Presidential Mean Muggin'

Get the Point!

When Donald Trump was indicted in New York, Florida, and Washington, D.C. earlier this year for assorted state and federal felony offenses, no booking photos were taken of the 45th President of the United States.

Donald John Trump, Inmate #P01135809. The former president’s “mean mug” lacks menacing “mien” as his eyes look frightened—like most criminal defendants…

Last night, history was made once more as Mr. Trump, booked at the Fulton County Jail, became the first former president to pose for a mugshot while being fingerprinted and released on a $200,000 bond relating to a 100 page indictment which alleges election interference in 2020.

Mr. Trump's motorcade from Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport took him through very familiar territory for Ol’ Hobbs as the former president was driven across I-20 west before taking the Joseph Lowery exit past historic Morehouse College and Booker T. Washington High Schools—the alma maters of Nobel Laureate Martin Luther King, Jr.—past equally historic Spelman College, on through the ‘hood to Rice Street, the location of the infamous county jail that has a Black inmate population of nearly 90 percent. The Rice Street Jail has been derided in lawsuits and rap lyrics for its deplorable living conditions…

Mr. Trump is one of 19 defendants indicted this month for their roles in seeking to coerce Georgia officials, including Republican Governor Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, to “find votes” and support a fake set of electors after the same had already counted (and recounted) votes in 2020 that proved time and again that Democrat Joe Biden was the winner of the state’s Electoral College votes.

Among Trump's co-defendants are his former legal counsel, including:

Mr. Rudy Giuliani, Esq.

Ms. Sidney Powell, Esq.

Mr. John Eastman, Esq.

I highlight these three co-defendants in particular because it is already crystal clear to me that the primary defense strategy for these lawyers and their former client, Mr. Trump, will be to argue that they were merely advising their client of potential arguments that he could raise to levy additional challenges to the election results—and that Trump was merely “thinking out loud” during his discursive phone call with state election officials based upon their legal advice.

Whether the above stated legal defense will work will depend greatly upon whether the case remains in state court (instead of being removed to federal court—as several defendants are already seeking) and, if it remains in state court, will the venue remain in overwhelmingly Democratic (and Black) Fulton County? If I had to hazard a guess, I’d submit that there are enough adequate state grounds to prevent removal to Federal court—and that the venue will remain in Fulton County because the key evidence, the very unwise Trump phone call, was taken by Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in Atlanta (Fulton County). I also submit that the old “pretrial publicity prevents Trump and the other members of the Atlanta 19 from receiving a fair trial” argument will not be viable because Trump, himself, is constantly Tweeting, texting, and posting all sorts of public comments about this and his other cases via social media.

What's Next?

Next up for Trump and his co-defendants will be arraignment, which is currently set for September 5th. An arraignment is a formal proceeding in which a defendant is formally informed by the court of the pending charges, after which the same can enter a plea of not guilty (or guilty). Each defendant has a right to waive appearance at an arraignment and can have their counsel enter a written plea of not guilty, and I suspect that is what will occur for the “Atlanta 19” in the days ahead.

After arraignment, lawyers for the state and defense will then start drafting and responding to myriad motions, including ones for changes of venue, suppression of evidence, and perhaps even dismissal depending on the facts and evidence. There surely will be motions to sever, meaning that a defendant or multiple defendants will seek to have individual trials instead of being tried in a group setting.

Mugshots from nine members of the Atlanta 19

Separately, in the weeks ahead, lawyers will participate in “Discovery,” the formal name for the process within which both parties list potential witnesses while prosecutors must turn over (or allow inspection of) evidence that they intend to use at trial. Once witnesses are disclosed, both parties will have opportunities to interview the same through their investigators or during depositions; while much hay has been made about these trial(s) being ready to go within the next several months, my past experiences with multiple defendant state court cases, particularly white collar ones where many thousands of documents must be copied and disclosed, is that it is highly unlikely that this case will be tried before Election Day 2024—if it is ever tried! With news already leaking that prosecutors across the four cases cooperating with each other with regards to scheduling, I predict that if the far less complicated classified documents Federal case in Florida, or the January 6th MAGA riot case in Washington, D.C. ends with a Trump conviction, that Atlanta prosecutors may eventually dismiss the case against Trump even if they continue to push forward against his lawyers and other co-defendants.

Last, there is always the possibility that one or more of the Atlanta 19 may strike deals to cooperate with prosecutors against the other defendants. It is important to note that of the 19, the only defendant who is grifting money hand over fist is Mr. Trump! Hardly a day goes by that emails aren't being sent asking for the MAGA sheep to send their hard earned money to defray the legal bills of their billionaire shepherd.

Indeed, none of the other Atlanta 19 defendants have the kind of reach or pockets as deep as Trump's and that factor, coupled with disbarment proceedings that have already been finished (Giuliani) or are pending (Eastman/Powell), may be incentive enough for one or more to break and cooperate if it means that they avoid long prison sentences as well. Trust, I've seen the toughest of the tough get to talking and testifying when prison numbers like 10 years to life get tossed around so as I often say and write, “stay tuned!”