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Trump documents case unfolds: legal proceedings, defense strategies, and implications
- New York Times: Here Are the Likely Next Steps in the Trump Documents Case: Now that former President Donald J. Trump has entered a plea of not guilty at his arraignment in Miami, the criminal case against him will, barring an unforeseen event, settle into a traditional trajectory. The case against Mr. Trump, accusing him of illegally retaining national defense documents and obstructing the government’s efforts to retrieve them, is the first time that federal charges have been filed against a former president. But the case’s passage through the legal system should, with any luck, proceed like other criminal matters, if against the backdrop of the political calendar. The only date set so far for a further step is a hearing on June 27 at which Mr. Trump’s co-defendant and personal aide, Walt Nauta, will enter his plea. A spokesman for Mr. Trump, Steven Cheung, said he was unsure whether Mr. Nauta and Mr. Trump have a joint defense agreement.
- Politico: How Trump’s indictment defense might fend off the classified documents charges: One consequence of former President Donald Trump’s indictment by the Justice Department is that many Americans will learn a thing or two about how federal prosecutors actually work. Tuesday’s lesson from Miami? The first hearing in a criminal case is not that interesting. Everyone involved — the government, the defendants, their lawyers, and the court — is looking much further ahead. Here are 6 things Blanche and his colleagues are almost certainly working on as we speak.
- Atlantic: Trump Can’t Bluster His Way Through Court: Shortly after announcing his indictment last Thursday, Donald Trump posted a video to Truth Social complaining about persecution. Over the course of four minutes, he claimed multiple times that he’d won his reelection bid, asserted his innocence, called the Russia investigation a plot engineered by Hillary Clinton, and insisted that every investigation into his conduct was “a hoax and a scam.” His speeches over the weekend featured a torrent of false claims. During his arraignment yesterday, in contrast, the former president said nothing. According to reporters, he sat silently with his arms crossed while his lawyer entered his plea of not guilty. There would be more bombast yet to come at a speech later that evening. But for that brief period in court, the lies ground to a halt.
- New York Times: Democrats Celebrate and Fear the Indictment of a ‘Chaos Machine’: The satisfaction is nearly universal, but comes with a queasy aftertaste: Democrats are relishing the possibility that Donald J. Trump will get his comeuppance at last. But when the mocking laughter fades, in its place remains a much more lasting anxiety. What will this do to the country? While President Biden and his top allies have largely stayed silent about Mr. Trump’s indictment, rank-and-file Democrats were far more eager to talk, responding with a mix of jubilation and deep apprehension about how the federal prosecution of a former president and current White House candidate could convulse American politics. Interviews this week with more than 60 Democratic members of Congress, state legislators, liberal activists and party officials found near-universal agreement that Mr. Trump deserved to face federal charges for his handling of classified documents, but a notable divide over whether the indictment was good for the country.
- Hill: Pence says he ‘can’t defend’ allegations in Trump indictment: Former Vice President Mike Pence said Tuesday he could not defend the “very serious” allegations against former President Trump in a federal indictment over the handling of classified documents. “Having read the indictment, these are very serious allegations. And I can’t defend what is alleged,” Pence said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal editorial board. “But the President is entitled to his day in court, he’s entitled to bring a defense, and I want to reserve judgment until he has the opportunity to respond.”
- New York Times: Fox, Trump and Millennial Movement: After a big news event, I almost always get asked about whether the latest polls show an earth-shattering shift in public opinion. They almost never do, and the handful of polls since the Trump indictment appear to be no exception. But just because an event doesn’t yield a huge swing in the polls doesn’t mean that the event can’t or won’t matter. The indictment might ultimately fall into this category. For now, the way to tell whether it could eventually make a difference may not be to watch the polls, but to watch Fox News instead. Even more than his loyal base of popular support, Donald J. Trump is protected by a wall of elites — conservative media commentators and politicians who forcefully defend the former president, attack his opposition and deter his rivals from going on offense. In some cases, they can even force Mr. Trump’s rivals to come to his aid!
