Everyday Erinyes #364

 Posted by at 3:00 pm  Politics
Apr 022023
 

Experts in autocracies have pointed out that it is, unfortunately, easy to slip into normalizing the tyrant, hence it is important to hang on to outrage. These incidents which seem to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with them will, I hope, help with that. As a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. These roughly translate as “unceasing,” “grudging,” and “vengeful destruction.”

Now that Donald J. Trump** has finally been arraigned, everyome is wondering what this or that aspect of pressing the charges will look like. There are probably still a few people naïve eenough to think it is going to look like a trial in the movies or on TV. (It would not surprise me to learn that Trump** hnself thinks that.) It won’t. But the arraignment also won’t look like an ordinary actual arraignment for multiple reasons,none of them aimed at helping or hurting him, but simply reasons peculiar to his situation. For example, most arraignments do not involve the Sevret Service. This one, by law, must. And of course, there’s more. The author, being cute but I think probably accurate, describes this case as “the most complex straightforward case in history.”
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Trump’s indictment stretches US legal system in new ways – a former prosecutor explains 4 key points to understand

A supporter of former President Donald Trump protests the indictment announcement near Mar-a-Lago, Fla., on March 31, 2023.
Chandan Khan/AFP via Getty Images

Jeffrey Bellin, William & Mary Law School

When former President Donald Trump turns himself over to authorities in New York on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, and is arraigned, the charges on which a Manhattan grand jury indicted him will likely be made public.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg obtained the indictment on March 30, 2023, following a grand jury vote, but the exact charges against Trump remain sealed. Multiple media sources are reporting the indictment alleges the former president committed business fraud.

I am a former prosecutor and law professor who studies the criminal justice system. While the complexities of Trump’s case will continue to unfold, The Conversation asked me to break down the complex legal situation. Here are four key points to understand about the prosecution and what will likely come next.

A man is shown in silhouette raising his fist and standing on a red carpet surrounded by American flags.
Former President Donald Trump arrives at a campaign rally in Waco, Texas, on March 25, 2023.
Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images

1. Falsified business records are the key issue

From what we understand of the investigation, the charges against Trump appear to stem from a US$130,000 payment in 2016 by Trump’s then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, to an adult film star, Stormy Daniels. In return, Daniels promised not to tell the media about her alleged affair with Trump.

Media reports suggest that there could be about 30 counts against Trump, and at least some of those counts will be felonies.

Just the fact that there are so many counts does not mean that there are many different criminal events or kinds of crimes alleged. Prosecutors often charge similar, repeated conduct – for example, multiple drug sales – as separate counts. In this case, the multiple counts may refer to a series of business records that record the same or similar transactions. Or the charges may, indeed, span multiple alleged criminal events.

Media reports indicate that Bragg does not appear to be alleging that Trump’s payment to Daniels was itself illegal.

Instead, Trump will likely be charged with “falsifying business records” for trying to hide the payment by lying about its nature in the records of the Trump Organization, his company.

Creating a false business record with the intent to defraud is a Class A misdemeanor offense in New York. But the offense can become a low-level Class E felony if Bragg can prove that Trump created false business records for the purpose of facilitating a second crime.

It is not yet clear what the second crime will be – or even that a second crime is being alleged – but possibilities include federal or state campaign finance violations or tax evasion.

2. Bragg will have to prove Trump’s involvement, fraudulent intent

If there is a trial, the prosecution will have to put together a series of pieces to secure a conviction on each of the charges facing Trump.

First, the prosecution would have to prove that the Daniels payment was recorded by Trump officials as something clearly inaccurate. It is not enough to show that the payment was recorded ambiguously – like “miscellaneous” or even “legal services.” The business records at issue must be unequivocally “false.”

Second, it is not necessary that Trump himself created false records. The prosecution would just have to prove that Trump was the direct cause of the false entry – meaning someone followed his specific directions.

Third, the prosecution would have to prove that Trump created the false record for a fraudulent purpose and, to prove a felony, with the specific purpose of committing – or covering up – another crime.

This is important because there could be other potentially plausible reasons the defense might offer, including that Trump sought to avoid embarrassment to his family or himself. Another option is indifference, that Trump gave little thought to how the transaction was recorded. That’s why the details of the allegedly false records, and Trump’s degree of involvement in their creation, will be central questions at trial.

Finally, for the felony offense, the prosecution would also have to prove that there was another crime that was either committed or covered up by using this false business record.

A woman with white hair holds a sign that says 'Tick tock, time's up' with the photo of a man's head on it. She and another few people stand behind a police barricade that has yellow tape on it and says 'crime scene.'
People gather March 31, 2023, in front of Trump Tower the day after former President Donald Trump was indicted by a New York grand jury.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

3. It’s the most complex straightforward case in history

While everyone will be watching to see if this case is handled like other cases, differences are inevitable. For example, the New York Police Department and court officers will need to coordinate the arrest process with Trump’s Secret Service agents.

