WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal judge in Florida presiding over the classified documents prosecution of former President Donald Trump has canceled the May 20 trial date, postponing it indefinitely.
It must be nice to live in a world where you appoint your own judge. It’s time for Smith to take action. A judge can be removed in “any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned.” This is not impartiality.
Smith has been working on getting this crazy Judge removed for a while…
He hasn’t filed anything yet. She was way off base asking for jury instructions so early. Not to mention the PRA pre-trial defense was struck down without prejudice, meaning the defense may use it in the trial. Removing the trial from the calendar entirely is the icing on the cake.
He certainly has and has a history of doing so.
He hates her for all the right reasons, and is doing anything he can to get her removed from the case.
Edit: tbf, so is she
He has absolutely pushed back on her requests and challenged her decisions. He hasn’t done anything to get her removed yet. That would be filing a motion for recusal based on lack of impartiality.
From what I’ve heard he only gets one shot at a motion for recusal, so he’s waiting until there’s no chance the recusal will be denied.
Or so I hope
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Thanks for the new phrase
This ruling from her may have been the last straw he was waiting for before he files the motion for her to recuse.
He gets one shot at this, and he better not miss. That’s why he’s waiting until he has the absolute best chance he can have.
The “without predujice” term reminds me of sovcits
Without prejudice is a legal term.
If something is denied without prejudice it means it was denied for some sort of procedural reason. As the underlying question of law hasn’t been ruled on, you are free to refile after correcting whatever error got it denied.
If something is denied with prejudice, it cannot be refiled as the judge made a judgment on the legal claim and denied it on that basis.
At this point she should be considered an accessory to his crimes.
The judges impartiality is in question. The judge is demonstrating partiality to one side of the case.
Impartiality would imply that she’s not partial to one side or the other when she’s clearly favoring the defendant.
That is correct. I corrected my error.
They can be removed but then the next guy mysteriously falls out of a window.
what the fuck
He chose the judge for where he moved to commit the crimes… We shouldn’t expect anything less.
If she doesn’t get removed, next Republican president will make her a Supreme Court Justice.
I think that happens whether she’s removed or not.
Cannon was appointed by Trump and people are surprised that this happened
While that may explain a lack of impartiality, it doesn’t justify it. She’s held to the same standard as any other judge. All the more reason Smith should file a motion for recusal.
Just because something is supposed to happen does not mean that it will. By all rights Trump should have been kicked out of office and be sitting in jail right now but he isnt. Just like Nixon and a whole cadre of others that slithered away without facing any real consequences.
Just because things that should have happened and didn’t, doesn’t mean this time it won’t. This judge may face repercussions. It may not be any that impact the trump case though
Id love to be wrong here but Trump has been impeached twice (which did jack shit because the republicans in the senate would have had to help convict him) and the only real consequences for what hes done were in civil trials and even that was monetary. They didnt even make him pay the bail bond he was initially “required” to pay. He’s been threatened with consequences for contempt of court over a dozen times now.
Unfortunately the best predictor of the future is the past and the past hasnt laid a hand on him.
Oh sure sure. I’m saying this JUDGE may face repercussions.
Trump ? Idk I’m hanging on a prayer as the song says.
Has anyone in a position of authority ever faced consequences for this? Because in Cannon’s case, you’d have to prove that she didn’t have a legitimate reason to do what she did and that it rose to the level of an ethics violation deserving of punishment. Which we can infer given the obvious conflict of interest but if that was enough to punish her it would have probably happened by now. And the standard for evidence required to punish a judge like that is reasonably high.
the only real consequences for what hes done were in civil trials and even that was monetary.
Civil trial consequences are always only monetary - you can’t go to prison for a civil case. That’s part of why civil cases get away with having a much lower standard of evidence - essentially the plaintiff wins a civil case if it’s even slightly more likely than not but a prosecutor has to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
They didnt even make him pay the bail bond he was initially “required” to pay.
