Georgia RICO Case: Nineteen Defendants And Counting

[GreyhoundFan]

She needs to spend a lot of time in prison. 

 

[Ozlsn]

On 12/4/2023 at 6:44 AM, GreyhoundFan said:

She needs to spend a lot of time in prison. 

 

That sounds like a good reason to remand Kutti in custody. Threatening witnesses? Ok, we don't trust you to be free, so we'll just keep you here without internet and phone access until your trial.

[fraurosena]

Apart from the fact that I find the demand that she had to write an apology rather childish, this is an incredibly infantile way of fulfilling that obligation.

 

[WatchingTheTireFireBurn]

gross. I for one do not accept your "apology" for trying to commit fraud in my state. You deserve to be in jail, moron.

[GreyhoundFan]

Good. "Meadows’s bid to move Georgia election case to federal court rejected"

Quote

ATLANTA — A federal appeals court on Monday unanimously rejected an effort by former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to move the Georgia election interference case against him from state to federal court.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit upheld a lower-court ruling from September that found Meadows had not proved his alleged conduct charged as part of the sweeping criminal racketeering case was related to his official duties as former president Donald Trump’s White House chief of staff.

Meadows was indicted along with Trump and 17 others in August on charges they illegally conspired to overturn Trump’s 2020 election loss in Georgia. Meadows, who has pleaded not guilty, had sought to move his case to federal court, claiming protections under a federal statute that allows federal officials to move legal cases against them from state to federal court when the charges are tied to official duties.

A three-judge appellate court panel heard oral arguments on Meadows’s appeal Friday. Chief Judge William Pryor and Judges Robin Rosenbaum and Nancy Abudu appeared skeptical of Meadows’s claims that his alleged actions outlined in the Fulton County indictment were tied to his official government duties.

In Monday’s 49-page opinion, written by Pryor, the court ruled the federal removal statute “does not apply to former federal officers, and even if it did, the events giving rise to this criminal action were not related to Meadows's official duties.”

“Even if Meadows were ‘an officer,’ his participation in an alleged conspiracy to overturn a presidential election was not related to his official duties,” Pryor wrote, affirming the earlier decision by U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones, who rejected Meadows’s removal effort.

George Terwilliger, an attorney for Meadows, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Meadows has the option of appealing the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The decision is another legal setback for Meadows, one of five defendants who have sought to move their cases out of state court. The other four — former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark and Cathy Latham, David Shafer and Shawn Still, Georgia Republicans who served as Trump electors — also have pending appeals before the 11th Circuit after lower courts rejected their removal requests.

The appellate court ruling marks another legal victory for Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis (D), who is leading the prosecution of Trump and his allies and is seeking to try all 15 remaining defendants in the case in a single trial beginning in August.

 

[CTRLZero]

Hmmmm.  From the Washington Post:
 

A state judge overseeing the election-interference case against former president Donald Trump in Georgia has scheduled a hearing for Feb. 15 to hear evidence regarding accusations that Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis (D) and her lead prosecutor engaged in an improper relationship and mishandled public money.

Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee also wrote in his order that Willis must respond to the accusations in writing by Feb. 2. The accusations first came to light in a filing from one of Trump’s co-defendants, former campaign aide Mike Roman. The order, which is not yet on the case docket, was obtained by The Washington Post. 

Willis has declined to address the accusations directly so far. McAfee’s order appears to be forcing her to do so in televised court proceedings, a development that could at the least be embarrassing for the district attorney and at worst derail the investigation completely.

In his filing, Roman called for Willis and the lead prosecutor, Nathan Wade, to be removed from the case, and also for the charges to be dismissed.

This a developing story.

[Howl]

On 1/18/2024 at 1:13 PM, CTRLZero said:

"A state judge overseeing the election-interference case against former president Donald Trump in Georgia has scheduled a hearing for Feb. 15 to hear evidence regarding accusations that Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis (D) and her lead prosecutor engaged in an improper relationship and mishandled public money..." 

I may start losing sleep over this...If something was happening on the down low  between these two...I don't need to explain how bad it would be.  An absolute disaster would be an understatement. 

Feb 15 is way too long to wait to sort this out. 

[Xan]

It looks to me as if they were having a relationship but I don't think it had anything to do with the case nor were they misusing state money.  Apparently, Wade's wife is now cooperating with Roman to smear Willis.  It's Donald's usual strategy.  He likes to smear women regarding sexual behavior.  He think he can take Fani down that way.

[Audrey2]

1 hour ago, Xan said:

It looks to me as if they were having a relationship but I don't think it had anything to do with the case nor were they misusing state money.  Apparently, Wade's wife is now cooperating with Roman to smear Willis.  It's Donald's usual strategy.  He likes to smear women regarding sexual behavior.  He think he can take Fani down that way.

