Below is my column in the New York Post on the ruling in the Willis/Wade controversy. The references to the decision as “Solomonic” or “Solomonesque” might not be fair to King Solomon. Indeed, the comparison only highlights what is missing in Willis: an overriding interest in the case as opposed to their own position. While the court gave Willis two options (to transfer the case or remove her former lover), there is a third option: step aside.
Here is the column:
Many commentators reviewing the decision of Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee to disqualify lead Special Counsel Nathan Wade but not Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis as “Solomonic” or “splitting the baby” in the Trump prosecution.
Indeed, it was similar in all but one respect. The baby at issue before King Solomon survived. That whole point of the story was not to kill the baby but to see which of the two women loved the baby more.
In the story from 1 Kings 3:16–28, two mothers claim the male child who Solomon declares that each can get one half. One mother immediately accepts while the second woman begs him to just give the first woman the child and not to kill him.
Solomon immediately gives the second woman the child as clearly the mother who loves the baby.
But if either Wade or Willis truly loved “their baby” — the case against Trump — they would have removed themselves weeks ago.
Their personal controversies have derailed the case and mired the prosecution in scandal. Ethically, this should not have been a difficult question. They should have stepped aside.
That conclusion is more than evident in Judge McAfee’s decision, which shreds their claims on the stand and outside of the courthouse.
The court describes Willis’s controversial speech at a church as “’playing the race card . . . to cast racial aspersions at an indicted Defendant’s decision to file this pretrial motion.”
He hammers Willis for her lack of professional judgment and stresses, with perhaps an unintentional pun, that “providing this type of public comment creates dangerous waters for the District Attorney to wade further into.”
Judge McAfee also indicates that the testimony of Wade failed to resolve questions of filing false statements to a prior court and that his testimony on when the relationship began stood contradicted.
McAfee has done a fair job throughout the case. Moreover, he makes a valid point when he notes that this evidence does not establish a strong basis for claiming that the case was brought or pursued due to this relationship or possible financial gain.
Indeed, the purpose of this case was not personal but political.
While the indictments contain some valid criminal charges, they are largely minor offenses like unlawful access to voting areas. The overall racketeering claim used to ensnarl Trump is forced and weak.
The problem is that the Court casts doubt on Wade’s testimony on the relationship, but ignores that Willis effectively ratified those claims in her own testimony.
Willis and Wade are both prosecuting people for the very same conduct of filing false statements with courts and making false statements. The two lawyers testified in tandem but only one was disqualified.
McAfee is no Solomon in this decision. He splits the accused to avoid making the harder decision.
If he disqualified Willis, he likely would have had to disqualify her entire office. That would throw the entire case (and certainly the pre-election schedule) into doubt. So he left her with the choice:
“The prosecution of this case cannot proceed until the State selects one of two options. The District Attorney may choose to step aside, along with the whole of her office, and refer the prosecution to the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council for reassignment. Alternatively, SADA Wade can withdraw, allowing the District Attorney, the Defendants, and the public to move forward without his presence or remuneration distracting from and potentially compromising the merits of this case.”
He is leaving Wade with no choice at all beyond an appeal. However, Willis will be allowed to place her own interests as the overriding purpose of the prosecution.
In some ways, it is a result that should please no one other than Donald Trump.
The defense removed the lead special prosecutor while leaving Willis carrying more baggage than Amtrak.
It does not, however, serve the interests of justice. Willis will now prosecute defendants for false statements as her own questionable testimony is likely to be investigated by the state and the bar.
She could still be effectively removed or disqualified. That prospect does not appear to give Willis pause.
It is not too late for Willis to act professionally in best interests of her office and the people of Fulton County. She can step aside in light of the damning findings of the court. Otherwise, like the first woman in the trial with Solomon, she would rather see the baby sawed in half than give it up entirely.
Jonathan Turley is an attorney and professor at George Washington University Law School.
There is no logical reason why two lawyers on the same side of a case prejudice the defendant in any way if they are in a relationship. This is nothing but another hollow Trump delay tactic.
It’s not about any actual prejudice. As Judge McAfee stated at the beginning of the hearing that the standard he would use is the APPEARANCE of any impropriety, of which there was a bundle, besides the ethical violations and the failure to adhere to county regulations regarding disclosure of gifts and the illegal contract she let. I guess the judge conveniently threw those out with the bath water.
I won’t even get into the filing of false documents with the courts and perjury in written statements and in testimony under oath.
