What does a TRUMP presidency look like?

[Sheilbh]

I don't see anything in the Constitution that prevents a convicted felon from running for President.

But there may be state laws about such a person being on the ballot.

Although I don't think there should be. If someone has served their time then I think they should be a citizen as anyone else is with all their rights - although it might be politically tough/require explanation.

[DGuller]

I continue to be baffled by how so many people could fall so much for this dumb B-grade conman.

Because they see what they want to see, and are very good at ignoring what is actually there to see.  "He's a businessman, he'll hire the right smart people."  "He's a master troll, I don't know who taught him this skill, but whoever it was did an excellent job."  "Look at how the economy is doing, all our presidents should be such idiots if that's the outcome."  Those are just the examples of what I myself heard from flesh and blood people.

[grumbler]

I continue to be baffled by how so many people could fall so much for this dumb B-grade conman.

There was much to be amused by with Trump, like the fact that his silly "best words" argument featured no words longer than "words."

But shit got unfunny awful fast.  People fell for all his "fighting supervillains" stuff because they'd watched too many superhero movies and forgot that they weren't superheroes and in fact weren't even in the theater anymore.

[grumbler]

If Trump were convicted of a felony, Florida can't stop hum from running for President, but it would stop him from voting for president.

[grumbler]

LegalEagle's take:

[grumbler]

The best part of that vid is where LE reveals that, if Trump is correct in his assertion that all of the removed documents were covered by executive privilege, then he was holding all that material  illegally, because Joe Biden did not authorize him to access those documents, and it is the President himself who has executive privilege.  Not the former president, who can only access privileged documents if the president explicitly authorizes him to do so.  Trump's assertion that the documents are covered by EP is a confession to a crime.

[The Minsky Moment]

Quick Q&A

Q. What is a special master? 
A. It's a person - usually but not always a former judge - appointed by the Court under limited circumstances to handle certain trial or pretrial matters. For example, the parties could agree to have a special master with expertise handle a complex trial on damages or assist in a difficult disclosure dispute in a big civil litigation that the judge doesn't have time to handle.

Q. What does a special master have to do with the Mar-a-lago search?
A. There is some limited authority that when a search warrant is executed against a lawyer or law office, that a special master can be appointed to conduct a "filter" review of the documents to weed out extraneous attorney-client privilege material.  Trump's lawyer cited these cases in their brief submitted Aug 26.

Q. But what does that have to do the Mar-a-lago search?
A. Nothing, Mar-a-lago is not a law office and there is no indication that any of the seized documents are attorney files or contain any privilege materials.  And the principal case law cited by Trump lawyers held that a DOJ filter team is sufficient even if lawyer files were seized (which they weren't). 

Q. But if that's true WTF is going on?
A. Unclear, as the DOJ has not had an opportunity to submit its own papers. After receiving the Trump brief Friday night, the Court issued an order on Saturday saying it was "inclined" to appoint a master

Q. It is typical for a judge to issue a formal order about its "inclination" before even hearing from the other side?
A. No.  A court will sometimes issue a TRO ex parte (before hearing from the other side) if there is an emergency but that isn't what happened here.

Q. So WTF is going on?
A. I expect we will here something in coming days about Judge Cannon's Federalist Society past and 2020 appointment by Trump.  Perhaps the more relevant consideration is that she is very inexperienced for a federal judge.

[grumbler]

Didn't I read that Judge Cannon was going to reject the Trump filing because her court had no jurisdiction? What happened that she suddenly decided that she had jurisdiction?  Or is this not the same matter as the Trump case filed against the search?

[The Minsky Moment]

Didn't I read that Judge Cannon was going to reject the Trump filing because her court had no jurisdiction? What happened that she suddenly decided that she had jurisdiction?  Or is this not the same matter as the Trump case filed against the search?

Judge Cannon asked for a supplemental brief to address jurisdiction and issued her indicative order after reviewing that brief.

The issue is not jurisdictional.  Normally, motions relating to a magistrate judge's activities where there is no open case yet go to the "duty judge" - in this case that would have been Judge Robin Rosenberg. the duty judge for West Palm for August 2022.  For whatever reason, however, the district court clerk treated this as a regular plenary action and put it into the "wheel" for general assignment.  That appears to be a breach of the court's internal operating procedures, but it isn't a jurisdictional flaw.

There is also a serious question whether the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure permit the proposed use of a special master - Rule 53 permits their appointment "only" if one of the specified conditions are met - but that is also not a jurisdictional obstacle.

