Attention to the Unseen

Laurence H. Tribe, Donald Ayer, and Dennis Aftergut write: Now that Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis has indicted former President Donald Trump for his effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election, Trump’s first chessboard move is likely to be a motion to “remove” the case—that is, to transfer it from state court in Atlanta to federal court in the Northern District of Georgia. This maneuver shouldn’t work, as it didn’t work in July in New York, but once…

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Richard L Hasen writes: If the recent federal indictment of Donald Trump on charges related to his attempt to subvert the 2020 presidential election was a streamlined surgical strike aimed at ensuring a clean case and a speedy trial of the former president before the 2024 election, Monday night’s Georgia indictment is the equivalent of a blitz. With 19 defendants and 41 charges, the heart of the indictment is a sprawling state racketeering charge that places Trump at the center…

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Lisa Needham writes: The latest Trump indictment is out, and it’s a blockbuster. Let’s start with the numbers, shall we? A grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, returned an indictment that has: 19 defendants, including the former president of the United States and 6 lawyers in his orbit 41 criminal counts across all defendants 13 criminal counts against the former president himself 8 types of manners and methods used to further a criminal enterprise 161 overt acts of racketeering activity…

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Politico reports: Donald Trump slammed the judge presiding over his newest criminal case early Monday, testing her three-day-old warning that he refrain from “inflammatory” attacks against those involved in his case. In a Truth Social post just before 1 a.m., Trump assailed U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan as “highly partisan” and “very biased and unfair,” citing as evidence a statement she made during the sentencing of a woman who participated in the mob that breached the Capitol on Jan….

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The New York Times reports: When President Donald J. Trump’s eldest son took the stage outside the Georgia Republican Party headquarters two days after the 2020 election, he likened what lay ahead to mortal combat. “Americans need to know this is not a banana republic!” Donald Trump Jr. shouted, claiming that Georgia and other swing states had been overrun by wild electoral shenanigans. He described tens of thousands of ballots that had “magically” shown up around the country, all marked…

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Jay Kuo writes: [Fulton County District Attorney] Fani Willis understands RICO [Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization] law well. She’s famous for having brought broad state RICO charges to bust up a ring of administrators and educators who were in on a scheme to help students cheat on standardized tests, using money to reward those who aided the effort while punishing those that refused to help. Willis explained state RICO law perfectly then. “You don’t, under RICO, have to have a…

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The New York Times reports: Early on March 18, former President Donald J. Trump hit send on a social media post saying he would be “arrested on Tuesday of next week.” “Protest,” he wrote on his Truth Social website. “Take our nation back!” Mr. Trump’s prediction was based on media reports, according to his lawyers, and his timing was off by two weeks. Yet the statement set in motion events that profoundly altered the course of the Republican nominating contest….

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NPR reports: For extremism researchers, the shooting death this week of a Utah man who was alleged to have made violent threats against President Biden and other public officials highlights a concerning trend. For years, they have watched a steady escalation in violent political rhetoric that appears to be fueling acts of real-life violence. On Wednesday, the FBI shot and killed Craig Robertson of Provo, Utah as they attempted to arrest him due to his alleged threats ahead of a…

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Ian Millhiser writes: Last June, a previously obscure Oklahoma state board voted to allow two Roman Catholic dioceses to operate a charter school in that state. Lawyers from several civil rights organizations, including the ACLU, responded just over a month later with a lawsuit alleging that this state-funded religious school violates the state constitution. This challenge to the religious charter school, known as St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, should be a slam-dunk — at least assuming that the allegations in…

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The New York Times reports: Congressional Republicans have for months repeatedly written to Attorney General Merrick B. Garland demanding he appoint a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden, the president’s son, over his business dealings. Some even demanded that a specific man be named to lead the inquiry: David C. Weiss, the Trump-appointed Delaware U.S. attorney who has long investigated the case. But on Friday, after Mr. Garland elevated Mr. Weiss to special counsel status, Republicans in Congress reacted publicly…

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Politico reports: U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan warned Donald Trump and his attorney Friday that repeated “inflammatory” statements about his latest criminal prosecution would force her to speed his trial on charges related to his bid to subvert the 2020 election. “I caution you and your client to take special care in your public statements about this case,” Chutkan told Trump lawyer John Lauro during a hearing. “I will take whatever measures are necessary to safeguard the integrity of these…

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Rolling Stone reports: Special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation appears to be zeroing in on Sidney Powell, a conspiracy-theory-obsessed lawyer who was a key figure in Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Four sources with knowledge of the matter, several witnesses, and Trump allies who’ve appeared before the special counsel — including at least one in the past few days — team seem to agree: Powell should be preparing now for Smith to bring criminal charges. On Monday, Bernie…

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The New York Times reports: Donald J. Trump’s legal problems aren’t just piling up — his legal bills are, too. New financial reports show that the former president’s various political committees and the super PAC backing him have used roughly 30 cents of every dollar spent so far this year on legal-related costs. The total amounts to more than $27 million in legal fees and other investigation-related bills in the first six months of 2023, according to a New York…

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NBC News reports: Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Friday that he was appointing David Weiss as special counsel for the Hunter Biden probe, giving the U.S. attorney increased authority in his investigation. Weiss, who was already overseeing the probe, requested on Tuesday that he be given the special counsel title, Garland said. “This appointment confirms my commitment to provide Mr. Weiss all the resources he requests,” Garland said. “It also reaffirms that Mr. Weiss has the authority he needs to…

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