Not sure the "I was too busy to comply with the subpoena" defense is going to work, especially when the DOJ lays out the timeline demonstrating how long he actually had. They could also pile on with "during this time that he was "too busy" he posted 2,348 messages on Truth Social and played 196 rounds of golf..."
Like most things that come out of Donald Trump’s mouth, it’s absolutely ludicrous. And we should note that what he said here wasn’t in response to a gotcha moment. This is the answer he gave after having two weeks, or really many months, to think it over.
I bet the DOJ hopes the trial will continue getting delayed because knowing Trump he's going to workshop different explanations at his rallies to find out which one resonates best with his crowd, with each of those shifting explanations being another nail in his proverbial coffin
And trump hopes it gets delayed until he finds the right message that he can then ride to the oval office, acquit himself, and dissolve the Republic.
Found Dershowitz's comments last night. Almost echoing what I've been saying here to a T. Kinda scary. I'm not a lawyer. Dershowitz is saying the only thing that could be a problem for Trump is the tape where he boasts about having U.S. plans to attack Iran, but said it will largely depend on whether Trump actually allowed the writer to view the document in question or if he just waved it around like "look how important I am." Said the obstruction stuff is BS, because Trump has a right to contest the DOJ's contention that he needed to return the docs.
And yet, he didn’t do that. If he wanted to contest the subpoena then he would file a motion to squash the subpoena not hide the documents and lie to his lawyers and cause them to lie to the FBI as he did. Yes, I am now an expert on federal documents law.
You'll have to listen to Dershowitz. Perhaps "contest" was the wrong word to use in summary. Essentially, Dershowitz says nobody has to cooperate with the government when they are trying to get you on a criminal charge.
Holy crap. Can you say "rocket docket"? Trial set for August 14. Trump's trial in classified documents case set for Aug. 14 as federal judge sets a brisk pace
Can you provide a source on Smith making this claim? Don't you think trump would want to clear his name if he's innocent, as he proclaims?
If Trump is going to keep doing interviews and saying stupid stuff, the sooner the trial is the better it may be for him. I haven't read the Court's Order, but I really doubt this gets tried in August.
There was a theory that he wanted to push the trial until after the election so he could pardon himself if he wins.
I was kinda joking and still think delay makes more sense for Trump. Again, I haven't read this Order, but in civil cases at least, Federal Courts enter initial scheduling orders which set forth deadlines and an anticipated trial date. The attorneys confer and see if they can agree upon a proposed discovery schedule, the number of days for trial and proposed trial period. They then submit a joint report, which the Court may or may not adopt. I could be wrong here, and I'm not even sure how the criminal side works. I'm just assuming this Order is very, very tentative and may not ultimately indicate very much.
Why couldn't he just return the damn documents? Seriously - wtf is wrong with Trump? This was completely avoidable.
Or back someone else in exchange for a pardon but he is probably delusional enough to think he can win
I read there the date likely won’t happen, will be delay requests and such as the material to be reviewed is complicated and vast. So I actually like cannon putting an early date out there, make them start working towards something near term, otherwise it will get delayed for forever.
I have zero doubts he believes he can and will get back and anything that hurts his chances is a devious plot by them.