Raw Story

Special counsel Jack Smith is to blame for the ongoing delay in former President Donald Trump's federal election interference case, according to Washington Post columnist Jack Willick.

Willick laid into Smith for bringing a "flashier" charge he believes allowed Trump to cry presidential immunity and take that claim all the way to the Supreme Court.

"Smith — apparently fearful that the Supreme Court might recognize some presidential immunity for official acts — says that allegations of Trump’s 'private misconduct are more than sufficient to support the indictment,'" writes Willick.

"Then why insist in the first place on charging Trump for official conduct, inviting a Supreme Court showdown over the scope of immunity?"

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The Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments on April 25.

Their ruling effectively puts on hold the Washington D.C. federal case, in which Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges linked to his actions between the November 2020 election and the U.S. Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021.

Trump's argument — that commanders in chief must enjoy absolute immunity to effectively lead the nation — stands in stark opposition to Smith's contention that presidents must be bound by the law they have sworn to uphold.

But Willick argues Smith blundered, first in delaying to bring charges against Trump then opting to connect those charges to official acts.

"This holdup is on the Justice Department," Willick writes. "Biden’s Justice Department bet instead on a flashier but less strategic approach," he writes. "The resulting appellate delays were predictable."

Willick notes time is of the essence in Smith's case as Trump could conceivably kill it should he regain the White House in 2025.

"If Trump makes it to November without a Jan. 6 conviction," Willick concludes, "he’ll have Jack Smith to thank."

New York Attorney General Letitia James doubled down Tuesday on her demand that the judge in former President Donald Trump's $464 million civil fraud trial allow her to investigate him after his former CFO pleaded guilty to perjury, court records show.

The Attorney General's office Tuesday filed a quick reply to Trump and Allen Weisselberg's attorneys sharp rebuttal to her demand for leeway to investigate from Justice Arthur Engoron.

"It is clear that Defendants and their counsel are completely incapable of independently disclosing any impropriety," wrote Senior Enforcement Counsel Kevin Wallace. "Outside certification is the only means to get to the truth."

The filing, first reported by MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin, arrives one day before Weisselberg is expected to face sentencing to perjury counts linked to his testimony in Trump's civil fraud trial.

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"James has doubled down on her request that Judge Engoron investigate why documents that go to the heart of Allen Weisselberg's admitted perjury during the civil fraud trial were not turned over," Rubin explained. "[James is] insisting that any fraud on the court during a concluded trial is nonetheless within the court's power to investigate."

The former president's attorneys have pushed back against this demand, calling it "extraordinary and wholly improper."

Weisselberg pleaded guilty to lying under oath in the course of his testimony during the New York civil fraud trial against Trump.

During that trial, he claimed to have never seriously considered the square footage of Trump Tower, but Forbes turned up emails from years ago in which he was explicitly defending Trump's claims about the area of the property, directly undercutting his claims.

The fraud case centered on Trump's falsification of the value of his properties, for the purposes of manipulating his tax liability and the terms of loans he got from banks. Trump has always maintained he did nothing wrong, but Engoron found him liable for more than $450 million in the case.

Trump is currently appealing that decision, and was allowed by a higher court to have his bond reduced to $175 million while he appeals.

Former President Donald Trump's onetime White House adviser Peter Navarro could remain in a federal lockup during the Republican National Convention, prison records show.

The Federal Bureau of Prison official listing on Monday showed Navarro is set to be released on July 17, according to its online inmate tracker. The date, first reported by CBS correspondent Scott MacFarlane, is an initial record of when he's set for release and it could change.

The Republican Convention begins in Milwaukee on July 15.

The Bureau of Prisons record shows Navarro's inmate number at a low-security federal correctional facility in Miami is 04370-510.

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Navarro was sentenced to four months in prison after he refused to comply with a subpoena from the House Select Jan. 6 Committee. The former trade adviser claimed then-President Donald Trump invoked executive privilege to prevent him from testifying.

If Navarro is freed on the set date, he would miss most of the Republican convention, which begins on July 15. But he could attend the convention's final day on July 18.

Former President Donald Trump is facing mounting financial difficulties in his campaign — to the point where he is reportedly being forced to triage which states he can afford to hold rallies in.

According to a new CNN report, Trump was planning to hold a rally in Arizona last weekend, on the same day he rallied in Ohio to support his endorsed Senate candidate Bernie Moreno, but backed out at the last minute.

