Dem
51
GOP
49
Wasn't this the lead headline yesterday? Why yes, yes it was. That's how it goes for the former president these days.
To start, Judge Juan Merchan has now set a date for Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg's criminal case against Trump. It's March 25, 2024, right in the middle of presidential primary season. It's a serious case that could have serious consequences for the former president. However, we remain skeptical that those consequences will be political in nature. His voters are primed to accept his explanations for things, and we believe he will be successful in persuading them that he's being victimized by Jewish-backed deep-state lawyers because of a "minor" bookkeeping error.
And speaking of pandering to the base, Trump is still working hard to convince them that E. Jean Carroll is out of her mind, and that she's either exaggerating or making things up out of whole cloth. If you want to read the reprehensible message he wrote, you can do so here; we don't feel the need to replicate it. Needless to say, continued defamation of Carroll might be a shrewd political strategy, but it's not a very shrewd legal strategy. It wouldn't be too surprising to see Carroll amend her pending complaint yet again. And if Trump is not careful, a judge or a jury is going to hit him with the sort of judgment that will really make him sit up and take notice.
And finally, there is the potential biggest news of the day, though it's unconfirmed at this point. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Jack Smith's investigation into the Mar-a-Lago documents is nearly complete. Apparently, every Mar-a-Lago employee has been interviewed, and there aren't too many stones left to be turned over. An indictment next week? Or, failing that, sometime in June? Looks very possible.
It would seem that Smith and AG Merrick Garland have gotten Trump's attention. Two of his attorneys wrote a letter to Garland, which the former president then posted to his boutique social media platform. It reads:
We represent Donald J. Trump, the 45th President of the United States, in the investigation currently being conducted by the Special Counsel's Office. Unlike President Biden, his son Hunter, and the Biden family, President Trump is being treated unfairly. No President of the United States has ever, in the history of our country, been baselessly investigated in such an outrageous and unlawful fashion. We request a meeting at your earliest convenience to discuss the ongoing injustice that is being perpetrated by your Special Counsel and his prosecutors.
The letter also says it was cc'd to "Representatives of Congress."
We have to assume this is just posturing for the base, meant to goose fundraising and to encourage Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) to launch investigations into Hunter Biden's dental records, exact location when JFK was shot, and preferred brand of bottled water. Alternatively, they actually want a meeting, and this is cover so they can "go in looking tough," but then grovel for mercy. Either way, we doubt that Garland will be slotting them into his appointment calendar. (Z)