To substantiate a claim that Joe Biden ginned up the twin prosecutions against him (motion, reply), Donald Trump picked two clauses (in italics) in an article (live link) that repeatedly describes the various ways that Biden and Merrick Garland have restored the independence to the Department of Justice from what it had been under Trump.If you aren’t keeping track (why should you? 🤷🏻♂️), Trump has filed three motions to dismiss in D.C., one of which alleges selective and malicious prosecution. Its argument rests, in part, on “fake news” he now finds credible because it serves what is really merely another conspiracy theory presented in a legal pleading.
Please note I did NOT say presented as a legal argument.
The picture above, also courtesy of emptywheel, sums the three up nicely. Her opening paragraph, quoted above, tells you what you need to know about this MtD. Although the lies in the motion are rather amazing (lawyers have a positive duty not to make material misrepresentations to the court). I’ll give you her comments; she has the receipts:
Since the two clauses on which Trump relies conform with the evidence presented in the rest of the article — which is to say, they show that Biden has taken no steps to share his views with the Attorney General — Trump simply invents something that’s not in the article: a claim that Biden deliberately planted these quotes as a way to give Garland an order to prosecute Trump.Trump, without evidence, simply asserts in the motion that Biden gave directions to Garland to prosecute Trump. What are conspiracy theories for, if not to be evidence-free? Trump has recently appealed a gag order, partly on the basis that it was not supported by evidence. Foolish consistency, and all that. I guess. 🤷🏻♂️
Anyway, the story thus far:
In support of a claim that Joe Biden has interfered in the prosecutions of Trump, Trump demands that DOJ treat as reliable an article that says, in about seven different ways, that Biden doesn’t do that. And Trump did that a week after Hunter’s lawyer laid out eight tweets, two memorializations of conversations with Trump, two primary documents, and two congressional depositions, all of which show high level involvement and, at least on Trump’s part, attempted interference in the Hunter investigation, which ignores some of the most important public documents memorializing Trump’s interference.
But it gets crazier!By "crazier" ew means Trump relies on his discovery requests as evidence for his… lack of evidence? Yes, this is James Comer sure he’s going to get impeachment evidence on Biden any day now. It’s an argument that barely works in political circles; in a court of law it’s worse than useless.
You’ll also notice emptywheel connects this Motion to the Hunter Biden prosecution. I think that tracks, but you can read her full analysis for how she gets there. It’s her conclusion that supports my thesis: Trump is directing his legal defenses:
The primary thing on which Trump relies to make a claim he’s being treated unfairly instead supports the opposite claim: That Merrick Garland is treating him better than he and his DOJ treated Joe Biden’s son. But in his effort to claim he wasn’t simply inventing all this, Trump revealed that even in this prosecution, he’s attempting to interfere in Hunter Biden’s prosecution.DOJ has already connected Trump’s actions in the New York trial to the D.C. trial. It’s not exactly a leap to turn his actions in the Hunter Biden case against him, especially since Trump just opened that door, too.
He remains a stable genius.
The train of Justice is barreling down the tracks, and Trump is tying himself to those tracks, convinced that he is more powerful than a locomotive. He’s going to find out he’s not even Clark Kent.
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