Jay, you are my 6th substack and by far the most in-depth and accessible. What you call a deep dive is what journalism used to he, and should be still instead of click bate paragraphs. Thank you for making me better informed, almost daily. And especially for Saturday’s brevity that made me spit my coffee a few times.
Alina Habba: "Look at Fani. It was a phone call. A phone call that’s been around forever, that he refers to as “the perfect phone call.”
Wait, "It was a phone call." Umm, it was an INDICTABLE phone call, thank you very much. And this line: "...that HE refers to as "the perfect phone call"...I'm thinking, Ms Habba, that YOU don't refer to his mob-talk call to Raffensperger as "the perfect phone call". Honestly, these so-called lawyers know shit about the law and are no more than tRump's flacks...no wonder he's up to his eyeballs in criminal indictments with no plausible defense.
Could be that tRump tried an "Art of the Deal" ploy by first asking for a 2026(!) trial date, with the notion that the judge will set an earlier date, then tRump would counter with a 2025 number to split the difference...HAW! See ya in court, homie!
Hoping the judge throws "you don't need to prep much when you've done nothing wrong" back at them with 'okay, Oct. '23 it is.' May justice prevail and Thank you!
It may shield him from some *legal* consequences but generally it offers no shield when used in furtherance of a crime. Trump has a finely honed sense of what walks the free speech line, often using coded or qualifying language. He's honed it after many years of being a malignant narcissist who has escaped real consequences. I think his brinkmanship and luck has run out.
"Despite eighteen months of investigations, disclosures, and polls showing that Watergate was having a devastating effect on GOP prospects, most congressional Republicans supported Nixon until August 1974"
Of course they did until the day they didn’t. We did see some effort to put in place things that would prevent Watergate from happening again. However, I think Gerald Ford’s pardon of RMN sent the message to future miscreants that you can do it and probably won’t be prosecuted. However, RMN basically disappeared and DT refuses to do so.
Beautifully written. Clear, concise and easy to follow -- which isn't easy, given all the twists and turns in this case! Trump is doing his best, while trying to appear cooperative, to put every conceivable roadblock in the path to justice. Switching lawyers at the last minute is one of the most obvious. In MAGA world the spin cycle never ends, but I cannot wait to see what people will say when testimony, documents, timelines and the prosecution's explanation starts to show up on TV! Won't be fun for Trump. The phrases "that never happened" or "it was perfect" or "this isn't fair" are going to be exposed for what they are. Cheap excuses and dodges. Get ready. The show is about to begin.
The Magats still won’t believe the evidence any more than they believed the J6 hearings. They have brainwashed themselves into believing Trump.Nothing is going to change their minds.
Just a side note on Trump's $7M haul on mugshot merch. I'm sure that's all pre-sales. It'll take a bit of time for all those products to come in from China.
"These defendants may seek to tie Trump directly to the case in order to throw him under the bus before he can do it to them. For example, they could claim they provided Trump with an array of options, but he took it to the next level by choosing the most crimey path."
If I was in the jury I would wonder why a Lawyer would include an illegal option in that array of options.
Great question. Chesebro has admitted that his plan “could be treasonous” in other’s eyes. He may say, “I told him there were legal issues with the path they ultimately chose.”
By the time this disgusting mess gets to a jury, I'd be astonished if any of the jury members had any illusions left about the sort of lawyers that Trump attracts and with whom he surrounds himself.
My thought too, since he'll claim they need time to get up to speed. I suspect (and hope) the judges are wise to that ploy and won't grant those requests.
Delay, and then - when he loses his case - say he was inadequate defended by his counsel and appeal on that basis. You know he will appeal. Another delay strategy. 🤬
What I still can’t get my head around is the less than half (but not by that much) percentage of Americans who don’t believe Trump should be prosecuted, who don’t think the charges against him are serious, who don’t think that phone call was illegal not to mention outrageous, who don’t think he was engaged in illegal activity……
Hive mentality due to knowing deep down inside, they're agenda (different for different parts of the hive) can only have liftoff if they're lockstep. Fascists.
Agreed. The republicans in my acquaintance range in their opinions from "oh, its all politics - probably nothing to it) - blase - all the way to full blown indignation that its a witch hunt and Biden is doing it to try and remove Trump - with a side of crazy anger. It's hard to discount his support - but I'm trying.
