There is a power imbalance here. The prosecutor has the power.
A citizen has rights because prosecutors have so much power.
He thinks he is on an even playing field with the prosecution and he isn't.
11/
There is a power imbalance here. The prosecutor has the power.
A citizen has rights because prosecutors have so much power.
He thinks he is on an even playing field with the prosecution and he isn't.
11/
Here's the part that's gonna hurt.
A special exception for wealth or rank is not how we do things. (#1)
Sorry Trump.
You're not special.
Finally, they will not write a rule that allows the subject of a search to block government investigations.
(DARN says the next person searched)
(Screenshots #2, #3)
Yes, Trump will try to get SCOTUS to intervene, but they won't.
They've been ruling against him lately, and besides . . .
9/
Without some kind of preliminary junction, the case will still be dismissed and the criminal investigation will hum merrily along and Trump has done a breathtakingly stupid thing:
Pro tip: When you are the subject of a criminal investigation, don't go out of your way to waste the time and resources of the DOJ.
If you're in the crosshairs of a prosecutor, ticking off that prosecutors is a terrible idea.
This is what Trump doesn't get . . .
10
To make things worse, the appellate court is trying to figure out what the district court and plaintiff were even talking about⤵️.
Here's a fun fact: Trump, in his briefing, referred to himself as President Trump. The DOJ referred to him as Plaintiff.
The appellate court not only calls him Plaintiff but says the only possible justification for this case was that he was a former president and NOPE no special treatment. (#2)
8/
I'll skip the rest of the facts because we know them.
The court then marches through the four factors that have to be met before a district court can assume jurisdiction and swats away all of Trump's stupid arguments while taking swipes at the district court for being "undeterred" (#1)
Like this dumb argument (#2) Trump says that he has a "possessory" interest in the government documents seized. But even if he did (he doesn't) most people have a possessory interest in the evidence. . .
6/
Are we having fun yet?
(By this point in my thread, people on Twitter were leaving negative, cynical comments. They're the type to spoil parties.)
Screenshot #1: This is sort of funny and not funny at the same time. Plaintiff had no arguments so Cannon helped him out by thinking up some.
The district court is not supposed to be helping one of the parties come up with justifications.
For Cannon, the district court judge, this is like getting an F in law school.
7/
That's because all year Trump thought he was entitled to keep them. He thought he could play games with the National Archives and FBI.
He came up with the other arguments later (because he was lying. duh. He never declassified anything.)
The court marches through the pattern through the year: Trump says he doesn't have any more documents. The FBI "develops" evidence that he does. Trump gives a few back and says he doesn't have anymore. Rinse and repeat.
5/
But we didn't need the clue because we already know the ending.
Remember how Trump's lawyers kept changing their sto
The court isn't having it. Here is how the court summarizes his claims which were his initial claims, before he realized they weren't going to work so he tried other arguments #1 But none of this matters if the court doesn't have jurisdiction in the first place.
#3
A court's power cannot be expanded by "judicial decree" is a burn⤵️ (Screenshot #1)
If the court allows Trump to have a Special Master, they have to allow every subject of a search to also have a special master.
Defense lawyers everywhere: DARN. (2)
Next, the court marches through the facts.
(Spoiler: They won't adopt Trump's version.)
During the year the government tried to get the docs back, Trump never tried to claim executive privilege or assert that he'd declassified documents.
4/
Shall we read the decision together? 🤓
It's gonna be good.
The court opens with the question of jurisdiction.
If the court has no jurisdiction over a case, it has no authority to issue any orders.
The adjective "lawfully" tells you where this is going
A remedy like a special master is allowable when the government, in conducting the search, showed "callous disregard" for a person's rights
If the search was lawful, the government could not have callously disregarded Trump's rights.
2/
We have a decision in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeal in Trump's special master case.
The court decision is here:
https://documentcloud.org/documents/23323310-221201-11th-c-vacate…
I never liked suspense, so I skipped to the end:
The court vacates the Sept. 5 order, and remands with orders to dismiss.
Trump loses. (I told you he usually loses in court where facts matter).
The case goes poof. VAPORIZED.
Buh-bye
1/
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