{"id":114085,"date":"2024-10-14T16:02:01","date_gmt":"2024-10-14T09:02:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=114085"},"modified":"2024-10-14T16:02:01","modified_gmt":"2024-10-14T09:02:01","slug":"this-could-have-been-a-year-of-a-federal-court-reckoning-for-trump-judges-had-other-ideas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=114085","title":{"rendered":"This could have been a year of a federal court reckoning for Trump. Judges had other ideas"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-justice-department-indictment-classified-documents-miami-8315a5b23c18f27083ed64eef21efff3\">indictment charging Donald Trump with hoarding classified documents<\/a><\/span> leveled one jaw-dropping allegation after another, including that he showed off a secret Pentagon attack plan to guests at his golf club and suggested his lawyer mislead the FBI about the presence of the White House records.<\/p>\n<p>But those details proved beside the point to the Trump-appointed judge presiding over the prosecution, who <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-classified-documents-smith-c66d5ffb7ba86c1b991f95e89bdeba0c\">dismissed the case<\/a><\/span> on grounds that the special counsel who brought it was unlawfully put in the job.<\/p>\n<p>A <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-indicted-jan-6-investigation-special-counsel-debb59bb7a4d9f93f7e2dace01feccdc\">separate criminal case<\/a><\/span> accusing Trump of conspiring to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election seemed an opportunity for a trial this year focused on Trump\u2019s failed effort to retain power after his loss to Democrat Joe Biden.<\/p>\n<p>But the <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/supreme-court-trump-capitol-riot-immunity-2dc0d1c2368d404adc0054151490f542\">Supreme Court erased that possibility with an opinion<\/a><\/span> that granted former presidents expansive immunity from prosecution.<\/p>\n<p>A year that began with the prospect of a federal court reckoning for Trump will end without any chance of a trial, leaving voters without the finality of an up-or-down jury verdict in the two most consequential cases against the Republican presidential nominee. Yet <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/jack-smith-donald-trump-justice-department-jan-6-classified-documents-403dfb2d4b2982210b4896fc72cb9906\">both cases still loom over the election<\/a><\/span>, their potential resurgence in the coming months making clear that at stake on Nov. 5 is not only the presidency but also possibly Trump\u2019s liberty.<\/p>\n<p>If Trump loses to Democrat Kamala Harris, he is at risk of trial and possible conviction in the classified documents case, assuming a federal appeals court revives it, or in the election interference case, where <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-jack-smith-jan-6-186c874404912578e44d5781c8267e2d\">prosecutors issued a new indictment<\/a><\/span> after the Supreme Court\u2019s immunity opinion. <\/p>\n<p>If Trump wins the White House, his attorney general could end both cases, and an <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-trial-deliberations-jury-testimony-verdict-85558c6d08efb434d05b694364470aa0\">already delayed sentencing in his state hush money case in New York<\/a><\/span> \u2014 <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/projects\/trump-investigations-civil-criminal-tracker\/\">his only prosecution<\/a><\/span> to reach a jury and end with a conviction \u2014 will be in even further flux.<\/p>\n<p>That neither federal case made it to trial despite being brought well over a year ago highlights the complexities of prosecuting a former president and represents a vindication of sorts of the Trump team\u2019s strategy of delay. It\u2019s also a reflection of the immense hurdles prosecutors encountered before Republican-appointed judges, some of them selected by Trump, who in one case articulated a hugely expansive and novel view of presidential power and in the other appeared deeply skeptical of the prosecution\u2019s premise well before derailing it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe reality is that efforts to hold the former president legally accountable (before the election), independent of the realm of politics, have failed in a wide variety of venues for a wide variety of reasons,\u201d said Temple University law professor Craig Green. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd what that means is it\u2019s up to the American people\u201d \u2014 not the courts \u2014 \u201cwhat they have in mind for their future president.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>The Florida dismissal<\/h2>\n<p>The dismissal of the classified documents indictment was especially stunning because the case was seen inside the Justice Department and by legal experts as the most legally straightforward of the Trump prosecutions. Unlike the election interference case, it concerned behavior that occurred after Trump had left office in January 2021 and for which federal prosecutions are routine.<\/p>\n<p>The outcome followed nearly two years of tensions between prosecutors and Aileen Cannon, a federal judge in Fort Pierce, Florida, with scant trial experience whose relationship with special counsel Jack Smith\u2019s team had long ago soured and whose willingness to entertain all manner of motions by Trump\u2019s defense lawyers had snarled the case before its eventual dismissal.