Attention to the Unseen

The New York Times reports: When Donald J. Trump responded to his latest indictment by promising to appoint a special prosecutor if he’s re-elected to “go after” President Biden and his family, he signaled that a second Trump term would fully jettison the post-Watergate norm of Justice Department independence. “I will appoint a real special prosecutor to go after the most corrupt president in the history of the United States of America, Joe Biden, and the entire Biden crime family,”…

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The New York Times reports: Aileen M. Cannon, the Federal District Court judge assigned to preside over former President Donald J. Trump’s classified documents case, has scant experience running criminal trials, calling into question her readiness to handle what is likely to be an extraordinarily complex and high-profile courtroom clash. Judge Cannon, 42, has been on the bench since November 2020, when Mr. Trump gave her a lifetime appointment shortly after he lost re-election. She had not previously served as…

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The Washington Post reports: One of Donald Trump’s new attorneys proposed an idea in the fall of 2022: The former president’s team could try to arrange a settlement with the Justice Department. The attorney, Christopher Kise, wanted to quietly approach Justice to see if he could negotiate a settlement that would preclude charges, hoping Attorney General Merrick Garland and the department would want an exit ramp to avoid prosecuting a former president. Kise would hopefully “take the temperature down,” he…

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Ryan Goodman and Andrew Weissmann write: Even before last Thursday’s indictment in United States v. Donald Trump, public speculation swirled about whether the former president had taken classified documents not just to Mar-a-Lago but also to his residence and golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. The indictment answered that question with a bang while presenting a new puzzle about why Trump isn’t facing even steeper charges. According to the Justice Department and a taped recording of the former president, Trump…

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The Washington Post reports: Former president Donald Trump faced down the most serious threat to his personal liberty and political future like just another day on the campaign trail — waving to fans, giving a thumbs up, swinging by a storied eatery, soliciting donations and planning a spirited speech to supporters at one of his properties. The almost celebratory display on Tuesday, clashing with the more typical sobriety of court proceedings, highlighted Trump’s instinct to face down federal charges with…

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NBC News reports: It’s long been Republican orthodoxy that no matter what Donald Trump does, the GOP base will stick with him. After his last indictment in New York, the party rallied around him. But this time, privately, Republicans aren’t so sure. An operative in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ orbit, who requested anonymity to speak candidly without approval from higher-ups, said that “from an objective standpoint,” the federal charges Trump faces for his post-presidency handling of classified documents are far…

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Ronald Brownstein writes: The Republican response to Donald Trump’s latest criminal indictment offers a clear test of the famous saying that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again and hoping for a different result. The choice by Republican leaders, and even almost all of his 2024 rivals for the Republican presidential nomination, to unreservedly defend Trump after he was indicted earlier this year by the Manhattan district attorney helped the former president to widen his lead…

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Rolling Stone reports: Right up until the day Donald Trump’s federal indictment was unsealed, the legal team tasked with defending him was engaged in petty internal feuds — including fights over TV appearances, accusations of disloyalty, and even a so-called “coup,” three people familiar with the situation, as well as others on or close to Trump’s legal defense, tell Rolling Stone. The clashes were dramatic enough that Friday, hours before Trump’s federal indictment in the Mar-a-Lago documents probe was unsealed,…

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Eric Levitz writes: An ABC News–Ipsos poll released Sunday found that 47 percent of Americans believe the charges against Trump are “politically motivated” while only 37 percent believe they are not. In reality, however, the notion that the DOJ is selectively prosecuting Trump for political reasons is not merely wrong but the very opposite of the truth: As a matter of fact, the federal government has been affording Trump extraordinary leniency, likely as a product of political considerations. To appreciate this, it is…

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Former President Donald Trump on his airplane on June 10, 2023, two days after his federal indictment. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images By Thomas A. Durkin, Loyola University Chicago and Joseph Ferguson, Loyola University Chicago Lawyer Thomas A. Durkin has spent much of his career working in national security law, representing clients in a variety of national security and domestic terrorism matters. Joseph Ferguson was a national security prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District…

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Norman L. Eisen, Richard W. Painter, and Fred Wertheimer write: Soon after the news broke that Donald Trump will become the first former president to face federal criminal charges—37 counts that include willful retention of national defense information under the Espionage Act, conspiracy to obstruct justice, concealing documents, and false statements—it was also revealed that Judge Aileen Cannon is scheduled to oversee the case. In our view as experts with more than a century of collective experience in judicial and other ethics questions, that…

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  The Hill reports: Former Attorney General Bill Barr called arguments being made by Republicans attempting to compare former President Trump’s handling of classified documents to previous presidents “big lies.” Barr was asked by “Fox News Sunday” host Shannon Bream to respond to comparisons of Trump leaving the White House with classified documents to former Presidents Clinton and Obama, and President Biden when he was vice president. Barr said that the difference is that other presidents worked with the National…

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The New York Times reports: The federal indictment of former President Donald J. Trump has unleashed a wave of calls by his supporters for violence and an uprising to defend him, disturbing observers and raising concerns of a dangerous atmosphere ahead of his court appearance in Miami on Tuesday. In social media posts and public remarks, close allies of Mr. Trump — including a member of Congress — have portrayed the indictment as an act of war, called for retribution…

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Former President Donald Trump was on the campaign trail in early June 2023, as an investigation continued that led to his indictment on federal charges. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images By Joseph Ferguson, Loyola University Chicago and Thomas A. Durkin, Loyola University Chicago Former President Donald Trump’s indictment by a federal grand jury in Miami includes 31 counts of violating a part of the Espionage Act of 1917. The Espionage Act has historically been employed most often by law-and-order conservatives….

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