Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Meanwhile, back in the courts.....

These delaying tactics are not going to work as well as Trump expects them to. Especially as the courts realize these arguments are not being made in good faith.  It's rare for the courts to punish a bad faith plaintiff, but the case Trump is making, over and over again, is a weak one made for one purpose, and the courts are going to figure that out. Judge Mehta moved quickly. The hearing on the Deutsche Bank subpoena was set for hearing on a very short schedule (and will probably be decided before the month is out). In a related matter, a judge just gave DOJ one day to release a search warrant on Michael Cohen. The courts know Trump's game. So far, they don't want to play.

One thing in particular Trump doesn't understand: he can take cases to the Supreme Court, but the Supreme Court doesn't have to accept them. Given the legal reasoning his lawyers are presenting, there's not much reason why they should. And if they do, a case involving a conflict between Congress and the President won't be left on their docket for long.

U.S v Nixon is instructive here. The case was brought to trial in early 1974.  The Supreme Court heard the case on July 8, and issued its opinion 16 days later.  The case was in the courts less than 7 months. Not much delay there.

The courts won't allow a delay when they don't want one. And while Gorsuch and Kavanaugh were appointed by Trump, they'll be on the bench far longer than Trump will be in office. Even if they think they owe Trump, they are only 2 votes out of 9.  And they'd really have to change the law just for Trump.
I was waiting for this. Why am I not surprised? And please note this court ruled from the bench. Trump's case was poured out like water.

You know, on appeal, one ruling can decide a number of cases.   How are those delays working out?  And if you were expecting the banks to wait until the Supremes speak:
The DC Circuit is going to have to move double-quick to keep these subpoenas from being useful.  They still could, but:  don't hold your breath.


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