<\/p>\n<div class=\"Infobox\" data-module=\"\" data-gtm-region=\"What to know about the 2024 Election Today's news: Follow live updates from the campaign trail from the AP. Ground Game: Sign up for AP's weekly politics newsletter to get it in your inbox every Monday. AP's Role: The Associated Press is the most trusted source of information on election night, with a history of accuracy dating to 1848. Learn more.\" data-align-center=\"\">\n<div class=\"Infobox-items RichTextBody\">\n<p><b>What to know about the 2024 Election<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>An indication of just how far afield the case had strayed from core factual issues was evident during a <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=eric+tucker+apnews+cannon+june+2024&amp;sca_esv=60dc7b8df89f0db7&amp;sca_upv=1&amp;rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS1084US1084&amp;sxsrf=ADLYWIIEX7lLZQkK3wqov1W94GBHPrY-Qw:1727102023022&amp;ei=R3zxZt18kKLk2g-WkcfBBQ&amp;start=10&amp;sa=N&amp;sstk=AagrsuhlHVd1matx_M5v3NAEWyO2Fg3HxOtbVCpF6inQ6UH8A_fT_1BSLNEy73zdxWxzrgYB4iijc268VnroeWUQsqbE7sKpg7ZznQ&amp;ved=2ahUKEwidvMq0pNmIAxUQEVkFHZbIMVgQ8tMDegQIBBAE&amp;biw=1280&amp;bih=585&amp;dpr=1.5\">June hearing where Cannon occupied herself with the so-called Reno Regulations<\/a><\/span>, the Ethics in Government Act and an esoteric legal principle, the \u201cde facto officer doctrine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>By day\u2019s end, the government\u2019s simmering exasperation had boiled over, with prosecutor David Harbach complaining that because of Cannon\u2019s persistent questions, he\u2019d been able to make only one of his points.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMr. Harbach,\u201d she snapped. \u201cI don\u2019t appreciate your tone. I think we\u2019ve been here before, and I would expect decorum in this courtroom at all times.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The hearing ended without a ruling. <\/p>\n<p>But three weeks later, and two days <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-vp-vance-rubio-7c7ba6b99b5f38d2d840ed95b2fdc3e5\">after Trump survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania<\/a><\/span>, Cannon dismissed the case. Siding with Trump\u2019s arguments, she ruled that Smith had been appointed illegally by Attorney General Merrick Garland and should have been subject to confirmation by the Senate. <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-maralago-classified-documents-411e8e3b4d31923560effdd0d2082af4\">Smith appealed, calling Cannon\u2019s ruling contrary to decades of precedent<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s unclear how long it will take for the appeal to resolve, but if Cannon\u2019s opinion is overturned and Trump loses the election, prosecutors would be able to resurrect compelling evidence accrued during the investigation. <\/p>\n<p>That includes an audio recording of Trump boasting of a sensitive document he said he knew was classified and security camera footage showing boxes of records being moved from a storage room at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida home, days before investigators came to collect documents. When that June 2022 visit occurred, <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/mar-a-lago-government-and-politics-1fef158c3a66bfc0ba6224570753ba47\">a Trump lawyer handed over a single folder<\/a><\/span> even though boxes of files remained at the property.<\/p>\n<p>That August, <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/florida-donald-trump-mar-a-lago-merrick-garland-government-and-politics-f63c018b600e1539ff3660a896a132d0\">the FBI recovered 11 sets of classified documents<\/a><\/span> during a search of Mar-a-Lago, an action that followed heated disagreements between FBI and Justice Department officials focused less on the strength of the evidence and more on whether it was the appropriate investigative step.<\/p>\n<p>Trump has maintained he did nothing wrong by retaining records from his presidency.<\/p>\n<p>The investigation was far along by the time Smith, <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/politics-donald-trump-merrick-garland-government-and-550c01de053c08db4d53ca57f315feb6\">a war crimes prosecutor in The Hague and a known commodity inside the Justice Department<\/a><\/span> who\u2019d been brought in more than a decade earlier to lead its public corruption section, was appointed by Garland in November 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Once on the job, Smith took steps to press the case toward indictment \u2014 his team successfully argued before a <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-classified-documents-grand-jury-justice-department-623428540a6cff1b5dcdf697cdf45b5d\">federal appeals court to secure grand jury testimony from a lead Trump lawyer<\/a><\/span>, M. Evan Corcoran, whose cooperation Trump had sought to block by invoking attorney-client privilege. <\/p>\n<p>Though Trump\u2019s legal peril had long been clear, one late surprise surfaced when prosecutors began <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-maralago-justice-department-florida-a8b997a460ce27697bfbb41947d947ff\">presenting evidence