🦂 🦂🦂🦂

 

Just putting a few things together:

Two of Trump's co-defendants in Georgia, Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesboro, have filed for a speedy trial for strategic reasons. This was likely done as a ploy so that they can pin much or all of the blame for their conduct on defendants who will not be tried with them and won't be in the courtroom. This is a common tactic in conspiracy cases. One of the people they will blame is likely to be Donald Trump, others are Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman. 

Trump responded to their speedy trial demands by moving to sever his case so that he will not be forced to have a speedy trial. In the motion, he cites his other pending cases. The real reason, of course, is that Trump's entire strategy on all the cases is to attempt to delay them until after the 2024 election.

Splitting into separate trials is to be expected. While it gives Trump a chance to see what the state has, it also locks in evidence Trump will be hard pressed to challenge later, since he waived his chance at that by severing his case. It’s not a strategy without consequences, in other words.

Neither is asking for a speedy trial:

But The Messenger’s senior legal correspondent Adam Klasfeld adds, “Willis wants to advise all of the defendants in the Trump racketeering case that decisions by Ken Chesebro and Sidney Powell to invoke speedy trial rights come with certain consequences.” 

Those consequences, based on Georgia law, according to a legal filing Klasfeld posted, include four constraints on the ability to demand discovery materials and call witnesses: 

“Defendants cannot now argue that they are entitled to the State’s discovery responses ten (10) days in advance of trial.” 

“Defendants cannot now argue that they are entitled to notice of the State’s similar transaction evidence ten (10) days in advance of trial.” 

“Defendants are now precluded from calling any witnesses whose statements were not provided to the State at least ten (10) days in advance of trial.”

I’ve heard Meadows lawyer described as the most capable among the defense lawyers in this case so far. But while I’m sure he’s hoping an immunity defense gets his client’s case dismissed (bonne chance, IMHLO), it seems to have put his client’s defense at risk by waiving his 5th amendment rights (arguably not, but that’s really putting all the money on one spin of the wheel.) 

I’ve heard nothing from Cheseboro’s lawyer, and I think removal is going to fail for everyone if Meadows can’t do it. I can’t decide whether Sidney Powell is representing herself, or has found a Georgia lawyer as incompetent as she is, because the reported content of her pleadings is atrocious.

Meanwhile…

"I wouldn’t give him a nickel,” said billionaire investor Leon Cooperman, who donated to Giuliani's failed 2008 presidential bid. “I’m very negative on Donald Trump. It’s an American tragedy. He was ‘America’s mayor.’ He did a great job. And like everybody else who gets involved with Trump, it turns to s--t.”

Rudy needs a new sugar daddy. I’m seeing more and more public statements like that from people who are supposed to be Trump supporters. I think Trump has overstayed his welcome. The GOP primary schedule may assure him the nomination, but his oxygen supply is starting to run out already.

And Letitia James is coming after Trump’s other oxygen supply:

Yeah," said Snell. "It's the financial pain, Joy, but it's also then the fact that the AG's office as part of the law they will be asserting against Trump here includes the ability to seek the cancellation of corporate charters for these entities that were overvaluing the worth of these properties. So, in New York, that would mean, say, 40 Wall Street LLC getting its corporate charter cancelled, which then throws everything into doubt about Trump's ability to charge rent to those tenants, and the rent is the money that comes in, the lifeblood of his sort of empire of debt, if he can service all of these debts because he's getting this rent in the door from these properties. If he's not allowed to collect rent on his New York properties, it throws a whole bunch of things into major limbo." 

"I think the one thing to look out for that we haven't been talking about that much yet is the possibility that he could lose the ability to do business in the state of New York because of his persistent fraud and illegality," said Snell. "Not just in this matter alone where it's years and years of overstatements allegedly, but also we have the Trump University matter, the Trump Foundation matter, and then the finding of tax fraud by a criminal jury in Manhattan that happened last year is more than enough to establish a pattern of persistent fraud and illegality, for which New York State courts will order the extraordinary relief of cancellation of corporate charters."

The iron rule of FAFO is quite a bitch.