All Outward Signs Point to a Prosecution of Trump and his Cohorts
During the past weeks, I have heard disappointment with and criticism of the Biden Administration by citizens and pundits because of a concern that Joe Biden’s possession of classified documents undermines a powerful case against Donald Trump for the classified documents he maintained in Mar-a-Lago and refused to give back. A classified documents prosecution is further compromised because former Vice President Mike Pence has recently found and turned over classified documents that were still in his possession.
Although there are material differences between the seemingly arrogant conduct of Donald Trump in refusing to turn over the classified documents and that of Biden and Pence, the differences are somewhat nuanced and a seasoned prosecutor will be concerned that if Trump is prosecuted and others are not, the non-prosecution of Biden will be the “elephant in the jury room” which could hinder a unanimous verdict. I am not saying that there will not be a classified document prosecution, but I am saying that bringing one now will be much harder.
I am not particularly concerned about this development, because the central allegation against Trump which must be prosecuted, is the attempted coup after he lost the election. To me, the classified documents case is substantial but relatively “small potatoes” compared to Trump’s assault on our democracy.
As to the seditious conspiracy allegation, the January 6th Select Committee Investigation produced compelling evidence that Donald Trump and his cohorts (starting on at least election night) created the fiction that he won the election “in a landslide” and the election was being stolen by the Democrats. His team brought over 61 frivolous lawsuits making this false claim – none of which were successful. He then attempted to influence Republican members of the state legislature in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Georgia to reject the popular vote and not certify the election. Trump also tried to influence Attorney General Barr to falsely state that there were substantial allegations of fraud which required an active investigation by the DOJ; and after this tactic failed he tried to install an inexperienced attorney general to make such a claim and only backed off when there was a threat of mass resignations in the Department of Justice. Next, he and his legal team attempted to influence and pressure Vice President Mike Pence to reject the votes of the electors from the five swing states on January 6th so that the ultimate decision as to the presidency would be thrown into the House of the Representatives which would have given the Republicans a distinctive advantage. His “Hail Mary” tactic was to have a rally on January 6th and in coordination with the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers lead an assault on the Capitol and Congress to stop the Congress from receiving votes from the Electoral College which made Joe Biden the President of the United States. Beyond the horrendous threat that this tactic posed to our democratic system, people died as a result of Trump’s plan to storm the Capitol.
As mentioned above, the classified document case pales in comparison to the aforementioned attempted coup where people died and our democratic system was assaulted.
Donald Trump’s conduct was particularly egregious with respect to the Georgia election results when he and his allies attempted to influence Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, in a phone call to “find enough votes” to change the election results in his favor. Fulton County District Attorney, Fani Willis, has conducted a special grand jury investigation into the attempted election fraud by Donald Trump and his team where the special grand jury heard testimony from over 75 witnesses. The special grand jury concluded its investigation and issued a special report which the grand jury recommended be made public. In a hearing yesterday before Georgia Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, the news media made an application that the special report be made public, but DA Fani Willis strongly opposed this application because of her concern that there would be prejudice to potential defendants when a new grand jury with the power to indict considers the case. She also said a decision on an indictment is “imminent.”
Reading between the lines on the court hearing in Fulton County yesterday, Willis was suggesting there was a strong possibility that she was going to indict Trump and other defendants, and she did not want a report that might suggest that defendants be indicted made public until the new grand jury got the case and considered the charges. If the report was released in advance, the first motion to be made by the defense would be to dismiss the indictment based upon prejudicial publicity which resulted from the report rendered by the special grand jury in advance of an indictment.
So that brings us to the on-going investigation by the DOJ of the conduct of Donald Trump and his cohorts attempting to undermine the democratic election. Let’s look at the numbers: according to the news reports, there were 978 arrests as the result of activities in the Capitol building on January 6. There have already been 474 guilty pleas, and 40 of the 41 cases which went to trial have resulted in convictions. Let’s consider the foot soldiers as the people who stormed the capital, and the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys as the midlevel leaders of the attempted coup. In both trials of members of the Oath Keepers, a jury has convicted most of the defendants of the conspiracy to commit sedition and there is now an ongoing trial of the leadership of the Proud Boys for similar offenses.