to a grand jury in Florida<\/a><\/span> \u2014 rather than the one in Washington they had been using \u2014 to obtain the indictment. After all, the documents were found in Florida and indicting the case there would avert a court fight over proper venue. <\/p>\n<p>The decision carried significant risk. <\/p>\n<p>Before the indictment was unsealed, word came that the case had been assigned \u2014 randomly, the court clerk said \u2014 to Cannon. <\/p>\n<p>It was an unwelcome development for a Justice Department that had tangled with her a year earlier when <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/donald-trump-mar-a-lago-government-and-politics-bc980316f80f88620b92e5666f96251c\">she ruled in favor of Trump\u2019s request for an independent arbiter<\/a><\/span> to review the records seized by the FBI. <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/donald-trump-mar-a-lago-criminal-investigations-government-and-politics-16748b82a502c0eec977d3ec51390027\">That order was overturned by a unanimous federal appeals panel<\/a><\/span> after prosecutors vigorously objected.<\/p>\n<p>The fraught dynamic resumed where it had left off as prosecutors\u2019 desire for a trial collided with Cannon\u2019s deliberative, often quixotic, style that permitted drawn-out disputes on seemingly peripheral motions and produced flashes of exasperation.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-classified-documents-a99a6bc9fd9b44ffddecf979f8e1baa9\">When Cannon initially permitted the defense to file<\/a><\/span> a motion that would include names of government witnesses, prosecutors implored her to reconsider, citing what they said were security risks. When she asked the two sides to formulate jury instructions, prosecutors complained that she had articulated a \u201cfundamentally flawed\u201d premise of the case.<\/p>\n<p>Under her watch, long-shot defense requests lingered for months, causing delays that led <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-trial-classified-documents-judge-cannon-6f910c3cbe8d91e493ab5fb13019d45f\">her to indefinitely postpone the trial date. <\/a><\/span> She held a hearing on Trump\u2019s legally questionable claim that he was permitted under the Presidential Records Act to take the files to Mar-a-Lago, and agreed before <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-classified-documents-maralago-presidential-records-200d4c73d7c7dd75d9c9d878b77d05ce\">dismissing the case to revisit a different judge\u2019s order<\/a><\/span> that gave prosecutors access to Corcoran, Trump\u2019s lawyer.<\/p>\n<p>Smith\u2019s team had hoped for a trial that could have started last spring. Instead, prosecutors found themselves before Cannon for a multiday hearing in June over Smith\u2019s appointment, where Harbach lamented that defense lawyers had been permitted to \u201chijack\u201d the proceedings with what he said were frivolous arguments.<\/p>\n<p>Days later, Trump\u2019s lawyers got an unexpected lift from the Supreme Court immunity ruling, which included a concurring opinion from Justice Clarence Thomas backing their position that Smith\u2019s appointment was illegal. <\/p>\n<p>Just like that, an argument that to many legal experts seemed dubious had an endorsement from a member of the nation\u2019s highest court.<\/p>\n<p>Even as frustrations mounted, department officials never sought Cannon\u2019s removal from the case, a low-probability request that likely would have exacerbated relations had it failed. They did not do so even when they told the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in August that her order dismissing the case relied on a \u201cnonsensical\u201d analysis. <\/p>\n<p>The appeal is pending before that court, which has the option to reassign the case if it reverses Cannon\u2019s ruling.<\/p>\n<h2>The Washington delay<\/h2>\n<p>Late last year, the judge overseeing Trump\u2019s election interference case was pushing toward trial.<\/p>\n<p>With an eye toward a March 2024 date, <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-indictment-judge-tanya-chutkan-capitol-riot-9ba5c18d315697d759521425ea203012\">U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan<\/a><\/span> planned to summon District of Columbia residents to complete a questionnaire in a step toward winnowing the potential juror pool. Officials braced for a crush of reporters covering the historic trial.<\/p>\n<p>It <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-justice-department-january-6-appeal-20726ba42ac87cd2f3a3ffc6a2145490\">screeched to a halt<\/a><\/span> in December.<\/p>\n<p>From the start, allegations that Trump broke the law through actions he took in the White House seemed destined for a protracted court fight testing the limits of presidential power. So it was hardly surprising when Trump\u2019s lawyers demanded the case\u2019s dismissal, <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-justice-department-jan-6-special-counsel-118943be656200bbc3f22cd8612c1f8b\">arguing he enjoyed absolute immunity<\/a><\/span> from prosecution.<\/p>\n<p>Chutkan, who was nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama, rejected the argument <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-capitol-riot-immunity-donald-trump-a98872759762c95fa925ff831df27388\">with a December ruling<\/a><\/span> that said the office of the president \u201cdoes not confer a lifelong \u2018get-out-of-jail-free\u2019 pass.