The overwhelming reelection of Donald J. Trump has thrown the prosecutions against him into complete chaos. Already federal prosecutor Jack Smith has paused his efforts and is getting ready to resign his (illegal) appointment before President Trump has the opportunity to fire him. And Alvin Bragg, who wrongly prosecuted Mr. Trump for what amounts to alleged bookkeeping errors, is scrambling to save his case, arguing that Trump’s sentencing can be paused for four years while President Trump carries out the duties of his office.
As pleased as I am personally with Mr. Trump’s electoral win, his victory also creates chaos in Georgia where the disgraced Fani Willis indicted him, along with me and other pro-Trump lawyers and officials. Naturally, it’s this case that I am intently focused on because my freedom is at stake.
I’ll review some of the issues in a moment, but first I need to point out that the chaos that now exists in Georgia only adds to the complexity and cost of my legal defense there. There are crucial and nuanced issues that have to be considered and potentially litigated, and I urgently need additional funds to do so. Please make a generous donation today to my legal defense fund.
Let’s unravel some of the legal issues that are now in play, including complications as a result of President Trump’s reelection.
First, there is the issue of DA Fani Willis’ disgraceful conflict of interest. You’ll recall that she hired her lover, Nathan Wade, as a Special Prosecutor against me and President Trump and paid him some $700,000 in fees, all while they carried on their sordid affair.
Wade was forced by Judge Scott McAfee to withdraw from the case, but Willis was allowed to continue as prosecutor while the defendants were given the right to immediately appeal that ruling to the appellate court.
The Georgia Appeals Court agreed to hear the potential disqualification of Willis, which has been underway for some time. The matter was extensively briefed by both sides and oral argument was scheduled for December 5th. Then, without explanation, days ago the appellate court cancelled its planned oral argument hearing.
There are a number of potential explanations as to why the appellate court may have cancelled this hearing. It could well be the case that they’ve decided that, based on the extensive briefing that’s occurred, oral argument is not needed. If so, I hope that Willis is removed from the case post-haste.
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It could also be the case that President Trump’s reelection has raised new and difficult legal and constitutional issues that they want Judge McAfee to consider before ruling on the potential disqualification of Willis.
To say that those issues are a huge hurdle to the prosecution of President Trump is an understatement of substantial proportion. In my view, they are very likely insurmountable.
Let’s begin with the decades-long policy of the US Department of Justice that a sitting president may not be federally prosecuted for an alleged crime, period. “The indictment or criminal prosecution of a sitting President would unconstitutionally undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions.” (See Memorandum Opinion For The United States Attorney General, revised October 2020.)
While the existing DOJ policy does not explicitly apply to state prosecutions, it’s difficult to envision a circumstance where it would not apply to the existing Georgia case. After all, the harm incurred by federally prosecuting a sitting President – undermining the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions – would occur with a state prosecution just as it does with a federal prosecution.
Further, if this policy didn’t apply to state prosecutions, then nothing would prevent an ambitious (or corrupt) local District Attorney or state Attorney General from prosecuting a sitting president of the opposite party simply to score political points and make a name for himself or herself.
If the inability to prosecute a sitting president was not enough to end the prosecution of President Trump, then the US Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity very likely would. The Supreme Court ruled this past July that former presidents are immune for official acts taken while in office. Although that decision made the left and anti-Trump RINO Republicans apoplectic, the Supreme Court merely acknowledged that the President of the United States enjoys the same kind of immunity for official acts that members of Congress and federal judges do. Donald Trump was the President of the United States when the actions that Fani Willis alleges were criminal occurred. Ensuring that our election laws are fairly and lawfully followed is a core function of his constitutional responsibilities.
The bottom line is that there’s no chance that Donald Trump will be prosecuted in Georgia in the next four years, if ever.
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But what does this mean for me? There are a variety of issues my legal team needs to prepare to fiercely litigate. We urgently need your financial support to do so. Please help us today.
I was Donald Trump’s lawyer, but there is no DOJ policy that limits or prohibits the prosecution of a president’s lawyer. Further, while President Trump enjoys immunity, it is an unresolved legal question as to whether and to what extent presidential immunity might extend to an attorney like me representing the president. Those questions are very much on the table for my legal team to examine and potentially pursue.
Let’s go back to the Georgia appellate court’s consideration of the potential dismissal of Fani Willis. That may not be relevant to President Trump any longer, but it very much is relevant to my case.
