The MeidasTouch Podcast - Jack Smith Finally Calls Judge Cannon’s BLUFF in Trump Trial

Episode Date: December 20, 2023

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on the recent filing by Special Counsel Jack Smith where he seeks to smoke out that Judge Cannon is not serious about the May 20, 2024 trial date. 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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Call 1-866-531-2600 or visit connectsontario.ca. Please play responsibly. What's better than a well-marbled ribeye sizzling on the barbecue? A well-marbled ribeye sizzling on the barbecue that was carefully selected by an Instacart shopper and delivered to your door. A well-marbled ribeye you ordered without even leaving the kiddie pool. Whatever groceries your summer calls for, Instacart has you covered. Download the Instacart app and enjoy $0 delivery fees on your first three orders. Service fees, exclusions, and terms apply. Instacart, groceries that over-deliver. I really like this move that Jack Smith is doing right

here. He just filed a motion for a written jury questionnaire, but specifically asks federal judge Eileen Cannon in the Southern District of Florida criminal case against Donald Trump for the willful retention of national defense information to start this process immediately, to begin this jury questionnaire process by February 2nd, if indeed the real trial date is going to be May 20th, 2024, which is the date that Judge Eileen Cannon has purportedly set the trial date for. Now, nobody believes that this May 20th, 2024 trial date is a real trial date.

We all just think that Judge Eileen Cannon is keeping that trial date to try to protect Donald Trump from other trial dates happening in that time period. One way we know that is because Judge Eileen Cannon has previously rejected special counsel Jack Smith's request that she set a SEPA Section 5 deadline. SEPA Section 5 involves the criminal defendant's disclosure of classified information that he or she or they intend to reveal in a criminal case involving classified information. It's the key deadline in SEPA cases. And of course, the Mar-a-Lago document case is a SEPA case. It involves classified information that Donald Trump stole, that he willfully retained.

And by not setting a SEPA Section 5 deadline, as Special Counsel Jack Smith requested, how in the world are you really going to have your May 20th, 2024 trial date? So by filing this motion, it's a way for Special Counsel Jack Smith to try to smoke out Judge Eileen Cannon's true intentions. And if you want to talk about playing multidimensional chess here, think about why special counsel Jack Smith is doing this right now as well, because he is aware that in the Washington DC criminal case, Judge Tanya Chutkin has temporarily stayed that case after denying Donald Trump's motion to dismiss the indictment on the grounds of absolute presidential immunity. The D.C. Circuit

Court of Appeals has expedited oral argument. January 9th, 2024 will be the date when oral argument on the issue of absolute presidential immunity will be heard by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. And the D.C. Circuit Court's also expedited the briefing. The last paperwork gets filed January 2nd. But what this means is that the Washington DC criminal case may potentially be delayed by about 30, 45, maybe even 60 days. So you see that trial date, March 4th, 2024, probably gets kicked to mid-April, maybe even May. So as the Washington DC deadline or.C. trial date creeps up against Judge Eileen Cannon's trial date, May 20th, 2024, I think Special Counsel Jack Smith's going to be doing these maneuvers like we're seeing here to say, okay, Judge Cannon, if you're really going to do that May 20th, 2024 trial date, jury questionnaires, February 2nd, set a SEPA 5 section, a SEPA section 5 hearing. You have to do these things if that date is a real deadline with the hopes of basically calling

Judge Cannon's bluff, proving that May 20th, 2024 trial date is not real, getting that bumped to some later date, or if Judge Eileen Cannon continues to engage in obstructive conduct, eventually tee this thing up if she finally makes some order that is appealable to go to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and say she's just not following SEPA deadlines. There's no way to do a SEPA case when she's not setting SEPA hearing dates and deadlines. Take a look at the government's motion for written jury questionnaire. And that's why you have to read these filings with a discerning eye.

And that's what we like to talk about here at the Midas Touch Network, the filings, but the maneuvering behind the filings as well. Because if you just looked at this and go, oh, it's a motion for a written jury questionnaire. Well, that's not sexy. That doesn't seem like a big deal. No, it is a big effing deal. And let me explain why. Let's take a look. The government moves for a

written, this is before Judge Eileen Cannon in the Mar-a-Lago document case in Southern District of Florida. The government moves for a written jury questionnaire to be completed by potential jurors in advance of in-person jury selection. In other words, okay, Judge Cannon, you set a May 20th, 2024 trial date. Let's do the things like we are going to trial on May 20th, 2024. Goes on to say, because the pretrial publicity surrounding this case is substantial, the government recommends a thorough jury selection process, including a written questionnaire completed by potential jurors before in-person voir dire. That's the questioning of the jurors before in-person voir dire. That's the questioning of the jurors. It's called voir dire, speak the truth, Latin phrase.

