's proposed schedule. A lawyer for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-special-counsel-seeks-delay-start-trump-documents-trial-until-december-2023-06-23/



Trump is jealous he can't deploy the FBI on his own political enemies: former federal prosecutor



Former President Donald Trump is enraged over his federal indictment for hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort, with he and his GOP allies — and even his rivals for president, like former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy — baselessly claiming that he is the victim of political targeting by the state.

But one of the less-discussed reasons he is so angry, argued former federal prosecutor Shan Wu for The Daily Beast on Friday, is "Deep State envy": he really wants to use the FBI to target his political enemies, exactly the way he is wrongly claiming is being done to him.

"Of course, what Trump and these Republicans really want is to control the DOJ and FBI themselves so that they can deploy law enforcement against their political enemies," wrote Wu. "We know that is their real goal because they propose making the DOJ and FBI less independent as a solution for what they claim is politically weaponized federal law enforcement — aimed at Republicans. Their illogic — not to mention hypocrisy — is perfectly illustrated by Gov. DeSantis’ argument that 'Republican presidents have accepted the canard that the DOJ and the FBI are ‘independent.’ They are not independent agencies. They are part of the executive branch. They answer to the President of the United States.' Accordingly, DeSantis promised to fire people at these agencies upon his becoming president."

The DOJ and FBI's rules and traditions guarding its independence, Wu admitted, show "that efforts to insulate the DOJ and FBI from political interference often fail" — and Attorney General Merrick Garland's painstaking efforts to preserve DOJ's independence have actually come at the cost of hindering investigations.

"Trump and Republicans’ daily attacks on the DOJ make plain the failure and futility of Garland’s efforts to protect the department against criticisms of being partisan. Moreover, Garland seems painfully blind to the fact that being overly concerned about being criticized for being political is, in itself, a politicization of the DOJ," wrote Wu. "So Trump and his Republican supporters may be right about the DOJ and FBI needing to be revamped, but not for the reasons they think. We just might need an attorney general who isn’t afraid to be taunted by GOP insults, and an FBI that is less independent and less able to dictate the pace of criminal investigations and prosecutions."

Trump faces 37 charges, including Espionage Act violations, for hoarding highly classified military secrets in boxes in unsecured rooms in his country club, and allegedly lying to federal officials and his own lawyers about how many he had. The trial was tentatively set for August, but special counsel Jack Smith filed a motion to move it to December.

Read More Here: https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-and-republicans-have-deep-state-envy



Jack Smith files new motions in Trump documents case

Special Counsel Jack Smith has requested to push back Trump’s classified documents trial to December. Plus, new reporting details the crucial evidence that led Smith to pursue a criminal case against the former president. Andrew Weissmann breaks it all down.

Watch: