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Capitol rioters' defense that Trump ordered them to storm Congress is flopping in the courts: report
February 27, 2021
As participants in the deadly January 6th Capitol riot face charges for their actions, many have tried to argue that they reasonably believed former President Donald Trump had given his imprimatur to their actions.
But according to the Associated Press, this defense is not being well-received in court.
<p>"Facing damning evidence in the deadly Capitol siege last month — including <a href="https://apnews.com/article/riot-capitol-hill-update-f9a4050fc3179c87e0c29b8872e020e9" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">social media posts flaunting their actions</a> — rioters are arguing in court they were following then-President Donald Trump's instructions on Jan. 6," reported Michael Kunzelman and Alanna Richer. "But the legal strategy has already been shot down by at least one judge and experts believe the argument is not likely to get anyone off the hook for the insurrection where five people died, including a police officer."</p><p> U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell swatted aside this argument from a <a href="https://www.rawstory.com/proud-boys-2650603165/" target="_blank">member of the "Proud Boys"</a> in Kansas City, saying, "This purported defense, if recognized, would undermine the rule of law because then, just like a king or a dictator, the president could dictate what's illegal and what isn't in this country. And that is not how we operate here."</p><p>Some of the Capitol rioters have expressed remorse and regret for trusting Trump's conspiracy theories about the election being stolen. One rioter known as the "QAnon Shaman" even <a href="https://www.rawstory.com/qanon-shaman/" target="_blank">volunteered</a> to give testimony at the former president's impeachment trial.</p>
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Trump is furious with Kevin McCarthy again and may attack him in CPAC speech: report
February 27, 2021
According to a report from Politico's Playbook, Donald Trump may launch an attack on House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on Sunday because he doesn't feel the top GOP official in the House has done enough to rein in Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY).
Several days ago McCarthy and Cheney had a public disagreement over the former president's future political prospects, with the Wyoming lawmaker telling reporters, "I've been clear about my views on President Trump and the extent to which, following Jan. 6, I don't believe he should be playing a role in the party or the country."
<p>That apparently set Trump off according to three sources speaking with Politico.</p><p>According to the report, "Three people close to Trump tell me that he's stewing anew over Kevin McCarthy," wrote Politico's Tara Palmeri. "It's become so frequent that his advisers think the House minority leader may be in for a public reprimand. That's even after the powwow at Mar-a-Lago where McCarthy tried to patch things up after he denounced Trump for the violence on Jan. 6."</p><p>"The reason for Trump's displeasure<strong>: </strong>an emboldened Cheney," she continued. "Each time Cheney criticizes Trump from her leadership post as the No. 3 House Republican, he's reminded that it was McCarthy who pleaded with his conference to keep her on as chair — despite her vote to impeach Trump. The latest trigger came Wednesday, when Cheney said <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/video/watch-gop-s-mccarthy-and-cheney-disagree-at-press-conference-over-trump-at-cpac-101526085950" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">at a press conference</a> that Trump should not lead the party going forward while McCarthy awkwardly stood by."</p><p>According to the report, Trump may have words for McCarthy in his speech on Sunday. The top Republican in the House is scheduled to speak at CPAC Saturday afternoon.</p><p>You <a href="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2021/02/27/trump-stewing-over-mccarthy-again-ahead-of-big-cpac-speech-491926" target="_blank">can read more here</a>.</p>
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Trump tried to 'run out the clock' on handing over his taxes -- here is why it will likely fail
February 27, 2021
In a column for NBC News, Carol Lam, the former U.S. Attorney for Southern California, wrote that -- due to legal maneuverings by Donald Trump's lawyers -- prosecutors in Manhattan looking into his tax returns normally would find themselves under the gun to file criminal charges but they received a helping hand from lawmakers in the state.
Lam noted that Trump's attorneys did a good job repeatedly appealing to the Supreme Court to halt the release of what has been described as "millions of documents" related to his personal finances and his Trump Organization, and that has put prosecutors under the gun due to statue of limitations laws.
<p>"First, almost all federal and state criminal law violations have a deadline known as a statute of limitations, beyond which a suspect cannot be charged with a crime. Statutes of limitations vary widely among states and the federal system. Some serious crimes may have statutes of limitations as long as 10 or 20 years," she wrote before adding the rules governing prosecuting a sitting president -- whether right or wrong -- worked in Trump's favor.</p><p>Writing, "A president who serves a four-year term would be absolved of many criminal acts; a president who serves two four-year terms would escape criminal liability for almost any crime committed before or during his first presidential term," she added that Trump may still not benefit in the way he had hoped.</p><p>"The state of New York has taken common sense action to remedy this problem with respect to potential state prosecutions of former presidents. On Feb. 10, the <a href="https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/michael-gianaris/senate-majority-passes-gianaris-no-citizen-above-law-act" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">New York state Legislature passed the "New York No Citizen is Above the Law Act,"</a> sponsored by the Senate's Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris. The new law provides that if a former president is charged with a New York state crime, the amount of time he was president is excluded from the calculation of the statute of limitations," she wrote before issuing a warning.</p><p>"Whether this law can apply to criminal conduct that predated the law's passage remains to be seen, but there is a sound argument that it can be applied if the statute of limitations had not yet expired when the act was passed," she suggested.</p><p>You can <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/trump-s-tax-documents-are-new-york-prosecutors-clock-ticking-ncna1258998" target="_blank">read more here</a>.</p>
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