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>But crucially, she put the case on hold to give Trump time to appeal to Washington\u2019s federal appeals court and ultimately the Supreme Court. <\/p>\n<p>It would be nearly a year from the time the case was frozen before it was back in Chutkan\u2019s courtroom. By then, <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-jack-smith-jan-6-186c874404912578e44d5781c8267e2d\">the indictment was slimmed down<\/a><\/span>, and it wasn\u2019t clear when \u2014 if ever \u2014 there would be a trial.<\/p>\n<p>The investigation into the attack on the <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/projects\/january-6-cases\/\">Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021<\/a><\/span> \u2014 which has become the largest in Justice Department history \u2014 had consumed agents and prosecutors by the time <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/donald-trump-merrick-garland-26472a2681bbe71d05250b36e2c89c22\">Garland was sworn in<\/a><\/span> as attorney general two months later. <\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors had begun charging rioters through a bottom-up investigative strategy heavily focused on the most violent offenders who attacked police and far-right militia group members who were suspected of planning and coordination. Another investigative effort searching for financial ties between the rioters and Trump allies ultimately hit a dead end. <\/p>\n<p>One year into the investigation, Garland defended the department\u2019s deliberate pace as pressure mounted for the Justice Department to hold accountable more than just those who stormed the seat of American democracy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Justice Department remains committed to holding all January 6th perpetrators, at any level, accountable under law \u2014 whether they were present that day or were otherwise criminally responsible for the assault on our democracy,\u201d Garland <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/speech\/attorney-general-merrick-b-garland-delivers-remarks-first-anniversary-attack-capitol#:~:text=The%20actions%20we%20have%20taken,the%20assault%20on%20our%20democracy.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said at the time<\/a><\/span>. \u201cWe will follow the facts wherever they lead.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The facts led squarely to Trump, according to a <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-indicted-jan-6-investigation-special-counsel-debb59bb7a4d9f93f7e2dace01feccdc\">conspiracy and obstruction indictment<\/a><\/span> filed nearly nine months after Smith\u2019s appointment. Trump, for his part, has repeatedly maintained that he was entitled to challenge an election that he still insists was stolen even though judges and <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/barr-no-widespread-election-fraud-b1f1488796c9a98c4b1a9061a6c7f49d\">his own attorney general concluded otherwise.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Trump team\u2019s pursuit of immunity claims, which Chutkan swatted away without a hearing, snarled the case before it could ever develop.<\/p>\n<p>Without ever explicitly mentioning the 2024 election, <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/supreme-court-trump-prosecution-immunity-f3e7206bdf169c9faa15a19084541824\">Smith\u2019s team in December asked the Supreme Court to leapfrog Washington\u2019s federal appeals court<\/a><\/span> and rule quickly on whether Trump could be prosecuted. Acknowledging the \u201cextraordinary request,\u201d Smith\u2019s team called it \u201can extraordinary case.\u201d Trump\u2019s campaign accused Smith of trying to rush to trial for political purposes.<\/p>\n<p>After <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-january-6-justice-department-90b93eeb663ebaf67a2e0bc266390fa0\">the Supreme Court denied Smith\u2019s request to immediately take up the case<\/a><\/span>, the federal appeals court heard arguments and joined Chutkan in turning aside the immunity claims. It would be another two months before the Supreme Court, in late April, said it was prepared to consider the case.<\/p>\n<p>During arguments <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/supreme-court-trump-capitol-riot-prosecution-immunity-72c885c07c77970d4380206f87b2d8ca\">, several conservative justices<\/a><\/span> indicated they were prepared to limit when former presidents might be prosecuted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis case has huge implications for the presidency, for the future of the presidency, for the future of the country,\u201d said Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The court, added Justice Neil Gorsuch, is writing a decision \u201cfor the ages.\u201d Both were nominated by Trump.<\/p>\n<p>The Supreme Court moved quickly in prior cases involving presidents, deciding the 1974 Watergate tapes case against Republican President Richard Nixon just 16 days after arguments. In Trump\u2019s case, the justices <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/supreme-court-trump-capitol-riot-immunity-2dc0d1c2368d404adc0054151490f542\">issued their ruling<\/a><\/span> on July 1, the last day of their term and more than nine weeks after having heard arguments.