Judge Chutkan Fights Trump Attempt To Spin Immunity Decision As Automatic Win

[system1]

Originally published at: Judge Chutkan Fights Trump Attempt To Spin Immunity Decision As Automatic Win

WASHINGTON, DC—Former President Donald Trump’s team, returning to D.C. district court Thursday many eventful months after the case was taken from Judge Tanya Chutkan’s court on appeal, came wielding the Supreme Court’s immunity decision as a supposedly automatic win in the Jan. 6 federal case. “The whole indictment craters,” Trump lawyer John Lauro crowed, drawing…

[bdtex]

Good gracious. Glad this case is moving.

[nydan516]

I would suggest the FBI take a look if mother Russia is sending Judge Cannon’s family any funds… Her rulings are beyond pathetic.

[tindalos]

@system1

If Chutkan allows this route (and rejects Trump’s immediate dismissal request), which she sounded inclined to do Thursday, it would get the ball rolling on the next, arduous step in this case, where she decides which charges can stand.

“I’m risking reversal no matter what I do,” she sighed.

As the Reich-wing SCOTUS-6 intended so might as well keep the path as straight as possible and let them do their worse on appeal.

[left_in_washington_state]

What a douche. Not sure that pissing off the judge is the best strategy.

@system1

Lauro sounded quite Trumpian as he protested the injustice of it all, calling the government’s proposed schedule a “fundamental unfairness never before seen in district court.”

Chutkan got fed up with Lauro’s performative flourishes, particularly as he waxed poetic on the weightiness of the case in American history.

“I don’t need any more rhetoric on how serious and grave this is,” she said.

“It’s not rhetoric, it’s called legal argument,” Lauro snapped back, prompting an audible reaction in the press room from which reporters watched the trial.

[qwerty23]

“I’m risking reversal no matter what I do,” she sighed.

She understands how this SCOTUS rolls.

@left_in_washington_state

Not sure that pissing off the judge is the best strategy.

Why stop now?

[cvilledem]

@nydan516

I would suggest the FBI take a look if mother Russia is sending Judge Cannon’s family any funds… Her rulings are beyond pathetic.

Pretty sure the money coming to her is laundered through the Federalist Society. They even help her with the language to use in her “scholarly” comments.

[nydan516]

Yes, as always follow the money.

[isakindamagic]

Make money fast enough and they’ll never, ever catch you.

[commanderogg]

@system1

“I don’t need any more rhetoric on how serious and grave this is,” she said.

“It’s not rhetoric, it’s called legal argument,” Lauro snapped back, prompting an audible reaction in the press room from which reporters watched the trial.

Judge Chutkan: No it is called contempt of court. And if you do not show more respect for the decorum of these proceedings you will learn what it means.

Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) Rule 70, a party that fails to perform a specific act, in accordance with a judgment by a court, can be charged with contempt and subsequently penalized. The purpose of recognizing contempt of court is to secure the dignity of the courts and the uninterrupted and unimpeded administration of justice.

contempt of court

[txlawyer]

@commanderogg

No it is called contempt of court.

No, it’s not. Lauro did not violate any order of the court. He just made an ill-advised comment.

[fiftygigs]

Trump’s lawyers threw additional fistfuls of spaghetti at the wall to otherwise gum up the works and delay the trial as long as possible.

It seems odd to me that the legal profession regards such behavior as providing a defense against the charges, when it looks more like they’re contributing to the crime.

[libthinker]

One wonders at the brilliance of an attorney who goes out of his way to piss off a judge who is overwhelmingly giving him what he wants.
.

[tpr]

@left_in_washington_state

Not sure that pissing off the judge is the best strategy.

If his client wins the trial, and wins the election, There will be no comeuppance. The wealthy cannot be held accountable by the justice system. This fact was plain as day long before Trump started publicly flouting criminal impunity.

Trumpworld is made up exclusively of people who intend to rule as though they will have power forever. They’ve all been out over their skis like this since McConnell stole Scalia’s seat from Obama.

[normb]

I just heard a partial transcript of the proceedings. I read that Clarence Thomas gave Trumps lawyers direction on the defense strategy. If so that must break every possible ethics code and disqualify him from rendering any involvement in Trump cases. I think this is a big story, yes.

[stradivarius50t3]

@bdtex

Good gracious. Glad this case is moving.

The Santa Fe rail yard in Bakersfield runs along the north edge of Bakersfield High School. The Industrial Arts building is on that north edge, and that is where my engineering drawing class was in my freshman year. Our classroom windows looked out on the tracks.

What you’re hearing isn’t movement. It’s the jolting and banging as Judge Chutkan and the government assemble a new train to dispatch.

[CaptainObvious]

“I’m risking reversal no matter what I do,” she sighed.

Dismissing the case outright seems pretty likely to stand up on appeal. Doing the right thing, not so much.

[Hatmama]

@system1

“It’s not rhetoric, it’s called legal argument,” Lauro snapped back, prompting an audible reaction in the press room from which reporters watched the trial.

What was the “audible reaction?” Laughter? Guffaws? “I Call BS?” Oooohs and awwwws?

What a waste of talent, time, and treasure. I cannot imagine how good judges and prosecutors can take this endless bullshit thrown at them.

[KalTX]

https://www.rawstory.com/clarence-thomas-trump-defense/

Judge Chutkan gets Trump lawyer to scurry away from seemingly explosive admission

Travis Gettys

September 5, 2024 1:42PM ET

Donald Trump’s lawyers raised a federal judge’s eyebrows by seemingly suggesting that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was advising their defense.

Trump attorney John Lauro argued in a hearing Thursday before district judge Tanya Chutkan that a ruling by another federal judge that challenged the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith should apply in the District of Columbia election interference case, saying the opinion by Florida-based judge Aileen Cannon should serve as binding precedent.

Chutkan asked why the defense didn’t challenge the special counsel’s authority last year, and Lauro said a concurring opinion penned by Thomas in the D.C. immunity ruling raised the issue of Smith’s authority, which Cannon then used to justify her dismissal of Trump’s charges in the classified documents case.

Lauro then told the court that Thomas directed them to raise this issue, according to CBS News correspondent Scott MacFarlane, who said the statement seemed to catch Chutkan by surprise.

“He directed you to do it?” Chutkan asked.

Trump’s attorney backtracked, saying, “Well, he didn’t direct us to,” according to MacFarlane.

MSNBC’s Katie Phang said the judge told Trump’s attorneys the deadline to file a motion challenging Smith’s appointment has passed, adding that she didn’t find Cannon’s opinion to be “persuasive,” but Lauro argued that Thomas had given them the green light to file the challenge anyway.

“When you read Justice Thomas’ concurrence he’s telling us to file this motion,” Lauro said, according to Phang.

[Hatmama]

Oh, for pete’s sake, Thomas needs to go, and he absolutely MUST take Ginni with him, no matter how much he protests…