I would be interested in hearing from the legal beagles on this to know if there’s any possible chance they won’t be able to pull it off:
Donald Trump is expected to launch a new legal battle to suppress any damaging evidence from his 2020 election-subversion case from becoming public before the 2024 election, preparing to shut down the potency of any “mini-trials” where high-profile officials could testify against him.
The plans come after the US supreme court last week in its ruling that broadly conferred immunity on former presidents opened the door for the US district judge Tanya Chutkan to hold evidentiary hearings – potentially with witnesses – to determine what acts in the indictment can survive.
In the coming months, Trump’s lawyers are expected to argue that the judge can decide whether the conduct is immune based on legal arguments alone, negating the need for witnesses or multiple evidentiary hearings, the people said.
If prosecutors with the special counsel Jack Smith press for witnesses such as former vice-president Mike Pence or White House officials to testify, Trump’s lawyers are expected to launch a flurry of executive privilege and other measures to block their appearances, the people said.
The plans, which have not been previously reported, are aimed at having the triple effect of burying damaging testimony, making it harder for prosecutors to overcome the presumptive immunity for official acts, and injecting new delay into the case through protracted legal fights.
Cute that they would argue there’s no need for evidentiary hearings when they are demanding — and getting — them for every little thing in the Florida trial. But I guess that’s to be expected as are the claims of executive privilege, which is a convenient catch-22 sinc e the whole point is to determine if the behavior was an official or unofficial act.
The idea of this “mini-trial” si great. But I have to admit that I wondered if they would be able to pull it off. The courts seem unable to act in haste when it comes to Trump’s criminality in this election year. The closer we get to the election the less it seems likely.