Given this procedural history, how does the Special Prosecutor Jack Smith and Merrick Garland not prosecute the ring leader and instigator of this attempted coup which resulted in the death of 5 people, including a police officer. I find it inconceivable that skilled prosecutors will ultimately back away from prosecuting the ring leaders. Moreover, it will be even more difficult for the DOJ not to prosecute the ring leaders if Fulton County DA Fani Willis decides to pull the prosecution trigger on what is only a slice of the overarching conspiracy.
If I am reading the outward signs correctly, the practical issue remaining is timing: even if indictments are returned in the Spring, the earliest realistic date for trial would be late Fall or next January – right in the middle of the political season. But any political complications are far less important than bringing to justice those who allegedly conducted a premeditated assault on our democracy.
As i read this article , i was amazed that people are still following along like blind sheep. How misguided this author is. After everything that Trump went thru BEFORE he was even installed as our President as well as the garbage he endured during his 4 years is despicable. Remember Russia, Russia,Russia? How about our congressional leaders chanting F@#$ 45? How anput the attacks on Republicans who dare speak up and defend Trump? Did you vote for the man who hid in his basement for months? Did you vote for the man who doesnt know his own nsme and cant read a teleprompter? Did you bote for the man who has not done anything for this country in his 50 plus years in government EXCEPT make millions by selling our country to Ukraine and China.
WAKE UP
OH DEAR!!……Laura woke up before 4:16 am, probably didn’t have her coffee yet, to write this litany of complaints.
Joe Hayden, insiderNj attorney, I enjoyed your column.
Thought it was well written, informative, insightful, and truthful. Thank you.
NIce Job Joe.
Well outlined article.
Amazing that some people are still blind to Trump and his obvious threats to our democracy that they still don’t want to accept the obvious. Indict, prosecute and if convicted, punish according to the law, the fullest extent of the law.
Good article, but I sure hope the indictments come sooner rather later!!!
Joe Hayden is so far wide of the mark as to be delusional. If Trump is going to get indicted, let alone charged, or even prosecuted, Biden is to be put on the list for his criminal activities with his own concealing of classified documents, especially those at Penn Biden Institute where the ChiComs were given access to classified docs that are supposedly sensitive national security docs. If you think Trump will be prosecuted, I’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn I want to sell all of you Democrat-Communist useful idiots.
Amazing at all the Trump Derangement Syndrome useless eaters out there. You are probably the same morons that vote for higher and higher income and property taxes in NJ, thinking it will be better for all of us (only for the teachers’ union leaders and the Demoncrats).
And, let’s not forget that if indictments are brought in the Spring and trial is slated for the political season, what we have then is called election tampering and election fraud by the Democrat Party. Good luck with trying the case. There is no evidence of any wrongdoing on the part of President Trump. However, there’s plenty of wrongdoing by Joe Biden, who concealed classified documents as far back as 15 years ago when he was a U.S. Senator, then as Vice-President, then as a regular U.S. citizen before he ran for President. No, folks, Joe Biden has no defense against having classified documents in his possession. Especially those at Penn Biden where the ChiComs had constant access to them.
According to the Presidential Records Act, President Trump has all right to the records that the Biden Gestapo/DOJ is investigating. Trump has all right to classify or declassify those Presidential records. Biden did not have right to take any of those Presidential classified records because he was not a President at the time–he was a U.S. Senator, a Vice-President (who has no right to any PRESIDENTIAL records), and a regular U.S. citizen (for 2 years) while the records were in his custody.
Sorry folks. What you’re projecting is the fact that your own installed faux president, Chinese Communist Compromised Joe Biden is the one guilty of taking classified national security documents.
Trump was a con-man well before he became President.
Trump remained a con-man throughrout his 2016 campaign.