Newsweek reported that Mara-Lago was “sold” last week--more accurately, ownership was probably shifted to one of tRump’s shell companies in an effort to shelter assets. I wish the FEC and IRS would get serious about Trumps’s shenanigans.
Cue the band playing on the SS Trump with Cheese Bro and Sid Powel leaping into the life boats first, kicking everyone else out of the way! Popcorn, anyone?
Can tRump's habit of constantly changing counsel be effective in his attempt to delay these trials? Or will there be a point where the judges in the case tell him "too bad, so sad" and it's on him for continuing to do so? Because I see this constant rotation of lawyers going into court stating they "need more time to prepare" especially given the amount of evidence. I see this as strategy- fire them a couple days before he is to appear in court, they can't possibly be ready to defend him. He only needs to stall until election time right?
In my mind I realize that the judges/prosecution involved (with the exception of Cannon) are keen to his tricks and won't allow them. But it's still a fear that stalling til the election could turn into a reality.
It could definitely be a stalling tactic but Trump also goes with whoever tells him what he wants to hear. Narcissists value no one else's opinion but their own so any lawyer who tells him something contrary is replaced. Look at the revolving door in the White House and how quickly he brought Giuliani and the other crazies in after he lost the election. Anyone who told him it was illegal and ill advised was quickly either cut loose or ignored.
Oh for sure his narcissistic personality is a big part of these moves. But I do believe he's conniving enough to try to use the revolving door of lawyers to his advantage. Anything to get trials moved to post election dates.
Once again, he is his own worst enemy. He needs the best representation and should listen to them; but he won’t and it is going to cost him everything. FAFO
If he thinks he's going to win against all 91 charges and be able to pardon himself--or whatever the heck is going on in his damaged thought processes--he's taking a mighty big risk on that throw of the judicial dice.
Or perhaps Trumpy thinks that his adherents in Repubbie state legislatures have been able to purge enough voter registrations, restricted access to and discouraged enough Dems from going to the polls so that he'll somehow win? Whatever is at the bottom of Trump's defense strategy I think he's going to be very surprised and dismayed at the conclusion.
Well he certainly is delusioned enough to think he can win all the cases and the election- I mean hell he still thinks he won the last election. And right now the Repugnant party certainly thinks he's the right person to win the election. No doubt it's delusional all around. I don't understand how the GOP does not see they are going to lose virtually everyone except those hard core "always Republican no matter who" people and his ever shrinking base of wack a dos.
He's a narcissist, he truly believes he has done nothing wrong. I mean yes there is a big part that is show because that's how he gets the cult following and raises the money but he truly is not right in the head. I honestly don't think he feels this is a risk, he feels he can win. He has skated through life to this point, he does not understand consequence. It's hard to fathom how at his age he doesn't see it but he doesn't. He is truly an interesting case study in psychology. I agree he has some UGE surprises coming at him.
Pam, even HE doesn’t believe he won. He KNEW he hadn’t won on November 7 or so. I totally agree with you. I grew up in NYC when he was the mob boss in construction. We know all about his cheating, stealing millions from taxpayers and the City, lying, racism, hateful spewing on all subjects. Ugh. I am so sick of him and his ilk. They all have bad juju and should be convicted and imprisoned, like any criminal. Well, that feels better, 😂. Thanks for your comment.
Jay, you are my 6th substack and by far the most in-depth and accessible. What you call a deep dive is what journalism used to he, and should be still instead of click bate paragraphs. Thank you for making me better informed, almost daily. And especially for Saturday’s brevity that made me spit my coffee a few times.
Thanks for being a loyal reader!
Saturday’s are the best! 😉
Alina Habba: "Look at Fani. It was a phone call. A phone call that’s been around forever, that he refers to as “the perfect phone call.”
Wait, "It was a phone call." Umm, it was an INDICTABLE phone call, thank you very much. And this line: "...that HE refers to as "the perfect phone call"...I'm thinking, Ms Habba, that YOU don't refer to his mob-talk call to Raffensperger as "the perfect phone call". Honestly, these so-called lawyers know shit about the law and are no more than tRump's flacks...no wonder he's up to his eyeballs in criminal indictments with no plausible defense.
Whoa, this just in: Judge Shutkan sets March 4th, 2024 as trial date for the Jan6 indictment...way to roll, Judge!
Thanks for the news update, Mr. Khrome! Wahoo...way to go, Judge Chutkan!