You’re worrying about the “appearance of impropriety” when Trump tried to steal the Presidency by lying, trying to bully election officials and getting people to falsify election documents? Only a disciple or paid pundit could view this case in that light.
“. . . two lawyers on the same side of a case . . .”
When you shear the context from the issue, that seems like a plausible conclusion.
The defendants’ claim was that the whole case was ginned up in order to give Willis an excuse to hire her boyfriend, pay him extremely generously from the public coffers, and have him kick some of that money back to her in the form of paid vacations, etc. If such considerations influence the decision to bring these charges, then the defendants have certainly been prejudiced.
The judge decided that there was no actual conflict of interest, since the benefit Willis seems to have received from the money she channeled to Wade is so small that it makes no sense that she did this whole thing just for that. But it stinks to high heaven, and therefore gives the appearance of such a conflict. Therefore they can’t both continue on the case. One or the other had to get out, and they decided that was going to be Wade.
The “decision to bring charges” is based on the FACTS set forth in the indictment–Trump tried to bully Raffensberger to falsify vote totals by “finding” him votes he didn’t get. That call was recorded–we all heard it. He got fake electors to falsify Electoral College documents by claiming he won in Georgia–when he didn’t–this is a felony. Those falsified documents were sent to the National Archives. Trump plotted a way to stay in power by trying to get Pence to refuse certified votes and having false Electoral College documents sent to the National Archives claiming he won. One of his stupid lawyers came up with the idea that if Pence caved, the results of the election would be placed in sufficient doubt that somehow all of the votes cast would be thrown out and the issue could get sent to the states where Republican legislatures would just award him the presidency. Of course, there’s no legal authority supporting this scheme. If you don’t see what’s wrong with this picture, you shouldn’t be allowed to vote at all.
Was Willis just supposed to overlook the fact that Trump tried to cheat to retain power against the will of the American people by doing these things? If she had done that, she would be a criminal. There is no stench coming from Wade and Willis that could even remotely compare with the stench of Trump’s willingness to cheat to keep power he cheated to get in the first place.
MacAfear is proof we are on our own. Radical fools and Biden sleeping, we’re finally without hope
“In some ways, it is a result that should please no one other than Donald Trump.”
This is Turley’s most astute observation.
Had McAfee disqualified Willis and her office while that would have been a serious blow to the left,
It would have to some small extent restored Public confidence in our system of Justice.
It would have atleast partly weakened Trump’s argument that the deck is stacked, and that our system is politically correct.
McAfee’s decision not only leaves intact Trump’s ace – the public perception that this is all corrupt, but it amplifies it.
Trump remains engaged in a messy legal conflict for the next 9 months, but this strengthens him politically.
This is one thing that Democrats have not grasped from the beginning. Of this law-fare campaign.
Democrats campaign strategy relies on polls that say that if Trump is convicted of a felony he will lose enough votes to flip the election to Biden.
What Democrats and those polls fail to grasp is that those polls are only meaningful if people beleive that any conviction was just and arrived at lawfully. McAfee while giving Trump only a small legal victory has given him a large political victory.
McAfee has dramatically undercut trust in the perception that this is lawful and just.
Good post. And Trump has also proven that the Deep State does, indeed, exist. But it’s not merely “public perception” that the judiciary and the government are corrupt, but the public recognition of the reality, the pervasiveness, and the depth of judicial and governmental corruption.
The corruption will inevitably continue with the Deep State firmly in control of the judiciary and government unless it is stopped and killed. Their “solution” is always the same: a more powerful and tyrannical government. And, as James Madison put it, “The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse.”
Right now, Trump is strongly favored to win by all indicators. The polls say he will win. Bettors with the London bookmakers say he will win. And the American public has suerly grown tired of the vitriol and cancer of Leftist politics. And Trump is so far ahead this time, that the Democrats would have to fabricate and flood the voting market with so many bogus ballots that in order win this time the result would be massively more “votes” cast than there are registered voters. It would be impossible to conceal that fraud on a grand scale has taken place.
So, the real question when Trump becomes President again, is will he have to courage to appoint genuine smart, street savvy, patriots to the govmernment agencies that will carve out and destroy the cancer, the rot, and the corruption? Or will he just repeat his previous failures by appointing (or leaving in power from day one) such Deep State creatures as James Comey, Bill Barr, Chris Wray, etc., etc. that guarantee that corruption flourishes and expands?
I’m not sure Trump has learned from such stupid mistakes. But one thing I am certain of. If Trump does not immediately terminate and erradicate the cancer within government in his next term, they will come back again with an unending barage of lawfare that will make what we’re witnessing now seem like a pleasant morning in Small Claims Court.
