The MeidasTouch Podcast - Prosecutors ACT FAST, Won’t Let Trump ESCAPE 2024 Criminal Trial

Episode Date: December 11, 2023

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on the latest filing by Special Counsel Jack Smith opposing Donald Trump’s stay request pending his appeal on the issue of absolute presidential immunity.  Upgrade your sleep with Miracle Made! Go to TryMiracle.com/MEIDAS and use the code MEIDAS to claim your FREE 3 PIECE TOWEL SET and SAVE over 40% OFF. 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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free of charge bet mgm operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming ontario special counsel jack smith just filed in opposition to donald trump's motion for a stay pending his notice of appeal in the Washington DC federal criminal case after the district court judge, federal judge Tanya Chutkin denied Donald Trump's motion to dismiss the indictment on absolute presidential immunity grounds. I'm Ben Micellis from the Midas Touch Network. We talked about how Donald Trump was seeking this motion for a stay to try to delay all of the proceedings with a pending trial date of March 4th, 2024. In the Washington, D.C. criminal case, the judge presiding over that case is federal judge Tanya Chutkin.

And that case involves Donald Trump's attempt to overthrow the results of the 2020 election. Donald Trump desperately wants to avoid that March 4th, 2024 trial date. So he filed this motion to stay. He cited two cases, one case called Coinbase involving arbitrability, where the United States Supreme Court held on a district court's denial of a motion for arbitration or a motion compelling arbitration, and the district court proceedings are stayed. Donald Trump also tries to cite another case, the Blassingame case that was decided by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on December 1st, where the D.C. Circuit rejected Donald Trump's request for absolute presidential

immunity in civil context. And Donald Trump tried to create some tortured analysis of the D.C. Circuit's opinion there to somehow try to claim that that means that the discovery and the pretrial deadlines and everything else should be stayed in a district court proceeding pending an appeal when that's not what that case stands for. But here, special counsel Jack Smith and his opposition to Donald Trump's motion for stay really gets right to the heart of it. It's only a three-page opposition filed by special counsel Jack Smith. It's concise. It's the main case and really provides the judge, Judge Tanya Chutkin, with all of the grounds she needs to deny Donald Trump's stay request. And just to

remind you, Donald Trump wants Judge Tanya Chutkin to stay or stop all of the district court proceedings. This includes the pretrial deadlines, the March 4th, 2024 trial date, the discovery deadlines, the motion deadlines, everything relating to the case, all of the deadlines and obligations. Special counsel Jack Smith says, nope, there's a case called Griggs versus Provident consumer discount, a 1982 case, which is the precedent and directly on point. And it basically says that under the Griggs doctrine, when a notice of appeal, an interlocutory appeal, like the one Donald Trump filed takes place, when Trump's appealing a district court judge's order directly to the circuit court of appeals, in this case, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, the only thing that it

stays is the, are the things relating to the court case that are the subject of the motion that's under appeal. And so if the dates and deadlines and obligations relate to things that are not the subject of the appeal under the Griggs divestiture doctrine, the district court is not divested of all of its other authority and all of its other power. It just simply can't make rulings as it relates to the discrete issue on appeal. The discrete issue on appeal is Judge Tanya Chutkin denying Donald Trump's motion to dismiss the indictment on absolute presidential immunity grounds. And so if it relates to that motion, special counsel Jack Smith says Judge Chutkin, then we concede. Griggs, the main precedent here, that Griggs case says that you can't adjudicate,

you can't rule, that's what's stayed or paused, but everything else should be able to proceed. And in fact, special counsel Jack Smith says that they're going to meet every deadline, every discovery obligation, they're going to prepare for trial. There's a massive public interest in making sure that this case goes to trial and that the March 4th, 2024 trial date is the trial date. And special counsel Jack Smith says, look, keep this train moving in the district court. And then there'll be proceedings obviously before, before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. But we should be ready here for that March trial when the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rules. And again, Jack Smith, I think, cutting to the point here in this three-page motion to

try to make it very simple and also show that Donald Trump's lengthy motions are just total kind of bogus motions and that the law is very well established here, Judge Chukin. And let's just keep moving on with our proceedings here. And you have infinite authority to do that. Here is the government's opposition to defendant's motion to stay proceedings pending appeal. The court should deny the defendant's request for an order staying all district court proceedings while his interlocutory appeal is pending. The defendant incorrectly suggests that such an order would simply memorialize the automatic divestiture rule in the Griggs case. But under Griggs, a notice of appeal divests the district court only, quote, of control over

those aspects of the case involved in the appeal. During the pendency of the appeal, any number of matters could arise in this case that are not involved in the appeal. The court should not enter an order preventing it from handling them. Furthermore, the court should maintain the March 4th trial date, goes on to say, to help ensure the trial proceeds promptly if the court's order is affirmed during the pendency of the defendant's appeal. The government will meet every pre-trial deadline the court has set forth. Then, as soon as the mandate returns, the court can promptly resolve

any remaining issues and start the trial. And one of the cases Special Counsel Jack Smith cites here is a case called United States v. Jefferson, a case before the Eastern District of Virginia federal court that determined that it was appropriate as a matter of prudence during an interlocutory appeal, like the one that's taking place now as Trump appeals the denial of his motion to dismiss the indictment on absolute presidential immunity grounds. It is prudent to schedule a trial date so that the court and the parties may make appropriate plans. And that case seems to be on point as well.