Trump remained a con-man throughout his Presidency.
What, then, dare we priject Trump will be if he becomes Present again ??
Do I really have to provide the obvious answer tonrhat
question ?
Well, ok, for you morons who support Trump
the answer, which apparently eludes you is a
definitive , He Cobtinue To Be A Con-Man .
Bill, Trump’s Best Friend
I did the typos just for fun
It’s as obvious as it is simple.
Trump is a moron and so are his supporters.
As usual, a well-reasoned, convincing analysis by a person who really knows this landscape .
Trump is a con-man? No one has shown evidence or proof he is/was a con man. The only con man I see is Joe Biden and the Biden Racketeering Crime Family where Hunter Biden is making millions from the ChiComs, Russians and Ukes for the “Big Guy”.
Hunter paid Joe $50,000/month for rental on the Delaware home. Talk about a con job?
The Biden Crime Family is the biggest con job going. Even the foreign press is exposing the Bidens as a corrupt criminal enterprise.
The anti-Trump comments are from another typical jealous Democrat useful idiot with Trump Derangement Syndrome who is a threat to this country and couldn’t earn a fraction of what Trump earns because Trump worked hard for the money in negotiating, properly working with government and using Democrat and Republican tax laws to build businesses, re-build New York after 9-11, re-build Mar-a-Lago after the U.S. gov’t sold it to him for $10 Mill. (now worth about $500 Mill.).
Trump went to Wharton Business School, top Biz School in the U.S. He parlayed the $1 Mill. his father gave him to start a business, and turned it into a multi-billion dollar empire. The Democrat useless eaters here are just jealous they can’t make it in society, so they attack anybody who doesn’t fall in lockstep (or goose-step) with them.
When you grow up and mature and go back to New York and talk to people who have known China Trump, Narcissist Liar , Traitor to our Country since the 1980’s then maybe you can say something. Where do you get $1 Million dollars from? Fred Trump has given Donald Millions upon Millions of dollars to make it. Trump Casino failed even though Fred Trump put Millions upon Millions into it. Trump Wine Failed, Trump School failed there are still lawsuits against trump and the people he fraud . Trump has lost so much of his dads money. Fred paid for Trump to pas in school or did you miss his professor saying so. Fred paid for Donald to stay out of the Military 3 times. Whenever Trump has done something wrong he points the finger the other way, so then the men in the Military were called Losers and Suckers. Ask his General’s who backed that up. Trump would not obey a subpoena, guess what they did not need one for Biden or Pence about classified documents. Then Trump refused to hand our papers back that belong to you and We the People for safe keeping. So the F b I had to get them. Biden and pence papers returned immediately. People at Mar A Lago were stunned they were standing right next to a closet with Top Secret Papers in it. You know the ones from Russia and Saudi Arabia. Trump spent $141 Million dollars on golf of your tax dollars on golf why children were hungry during Covid-19. Trump told you over and over he would not take a salary guess what he did. Check his taxes. In fact check all his taxes and find out how he was fraudulent on taxes to your Country. Russia??? Putin has been a mass murderer of women and children for years before Trump stated saying what a good guy he was. The Topper January 6,2021 he told all of you he was going to change the Constitution to make himself a Dictator. But No none of you heard that because you were to busy listening to Q or Tucker or Trumps lying mouth since the 1980’s Now the Right are Fascist radicals, who would rather love 1 man than your Country. We are waiting for the Republicans to pay back the $30 Million dollars it cost your tax dollars and mine to clean up the Capital January 6,2021. Do you know how many hours it took housekeeper’s to clean up the SHIT on the floors. Not one Democrat was there except for the ones the Oath Keepers were going to hang. Trumps father put $400,000 in an account every month from the time he was born. Trump never spent it until his Dad died and then lost that money too. You need to start fact checking. Just think your children or grandchildren will shake their heads at you one day that you believed such a gullible liar. Go back to New York and find out the Truth. Oh he never wanted to buy Mar A Lago his first wife Ivana talked him into it, he did not care for Florida. Truth. Then he dumped her into his golf course to bury her to save on taxes . You think the kids could stop him, they are all a piece of work.
