Will Donald Trump have two criminal trials before the election?

Tuesday, February 13, 2024
BY CROOKED MEDIA

-John Bolton ([link removed]) , Donald Trump’s former national security advisor, on Trump's imaginary friends.

Disgraced former President Trump’s 2024 legal calendar is finally taking shape—and, for now, it's looking like prosecutors may get two solid chances to convict him on criminal charges before the November election.

* One of the most important unknowns in the 2024 presidential campaign is now a favorite D.C. guessing game: How many guilty verdicts will Trump rack up before the vote? His four criminal cases are in a legal traffic jam, with prosecutors jostling to start trials in New York City, Washington D.C., Atlanta and South Florida. Lately, an answer seems to be emerging: There may be time for two. The first appears set to begin on March 25, in New York City. That's where Trump stands accused of falsifying business records related to hush-money payments, right before the 2016 election, to Stormy Daniels, the adult film star who claims she slept with Trump. If this trial goes as poorly for Trump as his company’s recent criminal case (guilty ([link removed]) ), his massive civil fraud lawsuit (liable
([link removed](Reuters,do%20business%20in%20the%20state.) ), and his two recent defamation lawsuits for denying a rape allegation (liable: $88 million in damages ([link removed]) ) then this could well be the moment Trump finally becomes the convicted felon we all knew he really was, all along, in our hearts.

* After that, Trump's next likely trial will be in Washington D.C. for more potentially serious charges related to his attempts to reverse his 2020 election defeat. The D.C. appeals court finally ruled on a key issue holding up the case (the question of Trump’s immunity as a former president, which, the court affirmed, Trump does not have). An analysis by legal nerds published in Just Security ([link removed]) said that, pending further appeals, the D.C. trial appears on track to start sometime between June and July, and wrap up shortly before the election. If these two do happen, there may not be time for the others, because Trump is supposed to attend in person. Then again, of course, there could always be surprises.

* How much would two convictions hurt Trump politically? It’s hard to say. But polls do indicate that a lot of voters, even Republicans, would hesitate to put a convicted felon in the White House. Those polls should be taken with a barrel of salt, given how many times Trump’s supporters have excused his worst behavior. Still, in a tight race, just a point or two could make a difference. And the numbers in these polls are significant. Just one example: In December, nearly a quarter of Trump’s own supporters told pollsters ([link removed]) he shouldn’t be their party’s nominee if he’s convicted of a crime.

With all that on tap for the next few months, this week is a big one in Trump’s ongoing legal nightmare.

* On Friday, Trump can expect to learn just how badly he’ll be punished after he and his family business were found liable for fraud in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ (D-NY) sweeping civil lawsuit, according to The New York Times ([link removed]) . James is seeking $370 million plus a lifetime ban on Trump running a company or working in real estate in New York. That decision was due a couple weeks ago. But it has been held up while Judge Arthur Engoron sent grumpy letters back and forth with Trumpworld lawyers while trying to find out whether Trump’s longtime top finance guy, Allen Weisselberg (already a convicted felon, BTW ([link removed].) ), plans to admit lying under oath in his courtroom. The resulting decision could pummel Trump’s company, even if it also
takes a while for Trump to run through all his appeals and really face the music. With any luck, though, we may all be in for a pretty fun Friday afternoon!


* And we’ll need a fun Friday, because Thursday will be… awkward. That’s when Fani Willis, the District Attorney from Fulton County, GA, who charged Trump in a massive racketeering case, will face a hearing into her admitted romantic relationship with her lead prosecutor. The judge said Tuesday that Willis could potentially be disqualified if she is found to have a conflict of interest. Trump and his codefendants argue Willis improperly benefited because she went on trips with the prosecutor, Nathan Wade, who may have paid some of those expenses with funds he earned from working for Willis. A lot of outside experts say this situation does not seem to meet the standard for recusal, in part because Willis and Wade are on the same side of the case. But, in theory, the judge could decide otherwise.

The whole thing could be a nerve-wracking nail-biter: It remains totally possible Trump could be convicted of serious crimes in D.C. just days before, or even after, he wins the election. What would happen next? Nobody knows.

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House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) rejected a bipartisan, Senate-passed bill aiding Ukraine, Israel, Gaza and others ([link removed]) because… wait for it… the Senate failed to include border security measures. Yes, those would be the very SAME measures Johnson objected to earlier this month after Donald Trump-Republicans decided to perpetuate border chaos, so they can run on the chaos.


In other words, Johnson deep-sixed the plan that DID have border security measures in it, and now he’s against the plan because all the border stuff is gone. Yes, it is really that dumb. Republican reluctance to support military aid for Ukraine coincides with Trump’s recent proclamation that he’d welcome an expanded Russian tour across Europe ([link removed]) after Putin is done with Ukraine. On cue, Trumpist Republicans started warning that passing Ukraine aid could cost Johnson his job. This Mobius strip of cynical bullshit is making for some appropriately absurd theater as the GOP’s former Russia hawks contort themselves to Trump’s demands. To wit: Here’s what Sen. Lindsey Graham, who just voted against Ukraine aid, had to say about Ukraine and standing up to Putin ([link removed]) . And European leaders in Putin’s cross-hairs
seem to have noticed the change ([link removed]) !

The bottom line is that Johnson won’t put the foreign aid bill on the floor specifically because he—and MAGA GOP's—know it would pass ([link removed]) . That means, yet again, a Trumpist minority is blocking policy with broad bipartisan support in Congress, and in the country. Democrats and Ukraine-supporting Republicans are now exploring procedural gambits to get around Johnson and put the foreign aid package on the House floor. Those tricks are rare and tricky to pull off, and there’s no guarantee enough Republicans will sign on to make it work. Stay tuned.


The House voted to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas ([link removed]) on Tuesday evening in a spasm of partisan nonsense that marked the first time a sitting cabinet secretary has been impeached in 150 years. The Senate is not expected to remove Mayorkas, however, because even a lot of Republicans view this effort as improper and baseless ([link removed]) . The last time the House tried this, a week ago, the whole thing fell apart because even several House Republicans broke with leadership and refused to back the plan. But second time’s the charm!


Voters in Long Island, N.Y. went to the polls today in a special election to replace disgraced, indicted, and expelled former Rep. George Santos. Former Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi appeared to hold a slight edge over Republican Mazi Philip. Dems are hoping to flip the seat and shrink Republicans’ margin for passing House bills to just two votes ([link removed]) .


Now that Donald Trump is openly inviting Vladmir Putin ([link removed]) to invade a NATO country of his choosing, his former National Security Advisor, John Bolton, says he’s certain that Trump really, actually means it.


Trump has new candidates in mind to run the Republican National Committee for him: That would be his daughter-in-law ([link removed]) , Lara Trump (wife of his demented son Eric), along with North Carolina GOP Chair Michael Whatley.


Some Pennsylvania Dems want to use the 14th Amendment’s “insurrection clause to disqualify coup-plotter Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA). ([link removed]) The Supreme Court is still deciding whether it will reverse a lower court’s decision to boot Trump off the ballot in Colorado (a lot of people think it will do that, unfortunately).


The New York Times explicitly called out ([link removed]) House Republicans’ “racist” denigrating comments made against fellow lawmakers. No notes!


Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report cleared Joe Biden of wrongdoing, while also taking gratuitous smears at his age—but it doesn’t seem to have changed voters’ perceptions of the president’s mental acuity. They were already very concerned about it ([link removed]) , and they still are.
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Jon Stewart returned to “The Daily Show” and cracked wise about Biden, Trump and himself all being old now ([link removed]) .
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