this post was submitted on 14 Aug 2023

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447

Trump tells Georgia witness not to testify (www.axios.com)

submitted 1 year ago by negativenull@lemmy.world to c/politics@lemmy.world

58 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Former President Trump on Monday appeared to warn former Georgia lieutenant governor Geoff Duncan against testifying before the Fulton County grand jury in the state's 2020 election probe.

Driving the news: "I am reading reports that failed former Lt. Governor of Georgia, Jeff Duncan, will be testifying before the Fulton County Grand Jury," Trump wrote on his Truth Social account on Monday.

"He shouldn't. I barely know him but he was, right from the beginning of this Witch Hunt, a nasty disaster for those looking into the Election Fraud that took place in Georgia."
Duncan, who criticized Trump's false election fraud claims in 2020, said Saturday that he had been told to appear Tuesday before the Fulton County grand jury.
"Republicans should never let honesty be mistaken for weakness," he wrote in a post on X.

What's next: Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis appears poised to issue a charging decision on Trump's alleged efforts to subvert election results.

The big picture: Trump's Monday Truth Social post comes days after the judge overseeing a separate trial — the federal probe into his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election — warned against making "inflammatory statements" that could intimidate witnesses in that trial.

U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan said during a Friday hearing that any appearance of witness tampering would increase the need for a speedy trial.
Trump already faces three criminal trials: In D.C. over efforts to overturn the 2020 election, in Florida over his retention of classified documents and in New York over an alleged hush money payment.

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[–] PM_Your_Nudes_Please@lemmy.world 140 points 1 year ago (5 children)

This is him attempting to call the judge’s bluff. Following the order, he also posted calling the judge biased. He’s exploring to see if the judge will let him get away with it. He’ll slowly ramp up the posts until the judge tells him to cut it out again, and then he’ll know where the line is.

He believes the judge is afraid to hold him in contempt, and thus far he has been correct. But this is a direct violation of the judge’s order, and the judge shouldn’t let it slide. If she treats this with leniency, he’ll only take it as tacit approval and continue getting more inflammatory. The only reason I can see for the judge allowing it to continue is to give him more rope to hang himself with. One violation of the order is bad, but if she lets it continue and he racks up a bunch of evidence, she may have better justification to hold him and expedite the trial.

[–] kescusay@lemmy.world 92 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Different case. (Can we pause for a moment to recognize how bonkers it is that a former president has so many criminal cases either in process or pending that it's getting hard to keep track?)

The judge who ordered him not to engage in any witness tampering is overseeing the federal case against him for trying to overturn the election in 2020. In this particular instance, he appears to have threatened a witness in the Fulton County, Georgia case, for which an indictment is expected soon.

[–] there1snospoon@ttrpg.network 29 points 1 year ago

Would it make a difference? Threatening a witness in one trial when you have several others ongoing and in such a public fashion would have a chilling effect on witness testimony for all trails, or so I would think.

[–] bauhaus@lemmy.ml 30 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

I hate to say it, but Trump is correct: he could literally murder the judge in this (or any) case on live TV and get away with it. why? because they let him. they refuse to hold him accountable for anything, and that’s why he keeps doing this shit— and getting away with it.

The only reason I can see for the judge allowing it to continue is to give him more rope to hang himself with

the problem is: HE NEVER GETS HUNG WITH THE ROPE. he just gets away with everything, time and time again. fines are meaningless to him because he just gets his idiot supporters to pay for it.

[–] aegisgfx877@kbin.social 23 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

And lets stop pretending that any level of discourse is going to reach the remaining trump cult, we could literally have a video of him raping their mothers and they would still vote for him, so its time to give up on those people they are never coming back no matter how much evidence we have or how many charges there are.

[–] krayj@sh.itjust.works 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

we could literally have a video of him raping their mothers and they would still vote for him

They would. They would call the video 'fake news' and find it easier to assume their mother was lying than admit their false prophet is capable of any wrongdoing. They've built their entire identities around their unwavering confirmation bias. The vast majority of people who ever successfully disconnect from a cult do so only posthumously.

[–] aegisgfx877@kbin.social 4 points 1 year ago

Its worse that that, they would consider it an honor that trump chose to rape the women in their family. Its koolaide time and we all know its coming

[–] thefartographer@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago

MAGA cultists: Our moms should be honored that Trump likes them!

Also MAGA cultists: Dems caused our moms to get raped!

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[–] jordanlund@lemmy.one 21 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This is for the Georgia case which hasn't gone to a judge yet, he's just trying to get ahead of things before he gets a gag order here too... which this will be used as evidence for...

But you're right, there's enough going on that it's hard to tell the players without a program, so I made this:

This seemed to be popular information when I posted it (ahem) "elsewhere". Thought it might be welcome to have here.

