Just Cases: Issue #1

A collection of news from across the various cases I am tracking.

I thought it might be useful for me to compose, and for my readers to receive, a weekly or biweekly newsletter featuring a collection of updates from the criminal and civil cases we like to keep track of ‘round these parts. Cases such as those brought by the Special Counsels (Trump x2, Hunter x2, Smirnov) will get a lot of attention, as will the Trump would-be assassin cases (Merchant, Routh) and the political corruption cases (Menendez, Adams, and hopefully many more to come). I will also provide updates on more obscure cases, such as the Seth Rich FOIA case (Huddleston), the Smartmatic corruption case (Bautista), and a few others. And of course, the very high-profile P. Diddy (Combs) case will also be tracked closely.

Although a portion of the content in this newsletter will also be shared on my social media accounts, it will contain additional insights, observations, and analysis that (I hope) elevates the content above what I share on those platforms.

Enjoy and feel free to comment on what you like and what you would like to see in the newsletter.

Thanks for subscribing!

-Just Human

United States v. Trump

(J6 Election Interference Case, DC)

Since SCOTUS issued their opinion in Trump regarding presidential immunity, finding that the President “is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for his official acts” and that “the President may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers” but maintains “no immunity for unofficial acts”, they sent the case back to the district court, Chutkan’s, to determine what are and are not official acts covered by that immunity.

The case had been in hibernation for months while the appeal was at SCOTUS, no activity at all, but in the final weeks of summer, a flurry of activity awakened the docket.

First, Special Counsel Jack Smith re-indicted Trump on August 27 with a filing absent the certainly immune conduct that is now off limits per SCOTUS. Judge Chutkan held a status conference soon after and, on September 5, set a new schedule for the case.

Then, Trump’s counsel filed a motion to compel more discovery from the Special Counsel Office, as well as a half dozen other federal agencies and offices, arguing that all of the discovery issues in the case must be resolved prior to attempting to answer questions of what conduct by President Trump does and does not fall within the immunity boundary of "official acts.”

Or, absent that, dismissing the case.

Big thread on this Trump’s motion to compel here.

Smith, of course, disagreed with this and rejected Trump’s discovery requests as baseless.

And that brings us to the big news in this case from this past week, and certainly the biggest thing to happen in this case since Trump was hit with the new indictment.

Smith filed under seal; Trump counsel opposed (and here), but Judge Chutkan unsealed a huge brief on President Trump’s conduct, conversations, and the conduct and conversations of those around him from November 2020 to January 2021. This 162-page filing is Smith’s pre-trial, pre-report, opening statements, and special counsel report. It is a highly unusual filing and a massive narrative ammo drop to Trump’s political enemies

However, it is also the immunity briefing, more or less... okay, more, much more, that he was expected to file and that Trump’s counsel is also expected to respond to as both sides work out what qualifies for immunity. This filing is Smith meeting the “burden” SCOTUS told him that he carried. Or at least, that is how Smith would likely defend it anyway.

Smith’s immunity brief was unsealed at the most opportune time for the Democrats—about twelve hours after Senator J.D. Vance demolished Governor Tim Walz in the Vice Presidential Debate.

And while it was expected that Smith would file something like this, he did so under seal. It is Judge Chutkan who unsealed it, providing the narrative war ammo drop to the Democrats and their media just 30 days out from election day and with many states already taking votes.

Now we watch the narratives play out and wait for Trump’s “response.”

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United States v. Trump

(Docs case, FL)

Judge Cannon dismissed this case over the summer, granting Trump’s Motion to Dismiss Indictment Based on the Unlawful Appointment, a motion that Trump’s Counsel have not filed in the D.C. case, by the way. Curious that.

Smith has appealed the dismissal.

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United States v. Adams

(NYC Mayor Corruption Case)

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, indicted just a little over a week ago, has yet to resign despite many calling for him to do so and people in his administration abandoning ship.

Mayor Adams not only maintains that he is innocent but also protests that he is being unfairly targeted by the Biden Administration because he spoke out against Biden’s immigration policies, which have had a significant negative impact on New York City.

Mayor Adams’s counsel has already filed a motion to dismiss one of the counts—the count five bribery charge. They cite the Supreme Court’s opinion in Snyder v. United States as a basis. More on that here.

A status conference is set for next Wednesday, October 9.

So when does the superseding indictment drop?

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United States v. Combs

(Diddy RICO Case)

This case just got a new judge, Arun Subramanian (mini thread). No indication at all what the reason for the change is.

Subramanian is a recent arrival. He replaced Judge Nathan (Maxwell case) a little over a year ago. She was elevated to U.S. Court of Appeals.

Fun fact:

The typical reaction I am seeing online regarding the switch at the bench is decidedly a cynical one, but I am not so given to that.

This case is highly complex, will take months of preparation, weeks of trial, and have big money thrown at it. The appeals will follow suit. And we don’t even know how big this case really is, as more charges and defendants are expected to be added.

There was always the distinct possibility that the first judge assigned would not have room on their calendar, and there is always the chance that a previous case or association might give the appearance of conflict. And it should not be discounted that, if Combs and his Enterprise are what prosecutors allege them to be, this is a highly dangerous case to be involved with.

A browsing of his background indicates to me that Subramanian is well suited for the tasks ahead (mini thread), but there isn’t that much information on him so we’ll see. A little bit of narrative shielding won’t hurt either, so the cynical reactions may play to his advantage. Better to be underestimated.

Combs is still being held in the MDC, I believe, having been denied release on bond twice; however, his counsel has sought consideration with the US Court of Appeals.

Judge Subramanian has set a hearing for Thursday, October 10 and asked the parties to submit a joint letter detailing what issues they wish to discuss at that hearing. Perhaps an explanation for the change will be provided then.

Thread on Diddy indictment here.

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United States v. Routh

(West Palm Beach, FL Trump Assassination Attempt)

Judge Cannon has this case and has already set a trial date of November 11.

That’s too fast, say prosecutors (mini thread). They quickly requested the case be designated as “complex” due to the volume of material to go through and the investigation still being active.

Routh’s counsel were unopposed to the designation, but Judge Cannon asked to hear from the defendant directly on or before October 9.

Two sealed filings appeared soon after.

So it seems this thing will not be going to trial in November, let alone this year.

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That’s it for this issue. It’s a bit chunkier than I would prefer, but there was quite a bit of news to start the series with. Thankful for that.

Stay positive, folks, and let me know your thoughts on the newsletter in the comments.

-Just Human

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