I don’t have time to respond to most of the slop you wrote, but you are dead wrong about Trump being “strongly” favored to win. In the handful of polls that put him slightly ahead of Biden, the edge is within the margin of error. Just like they have in every election, when it comes down to it, Americans will vote Trump down. He is fundamentally unfit to be president and he did a terrible job after he was able to cheat his way into office in 2016. He lost the popular vote in 2016 and every election since. Candidates he supports usually lose. Americans aren’t going to give up membership in NATO, stand by and let Putin take over Ukraine, tolerate a national ban on abortion, more tax breaks for the wealthy, repeal of Obamacare, more tariffs which will drive inflation, or the reign of terror by a pathological narcissist who would use the office of the presidency to exact revenge on his perceived enemies. The pro-Trump lie machines keep pounding out lies, but Americans can see that unemployment is down, wages are up, inflation is down, consumer confidence is rising and our infrastructure is getting repaired. Prescription drug prices are being brought under control and more Americans than ever have health insurance. We’re not going to give up these things because a malignant narcissist is afraid of being brought to justice for his crimes.
Given the odor of mendacity that the judge smelled on Fani it would have been appropriate for him to say she is unfit to be a lawyer much less a prosecuting attorney with the power of the state at her disposal and removed her from this matter and referred her to the bar association for discipline. But the judge would have needed a spine and a bit more integrity to do that.
So true! Great point.
Someone has already filed a bar complaint against Fani if this is accurate.
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1768802815777092025.html
The person filing the complaint isn’t known yet, but if it turns out to be judge McAfee I will completely reverse my opinion of him.
For those who don’t know exactly what the odor of mendacity smells like, you can buy the perfume, Le Monde Fausseté, for $180 a bottle to find out. And that ain’t no lie. Well, maybe.
Someone on another legal site said the phrase was likely borrowed from the play “Cat on Hot Tin Roof”.
Re: The NY Alvin Bragg – Hush Money Case:
𝐉𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐩’𝐬 𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐡-𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐦𝐢𝐝-𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥, 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭-𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐝𝐮𝐦𝐩
… Manhattan Judge Juan Manuel Merchan agreed to a 30-day delay starting Friday and scheduled a hearing for March 25 after Trump’s lawyers complained that 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝟏𝟎𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫. …
…. In a letter Friday, Merchan told Manhattan prosecutors and Trump’s defense team that he wanted to assess “who, if anyone, is at fault for the late production of the documents,” whether it hurt either side and whether any sanctions are warranted.
The judge demanded a timeline of events detailing when the documents were requested and when they were turned over. 𝐇𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲’𝐬 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐩, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔.𝐒. 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲’𝐬 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟖. …
The Manhattan district attorney’s office declined comment. Trump lawyer Todd Blanche also declined comment.
By: MICHAEL R. SISAK and JENNIFER PELTZ ~ March 15, 2024
https://apnews.com/article/trump-hush-money-criminal-trial-delay-8e41f4be00f0420056433d2381189df8
–
IMO:
Good for the Judge. As I stated previously the Collusion between Manhattan District Attorney’s office and the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York office, in and between; Bragg, Smith, Harrison, Pomerantz, and Others involved is Prosecutorial misconduct.
The late response to Request-for-Production of all Documents, 𝟏𝟎𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫, is a late Cover-Your-Ass to cover-up the Prosecutorial misconduct, and put the evidence of said misconduct up-front as to now make it null.
I’m glad the Judge saw through that and asking the right questions. These Guys are so lame….
—
𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐩 𝐆𝐨𝐭 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐞𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐡𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐄𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐀 𝐎𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬
The former president’s maneuver is fueling a crisis in the Manhattan DA’s hush-money case.
Jose Pagliery – Political Investigations Reporter ~ Mar. 15, 2024
https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-trump-got-michael-cohens-emails-over-manhattan-da-objections
Under NY law, they failed to provide this information to the defense within 15 days. That didn’t happen. Based on what was said on Fox by the Judge… its enough to get the case tossed.
Not sure what the judge will do if there’s a motion to dismiss. Technically while Bragg new about the docs… he didn’t have them in his possession, so he could in theory argue he didn’t violate the law since he had nothing to turn over. (Although I don’t know if he exposed their existence. )
The feds didn’t take the case forward… so there could very well be a lot of exculpatory evidence…
So we shall see.
One thing for certain… Trump is being persecuted by Biden’s ‘lawfare’.
