The MeidasTouch Podcast - FED UP Judge REJECTS Trump Motion in SCATHING ORDER

Episode Date: April 4, 2024

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Justice Merchan’s ruling on Donald Trump’s motion for presidential immunity in the Manhattan DA criminal case. Get up to 40% off for a limited time when you go to https://shopbeam.com/MEIDAS and use code MEIDAS to try Beam's best-selling Dream Powder! Visit https://meidastouch.com for more! Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown Lights On with Jessica Denson: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/lights-on-with-jessica-denson On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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responsibly. If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact Connex Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. Justice Juan Merchan, who's presiding over the Manhattan District Attorney criminal case against Donald Trump set for trial on April 15th, has just issued an order denying Donald Trump's request for an adjournment and or for the exclusion of evidence on the grounds of presidential immunity. Justice Merchan says that the request for absolute presidential immunity was untimely by Donald Trump. And in a very scathing paragraph in the order, this is what Justice Merchan said. Defendant Donald Trump's decision is unjustifiable and renders this motion untimely.

Further, and as an aside, the fact that defendant waited until a mere 17 days prior to the scheduled trial date of March 25th, 2024 to file this motion raises real questions about the sincerity and actual purpose of the motion. After all, defendant Donald Trump had already briefed the same issue in federal court, and he was in possession and aware that the people, Manhattan District Attorney, intended to offer the relevant evidence at trial that entire time. The circumstances viewed as a whole test this court's credulity. And for those reasons, you see the conclusion here. The court finds that defendant Donald Trump had a myriad of opportunities to raise the claim of presidential immunity well before March 7th, 2024, defendant could have done so

in his omnibus motions on September 29th, 2023, which were filed a mere six days before he briefed the same issue in his federal insurrection matter and several months after he brought his motion for removal to federal court on May 4th, 2023. Further, the defendant could have expanded his argument on this topic in his motions in limine, the pretrial motions, that is, or in his opposition to the people's motion in limine, but he did not. Lastly, having addressed the issue of timeliness and turning to defendant's motion for preclusion of the people's evidence of the alleged pressure campaign, the court reminds defendant that it already ruled on this issue and its decision and order on defendant's motion eliminate at pages seven and eight. Defendant's motion is denied in its entirety as untimely.

The court declines to consider whether the doctrine of presidential immunity precludes the introduction of evidence of purported official presidential acts in a criminal proceeding. The foregoing constitutes the decision and order of the court. So ordered Justice Juan Merchan. Now, you will recall that on March 7th, 2024, for the first time on the eve of trial, Donald Trump tried to raise the issue of absolute presidential immunity. We talked about here on the Midas Touch Network just how absolutely frivolous that was. I mean, this hush money payment case involving hush money payments to Stormy Daniels, who Donald Trump had sex with for a few seconds as described by Stormy Daniels,

which was apparently very disgusting. And Stormy Daniels describes it in some really grotesque and offensive terms. I mean, horrific stuff. Then Donald Trump tried to cover it up with the hush money payments and misclassified it as legal fees to Michael Cohen. That conduct took place before Donald Trump was in office. So what Trump was trying to essentially argue here is that his attempt to cover up the crimes that predated when he got into office, that the cover-up then cloaked the crime in absolute presidential immunity, and thus the trial should be adjourned. And Donald Trump saying,

look, the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari to hear oral argument in the Washington, D.C. federal criminal case. By the way, I like how Justice Mershon refers to the prosecution of Trump by Special Counsel Jack Smith in Washington, D.C. as the federal insurrection case. That's how I'm going to start referring to it here. That's how it should be called, the federal insurrection case. Because the Supreme Court's hearing arguments on absolute presidential immunity involving conduct while Donald Trump was in office regarding the federal insurrection, Trump saying that therefore the Manhattan judge, Justice Mershon, should basically stay or adjourn these proceedings so that this can then go to the

Supreme Court. And here, Justice Mershon is saying, look, you had ample opportunity to bring that issue before this court. The fact that the Supreme Court granted certiorari in late February in the federal insurrection case did not bar you in any way from raising these issues in your motions in limine, which are the pretrial motions, which you did not raise on your omnibus motions to dismiss the indictment, which you did not raise after you tried to remove the case to federal court, which was ultimately rejected by a federal judge, by the way, who ruled that Donald Trump waived the issue of presidential immunity. But by bringing the case to federal court, you were aware, Donald Trump, at least of the issue of absolute presidential immunity.