Further complications will arise if there is any prospect of incarceration. Based on what we know now, there is little prospect that Trump will be jailed pending trial for this allegation of a nonviolent crime. And even if he is ultimately convicted, it’s still unlikely he’ll be locked up, based on the nature of the charges and his lack of a prior criminal record. That said, judges have broad discretion in determining sentences.

That is only a small window into the logistical challenges that await the Manhattan district attorney’s office and the New York courts. If this were any other defendant, this would be a relatively straightforward case, the kind that make up the hundreds of cases in a typical prosecutor’s caseload.

However, Trump is not any other defendant. That means this is likely to be the most complex straightforward case in American history.

A Black man with a goatee wears a dark coat, white shirt and appears to walk toward a waiting car.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg leaves his New York office on March 22, 2023.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

4. The judicial process will be a messy affair

Most low-level felony and misdemeanor cases are resolved before trial, especially when there is no obvious victim. Typically, the prosecution will offer a plea deal, perhaps including a term of probation, or even propose a diversion program with community service, for example, which will lead to a dismissal of the charges.

It will be interesting to see if Bragg makes an offer along those lines. Even if he does, defendants must typically admit guilt to take advantage of these arrangements, and Trump may refuse for political, personal or legal reasons to admit guilt.

So it’s likely the case will go to trial, a process that will be messy for many reasons – most importantly, the jury.

When choosing a jury in a criminal case, the trial judge is supposed to screen out potential jurors who are biased in favor of, or against, the defendant. That’s normally easy because the jurors have usually never have heard of the defendant.

But most potential jurors will have opinions about Trump and many will need to be excused from jury service because of a lack of objectivity.

In a trial with this much media attention, there will also be people who have strong feelings about Trump and want to be on the jury. Some of them may hide their biases. That’s a problem by itself.

Then, once the trial starts, the media attention will shine a spotlight on the selected jurors. If it becomes clear that the jurors lied or failed to disclose information in jury selection, that could be grounds for removing them from the jury in the middle of the trial. If enough jurors are removed, the case will end in a mistrial, sending everyone back to square one.

So, while there is a lot about this prosecution that isn’t yet clear to the general public, one thing is clear – this will be a case with unprecedented attention and complexity.The Conversation

Jeffrey Bellin, Mills E. Godwin, Jr., Professor of Law, William & Mary Law School

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone, while this has never happened before (though it probably should have), my expectation is that the prosecutors, the court, and the court security personnel (and there will be some) are going to be, at every moment, asking themselves, “Can we do this just as we would do for anyone else?” And if the answer is yes, that’s what will be done. If not, they will struggle to come as close to “just as … for anyone else” as they possibly can. I think it was Bette Davis (maybe technically her character in the film) who was the first person recorded to have said, not on an airplane, “Fasten your seat belts. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.”

The Furies and I will be back.

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Apr 022023
 

Glenn Kirschner – Trump set to be arraigned on his criminal indictment on Tuesday. Then, it’s on to “The Trump Trials”

MSNBC – New Fox emails: CEO says Trump fact-checks are ‘bad for business’

Ring of Fire – Trump’s Entire Life Just Got Turned Upside Down

Rocky Mountain Mike – I’m So Indicted

Cat Hides From Her Foster Mom For A Year — Then She Does This

Beau – Let’s talk about the GOP, Obamacare, and Wyoming….

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Apr 012023
 

Glenn Kirschner – Donald Trump INDICTED! What will happened when he’s booked by the police & arraigned by the judge?

MSNBC – Maddow: Prepare for New York D.A.’s Trump case to be… boring.

Ojeda Live – No More Thoughts and Prayers

Mrs. Betty Bowers – Trump Indicted!

Tiny, Scared Puppy Falls In Love With A 120-Pound Great Dane

Beau – Let’s talk about making the right move….

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Apr 012023
 

Yesterday, reading Heather Cox Richardson’s Letter from an American for Thursday, I stumbled on a piece of information which I suspect has mostly gotten lost in the brou-ha-ha over The Indictment. And that is that Turkey has dropped it’s objections to Finland joining NATO – and that this was all that was needed for Finland to become a NATO member. That is great news for Finland, but also for all democracies, since it also strengthens NATO, both in reality and symbolically.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Daily Kos (Dartagnan) – Oh no! CNN says we’re in ‘uncharted waters!’
Quote – We had a president who embraced white supremacy and intentionally inspired terrorist attacks against Americans. Those are “uncharted waters.” We had a president who was defeated soundly in 2020, then proceeded to lie about the results, corroding our democracy, probably irreparably. Those are “uncharted waters.”… So please, don’t even talk to me about “uncharted waters.” That ship sailed a long, long time ago.
Click through for aall the points. This should go viral.