The Griggs case, divestiture rule, and it's called divestiture when it divests, when it removes jurisdiction from a district court. So the Griggs divestiture rule applies automatically upon the filing of a notice of appeal. So Trump filed a notice of appeal. Special counsel Jack Smith recognizes that this Griggs divestiture rule divesting the district court of some powers applies because a notice of appeal was filed. Then it says the Griggs divestiture rule applies automatically upon the filing of a notice of appeal, obviating the need for a separate stay order. And the stay order the defendant seeks to stay all district court proceeding goes far beyond

the Griggs rule. The court should not assume at this juncture that no issue can arise that is not involved in this appeal. For example, the circuit recently returned the mandate on the court's Rule 57.7 order regarding extrajudicial statements. That's the gag order that was reimposed on Donald Trump and affirmed in most parts. And the court has jurisdiction to administer that order. Likewise, nothing about the defendant's appeal prevents the court from continuing to enforce, including if necessary, by order briefing or holding hearings, the protective orders governing discovery and the order imposing conditions of release on the defendant.

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to treat yourself, a friend, or loved one this holiday season. In addition, while the appeal is pending, the court can make headway on the motions already before it, including the defendant's motions to dismiss based on statutory grounds and selective and vindictive prosecution. The court can and should properly deny these motions under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 37, which provides that a district court retains authority to deny pending motions that it otherwise, quote, lacks authority to grant because of an appeal that has been docketed and is pending. In other words, Judge, you've got discovery before you. You've got motions to dismiss other than the one that's now on appeal. Let's use this time while Donald Trump has filed this notice of appeal

before the DC circuit on the issue of absolute presidential immunity to get to work. Let's make headway on the case. Let's proceed as though we're heading to trial. And that's all consistent with the Griggs doctrine. That's all consistent with federal rule of criminal procedure 37 and the related case law here. For its part, in light of the public's strong interest in a prom trial, the government will seek to ensure that the trial proceeds as scheduled. In particular, the government will continue to meet all of the deadlines in the court's pretrial schedule. This means that while the appeal is pending, although the defendant will not be subjected to the burdens of litigation, the government will

continue to shoulder its own burden accordingly. The government will provide the defendant and the court with any notice required by the pretrial schedule and more, including, depending on the length of the appellate process, the government's exhibit list, motion eliminating, and more, including, depending on the length of the appellate process, the government's exhibit list, motion eliminating, and other pleadings pertaining to the government's trial presentation. Any filings the government makes according to the court's schedule while the appeal is pending can then promptly be litigated if the court's order is affirmed and the mandate is returned. To the extent the defendant is seeking a stay pending his appeal of matters implicating those aspects of the case involved in the appeal,

the court should deny his motion as unnecessary and duplicative. The divestiture occurred when the defendant filed his notice of appeal. Otherwise, the court should decline to issue an order that would prevent it from resolving pending motions or handling aspects of the case unrelated to the appeal. So Special Counsel Jack Smith saying, look, there is a divestiture. It relates to the narrow issues subject of Donald Trump's appeal. There's no need to take away this March 4th, 2024 trial date. Keep that on schedule while the DC Circuit Court of Appeals resolves what it needs to resolve regarding Donald Trump's appeal. Let's go through the discovery. We'll give you all of our motions. We'll give you everything that we need

to give you. And then once the DC Circuit Court of Appeals rules, any of the other issues that need to be taken up, we'll take up, but we'll have that March 4th, 2024 trial date ready to go. Special Counsel Jack Smith's motion right there. And again, I think he takes a nice, narrow, surgical approach to this. You know, unlike Donald Trump in Trump's motions, who never concedes anything, overstates the law, misstates the law, lies about the law, and loses all credibility. Jack Smith's like, look, there's a narrow divestiture. It shouldn't affect everything else. And then we'll proceed in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. I'm sure he will, and his team will, on an expedited basis while other things proceed before Judge Chutkin.

So that's where we're at now. We'll keep you posted when Judge Chutkin makes her order. Donald Trump's been given the opportunity to file a reply, which he will do in the next, I think, two days his reply is due. And then separately, what we'll see happen is a briefing schedule being requested on Trump's appeal before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. How quick, how expedited that process will be is going to be important ultimately in

maintaining that March 4th, 2024 trial date. So we'll keep you posted on that as well. Hit subscribe. We're on our way to 2 million subscribers. Thanks to your support. And check us out at patreon.com slash MidasTouch and have a great one. At Midas Touch, we are unapologetically pro-democracy and we demand justice and accountability. That's why we're spreading our message to convict45. That's right,

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