(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . NY Supreme Court Justice Merchan: Do Not Let Donald Leave New York [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-04-02 Justice Merchan Must Ensure Donald Trump Will Appear for trial and Sentencing Despite all the ballyhoo, the impending Tuesday, April 4 arraignment of Donald J. Trump is itself really no big deal for The Donald. It’s an overnighter to New York City and a photo op, and yet another opportunity to grift money off the griftable. He even has a home -Trump Tower (just up 5th Avenue from the courthouse)- in which to spend the night prior in extreme comfort. After the arraignment, he will be released pending trial. Then he no doubt expects to return to Florida while his attorneys file an endless array of motions seeking dismissal, delay, change of venue, exclusion of witnesses and evidence, etc. as he whines all the while about his victimhood. We know this -it’s what he does. The problem for The Donald is not showing up for the arraignment. The problem comes farther down the line, when he is required to show up for trial, -or worse, for sentencing. And this is where Justice Merchan needs to be especially adroit. Think the case of Steve Bannon, one of Donald j. Trump’s chief strategists and crafty supporters. When Bannon himself was arraigned before this very same justice on September 8, 2022, for fraudulently misappropriating donor funds for “We Build the Wall,” he was released on his own recognizance. “He’s not going anywhere. He intends to fight these charges all the way,” Bannon's attorney David Schoen told the judge. But this is the same Steve Bannon who had to be hunted down and pulled off a Chinese Billionaire’s mega-yacht in order to make an appearance in federal court on federal subpoena contempt charges -a conviction now under appeal. Like Trump, Bannon clearly is a person with the means, motive and opportunity to flee the country. In this case, For the Manhattan case, Justice Merchan wisely retained Bannon’s passport. His trial on the fraud charges is currently anticipated to take place in November, 2023. If Steve Bannon has the means, motive and opportunity to flee the country, Donald J. Trump has means, motive and opportunity on steroids. He has his own jet; he owns properties overseas; his wife is a native citizen of an Eastern European nation; he has businesses, familial businesses, financial assets and personal political and governmental allies in Saudia Arabia, China, Russia and other countries that lack an extradition treaty with the U.S. But would Donald J. Trump, distinguished former President of the United States and leader of the free world, do such a thing? Would he exhibit such contempt for the American Justice system? The question answers itself. Trump has already demonstrated contempt for every institution that fails to serve his purposes. His presidency and his entire legal history have been a stress test for the controls, circuit breakers and fail-safes of our society. He believes no rules apply to him, as Tana Goertz, former Trump Campaign Iowa Co-Chair stated and which Trump former Office of Government Ethics Director, Walter Schaub has validated. Using mob-speak, he told his followers to wage an insurrection to overturn an election he claims was stolen from him (but which he has privately acknowledged he had lost), and he brazenly violated the emoluments clause of the U.S. Constitution. He has cultivated a cult following comprised in good part of white supremacists and neofascists, and he promises “retribution” to his opposition. Like a true cult leader, Trump increasingly refers to himself in the “royal we” in ways that conflate himself with the United States itself. Already, Donald j. Trump has, via his attorneys, already apparently lied to the Manhattan D.A.’s Office, which had originally arranged the arraignment with the court for Friday, March 31, 2023, but Trump’s attorneys told the judge that the Secret Service couldn’t secure the New York location in such a short time, so the court postponed the appearance until Tuesday, April 4. Sources contend, however, that the Secret Service would require no such delay (it is entirely possible Trump lied to his attorneys, yet again). To entertain the premise that Trump will voluntarily comply with any authority, proceeding or court ruling that he does not see as advantaging him is naive. The Donald has one talent and One Savant Superpower. A true con man, it is his talent to able to make some people believe the unbelievable, and it is his savant super power to comprehend only -but exactly- the single component of any issue or situation that will personally advantage him. But it gets worse: The Donald has received the stated promise of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis that he -the Governor- will refuse to extradite Trump to New York if that time comes. While it has been said that Governor DeSantis lacks the Constitutional authority to prevent extradition in the face of the interstate agreement between the States of Florida and New York, Desantis has not been at all bashful about exercising executive powers that arguably don’t exist. Case in point: in August 2022, DeSantis sent an armed county sheriff to physically remove Andrew Warren, Hillsborough County State Attorney, a democrat, for his stated unwillingness to enforce restrictions on abortion and gender therapy, ordering the Florida state Police to physically enforce the suspension. While a federal judge can order extradition by a reluctant state, we have already witnessed Trump’s penchant for delay in court. It would happen, but likely only after appeal after appeal. If a Florida judge orders Trump’s extradition, the matter would likely be passed on for implementation to the Palm Beach County State Attorney. We already have seen what happens to a state attorney who crosses Governor DeSantis. But it gets worse: Another case in point: Governor DeSantis has activated a “private army” answerable only to him; the Florida State Guard is a volunteer paramilitary force numbering 400 but which DeSantis plans to increase to 1,500. Between his appropriated ability to remove elected state officials, his direction of the Florida State Police, his apparent influence over county sheriffs, and his sole command of the burgeoning Florida State Guard, DeSantis is well positioned to deny extradition of Trump, interstate agreements be damned. There are those who would argue that the Secret Service would see that Mr. Trump was delivered to the court, or they would keep him from fleeing overseas. Unfortunately, that’s not the mandate of the Secret Service. the duty of the Secret Service with respect to an ex-president is to ensure his or her safety at all times. If Donald J. Trump were under federal charges in a federal court, they arguably could be tasked by President Biden to ensure his presence as they have authority to execute federal warrants, but as federal agents, they have no role in enforcing state warrants, forcing or restricting movement, or other actions upon the person of a former president at the behest of a state. They simply go where he goes and secure the location for him. Evidence of compromise of allegiance among some members of the Secret Service regarding Trump remains a troubling consideration as well. So what should Justice Juan Merchan do to ensure the availability of Donald J. Trump for trial and, if it comes to that, for sentencing and incarceration? Three things: 1) Take Trump’s passport. That’s obvious. It’s often required in felony cases, particularly for defendants with overseas ties and considerable means. So far that requirement seems to have kept Steve Bannon stateside. While it’s less a sure thing for Donald J. Trump, given his resources, connections and personal private jet, it certainly can’t hurt. 2) In lieu of bail and given the number of counts in the indictment (and assuming Mr. Trump could be facing what would be, at his age, effectively a life sentence) rather than releasing the accused on his own recognizance, Justice Merchan should require Trump to post a lien against his premier New York property, Trump Tower as guarantee of his appearance. This would be far less onerous for Trump than the cash bail requirement for many less well-heeled accused felons, while its forfeiture would be exceptionally painful for this particular defendant. 3) MOST IMPORTANTLY, require Donald J. Trump to REMAIN IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK until the trial is concluded. This is commonly a condition of release for felons, and it would short-circuit any attempt by Governor DeSantis to provide Trump with asylum through extradition denial. Even if Trump were to violate the order and fly his jet back to Mar-a-Lago, he would become a federal fugitive, having committed the offense of interstate flight to avoid prosecution, and the FBI would, with the presumed cooperation of the Secret Service, take him into custody in Florida, and return him to the New York State Supreme? Court in Manhattan. If Justice Merchan is to ensure the appearance of Donald J. Trump at trial and at sentencing, it is imperative that he make it as difficult as possible for the former President to flee the United States (or even the State of New York!). [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/2/2161590/-NY-Supreme-Court-Justice-Merchan-Do-Not-Let-Donald-Leave-New-York Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/