I mean, granted, it is incredibly frivolous. So you could have raised that back in May of 2023. You could have raised it right after the indictment. You could have raised it at most times, but now you're raising it 17 days before the trial. That is absolutely frivolous. And Justice Mershon cites the statute here for untimeliness under New York law. It says, and this is under CPL section 25520 sub one, it states, except as otherwise expressly provided by law, whether the defendant is represented by counsel or elects to proceed pro se, all pretrial motions shall be served or filed within 45 days after arraignment and before commencement of trial, or within such additional time as the court may fix upon application of the defendant

made prior to the entry of the judgment. In other words, Donald Trump, that was your time frame. Follow the rules. You did not follow the rules. Sleep is the foundation of our mental and physical health. When you are sleeping well, you could perform at your best mentally and physically. Introducing Beam's Dream Powder, a science-backed healthy hot cocoa for sleep. If you know me, Thank you. discount on Beam's Dream Powder, their science-backed healthy hot cocoa for sleep with no added sugar. Better sleep has never tasted better. Now available in delicious flavors like chocolate peanut butter, cinnamon cocoa, and sea salt caramel with only 15 calories and zero grams of sugar. Other sleep aids could cause next day grogginess, but Dreams contains a powerful all-natural blend of reishi, magnesium, L-theanine, melatonin, and nano-CBD

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and use code Midas for up to 40% off. Justice Mershon goes on to say, the court must entertain and decide on its merits an appropriate pretrial motion based upon grounds of which the defendant could not with due diligence have previously been aware or which for other good cause could not reasonably have been raised within the period specified by CPL Section 255.20.1. court's decision on the issue of timeliness is discretionary. And then the court says, in reviewing the excuses, the excuses proffered by defendant Donald Trump for the timing of his motion, this court finds that they are inadequate and not convincing. Defendant appears to justify the timing of the filing on the basis of two events, the filing of the People's Motion to Eliminate on February 22, 2024, which indicated their intent to offer a trial evidence that defendant engaged in an alleged pressure campaign against certain witnesses, and two, the February 28, 2024 decision by the United States Supreme Court to grant certiorari in the federal insurrection case. And then the judge goes, these two reasons, even when considered in tandem together as defendant does, fail to explain why defendant waited long past the statutory period allotted by New York law. The defendant had ample notice that the

people were in possession of and intended to use the various statements allegedly made by defendant on social media, in public, and in various interviews. He was also well aware that the defense of presidential immunity, even if unsuccessful, might be available to him. And then it goes on to say, for example, in the federal insurrection case, Donald Trump, back in October of 2023, filed a federal motion to dismiss the indictment on the basis of absolute presidential immunity. So you realized you could do that in the D.C. case. So why wouldn't you file that in the New York case? And then also it goes on to talk about how when Donald Trump tried to remove the action on May 4th, 2023 to federal court, you knew that absolute presidential immunity could

be an issue. You failed to do anything. You waited 17 days before the trial because you're trying to gain the system here. Denied, so ordered. And the court's going to say, the evidence is going to come in. I've ruled on pretrial motions. So what happens next? Well, I think Donald Trump is teeing this up to try to seek an appeal. I think we'll see Donald Trump try to file a writ. I think we'll see Donald Trump try to do everything in his power to get this before the Supreme Court and to beg any appellate court to try to delay this trial.

That's the next step. I mean, here, the way it was denied on these discretionary grounds of untimeliness, I think the judge also realized that he didn't even have to get to the merits. And that's the smartest way to do it, knowing that Donald Trump is going to try to appeal and use it to discretionary power, saying, you're just late. We're not even getting into the issues. Too late, too bad, so sad. we're going to trial. We'll see what Donald Trump does next. My prediction is an appeal, a writ,

and even trying potentially to go directly to the Supreme Court, but we'll see. Hit subscribe, we're on our way to 3 million subscribers here at the Midas Touch Network. Thank you so much for watching. Love this video? Make sure you stay up to date on the latest breaking news and all things Midas by signing

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