Chesebro, who was charged alongside Donald Trump and more than a dozen other codefendants with attempting to delay the transfer of power after the 2020 election, was scheduled to stand trial this week. He accepted the offer as jury selection was underway on Friday, and after rejecting an earlier deal.
Why? I was watching the judge saying all of the trials are going to be a mess, but I lost track.
Powell & Chesebro asserted speedy trial right, so were going first. The remaining defendants are going next year.
Note that flipping both gives a large side benefit to the prosecution, as Trump and the others won’t get an early look at the prosecution’s strategy and tactics.
I’m assuming this could lead to even more flipping later? Without a plan I’m not seeing a defense for the majority of them.
You gotta imagine a stampede on Monday morning.
I know I won’t get a video of their heartbreak but I’m thinking AI video creators aren’t too far off so I’m hopeful.
I’m in love with that note you added, that’s amazing.
I would leaven expectations with the chances of a recalcitrant juror who nullifies.
As we get to the actual trial, we are going to see totalized efforts by right-wing media to inform every American about jury nullification and convey the notion that any juror who nullifies will be a hero of the right and never have to work another day in their life.
Worse, those efforts will be dramatically amplified by users on social media; I’d be shocked if any jurors are able to avoid being exposed to the messaging, as their friends, family, coworkers pick it up.
I will leaven my expectations but still have hope. Did you see the trial schedule one of the mods put up? He’s not going to have a good spring, regardless. I’m cool with that.
So is it at all possible the judge could nullify this possibility? Or because juror selection for Trump’s trial hasn’t commenced they’ll be trying to blanket the entirety of the nation in hopes they can get anyone I guess.
It is possible that the jury could be instructed to report on whether any jurors were not deliberating honestly, or refusing to participate.
I’m not a lawyer, but have read a bunch about nullification, and it’s an interestingly powerful and simple cheat code in the hands of a juror who otherwise behaves normally during voir dire, the trial, and deliberations.
Because it’s so powerful, the justice system pretty much hates citizens knowing about it. Aggressive steps are often taken to remove protesters who try to make jurors aware of nullification, to the point of violating free-speech rights imo.
If a juror goes full John-Grisham-novel-style, and hides their intent to nullify, and they don’t have a findable personal history that clearly conflicts with what they said during voir dire, there isn’t anything the justice system can do to stop that juror from completely ratfucking the government’s case.
And, there would be extraordinary benefits to doing so. A single juror who nullified the government’s case would become a multimillionaire in short order, and they would be a massive hero to 30% of America.
It’s disturbing to think about.
Only Powell and Chesebro were scheduled for next week. The remainder of defendants all waived their right to a speedy trial, as part of a deal which prevents them from demanding speedy trial at the last moment and forcing the courts to struggle to have multiple separate cases going on at the same time for the same charges.
Nobody else is scheduled for next week, so far as I am aware.
Edit: Nobody else is scheduled yet at all, so we now do not know when we’re going to see this case go to trial.
Well, after Powell and Chesebro, they will pick the next potential plea candidate of the list. They are good at the “sing or Sing-Sing” game. When they have enough testimonies to get the rest of the gang behind bars, the deal offers will stop - except someone comes forward with something extra juicy.
I think because Powell and Chesebro were the only two that requested a speedy trial. The others cases will still happen, just not until later.