Judge Aileen Cannon’s role in documents case raises concerns
- New York Times: Judge in Trump Documents Case Has Scant Criminal Trial Experience: Aileen M. Cannon, the Federal District Court judge assigned to preside over former President Donald J. Trump’s classified documents case, has scant experience running criminal trials, calling into question her readiness to handle what is likely to be an extraordinarily complex and high-profile courtroom clash. Judge Cannon, 42, has been on the bench since November 2020, when Mr. Trump gave her a lifetime appointment shortly after he lost re-election. She had not previously served as any kind of judge, and because about 98 percent of federal criminal cases are resolved with plea deals, she has had only a limited opportunity to learn how to preside over a trial.
- Wall Street Journal: Trump’s Case Puts Judge Aileen Cannon in the Spotlight: Shortly after Donald Trump became the first former president to face federal charges late last week, a random assignment process in a South Florida court directed his case to one of his last judicial appointees, Judge Aileen Cannon. It will now fall to her to make key decisions about the pace and extent of a court battle with possibly seismic consequences for American politics and for Trump personally. Trump and his allies greeted Cannon’s appointment as an early stroke of luck in his defense against a 37-count indictment, according to people familiar with their reaction. The federal judge had ruled in the former president’s favor in a lawsuit he brought last year objecting to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s search of his Mar-a-Lago estate in South Florida.
In The States
MICHIGAN: New bills to make historic changes to Michigan’s voting process
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Axios: Michigan lawmakers implement early voting, Prop 2 changes: Major changes to how Michiganders vote are being advanced through the Legislature. As lawmakers work to approve the changes included in last November’s Prop 2, elections officials are calling the updates the most significant election law changes the state has ever seen. The constitutional amendment allows nine days of early voting and other new voting rights. A cost estimate prepared by the secretary of state shows the amendment will cost $63 million in initial costs and then $21 million annually. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an elections bill in May, a provision in Prop 2 that allows military and overseas ballots to be received and counted within six days of an election. Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield), who chairs the Senate Elections and Ethics Committee, tells Axios the 16-bill package has been prioritized ahead of other issues so the changes can be implemented ahead of next year’s Feb. 27 presidential primary.
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Detroit Free Press: Judge orders Karamo and others to pay for last-minute election lawsuit targeting Detroit: Michigan GOP Chair Kristina Karamo and Republican lawyers involved in a last-minute lawsuit that threatened to reject potentially thousands of valid ballots cast by Detroiters in last year’s midterm election must pay legal fees incurred by the Detroit clerk’s office under a court order issued Monday. Wayne County Circuit Chief Judge Timothy Kenny previously rejected Karamo’s lawsuit targeting Detroit voters, and came out of retirement to preside over Detroit City Clerk’s Janice Winfrey’s request for sanctions against those behind the effort. In his Monday order, Kenny found that the lawsuit, along with the request to bar a Wayne County judge from hearing the matter, were “frivolous” and ordered those who brought and defended the challenge to pay $58,459.20 to cover costs and attorney fees to the Detroit clerk’s office.
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M LIVE: Quicker results next presidential election could stop ‘chaos,’ misinformation: In a new addition to a package of bills that will make historic changes to Michigan’s voting processes, notoriously slow election-night results may come sooner for the upcoming presidential election. Ballots are currently not allowed to be tabulated until polls close on election night. While many other states can immediately report the results of mailed-in ballots, Michigan cannot. Clerks in recent elections have been allowed to open absentee ballot envelopes and prepare them for the tabulator before in-person polls close, but there is no early tabulation in Michigan. New legislation led by state Sen. Jeremy Moss would change that. Senate Bills 386 and 387 allow workers to tabulate ballots for more than a week before Election Day, complementing the early in-person voting system that lawmakers plan to pass soon. “What we as lawmakers can do is ensure the accurate vote totals are known as early as possible, limiting that timeframe that false narratives are created and permeate,” Moss, a Southfield Democrat who chairs the Senate elections committee, told reporters Tuesday after unveiling the bills.
RHODE ISLAND: Legislation allowing certain 17-year-olds to vote heads to the governor’s desk
- Center Square: Bills allowing certain 17-year-olds to vote in primary elections advances: Companion bills allowing certain 17-year-olds to vote in the primary election are headed to the governor’s desk. The General Assembly ratified Senate Bill 35A and House Bill 5055A late Monday, permitting individuals who are 17 years old to vote in a primary election provided they are registered to vote and will be age 18 by the day of the general election. Gov. Dan McKee can now either sign or veto the bills. Rep. Jennifer Boylan, D-Barrington, said many “young people in our communities” are engaged in politics and are “paying attention.” “If they’ll be voting in the general election, they should have a say in who appears on the ballot,” Boylan said in a statement. “Participation among our youngest voters has historically been low, and this bill could help encourage them to get engaged and stay engaged in our democracy.”
