Dem
51
GOP
49
Well, yesterday, at least. And in case you don't know, that song is from the catalog of Taylor Swift. We gotta include something for the kiddies once in a while.
What, exactly, are we going on about? Well, for the second time in as many attempts, Donald Trump's legal team has failed to quash the investigation being conducted by Fulton County DA Fani Willis. In a 9-page order, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney made very clear that the arguments made by Team Trump have zero merit, and that relief at the end of a judge's gavel is not forthcoming.
Presumably recognizing that the "journalists" who work for the Foxes and Breitbarts of the world don't read the fine print, McBurney used the old academic's trick of putting the really pointed stuff in the footnotes. For example this, which made clear that the Judge knows full well what the point of these "Hail Mary" filings is:
And for some, being the subject of a criminal investigation can, à la Rumpelstiltskin, be turned into golden political capital, making it seem more providential than problematic.
McBurney's ruling makes clear that Trump will have his opportunities to push back against a potential Willis indictment, but it must wait until there is, you know, an actual indictment.
And on that point, Willis did an interview over the weekend in which she let slip the worst-kept secret in the political world, namely that if she's going to indict Trump or anyone else for election shenanigans, she's going to do it before September 1 of this year. This is no surprise to anyone who has been following the investigation, and certainly not to anyone who is a regular reader of this site. Today, in fact, begins the three-week window that Willis asked her colleagues to prepare for in terms of extra safety/security. Assuming her wishes have been followed, staffers from the DA's office are working from home and courts are keeping their dockets open and their doors closed. In this weekend's interview, Willis also said that "The work is accomplished. We've been working for 2½ years. We're ready to go." Presumably that means she will make an official announcement at the time she thinks is most likely to mute any sort of violent response. This Friday evening, perhaps? (Z)