Very Little Knowledge Is Not Just A Dangerous Thing

I think assuming DOJ charged this in FL bc of Smith is totally unfounded, and misunderstands how 793 cases work.

But I also think DOJ may have decided to try to aim for maximal legitimacy. https://t.co/1c0utH5kBM

— emptywheel (@emptywheel) June 15, 2023

No, not emptywheel; but the idea Smith was sweating the then pending Supreme Court decision is just…stupid. Venue is as foundational as jurisdiction. Wrong venue means the case was wrongly brought. Yes, it would have been atom bomb level bad to rule bad venue means dismissed with prejudice (it’s the legal term), but venue can still toss your case and force a retrial. Not an ideal outcome for any prosecutor.

You try the case where the law says it must be tried, and not where you think the judge is your best buddy. That kind of forum shopping is problematic for other reasons, and doesn’t run up against the venue issues criminal cases do 

Yes, even Donald Trump is entitled to due process.

If Judge Cannon is that much of a danger to justice, the system can respond. People who act like they know more about the system than experts do, are just ignorant people. Like Donald Trump-Tom Fitton ignorant.

Don’t be that ignorant.

NO element of the offense alleged in the indictment happened in DC. https://t.co/mILbjjGyVn

— emptywheel (@emptywheel) June 15, 2023

What emptywheel said. If you don't understand that, you don't understand anything about venue.

No Crime Alleged in the Mar-a-Lago Indictment Occurred in DC; Other Crimes Didhttps://t.co/vr8vGK1EcQ

— emptywheel (@emptywheel) June 15, 2023

I know I'm beating the dead horse to a pulp, but: 

The only prosecutorial decision Jack Smith has made public thus far is to charge a crime in Florida that happened in Florida. And none of us know how that decision fits in with the other prosecutorial decisions Smith might make.

Yup.