Anon: “Trump is being persecuted by Biden’s ‘lawfare’.”
+++
I think you are right. As more information comes out it increasingly looks as if all of these cases are being designed and pushed by actors in the White House.
While this case is garbage and all the counts should be tossed much as the 6 tossed by McAfee early for failure to state an actual crime.
Bragg is charging Trump for something the Feds already had Cohen plead guilty to, that is a crime that can not be committed by TWO people. Further Trump is trying to leverage federal election law violations – which FEC has already rejected, as part of the elements of the crime he is alleging.
Skipping that – failure to properly provide discovery is not going to get the case kicked. It is a remediable error.
Merchan has been involved in Trump cases before and he is little better than Engoron and Kaplan.
But the remedy for a prosecutors failure to provide discovery is more time for the defense.
However the Time should be charged to the prosecution. Speedy Trial rules usually require the state to bring their case in 180days – though the time limits are different from state to state. But the overwhelming majority of delays are charged to the defense – i.e. they do not count towards the 180 days. Trumps strategy is to delay this past the election. That is a legitimate strategy. But normally the delays he is after do not count towards the 180 days.
Mechan is nearly as corrupt as Kaplan and Engoron.
While I am sure Trump is celebrating the delay. I doubt Merchan would have done it had he not been obligated to.
Turley writes ”perhaps an unintentional pun, that ‘providing this type of public comment creates dangerous waters for the District Attorney to wade further into’.”
Pun? Where’s the pun – unintentional or otherwise? It’s just a poorly worded sentence since it ends with a preposition.
Wade.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/pence-declines-to-endorse-trump-wont-back-biden
HAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHA
Surprise, surprise. The guy that got his career ruined by being the lap dog of trump won’t endorse him.
HAHAHAHAHAHA
What a surprise. Not.
The GOP wants to lose.
THE GOP WANTS TO LOSE.
Get it?
The GOP would rather have 4 more years of destruction, war, suffering under Biden than America First, prosperity and peace under Trump.
Never Trump! Biden is okay, preferable. We can live with THAT. But cannot live with Trump.
That is how sick these GOP mofo’s are.
Vote for Trump? Of course not!
Pence: oh no, no can do.
RINO Larry Hogan: oh no can do.
Romney: oh no can do.
All these “principled” RINOS who just can’t vote “for” Trump
who would rather “stand on principle” (what principles???)
and help to usher in 4 more years of Communist Rule and Destruction of the Country under Biden Regime.
They are all just so “principled” they WANT TO LOSE.
Please. Here is what they can do: GFY
No party – not republicans, not democrats are going to win without the support of those outside their base.
The Tea Party and subsequently Trump have shifted the Republican base in a way advantageous to Republicans.
But that does not change the fact that If republicans (or democrats) want power, they must win in states that are not deep red or deep blue.
I do not personally like Chris Christy – but he is the best Republicans could have gotten in New Jersey.
Coversly – Cheney made a huge mistake – she is NOT the best Wyoming could hope for.
It is one thing to support Republicans who are not MAGA who win in places that MAGA Republicans can not win.
It is entirely different to support those that are out of touch with their own districts and can easily be replaced with better.
Trump INHERITED peace and prosperity, which he promptly turned into: 1. the worst economic recession since the Great Depression; unemployment in double digits; 2. pandemic out of control, while Trump, a clueless loser, lies about the seriousness and pushes fake cures-America fared much worse than other developed countries; maybe you forgot about the shortage of ventilators and in large cities, refrigerated trucks sitting outside hospitals because the number of dead bodies was so large; as a result of Trump’s incompetence, schools, businesses, restaurants closed down, school kids still behind in their studies, leisure travel dried up; also: daily records for new COVID infections and deaths dominated the news; 3. started a trade war with China when it couldn’t be bullied–which, in turn, caused: a. disruption in supply chain; b. shortage of computer chips, all of which resulted in higher prices for consumer goods and inflation that Republicans try to blame on Democrats; 3. tax breaks for the wealthiest corporations and businesses, which drove our national debt to a record level, another contributer to inflation tha Republicans are trying to blame on Democrats.