"On Wednesday, Biden was in Arizona to announce $8.5 billion going toward a new Intel chip processing plant outside of Phoenix, returning to a state he visited twice in the second half of last year," reported Edward Isaac-Dovere and Kristen Holmes.

"Trump had been looking at a trip to the state – which went for Biden by just 10,457 votes in 2020 – for last weekend, the same day as his Ohio rally. But those plans were scrapped after clinching the presidential nomination, with two sources citing a desire to save money and attend a more politically advantageous event in Ohio rallying for Moreno."

Moreno went on to easily win the GOP nomination in Ohio, beating state Sen. Matt Dolan and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose. He will face off against Sen. Sherrod Brown, the only remaining Democrat in a major statewide office.

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The Trump campaign is being significantly outraised by the Biden campaign and has faced other complications, including warnings from the Federal Election Commission to stop accepting illegal contributions, as Raw Story exclusively reported last month.

It comes at a moment when the former president has faced intense personal financial struggles, including a pair of legal judgments for $83.3 million and $464 million, respectively — the latter of which he is struggling to raise bond for and could lead to Trump Organization assets and properties being seized by the state of New York.

Whoopi Goldberg began a Wednesday segment of "The View" pretending to shed tears for Donald Trump after his lawyers told a New York court he didn't actually have the money to pay his bills.

"I'm so sorry," she said, pretending to be emotional. "So, as it turns out, you-know-who says he cannot come up with the cash to cover his $400 million-plus bond in his New York fraud case."

"You need a tissue?" asked colleague Joy Behar, pulling a purse-sized packet from her pocket.

The panel questioned why Trump has so much support from millionaires and billionaires, but no one is rushing to put up a bond for him. One of those people is his own son-in-law, Jared Kushner, the hosts said.

"That was surprising Jared is not going to give him part of his $2 billion cache he probably got only because he worked in the Trump administration," said Sunny Hostin. "But I will say this, to reiterate: the reason people will not lend him money is because he is notorious for stiffing people who work for him."

"Who loses money on casinos?" asked Behar.

"Because he had three casinos together, two to three, and his actuary said they would cannibalize each other. He did it anyway; 100 contractors weren't paid because of it and lost their homes and livelihoods. It happened in 2016." said Hostin.

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"There is no way anybody is going to lend money to him, and I can't wait to see the chains on trump tower on Fifth Avenue. I'm kind of excited about it."

Former Trump White House communications director Alyssa Farah Griffin brought up Fox hosts who are also unwilling to help him.

"Can we talk about some of these folks at Fox News who are raging that billionaires are not stepping up to give the money to Trump?" she asked. "One of them was Mark Levin, somebody who refers to himself as 'the great one,' so that tells you all you need to know about him. [He] has a reported net worth of $50 million, but he's not ponying up" [for Trump].

See the panel discussion in the video below or at the link here.

New York Attorney General Letitia James could swoop in and seize former President Donald Trump's properties as soon as Monday, a CNN analyst reported Wednesday.

"They are ready to move forward to try to seize some of his assets, and possibly properties," CNN reporter Kara Scannell said.

Monday is the deadline set in Trump's fraud trial for him to secure a bond for the $464 million payout ordered by New York civil court judge Arthur Engoron earlier this year.

Trump, who denies wrongdoing and plans to appeal, first tried to negotiate the payment down to $100 million then, on Monday, filed notice that he'd been unable to secure a bond for the whole amount.

James swiftly filed a response urging the appeals court to ignore his pleas for a stay on the payment, noting he has other options for finding the money.

"He could post his own property to the court," Scannell summarized. "He could turn over real estate to the court to satisfy this judgment. "

This isn't the first time James has hinted that she will take ownership of Trump's buildings.

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James referenced a Trump property in downtown Manhattan when she said in a statement last month, "We are prepared to make sure that the judgment is paid to New Yorkers, and yes, I look at 40 Wall Street each and every day."

The looming deadline, and this potential dire solution, has seen panic mount among Trump's campaign, sources tell CNN. Specifically, because Trump consider some of his properties "his babies."

Stephanie Grisham, Trump's one-time White House communications director, told CNN Monday that there are several such "babies" he does not want to lose.

"I think if it were to happen, 40 Wall Street is probably the one that he would, I mean, he would hate it,' Grisham said. "But I think if she tried to seize Mar-a-Lago or Bedminster or Trump Tower even, I mean, those are his babies."