let's check in on the model prosecution memorandum for Little Donny Fuckface

it’s been a shitty summer for Donald Trump and it’s only going to get worse

it’s Friday, and it’s been an incredibly annoying week, so let’s end it on a positive note.

the legal experts at Just Security have published a model prosecution memorandum that explores the likely charges that The Guy Who Convicts War Criminals In The Hague could bring against Donald Trump for interfering in the 2020 election.

go ahead, I’m listening.

a prosecution memo is pretty much exactly what it sounds like:

Prior to indicting a case, federal prosecutors prepare a pros memo that lays out admissible evidence, possible charges, and legal issues.

it’s quite likely that Jack Smith and his team have already drafted a pros memo and are circulating it among themselves. the actual memo would be highly confidential and may never be shown to the public.

so, as a public service, Just Security has analyzed all the publicly available information, including the final report of the January 6th Select Committee, and come up with their version of what Smith & Co.’s pros memo might look like.

(bear in mind that Just Security has no access to any grand jury testimony, and that evidence is no doubt more damning that anything in the public record.)

from the memo (emphasis is mine):

Here, we conclude there likely is sufficient evidence to obtain and sustain a conviction of Trump for his three-step plan to overturn the election:

1. Trump knew he lost the election but did not want to give up power, so he worked with his lawyers and others on a wide variety of schemes to change the outcome. Those schemes included creating fraudulent electoral certificates that were submitted to Congress, implicating statutes such as 18 U.S.C. § 371, which prohibits conspiracies to defraud the United States in the administration of elections.

2. When all the other schemes failed, Trump and his lawyers ultimately concentrated on using the false electoral slates to obstruct the constitutionally mandated congressional certification of the election on January 6, implicating statutes such as 18 U.S.C. § 1512, which prohibits obstruction of an official proceeding. Their primary objective was to have Vice President Mike Pence in his presiding role on that day either block Congress from recognizing Joe Biden’s win at all or at least to delay the electoral count.

3. When Pence refused, Trump went to his last resort: triggering an insurrection in the hope that it would throw Congress off course, delaying the transfer of power for the first time in American history. This implicated statutes such as 18 U.S.C. § 2383, which prohibits inciting an insurrection and giving aid or comfort to insurrectionists. (Section 2383 is rarely charged, and as we discuss below, this is a charge DOJ will use only with extreme caution. We believe there is sufficient evidence to pursue it—as did the Select Committee in making a criminal referral of Trump under that statute—but prosecutors may make different choices. Much will depend on the evidence the Special Counsel develops.)

the complete text of Just Security’s model pros memo is here.

in case a bunch of legalese isn’t something you care to wade through, I offer you my four-word analysis here:

Donald Trump is fuuuuuuucked.

remember, any January 6th charges and indictments will be brought in DC, not Florida, which means that Donald Trump’s number one fangirl Aileen Cannon will have no opportunity to fuck this one up.

it’s been a shitty summer for Donald Trump and it’s only going to get worse.

folks, a word on a different subject before I let you go: we’re doing some quarterly fundraising at my other venture, The Smirking Chimp. I’m leery of even mentioning it because if you’re one of the people paying to support my own writing here, you’re already doing god’s work and you’re already doing more than enough to help out. but if you’ve got five dollars that you absolutely wouldn’t miss and you do feel like supporting the Chimp, well, that just makes you twice the hero. the donation link is here, or you can go straight to paypal if you need no further convincing. and if you don’t care to donate, that’s totally cool, too, and we will not speak of this again. in fact, we never had this conversation. thanks for listening and that’s it from me for now.