<\/p>\n<p>The <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-immunity-supreme-court-capitol-riot-trial-72ec35de776315183e1db561257cb108\">decision held<\/a><\/span> that Trump was absolutely immune from prosecution for acts involving core constitutional functions \u2014 in the process, stripping from the indictment Trump\u2019s dealings with the Justice Department \u2014 and at least presumptively immune for other official actions. The court also reaffirmed that no immunity exists for a president\u2019s private acts, like those taken as a candidate.<\/p>\n<p>But the justices didn\u2019t spell out which allegations Trump could be prosecuted for, leaving it to Chutkan to decide. Smith subsequently <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-capitol-riot-jan-6-jack-smith-b2a490d6c4faa2ee188f8b6749cfd0c0\">filed a new indictment<\/a><\/span> removing references to allegations that prosecutors believed could be considered official acts.<\/p>\n<p>Among the acts in legal limbo is Trump\u2019s badgering of his vice president, <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/politics-michael-pence-donald-trump-subpoenas-866034edd3ce3dfbc722b31a3d0e465f\">Mike Pence<\/a><\/span>, to refuse to certify the electoral results. Pence, who had declined to testify before Congress, became an important witness for Smith\u2019s team after prosecutors secured court approval <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/politics-michael-pence-donald-trump-subpoenas-866034edd3ce3dfbc722b31a3d0e465f\">to enforce a subpoena<\/a><\/span> for his grand jury testimony. It was a key courtroom victory given his proximity to the then-president and the fact that Pence took contemporaneous notes of conversations with Trump.<\/p>\n<p>With prosecutors and Trump\u2019s lawyers back in her courtroom for the first time this year, <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-justice-department-jan-6-jack-smith-f29a81ddd995b15afe95fcc00e928465\">Chutkan vowed in September<\/a><\/span> that the election would not affect how she proceeded. She acknowledged that whatever she decided would be appealed again, likely to the Supreme Court. <\/p>\n<p>That means a trial, if it happens at all, could be a year or more away.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s no rush to judgment here,\u201d Chutkan said.<\/p>\n<p>____<\/p>\n<h2>The path forward<\/h2>\n<h2\/>\n<p>The classified documents case remains frozen unless an appeals court resurrects it.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s in contrast to the election interference case, where, in an effort to persuade Chutkan that the case should proceed, <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-election-interference-2020-pence-capitol-riot-c6b616ad45a33f4614cd73e9b77ea0cd\">prosecutors submitted a 165-page brief<\/a><\/span> featuring revelations about the alleged conspiracy. <\/p>\n<p>In one example, <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-election-interference-2020-pence-capitol-riot-c6b616ad45a33f4614cd73e9b77ea0cd\">the filing unsealed this month<\/a><\/span> quotes Trump as saying \u201cthe details don\u2019t matter\u201d when he was told that bogus election fraud claims would not stand up in court. And it says he responded with \u201cSo what?\u201d when informed that Pence was in potential peril at the Capitol on Jan. 6.<\/p>\n<p>No matter what happens, the cases\u2019 topsy-turvy trajectory provides further proof that accountability for a president \u2014 whether through an impeachment process or criminal case \u2014 is never guaranteed, said Princeton University presidential historian Julian Zelizer. <\/p>\n<p>The public is \u201ccounting on elected presidents to follow certain legal guardrails.\u201d But, he added, \u201cholding them accountable is not very easy at all.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script>\n  window.fbAsyncInit = function() {\n      FB.init({\n              appId : '870613919693099',\n          xfbml : true,\n          version : 'v2.9'\n      });\n  };\n  (function(d, s, id){\n     var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];\n     if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;}\n     js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;\n     js.src = \"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\";\n     fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);\n   }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-federal-court-classified-documents-2020-election-302f87960dbd84d7be5daedaf03328d8\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The indictment charging Donald Trump with hoarding classified documents leveled one jaw-dropping allegation after another, including that he showed off a secret Pentagon attack plan to guests &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=114085\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8629],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-u-s","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=114085"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114085\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=114085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=114085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=114085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}