WHAT, exactly is the destruction, war and suffereing you claim is present in America? I hear this lie repeated all of the time on pro-Trump media. Biden brought unemployment down to the lowest level in decades–consistently under 4%, the GDP is high, the stock market has set a new record, and Biden got passed: 1. Infrastructure Act to build roads, airports and bridges, many long overdue; 2. COVID Relief Act that brought the pandemic down, so schools, businesses and restaurants could open up again, also leisure travel is at an all-time high; 3. Inflation Reduction Act–brought down cost of insulin to $35 per month, and Medicare can now negotiate for lower prescription drug prices, all of which will bring down inflation; 4. cost of living going down: according to Bloomberg News (3/7/24): “The rapid disinflation under Biden is unmatched in modern history”; 5. also according to this piece: “Families are richer than ever; Net worth has climbed under Biden” 6. CHIPS Act–bulding semiconductors at home’ 6. Millions more Americans signed up for Obamacare and can now get the health care they need.
What would happen to America if Trump can somehow cheat his way back into power? 1. He will try to cut off all aid to Ukraine and pull the US out of NATO–to pay back Putin for helping him cheat in 2016. As a result, total chaos in Europe will ensue. 2. Zelenskyy will be murdered, and Putin will not only take over Ukraine, but will threaten Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania because he wants control of both the Black Sea and Balkan Sea–he wants total control of imports and exports in this part of the world, which includes agricultural products people in places like Africa depend on; 3. Total abortion ban nationwide–no more IVF. Despite the lies Republicans tell when they claim to support IVF, they REFUSE to sign a Democrat bill to protect IVF. 4. Trump will give even more tax breaks to the wealthy, which will further drive the national debt and increase inflation; 5. Trump has promised to use power to exact revenge on his perceived enemies–America will also be thrust into total chaos by the whims of a narcissist.
What IS Trump? A chronic, habitual liar, womanizer, someone who not only cheated his way into office, but tried to rig the election after he was defeated by bullying, lying and attempting a take-over of the Capitol. This is someone who lied on campaign finance reports, paid off a porn actress, sexually assaulted a woman because she teased him, stole classified documents, hid them, lied about returning them and fought returning them. How in the world any rational person can’t see what’s going on here is a mystery to me.
I forgot to mention the concentration camps that Trump is planning to construct after he spends our money rounding up any migrant whose case hasn’t gone to a hearing yet.
The millions upon millions of “migrants” Biden is flying in and allowing to come in are now filling entire hotels, from midtown Manhattan to a city near you…every room paid for by the government, awaiting whatever it is they are waiting now going on ‘years’ for? Fully paid hotel room, 3 meals a day, housekeeping, medical, and paid a stipend with reloadable credit cards. Why are we paying these men to be here? Are we to believe these military aged men being PAID by the U.S. government are all asylum cases? Something else is going on.
And when Dems talk about those concentration camps …..they are really the ‘reeducation camps’ where the Dems plan to send all the “deplorables” ….all the conservatives who are now labeled by their own government as domestic terrorists. You know, the ‘dissidents’….the angry parents….the school board moms….the unvaccinated….the MAGA extremists….anyone who questions election results….anyone who speaks out against Biden Regime….that is who the concentration camps are for.
What is Biden?
Besides the kind of tyrant the Constitution was written to protect us against?
Where are his 81 million supporters?
The GOP has problems – but those pale in comparison to those of democrats.
Right now republicans look like they are winning.
BENEDICT PENCE
WHAT DOES HE MOST DESERVE?
Yeah, Pence owes loyalty to someone who sicced his dumb axx fans on him because they were dumb enough to believe The Big Lie. And, he sat by for over 3 hours, watching his fans hunt Pence, intent on lynching him because he couldn’t be bullied into refusing to accept Biden’s victory—something he had no power to do. Yeah, Pence is wrong for not supporting such a person.
There is no conflict of interest. As reprehensible as both prosecutors appear to be, they’re on the same side. If one was representing Trump, there would be a conflict. This type of behavior is not unheard of. Disgusting, but no conflict.
The conflict is NOT necessarily with the defense, it is with the interests of justice.
Turley is correct that the primary motivation for Willis is political – not personal gain.
But that does not mean that personal gain was NOT a motive, or that it does not create a conflict
Separately you can not question Wade’s credibility without also questioning Willis’s.
Trump’s blondie lawyer claimed that the conflict of interest was Willis using her office for personal gain–via paying Wade as Special Counsel, who, she claimed, took Willis on lavish vacations and expensive dinners paid for by the taxpayers of Georgia. Blondie also tried to make the case that Willis planned, from the jump, to hire Wade, so she could share in the largesse of his fee–not true, according to the former Governor of Georgia, who testified that he was approached first, but declined to be Special Counsel. All one, big, fat, lie. So now, pro-Trump media, of which Turley is part, have changed their story: now, the issue is that Willis and Wade have violated “the interests of justice” by lying under oath. The story always changes with Republicans when they attack Democrats and can’t deliver. In point of fact, nothing about this alleged affair prejudiced Trump. Another sleazy attempt to smear anyone who goes after Trump to hold him to account for his conduct. This is exactly the sort of thing Trump has always done when he doesn’t get his way–just ask Michael Cohen.