Yet Trump boinks everything that moves. I wouldn't be surprised if he has a plethora of STIs and I wonder if syphilis may be causing his issues 

[Howl]

21 hours ago, Xan said:

It looks to me as if they were having a relationship but I don't think it had anything to do with the case nor were they misusing state money.

...except  the optics are horrible, and they could actually be afoul of ethical guidelines. 

Besides that, it's one of the most consequential lawsuits for the future of this country and there is ZERO room for distractions like this.  

Willis appointed Wade. From NBC:  "Nathan Wade, the outside special prosecutor appointed by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to oversee her criminal racketeering case against Donald Trump..." 

At a minimum, this will be weaponized by the right and they will attempt to delegitimize the entire process. Trump will be calling out Wade and Willis every day from here on out. 

From an ethics aspect, if there was a sexual relationship, Willis should NEVER have appointed Wade; alternately, if a relationship developed after he was appointed, he should have recused himself.    

Willis is the DA for the most populous county in Georgia, including Atlanta.   She should have seen the ethical problem coming from a thousand miles away. 

 

[Xan]

1 hour ago, Howl said:

Willis is the DA for the most populous county in Georgia, including Atlanta.   She should have seen the ethical problem coming from a thousand miles away. 

You're absolutely correct.  However, it bothers me that out side has to behave perfectly.  We can have no missteps, no hints of moral failings, and certainly no crimes.  Donald has abused at least 26 women.  He's committed fraud, forced companies out of business, cheated on all of his wives, and lied about things that don't even matter.  All it takes for the Democrats to lose ground is one mistake while the current Republicans can do things that would land any normal person in jail and no one says a word.  The news no longer covers everything that the Republicans do.  James Comer has a shell company.  Mike Johnson won't even disclose what banks he uses.  And we can't even scratch the surface of how much money Trump and Kushner have gotten from other countries.

Fani Willis should have used better judgment but if we still had any kind of decent press, it wouldn't be treated differently than the moral failures of the Republicans.

[fraurosena]

So, do we really think there's much to the rumors behind the accusations of a relationship between Willis and Wade? 

 

[Howl]

4 hours ago, fraurosena said:

So, do we really think there's much to the rumors behind the accusations of a relationship between Willis and Wade? 

The judge in Nathan Wade's divorce is unsealing the divorce documents, but I don't know at whose behest. 

It's a good thing this is all coming to a head before actual trials begin; something like this would almost certainly be grounds for appeal.  And yes, IANAL. 

Edited January 22 by Howl

[Howl]

On 1/19/2024 at 11:10 PM, Audrey2 said:

Yet Trump boinks everything that moves. I wouldn't be surprised if he has a plethora of STIs and I wonder if syphilis may be causing his issues 

I'm going to guess not.  While Trump was POTUS, his health would have monitored closely.  He would have been screened for every disease and condition known to man.  If he did have syphilis, he'd have been hosed down with antibiotics.  

That said, Ronny "Candyman" Jackson was Trump's physician, so no telling what really went on. 

[Howl]

Excellent opinion piece by Bruce Green (former Federal prosecutor and law and ethics guy) on CNN that lays out the legal factors at play in the Willis/Wade kerfuffle.  Point: their mutual affection does not mean the defendants are being unfairly treated fairly before the law. 

Opinion: Defendants in the Georgia election case have no reason to complain — even if the Fani Willis allegations are true

But again, Republicans will weaponize this.  They will try to destroy Fanni Willis' credibility. They will throw up every legal road block possible. They will try to appoint a special prosecutor in GA to investigate whatever.  They will use everything in their power to delay, delay, delay prosecutions, because this is ONLY about Trump and the upcoming election. 

Edited January 26 by Howl

[Howl]

Update:  Nathan Wade's divorce documents were unsealed.  Fanni Willis isn't mentioned. 

[fraurosena]

Oh, good grief!

For allegedly firing a whistleblower and misuse of federal grant money.

This case certainly has them rattled.

[Howl]

I agree with every point in this NYT op-ed re: the  Fanni Willis/Wade affair, and yes she confirms a romantic relationship.  For starters, "Let me get this straight: You are prosecuting the former president of the United States — a man who is better than anyone alive at exploiting his opponents’ weaknesses — and you give him the gift of a romantic affair with the lead prosecutor of his case?"

Seriously, Fani Willis?    Full text under the spoiler: 

Spoiler

Let me get this straight: You are prosecuting the former president of the United States — a man who is better than anyone alive at exploiting his opponents’ weaknesses — and you give him the gift of a romantic affair with the lead prosecutor of his case?

For weeks, Fani Willis, the district attorney for Fulton County, Ga., had been silent in the face of sordid accusations that she was romantically involved with the prosecutor, Nathan Wade, whom she had hired to manage her racketeering case against Donald Trump. On Friday afternoon, Willis issued a statement that was a Clintonian stew of bloodless legalisms, admitting the affair but saying it doesn’t matter.

