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| credit: B. Day Idonwanna: sez: Color me magenta! |
Even for a privileged former presidential felon, the consequences of his new status are beginning to trickle in. Don the Con apparently owns three handguns for which he has a NY permit. Two have been surrendered in New York, and the third transported "lawfully" to Florida according to information supplied by the defendant. Under federal law a felon cannot own a handgun, so Don the Con is in technical violation of another federal criminal statute.
He has been interviewed by a New York probation officer, who undoubtably took note of the stray handgun. US Person assumes that fact has been reported to appropriate Florida officials. An indication of his special status as the first former president to be convicted of a felony is that he was interviewed by video link from comfortable Mar-a-Lago with the presence of his attorney. These arrangements are not afforded the ordinary Joe.
Also at risk, and potentially more impactful, are Trump's New Jersey liquor licenses. A felon is prohibited from holding a liquor license in New Jersey if his conviction involves a crime of "moral turpitude", which includes types of fraud. Don the Con could minimize disruption of his profitable golf course liquor trade by transferring the licenses to a trusted associate, perhaps one of his sons.
Judge Cannon denied another Trump motion to dismiss his espionage and obstruction case. She did however strike one paragraph of the indictment on grounds that it alleged irrelevant allegations concerning the revealing of classified information to a campaign aide at his Bedminster, NJ Golf Club. One informed pundit, Popock, thinks this may finally constitute reversible error that would allow the Special Prosecutor to ask she be reversed for the third time and be reassigned from the case. Jack Smith would argue that inclusion of the information in a "speaking indictment" is appropriate as "Rule 404 evidence" of defendant's state of mind, since it shows consciousness of the classified nature of the Afghanistan map he shared with a person not cleared to view it. Trump has been consistently claiming that he mentally declassified national secrets without the necessary procedures being followed. Prosecutor Smith only has one shot at removing Trump's judicial handmaiden, so he has to be sure the appeal grounds are solid.
Aileen Cannon continues to slow-walk the case by scheduling multiple hearings on motions that could be dispensed with an order, including removing Jack Smith for improper appointment. That question has already been decided by other federal courts. Given her scheduling orders, unreviewable by the 11th Circuit, it is highly unlikely this case will go to trial before the presidential election.
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| credit: Darków, Columbia Missourian |