Dem
51
GOP
49
You can't teach an old dog new tricks, especially when the dog is quite happy with the old ones. So it is for Donald Trump, whose favorite trick when it comes to legal cases is to delay, delay, and delay some more. The trial resulting from E. Jean Carroll's defamation lawsuit was supposed to begin in 2 weeks. Sure enough, one of Trump's lawyers, Joe Tacopina, has asked Judge Lewis Kaplan to delay the trial. Tacopina claims that all the publicity from Trump's recent indictment would make it impossible to have a fair trial. As evidence, he said that Google searches for Trump have surged (and obviously, Google searches will play a major role at the trial).
What's Tacopina's game plan here? Maybe he'll get the judge to delay the trial for a month or two. Then what happens if the Georgia indictment comes in? Google searches will surge again, and Tacopina will be back asking for a new delay. By then, federal charges in one or two cases may be filed, in which case Tacopina will ask for another delay. By then the first Republican primary debate may be at hand, in which case Tacopina will come back asking for another delay. The date of the debate hasn't been set yet, but RNC Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel has announced that it will be sponsored and carried by—get this—Fox News. Who could have guessed that? If a delay is granted on account of the debate, the Iowa caucuses will be near, so another delay will be need. Rinse and repeat. Forever. If Kaplan grants the first delay, the second time, Tacopina will cite precedent for another delay.
So far, the judge hasn't ruled. If he refuses to grant a delay, and the jury finds for Carroll, then on appeal, Trump's lawyers will say the trial wasn't fair due to all the publicity surrounding the indictment. As long as Trump can stay in the spotlight, which he is good at, there will never be a good time for a trial. Maybe Tacopina will try to get the case thrown out altogether on those grounds. We doubt that the judge will buy that, but if the judge refuses to delay the trial, Tacopina can try to appeal the refusal to get a delay. That itself might delay the trial, which, after all, is the goal. (V)