The Week Ahead

September 15, 2024

In news that is still developing, the Secret Service fired shots and later apprehended a man who, armed with an AK-47-style assault weapon and a GoPro camera, attempted to position himself on a fence several holes ahead of Donald Trump as he played golf at his Trump International Golf Course. The former president was not harmed. Violence, and especially political violence, if that is what this proves to be, is unacceptable, and leaders from across the spectrum should unequivocally condemn it.

Earlier Today, Donald Trump posted, “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT” on Truth Social. You have to wonder if he understands the power of the Swifties, especially with many of Taylor’s fans already outraged by the loss of access to abortion care and other rights following Dobbs and understanding that implementing Project 2025 really could mean second-class citizenship for women. Swift’s post explaining how to register to vote online sent 405,999 users to the site vote.gov during the day after she posted.

As the political fray escalates, the legal system, and with it the prospect of accountability for Donald Trump for trying to steal the 2020 election, seems to be at a virtual standstill. Progress has slowed after a little burst of activity earlier in the month. But don’t be misled. That doesn’t mean Trump has been marked safe, far from it. None of this can be put off forever, and especially if Trump loses the election, the legal proceedings will be full speed ahead towards whatever outcome juries dictate when the cases against him are finally heard in court.

Jack Smith has already committed to pursuing his cases against Trump for as long as possible. And increasingly there’s the possibility that could be a very long time, at least another four years. Not this week, but next, Jack Smith will file his opening brief in the Washington, D.C., case, explaining his position on why the superseding indictment he obtained from a grand jury can proceed despite the Supreme Court’s decision about presidential immunity last term. And his appeal to the Eleventh Circuit over Judge Aileen Cannon’s dismissal of the classified documents case is about to get underway.

In Georgia, Republicans in the state legislature attempted to subpoena Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to testify about her relationship with a former prosecutor who has since left the office. (Their relationship is already the subject of an appeal to Georgia’s appellate courts over whether she can remain on the case. It will not be resolved before the end of the year.) Although news reports suggested Willis was “defying” the subpoenas and refusing to show up to testify, that was not the case. Her lawyer, former Georgia Governor Roy Barnes, is contesting the validity of the subpoenas and said his client would not appear until the legal dispute was resolved.

Even Trump’s New York sentencing cannot be delayed indefinitely. Judge Juan Merchan is expected to rule as early as Monday on Trump’s pending motions to set aside the verdict. They are unlikely to be granted—a federal judge previously rejected similar claims, finding the Manhattan District Attorney’s case was about Trump’s pre-presidential personal activity—paying hush money to Stormy Daniels to keep her from disclosing that they had sex while his wife was home with their infant son on the even of the election in 2016. Hopefully, even this Supreme Court isn’t contortionist enough to find a way to rule that conduct that took place before an election, let alone an inauguration, gets immunity. As things stand, Trump is a convicted felon, soon to be sentenced.

We live in the moment where “justice delayed is justice denied” meets “the wheels of justice turn slowly, but grind exceedingly fine.” And that happens against the political backdrop of an increasingly cartoonish Republican candidate who rants about immigrants eating pet cats even though it’s demonstrably untrue and dangerous—schools were forced to close due to bomb threats for two days in Springfield, Ohio, as officials pleaded for people to reject false information about “illegal aliens” eating pets and spreading communicable diseases. Even Trump’s staunchest of allies, Roger Stone, the guy with the Nixon tattoo on his back, seems to understand Trump’s downward spiral, noting that Kamala Harris’ debate performance was so good, so polished that she must have had the questions beforehand. Except, she didn’t.

Also of interest:

Wisconsin

Back in June, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul filed felony forgery charges against three Trump cronies involved in the fake electors scheme in that state. We discussed that indictment here. At long last, the three men are due to have their initial appearance in court on Thursday the 19th.

Special Counsel’s January 6 prosecution in D.C.

Although the immunity issue doesn’t formally get underway until Jack Smith files his opening brief on September 26, on Thursday, Trump, who previously filed two related motions seeking to force the government to provide him with discovery and to expand the scope of who is included as part of the prosecution team to force Jack Smith’s office to search more broadly for evidence the might exculpate Trump, has a reply brief due. Smith’s office has already responded.

Trump is complaining to the court, over Smith’s denial, that the government is withholding information from him which he is entitled to. Smith told the court Trump wants to expand the scope of evidence the government has to provide him with far beyond what the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure call for and beyond what any other defendant would receive.

It will be up to Judge Chutkan to resolve the dispute.

Perhaps a minor point here, but Trump contended in his original motion that he believes he won the election, although he was forced to concede that will be an issue for the jury to decide at trial.

Trump’s problem is, he recently acknowledged he lost “by a whisker.”

Trump, of course, tried to walk it back, but there is no doubt Jack Smith took note. It’s unlikely to come up in Trump’s reply brief this week, but it suggests that when the wheels of justice are finally able to grind, justice will be delivered. Even Trump gets lost in his own lies.

Gary Markstein is an artist at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and was previously the cartoonist for the Tribune Newspapers in Arizona. His work is always extraordinary, like this cartoon.

Of course, Trump didn’t lose by a whisker. He lost by 7 million votes across the country and 74 electoral college votes. Election results were confirmed by officials in every state, and Trump’s claims to the contrary were rejected in lawsuit after lawsuit, including those where Trump himself had appointed the judge who decided against him. When the delay games stop and these cases get to court, accountability sets in.

That is one of the reasons the outcome of this election is so incredibly important. Whatever the outcome of these cases in court, justice matters. Winning the election is how we get there.

We’re in this together,

Joyce

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