The purpose of that sort of bond is to prevent you from using funds you should use to pay damages on lawyers to fight the case further, not to prevent you from being able to fight it at all. By the point the bond was reduced the court had their eyes in his accounts and knew exactly what he could afford and could make some rough estimates based on the shakier parts of the assigned damages where damages might end up on appeal (it’s pretty common for damages to be reduced on appeal). I’d be willing to bet that the reduced bond was either close to what Trump could actually get without selling slow-to-liquidate assets (aka real estate) or close to where the court thinks damages might end up. You’ll notice he started hawking Bibles almost immediately afterward, likely because he needs more liquid funding in the short term.
He’s been threatened with consequences for contempt of court over a dozen times now.
I believe he’s been fined for it several times now, but the fine is set by law and is an amount that’s a pittance to Trump. Jailing him is an option but complicated since most jails don’t have remotely the capacity or security of a real prison and you’ve still got to figure out how to work his Secret Service detail into the picture. And also the protests from his cult if/when that happens.
but complicated since most jails don’t have remotely the capacity or security of a real prison and you’ve still got to figure out how to work his Secret Service detail into the picture. And also the protests from his cult if/when that happens.
Which are all things the judge acknowledged in his statement ashen he handed down the most recent contempt ruling.
Like it or not, there’s a lot more considerations to this than simply “lock him up”.
Civil trial consequences are always only monetary - you can’t go to prison for a civil case. That’s part of why civil cases get away with having a much lower standard of evidence
Which is exactly why I mentioned it. He has never faced consequences from criminal charges, only civil court.
You’ll notice he started hawking Bibles almost immediately afterward, likely because he needs more liquid funding in the short term.
He would have done that regardless of whether he “needed” funds or not. Like most obscenely rich people, there is no such thing as “enough” wealth.
I believe he’s been fined for it several times now, but the fine is set by law and is an amount that’s a pittance to Trump.
Which doesn’t really contradict my point that he effectively hasn’t faced any real consequences.
you’ve still got to figure out how to work his Secret Service detail into the picture.
He’s a criminal. He shouldn’t be afforded the same security detail as his predecessors that weren’t. We don’t “have to” do anything. It was just decided as a society that this man, and others like him, should be given privileges that others don’t have.
And also the protests from his cult if/when that happens.
This should never ever ever factor into what his punishment is. A functioning society needs a justice system that doesn’t cave to mobs.
Everything about this is abhorrant.
Which is exactly why I mentioned it. He has never faced consequences from criminal charges, only civil court.
You don’t face consequences from criminal charges until you are convicted, which hasn’t happened yet. Or someone is trying to make an example of you ala Kevin Mitnick.
He would have done that regardless of whether he “needed” funds or not. Like most obscenely rich people, there is no such thing as “enough” wealth.
I mean yeah, he’s absurdly rich and greedy but I don’t think he would have gone the route of Bible salesman like that if he wasn’t pinched for funds. Or he would have back when he posed for that photo of him holding the Bible upside down. It’s not a coincidence that the Bible sale started less than 48 hours from the bond being reduced.
Which doesn’t really contradict my point that he effectively hasn’t faced any real consequences.
He hasn’t been convicted of a crime yet. Until he is, he’s not going to prison. That’s pretty fundamental to how the criminal justice system works. He’s got damages levied against him that he’s going to challenge and probably have reduced some (that’s how it often goes), and had to put up $175M as a bond that will immediately go towards said damages after his appeal.
He’s a criminal. He shouldn’t be afforded the same security detail as his predecessors that weren’t. We don’t “have to” do anything. It was just decided as a society that this man, and others like him, should be given privileges that others don’t have.
You’d have to legally revoke his security detail, and even then you probably don’t want to - as a former President he’s a valuable asset because of what he might know despite his seemingly poor retention. As well as the sway he has over his cult. You ideally want to imprison him separate from all other prisoners with his security detail living on site if possible. I’ve said before the easiest way to make that happen is to convert the SHU at a medium-large prison into a sort of “Presidential suite” to house Trump and his security detail. No one else enters or leaves the unit, anything going in or out goes through both prison security and SS security.
It’s a side bonus that it prevents inmates from being thrown in solitary at the same time. And a proper prison is easier to defend from “protesters” than most jails are, and which prison he is sent to should take the possibility of an attack by right wing nutters into consideration.
This should never ever ever factor into what his punishment is. A functioning society needs a justice system that doesn’t cave to mobs.
