You Have the Right to Remain Silent

Tuesday was a really lousy day for Trump.  And that’s even if he wasn’t officially arrested in federal court on seven felony counts. 

But in addition to that (by the way, writing “in addition to that” when “that” is being arrested in federal court is never a good sign, and all the more if you’re a former president) is that after being arraigned he went back to his home in Bedminister, New Jersey, where he gave a ranting speech that went against every tenet of the normal admonition for most everyone who’s ever been indicted – Don’t Say Anything About Your Case Unless You’re in Court.

How bad were his ranting comments?  After showing a clip of them on MSNBC, former Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Weissman said that while Trump likely thought he was laying out his defense, in fact he was making an admission of his crime.

But that wasn’t all.  (Again, after you’ve been arraigned in federal court and then publicly admitted your crime, news that allows people to write “But that wasn’t all” is almost always a terrible thing.)  That’s because the E. Jean Carroll case for which Trump was found liable of sexual assault and fined five million dollars reared its ugly head again.

That’s because the previous, settled case is separate from a lawsuit.  The settled case was over defamatory comments that Trump made after leaving the White House.  The original lawsuit concerned a charge of defamation for what said about Ms. Carroll Trump while in the White House.  That suit has been delayed while the courts decide if is immune for having made the comments while president.

What the judge in this case ruled on Tuesday is that E. Jean Carroll can amend her lawsuit and add additional claims of defamation for Trump repeating the same things he had previously said about her after he was found liable in court and ordered to pay five million dollars for sexual assault and defamation.

The problem for Trump, as a legal analyst on MSNBC noted, is that the five million dollars was a punitive penalty for what he said, and to ensure it wouldn’t be said again.  But since Trump did say them yet again, Ms. Carroll’s lawyer can point out that clearly five million dollars wasn’t a deterrent to Trump – “so, what amount will the jury thing would be a enough of a deterrent to Trump to not repeat what a jury has found to be defamatory?”

There’s even a fun bonus for Trump’s day.  It’s that Tuesday was his birthday.  And at Bedminster, he told a snarky story with a ridiculing voice about his grandchild wishing him a “happy birthday.”  Certainly, it wasn’t a happy birthday.  But just as certainly, what a wonderful, warm grandpa he is, making fun of his young grandchild to a national audience.

But that’s Trump.  Just talking and talking and talking out loud – when he not only doesn’t have to…but shouldn’t.  And we’re not even including what he said that was recorded and in the indictment admitting that he knew the documents were classified and that he couldn’t show them to others nor declassify them.  Or even including his being recorded asking Georgia officials to obstruct and election and find him 11,780 votes that’s don’t exist.

And in the end, it turns out that his talking and talking and talking in his own words – because he can’t help himself -- that appear will screw him over.

And not only is be screwing himself over because of the above, but also because his lawyers know from his history talking that he can’t be allowed to talk under oath and testify on his behalf.  Which means that his unfiltered talking has made it profoundly more difficult for his lawyers to mount a defense on his behalf.  Just as they couldn’t when sued by E. Jean Carroll.  And which he lost, was found liable for sexual assault and fined five million dollars.

And the thing is, he will probably keep talking because that’s who he is, and he doesn’t appear able to help himself.  And we’re only at the beginning.