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Trump 2024
Trump 2024
President ‘ … shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.’ Art.
II, Sec. 3. U.S.Constitution
Can a President be indicted:
(i) at federal level?
DOJ memo 1973
(ii) at state level?
Evidential Immunity?
United States v Nixon (1974) 418 US 683
Clinton v Jones (1997) 520 US 681
Trump v Vance (2020) 140 S Ct 2412
The President, Vice-President and all civil officers of the United States
shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of,
treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanours.
Bill Clinton 1998 Inquiry by Starr into “Whitewater” expanded to consider perjury by WJC in
Clinton v Jones (1997) 520 US 681 about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky: impeached and
acquitted
Trump …
Criminal Jurisdictions
Federal (Special Counsel or FBI) State (usually NY, also GA)
DB
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-russia-fusion/sales-of-tru
mp-properties-suggestive-of-money-laundering-researcher-idUKKBN1F
8058
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-trump-
money-laundering-kushner-20180105-story.html
Deutsche Bank
Note also the overvaluation of Trump property to secure loans. His
Westchester NY property was expressed to be worth $25-50m on
Trump’s ethics declaration. It was valued at $250m to secure a loan
from DB.
"For decades... President Donald Trump’s buildings — those he helped
build and those to which he licensed his name — have drawn alleged
kleptocrats who may be looking to funnel some of their money out of
their countries."
https://t.co/fvoZg5vAF3
2. The Money Laundering Allegations (B)
(Republican Party and the NRA)
The Russia – NRA – GOP link
Maria Butina
Caveats
Not all Russian money is dirty, but the range of predicates in US Federal
law is wider than e.g. UK.
Expatriating money from Russia is entirely rational and not necessarily
criminal.
Media sources invariably claim that any given rich Russian is ‘close to
Putin’. They can’t all be.
3. The Sex Trafficking allegations
Trump Model Management
4. Trump’s tax affairs
Russia wanted:
1. (specifically) Magnitsky Act sanctions lifted
2. (generally) influence over US.
Offences? Frauds?
8. The Trump Foundation (Charity)
Allegations of misuse of charity funds (paying personal legal fees from
charity funds &c).
Procedure?
No witnesses
Defence?
Allegations did not disclose High crime or Misdemeanour.
Trump has learned his lesson
And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List
they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States,
directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate
and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted.
The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of
the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and
have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot
one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the
said House shall in like Manner chuse the President. But in chusing the President, the Votes shall be
taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote;
Either the ‘fake electors’ scheme; or
Have the Vice President (Pence) reject the certified returns of the State.
(c) Impose martial law
6th January 2021 – the insurrection
Criminal proceedings: c.1200 prosecutions
Issues of fact
1. Before: was Trump involved in the planning? What did he know,
when did he know it? Immediately after these events little was
known.
2. Trump’s speech in the Ellipse: to his knowledge, some present were
armed
3. During: there is no offence like ‘misconduct in public office’, but
what greater dereliction could there be?
The Second Impeachment
Single Article: ‘incitement of insurrection’ against the U.S. government and
‘lawless action at the Capitol’.
‘ … prior to the joint session of Congress held on January 6, 2021, to count the votes of the electoral college, President Trump
repeatedly issued false statements asserting that the presidential election results were fraudulent and should not be accepted by
the American people or certified by state or federal officials;
shortly before the joint session commenced, President Trump reiterated false claims to a crowd near the White House and willfully
made statements to the crowd that encouraged and foreseeably resulted in lawless action at the Capitol;
members of the crowd, incited by President Trump, unlawfully breached and vandalized the Capitol and engaged in other violent,
destructive, and seditious acts, including the killing of a law enforcement officer;
President Trump's conduct on January 6, 2021, followed his prior efforts to subvert and obstruct the certification of the presidential
election, which included a threatening phone call to the Secretary of State of Georgia on January 2, 2021;
President Trump gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of government, threatened the integrity
of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power, and imperiled a coequal branch of government; and
by such conduct, President Trump warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold US office.
Result: to convict: 56 to acquit: 44 (acquitted).
Comparison to Criminal trial?
• Time to investigate
• Time to prepare?
• Trial by victims?
• Double jeopardy?
Outcome
Not guilty
49 democrats plus 7 Republicans (Richard Burr (NC), Bill Cassidy (LA),
Susan Collins (ME), Lisa Murkowski, (AK), Mitt Romney, (UT) Ben Sasse,
(NE) Pat Toomey (PA)) = 56 voted to convict, thus falling 11 short of the
2/3 required to convict.
Fourteenth Amendment
Section 3.
No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-
President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who,
having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as
a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the
Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or
given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House,
remove such disability.
Section 4.
The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for
payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be
questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation
incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or
emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
Section 5.
The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Then …
Merrick Garland as A-G. but little action directly against Trump
Congressional Committee (chair Bernie Thompson) on Jan 6th sits and
produces a report which could serve as an indictment.
Nov 2022 Jack Smith appointed Special prosecutor.
Donald J. Trump v. Norma Anderson, et al.
601 U. S. ____ (2024)
(on appeal from Colorado)
S 3 does not disqualify him.
Live criminal cases against Trump
1. The DC trial (Federal) - conspiracy to defraud the United states;
conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and
attempted obstruction of an official proceeding; conspiracy against rights.
Electoral counts?
(i) Was there/should there be a mechanism that could have prevented this
(dangerous) state of affairs coming into being?
(ii) Order of succession?
(iii) Vice-President be the returning officer?
Appointment and dismissal of major Law enforcement figures (Director,
FBI, special counsel)