Published November 1, 2023
In Homer’s “Odyssey,” Odysseus faces one of his most fearsome threats — the three Sirens, beautiful sea creatures who lure sailors to their ruin with their seductive songs.
Special Counsel Jack Smith and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis have offered a modern version of the Sirens in the lure of bad lawyering. Three lawyers have recently pleaded guilty in Georgia, and they may join other former counsel in testifying against their former client.
What is novel is the criminal “Siren’s call” theory of these cases. Former President Donald Trump is being prosecuted for following the advice of his counsel, who are now effectively saying that he should not have believed what they were telling him.
Indeed, some sound like they were lured by the Siren call of Trump, led astray from their better legal judgment.
Kenneth Chesebro’s attorney, Scott Grubman, says that “Mr. Chesebro never believed in ‘the Big Lie’” and believes that Biden won the election.
Likewise, Sidney Powell has argued that “no reasonable person would conclude that my statements were truly statements of fact” as opposed to opinions.
Jenna Ellis recently stated “Why I have chosen to distance is because of that frankly malignant narcissistic tendency to simply say that he’s never done anything wrong.”
Yet these lawyers were not just confident but enthusiastic after the election in pursuing the claims they now repudiate. Moreover, their plea agreements had a number of notable omissions. First, none pleaded guilty to a conspiracy with Trump or to racketeering. Second, none will face jail time, and the prosecution has agreed that they did not commit crimes of moral turpitude. All three could keep their licenses.
READ FULL STORY
SOURCE: https://thehill.com/opinion/criminal-justice/4292439-jack-smiths-siren-call-prosecution-can-he-convict-trump-for-being-lured-by-bad-lawyers-advice/
RELATED: Jack Smith and Fani Willis Co-Operation Would Be Disastrous for Trump
Published October 26, 2023
The two prosecutors who have indicted Donald Trump on charges of election interference may be working together on a deal to introduce Mark Meadows, his former chief of staff, as a key witness, a law professor has told Newsweek.
Professor Peter Shane, a constitutional law specialist at New York University, was reacting to reports that Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith has offered Meadows immunity in exchange for testimony.
However, Meadows is also named in the Georgia indictment, where he and the former president are accused of illegal tampering in the 2020 election. Trump has denied all the allegations against him. Meadows has pleaded not guilty in Georgia.
Shane said: “If Smith has granted Meadows immunity, one wonders if there has already been co-ordination with Georgia on the strategy.”
He added that Meadows, an experienced attorney, would not wish to give evidence in the federal case if it could be used against him in Georgia.
Shane said: “Meadows’ testimony could be a huge blow to Trump because he was right in the center of the action, so to speak, and would be able to provide first-hand accounts of Trump’s actions.
“If Smith has granted Meadows immunity, it will also have implications for the Georgia case. Although I don’t think Smith can grant Meadows transactional immunity from a Georgia charge, Smith’s immunized D.C. testimony itself cannot be used as evidence in a Georgia prosecution.”
READ FULL STORY
SOURCE: https://www.newsweek.com/mark-meadows-donald-trump-jack-smith-fani-willis-cooperation-1838185
RELATED: ‘Extensive Communications’: Trump Drops Bombshell Evidence About Biden WH, Jack Smith in Classified Docs Case
Published November 3, 2023
Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers told the federal judge overseeing his classified documents case that there were “extensive communications” among special counsel Jack Smith’s office, the White House, the Department of Justice and the National Archives and Records Administration before their client’s indictment.
Journalist Julie Kelly, who covered the Wednesday hearing presided over by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in Miami, wrote on social media afterward that it included “bombshell revelations,” one of which was “‘years’ worth of security footage” from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property in Florida.
Further, she wrote, there was evidence of “‘extensive communications’ btw White House, NARA, intel agencies and DOJ/Jack Smith prior to indictment to determine which files to include.”
I’ll post a story soon but some bombshell revelations:
• Trove of evidence includes “years” worth of security footage from MAL
•Evidence of “extensive communications” btw White House, NARA, intel agencies and DOJ/Jack Smith prior to indictment to determine which files to…
— Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) November 1, 2023
Kelly reiterated on X on Wednesday, “To emphasize: Trump’s lawyers told Judge Cannon this afternoon they have evidence that the Biden White House collaborated with NARA, DOJ, and intel agencies to determine which documents to include in Jack Smith’s indictment.”
To emphasize: Trump’s lawyers told Judge Cannon this afternoon they have evidence that the Biden White House collaborated with NARA, DOJ, and intel agencies to determine which documents to include in Jack Smith’s indictment.
— Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) November 1, 2023
Just the News reported in August 2022 — the month the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago — that the Biden White House worked directly with the Justice Department and the National Archives to instigate the criminal probe into Trump.