If you're trying to keep track of where we're at in the Trump prosecutions:

Updated 8/10/2023

Washington, D.C. - 4 felonies, January 6th Election Interference
Investigation
Indictment
Arrest <- You Are Here
(DOJ lawyer Jack Smith has requested a trial date of 1/2/2024, Trump lawyers have yet to supply a counter date. The judge will announce a final date on 8/28)
Trial
Conviction
Sentencing

Georgia - Election Interference
Investigation <- You Are Here
2 new grand juries impaneled 7/11/2023.
Indictment - July 11th to September 1st.
(Grand Jury work expected July 31 to Aug. 18)
(Streets around the Fulton County courthouse will be closed from 8/7 to 8/18.)
Arrest
Trial
Conviction
Sentencing

New York State - 34 felonies, Stormy Daniels Payoff
Investigation
Indictment
Arrest <- You Are Here
Trial - March 25th, 2024
Conviction
Sentencing

Florida - 40 felonies, Federal documents charges
Investigation
Indictment
Original indictment was for 37 felonies.
3 new felonies were added on July 27, 2023.
Arrest <- You Are Here
Trial - May 20, 2024
Conviction
Sentencing

Other grand juries, such as for the documents at Bedminster, have not been announced.

The E. Jean Carroll trial for sexual assault and defamation where Trump was found liable and ordered to pay $5 million before immediately defaming her again resulting in a demand for $10 million is not listed as it's a civil case and not a crimimal one.

[–] WilliamTheWicked@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

I appreciate you.

[–] cultsuperstar@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 year ago

He'll just continue to say what he's always said, that this judge or that attorney or whoever is against him and this, that, and the other is rigged against him. As far as he's concerned, it's him vs the world.

Did you hear him the other day when he told people at his rally, "I'm being indicted for you." Like he's the second coming of Jesus and he died for his supportters' sins.

As long as his supporters are on board, he'll say whatever shit to make him look like the victim. And his supporters will be all for it.

[–] Anticorp@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 year ago

The only reason I can see for the judge allowing it to continue is to give him more rope to hang himself with.

How much rope does one man get? He has already been given the entire rope store, distribution center, and manufacturing plant. He has so much rope he'd have to fall all the way to mars before he reached the end. He has more rope than he could ever use. At some point the hangman needs to do his job.

[–] Helldiver_M@kbin.social 68 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

What is it actually going to take to put this fucker in jail? Does he need to intimidate 20 witnesses first? I hate that the justice system feels they need to walk on eggshells around this wanna-be dictator cry baby.

[–] Donjuanme@lemmy.world 17 points 1 year ago (6 children)

How do you provide a secret service detail to someone in jail?

Logistics and stupid wording of laws never intended to protect someone so blatantly corrupt, will keep him from ever seeing the inside of a cell. Would be nice if he could be under house arrest with no visitation/internet access though.

[–] gowan@reddthat.com 12 points 1 year ago

Solitary confinement exists for these situations.

[–] evatronic@lemm.ee 6 points 1 year ago

A while back I actually looked into this question.

Former presidents are afforded several things by law, including a salary, a stipend for an assistant, and office space rental, and, of course, Secret Service protection for their lifetime.

However, the protection provided by the USSS is described as a duty to protect the (former) President. It doesn't describe, what that looks like, how many agents are involved, or so on. It does allocate, though, up to $1,000,000 every fiscal year to provide that protection.

Hypothetically, if Trump were convicted and the punishment included imprisonment, more likely than not, the USSS would simply arrange for the individual to be isolated from any threats inside the prison and hand custody over to the prison. This might look like a member of the USSS being stations at the prison, essentially, as a guard, supervisor, monitor, etc.

I suspect the realistic scenario would look like the individual being put in an isolated wing or some sort of maximum-security facility, and the USSS checking in on a weekly or even daily schedule, and, in exchange, the prison would be allocated some portion of that annual $1,000,000.

[–] Md1501@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

Just regular prison guards would do

[–] eestileib@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 year ago

ADX Florence was built for exactly this kind of situation.

Would be a dogshit posting for his detail, but Secret Service is Trumpland anyway so I assume he'll still have lackeys lining up to get the spot.

[–] Anticorp@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 year ago

You don't. You throw his ass into solitary confinement since he can't be in gen-pop, just like you would any other high-profile prisoner.

[–] designatedhacker@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

He's an old white dude with millions of dollars. He will go to "Club Fed" or more likely some kind of house arrest or probation. Honestly you don't want him in a real badass prison because that makes him a martyr. If he's just convicted and ignored that's a worse punishment as he'll slide into obscurity.

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[–] Anticorp@lemmy.ml 16 points 1 year ago

Why 20? Why not 50, or 500? Why not let him stage a coup and attempt to overthrow the government of the United States of America? Oh right, he already did all that stuff and is still walking free.

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[–] YoBuckStopsHere@lemmy.world 34 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

The Judge should lock him up for witness tampering.

18 U.S. Code § 1512 In cases of a threat of physical force intended to witness tamper, the maximum punishment is 20 years in federal prison. Intimidation, threats, or corrupt persuasion also subjects the defendant to a maximum punishment of 20 years imprisonment.

[–] paper_clip@kbin.social 15 points 1 year ago

This is a state-level case, so it would be Georgia's criminal code that would apply, not Federal

[–] YoBuckStopsHere@lemmy.world 32 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Under Georgia law it is a felony with a minimum of two, maximum of ten years in prison plus a maximum of $20,000 in fines.