GEORGIA: Two confidential reports unsealed on the security of Georgia’s election system
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Judge unseals two Georgia election security reports that differ on risk: A federal judge Wednesday unsealed two previously confidential reports that shed light on the security of Georgia’s election system. One report detailed vulnerabilities that could allow a hacker to change votes. The other determined that the risk of someone committing such acts is remote. But the reports unsealed Wednesday likely will continue the debate over whether Georgia should replace its $138 million voting system. The reports were released as part of an ongoing lawsuit that seeks to force Georgia to drop its Dominion Voting Systems hardware and software in favor of hand-marked paper ballots. The first report was produced by Alex Halderman, a computer science professor at the University of Michigan and an expert witness for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg gave Halderman access to Georgia voting equipment and passwords. His 2021 analysis said the voting system “suffers from critical vulnerabilities that can be exploited to subvert all of its security mechanisms.” Halderman said votes could be altered by someone with physical access to a voting touchscreen, such as a voter in a polling place. Such a hack could target only one voting machine at a time, limiting the number of ballots that could be changed. But an attack by someone who gained access to the election management system computers could have a wider impact.
What Experts Are Saying
Kristy Parker, counsel at Protect Democracy, and Anne Tindall, counsel at Protect Democracy: “Judges and grand juries have had multiple opportunities to scrutinize the [classified documents] charges against Trump, and have to date concluded that the government has met the standards for executing a search warrant at his property, compelling testimony from his attorneys, and returning an indictment against him.” Protect Democracy
Marc Elias, founder of Democracy Docket: “Even in the best case, administering free and fair elections in 2024 was going to be difficult. Election deniers are more powerful and more plentiful than they were in 2020. In several key states, Republican legislatures have enacted new rounds of voter suppression and election subversion laws. The humiliating court defeats in 2020 and violent insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021 have motivated an extreme GOP to be even more extreme. Before Trump was indicted, Republican politicians had already proclaimed him the victim of a partisan witch hunt. Their claim of a two-tier system of justice is aimed at protecting Trump from his criminal case today, as well as casting any future loss he suffers in court as a candidate as illegitimate. By turning him into a perpetual victim of a woke, deep state conspiracy, the GOP is already creating a permission structure to reject and contest unfavorable election results.” Democracy Docket
Heather Cox Richardson, American historian at Boston College: “The willingness of government officials to ignore the rule of law in order to buy peace gave us enduring reverence for the principles of the Confederacy, along with countless dead Unionists, mostly Black people, killed as former Confederates reclaimed supremacy in the South. It also gave us the idea that presidents cannot be held accountable for crimes, a belief that likely made some of the presidents who followed Nixon less careful about following the law than they might have been if they had seen Nixon indicted.” Letters from an American
Headlines
The MAGA Movement And The Ongoing Threat To Elections
New York Times: Fox News Chyron Calls Biden a ‘Wannabe Dictator’
Washington Post: Twitter Carlson is trying to turn Trump’s fanbase into his own
Rolling Stone: J.D. Vance Lays Out Plan to Sabotage Federal Law Enforcement Because Trump Was Arrested
Trump Investigations
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Fulton DA: Trump’s federal indictment will not impact our case
Reuters: Donald Trump legal issues: What charges, lawsuits and investigations is he facing?
January 6 And The 2020 Election
Hill: Former NSA employee sentenced to jail on Jan. 6 charge
Opinion
New York Times: Every Trump Indictment Tells a Story
New York Times: Trump Thrives in a Broken System. He’ll Get Us There Soon
New York Times: The Impossible Task of Defending Donald Trump
In the States
Texas Tribune: Where Texas redistricting lawsuits stand after U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Alabama case
The Gazette: Residents raise ‘gerrymandering’ concerns as county Redistricting Commission holds first meeting
Charlotte Observer: Advocates for fair elections see major flaws in NC’s latest elections bill
Local Profile: Election Fraud Is Now A Felony In Texas