Two people were caught in a vault. One goes to prison. The other goes free. MacAfear is an idiot, just like our extreme leftist boobs.
It would be interesting to see what Wade earned as an attorney before he was hired by Fulton County and its taxpayers. My guess is not much. I bet if you look at Willis you will find he is making more as the Fulton County DA than she did in private practice. While both may have law degrees and are admitted to the Bar in the state of Georgia I have the feeling their competence and ethics are lacking.
I recall Wade said in his testimony that it was not unusual for many of his clients to pay him with bags of cash.
Nathan ‘bags-o-cash’ Wade: The best choice to prosecute a novel case against the former president of the United States … and Rudy Giuliani, America’s mayor – famous for his RICO prosecutions that took down the mafia. Yep, Nathan Wade was the best choice to hire …. according to Fani….and literally no one else.
Jonathan: It didn’t take you long to weigh in on Judge McAfee’s decision–finding that DJT and his codefendants were unable to provide any evidence there is a conflict of interest between the prosecution of the case and Willis’s previous romantic relationship with Nathan Wade. That was Natalie Merchant tried to prove in 2 days of testimony and she failed miserably. That also is essential point you lost in translation by comparing Willis to the dilemma of King Solomon.
This doesn’t mean Willis didn’t make some bad personal choices. She did and is now paying the price. With all the circus surrounding the unproven allegations against Willis, Judge McAfee has been distracted and has yet to set a trial date. I would expect Willis to keep her head down now and pursue the case against DJT and the other co-defendants with vigor and ask for an early trial date.
And remember, Willis is up for re-election in November. Like the loyal MAGA supporters of DJT like to say: “Let the voters decide”. That’s the real “Third Option” you missed!
Indeed, let the voters decide.
Precisely the opposite of what these Biden operatives are doing, no?
Any thoughts on their visits to, and collusion with, the Biden White House?
Are you suggesting that a District Attorney, who commits perjury before a judge, in the same courtroom where she is trying her political opponents, that she charged with the same ‘alleged’ crimes she just committed, is merely a “bad personal choice”?
And that she should be able to “keep her head down” to continue prosecuting her case?
How exactly is that “paying the price” for lying to the court?
BamBam: What “Biden operatives? What “perjury? What visits to the WH? Be a little more precise. DA Willis is not “trying her political opponents”. Her only political opponent will be the GOP candidate that runs against her in November.
No prosecutor would or should prosecute someone based on their political views. Remember that two grand juries recommended indicting DJT and the other defendants. And Ashley Merchant did not claim Willis’s prosecution was based on “political” motives. The argument by the defendants was that there was a conflict of interest–that Willis hired Nathan Wade for her own personal financial benefit. Judge McAfee found no evidence to support that claim.
This doesn’t mean Willis doesn’t have personal views about DJT and his co-defendants. She probably hates DJT on a personal level. From day one after she filed her indictments Willis has been subject to daily personal and racist attacks by DJT and his supporters. Her home was vandalized and she had to move. Her father testified about all that before Judge McAfee. So Willis has good reasons to dislike DJT.
And Willis has already paid a heavy “price” for her bad personal romantic choices. Her sexual relationship with Wade was exposed to the world, she lost a lot of valuable time in bringing the case to trial and she lost her lead prosecutor. That is a heavy “price” to pay for any prosecutor.
What Biden operatives? The ones prosecuting all the bogus law fare cases trying to put Biden’s political opponent in prison. What visits to the WH? Nathan Wade invoiced $250/hour meetings with “White House officials.” It’s all there in writing: “Conf with White House Counsel” and “interview with DC/White House.” Now why do you suppose he would be coordinating with White House officials?
What perjury? Here’s the reality: No prosecutor would be allowed to keep practicing before a judge after being caught blatantly lying to the court the way DA Fani Willis did. As far as the “price to pay” … she should have been held in contempt. She should be disbarred. She should be prosecuted and serve prison time. That’s the price Fani needs to pay. Why? Because as you Dems like to remind us: No one is above the law, no matter how powerful you think you are.