Thank you for this info, Lance!
Happy day before Super Tuesday Donald! Enjoy!
Could be that tRump tried an "Art of the Deal" ploy by first asking for a 2026(!) trial date, with the notion that the judge will set an earlier date, then tRump would counter with a 2025 number to split the difference...HAW! See ya in court, homie!
Hoping the judge throws "you don't need to prep much when you've done nothing wrong" back at them with 'okay, Oct. '23 it is.' May justice prevail and Thank you!
Now is good...
The First Amendment does give him the freedom to "say " whatever he wants. It does not shield him from the consequences of them!
Good one!
It may shield him from some *legal* consequences but generally it offers no shield when used in furtherance of a crime. Trump has a finely honed sense of what walks the free speech line, often using coded or qualifying language. He's honed it after many years of being a malignant narcissist who has escaped real consequences. I think his brinkmanship and luck has run out.
I’m tired of his attorneys saying they need more time to go to trial and then appearing on every talk show.
If they are pressed for time, I shouldn’t see their faces unless it’s before the judge or they’re going to trial.
"Despite eighteen months of investigations, disclosures, and polls showing that Watergate was having a devastating effect on GOP prospects, most congressional Republicans supported Nixon until August 1974"
AND THEN that support went up in smoke.
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/664029/pdf
Of course they did until the day they didn’t. We did see some effort to put in place things that would prevent Watergate from happening again. However, I think Gerald Ford’s pardon of RMN sent the message to future miscreants that you can do it and probably won’t be prosecuted. However, RMN basically disappeared and DT refuses to do so.
Beautifully written. Clear, concise and easy to follow -- which isn't easy, given all the twists and turns in this case! Trump is doing his best, while trying to appear cooperative, to put every conceivable roadblock in the path to justice. Switching lawyers at the last minute is one of the most obvious. In MAGA world the spin cycle never ends, but I cannot wait to see what people will say when testimony, documents, timelines and the prosecution's explanation starts to show up on TV! Won't be fun for Trump. The phrases "that never happened" or "it was perfect" or "this isn't fair" are going to be exposed for what they are. Cheap excuses and dodges. Get ready. The show is about to begin.
Thank you, Jay, for your excellent article.
The Magats still won’t believe the evidence any more than they believed the J6 hearings. They have brainwashed themselves into believing Trump.Nothing is going to change their minds.
Just a side note on Trump's $7M haul on mugshot merch. I'm sure that's all pre-sales. It'll take a bit of time for all those products to come in from China.
https://substack.com/@davidsea/note/c-39092220
This seems like a "self own:"
"These defendants may seek to tie Trump directly to the case in order to throw him under the bus before he can do it to them. For example, they could claim they provided Trump with an array of options, but he took it to the next level by choosing the most crimey path."
If I was in the jury I would wonder why a Lawyer would include an illegal option in that array of options.
Great question. Chesebro has admitted that his plan “could be treasonous” in other’s eyes. He may say, “I told him there were legal issues with the path they ultimately chose.”
So, "I only planned the bank robber, and helped a little. But I did point out that it was illegal, and they still chose to do it."
By the time this disgusting mess gets to a jury, I'd be astonished if any of the jury members had any illusions left about the sort of lawyers that Trump attracts and with whom he surrounds himself.
Perhaps Trump's firing of lawyers is also part of a strategy to delay.
Not working in DC...Judge Shutkan is moving things along briskly.
My thought too, since he'll claim they need time to get up to speed. I suspect (and hope) the judges are wise to that ploy and won't grant those requests.
Delay, and then - when he loses his case - say he was inadequate defended by his counsel and appeal on that basis. You know he will appeal. Another delay strategy. 🤬
I was just thinking the same.
What I still can’t get my head around is the less than half (but not by that much) percentage of Americans who don’t believe Trump should be prosecuted, who don’t think the charges against him are serious, who don’t think that phone call was illegal not to mention outrageous, who don’t think he was engaged in illegal activity……
Fox is a helluva drug
Hive mentality due to knowing deep down inside, they're agenda (different for different parts of the hive) can only have liftoff if they're lockstep. Fascists.
it's perplexing for sure. Heads in the sand, they don't want to believe it.
Agreed. The republicans in my acquaintance range in their opinions from "oh, its all politics - probably nothing to it) - blase - all the way to full blown indignation that its a witch hunt and Biden is doing it to try and remove Trump - with a side of crazy anger. It's hard to discount his support - but I'm trying.