I want Fani Willis removed from the case against me because she has grossly violated ethical rules required of prosecutors, including avoiding even the appearance of a conflict of interest. And if Willis IS removed, I will be in a better posture to have the case against me dismissed.
If Willis is removed, it will be up to the Georgia state Prosecuting Attorneys Council to decide what to do. They could assign a different prosecutor to pursue the case, or they could also decide to dismiss the case entirely.
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There is strong precedent for them to dismiss the case against me, because they have already dismissed the case against one of the original people falsely accused of wrongdoing who, like me, was targeted by Fani Willis.
In 2022 State Senator Burt Jones was running for Lt. Governor when Fani Willis attended a fundraiser for his opponent and urged people to donate and vote against him. Meanwhile, Willis was pursuing a potential criminal indictment against Jones for serving as what she and the media derisively called a “fake elector” for President Trump in the 2020 presidential election.
Jones was able to get a Georgia judge to prohibit Willis from investigating and potentially indicting him because of the appearance of a conflict of interest in campaigning against him. The question of his potential prosecution was then referred to the state Prosecuting Attorneys Council.
Just this past September, the Prosecuting Attorneys Council announced their decision that the case against Mr. Jones, now Lt. Governor of Georgia, would not be referred to another prosecutor because Mr. Jones had committed no crime. “I find the conduct and involvement of Senator Jones as an elected representative to be reasonable and not criminal in nature,” wrote the head of the Council in a statement announcing the decision.
That is the same conclusion they should reach in my case should it be presented to them, bringing an end to this outrageous prosecution.
There’s another matter that I had hoped would bring an end to the prosecution of me and the other defendants in Georgia.
In September, trial judge Scott McAfee dismissed three more counts from the indictment, including two against me, accepting our argument that I could not be prosecuted by state prosecutors for actions taken that involved federal authority. Unfortunately, the judge did not dismiss other counts that, in my view, suffer from the same “federal preemption” problem. We asked for a certificate of immediate appeal to be allowed to present the case directly to the Georgia Supreme, and the trial judge granted it a few hours later. But we still had to ask the Georgia Supreme Court to take this appeal now rather than waiting until the end of what may be a long, expensive, and ultimately pointless trial.
Alas, the Georgia Supreme Court denied our request for immediate appeal last week.
That would have been a clean and decisive end to the Georgia case and would avoid unnecessary, complex and exceedingly expensive legal proceedings for all involved. But now, absent a favorable ruling on Fani Willis’s disqualification, we will have to prepare for what will likely be a very long—and very expensive—trial.
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If the Georgia case is not dismissed, my legal team will vigorously fight to protect my constitutional rights as an innocent man, someone who is being targeted for prosecution by a disgraced partisan prosecutor.
There are a myriad of issues that we will press forward to bring justice and defeat the lawfare radicals. For example, I have a constitutional right to a speedy trial. I cannot be forced to wait months or possibly years to get my day in court while the state engages in protracted legal proceedings concerning President Trump.
Related to this, my defense against the charges I am facing will be aggressive and comprehensive. The state is falsely alleging that I orchestrated a conspiracy with President Trump to overturn the 2020 Georgia presidential election. We will prove that claim to be utterly false, but we may need to secure testimony from President Trump to do so. However, because he will be once again a sitting president he cannot be compelled to testify in my defense.
Being prohibited from calling a critical principal witness will constitute another violation of my constitutional rights and be additional cause to have the case dismissed.
So, I’m sure you can readily see how complex the legal issues have now become, and I hope you appreciate the critical need I have for substantial additional funding to protect and defend my innocence.
And just as a reminder, this chaos is just what I have to deal with in Georgia. I still have the pending charges in Arizona to contest against another partisan prosecutor.
So as you can see, we have much work still before us if we are to ultimately prevail.
This may well be the most critical time I’ve ever had to fight for my rights and defeat the lawfare radicals. It’s crucial that my Legal Defense Fund receive significant additional financial support right now.
Your gift of $25, $50, $100, $250, $500, or $1,000 or more is urgently needed and will make a huge difference in helping me put an end to DA Fani Willis’ unfair and outrageous prosecution. Please give generously.
Thank you for whatever you can do to help.
Sincerely,
John Eastman
Constitutional Scholar
Former Attorney for President Donald Trump