Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times News Brief for Thursday, June 6, 2024. I’m Bill Thomas, and today, we have updates on a couple of stories regarding former President Donald Trump’s legal battles, a major shift in his campaign strategy, the possibility of time behind bars for the former leader of the free world, and a groundbreaking appeal by Elon Musk’s X Corp.
Georgia Appeals Court Halts Trump Case
The Georgia Court of Appeals has ordered a stay on all proceedings in the case against President Trump and eight co-defendants overseen by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. The court is currently reviewing whether Ms. Willis should be disqualified.Ms. Willis has charged the defendants with violating the state’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act related to their actions challenging the 2020 presidential election results. The case has been further complicated by allegations of prosecutorial and financial misconduct, and an affair between Ms. Willis and her hired prosecutor. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ruled that disqualification was not necessary but permitted the defendants to appeal.
As a result, the trial court judge must halt hearings and rulings until a decision is made on whether Ms. Willis and her office will remain on the case. With the Georgia Appeals Court’s decision, it is unlikely that the remaining Trump cases will go to trial this year.
President Trump’s case in the District of Columbia is on hold pending a Supreme Court decision regarding his presidential immunity defense. And his case in the Southern District of Florida concerning mishandling classified documents has had its trial date postponed as well, with the judge currently addressing motions to dismiss.
Judge Cannon Expands Hearing on Validity of Trump Special Counsel
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon has decided to open an upcoming hearing to outside parties to address the legitimacy of special counsel Jack Smith’s appointment. Judge Cannon, the federal judge overseeing one of the criminal cases against President Trump, has allowed three outside experts to present their arguments. The hearing is set to be held on June 21 in federal court in Florida.
President Trump’s legal team has filed several motions to dismiss the classified document case against the former president, arguing that Mr. Smith’s appointment by Attorney General Merrick Garland is illegal because Mr. Smith was not a federal employee at the time.
On the flip side, Matthew Seligman, one of the experts to attend the hearing, maintains that the attorney general has the power to appoint a special counsel, just like Mr. Smith.
But two other experts, Josh Blackman and Gene Schaerr, side with President Trump.
Mr. Blackman, a professor at the South Texas College of Law Houston, says that Mr. Smith’s temporary position prevents him from exercising significant authority and suggests he should be supervised by a U.S. attorney.
Mr. Schaerr, a former law clerk for Supreme Court Justices Warren Burger and Justice Antonin Scalia, says that Mr. Smith’s appointment violates the Appointments Clause, as no law explicitly authorizes the position of special counsel. He will be presenting arguments led by former Attorney General Edwin Meese III, who served under former President Ronald Reagan and now works at the Heritage Foundation.
They argue that while Attorney General Janet Reno issued regulations for appointing independent counsel, these regulations are not a law. They pointed out that Mr. Smith was not appointed as special counsel to assist U.S. attorneys but rather replace them in specific cases. They wrote in a recent filing that Mr. Smith “was hired as a powerful standalone officer who replaces, rather than assists, the functions of United States Attorneys within the scope of his jurisdiction.”
The case against President Trump involves his handling of sensitive materials and his alleged obstruction of investigators searching for those materials. He and his co-defendants have pleaded not guilty.
Trump Campaign Launches Major Mail-In Ballot Initiative Ahead of 2024 Election
The former president has launched a new initiative called “Swamp the Vote” to boost early voting and the use of mail-in and absentee ballots among Republicans for the upcoming November presidential election. This marks a significant shift from his previous stance, where he criticized these voting methods.In a recent news release, President Trump encouraged his supporters to “vote any way possible,” calling on GOP voters to “make a plan, register, and vote” in the forthcoming election.
He said: “Whether you vote absentee, by mail, early in-person, or on election day, we are going to protect the vote. We make sure your ballot is secure and your voice is heard. We must swamp the radical Democrats with massive turnout.”
“Swamp the Vote” seems to build on the Republican National Committee’s “Bank Your Vote” plan, introduced by former Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.
Other leading Republicans, including Lara Trump, who is co-chair of the Republican National Committee, have also voiced support for utilizing all lawful election methods, including ballot harvesting.
In related news, the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee reported raising $141 million in funds last month.
Judge Will Send a ‘Strong Message’ When Sentencing Trump, Dershowitz Says
Retired Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz predicts that New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan will send a strong message when sentencing President Trump for falsifying business records.Mr. Dershowitz suggests five possibilities of how the judge might sentence President Trump.
According to Mr. Dershowitz, “a very likely outcome” will be to sentence President Trump to several years in prison but the sentence could be suspended due to his status as a leading presidential candidate.
Another possibility is ordering President Trump to surrender after the election. Mr. Dershowitz believes that a prison sentence for falsifying business records would be unprecedented in President Trump’s case.
Other potential sentences include a five-year probation, which would make Trump the first president on probation, or house arrest, though he thinks this is less likely.
A conditional sentence, allowing the judge to withhold sentencing if President Trump meets certain conditions, is also an option. Additionally, the judge is likely to impose a very harsh fine for contempt of court for violating a gag order.
Just last week, the former president was convicted by a Manhattan jury on 34 felony counts related to fraudulent accounting. President Trump is expected to appeal the verdict and he has said so publicly. The conviction, and even imprisonment, will not bar President Trump from continuing his election campaign.
Following the conviction, polls have shown mixed results, with one indicating a 2-point boost for President Trump and him leading President Joe Biden nationally. But a different poll from ABC-Ipsos found that 52 percent of independent voters think that the former president should end his 2024 campaign.
Elon Musk’s X Urges Supreme Court for Review After Jack Smith Obtained Trump Files
Elon Musk’s X Corporation is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in a process that allows officials to access information from social media platforms without notifying the individuals whose data is being obtained. X, formerly known as Twitter, argues that this process violates constitutional rights and denies users the opportunity to defend their rights.Recently unsealed documents revealed that X provided data from President Trump’s Twitter account to special counsel Jack Smith under a search warrant. Due to a nondisclosure order obtained by Mr. Smith, X was prohibited from informing President Trump about the search.
X challenged this order, claiming it infringed on their First Amendment rights and prevented President Trump from asserting executive privilege. However, a U.S. district judge ruled against it, and her decision was upheld by a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. One of the panel judges said the nondisclosure was needed for “preserving the integrity and maintaining the secrecy of its ongoing criminal investigation of the events surrounding January 6, 2021.”
The Supreme Court is now being asked to review this case, as it conflicts with previous precedents and rulings from other circuits. X’s lawyers say that holders of executive privilege should be informed and given the chance to assert privilege before their confidential documents are disclosed.
The lawyers also point out the implications of this case extend beyond executive privilege, potentially impacting other privileges such as doctor-patient and attorney-client confidentiality.
X argues that by upholding the lower court’s ruling, the government gains unrestricted access to private communications and impairs the First Amendment rights of service providers like X.
The Department of Justice has yet to respond to the filing.
Time is just screaming by today, so we’ll wrap things up and make that one our final story for the Thursday edition of The Epoch Times News Brief.
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And finally, as we do each and every day on this program, we wrap things up with a very “notable” quote:
It was Epicurus who said: “The greater the difficulty, the more the glory in surmounting it.”
Epicurus was an ancient Greek philosopher and sage who founded Epicureanism, a highly influential school of philosophy.
For all of us here at The Epoch Times News Brief, I’m Bill Thomas. We appreciate you starting your day with us, enjoy the remainder of your day, and we’ll see you right back here tomorrow for the Friday edition of The Epoch Times News Brief! Have an incredible day today. Bye for now.
