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If you're the type of person who is willing to help Donald Trump try to cheat in order to win an election, yesterday was a disheartening day for you, as three different folks of that description got smacked upside the head by the courts.
We'll begin with America's Former Mayor, since he was the most famous of the three people who got bad news. He may once have been a man of integrity (reviews are mixed on that), but in his golden years, he's turned into a real sleazeball. His behavior has gotten him into legal hot water on many, many fronts. Among the matters that have been resolved, the massive $148 million judgment won by Georgia poll workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss really stands out because that is a lot of money, and because it hits the money-obsessed Giuliani where it really hurts.
Consistent with his present-day sleaziness, Giuliani has very clearly been dragging his feet when it comes to selling assets so that he might satisfy at least part of the judgment. Already, the former mayor's bankruptcy protection had been removed because of his intransigence. And yesterday, U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman ruled that his patience has been exhausted, and that Giuliani must now transfer a long list of assets without selling them. So, Freeman and Moss are now the proud new owners of Giuliani's Upper East Side apartment, his Mercedes, a dozen luxury watches, some cash, and $2 million in IOUs from the Trump '20 campaign. Freeman and Moss will never see that $2 million, we dare say, but they'll still realize well into the seven figures with the other assets.
One cannot help but notice that Giuliani, who was once in very close orbit to Donald Trump, has been invisible during this cycle. The former mayor also appears to be broke. And from this follows our usual observation that Giuliani is a prime candidate to throw Trump and others under the bus once the various court cases (Georgia, Arizona, etc.) get before a judge. We assume that Giuliani still wants to see Trump reelected, and so will keep his lips zipped until November. But sometime after that, we would guess the former mayor sings like a canary.
Another hopelessly hamfisted Trumper is Couy Griffin, the New Mexico commissioner who was convicted for crimes related to his actions on 1/6, and then was removed from his elective office under the terms of the Fourteenth Amendment. Griffin appealed his convictions, based on the argument that he did not know he was trespassing because the line between "you CAN be here" and "you CAN'T be here" was not clear. Yesterday, a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected his argument.
Griffin says he will appeal, of course. He could ask for an en banc hearing (all the judges of the DC Circuit) or he could go to the Supreme Court. Who knows if either or both would be open to granting cert. In any case, as it currently stands, one of the primary lines of defense for 1/6 participants has been shut down. Meanwhile, the authority of the United States Secret Service and other protective forces has been expanded. Now, the security perimeter around a person or building is whatever the pros think it is, and not "where the ropes are" or "where the fences are."
And as long as we are on the subject of Griffin, let's indulge in a little idle speculation. Remember, Griffin was not denied the opportunity to run for office based on the Fourteenth Amendment, he was removed after already having been elected. In the relatively small number of cases where someone was disqualified on this basis, it was mostly post hoc (i.e., after they had been elected). In the Colorado case earlier this year, the Supreme Court said that Trump had to stay on the ballot there, and could not be booted from the primary on the basis of having fomented insurrection.
However, the Court's ruling did not bring complete clarity to the question. In particular, the opinions of all four women justices raised the possibility that the Fourteenth Amendment could still be activated, under the right circumstances. If Donald Trump wins the election—or, more precisely, appears to have won the electoral vote—we wonder if someone (or many someones) will file suit, and re-raise the question of whether he is disqualified from holding federal office. Again, the question has not been conclusively answered. Further, we would imagine that ANY citizen in a state who gave its EVs to Trump would have standing to sue. So, at least in theory, he would not be protected by the fact that, say, Texas' AG Ken Paxton (R) and Governor Greg Abbott (R) are in the bag for him. We are not experts here, of course, but it seems plausible that this is something that some Democratic operatives/lawyers might be keeping in their back pockets right now.
And finally, Cochise County Supervisor Peggy Judd was one of the Arizona officials who dragged their feet when it came to certifying Arizona's election results. Yesterday, she admitted she broke the law, and copped a guilty plea. Her punishment seems like a bit of slap on the wrist to us: unsupervised probation for 90 days and a $500 fine (on top of nearly $20,000 in costs that Judd was previously required to reimburse). Still, a punishment is a punishment, and Judd's now got a criminal record.
The lesson here could not be more plain: Try to screw around with the election, and you will pay a price (while your Dear Leader, Donald Trump, will not lift a finger to help you). We recognize that some Trumpers are True Believers, and care not a whit about consequences. However, surely some would-be troublemakers must be taking note of the fates of Giuliani, Griffin, Judd, et al., and noticing that they all had to pay a price while not actually accomplishing anything electorally. Maybe that will make some stop the stealers think twice before sticking their necks out. (Z)