If only she had been as formal about her romantic life. The Trump team is, predictably, trying to get her and Wade disqualified from the case, which is one of four criminal cases involving the former president’s very real attack on American democracy in 2020 and 2021. And as much as I regard Trump to be the greatest existential threat to democracy any of us has ever faced, I don’t blame the guy.

Willis has paid Wade more than $650,000 and was going to pay him plenty more; while both deny that any money has benefited Willis herself, it raises the question of a conflict of interest and could be a serious ethical breach.

Willis, who is Black, had the gall to claim this is about race, and that her relationship is not an issue because it only began (so she says) after she hired Wade. Whether you believe that — and Wade’s conspicuous lack of experience in racketeering cases does make one wonder — is beside the point. As someone who holds such a powerful position of public trust, she should not have gone anywhere near this sort of behavior. (As her campaign slogan put it, “Integrity matters!”)

Spare me the arguments about how Willis’s personal life is unrelated to the criminal charges Trump faces. It doesn’t matter; just ask Peter Strzok. As Willis well knows, Trump wins if he can convince people that every public official is as corrupt as he is, regardless of whether it’s true. She just gave him more than he could’ve asked for.

Omar said it best on “The Wire”: “You come at the king, you best not miss.” Now the whole country may pay dearly for Willis’s terrible aim.

 

 

[fraurosena]

7 hours ago, Howl said:

and you give him the gift of a romantic affair with the lead prosecutor of his case?"

I just can’t agree with this. What does her love life have to do with her job? So what if she has an affair with a married man. So what if that man is also her work partner. What exactly is the problem? That they’re working together to prosecute Trump and hold him to account for his crimes? Well, they’d be doing that regardless of any romantic connection or not.

Granted, the monetary part of the accusation might have some ethical connotations and that should indeed be looked into. But the romance has absolutely nothing to do with anything here.

It just sticks in my craw that Trump and this reporter essentially are dictating who she can love or not, or who she is allowed to have sex with, just because of her job.

So, by all means, look into the money. And if her actions there are against the law, then yes, she gave Trump a huge gift and the consequences can be laid at her door. But the romance itself is not the problem.

None of this, however, not the romance and not even the money, changes a damn thing about the facts of this case and the crimes Trump is being prosecuted for. 

[Becky]

6 hours ago, fraurosena said:

I just can’t agree with this. What does her love life have to do with her job? So what if she has an affair with a married man. So what if that man is also her work partner. What exactly is the problem? That they’re working together to prosecute Trump and hold him to account for his crimes? Well, they’d be doing that regardless of any romantic connection or not.

Granted, the monetary part of the accusation might have some ethical connotations and that should indeed be looked into. But the romance has absolutely nothing to do with anything here.

It just sticks in my craw that Trump and this reporter essentially are dictating who she can love or not, or who she is allowed to have sex with, just because of her job.

So, by all means, look into the money. And if her actions there are against the law, then yes, she gave Trump a huge gift and the consequences can be laid at her door. But the romance itself is not the problem.

None of this, however, not the romance and not even the money, changes a damn thing about the facts of this case and the crimes Trump is being prosecuted for. 

See the bolded in the article.  I would argue that the point here is not that anyone should police her love life, but rather that any appearance of impropriety taints the prosecution and feeds into Trump's persecution narrative.  It suggests Willis' judgment and integrity are impaired and gives Trump and his team grounds for further delay as the ethics are debated.  You are correct, it does not change the facts of the case, but it is still a yooge gift to Trump and his defense team.

[WatchingTheTireFireBurn]

And in front of jury  -it can be a wedge that trump drives. How thinks look to juries is so important. 

[WatchingTheTireFireBurn]

Was hoping the relationship thing would die down but still not. I'm not sure how two prosecutor people having a relationship is an actual problem. I would understand if a defense and prosecutor lawyer were dating. But why does it matter (in normal people, non trump crazy, views) that she had a relationship with somebody on her team?

I think it was a bad idea especially if the relationship went south and distracted from the case. I'm so frustrated that trump manages to just insinuate himself into everything and in so doing rewrites norms and expectations to worse and worse versions.

[Xan]

17 hours ago, WatchingTheTireFireBurn said:

Was hoping the relationship thing would die down but still not. I'm not sure how two prosecutor people having a relationship is an actual problem. I would understand if a defense and prosecutor lawyer were dating. But why does it matter (in normal people, non trump crazy, views) that she had a relationship with somebody on her team?

I think it was a bad idea especially if the relationship went south and distracted from the case. I'm so frustrated that trump manages to just insinuate himself into everything and in so doing rewrites norms and expectations to worse and worse versions.

I agree.  It's just that Trump has enough power and money to dig around and try to find any kind of dirt on anyone.  If you were running against his hand-picked Republican candidate for state seat, he'd have someone poking around to see if you ever cheated on a test in the third grade.  I don't think our forefathers thought about the dangers of crazy people with too much money.

[fraurosena]

From today's hearing:

 

For anyone who wants to follow along live:

 

[GreyhoundFan]