Tag Archives: court

The Nuts Factor

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This is nuts. That’s all I could think as I listened to D. John Sauer, an attorney for Donald Trump, with Trump sitting in the front row of the courtroom, tell a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia that it should overturn a decision of the district court and dismiss the federal indictment against Trump for crimes connected to the January 6, 2020, mob assault on Congress.

To recap, on August 1, 2023, Special Counsel Jack Smith charged Trump with four federal criminal counts after a grand jury investigation into Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election, culminating in the January 6th insurrection. In October 2023, Trump claimed in the case that he had absolute immunity from prosecution for actions he took as president but Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, the trial judge in the case, rejected (opinion here) Trump’s claim, finding that “neither the Constitution nor American history supported the contention that a former president enjoyed total immunity from prosecution.” Trump appealed the ruling.

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Trump Threat du jour

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(There is an update below)

I really did not want to write about Donald Trump again so soon. I hate the way Trump dominates the news. I hate the way he steals our attention when we should be facing up to our challenges. I hate the way he sucks all the oxygen out of a room when his name is just mentioned. But Trump loves the attention, and he won’t stop attracting it. The danger our democracy faces from Trump is so great it is incumbent on anyone who values truth to speak out.

Trump was arraigned on Thursday, August 3rd, on four federal felony counts arising out of his action to retain his office even though he had lost his bid for reelection. He pled not guilty, and he was allowed to leave on what is known as a personal appearance bond. That bond doesn’t require that a defendant put up any money unless they violate the terms of the release or fail to show up in court.

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