Split Decisions

Former President Donald Trump woke up this morning recognizing that this would be a day of reckoning on two legal fronts.

The first front was the $464 million appeals bond in the New York civil fraud case that was due by close of business today; with Trump’s lawyers indicating last week that it was “practicably impossible” for their client to obtain a bond that high, today, a five judge appeals court panel decided to lower the bond amount to $175 million dollars—while granting an additional 10 days for the Trump team to post that amount. 

Score that as a procedural WIN for Team Trump!

The second front found Trump appearing before NY Judge Juan Merchan as his lead lawyer, Todd Blanche, desperately sought to get the case continued indefinitely.

Blanche argued that the prosecution recently released a trove of documents that necessitates additional preparation time for the defense; Merchan denied the motion while telling the defense and District Attorney Alvin Bragg that the trial would commence on April 15th. As a result, Trump will become the first former President of the United States to stand trial in felony court—the first of four trials—this one relating to alleged hush money that was paid to quash affairs that he had with porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal.

Score that as a procedural LOSS for Team Trump!

Analysis

It is my belief that the appeals court made the right decision in lowering the bond today; had Trump failed to secure the original half billion dollar bond, and had he lost properties, like Trump Tower, or had his financial accounts frozen, such would have served to further diminish confidence in the notion of “justice” among his many millions of followers—even though the person seeking justice in this instance is a highly polarizing braggart who clearly isn’t as wealthy as he had led the world to believe for nearly a decade. 

Nevertheless, there are enough nut jobs out there who routinely indicate that they are willing to bear arms on behalf of Trump, and while the court’s order doesn’t indicate such as a reason, I’m reasonably sure that another January 6th styled chaotic event was in the back of the appeals court jurists’ minds.

Be clear—a $175 million dollar bond is still no walk in the park, and while unnamed sources close to the former president have indicated that he will be able to post such an amount, it still is a steep sum that will greatly diminish his already diminishing assets.

Remember, according to campaign disclosure forms, Trump’s team is already WAY behind President Joe Biden as far as fundraising is concerned, and add the fact that so many of his campaign resources already are being spent on multiple lawyers spread out over four criminal cases and two civil cases, and it becomes clear that while Trump boasted on social media today that he gets to “keep Trump Towers,” doing so is a pyrrhic victory that will bleed his bank accounts even more. 

As to the criminal trial date, as one who tried over 200 cases in federal and state court, I remember fully well the “stall and delay” tactic that the Trump defense team tried to accomplish—but failed to secure. I also have read reports that the judge angrily took Trump’s lead counsel, Todd Blanche, to task for claiming prosecutorial misconduct in open court—while providing absolutely no proof of the same. 

As Judge Merchan noted, the documents at issue were federal ones relating to Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen, while further nothing that the Trump team is not prejudiced in their preparation because they were already well aware of those documents—and could have obtained the same directly from the separate Federal prosecutors. The court further chided the Trump defense team for sitting on their hands until the 11th hour, only to now make hay out of documents that focus on witness Michael Cohen’s finances and according to state prosecutors, are “99 percent irrelevant” to the allegations against Mr. Trump. 

Last night, I read British Romanticist Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Rhime of the Ancient Mariner while listening to college basketball in the background, and was reminded of the lengthy poem’s most famous quote, “water, water everywhere…nor any drop to drink.” In the case of the People of New York vs. Donald John Trump, much like the ancient mariner, Defendant Trump finds himself stuck in murky, uncharted water everywhere in this first felony case on deck. Remember, the former president has plead not guilty and per the Constitution, he is presumed innocent unless and until prosecutors prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. 

But if the New York prosecutors are successful, and Trump is found guilty, what’s next?

Lest we forget that these are state charges and because of it, even if Trump wins the election this coming November, he would have NO authority to pardon himself in state criminal matter. Meaning, it is very possible that Judge Merchan could sentence a convicted Trump to prison—up to 136 years! As Trump is a first time offender, coupled with his unofficial goons across America who are likely to act a fool, the judge very well could choose some form of house arrest if the verdict is guilty.

But even if he is found guilty by a jury of his peers, it is still legally possible for a convicted Trump to run for president (like Eugene V. Debs did live from an Atlanta prison cell in 1920), and it is very possible that a President-elect Trump would have to run the country from a cell (surrounded by Secret Service) or, while confined to his quarters at Trump Towers, Mar-A-Lago—or, Heaven help us, the White House!

Yes, this is a hot, reality TV show type of mess—stay tuned!

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“Real Politics in Real Time”

Chuck Hobbs is a freelance journalist who won the 2010 Florida Bar Media Award and has been twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary.