Former DOJ official says Trump's reaction to the January 6 panel is starting to look like the makings of an insanity defense https://www.businessinsider.com/former-doj-official-trumps-response-jan-6-insanity-defense-2022-10 The former DOJ official Neal Katyal commented on Donald Trump's 14-page response to the DOJ. Katyal said he did not think the response would help Trump unless he was trying to plead insanity. He said Trump's response showed "evidence" of an insanity plea. Neal Katyal, a former Justice Department official, says former President Donald Trump's written response to the House Capitol-riot panel's intention to subpoena him looks like an insanity defense. Katyal — a law professor and an Obama-era acting solicitor general — made an appearance on NBC on Sunday, three days after the House panel investigating January 6, 2021, unanimously voted to subpoena Trump. The subpoena will compel the former president to cooperate with the committee or be held in contempt of Congress and referred to the Justice Department for prosecution — much like Trump's allies Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro. In response to the decision, Trump sent a document to the panel that started with the sentence, "THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 2020 WAS RIGGED AND STOLEN!" and contained multiple baseless claims of election fraud. It also included four photos of the crowd near the Washington Monument on January 6, 2021. "Yeah, so, this is a 14-page screed, Jonathan, that's very hard to follow. But it does seem to dig the hole in deeper for Donald Trump," Katyal told the MSNBC host Jonathan Capehart. "I can't see it in any legal way helping him unless he is trying to go for the insanity defense, of which this paper seems, you know, to be some evidence of," Katyal added. Katyal also said he thought it was a "pretty fanciful" idea that Trump would just give in and testify to the panel because of the congressional subpoena. "I mean, this is a man who took the Fifth Amendment more than 400 times the last time he was questioned under oath. And I doubt he's suddenly become eager to testify," Katyal said. Katyal was referencing Trump's deposition in August during New York Attorney General Letitia James' investigation into the Trump Organization's business practices, during which he pleaded the Fifth more than 440 times and answered only a question about what his name was. Katyal added that he thought Attorney General Merrick Garland would indict Trump, as there's overwhelming evidence to do so and "no contrition whatsoever" on Trump's part. A representative at Trump's postpresidential press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On a side note, a pause that refreshes: Trump scheduled to appear Wednesday for deposition in E. Jean Carroll lawsuit https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/19/politics/trump-deposition-e-jean-carroll/index.html Former President Donald Trump is set to answer questions under oath Wednesday as part of the defamation lawsuit brought by former magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll. Last week, a federal judge cleared the way for Trump’s testimony saying the former President had already taken steps to delay the case and he “should not be able to run out the clock.” It is not clear if Trump will answer questions when he is deposed by Carroll’s attorney. Lawyers for Trump and Carroll have declined to comment. Carroll sued Trump in 2019 for defamation after he denied her claim that he raped her in a New York department store in the mid-1990s. She was scheduled to sit for her deposition last Friday. The legal stakes for Trump were recently raised when Carroll said she intends to sue him next month under a new New York State law that allows victims of sexual assault to sue years after the attack. His testimony in the defamation case could be used in a future lawsuit. The defamation case has been in legal limbo for over a year. Trump and the Justice Department argued Trump was a federal employee and his statements denying Carroll’s allegations were made in response to reporters’ questions while he was at the White House. They argued the Justice Department should be substituted as the defendant, which, because the government cannot be sued for defamation, would end the lawsuit. Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled against Trump and DOJ. They appealed. Last month a federal appeals court in New York ruled that Trump was a federal employee when he denied Carroll’s claim of rape and sexual assault. However, the federal appeals court asked the Washington, DC, appeals court to determine if Trump was acting within the scope of his employment when he made the allegedly defamatory statements. If the DC court finds in favor of Trump, then the Justice Department would likely be substituted as a defendant and the case dismissed. The DC appeals court has not yet taken up the matter and it is unclear if or when they will. This year Trump was ordered by a New York State judge to sit for a deposition with the New York attorney general’s office. Trump refused to answer questions, citing his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Last month the New York attorney general’s office filed a $250 million lawsuit against Trump, his eldest children and the Trump Organization for allegedly defrauding lenders and insurers through false financial statements. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and said the lawsuit was politically motivated. In civil cases if someone declines to answer questions the jury is allowed to apply an adverse inference against the person when deciding their potential liability. Last year Trump sat for a deposition for a civil lawsuit brought by protestors who claimed they were injured outside of Trump Tower during his first presidential campaign. He is also expected to testify in another civil lawsuit relating to a marketing campaign by the end of the month.
Another day, another crime... Judge: Trump signed court document that knowingly included false voter fraud stats Former President Donald Trump signed legal documents describing evidence of election fraud that he knew were false, a federal judge indicated on Wednesday. https://www.politico.com/news/2022/...gly-included-false-voter-fraud-stats-00062577
Err……the FBI can come to Maga Laga and ……Err….search my home if they want.. Err……I will consider it…..Err.. Err……I have nothing to hide.. All the nuclear documents are already with the Saudis....Err. 'Worn down' Trump considers allowing FBI to search Mar-a-Lago again: report "Donald Trump’s legal team is weighing whether to allow federal agents to return to the former President’s Florida residence, and potentially conduct a supervised search, to satisfy the Justice Department’s demands that all sensitive government documents are returned, sources tell CNN," Sara Murray, Kristen Holmes and Gabby Orr reported. The National Archives and Department of Justice both believe Trump continues to possess government documents.