Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/07/15/judge-cannon-dismisses-federal-documents-case-against-trump.html
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The whole world is watching…
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So tell me that Jack Smith has now “gotta” appeal to have Judge Aileen “trump promised me a supreme court gig” Cannon removed/recused. …probably end up for legalistic reasons that even if such a removal is achieved it’ll take another three to thirty years to get the trial underway, but he’s …“gotta”. (surely? -sigh-)
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Probably already filed today. I get the feeling Jack Smith already prepared for this kind of fuckery.
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cold comfort 
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Chosen today presumably with an eye on the calendar and an awareness that pretty much everything will be given a pass in the media after the gunfight the other day.
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Well, the orange gasbag hired her for this very thing, and she delivered on her appointed job. Even if she can’t explicitly put “hired to let corrupt right-wing crooks get away with their crimes” on her resume, to those in the know she’s got that notch on her belt, and she’ll definitely go far in those circles.
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we can only hope that will happen soon.
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Getting the feeling, again, that this will get much worse.
What an embarrassment our legal system continues to be. Can’t even enforce rules written clearly in black-and-white.
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How is this reality?
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What I’m wondering is, how will Dems and other decent people in power fight back?
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Given Thomas’ less than subtle nudge in the immunity decision on this issue, it is far from certain that the SC would disagree with Cannon’s decision here. The argument is ludicrous and has been treated as such since it was raised by the loons putting it forward, but so was the total immunity argument. And then it won.
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I don’t condone political violence but when you remove all legal mechanisms for holding politicians accountable for their actions then it starts to become more or less inevitable.
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One of my favorite, most level-headed legal experts was especially frank about his thoughts on that ruling:
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It seems there are various possible outcomes.
The most likely might be that a higher court overrules Cannon’s dismissal, but sends the case back to her court for her to mess with some more.
It’s just possible that the higher court could rule that Cannon’s behavior indicates a pattern of bias, reverse the dismissal and assign the case to another judge.
However, the case likely won’t come to trial before the election. If Trump wins, he’ll make the case go away by dismissing Smith. If he doesn’t win, then his lawyers will appeal the case up to the Supreme Court, who will probably nuke the conviction by ruling that Smith was illegally appointed. This is the argument that Cannon made, based on an opinion that Clarence Thomas injected into the ‘presidential immunity’ ruling. The question of Smith’s appointment did not come up in the immunity case; Thomas just tossed his thoughts on the matter in there unasked, and Cannon promptly used them to quash the documents case (as Thomas plainly intended).
So there doesn’t seem to be a path for convicting Trump for the documents case, and the Supreme Court has made it as hard as possible to convict him in any of the other cases. If he is convicted on any of those, the Supreme Court will no doubt step in with another ad hoc ruling in his favor.
The only path that I can see to Trump ever being convicted for any of his crimes is if (a) Biden wins the election and the cases are allowed to go forward and (b) the Supremes decide that Trump is a spent force and it’s no longer worth putting their integrity on the line to give him special protection.
I’m not optimistic about (a), what with all the other fuckery going on. If, nevertheless, Trump loses, my guess is that the court majority will still be firmly in his corner. Even if Trump is no longer the Golden Meal Ticket that buys conservatives everything they’ve ever wanted on a plate, his appointed justices will still protect him just so they don’t find themselves on the wrong end of a MAGA sniper-scope. Or simply to say “fuck you” to their political enemies.
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There is no chance the current SCOTUS wouldn’t find that the President can pardon himself. If Trump wins, he will make all of the federal cases go away with a simple pardon.
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With this SCOTUS there’s no need for a President to pardon himself. He’s above the law already.
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Probably feeling now that he can’t lose, this may be her SCOTUS move.
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So what I’m hearing is that anyone who supports the idea of rule of law and who would like to respect the concept of justice should be demanding that Trump get his day in court and voting for Biden.
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Well technically they could decide the President can’t pardon himself, and their immunity ruling didn’t find him immune for unofficial acts or acts committed while not President. Which would include the documents case. Being able to pardon himself would complete the transition to being completely above the law.
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