I was sorta counting on something interesting being tweeted out this morning. Motion to dismiss is SOP in criminal cases. The argument is always the same: prosecution has failed to offer proof beyond a reasonable doubt, Yadda Yadda Yadda. Same thing with motion for new trial after a verdict. News reports always act like it's a daring act to ask the judge to do it over because he/she fucked it up so badly the moving party deserves another bite at the apple. What an offense to the judge! What a revelatory moment! Nah. You can't appeal to the next court without first asking the last court for a do-over; in the case of the trial court, that's motion for new trial. It's the denial of that motion that makes an appeal possible. It's actually the first level of appeal.Morning from the Steve Bannon trial. At 10:30, we're supposed to hear arguments on the defense motion to dismiss the case - then find out whether there will be any defense witnesses at all. I'm the media pooler in the courtroom this morning, so I won't be able to tweet for a bit.
— Carrie Johnson (@johnson_carrie) July 21, 2022
So moving to dismiss after the prosecution rests is the same thing. It would be malpractice not to ask for it. As for witnesses, this is where we find out if Bannon is gonna take the stand, or not. Without him, they really have no defense. Can't really put a lawyer on the stand to say "Oh, yeah, we we're negotiating up until the day before trial." Although they may call that lawyer who resigned so he could be a witness.
The defense case is going to depend entirely on credibility. It's a "he said/she said" defense, and that's about as weak as you can go. Ameling seemed pretty credible to me (what does the jury think? π€·π»♂️) Bannon has all the credibility of a sociopathic killer in a thriller movie. IMHO, anyway. Of course, if they don't put on witnesses, it's game over.
So I'm still expecting Bannon to testify. I have a sad since I'll have to rely on CNN for reports from the courtroom.
Oh, well, we'll always have the J6 Committee hearing tonight.
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