Dennis, What did Wade do wrong that Willis did not?
Iowan2: Both Wade and Willis were “wrong” in entering into a sexual relationship while working together in the same office. Not that it doesn’t happen all the time among co-workers. But in such a high profile case Willis, as the boss, knew or should have known the optics were terrible and she should have expected the defendants to try to dig up dirt about the relationship. Willis should have told Wade early on: “Nathan, I like you very much but let’s hold off until after the case is over. We are professionals and if we now go ahead it’s bound to come out”. They didn’t do that and that is where they went “wrong”.
Dennis – She didn’t make “bad choices”. She embezzled thousands of dollars by paying that money to her boyfriend, who was not qualified to serve as lead prosecutor of a RICO case. Then she received the benefit of that same money by going on vacation with the boyfriend. The she lied about it in Court. Embezzlement and perjury are more than bad choices.
Edward: “Embezzlement and perjury”? You must be joking. You apparently didn’t read Judge McAfee’s decision!
Dennis: thank you. It’s obvious that Edward watches NewsMax, OAN, InfoWars, Breitbart and/or Fox. People like Edward don’t care about the facts and believe the pro-Trump pundits. He still won’t read the decision, because it wouldn’t change his mind.
Gigi: Thanks again for pointing out the obvious!
Dennis,
You are really tone deaf.
Turely’s best statement is that McAfee found a ruling that no one benefits from but Trump.
I am not sure what McAfee’s basis for this decision is – the decisions is a self contradictory legal mess.
There are MORE reasons to DQ Willis than Wade.
At the same time as Turley notes this is a GOOD decision for Trump.
Contra your argument – legally it is complete garbage and most people can tell that even if you can not. It think the evidence that Willis lied in court filings, lied under oath, misapproriated federal funds, and engaged in Self dealing in her hiring of Wade is sufficient to indict, prosecute and convict her – i.e. it meets the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard – but that is NOT the standard for disqualification.
There was a debate over whether GA law requires merely the appearance of impropriety, or actual impropriety to a more likely than not standard. There should be no question that the correct standard is the mere appearance of impropriety.
Regardless as I noted – the beyond a reasonable doubt standard is met on most o the allegations against Willis.
But I am not concerned and I doubt Trump is about McAfee’s “splitting the baby” or whatever this mess is.
McAfee has just persuaded even more persuadable voters that the justice system can not be trusted.
That is a huge win for Trump.
It is highly unlikely that Willis is going t manage to get this to Trial before November now.
Though Trump is actually served by having Willis still in the game – because 4 trials competing for time slots is more likely to result in delays and conflicts than 3. None of these cases will go to trial on the days they say they will. At the same time courts must schedule way in advance, and While thus far the courts have NOT accepted Trump’s claim tht the trials must defer to campaign obligations – do not presume that will hold – especially the more corrupt the process appears to be.
While Trump can NOT use the campaign as an excuse for scheduling purposes – he can use other trials.
Trump can not be tried simultaneously in two different jurisdictions. Every time a court schedules a trial – it precludes other cases from using those dates. Every time those dates slip – the new dates are harder to schedule and they block other cases again.
Trump’s delay strategy is served will by cases getting in each others way – the more cases at once the more likely that is.
And the Willis case is fundimentally DOA. Willis is likely to face impeachment shortly. Further the GA executive and legislature circumvented the GA SC efforts to precluide the prosecutors disciplinary board from dismissing Willis.
I do not think McAfee is significantly politically corrupt in the right left sense.
But I think McAfee’s claim that electoral politics did not determine his decision are crap.
My guess is that McAfee decided that he did not need to remove Willis – because it is highly likely others will do that for him.
That keeping Willis meant he will likely win re-election.
McAfee gave us a perfect example of someone who was NOT a “Profile in courage”.
John Say: There you go again–spouting inaccurate things about the facts and the law in this case: “Willis lied in court filings, lied under oath, misappropriated federal funds, and engaged in Self dealing in her hiring of Wade…” Like Edward, you apparently didn’t read Judge McAfee’s over 20 page decision. He didn’t find any of that!
As to “federal funds”–both Wade and Willis are paid by the STATE OF GEORGIA”–not the federal government. When you get simple facts like that wrong we know you have gone off the rails!
Willis is up for re-election – and the voters will decide.
Nothing McAfee did or could have done alters voters ability elect of reject willis.
Though I suspect here career is over regardless.
Voters do not get to decide whether Willis should be disqualified from specific cases – the rule of law requires that is decided by law, not voters.
