Seems like every day now we’re getting a veritable flurry of news about Special Counsel Jack Smith’s various investigations into Donald Trump, the Crime Criminal Of Crime Town. It’s probably going to be like this until the day when Smith locks him up for the rest of his natural life, never to be heard from again.
Let’s tick through the news:
Would Mark Meadows Go To Prison For Trump? You Bet Your Ass He NOPE.
Mark Meadows was Trump’s last chief of staff, and worked for him afterward, so it stands to reason Jack Smith would want to talk to him related to both the investigation into all the state secrets Trump stole and then tried to hide from the government, and the investigation into that time Trump tried to overthrow the government and incited a terrorist attack to keep hold on power. The New York Times was the first to report that Meadows had testified before the DC grand jury, and ABC News reported that he indeed answered questions related to both investigations.
So was he a good boy for the investigators?
Asked about the grand jury testimony, a lawyer for Mr. Meadows, George Terwilliger, said, “Without commenting on whether or not Mr. Meadows has testified before the grand jury or in any other proceeding, Mr. Meadows has maintained a commitment to tell the truth where he has a legal obligation to do so.”
Well, we don’t know if he was necessarily well-behaved, but it does sound like he would like to cover his ass.
Would 20 Secret Services Go To Prison For Trump? You Bet Your Ass They NOPE. (We Are Just Guessing.)
Twenty members of Trump’s Secret Service detail also reportedly have testified for the DC grand jury. That’s the only update we got there.
Would AN ENTIRE FLORIDA GRAND JURY Go To Prison For Trump? You Bet Your Ass Wait Hold On, FLORIDA GRAND JURY?
WhaaaaaAAAAT? There is a grand jury empaneled in FLORIDA? We didn’t know there was a grand jury in FLORIDA.
And of course grand juries do not typically serve time in prison on the cases they work on, we were just keeping our headings consistent.
Maggie Haberman and some pals report on the previously unknown grand jury in FLORIDA, Miami specifically, which sounds like it’s only been in existence for a month or so, and only a few people have spoken to it and/or are scheduled to speak to it, though more subpoenas have gone out. (Haberman says the DC grand jury may indeed be done hearing from people.)
Haberman shares all the dirty details we know, which is ZERO DIRTY DETAILS:
It is an open question why prosecutors impaneled the Florida grand jury — which is sitting in Federal District Court in Miami — and whether it is now the only one hearing testimony. This uncertainty, which is largely due to the secret nature of grand juries, serves to underscore how much about the management of the documents case by the special counsel Jack Smith remains out of public view.
And the rest of it is a whole bunch more SHE AIN’T KNOW what’s going on. Does this mean there will be charges brought in both DC and Florida? SHE AIN’T KNOW. Will some people be charged in one place and others in another? SHE AIN’T KNOW. Has Jack Smith’s investigation flown south for the summer? SHE AIN’T KNOW. And what about all the aliens and the spaceships?
SHE AIN’T KNOW.
The AP reports that the Florida grand jury is related to the classified docs investigation, but more information than that? THEY AIN’T KNOW.
Oh but wait. The Guardian is now reporting that the person scheduled to talk to the grand jury in Florida on Wednesday is Trump aide Taylor Budowich. The questioning will be done by Jay Bratt, who is the counterintel chief at the Justice Department, who is working for Smith at the moment. The Guardian suggests that this likely means we are dealing with the Espionage Act side of the investigation here, and not the obstruction of justice side:
The previously unreported involvement of Bratt could suggest the questioning may focus on potential Espionage Act violations, particularly whether Trump showed off national security documents to people at his Mar-a-Lago resort – a recent focus of the investigation.
Bratt, who was seen arriving in Miami on Tuesday by the Guardian, has previously appeared for grand jury proceedings in the espionage side of the investigation, as opposed to the obstruction side, which has typically been led by Smith’s other prosecutors or national security trial attorneys.
Interesting!
But what does this all mean?
WE AIN’T KNOW.
This post is finished now.
UPDATE THIS POST IS NOT FINISHED:
Well, there are some late-breaking updates here! What were we just saying about Mark Meadows covering his own ass? Read these tweets!
And then click on that article!
Holy dang!
[New York Times / ibid. / Guardian]
Follow Evan Hurst on Twitter right here.
Just got to BlueSky!
I have profiles those other places but I think I forgot how to log on.
Have you heard that Wonkette DOES NOT EXIST without your donations? Please hear it now, and if you have ever enjoyed a Wonkette article, throw us some bucks, or better yet, SUBSCRIBE!
