Trump Georgia Indictment - More Political Theater
And once again, the charges are smoke and mirrors
So word comes now that Donald Trump has been indicted again. As we asked last time: Does Fulton County DA Fani Willis actually have a case?
(Fulton County DA Fani Willis)
As I’ve stated previously relative to the Jack Smith federal case, I believe Donald Trump has a strong First Amendment defense regarding the “election denial” allegations (based on the facts we know). Too much of the Smith case is based on thoughts and statements.
That’s why you see the words “conspiracy” and “attempt” in the Smith indictment’s heading so often. These are not completed acts — they’re plans for acts.
Can those be criminal? Sure. But they are undeniably weaker charges. And to stretch them for use against a former President?
The key problem for Team Trump in all this is the allegations re: fraudulent electors. Those are acts — not thoughts or plans.
Now comes the Georgia case — which looks pointedly similar. The charges are nearly all “solicitation” and “conspiracy” (including the ludicrous RICO charge, which in Georgia is just a conspiracy charge dressed up for the cotillion).
What’s likely going to feel new to many in this Georgia case is the involvement of Rudy Giuliani and other big names. According to the erroneously posted indictment document (and how the hell did that happen?) (more below), Willis is going for the Georgia version of RICO. Which means, a group of people will be charged.
Now: Can the state of Georgia bring charges based on essentially the same actions that underlie the federal case? Yes.
But wow, might this get messy. Consider: Giuliani (and others) could be witnesses in the federal case, but a co-defendant in the state case. (Unless Jack Smith decides he doesn’t want to be left out of this feeding frenzy, and indicts the whole gang later).
This case is more trouble for Trump than some of his other pending cases. Unlike the federal prosecutions, even if he or another Republican were to win the presidency — Trump can’t be pardoned by a President on a state case.
Now as I stated last time: Your humble narrator has been involved in criminal cases that could’ve been done at both levels. Deference was generally given to the federal case. And while that didn’t always make for a satisfying outcome, I never once saw it seriously contemplated to charge simultaneously on the state level.
And were this anyone but Donald Trump… it wouldn’t be contemplated here, either.
Willis’s office would undoubtedly argue that their state case is not duplicative — and that Trump’s actions fit squarely within the Georgia statutes. The Georgia RICO statute is notoriously broad (far broader than the federal law).
But really. A RICO? Ludicrous. And a real tell as to what Willis’s motives are here.
Most (or all) of this will be thrown out on appeal — much like the Bragg and Smith cases.
But this prosecutor — like Bragg, like Smith, like Garland— doesn’t care. This is all about the next election.
In the same way we’re losing our cities, we’re losing our criminal justice system. The progressives are burning down the village to “save” it.
(P.S: I’ve never seen Alan Dershowitz so fired up…. These cases are so blatantly partisan, they’ve turned a died-in-the-wool Clintonista into a Trumper).
Echoes Of The Bragg Case — The Uncharged Felony
As I’ve written in this space re: the Bragg case, this is a state-level prosecutor trying to make a federal-level case — and because of the weak facts, “stacking” charges sky-high to try to make a weak case look stronger.
Forty-one counts? Ninety-eight pages? Nineteen defendants? Please. (Willis actually bragged about those numbers at the presser. How utterly lame).
But just like the Bragg case, there is a solid felony not being recognized here — disclosure of secret grand jury material.
As I wrote for foxnews.com here, Bragg’s office almost certainly leaked secret grand jury material. That’s an E felony in New York State — and is a far clearer charge than the dog of a case Bragg actually brought.
Kudos to Fox News’s Bryan Llenas for asking about this at Fani Willis’s pep rally/press conference. Willis didn’t deign to answer it.
And just like in the Bragg case, we ask: Will it be investigated?
Just like in the Bragg case: No.
Just Asking….
If Donald Trump’s acts amount to criminal “election interference” here… where are the cases against Hillary’s team relative to the Steele dossier? A phony Russian collusion conspiracy before and after the 2016 election doesn’t rise to the level of Trump asking where he can get 11,780 votes?
If Alvin Bragg’s and Fani Willis’s cases gets tossed on appeal — will they be charged with election interference also? Especially in light of the fact that they clearly waited to bring these cases so as to be within the penumbra of the 2024 election?
Will Trump’s legal team ask for a change of venue in Georgia? Given that the DA’s office appears to have leaked the indictment?
Did she really just indict Kanye West’s publicist?
Et tu, Yeezy?
Our Nation’s Capital
Where, btw, Donald Trump faces indictment… in a jury pool that votes 95% Dem:
