As you might have heard, previously Trump had announced that on Monday, he would have a press conference where he would provide what he claimed was proof that the 2024 election in Georgia was stolen, more or less.
And now it has been called off:
Laura Loony Loomer is on it:
JUST IN: President Trump says his scheduled press conference on Monday at @TrumpBedminster is no longer taking place because his legal team thinks it’s best for the information to go in official legal filings ahead of his arraignment in Fulton County, #Georgia next week.
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) August 18, 2023
I will… pic.twitter.com/qQVPfyEzqq
Naturally some of his detractors had a field day with it:
Trump said he’d reveal evidence of election fraud at a press conference that would blow everyone away and exonerate him.
— Pedro L. Gonzalez (@emeriticus) August 18, 2023
He’s canceled the conference, because he has nothing and his team knows it—they just can’t let Republican voters know it because then they’d realize all… pic.twitter.com/mNfhvVgyC9
HAHAHAHAHA 🤣🤣🤣
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) August 18, 2023
Trump just canceled his “Major press conference” on Monday.
ABC News reported this morning that his lawyer warned him that spewing more lies about the election at the press conference can only complicate his legal problems. pic.twitter.com/pPnsSFccdL
BREAKING: Donald Trump calls his own bluff and CANCELS his press conference where he would show "evidence"!!!
— Jon Cooper (@joncoopertweets) August 18, 2023
Is he a fraud, or a coward? 🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/fKGQF36qeK
Recommended
HAHAHAHA
— Peter Henlein (@SwissWatchGuy) August 18, 2023
Trump bitched out of doing his press conference and he is using his 'lawyers' as cover.
Reality is Trump got bitch slapped down by Brian Kemp the moment he announced his thing, and is afraid of anymore from him....and we all know it.
Trump = Weak. pic.twitter.com/My3GYC2kq6
Master of Strategery: clean up aisle one pic.twitter.com/JTfOKwNNxj
— FilmLadd (@FilmLadd) August 18, 2023
While we like one of the people deriding this, we have to correct the record: This is actually good strategy, if they go through with it. We have seen in the last few years that anyone who claims that the election was stolen sued into oblivion. We have no doubt that if Trump put out a press conference like this, he would face defamation lawsuits—rightly or wrongly. Indeed, there’s a good chance that it might be added to the indictment.
But a legal filing cannot be defamation and while we don’t think it is impossible to commit a crime in a legal filing, a court is not likely to believe that this filing would be a crime—although Trump’s lawyers might have to worry about sanctions.
(How could you commit a crime in a legal filing? Well, imagine if a person is representing himself and he writes ‘If Joe Smith testifies against me, I promise I will murder his daughter.’ We are not aware of any legal doctrine that would insulate that threat from being treated just like any other criminal threat. However, outside of such incredibly unusual circumstances, we think it would be difficult to argue that a legal filing can be a criminal act.)
Yes listening to your lawyers is a good thing. That is the sole reason you hire them.
— Nick (@nick199525) August 18, 2023
He is right as a general principle, but lawyers can still be wrong. For instance, one danger Trump would face is if his lawyers don’t see the First Amendment dimension to this or the election interference dimension. As we have said before, his lawyers might be tempted to tell Trump to shut up, but in this case, that is very bad advice:
You have to start with basic principles: What is the job of a lawyer representing Trump in this latest criminal case? If you said ‘to win the case’ you are subtly wrong. Your job is to attempt to accomplish Donald Trump’s goals—within the limits of the law and ethics. Now, winning the case is almost certainly a huge goal for Trump, but Trump wants something else: To be elected President of the United States in 2024. And to Trump, that might even be more important than winning the case. He might prefer to serve as President from a federal prison rather than be a free man but not president.
We imagine there is some ego involved, but he might also see an important principle to get the voters to repudiate the tactics that have been used against him in the last eight or so years. Perhaps the best way to stop the weaponization of the justice system is to ensure it fails.
And if you are Trump’s lawyer telling him to shut up, you risk creating a deeply unfair situation for Trump. Biden would be able to talk about the case (though he might have to be careful about what he said). DeSantis would be able to talk about it. Everyone running against Trump can use the charges against him, and Trump’s lawyer is going to tell him he can’t defend himself in the court of public opinion?
Indeed, to shift back to the higher principles, handicapping Trump in the election this way also might be one of the goals of this prosecution—or at least Trump might see it that way. In that scenario, he would literally be giving the prosecutors what they want if he shut up, which would encourage them to run these same tactics in the future against other candidates. Once again, the best way to prevent them from doing it again might be to make sure it fails.
Of course, Trump would be wise to literally let a lawyer review every TruthSocial post or Tweet before hitting send. And of course, a good lawyer informs Trump about the consequences he risks by speaking out. But assuming Trump wants to speak, a lawyer shouldn’t insist on silencing him. That might be good advice in 99% of criminal cases, but this is not one of those times.
Good! This is the way to have *ALL* of America see it, and not just conservatives. MSM would have shut their stations down before ever covering his announcement. Now the world will see! 😎
— Byrdiethebyrddog (@callmebyrdie) August 18, 2023
He's an optimist. It is very easy for the media to ignore or mischaracterize a legal filing. Indeed, even when they are trying to get things right, they often screw up. But on the other hand, if it is well written and accessible, it might be something people can pass around.
Trump does have a history of poor personnel decisions... Strange for such a brilliant businessman.
— Jedi Weiner Dog (@JediWeinerDog2) August 18, 2023
It's good he is actually listening to his lawyers instead of Loomer.
— Frank (Lets Be Frank) (@Letsbefrank2410) August 18, 2023
Heh.
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