[–] Anticorp@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 year ago

Cool. Too bad they'll ignore it no matter how many times he does it.

[–] eestileib@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago

I would guess that since charges haven't actually been filed, he's going to be in the clear for this one.

[–] Hazdaz@lemmy.world 25 points 1 year ago

And these cowardly judges and prosecutors will just let him do all this!

Then we'll be all "surprised" when one witness after another refuse to answer questions or in one way or another sabotages the prosecution's case, and Trump ends up being acquitted.

Throw his ass in jail. Parade him around in handcuffs. Plaster images of him wearing an orange jumpsuit.
Show the world that he is weak and not above the law.

[–] LEDZeppelin@lemmy.world 23 points 1 year ago (1 children)

“You can’t arrest me for robbing the bank. I hardly know the people who work there.”

For real though, my money is on GA Governor (republican) pardoning him for all these charges, in the name of “unity” or similar bullshit.

[–] kescusay@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

Governor of Georgia doesn't actually have that power. Pardons in Georgia are managed by a panel, and any applicant for a pardon has to have actually completed all required sentences and be free of criminal behavior for five years.

Source: https://pap.georgia.gov/parole-consideration/pardons-restoration-rights/pardons-faqs

In other words, if Trump is found guilty in Georgia, there is no way to wiggle out of it.

[–] limelight79@lemm.ee 20 points 1 year ago

So....Trump did nothing wrong, but he's telling a witness not to testify to his not-wrongdoing. Got it.

[–] Bishma@discuss.tchncs.de 11 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I'm not sure which I find more irritating. Witness tampering or media orgs calling Twitter "X."

[–] Seraph@kbin.social 5 points 1 year ago (4 children)

It should only ever be referred to as "X, formerly known as Twitter". Much like Prince changing his name, this is a bad move for branding, though I suppose Prince didn't give a fuck about that!

[–] EnderWi99in@kbin.social 7 points 1 year ago

Prince changed his name due to conflict with production companies. It was more done in protest as they were retaining so much of the revenue he brought in.

[–] VanillaGorilla@kbin.social 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I prefer "Twitter, which Elon Musk refers to as X"

[–] pingveno@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago

"Twitter, which Elon Musk rebranded as X with an estimated cost of $20 billion"

[–] Hegar@kbin.social 3 points 1 year ago

Just twitter is fine. You don't have to do what an insane billionaire wants.

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[–] CarlsIII@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I still don’t call Facebook “meta”. I always suspected they changed the name in the first place because of the negative press Facebook was getting

[–] StarServal@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago

Same with Google. I don’t call them Alphabet.

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[–] Techmaster@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I've noticed his base is starting to turn against the billionaire class. I think Trump is turning them against all the rich and powerful that aren't siding with him basically. And it really seems like he's trying to get a judge to jail him to make him a political martyr and set off the powderkeg he's been building for years. He wants a violent uprising to install him in perpetual power so bad.

He is never going to give up as long as he is not behind bars. If a judge ever orders him into custody, he's going to be dragged out of the courtroom kicking and screaming. They're probably going to wheel him into jail using one of those wheelchair cart things and a spit guard.

[–] StupidFatRat@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

Ah yes witness tampering. Completely legal. Its just so great to live in a world where there are no double standards lmao /s

[–] d4rknusw1ld@artemis.camp 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Why is this idiot not remanded. This country is a laughing stock.

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[–] downpunxx@kbin.social 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

well, that should do it, judge has every signal he's not going to stop, this should put him in jail.

maybe trump wants the fight about jailing him for witness intimidation/"mah freeaaa speekin" rather than the fight over whether or not he intimidated election officials, stole top secret documents, fraudulently diverted campaign funding and fomented a violent civil insurrection

[–] aegisgfx877@kbin.social 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I kinda think he wants to go to jail?? I dont see how that helps him in an election scenario, but maybe its sinking in deeper and deeper for him that he will not get to that point, the feds will have him in jail before 2024. So maybe his play is to get his insane cult so riled over him being in prison up that thousand of them sacrifice their lives in some kind of futile suicide kooaide style ending to all this?

[–] alaphic@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Well, if that wouldn't be several thousand problems solving themselves...

[–] jordanlund@lemmy.one 1 points 1 year ago

This is the Georgia case, hasn't gone to a judge yet. Indictment is supposed to happen any time between now and 9/1.

See my "You Are Here" reply under another comment.

[–] Lemmylefty@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

I see the phone timeout is working.

[–] be_excellent_to_each_other@kbin.social 4 points 1 year ago

Is this the part where we point out (again) that anyone else would be waiting for all this to play out from a jail cell, or at least house arrest, by this point?

[–] krayj@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago

He needs to be grounded, like the child that he is. This judge needs to take away his toys and put him in a corner for some quiet time. Amount of time doubles every time he re-commits the same infraction later.

[–] HawlSera@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago

At this point, I'm pretty sure he knows he's guilty as hell, just wants to see if you can rack up all the felonies in all the states. I'm sure he's going to shoot a man in Alaska soon.

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