While many of us have been preoccupied with weather-related issues (Ian) and global issues (Russia), there have been a number of happenings this week that involve the former president Donald Trump.
Trump weathered the storm in Mar-a-Lago, allowing him to postpone giving a deposition in a class action fraud lawsuit.
The storm on January 6 forced the committee to postpone its scheduled public hearing, but it nonetheless spoke with Ginni Thomas, a conservative activist and the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
He was protected from the special master by a judge Trump appointed in Florida after she granted his request for one. As a result, he is not have to defend some of his outrageous accusations about the FBI in court.
I spoke with Katelyn Polantz, senior crime and justice writer for AWN, who monitors all of this, to learn more about the latest developments. This discussion took place through a direct message.
The time is running out.
WHAT MATTERS: What has piqued your interest the most this week, and why?
POLANTZ: The common theme among all of these advances is how crucial timing is.
This week, it was evident that attention needed to be diverted from the routine of investigations and court cases to the destruction caused by the hurricane in Florida. However, there are several political fronts where the race is definitely on.
Months after Trump consented to take the deposition, the lawsuit has until Friday to compel him to testify under oath. It was supposed to happen on the last day it was feasible, but the hurricane and his insistence on remaining in Florida seriously derailed plans. The work being done in that lawsuit, which is a class action against his promotion of dubious firms, is further delayed by the fact that the revised date for his deposition is now the end of October.
Delay does not help the House either. The January 31 deadline for the January 6 committee is connected to the conclusion of current Congress. There isn’t much more time left for public hearings before voters cast their votes in the upcoming congressional election. Despite this, the committee is undoubtedly still working and remains committed to delivering a final report before the year is over. It’s uncertain whether they will be able to generate the same political impact as their summer hearings.
Judge Aileen Cannon has given the Trump team an additional gift in the Mar-a-Lago investigation, which is arguably the most important legal matter Trump is currently dealing with. This is because she has delayed providing prosecutors with information on the objections Trump has to the evidence they have seized until after the November election.
Delay, delay, delay is the word of the game right now for Trump on all fronts. It remains to be seen if he will be able to fend off the numerous probes that are closing in on him in time.
What might we presume to be unknowable?
WHAT COUNTS: Together with Evan Perez and Zachary Cohen, you penned an intriguing article last week about Trump’s “secret” legal battle to keep information from a federal grand jury out of the public eye. That seems to be another thread running through these questions. The knowledge that is widely known, the information that has been publicised, and finally the submerged secrets are all there. What else might we presume to be unknowable?
POLANTZ: There are almost always aspects of investigations, or even whole investigative trajectories, that we are unaware of. That is simply how investigations, particularly those being conducted by the Justice Department, operate. Since this battle, like many others, didn’t just break out of the blue, we can only make general assumptions based on what has been reported. The federal grand jury in Washington, DC, has been working diligently to elicit information from top Trump administration officials, including then-Vice President Mike Pence. This latest development is part of that process. We are aware that it relates to Trump’s claims of privilege and that it may have an impact on a very significant group of witnesses and whether they and other people can be forced to disclose interactions that have up to this point been kept private from all inquiries. We also know that, given Trump’s propensity to steer the courts into unknown legal waters, we might be in for several rounds of appeals, even though historical experience shows that even sitting presidents frequently lose these types of legal battles in criminal investigations. But there is still much uncertainty about how and when the results will be resolved.
There is also a second grand jury.
WHAT MATTERS: There are other federal agencies looking into Trump besides the DOJ. What is the status of the Fulton County District Attorney’s investigation into attempts to rig the state’s 2020 election?
THE GRAND JURY IS STILL AT WORK, POLANTZ! This week, they are bringing in witnesses like Boris Epshteyn. Their work could lead to charges against one or several people, like most grand jury investigations do; some of Trump’s allies have received target letters. However, I may not be the best person to address questions about the particular location of the inquiry and how it is operating at the local level.
Will those who protested in the House contact the DOJ?
POLANTZ: I want to draw attention to an intriguing situation involving all of these ongoing investigations.