But the do get to decide if Willis gets to be DA in the future.
What you have spent the past year doing is trying to take the choice of who will be president from the voters.
I always find it humorous that you constantly think two things are different when they are nearly the same,
and thing two things are the same when they are vastly different.
Dennis.,
While McAfee’s decision is self contradictory garbage.
You do not seem to grasp that it is a victory for Trump.
This was a win-win for trump the moment the issue surfaced.
This process even despite the failure to DQ Willis has increased the number of people who see the criminal justice system being politically weaponized by the left.
I expect to see Trump’s polls get a small boost from this decision.
The first paragraph which is also one long sentence lacks a verb. I would suggest “Many commentators have called/described the decision….”
Judge McAfee is no King Solomon. He’s more like Pontius Pilate.
The kids arent alright. Gen Z youth are not impressed with either political party likely voting for third party candidate or worse staying home. The polarization these past few decades led by Democrats and Hillary / Biden’s angry old folks screaming, has lost the Gen Z vote.
Memo to Marc Elias, James Carville and Soros Left Wing DAs: Gen Z doesnt believe you either. Well done Democrats.
The Rough Years That Turned Gen Z Into America’s Most Disillusioned Voters
Young adults are more skeptical of government and pessimistic about the future than any living generation before them…. Dissatisfaction is pushing some young voters to third-party candidates in this year’s presidential race and causing others to consider staying home on Election Day or leaving the top of the ticket blank.
A Wall Street Journal poll conducted last month found more than three-quarters of voters under 30 think the country is moving in the wrong direction—a greater share than any other age group. Nearly one-third of voters under 30 have an unfavorable view of both Biden and Trump, a higher number than all older voters. Sixty-three percent of young voters think neither party adequately represents them
https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/gen-z-voters-election-tiktok-5bcdc524
Sorry, Mr. Turley, stop with the legal gamesmanship. We are left with a perjurer with a proven record of bias and inappropriate language in and outside the courtroom. Justice is dead and The Law is a joke. The American people know that. Save the platitudes for the judiciary for your memoirs.
The GA case stands as the only opportunity to possibly hear compelled testimony about the month leading up to J6 from a WH/Trump insider. Note how Giuliani, Eastman, Chesebro, Bannon, Kerik all remain tight-lipped about the Willard Hotel warroom operation. With the GA trial now a sure thing, I await Mark Meadow’s sworn testimony (in exchange for granting him state immunity). As voters, we deserve to know how far this group went to reinstall losing candidate Trump in 2020.
Truth is more important than punishment for this kind of political misconduct. It’s all about whether the consent of the governed is based upon truthful, informed consent — not artful fabrications and cover-ups.
The best outcome would be for Trump to do a public speech to the country where he pre-empts the trial by spilling all the beans, takes responsibility, and asks the country for forgiveness and to move forward. If he cannot bring himself to do this, and instead forces Willis to pry the ugly truth out in an adversarial struggle before a Jury, then Trump deserves to lose and face the consequences. He would be showing his lack of character. His monumental ego would be blocking his best chance to win over moderate independents / suburban women.
It is so satisfying to hear PbinCA act like Beria when a conviction is desired, but there is no evidence. It’s gratifying to know she remains fixed in her ideas and doesn’t believe in the rule of law.
“Truth is more important than punishment.”. Punishment is not the issue. The issue is the administration of justice. Judges are dependent on the honesty of counsel who appear before them, esp when they represent the State. Perjury is a disqualification for the role of appearing before the Court.
“I await …”
Expect to be waiting a long long time.
I would further note that your argument is proof there is no case.
If you require a defendant to flip to make your case, that means:
You do not currently have a case.
You case is based on things you have guessed at, not things you know.
As an officer of the Court, and the representative of justice in that state and county, she sat next to the judge and lied her fanny off. How can she remain in that case?
Edward, I have no i(D)ea how she can (D)ecide to stay on the case with her having absolutely no (D)efense for her perjury.
Right thing? Really?
The singular American failure has been and remains the judicial branch, with emphasis on the Supreme Court.
This is what happens when voters consider the principles of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion when casting their ballot . . . rather than competence and integrity.
Judge McAfee’s decision was political. Both McAfee and Willis will face voters in May. Simple logic compels the conclusion that if Wade was disqualified then Willis must be as well; however, that likely would effectively have ended both her campaign and his since even deep blue Fulton County might have had trouble voting for a DA whose greed and sex drive blew a chance to get Trump, or voting for the judge who called her out.