It does, but only because you have to plan around it happening. Most jails aren’t really set up to deal with that sort of thing, and contempt sends you to jail, not prison. So you have to figure out how to do that without causing a bunch of innocent people to be injured or killed as a consequence. Ideally before you put him in the jail. And where to send the people you’d normally jail there, because he’s going to take up excessive space for the same security-related reasons he will in prison.
Trump knows where the bodies are buried on Epstein Island.
By all rights Trump should have been kicked out of office and be sitting in jail right now but he isnt.
Blame the Senate, kicking him out of office was literally their job.
She’s held to the same standard as any other judge.
which seems to be no standard at all…
All the more reason Smith should file a motion for recusal.
yet he inexplicably does not… hmm I wonder
He has not, but while her actions have been unconventional, she’s toed the line a bit when challenged. I’m hoping that removing the case from the calendar entirely is what pushes Smith to act.
I can bet you one million internet points he will not move against her.
Believe me, I will be very happy to lose this bet to you… but I have been burnt too many times to believe that will happen
holds breath
We should have been rioting a long time ago. All the “it takes time for airtight case” and “ you only get one shot at the king” boiling frogs
That standard, on a normal day, is “Hey Judge? Do whatever the fuck you want long as it’s legal.” on a bad day that legality isn’t even a question.
One of the bad things about the US is how you can get a 5 year sentence from Judge A and a court order to do community service from Judge B, both trying you for the same thing.
She is tought to be held at same standard but unfortunately there seems to be no institutional mechanism that reviews her performance and decisions…
Who is surprised by this?
I don’t think anyone was surprised that this was coming, more or less regardless of which judge it was. The original court date was a week and three business days from now, it’s entirely possible Trump will literally still be on trial for the hush money case when the trial date for the documents case was set.
I’ll be more upset if a hearing to set a new date for the documents trial isn’t scheduled shortly after the hush money trial concludes.
This is evidence # 37586682 that all MAGA folks are Russian assets, doing their job to destroy the US from within. Because its textbook ruling as in Russia.
Forget about the hush money, this was far more a priority as it is related to national security. Now the thugs of this world know they have carte blanche with trump. This treasonous PoS should rot in a cell for this.
I totally agree with the importance of this case. It’s the most concerning in my opinion. There is testimony that Trump divulged classified information to Russian intelligence, as well as having sold classified submarine schematics. This case needs to be heard prior to the election, as it’s directly relevant to charging him with access to this information for a second term.
So Americans… at what point do you finally realize you have a two tier legal system and actually act on it?
Our legal system has 4 tiers of justice. If you are poor, a person of color or of another lowly respected group, you are too many times presumed guilty.
If you are working class to middle class, and can afford a decent lawyer, you get a middling level of justice. The better that you are able to differentiate yourself from the poor, and appear to look innocent, the better your outcome.
When you enter actual wealth, you can afford to put off trials, get counsel that can enact intensive clogging of the justice system. Prosecutors will be using inordinate resources to try a case and will plea bargain to ridiculous levels to be able to function for the rest of their duties. There is some justice in that what is spent on lawyers will meet or exceed the fines that they may have received otherwise.
The highest tier can always take their money elsewhere. They can purchase citizenship to other countries, including those without extradition, and are nations to themselves. The last two levels are either somewhat above the law, or completely exempt from the rule of law.
What is new is that members of a political party are seen as exempt from law, and that a ruler is exempt from law for life.
It’s by the design of capitalism. If you have more money, you can afford better attorneys and appeals. Trump is bringing the invisible third-tier to light with this case, having appointed the judge in 2020 that’s now presiding over his case.
“Judge appointed by Trump cancels trial date for Trump’s classified documents case”.
AP news needs to start fucking calling it how it really is.
Can her and get a real judge
Corrupt Cunt
I don’t understand why we would want to prosecute crimes. /s
This judge is a hero! /s
Finally an unbiased judge
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For those who are interested:
The judge’s reasoning here is that she has a large, backlogged docket of pre trial motions to clear relating to handling evidence that is itself classified at trial.
And she can’t really estimate how long it’s going to take to resolve all those issues.
Funny how there’s always a valid reason and it just so happens to always favor the orange turnip.
If you make the rules complicated enough, you can always find a way to justify anything. This is the cornerstone of the modern legal system.
