In his desperate attempt to avoid the historic shame of being the first former president to face criminal charges next week, Donald Trump is quickly running out of time.
On Monday, the presumed Republican nominee faced yet another setback in his quest to postpone and relocate his hush money trial from Manhattan. His most recent judicial setback puts him and the country on the verge of a contentious show that will put more strain on the legal and political institutions and may have unpredicted ramifications for the election in November.
There are four criminal charges against the former president, one of which involves payments made to an adult film actress prior to the 2016 election. In all the cases against him, he has entered not-guilty pleas.
Trump’s assaults on the judge in the New York case, those engaged in his other impending cases, and his ludicrous assertions that he is being persecuted for his political beliefs are becoming more and more intense as his legal choices become more limited. Over the weekend, Trump asked how many “corrupt” judges he would have to “endure before somebody steps in” in a gloomy Truth Social post.
Additionally, the former president denounced his “sham trial” in a fundraising email and said “all hell will break loose” if he doesn’t receive fresh funding. The case will be presided over by Judge Juan Merchan, who last week extended a gag order against Trump for naming and attacking the judge’s daughter on social media. The former president is already griping about Merchan “taking away my First Amendment rights” on his Truth Social network.
Trump’s increasing attempts to undermine the legitimacy of the New York trial before its commencement coincided with CNN gaining access to the juror questionnaire in the case, which illustrates the unique political backdrop of this trial.
The sources of their news, whether or not they attended a Trump rally, and whether or not they were a part of the radical Proud Boys organization are among the questions that prospective jurors will be asked. In addition, questions about their opinions of the past president will be asked; however, questions regarding their political affiliation and voting history will not be covered.
This is in line with efforts made prior to every trial to guarantee that jurors may fairly and impartially evaluate a case based on the facts rather than their personal political opinions or biases. The goal of the case’s prosecutors is not to establish that Stormy Daniels’ 2016 hush money payment was unlawful. Instead, they will present evidence to the jury that the former president attempted to deceive voters prior to the 2016 election by fabricating corporate papers to conceal it. However, some case opponents think it’s very broad to claim that the case involves electoral meddling. And this is the one criminal trial out of the four that Trump would want to start first.
Trump frequently uses his rights as a defendant to use up all of his appeals rights, which results in delays in the numerous lawsuits involving him. However, there is a definite pattern of his delaying cases with pointless legal arguments.
The likelihood that the New York trial will be postponed much longer is rapidly decreasing, as there are just four workdays left until it starts. Even so, Trump is among the most active litigants in recent history, and given the political motivations behind his avoidance of responsibility, more long-shot legal challenges are not completely out of the question.
If he is unable to postpone the trial’s start date of April 15, he will be restricted to a courtroom four days a week, giving his opponent, President Joe Biden, an advantage on the campaign road. However, the former president made a statement on Monday that abortion should be left up to the states, possibly defining a major electoral issue, in an attempt to lessen one of his main disadvantages in the contest.
At a Chicago event, Biden said, “Trump is in trouble, and he knows it,” adding that his predecessor couldn’t be trusted not to sign a federal ban if one ever passed Congress. He fears that voters will hold him accountable.
Special Counsel is Attempting to Foil Yet Another Trump Delay Strategy!
In an attempt to undermine President Trump’s broad assertion of presidential immunity, which has postponed the commencement of his federal election meddling trial, Special Counsel Jack Smith submitted his most recent brief to the Supreme Court in Washington on Monday. According to Trump, if presidents are subject to criminal punishment for their acts after leaving office, the position would be rendered useless. Smith, however, refuted this claim, which would imply that presidents had unrestricted authority.
According to Smith, “a former president’s immunity from accountability for these alleged violations of federal criminal law does not constitute a necessary condition for the effective functioning of the presidency.” “On the contrary, the fundamental tenet of our constitutional system is that no individual, not even the president, is above the law.”
Smith also attempted to thwart another Trump maneuver, which was to propose to the Supreme Court that, should they determine that a president had only limited immunity, they might remand the case to the lower courts for more arguments. The trial would not begin for several months—certainly not until after the election—if such a move were made. Should Trump win reelection, he would be able to use his newly acquired presidential powers to delay or even drop the federal lawsuit against him. On April 25, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case; a ruling is anticipated in July.
Smith’s efforts to get the former president on trial are also being thwarted in Florida, where Judge Aileen Cannon, who was chosen by Trump, is allegedly slow-moving the upcoming trial over the former president’s hoarding of sensitive materials, according to several legal experts.
In an ongoing attempt to sabotage his Georgia election meddling trial, Trump is attempting to keep the other cases in which he is charged from proceeding until after November’s election. The state court of appeals should rule, according to Trump’s attorneys, that his attempt to exert pressure on local authorities to reverse his defeat in the 2020 election was only an expression of his right to free speech. “A robust and unrestricted freedom of expression is essential to democracy,” stated Trump’s lawyer, Steve Sadow, in a statement.
Judge Scott McAfee of Fulton County Superior Court has previously declined to dismiss the lawsuit, citing Trump’s acts as protected free speech. Trump’s newest stunt is probably going to be seen by his detractors as a classic example of his bumbling counterfactual claim that he was attempting to save rather than destroy democracy.
How Trump is Attempting to Politicize Cases with Juries!
The argument made by the former Republican president’s lawyers that their client cannot receive a fair trial in the heavily liberal city where he established his reputation was the focal point of the significant ruling in the New York case on Monday. On Monday, Associate Justice Lizbeth González rejected the request to halt the trial while the matter was resolved and declared that there would be no further discussions on the matter.
Trump is not new to this tactic; in the past, he has asserted that it would be unfair to have his trial in Washington, DC, a liberal city. On the other hand, prosecutors usually file charges in the area where the alleged incident occurred. If the former president’s claims were to be accepted in their entirety, then a political person could only be prosecuted in a place where a prospective jury would be composed of individuals who would likely support them. The idea that everyone is equal before the law, including and especially past and potential future presidents, would be threatened by such a situation, which would also politicize the whole judicial system.
Trump successfully utilized his four indictments throughout his intense Republican primary campaign, capitalizing on the notion that he was a victim of politicized justice to unite the party base and drive out his competitors.
Whether the fact that a president is on trial has the same effect on the general public or if it will incite a reaction against Trump—especially if he is found guilty—will be one of the main concerns of this campaign.
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