The Weekend Wrap: January 14, 2024

D.C. Circuit considers Trump immunity, and bombshell allegations in GA

Welcome to the Weekend Wrap! Here are the week’s white collar highlights:

Trump Prosecutions

D.C. Federal Case - January 6 Allegations

The big news in the D.C. case was the D.C. Circuit oral arguments on Trump’s claim of presidential immunity. The argument did not go at all well for the former president. Trump’s attorney was forced to admit his position means that if the president ordered Seal Team 6 to murder his political opponent, he could not be prosecuted as long as he managed to avoid impeachment. It was all downhill from there.

The court is universally expected to reject Trump’s claims. The only question is how quickly it will do it and how quickly the question can then move through any remaining appeals. The trial date is still March 4 but that is increasingly in jeopardy.

A couple of hours after the arguments concluded on Tuesday I posted my thoughts and analysis. If you missed that, you can find it here:

Georgia State Case - January 6 Allegations

Judge McAfee began sorting through the various motions filed by different defendants and disposing of a few of them. Most are not very significant or likely to succeed. They include challenges to the RICO charge, demands for further discovery, and other claims. Trump has also filed a motion to dismiss based on presidential immunity in this case, as expected. The judge may wait to see what the D.C. Circuit has to say before deciding that one.

Former Trump Aide Mike Roman

Defendant and former Trump campaign aide Mike Roman filed a motion containing some bombshell allegations. Roman has moved to dismiss the indictment and to have the District Attorney, Fani Willis, disqualified from prosecuting the case based on misconduct and conflict of interest.