'Is that the actual argument?' Ex-Trump lawyer clashes with legal analyst in CNN interview – Raw Story
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A former Trump attorney and a legal expert rumbled on CNN about why the 45th president's legal cases are in a tailspin.
The heated verbal clash on CNN's "NewsNight" saw sparks, and even forced CNN's Abby Phillip to referee at points.
In one corner was Tim Parlatore. And on the other The Nation's writer and legal expert Elie Mystal.
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Parlatore represented former President Donald Trump in his classified documents obstruction case before bailing.
Parlatore explained that if anybody is going to be blamed for any of his major criminal cases not seeing a trial room before the Nov. 5 election (assuming Trump wins the GOP nomination) it is Special Counsel Jack Smith.
"The reason why the Trump case is not being expedited, the immunity case, is because the prosecution did not articulate a reason why it needed to be expedited," he said. "Jack Smith went through great detail saying, 'Oh, it has to be done because it's so important, but he never said why and that's the problem is that you can't just say 'It's important!' because Jack Smith says it's important."
"You have to actually meet the legal standard and it's not in any of the papers."
This rankled Mystal.
"Is the actual argument here that Clarence Thomas and John Roberts don't know why it might be important to figure out if the president has committed crimes, needs to go to jail before the primaries?" he asked. "Is that really the argument that we're thinking here? Because I don't buy that."
"I don't believe that the issue here is that the Supreme Court just didn't know how important it might be to get Trump's trial moving and signed, sealed, and delivered before the primary process or before the Republican National Convention, or certainly before the election."
"That just doesn't make a lot of sense to me."
Parlatore answered that the "voters can decide" without a verdict in Trump's Jan. 6 election subversion case because "all of that information has been brought out through the Jan. 6 hearings."
Mystal then questioned why have a trial at all.
"So why have any trial," Mystal asked.
Then Parlatore flexed his legal bona fides and pointed the finger at Smith.
He repeated: "Jack Smith dragged his feet."
"You got to remember I was part of this case during the investigative phases," he said. "They could have brought this indictment much earlier. They didn't at the time we had Mar-a-Lago, which was going very fast that's a lot of activity."
"January 6, which was sitting there pretty much at a standstill — all the sudden, [Smith] brings this snap indictment and all of a sudden the next few weeks realize, 'Oh, shoot, I forgot to interview a whole bunch of witnesses.'"
Watch the video below or click here.
Special counsel Jack Smith would like the trial date for the Mar-a-Lago documents case to begin in July, but Judge Aileen Cannon on Friday sent a signal that might be too ambitious of a timeline.
Reporting from Florida, CNN chief legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid brought word that Judge Cannon appeared skeptical that starting the trial on July 8th would be realistic.
"In an ominous sign for prosecutors, we're learning that Judge Cannon called some aspects of the government's proposed schedule unrealistic, suggesting that she may delay this and may delay it further than this special counsel would like," said Reid.
But delaying the trial past Smith's proposed start date doesn't mean that it will necessarily be delayed until after the 2024 presidential election.
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"So far… Aileen Cannon, she has not signaled if she will definitely reschedule this trial or delay it, but she has given us some clues," reported Reid. "Now, prosecutors apparently told her that they believe the one thing both both parties agree on is that this can go this summer.
"Technically, that is true. The special counsel said they'd like this to start on July 8th. Trump lawyers said that if it has to go, it could start on August 12th, but they also argue that their client should not be sitting in a federal courtroom when they believe he should be out campaigning."
Smith's other case against Trump, which revolves around his attempts to illegally remain in power after losing the 2020 presidential election, has already been delayed indefinitely while the United States Supreme Court hears Trump's appeal that he should have "absolute immunity" for any alleged crimes that he committed while in office.
Trump is also set to go on trial later this month for allegedly committing fraud related to hush-money payments he made in 2016 to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Watch the video below or at this link.
Judge Cannon just gave Jack Smith an 'ominous sign':www.youtube.com
An upstate New York man convicted of killing a young woman who mistakenly pulled into his driveway will likely spend the rest of his life in prison.
Kevin Monahan was sentenced Friday to 25 years to life for shooting into a car on April 15 and killing 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis, who had pulled into the driveway of his Hebron home with some friends while looking for a party, reported NBC News.
Monahan, 66, was convicted in January of second-degree murder, reckless endangerment and tampering with evidence for the killing, which was part of a string of similar cases last spring around the country.
Monahan testified at trial that he felt threatened when the car, another vehicle and a motorcycle pulled into the driveway of his rural home, so he fired a warning shot from a 2-gauge shotgun.
But he told the court a second shot — which killed Gillis — happened by accident when he tripped over nails sticking out of his deck.
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Gillis' boyfriend Blake Willis said shortly after the fatal shooting that the group realized they were at the wrong house and were pulling away when Monahan started shooting.
The group had to drive five miles to call for help because they did not have cellular service.
Fox News Business anchor Maria Bartiromo is attacking the Biden administration's efforts to encourage American citizens to register to vote. In interviews with several Republicans on Friday she claimed the federal government outreach only helps elect Democrats.
"Okay, so what are you all doing about it on the Republican side?" Bartiromo asked House Republican Majority Leader Steve Scalise Friday morning. "As the government, Biden's government, Biden's administration seems to be using a whole on government approach to get people to vote Democrat?"
Sticking to GOP talking points, Scalise suggested it is "the weaponization of government."
Bartiromo had cited an article on the right-wing website The Federalist, "9 Ways The Feds Are Using ‘Bidenbucks’ To Rig The 2024 Election," that details ways the administration is helping or encouraging Americans to register to vote. There is no such thing as "Bidenbucks."
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The article points to several instances where the administration is encouraging voter registration, like at colleges, or by outreach to Native Americans, and to new Americans.
"U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), an agency within DHS, announced an update to its Policy Manual in August, which included provisions directing agency employees to 'increase awareness and expand access to voter registration during naturalization ceremonies,' in which eligible immigrants officially become U.S. citizens."
It also claims, "Studies have indicated a voting preference among legal immigrants for Democrat candidates over Republican ones."
The Federalist reports other federal agencies are encouraging voter registration. The include: The Treasury Dept., the Department of the Interior, Veterans Affairs, Labor, Homeland Security, Agriculture, Health and Human Services, and Education.
Bartiromo also pummeled U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL): "What are the Republicans doing?"
Waltz replied the House has passed legislation to "defund" efforts to encourage American citizens to vote.
Watch the videos above or at this link.
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