IMO the judge can take jurisdiction but her authority to force in a master over a government objection seems dubious.

Although if reporting tonight is accurate, the application may be mooted by the fact that the docs have already been run through the DOJ filter team.

[Syt]

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/30/trump-truth-social-barred-from-google-play-store-content-moderation-concerns.html

Trump's Truth Social reportedly barred from Google Play store over content moderation concerns

PUBLISHED TUE, AUG 30 202210:04 AM EDT UPDATED 29 MIN AGO

Truth Social, the would-be Twitter competitor created by Trump Media and Technology Group, remains unavailable on the Google Play store.

According to a report from Axios, Google said the app lacks effective systems for moderating user-generated content, which violates the store's terms of service.

"On Aug. 19, we notified Truth Social of several violations of standard policies in their current app submission and reiterated that having effective systems for moderating user-generated content is a condition of our terms of service for any app to go live on Google Play," the tech company, which is owned by Alphabet, told Axios in a statement.

Google didn't immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.

The restriction means that Android users, who make up 44% of smartphone users in the U.S., can't download the app. Google will not let the app go live until the content issues are addressed. Truth Social acknowledged Google's concerns and said it would work on addressing these issues, according to Axios.

Trump Media and Technology Group CEO Devin Nunes told a different story. The former lawmaker, who was one of former President Donald Trump's staunchest allies in Congress, said the decision is up to Google and not dependent on Truth Social's policies.

"When are we going to be available on Android? Well, look, that's up to the Google Play store. We're waiting on them to approve us, I don't know what's taking so long," Nunes said on the "Just the News Not Noise" podcast. "It sure would be nice if they would approve us."

Trump Media and Technology Group made the app available for preorder on Android in early August. It is available on Apple's App Store. Google's YouTube has suspended Trump's channel.

The restriction is one of several obstacles faced by the former president's app. Truth Social was created as a "free-speech" alternative to Twitter, after Trump was banned from the platform for his tweets relating to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Hundreds of the president's supporters stormed the building that day to try to block Congress from confirming Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election.

Trump, who had about 88 million followers on Twitter, has about 4 million followers on Truth Social, where he continues to push false claims about the election. He is facing a criminal investigation over secret government records he took with him to his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida and is considering another run for the White House.

Trump Media was set to go public through a merger with Digital World Acquisition Corporation, a special-purpose acquisition company. The deadline is Sept. 8, although DWAC is pushing for a delay of up to a year. DWAC warned shareholders that a decline in the former president's popularity could hurt the app and that, without a delay, the acquisition company may have to liquidate.

DWAC scheduled a shareholder meeting for Sept. 6, two days before the current merger deadline. Shares of the company, which hit $97 in March, are down about 50% to $25 so far this year.

Queue "Curb Your Enthusiasm" credits theme.

[The Larch]

Continuing on that and surprising absolutely nobody...

Trump's social media app facing financial fallout
Truth Social's finances may be in significant disarray, sources say

Former President Donald Trump's social media outfit, Truth Social, is locked in a bitter battle with one of its vendors claiming that the platform is stiffing the company out of more than $1 million in contractually obligated payments, FOX Business has learned.

If the allegations are true, they would suggest that Truth Social's finances are in significant disarray, people with direct knowledge of the matter say. Internet infrastructure company RightForge is said to be among Truth Social's largest vendors and creditors, these people say.

In October, RightForge announced it entered into an agreement to host Truth Social, which Trump helped create after he was banned by Twitter following the Jan. 6 riots. RightForge now contends that Truth Social has reneged on its contractually obligated monthly payments for setting up the platform's web-servicing infrastructure, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter.

These people say RightForge contends that Truth Social has made just three payments and ceased making any payments since around March. RightForge claims that Truth Social owes it around $1.6 million and is threatening legal action to recoup the money, these people add.

RightForge CEO Martin Avila declined to comment "on any private matters," but wouldn't deny the disagreement between the two entities. He added in a statement: "Our founding vision is to make a second internet to support American ideas online. RightForge believes in the mission of President Trump's free speech platform and wish to continue supporting the president in his media endeavors."

A spokesman for Truth Social also would not deny the matter when contacted by FOX Business. A spokesman for Trump had no comment.

[Tonitrus]

I just the love the name...brings back nostalgic memories of "Pravda".

[Zanza]

[celedhring]

If twitter loses money I can't see how the fringe nitwit version of it can stay in business by itself.

[jimmy olsen]

That 40 page DoJ motion to dismiss Trump's lawsuit was a banger, holy shit!