When you grow up and mature and go back to New York and talk to people who have known China Trump, Narcissist Liar , Traitor to our Country since the 1980’s then maybe you can say something. Where do you get $1 Million dollars from? Fred Trump has given Donald Millions upon Millions of dollars to make it. Trump Casino failed even though Fred Trump put Millions upon Millions into it. Trump Wine Failed, Trump School failed there are still lawsuits against trump and the people he fraud . Trump has lost so much of his dads money. Fred paid for Trump to pas in school or did you miss his professor saying so. Fred paid for Donald to stay out of the Military 3 times. Whenever Trump has done something wrong he points the finger the other way, so then the men in the Military were called Losers and Suckers. Ask his General’s who backed that up. Trump would not obey a subpoena, guess what they did not need one for Biden or Pence about classified documents. Then Trump refused to hand our papers back that belong to you and We the People for safe keeping. So the F b I had to get them. Biden and pence papers returned immediately. People at Mar A Lago were stunned they were standing right next to a closet with Top Secret Papers in it. You know the ones from Russia and Saudi Arabia. Trump spent $141 Million dollars on golf of your tax dollars on golf why children were hungry during Covid-19. Trump told you over and over he would not take a salary guess what he did. Check his taxes. In fact check all his taxes and find out how he was fraudulent on taxes to your Country. Russia??? Putin has been a mass murderer of women and children for years before Trump stated saying what a good guy he was. The Topper January 6,2021 he told all of you he was going to change the Constitution to make himself a Dictator. But No none of you heard that because you were to busy listening to Q or Tucker or Trumps lying mouth since the 1980’s Now the Right are Fascist radicals, who would rather love 1 man than your Country. We are waiting for the Republicans to pay back the $30 Million dollars it cost your tax dollars and mine to clean up the Capital January 6,2021. Do you know how many hours it took housekeeper’s to clean up the SHIT on the floors. Not one Democrat was there except for the ones the Oath Keepers were going to hang. Trumps father put $400,000 in an account every month from the time he was born. Trump never spent it until his Dad died and then lost that money too. You need to start fact checking. Just think your children or grandchildren will shake their heads at you one day that you believed such a gullible liar. Go back to New York and find out the Truth. Oh he never wanted to buy Mar A Lago his first wife Ivana talked him into it, he did not care for Florida. Truth. Then he dumped her into his golf course to bury her to save on taxes . You think the kids could stop him, they are all a piece of work. Trump has lied about his whole life.
Yes Linda, when you grow up. I see you have serious Trump Derangement Syndrome. Trump saw the writing on the wall and changed as he got older. That’s why he is pro-America. Trump’s a Narcissist liar? Do you even know what a narcissist is?? Are you a psychologist or psychiatrist to make that diagnosis, or are you just criminally impersonating one??? More than 80% of Americans are narcissists. Do you put make-up on in the morning and look in the mirror??? Then you’re a narcissist. Do you think you’re really good at your job, or boss others around to motivate them for more productivity??? Then you’re a narcissist. Based on the tone of your comments, you are obviously a narcissist.
As for your rendition of the issue of the classified docs at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, have you ever tried to get into Mar-a-Lago??? You have to pass a local police check to show who you are. Then you are checked by Secret Service, then told to park in a specific area that is observed by private security. When you walk into Mar-a-Lago you are checked by Secret Service again. You know who was watching the classified docs that Trump allegedly had locked up in a safe in a downstairs room? Heavily armed Secret Service. Do you know that Trump, being the President is the only public official who has plenary power to take, classify or de-classify documents under the Presidential Records Act of 1978??? Joe Biden and Mike Pence, as Vice-Presidents did not. Joe Biden was taking classified docs when he was a U.S. Senator. And, he kept them when he was a private citizen from the end of the Obama Administration until 2 years later when he decided to run for President. So, NO, Joe Biden did not and does not have the right to keep the classified docs, he has poorly protected, prior to becoming President. It’s Biden who has the problem. And, his AG Garland screwed up, jumped the shark, and imposed a Special Counsel to investigate Trump when there was no reason to. And, guess what happened? Biden got caught with illegal classified docs from before he was President. Now, AG Garland had to appoint a Special Prosecutor to investigate Biden (and Pence). Biden has serious problems.