A questionnaire which is now a common complement to oral examination when selecting an effective impartial jury will make jury selection more efficient and effective by allowing the parties in the court to identify uncontested strikes for cause and hardships before in-person voir dire begins and to conduct informed individual questioning of a winnowed veneer, of a winnowed down potential jury pool. Sleep is the foundation of our mental and physical health. When you are sleeping well, you can perform at your best mentally and physically. Proper sleep can also increase focus, boost energy, and improve your mood. Introducing Beams Dream Powder, a science-packed healthy hot cocoa for sleep. If you know me, you know that dream has been a game changer for my sleep. Sometimes I find myself up at night in bed with my thoughts and uneasiness.

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Beam Dream is easy to add to your nighttime routine. Just mix Dream into hot water or milk froth and enjoy before bed. Find out why Forbes and New York Times are all talking about Beam and why it's trusted by the world's top athletes and business professionals. If you want to try Beam's best-selling Dream Powder, get up to 40% off for a limited time when you go to shopbeam.com slash Midas and use code Midas at checkout. That's shopbeam.com slash M-E-I-D-A-S and use the code Midas for up to 40% off. And now back to the show. The government is mindful of the court's prior order that apart from the date set forth therein

and the dates previously set for calendar call and trial, any further deadlines will be set after a scheduling conference on March 1, 2024. However, given the lead time that the clerk's office will need to implement a jury questionnaire, beginning the process after March 1 will likely not provide the court with sufficient time prior to trial. As described below, previous cases in this district in which questionnaires were used suggest that the clerk's office requires approximately 10 weeks time for the questionnaire

process, which includes mailing questionnaires to potential jurors to be returned to the clerk's office in postmarked envelopes. In this case, that means a final questionnaire would need to be approved before on or about March 11th for a May 20th trial. As an alternative, the court, and it goes on to say some additional things, but in other words, we need to get the show on the road right now, Judge Eileen Cannon. And what special counsel Jack Smith points out is Judge Cannon's prior orders. Which prior orders is he pointing out in particular? So if you look at Judge Eileen Cannon's scheduling order, you take a look at it, you deadline be set, and this is what Judge Eileen Cannon previously responded back on November 16th, 2023. She denied it without prejudice.

She said that Jack Smith's motion for SEPA Section 5, as stated in the court's November 10th, 2023 order, all previously remaining deadlines in the court's July 21, 2023 order are superseded except calendar call and trial. The court reset the first set of pre-trial deadlines as indicated on pages eight and nine of that order and scheduled a conference on March 1, 2024 to address the remaining deadlines. To the extent the special counsel's motion seeks reconsideration in part of the court's November 10th, 2023 order, the request is denied. SEPA section five deadlines

and all other pretrial deadlines not included in the first batch of pretrial deadlines contained in the court's revised schedule will be set following the March 1, 2024 scheduling conference. So right then and there, it's clear if you're not setting a SEPA Section 5 deadline now, and you're going to wait to set that for the first time when the parties arrive on March 1, 2024, then how are you possibly going to be ready with all of the motion practice that's needed

to go to trial on May 20th, 2024? You are not. But here, special counsel Jack Smith saying, okay, we hear you there loud and clear, Judge Cannon. You don't want to see Section 5. We'll deal with that. But I also want to try to smoke out and prove that there is no way that this is getting done on time. Let's start

with the jury questionnaires. Judge Cannon, it's clear that if we want to go through the process that mostly all judges go through here now, especially in high profile cases, those jury questionnaires need to start getting out in the next two months. Cool? Are you good with that, Judge Cannon? And what does special counsel Jack Smith expect her to say? I think Jack Smith will expect her to say that she's not going to do that because she's not serious about the dates. And she may say, I'm not doing it for that reason. She may just say, we'll talk about it at the March 1, 2024 hearing. but what she'll be revealing is that that's not a serious date. Here's why it's important as well. If she does not agree to a jury questionnaire, if she

does not set the seat for section five deadlines, if she does not go through the steps that you normally would to set a trial date and all of the related deadlines, this way, by the time the case gets sent back from the DC Circuit Court of Appe Appeals or maybe even the Supreme Court to Judge Tanya Chutkin, Special Counsel Jack Smith can then prepare a brief in the Washington, D.C. case and say, look, while Judge Eileen Cannon apparently still has this May 20th, 2020 for a trial date, we now know that that's not a realistic date. She hasn't set SEPA Section 5 deadlines. She's not doing jury questionnaires. She's not taking the steps as though she's serious. So Judge Tanya Chutkin, you should feel empowered to set the deadline, to set your trial date before Judge Eileen Cannon's.

That's the multidimensional game of chess that Jack Smith's playing, while Judge Cannon and Trump's lawyers are clearly playing one-dimensional checkers right here. So we'll keep you posted with more, but that's Jack Smith's move. Find out if Judge Cannon's going to set these questionnaires. Are you really ready for trial, Cannon, or are you just bluffing? Jack Smith calling Judge Cannon's bluff. I'm Ben Micellis from the Midas Touch Network. Hit subscribe. We're on our way to 2 million subscribers thanks to your support. Check us out at patreon.com slash Midas Touch and have a great day. Hey, Midas Mighty. Love this report? Continue the conversation by following us on Instagram at Midas Touch to keep up with the most important news of the day.

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