Newsweek reported that Mara-Lago was “sold” last week--more accurately, ownership was probably shifted to one of tRump’s shell companies in an effort to shelter assets. I wish the FEC and IRS would get serious about Trumps’s shenanigans.
This is being looked into
I read (not sure where) that ownership was handed over to Don Jr. Seems plausible if it helps protect Trump's "assets."
Until they go after Donnie jr. A true idiot.
That was an error. Zillow had a mention that it was sold but corrected it. The last time it sold was 1995.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2023/08/25/as-rumors-fly-about-mar-a-lago-what-you-should-know-about-taxes-and-family-property-transfers/amp/
Really.....🥵
Thank you. Just thank you. You sift through all of the stuff coming at us and deliver a concise, understandable piece. Thank you!!!! 💙💙💙💙💙
Cue the band playing on the SS Trump with Cheese Bro and Sid Powel leaping into the life boats first, kicking everyone else out of the way! Popcorn, anyone?
We call him CheezGeeWiz at our house!
LOL! Love it!
Can tRump's habit of constantly changing counsel be effective in his attempt to delay these trials? Or will there be a point where the judges in the case tell him "too bad, so sad" and it's on him for continuing to do so? Because I see this constant rotation of lawyers going into court stating they "need more time to prepare" especially given the amount of evidence. I see this as strategy- fire them a couple days before he is to appear in court, they can't possibly be ready to defend him. He only needs to stall until election time right?
I doubt Tanya Chutkan is going to let him do that
At what point can a defendant dismiss an attorney and hire another without permission from the judge in a case?
In my mind I realize that the judges/prosecution involved (with the exception of Cannon) are keen to his tricks and won't allow them. But it's still a fear that stalling til the election could turn into a reality.
It could definitely be a stalling tactic but Trump also goes with whoever tells him what he wants to hear. Narcissists value no one else's opinion but their own so any lawyer who tells him something contrary is replaced. Look at the revolving door in the White House and how quickly he brought Giuliani and the other crazies in after he lost the election. Anyone who told him it was illegal and ill advised was quickly either cut loose or ignored.
Oh for sure his narcissistic personality is a big part of these moves. But I do believe he's conniving enough to try to use the revolving door of lawyers to his advantage. Anything to get trials moved to post election dates.
Once again, he is his own worst enemy. He needs the best representation and should listen to them; but he won’t and it is going to cost him everything. FAFO
He has selective hearing...
If he thinks he's going to win against all 91 charges and be able to pardon himself--or whatever the heck is going on in his damaged thought processes--he's taking a mighty big risk on that throw of the judicial dice.
Or perhaps Trumpy thinks that his adherents in Repubbie state legislatures have been able to purge enough voter registrations, restricted access to and discouraged enough Dems from going to the polls so that he'll somehow win? Whatever is at the bottom of Trump's defense strategy I think he's going to be very surprised and dismayed at the conclusion.
Well he certainly is delusioned enough to think he can win all the cases and the election- I mean hell he still thinks he won the last election. And right now the Repugnant party certainly thinks he's the right person to win the election. No doubt it's delusional all around. I don't understand how the GOP does not see they are going to lose virtually everyone except those hard core "always Republican no matter who" people and his ever shrinking base of wack a dos.
He's a narcissist, he truly believes he has done nothing wrong. I mean yes there is a big part that is show because that's how he gets the cult following and raises the money but he truly is not right in the head. I honestly don't think he feels this is a risk, he feels he can win. He has skated through life to this point, he does not understand consequence. It's hard to fathom how at his age he doesn't see it but he doesn't. He is truly an interesting case study in psychology. I agree he has some UGE surprises coming at him.
Pam, even HE doesn’t believe he won. He KNEW he hadn’t won on November 7 or so. I totally agree with you. I grew up in NYC when he was the mob boss in construction. We know all about his cheating, stealing millions from taxpayers and the City, lying, racism, hateful spewing on all subjects. Ugh. I am so sick of him and his ilk. They all have bad juju and should be convicted and imprisoned, like any criminal. Well, that feels better, 😂. Thanks for your comment.
Thank you Jay for a lovely Monday morning! It just keeps getting better and better!😂
Consistent and disciplined? Ha.... It's still Trump we are talking about here, right?