NEWS: Trump Gag Order Opinion Reissued by US Appeals Court — Minus Redactions
@BySteveReilly @TheMessenger
themessenger.com/politics/trump… LEDE: Security concerns by state and local officials were revealed Wednesday when a federal appeals court issued a new, unredacted version of its decision upholding the partial gag order over participants in the Washington, D.C.-election subversion case against Donald Trump.

BREAKING: Trump Georgia Co-Defendant’s Lawyers File Notice to Withdraw from RICO Case
Defense lawyers for Trevian Kutti, the former publicist for the rapper known as Kanye West, on Monday night filed notice they want to drop their client in the Fulton County case
w/ @alemzs @TheMessenger
themessenger.com/politics/trump… ATLANTA — Attorneys for Trevian Kutti, one of Donald Trump's co-defendants in the Georgia election racketeering case, filed notice on Monday night they no longer intend to represent the embattled publicist who has gained notoriety for her outlandish statements.

NEW: Trump Vows to Prosecute Critics and Rivals — But it’s Not Quite That Easy
The Republican presidential frontrunner's second-term retaliation plans may be catnip for his MAGA audiences but will be far more difficult to implement in real life themessenger.com/politics/trump… Even for someone who has twice survived impeachment and who can expect to be successful in making it his top priority upon inauguration to redirect the DOJ from prosecuting him to becoming one of his biggest defenders, legal experts told The Messenger that Trump may be a bit overconfident if he thinks he could also achieve his goals by taking absolute command of the nation’s most powerful arm of law enforcement to direct at his leisure.

BREAKING NEWS: Georgia Judge Takes a Pass on Sending Trump Co-Defendant to Jail for Witness Intimidation
Fulton County District Attorney wanted Harrison Floyd taken into custody pending trial
by @alemzs @TheMessenger
themessenger.com/news/harrison-… LEDE from ATLANTA – A Georgia judge on Tuesday rejected Fulton County prosecutors' bid to immediately send a Donald Trump co-defendant to jail for witness intimidation before his trial and instead requested his bond conditions be modified to restrict his social media activity.

NEWS: Gag Order Showdown: Trump & Special Counsel Jack Smith Set to Clash in Appellate Court Oral Arguments
Monday’s three-judge appellate panel starts at 9:30 am ⁦@BySteveReilly⁩ ⁦@TheMessenger⁩ themessenger.com/politics/trump… Check out our preview story here @BySteveReilly -

And you can listen live via the court's YouTube audio feed starting at 9:30 am: themessenger.com/politics/trump…

NEW: Why Trump’s Plan for Supreme Court Intervention in His Criminal Cases Faces Steep Odds
Although he nominated one-third of its justices, former President Donald Trump faces uncertain prospects as he looks to the Supreme Court for help in his ongoing criminal cases
w/ @BySteveReilly @TheMessenger
LEDE: Before Donald Trump faces a jury of his peers, the former president appears increasingly likely to seek help from a Supreme Court that he helped build.

In a series of court filings and arguments in recent weeks, Trump’s legal team has laid the potential groundwork for a review by the nation’s highest court and its conservative majority of a bevy of legal questions unique to his post-presidency and American history.

NEWS: Jack Smith: Trump’s New Bid to Halt D.C. Proceedings ‘Confirm His Overriding Interest in Delaying Both Trials at Any Cost’
Legal filings Wednesday night and Thursday morning show rising tensions over the former president's March trial date in Washington, D.C., and his May trial date in South Florida
by me - @TheMessenger
Special Counsel Jack Smith's prosecutors on Thursday morning slammed Donald Trump's legal team for trying to delay both of his federal criminal cases and warned one of the judges in the middle of the controversy that she may be "manipulated" by the former president's arguments.

BREAKING: Trump’s Gag Order Reinstated in D.C.
A federal judge on Sunday put speech limits back in place prohibiting statements about prosecutors or their staff, defense lawyers or their staff, court staff, support personnel and any witnesses or the substance of their testimony
A federal judge on Sunday reinstated the gag order in Donald Trump's election interference case, agreeing with Special Counsel Jack Smith that the former president should remain muzzled when talking about certain people involved in his upcoming criminal trial even as he tries to appeal the speech restrictions.

NEW: Trump Prosecutors Fani Willis and Jack Smith Have Been Keeping Their Distance. That Might Soon Change.
A rash of plea deals in the Fulton County election-racketeering case has yielded fresh statements by three former top Trump election attorneys that may be of interest to federal prosecutors
@BySteveReilly & @alemzs - @TheMessenger
LEDE: Shortly before Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants were indicted in a sweeping election-racketeering indictment this summer, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said she didn’t have much business with the federal prosecutor probing the former president.

NEW: Trump and a Georgia Co-Defendant Made Near-Identical Filings Seeking to Wipe ‘Inflammatory’ Descriptions of Jan. 6 Attacks
⁦@BySteveReilly⁩ ⁦@TheMessenger⁩ themessenger.com/politics/trump… LEDE: In a pair of court filings over the past week, Donald Trump and a prominent 2020 election attorney expressed a common fear: Mentioning the events of Jan. 6, 2021, in their court cases would so inflame passions that it would rob them of the ability to be judged impartially by a jury of their peers

BREAKING: Judge Chastises Trump For ‘Blatant Violation of Gag Order’ on His Clerk, Raises Possible Penalties Including Fines or Jail
New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron asked why Trump shouldn’t face 'serious sanctions' such as fines or 'possibly imprisoning him'
by @KlasfeldReports @TheMessenger
LEDE: A Manhattan judge tore into former President Donald Trump on Friday for failing to delete a post attacking his clerk on his campaign page, weeks after the imposition of a gag order.