Civil Discourse – Indicted
Quote – Expect a circus in the courthouse on Tuesday when Trump arrives for arraignment. He is a different kind of defendant, so there will be some differences in how he’s treated—for one thing, he’ll be accompanied by at least one Secret Service agent as he goes through the booking process and there will be a focus on safety so don’t expect a traditional “perp walk”. But essentially, Trump will find himself in the same position as any other defendant, submitting to the booking process, being fingerprinted, photographed and arraigned in open court. He will also face a judge. There has been some suggestion it will be Judge Juan Manuel Merchan, who was in charge of the Manhattan DA’s prosecution of the Trump Organization, and who ran a tight ship.
Click through for details. There is a lot of speculation on what the arraignment will look like, and I wanted to capture the speculation of a former federal prosecutor in her own words. It’s still speculation, but it experience-based.

Food For Thought

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 Comments Off on Open Thread April 1, 2023  Tagged with: ,
Mar 312023
 

(The Liberal Redneck is from Tennessee, and I keep expecting avideo from him about the Nashville mass shooting. There hasn’t been one yet – and it really wouldn’t surprise me if he finds it just too hard to talk about – but i’ll keep looking.)

Glenn Kirschner – NY DA Alvin Bragg pauses grand jury investigation of Donald Trump’s NY crimes. What might this mean?

Meidas Touch – Tennessee Republican makes STUNNING admission during live interview

MSNBC – Fox News aired Dominion conspiracy theories despite fact-checking unit’s disproval

Robert Reich – The Hidden Costs of Denying Paid Sick Leave

Pittie Lets Foster Kittens Nurse On Her

Beau – Let’s talk about 2 big Trump developments, privilege, and jurors….

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Mar 312023
 

Yesterday, I made a couple of cartoons. I don’t need all that many, but I did need two for the first week. I won’t need another before the 20th, so that gives me some slack. And did y’all see the breaking news comment in yesterday’s OT? Or did you get the news elsewhere? Are the able bodied among you dancing in the streets?

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Conversation – This course uses science fiction to understand politics
Quote – What does the course explore? We explore issues of racism, gender, anarchy and the end of civilization. I chose books that encourage students to focus on the political aspects of each work. At the beginning of the course, I ask students how closely they connect science fiction and politics. At the end of the course, students have the opportunity to revisit and revise their response to that question. By that point, students have participated in discussions, written papers and completed short assignments that ask them to explore and articulate political themes in each book.
Click through for details. If Beau sees this, he’ll be tickled. He’s a big fan of using science fiction to understand, not just politics, but much of the human codition.

The Atlantic (no paywall) – My 6-Year-Old Son Died. Then the Anti-vaxxers Found Out.
Quote – My grief is profound, ragged, desperate. I cannot imagine how anything could feel worse But vaccine opponents on the internet, who somehow assumed that a COVID shot was responsible for my son’s death, thought my family’s pain was funny. “Lol. Yay for the jab. Right? Right?” wrote one person on Twitter. “Your decision to vaccinate your son resulted in his death,” wrote another. “This is all on YOU.” “Murder in the first.”
Click through for full story. This is no way to run a civilization. This kind of harassment needs to be made a felony in all states and all territories (and, as I think I may have said before, there will be plenty of room in prisons if we just release all those convicted of personal use drug possession and breathing while black.)

Food For Thought

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Mar 302023
 

Glenn Kirschner – Judge ORDERS Mike Pence to testify to the grand jury about the crimes of Donald Trump

The Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party – March 28, 2023

Vice President Kamala Harris delivers speech in Ghana during tour of Africa (8 minutes, but full speech would have been too long)

Farron Balanced – Confused Lauren Boebert Derails House Hearing With Insane Request (Could we use this to discuss putting schoolchildren and teachers on the endangered species list due to mass shootings?)

Groundhog Brings His Son To Visit His Human Best Friend

Beau – Let’s talk about Colorado, the GOP, and trends…. (Heaven knows want a more progressive Demoratic Party. But I don’t think that’s necessarily going on state wide. I would look first at the caucus system becoming less important, and the flexibility that being unaffiliated in Colorado gives voters to vote in whchever primary they would prefer to vote in. I also think, though I may be wrong, that there is actually aparty on Colorado called the Independent Party which people who don’t realize it exists may get attached to unless they specifically say “unaffiliated. In any case, we do have a small Green PArty and a small LibertarienPartyand,though small, their numbers should be included in a discussion like this.)

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Mar 292023
 

Glenn Kirschner – Donald Trump’s threats to NY DA Alvin Bragg VIOLATE BOTH NEW YORK AND FEDERAL criminal statutes.

PoliticsGirl – TikTok Ban

Ring of Fire – Jim Jordan’s Staffers Whine That Manhattan DA’s Office Keeps Hanging Up On Them (I’d be inclined to send everything to VMX, with an OGM which apologizes to legitimate callers and explains why. Put one person – maybe hire someone for it – to traanscribe it all overnight.)

Mrs. Betty Bowers – The Game of Anti-Woke DISTRACTIONS

Hissing Feral Cat Falls In Love With The Guy Who Rescued Him

Beau – Let’s talk about a win at the Supreme Court for Americans with disabilities….

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