Latest: Ivanka Trump has been ordered to testify against her father in the New York fraud trail. Her attorneys attempted to dispute a subpoena served on her at her office on Fifth Avenue. Judge Erdogan ruled she is a material witness over whom the Superior court has personal jurisdiction. Don 'Legit' has also been called as an adverse witness by the state.
Update: Six more defendants have been offered plea deals in the Georgia RICO case. Three have been named: Robert Cheeley, Mike Roman and Misty Hampton. Attorney Cheeley has rejected an offer. It appears the DA is reserving trial for the main players: Trump, Giuliani, Eastman and Meadows. Meadows is especially important since he has already received federal immunity from Special Counsel Jack Smith in an effort to get the goods on Don 'Legit', but that immunity deal does not affect a state prosecution. So far, thanks to some smart lawyering and despite ignoring a congressional subpoena to testify, Meadows has escaped unscathed. DA Willis is approaching the point where she can conveniently try the remaining defendants, perhaps in two batches with the principal conspirators going first. US Person sees the main event being the televised trial of Trump, Meadows, Eastman and Guiliani. The second batch consists of Robert Cheeley, Jeffrey Clark, Ray Smith, David Shafer, Shawn Still, “Pastor” Stephan Lee, Harrison Floyd, Cathy Latham, and Trevian Kutti. If the reporting is right, only three deals remain unidentified. It is doubtful Clark gets a plea offer since he is a significant conspirator involved in attempting to pressure Georgia officials to alter the election results, and might be logically tried with the first group. Latham is a friend of Hampton, who has agreed to be a state's witness, so she is likely to accept a deal too. A couple of these remaining defendants are simply foot soldiers, like Trevian Kutti and Harrison Floyd who coerced election worker Ruby Freemen, who would probably accept a deal, leaving a second group of six or fewer to be tried.
The New York Times has provided a convenient flow chart showing the legal troubles of Trump and his upcoming trial. Since he has deliberately blurred the lines between his legal defense and campaigning for a second term, it is paramount that the American people have before them the complete story of his conspiracy to overturn democracy in this country. He must be brought to trial before 2024 election, thirteen months away, To that end, judges must be careful not to allow him to derail proceedings with an appealable restriction on his right to speak. That consideration has to be balanced by the need to conduct fair proceedings by protecting witnesses from intimidation. A delicate balance to be sure, and Trump can be counted on to test it.
Judge Engoron has already fined Trumpilini twice for his out-of-control press statements in the hallway outside the courtroom. The latest fine is $10,000. Engoron took the unusual step of calling Trump to the stand to testify. He found as the trier of fact that Trump's testimony he was referring to Michael Cohen and not his principal law clerk in his press rant to be "incredible".
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