NEW: Trump Trials Jury Duty Has Fulton County Residents Feeling a Mix of Fear and Defiance
Their verdicts in Georgia can carry significant political consequences & their service leaves them exposed to serious risks to their safety
By ⁦@alemzs⁩ themessenger.com/politics/trump… LEDE from ATLANTA – Some would be scared. Some would relish the opportunity. Hardly any pretend that impartiality would be easy. 
Fulton County residents recently interviewed expressed ample mixed feelings about being called for jury duty in the unprecedented criminal trials playing out in their community where the verdicts carry significant political consequences — and where their service leaves them exposed to serious risks to their safety.

NEWS: Jack Smith Slams Trump’s Bid to Dismiss Jan. 6 Charges: ‘The Defendant Is Not Above The Law’
Donald Trump should not be exempt from prosecution on 'presidential immunity' grounds, prosecutors in the special counsel's office argued in a court filing Thursday night
@BySteveReilly @TheMessenger
LEDE: Donald Trump should not be exempt from prosecution on "presidential immunity" grounds, prosecutors in Special Counsel Jack Smith's office argued in a court filing Thursday night.

NEW: Pro-Trump Lawyer’s Surprise Guilty Plea Expected to Have Ripple Effects From Georgia to D.C.
Sidney Powell's agreement to cooperate in exchange for no prison sentence now raises the stakes for everyone else facing criminal charges or an ongoing investigation tied to the 2020 presidential election
@BySteveReilly & @alemzs @TheMessenger
LEDE: Sidney Powell’s last-minute plea deal in the Georgia election-racketeering case Thursday marked a dramatic turn in the yearslong effort by prosecutors to hold accountable those allegedly involved in efforts to help Donald Trump overturn the 2020 presidential election.

NEWS: After Forbes Accuses Allen Weisselberg of Perjury, NY AG Seeks Forensic Exam of Trump Org Emails
Allen Weisselberg’s testimony abruptly ended last week hours after Forbes magazine accused the convicted tax cheat of perjury @KlasfeldReports⁩ themessenger.com/politics/forbe… LEDE: New York State Attorney General Letitia James asked a judge on Thursday to order a forensic examination of Trump Organization emails showing Allen Weisselberg's communications with Forbes after the magazine accused the executive of lying under oath.

NEWS: Ex-Trump Org CFO Allen Weisselberg Dealt Directly with His Son on Trump Tower and 40 Wall Street Loans
Ladder Capital's director, Jack Weisselberg, communicated with his father on the premier properties in the Trump portfolio
by @KlasfeldReports @TheMessenger
LEDE: More than five years before his presidency, Donald Trump’s namesake company sought a hefty commercial loan for the midtown Manhattan skyscraper that he called his home.

NEWS: Georgia Jury Pool in Trump Co-Defendants’ Trial Must Answer 100+ Questions to Gauge Who Can Keep an Open Mind
'Bring a book,' Judge Scott McAfee advised of Friday's next big court date where the potential jurors will spend an hour or more filling out a survey of their views on Trump, 2020 and more
by @alemzs @TheMessenger
LEAD from Atlanta: The first step in the upcoming five-month trial of Donald Trump co-defendants Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell will be a lengthy jury questionnaire aimed at testing whether or not potential jurors can keep an open mind.

NEWS: Trump Organization’s Former CFO Allen Weisselberg Testified it’s a ‘Coincidence’ That His $2 Million Severance Exactly Matches His Criminal Penalty
Under the agreement's terms, the ex-CFO still has $1.25 million in payments left — and clauses restricting what he can say
by @KlasfeldReports @TheMessenger
LEDE: On top of the five-month prison sentence he was ordered to serve at one of New York's most notorious jails, the Trump Organization’s ex-chief financial officer had to pay $2 million in back taxes, penalties and interest in connection with his conviction on more than a dozen counts of criminal fraud.

NEWS: Georgia Judge Reluctant to Toss Trump Co-Defendants’ Charges Ahead of RICO Trial
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee on Tuesday signaled he is hesitant to throw out charges before trial against two pro-Trump attorneys
by @alemzs & @BySteveReilly @TheMessenger
LEDE from ATLANTA – A Georgia judge signaled Tuesday he would not dismiss charges against Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell, telling defense attorneys for two of Donald Trump’s co-defendants that their arguments in pre-trial motions are best resolved after the evidence is presented at the upcoming trial.

NEWS: Jack Smith: Trump Must Formally Declare Legal Strategy His Lawyers Keep Talking About on TV
Special counsel requests a court order addressing the Trump team's frequent references to leaning on the advice of counsel as a trial defense
by me - @TheMessenger
LEDE: Special Counsel Jack Smith on Tuesday asked a federal judge to order Donald Trump and his lawyers to make official whether they really plan to rely on a key legal strategy during the former president's March 2024 criminal trial, otherwise they could end up "sandbagging" prosecutors and forcing a delay in the proceedings.

NEWS: Fani Willis: Pro-Trump Lawyer Not Covered by Attorney-Client Privilege for Documents Allegedly Plotting ‘Fake Elector’ Plan
In a filing Tuesday, the Fulton County DA argued memos and emails are not covered by attorney-client privilege that allegedly show Kenneth Chesebro was the 'architect' of the fake electors plot
by @alemzs & @BySteveReilly @TheMessenger
TLANTA – A court filing from Georgia prosecutors Tuesday included memos and emails showing pro-Trump attorney Kenneth Chesebro’s alleged role as the “architect” of the scheme to appoint "fake" or alternate pro-Trump electors in battleground states.