There were two golden nuggets within the hearing Judge Chutkan just held about the DC election interference criminal case against Donald Trump, and I want to bring them out here and analyze them.
Both of these points are disastrous for Donald Trump. John Lauro, on one side, represents Donald Trump, a lawyer from Florida, who’s handling that matter, not Todd Blanche. On the other side, Tom Windom represents Jack Smith, the special counsel, and we have Judge Chutkan presiding.
Let me go over the two nuggets and explain why they are disastrous for Donald Trump, who already had a terrible week. He got what was reported as a delayed sentencing until November 26, but that doesn’t help him. That just leaves a shadow and a cloud over Donald Trump, as he’s now a convicted felon with no real avenues for appeal, and the sentencing and certain decisions by Judge Merchan are going to be delayed well after the debates and well after people have registered to vote. That’s terrible for Donald Trump.
Secondly, his lawyers did terribly at the Second Circuit Court of Appeals while arguing the E. Jean Carroll sexual assault case. Trump was found by two separate juries to have sexually abused E. Jean Carroll and owes her a total of almost $100 million. That appeal went terribly for Donald Trump’s lawyer John Saur, and now we have John Lauro making ridiculous arguments in front of Judge Chutkan, losing all credibility for future proceedings.
The revelation—the second nugget—is that Jack Smith and his team will present new evidence that the American public has never heard before. This will happen in a briefing that they are now ordered to file by September 26, per Judge Chutkan, regarding the immunity decision. They will show some of their cards, revealing evidence we haven’t seen to get past the Supreme Court’s immunity decision from July 1.
First, John Lauro raised the issue that he would file what I call a “Cannon motion” to disqualify the prosecution and dismiss the indictment. His argument is that Jack Smith was improperly appointed under the Appointments Clause of the Constitution and improperly funded. The only judge in the history of federal jurisprudence to ever believe that was Judge Cannon. Lauro raised this issue during the recent hearing on Thursday, but it was quickly shot down by Judge Chutkan. They can still file the motion, but Judge Chutkan made important points in response.
She stated that Judge Cannon’s decision in Florida was “not particularly persuasive,” and that it went against binding precedent from the DC Court of Appeals and ultimately the U.S. Supreme Court. Lauro responded by saying, “We were directed to file that motion by none other than Justice Thomas.” Lauro’s comment was shocking, as it suggests that Thomas was sending signals to Trump’s lawyers to file a motion that he might later support.
Lauro tried to walk back the comment, but Judge Chutkan quickly responded, asking if Thomas had given them an instruction. Lauro tried to clarify that it wasn’t an instruction, but maybe more of an invitation. This comment highlights the unethical nature of telegraphing future case considerations.
The other golden nugget from the hearing is the timeline Judge Chutkan adopted, which aligns almost entirely with what the prosecution proposed. Prosecutors want a quick briefing schedule that will run through September and October. Judge Chutkan agreed, and it’s important because the loser will inevitably appeal the immunity issue to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Additionally, this is terrible for Donald Trump because the prosecutors have indicated they will reveal new evidence in their briefings. This new evidence could be damaging to Trump as it will come out before voter registration ends in most states, even though it will be after the first debate. Trump’s legal team wants to avoid this at all costs, just like they didn’t want the pre-sentencing memo from the Manhattan DA outlining all of Trump’s bad conduct to be made public.
This is a terrible result for Donald Trump, and it’s not getting enough coverage. Not only are the deadlines now set as the prosecutors wanted, but the new evidence will come to light, and we’ll know about it soon.
That’s the takeaway from the Chutkan hearing that corporate media missed.