Trump said nothing about changing the Constitution. He was following it when the FBI and CIA directed riots started (where is FBI informant Ray Epps who instigated the riots? How come he hasn’t been subpoenaed to testify at the fraudulent Jan. 6th Show Trial Committee?). And, what is “Q” ???? Everyone on the Left talks about “Q”. No one knows what the he** “Q” is. I guess that’s another CIA program, like Kwanzaa, to further divide this country.
As for taxes, you can’t blame Trump for using the American tax code to his advantage as a businessman. Both Democrats and Republicans made the tax laws. Trump and other Billionaires and Politicians use the tax laws to their advantage because they can. I see you’re still on the “Russia” kick with Trump. Your gaslighting again, and projecting what Biden and the Democrats did with the Russians. Remember Hunter Biden getting $2 MILLION dollars from the Moscow Mayor’s wife for the “Big Guy” (Joe Biden)??? That’s on video, social media, and audio, and that’s a fact. Or, what about Biden telling the Ukrainian politicians to fire the prosecutor investigating him and his son for corruption and bribery scandals in the Ukraine in 6 hours before he left the country, or the Ukrainians wouldn’t get a BILLION DOLLARS from the U.S.??? That’s a video, and that’s a fact.
It’s you who needs to stop drinking the Communist Kool-Aid and stop being a “useful idiot” for the Marxists.
Trump supporters have honed in on the classified documents while the main crime is January 6 and attempt to over turn election. Read latest story on dominion versus Fox. It looks like Fox was lying to everyone because that’s what you wanted to hear. What I fall to understand is why people continue to support someone who in April 2020 said the only way he could be lose is if the election was stolen. Then it was, he was president and knew it was going to happen and couldn’t stop it. IMO that brings into question his competency.
Ray Epps story has been debunked. You’re a moron. Trump obstructed when they asked for the classified documents. Do you not understand that? His lawyers lied and said they turned everything over. You have to prove willful intent with all of them when it comes to possession, but only one lied and actively obstructed. Trump tried to shakedown Georgia SOS and other officials. Even Tucker Carlson despises Trump. You’ve been duped. Trumps supporters are so pathetic. Do I need to point out Trump’s ties to Russia? Flynn’s name ring a bell? Do you know how many guilty pleas and convictions came put of that investigation? Guess how many were pardoned or ASKED for a pardoned. Trump said only guilty people take the 5th and no one being investigated should be allowed to run for president. He’s a bully and a thin skinned narcissist who mocks opponents. I’ve never seen such disgusting behavior from someone representing our country. He mocked POWs and a disabled man. He has not one redeeming quality.
Ray Epps story has been debunked. You’re a moron. Trump obstructed when they asked for the classified documents. Do you not understand that? His lawyers lied and said they turned everything over. You have to prove willful intent with all of them when it comes to possession, but only one lied and actively obstructed. Trump tried to shakedown Georgia SOS and other officials. Even Tucker Carlson despises Trump. You’ve been duped. Trumps supporters are so pathetic. Do I need to point out Trump’s ties to Russia? Flynn’s name ring a bell? Do you know how many guilty pleas and convictions came put of that investigation? Guess how many were pardoned or ASKED for a pardoned. Trump said only guilty people take the 5th and no one being investigated should be allowed to run for president. He’s a bully and a thin skinned narcissist who mocks opponents, POWS and a disabled man. I’ve never seen such disgusting behavior from someone representing our country. He has not one redeeming quality. His supporters just love bullies