Pretrial motions that she is responsible for adjudicating. She even told trump’s lawyers to take a slower approach on the motions, telling them to file them one by one instead of all at once. Source
Sure is a fucking shame all those judge positions were held unfilled so there is such a backlog.
I wonder who did that and why.
Great. Let’s just move the case to a judge that’s not so busy. Lol
If the judge can’t keep her calendar under control she’s incompetent and shouldn’t be on the bench. If she’s not even willing to extract time estimates from counsel then she’s abdicating and should be removed from office.
I mean, in all fairness if you want this case to be treated as all others this sort of stuff is to be expected.
Saying that, this one is kinda important
It does kind of make sense since the same lawyers and the same defendant are stuck in a criminal trial in New York until June.
It’s not like they can apparate between New York and Florida.
If only Trump had some kind of way to travel across the country to the places he wants to or is required to be…
Doesn’t work if you need to be in two places at the same time.
EXACTLY! And I’m SURE if a Poor Criminal did so many Crimes they were needed in multiple court rooms at the same time the courts would do the EXACT SAME THING!
Actually, yeah, they pretty much do.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heath_v._Alabama#Facts_and_procedural_history
Note, that’s charging in two different states for the same crime and the courts went in order.
Fortunately these are different cases but you didn’t care about that when you made a bad faith argument.
Technically, in that case, they were different cases as well which is why double jeopardy was not in play.
Remind us all again, which other state is charging him for stealing classified documents
The mental gymnastics are unreal
It’s not gymnastics.
In a criminal case, presence is mandatory.
So how do you expect a criminal defendant to appear in two different courthouses at the same time?
Let’s finish the NY trial, then he can go on trial somewhere else while waiting on sentencing in NY.
Court #2 can give him a release to attend sentencing then work with that prison system so he can appear in court #2.
Estimates are the NY case should be wrapped up somewhere around the first week in June.
Presence is possible just like campaigning is and hanging out at races. Which one should go first when one is facing multiple trials?
Campaigning and hanging out at races is being done when court is not in session.
If the Florida court demanded he be present at 8 AM on 5/20, and the NY court was in session that day which would ALSO demand his presence, there’s literally no way to do that.
He, and his lawyers, can’t be running one case in person and running another remotely. That’s not going to work.
Can’t do the time don’t do the crime
Do you practice law in federal court? Not trying to be an asshole, I’m really asking.
I’ve worked misdemeanors and felonies in a trial court and in both instances, remote appearances were allowed except when the party is testifying. Frankly it sounds fucking ridiculous that they would be forced to show up for anything but trial considering how unlikely it is that Trump does time before sentencing.
Remote appearances are definitely allowed, just not simultaneously in two courtrooms.
The case could’ve been held and be done with. There was assignment across the various cases. This judge delayed on purpose. Delayed while not freeing up the planned time this case would be held. Thereby trying to mess up the planning of other cases.
Bruh
You probably shouldn’t commit crimes in multiple venues if you don’t want to travel to them for court.
He’s got a giant airplane with his name painted in the side. I’m sure he could figure something out.
That’s not going to help him if both courts are in session on the same day, at the same time.
I’m sure they can schedule court sessions day to day. Sub ideal, but it can be done. Doesn’t require months of separation
It’s totally gymnastics.
For one this isn’t even her argument for pushing the court case back.
But keep doing those backflips.
lol people who aren’t Trump have this happen but you wouldn’t care about that
People who aren’t Trump don’t have to appear in two courtrooms at the same time either because it’s not physically possible.
Say you have a doctors appointment at 8 AM on a Thursday and a 2nd doctor also wants you at the same day and time. One of them HAS to re-schedule.
Except in this case, blowing off one of the two appointments would carry a criminal penalty.
You’re wrong. You could be forced to appear in two. Stop trying to make him a victim.
You can be forced to be in two courts BUT NOT AT THE EXACT SAME TIME.
You can’t simultaneously appear before judges in both New York and Florida. Time/Space does not work that way.
Again, the judge purposely made it that the cases would overlap. This could’ve been done with already. Initially there wasn’t any overlap. If you check the actions by this judge it’s pretty easy to see that she is delaying plus trying to make it difficult for his other cases to be scheduled.
